The Hope pioneer., 1922-11-16

| "AlA eAiul ueterIu1udIlOu, ne went TO
bed. to awake in the morning filed
with a desire to reach the mine, to
claw at its vitals with the sharp
edged drills, to swing the heavy sledge
until his shoulders and back ached,
to send the roaring charges Of dyna-
mite digging deeper and deeper into
that thinning vein. And Harry was
beside him every step Of the way.
A days work, the booming charges,
and they returned to the stope to find
that the vein had neither lessened nor
grown greater. Another day-and one
after that. The vein remained the
same.
Squint Rodaine had established his
Office in small, vacant store building
on the main street., and Fairchild
could see, as he went to and from his
work, constant stream Of townspeo-
pie as they made that their goal
there to give their money into the
keeping of the be-scarred man and to
trust to the future for wealth. It
CALLED Fairchild, 1t made his hate
stronger than ever. AS for the girl
who was named as vice president
He saw her. day after day, riding
through town in the same automobile
that he had helped retire on the Den
YER road. But now she did not look
at him; now she pretended that she
did not see him. She had gone over
to the Rodaines, she was engaged to
marry the chalky-faced, hook-nosed
son and she was vice president of
their two-million-do mining cor
poration. Fairchild did not even strive
to find a meaning for it all; women
are women, and men do we'll some
times II they diagnose themselves.
| The summer began to grow old, and
Fairchild felt that he was aging with
1t. The bank deposits were thinning,
and the vein was thinning with it.
Slowly but surely, as they fought, the
strip of pay ore in the rocks was
pinching out. Soon would come the
time when they could work it no
longer. And then-but Fairchild did
not like to think about that.
September came, and with It the
grand jury. But here for once was
a slight ray Of hope. The body Of
twelve good men and true wore them
selves out with other matters and ad-
journed without even taking up the
mystery Of the Blue Poppy mine. But
the Joy Of Fairchild and Harry was
sEort-lived. In the long, legal phrase
oiogy of the jury's report was the
recommendation that this important
subject be the first for inquiry by the
next grand inquisitorial body to be
convened and the threat still re-
mained.
But before the two men were now
realities which were worse even than
threats, and Harry turned from his
staging late one afternoon to voice
the most important.
'We'll start gle-jacking tomor-
row." he announced with little sigh.
I'm the 'anging wall. The veins
pinched down until we amt even get
ting day laborer's wages out Of tt
and it's October now"
Octoberl October-and winter on
the way. October-and only a month
until the time when Harry must face
a Jury on four separate charges, any
one Of which might send him to Canon
City for the rest of his days. Fair
child's hopes lay inert. He was only
working now because great, strong,
big-shouldered man had come from
Cornwall to help him and was willing
to fight it out to the end. October
and the announcement had said that
a certain girl would be married in the
late fall, girl who never looked in
his direction any more, who had al
lowed her name to become affiliated
with that Of the Rodaines, now near
ing the task Of completing their two
million. October!
For long moment, Fairchild said
nothing, then as Harry came from the
staging, he moved to the older mans
side.
I'll didn't quite catch the idea,"
came at last. Harry pointed with his
sledge.
"Tve been noticing the vein. It
keeps turning to the left. 1t struck
me that 1t might ave branched off
from the main body and that there's
a bigger vein over there some'eres.
Wen just ave to make try for it.
It's our only chance"
"And If we fail to find 1t there1"
III it amt there-we're whippedl
1t was the first time that Harry had
said the word seriously. Fairchild
pretended not to hear. Instead, he
picked up drill, looked at its point,
then started toward the small forge
which they had erected just at the
foot Of the little raise leading to the
stope. There Harry Joined him; to-
gether they heated the long pieces Of
steel and pounded their biting faces
to the sharpness necessary to drilling
in the hard rock Of the hanging wall,
tempering them in the bucket of wa
ter near by, working silently, slowly
hampered by the weight Of defeat.
They were being whipped; they felt
it in every atom Of their beings. But
they had not given up their fight.