Show S OLD MISERY MISERY I By Hugh Continued from yesterday l Ills His is good fortune has made him plumb gravely agreed To- To bin Some fools git upset I if they have a streak of ot luck Hows How's diggings diggings dig dig- gings 1 Hows diggings passionately telY repeated Phelps You know damned well there ant t any You Youn Youn Youn n your our friend fixed It sos so's I Id I'd d be thousand robbed of moen thirty dollars You knew lenew all along that claim had been salted Cant Can't t make who me believe belle you dont don't know salted it Old Misery rested an elbow on the bar yawned and told Tobin I 1 said it Tom Torn when Pretty Soon Jim came bleating to us about I buying a rich claim for twenty-six twenty hundred dollars Dont Don't you ber bel how I says to Jim Son they've shifted the cut on you The Tho low grade swung who took your poor little twenty-six twenty hundred dollars Is worth a million and knows pay dirt backwards But Dut he likes money so much hed he'd cheat his poor old blind to git the price of ot a chaw of You remember me saying that right to Jims Jim's long Jong face But tween you youn youn you youn n me Tom Tom I never d such a gold hunter as that million million- I dollar mans man's said to be would ever aver 1 turn round and buy a worthless claim claim back I 1 Never believed it myself Misery It shows hes he's Just plumb Back in the States they have places where they keep folks Ive I've heard But we must humor him Misery Turning Turning- to Phelps he gently In Inquired inquired In- In Hows U tt t feel partner to find yourself sitting on a hornet you caught for fOl someone else else right Tommy Gentle him eagerly urged Old Misery A roar of ot laughter smothered I Phelps' Phelps reply He stood wrathful and 4 impotent and waited for the I noisy merriment to subside He lIe began to regret t parading his As his gaze swept over the s sober ber faces of oJ his friends and the mocking mocking mock mock- ing countenances of those who vho were amused he missed Gilbert The young Easterner h had hac been at the life claim when Pretty Soon Jim re reluctantly reluctantly reluctantly re- re sold H it ft Steadying his voice ho he t td 1 Old Misery l in an undertone You win wip this time but Ill I'll make It t oven even Stephen Making raking war talk you dog growled Tobin Tobia hopefully Old Misery Jammed dammed his friend to toone toone toone one side and thrust his face close to the m miners miner's ners ner's and demanded When No time like now now grinned wolfishly but bacKed a away w y and reminded Im worth a cold mUll million on dollars doHan Im I'm too precious to myself to bo he hurt in a a fight with a man that owns nothing but a tame bear I wont won't fight tight less its it's with a man worth as much as asI I b be But Insi inside e of a few days you'll admit Its It's even Stephen Chew it over Meaning some of ot your friends will cOmb my friend murmured I Tom ominously I INo No sir He lie can live a million years before any friend of mine hurts a hair of his head But at Ive I've evened 1 it It all aU up lIP e lie G may re feel fed l I rn If Id I'd had him tn pay a with his hide I either of the mountain men could digest this vague threat I and make a ti i. i suitable rs onse he ha had slipped back into the crow crowd and followed by his f was out in the street dare raise me nor even Cl call as Peters wo would ld say chuckled ed Old Misery Just fried a cheap bluff and and d he announced announced an an- S To the men who remal remained I S Mighty queer but I got a a. few I nuggets Just like what your mU- mU lion dollar man brought from Jim They're not much good to tome tome tome me and if it youre you're hankering for li liquor liquor li- li quor heres here's the price And he tossed a couple o of or nuggets Jon on the bar and the crow crowd 1 s surged I forward But instead of ot reaching for bottles anti and glasses the men mert bunched and Jostled in front of oJ the bartender staring at the tiny pieces df cf gold Each man was instantly planning how 11 he could be ahead of ofal al all others In Jn profiting someway b by bythe bythe the Incident Each had the same thought secretly to trail the old mountain man and stake a claim I But But Butas as wary suspicious eyes met those of a a. neighbor each realized no one man could count the tha coup Compacts were m made de with a sidelong sidelong side side- long lung glance an alliance to secure the the thEt mountain mans man's secret without a word being spoken Inside of fIfteen fifteen fifteen teen seconds all personal ambitions were merged in mass maS's Intelligence and the unvoiced partnership was perfected r r- r I. I Then the groups dissolved anc and became a long line of ot thirsty throats and much badinage was exchanged And there was general I rejoicing th t t. t Phelps had had- been caught in ip his own trap Many lany compliments compliments compliments com com- were heaped upon Old Misery and more than one man mai earnestly vowed he wo would ld stand standby t by y him Jf f Phelps through his retainers retainers retain retain- ers ers attempted violence S v 5 If It It comes it-comes comes to a fuss dont don't any of you ou clutter up the ground by byI I trying to help warned Old Misery When I paint for battle I go go- goit it iti i alone and hit everything In sight i. i Cleverest bit of salting I ever eversee eversee eversee see cried an Ohio veteran and he struck his ragged hat on the bar to i accent his statement nt Phelps would have smelled a rat if it had hod I been een ledge gold He knows ledges I And Ill I'll bet this minute hes he's hesI I his pride and Is schemIng schemIng scheming schem schem- ing to find out where the nuggets corrie come from spoke up another If I you need help in throwing him oft off I the yack track jU jut just t say the word wordy part- part j I net ner i iI I will I 1 will and aad thank you all kindly kindlY assured Old Misery t l j i I could tell him lust just where I r trot ant the gold and Id I'd Id I'd have have have- to- to to tl think k kl a alot alot I l lot t first Ive I've took gold from so many different towns towns' townsand and miners for meat and tamed animals I ly would tell him wrong even if I wanted to tell him right r S Wise Vise glances were exchanged The line of ot drinkers believed the j mountain man was throwing dust j I One mart man estimated Must been nigh to six hundred j dollers used for salt Wouldn't a believed a tamed wild animal would j fetch such a good price j Old Misery l shorted In disgust What you dont don't know bout wild animal prices would make the Canyon Cani Canyon Can Can- i yon of oJ the Colorado look Jook the Rocky mountains he no jeered Got moren that for the cub I just sold at Nevada City Fetched dollar dol dol- lar lat a pound as a pet For meat to eat eat- hed he'd been peen worth only a hun- hun dred When I raise a bar like Bill Williams Ive I've raised a good fifteen hundred dollars Been offered that for tor him and I could send him East and git It two thousand Im I'm a ani ant mal prospector When I bag some panther kittens kittens kit kit- tens they're Just so many ounces of dust Turned an old bald eagle loose that Id I'd been offered fifty dollars dollars dol dol- dol lars ars for In Nevada City Worth a hundred if sold soM at t the bay This silenced all efforts to dig digInto diginto Into his secret but left the men skeptical Tom Tobin who had been gloomily considering his glass edged up the bar a few feet Old Misery instantly took the hint and shifted his position to keep close to him Tobin whispered trail you Ill Iff lose losel em at Nevada City to to- to night murmured Old Misery All they can do is to pile into Grass Holler but they wont won't find nothing Five of their best men have prospected prospected prospected pros pros- the Holler up n a down n a across Its It's a medicine No Noone Noone Noone one can find It Need any nuggets nuggets nuggets nug nug- gets Not if I have to dig em lem It aint so awful hard If Jf your out will Is strong Ill I'll 1 11 sneak you there and turn you loose loos And dig em out Not By oy a sight Think I Im I'm a root grass I Injun jun Lets Let's move on i I They were followed by the men menas i as they left the saloon On On the street the group scattered but I found business was taking taTting each in individual in- in wherever the mountain I men nten went As the latter showed no disposition sUon to leave the valley valey the tl espionage became organized organised and d of twenty men chasing chasing chas- chas ing lug them rn about only onh two or or r three h Id ld the trail These were fre- fre relieved Old Misery was much amused at the miners' miners tactics TOb Tobin lI took it more seriously L Late te in 1 the af afternoon he warned Phelps has organized an outfit Hes He's chipped In Feller Fener with the red ed hair Is one of his men It'll bea be ba baa a face race tween hveen his men and This suspicion S was strengthened by a fIgl fight between the red headed man and one of oJ those who had rejoiced re re- re over Phelps' Phelps defeat The former former former for for- mer lost the battle and disappeared but was immediately replaced b by two of Phelps' Phelps followers These wore weapons aggressively and nd put themselves in the path of the rival spies as if seeking combat Misery and Tobin were hopeful that the two factions would woul soon clash and fill the street with bloody disputes ku but again the power of gold was exemplified Phelps adherents adherents w were re observed d hobnobbing with the Independents in a most amicable amiable able manner and when the defeated redheaded red headed man joined the group he was greeted as a a. brother I |