Show POO im va NIS goilo co U RT IN EY ir I 1 p t C 0 courtney atit Y COOPER SIER SERVICE VIci AFTER it IX Continued 12 con can it holp help turning out 7 ag g asked kd that river ran e unless he i it defied every rule of ge nd md swung under the tha bench here I 1 filed that worthless ol 01 claims ye ve never pulled those out nd md suggested fou ou said ing about it when we signed agreement about having to it eight acres for or that eng nilca tc ing nodded thoughtfully got to be getting at that letter from them yesterday I 1 have deeded it over be bc ut oh h I 1 dont know when doroe me at night nond said nothing bruce was seldom horne home at least e ills cabin rarely bore bora ei of his bis presence pre senca when ent UP on 0 tho the hill of eve be with kay and her moth tha workmen talked dally daily kenning had done over at at t the roulette wheel ive it little attention ho be braces winnings or at t bs be for sizable amounts he said nothing about it low and then to explain his r ness by good natu himself for being a fool ulette julette r what I 1 think id better enning asked suddenly ench lands no good both ow that but I 1 never take 1 I think ill pull off a cou nen from this work here down a test pit just to be hen when its done ill I 1 that acreage and got get rid english syndicate send om j t looking tor for led abruptly something want ond laughed with him own a test pit and then lit sure of it he answered ded slowly back toward ut within sight of his cabin to hurry mrs car carcie owe e mald maid was there kay her to bring him up the amond finished the ascent all on en a run ile ho never ad received a summons 8 in the living room walk her hands clasped tight her from a distance fraint faint drone of an air i late she said A 8 ss 13 quickly as I 1 could I 1 e upper workings a laugh come came abruptly im i your mother site iv it taw nt mean it at e i in fa that hir airplane plane bound ell IL 1 gone with olson fl rl laughed again th that at yi drawn laugh tbt el gone with olson lie he ali is afternoon to a bunch he creek I 1 tried to ret get boil 03 thought aogus oes maybe you 11 with her OI 01 but it ave helped e pe hel swant 4 his nuggets ever since in 4 so e re gone one tim na wf aero to wrangell went by blazing opening pening into chill nights busk ask usk creeping over the with each pass the bears h had ad left the I 1 berries etres were gone and herel he rei the little town tors 04 li careful ot of pair sparks lizyness ryness was upon the TO g more and more placing 1 each day with miners iliner s turned chelp rd in search ach of evidences t InOw snowstorm storm but the bcd d ind and the sun blazed ithone ft Hone 1 n day shortly ait h hour our a workman came wn Loon 1 hammond creek sh shout out A tog 9 wants you ou up theyo there he exclaimed 1 hesitated on only ly long 1039 I 1 falmon ion ROY kay then ahles beside him hill they ba upper diggings keny y uy await ephy no why it h happened I 1 y it its against e aured figur ed its therl there ev Us his I 1 tn clutched hand handa xv kay gave a hau halt moved ved forward ham nd 11 ler her the in mans helped with will el sand id of yellow the hulking deop deep gravel Is choked nuggets ta with thern them I 1 a queer voice hammond ammond II stared at tho the yellow wealth but how did it get thero Away over on this bench land tills this has been solid earth for A thousand Year sill answered kenning but theres ti leres gravel bo be neath certainly you can call fin and d gravel almost anywhere but tor for gold to be in ili it havo have you struck bedrock wora were not anywhere near bed kenning answered you shout kay sug bruce laughed well what aro arc you shaking about 1 I guess nervous hammond cut in ho wiped the back of a hand across his wet foro hend head so weve weva found it hero here where wo we least expected it again ho he asked listen kenning dont think im crazy but are you suro sure are you really sure tho the man nodded toward the gaping shaft get down there and shovel out a and see for yourself he answered they were in jacks cabin ham mond was waa still shaken from the ex cit ement caused by the of earth which he had taken from the gravel ot of the benchland bench land test pit kay walked about nervously kenning pawed through a tin box which he had brought down from his cabin hammond likewise had taken a bundle of 0 papers from Us its hiding place under his bunk its a damn good thing we take care of that english syndicate before we sank that test pit ken ning said well kay announced if you had id have been sunk you after all the touting I 1 did to get jack to take your advice that would have been a hot one now it jack hammond hardly realized that ho he was speaking ile he still could remember little but that pan of gravel as repeated washl washings slowly carried away the dross at last to reveal the heavy sediment of golden glob ulos ules if wed signed away that land and then this crooked english outfit had come along and made a ten strike not much danger of that kenning answered 1 I told you in the tha beginning that they never intend to work it three years from now well be able to buy back any land we sell them at our own palce ceIf if we want it and the problem Is kay broke in to find something they dont want sho she turned again to the me mrs Ca carewe rowe we she bho called the maid ol of all work came nearer the cabin teas about ready miss kay she announced thanks ill walk up with you she turned at the door good night jack oh goott good night koy kay good night I 1 arent you going to kiss me he dropped the bundle ot of papers that he might rush to her that golds made an idiot of me suddenly his hands clenched gee koyt kayl weve found itt for all the good it does me out there was a drive to his voice 1 11 I give the orders from now on she kissed him rind and patted him on the cheek check so what a few nuggets can dot doll but he would noblet her go impulsively pul he seized her kissing her a dozen times hugging her until she protested protest cd then freeing her he ha raised his hi big hands and pawed awkwardly zt at her smooth hair it 11 ho he said huskily ill give the orders im boss ill tell you how to bs be happy you cant imagine what this strike has done tot for me De arestil laughing she pushed him away ive a fair idea she answered and calling goodnight good night to tho the obsessed kenning went forth to join mrs carewe hammond watched her until she was lost in ili the twist of tho the ascending trail kays been swell about not wanting to marry me just because I 1 had money he said brusquely ns as lie he rejoined kenning but ashes waited long enough besides I 1 really havo have much to offer he her r before just those loon creek claims youve got plenty 0 and some to spare that reminds me what are we going to do now about that english fandl cato cate yes wo we ought to get that out of tho the way kenning henning bonsu consulted cited the list of their holdings 1 I dont see anything tere here that con can como come out ot of the stun stuff ii th threw r ow in the pot its all on the course of that grov ali it i 4 if that stream came down from tho the hills the way weve got to figure mill all the claims I 1 staked ore are right in line linc 10 what about giving those leases over where weve been digging tho the big bunch of test pits kenning henning wrinkled his brow brew no I 1 still think that lands good theros theres an explanation 1 I dont sea it suppose dig big moose h hit it somo some obstacle stacle some tremendous rock since either been covered up tip or ground to pieces end and washed away say maybo maybe youre 11 jt it stands to reason tho the ant ural result would have been be cen a split ot of tho the stream it linit half of I 1 it t would have traveled right where my findings show it should have gone tho the rest ot of it easily could have swung over to this side ilon it leave much of a alon for your english friends it dont call em cm friends arll ads swine the whole gang of them nut but I 1 got mixed into it ill keep k cep my W word ord and send them thain som something athing thero there much left kenning laughed nothing except where joo jo 0 was working it if they want a wor worthless tract it hammond was going over the leases at last lie ho asked the name of tills this ou outfit tnt you mean tho the english bunch oh better just sign tho the lease over to me then I 1 can it there may bo be a lot of rod red tapo tape about it it its handled differently A A holt half hour later hammond was alono alone in his cabin his bundle of papers again resting in their hiding place under tho the burik bunk tho the ground on which mckenzie McK enzlo hail had labored was gone kenning had taken tho the conveyed lease over to the tha recorders tent for entering catering under his bis name as 0 owner and jack stood there thinking how queer was gold mckenzie mckenzly McK enzlo joo joe had fought every idea bruce kenning had advanced now the land where he had worked was of value only because it would allow kenning and himself to control a veritable underground unde reground river of gold at another part of the valley at last jack reached for his hat and left the cabin it had occurred to him that ho he should tell jeanne je a about oil all this she was not at the 1 store her substitute told hammond i that she had gone on an errand far up tho the valley the m man n turned from the attle atle log structure with a feeling of disappointment for a time he stood watching tho the activities down at the lake volunteers in these short au I 1 1 D alan looked down in amazement dumn days wore were donating a part of their work time to the completion of giant log life rafts with heavy boxes for or food and blankets the grim insurance of 0 every 0 outpost settlement when the sun blazes for or a long stretch when the moss grows crinkly underfoot and the dead spruce needles raining down with every stirring of the wind are like so much tinder A remote camp cannot take ch chances ances when lorest forest fire lurks in the offing these days at sapp sapphire hire lake were ones of apprehension that there would be a fire provided S snow now or rain did not soon fall was almost a certainty prospectors were w wandering an dering the hills seeking the r nother mother lode source of the nuggets which had brought humanity into this far land after a time interest in the sight ceas ceased ed tor for hammond M ond lie he still wanted to see jeanne towers rind and receive her congratulations F finally he began to walk in the direction slit sho had taken they met some four hundred yards from camp where jeanne followed a winding trail through the high hegt i heat beat yellowed marsh grass ive been looking everywhere for youl weve found III all the gold to ili tho the world worl dill the girl cried out happ happily llY the old bedrock youve r really cally found you should have seen the pan I 1 washed the stuff out binl jack answered the whole awer ed covered el either ther with nuggets botton bottom or flake gold 11 like ak e it had bad been gilded see a rush all right when this news gets out its itin another klondyke 11 ho e whirled then looking down toward the oe lake as if he could visualize the speeding ip ceding of motor boats taft 1 L od dp jug g P ol 01 N scows pvn the surge of airplanes na as they struck the water and taxied tor for shore then he realized that Je geannes annes hands were on his arm mckenzly McK enzlo enzio joe know knew what ho he was doing after rill all he sho she risked asked the man looked down in amazement know knew what lie ho was doing ho he queried wed have been chasing rainbows yet it wod wed kept on where he was working it was her turn to be surprised then you make tho the strike in ili his test shaft of course nott wo we put down one away over on the west aide of the valley near that claim you sold kenning 11 oh over there jeanno jeanne cocked her head frowning thoughtfully at last sho she said funny 11 so funny about it but what about joes test pit oh been logged over since the day joo joe left wo we have nt even been near it funny jeanne said eald again in a worried tone youre turo sure you invent worked it at all sure of course im sure but worked it 11 jeanne insisted 1 I just camo came past there oh youre wrong jeanne but im not been working idill what for there a chance to got get a dime out of it tho the thing was only a test development just the same it oven even anywhere near the gravel level when joo joe pulled out 1 I cant help that the girl insisted been working there I 1 saw fresh dirt on tho the dump the logs have been moved and been down tho the ladder impossible 1 the tha dirt on tho the dump 24 hours old mind going back there asked hammond abruptly they talked but little on the trail there was nothing to say save aavo Je geannes Jean annes noa reiterations of what she had teen seen at last deep in tho the bush they sighted the mound of earth which mckenzie McK enzlo joe had raised in m his efforts to find and the lost river bed 1 hammond la in mond began to hurry tho the girl keeping pace with him finally they were at the pit joanne jeanno had reported truthfully the dump had grown considerably jack reached forth a hand and picked up some ot of the soil rubbing it between his fingers gone down into another strata camo came at last this the soil mckenzie joo joe was working in ile he looked about him must work nt at night iyo ive never seen anyone ar around aund here when I 1 went up the hill trail some way I 1 always look over here too I 1 notice unless they came out into the open all these trees oh worked here all right look ut these footprints jack bent and with a great heave threw back one of the logs which covered the mouth of the pit ile ho went to his knees peering downward the faint light penetrated only a short distance rising he threw aside the other coverings then with a glance downward 1 I guess ad better take a look at the bottom gone down a long ways yes see how built up the ladder its nearly twice as long as it was he swung over the side and clambered down the rough fashioned of barked spruce for a long time there was no sound from below then the ladder bent again with his weight jeannel he be called from somewhere in t the depths take tills this be careful with it she over hands extended tor for the hat which he handed up it was filled with yellow vellow earth mixed with gravel then then the man climbed out his fea teal tures a mixture of at grimness rind and bewilderment he said bluntly give that to me lets get down to the creek where I 1 can find a gold pan at the stream hammond worked wordlessly jeanne watching over his shoulder light was fading there W was as barely suM sufficient clent to allow them to finish their experiment autumn now had brought days as aa short as the nights had been dark ness came by time after time the refuse content was fi owed flowed away then as both the water and the residue became lower J jeanne aanne reached forward looka she picked something from the bottom of the pan it was a gold nugget twice as large as aa a pea further work brought forth a dozen more at last hammond stuffed them into a pocket and disregarding the flakes and finer gold at th bottom of the pan washed its contents away in the stream he straightened TO SE BE CONTINUED |