Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 257 — page 2: what you’re looking at

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

_—— + - ~ Death-Trap Diggings ; from *Way Back. A Hard Man . BY JOS. E. BADGER, JR., AUTHOR OF ‘‘ ELEPHANT TOM,” “ SPITFIRE SAUL,” ‘*‘ OLD '49,” ** JOAQUIN, THE SADDLE KING,” ETC., ETC. PART Tf. CHAPTER L, §inewy back, casting aw upward glance at eter ihan's(alogh? i the ob ess her then brushed the thick drops of’sweat fr A half-dozen sturdy fellows strung line, with just room enough between them _to admit of the free swingi * conversation, thong growing hot and hotter, as the last remnant of shade clings closer to the rough rock walls which environ the little valley... Working like alley-slaves under the eye of a cruel taskmas- | “ter, one would think at first glance; a second ‘would decidé them willing slaves’ -No sparing of musclé, 10 playing’’** old ‘soldier.” Every blow dealt with a will, not idly nor carelessly, but with an eye to counting in the sum total of Th day’s Neen ' 7 eir surroundings, their manner of working, Ye todls they used, all Shodiadnea their clini di their Manner. ad Plainly declaréd”thagf they were not seeking in vain. 7 | ‘“* Noon, mates!” cried Ralph Burnham, cheer- ily. ‘*Twelve o’clock—or nigh enough to it for a blazing hot day like this. Knock off wark, take a bit o’ scrubbing up, for unless my,nose lies, the womeu-folk have nigh about got grub ready.” | err nT mre “That's the best word [ve heard since the call to breakfast,” a ag & Tithe, ‘trim-buailt young fellow, giving his rude “ long-tom” a parting shake before leaving if, ‘‘It’s fun alive, * o cf . 7: ‘Se - be A. nA 7 ~~ S he eee LS f ‘ASOT £O - war ing so. Tete me precious 1 eh er be . ’ » * ’ ' * " alrin: er } ci fet 5 atl NPT Pl ere ee : t¥ 2, d * : et > a “e a | a ra +-~ ~ or) ot). See, ‘ ~ § “If would be no laughing matter should that mn give way,” soberly. ‘‘ Not a soul of us : I planned it all.” __**A ‘fact of which you should be proud, too, Not one man in a hundred would have thought of sacle thing, nor one out of a thousand haye » carried it to'such perfect success. I was one of ; the first to laugh at the idea, but now I take off I my hat to you as a genius, a modern Midas— » Minus the ears.” ; Bi, Hint 1 escape. And I can’t help.remembering Ee | ‘*f peckon you know what youre talking about, if I don’t, with your ars and your p geniuses; but I do know this much: only forme ; we, wouldn't behere. If we git out all right I | wouldn’t be a man if [ didn’t take what credit » thi _But it it fails—if anything be pen-— ‘to shoulder the the, light response, with out them. ‘Ten seconds, | t close the account for us te ee » - ; ’ : . “Tf Ewas planted om of a grave’a hundred feet deep it hold me franything happened to the » through my doin’s,” ~ Benedict glanced, keenly into the x face of the man beside him, and ing th Date «Seg ala the jest- ing words whieh rose to» lips.. This was feeling far too powerfal for -idlé speech, and in silence they sealed the iffieult pass, pausing upon the of a rudeédam, It was or a scene, we a descrip- tion in fall, if only fora m under- standing of the tragic events*which were fated to follow each other in such.rapid succession, ... At the feet of the two men, lay a basin-like two hundred ~yards in its greatest diameter, deepest in its center, and gradually sloping toward the sides, much like the bed of a minia- ture lake. —. On {be east and west, rock walls rose abrupt. sii Death-Trap Diggings. ging of pick or plying. of. » long-handled shovel, sparing ria aia jest. or | h the rays of the san ‘are | Z ' 4‘. \ 9 & i£ a ~ *rexe ‘ 4 ¥ oF, at ¥ oY i saa fe “<i . J . - friend.” oy “All Pye lefé tome on this airth is pending rah favély. ‘‘ Berthy and little Davy, here... : | hike “* But I jest do!” nodded Burnham, mas oblong and curvilinear in shape, about } u ly, rough and broken, yet presenting difficulties such as few men cotta. surmount, save in two places, where winding trails led to the summit. At the lower end, or that furthest from where the two men now stood, the rocky barrier was cut away in a narrow pass toa level with the gravelly bed within. Through this could be obtained a glimpse of a level plain beyond, across which ran the broad, shallow bed of what had recently been a con- siderable stream of water. Directly beneath the. two miners, the rocks were wet and covered with a slimy moss, the earth having been eaten away from between them as though by falling water, but their gaze did not linger here, as the sound of a light foot- HE VALLEY.OF GOLD, >.» _ | step caused them to turn around, just as a RALPH BuRNHAM Straighteacd his broad, ‘slender, trail-looking lad just entering his teens, All's well so far, Davy?” asked Ralph Burn- s | ham, bis Voice softenipg as he tapped the lad agin. * t them)” proud heavy. s ; ¥ cried tMabadbester, ‘of noble trout from ad | “up for inspection. y ke fun, until enrttle while ago, but a big rascal bu’ my line, an’ I knowed you “wouldn't: likeome.;te »eome down afore you ‘Good lad—but you mustn't fergit what you was sot to do, fish or no fish, Davy. We ’pend on you, while we work, and jesta little keerless- ness,_or a minnit’s fergetfulness; mought—wipe us all off o’ the face o’ the airth. You went your rounds reg’lar, Davy?’ asked Burnham, ‘*Didn’t you tell mé to be sure?” simply, as though that. fact was all-sufficient:answer, The father nodded approvingly, as his keen gray eyes roved over the scene, ‘Look A long, wedge-shaped pond of water, tiny waves lipping against the dam, almost level bak ifs top. ‘The dam a rude ' sy car wStructure, ¢omposed “of rocks,’ Patt? brush and soil, tightly packed ‘and, beaten to- gether, , Fifty yards from where the trio stood, the pent-up water rushed roaring through a nar- row channel or sluiceway, cut-at-a& Sharp atigle ~ to the dam, thus allowing all surplus water to ja and greatly lessening the strain upon the am Ralphi Burnham: led the: way to this;;point, peneieg close upon its edge, looking thought- ully at the burrying element. out golden p] |. This channel was plainly the work of buman - a oe ae ue at ‘ ~~ Be - A k marks ¥v a _ er ¥ itea , ug s ty - several 8, Eiuih. ‘gromud was gained, where there was fall 7 ‘3 al { ‘in too big a hurry fer our own id Baurhham, tapping a huge bowlder ted close to the cnt. “ We should hey is dornick out 0? the way. Ef it was way onderneath, and fall down th r it would turn t a lazy gape, with fears forvw “ae 2 wre turning your hair gri onto it,” You kin Jaugh and tak® it easy, only yourself to think for, So coul any my own life.” - WH lay benedict laughed shortly, She “TI would fight as hard as you, @ven, to-mve such disaster—and I don’t overvalue my either, There’s something down yonder th is worth far more, inmy estim **The dust, I reckon Tet it was T, ef it was filled the eyes of his ¢ofipanion. ‘Ib is @ monstrous pritty pile—. Davy, boy, git your fish, and while yow’re waitin here, I’ll have one cooked for your dinner. Not-that I cain’t trust him, boy as‘he is, like a. gray-head, but. it.don’t make things an y better to talk them over afore too many ears, * Still barpin on the safety of the dam?” ‘‘Not now. meant bout the dust. How much do you reckon we've got out in the two weeks we've bin at work down thar? “Pretty tidy day-wages—a couple of thou- sand meee, T dare sey responded Benedict, the light in his eyes quickening, and his bronzed cheek flushing as he waved bis hat in answer to a white fluttering signal from the little camp below. ‘Miss Bertha is calling us to dinner.” ‘Worse than that, my boy,” chuckled Burn- ham, emphasizing his words with a wood- pecker like tapping of one forefinger against tha chest of his mate. ‘‘Double them figgers, and then you won’t tetch bottom, by a right smart heap!” : “What! you don’t mean—” A emphat- ically..‘‘I tuck and weighed it all out last night; and though I ain’t'so powerful hefty on ficgerin’, it ain’t so bard to eount up what five bunderd an’ twenty ounces o’ clean dust an’ nuggets mounts to; and that’s jest the size 0’ our pile so fur!” ry off the water without artifi- le ! thar, . ) ck enough water to blow that 6 | dam toetarnity!” ... 2 )) Pel ee ‘* Little danger of that,” said vet ey A | t will never happen, old |. SFO 4 : AE Eg ; yp sss or ee ati n.” 3 A e aN * simply added Barnham, not noticing the bright, yet soft, light which In genuine surprise, Clay Benedict made a rapid calculation in bis mind, taking the aver- age value of an ounce of gold-dust as a factor, then muttering: Se hundred thousand dollars! Impossi- e| ‘*Heap big words, ain’t they?’ laughed the veteran, grimly. “Kinder stretch a feller’s throat to spit ‘em out? But all the same it’s gospel truth I’m givin’ ye, lad, though you don’t need to crack it up to the boys jest yit.” ‘‘ You mean to keep it secret from them?” ‘Fer jest now, sartin,” was the quick re- sponse. ‘*‘They’re a good average lot, take ’em as men run, but I reckon they’ve got thar fail- in’s, like all the rest 0’ mankind. They hain’ no idee the pile’s so big—” : : **T can hardly believe it myself!” interjected Benedict. ‘‘‘I knew we were making enormots wages, but I never dreamed that the sum fotal Was One balf what you state.” he veteran chuckled softly. “‘Mebbe I did tell a white lie or two to the boys, but it don’t rest very heavy onto my conscience. You know I do all the weighin’ each night afore stowin’ away the clean-up, an’ whar the lads trust a feller like they do ig it wasn’t very bard to dust thar eyes a He paused abruptly, gezing intently into the eyes of Clay Benedict, his bronzed cheek flush- ing hotly at what he read there. Or was it all fancy? ‘* You started to say somethin’, young man. Spit it out!” be muttered, his,voice soundi eruff and stern. ; ee. f y ‘Twas not aware of the fact,” with 4 Half lauzh; ‘* but since you press me, I admit think- | ing how fortunate it was for the lads down yon- der that you are an honest man.” : 9 sinewy hand closed upon his shoulder, and w rofl 11 bim about so that they stood fairly peat facém The blue eyes glowed hotly as the ve spoke again: Se ae. ri Mase ores one meanin’ to them words 0’ | yourn, boy, unless I’m greatly mistook. S’pos- | in’ I wasn’t a honest man?” “*In that case, you could makea mighty good thing of it,” was the quick response, as black eyes met blue, ‘* Ldon’t believe the boys know | that they’re entitled to one-half the amount you | mentions», You-eould: pocket fifty thousand dollars, and not one of them Bea A be a mite the wiser, while—” ‘» “ Bite it off, rightythar!’ grated Burnham, k | his yoice trembling Yn “anger, bis grip tight- te ening unt Benedict inched from actual pain. -“T hope 1 don’t. misunderstand ye, lad. Ef I thought fer a minnit you was in airnest, much as I’ye liked ye, I'd ram them-words down your throat with my fist, an’ toss ye into the race, éer the water to kerry you to the deyil that putt the insult onto your tongue.” .. 2. --- ‘* And serve me rightly) toog? hastily-uttered S the otber, wresting, lingelf free, then exterd- jing bis hand; with a; augh “My dear-sir, how could you so utterlyamistake Ea Ly *) % 4 ge .. “You didn't t,t nen ?’ ee ou’ gold ¥ ith which You are eredited by wm, yonder. From my. own expect- now Ree they wouldibe perfectly sat. a the Jesser sum. - The iden strack me, ae a good thing you could make of it, by sim- MADE OU: tO” Re potas you asked welt was a Wsulf to me, ef you thought Pd steal the value of one dollar ae bi the lads that wt me—” “* But I didn’t think any such thiv | Interposed-Benedict. ‘‘ Come, old friend: thin no more of it. I meant no barm, but al) the same, if it will make you feel any easier, I’!] beg your pardon-on my bended knees.” I don’t ax thai, lad,” and the brawny hand wrung the more sbapely member warmly. **'We’ll call it a joke an’ let it go at that; but I hope Fou won’t hint at seech a thing ag’in,” ‘* No danger, after this experience. Ill not even breathe a word of the truth to the lads,” ‘‘ Which is what I started to ax ye. They're g00d boys, but they’re no more’n human, when all’s said, an’ ef they--once knowed how rich they actilly be, ten to one they’d want to pull out fer home, or else héyv a spree over it, an’ so lose time which we cain’t a’ford, I don’t want to stop in sech a death-trap one-hour longer’n I | hey to, but we’d-be wuss than fools to pul] up stakes afore the bed is fa’rly cleaned out.” “Jf you would only take oy advice and station the camp outside; or at least have the women “ce a A “ates place—” Ral urnbam flung out one hand w} impat ent esture, as. he replied : Aire reasons; an’. wher it-was-talked—of last night Ce ee ey Ot enin tone ne Mighty Come; r’s Berthy motionin’ to us fer ” Les vit + Stig grub. Le’s git Yet Ralph Burnham cast a ,»” quick] ne ES last uneasy EOMIGDOOKS (E(e) -