Show THE prospector AND MS HIS BURRO AOL 4 wh 1 al 0 iq 1 f it all by will C higgins CIT 11 in our last conversation said the prospector to his burro 1 I told you about about our experience while ex exploring 1 the lost spanish mine in the blue mountains and how after being imprisoned in a from the tunnel level we had broken through the face of one of the drifts into a large cave or cavern the exit from which led out into the bottom of an old crater whose almost sheer walls some fifty feet in heigh heights th presented an impassable barrier to the freedom we sought As I 1 explained to you we were able to catch some rabbits and so were enabled to appease our hunger and were taking a wash at the banks of the little stream the next morning when we were surprised at hearing voices from above which proved to come from the indian maid lueta and jims squaw of course jim was the most surprised for he had left his helpmate help mate at a little settlement when he started out on his prospecting trip with me and he had no idea she would follow us and I 1 had not expected return for a month or more we were mighty glad to see them however and we had quite a powwow pow dow wow after our first greetings before we remembered our situation and the necessity of making our escape from our imprisonment before we got down to business in il this direction however we decided to make m ake an inspection of our surroundings for we had the gold fever again as bad as ever and this was augmented by the fact that we had noticed the fact that the banks of the little stream presented all the ed carmans of carrying gold bearing gravel but we needed a pan to make the test we made known our wants in this particular and the indian women understanding the situ situation acion left at once for our camp at the mouth of the tunnel tun nel returning in half an hour with a regulation gold pan dan so gear cear to the heart of every old prospector this was thrown down to us and also a shovel they had been thoughtful enough to bring with them with these tools we began work at once and the first panning disclosed the fact that the gravel was exceedingly rich for we had washed out almost a pint of the native metal some of the nuggets being as large as a hazle nut you may be sure that we were greatly elated over the discovery for we had a fortune practically within our reach to say nothing of the bars and ingots ingols of gold we had stored away in the storehouse in the tunnel besides other treasure while as for the mine we had hopes that it had not been exhausted by its former owners and that further prospecting and development would uncover new bodies of quartz similar to that which had already been taken out and milled at the it was now nearly noon continued the prospector and we knew that we must call it a full shift and find some way to get out of the crater and back to camp for there was not telling how long it would take to discover some avenue of escape the women were still perched up on the edge of the crater very much interested in our activities and we were thankful when they tossed a bundle down to us which contained some jerked venison and cold flap jacks which we almost devoured we were so hungry after partaking of the refreshments we again took up the problem of escape there was not a place along the sides of the pit where we could gain a footing to climb out and our rope was too short to throw to the top some forty feet above us in one place however there was a small shelf or ledge that seem to offer some promise and on it stood the short stump of a tree making Z a loop in the rope and after many efforts we succeeded in getting the noose over the stump so that we could climb up to the ledge this seemed rather risky for the stump could not be very deeply rooted but we had but little choice and so I 1 took the lead and was soon on the shelf which offered only a precarious footing I 1 had hardly reached the ledge before jim started up after me but he had not ascended more than ten feet before the stump gave way giving my companion a little tumble and leaving me marooned above him hill I 1 had hardly any room to spare and could not see the indian women as the rim of th the basin at this point extended out over the pit so that I 1 was as much isolated as it if there was no one within a thousand and miles of me it was no laughing matter believe me and I 1 am glad that you can see the seriousness of the situation for it would hurt my feelings if you would only smile at the extremity we were in jim was only bruised but th the e language he used was not generally en em 1 aloyed at any pink tea affair and as f for or me what I 1 thought at tile the time would not be passed by the censor if given in cold print As for expression tile the girls if they gig aled any they were careful not to let us hear them and you may b be e sure that rather we were a solemn crowd by the time the sun 4 be began bean 6 an to sink in the w west est of course a would be comfortable during im 1111 the night nigh t but p as for me I 1 needed all of ray my senses to aeed 1 from falling down into the crater and 1 if if did I 1 could see my finish and so I 1 stood st where I 1 was feeling mighty 1 gloomy and 1 wishing I 1 Ws was down with jim again and I 1 as my eyes roved around seeking some vos pos sible si ble means of relief from f boril my iny cramped crampe d I 1 was startled to see what se seemed emed to be a rope dangling in the air about six feet in front of me and I 1 was not long inre ill r a aliz I 1 az ing the fact that the indian women had torn a blanket in strips and had let down do wn one end of the improvised rope with the intent and hope that I 1 would be able to to secure it and be hauled up to the surface it looked mighty risky for it meant a jump of silk feet or more to reach it and a failure would send me crashing into the abyss below or if I 1 was able to grasp it the sudden pull on the rope might break it or cause it to give way from its moorings above I 1 hardly knew what to do but I 1 could S see e e jim motioning to me from the pit to make the effort and so 1 I jumped I 1 grasped the rope with both hands and it would have slipped I 1 from my hands but for the knots that were vere in it for a moment or two I 1 hung out in space hardly daring 0 to breathe and then I 1 felt myself bein being slowly hoisted As I 1 neared the rim rock strong hands and arms reached out and gave me additional cups sups su port and almost before I 1 realized it I 1 was over the top to I 1 and safe and sound of course I 1 was grateful but could hardly imagine hoff the two squaws squads could have the strength I 1 to pull me up let alone with withstanding the shod shock when I 1 jumped and grabbed the rope the th secret of the resistance was soon solved however for the women had brought up 0 our two burros and had hitched them tandem tana to the upper end of the rope and by ali their united efforts had hoisted me ta the surface and I 1 d h y ad a it had been a scramble however called forth the full strength of the w burros 0 who in the effort to maintain their theira what w ap of had scraped a away w ay the covering bat feared at first to be only a badt badger ger bo hole which upon investigation I 1 found fo to be td led do which a regular passage way the floor of the basin with gre great at caution of 0 escape I 1 investigated this seeming avenue to the for jim and finally found an P y pit which had been hidden fron from our be sure a pile of broken rock you m W a j that jim was surprised to see me it tas as emerged from the secret passage and a to tte not long before b I 1 led him hill upward ab aeta ta L for arl arms n S of his bis waiting wife As alth lab gave alt me a cl rather reserved icat gre greeting 0 ting that I 1 anew by the expression of her eyes u ove over r our she was pleased beyond measure it bel taken escape and the part she had she of c ing us out of our difficulty retard knew that I 1 had not expect expected ea her w s be qt so soon but she explained to taeg n e hodgest at she could that upon her arr arriva ivill her fathers camp she had found jims squaw there anxious togo to go on to her man whom she had trailed from the settlement and that for this reason she had come back much sooner than she had planned to do this explanation of course was satisfactory to us all although I 1 had cheris cherished hect a secret wish that she had returned so soon chiefly because she wanted to see me it did not take us long to return to our camp and we had a feast that night t that was fit for the gods in my next confab I 1 will tell you how we arranged to profit by the wonderful discoveries we had already made as it is now time to bunk in for the night 1 I want to tell you old long ears concluded the prospector it surely was a relief to jim and I 1 to be finally rescued from our plight and while we appreciated our escape we were in nowise sorry because of the means employed and there you are and then some |