The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1923-01-19
THE CROSS-CUT
BY Courtney Ryley Cooper
Copyright by Little, Brown d Co.

they don't even take the trouble TO
mine. That Is, unless they run Ugh In
silver" he picked up a chunk Of the
ore from the muck pile where 1t had
been deposited and studied 1t i~ntently
-"but 1 don't see any pure silver
| sticking out In this stuff"
"But Ii must be here somewhere. l
don't know anything about mining
but don't veins sometimes pinch off
and then show up later onT
"Sure they do-sometlmes. But It's
a gamble"
THAT'S all we've had from the be-
ginning, Harry"
"And it's about all we're going to
ave any time unless something hobs
up sudden like"
Then, by common consent, they laid
away their working clothes and left
the mine, TO wander down the gulch
and to the boarding house. After din
ner they chatted a moment with Moth
er Howard, then went upstairs, each
to his room. An hour later Harry
knocked at Fairchild's door, and en-
tered, the evening paper in his hand.
"'Ere's something more that's nice"
he announced, pointing to an item on
the front page. 1t was the announce
ment that a general grand jury was
to be convened late in the summer and
that one Of its tasks would be to seek
to unravel the mystery of the murder
Of Sissie Larsen!
Fairchild read II with ~morbidlty.
Trouble seemed to have become more
than occasional, and further than that,
It appeared to descend upon him at
Just the times when he could least re-
sist 1t. He made no comment; there
was little that he could say. Again
he read the item and again, finally to
turn the page and breathe sharply.
Before him was q siX-cOlumn adver-
tisement, announcing the strike In the
Silver Queen mine and also spreading
the word that a two-million-dollar
company would be formed, n mil
lion In stock to represent the mine it.
self, the other to be subscribed to ex-
plot this new find as 1t should be ex-
plotted. Glowing words told Of the
possibilities Of the Silver Queen. Of
fees had been opened; everything had
been planned In advance and the adj
| vertisement written before the town
was aware of the big discovery up
Kentucky gulch. All Of 1t Fairchild
read with a feeling he could not down
"a feeling that Fate, somehow, was
dealing the cards from the bottom,
and that trickery and treachery and
q nature were the necessary
ingredients, after all, to success. He
| finished the last line, looked at the list
Of officers, and gasped.
For there, following one another,
were three names. two Of which Fair
child had expected. But the other
They were. president and general
manager, r. b. (Squint) Rodaine;
secretary-treasurer, Maurice Rodaine;
and first vice president-Miss Anita
| Natalie Richmond!
After that, Fairchild heard little
that Harry said as he rambled on
about plans for the future. He sat and
stared, until finally his partner said
| goodnight and left the room.
That name could mean only one
thing: that she had consented to be-
come a partner with them, that they
had won her over, after all. Now,
even a different light came upon the
! meeting with Barnham in Denver and
a different view TO Fairchild. What
IL she had been playing their game all
along? What If she had been merely
a tool for them what IL she had sent
Farrell at their direction, TO learn
everything he and Harry knewf Had
not another lawyer played the friend.
ship racket, in an effort to buy the
Blue Poppy mine?
And here Fairchild smiled grimly.
From the present prospects, 1t would
seem that the gain would have been
all on his side, for certainly there was