The Ely miner., 1916-02-11
EIGHTH STORY

'T-R-U-B-B-E-L, trouble, Mr.. Payne"
Pat Grady solemnly spelled his pre-
diction. Il kin smell 1t in the air plain
as l smelt the rotten food in the mess
shack that's causing 1t ALL And I'm
telling you now that there's no saying
where it'il lead any more than can
tell where it'll end. Trouble and bad
grub-they been twins from the begin
ming of time"
Lee Payne tapped the table thought
fully with his pencil. A young man.
ne was not inclined to take the mat
ter so seriously as the old foreman of
Ira Monroe's oil fields; still there was
no lodging the fact that the men were
lately become sullen and apathetic in
their work, and few of them openly
snsolent
And you think the food at the bot
tom of the mems actions?"
Their stomachs is at the bottom of
ft-stomachs and lack of food" Pat
corrected.
But it can easily be remedied"
Then why amt it?" Grady did not
wait for an answer, but pointed out of
the window silently, toward a group of
1aborers loafing boldly beside the near
est big tank. In the center of the
group a broad-shouldered, swarthy,
beetle-browed fellow was frantically
gesticulating to emphasize his re-
marks, remarks which the two men
in the office could not hear but which
caused their brows to furrow anx-
fously.
Brown Joe's at it agin," muttered
the foreman, as though to himself,
land he's got the right Of it this time.
tell you, Mr.. Payne, I'd rather have
rattler sleeping with me than
mouthy workman. Get rid of that fell
low and do it quick. Look at him."
Payne slowly nodded and turned
back to his desk.
He glanced at his watch and felt
little tremor OF anticipatory fear as
he noted the noon hour was upon him.
There had been open mutterings this
morning. If the food had not i'm
proved Sor dinner, what would those
mutterings become? For a half days
labor in the oil wells is not conducive
to making ones appetite dainty or
birdlike. The situation must be i'm
proved and that Immediately. II only
he could gain little time.
AS the whistle summoned the men
from their work he waited for them in
the shack, watching them being seated
at the long table, noting the furrowed
brows, the somber eyes, the signifi-
canoe Of their steady scrutiny of
Brown Joe, seated next himself. That
there was something afoot he could
not doubt.
The cook entered, heavily laden
with a couple Of steaming platters.
There was something savory looking
about that steam, but the look was
dfspelled almost instantly by the ran
cid odor that percolated through it.
AS the cook placed steaming plate
before Brown Joe, the young superin-
tendent strained forward, every mus
Gle fleXed to anticipate the trouble he
knew instinctively had reached q
crisis. But even as his fists balled,
even as a hoarse cry of rage broke
from Pat Grady's throat, the swarthy,
evil-eyed fellow looked at the unsav-
ory mess before him, lifted the plate
as though to sniff its contents, then
hurled it squarely in the cooks face.
AS the fellow staggered back dig
ging wildly at eyes and ears and nose
to wipe the stuff away, Brown Joe
lunged forward. But not so quickly
that he escaped the heavy right-hand
swing of the foreman. Grady, quick
to take advantage of the mans stag.
ger back was instantly upon him.
For a second Payne felt himself
glued to the spot. unable to grasp the
full significance Of what had hap
pened. AS he threw himself beside
his foreman, swinging with both fists,
the men lunged forward en- masse. In
a second the mess hall was a sham,
bles. Chairs, dishes, tables were
hurled aside like straws before the
brutal ferocity Of the enraged crew
Wild with the delight Of combat, Grady
followed up his advantage, inflicting
fearful punishment upon Brown Joe,
regardless of the fact that he was get
ting into the open. where the fellows
supporters would make easy work of
him.
Slipping upon the messes Of food,
stumbling over the wreck of the hall.
they threw themselves upon him,
swallowing him up as in a whirlpool.
Payne tried to fight his way through
that jam, only finding each effort sent
him farther away. There was a muir
derous note in the hoarse gutturals of
the men. -
The original idea of mutiny against
the food had now grown into hatred
for those above them. For just a
second Payne hesitated. The arms
of Grady still swung like fails, now
and then heavy body crashing to the
floor under the force of those pile
driver blows. Then the fists were
pinned and waved uselessly in the air.
Came another lunge and he knew his
foreman had been taken off his feet.
His hand kissed the cold butt of the
revolver at his waist He did not
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