Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1930-02-07
GOLD IN
A TURKEYS
CROP

20 by d. J. Walsh.l
q" ,ME-here to this : wild
country-for turkeys, but
~ are-not turkey hunter"
unused the girl slowly. with
something odd In her voice. "And
you worked In city market Do you
happen to know what turkey crop
is?"
Sam stared and his voice was fully
as odd as hers as he replied: "Y-es,
why?"
She studied him for some moments,
then nodded her head.
"Yes, I'll trust you," she decided.
"You don't look like thief. AS I've
heard my father say, suppose we lay
our cards on the table,"
She leaned her rifle against a tree,
took a small box from her pocket and
opened and extended 1t for Sans in.
spection.
my name is Margaret Mossis." she
said.
The box was nearly full of various
sized grains Of pure gold.
Sam reached into his pocket and
pulled out a buckskin bag, lossened
the strings and passed 1t to her.
Looks as II they came from the
same turkey" he remarked, land my
name Is Sam Holden. And l worked
in the poultry section of the Chicago
market"
The girl peered into the bag. "Myl
what a lott" she exclaimed.
"Just four crops" Sam grinned.
"And you found them In the mar.
ket and came straight here to seek
gold by hunting turkeysf"
mo, just turkeys here, to get cap
ital to seek gold at place called
Porcupine Hollow and along Sheep
Range mountain. I've heard it's
there"
Strange how things come round"
she said. Father and I hunted tur-
keys at those places, Porcuplne and
Sheep Range, nearly three years ago.
But turkeys were scarce and we final
ly drifted up here"
Didn't see any signs of gold?"
eagerly.
mo. and don't believe any gold is
there You see, we lost our home
through-through debt Then mother
went to live with an uncle and father
and took to the woods. Father
wasn't bit well and l refused to
leave him. He had to be out Of doors
and we drifted into turkey hunting
by accident, because we found there
was money in 1t.
1--WE had wonderful success here. l
suppose we shipped those birds you
found the gold In"
"You mean the gold came from
here?" incredulously.
The girl nodded.
but gold comes from rocky places,
or in river sand washed down from
such places"
"Maybe there are lodges under the
surface of this fiat scrub, or perhaps
the gold washed here from elsewhere.
Anyhow. it's here"
"You know where1 II you do It's
all yours, of course"
Il don't know any more than you
only suspect. You see. turkeys were
too valuable for us to eat We want.
ed to accumulate enough to buy back
Our home II we could. had q few
snares to catch rabbits and quail to
supply our meat, and shipped all our
turkeys away alive. It was only q
month or so ago that I killed our
first turkey. Father was sick and I
wanted something extra good. found
the gold in that ones crop. Soon after
we had to go away for while, so we
couldn't scratch for the gold. got
back only this morning"
That's why haven't seen either of
you" commented Sam. "Well, shall
try to see your father tomorrow"
The girl picked up her rifle abb
ruptly.
81 must be going now" she said In
low voice. Its getting late. Good
night" Sam did not see her again
until he was at the train the next
day shipping twenty-four turkeys he
had caught that morning. She slipped
from the scrub as lot of empties
were being thrown from the train.
"Here you are" Sam called as he
saw her, 'about a dozen traps and
more crates. You take 'em all. And
I'm shipping off dozen birds apiece.
Been too busy to hunt gold. But I'll
90 that the rest Of the day and keep
1t up"
i've been hunting since daylight"
said the girl YEARLY. mot vestige
OF color. And yet know there 10
gold here, for that bird was caught
contains miles and miles of land
alike"
zone of us will find 1t yet, all right"
asserted Sam confidently, "even II we
have to learn turkey language. and
ask EN-"
The girl shook her head. II shall
stay here only two more days, for
last chance" she declared II shot the
Hateful turkey about two miles north
west from here, and have been all over
that ground this morning. Turkeys
travel long way. though and that
one may have filed his crop miles
away ! shall 90 back to the city"
"Then your father must be better.
I'm glad of that But do hate the
thought of your giving mp the gold
just when the scent seems getting
warmer"
at might be u year, or ten, before
it's found. And I've been here over
two now couldn't stand any more.
The eleven traps are all can man
age Yru keep all yours" She picked
- trr IN each hand and started
'or tie s.r;Ib Sam sprang forward