Thither,
then, we went, crossing the valley by a grassy trail; and there
lunched out of the basket, sitting in a kind of portico, and
wondering, while we ate, at this great bulk of useless building.
Through a chink we could look far down into the interior, and see
sunbeams floating in the dust and striking on tier after tier of
silent, rusty machinery. It cost six thousand dollars, twelve
hundred English sovereigns; and now, here it stands deserted, like
the temple of a forgotten religion, the busy millers toiling
somewhere else. All the time we were there, mill and mill town
showed no sign of life; that part of the mountain-side, which is
very open and green, was tenanted by no living creature but
ourselves and the insects; and nothing stirred but the cloud
manufactory upon the mountain summit. It was odd to compare this
with the former days, when the engine was in fall blast, the mill
palpitating to its strokes, and the carts came rattling down from
Silverado, charged with ore.
By two we had been landed at the mine, the buggy was gone again,
and we were left to our own reflections and the basket of cold
provender, until Hanson should arrive. Hot as it was by the sun,
there was something chill in such a home-coming, in that world of
wreck and rust, splinter and rolling gravel, where for so many
years no fire had smoked.
Pages:
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64