Phoenix tribune., 1922-09-23

told you?"
"a lot-and nothing"
Il don't know any more than she
does"
But"
Friends didn't ask questions in
those days." came quietly. 81 might
ave guessed If I'd wanted to-but
didn't want to-"
"But If you hadT
Harry looked at him with quiet, blue
eyes.
what would you guessT
Slowly Robert Fairchild's gaze went
to the ground There was only one
possible conjecture: Sissie Larsen haG
been impersonated by woman. Sis
sic Larsen had never been seen again
In Ohadi.
II would hate to put it into
words" came finally. Harry slapped
him on the shoulder.
"Then don't. 1t was nearly thirty
years ago. Let sleeping dogs lie. Take
look around before we go into the
tunnel"
ulcl Ou OHo
side then on the other No one was In
sight. Harry bent to the ground, and
finding pitchy pine knot, lighted it.
They started cautiously within, blink
ing against the darkness.
The outlines of rusty "hoIst," with
its cable leading down into a slanting
hole in the rock, showed dimly before
them-a massive, chunky, deserted
thing in the shadows. The timbers
were rotting; one after another, they
had cracked and eaved beneath the
weight of the earth above, giving the
tunnel an eerie aspect, uninvitIng,
dangerous Harry peered ahead.
ut amt as bad as 1t looks" came
after moments survey. ITS only
right ere at the beginning that it's
caved. But that doesn't do us much
good"
"Why mott" Fairchild was staring
with him, on toward the darkness of
the farther recesses. "If 1t isn't caved
In farther back, we ought to be able
to repair this. spot"
But Harry shook his head.
''We didn't go into the vein ere"
he explained. 1--WE figured we 'ad to
ave shaft anyway, sooner or later.
You can't do under'and stopping in
mine-go down on a vein, you know.
You've always got to go up-you can't
get the metal out If you don't That's
why we dug this shaft-and now look
at 1t /"
He drew the Pickering torch to the
edge of the shaft and held 1t there,
staring downward, Fairchild beside
him. Twenty feet below there came
the glistenlng. reflection of the fiaring
flame. Waterl Fairchild glanced
toward his partner.
II don't know anything about It." he
said at last. "But l should think that
would mean trouble"
"Plentyl" agreed Harry lugubrious-
ly. 'That shafts two 'unnerd feet
deep and there's a drift running of It
for a couple o. 'unnerd feet more be-
fore 1t Its the vein. Four 'unnerd
feet Of water 'Ow much money ave
you got"s
"About twenty-five hundred dol
lars"
Harry reached for his waving mus
tache, his haven in time of storm.
Thoughtfully he pulled at 1t, staring
meanwhile downward. Then he
grunted
"And amt got more'n five 'unnerd.
1t amt enough. Les go back to town.
don't like to stand around this place
and just look at water in a ole"
They turned for the mouth of the
tunnel, sliding along in the greasy
muck, the torch extinguished now. A
moment Of watchfulness from the
cover Of the darkness, then Harry
pointed. On the opposite hill, the fig
ure Of man had been outlined for
Just a second. Then he had faded.
And with the disappearance of the
watcher, Harry nudged his partner In
the ribs and went forth into the
brighter light. An hour more and
they were back In town. Harry
reached for his mustache again.
go on down to Mother 'Oward's,"
he commanded. i've got to wander
around ana say '0Wdy to what's left
Of the fellows that was ere when
was. It's been twenty years since I've
been away, you know" he added, "and
the shaft can wait"
Fairchild obeyed the instructions,
looking back over his shoulder as he
walked along toward the boarding
| house, to see the big figure of his com
panion lettering up the street, on the
beginning of his homecoming tour.
The blocks passed Fairchild turned
through the gate of Mother Howard's
boarding house and went to his room
to await the call for dinner. The
world did not look exceptionally
good to him; his brilliant dreams had
not counted upon the decay of more
than a quarter of a century, the slow.
but sure dripping of water which had
seeped through the hills and made
the mine one vast well, instead of the
free open gateway to riches which he
had planned upon. An hour of thought
and Fairchild ceased trying to look