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."