Show THE prospector AND HIS BURRO if ad ae k by will C higgins during our last conversation said the prospector to his burro 1 I told you the story of my examination of the cave or crevice into which jack had fallen and how bow I 1 had found another cavity into which I 1 had descended sc first fastening one end of my rope to a huge boulder boulder that lay on the floor of the cave how I 1 had discovered a watercourse whose bed was littered with nuggets of pure gold as large as my fist and how when I 1 attempted to get back to the crevice through which jack had fallen I 1 had bad pulled the boulder over into the lower cave shutting off my avenue of escape and making a virtual prisoner of myself of course I 1 counted upon jack coming to my rescue but still I 1 was nervous and uneasy sometimes falling into a broken sleep from which I 1 would awaken with a start half conscious and frightened two or three times I 1 lunched from my rapidly diminishing grub sack and as many time I 1 made my way to the underground stream where I 1 satisfied my thirst but believe me I 1 paid no more I 1 attention to the nuggets of gold I 1 had piled up on its bank than I 1 would to the cobble stones with which so many of the streets of san francisco are paved after such visits I 1 would go back to the fissure that balked my efforts to escape and would holler til I 1 was as hoarse as a fog horn and as black in the face as a coal heaver hoping that I 1 might attract the at atten tenion on of jack and his companions who I 1 felt convinced must be searching for me by this time after awhile I 1 tell fell aslee asleep p again and I 1 must have been in dreamland for hours pos sibly for a whole day for when I 1 awoke I 1 was cold and stiff and also hu hungry agry I 1 now became convinced that something must have happened to jack or he would have rescued me by this time and so I 1 began beg an moving abou arou around nd and as I 1 warmed up with the exercise I 1 determined to make an effort to escape by means of some other route and so I 1 gathered up my pack and rope and once again found myself on the brink of the sub I 1 stream here I 1 put one of the gold nuggets in my pack and then headed up tip the watercourse to the first fall this was only about ten or fifteen feet in height and after a careful examination I 1 found a place on one side up which I 1 was able to make my way after most strenuous exertions here I 1 found conditions about the same as existed below with gold nuggets strewing the bed of the stream advancing along this high vaulted passage way I 1 traveled for two or three hundred feet more when I 1 encountered another fall and this effectually frustrated any further advance in that direction for it must have been fifty feet to its top and I 1 could find no way by which I 1 could climb to the new level I 1 was now completely discouraged and almost gave myself up as lost and my thoughts were all concerning those who I 1 had left in camp including your mother still I 1 did not give up hope entirely but groped about trying to find some possible avenue of escape it was while so engaged that I 1 came to a small opening in one of the walls of the cavern through which there was a rush of fresh air As a last chance I 1 crawled into this opening which was very small and continued on my hands and knees until I 1 was about exhausted then I 1 went to sleep again and I 1 guess it must have been in the ight time for I 1 had lost all sense of reckoning as far as the time of day was concerned for when I 1 came to life again I 1 was surprised to see a shaft of daylight enlivening the gloom of my underground prison towards this light I 1 made my way with much emotion and trembling for I 1 now felt sure some chance remained of escaping from my perilous position after what seemed hours I 1 managed to get to the opening on the surface and when I 1 finally emerged into sunlight I 1 found that I 1 was in a series of broken cliffs overlooking our camp my escape gave me renewed strength and courage and after another hour of hard climbing I 1 found myself in the camp again nearly down and out 1 I found the camp deserted continued the prospector but this was just about chati expected for I 1 felt satish satisfied led that my three companions were somewhere underground der ground looking for me the first thing I 1 did was to get me a real feast after which I 1 went to the tunnel the day was hot and muggy and there was a trembling in the air which suggested the approach of a tropical storm I 1 did not mind this however but went into the tunnel where at the top of the crevice I 1 found the man who had bad broken his arm the day he had gone to the relief of jack and from him I 1 learned that jack and the other man had started in search of me three days before three days of anxious waiting and suspense and he be had heard nothing from them since you must be sure I 1 was terribly alarmed by this time and in my mind I 1 had bad given up all hope of their return when to my great joy I 1 heard jack calling from below he managed to tell me that they had bad escaped from a very serious predicament but that his companion had been severely injured and that he himself was very weak but to get them out of that hellhole hell hole as soon as possible again the improvised hoist was brought into action and within half an hour we had jacks companion up on the tunnel level both arms being broken while one or two ribs had been misplaced soon after we had jack to the top and he was so used up he could hardly walk of course we conveyed the sufferers to camp as rapidly as possible and I 1 began at once to alleviate their sufferings for I 1 was the only one of the four who had not been disabled As soon as all was comfortable jack told me of his experiences he had waited at the top of the crevice all day awaiting my return and when I 1 failed to put in an appearance by midnight he decided that something was wrong and decided to go to my rescue with the other man they slid down the rope leaving the man with the broken arm on top when they reached the level of the cave they started in search for me but instead n of taking the course I 1 had followed they turned in the opposite direction going for at least a thousand feet into the mountainside and the further they went the further away they were from me once or twice they thought they heard my shouting but my appeals for aid seemed to come from a dozen different directions and so they wandered about through a multitude of small eaves caves and caverns until very unexpectedly a rock slide had caught jacks helper nearly crushing him to death As it was he was seriously injured and for almost a day was unconscious jack had worked heroically in rescuing his companion after which he made strenuous efforts to drag him back to the opening below the tunnel level but he had lost his way and after butting upon a blind wall time after time he had almost given up hope of escape when he found himself within sound of my voice then I 1 related my experience peri ence to the bunch who could hardly believe my story of the discovery of the underground der ground river and the gold nuggets which its bed contained but when I 1 took the nugget from my pack as proof they nearly went wild with excitement and began at once planning ways and means of getting out the treasure it was now well along towards morning and we were all dozing and more than half asleep when we were aroused by a thundering noise and the shaking of the ground of course we realized the situation at once for at least two of us had had earthquake experiences before we were frightened but remained where we were believing that our camp was as safe a place as could be found in the neigh lii hood and we were glad we were not wide f fees ground occasionally a bowlder boulder would allee coz corn es rolling down perilously sly near to us but a a daylight appeared and the quaking subside subsided i we ventured to look out and were amaze essa to note the wonderful change that had 0 01 air FOP I 1 burred in the contour of the canyon wall wal la 11 by which we were almost surrounded tl th steep precipices had given way to the shock until below us what had formerly been a 4 ye deep gorge now presented the appearance of a vast plateau while the course of th the stream had been blocked to such an ei extent that a lake was rapidly forming at our our pa feet and we saw we must move camp aalt once in order to escape being engulfed engulf edby it waters there was no evidence what ever of the former existence of our tunnel B 1 and when we at last reached high ground I 1 1 not a stiege ve was left of our camp so rap c K idly had the lake risen and we had every reason to believe that all of the under st ground passages where we had so recently BL been imprisoned had been flooded showing n that we had had a most narrow escape P from annihilation 1 I want to tell you old long ears cond eluded the prospector that we were a sor ry looking lot that trailed down the canyon irl late that afternoon headed for the little town out near the edge of the deseret for we had lost everything our strata mine had vanished almost before our eyes the diamonds and rubles rubies had proven a myth and we were de barred forever from y ery of the great mass of gold nuggets I 1 had found and we felt like a party of refu gees as we trailed on the one ray of happ happiness being that we had all escaped for a man although broke is worth a dozen dead men any day and there you are and then the some |