The Holbrook news., 1922-12-29
CHAPTER xvIll-contInued.

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 They reached the mouth of the Sil- yer Queen. Harry reconnoitered a moment before he gave the signal to proceed Within the tunnel they went. to follow along its regular. rising course to the stope where, on that Garish day when Taylor Bil and Blindeye Bozeman had led the enthu- elastic parade through the streets. the vein had shown It was dark there no one was at work. Harry unlocked his carbide from his belt, lit 1t and looked around.
 Tt ain't coming from 'ere" he an- nounced "It'sL" then his voice dropped to a whisper@"what's that?''
 Again a rumbling had come from a distance. as of an ore car travelling over the tram tracks. Harry extin- gulshed his light, and drawing Anita and Fairchild far to the end of the stope. fiattened them and himself on the ground A long wait, while the rumbling came closer, still closer {; then, in the distance, light appeared. shining from a side of the tunnel. A changing noise, followed by clatter- Ing sounds, as though of steel rails hitting against each other. Finally the tramming once more-and the light approached.
 Into view came an ore car, and be hind 1t loomed the great form of Fay for Bill as he pushed 1t along. Straight to the pile of ore he came, unlocked the front of the tram. ripped 1t and piled the contents of the car on top of the dump which already rested there. With that. carbide pointing the way. he turned back. pushing the tram before him. Harry crept to his feet.
 "we've got to follow !" he whispered. cts a blind entrance to the tunnel sGm'eres."
 They rose and trailed the light along the tracks, fiattening themselves against the timbers of the tunnel as the form of Taylor Bill, faintly out fined in the distance, turned from the regular track, opened a great door in the side of the tunnel, which, to all 4BYcdk dnCCS, WdS nOlAun6 AOlC lhdh the ordinary heavy timbering of a weak spot in the rocks, pulled 1t far back, then swerved the tram within. Then. he stopped and raised a port able switch. throwing 1t into the open ing. A second later the door closed behind him. and the sound of the tram began to fade in the distance. Harry went forward, creeping along the side of the tunnel, feeling his way. stop ping to listen now and then for the sound of the fading ore car. Behind him were Fairchild and Anita. follow ing the same procedure. And all three stopped at once.
 The hollow sound was coming d. rectly to them now Harry once more Drought out his carbide to light 1t for a moment and to examine the tim bering
 "It's a good job" he commented. You couldn't tell 1t five feet off !"
 They've made a cross-cutw This time 1t was Anita's voice, plainly an- gry in spite of its whispering tones. ~No wonder they had such a wonder ful strike" came scathingly. That other stope down there"
 "Ain't nothing but salted propo- sition," said Harry. They've cement ed up the top of it with the real stuff and every once in a while they blow a lot of it out and cement 1t up again to make 1t look like that's the real vein"
 And they're working our mine r Red spots of anger were flashing be- fore Fairchild's eyes.
 You've said iti That's why they were so anxious to buy us out. And that's why they started this two miIlion-dollar stock proposition when they found they couldn't do 1t. They knew if we ever It that vein 1t wouldn't be any time until they'd be caught on the job. That's why they're ready to pull out-with somebody else's million. They're getting at the end of their rope. Another thing; that explains them working at night"
 Anita gritted her teeth.
 'I see 1t now-I can get the reason. They've been telephoning Denver and holding conferences and all that sort