The Savannah morning news., 1903-07-12

that yore little two by four prosno1s
holes amt worth tn powder to NV.
EN- up, and I reckon l has a littIe INV Wv
huence as superintendent of NJ
game" Ohis
Superintendent? ?" cried Houston -,
the men about laughed loudly. anu
Billy was plainly even more bawu
dered than angry. He considered W..
crowd all, as he expressed il "nh' vle
locoed;" but his passions, never Il.
the most peaceful, We're rising. In ~
other moment he would have knocl1as
Houston down and drawn his gun ~
the crowd which surrounded him ~
that Michail Lafond showed his u,o C.
through the press. Billy caught siat.
of him with relief. Besides the ni9i1
bare fact of a row. the situation ulan
complicated by the presence of so eraaS
an audience, before whom Billy natnr'
ally wished to conduct the affair COW
rectly. Noi-
What is the trouble? Here. mi.
won't do" cried Black Mike, as thongb
in the capacity of proprietor preseryl
ing the responsibility of his establish
ment.
That's what I wants to know" cried
Billy. This (sulphurous) outfit of ram
ikaboo lifts has gone plum locoed. and
they STAINS around we're howlin' for
thar money as though 1 carries IN,
Philadelphy mint in my clothes"
Lafond did not reply. He motioned
the men aside, and, with the utmost
gentleness. led the wondering Billy 70
far corner of the room.
I'm sorry that 1 have this to do
Billy" said Lafond. II don't want TO
It's none of my layout. But these men
of yours sent them to me because 7
am notary public and 1 must do it,"
Billy did not understand but ha
caught the apology in Lafond's tone
That's all right, old man." he as
sured the latter, moistening his lips
Without further preamble, the half.
breed drew some papers from his breast
pocket, and handed them to Billy
The first was a review of the worl,
done on the Great Snake group of
claims, and a detailed analysis of il
| carried out with astounding minuteness
of technical knowledge for one so ig-
norant of mining as Stevens. It out
| lined also the work that should have
| been done; and it ended with a gem
eral conclusion of incompetence. The
| second contained his formal dismissal
as superintendent. The third returned
Billy's shares as his portion in the
| company's dissolution, said COMPANY
| having dissolved without assets.
Billy sat very quietly and read the
papers over three times, while his fell
low townsmen stood silent and watch
ed him. The first perusal bewldered
him, and turned him sick at heart
| with disappointment and recognition OF
| the estimate in which men held him.
| The second brought to his conscious
ness that his companions were regard
| ing him; and that in turn, caused him
to realize that his prestige was crum-
| bled, his integrity dishonored, his abil-
| tiles belittled. The third impressed on
| him the desperate straits in which he
| found himself-without money holding
i doubtful interest in claims whose bad
name was by this established so firmly
| that no Eastern capital would ever
| take hold of them again, the moral if
| not legal debtor to these men who had
| worked all winter for him. The iron
| turned in his soul. Michail Lafond sit
| ting there in the role of sympathizer,
was we'll satisfied with his handiwork
For the moment, Billy Knapp was a
| broken man.
He arose slowly and passed out of
the door in the dead silence of those
| about him.
After his exit, the dance was forgot
| ten and an earnest discussion ragged.
1t was no light matter. Eleven men
| had invested heavily in powder. fuse,
| drills and windlasses for the purpose
/
and they, and twenty-five others, had
put in their time for a number of
months. Many of them owed for board
| or materials. Others, though out Of
debt had spent nearly all their ready
| cash. They all seemed desperately
close to bankruptcy, for Lafond said
| nothing whatever respecting his agree
| ment to pay the contracts himself. And
| then again, as has been pointed out
h. Ilnsvl rNf IL bod
| depended intimately on the success of
its big mine, for the success of one
| enterprise like the Great Snake draws
| other capital to the district, rendering
| possible the sale of claims; while its
| failure always gives a bad name to
whole section.
So the ensuing discussion had plenty
of interest for everybody. Lafond as
| the bearer of the tidings. was besieged
| with questions. He was reluctant, but
he answered. Besides the facts were
plain, ready for Interpretation. No
body could help seeing that it was all
| Billy's fault. After a time, poor Billy
| doomed large as a symbol of all the
camps misfortune. ANcr a little time
more, when the bar had more thor
| oughly done it's work a number be-
came possessed of a desire to abate
Billy.
They seized torches and a rope, ran
up the gulch. and beat in the door OF
the office, only to encounter Billy en-
ragged to the point of frenzy. That IN
| dividual rushed them out at the muz-
| zle of pistol, with such whirl OF I'M
| petuous anger that it quite carrled
them off their feet, after which ne
| planted his back against the building
and stood there in the full light OF the
torches, reviling them. Why he was
not shot l cannot tell. Billy was some
thing of a dominant spirit when rous-
ed. That was the reason why, IN inc
| old days, he had made such geou
scout. After he had called them all ths
names he could think of, he slammed
the door on them. They went away
without knowing why they did So
When they got back to town, they
| gathered again in the Little Nugget
saloon, drinking, swearing, shoutins'
The morale of the camp was broken.
1t was a debauch. They cried oul
against Billy, and they feared him Iol
the moment. They made a stable-poy
hide in the brush with a bottle OIL
whisky, to watch the works. to spy
on they knew not what. Lafond drank
with them. He had never done so pc
| fore. AS they became more noisy n II.
! fell into a sullen fit, and went 10 sl'
| over behind the stove where he Groom
ed away to himself an old chanson' ne
| stopped drinking, but the effects re-
| manned. 1t seemed to his betogsee
| mind that. the wave had broken anu
that he was falling through the air.
| Shortly he would be cast up agalns'
the beach. "A fool for luck!'' he NUT
tered to himself, trying to rehablhtate
his denuded confidence. He took our