The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1904-11-18

eratiOl!> il.'.h' ourselves.
Il undcr>,a',d You have heard AMI
sufpn~r y,I r3ll his business. I"u
made :. fr'trui" ont OF the mine. and
then VIXEN You lost The vein You leased
il Ia Mr. Trrlf.lr 1hrp;i.:li niiSrcpre-
senra:ioli>. II" paid you S:r'.rD and
has sunk m"rr th:tn s.. 100 i'll search
ing for th1t vein. In'il day hrfor"
yesterday. from Hearty a years work.
lie Iloll ont less than S10UI. lie told
me that you were up there yourselves
only Il short tine ago tryiu" to induce
him TO rc-lr.t~r he mine for S.. uUO. be
lieving it 10 he exhausted. Now
AS TrInulc has rchiScnvrrcd the
vein. richer than ever finished Graw
coully, we pr"puS" 10 operate il our
selves. But you MAY tell him that if
he will turn the mine over to us ut
daylight tomorrow we will pay him
back onehalf the years lease. SD,
JN.''
And let him lose the other $1,000,
flashed back Joyce. No, thank you.
We will hold the mine until the very
last moment of the lease.
But once outside she wondered if she
had done the best she could. He was
,iOwu in the mine working 1icrcely
with his men ut the almost pure vein
which The explosives had uncovered
and believing that she would return
with the new lease. Only ten more
days. and he did not know it. What
could she do:
Before she had gone hundred yards
she knew. and instead of keeping on
toward the stores she hurried TO the
only printing office Bedrock contained
An hour later the town was conSpicu
ouSly posted with: Men wanted at the
Snake Rock mine for ten days. Wages
SO Il day. pack mules $40
Ordinary wages for good laborers
was four or five. Bosses and superin-
tendcnt< did nor average fifteen. In
in hour men were leaving regular jobs
Of work and ruthles>ly breaking con
trarl%. When Joyce finished her shop
ping and started for home she found
Strag"lerS and groups with picks and
shovrlS scattered along the trail for
Two miles or more. But she reached
the mouth of the mine first and sent
an imperative summons for Temple 10
come to the surface When lie joined
her Il half hour later twenty men We're
waiting for jobs. with fifty hurrying
up the slope. and between the fifty
and Bedrock came half a thousand
more.
nf
less Than Il hundred mel. but the next
morning thousand names were on
the payroll. divided into day and night
shifts \ great stream of ore rolled
up out "f the mine 10 the backs of the
pack mules and Oh the Snlelfrr at Bed
rock. from whence came certificates Of
credit with figures that would have
staggered Il mine owner OF moderate
ideas But Temple did not even see
them. lie WAS down in The mine
working and watching day and night
to see that the great stream should
not Slacken for even IN instant.
Joyce insisted on Il share i'll the
work and remained ut the mouth Of
the mine with book and pencil. keeping
Il record bl inc ~lTtWln dS IL HoN vi
past. and it was she who took charge
Of the credit slips as they came in.
So Il week went by. eight days. nine
days. and The tenth was nearing its
close when Temple came up from the
mine and staggered weakly to where
Joyce was standing with her book and
pencil And behind Temple came the
half thousand men of the day shift.
slipping through the mouth of the
mine like The coils of mighty ser
pent The vein had again disappear
ed. and four hours of the lease re-
manned.
When Temple lacked over the credit
slips the weariucSS left his face. Il
knew ii would he something StupeH-
douS." he said ii Joyce, with Il long
breath. but noIhing like this. We
will divide two hundred thousand OF it
among the workn"n. less than one
quarter. and then for the east.