"I rode up to see him whenever I could, and father wanted him to have
some one stay with him, but the old man would not. Patsy was his only
nurse. The ranchers laughed and said he was luny over gold, and that he
never had seen any. Still there was the ore to cause wonderment, until
a miner declared it was some the old man had left in his kit from
Klondike. The report that he was trying to sell a claim that never
existed, made folks shun him even when they heard he was sick.
"Cold weather was coming on and mother would not let me risk the long
ride to his cabin so often, but one warm Saturday I packed supplies and
rode Noddy up there. I found the poor man unconscious. Patsy stood by
the bunk licking the limp hand. I looked about but no food or drink
could I see. I lifted his gray head and tried to make him sip water
from my bottle, but he merely opened his eyes and smiled.
"He tried to take something from under his head and I helped him. I
found a scrawl saying, 'Look on Patsy's collar.'
"He tried to mumble and I stooped low but he relaxed suddenly and
seemed to shrink. I felt his heart but it was still. I tried his eyes
and they were sightless. Patsy sent up a heartrending wail and crawled
over behind his master's gun and knapsack, so I knew my old friend was
dead.
"I removed the paper from Patsy's collar and saw my name on it. Upon
opening it, I found the dear man had left me all his interests in the
claim filed at Oak Creek offices.
Pages:
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146