Lost Lenore: The Adventures of a Rolling Stone. Reid Mayne
any more.
“Give me some water!” he exclaimed, with more energy of voice and manner, than I had ever known him to exhibit.
I replied by a negative shake of the head.
“Inhuman wretch!” he angrily cried out. “Do you refuse? Refuse to give a dying man a drop of water!”
I once more endeavoured to convince him, that there would be danger in his drinking any more water – that there was yet a chance for him to live; but, while talking to him, I perceived a change suddenly stealing over his features. He partly raised himself into a sitting position; and then commenced cursing me, in the most horrible language I had ever heard from the lips of a dying man!
After continuing at this for several minutes he sank back upon the grass, and lay silent and motionless.
Allowing a short interval to elapse, I approached the prostrate form, and gently laid my hand upon his forehead. I shall never forget the sensation that thrilled through me, as I touched his skin. It was already cold and clammy – convincing me that my prospecting companion had ceased to live!
I passed the whole of the following day in trying to recover the mules. Had I succeeded, I would have taken the body to some camp of diggers, and buried it in a Christian manner.
As this was not possible, with my lame hands, I scooped out a shallow grave; and buried the body as I best could.
Having completed my melancholy task, I started afoot to rejoin my partners on the Yuba – where I arrived – after several days spent in toilsome wandering – footsore and dispirited.
The adventure had taught me two lessons. Never to refuse any one a drink of water when I could give it; and to be ever after careful in interpreting the language of others – lest some wrong might be fancied, where none was intended.
Volume One – Chapter Twenty.
Richard Guinane
On my return to the Yuba, with the sad tale of my comrade’s death – and the consequent unfortunate termination of our prospecting scheme – Hiram’s partners made search for his gold, in every place where it was likely to have been buried.
Their search proved fruitless. The precious treasure could not be found. Unfortunately, none of us knew where his family resided. He had been incidentally heard to say, that he came from the state of Delaware; but this was not sufficient clue, to enable any of us to communicate with his relatives.
His wife has probably watched long for his return; and may yet believe him guilty of that faithlessness – too common to men who have left their homes on a similar errand.
As our claim on the Yuba was well nigh exhausted, we dissolved partnership – each intending to proceed somewhere else on his own account. Young Johnson – who had been my companion across the plains – never before having been so long away from his parents, determined upon going home to them, and there remaining all the winter.
I had heard good accounts of the southern “placers,” which, being of the sort known as “dry diggings,” were best worked during the rainy season. Three or four men, from the same “bar” where we had been engaged, were about starting for the Mocolumne; and, after bidding James Johnson and my other mates a friendly farewell, I set out along with this party.
After reaching our destination, I joined partnership with two of my travelling companions; and, during the greater part of the winter, we worked upon Red Gulch – all three of us doing well.
Having exhausted our claim, my two partners left me both to return home to New York. Being thus left once more alone, I determined upon proceeding still farther south – to the Tuolumne river, there to try my fortune during the summer.
On my way to the Tuolumne, I fell in with a man named Richard Guinane, who had just come up from San Francisco City. He was also en route for the diggings at Tuolumne; and we arranged to travel together.
He was going to try his luck in gold seeking for the second time; and, finding him an agreeable companion, I proposed that we should become partners. My proposal was accepted – on the condition that we should stop awhile on the Stanislaus – a river of whose auriferous deposits my new partner had formed a very high opinion.
To this I made no objection; and, on reaching the Stanislaus, we pitched our tents upon its northern bank.
When I became a little acquainted with the past history of my companion, I might reasonably have been expected to object to the partnership. From his own account, he was born to ill-luck: and, such being the case, I could scarce hope that fortune would favour me – so long as I was in his company. Assuredly was Richard Guinane the victim of unfortunate circumstances. There are many such in the world, though few whom Fortune will not sometimes favour with her smiles – when they are deserved; and, ofttimes, when they are not.
Richard Guinane, according to his own account of himself, was one of these few. Circumstances seemed to have been always against him. Each benevolent, or praiseworthy action he might perform, appeared to the world as dictated by some base and selfish feeling! Whenever he attempted to confer a favour, the effort resulted in an injury, to those whom he meant to benefit. Whenever he tried to win a friend, it ended by his making an enemy!
His hopes of happiness had ever proved delusive – his anticipations of misery were always realised!
Pride, honour, in short, every noble feeling that man should possess, appeared to be his; and yet fate so controlled those sentiments, that each manifestation of them seemed, to the world, the reverse of the true motive that inspired it. Such was Guinane’s character – partly drawn from statements furnished by himself, and partly from facts that came under my own observation.
Certain circumstances of his life, which he made known to me, had produced an impression on my memory; but more especially those of which I was myself a spectator, and which brought his unhappy existence to an abrupt and tragical termination. The history of his life is too strange to be left unrecorded.
Richard Guinane was a native of New York State, where his father died before he was quite five years of age – leaving a wife and three children, of whom Dick was the eldest.
So early had Dick’s ill-fortune made its appearance, that before he had reached his fourteenth year, he had established the reputation of being the greatest thief and liar in his native village!
When once this character became attached to him, no church window could be broken, nor any other mischief occur, that was not attributed to Dick Guinane, although, according to his own account, he was really the best behaved boy in the place!
Near the residence of his mother, lived the widow of a merchant, who had left a small fortune to his only child, a daughter – the widow having the sole charge both of the fortune and the heiress – already a half grown girl.
With a charming voice, this young lady would answer to the name of Amanda Milne. She had seen Dick every day, since her earliest childhood; and she had formed a better opinion of him than of any other lad in the village. She was the only one in the place, except his own mother, who felt any regard for Dick Guinane. All his other neighbours looked upon him, as a living evidence of God’s amazing mercy!
Like most young ladies, Amanda was learning some accomplishments – to enable her to kill time in a genteel, and useless manner.
The first great work achieved by her fingers, and to her own entire satisfaction, was a silk purse – which it had not taken her quite two months to knit. This purse, on a favourable opportunity having offered itself, was presented to Dick.
Not long after, her mother wished to exhibit her needle-work to some friends – as a proof of the skill and industry of her daughter, who was requested to produce the purse.
Amanda knew that Dick was not liked by the inhabitants of the village; and that her own mother had an especially bad opinion of him. Moreover, the Guinane family was not so wealthy as the widow Milne; and in the opinion of many, there was no equality whatever between the young people representing each.
Though Amanda was well aware of all this, had she been alone with her mother, in all likelihood she would