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Show I IL 11 IlJCl jpiD Cooper I Copyrt jl by Little, Brows AO. VW she was not in the company of Maurice Mau-rice Rodalne. He hurried to her and she smiled at his approach. "Have they found anything yet?" "Nothing so far. Except that there is plenty of water in the shaft I'm trying not to believe it "I hope it Isn't true." Her voice was low and serious. "Father was talking to me about you. And we hoped you two would succeed this time." Evidently her father had told her more than she cared to relate. Fair-child Fair-child caught the inflection In her voice but disregarded It. "I owe you an apology," he said bluntly. "For what?" "Last night I couldn't resist it I For, coming toward them jauntily, slowly, was a figure in beaming blue, a Fedora on his head now, but with the rest of his wardrobe Intact, yellow, bump-toed shoes and all. Someone shouted. Everybody turned. . And as they did so, the figure hastened Its pace. A moment later, a booming voice sounded, the unmistakable voice of Harry Harklns: "I sye i - What's the matter over there? Did somebody fall in?" The pufflng of gasoline engines ceased. A moment more and the gurgling gur-gling cough of the pumps was stilled, while the shouting and laughter of a great crowd sounded through the hills. A leaping form went forward, Sam Herbenfelder, to seize Harry, to pat Rodalne with all the hate and anger and futile malice that a human being can know typified in his scarred, hawklike hawk-like features. A thin, taloned hand enme upward, to double, leaving one bony, curved finger extending in emphasis em-phasis of the words which streamed from the slit of a mouth: "Funny, weren't you? Played your cheap Jokes and got away with 'em. But everybody ain't like them fools I" he pointed to the crowd Just rounding the rocks, Harry bobbing In the foreground. fore-ground. "There's some that remember remem-ber and I'm one of 'era. You've put over your fake; you've had your laugh; you've framed it so I'll be the butt of every numbskull in Ohadl. But Just listen to this Just listen to this 1" he repeated, the harsh voice taking "Judges Is like anybody else when they're bedridden and only 'arf their faculties working. The girl, so Mother 'Oward tells me, is about twenty now. That made 'er Just a little kid, and motherless, when Rodalne got in 'is work. She ain't got a thing to sye. And she loves 'er father. If 'e don't die pretty soon, you'll see a wedding P "You mean ?" "Shell be Mrs. Maurice Rodalne. She loves 'er father enough to do it-after it-after 'er will's broken." Again Robert Fatrchlld filled an oil cup, again be tinkered about the pumps. Then he straightened. "How are we going to work thla mine?" he asked shortly. Harry stared at him. "'Ow should I know? You own it l" "I don't mean that war. We wera "FIFTY-FIFTY." BTNOPBI.-At Thornton Falr-ehlld's Falr-ehlld's death his son Robert learria there has been a dark period in his father's life which tor almost thirty yean has caused him suffer-Ins. suffer-Ins. The secret is hinted at in a document left by the elder He.tr-chlld, He.tr-chlld, which also Informs Robert he Is now owner of a mining' claim In Colorado, and advising htm to e Henry Beamish, a lawyer. Beamish tells Robert his claim, a silver mine. Is at Ohadl, thirty-eight thirty-eight miles from Denver. He alao warns him against a certain man, "Squint" Rodalne, his father's enemy. en-emy. Robert decides to go to Ohadt. On the road to Ohadl from Denver I Falrchlld assists a girl, apparently In a frenzy of haste, to change a tire on her auto. When she has left, the sheriff and a posse appear, In pursuit of a bandit Falrchlld, bewildered, be-wildered, misleads them as to the ., direction the girl had taken. At j Ohadl Falrchlld la warmly greeted by "Mother" Howard, boarding-house boarding-house keeper, for his father's sake. From Mother Howard Falrchlld learns something of the mystery connected WKh the disappearance of "Slsste" Larsen, his father's coworker co-worker in the mine. He meets the girl he had assisted, but she denies her Identity. She ts Anita Rich-' Rich-' mond. Judge Richmond's daughter. Visiting his claim. Falrchlld Is shadowed by a man he recognises from descriptions as "Squint" Rodalne. Ro-dalne. Back In Ohadl, his father's old friend, Harry Harkins, a Cor-nlshman, Cor-nlshman, summoned from England by Beamish to help Falrchlld, halls him with joy. The pair find the mine flooded and have not sufficient suffi-cient funds to have it pumped dry. Later In the day "Squint" Rodalne announces that he practically saw Harkins fall into the flooded mine, and evidently Is drowned. Harkins being a general favorite, the entire population turns out to clear the flooded mine. 1 on a tone that was almost a screech. "There's another time coming and that time's going to be mine!" And before Falrchlld could retort, he had turned and was scrambling down the mountain side. CHAPTER IX Falrchlld went back into the tunnel, spun the flywheels of the gasoline engines en-gines and started them revolving again, that the last of the water might be drained from the shaft before the pumps must be returned to their owners. flfty-flfty from the minute you showed up. There never has been any other thought In my mind" "Fifty-fifty? You're making me a bloated capitalist 1" "I hope I will. Or rather, I hope that you'll make such a thing possible for both of us. But I was talking about something else; are we going to work hard and fight It out day and night for awhile until we can get things clear, or are we Just going at It by easy stages?" "Suppose," answered Harry after a communication with his magic mus- forgot for a moment that you were there. But I I hope that you'll believe be-lieve me to be a gentleman, In spite of it-She it-She smiled up at him quickly. "I already have had proof of that I I am only hoping that you will believe be-lieve me well, that you'll forget something." some-thing." "You mean" "Yes," she countered quickly, as though to cut off his explanation. "It seemed like a great deal. Yet it was nothing at all. I would feel much happier hap-pier if I were sure you had disregarded disre-garded It" Falrchlld looked at her for a long time, studying her with his serious blue eyes, wondering about many things, wishing that he knew more of women and their ways. At last he said the thing that he felt, the straightforward straight-forward outburst of a straightforward man: "You're not going to be offended if I tell you something?" "Certainly not" "The sheriff came along Just after you had made the turn. ' He was look- tache, "that we go dye and night 'til we get the 'water out? It won't be long. Then we'll ave to work together. to-gether. You'll need my vast store of learning and enlightenment I" he grinned. ' "Good. But the pumping will last through tomorrow night Can you take the night trick r . "Sure. But why?" "I want to go to that dance 1" Harry whistled.. Harry's big lips spread into a grin. "And she's got brown eyes!" he chortled to himself. "And she's got brown 'air, and Bhe's a wye about 'er. Oh I She's got a wye about 'erl And I'll bet she's going with Maurice Rodalne Ro-dalne I Oh I She's got a wye about 'erl" "Oh, shut upl" growled Falrchlld, but he grinned in schoolboy fashion as he said It Harry poured half a can of oil upon the bearings of the chlv wheel with almost loving tenderness. "She's got a wye about erl" he echoed. Falrchlld suddenly frowned. "Just what do you mean? That she's in love with Rodalne and Just" " 'Ow should I know? But rbe'a got a wye about 'erl" "Well," the firm chlnSof the other roan grew firmer, "it won't bt hard to find out 1" And the next night he started npn his investigations. Nor did he stop U consider that social events had been few and far between for him, that his dancing had progressed little farther than the simple ability to move his feet In unison to music. Years of office of-fice and home, home and office, had not allowed Robert Falrchlld the natural advantages of the usual young man. But he put that aside now; be was going to that dance, and he was going Several hours passed, then narry returned, minus his gorgeous clothing and his diamond ring, dressed in mining min-ing costume now, with high leather boots Into which his trousers were tucked, and carrying a carbine lantern, i Dolefully he looked at the vacant finger fin-ger where once a diamond had sparkled. spar-kled. Then he chuckled. "Sam took it back," he announced. "And I took part of the money and paid It out for rent on these pumps. We can keep 'em as long as we want 'em. It's only costing about a fourth of what It might of. Drownlng's worth something," he laughed again. Falrchlld Joined him, then sobered. "It brought Rodalne out of the bushes," he said. "Squint threatened us after they'd hauled you down town on the rail." Harry winked Jovially. "Ain't It Just what I expected? It's better that wye than to 'ave Mm snoop-In' snoop-In' around." They chuckled together then ; it was something to know that they had not only forced Squint Rodalne to show his enmity openly, but It was something some-thing more to make him the instrument instru-ment of helping them with their work. Harry looked down the hole, stared Intently at nothing, then turned to the rusty hoist "'Ere's the thing we've got to fix up now. This 'ere chlv wheel's all out of gear." "What makes your face so red?" Falrchlld asked the question as the be-mustached visage of Harry came nearer to the carbide. Harry looked up. "Mother 'Oward almost slapped It off!" came his rueful answer. "For not telling 'er what I was going to do, and letting 'er think I got drownded. But 'ow was I to know?" Falrchlld absently examined the engines en-gines and pumps, supplying water to the radiators and filling an oil cup or two. Then he turned swiftly, voicing voic-ing that which was uppermost In his mind. "When you were here before, Harry, did you know a Judge Richmond?" "Yeh." Harry pawed his mustache and made a greasy, black mark on his face. "But I don't think I want to know Mm now." "Why not?" " 'E's mixed up with the Rodalnes." "now much?" "They own Mm that's all." There was silence for a moment. It hntl been something which Falrchlld had not expected. If the Rodalnes owned Judge Richmond, how far did that ownership extend? After a long tlmA. he orced hlmRdf to f RMter.ient, "I know his daughter. She sold me a ticket to a dance," Falrchlld carefully care-fully forgot the earlier meeting. "Then we've happened to meet several times after that. She Bald that her father had told her about me it seems he used to be a friend of my own father." What's the Rumpus?" him ana paw him, as though In assurance assur-ance thnt he really was alive, then to grasp wildly at the ring on his finger. But Harry waved him aside. "Ain't I paid the Installment on it?" be remonstrated. "What's the rumpus?" rum-pus?" Falrchlld, with Mother Howard, both laughing happily, was Just behind Herbenfelder. Her-benfelder. And behind them was thronging half of Ohadl. "We thought you were drowned I" "Me?" Harry's laughter boomed again, In a way that was Infectious. "Me drowned. Just because I let a oiler and dropped my 'at?" "You did It on purpose?" Sam ner-benfelder ner-benfelder shook a scrawny fist under Harry's nose. The big Cornlshraan waved It aside as one would brush away an obnoxious fly. Then he grinned at the townpeople about him. "Well," he confessed, "there was an un'oly lot of water In there, and I didn't 'ave any money. What else was I to do?" "You I" A pumpman had picked up a piece of heavy timbering and thrown it at him in mock ferocity. "Work us to death and then come back and give us the laugh! Where you been at?" "Center City," confessed narry cheerily. "And you knew all the time?" Mother noward wagged a finger under bis nose. "Well." and the Cornlshman chuckled, chuck-led, "I didn't 'ave any money. I 'ad to get that fihaft unwatered, didn't If "Get a rail!" An irate but laughing laugh-ing pumpman had come forward. "Think you can pull that on us? Get a rail I" Someone seized a email, dead pine which lay on the ground near by. Others helped to strip it of the scrag-gly scrag-gly limbs which still slung to It. Harry watched them and chuckled for he knew that In none was there malice. He had played his Joke and won. It was their tern now. Shout-Ing Shout-Ing In mock anger, calling for all dire things, from lynrhlngs on down to burnings at the stake, they dragged Harry to the pine tree, threw him astraddle of It, then, with willing hands volunteering on every side, hoisted the tree high above them and CHAPTER VIII Continued. 5 Falrchlld turned at the entrance of the mine nnd waited for the first of the miners and the accompanying gleam of his carbide. Then they went within and to the shaft, the light shining downward upon the oily, black water below. Two objects floated there, a broken piece of timber, torn from the side of the shaft, where someone evidently had grasped hastily at It in an effort to stop a fall, and a new, four-dented hat gradually becoming be-coming water-soaked and sinking , slowly beneath the surface. And then, for the first time, fear clutched at i Falrchlld's heart fear which hope could not ignore. "There's his hat" It was a miner staring downward. Falrchlld had seen it but he strove to put aside the thought "True," he answered, "but anyone rould lose a hat, simply by looking over the edge of the shaft, narry's a strong man. Certainly he would know how to swim. And In any event he should have been able to have kept afloat for at least a few minutes. Rodalne Ro-dalne says that he heard a shout and ran right in here; but all that he could see was ruffled water and a floating float-ing hat. I" Then he paused suddenly. sud-denly. It had come to hlra that Rodalne Ro-dalne might have helped In the demise of Harry ! Shouts sounded from outside, and the roaring of a motor truck as it made Its slow, tortuous way up the boulder-strewn road with Its gullies end Innumerable ruts. Voices came, rumbling and varied. Lights. Gaining Gain-ing the mouth of the tunnel, Falrchlld "ould see a mass of shadows outlined y the carbides, all following the lead- rshlp of a small, excited man, Sam lerbenfelder, still seeking his dla- lond. The big pump from the Argonaut tunnel was aboard the truck, which was followed by two other auto vehicles, ve-hicles, each loaded with gasoline engines en-gines and smaller pumps. A hundred men were In the crowd, all equipped with ropes and buckets. Sam Herben-JelJer'E Herben-JelJer'E pleas bai bepn hr.M. The search was about to begin for the body of Harry and the diamond that circled one finger. And Falrchlld hastened has-tened to do his part. Until fur Into the night they worked nnd strained to put the big pump Into position; while crews of men, four ond five In a group, balled water ns fast as possible, that the aggregate might be lessened to the greatest possible extent before the pumps, with their lioscs, were attached. Then t he gaso-line gaso-line engines began to snort, great lengths of tubing were let down into the slin ft, and spurting water started down the mountain side at the task of nnwnterlng the sliuft began. But It was n slow Job. Morning found the distance to the wuter'longth-cihmI wuter'longth-cihmI by twenty to thirty feet, ami t he bucket brigades nearly nt tlie end of their ropes. Men trudged down the bills to breakfast, sending others In their places. Falrchlld stayed on to meet Mother Howard nnd assuage her .crvousncss as best lie could, dividing Is tiiiif between her and the task be-re be-re him. IVoon found more water han ever tvnbJlng down t ho hll's he smaller pumpfc were working now in unison with the larger one. Afternoon After-noon -and most of Mhodl was there. V'aircbiM could distinguish the form of Anita Iti( iiinond In tlie hundreds of women mil men clustered about the op'irg of the tunnel, and for once lng for an auto bandit" "A what?" She stared at him with wide-open, almost laughing eyes. "But you don't believe " "He was looking for a man," said Falrchlld quietly. "I I told hlra that I hadn't seen anything but a boy. I was willing to do that then because I couldn't believe that a girl like you would " Then he Btumbled and halted. halt-ed. A moment he sought speech while she smiled up at him. Then out It came: "I I don't care what It was. I I like you Honest I do., I liked you so much when I was changing that tire that I didn't even notice it when you put the money Jn my hand. I well, you're not the kind of a girl who would do anything really wrong. It might be a prank or something like that but It wouldn't be wrong. So so there's an end to It" Again she laughed softly, in a way tantalizing to Robert Falrchlld, as though she were making game of him. "What do yon know about women?" she asked finally, and Falrchlld told the truth. "Nothing." "Then " the laugh grew heartier, finally, however, to die away. The girl put forth her hand. "But I won't say what I was going to. It wouldn't sound right I hope that I I live up to your estimation of me. At least I'm thankful to you for being the man you are. And I won't forget !" And once more her hand had rested In his a small, warm, caressing thing In spite of the purely casual grasp of an Impersonal action. Again Robert Rob-ert Falrchlld felt a thrill that was new to him, and he stood watching her until un-til she had reached the motor car which had brought her to the big curve, and bad faded down the hill. Then he went back to assist the sweating sweat-ing workmen and the anxious-faced Sam Herbenfelder. The water was down seventy feet. That night Robert Falrchlld sought a few hours' sleep. Two days after the town still divided Its attention between be-tween preparations for the Old Times dance and the progress In the dewater-lng dewater-lng of the Blue Poppy shaft. Now and then th !ng h"pe wa withdrawn, and dynamite lowered on flouts to the surface of the water, far below, a copper cop-per wire trailing It. A push of the plunger, a detonation, and a wait of long nonients; It accomplished nothing, noth-ing, and the pumping went on. If the earthly remains of Harry Harkins were below, they steadfastly refused to come to the surface. The water had fallen to the level of the drift, two hundred feet down; the pumps now were working on the inuin flood which still lay below. A day more and a day after thnt. Hie water was now only a few feet high In the shaft; It meant that the whole great opening, together with the drift tunnel, soon would be dewatered to an extent sufficient to penult of exploration. Again the motor cars ground up the narrow roadway. Outside Out-side the tunnel the crowds gathered. Falrchlld saw Anita Richmond and gritted Ids teeth nt the fact that young Rodalne accompanied her. Farther In the background, narrow eyes watching watch-ing closely, was Squint Rodalne. And still farther Falrchlld gasped as he noticed the figure plodding down the mountain side, lie put out a hand, tr-'-r seizing ilie nervous Herbenfelder hy il.; shoulder, whirled him around. "Look !" he exclaimed. "Look there; hldn't I tell you! Didn't I hai a J hunch?" started down the mountain elde, Sain, Herbenfelder trotting In the rear and forgetting his anger In the Joyful knowledge that his ring at last was safe. Behind the throng of men with their mock threats trailed the women nnd children, some throwing pine cones ot the booming Harry, Juggling himself him-self on the narrow pole; ami In the crowd, Fuirchlld found someone he could watch with more than ordinary InterestAnita Richmond, trudging along with the rest, npparently remonstrating re-monstrating with the sullen, mean-vlsnged mean-vlsnged young man nt her side. Instinctively In-stinctively Falrchlld knew that young Uodalne was not pleased with the return re-turn of Harkins. As for the father Falrchlld whirled at a voice by his side and looked straight Into the crooked eyes of Thornton Falrchlld's enemy. The blue-white scar had turned almost black now, the eyes were red from swollen, blood-stained veins, the j ev!';, t'lin, crooked lips were working ! In sullen ii.ry. They were practically alotie at the moi.ih of the mine, l'.iir-; l'.iir-; child with a laugh olng on his lis, Harry nodded. "So 'e was. And a good friend. But that was before things 'nppencd like they've 'uppened In the last ten years. Not that 1 know about It of my own knowledge. But Mother 'Oward she knows a lot." "But what's caused the change? Wbnt ?" Harry's Intent gaze stopped him. "'Ow many times 'ave you seen Judge Richmond?" "I haven't ever seen him." "You won't if Mother 'Oward knows anything. 'K ain't able to get out. 'I"s sick apoplexy a stroke. Rodnlno's taken advantage of It." "How?" " 'Ow does anybody take advantage of somebody that's Hick? 'Ow does anybody get a 'old n a person? Through money! Judge IUclici-nl 'nd a lot of it. Then 'e git sk'c Uodalne, Uo-dalne, 'e got 'old rif that money. Now Judge Richmond 'us to ask '1m for every penny lie gets and 'e does what Rodalne says." 'T.ut u Jtid-c "I Want to Go to That Oancel to stay there as long as the Music sounded, or rather as long us the brown eyes, brown hair and laughing lips of Anltn Richmond were apparent to him. What's more, he carried out his resolution. Again nnd again Falrchlld's eyes searched the crowds, the multicolored, overdressed costumes of the women, the old fashioned nffaii'a with which many of the men had arrayed themselves, them-selves, ranging all the way from high leather hoots to frock suits and stovepipe stove-pipe beaver hnts. From one face to another his gaze went on ; then he turned abstractedly to -he long line of tahies, with their devotees of keno, and bought o paddle. . J '''Ant's op, vrryhot ! And ! , quick about it!" i I (XOUli CO.NIiiMiKU) ' ' ' |
