Adventure, June 1911 — page 113: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Bread and Salt Under cover of my hands raised to light my pipe, I gave Vincent a wink and he de- clined the suggestion, and after a little fur- ther fretting Black was compelled to set off by himself. - I gave him plenty of time to get out of sight and hearing. Then I took up the pan and shovel myself. “We'll do a little prospecting on our own * hook!” I laughed. “I thought I’d manage to get rid of him somehow.”’ _I chose a spot some distance from where Black had taken his dirt. We filled the pan and washed it out. We got nothing. “However, that really doesn’t prove any- _ thing,” said Vincent hopefully. “Not a thing,” I admitted, and dug up another panful. This time we got two little colors, almost microscopic and of no calcula- ble value. I shifted ground and washed again. .No showing. “Do you know what I-begin to believe, Vincent?” I said. “Yes. But you might be off the pay- streak, you know.” Like Hamlet and his friends we once more removed our ground. ‘“‘I‘thought I knew our friend Black pretty well!’’ I chuckled. Again I’heaved the black sand into the pan and dipped up water and swished it about and spilled it over the rim, while Vincent leaned over my shoulder and watched in- tently. “Let me have it.” he urged finally. “You go at it too carelessly.” I resigned the pan to him, and stood aside while he scooped up more water and care- fully slopped it over the brim, a spoonful at a time. I thought he would never have done. Tired at length with standing still, { took a turn up and down the bars. I tried to find evidence on the surface of the ground, but the bars all lay so low that the least rise in the creek would overflow them, and search was useless. Passing by Vincent on my still hunt I heard him suddenly catch his breath, and stopped to see what was the matter. “Suffering Sassafras!’’ he ejaculated awe- somely. ‘‘Come, look here, George!’ I looked, and just peeping up out of the handful of mud left in the pan I beheld the smooth, yellow top of a gold nugget as big as a pea! With tremulous fingers Vincent picked it out and contemplated it with rap- ture. Finally. he handed it over to me. It was a good nugget, pure gold, and worth two dollars at the least! 299 “I take it all back, Vincent,” I said. “That’s ‘the real thing, Annie.’ Nobody salted that here! I reckon this is a placer claim all right.” “Let’s hurry up and see if we can find any more before Black gets back!” proposed Vincent, grabbing thepan. “Why, this may be another Alder Gulch!” Fem JUST then the chugging of the Se6 machine came to our ears. For a a4 moment Vincent hesitated, then gave it up. ‘‘We haven’t time,” he murmured disappointedly, bending down to wash the pan clean. ‘Then we went back to the dry ground again, regaining our place just as the car rounded the hill. I still held the pre- cious nugget in my hand. “Put that thing in your pocket!” Vin- cent commanded excitedly. “For heaven’s sake don’t let Black see it! He’d triple the price of thisland. And keep quiet about it, too!’’ Black himself was driving the auto, the driver having been relegated to the back seat in disgrace. I knew why. “Nothing in the world the matter but a spark-plug blown out!’’ Black explained “wrathfully as he brought the car to a stop. ‘“Any- fool ought to know how to fix that!” : Vincent and Black sat together on the way back and sparred for points all the way in. The agreement was eventually reached just-a short way from town by a concession on Black’s part, which I am certain he was ready to yield all the time rather than not make the sale. At the hotel we parted, Black going to find his attorney to prepare the necessary documents. Vincént was elated. The day in the open: had given us both splendid ap- petites and we had a sumptuous dinner. Vincent threw all his dietary injunctions to the four winds and ate like a wolf. When we finally got down to the cheese and water- crackers he sighed like a young simoon and announced that he would have to fast for a month to get back into shape. “But I did a good piere of work to-day, George,” he remarked, by way of justifica- tion, at the same time adding a piece of cheese and bite of bread to the burden. His mouth closed upon the morsel apprecia- tively while a wave of gastronomic delight spread itself from chin to eyebrows. My amused study of his perfect satisfaction, Go JOO AMG SoCO)