Show prospector AND MS BURRO apo by will C higgins when we last had our fireside fire side chat said the prospector to his burro 1 I told you how jim art and myself had made a visit of inspection of the upper tunnel of the long lost mine which we named the fairview and how pleased we were to find wonderful bodies of rich ore in its old workings As a matter of fact we were surprised beyond measure over what we had found and were returning to camp with samples of the high grade rock when art was fired upon by a hidden foe as he stepped out of the tunnel entrance into daylight and how all three of us raced ta to the mouth of the secret stairway behind the forge where Top feather had sought safety and from which point ot of vantage he was beckoning to us of course you will remember that Top feather had told us in a very few words that soon after we had entered the tunnel he had discovered the presence of enemies who were hidden in a clump of bushes about yards below our camp how he had directed direct edthe the two squaws squads to seek refuge in little eldorado by means of the secret stairway and how he had gathered up what firearms he could and had conveyed them to the opening behind the forge before he was fired upon by men who seemed to be hostile to us receiving a slight flesh wound before lie he could make a clean getaway at tho first landing in the stairway which 1 had ad been cut into the cliff and up to ou our little li ie basin which presented a natural fortress feather to guard the en we had left Top trance ranee while the three of us went on up to S little eldorado whose sheltering cliff s we had left but a few days before here we were engaged in r planning a system of de bense which would eventually rout our enemies S and enable us to retains retain possession of the wonderful property we had discovered proper knew that for or we i position in tn our secure be a watching and waiting us it would only could hold the stairway game for one man against an army 0 with its numerous turns to do nothing invaders and so we decided ye but guard the passage for the tinie time being way from little eldorado to the bottom of the cliff feeling well assured that nothing could injure us from below or from above it was nearly dark by this time and so we arranged to do picket duty at the head of the stairway one of us to be on duty for three hours before getting our relief the rest of us meanwhile obtaining sleep and rest art went on guard first relieving Top feather who announced that the attacking party consisting of about twenty renegade indians and outlaw mexicans at af ter looting the cabins had finally discovered the entrance to the secret stairway upon making this discovery a rush had been made to force a passage but that when half a dozen had crowded the opening a well directed shot from his rifle had checked the attack with a considerable slaughter in the ranks of the foe after that there had been silence and it was hari hard ly probable that another attack would be b made for several hours at least when art had been stationed at the second landing we all retired to our sylvan camp anduar took of a most appetizing supper the squaws squads had prepared for us lueta was delighted to see Top feather again and rejoiced that their had suffered no harm during the hurried rush from the cabins on the outside after supper jim and I 1 discussed the situation and were enabled to get a little sleep before it was time to chan change e guard then both of us went to where art was stationed and found to our surprise that he had been having a little battle of his own while we had been waiting our turn to relieve him according to his story he had stood at the turn in the stairway for an hour or more the darkness being in tense with nothing to cause him any uneasiness until all at once lie he imagined he had heard a slight noise coming from be low he listened intently but could hear nothing more and had about abou t relaxed his caution when again the sound aroused him and he finally became aware that someone was slowly crawling up the stairs he hard ly breathed for awhile and when finally convinced that the skulking enemy was near him he bent over and almost by instinct lie he grasped the form of a man around the waist raised him up and then hurled him into the abyss below A cry of anguish rose as the victim of his enormous strength crashed onto the first landing and hurrying hurry inq footsteps told him that several of the enemy had been engaged in the attempt to surprise him while at least one of them had been very severely if not mortally injured during the contemplated attack it was my turn now to guard the pass and art anil and jim went up to camp it was dull work believe me but not dangerous for the enemy would hardly make a second attempt that night to force the passage still it was about midnight when I 1 heard some commotion down by the forge and it was not long before dense volumes of smoke came surging up the stairway our foes evidently imagining that our little party had taken refuge in a cave or cavern from which we would be forced to leave or vacate as soon as the smoke reached us this amused me exceedingly but I 1 was glad that such an ineffectual method had been adopted in the endeavor to conquer us for all I 1 had to do was to go up to the top landing to be free from the effects of the smoke jim joined me here and we watched together until morning when top feather again took his turn as guard during the day following we were unmolested excepting that about noon smoke was seen ascending from the crevices of the trap door coming up through the fissure we had discovered at the face of the upper tunnel this however did not disturb us and we partook of our meals slept and relaxed as if we were only a pleasure party out on a camping trip for three or four days continued ali the prospector we were virtual prisoners although enjoying all the freedom that little eldorado could afford the women tended the goats and furnished us with an abundance of milk and butter while top feather kept us well supplied with fresn fresa meat consisting principally of quail and rabbit although a fat goat was killed to help out the menu it was while hunting quail that Top feather wounded one that endeavored deavo red to get away by dodging behind a slab of rock that rested against the side of the cliff pulling this aside the indian was surprised to find an opening that appeared to be a tunnel going into this he felt his way for some three hundred feet when he found that its outer portal looked down into the valley and over towards the blue mountains cautiously approaching this opening he found that the tunnel had been constructed ted to serve as a lookout for those who might inhabit little eldorado and that from its mouth one could look down upon our camp at the edge of the cliff and on the plateau on which the cabins had been built A little had found root at the very edge of the cliff behind which Top feather crouched and looking down to the base of the precipice feet below was able to see that a group of our enemies some ten or fifteen in number had gathered directly below him as if holding a council of war the opportunity was too great for him to resist and running through the tunnel to our little basin lie he secured a rock as large as he could carry with some difficulty he took this to the lookout look out opening and carefully pushed it over the rim without being observed by those below the bowlder boulder fell with terrific speed and landed in the very center of our enemies killing a number and terribly wounding several more with a cry of dismay those who were uninjured fled over the plateau and down the mountainside and when the indian had rejoined us and related to us his experience and adventure we felt sure the siege had been lifted and that we were free to return to our old camp near the mouth of the upper tunnel it was then about noon and jini jim art and myself decided to make a sortie and see if the coas coast was really clear with great caution we descended the stairway and brushed away the barricade the outlaws had built against its entrance nothing happened to cause us any alarm however and gradually we worked our way around the old forge until we came in sight of the spot where the renegade band had suffered such a calamity feeling in no danger we openly approached the scene of disaster and found that Top feather with his big rock had killed five of the enemy outright while five more had been so badly injured that they could not make their escape these we conveyed to one of the cabins for they were helpless and cared for them the best we could we decided however to remain in camp in little eldorado for several days or until we had every reason to believe that there was no more danger of attack just what happened after the very satisfactory ending of the siege I 1 will tell you in our next conversation for it is now time to turn in for the n night ight it 1 I want to tell you old long ears concluded the prospector in our secure position up in little eldorado we were as safe as if we had been guarded by battleships and destroyers for there was no way by which an enemy could have harmed us still we were glad when we had our freedom again for no one would like to endure imprisonment even if in paradise and ancl there you are and then some |