The Ordway new era., 1922-11-17

with that determlnatlon, ne went u
bed. to awake in the morning fillet
with a desire to reach the mine, t.
claw Mt its vitals with the sharp
edged drills, to swing the heavy sledge
until his shoulders and back ached
to send the roaring charges Of dyna'
mite digging deeper and deeper into
that thinning vein. And Harry was
beside him every step of the way.
A days work, the booming charges,
and they returned to the stope to find
that the vein had neither lessened nor
grown greater. Another day-and one
after that. The vein remained the
| same
| Squint Rodaine had established his
office In a small, vacant store building
on the main street, and Fairchild
could see, as he went to and from his
work, constant stream of townspeO-
| Pile as they made that their goal
there to give their money into the
keeping of the be-scsrred man and to
trust TO the future for wealth. 1t
CALLED Fairchild, 1t made his hate
stronger than ever. As for the girl
who was named as vice president
He saw her, day after day. riding
through town in the same automobile
that he had helped retire on the Den
yer road But now she did not look
Mt him; now she pretended that she
did not see him. She had gone over
to the RodaInes she was engaged to
marry the chalky-faced, hoOk-nosed
son and she was vice president of
their two-mllion dollar mining cor
poration. Fairchild did not even strive
to find meaning for 1t all; women
are women. and men do well some
times if they diagnose themselves.
The summer began to grow old, and
Falrchild felt that he was aging with
It. The bank deposits We're thinning,
and the vein was thinning with It.
Slowly but surely. rs they fought, the
strip OF pay ore in the rocks was
plnching out. Soon would come the
time when they could work it no
longer And then-but FaIrchlld did
not like to think about that.
September came. and with it the
grand jury. But here for once was
a slight ray Of hope. The body of
twelve good men and true wore them
selves out with other matters and ad-
journed without even taking up the
mystery of the Blue Poppy mine. But
the joy of FairchIld and Harry was
short-lived. In the long, legal phrase
ology of the jury's report was the
recommendation ttat this important
subject be the 1irst for inquiry by the
next grand ihquisitoriM body to be
convened and the threat still re-
mained.
But before the two men were now
realities which were worse even than
threats, and Harry turned from his
staging late one afternoon to voice
the most important.
Wen start single-jacking to1nor-
row." he announced with little sigh.
IN the 'anging wall The veins
pfnched down until we amt even get
ting day laborer's wages out of it
and it's October now"
October, October-and winter on
the way. October-and only month
until the time when Harry must face
jury on four separate charges, any
one of which might send him to Canon
City for the rest of his days. Fair
child's hopes lay inert. He was only
working row because a great, strong,
big-shoulHered man had come from
| Cornwall to help him and was willing
| to fight II out to the end. October
and the announcement had said that
a certain girl would be married in the
late fall. a girl who never looked in
his direction any more, who had al
lowed her name to become affiliated
with that of the Rodaines, now near
ing the task of completing their two
million. October
For long moment, Fairchild said
nothing then as Harry came from the
staging, he moved to the older mans
side.
IL didn't quite catch the idea,
came at last. Harry pointed with his
sledge
1--WE been noticing the vein.
keeps turning to the left. 1t strucl
me that 1t might ave branched of
from the main body and that there
a bigger vein over there some'eres
Well just ave to make a try for II
It's our only chance"
"And If we fail to find 1t theref"
"f 1t amt there-we're whipped
! 1t was the first time that Harry ha
| said the word seriously. Fairchil
pretended not to hear. Instead,
picked up drill, looked at Its poin
then started toward the small forg
which they had erected just at tn
foot Of the little raise leading to til
stope. There Harry Joined him; t.
gether they heated the long pieces {
steel and pounded their biting fac,
to the sharpness necessary to drillir
In the hard rock of the hanging wa
temperlng them in the bucket of W
ter near by, working silently, slowly.