The diamond drill., 1922-01-07

he got back. and after we had eaten
he blossomed out In an entirely new
role--that OF commander In chief.
"This Is movin' day. Stannie." he
announced briefly. III youll dig up
all the chuck and canned stun you
can find and tote II over 20 the shaft
house, III fetch the blankets and the
cookin' tins"
/ obeyed blIndly. and entirely with
out prejudice TO lively curiosity as
TO what this new move might mean.
While was emptying the kitchen and
pantry the old man unearthed another
rife from the closet under the loft lad
der, and with II box OF ammunition:
and i observed that this second gun.
like the one he had carried on our
pilgrimage OF the night. looked as IL
II had been freshly oiled and rubbed
up every day since II had left the fac
tory.
"Youu have lot OF talking TO do
presently" ! warned him. ''You seem
TO forget that you haven't yet told me
what's biting YOU"
Maybe there amt nothin' bitin' me;
maybe I'm just gettin' sort o. old and
skeery. But It's this-away. Stannie.
son: Ever since your grnn'paw gave
me this here watchln' job, and since I
heard tell how them Cripple Greek
short-card artists socked II to him on
this Cinnabar deal. been lookin' for
n hn
Cripple Creek holdups nary day
since your gran'paw told me to stay
here and hold the fort for him."
you thought perhaps the original
owners might try to grab the property
by forcew
Daddy looked up at me from under
his bushy eyebrows
"'Pears to me like you've got a
mighty short memory. ssme way. Stan
nile. Have you done forgot that bunch
o. huskies we saw campin' out In Ante
lope guich as we come along by there
at daybreak this mornin'7 didn't like
the looks o. that camp much at the
time; and ] liked II a whole lot less
after we got here and found Charley
Bullerton sunnin' himself on the door
step. Made me sort o. perk up my
ears"
"But, see here, Daddy thrust In,
III he's got my deed, or has destroyed
IL, why"
"Why. he has as good right 10 the
Cinnabar as the next one that comes
along, is what you're goin' 10 say.
ain't disputln' you for minute. But
afore he can have II, he's got TO take
IL, hain't he? And we've got two nigh
ty good III pieces of artillery that says
he's goin' to have one joyful old time
a-takin' lt; that Is, IL you're OF the
same mind that ! am"
BY Jovel l wanted to put my arms
around the old Spartan and hug him
AS I've said, there were ten or a dozen
men In that bunch we'd seen In the
gulch. and he was calmly proposing to
stand up to them, as confidently as II
IL were all In the days work.
~ get you now, Daddy" | said, "and
II there's fight coming 10 us. your
mind is mine Wen give them the best
we've got"
thought the two old-fashioned guns
and Jeanle's pistol promised a poor
chance for an effective defense; but
Daddy Hiram proceeded to show me
that we had at least one other re-
source. In the mine stores left behind
by the former operating company were
two boxes Of sixty-per-cent dynamite,
with fuse and caps, and Daddy pointed
out that there were good possibilities
wrapped up In the greasy brown-paper
cartridges IL the enemy should come
close enough TO let us use them.
II believe you had this all doped out
In advance, Daddy" / said. when he
had a neat little row. of the cartridges
laid out on the floor. But surely you
didn't expect to hold out alone II those
sharks sent crowd OF Jumpers in to
run you Offl"
"Me and Jeanle." he said simply.
"We'd IA done our level best and the
angels couldn't do no more than that"
Here, unless the old man was sadly
mistaken In his daughter, was another
and wholly unsuspecter side Of the blue
eyed maiden displa ed for me. l tried
70 imagine Lisette helping her father
or me, or any lone man. to defend be-
leaguered mine against an armed at
tack. IL was SO funny that shouted
| do you mean 20 say that Jeanie would
shut herself up in here and load the
guns for you against a mob of mine
jumpersT
He looked up with a prideful sparkle
In his mild blue eyes.
"You don't half know that little girl
O mine. yet. Stannie, son." he said
earnestly. And then: "She's the only
boy ever had. you see and she hain't
had any mother since she can remem-
ber. Maybe hadn't ort to taught her
20 ride hawsses and shoot. and them
things; but II seemed like l had to-"
"You haven't made her one lota less
womanly--or lovable," l FASTENED TO
say. Then blurted ont the thing that
had been weighing on me ever since
we had found Fullerton loafing on the