The Portland daily press., 1899-07-04

fresh mir Of the hills. the abundant food,
the hard work, the sound sleep, the reao-
tlcn against the taclturnity Of the men
and the calm grandeur of the mountains
Oiled him with animal spirits. Ho mag
incd he had found his vocation at last
He wanted 20 do everything. In time he
learned to strike with the sledgc, although
u was only after long practice on n stake
that he cotild induce any one to 'hold"
for him. llo sharpened drills-aftcr a
fashion; hc oven helped in the tinibering
Mp. The only thing lacking was the
shooting OF tho charges. He had an
ambition to touch the thing of. This
King roughly forbade.
"1hht ily away fool TO risk his neck
that ways" he said 81 guess not. He
don't know enough now to make his head
ache. When want a wild Irishlnan too
dead TO skin, I'll let you know. don t
want that man to have the flrst thing to
do with tho powder. Understand that"
What King said went in that camp. Be-
sides, the men knew him TO DO in the
right. Pet was the unluckiest man alive
and the most awkward He was sure to
be in any trouble there was about-in
fact, as Jack Williams said, he was a sort
of lightning rod for the whole camp in
the way of trouble Every one else was
sure of exemption II there was only one
mans share of difficulty dealt out. So
Mccain pleaded in vain
This went to his heart. He would have
given his blackthorn shillalah from Dub
lin to have been looked upon as full
fiedged miner. He used TO put ON all the
airs of one in Sweetwater when he went
down thero once week, staggering
about in copper riveted jeans, with his hat
ON one side, conversing learnedly though
vaguely on "blowouts. - horses, . foot
walls and other technicalities hauling
out of his pockets yellow fiecked bits of
quartz-in short, putting on dog to an
amazing extent But as he turned past
the stamp mill of the Great Snake and be-
gan to scale the heartbreaking trail that
led TO the top of the ridge his crest began
to fall. As he followed the narrow, level
summit for the three miles Of its length,
standing, as it were, in the very blueness
of the air, his spirits began to eyaporate
When he took the shorter and gentler as
cent to the camp, the old conviction had
returned 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 dis
obey King. For another, thcy liked Pat
and, having a firm faith in his "hoodoo, ;"
were convinced that his shooting and
sudden death would be synonymous terms.
So Pat abandoned persuasion and tried
craft.
The old shaft on which he and Bob had
first begun work had been carried down
so feet. Appropriate cross outs and drifts
had been made to exploit the lead. 1t was
now abandoned. Bob and Pat were put to
work at another spot in the same lead a
little farther along the ridge.
The hole had been all drilled before Bob
discovered that he had forgotten to bring
any powder, so he started down the pas
sage to get some from the sheet iron pow
der house in the draw. Hardly was he
out of sight before McCann, chuckling
softly to himself, pulled from under a
shelving bit Of rock the missing powder.
With this he loaded the hole. He arrang-
ed the fuse and then dropped down the
ledge to get a brand from the fire. 1t was
nearly out, SO 1t took a few moments to
start a torch. However, he was in no
hurry, as it was some little distance to the
powder house. and Bob could not possibly
return inside of half an hour. At last he
coaxed a bit Of pine into glow and turn
ed to climb back. A startling sight met
his eyes.
When Bob went to get the powder he
stopped at the forge for the water pail.
As he stopped to pick it up something
struck him sudden blow in the thigh
that knocked him over and set the blood
flowing. He said afterward he thought
the bone was broken. When he could see,
he looked about to find what had hit him
and discovered not ten feet away the long,
tawny body of pums.
The great cat lay watching him through
half shut eyes, lazily switching its tail
back and forth. From the depths of its
throat came deep rumbling pur. He
tried to rise, but could not. Then he
turned over on his left side and started to
crawl painfully through the passageway
of the rocks. The beast opened its ewes
and followed stealthily, step after step,
still switching its tail and still purring
1t was in sportive mood and played with
its prey as cat plays with mouse. Inch
by inch the man pulled himself along.
leaving trail of blood. At last, within
few feet of the ledge, he stopped. He
could go no farther. The puma, too,
paused.
At this moment Pat Mccain, a blazing
pine brand in his hand, looked over the
ledge. Bob saw him and family warned
him back. The puma saw him too. The
purring ceased, and the 1.-THE muscles
frightened under the skin. The game was
over. The animal was preparing to make
its spring.
1t did not occur to the little Irishman's
fighting soul to retreat His comical
features stiffened, his little blue eyes fair
ly snapped. Slowly he drew himself up
on the ledge, keeping his eye fixed on the
puma, until he stood erect, then he shift
ed his brand mechanically into his left
hand and drew his sheath knife. He did
not know that the fire was his best weap-
on, and Bob was too weak to tell him.
The brand, held pointed downward, be-
gan to blaze. The puma's great eyes
shifted uneasily at this, and its muscles
relaxed. 1t was evidently discomposed.
Pat did not await the attack, but stepped
forward, holding his knife firmly.
When within few feet of the animal,
Pat hesitated and stopped His nerve was
still mistaken, but he did not know how
to begin. The puma still shifted Aaeasily
at the blaze, but had recovered from its