The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1915-01-22

their hatred. and II red rat the man
sinister passion to do harm. to hurt.
to destroy. Now he faced Drake and
Fubbs arrogantly.
st won't be long till these chaps
find out who's the boss" he said.
With significant look at Drake he
pulled out the forged deeds and hand
ed them TO Tubbs.
Those mean that I'm legally the
owner of the Master Key mine" he
announced
The engineer peered at them duly
He haltingly mumbled over some Of
the legal phrases at the beginning. saw
the names Thomas Gallon and Harry
Wilkerson prominently displayed. He
was impressed. He did not understand
the purport of the papers. He did IN
derstand that Wilkerson was smiling
with the insoIence of triumph achiev-
ed. He grinned slowly and passed the
papers back.
II guess that'il fix 'em." he said has-
kily
81 guess it WILL, was the rejoinde-.
Tubbs seemed thoughtful. glancing
out of the window now and again.
Drake voiced his feeling.
'@The sooner you let the miners know
and get things settled the better"
Wilkerson licked his dry lips. The
battle was on. He broke the silence
by saying gruffly. Call 'em up here.
BLY,
Nothing loath, Tubbs went out on
the porch. and his hOIrSe tones re-
sounded through the little valley. In
stantly men appeared from dOOrways,
came from q dozen places in response
to that call. And women, clutching
their children, peered out to see what
was in the air.
When the men were gathered before
him Wilkerson stepped forward and
commenced to speak. He could not
break their sullen silence. and, after a
few words Of genera!ities. he mustered
his courage and shouted: II am the
owner of this mine, I have the deeds
right herer'
The effect of this was far other than
he had expected. Not murmur came
from the still. motiOnless throng. 1t
was as if they had not heard him. In
a lower tone he repeated it. 81 am the
owner of the Master Key mine and all
that goes with it,
He held up the papers. and Bill
'TI-hbS lOOI-a5 o+ tbap, opd ,rro roIy- nod
ded his head. as much as TO say that
he had inspected them and could vouch
for their authenticity. Still no sound
from the miners.
There is a quality in the silence of
the crowd of earnest men that is more
questioning than any word could be
The men who had worked and toiled
for old Tom Gallon. who had been de
ceived and batfied, who had had their
loyalty tested to the utmost. now de-
handed through their imperious 81
lence that Wilkerson open up his mind
to them. If he was indeed the owner
of the Master Key" what did he in
tend to do?
You'd better say some more quick
ly," warned Drake in low tone And
WilkerSon, completely bewildered. set
the match to the powder. He stepped
forward with as ugly q look as he
could assume and cried, "Now tell me
what you want?"
Instantly the air was filed with
roars of rage and disappointment.
Fifteen minutes later Harry Wilker
son was sweating within the cabin.
With Il shaking hand he poured him
self out a tumbler of Tubbs' whisky.
He had promised the miners back pay.
steady work, full wages and food. He
must make good. and he did not know
how.
"Tubbs." he said sharply, you must
find out what men we can trust. Say
nothing, but get all the information
you can. I'll make it worth the while
of the men who'll stick by me-"
Again the engineer chuckled fatuous-
Iy. They'll all stick by ye.' he said
sasely. "s'long as We pay 'em like you
said ye would"
IL WIS idie III Iue dLtSIHOOH WITH
Tom Kane appeared on the mail wag
on The driver had already informed !
him of how affairs were going. and |
the cook wasted no time. He climbed |
down from the high seat. jerilcd his !
battered case out of the wagon and |
made straight for his shanty. Within |
five minutes he had Invested himself |
of his black clothes and doomed his |
official oyerallS and apron. Then he |
appeared on the porch as calm aud un- |
as though he had not been
away.
In no time at all a couple of dozen
miners had gathered to shake hands
and swap news. Naturally their big
gest item was Wilkerson's proclama-
ton of ownership.
At this Tom Kane laughed scorn-
fully. He derided the papers. ridiculed
the miners for being fools easily taken
in and stated i'll set terms that he. /
Tom Kane, actually held the place of
This soon came to Wilkerson's ears,
and he hurried down the hill to stop
what he knew TO be dangerous seceS-
sion. Instantly the old cook locked
horns with him, poohroohed him to
H.