The Holbrook news., 1922-10-06


 Times dance? It's a sort of munich pal thing, gotten up by the bureau of mines-to celebrate the return of sil- yer mining"
 "But-Tm afraid I'm not much on dancing"
 You don't have to be. Nobody'll dance much-except the old-fashiOned affairs. You see, everybody's supposed to represent people of Che days when things were booming around here. There'n be a fiddle orchestra, and dance caller and everything like that, and a bar-but of course there'll only be Imitation liquor. But" she added with quick emphasis, "there1l be lot of things really real-real keno and roulette and everything like that, and everybody in the costume of thirty or forty years ago. Don't you want to buy ticket? It's the last one I've got" she added prettily.
 "When's 1t to be?
 "A week from tomorrow night. Are you going to be here that long?"
 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 a one-dollar note and thrust them forward.
 "Yes, I'll take the ticket"
 She handed 1t to him, thanked him, and reached for the money. As, 1t 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.
 "Oh!" she exclaimed, almost in a whisper, q understand" She flushed and stood second hesitant, fiustered, her big eyes almost childish as they looked up into his. "You-yOu must think I'm cad" 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 tiny victory, at least.
 With a new enthusiasm, a greater desire than ever to win out in the fight which had brought him to Ohadi, he hurried to the courthouse and the various technicalities which must be coped with before he could really call the Blue Poppy mine his own.
 IF yuoS tban ha thouubt few signatures, and he was free to wander through town to where idlers had pointed out Kentucky gulch and to begin the steep ascent up the nar- row road on a 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 flattened 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 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, plodding upward, seemingly a man entirely bereft of suspicion A quarter of mile he went, a half. Once. as the road turned beside great rock, he sought it's 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 anuch 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 shel- ter of rocks, he swerved 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-then Fairchild repressed a gasp. The man was old, almost white-haired. with hard, knot ted hands which seemed to stand out from his wrists; thin and wiry with the resiliency that outdoor. hardened muscles often give to age. and with a face that held Fairchild almost hyp- notized. It was like a hawks; hook peaked, colorless, toneless in all ex- pressiOns save that of malicious tenacity; the eyes were slanted until they resembled those of some fantas- tic Chinese image. while just above the curving nose a 3lue-white. scar ran straight up the forehead-Squint Rodaine!
 So he was on the trail already Fairchild watched him pass sneak around the corner of the rocks. and stand a moment in apparent bewilder- 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- in the hill. hardly furlong away. There he surveyed the ground care fully, bent and stared hard at the earth, apparently Cor a trace of foot prints, and finding none, turned slowly and looked intently all about him. CnrafrIlr ha annrna chad tho mouth 1f