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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 1888)
THE WE8T SHORE. 71 The two men came into the room and sat down by the fire. Mr. Burt had forgotten Agnes was in the room, and carried on the conversation in a cool, un embarrassed way. " And so you are back, Mr. Ashton! You went to some mines, didn't you, last summer? " " Yes, sir. I remember passing here. I got back a few weeks ago, just in the beginning of cold weath er, and have been sick since am just able to be out" " You do look rather thin," observed Mr. Burt " But how did you pan out at the mines?" " Did first rate. Struck a good lead and develop ed it so as to make a sale to an eastern company just before I left Got $50,000.00." u Pretty good ! " exclaimed Mr. Burt, enthusias tically. " Yes, better than I had hoped. Well, I came back expecting to find my friend, Ben Murray you remember him but I can't find that he is on the stage route now. The agent at Butte is a new man, and don't know him, and he don't seem to bo in Butte, anywhere. I looked and inquired, and have written East, and finally, I thought if anybody would know about him, it would be you, bo I came" He stopped, hesitated, and then went on " I happened to hear of a dreadful accident that occurred at your bridge last summer, and I I won der if it could have been poor Ben?" As he spoke he looked straight at Mr. Burt, who had been growing restless ever since Ben's name had been mentioned. He grew pale, and his hand trem bled as he tried to carelessly rest it on his knee. " Well!" demanded the visitor, impatiently, with a ring of fear in his voice. " It was Ben," came 6lowly from Mr. Burt's trem bling lips. An exclamation of horror burst from the young man, as he clasped his hands an instant, then arose and paced the floor with rapid steps and bowed head. ' " Mv Door Acnes! " broke from his lips. He stopped, and addressing Mr. Burt, said: " Yon see. I am encaced to Ben's sister. She was to have joined him in September, and I expected to find her with him, so you can imagine my terrible disappoint ment And I find, by writing East, that she really rlM mmfl West later, but I can't find her in Butte or Helena. I am distracted! I can't think what to do next! The money I made is of no value to mo wun nnt ArmPfl and Ben." Air TW felt distracted, too. He did not know how he was to bring the young people together with out a scene-and he hated scenes. But he was not ,MTaiMfl. There was a sudden movement m the dark corner of the room, a graceful figure darted across the floor, and a sweet voice cned- " Harry 1 Look! It is I-Agnoa! " Mr. Burt considerately left the room, blowing his nose vigorously as ho went He told his wifo of tho happy New Year that had dawned in tho next room, and they rejoiced together, but did not mako their ap pearance in tho sitting room until Agnes opened tho door and said " Please, dear Mrs, Burt, will you como in and seo Mr.-my Harry?" And bo, after tragody and disappointment, thcro was real happiness at Burt's bridge. F. A. Reynolds. BURIED TREASURE OF TILLAMOOK. rPHE settlers down around Tillamook bay tell a I stoiy, which smacks strongly of Old Capo May and its ancient traditions of Captain Kid, tho bold buccaneer, and his buried treasures. Any " old-tim er " will tell, willingly, all ho knows, ami more, too, to the stranger to those parts, who has timo and in clination to listen. The story, on tho essential poiuts of which all eeera to agree, runs about as follows: Many ycarB ago, two hundred or more, a Spanish vessel, laden with fabulous treasuro, consisting of gold and silver bullion, casks of tho beautiful old doubloons, and trunks and chests of precious stones, taken from tho rich mines along tho Gulf of Califor nia, and destined for Spain, was driven, by stress of weather, far out of her course, and was finally wreck ed on the sharp rocks, in Nehalem bay. Thoso of tho crew of tho ill-fated bark, who survived, took tho treasuro from tho wreck and buriod it somowhero m the vicinity. Tho exact location of tho treasuro has ever sinco been a matter of speculation, and much money and timo havo been sint in fruitier search. So much, any old settler can tell, and in corroixr ation of tho story, ho will, most likely, tell you of the advent in Tillamook county, about three years ago, of four men, with a complete mining outfit. They claimed to have como from Philadelphia, and gavo it out, as their avowed intention, that they wero search ing for gold mines. They soon became tho laughing stock of tho country for miles aroand, for tho crazy manner in which they carried on their proiectiig. They dug holes in all conceivable places, regardless of any indications of mineral, and other wine conduct ed themselves in a very mysterious manner. After a year spent in this way, they left, as suddenly iu they had come. Pro! ably bocauso of tho digut they no doubt felt at their poor buccckh, and jx-rhapH to prove that they were not such fools as everybody wined to think, beforo they left they toll of having como acrws somo old SpanUh papers, which told of a