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Show Prize HardJLuck fai ' Mebbe you think this here superstition 'bout a tenaerfoj. hot nlr,' remarked the old miner. ' Wall, son, don t jou g) ""'th der with eny such fool notions, fer tlmr goes a feller thats'1"'' '-tear-cvoken proof that luck h-tnga to a tenderfoot closer "n i':il tree' n't, His plpestcm pointed to a man across the street who-e an did not lndlcnte that luck had ever come within halllns dlsta"" ' c slouching Ilgute wis insufficiently clad In torn nnd grea.e-Con " t: lilt brond-brlmmed lint crowned a head whose wealth of v '""' rcarcelj longer than the gilmy whiskers thnt ntmost hid his J" tl nance mut hnve expressed my doubt, for the oil miner hiite ' Mebhe lm dravvln' It n little strong, an' mebbe Its th rcallj proves It, but bcln' es th" other feller Is n-trnvelln' moat"""' ' vvherens Ilm Urndlej a with us constant, Its got so that We ni"1 "" cs provln th truth uv this herp 'tenderfoot luck' propn iton ""'"''' It hippencd lout live jenrs back Jim hed stik d nut a top uv Gold Hill nn' wus wnrkln' It purty stendj. Ho )ma , lni he started In but onless a feller gets a bunch uv ore turn , ""t long fot a might) small hole In th' ground to make a mithtvl '' " lag in nuggets llm wns down 'bout sixty reet nn hed utai bout thirty feet but, although he sampled 'er mighty cartful heap uv goo 1 money fer nssayln , ho never got more n a tn,, '" " farther he went Hi hungrier th rock looked It shore wuidlsre " ' fer In them d-tys nenrl) everjboly in mnip hed more ,r lea S813 shlppln cnuff to pn) expenses nn" some besides It rhore ss.rnt claim wus th' nly barren spot on th' hills It Jes" nit hell) i0l ' uv Jim an one night he come up to th" table In Johnnie Solas ' five uv us wus h-iiln a social game uv draw, nn' he tol us i, iV-V1"0 his claim wus fer Bile, he then an' thnr ofTcrln' It f r a hurl knew he wus busted nn' thit tlfty ud pet It, but thir wasnt a ll that ud tike it fer a present nn' do th" assessment on It an tut?'1 Long bout Hint time a tenderfoot drifted Into t imp ju J?- sport from somewhere In Illlnoj, nn' he hedn t ben aroun more before he wus renin up th' drinks to nil th" boja an makln fn ," furious nn proclnlmln" that ho hed quit th' Hast 'liout HOnoo t0'!f wus prepnrel to blow It in inlnln', dcid shore thnt It ud doublMn v ' cs It take n imiahioom to mature after a warm rain He hed th'drii which th same he dceposlted In th" lnnk nn' uv cose we nil kr i" lh' exact amount uv his pile Insldo uv twenty-four hours An'tk ti ever) cent thnt ten ierfoot bed In th" vvorldl m" Wall son-nttqr thit he Jes' couldn t spend a cent nohon ,,. viusn t legnl tinder In this enmp He hed a crowd uv th' bo) are th minute he opened his peepers In th' mornln' till he nhet m lie coul In t buj clgnrs er cheviln" tcrlncker er drinks They Jt everjthln an spent their nitgpcta nn hlm scnn'lous I olntnn,r loosenln' sence I ben in the-c dlggln's Why, he couldn t even bar some one hed hlm to breakfast, nnother lied him to dinner an' t p 5 In an th' plu nn Inul him off to supper. He look to It 1'kesfiLi pie at threshln' time an" got thit chesty joud n-thoughl he miiij wus bound to see everythln" nn' thej' couldn t keep him away front th table nn poker gnmes hut 1 m n wnter-sonked fuse ef they dldn ttii an' deal th kyirds so thnt he come out n Utile nheid uv every (in, This rontlnooed fer n week or two, nn' durln' that time th'bovn over th hills nn' si-owed hlTi evcrj clilni In rnmp I.ver) d onett lajln to sell Ihnt ol sport his claim Prices uv rround nentatiiii like thej wus hit lis a cnrload uv dynamite, nn' th' bov i ev n he, t J ngrecd among themselvps not to offei ens thin' nt less n IKOOanicti belli an ndwime uv bout SOfl to I!00 per cent You sec th y almtdtui ol gent fir bout th' whole uv his pile at once, know In they vmUta other shot nt him nn th ngreement wus thit whoever finally mil, rhnuld whick up profits with th' gang Thir wus on s nn ft lit r lint dldn t go Into th' pool nn' that rtw cent on th' tenderfoot nn' that wus Jim ltrndlej He let th' ol i nlone never seemc 1 tn notice him nn' never even spok" tn hlm t I camp bout n week nn then they wuh lntcrduced one night cam S'llins pi ice Jim hedn t ben around' much, scd he was worlin-u quent events proved he shore wus! I's I scd Jim wus th on s one that dldn t Join th' nrganlMtlon ti tenderfoot Jim he pliyctl a lone hnntl, nn' he played 'er Rood aa r p'enty' One evcnln he wus slttln' out In front uv th' National rottlt smokin his pipe wlen th oil sport comes snunterln' out attnf i.l(-droppetl i.l(-droppetl tlown In th chair beside Jim an' opened up rlsht cord a."' Onol evenln' llradlej ' Fez lie Oront weather, eh Creitcou:-Great Creitcou:-Great camp too some big mines hero nn' lots uv fine folks, eh ' Yns' sez Jim purty decent plnce" ' 'He jou a mlnln rain Ilrndlej ' "'Yns sez Jim guess neirly cverj body here s got a hole In ta'pt " Where sou vvorkln?" " 'I'p jonder top uv Ool 1 hill' "I nlnt bin up thnr jet,' se th' ol" sport ' Knbody else ortuj s " Nope ' " Grtnt Scott' tij Undley I'd like to see jour mine Jej fer fun' " 'Aln t no liw ngin It es I knows,' sez Jim Take jou up thirtaL In" ' So th" next mornln he nn' Jim sets nut nfnot, nn" nil th" hoyilh:. their hands iou see son tli old sport hed ben knockln' arojn n; two wetks tint be tl got so be could ttll sjlvnnlte when he see It, t. goli fer Hi btijs hed "bore showed him some gaudy specimens Wall sir when they got down In Jim's hole an" went Into th f." sinrt nenrlj hed n lit' Thar wus more gol I "n hed seen In all th cth put fgether Hverjwhere he struck his candle along th' whole tK-j that drift thar whs runt) gold nn' nylinnltc In th' roof nn'deiM vein nn th" whole brenst wus Jes spirklln' llko a Jewelry ho' Jim hed hard work gettlu thnt ol' gent out uv th' hole VAhMitu come up on top Jim set down on n log nn started whlttlln' ill I it tenderroot hemmed nn hawed give Jim a clgnr, nn" af ter a mis ate B bursts out Ilrndle) I II give jou $'(W) rnsh tndny fer th' claim' Son It wus shoree n terrible strain nn hoomnn nntur' IUitJImrra He never winced hut Jes Itep nn whlttlln' awhile an lh'ol'srPa In his bonis fer fear Jim wouldn t taku Itl Plnally Jim shet his kc'i snip nn sez Wall stranger I wtisn t nlmln" to let go jes' jet, but ef jouro. bad jou kin bev It nn I II go linik to Mnlne nn" sec my ol' molhfrfcri uv months Hul look here lemme give jou n, tip Tlnr s seieral t her clilms siirrotindln this one nn' I reckon vvc coull gcl'mta nplete Now I d n Ivlse jou not to let on jou got my claim but lem-ef lojs nn get these other clilms fer jou Iou sec tint vein uv mtat this beie stiirnun Un territory nn jou 11 nenl It' To rut er short. It ended hy th' nl sport payln' Jim '"SOO-th V claim nn JWW to Ini) five more nurmiindln' It Jim he rues tn th 1 " th live other tlilins un buys em easy fer 0 apiece an' Inside tn hours Hi whole ileal Is rinsed 'Ih' tenderfoot hez 'bout sixty scrcip an Is tint Ihkled he cm I quit pnttln himself on Iho back sn JIB cash in th bank' Jim allows Ilea goln' luck to see his mother u t b. twien dijs iou see son Ilm hod spent two weeks ultln" ttst : his nn he time It proper' Ho bed lien rolleclln' specimens n W bunch In hla inbln nn these with what ho got all aroun' the caw ten lcrfnot come mndo a big stick An' Jim filled them sprctata c drift so slick jou couldn I snvey tl,' Job with a. mignltjln' gl"'' f ' I'v tone tb' nl pent hedn t put moro 'n n dosen shots Into lh " he wus Into Hi birrtn imk un ill In t hev cny more ore najackril-h najackril-h never snveyett th Job nn k,p on shootln' Into th breast expe-1" ore ngin eierv shot S-nine uv th' boys tiled lo tell him th mlnekel" but b, tl got Hint chesi ton inuidn t m iko blm bell vc he dldn I W" mine when he see It sn be wouldn t listen to 'em but went right oniw th brenst Son you can throw me on th' dump nn' give mo away fer p that darn tendei font dl In t open tip ore-shonts before lie d gone t "I th blgges thing that hid yet ben struck In these hills an th Hy took out moro n Mono net' Th uunp Jes went wild' Lieri' olhtr hills an' begun iiostectln Gold hill nn folks come llecsl"'!' Tb' town doubled In slie In bout two months an' oser)thln u,,!": ' llout thnt time Ilm come back nn It took nil Ih dortort In '"" hlm from heart failure when bo see hoiv thinks vvtir Th el !'. top uv th' hill tlu nn night wntchln' with a Winchester croft WJ bed double shifts slnkln Hi shnft fet another lift He struik th 1"' below, nu lies took stvcril fortune nut uv that hole an' it 111 1 1" lowest working hee Unit big shnflhouso up jonder within " stntks Wnll Hints hla Nobody knowa J"S how intirli he tco' shoie aln t he.1 lias n J20 fnio a munlh net nut uv Hint hole, rnM1"'' las llvo jcHrs an It s still uiomln. .,-( He nlii t hon slajln heie much fer two jenrs Imck Vou f""' bout that lime im he un his wife Is tinvelln' inn t uv th " HiemselMs In some uv tb bis towns W hat beromo uv Jim klnste fer yourself Itr, knn Ilm nln t httl n drink tl n squar ""; Th' ol sroit offend hlm n steid) Job In Hi' mine but tht " man nntur coull slnnl ko limn still prospectln Hut I IIU snllln ens more nilnts ictrnt ' Colorado Hprlngs Oa-eHe |