The Chesterfield advertiser. [volume] (Chesterfield C.H., S.C.) 1884-1978, 1922-03-23

upstream from the path level-a pock.
eted bit OF water neatly screened and
half hidden by q growth Of low
branching spruees-we saw: D.. cone.
shaped whirlpool swirl into which n
good third of the stream flow was
vanishing. Below this pool an appar-
entity accidental heIpiny OF rocks
formed a small dam which kept the
little reservoir fuli.G :, ..zr&r?
without . word, Daddy Hiram and
the Angelic marshal plunged reckless
~ into the stream and with their bare
hands tore away the loose. rock dam.
With the removal Of the slight barrier
and the consequent clearing Of the
course Of the stream. the pocket reser-
voir Immediately sucked dry, the inlet
Of the cataracting pipe was exposed,
and the secret Of the flooded Cinnabar
was Q secret NO longer.
The scheme which had been elab.
Grated aud set in motion to "soak"
Grandfather Jasper was premeGi.
tated "hOldup." The Cinnabar, in op
Grafton and producing to Its raIn..'
was worth. 30 Beasley asserted
that my grandfather. had pui,I
and more, But with the branr,
road built to Its very door. it,
would be doubled. Two al;c,
had thus presented themselves
owners, who were Cripple
mining spectators who had bouy!
the stock at . low figure while til,
main vein WAS as yet une1ploited: ;h..:
could 60 on mining the ore and stor-
Ing II against the time when the rail-
read. wtth Its cost-reducing adyan-
tages. should come along; or they
could suspend operations for the same
length Of time, setting the losses Of q
shutdown over against the increased
profits when they should start I'D
again.
With our discoveries Of the morning
the plan Of the robbery became per
fectly plain. Some giant Of finance
among the. spectators had evolved q
scheme by which the. mine not only
might be shut down during the inter.
val OF waiting for the railroad 10 build
over the bench, but at the same time
be made to yield . bumper crop of
PROFITS.
Taking its various staps In their Or
der, the arst move in the game was to
sell the mine to Grandfather jasper
while II was stu going proposition:
and this was done. But one Of the
conditions Of the sale (Beasley told as
this> was that the selling corporation
should continue to operate the mine
not a. q lessee, but under q contract
- which the operating company
should receive q certain perees,tsse az
the output; an arrangement which
gave ths holdup artists ample oppor.
tunity to prepare FOR the coup de main.
Hoy these preparations were msla
and the secret Of them kept from leak.
ing cut, still remained one Of the un-
solved mysteries, though Beasley sug-
gested that probably imported work
men were employed. and that the work
had been done under Jealous super
vision with all the needfl precautions
taken against publicity. The tight
wooden box-which would figure as q
part Of the SHAFT linlng-had been
built and int the box the creek had
been diverted BY means Of the small
dam and the underground conduit.
With the water admitted, to rise Ia
the box 20 the level Of its intake In
the creek reservoir, the trap was set
and was ready to be sprung.
Beyond this point there was q gap
we were obliged to bridge by conjec-
ture. but the inferences were all plausi-
bic enough. Doubtless the plotters
had notified my grandfather that his
mine was flooded and was no longer
workable. Doubtless, again, he had
authorized them to buy the needful
pumping machinery and to install it
which they did.
In this barefaced impOsture the plot
ters had conceivably buuded some
thing upon Grandfather Jasper's ad-
vaneed age as an insurance against
any too-searching Investigation; but
beysnd this they had carefully dis
armed any suspicion that he r1ight
otherwise have harbored by encr1rag-
inS HMM the actual purchase Of the
property--to take expert advice, and
By craftuy priming him. by under
statements Of the facts. to trust them.
;, Only rumors Of what had occurred
at this visit reached Angels; but Beas-
Icy could testify that my grandfather
had come end returned alone. and that
after the pumping demonstration had
been made he had seemed disposed to
Doekst- his huge loss and to call IL O
bad days work.
The later Developments were not
hard 70 figure out. Bsaslsy was able
To- tell ~ that the proposed railroad
bfanA to run to the new copper prop
critics In IAttle Cinnabar gulch was
new q certainty for the very near fu-
tsre. Hence the time was fully ripe
for the recovery, Of the aCinnabar by
the plotters. Nc doubt they had con-
hdsntiy assumed that . Sepurchase of
tho propsrtyf-het directly by them.
selves. Of course. but by an agent who
would hsure ~ q disinterested third
party--wSuid Be easy. Beasley said
that there had been some talk Of an