The San Francisco call., 1908-11-01


Kenneth was silent for many min
utes after they had left the camp of
the Italians. He was a western man
only by adoption; of Anglo Saxon
blood. and SO unable. to condone the
.Latfn's disregard for the sacredness of
human. life.
THAT was simply terrible, Ford" he
said finally, and his voice was still in
sympathy with the shaking hand that
held the bride reins. will nothing be
done?"
Nothing; unless the murdered man
chances to have relatives or clansmen
in one of the nearby camps-in which
case there'll be another killing"
But the law" said Kenneth.
There is no law here higher than
the caprice of Brian MacMorrogh. Be-
sides, It's too common-a. mere cpl
sode; one of those which you; said, you
couldn't believe, little while back"
but can't you make. the MacMor-
roghs do little police work, for COM
mon decency's sake?.:. -.
Ford shook. his head. THEY. are
quite on the other. side of the fence,
as told you in the beginning. BY
winking at lawlessness Of all kinds
their own particular brands of lawless-
ness by which they and their baekeEs
! make money go unquestioned. :. So far
from helping. they'd make it exceeding
fy difficult for any. sheriff who should
have the temerity to come in here. in
the discharge of his duty"
You foresaw all this before the con-
tract was awarded ?". -.
Not although / had been told that
the MacMorroghs ran .-'open camps
where. the work was far enough from
civilization to take. the curse Off
What you've seen and what I've been
telling you is bad enough, God knows;
but It will be worse before it. is better
After we've had a few pay days and
the men begin to realize that they are
here to toll and to be robbed :. !: :
Kenneth, 1T will be- hell on earth; and
the company will pay for 1.-THE COM
pany always pays in the end"
I've got a notion said the attorney
after another ploddfng mile of reflec-
ton; but what it was he did not say
Ford and his companion reached
Copah in the afternoon of the third day
out from Saints Rest, and, singularly
enough, the mine owners who were
disputing the extension right of way
were found amenable to reason. What
Kenneth did to secure the P. S.-W.
right of way across the mining
claims, Ford did not know, or seek
to know, though a word or two
let fall by the attorney led
him to believe that the Transconti-
mental encouragement was not quite
specific enough in dollars and cents to
warrant the obstructors in holding out.
Ford was for starting back the next
morning. He had missed Brissac and
both of the Bensons on the way over.
But Kenneth confessed to being saddle
sore and begged for another days re-
spite. Ford agreed without giving the
matter a second thought. Upon such
unconsidered trifles - an Indifferent
yes" or "no''-turn the poised scales
of life. For one other day the two
southwestern representatives put up at
the Grand Union, Copah's tar paper
covered simulacrum of a hotel; and
during that day Ford contrived to sell
his birthright for what he, himself,
valued at the moment as a mess of
pottage
1t was in this wise. At this period
of its existence Copah, the future great,
was merely a promise camp of magnifi-
cent prospects. Isolated by $50 miles
of wagon road and pack trail from one
railroad base, and by 40 miles of noun
tains from the other. its future turned
upon the hope of cheaper transporta-
tion. AS . gold camp 1t was an