Show THE prospector AND ITS BURRO aff by will C higgins during our last powwow pow wow said the prospector to his burro 1 I told you how we got jack and his companion down from the practically inaccessible cliff where they had been marooned when the great rock toppled over from above by a lot of rough necks tore away the plateau at the mouth of our tunnel and how we worked our new find after we had settled down to business again and you will remember just as I 1 finished my story jack had fallen down a crevice that had been exposed in the face of the new tunnel while one of the men who had gone down on a rope to rescue him had discovered what he be believed to be precious stones in the cave but that tho rope had parted when he attempted to come up to us with samples of his find the result being that both jack and the man were prisoners a hundred feet below us jack being still unconscious as a result of his fall of course I 1 got busy at once and began to make arrangements for the creature comforts of the imprisoned men we had more rope but as jacks helper had hurt his arm because of the breaking of the cable he was practically helpless nevertheless we lowered more water some chuck and some bedding then I 1 fixed up a cheeve wheel at the mouth of the tunnel running one end out to the drum of the which happened to be in line with the tunnel and not more than feet from m ls its mouth I 1 did not like making the trip but I 1 put on some thick gloves and slid down the rope to where jack and his bis man were in an almost a I 1 helpless condition jack had revived by this time and explained how bow he had fallen into the crevice not anticipating there here had been any change in the formation tion since being on shift the day before I 1 it was a wonder be had not been killed out r right jt but his fall had been somewhat broken because of the narrowness of the crevice it seems lie he had a pick in his hands ban ds when he fell and he had h held eld on to this as for dear life in the descent the pick point would catch into one side while the end of the handle would crowd against the other wall this checked his momentum to a tain extent but in the last ten feet the pick had been turned so that it was parallel with the crevice and jack landed on his back stunned and insensible but with no major injuries sustained he was as sore as a pro german who had been tarred and feathered but otherwise was in good spirits for he was somewhat swelled up over what his helper had told him about finding diamonds and rubies in the cave my first work however was to get the injured men to the top for I 1 knew the precious stones would wait until I 1 had more time to investigate and so I 1 tied the rope under jacks arms and gave the the signal to hoist your mother had been hitched to the sweep of the and after considerable urging on the part of the man I 1 had left in charge of the improvised whim began to wind ivind up the rope it was slow work for jack now weighed nearly pounds finally however he reached the tunnel level and was helped over the collar of the crevice by my helper who dragged him to the tunnels mouth and left him hia there until the two of us still below could be assisted to the top this task was accomplished in due time and it was almost night when we were all safely back to our bunk house where the injured men were carefully attended to and made comfortable you want to know about the rubies and diamonds jacks man had found well I 1 did not look at the samples until the next morning and you may imagine my disappointment and chagrin when I 1 found that they were nothing but caused by water drip through the lime the beautiful coloring being caused by the iron in the formation I 1 could not blame the man for his mistake for in the candlelight candle light these crystals sparkled and glittered like diamonds and rubies and anyone seeing the brilliant display could well imagine lie he was in the diamond palace on kearney street in san francisco jack was disappointed also but said that a bonanza gold mine was good enough for him anyway and he hardly approved of my determination 1 na of making a further investigation of the underground cave where he came within an ace of meeting his final windup and so two or three days after I 1 prepared to make the descent taking with me a plentiful supply of water fo food od and candles I 1 also took about fifty feet of stout rope with me besides a small pick and was prepared for almost any emergency ili 1 I had to be lowered by the rope route and my equipment came down the same way but I 1 had hardly more than gained a footing in the cave before I 1 began to weaken a little and to wish I 1 had not been so set upon ma making king the examination my pride however prevented me from giving dp ap the enterprise and so I 1 set out with the idea of making a short shift of it the cave was quite open for a hundred feet or more and then turned abruptly leading out under the canyon on both sides up to the turn the walls were lined with gold bear ing quartz similar to that showing in the tunnel at the turn however the formation changed and the ground was considerably shattered while the cave became quite irregular in places I 1 could hardly crawl through but I 1 wiggled along until I 1 came to a point where another crevice stopped my progress I 1 did not propose to be stopped however and upon investigation found that the drop was only about twenty feet I 1 was somewhat tired by now and so concluded that a light luncheon would be the proper thing so I 1 eat and drank and must have fallen asleep afterwards for when I 1 awoke I 1 was somewhat chilled and I 1 imagined I 1 could hear the murmur of running water some distance from me I 1 was anxious to conclude my investigations by this time and so after lowering my pack to the bottom of the crevice I 1 fastened one end of my rope to a large rock that had come down from above and slid down to my level and slowly lowered myself for twenty feet at this point the cave widened again and I 1 found myself in quite a large room indeed the roof was so high the feeble ray of my candle could not reach it and when I 1 spoke so many echoes were started that the place seemed full of people this made me feel rather creepy and I 1 began to wish that jack were with me although I 1 well knew the cause of the commotion I 1 had started strange to say the air was fresh and remarkably cool a condition that led me to believe that the cave must lead to some outside opening even if nothing more than a slight fissuring again I 1 thought I 1 heard the murmuring of water although I 1 was surprised at the proposition of a water course existing to such depths and to make sure I 1 was not mistaken I 1 began to search for the underground reservoir holding my candle before me I 1 cautiously advanced going another two hundred feet or more before finally proving the existence of a subterranean stream you may be sure I 1 did not step into it before ascertaining certa ining its depth it was shallow however being only about four inches deep and I 1 judged it to be about thirty feet in width on its further side a sheer wall rose to an unknown beigh beights heigh th thus presenting an obstacle to my further progress unless I 1 followed the stream either up or down its course and this I 1 found to be impossible as steep falls existed some feet up stream and I 1 found another one some feet below I 1 had bad waded down the little river when I 1 discovered the second fall and wondering how far it was to the bottom I 1 picked up a cobblestone about as large 0 as my fist and was about to toss it over the brink when I 1 noticed how heavy it was but my throw was too far gone for me to hold it back and when the rock splashed into the pool below the fall I 1 judged the distance to be about fifty feet my interest was aroused however and so I 1 picked up another stone and found it to be unusually heavy just like the first one the rock was greenish in color and somewhat moss covered but still I 1 was impressed by its seemingly unusual gravity so I 1 took it to the bank of the stream and endeavored to break it with my pick I 1 could not shatter it however but succeeded only in making dents in it this puzzled me indeed I 1 became somewhat excited for when I 1 made a closer examination I 1 found that where the abrasions had been made by the pick yellow gold was plainly visible then it became plain to me that my cobblestone was nothing more than a huge gold nugget and I 1 was sure a candidate for the bug house when I 1 found that the bed of the stream was fairly well covered with these golden heart lined vanderbilt watch charms for an hour or more I 1 was busy in gathering up the nuggets until I 1 had at least a quarter of a ton piled on the bank and then I 1 became aware of the fact that I 1 was hungry again after eating I 1 concluded it was time for me to go back and advise jack of my asto astonish ing discovery and so I 1 took up the home trail until I 1 came to the place where I 1 had left the rope for when I 1 slid down I 1 knew I 1 could climb up a 20 foot line without a ay difficulty before starting up however holver erl tied the pack containing two or three wa gets to the loose end of the rope so that I 1 could haul it up after me then I 1 attempt el the ascent but had hardly made more thai five feet before the rock I 1 fastened it fa gave way and nearly hit me as it toppled over into the lower cave the whole ra rop came with it and I 1 was paralyzed when W hen ni fully realized my plight for I 1 could no nor mon scale the steep wall to the upper cave tha th I 1 could fly and I 1 realized then unless hel came in time I 1 was likely to perish in fin m prison of course I 1 had enough provisions provision with me to last a day or two and I 1 va in no immediate peril but I 1 was obsessed obes bj the th thought ought that possibly jack would not t able to find and rescue me and the go I 1 had found seemed worse than useless 1 me for I 1 would rather have daylight su siz shine and liberty just then than all of th tl gold in the world just how I 1 was rescue e after several days of anxious waiting I 1 v tell you in our next conversation on 1 I want to tell you old long ears c cc 0 or eluded the prospector it is all right have money galore when you have ube liber and sunshine and an opportunity to sped it to your satisfaction but if you have havell million at your feet and it is dark and yo y feel that you may perish all alone anle un help comes you realize that there are ot ott things that can make one happy bemid d wealth and there you are and then some |