Phoenix tribune., 1922-09-16
Continued from last issue)

eyes" Mother Towards voice bore
touch Of resentment. 81 never liked
him from the minute l first saw him,
and liked him less afterward. Then
| got next to his game
"Your father had been prospecting
just like everybody else. He'd come
on float up Kentucky gulch and was
trying to follow 1t to the vein. Squint
saw him-and what's more, he saw
that float. 1t looked good to Squint-
and late that night, l heard him and
his two drinking partners. Blindeye
Bozeman and Taylor Bill-they Just
reverse his name for the sound of It.
talking In Blindeye's room. Pm a
woman" Mother Howard chuckled-
so just leaned my head against the
door and listened Then l flew down.
stairs to wait for your father when
he came in from sitting up half the
night to get an assay on that float
Squint and them two others was fgur-
ing on jumping his claim before he
could file on 1t and all that.
well. there was a big Cornishman
here that / was kind of sweet on-and
| guess ! always will be- He's been
gone now. though, ever since your fa-
ther left. / got him and asked him
to help. And FAIRY was just the kind
of fellow that would do it. Out in
the dead Of night they went and
staked out your fathers clafn-Harry
was 20 get 25 per cent-and early the
next morning your dad was waiting
TO file on it, while Harry was waiting
for them three. And what fight 1t
must have been-that Harry was
wildcat in those younger days" She
laughed, then her voice grew serious.
"But all had its effect. Rodaine
didn't jump that claim, and a few of
us around here filed dummy claims
enough in the vicinity to keep him off
of getting too close-but there was
one way we couldn't stop him. He
had power, and he's always had IT.
and he's got 1t now. A lot of awful
strange things happened to your fa-
ther after that-charges were filed
Ne0AAAot AAAAA lOl lA1luSS uc IcNtE OlO.
Men jumped on him in the dark, then
went to the district attorneys office
and accused him of making the at
tack. And the funny part was that
the district attorneys office always
believed them-and not him. Once
they had him just at the edge Of the
penitentiary but II happened to
know few things that-well, he
didn't 60" Again Mother Howard
chuckled, only to grow serious once
more. Men who went to work for
your father and Harry disappeared,
or got hurt accidentally in the mine or
just quit through the bad name 1t
was getting. Once Harry, coming
down from the tunnel at night,
stepped on little bridge that always
before had been as secure and safe as
the hills themselves. It fell with
him-they went down together thirty
feet, and there was nothing but Ma
ture to blame for 1t. In spite of what
we three thought. Then, at last they
got fellow who was willing to work
for them In spite Of what Rodaine's
crowd-and 1t consisted of everybody
In power-hinted about your fathers
bad reputation back East and"
my father never harmed soul in
his life" Fairchild's voice was hot,
resentful. Mother Howard went on:
81 know he didn't, Son. I'm only
telling the story. Miners are super
stitious as general rule, and they're
childish at believing things. It all
worked in your fathers case-with the
exception Of Harry and 'Sissie' Lar
sen, Swede with high voice, just
about like mine. That's why they
gave him the name. He went to work.
A few months later they got into good
ore. 1t looked like the bad luck was
over at last. Then"
Mother Howard hesitated at the
brink Of the very nubbin of 1t all, to
M[TMTTmum