Show THE SHARE ALIKE FICTION ION CORNER By Richard Hill Wilkinson HE second week after they THE reacted reached the cabin on WolfCreek Wolf WolfCreek WolfCreek Creek Sid Condon exploring a n tributary alone found gold He spent half hal a day estimating the value of the fUnd film It was a pocket and would probably r- r I ably net a total Minute hl 3 take of between Fiction and 50 Sid filled his pipe and sat oat down to meditate The thing to do of course was to get Duke Brandon his partner clean out the placer and hit for Big Rock settlement before the snow came Sid sucked on his pipe and his eyes grew crafty Into his rus mind there came a picture of thin lipped Duke Brandon Why should he share this find with Duke A man with could retire and live for the rest of his days in comfort A man with only half hal that amount would have to scrimp Forty thousand dollars dol doll lars r Duke Brandon was in a surly mood that night He had had no luck The food supply wa was wan getting low Snow would come soon Why not quit now while their chances of getting out were good Wait Walt a week weel Sid urged Might 1 as well make sure we aint anything So Duke was prevailed upon The next morning they started out again in opposite directions Sid went south circled west and came to his claim Working feverishly he panned panned pan pan- ned a handful of gold and carried it up stream a half halt mile it bene beneath th a large moss covered rock The next day and the next and the next it was the same Duke be- be t R. R t Pe Per r a. a y r 4 rP t V With the speed of a 3 snake bI his hand flashed to his hip where hung the revolver came more disgruntled He decided to remain only one more day The next morning Duke headed north Toward noon he swung west and south At he came to a n moss-covered moss rock lying near the shore of what was to him himan himan himan an explored tributary He sat down downto to smoke and rest and as he sat there the slanting rays of at the sun fell upon a dull yellow piece of ot metal Duke blinked then leaned forward He picked up the piece of at metal and saw beyond it a small opening beneath benen th the rock J He knelt and reached into the I hole and took out a handful of gold Sid Condon had stood In the bed bed bedat of at the stream when his placer gold so there were no footprints footprints footprints foot foot- prints nor other signs to ta indicate his having been there There must be worth of metal in the cache Half of at that was his according to the unwritten law The other half but halt but what could a man do with a mere UKE took a small ack from his D DUKE pocket and filled it full with the dull yellow dust His breathing was heavy as he knelt there His eyes glowed feverishly He knotted the sack together and rose from his knees knees and and stopped dead still Sid Condon was standing not 15 feet away Sid's left hand contained a sack similar to the one in Dukes It was not full but the bulge was evidence enough as to its contents For split seconds the two men stared at each other Significance of the meaning of the situation dawned slowly in their sluggish brains Sid Condon's lips flattened against his teeth IDs His eyes narrowed narrowed narrowed nar nar- rowed to slits So he cried hoarsely So Sol This Is how it is Partners eh Partners If D Duke u k e Bra Brandon n don echoed Partners he repeated in ugly scorn You louse Sid Condon laughed harshly He was bigger than the other man and he felt confident With the speed of a snake his hand hand handI I flashed to his hip where hung Cle Cie revolver His finger contracted on i the trigger and flame belched from its muzzle Sid Condon saw his partners partner's body jerk convulsively and he knew he had scored a h hit ht t knew it only only dimly though for the sound of at his own gun had come from a great distance and there was a drumming and pounding in his ears cars He sank to his knees and through the haze of 01 his vision he saw that Duke Brandon was also on his knees Then he knew that Duke had equalled him in speed at the draw v They lay so close they could almost touch each holding firmly to toa toa toa a sack of gold lay and cursed and were eventually silent while the I silvery stream rippled on and nJ nigh finally came |