The St. Charles herald., 1922-09-09

TO escape It; she told all TOO PLAINLY
hoth nv her actions and her woros'
tho+ she knew something of the mys|
terry of the past-and had iaisiiieu :"
keen the knowledge from him.
II was too CALLING for thought. hop'
ert Fairchild hastily made his toliet'
then answered the ringing OF the uil'
nor hell to be introduced to strHnS-
sbouldered men who gathered ABOUT
the long tables; Cornishmen, VINO
talked an "h-less" language, ruduy
faced Americans. and sprinkiing VI
English. all Of whom cOnversed ABOUT
things which were to Fairchlld as so
much Greek-of '1evels" and "stopes
and "winzes," of "skips" and MAN
wavs'' and "'rises," which meant noth-
ing to the man who yet must master
them all. if he were to follow his am
bition.
Robert Fairchild spoke but seldom
except TO acknowledge the introduc-
| r;ons as Mother Howard MADE MI"
| known to each of his table mates But
# was not aloofness; from the first,
the newcomer had liked the men
about him, liked the ruggedness' the
mingling of culture with the lack OF
#. liked the enthusiasm. the muscle
and Drawn, liked them all-all but TWO.
| Instinctively, from the first men,
tion of his name, he felt they were
watching him, two men who SAT- 1ar
in the rear of the big dining room,
| older than the other occupants, far
less inviting in appearance. One was
small, though chunky in build, with
sandy hair and eyebrows; with weak,
filmy blue eyes over which the llds
blinked constantly. The other, black
haired with streaks of gray, powerful
in his build, and with a walrus-like
mustache dropping over hard lips. was
the sort of antithesis naturally to be
found in the company Of the smaller,
sandy complexioned man. Who they
were, what they were, Fairch1ld dld
not know, except from the general
attributes which told that they too fol-
lowed the great gamble of mining. But
one thing was certain; they watched
him throughout the meal; they talked
about him in low tones and ceased
when Mother Howard came near; they
seemed to recognize in him someone
who brought both curiosity and innate
enmity to the surface. And more; /;
long before the rest had finished their
meal, they rose and left the room. In
tent, apparently, upon some important
mission.
After that, Fairchild ate with less
of a relish. In his mind was the GER
tainty that these two men knew him
or at least knew about him-and that
they did not relish his presence. Nor
were his suspicious long in being full
filled. Hardly had he reached the
hall, when the beckoning eyes OF
Mother Howard signaled to him. In
stinctively he waited for the other
diners to pass him, then looked eager
ly toward Mother Howard as she once
more approached.
II don't know what you're doing
here" came shortly, but l want to. y
Fairchild Strengthened. There isn't
much to tell you," he answered quiet.
ly. "My father left me the Blue Poppy
mine in his will. I'm here to work II.
"Know anything about mining?"
"Not thing"
"Or the people you're liable to have
to buck up against?'
every little
"Then, Son." and Mother Howard
3 laid kindly hand on his arm, what
) ever you do, keep your plans to your
!. self and don't talk too much. Ant
what's more, If you happen to ge
into communication with Blindey'
Bozeman and Taylor Bill, lie you
head off. Maybe you saw 'em, sandy
haired fellow and a big man with 1
!, black mustache. sitting at the bacl
7 of the room?" Fairchild nodded
> swell, stay away from them. The.
, belong to 'SQuint' Rodaine. Know
himy'
She shot the question sharply
;. Again Fairchild nodded.
1--WE heard the name. Who is he?
A voice called to Mother Howar,
from the dining room. She turne
: away, then leaned close to Rober
Fairchild. Hes a miner, and he's al
y ways been. miner Right now, he
!, mixed up with some of the bigges
!, people in town. He's always been
man to be afraid of-and he was you
;. fathers worst enemy"
Then. leaving Fairchild staring afte
her, she moved on to her duties /
:, the kitchen.