The Prescott daily news., 1915-06-10
gulch he saw the door of the bungalow open. and Ruth appeared.
 'I thought 1 heard your father call"

T thought heard your father call" he said awkwardly.
 He was calling you" she answered quietly, but he went over toward the dump. l think he wants you there."
 Ruth laid her little hand on John Doris brawny arm. "John," she said the swift color rising i'll her cheeks, 'l don't want to say anything to make trouble. but father is worried. He trusts you; but, you know. we haven't recovered the lost vein"
 John looked her straight in the eye ''Leave it to me-"
 Her appealing hands crept up his arms, and for one moment she al lowed him to read her soul. She made potent plea, directed by the instinct of a woman who is loved. "John, look after him. He is doing it for me-"
 Dorr hesitated a moment. It was the first thing Ruth had ever asked him. He felt that he ought to re- spOnd to this appeal in some most con vincing way, but he could formulate no phrase that would express at once his determination to do everything in his power to help her father and his gratitude that she had taken him into her confidence, so he merely smiled. waved his hand and went down the hill toward the dump beneath the head end of the spraddling trestle.
 She called him back. 'I forgot 1t was lunchtime," she said shyly.
 'I must get down to your father" he said rather brusquely.
 'Then I'll bring you both down your lunches to the mine," she said. 'We can have little picnic all by our selves"
 AS he went up toward the end of the trestle Dorr observed that the engineer running the donkey engine seemed hardly to know his business.
 My dear fellow,' he said quietly, you're allowing too much slack on your cable, 1t is dangerous. Those ore cars are coming down that trestle too fast. If their brakes give way it means djsasterl'
 What's the trouble?" said Gallon, coming up with q piece of ore in his hand.
 II was just telling Bill Tubbs that if he did not keep up the slack on his cable on those cars he would whip them over the end of the trestle" said John.
 He turned toward the old man and said in a different voice; You called me. What is it that you want?"
 Look at this, JOhn," said the older man, handing out the piece of ore 'dirt. not gold bearing quartz. want to talk to you; I've got something to say to you"
 invountarily John looked down the street He saw Ruth coming, swinging the lunch basket in her hand He re- membered her shy appeal that he would do the best he could for The Master Key"
 'I think we had better go into the mine; we can talk there," he said.
 They are setting off Il blast" Gallon remarked.
 Dorr looked up at the car roaring past them overhead and said suddenly: Before anything else you ought to fix that treStie. Some day Il car will R9 over on the dump"
 Gallon looked up and then glanced at Dorr. "l guess you're right, John; I've thought of that myself Things have kind of gone at loose ends Now I'll see to it myself with your help, be. cause have something to say to you"
 There comes Ruth with a basket of lunch" said Dorr
 "Oh yes When am away from the house she often picncs with the here in tie mine Say, I'm going up on the trestle. Have another talk with Tubbs He is all right, but he has got careless Tell him to keep up the slack of his cable. tell you John, l have wanted to talk to you for long time, but first I'm going to look after that cable because l can See you are right and we might have a bad accident"
 As the old man started into the mine, putting one foot after the other with that carelessness characteristic of men becoming decrepit. a man ran out of the mouth of the mine waving his arms. Almost instantly following him came d puff of gray-blue smoke, which scared upward and spread out as if it were the blossom of cloud warmed into full bloom by the hot sunlight pouring down into the val ley
 Ruth let fall the lunch basket and stared upward at that dark, murky hole in the hill. Was John there? Was her father there? She knew