The Holbrook news., 1922-10-06
CHAPTER V
-S

uNo oAlCu AhOth- CT Towards return, and when at last she came forth from the kitchen, he drew her into the old parlor, shadowy now in the gathering dusk, and closed the doors.
 Mrs. Howard" he began, T."
 "Mother Howard" she corrected T aIn't 1sed to being called much else"
 Mother. although I'm not very accustomed to using the title. My own mother died-shortly after my father came back from out here."
 She walked to his side then and put . hand on his shoulders. For a mo- ment it seemed that her lips were struggling to repress something which strove to pass them. something locked behind them for years. Then the old face. dim in the half light, calmed
 "What do you want to know, Son?"
 Everything"
 But there isn't much I can tell"
 He caught her hand.
 There isl I know there is. T."
 "SOn-all can do is to make mat ters worse If I knew anything that would help you-if I could give you any light on anything Old Mother Howard would do it Lord, didn't I help out your father when he needed it the worst way? But I'm as much fn the dark as you. All that I ever knew was that your father came to this boarding house when he was young man. the very first day that he ever struck Ohadi. He didn't have much money. but he was enthusiastic and it wasn't long before he'd told Indianapolis and how he'd like to win cut for their sake As for newell. they always called me Mother How erd. even when l was a young thing, sort of setting my cap for every good looking young rlan that came along. ] guess that's why I never caught one Of 'em-I always insisted on alarming their socks and looking after all their troubles for 'em instead of going out buggy-riding with some other fellow and making 'em jealous" She sighed ever so slightly. then chuckled. But that aln't getting to the point. though, is it?"
 If you could tell me about my fa- tAer-'
 'Tm going to-all I know. Things were lot different out here then from what they were later. Every wbere around the hills and gulches you could see prospectors, with their eads and little picks. fooling around like life didn't mean anything in the world to 'em. except to grub around in those rocks
 'Your father was one of these men. 'Squlnt' Rodaine was .anOther-they called him that because at some time In his life he'd tried to shoot faster than the other fellow-and didn't do fl. The bullet hit right between his eyes, but 1t must have had poor pow -dAs behind it-all it did was to cut through the skin and go straight up his forehead. When the wound healed. the scar drew his eyes close together, like a Chinaman's. You never see SquInt's eyes more than half open.
 And he's crooked, just like his eyes-" Mother Towards voice bore . touch of resentment q never liked him from the minute I first saw him, and liked him less afterward. Then l got next to his game.
 Your father had been prospecting just like everybody else. He'd come on float up Kentucky gulch and was trying to follow it to the vein. Squint saw him-and what's more. he saw that float. It looked good to Squint- and late that night, I heard him and his two drinking partners. Blindeye Bozeman and Taylor Bill-they just reverse his name for the sound of it. talking in BIindeye's room. I'm woman" Mother Howard chuckled- 50 I just leaned my head against the door and listened. Then flew down. stairs to wait for your father when he came in from sitting up half the night tO get an assay on that float. Squint and them two others was figur- ing on jumping his claim before he could file on it and all that.
 Well. there was a big Cornishman here that was kind of sweet on-and 1 guess I always will be. He's been gone now. though, ever since your fa- ther left. I got him and asked him ts help. And Harry was just the kind of fellow that would do it. Out in the dead of night they went and staked out your fathers claim-Harry was tO get 25 per cent-anc early the next morning your dad was waiting to file on it. while Harry was waiting for them three. And what a fight it must have been-that Harry was a wildcat in those younger days" She laughed then her voice grew serious -But all had it's effect. Rodaine didn't jump that claim. and few of us around here filed dummy claims enough m the vicinity to keep him off ef getting too clOse-but there was one way we couldn't stop him. He