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Show I The Gross-Cut H By Courtney Ryley Cooper M Cop-right by Utile, Drown A Co. H I .I ' i i ' H FARRELL H BYNOr&IR At Thornton Fnlr- B child's (loath his son Robert learns B tlioro has been a dark period In HBn his fathcr'a Ufa which for almost H thirty years has caused him suffor- m Ing. The r.crot Is hinted at In ft M document left by the elder Fnlr- M child, which also Informs Robert H he Is now owner of a mining claim H in Colorado, and advising him B to bco Ilonry Beamish, n lawyer. Uenmlsh tella Itobort his claim, a sliver mine. Is at Ohodl, thirty HBV olght miles from Denver. He also m warns him ngalnst n cortaln man, B "Squint" Rodalne, hln father's on HBV omy. Robert decides to go to Ohadl. H On the road to Ohadl from Donvcr H Fnlrchlld osslnts a Rlrl apparently H In a frenzy of, haste, to change a H tiro on her auto. When sho has H left, the sheriff and n posso appear, B In purmilt of a bandit. Fnlrchlld, pBV bewildered, misleads them as to tho HBV I dlroctlon the girl had taken. At H I Ohadl Fnlrchlld Is warmly groeted m by "Mo'hcr" Howard, boardlng- H house keeper, for his father's sako. j From Mother Howard Falrchlld H learns something of tho mystery H connected with tho disappearance fl of "SUuile" LArscn, his father's co H worker In tho mine. He meets tho H girl he had assisted, but sho denies m her IdonUty. She Is Anita Rich H mond. Judge Richmond's daughter. H Visiting his claim, Falrchlld Is H shadowed by a mun he recognizes B from doncrlptlons ns "Squint" Ito fl flalno. llock In Ohadl, his father's H old friend, Harry Harklns. n Cor M nlahman, summoned from England H by Rnamlsh to help Falrchlld, H halts 'him with joy. The pair find B tho mine floodod and havo not sum- HBV dent funds to have It pumped dry. 1 Later In the day "Squint" Rodalne H announces that ho practically saw H Harklns fall Into the flooded mine, M and evidently Is drownod. Harklns B being a gonarnl favorite, tho entire BV population turns out to clear tho H flooded mine. When the work Is H practically done, Harry appears. H It had been a shrewd trick, and H tho men tako It ns a good Joko. B , Falrchlld learns that Judgn Rich mond la dying, arid that he and H Anita are In tho power of tho Ro H dalncs. They begin, ns partners, H to work tho rnlno. In their hearts H both fenr Iarsen was killed by H Thornton Falrchlld nnd his body H burled by a cavo-In which destroyed H tho mine. At tho "Old Times Rail" Falrchlld dances with Anita, to the H dlAComflture of Mnurlco Rodalne, M son of "Squint," supposed to he ongngrtd to tho girl. A bandit holds up the danco and shoots a morry- H maker. Maurlco Rodalno claims ha rorognlzed tho bandit as Harklns. V' Tho latter In nrrcsted. Falrchlld fl.- In tor feres to save Anita from the bullying of tha two Rodalncu, and Is mystlflod at Anita's apparant Ingratitude. B CHAPTER X B Tlio Rodnlnes wcro on tho sldownlk H when Falrchlld enmo forth from tho H Itlclimoml homo, nnd truo to hla hi H Htructlons from tlio frightened Rlrl, lie 1 brushed iiuHt them swiftly nnd went M on down tho street, not turning nt the H muttered invectives which camo from M tlio crooked lips of tho older mun, not M seeming oven to notice their presence fl ns lie hurried on toward Mother How- Hj nrd's hoarding house. In his creaky fl Ited he sought to think, hut In vnln. M After hours, daylight began to streak m tho sky. Falrchlld. dull, worn by ex- M cltemcnt and fatigue, strove to rise, B then laid his head on the pillow for M Just n moment of rest. And with that B pcrvcrnlty which extreme weariness B so often exerts, his eyes closed, und M ho slept to Wake nt Inst with the m .renllrntlon that It wns Into motnlng, H and that some ono wns pounding on H tho door. Falrchlld raised his head. H "Who is It?" M "No ono you know yet. .I'vo come fl o tulle to you about your partner. M Iny I come In 7" H "Yes." Fulrclilld wns fully alive B ,0'jV to the activities that the dny held B oeoro Um. The door opened, nnd n H yAuriff man. alert, almost cocky In tnaii- m iter, with hlack, snnppy eyes showing H lieiilnd honi-rlnimeU giusscfl, eiilured H and rcuciel for the sole chulr that the M rootn contained. m "My name's Farrell," he nunounccd. B "Ilnndolph P. Fnrrell. And to make H n long story short, I'm your lawyer." H "My lawyer?" Falrchlld stnred. "1 H Iiavwi't any lawyer In Ohndl. The M H "That doesn't niter tho fact. Vir. H your lawyer, and I'm nt your service. H And I don't mind telling you t lint It's H Just nhout my (lrst case. Otherwise H I don't gucs I'd have gotten It." WM "Why not?" The frankness hud drlv- H en other queries from Falrchlld's H mind. I-urrcll, the uttorney, grinned H "ISitmisu I uudcrstnud it concerns H the UadnlncH. Nearly everybody has B n little money stuck Into their enter- H prises. And seeing I have no money H nt all, I'm not financially Interested. H And not being Interested, I'm wholly H Just, fair and willing to light 'em to HH a standstill. Your partner'.? in Jail, H ns I understand It. (Jullty or not gull- H H "Wn wult a minute! Who hired B voti?" Then with n sudden Insplra- H Hon: "Mother Howard didn't go and H in H "Mother Howard? You mean the H A'omun who runs tho boarding house? H Not at H H "I'm not exactly at liberty to state." H rittxplclon began to assert Itself. H "Under (hose contlltlous, I don't be "Don't sny it! Don't get stnrtcd nlong those lines. I know what you're thinking. Know that wns what would happen from the start. And against tho wishes of the person who hired mo for this work, I well, I brought tho evidence. Here, tnko a glimpse nnd then throw It nwny, tear It up swallow It, or do anything you want to with it, just so nobody clso sees it. Itcndy? Look." no drew forth n small visiting card. Falrchlld glanced. Then ho looked nnd then ho snt up straight In bed. For heforo him wcro tho engraved words : "Miss Anltn Nntnllo Itlchmond." While ncross tho enrd wns hnstlly written, in n hnnd distinctively feminine: femi-nine: "Mr. Falrchlld: This Is my good .'rlend. Ho will help you. Thcro is no fco attached. I'lenso destroy. "Aulta Itlchmond." "Ru but I don't understand." "You know Miss er tho writer of this card, don't you?" "But why should she ?" Mr. Fnrrell grinned broadly. "I bco you don't know Miss the writer of this card nt all. Tiint's her nature. Besides well, nil Bho'a got to do with mo Is crook her finger and I'll Jump through. I'm none of your business. But, anyway, here I nra " Falrchlld could not restrain a laugh. There wns something about tho man, nbout his nervous, yet boyish wny of spenklng, nbout his enthusiasm, that wiped out suspicion nnd Invited confidence. con-fidence. Tho owner of tho Blue Poppy Pop-py mlno leaned forwnrd. "But you didn't finish your sentence nbout--tho writer of that enrd." "You menn oh well, there's nothing noth-ing to that. I'm in love with her. Been In lovo with her slnco I've been knee-high knee-high to a duck. So 'ro you. So's every other humnn being that thinks he's a regular man. So's Mnurlco Rodalne. Don't know nbout tho rest of you hut I haven't got n chanco. Don't let It bother you. Tho problem right now is to get your partner out of Jail. How much money have you got?" "Only n little more than two thousand." thous-and." "Not enough. There'll be bonds on four chargos, At tho least, they'll be around n thousand dollars apiece. Probabilities are that they'll run around ten thousand for tho bunch. How about tho Bluo Poppy?" "I don't know whnt it's worth." "Neither do I. Neither docs the Judge. Neither docs any ono else. Therefore, It's worth nt lenst ten tlious-nnd tlious-nnd dollnrs. Thnt'll do tho trick. I'd suggest now thnt you get up. seize your deeds nnd accompany mo to tho palace of Justice. Otherwise, that partner of yours will havo to cat dinner In n place railed In undignified language the hoosegow I" Soon Fnlrchlld wns dressed nnd walked hurriedly up the street with the volublo nttorncy. A hnlf-hour more nnd they were before tho court. Falrchlld, tho Inwyer nnd the Jnll-worn Harry, his muatncho fluttering In more directions than ever. "Not guilty, Your Honor," snld Randolph Ran-dolph P. Farrell. "May I ask tho extent ex-tent of the bond?" The Judge adjusted his glasses and studied tlio Information which tho district dis-trict nttorncy had laid before him. "In view of the number of charges and tho seriousness of each, I must fix an aggregate bond of flvn thousand dollars, or twclvo hundred fifty dollars for each case." "Thank you; we hnd come prepared for more.V Mr. Fnlrchlld, who Is Mr. Harklns' partner, Is hero to nppenr ns bondsman. Tho deeds are In his name alone, tho partnership existing, as I 'linltiStand It, upon their word of honor hon-or between them. I refer, Your Honor, to tho deeds of the Bluo Poppy mine. Would Your Honor enro to exam I J them?" His Honor would, nis Honor uld. For u long moment he studied diem, nnd Fnlrchlld, In looking nbout the courtroom, saw the halllff In conversation conversa-tion with a tall, thin, man, with squint oy-'i mill scar-mnrl.ed forehead. A moment Inter, tho Jude looked over his glasses. "Buillfri" "Yes, Your Honor." "Havo you any Information regard Ing the vnluo of tho Blue Poppy mining min-ing claims?" "Sir, 1 hnv Jut been talking to Mr, Uoduine. Uo says they're well worth the vnluo of the bond." "How about that, Uodiihie?" The Judge peered, down the courtroom. "They'll do," wan his uupwer, and the Judge passed the papers to tho clerk of the court. "Bond accepted. I'll set this trial for November 11." "Very well, iour Honor." Then ho turned with n wide grin to his clients. "That's all until November." out they filed through tho narrow ulMo of the courtriom, Falrchlld's knee brushing the trouser leg of Squint Rodalne n.i they passed. At the door, tin? attorney turned toward them, then 1'ut forth n hand. "Drop In any day this week and we'll go over things," he announced cheerfully. "Wo put oue over on his xiyal Joblots that time, unywuy, Hates BBBBBBBBBB mo from the ground up. Worst we enn hope for is a conviction and then n Supreme court reversal. I'll get him so mad he'll (111 the enso with errors. Ho used to bo an Instructor down at Boulder, and I stuck the pages of u lecturo together on him ono day, That's why I asked for an early trial. Knew he'd give mo a Into one. Thnt'll lot us have tlmo to stir up n little favorable evidence, which right now wo don't possess. Understnnd nil money that comes from the mine Is held In escrow until this case is decided. But I'll explain ex-plain thnt. Going to stick around here und bnsk In the cffulgcnco of really possessing n ensc. S'longl" And he turned back Into tho court room, while Fnlrchlld, tho dazed Harry Har-ry stalking bcsldo him, stnrtcd down the street. '"Ow do you figuro It?" nsked tho Cornlshman at last. "What?" "Rodalne. 'B 'clpcd us out." Fnlrchlld stopped. It had not occurred oc-curred to him before. But now he saw it: that if Rodalne, as an expert on mining, had condemned the Blue Poppy, it could havo meant only one thing, the denial of bond by the Judge nnd the luck of freedom for Hnrry. Fnlrchlld rubbed a hnnd ncross his brow. "I can't figure It," enmo at last. "And especially since his son Is tho nccuscr nnd slnco I got the best of them both Inst night I" "Oot tho best of 'cm? You?" Tho story wns brief In Its telling. And It brought no explanation of tho sudden amiability displayed by the crooked-faced Rodnlne. They went on, striving vainly for n renson, nt Inst to stop In front of tho post office, ns the postmaster lenned out of the door. "Your nnme's Fnlrchlld, Isn't It7" nsked tho person of letters. "Yes." "Thought so. Some of tho fellows snld you was. There's been a letter for you here for two dnysl" "For me?" Vngucly Falrchlld went within and received the missive, a plain, bond envelope without a re- "Bond Accepted I'll Set This Trial for" turn address. He turned It over nnd over In his bund before he opened It then looked nt the postmark Denver. Den-ver. At Inst: "Open It, why don't you?" Hurry's mustache was tickling his ear, ns the big miner stured over his shoulder. Before them were figures and sentences which blurred for a moment, mo-ment, finally to resolve Into: "Ir. Robert Fnlrchlld, "Ohndl, Colorado. "Dear Sir: "I am empowered by a client whose name I am not at liberty to state, to make you nn offer of $50,000 for your property In Clear Creek county, known ns the Blue Poppy mine. In replying, kindly nddrcss your letter to "Box ISO, Denver, Colo." Hnrry whistled long nnd thoughtfully. thoughtful-ly. 'That's a 'ole lot of money!" "An awful lot, Harry. But why wns the offer nmdo7 There's nothing to base it on. There's" Then for a moment, as they stepped out of the post office, he gave up the thought, even of comparative riches. Twenty feet away, a man and a girl wcro upproachlng, talking as though there never hud been the slightest trouble between them. It was Maurice Itndalno and Anita Richmond ; they came closer, her eyes turned toward Falrchlld, and then-She then-She went on, without speaking, without with-out tnklug the trouble to notice, apparently, ap-parently, that he had been standing there. After this, there wns little conversation conversa-tion until Harry nnd Fnlrchlld hnd reached the boarding house. Then, with Mother Howard for un adviser, the three gathered In the old parlor, and Falrchlld related tho events of the night before, adding what had happened nt the post office, when Anita Ani-ta had pnssed him without spenklng. Mother Howard, her arms folded ns umal, bobbed her gray head. "It's like her, Son," she announced at last. "Sho's a good girl. Tvo known her ever since she was a little tad not big enough to walk. And she loves her father." "But - "Sho loves her fnther. Isn't that enough? The Rodnlnes have the money and they have almost everything every-thing that Judgo Richmond owns. It's ensy enough to guess what they've done with It tied It up so thnt he enn't touch it until thcy'ro rendy for him to do It. And they'ro not going to do thnt until they'ro gotten whnt they want." "Which Is?" "Anita I Any fool ought to be. able to know thnt. Thnt stroke last night wns the second ono for the Judge. Thcro usually nln't any more after the third one. Now, can't you bco why Anltn is willing to do nnythlng on earth Just to keep peace nnd Just to give her father n little rest nnd comfort com-fort nnd hnpplncss In the last days of his life? You've got to remember thnt ho nln't like nn ordlnnry fnther thnt you enn go to nnd tell all your troubles trou-bles to. He's laying next door to death, nnd Anltn, just like nny womnn Hint's got n grcnt, big, good henrt In her. Is willing to fnce worse than death to help him. It's ns plain to mo' ns tho nose on nnrry's fnce." "Which Is qulto plnln," ngreed Fnlrchlld Fnlr-chlld ruefully. Hnrry rubbed, the libeled li-beled proboscis, pnwed nt his mus-tncho mus-tncho nnd fidgeted In his chnlr. "I understand that, all right," ho announced at last. "But why should anybody want to buy tho mine?" It brought Fnlrchlld to the realization realiza-tion of a new development, nnd he brought forth tho letter, once nlvro to stnro nt It. "Fifty thousnnd dollars Is a lot of money," enmo nt Inst. "And whnt then?" Mother Howard, still looking through uncolored glasses, took the letter and scanned It "You two ain't quitters, are you?" "'Oo, us7" Harry bristled. "Yes, you. If you arc, get yourselves your-selves n pleco of pupcr nnd write to Denver and take the offer. .If you nln't keep on fighting." "I believe you're right, Mother How nrd." Fnlrchlld hnd reached for tho letter ngnln nnd was staring nt It as though for Inspiration. "Thnt nmount of money seems to be n grcnt denl. 'Still, If n person will offer thnt much for n mlno when thero's nothing In sight to show Its value, It ought to mean that; there's something dark in tho woodpllo and that the thing's worth fighting out. And personally spenklng, I'm willing to fight 1" "I never quit In my life I" nurry straightened In his chnlr and his mus-tncho mus-tncho stuck forth pugnaciously. Mother Moth-er Howard looked down at him, pressed her lips, then smiled. "No," she announced, "except to run away like a whipped pup nfter you'd gotten a poor lonely boarding-houso keeper In love with youl" "Mother 'Ownrd, I'll" But tho laughing, gray-lmlred woman wom-an had scrambled through tho doorway door-way and slammed the door behind her, only to open It a second later and poke her head within. "Needn't think because you can hold up a dance hall nnd got nwny with It, you enn use cave-man stuff on me I" she admonished. And In thnt ono sentence sen-tence wns nil the conversation necessary neces-sary regarding tho charges ngnlnst Hnrry, ns fnr ns Mother Howard was concerned. She didn't believe them, nnd Harry's face showed that tho world had become bright and serene ngnln. Ho swung his grcnt nrms ns though to loosen the big muscles of his shoulders. He pecked nt his inus-tnche. inus-tnche. Then he turned to Fnlrchlld. "Well; he nsked, "whnt do we do? Go up to the mine Just like nothing nd ever 'nppened?" "Exnctly. Wnlt until I chnnge my clothes. Then we'll bo ready to start. I'm not even going to dignify this letter let-ter by replying to It. And for ono principal renson " ho ndded "thnt I think tho Rodnlnes hnvc something to do with It." " 'Ow so?" "I don't know. I'll be rendy In n moment." An hour Inter they entered the mouth of the Blue Poppy tunnel, once more to stnrt the engines und to resume re-sume tho pumping, meanwhllo struggling strug-gling buck nnd forth with timbers from tho mountain side, ns they began the tnsk of rehabilitating the tunnel where It hud caved In Just beyond the shaft. Hour nfter hour they tolled, until tlio grny mists hung low over tho mountain tops, until tho shadows lengthened nnd twilight fell. The engines en-gines ceased their chugging, the coughing cough-ing swirl of the dirty ivnter ns It enme from the drift, fnr below, stopped. Slowly two weury men Jogged down the rutty rond to the nnrrow, winding highway which led through Kentucky gulch nnd Into town. That night Falrchlld did not lie awake to stare nbout him In the darkness. dark-ness. His eyes closed wenrlly, yet with a wholesome fatigue. Nor did he wake until Hnrry was pounding on the door In tho duwn of the morning. morn-ing. Once more the pumps; once more the struggle ngnlnst the heavy timbers; tim-bers; once more the "clunk" of the ux as It hit deep Into wood, or the pounding of hammers us great spikes were driven Into place. The .Wilier Ing of the broken-down portion oi 'io tunnel just behind the shaft hnd been repaired, and Harry flipped the sweat away from his broad forehead with an action of relief. "Not tr nt It does nny particular good," ho announced. "But It's room we'll need when we stnrt working down below, nnd we might us well nve It fixed up " He censed suddenly and ran to the r pumps. A peculiar gurgllax sound bad ceme from the entla of the he, the flow depreciated greatly; instead of tho steady gush of water, a slimy silt was coming out now, spraying and splattering about on tho sides of the drnlnngo ditch. Wildly Harry waved u monstrous paw. "Shut 'em off I" ho yelled to Falrchlld Falr-chlld In tho dimness of tho tunnel. "It's sucking tho muck out of the sump I That menns tho 'ole drift Is uuwntcrcd." "Then tho pumping Job's ovcr7" "Yeh." Hnrry ro3e. "You stny ere nnd dlsmnntle tho pumps, so we can send 'em back. I'll go to town. We've got to buy some Btuff." Then ho started off down the trail, while Fnlrchlld went to his work. And ho Eang ns he dragged nt tho licnvy hose. Work was bofore him, ' work which was progressing toward n gonl thnt ho had determined to seek, in Bplte of nil obstacles. Tho mysterious offer which he hnd received gnve evidence evi-dence thnt something n waited him, thnt somo one know the real vnluo of the Bluo Poppy mine, nnd thnt If he could simply stick to his task, If he could hold to tho unwnvcrlng purpose to win In spite of nil tho blocking pitfalls that were put In his pnth, some day, some time, the rownrd would bo worth Its price. Slore, the conversation with Mother Howard on the previous morning hnd been comforting; It hnd given a woman's wom-an's viewpoint upon another woman's actions. And Fnlrchlld Intuitively believed be-lieved sho wns correct. A shout from .the rond, accompanU .. by the ronrlng of a motor truck, announced an-nounced the fact that Harry was making mak-ing his return. Five men were with him, to help him carry In ropes, heavy pulleys, weights nnd n Inrge metal shaft bucket, then to move out the sraallor of tho pumps nnd trundle away with them, leaving the larger one and the lurgcr engine for a single load. At last Harry turned to his pnraphcmalla nnd rolled up his sleeves. "'Ere's whero we work!" he nn-nounced. nn-nounced. "It's us for a pulley nnd bucket arrangement until we can get the 'olst to working nnd the skip to running. 'Elp mo 'cave n few timbers." It was the beginning of a three-days' three-days' job, the building of a heavy staging stag-ing over tho top of the shaft, the affixing affix-ing of the great pulley and then the attachment of the bucket at ono end, and the skip, loaded with pig Iron, on tho other. Altogether, It formed a sort of crude, counterbalanced elevator, ele-vator, by which they might lower themselves Into the shaft, with various bumplngs nnd dclnys but which worked successfully, nevertheless. Together To-gether they plied Into tho big, Iron bucket, Hnrry lugging nlong spikes nnd timbers nnd sledges nnd ropes. Then, pulling nwny nt the cable which held the weights", they furnished the necessary neces-sary gravity ttf travel downward. An eerie Journey, faced on one side by the crawling rope of the skip ns It traveled along tho rusty old track on Its wntersoaked ties, on tho other by tho still dripping timbers of tho aged shaft and Its broken, rotting ladder, while the carbldo lanterns cast shadows shad-ows nbout, while the pulley nbovo crenked nnd the eroded wheels of tho skip squenked nnd protested! Down-wnrd Down-wnrd n hundred feet nnd they collided col-lided with tho upwnrd-bound skip, to fend off from It nnd stnrt on ngnln. The air grew colder, more moist. Tho carbides spluttered nnd flared. A slight bump, and they were at tho bottom. Before them the drift tunnel, tun-nel, dump nnd dripping nnd dnrk, nwnltcd, seeming to throw bnck tho ftuije of the carbides ns though to shield the treasures which might lie beyond. Hnrry stnrted forwnrd a step, then pausing, shifted his carbldo nnd laid a hand on his companion's shoulder. shoul-der. "Boy,r ho said slowly, "we're starting start-ing nt something now nnd I don't know whero It's going to lend us. There's n cnve-ln up 'ere, nnd If we're over going to get nnywhere In this mine, we'll 'nvo to go past It. And I'm afraid of what we're going to find when we cut our wye through 1" Clouds of tho past seemed to rise nnd flont past Fnlrchlld clouds which cnrrlcd visions of u white, broken brok-en old man sitting by a window, wait. Ing for death, visions of un old snfo und n letter It contnlncd. For a long, long moment, there wns silence. Then ennio Hurry's voice ngnln. "I'm nfrntd it nln't going to be good news, Boy. But there nln't no wyo to get n round It. It's got to come out sometime things like thnt won't stny 'ldden forever. And your father's gone now gone where It can't urt Mm." "I know," answered Falrchlld, in n queer, husky voice. "He must have known, Hurry he must huvo been willing will-ing that It come, now that ho Is gone. He wrote me as much," "It's thtr. or nothing. If wo sell the mine, some one else will find It. And we can't 'It tluj vein without following tho drift to the stope. But you're tho ono to make the decision." "Ho told me to go nhend, if nnca snry. And we'll go, Hnrry." "Yeo, I know who did It, and I know who got killed. It was 'Slssle' Larson and he was murdered." (TO RE CONTINUED.) |
