withered. That is how pisen a hoop snake
is. Well, of course there was lots of black snakes and they can wrap
you. One wrapped Kit O'Brien once; and he waited till it got itself so
tight that you could see through its skin, then he touched it with a
knife and it bust in two and fell off of him.

Well, we didn't find a thing, though once when we struck some tin cans,
I thought sure we'd hit it.

By and by one day when we was diggin', I looked up and saw an old feller
standin' watchin' us. He was awful old, maybe more than eighty, and he
just looked at Mitch and me and finally said, "Lost somethin', boys?"
Mitch said: "I suppose you might say so till we find it." Then the old
feller said: "I hope you'll find it, for you look hot workin' here in
this hot sun, and you are workin', I declare." Mitch's face was red and
he looked earnest, and I suppose I did too.

I don't know whether the old feller had talked to the miller or what,
but finally he said, "'Tain't likely you'll find any treasure here. It's
all been taken away long ago. Every place is like a mine, it produces a
certain amount and that's all. This place produced great riches, boys,
but it's a worked out place now. It's a dead mine." Then he stopped a
minute and talked to himself a little and looked around and said: "Yep,
this is the foundation of the Rutledge Tavern where Linkern lived. Yep,
I know because right over there is where Dr. Allen lived; and over this
a way was preacher Cameron's house, and here was the road, and down
yonder was Linkern and Berry's store, and back thar was Offets store.
Yep, it all comes back to me now. There was more'n twenty houses here,
shops, stores, schoolhouses, and this tavern; and here Linkern lived,
and I've seen him many a time around here. And I'm glad to see you boys
diggin' here for you might find treasure. Peter Lukins, the shoemaker
had his place just three houses over, right there, and he was a miser,
and they thought he hid his money sommers around here."

"Well," said Mitch, under his breath, "no more cheating to the county.
Law or no law, if we find it there, your pa will never know it. We've
had one experience and that's enough." So he said out loud to the old
feller--"Where is Peter Lukins' place?" And the old feller said: "Climb
out of thar and I'll show you."

We walked over about a hundred yards maybe, and here was another
foundation all full of dead weeds and new weeds, and so grown up you
could hardly see