Show PO op aw M ahlan ca wih im gold CHAPTER VI continued 11 hammond whistled that means a lot of work you bet it means work and men and a concentrated campaign any other method will keep you here for the next fifty years youve got to spend money to make money in mining what ive been trying to to tell mckenzie joe but he there he halted kay was coin coming down the trail bruce kenning called good morning and went up the stream hours later with kay and hammond watching intently the workmen began a cleanup clean up of the sluice box on the joyce claim it only revealed the usual flour gold indications of something more I 1 to 0 come but as yet nothing worth saving neither this flume nor the sluice is long enough one of the workers complained me n jim waste an awful lot of time just around for fear of in too much gravel then build em up now while youre dried out for the cleanup clean up 11 hammond said im going past the sawmill ill tell em to send some lumber and nails called kay ill get them Har hammond ilmond left the stream with its lines of eager workers at the sawmill lie he gave the lumber order then turned for geannes Je annes to get the nails she met him some fifty yards away returning from the delivery of a batch barcli of darning sold all those nails he asked 1 I think there are some left theres been a run on them this morning everybody in camp wants nails or glass they reached the store and she lifted the peg from the hasp few persons in sapphire lake even bothered to close their doors then pushing the door open she walk walked ed within the store suddenly to gasp and to hurry burry around the end of the rough counter the crudely built money drawer stood open the girl wavered staring at it her hands half raised her jaw sagging then she said in a queerly dulled voice been in the store had you left your money here hammond asked sharply yes all of it I 1 I 1 thought nobody ever bothers to lock up hammond stared about him it seemed inconceivable that crime should have entered this faraway far away place sergeant terrys main work was growing a garden beside him jeanne towers continued to stare blankly it was as if they sought an explanation of the impossible the supernatural but who would want to steal my money she asked dazedly they took everything the bills and my nuggets and a bottle of golddust goldlust gold dust hammond did not answer the door had begun to swing A shut the faint breeze was sufficient to lift a bit of paper hitherto unnoticed and whisk it to the floor jack moved for it but the girl with swift intuition sped before him she grasped it turning it in her ha hand rid then with a spasmodic movement she crumpled it in a tightly clenched fist its nothing she said her face was bloodless A strange madness overpowered hammond he did not know why he insisted he only realized that his face was hot and his veins pounding give me that paper he said thinly there was something terrible about his eyes slowly the girl passed it over to him his hands shook as he unfolded it revealing its curt message 11 IOU lew 1 I thought so said hammond and turned for the door jeanne moved desperately catching him by the arm jack wait wait why wait he asked 4 im going after sergeant terry but she blocked him frantic franti c both han hands ds against his chest oh dont she gasped please dont please dont jack hammond could not believe her youre not going to let lew anade get away with a robbery 1 I dont see anything t else to do jeanne answered hopelessly but vaguely jack realized that he was discussing a situation of which he really knew nothing you cant do that he stole your money the girl sank against the counter 1 I simply cant go to the police I 1 guess why he left that IOU so id know who did it and not make a report why not she rubbed her hands bands ile he still uses his own name what of it she smiled faintly ive changed mine came at last if I 1 had to prosecute him and they took him out to Four cross dont you understand plainly hammond did not and evidenced it the girl added in a colorless voice it if it should ever get back home that lew anade had been arrested for stealing money from a girl somebody would figure out the right name of that girl again there was silence at last hammond began to pace the nar courtney ryley cooper 0 courtney ryley cooper service row confine between the door and the counter then jeanne said id hoped never have to know about him 0 1 I dont if you put it that way kiy 01 but she had straightened now her chin lifted with determination ill III I 1 feel better if you do know he caught her by the arms clutching thern them tight look here erell he asked do you think anything could change my feelings about you my friendship do you if the case dont tell me I 1 dont want to know you of all persons have the right t to know she freed herself and walked past him to the door closing it then she turned and her back against it as though the support would give her needed strength suddenly she drew back A voice had come from outside hey jeanne the idea Sh that door involuntarily she opened it A miner entered from kays claim oh lie he exclaimed 1 I know you were liere here mr hammond yes im here it was banal but there was nothing else to say miss kay thought forgotten them nails no but while youre here take them hammond clawed a double handful of spikes from the keg and passed them on to the miner tell miss kay ill be down after awhile he commanded sure the miner answered and started away jeanne why cant I 1 go to terry a bout about this man hed handle it con 14 ta F if IX 1 P ika V I 1 im not trying to say I 1 was led around fidentia lly certainly weve got to do something the girl leaned wearily against the counter not necessarily why not what right had he to come here and take money it gets to be a habit after awhile there was no sarcasm in the statement only resignation 1 I cant see it look here you youve ve made a start for yourself up here in the north this fellow cant come out of your past and wreck it no matter what the trouble the trouble is she supplied dully that im tied to him married worse than that none of my business jeanne she rested her hands on the counter it is jack the subjects been opened you might as well have it all lew and I 1 were kids together in in the pas you know where that is I 1 yes in northern manitoba quite a town now with all those mines opening up my father ran a trading store there it was as though she were in a witness chair neither father nor mother liked lew I 1 worked in the trading store especially when father was up north well this time lie he had to go into the arctic circle to trade with the eskimos before he left h he e told me that I 1 was to go to the annual fur auction in winnipeg for him I 1 know furs so I 1 went and took with me in currency hammond had begun to see ahead yes father likes cash L lew followed me down there I 1 was W terribly in love with him she mu must t have caught the look in hammonds hammond I 1 eyes oh hes changed so much all in a year I 1 guess getting hold of that money did something to him evidently so after he met you in winnipeg sowell so well she spread her hands 1 I know hammond ammond II was trying to make it easier for her ayou you were away where nobody would know and you loved him and life seemed something terribly precious that last thanks the girl answered answer ed 1 and too I 1 suppose he pulled the old gag what was the use of worrying your parents by getting married to say nothing of his poor 0 old mother never survive th the shock in this case it was his crippled sister jeanne supplied without bitterness ter ness oh she supplemented suddenly im not trying to say I 1 was led around did you ever spend the best part of your life in a place like like the pas not the town that it is now but the one like it used to be how hov did lew anade get his hands on that money hammond asked bluntly he felt queerly feverish the girl went on there anything at the winnipeg auction worth buying lew argued that we ought to go on to edmonton there would be an auction there in about ten days I 1 wrote home what had happened happen cd about the auction I 1 mean then we went to edmonton lews money was gone I 1 began to cut into the cash id brought along then one afternoon lew pretended to count the money to be sure it was all there I 1 looking he shouted that a hundred dollar bill had flown out an open window of course you never found it she smiled faintly 1 I found the place later where he had lost it gambling of course I 1 know that then I 1 began to worry about making up our expenses and that hundred dollars low lew said he had a friend in vancouver who wanted to sell out his stock of furs I 1 let him argue me into believing that he knew enough about the fur business to go and buy out this stock and make enough on it to cover all our losses she was silent hammond waited a moment well he asked at last all came tonelessly he stole the money and deserted you asked the man his hands were trembling 1 I worked at anything I 1 could get in edmonton until I 1 earned enough for second class fare to vancouver the man in the fur store said hed never even heard of lew anade I 1 find a job in vancouver finally I 1 got one for a single trip on the prince rupert boat working in the dining room you kept on lol looking oking for anade id been to every dance hall in vancouver and every gambling joint someone remembered him and said hed gone north so I 1 kept on asking questions after I 1 got on the boat boa t one of the girls said she knew him that hed gotten her to sneak out after hours and meet him on deck when I 1 got to prince rupert I 1 asked about a lawyer and someone suggested mr barstow I 1 was afraid to go to the police yes because of your people 1 I told mr barstow id pay him a percentage tage on any money he could get back for me but he said no I 1 barstowe Bar stows that kind 1 I lived where I 1 could for awhile I 1 worked in al mansons Mon sons store I 1 was there for nearly two months but mr barstow get ally any trace of low lew then one day he called me and said lew was in town hed been in alaska and just come back I 1 dont know how ie found out barstow knows every ship captain and cabin boy in prince rupert 1 I guess that was it he said lew had promised to come to his office the next morning and pay back every cen cent t so I 1 went there but he show up hammond interjected coldly no mr barstow had to tell me that hed skipped out when I 1 first saw you coming down the stairs from mr barstowe Bar stows office 1 I guess I 1 know the rest you talked to him up here the girl glanced at the 1 I 0 U where hammond had tossed it all she said slowly 1 I dont even know how he got here 1 I do he came up with the last bunch from Four cross got in the same night as bruce kennin kenning 9 I 1 know something more hes going to give you back that money the girl flashed before him dont go to sergeant terry please you know how news is the kind that comes out of a new mining camp it goes all over if terry ever took him down to four cross jack hammond raised his hand to her shoulder and gently pushed her away im not going to terryl he announced noun ced almost almos t before he realized it he was out of the store and stalking the crooked streets of the little town head forward a queer ugly swing to his shoulders as he searched the territory of tents and shacks then he turned down to the lake where timmy moon grimy with oil was working on his airplane seen lew anade he asked without waiting for an answer where does he usually hang out anywhere around this camp does he work for around the world annie give a guy time grouched crouched grou ched timmy 1 I just saw him walking loon creek creck with bruce kenning il TO KC BE CONTINUED |