OCR Text |
Show 74 BY PATH AND TRAIL. ually an awe of the immense solitude possessed him. And little by little, as he afterward told the story, another feeling stole in upon him. The rock- ribbed gorge began to assume a certain familiarity, as though he had seen the place in other days and only partially remem bered it, and he could not shake off a subtle impression that he was about to hear or see something that would make this recollection vivid. There was no human being within a hundred miles, and often he was on the point of abandoning the claim and retracing his steps. But before he could make up his mind he struck an extraordinary formation. It was a sort of decomposed quartz, flaked and flecked with gold in grains as large as pin heads, and ragged threads that looked as if they had at one time been melted and run through the rock. Antonio knew enough to be satisfied that it would not take much of the " stuff" to make him rich, and he worked with feverish haste, uncovering the ledge. On the second day after his discovery, he was at the bottom of his shallow shaft, when suddenly he paused and listened to what he thought was the sound of a church bell. He rested on his shovel, the bell was ring ing and the sound was pleasant to his ears. It reminded him of home, of the Sunday mass, and the fond, familiar church, but above all, it brought back to him the faces of the old companions and acquaintances he met in the church square Sunday after Sunday, and the veiled and sinewy forms and faces of the senoritas crossing the plaza to hear mass. How long he had been dreamily listening to the church bell he did not know, but suddenly the thought came to him that there could be no church nearer than a hundred miles. Still he could hear the bell |