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Show 4:.fHE GROSS-GUT 'chx D Courtney Rile? Cooper i . 11 CPrrtMbuw,8wCfc Tf It's there, we'll find It If we Pr once a rav of rhr n.m - i 1 : hav t0 our fingers to the bone. I'oppy mine more like- merr whe ure chained In he sight of gold and cannot reach It. For the offer carried car-ried always tln. hint that wealth was there, somewhere, thnt Squint Ro dalne knew It. but that they could not find It. Either that or flat failure. Either wealth that would yield Squint a hundredfold for his purpose, or a sneer that would answer their offer to sell. And each man gritted his teeth and so Id nothing. But they worked on. October gave np Its fight The first day of November eanie. to find the chamber s wide, vacuous thing now, sheltering stone and refuse and two struggling men nothing more. Falr-chlld Falr-chlld censed his labors and mopped his forehead, dripping from the heat engendered by frenzied lubor. A lung moment, then: "Harry." "Aye." "I'm going after the other side. We've been playing a half-horsed gauie here." "I've been thinking that, Boy." "Then I'm going to tackle the foot wall. I was at the bonk today." "Yeh." - "My balance Is Jut two hundred." Hurry clawed at his mustache. "We're ilea ring the end, Boy. Tackle the foot wall." They said no more. Fnlrchlld withdrew with-drew his drill from the "swimmer" or straightforward powder hole and turned fur to the other side of the CHAPTER XIV Continued For once a ray of cheer came to Mm. Tt.e Rodalnes had known of this strike lng before he ever went to that "JSkI,tt Denver. They had waited wait-ed daybfdtm;U to have their assays made and bd Completed their first shipment y"pe -smelter. There was no necessity "that they buy the Blue poppy mine. Therefore, whs It simply another trick to break him. to lead him up to a point of high expectations, expecta-tions, then, with a laugh at his disappointment, dis-appointment, throw him down again? His shoulders straightened as they reached the outside air, and he moved close to Harry i he told him his conjectures. con-jectures. The Cornishmun bobbed his head. "I never thought of It thnt wye!" be agreed. "But It could explain a lot of things. They want to beat us and they don't eare 'ow. It 'nrts a person to be disappointed. That's it. I al-wyes al-wyes said you 'od a good 'ead on you ! That's It Let's go back to the Blue Poppy." Back they went, once more to descend de-scend the shaft, onee more to follow the trail along the drift toward the opening of the stope. And there, where loose earth covered the place where a skeleton once had rested. Fair-child took oh bis coat and rolled tip ' 's sleeves. "Harry." he said, with a new determination, deter-mination, "this vein doesn't look like much, and the mine looks worse. But If you're game. I'm game, and we'll work the thing until It breaks as." "You've said It. If we 'It anything, fine and well If we can turn out five thousand dollars' worth of stuff before be-fore the trial comes up. then we can sell lilt under the direction of the court, turn over that money for a cash bond, and get the deeds back. If we can't, and If the 'mine peters out. then' we ain't lost anything but a lot of opes and time. But 'ere goes. We'll double-Jnck. I've got a big 'ammer ere. You 'old the drill for awhile and turn It. while I sling th' sledge. Then you take th' 'ammer and Lor' 'eve mercy on my 'ands If you miss." Fnlrchlld obeyed, nour after hour they worked. Then, as the afternoon grew late, narry d'sappeared fur down the drift to return with a handful hand-ful of greasy, candlelike things, wrapped In waxed paper. "I knew thnt dynamite of yours couldn't he shipped In time, so I bought a little up 'ere." he explained, as he cut one of the slicks In two with a pocketknlfe and laid the pieces to one side. Then out came a eo!l of fuse, to he cut to Its regular lengths and Inserted In the copper-covered caps of fulminate of mercury, Hnrry showing his contempt for the danger-ous danger-ous things by crimping them about the fuse with his teeth, while Fair-child, Fair-child, sitting on a small pile of muck nenrby. begged for caution. But Harry only Tinned behind his big mustache and went on. Out came his pocketknlfe again as he slit the waxed poper of the gelatinous gelat-inous sticks, then inserted the cup In the dynamite. One after another the charges were shoved Into the holes. Hurry tnmplng them Into plnce with a steel rod. Instead of with the usual wooden affulr, his mustache brushing tils shoulder as he turned to explain the virtues of dynamite when handled by an expert "It's all In the wye you do It" he announced. "If you don't strike fire with a steel rod. It's fine." "But If you dor "Oh. then!" Hnrry laughed. "Then It's flowers and a funeral after they've finished picking you up." One after another he pressed the dynamite charges tight Into the drill holes and tamped them with muck wrapped In a newspaper that he dragged from his hip pocket. Then he lit the fuses from his lamp and stod a second In assurance that they they don't even take the trouble to mine. That Is, unless they run Mgh In sliver- he pcked np a chunIf of (he ore from the muck pile where It had been deposited and studied It Intently "but I don't see any pure sliver sticking out In this stuff." "But It must be here somewhere. 1 don't know anything about mining hut don't veins sometimes pinch off and then show up later on?" "Sure they do sometimes. But It's a gamble." "That's all we've had from the beginning, be-ginning, Harry." "And It's about ail we're going to 'ave any time unless something bobs up sudden like." Then, by common consent, they laid away their working clothes and left the mine, to wander down the gulch and to the boarding house. After dinner din-ner they chatted a moment with Mother Moth-er Howard, then went upstairs, each to his room. An hour later Harry knocked at Falrchlld's door, and entered, en-tered, the evening paper In his hand. " 'Ere's "something more that's nice," he announced, pointing to an Item on the front page. It was the announcement announce-ment that a general grand Jury was to be convened late In the summer and that one of its tasks would be to seek to unravel the mystery of the murder of Sissle Larsenl Falrchlld read It with morbidity. Trouble seemed to have become more than occasional, and further than that, It appeared to descend upon him at Just the times when he could least resist re-sist It. He made no comment; there was little that he could say. Again he read the item and again, finally to turn the page and breathe sharply. Before him was a six-column advertisement, adver-tisement, announcing the strike In the Silver Queen mine and also spreading the word that a two-mllllon-dollar company would be formed, one. million mil-lion In stock to represent the mine lt-S'.'lf, lt-S'.'lf, the other to be subscribed to exploit ex-ploit this new find as It should be exploited. ex-ploited. Glowing words told of the possibilities of the Sliver Queen. Offices Of-fices had been opened ; everything had been planned In advance and the advertisement ad-vertisement written before the town wus aware of the big discovery up Kentucky gulch. All of It Falrchlld read with a feeling he could not down a feeling that Fate, somehow, was dealing the cards from the hottom, and that trickery and treachery and a venomous nature were the necessary Ingredients, after all, to success. He finished the lust line, looked at the list of officers, and gasped. For there, following one another, were three names, two of which Falrchlld Falr-chlld hud expected. But the other They were, president and geriernl mnnnger, R. B. (Squint) Rodolne; secretary-treasurer. Maurice Rodoine; and first vice president Miss Anita Natalie Richmond! After that. Falrchlld heard little thnt Harry said as he rambled on about plans for the future. He sat and stared, until finally his partner suld good-night and left the room. That nome could mean only one thing: that she had consented to become be-come a partner with them, that they hud won her over, after all. Now. even a different light came upon the meeting with Barnham in Denver and a different view to Falrchlld. What If she had been playing their game all along? Whet if she had been merely a tool for them ; what If she had sent Farrell at their direction, to learn everything he and Harry knew? Had not another lawyer played the friendship friend-ship racket, In an effort to buy the Blue Poppy mlnet And here Falrchlld smiled grimly. From the present prospects, It would seem that the gain would have been all on his side, for certainly there was the vartou wetghta M varaes of tba ores as the samples were brought t him from the dirty, dusty, Wn-fllled rooms of the Sampler proper. A queer light came Into the old fellow eyes as he looked Into those of Robert Falrchlld. v "Don't get 'em too high I" he- admonished. ad-monished. Falrchlld stared. "Whatr "Hopes. I've seen many a fellow come In Just like you. I've been here thirty year. They call me Old Undertaker Under-taker rhastlnel" Falrchlld laughed. "But I'm hoping" "Yep, Son." Undertaker Chnstlna looked over his glnnses. "You're Just like all the rest. You're hoping. Trot 'er out and let the old Undertaker have a look at "er." Sobered now, Fulrchlld reached for his tobacco can. which had been stuffed full of every scrap of slime thnt he and 'Arry had been able to drag from the powder hole. Evidently, Evident-ly, his drill had been In the ore. whatever what-ever It was, for some time befora ha realized It; the can was heavy, exceedingly ex-ceedingly heavy, giving evidence of purity of something at least. But Undertaker Un-dertaker Chnstltift shook his head. "Can't tell." he announced. "Feele heavy, looks black and all that. But It might not be anything hut straight lead with a sprinkling of silver. And then again" He began to tinker about with his pottery. He dragged out a scoop from somewhere and prepared various white powders. Then he turned to the furuace. with Its hlgh-chlmneyed draft, and filled a container with the contents of the tobacco can. "Let 'er ronat. Son." he announced. "That's the only way. Let 'er roust and while It's getting hot well, you just cool your heels." Long waiting while the eccentHe old assayer told doleful tales of otSior days, tales of other men who had rushed In, Just like Fulrchlld. with their sample of ore, only to depart with the knowledge that they were no richer than before, days when the news of Die demonetisation of silver swooped down upon the little town like some black tornudo, closing down the mines, shutting up the gumhllng halls and great piiIooiis. nailing up the doors, even of the Sumpler, for years to come. He turned to the furnace and took out the pottery dish In which the sample had been smelting white-hot now. He cooled It and tinkered with his chemicals. He finned with his scales, he adjusted his glasses, he coughed once or twice In an embarrassed embar-rassed miinner; finally to turn to Fulrchlld. "Young mnn." he queried. "It ain't any of my business, but where'd you get this ore?" "Out of my mine, the Blije Poppy I" "Sure you ain't been visiting?" "What do, yon mean?" Fnlrchlld was staring at him In wonderment Old Undertaker Chastlne rubbed his bonds on bis big apron and continued to look over his glasses. "Whut'll you tuke for the Blue Poppy mine. Son?" "Why Ifs not for sale." "Sure It ain't going to be soon?" "Absolutely not." Then Falrchlld caught the queer look In the man's eyes. "What do yon mean by all these questions? Is that good ore or Isn't It?" "Son, Just one more question and I hope you won't get mnd at me. I'm a funny old fellow, and I do a lot of things that don't seem right at the beginning. But I've saved a few young bloods like you from trouble more than once. You ain't been high-grading?" high-grading?" "You mean " "Jnt exactly what I said wandering wander-ing tround somebody else's property nnd ticking up a few sample, as It were, to mix In with your own prod- I net? Or planting them where they can be found easily by a prospective buyer?" FatThlld's chin set. and his arms moved slowly. Then he laughed. "No I'U give you my word I haven't been high-grading." he said. "My partner and I drilled a hole In the foot wall of the stope where we were working, hoping to find the rest of a vein that wus pinching nut on us. And we got this stuff. Is It any good?" "is It good?" Again Old Undertaker Under-taker Chnstlne looked over his glnsses. "That's Just Ihe trouble. It's too good It's w good that It neems there's something funny about It. Son. thnt stuff assays within a gram, almost, of the ore they're taking out of the Silver Queen 1" "What's that?" Falrchlld had leaped forward and grasped the othpr mnn by the shoulders, his eyes aglenm. his whole being trembling with excitement excite-ment "You're not kidding me about It? You're sure you're sure?" "Boy, you've got a bonanza. If this holds out. It's almost Identical. I never saw two samples of ore thnt were more alike. Let's see, the Blue Poppy's right up Kentucky gulch, not so very far away from the Silver Queen. Isn't It? Then there must be a tremendous big vein concealed around there somewhere that splits, one half of It running throuuh the mountain In one direction nnd the other cutting through on the-ojipoHlt side. It looks like pcu''hes und creaa for you. Son. How thick Is It?" "I don't know. i'e Just happened to put a drill In there and this is some of the scrapings." "You haven't cut it. to It at all, then?" "Not unless Harry, my partner, has put In a shot since l'e b-n gone." (TO UK CONTINUED.) If It's there, we'll find It If we have to work our fingers to the bone. If we have to starve and dla there we'll find It I" With that determination, he went to bed, to awake In the morning filled with a desire to reach the mine, to claw at Its vitals with the sharp-edged sharp-edged drills, to swing the heavy sledge until his shoulders and back ached, to send the roaring charges of dynamite dyna-mite digging deeper and deeper Into thnt thinning vein. And Harry was beside him every step of the way. A day's work, the booming charges, und they returned to the stope to find that the vein hnd neither lessened nor grown greater. Another day and one after that The vein remained the same. Squint Rndnlne had established his office In a stun II, vacant store building on the main street, and Falrchlld could see. as he went to and from his work, a constant stream of townspeople townspeo-ple as they made that their goal-there goal-there to give their money Into the keeping of the be-scarred man nnd to trust to the future for wealth. It gulled Falrchlld, It made his hate stronger than ever. As for the girl who was named as vice president-He president-He saw her, day after day. riding through town In the same automobile that he had helped re-tire on the Denver Den-ver road. But now she did not look at him; now she pretended that she did not see him. She had gone over to the Rodalnes. she was engaged to marry the chalky-faced, honk-nosed son and she was vice president of their two-mllllon-dollar mining corporation. cor-poration. Falrchlld did" not even strive to find a meaning for It all ; women are women, and men do well sometimes some-times If they diagnose themselves. The summer began to grow old. and Falrchlld felt that he was aging with It The bank deposits were thinning, and the vein was thinning with It Slowly but surely, i-they fought, the strip of pay ore In the rocks was pinching out. Soon would come the time when they could work It no longer. And then but Falrchlld did not like to think about that September came, and with it the grand Jury. But here for once was a slight ray of hope. The body of twelve good men and true wore themselves them-selves out with other matters and adjourned ad-journed without even taking up the mystery of the Blue Poppy mine. But the Joy of Fulrchlld and Harry was short-lived. In the long. legal phraseology phrase-ology of the Jury's report was the recommendation that this Important subject be the first for Inquiry by the next grand Inqulsltorlnl body to be convened and the threat still re mulned. But before the two men were now realities which were worse even than threats, and Harry turned fromhls staging late one afternoon to voice the most Important. "We'll start single-Jacking tomorrow." tomor-row." he announced with a little sigh. "In the 'nng'ng wall. The vein's pinched down until we ain't even getting get-ting day laborer's wnges out of It and It's October now." October! Octobei- and winter on the way. Octohei- and only a month until the time when Harry must face a Jury on four separate charges, any one of which might send him to Canon City for the rest of his days. Fair-child's Fair-child's hopes lay Inert He was only working now because a great, strong, big-shouldered man had come from Cornwall to help him and was willing to fight It, out to the end. October nnd the announcement had said that a certain girl would be married In the 'ate fall, a girl who never looked In his direction any more, who hud allowed al-lowed her nome to become affiliated with that of the Rodalnes, now near-Ing near-Ing the tusk of completing their two million.' October 1 For a long moment, Falrchlld said nothing, then as Harry came from the staging, he moved to the older mun's side. "I I didn't quite catch the Idea." came at lust Harry pointed with his sledge. "I've been noticing the vein. It keeps turning to the left. It struck me that it might 'ave branched off from the main body and that there's a bigger vein over there some'eres. "Ve'll Just 'nve to mrke ,t try for It. It's our only chance." "And If we fail to find It there?" "If It ain't there we're whipped!" It was the first time that Hurry had said the word seriously. Falrchlld pretended not to hear. InRteud, he picked up a drill, looked at Its point, then started toward the smnll forge which they had erected Just at the foot of the little raise leading to the stope. There Harry Joined him ; together to-gether they heated the long pieces of steel nnd pounded their biting faces j to the sharpness necessary to drilling In the hard rock of the hanging wail, tempering them In the bucket of water wa-ter near by, working silently, slowly hampered by the weight of defeat They were being whipped; they felt it In every atom of their beings. But they had not given up their fight. Two blows were left In the struggle, and two blows they meant to strike before the end came. The next morning morn-ing they started at their new task, each drilling holes at points five feet apart In the hanging wall, to send them In as far as possible, then at the end of the day to blast them onf. tearing away the rock and stopping their work at drilling that they might muck away the refuse. And dny after day, each, without mentioning It to the other, was tortured by the thought of that offer of riches, that mysterious mysteri-ous proffer of wlth for the Bluu "This Stuffs Changed Color." chamber, where the sloping foot wall showed for a few feet before It dived j under the muck and refuse. Spot after spot he' prospected, suddenly to stop und bend forward. At lust came an exclamation, surprised, wondering: "Hurry!" The Cornlshmnn left his work and walked to Falrchlld's side. The younger man po'ntvd. "Do you ever fill up drill holes with cement?" he asked. "Not as I know of. Why?" "There's one." Falrchlld raised his gad and chipped away the softer surface sur-face of the rock, leaving a tubular protuberance pro-tuberance of cement extending. Harry Har-ry st red. "What the bloody 'ell?" he conjectured. conjec-tured. "D' you suppose" Then, with a sudden resolution; "Drill there 1 Gad a'ole off to one side a bit and drill there. It seems to me Sissle Larsen put a 'ole or something 1 can't remember. But drill. It can't do any "arm." The gad chipped away tho rock. Soon the drill was hlltng into the sur-fuce sur-fuce of the foot wall. Quitting time cume; the drill ns In two feet, and In the morning, Falrchlld went at his task aguln, pounding away at the long, six-foot drill with strokes that had behind them only muscles, not the Intense driving power of hope. A foot he progressed Into the foot wall and changed drills. Three Inches more. Then "Harry!" "What's 'appenedT' The tone of Falrchlld's voice had caused the Cornlshmnn to lesn from his singing nnd run to Falrchlld's side. That person had cupp'd his hand and was holding It beneath the drill hole, while Into It he was pulling the muck with the semper nnd staring at It "This stuff's changed color!" be exclaimed. "It looks like" "Let me see!" The older mun took a portion of the blackish, gritty mass and held It close to his carbide. "It looks like something it looks like something!" Ills voice was high, excited. ex-cited. "I'll finish the 'ole and Jum enough dynamite in there to tear the Insldea out of It. I'll give 'er 'ell. But In the meantime, you take that down to the assayer!" CHAPTER XV ' Fulrchlld did not hesitate. Scraping Scrap-ing the wutery conglomeration Into a tolmcco can, he threw on his coat and ran for the shaft. Then he pulled himself tip. singing, and dived Into the fresh-made drifts of a new storm us he started toward town; nor did he stop to Investigate the fast-fading fast-fading footprints of some one vtw evidently hud passed the mine a short time before. Into town snd through It to the scrambling buildings of the Sampler, where the main products of the mines of Ohndl fmind their vvuy before going go-ing to the smelter. There he swung wide the door nnd turned lo tho little room on . the left, the sanctum f n while hnlred, ulmoFt totK-ring old tniin who wandered shout among his t-:t tubea and "buttons" tm be flouted oui Sir II were spluttering. "Now we run !" he announced, nnd they hurried, side by side, down the drift tunnel until they reached the Shaft, "Far enough." snld Hnrry. A long moment of waiting. Then the earth quivered and a muffled, booming roar came from the distance. Harry stared at his carbide lamp. "ne." he announced. Then. "Two." Three, four and five followed, all counted seriously, carefully by Harry. Finally tey turned back along the drift towa-d the stope, the acrid odor ef dynamite smoke cutting at their nostrils as they approached the spot where the explosions had occurred. There Harry e.o"rf In silent contemplation contempla-tion for a long time. hiilJIn? U) carbide car-bide over the pile of ore that had been torn from the vein above. "It ain't much," came at last "Not more'n 'arf a ton. We won't get rich at that rate. And besides " he looked upward "we ain't even going to be getting that pretty soon. It's pinching out." Falrchlld followed his gaze, to see n the torn rock shove him only a narrow nar-row streuk now, fully un Inch and a bulf narrower than the vein had been before the powder holes hnd been drilled. It could mean only one tldng: that the bet had been played and lost, rint the vein bod been one of those reak affairs thnt start out with much promise, seem to give hope of cternnl riches, and then grnduully dwindle to nothing. Hurry shook his head. V won't liiHt." "Not more than two or three more shots." Fnlrchlld agreed. "You can't toll about that. It mny run itnit wiiy all through the mountain bur what's a four-inch vein? You enn m nri 'civ In he Argonaut tunnel ami Cmt 'i? u (Iut.co of them thing Umt Ho Flnlshsd the Last Line and Canped. little to show now toward a possibility of the Blue Popjiy ever being worth anything near the figure which he hnd been offered for it. And yet, If that offer hnd not been made s some sort of stiletto Jest, why had It been made at all? Was It because Rodalne knew that wealth did lie concealed there? Fulrchlld suddenly took hopa He clenched his hands and he spoke, to hlmelf, to the darkness and to the spirits of diS'-'Otirsgcment thut wert nil about him: |