Evening star., 1927-04-16
The Easter Rabbit,


TIME great Vests gold tales have
not all been told. The LITTLE
cabin with the sod roof ant
4 dirt floor is located on wha'
is known as Middle Fork of g
certain creek. 1t was here that Tom
Daily, a prospector. old and plodding
! had spent most OF the years of his
I easy going, but iard-earned existence
/ The neighbors noticed in later years
that old Tom managed well to get the
money he wanted just when he
! wanted it, Many had seen him carry
| ing a bag presumably filled with
small gold nuggets or dust. To his
i best friends Tom had shown the con
! tents of one or two of these bags.
| They were nuggets, small in size but
| of a sufficient number to be worth at
! least $4,000. People tried following
| him, but he was very slick and eludei
| them. Always he came back with the
| bag of gold.
| Late one Fall a niece whom Tom
| had not seen since she was a tiny
/ girl decided to inspect the West and
| incidentally, it must be admitted, to
visit her uncle. The prospector was
unduly proud when he realized that
| he was to be the host of young and
! probably pretty girl Theresa had
| been pretty when she was little, and
| Of course she would be now
The great day came, and with it
| Theresa. She was a blue.eyed, blond
| headed girl, a little frail looking
when placed among the robust inhab-
| itants of the Middle Fork country.
| Old Tom never considered the fact
that the sod floor and roof and the
mud-chinked logs would probably not
q 10 l. F,a,r IL -
! Theresa did not exactly approve of
| them. but she considered the cabin a
| part of a strange adventure and
| therefore reveled in the rudeness
| She had not been there many days
! when her uncle's lone excursions be.
! gan again. The girl was as much puz-
| zled as any of them
But why don't you take it all out
and sell it? You could come back
East and live in luxury" she asked
! Go East No. Theresa. III stay
| here for the rest of my life. If |
| took it out somebody'd steal it on
| me. As it is, l kin sit it any time |
want it. After I'm gone the rest will
De there for the person / want 10
| heV 1t. Now that's young Bartles.
! kinda thought you'd take a shine to
! him. Thet's why / see thet he
II.
a good feller, works at the stamp mill
down the creek. l intend to tell him
where it is before / 60 I'd like fer
| you to hev it, but l want it spent out
mere Whar it come from. Now, if
you q Just marry Jim Bartles YOU
could both hev it, and it'd be spent
mere all right, cuz Jim wouldn' leave
TINS here place for a million Old
Iom chuckIed and regarded his niece
questioningly.
Uncle Tom, certainly this Jim
Bartles is nice, but he's rough. and
as you say wouldn't and couldn't fit
In any other place but these noun.
tains. Oh, couldn't think of marry.
ing him, and besides he probably
wouldn't ask me-"
He'd ask you all right
Toward Spring Tom Daily seemed
older and his steps became falterino
The snow melted a little and the ice
over the creeks disappeared one
day the old man returned exhausted
to the cabin. He had with him his
ilrst sack Of gold since the Fall before
1oI1l be goin' soon, Theresa. It's
oeen a long Winter fer va and the
tralls'l be open now. / brought this
Ief va. It's not much, but it's worth
On, Uncle Tom! You shouldn't do
tnat. I-you know you want your
gold all spent out here. And I-why
what's the matter with YOU? ARE
you tired?"
Yes, tired and tired of livin.' girl
Maybe you'd better go get Jim Rartlas
TO come up here. / want to tell him
where it is. l think I'm goin'."
NO, no, no you're not. You're inst
tiFed! Lie down while Youll be ali
right in little bit"
won't! Go fer Jim. Please,
promised him, and he deserves il !"