Show wl nr rr OU 1 n ht 4 1 by WILL IRWIN copyright by will MH ifft nn rr afi T vf in rin L CHAPTER IX 11 bad town marshal alcor AlcO assault ro pl marcus handy oi it 11 lily day when the comp was booming along tit lit its ita accas 1 price tile politics of cottonwood Colt onwood might fit t once have rushed forward to a elli climax nax I 1 speculate yet on oil tills wondering it if it till nil would have turned out nur tit iti that event emit tor for mur afar etti mul ind nu file more iture mid ind allore tho busl bus riess element and the ati hot bet ter mell who lived by industry chii which it meant of course most of us were beginning to soo it change must conw hut ilso also moro nil and more lind had tile tire dispensers of vice arid and the actual criminals grown insolent arid and overbearing through immunity to io meet tills headon head on would have taken till a inkins courage with both property find and lite life it if the citizenry of cottonwood bonsted boasted tit in coin common nion tiny virtue it was courage cour hut but things were going very well for most of us decent public opinion tit in general Ken cral while deploring our civic condition inclined to let well enough alone it needed a dramatic incident to crys tile the western spirit of fair play piny to ti translate sentiment into notion action tills unfair and brutal assault by it 1 1 worn officer of tho the law might have served that purpose but for the discovery on blayden hill tho the ebullient joy by that event left no room in tile tho public bosom for any other emotion hy by afternoon tile the camp had become a madhouse by night a joyous chaos it was settled now said the public opinion on of the bar ralls rails Coti cottonwood onwood was waa it a permanent camp permanent I 1 site she was the greatest camp ever discovered 11 i in tho the Il ocklea in tile the world in tho universe uni versel I 1 even marcus marcua handy nursing his physical arid and moral injuries was caught up in tile universal wave of optimism unit and enthusiasm lie ile had better reason than most of the rest tlesforo I 1 had finished ching his wounds I 1 find broken the news in it ono one confused burst arid and hastened to inform him film that lie he was to be my partner marcus balked a little tit at that im abrald youre letting your gen pet got away with you boyl lie ho path hut its it tile the way id expect iou you to net act lie ho added shyly So got to stake me or I 1 cant develop that claim said 1 I and it had bettor better be you than anyone I 1 know the mans quaint habit of tse crecy about tits ills most vital affair s lind had infected me and I 1 find never told liliu about my background in the enst east all right I 1 guess ill take a whirl with you announced marcus marcua at last it if I 1 can keep any of my money out of the maw of that d n paper company ill 1 so was horn born the partnership which developed and operated the upper case claim on hayden hill which was the name riven given the location in honor of buck for of course when we came cama to name it we used a printing term terin let iet me tell here once for all the story of the upper case simple but typical blayden hill was spotted the ore as many learned by hard experience peri per tence ence lay in pockets great anti and small and not the roost most experienced experience ii geologists could prophesy their lay front from tile the surface the hayden and croly tunnel tapped one of these pockets nearly the tha greatest our shaf only fifty yards away yet never from tile morning when we turned the first of earth until the night when its mouth was boarded up as a dangerous prospect hole did it turn up tip an ounce of paying ore after we had sunk stink to a depth bolow below which carbonates had find never yet been discovery discovered on blayden hill fill we abandoned it as a bad jot job then a company with a theory that a jeep deep sulphide formation underlay the whole hill made offers for some of the unproductive or worked out claims we lve nold for just enough money to tiny pay marcus marclus hack back what lie he had sunk in it plus a block of stock I 1 nm ain keeping the stock yet its is a souvenir but marcus when we had patched pat clied jilin him up with court plaster from the tha drug store displayed a nobler er emotion notion than greed of or hate of man 13 bhea hes the biggest story that ever came out in tills this camp Calli pl I 1 lie said weve got to spread ourselves I 1 were making history boy when cottonwood Is capital of the state this issue of the courier will b be framed tit in the statehouse state honse for it a you know the story write it forill fori ull youre worth my story finished marcus sent me to get an interview with huck buck intimating tho the probabilities I 1 repaired straight to Hun akers my judgment aird led me aright already tile alia first story of tho the hotel was finished and occupied anti and thu tho dining room art and bar as I 1 approached radiated light bubble and song I 1 pushed inside buck still in fit hla fits red flannel shirt his overalls tucked into tits his muddy boots was dining in state head ing it a long table heaped with food pinnacled with champ champagne akile hot ties lie had seated jim at his right isidore cohen tit nt lila its left tho the company was pieced rut put with mining men brokers even taylor the banker the financial aristocracy of if the lie camp I 1 kad iad scarcely stepped through tile the door when buck saw mo ine and rose to tits feet roaring bolster oui otis wel welcome cottle alc petits nast I 1 lie cried rapping for order with the butt of nn art empty bottle theres tha lie mascot I 1 theres therea the tenderfoot dot foot that lint brought nie file lucki luck step ui md kid and let orn na SOP sek you lies iles going to ile he rich tool jim s rny my credit still rood good all right wine again I 1 so I 1 wui was surrounded congratulated Ivel prematurely to the final Inn nJal kAul aristocracy while the false light of adulation tickled my lay vanity na as well ns its rny lily of humor I 1 had bad no desire desaro to sit lt with tit the knighty that evening life lind had moved so BO fast ast since buos bucks ines messenger woke tile me na as to yield no opportunity port unity for seeing Const constance on oil the plea of urgent business busl nesi necessity I 1 rot got buck away from froin the table him past the clutching con hands shut him up ull in it hack back room of fluff akers bar and interviewed ter viewed him well vell buck I 1 said now that youre rich what are you going lo 10 to do go enst find and settle down ikast ast h I 1 ll 11 I 1 exclaimed buck these here Ilo ckles Is good food enough for me ine I 1 here in cott awood I 1 asked sure I 1 cert I 1 tile the use of molln to new york or frisco when were going to have new york right here buck I 1 warned from the depths of my illy yankee caution its certain you have a very rich mine there may be a million dollars down there enough at any an rate so that you might invest innest it unit sure im going to invest itt said buck dont think im going to blow it t all in do you in mines ill own tills liere here camp before im through but mines are a matter of luell luck 1 I interrupted cert and my luck has turned replie d buck simply I 1 had no time for further argument because a new delegation of prominent citizens was pounding tit at the door and buck lapped in such jobs ns as lie ho had find never before known was in no mood for introspection I 1 hastened to mrs airs barnabas barnabys Barn abys late dian cing through the door I 1 saw that tile place tit at tile hend head of the table was cleared constance had cupped supped arid departed I 1 went round to tile steeling sleeping tent arid and called at tile the sound of my voice she came caine running forth into tile the twilight both hands outstretched 1 I hear that you have struck it sho said and nd oil oh im bladl I 1 went till nil tremble a except for that afternoon tit in the gutch I 1 should have lost my lily solf self control again slie she seemed to perceive my illy emotion for site she said quickly ulc kly wo we t talk here by night t tills his epy people gossip ive had to make it it rule not to see men callers in the alie evening good night robert I 1 hope your claim makes a mill foul 1 and was gone through the tent lial tin had I 1 yielded to my impulses I 1 should have torn the canvas into shreds 0 reading page proofs that night I 1 glanced up at marcus who was lock ing a form arent you going to refer to the tho the mcgrath episode I 1 asked anopol said marcus cheerfully crowded out to make room tor for more inore interesting matter master by the way boy dont you go taking tills matter up with marshal mcgrath next time hell shoot arid and I 1 dont want to loso lose my best find and billy reporter just keep out opt of his way were going to get the criminal news for the courier from others than the appointed authorities thorit ties les Is tile the campaign for municipal government abandoned then I 1 asked and held field my illy breath for the answer I 1 esteemed marcus and did not like to chiti lk that lie he tucked lacked nerve no he replied hut but when I 1 cut my illy wolf loose again old hoss boss lies hes going to bitel to which cryptic utter tince lie ho put a period with a resounding blow of tits hla maul on the block tho the days passed bringing the ad vance guard of a new rush to cottonwood camp again wo we were crowded beyond till all possibility of accommodating our pilgrims and strangers at about tills this time mike alike the day bartender of the silver dollar saloon begun began to loom up hayy mists of ill my general acquaintance for some weeks now lie had held a loose connection tion with the courier as a solicitor of printing jobs abs on commission and a n gatherer of small news items the silver dollar which just where the glories of main street encountered the client cheap open brothels of pearl street had find a hard name in caknip rumor humor called it headquarters for the thug element As for mike 1 I never knew tits his other name he was a small hatchet faced man mail with it dead inscrutable eye arid and the appearance in ills street clothes clot lies of a respectable and some brint self effacing tri mechanic echante lie sald said little at any time and that little in a voice which sucked the words in through a set of narrow teeth slanted blante d backward like an anacondas lie he used to bring ills information as rough notes written in a business hand whose Spen ceilan erfan flourishes contrasted oddly with its atrocities only by a process of painful cross croas could I 1 extract tile the human hunink lights which giado tile the story when we severed relations with tile the marshals office mike alike became ut tit once invaluable our necessary criminal news wo we got from ills reports ind find we never missed nil fill essential gitein twice after I 1 lint line drawn draun from ahu its his budget of lie stepped over to marcus spoke a quiet word they re ie tired then to tile lie space behind tho the pi t ing press pi ess the only private pince in fit our office and tallied talked in fit whispers except fur for the uncomfortable feeling of being on oil tile the outside find and a touch of amusement tit nt my editors mania for din dramatic secrecy I 1 gave little thought to these conferences one night marcus did not come back front from din dinner tier alike reporting nt at eight us as won was tits ills habit laid down ills hla budget of notes and gave his usual explanations lie he had only two unimportant holdups hold ups upa and a lao case of assault arid and battery 5 I 1 put aside ills notes to work up when I 1 had lini finished shed tile the telegraph news hut but mike alike lid did not at once depart for fifteen minutes lie he stood around tire the office shifting from one foot to the other oilier and asking fatally faintly at intervals when I 1 expected ep eced the boss to come bade back 41 say lie ho saadat saldat bald nt last 1 I got business that wont walt wait give gho this note af ruck strode from the big bonanza chewing an unlighted cigar to the boss as soon as aa ile he comes in will youl you its important I 1 tool took the piece of folded cop v pa per slipped it into my illy pocket A minute later inter in fear that I 1 might forget it I 1 laid it on oil the desk before me ine I 1 was wag working furiously that night the telegraph matter finished hed I 1 turned to mikes items absently I 1 unfolded the note with the rest rend read it over at otie one glance of the eye before I 1 realized w what hat I 1 was doing proved that somebody in town informs when they Is monney shipments it read regular sl steni slay may have ente interesting resting facts tomorrow I 1 folded the note quickly put it back into my pocket when marcus arrived half on an hour later I 1 gave it to him wondering it if the honorable find discreet thing was to admit my lily mistake or to keep keel silence I 1 decided on silence of course egurce I 1 would keep ills secret and to let litin know that I 1 know knew would only disturb lafin A little guiltily guil tIlA however I 1 watched jilin rend read it lie ile whis whistled tied caught up tip ills hla lint hat nil and hurried gli the door to bo be gone for another luila hour the loose ends of tills affair began to knot themselves together in my lily igind mike of course was it 11 detective admirably placed tit in the stiver silver dollar admirably concealed by the device of giving win him desultory employment on oil tile courier hut but was lie marcus ll andys man mail ill alone one or abose whoso the next tiny day brought another tiny i significant incident like it n jet of steam from froin a verdant and blossoming bloss oming earth which indicates the volcano to eruption underneath but whereas iny illy deductions from mikes notes revealed to ric me part tit at least of 0 t tire hidden truth the meaning of tills this tit lit the lie time escaped ric me through it a still bummer afternoon with the great mountain above seeming very near I 1 had ridden out to hayden tk n till hill ostensibly I 1 mado made tills journey in order to report progress on our development work to marcus in reality I 1 wept to gloat that piece of irth was mine not a girt gift or inheritance berita uce like the fruits of life I 1 had enjoyed hitherto but already discounting my lily stroke of luck attributing my good fortune to my native acumen across the site of our placer diggings stretched now a bridge of unseasoned logs t lie needles still green on their roughly trimmed stumps stamps of branches the rather large cabin on the next claim downstream down stream had passed from a private residence to a public institution A shrewd saloonkeeper newly arrived had seen ills his chance for business busi noss with the owners the prospectors arid and the mere sight seers crowding to blayden hill had rented the cabin tit nt rates which returned its owners much greater revenue than their dwindling placer claim had opened the BI bis bonanza Do nanza saloon at the door of the dig big bonanza saloon stood hitched lilt ched a team of matched coal black morgan horsed the silver mountings of their harness reflected in the glossy polish of their hides the carriage behind then bliem seemed from the glint of its varnish the unspotted newness of its yellow trimmings to be out on its maiden journey As I 1 pulled up to admire tills equipage its owner strode from tile the big bonanza chewing nil an unlighted cigar lie ile unhitched and mounted to the seat lie ile wore checked trousers as new as tile paint of ills carriage as tight as the hides of hla his team it a block binck diagonal coat with binding an inch wide a low loud waistcoat revealing a white while hard and glossy shirt front wherein gleamed two diamond studs above that were a round felt lint hat a set of whiskers evidently but that morning trimmed by a too |