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Show The Golden I Hope I J ; g 5 1 By GEORGE E. COBB (Copyr't't. im- by w- G- -'l"pnuui.) "Where did you get me?" Outside of the Dew Drop, tossing tour money to a crowd of loafers and brains t'iat 'ou nad fome back to Oreviilo to show people how to mine." That's me!" observed Rufe Glidden. Glid-den. sitting up in bed and staring curiously about the dainty orderly mom he was in- "And you look me in, the Good Samaritan, eh?" I was sorry for you, Rufe, and 1 diin't forget that you gave me my grub stako live years ago, when you je:t Oreville." Forget that!" i never have. The claim, low raile as it is, has enabled me to send I living back to the family in the jjst, and when my wife died I froucht my daughter and the little ones out here. I've saved two thousand thou-sand dollars. When I double that, I'm icing back to the old home town, buy out a modest little business and educate edu-cate the kids. Breakfast is ready." "I've not got much appetite," said Rufe, and he looked around as he said 1L Then, left to himself, he got up sci dressed. His first move was to search his coat. Yes, there was a fask "for the morning swig." He regarded re-garded the fiery stuff gloatingly. Then c;s eye chanced to rest upon the bureau bu-reau cover. A dozen dainty female toilette accessories showed. A delicately deli-cately embroidered sachet sent out a sweet perfume. Beyond the closet deor a light pretty dress showed. The iran observed. An odor of sanctity seemed to arpeal to his manliness. "His daughter's room," he muttered -"she gave it up to me! Bah! they o'jght to have stowed me in some dog k-rmel! Through!" He gave the liquor flask a violent t?.g through the open window. He 7 flfil Rufe and Ward Visited the Abandoned Aban-doned Digging. matched it shatter to pieces on the Pound. Then he went down stairs. John Ward was reading a newspaper. "See here, old friend, give me a Krap of paper and a pencil, will you?" "After breakfast, yes." No, now," insisted Rufe peremptorily- His hand was shaking, as, the articles provided, he dashed off a rapid rap-id scrawl. "There," he Bald, signing his name to the pledge "the first I ever gave, and the last, for it shall last for all tine. Two witnesses, you and " "My daughter, Mr. Glidden," interrupted inter-rupted Ward, courteously and gravely, as a charming young girl entered the room. "Rose, you have heard me fPeak of my best friend." 'Many a time, father," was the earnest earn-est reply, and the glance of her grate-fjl. grate-fjl. welcoming eyes sent a thnill through the object of her interest, and as well made him shamefaced. 'He Is a good friend to everybody "Jt himself," pursued Ward "aren't Ww. Rufe?" he challenged lightly. 'Ging to mend in that, though, daughter, and here is a little doeu-ttCrnt doeu-ttCrnt he wants you to witness with tne." 'Yes," burst forth Rufe irrepressi-jj'y, irrepressi-jj'y, as the fair girl signed her name, aid if only out of respect to you, I 8ear never to break this pledge!" You are a good man," she said, 'imply and sweetly. Rufe was charmed with the comfort and welcoming atmosphere of the lit-jfe lit-jfe home. It was not until noon that e 'eft its peaceful, solacing influ-5'iee. influ-5'iee. When he left the house he traced njingled anxiety and tender ness In tho tones of Rose, as she s;Jd: "You have quite captivated the two children. They will bo expecting you home early tq tell them somo more of those exciting stories of yours, Mr Glidden." "I certainly shall not disappoint them," assented Rufe, and his heart beat fast at the underlying token of genuine interest on the part of a true woman. Sure enough, long before dark he came down the road from tho town. His eye was bright, his stop elastic. He seemed like one buoyed up by some new energy and interest in life. "My old friends had programmed a sort of a reception for me in the town." reported Rufe, after a pleasant evening with the little ones, "but I shut them off on the happy water end of it. Now then, friends for you are that I've got some business to talk over with you. I was a good deal surprised sur-prised when I got inquiring around, to find that the Golden Hope mine had petered out." "Yes, two years ago," nodded Ward. "The vein ran short not until they had taken out a little fortune, though." "So I hear," said Rufe, "and I found the runway going to ruin and the stamp mill rusted and broken. Do you know that the old owner of the mine offered it to me for a thousand dollars?" 'I know it's gone begging, and no one would touch It at any figure," remarked re-marked Ward. "Well, I'm going to buy It," announced an-nounced Rufe. "Don't think I've gone out of my senses," he added. "Will you stake me?" "You mean, will I loan you a thousand thou-sand dollars?" . "Just that." "Rose, bring my bank book." directed di-rected Ward, without a moment's hesitation. "Not so fast, dear old partner!" interrupted in-terrupted Rufe. "The money will do tomorrow. I want you to help me will you do it?" "You mean work with you?" "Yes." "Rufe, old friend," spoke Ward, "I wouldn't give five cents for the Golden Gold-en Hope. You're buying It for a thousand thou-sand dollars. I never knew you to make a miss in the mining game. I don't know your plan, but I do know that you know your business. Use me. With you for the leader, I follow." "Thank you, Ward," replied Rufe with palpable emotion "you shan't miss It." The Golden Hope mine was located out of the traversed trails. For a solid month every day, quietly and keeping their own counsel, Rufe and, Ward visited the abandoned digging. Every day Rose brought them their dinner. What a new glorious life . what a mighty throbbing secret those three talked over, worked over, dreamed over! And every new day two ardent hearts understood one another an-other better and better. At the end of the week Rufe Glidden drove out, of town with a hired wagon and two horses. He returned, with a cover over the heaped-up wagon box, in front of the assay office. A crowd gathered. The rumor spread like wildfire that Rufe Glidden had found a giant pocket of pure gold at the old mine. '"It's gold, boys," he admitted buoyantly, buoy-antly, '"but it came from no pocket. Why,' you stupid galoots! it's been lying before your eyes in the clear open ever since the Golden Hope closed down." And then he explained: "You see, the careless old workers let grease drop onto the quicksilver plate, and the corrugations let about as much gold slip into the tailings aa they really got. We've simply worked the dump and panned it. pound by pound. If we don't get a clear fifty thousand dollars out of the clean-up, I'm a tenderfoot!" He was a tender lover to Rose, and that was all of his life, and he went back to the States her proud, loyal husband. "The treasure we found in the Golden Gold-en Hope," explained John Ward, when he showed his new neighbors a minted bar of the products of the tailings of the abandoned mine. "The treasure worth more than all the wealth the Golden Hope ever held!" added Rufe Glidden, his arm encircling bonny, contented Rose. |