The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1922-11-02

For q long moment, Fairchfld said
nothing, then as Harry came from the
staging, he moved To the older mans
side.
tt didn't quite catch the idea, /,
came at last. Harry pointed with his
sIedge
I've been noticing the vein. I'd
l keeps turning to the left. 1T struck
me that II might ave branched on
from the main body and that there's
a bigger vein over there some'eres.
Wen just ave to make a try Tor 1t.
It's our only chance"
And if we fail to find 1T there9''
IF It ain,t there-we're Whippedi"
1t was the first time that Harry had
said the word seriously. Fairchild
pretended not to hear. Instead, he
picked up d drill, looked at its point,
then started toward the small forge
which they had erected just at the
foot Of the little raise leading to- the
stope. There Harry Joined him to-
getIier they heated the long pieces OF
steel and pounded their biting faces
to the sharpness necessary to drilling
In the hard rock Of the hanging wall,
temperfng them in the bucket OF wa
ter near by, working silently, slowly
hampered by the weight OF defeat.
They were being whipped; they felt
Il In every atom of their beings. But
rney had not given up their fight.
Two blows were left in the struggle,
and two blows they meant to strike
before the end came. The next morn
ing they started at their new task,
each drilling holes at points five feet
apart In the hanging wall, to send
them in as far as possible. then at.
the end OF the day to blast them out,
tearing away the rock and stopping
their work at drilling that they might
muck away the refuse. And day after
day, each. without mentioning it to
the other, was tortured by the thought
Of that offer of riches, that, mysteri-
Gus proffer of wealth for the Blue
Poppy mine--tortured like men who
are chained in the sight of gold and
cannot reach 1T. For the offer car"
!. ried always the hint that wealth was
there, somewhere. that Squint ,Ro-
dame knew it, but that they could not
find 1t. Either that-or fiat failure.
Either wealth that would yield Squint
q hundredfold FOR his purpose. OF q
sneer that would answer their offer
to sell. And each man gritted his
teeth and said nothing. But they
worked on.
October gave up its fight. The first
day of November came, to find the
chamber a wide, vacuous thing now,
sheltering stone and refuse and two
struggling men-nothing more. Fair
child ceased his labors and mopped
his forehead, dripping from the heat
engendered by frenzied labor. A long
moment, then: +
Harry s
aye"
I'm going after the other side.
We've been playing a half-horsed game
here"
"I've been thinking that, Boy" =
"tThen I'm going to tackle the foot
wall. I was at the bank today"
f"Yeh.'
My balance is just two hundred"
Harry clawed at his mustache.
"We're nearing the end, Boy. Tackle
the foot wall"
they said no more. Fairchild with
drew his drill from the swimmer or
straightforward powder hole and
turned far to the other side of the
chamber, where the sloping foot wall
showed for "a few feet before it dived
under the muck and refuse. Spot after
spot he prospected, suddenly to, stop
| and bend forward. AT last came an
exclamation, surprised. wondering:
"Harry!"
The Cornishman left his work and
walked to. Fairchild's side. The
younger nan pointed.
"Do you eve fill up drill holes with
cement?' he asked.
mot ais l know Of. Why?n
There's one." Fairehild raised his
CAD and Clipped away the softer sur
face of the rock. leaving a tubular pro-
tuberanee of cement extending. Har-
ny stared.
What the bloody ,eilf"n he conjec-
tured. I'd you suppose Then, with
a sudden resolution drill there!
Cad a'ole off to- b side a bit and
drill there. 1t seems to- me Sissie
Larsen put a ole or something
can't remember. But drill. 1t can't
do any arm
The CAD Clipped away the rock.
Soon the drill Wasbiting into the sur
face OF the footswall. Quitting time
came: the drill was in two feet, and in
the morning, Fairchild went at his
task again, pounding away at the long,
six-foot drill with strokes, that had
behind them only muscles, not the
Intense driving power of hope. A foot
he progressed into the foot wall and
changed drills. Three incaes more
Then
Harry
whats '~appened? The tone of
Fairchild's voice had caused the
CornIshman to lean from his staging
and run to Fairchild,s side. That
person had cupped his hand and was
holding it beneath the drill hole, while
INTO 1t he was pulling the muck with
the scraper and staring at it.
This ssfllff's changed color" he
exclaimed. ut locks like
me see The older man took
q portion Of the blacklist, gritty mas
ana held It close TO his carbide. IT
looks like soInethfng-it looks like