Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1916-04-21

Last, but by no means least in mum
bers, came the human derelicts from
the lower avenue; men in frock-coats
men in cowboy jeans taking it as a
huge joke; men with foreign faces and
lowering brows and with strange oaths
in their mouths; and behind the mot
ley throng and marshaling it to a
quickstep, Brouillard and Tig Smith
1t was hot work and heavy for the
strangely assorted crew, and Brouil
lard drove it to the limit, bribing, ca
joling or threatening, patrolling the
long line of staging to encourage the
awkward puddlers, or side-stepping
swiftly to the mixers to bring back
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
ous.s Give us job if 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 a descent upon the sup
per table But Brouillard was dumb
and haggard. and when he had hung
his rifle and cartridge belt on their
pegs behind his desk, he went out,
leaving unbroken the silence which
had greeted his entrance.
"The boss is taking it pretty hard"
said young Griffith 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 funeral" was the form
the first assistants rebuke took. "You
take my advice and don't mess or
meddle with the chief until he's had
time to work this thing out Of his sys-
tenn"
The shouts of the mob were ringing
in Brouillard's ears when he strode 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 hy-
drographer's blue eyes were hard and
his voice had a tang of bitterness in
it when he said: well, you've done it.
Three men have just come in with a
double handful of nuggets, and Mirap-
oils makes it's bow to the world at
large as the newest and richest of
the gold camps"
Brouillard had been bumped over
his desk, and he sprang up with cry
like that of a wounded animal.
1T can't be; Grizzy, l tell you it
can't be! Steve Massingale planted
that gold that / washed out-played
me for a fool to get me to work for
the railroad. l didn't know it until
until"
Until Amy Massingale told you
about it this afternoon" cut in the
1apmaker5shrewdly. That's all right
The bar Steve took you to was barren
enough; they tell me that every cubic
foot of it has been washed over in
dishpans and 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 it's owr
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 a.
from the impact of bullet Then b,
crossed the room Slowly, cropping his
way toward the peg where the coat ht
had worn in the afternoon was hang
ing. Grislow saw him take somethin,
out of the pocket of the coat, and tn,
next moment the door opened anC
closed and the photographer was lef
alone.
Having been planned before ther,
was a city to be considered, the gov
ernment buildings inclosed three side
of small open square, facing towart
the great dam. In the middle of thi
open space Brouillard stopped, kicke,
up a little mound of earth, and stoo,
the two paper cylinders on it, side b.
side.
The tempered glow from the cit
electrics made a soft twilight in tn
= little plaza; he could see the wrappe
colors of the two signal fires quit
well. A sharp attack of indecision ha
prompted him to place both of them O
the tiny mound With the match i
, his hand, he was still undecided Am
Massingale's words came back to hir
as he hesitated: Light the blue on
when you are ready to send me m
message of cheer. :" On the lin
of another woman the words Nigh
have taken a materialistic meaning
the miraculous gold discovery woul
bring the railroad, and the railroa
: would rescue the Massingale mine an
restore the Massingale fortunes.
He looked up at the dark bulk {
Chigringo, unrelieved even by the tin
fleck of lamplight which he had S
y often called his guiding star. TAX
. me out of your mind and heart and sa
which you will have. little girl" b
q