The Holly chieftain., 1898-12-23
XII.
THE EXPULSION.


Mr.. Bingham was very weary of ms
paternal Joys. If a selfish motive mao
been at the bottom of his sudden late
demand for his daughters society IN
the west; if he had fancied that IT wouid
impart q trifiing zest to his jaded eN-
istence to have youth ard beauty near
him, and increase his popularity with
his brother mine-owners at critical
time, he had been properly disappoint-
ed in the sequel. The cloud of suspi-
cion that rested on the mine had never
lifted; the time had not been suited
to an exchange of hospitaiities, even
with beautiful young daughter TO be
introduced to the society of the camps;
and all the brightness Faith had
brought with her TO the Big Horn, and
that promise of adaptability that her
father had welcomed in her, had been
extinguished under the burden of him
self and his elderly failings which she
had taken upon her virgin conscience.
1t was simply keeping a recording an
gel in the house for his sole and per-
sonal benefit; one who wept, perhaps.
but never dropped tear" upon the
page where her fathers slips were un-
falteringly set down. The grief of his
angel had never interfered with the
strictness of her record. 1t was pre-
posterous! He smiled with sardonic
enjoyment of the joke that he xas to
be reformed. at his time of life, accord
ing to the maiden aunt" school of
training. But it was also beastly an
noyance; it sent him often to the So
ciety of those familiars which he kept
under lock and key in his sideboard
closet. With his daughter presiding,
conscience-wise, over personal habits,
and with Darcie Hamilton invcetigat-
ing his business management, it was
no wonder that frail-minded old gen
tleman, with rather darkling record,
should have gone off somewhat in his
temper. Heaven and earth! was he to
be baited by children?
He had said to Faith that she could
not go, without extraordinary precau-
tions for her safety. in the excited state
of feeling at the mines; but this had
been merely for the purpose of re-
minding her that she was not quite mis-
tress of the esituation-frce to repudiate
her father, and depart from him when
ever he should have paid for her ticket
eastward. AS fact, she was not half
so anxious to go as was he to have her;
he did not desire her presence in his
house, either as monitor or as Witness
any longer. She had seen too much
already, considering her general intelli.
gencc and her uncompromising way of
nj = Il.
TO the east, where in short time such
frank incidents as the ordeal of Wan
and the ambushing of Darcie Hamilton
in the tainaracks would appear to her
ac incredible as the nightmare visions
of fever. And that she might not
unwisely recall her visions in speech.
he had. in that last painful interview
i'll the library, taken measures to make
her very tired of the subject of Darcie
Hamilton. On this point at least he
was easy.
AS to Darcie, that young gentleman
had been vastly busy at the managers
expense; he had formulated some dam
gerous discoveries; incidentally he
had .a J., made ma rapid love to his daughter.
been going very much at large. But
he had been careless, as the too sure
footed are apt to be. If the Big Horn
directors chose to send their younger
sons masquerading as honest miners,
into the Coeur d'Alene, they must post
them better upon the local institutions.
"Monkeying with the buzz-saw'' was
pastimc for children compared with n
conflict of opinions with the Miners
union in the summer of 1892. Mr..
Bingham proposed to shift his personal
responsibilities frankly upon the union.
If Darcie should never reach London
with his verbal report (the documents
were in Mr.. Bingham's hands), and ali
international correspondence, tran
scending questions of business. should
ensue, the manager was prepared to
wash his own hands. and to point to
the guns in the hands of his irrepress-
ible allies of the union. The trade
unions have thus suffered always, and
ever will suffer most, at the hands of
their so-called friends.
And now we come to the last scene
before the close OF the war--the de-
Eortation Of the "scabs," including a
few non-combatants, among whom was
Faith. Recording angels, recorders Of
the truth of any sort, were not in de-
mand at that time in the Coeur
dAlene; the victors proposed to record
matters to suit themselves.
tTo BE coNrINuED.l
ENGLISH COMMENT ON AMERICA