The evening world., 1915-03-19

Il . fool thing 10 have the
bunk-houss door opening
toward the outside, and hs
rsmembersd Il now ~ he had 10 take
tims-good time--to knock out the
solid wedges that closed II.
When the men swarmed out At last
hs never even gave them IN order.
only pointed 70 the glare over the
mine: they knew what they had to do.
But for an ugly minute they hung In
the wind. II took another 10 put the
fear Of God In them over Athsrton's
isaven Of superstition.
When they moved OF With . rush
Hazard was suddenly aware of Rider.
inert on the once threshold: ana at
the thought that oams to him he
swore.
He turned and shouted to sophy.
and at the ring Of his voice the girl
came tearing to him.
'Get In there and stay. win your
said Hazard. Il can't trust TO q tin
tack key In q shingle door tonight,
and Riders useless" But for the last
clause 1t was an order; she was no
more the girl he loved. but . doubtful
quantity. Lock the door. and don't
let in one soul till I come. suppose
you care for the gold: don't know.
but I'm trusting you'll"
"Yes." said the girl rather wildly.
"Oh. walt, want to tell you some
thingi I-Atherton"-
xurhAl~ ~ - IL "A
back on Hazard. II know" he said
sharply, "ali 1 need toi But for to-
night stand by the mon and me. To-
morrow you can tell me about-you
and Atherton." And he raced after
his men.
For q moment Sophy stared after
him. Then she locked the ofiice door
on herself and Rider, snoring In the
corner whore Hazard had hung him.
and went DULY to the window. II
Hazard know what she had meant to
say he was behaving like fool-there
was only one way to treat 1t. But he
had never been a fool.
He can't know, he can't" though,
Sophy. She looked with hatred at the
unconscious foreman. "If Rider hadn',
dogged me all day till ! got so late
that Atherton caught me might have
BaN0o IL all 5u0 tuodBut pAttoEty
"As II Is don't know what to think
ia give every bit of my gold II
did! I'm sure the wolf-man wal
straight, for all II doesn't look like 1t
It's I that have been the sneak-tt
hold my tongue!" She peered through
the frozen window. All she could Sc,
OF the fire was the glow that grow
and Redeemed till 1t frightened her
Across 1t. an she stared, Atherton ant
his dog teams swept like blacl
demons over the orange Of the snow
and disappeared, yelling, In the indigt
shadow Of tho river bed.
women always have to walt til
men bave time to be told things.
Sophy commented wearily. "and theI
it's nearly always too late. ] was {
20 stay here"
And suddenly she remembered tn,
gold. Curiously enough, II lightenet
her heart. Hazard must know wha
she knew, for he had put her here Al
O sentry; yet the thought startled her
too. The Office was familiar enough
She had often sat all day alone In II
with the men away a. they were AVA!
now. but II had never looked quite lik
this before: a cold, shut-in little plac
between crimson snow and blood-re'
. sky. with drunken man who had
grudge against her locked in with heI
and not a soul to hear her u sh
shrteked her heart out.
Rider, but he would be no use II sh
needed him. II might be madness /
think she could need him, but to-da,
she had lost her bearings, and sh
was suddenly afraid.
'Tll Just have to do whatever ca
till the men come back" she thought
"Oh. pray they won't be longi"
But coming back was the last thin
the men we're thinking of. The Who'll
length Of the sheds was burning.
solid. glowing line dipping down fror
each edge Of the basin: and each mar
as he knew II was too late to save 4
knew too that there were NO NOR
boards to build 1t afresh. and that tn
with nothing to break the sweep q
the Arctic wind. endless delays Wit
every snowfall. and about half thei
present output. There was no need
harry them to work now; they worke
like machines, hacking down timber
smotherins the whole ditch with snow
az Atherton stood back . minute an
watched them.
BETTER let her burn" he yelled I
Hazard. TITS too late TO choke her ou
much. How DO you suppose
caughtf"
"See about that afterward." snappe
Kelly. shovelling welts OF snow wheI
ever he could hing 1t, and steppin
back to clear his face before the steal
troze on It
Hazard said nothing at all. AtheI
ton was the only soul who had bee
near the mine all that day; one I
Atherton's men, who had his dogs
see to. might easily have been out
side the bunk house: and II the NJ
had been accidental and the carelei
dropping Of Atherton's matches, thel
was no accident about the wedges
the bunk house door Some one ha
, done that. with art and no knocking
which was, after all. quite simple
the harder the men pushed to get o.
the more firmly they we're shut In.
And this was Christmas!
, 1T looks like H." thought Hasal
, grimly. ~ at last the Ore died 70
mass Of blackening smbers. chief
! because there was nothing more