Golden Graves [pp. 1-17]

Golden Graves.
by a more circuitous route upon noticing
that he was being observed.
So, almost daily, for a week, and then for
another, and again another. Meanwhile our
singular conduct began to attract the attention of the rest of the miners. It seemed
very strange that I should have so suddenly
abandoned labor at my claim; and that the
boy, instead of taking the earliest opportunity to leave the mine, in which he could no
longer have any interest, and going off to his
own place, wherever that might be, should
still linger around. And why, whenever we
strolled away, did we always take the same
direction; and why was one so constantly
followed by the other-neither of us by any
chance speaking, yet both of us invariably
bending our steps toward the same point, as
though attracted by some common interest?
It seemed all very strange indeed. And
yet, as time ran on, and the mystery remained unsolved, new objects of attention
of course came up, and so discussion of the
matter gradually dropped, until even private
speculation was at last abandoned. It grew
to be an old story, in fact; and among that
gathering of all kinds of character, personal
eccentricities were too common to command
long continued attention.
So for a month-and then another. The
fall of the year was now well advanced, and
there were symptoms of an approaching
movement among the miners. It was not a
large settlement,-had been the creation of
a single source of attraction-was ten miles
removed, and by only a mule path at that,
from the nearest of the more permanent
mining centers; thence it was more than
eighty miles by wagon road from Stockton.
It behooved any who might intend to remain
during the winter to begin making themselves comfortable with log huts instead of
tents, and with such a plentiful stock of provisions as might probably be within the
means of very few. Possibly it did not
happen to be within the means of any, for
during the first week of November, there
seemed to be a very general stirring about
on the part of all to get out of the place.
First, a few Chileans, whom nobody missed,
slipped silently away. Then came boisterous good byes and farewell drinks among
the American settlers; and daily, white tents
that here and there had dotted the plain,
disappeared, and heavily laden mules were
seen struggling up the path that led to the
higher land above. Now and then, too, a
single miner with a blanket on his back,
and a few light implements in his hand,
could be seen plodding away muleless, in
the insignificance of his destitution, stealing
away almost as unregarded as the Chileans.
Among the last to go was our elected Judge.
He had been detained, closing up some
rather extensive interests in a flume; and
now, being ready to leave, came to me.
"I am a little anxious, Michigan, about
that boy-Charley, as he is called. In one
way he is nothing to me, of course, and yet
he seems so weak and unprotected-in fact,
he should have gone home, wherever that
is, weeks ago. You seem to know as much
about him as any one. Can't you look to
him a little, if you stay much longer?
"I don't know how much longer I shall
stay here, Judge Conley. But I will promise
to do what I can to help the boy, if he will
let me, and that I will not leave the mine
before he does."
"Right: I suppose that is all anybody can
ask. Well, good bye, and luck to you."
He turned off, and was gone that same
afternoon. Others almost immediately followed him, and within a day or two-it had
come to about the middle of the monthnearly the whole population of the mine had
melted away. There was nothing left standing upon the whole plain, in fact, except
the two small tents about a quarter of a mile
apart, from which Charley and I still kept
our solitary watch upon each other.
We had never spoken together since we
had parted after the gambler's funeral; we
had scarcely ever met, and if by any chance
a meeting was threatened, had mutually
avoided it by some divergence upon one
side or the other. Not that there was any
actual quarrel between us: but when men
are moved by different and diverse interests,
it is perhaps as well that they should keep
1886.]
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