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Show llJOHN BURTlll Ml Autkr (I "Tie K-Miuppr MIIolft. CoUmI Miro' 0cttli." Etc. g S OohvkIi,iit lot,iiT I ll rlibU I Oorvaimrr, l er jS Jf ratoaaica Uihih Auivs rmned A. 3, Uaaaat, llmiiLa gv CHAPTER Xll-Contlnued. Two hundred feet from the house tho dog tmuit'd and sniffed the air Then, with a yelp, lie plunged to the right, made fur a rock which showed dim through the snow, and burrowed frantically Into a drift on Its leeward aide In the white runs Illako saw a dark object, and as he reached tho rock It moved The next Inatant a benrdeil face appeared from the folds ot a heavy fur overcoat, and a man struggled unsteadily to his feet. "Can you walk?" shouted Illako, ernsplni; htm by tho arm "I think so," said tho stranger, aa tie grasped the rope. "How far la It?" "Not far," replied Wake, encouragingly. encour-agingly. "Pull on the roue. It will help oti." Once In the cnbln, the atranger seated himself near tha stove, whlto Illako produced a flask and heaped fuel on the fire "Keep your hands and feet away from tho atove. If they aro froxen," cautioned lllake "I'm not frostbitten," was tho stranger' reply, nt he clapped hi hands vigorously and pinched bla ears. I was completely dono for. It you hadn't found mo when you did," be said with much feeling, as ho extended ex-tended hta hand, "I should never have left thero nlhol" At the sound ot tho man's voice James Illako started and gaxed Intently In-tently at him. When the bearded atranger raised his eyes nnd offered his hand tho recognition waa complete. com-plete. "John Ilurt, or I'm a ghost! Don't you know me, John?" "Jim IJIakol" Tho New Knglander Is not demonstrative demon-strative In hi emotions or affections, but tho Joy which danced In the eyes of these reunited friends as they shook hands and slapped each other on the hack was moro eloquent than words "This seems too good to bo true, Jim!" exclaimed John, tils hand on Jim's shoulder. "Hut for you, old chum, my California experience would have been ended How small tho world Is, that wo should meet here, of all places on earth 1" "Tako off your clothes and get Into bed, John," directed Illake, ns ho pusliod John Into a chair and tugged at his froten boots. "Do as I tell you and jou'll bo all right. Llo quiet and rest. Don't talk, but koep awake." Several times, during tho next two hours, John fell Into a drowse, but by forco of will ho roused himself. Tho reaction after tho awful strugglo In tho drifts was sovere, but ho mas-tored mas-tored It nnd was himself again, Illako xhaustcd tho resources ot his larder In a dlnnor, which John onjoyed ns nover beforo In his life, and Dog did not go hungry. Then pipes were produced, and, seated near tho red hot stovo, the two trlcnda recounted tomo of tho otonts which had marked tbclr Uvea during the preceding alx years It seemed ages to both of them Tho striplings of seventeen were now stalwart men. Illako listened oagcrly to ins mend's recital of tho events leading up to tho quarrel with Arthur Morris. Jim clenched bis hands and leaned excitedly ex-citedly forward when John told ot tho struggle lth Morris In tho tavern, "I bavo sometimes thought," said John, "that I should bavo remained and faced the chargo ot murder which might have been made against me. Thst waa my first Impulse, I did not kill Morris, and It Is only by chance-that chance-that be did not kill me Tho revolver was still In his hsnd when ho foil, though I had bent bis wrist so that be could not turn It against mo. It was ono ot those new self-oocktng weapons and Morris shot himself. Dut t had no witnesses, and Grandfather Burt and and others advlsod mo to put myself beyond tho reach of a prosecuttoa In which all tho money and Influer-ixi would have been against me. But tell ifle ot yourself, Jim, What have you dona th California, and what baa tho Golden State dono for you?" "It would take me a week, John, to tell my experiences of tha last flvo rears," said Jim niake, tossing another an-other log Into the fire "Most of them would not Interest you, some might atnuso you, and others would make you mad I've been rich throe times, Johr., and In love twice no, three lines." I low rich, snd bow badly In lova?" ' My strokes of fortune and my lovo affair are all Jumbled together" explained ex-plained tllnke, laughing heartily. " nil 11 hate n bad opinion nf me, John, but I've reformed and am going to lead a better life I made my first strike on the l.lltle Calaveras. Talk about luck! That was n tunny thing. I broke in) neck snd discovered a gold mine and a sweetheart In doing It!" "Ilroke our neck? Surely you'ro Jesting'" "It's n fact. Jut the same," asserted as-serted Illake, thoughtfully rubbing tho back nf his neck, which showed no signs nf fracture "1 wn a greenhorn then, ami my prospecting expeditions viere the Joke of tho old stager I bought a horse and n Mexican saddle and prowled through all the mountains moun-tains and foothill back of the Utile CalAvcra. Une atturnoou I was following fol-lowing a trait that skirted along the side of a mountain. There's a lot of woodchticks In those hills, nnd In burrowing bur-rowing around one of them loosened a rock, which camn rolling down In my direction. My horso saw and heard It, and shied off tho trail llo slid about twenty feet and then fell, and aa ho went my right foot went through tho stirrup, llo rolled over me, and we started down tho slopo. Bomctlmo I waa on top, and sometimes some-times he was on top. "four or Iho hundred foot below I saw a thin row of trees, and I knew they marked thu odgo of a cliff. Kor somo reason thero'a moat always a frlngi ot trees nt theso Jumping off places. We wero going Ilka lightning. Just ss wo nenred tho edga tho horse rolled over wo again, As I camo on top I saw that we wero going to pass between two small trees. A big rock slewed tho horso around, and ho went down head first I grabbed at a tree, and by tho merest cbanco throw my freo leg around It I held like grim death to a coon, and heard tho leather snap aa tho horse went over tho precipice. If It hsd been u first-class first-class saddlo I wouldn't be hero to tell the talo. I was hanging down oer tho cliff. It was eighteen hundred hun-dred feet deep to tho first stopping place, and I saw that horse, all spraddled out, turn over and over In tha air. I closed my eyes so as not to sco him strike. Then I crawled buck n faw feat and sat down behind a rock, Thnt's tho last thing I remember re-member until I wnko up In bed, An old doctor, whose breath, smellcd of liquor, was bending over me, and near htm was ono of tha prettiest Kirls I ever saw. Hho and hor father wero approaching mo when I started to alldo down tho mountain. Her nama wn Jenny ItogerH." Jim sighed nnd paused. "This Is Rrowlng romantic, but how nbout the broken neck?" asked John. "It was broken, or dlslocatnd, which Is about tho samo thing," continued Ulakn, "Jenny's fnther knew of an old Spanish doctor, alxiut forty mllos away, and went for htm, llo was a wonder on bones Ho was black ns an Indian and uglier than sin. Ho felt mound my neck, swnro softly In Spanish, rolled mo ovor on my face, climbed on my back, Jabbed hta knees Into my shoulder blades, and grabbed mo by tbe Jaws, lie gave my head a quick wrench, I taw a thousand skyrocket!; sky-rocket!; something cracked and I be-camo be-camo senseless. When I awoko ha had my neck In splints, and was Jib-boring Jib-boring Spanish to Rogers. Ho said ho was tho only whlto man In the world who could set a broken neck, and I guest he was. Ha had learned the trick from an Indian medicine man. He charged me twenty-five dollars, dol-lars, and told me to lie quiet for week. Jenny Rogers nurand mt, and of coursa I fell In lovo with her. I was In their cabin, and near by Mr, Rogers had locatod somo valuablo claims, "Here Is the most remarkable part ot this story," Illsko went on. "When I wot able to dress I picked up that cursed Mexican stirrup to teo bow the leather happened to break. It was a ttecl affair, and I noticed somo bright yellow apota In the crevices. Blamed If It wasn't gold I I didn't say a word, but when I waa atrong enough I went back and climbed slowly down tha place wboro my horse fell, It was easy to follow It. Near tba edge of the cliff I found an outcropping of gold-bearing ore, and tha mark ot where the mstal part of my stirrup M scratched It. I staked out a (aim and sold It to Jenny's father fur hundred and twenty-five thousand Ollr p a made twit millions out II I made love to Jnriby, and I 'Ink she wmild have had me, but I Vnt to San Kranolaeo nnd dropped ' hundred and twenty five thouaauf ' tin mining exrhsnge 1 went hark xd nil,i. lonny to watt until I made ntutht-r fortune Hho said she d think iiut II I guess she did A yesr Iter slu married n man who Is now n tilled Stales tk-natnr So I broke it; nei'i, lost my fortune nnd my sieelluart all In less than a year" 'And what have ou now?' "This mountain chleau" replied Isike with n lordly sweep ot hta arm, 'tid n hole In the ground back of It TVm I have a fine lew nf tho vnlle). A sjuod appetite, a slumbering con stance ami and Dog. here, who nsrer upbraids me for being seven l-kds of n fool. Inlin told the story nt the it) Int. estor ami his map. and read an ex tfwt from Peter Hurl's letter Then In produced the map Mild they spread Jt cut on the table nnd examined It p) the light of the lantern. I followed the trail all right." ex-p&lned ex-p&lned John "until the storm set In. sti Ihi-n I had to fe.-l in) way Ito fire I lt my (miring I whs about to miles from the imlnt where this sMor claims to have found gold. 1 kcet near the edge of the cliff until I ceild go no further, nnd then curled up behind thnt rock In the hope that IJn storm would cease " Dlske studied tho map with grow Inc Interest and excitement. With n spknter from a tog as a marker ha trited tho trail l know every foot ot III" ho ex-rlilnied, ex-rlilnied, resting tha folnt ot tha splinter on a round spot on tho map. "llrro Is Fisher's Ijtke. You camn Hut far by stage. Hero It tho creek which you follow for soven miles un til you come to the old Wormley trail. Tin takn that to the cliffs, and go Aloeg tho cliffs until )ou cross four brooks and come to tho fifth one You wero wlthtn a hundred yards of that (Mil atream, John. Now let's aeo tho key to this thing." John handed him the letter. "From tho east face ot tho square rock, on tho north bank of tho brook, at tho edgo ot tba cliff,'" read Illako "I know tho rock well. Iet's soo Tlenco east along tho bank ot tho brtok In a ntrnlghl lino four hundred anl twenty two feet, and then north nt right nnglea, sixty-seven feet to tho bale ot tho tallosl plno In the neigh borhood.' " Blake rushed to the door, forgetful of the storm, to verify his suspicions, III pushed It open an Inch, but a sold bank of snow- blocked tho way. Where do )uu supimso tho baso of tint plno troo Is?" ha demanded, Wthiiut walling for a reply ho found a iitchct and tapped tho clay floor iinl ho located a spot which gavo a WVone4 jsonnil rtmn h rtanpped VH-Vw row'!nctiMTolfi..ctVrtlrlln(V task the bladn Into a solid substance "There's tho baso nf tho big plno treo described by your dead sailor, and I'll bet my llfn tin It," lio ahouted. And here are sections of Iho tree," ho continued, pointing t! tho logs which formed tho foundation nf tho cabin. "I'm dead auro nt It. John, It'a about a hundred nnd forty yards from here to the edge of thu cliff. I know, for 1 measured It. And Its about twenty yarda to the brooks What It mora conclusive, this was by far the largest treo nnywhoro around. That'a why I located tho cabin here Iet'a seo what comes next!" Ilia eyea glls toned with excitement. Tha Instructions wero to meaauro thrco hundred and eighteen feet north from tha baso ot tho tree and thence esst to a carefully described rock, which Blake remembered. Thll was tho baso or tho Incline. Within a hundred hun-dred yards ot this rock tho key located lo-cated thrco gold bearing quarts ledges. (To bo continued.) |