** Lost Gold At The Dead Man's Mine ** A Miners Journal **

[GhostMiner]

   June 7   1937     Part Seven

 

   We fired off short bursts from the BAR and the Thompson. The four thugs fell down in the hold they had dug for themselves. Then John and I began to laugh. We had fired into the air but the gangsters thought they were all dead men. They laid in the dirt shaking. I told them they had nothing left in this part of the country worth dying for. Their car was destroyed and we had taken their guns. I instructed them to walk out of this state and keep walking. I told them that if they ever came back they would be placed in the hole they had just dug and buried there. With that, John and I got in the truck and drove back to camp. 

 

   TO BE CONTINUED ................

[GhostMiner]

   June 8   1937     Part One

 

   Last night the crew debated whether to hire the two deputies or not. After much discussion we decided to wait on hiring any outsiders. The fact was that we couldn’t be sure how anyone would act in the face of danger and killing to protect ourselves and our goods. We put the subject on hold.

   Once that was out of the way we stoked the night fire and set about drinking good Irish whisky and some beer. I rolled smokes and we talked about the past events. What a wild season this has been and it was only June. We all needed some time to blow off steam and unwind after all that had happened.

   About midnight we were still in the cups but Will was up on the guard station when he suddenly fired off three shots. We grabbed our weapons and ran in his direction. When we got there we could see he was visibly shaken. I asked him what was up. He looked at me and said he was afraid to tell me. He thought I would think he was crazy. He had fired the three shots into the night air to bring us up there. John told him to speak up and we all trusted him and not to worry. He looked at us and still had fear in his eyes. He took a drink of whisky from his bottle and started to explain what had happened.

   Will said he had been sitting up there on guard duty and it was stone quiet except for the occasional laugh or loud words he could hear from camp as we swapped stories. He had noticed something sort of shining and coming down the mountain from the north. He had his Thompson pointing in that direction and he said it looked like a lantern and then another appeared. They were fading in and out and nearly side by side. He stopped talking and took another swig from the bottle. 

   Will said the lanterns came out of the woods and he could make out two figures holding them. He said they stopped walking and turned to look right at him. Will said he hollered who goes there and they walked a bit closer. The faces became clearer. 

   Now Will was starting to cry. He didn’t want to say any more but we coaxed the rest of the story out of him. He said it was Jed and Whiskey Jack. Their faces were as clear as day under the moonlight and he let out a gasp. He said that when he did that the two figures dissolved into the air like a mist and were gone as quickly as they had appeared. I grabbed Will’s bottle and took a long pull. This couldn’t possibly be true. 

   TO BE CONTINUED ...................

[Old Miner Don]

Lol! I thought for sure it was going to be that hairy man that was spotted at the beginning of Jed's journal. Don't remember if it was Sarge or John that got there first but it was them that fired off some warning shots while on watch duty one night.

Good job on the story telling!

[GhostMiner]

   June 8   1937     Part Two

 

   The moon was casting some light over the area and the air was clear. Will was a good man and I trusted him. I didn’t know what to think and neither did the rest of the crew. Everything was secure and it was quiet. I told Will and the crew to head back over to camp and I’d take watch. I had the Thompson and handgun and a fresh bottle of Bushmills. I Kept a sharp eye out, especially over in the area Will had seen the ghostly figures. I was thinking that if anyone would come back here as a ghost it would be Jed and Whisky Jack. They had both loved this place and Jed never wanted to leave.

   The temperature dropped as the night wore on and I used the whisky to take the chill off me. I hadn’t heard any noise from camp for over an hour and figured everyone to be asleep now. I rolled a smoke and watched the woods line on the mountain. I thought I was seeing some kind of faint light coming down the hill. I blinked hard and took another good look. Now there were two lights and they were at the edge of the woods near a small clearing. There was movement of some kind and I heard the sound of shovels striking rock and gravel. There was no mistaking it. I knew that sound well. 

   The lights faded in and out and looked like lanterns. There were two figures attempting to dig ground. I hollered out and demanded to know who they were and what they were up to. There was no response from them so I hollered out again. Still nothing. I started to walk towards the two men who were bent over and dimly lit. I couldn’t understand why they were ignoring me. 

   

   TO BE CONTINUED ...............

[GhostMiner]

   JUNE 8   1937     Part Three

 

   As I got closer the men stopped digging and appeared to be talking with each other but I couldn’t hear them. I must have been about one hundred feet away. I shined my flashlight in their direction and to my horror the light passed straight through them and onto the side of the mountain. They stopped moving and I forced myself to walk closer. The area was now completely quiet. I was now within about fifty feet of them. I thought about signaling the crew with three shots but didn’t. Now I was debating whether to move closer or stop where I was and watch them. They seemed totally unaware of my approach. 

   They began to move the shovels again. Now I heard gravels being struck. I could see the shovels moving. I mustered up as much courage as I could get and hollered at them that this was our ground and they needed to stop. They just continued to dig. Then one of them turned and looked right at me. I dropped my flashlight and backed away. 

 

   TO BE CONTINUED .....................

[GhostMiner]

On 10/31/2022 at 8:12 PM, Bedrocker said:

Lol! I thought for sure it was going to be that hairy man that was spotted at the beginning of Jed's journal. Don't remember if it was Sarge or John that got there first but it was them that fired off some warning shots while on watch duty one night.

Good job on the story telling!

Many thanks Bedrocker. Many twists & turns. Lots of adventures. I wonder how many readers would like to live this life. 

[dig4gold]

On 10/31/2022 at 10:03 AM, GhostMiner said:

   June 7   1937     Part Seven

 

   We fired off short bursts from the BAR and the Thompson. The four thugs fell down in the hold they had dug for themselves. Then John and I began to laugh. We had fired into the air but the gangsters thought they were all dead men. They laid in the dirt shaking. I told them they had nothing left in this part of the country worth dying for. Their car was destroyed and we had taken their guns. I instructed them to walk out of this state and keep walking. I told them that if they ever came back they would be placed in the hole they had just dug and buried there. With that, John and I got in the truck and drove back to camp. 

 

   TO BE CONTINUED ................

In the real world it would be a huge mistake letting those thugs go free.

[GhostMiner]

1 hour ago, dig4gold said:

In the real world it would be a huge mistake letting those thugs go free.

   Might be a mistake in their world as well.

[GhostMiner]

   June 8   1937     Part Four

 

   I blinked hard and looked again. I thought to myself this couldn’t be happening. But it was. It was Whisky Jack as sure as my name is Jacob Stevens. I tried to speak but nothing came out of my mouth. Jack was smiling and laughing as he always did but I could see straight through him. Then the other man turned and looked at me with a grin. It was my brother Jed. I let out a gasp and cried out to him. He was fading in and out and his hand reached out to me. I fell to my knees and couldn’t move. Jed and Whisky Jack were passing a bottle between them and pointing toward the Eastern Drift Mine. As suddenly as I had seen them they faded away. They were gone. I grabbed my flashlight and walked over to where they had been digging. There were no shovels or picks and the ground had no marks on it. But I had heard the sound of digging. I felt a cold shiver pass over my body and I slowly walked back to my watch post. I took a drink of whisky from my bottle and tried to understand what had just happened but there were no answers.

   Eventually the night ended and I headed back to camp. The crew was beginning to stir and I made coffee. Then I told everyone what had happened out there. My story was met by silence. There was nothing more to say. Nothing more to try to explain. For the first time since being out here I felt like I wanted to go home. I wanted to rest. Have I lost my mind?  

 

   TO BE CONTINUED ..............

[Old Miner Don]

You probably haven't lost your mind Jacob, but you guys better get to work on that eastern drift mine.