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Show V COURTNEY la. . :nPYRISHT-COUR-TNY RYLEY COOPER. . W.N.U. SERVICE "If that stream came down from the hills the way we've got to figure, fig-ure, all the claims I staked are right in line." "What about giving those leases, over where we've been digging the big bunch of test pits?" Kenning wrinkled his brow. "No. I still think that land's good. There's an explanation." "I don't see it." "Suppose Big Moose hit some obstacle, ob-stacle, some tremendous rock that's since either been covered up, or ground to pieces and washed away?" "Say, maybe you're light." "It stands to reason. The natural nat-ural result would have been a split of the stream, wouldn't it? Half of it would have traveled right where my findings show it should have gone. The rest of it easily could have swung over to this side." "It doesn't leave much of a selection selec-tion for your English friends." "Don't call 'em friends. They're swine, the whole gang of them. But I got mixed into -it; I'll keep my word and send them something." "There isn't much left." Kenning laughed. "Nothing except where Joe was working. If they want a worthless tract, that's it." Hammond was going over the leases. At last he asked: "What's the name of this outfit?" "You mean the English bunch? Oh, you'd better just sign the lease over to me, then I can reconvey it. There may be a lot of red tape about it if it's handled differently." A half hour later, Hammond was alone in his cabin, his bundle of papers again resting in their hiding place under the bunk. The ground on which McKenzie had labored was gone; Kenning had taken the conveyed lease over to the recorder's record-er's tent, for entering under his name as owner. And Jack stood there, thinking how queer was gold; McKenzie 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 con-trol a veritable underground river of gold at another part of the valley. val-ley. At last Jack reached for his hat and left the cabin. It had occurred to him that he should tell Jeanne about all this. She was not at the store; her substitute told Hammond that she had gone on an errand, far up the valley. The man turned from the little log structure with a feeling of disappointment. dis-appointment. For a time he stood watching the activities down at the lake; volunteers in these short au- surge of airplanes, as they struck the water and taxied for shore. Then he realized that Jeanne's hands were on his arm. "McKenzie Joe knew what he was doing, after all, didn't he?" she asked. The man looked down in amazement. "Knew what he was doing?" he queried. "We'd have been chasing rainbows yet if we'd kept on where he was working." It was her turn to be surprised. "Then you didn't make the strike in his test shaft?" "Of course not! We put down one away over on the west side of the valley, near that claim you sold Kenning." "Oh. Over there?" Jeanne cocked her head, frowning thoughtfully. At last she said, "That's funny." "What's so funny about it?" "But what about Joe's test pit?" "Oh, that's been logged over since the day Joe left We haven't even been near it." "That's funny," Jeanne said again, in a worried tone. "You're sure you haven't worked it at all?" "Sure? Of course I'm sure." "But somebody's worked it," Jeanne insisted. "I just came past there." "Oh, you're wrong, Jeanne." "But I'm not. Somebody's been working it!" "What for? There isn't a chance to get a dime out of it. The thing was only a test development." "Just the same " "It wasn't even anywhere near the gravel level when Joe pulled out." "I can't help that," the girl insisted. in-sisted. "Somebody's been working there. I saw fresh dirt on the dump. The logs have been moved and somebody's been down the ladder." lad-der." "Impossible." "The dirt on the dump isn't 24 hours old." "Mind going back there?" asked Hammond abruptly. They talked but little on the trail; there was nothing to say, save Jeanne's reiterations re-iterations of what she had seen. At last, deep in the bush, they sighted the mound of earth which McKenzie Joe had raised in his efforts to find the lost river bed. Hammond began to hurry, the girl keeping pace with him. Finally they were at the pit. Jeanne had reported truthfully. The dump had grown considerably; Jack reached forth a hand and picked up some of the soil, rubbing it between his ringers. "They've gone down into another strata," came at last. "This isn't the soil McKenzie Joe was working work-ing in." He looked about him. "Must work at night I've never seen anyone around here when I went up the hill trail. Some way, I always look over here too. Still, I wouldn't notice unless they came out into the open all these trees " "Oh, they've worked here, all right. Look at these footprints." Jack bent and, with a great heave, threw back one of the logs which covered the mouth of the pit. He went to his knees, peering downward. The faint light penetrated pene-trated only a short distance. Rising, Ris-ing, he threw aside the other coverings. cov-erings. Then with a glance downward: down-ward: "I guess I'd better take a look at the bottom. They've gone down a long ways." "Yes, see how they've built up the ladder." "It's nearly twice as long as it was." He swung over the side and clambered clam-bered down the rough ladderway, fashioned of barked spruce. For a long time there was no sound from below. Then the ladder bent again with his weight. "Jeanne!" he called from somewhere some-where in the depths. "Take this be careful with it." She bent over the edge, both hands extended for the hat which he handed up. It was filled with yellow earth, mixed with gravel. Then the man climbed out, his features fea-tures a mixture of grimness and bewilderment. be-wilderment. He said, bluntly: "Give that to me. Let's get down to the creek where I can find a gold pan." At the stream Hammond worked wordlessly, Jeanne watching over his shoulder. Light was fading, there was barely sufficient to allow them to finish their experiment; autumn now had brought days as short as the nights had been; darkness dark-ness came by 4:30. Time after time, the refuse content was flowed away. Then, as both the water and the residue became lower, Jeanne reached forward. "Look!" She picked something from the bottom of the pan. It was a gold nugget, twice as large as a pea. Further work brought 'forth a dozen more. At last Hammond Ham-mond stuffed them into a pocket and, disregarding the flakes and finer gold at the bottom of the pan, washed its contents away in the stream. He straightened. (TO BE COST1XVED) v si SN CHAPTER IX Continued ;:.BoW can it help turning out?" Ming asked. "That river ran : here somewhere. Unless," he ded "it defied every rule of ge-, ge-, ,ey'and swung under the bench )jd where I filed that worthless nch of claims." you've never pulled those out, "unmond suggested. "You said ftnething about it when we signed our agreement about having to ne out eight acres for that Eng-"h Eng-"h syndicate." 'Wing nodded thoughtfully. ATve got to be getting at that. 1'!d a letter from them yesterday. Should have deeded it over be-e. be-e. But oh, I don't know, when et home at night " Hammond said nothing. Bruce, "knew, was seldom home, at least ftil late. His cabin rarely bore ranees of his presence when ck went up on the hill, of eve-pjgs, eve-pjgs, to be with Kay and her moth- And the workmen talked daily n'what Kenning had done over at i100pee, at the roulette wheel. gave it little attention; he TTt that Bruce's winnings or losings ild not be for sizable amounts, ""least, he said nothing about it, ":ept now and then to explain his rgardness by good - naturedly sing himself for being a fool iut roulette. Id1! ""Know what I think I'd better e " Kenning asked suddenly. 3 lat bench land's no good. Both I!' us know that. But I never take jices. I think I'll pull off a cou-of cou-of men from this work here I put down a test pit. Just to be e. Then, when it's done, I'll w out that acreage and get rid that English syndicate. Send .1 what they're looking for " laughed abruptly "Something don't want." Jiammond laughed with him. J I'Put down a test pit and then ' 1 be sure of it," he answered, J headed slowly back toward ip. But within sight of his cabin, jegan to hurry. Mrs. Carewe, Joyce maid, was there. Kay , sent her to bring him up the Hammond finished the ascent he trail on a run. He never re had received a summons this. ly was in the living room, walkabout walk-about her hands clasped tight- )efore her. From a distance e the faint drone of an air-e. air-e. Tou're late," she said. J came as quickly as I could. I at the upper workings. What's ;f- ened?" se gave a brittle laugh, fell," came abruptly, "I'm " :e." .there's your mother?" ghat's it." jij'ou don't mean" fiey're in that airplane, bound UfVrangeU." vn(he's gone with Olson?" .ffi Eirl laughed again, that V?' thin-drawn laugh, cs, she's gone with Olson. He Iout this afternoon, to a bunch --i up the creek. I tried to get of you thought maybe you argue with her. But it on't have helped. She's want-'son want-'son and his nuggets ever since 'aw him. So they're gone. Tim-2 Tim-2 fiying them to Wrangell." 'other month went by, blazing jnS'ays, deepening into chill nights, the i the dusk creeping over the J more swiftly .with each pass- -y. The bears had left the U slides; berries were gone and ms withered. The little town m more careful of sparks. Smnal dryness was upon the mowing more and more and menacing each day. With '1 i Ud' miners tued their fl-flwward in search of evidences J,e first snowstorm. But the s Passed and the sun blazed illen- ne day, shortly aft-lunch aft-lunch hour, a workman came ifCi T? Loon Creek' shout" ?a Hammond. f- Kenning wants you up there J bench,haftr he exclaimed. found something!" ffond hesitated only long ViL. Summon Kay. Then, breathless beside him, they tlle,uPl)er diggings. Ken- odC impalient' aw- D wSk,?leWhy il PPened!" fl" WMly. "It's against ev-ng ev-ng Ive figured. It's there- :f ended his clutched hands, g clnT ,TVed f0rward' Ham-'ose Ham-'ose behind her. The man's 'Jit e. aped with yellow griO e wet sand of deep gravel to the hulking nuggets. . S-,0braveI s choked with them!" saw, fa a queer vo.ee. Hammond stared at the yellow wealth. "But how did it get there?Away over on this bench land this has been solid earth for " "A thousand years!" answered Kenning. "But there's gravel beneath." be-neath." "Certainly. You can find gravel almost anywhere. But for gold to be in it have you struck bedrock?" "We're not anywhere near bedrock!" bed-rock!" Kenning answered. "You needn't shout," Kay suggested. sug-gested. Bruce laughed. "Well, what are you shaking about?" "I guess everybody's nervous," Hammond cut in. He wiped the back of a hand across his wet forehead. fore-head. "So we've found it here. Where we least expected it." Again he asked, "Listen, Kenning, don't think I'm crazy. But are you sure? Are you really sure?" The man nodded toward the gaping gap-ing shaft. "Get down there and shovel out a panful and see for yourself," he answered. They were in Jack's cabin; Hammond Ham-mond was still shaken from the excitement ex-citement caused by the panful of earth which he had taken from the gravel of the bench-land test pit. Kay walked about nervously. Kenning Ken-ning pawed through a tin box which he had brought down from his cabin; cab-in; Hammond likewise had taken a bundle of papers from its hiding place under his bunk. j "It's a damn good thing we didn't take care of that English syndicate before we sank that test pit," Kenning Ken-ning said. "Well," Kay announced, "if you had, I'd have been sunk." "You?" "After all the touting I did, to get Jack to take your advice." "That would have been a hot one, now wouldn't it?" Jack Hammond Ham-mond hardly realized that he was speaking. He still could remember little but that pan of gravel as repeated re-peated washings slowly carried away the dross, at last to reveal the heavy sediment of golden globules. glob-ules. "If we'd signed away that land and then this crooked English Eng-lish outfit had come along and made a ten-strike " "Not much danger of that," Kenning Ken-ning answered. "I told you in the beginning that they never intend to work it. Three years from now, we'll be able to buy back any land we sell them at our own price if we want it." "And the problem is," Kay broke in, "to find something they don't want." She turned again to the window. "Looking for me, Mrs. Carewe?" she called. The maid of all work came nearer the cabin. "Tea's about ready, Miss Kay," she announced. "Thanks, I'll walk up with you." She turned, at the door. "Good night, Jack." "Oh good night, Kay good night." "Aren't you going to kiss me?" He dropped the bundle of papers that he might rush to her. "That gold's made an idiot of me." Suddenly his hands clenched. "Gee, Kay! We've found it!" "For all the good it does me." "That's out." There was a drive to his voice. "I give the orders from now on." She kissed him and patted him on the cheek. "So that's what a few nuggets can do!" But he would not let her go. Impulsively Im-pulsively he seized her, kissing her a dozen times, hugging her until she protested. Then, freeing her, he raised his big hands and pawed awkwardly at her smooth hair. "That's it" he said huskily. "I'll give the orders. I'm boss I'll tell you how to be happy. You can't imagine what this strike has done for me, Dearest!" Laughing, she pushed him away. "I've a fair idea," she answered, and calling good-night to the obsessed ob-sessed Kenning, went forth to join Mrs. Carewe. Hammond watched her until she was lost in the twist of the ascending trail. "Kay's been swell about not wanting want-ing to marry me just because I had money," he said brusquely, as he rejoined Kenning. "But she's waited long enough. Besides, I really didn't have much to offer her before just those Loon creek claims." "You've got plenty now." "And some to spare. That reminds re-minds me. What are we going to do now about that English syndicate?" syndi-cate?" "Yes, we ought to get that out of the way." Kenning consulted the list of their holdings. "I don't see anything here that can come out of the stuff I threw in the pot." "It's all on the course of that gravel bed, isn't it?" The Man Looked Down in Amazement. tumn days were donating a part of their work time to the completion of giant, log life-rafts, with heavy boxes for food and blankets, the grim insurance of every outpost settlement when the sun blazes for 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 chances when forest fire lurks in the offing; these days at Sapphire lake were ones of apprehension. That there would be a fire, provided snow or rain did not soon fall, was almost a certainty; prospectors were wandering the hills, seeking the mother lode source of the nuggets nug-gets which had brought humanity into this far land. After a time, in-terest in-terest in the sight ceased for Hammond. Ham-mond. He still wanted to see Jeanne Towers and receive her congratulations. congratu-lations. Finally he began to walk in the direction she had taken. They met, some four hundred yards from camp, where Jeanne followed fol-lowed a winding trail through the high, heat-yellowed marsh grass. "I've been looking everywhere for you! We've found it! All the gold in the world!" The girl cried out happily, "You've really found the old bedrock?" bed-rock?" "You should have seen the pan I washed the stuff out in!" Jack answered an-swered disjointcdly. '"The whole bottom covered, either with nuggets nug-gets or flake gold. Like it had been gilded. You'll see a rush all right when this news gets out It's another Klondyke." He whirled then, looking down toward the lake, as if he could visualize visu-alize the speeding of motor boats, the plodding progress of scows, the |
