Phoenix tribune., 1922-12-16
CHAPTER XIV

Had It been any one else, Fairchild
would have shouted for happiness and
Joined the parade. As it was, he
stood far to one side, silent, grim
figure, watching the miners and towns
people passing before him. leaping
about in their happiness, calling to
him the news that he did not want to
hear:
The Silver Queen had chit" The
faith of Squint Rodaine, maintained
through the years, had shown his
perspicacity 1t was there; he al
ways had said it was there, and now
the strike had been made at last, lead
silver ore, running as high as two hun
dred dollars a ton. 1t meant every
thing for Ohadi; it meant that mining
would boom now, that soon the hills
would be clustered with prospectors
and that the little town would blossom
as a result of possessing one of the
rich silver mines of the state.
Fairchild felt cheap He felt de
feated. He felt small and mean not
to be able to join the celebration
Squint and Maurice Rodaine possessed
the Silver Queen; that they, of all
persons, should be the fortunate ones
was bitter and hard to accept Why
should they, of every one in Ohadi, be
the lucky men to find a silver bonanza
that they might fiannt it before him
that they might increase their stand
ing in the community that they might
raise themselves to a pedestal in the
eyes Of every one and thereby rally
about them the whole town in any
difficulty which might arise in the fiji
ture? 1t hurt Fairchild, it sickened
him. He saw now that his enemies
were more powerful than ever. And
for moment lie almost wished that
he had yielded down there in Denver
that he had not given the ultimatum to
the greasy Barnham, that he had ac-
cepted the offer made him-and gone
on, out of the fight forever.
Anita What would it mean to her:
Already engaged. ..ircady having given
her answer to Maurice R0daine, this
now would be an added incentive for
her to follow her promise It would
mean a possibility of further argument
With her father. already too weak
from illness to find the means of
evading the insidious pleas of the two
men who had taken his money and
made him virtually their slave The
future looked black for Robert F..,r
child. Slowly he walked past the
happy shouting crowd and turned up
Kentucky gulch toward the ill-fated
Blue Poppy.
The tunnel opening looked more for
lorn than ever when he sightei it,
bleak, staring. single eye wlliel
seemed to brood over its own nisfor
tunes, dead, hopeless thing whicl
never had brought anything but dlsap
pointment. A choking came into Fair
child's throat. 9e entered the tunne
slowly, plOddingly; with tagging mus
cles he hauled up the bucket whicl
told Of Harry's presence below. the
slowly lowered himself into the re
cesses of the shaft and to the drif,
leading to the stOpe, where only few
days before they had found tha
gaunt, whitened, haunting thing whicl
had brought with 1t new misfortune
A light cleaned ahead, and the
sound Of single Jack hammering OF
the end Of drill could be heard. Fair
child called and went forward, to find
Harry, grimy and sweating, pounding
away at narrow streak of black for
nation which centered in the top OF
the stope
Its the vein," he announced after
he had greeted Fairchild, "and it don't
look like it's going to amount to
muchl"
"NoY
Harry withdrew the drill from the
hole he was making and mopped hi,
forehead.
at amt a world-beater," came dis
consOlately II doubt whether it'll rm
mOren twenty dollars to the ton, the
wye smelling prices ave gone up
NOT THE STYLE