The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1922-10-19

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4timbers into the tunnel and then low
cred them down the shaft to the drift.
two hundred feet below, only to follow
them In their counterbalanced bucket
and 1aboriously pile them along the
sides Of the drift, there to await use
later on. Weeks in which they worked
In mud and slime, as they shoveled
out the muck and with their CAD hooks
tore down loose portions of the hang
ing wall to form a roadbed for their
lei tram. =
1t was a slow, CALLING progress, but
they kept at it. Gradually the tram
lire began to take shape, pieced to-
gether from old portions of the track
which still lay in the drift and supple
mented by others bought cheaply at
that graveyard of miners hopes-the
junk yard in Ohadi. At last 1t was
finished the work Of moving the heavy
timbers became easier now as they
were 1shunted onto the small tram
truck from which the body had been
dismantled and trundled along the
rails to the cave-in. there to be piled
In readiness for their use. And final
'ly- r. +. , :
A pick swung in the air, to give
forth a chunky, %smaeking sound, as it
struck wa~ter-softened, spongy wood.
The attack against the cave-in had be-
gun. A foot at a time they tore away
the old, broken, s%plintered timbers and
the rocky refuse which lay piled be-
hind each shivered beam; only to stop,
carry away the muck, and then rebuild.
Cold and damp, in the moist air Of the
tunnel they, labored, but there was a
joy in 1t all. Down here they could
forget Squint Rodaine and his cha1ky-
faced son; down here they could feel
that they e working toward a goal
and lay aside the handicap which
humans might put In their path.
Day after day Of labor and the in
dentation upon the cave-in grew from
q matter. Of feet to one Of yards. A
week. Two. Then, MS Harry swung
his pick, he lurched forward and went
to his knees. "Pve gone through r. he
announced in happy surprise, "Tye
gone through. We're at the end Of It"
Up went Fairchild's carbide. Where
the pick, still hung in the rocky mass.
a tiny hole showed, darker than the
surrounding refuse. There was Joy
In Harry's voice as he made q mosnen-
tary survey. y#% " :
'.It's fairly dry behind there" he an
nounced. "Otherwise we'd have been
scrambling around In water up to our
necks. We're lucky there. ANYHOW"
Again the attack and again the hole
widened. At last Harry Strengthened.
"We can go ins now" canne finally:
care You willing to 60 with met"
81 "You mean--7" 55F
But Harry stopped him. )
Let's don't talk about It TIN We
ave TO. Come on u &% -,.%/
Silently they crawled through the
opening, the silt and fine rock rafting
about them ID they did, So, to come
upon fairly dry earth on the other
side, md to start forward. Suddealy.
do they walked along, Harry took the
lead, holding his lantern FAR ahead Of
him, with one big hand behind It. as
though for a reflector. Then, just, as
suddenly, he turned. IN ~
= Lets go out" came shortly. : y
@@Why?' , =. r.
'sIt'si there r. In the light Of the
lantern. Harry's face was white. his
big lips sliyid. Lets CO. -
But Fairchild stopped him. J
Harry" he said, and there was Do
termination in his voice. "if It's there
we've got TO face It. Don't you
think that certain people would make
IN investigation II We should happen
TO quit the mine now3'
'sThe Rodaines ?! (
Exactly. And how much worse
would It be for them to tell the news
THAN for MS r.
--Nobody as TO tell IT" Harry was
staring at his carbide aare-"there's
4 Wye."' IL Y
ssBut we can't take II, Harry. In
my fathers letter was the statement
that he made only one m~istake-that
OF, fear. I'm going TO believe him
and In spite Of what I ind here. I'm
going to hold him innocent, and I'm
going to be fair and square and above
hoard about It all. There's nothing ens
my conscience--and I know that ifS my
father had b made the mistake or
running away when he did. there
would have been nothing on his
Harry shook his head.
e couldn't do much else, boy. Ro-s
dame was stronger III some ways then
than he Ii now. THAT was ii different
days. That was III times when Squint
Rodaine could ave gotten 4 'undred
men together quicker'n q cats wink
md lyriched q maj without I'm 'asing
I trial or anything. And Il T'd been
your father. ia ave done the same q
q did. II,d ave run. too-e'd ave paid
'for II with ~ life II ~ didn't. guilty or
NOT guilty. And he looked sharply
toward the younger man .you ny
% 70 On Z ss
100 Oh MA Falrchild IA Il,
spoke the worda between tightly
casnchsd teeth. Harry turned ~ liigh,t
befors Mn. and oncs more shisldsd
4 With III big hand q ssp-tvo.
then:
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nrot N applesastSd enlt lft
otoe11 Iyink II atras< 49,