The Irish standard., 1899-05-06


whoop. Bob sat down on fallen tree
and waited philosoph;cally, shouting
at intervals. In a little while the Irish
man came charging frantically up the
gulch, tearing along through the vines
and bushes at full speed, so terrified
that he passed within ten feet of Bob
without seeing him. The latter watched
him surge by with an odd little twinkle
in his eye. Then suddenly he shouted
again. Pat slowed up, looked about for
a moment vacantly and then his rugged
Hibernian face broke into multitude
of jolly wrinkles.
"Arrah, it's yerself. darlin'," he said
"Oi thought it's Pat Mccain as is goin'
t slapc wild tn mountain lines this
night"
"You stick t. me-" was Bob's only
comment.
After short climb the men reached
the camp on n knoll overlooking two
continent gulches. There was the SUI
perintendent's Office, the coolhouse, the
clubhouse. the blacksmith's shop. the
stables and the corral--all of logs. Sup
pSA Nuo S\I NSIt Nv S'luNoNll. uS llSll
filed in, took off their coats and sat
down without word. AS each one
finished eating he arose, put on his
coat again and sauntercd outside, filling
his pipe as he went. Finally the whole
gang was gathered at the clubhouse,
smoking, telling laconic stories or play
ing cribbage-thcg great American game
in the mountains.
AS the last conner. Pat was told to
water the horses. He went boldly into
the corral with a rope and was kicked
fiat. The boys Strengthened him out,
and, after he had rcgained his breath,
gave two of the horses halters into his
hands. Except in the main canyons
of the Black Hills there is no surface
water, the creeks all running down
along the bedrock. AS Il consequence
wells are necessary even in the upper
hills. Pat first let horse get loose
then he lost the bucket down the well,
then he fell in himself in trying to fish
| it out. The boys tishcd him out with
some interest. So manifestly made
quate an individual it had not been their
fortune to meet before, and they looked
on him as curiosity. On the spot they
adopted Pat Mccain much us they
would have adopted stray kitten or
puppy, and doubtless in somewhat the
same amused, tolerant state of mind.
The next morning Bob and Pat
cleared away the debris of the three
blasts, wrenching Off the broken, adj
herring bits with Il pick and shovcling
them out. King came up with an AK
gang and built IL rough, square breast
work of logs down the hill, to catch the
quartz as in bin. They also squared
number of timbers and tongucd the
ends. These were to timber the shaft.
All this interested the little lrishmau
He recovered his spirits, and his old
blarney came back to him. The clear
fresh air Of the hills, the abundant food
the hard work, the sound sleep, the re-
action against the taciturnity of the
men, and the calm grandeur of the
mountains, filled him with ANNA
spirits. lie imagined he had found hi.
vocation at last He wanted to dc
everything. In time he learned te
strike with the slcdge, although it was
only after long practice on Il stake that
he could induce anyone to ''hoId' fo1
him; he sharpened drills-aftcr fash
ion; he even helped in the timbering.
up. The only thing lacking was the
shooting Of the charges. lie had iii
ambition to touch the thing Off. This
King roughly forbade.
"That tly-away fool to risk his nccl,
that way?' he said; 81 guess not! Tic
don't know enough now to make his
head ache. When | want wild Irish
man too dead to skin, I'll let you know
l don't want that man to have the frs
thing to do with the powder. Under.
stand that!"
What King said went in that camp
Besides, the men knew him to be in
the right. Pat was the unIllckicst man
alive, and the most awkward. lie was
sure to be in any trouble there was
about-in fact, as Jack Williams said
he was Il sort of Iightning-rod for the
whole camp in the way of trouble;
everyone else was sure of exemption, il
there was only one mans share of diff.
1iculty dealt out. So Mccain pleaded
in vain.
This went to his heart. lie would
have given his blackthorn shilIalal
from Dublin to have been looked upou
as full-ilcdgcd miner. lie used to put
on all the airs of one in Swcetvate1
when he went down there once Il week
staggering about in coppcr-rivctet
jeans, with his hat on one side, convers.
ing Icarncdly though vaguely on elbow
outs" horses" foot wallis and other
techncaIities, hauling out of his pockets
yellow-llcckcd bits of quartZ-in short
putting Oh dog to an amazing extent
But as he turned past the stampmill OF
the Great Snake and began to scale the
henrt-breaking trail that led to the tor
of the ridge, his crest began to fall. AS
he followed the narrow, level summit
for three miles of its length, standing as
it were in the very blucncss of the air,
his spirits began to evaporate. When
he took the shorter and gentler descent
to the camp, the old conviction had re-
turned with sickening force. He was
not miner. He had never "shot." He
used all his persuasive powers in vain.
For one thing, the men were afraid to
disobey King. For another, they liked
Pat, and having firm faith in his ''hoo-
doo," were convinced that his "shoot-
ing" and sudden death would be syn
onymous terms. So Pat abandoned per-
suasion and tried craft
Tho old chnft ~, 1Ahiol, l,o nj Del,