The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1922-09-11
silly as rairchfId entered.

Weu! he gueSLlUneQ, WHaL ; upE
my partner has disappeared. I
want to report to you-and see If /
can get some help"
disappeared? WhoT'
Harry Harkins He's a big Cor
nishrnan. with large mustache. very
red face, about sixty years old.
should judge
walt d minute" Bardweu's eyes
narrowed. "Ain't he the fellow I ar
rested in the Blue Poppy mine the
night of the Old Times dancer"
YES"
"And you say he's disappeared?
When does his trial come up?'
"a week from tomorrow"
"And he's disappeared" A slow
smile came over the other mans lips.
81 don't think twill help much to
start any relief expedition for him.
The thing to do is 10 get picture
and a general description and send it
around to the police in the various
parts of the country! ThatH be the
best way to find him. -
Fairchild's teeth gritted. but he
could not escape the force of the ar
gument, from the sheriff's standpoint.
For moment there was silence, then
the miner came closer to the desk.
Sheriff" said he as calmly as pos
sible, "you have a perfect right TO
give that sort of view That's your
business-to suspect people. However,
some sort of an accident happened at
the mine this afternoons cave-in or
an explosion that tore out the roof
of the tunnel-and l am sure that my
partner is wandering among the hills.
VIII you help me to find him."
The sheriff wheeled about IN his
chair and studied a moment. Then he
rose.
"Guess 1 will" he announced. at
can't do any harm to look for him.
anyway"
Half an hour later, aided by two
deputies who had been summoned
from their homes, Fairchild and the
sheriff left for the hills to begin the
search for the missing Harry. Late
the next afternoon. they returned 70
town, tired, their horses almost crawt-
ing in their dragging pace after six
teen hours of travel through the
drifts Of the hills and gulIies. Harry
had not been found, and so Fairchild
reported when, with dropping Shout
ders, he returned to the boarding
house and to the waiting Mother How
ard. And both knew that this time
Harry's disappearance was no joke, as
it had been before. They realized
that back Of 1t all was some sinister
reason, some mystery which they
could not solve-for the present, at
least. That night, Fairchild faced the
future and made his resolve
There was only a week now until
Harry's case should come to trial.
Only a week until the failure of the
defendant to appear should throw the
deeds of the Blue Poppy mine into the
hands of the court, to be sold for the
amount of the bail. And in spite of
the fact that Fatrchild now felt his
mine to be a bonanza, unless some
sort of miracle could happen before
that time, the mine was the same as
lost. True, it would go TO the highest
bidder at a public sale and any money
brought in above the amount of bail
would be returned to him. But who
would be that hidderT Who vOulC
get the mine-perhHps tor twenty OF
twenty-five thousand dG.Iars. when II
now was worth Millions? Certainly
not he. Unless somet,4ng should hap
pen to intervene, unless TIarry should
return. or in some way FafrchiIC
could raise the necessary I'VE thou
sand dollars to furnish q cash bono
! and again recover the deeds of the
/ Blue Poppy, he was no better off thar
before the strike was made. Long ht
! thought, finally to come to his conclu
sion, and then with the air OF a gam
! bier who has placed his last bet r.
| win or lose, he went to bed.
| But morning found him awake Ions
| before the rest of the house was stir
| ring The first workers on the stree
| that morning found FairchiId OffernI
them six dollars a day. And by eigh
| o'clock, ten of them were at WOrl
in the drift of the Blue Poppy mine
working against time that they Nigh
repair the damage which had beer
caused by the cave-in.
Continued Tomorrow