A Fool For Love

the "dinkey" field office, his chief, taking the Rosemary's night run in reverse in th

f the extension grade west of Argentine. Hence the enforced journey to Carbonate only anticipated an insp

e he passed his cigar-case to Biggin and asked permission to ri

take me fer, anyhow?" was

in disguise," sai

to stampede, and you ride anywhere you blame please. See?

on s

ime. I should have made this run to-morrow of my own accord to have a look at

eply; and Winton went to

f the Utah grade beyond Argentine. For seventeen of the twenty miles the two lines were scarcely more than a stone's throw

ht?" inquired the

s. Have ano

e-eater back yonder in the private car

d Winton, wishing that Mr. Biggin

's pretty as a Jer

und Miss Carteret effectually as a topic: "How do the pe

sure-enough tail-twister where there ain't no competition. Your r

against the friendly attitude of the official Mr. Biggin. It was very evident

h your townsmen on that,

shouting:

arder than we can help. When the court business is settled-it won't take v

ch or so more'n half awake this morning when that old b'iler-buster's hired man r

r, my son," he prophesied. "When Mr. Darrah gets fairly down to busin

tes after the stop at the crowded platform they were making their

n all your round-ups?" said Biggin, as they elbowed th

ck of the big camps: they are the dumping-grou

urthouse steps to look the sidewalk

n front o' the Buckingham that couldn't stay to breathe twice in Argent

aiting for us," said Winton; whereupon they wen

tion platform, Adams' first care had been to wire news of the arrest to the Utah headquarters. Hence Winton found the company

gged heavily for the two, who had nothing to do but wait. Biggin endured his part of it manfully till the midday dinner had been discussed; then he drifted off with one of W

e hotel elaborating his hasty notebook data of the morning's inspection, when a boy came in with a

clerk in answer to the boy's question; and after an ide

nted out by Biggin from the court-house steps and labeled "Sheeny Mike" lounging up to th

three staggering lurches toward Winton, brushed the messeng

' now, do yet ye lowd

rtly, taking the telegram fr

he minatory retort; and the threat was made good by an awkward buffet which

f dull copper in certain lights, and he had a temper which went with the red in his hair rather than with

go about your business and let me alone, I'll tur

n saw the sober purpose in it and went battle-mad, as a hasty man will. Being a skilful boxer,-which his antagonist was not,-he did

ld

t'll

u see he'

good as a fea

, breathing threatenings. Whereat Bigg

onto!" he said in a low tone. "You ain't got

to be brought to hi

know it. Let him take it into court

now and apparently l

n' him to cash up what he lost to me las' night, and he jum

him out of the circle and thrust him up to the clerk's desk, he bethought him to read the message. It was Vir

he town-marshal's hand and losing himself in the crowd. And when Biggin had obeyed his instructions:

to the spruce-clad hills behind the town. Biggin held his peace until they were

your mind about pullin' it off with tha

said W

iness, but I'd like to

job to have me locked up on a criminal

iler-buster again. Say, he'

et me build my railro

tobacco and dexterously rolled a ciga

or his backers, will be most likely to

ow

iceman layin' for

thought

nd it'll stop most anywhere if you throw up your hand at it. We can take out thro

is no need of your tramping wh

kind to every man who has ever shared his lonely round-ups, or

lized itself; but there was more than a formal

; and they set out together to waylay the outgo

n the train came in sight and the engineer slowed to their signal. They climbed aboard, and when t

cked out a good day's

e saying the subject of it was standing with the foreman of track-layers at a gap in the new line just beyond and above the Rosemary's siding

h," he said, half to himself. And then more pointedly to the foreman: "Bridge-builders to

ng to a washed-out excoriation on the steep upper slope of the mountain. "Major Evarts did be telli

. "It's a bad bit. It wouldn't take much to bring that whole sl

claim, but the sharps wouldn't sell-bein' put up to hold ut by thim C.

gh among the cliffs of the upper gorge, announced the coming of a

he mused. "It's an hour too soo

eyond the Rosemary. The car was a passenger coach, well-lighted, and from his post on the embankment Adams could se

o this time, Misther Adams. Shall

s wait and see

, dropped from the car, crossed the creek, and struggled up the hill through the unbridged

two. This is cor

the trespassers gruffly. "It's the

to do up there at

business!" was the e

"Just the same, I'm thirsting to know

ed to you. We're goin' to work our cl

uction camp, thinking more of the lately-arrived car with its complement of armed men than of the two miners who had calmly announced their intention of working a placer claim on a high mo

than this, it had never occurred to him to connect their movements with the Rajah's plan of campaign. On the other hand, he was thinking altoge

d a half-hour in the bar of the dance-hall listening to the gossip of the place. When he

an was bringing Winton's belated supper. "The Rajah has imported a carload of armed mercenari

that is a pretty large contra

s, with the sheriff of Ute County in command-a

e told Adams about the misunderstanding in the lobby of the Buckingham. His friend whistled under his breat

le Darrah fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils in his official capacity of vice-president of a fi

of some understrapper. Of course, word has gone out all along the C

s shook

d that move in his

you kn

sage from me t

d

you thin

t part of it; also that you might have made

d itself over Adam

best I could. But the Rajah knew very well what he wa

nother cup of tea before he said,

alvert cam

ought th

pread h

n do precisely the m

lly he said: "I hope you did what yo

didn't hear

ow-down in

day-before-yesterday lie hold water. And she was immens

shed under

on't need to a

a measure of h

, har

it away

tore it up, I

rty, was she

eyes before he said solemnly: "You'll never know h

a verbal report which led him by successive steps up to the twilight hour when he had stood with Branagan on the brink of t

ly afterward he left the dinkey ostensibly to do it, declining Adams' offer of company. But once out-of-doors he climbed straight

on? Want to send so

e a wire and leave it for y

ager's record. But when Carter's regular breathing told him he was alone he pushed the pad aside, took down the sending-hook, and searc

thing whatever to do with it-except to sign and send it as she commanded him to." And the penciled sheet

ilence and in darkness save for the lighted windows of the dinkey. He was not quite ready to go back to Adams, and after making a round of the ca

n he came out on the high embankment opposite the Rosemary, having traversed the entire length of t

rn light of the moon. The engine of the sheriff's car was humming softly with a note like the distant swarming of bees, and from

using abstractedly upon things widely separated from his present surroundings, he might have remarked two tiny stars of lantern-light high on the placer groun

's sea-maid filled his ears. Wherefore he neither saw nor heard; and taking the short cut across the m

by one at the pointing finger of the dawn, and the frost-rime lying thick and

e frosted rails, and the men stamping and swinging their arms to start the sluggish night-blood. Suddenly, like the opening gun of a

h was a sight to make a strong man weep. A huge landslide, starting from the frozen placer ground high up on the western promontory, had s