The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1922-07-31

4 %f-Sr- ~ }sss&
A Piece Of Paper. =
quishment Of her desire to reward him
somehow, some way, for the attention
that he had shown her and the liking
that she knew existed in his heart. e9
Hastily Fairchild folded the paper
and stuffed it into an inside pocket.
Then, seeking out one Of the wOrkmen, !
he, appointed him foreman of the gang,
to take charge in his absence. Fol-
lowing which, he made his;way out Of
the mine and into town, there to hire
men Of Mother Towards suggestion
and send them to the Blue Poppy, to
take their stations every few feet
along the tunnel, to appear mere spec
tators, but in reality to be guards who
were constantly on the watch for any
thing untoward that might occur.
Fairchild was taking no chances now.
An hour more found him at the Sam
pier, watching the ore as it ran through
the great crusher hoppers, to come
forth finely crumbled powder and be
sampled, ton by ton, for the assays hy
old Undertaken Chastine and three
other men Of his type, without which
no sampler pays for ore. Bittson ap-
preached, grinning.
"You Guessed just about right" he
announced. "That stuff's running
around two hundred dollars a ton.
Need any money now?"
"All you can let me have!"
-Four or five hundred? We've gotten
in eight tons Of that stuff already;
don't guess I'd be taking any risk on
that!" he chuckled. Fairchild reached
for. the currency eagerly. All but
hundred dollars of it. would 60 to
Mother Howard-for that debt must
be paid off first And, that accom-
plished, denying himself the invitation
of rest that his bed held forth for him,
he started out into town, apparently
to loiter about the streets and receive
| the congratulations Of the townspeo-
Pile, but in reality to watch for one
person and one alo;e-Squint Ro-
dame!
He saw him late in the afternoon,
stumbling along, his eyes glaring, his
lips moving wordlessly,' and he took
up the trail. But it led only to the Of,
fee Of the Silver Queen Development
company. where the scar-faced man
doubled at his desk and, stuffing a
cigar into his mouth, chewed on it
angrily. Instinctively Fairchild knew
that the greatest part Of his mean
| temper was due to the strike In the
Blue Poppy; instinctively also he felt
that Squint Rodaine had known of the
| value all along, that now he was ours
ing himself for the failure Of his
schemes to obtain possession of what
had appeared until only a day before
to be nothing more than a disappoint-
| ing, unlucky, ill-omened hole in the
ground. Fairchild resumed his lolter-
ing, but evening found him near the
| Silver Queen Office.
Anita's note had told him little, yet
had implied much. Something was
| fermenting in the seething brain of
Squirt Rodaine, and If the past count
ed for anything, it was something that
concerned him.
An hour more, then Falrchild sud-
denly skunk into the shadows of
doorway. Squint had snapped out the
light and was locking the door. Fifty
feet, then Fairchild stepped from the
doorway and took up the trail.
It was not hard one to follow.
SQuint Rodaine passed the street lead
ing to his house without even looking
up. Two blocks more, and they
reached the city limits.
A mile, and they were in the open
country, crossing and recrossing the
ice-dotted Clear ., creek. A furlong
more, then Squint Rodaine turned up
the lane which led to great, sham
bling, old, white building that, in the
rosy days Of the mining game, had
been a roadhouse, but which now,
barely furnished in only few of it's
rooms, inhabited by mountain rats and
! flutterlng bats and general decay for
the most part, formed the uncomfort-
able abode of Crazy Laura!
And Fairchild followed. 1t could
mean only one thing when Rodaine
sought the white-haired. mumbling old
bag whom once he had called his wife.
It could mean but one outcome, and
TINT Of disaster for some one. Mother
Howard had said that Crazy Laura
would kill for Squint. And now that
Squint Rodaine was seeking her, Fair
child meant to follow, and to hear-if
such thing were within the range of
human fposstbiiity-the: evil drippings
Of his crooked lips. .......,... ...,.-. ..
He crossed to the side Of the road
where ran the Inevitable gully and,
taking advantage of the shelter, hur-
ried forward, smiling grimly in the
| darkness at the memory of the fact
that things were now reversed; that
he was following squirt Rbdaine as
Rodaine once had followed him. Swift
~ he moved, ,closer-closer; the scar
faced man went through the tumble.
down gate and approached the house.