Year: 1874

Ing storm, ana 1t was not till the heavy


ram set in with almost tropical profusion,


that l remembered that Minnie was too
tender and delicate TO be exposed TO the
pelting OF the down-coming deluge, and
lifting the blue Mexican poncho which
had thrown aside for the purpose of giving
freer play to my limbs. l turned TO wrap
it round her as some protection from the
elements.


10 my surprise, she was gone. The
lantern stood on a jutting fragment of
rock. bu: of the fair girl who had SO lately
been beside me there was not a trace.
went in search of her towards the hut,
calling out her name. with every term OF
endearment, but the hollow echoes alone
returned the sound of my voice, nor could
find any signs Of her, although made
| the circuit Of the brake where presumed


her steed to have been tethered Had she
in some sudden impulse of maiden coy
ness or caprice, remounted her horse and
ridden Oft homewards, without q word of
adieu, or had she dreaded lest her father
should discover and resent her absence?
Could it be that her mind was disordered,
thal-no, the accuracy of the information
which she had afforded me, whence &C.
quired could not guess, as to the where
aoouts of the gold-vein to which she had
led me. youched Tor the clearness Of her
intellect. however wild and unusual might
have been her words and bearing, under
the influence Of strong excitement. Mean
while, l had other matter to occupy my
thoughts. The sudden stroke of good
luck brought with 1t q haunting fear lest
some baleiul chance should intervene to
blight my reviving prospects.


There's many slip betwixt the cup
and the lip" was proverb which in clas-
sical Latin, as in homely English. kept
ringing in my ears, as if q mocking spirit
were whispering the words. How if one
OF those thousand mishaps that await the
gold-digger should mar the completeness
OF my discoveryP The bursting of wa
ter-spout, chance encounter with lurk-
ing Indians or white ''road. agents." an
attack Of the country fever, or the abrupt
dipping OF the vein into hard crystalline
rock, which must be slowly attacked by
drills and dynamite, would upset all my
calculations. There was not moment to
be lost, lest some incident should rob me
my new dedged hopes; and accordingly,
needless of the heavy rain, dragged my
selt back to the freshly turned soil, and
labored on, until at length. fairly worn
out. l sank down on the edge of the pit
and fell asleep through sheer exhaustion.
The first rays of the morning sun falling
on my lace aroused me, and ] raised my
self on my elbow and looked around.
Memory, however. soon brought back to


me the events Of the p4st niYht-Minnie's
strange visit, her unaccountable acquaint-
ance with the existence of the gold-mine,
the labors that had led to such rich result,
The newly kindlcd hopes that had sprung
up as fortune smiled upon us. There lay
the glittering heap Of nuggets. of all
shapes and sizes, from the flake like the
scale Of some monstr0us fish to the queer
ly-shappen block that resembled an old
fragment of some tree-ro0t transmitted in
to gold. Altogether the "pile, in miners
parlence. was probably of q value Of some
nine thousand dollars. which, with what
| had painfully amassed in the course of
laborious months, made up two.thirds of
the stipulated sum.


Two days remained to me in which to
become master o. the remainder; and the
bright CLEAN Of the yellow vein, cropping
through the rocky side of the excavation,
seemed to beckOn me on. How | worked
during those two days and nights can
only be guessed by those whom some
mighty impulse has caused to put con.
secutive strain on nerve and muscle for
many hours together. crushing down bodi.
y fatigue, as it were, by force of will. 1t
is seldom with impunity that such toll
can be levied on the vital energies but /
was young. strong, and in love, and when
the deathly faintness of extreme exhaus-
tion came upon me. often would Minnie's
sweet image arise before me as if to urge
me on. Anl@us-like, felt renewed vigor
to resume my task.


1t was labor for giant. have since
heard how at latter time miners from
other spots came wonderingly to the spots
to survey the pit had dug, marveling that
one pair Of hands could have done so
much in so brief space. For although
the vein continued to yield its golden trea-
ures, tending to the south, it had to be
tracked out, ever deeper and deeper, be-
low the stony platform of the ravine, un-
til at last was plying my pick in tun-
nelled arch Of my own cutting. / had
ceased to count or estimate the probable
value of my winnings, and it was not un.
til the evening OF the last day that finally
desisted from my toll. and spreading
out my golden store on tho earthern
floor OF my hut, assured myself that it was,
at the very least, worth twenty EIGHT thou.
sand dollars. My work was done, nv re-
ward secured, and l fell asleep, and
dreamed of happiness soon to be realized.


There was not blither heart in all
America when soon after sunrise on the
following morning, saddlsd my horse
and. with the leathern bag that held my
treasure securely strapped before me on
my sure-footed steed, set off for Jonathan
Fairlop's farm to claim my bride.


Somehow. as drew near my journeys
end. and approached the well-known dwell
ing OF the rich farmer, my high spirits
tagged, and a chill ran through my


limbs, as if my heart within me had fore.


boded evil. drew rein, and rode slowly


up to the ,rellised porch, screened by trail


ing rose that had planted. There seemed


to be an unwonted stir about the farmers


doorway. A little knot of men, in their
glossy Sunday suits Of black bloadcloth,
stood conversing in an undertone beneath
the shade Of the porch. They tnrned to
look at me, as rode up and dismounted.
One Of them was an acquaintance Of mine.
He bent forward and spoke word or two
to the rest. and noted that there was :