| Show JOHN BUM UPHAM my by FREDERICK ADAMS author of the 1 colonel Alon monro roes doctrine etc 0 COPYRIGHT niGHT IBO BT all rights HT I 1 1903 90 1 BT in 19 ack reserved reBer vod A J DIMIN tl OT CHAPTER XII continued 11 1 I ve been past it a hundred times I 1 ive ve struck a pick all aroun around d there and never round found ore said bald blake reflective ly I 1 but wit thit pro es nothing A thou sand people walked oer the little calaveras talaveras Cala veras before I 1 found the gilt wall john he concluded jela phing to the familiar yankee drawl dont this boat bat time as uncle toby haynen to say it certainly Is remarkable said john durt burt folding the mat map now how dad you happen to select this lar spot jim jima 1 I just happened to all was waa the laconic reply I 1 laid out claims all along here but this one seemed the most likely I 1 I 1 suppose your claims cover the ground indicated on this map dont don t they asked john it ion don t make a bit of difference A hether they do or not asserted blake with much vigor it if you find ore the claim Is yours ours john and don t you ou forget it ate e go partners in the sailor inin suggested john I 1 I 1 have a tidy sum of money and offset that and the map against your claim and experience what do you say jim 9 it a not fair to you john but III gladly accept and heres here s my hand A ni att it after breakfast they set about locating c the sailor a vein in less than an hour tim jim blake sunk stink hla his pick into a quartz rock which showed ripe gold while jim was gloating over his find john appeared from behind a ledge edge ile he handed blake a nugget which hah mel weighed glied fully ten pounds and a alarce to sai nothing of the weight showed it to be almost solid gold blake grasped it devoured Us its dull gloss with sparkling eves enes and hurled his hat high in the air we are rich I 1 we are rich he shouted until the rocks re sounded we oan caa try john said blake hopefully two hundred and fifty thousand dollars is a lot of money I 1 would take it I 1 in a minute if I 1 could get it they discussed the maer for hours but blake would not recede from hla his position dangling before his ebes was mas a purse purge containing two to hundred and fifty thousand delars to be obtained without further work vork or worry it meant pleasure affluence ease liberty it was enough not so BO with vath john burt when the rock crumbled beneath the first blow of his hii pick and the ten pound nugget gleamed in the shale he recalled the parting words of peter burt quoting the lan ian guage of 0 isaiah I 1 I 1 m will III give thee the treasures of darl less and the hidden bidden riches of secret places I 1 well talk no more about this mat ter tonight to night jim he said when blake had finished telling of the great things which could be accomplished with alth a quarter of a million dollars think it over for two tao or three daas and well ell take the question up and de clde cide it blake curbed his impatience and worked and waited ile he knew john burt well viell enough not to mention the topic during the laa das which followed ono one evening after supper john spent an hour or more figuring in an old note book I 1 suppose you are still determined to sell your shale shaie in these mines jim said john I 1 am it if I 1 can get an otter offer of a ter of a million replied jim kou oure re making a mistake old man said john burt la laa ing his hand on his fi lends fiends shoulder but you have as much right to your kopini opinion on as I 1 have to mine so bo we me will III call that settled I 1 told you I 1 would make aou ou a proposition and here it Is there ate aie two mines and they look equally promising I 1 propose that aou ou take one and I 1 tike tho the other we will oli I 1 I 1 17 I 1 I 1 ap q in g 14 ate arax monte alonte cristo was a beggal compared with aith burton blake hurrah for the sailor mine and john buit lou kou cant keep keel a good man down hur rahl CHAPTER XIII the quest for gold the two to young giants performed wonders in the three weeks which tol fol loy lifted lofted ed their discovery of gold glow leg ing with health and strength and in hy by ambition they gri aved ragged holes into the aid side ot of the mountains with their picks and drills several nuggets were found but these were ot 0 small value compared with the broad stratum of ore which opened out from the spot selected by john burt the claim chosen by alake like soon exhausted itself and he turned his attention to the third expressing a tear fear that he was a hoodoo but there a s luck in odd numbers sai a 8 rory 0 moore sang blake as he poised on a shelving shelling lodge ledge and vig porously drove a crowbar into a arev lee ice fro the sun dropped below the range he had haa another wide deep vein or of rold bearing quartz the spring rains set in a and nd the brook became a foaming thundering I 1 torrent Aft lanches tore down doan the mountain sides plowed their way over the cliff and with a roar which shook the cabin hurled themselves into tho valley the pine trees lost their plumes of snow and sang eang in a herlier eligher key the refrain which told of relief from burdens carried complain angly for cor moaten piled in gray heaps near the tunnel was ore woith not less than forty thousand delars with the flight of the snow and the birth of spring blake wearied of his task and longed for its rewards I 1 tell you what let lets 9 do john he sall said one night afeei lets go to auburn and negotiate the aale of these mines we ought to get big bi money for the sailor john how much asked john after a moment a pause half a million replied blake post lively with a loving accent on the I 1 million half a million la Is dead cheap don t you think so BO john johna 1 I shall not sell my interest at least not at present said john bairt I 1 and I 1 advise ou not to we can handle this without trouble and maxe matte moie in it than by sel ing it besides I 1 doubt douba it we can get an offer of halt a million call the south one sailor A and the north sailor B you can hate hae your choice not fair said jim pla you a game of seven up for the first cli choice olce three games of ten points each lost best two out of three to take first choice 11 all right responded john as blake produced a well worn pack of cards and shunted shamed them but before e play let me finish my propof you wish to sell bour our claims to foi tw two hundred bundred and fifty thousand it if you can find a purchaser will you give me an option on bour our claim III gile ghe you five thousand in cash for the follow ing option on your claim 1011 ou to deed me all your rights in consideration of one hundred thousand dollars payable in sixty days from this date one him bun dred thousand payable in six months aiom date and one hundred thotis thousand and payable in one year from late date and you bet your life I 1 will interrupt ed blake extending his hand band make alake it two thousand thou band in cash john that enill ft be enough make alake it two thousand an and d I 1 II 11 go you yon we a III call it tw enty ili 0 bundi ed and you can have the other twenty tanty live hundred if ou oil need it said john am smiling lang but I 1 had bad not finished you shall have one half of the pro ceede from the wile bile of the ore oie already mined that should net you yon you need not shake your head in any arrangement I 1 may mako make with outsiders you shall have ten per cent of all profits payable to me I 1 wish to feel that you will always have an in terest in the sailor mine I 1 all right john said jim finally now well viell play that game of seven up tip blake won the first game and john the second in the third game john had two to go and blake lacked six points it was his deal he guined two jacks before the trump was atas se ee looted lecter and then made high low jack and the game and won aon the rubber and the farst arst choice lucky in cards unlucky in love laughed blake as he be arose from the ta ble sallar sailor A Is mine subject to your option john john drew up an agreement and an option which both signed and the flim film of bulon blake was dissolved blake accepted twenty five hundred dollars in cash ca sh and throe three days later both arrived in the little mining maning town os of auburn from which they sent bent a trustworthy man back to the cabin to t dewain on guard until jphn burt returned bidding adlet adieu foi a nek mek or more dut but proceeded to pan fan fran clico ile he engaged looms in the palace tin ho tel registering under tinder the name of john burton and made inquiries con berning the leading mining experts of the city ile he decla 1 to his case to daud parker ile he wrote the tan an oua oils expert a brief cettei and was duty duly ae accorded corded an interview during the belef ninar con ver RaLlon john duil buit david rill decided to trust him then he related the story of the discovery of the sailor mine I 1 have always believed that those hills that those lims hills contal contained ned gold said eald dai auald ld parker hesitatingly hy to do lou aou come to me mr bur ton 9 he ha asked 1 I am not an an in vastor lin im an expect at least an an alleged exploit I 1 wish mish iou oil to refer me to an in vestor replied john burt you aro are an exploit in metals and should be in capitalists you kno anoa them I 1 don dont t go and see john hawkins hawking said did david parker as a faint smile froze on hla his face lie he Is honest but bard hard as aa I 1 hope you may site euc aeed with alth him mr burton it ou oil and sir mr hawkins haw kins cannot come to terms 1 I 1 I 1 might refer iou to others good day good day sir and good luck As dald predicted john bill bint t had little trouble tit in securing nt an interview with aith john hawkens million alre mine owner and investor lie he wrote the name john durton burton on a card ond gave it to an attendant two burly men stood in the doorway pausing to malto make some rome parting re mark which was t as foeloa followed ed by roars of in merriment the ahe attendant brushed past them as the closed cloned the door roll blin to come in was the or ghen in a voice sono sonorous ious through the heavy tion john baits education in the etiquette of beril berillo lt bind and in adulation of material things was mas singularly defee tive this may have been due to his cou country 11 try training it never occurred to john but buit t that he should stand in aak awe 0 0 of f the ila haw kins akins millions ile he was aaa tin lin pressed by the leonine head and gl gi gantic pio proportions portions of the in magnate agnate as an artist Is when ahen he contemplates for the first farst time some stupendous work vork cf nature ile he returned the great mans gaze before which most strang era quailed and fal faltered ered with nith an an cihil look calmly asserted an equality fielding deference only to a Denio seniority rity of years ilow how do you do what can I 1 do for ou sir air take a chair mr air haw kins glanced again at the card tossed it on b his Is desk and m heele I 1 and cor confronted fronted john unit buit who had re ac cepter this gruff invitation 1 I own oi 01 control some soine recently dis covered gold rivies and am in san sail francisco for the purpose of interest ilg rg capital in their development said john unit dint 1 I am informed that aou ou are an all ln investor in mining property I 1 niu am in a position to submit prop positions asit ions which may result to our mutual advantage wb where era are they growled groft led mr john clakins haw kins for an answer john stepped behind the capitalist and paced hit big fingers on a point indicated op oil a large mat map of california which hung on the wall they are located on the west slope of the siena nevadas at an altitude of about two thousand feet above tile the river five miles south couth of the wormley trail said john hero here is a rough detailed mat map of the surroundings surrounding lie ile handed the chart to mr I 1 thero there la Is no gold there not an ounce declared tile tho magnate you have found a mare a nest young man I 1 looked that country over ten years yeara ago there a no gold there 11 my partner and I 1 have extracted eti acted forty thousand dollars worth morth of high prade grade ore in three weeks said john burt quietly here Is a sperl men of it here la Is something else lie he placed a sample of ore and the ten pound nugget in out stretched hand band ato to be continued |
