The Butte inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1901-1912, 1901-08-17

ND he wanted to get married. That
~ was where he was foolish. But
~ he wanted to, any way. The
Larkspur mine was his fortune,
and his sweetheart's name was Miss
Diane Cary Diane lived at Featherbend.
down the river with her brother Joseph,
who was q quartz mill man. Joe
owned custom mill. crushing ore for
who came. But he handled none Of
Saugus' ore. because Saugus had owned
the Larkspur for three or four years
before Joe came from the east with d.
ane and bought the mill at F'eatherbend
Saugus, DANES lover, and Diane had
lived across the street from each 9TH
err in the east during the time they
were boy and girl.
Saugus intended to transfer his patron
age to Joe and to marry Diane as soon
as he could make arrangements. But
the lease with the man who milled his
ore was yet to run out, and also his mine
was worrying him. SO that he could not
think clearly about his marriage.
The Larkspur was q very wet mine,
and in order to work 1t, water had to
be pumped out all the time; and the
pumping had come to cost thousand
dollars q month, and 1t was eating the
profits up.
Right next door to the Larkspur, up the
gulch among the pines. was the Bear;
and it belonged to Christopher Mumeling,
the tri-millionaire. Christopher never
bought q new hat until the old one
had faded into several shades of rus
set, mauve and ashes Of roses, and at
Bargold, which lay just behind the two
ridges north of the Bear and the Lark
spur, his pinched ancient visage and
gaunt figure were pointed out to strang-
ers as features of the man who typifled
all misers to the Bargoldian mind.
The Bear and the Larkspur sat side
by side on the same ledge, so Christie
piers mine was wet also. Put the fact
cost him nothing, for he did not have
to pump.
The reason for this was that Saugus
pumped for him. The water ran
through all the ledge, trickling through
assures in the rock, and when Saugus'
shaft went down it drained 1t all off.
So Mumeling, perceiving what benefit
hind Saugus' in its descent into the
earth. and thus the water was all gone
out of the rock by way of Saugus'
pumps ere his shaft reached 1t. That
was nice for him, saving him money.
When Saugus observed this beautiful
plan he damned Mumeling softly and
then went to his office and represented
to him that 1t was his duty to pay for
half the pumping that SO effectively
cleared both mines of water.
PAY for pumping?" Mumcling
snarled. I've got no pumps"
mo. but have. and they're lifting
your water" saugus said.
Huh. Don't see it," Mumeling
prnW1a6 ond f,1rroA 1,sc loo >, Il. with
all possible rudeness. -.
Saugus went away hastily to keep
from showing his temper. Then he
closed his pumps down so that both
mines We're flooded. He thought that
that might force Mumeling to terms.
But Mumeling did not need his income
from the Bear-he had other mines,
and mills and brokershops elsewhere.
and those were sufficient. So he sus-
pended operations at the Bear and
went about something else.
Then Saugus ground his teeth, and
reopened the Larkspur. for that was
the only iron he had in the fire, being
young and struggling.
When his pumps had drained the 600
foot shaft of the Larkspur to its bot
tom, then Mumeling coolly reopened
the Bear also; the Bear was 500 feet
deep. having been incidently cleared of
water again in the re-draining of the
Larkspur. At that the BargOldians
hooted. saying that Mumeling was an
old cold devil without a soul. Being
helpless. Saugus bit his nails and went
on with his own work. The law could
do nothing for him. because the rum
ming of the water from the Bear into
the Larkspur really was not Mumel-
ing's fault.
Now. the expense of pumping hav-
ang reached a point where there was
no margin between the cost of operat-
ing and the income from the ore mined,
Saugus was bothered.
So when he visited his sweetheart at