The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1921-12-30

length Of time, setting the losses OF a
shutdown over against the increased
profits when they should start up
again.
With our discoveries of the morning
the plan of the robbery became per-
fect'y plain. Some giant of finance
among the spectators had evolved a
scheme by which the mine not only
might be shut down during the inter-
val of waiting for the railroad to build
over the bench, but at the same time
be made to yield a bumper crop Of
profits.
Taking its various steps In their or
der, the first move in the game was to
sell the mine to Grandfather Jasper
while II was still a going proposition;
and this was done. But n of the
conditions of the sale (Beasley told US
this) was that the selling corporation
should continue to operate the mine,
not as a lessee. but under a contract
by which the operating company
should receive a certain percentage Of
the output; an arrangement which
gave the holdup artists ample oppor-
tunity TO prepare for the coup de main.
How these preparations were made,
and the secret of them kept from leak
ing out, still remained one of the un-
solved mysteries, though Beasley sug-
gested that probably imported work.
men were employed. and that the work
had been done under jealous super
vision with all the needful precautions
taken against publicity. The tight
wooden box-which would figure as a
part of the shaft lining-had been
built, and into the box the creek had
been diverted by means of the small
dam and the underground conduit
With the water admitted, to rise IN
the box to the level of its intake in
the creek reservoir, the trap was set
and was ready to be sprung.
Beyond this point there was a gap
we were obliged to bridge by conjee-
ture. but the differences were all plausi-
BILE enough. Doubtless the plotters
had notified my grandfather that his
mine was flooded and was no longer
workable. Doubtless, again, he had
authorized them to buy the needful
pumping machinery and to install It
which they did.
In this barefaced imposture the plot
tiers had conceivabIy builded some
thing upon Grandfather Jasper's adj
vanced age as an insurance against
any too-searching Investigation; but
beyond this they had carefully dis
armed any suspicion that he might
otherwise have harbored by encourage
HMM the actual purchase OF the
property-to take expert advice, ana
by c~raftily printing him, by under
statements of the facts. to trust Them
Only rumors of what had occurred
at this visit reached Angels but Beas-
ley could testify that my grandfather
had come and returned alone, and that
after the pumping demonstration had
Deep made he had seemed disposed to
pocket his huge loss and to cali II a
bad days work.
The later developments were not
lard to figure out. Beasley was able
tell us that the proposed railroad
)ranch to run to the new copper prop
in Little Cinnabar gulch was
low a certainty for the very near fu-
ure. Hence the time was fully ripe
the recovery of the Cinnabar by
he plotters. No doubt they had con-
identity assumed that q repurchase OF
he property-Dot directly by them
elves, of course, but by an agent who
would figure as q disinterested third
Iarty-would be easy. Beasley said
hat there had been some talk of an
n~derrunning drainage tunnel, such as
daddy and had figured upon-this ut
he time of the springing of the Hood
rap-and that the cost had been esti-
at half a million. Unquestion-
bly, the robbers had assumed that an
Id man who had already charged his
enture up to profit and loss would
ell for a 0 rather than to venture
gain and in this they were probably
ell within the truth.
But at the moment when they were
eady 70 complete the circle of i'm
death-the death of Grand
lther Jasper-had stepped in to COM
licate matters. SOmebody-possibly
ousin Percy-had corresponded with
hoover was representing the robber
indicate. and by this means the plot
RS had learned that they would now
ave to reckon with an heir. How
u~llerton came to be employed by
lem almost at the instant of his re-
I'm from South America We did not
now; hut we could easily understand
lat with the new complication which
nd risen by reason of Grandfather
death. II was highly neces-
Try for some emissary Of the syndi-
tie to get on the ground quickly. pre-
lred to forestall by purchase, guile,
:. in the last resort by force. any at
mpt of the Dudley heirs to pry into
ings they were not to be permitted
know.
The pushing Of the fight for possess
to the final and property-destroy-
< extremity was another matter that
'aslev was able TO explain.
aye see. II was a case O. fish r cut
" n " .. 80