Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1922-10-28
CHAPTER XIV

would have shouted Tor happiness ana
Joined the parade. AS II 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 "hit." The
faith of Squin. Rodaine, maintained
through the years. had shown his
perspicacity. 1t was there; he al
ways had said 1t was there. and now
the strike had been made at last, lead
silver ore, running as high as two hun
bred dollars ton. 1t meant every
thing for Ohadi 1t meant that mining
would boom now. that soon the hills
would be clustered with prospectors,
and that the little town would blossom
as 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 10 accept Why
should they, Of every one In Ohadi, be
the lucky men TO find silver bonanza,
that they might fiaunt It before him,
that they might increase their stand
ing in the community, that they might
raise themselves to a pedestal i'm the
eyes of every one and thereby rally
about them the whole town In any
difficulty which might arise in the flu
ture? 1t hurt Fairchild 1t sickened
him. He saw now that his enemies
were more powerful than ever. And
for moment he almost wished that
he had yielded down there in Denver
that he had not given the ultlmatum TO
cepted the offer made him-and gone
ON, out of the fight forever.
Anita What would II mean to her?
Already engaged already having given
her answer to Maurice Rodaine, this
now would be an added Incentive for
her to follow her promise. 1t would
mean possibility of further argument
with her father, already too weak
from illness to find the means of
evadlng the insldious pleas of the two
men who had taken HIS money and
made him virtually their slave. The
future looked black for Robert Fair
child. Slowly he walked past the
happy, shouting crowd and turned up
Kentucky gulch toward the Inflated
Blue Poppy
The tunnel opening looked more for
lorn than ever when he sighted 1t, a
bleak. staring, single eye which
seemed to brood over its own misfOr
tunes a dead, hopeless thing which
never had brought anything but dlsap-
pointment A choking came into Fair
childs throat. He entered the tunnel
slowly, ploddingly; with tagging mus
cles he hauled up the bucket which I
told of Harry's presence below, then |
slowly lowered himself into the re
cesses of the shaft and to the drift I
leading to the stope, where only few (
days before they had found that /
gaunt, whitened, haunting thing which .
had brought with 1t new misfortune. <
A Hight cleaned ahead, and the
sound of a single jack hammering on
the end Of a drill could be heard. Fair
child called and went forward, to find
Harry grimy and sweating, pounding
away at a narrow streak of black for
nation which conferred in the top of
the stOpe.
Its the vein," he announced, after
he had created Fairchild, "and II don't
look like it's going to amount to
muchl I"
"No?'
Harry withdrew the drill from the
hole he was making and mopped his
forehead
ut amt a world-beater," came dis
consOlately. 81 doubt whether it'll run
more'n twenty dollars to the ton, the
wye smelling prices ave gone mp
And there amt much money In that.
What 'appened in Denver?'
another frame-up by the Rodaines
to get the mine away from us. 1t was
a lawyer. He stalled that the offer
had been made to US by Miss Rich
mond"
How muchl"
1.-TWO hundred thousand dollars and
is to get out of all the troubles we
ire in"
"And you took it, of courseT
81 did mott"
''No" Harry mopped his forehead
again. well, maybe you're right.
.Iavha vnn're wrong Rnt whatever