If Any Man Sin

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 th

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 ha

pon 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

ith almost bated breath they discussed what they had seen and heard. They believed that the white

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

, 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 alwa

it in days past, but in his journey northward he had watched prospectors at work on the bars

ted 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 tre

ugh to eat his meal with Nance. The lure of the gold was upon him, and it was with

ped 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

ingly through his treasure, "this is gold! You wil

d, picking up several of the large

et home. We will both p

nes picked out. This they did each night, for every day the work of washing out the gold

o, 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 a

is he was not mistaken, for, digging with feverish haste, he struck at last upon solid rock. He could

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 si

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 lu

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 fa

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 t

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 c