Year: 1872

dog quietly asserted a right that no
one cared to dispute, is not certain.
Most likely it was one of those things
that naturally, and, therefore, correct /
ly adjust themselves.


When these bearded men in blue
shirts rested their burden st the open I.
grave they looked at each other and I
there was an unpleasant pause. Per-
haps they thought of the Christian
burial service in other lands and felt
that something was wanting. Atlast
Forty-nine stole up close to the head
of the grave, hesitated, lifted and laid
aside his old slOuch hat, and looking
straight down into the earth, said in
low and helpless way:


Earth to earth and dust to DUST
hesitated again and then continued:
''The mustard and the clover seed are
but little things, and no man can tell
one from the other; yet bury them in
the uttermOst parts Of the earth and
each will bring forth its kind perfect
and beautiful-and-and-manis IS sure
ly more than little seed-and-and:"
here he broke down utterly and knelt
and kissed the face of the dead.


The men looked away for while, as
if to objects in the horizon, and
then, without looking at each other,
or breaking silence, lowered the un-
shapely box, caught up the spades,
and found q positive relief in heaping
the grave.


Then the coroner, as in duty bound,
or as he expressed it, "as required by
the law in such cases made and pro-
vided," directed his attention to the
search for the buried treasure.


Yeast powder boxes, oyster cans
and sardine boxes, old boots and
quicksilver tanks, were carried out to
the light and inspected, without re-
suits. "In the straw of the bunk"
said the cOrOner-and blankets, bunk
and straw were carried out to sun;
but not an ounce of gold. To
make sure against the intrusion of the
i'll disposed, the unwearied coroner
slept on the spot. The next day the
hearth was taken up carefully, piece
by piece, but only crickets clad in
black, and little pink-eyed mice met
| the eager gaze of the men. At last
some one suggested that as the hard
baked earthen floor was the last place
in which one would look for hidden
treasures, that was probably the first
and only place in which The Gopher
had buried his gold. The thought
made the coroner enthusiastic. He
sent for picks, and if I must tell tie
truth, and the whole truth, he sent
! for rAhisky also. By sunset the earth
en- floor had been dug to the depth Of
many feet and emptied outside the
door. Not farthing's worth Of gold
was found. The next day the CHM
I L,n- II Il -
of adobes, but not a thing more. /
am bound to say that about this time
the memory of the man just taken to
the hill was held in but little respect,
and that q good or bad name, so far as
the over jealous coroner was concern
ed, depended entirely on the results of
the search. But one thing more re-
mained to be done; that was to re-
move the cabin. Shingle by shingle,
log by log, the structure was levelled.
Wood-rats, kangaroo-mice, horned
tOads, a rattle-snake or two that had
gone into winter quarters under the
great logs, and that was all. Not an
ounce of gold was found in the last
cabin of the Mexican Camp.
The fiat was then staked offs min
ing ground by some enterprising
strangers, and they began in the CEN
ter to sluice it to the bedrock. They
slniced up the gulch for a month, and
then down the gulch for month, un-
til the whole hillside was scalped as
it were, to the bone, and the treasure


hunters were bankrupt, but not even
so much as the color Ofthe dead mans
gold was found.


Hogem was disgusted, and the Go
pher was voted a worse man dead
than living.


It began to be noticed, however, that
FOrty-nine had mended somewhat in
his personal appearance since the death
of Gopher, and it was whispered that
he knew where the treasure was.
Some even went so far as to say that
he had the whole pile of it in his pos
session. Some Of these nights he'll
come up a missing said the butcher,
striking savagely at his steel across
his block. In justice to Hogem it
must be observed she was not without
grounds to go upon her on suspicious.
For was not FOrty-nine near the man
at his death ? And if he could get his
dog, why not his gold also?


One night FOrty-nine, holding tight
to a tow string, shuffled up to me in
saloon, and timidly plucking my
sleeve, said:


Going away, I hear"'


Yes


TO the States :?


Yes


Near to Boston,


May be-


well, then, look here; come with


me p'-and with an old dogI humping
his head against his heels he led the
way out of the door down the gulch
to his cabin. He pulled the latch
string, entered, and finally struck q
light. Sticking the candle in a whis-
key bottle that stood on the greasy
table in the center of the earthen
floor, he picked up the tow string, and
pointing to the bunk in the corner, we
sat down together, and the old dog
rested his nose between the old mans
legs.


And after looking about the cabin
in nervous silence for time, Forty
nine arose with a look of resolution,
handed me his string, stepped to a
niche in the wall, and taking an old
creviceing knife stuck it stOutly above
the latch.


This means something said I to
myself. Here will be a revelation, and
/ confess that a vision of The Gopher's
gold bags crossed my mind with
tempting vividness. After a while
the old man came back, took up the
whiskey bottle, removed the candle
from the niche and holding it up be-
tween his face and the light, which
he beld in the other hand seemed to
decide some weighty proposition by
the run of the beads in the bottle, and
then turned and offered it to me in
silence. AS declined his kindness,
he hurriedly took n long draught,
replaced the candle, then came and
sat down close at my side, took his
string, and the old dog again thrust
! his nose between his knees.
You see'-and the man leaned
over to me, and began in a whisper
and a strangeness of manner that sug-
! gested that his mind was wandering
you see, we all come out from BOs-
/ ton together-GOdfrey, that's The
Gopher, Wilson, that's Curly, and 1.
Things didn't go right with nee there
after came away so just left them
drift here. Lost my grip as they say;
didn't have any snap any more, as
people call it. Godfrey and Wilson
got on very well, though, till Wilson
was killed.


Till the Gopher killed him - add
ed.


well, now, there's where it is, said
old FOrty-nine and he shuddered.
/ The dog, too, seemed to grow nerv-
ous, and crowded his ugly head up
J tighter between the old mans legs.
/ Inartistic as it is, must add that
/ here he handed me the string, and
rising solemEly, went deliberately
through the process of removing the
candle, and contemplating the con-
tents of the bottle. Again declined


his offer. was wondering in which
part of that wretched cabin were the
/ bags of gold.


The man sat down and continued
his story exactly as before.


'FThere's where it is. Godfrey did
not kill Wilson. The Gopher did not
/ kill Curley no more than did you.
You see, Curley was young, bright,
beautiful, sunny-faeed boy, that had
been petted to death by his mother
and q house full of sisters, and some
how, out here he fell TO gambling and
| taking bit too much, and one night,
| Uhen Godfrey was TRYING tn oct him