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The Award of Justice; Told in the Rockies, a novel by A. Maynard Barbour |
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Chapter 40 |
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_ CHAPTER XL As Houston, on the following morning, in the execution of his daily round of duties, happened to be passing the Yankee Boy mine, his attention was arrested by a quantity of powder deposited near the mouth of the shaft, which the workmen were preparing to take below. "What is the meaning of this?" he inquired sternly. "Who has given any orders for this powder to be brought here?" "Them was the boss's orders, sir," replied one of the men, respectfully. "The boss? whom do you mean?" "Begging your pardon, sir, I meant the boss as was up here yisterday; Mr. Haight, he told me this morning as these was the orders he give him." "Haight," said Houston, as, a few moments later, he entered the office of that individual, "did Mr. Blaisdell leave orders yesterday for powder to be taken over to the Yankee Boy mines?" "Yes," replied Haight, with his usual smile, "and I intended to have spoken to you about it this morning, but I forgot it." "What is his object? any blasting to be done?" "Yes, we had quite a long consultation together yesterday, he and Rivers and I, and we decided that it would pay to do some extensive drifting in those mines, and a good deal of that rock will have to be blasted." "How soon is this blasting to begin?" "Well, I can't say exactly, just how soon, probably within the next seven or eight days." "In what direction is the drifting to extend?" Haight looked slightly surprised but replied: "We're a little undecided about that, just what course to take; Rivers was for one thing, and Blaisdell and I for another. After they have blasted a ways, we can tell something from the character of the rock in what direction it will be best to run the drift." After a few more questions, some of which Haight did not answer so readily as might have been expected, Houston left him. He did not proceed at once to the building where Van Dorn was at work, but first returned to the mines, where he discovered that the powder was not only being stored in the Yankee Boy group, but also in the Lucky Chance, and one or two others of the surrounding mines. A little later he made an errand to that part of the mills where Van Dorn was to be found, and quietly calling him to one side, related to him what he had discovered, and his talk with Haight. Van Dorn was more familiar with mines, their methods of operation, and the rules governing their underground workings, than Houston, and he immediately exclaimed: "By George! that fellow is a fool, Everard, or else he was simply 'stuffing' you; to drift in the direction he mentioned would be a useless expenditure of time and money, there would be nothing in it, it is utterly absurd!" "I mistrusted as much," said Houston, "and I have my own opinion as to the meaning of all this, but I wished to get your idea of the matter. What do you think of it?" "It looks to me," said Van Dorn slowly, "as though they were making preparations to blow up these mines, at a moment's warning." "That," said Houston, "was just the conviction that forced itself upon my mind when I saw that powder, though I will admit I had never once thought of their resorting to such measures as that." "It's about the only thing left for them to do, by George! after the shape in which they have got things; their idea probably would be, in the event of Mr. Cameron's coming, to destroy in this way all the evidence, as they think, existing against them. It shows pretty conclusively that they have no suspicions of us, for if they knew the evidence in our possession they would blow us up rather than the mines. You will telegraph at once for Mr. Cameron, will you not?" "At once; we must get him here as quickly and as quietly as we can; before they put their plans into action, if possible." "That is the thing to do; they probably will take no action unless they hear of his coming. We ought to get a dispatch off before night." "We will," Houston replied, with quiet decision. "How will you manage it? It will look rather suspicious for you or me to leave our work and go down to the Y with a message." "Give Morton our dispatch and cipher book, and he will attend to it better than you or I, for he is an expert operator." "By George! that's so, I had forgotten it; he learned telegraphy there at college just to amuse himself, and had a battery in his room; well, that's fortunate, he will be just the one for us." "It is nearly noon," said Houston, consulting his watch, "we will see Morton at the house, and arrange the message between us, and he will send it immediately." After dinner, there was a brief consultation in Houston's room with the result that the following dispatch was formulated, written in cipher, and addressed to Mr. Whitney, at Chicago, the attorney from New York, accompanying Mr. Cameron: "Come at once, no delay; go to Arlington Hotel, Silver City; keep dark, do not register. Van Dorn will meet you at hotel." Houston realized that they were now rapidly approaching the final denouement,--the closing act of the drama which might yet prove a tragedy,--and as he placed the folded slip of paper in Morton Rutherford's hand, he said with a sigh: "This is the beginning of the end." _ |
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