THE MOUND OF ETERNAL SILENCE.
"I ought to know something about it," said the Drummer, "for I went with the Prospector and the Eastern man to see Judson.
"I remember when we started out together the Eastern man asked the Prospector if he thought Judson was really crazy.
"'Yes,' said the Prospector, 'he is as crazy as a loon, as you will see when you get there.'
"'Tell me the story over again,' said the Eastern man.
"'Well, you see,' said the Prospector, 'they found him lying in the hot sand away off on the desert, with his head propped
up against a rock, nearly dead for want of water. When they tried to rouse him he stared at them vacantly. They gave him a little water, and as soon as he had swallowed it he fought like a wild animal for more. It took three or four of them to hold him. He cursed and swore at them because they would not give him all he wanted, and his cries were pitiful. He alternately cursed and screamed for water, sometimes as loud as he could shout and then again in faint whispers.
"'Later on, when they dared to give him more at a time, he became tranquil, and towards night, after he had drunk a bowl full of thin oatmeal gruel, he went to sleep. When he awoke they questioned him.
"'He said that he had been prospecting with his partner, and had found a gulch with precipitous cliffs all around it where there was very rich placer digging. Directly in front was a high mound covered