Show A DESERT RAT AND HIS HOTEL some thirty miles east of tonopah To on the highway to ely bellehelen Bell ehelen and way points the traveler nearing b the floor of monitor valley rounds a point of rock and finds himself in a small settlement that holds some surprises one of these is the personality of jack dark clark proprietor of darks clarks station desert rat world traveler big game hunter in african wilds student naturalist and genial host the station consists of a row of low buildings that embrace dining Z and livin living 9 quarters and store a corral and spring the spring b Is is a 15 foot square reservoir of crystal clear water in which a are re a dozen or more brook trout and the tahe overflow fills a concrete swi swimming tank with a brown fez cocked over his eyebrows for protection from the desert sun dark clark shows the curious visitor his domain A handful of bread crumbs thrown in the spring brings a rush of speckled beauties from all part of the pool and one ten inch rainbow almost answering to the name of bill nibbles playfully at darks clarks finger iced drinks fruit and delectable meals ma may y be obtained and the dining 1 15 room kitchen and other rooms are models of cleanliness and order A 60 foot hose is in constant use to keep the surrounding territory free from dust clark has his own system of bookkeeping A mining company operating in a camp to the east and making za frequent use of the station and its accommodations had become indebted to dark clark during one month for some thirty odd dollars A formal note was sent dark clark asking for an itemized statement Lt and to supply this demand dark clark simply sawed out the section of wallboard wall board in his store upon which he had noted the various charged items and sent the board to the companas comp anys office if that satisfy em he remarked ill send em the rest of the damn building jack like the flat country and is aarin to go back to the hills and the life of a prospector too many worries being b a hotel proprietor nevada mining press |