The Holbrook news., 1922-11-03

pumps. A peculiar gurgllns sOuild i''td come from the ends of the hose, and the flow depreciated greatly; Instead of the steady gush of water, shiny silt was coming out now, spray hg ana splattering about on the sides of the drainage ditch. Wildly Harry waved a mOnstrous paw.
 "Shut 'em off :" he yelled to Fair. child in the dimness of the tunnel. Its sucking the muck out of the sumpl That means the ole drift is unwatered."
 "Then the pumping jobs over2
 "Yeh." Harry rose. You stay ere and dismantle the pumps. so we can send 'em back. I'll go to town. We've got to buy some stuff."
 Then he started off down the trail, while Fairchild went to his work. And he sang as he dragged at the heavy hose Work was before him, work which was progressing toward goal that he had determined to seek, in spite of all obstacles. The mysterious offer which he had received gave evil dence that something awaited him, that some one knew the real value of the Blue Poppy mine, and that if he could simply stick to his task, If he could hold to the unwavering purpose to win in spite of all the blocking pitfalls that were put in his path, some day. some time, the reward would be worth it's price.
 More, the conversation with Mother Howard on the previous morning had been comforting; 1t had given wom- ans viewpoint upon another woman's actions And Fairchild intuitively be- lieved she was correct.
 A shout from the road. accompanied by the roaring of a motor truck, an- nounced the fact that Harry was mak- ing his return.
 Five men were with him, to help him carry in ropes, heavy pulleys, weights and large metal shaft bucket, then to move out the smaller of the pumps and trundle away with them, leaving the larger one and the larger engine for a single load At last Harry turned to his paraphernalla and rolled up his sleeves.
 "Ere's where we work!" he en- nounced. Its us for a pulley and bucket arrangement until we can get the 'oist to working and the skip to running. 'Elp me 'eave a few timbers."
 It was the beginning of a three days job, the building of heavy stag ing over the top of the shaft, the affix- ing of the great pulley and then the attachment of the bucket at one end, and the skip, loaded with pig iron. on the other. Altogether, 1t formed sort of crude, counterbalanced ele- vator. by which they might lower themselves into the shaft, with various bumpings and delays-but which worked successfully, nevertheless. To- gether they piled into the big. iron bucket, Harry lugging along spikes and | timbers and sledges and ropes. Then. pulling away at the cable which held the weights, they furnished the neces- sary gravity .c travel downward.
 An eerie journey, faced on one side by the crawling rope of the skip as it travelled along the rusty old track on its watersoaked ties on the other by the still dripping timbers of the aged shaft and its broken, rotting ladder, while the carbide lanterns cast shad- ows about, while the pulley above creaked and the eroded wheels of the skip squeaked and protested! Down. ward-a hundred feet-and they col lided with the upward-bound skip, to fend off from it and start on again. The air grew colder, more moist. The | carbides spluttered and flared. A slight bump, and they were at the bottom. Before them the drift tun- nel, damp and dripping and dark, awaited, seeming to throw back the flare of the carbides as though to shield the treasures which might lie beyond Harry started forward step, then pausing, shifted his carbide and laid hand on his companions shOul- der
 Boy" he said slowly, "we're start ing at something now-and I don't know where it's going to lead us. There's a cave-in up ere, and If we're ever going to get anywhere in this mine. we'll lave to go past 1t. And I'm afraid of what we're going to find when we cut our wye through"
 Clouds of the past seemed to rise and float past Fairchild-clouds which carried visions of white, brok- en old man sitting by window, wait ing for death, visions of an old safe and letter it contained. For long, long moment, there was silence. Then came Harry's voice again.
 'Tm afraid 1t ain't going to be good news, Boy. But there ain't no wye to get around it. It's got to come out sometime-things like that won't stay 'idden forever. And your fathers gone now-gone where it can't 'urt 'im."
 "I know" answered Fairchild, in a queer, husky voice. "He must have known, Harry-he must have been will ing that it come, now that he Is gone. He wrote me as much"
 "It's that or nothing. If we sell the mine, some one else will find 1t. And we can't it the vein without following the drift to the stope. But you're the one to make the decision"
 "He told me to go ahead, if neces- sary. And we'll go, Harry"