Adventure, June 1911 — page 112: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

298 my sensuous appreciation of the weather and the environment. “Gold is where you find it,”’ sayeth the proverb. The fact that I had failed was no evidence that Black hadn’t found it. Plenty of others had. About nodn we reached the river and the placer ground. A little stream of crystal water raced madly down between two mountains and deboué upon a flat too suddenly to select its own course, and was broken and spread out into a wide estuary . of numberless tiny rivulets between flat, black sand-bars with surfaces almost flush ' with the water and level as billiard-tables. At the junction with the river these bars were gradually submerged, but for a consid- erable distance downstream the left bank was filled in with the same character of deposit. Black got out first and removed a pan and shovel from the bottom of the car. “This is the place,’ he said, waving his arm toward the sand-bars. “Fred, you run the car over to Miller’s and see if you can get some gasoline from him. I’m afraid we're short. Come back here for us.’ We climbed out and Vincent:surveyed the expanse with delight in his eyes, calculating its extent. ‘‘All the land you can use,” said Black, replying to Vincent’s look. “And a river- ful of water to work it—and no expense for umping.” “Has it all been tested—prospected?”’ asked Vincent, nodding toward a couple of shallow holes in the bar opposite. Black shook his head. “By no means, Haven’t had the time for it. But you can see for yourself the formation is the same all over the flat. What holds good for one part of it must hold good for it all. Come, and I'll show you.”’ He stepped across the little stream at his feet and advanced to the middle of the bar. We followed him. The driver had already turned his car about and disappeared behind the shoulder of a hill. Black confidently thrust his shovel into the sand and dumped the contents into the wash-pan. This he carried to the water’s edge and half filled with water, which he proceeded to slush this way and that, spilling it out now and then with the mud and gravel, and continuing the motion until all of the water and most of the dirt had been poured away. “See here!” he said at last, holding up the pan. Adventure He pointed to some tiny, yellowish parti- cles at the lower edge of the black dirt re- maining in the pan. It was perhaps as much as five cents in gold. “But,” he added, “that isn’t saying that’s all there was in the pan. Washing with a pan is the most primitive of methods. Now let’s see what we get here.” He made several trials, six in all, I believe. Five out of the six showed colors. Not one of the washings produced as much as, twenty-five cents in gold—and that wasn’t expected—but on the whole the showing was good and Vincent was plainly impressed. - I saw that it was no longer a question of his une but simply one of price: - We re- turned to dry ground, found a comfortable seat under a scrub pine, and they began to © discuss terms. “TF YOU all are going to sit here and dicker,’’ I said, ‘‘I am going to take a walk about and stretch my legs.’ Lhad a little plan of my-own and I wanted. to see that chauffeur. It wasa good mile to the farmhouse whither he had gone, and after I had seen him and transacted my business I returned to the scene of the bar- aining: “Fred says there’s somechine out of whack with that machine,” I announced as I came up to them. Black’s eyebrows contracted with annoy-~ ance. ‘Let him fix it, then!” he answered irritably. “‘He says he can’t do it,” I informed him. “Why, what in thunder is the matter?” he demanded. “That’s more than I know,” said I, sitting down. “I’m not a mechanic.” He got up in great disgust and began to dust his trousers. ‘‘ Well, I'll be everlast- ingly and eternally——I wonder what that kid thinks he’s fit for, anyway! The car was all right this morning. We'll have to go over there and see what’s the trouble, I suppose.” I deliberately took my pipe from my pocket and filled it. “I am supposing I’m not going to walk that mile.again!” I said with. finality. “I’ve got a prickly-pear needle sticking a full inch into my foot, and I’ve decided to wait here. You can come back this way for me. [I'll be here.” | He favored me with a side-long scowl, and I could see he didn’t like it. ‘Would you like to walk over, Vincent?” he suggested. GOMmIGDOOKSEEO