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Page: of 12
RR ArH «9 Norm ose SP
Py % EE
The Nevada County Nugget, Wednesday, October 20, 1971 7
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POT ee SS deena _—_— — — — _— a7 ieee an —_
= — began — ‘pe ‘
— ——— Boog
seme ie
_ ———_ __—
i
—_—_—_—_————
me ow as =
— os any ——
Sine ee a TS Se ae Gig ce
‘ity of Six’
in accord, the pagan charm of the Sierra Foothills. They
was only interested in the output, yet he was as coldly calculating in his role of employer as he had been in his old profession, selecting his men for their skill and cpacity and
liberally rewarding them for two promising locations on the
supposed course of the channel just. over the ridge, and was
driving a tunnel under the mountain to intersect it, an adit
tha would penetrate through some two thousand feet of bed) rock before reaching the if it exi i ji gravel bed, if it existed. This meant
were playing with fire, both man and maid, sal geen ron a preliminary investment of at least twenty thousand dollars,
at attachment, the growth of this daily intimacy, that was * Mo a dead loss if there was miscalculation, an unprofitable out55 them in stronger fetters that that of mere friendship an was lay if the. channel was there and the gravel not so rich as -:
d fast ripening into a closer bond. .The untutored girl had no ~ anticipated :
= prescience of this; she was too happy and too ata On the other hand, ail the old river beds where opened
at give herself any self-examination; she only knew, or faintly had been rich with gold, and success meant a return of a hun5: realized, that this was indeed paradise, herself too pure and dredfold,
Hun: 3
n innocent to anticipate the intrusion of the serpent. Her father So after all it was really a gamble, and as Brant put it :
; was with her in all her walks and wanderings, and if she rine if Nature had not stacked the cards against him he reckoned
s any thought to the situation it was oe ey bens on seis it would consume at least a year before the preliminary work of Ft filial task that she had yee es sre aad a jibe phere boring the tunnel could be completed, Brant had but little to
when Rance “was absont,. and . va bo ood ware ant seat occupy his tune beyond a dailyr ride to the claims and a rather F:
The sun did. not shine so brightly, the w ‘arte irk impatient overlook of the progress being made. It seemed
tractive, the companionship of the father gree ite tr i to him that he had started on an interminable and neverending J
se peg mad DS altars esica™ mie tugemously tsi task. It was the day of hand drilling and black powder as con:
he moods. cann : ; < ‘ . : : .
“a Rance, and’ that »wortliy -adinitted that ia ates had his'biee trasted with the present machine drills and dynamite, and al
that existed between the partners. The original members had =, a
endured the hardships and shared the good fortune of its pros3
perous growth, and in the intimate life there had growna =
uld days, which seemed to fall on the _occasions when he rode tie of brotherhood, an affectionate concern for and. in ere =
1 of away with the treasure to Forest City, and this, he argued, other's affairs that knit each closely to the other. Brant di
aswas due to the responsibility which, thrust upon him, brought not reach this inner circle of fraternal regard, He isto =
put him back to the practical affairs of life. . intruder, a selt-invited visitor whose pursuits were alstinet :
f of In the self-communings of these lonely rides, Rance began from and not in common with those of his associates. . 2
had to get a glimmering of the true conditions; and while he was that he was made to feel this; on the contrary, he was place =
CO, neither startled nor’ displeased, it compelled him to a little on the most friendly { ooting, tak anita ciously the line was :
was more serious thought. He had looked upon and accepted Dot drawn, Mike was too busy with the supervision of the os y Fs
lisas a child, a charming, unsophisticated girl who, while the to give any of his valuable time to hospitable duties; Tex 4
and opposite of the rustic maiden of: his previous mental deduchad his’ romance which absorbed him; and Rance, to whom =:
antions. Instead, she was budding into womanhood, and this tall, was due Brant's presence in the place, had drifted bed in #
ces graceful, self-possessed maiden was as attractive in person another path, taking upon himself the care of Wakefie a, a z
jay. as in mind, Rance never tired of admiring the abundant mass duty more cheerfully undertaken, perhaps, from the fact tha
was of wavy brown hair, coiled and crowning her well-poised head, Dot and her father were inseparable. To be sure, there _ E
cing the Greek contour of her profile, the expressive eyes half the reunions at the table and the siesta under the pines when :
ate hidden under the long lashes, the small mouth and full red twilight fell, but here a curious embarrassment arose, Laie )
ble, lips, the rounded curves of form and the lightness and springi: It was evident that Wakefield had conceived an he aa
waa ness of step, that sign of youth and health, And to, she was bitter dislike toward Brant. While this was not demi ate
und endowed with an alertness of mind, a sense of humor so rare by any marked outburst or hostile act, still by that telepathic :
rein women, a sympathetic ear; in fact, when Rance, in his mediinterchange of mind and thought Wakefield's into erance was
titations, dwelt on all these graces, he could see only the permentally conveyed. He had dubbed Brant lago" at e ir t a
and ‘fect woman, and great was his wonderment that such a pearl encounter, and from that day had bestowed no rt er r : of
tual should have found its way to so prosaic a place as The City nition beyond a muttered excerpt that fitted the reac ero us é
des of Six ° Venitian’s character. At times his eye lighted up wi . _
ae
hate unmistakable in its malignancy, and the little group fear E=
ial an overt demonstration, although it _was only a momemtary =
et CHAPTER XVI mood, as he quickly lapsed into his usual apathy. His atti4
1ed. BRANT AND MRS, WAKEFIELD BECOME FRIENDLY tude was more marked in the outdoor wanderings. Here nothing r
oe . would persuade him to accept or remain in Drant's and
was TO Brant had come the knowledge that there were comand any attempt to share the walks was balked by a sullen an Z ;
jay, pensations to be found in legitimate, prusuits that were unsilent refusal to join. ; . Fe
ose known in his old career. While he was the capitalist espe ; (To be continued) i a
ae than the miner, and left to others the hard work and toil an —_—— ' os = ——
aa So ee FF
though the work never ceased, day or night, the hard rock
was stubborn and five or six feet was the average daily progression. Was he chasing a rainbow with the mythical pot of
gold at the other end? Was all this talk of buried rivers and
extinguished water courses a fantastic theory evolved to fit
the chance deposits along the ridge, or was it a world-fact
that in the dim past that theologians denied and science timidly revealed, gigantic forces had sported with mountain and
valley, uplifting and remoulding, vomitting ashes and lava over
crest and canyon, sealing the book of record until the avarice
“of man and the iure of gold re-opened its pages? He had plenty
of leisure to speculate on these problems, although he vexed
his brain but little in that direction. Gambler that he:was, he
never questioned the Biblical story of creation, and belief
‘ taught him that no such transformation could be wrought in
the brief. centuries since the earth was evolved out of chaos;
he had no ambition to reconcile science and religion, and so
dimissed the subject from his mind.
PART XXV
While he had become an accepted dweller in the camp he
had been unable to establish that same bond of comradeship