w w a .V \9\ \ s \\ \\ ‘ 4 V ' A “d x ‘ t ’ \\\ \ .\\ (v. \\ . K \‘g‘ I \\ . _ m x \ \ m - x w w \ r ‘ \\ ‘ {v \ \_ x ‘ m \\ p . _ \ \ _, A \ \\ §\ \ ‘\ it \ _ ‘ \ ' \3 $\\ - ‘fv ‘ 5‘ ‘ " \ \ NQ \ ‘L \ w \_ / §\\\§ ’/\\ \ //5 2/?7/ Mmmmk '\\' x \ - 1 x \x}? I \w V‘ ‘,\«\ \\ ) r /‘ \ m ‘" 7% Lo ' room... or .iififlllllll f’lrir'lfifir‘ifflf‘lfl“ Entered as Second Class . an r at the New York. . . .. Post Office. “\ / k ifflilkV May 1?. Nil. fl” Copyrighted 1Mr2.h_v BEAIILE AND ADAM.» $2.50 PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY BEADLE AND ADAMS. Price. NO' ' a- Year- No. ()8 WILLIAM STREET, NE“ YORK. 5 Cents- VOL 7- r x \ I. " _—(\\\\? \ \ \‘ \\_ \ ~ \ \ \\\‘\ 51> “\\ "‘Qhkx M \\m\ ‘ “‘ “W w / / fl .MJ .-I| m. ‘ a"sr"'!'.\\“\\\\\ V. “W ray: 'wpuuunnuu..."‘H m W: The Opposition Boom at Lucky Ledge. The Romance of the Great Grizzly Bear Strike. BY LIEUT. A. K. SIMS, AUTHOR OF “KANSAS JIM," “TOLTEC TOM," “COWBOY GID,” “ WARBLING WILLXAM,” mu, no, ETC. CHAPTER I. 7 A o: r V _ V_ STRANGELY REVEALED. / ’ u ‘ h N r “ LOOK out there, Fee! He’s a—comin‘fer us!” 'Vfl/ ' fl5,a:\ u A ' ' ’ o , L ~- -*‘~A~ .-——-»~ ~ 7 #1 Thv speaker placed a band on the urn] of ms A FEVER “F van 1:“!ch mmw 0N mM AS HE CONTINUED ms crow, N‘Rl'TINY. THE companion and drew him hastxl)’ “EVIL BPfOI‘e mums uAVu w.“ LITERALLY SEAMED AND STARRED wn‘u onto. them was a clump of bushes near the marglu of 2 The Rustler of Rolling Stone. a stream, and from out of these bushes a large grizzly bear Ind made a sudden and startling appearance. The hear was growling savagely; and, strange to say, there were flecks of bloody foam on his ponderous jaws. For a moment he stood hesitating, swaying his huge head sIOle from Side to side as if uncertain whether to ri-sk an attack or belt a retreat. A growl deeper and more menacing than any that had preceded it called forth the exclamation. Felix Redmond, the man addressed as Fee, and universally known as Red Fee, dropped a hand to his pistol, undetermined what coarse to pursue. To accept the grizzly’s gauge of battle, armed as they were only With reVolvers, seemed suicidal. A in ~ky shot might terminate the affair in their favor; but an unlucky One might so arouse the bruie‘s ire that their lives would pay the forfeit. Neither of the men were cowards, but they knew enough of the habits of “ Old Eph ” to un- derstand the peril they were in and to act with caution. Red Fee’s companion drew still further back, almost dragging Fee with him. “ ’I‘won’t do to try bullets!” he nervously as- sumed. “If the critter’s williu’ to go its way, I’m willin’ to go mine.” Bi‘uin evidently reconsidered his determination to fight. induced thereto no doubt by the re- treat of the men. Showing his teeth in another cavernous growl, he turned about and made his way deliberately toward the river, increasing his gait to an ambling trot as the distance grew between him and his natural enemies. “ I thought it was light, fer a minute er two,” taking a deep breath of relief, as he looked at the retreating form of the hear. “I hain’t a-sp’iliu’ fer a row under sich Conditions—not I!” This comp-inidn of Red Fee st seemineg a tool rather than an equal, which was indicated more by his bearing toward his superior than by anything else. They resembled each other Very much in general outward appearance, being clothed in the ordinary garb of western miners, of which the most conspicuous article is the inevitable red flannel shirt. There was, how- ever, one difference. Red Fee was “ bearded like the part1,” while the other, whose name was Curt Thomas, had a smoothly-Shaven face. Red Fee p‘llil no heed to his companion’s words. He was looking earnestly at the clump of bushes from which the bear had emerged, and a ques- tioning light shone in his eyes. “ What in Sa-n Hill is u grizzly doin’ that near to town?” he queried. “Answer me that, will 7P!" He glanced across the brow of the hill and over the rising ground to where, but a few hundred yards away, a group of rough s‘mnties was visible. They represented the new mining camp of Lucky Ledge—a c'imp which Red Fee had been instrumental in ushering into existence. It was the newest of the new camps in that re- gion; so new in fact that its builders and pro- moters had not had time to familiarize them— selws with the peculiarities of the surrounding country. “L iokin’ fer somebody to grub-stake him, mebuel” and Curt Thomas laughed at his own 'nliP. J “ A queer place fer a bear to come out of!” Red Fee continued, not heeding Thomas’s words. “ Shouldn’t think a grizzly would hide in a bunch of brush like that.” He stepped forward for the purpose of in- vestigating. The bear had disappeared from sight. and, they felt reasonably sure, would not rctu ru. “ You got a good look at the beast?” to Thomas, who had obediently fallen in behind him. “ There was blood on his jaws, er my eyes fOoled me. Tell me what that meant, will ye?” Thomas was inclined to nervous levity. “ I ’low he’s been a-eatin’ up some 0’ them raw Eytaliaus what you brought over yisterday frum Sunset City. I don’t think they’d know enough to git out 0’ his way. There’ll be a dead bear in these hills if he has, fer there’s dirt and garlic enough on one of ’em to p’iz In an elephant!” Tney had reached the Screen of bushes. Be- fore them they saw a passage like a gametrail. Still further enlarging this by pressing into it and bending back the obstructions, they made a discovery that drew from them low exclama- tions of astonishment. The bushy clump con- Ceeled the mouth of a cave! They halted, with words of wondering sur- prise. It was plain the bear had come from this cave. “Mebbe there‘s another ’n’ in there!” Curt suggested. voicing the thought of both. “ Bears an’ lnjuns an’ rattlesnakes air li‘ble to hunt in con lesl” “ intend to see what’s back there,” Red Fee decided, impelled by intense curiosity. “If there’s another bear in there, likely the two have been at it, tooth and nail, and that’ll account for the blood we saw.” He pushed the bushes still further aside, drew his big revolver, and made a cautious advance, Curt crowding close at his heels. The opening was not so large but that they had to stoop in passing through it. Just be- ond the entrance they were forced to stop. he darkness was becoming so intense they could see only a few feet. “Go out into the bushes and see if you can rustle something for a torch,” was Red Fee’s command; and Thomas hastened away to obey. He was back in a few moments with tWo or three bunches of light wood that promised to answer their purpose. A match was touched to one of these, and by its flickering glare they continued their explorations. They had not gone a dozen feet when the flickering light revealed a pair of objects that seemed surprisingly out of place in that gloomy hole. One was a man_lying face upward on the hard floor. The other was a bit of writ— ing supported in the cleft of a stick, which was planted in a fissure of the rock near him. To all appearances the mun was dead. His face was so blood-covered that the features were in- distinguishable, the blood having flown from a scalp-wound. Here, then, was the explanation of the mys- tery that lind so piqued Red Fee’s curiosity. The bloody flecks Seen on the jaws of the bear could now be reasmiably accounted for. The unknown had invaded Bruin’s den, a combat bud resulted, and the bear had achieved the mastery. But, what was the meaning of the piece of paper upheld by the cleft stick? R~d Fee glanced at it even more keenly than he did at the prostrate figure on the floor, then went to it and reed it by the light of the flaming torch. It was a mining-claim notice, filled out in regular form, and signed with the name of Philip Cruigen. There could be little doubt it had been placed there by the man who was iiOw seemingly lying dead at their feet, the victim of the big grizzly. Red Fee flashed his torch upon the surround- ing walls, looking at them with eyes that blazed with cupidity. Then he bent over the stranger. “ The chap ain’t dead!” he declared, placing a hand over the feebly beating heart, and at the same time making a minute inspection of the scalp-wound. Curt Thomas was looking on with an interest the most intense. “ He ain’t dead,” Fee repeated. “ That’sa bad scratch there, and he may git well, and he may not!” There was a strange quever in his speech, which did not pass unnoticed by Thomas. He got up very deliberately, and again scanned the walls by the light of the smoking and flashing torch. A most unpleasantli ok had come to his face, a look which one unacquainted with the man would not have found easy to interpret. It indicated conscienceless avarice, if not murder. He uttered a hoarse ejaculation as gleaming points in the wall caught his trained vision. The notice had revealed to him that the cave bud been staked as a mining-claim by this man, Philip Craigen, and he was searching for some evidences of its value. He had known many claims to be taken which were not worth the tiouble of the legal formal- ity, and he was not sure this might not be one of them. But, when he caught those points of light, and quickly followed ihe discovery bva. careful examination, he knew that Philip Craigen had not erred. He had seen rich ore, but he did not remember to have seen any that promised to yield more of the precmus metal to the ton than did this. A fever of excitement grew on him as be con- tinued his close scrutiny. The bear’s cave was literally seamed and starred with gold, He. per- ceived that almost within touch of his hands wasa fortune, such a one as he had for years dreamed of acquiring. He turned from the walls and looked into the eyes of his comrade. He saw mirrored there the desire that had overmastered him. Curt Thomas had always been his pliant tool, and would not fail him now. “It’s worth a big risk,” he said, glancing at the form of Craigen before speaking. “ Air you with me in it?” There was in his eyes almost the glare of in- sanity. Thomas nodded. These two understood each other, and there was no need for words. were dangerous things, to be used sparingly at such a time. “ What will we do with him?” again looking at Craigen. Thomas wrinkled his brows in a fiendish scowl. “ He’s as good as dead a’ready! Why not clip him on the head, and then chuck him into the drink?” “ Is there any need?" cautiously, as if desirous of feeling the ground well before him. “He’ll pass over the divide before morning anyway, don’t you think? No use in sticking our heads into a noose if we don’t have to.” “ ’Twould be safest l” was the cold—blooded comment. “ He might come out 0’ that. and it’d be easy enough to fix ’im so that he never would. Jist a quiet rap on the head, then toss ’im into the river. If he’s found, no one could know ’tu as done, and there’s the n arks of the griz- zly’s claws to tell their own tale!” The rascal really seemed anxious for his su- perior’s permission to carry this into i ffect. “No,” Rod Fee averred, drawing back, as if he already beheld the hangman’s noose dangling before his face. “ We’re goin’ to have this niine”—the glitter of avarice in his eyes—-“ and we needn’t run the risk of hanging to git it. The feller‘s sure to die, and hurryin’ will only bring about his end a few minutes sooner.” He tOok the notice from the stick and thrust it into his pi cket, seeming to have already made up his mind as to his course of action. Then he drew out a noteltook, tore from it a page, and scribbled a similarly worded dorument, which he signed with his own and Thomns’s names. This he placed in the cleft from which Craigen’s no- tice had been taken. He surveyed his work with a cunning sort of satisfaction, lighted another torch—for the first was burnt out—and giving it to Thomas, hurried from the place to inspect the surrounding land- scape. Night was near at band, and a few lights al- ready shone from the windows of Lucky Ledge. The fear of discovery made him nervous, but there was nothing in what he saw and heard to add to the feeling. The river foamed and raved only a few yards away, the rocks and hills were silent, touched by the inefi‘able glory of the fad- ing sun. The beauty of the scene passed unheeded. He was only anxious to ascertain if the way was clear for the consummation of his lan; and hav- ing satisfied himself on this point, 0 turned back into the cave. A half-hour later, when the gloom of night was falling, be and ’lhomas emerged from the bushes, bearing between them the unconscious form of Philip Cruigen. This they deposited by the riverside at a point where it would not be rendi- ly discovered; and then stole guiltily away to- ward the towu. They had taken the precaution to place the injured man near the bear-tracks visible in the sand. and doubted not that when the body was found, the cause of death would be attributed to the grizzly. On the following morning they expected to herald their great “ find ” to the world. CH A P'l ER II. THE MASQUERADE. FROM one of the pi Inl‘lpal buildings of Lucky Ledge came the fantastic caperings of a pair of violins, accompanied by the sounds of dancing. More than a month had elapsed since the act urrence of the events just noted, and in that tin'e Lucky Ledge had grown and piospered, until now it called itself a city. it must to re- membered, however, that it does not take much to make a city in the ruder portions of the West. A dc zen shaniics and a general St( re are sufficient. There have even been “ cities” whose only ex- istence was on paper. The music of the violins came from the upper part of the building. The lower part was oc- cupied as a saloon and gambling resort known as the Moss A gate. The ball which was in progress was a mas- i}uerade given by Felix Redmond and Curt homes in honor of the opening of their new mine, the Grizzly Bear. Their plan for the disp0sition of the body of Pbili Craigen had not worked to their entire sntis action. Nevertheless, its success was such as to warrant them in continuing in possession of the property. On the morning which fol— lowed the discovery of the mine, they had duly announced their find to the wondering men of the camp. This was, of course succeeded by a general rush to that point, and an examination of the richness of the ore. But to the surprise of the plotters, the body of Craigen was not found by the river’s brink. Words I . 1!. it. i ,V 1 ' r... in; it“ , l is: 4' . 'i r'! a? WK (y. . ‘p, .3?“ The Rustler of Rolling Stone. They immediately began a surreptitious search tor it, but could discover it nowhere, nor learn what had become of it. The fact filled them with apprehension. But the belief grew in their minds that Craigen had regained sufficient strength to walk, and had insanelv wandered into the hills where he had perished. There seemed no other natural conclusion, and they took courage. The development of the mine was at once commenced. The cover of bushes was removed from the entrance, the opening enlarged, and a roadway built to the town. The active work of mining was to begin now, and in honor of that event the ball was given. It is scarcely necessary to say that the room above the Moss Agate was thronged almost to the point of suffocation. It was not a large room, and could barely accommodate those who desired to participate in or witness the dancing. The fact that it was a masquerade greatly added "to its attractiveness. In so small a place every man knew his neighbor, and there was much curiosity manifested as to who the various maskers might be. There were so few women in Lucky Ledge that the presence of a representative of the gentler sex provoked much notice and comment. She was habitcd as a shepherd maid, and a crim- son mask concealed her features. She had danced frequently with an athletic Mephisto- pheles, and was now conversing with him in low tones. The surmise that she might be Red Fee’s daughter was dissipated by the actions and words of Red Fee himself. “She ain’t my daughter, ner she ain’t my cook,” he said, speaking to a crowd of cronies, ‘“ an’ I’m hanged if I know who she is! I’m goin’ to ask her to dance with me after a little, and then [’11 try to find out.” Red Fee was got up in a most gorgeous man- ner for a man of his customary negligence. He even wore a white shirt and a Prince Albert coat, justifying this lavishness by the observa- tion that the opening of the Grizzly Bear Mine was an event of no ordinary moment. He had had his beard trimmed, too, and thus meta- morphosed was not a bad-looking man. Curt Thomas was similarly arrayed, but Curt was uneasy and awkward in this new gear. Mephistipheles was still talking to the shepherd maid when Rnd Fee crossed the room, and b0w- ing low before her, requested the privilege and honor of the next dance The girl laughed lightly behind the mask, bringing an unwonted flush to Red Fee’s swart cheeks. There was something in the laugh that seemed to indicate that the girl was sneering at him. But her words reassured him and caused his heart to bound, for he had feared a refusal. The voice was low and pleasapt; in truth. al- most too low'. Apparently there was an effort at repression. Red Fee listened intently to the tones, hoping to thereby discover the girl‘s identity. The voice was a strange one. He was sure he had not heard it in Lucky Ledge. If that were true, where had this charming crea- ture come from? She had not dropped from the ‘ clouds, and women were not so plentiful that .she could have entered the t0wn without notice. She had appeared in the room above the Moss Agate, coming from no one knew where. Red Fee turned his gaZe ou Mephistopheles, wondering whose was the face and form there hidden. Did he know who this man was, he might know who was the shepherd maid. It was like questioning the Sphinx. Though mask— ed. Red Bee was known to every one in the room, as was Thomas and a number of others. They could not lose themselves in a fancied character. But these two—Mephistophelcs and the girl—had so acted their parts that guesses were wild and useless. “I’d like to git a look behind that,” Fee ob- served, as he led her forth. “You shall, by and by!" was the murmured answer. “ When the time for unmasking comes! Just now, I am the Shepherd Maid; nothing more, nothing less.” Red Fee bent over her to catch every word. He was inclined to be gallant to ladies, and the circumstances surrounding this woman in- creased this natural tendency. He could not but fancy that the face hidden behind the crimson cloth was beautiful. Yes, and young! There was a willowy grace in the girl’s movements that could suggest no other conclusion. It had been a long time since Fee had danced thus with .a young and handsome woman and because of this—and possibly because of the mystery—his admiration assumed proportions to threaten his peace of mind. Fee was not an easy dancer, though he was a Chesterfield compared with Curt Thomas;and in his boisterous bouncings, a large wallet slipped from his hip-pocket and fell unnoticed by him to the floor. A man standing near glanced quickly around to make sure that he was unobserved, then drew the wallet toward him with his foot and secured it. He felt cer- tain there was money in it. Three times did Red Fee crave the hand of the shepherd maid in a dance, and three times did he whirl through the giddy mazes. Gradually the belief was growing on him that this was not a girl at all, but a man disguised as such, possi- bly one of his intimate associates. A feeling of shame-facedness came with this, for he had al- 10wed himself to utter certain foolish and mean- ingless nothings which, in that event, would cause him to become the laughing—stock of the camp. Thinking of this, he became so uncom- fortably hot that the Prince Albert seemed to incase him like a band of heated metal; and he grew doubly anxious for the denouement. The unmasking came at last; and he saw be- fore him, not the associate he feared, neither the beauty his first fancies had pictured; but a healthy, rosy face, rather coarsely lined and Somewhiinunsymmetrical, but a pleasant face for all that. It was an unknown face, too. It had never been seen in Lucky Ledge. “Your name?” he questioned, unmasking at the same time, and fumbling for his wallet to get the card he had prepared for the Occasion. He stopped as if petrified, and as if in a dream heard the girl give her name as Rose Latham. Tho wallet was not there, and the swiit suspi- cion came to him that this woman had stolen it. She had had ample chance to do so. He grew white and red by turns, hesitating what to do. Should he accuse her openly? She who had played so upon his heartstrii’.gs? Before he could decide, she had bowed laugh- ingly to him and retreated through the swirling throng. A sudden jam kept him from following her; and when he did, he could not find her. Mephistopheles, too, was gone! “Curse the minx!” he ruefully muttered. “ I wouldn’t have had her to git that pocketbook {er a good deal. There’s more than money in it 0 me. CHAPTER III. IN THE ASSAYER’S IVORKSHOP. THE glow of a low fire of an assziycr’s furnace shone dimly on the faces of two men. The scene was an assayer’s shop on the outskirts of Lucky Ledge. Over the door of the shop was the name, QUINTIUS QUARTZ, painted in big letters; which were now, however, almostindistinguish- able by reason of the gloom of night. The taller of the two men was the assayer. He had an earnest, manly face. It was beard- less, and seemed uncommonly pale, looking al- most ghastly white at times beneath the light of the fire. They were conversing in low tones. Could Red Fee have peered into the shop at that moment, he would have been treated to a genuine surprise, for the face of the younger man here a striking resemblance to that ofithe m sterious shepherd maid! “ I‘he assayer was holding in his handa tiny button” of gold ore, and this be exhibited as he talked. “Just look at that, Tom," and he passed the “ button” to the other. “There’s richness for you! There isn’t a mine in the country that Will go as much of the pure stuff to the ton as wxll this Grizzly Bear Mine, as they call it.” “ And to think, Phil, that you have lost it!” “ Lost it!" with an impatient esture. “ There’s where you are mistaken, rother mine! I haven’t lost it; nor do I intend to! They hold the winning hand now, but the game hasn’t been played out, by a long shot i” The tones were intensely earnest and bitter. “I suppose you know what they are accusing you of?” pocketing the “button” and drawing forth the wallet which Red Fee had lost at the masquerade. “ They say you stole this from Fee the other night when you were dancing with him. Of course that is a mistake. [don’t know who took it, but I found it this morning in some sage-brush near the M0ss Agate. It had been rifled and thrown there. But, there was a very interesting hit of paper in it. Interesting to me, any way,” ' He opened the wallet and produced a folded sheet, which, when he had spread out, proved to be the notice that Red Fee and Curt Thomas had found in the cave, and which they had re- plaCed with their own. The younger man’s curiosity seemed greatly aroused at sight of this. “ And they accuse me of taking his wallet?” he questioned. “ Not me ?” ' “ No; the bewitching creature who danced so frequently with this claimant of the mine. What was the name? Oh, yes: Rose Lathami” He laughed significantly as be bent over the paper. “ Strange how this notice should ’get back into I .my hands in so singular a manner “ The wrong might have been righted at that time, if I had only known!” the young man mournfully asserted. To make clear the meaning of this fragment of conversation, it will be neceSSary to return to Philip Craigen, who was left by the river-side in a supposed dying condition by Red Fee and homas. His injuries, while severe, were not so serious as they hoped and believed. Still, they might have proved fatal, had not help arrived. It came, a few hours later, in the rson of the young man who was now conversmg with him, and whom he had called Tom. This was Tom Craigen, his brother. Both had lelt Sunset City two days before, Tom some hours after Philip. Philip was a professional assayer, and some— thing of a Western boomer. He believed there might be abundant work, as wellas abundant money at the new diggings of Lucky Ledge. At any rate, he could obtain employment as an ussuyer of the new ores being there brought to the surface. The trail into the cave had attracted his notice, and being of a venturesome disposition, he had prepared a torch and gone in to see what he might discover. His eyes had quickly re- vealed the vulue of the ore seams in the walls of rock. It was plain they were yet unclaimed. It wasarich and almost unequaled find. He could not but marvel at his good fortune in thus stumbling: on it. It heralded wealth and all that the term implies. With trembling fingers, fearful lest he should be seen and thwarted before the deed was d :20, he wrote the notice and set it up in a split stick. Then, almost dazed by the riches surrounding him, he" Continued his explorations, his mind filled with wonderful fancies. This preoccupation had userioUs result. He stumbled unwittingly on the grizzly that had been peacefully sleeping in one of the side puss- ages. The brute was angered by the intrusion, and charged him viciOUsly. He attempted to beat a retreat, tripped and fell near the notice, and was stricken senseless and clawed by the bear. He knew nothing until hours afterward. Then he found himself by the river, with his brother bending over him and dashing water into his face. His brother was not alone. Accompany- ing him was a man of hunter-like mien, a stran- ger to Philip Craigen, and, until a few moments before, equally a stranger to Tom Craigen. The hunter had been endeavoring to restore Philip Craigen to consciousness, when Tom ar- rived on the Scene. Of his good intentions there could be no doubt, and young Craigen was truly grateful to him for his services. “ Keeled over by a beer!” was the sententious comment, pointing to the marks of the grizzly’s blOW. “Come nigh doin’ him up, too, but he’s wu’th a dczen dead men yit. If I had him to my cabin, I could nuss him up an’ make him as good as new, in a little while.” Philip Craigeu looked up, recognized his brother, even in the faint moonlight, smiled, en- deavored to speak, and then relapsed into un- consciousness. As for Tom Craigen, it is doubtful if he would have known his brother, had it not been for the familiar garments. So blood-covered was the face of the wounded man that it was wholly un- recognizable. After some discussion, it was agreed that the best thing that could be done was to convey Philip to the hunter’s cabin, a couple of miles distant in the hills. The Craigens had no ac- quaintances in Lucky Ledge, and this offer of the hunter was a godsend. The old man’s skill in treating injuries of this character was considerable, and within less than two weeks, he had Philip on his feet; and though the latter was still weak, his wounds had healed, and he felt himself again able to battle with the world. Long before that time however, news had come to them of the claiming of the mine by Red Fee and Curt Thomas. Philip had acquaint- ed his brother and the hunter with his discov- ery, and a visit made by the hunter to the town had revealed the true status of the case. An investigation set on f00t by the old man had brought to light the truth concerning the nature The Rustler of Rolling Stone. of the alleged disc0very of the mine by these new claimants. “You’ll have to fight ’em,” was his declar- ation. " They’ll neVer give up anything ’cept- in’ it’s by force. You can count on me to back 9. He had some money, and this he presned on Philip when the latter felt strong enough to begin the battle, which he proposed to make for his own. The mine was his. Of that there Could not be the shadow of a doubt. Yet he could not establish it, nor prove his title in any court. The work of the usurpers had been clev- erly done. His notice had been removed, and theirs placed in its stead, and there were no witnesses to testify in his favor. Certainly, his unsupported word would go for naught. If he regained the mine, it must be in an indirect manner, and by stratagem, rather than by force or legal means. He did not wish to take the money; but when it was urged on him be resolved to make the best possible use of it. A portion of it had gone t0ward the erection of the shop in which the two young men now were, and as a purchase price of an assayer’s outfit. At Philip’s advice, and in accordance with the line of conduct he had mapped out, his br0ther did not show himself in the town for some days. His first appearance was at the masquerade in the guise of the shepherd maid The Mephistopheles of the same night was Philip himself. “ Yes, the wrong might have been righted, then,” Philip agreed. “ But, you did what seemed best. You couldn’t know anything about my dircovery.” This was a point they had touched on man times, Tom always bewniling his ill-luck. lyf he had but knewn of the mine, and of the changed notices, he could have set up another notice for Philip, and remained there to guard and enforce his brother’s title. But, he had not kn0wn, and so had gone away, leaving Red Fee and Thomas to consummate their scheme. And since then he had not been able to do any thing. The subject was fraught with bitter memories. “The button shows that the thing is worth working for,” and Philip again read the notice he had taken from the wallet. “ I wonder what I can do with this thing? I can’t make It serve as evidence, for it would be very easy to claim that I wrote it as an afterthought.” “ And I wonder what they will do if they find Rose Latham?” “Hang her!” relaxing the rigid lines of face and looking smilineg at the questioner. “ It might be, though, that Fee might want to marry her. A thief loves a thief.” He was becoming thoughtful again. ” That suggests an idem—It will be just the thing to help me out when I start this opposition boom. I have been thinking of some other lines for you, but this is by far the best. Red Fee wants a type-writer operator. I saw his ad. in the Sunset City papers of yesterday. Apply for the p0sition. That will let you into his secrets, more or less, and be the biggest thing in the uni- verse for me when the tug comes.” f He smiled again, looking into his brother’s ace. “,You don’t comprehendl My word for it, it Miss Rose Latham applies for the position, she will get itl” “ You don’t really mean it?” drawing back in a startled way. “ My dear Tom, nothing less. It’s the great- est idea, yet. As his private secretary, you wxll know the ins and outs of his whole business: and if I don’t knock the boom out of Lucky Ledge, I’ll be ready to believe that bear scra away some of my brains when he swiped me. ’ “ But this charge of stealing?” Philip Craigen looked at the paper again, slowly folded it up, and stowed it away in one of his pockets. "I don‘t know how you’re to work that. I sup- poset be old fool really thinks you took it. You 11 have to rely on your wit—and your beauty. A handsome woman, my dear Tom, is a power—in a mining-camp. If you’d say the word—I mean if Rose Latham would say the word—half the men in Lucky Ledge would be ready to chew Red Fee up for suggesting such a thing. Why, it’s been so long since they’ve seen anything bet- ter than a greasy squaw, that even a R060 Latham could set them wildl” Tom Craigen was flushing like a school-girl under his brother’s words, a thing extremely pleasing to Philip. “ Just blush that way, Tom, and simper a lit- tie, and trail your perfumed skirtsasdaintily asyou know how over the floor of his ofllce, and the old sinner Will be ready to fall down and worship you. He’ll forget that he ever lost a wallet, or ever thought of you as the thief. Will you do it?” Tom twisted his heel conteinplatively into the soft pine of the flow, screwing out a little trace of sawdust. He was silent for fully a minute. Then he said very deliberately and very em- pliaticallv: “I Willi” CHAPTER IV. AN UNEXPECTED CALLER. RED FEE sat in his room—a little office he had had fitted up at his residence—and scowled un- easily at the floor and out through the window that commanded a view of the town. He was ill at ease, and had been stewmg and fuming all morning. In truth, he had given himself little rest since the hour he had discovered the loss of his wallet. The loss of the money it had held was a comparatively small matter: though, just then, when his expenses were heavy to the break- ing point, he needed every cent he could get. It was not of the money he was thinking, how— ever, but of the slip of paper which the wallet had contained. “ I need a guardeenl” he growled, rising and striding restlesst up and down the room, with his hands thrust deep into his trowsers pockets. “ ’Twas the biggest fool trick I ever done. An idiot ought to ’a’ knowd better than to hang Onto a thing like that! Why didn’t I stick it into the blaze of the torch ’1’” He had been making a quiet search for the missing paper, and had had Curt Thomas en- gaged in like manner. He feared to mention his loss to any one. No good could come of it, and it might arouse dangerous distrust. What puzzled and worried him meet was that the mysterious shepherd maid could nowhere be found. So far as was known, not a person in Lucky Ledge had ever set eyes on her since her disappearance from the Moss Agate. This was a strange and. to Red Fee, an ominous circum- stance. Could it be possible, he asked himself, that she had kn0wn of the contents of the wallet and extracted it from his pocket for a per; 000? But what could she do with it? Claim notices were not uncommon things, Philip Cmigen was not known in Lucky Ledge, and the description of the metes and bounds of the mineral veins in the cave were not specific enough to be dangerous. Still, a feeling of vague uneasiness haunted Red Fee. The shadow of impending peril seem- ed to hang above him, and this feeling he could not shake off. In his search for Rose Latham, he had time and again asked himself what he Would do should he find her. The memory of her femi- nine graces and witchery lay yet fresh on his mind and heart. He was a susceptible man; and he had been striving to nerve himself for the necessary sternness. “Confound the women, anyhow! They al- ways git a teller into trouble. Inever knowed ittofail. There’s my wallet gone, my money one, and that paper gone. The idea of her a- kin as rosy and temptin’ as ripe persinimons, and a-talkin’ as sweet as custard-pie, and at the same time a-liftin’ of my pocket-book! 1t jist goes ahead of anything! I’ll know not to be so precious trustful another time!” He started and changed color. In his pre- occupation of mind he had been 8 king aloud; and a knock on the door warned im that some one stood on the threshold of the office. That some one might have overheard him. He did not wish to be disturbed, and his face showed his annoyance, as he turned the knob to ascertain who the caller might be. His hat came off with marvelous celerity and he endeavored to coax a smile to his face, when he saw that his visitor was a female. The smile gave way to a look of surprise. Before him stood the object of his thoughts, Rose Latham. She was not habited as the shepherd maid, but was becomingly attired in clothing of some dark material. “ Come in, come in,” he said, retreating quick- ly and placinga chair for her. Her sudden appearance gave him an un— wonted flutter, and he could not conceal his astonishment. ' She accepted his invitation, and as soon as seated produced a. copy of the Sunset City Sirocco, and pointed to his advertisement there- “I notice here tiiat you want a private secretary. some one to take charge of your correspondence and books, and I have come to apply for the position.” She went straight to the point with business- like nccnracy, though smiling sweetly and speak— ing in low tones. “ Yes! Ah! Ahenil” rubbing his hands to- gether to hide his confusion. The proposition was more astounding than even the visit. “Yes; I put that ad. in the paper; but I was a—er—a-thinkin’ about a gentleman in that connection.” He hesitated, at a loss for words. “ You huve—er—had some experience, Miss-- Miss Lathain? The ad. mentions a typewriter, you see! I want my correspondence done up in ship-sliape—~A No. l style—you understand. It has a big effect on business. These hyer money- ed galoots back East will pay a good deal more attention to a letter if it’s got up jist right with a typewriter. It looks more like busi- ness. I aim to have a lot of letter-heads print- ed, with ‘ Lucky Ledge ’ and the date line in some kind of scroll work or other; and I’ll put my letters on that. It’ll fetch ’eml They won’t know but that Lucky Ledge is a Second Lead- ville fer boom." Having got his “wind,” he was rattling on, trying to gain time to study the situation, size up his visitor, and determine what to do. Doubts of the correctness of his previous sur- niises began to trouble him. Surely, this charm- ing creature was not a thief. But if not, who took the wallet?" “I lblllk I can satisfy you,” she averred, as sooa as given a chance to reply. “ I am famil- iar with business forms, and know how to 0pm!— ate a typewriter.” “ It would take the jack-pot l" Red Fee thought, looking earnestly at her. “ To have a hand- some creuter like that i.-sasl:ayin’ around in this hyer old office! Gee whillikinsl” He did not venture to put these thoughts into words. Instead, he asked: “ When could you go to work, miss?" “ To-day, if you wish.” Red Fee ran his fingers through his hair. He was delighted and bewildered, though unde- cided. He could not drive from his mind all thought of the theft. If this young Woman was inclined to steal. would it be safe to give her the run of the office? She would necessarily be in— trusted with more or less in iney. “ I ain’t got the machine yit from Sunset City," talking again for delay. “ Ner I ain’t got thgm ginger-bread letter-heads I was a-speak- in’ of. “ I am very anxious for the place,” she said, with an appealing glance that quite melted Red Fee’s heart and hustled his doubts into the back» ground. “ I might find some work fer ye right away,” looking at her admiringly and earnestlr. “ Where might ye be a-stayin’, Miss Latham?” She cast dOwn her eyes. “ If y on please-—-" hesitiitingly, “ I should rather not answer that question. If I can get work, I shall stop at the hotel over there. If not, I must leave the town” He mentally resolved that she should not leave the town. “ Needn’t answer, if you don’t like.” shifting uneasily. “ I had no business a-askin’ you. You can git work right in this shop, and as fer the hotel, the hotel be hanged! If you’re a-mind to. and can put up with eich as we’ve ggt, you- can stop in this house. My daughter’ll only too glad of your company.” Rose Latham murmured her thanks, sinking her voice so low that Red Fee had to guess at part of the words. He was rapidly becoming enraptured with her charms, though he realized he was niakin a most egregious fool of himself. But for the ife of him he could net at that time have done other- wise. “ May I go to work to-morrow 1” she question— ed, not giving him a chance to retreat. “ I am very anxious to begin as soon as sible.” “ Tomorrow it is,” he said. “ I’m agreeable. I’ll send for the machine and the other things to- night, an’, until they come I ’lnw I can find plenty fer you to do.” He was about to request the privilege of sum~ moning his daughter that he might introduce her to this new employs, but Miss Latham pre- vented him by rising and retreating toward the door. “ I prefer to go to the hotel for to—day. To. morrow I will be ready for work. And, Mr. Redmond, you can’t know how I thank you, and what a weight you have taken from my heart.” With these words, and a rare smile, she was one. g She had scarcely vanished, when Curt Thomas pushed the door open and peered in. He fol- The Rustler of Rolling Stone. 5 lowed this by advancing into the room and clos- ing the door after him. Red Fee knew that Thomas had seen the girl, and he grew flushed and hot in consequence. “ \Vhy didn’t you send fer some one an’ have leer nabbed?" was Thomas’s anxious query. “It ain’t too late, yit.” He placed a hand on the door-knob as if medi- tating doing it hiniSelf. “ Set down i" commanded Fee, growing still redder. “ But she’ll git away i” Thomas urged. “ I’ve been “'ntcliin’ for her straight along, an’ that’s the fu‘st time I’ve seen ’er. Where did she come frum?" “ Hanged if I kn0wl” Thomas was about to dart from the room in Spite of the command. “Set down, I say! I don’t want that girl 'tetched. I’ve hired herl" The other was dumfounded. “ You heerd what I said '8” I’ve hired her! She come in answer to my ad. for a secretary, an’ I took her in.” “lVell, may I he switched l” Thomas slid into a chair, inert and helpless. He had no words with which to meet the state— ment. He coull only stare his amazement. “ What’s wrong about that?” trying to assume a braz an attitude to conceal his shame-faced- 11988. “A thief! The thief you was a-huntin’ for!” As he said it, a look of craftiness overspread his features. “ Tlmt was onlv guess-work on our part l” de- termined to ride Thomas down and force him to adopt this new opinion. “ You don’t think me a fool, Curt!” Thomas maintained a discreet silence. His thoughts might not bear utterance. “ Ye 896 it’s this way, Curt,” brightening as a new idea. came to him. “ The way things stand, now, we couldn’t prove she took that wallet, even if we arrested her. If she stays hyer, I can mighty soon find out if she’s a thief. That’s why I took her." A humorous twinkle was showing in Thomas‘s eyes. “I ‘low I can See as fur through a mill-stone as the next man, if there’s a big enough hole in it!” and the corners of his mouth twitched in a grin. “ All I’ve got to say is that if you don’t watch her, she‘ll steal the house over your head, jist as she’s stole yer heart!” It was a parting and center shot; and having delivered it, he swung the door open and bolted into the street, anxious to sedwhat had become of the young woman who had already gained such an ascendancy over his chum and partner. CHAPTER V. A GHOSTLY APPEARANCE. “ MY G011! what’s iliat?" Rod Fee had gone into his new mine to look after some details of work. Very little had been done as yet, only enough to show the richness of the veins and anticipate their development. If was night; exrremely dark without, and pitcby black within. Red Fee carried a miner’s lantern to light him on his way, and this fell from his hand to the flinty floor, as he uttered the exclamation. What he saw was enough to chill the blood in the veins of the sanest. Twenty yards away was another man—or apparition in the shape of a man—~Fwe was not sure which, though he inclin- ed to the latter supposition. He had heard a Linking, clinking sound. Sup- posuig it to be the pick of some belated miner, be bid not given it much heed, but had burned on his way. He had stoppecl aghast, on turning one of the shoulders of rock. At almost the point where he and Curt Thomas had found Philip Craigen was apparently Craigen himself, The general resemblance was remarkable; even the face was clotted and gor as Craigen‘s had been. Red Fee reeled as if a ut to fall in a swoon, but gathered his staggering energies and drew himSelf erect. Tue horrible thing, plainly revealed by the light of the h ilf-overturned lantern, was staring at him in a blood-chilling way with eyes that seemed fiXed. There was a grotesque expansion of the crimsoned lips as if some rending cry was to be buried at him. ‘Red Fee Was sufficiently courageous on all or- dmar)’ occasions, but he was accustomed to con- tend with creatures of flesh and blood instead of specters from the grave. But for the similarity u look, he might not have thought of Craizen in this connection. True, he had never seen Craig— en‘s face, it having been completely masked by its bloody covering; yet he felt that before him was the very face, the very form that he and Thomas had borne to the river-side, a few weeks previous. Could the dead come to life, or their spirits re- visit the scenes of earth? He had always scoffed at the idea. He had never cared to think much of what might lie beyond the boundary of this existenCc. Here was ocular demonstration that the dead might and did return. Otherwise, he was dreaming or the victim of a hallucination. He had never been given to anything of the kind. He forced himself to pick up the lantern as a measure of reassurance. As he did it, the un- canny thing moved toward him with a slow and gliding motion. Red Fee gave a quick cry in which was com- miiiglod horror, doubt and indecision. But, he as quickly recovered. and drawing his revolver ii red at the moving figure. Not once, only, but twice and thrice. The echoes reverberated and rolled, like the discharges of artillery, yet the specter stood in the selfsame place, unmoved and undisturbed. There Seemed even a smile on the horrid red lips, a smile of derision and accusation. TGIS was too much for Fee’s nerVes. He threw down the revolver and the lantern, and with a cry of terror boundel through the darlic ness toward the entrance. And after him came a chilling and unearthly wail, repeated and multiplied by the echoes of the cave until it seemed that all the demons of inferno were voic- ing a chorus to frighten him. There was a low battering of feet, ton, which was similarly mul- tiplied by the echoes; and with a yell frozm on his lips, Rad Fee reached the opening and dashed out into the starless night. He ran like one bereft of his senses, not stop- ping until he pitched headlong over a bowlder, where he lay panting and bruised, and almost afraid to rise. “Great Jupiter!" he gasped, as his courage began to slightly return. “\Vhat Could that have been, anyhow?" He glanced back toward the mine, but could see nothing. Neither could he hear anything, though for fully ten minutes he lay there strain— ing his cars for the slightest sounds. He got up on his hands and knees and sur- veyed his surroundings over the top of the bowl- der. He was near the river’s edge. and had he continued on in that mad race, whould have run plump into it. He was already shivering like a leaf, and now the cold perspiration broke out on him. To have fallen into that torrent in the darkness might have meant death. His mind was in so chaotic a state, that the gurgling of the leaping waters. as he now turned his attention to it, seemed like echoes of the eerie howl that had so startled him. He scarcely knew how long he crouched there behind the bowlder. He did not want to remain there, but he was not yet brave enough to risk venturing from this place of concealment. “ If Curt was only here,” was his longing thought. He counted Curt among the bravest of the brave; and even begun to fancy how he and Thomas Would return to the cave and pump lead at the thing that had frightened him. This brought with it the uncomfortable reflec- tion that he had three times fired at the ghost without result. that would Thomas’s bravery avail in a contest with a creature like that, a creature that was surely not fl -sh and blood. The SWeat stood in cold, Lamp drops on his face, when he finally crawled from his hiding- place and made his way fearfully toward the town. He was so weak he could scarcely drag one foot after the other; but he reached home fitrfially, and pulled himself Wearily into the o c “ Egad l” he cried, pouring out a glass of fiery liqluor and swallowing it nlmost at a gulp. “ ‘hat gees ahead of my timel I wonder what Thomas will say to that?” - CHAPTER VI. F A C E 'r o F A c E . HE dropped into a chair, with the glass and the liquor-bottle near at hand, and endeavored to speculate on the occurrence that had so startled him. He could make nothing of it, thOiigh his courage began to come back to him as he drank of the potent contents of the bottle. He grew so brave after a time, that he earnestly desired the coming of Thomas, for the purpose of going with him to the cave. 'N'eVertheloss, when there came a sharp and distinct rap on the door, he started and shivered, and exhibited as much nervous trepidation as if the ghost had suddenly appeared at his elbow. Not until the rap was repeated did he venture to get up and see who was there. It was Quartz, the assayer, who advanced into the room, without giving Fee a chance to invite him. Quartz was not one of Fee’s favorites, but any one promised to be better company than his own thoughts, and so he cordially Welcomed him, at the same time filling the glass. Quartz gave his head a negative shake. “ I never drink,” he declared, pushing back the liquor. “ 1 don’t think it’sa good idea for a man who has any business to attend to; and even one who hasn't, would no doubt be better 011’ without it.” “ As you like,” retorfed Red Fee, draining the glass himself, for his tingling nerves still felt the need of a bracer. “ It’s a little raw out to- night, and this warms a fellcr.” He shivercd and glanced hastily about the romn. “ The reason I mentioned business is because that is what brought me here,” and the assayer drew a folded paper from the inner pocket of his coat. There was something so familiar in the look of the paper that Red Fee could not repress a. start. “ If I’m not mistaken, you’ve seen this be- fore,” unfolding the sheet and holding it up for Fee’s inspection. The latter shrunk into the depths of his chair, as if desirous of hiding himself; but no word of confession passed his lips, though Quintius Quartz looked at him scrutinizmgly. Red Fee recognized the paper, but he had no intention of saying so. It was the notice he had taken from the cleft stick, and which had ('isap- peared with the Wallet. A multitude of sugges- tiom crowded his half-fuddled mind. “ You don’t think you ever saw it?” drawing it out that the writing might be more easily read. “ You might be able to make some men think so, Mr. Redmond, but not me. You hav! seen this more than once, and know a good deal more about it than you care to say.” “ What air you a-drivin’ at?” Red Fee growled, burrowing still deeper into the depths of the chair and Working his head down into the collar of his coat, like a tortoise withdrawing into its shell. “ Hanged if 1 ketch on! Lemme see the thing.” “You can see it very well from where you sit! You might take a notion to rip it into rib- bons. I think it’s safer in my hands. If you wish, I‘ll read it to you." “ I don’t see that it’s anything but some feller’s claim notice. They’re as thick round hyeras the leaves.” “Then you can read l” refolding the paper and thrusting it into the pocket. “ We’ll retire it from exhibition, and see if we can get d0wn to business.” Red Fee was troubled by a sense of uneasi- ne~‘s. He fancied some demand was to be made on him, though he knew nothing of its character. The thought that this Quintius Quartz was the thief who had taken the wallet was also upper- most in his mind. Then the girl was innocent! There had likewise come to him a suspicion, born since the showing of the paper, that this very man might be the ghost! Evidently the assayer had an interest in the mine, or he would not be there now for the purpose of bargaining and haggling. But the old rogue was resolved to do nothing to implicate himself, and so held his peace, per- mitting the assayer to continue. “As you saw, it’s the claim notice of Phili Craigen. That’s the name signed to it. Now, happen to knew that this man Craigen is not dead. More than that: he has commissiOned me to see you concerning his title to the Grizzly Bear Mine, for he claims it as his.” Fee turned a shade paler in spite of the liquor flush on his naturally red face. “Mebhe you know what you’re a-drivin’ at, thou h I’ll be hanged if 1 do!” “ bit of historyr may aid you,” Quintiul blandly averted. “This man, Craigen, whose name is attached to the notice, stumbled on the cavern which holds the Grizzly Bear Mine, as he was coming to Lucky Ledge some weeks ago. He saw the richness of the ore veins, and put up the notice as the first step toward holding them. He was attacked by a bear, and left for dead. You found him, you and hurt Thomas; substi- tuted a notice for his; and carried him out to the river. thinking he Would die. But he didn’t. He is still alive; and has Sent me to tell you that he intends to make a fight fer the mine.” ‘I !” Red Fee was visibly trembling; but he gave as much force to this sneering exclamation asho 1/ f u 4' "’21 Tiy.fiwi’M—“' aster-MK "flVWdle,aa‘;-::,:7W‘> v-.;,.;:~..3;r-.r....»~..-. . ..-:r,.-.-..~--_..- :7 ._ 3.2.: .’..;';"‘:,» 4.. v The Rustler of Rolling Stone. could. He could not doubt that by some means the assafier had come into possession of the truth. 0 was too bewildered and fear-stricken to mentally inquire how this had been done. He resolved, however, to defy his accuser and deny everything. “ An interesting piece of history, is it not?” and Quartz smiled sarcastically. “ I thought you would have something to say about it!” “ It’s all bosh!” Red Fee reiterated, mastering all his courage. “ Me an’ Curt Thomas found that mine, an’ there was no underhanded game about it. We had a fight with a grizzly which we found in there an’ that‘s why we named it the Grizzly Bear. ou’ve jist got your facts a little tangled. Tell yer friend Craigen that, will ye? I ain't the honor of the gentleman’s ac- quaintance; but if he’s a man 0’ sense, he ought to know that he’s a-makin’ a fool o’ himself, an’ you, too, by sendin’ sich a message. Give him that, will ye, with my compliments? an’ say to him that when he fits the Grizzly Bear by re- tailin’ sich yarns, hope he’ll send me word about it.” Mr. Quartz was firm and stern, seeming more determined than ever. “ You are not ready for a compromise, then, though you knew these things are truef” “ I can’t see that there’s anything to com. promise,” with some show of warmth. “If there was, I might talk. We hold the Grizzly Bear fair and above board; and we mean to hold it so long as the veins shew color.” There was a ring of defiance and of confidence in this, though he could not help shuddering a lit- tle, whenever the vision of the ghost interposed, which it did almost constantly. “ Better think it over a little,” the assayer urged. “ I am gathering proof of these things, and the time is not far distant when I shall use it. It isn’t wise for you to be too hasty, Red- mond. I offer you a. compromise, now; after awhile. nothing of the kind will beconsidered.” Red Fee’s answer was as before. “ You will do nothing?” “ Not a thing 1” he thundered. “ An’ I sha’n’t thank ye fer comin’ hyer ag’in with this non- sense 1’ “ Very well, then!” rising to depart. “If you prefer war, it shall be war to the knife!” CHAPTER VI]. A SUBPRISING INCIDENT. THE smoldering fire in the assayer’s furnace again threw its uncertain and fitful light on the two men whom we first saw there—Philip Craigen and his brother Tom. It was the night followiing Philip’s visit to Red Fee, made as Quintius Quartz. Quintius was reasonably sure that Redmond had no suspicion he was Craigen. He had watched Redmond closely, and believed that such a suspicion would have revealed itself in the man’s manner. This was as he wished it to be; for he was not ready yet to throw off the mask and confront Red Fee in his true person. Tom had assumed a partial disguise. It con- sisted only of a mustache; but this so altered his appearance, especially his appearance in the character of Rose Latham, that there seemed small danger of his identity being revealed. In addition, they were quite alone, and the light from the fire was of the poorest. Tom was laughing softly at some observation made by Quintius. “ The old gent is badly rattled,” he said, seem- ingly taking up the thread of their conversa- tion. “ Your visit to him upset him. He knows now that his secret is shared by others, and the fear of the result will give him no rest.” “ He was rattled last night, but it did not in- cline him to a compromise.” “ Probably he thought that the big end of the division would fall on your side of the line. He has had me writing letters all day to various parties offering the mine for sale.” “ What is his price for it?” “ l-‘ifty thousand dollarsl” " Whew! He holds it high, anyway. But it's worth it, every cent and Phi not sure but twice over. The veins are extremely rich. Of course, there’s no knowing how far they extend, or how soon the really valuable ore may play out, but I think there’s more than fifty thousand dollars in there. . Why, there’s half that in sight now i” “ Almost the exact words he used to me this morning. And he made the same statement, or nearly the same, in the letters he dictated. Only he raised your estimatealittle. He claim- ed the Grizzly Bear to be worth a hundred and fifty thousand, and laid great stress on the low price at which he was offering it." “What excuse did he make for placing it on the market?” “ His great need of money, and his inability to work it properly.” The a~sayer was silent and thoughtful fora few moments. “ I presume he wanted these parties to come out and look at it right away i” he questioned. “ Yes; or send reliable agents to investigate the matter.” “ Getting you in there as his secretary was a master-stroke,” Quintius commented, medita- tively nursing his chin. “It will enable us to kee up with all his little ames.” e laughed lightly, an looked quizzically at his brother. They had been speaking in cautious tones, sscarcely raising their voices above a whisper. Carefulness in this respect was with them one of the cardinal virtues. “It’s really a funny piece of business. I sup- pose you feel that, even more than I can, when you are seated with him in his office, and he thinks’you the admirable creature you pretend to be! Tom echoed the 10w laugh. “It’s funnier than that,” he declared. “A dozen times funniei'i I thought I should break down this morning and reveal everything. Wh , would you believe it? the old fool is actually in love with me. He couldn’t keep from saying as much I” “ Must have been the effect of the liquor he took last night!” Quintius observed, dryly. “ He was soaking himself in good shape when I called on him.” “ And he’s kept up the soaking process all day. It’ll take the profits of the Grizzly Bear to pay his liquor bill, if he continues as he’s begun. I suppose that’s what made him such a fool! ‘ When the wine is in, the wit is out,’ and ‘ there’s no f0ol like an old fooll’ ” “It’s all the better for us,” smilingly. “He’ll not be so likely to give you your walking—papers, and a genuine case of love will blind him to a good many things. I presume you discouraged him in a very dignified manner!” “ Didn’t I, though I" chuckling at the recollec- tion. “ ‘ Sirl’ I said, as icily as the north 1e, and then I petrified him—froze him to his eggir, as it Were—with one of my chilliest glanCes. Halnhal you ought to have seen him eat humble- ie! pQuintius joined in the laugh; then observed, gravely: “That offer of the mine for fifty thousand worries mealittle. Some ca italist, or syndicate may snap it up at that. he property’s dirt cheap at the figure. We’ll have to make some move to block the sale, if it seemslikely one is to take lace. If the mine gets into other hands, it wil mean a harder fight for us to get it.” Tom grasped his brother by the shoulder in a warning way, and looked upward. A suspicious sound had attracted him. The next moment, the flimsy ceiling gave way above their heads, and a man drop (1 un- expectedly to the floor beside them. e came down, s read out likea bat, andfistruck withla thump t at seemed to indicate broken bones as a result.” The brothers were surprised beyond measure at this unwelcome intrusion. But, they did not lose their heads. Quintius was the first to act. He sprung upon the man, before the latter could recover from the shock of the fall. Tom leaped to his aid, both of them proving more than a match for the assailed. Nevertheless, the man did not surrender with- out a struggle. He fought and kicked viCiously, and exerted all his strength to hurl the brothers from him and make his escape. “Get me that rope in the corner!” Quintius commanded. “We’ll tie him first, and look at him afterward. I’ve got him where I can hold him! Tom obeyed; and then proceeded to bind the spv. whom Quintius was holding down. That he was a spy, and had concealed himself in the garret to hear what they might say, neither doubted. How much he had heard, they could only surmise. When the fellow had been secured, Quintius arose, thrust a pine splinter into the embers, and held it so that the light might fall in the man’s face. This revealed his identity and called from him a string of curses. He was Curt Thomas! Before. this had been done. Tom had taken the precaution to retreat to a shad0wed corner where his face could not be plainly seen. This man might already know who he was, but it was heat to take no risks. “What does this mean?” Quintius fiercely de- manded. He was answered by another volley of oaths. “Speak u i” he Commanded, with angry em- phasis. “ What were you doing up there?’ Thomas had no ready reply. “ Unless you can answer satisfactorily, I shall have to file a complaint against you, on the charge of burglary.” “ I reckon i must ’a’ crawled up there when I was too drunk to know what I was adoin’,” en- deavoring to smooth the matter over as well as- he coald. “ That’s you, is it, Mr. Quartz? Blamed if I knowed ye. If ou’ll take these ropes”ofl"n me, I’ll go peacea ly about my biz- ness. “ Who told you to come here spying on me?” Thomas loudly denied that he had been spyin , insisting that he had crawled up there whiIe drunk. not knowing where he was, or what he was doing. A ladder led from the lower part of the shop to the garret, and Quartz frequently departed from the place for a few minutes, leaving the door Open. “ Who you got back there with ye?” Thomas asked, lifting his head and attempting to look in the corner where Tom had taken refuge. “I don’t know that it’s any of your affair!” was the sharp reply. “ It’s enough for you to: know that it’s a friend of mine.” The assayer had been doing some rapid think- ing. He saw that nothing was to be got out of Curt Thomas, and he did not care to pro— ceed against him legally. To retain him there as a prisoner seemed useless. “ You may go,” he said, casting ofi‘ the rope; “but if I ever see you around here again, on ma rest sure you will not get ofi’ so easily.’ 0 threw open the door and pointed to the- street‘ and Thomas, glad to escape, fled. “ but do you think of it?” Quintius asked of his brother, when the door had been closed and locked. “That he was here for a purpose. It must have been connected with the mine, or my Work for Red Fee. Can it be that I am suspected, and that he followed me from the house?” “ He came here before either of us,” was the positive reply. “Otherwise he could not have got in. He didn’t follow youl I think he was- spying on me, for his own and Red Fee’s benefit, ause of my visit and claims last night. What- he heard, though, I’ve no idea. If it was any- thing” of value to them, we’ll know of it full soon. CHAPTER VIII. Lova’s ENTANGLEMENTS. TOM CRAIGEN had not OVerstated the case in speaking of Red Fee’s infatuation. By day and by night Fee thought of his come— ly typewriter, to the detriment of the many business interests he had in hand. His dreams were about equally divided between her and vi- sions of the ghost. This constant dwelling on the charms of Miss Rose Latham promised to interfere sadly with the “ boom ” he was trying to inaugurate in Lucky Ledge. He had achieved in the pastsomeo thing of a reputation in the boom line, which he was now seemingly bent on wrecking. To be suc- cessful as a “ boomer” requires incessant activi— ty, combined with alertness, skill, and a daring that approaches audacity. Red Fee had all these, but just now he was not making good use of them. Too many things were distracting him. The fears engendered by the ghost, the liquor he was drinking to dull those fears, and above all, the foolish attachment for the preten- der who was acting as his secretary. His drinking did not make him kindly disposed toward any of the inmates of the house, except. R058 Latham. He treated her with marked subservienee. But not so with Louise Norton, his step-daughter, and Betty Butterball, the ser~ vant. He was inclined to be especially abusive to Louise, a handsome girl of eighteen or nine- teen, and the daughter of his dead wife. Two or three days after the unexpected tum— ble of Curt Thomas into the assayer’s shop, Tom Craigen, coming early to the office in the guise of Rose Latham, found Louise shedding tears bitterly, as she put the office to rights. There was one thing Tom Craigen had not told his brother, and that was of the violent fancy he had conCeived for this girl. Probably he felt a little ashamed of it, for there was a cer- tain ludicrousness about it in connection with the disguise he had assumed. Louise knew not that Rose Latham was a man, having been as completely deceived on thatvproint as had Rehd Fee. “ by, what ist e matter?” the tv wri :- asked, looking at the girl in bewilderingt. ta ; nan”. 1- A The Rustler of Rolling Stone. “ Nothing.” replied Louise, thr0wing the hair back out of her eyes. “ Then why are you crying?” Louise throw down the duster and gave way to a fresh burst of grief. “Oh, Miss Lritham, you don’t know how father abuses me! He has been cursing me again this morning, and for nothing at all.” Miss Latham had removed her outer wrap, and was now seated. “ Cursing you l” in tones the most kindly and compassionate. “Yes; and it was about youl” and with a gulping of sobs she threw herself into the type- writer’s lap and buried her face in her hands. It was an uncomfortable situation for Tom Criiigen. A red spot flamed in each cheek, and his heart gave a queer flutter. “It was about you,”Louisc continued, her slight form shaking with the violence of her emo- tions. “ Father says I’m not res ctful enough to you. I’m sure, Miss Latham, desire to be!” Agreat temptation to take her in his arms and soothe her into quiet came to Tom. He could scarcely resist it. But he did, and said gently, as he passed his fingers through her hair: “I couldn’t wish you to be more so. I am sorry your father has got such a foolish crotchet into his head. If you like, I’ll speak to him about it.” “Oh, no! No!” looking up afi'rightedly. “ Please don’tl” “ I won’t, then. a thing?" Tom’s face was as red as fire, almost; and now it was Louise’s turn to flush sinfully. “ Oh, I thought you must now 1” She stopped and hesitated, fearing she had al- ready gone too far. “ I don’t knew,” she was assured by Miss La- tham. “ I can’t imagine. What was it?” Louise flushed and laughed, a laugh which drove away the tears and made her face radiant. “ Why, papa means to marry you if he can!” “ Does he say so?” Tom was perspiring most uncomfortably, and mopping his face to get rid of the streaming moisture and conceal his confusion. If Miss Norton had not been blind as a mule, or too in- genuous herself to suspect such a bit of play- acting, she must have had her distrust aroused by Tom’s all too evident distress. It may be, though, she attributed it to the surprisinglnature of her communications. “He didn’t say so in that many words, but thats what he meant. But you mustn’t tell himl” lifting a finger in good-natured chiding. “ He isn’t really my father, you know. You can marry him if you like; and, althou h it might be pleasanter for me if you did, I s ouldn’t ad- vise it. You don’t know him as well as I do. Now, I am going. Good-by 2" She imprinted a kiss on the typewriter’s face, picked up the duster and fled, leaving Tom in a most distressed condition. He was not given time, however, to think much on what had occurred, for at that moment he saw Red Fee coming toward him along the little corridor leading to the back yard. Miss Latbam knew from the look on Fee’s face that he had beheld the last scene in the little drama which had just been enacted. Red Fee was smiling broadly, and seemed pleaSed with what he had witneSSed. “Gittin‘ on good terms with Louise. I see!” he asserted, coming into the office and drawing the door to after him. “That’s right! That’s right! I’m glad to notice it. Louise is a good girl, though she does r’ile me once in a whilelike arattlesnake. I sha’n’t quarrel with you fer kissin’ her l” The sentence was finished with looks instead of words, and said quite plainly: “ If it had been me you had kissed in place of Louise, I should have been pleasedl” Tom Craigen could not hide his confusion. His face was still as red as fire, and the perspira- tion continued to stream from it in a way that did not add to his womanly beauty. But Red Fee did not give any heed to this, possibly be. cause he had been drinking heavily again that morning. , The liquor had emboldened him once more, and obliterated the bitterness of yesterday’s rebuff. “ Wouldn’t you like to become the mother of so handsome a young woman as that?” said the mer, winking coarsely. “ I haiii’t so old nor so bad-looking but what you might go further and fare wuss. It would be a big h’ist, too, in a wordly way. I’ve already got a goodly store 0’ ducats, and that Grizzly Bear Mine will make me the richest man in these parts.” Rose Latham’s perturbation was rapidly pass- But why should he think such ing away, now that the original occasion of it had left the room. She felt able to hold her own with Felix Redmond, even if she was not able to do so with Louise. “ You forget yourself again, sir!" she do- clared, stilling her agitation with an effort and speaking as coldly as possible. “ I came here to render you a certain service, not to be insulted by such proposals. If you have no other use for me than to tender me an offer of marriage, I am ready to gol” Red Fee became immediately subservient and fawning. ” I was only jokin’!” he cried. “ Jist a-jokin’! You flash up like gunpowder. VVhere’s them letters I was lookin’ at yisteruay! I‘m ready to answer ’em now.” She had partially risen as if t) get her wraps, but this change of demeanor stayed her. The situation was so ridiculous that Tom Craigen Could not repress a broad smile, in spite of his utmtst endeavors to do so; and this being taken by Red Fee as a flag of truce, peace and harmony once more reigned. CHAPTER IX. A ROLLING STOVE THAT GATHERS NO MOSS. EVENTS of an interesting character began soon to tread on each other’s heels. In the first place, gossip of a kind most disad- vantageous to the interests of Red Fee com- menced to circulate in that mysterious manner characteristic of ill-news, and which bafil -s de- scription. It was reported secretly that murder most foul had been committed in the Grizzly Bear Mine, and that the ghost of the slain mun nightly haunted the scene of his untimely taking 0 This had a had effect at the outset, just at the time u hen Red Fee was trying to push opera- tions in the mine and open it up, that he might the easier sell it. A night shift of miners had been set to work,.hut they threw down their tools and incontinently struck before two nights had pasSed by. They had seen the ghost, so it was said and reported it to be the ghost of a miner—being led to this conclusion by certain low, clinking sounds which they had heard. These sounds could only be explained by attrib- uting them to the agency of the spook. Miners are apt to he a superstitious class, and these were not an exception. The scare spread to the day men, and only two or three of these were courageous enough to venture into the mine, even when the sun was shining brightly without. Rel Fee was in despair. Certain memories made him almost as much afraid of the ghost as was the most ignorant miner. Cold chills chased each other up and dewn his back whenever he thought of the mine and its dread occupant. Nevertheless, he was resolved that something must he done. In some manner the ghost must be laid, or he would be a ruined man. “ Hang it all!’ conversing with Curt Thomas on the subj act. “I don’t think I ever saw sich a lot 0’ right-d0wn cowards as this town holds. The idea 0’ the hull blamed camp bein’ scared to death at a shudder!” “ Shadders don’t CIinR on stones like some one a-handlin’ a miner’s pick,” Thomas duhiously averred. “I hain’t seen the thing, an’ I ain’t a-wantin’ to; but I heerd its music. That was enough fer me!” Red Fee was disgusted and disappointed. He had hoped to be atle to induce Thomas to enter the mine and lie in wait for the ghost. He saw he Would have to make an advance on that proposmon. “ You ought to be too sensible, Curt, to be afraid of a thing like that. I’m not afraid of it; and to show you that I’m not, I’m willin’ to go with you to the mine to—night an‘ lay fer the thing with pistols.” Curt shook his head. “' Nary I” was his sententious comment. cuse me I” “If we don’t git red 0’ the thing in some way, the mine hain’t wu’tli shucks!” Red Fee urged. “I had it as good as sold, last week, an’ fer fifty thousand. To—day we couldn’t get five thousand; an’ if this thing keeps up, in an- other month We can’t give the mine away. I shouldn‘t mind it, if we could go on with the work. But we can’t. The men air that scared, they’re crazy. 1 don’t belieVe that some of them would go in there fer a half-interest.” “I don’t blame ’em,”Curt muttered. “ W hat good’d a half—interest do ’em if the thing should put its fingers on ’em?” “ Bah! You’re the worst one in the lot!" and Red Fee could not conceal his displeasure. “Thomas. I took you for a man of sense, and you’re showiu’ yourself to be a plum idiot I” H Elk Thomas accepted the reproach without a mur— mur, possibly thinking it was better to be a live idiot than a dead hero. He went away shortly; and Red Fee com- menced preparations for a trip to the mine. To support his courage he took a long pull at the bottle on the table, and then sat down to think over the situation. Only the realization that he was being brought to the verge of ruin could have induced him to contemplate a visit to the place. He had no real belief in spirits, and this greatly aided him; but what he had already seen had shaken and unnerved him. In his moments of cooler deliberation he was sure the uncanny thing was only a man mas- querading in that grim and horrible manner. But this reflection lo