Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-08-10
CHAPTER III. ICON tinued)

CHAPTER III. Continued
TTELLO, there!" shout echoing hollowly through
the tunnel disturbed King, and he paused and
brushed the sweat from his forehead and shouted
a response Far up the drift the fckering OF candle
visible wavering to and fro like star lost from It's
orbit Behind it another could be seen, and then an
other, and he wondered who his visitors could be.
Voices began to come in confusion and then ne recog
nzed that of Hardpan rambling along in explanation
His heart gave leap as another and clearer Hello!
came to him in the voice that could startle him, he
imagined from the grave itself He hurried to meet
those advancing and found himself bashfully staring
into the eyes of Eve, while Immediately behind her
stood Holloway. He sustained wave of jealousy, but
held out his hand.
a wanted to see your workings" the engineer said.
Il told YOU last night that envied you who work
underground He held his candle above his head and
inspected the roof and then looked back into the sad
aThere isn't much to see but plain rock" Jim
swered.
aBut thought you said you were not engineer"
Holloway retorted, and Miss Waters interjected:
"But he ISL
81 showed him your drawings" Hardpan remarked,
with grin, "and he said that not only did they look
good to him. but that he thought anybody but
enough engineer would have had devil OF time to do
the job
lin looked ANNOYED and for the minute lost his self
possession in of embarrassment.
aIve studied some nights when had time, he apollo
gized. @Im sort of rule-of- thumb man, after all.
Holloway looked open admiration at him, and Jim,
in spite of his jealousy, had to admit liking for his
rival He warmed up to his words when it came to ex-
planning their work. and found Holloway intelligent
listener Hardpan insisted taking turn in the face
of the tunnel and Jim accompanied their visitors back
out and up to the mouth OF the shaft.
WITHOUT thought, now that he out in the
open air, and more at ease, some OF the enthusi-
asm of their enterprise came back to him. It's poetry
had always obsessed him, this bursting through OBJ
stacles to what had been left by the rough
dreamers of the early days.
3See!' he said pointing to the soping hillside serried
into little valleys and watercourses There is where
they worked hundreds of Them away back there before
born They carried their dirt down here to the
edge of this pond, to wash it. They came back to
the camp at night to gamble it, to brawl over it, to
spend it on the dancehall women The dancehal stood
there, sure; for still trace IN the rotted
logs huge structure. And now they all gone They
worked to the waters edge and that ALL They took
what they could get, roughly, Joyousy, and reckessy
spent of it. and recklessy scattered and went their
way when the ground was worked out. Then came the
winds and winters the rains and SHOWS, and the dis
mantled cabins began to rot away and to Ill., and to be
absorbed into the ground and the trees crept back
closer and grew up the whole ruin, and when we
new adventures arrive stand in wilderness once
more with scarcely anything to prove that other men
worked and hoped and gained here before u.s."
"Did not tell he was poet! said Miss Waters,
turning to Holloway; but he seemed affected by that
glance backward and sobered by the view of the flu
tilty of the struggle. He turned toward Jim and gave
him long look
aI'm not sure he said @that / envy you SO much
did last night. You looked so big and free and capa
BILE; yet seem only one OF the destroyers You
of those who rifle the ground and pass There is
yet you have given something to think over, for
of the builders. Where you walk you destroy.
Where plodders work, we build ,-bud things that
live long after we are gone which are presumably OF
in standing here phlosophizing You at least have
no bosses They all look for. Even now I've got
coming that have never met, and don't know
what he expects me to do or what he to pay me,