Phoenix tribune., 1923-07-14


''upholes," downs" and swimmers"
attacking the hidden ore in every di-
rection. Ten Holes drilled six feet
into the rock and tamped with double
charges of dynamite He straight
ened.
"AlI right, mem Ready2"
Ready"
"Touch 'em off"
The carbide lamps were held close
to the fuses for a second. Soon they
were all going, splitting like so many
venomous, angry serpents-but neither
| Fairchild nor the miners had stopped
10 watch. They were running as hard
AS possible for the shaft and for the
protection that distance might give. A
wait that seemed ages Then:
"Oner"
And two-and threew
"There goes four and five-they
went toge5her!"
n-eight-nine@"
Again a wait, while they looked at
one another with vacuous eyes. A
long interval until the tenth.
/ L W. MCnl lOSclllGl luCl!
we'd counted nine?" The foreman
stared, and Fairchild studied. Then
his face lighted.
'Eleven's right One of them must
have set off the charge that Harry left
in there. All the better-it gives us
just that much more of chance"
Back they went along the drift tun-
mel now, coughing slightly as the
sharp smoke of the dynamite cut their
lungs-a long journey that seemed
as many miles instead of feet. Then
with a shout Fairchld sprang for
ward, and went to his hands and
| knees.
1t was there before him-aH about
him-the black, heavy masses of lead
silver ore, a great, heaping, five-ton
pile of it where it had been thrown
| tut by the tremendous force of the
explosion. 1t seemed that the whole
| great floor of the cavern was covered
with it, and the workmen shouted with
Fairchild as they seized bits of the
precious black stuff and held it to the
light for closer examination.
"Look :" The voice of one of them
was high and excited "You can see
the fine streaks of silver sticking out
| It's high-grade and plenty of it !"
But Fairchild paid little attention.
He was playing in the stuff, throwing
It in the air and letting it fall to the
floor of the cavern again, like boy
with new sack of marbles, or a child
with its building blocks. Five tons
and the night was not yet overl Five
| tons, and the vein had not yet shown
its other side
Back to work they went now Again
through the hours the drills bit into
the rock walls, while the ore car clat-
| tered along the tram line and while
| the creaking of the block and tackle
at the shaft seemed endless. In three
| days, approximately forty tons of ore
must come out of that mine-and work
| must not cease.
Morning and in spite of the Sleep
laden eyes, the heavy aching in his
head. the tired dropping of the shoul-
ders, Fairchild tramped to the board
| ing house to notify Mother Howard
and ask for news of Harry. There
had been none. Theh he went on, to
wait by the door of the Sampler until
! Bittson. the owner, should appear, and
drag him away up the HILL even be-
fore he could open up for the morning
"There it isl" he exclaimed, as he
led him to the entrance of the cham
ber. "There it is; take all you want
of it and assay it !"
BittsOn went forward into the cross
cut, where the men were drilling even
at new holes, and examined the vein
Already it was three feet thick, and
there was still ore ahead. One of the
miners loked up.
Just finishing up on the cross-cut,"
he announced, as he nodded toward his
drill. 1--WE just bitten into the foot
wall on the other side Looks to me
like the veins about five feet thick
as near as l can measure it."
"And-" Bittson picked up a few
samples, examined them by the light
of the carbides and tossed them away
you can see the silver sticking out
L caught SlSHI OIL a couple OF pencil
threads of it in one or two of those
samples. All right. Boy!" he turned
to Fairchild. What was that bargain
we made?"
1t was based on two hundred dol
lars-a-ton ore. This may run above
or below. But whatever it is, Pll sell
all you can handle for the next three
days at fifty dollars ton under the
assay price"
you've said the word The trucks
will be here in an hour if we have to
shovel path all the way up Ken
lucky gulch."
He hurried away then, while Fair
child and the men followed him into
town and to their breakfast. Then,
recruiting new gang on the promise
of payment at the end of their three
day shift, Fairchild went back to the
mine. But the word had spread, and
others were there before him