The weekly examiner., 1901-07-27
CHAPTER V.
AN EXCITING TIME.

fronting the soldiers. Then she turned and spoke in the midst of deathly si- fence that was almost as terrifying as the howl of the mob a few seconds be fore.
 My brothers, in the name of God and his dear Son, our Saviour, remem- Der what you are and as you value heaven do no wrong today"
 The miners heard, and for moment the silence was unbroken. It was one of those moments which prove men to be equal or wanting to an emergency. And Stuart in that brief time grew in strength and experience. He was in the op0-. space before Andrew or any one elas moved and standing by the woman, the leveled guns now touching them both. The minute Stuart leaped into the space between the troops and the miners the woman turned and knelt by the side of the wounded off, eer. Stuart was conscious of the fact that men were carrying the body out of the ranks and that the young woman was behind them, following. All that he felt rather than saw as he stood there.
 Men," he said. praying in his heart for wisdom to say just the right word, "listen to me moment. Every man who strikes lawless blow here today strikes at the cause of labor. If you want to set 1t back and destroy your own best good, now is your Opportun1- ty. It will be the act of madmen to do it. In Gods name, in the name of the law and of your best interests beg of you to use reason. For the sake of Eric, who loves you if ever man did, let these men go their ways and abide the results as law fearing, God fearing menv' ...
 There was 8 stir all through the crowd while Stuart spoke. Then the silence was broken by cries here and there by men who had helped Eric in the organization of the union.
 He's right! MT. Duncan tells truth!'
 Let's keep law! We be fools other wiser
 faye, we's fools a'ready!
 Better for us to get men to go back!''
 This last cry was caught up by large numbers, and the mob fairly swarmed u;alssaaAd latl the the coaches containing the new men. During the events just described they had remained inside, but the win dows were alive with heads thrust out to see what was going on.
 Stuart felt that the immediate dan ger of collision was over. There were however, still any number of chances for an outbreak. The troops lowered their guns, but remained on guard.
 The scene around the coaches now assumed an intensely pathetic charac- ter. With it all there was an element of danger and the stirring of the fickle wild beast in the mob.
 ''Now, boys," pleaded an old miner, standing close up by one of the coach es 'you doesn't want to take bread out of us mouths up here, does you? Come! Say you'll go back and leave us to fight it out with the masters. We make to win if let alone"
 faye, that we willv' said another eagerly. 'The owners is losing on contracts every day now. Give us a chance. What have we done to you that you should come up here to take away our wages? Ii
 We've got families, too," replied gruff voice from one of the windows. And no work for over a month and WOmGn duO DaD1eS CryluS dL uOu0. What would you have us do?"
 This was a hard question to answer, and no one tried it, but hundreds. of l voices were beseeching the newcomers | to go back and leave the mine owners | to struggle with their old men.
 At last one of the miners, a middle l aged man who had helped to organize l the union and next to Erie was as in- f1uential as any one in Champion, se- cured hearing. He mounted one of | the switch blocks, and the men anx- iously listened.
 "Tell you what the union will do. We agree to pay the fares of every man here back to his home and some thing over if you go back on the next train"
 Aye, that's the thingw yelled a hun dred voices. As a matter of fact the union, numbering now nearly 5000 men, was in a position to do this, and in the desperate fight it was making it could afford to wiring every possible cent from its members rather than give way to the influx of new hands. Once the mines opened up their chances of bringing the owners to terms would be gone forever Besides, there was no telling what events might occur If once public sympathy was large enough to enlist other workingmen with them.
 The appeals now made to the men in the coaches were frantic. Miners climb ed up on the platforms and squeezed inside the cars to argue with the men. It was scene of peculiar interest, one great swarm of hard listed and hard faced men begging another crowd of the same kind to keep from exercising the natural desire to work for home and children. Surely what was first Es curse on our first par ents has new become a double curse Ac. Alna l,Ax -.Q o1, sl