THE GOLDEN LURE
Martin slept but little that night, as his mind was much disturbed.
There were many things to think about since his discovery of the
previous day. He did not feel quite sure of himself now. He had imagined
that he had severed all connection with the outside world and that never
again could he endure the trammels of conventional social life. He was
so satisfied with the quiet ways of the wilderness that the awakening
came as a severe shock. It was the gold which had made the change. He
could not enjoy it here, but out there what magic it would work. What
doors hitherto closed would instantly be opened, and great would be his
influence. What a surprise it would be to the Church which had cast him
off, he mused, when he arose from seclusion and oblivion, and startled
the world with his vast wealth. A grim smile of contempt curled his lips
as he pictured how the church dignitaries, and others, would condone his
past sin, and fawn upon him because of his money. How gratifying it
would be to hear the very men who had condemned him most severely lift
up their voices in praise of his contributions to the building of
churches or charitable institutions. And would not the newspapers, which
had devoted big headlines to his fall, be as eager to laud him for his
munificence? Then he thought of Nance. How much the gold would do for
her. She would be able to mingle with the most select people. He would
take her to all parts of the world, and wherever they went they would
gladly be received because of their riches.
It was little wonder, therefore, that sleep would not come to Martin
with such visions whirling through his brain. He rose early, long before
Nance was awake, and prepared breakfast. A new spirit possessed his
soul. He drank in great draughts of the fresh morning air, and he felt
like shouting with exultation. He had to give vent to his feelings, and
the only way he could do so was upon his violin. How he did play! There
was a triumphant jubilant note in his music. The Indians were surprised
and startled to hear the strains of the violin at such an early hour,
while the dogs set up loud barks and howls. The natives tumbled out of
their lodges and hastened to the white man's cabin. They gathered in
front of the building, and stood watching Martin as he sat upon a block
before the door, playing fast and furiously upon his violin. His long
beard swept his breast, for he had not touched a razor to his face since
entering the wilderness. His chest was expanded, and his body was drawn
up rigid and erect. His eyes, which looked straight ahead, glowed with a
defiant, victorious light. His moccasined right foot beat time upon the
ground to the music.
For a while the Indians stood watching this unusual sight, and then
glided back to their lodges. With almost bated breath they discussed
what they had seen and heard. They believed that the white man was
possessed with some strange spirit, or why should he look and act in
such a peculiar manner?
For some time Martin played after the natives had left, and only ceased
when Nance came out of the house. She looked at him with astonishment in
her eyes, and then ran to him for her customary morning kiss. Martin
smiled as he laid aside the instrument, and turned his attention to the
child. He felt much relieved, and viewed the whole situation in a calmer
and more reasonable light. His dreams of wealth had been too fanciful,
so he told himself. Perhaps he would not find the gold as easily as he
had imagined. There might not be any in the valley, and what he had seen
might have been washed from some source which he could not discover.
Martin was now anxious to hurry back up the river as soon as possible to
make a careful examination of the ground. In an Indian lodge he had once
seen a shovel and a small pick. They had been found years before, so he
was informed, on a creek many miles away. Nearby were lying the
skeletons of two men, prospectors no doubt, who had miserably perished
in their search for gold. The natives regarded the pick and shovel with
considerable interest, and had always taken good care of them. Provided
with these, his axe, and his frying-pan, which would serve him in the
stead of the prospector's regular gold-pan, Martin at length reached the
spot where he had made the discovery the day before.
He knew something about mining operations on a small scale, as he had
not only read much about it in days past, but in his journey northward
he had watched prospectors at work on the bars of the river and along
the water's edge. This knowledge was of considerable service to him now.
Leaving Nance to continue her play of the day before, Martin scooped up
a quantity of gravel with his frying-pan. Washing this carefully, he was
delighted to find some gold lying in the bottom of the pan. His
excitement now became intense. Stripping off several pieces of the bark
of the cottonwood tree, he spread them upon the ground. Upon these he
deposited his treasure so that the sun would dry it, and turned once
more to the panning of the gravel.
All the morning and afternoon he worked with feverish haste, stopping
only long enough to eat his meal with Nance. The lure of the gold was
upon him, and it was with great reluctance that he abandoned his task in
the evening to go back to his cabin.
He now believed that all the ground up and down the creek was rich with
gold. The magnitude of his discovery almost overwhelmed him. He dropped
upon the bank and tried to think it all out. He longed to express
himself to some one, in order to relieve his feelings. Gold! Gold! He
was wealthy beyond his wildest dreams, and there was no one to interfere
with him. Gathering up the gleaming ore, he placed it all in his cap.
"Look, Nance!" he cried, as he ran his fingers lovingly through his
treasure, "this is gold! You will be the richest woman on earth when you
grow up!"
"Pretty, pretty," the child replied, picking up several of the largest
nuggets. "Let me play with them."
"Yes, Nance, when you get home. We will both play with them then, eh?"
That night outside the cabin door the gold was all carefully examined,
and the little stones picked out. This they did each night, for every
day the work of washing out the gold was continued. It was then placed
in a strong moose-skin bag and hidden away in the cabin.
After he had been working for some time in the stream Martin turned his
attention to the bank above. He believed that gold in large paying
quantity could be found by digging down through the earth and if
possible reaching bed-rock. This he accordingly began to do, and with
pick and shovel he made good progress until he struck frozen earth. This
needed to be thawed, so, gathering dry wood, he kept a fire burning all
through the day. While this thawing process was going on he prepared
other shafts over which fires were also built. Every day he dug out the
softened earth and ere long had several excavations from six to ten feet
in depth. The farther he descended the richer became the ground. At
times he would wash out a pan full of earth to find a most gratifying
amount of gold.
One afternoon he came to gravel which led him to believe that he was now
not far from bed-rock. In this he was not mistaken, for, digging with
feverish haste, he struck at last upon solid rock. He could see that the
gravel was full of gold, and every shovelful he threw out sparkled with
the golden ore.
The bed-rock, which was soon exposed, sloped downward, and as Martin
continued his shovelling, he came to a crevice, and here he found gold
which caused him to drop his shovel and to stare in amazement. Then he
rubbed his eyes to be sure that he was not mistaken. He stooped for a
better inspection. He sank upon his knees and tore at the treasure with
his hands. Some of it was loose, but for the most part it was packed and
wedged into the split of the bed-rock. How far this ran underground he
could not tell. But right in sight was a fortune in itself. Compared
with this new discovery his past efforts seemed ridiculous. He recalled
how he had hoarded the smallest grains with the greatest care. But here
it was as plentiful as dirt, nuggets large and small all jammed between
the rocks.
Although this gold was of no more use to Martin than the gravel lying
around, yet it filled him with intense excitement. There was the joy of
discovery, and the happy feeling that so much wealth was his with none
to dispute his claim. He understood now for the first time something of
the fascination of the quest which lures men into the wilderness to
endure untold hardships for the golden treasure. The mere finding the
gold, looking upon it, and fondling it, form the great reward.
Nance was not with Martin the day of his great discovery. She had stayed
at home with Quabee as she generally did now, for the trips up the river
had lost their fascination for her. She had been left much to herself
and had found no interest in the big holes which Martin had dug in the
ground. Her sand houses were of more importance to her, and she had
cried at times when Martin would not play with her. To her the gold was
nothing more than so many pretty little stones. She did not know that to
obtain such things men and women in the far-off world would be willing
to sacrifice almost everything; that for those common things men were
sweltering, fighting, and dying; or that if the richness of the Quaska
valley became known a vast army of gold seekers would pour into the
place and change peace into chaos.
Neither did the natives realise the great wealth lying so near their
encampment. They knew nothing as yet of the magic power of gold, as all
their trading hitherto with the white people had been with the skins of
wild animals. The action of their white brother digging so earnestly up
the river simply amused them. Ever since that morning when they had
watched him playing at such an early hour before his cabin door they had
serious doubts as to his sanity. They had often discussed the strange
expression in his eyes, and the wildness of the sounds he had made upon
the "stick with strings," the name they gave to the violin.
Martin was greatly pleased that the natives did not understand what he
was doing. It would have given him no end of trouble if they realised
the value of the discovery he had made. Therefore, when he returned to
his cabin with the gold he had taken off of bed-rock there was no one to
ask any questions, and no curious excited persons crowding around to
examine the ore. There was only Nance, who was not even surprised, who
merely ran to meet him to tell what she and Quabee had been doing during
the day.