Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-06-26

! at the mouth of the tunnel, but don't
use it until I tell you. We must
economic on light"
| She followed him into twilight. into
darkness.
Don't stumble over the ties" he
warned, suddenly. It's the remains
: Of the railway--where they ran mule
! cars when the mine was working"
EOR a time he was silent Sudden
ly he took the torch from her.
"Was Petersen instructed to keep
up the mine-replace the timbering?"
he asked. as he handed back the
torch
"Why?"
New timbering here--where there's
been cave-in." he replied.
Now. the light caught on a ladder.
running upward at an angle.
I'm so up first" he said. and see
IL it's all safe" His lamp became
only a reflected glow from the hole
in the roof.
IAN right-you can't fall-I'll keep
the light on the rungs."
He lifted her up the last stages.
To their right, there were no tim
bers; only an irregular rock wall, from
which points like diamonds fickered
rock.
do you know the history of this
mine?" he asked.
ut was silver mine at first" he
said. "Wire silver--or something.
Then-when the silver was gone,
they found they'd been working be-
side II vein of gold and hadn't known
it. Father just happened to pick up
n rich piece OF ore on the dump. Not
long after. he died-and the suit
started
ITS never really been worked for
the gold. them"
mo. l don't think it has," she an.
swered.
On he crept. There were more lad
ders. The tunnel weaved and turned.
The further reaches of light were
drowned in mysterious openings. 1t
was no longer square shaft, but an
enormous chamber. Grant HOLSTER
worked along the right-hand wall,
where the light glttered on quartz
crystals. She was aware that he was
following a fissure in the rock. Its
surfaces, mostly. lay bare to the light.
But here and there it seemed stuffed
with yellow dirt.
'Oh, that's the seam I've heard Of"
she said. "Show me my gold. I'm
greedy" He gathered a handful of
the dirt in the fisSure. extracted a
pebble. cut 1t with his knife.
Gee" he exclaimed suddenly. Give
me the torch"'
He flashed the light into a round
cavity. The crystals glttered as with
dew.
He had lowered the torch to extin-
guish 1t. when its circle fell on a pile
of dirt further along. He stopped. She
was aware of a definite footprint in
the yellow surface. Suddenly. he put
his own foot down beside the print.
She stood beside him.
"Why-why-it's the same" she
said. Have you
I'm wearing Petersens boots" he
said, and snapped GU. the torch.
His eyes lay now in the shadow Of
tn lamp on his hat.
"Oh, is anything wrong?" she asked.
'No, l suppose not. Let me finish,
please" They were crawling on again.
He had taken out a pocket rule now;
was making measurements. Once more
the torch flashed into cavity. Once
more the seam widened, narrowed.
Suddenly the tunnel stopped, cut off
by a sheer, smooth rock wall.
THE porphyry dixie" he announced,
lend of the VEIN"
us anything wrong?" she repeated.
You promised to tell me-"
I'm afraid your mines been
looted"
X * X X
LIE waited, alert to catch her if she
- swayed. He watched her face,
thrown into full illumination by the
lamp on his hat. 1t did not pale, but
it froze. She looked as though all
emotion had sunk a fathom deep
within her.
They said no more in the long pas
sage homeward Now the outer air
blew on them They stepped into the
light. Only half light, though, for the
sun had set.
"Tell me everything now" she. said.
"See, I've made no trouble. How
WHY'S there anything left?'