The Delta independent. [volume] (Delta, Colo.) 1886-19??, 1916-03-24

peueu IN bQe lower emu OF the MI
quota valley during the few hours Of
daylight that remained First, climb
ing nervously to the puddlers' staging
on the great dam, and led by Poodles
himself. came the Metropole quota OF
walters, scullions, cooks and porters,
willing but skill-less. After them, and
herded by Leshington. came a dapper
crew Of office men and clerks to snatch
up the pudding spades and to soil
their clothes and blister their hands
in emptying the concrete buckets. Mr..
Cortwright's contribution came as q
dropping fire; handful of tree-cutters
from the sawmills a few picked up
here and there in the deserted town,
an automobile load of power-company
employees shot down from the gener.
ating plant at racing speed. ,,,-
Last, but by no means least in num-
bers. came the. human derelicts from
the lower avenue; men in frock-coats;
men in cowboy Jeans taking It as .
huge Joke; men with foreign faces and
lowering brows and with strange oaths
in their mouths; and behind the mot
ley throng and marshaling II to a
quickstep, Brouillard and Tig Smith.
It was hot work and heavy for the
strangely assorted crew. and Brouil-
lard drove 1t to the limit, bribing. ca
ioling or threatening, patrolling the
long line of staging to encourage the
awkward puddlers, or side-stepping
swiftly to the mixers to bring back a
detachment of skulkers at the rifles
muzzle. And by nightfall the thing
was done, with the loss reduced to a
minimum and the makeshift laborers
dropping out in squads and groups.
some laughing. some swearing. and all
too weary and toil-worn to be danger
Gus. Give US a Job II we come back
tomorrow, Mr.. Brouillard?" called out
the king of the gamblers in passing;
and the cry was taken up by others in
grim Jest
Thus endeth the FIRST lesson" said
Grislow. when the engineering corps
was reassembling at the headquarters
preparatory to q descent upon the sup
, per table. But Brouillard was dumb
and haggard. and when he had hung
his rihe and cartridge belt on their
/ pegs behind his desk. he went out,
leaving unbroken the silence which
had greeted his entrance.
The boss 10 taking It pretty hard"
, said young Grinhth to no one in par
ticular. and it was Leshington who
took him up savagely and invited him
to hold his tongue.
, The least said is the soonest
, mended-at a funeral" was the form
, the first assistants rebuke took. You
, take my advice and don't mess or
, NEEDLE with the chief until he's had
, time to work this thing out of his sys-
i tenn" r
, The shouts OF the mob were ringing
in Brouillard's ears when he strobe de-
jectedly into the deserted maproom.
: and the cries were rising with a new
! note and in fresher frenzies a little
later when Grislow came in. The n.y.
drographer's blue eyes were hard and
his voice had tang OF bitterness In
, 1t when he said: well. you've done It.
Three men have just come in with a
double handful Of nuggets. and Mirap-
oils makes its bow to the world at
large as the newest and richest Of
; the gold camps" 7sn
: Brouillard had been bumped over
. his desk. and he sprang up with a cry
} like that OF a wounded animal.
: 1T can't be; Grizzly. / tell you 1t
} can't be! Steve Massingale planted
} that gold that I washed out-played
} me for fool to get me to work for
} the railroad. didn't know 1t until
, until" 1rt 10
: Until Amy MassingaIe told you
about 1t this afternoon" cut in the
mapmaker shrewdly That's all right.
The bar Steve took you to was barren
enough; they tell me that every cubic
foot OF 1t has been washed over in
dishpans ana skillets in the past few
hours. But you know the big bend op-
: posite the Quadjenai hills; the river
has built that bend out OF Its own
washings. and the bulletin over at the
Spotlight office says that the entire
peninsula is one huge bank OF gold.
bearing gravel"
At the word Brouillard staggered as
from the impact OF bullet Then he
crossed the room slowly, cropping his
way toward the peg where the coat he
had worn In the afternoon was hang
ing. Grislow saw him take something
out OF the pocket Of the coat. and the
next moment the door opened and
closed and the photographer was left
alone. r 5Ha
Having been planned before there
was city to be considered, the gov
eminent buildings inclosed three sides
Of small open square, facing toward
the great dam. In the middle OF this
open space Brouillard stopped. kicked
up q little mound Of earth, and stood
the two paper cylinders on II, side by
side. W. 1 -sftss 800 al
Tho tomnarad 1Iou from tho ,txx,