Picture Play Magazine (Sep 1916 - Feb 1917)

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56 The Quitter to," Happy cut in. "The girl who has that claim now keeps it! It must be a worth-while claim, judgin' from the money you gave me, an' I'm glad a worth-while girl has got it. I'm not a drinkin' man, Mr. Willet, an' them few drinks we had together must 'a' made me forget I'd deeded over the claim. I'm plumb sorry." "Sorry! What good is that goin' to do me? Where's that money I paid you?" "A holdup gang got it ; but I'll work my fingers to the bone to square the debt. Only keep that little girl out uh it!" "I told you he was a crook !" thundered Willet. "Sheriff, lock this scoundrel up !" "Stop!" The door of the shack opened, and Glad stood there, her eyes blazing. "I never expected to see you again, Mr. Willet ; I never expected to hear you call any one a scoundrel. You! Why, you're not fit to brush the shoes of any man in this camp ! I heard what you said. You've bought this claim from Happy Jack. Rather than see him suffer for what he did out of his splendid manliness, I cheerfully turn the mine over to you. Bill, let go of Jack's arm and get busy with the papers for the recorder's office." Willet was smiling. "That being the case," he said, "we'll call off the arrest of Lewis and go down and have a drink. Come on, Condon !" "I won't have it!" stormed Jack. "Come back here, Willet ! She goes as she lays. This here claim ain't mine, I tell yuh, an' I took your money under false pretenses. Bill, put the handcuffs on !" "Fix it up with Miss Mason," said Willet over his shoulder. "If you can make her change her mind about anything you're a better man than I am." Jack swore, and would have dashed after the promoter, but Bill held him back. "Don't get het up, son. I've got a little secret for you. I've just been talkin' to Syd, the assayer, an' he tells me that he has made one whale of a mistake. Seems he got two samples of ore mixed, an' this here claim that he has bought ain't wuth the papers the particulars of purchase is printed on. The sample of ore that Syd thought was from Happy Jack's mine here was really from an unworked proppity in Tulliver County, pronounced unsalable." "Tulliver County !" cried Glad. "Why, my father prospected there and staked out a claim " "And spent several years tryin' to make it pay," added Bill. "Syd told me the story. And your dad give Syd a sample that he thought looked good. Syd, like a darn fool, put the sample away so careful he forgot about it. Your dad died, little girl, an' you found yourself with a mine yuh couldn't sell. Now comes along Syd, he's a very good friend uh mine, an' he says he knows he assayed your dad's sample, thinkin' it was Happy Jack's, an' he declares that you've got one uh the best minin' proppities in the State if there's more of the ore to be found where your dad left off — an' I'm reckonin' there is." "Then I'm a really truly owner of a wealthy mine!" cried Glad. "Oh, Bill, I'm so glad ! Now we can laugh at Mr. Willet. I'll go right in and pack, and we'll start a new Paradise Gulch in Tulliver County." Big Bill patted her shoulder, while Happy Jack looked on, rueful at the turn of events. "I know a plan !" said Glad suddenly, turning to Happy Jack. "You've sold your claim, Jack — now don't come back at me with any talk about this place being mine. You were a dear, good boy to give it to me, but I've given it back to you, and you've sold out to — that person from Gold City. Now what are you going to do, sir?" Happy Jack stood twirling his hat.