The St. Charles herald., 1922-09-23
THE CROSS-Cul

/ did run me OH ana WOulQnt go Dack
to Cornwalli"
| Red-faced, she pushed him away
and slapped his cheek playfully; 1t
was like the tap of light breeze
against granite. Then Harry turned.
"'Ave you looked at the miner
The question brought back to Fair
child the happenings of the morning
and the memory of the man who had
trailed him. He told his story, while
| Mother Howard listened. her arms
crossed her head bobbing, and while
Harry. his big grin still on his lips,
| took in the details with avidity. Then
the grin faded.
lies go up there" he said quietly.
This time the trip to Kentucky
| gulch was made by skirting the town
soon they were on the rough, narrow
roadway leading into the mountains.
| A long time they walked, at last to
stop in the shelter of the rocks where
Fairchild had shadowed- his pursuer,
and to glance carefully ahead. No
one was in sight. Harry jabbed out
big finger.
"That's it." he announced, straight
a'eadw
They went on, Fairchild with grip
ping at his throat that would not
down. This had been the hope of his
father-and here his father had met
what? He swerved quickly and
stopped, facing the bigger man.
Harry" came sharply. II know
that 1 may be violating an unspoken
| promise to my father. But / simply
| can't stand it any longer. What hap
pened here? There was some sort of
| tragedy"
Harry chuckled in concealment,
Fairchild thought, of something he
did not want to tell him.
81 should think so! The timbers
gave way and the mine caved I'M"
mot that! My father ran away
from this town. You and Mother
Howard helped him. You didn't come
back. Neither did my father. Even
tually 1t killed him."
"So?" Harry looked seriously and
studiously at the young man. "'E
didn't write me of'en."
| "He didn't need to write you. You
were here with him-when it hap
pened."
| NO" Harry shook his head. II
was in town. What's Mother Howard
told your"
| "A lot-and nothing"
II don't know any more than she
does"
| But"
"Friends didn't ask questions In
those days." came quietly. II might
ave guessed If I'd wanted to-but ]
didn't want to-"
"But If you had7"
Harry locked at him with quiet, blue
| eyes.
.'What would you guessT'
Slowly Robert Fairchild's gaze went
to the ground. There was only one
possible conjecture: Sissie Larsen had
been impersonated by a woman. Sis
sic Larsen had never been seen again
in Ohadi.
I'll would hate to put it into
words" came finally. Harry slapped
him on the shoulder.
"Then don't 1t was nearly thirty
years ago. Let sleeping dogs lie. Take
look around before we 60 into the
tunnel"
They reconnoitered. first on one
side then on the other. No one was in
sight. Harry bent to the ground, and
finding a pitchy pine knot, lighted it
They started cautiously within, blink
ing against the darkness.
The outlines of rusty ''hoist." with
its cable leading down into q slantinl
hole in the rock. showed dimly before
them-a massive, chunky, deserted
thing in the shadows. The timber!
were rotting; one after another, they
had cracked and caved beneath thu
weight of the earth above. giving thu
tunnel an eerie aspect, uninviting
dangerous. Harry peered ahead.
4 "It amt as bad as 1t looks" came
after a moments survey. "It's onl!
right ere at the beginning that IT.!
caved. But that doesn't do us mucl
good"
"Why not?" Fairchild was starini
with him, on toward the darkness O
the farther recesses. ''If It isn't cave,
in farther back. we ought to be abl'
to repair this spot"
But Harry shook his head.
"We didn't go into the vein ERE
he explained. 1--WE figured we 'ad t.
ave q shaft anyway, sooner or later
You can't do under'and stopping in
mine-go down on q vein, you know
You've always got to 60 up-you can
get the metal out II you don't. That
vhy we dug this shaft-and now lool
at I'll"
He drew the pickering torch to tn
edge of the shaft and held 1t there
, staring downward. Fairchild besid
him. Twenty feet below there cam
, the glistening reflection Of the flarin
fame. Water! Fairchild glance
toward his partner.
Il don't know anything about It," b
said at last. "But should think tha
J would mean trouble"
n "Plenty!" agreed Harry lugubrious
lly. "That shafts two 'unnerd fee
deep and there's drift running on
for a couple o. 'unnerd feet more b
fore Il ITS the vein. Four 'unner