Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1922-09-08

"A week srom tomorrow night. Are
you going to be here that longT
She realized the slip of her tongue
and colored slightly. Fairchild, recov-
cred now, reached into a pocket and
carefully fingered the bills there.
Then, with a quick motion. as he
drew them forth, he covered ten
dollar bill with one-dollar note and
thrust them forward.
"Yes, I'll take the ticket"
She handed Il to him, thanked him,
and reached for the money. AS II
passed into her hand. a corner of the
ten-dollar bill revealed itself, and she
hastily thrust 1t toward him as
though to return money paid by mis-
take. Just as quickly, she realized
his purpose and withdrew her hand.
"Ohw she exclaimed, almost in a
whisper, 81 understand" She flushed
and stood a second hesitant, clustered,
her big eyes almost childish as they
looked up into his "You-you must
think I'm cadi" Then she whirled
and left the store. and slight smile
came TO the lips of Robert Fairchild
as he watched her hurrying across the
street. He had won a tiny victory, at
least.
with a new enthusiasm. greater
desire than ever to win out in the
fight which had brought him to 0hadl,
he hurried to the courthouse and the
various technicalities which must be
COPIED with before he could really call
the Blue Poppy mine his own.
1t was easier than he thought. A
few signatures, and he was free to
wander through town TO where idlers
had pointed out Kentucky guleh and
to begin the steep ascent up the mar
row road on tour of prospecting
that would precede the more legal and
more safe system of surveyor.
The ascent was almost sheer in
places, for in Kentucky gulch the
hills huddled close to the little town
and rose in precipitous inclines al
most before the city limits had been
reached. He stepped aside to allow
the passage of ore-laden automobile
trucks, loaded until the springs had
hattened and until the engines howled
with their compression as they sought
to hold back their burdens on the
steep grade. And It was as he stood
there, watching the big vehicles travel
down the mountain side, that Fair
child caught a glimpse of a human
figure which suddenly darted behind
clump of scrub pine and skirted far
to one side, taking advantage of every
covering. A new beat came into
/ Fairchilds heart He took TO the road
again, ploddlng upward, seemingly a
man entirely bereft of suspicion. A
! quarter of mile he went, q half
Once, as the road turned beside a
great rock, he sought its shelter and
looked back. The figure still was fol-
! lowing, running carefully now along
the bank of the stream in an effort
to gain as much ground as possible
before the return of the road to open
territory should bring the necessity of
caution again.
A mile more, then, again in the shell
ter of rocks, he sweryed and sought
hiding place, watching anxiously from
his concealment for evidences OF dis
covery There were none. The shad-
over came on, displaying more and
more caution as he approached the
rocks, glancing hurriedly about him
as he moved swiftly from cover to
cover. Closer-closer-the Fairchild
depressed gasp. The man was old,
almost white-haired, with hard, knot
ted hands which seemed to stand out
from his wrists; thin and wlry with
the resillency that outdoor, hardened
muscles often give TO age, and with
a face that held Falrchlld almost hyp-
Noticed. It was like a hawks; hook
beaked, colorless, tOneless in ali ex-
pressions save that Of a malicious
tenacity; the eyes were slanted until
they resembled those of some fantas-
tic Chinese image, while Just above
the curying nose a blue-white scar
ran straight up the forehead.-Squint
Rodainel
SO he was on the trail already
FairchiId watched him pass, sneak
around the corner Of the rocks and
stand a moment in apparent bewllder-
ment as he surveyed the ground be
fore him. A mumbling curse and he
went on, his cautious gait discarded, |
walking briskly along the rutty boul- |
der-strewn road toward a gaping hole |
in the HILL hardly a furlong away. |
There he surveyed the ground care
fully, bent and stared hard at the |
earth, apparently for a trace Of foot
prints, and finding none turned slowly /
and looked lntently all about him. /
Carefully he approached the mouth of /
the tunnel and stared within. Then
he Strengthened, and with another
glance about him, hurried off up a
gulcI leading away from the road
into the hills Fairchild lay and
watched him until he was out Of sight,
and he knew instinctively that a sur
veyor would only cover beaten terri
tory now. Squint Rodaine, he felt
sure had pointed out to him the Blue
Poppy mine.
HurriedIy he descended the rocks
once more to turn toward town and
toward Mother Towards boarding