The Argosy, Vol. 82, No. 3 — page 174: what you’re looking at

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

548 the bits of rock that weighed down his coat. “You see, judge, I was bruised and sore, and my head was aching, and—” “Where did you get these samples?” cut in Judge Brand, catching up one of the white fragments and staring at it. “Samples?” echoed Reeves. “I don’t know what you mean. There was a coyote in the pocket and I gathered up a supply of stones to drive the brute ahead of me, and show me a way out of the place.” The judge, without answering, took a spectacle-case from the breast of his flannel shirt, opened it and got the glasses on his nose; then, through the lenses, his deep-set eyes peered at the white stone. He drew a long breath. “And this,” he muttered,“ has been found in the vicinity of the old, played-out min- ing camp! Why, if some of those old-timers had made the discovery, Rattlesnake City might to-day have been a metropolis! The gulch diggings petered out, but’ no one ever found the mother lode. Now—now—” He broke off and whirled excitedly on Reeves. “Don’t you know,” he demanded sharply, “that this is ore? Look at those yellow specks, Reeves!” and he held out the bit of float and pointed. “That is gold, man!” he added. “You mean that I have found some gold ore?” queried the Tenderfoot. The judge turned suddenly to Jack Lightning-that-Strikes. “Go back to the camp, Jack,” said he, “and say nothing about this. Great joke on the Tenderfoot, eh?” He laughed shortly. “Let it go at that.” Old Lightning-that-Strikes grunted again and moved off down the gully. The judge once more faced Reeves. “T’m an old prospector,” he went on, “and I know this stuff when I see it. Will you take me back to where you found the float? I want to look the ground over.” “T haven’t had any breakfast,’”’ demurred Reeves, “and I’m pretty hungry.” “Bother that!” said the judge. “You have probably stumbled into more luck than you dream of, and we’ve got to run out this trail while it’s fresh. Lead the way.” Judge Brand was excited; it was the first time Reeves had ever seen him so wrought up. They went back to the pocket, and the judge looked it over from the rim with de- lighted and wondering eyes; then they went down by the fissure, the ledge and the vine- THE ARGOSY. masked slope, and Reeves showed the place where he had picked up the float. The judge became busy, at once, and every now and then an exclamation of de- light would break from his lips. Reeves stood apart and watched curi- ously while he worked. The old gentleman was too preoccupied with his labors to make ‘any explanations. He hurried all around the pocket, he su1- veyed the walls, he went down on his knees and scooped up sand from the bottom of the little creek, and finally he heaped up a cairn of stones with a stick in its center and fastened a piece of paper to it with a sliver. He had torn the paper from a note-book and he had written something on it. The sun was past the zenith when he finally came to the Tenderfoot’s side, warm and perspiring, but fairly glowing with happi- ness. “This is all I lacked, Reeves,” he re- marked, ‘‘to make my pleasure in the old camp complete. That case of nostalgia is going to pan out big,” and he chuckled. ‘“FYow the old fellows who lived in Rattle- snake City ever missed this is more than I can guess. The whole bottom of this pocket is full of placer gold! Why, that little creek is a veritable Pactolus! “But that isn’t the big thing, although it’s enough to make the revival of the old camp permanent. The ledge of gold where I have piled the monument is the thing most worth while. We’ve got to hurry back to Nugget Notch, and then I’m going to make a quick trip to Penyan. Don’t breathe a whisper about this in the camp! Understand? At the right time, when we have made our own selections, we'll turn the crowd loose in the pocket, and let them gather up the trimmings. From the looks of things, you have blundered upon a for- tune.” “That’s all right, judge,” returned Reeves, “but you seem to forget I am near- ly starved. Haven’t had any breakfast, and now it’s past dinner-time, and—” “You will be well repaid for your dis- comforts,” cut in the judge. ‘That pre- liminary notice is put up for you,” and he waved a hand toward the monument, the stick and the scrap of white paper. “It is right that you should have the big pickings, and Ill see that you get them.” He ceased speaking suddenly, and went into a roar of laughter. ‘Say, Reeves,” he added presently, wip- EOPMNIC OOOKS (E@)