by William F. Smith
Jake Hadley eased the straps off his shoulders and lowered his backpack to the ground, glancing at his partner, Paul "Slim" Chance, who had already unburdened himself and was laying out some tools.
The past two days had been difficult, climbimg down the mountain with nearly two hundred pounds of gold between them.
Now they could rest a bit, having reached their destination, a lightly wooded area about two miles from town. It would be foolish to take the gold into town, or even to tell a local that they had found the long-lost Old Prospector's treasure trove. Jake and Slim planned to bury their loot here and return for it at their leisure. However, only one would come back, because in addition to digging a hole for the gold, Jake would dig a second - slightly wider, somewhat deeper, and much longer. This hole would be for Slim, since Jake intended to keep the entire treasure for himself.
He caught Slim with a heavy blow from his shovel, then dug the two holes, into which he rolled Slim and the gold. Digging had been hot and thirsty work. Jake picked up the canteen and let the cool, refreshing water flow into his mouth. Seconds later, he doubled up in agony, screamed, and toppled into the grave on top of Slim, who had poisoned the water.
William F. Smith's stories, humorous verse and photographs have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Mike Shane Mystery Magazine and Reader’s Digest. His stories have been included in several anthologies.
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