Jasper County Democrat, Volume 19, Number 90, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 February 1917 — GOLD [ARTICLE]

GOLD

By STEWART EDWARD WHITE

SYNOPSIS Talbot Ward’s challenge to Frank Muaroe to a personal encounter to determine whether Munroe is fit to make a trip to California in search of gold is accepted. Munroe gets a hammerlock on Ward and wins the bout. They reach Gatun, and. after passing through several villages where Ward always diplomatically handles the natives, thev arrive in Panama. Ward puts it up to each man to get *220 in one day. Munroe makes *25 as a laborer. Johnny gambles and gets *220. Ward astounds the party by telling how, by shrewd business deals in one day tn the Golden City, he accumulated several thousand dollars. The party dig their first gold. They are not much encouraged when told that the value of their first pan is 12 cents. Don Gaspar, a Spaniard, and his manservant Vasquez join forces with the trio and the gold •is divided into five parts. After working like beavers several days the miners decide to take a day off and attend a miners’ meeting in town. For *ls a week in gold and a drink of whisky twice a day Bagsby promises to lead the party to a rich unexplored mlntag country. A band of Indians come into the camp to trade. They are thankful for blankets Letter the Indians attempt an ambuscade, but are routed bv rifle shots Johnny and his express messenger friends arrest two of the Hounds who are tried for robbery. The lawless element controls the trial and the Hounds are freed. Robberies grow more frequent as the lawless element holds sway. McNally end Buck Barry are murdered after the element gets control of the city. Danny Randall organizes a vigilance eommlttee. It is decided to publicly hang the leaders of the lawless element. The camp buzzes with excitement. Outbursts of the friends of the doomed men are checked by the determined attitude of Danny Randall and his committee. Arriving at San Francisco with little to show for their stay in the gold country, the party hunts up Talbot Ward. They meet VTard. He is one of the magnates of the city. While they have been hunting gold Ward, by clever real estate speculation, has grown rich. Ward thrills the gold seekers by declaring that each will receive his share of the money ho Has made.

CHAPTER XXXII. The Vision. WITHIN ten hours men were at work rebuilding. Within ten days the burned ar.ea was all rebuilt. It took us just about the former period of time to determine that we would be unable to save anything from the wreck and about the latter period for the general public to find it out. Talbot made desperate efforts for a foothold and in succession interviewed all the big men. They were sorry, but they were firm. Each had been bard hit by the fire; each had.-himself to cover; each was forced by circumstances to grasp every advantage. Again they were sorry. “Yes, they are!’’ cried Talbot. “They just reach out and grab what ought to be my profits, - Well, it’s the game. I’d do the same myself.” By that night we knew that Talbot had lost every piece of property he owned —or thought he owned. The-de-struction of the Ward block swept away every cent of income, with the exception of the dividends from the Wharf company stock. These latter could not begin to meet the obligations of interest and agreed payments on the other property. The state of affairs became commonly known in about ten days simply because in those rapid times obligations were never made nor money lent for longer periods than one month. At the end of each thirty days they had to be renewed. Naturally Talbot could not renew them. We knew all that long in advance, and we faced the situation with some humor. “Well, boys,’’ said Talbot, “here we are. About a year ago, as I remember it. our assets wqre a bundle of newspapers and less than SIOO. Haven’t even got a newspaper now, but I reckon among us we could just about scrape up the $100.” “I’ve got nearer $2,700 in my belt,” I pointed out. An embarrassed silence fell for a moment, then Talbot spoke up, picking his words very carefully. “We’ve talked that over. Frank." said he, “and we’ve come to the conclusion that you must keep that and go hornet justr as you planned to do. You’re the only man of us who has managed to keep what he has made. Johnny falls overboard and leaves his in the bottom of the Sacramento; Yank gets himself, busted in a road agent row; I -I—well. I blo’w soap bubbles. You’ve kept at it stdady and strong and reliable, and you deserve your good luck. You shouldn’t lose the fruits of your labor because we, each in our manner, have been assorted fools.” - I listened to this speech with growing indignation, and at its eonejusion I rose up full of what I considered righteous anger. My temper is very slow, to rouse, but when once it was* it takes possession of. me. ♦ ~ ' “Look here, you fellows,” very red in the face, they ten me, “you '-*- ’ » ■ ■

answer me a few questions. Are we or are we not partners? Are we or are we not friends? Do you or do you not consider me a lbw lived, white livered, mangy, good for nothing yellow pup? Why, confound your pusillanimous» souls, what do you mean by talking to me in that fashion? For just about 2 cents I'd bust your fool necks for you —every one of you!" I glared vindictively at them. "Do you suppose I’d make any such proposition to any of you—to ask you to sneak off like a whipped cur. leaving me to take the"— "Hold op, Frank," interposed Talbot soothingly. “I didn’t mean’’— “Didn't you ?" 1 ;Tied. “Well, what, did you mean? Weren’t you trying to make me out a "quitter?" I had succeeded in working loose my heavy gold belt, and 1 dashed it on the table in front of them. “There! Now, you send for some gold scales right now and you divide that up! Right here! Hang it all, boys,” I ended, with what to a cynical bystander would have seemed rather a funny slump into the pathetic, "I thought we were all real friends. You've hurt niy feelings.” It was very young and very ridiculous and perhaps—l can say it from the vantage of fifty years—just a little touching. At any rate, when I had finished my comrades were looking in all directions, and Talbot cleared his throat a number of times before he replied. “Why, Frank,” he said gently at last, “of course we'll take at —we never dreamed—of course—it was stupid of us, I’ll admit. Naturally I see just how'you feel,” “ft comes to about S7OQ apiece, don’t it?” drawled Yank. The commonplace remark saved the situation from bathos, as I am now certain shrewd old Yank knew it would. “What are you going to do with your shares, boys?” asked Talbot after awhile. “Going back home or mining? Speak up, Yank.” Yank spat accurately out the open window. “I’ve been figgering,” he replied. “And, when you come right down to it, what's the use of going back? Ain't it just an idee we got that it’s the proper thing to do? What’s the matter with this country anyway—barring mining?” “Barring-mining?” achoed Talbot. “The deuce with mining!” said Yank. “It's all right for a vacation, but it ain’t noways a white man's stiddy work. Well, we had our vacation.” “Then you’re not going back to the mines?” v “Not anyl” stated Yank emphatically, “Nor home?” “No.” “What then ?” “I'm going to take up a farm up thar. whar the Pine boys is settled, and I’m going to enjoy life reasonable. -Thar’s good soil, and thar’s water; thar’s pleasant prospects and lots of game and fish. What more does a man want? And what makes me sick is that it’s been thar all the time and it’s only just this minute I’ve come to see it.” “Mines for you, Johnny, or home?” asked Talbot. “Me, home?" .cried Johnny. “Why”— he checked himself and added more quietly: “No; I'm not going home. There's nothing there for me but a good time, when you come right down to it. And mines? It strikes me that fresh gold is easy, to get, but almighty hard to keep.” “Y’ou never said a truer word than that, Johnny,” I put in. “Besides which I quit mining some time ago. as you remember,” went on Johnny, ‘ due. to an artistic aversion to hard work," he added.

“Any plans? ’ asked Talbot. “I think I’ll just drift up to Sonoma and talk things over with Danny Randall,” replied Johnny vaguely. “He had some sort of an idea, of extending this express service next year.” “And you?” Talbot turned to me. “I,” said I firmly, “am going to turn over my share in a business partnership with you, and in the meantime I expect to get a job driving team with John McGlynn for enough to pay the board bill while you rustle. And that goes,” I added warningly. “Thank you/Frank,” replied Talbot, and I thought I saw his bright eye dim. He held silent for a moment. “Do you know,” he said suddenly, “I believe we’re on the right track. It isn’t the gold. That is a bait, a glittering bait, that attracts the world to these shores. It’s the country. The gold brings them, and out of the hordes that come some, like us, will stick. And after the gold is dug and scattered and all but forgotten we will find that we have fallen heirs to an empire.” THE END.