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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of King Coal, by Upton Sinclair
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
+most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
+whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
+of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
+www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you
+will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before
+using this eBook.
+
+Title: King Coal
+       A Novel
+
+Author: Upton Sinclair
+
+Release Date: February, 2005 [EBook #7522]
+This file was first posted on May 13, 2003
+Last Updated: February 23, 2024
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+Produced by: Eric Eldred, Beth Trapaga and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KING COAL ***
+
+
+
+
+KING COAL
+
+_A NOVEL_
+
+By Upton Sinclair
+
+
+
+TO
+
+MARY CRAIG KIMBROUGH
+
+To whose persistence in the perilous task of tearing her husband’s
+manuscript to pieces, the reader is indebted for the absence of most of
+the faults from this book.
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+BOOK ONE
+
+THE DOMAIN OF KING COAL
+
+
+BOOK TWO
+
+THE SERFS OF KING COAL
+
+
+BOOK THREE
+
+THE HENCHMEN OF KING COAL
+
+
+BOOK FOUR
+
+THE WILL OF KING COAL
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+
+Upton Sinclair is one of the not too many writers who have consecrated
+their lives to the agitation for social justice, and who have also
+enrolled their art in the service of a set purpose. A great and
+non-temporizing enthusiast, he never flinched from making sacrifices.
+Now and then he attained great material successes as a writer, but
+invariably he invested and lost his earnings in enterprises by which he
+had hoped to ward off injustice and to further human happiness. Though
+disappointed time after time, he never lost faith nor courage to start
+again.
+
+As a convinced socialist and eager advocate of unpopular doctrines, as
+an exposer of social conditions that would otherwise be screened away
+from the public eye, the most influential journals of his country were
+as a rule arraigned against him. Though always a poor man, though never
+willing to grant to publishers the concessions essential for many
+editions and general popularity, he was maliciously represented to be a
+carpet knight of radicalism and a socialist millionaire. He has several
+times been obliged to change his publisher, which goes to prove that he
+is no seeker of material gain.
+
+Upton Sinclair is one of the writers of the present time most deserving
+of a sympathetic interest. He shows his patriotism as an American, not
+by joining in hymns to the very conditional kind of liberty peculiar to
+the United States, but by agitating for infusing it with the elixir of
+real liberty, the liberty of humanity. He does not limit himself to a
+dispassionate and entertaining description of things as they are. But in
+his appeals to the honour and good-fellowship of his compatriots, he
+opens their eyes to the appalling conditions under which wage-earning
+slaves are living by the hundreds of thousands. His object is to better
+these unnatural conditions, to obtain for the very poorest a glimpse of
+light and happiness, to make even them realise the sensation of cosy
+well-being and the comfort of knowing that justice is to be found also
+for them.
+
+This time Upton Sinclair has absorbed himself in the study of the
+miner’s life in the lonesome pits of the Rocky Mountains, and his
+sensitive and enthusiastic mind has brought to the world an American
+parallel to GERMINAL, Emile Zola’s technical masterpiece.
+
+The conditions described in the two books are, however, essentially
+different. While Zola’s working-men are all natives of France, one meets
+in Sinclair’s book a motley variety of European emigrants, speaking a
+Babel of languages and therefore debarred from forming some sort of
+association to protect themselves against being exploited by the
+anonymous limited Company. Notwithstanding this natural bar against
+united action on the part of the wage-earning slaves, the Company feels
+far from at ease and jealously guards its interests against any attempt
+of organising the men.
+
+A young American of the upper class, with great sympathy for the
+downtrodden and an honest desire to get a first-hand knowledge of their
+conditions in order to help them, decides to take employment in a mine
+under a fictitious name and dressed like a working-man. His unusual way
+of trying to obtain work arouses suspicion. He is believed to be a
+professional strike-leader sent out to organise the miners against their
+exploiters, and he is not only refused work, but thrashed mercilessly.
+When finally he succeeds in getting inside, he discovers with growing
+indignation the shameless and inhuman way in which those who unearth the
+black coal are being exploited.
+
+These are the fundamental ideas of the book, but they give but a faint
+notion of the author’s poetic attitude. Most beautifully is this shown
+in Hal’s relation to a young Irish girl, Red Mary. She is poor, and her
+daily life harsh and joyless, but nevertheless her wonderful grace is
+one of the outstanding features of the book. The first impression of
+Mary is that of a Celtic Madonna with a tender heart for little
+children. She develops into a Valküre of the working-class, always ready
+to fight for the worker’s right.
+
+The last chapters of the book give a description of the miners’ revolt
+against the Company. They insist upon their right to choose a deputy to
+control the weighing-in of the coal, and upon having the mines sprinkled
+regularly to prevent explosion. They will also be free to buy their food
+and utensils wherever they like, even in shops not belonging to the
+Company.
+
+In a postscript Sinclair explains the fundamental facts on which his
+work of art has been built up. Even without the postscript one could not
+help feeling convinced that the social conditions he describes are true
+to life. The main point is that Sinclair has not allowed himself to
+become inspired by hackneyed phrases that bondage and injustice and the
+other evils and crimes of Kingdoms have been banished from Republics,
+but that he is earnestly pointing to the honeycombed ground on which the
+greatest modern money-power has been built. The fundament of this power
+is not granite, but mines. It lives and breathes in the light, because
+it has thousands of unfortunates toiling in the darkness. It lives and
+has its being in proud liberty because thousands are slaving for it,
+whose thraldom is the price of this liberty.
+
+This is the impression given to the reader of this exciting novel.
+
+GEORG BRANDES.
+
+
+
+
+BOOK ONE
+
+THE DOMAIN OF KING COAL
+
+
+
+SECTION 1.
+
+The town of Pedro stood on the edge of the mountain country; a
+straggling assemblage of stores and saloons from which a number of
+branch railroads ran up into the canyons, feeding the coal-camps.
+Through the week it slept peacefully; but on Saturday nights, when the
+miners came trooping down, and the ranchmen came in on horseback and in
+automobiles, it wakened to a seething life.
+
+At the railroad station, one day late in June, a young man alighted from
+a train. He was about twenty-one years of age, with sensitive features,
+and brown hair having a tendency to waviness. He wore a frayed and faded
+suit of clothes, purchased in a quarter of his home city where the
+Hebrew merchants stand on the sidewalks to offer their wares; also a
+soiled blue shirt without a tie, and a pair of heavy boots which had
+seen much service. Strapped on his back was a change of clothing and a
+blanket, and in his pockets a comb, a toothbrush, and a small pocket
+mirror.
+
+Sitting in the smoking-car of the train, the young man had listened to
+the talk of the coal-camps, seeking to correct his accent. When he got
+off the train he proceeded down the track and washed his hands with
+cinders, and lightly powdered some over his face. After studying the
+effect of this in his mirror, he strolled down the main street of Pedro,
+and, selecting a little tobacco-shop, went in. In as surly a voice as he
+could muster, he inquired of the proprietress, “Can you tell me how to
+get to the Pine Creek mine?”
+
+The woman looked at him with no suspicion in her glance. She gave the
+desired information, and he took a trolley and got off at the foot of
+the Pine Creek canyon, up which he had a thirteen-mile trudge. It was
+a sunshiny day, with the sky crystal clear, and the mountain air
+invigourating. The young man seemed to be happy, and as he strode on
+his way, he sang a song with many verses:
+
+  “Old King Coal was a merry old soul,
+    And a merry old soul was he;
+  He made him a college all full of knowledge--
+    Hurrah for you and me!
+
+  “Oh, Liza-Ann, come out with me,
+    The moon is a-shinin’ in the monkey-puzzle tree;
+  Oh, Liza-Ann, I have began
+    To sing you the song of Harrigan!
+
+  “He keeps them a-roll, this merry old soul--
+    The wheels of industree;
+  A-roll and a-roll, for his pipe and his bowl
+    And his college facultee!
+
+  “Oh, Mary-Jane, come out in the lane,
+    The moon is a-shinin’ in the old pecan;
+  Oh, Mary-Jane, don’t you hear me a-sayin’
+    I’ll sing you the song of Harrigan!
+
+  “So hurrah for King Coal, and his fat pay-roll,
+    And his wheels of industree!
+  Hurrah for his pipe, and hurrah for his bowl--
+    And hurrah for you and me!
+
+  “Oh, Liza-Ann, come out with me,
+    The moon is a-shinin’--”
+
+And so on and on--as long as the moon was a-shinin’ on a college campus.
+It was a mixture of happy nonsense and that questioning with which
+modern youth has begun to trouble its elders. As a marching tune, the
+song was a trifle swift for the grades of a mountain canyon; Warner
+could stop and shout to the canyon-walls, and listen to their answer,
+and then march on again. He had youth in his heart, and love and
+curiosity; also he had some change in his trousers’ pocket, and a ten
+dollar bill, for extreme emergencies, sewed up in his belt. If a
+photographer for Peter Harrigan’s General Fuel Company could have got a
+snap-shot of him that morning, it might have served as a “portrait of a
+coal-miner” in any “prosperity” publication.
+
+But the climb was a stiff one, and before the end the traveller became
+aware of the weight of his boots, and sang no more. Just as the sun was
+sinking up the canyon, he came upon his destination--a gate across the
+road, with a sign upon it:
+
+PINE CREEK COAL CO.
+
+PRIVATE PROPERTY
+
+TRESPASSING FORBIDDEN
+
+Hal approached the gate, which was of iron bars, and padlocked. After
+standing for a moment to get ready his surly voice, he kicked upon the
+gate and a man came out of a shack inside.
+
+“What do you want?” said he.
+
+“I want to get in. I’m looking for a job.”
+
+“Where do you come from?”
+
+“From Pedro.”
+
+“Where you been working?”
+
+“I never worked in a mine before.”
+
+“Where did you work?”
+
+“In a grocery-store.”
+
+“What grocery-store?”
+
+“Peterson & Co., in Western City.”
+
+The guard came closer to the gate and studied him through the bars.
+
+“Hey, Bill!” he called, and another man came out from the cabin. “Here’s
+a guy says he worked in a grocery, and he’s lookin’ for a job.”
+
+“Where’s your papers?” demanded Bill.
+
+Every one had told Hal that labour was scarce in the mines, and that the
+companies were ravenous for men; he had supposed that a workingman would
+only have to knock, and it would be opened unto him. “They didn’t give
+me no papers,” he said, and added, hastily, “I got drunk and they fired
+me.” He felt quite sure that getting drunk would not bar one from a coal
+camp.
+
+But the two made no move to open the gate. The second man studied him
+deliberately from top to toe, and Hal was uneasily aware of possible
+sources of suspicion. “I’m all right,” he declared. “Let me in, and I’ll
+show you.”
+
+Still the two made no move. They looked at each other, and then Bill
+answered, “We don’t need no hands.”
+
+“But,” exclaimed Hal, “I saw a sign down the canyon--”
+
+“That’s an old sign,” said Bill.
+
+“But I walked all the way up here!”
+
+“You’ll find it easier walkin’ back.”
+
+“But--it’s night!”
+
+“Scared of the dark, kid?” inquired Bill, facetiously.
+
+“Oh, say!” replied Hal. “Give a fellow a chance! Ain’t there some way I
+can pay for my keep--or at least for a bunk to-night?”
+
+“There’s nothin’ for you,” said Bill, and turned and went into the
+cabin.
+
+The other man waited and watched, with a decidedly hostile look. Hal
+strove to plead with him, but thrice he repeated, “Down the canyon with
+you.” So at last Hal gave up, and moved down the road a piece and sat
+down to reflect.
+
+It really seemed an absurdly illogical proceeding, to post a notice,
+“Hands Wanted,” in conspicuous places on the roadside, causing a man to
+climb thirteen miles up a mountain canyon, only to be turned off without
+explanation. Hal was convinced that there must be jobs inside the
+stockade, and that if only he could get at the bosses he could persuade
+them. He got up and walked down the road a quarter of a mile, to where
+the railroad-track crossed it, winding up the canyon. A train of
+“empties” was passing, bound into the camp, the cars rattling and
+bumping as the engine toiled up the grade. This suggested a solution of
+the difficulty.
+
+It was already growing dark. Crouching slightly, Hal approached the
+cars, and when he was in the shadows, made a leap and swung onto one of
+them. It took but a second to clamber in, and he lay flat and waited,
+his heart thumping.
+
+Before a minute had passed he heard a shout, and looking over, he saw
+the Cerberus of the gate running down a path to the track, his
+companion, Bill, just behind him. “Hey! come out of there!” they yelled;
+and Bill leaped, and caught the car in which Hal was riding.
+
+The latter saw that the game was up, and sprang to the ground on the
+other side of the track and started out of the camp. Bill followed him,
+and as the train passed, the other man ran down the track to join him.
+Hal was walking rapidly, without a word; but the Cerberus of the gate
+had many words, most of them unprintable, and he seized Hal by the
+collar, and shoving him violently, planted a kick upon that portion of
+his anatomy which nature has constructed for the reception of kicks. Hal
+recovered his balance, and, as the man was still pursuing him, he turned
+and aimed a blow, striking him on the chest and making him reel.
+
+Hal’s big brother had seen to it that he knew how to use his fists; he
+now squared off, prepared to receive the second of his assailants. But
+in coal-camps matters are not settled in that primitive way, it
+appeared. The man halted, and the muzzle of a revolver came suddenly
+under Hal’s nose. “Stick ’em up!” said the man.
+
+This was a slang which Hal had never heard, but the meaning was
+inescapable; he “stuck ’em up.” At the same moment his first assailant
+rushed at him, and dealt him a blow over the eye which sent him
+sprawling backward upon the stones.
+
+
+
+SECTION 2.
+
+When Hal came to himself again he was in darkness, and was conscious of
+agony from head to toe. He was lying on a stone floor, and he rolled
+over, but soon rolled back again, because there was no part of his back
+which was not sore. Later on, when he was able to study himself, he
+counted over a score of marks of the heavy boots of his assailants.
+
+He lay for an hour or two, making up his mind that he was in a lock-up,
+because he could see the starlight through iron bars. He could hear
+somebody snoring, and he called half a dozen times, in a louder and
+louder voice, until at last, hearing a growl, he inquired, “Can you give
+me a drink of water?”
+
+“I’ll give you hell if you wake me up again,” said the voice; after
+which Hal lay in silence until morning.
+
+A couple of hours after daylight, a man entered his cell. “Get up,” said
+he, and added a prod with his foot. Hal had thought he could not do it,
+but he got up.
+
+“No funny business now,” said his jailer, and grasping him by the sleeve
+of his coat, marched him out of the cell and down a little corridor into
+a sort of office, where sat a red-faced personage with a silver shield
+upon the lapel of his coat. Hal’s two assailants of the night before
+stood nearby.
+
+“Well, kid?” said the personage in the chair. “Had a little time to
+think it over?”
+
+“Yes,” said Hal, briefly.
+
+“What’s the charge?” inquired the personage, of the two watchmen.
+
+“Trespassing and resisting arrest.”
+
+“How much money you got, young fellow?” was, the next question.
+
+Hal hesitated.
+
+“Speak up there!” said the man.
+
+“Two dollars and sixty-seven cents,” said Hal--“as well as I can
+remember.”
+
+“Go on!” said the other. “What you givin’ us?” And then, to the two
+watchmen, “Search him.”
+
+“Take off your coat and pants,” said Bill, promptly, “and your boots.”
+
+“Oh, I say!” protested Hal.
+
+“Take ’em off!” said the man, and clenched his fists. Hal took ’em off,
+and they proceeded to go through the pockets, producing a purse with the
+amount stated, also a cheap watch, a strong pocket knife, the
+tooth-brush, comb and mirror, and two white handkerchiefs, which they
+looked at contemptuously and tossed to the spittle-drenched floor.
+
+They unrolled the pack, and threw the clean clothing about. Then,
+opening the pocket-knife, they proceeded to pry about the soles and
+heels of the boots, and to cut open the lining of the clothing. So they
+found the ten dollars in the belt, which they tossed onto the table with
+the other belongings. Then the personage with the shield announced, “I
+fine you twelve dollars and sixty-seven cents, and your watch and
+knife.” He added, with a grin, “You can keep your snot-rags.”
+
+“Now see here!” said Hal, angrily. “This is pretty raw!”
+
+“You get your duds on, young fellow, and get out of here as quick as you
+can, or you’ll go in your shirt-tail.”
+
+But Hal was angry enough to have been willing to go in his skin. “You
+tell me who you are, and your authority for this procedure?”
+
+“I’m marshal of the camp,” said the man.
+
+“You mean you’re an employé of the General Fuel Company? And you propose
+to rob me--”
+
+“Put him out, Bill,” said the marshal. And Hal saw Bill’s fists clench.
+
+“All right,” he said, swallowing his indignation. “Wait till I get my
+clothes on.” And he proceeded to dress as quickly as possible; he rolled
+up his blanket and spare clothing, and started for the door.
+
+“Remember,” said the marshal, “straight down the canyon with you, and if
+you show your face round here again, you’ll get a bullet through you.”
+
+So Hal went out into the sunshine, with a guard on each side of him as
+an escort. He was on the same mountain road, but in the midst of the
+company-village. In the distance he saw the great building of the
+breaker, and heard the incessant roar of machinery and falling coal. He
+marched past a double lane of company houses and shanties, where
+slattern women in doorways and dirty children digging in the dust of the
+roadside paused and grinned at him--for he limped as he walked, and it
+was evident enough what had happened to him.
+
+Hal had come with love and curiosity. The love was greatly
+diminished--evidently this was not the force which kept the wheels of
+industry a-roll. But the curiosity was greater than ever. What was there
+so carefully hidden inside this coal-camp stockade?
+
+Hal turned and looked at Bill, who had showed signs of humour the day
+before. “See here,” said he, “you fellows have got my money, and you’ve
+blacked my eye and kicked me blue, so you ought to be satisfied. Before
+I go, tell me about it, won’t you?”
+
+“Tell you what?” growled Bill.
+
+“Why did I get this?”
+
+“Because you’re too gay, kid. Didn’t you know you had no business trying
+to sneak in here?”
+
+“Yes,” said Hal; “but that’s not what I mean. Why didn’t you let me in
+at first?”
+
+“If you wanted a job in a mine,” demanded the man, “why didn’t you go at
+it in the regular way?”
+
+“I didn’t know the regular way.”
+
+“That’s just it. And we wasn’t takin’ chances with you. You didn’t look
+straight.”
+
+“But what did you think I was? What are you afraid of?”
+
+“Go on!” said the man. “You can’t work me!”
+
+Hal walked a few steps in silence, pondering how to break through. “I
+see you’re suspicious of me,” he said. “I’ll tell you the truth, if
+you’ll let me.” Then, as the other did not forbid him, “I’m a college
+boy, and I wanted to see life and shift for myself a while. I thought it
+would be a lark to come here.”
+
+“Well,” said Bill, “this ain’t no foot-ball field. It’s a coal-mine.”
+
+Hal saw that his story had been accepted. “Tell me straight,” he said,
+“what did you think I was?”
+
+“Well, I don’t mind telling,” growled Bill. “There’s union agitators
+trying to organise these here camps, and we ain’t taking no chances with
+’em. This company gets its men through agencies, and if you’d went and
+satisfied them, you’d ’a been passed in the regular way. Or if you’d
+went to the office down in Pedro and got a pass, you’d ’a been all
+right. But when a guy turns up at the gate, and looks like a dude and
+talks like a college perfessor, he don’t get by, see?”
+
+“I see,” said Hal. And then, “If you’ll give me the price of a breakfast
+out of my money, I’ll be obliged.”
+
+“Breakfast is over,” said Bill. “You sit round till the pinyons gets
+ripe.” He laughed; but then, mellowed by his own joke, he took a quarter
+from his pocket and passed it to Hal. He opened the padlock on the gate
+and saw him out with a grin; and so ended Hal’s first turn on the wheels
+of industry.
+
+
+
+SECTION 3.
+
+Hal Warner started to drag himself down the road, but was unable to make
+it. He got as far as a brooklet that came down the mountain-side, from
+which he might drink without fear of typhoid; there he lay the whole
+day, fasting. Towards evening a thunder-storm came up, and he crawled
+under the shelter of a rock, which was no shelter at all. His single
+blanket was soon soaked through, and he passed a night almost as
+miserable as the previous one. He could not sleep, but he could think,
+and he thought about what had happened to him. “Bill” had said that a
+coal mine was not a foot-ball field, but it seemed to Hal that the net
+impress of the two was very much the same. He congratulated himself that
+his profession was not that of a union organiser.
+
+At dawn he dragged himself up, and continued his journey, weak from cold
+and unaccustomed lack of food. In the course of the day he reached a
+power-station near the foot of the canyon. He did not have the price of
+a meal, and was afraid to beg; but in one of the group of buildings by
+the roadside was a store, and he entered and inquired concerning prunes,
+which were twenty-five cents a pound. The price was high, but so was the
+altitude, and as Hal found in the course of time, they explained the one
+by the other--not explaining, however, why the altitude of the price was
+always greater than the altitude of the store. Over the counter he saw a
+sign: “We buy scrip at ten per cent discount.” He had heard rumours of a
+state law forbidding payment of wages in “scrip”; but he asked no
+questions, and carried off his very light pound of prunes, and sat down
+by the roadside and munched them.
+
+Just beyond the power-house, down on the railroad track, stood a little
+cabin with a garden behind it. He made his way there, and found a
+one-legged old watchman. He asked permission to spend the night on the
+floor of the cabin; and seeing the old fellow look at his black eye, he
+explained, “I tried to get a job at the mine, and they thought I was a
+union organiser.”
+
+“Well,” said the man, “I don’t want no union organisers round here.”
+
+“But I’m not one,” pleaded Hal.
+
+“How do I know what you are? Maybe you’re a company spy.”
+
+“All I want is a dry place to sleep,” said Hal. “Surely it won’t be any
+harm for you to give me that.”
+
+“I’m not so sure,” the other answered. “However, you can spread your
+blanket in the corner. But don’t you talk no union business to me.”
+
+Hal had no desire to talk. He rolled himself in his blanket and slept
+like a man untroubled by either love or curiosity. In the morning the
+old fellow gave him a slice of corn bread and some young onions out of
+his garden, which had a more delicious taste than any breakfast that had
+ever been served him. When Hal thanked his host in parting, the latter
+remarked: “All right, young fellow, there’s one thing you can do to pay
+me, and that is, say nothing about it. When a man has grey hair on his
+head and only one leg, he might as well be drowned in the creek as lose
+his job.”
+
+Hal promised, and went his way. His bruises pained him less, and he was
+able to walk. There were ranch-houses in sight--it was like coming back
+suddenly to America!
+
+
+
+SECTION 4.
+
+Hal had now before him a week’s adventures as a hobo: a genuine hobo,
+with no ten dollar bill inside his belt to take the reality out of his
+experiences. He took stock of his worldly goods and wondered if he still
+looked like a dude. He recalled that he had a smile which had fascinated
+the ladies; would it work in combination with a black eye? Having no
+other means of support, he tried it on susceptible looking housewives,
+and found it so successful that he was tempted to doubt the wisdom of
+honest labour. He sang the Harrigan song no more, but instead the words
+of a hobo-song he had once heard:
+
+“Oh, what’s the use of workin’ when there’s women in the land?”
+
+The second day he made the acquaintance of two other gentlemen of the
+road, who sat by the railroad-track toasting some bacon over a fire.
+They welcomed him, and after they had heard his story, adopted him into
+the fraternity and instructed him in its ways of life. Pretty soon he
+made the acquaintance of one who had been a miner, and was able to give
+him the information he needed before climbing another canyon.
+
+“Dutch Mike” was the name this person bore, for reasons he did not
+explain. He was a black-eyed and dangerous-looking rascal, and when the
+subject of mines and mining was broached, he opened up the flood-gates
+of an amazing reservoir of profanity. He was through with that game--Hal
+or any other God-damned fool might have his job for the asking. It was
+only because there were so many natural-born God-damned fools in the
+world that the game could be kept going. “Dutch Mike” went on to relate
+dreadful tales of mine-life, and to summon before him the ghosts of one
+pit-boss after another, consigning them to the fires of eternal
+perdition.
+
+“I wanted to work while I was young,” said he, “but now I’m cured, an’
+fer good.” The world had come to seem to him a place especially
+constructed for the purpose of making him work, and every faculty he
+possessed was devoted to foiling this plot. Sitting by a camp-fire near
+the stream which ran down the valley, Hal had a merry time pointing out
+to “Dutch Mike” how he worked harder at dodging work than other men
+worked at working. The hobo did not seem to mind that, however--it was a
+matter of principle with him, and he was willing to make sacrifices for
+his convictions. Even when they had sent him to the work-house, he had
+refused to work; he had been shut in a dungeon, and had nearly died on a
+diet of bread and water, rather than work. If everybody would do the
+same, he said, they would soon “bust things.”
+
+Hal took a fancy to this spontaneous revolutionist, and travelled with
+him for a couple of days, in the course of which he pumped him as to
+details of the life of a miner. Most of the companies used regular
+employment agencies, as the guard had mentioned; but the trouble was,
+these agencies got something from your pay for a long time--the bosses
+were “in cahoots” with them. When Hal wondered if this were not against
+the law, “Cut it out, Bo!” said his companion. “When you’ve had a job
+for a while, you’ll know that the law in a coal-camp is what your boss
+tells you.” The hobo went on to register his conviction that when one
+man has the giving of jobs, and other men have to scramble for them, the
+law would never have much to say in the deal. Hal judged this a profound
+observation, and wished that it might be communicated to the professor
+of political economy at Harrigan.
+
+On the second night of his acquaintance with “Dutch Mike,” their
+“jungle” was raided by a constable with half a dozen deputies; for a
+determined effort was being made just then to drive vagrants from the
+neighbourhood--or to get them to work in the mines. Hal’s friend, who
+slept with one eye open, made a break in the darkness, and Hal followed
+him, getting under the guard of the raiders by a foot-ball trick. They
+left their food and blankets behind them, but “Dutch Mike” made light of
+this, and lifted a chicken from a roost to keep them cheerful through
+the night hours, and stole a change of underclothing off a clothes-line
+the next day. Hal ate the chicken, and wore the underclothing, thus
+beginning his career in crime.
+
+Parting from “Dutch Mike,” he went back to Pedro. The hobo had told him
+that saloon-keepers nearly always had friends in the coal-camps, and
+could help a fellow to a job. So Hal began enquiring, and the second one
+replied, Yes, he would give him a letter to a man at North Valley, and
+if he got the job, the friend would deduct a dollar a month from his
+pay. Hal agreed, and set out upon another tramp up another canyon, upon
+the strength of a sandwich “bummed” from a ranch-house at the entrance
+to the valley. At another stockaded gate of the General Fuel Company he
+presented his letter, addressed to a person named O’Callahan, who turned
+out also to be a saloon-keeper.
+
+The guard did not even open the letter, but passed Hal in at sight of
+it, and he sought out his man and applied for work. The man said he
+would help him, but would have to deduct a dollar a month for himself,
+as well as a dollar for his friend in Pedro. Hal kicked at this, and
+they bartered back and forth; finally, when Hal turned away and
+threatened to appeal directly to the “super,” the saloon-keeper
+compromised on a dollar and a half.
+
+“You know mine-work?” he asked.
+
+“Brought up at it,” said Hal, made wise, now, in the ways of the world.
+
+“Where did you work?”
+
+Hal named several mines, concerning which he had learned something from
+the hoboes. He was going by the name of “Joe Smith,” which he judged
+likely to be found on the payroll of any mine. He had more than a week’s
+growth of beard to disguise him, and had picked up some profanity as
+well.
+
+The saloon-keeper took him to interview Mr. Alec Stone, pit-boss in
+Number Two mine, who inquired promptly: “You know anything about mules?”
+
+“I worked in a stable,” said Hal, “I know about horses.”
+
+“Well, mules is different,” said the man. “One of my stable-men got the
+colic the other day, and I don’t know if he’ll ever be any good again.”
+
+“Give me a chance,” said Hal. “I’ll manage them.”
+
+The boss looked him over. “You look like a bright chap,” said he. “I’ll
+pay you forty-five a month, and if you make good I’ll make it fifty.”
+
+“All right, sir. When do I start in?”
+
+“You can’t start too quick to suit me. Where’s your duds?”
+
+“This is all I’ve got,” said Hal, pointing to the bundle of stolen
+underwear in his hand.
+
+“Well, chuck it there in the corner,” said the man; then suddenly he
+stopped, and looked at Hal, frowning. “You belong to any union?”
+
+“Lord, no!”
+
+“Did you _ever_ belong to any union?”
+
+“No, sir. Never.”
+
+The man’s gaze seemed to imply that Hal was lying, and that his secret
+soul was about to be read. “You have to swear to that, you know, before
+you can work here.”
+
+“All right,” said Hal, “I’m willing.”
+
+“I’ll see you about it to-morrow,” said the other. “I ain’t got the
+paper with me. By the way, what’s your religion?”
+
+“Seventh Day Adventist.”
+
+“Holy Christ! What’s that?”
+
+“It don’t hurt,” said Hal. “I ain’t supposed to work on Saturdays, but I
+do.”
+
+“Well, don’t you go preachin’ it round here. We got our own
+preacher--you chip in fifty cents a month for him out of your wages.
+Come ahead now, and I’ll take you down.” And so it was that Hal got his
+start in life.
+
+
+
+SECTION 5.
+
+The mule is notoriously a profane and godless creature; a blind alley
+of Nature, so to speak, a mistake of which she is ashamed, and which
+she does not permit to reproduce itself. The thirty mules under Hal’s
+charge had been brought up in an environment calculated to foster the
+worst tendencies of their natures. He soon made the discovery that the
+“colic” of his predecessor had been caused by a mule’s hind foot in the
+stomach; and he realised that he must not let his mind wander for an
+instant, if he were to avoid this dangerous disease.
+
+These mules lived their lives in the darkness of the earth’s interior;
+only when they fell sick were they taken up to see the sunlight and to
+roll about in green pastures. There was one of them called “Dago
+Charlie,” who had learned to chew tobacco, and to rummage in the
+pockets of the miners and their “buddies.” Not knowing how to spit out
+the juice, he would make himself ill, and then he would swear off from
+indulgence. But the drivers and the pit-boys knew his failing, and
+would tempt “Dago Charlie” until he fell from grace. Hal soon
+discovered this moral tragedy, and carried the pain of it in his soul
+as he went about his all-day drudgery.
+
+He went down the shaft with the first cage, which was very early in the
+morning. He fed and watered his charges, and helped to harness them.
+Then, when the last four hoofs had clattered away, he cleaned out the
+stalls, and mended harness, and obeyed the orders of any person older
+than himself who happened to be about.
+
+Next to the mules, his torment was the “trapper-boys,” and other
+youngsters with whom he came into contact. He was a newcomer, and so
+they hazed him; moreover, he had an inferior job--there seemed to their
+minds to be something humiliating and comic about the task of tending
+mules. These urchins came from a score of nations of Southern Europe and
+Asia; there were flat-faced Tartars and swarthy Greeks and shrewd-eyed
+little Japanese. They spoke a compromise language, consisting mainly of
+English curse words and obscenities; the filthiness which their minds
+had spawned was incredible to one born and raised in the sunlight. They
+alleged obscenities of their mothers and their grandmothers; also of the
+Virgin Mary, the one mythological character they had heard of. Poor
+little creatures of the dark, their souls grimed and smutted even more
+quickly and irrevocably than their faces!
+
+Hal had been advised by his boss to inquire for board at “Reminitsky’s.”
+ He came up in the last car, at twilight, and was directed to a dimly
+lighted building of corrugated iron, where upon inquiry he was met by a
+stout Russian, who told him he could be taken care of for twenty-seven
+dollars a month, this including a cot in a room with eight other single
+men. After deducting a dollar and a half a month for his saloon-keepers,
+fifty cents for the company clergyman and a dollar for the company
+doctor, fifty cents a month for wash-house privileges and fifty cents
+for a sick and accident benefit fund, he had fourteen dollars a month
+with which to clothe himself, to found a family, to provide himself with
+beer and tobacco, and to patronise the libraries and colleges endowed by
+the philanthropic owners of coal mines.
+
+Supper was nearly over at Reminitsky’s when he arrived; the floor looked
+like the scene of a cannibal picnic, and what food was left was cold. It
+was always to be this way with him, he found, and he had to make the
+best of it. The dining-room of this boarding-house, owned and managed by
+the G. F. C., brought to his mind the state prison, which he had once
+visited--with its rows of men sitting in silence, eating starch and
+grease out of tin-plates. The plates here were of crockery half an inch
+thick, but the starch and grease never failed; the formula of
+Reminitsky’s cook seemed to be, When in doubt add grease, and boil it
+in. Even ravenous as Hal was after his long tramp and his labour below
+ground, he could hardly swallow this food. On Sundays, the only time he
+ate by daylight, the flies swarmed over everything, and he remembered
+having heard a physician say that an enlightened man should be more
+afraid of a fly than of a Bengal tiger. The boarding-house provided him
+with a cot and a supply of vermin, but with no blanket, which was a
+necessity in the mountain regions. So after supper he had to seek out
+his boss, and arrange to get credit at the company-store. They were
+willing to give a certain amount of credit, he found, as this would
+enable the camp-marshal to keep him from straying. There was no law to
+hold a man for debt--but Hal knew by this time how much a camp-marshal
+cared for law.
+
+
+
+SECTION 6.
+
+For three days Hal toiled in the bowels of the mine, and ate and pursued
+vermin at Reminitsky’s. Then came a blessed Sunday, and he had a couple
+of free hours to see the sunlight and to get a look at the North Valley
+camp. It was a village straggling along more than a mile of the mountain
+canyon. In the centre were the great breaker-buildings, the shaft-house,
+and the power-house with its tall chimneys; nearby were the
+company-store and a couple of saloons. There were several
+boarding-houses like Reminitsky’s, and long rows of board cabins
+containing from two to four rooms each, some of them occupied by several
+families. A little way up a slope stood a school-house, and another
+small one-room building which served as a church; the clergyman
+belonging to the General Fuel Company denomination. He was given the use
+of the building, by way of start over the saloons, which had to pay a
+heavy rental to the company; it seemed a proof of the innate perversity
+of human nature that even in spite of this advantage, heaven was losing
+out in the struggle against hell in the coal-camp.
+
+As one walked through this village, the first impression was of
+desolation. The mountains towered, barren and lonely, scarred with the
+wounds of geologic ages. In these canyons the sun set early in the
+afternoon, the snow came early in the fall; everywhere Nature’s hand
+seemed against man, and man had succumbed to her power. Inside the camps
+one felt a still more cruel desolation--that of sordidness and
+animalism. There were a few pitiful attempts at vegetable-gardens, but
+the cinders and smoke killed everything, and the prevailing colour was
+of grime. The landscape was strewn with ash-heaps, old wire and
+tomato-cans, and smudged and smutty children playing.
+
+There was a part of the camp called “shanty-town,” where, amid miniature
+mountains of slag, some of the lowest of the newly-arrived foreigners
+had been permitted to build themselves shacks out of old boards, tin,
+and sheets of tar-paper. These homes were beneath the dignity of
+chicken-houses, yet in some of them a dozen people were crowded, men and
+women sleeping on old rags and blankets on a cinder floor. Here the
+babies swarmed like maggots. They wore for the most part a single ragged
+smock, and their bare buttocks were shamelessly upturned to the heavens.
+It was so the children of the cave-men must have played, thought Hal;
+and waves of repulsion swept over him. He had come with love and
+curiosity, but both motives failed here. How could a man of sensitive
+nerves, aware of the refinements and graces of life, learn to love these
+people, who were an affront to his every sense--a stench to his
+nostrils, a jabbering to his ear, a procession of deformities to his
+eye? What had civilisation done for them? What could it do? After all,
+what were they fit for, but the dirty work they were penned up to do? So
+spoke the haughty race-consciousness of the Anglo-Saxon, contemplating
+these Mediterranean hordes, the very shape of whose heads was
+objectionable.
+
+But Hal stuck it out; and little by little new vision came to him.
+First of all, it was the fascination of the mines. They were old
+mines--veritable cities tunnelled out beneath the mountains, the main
+passages running for miles. One day Hal stole off from his job, and
+took a trip with a “rope-rider,” and got through his physical senses a
+realisation of the vastness and strangeness and loneliness of this
+labyrinth of night. In Number Two mine the vein ran up at a slope of
+perhaps five degrees; in part of it the empty cars were hauled in long
+trains by an endless rope, but coming back loaded, they came of their
+own gravity. This involved much work for the “spraggers,” or boys who
+did the braking; it sometimes meant run-away cars, and fresh perils
+added to the everyday perils of coal-mining.
+
+The vein varied from four to five feet in thickness; a cruelty of nature
+which made it necessary that the men at the “working face”--the place
+where new coal was being cut--should learn to shorten their stature.
+After Hal had squatted for a while and watched them at their tasks, he
+understood why they walked with head and shoulders bent over and arms
+hanging down, so that, seeing them coming out of the shaft in the
+gloaming, one thought of a file of baboons. The method of getting out
+the coal was to “undercut” it with a pick, and then blow it loose with a
+charge of powder. This meant that the miner had to lie on his side while
+working, and accounted for other physical peculiarities.
+
+Thus, as always, when one understood the lives of men, one came to pity
+instead of despising. Here was a separate race of creatures,
+subterranean, gnomes, pent up by society for purposes of its own.
+Outside in the sunshine-flooded canyon, long lines of cars rolled down
+with their freight of soft-coal; coal which would go to the ends of the
+earth, to places the miner never heard of, turning the wheels of
+industry whose products the miner would never see. It would make
+precious silks for fine ladies, it would cut precious jewels for their
+adornment; it would carry long trains of softly upholstered cars across
+deserts and over mountains; it would drive palatial steamships out of
+wintry tempests into gleaming tropic seas. And the fine ladies in their
+precious silks and jewels would eat and sleep and laugh and lie at
+ease--and would know no more of the stunted creatures of the dark than
+the stunted creatures knew of them. Hal reflected upon this, and subdued
+his Anglo-Saxon pride, finding forgiveness for what was repulsive in
+these people--their barbarous, jabbering speech, their vermin-ridden
+homes, their bare-bottomed babies.
+
+
+
+SECTION 7.
+
+It chanced before many days that Hal got a holiday, relieving the
+monotony of his labours as stableman: an accidental holiday, not
+provided for in his bargain with the pit-boss. Something went wrong with
+the ventilating-course in Number Two, and he began to notice a headache,
+and heard the men grumbling that their lamps were burning low. Then, as
+matters began to get serious, orders came to get the mules to the
+surface.
+
+Which meant an amusing adventure. The delight of Hal’s pets at seeing
+the sunlight was irresistibly comic. They could not be kept from lying
+down and rolling on their backs in the cinder-strewn street; and when
+they were corralled in a distant part of the camp where actual grass
+grew, they abandoned themselves to rapture like a horde of school
+children at a picnic.
+
+So Hal had a few free hours; and being still young and not cured of idle
+curiosities, he climbed the canyon wall to see the mountains. As he was
+sliding down again, toward evening, a vivid spot of colour was painted
+into his picture of mine-life; he found himself in somebody’s back yard,
+and being observed by somebody’s daughter, who was taking in the family
+wash. It was a splendid figure of a lass, tall and vigorous, with the
+sort of hair that in polite circles is called auburn, and that flaming
+colour in the cheeks which is Nature’s recompense to people who live
+where it rains all the time. She was the first beautiful sight Hal had
+seen since he had come up the canyon, and it was only natural that he
+should be interested. It seemed to him that, so long as the girl stared,
+he had a right to stare back. It did not occur to him that he too was a
+pleasing sight--that the mountain air had given colour to his cheeks and
+a shine to his gay brown eyes, while the mountain winds had blown his
+wavy brown hair.
+
+“Hello,” said she, at last, in a warm voice, unmistakably Irish.
+
+“Hello yourself,” said Hal, in the accepted dialect; then he added, with
+more elegance, “Pardon me for trespassing on your wash.”
+
+Her grey eyes opened wider. “Go on!” she said.
+
+“I’d rather stay,” said Hal. “It’s a beautiful sunset.”
+
+“I’ll move, so ye can see it better.” She carried her armful of clothes
+over and dropped them into the basket.
+
+“No,” said Hal, “it’s not so fine now. The colours have faded.”
+
+She turned and gazed at him again. “Go on wid ye! I been teased about my
+hair since before I could talk.”
+
+“’Tis envy,” said Hal, dropping into her way of speech; and he came a
+few steps nearer, so that he could inspect the hair more closely. It lay
+above her brow in undulations which were agreeable to the decorative
+instinct, and a tight heavy braid of it fell over her shoulders and
+swung to her waist-line. He observed the shoulders, which were sturdy,
+obviously accustomed to hard labour; not conforming to accepted romantic
+standards of femininity, yet having an athletic grace of their own. They
+were covered with a faded blue calico dress, unfortunately not entirely
+clean; also, the young man noticed, there was a rent in one shoulder
+through which a patch of skin was visible. The girl’s eyes, which had
+been following his, became defiant; she tossed a piece of her washing
+over the shoulder, where it stayed through the balance of the interview.
+
+“Who are ye?” she demanded, suddenly.
+
+“My name’s Joe Smith. I’m a stableman in Number Two.”
+
+“And what were ye doin’ up there, if a body might ask?” She lifted her
+grey eyes to the bare mountainside, down which he had come sliding in a
+shower of loose stones and dirt.
+
+“I’ve been surveying my empire,” said he.
+
+“Your what?”
+
+“My empire. The land belongs to the company, but the landscape belongs
+to him who cares for it.”
+
+She tossed her head a little. “Where did ye learn to talk like ye do?”
+
+“In another life,” said he--“before I became a stableman. Not in entire
+forgetfulness, but trailing clouds of glory did I come.”
+
+For a moment she wrestled with this. Then a smile broke upon her face.
+“Sure, ’tis like a poetry-book! Say some more!”
+
+“_O, singe fort, so suess und fein_!” quoted Hal--and saw her look
+puzzled.
+
+“Aren’t you American?” she inquired; and he laughed. To speak a foreign
+language in North Valley was not a mark of culture!
+
+“I’ve been listening to the crowd at Reminitsky’s,” he said,
+apologetically.
+
+“Oh! You eat there?”
+
+“I go there three times a day. I can’t say I eat very much. Could you
+live on greasy beans?”
+
+“Sure,” laughed the girl, “the good old pertaties is good enough for
+me.”
+
+“I should have said you lived on rose leaves!” he observed.
+
+“Go on wid ye! ’Tis the blarney-stone ye been kissin’!”
+
+“’Tis no stone I’d be wastin’ my kisses on.”
+
+“Ye’re gettin’ bold, Mister Smith. I’ll not listen to ye.” And she
+turned away, and began industriously taking her clothes from the line.
+But Hal did not want to be dismissed. He came a step closer.
+
+“Coming down the mountain-side,” he said, “I found something wonderful.
+It’s bare and grim up there, but I came on a sheltered corner where the
+sun shone, and there was a wild rose. Only one! I thought to myself, ‘So
+roses grow, even in the loneliest parts of the world!’”
+
+“Sure, ’tis a poetry-book again!” she cried. “Why didn’t ye bring the
+rose?”
+
+“There is a poetry-book that tells us to ‘leave the wild-rose on its
+stalk.’ It will go on blooming there; but if one were to pluck it, it
+would wither in a few hours.”
+
+He had meant nothing more by this than to keep the conversation going.
+But her answer turned the tide of their acquaintance.
+
+“Ye can never be sure, lad. Perhaps to-night a storm may come and blow
+it to pieces. Perhaps if ye’d pulled it and been happy, ’twould ’a been
+what the rose was for.”
+
+Whatever of unconscious patronage there had been in the poet’s attitude
+was lost now in the eternal mystery. Whether the girl knew it--or
+cared--she had won the woman’s first victory. She had caught the man’s
+mind and pinned it with curiosity. What did this wild rose of the mining
+camps mean?
+
+The wild rose, apparently unconscious that she had said anything
+epoch-making, was busy with the wash; and meantime Hal Warner studied
+her features and pondered her words. From a lady of sophistication they
+would have meant only one thing, an invitation; but in this girl’s clear
+grey eyes was nothing of wantonness, only pain. But what was this pain
+in the face and words of one so young, so eager and alive? Was it the
+melancholy of her race, the thing one got in old folk-songs? Or was it a
+new and special kind of melancholy, engendered in mining-camps in the
+far West of America?
+
+The girl’s countenance was as intriguing as her words. Her grey eyes
+were set under sharply defined dark brows, which did not match her hair.
+Her lips also were sharply defined, and straight, almost without curves,
+so that it seemed as if her mouth had been painted in carmine upon her
+face. These features gave her, when she stared at you, an aspect vivid
+and startling, bold, with a touch of defiance. But when she smiled, the
+red lips would curve into gentler lines, and the grey eyes would become
+wistful, and seemingly darker in colour. Winsome indeed, but not simple,
+was this Irish lass!
+
+
+
+SECTION 8.
+
+Hal asked the name of his new acquaintance, and she told him it was Mary
+Burke. “Ye’ve not been here long, I take it,” she said, “or ye’d have
+heard of ‘Red Mary.’ ’Tis along of this hair.”
+
+“I’ve not been here long,” he answered, “but I shall hope to stay
+now--along of this hair! May I come to see you some time, Miss Burke?”
+
+She did not reply, but glanced at the house where she lived. It was an
+unpainted, three room cabin, more dilapidated than the average, with
+bare dirt and cinders about it, and what had once been a picket-fence,
+now falling apart and being used for stove-wood. The windows were
+cracked and broken, and upon the roof were signs of leaks that had been
+crudely patched.
+
+“May I come?” he made haste to ask again--so that he would not seem to
+look too critically at her home.
+
+“Perhaps ye may,” said the girl, as she picked up the clothes basket. He
+stepped forward, offering to carry it, but she did not give it up.
+Holding it tight, and looking him defiantly in the face, she said, “Ye
+may come, but ye’ll not find it a happy place to visit, Mr. Smith. Ye’ll
+hear soon enough from the neighbours.”
+
+“I don’t think I know any of your neighbours,” said he.
+
+There was sympathy in his voice; but her look was no less defiant.
+“Ye’ll hear about it, Mr. Smith; but ye’ll hear also that I hold me head
+up. And ’tis not so easy to do that in North Valley.”
+
+“You don’t like the place?” he asked; and he was amazed by the effect of
+this question, which was merely polite. It was as if a storm cloud had
+swept over the girl’s face. “I hate it! ’Tis a place of fear and
+devils!”
+
+He hesitated a moment; then, “Will you tell me what you mean by that
+when I come?”
+
+But “Red Mary” was winsome again. “When ye come, Mr. Smith, I’ll not be
+entertaining ye with troubles. I’ll put on me company manner, and we’ll
+go out for a nice walk, if ye please.”
+
+All the way as he walked back to Reminitsky’s to supper, Hal thought
+about this girl; not merely her pleasantness to the eye, so unexpected
+in this place of desolation, but her personality, which baffled him--the
+pain that seemed always just beneath the surface of her thoughts, the
+fierce pride which flashed out at the slightest suggestion of sympathy,
+the way she had of brightening when he spoke the language of metaphor,
+however trite. How had she come to know about poetry-books? He wanted to
+know more about this miracle of Nature--this wild rose blooming on a
+bare mountain-side!
+
+
+
+SECTION 9.
+
+There was one of Mary Burke’s remarks upon which Hal soon got light--her
+statement that North Valley was a place of fear. He listened to the
+tales of these underworld men, until it came so that he shuddered with
+dread each time that he went down in the cage.
+
+There was a wire-haired and almond eyed Korean, named Cho, a
+“rope-rider” in Hal’s part of the mine. He was one of those who had
+charge of the long trains of cars, called “trips,” which were hauled
+through the main passage-ways; the name “rope-rider” came from the fact
+that he sat on the heavy iron ring to which the rope was attached. He
+invited Hal to a seat with him, and Hal accepted, at peril of his job as
+well as of his limbs. Cho had picked up what he fondly thought was
+English, and now and then one could understand a word. He pointed upon
+the ground, and shouted above the rattle of the cars: “Big dust!” Hal
+saw that the ground was covered with six inches of coal-dust, while on
+the old disused walls one could write his name in it. “Much blow-up!”
+ said the rope-rider; and when the last empty cars had been shunted off
+into the working-rooms, and he was waiting to make up a return “trip,”
+ he laboured with gestures to explain what he meant. “Load cars. Bang!
+Bust like hell!”
+
+Hal knew that the mountain air in this region was famous for its
+dryness; he learned now that the quality which meant life to invalids
+from every part of the world meant death to those who toiled to keep the
+invalids warm. Driven through the mines by great fans, this air took out
+every particle of moisture, and left coal dust so thick and dry that
+there were fatal explosions from the mere friction of loading-shovels.
+So it happened that these mines were killing several times as many men
+as other mines throughout the country.
+
+Was there no remedy for this, Hal asked, talking with one of his
+mule-drivers, Tim Rafferty, the evening after his ride with Cho. There
+was a remedy, said Tim--the law required sprinkling the mines with
+“adobe-dust”; and once in Tim’s life, he remembered this law’s being
+obeyed. There had come some “big fellows” inspecting things, and
+previous to their visit there had been an elaborate campaign of
+sprinkling. But that had been several years ago, and now the apparatus
+was stored away, nobody knew where, and one heard nothing about
+sprinkling.
+
+It was the same with precautions against gas. The North Valley mines
+were especially “gassy,” it appeared. In these old rambling passages one
+smelt a stink as of all the rotten eggs in all the barn-yards of the
+world; and this sulphuretted hydrogen was the least dangerous of the
+gases against which a miner had to contend. There was the dreaded
+“choke-damp,” which was odourless, and heavier than air. Striking into
+soft, greasy coal, one would open a pocket of this gas, a deposit laid
+up for countless ages, awaiting its predestined victim. A man might sink
+to sleep as he lay at work, and if his “buddy,” or helper, happened to
+be out of sight, and to delay a minute too long, it would be all over
+with the man. And there was the still more dreaded “fire-damp,” which
+might wreck a whole mine, and kill scores and even hundreds of men.
+
+Against these dangers there was a “fire-boss,” whose duty was to go
+through the mine, testing for gas, and making sure that the
+ventilating-course was in order, and the fans working properly. The
+“fire-boss” was supposed to make his rounds in the early morning, and
+the law specified that no one should go to work till he had certified
+that all was safe. But what if the “fire-boss” overslept himself, or
+happened to be drunk? It was too much to expect thousands of dollars to
+be lost for such a reason. So sometimes one saw men ordered to their
+work, and sent down grumbling and cursing. Before many hours some of
+them would be prostrated with headache, and begging to be taken out; and
+perhaps the superintendent would not let them out, because if a few
+came, the rest would get scared and want to come also.
+
+Once, only last year, there had been an accident of that sort. A young
+mule-driver, a Croatian, told Hal about it while they sat munching the
+contents of their dinner-pails. The first cage-load of men had gone down
+into the mine, sullenly protesting; and soon afterwards some one had
+taken down a naked light, and there had been an explosion which had
+sounded like the blowing up of the inside of the world. Eight men had
+been killed, the force of the explosion being so great that some of the
+bodies had been wedged between the shaft wall and the cage, and it had
+been necessary to cut them to pieces to get them out. It was them Japs
+that were to blame, vowed Hal’s informant. They hadn’t ought to turn
+them loose in coal mines, for the devil himself couldn’t keep a Jap from
+sneaking off to get a smoke.
+
+So Hal understood how North Valley was a place of fear. What tales the
+old chambers of these mines could have told, if they had had voices! Hal
+watched the throngs pouring in to their labours, and reflected that
+according to the statisticians of the government eight or nine of every
+thousand of them were destined to die violent deaths before a year was
+out, and some thirty more would be badly injured. And they knew this,
+they knew it better than all the statisticians of the government; yet
+they went to their tasks! Reflecting upon this, Hal was full of wonder.
+What was the force that kept men at such a task? Was it a sense of duty?
+Did they understand that society had to have coal and that some one had
+to do the “dirty work” of providing it? Did they have a vision of a
+future, great and wonderful, which was to grow out of their ill-requited
+toil? Or were they simply fools or cowards, submitting blindly, because
+they had not the wit nor the will to do otherwise? Curiosity held him,
+he wanted to understand the inner souls of these silent and patient
+armies which through the ages have surrendered their lives to other
+men’s control.
+
+
+
+SECTION 10.
+
+Hal was coming to know these people; to see them no longer as a mass,
+to be despised or pitied in bulk, but as individuals, with individual
+temperaments and problems, exactly like people in the world of the
+sunlight. Mary Burke and Tim Rafferty, Cho the Korean and Madvik the
+Croatian--one by one these individualities etched themselves into the
+foreground of Hal’s picture, making it a thing of life, moving him to
+sympathy and fellowship. Some of these people, to be sure, were stunted
+and dulled to a sordid ugliness of soul and body--but on the other hand,
+some of them were young, and had the light of hope in their hearts, and
+the spark of rebellion.
+
+There was “Andy,” a boy of Greek parentage; Androkulos was his right
+name--but it was too much to expect any one to get that straight in a
+coal-camp. Hal noticed him at the store, and was struck by his beautiful
+features, and the mournful look in his big black eyes. They got to
+talking, and Andy made the discovery that Hal had not spent all his time
+in coal-camps, but had seen the great world. It was pitiful, the
+excitement that came into his voice; he was yearning for life, with its
+joys and adventures--and it was his destiny to sit ten hours a day by
+the side of a chute, with the rattle of coal in his ears and the dust of
+coal in his nostrils, picking out slate with his fingers. He was one of
+many scores of “breaker-boys.”
+
+“Why don’t you go away?” asked Hal.
+
+“Christ! How I get away? Got mother, two sisters.”
+
+“And your father?” So Hal made the discovery that Andy’s father had been
+one of those men whose bodies had had to be cut to pieces to get them
+out of the shaft. Now the son was chained to the father’s place, until
+his time too should come!
+
+“Don’t want to be miner!” cried the boy. “Don’t want to get _kil-lid_!”
+
+He began to ask, timidly, what Hal thought he could do if he were to run
+away from his family and try his luck in the world outside. Hal,
+striving to remember where he had seen olive-skinned Greeks with big
+black eyes in this beautiful land of the free, could hold out no better
+prospect than a shoe-shining parlour, or the wiping out of wash-bowls in
+a hotel-lavatory, handing over the tips to a fat padrone.
+
+Andy had been to school, and had learned to read English, and the
+teacher had loaned him books and magazines with wonderful pictures in
+them; now he wanted more than pictures, he wanted the things which they
+portrayed. So Hal came face to face with one of the difficulties of
+mine-operators. They gathered a population of humble serfs, selected
+from twenty or thirty races of hereditary bondsmen; but owing to the
+absurd American custom of having public-schools, the children of this
+population learned to speak English, and even to read it. So they became
+too good for their lot in life; and then a wandering agitator would get
+in, and all of a sudden there would be hell. Therefore in every
+coal-camp had to be another kind of “fire-boss,” whose duty it was to
+guard against another kind of explosions--not of carbon monoxide, but of
+the human soul.
+
+The immediate duties of this office in North Valley devolved upon Jeff
+Cotton, the camp-marshal. He was not at all what one would have expected
+from a person of his trade--lean and rather distinguished-looking, a man
+who in evening clothes might have passed for a diplomat. But his mouth
+would become ugly when he was displeased, and he carried a gun with six
+notches upon it; also he wore a deputy-sheriff’s badge, to give him
+immunity for other notches he might wish to add. When Jeff Cotton came
+near, any man who was explosive went off to be explosive by himself. So
+there was “order” in North Valley, and it was only on Saturday and
+Sunday nights, when the drunks had to be suppressed, or on Monday
+mornings when they had to be haled forth and kicked to their work, that
+one realised upon what basis this “order” rested.
+
+Besides Jeff Cotton, and his assistant, “Bud” Adams, who wore badges,
+and were known, there were other assistants who wore no badges, and were
+not supposed to be known. Coming up in the cage one evening, Hal made
+some remark to the Croatian mule-driver, Madvik, about the high price of
+company-store merchandise, and was surprised to get a sharp kick on the
+ankle. Afterwards, as they were on their way to supper, Madvik gave him
+the reason. “Red-faced feller, Gus. Look out for him--company spotter.”
+
+“Is that so?” said Hal, with interest. “How do you know?”
+
+“I know. Everybody know.”
+
+“He don’t look like he had much sense,” said Hal--who had got his idea
+of detectives from Sherlock Holmes.
+
+“No take much sense. Go pit-boss, say, ‘Joe feller talk too much. Say
+store rob him.’ Any damn fool do that. Hey?”
+
+“To be sure,” admitted Hal. “And the company pays him for it?”
+
+“Pit-boss pay him. Maybe give him drink, maybe two bits. Then pit-boss
+come to you: ‘You shoot your mouth off too much, feller. Git the hell
+out of here!’ See?”
+
+Hal saw.
+
+“So you go down canyon. Then maybe you go ’nother mine. Boss say, ‘Where
+you work?’ You say ‘North Valley.’ He say, ‘What your name?’ You say,
+‘Joe Smith.’ He say, ‘Wait.’ He go in, look at paper; he come out, say,
+‘No job!’ You say, ‘Why not?’ He say, ‘Shoot off your mouth too much,
+feller. Git the hell out of here!’ See?”
+
+“You mean a black-list,” said Hal.
+
+“Sure, black-list. Maybe telephone, find out all about you. You do
+anything bad, like talk union”--Madvik had dropped his voice and
+whispered the word “union”--“they send your picture--don’t get job
+nowhere in state. How you like that?”
+
+
+
+SECTION 11.
+
+Before long Hal had a chance to see this system of espionage at work,
+and he began to understand something of the force which kept these
+silent and patient armies at their tasks. On a Sunday morning he was
+strolling with his mule-driver friend Tim Rafferty, a kindly lad with a
+pair of dreamy blue eyes in his coal-smutted face. They came to Tim’s
+home, and he invited Hal to come in and meet his family. The father was
+a bowed and toil-worn man, but with tremendous strength in his solid
+frame, the product of many generations of labour in coal-mines. He was
+known as “Old Rafferty,” despite the fact that he was well under fifty.
+He had been a pit-boy at the age of nine, and he showed Hal a faded
+leather album with pictures of his ancestors in the “oul’ country”--men
+with sad, deeply lined faces, sitting very stiff and solemn to have
+their presentments made permanent for posterity.
+
+The mother of the family was a gaunt, grey-haired woman, with no teeth,
+but with a warm heart. Hal took to her, because her home was clean; he
+sat on the family door-step, amid a crowd of little Rafferties with
+newly-washed Sunday faces, and fascinated them with tales of adventures
+cribbed from Clark Russell and Captain Mayne Reid. As a reward he was
+invited to stay for dinner, and had a clean knife and fork, and a clean
+plate of steaming hot potatoes, with two slices of salt pork on the
+side. It was so wonderful that he forthwith inquired if he might forsake
+his company boarding-house and come and board with them.
+
+Mrs. Rafferty opened wide her eyes. “Sure,” exclaimed she, “do you think
+you’d be let?”
+
+“Why not?” asked Hal.
+
+“Sure, ’t would be a bad example for the others.”
+
+“Do you mean I _have_ to board at Reminitsky’s?”
+
+“There be six company boardin’-houses,” said the woman.
+
+“And what would they do if I came to you?”
+
+“First you’d get a hint, and then you’d go down the canyon, and maybe us
+after ye.”
+
+“But there’s lots of people have boarders in shanty-town,” objected Hal.
+
+“Oh! Them wops! Nobody counts them--they live any way they happen to
+fall. But you started at Reminitsky’s, and ’t would not be healthy for
+them that took ye away.”
+
+“I see,” laughed Hal. “There seem to be a lot of unhealthy things
+hereabouts.”
+
+“Sure there be! They sent down Nick Ammons because his wife bought milk
+down the canyon. They had a sick baby, and it’s not much you get in this
+thin stuff at the store. They put chalk in it, I think; any way, you can
+see somethin’ white in the bottom.”
+
+“So you have to trade at the store, too!”
+
+“I thought ye said ye’d worked in coal-mines,” put in Old Rafferty, who
+had been a silent listener.
+
+“So I have,” said Hal. “But it wasn’t quite that bad.”
+
+“Sure,” said Mrs. Rafferty, “I’d like to know where ’twas then--in this
+country. Me and me old man spent weary years a-huntin’.”
+
+Thus far the conversation had proceeded naturally; but suddenly it was
+as if a shadow passed over it--a shadow of fear. Hal saw Old Rafferty
+look at his wife, and frown and make signs to her. After all, what did
+they know about this handsome young stranger, who talked so glibly, and
+had been in so many parts of the world?
+
+“’Tis not complainin’ we’d be,” said the old man.
+
+And his wife made haste to add, “If they let peddlers and the like of
+them come in, ’twould be no end to it, I suppose. We find they treat us
+here as well as anywhere.”
+
+“’Tis no joke, the life of workin’ men, wherever ye try it,” added the
+other; and when young Tim started to express an opinion, they shut him
+up with such evident anxiety that Hal’s heart ached for them, and he
+made haste to change the subject.
+
+
+
+SECTION 12.
+
+On the evening of the same Sunday Hal went to pay his promised call upon
+Mary Burke. She opened the front door of the cabin to let him in, and
+even by the dim rays of the little kerosene lamp, there came to him an
+impression of cheerfulness. “Hello,” she said--just as she had said it
+when he had slid down the mountain into the family wash. He followed her
+into the room, and saw that the impression he had got of cheerfulness
+came from Mary herself. How bright and fresh she looked! The old blue
+calico, which had not been entirely clean, was newly laundered now, and
+on the shoulder where the rent had been was a neat patch of unfaded
+blue.
+
+There being only three rooms in Mary’s home, two of these necessarily
+bed-rooms, she entertained her company in the kitchen. The room was
+bare, Hal saw--there was not even so much as a clock by way of ornament.
+The only charm the girl had been able to give to it, in preparation for
+company, was that of cleanness. The board floor had been newly sanded
+and scrubbed; the kitchen table also had been scrubbed, and the kettle
+on the stove, and the cracked tea-pot and bowls on the shelf. Mary’s
+little brother and sister were in the room: Jennie, a dark-eyed,
+dark-haired little girl, frail, with a sad, rather frightened face; and
+Tommie, a round headed youngster, like a thousand other round headed and
+freckle-faced boys. Both of them were now sitting very straight in their
+chairs, staring at the visitor with a certain resentment, he thought. He
+suspected that they had been included in the general scrubbing. Inasmuch
+as it had been uncertain just when the visitor would come, they must
+have been required to do this every night, and he could imagine family
+disturbances, with arguments possibly not altogether complimentary to
+Mary’s new “feller.”
+
+There seemed to be a certain uneasiness in the place.
+
+Mary did not invite her company to a seat, but stood irresolute; and
+after Hal had ventured a couple of friendly remarks to the children, she
+said, abruptly, “Shall we be takin’ that walk that we spoke of, Mr.
+Smith?”
+
+“Delighted!” said Hal; and while she pinned on her hat before the broken
+mirror on the shelf, he smiled at the children and quoted two lines from
+his Harrigan song--
+
+  “Oh, Mary-Jane, come out in the lane,
+  The moon is a-shinin’ in the old pecan!”
+
+Tommie and Jennie were too shy to answer, but Mary exclaimed, “’Tis in a
+tin-can ye see it shinin’ here!”
+
+They went out. In the soft summer night it was pleasant to stroll under
+the moon--especially when they had come to the remoter parts of the
+village, where there were not so many weary people on door-steps and
+children playing noisily. There were other young couples walking here,
+under the same moon; the hardest day’s toil could not so sap their
+energies that they did not feel the spell of this soft summer night.
+
+Hal, being tired, was content to stroll and enjoy the stillness; but
+Mary Burke sought information about the mysterious young man she was
+with. “Ye’ve not worked long in coal-mines, Mr. Smith?” she remarked.
+
+Hal was a trifle disconcerted. “How did you find that out?”
+
+“Ye don’t look it--ye don’t talk it. Ye’re not like anybody or anything
+around here. I don’t know how to say it, but ye make me think more of
+the poetry-books.”
+
+Flattered as Hal was by this naïve confession, he did not want to talk
+of the mystery of himself. He took refuge in a question about the
+“poetry-books.” “I’ve read some,” said the girl; “more than ye’d have
+thought, perhaps.” This with a flash of her defiance.
+
+He asked more questions, and learned that she, like the Greek boy,
+“Andy,” had come under the influence of that disturbing American
+institution, the public-school; she had learned to read, and the pretty
+young teacher had helped her, lending her books and magazines. Thus she
+had been given a key to a treasure-house, a magic carpet on which to
+travel over the world. These similes Mary herself used--for the Arabian
+Nights had been one of the books that were loaned to her. On rainy days
+she would hide behind the sofa, reading at a spot where the light crept
+in--so that she might be safe from small brothers and sisters!
+
+Joe Smith had read these same books, it appeared; and this seemed
+remarkable to Mary, for books cost money and were hard to get. She
+explained how she had searched the camp for new magic carpets, finding a
+“poetry-book” by Longfellow, and a book of American history, and a story
+called “David Copperfield,” and last and strangest of all, another story
+called “Pride and Prejudice.” A curious freak of fortune--the prim and
+sentimentally quivering Jane Austen in a coal-camp in a far Western
+wilderness! An adventure for Jane, as well as for Mary!
+
+What had Mary made of it, Hal wondered. Had she revelled, shop-girl
+fashion, in scenes of pallid ease? He learned that what she had made of
+it was despair. This world outside, with its freedom and cleanness, its
+people living gracious and worth-while lives, was not for her; she was
+chained to a scrub-pail in a coal-camp. Things had got so much worse
+since the death of her mother, she said. Her voice had become dull and
+hard--Hal thought that he had never heard a young voice express such
+hopelessness.
+
+“You’ve never been anywhere but here?” he asked.
+
+“I been in two other camps,” she said--“first the Gordon, and then East
+Run. But they’re all alike.”
+
+“But you’ve been down to the towns?”
+
+“Only for a day, once or twice a year. Once I was in Sheridan, and in a
+church I heard a lady sing.”
+
+She stopped for a moment, lost in this memory. Then suddenly her voice
+changed--and he could imagine in the darkness that she had tossed her
+head defiantly. “I’ll not be entertainin’ company with my troubles! Ye
+know how tiresome that is when ye hear it from somebody else--like my
+next-door neighbour, Mrs. Zamboni. D’ ye know her?”
+
+“No,” said Hal.
+
+“The poor old lady has troubles enough, God knows. Her man’s not much
+good--he’s troubled with the drink; and she’s got eleven childer, and
+that’s too many for one woman. Don’t ye think so?”
+
+She asked this with a naïveté which made Hal laugh. “Yes,” he said, “I
+do.”
+
+“Well, I think people’d help her more if she’d not complain so! And half
+of it in the Slavish language, that a body can’t understand!” So Mary
+began to tell funny things about Mrs. Zamboni and her other polyglot
+neighbours, imitating their murdering of the Irish dialect. Hal thought
+her humour was naïve and delightful, and he led her on to more cheerful
+gossip during the remainder of their walk.
+
+
+
+SECTION 13.
+
+But then, as they were on their way home, tragedy fell upon them.
+Hearing a step behind them, Mary turned and looked; then catching Hal by
+the arm, she drew him into the shadows at the side, whispering to him to
+be silent. The bent figure of a man went past them, lurching from side
+to side.
+
+When he had turned and gone into the house, Mary said, “It’s my father.
+He’s ugly when he’s like that.” And Hal could hear her quick breathing
+in the darkness.
+
+So that was Mary’s trouble--the difficulty in her home life to which she
+had referred at their first meeting! Hal understood many things in a
+flash--why her home was bare of ornament, and why she did not invite her
+company to sit down. He stood silent, not knowing what to say. Before he
+could find the word, Mary burst out, “Oh, how I hate O’Callahan, that
+sells the stuff to my father! His home with plenty to eat in it, and his
+wife dressin’ in silk and goin’ down to mass every Sunday, and thinkin’
+herself too good for a common miner’s daughter! Sometimes I think I’d
+like to kill them both.”
+
+“That wouldn’t help much,” Hal ventured.
+
+“No, I know--there’d only be some other one in his place. Ye got to do
+more than that, to change things here. Ye got to get after them that
+make money out of O’Callahan.”
+
+So Mary’s mind was groping for causes! Hal had thought her excitement
+was due to humiliation, or to fear of a scene of violence when she
+reached home; but she was thinking of the deeper aspects of this
+terrible drink problem. There was still enough unconscious snobbery in
+Hal Warner for him to be surprised at this phenomenon in a common
+miner’s daughter; and so, as at their first meeting, his pity was turned
+to intellectual interest.
+
+“They’ll stop the drink business altogether some day,” he said. He had
+not known that he was a Prohibitionist; he had become one suddenly!
+
+“Well,” she answered, “they’d best stop it soon, if they don’t want to
+be too late. ’Tis a sight to make your heart sick to see the young lads
+comin’ home staggerin’, too drunk even to fight.”
+
+Hal had not had time to see much of this aspect of North Valley. “They
+sell to boys?” he asked.
+
+“Sure, who’s to care? A boy’s money’s as good as a man’s.”
+
+“But I should think the company--”
+
+“The company lets the saloon-buildin’--that’s all the company cares.”
+
+“But they must care something about the efficiency of their hands!”
+
+“Sure, there’s plenty more where they come from. When ye can’t work,
+they fire ye, and that’s all there is to it.”
+
+“And is it so easy to get skilled men?”
+
+“It don’t take much skill to get out coal. The skill is in keepin’ your
+bones whole--and if you can stand breakin’ ’em, the company can stand
+it.”
+
+They had come to the little cabin. Mary stood for a moment in silence.
+“I’m talkin’ bitter again!” she exclaimed suddenly. “And I promised ye
+me company manner! But things keep happening to set me off.” And she
+turned abruptly and ran into the house. Hal stood for a moment wondering
+if she would return; then, deciding that she had meant that as good
+night, he went slowly up the street.
+
+He fought against a mood of real depression, the first he had known
+since his coming to North Valley. He had managed so far to keep a
+certain degree of aloofness, that he might see this industrial world
+without prejudice. But to-night his pity for Mary had involved him more
+deeply. To be sure, he might be able to help her, to find her work in
+some less crushing environment; but his mind went on to the
+question--how many girls might there be in mining-camps, young and
+eager, hungering for life, but crushed by poverty, and by the burden of
+the drink problem?
+
+A man walked past Hal, greeting him in the semi-darkness with a nod and
+a motion of the hand. It was the Reverend Spragg, the gentleman who was
+officially commissioned to combat the demon rum in North Valley.
+
+Hal had been to the little white church the Sunday before, and heard the
+Reverend Spragg preach a doctrinal sermon, in which the blood of the
+lamb was liberally sprinkled, and the congregation heard where and how
+they were to receive compensation for the distresses they endured in
+this vale of tears.
+
+What a mockery it seemed! Once, indubitably, people had believed such
+doctrines; they had been willing to go to the stake for them. But now
+nobody went to the stake for them--on the contrary, the company
+compelled every worker to contribute out of his scanty earnings towards
+the preaching of them. How could the most ignorant of zealots confront
+such an arrangement without suspicion of his own piety? Somewhere at the
+head of the great dividend-paying machine that was called the General
+Fuel Company must be some devilish intelligence that had worked it all
+out, that had given the orders to its ecclesiastical staff: “We want the
+present--we leave you the future! We want the bodies--we leave you the
+souls! Teach them what you will about heaven--so long as you let us
+plunder them on earth!”
+
+In accordance with this devil’s program, the Reverend Spragg might
+denounce the demon rum, but he said nothing about dividends based on the
+renting of rum-shops, nor about local politicians maintained by company
+contributions, plus the profits of wholesale liquor. He said nothing
+about the conclusions of modern hygiene, concerning over-work as a cause
+of the craving for alcohol; the phrase “industrial drinking,” it seemed,
+was not known in General Fuel Company theology! In fact, when you
+listened to such a sermon, you would never have guessed that the hearers
+of it had physical bodies at all; certainly you would never have guessed
+that the preacher had a body, which was nourished by food produced by
+the overworked and under-nourished wage-slaves whom he taught!
+
+
+
+SECTION 14.
+
+For the most part the victims of this system were cowed and spoke of
+their wrongs only in whispers; but there was one place in the camp, Hal
+found, where they could not keep silence, where their sense of outrage
+battled with their fear. This place was the solar plexus of the
+mine-organism, the centre of its nervous energies; to change the simile,
+it was the judgment-seat, where the miner had sentence passed upon
+him--sentence either to plenty, or to starvation and despair.
+
+This place was the “tipple,” where the coal that came out of the mine
+was weighed and recorded. Every digger, as he came from the cage, made
+for this spot. There was a bulletin-board, and on it his number, and the
+record of the weights of the cars he had sent out that day. And every
+man, no matter how ignorant, had learned enough English to read those
+figures.
+
+Hal had gradually come to realise that here was the place of drama. Most
+of the men would look, and then, without a sound or glance about, would
+slouch off with drooping shoulders. Others would mumble to
+themselves--or, what amounted to the same thing, would mumble to one
+another in barbarous dialects. But about one in five could speak
+English; and scarcely an evening passed that some man did not break
+loose, shaking his fist at the sky, or at the weigh-boss--behind the
+latter’s back. He might gather a knot of fellow-grumblers about him; it
+was to be noted that the camp-marshal had the habit of being on hand at
+this hour.
+
+It was on one of these occasions that Hal first noticed Mike Sikoria, a
+grizzle-haired old Slovak, who had spent twenty years in the mines of
+these regions. All the bitterness of all the wrongs of all these years
+welled up in Old Mike, as he shouted his score aloud: “Nineteen,
+twenty-two, twenty-four, twenty! Is that my weight, Mister? You want me
+to believe that’s my weight?”
+
+“That’s your weight,” said the weigh-boss, coldly.
+
+“Well, by Judas, your scale is off, Mister! Look at them cars--them cars
+is big! You measure them cars, Mister--seven feet long, three and a half
+feet high, four feet wide. And you tell me them don’t go but twenty?”
+
+“You don’t load them right,” said the boss.
+
+“Don’t load them right?” echoed the old miner; he became suddenly
+plaintive, as if more hurt than angered by such an insinuation. “You
+know all the years I work, and you tell me I don’t know a load? When I
+load a car, I load him like a miner, I don’t load him like a Jap, that
+don’t know about a mine! I put it up--I chunk it up like a stack of hay.
+I load him square--like that.” With gestures the old fellow was
+illustrating what he meant. “See there! There’s a ton on the top, and a
+ton and a half on the bottom--and you tell me I get only nineteen,
+twenty!”
+
+“That’s your weight,” said the boss, implacably.
+
+“But, Mister, your scale is wrong! I tell you I used to get my weight. I
+used to get forty-five, forty-six on them cars. Here’s my buddy--ask him
+if it ain’t so. What is it, Bo?”
+
+“Um m m-mum,” said Bo, who was a negro--though one could hardly be sure
+of this for the coal-dust on him.
+
+“I can’t make a living no more!” exclaimed the old Slovak, his voice
+trembling and his wizened dark eyes full of pleading. “What you think I
+make? For fifteen days, fifty cents! I pay board, and so help me God,
+Mister--and I stand right here--I swear for God I make fifty cents. I
+dig the coal and I ain’t got no weight, I ain’t got nothing! Your scale
+is wrong!”
+
+“Get out!” said the weigh-boss, turning away.
+
+“But, Mister!” cried Old Mike, following behind him, and pouring his
+whole soul into his words. “What is this life, Mister? You work like a
+burro, and you don’t get nothing for it! You burn your own powder--half
+a dollar a day powder--what you think of that? Crosscut--and you get
+nothing! Take the skip and a pillar, and you get nothing! Brush--and you
+get nothing! Here, by Judas, a poor man, going and working his body to
+the last point, and blood is run out! You starve me to death, I say! I
+have got to have something to eat, haven’t I?”
+
+And suddenly the boss whirled upon him. “Get the hell out of here!” he
+shouted. “If you don’t like it, get your time and quit. Shut your face,
+or I’ll shut it for you.”
+
+The old man quailed and fell silent. He stood for a moment more, biting
+his whiskered lips nervously; then his shoulders sank together, and he
+turned and slunk off, followed by his negro helper.
+
+
+
+SECTION 15.
+
+Old Mike boarded at Reminitsky’s, and after supper was over, Hal sought
+him out. He was easy to know, and proved an interesting acquaintance.
+With the help of his eloquence Hal wandered through a score of camps in
+the district. The old fellow had a temper that he could not manage, and
+so he was always on the move; but all places were alike, he said--there
+was always some trick by which a miner was cheated of his earnings. A
+miner was a little business man, a contractor who took a certain job,
+with its expenses and its chance of profit or loss. A “place” was
+assigned to him by the boss--and he undertook to get out the coal from
+it, being paid at the rate of fifty-five cents a ton for each ton of
+clean coal. In some “places” a man could earn good money, and in others
+he would work for weeks, and not be able to keep up with his
+store-account.
+
+It all depended upon the amount of rock and slate that was found with
+the coal. If the vein was low, the man had one or two feet of rock to
+take off the ceiling, and this had to be loaded on separate cars and
+taken away. This work was called “brushing,” and for it the miner
+received no pay. Or perhaps it was necessary to cut through a new
+passage, and clean out the rock; or perhaps to “grade the bottom,” and
+lay the ties and rails over which the cars were brought in to be loaded;
+or perhaps the vein ran into a “fault,” a broken place where there was
+rock instead of coal--and this rock must be hewed away before the miner
+could get at the coal. All such work was called “dead-work,” and it was
+the cause of unceasing war. In the old days the company had paid extra
+for it; now, since they had got the upper hand of the men, they were
+refusing to pay. And so it was important to the miner to have a “place”
+ assigned him where there was not so much of this dead work. And the
+“place” a man got depended upon the boss; so here, at the very outset,
+was endless opportunity for favouritism and graft, for quarrelling, or
+“keeping in” with the boss. What chance did a man stand who was poor and
+old and ugly, and could not speak English good? inquired old Mike, with
+bitterness. The boss stole his cars and gave them to other people; he
+took the weight off the cars, and gave them to fellows who boarded with
+him, or treated him to drinks, or otherwise curried favour with him.
+
+“I work five days in the Southeastern,” said Mike, “and when I work them
+five days, so help me God, brother, if I don’t get up out of this chair,
+fifteen cents I was still in the hole yet. Fourteen inches of rock! And
+the Mr. Bishop--that is the superintendent--I says, ‘Do you pay
+something for that rock?’ ‘Huh?’ says he. ‘Well,’ I says, ‘if you don’t
+pay nothing for the rock, I don’t go ahead with it. I ain’t got no place
+to put that rock.’ ‘Get the hell out of here,’ says he, and when I
+started to fight he pull gun on me. And then I go to Cedar Mountain, and
+the super give me work there, and he says, ‘You go Number Four,’ and he
+says, ‘Rail is in Number Three, and the ties.’ And he says, ‘I pay you
+for it when you put it in.’ So I take it away and I put it in, and I
+work till twelve o’clock. Carried the three pair of rails and the ties,
+and I pulled all the spikes--”
+
+“Pulled the spikes?” asked Hal.
+
+“Got no good spikes. Got to use old spikes, what you pull out of them
+old ties. So then I says, ‘What is my half day, what you promise me?’
+Says he, ‘You ain’t dug no coal yet!’ ‘But, mister,’ says I, ‘you
+promise me pay to pull them spikes and put in them ties!’ Says he,
+‘Company pay nothin’ for dead work--you know that,’ says he, and that is
+all the satisfaction I get.”
+
+“And you didn’t get your half day’s pay?”
+
+“Sure I get nothin’. Boss do just as he please in coal mine.”
+
+
+
+SECTION 16.
+
+There was another way, Old Mike explained, in which the miner was at the
+mercy of others; this was the matter of stealing cars. Each miner had
+brass checks with his number on them, and when he sent up a loaded car,
+he hung one of these checks on a hook inside. In the course of the long
+journey to the tipple, some one would change the check, and the car was
+gone. In some mines, the number was put on the car with chalk; and how
+easy it was for some one to rub it out and change it! It appeared to Hal
+that it would have been a simple matter to put a number padlock on the
+car, instead of a check; but such an equipment would have cost the
+company one or two hundred dollars, he was told, and so the stealing
+went on year after year.
+
+“You think it’s the bosses steal these cars?” asked Hal.
+
+“Sometimes bosses, sometimes bosses’ friend--sometimes company himself
+steal them from miners.” In North Valley it was the company, the old
+Slovak insisted. It was no use sending up more than six cars in one day,
+he declared; you could never get credit for more than six. Nor was it
+worth while loading more than a ton on a car; they did not really weigh
+the cars, the boss just ran them quickly over the scales, and had orders
+not to go above a certain average. Mike told of an Italian who had
+loaded a car for a test, so high that he could barely pass it under the
+roof of the entry, and went up on the tipple and saw it weighed himself,
+and it was sixty-five hundred pounds. They gave him thirty-five hundred,
+and when he started to fight, they arrested him. Mike had not seen him
+arrested, but when he had come out of the mine, the man was gone, and
+nobody ever saw him again. After that they put a door onto the
+weigh-room, so that no one could see the scales.
+
+The more Hal listened to the men and reflected upon these things, the
+more he came to see that the miner was a contractor who had no
+opportunity to determine the size of the contract before he took it on,
+nor afterwards to determine how much work he had done. More than that,
+he was obliged to use supplies, over the price and measurements of which
+he had no control. He used powder, and would find himself docked at the
+end of the month for a certain quantity, and if the quantity was wrong,
+he would have no redress. He was charged a certain sum for
+“black-smithing”--the keeping of his tools in order; and he would find a
+dollar or two deducted from his account each month, even though he had
+not been near the blacksmith shop.
+
+Let any business-man in the world consider the proposition, thought Hal,
+and say if he would take a contract upon such terms! Would a man
+undertake to build a dam, for example, with no chance to measure the
+ground in advance, nor any way of determining how many cubic yards of
+concrete he had to put in? Would a grocer sell to a customer who
+proposed to come into the store and do his own weighing--and meantime
+locking the grocer outside? Merely to put such questions was to show the
+preposterousness of the thing; yet in this district were fifteen
+thousand men working on precisely such terms.
+
+Under the state law, the miner had a right to demand a check-weighman to
+protect his interest at the scales, paying this check-weighman’s wages
+out of his own earnings. Whenever there was any public criticism about
+conditions in the coal-mines, this law would be triumphantly cited by
+the operators; and one had to have actual experience in order to realise
+what a bitter mockery this was to the miner.
+
+In the dining-room Hal sat next to a fair-haired Swedish giant named
+Johannson, who loaded timbers ten hours a day. This fellow was one who
+indulged in the luxury of speaking his mind, because he had youth and
+huge muscles, and no family to tie him down. He was what is called a
+“blanket-stiff,” wandering from mine to harvest-field and from
+harvest-field to lumber-camp. Some one broached the subject of
+check-weighmen to him, and the whole table heard his scornful laugh. Let
+any man ask for a check-weighman!
+
+“You mean they would fire him?” asked Hal.
+
+“Maybe!” was the answer. “Maybe they make him fire himself.”
+
+“How do you mean?”
+
+“They make his life one damn misery till he go.”
+
+So it was with check-weighman--as with scrip, and with company stores,
+and with all the provisions of the law to protect the miner against
+accidents. You might demand your legal rights, but if you did, it was a
+matter of the boss’s temper. He might make your life one damn misery
+till you went of your own accord. Or you might get a string of curses
+and an order, “Down the canyon!”--and likely as not the toe of a boot in
+your trouser-seat, or the muzzle of a revolver under your nose.
+
+
+
+SECTION 17.
+
+Such conditions made the coal-district a place of despair. Yet there
+were men who managed to get along somehow, and to raise families and
+keep decent homes. If one had the luck to escape accident, if he did not
+marry too young, or did not have too many children; if he could manage
+to escape the temptations of liquor, to which overwork and monotony
+drove so many; if, above all, he could keep on the right side of his
+boss--why then he might have a home, and even a little money on deposit
+with the company.
+
+Such a one was Jerry Minetti, who became one of Hal’s best friends. He
+was a Milanese, and his name was Gerolamo, which had become Jerry in the
+“melting-pot.” He was about twenty-five years of age, and what is
+unusual with the Italians, was of good stature. Their meeting took
+place--as did most of Hal’s social experiences--on a Sunday. Jerry had
+just had a sleep and a wash, and had put on a pair of new blue overalls,
+so that he presented a cheering aspect in the sunlight. He walked with
+his head up and his shoulders square, and one could see that he had few
+cares in the world.
+
+But what caught Hal’s attention was not so much Jerry as what followed
+at Jerry’s heels; a perfect reproduction of him, quarter-size, also with
+a newly-washed face and a pair of new blue overalls. He too had his head
+up, and his shoulders square, and he was an irresistible object,
+throwing out his heels and trying his best to keep step. Since the
+longest strides he could take left him behind, he would break into a
+run, and getting close under his father’s heels, would begin keeping
+step once more.
+
+Hal was going in the same direction, and it affected him like the music
+of a military band; he too wanted to throw his head up and square his
+shoulders and keep step. And then other people, seeing the grin on his
+face, would turn and watch, and grin also. But Jerry walked on gravely,
+unaware of this circus in the rear.
+
+They went into a house; and Hal, having nothing to do but enjoy life,
+stood waiting for them to come out. They returned in the same
+procession, only now the man had a sack of something on his shoulder,
+while the little chap had a smaller load poised in imitation. So Hal
+grinned again, and when they were opposite him, he said, “Hello.”
+
+“Hello,” said Jerry, and stopped. Then, seeing Hal’s grin, he grinned
+back; and Hal looked at the little chap and grinned, and the little chap
+grinned back. Jerry, seeing what Hal was grinning at, grinned more than
+ever; so there stood all three in the middle of the road, grinning at
+one another for no apparent reason.
+
+“Gee, but that’s a great kid!” said Hal.
+
+“Gee, you bet!” said Jerry; and he set down his sack. If some one
+desired to admire the kid, he was willing to stop any length of time.
+
+“Yours?” asked Hal.
+
+“You bet!” said Jerry, again.
+
+“Hello, Buster!” said Hal.
+
+“Hello yourself!” said the kid. One could see in a moment that he had
+been in the “melting-pot.”
+
+“What’s your name?” asked Hal.
+
+“Jerry,” was the reply.
+
+“And what’s his name?” Hal nodded towards the man--
+
+“Big Jerry.”
+
+“Got any more like you at home?”
+
+“One more,” said Big Jerry. “Baby.”
+
+“He ain’t like me,” said Little Jerry. “He’s little.”
+
+“And you’re big?” said Hal.
+
+“He can’t walk!”
+
+“Neither can you walk!” laughed Hal, and caught him up and slung him
+onto his shoulder. “Come on, we’ll ride!”
+
+So Big Jerry took up his sack again, and they started off; only this
+time it was Hal who fell behind and kept step, squaring his shoulders
+and flinging out his heels. Little Jerry caught onto the joke, and
+giggled and kicked his sturdy legs with delight. Big Jerry would look
+round, not knowing what the joke was, but enjoying it just the same.
+
+They came to the three-room cabin which was Both Jerrys’ home; and Mrs.
+Jerry came to the door, a black-eyed Sicilian girl, who did not look old
+enough to have even one baby. They had another bout of grinning, at the
+end of which Big Jerry said, “You come in?”
+
+“Sure,” said Hal.
+
+“You stay supper,” added the other. “Got spaghetti.”
+
+“Gee!” said Hal. “All right, let me stay, and pay for it.”
+
+“Hell, no!” said Jerry. “You no pay!”
+
+“No! No pay!” cried Mrs. Jerry, shaking her pretty head energetically.
+
+“All right,” said Hal, quickly, seeing that he might hurt their
+feelings. “I’ll stay if you’re sure you have enough.”
+
+“Sure, plenty!” said Jerry. “Hey, Rosa?”
+
+“Sure, plenty!” said Mrs. Jerry.
+
+“Then I’ll stay,” said Hal. “You like spaghetti, Kid?”
+
+“Jesus!” cried Little Jerry.
+
+Hal looked about him at this Dago home. It was a tome in keeping with
+its pretty occupant. There were lace curtains in the windows, even
+shinier and whiter than at the Rafferties; there was an incredibly
+bright-coloured rug on the floor, and bright coloured pictures of Mount
+Vesuvius and of Garibaldi on the walls. Also there was a cabinet with
+many interesting treasures to look at--a bit of coral and a conch-shell,
+a shark’s tooth and an Indian arrow-head, and a stuffed linnet with a
+glass cover over him. A while back Hal would not have thought of such
+things as especially stimulating to the imagination; but that was before
+he had begun to spend five-sixths of his waking hours in the bowels of
+the earth.
+
+He ate supper, a real Dago supper; the spaghetti proved to be real Dago
+spaghetti, smoking hot, with tomato sauce and a rich flavour of
+meat-juice. And all through the meal Hal smacked his lips and grinned at
+Little Jerry, who smacked his lips and grinned back. It was all so
+different from feeding at Reminitsky’s pig-trough, that Hal thought he
+had never had such a good supper in his life before. As for Mr. and Mrs.
+Jerry, they were so proud of their wonderful kid, who could swear in
+English as good as a real American, that they were in the seventh
+heaven.
+
+When the meal was over, Hal leaned back and exclaimed, just as he had at
+the Rafferties’, “Lord, how I wish I could board here!”
+
+He saw his host look at his wife. “All right,” said he. “You come here.
+I board you. Hey, Rosa?”
+
+“Sure,” said Rosa.
+
+Hal looked at them, astonished. “You’re sure they’ll let you?” he asked.
+
+“Let me? Who stop me?”
+
+“I don’t know. Maybe Reminitsky. You might get into trouble.”
+
+Jerry grinned. “I no fraid,” said he. “Got friends here. Carmino my
+cousin. You know Carmino?”
+
+“No,” said Hal.
+
+“Pit-boss in Number One. He stand by me. Old Reminitsky go hang! You
+come here, I give you bunk in that room, give you good grub. What you
+pay Reminitsky?”
+
+“Twenty-seven a month.”
+
+“All right, you pay me twenty-seven, you get everything good. Can’t get
+much stuff here, but Rosa good cook, she fix it.”
+
+Hal’s new friend--besides being a favourite of the boss--was a
+“shot-firer”; it was his duty to go about the mine at night, setting off
+the charges of powder which the miners had got ready by day. This was
+dangerous work, calling for a skilled man, and it paid pretty well; so
+Jerry got on in the world and was not afraid to speak his mind, within
+certain limits. He ignored the possibility that Hal might be a company
+spy, and astonished him by rebellious talk of the different kinds of
+graft in North Valley, and at other places he had worked since coming to
+America as a boy. Minetti was a Socialist, Hal learned; he took an
+Italian Socialist paper, and the clerk at the post-office knew what sort
+of paper it was, and would “josh” him about it. What was more
+remarkable, Mrs. Minetti was a Socialist also; that meant a great deal
+to a man, as Jerry explained, because she was not under the domination
+of a priest.
+
+
+
+SECTION 18.
+
+Hal made the move at once, sacrificing part of a month’s board, which
+Reminitsky would charge against his account with the company. But he was
+willing to pay for the privilege of a clean home and clean food. To his
+amusement he found that in the eyes of his Irish friends he was losing
+caste by going to live with the Minettis. There were most rigid social
+lines in North Valley, it appeared. The Americans and English and Scotch
+looked down upon the Welsh and Irish; the Welsh and Irish looked down
+upon the Dagoes and Frenchies; the Dagoes and Frenchies looked down upon
+Polacks and Hunkies, these in turn upon Greeks, Bulgarians and
+“Montynegroes,” and so on through a score of races of Eastern Europe,
+Lithuanians, Slovaks, and Croatians, Armenians, Roumanians, Rumelians,
+Ruthenians--ending up with Greasers, niggers, and last and lowest, Japs.
+
+It was when Hal went to pay another call upon the Rafferties that he
+made this discovery. Mary Burke happened to be there, and when she
+caught sight of him, her grey eyes beamed with mischief. “How do ye do,
+Mr. Minetti?” she cried.
+
+“How do ye do, Miss Rosetti?” he countered.
+
+“You lika da spagett?”
+
+“You no lika da spagett?”
+
+“I told ye once,” laughed the girl--“the good old pertaties is good
+enough for me!”
+
+“And you remember,” said he, “what I answered?”
+
+Yes, she remembered! Her cheeks took on the colour of the rose-leaves he
+had specified as her probable diet.
+
+And then the Rafferty children, who had got to know Hal well, joined in
+the teasing. “Mister Minetti! Lika da spagetti!” Hal, when he had
+grasped the situation, was tempted to retaliate by reminding them that
+he had offered to board with the Irish, and been turned down; but he
+feared that the elder Rafferty might not appreciate this joke, so
+instead he pretended to have supposed all along that the Rafferties were
+Italians. He addressed the elder Rafferty gravely, pronouncing the name
+with the accent on the second syllable--“Signer Rafferti”; and this so
+amused the old man that he chuckled over it at intervals for an hour.
+His heart warmed to this lively young fellow; he forgot some of his
+suspicions, and after the youngsters had been sent away to bed, he
+talked more or less frankly about his life as a coal-miner.
+
+“Old Rafferty” had once been on the way to high station. He had been
+made tipple-boss at the San José mine, but had given up his job because
+he had thought that his religion did not permit him to do what he was
+ordered to do. It had been a crude proposition of keeping the men’s
+score at a certain level, no matter how much coal they might send up;
+and when Rafferty had quit rather than obey such orders, he had had to
+leave the mine altogether; for of course everybody knew why he had quit,
+and his mere presence had the effect of keeping discontent alive.
+
+“You think there are no honest companies at all?” Hal asked.
+
+The old man answered, “There be some, but ’tis not so easy as ye might
+think to be honest. They have to meet each other’s prices, and when one
+short-weights, the others have to. ’Tis a way of cuttin’ wages without
+the men findin’ it out; and there be people that do not like to fall
+behind with their profits.” Hal found himself thinking of old Peter
+Harrigan, who controlled the General Fuel Company, and had made the
+remark: “I am a great clamourer for dividends!”
+
+“The trouble with the miner,” continued Old Rafferty, “is that he has no
+one to speak for him. He stands alone--”
+
+During this discourse, Hal had glanced at “Red Mary,” and noticed that
+she sat with her arms on the table, her sturdy shoulders bowed in a
+fashion which told of a hard day’s toil. But here she broke into the
+conversation; her voice came suddenly, alive with scorn: “The trouble
+with the miner is that he’s a _slave!_”
+
+“Ah, now--” put in the old man, protestingly.
+
+“He has the whole world against him, and he hasn’t got the sense to get
+together--to form a union, and stand by it!”
+
+There fell a sudden silence in the Rafferty home. Even Hal was
+startled--for this was the first time during his stay in the camp that
+he had heard the dread word “union” spoken above a whisper.
+
+“I know!” said Mary, her grey eyes full of defiance. “Ye’ll not have the
+word spoken! But some will speak it in spite of ye!”
+
+“’Tis all very well,” said the old man. “When ye’re young, and a woman
+too--”
+
+“A woman! Is it only the women that can have courage?”
+
+“Sure,” said he, with a wry smile, “’tis the women that have the
+tongues, and that can’t he stopped from usin’ them. Even the boss must
+know that.”
+
+“Maybe so,” replied Mary. “And maybe ’tis the women have the most to
+suffer in a coal-camp; and maybe the boss knows that.” The girl’s cheeks
+were red.
+
+“Mebbe so,” said Rafferty; and after that there was silence, while he
+sat puffing his pipe. It was evident that he did not care to go on, that
+he did not want union speeches made in his home. After a while Mrs.
+Rafferty made a timid effort to change the course of the talk, by asking
+after Mary’s sister, who had not been well; and after they had discussed
+remedies for the ailments of children, Mary rose, saying, “I’ll be goin’
+along.”
+
+Hal rose also. “I’ll walk with you, if I may,” he said.
+
+“Sure,” said she; and it seemed that the cheerfulness of the Rafferty
+family was restored by the sight of a bit of gallantry.
+
+
+
+SECTION 19.
+
+They strolled down the street, and Hal remarked, “That’s the first word
+I’ve heard here about a union.”
+
+Mary looked about her nervously. “Hush!” she whispered.
+
+“But I thought you said you were talking about it!”
+
+She answered, “’Tis one thing, talkin’ in a friend’s house, and another
+outside. What’s the good of throwin’ away your job?”
+
+He lowered his voice. “Would you seriously like to have a union here?”
+
+“Seriously?” said she. “Didn’t ye see Mr. Rafferty--what a coward he is?
+That’s the way they are! No, ’twas just a burst of my temper. I’m a bit
+crazy to-night--something happened to set me off.”
+
+He thought she was going on, but apparently she changed her mind.
+Finally he asked, “What happened?”
+
+“Oh, ’twould do no good to talk,” she answered; and they walked a bit
+farther in silence.
+
+“Tell me about it, won’t you?” he said; and the kindness in his tone
+made its impression.
+
+“’Tis not much ye know of a coal-camp, Joe Smith,” she said. “Can’t ye
+imagine what it’s like--bein’ a woman in a place like this? And a woman
+they think good-lookin’!”
+
+“Oh, so it’s that!” said he, and was silent again. “Some one’s been
+troubling you?” he ventured after a while.
+
+“Sure! Some one’s always troublin’ us women! Always! Never a day but we
+hear it. Winks and nudges--everywhere ye turn.”
+
+“Who is it?”
+
+“The bosses, the clerks--anybody that has a chance to wear a stiff
+collar, and thinks he can offer money to a girl. It begins before she’s
+out of short skirts, and there’s never any peace afterwards.”
+
+“And you can’t make them understand?”
+
+“I’ve made them understand me a bit; now they go after my old man.”
+
+“What?”
+
+“Sure! D’ye suppose they’d not try that? Him that’s so crazy for liquor,
+and can never get enough of it!”
+
+“And your father?--” But Hal stopped. She would not want that question
+asked!
+
+She had seen his hesitation, however. “He was a decent man once,” she
+declared. “’Tis the life here, that turns a man into a coward. ’Tis
+everything ye need, everywhere ye turn--ye have to ask favours from some
+boss. The room ye work in, the dead work they pile on ye; or maybe ’tis
+more credit ye need at the store, or maybe the doctor to come when ye’re
+sick. Just now ’tis our roof that leaks--so bad we can’t find a dry
+place to sleep when it rains.”
+
+“I see,” said Hal. “Who owns the house?”
+
+“Sure, there’s none but company houses here.”
+
+“Who’s supposed to fix it?”
+
+“Mr. Kosegi, the house-agent. But we gave him up long ago--if he does
+anything, he raises the rent. Today my father went to Mr. Cotton. He’s
+supposed to look out for the health of the place, and it seems hardly
+healthy to keep people wet in their beds.”
+
+“And what did Cotton say?” asked Hal, when she stopped again.
+
+“Well, don’t ye know Jeff Cotton--can’t ye guess what he’d say? ‘That’s
+a fine girl ye got, Burke! Why don’t ye make her listen to reason?’ And
+then he laughed, and told me old father he’d better learn to take a
+hint. ’Twas bad for an old man to sleep in the rain--he might get
+carried off by pneumonia.”
+
+Hal could no longer keep back the question, “What did your father do?”
+
+“I’d not have ye think hard of my old father,” she said, quickly. “He
+used to be a fightin’ man, in the days before O’Callahan had his way
+with him. But now he knows what a camp-marshal can do to a miner!”
+
+
+
+SECTION 20.
+
+Mary Burke had said that the company could stand breaking the bones of
+its men; and not long after Number Two started up again, Hal had a
+chance to note the truth of this assertion.
+
+A miner’s life depended upon the proper timbering of the room where he
+worked. The company undertook to furnish the timbers, but when the miner
+needed them, he would find none at hand, and would have to make the
+mile-long trip to the surface. He would select timbers of the proper
+length, and would mark them--the understanding being that they were to
+be delivered to his room by some of the labourers. But then some one
+else would carry them off--here was more graft and favouritism, and the
+miner might lose a day or two of work, while meantime his account was
+piling up at the store, and his children might have no shoes to go to
+school. Sometimes he would give up waiting for timbers, and go on taking
+out coal; so there would be a fall of rock--and the coroner’s jury would
+bring in a verdict of “negligence,” and the coal-operators would talk
+solemnly about the impossibility of teaching caution to miners. Not so
+very long ago Hal had read an interview which the president of the
+General Fuel Company had given to a newspaper, in which he set forth the
+idea that the more experience a miner had the more dangerous it was to
+employ him, because he thought he knew it all, and would not heed the
+wise regulations which the company laid down for his safety!
+
+In Number Two mine there were some places being operated by the “room
+and pillar” method; the coal being taken out as from a series of rooms,
+the portion corresponding to the walls of the rooms being left to uphold
+the roof. These walls are the “pillars”; and when the end of the vein is
+reached, the miner begins to work backwards, “pulling the pillars,” and
+letting the roof collapse behind him. This is a dangerous task; as he
+works, the man has to listen to the drumming sounds of the rock above
+his head, and has to judge just when to make his escape. Sometimes he is
+too anxious to save a tool; or sometimes the collapse comes without
+warning. In that case the victim is seldom dug out; for it must be
+admitted that a man buried under a mountain is as well buried as a
+company could be expected to arrange it.
+
+In Number Two mine a man was caught in this way. He stumbled as he ran,
+and the lower half of his body was pinned fast; the doctor had to come
+and pump opiates into him, while the rescue crew was digging him loose.
+The first Hal knew of the accident was when he saw the body stretched
+out on a plank, with a couple of old sacks to cover it. He noticed that
+nobody stopped for a second glance. Going up from work, he asked his
+friend Madvik, the mule driver, who answered, “Lit’uanian feller--got
+mash.” And that was all. Nobody knew him, and nobody cared about him.
+
+It happened that Mike Sikoria had been working nearby, and was one of
+those who helped to get the victim out. Mike’s negro “buddy” had been in
+too great haste to get some of the rock out of the way, and had got his
+hand crushed, and would not be able to work for a month or so. Mike told
+Hal about it, in his broken English. It was a terrible thing to see a
+man trapped like that, gasping, his eyes almost popping out of his head.
+Fortunately he was a young fellow, and had no family.
+
+Hal asked what they would do with the body; the answer was they would
+bury him in the morning. The company had a piece of ground up the
+canyon.
+
+“But won’t they have an inquest?” he inquired.
+
+“Inques’?” repeated the other. “What’s he?”
+
+“Doesn’t the coroner see the body?”
+
+The old Slovak shrugged his bowed shoulders; if there was a coroner in
+this part of the world, he had never heard of it; and he had worked in a
+good many mines, and seen a good many men put under the ground. “Put him
+in a box and dig a hole,” was the way he described the procedure.
+
+“And doesn’t the priest come?”
+
+“Priest too far away.”
+
+Afterwards Hal made inquiry among the English-speaking men, and learned
+that the coroner did sometimes come to the camp. He would empanel a jury
+consisting of Jeff Cotton, the marshal, and Predovich, the Galician Jew
+who worked in the company store, and a clerk or two from the company’s
+office, and a couple of Mexican labourers who had no idea what it was
+all about. This jury would view the corpse, and ask a couple of men what
+had happened, and then bring in a verdict: “We find that the deceased
+met his death from a fall of rock caused by his own fault.” (In one case
+they had added the picturesque detail: “No relatives, and damned few
+friends!”)
+
+For this service the coroner got a fee, and the company got an official
+verdict, which would be final in case some foreign consul should
+threaten a damage suit. So well did they have matters in hand that
+nobody in North Valley had ever got anything for death or injury; in
+fact, as Hal found later, there had not been a damage suit filed against
+any coal-operator in that county for twenty-three years!
+
+This particular, accident was of consequence to Hal, because it got him
+a chance to see the real work of mining. Old Mike was without a helper,
+and made the proposition that Hal should take the job. It was better
+than a stableman’s, for it paid two dollars a day.
+
+“But will the boss let me change?” asked Hal.
+
+“You give him ten dollar, he change you,” said Mike.
+
+“Sorry,” said Hal, “I haven’t got ten dollars.”
+
+“You give him ten dollar credit,” said the other.
+
+And Hal laughed. “They take scrip for graft, do they?”
+
+“Sure they take him,” said Mike.
+
+“Suppose I treat my mules bad?” continued the other. “So I can make him
+change me for nothing!”
+
+“He change you to hell!” replied Mike. “You get him cross, he put us in
+bad room, cost us ten dollar a week. No, sir--you give him drink, say
+fine feller, make him feel good. You talk American--give him jolly!”
+
+
+
+SECTION 21.
+
+Hal was glad of this opportunity to get better acquainted with his
+pit-boss. Alec Stone was six feet high, and built in proportion, with
+arms like hams--soft with fat, yet possessed of enormous strength. He
+had learned his manner of handling men on a sugar-plantation in
+Louisiana--a fact which, when Hal heard it, explained much. Like a
+stage-manager who does not heed the real names of his actors, but calls
+them by their character-names, Stone had the habit of addressing his men
+by their nationalities: “You, Polack, get that rock into the car! Hey,
+Jap, bring them tools over here! Shut your mouth, now, Dago, and get to
+work, or I’ll kick the breeches off you, sure as you’re alive!”
+
+Hal had witnessed one occasion when there was a dispute as to whose duty
+it was to move timbers. There was a great two-handled cross-cut saw
+lying on the ground, and Stone seized it and began to wave it, like a
+mighty broadsword, in the face of a little Bohemian miner. “Load them
+timbers, Hunkie, or I’ll carve you into bits!” And as the terrified man
+shrunk back, he followed, until his victim was flat against a wall, the
+weapon swinging to and fro under his nose after the fashion of “The Pit
+and the Pendulum.” “Carve you into pieces, Hunkie! Carve you into
+stew-meat!” When at last the boss stepped back, the little Bohemian
+leaped to load the timbers.
+
+The curious part about it to Hal was that Stone seemed to be reasonably
+good-natured about such proceedings. Hardly one time in a thousand did
+he carry out his bloodthirsty threats, and like as not he would laugh
+when he had finished his tirade, and the object of it would grin in
+turn--but without slackening his frightened efforts. After the
+broad-sword waving episode, seeing that Hal had been watching, the boss
+remarked, “That’s the way you have to manage them wops.” Hal took this
+remark as a tribute to his American blood, and was duly flattered.
+
+He sought out the boss that evening, and found him with his feet upon
+the railing of his home. “Mr. Stone,” said he, “I’ve something I’d like
+to ask you.”
+
+“Fire away, kid,” said the other.
+
+“Won’t you come up to the saloon and have a drink?”
+
+“Want to get something out of me, hey? You can’t work me, kid!” But
+nevertheless he slung down his feet from the railing, and knocked the
+ashes out of his pipe and strolled up the street with Hal.
+
+“Mr. Stone,” said Hal, “I want to make a change.”
+
+“What’s that? Got a grouch on them mules?”
+
+“No, sir, but I got a better job in sight. Mike Sikoria’s buddy is laid
+up, and I’d like to take his place, if you’re willing.”
+
+“Why, that’s a nigger’s place, kid. Ain’t you scared to take a nigger’s
+place?”
+
+“Why, sir?”
+
+“Don’t you know about hoodoos?”
+
+“What I want,” said Hal, “is the nigger’s pay.”
+
+“No,” said the boss, abruptly, “you stick by them mules. I got a good
+stableman, and I don’t want to spoil him. You stick, and by and by I’ll
+give you a raise. You go into them pits, the first thing you know you’ll
+get a fall of rock on your head, and the nigger’s pay won’t be no good
+to you.”
+
+They came to the saloon and entered. Hal noted that a silence fell
+within, and every one nodded and watched. It was pleasant to be seen
+going out with one’s boss.
+
+O’Callahan, the proprietor, came forward with his best society smile and
+joined them, and at Hal’s invitation they ordered whiskies. “No, you
+stick to your job,” continued the pit-boss. “You stay by it, and when
+you’ve learned to manage mules, I’ll make a boss out of you, and let you
+manage men.”
+
+Some of the bystanders tittered. The pit-boss poured down his whiskey,
+and set the glass on the bar. “That’s no joke,” said he, in a tone that
+every one could hear. “I learned that long ago about niggers. They’d say
+to me, ‘For God’s sake, don’t talk to our niggers like that. Some night
+you’ll have your house set afire.’ But I said, ‘Pet a nigger, and you’ve
+got a spoiled nigger.’ I’d say, ‘Nigger, don’t you give me any of your
+imp, or I’ll kick the breeches off you.’ And they knew I was a
+gentleman, and they stepped lively.”
+
+“Have another drink,” said Hal.
+
+The pit-boss drank, and becoming more sociable, told nigger stories. On
+the sugar-plantations there was a rush season, when the rule was twenty
+hours’ work a day; when some of the niggers tried to shirk it, they
+would arrest them for swearing or crap-shooting, and work them as
+convicts, without pay. The pit-boss told how one “buck” had been brought
+before the justice of the peace, and the charge read, “being
+cross-eyed”; for which offence he had been sentenced to sixty days’ hard
+labour. This anecdote was enjoyed by the men in the saloon--whose
+race-feelings seemed to be stronger than their class-feelings.
+
+When the pair went out again, it was late, and the boss was cordial.
+“Mr. Stone,” began Hal, “I don’t want to bother you, but I’d like first
+rate to get more pay. If you could see your way to let me have that
+buddy’s job, I’d be more than glad to divide with you.”
+
+“Divide with me?” said Stone. “How d’ye mean?” Hal waited with some
+apprehension--for if Mike had not assured him so positively, he would
+have expected a swing from the pit-boss’s mighty arm.
+
+“It’s worth about fifteen a month more to me. I haven’t any cash, but if
+you’d be willing to charge off ten dollars from my store-account, it
+would be well worth my while.”
+
+They walked for a short way in silence. “Well, I’ll tell you,” said the
+boss, at last; “that old Slovak is a kicker--one of these fellows that
+thinks he could run the mine if he had a chance. And if you get to
+listenin’ to him, and think you can come to me and grumble, by God--”
+
+“That’s all right, sir,” put in Hal, quickly. “I’ll manage that for
+you--I’ll shut him up. If you’d like me to, I’ll see what fellows he
+talks with, and if any of them are trying to make trouble, I’ll tip you
+off.”
+
+“Now that’s the talk,” said the boss, promptly. “You do that, and I’ll
+keep my eye on you and give you a chance. Not that I’m afraid of the old
+fellow--I told him last time that if I heard from him again, I’d kick
+the breeches off him. But when you got half a thousand of this foreign
+scum, some of them Anarchists, and some of them Bulgars and Montynegroes
+that’s been fightin’ each other at home--”
+
+“I understand,” said Hal. “You have to watch ’em.”
+
+“That’s it,” said the pit-boss. “And by the way, when you tell the
+store-clerk about that fifteen dollars, just say you lost it at poker.”
+
+“I said ten dollars,” put in Hal, quickly.
+
+“Yes, I know,” responded the other. “But _I_ said fifteen!”
+
+
+
+SECTION 22.
+
+Hal told himself with satisfaction that he was now to do the real work
+of coal-mining. His imagination had been occupied with it for a long
+time; but as so often happens in the life of man, the first contact with
+reality killed the results of many years’ imagining. It killed all
+imagining, in fact; Hal found that his entire stock of energy, both
+mental and physical, was consumed in enduring torment. If any one had
+told him the horror of attempting to work in a room five feet high, he
+would not have believed it. It was like some of the dreadful devices of
+torture which one saw in European castles, the “iron maiden” and the
+“spiked collar.” Hal’s back burned as if hot irons were being run up and
+down it; every separate joint and muscle cried aloud. It seemed as if he
+could never learn the lesson of the jagged ceiling above his head--he
+bumped it and continued to bump it, until his scalp was a mass of cuts
+and bruises, and his head ached till he was nearly blind, and he would
+have to throw himself flat on the ground.
+
+Then old Mike Sikoria would grin. “I know. Like green mule! Some day get
+tough!”
+
+Hal recalled the great thick callouses on the flanks of his former
+charges, where the harness rubbed against them. “Yes, I’m a ‘green
+mule,’ all right!”
+
+It was amazing how many ways there were to bruise and tear one’s
+fingers, loading lumps of coal into a car. He put on a pair of gloves,
+but these wore through in a day. And then the gas, and the smoke of
+powder, stifling one; and the terrible burning of the eyes, from the
+dust and the feeble light. There was no way to rub these burning eyes,
+because everything about one was equally dusty. Could anybody have
+imagined the torment of that--any of those ladies who rode in softly
+upholstered parlour-cars, or reclined upon the decks of steam-ships in
+gleaming tropic seas?
+
+Old Mike was good to his new “buddy.” Mike’s spine was bent and his
+hands were hardened by forty years of this sort of toil, so he could do
+the work of two men, and entertain his friend with comments into the
+bargain. The old fellow had the habit of talking all the time, like a
+child; he would talk to his helper, to himself, to his tools. He would
+call these tools by obscene and terrifying names--but with entire
+friendliness and good humour. “Get in there, you son-of-a-gun!” he would
+say to his pick. “Come along here, you wop!” he would say to his car.
+“In with you, now, you old buster!” he would say to a lump of coal. And
+he would lecture Hal on the details of mining. He would tell stories of
+successful days, or of terrible mishaps. Above all he would tell about
+rascality--cursing the “G. F. C.,” its foremen and superintendents, its
+officials, directors and stock-holders, and the world which permitted
+such a criminal institution to exist.
+
+Noon-time would come, and Hal would lie upon his back, too worn to eat.
+Old Mike would sit munching; his abundant whiskers came to a point on
+his chin, and as his jaws moved, he looked for all the world like an
+aged billy-goat. He was a kind-hearted and anxious old billy-goat, and
+sought to tempt his buddy with a bit of cheese or a swig of cold coffee.
+He believed in eating--no man could keep up steam if he did not stoke
+the furnace. Failing in this, he would try to divert Hal’s mind, telling
+stories of mining-life in America and Russia. He was most proud to have
+an “American feller” for a buddy, and tried to make the work as easy as
+possible, for fear lest Hal might quit.
+
+Hal did not quit; but he would drag himself out towards night, so
+exhausted that he would fall asleep in the cage. He would fall asleep at
+supper, and go in and sink down on his cot and sleep like a log. And oh,
+the torture of being routed out before daybreak! Having to shake the
+sleep out of his head, and move his creaking joints, and become aware of
+the burning in his eyes, and the blisters and sores on his hands!
+
+It was a week before he had a moment that was not pain; and he never got
+fully used to the labour. It was impossible for any one to work so hard
+and keep his mental alertness, his eagerness and sensitiveness; it was
+impossible to work so hard and be an adventurer--to be anything, in
+fact, but a machine. Hal had heard that phrase of contempt, “the inertia
+of the masses,” and had wondered about it. He no longer wondered, he
+knew. Could a man be brave enough to protest to a pit-boss when his body
+was numb with weariness? Could he think out a definite conclusion as to
+his rights and wrongs, and back his conclusion with effective action,
+when his mental faculties were paralysed by such weariness of body?
+
+Hal had come here, as one goes upon the deck of a ship in mid-ocean, to
+see the storm. In this ocean of social misery, of ignorance and despair,
+one saw upturned, tortured faces, writhing limbs and clutching hands; in
+one’s ears was a storm of lamentation, upon one’s cheek a spray of blood
+and tears. Hal found himself so deep in this ocean that he could no
+longer find consolation in the thought that he could escape whenever he
+wanted to: that he could say to himself, It is sad, it is terrible--but
+thank God, I can get out of it when I choose! I can go back into the
+warm and well-lighted saloon and tell the other passengers how
+picturesque it is, what an interesting experience they are missing!
+
+
+
+SECTION 23.
+
+During these days of torment, Hal did not go to see “Red Mary”; but
+then, one evening, the Minettis’ baby having been sick, she came in to
+ask about it, bringing what she called “a bit of a custard” in a bowl.
+Hal was suspicious enough of the ways of men, especially of
+business-men; but when it came to women he was without insight--it did
+not occur to him as singular that an Irish girl with many troubles at
+home should come out to nurse a Dago woman’s baby. He did not reflect
+that there were plenty of sick Irish babies in the camp, to whom Mary
+might have taken her “bit of a custard.” And when he saw the surprise of
+Rosa, who had never met Mary before, he took it to be the touching
+gratitude of the poor!
+
+There are, in truth, many kinds of women, with many arts, and no man has
+time to learn them all. Hal had observed the shop-girl type, who dress
+themselves with many frills, and cast side-long glances, and indulge in
+fits of giggles to attract the attention of the male; he was familiar
+with the society-girl type, who achieve the same end with more subtle
+and alluring means. But could there be a type who hold little Dago
+babies in their laps, and call them pretty Irish names, and feed them
+custard out of a spoon? Hal had never heard of that kind, and he thought
+that “Red Mary” made a charming picture--a Celtic madonna with a
+Sicilian infant in her arms.
+
+He noticed that she was wearing the same faded blue calico-dress with a
+patch on the shoulder. Man though he was, he realised that dress is an
+important consideration in the lives of women. He was tempted to suspect
+that this blue calico might be the only dress that Mary owned; but
+seeing it newly laundered every time, he concluded that she must have at
+least one other. At any rate, here she was, crisp and fresh-looking; and
+with the new shining costume, she had put on the long promised “company
+manner”: high spirits and badinage, precisely like any belle of the
+world of luxury, who powders and bedecks herself for a ball. She had
+been grim and complaining in former meetings with this interesting young
+man; she had frightened him away, apparently; perhaps she could win him
+back by womanliness and good humour.
+
+She rallied him upon his battered scalp and his creaking back, telling
+him he looked ten years older--which he was fully prepared to believe.
+Also she had fun with him for working under a Slovak--another loss of
+caste, it appeared! This was a joke the Minettis could share
+in--especially Little Jerry, who liked jokes. He told Mary how Joe Smith
+had had to pay fifteen dollars for his new job, besides several drinks
+at O’Callahan’s. Also he told how Mike Sikoria had called Joe his “green
+mule.” Little Jerry complained about the turn of events, for in the old
+days Joe had taught him a lot of fine new games--and now he was sore,
+and would not play them. Also, in the old days he had sung a lot of
+jolly songs, full of the most fascinating rhymes. There was a song about
+a “monkey puzzle tree”! Had Mary ever seen that kind of tree? Little
+Jerry never got tired of trying to imagine what it might look like.
+
+The Dago urchin stood and watched gravely while Mary fed the custard to
+the baby; and when two or three spoonfuls were held out to him, he
+opened his mouth wide, and afterwards licked his lips. Gee, that was
+good stuff!
+
+When the last taste was gone, he stood gazing at Mary’s shining coronet.
+“Say,” said he, “was your hair always like that?”
+
+Hal and Mary burst into laughter, while Rosa cried “Hush!” She was never
+sure what this youngster would say next.
+
+“Sure, did ye think I painted it?” asked Mary.
+
+“I didn’t know,” said Little Jerry. “It looks so nice and new.” And he
+turned to Hal. “Ain’t it?”
+
+“You bet,” said Hal, and added, “Go on and tell her about it. Girls like
+compliments.”
+
+“Compliments?” echoed Little Jerry. “What’s that?”
+
+“Why,” said Hal, “that’s when you say that her hair is like the sunrise,
+and her eyes are like twilight, or that she’s a wild rose on a
+mountain-side.”
+
+“Oh,” said the Dago urchin, somewhat doubtfully. “Anyhow,” he added,
+“she make nice custard!”
+
+
+
+SECTION 24.
+
+The time came for Mary to take her departure, and Hal got up, wincing
+with pain, to escort her home. She regarded him gravely, having not
+realised before how seriously he was suffering. As they walked along she
+asked, “Why do ye do such work, when ye don’t have to?”
+
+“But I _do_ have to! I have to earn a living!”
+
+“Ye don’t have to earn it that way! A bright young fellow like you--an
+American!”
+
+“Well,” said Hal, “I thought it would be interesting to see coal
+mining.”
+
+“Now ye’ve seen it,” said the girl--“now quit!”
+
+“But it won’t do me any harm to go on for a while!”
+
+“Won’t it? How can ye know? When any day they may carry you out on a
+plank!”
+
+Her “company manner” was gone; her voice was full of bitterness, as it
+always was when she spoke of North Valley. “I know what I’m tellin’ ye,
+Joe Smith. Didn’t I lose two brothers in it--as fine lads as ye’d find
+anywhere in the world! And many another lad I’ve seen go in laughin’,
+and come out a corpse--or what is worse, for workin’ people, a cripple.
+Sometimes I’d like to go and stand at the pit-mouth in the mornin’ and
+cry to them, ‘Go back, go back! Go down the canyon this day! Starve, if
+ye have to, beg if ye have to, only find some other work but
+coal-minin’!’”
+
+Her voice had risen to a passion of protest; when she went on a new note
+came into it--a note of personal terror. “It’s worse now--since you
+came, Joe! To see ye settin’ out on the life of a miner--you, that are
+young and strong and different. Oh, go away, Joe, go away while ye can!”
+
+He was astonished at her intensity. “Don’t worry about me, Mary,” he
+said. “Nothing will happen to me. I’ll go away after a while.”
+
+The path was irregular, and he had been holding her arm as they walked.
+He felt her trembling, and went on again, quickly, “It’s not I that
+should go away, Mary. It’s yourself. You hate the place--it’s terrible
+for you to have to live here. Have you never thought of going away?”
+
+She did not answer at once, and when she did the excitement was gone
+from her voice; it was flat and dull with despair. “’Tis no use to think
+of me. There’s nothin’ I can do--there’s nothin’ any girl can do when
+she’s poor. I’ve tried--but ’tis like bein’ up against a stone wall. I
+can’t even save the money to get on a train with! I’ve tried it--I been
+savin’ for two years--and how much d’ye think I got, Joe? Seven dollars!
+Seven dollars in two years! No--ye can’t save money in a place where
+there’s so many things that wring the heart. Ye may hate them for being
+cowards--but ye must help when ye see a man killed, and his family
+turned out without a roof to cover them in the winter-time!”
+
+“You’re too tender-hearted, Mary.”
+
+“No, ’tis not that! Should I go off and leave me own brother and sister,
+that need me?”
+
+“But you could earn money and send it to them.”
+
+“I earn a little here--I do cleanin’ and nursin’ for some that need me.”
+
+“But outside--couldn’t you earn more?”
+
+“I could get a job in a restaurant for seven or eight a week, but I’d
+have to spend more, and what I sent home would not go so far, with me
+away. Or I could get a job in some other woman’s home, and work fourteen
+hours a day for it. But, Joe, ’tis not more drudgery I want, ’tis
+somethin’ fair to look upon--somethin’ of my own!” She flung out her
+arms suddenly like one being stifled. “Oh, I want somethin’ that’s fair
+and clean!”
+
+Again he felt her trembling. Again the path was rough, and having an
+impulse of sympathy, he put his arm about her. In the world of leisure,
+one might indulge in such considerateness, and he assumed it would not
+be different with a miner’s daughter. But then, when she was close to
+him, he felt, rather than heard, a sob.
+
+“Mary!” he whispered; and they stopped. Almost without realising it, he
+put his other arm about her, and in a moment more he felt her warm
+breath on his cheek, and she was trembling and shaking in his embrace.
+“Joe! Joe!” she whispered. “_You_ take me away!”
+
+She was a rose in a mining-camp, and Hal was deeply moved. The primrose
+path of dalliance stretched fair before him, here in the soft summer
+night, with a moon overhead which bore the same message as it bore in
+the Italian gardens of the leisure-class. But not many minutes passed
+before a cold fear began to steal over Hal. There was a girl at home,
+waiting for him; and also there was the resolve which had been growing
+in him since his coming to this place--a resolve to find some way of
+compensation to the poor, to repay them for the freedom and culture he
+had taken; not to prey upon them, upon any individual among them. There
+were the Jeff Cottons for that!
+
+“Mary,” he pleaded, “we mustn’t do this.”
+
+“Why not?”
+
+“Because--I’m not free. There is some one else.”
+
+He felt her start, but she did not draw away.
+
+“Where?” she asked, in a low voice.
+
+“At home, waiting for me.”
+
+“And why didn’t ye tell me?”
+
+“I don’t know.”
+
+Hal realised in a moment that the girl had ground of complaint against
+him. According to the simple code of her world, he had gone some
+distance with her; he had been seen to walk out with her, he had been
+accounted her “fellow.” He had led her to talk to him of herself--he had
+insisted upon having her confidences. And these people who were poor did
+not have subtleties, there was no room in their lives for intellectual
+curiosities, for Platonic friendships or philanderings. “Forgive me,
+Mary!” he said.
+
+She made no answer; but a sob escaped her, and she drew back from his
+arms--slowly. He struggled with an impulse to clasp her again. She was
+beautiful, warm with life--and so much in need of happiness!
+
+But he held himself in check, and for a minute or two they stood apart.
+Then he asked, humbly, “We can still be friends, Mary, can’t we? You
+must know--I’m so _sorry_!”
+
+But she could not endure being pitied. “’Tis nothin’,” she said. “Only I
+thought I was going to get away! That’s what ye mean to me.”
+
+
+
+SECTION 25.
+
+Hal had promised Alec Stone to keep a look-out for trouble-makers; and
+one evening the boss stopped him on the street, and asked him if he had
+anything to report. Hal took the occasion to indulge his sense of
+humour.
+
+“There’s no harm in Mike Sikoria,” said he. “He likes to shoot off his
+head, but if he’s got somebody to listen, that’s all he wants. He’s just
+old and grouchy. But there’s another fellow that I think would bear
+watching.”
+
+“Who’s that?” asked the boss.
+
+“I don’t know his last name. They call him Gus and he’s a ’cager.’
+Fellow with a red face.”
+
+“I know,” said Stone--“Gus Durking.”
+
+“Well, he tried his best to get me to talk about unions. He keeps
+bringing it up, and I think he’s some kind of trouble-maker.”
+
+“I see,” said the boss. “I’ll get after him.”
+
+“You won’t say I told you,” said Hal, anxiously.
+
+“Oh, no--sure not.” And Hal caught the trace of a smile on the
+pit-boss’s face.
+
+He went away, smiling in his turn. The “red-faced feller. Gus,” was the
+person Madvik had named as being a “spotter” for the company!
+
+There were ins and outs to this matter of “spotting,” and sometimes it
+was not easy to know what to think. One Sunday morning Hal went for a
+walk up the canyon, and on the way he met a young chap who got to
+talking with him, and after a while brought up the question of
+working-conditions in North Valley. He had only been there a week, he
+said, but everybody he had met seemed to be grumbling about short
+weight. He himself had a job as an “outside man,” so it made no
+difference to him, but he was interested, and wondered what Hal had
+found.
+
+Straightway came the question, was this really a workingman, or had Alec
+Stone set some one to spying upon his spy. This was an intelligent
+fellow, an American--which in itself was suspicious, for most of the new
+men the company got in were from “somewhere East of Suez.”
+
+Hal decided to spar for a while. He did not know, he said, that
+conditions were any worse here than elsewhere. You heard complaints, no
+matter what sort of job you took.
+
+Yes, said the stranger, but matters seemed to be especially bad in the
+coal-camps. Probably it was because they were so remote, and the
+companies owned everything in sight.
+
+“Where have you been?” asked Hal, thinking that this might trap him.
+
+But the other answered straight; he had evidently worked in half a dozen
+of the camps. In Mateo he had paid a dollar a month for wash-house
+privileges, and there had never been any water after the first three men
+had washed. There had been a common wash-tub for all the men, an
+unthinkably filthy arrangement. At Pine Creek--Hal found the very naming
+of the place made his heart stand still--at Pine Creek he had boarded
+with his boss, but the roof of the building leaked, and everything he
+owned was ruined; the boss would do nothing--yet when the boarder moved,
+he lost his job. At East Ridge, this man and a couple of other fellows
+had rented a two room cabin and started to board themselves, in spite of
+the fact that they had to pay a dollar-fifty a sack for potatoes and
+eleven cents a pound for sugar at the company store. They had continued
+until they made the discovery that the water supply had run short, and
+that the water for which they were paying the company a dollar a month
+was being pumped from the bottom of the mine, where the filth of mules
+and men was plentiful!
+
+Hal forced himself to remain non-committal; he shook his head and said
+it was too bad, but the workers always got it in the neck, and he didn’t
+see what they could do about it. So they strolled back to the camp, the
+stranger evidently baffled, and Hal, for his part, feeling like the
+reader of a detective story at the end of the first chapter. Was this
+young man the murderer, or was he the hero? One would have to read on in
+the book to find out!
+
+
+
+SECTION 26.
+
+Hal kept his eye upon his new acquaintance, and perceived that he was
+talking with others. Before long the man tackled Old Mike; and Mike of
+course could not refuse an invitation to grumble, though it came from
+the devil himself. Hal decided that something must be done about it.
+
+He consulted his friend Jerry, who, being a radical, might have some
+touch-stone by which to test the stranger. Jerry sought him out at
+noon-time, and came back and reported that he was as much in the dark as
+Hal. Either the man was an agitator, seeking to “start something,” or
+else he was a detective sent in by the company. There was only one way
+to find out--which was for some one to talk freely with him, and see
+what happened to that person!
+
+After some hesitation, Hal decided that he would be the victim. It
+rewakened his love of adventure, which digging in a coal-mine had
+subdued in him. The mysterious stranger was a new sort of miner, digging
+into the souls of men; Hal would countermine him, and perhaps blow him
+up. He could afford the experiment better than some others--better, for
+example, than little Mrs. David, who had already taken the stranger into
+her home, and revealed to him the fact that her husband had been a
+member of the most revolutionary of all miners’ organisations, the South
+Wales Federation.
+
+So next Sunday Hal invited the stranger for another walk. The man showed
+reluctance--until Hal said that he wanted to talk to him. As they walked
+up the canyon, Hal began, “I’ve been thinking about what you said of
+conditions in these camps, and I’ve concluded it would be a good thing
+if we had a little shaking up here in North Valley.”
+
+“Is that so?” said the other.
+
+“When I first came here, I used to think the men were grouchy. But now
+I’ve had a chance to see for myself, and I don’t believe anybody gets a
+square deal. For one thing, nobody gets full weight in these mines--at
+least not unless he’s some favourite of the boss. I’m sure of it, for
+I’ve tried all sorts of experiments with my partner. We’ve loaded a car
+extra light, and got eighteen hundredweight, and then we’ve loaded one
+high and solid, so that we’d know it had twice as much in it--but all we
+ever got was twenty-two and twenty-three. There’s just no way you can
+get over that--though everybody knows those big cars can be made to hold
+two or three tons.”
+
+“Yes, I suppose they might,” said the other.
+
+“And if you get the smallest piece of rock in, you get a ‘double-O,’
+sure as fate; and sometimes they say you got rock in when you didn’t.
+There’s no law to make them prove it.”
+
+“No, I suppose not.”
+
+“What it comes to is simply this--they make you think they are paying
+fifty-five a ton, but they’ve secretly cut you down to thirty-five. And
+yesterday at the company-store I paid a dollar and a half for a pair of
+blue overalls that I’d priced in Pedro for sixty cents.”
+
+“Well,” said the other, “the company has to haul them up here, you
+know!”
+
+So, gradually, Hal made the discovery that the tables were turned--the
+mysterious personage was now occupied in holding _him_ at arm’s length!
+For some reason, Hal’s sudden interest in industrial justice had failed
+to make an impression.
+
+So his career as a detective came to an inglorious end. “Say, man!” he
+exclaimed “What’s your game, anyhow?”
+
+“Game?” said the other, quietly. “How do you mean?”
+
+“I mean, what are you here for?”
+
+“I’m here for two dollars a day--the same as you, I guess.”
+
+Hal began to laugh. “You and I are like a couple of submarines, trying
+to find each other under water. I think we’d better come to the surface
+to do our fighting.”
+
+The other considered the simile, and seemed to like it. “You come
+first,” said he. But he did not smile. His quiet blue eyes were fixed on
+Hal with deadly seriousness.
+
+“All right,” said Hal; “my story isn’t very thrilling. I’m not an
+escaped convict, I’m not a company spy, as you may be thinking. Nor am I
+a ‘natural born’ coal-miner. I happen to have a brother and some friends
+at home who think they know about the coal-industry, and it got on my
+nerves, and I came to see for myself. That’s all, except that I’ve found
+things interesting, and want to stay on a while, so I hope you aren’t a
+‘dick’!”
+
+The other walked in silence, weighing Hal’s words. “That’s not exactly
+what you’d call a usual story,” he remarked, at last.
+
+“I know,” replied Hal. “The best I can say for it is that it’s true.”
+
+“Well,” said the stranger, “I’ll take a chance on it. I have to trust
+somebody, if I’m ever to get anywhere. I picked you out because I liked
+your face.” He gave Hal another searching look as he walked. “Your smile
+isn’t that of a cheat. But you’re young--so let me remind you of the
+importance of secrecy in this place.”
+
+“I’ll keep mum,” said Hal; and the stranger opened a flap inside his
+shirt, and drew out a letter which certified him to be Thomas Olson, an
+organiser for the United Mine-Workers, the great national union of the
+coal-miners!
+
+
+
+SECTION 27.
+
+Hal was so startled by this discovery that he stopped in his tracks and
+gazed at the man. He had heard a lot about “trouble-makers” in the
+camps, but so far the only kind he had seen were those hired by the
+company to make trouble for the men. But now, here was a union
+organiser! Jerry had suggested the possibility, but Hal had not thought
+of it seriously; an organiser was a mythological creature, whispered
+about by the miners, cursed by the company and its servants, and by
+Hal’s friends at home. An incendiary, a fire-brand, a loudmouthed,
+irresponsible person, stirring up blind and dangerous passions! Having
+heard such things all his life, Hal’s first impulse was of distrust. He
+felt like the one-legged old switchman who had given him a place to
+sleep, after his beating at Pine Creek, and who had said, “Don’t you
+talk no union business to me!”
+
+Seeing Hal’s emotion, the organiser gave an uneasy laugh. “While you’re
+hoping I’m not a ‘dick,’ I trust you understand I’m hoping _you’re_ not
+one.”
+
+Hal’s answer was to the point. “I was taken for an organiser once,” he
+said, and his hands sought the seat of his ancient bruises.
+
+The other laughed. “You got off with a beating? You were lucky. Down in
+Alabama, not so long ago, they tarred and feathered one of us.”
+
+Dismay came upon Hal’s face; but after a moment he too began to laugh.
+“I was just thinking about my brother and his friends--what they’d have
+said if I’d come home from Pine Creek in a coat of tar and feathers!”
+
+“Possibly,” ventured the other, “they’d have said you got what you
+deserved.”
+
+“Yes, that seems to be their attitude. That’s the rule they apply to all
+the world--if anything goes wrong with you, it must be your own fault.
+It’s a land of equal opportunity.”
+
+“And you’ll notice,” said the organiser, “that the more privileges
+people have had, the more boldly they talk that way.”
+
+Hal began to feel a sense of comradeship with this stranger, who was
+able to understand one’s family troubles! It had been a long time since
+Hal had talked with any one from the outside world, and he found it a
+relief to his mind. He remembered how, after he had got his beating, he
+had lain out in the rain and congratulated himself that he was not what
+the guards had taken him for. Now he was curious about the psychology of
+an organiser. A man must have strong convictions to follow that
+occupation!
+
+He made the remark, and the other answered, “You can have my pay any
+time you’ll do my work. But let me tell you, too, it isn’t being beaten
+and kicked out of camp that bothers one most; it isn’t the camp-marshal
+and the spy and the blacklist. Your worst troubles are inside the heads
+of the fellows you’re trying to help! Have you ever thought what it
+would mean to try to explain things to men who speak twenty different
+languages?”
+
+“Yes, of course,” said Hal. “I wonder how you ever get a start.”
+
+“Well, you look for an interpreter--and maybe he’s a company spy. Or
+maybe the first man you try to convert reports you to the boss. For, of
+course, some of the men are cowards, and some of them are crooks;
+they’ll sell out the next fellow for a better ‘place’--maybe for a glass
+of beer.”
+
+“That must have a tendency to weaken your convictions,” said Hal.
+
+“No,” said the other, in a matter of fact tone. “It’s hard, but one
+can’t blame the poor devils. They’re ignorant--kept so deliberately. The
+bosses bring them here, and have a regular system to keep them from
+getting together. And of course these European peoples have their old
+prejudices--national prejudices, religious prejudices, that keep them
+apart. You see two fellows, one you think is exactly as miserable as the
+other--but you find him despising the other, because back home he was
+the other’s superior. So they play into the bosses’ hands.”
+
+
+
+SECTION 28.
+
+They had come to a remote place in the canyon, and found themselves
+seats on a flat rock, where they could talk in comfort.
+
+“Put yourself in their place,” said the organiser. “They’re in a strange
+country, and one person tells them one thing, and another tells them
+something else. The masters and their agents say: ‘Don’t trust the union
+agitators. They’re a lot of grafters, they live easy and don’t have to
+work. They take your money and call you out on strike, and you lose your
+jobs and your home; they sell you out, maybe, and go on to some other
+place to repeat the same trick.’ And the workers think maybe that’s
+true; they haven’t the wit to see that if the union leaders are corrupt,
+it must be because the bosses are buying them. So you see, they’re
+completely bedevilled; they don’t know which way to turn.”
+
+The man was speaking quietly, but there was a little glow of excitement
+in his face. “The company is forever repeating that these people are
+satisfied--that it’s we who are stirring them up. But are they
+satisfied? You’ve been here long enough to know!”
+
+“There’s no need to discuss that,” Hal answered. “Of course they’re not
+satisfied! They’ve seemed to me like a lot of children crying in the
+dark--not knowing what’s the matter with them, or who’s to blame, or
+where to turn for help.”
+
+Hal found himself losing his distrust of this man. He did not correspond
+in any way to Hal’s imaginary picture of a union organiser; he was a
+blue-eyed, clean-looking young American, and instead of being wild and
+loud-mouthed, he seemed rather wistful. He had indignation, of course,
+but it did not take the form of ranting or florid eloquence; and this
+repression was making its appeal to Hal, who, in spite of his democratic
+impulses, had the habits of thought of a class which shrinks from
+noisiness and over-emphasis.
+
+Also Hal was interested in his attitude towards the weaknesses of
+working-people. The “inertia” of the poor, which caused so many people
+to despair for them--their cowardice and instability--these were things
+about which Hal had heard all his life. “You can’t help them,” people
+would say. “They’re dirty and lazy, they drink and shirk, they betray
+each other. They’ve always been like that.” The idea would be summed up
+in a formula: “You can’t change human nature!” Even Mary Burke, herself
+one of the working-class, spoke of the workers in this angry and
+scornful way. But Olson had faith in their manhood, and went ahead to
+awaken and teach them.
+
+To his mind the path was clear and straight. “They must be taught the
+lesson of solidarity. As individuals, they’re helpless in the power of
+the great corporations; but if they stand together, if they sell their
+labour as a unit--then they really count for something.” He paused, and
+looked at the other inquiringly. “How do you feel about unions?”
+
+Hal answered, “They’re one of the things I want to find out about. You
+hear this and that--there’s so much prejudice on each side. I want to
+help the under dog, but I want to be sure of the right way.”
+
+“What other way is there?” And Olson paused. “To appeal to the tender
+hearts of the owners?”
+
+“Not exactly; but mightn’t one appeal to the world in general--to public
+opinion? I was brought up an American, and learned to believe in my
+country. I can’t think but there’s some way to get justice. Maybe if the
+men were to go into politics--”
+
+“Politics?” cried Olson. “My God! How long have you been in this place?”
+
+“Only a couple of months.”
+
+“Well, stay till November, and see what they do with the ballot-boxes in
+these camps!”
+
+“I can imagine, of course--”
+
+“No, you can’t. Any more than you could imagine the graft and the
+misery!”
+
+“But if the men should take to voting together--”
+
+“How _can_ they take to voting together--when any one who mentions the
+idea goes down the canyon? Why, you can’t even get naturalisation
+papers, unless you’re a company man; they won’t register you, unless the
+boss gives you an O. K. How are you going to make a start, unless you
+have a union?”
+
+It sounded reasonable, Hal had to admit; but he thought of the stories
+he had heard about “walking delegates,” all the dreadful consequences of
+“union domination.” He had not meant to go in for unionism!
+
+Olson was continuing. “We’ve had laws passed, a whole raft of laws about
+coal-mining--the eight-hour law, the anti-scrip law, the company-store
+law, the mine-sprinkling law, the check-weighman law. What difference
+has it made in North Valley that there are such laws on the
+statute-books? Would you ever even know about them?”
+
+“Ah, now!” said Hal. “If you put it that way--if your movement is to
+have the law enforced--I’m with you!”
+
+“But how will you get the law enforced, except by a union? No individual
+man can do it--it’s ‘down the canyon’ with him if he mentions the law.
+In Western City our union people go to the state officials, but they
+never do anything--and why? They know we haven’t got the men behind us!
+It’s the same with the politicians as it is with the bosses--the union
+is the thing that counts!”
+
+Hal found this an entirely new argument. “People don’t realise that
+idea--that men have to be organised to get their _legal_ rights.”
+
+And the other threw up his hands with a comical gesture. “My God! If you
+want to make a list of the things that people don’t realise about us
+miners!”
+
+
+
+SECTION 29.
+
+Olson was eager to win Hal, and went on to tell all the secrets of his
+work. He sought men who believed in unions, and were willing to take the
+risk of trying to convert others. In each place he visited he would get
+a group together, and would arrange some way to communicate with them
+after he left, smuggling in propaganda literature for distribution. So
+there would be the nucleus of an organisation. In a year or two they
+would have such a nucleus in every camp, and then they would be ready to
+come into the open, calling meetings in the towns, and in places in the
+canyons to which the miners would flock. So the flame of revolt would
+leap up; men would join the movement faster than the companies could get
+rid of them, and they would make a demand for their rights, backed with
+the threat of a strike throughout the entire district.
+
+“You understand,” added Olson, “we have a legal right to organise--even
+though the bosses disapprove. You need not stand back on that score.”
+
+“Yes,” said Hal; “but it occurs to me that as a matter of tactics, it
+would be better here in North Valley if you chose some issue there’s
+less controversy about; if, for instance, you’d concentrate on getting a
+check-weighman.”
+
+The other smiled. “We’d have to have a union to back the demand; so
+what’s the difference?”
+
+“Well,” argued Hal, “there are prejudices to be reckoned with. Some
+people don’t like the idea of a union--they think it means tyranny and
+violence--”
+
+The organiser laughed. “You aren’t convinced but that it does yourself,
+are you! Well, all I can tell you is, if you want to tackle the job of
+getting a check-weighman in North Valley, I’ll not stand in your way!”
+
+Here was an idea--a real idea! Life had grown dull for Hal since he had
+become a buddy, working in a place five feet high. This would promise
+livelier times!
+
+But was it a thing he wanted to do? So far he had been an observer of
+conditions in this coal-camp. He had convinced himself that conditions
+were cruel, and he had pretty well convinced himself that the cruelty
+was needless and deliberate. But when it came to a question of an action
+to be taken--then he hesitated, and old prejudices and fears made
+themselves heard. He had been told that labour was “turbulent” and
+“lazy,” that it had to be “ruled with a strong hand”; now, was he
+willing to weaken the strong hand, to ally himself with those who
+“fomented labour troubles”?
+
+But this would not be the same thing, he told himself. This suggestion
+of Olson’s was different from trade unionism, which might be a
+demoralising force, leading the workers from one demand to another,
+until they were seeking to “dominate industry.” This would be merely an
+appeal to the law, a test of that honesty and fair dealing to which the
+company everywhere laid claim. If, as the bosses proclaimed, the workers
+were fully protected by the check-weighman law; if, as all the world was
+made to believe, the reason there was no check-weighman was simply
+because the men did not ask for one--why, then there would be no harm
+done. If on the other hand a demand for a right that was not merely a
+legal right, but a moral right as well--if that were taken by the bosses
+as an act of rebellion against the company--well, Hal would understand a
+little more about the “turbulence” of labour! If, as Old Mike and
+Johannson and the rest maintained, the bosses would “make your life one
+damn misery” till you left--then he would be ready to make a few damn
+miseries for the bosses in return!
+
+“It would be an adventure,” said Hal, suddenly.
+
+And the other laughed. “It would that!”
+
+“You’re thinking I’ll have another Pine Creek experience,” Hal added.
+“Well, maybe so--but I have to try things out for myself. You see, I’ve
+got a brother at home, and when I think about going in for revolution, I
+have imaginary arguments with him. I want to be able to say ‘I didn’t
+swallow anybody’s theories; I tried it for myself, and this is what
+happened.’”
+
+“Well,” replied the organiser, “that’s all right. But while you’re
+seeking education for yourself and your brother, don’t forget that I’ve
+already got my education. I _know_ what happens to men who ask for a
+check-weighman, and I can’t afford to sacrifice myself proving it
+again.”
+
+“I never asked you to,” laughed Hal. “If I won’t join your movement, I
+can’t expect you to join mine! But if I can find a few men who are
+willing to take the risk of making a demand for a check-weighman--that
+won’t hurt your work, will it?”
+
+“Sure not!” said the other. “Just the opposite--it’ll give me an object
+lesson to point to. There are men here who don’t even know they’ve a
+legal right to a check-weighman. There are others who know they don’t
+get their weights, but aren’t sure its the company that’s cheating them.
+If the bosses should refuse to let any one inspect the weights, if they
+should go further and fire the men who ask it--well, there’ll be plenty
+of recruits for my union local!”
+
+“All right,” said Hal. “I’m not setting out to recruit your union local,
+but if the company wants to recruit it, that’s the company’s affair!”
+ And on this bargain the two shook hands.
+
+
+
+
+BOOK TWO
+
+THE SERFS OF KING COAL
+
+
+
+
+SECTION 1.
+
+Hal was now started upon a new career, more full of excitements than
+that of stableman or buddy, with perils greater than those of falling
+rock or the hind feet of mules in the stomach. The inertia which
+overwork produces had not had time to become a disease with him; youth
+was on his side, with its zest for more and yet more experience. He
+found it thrilling to be a conspirator, to carry about with him secrets
+as dark and mysterious as the passages of the mine in which he worked.
+
+But Jerry Minetti, the first person he told of Tom Olson’s purpose in
+North Valley, was older in such thrills. The care-free look which Jerry
+was accustomed to wear vanished abruptly, and fear came into his eyes.
+“I know it come some day,” he exclaimed--“trouble for me and Rosa!”
+
+“How do you mean?”
+
+“We get into it--get in sure. I say Rosa, ‘Call yourself Socialist--what
+good that do? No help any. No use to vote here--they don’t count no
+Socialist vote, only for joke!’ I say, ‘Got to have union. Got to
+strike!’ But Rosa say, ‘Wait little bit. Save little bit money, let
+children grow up. Then we help, no care if we no got any home.’”
+
+“But we’re not going to start a union now!” objected Hal. “I have
+another plan for the present.”
+
+Jerry, however, was not to be put at ease. “No can wait!” he declared.
+“Men no stand it! I say, ‘It come some day quick--like blow-up in mine!
+Somebody start fight, everybody fight.’” And Jerry looked at Rosa, who
+sat with her black eyes fixed anxiously upon her husband. “We get into
+it,” he said; and Hal saw their eyes turn to the room where Little Jerry
+and the baby were sleeping.
+
+Hal said nothing--he was beginning to understand the meaning of
+rebellion to such people. He watched with curiosity and pity the
+struggle that went on; a struggle as old as the soul of man--between the
+voice of self-interest, of comfort and prudence, and the call of duty,
+of the ideal. No trumpet sounded for this conflict, only the still small
+voice within.
+
+After a while Jerry asked what it was Hal and Olson had planned; and Hal
+explained that he wanted to make a test of the company’s attitude toward
+the check-weighman law. Hal thought it a fine scheme; what did Jerry
+think?
+
+Jerry smiled sadly. “Yes, fine scheme for young feller--no got family!”
+
+“That’s all right,” said Hal, “I’ll take the job--I’ll be the
+check-weighman.”
+
+“Got to have committee,” said Jerry--“committee go see boss.”
+
+“All right, but we’ll get young fellows for that too--men who have no
+families. Some of the fellows who live in the chicken-coops in
+shanty-town. They won’t care what happens to them.”
+
+But Jerry would not share Hal’s smile. “No got sense ’nough, them
+fellers. Take sense to stick together.” He explained that they would
+need a group of men to stand back of the committee; such a group would
+have to be organised, to hold meetings in secret--it would be
+practically the same thing as a union, would be so regarded by the
+bosses and their spotters. And no organisation of any sort was permitted
+in the camps. There had been some Serbians who had wanted to belong to a
+fraternal order back in their home country, but even that had been
+forbidden. If you wanted to insure your life or your health, the company
+would attend to it--and get the profit from it. For that matter, you
+could not even buy a post-office money-order, to send funds back to the
+old country; the post-office clerk, who was at the same time a clerk in
+the company-store, would sell you some sort of a store-draft.
+
+So Hal was facing the very difficulties about which Olson had warned
+him. The first of them was Jerry’s fear. Yet Hal knew that Jerry was no
+“coward”; if any man had a contempt for Jerry’s attitude, it was because
+he had never been in Jerry’s place!
+
+“All I’ll ask of you now is advice,” said Hal. “Give me the names of
+some young fellows who are trustworthy, and I’ll get their help without
+anybody suspecting you.”
+
+“You my boarder!” was Jerry’s reply to this.
+
+So again Hal was “up against it.” “You mean that would get you into
+trouble?”
+
+“Sure! They know we talk. They know I talk Socialism, anyhow. They fire
+me sure!”
+
+“But how about your cousin, the pit-boss in Number One?”
+
+“He no help. May be get fired himself. Say damn fool--board
+check-weighman!”
+
+“All right,” said Hal. “Then I’ll move away now, before it’s too late.
+You can say I was a trouble-maker, and you turned me off.”
+
+The Minettis sat gazing at each other--a mournful pair. They hated to
+lose their boarder, who was such good company, and paid them such good
+money. As for Hal, he felt nearly as bad, for he liked Jerry and his
+girl-wife, and Little Jerry--even the black-eyed baby, who made so much
+noise and interrupted conversation!
+
+“No!” said Jerry. “I no run, away! I do my share!”
+
+“That’s all right,” replied Hal. “You do your share--but not just yet.
+You stay on in the camp and help Olson after I’m fired. We don’t want
+the best men put out at once.”
+
+So, after further argument, it was decided, and Hal saw little Rosa sink
+back in her chair and draw a deep breath of relief. The time for
+martyrdom was put off; her little three-roomed cabin, her furniture and
+her shining pans and her pretty white lace curtains, might be hers for a
+few weeks longer!
+
+
+
+SECTION 2.
+
+Hal went back to Reminitsky’s boarding-house; a heavy sacrifice, but not
+without its compensations, because it gave him more chance to talk with
+the men.
+
+He and Jerry made up a list of those who could be trusted with the
+secret: the list beginning with the name of Mike Sikoria. To be put on a
+committee, and sent to interview a boss, would appeal to Old Mike as the
+purpose for which he had been put upon earth! But they would not tell
+him about it until the last minute, for fear lest in his excitement he
+might shout out the announcement the next time he lost one of his cars.
+
+There was a young Bulgarian miner named Wresmak who worked near Hal. The
+road into this man’s room ran up an incline, and he had hardly been able
+to push his “empties” up the grade. While he was sweating and straining
+at the task, Alec Stone had come along, and having a giant’s contempt
+for physical weakness, began to cuff him. The man raised his
+arm--whether in offence or to ward off the blow, no one could be sure;
+but Stone fell upon him and kicked him all the way down the passage,
+pouring out upon him furious curses. Now the man was in another room,
+where he had taken out over forty car-loads of rock, and been allowed
+only three dollars for it. No one who watched his face when the pit-boss
+passed would doubt that this man would be ready to take his chances in a
+movement of protest.
+
+Then there was a man whom Jerry knew, who had just come out of the
+hospital, after contact with the butt-end of the camp-marshal’s
+revolver. This was a Pole, who unfortunately did not know a word of
+English; but Olson, the organiser, had got into touch with another Pole,
+who spoke a little English, and would pass the word on to his
+fellow-countryman. Also there was a young Italian, Rovetta, whom Jerry
+knew and whose loyalty he could vouch for.
+
+There was another person Hal thought of--Mary Burke. He had been
+deliberately avoiding her of late; it seemed the one safe thing to
+do--although it seemed also a cruel thing, and left his mind ill at
+ease. He went over and over what had happened. How had the trouble got
+started? It is a man’s duty in such cases to take the blame upon
+himself; but a man does not like to take blame upon himself, and he
+tries to make it as light as possible. Should Hal say that it was
+because he had been too officious that night in helping Mary where the
+path was rough? She had not actually needed such help, she was quite as
+capable on her feet as he! But he had really gone farther than that--he
+had had a definite sentimental impulse; and he had been a cad--he should
+have known all along that all this girl’s discontent, all the longing of
+her starved soul, would become centred upon him, who was so “different,”
+ who had had opportunity, who made her think of the “poetry-books”!
+
+But here suddenly seemed a solution of the difficulty; here was a new
+interest for Mary, a safe channel in which her emotions could run. A
+woman could not serve on a miners’ committee, but she would be a good
+adviser, and her sharp tongue would be a weapon to drive others into
+line. Being aflame with this enterprise, Hal became impersonal,
+man-fashion--and so fell into another sentimental trap! He did not stop
+to think that Mary’s interest in the check-weighman movement might be
+conditioned in part by a desire to see more of him; still less did it
+occur to him that he might be glad for a pretext to see Mary.
+
+No, he was picturing her in a new role, an activity more inspiriting
+than cooking and nursing. His “poetry-book” imagination took fire; he
+gave her a hope and a purpose, a pathway with a goal at the end. Had
+there not been women leaders in every great proletarian movement?
+
+He went to call on her, and met her at the door of her cabin. “’Tis a
+cheerin’ sight to see ye, Joe Smith!” she said. And she looked him in
+the eye and smiled.
+
+“The same to you, Mary Burke!” he answered.
+
+She was game, he saw; she was going to be a “good sport.” But he noticed
+that she was paler than when he had seen her last. Could it be that
+these gorgeous Irish complexions ever faded? He thought that she was
+thinner too; the old blue calico seemed less tight upon her.
+
+Hal plunged into his theme. “Mary, I had a vision of you to-day!”
+
+“Of me, lad? What’s that?”
+
+He laughed. “I saw you with a glory in your face, and your hair shining
+like a crown of gold. You were mounted on a snow-white horse, and wore a
+robe of white, soft and lustrous--like Joan of Arc, or a leader in a
+suffrage parade. You were riding at the head of a host--I’ve still got
+the music in my ears, Mary!”
+
+“Go on with ye, lad--what’s all this about?”
+
+“Come in and I’ll tell you,” he said.
+
+So they went into the bare kitchen, and sat in bare wooden chairs--Mary
+folding her hands in her lap like a child who has been promised a
+fairy-story. “Now hurry,” said she. “I want to know about this new dress
+ye’re givin’ me. Are ye tired of me old calico?”
+
+He joined in her smile. “This is a dress you will weave for yourself,
+Mary, out of the finest threads of your own nature--out of courage and
+devotion and self-sacrifice.”
+
+“Sure, ’tis the poetry-book again! But what is it ye’re really meanin’?”
+
+He looked about him. “Is anybody here?”
+
+“Nobody.”
+
+But instinctively he lowered his voice as he told his story. There was
+an organiser of the “big union” in the camp, and he was going to rouse
+the slaves to protest.
+
+The laughter went out of Mary’s face. “Oh! It’s that!” she said, in a
+flat tone. The vision of the snow-white horse and the soft and lustrous
+robe was gone. “Ye can never do anything of that sort here!”
+
+“Why not?”
+
+“’Tis the men in this place. Don’t ye remember what I told ye at Mr.
+Rafferty’s? They’re cowards!”
+
+“Ah, Mary, it’s easy to say that. But it’s not so pleasant being turned
+out of your home--”
+
+“Do ye have to tell me that?” she cried, with sudden passion. “Haven’t I
+seen that?”
+
+“Yes, Mary; but I want to _do_ something--”
+
+“Yes, and haven’t I wanted to do something? Sure, I’ve wanted to bite
+off the noses of the bosses!”
+
+“Well,” he laughed, “we’ll make that a part of our programme.” But Mary
+was not to be lured into cheerfulness; her mood was so full of pain and
+bewilderment that he had an impulse to reach out and take her hand
+again. But he checked that; he had come to divert her energies into a
+safe channel!
+
+“We must waken these men to resistance, Mary!”
+
+“Ye can’t do it, Joe--not the English-speakin’ men. The Greeks and the
+Bulgars, maybe--they’re fightin’ at home, and they might fight here. But
+the Irish never--never! Them that had any backbone went out long ago.
+Them that stayed has been made into boot-licks. I know them, every man
+of them. They grumble, and curse the boss, but then they think of the
+blacklist, and they go back and cringe at his feet.”
+
+“What such men want--”
+
+“’Tis booze they want, and carousin’ with the rotten women in the
+coal-towns, and sittin’ up all night winnin’ each other’s money with a
+greasy pack of cards! They take their pleasure where they find it, and
+’tis nothin’ better they want.”
+
+“Then, Mary, if that’s so, don’t you see it’s all the more reason for
+trying to teach them? If not for their own sakes, for the sake of their
+children! The children, mustn’t grow up like that! They are learning
+English, at least--”
+
+Mary gave a scornful laugh. “Have ye been up to that school?”
+
+He answered no; and she told him there were a hundred and twenty
+children packed in one room, three in a seat, and solid all round the
+wall. She went on, with swift anger--the school was supposed to be paid
+for out of taxes, but as nobody owned any property but the company, it
+was all in the company’s hands. The school-board consisted of Mr.
+Cartwright, the mine-superintendent, and Jake Predovich, a clerk in the
+store, and the preacher, the Reverend Spraggs. Old Spraggs would bump
+his nose on the floor if the “super” told him to.
+
+“Now, now!” said Hal, laughing. “You’re down on him because his
+grandfather was an Orangeman!”
+
+
+
+SECTION 3.
+
+Mary Burke had been suckled upon despair, and the poison of it was deep
+in her blood. Hal began to realise that it would be as hard to give her
+a hope as to rouse the workers whom she despised. She was brave enough,
+no doubt, but how could he persuade her to be brave for men who had no
+courage for themselves?
+
+“Mary,” he said, “in your heart you don’t really hate these people. You
+know how they suffer, you pity them for it. You give their children your
+last cent when they need it--”
+
+“Ah, lad!” she cried, and he saw tears suddenly spring into her eyes.
+“’Tis because I love them so that I hate them! Sometimes ’tis the bosses
+I would murder, sometimes ’tis the men. What is it ye’re wantin’ me to
+do?”
+
+And then, even before he could answer, she began to run over the list of
+her acquaintances in the camp. Yes, there was one man Hal ought to talk
+to; he would be too old to join them, but his advice would be
+invaluable, and they could be sure he would never betray them. That was
+old John Edstrom, a Swede from Minnesota, who had worked in this
+district from the time the mines had first started up. He had been
+active in the great strike eight years ago, and had been black-listed,
+his four sons with him. The sons were scattered now to the four parts of
+the world, but the father had stayed nearby, working as a ranch-hand and
+railroad labourer, until a couple of years ago, during a rush season, he
+had got a chance to come back into the mines.
+
+He was old, old, declared Mary--must be sixty. And when Hal remarked
+that that did not sound so frightfully aged, she answered that one
+seldom heard of a man being able to work in a coal-mine at that age; in
+fact, there were not many who managed to live to that age. Edstrom’s
+wife was dying now, and he was having a hard time.
+
+“’Twould not be fair to let such an old gentleman lose his job,” said
+Mary. “But at least he could give ye good advice.”
+
+So that evening the two of them went to call on John Edstrom, in a tiny
+unpainted cabin in “shanty-town,” with a bare earth floor, and a half
+partition of rough boards to hide his dying wife from his callers. The
+woman’s trouble was cancer, and this made calling a trying matter, for
+there was a fearful odour in the place. For some time it was impossible
+for Hal to force himself to think about anything else; but finally he
+overcame this weakness, telling himself that this was a war, and that a
+man must be ready for the hospital as well as for the parade-ground.
+
+He looked about, and saw that the cracks of Edstrom’s cabin were stopped
+with rags, and the broken windowpanes mended with brown paper. The old
+man had evidently made an effort to keep the place neat, and Hal noticed
+a row of books on a shelf. Because it was cold in these mountain regions
+at night, even in September, the old man had a fire in the little
+cast-iron stove, and sat huddled by it. There were only a few hairs left
+on his head, and his scrubby beard was as white as anything could be in
+a coal-camp. The first impression of his face was of its pallor, and
+then of the benevolence in the faded dark eyes; also his voice was
+gentle, like a caress. He rose to greet his visitors, and put out to Hal
+a trembling hand, which resembled the paw of some animal, horny and
+misshapen. He made a move to draw up a bench, and apologised for his
+unskillful house-keeping. It occurred to Hal that a man might be able to
+work in a coal-mine at sixty, and not be able to work in it at
+sixty-one.
+
+Hal had requested Mary to say nothing about his purpose, until after he
+had a chance to judge for himself. So now the girl inquired about Mrs.
+Edstrom. There was no news, the man answered; she was lying in a stupor,
+as usual. Dr. Barrett had come again, but all he could do was to give
+her morphine. No one could do any more, the doctor declared.
+
+“Sure, he’d not know it if they could!” sniffed Mary.
+
+“He’s not such a bad one, when he’s sober,” said Edstrom, patiently.
+
+“And how often is that?” sniffed Mary again. She added, by way of
+explanation to Hal, “He’s a cousin of the super.”
+
+Things were better here than in some places, said Edstrom. At Harvey’s
+Run, where he had worked, a man had got his eye hurt, and had lost it
+through the doctor’s instrument slipping; broken arms and legs had been
+set wrong, and either the men had to go through life as cripples, or go
+elsewhere and have the bones re-broken and reset, It was like everything
+else--the doctor was a part of the company machine, and if you had too
+much to say about him, it was down the canyon with you. You not only had
+a dollar a month taken out of your pay, but if you were injured, and he
+came to attend you, he would charge whatever extra he pleased.
+
+“And you have to pay?” asked Hal.
+
+“They take it off your account,” said the old man.
+
+“Sometimes they take it when he’s done nothin’ at all,” added Mary.
+“They charged Mrs. Zamboni twenty-five dollars for her last baby--and
+Dr. Barrett never set foot across her door till three hours after the
+baby was in my arms!”
+
+
+
+SECTION 4.
+
+The talk went on. Wishing to draw the old man out, Hal spoke of various
+troubles of the miners, and at last he suggested that the remedy might
+be found in a union. Edstrom’s dark eyes studied him, and then turned to
+Mary. “Joe’s all right,” said the girl, quickly. “You can trust him.”
+
+Edstrom made no direct answer to this, but remarked that he had once
+been in a strike. He was a marked man, now, and could only stay in the
+camp so long as he attended strictly to his own affairs. The part he had
+played in the big strike had never been forgotten; the bosses had let
+him work again, partly because they had needed him at a rush time, and
+partly because the pit-boss happened to be a personal friend.
+
+“Tell him about the big strike,” said Mary. “He’s new in this district.”
+
+The old man had apparently accepted Mary’s word for Hal’s good faith,
+for he began to narrate those terrible events which were a whispered
+tradition of the camps. There had been a mighty effort of ten thousand
+slaves for freedom; and it had been crushed with utter ruthlessness.
+Ever since these mines had been started, the operators had controlled
+the local powers of government, and now, in the emergency, they had
+brought in the state militia as well, and used it frankly to drive the
+strikers back to work. They had seized the leaders and active men, and
+thrown them into jail without trial or charges; when the jails would
+hold no more, they kept some two hundred in an open stockade, called a
+“bull-pen,” and finally they loaded them into freight-cars, took them at
+night out of the state, and dumped them off in the midst of the desert
+without food or water.
+
+John Edstrom had been one of these men. He told how one of his sons had
+been beaten and severely injured in jail, and how another had been kept
+for weeks in a damp cellar, so that he had come out crippled with
+rheumatism for life. The officers of the state militia had done these
+things; and when some of the local authorities were moved to protest,
+the militia had arrested them--even the judges of the civil courts had
+been forbidden to sit, under threat of imprisonment. “To hell with the
+constitution!” had been the word of the general in command; his
+subordinate had made famous the saying, “No habeas corpus; we’ll give
+them post-mortems!”
+
+Tom Olson had impressed Hal with his self-control, but this old man made
+an even deeper impression upon him. As he listened, he became humble,
+touched with awe. Incredible as it might seem, when John Edstrom talked
+about his cruel experiences, it was without bitterness in his voice, and
+apparently without any in his heart. Here, in the midst of want and
+desolation, with his family broken and scattered, and the wolf of
+starvation at his door, he could look back upon the past without hatred
+of those who had ruined him. Nor was this because he was old and feeble,
+and had lost the spirit of revolt; it was because he had studied
+economics, and convinced himself that it was an evil system which
+blinded men’s eyes and poisoned their souls. A better day was coming, he
+said, when this evil system would be changed, and it would be possible
+for men to be merciful to one another.
+
+At this point in the conversation, Mary Burke gave voice once more to
+her corroding despair. How could things ever be changed? The bosses were
+mean-hearted, and the men were cowards and traitors. That left nobody
+but God to do the changing--and God had left things as they were for
+such a long time!
+
+Hal was interested to hear how Edstrom dealt with this attitude. “Mary,”
+ he said, “did you ever read about ants in Africa?”
+
+“No,” said she.
+
+“They travel in long columns, millions and millions of them. And when
+they come to a ditch, the front ones fall in, and more and more of them
+on top, till they fill up the ditch, and the rest cross over. We are
+ants, Mary.”
+
+“No matter how many go in,” cried the girl, “none will ever get across.
+There’s no bottom to the ditch!”
+
+He answered: “That’s more than any ant can know. Mary. All they know is
+to go in. They cling to each other’s bodies, even in death; they make a
+bridge, and the rest go over.”
+
+“I’ll step one side!” she declared, fiercely. “I’ll not throw meself
+away.”
+
+“You may step one side,” answered the other--“but you’ll step back into
+line again. I know you better than you know yourself, Mary.”
+
+There was silence in the little cabin. The winds of an early fall
+shrilled outside, and life suddenly seemed to Hal a stern and merciless
+thing. He had thought in his youthful fervour it would be thrilling to
+be a revolutionist; but to be an ant, one of millions and millions, to
+perish in a bottomless ditch--that was something a man could hardly
+bring himself to face! He looked at the bowed figure of this white
+haired toiler, vague in the feeble lamplight, and found himself thinking
+of Rembrandt’s painting, the Visit of Emmaus: the ill-lighted room in
+the dirty tavern, and the two ragged men, struck dumb by the glow of
+light about the forehead of their table-companion. It was not fantastic
+to imagine a glow of light about the forehead of this soft-voiced old
+man!
+
+“I never had any hope it would come in my time,” the old man was saying
+gently. “I did use to hope my boys might see it--but now I’m not sure
+even of that. But in all my life I never doubted that some day the
+working-people will cross over to the promised land. They’ll no longer
+be slaves, and what they make won’t be wasted by idlers. And take it
+from one who knows, Mary--for a workingman or woman not to have that
+faith, is to have lost the reason for living.”
+
+Hal decided that it would be safe to trust this man, and told him of his
+check-weighman plan. “We only want your advice,” he explained,
+remembering Mary’s warning. “Your sick wife--”
+
+But the old man answered, sadly, “She’s almost gone, and I’ll soon be
+following. What little strength I have left might as well be used for
+the cause.”
+
+
+
+SECTION 5.
+
+This business of conspiracy was grimly real to men whose living came out
+of coal; but Hal, even at the most serious moments, continued to find in
+it the thrill of romance. He had read stories of revolutionists, and of
+the police who hunted them. That such excitements were to be had in
+Russia, he knew; but if any one had told him they could be had in his
+own free America, within a few hours’ journey of his home city and his
+college-town, he could not have credited the statement.
+
+The evening after his visit to Edstrom, Hal was stopped on the street by
+his boss. Encountering him suddenly, Hal started, like a pick-pocket who
+runs into a policeman.
+
+“Hello, kid,” said the pit-boss.
+
+“Hello, Mr. Stone,” was the reply.
+
+“I want to talk to you,” said the boss.
+
+“All right, sir.” And then, under his breath, “He’s got me!”
+
+“Come up to my house,” said Stone; and Hal followed, feeling as if
+hand-cuffs were already on his wrists.
+
+“Say,” said the man, as they walked, “I thought you were going to tell
+me if you’d heard any talk.”
+
+“I haven’t heard any, sir.”
+
+“Well,” continued Stone, “you want to get busy; there’s sure to be
+kickers in every coal-camp.” And deep within, Hal drew a sigh of relief.
+It was a false alarm!
+
+They came to the boss’s house, and he took a chair on the piazza and
+motioned Hal to take another. They sat in semi-darkness, and Stone
+dropped his voice as he began. “What I want to talk to you about now is
+something else--this election.”
+
+“Election, sir?”
+
+“Didn’t you know there was one? The Congressman in this district died,
+and there’s a special election three weeks from next Tuesday.”
+
+“I see, sir.” And Hal chuckled inwardly. He would get the information
+which Tom Olson had recommended to him!
+
+“You ain’t heard any talk about it?” inquired the pit-boss.
+
+“Nothing at all, sir. I never pay much attention to politics--it ain’t
+in my line.”
+
+“Well, that’s the way I like to hear a miner talk!” said the pit-boss,
+with heartiness. “If they all had sense enough to leave politics to the
+politicians, they’d be a sight better off. What they need is to tend to
+their own jobs.”
+
+“Yes, sir,” agreed Hal, meekly--“like I had to tend to them mules, if I
+didn’t want to get the colic.”
+
+The boss smiled appreciatively. “You’ve got more sense than most of ’em.
+If you’ll stand by me, there’ll be a chance for you to move up in the
+world.”
+
+“Thank you, Mr. Stone,” said Hal. “Give me a chance.”
+
+“Well now, here’s this election. Every year they send us a bunch of
+campaign money to handle. A bit of it might come your way.”
+
+“I could use it, I reckon,” said Hal, brightening visibly. “What is it
+you want?”
+
+There was a pause, while Stone puffed on his pipe. He went on, in a
+business-like manner. “What I want is somebody to feel things out a bit,
+and let me know the situation. I thought it better not to use the men
+that generally work for me, but somebody that wouldn’t be suspected.
+Down in Sheridan and Pedro they say the Democrats are making a big stir,
+and the company’s worried. I suppose you know the ‘G. F. C.’ is
+Republican.”
+
+“I’ve heard so.”
+
+“You might think a congressman don’t have much to do with us, way off in
+Washington; but it has a bad effect to have him campaigning, telling the
+men the company’s abusing them. So I’d like you just to kind o’
+circulate a bit, and start the men on politics, and see if any of them
+have been listening to this MacDougall talk. (MacDougall’s this here
+Democrat, you know.) And I want to find out whether they’ve been sending
+in literature to this camp, or have any agents here. You see, they claim
+the right to come in and make speeches, and all that sort of thing.
+North Valley’s an incorporated town, so they’ve got the law on their
+side, in a way, and if we shut ’em out, they make a howl in the papers,
+and it looks bad. So we have to get ahead of them in quiet ways.
+Fortunately there ain’t any hall in the camp for them to meet in, and
+we’ve made a local ordinance against meetings on the street. If they try
+to bring in circulars, something has to happen to them before they get
+distributed. See?”
+
+“I see,” said Hal; he thought of Tom Olson’s propaganda literature!
+
+“We’ll pass the word out,--it’s the Republican the company wants
+elected; and you be on the lookout and see how they take it in the
+camp.”
+
+“That sounds easy enough,” said Hal. “But tell me, Mr. Stone, why do you
+bother? Do so many of these wops have votes?”
+
+“It ain’t the wops so much. We get them naturalised on purpose--they
+vote our way for a glass of beer. But the English-speaking men, or the
+foreigners that’s been here too long, and got too big for their
+breeches--they’re the ones we got to watch. If they get to talking
+politics, they don’t stop there; the first thing you know, they’re
+listening to union agitators, and wanting to run the camp.”
+
+“Oh yes, I see!” said Hal, and wondered if his voice sounded right.
+
+But the pit-boss was concerned with his own troubles. “As I told Si
+Adams the other day, what I’m looking for is fellows that talk some new
+lingo--one that nobody will ever understand! But I suppose that would be
+too easy. There’s no way to keep them from learning some English!”
+
+Hal decided to make use of this opportunity to perfect his education.
+“Surely, Mr. Stone,” he remarked, “you don’t have to count any votes if
+you don’t want to!”
+
+“Well, I’ll tell you,” replied Stone; “it’s a question of the easiest
+way to manage things. When I was superintendent over to Happy Gulch, we
+didn’t waste no time on politics. The company was Democratic at that
+time, and when election night come, we wrote down four hundred votes for
+the Democratic candidates. But the first thing we knew, a bunch of
+fellers was taken into town and got to swear they’d voted the Republican
+ticket in our camp. The Republican papers were full of it, and some fool
+judge ordered a recount, and we had to get busy over night and mark up a
+new lot of ballots. It gave us a lot of bother!”
+
+The pit-boss laughed, and Hal joined him discreetly.
+
+“So you see, you have to learn to manage. If there’s votes for the wrong
+candidate in your camp, the fact gets out, and if the returns is too
+one-sided, there’s a lot of grumbling. There’s plenty of bosses that
+don’t care, but I learned my lesson that time, and I got my own
+method--that is not to let any opposition start. See?”
+
+“Yes, I see.”
+
+“Maybe a mine-boss has got no right to meddle in politics--but there’s
+one thing he’s got the say about, and that is who works in his mine.
+It’s the easiest thing to weed out--weed out--” Hal never forgot the
+motion of beefy hands with which Alec Stone illustrated these words. As
+he went on, the tones of his voice did not seem so good-natured as
+usual. “The fellows that don’t want to vote my way can go somewhere else
+to do their voting. That’s all I got to say on politics!”
+
+There was a brief pause, while Stone puffed on his pipe. Then it may
+have occurred to him that it was not necessary to go into so much detail
+in breaking in a political recruit. When he resumed, it was in a
+good-natured tone of dismissal. “That’s what you do, kid. To-morrow you
+get a sprained wrist, so you can’t work for a few days, and that’ll give
+you a chance to bum round and hear what the men are saying. Meantime,
+I’ll see you get your wages.”
+
+“That sounds all right,” said Hal; but showing only a small part of his
+satisfaction!
+
+The pit-boss rose from his chair and knocked the ashes from his pipe.
+“Mind you--I want the goods. I’ve got other fellows working, and I’m
+comparing ’em. For all you know, I may have somebody watching you.”
+
+“Yes,” said Hal, and grinned cheerfully. “I’ll not fail to bear that in
+mind.”
+
+
+
+SECTION 6.
+
+The first thing Hal did was to seek out Tom Olson and narrate this
+experience. The two of them had a merry time over it. “I’m the favourite
+of a boss now!” laughed Hal.
+
+But the organiser became suddenly serious. “Be careful what you do for
+that fellow.”
+
+“Why?”
+
+“He might use it on you later on. One of the things they try to do if
+you make any trouble for them, is to prove that you took money from
+them, or tried to.”
+
+“But he won’t have any proofs.”
+
+“That’s my point--don’t give him any. If Stone says you’ve been playing
+the political game for him, then some fellow might remember that you did
+ask him about politics. So don’t have any marked money on you.”
+
+Hal laughed. “Money doesn’t stay on me very long these days. But what
+shall I say if he asks me for a report?”
+
+“You’d better put your job right through, Joe--so that he won’t have
+time to ask for any report.”
+
+“All right,” was the reply. “But just the same, I’m going to get all the
+fun there is, being the favourite of a boss!”
+
+And so, early the next morning when Hal went to his work he proceeded to
+“sprain his wrist.” He walked about in pain, to the great concern of Old
+Mike; and when finally he decided that he would have to lay off, Mike
+followed him half way to the shaft, giving him advice about hot and cold
+cloths. Leaving the old Slovak to struggle along as best he could alone,
+Hal went out to bask in the wonderful sunshine of the upper world, and
+the still more wonderful sunshine of a boss’s favour.
+
+First he went to his room at Reminitsky’s, and tied a strip of old shirt
+about his wrist, and a clean handkerchief on top of that; by this symbol
+he was entitled to the freedom of the camp and the sympathy of all men,
+and so he sallied forth.
+
+Strolling towards the tipple of Number One, he encountered a wiry,
+quick-moving little man, with restless black eyes and a lean,
+intelligent face. He wore a pair of common miner’s “jumpers,” but even
+so, he was not to be taken for a workingman. Everything about him spoke
+of authority.
+
+“Morning, Mr. Cartwright,” said Hal.
+
+“Good morning,” replied the superintendent; then, with a glance at Hal’s
+bandage, “You hurt?”
+
+“Yes, sir. Just a bit of sprain, but I thought I’d better lay off.”
+
+“Been to the doctor?”
+
+“No, sir. I don’t think it’s that bad.”
+
+“You’d better go. You never know how bad a sprain is.”
+
+“Right, sir,” said Hal. Then, as the superintendent was passing, “Do you
+think, Mr. Cartwright, that MacDougall stands any chance of being
+elected?”
+
+“I don’t know,” replied the other, surprised. “I hope not. You aren’t
+going to vote for him, are you?”
+
+“Oh, no. I’m a Republican--born that way. But I wondered if you’d heard
+any MacDougall talk.”
+
+“Well, I’m hardly the one that would hear it. You take an interest in
+politics?”
+
+“Yes, sir--in a way. In fact, that’s how I came to get this wrist.”
+
+“How’s that? In a fight?”
+
+“No, sir; but you see, Mr. Stone wanted me to feel out sentiment in the
+camp, and he told me I’d better sprain my wrist and lay off.”
+
+The “super,” after staring at Hal, could not keep from laughing. Then he
+looked about him. “You want to be careful, talking about such things.”
+
+“I thought I could surely trust the superintendent,” said Hal, drily.
+
+The other measured him with his keen eyes; and Hal, who was getting the
+spirit of political democracy, took the liberty of returning the gaze.
+“You’re a wide-awake young fellow,” said Cartwright, at last. “Learn the
+ropes here, and make yourself useful, and I’ll see you’re not passed
+over.”
+
+“All right, sir--thank you.”
+
+“Maybe you’ll be made an election-clerk this time. That’s worth three
+dollars a day, you know.”
+
+“Very good, sir.” And Hal put on his smile again. “They tell me you’re
+the mayor of North Valley.”
+
+“I am.”
+
+“And the justice of the peace is a clerk in your store. Well, Mr.
+Cartwright, if you need a president of the board of health or a dog
+catcher, I’m your man--as soon, that is, as my wrist gets well.”
+
+And so Hal went on his way. Such “joshing” on the part of a “buddy” was
+of course absurdly presumptuous; the superintendent stood looking after
+him with a puzzled frown upon his face.
+
+
+
+SECTION 7.
+
+Hal did not look back, but turned into the company-store. “North Valley
+Trading Company” read the sign over the door; within was a Serbian woman
+pointing out what she wanted to buy, and two little Lithuanian girls
+watching the weighing of a pound of sugar. Hal strolled up to the person
+who was doing the weighing, a middle-aged man with a yellow moustache
+stained with tobacco-juice. “Morning, Judge.”
+
+“Huh!” was the reply from Silas Adams, justice of the peace in the town
+of North Valley.
+
+“Judge,” said Hal, “what do you think about the election?”
+
+“I don’t think about it,” said the other. “Busy weighin’ sugar.”
+
+“Anybody round here going to vote for MacDougall?”
+
+“They better not tell me if they are!”
+
+“What?” smiled Hal. “In this free American republic?”
+
+“In this part of the free American republic a man is free to dig coal,
+but not to vote for a skunk like MacDougall.” Then, having tied up the
+sugar, the “J. P.” whittled off a fresh chew from his plug, and turned
+to Hal. “What’ll you have?”
+
+Hal purchased half a pound of dried peaches, so that he might have an
+excuse to loiter, and be able to keep time with the jaws of the Judge.
+While the order was being filled, he seated himself upon the counter.
+“You know,” said he, “I used to work in a grocery.”
+
+“That so? Where at?”
+
+“Peterson & Co., in American City.” Hal had told this so often that he
+had begun to believe it.
+
+“Pay pretty good up there?”
+
+“Yes, pretty fair.” Then, realising that he had no idea what would
+constitute good pay in a grocery, Hal added, quickly, “Got a bad wrist
+here!”
+
+“That so?” said the other.
+
+He did not show much sociability; but Hal persisted, refusing to believe
+that any one in a country store would miss an opening to discuss
+politics, even with a miner’s helper. “Tell me,” said he, “just what is
+the matter with MacDougall?”
+
+“The matter with him,” said the Judge, “is that the company’s against
+him.” He looked hard at the young miner. “You meddlin’ in politics?” he
+growled. But the young miner’s gay brown eyes showed only appreciation
+of the earlier response; so the “J. P.” was tempted into specifying the
+would-be congressman’s vices. Thus conversation started; and pretty soon
+the others in the store joined in--“Bob” Johnson, bookkeeper and
+post-master, and “Jake” Predovich, the Galician Jew who was a member of
+the local school-board, and knew the words for staple groceries in
+fifteen languages.
+
+Hal listened to an exposition of the crimes of the political opposition
+in Pedro County. Their candidate, MacDougall, had come to the state as a
+“tin-horn gambler,” yet now he was going around making speeches in
+churches, and talking about the moral sentiment of the community. “And
+him with a district chairman keeping three families in Pedro!” declared
+Si Adams.
+
+“Well,” ventured Hal, “if what I hear is true, the Republican chairman
+isn’t a plaster saint. They say he was drunk at the convention--”
+
+“Maybe so,” said the “J. P.” “But we ain’t playin’ for the prohibition
+vote; and we ain’t playin’ for the labour vote--tryin’ to stir up the
+riff-raff in these coal-camps, promisin’ ’em high wages an’ short hours.
+Don’t he know he can’t get it for ’em? But he figgers he’ll go off to
+Washington and leave us here to deal with the mess he’s stirred up!”
+
+“Don’t you fret,” put in Bob Johnson--“he ain’t goin’ to no Washin’ton.”
+
+The other two agreed, and Hal ventured again, “He says you stuff the
+ballot-boxes.”
+
+“What do you suppose his crowd is doin’ in the cities? We got to meet
+’em some way, ain’t we?”
+
+“Oh, I see,” said Hal, naïvely. “You stuff them worse!”
+
+“Sometimes we stuff the boxes, and sometimes we stuff the voters.” There
+was an appreciative titter from the others, and the “J. P.” was moved to
+reminiscence. “Two years ago I was election clerk, over to Sheridan, and
+we found we’d let ’em get ahead of us--they had carried the whole state.
+‘By God,’ said Alf. Raymond, ‘we’ll show ’em a trick from the
+coal-counties! And there won’t be no recount business either!’ So we
+held back our returns till the rest had come in, and when we seen how
+many votes we needed, we wrote ’em down. And that settled it.”
+
+“That seems a simple method,” remarked Hal. “They’ll have to get up
+early to beat Alf.”
+
+“You bet you!” said Si, with the complacency of one of the gang. “They
+call this county the ‘Empire of Raymond.’”
+
+“It must be a cinch,” said Hal--“being the sheriff, and having the
+naming of so many deputies as they need in these coal-camps!”
+
+“Yes,” agreed the other. “And there’s his wholesale liquor business,
+too. If you want a license in Pedro county, you not only vote for Alf,
+but you pay your bills on time!”
+
+“Must be a fortune in that!” remarked Hal; and the Judge, the
+Post-master and the School-commissioner appeared like children listening
+to a story of a feast. “You bet you!”
+
+“I suppose it takes money to run politics in this county,” Hal added.
+
+“Well, Alf don’t put none of it up, you can bet! That’s the company’s
+job.”
+
+This from the Judge; and the School-commissioner added, “De coin in dese
+camps is beer.”
+
+“Oh, I see!” laughed Hal. “The companies buy Alf’s beer, and use it to
+get him votes!”
+
+“Sure thing!” said the Post-master.
+
+At this moment he happened to reach into his pocket for a cigar, and Hal
+observed a silver shield on the breast of his waistcoat. “That a
+deputy’s badge?” he inquired, and then turned to examine the
+School-commissioner’s costume. “Where’s yours?”
+
+“I git mine ven election comes,” said Jake, with a grin.
+
+“And yours, Judge?”
+
+“I’m a justice of the peace, young feller,” said Silas, with dignity.
+
+Leaning round, and observing a bulge on the right hip of the
+School-commissioner, Hal put out his hand towards it. Instinctively the
+other moved his hand to the spot.
+
+Hal turned to the Post-master. “Yours?” he asked.
+
+“Mine’s under the counter,” grinned Bob.
+
+“And yours, Judge?”
+
+“Mine’s in the desk,” said the Judge.
+
+Hal drew a breath. “Gee!” said he. “It’s like a steel trap!” He managed
+to keep the laugh on his face, but within he was conscious of other
+feelings than those of amusement. He was losing that “first fine
+careless rapture” with which he had set out to run with the hare and the
+hounds in North Valley!
+
+
+
+SECTION 8.
+
+Two days after this beginning of Hal’s political career, it was arranged
+that the workers who were to make a demand for a check-weighman should
+meet in the home of Mrs. David. When Mike Sikoria came up from the pit
+that day, Hal took him aside and told him of the gathering. A look of
+delight came upon the old Slovak’s face as he listened; he grabbed his
+buddy by the shoulders, crying, “You mean it?”
+
+“Sure meant it,” said Hal. “You want to be on the committee to go and
+see the boss?”
+
+“_Pluha biedna_!” cried Mike--which is something dreadful in his own
+language. “By Judas, I pack up my old box again!”
+
+Hal felt a guilty pang. Should he let this old man into the thing? “You
+think you’ll have to move out of camp?” he asked.
+
+“Move out of state this time! Move back to old country, maybe!” And Hal
+realised that he could not stop him now, even if he wanted to. The old
+fellow was so much excited that he hardly ate any supper, and his buddy
+was afraid to leave him alone, for fear he might blurt out the news.
+
+It had been agreed that those who attended the meeting should come one
+by one, and by different routes. Hal was one of the first to arrive, and
+he saw that the shades of the house had been drawn, and the lamps turned
+low. He entered by the back door, where “Big Jack” David stood on guard.
+“Big Jack,” who had been a member of the South Wales Federation at home,
+made sure of Hal’s identity, and then passed him in without a word.
+
+Inside was Mike--the first on hand. Mrs. David, a little black-eyed
+woman with a never-ceasing tongue, was bustling about, putting things in
+order; she was so nervous that she could not sit still. This couple had
+come from their birth-place only a year or so ago, and had brought all
+their wedding presents to their new home--pictures and bric-a-brac and
+linen. It was the prettiest home Hal had so far been in, and Mrs. David
+was risking it deliberately, because of her indignation that her husband
+had had to foreswear his union in order to get work in America.
+
+The young Italian, Rovetta, came, then old John Edstrom. There being not
+chairs enough in the house, Mrs. David had set some boxes against the
+wall, covering them with cloth; and Hal noticed that each person took
+one of these boxes, leaving the chairs for the later comers. Each one as
+he came in would nod to the others, and then silence would fall again.
+
+When Mary Burke entered, Hal divined from her aspect and manner that she
+had sunk back into her old mood of pessimism. He felt a momentary
+resentment. He was so thrilled with this adventure; he wanted everybody
+else to be thrilled--especially Mary! Like every one who has not
+suffered much, he was repelled by a condition of perpetual suffering in
+another. Of course Mary had good reasons for her black moods--but she
+herself considered it necessary to apologise for what she called her
+“complainin’”! She knew that he wanted her to help encourage the others;
+but here she was, putting herself in a corner and watching this
+wonderful proceeding, as if she had said: “I’m an ant, and I stay in
+line--but I’ll not pretend I have any hope in it!”
+
+Rosa and Jerry had insisted on coming, in spite of Hal’s offer to spare
+them. After them came the Bulgarian, Wresmak; then the Polacks, Klowoski
+and Zamierowski. Hal found these difficult names to remember, but the
+Polacks were not at all sensitive about this; they would grin
+good-naturedly while he practised, nor would they mind if he gave it up
+and called them Tony and Pete. They were humble men, accustomed all
+their lives to being driven about. Hal looked from one to another of
+their bowed forms and toil-worn faces, appearing more than ever sombre
+and mournful in the dim light; he wondered if the cruel persecution
+which had driven them to protest would suffice to hold them in line.
+
+Once a newcomer, having misunderstood the orders, came to the front door
+and knocked; and Hal noted that every one started, and some rose to
+their feet in alarm. Again he recognised the atmosphere of novels of
+Russian revolutionary life. He had to remind himself that these men and
+women, gathered here like criminals, were merely planning to ask for a
+right guaranteed them by the law!
+
+The last to come was an Austrian miner named Huszar, with whom Olson had
+got into touch. Then, it being time to begin, everybody looked uneasily
+at everybody else. Few of them had conspired before, and they did not
+know quite how to set about it. Olson, the one who would naturally have
+been their leader, had deliberately stayed away. They must run this
+check-weighman affair for themselves!
+
+“Somebody talk,” said Mrs. David at last; and then, as the silence
+continued, she turned to Hal. “You’re going to be the check-weighman.
+You talk.”
+
+“I’m the youngest man here,” said Hal, with a smile. “Some older fellow
+talk.”
+
+But nobody else smiled. “Go on!” exclaimed old Mike; and so at last Hal
+stood up. It was something he was to experience many times in the
+future; because he was an American, and educated, he was forced into a
+position of leadership.
+
+“As I understand it, you people want a check-weighman. Now, they tell me
+the pay for a check-weighman should be three dollars a day, but we’ve
+got only seven miners among us, and that’s not enough. I will offer to
+take the job for twenty-five cents a day from each man, which will make
+a dollar-seventy-five, less than what I’m getting now as a buddy. If we
+get thirty men to come in, then I’ll take ten cents a day from each, and
+make the full three dollars. Does that seem fair?”
+
+“Sure!” said Mike; and the others added their assent by word or nod.
+
+“All right. Now, there’s nobody that works in this mine but knows the
+men don’t get their weight. It would cost the company several hundred
+dollars a day to give us our weight, and nobody should be so foolish as
+to imagine they’ll do it without a struggle. We’ve got to make up our
+minds to stand together.”
+
+“Sure, stand together!” cried Mike.
+
+“No get check-weighman!” exclaimed Jerry, pessimistically.
+
+“Not unless we try, Jerry,” said Hal.
+
+And Mike thumped his knee. “Sure try! And get him too!”
+
+“Right!” cried “Big Jack.” But his little wife was not satisfied with
+the response of the others. She gave Hal his first lesson in the
+drilling of these polyglot masses.
+
+“Talk to them. Make them understand you!” And she pointed them out one
+by one with her finger: “You! You! Wresmak, here, and you, Klowoski, and
+you, Zam--you other Polish fellow. Want check-weighman. Want to get all
+weight. Get all our money. Understand?”
+
+“Yes, yes!”
+
+“Get committee, go see super! Want check-weighman. Understand? Got to
+have check-weighman! No back down, no scare.”
+
+“No--no scare!” Klowoski, who understood some English, explained rapidly
+to Zamierowski; and Zamierowski, whose head was still plastered where
+Jeff Cotton’s revolver had hit it, nodded eagerly in assent. In spite of
+his bruises, he would stand by the others, and face the boss.
+
+This suggested another question. “Who’s going to do the talking to the
+boss?”
+
+“You do that,” said Mrs. David, to Hal.
+
+“But I’m the one that’s to be paid. It’s not for me to talk.”
+
+“No one else can do it right,” declared the woman.
+
+“Sure--got to be American feller!” said Mike.
+
+But Hal insisted. If he did the talking, it would look as if the
+check-weighman had been the source of the movement, and was engaged in
+making a good paying job for himself.
+
+There was discussion back and forth, until finally John Edstrom spoke
+up. “Put me on the committee.”
+
+“You?” said Hal. “But you’ll be thrown out! And what will your wife do?”
+
+“I think my wife is going to die to-night,” said Edstrom, simply.
+
+He sat with his lips set tightly, looking straight before him. After a
+pause he went on: “If it isn’t to-night, it will be to-morrow, the
+doctor says; and after that, nothing will matter. I shall have to go
+down to Pedro to bury her, and if I have to stay, it will make little
+difference to me, so I might as well do what I can for the rest of you.
+I’ve been a miner all my life, and Mr. Cartwright knows it; that might
+have some weight with him. Let Joe Smith and Sikoria and myself be the
+ones to go and see him, and the rest of you wait, and don’t give up your
+jobs unless you have to.”
+
+
+
+SECTION 9.
+
+Having settled the matter of the committee, Hal told the assembly how
+Alec Stone had asked him to spy upon the men. He thought they should
+know about it; the bosses might try to use it against him, as Olson had
+warned. “They may tell you I’m a traitor,” he said. “You must trust me.”
+
+“We trust you!” exclaimed Mike, with fervour; and the others nodded
+their agreement.
+
+“All right,” Hal answered. “You can rest sure of this one thing--if I
+get onto that tipple, you’re going to get your weights!”
+
+“Hear, hear!” cried “Big Jack,” in English fashion. And a murmur ran
+about the room. They did not dare make much noise, but they made clear
+that that was what they wanted.
+
+Hal sat down, and began to unroll the bandage from his wrist. “I guess
+I’m through with this,” he said, and explained how he had come to wear
+it.
+
+“What?” cried Old Mike. “You fool me like that?” And he caught the
+wrist, and when he had made sure there was no sign of swelling upon it,
+he shook it so that he almost sprained it really, laughing until the
+tears ran down his cheeks. “You old son-of-a-gun!” he exclaimed.
+Meantime Klowoski was telling the story to Zamierowski, and Jerry
+Minetti was explaining it to Wresmak, in the sort of pidgin-English
+which does duty in the camps. Hal had never seen such real laughter
+since coming to North Valley.
+
+But conspirators cannot lend themselves long to merriment. They came
+back to business again. It was agreed that the hour for the committee’s
+visit to the superintendent should be quitting-time on the morrow. And
+then John Edstrom spoke, suggesting that they should agree upon their
+course of action in case they were offered violence.
+
+“You think there’s much chance of that?” said some one.
+
+“Sure there be!” cried Mike Sikoria. “One time in Cedar Mountain we go
+see boss, say air-course blocked. What you think he do them fellers? He
+hit them one lick in nose, he kick them three times in behind, he run
+them out!”
+
+“Well,” said Hal, “if there’s going to be anything like that, we must be
+ready.”
+
+“What you do?” demanded Jerry.
+
+It was time for Hal’s leadership. “If he hits me one lick in the nose,”
+ he declared, “I’ll hit him one lick in the nose, that’s all.”
+
+There was a bit of applause at this. That was the way to talk! Hal
+tasted the joys of his leadership. But then his fine self-confidence met
+with a sudden check--a “lick in the nose” of his pride, so to speak.
+There came a woman’s voice from the corner, low and grim: “Yes! And get
+ye’self killed for all your trouble!”
+
+He looked towards Mary Burke, and saw her vivid face, flushed and
+frowning. “What do you mean?” he asked. “Would you have us turn and run
+away?”
+
+“I would that!” said she. “Rather than have ye killed, I would! What’ll
+ye do if he pulls his gun on ye?”
+
+“Would he pull his gun on a committee?”
+
+Old Mike broke in again. “One time in Barela--ain’t I told you how I
+lose my cars? I tell weigh-boss somebody steal my cars, and he pull gun
+on me, and he say, ‘Get the hell off that tipple, you old billy-goat, I
+shoot you full of holes!’”
+
+Among his class-mates at college, Hal had been wont to argue that the
+proper way to handle a burglar was to call out to him, saying, “Go
+ahead, old chap, and help yourself; there’s nothing here I’m willing to
+get shot for.” What was the value of anything a burglar could steal, in
+comparison with a man’s own life? And surely, one would have thought,
+this was a good time to apply the plausible theory. But for some reason
+Hal failed even to remember it. He was going ahead, precisely as if a
+ton of coal per day was the one thing of consequence in life!
+
+“What shall we do?” he asked. “We don’t want to back out.”
+
+But even while he asked the question, Hal was realising that Mary was
+right. His was the attitude of the leisure-class person, used to having
+his own way; but Mary, though she had a temper too, was pointing the
+lesson of self-control. It was the second time to-night that she had
+injured his pride. But now he forgave her in his admiration; he had
+always known that Mary had a mind and could help him! His admiration was
+increased by what John Edstrom was saying--they must do nothing that
+would injure the cause of the “big union,” and so they must resolve to
+offer no physical resistance, no matter what might be done to them.
+
+There was vehement argument on the other side. “We fight! We fight!”
+ declared Old Mike, and cried out suddenly, as if in anticipation of the
+pain in his injured nose. “You say me stand that?”
+
+“If you fight back,” said Edstrom, “we’ll all get the worst of it. The
+company will say we started the trouble, and put us in the wrong. We’ve
+got to make up our mind to rely on moral force.”
+
+So, after more discussion, it was agreed; every man would keep his
+temper--that is, if he could! So they shook hands all round, pledging
+themselves to stand firm. But, when the meeting was declared adjourned,
+and they stole out one by one into the night, they were a very sober and
+anxious lot of conspirators.
+
+
+
+SECTION 10.
+
+Hal slept but little that night. Amid the sounds of the snoring of eight
+of Reminitsky’s other boarders, he lay going over in his mind various
+things which might happen on the morrow. Some of them were far from
+pleasant things; he tried to picture himself with a broken nose, or with
+tar and feathers on him. He recalled his theory as to the handling of
+burglars. The “G. F. C.” was a burglar of gigantic and terrible
+proportions; surely this was a time to call out, “Help yourself!” But
+instead of doing it, Hal thought about Edstrom’s ants, and wondered at
+the power which made them stay in line.
+
+When morning came, he went up into the mountains, where a man may wander
+and renew his moral force. When the sun had descended behind the
+mountain-tops, he descended also, and met Edstrom and Sikoria in front
+of the company office.
+
+They nodded a greeting, and Edstrom told Hal that his wife had died
+during the day. There being no undertaker in North Valley, he had
+arranged for a woman friend to take the body down to Pedro, so that he
+might be free for the interview with Cartwright. Hal put his hand on the
+old man’s shoulder, but attempted no word of condolence; he saw that
+Edstrom had faced the trouble and was ready for duty.
+
+“Come ahead,” said the old man, and the three went into the office.
+While a clerk took their message to the inner office, they stood for a
+couple of minutes, shifting uneasily from one foot to the other, and
+turning their caps in their hands in the familiar manner of the lowly.
+
+At last Mr. Cartwright appeared in the doorway, his small sparely-built
+figure eloquent of sharp authority. “Well, what’s this?” he inquired.
+
+“If you please,” said Edstrom, “we’d like to speak to you. We’ve
+decided, sir, that we want to have a check-weighman.”
+
+“_What_?” The word came like the snap of a whip.
+
+“We’d like to have a check-weighman, sir.”
+
+There was a moment’s silence. “Come in here.” They filed into the inner
+office, and he shut the door.
+
+“Now. What’s this?”
+
+Edstrom repeated his words again.
+
+“What put that notion into your heads?”
+
+“Nothing, sir; only we thought we’d be better satisfied.”
+
+“You think you’re not getting your weight?”
+
+“Well, sir, you see--some of the men--we think it would be better if we
+had the check-weighman. We’re willing to pay for him.”
+
+“Who’s this check-weighman to be?”
+
+“Joe Smith, here.”
+
+Hal braced himself to meet the other’s stare. “Oh! So it’s you!” Then,
+after a moment, “So that’s why you were feeling so gay!”
+
+Hal was not feeling in the least gay at the moment; but he forebore to
+say so. There was a silence.
+
+“Now, why do you fellows want to throw away your money?” The
+superintendent started to argue with them, showing the absurdity of the
+notion that they could gain anything by such a course. The mine had been
+running for years on its present system, and there had never been any
+complaint. The idea that a company as big and as responsible as the “G.
+F. C.” would stoop to cheat its workers out of a few tons of coal! And
+so on, for several minutes.
+
+“Mr. Cartwright,” said Edstrom, when the other had finished, “you know
+I’ve worked all my life in mines, and most of it in this district. I am
+telling you something I know when I say there is general dissatisfaction
+throughout these camps because the men feel they are not getting their
+weight. You say there has been no public complaint; you understand the
+reason for this--”
+
+“What is the reason?”
+
+“Well,” said Edstrom, gently, “maybe you don’t know the reason--but
+anyway we’ve decided that we want a check-weighman.”
+
+It was evident that the superintendent had been taken by surprise, and
+was uncertain how to meet the issue. “You can imagine,” he said, at
+last, “the company doesn’t relish hearing that its men believe it’s
+cheating them--”
+
+“We don’t say the company knows anything about it, Mr. Cartwright. It’s
+possible that some people may be taking advantage of us, without either
+the company or yourself having anything to do with it. It’s for your
+protection as well as ours that a check-weighman is needed.”
+
+“Thank you,” said the other, drily. His tone revealed that he was
+holding himself in by an effort. “Very well,” he added, at last. “That’s
+enough about the matter, if your minds are made up. I’ll give you my
+decision later.”
+
+This was a dismissal, and Mike Sikoria turned humbly, and started to the
+door. But Edstrom was one of the ants that did not readily “step one
+side”; and Mike took a glance at him, and then stepped back into line in
+a hurry, as if hoping his delinquency had not been noted.
+
+“If you please, Mr. Cartwright,” said Edstrom, “we’d like your decision,
+so as to have the check-weighman start in the morning.”
+
+“What? You’re in such a hurry?”
+
+“There’s no reason for delay, sir. We’ve selected our man, and we’re
+ready to pay him.”
+
+“Who are the men who are ready to pay him? Just you two”
+
+“I am not at liberty to name the other men, sir.”
+
+“Oh! So it’s a secret movement!”
+
+“In a way--yes, sir.”
+
+“Indeed!” said the superintendent, ominously. “And you don’t care what
+the company thinks about it!”
+
+“It’s not that, Mr. Cartwright, but we don’t see anything for the
+company to object to. It’s a simple business arrangement--”
+
+“Well, if it seems simple to you, it doesn’t to me,” snapped the other.
+And then, getting himself in hand, “Understand me, the company would not
+have the least objection to the men making sure of their weights, if
+they really think it’s necessary. The company has always been willing to
+do the right thing. But it’s not a matter that can be settled off hand.
+I will let you know later.”
+
+Again they were dismissed, and again Old Mike turned, and Edstrom also.
+But now another ant sprang into the ditch. “Just when will you be
+prepared to let the check-weighman begin work, Mr. Cartwright?” asked
+Hal.
+
+The superintendent gave him a sharp look, and again it could be seen
+that he made a strong effort to keep his temper. “I’m not prepared to
+say,” he replied. “I will let you know, as soon as convenient to me.
+That’s all now.” And as he spoke he opened the door, putting something
+into the action that was a command.
+
+“Mr. Cartwright,” said Hal, “there’s no law against our having a
+check-weighman, is there?”
+
+The look which these words drew from the superintendent showed that he
+knew full well what the law was. Hal accepted this look as an answer,
+and continued, “I have been selected by a committee of the men to act as
+their check-weighman, and this committee has duly notified the company.
+That makes me a check-weighman, I believe, Mr. Cartwright, and so all I
+have to do is to assume my duties.” Without waiting for the
+superintendent’s answer, he walked to the door, followed by his somewhat
+shocked companions.
+
+
+
+SECTION 11.
+
+At the meeting on the night before it had been agreed to spread the news
+of the check-weighman movement, for the sake of its propaganda value. So
+now when the three men came out from the office, there was a crowd
+waiting to know what had happened; men clamoured questions, and each one
+who got the story would be surrounded by others eager to hear. Hal made
+his way to the boarding-house, and when he had finished his supper, he
+set out from place to place in the camp, telling the men about the
+check-weighman plan and explaining that it was a legal right they were
+demanding. All this while Old Mike stayed on one side of him, and
+Edstrom on the other; for Tom Olson had insisted strenuously that Hal
+should not be left alone for a moment. Evidently the bosses had given
+the same order; for when Hal came out from Reminitsky’s, there was
+“Jake” Predovich, the store-clerk, on the fringe of the crowd, and he
+followed wherever Hal went, doubtless making note of every one he spoke
+to.
+
+They consulted as to where they were to spend the night. Old Mike was
+nervous, taking the activities of the spy to mean that they were to be
+thugged in the darkness. He told horrible stories of that sort of thing.
+What could be an easier way for the company to settle the matter? They
+would fix up some story; the world outside would believe they had been
+killed in a drunken row, perhaps over some woman. This last suggestion
+especially troubled Hal; he thought of the people at home. No, he must
+not sleep in the village! And on the other hand he could not go down the
+canyon, for if he once passed the gate, he might not be allowed to
+repass it.
+
+An idea occurred to him. Why not go _up_ the canyon? There was no
+stockade at the upper end of the village--nothing but wilderness and
+rocks, without even a road.
+
+“But where we sleep?” demanded Old Mike, aghast.
+
+“Outdoors,” said Hal.
+
+“_Pluha biedna_! And get the night air into my bones?”
+
+“You think you keep the day air in your bones when you sleep inside?”
+ laughed Hal.
+
+“Why don’t I, when I shut them windows tight, and cover up my bones?”
+
+“Well, risk the night air once,” said Hal. “It’s better than having
+somebody let it into you with a knife.”
+
+“But that fellow Predovich--he follow us up canyon too!”
+
+“Yes, but he’s only one man, and we don’t have to fear him. If he went
+back for others, he’d never be able to find us in the darkness.”
+
+Edstrom, whose notions of anatomy were not so crude as Mike’s, gave his
+support to this suggestion; so they got their blankets and stumbled up
+the canyon in the still, star-lit night. For a while they heard the spy
+behind them, but finally his footsteps died away, and after they had
+moved on for some distance, they believed they were safe till daylight.
+Hal had slept out many a night as a hunter, but it was a new adventure
+to sleep out as the game!
+
+At dawn they rose, and shook the dew from their blankets, and wiped it
+from their eyes. Hal was young, and saw the glory of the morning, while
+poor Mike Sikoria groaned and grumbled over his stiff and aged joints.
+He thought he had ruined himself forever, but he took courage at
+Edstrom’s mention of coffee, and they hurried down to breakfast at their
+boarding-house.
+
+Now came a critical time, when Hal had to be left by himself. Edstrom
+was obliged to go down to see to his wife’s funeral; and it was obvious
+that if Mike Sikoria were to lay off work, he would be providing the
+boss with an excuse for firing him. The law which provided for a
+check-weighman had failed to provide for a check-weighman’s body-guard!
+
+Hal had announced his programme in that flash of defiance in
+Cartwright’s office. As soon as work started up, he went to the tipple.
+“Mr. Peters,” he said, to the tipple-boss, “I’ve come to act as
+check-weighman.”
+
+The tipple-boss was a man with a big black moustache, which made him
+look like the pictures of Nietzsche. He stared at Hal, frankly
+dumbfounded. “What the devil?” said he.
+
+“Some of the men have chosen me check-weighman,” explained Hal, in a
+business-like manner. “When their cars come up, I’ll see to their
+weights.”
+
+“You keep off this tipple, young fellow!” said Peters. His manner was
+equally business-like.
+
+So the would-be check-weighman came out and sat on the steps to wait.
+The tipple was a fairly public place, and he judged he was as safe there
+as anywhere. Some of the men grinned and winked at him as they went
+about their work; several found a chance to whisper words of
+encouragement. And all morning he sat, like a protestant at the
+palace-gates of a mandarin in China, It was tedious work, but he
+believed that he would be able to stand it longer than the company.
+
+
+
+SECTION 12.
+
+In the middle of the morning a man came up to him--“Bud” Adams, a
+younger brother of the “J. P.,” and Jeff Cotton’s assistant. Bud was
+stocky, red-faced, and reputed to be handy with his fists. So Hal rose
+up warily when he saw him.
+
+“Hey, you,” said Bud. “There’s a telegram at the office for you.”
+
+“For me?”
+
+“Your name’s Joe Smith, ain’t it?”
+
+“Yes.”
+
+“Well, that’s what it says.”
+
+Hal considered for a moment. There was no one to be telegraphing Joe
+Smith. It was only a ruse to get him away.
+
+“What’s in the telegram?” he asked.
+
+“How do I know?” said Bud.
+
+“Where is it from?”
+
+“I dunno that.”
+
+“Well,” said Hal, “you might bring it to me here.”
+
+The other’s eyes flew open. This was not a revolt, it was a revolution!
+“Who the hell’s messenger boy do you think I am?” he demanded.
+
+“Don’t the company deliver telegrams?” countered Hal, politely. And Bud
+stood struggling with his human impulses, while Hal watched him
+cautiously. But apparently those who had sent the messenger had given
+him precise instructions; for he controlled his wrath, and turned and
+strode away.
+
+Hal continued his vigil. He had his lunch with him; and was prepared to
+eat alone--understanding the risk that a man would be running who showed
+sympathy with him. He was surprised, therefore, when Johannson, the
+giant Swede, came and sat down by his side. There also came a young
+Mexican labourer, and a Greek miner. The revolution was spreading!
+
+Hal felt sure the company would not let this go on. And sure enough,
+towards the middle of the afternoon, the tipple-boss came out and
+beckoned to him. “Come here, you!” And Hal went in.
+
+The “weigh-room” was a fairly open place; but at one side was a door
+into an office. “This way,” said the man.
+
+But Hal stopped where he was.
+
+“This is where the check-weighman belongs, Mr. Peters.”
+
+“But I want to talk to you.”
+
+“I can hear you, sir.” Hal was in sight of the men, and he knew that was
+his only protection.
+
+The tipple-boss went back into the office; and a minute later Hal saw
+what had been intended. The door opened and Alec Stone came out.
+
+He stood for a moment looking at his political henchman. Then he came
+up. “Kid,” he said, in a low voice, “you’re overdoing this. I didn’t
+intend you to go so far.”
+
+“This is not what you intended, Mr. Stone,” answered Hal.
+
+The pit-boss came closer yet. “What you looking for, kid? What you
+expect to get out of this?”
+
+Hal’s gaze was unwavering. “Experience,” he replied.
+
+“You’re feeling smart, sonny. But you’d better stop and realise what
+you’re up against. You ain’t going to get away with it, you know; get
+that through your head--you ain’t going to get away with it. You’d
+better come in and have a talk with me.”
+
+There was a silence.
+
+“Don’t you know how it’ll be, Smith? These little fires start up--but we
+put ’em out. We know how to do it, we’ve got the machinery. It’ll all be
+forgotten in a week or two, and then where’ll you be at? Can’t you see?”
+
+As Hal still made no reply, the other’s voice dropped lower. “I
+understand your position. Just give me a nod, and it’ll be all right.
+You tell the men that you’ve watched the weights, and that they’re all
+right. They’ll be satisfied, and you and me can fix it up later.”
+
+“Mr. Stone,” said Hal, with intense gravity, “am I correct in the
+impression that you are offering me a bribe?”
+
+In a flash, the man’s self-control vanished. He thrust his huge fist
+within an inch of Hal’s nose, and uttered a foul oath. But Hal did not
+remove his nose from the danger-zone, and over the fist a pair of angry
+brown eyes gazed at the pit-boss. “Mr. Stone, you had better realise
+this situation. I am in dead earnest about this matter, and I don’t
+think it will be safe for you to offer me violence.”
+
+For a moment or two the man continued to glare at Hal; but it appeared
+that he, like Bud Adams, had been given instructions. He turned abruptly
+and strode back into the office.
+
+Hal stood for a bit, until he had made sure of his composure. After
+which he strolled over towards the scales. A difficulty had occurred to
+him for the first time--that he did not know anything about the working
+of coal-scales.
+
+But he was given no time to learn. The tipple-boss reappeared. “Get out
+of here, fellow!” said he.
+
+“But you invited me in,” remarked Hal, mildly.
+
+“Well, now I invite you out again.”
+
+And so the protestant resumed his vigil at the mandarin’s palace-gates.
+
+
+
+SECTION 13.
+
+When the quitting-whistle blew, Mike Sikoria came quickly to join Hal
+and hear what had happened. Mike was exultant, for several new men had
+come up to him and offered to join the check-weighman movement. The old
+fellow was not sure whether this was owing to his own eloquence as a
+propagandist, or to the fine young American buddy he had; but in either
+case he was equally proud. He gave Hal a note which had been slipped
+into his hand, and which Hal recognised as coming from Tom Olson. The
+organiser reported that every one in the camp was talking
+check-weighman, and so from a propaganda standpoint they could count
+their move a success, no matter what the bosses might do. He added that
+Hal should have a number of men stay with him that night, so as to have
+witnesses if the company tried to “pull off anything.” “And be careful
+of the new men,” he added; “one or two of them are sure to be spies.”
+
+Hal and Mike discussed their programme for the second night. Neither of
+them were keen for sleeping out again--the old Slovak because of his
+bones, and Hal because he saw there were now several spies following
+them about. At Reminitsky’s, he spoke to some of those who had offered
+their support, and asked them if they would be willing to spend the
+night with him in Edstrom’s cabin. Not one shrank from this test of
+sincerity; they all got their blankets, and repaired to the place, where
+Hal lighted the lamp and held an impromptu check-weighman meeting--and
+incidentally entertained himself with a spy-hunt!
+
+One of the new-comers was a Pole named Wojecicowski; this, on top of
+Zamierowski, caused Hal to give up all effort to call the Poles by their
+names. “Woji” was an earnest little man, with a pathetic, tired face. He
+explained his presence by the statement that he was sick of being
+robbed; he would pay his share for a check-weighman, and if they fired
+him, all right, he would move on, and to hell with them. After which
+declaration he rolled up in a blanket and went to snoring on the floor
+of the cabin. That did not seem to be exactly the conduct of a spy.
+
+Another was an Italian, named Farenzena; a dark-browed and
+sinister-looking fellow, who might have served as a villain in any
+melodrama. He sat against the wall and talked in guttural tones, and Hal
+regarded him with deep suspicion. It was not easy to understand his
+English, but finally Hal managed to make out the story he was
+telling--that he was in love with a “fanciulla,” and that the
+“fanciulla” was playing with him. He had about made up his mind that she
+was a coquette, and not worth bothering with, so he did not care any
+curses if they sent him down the canyon. “Don’t fight for fanciulla,
+fight for check-weighman!” he concluded, with a growl.
+
+Another volunteer was a Greek labourer, a talkative young chap who had
+sat with Hal at lunch-time, and had given his name as Apostolikas. He
+entered into fluent conversation with Hal, explaining how much
+interested he was in the check-weighman plan; he wanted to know just
+what they were going to do, what chance of success they thought they
+had, who had started the movement and who was in it. Hal’s replies took
+the form of little sermons on working-class solidarity. Each time the
+man would start to “pump” him, Hal would explain the importance of the
+present issue to the miners, how they must stand by one another and make
+sacrifices for the good of all. After he had talked abstract theories
+for half an hour, Apostolikas gave up and moved on to Mike Sikoria, who,
+having been given a wink by Hal, talked about “scabs,” and the dreadful
+things that honest workingmen would do to them. When finally the Greek
+grew tired again, and lay down on the floor, Hal moved over to Old Mike
+and whispered that the first name of Apostolikas must be Judas!
+
+
+
+SECTION 14.
+
+Old Mike went to sleep quickly; but Hal had not worked for several days,
+and had exciting thoughts to keep him awake. He had been lying quiet for
+a couple of hours, when he became aware that some one was moving in the
+room. There was a lamp burning dimly, and through half-closed eyes he
+made out one of the men lifting himself to a sitting position. At first
+he could not be sure which one it was, but finally he recognised the
+Greek.
+
+Hal lay motionless, and after a minute or so he stole another look and
+saw the man crouching and listening, his hands still on the floor.
+Through half opened eye-lids Hal continued to steal glimpses, while the
+other rose and tip-toed towards him, stepping carefully over the
+sleeping forms.
+
+Hal did his best to simulate the breathing of sleep: no easy matter,
+with the man stooping over him, and a knife-thrust as one of the
+possibilities of the situation. He took the chance, however; and after
+what seemed an age, he felt the man’s fingers lightly touch his side.
+They moved down to his coat-pocket.
+
+“Going to search me!” thought Hal; and waited, expecting the hand to
+travel to other pockets. But after what seemed an interminable period,
+he realised that Apostolikas had risen again, and was stepping back to
+his place. In a minute more he had lain down, and all was still in the
+cabin.
+
+Hal’s hand moved to the pocket, and his fingers slid inside. They
+touched something, which he recognised instantly as a roll of bills.
+
+“I see!” thought he. “A frame-up!” And he laughed to himself, his mind
+going back to early boyhood--to a dilapidated trunk in the attic of his
+home, containing story-books that his father had owned. He could see
+them now, with their worn brown covers and crude pictures: “The Luck and
+Pluck Series,” by Horatio Alger; “Live or Die,” “Rough and Ready,” etc.
+How he had thrilled over the story of the country-boy who comes to the
+city, and meets the villain who robs his employer’s cash-drawer and
+drops the key of it into the hero’s pocket! Evidently some one connected
+with the General Fuel Company had read Horatio Alger!
+
+Hal realised that he could not be too quick about getting those bills
+out of his pocket. He thought of returning them to “Judas,” but decided
+that he would save them for Edstrom, who was likely to need money before
+long. He gave the Greek half an hour to go to sleep, then with his
+pocket-knife he gently picked out a hole in the cinders of the floor and
+buried the money as best he could. After which he wormed his way to
+another place, and lay thinking.
+
+
+
+SECTION 15.
+
+Would they wait until morning, or would they come soon? He was inclined
+to the latter guess, so he was only slightly startled when, an hour or
+two later, he heard the knob of the cabin-door turned. A moment later
+came a crash and the door was burst open, with the shoulder of a heavy
+man behind it.
+
+The room was in confusion in a second. Men sprang to their feet, crying
+out; others sat up bewildered, still half asleep. The room was bright
+from an electric torch in the hands of one of the invaders. “There’s the
+fellow!” cried a voice, which Hal instantly recognised as belonging to
+Jeff Cotton, the camp-marshal. “Stick ’em up, there! You, Joe Smith!”
+ Hal did not wait to see the glint of the marshal’s revolver.
+
+There followed a silence. As this drama was being staged for the benefit
+of the other men, it was necessary to give them time to get thoroughly
+awake, and to get their eyes used to the light. Meantime Hal stood, his
+hands in the air. Behind the torch he could make out the faces of the
+marshal, Bud Adams, Alec Stone, Jake Predovich, and two or three others.
+
+“Now, men,” said Cotton, at last, “you are some of the fellows that want
+a check-weighman. And this is the man you chose. Is that right?”
+
+There was no answer.
+
+“I’m going to show you the kind of fellow he is. He came to Mr. Stone
+here and offered to sell you out.”
+
+“It’s a lie, men,” said Hal, quietly.
+
+“He took some money from Mr. Stone to sell you out!” insisted the
+marshal.
+
+“It’s a lie,” said Hal, again.
+
+“He’s got that money now!” cried the other.
+
+And Hal cried, in turn, “They are trying to frame something on me, boys!
+Don’t let them fool you!”
+
+“Shut up,” commanded the marshal; then, to the men, “I’ll show you. I
+think he’s got that money on him now. Jake, search him.”
+
+The store-clerk advanced.
+
+“Watch out, boys!” exclaimed Hal. “They will put something in my
+pockets.” And then to Old Mike, who had started angrily forward, “It’s
+all right, Mike! Let them alone!”
+
+“Jake, take off your coat,” ordered Cotton. “Roll up your sleeves. Show
+your hands.”
+
+It was for all the world like the performance of a prestidigitator. The
+little Jew took off his coat and rolled up his sleeves above his elbows.
+He exhibited his hands to the audience, turning them this way and that;
+then, keeping them out in front of him, he came slowly towards Hal, like
+a hypnotist about to put him to sleep.
+
+“Watch him!” said Cotton. “He’s got that money on him, I know.”
+
+“Look sharp!” cried Hal. “If it isn’t there, they’ll put it there.”
+
+“Keep your hands up, young fellow,” commanded the marshal. “Keep back
+from him there!” This last to Mike Sikoria and the other spectators, who
+were pressing nearer, peering over one another’s shoulders.
+
+It was all very serious at the time, but afterwards, when Hal recalled
+the scene, he laughed over the grotesque figure of Predovich searching
+his pockets while keeping as far away from him as possible, so that
+every one might know that the money had actually come out of Hal’s
+pocket. The searcher put his hands first in the inside pockets, then in
+the pockets of Hal’s shirt. Time was needed to build up this climax!
+
+“Turn around,” commanded Cotton; and Hal turned, and the Jew went
+through his trouser-pockets. He took out in turn Hal’s watch, his comb
+and mirror, his handkerchief; after examining them and holding them up,
+he dropped them onto the floor. There was a breathless hush when he came
+to Hal’s purse, and proceeded to open it. Thanks to the greed of the
+company, there was nothing in the purse but some small change. Predovich
+closed it and dropped it to the floor.
+
+“Wait now! He’s not through!” cried the master of ceremonies. “He’s got
+that money somewhere, boys! Did you look in his side-pockets, Jake?”
+
+“Not yet,” said Jake.
+
+“Look sharp!” cried the marshal; and every one craned forward eagerly,
+while Predovich stooped down on one knee, and put his hand into one coat
+pocket and then into the other.
+
+He took his hand out again, and the look of dismay upon his face was so
+obvious that Hal could hardly keep from laughing. “It ain’t dere!” he
+declared.
+
+“What?” cried Cotton, and they stared at each other. “By God, he’s got
+rid of it!”
+
+“There’s no money on me, boys!” proclaimed Hal. “It’s a job they are
+trying to put over on us.”
+
+“He’s hid it!” shouted the marshal. “Find it, Jake!”
+
+Then Predovich began to search again, swiftly, and with less
+circumstance. He was not thinking so much about the spectators now, as
+about all that good money gone for nothing! He made Hal take off his
+coat, and ripped open the lining; he unbuttoned the trousers and felt
+inside; he thrust his fingers down inside Hal’s shoes.
+
+But there was no money, and the searchers were at a standstill. “He took
+twenty-five dollars from Mr. Stone to sell you out!” declared the
+marshal. “He’s managed to get rid of it somehow.”
+
+“Boys,” cried Hal, “they sent a spy in here, and told him to put money
+on me.” He was looking at Apostolikas as he spoke; he saw the man start
+and shrink back.
+
+“That’s him! He’s a scab!” cried Old Mike. “He’s got the money on him, I
+bet!” And he made a move towards the Greek.
+
+So the camp-marshal realised suddenly that it was time to ring down the
+curtain on this drama. “That’s enough of this foolishness,” he declared.
+“Bring that fellow along here!” And in a flash a couple of the party had
+seized Hal’s wrists, and a third had grabbed him by the collar of his
+shirt. Before the miners had time to realise what was happening, they
+had rushed their prisoner out of the cabin.
+
+The quarter of an hour which followed was an uncomfortable one for the
+would-be check-weighman. Outside, in the darkness, the camp-marshal was
+free to give vent to his rage, and so was Alec Stone. They poured out
+curses upon him, and kicked him and cuffed him as they went along. One
+of the men who held his wrists twisted his arm, until he cried out with
+pain; then they cursed him harder, and bade him hold his mouth. Down the
+dark and silent street they went swiftly, and into the camp-marshal’s
+office, and upstairs to the room which served as the North Valley jail.
+Hal was glad enough when they left him here, slamming the iron door
+behind them.
+
+
+
+SECTION 16.
+
+It had been a crude and stupid plot, yet Hal realised that it was
+adapted to the intelligence of the men for whom it was intended. But for
+the accident that he had stayed awake, they would have found the money
+on him, and next morning the whole camp would have heard that he had
+sold out. Of course his immediate friends, the members of the committee,
+would not have believed it; but the mass of the workers would have
+believed it, and so the purpose of Tom Olson’s visit to North Valley
+would have been balked. Throughout the experiences which were to come to
+him, Hal retained his vivid impression of that adventure; it served to
+him as a symbol of many things. Just as the bosses had tried to bedevil
+him, to destroy his influence with his followers, so later on he saw
+them trying to bedevil the labour-movement, to confuse the intelligence
+of the whole country.
+
+Now Hal was in jail. He went to the window and tried the bars--but found
+that they had been made for such trials. Then he groped his way about in
+the darkness, examining his prison, which proved to be a steel cage
+built inside the walls of an ordinary room. In one corner was a bench,
+and in another corner another bench, somewhat broader, with a mattress
+upon it. Hal had read a little about jails--enough to cause him to avoid
+this mattress. He sat upon the bare bench, and began to think.
+
+It is a fact that there is a peculiar psychology incidental to being in
+jail; just as there is a peculiar psychology incidental to straining
+your back and breaking your hands loading coal-cars in a five foot vein;
+and another, and quite different psychology, produced by living at ease
+off the labours of coal-miners. In a jail, you have first of all the
+sense of being an animal; the animal side of your being is emphasised,
+the animal passions of hatred and fear are called into prominence, and
+if you are to escape being dominated by them, it can only be by intense
+and concentrated effort of the mind. So, if you are a thinking man, you
+do a great deal of thinking in a jail; the days are long, and the nights
+still longer--you have time for all the thoughts you can have.
+
+The bench was hard, and seemed to grow harder. There was no position in
+which it could be made to grow soft. Hal got up and paced about, then he
+lay down for a while, then got up and walked again; and all the while he
+thought, and all the while the jail-psychology was being impressed upon
+his mind.
+
+First, he thought about his immediate problem. What were they going to
+do to him? The obvious thing would be to put him out of camp, and so be
+done with him; but would they rest content with that, in their
+irritation at the trick he had played? Hal had heard vaguely of that
+native American institution, the “third degree,” but had never had
+occasion to think of it as a possibility in his own life. What a
+difference it made, to think of it in that way!
+
+Hal had told Tom Olson that he would not pledge himself to organise a
+union, but that he would pledge himself to get a check-weighman; and
+Olson had laughed, and seemed quite content--apparently assuming that it
+would come to the same thing. And now, it rather seemed that Olson had
+known what he was talking about. For Hal found his thoughts no longer
+troubled with fears of labour union domination and walking delegate
+tyranny; on the contrary, he became suddenly willing for the people of
+North Valley to have a union, and to be as tyrannical as they knew how!
+And in this change, though Hal had no idea of it, he was repeating an
+experience common among reformers; many of whom begin as mild and
+benevolent advocates of some obvious bit of justice, and under the
+operation of the jail-psychology are made into blazing and determined
+revolutionists. “Eternal spirit of the chainless mind,” says Byron.
+“Greatest in dungeons Liberty thou art!”
+
+The poet goes on to add that “When thy sons to fetters are confined--”
+ then “Freedom’s fame finds wings on every wind.” And just as it was in
+Chillon, so it seemed to be in North Valley. Dawn came, and Hal stood at
+the window of his cell, and heard the whistle blow and saw the workers
+going to their tasks, the toil-bent, pallid faced creatures of the
+underworld, like a file of baboons in the half-light. He waved his hand
+to them, and they stopped and stared, and then waved back; he realised
+that every one of those men must be thinking about his imprisonment, and
+the reason for it--and so the jail-psychology was being communicated to
+them. If any of them cherished distrust of unions, or doubt of the need
+of organisation in North Valley--that distrust and that doubt were being
+dissipated!
+
+--There was only one thing discouraging about the matter, as Hal thought
+it over. Why should the bosses have left him here in plain sight, when
+they might so easily have put him into an automobile, and whisked him
+down to Pedro before daylight? Was it a sign of the contempt they felt
+for their slaves? Did they count upon the sight of the prisoner in the
+window to produce fear instead of resentment? And might it not be that
+they understood their workers better than the would-be check-weighman?
+He recalled Mary Burke’s pessimism about them, and anxiety gnawed at his
+soul; and--such is the operation of the jail-psychology--he fought
+against this anxiety. He hated the company for its cynicism, he clenched
+his hands and set his teeth, desiring to teach the bosses a lesson, to
+prove to them that their workers were not slaves, but men!
+
+
+
+SECTION 17.
+
+Toward the middle of the morning, Hal heard footsteps in the corridor
+outside, and a man whom he did not know opened the barred door and set
+down a pitcher of water and a tin plate with a hunk of bread on it. When
+he started to leave, Hal spoke: “Just a minute, please.”
+
+The other frowned at him.
+
+“Can you give me any idea how long I am to stay in here?”
+
+“I cannot,” said the man.
+
+“If I’m to be locked up,” said Hal, “I’ve certainly a right to know what
+is the charge against me.”
+
+“Go to blazes!” said the other, and slammed the door and went down the
+corridor.
+
+Hal went to the window again, and passed the time watching the people
+who went by. Groups of ragged children gathered, looking up at him,
+grinning and making signs--until some one appeared below and ordered
+them away.
+
+As time passed, Hal became hungry. The taste of bread, eaten alone,
+becomes speedily monotonous, and the taste of water does not relieve it;
+nevertheless, Hal munched the bread, and drank the water, and wished for
+more.
+
+The day dragged by; and late in the afternoon the keeper came again,
+with another hunk of bread and another pitcher of water. “Listen a
+moment,” said Hal, as the man was turning away.
+
+“I got nothin’ to say to you,” said the other.
+
+“I have something to say to you,” pleaded Hal. “I have read in a book--I
+forget where, but it was written by some doctor--that white bread does
+not contain the elements necessary to the sustaining of the human body.”
+
+“Go on!” growled the jailer. “What yer givin’ us?”
+
+“I mean,” explained Hal, “a diet of bread and water is not what I’d
+choose to live on.”
+
+“What would yer choose?”
+
+The tone suggested that the question was a rhetorical one; but Hal took
+it in good faith. “If I could have some beefsteak and mashed potatoes--”
+
+The door of the cell closed with a slam whose echoes drowned out the
+rest of that imaginary menu. And so once more Hal sat on the hard bench,
+and munched his hunk of bread, and thought jail-thoughts.
+
+When the quitting-whistle blew, he stood at the window, and saw the
+groups of his friends once again, and got their covert signals of
+encouragement. Then darkness fell, and another long vigil began.
+
+It was late; Hal had no means of telling how late, save that all the
+lights in the camps were out. He made up his mind that he was in for the
+night, and had settled himself on the floor with his arm for a pillow,
+and had dozed off to sleep, when suddenly there came a scraping sound
+against the bars of his window. He sat up with a start, and heard
+another sound, unmistakably the rustling of paper. He sprang to the
+window, where by the faint light of the stars he could make out
+something dangling. He caught at it; it seemed to be an ordinary
+note-book, such as stenographers use, tied on the end of a pole.
+
+Hal looked out, but could see no one. He caught hold of the pole and
+jerked it, as a signal; and then he heard a whisper which he recognised
+instantly as Rovetta’s. “Hello! Listen. Write your name hundred times in
+book. I come back. Understand?”
+
+The command was a sufficiently puzzling one, but Hal realised that this
+was no time for explanations. He answered, “Yes,” and broke the string
+and took the notebook. There was a pencil attached, with a piece of
+cloth wrapped round the point to protect it.
+
+The pole was withdrawn, and Hal sat on the bench, and began to write,
+three or four times on a page, “Joe Smith--Joe Smith--Joe Smith.” It is
+not hard to write “Joe Smith,” even in darkness, and so, while his hand
+moved, Hal’s mind was busy with this mystery. It was fairly to be
+assumed that his committee did not want his autograph to distribute for
+a souvenir; they must want it for some vital purpose, to meet some new
+move of the bosses. The answer to this riddle was not slow in coming:
+having failed in their effort to find money on him, the bosses had
+framed up a letter, which they were exhibiting as having been written by
+the would-be check-weigh-man. His friends wanted his signature to
+disprove the authenticity of the letter.
+
+Hal wrote a free and rapid hand, with a generous flourish; he felt sure
+it would be different from Alec Stone’s idea of a working-boy’s scrawl.
+His pencil flew on and on--“Joe Smith--Joe Smith--” page after page,
+until he was sure that he had written a signature for every miner in the
+camp, and was beginning on the buddies. Then, hearing a whistle outside,
+he stopped and sprang to the window.
+
+“Throw it!” whispered a voice; and Hal threw it. He saw a form vanish up
+the street, after which all was quiet again. He listened for a while, to
+see if he had roused his jailer; then he lay down on the bench--and
+thought more jail-thoughts!
+
+
+
+SECTION 18.
+
+Morning came, and the mine-whistle blew, and Hal stood at the window
+again. This time he noticed that some of the miners on their way to work
+had little strips of paper in their hands, which strips they waved
+conspicuously for him to see. Old Mike Sikoria came along, having a
+whole bunch of strips in his hands, which he was distributing to all who
+would take them. Doubtless he had been warned to proceed secretly, but
+the excitement of the occasion had been too much for him; he capered
+about like a young spring lamb, and waved the strips at Hal in plain
+sight of all the world.
+
+Such indiscreet behaviour met the return it invited. As Hal watched, he
+saw a stocky figure come striding round the corner, confronting the
+startled old Slovak. It was Bud Adams, the mine-guard, and his hard
+fists were clenched, and his whole body gathered for a blow. Mike saw
+him, and was as if suddenly struck with paralysis; his toil-bent
+shoulders sunk together, and his hands fell to his sides--his fingers
+opening, and his precious strips of paper fluttering to the ground. Mike
+stared at Bud like a fascinated rabbit, making no move to protect
+himself.
+
+Hal clutched the bars, with an impulse to leap to his friend’s defence.
+But the expected blow did not fall; the mine-guard contented himself
+with glaring ferociously, and giving an order to the old man. Mike
+stooped and picked up the papers--the process taking him some time, as
+he was unable or unwilling to take his eyes off the mine-guard’s. When
+he got them all in his hands, there came another order, and he gave them
+up to Bud. After which he fell back a step, and the other followed, his
+fists still clenched, and a blow seeming about to leap from him every
+moment. Mike receded another step, and then another--so the two of them
+backed out of sight around the corner. Men who had been witnesses of
+this little drama turned and slunk off, and Hal was given no clue as to
+its outcome.
+
+A couple of hours afterwards, Hal’s jailer came up, this time without
+any bread and water. He opened the door and commanded the prisoner to
+“come along.” Hal went downstairs, and entered Jeff Cotton’s office.
+
+The camp-marshal sat at his desk with a cigar between his teeth. He was
+writing, and he went on writing until the jailer had gone out and closed
+the door. Then he turned his revolving chair and crossed his legs,
+leaning back and looking at the young miner in his dirty blue overalls,
+his hair tousled and his face pale from his period of confinement. The
+camp-marshal’s aristocratic face wore a smile. “Well, young fellow,”
+ said he, “you’ve been having a lot of fun in this camp.”
+
+“Pretty fair, thank you,” answered Hal.
+
+“Beat us out all along the line, hey?” Then, after a pause, “Now, tell
+me, what do you think you’re going to get out of it?”
+
+“That’s what Alec Stone asked me,” replied Hal. “I don’t think it would
+do much good to explain. I doubt if you believe in altruism any more
+than Stone does.”
+
+The camp-marshal took his cigar from his mouth, and flicked off the
+ashes. His face became serious, and there was a silence, while he
+studied Hal. “You a union organiser?” he asked, at last.
+
+“No,” said Hal.
+
+“You’re an educated man; you’re no labourer, that I know. Who’s paying
+you?”
+
+“There you are! You don’t believe in altruism.”
+
+The other blew a ring of smoke across the room. “Just want to put the
+company in the hole, hey? Some kind of agitator?”
+
+“I am a miner who wants to be a check-weighman.”
+
+“Socialist?”
+
+“That depends upon developments here.”
+
+“Well,” said the marshal, “you’re an intelligent chap, that I can see.
+So I’ll lay my hand on the table and you can study it. You’re not going
+to serve as check-weighman in North Valley, nor any other place that the
+‘G. F. C.’ has anything to do with. Nor are you going to have the
+satisfaction of putting the company in a hole. We’re not even going to
+beat you up and make a martyr of you. I was tempted to do that the other
+night, but I changed my mind.”
+
+“You might change the bruises on my arm,” suggested Hal, in a pleasant
+voice.
+
+“We’re going to offer you the choice of two things,” continued the
+marshal, without heeding this mild sarcasm. “Either you will sign a
+paper admitting that you took the twenty-five dollars from Alec Stone,
+in which case we will fire you and call it square; or else we will prove
+that you took it, in which case we will send you to the pen for five or
+ten years. Do you get that?”
+
+Now when Hal had applied for the job of check-weighman, he had been
+expecting to be thrown out of the camp, and had intended to go, counting
+his education complete. But here, as he sat and gazed into the marshal’s
+menacing eyes, he decided suddenly that he did not want to leave North
+Valley. He wanted to stay and take the measure of this gigantic
+“burglar,” the General Fuel Company.
+
+“That’s a serious threat, Mr. Cotton,” he remarked. “Do you often do
+things like that?”
+
+“We do them when we have to,” was the reply.
+
+“Well, it’s a novel proposition. Tell me more about it. What will the
+charge be?”
+
+“I’m not sure about that--we’ll put it up to our lawyers. Maybe they’ll
+call it conspiracy, maybe blackmail. They’ll make it whatever carries a
+long enough sentence.”
+
+“And before I enter my plea, would you mind letting me see the letter
+I’m supposed to have written.”
+
+“Oh, you’ve heard about the letter, have you?” said the camp-marshal,
+lifting his eyebrows in mild surprise. He took from his desk a sheet of
+paper and handed it to Hal, who read:
+
+“Dere mister Stone, You don’t need worry about the check-wayman. Pay me
+twenty five dollars, and I will fix it right. Yours try, Joe Smith.”
+
+Having taken in the words of the letter, Hal examined the paper, and
+perceived that his enemies had taken the trouble, not merely to forge a
+letter in his name, but to have it photographed, to have a cut made of
+the photograph, and to have it printed. Beyond doubt they had
+distributed it broadcast in the camp. And all this in a few hours! It
+was as Olson had said--a regular system to keep the men bedevilled.
+
+
+
+SECTION 19.
+
+Hal took a minute or so to ponder the situation. “Mr. Cotton,” he said,
+at last. “I know how to spell better than that. Also my handwriting is a
+bit more fluent.”
+
+There was a trace of a smile about the marshal’s cruel lips. “I know,”
+ he replied. “I’ve not failed to compare them.”
+
+“You have a good secret-service department!” said Hal.
+
+“Before you get through, young fellow, you’ll discover that our legal
+department is equally efficient.”
+
+“Well,” said Hal, “they’ll need to be; for I don’t see how you can get
+round the fact that I’m a check-weighman, chosen according to the law,
+and with a group of the men behind me.”
+
+“If that’s what you’re counting on,” retorted Cotton, “you may as well
+forget it. You’ve got no group any more.”
+
+“Oh! You’ve got rid of them?”
+
+“We’ve got rid of the ring-leaders.”
+
+“Of whom?”
+
+“That old billy-goat, Sikoria, for one.”
+
+“You’ve shipped him?”
+
+“We have.”
+
+“I saw the beginning of that. Where have you sent him?”
+
+“That,” smiled the marshal, “is a job for _your_ secret-service
+department!”
+
+“And who else?”
+
+“John Edstrom has gone down to bury his wife. It’s not the first time
+that dough-faced old preacher has made trouble for us, but it’ll be the
+last. You’ll find him in Pedro--probably in the poor-house.”
+
+“No,” responded Hal, quickly--and there came just a touch of elation in
+his voice--“he won’t have to go to the poor-house at once. You see, I’ve
+just sent twenty-five dollars to him.”
+
+The camp-marshal frowned. “Really!” Then, after a pause, “You _did_ have
+that money on you! I thought that lousy Greek had got away with it!”
+
+“No. Your knave was honest. But so was I. I knew Edstrom had been
+getting short weight for years, so he was the one person with any right
+to the money.”
+
+This story was untrue, of course; the money was still buried in
+Edstrom’s cabin. But Hal meant for the old miner to have it in the end,
+and meantime he wanted to throw Cotton off the track.
+
+“A clever trick, young man!” said the marshal. “But you’ll repent it
+before you’re through. It only makes me more determined to put you where
+you can’t do us any harm.”
+
+“You mean in the pen? You understand, of course, it will mean a jury
+trial. You can get a jury to do what you want?”
+
+“They tell me you’ve been taking an interest in politics in Pedro
+County. Haven’t you looked into our jury-system?”
+
+“No, I haven’t got that far.”
+
+The marshal began blowing rings of smoke again.
+
+“Well, there are some three hundred men on our jury-list, and we know
+them all. You’ll find yourself facing a box with Jake Predovich as
+foreman, three company-clerks, two of Alf Raymond’s saloon-keepers, a
+ranchman with a mortgage held by the company-bank, and five Mexicans who
+have no idea what it’s all about, but would stick a knife into your back
+for a drink of whiskey. The District Attorney is a politician who
+favours the miners in his speeches, and favours us in his acts; while
+Judge Denton, of the district court, is the law partner of Vagleman, our
+chief-counsel. Do you get all that?”
+
+“Yes,” said Hal. “I’ve heard of the ‘Empire of Raymond’; I’m interested
+to see the machinery. You’re quite open about it!”
+
+“Well,” replied the marshal, “I want you to know what you’re up against.
+We didn’t start this fight, and we’re perfectly willing to end it
+without trouble. All we ask is that you make amends for the mischief
+you’ve done us.”
+
+“By ‘making amends,’ you mean I’m to disgrace myself--to tell the men
+I’m a traitor?”
+
+“Precisely,” said the marshal.
+
+“I think I’ll have a seat while I consider the matter,” said Hal; and he
+took a chair, and stretched out his legs, and made himself elaborately
+comfortable. “That bench upstairs is frightfully hard,” said he, and
+smiled mockingly upon the camp-marshal.
+
+
+
+SECTION 20.
+
+When this conversation was continued, it was upon a new and unexpected
+line. “Cotton,” remarked the prisoner, “I perceive that you are a man of
+education. It occurs to me that once upon a time you must have been what
+the world calls a gentleman.”
+
+The blood started into the camp-marshal’s face. “You go to hell!” said
+he.
+
+“I did not intend to ask questions,” continued Hal. “I can well
+understand that you mightn’t care to answer them. My point is that,
+being an ex-gentleman, you may appreciate certain aspects of this case
+which would be beyond the understanding of a nigger-driver like Stone,
+or an efficiency expert like Cartwright. One gentleman can recognise
+another, even in a miner’s costume. Isn’t that so?”
+
+Hal paused for an answer, and the marshal gave him a wary look. “I
+suppose so,” he said.
+
+“Well, to begin with, one gentleman does not smoke without inviting
+another to join him.”
+
+The man gave another look. Hal thought he was going to consign him to
+hades once more; but instead he took a cigar from his vest-pocket and
+held it out.
+
+“No, thank you,” said Hal, quietly. “I do not smoke. But I like to be
+invited.”
+
+There was a pause, while the two men measured each other.
+
+“Now, Cotton,” began the prisoner, “you pictured the scene at my trial.
+Let me carry on the story for you. You have your case all framed up,
+your hand-picked jury in the box, and your hand-picked judge on the
+bench, your hand-picked prosecuting-attorney putting through the job;
+you are ready to send your victim to prison, for an example to the rest
+of your employés. But suppose that, at the climax of the proceedings,
+you should make the discovery that your victim is a person who cannot be
+sent to prison?”
+
+“Cannot be sent to prison?” repeated the other. His tone was thoughtful.
+“You’ll have to explain.”
+
+“Surely not to a man of your intelligence! Don’t you know, Cotton, there
+are people who cannot be sent to prison?”
+
+The camp-marshal smoked his cigar for a bit. “There are some in this
+county,” said he. “But I thought I knew them all.”
+
+“Well,” said Hal, “has it never occurred to you that there might be some
+in this _state_?”
+
+There followed a long silence. The two men were gazing into each other’s
+eyes; and the more they gazed, the more plainly Hal read uncertainty in
+the face of the marshal.
+
+“Think how embarrassing it would be!” he continued. “You have your drama
+all staged--as you did the night before last--only on a larger stage,
+before a more important audience; and at the _dénouement_ you find that,
+instead of vindicating yourself before the workers in North Valley, you
+have convicted yourself before the public of the state. You have shown
+the whole community that you are law-breakers; worse than that--you have
+shown that you are jack-asses!”
+
+This time the camp-marshal gazed so long that his cigar went out. And
+meantime Hal was lounging in his chair, smiling at him strangely. It was
+as if a transformation was taking place before the marshal’s eyes; the
+miner’s “jumpers” fell away from Hal’s figure, and there was a suit of
+evening-clothes in their place!
+
+“Who the devil are you?” cried the man.
+
+“Well now!” laughed Hal. “You boast of the efficiency of your secret
+service department! Put them at work upon this problem. A young man, age
+twenty-one, height five feet ten inches, weight one hundred and
+fifty-two pounds, eyes brown, hair chestnut and rather wavy, manner
+genial, a favourite with the ladies--at least that’s what the society
+notes say--missing since early in June, supposed to be hunting
+mountain-goats in Mexico. As you know, Cotton, there’s only one city in
+the state that has any ‘society,’ and in that city there are only
+twenty-five or thirty families that count. For a secret service
+department like that of the ‘G. F. C.’, that is really too easy.”
+
+Again there was a silence, until Hal broke it. “Your distress is a
+tribute to your insight. The company is lucky in the fact that one of
+its camp-marshals happens to be an ex-gentleman.”
+
+Again the other flushed. “Well, by God!” he said, half to himself; and
+then, making a last effort to hold his bluff--“You’re kidding me!”
+
+“‘Kidding,’ as you call it, is one of the favourite occupations of
+society, Cotton. A good part of our intercourse consists of it--at least
+among the younger set.”
+
+Suddenly the marshal rose. “Say,” he demanded, “would you mind going
+back upstairs for a few minutes?”
+
+Hal could not restrain his laughter at this. “I should mind it very
+much,” he said. “I have been on a bread and water diet for thirty-six
+hours, and I should like very much to get out and have a breath of fresh
+air.”
+
+“But,” said the other, lamely, “I’ve got to send you up there.”
+
+“That’s another matter,” replied Hal. “If you send me, I’ll go, but it’s
+your look-out. You’ve kept me here without legal authority, with no
+charge against me, and without giving me an opportunity to see counsel.
+Unless I’m very much mistaken, you are liable criminally for that, and
+the company is liable civilly. That is your own affair, of course. I
+only want to make clear my position--when you ask me would I _mind_
+stepping upstairs, I, answer that I would mind very much indeed.”
+
+The camp-marshal stood for a bit, chewing nervously on his extinct
+cigar. Then he went to the door. “Hey, Gus!” he called. Hal’s jailer
+appeared, and Cotton whispered to him, and he went away again. “I’m
+telling him to get you some food, and you can sit and eat it here. Will
+that suit you better?”
+
+“It depends,” said Hal, making the most of the situation. “Are you
+inviting me as your prisoner, or as your guest?”
+
+“Oh, come off!” said the other.
+
+“But I have to know my legal status. It will be of importance to my
+lawyers.”
+
+“Be my guest,” said the camp-marshal.
+
+“But when a guest has eaten, he is free to go out, if he wishes to!”
+
+“I will let you know about that before you get through.”
+
+“Well, be quick. I’m a rapid eater.”
+
+“You’ll promise you won’t go away before that?”
+
+“If I do,” was Hal’s laughing reply, “it will be only to my place of
+business. You can look for me at the tipple, Cotton!”
+
+
+
+SECTION 21.
+
+The marshal went out, and a few moments later the jailer came back, with
+a meal which presented a surprising contrast to the ones he had
+previously served. There was a tray containing cold ham, a couple of
+soft boiled eggs, some potato salad, and a cup of coffee with rolls and
+butter.
+
+“Well, well!” said Hal, condescendingly. “That’s even nicer than
+beefsteak and mashed potatoes!” He sat and watched, not offering to
+help, while the other made room for the tray on the table in front of
+him. Then the man stalked out, and Hal began to eat.
+
+Before he had finished, the camp-marshal returned. He seated himself in
+his revolving chair, and appeared to be meditative. Between bites, Hal
+would look up and smile at him.
+
+“Cotton,” said he, “you know there is no more certain test of breeding
+than table-manners. You will observe that I have not tucked my napkin in
+my neck, as Alec Stone would have done.”
+
+“I’m getting you,” replied the marshal.
+
+Hal set his knife and fork side by side on his plate. “Your man has
+overlooked the finger-bowl,” he remarked. “However, don’t bother. You
+might ring for him now, and let him take the tray.”
+
+The camp-marshal used his voice for a bell, and the jailer came.
+“Unfortunately,” said Hal, “when your people were searching me, night
+before last, they dropped my purse, so I have no tip for the waiter.”
+
+The “waiter” glared at Hal as if he would like to bite him; but the
+camp-marshal grinned. “Clear out, Gus, and shut the door,” said he.
+
+Then Hal stretched his legs and made himself comfortable again. “I must
+say I like being your guest better than being your prisoner!”
+
+There was a pause.
+
+“I’ve been talking it over with Mr. Cartwright,” began the marshal.
+“I’ve got no way of telling how much of this is bluff that you’ve been
+giving me, but it’s evident enough that you’re no miner. You may be some
+newfangled kind of agitator, but I’m damned if I ever saw an agitator
+that had tea-party manners. I suppose you’ve been brought up to money;
+but if that’s so, why you want to do this kind of thing is more than I
+can imagine.”
+
+“Tell me, Cotton,” said Hal, “did you never hear of _ennui_?”
+
+“Yes,” replied the other, “but aren’t you rather young to be troubled
+with that complaint?”
+
+“Suppose I’ve seen others suffering from it, and wanted to try a
+different way of living from theirs?”
+
+“If you’re what you say, you ought to be still in college.”
+
+“I go back for my senior year this fall.”
+
+“What college?”
+
+“You doubt me still, I see!” said Hal, and smiled. Then, unexpectedly,
+with a spirit which only moonlit campuses and privilege could beget, he
+chanted:
+
+  “Old King Coal was a merry old soul,
+    And a merry old soul was he;
+  He made him a college, all full of knowledge--
+    Hurrah for you and me!”
+
+“What college is that?” asked the marshal. And Hal sang again:
+
+  “Oh, Liza-Ann, come out with me,
+  The moon is a-shinin’ in the monkey-puzzle tree!
+  Oh, Liza-Ann, I have began
+  To sing you the song of Harrigan!”
+
+“Well, well!” commented the marshal, when the concert was over. “Are
+there many more like you at Harrigan?”
+
+“A little group--enough to leaven the lump.”
+
+“And this is your idea of a vacation?”
+
+“No, it isn’t a vacation; it’s a summer-course in practical sociology.”
+
+“Oh, I see!” said the marshal; and he smiled in spite of himself.
+
+“All last year we let the professors of political economy hand out their
+theories to us. But somehow the theories didn’t seem to correspond with
+the facts. I said to myself, ‘I’ve got to check them up.’ You know the
+phrases, perhaps--individualism, _laissez faire_, freedom of contract,
+the right of every man to work for whom he pleases. And here you see how
+the theories work out--a camp-marshal with a cruel smile on his face and
+a gun on his hip, breaking the laws faster than a governor can sign
+them.”
+
+The camp-marshal decided suddenly that he had had enough of this
+“tea-party.” He rose to his feet to cut matters short. “If you don’t
+mind, young man,” said he, “we’ll get down to business!”
+
+
+
+SECTION 22.
+
+He took a turn about the room, then he came and stopped in front of
+Hal. He stood with his hands thrust into his pockets, with a certain
+jaunty grace that was out of keeping with his occupation. He was a
+handsome devil, Hal thought--in spite of his dangerous mouth, and the
+marks of dissipation on him.
+
+“Young man,” he began, with another effort at geniality. “I don’t know
+who you are, but you’re wide awake; you’ve got your nerve with you, and
+I admire you. So I’m willing to call the thing off, and let you go back
+and finish that course at college.”
+
+Hal had been studying the other’s careful smile. “Cotton,” he said, at
+last, “let me get the proposition clear. I don’t have to say I took
+that money?”
+
+“No, we’ll let you off from that.”
+
+“And you won’t send me to the pen?”
+
+“No. I never meant to do that, of course. I was only trying to bluff
+you. All I ask is that you clear out, and give our people a chance to
+forget.”
+
+“But what’s there in that for me, Cotton? If I had wanted to run away, I
+could have done it any time during the last eight or ten weeks.”
+
+“Yes, of course, but now it’s different. Now it’s a matter of my
+consideration.”
+
+“Cut out the consideration!” exclaimed Hal. “You want to get rid of me,
+and you’d like to do it without trouble. But you can’t--so forget it.”
+
+The other was staring, puzzled. “You mean you expect to stay here?”
+
+“I mean just that.”
+
+“Young man, I’ve had enough of this! I’ve got no more time to play. I
+don’t care who you are, I don’t care about your threats. I’m the marshal
+of this camp, and I have the job of keeping order in it. I say you’re
+going to get out!”
+
+“But, Cotton,” said Hal, “this is an incorporated town! I have a right
+to walk on the streets--exactly as much right as you.”
+
+“I’m not going to waste time arguing. I’m going to put you into an
+automobile and take you down to Pedro!”
+
+“And suppose I go to the District Attorney and demand that he prosecute
+you?”
+
+“He’ll laugh at you.”
+
+“And suppose I go to the Governor of the state?”
+
+“He’ll laugh still louder.”
+
+“All right, Cotton; maybe you know what you’re doing; but I wonder--I
+wonder just how sure you feel. Has it never occurred to you that your
+superiors might not care to have you take these high-handed steps?”
+
+“My superiors? Who do you mean?”
+
+“There’s one man in the state you must respect--even though you despise
+the District Attorney and the Governor. That is Peter Harrigan.”
+
+“Peter Harrigan?” echoed the other; and then he burst into a laugh.
+“Well, you _are_ a merry lad!”
+
+Hal continued to study him, unmoved. “I wonder if you’re sure! He’ll
+stand for everything you’ve done.”
+
+“He will!” said the other.
+
+“For the way you treat the workers? He knows you are giving short
+weights.”
+
+“Oh hell!” said the other. “Where do you suppose he got the money for
+your college?”
+
+There was a pause; at last the marshal asked, defiantly, “Have you got
+what you want?”
+
+“Yes,” replied Hal. “Of course, I thought it all along, but it’s hard to
+convince other people. Old Peter’s not like most of these Western
+wolves, you know; he’s a pious high-church man.”
+
+The marshal smiled grimly. “So long as there are sheep,” said he,
+“there’ll be wolves in sheep’s clothing.”
+
+“I see,” said Hal. “And you leave them to feed on the lambs!”
+
+“If any lamb is silly enough to be fooled by that old worn-out skin,”
+ remarked the marshal, “it deserves to be eaten.”
+
+Hal was studying the cynical face in front of him. “Cotton,” he said,
+“the shepherds are asleep; but the watch-dogs are barking. Haven’t you
+heard them?”
+
+“I hadn’t noticed.”
+
+“They are barking, barking! They are going to wake the shepherds! They
+are going to save the sheep!”
+
+“Religion don’t interest me,” said the other, looking bored; “your kind
+any more than Old Peter’s.”
+
+And suddenly Hal rose to his feet. “Cotton,” said he, “my place is with
+the flock! I’m going back to my job at the tipple!” And he started
+towards the door.
+
+
+
+SECTION 23.
+
+Jeff Cotton sprang forward. “Stop!” he cried.
+
+But Hal did not stop.
+
+“See here, young man!” cried the marshal. “Don’t carry this joke too
+far!” And he sprang to the door, just ahead of his prisoner. His hand
+moved toward his hip.
+
+“Draw your gun, Cotton,” said Hal; and, as the marshal obeyed, “Now I
+will stop. If I obey you in future, it will be at the point of your
+revolver.”
+
+The marshal’s mouth was dangerous-looking. “You may find that in this
+country there’s not so much between the drawing of a gun and the firing
+of it!”
+
+“I’ve explained my attitude,” replied Hal. “What are your orders?”
+
+“Come back and sit in this chair.”
+
+So Hal sat, and the marshal went to his desk, and took up the telephone.
+“Number seven,” he said, and waited a moment. “That you, Tom? Bring the
+car right away.”
+
+He hung up the receiver, and there followed a silence; finally Hal
+inquired, “I’m going to Pedro?”
+
+There was no reply.
+
+“I see I’ve got on your nerves,” said Hal. “But I don’t suppose it’s
+occurred to you that you deprived me of my money last night. Also, I’ve
+an account with the company, some money coming to me for my work? What
+about that?”
+
+The marshal took up the receiver and gave another number. “Hello,
+Simpson. This is Cotton. Will you figure out the time of Joe Smith,
+buddy in Number Two, and send over the cash. Get his account at the
+store; and be quick, we’re waiting for it. He’s going out in a hurry.”
+ Again he hung up the receiver.
+
+“Tell me,” said Hal, “did you take that trouble for Mike Sikoria?”
+
+There was silence.
+
+“Let me suggest that when you get my time, you give me part of it in
+scrip. I want it for a souvenir.”
+
+Still there was silence.
+
+“You know,” persisted the prisoner, tormentingly, “there’s a law against
+paying wages in scrip.”
+
+The marshal was goaded to speech. “We don’t pay in scrip.”
+
+“But you do, man! You know you do!”
+
+“We give it when they ask their money ahead.”
+
+“The law requires you to pay them twice a month, and you don’t do it.
+You pay them once a month, and meantime, if they need money, you give
+them this imitation money!”
+
+“Well, if it satisfies them, where’s your kick?”
+
+“If it doesn’t satisfy them, you put them on the train and ship them
+out?”
+
+The marshal sat in silence, tapping impatiently with his fingers on the
+desk.
+
+“Cotton,” Hal began, again, “I’m out for education, and there’s
+something I’d like you to explain to me--a problem in human psychology.
+When a man puts through a deal like this, what does he tell himself
+about it?”
+
+“Young man,” said the marshal, “if you’ll pardon me, you are getting to
+be a bore.”
+
+“Oh, but we’ve got an automobile ride before us! Surely we can’t sit in
+silence all the way!” After a moment he added, in a coaxing tone, “I
+really want to learn, you know. You might be able to win me over.”
+
+“No!” said Cotton, promptly. “I’ll not go in for anything like that!”
+
+“But why not?”
+
+“Because, I’m no match for you in long-windedness. I’ve heard you
+agitators before, you’re all alike: you think the world is run by
+talk--but it isn’t.”
+
+Hal had come to realise that he was not getting anywhere in his duel
+with the camp-marshal. He had made every effort to get somewhere; he had
+argued, threatened, bluffed, he had even sung songs for the marshal! But
+the marshal was going to ship him out, that was all there was to it.
+
+Hal had gone on with the quarrel, simply because he had to wait for the
+automobile, and because he had endured indignities and had to vent his
+anger and disappointment. But now he stopped quarrelling suddenly. His
+attention was caught by the marshal’s words, “You think the world is run
+by talk!” Those were the words Hal’s brother always used! And also, the
+marshal had said, “You agitators!” For years it had been one of the
+taunts Hal had heard from his brother, “You will turn into one of these
+agitators!” Hal had answered, with boyish obstinacy, “I don’t care if I
+do!” And now, here the marshal was calling him an agitator, seriously,
+without an apology, without the license of blood relationship. He
+repeated the words, “That’s what gets me about you agitators--you come
+in here trying to stir these people up--”
+
+So that was the way Hal seemed to the “G. F. C.”! He had come here
+intending to be a spectator, to stand on the deck of the steamer and
+look down into the ocean of social misery. He had considered every step
+so carefully before he took it! He had merely tried to be a
+check-weighman, nothing more! He had told Tom Olson he would not go in
+for unionism; he had had a distrust of union organisers, of agitators of
+all sorts--blind, irresponsible persons who went about stirring up
+dangerous passions. He had come to admire Tom Olson--but that had only
+partly removed his prejudices; Olson was only one agitator, not the
+whole lot of them!
+
+But all his consideration for the company had counted for nothing;
+likewise all his efforts to convince the marshal that he was a
+leisure-class person. In spite of all Hal’s “tea-party manners,” the
+marshal had said, “You agitators!” What was he judging by, Hal wondered.
+Had he, Hal Warner, come to look like one of these blind, irresponsible
+persons? It was time that he took stock of himself!
+
+Had two months of “dirty work” in the bowels of the earth changed him
+so? The idea was bound to be disconcerting to one who had been a
+favourite of the ladies! Did he talk like it?--he who had been “kissing
+the Blarney-stone!” The marshal had said he was “long-winded!” Well, to
+be sure, he had talked a lot; but what could the man expect--having shut
+him up in jail for two nights and a day, with only his grievances to
+brood over! Was that the way real agitators were made--being shut up
+with grievances to brood over?
+
+Hal recalled his broodings in the jail. He had been embittered; he had
+not cared whether North Valley was dominated by labour unions. But that
+had all been a mood, the same as his answer to his brother; that was
+jail psychology, a part of his summer course in practical sociology. He
+had put it aside; but apparently it had made a deeper impression upon
+him than he had realised. It had changed his physical aspect! It had
+made him look and talk like an agitator! It had made him
+“irresponsible,” “blind!”
+
+Yes, that was it! All this dirt, ignorance, disease, this knavery and
+oppression, this maiming of men in body and soul in the coal-camps of
+America--all this did not exist--it was the hallucination of an
+“irresponsible” brain! There was the evidence of Hal’s brother and the
+camp-marshal to prove it; there was the evidence of the whole world to
+prove it! The camp-marshal and his brother and the whole world could not
+be “blind!” And if you talked to them about these conditions, they
+shrugged their shoulders, they called you a “dreamer,” a “crank,” they
+said you were “off your trolley”; or else they became angry and bitter,
+they called you names; they said, “You agitators!”
+
+
+
+SECTION 24.
+
+The camp-marshal of North Valley had been “agitated” to such an extent
+that he could not stay in his chair. All the harassments of his troubled
+career had come pouring into his mind. He had begun pacing the floor,
+and was talking away, regardless of whether Hal listened or not.
+
+“A campful of lousy wops! They can’t understand any civilised language,
+they’ve only one idea in the world--to shirk every lick of work they
+can, to fill up their cars with slate and rock and blame it on some
+other fellow, and go off to fill themselves with booze. They won’t work
+fair, they won’t fight fair--they fight with a knife in the back! And
+you agitators with your sympathy for them--why the hell do they come to
+this country, unless they like it better than their own?”
+
+Hal had heard this question before; but they had to wait for the
+automobile--and being sure that he was an agitator now, he would make
+all the trouble he could! “The reason is obvious enough,” he said.
+“Isn’t it true that the ‘G. F. C.’ employs agents abroad to tell them of
+the wonderful pay they get in America?”
+
+“Well, they get it, don’t they? Three times what they ever got at home!”
+
+“Yes, but it doesn’t do them any good. There’s another fact which the
+‘G. F. C.’ doesn’t mention--that the cost of living is even higher than
+the wages. Then, too, they’re led to think of America as a land of
+liberty; they come, hoping for a better chance for themselves and their
+children; but they find a camp-marshal who’s off in his geography--who
+thinks the Rocky Mountains are somewhere in Russia!”
+
+“I know that line of talk!” exclaimed the other. “I learned to wave the
+starry flag when I was a kid. But I tell you, you’ve got to get coal
+mined, and it isn’t the same thing as running a Fourth of July
+celebration. Some church people make a law they shan’t work on
+Sunday--and what comes of that? They have thirty-six hours to get soused
+in, and so they can’t work on Monday!”
+
+“Surely there’s a remedy, Cotton! Suppose the company refused to rent
+buildings to saloon-keepers?”
+
+“Good God! You think we haven’t tried it? They go down to Pedro for the
+stuff, and bring back all they can carry--inside them and out. And if we
+stop that--then our hands move to some other camps, where they can spend
+their money as they please. No, young man, when you have such cattle,
+you have to drive them! And it takes a strong hand to do it--a man like
+Peter Harrigan. If there’s to be any coal, if industry’s to go on, if
+there’s to be any progress--”
+
+“We have that in our song!” laughed Hal, breaking into the
+camp-marshal’s discourse--
+
+  “He keeps them a-roll, that merry old soul--
+    The wheels of industree;
+  A-roll and a-roll, for his pipe and his bowl
+    And his college facultee!”
+
+“Yes,” growled the marshal. “It’s easy enough for you smart young chaps
+to make verses, while you’re living at ease on the old man’s bounty. But
+that don’t answer any argument. Are you college boys ready to take over
+his job? Or these Democrat politicians that come in here, talking
+fool-talk about liberty, making labour laws for these wops--”
+
+“I begin to understand,” said Hal. “You object to the politicians who
+pass the laws, you doubt their motives--and so you refuse to obey. But
+why didn’t you tell me sooner you were an anarchist?”
+
+“Anarchist?” cried the marshal. “_Me_ an anarchist?”
+
+“That’s what an anarchist is, isn’t it?”
+
+“Good God! If that isn’t the limit! You come here, stirring up the
+men--a union agitator, or whatever you are--and you know that the first
+idea of these people, when they do break loose, is to put dynamite in
+the shafts and set fire to the buildings!”
+
+“Do they do that?” There was surprise in Hal’s tone.
+
+“Haven’t you read what they did in the last big strike? That dough-faced
+old preacher, John Edstrom, could tell you. He was one of the bunch.”
+
+“No,” said Hal, “you’re mistaken. Edstrom has a different philosophy.
+But others did, I’ve no doubt. And since I’ve been here, I can
+understand their point of view entirely. When they set fire to the
+buildings, it was because they thought you and Alec Stone might be
+inside.”
+
+The marshal did not smile.
+
+“They want to destroy the properties,” continued Hal, “because that’s
+the only way they can think of to punish the tyranny and greed of the
+owners. But, Cotton, suppose some one were to put a new idea into their
+heads; suppose some one were to say to them, ‘Don’t destroy the
+properties--_take them!_’”
+
+The other stared. “Take them! So that’s your idea of morality!”
+
+“It would be more moral than the method by which Peter got them in the
+beginning.”
+
+“What method is that?” demanded the marshal, with some appearance of
+indignation. “He paid the market-price for them, didn’t he?”
+
+“He paid the market-price for politicians. Up in Western City I happen
+to know a lady who was a school-commissioner when he was buying
+school-lands from the state--lands that were known to contain coal. He
+was paying three dollars an acre, and everybody knew they were worth
+three thousand.”
+
+“Well,” said Cotton, “if you don’t buy the politicians, you wake up some
+fine morning and find that somebody else has bought them. If you have
+property, you have to protect it.”
+
+“Cotton,” said Hal, “you sell Old Peter your time--but surely you might
+keep part of your brains! Enough to look at your monthly pay-check and
+realise that you too are a wage-slave, not much better than the miners
+you despise.”
+
+The other smiled. “My check might be bigger, I admit; but I’ve figured
+over it, and I think I have an easier time than you agitators. I’m
+top-dog, and I expect to stay on top.”
+
+“Well, Cotton, on that view of life, I don’t wonder you get drunk now
+and then. A dog-fight, with no faith or humanity anywhere! Don’t think
+I’m sneering at you--I’m talking out of my heart to you. I’m not so
+young, nor such a fool, that I haven’t had the dog-fight aspect of
+things brought to my attention. But there’s something in a fellow that
+insists he isn’t all dog; he has at least a possibility of something
+better. Take these poor under-dogs sweating inside the mountain, risking
+their lives every hour of the day and night to provide you and me with
+coal to keep us warm--to ‘keep the wheels of industry a-roll’--”
+
+
+
+SECTION 25.
+
+These were the last words Hal spoke. They were obvious enough words, yet
+when he looked back upon the coincidence, it seemed to him a singular
+one. For while he was sitting there chatting, it happened that the poor
+under-dogs inside the mountain were in the midst of one of those
+experiences which make the romance and terror of coal-mining. One of the
+boys who were employed underground, in violation of the child labour
+law, was in the act of bungling his task. He was a “spragger,” whose
+duty it was to thrust a stick into the wheel of a loaded car to hold it;
+and he was a little chap, and the car was in motion when he made the
+attempt. It knocked him against the wall--and so there was a load of
+coal rolling down grade, pursued too late by half a dozen men. Gathering
+momentum, it whirled round a curve and flew from the track, crashing
+into timbers and knocking them loose. With the timbers came a shower of
+coal-dust, accumulated for decades in these old workings; and at the
+same time came an electric light wire, which, as it touched the car,
+produced a spark.
+
+And so it was that Hal, chatting with the marshal, suddenly felt, rather
+than heard, a deafening roar; he felt the air about him turn into a
+living thing which struck him a mighty blow, hurling him flat upon the
+floor. The windows of the room crashed inward upon him in a shower of
+glass, and the plaster of the ceiling came down on his head in another
+shower.
+
+When he raised himself, half stunned, he saw the marshal, also on the
+floor; these two conversationalists stared at each other with horrified
+eyes. Even as they crouched, there came a crash above their heads, and
+half the ceiling of the room came toward them, with a great piece of
+timber sticking through. All about them were other crashes, as if the
+end of the world had come.
+
+They struggled to their feet, and rushing to the door, flung it open,
+just as a jagged piece of timber shattered the side-walk in front of
+them. They sprang back again, “Into the cellar!” cried the marshal,
+leading the way to the back-stairs.
+
+But before they had started down these stairs, they realised that the
+crashing had ceased. “What is it?” gasped Hal, as they stood.
+
+“Mine-explosion,” said the other; and after a few seconds they ran to
+the door again.
+
+The first thing they saw was a vast pillar of dust and smoke, rising
+into the sky above them. It spread before their dazed eyes, until it
+made night of everything about them. There was still a rain of lighter
+debris pattering down over the village; as they stared, and got their
+wits about them, remembering how things had looked before this, they
+realised that the shaft-house of Number One had disappeared.
+
+“Blown up, by God!” cried the marshal; and the two ran out into the
+street, and looking up, saw that a portion of the wrecked building had
+fallen through the roof of the jail above their heads.
+
+The rain of debris had now ceased, but there were clouds of dust which
+covered the two men black; the clouds grew worse, until they could
+hardly see their way at all. And with the darkness there fell silence,
+which, after the sound of the explosion and the crashing of debris,
+seemed the silence of death.
+
+For a few moments Hal stood dazed. He saw a stream of men and boys
+pouring from the breaker; while from every street there appeared a
+stream of women; women old, women young--leaving their cooking on the
+stove, their babies in the crib, with their older children screaming at
+their skirts, they gathered in swarms about the pit-mouth, which was
+like the steaming crater of a volcano.
+
+Cartwright, the superintendent, appeared, running toward the fan-house.
+Cotton joined him, and Hal followed. The fan-house was a wreck, the
+giant fan lying on the ground a hundred feet away, its blades smashed.
+Hal was too inexperienced in mine-matters to get the full significance
+of this; but he saw the marshal and the superintendent stare blankly at
+each other, and heard the former’s exclamation, “That does for us!”
+Cartwright said not a word; but his thin lips were pressed together,
+and there was fear in his eyes.
+
+Back to the smoking pit-mouth the two men hurried, with Hal following.
+Here were a hundred, two hundred women crowded, clamouring questions
+all at once. They swarmed about the marshal, the superintendent, the
+other bosses--even about Hal, crying hysterically in Polish and
+Bohemian and Greek. When Hal shook his head, indicating that he did not
+understand them, they moaned in anguish, or shrieked aloud. Some
+continued to stare into the smoking pit-mouth; others covered the sight
+from their eyes, or sank down upon their knees, sobbing, praying with
+uplifted hands.
+
+Little by little Hal began to realise the full horror of a
+mine-disaster. It was not noise and smoke and darkness, nor frantic,
+wailing women; it was not anything above ground, but what was below in
+the smoking black pit! It was men! Men whom Hal knew, whom he had
+worked with and joked with, whose smiles he had shared; whose daily
+life he had come to know! Scores, possibly hundreds of them, they were
+down here under his feet--some dead, others injured, maimed. What would
+they do? What would those on the surface do for them? Hal tried to get
+to Cotton, to ask him questions; but the camp-marshal was surrounded,
+besieged. He was pushing the women back, exclaiming, “Go away! Go
+home!”
+
+What? Go home? they cried. When their men were in the mine? They crowded
+about him closer, imploring, shrieking.
+
+“Get out!” he kept exclaiming. “There’s nothing you can do! There’s
+nothing anybody can do yet! Go home! Go home!” He had to beat them back
+by force, to keep them from pushing one another into the pit-mouth.
+
+Everywhere Hal looked were women in attitudes of grief: standing rigid,
+staring ahead of them as if in a trance; sitting down, rocking to and
+fro; on their knees with faces uplifted in prayer; clutching their
+terrified children about their skirts. He saw an Austrian woman, a
+pitiful, pale young thing with a ragged grey shawl about her head,
+stretching out her hands and crying: “Mein Mann! Mein Mann!” Presently
+she covered her face, and her voice died into a wail of despair: “O,
+mein Mann! O, mein Mann!” She turned away, staggering about like some
+creature that has received a death wound. Hal’s eyes followed her; her
+cry, repeated over and over incessantly, became the leit-motif of this
+symphony of horror.
+
+He had read about mine-disasters in his morning newspaper; but here a
+mine-disaster became a thing of human flesh and blood. The unendurable
+part of it was the utter impotence of himself and of all the world. This
+impotence became clearer to him each moment--from the exclamations of
+Cotton and of the men he questioned. It was monstrous, incredible--but
+it was so! They must send for a new fan, they must wait for it to be
+brought in, they must set it up and get it into operation; they must
+wait for hours after that while smoke and gas were cleared out of the
+main passages of the mine; and until this had been done, there was
+nothing they could do--absolutely nothing! The men inside the mine would
+stay. Those who had not been killed outright would make their way into
+the remoter chambers, and barricade themselves against the deadly “after
+damp.” They would wait, without food or water, with air of doubtful
+quality--they would wait and wait, until the rescue-crew could get to
+them!
+
+
+
+SECTION 26.
+
+At moments in the midst of this confusion, Hal found himself trying to
+recall who had worked in Number One, among the people he knew. He
+himself had been employed in Number Two, so he had naturally come to
+know more men in that mine. But he had known some from the other
+mine--Old Rafferty for one, and Mary Burke’s father for another, and at
+least one of the members of his check-weighman group--Zamierowski. Hal
+saw in a sudden vision the face of this patient little man, who smiled
+so good-naturedly while Americans were trying to say his name. And Old
+Rafferty, with all his little Rafferties, and his piteous efforts to
+keep the favour of his employers! And poor Patrick Burke, whom Hal had
+never seen sober; doubtless he was sober now, if he was still alive!
+
+Then in the crowd Hal encountered Jerry Minetti, and learned that
+another man who had been down was Farenzena, the Italian whose
+“fanciulla” had played with him; and yet another was Judas
+Apostolikas--having taken his thirty pieces of silver with him into the
+deathtrap!
+
+People were making up lists, just as Hal was doing, by asking questions
+of others. These lists were subject to revision--sometimes under
+dramatic circumstances. You saw a woman weeping, with her apron to her
+eyes; suddenly she would look up, give a piercing cry, and fling her
+arms about the neck of some man. As for Hal, he felt as if he were
+encountering a ghost when suddenly he recognised Patrick Burke, standing
+in the midst of a group of people. He went over and heard the old man’s
+story--how there was a Dago fellow who had stolen his timbers, and he
+had come up to the surface for more; so his life had been saved, while
+the timber-thief was down there still--a judgment of Providence upon
+mine-miscreants!
+
+Presently Hal asked if Burke had been to tell his family. He had run
+home, he said, but there was nobody there. So Hal began pushing his way
+through the throngs, looking for Mary, or her sister Jennie, or her
+brother Tommie. He persisted in this search, although it occurred to him
+to wonder whether the family of a hopeless drunkard would appreciate the
+interposition of Providence in his behalf.
+
+He encountered Olson, who had had a narrow escape, being employed as a
+surface-man near the hoist. All this was an old story to the organiser,
+who had worked in mines since he was eight years old, and had seen many
+kinds of disaster. He began to explain things to Hal, in a matter of
+fact way. The law required a certain number of openings to every mine,
+also an escape-way with ladders by which men could come out; but it cost
+good money to dig holes in the ground.
+
+At this time the immediate cause of the explosion was unknown, but they
+could tell it was a “dust explosion” by the clouds of coke-dust, and no
+one who had been into the mine and seen its dry condition would doubt
+what they would find when they went down and traced out the “force” and
+its effects. They were supposed to do regular sprinkling, but in such
+matters the bosses used their own judgment.
+
+Hal was only half listening to these explanations. The thing was too raw
+and too horrible to him. What difference did it make whose fault it was?
+The accident had happened, and the question was now how to meet the
+emergency! Underneath Olson’s sentences he heard the cry of men and boys
+being asphyxiated in dark dungeons--he heard the wailing of women, like
+a surf beating on a distant shore, or the faint, persistent
+accompaniment of muted strings: “O, mein Mann! O, mein Mann!”
+
+They came upon Jeff Cotton again. With half a dozen men to help him, he
+was pushing back the crowd from the pit-mouth, and stretching barbed
+wired to hold them back. He was none too gentle about it, Hal thought;
+but doubtless women are provoking when they are hysterical. He was
+answering their frenzied questions, “Yes, yes! We’re getting a new fan.
+We’re doing everything we can, I tell you. We’ll get them out. Go home
+and wait.”
+
+But of course no one would go home. How could a woman sit in her house,
+or go about her ordinary tasks of cooking or washing, while her man
+might be suffering asphyxiation under the ground? The least she could do
+was to stand at the pit-mouth--as near to him as she could get! Some of
+them stood motionless, hour after hour, while others wandered through
+the village streets, asking the same people, over and over again, if
+they had seen their loved ones. Several had turned up, like Patrick
+Burke; there seemed always a chance for one more.
+
+
+
+SECTION 27.
+
+In the course of the afternoon Hal came upon Mary Burke on the street.
+She had long ago found her father, and seen him off to O’Callahan’s to
+celebrate the favours of Providence. Now Mary was concerned with a
+graver matter. Number Two Mine was in danger! The explosion in Number
+One had been so violent that the gearing of the fan of the other mine,
+nearly a mile up the canyon, had been thrown out of order. So the fan
+had stopped; and when some one had gone to Alec Stone, asking that he
+bring out the men, Stone had refused. “What do ye think he said?” cried
+Mary. “What do ye think? ‘Damn the men! Save the mules!’”
+
+Hal had all but lost sight of the fact that there was a second mine in
+the village, in which hundreds of men and boys were still at work.
+“Wouldn’t they know about the explosion?” he asked.
+
+“They might have heard the noise,” said Mary. “But they’d not know what
+it was; and the bosses won’t tell them till they’ve got out the mules.”
+
+For all that he had seen in North Valley, Hal could hardly credit that
+story. “How do you know it, Mary?”
+
+“Young Rovetta just told me. He was there, and heard it with his own
+ears.”
+
+He was staring at her. “Let’s go and make sure,” he said, and they
+started up the main street of the village. On the way they were joined
+by others--for already the news of this fresh trouble had begun to
+spread. Jeff Cotton went past them in an automobile, and Mary exclaimed,
+“I told ye so! When ye see him goin’, ye know there’s dirty work to be
+done!”
+
+They came to the shaft-house of Number Two, and found a swarm of people,
+almost a riot. Women and children were shrieking and gesticulating,
+threatening to break into the office and use the mine-telephone to warn
+the men themselves. And here was the camp-marshal driving them back. Hal
+and Mary arrived in time to see Mrs. David, whose husband was at work in
+Number Two, shaking her fist in the marshal’s face and screaming at him
+like a wild-cat. He drew his revolver upon her; and at this Hal started
+forward. A blind fury seized him--he would have thrown himself upon the
+marshal.
+
+But Mary Burke stopped him, flinging her arms about him, and pinning him
+by main force. “No, no!” she cried. “Stay back, man! D’ye want to get
+killed?”
+
+He was amazed at her strength. He was amazed also at the vehemence of
+her emotion. She was calling him a crazy fool, and names even more
+harsh. “Have ye no more sense than a woman? Running into the mouth of a
+revolver like that!”
+
+The crisis passed in a moment, for Mrs. David fell back, and then the
+marshal put up his weapon. But Mary continued scolding Hal, trying to
+drag him away. “Come on now! Come out of here!”
+
+“But, Mary! We must do something!”
+
+“Ye can do nothin’, I tell ye! Ye’d ought to have sense enough to know
+it. I’ll not let ye get yeself murdered! Come away now!” And half by
+force and half by cajoling, she got him farther down the street.
+
+He was trying to think out the situation. Were the men in Number Two
+really in danger? Could it be possible that the bosses would take such a
+chance in cold blood? And right at this moment, with the disaster in the
+other mine before their eyes! He could not believe it; and meantime
+Mary, at his side, was declaring that the men were in no real danger--it
+was only Alec Stone’s brutal words that had set her crazy.
+
+“Don’t ye remember the time when the air-course was blocked before, and
+ye helped to get up the mules yeself? Ye thought nothin’ of it then, and
+’tis the same now. They’ll get everybody out in time!”
+
+She was concealing her real feelings in order to keep him safe; he let
+her lead him on, while he tried to think of something else to do. He
+would think of the men in Number Two; they were his best friends, Jack
+David, Tim Rafferty, Wresmak, Androkulos, Klowoski. He would think of
+them, in their remote dungeons--breathing bad air, becoming sick and
+faint--in order that mules might be saved! He would stop in his tracks,
+and Mary would drag him on, repeating over and over, “Ye can do nothin’!
+Nothin’!” And then he would think, What could he do? He had put up his
+best bluff to Jeff Cotton a few hours earlier, and the answer had been
+the muzzle of the marshal’s revolver in his face. All he could
+accomplish now would be to bring himself to Cotton’s attention, and be
+thrust out of camp forthwith.
+
+
+
+SECTION 28.
+
+They came to Mary’s home; and next door was the home of the Slav woman,
+Mrs. Zamboni, about whom in the past she had told him so many funny
+stories. Mrs. Zamboni had had a new baby every year for sixteen years,
+and eleven of these babies were still alive. Now her husband was trapped
+in Number One, and she was distracted, wandering about the streets with
+the greater part of her brood at her heels. At intervals she would emit
+a howl like a tortured animal, and her brood would take it up in various
+timbres. Hal stopped to listen to the sounds, but Mary put her fingers
+into her ears and fled into the house. Hal followed her, and saw her
+fling herself into a chair and burst into hysterical weeping. And
+suddenly Hal realised what a strain this terrible affair had been upon
+Mary. It had been bad enough to him--but he was a man, and more able to
+contemplate sights of horror. Men went to their deaths in industry and
+war, and other men saw them go and inured themselves to the spectacle.
+But women were the mothers of these men; it was women who bore them in
+pain, nursed them and reared them with endless patience--women could
+never become inured to the spectacle! Then too, the women’s fate was
+worse. If the men were dead, that was the end of them; but the women
+must face the future, with its bitter memories, its lonely and desolate
+struggle for existence. The women must see the children suffering, dying
+by slow stages of deprivation.
+
+Hal’s pity for all suffering women became concentrated upon the girl
+beside him. He knew how tenderhearted she was. She had no man in the
+mine, but some day she would have, and she was suffering the pangs of
+that inexorable future. He looked at her, huddled in her chair, wiping
+away her tears with the hem of her old blue calico. She seemed
+unspeakably pathetic--like a child that has been hurt. She was sobbing
+out sentences now and then, as if to herself: “Oh, the poor women, the
+poor women! Did ye see the face of Mrs. Jonotch? She’d jumped into the
+smoking pit-mouth if they’d let her!”
+
+“Don’t suffer so, Mary!” pleaded Hal--as if he thought she could stop.
+
+“Let me alone!” she cried. “Let me have it out!” And Hal, who had had no
+experience with hysteria, stood helplessly by.
+
+“There’s more misery than I ever knew there was!” she went on. “’Tis
+everywhere ye turn, a woman with her eyes burnin’ with suffering
+wondering if she’ll ever see her man again! Or some mother whose lad may
+be dying and she can do nothin’ for him!”
+
+“And neither can you do anything, Mary,” Hal pleaded again. “You’re only
+sorrowing yourself to death.”
+
+“Ye say that to me?” she cried. “And when ye were ready to let Jeff
+Cotton shoot ye, because you were so sorry for Mrs. David! No, the
+sights here nobody can stand.”
+
+He could think of nothing to answer. He drew up a chair and sat by her
+in silence, and after a while she began to grow calmer, and wiped away
+her tears, and sat gazing dully through the doorway into the dirty
+little street.
+
+Hal’s eyes followed hers. There were the ash-heaps and tomato-cans,
+there were two of Mrs. Zamboni’s bedraggled brood, poking with sticks
+into a dump-heap--looking for something to eat, perhaps, or for
+something to play with. There was the dry, waste grass of the road-side,
+grimy with coal-dust, as was everything else in the village. What a
+scene!--And this girl’s eyes had never a sight of anything more
+inspiring than this. Day in and day out, all her life long, she looked
+at this scene! Had he ever for a moment reproached her for her “black
+moods”? With such an environment could men or women be cheerful--could
+they dream of beauty, aspire to heights of nobility and courage, to
+happy service of their fellows? There was a miasma of despair over this
+place; it was not a real place--it was a dream-place--a horrible,
+distorted nightmare! It was like the black hole in the ground which
+haunted Hal’s imagination, with men and boys at the bottom of it, dying
+of asphyxiation!
+
+Suddenly it came to Hal--he wanted to get away from North Valley! To get
+away at all costs! The place had worn down his courage; slowly, day
+after day, the sight of misery and want, of dirt and disease, of hunger,
+oppression, despair, had eaten the soul out of him, had undermined his
+fine structure of altruistic theories. Yes, he wanted to escape--to a
+place where the sun shone, where the grass grew green, where human
+beings stood erect and laughed and were free. He wanted to shut from his
+eyes the dust and smoke of this nasty little village; to stop his ears
+to that tormenting sound of women wailing: “O, mein Mann! O, mein Mann!”
+
+He looked at the girl, who sat staring before her, bent forward, her
+arms hanging limply over her knees.
+
+“Mary,” he said, “you must go away from here! It’s no place for a
+tenderhearted girl to be. It’s no place for any one!”
+
+She gazed at him dully for a moment. “It was me that was tellin’ _you_
+to go away,” she said, at last. “Ever since ye came here I been sayin’
+it! Now I guess ye know what I mean.”
+
+“Yes,” he said, “I do, and I want to go. But I want you to go too.”
+
+“D’ye think ’twould do me any good, Joe?” she asked. “D’ye think ’twould
+do me any good to get away? Could I ever forget the sights I’ve seen
+this day? Could I ever have any real, honest happiness anywhere after
+this?”
+
+He tried to reassure her, but he was far from reassured himself. How
+would it be with him? Would he ever feel that he had a right to
+happiness after this? Could he take any satisfaction in a pleasant and
+comfortable world, knowing that it was based upon such hideous misery?
+His thoughts went to that world, where careless, pleasure-loving people
+sought gratification of their desires. It came to him suddenly that what
+he wanted more than to get away was to bring those people here, if only
+for a day, for an hour, that they might hear this chorus of wailing
+women!
+
+
+
+SECTION 29.
+
+Mary made Hal swear that he would not get into a fight with Cotton; then
+they went to Number Two. They found the mules coming up, and the bosses
+promising that in a short while the men would be coming. Everything was
+all right--there was not a bit of danger! But Mary was afraid to trust
+Hal, in spite of his promise, so she lured him back to Number One.
+
+They found that a rescue-car had just arrived from Pedro, bringing
+doctors and nurses, also several “helmets.” These “helmets” were strange
+looking contrivances, fastened over the head and shoulders, air-tight,
+and provided with oxygen sufficient to last for an hour or more. The men
+who wore them sat in a big bucket which was let down the shaft with a
+windlass, and every now and then they pulled on a signal-cord to let
+those on the surface know they were alive. When the first of them came
+back, he reported that there were bodies near the foot of the shaft, but
+apparently all dead. There was heavy black smoke, indicating a fire
+somewhere in the mine; so nothing more could be done until the fan had
+been set up. By reversing the fan, they could draw out the smoke and
+gases and clear the shaft.
+
+The state mine-inspector had been notified, but was ill at home, and was
+sending one of his deputies. Under the law this official would have
+charge of all the rescue work, but Hal found that the miners took no
+interest in his presence. It had been his duty to prevent the accident,
+and he had not done so. When he came, he would do what the company
+wanted.
+
+Some time after dark the workers began to come out of Number Two, and
+their women, waiting at the pit-mouth, fell upon their necks with cries
+of thankfulness. Hal observed other women, whose men were in Number One,
+and would perhaps never come out again, standing and watching these
+greetings with wistful, tear-filled eyes. Among those who came out was
+Jack David, and Hal walked home with him and his wife, listening to the
+latter abuse Jeff Cotton and Alec Stone, which was an education in the
+vocabulary of class-consciousness. The little Welsh woman repeated the
+pit-boss’s saying, “Damn the men, save the mules!” She said it again and
+again--it seemed to delight her like a work of art, it summed up so
+perfectly the attitude of the bosses to their men! There were many other
+people repeating that saying, Hal found; it went all over the village,
+in a few days it went all over the district. It summed up what the
+district believed to be the attitude of the coal-operators to the
+workers!
+
+Having got over the first shock of the disaster, Hal wanted information,
+and he questioned Big Jack, a solid and well-read man who had given
+thought to every aspect of the industry. In his quiet, slow way, he
+explained to Hal that the frequency of accidents in this district was
+not due to any special difficulty in operating these mines, the
+explosiveness of the gases or the dryness of the atmosphere. It was
+merely the carelessness of those in charge, their disregard of the laws
+for the protection of the men. There ought to be a law with “teeth” in
+it--for example, one providing that for every man killed in a coal-mine
+his heirs should receive a thousand dollars, regardless of who had been
+to blame for the accident. Then you would see how quickly the operators
+would get busy and find remedies for the “unusual” dangers!
+
+As it was, they knew that no matter how great their culpability, they
+could get off with slight loss. Already, no doubt, their lawyers were on
+the spot, and by the time the first bodies were brought out, they would
+be fixing things up with the families. They would offer a widow a ticket
+back to the old country; they would offer a whole family of orphaned
+children, maybe fifty dollars, maybe a hundred dollars--and it would be
+a case of take it or leave it. You could get nothing from the courts;
+the case was so hopeless that you could not even find a lawyer to make
+the attempt. That was one reform in which the companies believed, said
+“Big Jack,” with sarcasm; they had put the “shyster lawyer” out of
+business!
+
+
+
+SECTION 30.
+
+There followed a night and then another day of torturing suspense. The
+fan came, but it had to be set up before anything could be done. As
+volumes of black smoke continued to pour from the shaft, the opening was
+made tight with a board and canvas cover; it was necessary, the bosses
+said, but to Hal it seemed the climax of horror. To seal up men and boys
+in a place of deadly gases!
+
+There was something peculiarly torturing in the idea of men caught in a
+mine; they were directly under one’s feet, yet it was impossible to get
+to them, to communicate with them in any way! The people on top yearned
+to them, and they, down below, yearned back. It was impossible to forget
+them for even a few minutes. People would become abstracted while they
+talked, and would stand staring into space; suddenly, in the midst of a
+crowd, a woman would bury her face in her hands and burst into tears,
+and then all the others would follow suit.
+
+Few people slept in North Valley during those two nights. They held
+mourning parties in their homes or on the streets. Some house-work had
+to be done, of course, but no one did anything that could be left
+undone. The children would not play; they stood about, silent, pale,
+like wizened-up grown people, over-mature in knowledge of trouble. The
+nerves of every one were on edge, the self-control of every one balanced
+upon a fine point.
+
+It was a situation bound to be fruitful in imaginings and rumours,
+stimulated to those inclined to signs and omens--the seers of ghosts, or
+those who went into trances, or possessed second sight or other
+mysterious gifts. There were some living in a remote part of the village
+who declared they had heard explosions under the ground, several blasts
+in quick succession. The men underground were setting off dynamite by
+way of signalling!
+
+In the course of the second day Hal sat with Mary Burke upon the steps
+of her home. Old Patrick lay within, having found the secret of oblivion
+at O’Callahan’s. Now and then came the moaning of Mrs. Zamboni, who was
+in her cabin with her brood of children. Mary had been in to feed them,
+because the distracted mother let them starve and cry. Mary was worn
+out, herself; the wonderful Irish complexion had faded, and there were
+no curves to the vivid lips. They had been sitting in silence, for there
+was nothing to talk of but the disaster--and they had said all there was
+to say about that. But Hal had been thinking while he watched Mary.
+
+“Listen, Mary,” he said, at last; “when this thing is over, you must
+really come away from here. I’ve thought it all out--I have friends in
+Western City who will give you work, so you can take care of yourself,
+and of your brother and sister too. Will you go?”
+
+But she did not answer. She continued to gaze indifferently into the
+dirty little street.
+
+“Truly, Mary,” he went on. “Life isn’t so terrible everywhere as it is
+here. Come away! Hard as it is to believe, you’ll forget all this.
+People suffer, but then they stop suffering; it’s nature’s way--to make
+them forget.”
+
+“Nature’s way has been to beat me dead,” said she.
+
+“Yes, Mary. Despair can become a disease, but it hasn’t with you. You’re
+just tired out. If you’ll try to rouse yourself--” And he reached over
+and caught her hand with an attempt at playfulness. “Cheer up, Mary!
+You’re coming away from North Valley.”
+
+She turned and looked at him. “Am I?” she asked, impassively; and she
+went on studying his face. “Who are ye, Joe Smith? What are ye doin’
+here?”
+
+“Working in a coal-mine,” he laughed, still trying to divert her.
+
+But she went on, as gravely as before. “Ye’re no working man, that I
+know. And ye’re always offering me help! Ye’re always sayin’ what ye can
+do for me!” She paused and there came some of the old defiance into her
+face. “Joe, ye can have no idea of the feelin’s that have got hold of me
+just now. I’m ready to do something desperate; ye’d best be leavin’ me
+alone, Joe!”
+
+“I think I understand, Mary. I would hardly blame you for anything you
+did.”
+
+She took up his words eagerly. “Wouldn’t ye, Joe? Ye’re sure? Then what
+I want is to get the truth from ye. I want ye to talk it out fair!”
+
+“All right, Mary. What is it?”
+
+But her defiance had vanished suddenly. Her eyes dropped, and he saw her
+fingers picking nervously at a fold of her dress. “About us, Joe,” she
+said. “I’ve thought sometimes ye cared for me. I’ve thought ye liked to
+be with me--not just because ye were sorry for me, but because of _me_.
+I’ve not been sure, but I can’t help thinkin’ it’s so. Is it?”
+
+“Yes, it is,” he said, a little uncertainly. “I _do_ care for you.”
+
+“Then is it that ye don’t care for that other girl all the time?”
+
+“No,” he said, “it’s not that.”
+
+“Ye can care for two girls at the same time?”
+
+He did not know what to say. “It would seem that I can, Mary.”
+
+She raised her eyes again and studied his face. “Ye told me about that
+other girl, and I been wonderin’, was it only to put me off? Maybe it’s
+me own fault, but I can’t make meself believe in that other girl, Joe!”
+
+“You’re mistaken, Mary,” he answered, quickly. “What I told you was
+true.”
+
+“Well, maybe so,” she said, but there was no conviction in her tone. “Ye
+come away from her, and ye never go where she is or see her--it’s hard
+to believe ye’d do that way if ye were very close to her. I just don’t
+think ye love her as much as ye might. And ye say you do care some for
+me. So I’ve thought--I’ve wondered--”
+
+She stopped, forcing herself to meet his gaze: “I been tryin’ to work it
+out! I know ye’re too good a man for me, Joe. Ye come from a better
+place in life, ye’ve a right to expect more in a woman--”
+
+“It’s not that, Mary!”
+
+But she cut him short. “I know that’s true! Ye’re only tryin’ to save my
+feelin’s. I know ye’re better than me! I’ve tried hard to hold me head
+up, I’ve tried a long time not to let meself go to pieces. I’ve even
+tried to keep cheerful, telling meself I’d not want to be like Mrs.
+Zamboni, forever complainin’. But ’tis no use tellin’ yourself lies! I
+been up to the church, and heard the Reverend Spragg tell the people
+that the rich and poor are the same in the sight of the Lord. And maybe
+’tis so, but I’m not the Lord, and I’ll never pretend I’m not ashamed to
+be livin’ in a place like this.”
+
+“I’m sure the Lord has no interest in keeping you here--” he began.
+
+But she broke in, “What makes it so hard to bear is knowin’ there’s so
+many wonderful things in the world, and ye can never have them! ’Tis as
+if ye had to see them through a pane of glass, like in the window of a
+store. Just think, Joe Smith--once, in a church in Sheridan, I heard a
+lady sing beautiful music; once in my whole lifetime! Can ye guess what
+it meant to me?”
+
+“Yes, Mary, I can.”
+
+“But I had that all out with meself--years ago. I knew the price a
+workin’ girl has to pay for such things, and I said, I’ll not let meself
+think about them. I’ve hated this place, I’ve wanted to get away--but
+there’s only one way to go, to let some man take ye! So I’ve stayed;
+I’ve kept straight, Joe. I want ye to believe that.”
+
+“Of course, Mary!”
+
+“No! It’s not been ‘of course’! It means ye have to fight with
+temptations. It’s many a time I’ve looked at Jeff Cotton, and thought
+about the things I need! And I’ve done without! But now comes the thing
+a woman wants more than all the other things in the world!”
+
+She paused, but only for a moment. “They tell ye to love a man of your
+own class. Me old mother said that to me, before she died. But suppose
+ye didn’t happen to? Suppose ye’d stopped and thought what it meant,
+havin’ one baby after another, till ye’re worn out and drop--like me old
+mother did? Suppose ye knew good manners when ye see them--ye knew
+interestin’ talk when ye heard it!” She clasped her hands suddenly
+before her, exclaiming, “Ah, ’tis something different ye are, Joe--so
+different from anything around here! The way ye talk, the way ye move,
+the gay look in your eyes! No miner ever had that happy look, Joe; me
+heart stops beatin’ almost when ye look at me!” She stopped with a sharp
+catching of her breath, and he saw that she was struggling for
+self-control. After a moment she exclaimed, defiantly: “But they’d tell
+ye, be careful, ye daren’t love that kind of man; ye’d only have your
+heart broken!”
+
+There was silence. For this problem the amateur sociologist had no
+solution at hand--whether for the abstract question, or for its concrete
+application!
+
+
+
+SECTION 31.
+
+Mary forced herself to go on. “This is how I’ve worked it out, Joe! I
+said to meself, ‘Ye love this man; and it’s his _love_ ye want--nothin’
+else! If he’s got a place in the world, ye’d only hold him back--and
+ye’d not want to do that. Ye don’t want his name, or his friends, or any
+of those things--ye want _him_!’ Have ye ever heard of such a thing as
+that?”
+
+Her cheeks were flaming, but she continued to meet his gaze. “Yes, I’ve
+heard of it,” he answered, in a low voice.
+
+“What would ye say to it? Is it honest? The Reverend Spragg would say
+’twas the devil, no doubt; Father O’Gorman, down in Pedro, would call it
+mortal sin; and maybe they know--but I don’t! I only know I can’t stand
+it any more!”
+
+Tears sprang to her eyes, and she cried out suddenly, “Oh, take me away
+from here! Take me away and give me a chance, Joe! I’ll ask nothing,
+I’ll never stand in your way; I’ll work for ye, I’ll cook and wash and
+do everything for ye, I’ll wear my fingers to the bone! Or I’ll go out
+and work at some job, and earn my share. And I’ll make ye this
+promise--if ever ye get tired and want to leave me, ye’ll not hear a
+word of complaint!”
+
+She made no conscious appeal to his senses; she sat gazing at him
+honestly through her tears, and that made it all the harder to answer
+her.
+
+What could he say? He felt the old dangerous impulse--to take the girl
+in his arms and comfort her. When finally he spoke it was with an effort
+to keep his voice calm. “I’d say yes, Mary, if I thought it would work.”
+
+“It _would_ work! It would, Joe! Ye can quit when ye want to. I mean
+it!”
+
+“There’s no woman lives who can be happy on such terms, Mary. She wants
+her man, and she wants him to herself, and she wants him always; she’s
+only deluding herself if she believes anything else. You’re over-wrought
+now, what you’ve seen in the last few days has made you wild--”
+
+“No!” she exclaimed. “’Tis not only that! I been thinkin’ about it for
+weeks.”
+
+“I know. You’ve been thinking, but you wouldn’t have spoken if it hadn’t
+been for this horror.” He paused for a moment, to renew his own
+self-possession. “It won’t do, Mary,” he declared. “I’ve seen it tried
+more than once, and I’m not so old either. My own brother tried it once,
+and ruined himself.”
+
+“Ah, ye’re afraid to trust me, Joe!”
+
+“No, it’s not that; what I mean is--he ruined his own heart, he made
+himself selfish. He took everything, and gave nothing. He’s much older
+than I, so I’ve had a chance to see its effect on him. He’s cold, he has
+no faith, even in his own nature; when you talk to him about making the
+world better he tells you you’re a fool.”
+
+“It’s another way of bein’ afraid of me,” she insisted. “Afraid you’d
+ought to marry me!”
+
+“But, Mary--there’s the other girl. I really love her, and I’m promised
+to her. What can I do?”
+
+“’Tis that I’ve never believed you loved her,” she said, in a whisper.
+Her eyes fell and she began picking nervously again at the faded blue
+dress, which was smutted and grease-stained, perhaps from her recent
+effort with Mrs. Zamboni’s brood. Several times Hal thought she was
+going to speak, but she shut her lips tightly again; he watched her, his
+heart aching.
+
+When finally she spoke, it was still in a whisper, and there was a note
+of humility he had never heard from her before. “Ye’ll not be wantin’ to
+speak to me, Joe, after what I’ve said.”
+
+“Oh, Mary!” he exclaimed, and caught her hand, “don’t say I’ve made you
+more unhappy! I want to help you! Won’t you let me be your friend--your
+real, true friend? Let me help you to get out of this trap; you’ll have
+a chance to look about, you’ll find a way to be happy--the whole world
+will seem different to you then, and you’ll laugh at the idea that you
+ever wanted me!”
+
+
+
+SECTION 32.
+
+The two of them went back to the pit-mouth. It had been two days since
+the disaster, and still the fan had not been started, and there was no
+sign of its being started. The hysteria of the women was growing, and
+there was a tension in the crowds. Jeff Cotton had brought in a force of
+men to assist him in keeping order. They had built a fence of barbed
+wire about the pit-mouth and its approaches, and behind this wire they
+walked--hard-looking citizens with policemen’s “billies,” and the bulge
+of revolvers plainly visible on their hips.
+
+During this long period of waiting, Hal had talks with members of his
+check-weighman group. They told what had happened while he was in jail,
+and this reminded him of something which had been driven from his mind
+by the explosion. Poor old John Edstrom was down in Pedro, perhaps in
+dire need. Hal went to the old Swede’s cabin that night, climbed through
+a window, and dug up the buried money. There were five five-dollar
+bills, and he put them in an envelope, addressed them in care of General
+Delivery, Pedro, and had Mary Burke take them to the post office and
+register them.
+
+The hours dragged on, and still there was no sign of the pit-mouth being
+opened. There began to be secret gatherings of the miners and their
+wives to complain at the conduct of the company; and it was natural that
+Hal’s friends who had started the check-weighman movement, should take
+the lead in these. They were among the most intelligent of the workers,
+and saw farther into the meaning of events. They thought, not merely of
+the men who were trapped under ground at this moment, but of thousands
+of others who would be trapped through years to come. Hal, especially,
+was pondering how he could accomplish something definite before he left
+the camp; for of course he would have to leave soon--Jeff Cotton would
+remember him, and carry out his threat to get rid of him.
+
+Newspapers had come in, with accounts of the disaster, and Hal and his
+friends read these. It was evident that the company had been at pains to
+have the accounts written from its own point of view. There existed some
+public sensitiveness on the subject of mine-disasters in this state. The
+death-rate from accidents was seen to be mounting steadily; the reports
+of the state mine inspector showed six per thousand in one year, eight
+and a half in the next, and twenty-one and a half in the next. When
+fifty or a hundred men were killed in a single accident, and when such
+accidents kept happening, one on the heels of another, even the most
+callous public could not help asking questions. So in this case the “G.
+F. C.” had been careful to minimise the loss of life, and to make
+excuses. The accident had been owing to no fault of the company’s; the
+mine had been regularly sprinkled, both with water and adobe dust, and
+so the cause of the explosion must have been the carelessness of the men
+in handling powder.
+
+In Jack David’s cabin one night there arose a discussion as to the
+number of men entombed in the mine. The company’s estimate of the number
+was forty, but Minetti and Olson and David agreed that this was absurd.
+Any man who went about in the crowds could satisfy himself that there
+were two or three times as many unaccounted for. And this falsification
+was deliberate, for the company had a checking system, whereby it knew
+the name of every man in the mine. But most of these names were
+unpronounceable Slavish, and the owners of the names had no friends to
+mention them--at least not in any language understood by American
+newspaper editors.
+
+It was all a part of the system, declared Jack David: its purpose and
+effect being to enable the company to go on killing men without paying
+for them, either in money or in prestige. It occurred to Hal that it
+might be worth while to contradict these false statements--almost as
+worth while as to save the men who were at this moment entombed. Any one
+who came forward to make such a contradiction would of course be giving
+himself up to the black-list; but then, Hal regarded himself as a man
+already condemned to that penalty.
+
+Tom Olson spoke up. “What would you do with your contradiction?”
+
+“Give it to the papers,” Hal answered.
+
+“But what papers would print it?”
+
+“There are two rival papers in Pedro, aren’t there?”
+
+“One owned by Alf Raymond, the sheriff-emperor, and the other by
+Vagleman, counsel for the ‘G. F. C.’ Which one would you try?”
+
+“Well then, the outside papers--those in Western City. There are
+reporters here now, and some one of them would surely take it.”
+
+Olson answered, declaring that they would not get any but labour and
+Socialist papers to print such news. But even that was well worth doing.
+And Jack David, who was strong for unions and all their activities, put
+in, “The thing to do is to take a regular census, so as to know exactly
+how many are in the mine.”
+
+The suggestion struck fire, and they agreed to set to work that same
+evening. It would be a relief to do something, to have something in
+their minds but despair. They passed the word to Mary Burke, to Rovetta,
+Klowoski, and others; and at eleven o’clock the next morning they met
+again, and the lists were put together, and it was found that no less
+than a hundred and seven men and boys were positively known to be inside
+Number One.
+
+
+
+SECTION 33.
+
+As it happened, however, discussion of this list and the method of
+giving it to the world was cut short by a more urgent matter. Jack David
+came in with news of fresh trouble at the pit-mouth. The new fan was
+being put in place; but they were slow about it, so slow that some
+people had become convinced that they did not mean to start the fan at
+all, but were keeping the mine sealed to prevent the fire from
+spreading. A group of such malcontents had presumed to go to Mr.
+Carmichael, the deputy state mine-inspector, to urge him to take some
+action; and the leader of these protestants, Huszar, the Austrian, who
+had been one of Hal’s check-weighman group, had been taken into custody
+and marched at double-quick to the gate of the stockade!
+
+Jack David declared furthermore that he knew a carpenter who was working
+in the fan-house, and who said that no haste whatever was being made.
+All the men at the fan-house shared that opinion; the mine was sealed,
+and would stay sealed until the company was sure the fire was out.
+
+“But,” argued Hal, “if they were to open it, the fire would spread; and
+wouldn’t that prevent rescue work?”
+
+“Not at all,” declared “Big Jack.” He explained that by reversing the
+fan they could draw the smoke up through the air-course, which would
+clear the main passages for a time. “But, you see, some coal might catch
+fire, and some timbers; there might be falls of rock so they couldn’t
+work some of the rooms again.”
+
+“How long will they keep the mine sealed?” cried Hal, in consternation.
+
+“Nobody can say. In a big mine like that, a fire might smoulder for a
+week.”
+
+“Everybody be dead!” cried Rosa Minetti, wringing her hands in a sudden
+access of grief.
+
+Hal turned to Olson. “Would they possibly do such a thing?”
+
+“It’s been done--more than once,” was the organiser’s reply.
+
+“Did you never hear about Cherry, Illinois?” asked David. “They did it
+there, and more than three hundred people lost their lives.” He went on
+to tell that dreadful story, known to every coal-miner. They had sealed
+the mine, while women fainted and men tore their clothes in frenzy--some
+going insane. They had kept it sealed for two weeks, and when they
+opened it, there were twenty-one men still alive!
+
+“They did the same thing in Diamondville, Wyoming,” added Olson. “They
+built up a barrier, and when they took it away they found a heap of dead
+men, who had crawled to it and torn their fingers to the bone trying to
+break through.”
+
+“My God!” cried Hal, springing to his feet. “And this man
+Carmichael--would he stand for that?”
+
+“He’d tell you they were doing their best,” said “Big Jack.” “And maybe
+he thinks they are. But you’ll see--something’ll keep happening; they’ll
+drag on from day to day, and they’ll not start the fan till they’re
+ready.”
+
+“Why, it’s murder!” cried Hal.
+
+“It’s business,” said Tom Olson, quietly.
+
+Hal looked from one to another of the faces of these working people. Not
+one but had friends in that trap; not one but might be in the same trap
+to-morrow!
+
+“You have to stand it!” he exclaimed, half to himself.
+
+“Don’t you see the guards at the pit-mouth?” answered David. “Don’t you
+see the guns sticking out of their pockets?”
+
+“They bring in more guards this morning,” put in Jerry Minetti. “Rosa,
+she see them get off.”
+
+“They know what they doin’!” said Rosa. “They only fraid we find it out!
+They told Mrs. Zamboni she keep away or they send her out of camp. And
+old Mrs. Jonotch--her husband and three sons inside!”
+
+“They’re getting rougher and rougher,” declared Mrs. David. “That big
+fellow they call Pete, that came up from Pedro--the way he’s handling
+the women is a shame!”
+
+“I know him,” put in Olson; “Pete Hanun. They had him in Sheridan when
+the union first opened headquarters. He smashed one of our organisers in
+the mouth and broke four of his teeth. They say he has a jail-record.”
+
+All through the previous year at college Hal had listened to lectures
+upon political economy, filled with the praises of a thing called
+“Private Ownership.” This Private Ownership developed initiative and
+economy; it kept the wheels of industry a-roll, it kept fat the
+pay-rolls of college faculties; it accorded itself with the sacred laws
+of supply and demand, it was the basis of the progress and prosperity
+wherewith America had been blessed. And here suddenly Hal found himself
+face to face with the reality of it; he saw its wolfish eyes glaring
+into his own, he felt its smoking hot breath in his face, he saw its
+gleaming fangs and claw-like fingers, dripping with the blood of men and
+women and children. Private Ownership of coal-mines! Private Ownership
+of sealed-up entrances and non-existent escape-ways! Private Ownership
+of fans which did not start, of sprinklers which did not sprinkle.
+Private Ownership of clubs and revolvers, and of thugs and ex-convicts
+to use them, driving away rescuers and shutting up agonised widows and
+orphans in their homes! Oh, the serene and well-fed priests of Private
+Ownership, chanting in academic halls the praises of the bloody Demon!
+
+Suddenly Hal stopped still. Something had risen in him, the existence of
+which he had never suspected. There was a new look upon his face, his
+voice was deep as a strong man’s when he spoke: “I am going to make them
+open that mine!”
+
+They looked at him. They were all of them close to the border of
+hysteria, but they caught the strange note in his utterance. “I am going
+to make them open that mine!”
+
+“How?” asked Olson.
+
+“The public doesn’t know about this thing. If the story got out, there’d
+be such a clamour, it couldn’t go on!”
+
+“But how will you get it out?”
+
+“I’ll give it to the newspapers! They can’t suppress such a thing--I
+don’t care how prejudiced they are!”
+
+“But do you think they’d believe what a miner’s buddy tells them?” asked
+Mrs. David.
+
+“I’ll find a way to make them believe me,” said Hal. “I’m going to make
+them open that mine!”
+
+
+
+SECTION 34.
+
+In the course of his wanderings about the camp, Hal had observed several
+wide-awake looking young men with notebooks in their hands. He could see
+that these young men were being made guests of the company, chatting
+with the bosses upon friendly terms; nevertheless, he believed that
+among them he might find one who had a conscience--or at any rate who
+would yield to the temptation of a “scoop.” So, leaving the gathering at
+Mrs. David’s, Hal went to the pit-mouth, watching out for one of these
+reporters; when he found him, he followed him for a while, desiring to
+get him where no company “spotter” might interfere. At the first chance,
+he stepped up, and politely asked the reporter to come into a side
+street, where they might converse undisturbed.
+
+The reporter obeyed the request; and Hal, concealing the intensity of
+his feelings, so as not to repel the other, let it be known that he had
+worked in North Valley for some months, and could tell much about
+conditions in the camp. There was the matter of adobe-dust, for example.
+Explosions in dry mines could be prevented by spraying the walls with
+this material. Did the reporter happen to know that the company’s claim
+to have used it was entirely false?
+
+No, the reporter answered, he did not know this. He seemed interested,
+and asked Hal’s name and occupation. Hal told him “Joe Smith,” a
+“buddy,” who had recently been chosen as check-weighman. The reporter, a
+lean and keen-faced young man, asked many questions--intelligent
+questions; incidentally he mentioned that he was the local correspondent
+of the great press association whose stories of the disaster were sent
+to every corner of the country. This seemed to Hal an extraordinary
+piece of good fortune, and he proceeded to tell this Mr. Graham about
+the census which some of the workers had taken; they were able to give
+the names of a hundred and seven men and boys who were inside the mine.
+The list was at Mr. Graham’s disposal if he cared to see it. Mr. Graham
+seemed more interested than ever, and made notes in his book.
+
+Another thing, more important yet, Hal continued; the matter of the
+delay in getting the fan started. It had been three days since the
+explosion, but there had been no attempt at entering the mine. Had Mr.
+Graham seen the disturbance at the pit-mouth that morning? Did he
+realise that a man had been thrown out of camp merely because he had
+appealed to the deputy state mine-inspector? Hal told what so many had
+come to believe--that the company was saving property at the expense of
+life. He went on to point out the human meaning of this--he told about
+old Mrs. Rafferty, with her failing health and her eight children; about
+Mrs. Zamboni, with eleven children; about Mrs. Jonotch, with a husband
+and three sons in the mine. Led on by the reporter’s interest, Hal began
+to show some of his feeling. These were human beings, not animals; they
+loved and suffered, even though they were poor and humble!
+
+“Most certainly!” said Mr. Graham. “You’re right, and you may rest
+assured I’ll look into this.”
+
+“There’s one thing more,” said Hal. “If my name is mentioned, I’ll be
+fired, you know.”
+
+“I won’t mention it,” said the other.
+
+“Of course, if you can’t publish the story without giving its source--”
+
+“I’m the source,” said the reporter, with a smile. “Your name would not
+add anything.”
+
+He spoke with quiet assurance; he seemed to know so completely both the
+situation and his own duty in regard to it, that Hal felt a thrill of
+triumph. It was as if a strong wind had come blowing from the outside
+world, dispelling the miasma which hung over this coal-camp. Yes, this
+reporter _was_ the outside world! He was the power of public opinion,
+making itself felt in this place of knavery and fear! He was the voice
+of truth, the courage and rectitude of a great organisation of
+publicity, independent of secret influences, lifted above corruption!
+
+“I’m indebted to you,” said Mr. Graham, at the end, and Hal’s sense of
+victory was complete. What an extraordinary chance--that he should have
+run into the agent of the great press association! The story would go
+out to the great world of industry, which depended upon coal as its
+life-blood. The men in the factories, the wheels of which were turned by
+coal--the travellers on trains which were moved by coal--they would hear
+at last of the sufferings of those who toiled in the bowels of the earth
+for them! Even the ladies, reclining upon the decks of palatial
+steamships in gleaming tropic seas--so marvellous was the power of
+modern news-spreading agencies, that these ladies too might hear the cry
+for help of these toilers, and of their wives and little ones! And from
+this great world would come an answer, a universal shout of horror, of
+execration, that would force even old Peter Harrigan to give way! So Hal
+mused--for he was young, and this was his first crusade.
+
+He was so happy that he was able to think of himself again, and to
+realise that he had not eaten that day. It was noon-time, and he went
+into Reminitsky’s, and was about half through with the first course of
+Reminitsky’s two-course banquet, when his cruel disillusioning fell upon
+him!
+
+He looked up and saw Jeff Cotton striding into the dining-room, making
+straight for him. There was blood in the marshal’s eye, and Hal saw it,
+and rose, instinctively.
+
+“Come!” said Cotton, and took him by the coat-sleeve and marched him
+out, almost before the rest of the diners had time to catch their
+breath.
+
+Hal had no opportunity now to display his “tea-party manners” to the
+camp-marshal. As they walked, Cotton expressed his opinion of him, that
+he was a skunk, a puppy, a person of undesirable ancestry; and when Hal
+endeavoured to ask a question--which he did quite genuinely, not
+grasping at once the meaning of what was happening--the marshal bade him
+“shut his face,” and emphasised the command by a twist at his
+coat-collar. At the same time two of the huskiest mine-guards, who had
+been waiting at the dining-room door, took him, one by each arm, and
+assisted his progress.
+
+They went down the street and past Jeff Cotton’s office, not stopping
+this time. Their destination was the railroad-station, and when Hal got
+there, he saw a train standing. The three men marched him to it, not
+releasing him till they had jammed him down into a seat.
+
+“Now, young fellow,” said Cotton, “we’ll see who’s running this camp!”
+
+By this time Hal had regained a part of his self-possession. “Do I need
+a ticket?” he asked.
+
+“I’ll see to that,” said the marshal.
+
+“And do I get my things?”
+
+“You save some questions for your college professors,” snapped the
+marshal.
+
+So Hal waited; and a minute or two later a man arrived on the run with
+his scanty belongings, rolled into a bundle and tied with a piece of
+twine. Hal noted that this man was big and ugly, and was addressed by
+the camp-marshal as “Pete.”
+
+The conductor shouted, “All aboard!” And at the same time Jeff Cotton
+leaned over towards Hal and spoke in a menacing whisper: “Take this from
+me, young fellow; don’t stop in Pedro, move on in a hurry, or something
+will happen to you on a dark night.”
+
+After which he strode down the aisle, and jumped off the moving train.
+But Hal noticed that Pete Hanun, the breaker of teeth, stayed on the car
+a few seats behind him.
+
+
+
+
+BOOK THREE
+
+THE HENCHMEN OF KING COAL
+
+
+
+
+SECTION 1.
+
+It was Hal’s intention to get to Western City as quickly as possible to
+call upon the newspaper editors. But first he must have money to travel,
+and the best way he could think of to get it was to find John Edstrom.
+He left the train, followed by Pete Hanun; after some inquiry, he came
+upon the undertaker who had buried Edstrom’s wife, and who told him
+where the old Swede was staying, in the home of a labouring-man nearby.
+
+Edstrom greeted him with eager questions: Who had been killed? What was
+the situation? Hal told in brief sentences what had happened. When he
+mentioned his need of money, Edstrom answered that he had a little, and
+would lend it, but it was not enough for a ticket to Western City. Hal
+asked about the twenty-five dollars which Mary Burke had sent by
+registered mail; the old man had heard nothing about it, he had not been
+to the post-office. “Let’s go now!” said Hal, at once; but as they were
+starting downstairs, a fresh difficulty occurred to him. Pete Hanun was
+on the street outside, and it was likely that he had heard about this
+money from Jeff Cotton; he might hold Edstrom up and take it away.
+
+“Let me suggest something,” put in the old man. “Come and see my friend
+Ed MacKellar. He may be able to give us some advice--even to think of
+some way to get the mine open.” Edstrom explained that MacKellar, an old
+Scotchman, had been a miner, but was now crippled, and held some petty
+office in Pedro. He was a persistent opponent of “Alf” Raymond’s
+machine, and they had almost killed him on one occasion. His home was
+not far away, and it would take little time to consult him.
+
+“All right,” said Hal, and they set out at once. Pete Hanun followed
+them, not more than a dozen yards behind, but did not interfere, and
+they turned in at the gate of a little cottage. A woman opened the door
+for them, and asked them into the dining-room where MacKellar was
+sitting--a grey-haired old man, twisted up with rheumatism and obliged
+to go about on crutches.
+
+Hal told his story. As the Scotchman had been brought up in the mines,
+it was not necessary to go into details about the situation. When Hal
+told his idea of appealing to the newspapers, the other responded at
+once, “You won’t have to go to Western City. There’s a man right here
+who’ll do the business for you; Keating, of the _Gazette_.”
+
+“The Western City _Gazette?_” exclaimed Hal. He knew this paper; an
+evening journal selling for a cent, and read by working-men. Persons of
+culture who referred to it disposed of it with the adjective “yellow.”
+
+“I know,” said MacKellar, noting Hal’s tone. “But it’s the only paper
+that will publish your story anyway.”
+
+“Where is this Keating?”
+
+“He’s been up at the mine. It’s too bad you didn’t meet him.”
+
+“Can we get hold of him now?”
+
+“He might be in Pedro. Try the American Hotel.”
+
+Hal went to the telephone, and in a minute was hearing for the first
+time the cheery voice of his friend and lieutenant-to-be, “Billy”
+ Keating. In a couple of minutes more the owner of the voice was at
+MacKellar’s door, wiping the perspiration from his half-bald forehead.
+He was round-faced, like a full moon, and as jolly as Falstaff; when you
+got to know him better, you discovered that he was loyal as a
+Newfoundland dog. For all his bulk, Keating was a newspaper man, every
+inch of him “on the job.”
+
+He started to question the young miner as soon as he was introduced, and
+it quickly became clear to Hal that here was the man he was looking for.
+Keating knew exactly what questions to ask, and had the whole story in a
+few minutes. “By thunder!” he cried. “My last edition!” And he pulled
+out his watch, and sprang to the telephone. “Long distance,” he called;
+then, “I want the city editor of the Western City _Gazette_. And,
+operator, please see if you can’t rush it through. It’s very urgent, and
+last time I had to wait nearly half an hour.”
+
+He turned back to Hal, and proceeded to ask more questions, at the same
+time pulling a bunch of copy-paper from his pocket and making notes. He
+got all Hal’s statements about the lack of sprinkling, the absence of
+escape-ways, the delay in starting the fan, the concealing of the number
+of men in the mine. “I knew things were crooked up there!” he exclaimed.
+“But I couldn’t get a lead! They kept a man with me every minute of the
+time. You know a fellow named Predovich?”
+
+“I do,” said Hal. “The company store-clerk; he once went through my
+pockets.”
+
+Keating made a face of disgust. “Well, he was my chaperon. Imagine
+trying to get the miners to talk to you with that sneak at your heels! I
+said to the superintendent, ‘I don’t need anybody to escort me around
+your place.’ And he looked at me with a nasty little smile. ‘We wouldn’t
+want anything to happen to you while you’re in this camp, Mr. Keating.’
+‘You don’t consider it necessary to protect the lives of the other
+reporters,’ I said. ‘No,’ said he; ‘but the _Gazette_ has made a great
+many enemies, you know.’ ‘Drop your fooling, Mr. Cartwright,’ I said.
+‘You propose to have me shadowed while I’m working on this assignment?’
+‘You can put it that way,’ he answered, ‘if you think it’ll please the
+readers of the _Gazette_.’”
+
+“Too bad we didn’t meet!” said Hal. “Or if you’d run into any of our
+check-weighman crowd!”
+
+“Oh! You know about that check-weighman business!” exclaimed the
+reporter. “I got a hint of it--that’s how I happened to be down here
+to-day. I heard there was a man named Edstrom, who’d been shut out for
+making trouble; and I thought if I could find him, I might get a lead.”
+
+Hal and MacKellar looked at the old Swede, and the three of them began
+to laugh. “Here’s your man!” said MacKellar.
+
+“And here’s your check-weighman!” added Edstrom, pointing to Hal.
+
+Instantly the reporter was on his job again; he began to fire another
+series of questions. He would use that check-weighman story as a
+“follow-up” for the next day, to keep the subject of North Valley alive.
+The story had a direct bearing on the disaster, because it showed what
+the North Valley bosses were doing when they should have been looking
+after the safety of their mine. “I’ll write it out this afternoon and
+send it by mail,” said Keating; he added, with a smile, “That’s one
+advantage of handling news the other papers won’t touch--you don’t have
+to worry about losing your ‘scoops’!”
+
+
+
+SECTION 2.
+
+Keating went to the telephone again, to worry “long distance”; then,
+grumbling about his last edition, he came back to ask more questions
+about Hal’s experiences. Before long he drew out the story of the young
+man’s first effort in the publicity game; at which he sank back in his
+chair, and laughed until he shook, as the nursery-rhyme describes it,
+“like a bowlful of jelly.”
+
+“Graham!” he exclaimed. “Fancy, MacKellar, he took that story to
+Graham!”
+
+The Scotchman seemed to find it equally funny; together they explained
+that Graham was the political reporter of the _Eagle_, the paper in
+Pedro which was owned by the Sheriff-emperor. One might call him Alf
+Raymond’s journalistic jackal; there was no job too dirty for him.
+
+“But,” cried Hal, “he told me he was correspondent for the Western press
+association!”
+
+“He’s that, too,” replied Billy.
+
+“But does the press association employ spies for the ‘G. F. C.’?”
+
+The reporter answered, drily, “When you understand the news game better,
+you’ll realise that the one thing the press association cares about in a
+correspondent is that he should have respect for property. If respect
+for property is the back-bone of his being, he can learn what news is,
+and the right way to handle it.”
+
+Keating turned to the Scotchman. “Do you happen to have a typewriter in
+the house, Mr. MacKellar?”
+
+“An old one,” said the other--“lame, like myself.”
+
+“I’ll make out with it. I’d ask this young man over to my hotel, but I
+think he’d better keep off the streets as much as possible.”
+
+“You’re right. If you take my advice, you’ll take the typewriter
+upstairs, where there’s no chance of a shot through the window.”
+
+“Great heavens!” exclaimed Hal. “Is this America, or mediaeval Italy?”
+
+“It’s the Empire of Raymond,” replied MacKellar. “They shot my friend
+Tom Burton dead while he stood on the steps of his home. He was opposing
+the machine, and had evidence about ballot-frauds he was going to put
+before the Grand Jury.”
+
+While Keating continued to fret with “long distance,” the old Scotchman
+went on trying to impress upon Hal the danger of his position. Quite
+recently an organiser of the miners’ union had been beaten up in broad
+day-light and left insensible on the sidewalk; MacKellar had watched the
+trial and acquittal of the two thugs who had committed this crime--the
+foreman of the jury being a saloon-keeper one of Raymond’s heelers, and
+the other jurymen being Mexicans, unable to comprehend a word of the
+court proceedings.
+
+“Exactly such a jury as Jeff Cotton promised me!” remarked Hal, with a
+feeble attempt at a smile.
+
+“Yes,” answered the other; “and don’t make any mistake about it, if they
+want to put you away, they can do it. They run the whole machine here. I
+know how it is, for I had a political job myself, until they found they
+couldn’t use me.”
+
+The old Scotchman went on to explain that he had been elected justice of
+peace, and had tried to break up the business of policemen taking money
+from the women of the town; he had been forced to resign, and his
+enemies had made his life a torment. Recently he had been candidate for
+district judge on the Progressive ticket, and told of his efforts to
+carry on a campaign in the coal-camps--how his circulars had been
+confiscated, his posters torn down, his supporters “kangarooed.” It was
+exactly as Alec Stone, the pit-boss, had explained to Hal. In some of
+the camps the meeting-halls belonged to the company; in others they
+belonged to saloon-keepers whose credit depended upon Alf Raymond. In
+the few places where there were halls that could be hired, the machine
+had gone to the extreme of sending in rival entertainments, furnishing
+free music and free beer in order to keep the crowds away from
+MacKellar.
+
+All this time Billy Keating had been chafing and scolding at “long
+distance.” Now at last he managed to get his call, and silence fell in
+the room. “Hello, Pringle, that you? This is Keating. Got a big story on
+the North Valley disaster. Last edition put to bed yet? Put Jim on the
+wire. Hello, Jim! Got your book?” And then Billy, evidently talking to a
+stenographer, began to tell the story he had got from Hal. Now and then
+he would stop to repeat or spell a word; once or twice Hal corrected him
+on details. So, in about a quarter of an hour, they put the job through;
+and Keating turned to Hal.
+
+“There you are, son,” said he. “Your story’ll be on the street in
+Western City in a little over an hour; it’ll be down here as soon
+thereafter as they can get telephone connections. And take my advice, if
+you want to keep a whole skin, you’ll be out of Pedro when that
+happens!”
+
+
+
+SECTION 3.
+
+When Hal spoke, he did not answer Billy Keating’s last remark. He had
+been listening to a retelling of the North Valley disaster over the
+telephone; so he was not thinking about his skin, but about a hundred
+and seven men and boys buried inside a mine.
+
+“Mr. Keating,” said he, “are you sure the _Gazette_ will print that
+story?”
+
+“Good Lord!” exclaimed the other. “What am I here for?”
+
+“Well, I’ve been disappointed once, you know.”
+
+“Yes, but you got into the wrong camp. We’re a poor man’s paper, and
+this is what we live on.”
+
+“There’s no chance of its being ‘toned down’?”
+
+“Not the slightest, I assure you.”
+
+“There’s no chance of Peter Harrigan’s suppressing it?”
+
+“Peter Harrigan made his attempts on the _Gazette_ long ago, my boy.”
+
+“Well,” said Hal, “and now tell me this--will it do the work?”
+
+“In what way?”
+
+“I mean--in making them open the mine.”
+
+Keating considered for a moment. “I’m afraid it won’t do much.”
+
+Hal looked at him blankly. He had taken it for granted the publication
+of the facts would force the company to move. But Keating explained that
+the _Gazette_ read mainly by working-people, and so had comparatively
+little influence. “We’re an afternoon paper,” he said; “and when people
+have been reading lies all morning, it’s not easy to make them believe
+the truth in the afternoon.”
+
+“But won’t the story go to other papers--over the country, I mean?”
+
+“Yes, we have a press service; but the papers are all like the
+_Gazette_--poor man’s papers. If there’s something very raw, and we keep
+pounding away for a long time, we can make an impression; at least we
+limit the amount of news the Western press association can suppress. But
+when it comes to a small matter like sealing up workingmen in a mine,
+all we can do is to worry the ‘G. F. C.’ a little.”
+
+So Hal was just where he had begun! “I must find some other plan,” he
+exclaimed.
+
+“I don’t see what you can do,” replied the other.
+
+There was a pause, while the young miner pondered. “I had thought of
+going up to Western City and appealing to the editors,” he said, a
+little uncertainly.
+
+“Well, I can tell you about that--you might as well save your car-fare.
+They wouldn’t touch your story.”
+
+“And if I appealed to the Governor?”
+
+“In the first place, he probably wouldn’t see you. And if he did, he
+wouldn’t do anything. He’s not really the Governor, you know; he’s a
+puppet put up there to fool you. He only moves when Harrigan pulls a
+string.”
+
+“Of course I knew he was Old Peter’s man,” said Hal. “But then”--and he
+concluded, somewhat lamely, “What _can_ I do?”
+
+A smile of pity came upon the reporter’s face. “I can see this is the
+first time you’ve been up against ‘big business.’” And then he added,
+“You’re young! When you’ve had more experience, you’ll leave these
+problems to older heads!” But Hal failed to get the reporter’s sarcasm.
+He had heard these exact words in such deadly seriousness from his
+brother! Besides, he had just come from scenes of horror.
+
+“But don’t you see, Mr. Keating?” he exclaimed. “It’s impossible for me
+to sit still while those men die?”
+
+“I don’t know about your sitting still,” said the other. “All I know is
+that all your moving about isn’t going to do them any good.”
+
+Hal turned to Edstrom and MacKellar. “Gentlemen,” he said, “listen to me
+for a minute.” And there was a note of pleading in his voice--as if he
+thought they were deliberately refusing to help him! “We’ve got to do
+something about this. We’ve _got_ to do something! I’m new at the game,
+as Mr. Keating says; but you aren’t. Put your minds on it, gentlemen,
+and help me work out a plan!”
+
+There was a long silence. “God knows,” said Edstrom, at last. “I’d
+suggest something if I could.”
+
+“And I, too,” said MacKellar. “You’re up against a stone-wall, my boy.
+The government here is simply a department of the ‘G. F. C.’ The
+officials are crooks--company servants, all of them.”
+
+“Just a moment now,” said Hal. “Let’s consider. Suppose we had a real
+government--what steps would we take? We’d carry such a case to the
+District Attorney, wouldn’t we?”
+
+“Yes, no doubt of it,” said MacKellar.
+
+“You mentioned him before,” said Hal. “He threatened to prosecute some
+mine-superintendents for ballot-frauds, you said.”
+
+“That was while he was running for election,” said MacKellar.
+
+“Oh! I remember what Jeff Cotton said--that he was friendly to the
+miners in his speeches, and to the companies in his acts.”
+
+“That’s the man,” said the other, drily.
+
+“Well,” argued Hal, “oughtn’t I go to him, to give him a chance, at
+least? You can’t tell, he might have a heart inside him.”
+
+“It isn’t a heart he needs,” replied MacKellar; “it’s a back-bone.”
+
+“But surely I ought to put it up to him! If he won’t do anything, at
+least I’ll put him on record, and it’ll make another story for you,
+won’t it, Mr. Keating?”
+
+“Yes, that’s true,” admitted the reporter. “What would you ask him to
+do?”
+
+“Why, to lay the matter before the Grand Jury; to bring indictments
+against the North Valley bosses.”
+
+“But that would take a long time; it wouldn’t save the men in the mine.”
+
+“What might save them would be the threat of it.” MacKellar put in. “I
+don’t think any threat of Dick Barker’s would count for that much. The
+bosses know they could stop him.”
+
+“Well, isn’t there somebody else? Shouldn’t I try the courts?”
+
+“What courts?”
+
+“I don’t know. You tell me.”
+
+“Well,” said the Scotchman, “to begin at the bottom, there’s a justice
+of the peace.”
+
+“Who’s he?”
+
+“Jim Anderson, a horse-doctor. He’s like any other J.P. you ever
+knew--he lives on petty graft.”
+
+“Is there a higher court?”
+
+“Yes, the district court; Judge Denton. He’s the law-partner of
+Vagleman, counsel for the ‘G. F. C.’ How far would you expect to get
+with him?”
+
+“I suppose I’m clutching at straws,” said Hal. “But they say that’s what
+a drowning man does. Anyway, I’m going to see these people, and maybe
+out of the lot of them I can find one who’ll act. It can’t do any harm!”
+
+The three men thought of some harm it might do; they tried to make Hal
+consider the danger of being slugged Or shot. “They’ll do it!” exclaimed
+MacKellar. “And no trouble for them--they’ll prove you were stabbed by a
+drunken Dago, quarrelling over some woman.”
+
+But Hal had got his head set; he believed he could put this job through
+before his enemies had time to lay any plans. Nor would he let any of
+his friends accompany him; he had something more important for both
+Edstrom and Keating to do--and as for MacKellar, he could not get about
+rapidly enough. Hal bade Edstrom go to the post-office and get the
+registered letter, and proceed at once to change the bills. It was his
+plan to make out affidavits, and if the officials here would not act, to
+take the affidavits to the Governor. And for this he would need money.
+Meantime, he said, let Billy Keating write out the check-weighman story,
+and in a couple of hours meet him at the American Hotel, to get copies
+of the affidavits for the _Gazette_.
+
+Hal was still wearing the miner’s clothes he had worn on the night of
+his arrest in Edstrom’s cabin. But he declined MacKellar’s offer to lend
+him a business-suit; the old Scotchman’s clothes would not fit him, he
+knew, and it would be better to make his appeal as a real miner than as
+a misfit gentleman.
+
+These matters being settled, Hal went out upon the street, where Pete
+Hanun, the breaker of teeth, fell in behind him. The young miner at once
+broke into a run, and the other followed suit, and so the two of them
+sped down the street, to the wonder of people on the way. As Hal had had
+practice as a sprinter, no doubt Pete was glad that the District
+Attorney’s office was not far away!
+
+
+
+SECTION 4.
+
+Mr. Richard Parker was busy, said the clerk in toe outer office; for
+which Hal was not sorry, as it gave him a chance to get his breath.
+Seeing a young man flushed and panting, the clerk stared with curiosity;
+but Hal offered no explanation, and the breaker of teeth waited on the
+street outside.
+
+Mr. Parker received his caller in a couple of minutes. He was a well-fed
+gentleman with generous neck and chin, freshly shaved and rubbed with
+talcum powder. His clothing was handsome, his linen immaculate; one got
+the impression of a person who “did himself well.” There were papers on
+his desk, and he looked preoccupied.
+
+“Well?” said he, with a swift glance at the young miner.
+
+“I understand that I am speaking to the District Attorney of Pedro
+County?”
+
+“That’s right.”
+
+“Mr. Parker, have you given any attention to the circumstances of the
+North Valley disaster?”
+
+“No,” said Mr. Parker. “Why?”
+
+“I have just come from North Valley, and I can give you information
+which may be of interest to you. There are a hundred and seven people
+entombed in the mine, and the company officials have sealed it, and are
+sacrificing those lives.”
+
+The other put down the correspondence, and made an examination of his
+caller from under his heavy eyelids. “How do you know this?”
+
+“I left there only a few hours ago. The facts are known to all the
+workers in the camp.”
+
+“You are speaking from what you heard?”
+
+“I am speaking from what I know at first hand. I saw the disaster, I saw
+the pit-mouth boarded over and covered with canvas. I know a man who was
+driven out of camp this morning for complaining about the delay in
+starting the fan. It has been over three days since the explosion, and
+still nothing has been done.”
+
+Mr. Parker proceeded to fire a series of questions, in the sharp,
+suspicious manner customary to prosecuting officials. But Hal did not
+mind that; it was the man’s business to make sure.
+
+Presently he demanded to know how he could get corroboration of Hal’s
+statements.
+
+“You’ll have to go up there,” was the reply.
+
+“You say the facts are known to the men. Give me the names of some of
+them.”
+
+“I have no authority to give their names, Mr. Parker.”
+
+“What authority do you need? They will tell me, won’t they?”
+
+“They may, and they may not. One man has already lost his job; not every
+man cares to lose his job.”
+
+“You expect me to go up there on your bare say-so?”
+
+“I offer you more than my say-so. I offer an affidavit.”
+
+“But what do I know about you?”
+
+“You know that I worked in North Valley--or you can verify the fact by
+using the telephone. My name is Joe Smith, and I was a miner’s helper in
+Number Two.”
+
+But that was not sufficient, said Mr. Parker; his time was valuable, and
+before he took a trip to North Valley he must have the names of
+witnesses who would corroborate these statements.
+
+“I offer you an affidavit!” exclaimed Hal. “I say that I have knowledge
+that a crime is being committed--that a hundred and seven human lives
+are being sacrificed. You don’t consider that a sufficient reason for
+even making inquiry?”
+
+The District Attorney answered again that he desired to do his duty, he
+desired to protect the workers in their rights; but he could not afford
+to go off on a “wild goose chase,” he must have the names of witnesses.
+And Hal found himself wondering. Was the man merely taking the first
+pretext for doing nothing? Or could it be that an official of the state
+would go as far as to help the company by listing the names of
+“trouble-makers”?
+
+In spite of his distrust, Hal was resolved to give the man every chance
+he could. He went over the whole story of the disaster. He took Mr.
+Parker up to the camp, showed him the agonised women and terrified
+children crowding about the pit-mouth, driven back with clubs and
+revolvers. He named family after family, widows and mothers and orphans.
+He told of the miners clamouring for a chance to risk their lives to
+save their fellows. He let his own feelings sweep him along; he pleaded
+with fervour for his suffering friends.
+
+“Young man,” said the other, breaking in upon his eloquence, “how long
+have you been working in North Valley?”
+
+“About ten weeks.”
+
+“How long have you been working in coal-mines?”
+
+“That was my first experience.”
+
+“And you think that in ten weeks you have learned enough to entitle you
+to bring a charge of ‘murder’ against men who have spent their lives in
+learning the business of mining?”
+
+“As I have told you,” exclaimed Hal, “it’s not merely my opinion; it’s
+the opinion of the oldest and most experienced of the miners. I tell you
+no effort whatever is being made to save those men! The bosses care
+nothing about their men! One of them, Alec Stone, was heard by a crowd
+of people to say, ‘Damn the men! Save the mules!’”
+
+“Everybody up there is excited,” declared the other. “Nobody can think
+straight at present--you can’t think straight yourself. If the mine’s on
+fire, and if the fire is spreading to such an extent that it can’t be
+put out--”
+
+“But, Mr. Parker, how can you say that it’s spreading to such an
+extent?”
+
+“Well, how can you say that it isn’t?”
+
+There was a pause. “I understand there’s a deputy mine-inspector up
+there,” said the District Attorney, suddenly. “What’s his name?”
+
+“Carmichael,” said Hal.
+
+“Well, and what does _he_ say about it?”
+
+“It was for appealing to him that the miner, Huszar, was turned out of
+camp.”
+
+“Well,” said Mr. Parker--and there came a note into his voice by which
+Hal knew that he had found the excuse he sought--“Well, it’s
+Carmichael’s business, and I have no right to butt in on it. If he comes
+to me and asks for indictments, I’ll act--but not otherwise. That’s all
+I have to say about it.”
+
+And Hal rose. “Very well, Mr. Parker,” said he. “I have put the facts
+before you. I was told you wouldn’t do anything, but I wanted to give
+you a chance. Now I’m going to ask the Governor for your removal!” And
+with these words the young miner strode out of the office.
+
+
+
+SECTION 5.
+
+Hal went down the street to the American Hotel, where there was a public
+stenographer. When this young woman discovered the nature of the
+material he proposed to dictate, her fingers trembled visibly; but she
+did not refuse the task, and Hal proceeded to set forth the
+circumstances of the sealing of the pit-mouth of Number One Mine at
+North Valley, and to pray for warrants for the arrest of Enos Cartwright
+and Alec Stone. Then he gave an account of how he had been selected as
+check-weighman and been refused access to the scales; and with all the
+legal phraseology he could rake up, he prayed for the arrest of Enos
+Cartwright and James Peters, superintendent and tipple-boss at North
+Valley, for these offences. In another affidavit he narrated how Jeff
+Cotton, camp-marshal, had seized him at night, mistreated him, and shut
+him in prison for thirty-six hours without warrant or charge; also how
+Cotton, Pete Hanun, and two other parties by name unknown, had illegally
+driven him from the town of North Valley, threatening him with violence;
+for which he prayed the arrest of Jeff Cotton, Pete Hanun, and the two
+parties unknown.
+
+Before this task was finished, Billy Keating came in, bringing the
+twenty-five dollars which Edstrom had got from the post-office. They
+found a notary public, before whom Hal made oath to each document; and
+when these had been duly inscribed and stamped with the seal of the
+state, he gave carbon copies to Keating, who hurried off to catch a
+mail-train which was just due. Billy would not trust such things to the
+local post-office; for Pedro was the hell of a town, he declared. As
+they went out on the street again they noticed that their body-guard had
+been increased by another husky-looking personage, who made no attempt
+to conceal what he was doing.
+
+Hal went around the corner to an office bearing the legend, “J.W.
+Anderson, Justice of the Peace.”
+
+Jim Anderson, the horse-doctor, sat at his desk within. He had evidently
+chewed tobacco before he assumed the ermine, and his reddish-coloured
+moustache still showed the stains. Hal observed such details, trying to
+weigh his chances of success. He presented the affidavit describing his
+treatment in North Valley, and sat waiting while His Honour read it
+through with painful slowness.
+
+“Well,” said the man, at last, “what do you want?”
+
+“I want a warrant for Jeff Cotton’s arrest.”
+
+The other studied him for a minute. “No, young fellow,” said he. “You
+can’t get no such warrant here.”
+
+“Why not?”
+
+“Because Cotton’s a deputy-sheriff; he had a right to arrest you.”
+
+“To arrest me without a warrant?”
+
+“How do you know he didn’t have a warrant?”
+
+“He admitted to me that he didn’t.”
+
+“Well, whether he had a warrant or not, it was his business to keep
+order in the camp.”
+
+“You mean he can do anything he pleases in the camp?”
+
+“What I mean is, it ain’t my business to interfere. Why didn’t you see
+Si Adams, up to the camp?”
+
+“They didn’t give me any chance to see him.”
+
+“Well,” replied the other, “there’s nothing I can do for you. You can
+see that for yourself. What kind of discipline could they keep in them
+camps if any fellow that had a kick could come down here and have the
+marshal arrested?”
+
+“Then a camp-marshal can act without regard to the law?”
+
+“I didn’t say that.”
+
+“Suppose he had committed murder--would you give a warrant for that?”
+
+“Yes, of course, if it was murder.”
+
+“And if you knew that he was in the act of committing murder in a
+coal-camp--would you try to stop him?”
+
+“Yes, of course.”
+
+“Then here’s another affidavit,” said Hal; and he produced the one about
+the sealing of the mine. There was silence while Justice Anderson read
+it through.
+
+But again he shook his head. “No, you can’t get no such warrants here.”
+
+“Why not?”
+
+“Because it ain’t my business to run a coal-mine. I don’t understand it,
+and I’d make a fool of myself if I tried to tell them people how to run
+their business.”
+
+Hal argued with him. Could company officials in charge of a coal-mine
+commit any sort of outrage upon their employés, and call it running
+their business? Their control of the mine in such an emergency as this
+meant the power of life and death over a hundred and seven men and boys;
+could it be that the law had nothing to say in such a situation? But Mr.
+Anderson only shook his head; it was not his business to interfere. Hal
+might go up to the court-house and see Judge Denton about it. So Hal
+gathered up his affidavits and went out to the street again--where there
+were now three husky-looking personages waiting to escort him.
+
+
+
+SECTION 6.
+
+The district court was in session and Hal sat for a while in the
+court-room, watching Judge Denton. Here was another prosperous and
+well-fed appearing gentleman, with a rubicund visage shining over the
+top of his black silk robe. The young miner found himself regarding both
+the robe and the visage with suspicion. Could it be that Hal was
+becoming cynical, and losing his faith in his fellow man? What he
+thought of, in connection with the Judge’s appearance, was that there
+was a living to be made sitting on the bench, while one’s partner
+appeared before the bench as coal-company counsel!
+
+In an interval of the proceedings, Hal spoke to the clerk, and was told
+that he might see the judge at four-thirty; but a few minutes later Pete
+Hanun came in and whispered to this clerk. The clerk looked at Hal, then
+he went up and whispered to the Judge. At four-thirty, when the court
+was declared adjourned, the Judge rose and disappeared into his private
+office; and when Hal applied to the clerk, the latter brought out the
+message that Judge Denton was too busy to see him.
+
+But Hal was not to be disposed of in that easy fashion. There was a side
+door to the court-room, with a corridor beyond it, and while he stood
+arguing with the clerk he saw the rubicund visage of the Judge flit
+past.
+
+He darted in pursuit. He did not shout or make a disturbance; but when
+he was close behind his victim, he said, quietly, “Judge Denton, I
+appeal to you for justice!”
+
+The Judge turned and looked at him, his countenance showing annoyance.
+“What do you want?”
+
+It was a ticklish moment, for Pete Hanun was at Hal’s heels, and it
+would have needed no more than a nod from the Judge to cause him to
+collar Hal. But the Judge, taken by surprise, permitted himself to
+parley with the young miner; and the detective hesitated, and finally
+fell back a step or two.
+
+Hal repeated his appeal. “Your Honour, there are a hundred and seven men
+and boys now dying up at the North Valley mine. They are being murdered,
+and I am trying to save their lives!”
+
+“Young man,” said the Judge, “I have an urgent engagement down the
+street.”
+
+“Very well,” replied Hal, “I will walk with you and tell you as you go.”
+ Nor did he give “His Honour” a chance to say whether this arrangement
+was pleasing to him; he set out by his side, with Pete Hanun and the
+other two men some ten yards in the rear.
+
+Hal told the story as he had told it to Mr. Richard Parker; and he
+received the same response. Such matters were not easy to decide about;
+they were hardly a Judge’s business. There was a state official on the
+ground, and it was for him to decide if there was violation of law.
+
+Hal repeated his statement that a man who made a complaint to this
+official had been thrown out of camp. “And I was thrown out also, your
+Honour.”
+
+“What for?”
+
+“Nobody told me what for.”
+
+“Tut, tut, young man! They don’t throw men out without telling them the
+reason!”
+
+“But they _do_, your Honour! Shortly before that they locked me up in
+jail, and held me for thirty-six hours without the slightest show of
+authority.”
+
+“You must have been doing something!”
+
+“What I had done was to be chosen by a committee of miners to act as
+their check-weighman.”
+
+“Their check-weighman?”
+
+“Yes, your Honour. I am informed there’s a law providing that when the
+men demand a check-weighman, and offer to pay for him, the company must
+permit him to inspect the weights. Is that correct?”
+
+“It is, I believe.”
+
+“And there’s a penalty for refusing?”
+
+“The law always carries a penalty, young man.”
+
+“They tell me that law has been on the statute-books for fifteen or
+sixteen years, and that the penalty is from twenty-five to five hundred
+dollars fine. It’s a case about which there can be no dispute, your
+Honour--the miners notified the superintendent that they desired my
+services, and when I presented myself at the tipple, I was refused
+access to the scales; then I was seized and shut up in jail, and finally
+turned out of the camp. I have made affidavit to these facts, and I
+think I have the right to ask for warrants for the guilty men.”
+
+“Can you produce witnesses to your statements?”
+
+“I can, your Honour. One of the committee of miners, John Edstrom, is
+now in Pedro, having been kept out of his home, which he had rented and
+paid for. The other, Mike Sikoria, was also thrown out of camp. There
+are many others at North Valley who know all about it.”
+
+There was a pause. Judge Denton for the first time took a good look at
+the young miner at his side; and then he drew his brows together in
+solemn thought, and his voice became deep and impressive. “I shall take
+this matter under advisement. What is your name, and where do you live?”
+
+“Joe Smith, your Honour. I’m staying at Edward MacKellar’s, but I don’t
+know how long I’ll be able to stay there. There are company thugs
+watching the place all the time.”
+
+“That’s wild talk!” said the Judge, impatiently.
+
+“As it happens,” said Hal, “we are being followed by three of them at
+this moment--one of them the same Pete Hanun who helped to drive me out
+of North Valley. If you will turn your head you will see them behind
+us.”
+
+But the portly Judge did not turn his head.
+
+“I have been informed,” Hal continued, “that I am taking my life in my
+hands by my present course of action. I believe I’m entitled to ask for
+protection.”
+
+“What do you want me to do?”
+
+“To begin with, I’d like you to cause the arrest of the men who are
+shadowing me.”
+
+“It’s not my business to cause such arrests. You should apply to a
+policeman.”
+
+“I don’t see any policeman. Will you tell me where to find one?”
+
+His Honour was growing weary of such persistence. “Young man, what’s the
+matter with you is that you’ve been reading dime novels, and they’ve got
+on your nerves!”
+
+“But the men are right behind me, your Honour! Look at them!”
+
+“I’ve told you it’s not my business, young man!”
+
+“But, your Honour, before I can find a policeman I may be dead!”
+
+The other appeared to be untroubled by this possibility.
+
+“And, your Honour, while you are taking these matters under advisement,
+the men in the mine will be dead!”
+
+Again there was no reply.
+
+“I have some affidavits here,” said Hal. “Do you wish them?”
+
+“You can give them to me if you want to,” said the other.
+
+“You don’t ask me for them?”
+
+“I haven’t yet.”
+
+“Then just one more question--if you will pardon me, your Honour. Can
+you tell me where I can find an honest lawyer in this town--a man who
+might be willing to take a case against the interests of the General
+Fuel Company?”
+
+There was a silence--a long, long silence. Judge Denton, of the firm of
+Denton and Vagleman, stared straight in front of him as he walked.
+Whatever complicated processes might have been going on inside his mind,
+his judicial features did not reveal them. “No, young man,” he said at
+last, “it’s not my business to give you information about lawyers.” And
+with that the judge turned on his heel and went into the Elks’ Club.
+
+
+
+SECTION 7.
+
+Hal stood and watched the portly figure until it disappeared; then he
+turned back and passed the three detectives, who stopped. He stared at
+them, but made no sign, nor did they. Some twenty feet behind him, they
+fell in and followed as before.
+
+Judge Denton had suggested consulting a policeman; and suddenly Hal
+noticed that he was passing the City Hall, and it occurred to him that
+this matter of his being shadowed might properly be brought to the
+attention of the mayor of Pedro. He wondered what the chief magistrate
+of such a “hell of a town” might be like; after due inquiry, he found
+himself in the office of Mr. Ezra Perkins, a mild-mannered little
+gentleman who had been in the undertaking-business, before he became a
+figure-head for the so-called “Democratic” machine.
+
+He sat pulling nervously at a neatly trimmed brown beard, trying to
+wriggle out of the dilemma into which Hal put him. Yes, it might
+possibly be that a young miner was being followed on the streets of the
+town; but whether or not this was against the law depended on the
+circumstances. If he had made a disturbance in North Valley, and there
+was reason to believe that he might be intending trouble, doubtless the
+company was keeping track of him. But Pedro was a law-abiding place, and
+he would be protected in his rights so long as he behaved himself.
+
+Hal replied by citing what MacKellar had told him about men being
+slugged on the streets in broad day-light. To this Mr. Perkins answered
+that there was uncertainty about the circumstances of these cases;
+anyhow, they had happened before he became mayor. His was a reform
+administration, and he had given strict orders to the Chief of Police
+that there were to be no more incidents of the sort.
+
+“Will you go with me to the Chief of Police and give him orders now?”
+ demanded Hal.
+
+“I do not consider it necessary,” said Mr. Perkins.
+
+He was about to go home, it seemed. He was a pitiful little rodent, and
+it was a shame to torment him; but Hal stuck to him for ten or twenty
+minutes longer, arguing and insisting--until finally the little rodent
+bolted for the door, and made his escape in an automobile. “You can go
+to the Chief of Police yourself,” were his last words, as he started the
+machine; and Hal decided to follow the suggestion. He had no hope left,
+but he was possessed by a kind of dogged rage. He _would_ not let go!
+
+Upon inquiry of a passer-by, he learned that police headquarters was in
+this same building, the entrance being just round the corner. He went
+in, and found a man in uniform writing at a desk, who stated that the
+Chief had “stepped down the street.” Hal sat down to wait, by a window
+through which he could look out upon the three gunmen loitering across
+the way.
+
+The man at the desk wrote on, but now and then he eyed the young miner
+with that hostility which American policemen cultivate toward the lower
+classes. To Hal this was a new phenomenon, and he found himself suddenly
+wishing that he had put on MacKellar’s clothes. Perhaps a policeman
+would not have noticed the misfit!
+
+The Chief came in. His blue uniform concealed a burly figure, and his
+moustache revealed the fact that his errand down the street had had to
+do with beer. “Well, young fellow?” said he, fixing his gaze upon Hal.
+
+Hal explained his errand.
+
+“What do you want me to do?” asked the Chief, in a decidedly hostile
+voice.
+
+“I want you to make those men stop following me.”
+
+“How can I make them stop?”
+
+“You can lock them up, if necessary. I can point them out to you, if
+you’ll step to the window.”
+
+But the other made no move. “I reckon if they’re follerin’ you, they’ve
+got some reason for it. Have you been makin’ trouble in the camps?” He
+asked this question with sudden force, as if it had occurred to him that
+it might be his duty to lock up Hal.
+
+“No,” said Hal, speaking as bravely as he could--“no indeed, I haven’t
+been making trouble. I’ve only been demanding my rights.”
+
+“How do I know what you been doin’?”
+
+The young miner was willing to explain, but the other cut him short.
+“You behave yourself while you’re in this town, young feller, d’you see?
+If you do, nobody’ll bother you.”
+
+“But,” said Hal, “they’ve already threatened to bother me.”
+
+“What did they say?”
+
+“They said something might happen to me on a dark night.”
+
+“Well, so it might--you might fall down and hit your nose.”
+
+The Chief was pleased with this wit, but only for a moment. “Understand,
+young feller, we’ll give you your rights in this town, but we got no
+love for agitators, and we don’t pretend to have. See?”
+
+“You call a man an agitator when he demands his legal rights?”
+
+“I ain’t got time to argue with you, young feller. It’s no easy matter
+keepin’ order in coal-camps, and I ain’t going to meddle in the
+business. I reckon the company detectives has got as good a right in
+this town as you.”
+
+There was a pause. Hal saw that there was nothing to be gained by
+further discussion with the Chief. It was his first glimpse of the
+American policeman as he appears to the labouring man in revolt, and he
+found it an illuminating experience. There was dynamite in his heart as
+he turned and went out to the street; nor was the amount of the
+explosive diminished by the mocking grins which he noted upon the faces
+of Pete Hanun and the other two husky-looking personages.
+
+
+
+SECTION 8.
+
+Hal judged that he had now exhausted his legal resources in Pedro; the
+Chief of Police had not suggested any one else he might call upon, so
+there seemed nothing he could do but go back to MacKellar’s and await
+the hour of the night train to Western City. He started to give his
+guardians another run, by way of working off at least a part of his own
+temper; but he found that they had anticipated this difficulty. An
+automobile came up and the three of them stepped in. Not to be outdone,
+Hal engaged a hack, and so the expedition returned in pomp to
+MacKellar’s.
+
+Hal found the old cripple in a state of perturbation. All that afternoon
+his telephone had been ringing; one person after another had warned
+him--some pleading with him, some abusing him. It was evident that among
+them were people who had a hold on the old man; but he was undaunted,
+and would not hear of Hal’s going to stay at the hotel until train-time.
+
+Then Keating returned, with an exciting tale to tell. Schulman, general
+manager of the “G. F. C.,” had been sending out messengers to hunt for
+him, and finally had got him in his office, arguing and pleading,
+cajoling and denouncing him by turns. He had got Cartwright on the
+telephone, and the North Valley superintendent had laboured to convince
+Keating that he had done the company a wrong. Cartwright had told a
+story about Hal’s efforts to hold up the company for money.
+“Incidentally,” said Keating, “he added the charge that you had seduced
+a girl in his camp.”
+
+Hal stared at his friend. “Seduced a girl!” he exclaimed.
+
+“That’s what he said; a red-headed Irish girl.”
+
+“Well, damn his soul!”
+
+There followed a silence, broken by a laugh from Billy. “Don’t glare at
+me like that. _I_ didn’t say it!”
+
+But Hal continued to glare, nevertheless. “The dirty little skunk!”
+
+“Take it easy, sonny,” said the fat man, soothingly. “It’s quite the
+usual thing, to drag in a woman. It’s so easy--for of course there
+always _is_ a woman. There’s one in this case, I suppose?”
+
+“There’s a perfectly decent girl.”
+
+“But you’ve been friendly with her? You’ve been walking around where
+people can see you?”
+
+“Yes.”
+
+“So you see, they’ve got you. There’s nothing you can do about a thing
+of that sort.”
+
+“You wait and see!” Hal burst out.
+
+The other gazed curiously at the angry young miner. “What’ll you do?
+Beat him up some night?”
+
+But the young miner did not answer. “You say he described the girl?”
+
+“He was kind enough to say she was a red-headed beauty, and with no one
+to protect her but a drunken father. I could understand that must have
+made it pretty hard for her, in one of these coal-camps.” There was a
+pause. “But see here,” said the reporter, “you’ll only do the girl harm
+by making a row. Nobody believes that women in coal-camps have any
+virtue. God knows, I don’t see how they do have, considering the sort of
+men who run the camps, and the power they have.”
+
+“Mr. Keating,” said Hal, “did _you_ believe what Cartwright told you?”
+
+Keating had started to light a cigar. He stopped in the middle, and his
+eyes met Hal’s. “My dear boy,” said he, “I didn’t consider it my
+business to have an opinion.”
+
+“But what did you say to Cartwright?”
+
+“Ah! That’s another matter. I said that I’d been a newspaper man for a
+good many years, and I knew his game.”
+
+“Thank you for that,” said Hal. “You may be interested to know there
+isn’t any truth in the story.”
+
+“Glad to hear it,” said the other. “I believe you.”
+
+“Also you may be interested to know that I shan’t drop the matter until
+I’ve made Cartwright take it back.”
+
+“Well, you’re an enterprising cuss!” laughed the reporter. “Haven’t you
+got enough on your hands, with all the men you’re going to get out of
+the mine?”
+
+
+
+SECTION 9.
+
+Billy Keating went out again, saying that he knew a man who might be
+willing to talk to him on the quiet, and give him some idea what was
+going to happen to Hal. Meantime Hal and Edstrom sat down to dinner with
+MacKellar. The family were afraid to use the dining-room of their home,
+but spread a little table in the upstairs hall. The distress of mind of
+MacKellar’s wife and daughter was apparent, and this brought home to Hal
+the terror of life in this coal-country. Here were American women, in an
+American home, a home with evidences of refinement and culture; yet they
+felt and acted as if they were Russian conspirators, in terror of
+Siberia and the knout!
+
+The reporter was gone a couple of hours; when he came back, he brought
+news. “You can prepare for trouble, young fellow.”
+
+“Why so?”
+
+“Jeff Cotton’s in town.”
+
+“How do you know?”
+
+“I saw him in an automobile. If he left North Valley at this time, it
+was for something serious, you may be sure.”
+
+“What does he mean to do?”
+
+“There’s no telling. He may have you slugged; he may have you run out of
+town and dumped out in the desert; he may just have you arrested.”
+
+Hal considered for a moment. “For slander?”
+
+“Or for vagrancy; or on suspicion of having robbed a bank in Texas, or
+murdered your great-grandmother in Tasmania. The point is, he’ll keep
+you locked up till this trouble has blown over.”
+
+“Well,” said Hal, “I don’t want to be locked up. I want to go up to
+Western City. I’m waiting for the train.”
+
+“You may have to wait till morning,” replied Keating. “There’s been
+trouble on the railroad--a freight-car broke down and ripped up the
+track; it’ll be some time before it’s clear.”
+
+They discussed this new problem back and forth. MacKellar wanted to get
+in half a dozen friends and keep guard over Hal during the night; and
+Hal had about agreed to this idea, when the discussion was given a new
+turn by a chance remark of Keating’s. “Somebody else is tied up by the
+railroad accident. The Coal King’s son!”
+
+“The Coal King’s son?” echoed Hal.
+
+“Young Percy Harrigan. He’s got a private car here--or rather a whole
+train. Think of it--dining-car, drawing-room car, two whole cars with
+sleeping apartments! Wouldn’t you like to be a son of the Coal King?”
+
+“Has he come on account of the mine-disaster?”
+
+“Mine-disaster?” echoed Keating. “I doubt if he’s heard of it. They’ve
+been on a trip to the Grand Canyon, I was told; there’s a baggage-car
+with four automobiles.”
+
+“Is Old Peter with them?”
+
+“No, he’s in New York. Percy’s the host. He’s got one of his automobiles
+out, and was up in town--two other fellows and some girls.”
+
+“Who’s in his party?”
+
+“I couldn’t find out. You can see, it might be a story for the
+_Gazette_--the Coal King’s son, coming by chance at the moment when a
+hundred and seven of his serfs are perishing in the mine! If I could
+only have got him to say a word about the disaster! If I could even have
+got him to say he didn’t know about it!”
+
+“Did you try?”
+
+“What am I a reporter for?”
+
+“What happened?”
+
+“Nothing happened; except that he froze me stiff.”
+
+“Where was this?”
+
+“On the street. They stopped at a drug-store, and I stepped up. ‘Is this
+Mr. Percy Harrigan?’ He was looking into the store, over my head. ‘I’m a
+reporter,’ I said, ‘and I’d like to ask you about the accident up at
+North Valley.’ ‘Excuse me,’ he said, in a tone--gee, it makes your blood
+cold to think of it! ‘Just a word,’ I pleaded. ‘I don’t give
+interviews,’ he answered; and that was all--he continued looking over my
+head, and everybody else staring in front of them. They had turned to
+ice at my first word. If ever I felt like a frozen worm!”
+
+There was a pause.
+
+“Ain’t it wonderful,” reflected Billy, “how quick you can build up an
+aristocracy! When you looked at that car, the crowd in it and the airs
+they wore, you’d think they’d been running the world since the time of
+William the Conqueror. And Old Peter came into this country with a
+pedlar’s pack on his shoulders!”
+
+“We’re hustlers here,” put in MacKellar.
+
+“We’ll hustle all the way to hell in a generation more,” said the
+reporter. Then, after a minute, “Say, but there’s one girl in that bunch
+that was the real thing! She sure did get me! You know all those fluffy
+things they do themselves up in--soft and fuzzy, makes you think of
+spring-time orchards. This one was exactly the colour of
+apple-blossoms.”
+
+“You’re susceptible to the charms of the ladies?” inquired Hal, mildly.
+
+“I am,” said the other. “I know it’s all fake, but just the same, it
+makes my little heart go pit-a-pat. I always want to think they’re as
+lovely as they look.”
+
+Hal’s smile became reminiscent, and he quoted:
+
+  “Oh Liza-Ann, come out with me,
+    The moon is a-shinin’ in the monkey-puzzle tree!”
+
+Then he stopped, with a laugh. “Don’t wear your heart on your sleeve,
+Mr. Keating. She wouldn’t be above taking a peck at it as she passed.”
+
+“At me? A worm of a newspaper reporter?”
+
+“At you, a man!” laughed Hal. “I wouldn’t want to accuse the lady of
+posing; but a lady has her role in life, and has to keep her hand in.”
+
+There was a pause. The reporter was looking at the young miner with
+sudden curiosity. “See here,” he remarked, “I’ve been wondering about
+you. How do you come to know so much about the psychology of the leisure
+class?”
+
+“I used to have money once,” said Hal. “My family’s gone down as quickly
+as the Harrigans have come up.”
+
+
+
+SECTION 10.
+
+Hal went on to question Keating about the apple-blossom girl. “Maybe I
+could guess who she is. What colour was her hair?”
+
+“The colour of molasses taffy when you’ve pulled it,” said Billy; “but
+all fluffy and wonderful, with star-dust in it. Her eyes were brown, and
+her cheeks pink and cream.”
+
+“She had two rows of pearly white teeth, that flashed at you when she
+smiled?”
+
+“She didn’t smile, unfortunately.”
+
+“Then her brown eyes gazed at you, wide open, full of wonder?”
+
+“Yes, they did--only it was into the drug-store window.”
+
+“Did she wear a white hat of soft straw, with a green and white flower
+garden on it, and an olive green veil, and maybe cream white ribbons?”
+
+“By George, I believe you’ve seen her!” exclaimed the reporter.
+
+“Maybe,” said Hal. “Or maybe I’m describing the girl on the cover of one
+of the current magazines!” He smiled; but then, seeing the other’s
+curiosity, “Seriously, I think I do know your young lady. If you
+announce that Miss Jessie Arthur is a member of the Harrigan party, you
+won’t be taking a long chance.”
+
+“I can’t afford to take any chance at all,” said the reporter. “You mean
+Robert Arthur’s daughter?”
+
+“Heiress-apparent of the banking business of Arthur and Sons,” said Hal.
+“It happens I know her by sight.”
+
+“How’s that?”
+
+“I worked in a grocery-store where she used to come.”
+
+“Whereabouts?”
+
+“Peterson and Company, in Western City.”
+
+“Oho! And you used to sell her candy.”
+
+“Stuffed dates.”
+
+“And your little heart used to go pit-a-pat, so that you could hardly
+count the change?”
+
+“Gave her too much, several times!”
+
+“And you wondered if she was as good as she was beautiful! One day you
+were thrilled with hope, the next you were cynical and bitter--till at
+last you gave up in despair, and ran away to work in a coal-mine!”
+
+They laughed, and MacKellar and Edstrom joined in. But suddenly Keating
+became serious again. “I ought to be away on that story!” he exclaimed.
+“I’ve got to get something out of that crowd about the disaster. Think
+what copy it would make!”
+
+“But how can you do it?”
+
+“I don’t know; I only know I ought to be trying. I’ll hang round the
+train, and maybe I can get one of the porters to talk.”
+
+“Interview with the Coal King’s porter!” chuckled Hal. “How it feels to
+make up a multi-millionaire’s bed!”
+
+“How it feels to sell stuffed dates to a banker’s daughter!” countered
+the other.
+
+But suddenly it was Hal’s turn to become serious. “Listen, Mr. Keating,”
+ said he, “why not let _me_ interview young Harrigan?”
+
+“_You?_”
+
+“Yes! I’m the proper person--one of his miners! I help to make his money
+for him, don’t I? I’m the one to tell him about North Valley.”
+
+Hal saw the reporter staring at him in sudden excitement; he continued:
+“I’ve been to the District Attorney, the Justice of the Peace, the
+District Judge, the Mayor and the Chief of Police. Now, why shouldn’t I
+go to the Owner?”
+
+“By thunder!” cried Billy. “I believe you’d have the nerve!”
+
+“I believe I would,” replied Hal, quietly.
+
+The other scrambled out of his chair, wild with delight. “I dare you!”
+ he exclaimed.
+
+“I’m ready,” said Hal.
+
+“You mean it?”
+
+“Of course I mean it.”
+
+“In that costume?”
+
+“Certainly. I’m one of his miners.”
+
+“But it won’t go,” cried the reporter. “You’ll stand no chance to get
+near him unless you’re well dressed.”
+
+“Are you sure of that? What I’ve got on might be the garb of a
+railroad-hand. Suppose there was something out of order in one of the
+cars--the plumbing, for example?”
+
+“But you couldn’t fool the conductor or the porter.”
+
+“I might be able to. Let’s try it.”
+
+There was a pause, while Keating thought. “The truth is,” he said, “it
+doesn’t matter whether you succeed or not--it’s a story if you even make
+the attempt. The Coal King’s son appealed to by one of his serfs! The
+hard heart of Plutocracy rejects the cry of Labour!”
+
+“Yes,” said Hal, “but I really mean to get to him. Do you suppose he’s
+got back to the train yet?”
+
+“They were starting to it when I left.”
+
+“And where _is_ the train?”
+
+“Two or three hundred yards east of the station, I was told.”
+
+MacKellar and Edstrom had been listening enthralled to this exciting
+conversation. “That ought to be just back of my house,” said the former.
+
+“It’s a short train--four parlour-cars and a baggage-car,” added
+Keating. “It ought to be easy to recognise.”
+
+The old Scotchman put in an objection. “The difficulty may be to get out
+of this house. I don’t believe they mean to let you get away to-night.”
+
+“By Jove, that’s so!” exclaimed Keating. “We’re talking too much--let’s
+get busy. Are they watching the back door, do you suppose?”
+
+“They’ve been watching it all day,” said MacKellar.
+
+“Listen,” broke in Hal--“I’ve an idea. They haven’t tried to interfere
+with your going out, have they, Mr. Keating?”
+
+“No, not yet.”
+
+“Nor with you, Mr. MacKellar?”
+
+“No, not yet,” said the Scotchman.
+
+“Well,” Hal suggested, “suppose you lend me your crutches?”
+
+Whereat Keating gave an exclamation of delight. “The very thing!”
+
+“I’ll take your over-coat and hat,” Hal added. “I’ve watched you get
+about, and I think I can give an imitation. As for Mr. Keating, he’s not
+easy to mistake.”
+
+“Billy, the fat boy!” laughed the other. “Come, let’s get on the job!”
+
+“I’ll go out by the front door at the same time,” put in Edstrom, his
+old voice trembling with excitement. “Maybe that’ll help to throw them
+off the track.”
+
+
+
+SECTION 11.
+
+They had been sitting upstairs in MacKellar’s room. Now they rose, and
+were starting for the stairs, when suddenly there came a ring at the
+front door bell. They stopped and stared at one another. “There they
+are!” whispered Keating.
+
+And MacKellar sat down suddenly, and held out his crutches to Hal. “The
+hat and coat are in the front hall,” he exclaimed. “Make a try for it!”
+ His words were full of vigour, but like Edstrom, his voice was
+trembling. He was no longer young, and could not take adventure gaily.
+
+Hal and Keating ran downstairs, followed by Edstrom. Hal put on the coat
+and hat, and they went to the back door, while at the same time Edstrom
+answered the bell in front.
+
+The back door opened into a yard, and this gave, through a side gate,
+into an alley. Hal’s heart was pounding furiously as he began to hobble
+along with the crutches. He had to go at MacKellar’s slow pace--while
+Keating, at his side, started talking. He informed “Mr. MacKellar,” in a
+casual voice, that the _Gazette_ was a newspaper which believed in the
+people’s cause, and was pledged to publish the people’s side of all
+public questions. Discoursing thus, they went out of the gate and into
+the alley.
+
+A man emerged from the shadows and walked by them. He passed within
+three feet of Hal, and peered at him, narrowly. Fortunately there was no
+moon; Hal could not see the man’s face, and hoped the man could not see
+his.
+
+Meantime Keating was proceeding with his discourse. “You understand, Mr.
+MacKellar,” he was saying, “sometimes it’s difficult to find out the
+truth in a situation like this. When the interests are filling their
+newspapers with falsehoods and exaggerations, it’s a temptation for us
+to publish falsehoods and exaggerations on the other side. But we find
+in the long run that it pays best to publish the truth, Mr.
+MacKellar--we can stand by it, and there’s no come-back.”
+
+Hal, it must be admitted, was not paying much attention to this edifying
+sermon. He was looking ahead, to where the alley debouched onto the
+street. It was the street behind MacKellar’s house, and only a block
+from the railroad-track.
+
+He dared not look behind, but he was straining his ears. Suddenly he
+heard a shout, in John Edstrom’s voice. “Run! Run!”
+
+In a flash, Hal dropped the two crutches, and started down the alley,
+Keating at his heels. They heard cries behind them, and a voice,
+sounding quite near, commanded, “Halt!” They had reached the end of the
+alley, and were in the act of swerving, when a shot rang out and there
+was a crash of glass in a house beyond them on the far side of the
+street.
+
+Farther on was a vacant lot with a path running across it. Following
+this, they dodged behind some shanties, and came to another street--and
+so to the railroad tracks. There was a long line of freight-cars before
+them, and they ran between two of these, and climbing over the
+couplings, saw a great engine standing, its headlight gleaming full in
+their eyes. They sprang in front of it, and alongside the train, passing
+a tender, then a baggage-car, then a parlour-car.
+
+“Here we are!” exclaimed Keating, who was puffing like a bellows.
+
+Hal saw that there were only three more cars to the train; also, he saw
+a man in a blue uniform standing at the steps. He dashed towards him.
+“Your car’s on fire!” he cried.
+
+“What?” exclaimed the man. “Where?”
+
+“Here!” cried Hal; and in a flash he had sprung past the other, up the
+steps and into the car.
+
+There was a long, narrow corridor, to be recognised as the kitchen
+portion of a dining-car; at the other end of this corridor was a
+swinging door, and to this Hal leaped. He heard the conductor shouting
+to him to stop, but he paid no heed. He slipped off his over-coat and
+hat; and then, pushing open the door, he entered a brightly lighted
+apartment--and the presence of the Coal King’s son.
+
+
+
+SECTION 12.
+
+White linen and cut glass of the dining-saloon shone brilliantly under
+electric lights, softened to the eye by pink shades. Seated at the
+tables were half a dozen young men and as many young ladies, all in
+evening costume; also two or three older ladies. They had begun the
+first course of their meal, and were laughing and chatting, when
+suddenly came this unexpected visitor, clad in coal-stained miner’s
+jumpers. He was not disturbing in the manner of his entry; but
+immediately behind him came a fat man, perspiring, wild of aspect, and
+wheezing like an old fashioned steam-engine; behind him came the
+conductor of the train, in a no less evident state of agitation. So, of
+course, conversation ceased. The young ladies turned in their chairs,
+while several of the young men sprang to their feet.
+
+There followed a silence: until finally one of the young men took a step
+forward. “What’s this?” he demanded, as one who had a right to demand.
+
+Hal advanced towards the speaker, a slender youth, correct in
+appearance, but not distinguished looking. “Hello, Percy!” said Hal.
+
+A look of amazement came upon the other’s face. He stared, but seemed
+unable to believe what he saw. And then suddenly came a cry from one of
+the young ladies; the one having hair the colour of molasses taffy when
+you’ve pulled it--but all fluffy and wonderful, with stardust in it. Her
+cheeks were pink and cream, and her brown eyes gazed, wide open, full of
+wonder. She wore a dinner gown of soft olive green, with a cream white
+scarf of some filmy material thrown about her bare shoulders.
+
+She had started to her feet. “It’s Hal!” she cried.
+
+“Hal Warner!” echoed young Harrigan. “Why, what in the world--?”
+
+He was interrupted by a clamour outside. “Wait a moment,” said Hal,
+quietly. “I think some one else is coming in.”
+
+The door was pushed violently open. It was pushed so violently that
+Billy Keating and the conductor were thrust to one side; and Jeff Cotton
+appeared in the entrance.
+
+The camp-marshal was breathless, his face full of the passion of the
+hunt. In his right hand he carried a revolver. He glared about him, and
+saw the two men he was chasing; also he saw the Coal King’s son, and the
+rest of the astonished company. He stood, stricken dumb.
+
+The door was pushed again, forcing him aside, and two more men crowded
+in, both of them carrying revolvers in their hands. The foremost was
+Pete Hanun, and he also stood staring. The “breaker of teeth” had two
+teeth of his own missing, and when his prize-fighter’s jaw dropped down,
+the deficiency became conspicuous. It was probably his first entrance
+into society, and he was like an overgrown boy caught in the jam-closet.
+
+Percy Harrigan’s manner became distinctly imperious. “What does this
+mean?” he demanded.
+
+It was Hal who answered. “I am seeking a criminal, Percy.”
+
+“What?” There were little cries of alarm from the women.
+
+“Yes, a criminal; the man who sealed up the mine.”
+
+“Sealed up the mine?” echoed the other. “What do you mean?”
+
+“Let me explain. First, I will introduce my friends. Harrigan, this is
+my friend Keating.”
+
+Billy suddenly realised that he had a hat on his head. He jerked it off;
+but for the rest, his social instincts failed him. He could only stare.
+He had not yet got all his breath.
+
+“Billy’s a reporter,” said Hal. “But you needn’t worry--he’s a
+gentleman, and won’t betray a confidence. You understand, Billy.”
+
+“Y--yes,” said Billy, faintly.
+
+“And this,” said Hal, “is Jeff Cotton, camp-marshal at North Valley. I
+suppose you know, Percy, that the North Valley mines belong to the ‘G.
+F. C.’ Cotton, this is Mr. Harrigan.”
+
+Then Cotton remembered his hat; also his revolver, which he tried to get
+out of sight behind his back.
+
+“And this,” continued Hal, “is Mr. Pete Hanun, by profession a breaker
+of teeth. This other gentleman, whose name I don’t know, is presumably
+an assistant-breaker.” So Hal went on, observing the forms of social
+intercourse, his purpose being to give his mind a chance to work. So
+much depended upon the tactics he chose in this emergency! Should he
+take Percy to one side and tell him the story quietly, leaving it to his
+sense of justice and humanity? No, that was not the way one dealt with
+the Harrigans! They had bullied their way to the front; if anything were
+done with them, it would be by force! If anything were done with Percy,
+it would be by laying hold of him before these guests, exposing the
+situation, and using their feelings to coerce him!
+
+The Coal King’s son was asking questions again. What was all this about?
+So Hal began to describe the condition of the men inside the mine. “They
+have no food or water, except what they had in their dinner-pails; and
+it’s been three days and a half since the explosion! They are breathing
+bad air; their heads are aching, the veins swelling in their foreheads;
+their tongues are cracking, they are lying on the ground, gasping. But
+they are waiting--kept alive by the faith they have in their friends on
+the surface, who will try to get to them. They dare not take down the
+barriers, because the gases would kill them at once. But they know the
+rescuers will come, so they listen for the sounds of axes and picks.
+That is the situation.”
+
+Hal stopped and waited for some sign of concern from young Harrigan. But
+no such sign was given. Hal went on:
+
+“Think of it, Percy! There is one old man in that mine, an Irishman who
+has a wife and eight children waiting to learn about his fate. I know
+one woman who has a husband and three sons in the mine. For three days
+and a half the women and children have been standing at the pit-mouth; I
+have seen them sitting with their heads sunk upon their knees, or
+shaking their fists, screaming curses at the criminal who is to blame.”
+
+There was a pause. “The criminal?” inquired young Harrigan. “I don’t
+understand!”
+
+“You’ll hardly be able to believe it; but nothing has been done to
+rescue these men. The criminal has nailed a cover of boards over the
+pit-mouth, and put tarpaulin over it--sealing up men and boys to die!”
+
+There was a murmur of horror from the diners.
+
+“I know, you can’t conceive such a thing. The reason is, there’s a fire
+in the mine; if the fan is set to working, the coal will burn. But at
+the same time, some of the passages could be got clear of smoke, and
+some of the men could be rescued. So it’s a question of property against
+lives; and the criminal has decided for the property. He proposes to
+wait a week, two weeks, until the fire has been smothered; _then_ of
+course the men and boys will be dead.”
+
+There was a silence. It was broken by young Harrigan. “Who has done
+this?”
+
+“His name is Enos Cartwright.”
+
+“But who _is_ he?”
+
+“Just now when I said that I was seeking the criminal, I misled you a
+little, Percy. I did it because I wanted to collect my thoughts.” Hal
+paused: when he continued, his voice was sharper, his sentences falling
+like blows. “The criminal I’ve been telling you about is the
+superintendent of the mine--a man employed and put in authority by the
+General Fuel Company. The one who is being chased is not the one who
+sealed up the mine, but the one who proposed to have it opened. He is
+being treated as a malefactor, because the laws of the state, as well as
+the laws of humanity, have been suppressed by the General Fuel Company;
+he was forced to seek refuge in your car, in order to save his life from
+thugs and gunmen in the company’s employ!”
+
+
+
+SECTION 13.
+
+Knowing these people well, Hal could measure the effect of the
+thunderbolt he had hurled among them. They were people to whom good
+taste was the first of all the virtues; he knew how he was offending
+them. If he was to win them to the least extent, he must explain his
+presence here--a trespasser upon the property of the Harrigans.
+
+“Percy,” he continued, “you remember how you used to jump on me last
+year at college, because I listened to ‘muck-rakers.’ You saw fit to
+take personal offence at it. You knew that their tales couldn’t be true.
+But I wanted to see for myself, so I went to work in a coal-mine. I saw
+the explosion; I saw this man, Jeff Cotton, driving women and children
+away from the pit-mouth with blows and curses. I set out to help the men
+in the mine, and the marshal rushed me out of camp. He told me that if I
+didn’t go about my business, something would happen to me on a dark
+night. And you see--this is a dark night!”
+
+Hal waited, to give young Harrigan a chance to grasp this situation and
+to take command. But apparently young Harrigan was not aware of the
+presence of the camp-marshal and his revolver. Hal tried again:
+
+“Evidently these men wouldn’t have minded killing me; they fired at me
+just now. The marshal still has the revolver and you can smell the
+powder-smoke. So I took the liberty of entering your car, Percy. It was
+to save my life, and you’ll have to excuse me.”
+
+The Coal King’s son had here a sudden opportunity to be magnanimous. He
+made haste to avail himself of it. “Of course, Hal,” he said. “It was
+quite all right to come here. If our employés were behaving in such
+fashion, it was without authority, and they will surely pay for it.” He
+spoke with quiet certainty; it was the Harrigan manner, and before it
+Jeff Cotton and the two mine-guards seemed to wither and shrink.
+
+“Thank you, Percy,” said Hal. “It’s what I knew you’d say. I’m sorry to
+have disturbed your dinner-party--”
+
+“Not at all, Hal; it was nothing of a party.”
+
+“You see, Percy, it was not only to save myself, but the people in the
+mine! They are dying, and every moment is precious. It will take a day
+at least to get to them, so they’ll be at their last gasp. Whatever’s to
+be done must be done at once.”
+
+Again Hal waited--until the pause became awkward. The diners had so far
+been looking at him; but now they were looking at young Harrigan, and
+young Harrigan felt the change.
+
+“I don’t know just what you expect of me, Hal. My father employs
+competent men to manage his business, and I certainly don’t feel that I
+know enough to give them any suggestions.” This again in the Harrigan
+manner; but it weakened before Hal’s firm gaze. “What can I do?”
+
+“You can give the order to open the mine, to reverse the fan and start
+it. That will draw out the smoke and gases, and the rescuers can go
+down.”
+
+“But Hal, I assure you I have no authority to give such an order.”
+
+“You must _take_ the authority. Your father’s in the East, the officers
+of the company are in their beds at home; you are here!”
+
+“But I don’t understand such things, Hal! I don’t know anything of the
+situation--except what you tell me. And while I don’t doubt your word,
+any man may make a mistake in such a situation.”
+
+“Come and see for yourself, Percy! That’s all I ask, and it’s easy
+enough. Here is your train, your engine with steam up; have us switched
+onto the North Valley branch, and we can be at the mine in half an hour.
+Then--let me take you to the men who know! Men who’ve been working all
+their lives in mines, who’ve seen accidents like this many times, and
+who will tell you the truth--that there’s a chance of saving many lives,
+and that the chance is being thrown away to save some thousands of
+dollars’ worth of coal and timbers and track.”
+
+“But even if that’s true, Hal, I have no _power_!”
+
+“If you come there, you can cut the red-tape in one minute. What those
+bosses are doing is a thing that can only be done in darkness!”
+
+Under the pressure of Hal’s vehemence, the Harrigan manner was failing;
+the Coal King’s son was becoming a bewildered and quite ordinary youth.
+But there was a power greater than Hal behind him. He shook his head.
+“It’s the old man’s business, Hal. I’ve no right to butt in!”
+
+The other, in his desperate need, turned to the rest of the party. His
+gaze, moving from one face to another, rested upon the magazine-cover
+countenance, with the brown eyes wide open, full of wonder.
+
+“Jessie! What do you think about it?”
+
+The girl started, and distress leaped into her face. “How do you mean,
+Hal?”
+
+“Tell him he ought to save those lives!”
+
+The moments seemed ages as Hal waited. It was a test, he realised. The
+brown eyes dropped. “I don’t understand such things, Hal!”
+
+“But, Jessie, I am explaining them! Here are men and boys being
+suffocated to death, in order to save a little money. Isn’t that plain?”
+
+“But how can I _know_, Hal?”
+
+“I’m giving you my word, Jessie. Surely I wouldn’t appeal to you unless
+I knew.”
+
+Still she hesitated. And there came a swift note of feeling into his
+voice: “Jessie, dear!”
+
+As if under a spell, the girl’s eyes were raised to his; he saw a
+scarlet flame of embarrassment spreading over her throat and cheeks.
+“Jessie, I know--it seems an intolerable thing to ask! You’ve never been
+rude to a friend. But I remember once you forgot your good manners, when
+you saw a rough fellow on the street beating an old drudge-horse. Don’t
+you remember how you rushed at him--like a wild thing! And now--think of
+it, dear, here are old drudge-creatures being tortured to death; but not
+horses--working-men!”
+
+Still the girl gazed at him. He could read grief, dismay in her eyes; he
+saw tears steal from them, and stream down her cheeks. “Oh, I don’t
+know, I don’t _know!_” she cried; and hid her face in her hands, and
+began to sob aloud.
+
+
+
+SECTION 14.
+
+There was a painful pause. Hal’s gaze travelled on, and came to a
+grey-haired lady in a black dinner-gown, with a rope of pearls about her
+neck. “Mrs. Curtis! Surely _you_ will advise him!”
+
+The grey-haired lady started--was there no limit to his impudence? She
+had witnessed the torturing of Jessie. But Jessie was his fiancée; he
+had no such claim upon Mrs. Curtis. She answered, with iciness in her
+tone: “I could not undertake to dictate to my host in such a matter.”
+
+“Mrs. Curtis! You have founded a charity for the helping of stray cats
+and dogs!” These words rose to Hal’s lips; but he did not say them. His
+eyes moved on. Who else might help to bully a Harrigan?
+
+Next to Mrs. Curtis sat Reggie Porter, with a rose in the button-hole of
+his dinner-jacket. Hal knew the rôle in which Reggie was there--a kind
+of male chaperon, an assistant host, an admirer to the wealthy, a solace
+to the bored. Poor Reggie lived other people’s lives, his soul
+perpetually a-quiver with other people’s excitements, with gossip,
+preparations for tea-parties, praise of tea-parties past. And always the
+soul was pushing; calculating, measuring opportunities, making up in
+tact and elegance for distressing lack of money. Hal got one swift
+glimpse of the face; the sharp little black moustaches seemed standing
+up with excitement, and in a flash of horrible intuition Hal read the
+situation--Reggie was expecting to be questioned, and had got ready an
+answer that would increase his social capital in the Harrigan family
+bank!
+
+Across the aisle sat Genevieve Halsey: tall, erect, built on the scale
+of a statue. You thought of the ox-eyed Juno, and imagined stately
+emotions; but when you came to know Genevieve, you discovered that her
+mind was slow, and entirely occupied with herself. Next to her was Bob
+Creston, smooth-shaven, rosy-cheeked, exuding well-being--what is called
+a “good fellow,” with a wholesome ambition to win cups for his athletic
+club, and to keep up the score of his rifle-team of the state militia.
+Jolly Bob might have spoken, out of his good heart; but he was in love
+with a cousin of Percy’s, Betty Gunnison, who sat across the table from
+him--and Hal saw her black eyes shining, her little fists clenched
+tightly, her lips pressed white. Hal understood Betty--she was one of
+the Harrigans, working at the Harrigan family task of making the
+children of a pack-pedlar into leaders in the “younger set!”
+
+Next sat “Vivie” Cass, whose talk was of horses and dogs and such
+ungirlish matters; Hal had discussed social questions in her presence,
+and heard her view expressed in one flashing sentence--“If a man eats
+with his knife, I consider him my personal enemy!” Over her shoulder
+peered the face of a man with pale eyes and yellow moustaches--Bert
+Atkins, cynical and world-weary, whom the papers referred to as a
+“club-man,” and whom Hal’s brother had called a “tame cat.” There was
+“Dicky” Everson, like Hal, a favourite of the ladies, but nothing more;
+“Billy” Harris, son of another “coal man”; Daisy, his sister; and
+Blanche Vagleman, whose father was Old Peter’s head lawyer, whose
+brother was the local counsel, and publisher of the Pedro _Star_.
+
+So Hal’s eyes moved from face to face, and his mind from personality to
+personality. It was like the unrolling of a scroll; a panorama of a
+world he had half forgotten. He had no time for reflection, but one
+impression came to him, swift and overwhelming. Once he had lived in
+this world and taken it as a matter of course. He had known these
+people, gone about with them; they had seemed friendly, obliging, a good
+sort of people on the whole. And now, what a change! They seemed no
+longer friendly! Was the change in them? Or was it Hal who had become
+cynical--so that he saw them in this terrifying new light, cold, and
+unconcerned as the stars about men who were dying a few miles away!
+
+Hal’s eyes came back to the Coal King’s son, and he discovered that
+Percy was white with anger. “I assure you, Hal, there’s no use going on
+with this. I have no intention of letting myself be bulldozed.”
+
+Percy’s gaze shifted with sudden purpose to the camp-marshal. “Cotton,
+what do you say about this? Is Mr. Warner correct in his idea of the
+situation?”
+
+“You know what such a man would say, Percy!” broke in Hal.
+
+“I don’t,” was the reply. “I wish to know. What is it, Cotton?”
+
+“He’s mistaken, Mr. Harrigan.” The marshal’s voice was sharp and
+defiant.
+
+“In what way?”
+
+“The company’s doing everything to get the mine open, and has been from
+the beginning.”
+
+“Oh!” And there was triumph in Percy’s voice. “What is the cause of the
+delay?”
+
+“The fan was broken, and we had to send for a new one. It’s a job to set
+it up--such things can’t be done in an hour.”
+
+Percy turned to Hal. “You see! There are two opinions, at least!”
+
+“Of course!” cried Betty Gunnison, her black eyes snapping at Hal. She
+would have said more, but Hal interrupted, stepping closer to his host.
+“Percy,” he said, in a low voice, “come back here, please. I have a word
+to say to you alone.”
+
+There was just a hint of menace in Hal’s voice; his gaze went to the far
+end of the car, a space occupied only by two negro waiters. These
+retired in haste as the young men moved towards them; and so, having the
+Coal King’s son to himself, Hal went in to finish this fight.
+
+
+
+SECTION 15.
+
+Percy Harrigan was known to Hal, as a college-boy is known to his
+class-mates. He was not brutal, like his grim old father; he was merely
+self-indulgent, as one who had always had everything; he was weak, as
+one who had never had to take a bold resolve. He had been brought up by
+the women of the family, to be a part of what they called “society”; in
+which process he had been given high notions of his own importance. The
+life of the Harrigans was dominated by one painful memory--that of a
+pedlar’s pack; and Hal knew that Percy’s most urgent purpose was to be
+regarded as a real and true and freehanded aristocrat. It was this
+knowledge Hal was using in his attack.
+
+He began with apologies, attempting to soothe the other’s anger. He had
+not meant to make a scene like this; it was the gunmen who had forced
+it, putting his life in danger. It was the very devil, being chased
+about at night and shot at! He had lost his nerve, really; he had forgot
+what little manners he had been able to keep as a miner’s buddy. He had
+made a spectacle of himself; good Lord yes, he realised how he must
+seem!
+
+--And Hal looked at his dirty miner’s jumpers, and then at Percy. He
+could see that Percy was in hearty agreement thus far--he had indeed
+made a spectacle of himself, and of Percy too! Hal was sorry about this
+latter, but here they were, in a pickle, and it was certainly too late
+now. This story was out--there could be no suppressing it! Hal might sit
+down on his reporter-friend, Percy might sit down on the waiters and the
+conductor and the camp-marshal and the gunmen--but he could not possibly
+sit down on all his friends! They would talk about nothing else for
+weeks! The story would be all over Western City in a day--this amazing,
+melodramatic, ten-twenty-thirty story of a miner’s buddy in the private
+car of the Coal King’s son!
+
+“And you must see, Percy,” Hal went on, “it’s the sort of thing that
+sticks to a man. It’s the thing by which everybody will form their idea
+of you as long as you live!”
+
+“I’ll take my chances with my friends’ criticism,” said the other, with
+some attempt at the Harrigan manner.
+
+“You can make it whichever kind of story you choose,” continued Hal,
+implacably. “The world will say, He decided for the dollars; or it will
+say, He decided for the lives. Surely, Percy, your family doesn’t need
+those particular dollars so badly! Why, you’ve spent more on this one
+train-trip!”
+
+And Hal waited, to give his victim time to calculate.
+
+The result of the thinking was a question worthy of Old Peter. “What are
+_you_ getting out of this?”
+
+“Percy,” said Hal, “you must _know_ I’m getting nothing! If you can’t
+understand it otherwise, say to yourself that you are dealing with a man
+who’s irresponsible. I’ve seen so many terrible things--I’ve been chased
+around so much by camp-marshals--why, Percy, that man Cotton has six
+notches on his gun! I’m simply crazy!” And into the brown eyes of this
+miner’s buddy came a look wild enough to convince a stronger man than
+Percy Harrigan. “I’ve got just one idea left in the world, Percy--to
+save those miners! You make a mistake unless you realise how desperate I
+am. So far I’ve done this thing incog! I’ve been Joe Smith, a miner’s
+buddy. If I’d come out and told my real name--well, maybe I wouldn’t
+have made them open the mine, but at least I’d have made a lot of
+trouble for the G. F. C.! But I didn’t do it; I knew what a scandal it
+would make, and there was something I owed my father. But if I see
+there’s no other way, if it’s a question of letting those people perish,
+I’ll throw everything else to the winds. Tell your father that; tell him
+I threatened to turn this man Keating loose and blow the thing wide
+open--denounce the company, appeal to the Governor, raise a disturbance
+and get arrested on the street, if necessary, in order to force the
+facts before the public. You see, I’ve got the facts, Percy! I’ve been
+there and seen with my own eyes. Can’t you realise that?”
+
+The other did not answer, but it was evident that he realised.
+
+“On the other hand, see how you can fix it, if you choose. You were on a
+pleasure trip when you heard of this disaster; you rushed up and took
+command, you opened the mine, you saved the lives of your employés. That
+is the way the papers will handle it.”
+
+Hal, watching his victim intently, and groping for the path to his mind,
+perceived that he had gone wrong. Crude as the Harrigans were, they had
+learned that it is not aristocratic to be picturesque.
+
+“All right then!” said Hal, quickly. “If you prefer, you needn’t be
+mentioned. The bosses up at the camp have the reporters under their
+thumbs, they’ll handle the story any way you want it. The one thing I
+care about is that you run your car up and see the mine opened. Won’t
+you do it, Percy?”
+
+Hal was gazing into the other’s eyes, knowing that life and death for
+the miners hung upon his nod. “Well? What is the answer?”
+
+“Hal,” exclaimed Percy, “my old man will give me hell!”
+
+“All right; but on the other hand, _I’ll_ give you hell; and which will
+be worse?”
+
+Again there was a silence. “Come along, Percy! For God’s sake!” And
+Hal’s tone was desperate, alarming.
+
+And suddenly the other gave way. “All right!”
+
+Hal drew a breath. “But mind you!” he added. “You’re not going up there
+to let them fool you! They’ll try to bluff you out--they may go as far
+as to refuse to obey you. But you must stand by your guns--for, you see,
+I’m going along, I’m going to see that mine open. I’ll never quit till
+the rescuers have gone down!”
+
+“Will they go, Hal?”
+
+“Will they go? Good God, man, they’re clamouring for the chance to go!
+They’ve almost been rioting for it. I’ll go with them--and you, too,
+Percy--the whole crowd of us idlers will go! When we come out, we’ll
+know something about the business of coal-mining!”
+
+“All right, I’m with you,” said the Coal King’s son.
+
+
+
+SECTION 16.
+
+Hal never knew what Percy said to Cartwright that night; he only knew
+that when they arrived at the mine the superintendent was summoned to a
+consultation, and half an hour later Percy emerged smiling, with the
+announcement that Hal Warner had been mistaken all along; the mine
+authorities had been making all possible haste to get the fan ready,
+with the intention of opening the mine at the earliest moment. The work
+was now completed, and in an hour or two the fan was to be started, and
+by morning there would be a chance of rescuers getting in. Percy said
+this so innocently that for a moment Hal wondered if Percy himself might
+not believe it. Hal’s position as guest of course required that he
+should graciously pretend to believe it, consenting to appear as a fool
+before the rest of the company.
+
+Percy invited Hal and Billy Keating to spend the night in the train; but
+this Hal declined. He was too dirty, he said; besides, he wanted to be
+up at daylight, to be one of the first to go down the shaft. Percy
+answered that the superintendent had vetoed this proposition--he did not
+want any one to go down but experienced men, who could take care of
+themselves. When there were so many on hand ready and eager to go, there
+was no need to imperil the lives of amateurs.
+
+At the risk of seeming ungracious, Hal declared that he would “hang
+around” and see them take the cover off the pit-mouth. There were
+mourning parties in some of the cabins, where women were gathered
+together who could not sleep, and it would be an act of charity to take
+them the good news.
+
+Hal and Keating set out; they went first to the Rafferties’, and saw
+Mrs. Rafferty spring up and stare at them, and then scream aloud to the
+Holy Virgin, waking all the little Rafferties to frightened clamour.
+When the woman had made sure that they really knew what they were
+talking about, she rushed out to spread the news, and so pretty soon the
+streets were alive with hurrying figures, and a crowd gathered once more
+at the pit-mouth.
+
+Hal and Keating went on to Jerry Minetti’s. Out of a sense of loyalty to
+Percy, Hal did no more than repeat Percy’s own announcement, that it had
+been Cartwright’s intention all along to have the mine opened. It was
+funny to see the effect of this statement--the face with which Jerry
+looked at Hal! But they wasted no time in discussion; Jerry slipped into
+his clothes and hurried with them to the pit-mouth.
+
+Sure enough, a gang was already tearing off the boards and canvas. Never
+since Hal had been in North Valley had he seen men working with such a
+will! Soon the great fan began to stir, and then to roar, and then to
+sing; and there was a crowd of a hundred people, roaring and singing
+also.
+
+It would be some hours before anything more could be done; and suddenly
+Hal realised that he was exhausted. He and Billy Keating went back to
+the Minetti cabin, and spreading themselves a blanket on the floor, lay
+down with sighs of relief. As for Billy, he was soon snoring; but to Hal
+there came sudden reaction from all the excitement, and sleep was far
+from him.
+
+An ocean of thoughts came flooding into his mind: the world outside,
+_his_ world, which he had banished deliberately for several months, and
+which he had so suddenly been compelled to remember! It had seemed so
+simple, what he had set out to do that summer: to take another name, to
+become a member of another class, to live its life and think its
+thoughts, and then come back to his own world with a new and fascinating
+adventure to tell about! The possibility that his own world, the world
+of Hal Warner, might find him out as Joe Smith, the miner’s buddy--that
+was a possibility which had never come to his mind. He was like a
+burglar, working away at a job in darkness, and suddenly finding the
+room flooded with light.
+
+He had gone into the adventure, prepared to find things that would shock
+him; he had known that somehow, somewhere, he would have to fight the
+“system.” But he had never expected to find himself in the thick of the
+class-war, leading a charge upon the trenches of his own associates. Nor
+was this the end, he knew; this war would not be settled by the winning
+of a trench! Lying here in the darkness and silence, Hal was realising
+what he had got himself in for. To employ another simile, he was a man
+who begins a flirtation on the street, and wakes up next morning to find
+himself married.
+
+It was not that he had regrets for the course he had taken with Percy.
+No other course had been thinkable. But while Hal had known these North
+Valley people for ten weeks, he had known the occupants of Percy’s car
+for as many years. So these latter personalities loomed large in his
+consciousness, and here in the darkness their thoughts about him,
+whether actively hostile or passively astonished, laid siege to the
+defences of his mind.
+
+Particularly he found himself wrestling with Jessie Arthur. Her face
+rose up before him, appealing, yearning. She had one of those perfect
+faces, which irresistibly compel the soul of a man. Her brown eyes, soft
+and shining, full of tenderness; her lips, quick to tremble with
+emotion; her skin like apple-blossoms, her hair with star-dust in it!
+Hal was cynical enough about coal-operators and mine-guards, but it
+never occurred to him that Jessie’s soul might be anything but what
+these bodily charms implied. He was in love with her; and he was too
+young, too inexperienced in love to realise that underneath the
+sweetness of girlhood, so genuine and so lovable, might lie deep,
+unconscious cruelty, inherited and instinctive--the cruelty of caste,
+the hardness of worldly prejudice. A man has to come to middle age, and
+to suffer much, before he understands that the charms of women, those
+rare and magical perfections of eyes and teeth and hair, that softness
+of skin and delicacy of feature, have cost labour and care of many
+generations, and imply inevitably that life has been feral, that customs
+and conventions have been murderous and inhuman.
+
+Jessie had failed Hal in his desperate emergency. But now he went over
+the scene, and told himself that the test had been an unfair one. He had
+known her since childhood, and loved her, and never before had he seen
+an act or heard a word that was not gracious and kind. But--so he told
+himself--she gave her sympathy to those she knew; and what chance had
+she ever had to know working-people? He must give her the chance; he
+must compel her, even against her will, to broaden her understanding of
+life! The process might hurt her, it might mar the unlined softness of
+her face, but nevertheless, it would be good for her--it would be a
+“growing pain”!
+
+So, lying there in the darkness and silence, Hal found himself absorbed
+in long conversation with his sweetheart. He escorted her about the
+camp, explaining things to her, introducing her to this one and that. He
+took others of his private-car friends and introduced them to his North
+Valley friends. There were individuals who had qualities in common, and
+would surely hit it off! Bob Creston, for example, who was good at a
+“song and dance”--he would surely be interested in “Blinky,” the
+vaudeville specialist of the camp! Mrs. Curtis, who liked cats, would
+find a bond of sisterhood with old Mrs. Nagle, who lived next door to
+the Minettis, and kept five! And even Vivie Cass, who hated men who ate
+with their knives--she would be driven to murder by the table-manners of
+Reminitsky’s boarders, but she would take delight in “Dago Charlie,” the
+tobacco-chewing mule which had once been Hal’s pet! Hal could hardly
+wait for daylight to come, so that he might begin these efforts at
+social amalgamation!
+
+
+
+SECTION 17.
+
+Towards dawn Hal fell asleep; he was awakened by Billy Keating, who sat
+up yawning, at the same time grumbling and bewailing. Hal realised that
+Billy also had discovered troubles during the night. Never in all his
+career as a journalist had he had such a story; never had any man had
+such a story--and it must be killed!
+
+Cartwright had got the reporters together late the night before and told
+them the news--that the company had at last succeeded in getting the
+mine ready to be opened; also that young Mr. Harrigan was there in his
+private train, prompted by his concern for the entombed miners. The
+reporters would mention his coming, of course, but were requested not to
+“play it up,” nor to mention the names of Mr. Harrigan’s guests.
+Needless to say they were not told that the “buddy” who had been thrown
+out of camp for insubordination had turned out to be the son of Edward
+S. Warner, the “coal magnate.”
+
+A fine, cold rain was falling, and Hal borrowed an old coat of Jerry’s
+and slipped it on. Little Jerry clamoured to go with him, and after some
+controversy Hal wrapped him in a shawl and slung him onto his shoulder.
+It was barely daylight, but already the whole population of the village
+was on hand at the pit-mouth. The helmet-men had gone down to make
+tests, so the hour of final revelation was at hand. Women stood with wet
+shawls about their hunched shoulders, their faces white and strained,
+their suspense too great for any sort of utterance. A ghastly thought it
+was, that while they were shuddering in the wet, their men below might
+be expiring for lack of a few drops of water!
+
+The helmet-men, coming up, reported that lights would burn at the bottom
+of the shaft; so it was safe for men to go down without helmets, and the
+volunteers of the first rescue party made ready. All night there had
+been a clattering of hammers, where the carpenters were working on a new
+cage. Now it was swung from the hoist, and the men took their places in
+it. When at last the hoist began to move, and the group disappeared
+below the surface of the ground, you could hear a sigh from a thousand
+throats, like the moaning of wind in a pine-tree. They were leaving
+women and children above, yet not one of these women would have asked
+them to stay--such was the deep unconscious bond of solidarity which
+made these toilers of twenty nations one!
+
+It was a slow process, letting down the cage; on account of the danger
+of gas, and the newness of the cage, it was necessary to proceed a few
+feet at a time, waiting for a pull upon the signal-cord to tell that the
+men were all right. After they had reached the bottom, there would be
+more time, no one could say how long, before they came upon survivors
+with signs of life in them. There were bodies near the foot of the
+shaft, according to the reports of the helmet-men, but there was no use
+delaying to bring these up, for they must have been dead for days. Hal
+saw a crowd of women clamouring about the helmet-men, trying to find out
+if these bodies had been recognised. Also he saw Jeff Cotton and Bud
+Adams at their old duty of driving the women back.
+
+The cage returned for a second load of men. There was less need of
+caution now; the hoist worked quickly, and group after group of men with
+silent, set faces, and pickaxes and crow-bars and shovels in their
+hands, went down into the pit of terror. They would scatter through the
+workings, testing everywhere ahead of them with safety-lamps, and
+looking for barriers erected by the imprisoned men for defence against
+the gases. As they hammered on these barriers, perhaps they would hear
+the signals of living men on the other side; or they would break through
+in silence, and find men too far gone to make a sound, yet possibly with
+the spark of life still in them.
+
+One by one, Hal’s friends went down--“Big Jack” David, and Wresmak, the
+Bohemian, Klowoski, the Pole, and finally Jerry Minetti. Little Jerry
+waved his hand from his perch on Hal’s shoulder; while Rosa, who had
+come out and joined them, was clinging to Hal’s arm, silent, as if her
+soul were going down in the cage. There went blue-eyed Tim Rafferty to
+look for his father, and black-eyed “Andy,” the Greek boy, whose father
+had perished in a similar disaster years ago; there went Rovetta, and
+Carmino, the pit-boss, Jerry’s cousin. One by one their names ran
+through the crowd, as of heroes marching out to battle.
+
+
+
+SECTION 18.
+
+Looking about, Hal saw some of the guests of the Harrigan party. There
+was Vivie Cass, standing under an umbrella with Bert Atkins; and there
+was Bob Creston with Dicky Everson. These two had on mackintoshes and
+water-proof hats, and were talking to Cartwright; tall, immaculate men,
+who seemed like creatures of another world beside the stunted and
+coal-smutted miners.
+
+Seeing Hal, they moved over to him. “Where did you get the kid?”
+ inquired Bob, his rosy, smooth-shaven face breaking into a smile.
+
+“I picked him up,” said Hal, giving Little Jerry a toss and sliding him
+off his shoulder.
+
+“Hello, kid!” said Bob.
+
+And the answer came promptly, “Hello, yourself!” Little Jerry knew how
+to talk American; he was a match for any society man! “My father’s went
+down in that cage,” said he, looking up at the tall stranger, his bright
+black eyes sparkling.
+
+“Is that so!” replied the other. “Why don’t you go?”
+
+“My father’ll get ’em out. He ain’t afraid o’ nothin’, my father!”
+
+“What’s your father’s name?”
+
+“Big Jerry.”
+
+“Oho! And what’ll you be when you grow up?”
+
+“I’m goin’ to be a shot-firer.”
+
+“In this mine?”
+
+“You bet not!”
+
+“Why not?”
+
+Little Jerry looked mysterious. “I ain’t tellin’ all I know,” said he.
+
+The two young fellows laughed. Here was education for them! “Maybe
+you’ll go back to the old country?” put in Dicky Everson.
+
+“No, sir-ee!” said Little Jerry. “I’m American.”
+
+“Maybe you’ll be president some day.”
+
+“That’s what my father says,” replied the little chap--“president of a
+miners’ union.”
+
+Again they laughed; but Rosa gave a nervous whisper and caught at the
+child’s sleeve. That was not the sort of thing to say to mysterious and
+rich-looking strangers! “This is Little Jerry’s mother, Mrs. Minetti,”
+ put in Hal, by way of reassuring her.
+
+“Glad to meet you, Mrs. Minetti,” said the two young men, taking off
+their hats with elaborate bows; they stared, for Rosa was a pretty
+object as she blushed and made her shy response. She was much
+embarrassed, having never before in her life been bowed to by men like
+these.
+
+And here they were greeting Joe Smith as an old friend, and calling him
+by a strange name! She turned her black Italian eyes upon Hal in
+inquiry, and he felt a flush creeping over him. It was almost as
+uncomfortable to be found out by North Valley as to be found out by
+Western City!
+
+The men talked about the rescue-work, and what Cartwright had been
+telling of its progress. The fire was in one of the main passages, and
+was burning out the timbering, spreading rapidly under the draft from
+the reversed fan. There could be little hope of rescue in this part of
+the mine, but the helmet-men would defy the heat and smoke in the burned
+out passages. They knew how likely was the collapse of such portions of
+the mine; but also they knew that men had been working here before the
+explosion. “I must say they’re a game lot!” remarked Dicky.
+
+A group of women and children were gathered about to listen, their
+shyness overcome by their torturing anxiety for news. They made one
+think of women in war-time, listening to the roar of distant guns and
+waiting for the bringing in of the wounded. Hal saw Bob and Dicky glance
+now and then at the ring of faces about them; they were getting
+something of this mood, and that was a part of what he had desired for
+them.
+
+“Are the others coming out?” he asked.
+
+“I don’t know,” said Bob. “I suppose they’re having breakfast. It’s time
+we went in.”
+
+“Won’t you come with us?” added Dicky.
+
+“No, thanks,” replied Hal, “I’ve an engagement with the kid here.” And
+he gave Little Jerry’s hand a squeeze. “But tell some of the other
+fellows to come. They’ll be interested in these things.”
+
+“All right,” said the two, as they moved away.
+
+
+
+SECTION 19.
+
+After allowing a sufficient time for the party in the dining-car to
+finish breakfast, Hal went down to the tracks, and induced the porter to
+take in his name to Percy Harrigan. He was hoping to persuade Percy to
+see the village under other than company chaperonage; he heard with
+dismay the announcement that the party had arranged to depart in the
+course of a couple of hours.
+
+“But you haven’t seen anything at all!” Hal protested.
+
+“They won’t let us into the mine,” replied the other. “What else is
+there we can do?”
+
+“I wanted you to talk to the people and learn something about conditions
+here. You ought not to lose this chance, Percy!”
+
+“That’s all right, Hal, but you might understand this isn’t a convenient
+time. I’ve got a lot of people with me, and I’ve no right to ask them to
+wait.”
+
+“But can’t they learn something also, Percy?”
+
+“It’s raining,” was the reply; “and ladies would hardly care to stand
+round in a crowd and see dead bodies brought out of a mine.”
+
+Hal got the rebuke. Yes, he had grown callous since coming to North
+Valley; he had lost that delicacy of feeling, that intuitive
+understanding of the sentiments of ladies, which he would surely have
+exhibited a short time earlier in his life. He was excited about this
+disaster; it was a personal thing to him, and he lost sight of the fact
+that to the ladies of the Harrigan party it was, in its details, merely
+sordid and repelling. If they went out in the mud and rain of a
+mining-village and stood about staring, they would feel that they were
+exhibiting, not human compassion, but idle curiosity. The sights they
+would see would harrow them to no purpose; and incidentally they would
+be exposing themselves to distressing publicity. As for offering
+sympathy to widows and orphans--well, these were foreigners mostly, who
+could not understand what was said to them, and who might be more
+embarrassed than helped by the intrusion into their grief of persons
+from an alien world.
+
+The business of offering sympathy had been reduced to a system by the
+civilisation which these ladies helped to maintain; and, as it happened,
+there was one present who was familiar with this system. Mrs. Curtis had
+already acted, so Percy informed Hal; she had passed about a
+subscription-paper, and in a couple of minutes over a thousand dollars
+had been pledged. This would be paid by check to the “Red Cross,” whose
+agents would understand how to distribute relief among such sufferers.
+So the members of Percy’s party felt that they had done the proper and
+delicate thing, and might go their ways with a quiet conscience.
+
+“The world can’t stop moving just because there’s been a mine-disaster,”
+ said the Coal King’s son. “People have engagements they must keep.”
+
+And he went on to explain what these engagements were. He himself had to
+go to a dinner that evening, and would barely be able to make it. Bert
+Atkins was to play a challenge match at billiards, and Mrs. Curtis was
+to attend a committee meeting of a woman’s club. Also it was the last
+Friday of the month; had Hal forgotten what that meant?
+
+After a moment Hal remembered--the “Young People’s Night” at the country
+club! He had a sudden vision of the white colonial mansion on the
+mountain-side, with its doors and windows thrown wide, and the strains
+of an orchestra floating out. In the ball-room the young ladies of
+Percy’s party would appear--Jessie, his sweetheart, among them--gowned
+in filmy chiffons and laces, floating in a mist of perfume and colour
+and music. They would laugh and chatter, they would flirt and scheme
+against one another for the sovereignty of the ball-room--while here in
+North Valley the sobbing widows would be clutching their mangled dead in
+their arms! How strange, how ghastly it seemed! How like the scenes one
+read of on the eve of the French Revolution!
+
+
+
+SECTION 20.
+
+Percy wanted Hal to come away with the party. He suggested this
+tactfully at first, and then, as Hal did not take the hint, he began to
+press the matter, showing signs of irritation. The mine was open
+now--what more did Hal want? When Hal suggested that Cartwright might
+order it closed again, Percy revealed the fact that the matter was in
+his father’s hands. The superintendent had sent a long telegram the
+night before, and an answer was due at any moment. Whatever the answer
+ordered would have to be done.
+
+There was a grim look upon Hal’s face, but he forced himself to speak
+politely. “If your father orders anything that interferes with the
+rescuing of the men--don’t you see, Percy, that I have to fight him?”
+
+“But how _can_ you fight him?”
+
+“With the one weapon I have--publicity.”
+
+“You mean--” Percy stopped, and stared.
+
+“I mean what I said before--I’d turn Billy Keating loose and blow this
+whole story wide open.”
+
+“Well, by God!” cried young Harrigan. “I must say I’d call it damned
+dirty of you! You said you’d not do it, if I’d come here and open the
+mine!”
+
+“But what good does it do to open it, if you close it again before the
+men are out?” Hal paused, and when he went on it was in a sincere
+attempt at apology. “Percy, don’t imagine I fail to appreciate the
+embarrassments of this situation. I know I must seem a cad to you--more
+than you’ve cared to tell me. I called you my friend in spite of all our
+quarrels. All I can do is to assure you that I never intended to get
+into such a position as this.”
+
+“Well, what the hell did you want to come here for? You knew it was the
+property of a friend--”
+
+“That’s the question at issue between us, Percy. Have you forgotten our
+arguments? I tried to convince you what it meant that you and I should
+own the things by which other people have to live. I said we were
+ignorant of the conditions under which our properties were worked, we
+were a bunch of parasites and idlers. But you laughed at me, called me a
+crank, an anarchist, said I swallowed what any muck-raker fed me. So I
+said: ‘I’ll go to one of Percy’s mines! Then, when he tries to argue
+with me, I’ll have him!’ That was the way the thing started--as a joke.
+But then I got drawn into things. I don’t want to be nasty, but no man
+with a drop of red blood in his veins could stay in this place a week
+without wanting to fight! That’s why I want you to stay--you ought to
+stay, to meet some of the people and see for yourself.”
+
+“Well, I can’t stay,” said the other, coldly. “And all I can tell you is
+that I wish you’d go somewhere else to do your sociology.”
+
+“But where could I go, Percy? Somebody owns everything. If it’s a big
+thing, it’s almost certain to be somebody we know.”
+
+Said Percy, “If I might make a suggestion, you could have begun with the
+coal-mines of the Warner Company.”
+
+Hal laughed. “You may be sure I thought of that, Percy. But see the
+situation! If I was to accomplish my purpose, it was essential that I
+shouldn’t be known. And I had met some of my father’s superintendents in
+his office, and I knew they’d recognise me. So I _had_ to go to some
+other mines.”
+
+“Most fortunate for the Warner Company,” replied Percy, in an ugly tone.
+
+Hal answered, gravely, “Let me tell you, I don’t intend to leave the
+Warner Company permanently out of my sociology.”
+
+“Well,” replied the other, “all I can say is that we pass one of their
+properties on our way back, and nothing would please me better than to
+stop the train and let you off!”
+
+
+
+SECTION 21.
+
+Hal went into the drawing-room car. There were Mrs. Curtis and Reggie
+Porter, playing bridge with Genevieve Halsey and young Everson. Bob
+Creston was chatting with Betty Gunnison, telling her what he had seen
+outside, no doubt. Bert Atkins was looking over the morning paper,
+yawning. Hal went on, seeking Jessie Arthur, and found her in one of the
+compartments of the car, looking out of the rain-drenched
+window--learning about a mining-camp in the manner permitted to young
+ladies of her class.
+
+He expected to find her in a disturbed state of mind, and was prepared
+to apologise. But when he met the look of distress she turned upon him,
+he did not know just where to begin. He tried to speak casually--he had
+heard she was going away. But she caught him by the hand, exclaiming:
+“Hal, you are coming with us!”
+
+He did not answer for a moment, but sat down by her. “Have I made you
+suffer so much, Jessie?”
+
+He saw tears start into her eyes. “Haven’t you _known_ you were making
+me suffer? Here I was as Percy’s guest; and to have you put such
+questions to me! What could I say? What do I know about the way Mr.
+Harrigan should run his business?”
+
+“Yes, dear,” he said, humbly. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have drawn you into
+it. But the matter was so complicated and so sudden. Can’t you
+understand that, and forgive me? Everything has turned out so well!”
+
+But she did not think that everything had turned out well. “In the first
+place, for you to be here, in such a plight! And when I thought you were
+hunting mountain-goats in Mexico!”
+
+He could not help laughing; but Jessie had not even a smile. “And
+then--to have you drag our love into the thing, there before every one!”
+
+“Was that really so terrible, Jessie?”
+
+She looked at him with amazement. That he, Hal Warner, could have done
+such a thing, and not realise how terrible it was! To put her in a
+position where she had to break either the laws of love or the laws of
+good-breeding! Why, it had amounted to a public quarrel. It would be the
+talk of the town--there was no end to the embarrassment of it!
+
+“But, sweetheart!” argued Hal. “Try to see the reality of this
+thing--think about those people in the mine. You really _must_ do that!”
+
+She looked at him, and noticed the new, grim lines that had come upon
+his youthful face. Also, she caught the note of suppressed passion in
+his voice. He was pale and weary looking, in dirty clothes, his hair
+unkempt and his face only half washed. It was terrifying--as if he had
+gone to war.
+
+“Listen to me, Jessie,” he insisted. “I want you to know about these
+things. If you and I are ever to make each other happy, you must try to
+grow up with me. That was why I was glad to have you here--you would
+have a chance to see for yourself. Now I ask you not to go without
+seeing.”
+
+“But I have to go, Hal. I can’t ask Percy Harrigan to stay and
+inconvenience everybody!”
+
+“You can stay without him. You can ask one of the ladies to chaperon
+you.”
+
+She gazed at him in dismay. “Why, Hal! What a thing to suggest!”
+
+“Why so?”
+
+“Think how it would look!”
+
+“I can’t think so much about looks, dear--”
+
+She broke in: “Think what Mamma would say!”
+
+“She wouldn’t like it, I know--”
+
+“She would be wild! She would never forgive either of us. She would
+never forgive any one who stayed with me. And what would Percy say, if I
+came here as his guest, and stayed to spy on him and his father? Don’t
+you see how preposterous it would be?”
+
+Yes, he saw. He was defying all the conventions of her world, and it
+seemed to her a course of madness. She clutched his hands in hers, and
+the tears ran down her cheeks.
+
+“Hal,” she cried, “I can’t leave you in this dreadful place! You look
+like a ghost, and a scarecrow, too! I want you to go and get some decent
+clothes and come home on this train.”
+
+But he shook his head. “It’s not possible, Jessie.”
+
+“Why not?”
+
+“Because I have a duty to do here. Can’t you understand, dear? All my
+life, I’ve been living on the labour of coal-miners, and I’ve never
+taken the trouble to go near them, to see how my money was got!”
+
+“But, Hal! These aren’t your people! They are Mr. Harrigan’s people!”
+
+“Yes,” he said, “but it’s all the same. They toil, and we live on their
+toil, and take it as a matter of course.”
+
+“But what can one _do_ about it, Hal?”
+
+“One can understand it, if nothing else. And you see what I was able to
+do in this case--to get the mine open.”
+
+“Hal,” she exclaimed, “I can’t understand you! You’ve become so cynical,
+you don’t believe in any one! You’re quite convinced that these
+officials meant to murder their working people! As if Mr. Harrigan would
+let his mines be run that way!”
+
+“Mr. Harrigan, Jessie? He passes the collection plate at St. George’s!
+That’s the only place you’ve ever seen him, and that’s all you know
+about him.”
+
+“I know what everybody says, Hal! Papa knows him, and my brothers--yes,
+your own brother, too! Isn’t it true that Edward would disapprove what
+you’re doing?”
+
+“Yes, dear, I fear so.”
+
+“And you set yourself up against them--against everybody you know! Is it
+reasonable to think the older people are all wrong, and only you are
+right? Isn’t it at least possible you’re making a mistake? Think about
+it--honestly, Hal, for my sake!”
+
+She was looking at him pleadingly; and he leaned forward and took her
+hand. “Jessie,” he said, his voice trembling, “I _know_ that these
+working people are oppressed; I know it, because I have been one of
+them! And I know that such men as Peter Harrigan, and even my own
+brother, are to blame! And they’ve got to be faced by some one--they’ve
+got to be made to see! I’ve come to see it clearly this summer--that’s
+the job I have to do!”
+
+She was gazing at him with her wide-open, beautiful eyes; underneath her
+protests and her terror, she was thrilling with awe at this amazing
+madman she loved. “They will _kill_ you!” she cried.
+
+“No, dearest--you don’t need to worry about that--I don’t think they’ll
+kill me.”
+
+“But they shot at you!”
+
+“No, they shot at Joe Smith, a miner’s buddy. They won’t shoot at the
+son of a millionaire--not in America, Jessie.”
+
+“But some dark night--”
+
+“Set your mind at rest,” he said, “I’ve got Percy tied up in this, and
+everybody knows it. There’s no way they could kill me without the whole
+story’s coming out--and so I’m as safe as I would be in my bed at home!”
+
+
+
+SECTION 22.
+
+Hal was still possessed by his idea that Jessie must be taught--she must
+have knowledge forced upon her, whether she would or no. The train would
+not start for a couple of hours, and he tried to think of some use he
+could make of that precious interval. He recalled that Rosa Minetti had
+returned to her cabin to attend to her baby. A sudden vision came to him
+of Jessie in that little home. Rosa was sweet and good, and assuredly
+Little Jerry was a “winner.”
+
+“Sweetheart,” he said, “I wish you’d come for a walk with me.”
+
+“But it’s raining, Hal!”
+
+“It won’t hurt you to spoil one dress; you have plenty.”
+
+“I’m not thinking of that--”
+
+“I _wish_ you’d come.”
+
+“I don’t feel comfortable about it, Hal. I’m here as Percy’s guest, and
+he mightn’t like--”
+
+“I’ll ask him if he objects to your taking a stroll,” he suggested, with
+pretended gravity.
+
+“No, no! That would make it worse!” Jessie had no humour whatever about
+these matters.
+
+“Well, Vivie Cass was out, and some of the others are going. He hasn’t
+objected to that.”
+
+“I know, Hal. But he knows they’re all right.”
+
+Hal laughed. “Come on, Jessie. Percy won’t hold you for my sins! You
+have a long train journey before you, and some fresh air will be good
+for you.”
+
+She saw that she must make some concession to him, if she was to keep
+any of her influence over him.
+
+“All right,” she said, with resignation, and disappeared and returned
+with a heavy veil over her face, to conceal her from prying reportorial
+eyes; also an equipment of mackintosh, umbrella and overshoes, against
+the rain. The two stole out of the car, feeling like a couple of
+criminals.
+
+Skirting the edge of the throng about the pit-mouth, they came to the
+muddy, unpaved quarter in which the Italians had their homes; he held
+her arm, steering her through the miniature sloughs and creeks. It was
+thrilling to him to have her with him thus, to see her sweet face and
+hear her voice full of love. Many a time he had thought of her here, and
+told her in his imagination of his experiences!
+
+He told her now--about the Minetti family, and how he had met Big and
+Little Jerry on the street, and how they had taken him in, and then been
+driven by fear to let him go again. He told his check-weighman story,
+and was telling how Jeff Cotton had arrested him; but they came to the
+Minetti cabin, and the terrifying narrative was cut short.
+
+It was Little Jerry who came to the door, with the remains of breakfast
+distributed upon his cheeks; he stared in wonder at the mysteriously
+veiled figure. Entering, they saw Rosa sitting in a chair nursing her
+baby. She rose in confusion; but she did not quite like to turn her back
+upon her guests, so she stood trying to hide her breast as best she
+could, blushing and looking very girlish and pretty.
+
+Hal introduced Jessie, as an old friend who was interested to meet his
+new friends, and Jessie threw back her veil and sat down. Little Jerry
+wiped off his face at his mother’s command, and then came where he could
+stare at this incredibly lovely vision.
+
+“I’ve been telling Miss Arthur what good care you took of me,” said Hal
+to Rosa. “She wanted to come and thank you for it.”
+
+“Yes,” added Jessie, graciously. “Anybody who is good to Hal earns my
+gratitude.”
+
+Rosa started to murmur something; but Little Jerry broke in, with his
+cheerful voice, “Why you call him Hal? His name’s Joe!”
+
+“Ssh!” cried Rosa. But Hal and Jessie laughed--and so the process of
+Americanising Little Jerry was continued.
+
+“I’ve got lots of names,” said Hal. “They called me Hal when I was a kid
+like you.”
+
+“Did _she_ know you then?” inquired Little Jerry.
+
+“Yes, indeed.”
+
+“Is she your girl?”
+
+Rosa laughed shyly, and Jessie blushed, and looked charming. She
+realised vaguely a difference in manners. These people accepted the
+existence of “girls,” not concealing their interest in the phenomenon.
+
+“It’s a secret,” warned Hal. “Don’t you tell on us!”
+
+“I can keep a secret,” said Little Jerry. After a moment’s pause he
+added, dropping his voice, “You gotta keep secrets if you work in North
+Valley.”
+
+“You bet your life,” said Hal.
+
+“My father’s a Socialist,” continued the other, addressing Jessie; then,
+since one thing leads on to another, “My father’s a shot-firer.”
+
+“What’s a shot-firer?” asked Jessie, by way of being sociable.
+
+“Jesus!” exclaimed Little Jerry. “Don’t you know nothin’ about minin’?”
+
+“No,” said Jessie. “You tell me.”
+
+“You couldn’t get no coal without a shot-firer,” declared Little Jerry.
+“You gotta get a good one, too, or maybe you bust up the mine. My
+father’s the best they got.”
+
+“What does he do?”
+
+“Well, they got a drill--long, long, like this, all the way across the
+room; and they turn it and bore holes in the coal. Sometimes they got
+machines to drill, only we don’t like them machines, ’cause it takes the
+men’s jobs. When they got the holes, then the shot-firer comes and sets
+off the powder. You gotta have--” and here Little Jerry slowed up,
+pronouncing each syllable very carefully--“per-miss-i-ble powder--what
+don’t make no flame. And you gotta know just how much to put in. If you
+put in too much, you smash the coal, and the miner raises hell; if you
+don’t put in enough, you make too much work for him, an’ he raises hell
+again. So you gotta get a good shot-firer.”
+
+Jessie looked at Hal, and he saw that her dismay was mingled with
+genuine amusement. He judged this a good way for her to get her
+education, so he proceeded to draw out Little Jerry on other aspects of
+coal-mining: on short weights and long hours, grafting bosses and
+camp-marshals, company-stores and boarding-houses, Socialist agitators
+and union organisers. Little Jerry talked freely of the secrets of the
+camp. “It’s all right for you to know,” he remarked gravely. “You’re
+Joe’s girl!”
+
+“You little cherub!” exclaimed Jessie.
+
+“What’s a cherub?” was Little Jerry’s reply.
+
+
+
+SECTION 23.
+
+So the time passed in a way that was pleasant. Jessie was completely won
+by this little Dago mine-urchin, in spite of all his frightful
+curse-words; and Hal saw that she was won, and was delighted by the
+success of this experiment in social amalgamation. He could not read
+Jessie’s mind, and realise that underneath her genuine delight were
+reservations born of her prejudices, the instinctive cruelty of caste.
+Yes, this little mine chap was a cherub, now; but how about when he grew
+big? He would grow ugly and coarse-looking, in ten years one would not
+know him from any other of the rough and dirty men of the village.
+Jessie took the fact that common people grow ugly as they mature as a
+proof that they are, in some deep and permanent way, the inferiors of
+those above them. Hal was throwing away his time and strength, trying to
+make them into something which Nature had obviously not intended them to
+be! She decided to make that point to Hal on their way back to the
+train. She realised that he had brought her here to educate her; like
+all the rest of the world, she resented forcible education, and she was
+not without hope that she might turn the tables and educate Hal.
+
+Pretty soon Rosa finished nursing the baby, and Jessie remarked the
+little one’s black eyes. This topic broke down the mother’s shyness, and
+they were chatting pleasantly, when suddenly they heard sounds outside
+which caused them to start up. It was a clamour of women’s voices; and
+Hal and Rosa sprang to the door. Just now was a critical time, when
+every one was on edge for news.
+
+Hal threw open the door and called to those outside “What is it?” There
+came a response, in a woman’s voice, “They’ve found Rafferty!”
+
+“Alive?”
+
+“Nobody knows yet.”
+
+“Where?”
+
+“In Room Seventeen. Eleven of them--Rafferty, and young Flanagan, and
+Johannson, the Swede. They’re near dead--can’t speak, they say. They
+won’t let anybody near them.”
+
+Other voices broke in; but the one which answered Hal had a different
+quality; it was a warm, rich voice, unmistakably Irish, and it held
+Jessie’s attention. “They’ve got them in the tipple-room, and the women
+want to know about their men, and they won’t tell them. They’re beatin’
+them back like dogs!”
+
+There was a tumult of weeping, and Hal stepped out of the cabin, and in
+a minute or so he entered again, supporting on his arm a girl, clad in a
+faded blue calico dress, and having a head of very conspicuous red hair.
+She seemed half fainting, and kept moaning that it was horrible,
+horrible. Hal led her to a chair, and she sank into it and hid her face
+in her hands, sobbing, talking incoherently between her sobs.
+
+Jessie stood looking at this girl. She felt the intensity of her
+excitement, and shared it; yet at the same time there was something in
+Jessie that resented it. She did not wish to be upset about things like
+this, which she could not help. Of course these unfortunate people were
+suffering; but--what a shocking lot of noise the poor thing was making!
+A part of the poor thing’s excitement was rage, and Jessie realised
+that, and resented it still more. It was as if it were a personal
+challenge to her; the same as Hal’s fierce social passions, which so
+bewildered and shocked her.
+
+“They’re beatin’ the women back like dogs!” the girl repeated.
+
+“Mary,” said Hal, trying to soothe her, “the doctors will be doing their
+best. The women couldn’t expect to crowd about them!”
+
+“Maybe they couldn’t; but that’s not it, Joe, and ye know it! They been
+bringin’ up dead bodies, some they found where the explosion was--blown
+all to pieces. And they won’t let anybody see them. Is that because of
+the doctors? No, it ain’t! It’s because they want to tell lies about the
+number killed! They want to count four or five legs to a man! And that’s
+what’s drivin’ the women crazy! I saw Mrs. Zamboni, tryin’ to get into
+the shed, and Pete Hanun caught her by the breasts and shoved her back.
+‘I want my man!’ she screamed. ‘Well, what do you want him for? He’s all
+in pieces!’ ‘I want the pieces!’ ‘What good’ll they do you? Are you
+goin’ to eat him?’”
+
+There were cries of horror now, even from Jessie; and the strange girl
+hid her face in her hands and began to sob again. Hal put his hand
+gently on her arm.
+
+“Mary,” he pleaded, “it’s not so bad--at least they’re getting the
+people out.”
+
+“How do ye know what they’re doin’? They might be sealin’ up parts of
+the mine down below! That’s what makes it so horrible--nobody knows
+what’s happenin’! Ye should have heard poor Mrs. Rafferty screamin’.
+Joe, it went through me like a knife. Just think, it’s been half an hour
+since they brought him up, and the poor lady can’t be told if her man is
+alive.”
+
+
+
+SECTION 24.
+
+Hal stood for a few moments in thought. He was surprised that such
+things should be happening while Percy Harrigan’s train was in the
+village. He was considering whether he should go to Percy, or whether a
+hint to Cotton or Cartwright would not be sufficient.
+
+“Mary,” he said, in a quiet voice, “you needn’t distress yourself so. We
+can get better treatment for the women, I’m sure.”
+
+But her sobbing went on. “What can ye do? They’re bound to have their
+way!”
+
+“No,” said Hal. “There’s a difference now. Believe me--something can be
+done. I’ll step over and have a word with Jeff Cotton.”
+
+He started towards the door; but there came a cry: “Hal!” It was Jessie,
+whom he had almost forgotten in his sudden anger at the bosses.
+
+At her protest he turned and looked at her; then he looked at Mary. He
+saw the latter’s hands fall from her tear-stained face, and her
+expression of grief give way to one of wonder. “Hal!”
+
+“Excuse me,” he said, quickly. “Miss Burke, this is my friend, Miss
+Arthur.” Then, not quite sure if this was a satisfactory introduction,
+he added, “Jessie, this is my friend, Mary.”
+
+Jessie’s training could not fail in any emergency. “Miss Burke,” she
+said, and smiled with perfect politeness. But Mary said nothing, and the
+strained look did not leave her face.
+
+In the first excitement she had almost failed to notice this stranger;
+but now she stared, and realisation grew upon her. Here was a girl,
+beautiful with a kind of beauty hardly to be conceived of in a
+mining-camp; reserved, yet obviously expensive--even in a mackintosh and
+rubber-shoes. Mary was used to the expensiveness of Mrs. O’Callahan, but
+here was a new kind of expensiveness, subtle and compelling, strangely
+unconscious. And she laid claim to Joe Smith, the miner’s buddy! She
+called him by a name hitherto unknown to his North Valley associates! It
+needed no word from Little Jerry to guide Mary’s instinct; she knew in a
+flash that here was the “other girl.”
+
+Mary was seized with sudden acute consciousness of the blue calico
+dress, patched at the shoulder and stained with grease-spots; of her
+hands, big and rough with hard labour; of her feet, clad in shoes worn
+sideways at the heel, and threatening to break out at the toes. And as
+for Jessie, she too had the woman’s instinct; she too saw a girl who was
+beautiful, with a kind of beauty of which she did not approve, but which
+she could not deny--the beauty of robust health, of abounding animal
+energy. Jessie was not unaware of the nature of her own charms, having
+been carefully educated to conserve them; nor did she fail to make note
+of the other girl’s handicaps--the patched and greasy dress, the big
+rough hands, the shoes worn sideways. But even so, she realised that
+“Red Mary” had a quality which she lacked--that beside this wild rose of
+a mining-camp, she, Jessie Arthur, might possibly seem a garden flower,
+fragile and insipid.
+
+She had seen Hal lay his hand upon Mary’s arm, and heard her speak to
+him. She called him Joe! And a sudden fear had leaped into Jessie’s
+heart.
+
+Like many girls who have been delicately reared, Jessie Arthur knew
+more than she admitted, even to herself. She knew enough to realise
+that young men with ample means and leisure are not always saints and
+ascetics. Also, she had heard the remark many times made that these
+women of the lower orders had “no morals.” Just what did such a remark
+mean? What would be the attitude of such a girl as Mary
+Burke--full-blooded and intense, dissatisfied with her lot in life--to
+a man of culture and charm like Hal? She would covet him, of course; no
+woman who knew him could fail to covet him. And she would try to steal
+him away from his friends, from the world to which he belonged, the
+future of happiness and ease to which he was entitled. She would have
+powers--dark and terrible powers, all the more appalling to Jessie
+because they were mysterious. Might they possibly be able to overcome
+even the handicap of a dirty calico dress, of big rough hands and shoes
+worn sideways?
+
+These reflections, which have taken many words to explain, came to
+Jessie in one flash of intuition. She understood now, all at once, the
+incomprehensible phenomenon--that Hal should leave friends and home and
+career, to come and live amid this squalor and suffering! She saw the
+old drama of the soul of man, heaven and hell contending for mastery of
+it; and she knew that she was heaven, and that this “Red Mary” was
+hell.
+
+She looked at Hal. He seemed to her so fine and true; his face was
+frank, he was the soul of honourableness. No, it was impossible to
+believe that he had yielded to such a lure! If that had been the case,
+he would never have brought her to this cabin, he would never have
+taken a chance of her meeting the girl. No; but he might be struggling
+against temptation, he might be in the toils of it, and only half aware
+of it. He was a man, and therefore blind; he was a dreamer, and it
+would be like him to idealise this girl, calling her naïve and
+primitive, thinking that she had no wiles! Jessie had come just in time
+to save him! And she would fight to save him--using wiles more subtle
+than those at the command of any mining-camp hussy!
+
+
+
+SECTION 25.
+
+It was the surging up in Jessie Arthur of that instinctive self, the
+creature of hereditary cruelty, of the existence of which Hal had no
+idea. She drew back, and there was a quiet _hauteur_ in her tone as she
+spoke. “Hal, come here, please.”
+
+He came; and she waited until he was close enough for intimacy, and then
+said, “Have you forgotten you have to take me back to the train?”
+
+“Can’t you come with me for a few minutes?” he pleaded. “It would have
+such a good effect if you did.”
+
+“I can’t go into that crowd,” she answered; and suddenly her voice
+trembled, and the tears came into her sweet brown eyes. “Don’t you know,
+Hal, that I couldn’t stand such terrible sights? This poor girl--she is
+used to them--she is hardened! But I--I--oh, take me away, take me away,
+dear Hal!” This cry of a woman for protection came with a familiar echo
+to Hal’s mind. He did not stop to think--he was moved by it
+instinctively. Yes, he had exposed the girl he loved to suffering! He
+had meant it for her own good, but even so, it was cruel!
+
+He stood close to her, and saw the love-light in her eyes; he saw the
+tears, the trembling of her sensitive chin. She swayed to him, and he
+caught her in his arms--and there, before these witnesses, she let him
+press her to him, while she sobbed and whispered her distress. She had
+been shy of caresses hitherto, watched and admonished by an experienced
+mother; certainly she had never before made what could by the remotest
+stretch of the imagination be considered an advance towards him. But now
+she made it, and there was a cry of triumph in her soul as she saw that
+he responded to it. He was still hers--and these low people should know
+it, this “other girl” should know it!
+
+Yet, in the midst of this very exultation, Jessie Arthur really felt the
+grief she expressed for the women of North Valley; she really felt
+horror at the story of Mrs. Zamboni’s “man”: so intricate is the soul of
+woman, so puzzling that faculty, older than the ages, which enables her
+to be hysterical, and at the same time to be guided in the use of that
+hysteria by deep and infallible calculation.
+
+But she made Hal realise that it was necessary for him to take her away.
+He turned to Mary Burke and said, “Miss Arthur’s train is leaving in a
+short time. I’ll have to take her hack, and then I’ll go to the
+pit-mouth with you and see what I can do.”
+
+“Very well,” Mary answered; and her voice was hard and cold. But Hal did
+not notice this. He was a man, and not able to keep up with the emotions
+of one woman--to say nothing of two women at the same time.
+
+He took Jessie out, and all the way back to the train she fought a
+desperate fight to get him away from here. She no longer even suggested
+that he get decent clothing; she was willing for him to come as he was,
+in his coal-stained mining-jumpers, in the private train of the Coal
+King’s son. She besought him in the name of their affection. She
+threatened him that if he did not come, this might be the last time they
+would meet. She even broke down in the middle of the street, and let him
+stand there in plain sight of miners’ wives and children, and of
+possible newspaper reporters, holding her in his arms and comforting
+her.
+
+Hal was much puzzled; but he would not give way. The idea of going off
+in Percy Harrigan’s train had come to seem morally repulsive to him; he
+hated Percy Harrigan’s train, and Percy Harrigan also, he declared. And
+Jessie saw that she was only making him unreasonable--that before long
+he might be hating her. With her instinctive _savoir faire_, she brought
+up his suggestion that she might find some one to chaperon her, and stay
+with him at North Valley until he was ready to come away.
+
+Hal’s heart leaped at that; he had no idea what was in her mind--the
+certainty that no one of the ladies of the Harrigan party would run the
+risk of offending her host by staying under such circumstances.
+
+“You mean it, sweetheart?” he cried, happily.
+
+She answered, “I mean that I love you, Hal.”
+
+“All right, dear!” he said. “We’ll see if we can arrange it.”
+
+But as they walked on, she managed, without his realising it, to cause
+him to reflect upon the effect of her staying. She was willing to do it,
+if it was what he wanted; but it would injure, perhaps irrevocably, his
+standing with her parents. They would telegraph her to come at once; and
+if she did not obey, they would come by the next train. So on, until at
+last Hal was moved to withdraw his own suggestion. After all, what was
+the use of her staying, if her mind was on the people at home, if she
+would simply keep him in hot water? Before the conversation was over Hal
+had become clear in his mind that North Valley was no place for Jessie
+Arthur, and that he had been a fool to think he could bring the two
+together.
+
+She tried to get him to promise to leave as soon as the last man had
+been brought out of the mine. He answered that he intended to leave
+then, unless some new emergency should arise. She tried to get an
+unqualified promise; and failing in that, when they had nearly got to
+the train she suddenly made a complete surrender. Let him do what he
+pleased--but let him remember that she loved him, that she needed him,
+that she could not do without him. No matter what he might do, no matter
+what people might say about him, she believed in him, she would stand by
+him. Hal was deeply touched, and took her in his arms again and kissed
+her tenderly under the umbrella, in the presence of the wondering stares
+of several urchins with coal-smutted faces. He pledged anew his love for
+her, assuring her that no amount of interest in mining-camps should ever
+steal him from her.
+
+Then he put her on the train, and shook hands with the departing guests.
+He was so very sombre and harassed-looking that the young men forbore to
+“kid” him as they would otherwise have done. He stood on the
+station-platform and saw the train roll away--and felt, to his own
+desperate bewilderment, that he hated these friends of his boyhood and
+youth. His reason protested against it; he told himself there was
+nothing they could do, no reason on earth for them to stay--and yet he
+hated them. They were hurrying off to dance and flirt at the country
+club--while he was going back to the pit-mouth, to try to get Mrs.
+Zamboni the right to inspect the pieces of her “man”!
+
+
+
+
+BOOK FOUR
+
+THE WILL OF KING COAL
+
+
+
+
+SECTION 1.
+
+The pit of death was giving up its secrets. The hoist was busy, and
+cage-load after cage-load came up, with bodies dead and bodies living
+and bodies only to be classified after machines had pumped air into them
+for a while. Hal stood in the rain and watched the crowd and thought
+that he had never witnessed a scene so compelling to pity and terror.
+The silence that would fall when any one appeared who might have news to
+tell! The sudden shriek of anguish from some woman whose hopes were
+struck dead! The moans of sympathy that ran through the crowd,
+alternating with cheers at some good tidings, shaking the souls of the
+multitude as a storm of wind shakes a reed-field!
+
+And the stories that ran through the camp--brought up from the
+underground world--stories of incredible sufferings, and of still more
+incredible heroisms! Men who had been four days without food or water,
+yet had resisted being carried out of the mine, proposing to stay and
+help rescue others! Men who had lain together in the darkness and
+silence, keeping themselves alive by the water which seeped from the
+rocks overhead, taking turns lying face upwards where the drops fell, or
+wetting pieces of their clothing and sucking out the moisture! Members
+of the rescue parties would tell how they knocked upon the barriers, and
+heard the faint answering signals of the imprisoned men; how madly they
+toiled to cut through, and how, when at last a little hole appeared,
+they heard the cries of joy, and saw the eyes of men shining from the
+darkness, while they waited, gasping, for the hole to grow bigger, so
+that water and food might be passed in!
+
+In some places they were fighting the fire. Long lines of hose had been
+sent down, and men were moving forward foot by foot, as the smoke and
+steam were sucked out ahead of them by the fan. Those who did this work
+were taking their lives in their hands, yet they went without
+hesitation. There was always hope of finding men in barricaded rooms
+beyond.
+
+Hal sought out Jeff Cotton at the entrance to the tipple-room, which had
+been turned into a temporary hospital. It was the first time the two had
+met since the revelation in Percy’s car, and the camp-marshal’s face
+took on a rather sheepish grin. “Well, Mr. Warner, you win,” he
+remarked; and after a little arguing he agreed to permit a couple of
+women to go into the tipple-room and make a list of the injured, and go
+out and give the news to the crowd. Hal went to the Minettis to ask Mary
+Burke to attend to this; but Rosa said that Mary had gone out after he
+and Miss Arthur had left, and no one knew where she was. So Hal went to
+Mrs. David, who consented to get a couple of friends, and do the work
+without being called a “committee.” “I won’t have any damned
+committees!” the camp-marshal had declared.
+
+So the night passed, and part of another day. A clerk from the office
+came to Hal with a sealed envelope, containing a telegram, addressed in
+care of Cartwright. “I most urgently beg of you to come home at once. It
+will be distressing to Dad if he hears what has happened, and it will
+not be possible to keep the matter from him for long.”
+
+As Hal read, he frowned; evidently the Harrigans had got busy without
+delay! He went to the office and telephoned his answer. “Am planning to
+leave in a day or two. Trust you will make an effort to spare Dad until
+you have heard my story.”
+
+This message troubled Hal. It started in his mind long arguments with
+his brother, and explanations and apologies to his father. He loved the
+old man tenderly. What a shame if some emissary of the Harrigans were to
+get to him to upset him with misrepresentations!
+
+Also these ideas had a tendency to make Hal homesick; they brought more
+vividly to his thoughts the outside world, with its physical
+allurements--there being a limit to the amount of unwholesome meals and
+dirty beds and repulsive sights a man of refinement can force himself to
+endure. Hal found himself obsessed by a vision of a club dining-room,
+with odours of grilled steaks and hot rolls, and the colours of salads
+and fresh fruits and cream. The conviction grew suddenly strong in him
+that his work in North Valley was nearly done!
+
+Another night passed, and another day. The last of the bodies had been
+brought out, and the corpses shipped down to Pedro for one of those big
+wholesale funerals which are a feature of mine-life. The fire was out,
+and the rescue-crews had given place to a swarm of carpenters and
+timbermen, repairing the damage and making the mine safe. The reporters
+had gone; Billy Keating having clasped Hal’s hand, and promised to meet
+him for luncheon at the club. An agent of the “Red Cross” was on hand,
+and was feeding the hungry out of Mrs. Curtis’s subscription-list. What
+more was there for Hal to do--except to bid good-bye to his friends, and
+assure them of his help in the future?
+
+First among these friends was Mary Burke, whom he had had no chance to
+talk to since the meeting with Jessie. He realised that Mary had been
+deliberately avoiding him. She was not in her home, and he went to
+inquire at the Rafferties’, and stopped for a good-bye chat with the old
+woman whose husband he had saved.
+
+Rafferty was going to pull through. His wife had been allowed in to see
+him, and tears rolled down her shrunken cheeks as she told about it. He
+had been four days and nights blocked up in a little tunnel, with no
+food or water, save for a few drops of coffee which he had shared with
+other men. He could still not speak, he could hardly move a hand; but
+there was life in his eyes, and his look had been a greeting from the
+soul she had loved and served these thirty years and more. Mrs. Rafferty
+sang praises to the Rafferty God, who had brought him safely through
+these perils; it seemed obvious that He must be more efficient than the
+Protestant God of Johannson, the giant Swede, who had lain by Rafferty’s
+side and given up the ghost.
+
+But the doctor had stated that the old Irishman would never be good to
+work again; and Hal saw a shadow of terror cross the sunshine of Mrs.
+Rafferty’s rejoicing. How could a doctor say a thing like that? Rafferty
+was old, to be sure; but he was tough--and could any doctor imagine how
+hard a man would try who had a family looking to him? Sure, he was not
+the one to give up for a bit of pain now and then! Besides him, there
+was only Tim who was earning; and though Tim was a good lad, and worked
+steady, any doctor ought to know that a big family could not be kept
+going on the wages of one eighteen-year-old pit-boy. As for the other
+lads, there was a law that said they were too young to work. Mrs.
+Rafferty thought there should be some one to put a little sense into the
+heads of them that made the laws--for if they wanted to forbid children
+to work in coal-mines, they should surely provide some other way to feed
+the children.
+
+Hal listened, agreeing sympathetically, and meantime watching her, and
+learning more from her actions than from her words. She had been
+obedient to the teachings of her religion, to be fruitful and multiply;
+she had fed three grown sons into the maw of industry, and had still
+eight children and a man to care for. Hal wondered if she had ever
+rested a single minute of daylight in all her fifty-four years.
+Certainly not while he had been in her house! Even now, while praising
+the Rafferty God and blaming the capitalist law-makers, she was getting
+a supper, moving swiftly, silently, like a machine. She was lean as an
+old horse that has toiled across a desert; the skin over her cheek-bones
+was tight as stretched rubber, and cords stood out in her wrists like
+piano-wires.
+
+And now she was cringing before the spectre of destitution. He asked
+what she would do about it, and saw the shadow of terror cross her face
+again. There was one recourse from starvation, it seemed--to have her
+children taken from her, and put in some institution! At the mention of
+this, one of the special nightmares of the poor, the old woman began to
+sob and cry again that the doctor was wrong; he would see, and Hal would
+see--Old Rafferty would be back at his job in a week or two!
+
+
+
+SECTION 2.
+
+Hal went out on the street again. It was the hour which would have been
+sunset in a level region; the tops of the mountains were touched with a
+purple light, and the air was fresh and chill with early fall. Down the
+darkening streets he saw a gathering of men; there was shouting, and
+people running towards the place, so he hurried up, with the thought in
+his mind, “What’s the matter now?” There were perhaps a hundred men
+crying out, their voices mingling like the sound of waves on the sea. He
+could make out words: “Go on! Go on! We’ve had enough of it! Hurrah!”
+
+“What’s happened?” he asked, of some one on the outskirts; and the man,
+recognising him, raised a cry which ran through the throng: “Joe Smith!
+He’s the boy for us! Come in here, Joe! Give us a speech!”
+
+But even while Hal was asking questions, trying to get the situation
+clear, other shouts had drowned out his name. “We’ve had enough of them
+walking over us!” And somebody cried, more loudly, “Tell us about it!
+Tell it again! Go on!”
+
+A man was standing upon the steps of a building at one side. Hal stared
+in amazement; it was Tim Rafferty. Of all people in the world--Tim, the
+light-hearted and simple, Tim of the laughing face and the merry Irish
+blue eyes! Now his sandy hair was tousled and his features distorted
+with rage. “Him near dead!” he yelled. “Him with his voice gone, and
+couldn’t move his hand! Eleven years he’s slaved for them, and near
+killed in an accident that’s their own fault--every man in this crowd
+knows it’s their own fault, by God!”
+
+“Sure thing! You’re right!” cried a chorus of voices “Tell it all!”
+
+“They give him twenty-five dollars and his hospital expenses--and
+what’ll his hospital expenses be? They’ll have him out on the street
+again before he’s able to stand. You know that--they done it to Pete
+Cullen!”
+
+“You bet they did!”
+
+“Them damned lawyers in there--gettin’ ’em to sign papers when they
+don’t know what they’re doin’. An’ me that might help him can’t get
+near! By Christ, I say it’s too much! Are we slaves, or are we dogs,
+that we have to stand such things?”
+
+“We’ll stand no more of it!” shouted one. “We’ll go in there and see to
+it ourselves!”
+
+“Come on!” shouted another. “To hell with their gunmen!”
+
+Hal pushed his way into the crowd. “Tim!” he cried. “How do you know
+this?”
+
+“There’s a fellow in there seen it.”
+
+“Who?”
+
+“I can’t tell you--they’d fire him; but it’s somebody you know as well
+as me. He come and told me. They’re beatin’ me old father out of
+damages!”
+
+“They do it all the time!” shouted Wauchope, an English miner at Hal’s
+side. “That’s why they won’t let us in there.”
+
+“They done the same thing to my father!” put in another voice. Hal
+recognised Andy, the Greek boy.
+
+“And they want to start Number Two in the mornin’!” yelled Tim. “Who’ll
+go down there again? And with Alec Stone, him that damns the men and
+saves the mules!”
+
+“We’ll not go back in them mines till they’re safe!” shouted Wauchope.
+“Let them sprinkle them--or I’m done with the whole business.”
+
+“And let ’em give us our weights!” cried another. “We’ll have a
+check-weighman, and we’ll get what we earn!”
+
+So again came the cry, “Joe Smith! Give us a speech, Joe! Soak it to
+’em! You’re the boy!”
+
+Hal stood helpless, dismayed. He had counted his fight won--and here was
+another beginning! The men were looking to him, calling upon him as the
+boldest of the rebels. Only a few of them knew about the sudden change
+in his fortunes.
+
+Even while he hesitated, the line of battle had swept past him; the
+Englishman, Wauchope, sprang upon the steps and began to address the
+throng. He was one of the bowed and stunted men, but in this emergency
+he developed sudden lung-power. Hal listened in astonishment; this
+silent and dull-looking fellow was the last he would have picked for a
+fighter. Tom Olson had sounded him out, and reported that he would hear
+nothing, so they had dismissed him from mind. And here he was, shouting
+terrible defiance!
+
+“They’re a set of robbers and murderers! They rob us everywhere we turn!
+For my part, I’ve had enough of it! Have you?”
+
+There was a roar from every one within reach of his voice. They had all
+had enough.
+
+“All right, then--we’ll fight them!”
+
+“Hurrah! Hurrah! We’ll have our rights!”
+
+Jeff Cotton came up on the run, with “Bud” Adams and two or three of the
+gunmen at his heels. The crowd turned upon them, the men on the
+outskirts clenching their fists, showing their teeth like angry dogs.
+Cotton’s face was red with rage, but he saw that he had a serious matter
+in hand; he turned and went for more help--and the mob roared with
+delight. Already they had begun their fight! Already they had won their
+first victory!
+
+
+
+SECTION 3.
+
+The crowd moved down the street, shouting and cursing as it went. Some
+one started to sing the Marseillaise, and others took it up, and the
+words mounted to a frenzy:
+
+  “To arms! To arms, ye brave!
+  March on, march on, all hearts resolved
+  On victory or death!”
+
+There were the oppressed of many nations in this crowd; they sang in a
+score of languages, but it was the same song. They would sing a few
+bars, and the yells of others would drown them out. “March on! March on!
+All hearts resolved!” Some rushed away in different directions to spread
+the news, and very soon the whole population of the village was on the
+spot; the men waving their caps, the women lifting up their hands and
+shrieking--or standing terrified, realising that babies could not be fed
+upon revolutionary singing.
+
+Tim Rafferty was raised up on the shoulders of the crowd and made to
+tell his story once more. While he was telling it, his old mother came
+running, and her shrieks rang above the clamour: “Tim! Tim! Come down
+from there! What’s the matter wid ye?” She was twisting her hands
+together in an agony of fright; seeing Hal, she rushed up to him. “Get
+him out of there, Joe! Sure, the lad’s gone crazy! They’ll turn us out
+of the camp, they’ll give us nothin’ at all--and what’ll become of us?
+Mother of God, what’s the matter with the b’y?” She called to Tim again;
+but Tim paid no attention, if he heard her. Tim was on the march to
+Versailles!
+
+Some one shouted that they would go to the hospital to protect the
+injured men from the “damned lawyers.” Here was something definite, and
+the crowd moved in that direction, Hal following with the stragglers,
+the women and children, and the less bold among the men. He noticed some
+of the clerks and salaried employés of the company; presently he saw
+Jeff Cotton again, and heard him ordering these men to the office to get
+revolvers.
+
+“Big Jack” David came along with Jerry Minetti, and Hal drew back to
+consult with them. Jerry was on fire. It had come--the revolt he had
+been looking forward to for years! Why were they not making speeches,
+getting control of the men and organising them?
+
+Jack David voiced uncertainty. They had to consider if this outburst
+could mean anything permanent.
+
+Jerry answered that it would mean what they chose to make it mean. If
+they took charge, they could guide the men and hold them together.
+Wasn’t that what Tom Olson had wanted?
+
+No, said the big Welshman, Olson had been trying to organise the men
+secretly, as preliminary to a revolt in all the camps. That was quite
+another thing from an open movement, limited to one camp. Was there any
+hope of success for such a movement? If not, they would be foolish to
+start, they would only be making sure of their own expulsion.
+
+Jerry turned to Hal. What did he think?
+
+And so at last Hal had to speak. It was hard for him to judge, he said.
+He knew so little about labour matters. It was to learn about them that
+he had come to North Valley. It was a hard thing to advise men to submit
+to such treatment as they had been getting; but on the other hand, any
+one could see that a futile outbreak would discourage everybody, and
+make it harder than ever to organise them.
+
+So much Hal spoke; but there was more in his mind, which he could not
+speak. He could not say to these men, “I am a friend of yours, but I am
+also a friend of your enemy, and in this crisis I cannot make up my mind
+to which side I owe allegiance. I’m bound by a duty of politeness to the
+masters of your lives; also, I’m anxious not to distress the girl I am
+to marry!” No, he could not say such things. He felt himself a traitor
+for having them in his mind, and he could hardly bring himself to look
+these men in the eye. Jerry knew that he was in some way connected with
+the Harrigans; probably he had told the rest of Hal’s friends, and they
+had been discussing it and speculating about the meaning of it. Suppose
+they should think he was a spy?
+
+So Hal was relieved when Jack David spoke firmly. They would only be
+playing the game of the enemy if they let themselves be drawn in
+prematurely. They ought to have the advice of Tom Olson.
+
+Where was Olson? Hal asked; and David explained that on the day when Hal
+had been thrown out of camp, Olson had got his “time” and set out for
+Sheridan, the local headquarters of the union, to report the situation.
+He would probably not come back; he had got his little group together,
+he had planted the seed of revolt in North Valley.
+
+They discussed back and forth the problem of getting advice. It was
+impossible to telephone from North Valley without everything they said
+being listened to; but the evening train for Pedro left in a few
+minutes, and “Big Jack” declared that some one ought to take it. The
+town of Sheridan was only fifteen or twenty miles from Pedro, and there
+would be a union official there to advise them; or they might use the
+long distance telephone, and persuade one of the union leaders in
+Western City to take the midnight train, and be in Pedro next morning.
+
+Hal, still hoping to withdraw himself, put this task off on Jack David.
+They emptied out the contents of their pockets, so that he might have
+funds enough, and the big Welshman darted off to catch the train. In the
+meantime Jerry and Hal agreed to keep in the background, and to seek out
+the other members of their group and warn them to do the same.
+
+
+
+SECTION 4.
+
+This programme was a convenient one for Hal; but as he was to find
+almost at once, it had been adopted too late. He and Jerry started after
+the crowd, which had stopped in front of one of the company buildings;
+and as they came nearer they heard some one making a speech. It was the
+voice of a woman, the tones rising clear and compelling. They could not
+see the speaker, because of the throng, but Hal recognised her voice,
+and caught his companion by the arm. “It’s Mary Burke!”
+
+Mary Burke it was, for a fact; and she seemed to have the crowd in a
+kind of frenzy. She would speak one sentence, and there would come a
+roar from the throng; she would speak another sentence, and there would
+come another roar. Hal and Jerry pushed their way in, to where they
+could make out the words of this litany of rage.
+
+“Would they go down into the pit themselves, do ye think?”
+
+“They would not!”
+
+“Would they be dressed in silks and laces, do ye think?”
+
+“They would not!”
+
+“Would they have such fine soft hands, do ye think?”
+
+“They would not!”
+
+“Would they hold themselves too good to look at ye?”
+
+“They would not! They would not!”
+
+And Mary swept on: “If only ye’d stand together, they’d come to ye on
+their knees to ask for terms! But ye’re cowards, and they play on your
+fears! Ye’re traitors, and they buy ye out! They break ye into pieces,
+they do what they please with ye--and then ride off in their private
+cars, and leave gunmen to beat ye down and trample on your faces! How
+long will ye stand it? How long?”
+
+The roar of the mob rolled down the street and back again. “We’ll not
+stand it! We’ll not stand it!” Men shook their clenched fists, women
+shrieked, even children shouted curses. “We’ll fight them! We’ll slave
+no more for them!”
+
+And Mary found a magic word. “We’ll have a union!” she shouted. “We’ll
+get together and stay together! If they refuse us our rights, we’ll know
+what to answer--we’ll have a _strike!_”
+
+There was a roar like the crashing of thunder in the mountains. Yes,
+Mary had found the word! For many years it had not been spoken aloud in
+North Valley, but now it ran like a flash of gunpowder through the
+throng. “Strike! Strike! Strike! Strike!” It seemed as if they would
+never have enough of it. Not all of them had understood Mary’s speech,
+but they knew this word, “Strike!” They translated and proclaimed it in
+Polish and Bohemian and Italian and Greek. Men waved their caps, women
+waved their aprons--in the semi-darkness it was like some strange kind
+of vegetation tossed by a storm. Men clasped one another’s hands, the
+more demonstrative of the foreigners fell upon one another’s necks.
+“Strike! Strike! Strike!”
+
+“We’re no longer slaves!” cried the speaker. “We’re men--and we’ll live
+as men! We’ll work as men--or we’ll not work at all! We’ll no longer be
+a herd of cattle, that they can drive about as they please! We’ll
+organise, we’ll stand together--shoulder to shoulder! Either we’ll win
+together, or we’ll starve and die together! And not a man of us will
+yield, not a man of us will turn traitor! Is there anybody here who’ll
+scab on his fellows?”
+
+There was a howl, which might have come from a pack of wolves. Let the
+man who would scab on his fellows show his dirty face in that crowd!
+
+“Ye’ll stand by the union?”
+
+“We’ll stand by it!”
+
+“Ye’ll swear?”
+
+“We’ll swear!”
+
+She flung her arms to heaven with a gesture of passionate adjuration.
+“Swear it on your lives! To stick to the rest of us, and never a man of
+ye give way till ye’ve won! Swear! _Swear!_”
+
+Men stood, imitating her gesture, their hands stretched up to the sky.
+“We swear! We swear!”
+
+“Ye’ll not let them break ye! Ye’ll not let them frighten ye!”
+
+“No! No!”
+
+“Stand by your word, men! Stand by it! ’Tis the one chance for your
+wives and childer!” The girl rushed on--exhorting with leaping words and
+passionate out-flung arms--a tall, swaying figure of furious rebellion.
+Hal listened to the speech and watched the speaker, marvelling. Here was
+a miracle of the human soul, here was hope born of despair! And the
+crowd around her--they were sharing the wonderful rebirth; their waving
+arms, their swaying forms responded to Mary as an orchestra to the baton
+of a leader.
+
+A thrill shook Hal--a thrill of triumph! He had been beaten down
+himself, he had wanted to run from this place of torment; but now there
+was hope in North Valley--now there would be victory, freedom!
+
+Ever since he had come to the coal-country, the knowledge had been
+growing in Hal that the real tragedy of these people’s lives was not
+their physical suffering, but their mental depression--the dull,
+hopeless misery in their minds. This had been driven into his
+consciousness day by day, both by what he saw and by what others told
+him. Tom Olson had first put it into words: “Your worst troubles are
+inside the heads of the fellows you’re trying to help!” How could hope
+be given to men in this environment of terrorism? Even Hal himself,
+young and free as he was, had been brought to despair. He came from a
+class which is accustomed to say, “Do this,” or “Do that,” and it will
+be done. But these mine-slaves had never known that sense of power, of
+certainty; on the contrary, they were accustomed to having their efforts
+balked at every turn, their every impulse to happiness or achievement
+crushed by another’s will.
+
+But here was this miracle of the human soul! Here was hope in North
+Valley! Here were the people rising--and Mary Burke at their head! It
+was his vision come true--Mary Burke with a glory in her face, and her
+hair shining like a crown of gold! Mary Burke mounted upon a snow-white
+horse, wearing a robe of white, soft and lustrous--like Joan of Arc, or
+a leader in a suffrage parade! Yes, and she was at the head of a host,
+he had the music of its marching in his ears!
+
+Underneath Hal’s jesting words had been a real vision, a real faith in
+this girl. Since that day when he had first discovered her, a wild rose
+of the mining-camp taking in the family wash, he had realised that she
+was no pretty young working-girl, but a woman with a mind and a
+personality. She saw farther, she felt more deeply than the average of
+these wage-slaves. Her problem was the same as theirs, yet more complex.
+When he had wanted to help her and had offered to get her a job, she had
+made clear that what she craved was not merely relief from drudgery, but
+a life with intellectual interest. So then the idea had come to him that
+Mary should become a teacher, a leader of her people. She loved them,
+she suffered for them and with them, and at the same time she had a mind
+that was capable of seeking out the causes of their misery. But when he
+had gone to her with plans of leadership, he had been met by her
+corroding despair; her pessimism had seemed to mock his dreams, her
+contempt for these mine-slaves had belittled his efforts in their behalf
+and in hers.
+
+And now, here she was taking up the role he had planned for her! Her
+very soul was in this shouting throng, he thought. She had lived the
+lives of these people, shared their every wrong, been driven to
+rebellion with them. Being a mere man, Hal missed one important point
+about this startling development; he did not realise that Mary’s
+eloquence was addressed, not merely to the Rafferties and the Wauchopes,
+and the rest of the North Valley mine-slaves, but to a certain
+magazine-cover girl, clad in a mackintosh and a pale green hat and a
+soft and filmy and horribly expensive motoring veil!
+
+
+
+SECTION 5.
+
+Mary’s speech was brought to a sudden end. A group of the men had moved
+down the street, and there arose a disturbance there. The noise of it
+swelled louder, and more people began to move in that direction. Mary
+turned to look, and all at once the whole throng surged down the street.
+
+The trouble was at the hospital. In front of this building was a porch,
+and on it Cartwright and Alec Stone were standing, with a group of the
+clerks and office-employés, among whom Hal saw Predovich, Johnson, the
+postmaster, and Si Adams. At the foot of the steps stood Tim Rafferty,
+with a swarm of determined men at his back. He was shouting, “We want
+them lawyers out of there!”
+
+The superintendent himself had undertaken to parley with him. “There are
+no lawyers in here, Rafferty.”
+
+“We don’t trust you!” And the crowd took up the cry: “We’ll see for
+ourselves!”
+
+“You can’t go into this building,” declared Cartwright.
+
+“I’m goin’ to see my father!” shouted Tim. “I’ve got a right to see my
+father, ain’t I?”
+
+“You can see him in the morning. You can take him away, if you want to.
+We’ve no desire to keep him. But he’s asleep now, and you can’t disturb
+the others.”
+
+“You weren’t afraid to disturb them with your damned lawyers!” And there
+was a roar of approval--so loud that Cartwright’s denial could hardly be
+heard.
+
+“There have been no lawyers near him, I tell you.”
+
+“It’s a lie!” shouted Wauchope. “They been in there all day, and you
+know it. We mean to have them out.”
+
+“Go on, Tim!” cried Andy, the Greek boy, pushing his way to the front.
+“Go on!” cried the others; and thus encouraged, Rafferty started up the
+steps.
+
+“I mean to see my father!” As Cartwright caught him by the shoulder, he
+yelled, “Let me go, I say!”
+
+It was evident that the superintendent was trying his best not to use
+violence; he was ordering his own followers back at the same time that
+he was holding the boy. But Tim’s blood was up; he shoved forward, and
+the superintendent, either striking him or trying to ward off a blow,
+threw him backwards down the steps. There was an uproar of rage from the
+throng; they surged forward, and at the same time some of the men on the
+porch drew revolvers.
+
+The meaning of that situation was plain enough. In a moment more the mob
+would be up the steps, and there would be shooting. And if once that
+happened, who could guess the end? Wrought up as the crowd was, it might
+not stop till it had fired every company building, perhaps not until it
+had murdered every company representative.
+
+Hal had resolved to keep in the back-ground, but he saw that to keep in
+the back-ground at that moment would be an act of cowardice, almost a
+crime. He sprang forward, his cry rising above the clamour. “Stop, men!
+Stop!”
+
+There was probably no other man in North Valley who could have got
+himself heeded at that moment. But Hal had their confidence, he had
+earned the right to be heard. Had he not been to prison for them, had
+they not seen him behind the bars? “Joe Smith!” The cry ran from one end
+of the excited throng to the other.
+
+Hal was fighting his way forward, shoving men to one side, imploring,
+commanding silence. “Tim Rafferty! Wait!” And Tim, recognising the
+voice, obeyed.
+
+Once clear of the press, Hal sprang upon the porch, where Cartwright did
+not attempt to interfere with him.
+
+“Men!” he cried. “Hold on a moment! This isn’t what you want! You don’t
+want a fight!” He paused for an instant; but he knew that no mere
+negative would hold them at that moment. They must be told what they did
+want. Just now he had learned the particular words that would carry, and
+he proclaimed them at the top of his voice: “What you want is a union! A
+_strike!_”
+
+He was answered by a roar from the crowd, the loudest yet. Yes, that was
+what they wanted! A strike! And they wanted Joe Smith to organise it, to
+lead it. He had been their leader once, he had been thrown out of camp
+for it. How he had got back they were not quite clear--but here he was,
+and he was their darling. Hurrah for him! They would follow him to hell
+and back!
+
+And wasn’t he the boy with the nerve! Standing there on the porch of the
+hospital, right under the very noses of the bosses, making a union
+speech to them, and the bosses never daring to touch him! The crowd,
+realising this situation, went wild with delight. The English-speaking
+men shouted assent to his words; and those who could not understand,
+shouted because the others did.
+
+They did not want fighting--of course not! Fighting would not help them!
+What would help them was to get together, and stand a solid body of free
+men. There would be a union committee, able to speak for all of them, to
+say that no man would go to work any more until justice was secured!
+They would have an end to the business of discharging men because they
+asked for their rights, of blacklisting men and driving them out of the
+district because they presumed to want what the laws of the state
+awarded them!
+
+
+
+SECTION 6.
+
+How long could a man expect to stand on the steps of a company building,
+with a super and a pit-boss at his back, and organise a union of
+mine-workers? Hal realised that he must move the crowd from that
+perilous place.
+
+“You’ll do what I say, now?” he demanded; and when they agreed in
+chorus, he added the warning: “There’ll be no fighting! And no drinking!
+If you see any man drunk to-night, sit on him and hold him down!”
+
+They laughed and cheered. Yes, they would keep straight. Here was a job
+for sober men, you bet!
+
+“And now,” Hal continued, “the people in the hospital. We’ll have a
+committee go in and see about them. No noise--we don’t want to disturb
+the sick men. We only want to make sure nobody else is disturbing them.
+Some one will go in and stay with them. Does that suit you?”
+
+Yes, that suited them.
+
+“All right,” said Hal. “Keep quiet for a moment.”
+
+And he turned to the superintendent. “Cartwright,” said he, “we want a
+committee to go in and stay with our people.” Then, as the
+superintendent started to expostulate, he added, in a low voice, “Don’t
+be a fool, man! Don’t you see I’m trying to save your life?”
+
+The superintendent knew how bad it would be for discipline to let Hal
+carry his point with the crowd; but also he saw the immediate
+danger--and he was not sure of the courage and shooting ability of
+book-keepers and stenographers.
+
+“Be quick, man!” exclaimed Hal. “I can’t hold these people long. If you
+don’t want hell breaking loose, come to your senses.”
+
+“All right,” said Cartwright, swallowing his dignity.
+
+And Hal turned to the men and announced the concession. There was a
+shout of triumph.
+
+“Now, who’s to go?” said Hal, when he could be heard again; and he
+looked about at the upturned faces. There Were Tim and Wauchope, the
+most obvious ones; but Hal decided to keep them under his eye. He
+thought of Jerry Minetti and of Mrs. David--but remembered his agreement
+with “Big Jack,” to keep their own little group in the back-ground. Then
+he thought of Mary Burke; she had already done herself all the harm she
+could do, and she was a person the crowd would trust. He called her, and
+called Mrs. Ferris, an American woman in the crowd. The two came up the
+steps, and Hal turned to Cartwright.
+
+“Now, let’s have an understanding,” he said. “These people are going in
+to stay with the sick men, and to talk to them if they want to, and
+nobody’s going to give them any orders but the doctors and nurses. Is
+that right?”
+
+“All right,” said the superintendent, sullenly.
+
+“Good!” said Hal. “And for God’s sake have a little sense and stand by
+your word; this crowd has had all it can endure, and if you do any more
+to provoke it, the consequences will be on you. And while you’re about
+it, see that the saloons are closed and kept closed until this trouble
+is settled. And keep your people out of the way--don’t let them go about
+showing their guns and making faces.”
+
+Without waiting to hear the superintendent’s reply, Hal turned to the
+throng, and held up his hand for silence. “Men,” he said, “we have a big
+job to do--we’re going to organise a union. And we can’t do it here in
+front of the hospital. We’ve made too much noise already. Let’s go off
+quietly, and have our meeting on the dump in back of the power-house.
+Does that suit you?”
+
+They answered that it suited them; and Hal, having seen the two women
+passed safely into the hospital, sprang down from the porch to lead the
+way. Jerry Minetti came to his side, trembling with delight; and Hal
+clutched him by the arm and whispered, excitedly, “Sing, Jerry! Sing
+them some Dago song!”
+
+
+
+SECTION 7.
+
+They got to the place appointed without any fighting. And meantime Hal
+had worked out in his mind a plan for communicating with this polyglot
+horde. He knew that half the men could not understand a word of English,
+and that half the remainder understood very little. Obviously, if he was
+to make matters clear to them, they must be sorted out according to
+nationality, and a reliable interpreter found for each group.
+
+The process of sorting proved a slow one, involving no end of shouting
+and good-natured jostling--Polish here, Bohemian here, Greek here,
+Italian here! When this job had been done, and a man found from each
+nationality who understood enough English to translate to his fellows,
+Hal started in to make a speech. But before he had spoken many
+sentences, pandemonium broke loose. All the interpreters started
+interpreting at the same time--and at the top of their lungs; it was
+like a parade with the bands close together! Hal was struck dumb; then
+he began to laugh, and the various audiences began to laugh; the orators
+stopped, perplexed--then they too began to laugh. So wave after wave of
+merriment rolled over the throng; the mood of the assembly was changed
+all at once, from rage and determination to the wildest hilarity. Hal
+learned his first lesson in the handling of these hordes of child-like
+people, whose moods were quick, whose tempers were balanced upon a fine
+point.
+
+It was necessary for him to make his speech through to the end, and then
+move the various audiences apart, to be addressed by the various
+interpreters. But then arose a new difficulty. How could any one control
+these floods of eloquence? How be sure that the message was not being
+distorted? Hal had been warned by Olson of company detectives who posed
+as workers, gaining the confidence of men in order to incite them to
+violence. And certainly some of these interpreters were violent-looking,
+and one’s remarks sounded strange in their translations!
+
+There was the Greek orator, for example; a wild man, with wild hair and
+eyes, who tore all his passions to tatters. He stood upon a barrel-head,
+with the light of two pit-lamps upon him, and some two score of his
+compatriots at his feet; he waved his arms, he shook his fists, he
+shrieked, he bellowed. But when Hal, becoming uneasy, went over and
+asked another English-speaking Greek what the orator was saying, the
+answer was that he was promising that the law should be enforced in
+North Valley!
+
+Hal stood watching this perfervid little man, a study in the
+possibilities of gesture. He drew back his shoulders and puffed out his
+chest, almost throwing himself backwards off the barrel-head; he was
+saying that the miners would be able to live like men. He crouched down
+and bowed his head, moaning; he was telling them what would happen if
+they gave up. He fastened his fingers in his long black hair and began
+tugging desperately; he pulled, and then stretched out his empty hands;
+he pulled again, so hard that it almost made one cry out with pain to
+watch him. Hal asked what that was for; and the answer was, “He say,
+‘Stand by union! Pull one hair, he come out; pull all hairs, no come
+out’!” It carried one back to the days of Aesop and his fables!
+
+Tom Olson had told Hal something about the technique of an organiser,
+who wished to drill these ignorant hordes. He had to repeat and repeat,
+until the dullest in his audience had grasped his meaning, had got into
+his head the all-saving idea of solidarity. When the various orators had
+talked themselves out, and the audiences had come back to the
+cinder-heap, Hal made his speech all over again, in words of one
+syllable, in the kind of pidgin-English which does duty in the camps.
+Sometimes he would stop to reinforce it with Greek or Italian or Slavish
+words he had picked up. Or perhaps his eloquence would inflame some one
+of the interpreters afresh, and he would wait while the man shouted a
+few sentences to his compatriots. It was not necessary to consider the
+possibility of boring any one, for these were patient and long-suffering
+men, and now desperately in earnest.
+
+They were going to have a union; they were going to do the thing in
+regular form, with membership cards and officials chosen by ballot. So
+Hal explained to them, step by step. There was no use organising unless
+they meant to stay organised. They would choose leaders, one from each
+of the principal language groups; and these leaders would meet and draw
+up a set of demands, which would be submitted in mass-meeting, and
+ratified, and then presented to the bosses with the announcement that
+until these terms were granted, not a single North Valley worker would
+go back into the pits.
+
+Jerry Minetti, who knew all about unions, advised Hal to enroll the men
+at once; he counted on the psychological effect of having each man come
+forward and give in his name. But here at once they met a difficulty
+encountered by all would-be organisers--lack of funds. There must be
+pencils and paper for the enrollment; and Hal had emptied his pockets
+for Jack David! He was forced to borrow a quarter, and send a messenger
+off to the store. It was voted by the delegates that each member as he
+joined the union should be assessed a dime. There would have to be some
+telegraphing and telephoning if they were going to get help from the
+outside world.
+
+A temporary committee was named, consisting of Tim Rafferty, Wauchope
+and Hal, to keep the lists and the funds, and to run things until
+another meeting could be held on the morrow; also a body-guard of a
+dozen of the sturdiest and most reliable men were named to stay by the
+committee. The messenger came back with pads and pencils, and sitting on
+the ground by the light of pit-lamps, the interpreters wrote down the
+names of the men who wished to join the union, each man in turn pledging
+his word for solidarity and discipline. Then the meeting was declared
+adjourned till daylight of the morrow, and the workers scattered to
+their homes to sleep, with a joy and sense of power such as few of them
+had ever known in their lives before.
+
+
+
+SECTION 8.
+
+The committee and its body-guard repaired to the dining-room of
+Reminitsky’s, where they stretched themselves out on the floor; no one
+attempted to interfere with them, and while the majority snored
+peacefully, Hal and a small group sat writing out the list of demands
+which were to be submitted to the bosses in the morning. It was arranged
+that Jerry should go down to Pedro by the early morning train, to get
+into touch with Jack David and the union officials, and report to them
+the latest developments. Because the officials were sure to have
+detectives following them, Hal warned Jerry to go to MacKellar’s house,
+and have MacKellar bring “Big Jack” to meet him there. Also Jerry must
+have MacKellar get the _Gazette_ on the long distance phone, and tell
+Billy Keating about the strike.
+
+A hundred things like this Hal had to think of; his head was a-buzz with
+them, so that when he lay down to sleep he could not. He thought about
+the bosses, and what they might be doing. The bosses would not be
+sleeping, he felt sure!
+
+And then came thoughts about his private-car friends; about the
+strangeness of this plight into which he had got himself! He laughed
+aloud in a kind of desperation as he recalled Percy’s efforts to get him
+away from here. And poor Jessie! What could he say to her now?
+
+The bosses made no move that night; and when morning came, the strikers
+hurried to the meeting-place, some of them without even stopping for
+breakfast. They came tousled and unkempt, looking anxiously at their
+fellows, as if unable to credit the memory of the bold thing they had
+done on the night before. But finding the committee and its body-guard
+on hand and ready for business, their courage revived, they felt again
+the wonderful sentiment of solidarity which had made men of them. Pretty
+soon speech-making began, and cheering and singing, which brought out
+the laggards and the cowards. So in a short while the movement was in
+full swing, with practically every man, woman and child among the
+workers present.
+
+Mary Burke came from the hospital, where she had spent the night. She
+looked weary and bedraggled, but her spirit of battle had not slumped.
+She reported that she had talked with some of the injured men, and that
+many of them had signed “releases,” whereby the company protected itself
+against even the threat of a lawsuit. Others had refused to sign, and
+Mary had been vehement in warning them to stand out. Two other women
+volunteered to go to the hospital, in order that she might have a chance
+to rest; but Mary did not wish to rest, she did not feel as if she could
+ever rest again.
+
+The members of the newly-organised union proceeded to elect officers.
+They sought to make Hal president, but he was shy of binding himself in
+that irrevocable way, and succeeded in putting the honour off on
+Wauchope. Tim Rafferty was made treasurer and secretary. Then a
+committee was chosen to go to Cartwright with the demands of the men. It
+included Hal, Wauchope, and Tim; an Italian named Marcelli, whom Jerry
+had vouched for; a representative of the Slavs and one of the
+Greeks--Rusick and Zammakis, both of them solid and faithful men.
+Finally, with a good deal of laughter and cheering, the meeting voted to
+add Mary Burke to this committee. It was a new thing to have a woman in
+such a role, but Mary was the daughter of a miner and the sister of a
+breaker-boy, and had as good a right to speak as any one in North
+Valley.
+
+
+
+SECTION 9.
+
+Hal read the document which had been prepared the night before. They
+demanded the right to have a union without being discharged for it. They
+demanded a check-weighman, to be elected by the men themselves. They
+demanded that the mines should be sprinkled to prevent explosions, and
+properly timbered to prevent falls. They demanded the right to trade at
+any store they pleased. Hal called attention to the fact that every one
+of these demands was for a right guaranteed by the laws of the state;
+this was a significant fact, and he urged the men not to include other
+demands. After some argument they voted down the proposition of the
+radicals, who wanted a ten per cent. increase in wages. Also they voted
+down the proposition of a syndicalist-anarchist, who explained to them
+in a jumble of English and Italian that the mines belonged to them, and
+that they should refuse all compromise and turn the bosses out
+forthwith.
+
+While this speech was being delivered, young Rovetta pushed his way
+through the crowd and drew Hal to one side. He had been down by the
+railroad-station and seen the morning train come in. From it had
+descended a crowd of thirty or forty men, of that “hard citizen” type
+which every miner in the district could recognise at the first glance.
+Evidently the company officials had been keeping the telephone-wires
+busy that night; they were bringing in, not merely this train-load of
+guards, but automobile loads from other camps--from the Northeastern
+down the canyon, and from Barela, in a side canyon over the mountain.
+
+Hal told this news to the meeting, which received it with howls of rage.
+So that was the bosses’ plan! Hot-heads sprang upon the cinder-heap,
+half a dozen of them trying to make speeches at once. The leaders had to
+suppress these too impetuous ones by main force; once more Hal gave the
+warning of “No fighting!” They were going to have faith in their union;
+they were going to present a solid front to the company, and the company
+would learn the lesson that intimidation would not win a strike.
+
+So it was agreed, and the committee set out for the company’s office,
+Wauchope carrying in his hand the written demands of the meeting. Behind
+the committee marched the crowd in a solid mass; they packed the street
+in front of the office, while the heroic seven went up the steps and
+passed into the building. Wauchope made inquiry for Mr. Cartwright, and
+a clerk took in the message.
+
+They stood waiting; and meanwhile, one of the office-people, coming in
+from the street, beckoned to Hal. He had an envelope in his hand, and
+gave it over without a word. It was addressed, “Joe Smith,” and Hal
+opened it, and found within a small visiting card, at which he stared.
+“Edward S. Warner, Jr.”!
+
+For a moment Hal could hardly believe the evidence of his eyesight.
+Edward in North Valley! Then, turning the card over, he read, in his
+brother’s familiar handwriting, “I am at Cartwright’s house. I must see
+you. The matter concerns Dad. Come instantly.”
+
+Fear leaped into Hal’s heart. What could such a message mean?
+
+He turned quickly to the committee and explained. “My father’s an old
+man, and had a stroke of apoplexy three years ago. I’m afraid he may be
+dead, or very ill. I must go.”
+
+“It’s a trick!” cried Wauchope excitedly.
+
+“No, not possibly,” answered Hal. “I know my brother’s handwriting. I
+must see him.”
+
+“Well,” declared the other, “we’ll wait. We’ll not see Cartwright until
+you get back.”
+
+Hal considered this. “I don’t think that’s wise,” he said. “You can do
+what you have to do just as well without me.”
+
+“But I wanted you to do the talking!”
+
+“No,” replied Hal, “that’s your business, Wauchope. You are the
+president of the union. You know what the men want, as well as I do; you
+know what they complain of. And besides, there’s not going to be any
+need of talking with Cartwright. Either he’s going to grant our demands
+or he isn’t.”
+
+They discussed the matter back and forth. Mary Burke insisted that they
+were pulling Hal away just at the critical moment! He laughed as he
+answered. She was as good as any man when it came to an argument. If
+Wauchope showed signs of weakening, let her speak up!
+
+
+
+SECTION 10.
+
+So Hal hurried off, and climbed the street which led to the
+superintendent’s house, a concrete bungalow set upon a little elevation
+overlooking the camp. He rang the bell, and the door opened, and in the
+entrance stood his brother.
+
+Edward Warner was eight years older than Hal; the perfect type of the
+young American business man. His figure was erect and athletic, his
+features were regular and strong, his voice, his manner, everything
+about him spoke of quiet decision, of energy precisely directed. As a
+rule, he was a model of what the tailor’s art could do, but just now
+there was something abnormal about his attire as well as his manner.
+
+Hal’s anxiety had been increasing all the way up the street. “What’s the
+matter with Dad?” he cried.
+
+“Dad’s all right,” was the answer--“that is, for the moment.”
+
+“Then what--?”
+
+“Peter Harrigan’s on his way back from the East. He’s due in Western
+City to-morrow. You can see that something will be the matter with Dad
+unless you quit this business at once.”
+
+Hal had a sudden reaction from his fear. “So that’s all!” he exclaimed.
+
+His brother was gazing at the young miner, dressed in sooty blue
+overalls, his face streaked with black, his wavy hair all mussed. “You
+wired me you were going to leave here, Hal!”
+
+“So I was; but things happened that I couldn’t foresee. There’s a
+strike.”
+
+“Yes; but what’s that got to do with it?” Then, with exasperation in his
+voice, “For God’s sake, Hal, how much farther do you expect to go?”
+
+Hal stood for a few moments, looking at his brother. Even in a tension
+as he was, he could not help laughing. “I know how all this must seem to
+you, Edward. It’s a long story; I hardly know how to begin.”
+
+“No, I suppose not,” said Edward, drily.
+
+And Hal laughed again. “Well, we agree that far, at any rate. What I was
+hoping was that we could talk it all over quietly, after the excitement
+was past. When I explain to you about conditions in this place--”
+
+But Edward interrupted. “Really, Hal, there’s no use of such an
+argument. I have nothing to do with conditions in Peter Harrigan’s
+camps.”
+
+The smile left Hal’s face. “Would you have preferred to have me
+investigate conditions in the Warner camps?” Hal had tried to suppress
+his irritation, but there was simply no way these two could get along.
+“We’ve had our arguments about these things, Edward, and you’ve always
+had the best of me--you could tell me I was a child, it was presumptuous
+of me to dispute your assertions. But now--well, I’m a child no longer,
+and we’ll have to meet on a new basis.”
+
+Hal’s tone, more than his words, made an impression. Edward thought
+before he spoke. “Well, what’s your new basis?”
+
+“Just now I’m in the midst of a strike, and I can hardly stop to
+explain.”
+
+“You don’t think of Dad in all this madness?”
+
+“I think of Dad, and of you too, Edward; but this is hardly the time--”
+
+“If ever in the world there was a time, this is it!”
+
+Hal groaned inwardly. “All right,” he said, “sit down. I’ll try to give
+you some idea how I got swept into this.”
+
+He began to tell about the conditions he had found in this stronghold of
+the “G. F. C.” As usual, when he talked about it, he became absorbed in
+its human aspects; a fervour came into his tone, he was carried on, as
+he had been when he tried to argue with the officials in Pedro. But his
+eloquence was interrupted, even as it had been then; he discovered that
+his brother was in such a state of exasperation that he could not listen
+to a consecutive argument.
+
+It was the old, old story; it had been thus as far back as Hal could
+remember. It seemed one of the mysteries of nature, how she could have
+brought two such different temperaments out of the same parentage.
+Edward was practical and positive; he knew what he wanted in the world,
+and he knew how to get it; he was never troubled with doubts, nor with
+self-questioning, nor with any other superfluous emotions; he could not
+understand people who allowed that sort of waste in their mental
+processes. He could not understand people who got “swept into things.”
+
+In the beginning, he had had with Hal the prestige of the elder brother.
+He was handsome as a young Greek god, he was strong and masterful;
+whether he was flying over the ice with sure, strong strokes, or cutting
+the water with his glistening shoulders, or bringing down a partridge
+with the certainty and swiftness of a lightning stroke, Edward was the
+incarnation of Success. When he said that one’s ideas were “rot,” when
+he spoke with contempt of “mollycoddles”--then indeed one suffered in
+soul, and had to go back to Shelley and Ruskin to renew one’s courage.
+
+The questioning of life had begun very early with Hal; there seemed to
+be something in his nature which forced him to go to the roots of
+things; and much as he looked up to his wonderful brother, he had been
+made to realise that there were sides of life to which this brother was
+blind. To begin with, there were religious doubts; the distresses of
+mind which plague a young man when first it dawns upon him that the
+faith he has been brought up in is a higher kind of fairy-tale. Edward
+had never asked such questions, apparently. He went to church, because
+it was the thing to do; more especially because it was pleasing to the
+young lady he wished to marry to have him put on stately clothes, and
+escort her to a beautiful place of music and flowers and perfumes, where
+she would meet her friends, also in stately clothes. How abnormal it
+seemed to Edward that a young man should give up this pleasant custom,
+merely because he could not be sure that Jonah had swallowed a whale!
+
+But it was when Hal’s doubts attacked his brother’s week-day
+religion--the religion of the profit-system--that the controversy
+between them had become deadly. At first Hal had known nothing about
+practical affairs, and it had been Edward’s duty to answer his
+questions. The prosperity of the country had been built up by strong
+men; and these men had enemies--evil-minded persons, animated by
+jealousy and other base passions, seeking to tear down the mighty
+structure. At first this devil-theory had satisfied the boy; but later
+on, as he had come to read and observe, he had been plagued by doubts.
+In the end, listening to his brother’s conversation, and reading the
+writings of so-called “muck-rakers,” the realisation was forced upon him
+that there were two types of mind in the controversy--those who thought
+of profits, and those who thought of human beings.
+
+Edward was alarmed at the books Hal was reading; he was still more
+alarmed when he saw the ideas Hal was bringing home from college. There
+must have been some strange change in Harrigan in a few years; no one
+had dreamed of such ideas when Edward was there! No one had written
+satiric songs about the faculty, or the endowments of eminent
+philanthropists!
+
+In the meantime Edward Warner Senior had had a paralytic stroke, and
+Edward Junior had taken charge of the company. Three years of this had
+given him the point of view of a coal-operator, hard and set for a
+life-time. The business of a coal-operator was to buy his labour cheap,
+to turn out the maximum product in the shortest time, and to sell the
+product at the market price to parties whose credit was satisfactory. If
+a concern was doing that, it was a successful concern; for any one to
+mention that it was making wrecks of the people who dug the coal, was to
+be guilty of sentimentality and impertinence.
+
+Edward had heard with dismay his brother’s announcement that he meant to
+study industry by spending his vacation as a common labourer. However,
+when he considered it, he was inclined to think that the idea might not
+be such a bad one. Perhaps Hal would not find what he was looking for;
+perhaps, working with his hands, he might get some of the nonsense
+knocked out of his head!
+
+But now the experiment had been made, and the revelation had burst upon
+Edward that it had been a ghastly failure. Hal had not come to realise
+that labour was turbulent and lazy and incompetent, needing a strong
+hand to rule it; on the contrary, he had become one of these turbulent
+ones himself! A champion of the lazy and incompetent, an agitator, a
+fomenter of class-prejudice, an enemy of his own friends, and of his
+brother’s business associates!
+
+Never had Hal seen Edward in such a state of excitement. There was
+something really abnormal about him, Hal realised; it puzzled him
+vaguely while he talked, but he did not understand it until his brother
+told how he had come to be here. He had been attending a dinner-dance at
+the home of a friend, and Percy Harrigan had got him on the telephone at
+half past eleven o’clock at night. Percy had had a message from
+Cartwright, to the effect that Hal was leading a riot in North Valley;
+Percy had painted the situation in such lurid colours that Edward had
+made a dash and caught the midnight train, wearing his evening clothes,
+and without so much as a tooth-brush with him!
+
+Hal could hardly keep from bursting out laughing. His brother, his
+punctilious and dignified brother, alighting from a sleeping-car at
+seven o’clock in the morning, wearing a dress suit and a silk hat! And
+here he was, Edward Warner Junior, the fastidious, who never paid less
+than a hundred and fifty dollars for a suit of clothes, clad in a
+“hand-me-down” for which he had expended twelve dollars and forty-eight
+cents in a “Jew-store” in a coal-town!
+
+
+
+SECTION 11.
+
+But Edward would not stop for a single smile; his every faculty was
+absorbed in the task he had before him, to get his brother out of this
+predicament, so dangerous and so humiliating. Hal had come to a town
+owned by Edward’s business friends, and had proceeded to meddle in their
+affairs, to stir up their labouring people and imperil their property.
+That North Valley was the property of the General Fuel Company--not
+merely the mines and the houses, but likewise the people who lived in
+them--Edward seemed to have no doubt whatever; Hal got only exclamations
+of annoyance when he suggested any other point of view. Would there have
+been any town of North Valley, if it had not been for the capital and
+energy of the General Fuel Company? If the people of North Valley did
+not like the conditions which the General Fuel Company offered them,
+they had one simple and obvious remedy--to go somewhere else to work.
+But they stayed; they got out the General Fuel Company’s coal, they took
+the General Fuel Company’s wages--
+
+“Well, they’ve stopped taking them now,” put in Hal.
+
+All right, that was their affair, replied Edward. But let them stop
+because they wanted to--not because outside agitators put them up to it.
+At any rate, let the agitators not include a member of the Warner
+family!
+
+The elder brother pictured old Peter Harrigan on his way back from the
+East; the state of unutterable fury in which he would arrive, the storm
+he would raise in the business world of Western City. Why, it was
+unimaginable, such a thing had never been heard of! “And right when
+we’re opening up a new mine--when we need every dollar of credit we can
+get!”
+
+“Aren’t we big enough to stand off Peter Harrigan?” inquired Hal.
+
+“We have plenty of other people to stand off,” was the answer. “We don’t
+have to go out of our way to make enemies.”
+
+Edward spoke, not merely as the elder brother, but also as the money-man
+of the family. When the father had broken down from over-work, and had
+been changed in one terrible hour from a driving man of affairs into a
+childish and pathetic invalid, Hal had been glad enough that there was
+one member of the family who was practical; he had been perfectly
+willing to see his brother shoulder these burdens, while he went off to
+college, to amuse himself with satiric songs. Hal had no
+responsibilities, no one asked anything of him--except that he would not
+throw sticks into the wheels of the machine his brother was running.
+“You are living by the coal industry! Every dollar you spend comes from
+it--”
+
+“I know it! I know it!” cried Hal. “That’s the thing that torments me!
+The fact that I’m living upon the bounty of such wage-slaves--”
+
+“Oh, cut it out!” cried Edward. “That’s not what I mean!”
+
+“I know--but it’s what _I_ mean! From now on I mean to know about the
+people who work for me, and what sort of treatment they get. I’m no
+longer your kid-brother, to be put off with platitudes.”
+
+“You know ours are union mines, Hal--”
+
+“Yes, but what does that mean? How do we work it? Do we give the men
+their weights?”
+
+“Of course! They have their check-weighmen.”
+
+“But then, how do we compete with the operators in this district, who
+pay for a ton of three thousand pounds?”
+
+“We manage it--by economy.”
+
+“Economy? I don’t see Peter Harrigan wasting anything here!” Hal paused
+for an answer, but none came. “Do we buy the check-weighmen? Do we bribe
+the labour leaders?”
+
+Edward coloured slightly. “What’s the use of being nasty, Hal? You know
+I don’t do dirty work.”
+
+“I don’t mean to be nasty, Edward; but you must know that many a
+business-man can say he doesn’t do dirty work, because he has others do
+it for him. What about politics, for instance? Do we run a machine, and
+put our clerks and bosses into the local offices?”
+
+Edward did not answer, and Hal persisted, “I mean to know these things!
+I’m not going to be blind any more!”
+
+“All right, Hal--you can know anything you want; but for God’s sake, not
+now! If you want to be taken for a man, show a man’s common sense!
+Here’s Old Peter getting back to Western City to-morrow night! Don’t you
+know that he’ll be after me, raging like a mad bull? Don’t you know that
+if I tell him I can do nothing--that I’ve been down here and tried to
+pull you away--don’t you know he’ll go after Dad?”
+
+Edward had tried all the arguments, and this was the only one that
+counted. “You must keep him away from Dad!” exclaimed Hal.
+
+“You tell me that!” retorted the other. “And when you know Old Peter!
+Don’t you know he’ll get at him, if he has to break down the door of the
+house? He’ll throw the burden of his rage on that poor old man! You’ve
+been warned about it clearly; you know it may be a matter of life and
+death to keep Dad from getting excited. I don’t know what he’d do; maybe
+he’d fly into a rage with you, maybe he’d defend you. He’s old and weak,
+he’s lost his grip on things. Anyhow, he’d not let Peter abuse you--and
+like as not he’d drop dead in the midst of the dispute! Do you want to
+have that on your conscience, along with the troubles of your workingmen
+friends?”
+
+
+
+SECTION 12.
+
+Hal sat staring in front of him, silent. Was it a fact that every man
+had something in his life which palsied his arm, and struck him helpless
+in the battle for social justice?
+
+When he spoke again, it was in a low voice. “Edward, I’m thinking about
+a young Irish boy who works in these mines. He, too, has a father; and
+this father was caught in the explosion. He’s an old man, with a wife
+and seven other children. He’s a good man, the boy’s a good boy. Let me
+tell you what Peter Harrigan has done to them!”
+
+“Well,” said Edward, “whatever it is, it’s all right, you can help them.
+They won’t need to starve.”
+
+“I know,” said Hal, “but there are so many others; I can’t help them
+all. And besides, can’t you see, Edward--what I’m thinking about is not
+charity, but _justice_. I’m sure this boy, Tim Rafferty, loves his
+father just exactly as much as I love my father; and there are other old
+men here, with sons who love them--”
+
+“Oh, Hal, for Christ’s sake!” exclaimed Edward, in a sort of explosion.
+He had no other words to express his impatience. “Do you expect to take
+all the troubles in the world on your shoulders?” And he sprang up and
+caught the other by the arm. “Boy, you’ve got to come away from here!”
+
+Hal got up, without answering. He seemed irresolute, and his brother
+started to draw him towards the door. “I’ve got a car here. We can get a
+train in an hour--”
+
+Hal saw that he had to speak firmly. “No, Edward,” he said. “I can’t
+come just yet.”
+
+“I tell you you _must_ come!”
+
+“I can’t. I made these men a promise!”
+
+“In God’s name--what are these men to you? Compared with your own
+father!”
+
+“I can’t explain it, Edward. I’ve talked for half an hour, and I don’t
+think you’ve even heard me. Suffice it to say that I see these people
+caught in a trap--and one that my whole life has helped to make. I can’t
+leave them in it. What’s more, I don’t believe Dad would want me to do
+it, if he understood.”
+
+The other made a last effort at self-control. “I’m not going to call you
+a sentimental fool. Only, let me ask you one plain question. What do you
+think you can _do_ for these people?”
+
+“I think I can help to win decent conditions for them.”
+
+“Good God!” cried Edward; he sighed, in his agony of exasperation. “In
+Peter Harrigan’s mines! Don’t you realise that he’ll pick them up and
+throw them out of here, neck and crop--the whole crew, every man in the
+town, if necessary?”
+
+“Perhaps,” answered Hal; “but if the men in the other mines should join
+them--if the big union outside should stand by them--”
+
+“You’re dreaming, Hal! You’re talking like a child! I talked to the
+superintendent here; he had telegraphed the situation to Old Peter, and
+had just got an answer. Already he’s acted, no doubt.”
+
+“Acted?” echoed Hal. “How do you mean?” He was staring at his brother in
+sudden anxiety.
+
+“They were going to turn the agitators out, of course.”
+
+“_What?_ And while I’m here talking!”
+
+Hal turned toward the door. “You knew it all the time!” he exclaimed.
+“You kept me here deliberately!”
+
+He was starting away, but Edward sprang and caught him. “What could you
+have done?”
+
+“Turn me loose!” cried Hal, angrily.
+
+“Don’t be a fool, Hal! I’ve been trying to keep you out of the trouble.
+There may be fighting.”
+
+Edward threw himself between Hal and the door, and there was a sharp
+struggle. But the elder man was no longer the athlete, the young bronzed
+god; he had been sitting at a desk in an office, while Hal had been
+doing hard labour. Hal threw him to one side, and in a moment more had
+sprung out of the door, and was running down the slope.
+
+
+
+SECTION 13.
+
+Coming to the main street of the village, Hal saw the crowd in front of
+the office. One glance told him that something had happened. Men were
+running this way and that, gesticulating, shouting. Some were coming in
+his direction, and when they saw him they began to yell to him. The
+first to reach him was Klowoski, the little Pole, breathless; gasping
+with excitement. “They fire our committee!”
+
+“Fire them?”
+
+“Fire ’em out! Down canyon!” The little man was waving his arms in wild
+gestures; his eyes seemed about to start out of his head. “Take ’em off!
+Whole bunch fellers--gunmen! People see them--come out back door. Got
+ever’body’s arm tied. Gunmen fellers hold ’em, don’t let ’em holler,
+can’t do nothin’! Got them cars waitin’--what you call?--”
+
+“Automobiles?”
+
+“Sure, got three! Put ever’body in, quick like that--they go down road
+like wind! Go down canyon, all gone! They bust our strike!” And the
+little Pole’s voice ended in a howl of despair.
+
+“No, they won’t bust our strike!” exclaimed Hal. “Not yet!”
+
+Suddenly he was reminded of the fact that his brother had followed
+him--puffing hard, for the run had been strenuous. He caught Hal by the
+arm, exclaiming, “Keep out of this, I tell you!”
+
+Thus while Hal was questioning Klowoski, he was struggling
+half-unconsciously, to free himself from his brother’s grasp. Suddenly
+the matter was forced to an issue, for the little Polack emitted a cry
+like an angry cat, and went at Edward with fingers outstretched like
+claws. Hal’s dignified brother would have had to part with his dignity,
+if Hal had not caught Klowoski’s onrush with his other arm. “Let him
+alone!” he said. “It’s my brother!” Whereupon the little man fell back
+and stood watching in bewilderment.
+
+Hal saw Androkulos running to him. The Greek boy had been in the street
+back of the office, and had seen the committee carried off; nine people
+had been taken--Wauchope, Tim Rafferty, and Mary Burke, Marcelli,
+Zammakis and Rusick, and three others who had served as interpreters on
+the night before. It had all been done so quickly that the crowd had
+scarcely realised what was happening.
+
+Now, having grasped the meaning of it, the men were beside themselves
+with rage. They shook their fists, shouting defiance to a group of
+officials and guards who were visible upon the porch of the
+office-building. There was a clamour of shouts for revenge.
+
+Hal could see instantly the dangers of the situation; he was like a man
+watching the burning fuse of a bomb. Now, if ever, this polyglot horde
+must have leadership--wise and cool and resourceful leadership.
+
+The crowd, discovering his presence, surged down upon him like a wave.
+They gathered round him, howling. They had lost the rest of their
+committee, but they still had Joe Smith. Joe Smith! Hurrah for Joe! Let
+the gunmen take him, if they could! They waved their caps, they tried to
+lift him upon their shoulders, so that all could see him.
+
+There was clamour for a speech, and Hal started to make his way to the
+steps of the nearest building, with Edward holding on to his coat.
+Edward was jostled; he had to part with his dignity--but he did not part
+with his brother. And when Hal was about to mount the steps, Edward made
+a last desperate effort, shouting into his ear, “Wait a minute! Wait!
+Are you going to try to talk to this mob?”
+
+“Of course. Don’t you see there’ll be trouble if I don’t?”
+
+“You’ll get yourself killed! You’ll start a fight, and get a lot of
+these poor devils shot! Use your common sense, Hal; the company has
+brought in guards, and they are armed, and your people aren’t.”
+
+“That’s exactly why I have to speak!”
+
+The discussion was carried on under difficulties, the elder brother
+clinging to the younger’s arm, while the younger sought to pull free,
+and the mob shouted with a single voice, “Speech! Speech!” There were
+some near by who, like Klowoski, did not relish having this stranger
+interfering with their champion, and showed signs of a disposition to
+“mix in”; so at last Edward gave up the struggle, and the orator mounted
+the steps and faced the throng.
+
+
+
+SECTION 14.
+
+Hal raised his arms as a signal for silence.
+
+“Boys,” he cried, “they’ve kidnapped our committee. They think they’ll
+break our strike that way--but they’ll find they’ve made a mistake!”
+
+“They will! Right you are!” roared a score of voices.
+
+“They forget that we’ve got a union. Hurrah for our North Valley union!”
+
+“Hurrah! Hurrah!” The cry echoed to the canyon-walls.
+
+“And hurrah for the big union that will back us--the United Mine-Workers
+of America!”
+
+Again the yell rang out; again and again. “Hurrah for the union! Hurrah
+for the United Mine-Workers!” A big American miner, Ferris, was in the
+front of the throng, and his voice beat in Hal’s ears like a
+steam-siren.
+
+“Boys,” Hal resumed, when at last he could be heard, “use your brains a
+moment. I warned you they would try to provoke you! They would like
+nothing better than to start a scrap here, and get a chance to smash our
+union! Don’t forget that, boys, if they can make you fight, they’ll
+smash the union, and the union is our only hope!”
+
+Again came the cry: “Hurrah for the union!” Hal let them shout it in
+twenty languages, until they were satisfied.
+
+“Now, boys,” he went on, at last, “they’ve shipped out our committee.
+They may ship me out in the same way--”
+
+“No, they won’t!” shouted voices in the crowd. And there was a bellow of
+rage from Ferris. “Let them try it! We’ll burn them in their beds!”
+
+“But they _can_ ship me out!” argued Hal. “You _know_ they can beat us
+at that game! They can call on the sheriff, they can get the soldiers,
+if necessary! We can’t oppose them by force--they can turn out every
+man, woman and child in the village, if they choose. What we have to get
+clear is that even that won’t crush our union! Nor the big union
+outside, that will be backing us! We can hold out, and make them take us
+back in the end!”
+
+Some of Hal’s friends, seeing what he was trying to do, came to his
+support. “No fighting! No violence! Stand by the union!” And he went on
+to drive the lesson home; even though the company might evict them, the
+big union of the four hundred and fifty thousand mine-workers of the
+country would feed them, it would call out the rest of the workers in
+the district in sympathy. So the bosses, who thought to starve and cow
+them into submission, would find their mines lying permanently idle.
+They would be forced to give way, and the tactics of solidarity would
+triumph.
+
+So Hal went on, recalling the things Olson had told him, and putting
+them into practice. He saw hope in their faces again, dispelling the
+mood of resentment and rage.
+
+“Now, boys,” said he, “I’m going in to see the superintendent for you.
+I’ll be your committee, since they’ve shipped out the rest.”
+
+The steam-siren of Ferris bellowed again: “You’re the boy! Joe Smith!”
+
+“All right, men--now mind what I say! I’ll see the super, and then I’ll
+go down to Pedro, where there’ll be some officers of the United
+Mine-workers this morning. I’ll tell them the situation, and ask them to
+back you. That’s what you want, is it?”
+
+That was what they wanted. “Big union!”
+
+“All right. I’ll do the best I can for you, and I’ll find some way to
+get word to you. And meantime you stand firm. The bosses will tell you
+lies, they’ll try to deceive you, they’ll send spies and trouble-makers
+among you--but you hold fast, and wait for the big union.”
+
+Hal stood looking at the cheering crowd. He had time to note some of the
+faces upturned to him. Pitiful, toil-worn faces they were, each making
+its separate appeal, telling its individual story of deprivation and
+defeat. Once more they were transfigured, shining with that wonderful
+new light which he had seen for the first time the previous evening. It
+had been crushed for a moment, but it flamed up again; it would never
+die in the hearts of men--once they had learned the power it gave.
+Nothing Hal had yet seen moved him so much as this new birth of
+enthusiasm. A beautiful, a terrible thing it was!
+
+Hal looked at his brother, to see how he had been moved. What he saw on
+his brother’s face was satisfaction, boundless relief. The matter had
+turned out all right! Hal was coming away!
+
+Hal turned again to the men; somehow, after his glance at Edward, they
+seemed more pitiful than ever. For Edward typified the power they were
+facing--the unseeing, uncomprehending power that meant to crush them.
+The possibility of failure was revealed to Hal in a flash of emotion,
+overwhelming him. He saw them as they would be, when no leader was at
+hand to make speeches to them. He saw them waiting, their life-long
+habit of obedience striving to reassert itself; a thousand fears
+besetting them, a thousand rumours preying upon them--wild beasts set on
+them by their cunning enemies. They would suffer, not merely for
+themselves, but for their wives and children--the very same pangs of
+dread that Hal suffered when he thought of one old man up in Western
+City, whose doctors had warned him to avoid excitement.
+
+If they stood firm, if they kept their bargain with their leader, they
+would be evicted from their homes, they would face the cold of the
+coming winter, they would face hunger and the black-list. And he,
+meantime--what would he be doing? What was his part of the bargain? He
+would interview the superintendent for them, he would turn them over to
+the “big union”--and then he would go off to his own life of ease and
+pleasure. To eat grilled steaks and hot rolls in a perfectly appointed
+club, with suave and softly-moving servitors at his beck! To dance at
+the country club with exquisite creatures of chiffon and satin, of
+perfume and sweet smiles and careless, happy charms! No, it was too
+easy! He might call that his duty to his father and brother, but he
+would know in his heart that it was treason to life; it was the devil,
+taking him onto a high mountain and showing him all the kingdoms of the
+earth!
+
+Moved by a sudden impulse, Hal raised his hands once more. “Boys,” he
+said, “we understand each other now. You’ll not go back to work till the
+big union tells you. And I, for my part, will stand by you. Your cause
+is my cause, I’ll go on fighting for you till you have your rights, till
+you can live and work as men! Is that right?”
+
+“That’s right! That’s right!”
+
+“Very good, then--we’ll swear to it!” And Hal raised his hands, and the
+men raised theirs, and amid a storm of shouts, and a frantic waving of
+caps, he made them the pledge which he knew would bind his own
+conscience. He made it deliberately, there in his brother’s presence.
+This was no mere charge on a trench, it was enlisting for a war! But
+even in that moment of fervour, Hal would have been frightened had he
+realised the period of that enlistment, the years of weary and desperate
+conflict to which he was pledging his life.
+
+
+
+SECTION 15.
+
+Hal descended from his rostrum, and the crowds made way for him, and
+with his brother at his side he went down the street to the office
+building, upon the porch of which the guards were standing. His progress
+was a triumphal one; rough voices shouted words of encouragement in his
+ears, men jostled and fought to shake his hand or to pat him on the
+back; they even patted Edward and tried to shake his hand, because he
+was with Hal, and seemed to have his confidence. Afterwards Hal thought
+it over and was merry. Such an adventure for Edward!
+
+The younger man went up the steps of the building and spoke to the
+guards. “I want to see Mr. Cartwright.”
+
+“He’s inside,” answered one, not cordially. With Edward following, Hal
+entered, and was ushered into the private office of the superintendent.
+
+Having been a working-man, and class-conscious, Hal was observant of the
+manners of mine-superintendents; he noted that Cartwright bowed politely
+to Edward, but did not include Edward’s brother. “Mr. Cartwright,” he
+said, “I have come to you as a deputation from the workers of this
+camp.”
+
+The superintendent did not appear impressed by the announcement.
+
+“I am instructed to say that the men demand the redress of four
+grievances before they return to work. First--”
+
+Here Cartwright spoke, in his quick, sharp way. “There’s no use going
+on, sir. This company will deal only with its men as individuals. It
+will recognise no deputations.”
+
+Hal’s answer was equally quick. “Very well, Mr. Cartwright. In that
+case, I come to you as an individual.”
+
+For a moment the superintendent seemed nonplussed.
+
+“I wish to ask four rights which are granted to me by the laws of this
+state. First, the right to belong to a union, without being discharged
+for it.”
+
+The other had recovered his manner of quiet mastery. “You have that
+right, sir; you have always had it. You know perfectly well that the
+company has never discharged any one for belonging to a union.”
+
+The man was looking at Hal, and there was a duel of the eyes between
+them. A cold anger moved Hal. His ability to endure this sort of thing
+was at an end. “Mr. Cartwright,” he said, “you are the servant of one of
+the world’s greatest actors; and you support him ably.”
+
+The other flushed and drew back; Edward put in quickly: “Hal, there’s
+nothing to be gained by such talk!”
+
+“He has all the world for an audience,” persisted Hal. “He plays the
+most stupendous farce--and he and all his actors wearing such solemn
+faces!”
+
+“Mr. Cartwright,” said Edward, with dignity, “I trust you understand
+that I have done everything I can to restrain my brother.”
+
+“Of course, Mr. Warner,” replied the superintendent. “And you must know
+that I, for my part, have done everything to show your brother
+consideration.”
+
+“Again!” exclaimed Hal. “This actor is a genius!”
+
+“Hal, if you have business with Mr. Cartwright--”
+
+“He showed me consideration by sending his gunmen to seize me at night,
+drag me out of a cabin, and nearly twist the arm off me! Such humour
+never was!”
+
+Cartwright attempted to speak--but looking at Edward, not at Hal. “At
+that time--”
+
+“He showed me consideration by having me locked up in jail and fed on
+bread and water for two nights and a day! Can you beat that humour?”
+
+“At that time I did not know--”
+
+“By forging my name to a letter and having it circulated in the camp!
+Finally--most considerate of all--by telling a newspaper man that I had
+seduced a girl here!”
+
+The superintendent flushed still redder. “_No!_” he declared.
+
+“_What?_” cried Hal. “You didn’t tell Billy Keating of the _Gazette_
+that I had seduced a girl in North Valley? You didn’t describe the girl
+to him--a red-haired Irish girl?”
+
+“I merely said, Mr. Warner, that I had heard certain rumours--”
+
+“_Certain_ rumours, Mr. Cartwright? The certainty was all of your
+making! You made a definite and explicit statement to Mr. Keating--”
+
+“I did not!” declared the other.
+
+“I’ll soon prove it!” And Hal started towards the telephone on
+Cartwright’s desk.
+
+“What are you going to do, Hal?”
+
+“I am going to get Billy Keating on the wire, and let you hear his
+statement.”
+
+“Oh, rot, Hal!” cried Edward. “I don’t care anything about Keating’s
+statement. You know that at that time Mr. Cartwright had no means of
+knowing who you were.”
+
+Cartwright was quick to grasp this support. “Of course not, Mr. Warner!
+Your brother came here, pretending to be a working boy--”
+
+“Oh!” cried Hal. “So that’s it! You think it proper to circulate
+slanders about working boys in your camp?”
+
+“You have been here long enough to know what the morals of such boys
+are.”
+
+“I have been here long enough, Mr. Cartwright, to know that if you want
+to go into the question of morals in North Valley, the place for you to
+begin is with the bosses and guards you put in authority, and allow to
+prey upon women.”
+
+Edward broke in: “Hal, there’s nothing to be gained by pursuing this
+conversation. If you have any business here, get it over with, for God’s
+sake!”
+
+Hal made an effort to recover his self-possession. He came back to the
+demands of the strike--but only to find that he had used up the
+superintendent’s self-possession. “I have given you my answer,” declared
+Cartwright, “I absolutely decline any further discussion.”
+
+“Well,” said Hal, “since you decline to permit a deputation of your men
+to deal with you in plain, business-like fashion, I have to inform you
+as an individual that every other individual in your camp refuses to
+work for you.”
+
+The superintendent did not let himself be impressed by this elaborate
+sarcasm. “All I have to tell you, sir, is that Number Two mine will
+resume work in the morning, and that any one who refuses to work will be
+sent down the canyon before night.”
+
+“So quickly, Mr. Cartwright? They have rented their homes from the
+company, and you know that according to the company’s own lease they are
+entitled to three days’ notice before being evicted!”
+
+Cartwright was so unwise as to argue. He knew that Edward was hearing,
+and he wished to clear himself. “They will not be evicted by the
+company. They will be dealt with by the town authorities.”
+
+“Of which you yourself are the head?”
+
+“I happen to have been elected mayor of North Valley.”
+
+“As mayor of North Valley, you gave my brother to understand that you
+would put me out, did you not?”
+
+“I asked your brother to persuade you to leave.”
+
+“But you made clear that if he could not do this, you would put me out?”
+
+“Yes, that is true.”
+
+“And the reason you gave was that you had had instructions by telegraph
+from Mr. Peter Harrigan. May I ask to what office Mr. Harrigan has been
+elected in your town?”
+
+Cartwright saw his difficulty. “Your brother misunderstood me,” he said,
+crossly.
+
+“Did you misunderstand him, Edward?”
+
+Edward had walked to the window in disgust; he was looking at
+tomato-cans and cinder-heaps, and did not see fit to turn around. But
+the superintendent knew that he was hearing, and considered it necessary
+to cover the flaw in his argument. “Young man,” said he, “you have
+violated several of the ordinances of this town.”
+
+“Is there an ordinance against organising a union of the miners?”
+
+“No; but there is one against speaking on the streets.”
+
+“Who passed that ordinance, if I may ask?”
+
+“The town council.”
+
+“Consisting of Johnson, postmaster and company-store clerk; Ellison,
+company book-keeper; Strauss, company pit-boss; O’Callahan, company
+saloon-keeper. Have I the list correct?”
+
+Cartwright did not answer.
+
+“And the fifth member of the town council is yourself, ex-officio--Mr.
+Enos Cartwright, mayor and company-superintendent.”
+
+Again there was no answer.
+
+“You have an ordinance against street-speaking; and at the same time
+your company owns the saloon-buildings, the boarding-houses, the church
+and the school. Where do you expect the citizens to do their speaking?”
+
+“You would make a good lawyer, young man. But we who have charge here
+know perfectly well what you mean by ‘speaking’!”
+
+“You don’t approve, then, of the citizens holding meetings?”
+
+“I mean that we don’t consider it necessary to provide agitators with
+opportunity to incite our employés.”
+
+“May I ask, Mr. Cartwright, are you speaking as mayor of an American
+community, or as superintendent of a coal-mine?”
+
+Cartwright’s face had been growing continually redder. Addressing
+Edward’s back, he said, “I don’t see any reason why this should
+continue.”
+
+And Edward was of the same opinion. He turned. “Really, Hal--”
+
+“But, Edward! A man accuses your brother of being a law-breaker! Have
+you hitherto known of any criminal tendencies in our family?”
+
+Edward turned to the window again and resumed his study of the
+cinder-heaps and tomato-cans. It was a vulgar and stupid quarrel, but he
+had seen enough of Hal’s mood to realise that he would go on and on, so
+long as any one was indiscreet enough to answer him.
+
+“You say, Mr. Cartwright, that I have violated the ordinance against
+speaking on the street. May I ask what penalty this ordinance carries?”
+
+“You will find out when the penalty is exacted of you.”
+
+Hal laughed. “From what you said just now, I gather that the penalty is
+expulsion from the town! If I understand legal procedure, I should have
+been brought before the justice of the peace--who happens to be another
+company store-clerk. Instead of that, I am sentenced by the mayor--or is
+it the company superintendent? May I ask how that comes to be?”
+
+“It is because of my consideration--”
+
+“When did I ask consideration?”
+
+“Consideration for your brother, I mean.”
+
+“Oh! Then your ordinance provides that the mayor--or is it the
+superintendent?--may show consideration for the brother of a
+law-breaker, by changing his penalty to expulsion from the town. Was it
+consideration for Tommie Burke that caused you to have his sister sent
+down the canyon?”
+
+Cartwright clenched his hands. “I’ve had all I’ll stand of this!”
+
+He was again addressing Edward’s back; and Edward turned and answered,
+“I don’t blame you, sir.” Then to Hal, “I really think you’ve said
+enough!”
+
+“I hope I’ve said enough,” replied Hal--“to convince you that the
+pretence of American law in this coal-camp is a silly farce, an insult
+and a humiliation to any man who respects the institutions of his
+country.”
+
+“You, Mr. Warner,” said the superintendent, to Edward, “have had
+experience in managing coal-mines. You know what it means to deal with
+ignorant foreigners, who have no understanding of American law--”
+
+Hal burst out laughing. “So you’re teaching them American law! You’re
+teaching them by setting at naught every law of your town and state,
+every constitutional guarantee--and substituting the instructions you
+get by telegraph from Peter Harrigan!”
+
+Cartwright turned and walked to the door. “Young man,” said he, over his
+shoulder, “it will be necessary for you to leave North Valley this
+morning. I only hope your brother will be able to persuade you to leave
+without trouble.” And the bang of the door behind him was the
+superintendent’s only farewell.
+
+
+
+SECTION 17.
+
+Edward turned upon his brother. “Now what the devil did you want to put
+me through a scene like that for? So undignified! So utterly uncalled
+for! A quarrel with a man so far beneath you!”
+
+Hal stood where the superintendent had left him. He was looking at his
+brother’s angry face. “Was that all you got out of it, Edward?”
+
+“All that stuff about your private character! What do you care what a
+fellow like Cartwright thinks about you?”
+
+“I care nothing at all what he thinks, but I care about having him use
+such a slander. That’s one of their regular procedures, so Billy Keating
+says.”
+
+Edward answered, coldly, “Take my advice, and realise that when you deny
+a scandal, you only give it circulation.”
+
+“Of course,” answered Hal. “That’s what makes me so angry. Think of the
+girl, the harm done to her!”
+
+“It’s not up to you to worry about the girl.”
+
+“Suppose that Cartwright had slandered some woman friend of yours. Would
+you have felt the same indifference?”
+
+“He’d not have slandered any friend of mine; I choose my friends more
+carefully.”
+
+“Yes, of course. What that means is that you choose them among the rich.
+But I happen to be more democratic in my tastes--”
+
+“Oh, for heaven’s sake!” cried Edward. “You reformers are all alike--you
+talk and talk and talk!”
+
+“I can tell you the reason for that, Edward--a man like you can shut his
+eyes, but he can’t shut his ears!”
+
+“Well, can’t you let up on me for awhile--long enough to get out of this
+place? I feel as if I were sitting on the top of a volcano, and I’ve no
+idea when it may break out again.”
+
+Hal began to laugh. “All right,” he said; “I guess I haven’t shown much
+appreciation of your visit. I’ll be more sociable now. My next business
+is in Pedro, so I’ll go that far with you. There’s one thing more--”
+
+“What is it?”
+
+“The company owes me money--”
+
+“What money?”
+
+“Some I’ve earned.”
+
+It was Edward’s turn to laugh. “Enough to buy you a shave and a bath?”
+
+He took out his wallet, and pulled off several bills; and Hal, watching
+him, realised suddenly a change which had taken place in his own
+psychology. Not merely had he acquired the class-consciousness of the
+working-man, he had acquired the money-consciousness as well. He was
+actually concerned about the dollars the company owed him! He had earned
+those dollars by back- and heart-breaking toil, lifting lumps of coal
+into cars; the sum was enough to keep the whole Rafferty family alive
+for a week or two. And here was Edward, with a smooth brown leather
+wallet full of ten- and twenty-dollar bills, which he peeled off without
+counting, exactly as if money grew on trees, or as if coal came out of
+the earth and walked into furnaces to the sound of a fiddle and a flute!
+
+Edward had of course no idea of these abnormal processes going on in his
+brother’s mind. He was holding out the bills. “Get yourself some decent
+things,” he said. “I hope you don’t have to stay dirty in order to feel
+democratic?”
+
+“No,” answered Hal; and then, “How are we going?”
+
+“I’ve a car waiting, back of the office.”
+
+“So you had everything ready!” But Edward made no answer; afraid of
+setting off the volcano again.
+
+
+
+SECTION 18.
+
+They went out by the rear door of the office, entered the car, and sped
+out of the village, unseen by the crowd. And all the way down the canyon
+Edward pleaded with Hal to drop the controversy and come home at once.
+He brought up the tragic question of Dad again; when that did not avail,
+he began to threaten. Suppose Hal’s money-resources were to be cut off,
+suppose he were to find himself left out of his father’s will--what
+would he do then? Hal answered, without a smile, “I can always get a job
+as organiser for the United Mine-Workers.”
+
+So Edward gave up that line of attack. “If you won’t come,” he declared,
+“I’m going to stay by you till you do!”
+
+“All right,” said Hal. He could not help smiling at this dire threat.
+“But if I take you about and introduce you to my friends, you must agree
+that what you hear shall be confidential.”
+
+The other made a face of disgust. “What the devil would I want to talk
+about your friends for?”
+
+“I don’t know what might happen,” said Hal. “You’re going to meet Peter
+Harrigan and take his side, and I can’t tell what you might conceive it
+your duty to do.”
+
+The other exclaimed, with sudden passion, “I’ll tell you right now! If
+you try to go back to that coal-camp, I swear to God I’ll apply to the
+courts and have you shut up in a sanitarium. I don’t think I’d have much
+trouble in persuading a judge that you’re insane.”
+
+“No,” said Hal, with a laugh--“not a judge in this part of the world!”
+
+Then, after studying his brother’s face for a moment, it occurred to him
+that it might be well not to let such an idea rest unimpeached in
+Edward’s mind. “Wait,” said he, “till you meet my friend Billy Keating,
+of the _Gazette_, and hear what he would do with such a story! Billy is
+crazy to have me turn him loose to ‘play up’ my fight with Old Peter!”
+ The conversation went no farther--but Hal was sure that Edward would
+“put that in his pipe and smoke it.”
+
+They came to the MacKellar home in Pedro, and Edward waited in the
+automobile while Hal went inside. The old Scotchman welcomed him warmly,
+and told him what news he had. Jerry Minetti had been there that
+morning, and MacKellar at his request had telephoned to the office of
+the union in Sheridan, and ascertained that Jack David had brought word
+about the strike on the previous evening. All parties had been careful
+not to mention names, for “leaks” in the telephone were notorious, but
+it was clear who the messenger had been. As a result of the message,
+Johann Hartman, president of the local union of the miners, was now at
+the American Hotel in Pedro, together with James Moylan, secretary of
+the district organisation--the latter having come down from Western City
+on the same train as Edward.
+
+This was all satisfactory; but MacKellar added a bit of information of
+desperate import--the officers of the union declared that they could not
+support a strike at the present time! It was premature, it could lead to
+nothing but failure and discouragement to the larger movement they were
+planning.
+
+Such a possibility Hal had himself realised at the outset. But he had
+witnessed the new birth of freedom at North Valley, he had seen the
+hungry, toil-worn faces of men looking up to him for support; he had
+been moved by it, and had come to feel that the union officials must be
+moved in the same way. “They’ve simply got to back it!” he exclaimed.
+“Those men must not be disappointed! They’ll lose all hope, they’ll sink
+into utter despair! The labour men must realise that--I must make them!”
+
+The old Scotchman answered that Minetti had felt the same way. He had
+flung caution to the winds, and rushed over to the hotel to see Hartman
+and Moylan. Hal decided to follow, and went out to the automobile.
+
+He explained matters to his brother, whose comment was, Of course! It
+was what he had foretold. The poor, mis-guided miners would go back to
+their work, and their would-be leader would have to admit the folly of
+his course. There was a train for Western City in a couple of hours; it
+would be a great favour if Hal would arrange to take it.
+
+Hal answered shortly that he was going to the American Hotel. His
+brother might take him there, if he chose. So Edward gave the order to
+the driver of the car. Incidentally, Edward began asking about
+clothing-stores in Pedro. While Hal was in the hotel, pleading for the
+life of his newly-born labour union, Edward would seek a costume in
+which he could “feel like a human being.”
+
+
+
+SECTION 19.
+
+Hal found Jerry Minetti with the two officials in their hotel-room: Jim
+Moylan, district secretary, a long, towering Irish boy, black-eyed and
+black-haired, quick and sensitive, the sort of person one trusted and
+liked at the first moment; and Johann Hartman, local president, a
+grey-haired miner of German birth, reserved and slow-spoken, evidently a
+man of much strength, both physical and moral. He had need of it, any
+one could realise, having charge of a union headquarters in the heart of
+this “Empire of Raymond”!
+
+Hal first told of the kidnapping of the committee. This did not surprise
+the officials, he found; it was the thing the companies regularly did
+when there was threat of rebellion in the camps. That was why efforts to
+organise openly were so utterly hopeless. There was no chance for
+anything but a secret propaganda, maintained until every camp had the
+nucleus of an organisation.
+
+“So you can’t back this strike!” exclaimed Hal.
+
+Not possibly, was Moylan’s reply. It would be lost as soon as it was
+begun. There was no slightest hope of success until a lot of
+organisation work had been done.
+
+“But meantime,” argued Hal, “the union at North Valley will go to
+pieces!”
+
+“Perhaps,” was the reply. “We’ll only have to start another. That’s what
+the labour movement is like.”
+
+Jim Moylan was young, and saw Hal’s mood. “Don’t misunderstand us!” he
+cried. “It’s heartbreaking--but it’s not in our power to help. We are
+charged with building up the union, and we know that if we supported
+everything that looked like a strike, we’d be bankrupt the first year.
+You can’t imagine how often this same thing happens--hardly a month
+we’re not called on to handle such a situation.”
+
+“I can see what you mean,” said Hal. “But I thought that in this case,
+right after the disaster, with the men so stirred--”
+
+The young Irishman smiled, rather sadly. “You’re new at this game,” he
+said. “If a mine-disaster was enough to win a strike, God knows our job
+would be easy. In Barela, just down the canyon from you, they’ve had
+three big explosions--they’ve killed over five hundred men in the past
+year!”
+
+Hal began to see how, in his inexperience, he had lost his sense of
+proportion.
+
+He looked at the two labour leaders, and recalled the picture of such a
+person which he had brought with him to North Valley--a hot headed and
+fiery agitator, luring honest workingmen from their jobs. But here was
+the situation exactly reversed! Here was he in a blaze of
+excitement--and two labour leaders turning the fire-hose on him! They
+sat quiet and business-like, pronouncing a doom upon the slaves of North
+Valley. Back to their black dungeons with them!
+
+“What can we tell the men?” he asked, making an effort to repress his
+chagrin.
+
+“We can only tell them what I’m telling you--that we’re helpless, till
+we’ve got the whole district organised. Meantime, they have to stand the
+gaff; they must do what they can to keep an organisation.”
+
+“But all the active men will be fired!”
+
+“No, not quite all--they seldom get them all.”
+
+Here the stolid old German put in. In the last year the company had
+turned out more than six thousand men because of union activity or
+suspicion of it.
+
+“_Six thousand!_” echoed Hal. “You mean from this one district?”
+
+“That’s what I mean.”
+
+“But there aren’t more than twelve or fifteen thousand men in the
+district!”
+
+“I know that.”
+
+“Then how can you ever keep an organisation?”
+
+The other answered, quietly, “They treat the new men the same as they
+treated the old.”
+
+Hal thought suddenly of John Edstrom’s ants! Here they were--building
+their bridge, building it again and again, as often as floods might
+destroy it! They had not the swift impatience of a youth of the
+leisure-class, accustomed to having his own way, accustomed to thinking
+of freedom and decency and justice as necessities of life. Much as Hal
+learned from the conversation of these men, he learned more from their
+silences--the quiet, matter-of-fact way they took things which had
+driven him beside himself with indignation. He began to realise what it
+would mean to stand by his pledge to those poor devils in North Valley.
+He would need more than one blaze of excitement; he would need brains
+and patience and discipline, he would need years of study and hard work!
+
+
+
+SECTION 20.
+
+Hal found himself forced to accept the decision of the labour-leaders.
+They had had experience, they could judge the situation. The miners
+would have to go back to work, and Cartwright and Alec Stone and Jeff
+Cotton would drive them as before! All that the rebels could do was to
+try to keep a secret organisation in the camp.
+
+Jerry Minetti mentioned Jack David. He had gone back this morning,
+without having seen the labour-leaders. So he might escape suspicion,
+and keep his job, and help the union work.
+
+“How about you?” asked Hal. “I suppose you’ve cooked your goose.”
+
+Jerry had never heard this phrase, but he got its meaning. “Sure thing!”
+ said he. “Cooked him plenty!”
+
+“Didn’t you see the ‘dicks’ down stairs in the lobby?” inquired Hartman.
+
+“I haven’t learned to recognise them yet.”
+
+“Well, you will, if you stay at this business. There hasn’t been a
+minute since our office was opened that we haven’t had half a dozen on
+the other side of the street. Every man that comes to see us is followed
+back to his camp and fired that same day. They’ve broken into my desk at
+night and stolen my letters and papers; they’ve threatened us with death
+a hundred times.”
+
+“I don’t see how you make any headway at all!”
+
+“They can never stop us. They thought when they broke into my desk,
+they’d get a list of our organisers. But you see, I carry the lists in
+my head!”
+
+“No small task, either,” put in Moylan. “Would you like to know how many
+organisers we have at work? Ninety-seven. And they haven’t caught a
+single one of them!”
+
+Hal heard him, amazed. Here was a new aspect of the labour movement!
+This quiet, resolute old “Dutchy,” whom you might have taken for a
+delicatessen-proprietor; this merry-eyed Irish boy, whom you would have
+expected to be escorting a lady to a firemen’s ball----they were
+captains of an army of sappers who were undermining the towers of Peter
+Harrigan’s fortress of greed!
+
+Hartman suggested that Jerry might take a chance at this sort of work.
+He would surely be fired from North Valley, so he might as well send
+word to his family to come to Pedro. In this way he might save himself
+to work as an organiser; because it was the custom of these company
+“spotters” to follow a man back to his camp and there identify him. If
+Jerry took a train for Western City, they would be thrown off the track,
+and he might get into some new camp and do organising among the
+Italians. Jerry accepted this proposition with alacrity; it would put
+off the evil day when Rosa and her little ones would be left to the
+mercy of chance.
+
+They were still talking when the telephone rang. It was Hartman’s
+secretary in Sheridan, reporting that he had just heard from the
+kidnapped committee. The entire party, eight men and Mary Burke, had
+been taken to Horton, a station not far up the line, and put on the
+train with many dire threats. But they had left the train at the next
+stop, and declared their intention of coming to Pedro. They were due at
+the hotel very soon.
+
+Hal desired to be present at this meeting, and went downstairs to tell
+his brother. There was another dispute, of course. Edward reminded Hal
+that the scenery of Pedro had a tendency to monotony; to which Hal could
+only answer by offering to introduce his brother to his friends. They
+were men who could teach Edward much, if he would consent to learn. He
+might attend the session with the committee--eight men and a woman who
+had ventured an act of heroism and been made the victims of a crime. Nor
+were they bores, as Edward might be thinking! There was blue-eyed Tim
+Rafferty, for example, a silent, smutty-faced gnome who had broken out
+of his black cavern and spread unexpected golden wings of oratory; and
+Mary Burke, of whom Edward might read in that afternoon’s edition of the
+Western City _Gazette_--a “Joan of Arc of the coal-camps,” or something
+equally picturesque. But Edward’s mood was not to be enlivened. He had a
+vision of his brother’s appearance in the paper as the companion of this
+Hibernian Joan!
+
+Hal went off with Jerry Minetti to what his brother described as a
+“hash-house,” while Edward proceeded in solitary state to the
+dining-room of the American Hotel. But he was not left in solitary
+state; pretty soon a sharp-faced young man was ushered to a seat beside
+him, and started up a conversation. He was a “drummer,” he said; his
+“line” was hardware, what was Edward’s? Edward answered coldly that he
+had no “line,” but the young man was not rebuffed--apparently his “line”
+ had hardened his sensibilities. Perhaps Edward was interested in
+coal-mines? Had he been visiting the camps? He questioned so
+persistently, and came back so often to the subject, that at last it
+dawned over Edward what this meant--he was receiving the attention of a
+“spotter!” Strange to say, the circumstance caused Edward more
+irritation against Peter Harrigan’s regime than all his brother’s
+eloquence about oppression at North Valley.
+
+
+
+SECTION 21.
+
+Soon after dinner the kidnapped committee arrived, bedraggled in body
+and weary in soul. They inquired for Johann Hartman, and were sent up to
+the room, where there followed a painful scene. Eight men and a woman
+who had ventured an act of heroism and been made the victims of a crime
+could not easily be persuaded to see their efforts and sacrifices thrown
+on the dump-heap, nor were they timid in expressing their opinions of
+those who were betraying them.
+
+“You been tryin’ to get us out!” cried Tim Rafferty. “Ever since I can
+remember you been at my old man to help you--an’ here, when we do what
+you ask, you throw us down!”
+
+“We never asked you to go on strike,” said Moylan.
+
+“No, that’s true. You only asked us to pay dues, so you fellows could
+have fat salaries.”
+
+“Our salaries aren’t very fat,” replied the young leader, patiently.
+“You’d find that out if you investigated.”
+
+“Well, whatever they are, they go on, while ours stop. We’re on the
+streets, we’re done for. Look at us--and most of us has got families,
+too! I got an old mother an’ a lot of brothers and sisters, an’ my old
+man done up an’ can’t work. What do you think’s to become of us?”
+
+“We’ll help you out a little, Rafferty--”
+
+“To hell with you!” cried Tim. “I don’t want your help! When I need
+charity, I’ll go to the county. They’re another bunch of grafters, but
+they don’t pretend to be friends to the workin’ man.”
+
+Here was the thing Tom Olson had told Hal at the outset--the workingmen
+bedevilled, not knowing whom to trust, suspecting the very people who
+most desired to help them. “Tim,” he put in, “there’s no use talking
+like that. We have to learn patience--”
+
+And the boy turned upon Hal. “What do you know about it? It’s all a joke
+to you. You can go off and forget it when you get ready. You’ve got
+money, they tell me!”
+
+Hal felt no resentment at this; it was what he heard from his own
+conscience. “It isn’t so easy for me as you think, Tim. There are other
+ways of suffering besides not having money--”
+
+“Much sufferin’ you’ll do--with your rich folks!” sneered Tim.
+
+There was a murmur of protest from others of the committee.
+
+“Good God, Rafferty!” broke in Moylan. “We can’t help it, man--we’re
+just as helpless as you!”
+
+“You say you’re helpless--but you don’t even try!”
+
+“_Try?_ Do you want us to back a strike that we know hasn’t a chance?
+You might as well ask us to lie down and let a load of coal run over us.
+We can’t win, man! I tell you we can’t _win_! We’d only be throwing away
+our organisation!”
+
+Moylan became suddenly impassioned. He had seen a dozen sporadic strikes
+in this district, and many a dozen young strikers, homeless, desolate,
+embittered, turning their disappointment on him. “We might support you
+with our funds, you say--we might go on doing it, even while the company
+ran the mine with scabs. But where would that land us, Rafferty? I seen
+many a union on the rocks--and I ain’t so old either! If we had a bank,
+we’d support all the miners of the country, they’d never need to work
+again till they got their rights. But this money we spend is the money
+that other miners are earnin’--right now, down in the pits, Rafferty,
+the same as you and your old man. They give us this money, and they say,
+‘Use it to build up the union. Use it to help the men that aren’t
+organised--take them in, so they won’t beat down our wages and scab on
+us. But don’t waste it, for God’s sake; we have to work hard to make it,
+and if we don’t see results, you’ll get no more out of us.’ Don’t you
+see how that is, man? And how it weighs on us, worse even then the fear
+that maybe we’ll lose our poor salaries--though you might refuse to
+believe anything so good of us? You don’t need to talk to me like I was
+Peter Harrigan’s son. I was a spragger when I was ten years old, and I
+ain’t been out of the pits so long that I’ve forgot the feeling. I
+assure you, the thing that keeps me awake at night ain’t the fear of not
+gettin’ a living, for I give myself a bit of education, working nights,
+and I know I could always turn out and earn what I need; but it’s
+wondering whether I’m spending the miners’ money the best way, whether
+maybe I mightn’t save them a little misery if I hadn’t ’a’ done this or
+had ’a’ done that. When I come down on that sleeper last night, here’s
+what I was thinking, Tim Rafferty--all the time I listened to the train
+bumping--‘Now I got to see some more of the suffering, I got to let some
+good men turn against us, because they can’t see why we should get
+salaries while they get the sack. How am I going to show them that I’m
+working for them--working as hard as I know how--and that I’m not to
+blame for their trouble?’”
+
+Here Wauchope broke in. “There’s no use talking any more. I see we’re up
+against it. We’ll not trouble you, Moylan.”
+
+“You trouble me,” cried Moylan, “unless you stand by the movement!”
+
+The other laughed bitterly. “You’ll never know what I do. It’s the road
+for me--and you know it!”
+
+“Well, wherever you go, it’ll be the same; either you’ll be fighting for
+the union, or you’ll be a weight that we have to carry.”
+
+The young leader turned from one to another of the committee, pleading
+with them not to be embittered by this failure, but to turn it to their
+profit, going on with the work of building up the solidarity of the
+miners. Every man had to make his sacrifices, to pay his part of the
+price. The thing of importance was that every man who was discharged
+should be a spark of unionism, carrying the flame of revolt to a new
+part of the country. Let each one do his part, and there would soon be
+no place to which the masters could send for “scabs.”
+
+
+
+SECTION 22.
+
+There was one member of this committee whom Hal watched with especial
+anxiety----Mary Burke. She had not yet said a word; while the others
+argued and protested, she sat with her lips set and her hands clenched.
+Hal knew what rage this failure must bring to her. She had risen and
+struggled and hoped, and the result was what she had always said it
+would be--nothing! Now he saw her, with eyes large and dark with
+fatigue, fixed on this fiery young labour-leader. He knew that a war
+must be going on within her. Would she drop out entirely now? It was the
+test of her character--as it was the test of the characters of all of
+them.
+
+“If only we’re strong enough and brave enough,” Jim Moylan was saying,
+“we can use our defeats to educate our people and bring them together.
+Right now, if we can make the men at North Valley see what we’re doing,
+they won’t go back beaten, they won’t be bitter against the union,
+they’ll only go back to wait. And ain’t that a way to beat the
+bosses--to hold our jobs, and keep the union alive, till we’ve got into
+all the camps, and can strike and win?”
+
+There was a pause; then Mary spoke. “How’re you meanin’ to tell the
+men?” Her voice was without emotion, but nevertheless, Hal’s heart
+leaped. Whether Mary had any hope or not, she was going to stay in line
+with the rest of the ants!
+
+Johann Hartman explained his idea. He would have circulars printed in
+several languages and distributed secretly in the camp, ordering the men
+back to work. But Jerry met this suggestion with a prompt no. The people
+would not believe the circulars, they would suspect the bosses of having
+them printed. Hadn’t the bosses done worse than that, “framing up” a
+letter from Joe Smith to balk the check-weighman movement? The only
+thing that would help would be for some of the committee to get into the
+camp and see the men face to face.
+
+“And it got to be quick!” Jerry insisted. “They get notice to work in
+morning, and them that don’t be fired. They be the best men, too--men we
+want to save.”
+
+Other members of the committee spoke up, agreeing with this. Said
+Rusick, the Slav, slow-witted and slow-spoken, “Them fellers get mighty
+damn sore if they lose their job and don’t got no strike.” And Zammakis,
+the Greek, quick and nervous, “We say strike; we got to say no strike.”
+
+What could they do? There was, in the first place, the difficulty of
+getting away from the hotel, which was being watched by the “spotters.”
+ Hartman suggested that if they went out all together and scattered, the
+detectives could not follow all of them. Those who escaped might get
+into North Valley by hiding in the “empties” which went up to the mine.
+
+But Moylan pointed out that the company would be anticipating this; and
+Rusick, who had once been a hobo, put in: “They sure search them cars.
+They give us plenty hell, too, when they catch us.”
+
+Yes, it would be a dangerous mission. Mary spoke again. “Maybe a lady
+could do it better.”
+
+“They’d beat a lady,” said Minetti.
+
+“I know, but maybe a lady might fool them. There’s some widows that came
+to Pedro for the funerals, and they’re wearin’ veils that hide their
+faces. I might pretend to be one of them and get into the camp.”
+
+The men looked at one another. There was an idea! The scowl which had
+stayed upon the face of Tim Rafferty ever since his quarrel with Moylan,
+gave place suddenly to a broad grin.
+
+“I seen Mrs. Zamboni on the street,” said he. “She had on black veils
+enough to hide the lot of us.”
+
+And here Hal spoke, for the first time since Tim Rafferty had silenced
+him. “Does anybody know where to find Mrs. Zamboni?”
+
+“She stay with my friend, Mrs. Swajka,” said Rusick.
+
+“Well,” said Hal, “there’s something you people don’t know about this
+situation. After they had fired you, I made another speech to the men,
+and made them swear they’d stay on strike. So now I’ve got to go back
+and eat my words. If we’re relying on veils and things, a man can be
+fixed up as well as a woman.”
+
+They were staring at him. “They’ll beat you to death if they catch you!”
+ said Wauchope.
+
+“No,” said Hal, “I don’t think so. Anyhow, it’s up to me”--he glanced at
+Tim Rafferty--“because I’m the only one who doesn’t have to suffer for
+the failure of our strike.”
+
+There was a pause.
+
+“I’m sorry I said that!” cried Tim, impulsively.
+
+“That’s all right, old man,” replied Hal. “What you said is true, and
+I’d like to do something to ease my conscience.” He rose to his feet,
+laughing. “I’ll make a peach of a widow!” he said. “I’m going up and
+have a tea-party with my friend Jeff Cotton!”
+
+
+
+SECTION 23.
+
+Hal proposed going to find Mrs. Zamboni at the place where she was
+staying; but Moylan interposed, objecting that the detectives would
+surely follow him. Even though they should all go out of the hotel at
+once, the one person the detective would surely stick to was the
+arch-rebel and trouble-maker, Joe Smith. Finally they decided to bring
+Mrs. Zamboni to the room. Let her come with Mrs. Swajka or some other
+woman who spoke English, and go to the desk and ask for Mary Burke,
+explaining that Mary had borrowed money from her, and that she had to
+have it to pay the undertaker for the burial of her man. The hotel-clerk
+might not know who Mary Burke was; but the watchful “spotters” would
+gather about and listen, and if it was mentioned that Mary was from
+North Valley, some one would connect her with the kidnapped committee.
+
+This was made clear to Rusick, who hurried off, and in the course of
+half an hour returned with the announcement that the women were on the
+way. A few minutes later came a tap on the door, and there stood the
+black-garbed old widow with her friend. She came in; and then came looks
+of dismay and horrified exclamations. Rusick was requesting her to give
+up her weeds to Joe Smith!
+
+“She say she don’t got nothing else,” explained the Slav.
+
+“Tell her I give her plenty money buy more,” said Hal.
+
+“Ai! Jesu!” cried Mrs. Zamboni, pouring out a sputtering torrent.
+
+“She say she don’t got nothing to put on. She say it ain’t good to go no
+clothes!”
+
+“Hasn’t she got on a petticoat?”
+
+“She say petticoat got holes!”
+
+There was a burst of laughter from the company, and the old woman turned
+scarlet from her forehead to her ample throat. “Tell her she wrap up in
+blankets,” said Hal. “Mary Burke buy her new things.”
+
+It proved surprisingly difficult to separate Mrs. Zamboni from her
+widow’s weeds, which she had purchased with so great an expenditure of
+time and tears. Never had a respectable lady who had borne sixteen
+children received such a proposition; to sell the insignia of her
+grief--and here in a hotel room, crowded with a dozen men! Nor was the
+task made easier by the unseemly merriment of the men. “Ai! Jesu!” cried
+Mrs. Zamboni again.
+
+“Tell her it’s very, very important,” said Hal. “Tell her I must have
+them.” And then, seeing that Rusick was making poor headway, he joined
+in, in the compromise-English one learns in the camps. “Got to have!
+Sure thing! Got to hide! Quick! Get away from boss! See? Get killed if
+no go!”
+
+So at last the frightened old woman gave way. “She say all turn backs,”
+ said Rusick. And everybody turned, laughing in hilarious whispers,
+while, with Mary Burke and Mrs. Swajka for a shield, Mrs. Zamboni got
+out of her waist and skirt, putting a blanket round her red shoulders
+for modesty’s sake. When Hal put the garments on, there was a foot to
+spare all round; but after they had stuffed two bed pillows down in the
+front of him, and drawn them tight at the waist-line, the disguise was
+judged more satisfactory. He put on the old lady’s ample if ragged
+shoes, and Mary Burke set the widow’s bonnet on his head and adjusted
+the many veils; after that Mrs. Zamboni’s own brood of children would
+not have suspected the disguise.
+
+It was a merry party for a few minutes; worn and hopeless as Mary had
+seemed, she was possessed now by the spirit of fun. But then quickly the
+laughter died. The time for action had come. Mary Burke said that she
+would stay with what was left of Mrs. Zamboni, to answer the door in
+case any of the hotel people or the detectives should come. Hal asked
+Jim Moylan to see Edward, and say that Hal was writing a manifesto to
+the North Valley workers, and would not be ready to leave until the
+midnight train.
+
+These things agreed upon, Hal shook hands all round, and the eleven men
+left the room at once, going down stairs and through the lobby,
+scattering in every direction on the streets. Mrs. Swajka and the
+pseudo-Mrs. Zamboni followed a minute later--and, as they anticipated,
+found the lobby swept clear of detectives.
+
+
+
+SECTION 24.
+
+Bidding Mrs. Swajka farewell, Hal set out for the railroad station. But
+before he had gone a block from the hotel, he ran into his brother,
+coming straight towards him.
+
+Edward’s face wore a bored look; his very manner of carrying the
+magazine under his arm said that he had selected it in a last hopeless
+effort against the monotony of Pedro. Such a trick of fate, to take a
+man of important affairs, and immure him at the mercy of a maniac in a
+God-forsaken coal-town! What did people do in such a hole? Pay a nickel
+to look at moving pictures of cow-boys and counterfeiters?
+
+Edward’s aspect was too much for Hal’s sense of humour. Besides, he had
+a good excuse; was it not proper to make a test of his disguise, before
+facing the real danger in North Valley?
+
+He placed himself in the path of his brother’s progress, and in Mrs.
+Zamboni’s high, complaining tones, began, “Mister!”
+
+Edward stared at the interrupting black figure. “Mister, you Joe Smith’s
+brother, hey?”
+
+The question had to be repeated before Edward gave his grudging answer.
+He was not proud of the relationship.
+
+“Mister,” continued the whining voice, “my old man got blow up in mine.
+I get five pieces from my man what I got to bury yesterday in
+grave-yard. I got to pay thirty dollar for bury them pieces and I don’t
+got no more money left. I don’t got no money from them company fellers.
+They come lawyer feller and he say maybe I get money for bury my man, if
+I don’t jay too much. But, Mister, I got eleven children I got to feed,
+and I don’t got no more man, and I don’t find no new man for old woman
+like me. When I go home I hear them children crying and I don’t got no
+food, and them company-stores don’t give me no food. I think maybe you
+Joe Smith’s brother you good man, maybe you sorry for poor widow-woman,
+you maybe give me some money, Mister, so I buy some food for them
+children.”
+
+“All right,” said Edward. He pulled out his wallet and extracted a bill,
+which happened to be for ten dollars. His manner seemed to say, “For
+heaven’s sake, here!”
+
+Mrs. Zamboni clutched the bill with greedy fingers, but was not
+appeased. “You got plenty money, Mister! You rich man, hey! You maybe
+give me all them moneys, so I got plenty feed them children? You don’t
+know them company-stores, Mister, them prices is way up high like
+mountains; them children is hungry, they cry all day and night, and one
+piece money don’t last so long. You give me some more piece moneys,
+Mister----hey?”
+
+“I’ll give you one more,” said Edward. “I need some for myself.” He
+pulled off another bill.
+
+“What you need so much, Mister? You don’t got so many children, hey? And
+you got plenty more money home, maybe!”
+
+“That’s all I can give you,” said the man. He took a step to one side,
+to get round the obstruction in his path.
+
+But the obstruction took a step also--and with surprising agility.
+“Mister, I thank you for them moneys. I tell them children I get moneys
+from good man. I like you, Mister Smith, you give money for poor
+widow-woman--you nice man.”
+
+And the dreadful creature actually stuck out one of her paws, as if
+expecting to pat Edward on the cheek, or to chuck him under the chin. He
+recoiled, as from a contagion; but she followed him, determined to do
+something to him, he could not be sure what. He had heard that these
+foreigners had strange customs!
+
+“It’s all right! It’s nothing!” he insisted, and fell back--at the same
+time glancing nervously about, to see if there were spectators of this
+scene.
+
+“Nice man, Mister! Nice man!” cried the old woman, with increasing
+cordiality. “Maybe some day I find man like you, Mr. Edward Smith--so I
+don’t stay widow-woman no more. You think maybe you like to marry nice
+Slavish woman, got plenty nice children?”
+
+Edward, perceiving that the matter was getting desperate, sprang to one
+side. It was a spring which should have carried him to safety; but to
+his dismay the Slavish widow sprang also--her claws caught him under the
+arm-pit, and fastening in his ribs, gave him a ferocious pinch. After
+which the owner of the claws went down the street, not looking back, but
+making strange gobbling noises, which might have been the weeping of a
+bereaved widow in Slavish, or might have been almost anything else.
+
+
+
+SECTION 25.
+
+The train up to North Valley left very soon, and Hal figured that there
+would be just time to accomplish his errand and catch the last train
+back. He took his seat in the car without attracting attention, and sat
+in his place until they were approaching their destination, the last
+stop up the canyon. There were several of the miners’ women in the car,
+and Hal picked out one who belonged to Mrs. Zamboni’s nationality, and
+moved over beside her. She made place, with some remark; but Hal merely
+sobbed softly, and the woman felt for his hand to comfort him. As his
+hands were clasped together under the veils, she patted him reassuringly
+on the knee.
+
+At the boundary of the stockaded village the train stopped, and Bud
+Adams came through the car, scrutinising every passenger. Seeing this,
+Hal began to sob again, and murmured something indistinct to his
+companion--which caused her to lean towards him, speaking volubly in her
+native language. “Bud” passed by.
+
+When Hal came to leave the train, he took his companion’s arm; he sobbed
+some more, and she talked some more, and so they went down the platform,
+under the very eyes of Pete Hanun, the “breaker of teeth.” Another woman
+joined them, and they walked down the street, the women conversing in
+Slavish, apparently without a suspicion of Hal.
+
+He had worked out his plan of action. He would not try to talk with the
+men secretly--it would take too long, and he might be betrayed before he
+had talked with a sufficient number. One bold stroke was the thing. In
+half an hour it would be supper-time, and the feeders would gather in
+Reminitsky’s dining-room. He would give his message there!
+
+Hal’s two companions were puzzled that he passed the Zamboni cabin,
+where presumably the Zamboni brood were being cared for by neighbours.
+But he let them make what they could of this, and went on to the Minetti
+home. To the astonished Rosa he revealed himself, and gave her husband’s
+message--that she should take herself and the children down to Pedro,
+and wait quietly until she heard from him. She hurried out and brought
+in Jack David, to whom Hal explained matters. “Big Jack’s” part in the
+recent disturbance had apparently not been suspected; he and his wife,
+with Rovetta, Wresmak, and Klowoski, would remain as a nucleus through
+which the union could work upon the men.
+
+The supper-hour was at hand, and the pseudo-Mrs. Zamboni emerged and
+toddled down the street. As she passed into the dining-room of the
+boarding-house, men looked at her, but no one spoke. It was the stage of
+the meal where everybody was grabbing and devouring, in the effort to
+get the best of his grabbing and devouring neighbours. The black-clad
+figure went to the far end of the room; there was a vacant chair, and
+the figure pulled it back from the table and climbed upon it. Then a
+shout rang through the room: “Boys! Boys!”
+
+The feeders looked up, and saw the widow’s weeds thrown back, and their
+leader, Joe Smith, gazing out at them. “Boys! I’ve come with a message
+from the union!”
+
+There was a yell; men leaped to their feet, chairs were flung back,
+falling with a crash to the floor. Then, almost instantly, came silence;
+you could have heard the movement of any man’s jaws, had any man
+continued to move them.
+
+“Boys! I’ve been down to Pedro and seen the union people. I knew the
+bosses wouldn’t let me come back, so I dressed up, and here I am!”
+
+It dawned upon them, the meaning of this fantastic costume; there were
+cheers, laughter, yells of delight.
+
+But Hal stretched out his hands, and silence fell again. “Listen to me!
+The bosses won’t let me talk long, and I’ve something important to say.
+The union leaders say we can’t win a strike now.”
+
+Consternation came into the faces before him. There were cries of
+dismay. He went on:
+
+“We are only one camp, and the bosses would turn us out, they’d get in
+scabs and run the mines without us. What we must have is a strike of all
+the camps at once. One big union and one big strike! If we walked out
+now, it would please the bosses; but we’ll fool them--we’ll keep our
+jobs, and keep our union too! You are members of the union, you’ll go on
+working for the union! Hooray for the North Valley union!”
+
+For a moment there was no response. It was hard for men to cheer over
+such a prospect! Hal saw that he must touch a different chord.
+
+“We mustn’t be cowards, boys! We’ve got to keep our nerve! I’m doing my
+part--it took nerve to get in here! In Mrs. Zamboni’s clothes, and with
+two pillows stuffed in front of me!”
+
+He thumped the pillows, and there was a burst of laughter. Many in the
+crowd knew Mrs. Zamboni--it was what comedians call a “local gag.” The
+laughter spread, and became a gale of merriment. Men began to cheer:
+“Hurrah for Joe! You’re the girl! Will you marry me, Joe?” And so, of
+course, it was easy for Hal to get a response when he shouted, “Hurrah
+for the North Valley union!”
+
+Again he raised his hands for silence, and went on again. “Listen, men.
+They’ll turn me out, and you’re not going to resist them. You’re going
+to work and keep your jobs, and get ready for the big strike. And you’ll
+tell the other men what I say. I can’t talk to them all, but you tell
+them about the union. Remember, there are people outside planning and
+fighting for you. We’re going to stand by the union, all of us, till
+we’ve brought these coal-camps back into America!” There was a cheer
+that shook the walls of the room. Yes, that was what they wanted--to
+live in America!
+
+A crowd of men had gathered in the doorway, attracted by the uproar; Hal
+noticed confusion and pushing, and saw the head and burly shoulders of
+his enemy, Pete Hanun, come into sight.
+
+“Here come the gunmen, boys!” he cried; and there was a roar of anger
+from the crowd. Men turned, clenching their fists, glaring at the guard.
+But Hal rushed on, quickly:
+
+“Boys, hear what I say! Keep your heads! I can’t stay in North Valley,
+and you know it! But I’ve done the thing I came to do, I’ve brought you
+the message from the union. And you’ll tell the other men--tell them to
+stand by the union!”
+
+Hal went on, repeating his message over and over. Looking from one to
+another of these toil-worn faces, he remembered the pledge he had made
+them, and he made it anew: “I’m going to stand by you! I’m going on with
+the fight, boys!”
+
+There came more disturbance at the door, and suddenly Jeff Cotton
+appeared, with a couple of additional guards, shoving their way into the
+room, breathless and red in the face from running.
+
+“Ah, there’s the marshal!” cried Hal. “You needn’t push, Cotton, there’s
+not going to be any trouble. We are union men here, we know how to
+control ourselves. Now, boys, we’re not giving up, we’re not beaten,
+we’re only waiting for the men in the other camps! We have a union, and
+we mean to keep it! Three cheers for the union!”
+
+The cheers rang out with a will: cheers for the union, cheers for Joe
+Smith, cheers for the widow and her weeds!
+
+“You belong to the union! You stand by it, no matter what happens! If
+they fire you, you take it on to the next place! You teach it to the new
+men, you never let it die in your hearts! In union there is strength, in
+union there is hope! Never forget it, men--_Union_!”
+
+The voice of the camp-marshal rang out. “If you’re coming, young woman,
+come now!”
+
+Hal dropped a shy curtsey. “Oh, Mr. Cotton! This is so sudden!” The
+crowd howled; and Hal descended from his platform. With coquettish
+gesturing he replaced the widow’s veils about his face, and tripped
+mincingly across the dining-room. When he reached the camp-marshal, he
+daintily took that worthy’s arm, and with the “breaker of teeth” on the
+other side, and Bud Adams bringing up the rear, he toddled out of the
+dining-room and down the street.
+
+Hungry men gave up their suppers to behold that sight. They poured out
+of the building, they followed, laughing, shouting, jeering. Others came
+from every direction--by the time the party had reached the depot, a
+good part of the population of the village was on hand; and everywhere
+went the word, “It’s Joe Smith! Come back with a message from the
+union!” Big, coal-grimed miners laughed till the tears made streaks on
+their faces; they fell on one another’s necks for delight at this trick
+which had been played upon their oppressors.
+
+Even Jeff Cotton could not withhold his tribute. “By God, you’re the
+limit!” he muttered. He accepted the “tea-party” aspect of the affair,
+as the easiest way to get rid of his recurrent guest, and avert the
+possibilities of danger. He escorted the widow to the train and helped
+her up the steps, posting escorts at the doors of her car; nor did the
+attentions of these gallants cease until the train had moved down the
+canyon and passed the limits of the North Valley stockade!
+
+
+
+SECTION 26.
+
+Hal took off his widow’s weeds; and with them he shed the merriment he
+had worn for the benefit of the men. There came a sudden reaction; he
+realised that he was tired.
+
+For ten days he had lived in a whirl of excitement, scarcely stopping to
+sleep. Now he lay back in the car-seat, pale, exhausted; his head ached,
+and he realised that the sum-total of his North Valley experience was
+failure. There was left in him no trace of that spirit of adventure with
+which he had set out upon his “summer course in practical sociology.” He
+had studied his lessons, tried to recite them, and been “flunked.” He
+smiled a bitter smile, recollecting the careless jesting that had been
+on his lips as he came up that same canyon:
+
+  “He keeps them a-roll, that merry old soul--
+    The wheels of industree;
+  A-roll and a-roll, for his pipe and his bowl
+    And his college facultee!”
+
+The train arrived in Pedro, and Hal took a hack at the station and drove
+to the hotel. He still carried the widow’s weeds rolled into a bundle.
+He might have left them in the train, but the impulse to economy which
+he had acquired during the last ten weeks had become a habit. He would
+return them to Mrs. Zamboni. The money he had promised her might better
+be used to feed her young ones. The two pillows he would leave in the
+car; the hotel might endure the loss!
+
+Entering the lobby, the first person Hal saw was his brother, and the
+sight of that patrician face made human by disgust relieved Hal’s
+headache in part. Life was harsh, life was cruel; but here was weary,
+waiting Edward, that boon of comic relief!
+
+Edward demanded to know where the devil he had been; and Hal answered,
+“I’ve been visiting the widows and orphans.”
+
+“Oh!” said Edward. “And while I sit in this hole and stew! What’s that
+you’ve got under your arm?”
+
+Hal looked at the bundle. “It’s a souvenir of one of the widows,” he
+said, and unrolled the garments and spread them out before his brother’s
+puzzled eyes. “A lady named Mrs. Swajka gave them to me. They belonged
+to another lady, Mrs. Zamboni, but she doesn’t need them any more.”
+
+“What have _you_ got to do with them?”
+
+“It seems that Mrs. Zamboni is going to get married again.” Hal lowered
+his voice, confidentially. “It’s a romance, Edward--it may interest you
+as an illustration of the manners of these foreign races. She met a man
+on the street, a fine, fine man, she says--and he gave her a lot of
+money. So she went and bought herself some new clothes, and she wants to
+give these widow’s weeds to the new man. That’s the custom in her
+country, it seems--her sign that she accepts him as a suitor.”
+
+Seeing the look of wonderment growing on his brother’s face, Hal had to
+stop for a moment to keep his own face straight. “If that man wasn’t
+serious in his intention, Edward, he’ll have trouble, for I know Mrs.
+Zamboni’s emotional nature. She’ll follow him about everywhere--”
+
+“Hal, that creature is insane!” And Edward looked about him nervously,
+as if he thought the Slavish widow might appear suddenly in the hotel
+lobby to demonstrate her emotional nature.
+
+“No,” replied Hal, “it’s just one of those differences in national
+customs.” And suddenly Hal’s face gave way. He began to laugh; he
+laughed, perhaps more loudly than good form permitted.
+
+Edward was much annoyed. There were people in the lobby, and they were
+staring at him. “Cut it out, Hal!” he exclaimed. “Your fool jokes bore
+me!” But nevertheless, Hal could see uncertainty in his brother’s face.
+Edward recognised those widow’s weeds. And how could he be sure about
+the “national customs” of that grotesque creature who had pinched him in
+the ribs on the street?
+
+“Cut it out!” he cried again.
+
+Hal, changing his voice suddenly to the Zamboni key, exclaimed: “Mister,
+I got eight children I got to feed, and I don’t got no more man, and I
+don’t find no new man for old woman like me!”
+
+So at last the truth in its full enormity began to dawn upon Edward. His
+consternation and disgust poured themselves out; and Hal listened, his
+laughter dying. “Edward,” he said, “you don’t take me seriously even
+yet!”
+
+“Good God!” cried the other. “I believe you’re really insane!”
+
+“You were up there, Edward! You heard what I said to those poor devils!
+And you actually thought I’d go off with you and forget about them!”
+
+Edward ignored this. “You’re really insane!” he repeated. “You’ll get
+yourself killed, in spite of all I can do!”
+
+But Hal only laughed. “Not a chance of it! You should have seen the
+tea-party manners of the camp-marshal!”
+
+
+
+SECTION 27.
+
+Edward would have endeavoured to carry his brother away forthwith, but
+there was no train until late at night; so Hal went upstairs, where he
+found Moylan and Hartman with Mary Burke and Mrs. Zamboni, all eager to
+hear his story. As the members of the committee, who had been out to
+supper, came straggling in, the story was told again, and yet again.
+They were almost as much delighted as the men in Reminitsky’s. If only
+all strikes that had to be called off could be called off as neatly as
+that!
+
+Between these outbursts of satisfaction, they discussed their future.
+Moylan was going back to Western City, Hartman to his office in
+Sheridan, from which he would arrange to send new organisers into North
+Valley. No doubt Cartwright would turn off many men--those who had made
+themselves conspicuous during the strike, those who continued to talk
+union out loud. But such men would have to be replaced, and the union
+knew through what agencies the company got its hands. The North Valley
+miners would find themselves mysteriously provided with union literature
+in their various languages; it would be slipped under their pillows, or
+into their dinner-pails, or the pockets of their coats while they were
+at work.
+
+Also there was propaganda to be carried on among those who were turned
+away; so that, wherever they went, they would take the message of
+unionism. There had been a sympathetic outburst in Barela, Hal
+learned--starting quite spontaneously that morning, when the men heard
+what had happened at North Valley. A score of workers had been fired,
+and more would probably follow in the morning. Here was a job for the
+members of the kidnapped committee; Tim Rafferty, for example--would he
+care to stay in Pedro for a week or two, to meet such men, and give them
+literature and arguments?
+
+This offer was welcome; for life looked desolate to the Irish boy at
+this moment. He was out of a job, his father was a wreck, his family
+destitute and helpless. They would have to leave their home, of course;
+there would be no place for any Rafferty in North Valley. Where they
+would go, God only knew; Tim would become a wanderer, living away from
+his people, starving himself and sending home his pitiful savings.
+
+Hal was watching the boy, and reading these thoughts. He, Hal Warner,
+would play the god out of a machine in this case, and in several others
+equally pitiful. He had the right to sign his father’s name to checks, a
+privilege which he believed he could retain, even while undertaking the
+role of Haroun al Raschid in a mine-disaster. But what about the
+mine-disasters and abortive strikes where there did not happen to be any
+Haroun al Raschid at hand? What about those people, right in North
+Valley, who did not happen to have told Hal of their affairs? He
+perceived that it was only by turning his back and running that he would
+escape from his adventure with any portion of his self-possession.
+Truly, this fair-seeming and wonderful civilisation was like the floor
+of a charnel-house or a field of battle; anywhere one drove a spade
+beneath its surface, he uncovered horrors, sights for the eyes and
+stenches for the nostrils that caused him to turn sick!
+
+There was Rusick, for example; he had a wife and two children, and not a
+dollar in the world. In the year and more that he had worked, faithfully
+and persistently, to get out coal for Peter Harrigan, he had never once
+been able to get ahead of his bill for the necessities of life at Old
+Peter’s store. All his belongings in the world could be carried in a
+bundle on his back, and whether he ever saw these again would depend
+upon the whim of old Peter’s camp-marshal and guards. Rusick would take
+to the road, with a ticket purchased by the union. Perhaps he would find
+a job and perhaps not; in any case, the best he could hope for in life
+was to work for some other Harrigan, and run into debt at some other
+company-store.
+
+There was Hobianish, a Serbian, and Hernandez, a Mexican, of whom the
+same things were true, except that one had four children and the other
+six. Bill Wauchope had only a wife--their babies had died, thank heaven,
+he said. He did not seem to have been much moved by Jim Moylan’s
+pleadings; he was down and out; he would take to the road, and beat his
+way to the East and back to England. They called this a free country! By
+God, if he were to tell what had happened to him, he could not get an
+English miner to believe it!
+
+Hal gave these men his real name and address, and made them promise to
+let him know how they got along. He would help a little, he said; in his
+mind he was figuring how much he ought to do. How far shall a man go in
+relieving the starvation about him, before he can enjoy his meals in a
+well-appointed club? What casuist will work out this problem--telling
+him the percentage he shall relieve of the starvation he happens
+personally to know about, the percentage of that which he sees on the
+streets, the percentage of that about which he reads in government
+reports on the rise in the cost of living. To what extent is he
+permitted to close his eyes, as he walks along the streets on his way to
+the club? To what extent is he permitted to avoid reading government
+reports before going out to dinner-dances with his fiancée? Problems
+such as these the masters of the higher mathematics have neglected to
+solve; the wise men of the academies and the holy men of the churches
+have likewise failed to work out the formulas; and Hal, trying to obtain
+them by his crude mental arithmetic, found no satisfaction in the
+results.
+
+
+
+SECTION 28.
+
+Hal wanted a chance to talk to Mary Burke; they had had no intimate talk
+since the meeting with Jessie Arthur, and now he was going away, for a
+long time. He wanted to find out what plans Mary had for the future,
+and--more important yet--what was her state of mind. If he had been able
+to lift this girl from despair, his summer course in practical sociology
+had not been all a failure!
+
+He asked her to go with him to say good-bye to John Edstrom, whom he had
+not seen since their unceremonious parting at MacKellar’s, when Hal had
+fled to Percy Harrigan’s train. Downstairs in the lobby Hal explained
+his errand to his waiting brother, who made no comment, but merely
+remarked that he would follow, if Hal had no objection. He did not care
+to make the acquaintance of the Hibernian Joan of Arc, and would not
+come close enough to interfere with Hal’s conversation with the lady;
+but he wished to do what he could for his brother’s protection. So there
+set out a moon-light procession--first Hal and Mary, then Edward, and
+then Edward’s dinner-table companion, the “hardware-drummer!”
+
+Hal was embarrassed in beginning his farewell talk with Mary. He had no
+idea how she felt towards him, and he admitted with a guilty pang that
+he was a little afraid to find out! He thought it best to be cheerful,
+so he started to tell her how fine he thought her conduct during the
+strike. But she did not respond to his remarks, and at last he realised
+that she was labouring with some thoughts of her own.
+
+“There’s somethin’ I got to say to ye!” she began, suddenly. “A couple
+of days ago I knew how I meant to say it, but now I don’t.”
+
+“Well,” he laughed, “say it as you meant to.”
+
+“No; ’twas bitter--and now I’m on my knees before ye.”
+
+“Not that I want you to be bitter,” said Hal, still laughing, “but it’s
+I that ought to be on my knees before you. I didn’t accomplish anything,
+you know.”
+
+“Ye did all ye could--and more than the rest of us. I want ye to know
+I’ll never forget it. But I want ye to hear the other thing, too!”
+
+She walked on, staring before her, doubling up her hands in agitation.
+“Well?” said he, still trying to keep a cheerful tone.
+
+“Ye remember that day just after the explosion? Ye remember what I said
+about--about goin’ away with ye? I take it back.”
+
+“Oh, of course!” said he, quickly. “You were distracted, Mary--you
+didn’t know what you were saying.”
+
+“No, no! That’s not it! But I’ve changed my mind; I don’t mean to throw
+meself away.”
+
+“I told you you’d see it that way,” he said. “No man is worth it.”
+
+“Ah, lad!” said she. “’Tis the fine soothin’ tongue ye have--but I’d
+rather ye knew the truth. ’Tis that I’ve seen the other girl; and I hate
+her!”
+
+They walked for a bit in silence. Hal had sense enough to realise that
+here was a difficult subject. “I don’t want to be a prig, Mary,” he said
+gently; “but you’ll change your mind about that, too. You’ll not hate
+her; you’ll be sorry for her.”
+
+She laughed--a raw, harsh laugh. “What kind of a joke is that?”
+
+“I know--it may seem like one. But it’ll come to you some day. You have
+a wonderful thing to live and fight for; while she”--he hesitated a
+moment, for he was not sure of his own ideas on this subject--“she has
+so many things to learn; and she may never learn them. She’ll miss some
+fine things.”
+
+“I know one of the fine things she does not mean to miss,” said Mary,
+grimly; “that’s Mr. Hal Warner.” Then, after they had walked again in
+silence: “I want ye to understand me, Mr. Warner--”
+
+“Ah, Mary!” he pleaded. “Don’t treat me that way! I’m Joe.”
+
+“All right,” she said, “Joe ye shall be. ’Twill remind ye of a pretty
+adventure--bein’ a workin’ man for a few weeks. Well, that’s a part of
+what I have to tell ye. I’ve got my pride, even if I’m only a poor
+miner’s daughter; and the other day I found out me place.”
+
+“How do you mean?” he asked.
+
+“Ye don’t understand? Honest?”
+
+“No, honest,” he said.
+
+“Ye’re stupid with women, Joe. Ye didn’t see what the girl did to me!
+’Twas some kind of a bug I was to her. She was not sure if I was the
+kind that bites, but she took no chances--she threw me off, like that.”
+ And Mary snapped her hand, as one does when troubled with a bug.
+
+“Ah, now!” pleaded Hal. “You’re not being fair!”
+
+“I’m bein’ just as fair as I’ve got it in me to be, Joe. I been off and
+had it all out. I can see this much--’tis not her fault, maybe--’tis her
+class; ’tis all of ye--the very best of ye, even yeself, Joe Smith!”
+
+“Yea,” he replied, “Tim Rafferty said that.”
+
+“Tim said too much--but a part of it was true. Ye think ye’ve come here
+and been one of us workin’ people. But don’t your own sense tell you
+the difference, as if it was a canyon a million miles across--between a
+poor ignorant creature in a minin’ camp, and a rich man’s daughter, a
+lady? Ye’d tell me not to be ashamed of poverty; but would ye ever put
+me by the side of her--for all your fine feelin’s of friendship for them
+that’s beneath ye? Didn’t ye show that at the Minettis’?”
+
+“But don’t you see, Mary--” He made an effort to laugh. “I got used to
+obeying Jessie! I knew her a long time before I knew you.”
+
+“Ah, Joe! Ye’ve a kind heart, and a pleasant way of speakin’. But
+wouldn’t it interest ye to know the real truth? Ye said ye’d come out
+here to learn the truth!”
+
+And Hal answered, in a low voice, “Yes,” and did not interrupt again.
+
+
+
+SECTION 29.
+
+Mary’s voice had dropped low, and Hal thought how rich and warm it was
+when she was deeply moved. She went on:
+
+“I lived all me life in minin’ camps, Joe Smith, and I seen men robbed
+and beaten, and women cryin’ and childer hungry. I seen the company,
+like some great wicked beast that eat them up. But I never knew why, or
+what it meant--till that day, there at the Minettis’. I’d read about
+fine ladies in books, ye see; but I’d never been spoke to by one, I’d
+never had to swallow one, as ye might say. But there I did--and all at
+once I seemed to know where the money goes that’s wrung out of the
+miners. I saw why people were robbin’ us, grindin’ the life out of
+us--for fine ladies like that, to keep them so shinin’ and soft! ’Twould
+not have been so bad, if she’d not come just then, with all the men and
+boys dyin’ down in the pits--dyin’ for that soft, white skin, and those
+soft, white hands, and all those silky things she swished round in. My
+God, Joe--d’ye know what she seemed to me like? Like a smooth, sleek cat
+that has just eat up a whole nest full of baby mice, and has the blood
+of them all over her cheeks!”
+
+Mary paused, breathing hard. Hal kept silence, and she went on again: “I
+had it out with meself, Joe! I don’t want ye to think I’m any better
+than I am, and I asked meself this question--Is it for the men in the
+pits that ye hate her with such black murder? Or is it for the one man
+ye want, and that she’s got? And I knew the answer to that! But then I
+asked meself another question, too--Would ye be like her if ye could?
+Would ye do what she’s doin’ right now--would ye have it on your soul?
+And as God hears me, Joe, ’tis the truth I speak--I’d not do it! No, not
+for the love of any man that ever walked on this earth!”
+
+She had lifted her clenched fist as she spoke. She let it fall again,
+and strode on, not even glancing at him. “Ye might try a thousand years,
+Joe, and ye’d not realise the feelin’s that come to me there at the
+Minettis’. The shame of it--not what she done to me, but what she made
+me in me own eyes! Me, the daughter of a drunken old miner, and her--I
+don’t know what her father is, but she’s some sort of princess, and she
+knows it. And that’s the thing that counts, Joe! ’Tis not that she has
+so much money, and so many fine things; that she knows how to talk, and
+I don’t, and that her voice is sweet, and mine is ugly, when I’m ragin’
+as I am now. No--’tis that she’s so _sure!_ That’s the word I found to
+say it; she’s sure--sure--_sure!_ She has the fine things, she’s always
+had them, she has a right to have them! And I have a right to nothin’
+but trouble, I’m hunted all day by misery and fear, I’ve lost even the
+roof over me head! Joe, ye know I’ve got some temper--I’m not easy to
+beat down; but when I’d got through bein’ taught me place, I went off
+and hid meself, I ground me face in the dirt, for the black rage of it!
+I said to meself, ’Tis true! There’s somethin’ in her better than me!
+She’s some kind of finer creature.--Look at these hands!” She held them
+out in the moonlight, with a swift, passionate gesture. “So she’s a
+right to her man, and I’m a fool to have ever raised me eyes to him! I
+have to see him go away, and crawl back into me leaky old shack! Yes,
+that’s the truth! And when I point it out to the man, what d’ye think he
+says? Why, he tells me gently and kindly that I ought to be sorry for
+her! Christ! did ye ever hear the like of that?”
+
+There was a long silence. Hal could not have said anything now, if he
+had wished to. He knew that this was what he had come to seek! This was
+the naked soul of the class-war!
+
+“Now,” concluded Mary, with clenched hands, and a voice that
+corresponded, “now, I’ve had it out. I’m no slave; I’ve just as good a
+right to life as any lady. I know I’ll never have it, of course; I’ll
+never wear good clothes, nor live in a decent home, nor have the man I
+want; but I’ll know that I’ve done somethin’ to help free the workin’
+people from the shame that’s put on them. That’s what the strike done
+for me, Joe! The strike showed me the way. We’re beat this time, but
+somehow it hasn’t made the difference ye might think. I’m goin’ to make
+more strikes before I quit, and they won’t all of them be beat!”
+
+She stopped speaking; and Hal walked beside her, stirred by a conflict
+of emotions. His vision of her was indeed true; she would make more
+strikes! He was glad and proud of that; but then came the thought that
+while she, a girl, was going on with the bitter war, he, a man, would be
+eating grilled beefsteaks at the club!
+
+“Mary,” he said, “I’m ashamed of myself--”
+
+“That’s not it, Joe! Ye’ve no call to be ashamed. Ye can’t help it where
+ye were born--”
+
+“Perhaps not, Mary. But when a man knows he’s never paid for any of the
+things he’s enjoyed all his life, surely the least he can do is to be
+ashamed. I hope you’ll try not to hate me as you do the others.”
+
+“I never hated ye, Joe! Not for one moment! I tell ye fair and true, I
+love ye as much as ever. I can say it, because I’d not have ye now; I’ve
+seen the other girl, and I know ye’d never be satisfied with me. I don’t
+know if I ought to say it, but I’m thinkin’ ye’ll not be altogether
+satisfied with her, either. Ye’ll be unhappy either way--God help ye!”
+
+The girl had read deeply into his soul in this last speech; so deeply
+that Hal could not trust himself to answer. They were passing a
+street-lamp, and she looked at him, for the first time since they had
+started on their walk, and saw harassment in his face. A sudden
+tenderness came into her voice. “Joe,” she said; “ye’re lookin’ bad.
+’Tis good ye’re goin’ away from this place!”
+
+He tried to smile, but the effort was feeble.
+
+“Joe,” she went on, “ye asked me to be your friend. Well, I’ll be that!”
+ And she held out the big, rough hand.
+
+He took it. “We’ll not forget each other, Mary,” he said. There was a
+catch in his voice.
+
+“Sure, lad!” she exclaimed. “We’ll make another strike some day, just
+like we did at North Valley!”
+
+Hal pressed the big hand; but then suddenly, remembering his brother
+stalking solemnly in the rear, he relinquished the clasp, and failed to
+say all the fine things he had in his mind. He called himself a rebel,
+but not enough to be sentimental before Edward!
+
+
+
+SECTION 30.
+
+They came to the house where John Edstrom was staying. The labouring
+man’s wife opened the door. In answer to Hal’s question, she said, “The
+old gentleman’s pretty bad.”
+
+“What’s the matter with him?”
+
+“Didn’t you know he was hurt?”
+
+“No. How?”
+
+“They beat him up, sir. Broke his arm, and nearly broke his head.”
+
+Hal and Mary exclaimed in chorus, “Who did it? When?”
+
+“We don’t know who did it. It was four nights ago.”
+
+Hal realised it must have happened while he was escaping from
+MacKellar’s. “Have you had a doctor for him?”
+
+“Yes, sir; but we can’t do much, because my man is out of work, and I
+have the children and the boarders to look after.”
+
+Hal and Mary ran upstairs. Their old friend lay in darkness, but he
+recognised their voices and greeted them with a feeble cry. The woman
+brought a lamp, and they saw him lying on his back, his head done up in
+bandages, and one arm bound in splints. He looked really desperately
+bad, his kindly old eyes deep-sunken and haggard, and his face--Hal
+remembered what Jeff Cotton had called him, “that dough-faced old
+preacher!”
+
+They got the story of what had happened at the time of Hal’s flight to
+Percy’s train. Edstrom had shouted a warning to the fugitives, and set
+out to run after them; when one of the mine-guards, running past him,
+had fetched him a blow over the eye, knocking him down. He had struck
+his head upon the pavement, and lain there unconscious for many hours.
+When finally some one had come upon him, and summoned a policeman, they
+had gone through his pockets, and found the address of this place where
+he was staying written on a scrap of paper. That was all there was to
+the story--except that Edstrom had refrained from sending to MacKellar
+for help, because he had felt sure they were all working to get the mine
+open, and he did not feel he had the right to put his troubles upon
+them.
+
+Hal listened to the old man’s feeble statements, and there came back to
+him a surge of that fury which his North Valley experience had generated
+in him. It was foolish, perhaps; for to knock down an old man who had
+been making trouble was a comparatively slight exercise of the functions
+of a mine-guard. But to Hal it seemed the most characteristic of all the
+outrages he had seen; it was an expression of the company’s utter
+blindness to all that was best in life. This old man, who was so gentle,
+so patient, who had suffered so much, and not learned to hate, who had
+kept his faith so true! What did his faith mean to the thugs of the
+General Fuel Company? What had his philosophy availed him, his
+saintliness, his hopes for mankind? They had fetched him one swipe as
+they passed him, and left him lying--alive or dead, it was all the same.
+
+Hal had got some satisfaction out of his little adventure in widowhood,
+and some out of Mary’s self-victory; but there, listening to the old
+man’s whispered story, his satisfaction died. He realised again the grim
+truth about his summer’s experience--that the issue of it had been
+defeat. Utter, unqualified defeat! He had caused the bosses a momentary
+chagrin; but it would not take them many hours to realise that he had
+really done them a service in calling off the strike for them. They
+would start the wheels of industry again, and the workers would be just
+where they had been before Joe Smith came to be stableman and buddy
+among them. What was all the talk about solidarity, about hope for the
+future; what would it amount to in the long run, the daily rolling of
+the wheels of industry? The workers of North Valley would have exactly
+the right they had always had--the right to be slaves, and if they did
+not care for that, the right to be martyrs!
+
+Mary sat holding the old man’s hand and whispering words of passionate
+sympathy, while Hal got up and paced the tiny attic, all ablaze with
+anger. He resolved suddenly that he would not go back to Western City;
+he would stay here, and get an honest lawyer to come, and set out to
+punish the men who were guilty of this outrage. He would test out the
+law to the limit; if necessary, he would begin a political fight, to put
+an end to coal-company rule in this community. He would find some one to
+write up these conditions, he would raise the money and publish a paper
+to make them known! Before his surging wrath had spent itself, Hal
+Warner had actually come out as a candidate for governor, and was
+overturning the Republican machine--all because an unidentified
+coal-company detective had knocked a dough-faced old miner into the
+gutter and broken his arm!
+
+
+
+SECTION 31.
+
+In the end, of course, Hal had to come down to practical matters. He sat
+by the bed and told the old man tactfully that his brother had come to
+see him and had given him some money. This brother had plenty of money,
+so Edstrom could be taken to the hospital; or, if he preferred, Mary
+could stay near here and take care of him. They turned to the landlady,
+who had been standing in the doorway; she had three boarders in her
+little home, it seemed, but if Mary could share a bed with the
+landlady’s two children, they might make out. In spite of Hal’s protest,
+Mary accepted this offer; he saw what was in her mind--she would take
+some of his money, because of old Edstrom’s need, but she would take
+just as little as she possibly could.
+
+John Edstrom of course knew nothing of events since his injury, so Hal
+told him the story briefly--though without mentioning the transformation
+which had taken place in the miner’s buddy. He told about the part Mary
+had played in the strike; trying to entertain the poor old man, he told
+how he had seen her mounted upon a snow-white horse, and wearing a robe
+of white, soft and lustrous, like Joan of Arc, or the leader of a
+suffrage parade.
+
+“Sure,” said Mary, “he’s forever callin’ attention to this old dress!”
+
+Hal looked; she was wearing the same blue calico. “There’s something
+mysterious about that dress,” said he. “It’s one of those that you read
+about in fairy-stories, that forever patch themselves, and keep
+themselves new and starchy. A body only needs one dress like that!”
+
+“Sure, lad,” she answered. “There’s no fairies in coal-camps--unless
+’tis meself, that washes it at night, and dries it over the stove, and
+irons it next mornin’.”
+
+She said this with unwavering cheerfulness; but even the old miner lying
+in pain on the cot could realise the tragedy of a young girl’s having
+only one old dress in her love-hunting season. He looked at the young
+couple, and saw their evident interest in each other; after the fashion
+of the old, he was disposed to help along the romance. “She may need
+some orange blossoms,” he ventured, feebly.
+
+“Go along with ye!” laughed Mary, still unwavering.
+
+“Sure,” put in Hal, with hasty gallantry, “’tis a blossom she is
+herself! A rose in a mining-camp--and there’s a dispute about her in the
+poetry-books. One tells you to leave her on her stalk, and another says
+to gather ye rosebuds while ye may, old time is still a-flying!”
+
+“Ye’re mixin’ me up,” said Mary. “A while back I was ridin’ on a white
+horse.”
+
+“I remember,” said Old Edstrom, “not so far back, you were an ant,
+Mary.”
+
+Her face became grave. To jest about her personal tragedy was one thing,
+to jest about the strike was another. “Yes, I remember. Ye said I’d stay
+in the line! Ye were wiser than me, Mr. Edstrom.”
+
+“That’s one of the things that come with being old, Mary.” He moved his
+gnarled old hand toward hers. “You’re going on, now?” he asked. “You’re
+a unionist now, Mary?”
+
+“I am that!” she answered, promptly, her grey eyes shining.
+
+“There’s a saying,” said he--“once a striker, always a striker. Find a
+way to get some education for yourself, Mary, and when the big strike
+comes you’ll be one of those the miners look to. I’ll not be here, I
+know--the young people must take my place.”
+
+“I’ll do my part,” she answered. Her voice was low; it was a kind of
+benediction the old man was giving her.
+
+The woman had gone downstairs to attend to her children; she came back
+now to say that there was a gentleman at the door, who wanted to know
+when his brother was coming. Hal remembered suddenly--Edward had been
+pacing up and down all this while, with no company but a “hardware
+drummer!” The younger brother’s resolve to stay in Pedro had already
+begun to weaken somewhat, and now it weakened still further; he realised
+that life is complex, that duties conflict! He assured the old miner
+again of his ability to see that he did not suffer from want, and then
+he bade him farewell for a while.
+
+He started out, and Mary went as far as the head of the stairway with
+him. He took the girl’s big, rough hand in his--this time with no one to
+see. “Mary,” he said, “I want you to know that nothing will make me
+forget you; and nothing will make me forget the miners.”
+
+“Ah, Joe!” she cried. “Don’t let them win ye away from us! We need ye so
+bad!”
+
+“I’m going back home for a while,” he answered, “but you can be sure
+that no matter what happens in my life, I’m going to fight for the
+working people. When the big strike comes, as we know it’s coming in
+this coal-country, I’ll be here to do my share.”
+
+“Sure lad,” she said, looking him bravely in the eye, “and good-bye to
+ye, Joe Smith.” Her eyes did not waver; but Hal noted a catch in her
+voice, and he found himself with an impulse to take her in his arms. It
+was very puzzling. He knew he loved Jessie Arthur; he remembered the
+question Mary had once asked him--could he be in love with two girls at
+the same time? It was not in accord with any moral code that had been
+impressed upon him, but apparently he could!
+
+
+
+SECTION 32.
+
+He went out to the street, where his brother was pacing up and down in a
+ferment. The “hardware drummer” had made another effort to start a
+conversation, and had been told to go to hell--no less!
+
+“Well, are you through now?” Edward demanded, taking out his irritation
+on Hal.
+
+“Yes,” replied the other. “I suppose so.” He realised that Edward would
+not be concerned about Edstrom’s broken arm.
+
+“Then, for God’s sake, get some clothes on and let’s have some food.”
+
+“All right,” said Hal. But his answer was listless, and the other looked
+at him sharply. Even by the moonlight Edward could see the lines in the
+face of his younger brother, and the hollows around his eyes. For the
+first time he realised how deeply these experiences were cutting into
+the boy’s soul. “You poor kid!” he exclaimed, with sudden feeling. But
+Hal did not answer; he did not want sympathy, he did not want anything!
+
+Edward made a gesture of despair. “God knows, I don’t know what to do
+for you!”
+
+They started back to the hotel, and on the way Edward cast about in his
+mind for a harmless subject of conversation. He mentioned that he had
+foreseen the shutting up of the stores, and had purchased an outfit for
+his brother. There was no need to thank him, he added grimly; he had no
+intention of travelling to Western City in company with a hobo.
+
+So the young miner had a bath, the first real one in a long time. (Never
+again would it be possible for ladies to say in Hal Warner’s presence
+that the poor might at least keep clean!) He had a shave; he trimmed his
+finger-nails, and brushed his hair, and dressed himself as a gentleman.
+In spite of himself he found his cheerfulness partly restored. A strange
+and wonderful sensation--to be dressed once more as a gentleman. He
+thought of the saying of the old negro, who liked to stub his toe,
+because it felt so good when it stopped hurting!
+
+They went out to find a restaurant, and on the way one last misadventure
+befell Edward. Hal saw an old miner walking past, and stopped with a
+cry: “Mike!” He forgot all at once that he was a gentleman; the old
+miner forgot it also. He stared for one bewildered moment, then he
+rushed at Hal and seized him in the hug of a mountain grizzly.
+
+“My buddy! My buddy!” he cried, and gave Hal a prodigious thump on the
+back. “By Judas!” And he gave him a thump with the other hand. “Hey! you
+old son-of-a-gun!” And he gave him a hairy kiss!
+
+But in the very midst of these raptures it dawned over him that there
+was something wrong about his buddy. He drew back, staring. “You got
+good clothes! You got rich, hey?”
+
+Evidently the old fellow had heard no rumour concerning Hal’s secret.
+“I’ve been doing pretty well,” Hal said.
+
+“What you work at, hey?”
+
+“I been working at a strike in North Valley.”
+
+“What’s that? You make money working at strike?”
+
+Hal laughed, but did not explain. “What you working at?”
+
+“I work at strike too--all alone strike.”
+
+“No job?”
+
+“I work two days on railroad. Got busted track up there. Pay me
+two-twenty-five a day. Then no more job.”
+
+“Have you tried the mines?”
+
+“What? Me? They got me all right! I go up to San José. Pit-boss say,
+‘Get the hell out of here, you old groucher! You don’t get no more jobs
+in this district!’”
+
+Hal looked Mike over, and saw that his dirty old face was drawn and
+white, belying the feeble cheerfulness of his words. “We’re going to
+have something to eat,” he said. “Won’t you come with us?”
+
+“Sure thing!” said Mike, with alacrity. “I go easy on grub now.”
+
+Hal introduced “Mr. Edward Warner,” who said “How do you do?” He
+accepted gingerly the calloused paw which the old Slovak held out to
+him, but he could not keep the look of irritation from his face. His
+patience was utterly exhausted. He had hoped to find a decent restaurant
+and have some real food; but now, of course, he could not enjoy
+anything, with this old gobbler in front of him.
+
+They entered an all-night lunch-room, where Hal and Mike ordered
+cheese-sandwiches and milk, and Edward sat and wondered at his brother’s
+ability to eat such food. Meantime the two cronies told each other their
+stories, and Old Mike slapped his knee and cried out with delight over
+Hal’s exploits. “Oh, you buddy!” he exclaimed; then, to Edward, “Ain’t
+he a daisy, hey?” And he gave Edward a thump on the shoulder. “By Judas,
+they don’t beat my buddy!”
+
+Mike Sikoria had last been seen by Hal from the window of the North
+Valley jail, when he had been distributing the copies of Hal’s
+signature, and Bud Adams had taken him in charge. The mine-guard had
+marched him into a shed in back of the power-house, where he had found
+Kauser and Kalovac, two other fellows who had been arrested while
+helping in the distribution.
+
+Mike detailed the experience with his usual animation. “‘Hey, Mister
+Bud,’ I say, ‘if you going to send me down canyon, I want to get my
+things.’ ‘You go to hell for your things,’ says he. And then I say,
+‘Mister Bud, I want to get my time.’ And he says, ‘I give you plenty
+time right here!’ And he punch me and throw me over. Then he grab me up’
+again and pull me outside, and I see big automobile waiting, and I say,
+‘Holy Judas! I get ride in automobile! Here I am, old fellow fifty-seven
+years old, never been in automobile ride all my days. I think always I
+die and never get in automobile ride!’ We go down canyon, and I look
+round and see them mountains, and feel nice cool wind in my face, and I
+say, ‘Bully for you, Mister Bud, I don’t never forget this automobile. I
+don’t have such good time any day all my life.’ And he say, ‘Shut your
+face, you old wop!’ Then we come out on prairie, we go up in Black
+Hills, and they stop, and say, ‘Get out here, you sons o’ guns.’ And
+they leave us there all alone. They say, ‘You come back again, we catch
+you and we rip the guts out of you!’ They go away fast, and we got to
+walk seven hours, us fellers, before we come to a house! But I don’t
+mind that, I begged some grub, and then I got job mending track; only I
+don’t find out if you get out of jail, and I think maybe I lose my buddy
+and never see him no more.”
+
+Here the old man stopped, gazing affectionately at Hal. “I write you
+letter to North Valley, but I don’t hear nothing, and I got to walk all
+the way on railroad track to look for you.”
+
+How was it? Hal wondered. He had encountered naked horror in this
+coal-country--yet here he was, not entirely glad at the thought of
+leaving it! He would miss Old Mike Sikoria, his hairy kiss and his
+grizzly-bear hug!
+
+He struck the old man dumb by pressing a twenty-dollar bill into his
+hand. Also he gave him the address of Edstrom and Mary, and a note to
+Johann Hartman, who might use him to work among the Slovaks who came
+down into the town. Hal explained that he had to go back to Western City
+that night, but that he would never forget his old friend, and would see
+that he had a good job. He was trying to figure out some occupation for
+the old man on his father’s country-place. A pet grizzly!
+
+Train-time came, and the long line of dark sleepers rolled in by the
+depot-platform. It was late--after midnight; but, nevertheless, there
+was Old Mike. He was in awe of Hal now, with his fine clothes and his
+twenty-dollar bills; but, nevertheless, under stress of his emotion, he
+gave him one more hug, and one more hairy kiss. “Good-bye, my buddy!” he
+cried. “You come back, my buddy! I don’t forget my buddy!” And when the
+train began to move, he waved his ragged cap, and ran along the platform
+to get a last glimpse, to call a last farewell. When Hal turned into the
+car, it was with more than a trace of moisture in his eyes.
+
+
+
+
+POSTSCRIPT
+
+
+From previous experiences the writer has learned that many people,
+reading a novel such as “King Coal,” desire to be informed as to whether
+it is true to fact. They write to ask if the book is meant to be so
+taken; they ask for evidence to convince themselves and others. Having
+answered thousands of such letters in the course of his life, it seems
+to the author the part of common-sense to answer some of them in
+advance.
+
+“King Coal” is a picture of the life of the workers in unorganised
+labour-camps in many parts of America, The writer has avoided naming a
+definite place, for the reason that such conditions are to be found as
+far apart as West Virginia, Alabama, Michigan, Minnesota, and Colorado.
+Most of the details of his picture were gathered in the last-named
+state, which the writer visited on three occasions during and just after
+the great coal-strike of 1913-14. The book gives a true picture of
+conditions and events observed by him at this time. Practically all the
+characters are real persons, and every incident which has social
+significance is not merely a true incident, but a typical one. The life
+portrayed in “King Coal” is the life that is lived to-day by hundreds of
+thousands of men, women and children in this “land of the free.”
+
+The reader who wishes evidence may be accommodated. There was never a
+strike more investigated than the Colorado coal-strike. The material
+about it in the writer’s possession cannot be less than eight million
+words, the greater part of it sworn testimony taken under government
+supervision. There is, first, the report of the Congressional Committee,
+a government document of three thousand closely printed pages, about two
+million words; an equal amount of testimony given before the U. S.
+Commission on Industrial Relations, also a government document; a
+special report on the Colorado strike, prepared for the same commission,
+a book of 189 pages, supporting every contention of this story; about
+four hundred thousand words of testimony given before a committee
+appointed at the suggestion of the Governor of Colorado; a report made
+by the Rev. Henry A. Atkinson, who investigated the strike as
+representative of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in
+America, and of the Social Service Commission of the Congregational
+Churches; the report of an elaborate investigation by the Colorado state
+militia; the bulletins issued by both sides during the controversy; the
+testimony given at various coroners’ inquests; and, finally, articles by
+different writers to be found in the files of _Everybody’s Magazine_,
+the _Metropolitan Magazine_, the _Survey_, _Harper’s Weekly_, and
+_Collier’s Weekly_, all during the year 1914.
+
+The writer prepared a collection of extracts from these various sources,
+meaning to publish them in this place; but while the manuscript was in
+the hands of the publishers, there appeared one document, which, in the
+weight of its authority, seemed to discount all others. A decision was
+rendered by the Supreme Court of the State of Colorado, in a case which
+included the most fundamental of the many issues raised in “King Coal.”
+ It is not often that the writer of a novel of contemporary life is so
+fortunate as to have the truth of his work passed upon and established
+by the highest judicial tribunal of the community!
+
+In the elections of November, 1914, in Huerfano County, Colorado, J. B.
+Farr, Republican candidate for re-election as sheriff, a person known
+throughout the coal-country as “the King of Huerfano County,” was
+returned as elected by a majority of 329 votes. His rival, the
+Democratic candidate, contested the election, alleging “malconduct,
+fraud and corruption.” The district court found in Farr’s favour, and
+the case was appealed on error to the Supreme Court of the State. On
+June 21st, 1916, after Farr had served nearly the whole of his term of
+office, the Supreme Court handed down a decision which unseated him and
+the entire ticket elected with him, finding in favour of the opposition
+ticket in all cases and upon all grounds charged.
+
+The decision is long--about ten thousand words, and its legal
+technicalities would not interest the reader. It will suffice to reprint
+the essential paragraphs. The reader is asked to give these paragraphs
+careful study, considering, not merely the specific offence denounced by
+the court, but its wider implications. The offence was one so
+unprecedented that the justices of the court, men chosen for their
+learning in the history of offences, were moved to say: “We find no such
+example of fraud within the books, and must seek the letter and spirit
+of the law in a free government, as a scale in which to weigh such
+conduct.” And let it be noted, this “crime without a name” was not a
+crime of passion, but of policy; it was a crime deliberately planned and
+carried out by profit-seeking corporations of enormous power. Let the
+reader imagine the psychology of the men of great wealth who ordered
+this crime, as a means of keeping and increasing their wealth; let him
+realise what must be the attitude of such men to their helpless workers;
+and then let him ask himself whether there is any act portrayed in “King
+Coal” which men of such character would shrink from ordering.
+
+The Court decision first gives an outline of the case, using for the
+most part the statements of the counsel for the defendant, Farr; so that
+for practical purposes the following may be taken as the coal companies’
+own account of their domain: “Round the shaft of each mine are clustered
+the tipple, the mine office, the shops, sheds and outbuildings; and
+huddled close by, within a stone’s throw, cottages of the miners built
+on the land of, and owned by, the mining company. All the dwellers in
+the camp are employés of the mine. There is no other industry. This is
+‘the camp.’ Of the eight ‘closed camps’ it appears that practically the
+same conditions existed in all of them, and those conditions were in
+general that members of the United Mine Workers of America, their
+organisers or agitators, were prevented from coming into the camps, so
+far as it was possible to keep them out, and to this end guards were
+stationed about them. Of the eight ‘closed camps’ one of them, ‘Walsen,’
+was, and at the time of the trial still was, enclosed by a fence erected
+at the beginning of the strike in October, 1913: Rouse and Cameron were
+partly, but never entirely, enclosed by fences. It is admitted that all
+persons entering these camps and precincts were required by the
+companies to have passes, and it is contended that this was an
+‘industrial necessity.’”
+
+The Court then goes on as follows:
+
+“The Federal troops entered the district in May of 1914, and the
+testimony is in agreement that no serious acts of violence occurred
+thereafter, and that order was preserved up to and subsequent to the
+election, and to the time of this trial.
+
+“It was under this condition that in July, 1914, the Board of County
+Commissioners changed certain of the election precincts so as to
+constitute each of such camps an election precinct, and with but one
+exception where a few ranches were included, these precincts were made
+to conform to the fences and lines around each camp, protected by fences
+in some instances and with armed guards in all cases. Thus each election
+precinct by this unparalleled act of the commissioners was placed
+exclusively within and upon the private grounds and under the private
+control of a coal corporation, which autocratically declared who should
+and who should not enter upon the territory of this political entity of
+the state, so purposely bounded by the county commissioners.
+
+“With but one exception all the lands and buildings within each of these
+election precincts as so created, were owned or controlled by the coal
+corporations; every person resident within such precincts was an employé
+of these private corporations or their allied companies, with the single
+exception: every judge, clerk or officer of election with the exception
+of a saloon keeper, and partner of Farr, was an employé of the
+coal-companies.
+
+“The polling places were upon the grounds, and in the buildings of these
+companies; the registration lists were kept within the private offices
+or buildings of such companies, and used and treated as their private
+property.
+
+“Thus were the public election districts and the public election
+machinery turned over to the absolute domination and imperial control of
+private coal corporations, and used by them as absolutely and privately
+as were their mines, to and for their own private purposes, and upon
+which public territory no man might enter for either public or private
+purpose, save and except by the express permission of these private
+corporations.
+
+“This right to determine who should enter such so called election
+precincts, appears from the record to have been exercised as against all
+classes; merchants, tradesmen or what not, and whether the business of
+such person was public or private. Indeed, it appears that in one
+instance the governor and adjutant general of the state while on
+official business, were denied admission to one of these closed camps.
+And that on the day of election, the Democratic watchers and challengers
+for Walsen Mine precinct, one of which was Neelley, the Democratic
+candidate for sheriff, were forced to seek and secure a detail of
+Federal soldiers to escort them into the precinct and to the polls, and
+that such soldiers remained as such guard during the day and a part of
+the night....
+
+“But if there was any doubt concerning the condition of the closed camps
+and precincts, and the exclusion of representatives of the Democratic
+party from discussing the issues of the campaign within the precincts
+comprising the closed camps, it is entirely removed by the testimony of
+the witness Weitzel, for contestee (Farr). He testified that he was a
+resident of Pueblo, and was manager of the Colorado Fuel and Iron
+Company; that Rouse, Lester, Ideal, Cameron, Walsen, Pictou and McNally
+are camps under his jurisdiction. That he had general charge of the
+camps and that there was no company official in Colorado superior to him
+in this respect except the president; that the superintendent and other
+employés are under his supervision; that the Federal troops came about
+the 1st of May, 1914, and continued until January, 1915. That in all
+those camps he tried to keep out the people who were antagonistic to the
+company’s interests; that it was private property and so treated by his
+company; that through him the company and its officials assumed to
+exercise authority as to who might or who might not enter; that if
+persons could assure or satisfy the man at the gate, or the
+superintendent that they were not connected with the United Mine
+Workers, or in their employ as agitators, they were let into the camp.
+That ‘no one we were fighting against got in for social intercourse or
+any other’; that he and officials under him assumed to pass upon the
+question of whether or not any person coming there came for the purpose
+of agitation. That Mr. Mitchell, the chairman of the Democratic
+committee, as he recalled it, was identified with the agitators, ran a
+newspaper and was connected either directly or indirectly with the
+United Mine Workers; that Mr. Neelley, Democratic candidate for sheriff,
+was identified with the strikers, and that he would be considered as an
+objectionable character. That when the Federal troops came, they
+restored peace and normal conditions; there was no rioting after that,
+there was no fear on the part of the company when the Federal soldiers
+were here, except fear of agitation. Asked if he guarded the camp
+against discussion, against the espousal of the cause of the company, he
+replied, ‘We didn’t encourage it.’ The company would not encourage
+organisers to come into the camp, no matter how peacefully they
+conducted themselves; that the company did not permit men to come into
+the camp to discuss with the employés certain principles, or to carry on
+arguments with them or to appeal to their reason, or to discuss with
+them things along reasonable lines, because it was known from experience
+that if they were allowed to come in they would resort to threats of
+violence. They might not resort to any violence at the time, but it
+might result in the people becoming frightened and leaving, and they
+were anxious to hold their employés. He was asked whether or not one had
+business there depended upon the decision of the official in charge; he
+replied that the superintendent probably would inquire of him what his
+business was. That any one that Farr asked for a permit to enter the
+camp would likely get it....
+
+“There was but one attempt to hold a political meeting in the closed
+precincts. Joseph Patterson, who attempted to hold this meeting,
+testifies concerning it as follows:
+
+“Was at a political meeting at Oakview. Had been a warm, personal friend
+of Mr. Jones, the assistant superintendent of the Oakview mine, and had
+written him a letter asking the courtesy of holding a political meeting.
+On Saturday evening received a letter that he could hold such meeting.
+On the day previous to the meeting witness received a ’phone message
+from the assistant superintendent, in which the latter inquired whether
+witness was coming up there to cause any trouble, and witness replied,
+certainly not, and if the superintendent felt that way they would not
+come. Had advised the superintendent that he and others were going to
+hold a political meeting for the Democratic party. Jones, the
+superintendent, stated that witness should come to the office that night
+before he went to the school house for the purpose of the meeting; when
+witness arrived at the meeting there were about six or eight English
+speaking people and a dozen to fourteen Mexicans. The superintendent,
+Mr. Morgan, and Mr. Price, were outside of the door most of the time.
+Witness noticed that the first few fellows that came toward the school
+house, the superintendent stopped and talked with them and they turned
+back to the camp. This happened several times: as soon as they talked
+with Morgan they turned back. After he saw that, witness went into the
+school house and said that it was no use to hold any meeting; that it
+seemed that nobody was allowed to come. This meeting was supposed to be
+in a public school house on the company property. Had to get permission
+from the superintendent of the Oakview mining Company to hold said
+political meeting.”....
+
+“It appears that the number of registered voters in the closed precincts
+was very largely in excess of the number of votes cast, and this of
+itself was sufficient to demand an open and fair investigation as to the
+qualifications of the alleged voters.
+
+“It appears from the testimony that in these closed precincts many of
+those who voted were unable to speak or read the English language, and
+that in numerous instances, the election judges assisted such, by
+marking the ballots for them in violation of the law. Again, it appears
+that the ballots were printed so that.... (The decision here goes on to
+explain in detail a device whereby the ballot was so printed that voting
+could be controlled with the help of a card device.) Thus such voters
+were not choosing candidates, but, under the direction of the companies,
+were simply placing the cross where they found the particular letter R
+on the ballot, so that the ballot was not an expression of opinion or
+judgment, not an intelligent exercise of suffrage, but plainly a
+dictated coal company vote, as much so as if the agents of these
+companies had marked the ballots without the intervention of the voter.
+No more fraudulent and infamous prostitution of the ballot is
+conceivable....
+
+“Counsel contend that the closed precincts were an ‘industrial
+necessity,’ and for such reason the conduct of the coal companies during
+the campaign was justified. However such conduct may be viewed when
+confined to the private property of such corporations in their private
+operation, the fact remains that there is no justification when they
+were dealing with such territory after it had been dedicated to a public
+use, and particularly involving the right of the people to exercise
+their duties and powers as electors in a popular government.
+
+“The fact appears that the members of the board of county commissioners
+and all other county officers were Republicans, and as stated by counsel
+for the contestees, the success of the Republican candidates was
+considered by the coal companies, vital to their interests. The close
+relationship of the coal companies and the Republican officials and
+candidates appears to have been so marked both before and during the
+campaign, as to justify the conclusion that such officers regarded their
+duty to the coal companies as paramount to their duty to the public
+service. To say that the closed precincts were not so created to suit
+the convenience and interests of these corporations, or that they were
+not so formed with the advice and consent of these corporations, is to
+discredit human intelligence, and to deny human experience. The plain
+purpose of the formation of the new precincts was that the coal
+companies might have opportunity to conduct and control the elections
+therein, just as such elections were conducted. The irresistible
+conclusion is that these close precincts were so formed by the county
+commissioners with the connivance of the representatives of the coal
+companies, if not by their express command.
+
+“There can be no free, open and fair election as contemplated by the
+constitution, where private industrial corporations so throttle public
+opinion, deny the free exercise of choice by sovereign electors, dictate
+and control all election officers, prohibit public discussion of public
+questions, and imperially command what citizens may and what citizens
+may not, peacefully and for lawful purposes, enter upon election or
+public territory....
+
+“We find no such example of fraud within the books, and must seek the
+letter and spirit of the law in a free government, as a scale in which
+to weigh such conduct....
+
+“The denial of the right of peaceful assemblage, can have been for no
+other purpose than to influence the election. There was no disturbance
+in any of these precincts after they were created, up to the time of the
+election, and up to the time of this trial. The Federal troops were
+present at all times to preserve the peace and to protect life and
+property. There was no reason to anticipate any disturbance. Therefore
+this bold denial was an inexcusable and corrupt violation of the natural
+and inalienable rights of the citizens.
+
+“The defence relies not upon conflicting evidence, but upon the
+contention that the conduct of the election was justified as an
+‘industrial necessity.’
+
+“We have heard much in this state in recent years as to the denial of
+inherent and constitutional rights of citizens being justified by
+‘military necessity,’ but this we believe is the first time in our
+experience when the violation of the fundamental rights of freemen has
+been attempted to be justified by the plea of ‘industrial necessity.’
+
+“Even if we were to concede that there may be some palliation in the
+plea of military necessity on the theory that such acts purport to be
+acts of the government itself, through its military arm and with the
+purpose of preserving the public peace and safety: yet that a private
+corporation, with its privately armed forces, may violate the most
+sacred right of the citizenship of the state and find lawful excuse in
+the plea of private ‘industrial necessity’ savours too much of anarchy
+to find approval by courts of justice.
+
+“This case clearly comes within another exception to the rule, in that
+it is plain that the findings were influenced by the bias and prejudice
+of the trial judge.
+
+“A careful reading of the record discloses the rejection by the court of
+so much palpably pertinent and competent testimony offered by the
+contestors, as to force the conclusion that the trial judge was
+influenced by bias and prejudice, to the extent at least, charged in the
+application for a change of venue, and sufficient in itself to justify a
+reversal of judgment....
+
+“For the foregoing reasons the judgment of the court in each case before
+us, is reversed, and the entire poll in the said precincts of
+Niggerhead, Ravenwood, Walsen Mine, Oakview, Pryor, Rouse and Cameron is
+annulled, and held for naught, and the election in each of said
+precincts is hereby set aside. This leaves a substantial and
+unquestioned majority for each of the contestors in the county, and
+which entitles each contestor to be declared elected to the office for
+which he was a candidate.
+
+“We find further, that J. B. Farr, the defendant in error, was not and
+is not the duly elected sheriff of Huerfano county, and that E. L.
+Neelley, the plaintiff in error, was and is the duly elected sheriff of
+said county. It is therefore ordered that the said county, and that the
+said E. L. Neelley, immediately and upon qualification as required by
+law, enter and discharge the duties of the said office of sheriff of
+Huerfano county....”
+
+So much for the court opinion upon coal-camp politics. In relation
+thereto, the writer has only one comment to offer. Let the reader not
+drop the matter with the idea that because one set of corrupt officials
+have been turned out of office in one American county, therefore justice
+has been vindicated, and there is no longer need to be concerned about
+the conditions portrayed in “King Coal.” The defeat of the “King of
+Huerfano County” is but one step in a long road which the miners of
+Colorado have to travel if ever they are to be free men. The industrial
+power of the great corporations remains untouched by this decision; and
+this power is greater than any political power ever wielded by the
+government of Huerfano County, or even of the state of Colorado. This
+industrial power is a deep, far-spreading root; and so long as it is
+allowed to thrive, it will send up again and again the poisonous plant
+of political “malconduct, fraud and corruption.” The citizens and
+workers of such industrial communities, whether in Colorado, in West
+Virginia, Alabama, Michigan or Minnesota, in the Chicago stock-yards,
+the steel-mills of Pittsburg, the woollen-mills of Lawrence or the
+silk-mills of Paterson, will find that they have neither peace nor
+freedom, until they have abolished the system of production for profit,
+and established in the field of industry what they are supposed to have
+already in the field of politics--a government of the people, by the
+people, for the people.
+
+NOTE: On the day that the author finished the reading of the proofs of
+“King Coal,” the following item appeared in his daily newspaper:
+
+COLORADO MINE WORKERS ASK LEAVE TO STRIKE
+
+[BY A. P. NIGHT WIRE]
+
+DENVER (Colo.), June 14.--Officers of the United Mine Workers
+representing members of that organisation employed by the Colorado Fuel
+and Iron Company, have telegraphed their national officers asking
+permission to strike.
+
+At the morning session a resolution was adopted expressing
+disapprobation of the action of J. F. Welborn, president of the fuel
+company, for failure to attend the meeting, which was a part of the
+“peace programme” to prevent industrial differences in the State during
+the war.
+
+The grievances of the men, according to John McLennan, spokesman for
+them, centre about the operation of the so-called “Rockefeller plan” at
+the mines. McLennan said the failure of Mr. Welborn to attend the
+meeting and discuss these grievances with the men precipitated the
+strike agitation.
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
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+<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">
+<head>
+    <meta charset="UTF-8">
+    <title>
+      King Coal | Project Gutenberg
+    </title>
+    <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover">
+    <style> /* <![CDATA[ */
+
+    body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify}
+    P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; }
+    H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; }
+    hr  { width: 50%; text-align: center;}
+    blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;}
+    .toc       { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;}
+    .pre        { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;}
+.m2 {margin-left: 2em;}
+</style>
+  </head>
+  <body>
+
+
+<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of King Coal, by Upton Sinclair</div>
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
+most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
+whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
+of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online
+at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you
+are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the
+country where you are located before using this eBook.
+</div>
+<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title:King Coal
+<br>A Novel</div>
+<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Upton Sinclair</div>
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: May 13, 2003 [eBook #7522]<br>
+[Most recently updated: February 23, 2024]</div>
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div>
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div>
+<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: David Widger, Eric Eldred, Beth Trapaga and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team</div>
+<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KING COAL *</div>
+
+    <div style="height: 8em;">
+      <br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>
+    </div>
+    <h1>
+      KING COAL
+    </h1>
+    <h3>
+      <i>A NOVEL</i>
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      <br>
+    </p>
+    <h2>
+      By Upton Sinclair
+    </h2>
+    <h5>
+      TO <br> <br> MARY CRAIG KIMBROUGH <br> <br> To whose persistence in
+      the perilous task of tearing<br> her husband's manuscript to pieces, the
+      reader is indebted <br> for the absence of most of the faults from this
+      book.
+    </h5>
+    <p>
+      <br><br>
+    </p>
+    <hr>
+    <p>
+      <br><br>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <b>CONTENTS</b>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_INTR"> INTRODUCTION </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> BOOK ONE &mdash; THE DOMAIN OF KING COAL </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> BOOK TWO &mdash; THE SERFS OF KING COAL </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> BOOK THREE &mdash; THE HENCHMEN OF KING COAL
+      </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> BOOK FOUR &mdash; THE WILL OF KING COAL </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> POSTSCRIPT </a>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br><br>
+    </p>
+    <hr>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_INTR" id="link2H_INTR"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br><br><br><br>
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      INTRODUCTION
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Upton Sinclair is one of the not too many writers who have consecrated
+      their lives to the agitation for social justice, and who have also
+      enrolled their art in the service of a set purpose. A great and
+      non-temporizing enthusiast, he never flinched from making sacrifices. Now
+      and then he attained great material successes as a writer, but invariably
+      he invested and lost his earnings in enterprises by which he had hoped to
+      ward off injustice and to further human happiness. Though disappointed
+      time after time, he never lost faith nor courage to start again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As a convinced socialist and eager advocate of unpopular doctrines, as an
+      exposer of social conditions that would otherwise be screened away from
+      the public eye, the most influential journals of his country were as a
+      rule arraigned against him. Though always a poor man, though never willing
+      to grant to publishers the concessions essential for many editions and
+      general popularity, he was maliciously represented to be a carpet knight
+      of radicalism and a socialist millionaire. He has several times been
+      obliged to change his publisher, which goes to prove that he is no seeker
+      of material gain.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Upton Sinclair is one of the writers of the present time most deserving of
+      a sympathetic interest. He shows his patriotism as an American, not by
+      joining in hymns to the very conditional kind of liberty peculiar to the
+      United States, but by agitating for infusing it with the elixir of real
+      liberty, the liberty of humanity. He does not limit himself to a
+      dispassionate and entertaining description of things as they are. But in
+      his appeals to the honour and good-fellowship of his compatriots, he opens
+      their eyes to the appalling conditions under which wage-earning slaves are
+      living by the hundreds of thousands. His object is to better these
+      unnatural conditions, to obtain for the very poorest a glimpse of light
+      and happiness, to make even them realise the sensation of cosy well-being
+      and the comfort of knowing that justice is to be found also for them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This time Upton Sinclair has absorbed himself in the study of the miner's
+      life in the lonesome pits of the Rocky Mountains, and his sensitive and
+      enthusiastic mind has brought to the world an American parallel to
+      GERMINAL, Emile Zola's technical masterpiece.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The conditions described in the two books are, however, essentially
+      different. While Zola's working-men are all natives of France, one meets
+      in Sinclair's book a motley variety of European emigrants, speaking a
+      Babel of languages and therefore debarred from forming some sort of
+      association to protect themselves against being exploited by the anonymous
+      limited Company. Notwithstanding this natural bar against united action on
+      the part of the wage-earning slaves, the Company feels far from at ease
+      and jealously guards its interests against any attempt of organising the
+      men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A young American of the upper class, with great sympathy for the
+      downtrodden and an honest desire to get a first-hand knowledge of their
+      conditions in order to help them, decides to take employment in a mine
+      under a fictitious name and dressed like a working-man. His unusual way of
+      trying to obtain work arouses suspicion. He is believed to be a
+      professional strike-leader sent out to organise the miners against their
+      exploiters, and he is not only refused work, but thrashed mercilessly.
+      When finally he succeeds in getting inside, he discovers with growing
+      indignation the shameless and inhuman way in which those who unearth the
+      black coal are being exploited.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      These are the fundamental ideas of the book, but they give but a faint
+      notion of the author's poetic attitude. Most beautifully is this shown in
+      Hal's relation to a young Irish girl, Red Mary. She is poor, and her daily
+      life harsh and joyless, but nevertheless her wonderful grace is one of the
+      outstanding features of the book. The first impression of Mary is that of
+      a Celtic Madonna with a tender heart for little children. She develops
+      into a Valküre of the working-class, always ready to fight for the
+      worker's right.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The last chapters of the book give a description of the miners' revolt
+      against the Company. They insist upon their right to choose a deputy to
+      control the weighing-in of the coal, and upon having the mines sprinkled
+      regularly to prevent explosion. They will also be free to buy their food
+      and utensils wherever they like, even in shops not belonging to the
+      Company.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In a postscript Sinclair explains the fundamental facts on which his work
+      of art has been built up. Even without the postscript one could not help
+      feeling convinced that the social conditions he describes are true to
+      life. The main point is that Sinclair has not allowed himself to become
+      inspired by hackneyed phrases that bondage and injustice and the other
+      evils and crimes of Kingdoms have been banished from Republics, but that
+      he is earnestly pointing to the honeycombed ground on which the greatest
+      modern money-power has been built. The fundament of this power is not
+      granite, but mines. It lives and breathes in the light, because it has
+      thousands of unfortunates toiling in the darkness. It lives and has its
+      being in proud liberty because thousands are slaving for it, whose
+      thraldom is the price of this liberty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This is the impression given to the reader of this exciting novel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      GEORG BRANDES.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br><br>
+    </p>
+    <hr>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br><br><br><br>
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      BOOK ONE &mdash; THE DOMAIN OF KING COAL
+    </h2>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 1.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      The town of Pedro stood on the edge of the mountain country; a straggling
+      assemblage of stores and saloons from which a number of branch railroads
+      ran up into the canyons, feeding the coal-camps. Through the week it slept
+      peacefully; but on Saturday nights, when the miners came trooping down,
+      and the ranchmen came in on horseback and in automobiles, it wakened to a
+      seething life.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At the railroad station, one day late in June, a young man alighted from a
+      train. He was about twenty-one years of age, with sensitive features, and
+      brown hair having a tendency to waviness. He wore a frayed and faded suit
+      of clothes, purchased in a quarter of his home city where the Hebrew
+      merchants stand on the sidewalks to offer their wares; also a soiled blue
+      shirt without a tie, and a pair of heavy boots which had seen much
+      service. Strapped on his back was a change of clothing and a blanket, and
+      in his pockets a comb, a toothbrush, and a small pocket mirror.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Sitting in the smoking-car of the train, the young man had listened to the
+      talk of the coal-camps, seeking to correct his accent. When he got off the
+      train he proceeded down the track and washed his hands with cinders, and
+      lightly powdered some over his face. After studying the effect of this in
+      his mirror, he strolled down the main street of Pedro, and, selecting a
+      little tobacco-shop, went in. In as surly a voice as he could muster, he
+      inquired of the proprietress, &ldquo;Can you tell me how to get to the Pine
+      Creek mine?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The woman looked at him with no suspicion in her glance. She gave the
+      desired information, and he took a trolley and got off at the foot of the
+      Pine Creek canyon, up which he had a thirteen-mile trudge. It was a
+      sunshiny day, with the sky crystal clear, and the mountain air
+      invigourating. The young man seemed to be happy, and as he strode on his
+      way, he sang a song with many verses:
+    </p>
+<p class="pre">
+  &ldquo;Old King Coal was a merry old soul,<br>
+<span class="m2">And a merry old soul was he;</span><br>
+  He made him a college all full of knowledge&mdash;<br>
+<span class="m2">Hurrah for you and me!</span><br>
+<br>
+  &ldquo;Oh, Liza-Ann, come out with me,<br>
+<span class="m2">The moon is a-shinin' in the monkey-puzzle tree;</span><br>
+  Oh, Liza-Ann, I have began<br>
+<span class="m2">To sing you the song of Harrigan!</span><br>
+<br>
+  &ldquo;He keeps them a-roll, this merry old soul&mdash;<br>
+<span class="m2">The wheels of industree;</span><br>
+  A-roll and a-roll, for his pipe and his bowl<br>
+<span class="m2">And his college facultee!</span><br>
+<br>
+  &ldquo;Oh, Mary-Jane, come out in the lane,<br>
+<span class="m2">The moon is a-shinin' in the old pecan;</span><br>
+  Oh, Mary-Jane, don't you hear me a-sayin'<br>
+<span class="m2">I'll sing you the song of Harrigan!</span><br>
+<br>
+  &ldquo;So hurrah for King Coal, and his fat pay-roll,<br>
+<span class="m2">And his wheels of industree!</span><br>
+  Hurrah for his pipe, and hurrah for his bowl&mdash;<br>
+<span class="m2">And hurrah for you and me!</span><br>
+<br>
+  &ldquo;Oh, Liza-Ann, come out with me,<br>
+<span class="m2">The moon is a-shinin'&mdash;&rdquo;</span><br>
+ </p>
+    <p>
+      And so on and on&mdash;as long as the moon was a-shinin' on a college
+      campus. It was a mixture of happy nonsense and that questioning with which
+      modern youth has begun to trouble its elders. As a marching tune, the song
+      was a trifle swift for the grades of a mountain canyon; Warner could stop
+      and shout to the canyon-walls, and listen to their answer, and then march
+      on again. He had youth in his heart, and love and curiosity; also he had
+      some change in his trousers' pocket, and a ten dollar bill, for extreme
+      emergencies, sewed up in his belt. If a photographer for Peter Harrigan's
+      General Fuel Company could have got a snap-shot of him that morning, it
+      might have served as a &ldquo;portrait of a coal-miner&rdquo; in any &ldquo;prosperity&rdquo;
+       publication.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the climb was a stiff one, and before the end the traveller became
+      aware of the weight of his boots, and sang no more. Just as the sun was
+      sinking up the canyon, he came upon his destination&mdash;a gate across
+      the road, with a sign upon it:
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      PINE CREEK COAL CO.
+    </h3>
+    <h3>
+      PRIVATE PROPERTY
+    </h3>
+    <h3>
+      TRESPASSING FORBIDDEN
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal approached the gate, which was of iron bars, and padlocked. After
+      standing for a moment to get ready his surly voice, he kicked upon the
+      gate and a man came out of a shack inside.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What do you want?&rdquo; said he.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I want to get in. I'm looking for a job.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where do you come from?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;From Pedro.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where you been working?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I never worked in a mine before.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where did you work?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In a grocery-store.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What grocery-store?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Peterson &amp; Co., in Western City.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The guard came closer to the gate and studied him through the bars.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hey, Bill!&rdquo; he called, and another man came out from the cabin. &ldquo;Here's a
+      guy says he worked in a grocery, and he's lookin' for a job.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where's your papers?&rdquo; demanded Bill.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Every one had told Hal that labour was scarce in the mines, and that the
+      companies were ravenous for men; he had supposed that a workingman would
+      only have to knock, and it would be opened unto him. &ldquo;They didn't give me
+      no papers,&rdquo; he said, and added, hastily, &ldquo;I got drunk and they fired me.&rdquo;
+       He felt quite sure that getting drunk would not bar one from a coal camp.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the two made no move to open the gate. The second man studied him
+      deliberately from top to toe, and Hal was uneasily aware of possible
+      sources of suspicion. &ldquo;I'm all right,&rdquo; he declared. &ldquo;Let me in, and I'll
+      show you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Still the two made no move. They looked at each other, and then Bill
+      answered, &ldquo;We don't need no hands.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But,&rdquo; exclaimed Hal, &ldquo;I saw a sign down the canyon&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's an old sign,&rdquo; said Bill.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But I walked all the way up here!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You'll find it easier walkin' back.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But&mdash;it's night!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Scared of the dark, kid?&rdquo; inquired Bill, facetiously.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, say!&rdquo; replied Hal. &ldquo;Give a fellow a chance! Ain't there some way I
+      can pay for my keep&mdash;or at least for a bunk to-night?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's nothin' for you,&rdquo; said Bill, and turned and went into the cabin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The other man waited and watched, with a decidedly hostile look. Hal
+      strove to plead with him, but thrice he repeated, &ldquo;Down the canyon with
+      you.&rdquo; So at last Hal gave up, and moved down the road a piece and sat down
+      to reflect.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It really seemed an absurdly illogical proceeding, to post a notice,
+      &ldquo;Hands Wanted,&rdquo; in conspicuous places on the roadside, causing a man to
+      climb thirteen miles up a mountain canyon, only to be turned off without
+      explanation. Hal was convinced that there must be jobs inside the
+      stockade, and that if only he could get at the bosses he could persuade
+      them. He got up and walked down the road a quarter of a mile, to where the
+      railroad-track crossed it, winding up the canyon. A train of &ldquo;empties&rdquo; was
+      passing, bound into the camp, the cars rattling and bumping as the engine
+      toiled up the grade. This suggested a solution of the difficulty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was already growing dark. Crouching slightly, Hal approached the cars,
+      and when he was in the shadows, made a leap and swung onto one of them. It
+      took but a second to clamber in, and he lay flat and waited, his heart
+      thumping.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Before a minute had passed he heard a shout, and looking over, he saw the
+      Cerberus of the gate running down a path to the track, his companion,
+      Bill, just behind him. &ldquo;Hey! come out of there!&rdquo; they yelled; and Bill
+      leaped, and caught the car in which Hal was riding.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The latter saw that the game was up, and sprang to the ground on the other
+      side of the track and started out of the camp. Bill followed him, and as
+      the train passed, the other man ran down the track to join him. Hal was
+      walking rapidly, without a word; but the Cerberus of the gate had many
+      words, most of them unprintable, and he seized Hal by the collar, and
+      shoving him violently, planted a kick upon that portion of his anatomy
+      which nature has constructed for the reception of kicks. Hal recovered his
+      balance, and, as the man was still pursuing him, he turned and aimed a
+      blow, striking him on the chest and making him reel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal's big brother had seen to it that he knew how to use his fists; he now
+      squared off, prepared to receive the second of his assailants. But in
+      coal-camps matters are not settled in that primitive way, it appeared. The
+      man halted, and the muzzle of a revolver came suddenly under Hal's nose.
+      &ldquo;Stick 'em up!&rdquo; said the man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This was a slang which Hal had never heard, but the meaning was
+      inescapable; he &ldquo;stuck 'em up.&rdquo; At the same moment his first assailant
+      rushed at him, and dealt him a blow over the eye which sent him sprawling
+      backward upon the stones.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 2.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      When Hal came to himself again he was in darkness, and was conscious of
+      agony from head to toe. He was lying on a stone floor, and he rolled over,
+      but soon rolled back again, because there was no part of his back which
+      was not sore. Later on, when he was able to study himself, he counted over
+      a score of marks of the heavy boots of his assailants.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He lay for an hour or two, making up his mind that he was in a lock-up,
+      because he could see the starlight through iron bars. He could hear
+      somebody snoring, and he called half a dozen times, in a louder and louder
+      voice, until at last, hearing a growl, he inquired, &ldquo;Can you give me a
+      drink of water?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll give you hell if you wake me up again,&rdquo; said the voice; after which
+      Hal lay in silence until morning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A couple of hours after daylight, a man entered his cell. &ldquo;Get up,&rdquo; said
+      he, and added a prod with his foot. Hal had thought he could not do it,
+      but he got up.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No funny business now,&rdquo; said his jailer, and grasping him by the sleeve
+      of his coat, marched him out of the cell and down a little corridor into a
+      sort of office, where sat a red-faced personage with a silver shield upon
+      the lapel of his coat. Hal's two assailants of the night before stood
+      nearby.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, kid?&rdquo; said the personage in the chair. &ldquo;Had a little time to think
+      it over?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Hal, briefly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What's the charge?&rdquo; inquired the personage, of the two watchmen.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Trespassing and resisting arrest.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How much money you got, young fellow?&rdquo; was, the next question.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal hesitated.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Speak up there!&rdquo; said the man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Two dollars and sixty-seven cents,&rdquo; said Hal&mdash;&ldquo;as well as I can
+      remember.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Go on!&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;What you givin' us?&rdquo; And then, to the two
+      watchmen, &ldquo;Search him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Take off your coat and pants,&rdquo; said Bill, promptly, &ldquo;and your boots.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, I say!&rdquo; protested Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Take 'em off!&rdquo; said the man, and clenched his fists. Hal took 'em off,
+      and they proceeded to go through the pockets, producing a purse with the
+      amount stated, also a cheap watch, a strong pocket knife, the tooth-brush,
+      comb and mirror, and two white handkerchiefs, which they looked at
+      contemptuously and tossed to the spittle-drenched floor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They unrolled the pack, and threw the clean clothing about. Then, opening
+      the pocket-knife, they proceeded to pry about the soles and heels of the
+      boots, and to cut open the lining of the clothing. So they found the ten
+      dollars in the belt, which they tossed onto the table with the other
+      belongings. Then the personage with the shield announced, &ldquo;I fine you
+      twelve dollars and sixty-seven cents, and your watch and knife.&rdquo; He added,
+      with a grin, &ldquo;You can keep your snot-rags.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now see here!&rdquo; said Hal, angrily. &ldquo;This is pretty raw!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You get your duds on, young fellow, and get out of here as quick as you
+      can, or you'll go in your shirt-tail.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But Hal was angry enough to have been willing to go in his skin. &ldquo;You tell
+      me who you are, and your authority for this procedure?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm marshal of the camp,&rdquo; said the man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean you're an employé of the General Fuel Company? And you propose
+      to rob me&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Put him out, Bill,&rdquo; said the marshal. And Hal saw Bill's fists clench.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; he said, swallowing his indignation. &ldquo;Wait till I get my
+      clothes on.&rdquo; And he proceeded to dress as quickly as possible; he rolled
+      up his blanket and spare clothing, and started for the door.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Remember,&rdquo; said the marshal, &ldquo;straight down the canyon with you, and if
+      you show your face round here again, you'll get a bullet through you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So Hal went out into the sunshine, with a guard on each side of him as an
+      escort. He was on the same mountain road, but in the midst of the
+      company-village. In the distance he saw the great building of the breaker,
+      and heard the incessant roar of machinery and falling coal. He marched
+      past a double lane of company houses and shanties, where slattern women in
+      doorways and dirty children digging in the dust of the roadside paused and
+      grinned at him&mdash;for he limped as he walked, and it was evident enough
+      what had happened to him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had come with love and curiosity. The love was greatly diminished&mdash;evidently
+      this was not the force which kept the wheels of industry a-roll. But the
+      curiosity was greater than ever. What was there so carefully hidden inside
+      this coal-camp stockade?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal turned and looked at Bill, who had showed signs of humour the day
+      before. &ldquo;See here,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;you fellows have got my money, and you've
+      blacked my eye and kicked me blue, so you ought to be satisfied. Before I
+      go, tell me about it, won't you?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tell you what?&rdquo; growled Bill.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why did I get this?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because you're too gay, kid. Didn't you know you had no business trying
+      to sneak in here?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Hal; &ldquo;but that's not what I mean. Why didn't you let me in at
+      first?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If you wanted a job in a mine,&rdquo; demanded the man, &ldquo;why didn't you go at
+      it in the regular way?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I didn't know the regular way.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's just it. And we wasn't takin' chances with you. You didn't look
+      straight.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But what did you think I was? What are you afraid of?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Go on!&rdquo; said the man. &ldquo;You can't work me!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal walked a few steps in silence, pondering how to break through. &ldquo;I see
+      you're suspicious of me,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I'll tell you the truth, if you'll let
+      me.&rdquo; Then, as the other did not forbid him, &ldquo;I'm a college boy, and I
+      wanted to see life and shift for myself a while. I thought it would be a
+      lark to come here.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Bill, &ldquo;this ain't no foot-ball field. It's a coal-mine.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal saw that his story had been accepted. &ldquo;Tell me straight,&rdquo; he said,
+      &ldquo;what did you think I was?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, I don't mind telling,&rdquo; growled Bill. &ldquo;There's union agitators
+      trying to organise these here camps, and we ain't taking no chances with
+      'em. This company gets its men through agencies, and if you'd went and
+      satisfied them, you'd 'a been passed in the regular way. Or if you'd went
+      to the office down in Pedro and got a pass, you'd 'a been all right. But
+      when a guy turns up at the gate, and looks like a dude and talks like a
+      college perfessor, he don't get by, see?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see,&rdquo; said Hal. And then, &ldquo;If you'll give me the price of a breakfast
+      out of my money, I'll be obliged.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Breakfast is over,&rdquo; said Bill. &ldquo;You sit round till the pinyons gets
+      ripe.&rdquo; He laughed; but then, mellowed by his own joke, he took a quarter
+      from his pocket and passed it to Hal. He opened the padlock on the gate
+      and saw him out with a grin; and so ended Hal's first turn on the wheels
+      of industry.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 3.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal Warner started to drag himself down the road, but was unable to make
+      it. He got as far as a brooklet that came down the mountain-side, from
+      which he might drink without fear of typhoid; there he lay the whole day,
+      fasting. Towards evening a thunder-storm came up, and he crawled under the
+      shelter of a rock, which was no shelter at all. His single blanket was
+      soon soaked through, and he passed a night almost as miserable as the
+      previous one. He could not sleep, but he could think, and he thought about
+      what had happened to him. &ldquo;Bill&rdquo; had said that a coal mine was not a
+      foot-ball field, but it seemed to Hal that the net impress of the two was
+      very much the same. He congratulated himself that his profession was not
+      that of a union organiser.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At dawn he dragged himself up, and continued his journey, weak from cold
+      and unaccustomed lack of food. In the course of the day he reached a
+      power-station near the foot of the canyon. He did not have the price of a
+      meal, and was afraid to beg; but in one of the group of buildings by the
+      roadside was a store, and he entered and inquired concerning prunes, which
+      were twenty-five cents a pound. The price was high, but so was the
+      altitude, and as Hal found in the course of time, they explained the one
+      by the other&mdash;not explaining, however, why the altitude of the price
+      was always greater than the altitude of the store. Over the counter he saw
+      a sign: &ldquo;We buy scrip at ten per cent discount.&rdquo; He had heard rumours of a
+      state law forbidding payment of wages in &ldquo;scrip&rdquo;; but he asked no
+      questions, and carried off his very light pound of prunes, and sat down by
+      the roadside and munched them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Just beyond the power-house, down on the railroad track, stood a little
+      cabin with a garden behind it. He made his way there, and found a
+      one-legged old watchman. He asked permission to spend the night on the
+      floor of the cabin; and seeing the old fellow look at his black eye, he
+      explained, &ldquo;I tried to get a job at the mine, and they thought I was a
+      union organiser.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said the man, &ldquo;I don't want no union organisers round here.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But I'm not one,&rdquo; pleaded Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How do I know what you are? Maybe you're a company spy.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All I want is a dry place to sleep,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;Surely it won't be any
+      harm for you to give me that.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm not so sure,&rdquo; the other answered. &ldquo;However, you can spread your
+      blanket in the corner. But don't you talk no union business to me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had no desire to talk. He rolled himself in his blanket and slept like
+      a man untroubled by either love or curiosity. In the morning the old
+      fellow gave him a slice of corn bread and some young onions out of his
+      garden, which had a more delicious taste than any breakfast that had ever
+      been served him. When Hal thanked his host in parting, the latter
+      remarked: &ldquo;All right, young fellow, there's one thing you can do to pay
+      me, and that is, say nothing about it. When a man has grey hair on his
+      head and only one leg, he might as well be drowned in the creek as lose
+      his job.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal promised, and went his way. His bruises pained him less, and he was
+      able to walk. There were ranch-houses in sight&mdash;it was like coming
+      back suddenly to America!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 4.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal had now before him a week's adventures as a hobo: a genuine hobo, with
+      no ten dollar bill inside his belt to take the reality out of his
+      experiences. He took stock of his worldly goods and wondered if he still
+      looked like a dude. He recalled that he had a smile which had fascinated
+      the ladies; would it work in combination with a black eye? Having no other
+      means of support, he tried it on susceptible looking housewives, and found
+      it so successful that he was tempted to doubt the wisdom of honest labour.
+      He sang the Harrigan song no more, but instead the words of a hobo-song he
+      had once heard:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, what's the use of workin' when there's women in the land?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The second day he made the acquaintance of two other gentlemen of the
+      road, who sat by the railroad-track toasting some bacon over a fire. They
+      welcomed him, and after they had heard his story, adopted him into the
+      fraternity and instructed him in its ways of life. Pretty soon he made the
+      acquaintance of one who had been a miner, and was able to give him the
+      information he needed before climbing another canyon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Dutch Mike&rdquo; was the name this person bore, for reasons he did not
+      explain. He was a black-eyed and dangerous-looking rascal, and when the
+      subject of mines and mining was broached, he opened up the flood-gates of
+      an amazing reservoir of profanity. He was through with that game&mdash;Hal
+      or any other God-damned fool might have his job for the asking. It was
+      only because there were so many natural-born God-damned fools in the world
+      that the game could be kept going. &ldquo;Dutch Mike&rdquo; went on to relate dreadful
+      tales of mine-life, and to summon before him the ghosts of one pit-boss
+      after another, consigning them to the fires of eternal perdition.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I wanted to work while I was young,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;but now I'm cured, an' fer
+      good.&rdquo; The world had come to seem to him a place especially constructed
+      for the purpose of making him work, and every faculty he possessed was
+      devoted to foiling this plot. Sitting by a camp-fire near the stream which
+      ran down the valley, Hal had a merry time pointing out to &ldquo;Dutch Mike&rdquo; how
+      he worked harder at dodging work than other men worked at working. The
+      hobo did not seem to mind that, however&mdash;it was a matter of principle
+      with him, and he was willing to make sacrifices for his convictions. Even
+      when they had sent him to the work-house, he had refused to work; he had
+      been shut in a dungeon, and had nearly died on a diet of bread and water,
+      rather than work. If everybody would do the same, he said, they would soon
+      &ldquo;bust things.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal took a fancy to this spontaneous revolutionist, and travelled with him
+      for a couple of days, in the course of which he pumped him as to details
+      of the life of a miner. Most of the companies used regular employment
+      agencies, as the guard had mentioned; but the trouble was, these agencies
+      got something from your pay for a long time&mdash;the bosses were &ldquo;in
+      cahoots&rdquo; with them. When Hal wondered if this were not against the law,
+      &ldquo;Cut it out, Bo!&rdquo; said his companion. &ldquo;When you've had a job for a while,
+      you'll know that the law in a coal-camp is what your boss tells you.&rdquo; The
+      hobo went on to register his conviction that when one man has the giving
+      of jobs, and other men have to scramble for them, the law would never have
+      much to say in the deal. Hal judged this a profound observation, and
+      wished that it might be communicated to the professor of political economy
+      at Harrigan.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      On the second night of his acquaintance with &ldquo;Dutch Mike,&rdquo; their &ldquo;jungle&rdquo;
+       was raided by a constable with half a dozen deputies; for a determined
+      effort was being made just then to drive vagrants from the neighbourhood&mdash;or
+      to get them to work in the mines. Hal's friend, who slept with one eye
+      open, made a break in the darkness, and Hal followed him, getting under
+      the guard of the raiders by a foot-ball trick. They left their food and
+      blankets behind them, but &ldquo;Dutch Mike&rdquo; made light of this, and lifted a
+      chicken from a roost to keep them cheerful through the night hours, and
+      stole a change of underclothing off a clothes-line the next day. Hal ate
+      the chicken, and wore the underclothing, thus beginning his career in
+      crime.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Parting from &ldquo;Dutch Mike,&rdquo; he went back to Pedro. The hobo had told him
+      that saloon-keepers nearly always had friends in the coal-camps, and could
+      help a fellow to a job. So Hal began enquiring, and the second one
+      replied, Yes, he would give him a letter to a man at North Valley, and if
+      he got the job, the friend would deduct a dollar a month from his pay. Hal
+      agreed, and set out upon another tramp up another canyon, upon the
+      strength of a sandwich &ldquo;bummed&rdquo; from a ranch-house at the entrance to the
+      valley. At another stockaded gate of the General Fuel Company he presented
+      his letter, addressed to a person named O'Callahan, who turned out also to
+      be a saloon-keeper.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The guard did not even open the letter, but passed Hal in at sight of it,
+      and he sought out his man and applied for work. The man said he would help
+      him, but would have to deduct a dollar a month for himself, as well as a
+      dollar for his friend in Pedro. Hal kicked at this, and they bartered back
+      and forth; finally, when Hal turned away and threatened to appeal directly
+      to the &ldquo;super,&rdquo; the saloon-keeper compromised on a dollar and a half.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You know mine-work?&rdquo; he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Brought up at it,&rdquo; said Hal, made wise, now, in the ways of the world.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where did you work?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal named several mines, concerning which he had learned something from
+      the hoboes. He was going by the name of &ldquo;Joe Smith,&rdquo; which he judged
+      likely to be found on the payroll of any mine. He had more than a week's
+      growth of beard to disguise him, and had picked up some profanity as well.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The saloon-keeper took him to interview Mr. Alec Stone, pit-boss in Number
+      Two mine, who inquired promptly: &ldquo;You know anything about mules?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I worked in a stable,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;I know about horses.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, mules is different,&rdquo; said the man. &ldquo;One of my stable-men got the
+      colic the other day, and I don't know if he'll ever be any good again.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Give me a chance,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;I'll manage them.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The boss looked him over. &ldquo;You look like a bright chap,&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;I'll
+      pay you forty-five a month, and if you make good I'll make it fifty.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right, sir. When do I start in?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You can't start too quick to suit me. Where's your duds?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This is all I've got,&rdquo; said Hal, pointing to the bundle of stolen
+      underwear in his hand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, chuck it there in the corner,&rdquo; said the man; then suddenly he
+      stopped, and looked at Hal, frowning. &ldquo;You belong to any union?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Lord, no!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did you <i>ever</i> belong to any union?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, sir. Never.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The man's gaze seemed to imply that Hal was lying, and that his secret
+      soul was about to be read. &ldquo;You have to swear to that, you know, before
+      you can work here.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;I'm willing.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll see you about it to-morrow,&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;I ain't got the paper
+      with me. By the way, what's your religion?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Seventh Day Adventist.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Holy Christ! What's that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It don't hurt,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;I ain't supposed to work on Saturdays, but I
+      do.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, don't you go preachin' it round here. We got our own preacher&mdash;you
+      chip in fifty cents a month for him out of your wages. Come ahead now, and
+      I'll take you down.&rdquo; And so it was that Hal got his start in life.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 5.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      The mule is notoriously a profane and godless creature; a blind alley of
+      Nature, so to speak, a mistake of which she is ashamed, and which she does
+      not permit to reproduce itself. The thirty mules under Hal's charge had
+      been brought up in an environment calculated to foster the worst
+      tendencies of their natures. He soon made the discovery that the &ldquo;colic&rdquo;
+       of his predecessor had been caused by a mule's hind foot in the stomach;
+      and he realised that he must not let his mind wander for an instant, if he
+      were to avoid this dangerous disease.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      These mules lived their lives in the darkness of the earth's interior;
+      only when they fell sick were they taken up to see the sunlight and to
+      roll about in green pastures. There was one of them called &ldquo;Dago Charlie,&rdquo;
+       who had learned to chew tobacco, and to rummage in the pockets of the
+      miners and their &ldquo;buddies.&rdquo; Not knowing how to spit out the juice, he
+      would make himself ill, and then he would swear off from indulgence. But
+      the drivers and the pit-boys knew his failing, and would tempt &ldquo;Dago
+      Charlie&rdquo; until he fell from grace. Hal soon discovered this moral tragedy,
+      and carried the pain of it in his soul as he went about his all-day
+      drudgery.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He went down the shaft with the first cage, which was very early in the
+      morning. He fed and watered his charges, and helped to harness them. Then,
+      when the last four hoofs had clattered away, he cleaned out the stalls,
+      and mended harness, and obeyed the orders of any person older than himself
+      who happened to be about.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Next to the mules, his torment was the &ldquo;trapper-boys,&rdquo; and other
+      youngsters with whom he came into contact. He was a newcomer, and so they
+      hazed him; moreover, he had an inferior job&mdash;there seemed to their
+      minds to be something humiliating and comic about the task of tending
+      mules. These urchins came from a score of nations of Southern Europe and
+      Asia; there were flat-faced Tartars and swarthy Greeks and shrewd-eyed
+      little Japanese. They spoke a compromise language, consisting mainly of
+      English curse words and obscenities; the filthiness which their minds had
+      spawned was incredible to one born and raised in the sunlight. They
+      alleged obscenities of their mothers and their grandmothers; also of the
+      Virgin Mary, the one mythological character they had heard of. Poor little
+      creatures of the dark, their souls grimed and smutted even more quickly
+      and irrevocably than their faces!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had been advised by his boss to inquire for board at &ldquo;Reminitsky's.&rdquo;
+       He came up in the last car, at twilight, and was directed to a dimly
+      lighted building of corrugated iron, where upon inquiry he was met by a
+      stout Russian, who told him he could be taken care of for twenty-seven
+      dollars a month, this including a cot in a room with eight other single
+      men. After deducting a dollar and a half a month for his saloon-keepers,
+      fifty cents for the company clergyman and a dollar for the company doctor,
+      fifty cents a month for wash-house privileges and fifty cents for a sick
+      and accident benefit fund, he had fourteen dollars a month with which to
+      clothe himself, to found a family, to provide himself with beer and
+      tobacco, and to patronise the libraries and colleges endowed by the
+      philanthropic owners of coal mines.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Supper was nearly over at Reminitsky's when he arrived; the floor looked
+      like the scene of a cannibal picnic, and what food was left was cold. It
+      was always to be this way with him, he found, and he had to make the best
+      of it. The dining-room of this boarding-house, owned and managed by the G.
+      F. C., brought to his mind the state prison, which he had once visited&mdash;with
+      its rows of men sitting in silence, eating starch and grease out of
+      tin-plates. The plates here were of crockery half an inch thick, but the
+      starch and grease never failed; the formula of Reminitsky's cook seemed to
+      be, When in doubt add grease, and boil it in. Even ravenous as Hal was
+      after his long tramp and his labour below ground, he could hardly swallow
+      this food. On Sundays, the only time he ate by daylight, the flies swarmed
+      over everything, and he remembered having heard a physician say that an
+      enlightened man should be more afraid of a fly than of a Bengal tiger. The
+      boarding-house provided him with a cot and a supply of vermin, but with no
+      blanket, which was a necessity in the mountain regions. So after supper he
+      had to seek out his boss, and arrange to get credit at the company-store.
+      They were willing to give a certain amount of credit, he found, as this
+      would enable the camp-marshal to keep him from straying. There was no law
+      to hold a man for debt&mdash;but Hal knew by this time how much a
+      camp-marshal cared for law.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 6.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      For three days Hal toiled in the bowels of the mine, and ate and pursued
+      vermin at Reminitsky's. Then came a blessed Sunday, and he had a couple of
+      free hours to see the sunlight and to get a look at the North Valley camp.
+      It was a village straggling along more than a mile of the mountain canyon.
+      In the centre were the great breaker-buildings, the shaft-house, and the
+      power-house with its tall chimneys; nearby were the company-store and a
+      couple of saloons. There were several boarding-houses like Reminitsky's,
+      and long rows of board cabins containing from two to four rooms each, some
+      of them occupied by several families. A little way up a slope stood a
+      school-house, and another small one-room building which served as a
+      church; the clergyman belonging to the General Fuel Company denomination.
+      He was given the use of the building, by way of start over the saloons,
+      which had to pay a heavy rental to the company; it seemed a proof of the
+      innate perversity of human nature that even in spite of this advantage,
+      heaven was losing out in the struggle against hell in the coal-camp.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As one walked through this village, the first impression was of
+      desolation. The mountains towered, barren and lonely, scarred with the
+      wounds of geologic ages. In these canyons the sun set early in the
+      afternoon, the snow came early in the fall; everywhere Nature's hand
+      seemed against man, and man had succumbed to her power. Inside the camps
+      one felt a still more cruel desolation&mdash;that of sordidness and
+      animalism. There were a few pitiful attempts at vegetable-gardens, but the
+      cinders and smoke killed everything, and the prevailing colour was of
+      grime. The landscape was strewn with ash-heaps, old wire and tomato-cans,
+      and smudged and smutty children playing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a part of the camp called &ldquo;shanty-town,&rdquo; where, amid miniature
+      mountains of slag, some of the lowest of the newly-arrived foreigners had
+      been permitted to build themselves shacks out of old boards, tin, and
+      sheets of tar-paper. These homes were beneath the dignity of
+      chicken-houses, yet in some of them a dozen people were crowded, men and
+      women sleeping on old rags and blankets on a cinder floor. Here the babies
+      swarmed like maggots. They wore for the most part a single ragged smock,
+      and their bare buttocks were shamelessly upturned to the heavens. It was
+      so the children of the cave-men must have played, thought Hal; and waves
+      of repulsion swept over him. He had come with love and curiosity, but both
+      motives failed here. How could a man of sensitive nerves, aware of the
+      refinements and graces of life, learn to love these people, who were an
+      affront to his every sense&mdash;a stench to his nostrils, a jabbering to
+      his ear, a procession of deformities to his eye? What had civilisation
+      done for them? What could it do? After all, what were they fit for, but
+      the dirty work they were penned up to do? So spoke the haughty
+      race-consciousness of the Anglo-Saxon, contemplating these Mediterranean
+      hordes, the very shape of whose heads was objectionable.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Hal stuck it out; and little by little new vision came to him. First
+      of all, it was the fascination of the mines. They were old mines&mdash;veritable
+      cities tunnelled out beneath the mountains, the main passages running for
+      miles. One day Hal stole off from his job, and took a trip with a
+      &ldquo;rope-rider,&rdquo; and got through his physical senses a realisation of the
+      vastness and strangeness and loneliness of this labyrinth of night. In
+      Number Two mine the vein ran up at a slope of perhaps five degrees; in
+      part of it the empty cars were hauled in long trains by an endless rope,
+      but coming back loaded, they came of their own gravity. This involved much
+      work for the &ldquo;spraggers,&rdquo; or boys who did the braking; it sometimes meant
+      run-away cars, and fresh perils added to the everyday perils of
+      coal-mining.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The vein varied from four to five feet in thickness; a cruelty of nature
+      which made it necessary that the men at the &ldquo;working face&rdquo;&mdash;the place
+      where new coal was being cut&mdash;should learn to shorten their stature.
+      After Hal had squatted for a while and watched them at their tasks, he
+      understood why they walked with head and shoulders bent over and arms
+      hanging down, so that, seeing them coming out of the shaft in the
+      gloaming, one thought of a file of baboons. The method of getting out the
+      coal was to &ldquo;undercut&rdquo; it with a pick, and then blow it loose with a
+      charge of powder. This meant that the miner had to lie on his side while
+      working, and accounted for other physical peculiarities.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Thus, as always, when one understood the lives of men, one came to pity
+      instead of despising. Here was a separate race of creatures, subterranean,
+      gnomes, pent up by society for purposes of its own. Outside in the
+      sunshine-flooded canyon, long lines of cars rolled down with their freight
+      of soft-coal; coal which would go to the ends of the earth, to places the
+      miner never heard of, turning the wheels of industry whose products the
+      miner would never see. It would make precious silks for fine ladies, it
+      would cut precious jewels for their adornment; it would carry long trains
+      of softly upholstered cars across deserts and over mountains; it would
+      drive palatial steamships out of wintry tempests into gleaming tropic
+      seas. And the fine ladies in their precious silks and jewels would eat and
+      sleep and laugh and lie at ease&mdash;and would know no more of the
+      stunted creatures of the dark than the stunted creatures knew of them. Hal
+      reflected upon this, and subdued his Anglo-Saxon pride, finding
+      forgiveness for what was repulsive in these people&mdash;their barbarous,
+      jabbering speech, their vermin-ridden homes, their bare-bottomed babies.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 7.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      It chanced before many days that Hal got a holiday, relieving the monotony
+      of his labours as stableman: an accidental holiday, not provided for in
+      his bargain with the pit-boss. Something went wrong with the
+      ventilating-course in Number Two, and he began to notice a headache, and
+      heard the men grumbling that their lamps were burning low. Then, as
+      matters began to get serious, orders came to get the mules to the surface.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Which meant an amusing adventure. The delight of Hal's pets at seeing the
+      sunlight was irresistibly comic. They could not be kept from lying down
+      and rolling on their backs in the cinder-strewn street; and when they were
+      corralled in a distant part of the camp where actual grass grew, they
+      abandoned themselves to rapture like a horde of school children at a
+      picnic.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So Hal had a few free hours; and being still young and not cured of idle
+      curiosities, he climbed the canyon wall to see the mountains. As he was
+      sliding down again, toward evening, a vivid spot of colour was painted
+      into his picture of mine-life; he found himself in somebody's back yard,
+      and being observed by somebody's daughter, who was taking in the family
+      wash. It was a splendid figure of a lass, tall and vigorous, with the sort
+      of hair that in polite circles is called auburn, and that flaming colour
+      in the cheeks which is Nature's recompense to people who live where it
+      rains all the time. She was the first beautiful sight Hal had seen since
+      he had come up the canyon, and it was only natural that he should be
+      interested. It seemed to him that, so long as the girl stared, he had a
+      right to stare back. It did not occur to him that he too was a pleasing
+      sight&mdash;that the mountain air had given colour to his cheeks and a
+      shine to his gay brown eyes, while the mountain winds had blown his wavy
+      brown hair.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hello,&rdquo; said she, at last, in a warm voice, unmistakably Irish.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hello yourself,&rdquo; said Hal, in the accepted dialect; then he added, with
+      more elegance, &ldquo;Pardon me for trespassing on your wash.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Her grey eyes opened wider. &ldquo;Go on!&rdquo; she said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'd rather stay,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;It's a beautiful sunset.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll move, so ye can see it better.&rdquo; She carried her armful of clothes
+      over and dropped them into the basket.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;it's not so fine now. The colours have faded.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She turned and gazed at him again. &ldquo;Go on wid ye! I been teased about my
+      hair since before I could talk.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;'Tis envy,&rdquo; said Hal, dropping into her way of speech; and he came a few
+      steps nearer, so that he could inspect the hair more closely. It lay above
+      her brow in undulations which were agreeable to the decorative instinct,
+      and a tight heavy braid of it fell over her shoulders and swung to her
+      waist-line. He observed the shoulders, which were sturdy, obviously
+      accustomed to hard labour; not conforming to accepted romantic standards
+      of femininity, yet having an athletic grace of their own. They were
+      covered with a faded blue calico dress, unfortunately not entirely clean;
+      also, the young man noticed, there was a rent in one shoulder through
+      which a patch of skin was visible. The girl's eyes, which had been
+      following his, became defiant; she tossed a piece of her washing over the
+      shoulder, where it stayed through the balance of the interview.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who are ye?&rdquo; she demanded, suddenly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My name's Joe Smith. I'm a stableman in Number Two.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And what were ye doin' up there, if a body might ask?&rdquo; She lifted her
+      grey eyes to the bare mountainside, down which he had come sliding in a
+      shower of loose stones and dirt.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I've been surveying my empire,&rdquo; said he.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your what?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My empire. The land belongs to the company, but the landscape belongs to
+      him who cares for it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She tossed her head a little. &ldquo;Where did ye learn to talk like ye do?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In another life,&rdquo; said he&mdash;&ldquo;before I became a stableman. Not in
+      entire forgetfulness, but trailing clouds of glory did I come.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      For a moment she wrestled with this. Then a smile broke upon her face.
+      &ldquo;Sure, 'tis like a poetry-book! Say some more!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;<i>O, singe fort, so suess und fein</i>!&rdquo; quoted Hal&mdash;and saw her
+      look puzzled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Aren't you American?&rdquo; she inquired; and he laughed. To speak a foreign
+      language in North Valley was not a mark of culture!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I've been listening to the crowd at Reminitsky's,&rdquo; he said,
+      apologetically.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh! You eat there?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I go there three times a day. I can't say I eat very much. Could you live
+      on greasy beans?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure,&rdquo; laughed the girl, &ldquo;the good old pertaties is good enough for me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I should have said you lived on rose leaves!&rdquo; he observed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Go on wid ye! 'Tis the blarney-stone ye been kissin'!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;'Tis no stone I'd be wastin' my kisses on.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye're gettin' bold, Mister Smith. I'll not listen to ye.&rdquo; And she turned
+      away, and began industriously taking her clothes from the line. But Hal
+      did not want to be dismissed. He came a step closer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Coming down the mountain-side,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I found something wonderful.
+      It's bare and grim up there, but I came on a sheltered corner where the
+      sun shone, and there was a wild rose. Only one! I thought to myself, 'So
+      roses grow, even in the loneliest parts of the world!'&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure, 'tis a poetry-book again!&rdquo; she cried. &ldquo;Why didn't ye bring the
+      rose?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is a poetry-book that tells us to 'leave the wild-rose on its
+      stalk.' It will go on blooming there; but if one were to pluck it, it
+      would wither in a few hours.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He had meant nothing more by this than to keep the conversation going. But
+      her answer turned the tide of their acquaintance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye can never be sure, lad. Perhaps to-night a storm may come and blow it
+      to pieces. Perhaps if ye'd pulled it and been happy, 'twould 'a been what
+      the rose was for.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Whatever of unconscious patronage there had been in the poet's attitude
+      was lost now in the eternal mystery. Whether the girl knew it&mdash;or
+      cared&mdash;she had won the woman's first victory. She had caught the
+      man's mind and pinned it with curiosity. What did this wild rose of the
+      mining camps mean?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The wild rose, apparently unconscious that she had said anything
+      epoch-making, was busy with the wash; and meantime Hal Warner studied her
+      features and pondered her words. From a lady of sophistication they would
+      have meant only one thing, an invitation; but in this girl's clear grey
+      eyes was nothing of wantonness, only pain. But what was this pain in the
+      face and words of one so young, so eager and alive? Was it the melancholy
+      of her race, the thing one got in old folk-songs? Or was it a new and
+      special kind of melancholy, engendered in mining-camps in the far West of
+      America?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl's countenance was as intriguing as her words. Her grey eyes were
+      set under sharply defined dark brows, which did not match her hair. Her
+      lips also were sharply defined, and straight, almost without curves, so
+      that it seemed as if her mouth had been painted in carmine upon her face.
+      These features gave her, when she stared at you, an aspect vivid and
+      startling, bold, with a touch of defiance. But when she smiled, the red
+      lips would curve into gentler lines, and the grey eyes would become
+      wistful, and seemingly darker in colour. Winsome indeed, but not simple,
+      was this Irish lass!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 8.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal asked the name of his new acquaintance, and she told him it was Mary
+      Burke. &ldquo;Ye've not been here long, I take it,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;or ye'd have
+      heard of 'Red Mary.' 'Tis along of this hair.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I've not been here long,&rdquo; he answered, &ldquo;but I shall hope to stay now&mdash;along
+      of this hair! May I come to see you some time, Miss Burke?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She did not reply, but glanced at the house where she lived. It was an
+      unpainted, three room cabin, more dilapidated than the average, with bare
+      dirt and cinders about it, and what had once been a picket-fence, now
+      falling apart and being used for stove-wood. The windows were cracked and
+      broken, and upon the roof were signs of leaks that had been crudely
+      patched.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;May I come?&rdquo; he made haste to ask again&mdash;so that he would not seem
+      to look too critically at her home.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Perhaps ye may,&rdquo; said the girl, as she picked up the clothes basket. He
+      stepped forward, offering to carry it, but she did not give it up. Holding
+      it tight, and looking him defiantly in the face, she said, &ldquo;Ye may come,
+      but ye'll not find it a happy place to visit, Mr. Smith. Ye'll hear soon
+      enough from the neighbours.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't think I know any of your neighbours,&rdquo; said he.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was sympathy in his voice; but her look was no less defiant. &ldquo;Ye'll
+      hear about it, Mr. Smith; but ye'll hear also that I hold me head up. And
+      'tis not so easy to do that in North Valley.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You don't like the place?&rdquo; he asked; and he was amazed by the effect of
+      this question, which was merely polite. It was as if a storm cloud had
+      swept over the girl's face. &ldquo;I hate it! 'Tis a place of fear and devils!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He hesitated a moment; then, &ldquo;Will you tell me what you mean by that when
+      I come?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But &ldquo;Red Mary&rdquo; was winsome again. &ldquo;When ye come, Mr. Smith, I'll not be
+      entertaining ye with troubles. I'll put on me company manner, and we'll go
+      out for a nice walk, if ye please.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      All the way as he walked back to Reminitsky's to supper, Hal thought about
+      this girl; not merely her pleasantness to the eye, so unexpected in this
+      place of desolation, but her personality, which baffled him&mdash;the pain
+      that seemed always just beneath the surface of her thoughts, the fierce
+      pride which flashed out at the slightest suggestion of sympathy, the way
+      she had of brightening when he spoke the language of metaphor, however
+      trite. How had she come to know about poetry-books? He wanted to know more
+      about this miracle of Nature&mdash;this wild rose blooming on a bare
+      mountain-side!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 9.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      There was one of Mary Burke's remarks upon which Hal soon got light&mdash;her
+      statement that North Valley was a place of fear. He listened to the tales
+      of these underworld men, until it came so that he shuddered with dread
+      each time that he went down in the cage.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a wire-haired and almond eyed Korean, named Cho, a &ldquo;rope-rider&rdquo;
+       in Hal's part of the mine. He was one of those who had charge of the long
+      trains of cars, called &ldquo;trips,&rdquo; which were hauled through the main
+      passage-ways; the name &ldquo;rope-rider&rdquo; came from the fact that he sat on the
+      heavy iron ring to which the rope was attached. He invited Hal to a seat
+      with him, and Hal accepted, at peril of his job as well as of his limbs.
+      Cho had picked up what he fondly thought was English, and now and then one
+      could understand a word. He pointed upon the ground, and shouted above the
+      rattle of the cars: &ldquo;Big dust!&rdquo; Hal saw that the ground was covered with
+      six inches of coal-dust, while on the old disused walls one could write
+      his name in it. &ldquo;Much blow-up!&rdquo; said the rope-rider; and when the last
+      empty cars had been shunted off into the working-rooms, and he was waiting
+      to make up a return &ldquo;trip,&rdquo; he laboured with gestures to explain what he
+      meant. &ldquo;Load cars. Bang! Bust like hell!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal knew that the mountain air in this region was famous for its dryness;
+      he learned now that the quality which meant life to invalids from every
+      part of the world meant death to those who toiled to keep the invalids
+      warm. Driven through the mines by great fans, this air took out every
+      particle of moisture, and left coal dust so thick and dry that there were
+      fatal explosions from the mere friction of loading-shovels. So it happened
+      that these mines were killing several times as many men as other mines
+      throughout the country.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Was there no remedy for this, Hal asked, talking with one of his
+      mule-drivers, Tim Rafferty, the evening after his ride with Cho. There was
+      a remedy, said Tim&mdash;the law required sprinkling the mines with
+      &ldquo;adobe-dust&rdquo;; and once in Tim's life, he remembered this law's being
+      obeyed. There had come some &ldquo;big fellows&rdquo; inspecting things, and previous
+      to their visit there had been an elaborate campaign of sprinkling. But
+      that had been several years ago, and now the apparatus was stored away,
+      nobody knew where, and one heard nothing about sprinkling.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was the same with precautions against gas. The North Valley mines were
+      especially &ldquo;gassy,&rdquo; it appeared. In these old rambling passages one smelt
+      a stink as of all the rotten eggs in all the barn-yards of the world; and
+      this sulphuretted hydrogen was the least dangerous of the gases against
+      which a miner had to contend. There was the dreaded &ldquo;choke-damp,&rdquo; which
+      was odourless, and heavier than air. Striking into soft, greasy coal, one
+      would open a pocket of this gas, a deposit laid up for countless ages,
+      awaiting its predestined victim. A man might sink to sleep as he lay at
+      work, and if his &ldquo;buddy,&rdquo; or helper, happened to be out of sight, and to
+      delay a minute too long, it would be all over with the man. And there was
+      the still more dreaded &ldquo;fire-damp,&rdquo; which might wreck a whole mine, and
+      kill scores and even hundreds of men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Against these dangers there was a &ldquo;fire-boss,&rdquo; whose duty was to go
+      through the mine, testing for gas, and making sure that the
+      ventilating-course was in order, and the fans working properly. The
+      &ldquo;fire-boss&rdquo; was supposed to make his rounds in the early morning, and the
+      law specified that no one should go to work till he had certified that all
+      was safe. But what if the &ldquo;fire-boss&rdquo; overslept himself, or happened to be
+      drunk? It was too much to expect thousands of dollars to be lost for such
+      a reason. So sometimes one saw men ordered to their work, and sent down
+      grumbling and cursing. Before many hours some of them would be prostrated
+      with headache, and begging to be taken out; and perhaps the superintendent
+      would not let them out, because if a few came, the rest would get scared
+      and want to come also.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Once, only last year, there had been an accident of that sort. A young
+      mule-driver, a Croatian, told Hal about it while they sat munching the
+      contents of their dinner-pails. The first cage-load of men had gone down
+      into the mine, sullenly protesting; and soon afterwards some one had taken
+      down a naked light, and there had been an explosion which had sounded like
+      the blowing up of the inside of the world. Eight men had been killed, the
+      force of the explosion being so great that some of the bodies had been
+      wedged between the shaft wall and the cage, and it had been necessary to
+      cut them to pieces to get them out. It was them Japs that were to blame,
+      vowed Hal's informant. They hadn't ought to turn them loose in coal mines,
+      for the devil himself couldn't keep a Jap from sneaking off to get a
+      smoke.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So Hal understood how North Valley was a place of fear. What tales the old
+      chambers of these mines could have told, if they had had voices! Hal
+      watched the throngs pouring in to their labours, and reflected that
+      according to the statisticians of the government eight or nine of every
+      thousand of them were destined to die violent deaths before a year was
+      out, and some thirty more would be badly injured. And they knew this, they
+      knew it better than all the statisticians of the government; yet they went
+      to their tasks! Reflecting upon this, Hal was full of wonder. What was the
+      force that kept men at such a task? Was it a sense of duty? Did they
+      understand that society had to have coal and that some one had to do the
+      &ldquo;dirty work&rdquo; of providing it? Did they have a vision of a future, great
+      and wonderful, which was to grow out of their ill-requited toil? Or were
+      they simply fools or cowards, submitting blindly, because they had not the
+      wit nor the will to do otherwise? Curiosity held him, he wanted to
+      understand the inner souls of these silent and patient armies which
+      through the ages have surrendered their lives to other men's control.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 10.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal was coming to know these people; to see them no longer as a mass, to
+      be despised or pitied in bulk, but as individuals, with individual
+      temperaments and problems, exactly like people in the world of the
+      sunlight. Mary Burke and Tim Rafferty, Cho the Korean and Madvik the
+      Croatian&mdash;one by one these individualities etched themselves into the
+      foreground of Hal's picture, making it a thing of life, moving him to
+      sympathy and fellowship. Some of these people, to be sure, were stunted
+      and dulled to a sordid ugliness of soul and body&mdash;but on the other
+      hand, some of them were young, and had the light of hope in their hearts,
+      and the spark of rebellion.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was &ldquo;Andy,&rdquo; a boy of Greek parentage; Androkulos was his right name&mdash;but
+      it was too much to expect any one to get that straight in a coal-camp. Hal
+      noticed him at the store, and was struck by his beautiful features, and
+      the mournful look in his big black eyes. They got to talking, and Andy
+      made the discovery that Hal had not spent all his time in coal-camps, but
+      had seen the great world. It was pitiful, the excitement that came into
+      his voice; he was yearning for life, with its joys and adventures&mdash;and
+      it was his destiny to sit ten hours a day by the side of a chute, with the
+      rattle of coal in his ears and the dust of coal in his nostrils, picking
+      out slate with his fingers. He was one of many scores of &ldquo;breaker-boys.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why don't you go away?&rdquo; asked Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Christ! How I get away? Got mother, two sisters.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And your father?&rdquo; So Hal made the discovery that Andy's father had been
+      one of those men whose bodies had had to be cut to pieces to get them out
+      of the shaft. Now the son was chained to the father's place, until his
+      time too should come!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don't want to be miner!&rdquo; cried the boy. &ldquo;Don't want to get <i>kil-lid</i>!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He began to ask, timidly, what Hal thought he could do if he were to run
+      away from his family and try his luck in the world outside. Hal, striving
+      to remember where he had seen olive-skinned Greeks with big black eyes in
+      this beautiful land of the free, could hold out no better prospect than a
+      shoe-shining parlour, or the wiping out of wash-bowls in a hotel-lavatory,
+      handing over the tips to a fat padrone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Andy had been to school, and had learned to read English, and the teacher
+      had loaned him books and magazines with wonderful pictures in them; now he
+      wanted more than pictures, he wanted the things which they portrayed. So
+      Hal came face to face with one of the difficulties of mine-operators. They
+      gathered a population of humble serfs, selected from twenty or thirty
+      races of hereditary bondsmen; but owing to the absurd American custom of
+      having public-schools, the children of this population learned to speak
+      English, and even to read it. So they became too good for their lot in
+      life; and then a wandering agitator would get in, and all of a sudden
+      there would be hell. Therefore in every coal-camp had to be another kind
+      of &ldquo;fire-boss,&rdquo; whose duty it was to guard against another kind of
+      explosions&mdash;not of carbon monoxide, but of the human soul.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The immediate duties of this office in North Valley devolved upon Jeff
+      Cotton, the camp-marshal. He was not at all what one would have expected
+      from a person of his trade&mdash;lean and rather distinguished-looking, a
+      man who in evening clothes might have passed for a diplomat. But his mouth
+      would become ugly when he was displeased, and he carried a gun with six
+      notches upon it; also he wore a deputy-sheriff's badge, to give him
+      immunity for other notches he might wish to add. When Jeff Cotton came
+      near, any man who was explosive went off to be explosive by himself. So
+      there was &ldquo;order&rdquo; in North Valley, and it was only on Saturday and Sunday
+      nights, when the drunks had to be suppressed, or on Monday mornings when
+      they had to be haled forth and kicked to their work, that one realised
+      upon what basis this &ldquo;order&rdquo; rested.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Besides Jeff Cotton, and his assistant, &ldquo;Bud&rdquo; Adams, who wore badges, and
+      were known, there were other assistants who wore no badges, and were not
+      supposed to be known. Coming up in the cage one evening, Hal made some
+      remark to the Croatian mule-driver, Madvik, about the high price of
+      company-store merchandise, and was surprised to get a sharp kick on the
+      ankle. Afterwards, as they were on their way to supper, Madvik gave him
+      the reason. &ldquo;Red-faced feller, Gus. Look out for him&mdash;company
+      spotter.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is that so?&rdquo; said Hal, with interest. &ldquo;How do you know?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know. Everybody know.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He don't look like he had much sense,&rdquo; said Hal&mdash;who had got his
+      idea of detectives from Sherlock Holmes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No take much sense. Go pit-boss, say, 'Joe feller talk too much. Say
+      store rob him.' Any damn fool do that. Hey?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To be sure,&rdquo; admitted Hal. &ldquo;And the company pays him for it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pit-boss pay him. Maybe give him drink, maybe two bits. Then pit-boss
+      come to you: 'You shoot your mouth off too much, feller. Git the hell out
+      of here!' See?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal saw.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So you go down canyon. Then maybe you go 'nother mine. Boss say, 'Where
+      you work?' You say 'North Valley.' He say, 'What your name?' You say, 'Joe
+      Smith.' He say, 'Wait.' He go in, look at paper; he come out, say, 'No
+      job!' You say, 'Why not?' He say, 'Shoot off your mouth too much, feller.
+      Git the hell out of here!' See?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean a black-list,&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure, black-list. Maybe telephone, find out all about you. You do
+      anything bad, like talk union&rdquo;&mdash;Madvik had dropped his voice and
+      whispered the word &ldquo;union&rdquo;&mdash;&ldquo;they send your picture&mdash;don't get
+      job nowhere in state. How you like that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 11.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Before long Hal had a chance to see this system of espionage at work, and
+      he began to understand something of the force which kept these silent and
+      patient armies at their tasks. On a Sunday morning he was strolling with
+      his mule-driver friend Tim Rafferty, a kindly lad with a pair of dreamy
+      blue eyes in his coal-smutted face. They came to Tim's home, and he
+      invited Hal to come in and meet his family. The father was a bowed and
+      toil-worn man, but with tremendous strength in his solid frame, the
+      product of many generations of labour in coal-mines. He was known as &ldquo;Old
+      Rafferty,&rdquo; despite the fact that he was well under fifty. He had been a
+      pit-boy at the age of nine, and he showed Hal a faded leather album with
+      pictures of his ancestors in the &ldquo;oul' country&rdquo;&mdash;men with sad, deeply
+      lined faces, sitting very stiff and solemn to have their presentments made
+      permanent for posterity.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The mother of the family was a gaunt, grey-haired woman, with no teeth,
+      but with a warm heart. Hal took to her, because her home was clean; he sat
+      on the family door-step, amid a crowd of little Rafferties with
+      newly-washed Sunday faces, and fascinated them with tales of adventures
+      cribbed from Clark Russell and Captain Mayne Reid. As a reward he was
+      invited to stay for dinner, and had a clean knife and fork, and a clean
+      plate of steaming hot potatoes, with two slices of salt pork on the side.
+      It was so wonderful that he forthwith inquired if he might forsake his
+      company boarding-house and come and board with them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Mrs. Rafferty opened wide her eyes. &ldquo;Sure,&rdquo; exclaimed she, &ldquo;do you think
+      you'd be let?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why not?&rdquo; asked Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure, 't would be a bad example for the others.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you mean I <i>have</i> to board at Reminitsky's?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There be six company boardin'-houses,&rdquo; said the woman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And what would they do if I came to you?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;First you'd get a hint, and then you'd go down the canyon, and maybe us
+      after ye.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But there's lots of people have boarders in shanty-town,&rdquo; objected Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh! Them wops! Nobody counts them&mdash;they live any way they happen to
+      fall. But you started at Reminitsky's, and 't would not be healthy for
+      them that took ye away.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see,&rdquo; laughed Hal. &ldquo;There seem to be a lot of unhealthy things
+      hereabouts.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure there be! They sent down Nick Ammons because his wife bought milk
+      down the canyon. They had a sick baby, and it's not much you get in this
+      thin stuff at the store. They put chalk in it, I think; any way, you can
+      see somethin' white in the bottom.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So you have to trade at the store, too!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I thought ye said ye'd worked in coal-mines,&rdquo; put in Old Rafferty, who
+      had been a silent listener.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So I have,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;But it wasn't quite that bad.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure,&rdquo; said Mrs. Rafferty, &ldquo;I'd like to know where 'twas then&mdash;in
+      this country. Me and me old man spent weary years a-huntin'.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Thus far the conversation had proceeded naturally; but suddenly it was as
+      if a shadow passed over it&mdash;a shadow of fear. Hal saw Old Rafferty
+      look at his wife, and frown and make signs to her. After all, what did
+      they know about this handsome young stranger, who talked so glibly, and
+      had been in so many parts of the world?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;'Tis not complainin' we'd be,&rdquo; said the old man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And his wife made haste to add, &ldquo;If they let peddlers and the like of them
+      come in, 'twould be no end to it, I suppose. We find they treat us here as
+      well as anywhere.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;'Tis no joke, the life of workin' men, wherever ye try it,&rdquo; added the
+      other; and when young Tim started to express an opinion, they shut him up
+      with such evident anxiety that Hal's heart ached for them, and he made
+      haste to change the subject.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 12.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      On the evening of the same Sunday Hal went to pay his promised call upon
+      Mary Burke. She opened the front door of the cabin to let him in, and even
+      by the dim rays of the little kerosene lamp, there came to him an
+      impression of cheerfulness. &ldquo;Hello,&rdquo; she said&mdash;just as she had said
+      it when he had slid down the mountain into the family wash. He followed
+      her into the room, and saw that the impression he had got of cheerfulness
+      came from Mary herself. How bright and fresh she looked! The old blue
+      calico, which had not been entirely clean, was newly laundered now, and on
+      the shoulder where the rent had been was a neat patch of unfaded blue.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There being only three rooms in Mary's home, two of these necessarily
+      bed-rooms, she entertained her company in the kitchen. The room was bare,
+      Hal saw&mdash;there was not even so much as a clock by way of ornament.
+      The only charm the girl had been able to give to it, in preparation for
+      company, was that of cleanness. The board floor had been newly sanded and
+      scrubbed; the kitchen table also had been scrubbed, and the kettle on the
+      stove, and the cracked tea-pot and bowls on the shelf. Mary's little
+      brother and sister were in the room: Jennie, a dark-eyed, dark-haired
+      little girl, frail, with a sad, rather frightened face; and Tommie, a
+      round headed youngster, like a thousand other round headed and
+      freckle-faced boys. Both of them were now sitting very straight in their
+      chairs, staring at the visitor with a certain resentment, he thought. He
+      suspected that they had been included in the general scrubbing. Inasmuch
+      as it had been uncertain just when the visitor would come, they must have
+      been required to do this every night, and he could imagine family
+      disturbances, with arguments possibly not altogether complimentary to
+      Mary's new &ldquo;feller.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There seemed to be a certain uneasiness in the place.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Mary did not invite her company to a seat, but stood irresolute; and after
+      Hal had ventured a couple of friendly remarks to the children, she said,
+      abruptly, &ldquo;Shall we be takin' that walk that we spoke of, Mr. Smith?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Delighted!&rdquo; said Hal; and while she pinned on her hat before the broken
+      mirror on the shelf, he smiled at the children and quoted two lines from
+      his Harrigan song&mdash;
+    </p>
+<p class="pre">
+  &ldquo;Oh, Mary-Jane, come out in the lane,<br>
+  The moon is a-shinin' in the old pecan!&rdquo;
+ </p>
+    <p>
+      Tommie and Jennie were too shy to answer, but Mary exclaimed, &ldquo;'Tis in a
+      tin-can ye see it shinin' here!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They went out. In the soft summer night it was pleasant to stroll under
+      the moon&mdash;especially when they had come to the remoter parts of the
+      village, where there were not so many weary people on door-steps and
+      children playing noisily. There were other young couples walking here,
+      under the same moon; the hardest day's toil could not so sap their
+      energies that they did not feel the spell of this soft summer night.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal, being tired, was content to stroll and enjoy the stillness; but Mary
+      Burke sought information about the mysterious young man she was with.
+      &ldquo;Ye've not worked long in coal-mines, Mr. Smith?&rdquo; she remarked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal was a trifle disconcerted. &ldquo;How did you find that out?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye don't look it&mdash;ye don't talk it. Ye're not like anybody or
+      anything around here. I don't know how to say it, but ye make me think
+      more of the poetry-books.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Flattered as Hal was by this naïve confession, he did not want to talk of
+      the mystery of himself. He took refuge in a question about the
+      &ldquo;poetry-books.&rdquo; &ldquo;I've read some,&rdquo; said the girl; &ldquo;more than ye'd have
+      thought, perhaps.&rdquo; This with a flash of her defiance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He asked more questions, and learned that she, like the Greek boy, &ldquo;Andy,&rdquo;
+       had come under the influence of that disturbing American institution, the
+      public-school; she had learned to read, and the pretty young teacher had
+      helped her, lending her books and magazines. Thus she had been given a key
+      to a treasure-house, a magic carpet on which to travel over the world.
+      These similes Mary herself used&mdash;for the Arabian Nights had been one
+      of the books that were loaned to her. On rainy days she would hide behind
+      the sofa, reading at a spot where the light crept in&mdash;so that she
+      might be safe from small brothers and sisters!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Joe Smith had read these same books, it appeared; and this seemed
+      remarkable to Mary, for books cost money and were hard to get. She
+      explained how she had searched the camp for new magic carpets, finding a
+      &ldquo;poetry-book&rdquo; by Longfellow, and a book of American history, and a story
+      called &ldquo;David Copperfield,&rdquo; and last and strangest of all, another story
+      called &ldquo;Pride and Prejudice.&rdquo; A curious freak of fortune&mdash;the prim
+      and sentimentally quivering Jane Austen in a coal-camp in a far Western
+      wilderness! An adventure for Jane, as well as for Mary!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      What had Mary made of it, Hal wondered. Had she revelled, shop-girl
+      fashion, in scenes of pallid ease? He learned that what she had made of it
+      was despair. This world outside, with its freedom and cleanness, its
+      people living gracious and worth-while lives, was not for her; she was
+      chained to a scrub-pail in a coal-camp. Things had got so much worse since
+      the death of her mother, she said. Her voice had become dull and hard&mdash;Hal
+      thought that he had never heard a young voice express such hopelessness.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You've never been anywhere but here?&rdquo; he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I been in two other camps,&rdquo; she said&mdash;&ldquo;first the Gordon, and then
+      East Run. But they're all alike.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But you've been down to the towns?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Only for a day, once or twice a year. Once I was in Sheridan, and in a
+      church I heard a lady sing.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She stopped for a moment, lost in this memory. Then suddenly her voice
+      changed&mdash;and he could imagine in the darkness that she had tossed her
+      head defiantly. &ldquo;I'll not be entertainin' company with my troubles! Ye
+      know how tiresome that is when ye hear it from somebody else&mdash;like my
+      next-door neighbour, Mrs. Zamboni. D' ye know her?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The poor old lady has troubles enough, God knows. Her man's not much good&mdash;he's
+      troubled with the drink; and she's got eleven childer, and that's too many
+      for one woman. Don't ye think so?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She asked this with a naïveté which made Hal laugh. &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I
+      do.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, I think people'd help her more if she'd not complain so! And half
+      of it in the Slavish language, that a body can't understand!&rdquo; So Mary
+      began to tell funny things about Mrs. Zamboni and her other polyglot
+      neighbours, imitating their murdering of the Irish dialect. Hal thought
+      her humour was naïve and delightful, and he led her on to more cheerful
+      gossip during the remainder of their walk.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 13.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      But then, as they were on their way home, tragedy fell upon them. Hearing
+      a step behind them, Mary turned and looked; then catching Hal by the arm,
+      she drew him into the shadows at the side, whispering to him to be silent.
+      The bent figure of a man went past them, lurching from side to side.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When he had turned and gone into the house, Mary said, &ldquo;It's my father.
+      He's ugly when he's like that.&rdquo; And Hal could hear her quick breathing in
+      the darkness.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So that was Mary's trouble&mdash;the difficulty in her home life to which
+      she had referred at their first meeting! Hal understood many things in a
+      flash&mdash;why her home was bare of ornament, and why she did not invite
+      her company to sit down. He stood silent, not knowing what to say. Before
+      he could find the word, Mary burst out, &ldquo;Oh, how I hate O'Callahan, that
+      sells the stuff to my father! His home with plenty to eat in it, and his
+      wife dressin' in silk and goin' down to mass every Sunday, and thinkin'
+      herself too good for a common miner's daughter! Sometimes I think I'd like
+      to kill them both.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That wouldn't help much,&rdquo; Hal ventured.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, I know&mdash;there'd only be some other one in his place. Ye got to
+      do more than that, to change things here. Ye got to get after them that
+      make money out of O'Callahan.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So Mary's mind was groping for causes! Hal had thought her excitement was
+      due to humiliation, or to fear of a scene of violence when she reached
+      home; but she was thinking of the deeper aspects of this terrible drink
+      problem. There was still enough unconscious snobbery in Hal Warner for him
+      to be surprised at this phenomenon in a common miner's daughter; and so,
+      as at their first meeting, his pity was turned to intellectual interest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They'll stop the drink business altogether some day,&rdquo; he said. He had not
+      known that he was a Prohibitionist; he had become one suddenly!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; she answered, &ldquo;they'd best stop it soon, if they don't want to be
+      too late. 'Tis a sight to make your heart sick to see the young lads
+      comin' home staggerin', too drunk even to fight.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had not had time to see much of this aspect of North Valley. &ldquo;They
+      sell to boys?&rdquo; he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure, who's to care? A boy's money's as good as a man's.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But I should think the company&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The company lets the saloon-buildin'&mdash;that's all the company cares.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But they must care something about the efficiency of their hands!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure, there's plenty more where they come from. When ye can't work, they
+      fire ye, and that's all there is to it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And is it so easy to get skilled men?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It don't take much skill to get out coal. The skill is in keepin' your
+      bones whole&mdash;and if you can stand breakin' 'em, the company can stand
+      it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They had come to the little cabin. Mary stood for a moment in silence.
+      &ldquo;I'm talkin' bitter again!&rdquo; she exclaimed suddenly. &ldquo;And I promised ye me
+      company manner! But things keep happening to set me off.&rdquo; And she turned
+      abruptly and ran into the house. Hal stood for a moment wondering if she
+      would return; then, deciding that she had meant that as good night, he
+      went slowly up the street.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He fought against a mood of real depression, the first he had known since
+      his coming to North Valley. He had managed so far to keep a certain degree
+      of aloofness, that he might see this industrial world without prejudice.
+      But to-night his pity for Mary had involved him more deeply. To be sure,
+      he might be able to help her, to find her work in some less crushing
+      environment; but his mind went on to the question&mdash;how many girls
+      might there be in mining-camps, young and eager, hungering for life, but
+      crushed by poverty, and by the burden of the drink problem?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A man walked past Hal, greeting him in the semi-darkness with a nod and a
+      motion of the hand. It was the Reverend Spragg, the gentleman who was
+      officially commissioned to combat the demon rum in North Valley.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had been to the little white church the Sunday before, and heard the
+      Reverend Spragg preach a doctrinal sermon, in which the blood of the lamb
+      was liberally sprinkled, and the congregation heard where and how they
+      were to receive compensation for the distresses they endured in this vale
+      of tears.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      What a mockery it seemed! Once, indubitably, people had believed such
+      doctrines; they had been willing to go to the stake for them. But now
+      nobody went to the stake for them&mdash;on the contrary, the company
+      compelled every worker to contribute out of his scanty earnings towards
+      the preaching of them. How could the most ignorant of zealots confront
+      such an arrangement without suspicion of his own piety? Somewhere at the
+      head of the great dividend-paying machine that was called the General Fuel
+      Company must be some devilish intelligence that had worked it all out,
+      that had given the orders to its ecclesiastical staff: &ldquo;We want the
+      present&mdash;we leave you the future! We want the bodies&mdash;we leave
+      you the souls! Teach them what you will about heaven&mdash;so long as you
+      let us plunder them on earth!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      In accordance with this devil's program, the Reverend Spragg might
+      denounce the demon rum, but he said nothing about dividends based on the
+      renting of rum-shops, nor about local politicians maintained by company
+      contributions, plus the profits of wholesale liquor. He said nothing about
+      the conclusions of modern hygiene, concerning over-work as a cause of the
+      craving for alcohol; the phrase &ldquo;industrial drinking,&rdquo; it seemed, was not
+      known in General Fuel Company theology! In fact, when you listened to such
+      a sermon, you would never have guessed that the hearers of it had physical
+      bodies at all; certainly you would never have guessed that the preacher
+      had a body, which was nourished by food produced by the overworked and
+      under-nourished wage-slaves whom he taught!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 14.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      For the most part the victims of this system were cowed and spoke of their
+      wrongs only in whispers; but there was one place in the camp, Hal found,
+      where they could not keep silence, where their sense of outrage battled
+      with their fear. This place was the solar plexus of the mine-organism, the
+      centre of its nervous energies; to change the simile, it was the
+      judgment-seat, where the miner had sentence passed upon him&mdash;sentence
+      either to plenty, or to starvation and despair.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This place was the &ldquo;tipple,&rdquo; where the coal that came out of the mine was
+      weighed and recorded. Every digger, as he came from the cage, made for
+      this spot. There was a bulletin-board, and on it his number, and the
+      record of the weights of the cars he had sent out that day. And every man,
+      no matter how ignorant, had learned enough English to read those figures.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had gradually come to realise that here was the place of drama. Most
+      of the men would look, and then, without a sound or glance about, would
+      slouch off with drooping shoulders. Others would mumble to themselves&mdash;or,
+      what amounted to the same thing, would mumble to one another in barbarous
+      dialects. But about one in five could speak English; and scarcely an
+      evening passed that some man did not break loose, shaking his fist at the
+      sky, or at the weigh-boss&mdash;behind the latter's back. He might gather
+      a knot of fellow-grumblers about him; it was to be noted that the
+      camp-marshal had the habit of being on hand at this hour.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was on one of these occasions that Hal first noticed Mike Sikoria, a
+      grizzle-haired old Slovak, who had spent twenty years in the mines of
+      these regions. All the bitterness of all the wrongs of all these years
+      welled up in Old Mike, as he shouted his score aloud: &ldquo;Nineteen,
+      twenty-two, twenty-four, twenty! Is that my weight, Mister? You want me to
+      believe that's my weight?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's your weight,&rdquo; said the weigh-boss, coldly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, by Judas, your scale is off, Mister! Look at them cars&mdash;them
+      cars is big! You measure them cars, Mister&mdash;seven feet long, three
+      and a half feet high, four feet wide. And you tell me them don't go but
+      twenty?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You don't load them right,&rdquo; said the boss.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don't load them right?&rdquo; echoed the old miner; he became suddenly
+      plaintive, as if more hurt than angered by such an insinuation. &ldquo;You know
+      all the years I work, and you tell me I don't know a load? When I load a
+      car, I load him like a miner, I don't load him like a Jap, that don't know
+      about a mine! I put it up&mdash;I chunk it up like a stack of hay. I load
+      him square&mdash;like that.&rdquo; With gestures the old fellow was illustrating
+      what he meant. &ldquo;See there! There's a ton on the top, and a ton and a half
+      on the bottom&mdash;and you tell me I get only nineteen, twenty!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's your weight,&rdquo; said the boss, implacably.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But, Mister, your scale is wrong! I tell you I used to get my weight. I
+      used to get forty-five, forty-six on them cars. Here's my buddy&mdash;ask
+      him if it ain't so. What is it, Bo?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Um m m-mum,&rdquo; said Bo, who was a negro&mdash;though one could hardly be
+      sure of this for the coal-dust on him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can't make a living no more!&rdquo; exclaimed the old Slovak, his voice
+      trembling and his wizened dark eyes full of pleading. &ldquo;What you think I
+      make? For fifteen days, fifty cents! I pay board, and so help me God,
+      Mister&mdash;and I stand right here&mdash;I swear for God I make fifty
+      cents. I dig the coal and I ain't got no weight, I ain't got nothing! Your
+      scale is wrong!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Get out!&rdquo; said the weigh-boss, turning away.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But, Mister!&rdquo; cried Old Mike, following behind him, and pouring his whole
+      soul into his words. &ldquo;What is this life, Mister? You work like a burro,
+      and you don't get nothing for it! You burn your own powder&mdash;half a
+      dollar a day powder&mdash;what you think of that? Crosscut&mdash;and you
+      get nothing! Take the skip and a pillar, and you get nothing! Brush&mdash;and
+      you get nothing! Here, by Judas, a poor man, going and working his body to
+      the last point, and blood is run out! You starve me to death, I say! I
+      have got to have something to eat, haven't I?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And suddenly the boss whirled upon him. &ldquo;Get the hell out of here!&rdquo; he
+      shouted. &ldquo;If you don't like it, get your time and quit. Shut your face, or
+      I'll shut it for you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The old man quailed and fell silent. He stood for a moment more, biting
+      his whiskered lips nervously; then his shoulders sank together, and he
+      turned and slunk off, followed by his negro helper.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 15.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Old Mike boarded at Reminitsky's, and after supper was over, Hal sought
+      him out. He was easy to know, and proved an interesting acquaintance. With
+      the help of his eloquence Hal wandered through a score of camps in the
+      district. The old fellow had a temper that he could not manage, and so he
+      was always on the move; but all places were alike, he said&mdash;there was
+      always some trick by which a miner was cheated of his earnings. A miner
+      was a little business man, a contractor who took a certain job, with its
+      expenses and its chance of profit or loss. A &ldquo;place&rdquo; was assigned to him
+      by the boss&mdash;and he undertook to get out the coal from it, being paid
+      at the rate of fifty-five cents a ton for each ton of clean coal. In some
+      &ldquo;places&rdquo; a man could earn good money, and in others he would work for
+      weeks, and not be able to keep up with his store-account.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It all depended upon the amount of rock and slate that was found with the
+      coal. If the vein was low, the man had one or two feet of rock to take off
+      the ceiling, and this had to be loaded on separate cars and taken away.
+      This work was called &ldquo;brushing,&rdquo; and for it the miner received no pay. Or
+      perhaps it was necessary to cut through a new passage, and clean out the
+      rock; or perhaps to &ldquo;grade the bottom,&rdquo; and lay the ties and rails over
+      which the cars were brought in to be loaded; or perhaps the vein ran into
+      a &ldquo;fault,&rdquo; a broken place where there was rock instead of coal&mdash;and
+      this rock must be hewed away before the miner could get at the coal. All
+      such work was called &ldquo;dead-work,&rdquo; and it was the cause of unceasing war.
+      In the old days the company had paid extra for it; now, since they had got
+      the upper hand of the men, they were refusing to pay. And so it was
+      important to the miner to have a &ldquo;place&rdquo; assigned him where there was not
+      so much of this dead work. And the &ldquo;place&rdquo; a man got depended upon the
+      boss; so here, at the very outset, was endless opportunity for favouritism
+      and graft, for quarrelling, or &ldquo;keeping in&rdquo; with the boss. What chance did
+      a man stand who was poor and old and ugly, and could not speak English
+      good? inquired old Mike, with bitterness. The boss stole his cars and gave
+      them to other people; he took the weight off the cars, and gave them to
+      fellows who boarded with him, or treated him to drinks, or otherwise
+      curried favour with him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I work five days in the Southeastern,&rdquo; said Mike, &ldquo;and when I work them
+      five days, so help me God, brother, if I don't get up out of this chair,
+      fifteen cents I was still in the hole yet. Fourteen inches of rock! And
+      the Mr. Bishop&mdash;that is the superintendent&mdash;I says, 'Do you pay
+      something for that rock?' 'Huh?' says he. 'Well,' I says, 'if you don't
+      pay nothing for the rock, I don't go ahead with it. I ain't got no place
+      to put that rock.' 'Get the hell out of here,' says he, and when I started
+      to fight he pull gun on me. And then I go to Cedar Mountain, and the super
+      give me work there, and he says, 'You go Number Four,' and he says, 'Rail
+      is in Number Three, and the ties.' And he says, 'I pay you for it when you
+      put it in.' So I take it away and I put it in, and I work till twelve
+      o'clock. Carried the three pair of rails and the ties, and I pulled all
+      the spikes&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pulled the spikes?&rdquo; asked Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Got no good spikes. Got to use old spikes, what you pull out of them old
+      ties. So then I says, 'What is my half day, what you promise me?' Says he,
+      'You ain't dug no coal yet!' 'But, mister,' says I, 'you promise me pay to
+      pull them spikes and put in them ties!' Says he, 'Company pay nothin' for
+      dead work&mdash;you know that,' says he, and that is all the satisfaction
+      I get.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you didn't get your half day's pay?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure I get nothin'. Boss do just as he please in coal mine.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 16.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      There was another way, Old Mike explained, in which the miner was at the
+      mercy of others; this was the matter of stealing cars. Each miner had
+      brass checks with his number on them, and when he sent up a loaded car, he
+      hung one of these checks on a hook inside. In the course of the long
+      journey to the tipple, some one would change the check, and the car was
+      gone. In some mines, the number was put on the car with chalk; and how
+      easy it was for some one to rub it out and change it! It appeared to Hal
+      that it would have been a simple matter to put a number padlock on the
+      car, instead of a check; but such an equipment would have cost the company
+      one or two hundred dollars, he was told, and so the stealing went on year
+      after year.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You think it's the bosses steal these cars?&rdquo; asked Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sometimes bosses, sometimes bosses' friend&mdash;sometimes company
+      himself steal them from miners.&rdquo; In North Valley it was the company, the
+      old Slovak insisted. It was no use sending up more than six cars in one
+      day, he declared; you could never get credit for more than six. Nor was it
+      worth while loading more than a ton on a car; they did not really weigh
+      the cars, the boss just ran them quickly over the scales, and had orders
+      not to go above a certain average. Mike told of an Italian who had loaded
+      a car for a test, so high that he could barely pass it under the roof of
+      the entry, and went up on the tipple and saw it weighed himself, and it
+      was sixty-five hundred pounds. They gave him thirty-five hundred, and when
+      he started to fight, they arrested him. Mike had not seen him arrested,
+      but when he had come out of the mine, the man was gone, and nobody ever
+      saw him again. After that they put a door onto the weigh-room, so that no
+      one could see the scales.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The more Hal listened to the men and reflected upon these things, the more
+      he came to see that the miner was a contractor who had no opportunity to
+      determine the size of the contract before he took it on, nor afterwards to
+      determine how much work he had done. More than that, he was obliged to use
+      supplies, over the price and measurements of which he had no control. He
+      used powder, and would find himself docked at the end of the month for a
+      certain quantity, and if the quantity was wrong, he would have no redress.
+      He was charged a certain sum for &ldquo;black-smithing&rdquo;&mdash;the keeping of his
+      tools in order; and he would find a dollar or two deducted from his
+      account each month, even though he had not been near the blacksmith shop.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Let any business-man in the world consider the proposition, thought Hal,
+      and say if he would take a contract upon such terms! Would a man undertake
+      to build a dam, for example, with no chance to measure the ground in
+      advance, nor any way of determining how many cubic yards of concrete he
+      had to put in? Would a grocer sell to a customer who proposed to come into
+      the store and do his own weighing&mdash;and meantime locking the grocer
+      outside? Merely to put such questions was to show the preposterousness of
+      the thing; yet in this district were fifteen thousand men working on
+      precisely such terms.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Under the state law, the miner had a right to demand a check-weighman to
+      protect his interest at the scales, paying this check-weighman's wages out
+      of his own earnings. Whenever there was any public criticism about
+      conditions in the coal-mines, this law would be triumphantly cited by the
+      operators; and one had to have actual experience in order to realise what
+      a bitter mockery this was to the miner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the dining-room Hal sat next to a fair-haired Swedish giant named
+      Johannson, who loaded timbers ten hours a day. This fellow was one who
+      indulged in the luxury of speaking his mind, because he had youth and huge
+      muscles, and no family to tie him down. He was what is called a
+      &ldquo;blanket-stiff,&rdquo; wandering from mine to harvest-field and from
+      harvest-field to lumber-camp. Some one broached the subject of
+      check-weighmen to him, and the whole table heard his scornful laugh. Let
+      any man ask for a check-weighman!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean they would fire him?&rdquo; asked Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Maybe!&rdquo; was the answer. &ldquo;Maybe they make him fire himself.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How do you mean?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They make his life one damn misery till he go.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So it was with check-weighman&mdash;as with scrip, and with company
+      stores, and with all the provisions of the law to protect the miner
+      against accidents. You might demand your legal rights, but if you did, it
+      was a matter of the boss's temper. He might make your life one damn misery
+      till you went of your own accord. Or you might get a string of curses and
+      an order, &ldquo;Down the canyon!&rdquo;&mdash;and likely as not the toe of a boot in
+      your trouser-seat, or the muzzle of a revolver under your nose.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 17.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Such conditions made the coal-district a place of despair. Yet there were
+      men who managed to get along somehow, and to raise families and keep
+      decent homes. If one had the luck to escape accident, if he did not marry
+      too young, or did not have too many children; if he could manage to escape
+      the temptations of liquor, to which overwork and monotony drove so many;
+      if, above all, he could keep on the right side of his boss&mdash;why then
+      he might have a home, and even a little money on deposit with the company.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Such a one was Jerry Minetti, who became one of Hal's best friends. He was
+      a Milanese, and his name was Gerolamo, which had become Jerry in the
+      &ldquo;melting-pot.&rdquo; He was about twenty-five years of age, and what is unusual
+      with the Italians, was of good stature. Their meeting took place&mdash;as
+      did most of Hal's social experiences&mdash;on a Sunday. Jerry had just had
+      a sleep and a wash, and had put on a pair of new blue overalls, so that he
+      presented a cheering aspect in the sunlight. He walked with his head up
+      and his shoulders square, and one could see that he had few cares in the
+      world.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But what caught Hal's attention was not so much Jerry as what followed at
+      Jerry's heels; a perfect reproduction of him, quarter-size, also with a
+      newly-washed face and a pair of new blue overalls. He too had his head up,
+      and his shoulders square, and he was an irresistible object, throwing out
+      his heels and trying his best to keep step. Since the longest strides he
+      could take left him behind, he would break into a run, and getting close
+      under his father's heels, would begin keeping step once more.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal was going in the same direction, and it affected him like the music of
+      a military band; he too wanted to throw his head up and square his
+      shoulders and keep step. And then other people, seeing the grin on his
+      face, would turn and watch, and grin also. But Jerry walked on gravely,
+      unaware of this circus in the rear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They went into a house; and Hal, having nothing to do but enjoy life,
+      stood waiting for them to come out. They returned in the same procession,
+      only now the man had a sack of something on his shoulder, while the little
+      chap had a smaller load poised in imitation. So Hal grinned again, and
+      when they were opposite him, he said, &ldquo;Hello.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hello,&rdquo; said Jerry, and stopped. Then, seeing Hal's grin, he grinned
+      back; and Hal looked at the little chap and grinned, and the little chap
+      grinned back. Jerry, seeing what Hal was grinning at, grinned more than
+      ever; so there stood all three in the middle of the road, grinning at one
+      another for no apparent reason.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Gee, but that's a great kid!&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Gee, you bet!&rdquo; said Jerry; and he set down his sack. If some one desired
+      to admire the kid, he was willing to stop any length of time.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yours?&rdquo; asked Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You bet!&rdquo; said Jerry, again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hello, Buster!&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hello yourself!&rdquo; said the kid. One could see in a moment that he had been
+      in the &ldquo;melting-pot.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What's your name?&rdquo; asked Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Jerry,&rdquo; was the reply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And what's his name?&rdquo; Hal nodded towards the man&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Big Jerry.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Got any more like you at home?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;One more,&rdquo; said Big Jerry. &ldquo;Baby.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He ain't like me,&rdquo; said Little Jerry. &ldquo;He's little.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you're big?&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He can't walk!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Neither can you walk!&rdquo; laughed Hal, and caught him up and slung him onto
+      his shoulder. &ldquo;Come on, we'll ride!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So Big Jerry took up his sack again, and they started off; only this time
+      it was Hal who fell behind and kept step, squaring his shoulders and
+      flinging out his heels. Little Jerry caught onto the joke, and giggled and
+      kicked his sturdy legs with delight. Big Jerry would look round, not
+      knowing what the joke was, but enjoying it just the same.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They came to the three-room cabin which was Both Jerrys' home; and Mrs.
+      Jerry came to the door, a black-eyed Sicilian girl, who did not look old
+      enough to have even one baby. They had another bout of grinning, at the
+      end of which Big Jerry said, &ldquo;You come in?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure,&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You stay supper,&rdquo; added the other. &ldquo;Got spaghetti.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Gee!&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;All right, let me stay, and pay for it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hell, no!&rdquo; said Jerry. &ldquo;You no pay!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No! No pay!&rdquo; cried Mrs. Jerry, shaking her pretty head energetically.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said Hal, quickly, seeing that he might hurt their feelings.
+      &ldquo;I'll stay if you're sure you have enough.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure, plenty!&rdquo; said Jerry. &ldquo;Hey, Rosa?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure, plenty!&rdquo; said Mrs. Jerry.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then I'll stay,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;You like spaghetti, Kid?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Jesus!&rdquo; cried Little Jerry.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal looked about him at this Dago home. It was a tome in keeping with its
+      pretty occupant. There were lace curtains in the windows, even shinier and
+      whiter than at the Rafferties; there was an incredibly bright-coloured rug
+      on the floor, and bright coloured pictures of Mount Vesuvius and of
+      Garibaldi on the walls. Also there was a cabinet with many interesting
+      treasures to look at&mdash;a bit of coral and a conch-shell, a shark's
+      tooth and an Indian arrow-head, and a stuffed linnet with a glass cover
+      over him. A while back Hal would not have thought of such things as
+      especially stimulating to the imagination; but that was before he had
+      begun to spend five-sixths of his waking hours in the bowels of the earth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He ate supper, a real Dago supper; the spaghetti proved to be real Dago
+      spaghetti, smoking hot, with tomato sauce and a rich flavour of
+      meat-juice. And all through the meal Hal smacked his lips and grinned at
+      Little Jerry, who smacked his lips and grinned back. It was all so
+      different from feeding at Reminitsky's pig-trough, that Hal thought he had
+      never had such a good supper in his life before. As for Mr. and Mrs.
+      Jerry, they were so proud of their wonderful kid, who could swear in
+      English as good as a real American, that they were in the seventh heaven.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the meal was over, Hal leaned back and exclaimed, just as he had at
+      the Rafferties', &ldquo;Lord, how I wish I could board here!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He saw his host look at his wife. &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;You come here. I
+      board you. Hey, Rosa?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure,&rdquo; said Rosa.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal looked at them, astonished. &ldquo;You're sure they'll let you?&rdquo; he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Let me? Who stop me?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't know. Maybe Reminitsky. You might get into trouble.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Jerry grinned. &ldquo;I no fraid,&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;Got friends here. Carmino my
+      cousin. You know Carmino?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pit-boss in Number One. He stand by me. Old Reminitsky go hang! You come
+      here, I give you bunk in that room, give you good grub. What you pay
+      Reminitsky?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Twenty-seven a month.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right, you pay me twenty-seven, you get everything good. Can't get
+      much stuff here, but Rosa good cook, she fix it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal's new friend&mdash;besides being a favourite of the boss&mdash;was a
+      &ldquo;shot-firer&rdquo;; it was his duty to go about the mine at night, setting off
+      the charges of powder which the miners had got ready by day. This was
+      dangerous work, calling for a skilled man, and it paid pretty well; so
+      Jerry got on in the world and was not afraid to speak his mind, within
+      certain limits. He ignored the possibility that Hal might be a company
+      spy, and astonished him by rebellious talk of the different kinds of graft
+      in North Valley, and at other places he had worked since coming to America
+      as a boy. Minetti was a Socialist, Hal learned; he took an Italian
+      Socialist paper, and the clerk at the post-office knew what sort of paper
+      it was, and would &ldquo;josh&rdquo; him about it. What was more remarkable, Mrs.
+      Minetti was a Socialist also; that meant a great deal to a man, as Jerry
+      explained, because she was not under the domination of a priest.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 18.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal made the move at once, sacrificing part of a month's board, which
+      Reminitsky would charge against his account with the company. But he was
+      willing to pay for the privilege of a clean home and clean food. To his
+      amusement he found that in the eyes of his Irish friends he was losing
+      caste by going to live with the Minettis. There were most rigid social
+      lines in North Valley, it appeared. The Americans and English and Scotch
+      looked down upon the Welsh and Irish; the Welsh and Irish looked down upon
+      the Dagoes and Frenchies; the Dagoes and Frenchies looked down upon
+      Polacks and Hunkies, these in turn upon Greeks, Bulgarians and
+      &ldquo;Montynegroes,&rdquo; and so on through a score of races of Eastern Europe,
+      Lithuanians, Slovaks, and Croatians, Armenians, Roumanians, Rumelians,
+      Ruthenians&mdash;ending up with Greasers, niggers, and last and lowest,
+      Japs.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was when Hal went to pay another call upon the Rafferties that he made
+      this discovery. Mary Burke happened to be there, and when she caught sight
+      of him, her grey eyes beamed with mischief. &ldquo;How do ye do, Mr. Minetti?&rdquo;
+       she cried.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How do ye do, Miss Rosetti?&rdquo; he countered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You lika da spagett?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You no lika da spagett?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I told ye once,&rdquo; laughed the girl&mdash;&ldquo;the good old pertaties is good
+      enough for me!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you remember,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;what I answered?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Yes, she remembered! Her cheeks took on the colour of the rose-leaves he
+      had specified as her probable diet.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And then the Rafferty children, who had got to know Hal well, joined in
+      the teasing. &ldquo;Mister Minetti! Lika da spagetti!&rdquo; Hal, when he had grasped
+      the situation, was tempted to retaliate by reminding them that he had
+      offered to board with the Irish, and been turned down; but he feared that
+      the elder Rafferty might not appreciate this joke, so instead he pretended
+      to have supposed all along that the Rafferties were Italians. He addressed
+      the elder Rafferty gravely, pronouncing the name with the accent on the
+      second syllable&mdash;&ldquo;Signer Rafferti&rdquo;; and this so amused the old man
+      that he chuckled over it at intervals for an hour. His heart warmed to
+      this lively young fellow; he forgot some of his suspicions, and after the
+      youngsters had been sent away to bed, he talked more or less frankly about
+      his life as a coal-miner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Old Rafferty&rdquo; had once been on the way to high station. He had been made
+      tipple-boss at the San José mine, but had given up his job because he had
+      thought that his religion did not permit him to do what he was ordered to
+      do. It had been a crude proposition of keeping the men's score at a
+      certain level, no matter how much coal they might send up; and when
+      Rafferty had quit rather than obey such orders, he had had to leave the
+      mine altogether; for of course everybody knew why he had quit, and his
+      mere presence had the effect of keeping discontent alive.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You think there are no honest companies at all?&rdquo; Hal asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The old man answered, &ldquo;There be some, but 'tis not so easy as ye might
+      think to be honest. They have to meet each other's prices, and when one
+      short-weights, the others have to. 'Tis a way of cuttin' wages without the
+      men findin' it out; and there be people that do not like to fall behind
+      with their profits.&rdquo; Hal found himself thinking of old Peter Harrigan, who
+      controlled the General Fuel Company, and had made the remark: &ldquo;I am a
+      great clamourer for dividends!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The trouble with the miner,&rdquo; continued Old Rafferty, &ldquo;is that he has no
+      one to speak for him. He stands alone&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      During this discourse, Hal had glanced at &ldquo;Red Mary,&rdquo; and noticed that she
+      sat with her arms on the table, her sturdy shoulders bowed in a fashion
+      which told of a hard day's toil. But here she broke into the conversation;
+      her voice came suddenly, alive with scorn: &ldquo;The trouble with the miner is
+      that he's a <i>slave!</i>&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, now&mdash;&rdquo; put in the old man, protestingly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He has the whole world against him, and he hasn't got the sense to get
+      together&mdash;to form a union, and stand by it!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There fell a sudden silence in the Rafferty home. Even Hal was startled&mdash;for
+      this was the first time during his stay in the camp that he had heard the
+      dread word &ldquo;union&rdquo; spoken above a whisper.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know!&rdquo; said Mary, her grey eyes full of defiance. &ldquo;Ye'll not have the
+      word spoken! But some will speak it in spite of ye!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;'Tis all very well,&rdquo; said the old man. &ldquo;When ye're young, and a woman too&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A woman! Is it only the women that can have courage?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure,&rdquo; said he, with a wry smile, &ldquo;'tis the women that have the tongues,
+      and that can't he stopped from usin' them. Even the boss must know that.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Maybe so,&rdquo; replied Mary. &ldquo;And maybe 'tis the women have the most to
+      suffer in a coal-camp; and maybe the boss knows that.&rdquo; The girl's cheeks
+      were red.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mebbe so,&rdquo; said Rafferty; and after that there was silence, while he sat
+      puffing his pipe. It was evident that he did not care to go on, that he
+      did not want union speeches made in his home. After a while Mrs. Rafferty
+      made a timid effort to change the course of the talk, by asking after
+      Mary's sister, who had not been well; and after they had discussed
+      remedies for the ailments of children, Mary rose, saying, &ldquo;I'll be goin'
+      along.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal rose also. &ldquo;I'll walk with you, if I may,&rdquo; he said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure,&rdquo; said she; and it seemed that the cheerfulness of the Rafferty
+      family was restored by the sight of a bit of gallantry.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 19.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      They strolled down the street, and Hal remarked, &ldquo;That's the first word
+      I've heard here about a union.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Mary looked about her nervously. &ldquo;Hush!&rdquo; she whispered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But I thought you said you were talking about it!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She answered, &ldquo;'Tis one thing, talkin' in a friend's house, and another
+      outside. What's the good of throwin' away your job?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He lowered his voice. &ldquo;Would you seriously like to have a union here?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Seriously?&rdquo; said she. &ldquo;Didn't ye see Mr. Rafferty&mdash;what a coward he
+      is? That's the way they are! No, 'twas just a burst of my temper. I'm a
+      bit crazy to-night&mdash;something happened to set me off.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He thought she was going on, but apparently she changed her mind. Finally
+      he asked, &ldquo;What happened?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, 'twould do no good to talk,&rdquo; she answered; and they walked a bit
+      farther in silence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tell me about it, won't you?&rdquo; he said; and the kindness in his tone made
+      its impression.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;'Tis not much ye know of a coal-camp, Joe Smith,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Can't ye
+      imagine what it's like&mdash;bein' a woman in a place like this? And a
+      woman they think good-lookin'!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, so it's that!&rdquo; said he, and was silent again. &ldquo;Some one's been
+      troubling you?&rdquo; he ventured after a while.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure! Some one's always troublin' us women! Always! Never a day but we
+      hear it. Winks and nudges&mdash;everywhere ye turn.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who is it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The bosses, the clerks&mdash;anybody that has a chance to wear a stiff
+      collar, and thinks he can offer money to a girl. It begins before she's
+      out of short skirts, and there's never any peace afterwards.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you can't make them understand?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I've made them understand me a bit; now they go after my old man.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure! D'ye suppose they'd not try that? Him that's so crazy for liquor,
+      and can never get enough of it!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And your father?&mdash;&rdquo; But Hal stopped. She would not want that
+      question asked!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She had seen his hesitation, however. &ldquo;He was a decent man once,&rdquo; she
+      declared. &ldquo;'Tis the life here, that turns a man into a coward. 'Tis
+      everything ye need, everywhere ye turn&mdash;ye have to ask favours from
+      some boss. The room ye work in, the dead work they pile on ye; or maybe
+      'tis more credit ye need at the store, or maybe the doctor to come when
+      ye're sick. Just now 'tis our roof that leaks&mdash;so bad we can't find a
+      dry place to sleep when it rains.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;Who owns the house?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure, there's none but company houses here.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who's supposed to fix it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mr. Kosegi, the house-agent. But we gave him up long ago&mdash;if he does
+      anything, he raises the rent. Today my father went to Mr. Cotton. He's
+      supposed to look out for the health of the place, and it seems hardly
+      healthy to keep people wet in their beds.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And what did Cotton say?&rdquo; asked Hal, when she stopped again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, don't ye know Jeff Cotton&mdash;can't ye guess what he'd say?
+      'That's a fine girl ye got, Burke! Why don't ye make her listen to
+      reason?' And then he laughed, and told me old father he'd better learn to
+      take a hint. 'Twas bad for an old man to sleep in the rain&mdash;he might
+      get carried off by pneumonia.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal could no longer keep back the question, &ldquo;What did your father do?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'd not have ye think hard of my old father,&rdquo; she said, quickly. &ldquo;He used
+      to be a fightin' man, in the days before O'Callahan had his way with him.
+      But now he knows what a camp-marshal can do to a miner!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 20.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Mary Burke had said that the company could stand breaking the bones of its
+      men; and not long after Number Two started up again, Hal had a chance to
+      note the truth of this assertion.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A miner's life depended upon the proper timbering of the room where he
+      worked. The company undertook to furnish the timbers, but when the miner
+      needed them, he would find none at hand, and would have to make the
+      mile-long trip to the surface. He would select timbers of the proper
+      length, and would mark them&mdash;the understanding being that they were
+      to be delivered to his room by some of the labourers. But then some one
+      else would carry them off&mdash;here was more graft and favouritism, and
+      the miner might lose a day or two of work, while meantime his account was
+      piling up at the store, and his children might have no shoes to go to
+      school. Sometimes he would give up waiting for timbers, and go on taking
+      out coal; so there would be a fall of rock&mdash;and the coroner's jury
+      would bring in a verdict of &ldquo;negligence,&rdquo; and the coal-operators would
+      talk solemnly about the impossibility of teaching caution to miners. Not
+      so very long ago Hal had read an interview which the president of the
+      General Fuel Company had given to a newspaper, in which he set forth the
+      idea that the more experience a miner had the more dangerous it was to
+      employ him, because he thought he knew it all, and would not heed the wise
+      regulations which the company laid down for his safety!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In Number Two mine there were some places being operated by the &ldquo;room and
+      pillar&rdquo; method; the coal being taken out as from a series of rooms, the
+      portion corresponding to the walls of the rooms being left to uphold the
+      roof. These walls are the &ldquo;pillars&rdquo;; and when the end of the vein is
+      reached, the miner begins to work backwards, &ldquo;pulling the pillars,&rdquo; and
+      letting the roof collapse behind him. This is a dangerous task; as he
+      works, the man has to listen to the drumming sounds of the rock above his
+      head, and has to judge just when to make his escape. Sometimes he is too
+      anxious to save a tool; or sometimes the collapse comes without warning.
+      In that case the victim is seldom dug out; for it must be admitted that a
+      man buried under a mountain is as well buried as a company could be
+      expected to arrange it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In Number Two mine a man was caught in this way. He stumbled as he ran,
+      and the lower half of his body was pinned fast; the doctor had to come and
+      pump opiates into him, while the rescue crew was digging him loose. The
+      first Hal knew of the accident was when he saw the body stretched out on a
+      plank, with a couple of old sacks to cover it. He noticed that nobody
+      stopped for a second glance. Going up from work, he asked his friend
+      Madvik, the mule driver, who answered, &ldquo;Lit'uanian feller&mdash;got mash.&rdquo;
+       And that was all. Nobody knew him, and nobody cared about him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It happened that Mike Sikoria had been working nearby, and was one of
+      those who helped to get the victim out. Mike's negro &ldquo;buddy&rdquo; had been in
+      too great haste to get some of the rock out of the way, and had got his
+      hand crushed, and would not be able to work for a month or so. Mike told
+      Hal about it, in his broken English. It was a terrible thing to see a man
+      trapped like that, gasping, his eyes almost popping out of his head.
+      Fortunately he was a young fellow, and had no family.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal asked what they would do with the body; the answer was they would bury
+      him in the morning. The company had a piece of ground up the canyon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But won't they have an inquest?&rdquo; he inquired.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Inques'?&rdquo; repeated the other. &ldquo;What's he?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Doesn't the coroner see the body?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The old Slovak shrugged his bowed shoulders; if there was a coroner in
+      this part of the world, he had never heard of it; and he had worked in a
+      good many mines, and seen a good many men put under the ground. &ldquo;Put him
+      in a box and dig a hole,&rdquo; was the way he described the procedure.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And doesn't the priest come?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Priest too far away.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Afterwards Hal made inquiry among the English-speaking men, and learned
+      that the coroner did sometimes come to the camp. He would empanel a jury
+      consisting of Jeff Cotton, the marshal, and Predovich, the Galician Jew
+      who worked in the company store, and a clerk or two from the company's
+      office, and a couple of Mexican labourers who had no idea what it was all
+      about. This jury would view the corpse, and ask a couple of men what had
+      happened, and then bring in a verdict: &ldquo;We find that the deceased met his
+      death from a fall of rock caused by his own fault.&rdquo; (In one case they had
+      added the picturesque detail: &ldquo;No relatives, and damned few friends!&rdquo;)
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For this service the coroner got a fee, and the company got an official
+      verdict, which would be final in case some foreign consul should threaten
+      a damage suit. So well did they have matters in hand that nobody in North
+      Valley had ever got anything for death or injury; in fact, as Hal found
+      later, there had not been a damage suit filed against any coal-operator in
+      that county for twenty-three years!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This particular, accident was of consequence to Hal, because it got him a
+      chance to see the real work of mining. Old Mike was without a helper, and
+      made the proposition that Hal should take the job. It was better than a
+      stableman's, for it paid two dollars a day.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But will the boss let me change?&rdquo; asked Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You give him ten dollar, he change you,&rdquo; said Mike.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sorry,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;I haven't got ten dollars.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You give him ten dollar credit,&rdquo; said the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And Hal laughed. &ldquo;They take scrip for graft, do they?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure they take him,&rdquo; said Mike.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Suppose I treat my mules bad?&rdquo; continued the other. &ldquo;So I can make him
+      change me for nothing!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He change you to hell!&rdquo; replied Mike. &ldquo;You get him cross, he put us in
+      bad room, cost us ten dollar a week. No, sir&mdash;you give him drink, say
+      fine feller, make him feel good. You talk American&mdash;give him jolly!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 21.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal was glad of this opportunity to get better acquainted with his
+      pit-boss. Alec Stone was six feet high, and built in proportion, with arms
+      like hams&mdash;soft with fat, yet possessed of enormous strength. He had
+      learned his manner of handling men on a sugar-plantation in Louisiana&mdash;a
+      fact which, when Hal heard it, explained much. Like a stage-manager who
+      does not heed the real names of his actors, but calls them by their
+      character-names, Stone had the habit of addressing his men by their
+      nationalities: &ldquo;You, Polack, get that rock into the car! Hey, Jap, bring
+      them tools over here! Shut your mouth, now, Dago, and get to work, or I'll
+      kick the breeches off you, sure as you're alive!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had witnessed one occasion when there was a dispute as to whose duty
+      it was to move timbers. There was a great two-handled cross-cut saw lying
+      on the ground, and Stone seized it and began to wave it, like a mighty
+      broadsword, in the face of a little Bohemian miner. &ldquo;Load them timbers,
+      Hunkie, or I'll carve you into bits!&rdquo; And as the terrified man shrunk
+      back, he followed, until his victim was flat against a wall, the weapon
+      swinging to and fro under his nose after the fashion of &ldquo;The Pit and the
+      Pendulum.&rdquo; &ldquo;Carve you into pieces, Hunkie! Carve you into stew-meat!&rdquo; When
+      at last the boss stepped back, the little Bohemian leaped to load the
+      timbers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The curious part about it to Hal was that Stone seemed to be reasonably
+      good-natured about such proceedings. Hardly one time in a thousand did he
+      carry out his bloodthirsty threats, and like as not he would laugh when he
+      had finished his tirade, and the object of it would grin in turn&mdash;but
+      without slackening his frightened efforts. After the broad-sword waving
+      episode, seeing that Hal had been watching, the boss remarked, &ldquo;That's the
+      way you have to manage them wops.&rdquo; Hal took this remark as a tribute to
+      his American blood, and was duly flattered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He sought out the boss that evening, and found him with his feet upon the
+      railing of his home. &ldquo;Mr. Stone,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;I've something I'd like to ask
+      you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Fire away, kid,&rdquo; said the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Won't you come up to the saloon and have a drink?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Want to get something out of me, hey? You can't work me, kid!&rdquo; But
+      nevertheless he slung down his feet from the railing, and knocked the
+      ashes out of his pipe and strolled up the street with Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mr. Stone,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;I want to make a change.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What's that? Got a grouch on them mules?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, sir, but I got a better job in sight. Mike Sikoria's buddy is laid
+      up, and I'd like to take his place, if you're willing.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why, that's a nigger's place, kid. Ain't you scared to take a nigger's
+      place?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why, sir?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don't you know about hoodoos?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What I want,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;is the nigger's pay.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said the boss, abruptly, &ldquo;you stick by them mules. I got a good
+      stableman, and I don't want to spoil him. You stick, and by and by I'll
+      give you a raise. You go into them pits, the first thing you know you'll
+      get a fall of rock on your head, and the nigger's pay won't be no good to
+      you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They came to the saloon and entered. Hal noted that a silence fell within,
+      and every one nodded and watched. It was pleasant to be seen going out
+      with one's boss.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      O'Callahan, the proprietor, came forward with his best society smile and
+      joined them, and at Hal's invitation they ordered whiskies. &ldquo;No, you stick
+      to your job,&rdquo; continued the pit-boss. &ldquo;You stay by it, and when you've
+      learned to manage mules, I'll make a boss out of you, and let you manage
+      men.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Some of the bystanders tittered. The pit-boss poured down his whiskey, and
+      set the glass on the bar. &ldquo;That's no joke,&rdquo; said he, in a tone that every
+      one could hear. &ldquo;I learned that long ago about niggers. They'd say to me,
+      'For God's sake, don't talk to our niggers like that. Some night you'll
+      have your house set afire.' But I said, 'Pet a nigger, and you've got a
+      spoiled nigger.' I'd say, 'Nigger, don't you give me any of your imp, or
+      I'll kick the breeches off you.' And they knew I was a gentleman, and they
+      stepped lively.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Have another drink,&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The pit-boss drank, and becoming more sociable, told nigger stories. On
+      the sugar-plantations there was a rush season, when the rule was twenty
+      hours' work a day; when some of the niggers tried to shirk it, they would
+      arrest them for swearing or crap-shooting, and work them as convicts,
+      without pay. The pit-boss told how one &ldquo;buck&rdquo; had been brought before the
+      justice of the peace, and the charge read, &ldquo;being cross-eyed&rdquo;; for which
+      offence he had been sentenced to sixty days' hard labour. This anecdote
+      was enjoyed by the men in the saloon&mdash;whose race-feelings seemed to
+      be stronger than their class-feelings.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the pair went out again, it was late, and the boss was cordial. &ldquo;Mr.
+      Stone,&rdquo; began Hal, &ldquo;I don't want to bother you, but I'd like first rate to
+      get more pay. If you could see your way to let me have that buddy's job,
+      I'd be more than glad to divide with you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Divide with me?&rdquo; said Stone. &ldquo;How d'ye mean?&rdquo; Hal waited with some
+      apprehension&mdash;for if Mike had not assured him so positively, he would
+      have expected a swing from the pit-boss's mighty arm.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's worth about fifteen a month more to me. I haven't any cash, but if
+      you'd be willing to charge off ten dollars from my store-account, it would
+      be well worth my while.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They walked for a short way in silence. &ldquo;Well, I'll tell you,&rdquo; said the
+      boss, at last; &ldquo;that old Slovak is a kicker&mdash;one of these fellows
+      that thinks he could run the mine if he had a chance. And if you get to
+      listenin' to him, and think you can come to me and grumble, by God&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's all right, sir,&rdquo; put in Hal, quickly. &ldquo;I'll manage that for you&mdash;I'll
+      shut him up. If you'd like me to, I'll see what fellows he talks with, and
+      if any of them are trying to make trouble, I'll tip you off.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now that's the talk,&rdquo; said the boss, promptly. &ldquo;You do that, and I'll
+      keep my eye on you and give you a chance. Not that I'm afraid of the old
+      fellow&mdash;I told him last time that if I heard from him again, I'd kick
+      the breeches off him. But when you got half a thousand of this foreign
+      scum, some of them Anarchists, and some of them Bulgars and Montynegroes
+      that's been fightin' each other at home&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I understand,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;You have to watch 'em.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's it,&rdquo; said the pit-boss. &ldquo;And by the way, when you tell the
+      store-clerk about that fifteen dollars, just say you lost it at poker.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I said ten dollars,&rdquo; put in Hal, quickly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, I know,&rdquo; responded the other. &ldquo;But <i>I</i> said fifteen!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 22.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal told himself with satisfaction that he was now to do the real work of
+      coal-mining. His imagination had been occupied with it for a long time;
+      but as so often happens in the life of man, the first contact with reality
+      killed the results of many years' imagining. It killed all imagining, in
+      fact; Hal found that his entire stock of energy, both mental and physical,
+      was consumed in enduring torment. If any one had told him the horror of
+      attempting to work in a room five feet high, he would not have believed
+      it. It was like some of the dreadful devices of torture which one saw in
+      European castles, the &ldquo;iron maiden&rdquo; and the &ldquo;spiked collar.&rdquo; Hal's back
+      burned as if hot irons were being run up and down it; every separate joint
+      and muscle cried aloud. It seemed as if he could never learn the lesson of
+      the jagged ceiling above his head&mdash;he bumped it and continued to bump
+      it, until his scalp was a mass of cuts and bruises, and his head ached
+      till he was nearly blind, and he would have to throw himself flat on the
+      ground.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then old Mike Sikoria would grin. &ldquo;I know. Like green mule! Some day get
+      tough!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal recalled the great thick callouses on the flanks of his former
+      charges, where the harness rubbed against them. &ldquo;Yes, I'm a 'green mule,'
+      all right!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      It was amazing how many ways there were to bruise and tear one's fingers,
+      loading lumps of coal into a car. He put on a pair of gloves, but these
+      wore through in a day. And then the gas, and the smoke of powder, stifling
+      one; and the terrible burning of the eyes, from the dust and the feeble
+      light. There was no way to rub these burning eyes, because everything
+      about one was equally dusty. Could anybody have imagined the torment of
+      that&mdash;any of those ladies who rode in softly upholstered
+      parlour-cars, or reclined upon the decks of steam-ships in gleaming tropic
+      seas?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Old Mike was good to his new &ldquo;buddy.&rdquo; Mike's spine was bent and his hands
+      were hardened by forty years of this sort of toil, so he could do the work
+      of two men, and entertain his friend with comments into the bargain. The
+      old fellow had the habit of talking all the time, like a child; he would
+      talk to his helper, to himself, to his tools. He would call these tools by
+      obscene and terrifying names&mdash;but with entire friendliness and good
+      humour. &ldquo;Get in there, you son-of-a-gun!&rdquo; he would say to his pick. &ldquo;Come
+      along here, you wop!&rdquo; he would say to his car. &ldquo;In with you, now, you old
+      buster!&rdquo; he would say to a lump of coal. And he would lecture Hal on the
+      details of mining. He would tell stories of successful days, or of
+      terrible mishaps. Above all he would tell about rascality&mdash;cursing
+      the &ldquo;G. F. C.,&rdquo; its foremen and superintendents, its officials, directors
+      and stock-holders, and the world which permitted such a criminal
+      institution to exist.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Noon-time would come, and Hal would lie upon his back, too worn to eat.
+      Old Mike would sit munching; his abundant whiskers came to a point on his
+      chin, and as his jaws moved, he looked for all the world like an aged
+      billy-goat. He was a kind-hearted and anxious old billy-goat, and sought
+      to tempt his buddy with a bit of cheese or a swig of cold coffee. He
+      believed in eating&mdash;no man could keep up steam if he did not stoke
+      the furnace. Failing in this, he would try to divert Hal's mind, telling
+      stories of mining-life in America and Russia. He was most proud to have an
+      &ldquo;American feller&rdquo; for a buddy, and tried to make the work as easy as
+      possible, for fear lest Hal might quit.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal did not quit; but he would drag himself out towards night, so
+      exhausted that he would fall asleep in the cage. He would fall asleep at
+      supper, and go in and sink down on his cot and sleep like a log. And oh,
+      the torture of being routed out before daybreak! Having to shake the sleep
+      out of his head, and move his creaking joints, and become aware of the
+      burning in his eyes, and the blisters and sores on his hands!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was a week before he had a moment that was not pain; and he never got
+      fully used to the labour. It was impossible for any one to work so hard
+      and keep his mental alertness, his eagerness and sensitiveness; it was
+      impossible to work so hard and be an adventurer&mdash;to be anything, in
+      fact, but a machine. Hal had heard that phrase of contempt, &ldquo;the inertia
+      of the masses,&rdquo; and had wondered about it. He no longer wondered, he knew.
+      Could a man be brave enough to protest to a pit-boss when his body was
+      numb with weariness? Could he think out a definite conclusion as to his
+      rights and wrongs, and back his conclusion with effective action, when his
+      mental faculties were paralysed by such weariness of body?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had come here, as one goes upon the deck of a ship in mid-ocean, to
+      see the storm. In this ocean of social misery, of ignorance and despair,
+      one saw upturned, tortured faces, writhing limbs and clutching hands; in
+      one's ears was a storm of lamentation, upon one's cheek a spray of blood
+      and tears. Hal found himself so deep in this ocean that he could no longer
+      find consolation in the thought that he could escape whenever he wanted
+      to: that he could say to himself, It is sad, it is terrible&mdash;but
+      thank God, I can get out of it when I choose! I can go back into the warm
+      and well-lighted saloon and tell the other passengers how picturesque it
+      is, what an interesting experience they are missing!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 23.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      During these days of torment, Hal did not go to see &ldquo;Red Mary&rdquo;; but then,
+      one evening, the Minettis' baby having been sick, she came in to ask about
+      it, bringing what she called &ldquo;a bit of a custard&rdquo; in a bowl. Hal was
+      suspicious enough of the ways of men, especially of business-men; but when
+      it came to women he was without insight&mdash;it did not occur to him as
+      singular that an Irish girl with many troubles at home should come out to
+      nurse a Dago woman's baby. He did not reflect that there were plenty of
+      sick Irish babies in the camp, to whom Mary might have taken her &ldquo;bit of a
+      custard.&rdquo; And when he saw the surprise of Rosa, who had never met Mary
+      before, he took it to be the touching gratitude of the poor!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There are, in truth, many kinds of women, with many arts, and no man has
+      time to learn them all. Hal had observed the shop-girl type, who dress
+      themselves with many frills, and cast side-long glances, and indulge in
+      fits of giggles to attract the attention of the male; he was familiar with
+      the society-girl type, who achieve the same end with more subtle and
+      alluring means. But could there be a type who hold little Dago babies in
+      their laps, and call them pretty Irish names, and feed them custard out of
+      a spoon? Hal had never heard of that kind, and he thought that &ldquo;Red Mary&rdquo;
+       made a charming picture&mdash;a Celtic madonna with a Sicilian infant in
+      her arms.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He noticed that she was wearing the same faded blue calico-dress with a
+      patch on the shoulder. Man though he was, he realised that dress is an
+      important consideration in the lives of women. He was tempted to suspect
+      that this blue calico might be the only dress that Mary owned; but seeing
+      it newly laundered every time, he concluded that she must have at least
+      one other. At any rate, here she was, crisp and fresh-looking; and with
+      the new shining costume, she had put on the long promised &ldquo;company
+      manner&rdquo;: high spirits and badinage, precisely like any belle of the world
+      of luxury, who powders and bedecks herself for a ball. She had been grim
+      and complaining in former meetings with this interesting young man; she
+      had frightened him away, apparently; perhaps she could win him back by
+      womanliness and good humour.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She rallied him upon his battered scalp and his creaking back, telling him
+      he looked ten years older&mdash;which he was fully prepared to believe.
+      Also she had fun with him for working under a Slovak&mdash;another loss of
+      caste, it appeared! This was a joke the Minettis could share in&mdash;especially
+      Little Jerry, who liked jokes. He told Mary how Joe Smith had had to pay
+      fifteen dollars for his new job, besides several drinks at O'Callahan's.
+      Also he told how Mike Sikoria had called Joe his &ldquo;green mule.&rdquo; Little
+      Jerry complained about the turn of events, for in the old days Joe had
+      taught him a lot of fine new games&mdash;and now he was sore, and would
+      not play them. Also, in the old days he had sung a lot of jolly songs,
+      full of the most fascinating rhymes. There was a song about a &ldquo;monkey
+      puzzle tree&rdquo;! Had Mary ever seen that kind of tree? Little Jerry never got
+      tired of trying to imagine what it might look like.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Dago urchin stood and watched gravely while Mary fed the custard to
+      the baby; and when two or three spoonfuls were held out to him, he opened
+      his mouth wide, and afterwards licked his lips. Gee, that was good stuff!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the last taste was gone, he stood gazing at Mary's shining coronet.
+      &ldquo;Say,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;was your hair always like that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal and Mary burst into laughter, while Rosa cried &ldquo;Hush!&rdquo; She was never
+      sure what this youngster would say next.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure, did ye think I painted it?&rdquo; asked Mary.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I didn't know,&rdquo; said Little Jerry. &ldquo;It looks so nice and new.&rdquo; And he
+      turned to Hal. &ldquo;Ain't it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You bet,&rdquo; said Hal, and added, &ldquo;Go on and tell her about it. Girls like
+      compliments.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Compliments?&rdquo; echoed Little Jerry. &ldquo;What's that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;that's when you say that her hair is like the sunrise,
+      and her eyes are like twilight, or that she's a wild rose on a
+      mountain-side.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh,&rdquo; said the Dago urchin, somewhat doubtfully. &ldquo;Anyhow,&rdquo; he added, &ldquo;she
+      make nice custard!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 24.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      The time came for Mary to take her departure, and Hal got up, wincing with
+      pain, to escort her home. She regarded him gravely, having not realised
+      before how seriously he was suffering. As they walked along she asked,
+      &ldquo;Why do ye do such work, when ye don't have to?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But I <i>do</i> have to! I have to earn a living!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye don't have to earn it that way! A bright young fellow like you&mdash;an
+      American!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;I thought it would be interesting to see coal mining.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now ye've seen it,&rdquo; said the girl&mdash;&ldquo;now quit!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But it won't do me any harm to go on for a while!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Won't it? How can ye know? When any day they may carry you out on a
+      plank!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Her &ldquo;company manner&rdquo; was gone; her voice was full of bitterness, as it
+      always was when she spoke of North Valley. &ldquo;I know what I'm tellin' ye,
+      Joe Smith. Didn't I lose two brothers in it&mdash;as fine lads as ye'd
+      find anywhere in the world! And many another lad I've seen go in laughin',
+      and come out a corpse&mdash;or what is worse, for workin' people, a
+      cripple. Sometimes I'd like to go and stand at the pit-mouth in the
+      mornin' and cry to them, 'Go back, go back! Go down the canyon this day!
+      Starve, if ye have to, beg if ye have to, only find some other work but
+      coal-minin'!'&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Her voice had risen to a passion of protest; when she went on a new note
+      came into it&mdash;a note of personal terror. &ldquo;It's worse now&mdash;since
+      you came, Joe! To see ye settin' out on the life of a miner&mdash;you,
+      that are young and strong and different. Oh, go away, Joe, go away while
+      ye can!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He was astonished at her intensity. &ldquo;Don't worry about me, Mary,&rdquo; he said.
+      &ldquo;Nothing will happen to me. I'll go away after a while.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The path was irregular, and he had been holding her arm as they walked. He
+      felt her trembling, and went on again, quickly, &ldquo;It's not I that should go
+      away, Mary. It's yourself. You hate the place&mdash;it's terrible for you
+      to have to live here. Have you never thought of going away?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She did not answer at once, and when she did the excitement was gone from
+      her voice; it was flat and dull with despair. &ldquo;'Tis no use to think of me.
+      There's nothin' I can do&mdash;there's nothin' any girl can do when she's
+      poor. I've tried&mdash;but 'tis like bein' up against a stone wall. I
+      can't even save the money to get on a train with! I've tried it&mdash;I
+      been savin' for two years&mdash;and how much d'ye think I got, Joe? Seven
+      dollars! Seven dollars in two years! No&mdash;ye can't save money in a
+      place where there's so many things that wring the heart. Ye may hate them
+      for being cowards&mdash;but ye must help when ye see a man killed, and his
+      family turned out without a roof to cover them in the winter-time!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You're too tender-hearted, Mary.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, 'tis not that! Should I go off and leave me own brother and sister,
+      that need me?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But you could earn money and send it to them.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I earn a little here&mdash;I do cleanin' and nursin' for some that need
+      me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But outside&mdash;couldn't you earn more?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I could get a job in a restaurant for seven or eight a week, but I'd have
+      to spend more, and what I sent home would not go so far, with me away. Or
+      I could get a job in some other woman's home, and work fourteen hours a
+      day for it. But, Joe, 'tis not more drudgery I want, 'tis somethin' fair
+      to look upon&mdash;somethin' of my own!&rdquo; She flung out her arms suddenly
+      like one being stifled. &ldquo;Oh, I want somethin' that's fair and clean!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Again he felt her trembling. Again the path was rough, and having an
+      impulse of sympathy, he put his arm about her. In the world of leisure,
+      one might indulge in such considerateness, and he assumed it would not be
+      different with a miner's daughter. But then, when she was close to him, he
+      felt, rather than heard, a sob.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mary!&rdquo; he whispered; and they stopped. Almost without realising it, he
+      put his other arm about her, and in a moment more he felt her warm breath
+      on his cheek, and she was trembling and shaking in his embrace. &ldquo;Joe!
+      Joe!&rdquo; she whispered. &ldquo;<i>You</i> take me away!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She was a rose in a mining-camp, and Hal was deeply moved. The primrose
+      path of dalliance stretched fair before him, here in the soft summer
+      night, with a moon overhead which bore the same message as it bore in the
+      Italian gardens of the leisure-class. But not many minutes passed before a
+      cold fear began to steal over Hal. There was a girl at home, waiting for
+      him; and also there was the resolve which had been growing in him since
+      his coming to this place&mdash;a resolve to find some way of compensation
+      to the poor, to repay them for the freedom and culture he had taken; not
+      to prey upon them, upon any individual among them. There were the Jeff
+      Cottons for that!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mary,&rdquo; he pleaded, &ldquo;we mustn't do this.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why not?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because&mdash;I'm not free. There is some one else.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He felt her start, but she did not draw away.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where?&rdquo; she asked, in a low voice.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;At home, waiting for me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And why didn't ye tell me?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't know.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal realised in a moment that the girl had ground of complaint against
+      him. According to the simple code of her world, he had gone some distance
+      with her; he had been seen to walk out with her, he had been accounted her
+      &ldquo;fellow.&rdquo; He had led her to talk to him of herself&mdash;he had insisted
+      upon having her confidences. And these people who were poor did not have
+      subtleties, there was no room in their lives for intellectual curiosities,
+      for Platonic friendships or philanderings. &ldquo;Forgive me, Mary!&rdquo; he said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She made no answer; but a sob escaped her, and she drew back from his arms&mdash;slowly.
+      He struggled with an impulse to clasp her again. She was beautiful, warm
+      with life&mdash;and so much in need of happiness!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But he held himself in check, and for a minute or two they stood apart.
+      Then he asked, humbly, &ldquo;We can still be friends, Mary, can't we? You must
+      know&mdash;I'm so <i>sorry</i>!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But she could not endure being pitied. &ldquo;'Tis nothin',&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Only I
+      thought I was going to get away! That's what ye mean to me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 25.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal had promised Alec Stone to keep a look-out for trouble-makers; and one
+      evening the boss stopped him on the street, and asked him if he had
+      anything to report. Hal took the occasion to indulge his sense of humour.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's no harm in Mike Sikoria,&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;He likes to shoot off his
+      head, but if he's got somebody to listen, that's all he wants. He's just
+      old and grouchy. But there's another fellow that I think would bear
+      watching.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who's that?&rdquo; asked the boss.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't know his last name. They call him Gus and he's a 'cager.' Fellow
+      with a red face.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know,&rdquo; said Stone&mdash;&ldquo;Gus Durking.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, he tried his best to get me to talk about unions. He keeps bringing
+      it up, and I think he's some kind of trouble-maker.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see,&rdquo; said the boss. &ldquo;I'll get after him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You won't say I told you,&rdquo; said Hal, anxiously.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, no&mdash;sure not.&rdquo; And Hal caught the trace of a smile on the
+      pit-boss's face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He went away, smiling in his turn. The &ldquo;red-faced feller. Gus,&rdquo; was the
+      person Madvik had named as being a &ldquo;spotter&rdquo; for the company!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There were ins and outs to this matter of &ldquo;spotting,&rdquo; and sometimes it was
+      not easy to know what to think. One Sunday morning Hal went for a walk up
+      the canyon, and on the way he met a young chap who got to talking with
+      him, and after a while brought up the question of working-conditions in
+      North Valley. He had only been there a week, he said, but everybody he had
+      met seemed to be grumbling about short weight. He himself had a job as an
+      &ldquo;outside man,&rdquo; so it made no difference to him, but he was interested, and
+      wondered what Hal had found.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Straightway came the question, was this really a workingman, or had Alec
+      Stone set some one to spying upon his spy. This was an intelligent fellow,
+      an American&mdash;which in itself was suspicious, for most of the new men
+      the company got in were from &ldquo;somewhere East of Suez.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal decided to spar for a while. He did not know, he said, that conditions
+      were any worse here than elsewhere. You heard complaints, no matter what
+      sort of job you took.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Yes, said the stranger, but matters seemed to be especially bad in the
+      coal-camps. Probably it was because they were so remote, and the companies
+      owned everything in sight.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where have you been?&rdquo; asked Hal, thinking that this might trap him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the other answered straight; he had evidently worked in half a dozen
+      of the camps. In Mateo he had paid a dollar a month for wash-house
+      privileges, and there had never been any water after the first three men
+      had washed. There had been a common wash-tub for all the men, an
+      unthinkably filthy arrangement. At Pine Creek&mdash;Hal found the very
+      naming of the place made his heart stand still&mdash;at Pine Creek he had
+      boarded with his boss, but the roof of the building leaked, and everything
+      he owned was ruined; the boss would do nothing&mdash;yet when the boarder
+      moved, he lost his job. At East Ridge, this man and a couple of other
+      fellows had rented a two room cabin and started to board themselves, in
+      spite of the fact that they had to pay a dollar-fifty a sack for potatoes
+      and eleven cents a pound for sugar at the company store. They had
+      continued until they made the discovery that the water supply had run
+      short, and that the water for which they were paying the company a dollar
+      a month was being pumped from the bottom of the mine, where the filth of
+      mules and men was plentiful!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal forced himself to remain non-committal; he shook his head and said it
+      was too bad, but the workers always got it in the neck, and he didn't see
+      what they could do about it. So they strolled back to the camp, the
+      stranger evidently baffled, and Hal, for his part, feeling like the reader
+      of a detective story at the end of the first chapter. Was this young man
+      the murderer, or was he the hero? One would have to read on in the book to
+      find out!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 26.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal kept his eye upon his new acquaintance, and perceived that he was
+      talking with others. Before long the man tackled Old Mike; and Mike of
+      course could not refuse an invitation to grumble, though it came from the
+      devil himself. Hal decided that something must be done about it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He consulted his friend Jerry, who, being a radical, might have some
+      touch-stone by which to test the stranger. Jerry sought him out at
+      noon-time, and came back and reported that he was as much in the dark as
+      Hal. Either the man was an agitator, seeking to &ldquo;start something,&rdquo; or else
+      he was a detective sent in by the company. There was only one way to find
+      out&mdash;which was for some one to talk freely with him, and see what
+      happened to that person!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After some hesitation, Hal decided that he would be the victim. It
+      rewakened his love of adventure, which digging in a coal-mine had subdued
+      in him. The mysterious stranger was a new sort of miner, digging into the
+      souls of men; Hal would countermine him, and perhaps blow him up. He could
+      afford the experiment better than some others&mdash;better, for example,
+      than little Mrs. David, who had already taken the stranger into her home,
+      and revealed to him the fact that her husband had been a member of the
+      most revolutionary of all miners' organisations, the South Wales
+      Federation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So next Sunday Hal invited the stranger for another walk. The man showed
+      reluctance&mdash;until Hal said that he wanted to talk to him. As they
+      walked up the canyon, Hal began, &ldquo;I've been thinking about what you said
+      of conditions in these camps, and I've concluded it would be a good thing
+      if we had a little shaking up here in North Valley.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is that so?&rdquo; said the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;When I first came here, I used to think the men were grouchy. But now
+      I've had a chance to see for myself, and I don't believe anybody gets a
+      square deal. For one thing, nobody gets full weight in these mines&mdash;at
+      least not unless he's some favourite of the boss. I'm sure of it, for I've
+      tried all sorts of experiments with my partner. We've loaded a car extra
+      light, and got eighteen hundredweight, and then we've loaded one high and
+      solid, so that we'd know it had twice as much in it&mdash;but all we ever
+      got was twenty-two and twenty-three. There's just no way you can get over
+      that&mdash;though everybody knows those big cars can be made to hold two
+      or three tons.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, I suppose they might,&rdquo; said the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And if you get the smallest piece of rock in, you get a 'double-O,' sure
+      as fate; and sometimes they say you got rock in when you didn't. There's
+      no law to make them prove it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, I suppose not.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What it comes to is simply this&mdash;they make you think they are paying
+      fifty-five a ton, but they've secretly cut you down to thirty-five. And
+      yesterday at the company-store I paid a dollar and a half for a pair of
+      blue overalls that I'd priced in Pedro for sixty cents.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said the other, &ldquo;the company has to haul them up here, you know!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So, gradually, Hal made the discovery that the tables were turned&mdash;the
+      mysterious personage was now occupied in holding <i>him</i> at arm's
+      length! For some reason, Hal's sudden interest in industrial justice had
+      failed to make an impression.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So his career as a detective came to an inglorious end. &ldquo;Say, man!&rdquo; he
+      exclaimed &ldquo;What's your game, anyhow?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Game?&rdquo; said the other, quietly. &ldquo;How do you mean?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I mean, what are you here for?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm here for two dollars a day&mdash;the same as you, I guess.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal began to laugh. &ldquo;You and I are like a couple of submarines, trying to
+      find each other under water. I think we'd better come to the surface to do
+      our fighting.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other considered the simile, and seemed to like it. &ldquo;You come first,&rdquo;
+       said he. But he did not smile. His quiet blue eyes were fixed on Hal with
+      deadly seriousness.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said Hal; &ldquo;my story isn't very thrilling. I'm not an escaped
+      convict, I'm not a company spy, as you may be thinking. Nor am I a
+      'natural born' coal-miner. I happen to have a brother and some friends at
+      home who think they know about the coal-industry, and it got on my nerves,
+      and I came to see for myself. That's all, except that I've found things
+      interesting, and want to stay on a while, so I hope you aren't a 'dick'!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other walked in silence, weighing Hal's words. &ldquo;That's not exactly
+      what you'd call a usual story,&rdquo; he remarked, at last.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know,&rdquo; replied Hal. &ldquo;The best I can say for it is that it's true.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said the stranger, &ldquo;I'll take a chance on it. I have to trust
+      somebody, if I'm ever to get anywhere. I picked you out because I liked
+      your face.&rdquo; He gave Hal another searching look as he walked. &ldquo;Your smile
+      isn't that of a cheat. But you're young&mdash;so let me remind you of the
+      importance of secrecy in this place.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll keep mum,&rdquo; said Hal; and the stranger opened a flap inside his
+      shirt, and drew out a letter which certified him to be Thomas Olson, an
+      organiser for the United Mine-Workers, the great national union of the
+      coal-miners!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 27.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal was so startled by this discovery that he stopped in his tracks and
+      gazed at the man. He had heard a lot about &ldquo;trouble-makers&rdquo; in the camps,
+      but so far the only kind he had seen were those hired by the company to
+      make trouble for the men. But now, here was a union organiser! Jerry had
+      suggested the possibility, but Hal had not thought of it seriously; an
+      organiser was a mythological creature, whispered about by the miners,
+      cursed by the company and its servants, and by Hal's friends at home. An
+      incendiary, a fire-brand, a loudmouthed, irresponsible person, stirring up
+      blind and dangerous passions! Having heard such things all his life, Hal's
+      first impulse was of distrust. He felt like the one-legged old switchman
+      who had given him a place to sleep, after his beating at Pine Creek, and
+      who had said, &ldquo;Don't you talk no union business to me!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Seeing Hal's emotion, the organiser gave an uneasy laugh. &ldquo;While you're
+      hoping I'm not a 'dick,' I trust you understand I'm hoping <i>you're</i>
+      not one.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal's answer was to the point. &ldquo;I was taken for an organiser once,&rdquo; he
+      said, and his hands sought the seat of his ancient bruises.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The other laughed. &ldquo;You got off with a beating? You were lucky. Down in
+      Alabama, not so long ago, they tarred and feathered one of us.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Dismay came upon Hal's face; but after a moment he too began to laugh. &ldquo;I
+      was just thinking about my brother and his friends&mdash;what they'd have
+      said if I'd come home from Pine Creek in a coat of tar and feathers!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Possibly,&rdquo; ventured the other, &ldquo;they'd have said you got what you
+      deserved.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, that seems to be their attitude. That's the rule they apply to all
+      the world&mdash;if anything goes wrong with you, it must be your own
+      fault. It's a land of equal opportunity.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you'll notice,&rdquo; said the organiser, &ldquo;that the more privileges people
+      have had, the more boldly they talk that way.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal began to feel a sense of comradeship with this stranger, who was able
+      to understand one's family troubles! It had been a long time since Hal had
+      talked with any one from the outside world, and he found it a relief to
+      his mind. He remembered how, after he had got his beating, he had lain out
+      in the rain and congratulated himself that he was not what the guards had
+      taken him for. Now he was curious about the psychology of an organiser. A
+      man must have strong convictions to follow that occupation!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He made the remark, and the other answered, &ldquo;You can have my pay any time
+      you'll do my work. But let me tell you, too, it isn't being beaten and
+      kicked out of camp that bothers one most; it isn't the camp-marshal and
+      the spy and the blacklist. Your worst troubles are inside the heads of the
+      fellows you're trying to help! Have you ever thought what it would mean to
+      try to explain things to men who speak twenty different languages?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, of course,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;I wonder how you ever get a start.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, you look for an interpreter&mdash;and maybe he's a company spy. Or
+      maybe the first man you try to convert reports you to the boss. For, of
+      course, some of the men are cowards, and some of them are crooks; they'll
+      sell out the next fellow for a better 'place'&mdash;maybe for a glass of
+      beer.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That must have a tendency to weaken your convictions,&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said the other, in a matter of fact tone. &ldquo;It's hard, but one can't
+      blame the poor devils. They're ignorant&mdash;kept so deliberately. The
+      bosses bring them here, and have a regular system to keep them from
+      getting together. And of course these European peoples have their old
+      prejudices&mdash;national prejudices, religious prejudices, that keep them
+      apart. You see two fellows, one you think is exactly as miserable as the
+      other&mdash;but you find him despising the other, because back home he was
+      the other's superior. So they play into the bosses' hands.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 28.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      They had come to a remote place in the canyon, and found themselves seats
+      on a flat rock, where they could talk in comfort.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Put yourself in their place,&rdquo; said the organiser. &ldquo;They're in a strange
+      country, and one person tells them one thing, and another tells them
+      something else. The masters and their agents say: 'Don't trust the union
+      agitators. They're a lot of grafters, they live easy and don't have to
+      work. They take your money and call you out on strike, and you lose your
+      jobs and your home; they sell you out, maybe, and go on to some other
+      place to repeat the same trick.' And the workers think maybe that's true;
+      they haven't the wit to see that if the union leaders are corrupt, it must
+      be because the bosses are buying them. So you see, they're completely
+      bedevilled; they don't know which way to turn.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The man was speaking quietly, but there was a little glow of excitement in
+      his face. &ldquo;The company is forever repeating that these people are
+      satisfied&mdash;that it's we who are stirring them up. But are they
+      satisfied? You've been here long enough to know!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's no need to discuss that,&rdquo; Hal answered. &ldquo;Of course they're not
+      satisfied! They've seemed to me like a lot of children crying in the dark&mdash;not
+      knowing what's the matter with them, or who's to blame, or where to turn
+      for help.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal found himself losing his distrust of this man. He did not correspond
+      in any way to Hal's imaginary picture of a union organiser; he was a
+      blue-eyed, clean-looking young American, and instead of being wild and
+      loud-mouthed, he seemed rather wistful. He had indignation, of course, but
+      it did not take the form of ranting or florid eloquence; and this
+      repression was making its appeal to Hal, who, in spite of his democratic
+      impulses, had the habits of thought of a class which shrinks from
+      noisiness and over-emphasis.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Also Hal was interested in his attitude towards the weaknesses of
+      working-people. The &ldquo;inertia&rdquo; of the poor, which caused so many people to
+      despair for them&mdash;their cowardice and instability&mdash;these were
+      things about which Hal had heard all his life. &ldquo;You can't help them,&rdquo;
+       people would say. &ldquo;They're dirty and lazy, they drink and shirk, they
+      betray each other. They've always been like that.&rdquo; The idea would be
+      summed up in a formula: &ldquo;You can't change human nature!&rdquo; Even Mary Burke,
+      herself one of the working-class, spoke of the workers in this angry and
+      scornful way. But Olson had faith in their manhood, and went ahead to
+      awaken and teach them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To his mind the path was clear and straight. &ldquo;They must be taught the
+      lesson of solidarity. As individuals, they're helpless in the power of the
+      great corporations; but if they stand together, if they sell their labour
+      as a unit&mdash;then they really count for something.&rdquo; He paused, and
+      looked at the other inquiringly. &ldquo;How do you feel about unions?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal answered, &ldquo;They're one of the things I want to find out about. You
+      hear this and that&mdash;there's so much prejudice on each side. I want to
+      help the under dog, but I want to be sure of the right way.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What other way is there?&rdquo; And Olson paused. &ldquo;To appeal to the tender
+      hearts of the owners?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not exactly; but mightn't one appeal to the world in general&mdash;to
+      public opinion? I was brought up an American, and learned to believe in my
+      country. I can't think but there's some way to get justice. Maybe if the
+      men were to go into politics&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Politics?&rdquo; cried Olson. &ldquo;My God! How long have you been in this place?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Only a couple of months.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, stay till November, and see what they do with the ballot-boxes in
+      these camps!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can imagine, of course&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, you can't. Any more than you could imagine the graft and the misery!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But if the men should take to voting together&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How <i>can</i> they take to voting together&mdash;when any one who
+      mentions the idea goes down the canyon? Why, you can't even get
+      naturalisation papers, unless you're a company man; they won't register
+      you, unless the boss gives you an O. K. How are you going to make a start,
+      unless you have a union?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      It sounded reasonable, Hal had to admit; but he thought of the stories he
+      had heard about &ldquo;walking delegates,&rdquo; all the dreadful consequences of
+      &ldquo;union domination.&rdquo; He had not meant to go in for unionism!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Olson was continuing. &ldquo;We've had laws passed, a whole raft of laws about
+      coal-mining&mdash;the eight-hour law, the anti-scrip law, the
+      company-store law, the mine-sprinkling law, the check-weighman law. What
+      difference has it made in North Valley that there are such laws on the
+      statute-books? Would you ever even know about them?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, now!&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;If you put it that way&mdash;if your movement is to
+      have the law enforced&mdash;I'm with you!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But how will you get the law enforced, except by a union? No individual
+      man can do it&mdash;it's 'down the canyon' with him if he mentions the
+      law. In Western City our union people go to the state officials, but they
+      never do anything&mdash;and why? They know we haven't got the men behind
+      us! It's the same with the politicians as it is with the bosses&mdash;the
+      union is the thing that counts!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal found this an entirely new argument. &ldquo;People don't realise that idea&mdash;that
+      men have to be organised to get their <i>legal</i> rights.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And the other threw up his hands with a comical gesture. &ldquo;My God! If you
+      want to make a list of the things that people don't realise about us
+      miners!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 29.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Olson was eager to win Hal, and went on to tell all the secrets of his
+      work. He sought men who believed in unions, and were willing to take the
+      risk of trying to convert others. In each place he visited he would get a
+      group together, and would arrange some way to communicate with them after
+      he left, smuggling in propaganda literature for distribution. So there
+      would be the nucleus of an organisation. In a year or two they would have
+      such a nucleus in every camp, and then they would be ready to come into
+      the open, calling meetings in the towns, and in places in the canyons to
+      which the miners would flock. So the flame of revolt would leap up; men
+      would join the movement faster than the companies could get rid of them,
+      and they would make a demand for their rights, backed with the threat of a
+      strike throughout the entire district.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You understand,&rdquo; added Olson, &ldquo;we have a legal right to organise&mdash;even
+      though the bosses disapprove. You need not stand back on that score.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Hal; &ldquo;but it occurs to me that as a matter of tactics, it
+      would be better here in North Valley if you chose some issue there's less
+      controversy about; if, for instance, you'd concentrate on getting a
+      check-weighman.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other smiled. &ldquo;We'd have to have a union to back the demand; so what's
+      the difference?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; argued Hal, &ldquo;there are prejudices to be reckoned with. Some people
+      don't like the idea of a union&mdash;they think it means tyranny and
+      violence&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The organiser laughed. &ldquo;You aren't convinced but that it does yourself,
+      are you! Well, all I can tell you is, if you want to tackle the job of
+      getting a check-weighman in North Valley, I'll not stand in your way!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Here was an idea&mdash;a real idea! Life had grown dull for Hal since he
+      had become a buddy, working in a place five feet high. This would promise
+      livelier times!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But was it a thing he wanted to do? So far he had been an observer of
+      conditions in this coal-camp. He had convinced himself that conditions
+      were cruel, and he had pretty well convinced himself that the cruelty was
+      needless and deliberate. But when it came to a question of an action to be
+      taken&mdash;then he hesitated, and old prejudices and fears made
+      themselves heard. He had been told that labour was &ldquo;turbulent&rdquo; and &ldquo;lazy,&rdquo;
+       that it had to be &ldquo;ruled with a strong hand&rdquo;; now, was he willing to
+      weaken the strong hand, to ally himself with those who &ldquo;fomented labour
+      troubles&rdquo;?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But this would not be the same thing, he told himself. This suggestion of
+      Olson's was different from trade unionism, which might be a demoralising
+      force, leading the workers from one demand to another, until they were
+      seeking to &ldquo;dominate industry.&rdquo; This would be merely an appeal to the law,
+      a test of that honesty and fair dealing to which the company everywhere
+      laid claim. If, as the bosses proclaimed, the workers were fully protected
+      by the check-weighman law; if, as all the world was made to believe, the
+      reason there was no check-weighman was simply because the men did not ask
+      for one&mdash;why, then there would be no harm done. If on the other hand
+      a demand for a right that was not merely a legal right, but a moral right
+      as well&mdash;if that were taken by the bosses as an act of rebellion
+      against the company&mdash;well, Hal would understand a little more about
+      the &ldquo;turbulence&rdquo; of labour! If, as Old Mike and Johannson and the rest
+      maintained, the bosses would &ldquo;make your life one damn misery&rdquo; till you
+      left&mdash;then he would be ready to make a few damn miseries for the
+      bosses in return!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It would be an adventure,&rdquo; said Hal, suddenly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And the other laughed. &ldquo;It would that!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You're thinking I'll have another Pine Creek experience,&rdquo; Hal added.
+      &ldquo;Well, maybe so&mdash;but I have to try things out for myself. You see,
+      I've got a brother at home, and when I think about going in for
+      revolution, I have imaginary arguments with him. I want to be able to say
+      'I didn't swallow anybody's theories; I tried it for myself, and this is
+      what happened.'&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; replied the organiser, &ldquo;that's all right. But while you're seeking
+      education for yourself and your brother, don't forget that I've already
+      got my education. I <i>know</i> what happens to men who ask for a
+      check-weighman, and I can't afford to sacrifice myself proving it again.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I never asked you to,&rdquo; laughed Hal. &ldquo;If I won't join your movement, I
+      can't expect you to join mine! But if I can find a few men who are willing
+      to take the risk of making a demand for a check-weighman&mdash;that won't
+      hurt your work, will it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure not!&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;Just the opposite&mdash;it'll give me an
+      object lesson to point to. There are men here who don't even know they've
+      a legal right to a check-weighman. There are others who know they don't
+      get their weights, but aren't sure its the company that's cheating them.
+      If the bosses should refuse to let any one inspect the weights, if they
+      should go further and fire the men who ask it&mdash;well, there'll be
+      plenty of recruits for my union local!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;I'm not setting out to recruit your union local,
+      but if the company wants to recruit it, that's the company's affair!&rdquo; And
+      on this bargain the two shook hands.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br><br>
+    </p>
+    <hr>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br><br><br><br>
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      BOOK TWO &mdash; THE SERFS OF KING COAL
+    </h2>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 1.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal was now started upon a new career, more full of excitements than that
+      of stableman or buddy, with perils greater than those of falling rock or
+      the hind feet of mules in the stomach. The inertia which overwork produces
+      had not had time to become a disease with him; youth was on his side, with
+      its zest for more and yet more experience. He found it thrilling to be a
+      conspirator, to carry about with him secrets as dark and mysterious as the
+      passages of the mine in which he worked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Jerry Minetti, the first person he told of Tom Olson's purpose in
+      North Valley, was older in such thrills. The care-free look which Jerry
+      was accustomed to wear vanished abruptly, and fear came into his eyes. &ldquo;I
+      know it come some day,&rdquo; he exclaimed&mdash;&ldquo;trouble for me and Rosa!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How do you mean?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We get into it&mdash;get in sure. I say Rosa, 'Call yourself Socialist&mdash;what
+      good that do? No help any. No use to vote here&mdash;they don't count no
+      Socialist vote, only for joke!' I say, 'Got to have union. Got to strike!'
+      But Rosa say, 'Wait little bit. Save little bit money, let children grow
+      up. Then we help, no care if we no got any home.'&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But we're not going to start a union now!&rdquo; objected Hal. &ldquo;I have another
+      plan for the present.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Jerry, however, was not to be put at ease. &ldquo;No can wait!&rdquo; he declared.
+      &ldquo;Men no stand it! I say, 'It come some day quick&mdash;like blow-up in
+      mine! Somebody start fight, everybody fight.'&rdquo; And Jerry looked at Rosa,
+      who sat with her black eyes fixed anxiously upon her husband. &ldquo;We get into
+      it,&rdquo; he said; and Hal saw their eyes turn to the room where Little Jerry
+      and the baby were sleeping.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal said nothing&mdash;he was beginning to understand the meaning of
+      rebellion to such people. He watched with curiosity and pity the struggle
+      that went on; a struggle as old as the soul of man&mdash;between the voice
+      of self-interest, of comfort and prudence, and the call of duty, of the
+      ideal. No trumpet sounded for this conflict, only the still small voice
+      within.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After a while Jerry asked what it was Hal and Olson had planned; and Hal
+      explained that he wanted to make a test of the company's attitude toward
+      the check-weighman law. Hal thought it a fine scheme; what did Jerry
+      think?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Jerry smiled sadly. &ldquo;Yes, fine scheme for young feller&mdash;no got
+      family!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's all right,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;I'll take the job&mdash;I'll be the
+      check-weighman.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Got to have committee,&rdquo; said Jerry&mdash;&ldquo;committee go see boss.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right, but we'll get young fellows for that too&mdash;men who have no
+      families. Some of the fellows who live in the chicken-coops in
+      shanty-town. They won't care what happens to them.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But Jerry would not share Hal's smile. &ldquo;No got sense 'nough, them fellers.
+      Take sense to stick together.&rdquo; He explained that they would need a group
+      of men to stand back of the committee; such a group would have to be
+      organised, to hold meetings in secret&mdash;it would be practically the
+      same thing as a union, would be so regarded by the bosses and their
+      spotters. And no organisation of any sort was permitted in the camps.
+      There had been some Serbians who had wanted to belong to a fraternal order
+      back in their home country, but even that had been forbidden. If you
+      wanted to insure your life or your health, the company would attend to it&mdash;and
+      get the profit from it. For that matter, you could not even buy a
+      post-office money-order, to send funds back to the old country; the
+      post-office clerk, who was at the same time a clerk in the company-store,
+      would sell you some sort of a store-draft.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So Hal was facing the very difficulties about which Olson had warned him.
+      The first of them was Jerry's fear. Yet Hal knew that Jerry was no
+      &ldquo;coward&rdquo;; if any man had a contempt for Jerry's attitude, it was because
+      he had never been in Jerry's place!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All I'll ask of you now is advice,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;Give me the names of some
+      young fellows who are trustworthy, and I'll get their help without anybody
+      suspecting you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You my boarder!&rdquo; was Jerry's reply to this.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So again Hal was &ldquo;up against it.&rdquo; &ldquo;You mean that would get you into
+      trouble?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure! They know we talk. They know I talk Socialism, anyhow. They fire me
+      sure!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But how about your cousin, the pit-boss in Number One?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He no help. May be get fired himself. Say damn fool&mdash;board
+      check-weighman!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;Then I'll move away now, before it's too late. You
+      can say I was a trouble-maker, and you turned me off.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The Minettis sat gazing at each other&mdash;a mournful pair. They hated to
+      lose their boarder, who was such good company, and paid them such good
+      money. As for Hal, he felt nearly as bad, for he liked Jerry and his
+      girl-wife, and Little Jerry&mdash;even the black-eyed baby, who made so
+      much noise and interrupted conversation!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No!&rdquo; said Jerry. &ldquo;I no run, away! I do my share!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's all right,&rdquo; replied Hal. &ldquo;You do your share&mdash;but not just
+      yet. You stay on in the camp and help Olson after I'm fired. We don't want
+      the best men put out at once.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So, after further argument, it was decided, and Hal saw little Rosa sink
+      back in her chair and draw a deep breath of relief. The time for martyrdom
+      was put off; her little three-roomed cabin, her furniture and her shining
+      pans and her pretty white lace curtains, might be hers for a few weeks
+      longer!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 2.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal went back to Reminitsky's boarding-house; a heavy sacrifice, but not
+      without its compensations, because it gave him more chance to talk with
+      the men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He and Jerry made up a list of those who could be trusted with the secret:
+      the list beginning with the name of Mike Sikoria. To be put on a
+      committee, and sent to interview a boss, would appeal to Old Mike as the
+      purpose for which he had been put upon earth! But they would not tell him
+      about it until the last minute, for fear lest in his excitement he might
+      shout out the announcement the next time he lost one of his cars.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a young Bulgarian miner named Wresmak who worked near Hal. The
+      road into this man's room ran up an incline, and he had hardly been able
+      to push his &ldquo;empties&rdquo; up the grade. While he was sweating and straining at
+      the task, Alec Stone had come along, and having a giant's contempt for
+      physical weakness, began to cuff him. The man raised his arm&mdash;whether
+      in offence or to ward off the blow, no one could be sure; but Stone fell
+      upon him and kicked him all the way down the passage, pouring out upon him
+      furious curses. Now the man was in another room, where he had taken out
+      over forty car-loads of rock, and been allowed only three dollars for it.
+      No one who watched his face when the pit-boss passed would doubt that this
+      man would be ready to take his chances in a movement of protest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then there was a man whom Jerry knew, who had just come out of the
+      hospital, after contact with the butt-end of the camp-marshal's revolver.
+      This was a Pole, who unfortunately did not know a word of English; but
+      Olson, the organiser, had got into touch with another Pole, who spoke a
+      little English, and would pass the word on to his fellow-countryman. Also
+      there was a young Italian, Rovetta, whom Jerry knew and whose loyalty he
+      could vouch for.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was another person Hal thought of&mdash;Mary Burke. He had been
+      deliberately avoiding her of late; it seemed the one safe thing to do&mdash;although
+      it seemed also a cruel thing, and left his mind ill at ease. He went over
+      and over what had happened. How had the trouble got started? It is a man's
+      duty in such cases to take the blame upon himself; but a man does not like
+      to take blame upon himself, and he tries to make it as light as possible.
+      Should Hal say that it was because he had been too officious that night in
+      helping Mary where the path was rough? She had not actually needed such
+      help, she was quite as capable on her feet as he! But he had really gone
+      farther than that&mdash;he had had a definite sentimental impulse; and he
+      had been a cad&mdash;he should have known all along that all this girl's
+      discontent, all the longing of her starved soul, would become centred upon
+      him, who was so &ldquo;different,&rdquo; who had had opportunity, who made her think
+      of the &ldquo;poetry-books&rdquo;!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But here suddenly seemed a solution of the difficulty; here was a new
+      interest for Mary, a safe channel in which her emotions could run. A woman
+      could not serve on a miners' committee, but she would be a good adviser,
+      and her sharp tongue would be a weapon to drive others into line. Being
+      aflame with this enterprise, Hal became impersonal, man-fashion&mdash;and
+      so fell into another sentimental trap! He did not stop to think that
+      Mary's interest in the check-weighman movement might be conditioned in
+      part by a desire to see more of him; still less did it occur to him that
+      he might be glad for a pretext to see Mary.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      No, he was picturing her in a new role, an activity more inspiriting than
+      cooking and nursing. His &ldquo;poetry-book&rdquo; imagination took fire; he gave her
+      a hope and a purpose, a pathway with a goal at the end. Had there not been
+      women leaders in every great proletarian movement?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He went to call on her, and met her at the door of her cabin. &ldquo;'Tis a
+      cheerin' sight to see ye, Joe Smith!&rdquo; she said. And she looked him in the
+      eye and smiled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The same to you, Mary Burke!&rdquo; he answered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She was game, he saw; she was going to be a &ldquo;good sport.&rdquo; But he noticed
+      that she was paler than when he had seen her last. Could it be that these
+      gorgeous Irish complexions ever faded? He thought that she was thinner
+      too; the old blue calico seemed less tight upon her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal plunged into his theme. &ldquo;Mary, I had a vision of you to-day!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of me, lad? What's that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He laughed. &ldquo;I saw you with a glory in your face, and your hair shining
+      like a crown of gold. You were mounted on a snow-white horse, and wore a
+      robe of white, soft and lustrous&mdash;like Joan of Arc, or a leader in a
+      suffrage parade. You were riding at the head of a host&mdash;I've still
+      got the music in my ears, Mary!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Go on with ye, lad&mdash;what's all this about?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Come in and I'll tell you,&rdquo; he said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So they went into the bare kitchen, and sat in bare wooden chairs&mdash;Mary
+      folding her hands in her lap like a child who has been promised a
+      fairy-story. &ldquo;Now hurry,&rdquo; said she. &ldquo;I want to know about this new dress
+      ye're givin' me. Are ye tired of me old calico?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He joined in her smile. &ldquo;This is a dress you will weave for yourself,
+      Mary, out of the finest threads of your own nature&mdash;out of courage
+      and devotion and self-sacrifice.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure, 'tis the poetry-book again! But what is it ye're really meanin'?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He looked about him. &ldquo;Is anybody here?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nobody.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But instinctively he lowered his voice as he told his story. There was an
+      organiser of the &ldquo;big union&rdquo; in the camp, and he was going to rouse the
+      slaves to protest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The laughter went out of Mary's face. &ldquo;Oh! It's that!&rdquo; she said, in a flat
+      tone. The vision of the snow-white horse and the soft and lustrous robe
+      was gone. &ldquo;Ye can never do anything of that sort here!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why not?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;'Tis the men in this place. Don't ye remember what I told ye at Mr.
+      Rafferty's? They're cowards!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, Mary, it's easy to say that. But it's not so pleasant being turned
+      out of your home&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do ye have to tell me that?&rdquo; she cried, with sudden passion. &ldquo;Haven't I
+      seen that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, Mary; but I want to <i>do</i> something&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, and haven't I wanted to do something? Sure, I've wanted to bite off
+      the noses of the bosses!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; he laughed, &ldquo;we'll make that a part of our programme.&rdquo; But Mary
+      was not to be lured into cheerfulness; her mood was so full of pain and
+      bewilderment that he had an impulse to reach out and take her hand again.
+      But he checked that; he had come to divert her energies into a safe
+      channel!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We must waken these men to resistance, Mary!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye can't do it, Joe&mdash;not the English-speakin' men. The Greeks and
+      the Bulgars, maybe&mdash;they're fightin' at home, and they might fight
+      here. But the Irish never&mdash;never! Them that had any backbone went out
+      long ago. Them that stayed has been made into boot-licks. I know them,
+      every man of them. They grumble, and curse the boss, but then they think
+      of the blacklist, and they go back and cringe at his feet.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What such men want&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;'Tis booze they want, and carousin' with the rotten women in the
+      coal-towns, and sittin' up all night winnin' each other's money with a
+      greasy pack of cards! They take their pleasure where they find it, and
+      'tis nothin' better they want.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then, Mary, if that's so, don't you see it's all the more reason for
+      trying to teach them? If not for their own sakes, for the sake of their
+      children! The children, mustn't grow up like that! They are learning
+      English, at least&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Mary gave a scornful laugh. &ldquo;Have ye been up to that school?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He answered no; and she told him there were a hundred and twenty children
+      packed in one room, three in a seat, and solid all round the wall. She
+      went on, with swift anger&mdash;the school was supposed to be paid for out
+      of taxes, but as nobody owned any property but the company, it was all in
+      the company's hands. The school-board consisted of Mr. Cartwright, the
+      mine-superintendent, and Jake Predovich, a clerk in the store, and the
+      preacher, the Reverend Spraggs. Old Spraggs would bump his nose on the
+      floor if the &ldquo;super&rdquo; told him to.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, now!&rdquo; said Hal, laughing. &ldquo;You're down on him because his
+      grandfather was an Orangeman!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 3.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Mary Burke had been suckled upon despair, and the poison of it was deep in
+      her blood. Hal began to realise that it would be as hard to give her a
+      hope as to rouse the workers whom she despised. She was brave enough, no
+      doubt, but how could he persuade her to be brave for men who had no
+      courage for themselves?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mary,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;in your heart you don't really hate these people. You
+      know how they suffer, you pity them for it. You give their children your
+      last cent when they need it&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, lad!&rdquo; she cried, and he saw tears suddenly spring into her eyes.
+      &ldquo;'Tis because I love them so that I hate them! Sometimes 'tis the bosses I
+      would murder, sometimes 'tis the men. What is it ye're wantin' me to do?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And then, even before he could answer, she began to run over the list of
+      her acquaintances in the camp. Yes, there was one man Hal ought to talk
+      to; he would be too old to join them, but his advice would be invaluable,
+      and they could be sure he would never betray them. That was old John
+      Edstrom, a Swede from Minnesota, who had worked in this district from the
+      time the mines had first started up. He had been active in the great
+      strike eight years ago, and had been black-listed, his four sons with him.
+      The sons were scattered now to the four parts of the world, but the father
+      had stayed nearby, working as a ranch-hand and railroad labourer, until a
+      couple of years ago, during a rush season, he had got a chance to come
+      back into the mines.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He was old, old, declared Mary&mdash;must be sixty. And when Hal remarked
+      that that did not sound so frightfully aged, she answered that one seldom
+      heard of a man being able to work in a coal-mine at that age; in fact,
+      there were not many who managed to live to that age. Edstrom's wife was
+      dying now, and he was having a hard time.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;'Twould not be fair to let such an old gentleman lose his job,&rdquo; said
+      Mary. &ldquo;But at least he could give ye good advice.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So that evening the two of them went to call on John Edstrom, in a tiny
+      unpainted cabin in &ldquo;shanty-town,&rdquo; with a bare earth floor, and a half
+      partition of rough boards to hide his dying wife from his callers. The
+      woman's trouble was cancer, and this made calling a trying matter, for
+      there was a fearful odour in the place. For some time it was impossible
+      for Hal to force himself to think about anything else; but finally he
+      overcame this weakness, telling himself that this was a war, and that a
+      man must be ready for the hospital as well as for the parade-ground.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He looked about, and saw that the cracks of Edstrom's cabin were stopped
+      with rags, and the broken windowpanes mended with brown paper. The old man
+      had evidently made an effort to keep the place neat, and Hal noticed a row
+      of books on a shelf. Because it was cold in these mountain regions at
+      night, even in September, the old man had a fire in the little cast-iron
+      stove, and sat huddled by it. There were only a few hairs left on his
+      head, and his scrubby beard was as white as anything could be in a
+      coal-camp. The first impression of his face was of its pallor, and then of
+      the benevolence in the faded dark eyes; also his voice was gentle, like a
+      caress. He rose to greet his visitors, and put out to Hal a trembling
+      hand, which resembled the paw of some animal, horny and misshapen. He made
+      a move to draw up a bench, and apologised for his unskillful
+      house-keeping. It occurred to Hal that a man might be able to work in a
+      coal-mine at sixty, and not be able to work in it at sixty-one.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had requested Mary to say nothing about his purpose, until after he
+      had a chance to judge for himself. So now the girl inquired about Mrs.
+      Edstrom. There was no news, the man answered; she was lying in a stupor,
+      as usual. Dr. Barrett had come again, but all he could do was to give her
+      morphine. No one could do any more, the doctor declared.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure, he'd not know it if they could!&rdquo; sniffed Mary.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He's not such a bad one, when he's sober,&rdquo; said Edstrom, patiently.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And how often is that?&rdquo; sniffed Mary again. She added, by way of
+      explanation to Hal, &ldquo;He's a cousin of the super.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Things were better here than in some places, said Edstrom. At Harvey's
+      Run, where he had worked, a man had got his eye hurt, and had lost it
+      through the doctor's instrument slipping; broken arms and legs had been
+      set wrong, and either the men had to go through life as cripples, or go
+      elsewhere and have the bones re-broken and reset, It was like everything
+      else&mdash;the doctor was a part of the company machine, and if you had
+      too much to say about him, it was down the canyon with you. You not only
+      had a dollar a month taken out of your pay, but if you were injured, and
+      he came to attend you, he would charge whatever extra he pleased.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you have to pay?&rdquo; asked Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They take it off your account,&rdquo; said the old man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sometimes they take it when he's done nothin' at all,&rdquo; added Mary. &ldquo;They
+      charged Mrs. Zamboni twenty-five dollars for her last baby&mdash;and Dr.
+      Barrett never set foot across her door till three hours after the baby was
+      in my arms!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 4.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      The talk went on. Wishing to draw the old man out, Hal spoke of various
+      troubles of the miners, and at last he suggested that the remedy might be
+      found in a union. Edstrom's dark eyes studied him, and then turned to
+      Mary. &ldquo;Joe's all right,&rdquo; said the girl, quickly. &ldquo;You can trust him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Edstrom made no direct answer to this, but remarked that he had once been
+      in a strike. He was a marked man, now, and could only stay in the camp so
+      long as he attended strictly to his own affairs. The part he had played in
+      the big strike had never been forgotten; the bosses had let him work
+      again, partly because they had needed him at a rush time, and partly
+      because the pit-boss happened to be a personal friend.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tell him about the big strike,&rdquo; said Mary. &ldquo;He's new in this district.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The old man had apparently accepted Mary's word for Hal's good faith, for
+      he began to narrate those terrible events which were a whispered tradition
+      of the camps. There had been a mighty effort of ten thousand slaves for
+      freedom; and it had been crushed with utter ruthlessness. Ever since these
+      mines had been started, the operators had controlled the local powers of
+      government, and now, in the emergency, they had brought in the state
+      militia as well, and used it frankly to drive the strikers back to work.
+      They had seized the leaders and active men, and thrown them into jail
+      without trial or charges; when the jails would hold no more, they kept
+      some two hundred in an open stockade, called a &ldquo;bull-pen,&rdquo; and finally
+      they loaded them into freight-cars, took them at night out of the state,
+      and dumped them off in the midst of the desert without food or water.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      John Edstrom had been one of these men. He told how one of his sons had
+      been beaten and severely injured in jail, and how another had been kept
+      for weeks in a damp cellar, so that he had come out crippled with
+      rheumatism for life. The officers of the state militia had done these
+      things; and when some of the local authorities were moved to protest, the
+      militia had arrested them&mdash;even the judges of the civil courts had
+      been forbidden to sit, under threat of imprisonment. &ldquo;To hell with the
+      constitution!&rdquo; had been the word of the general in command; his
+      subordinate had made famous the saying, &ldquo;No habeas corpus; we'll give them
+      post-mortems!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom Olson had impressed Hal with his self-control, but this old man made
+      an even deeper impression upon him. As he listened, he became humble,
+      touched with awe. Incredible as it might seem, when John Edstrom talked
+      about his cruel experiences, it was without bitterness in his voice, and
+      apparently without any in his heart. Here, in the midst of want and
+      desolation, with his family broken and scattered, and the wolf of
+      starvation at his door, he could look back upon the past without hatred of
+      those who had ruined him. Nor was this because he was old and feeble, and
+      had lost the spirit of revolt; it was because he had studied economics,
+      and convinced himself that it was an evil system which blinded men's eyes
+      and poisoned their souls. A better day was coming, he said, when this evil
+      system would be changed, and it would be possible for men to be merciful
+      to one another.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At this point in the conversation, Mary Burke gave voice once more to her
+      corroding despair. How could things ever be changed? The bosses were
+      mean-hearted, and the men were cowards and traitors. That left nobody but
+      God to do the changing&mdash;and God had left things as they were for such
+      a long time!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal was interested to hear how Edstrom dealt with this attitude. &ldquo;Mary,&rdquo;
+       he said, &ldquo;did you ever read about ants in Africa?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said she.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They travel in long columns, millions and millions of them. And when they
+      come to a ditch, the front ones fall in, and more and more of them on top,
+      till they fill up the ditch, and the rest cross over. We are ants, Mary.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No matter how many go in,&rdquo; cried the girl, &ldquo;none will ever get across.
+      There's no bottom to the ditch!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He answered: &ldquo;That's more than any ant can know. Mary. All they know is to
+      go in. They cling to each other's bodies, even in death; they make a
+      bridge, and the rest go over.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll step one side!&rdquo; she declared, fiercely. &ldquo;I'll not throw meself
+      away.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You may step one side,&rdquo; answered the other&mdash;&ldquo;but you'll step back
+      into line again. I know you better than you know yourself, Mary.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was silence in the little cabin. The winds of an early fall shrilled
+      outside, and life suddenly seemed to Hal a stern and merciless thing. He
+      had thought in his youthful fervour it would be thrilling to be a
+      revolutionist; but to be an ant, one of millions and millions, to perish
+      in a bottomless ditch&mdash;that was something a man could hardly bring
+      himself to face! He looked at the bowed figure of this white haired
+      toiler, vague in the feeble lamplight, and found himself thinking of
+      Rembrandt's painting, the Visit of Emmaus: the ill-lighted room in the
+      dirty tavern, and the two ragged men, struck dumb by the glow of light
+      about the forehead of their table-companion. It was not fantastic to
+      imagine a glow of light about the forehead of this soft-voiced old man!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I never had any hope it would come in my time,&rdquo; the old man was saying
+      gently. &ldquo;I did use to hope my boys might see it&mdash;but now I'm not sure
+      even of that. But in all my life I never doubted that some day the
+      working-people will cross over to the promised land. They'll no longer be
+      slaves, and what they make won't be wasted by idlers. And take it from one
+      who knows, Mary&mdash;for a workingman or woman not to have that faith, is
+      to have lost the reason for living.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal decided that it would be safe to trust this man, and told him of his
+      check-weighman plan. &ldquo;We only want your advice,&rdquo; he explained, remembering
+      Mary's warning. &ldquo;Your sick wife&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But the old man answered, sadly, &ldquo;She's almost gone, and I'll soon be
+      following. What little strength I have left might as well be used for the
+      cause.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 5.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      This business of conspiracy was grimly real to men whose living came out
+      of coal; but Hal, even at the most serious moments, continued to find in
+      it the thrill of romance. He had read stories of revolutionists, and of
+      the police who hunted them. That such excitements were to be had in
+      Russia, he knew; but if any one had told him they could be had in his own
+      free America, within a few hours' journey of his home city and his
+      college-town, he could not have credited the statement.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The evening after his visit to Edstrom, Hal was stopped on the street by
+      his boss. Encountering him suddenly, Hal started, like a pick-pocket who
+      runs into a policeman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hello, kid,&rdquo; said the pit-boss.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hello, Mr. Stone,&rdquo; was the reply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I want to talk to you,&rdquo; said the boss.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right, sir.&rdquo; And then, under his breath, &ldquo;He's got me!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Come up to my house,&rdquo; said Stone; and Hal followed, feeling as if
+      hand-cuffs were already on his wrists.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Say,&rdquo; said the man, as they walked, &ldquo;I thought you were going to tell me
+      if you'd heard any talk.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I haven't heard any, sir.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; continued Stone, &ldquo;you want to get busy; there's sure to be kickers
+      in every coal-camp.&rdquo; And deep within, Hal drew a sigh of relief. It was a
+      false alarm!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They came to the boss's house, and he took a chair on the piazza and
+      motioned Hal to take another. They sat in semi-darkness, and Stone dropped
+      his voice as he began. &ldquo;What I want to talk to you about now is something
+      else&mdash;this election.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Election, sir?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Didn't you know there was one? The Congressman in this district died, and
+      there's a special election three weeks from next Tuesday.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see, sir.&rdquo; And Hal chuckled inwardly. He would get the information
+      which Tom Olson had recommended to him!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You ain't heard any talk about it?&rdquo; inquired the pit-boss.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nothing at all, sir. I never pay much attention to politics&mdash;it
+      ain't in my line.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, that's the way I like to hear a miner talk!&rdquo; said the pit-boss,
+      with heartiness. &ldquo;If they all had sense enough to leave politics to the
+      politicians, they'd be a sight better off. What they need is to tend to
+      their own jobs.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, sir,&rdquo; agreed Hal, meekly&mdash;&ldquo;like I had to tend to them mules, if
+      I didn't want to get the colic.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The boss smiled appreciatively. &ldquo;You've got more sense than most of 'em.
+      If you'll stand by me, there'll be a chance for you to move up in the
+      world.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thank you, Mr. Stone,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;Give me a chance.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well now, here's this election. Every year they send us a bunch of
+      campaign money to handle. A bit of it might come your way.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I could use it, I reckon,&rdquo; said Hal, brightening visibly. &ldquo;What is it you
+      want?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a pause, while Stone puffed on his pipe. He went on, in a
+      business-like manner. &ldquo;What I want is somebody to feel things out a bit,
+      and let me know the situation. I thought it better not to use the men that
+      generally work for me, but somebody that wouldn't be suspected. Down in
+      Sheridan and Pedro they say the Democrats are making a big stir, and the
+      company's worried. I suppose you know the 'G. F. C.' is Republican.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I've heard so.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You might think a congressman don't have much to do with us, way off in
+      Washington; but it has a bad effect to have him campaigning, telling the
+      men the company's abusing them. So I'd like you just to kind o' circulate
+      a bit, and start the men on politics, and see if any of them have been
+      listening to this MacDougall talk. (MacDougall's this here Democrat, you
+      know.) And I want to find out whether they've been sending in literature
+      to this camp, or have any agents here. You see, they claim the right to
+      come in and make speeches, and all that sort of thing. North Valley's an
+      incorporated town, so they've got the law on their side, in a way, and if
+      we shut 'em out, they make a howl in the papers, and it looks bad. So we
+      have to get ahead of them in quiet ways. Fortunately there ain't any hall
+      in the camp for them to meet in, and we've made a local ordinance against
+      meetings on the street. If they try to bring in circulars, something has
+      to happen to them before they get distributed. See?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see,&rdquo; said Hal; he thought of Tom Olson's propaganda literature!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We'll pass the word out,&mdash;it's the Republican the company wants
+      elected; and you be on the lookout and see how they take it in the camp.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That sounds easy enough,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;But tell me, Mr. Stone, why do you
+      bother? Do so many of these wops have votes?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It ain't the wops so much. We get them naturalised on purpose&mdash;they
+      vote our way for a glass of beer. But the English-speaking men, or the
+      foreigners that's been here too long, and got too big for their breeches&mdash;they're
+      the ones we got to watch. If they get to talking politics, they don't stop
+      there; the first thing you know, they're listening to union agitators, and
+      wanting to run the camp.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh yes, I see!&rdquo; said Hal, and wondered if his voice sounded right.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the pit-boss was concerned with his own troubles. &ldquo;As I told Si Adams
+      the other day, what I'm looking for is fellows that talk some new lingo&mdash;one
+      that nobody will ever understand! But I suppose that would be too easy.
+      There's no way to keep them from learning some English!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal decided to make use of this opportunity to perfect his education.
+      &ldquo;Surely, Mr. Stone,&rdquo; he remarked, &ldquo;you don't have to count any votes if
+      you don't want to!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, I'll tell you,&rdquo; replied Stone; &ldquo;it's a question of the easiest way
+      to manage things. When I was superintendent over to Happy Gulch, we didn't
+      waste no time on politics. The company was Democratic at that time, and
+      when election night come, we wrote down four hundred votes for the
+      Democratic candidates. But the first thing we knew, a bunch of fellers was
+      taken into town and got to swear they'd voted the Republican ticket in our
+      camp. The Republican papers were full of it, and some fool judge ordered a
+      recount, and we had to get busy over night and mark up a new lot of
+      ballots. It gave us a lot of bother!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The pit-boss laughed, and Hal joined him discreetly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So you see, you have to learn to manage. If there's votes for the wrong
+      candidate in your camp, the fact gets out, and if the returns is too
+      one-sided, there's a lot of grumbling. There's plenty of bosses that don't
+      care, but I learned my lesson that time, and I got my own method&mdash;that
+      is not to let any opposition start. See?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, I see.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Maybe a mine-boss has got no right to meddle in politics&mdash;but
+      there's one thing he's got the say about, and that is who works in his
+      mine. It's the easiest thing to weed out&mdash;weed out&mdash;&rdquo; Hal never
+      forgot the motion of beefy hands with which Alec Stone illustrated these
+      words. As he went on, the tones of his voice did not seem so good-natured
+      as usual. &ldquo;The fellows that don't want to vote my way can go somewhere
+      else to do their voting. That's all I got to say on politics!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a brief pause, while Stone puffed on his pipe. Then it may have
+      occurred to him that it was not necessary to go into so much detail in
+      breaking in a political recruit. When he resumed, it was in a good-natured
+      tone of dismissal. &ldquo;That's what you do, kid. To-morrow you get a sprained
+      wrist, so you can't work for a few days, and that'll give you a chance to
+      bum round and hear what the men are saying. Meantime, I'll see you get
+      your wages.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That sounds all right,&rdquo; said Hal; but showing only a small part of his
+      satisfaction!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The pit-boss rose from his chair and knocked the ashes from his pipe.
+      &ldquo;Mind you&mdash;I want the goods. I've got other fellows working, and I'm
+      comparing 'em. For all you know, I may have somebody watching you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Hal, and grinned cheerfully. &ldquo;I'll not fail to bear that in
+      mind.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 6.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      The first thing Hal did was to seek out Tom Olson and narrate this
+      experience. The two of them had a merry time over it. &ldquo;I'm the favourite
+      of a boss now!&rdquo; laughed Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the organiser became suddenly serious. &ldquo;Be careful what you do for
+      that fellow.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He might use it on you later on. One of the things they try to do if you
+      make any trouble for them, is to prove that you took money from them, or
+      tried to.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But he won't have any proofs.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's my point&mdash;don't give him any. If Stone says you've been
+      playing the political game for him, then some fellow might remember that
+      you did ask him about politics. So don't have any marked money on you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal laughed. &ldquo;Money doesn't stay on me very long these days. But what
+      shall I say if he asks me for a report?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You'd better put your job right through, Joe&mdash;so that he won't have
+      time to ask for any report.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; was the reply. &ldquo;But just the same, I'm going to get all the
+      fun there is, being the favourite of a boss!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And so, early the next morning when Hal went to his work he proceeded to
+      &ldquo;sprain his wrist.&rdquo; He walked about in pain, to the great concern of Old
+      Mike; and when finally he decided that he would have to lay off, Mike
+      followed him half way to the shaft, giving him advice about hot and cold
+      cloths. Leaving the old Slovak to struggle along as best he could alone,
+      Hal went out to bask in the wonderful sunshine of the upper world, and the
+      still more wonderful sunshine of a boss's favour.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      First he went to his room at Reminitsky's, and tied a strip of old shirt
+      about his wrist, and a clean handkerchief on top of that; by this symbol
+      he was entitled to the freedom of the camp and the sympathy of all men,
+      and so he sallied forth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Strolling towards the tipple of Number One, he encountered a wiry,
+      quick-moving little man, with restless black eyes and a lean, intelligent
+      face. He wore a pair of common miner's &ldquo;jumpers,&rdquo; but even so, he was not
+      to be taken for a workingman. Everything about him spoke of authority.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Morning, Mr. Cartwright,&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good morning,&rdquo; replied the superintendent; then, with a glance at Hal's
+      bandage, &ldquo;You hurt?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, sir. Just a bit of sprain, but I thought I'd better lay off.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Been to the doctor?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, sir. I don't think it's that bad.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You'd better go. You never know how bad a sprain is.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Right, sir,&rdquo; said Hal. Then, as the superintendent was passing, &ldquo;Do you
+      think, Mr. Cartwright, that MacDougall stands any chance of being
+      elected?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't know,&rdquo; replied the other, surprised. &ldquo;I hope not. You aren't
+      going to vote for him, are you?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, no. I'm a Republican&mdash;born that way. But I wondered if you'd
+      heard any MacDougall talk.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, I'm hardly the one that would hear it. You take an interest in
+      politics?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, sir&mdash;in a way. In fact, that's how I came to get this wrist.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How's that? In a fight?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, sir; but you see, Mr. Stone wanted me to feel out sentiment in the
+      camp, and he told me I'd better sprain my wrist and lay off.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The &ldquo;super,&rdquo; after staring at Hal, could not keep from laughing. Then he
+      looked about him. &ldquo;You want to be careful, talking about such things.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I thought I could surely trust the superintendent,&rdquo; said Hal, drily.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The other measured him with his keen eyes; and Hal, who was getting the
+      spirit of political democracy, took the liberty of returning the gaze.
+      &ldquo;You're a wide-awake young fellow,&rdquo; said Cartwright, at last. &ldquo;Learn the
+      ropes here, and make yourself useful, and I'll see you're not passed
+      over.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right, sir&mdash;thank you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Maybe you'll be made an election-clerk this time. That's worth three
+      dollars a day, you know.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very good, sir.&rdquo; And Hal put on his smile again. &ldquo;They tell me you're the
+      mayor of North Valley.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And the justice of the peace is a clerk in your store. Well, Mr.
+      Cartwright, if you need a president of the board of health or a dog
+      catcher, I'm your man&mdash;as soon, that is, as my wrist gets well.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And so Hal went on his way. Such &ldquo;joshing&rdquo; on the part of a &ldquo;buddy&rdquo; was of
+      course absurdly presumptuous; the superintendent stood looking after him
+      with a puzzled frown upon his face.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 7.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal did not look back, but turned into the company-store. &ldquo;North Valley
+      Trading Company&rdquo; read the sign over the door; within was a Serbian woman
+      pointing out what she wanted to buy, and two little Lithuanian girls
+      watching the weighing of a pound of sugar. Hal strolled up to the person
+      who was doing the weighing, a middle-aged man with a yellow moustache
+      stained with tobacco-juice. &ldquo;Morning, Judge.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Huh!&rdquo; was the reply from Silas Adams, justice of the peace in the town of
+      North Valley.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Judge,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;what do you think about the election?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't think about it,&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;Busy weighin' sugar.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Anybody round here going to vote for MacDougall?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They better not tell me if they are!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What?&rdquo; smiled Hal. &ldquo;In this free American republic?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In this part of the free American republic a man is free to dig coal, but
+      not to vote for a skunk like MacDougall.&rdquo; Then, having tied up the sugar,
+      the &ldquo;J. P.&rdquo; whittled off a fresh chew from his plug, and turned to Hal.
+      &ldquo;What'll you have?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal purchased half a pound of dried peaches, so that he might have an
+      excuse to loiter, and be able to keep time with the jaws of the Judge.
+      While the order was being filled, he seated himself upon the counter. &ldquo;You
+      know,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;I used to work in a grocery.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That so? Where at?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Peterson &amp; Co., in American City.&rdquo; Hal had told this so often that he
+      had begun to believe it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pay pretty good up there?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, pretty fair.&rdquo; Then, realising that he had no idea what would
+      constitute good pay in a grocery, Hal added, quickly, &ldquo;Got a bad wrist
+      here!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That so?&rdquo; said the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He did not show much sociability; but Hal persisted, refusing to believe
+      that any one in a country store would miss an opening to discuss politics,
+      even with a miner's helper. &ldquo;Tell me,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;just what is the matter
+      with MacDougall?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The matter with him,&rdquo; said the Judge, &ldquo;is that the company's against
+      him.&rdquo; He looked hard at the young miner. &ldquo;You meddlin' in politics?&rdquo; he
+      growled. But the young miner's gay brown eyes showed only appreciation of
+      the earlier response; so the &ldquo;J. P.&rdquo; was tempted into specifying the
+      would-be congressman's vices. Thus conversation started; and pretty soon
+      the others in the store joined in&mdash;&ldquo;Bob&rdquo; Johnson, bookkeeper and
+      post-master, and &ldquo;Jake&rdquo; Predovich, the Galician Jew who was a member of
+      the local school-board, and knew the words for staple groceries in fifteen
+      languages.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal listened to an exposition of the crimes of the political opposition in
+      Pedro County. Their candidate, MacDougall, had come to the state as a
+      &ldquo;tin-horn gambler,&rdquo; yet now he was going around making speeches in
+      churches, and talking about the moral sentiment of the community. &ldquo;And him
+      with a district chairman keeping three families in Pedro!&rdquo; declared Si
+      Adams.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; ventured Hal, &ldquo;if what I hear is true, the Republican chairman
+      isn't a plaster saint. They say he was drunk at the convention&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Maybe so,&rdquo; said the &ldquo;J. P.&rdquo; &ldquo;But we ain't playin' for the prohibition
+      vote; and we ain't playin' for the labour vote&mdash;tryin' to stir up the
+      riff-raff in these coal-camps, promisin' 'em high wages an' short hours.
+      Don't he know he can't get it for 'em? But he figgers he'll go off to
+      Washington and leave us here to deal with the mess he's stirred up!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don't you fret,&rdquo; put in Bob Johnson&mdash;&ldquo;he ain't goin' to no
+      Washin'ton.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other two agreed, and Hal ventured again, &ldquo;He says you stuff the
+      ballot-boxes.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What do you suppose his crowd is doin' in the cities? We got to meet 'em
+      some way, ain't we?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, I see,&rdquo; said Hal, naïvely. &ldquo;You stuff them worse!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sometimes we stuff the boxes, and sometimes we stuff the voters.&rdquo; There
+      was an appreciative titter from the others, and the &ldquo;J. P.&rdquo; was moved to
+      reminiscence. &ldquo;Two years ago I was election clerk, over to Sheridan, and
+      we found we'd let 'em get ahead of us&mdash;they had carried the whole
+      state. 'By God,' said Alf. Raymond, 'we'll show 'em a trick from the
+      coal-counties! And there won't be no recount business either!' So we held
+      back our returns till the rest had come in, and when we seen how many
+      votes we needed, we wrote 'em down. And that settled it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That seems a simple method,&rdquo; remarked Hal. &ldquo;They'll have to get up early
+      to beat Alf.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You bet you!&rdquo; said Si, with the complacency of one of the gang. &ldquo;They
+      call this county the 'Empire of Raymond.'&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It must be a cinch,&rdquo; said Hal&mdash;&ldquo;being the sheriff, and having the
+      naming of so many deputies as they need in these coal-camps!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; agreed the other. &ldquo;And there's his wholesale liquor business, too.
+      If you want a license in Pedro county, you not only vote for Alf, but you
+      pay your bills on time!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Must be a fortune in that!&rdquo; remarked Hal; and the Judge, the Post-master
+      and the School-commissioner appeared like children listening to a story of
+      a feast. &ldquo;You bet you!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I suppose it takes money to run politics in this county,&rdquo; Hal added.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, Alf don't put none of it up, you can bet! That's the company's
+      job.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      This from the Judge; and the School-commissioner added, &ldquo;De coin in dese
+      camps is beer.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, I see!&rdquo; laughed Hal. &ldquo;The companies buy Alf's beer, and use it to get
+      him votes!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure thing!&rdquo; said the Post-master.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At this moment he happened to reach into his pocket for a cigar, and Hal
+      observed a silver shield on the breast of his waistcoat. &ldquo;That a deputy's
+      badge?&rdquo; he inquired, and then turned to examine the School-commissioner's
+      costume. &ldquo;Where's yours?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I git mine ven election comes,&rdquo; said Jake, with a grin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And yours, Judge?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm a justice of the peace, young feller,&rdquo; said Silas, with dignity.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Leaning round, and observing a bulge on the right hip of the
+      School-commissioner, Hal put out his hand towards it. Instinctively the
+      other moved his hand to the spot.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal turned to the Post-master. &ldquo;Yours?&rdquo; he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mine's under the counter,&rdquo; grinned Bob.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And yours, Judge?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mine's in the desk,&rdquo; said the Judge.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal drew a breath. &ldquo;Gee!&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;It's like a steel trap!&rdquo; He managed to
+      keep the laugh on his face, but within he was conscious of other feelings
+      than those of amusement. He was losing that &ldquo;first fine careless rapture&rdquo;
+       with which he had set out to run with the hare and the hounds in North
+      Valley!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 8.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Two days after this beginning of Hal's political career, it was arranged
+      that the workers who were to make a demand for a check-weighman should
+      meet in the home of Mrs. David. When Mike Sikoria came up from the pit
+      that day, Hal took him aside and told him of the gathering. A look of
+      delight came upon the old Slovak's face as he listened; he grabbed his
+      buddy by the shoulders, crying, &ldquo;You mean it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure meant it,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;You want to be on the committee to go and see
+      the boss?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;<i>Pluha biedna</i>!&rdquo; cried Mike&mdash;which is something dreadful in his
+      own language. &ldquo;By Judas, I pack up my old box again!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal felt a guilty pang. Should he let this old man into the thing? &ldquo;You
+      think you'll have to move out of camp?&rdquo; he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Move out of state this time! Move back to old country, maybe!&rdquo; And Hal
+      realised that he could not stop him now, even if he wanted to. The old
+      fellow was so much excited that he hardly ate any supper, and his buddy
+      was afraid to leave him alone, for fear he might blurt out the news.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It had been agreed that those who attended the meeting should come one by
+      one, and by different routes. Hal was one of the first to arrive, and he
+      saw that the shades of the house had been drawn, and the lamps turned low.
+      He entered by the back door, where &ldquo;Big Jack&rdquo; David stood on guard. &ldquo;Big
+      Jack,&rdquo; who had been a member of the South Wales Federation at home, made
+      sure of Hal's identity, and then passed him in without a word.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Inside was Mike&mdash;the first on hand. Mrs. David, a little black-eyed
+      woman with a never-ceasing tongue, was bustling about, putting things in
+      order; she was so nervous that she could not sit still. This couple had
+      come from their birth-place only a year or so ago, and had brought all
+      their wedding presents to their new home&mdash;pictures and bric-a-brac
+      and linen. It was the prettiest home Hal had so far been in, and Mrs.
+      David was risking it deliberately, because of her indignation that her
+      husband had had to foreswear his union in order to get work in America.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The young Italian, Rovetta, came, then old John Edstrom. There being not
+      chairs enough in the house, Mrs. David had set some boxes against the
+      wall, covering them with cloth; and Hal noticed that each person took one
+      of these boxes, leaving the chairs for the later comers. Each one as he
+      came in would nod to the others, and then silence would fall again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When Mary Burke entered, Hal divined from her aspect and manner that she
+      had sunk back into her old mood of pessimism. He felt a momentary
+      resentment. He was so thrilled with this adventure; he wanted everybody
+      else to be thrilled&mdash;especially Mary! Like every one who has not
+      suffered much, he was repelled by a condition of perpetual suffering in
+      another. Of course Mary had good reasons for her black moods&mdash;but she
+      herself considered it necessary to apologise for what she called her
+      &ldquo;complainin'&rdquo;! She knew that he wanted her to help encourage the others;
+      but here she was, putting herself in a corner and watching this wonderful
+      proceeding, as if she had said: &ldquo;I'm an ant, and I stay in line&mdash;but
+      I'll not pretend I have any hope in it!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Rosa and Jerry had insisted on coming, in spite of Hal's offer to spare
+      them. After them came the Bulgarian, Wresmak; then the Polacks, Klowoski
+      and Zamierowski. Hal found these difficult names to remember, but the
+      Polacks were not at all sensitive about this; they would grin
+      good-naturedly while he practised, nor would they mind if he gave it up
+      and called them Tony and Pete. They were humble men, accustomed all their
+      lives to being driven about. Hal looked from one to another of their bowed
+      forms and toil-worn faces, appearing more than ever sombre and mournful in
+      the dim light; he wondered if the cruel persecution which had driven them
+      to protest would suffice to hold them in line.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Once a newcomer, having misunderstood the orders, came to the front door
+      and knocked; and Hal noted that every one started, and some rose to their
+      feet in alarm. Again he recognised the atmosphere of novels of Russian
+      revolutionary life. He had to remind himself that these men and women,
+      gathered here like criminals, were merely planning to ask for a right
+      guaranteed them by the law!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The last to come was an Austrian miner named Huszar, with whom Olson had
+      got into touch. Then, it being time to begin, everybody looked uneasily at
+      everybody else. Few of them had conspired before, and they did not know
+      quite how to set about it. Olson, the one who would naturally have been
+      their leader, had deliberately stayed away. They must run this
+      check-weighman affair for themselves!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Somebody talk,&rdquo; said Mrs. David at last; and then, as the silence
+      continued, she turned to Hal. &ldquo;You're going to be the check-weighman. You
+      talk.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm the youngest man here,&rdquo; said Hal, with a smile. &ldquo;Some older fellow
+      talk.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But nobody else smiled. &ldquo;Go on!&rdquo; exclaimed old Mike; and so at last Hal
+      stood up. It was something he was to experience many times in the future;
+      because he was an American, and educated, he was forced into a position of
+      leadership.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;As I understand it, you people want a check-weighman. Now, they tell me
+      the pay for a check-weighman should be three dollars a day, but we've got
+      only seven miners among us, and that's not enough. I will offer to take
+      the job for twenty-five cents a day from each man, which will make a
+      dollar-seventy-five, less than what I'm getting now as a buddy. If we get
+      thirty men to come in, then I'll take ten cents a day from each, and make
+      the full three dollars. Does that seem fair?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure!&rdquo; said Mike; and the others added their assent by word or nod.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right. Now, there's nobody that works in this mine but knows the men
+      don't get their weight. It would cost the company several hundred dollars
+      a day to give us our weight, and nobody should be so foolish as to imagine
+      they'll do it without a struggle. We've got to make up our minds to stand
+      together.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure, stand together!&rdquo; cried Mike.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No get check-weighman!&rdquo; exclaimed Jerry, pessimistically.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not unless we try, Jerry,&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And Mike thumped his knee. &ldquo;Sure try! And get him too!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Right!&rdquo; cried &ldquo;Big Jack.&rdquo; But his little wife was not satisfied with the
+      response of the others. She gave Hal his first lesson in the drilling of
+      these polyglot masses.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Talk to them. Make them understand you!&rdquo; And she pointed them out one by
+      one with her finger: &ldquo;You! You! Wresmak, here, and you, Klowoski, and you,
+      Zam&mdash;you other Polish fellow. Want check-weighman. Want to get all
+      weight. Get all our money. Understand?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, yes!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Get committee, go see super! Want check-weighman. Understand? Got to have
+      check-weighman! No back down, no scare.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No&mdash;no scare!&rdquo; Klowoski, who understood some English, explained
+      rapidly to Zamierowski; and Zamierowski, whose head was still plastered
+      where Jeff Cotton's revolver had hit it, nodded eagerly in assent. In
+      spite of his bruises, he would stand by the others, and face the boss.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This suggested another question. &ldquo;Who's going to do the talking to the
+      boss?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You do that,&rdquo; said Mrs. David, to Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But I'm the one that's to be paid. It's not for me to talk.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No one else can do it right,&rdquo; declared the woman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure&mdash;got to be American feller!&rdquo; said Mike.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Hal insisted. If he did the talking, it would look as if the
+      check-weighman had been the source of the movement, and was engaged in
+      making a good paying job for himself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was discussion back and forth, until finally John Edstrom spoke up.
+      &ldquo;Put me on the committee.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You?&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;But you'll be thrown out! And what will your wife do?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think my wife is going to die to-night,&rdquo; said Edstrom, simply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He sat with his lips set tightly, looking straight before him. After a
+      pause he went on: &ldquo;If it isn't to-night, it will be to-morrow, the doctor
+      says; and after that, nothing will matter. I shall have to go down to
+      Pedro to bury her, and if I have to stay, it will make little difference
+      to me, so I might as well do what I can for the rest of you. I've been a
+      miner all my life, and Mr. Cartwright knows it; that might have some
+      weight with him. Let Joe Smith and Sikoria and myself be the ones to go
+      and see him, and the rest of you wait, and don't give up your jobs unless
+      you have to.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 9.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Having settled the matter of the committee, Hal told the assembly how Alec
+      Stone had asked him to spy upon the men. He thought they should know about
+      it; the bosses might try to use it against him, as Olson had warned. &ldquo;They
+      may tell you I'm a traitor,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You must trust me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We trust you!&rdquo; exclaimed Mike, with fervour; and the others nodded their
+      agreement.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; Hal answered. &ldquo;You can rest sure of this one thing&mdash;if I
+      get onto that tipple, you're going to get your weights!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hear, hear!&rdquo; cried &ldquo;Big Jack,&rdquo; in English fashion. And a murmur ran about
+      the room. They did not dare make much noise, but they made clear that that
+      was what they wanted.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal sat down, and began to unroll the bandage from his wrist. &ldquo;I guess I'm
+      through with this,&rdquo; he said, and explained how he had come to wear it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What?&rdquo; cried Old Mike. &ldquo;You fool me like that?&rdquo; And he caught the wrist,
+      and when he had made sure there was no sign of swelling upon it, he shook
+      it so that he almost sprained it really, laughing until the tears ran down
+      his cheeks. &ldquo;You old son-of-a-gun!&rdquo; he exclaimed. Meantime Klowoski was
+      telling the story to Zamierowski, and Jerry Minetti was explaining it to
+      Wresmak, in the sort of pidgin-English which does duty in the camps. Hal
+      had never seen such real laughter since coming to North Valley.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But conspirators cannot lend themselves long to merriment. They came back
+      to business again. It was agreed that the hour for the committee's visit
+      to the superintendent should be quitting-time on the morrow. And then John
+      Edstrom spoke, suggesting that they should agree upon their course of
+      action in case they were offered violence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You think there's much chance of that?&rdquo; said some one.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure there be!&rdquo; cried Mike Sikoria. &ldquo;One time in Cedar Mountain we go see
+      boss, say air-course blocked. What you think he do them fellers? He hit
+      them one lick in nose, he kick them three times in behind, he run them
+      out!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;if there's going to be anything like that, we must be
+      ready.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What you do?&rdquo; demanded Jerry.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was time for Hal's leadership. &ldquo;If he hits me one lick in the nose,&rdquo; he
+      declared, &ldquo;I'll hit him one lick in the nose, that's all.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a bit of applause at this. That was the way to talk! Hal tasted
+      the joys of his leadership. But then his fine self-confidence met with a
+      sudden check&mdash;a &ldquo;lick in the nose&rdquo; of his pride, so to speak. There
+      came a woman's voice from the corner, low and grim: &ldquo;Yes! And get ye'self
+      killed for all your trouble!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He looked towards Mary Burke, and saw her vivid face, flushed and
+      frowning. &ldquo;What do you mean?&rdquo; he asked. &ldquo;Would you have us turn and run
+      away?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I would that!&rdquo; said she. &ldquo;Rather than have ye killed, I would! What'll ye
+      do if he pulls his gun on ye?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Would he pull his gun on a committee?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Old Mike broke in again. &ldquo;One time in Barela&mdash;ain't I told you how I
+      lose my cars? I tell weigh-boss somebody steal my cars, and he pull gun on
+      me, and he say, 'Get the hell off that tipple, you old billy-goat, I shoot
+      you full of holes!'&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Among his class-mates at college, Hal had been wont to argue that the
+      proper way to handle a burglar was to call out to him, saying, &ldquo;Go ahead,
+      old chap, and help yourself; there's nothing here I'm willing to get shot
+      for.&rdquo; What was the value of anything a burglar could steal, in comparison
+      with a man's own life? And surely, one would have thought, this was a good
+      time to apply the plausible theory. But for some reason Hal failed even to
+      remember it. He was going ahead, precisely as if a ton of coal per day was
+      the one thing of consequence in life!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What shall we do?&rdquo; he asked. &ldquo;We don't want to back out.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But even while he asked the question, Hal was realising that Mary was
+      right. His was the attitude of the leisure-class person, used to having
+      his own way; but Mary, though she had a temper too, was pointing the
+      lesson of self-control. It was the second time to-night that she had
+      injured his pride. But now he forgave her in his admiration; he had always
+      known that Mary had a mind and could help him! His admiration was
+      increased by what John Edstrom was saying&mdash;they must do nothing that
+      would injure the cause of the &ldquo;big union,&rdquo; and so they must resolve to
+      offer no physical resistance, no matter what might be done to them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was vehement argument on the other side. &ldquo;We fight! We fight!&rdquo;
+       declared Old Mike, and cried out suddenly, as if in anticipation of the
+      pain in his injured nose. &ldquo;You say me stand that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If you fight back,&rdquo; said Edstrom, &ldquo;we'll all get the worst of it. The
+      company will say we started the trouble, and put us in the wrong. We've
+      got to make up our mind to rely on moral force.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So, after more discussion, it was agreed; every man would keep his temper&mdash;that
+      is, if he could! So they shook hands all round, pledging themselves to
+      stand firm. But, when the meeting was declared adjourned, and they stole
+      out one by one into the night, they were a very sober and anxious lot of
+      conspirators.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 10.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal slept but little that night. Amid the sounds of the snoring of eight
+      of Reminitsky's other boarders, he lay going over in his mind various
+      things which might happen on the morrow. Some of them were far from
+      pleasant things; he tried to picture himself with a broken nose, or with
+      tar and feathers on him. He recalled his theory as to the handling of
+      burglars. The &ldquo;G. F. C.&rdquo; was a burglar of gigantic and terrible
+      proportions; surely this was a time to call out, &ldquo;Help yourself!&rdquo; But
+      instead of doing it, Hal thought about Edstrom's ants, and wondered at the
+      power which made them stay in line.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When morning came, he went up into the mountains, where a man may wander
+      and renew his moral force. When the sun had descended behind the
+      mountain-tops, he descended also, and met Edstrom and Sikoria in front of
+      the company office.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They nodded a greeting, and Edstrom told Hal that his wife had died during
+      the day. There being no undertaker in North Valley, he had arranged for a
+      woman friend to take the body down to Pedro, so that he might be free for
+      the interview with Cartwright. Hal put his hand on the old man's shoulder,
+      but attempted no word of condolence; he saw that Edstrom had faced the
+      trouble and was ready for duty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Come ahead,&rdquo; said the old man, and the three went into the office. While
+      a clerk took their message to the inner office, they stood for a couple of
+      minutes, shifting uneasily from one foot to the other, and turning their
+      caps in their hands in the familiar manner of the lowly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last Mr. Cartwright appeared in the doorway, his small sparely-built
+      figure eloquent of sharp authority. &ldquo;Well, what's this?&rdquo; he inquired.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If you please,&rdquo; said Edstrom, &ldquo;we'd like to speak to you. We've decided,
+      sir, that we want to have a check-weighman.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;<i>What</i>?&rdquo; The word came like the snap of a whip.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We'd like to have a check-weighman, sir.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a moment's silence. &ldquo;Come in here.&rdquo; They filed into the inner
+      office, and he shut the door.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now. What's this?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Edstrom repeated his words again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What put that notion into your heads?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nothing, sir; only we thought we'd be better satisfied.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You think you're not getting your weight?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, sir, you see&mdash;some of the men&mdash;we think it would be
+      better if we had the check-weighman. We're willing to pay for him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who's this check-weighman to be?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Joe Smith, here.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal braced himself to meet the other's stare. &ldquo;Oh! So it's you!&rdquo; Then,
+      after a moment, &ldquo;So that's why you were feeling so gay!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal was not feeling in the least gay at the moment; but he forebore to say
+      so. There was a silence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, why do you fellows want to throw away your money?&rdquo; The
+      superintendent started to argue with them, showing the absurdity of the
+      notion that they could gain anything by such a course. The mine had been
+      running for years on its present system, and there had never been any
+      complaint. The idea that a company as big and as responsible as the &ldquo;G. F.
+      C.&rdquo; would stoop to cheat its workers out of a few tons of coal! And so on,
+      for several minutes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mr. Cartwright,&rdquo; said Edstrom, when the other had finished, &ldquo;you know
+      I've worked all my life in mines, and most of it in this district. I am
+      telling you something I know when I say there is general dissatisfaction
+      throughout these camps because the men feel they are not getting their
+      weight. You say there has been no public complaint; you understand the
+      reason for this&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What is the reason?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Edstrom, gently, &ldquo;maybe you don't know the reason&mdash;but
+      anyway we've decided that we want a check-weighman.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      It was evident that the superintendent had been taken by surprise, and was
+      uncertain how to meet the issue. &ldquo;You can imagine,&rdquo; he said, at last, &ldquo;the
+      company doesn't relish hearing that its men believe it's cheating them&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We don't say the company knows anything about it, Mr. Cartwright. It's
+      possible that some people may be taking advantage of us, without either
+      the company or yourself having anything to do with it. It's for your
+      protection as well as ours that a check-weighman is needed.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thank you,&rdquo; said the other, drily. His tone revealed that he was holding
+      himself in by an effort. &ldquo;Very well,&rdquo; he added, at last. &ldquo;That's enough
+      about the matter, if your minds are made up. I'll give you my decision
+      later.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      This was a dismissal, and Mike Sikoria turned humbly, and started to the
+      door. But Edstrom was one of the ants that did not readily &ldquo;step one
+      side&rdquo;; and Mike took a glance at him, and then stepped back into line in a
+      hurry, as if hoping his delinquency had not been noted.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If you please, Mr. Cartwright,&rdquo; said Edstrom, &ldquo;we'd like your decision,
+      so as to have the check-weighman start in the morning.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What? You're in such a hurry?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's no reason for delay, sir. We've selected our man, and we're ready
+      to pay him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who are the men who are ready to pay him? Just you two&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am not at liberty to name the other men, sir.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh! So it's a secret movement!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In a way&mdash;yes, sir.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Indeed!&rdquo; said the superintendent, ominously. &ldquo;And you don't care what the
+      company thinks about it!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's not that, Mr. Cartwright, but we don't see anything for the company
+      to object to. It's a simple business arrangement&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, if it seems simple to you, it doesn't to me,&rdquo; snapped the other.
+      And then, getting himself in hand, &ldquo;Understand me, the company would not
+      have the least objection to the men making sure of their weights, if they
+      really think it's necessary. The company has always been willing to do the
+      right thing. But it's not a matter that can be settled off hand. I will
+      let you know later.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Again they were dismissed, and again Old Mike turned, and Edstrom also.
+      But now another ant sprang into the ditch. &ldquo;Just when will you be prepared
+      to let the check-weighman begin work, Mr. Cartwright?&rdquo; asked Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The superintendent gave him a sharp look, and again it could be seen that
+      he made a strong effort to keep his temper. &ldquo;I'm not prepared to say,&rdquo; he
+      replied. &ldquo;I will let you know, as soon as convenient to me. That's all
+      now.&rdquo; And as he spoke he opened the door, putting something into the
+      action that was a command.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mr. Cartwright,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;there's no law against our having a
+      check-weighman, is there?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The look which these words drew from the superintendent showed that he
+      knew full well what the law was. Hal accepted this look as an answer, and
+      continued, &ldquo;I have been selected by a committee of the men to act as their
+      check-weighman, and this committee has duly notified the company. That
+      makes me a check-weighman, I believe, Mr. Cartwright, and so all I have to
+      do is to assume my duties.&rdquo; Without waiting for the superintendent's
+      answer, he walked to the door, followed by his somewhat shocked
+      companions.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 11.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      At the meeting on the night before it had been agreed to spread the news
+      of the check-weighman movement, for the sake of its propaganda value. So
+      now when the three men came out from the office, there was a crowd waiting
+      to know what had happened; men clamoured questions, and each one who got
+      the story would be surrounded by others eager to hear. Hal made his way to
+      the boarding-house, and when he had finished his supper, he set out from
+      place to place in the camp, telling the men about the check-weighman plan
+      and explaining that it was a legal right they were demanding. All this
+      while Old Mike stayed on one side of him, and Edstrom on the other; for
+      Tom Olson had insisted strenuously that Hal should not be left alone for a
+      moment. Evidently the bosses had given the same order; for when Hal came
+      out from Reminitsky's, there was &ldquo;Jake&rdquo; Predovich, the store-clerk, on the
+      fringe of the crowd, and he followed wherever Hal went, doubtless making
+      note of every one he spoke to.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They consulted as to where they were to spend the night. Old Mike was
+      nervous, taking the activities of the spy to mean that they were to be
+      thugged in the darkness. He told horrible stories of that sort of thing.
+      What could be an easier way for the company to settle the matter? They
+      would fix up some story; the world outside would believe they had been
+      killed in a drunken row, perhaps over some woman. This last suggestion
+      especially troubled Hal; he thought of the people at home. No, he must not
+      sleep in the village! And on the other hand he could not go down the
+      canyon, for if he once passed the gate, he might not be allowed to repass
+      it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      An idea occurred to him. Why not go <i>up</i> the canyon? There was no
+      stockade at the upper end of the village&mdash;nothing but wilderness and
+      rocks, without even a road.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But where we sleep?&rdquo; demanded Old Mike, aghast.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Outdoors,&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;<i>Pluha biedna</i>! And get the night air into my bones?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You think you keep the day air in your bones when you sleep inside?&rdquo;
+       laughed Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why don't I, when I shut them windows tight, and cover up my bones?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, risk the night air once,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;It's better than having
+      somebody let it into you with a knife.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But that fellow Predovich&mdash;he follow us up canyon too!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, but he's only one man, and we don't have to fear him. If he went
+      back for others, he'd never be able to find us in the darkness.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Edstrom, whose notions of anatomy were not so crude as Mike's, gave his
+      support to this suggestion; so they got their blankets and stumbled up the
+      canyon in the still, star-lit night. For a while they heard the spy behind
+      them, but finally his footsteps died away, and after they had moved on for
+      some distance, they believed they were safe till daylight. Hal had slept
+      out many a night as a hunter, but it was a new adventure to sleep out as
+      the game!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At dawn they rose, and shook the dew from their blankets, and wiped it
+      from their eyes. Hal was young, and saw the glory of the morning, while
+      poor Mike Sikoria groaned and grumbled over his stiff and aged joints. He
+      thought he had ruined himself forever, but he took courage at Edstrom's
+      mention of coffee, and they hurried down to breakfast at their
+      boarding-house.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now came a critical time, when Hal had to be left by himself. Edstrom was
+      obliged to go down to see to his wife's funeral; and it was obvious that
+      if Mike Sikoria were to lay off work, he would be providing the boss with
+      an excuse for firing him. The law which provided for a check-weighman had
+      failed to provide for a check-weighman's body-guard!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had announced his programme in that flash of defiance in Cartwright's
+      office. As soon as work started up, he went to the tipple. &ldquo;Mr. Peters,&rdquo;
+       he said, to the tipple-boss, &ldquo;I've come to act as check-weighman.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The tipple-boss was a man with a big black moustache, which made him look
+      like the pictures of Nietzsche. He stared at Hal, frankly dumbfounded.
+      &ldquo;What the devil?&rdquo; said he.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Some of the men have chosen me check-weighman,&rdquo; explained Hal, in a
+      business-like manner. &ldquo;When their cars come up, I'll see to their
+      weights.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You keep off this tipple, young fellow!&rdquo; said Peters. His manner was
+      equally business-like.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So the would-be check-weighman came out and sat on the steps to wait. The
+      tipple was a fairly public place, and he judged he was as safe there as
+      anywhere. Some of the men grinned and winked at him as they went about
+      their work; several found a chance to whisper words of encouragement. And
+      all morning he sat, like a protestant at the palace-gates of a mandarin in
+      China, It was tedious work, but he believed that he would be able to stand
+      it longer than the company.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 12.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      In the middle of the morning a man came up to him&mdash;&ldquo;Bud&rdquo; Adams, a
+      younger brother of the &ldquo;J. P.,&rdquo; and Jeff Cotton's assistant. Bud was
+      stocky, red-faced, and reputed to be handy with his fists. So Hal rose up
+      warily when he saw him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hey, you,&rdquo; said Bud. &ldquo;There's a telegram at the office for you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;For me?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your name's Joe Smith, ain't it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, that's what it says.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal considered for a moment. There was no one to be telegraphing Joe
+      Smith. It was only a ruse to get him away.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What's in the telegram?&rdquo; he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How do I know?&rdquo; said Bud.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where is it from?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I dunno that.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;you might bring it to me here.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other's eyes flew open. This was not a revolt, it was a revolution!
+      &ldquo;Who the hell's messenger boy do you think I am?&rdquo; he demanded.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don't the company deliver telegrams?&rdquo; countered Hal, politely. And Bud
+      stood struggling with his human impulses, while Hal watched him
+      cautiously. But apparently those who had sent the messenger had given him
+      precise instructions; for he controlled his wrath, and turned and strode
+      away.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal continued his vigil. He had his lunch with him; and was prepared to
+      eat alone&mdash;understanding the risk that a man would be running who
+      showed sympathy with him. He was surprised, therefore, when Johannson, the
+      giant Swede, came and sat down by his side. There also came a young
+      Mexican labourer, and a Greek miner. The revolution was spreading!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal felt sure the company would not let this go on. And sure enough,
+      towards the middle of the afternoon, the tipple-boss came out and beckoned
+      to him. &ldquo;Come here, you!&rdquo; And Hal went in.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The &ldquo;weigh-room&rdquo; was a fairly open place; but at one side was a door into
+      an office. &ldquo;This way,&rdquo; said the man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Hal stopped where he was.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This is where the check-weighman belongs, Mr. Peters.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But I want to talk to you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can hear you, sir.&rdquo; Hal was in sight of the men, and he knew that was
+      his only protection.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The tipple-boss went back into the office; and a minute later Hal saw what
+      had been intended. The door opened and Alec Stone came out.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He stood for a moment looking at his political henchman. Then he came up.
+      &ldquo;Kid,&rdquo; he said, in a low voice, &ldquo;you're overdoing this. I didn't intend
+      you to go so far.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This is not what you intended, Mr. Stone,&rdquo; answered Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The pit-boss came closer yet. &ldquo;What you looking for, kid? What you expect
+      to get out of this?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal's gaze was unwavering. &ldquo;Experience,&rdquo; he replied.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You're feeling smart, sonny. But you'd better stop and realise what
+      you're up against. You ain't going to get away with it, you know; get that
+      through your head&mdash;you ain't going to get away with it. You'd better
+      come in and have a talk with me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a silence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don't you know how it'll be, Smith? These little fires start up&mdash;but
+      we put 'em out. We know how to do it, we've got the machinery. It'll all
+      be forgotten in a week or two, and then where'll you be at? Can't you
+      see?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      As Hal still made no reply, the other's voice dropped lower. &ldquo;I understand
+      your position. Just give me a nod, and it'll be all right. You tell the
+      men that you've watched the weights, and that they're all right. They'll
+      be satisfied, and you and me can fix it up later.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mr. Stone,&rdquo; said Hal, with intense gravity, &ldquo;am I correct in the
+      impression that you are offering me a bribe?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      In a flash, the man's self-control vanished. He thrust his huge fist
+      within an inch of Hal's nose, and uttered a foul oath. But Hal did not
+      remove his nose from the danger-zone, and over the fist a pair of angry
+      brown eyes gazed at the pit-boss. &ldquo;Mr. Stone, you had better realise this
+      situation. I am in dead earnest about this matter, and I don't think it
+      will be safe for you to offer me violence.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      For a moment or two the man continued to glare at Hal; but it appeared
+      that he, like Bud Adams, had been given instructions. He turned abruptly
+      and strode back into the office.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal stood for a bit, until he had made sure of his composure. After which
+      he strolled over towards the scales. A difficulty had occurred to him for
+      the first time&mdash;that he did not know anything about the working of
+      coal-scales.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But he was given no time to learn. The tipple-boss reappeared. &ldquo;Get out of
+      here, fellow!&rdquo; said he.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But you invited me in,&rdquo; remarked Hal, mildly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, now I invite you out again.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And so the protestant resumed his vigil at the mandarin's palace-gates.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 13.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      When the quitting-whistle blew, Mike Sikoria came quickly to join Hal and
+      hear what had happened. Mike was exultant, for several new men had come up
+      to him and offered to join the check-weighman movement. The old fellow was
+      not sure whether this was owing to his own eloquence as a propagandist, or
+      to the fine young American buddy he had; but in either case he was equally
+      proud. He gave Hal a note which had been slipped into his hand, and which
+      Hal recognised as coming from Tom Olson. The organiser reported that every
+      one in the camp was talking check-weighman, and so from a propaganda
+      standpoint they could count their move a success, no matter what the
+      bosses might do. He added that Hal should have a number of men stay with
+      him that night, so as to have witnesses if the company tried to &ldquo;pull off
+      anything.&rdquo; &ldquo;And be careful of the new men,&rdquo; he added; &ldquo;one or two of them
+      are sure to be spies.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal and Mike discussed their programme for the second night. Neither of
+      them were keen for sleeping out again&mdash;the old Slovak because of his
+      bones, and Hal because he saw there were now several spies following them
+      about. At Reminitsky's, he spoke to some of those who had offered their
+      support, and asked them if they would be willing to spend the night with
+      him in Edstrom's cabin. Not one shrank from this test of sincerity; they
+      all got their blankets, and repaired to the place, where Hal lighted the
+      lamp and held an impromptu check-weighman meeting&mdash;and incidentally
+      entertained himself with a spy-hunt!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One of the new-comers was a Pole named Wojecicowski; this, on top of
+      Zamierowski, caused Hal to give up all effort to call the Poles by their
+      names. &ldquo;Woji&rdquo; was an earnest little man, with a pathetic, tired face. He
+      explained his presence by the statement that he was sick of being robbed;
+      he would pay his share for a check-weighman, and if they fired him, all
+      right, he would move on, and to hell with them. After which declaration he
+      rolled up in a blanket and went to snoring on the floor of the cabin. That
+      did not seem to be exactly the conduct of a spy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Another was an Italian, named Farenzena; a dark-browed and
+      sinister-looking fellow, who might have served as a villain in any
+      melodrama. He sat against the wall and talked in guttural tones, and Hal
+      regarded him with deep suspicion. It was not easy to understand his
+      English, but finally Hal managed to make out the story he was telling&mdash;that
+      he was in love with a &ldquo;fanciulla,&rdquo; and that the &ldquo;fanciulla&rdquo; was playing
+      with him. He had about made up his mind that she was a coquette, and not
+      worth bothering with, so he did not care any curses if they sent him down
+      the canyon. &ldquo;Don't fight for fanciulla, fight for check-weighman!&rdquo; he
+      concluded, with a growl.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Another volunteer was a Greek labourer, a talkative young chap who had sat
+      with Hal at lunch-time, and had given his name as Apostolikas. He entered
+      into fluent conversation with Hal, explaining how much interested he was
+      in the check-weighman plan; he wanted to know just what they were going to
+      do, what chance of success they thought they had, who had started the
+      movement and who was in it. Hal's replies took the form of little sermons
+      on working-class solidarity. Each time the man would start to &ldquo;pump&rdquo; him,
+      Hal would explain the importance of the present issue to the miners, how
+      they must stand by one another and make sacrifices for the good of all.
+      After he had talked abstract theories for half an hour, Apostolikas gave
+      up and moved on to Mike Sikoria, who, having been given a wink by Hal,
+      talked about &ldquo;scabs,&rdquo; and the dreadful things that honest workingmen would
+      do to them. When finally the Greek grew tired again, and lay down on the
+      floor, Hal moved over to Old Mike and whispered that the first name of
+      Apostolikas must be Judas!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 14.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Old Mike went to sleep quickly; but Hal had not worked for several days,
+      and had exciting thoughts to keep him awake. He had been lying quiet for a
+      couple of hours, when he became aware that some one was moving in the
+      room. There was a lamp burning dimly, and through half-closed eyes he made
+      out one of the men lifting himself to a sitting position. At first he
+      could not be sure which one it was, but finally he recognised the Greek.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal lay motionless, and after a minute or so he stole another look and saw
+      the man crouching and listening, his hands still on the floor. Through
+      half opened eye-lids Hal continued to steal glimpses, while the other rose
+      and tip-toed towards him, stepping carefully over the sleeping forms.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal did his best to simulate the breathing of sleep: no easy matter, with
+      the man stooping over him, and a knife-thrust as one of the possibilities
+      of the situation. He took the chance, however; and after what seemed an
+      age, he felt the man's fingers lightly touch his side. They moved down to
+      his coat-pocket.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Going to search me!&rdquo; thought Hal; and waited, expecting the hand to
+      travel to other pockets. But after what seemed an interminable period, he
+      realised that Apostolikas had risen again, and was stepping back to his
+      place. In a minute more he had lain down, and all was still in the cabin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal's hand moved to the pocket, and his fingers slid inside. They touched
+      something, which he recognised instantly as a roll of bills.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see!&rdquo; thought he. &ldquo;A frame-up!&rdquo; And he laughed to himself, his mind
+      going back to early boyhood&mdash;to a dilapidated trunk in the attic of
+      his home, containing story-books that his father had owned. He could see
+      them now, with their worn brown covers and crude pictures: &ldquo;The Luck and
+      Pluck Series,&rdquo; by Horatio Alger; &ldquo;Live or Die,&rdquo; &ldquo;Rough and Ready,&rdquo; etc.
+      How he had thrilled over the story of the country-boy who comes to the
+      city, and meets the villain who robs his employer's cash-drawer and drops
+      the key of it into the hero's pocket! Evidently some one connected with
+      the General Fuel Company had read Horatio Alger!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal realised that he could not be too quick about getting those bills out
+      of his pocket. He thought of returning them to &ldquo;Judas,&rdquo; but decided that
+      he would save them for Edstrom, who was likely to need money before long.
+      He gave the Greek half an hour to go to sleep, then with his pocket-knife
+      he gently picked out a hole in the cinders of the floor and buried the
+      money as best he could. After which he wormed his way to another place,
+      and lay thinking.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 15.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Would they wait until morning, or would they come soon? He was inclined to
+      the latter guess, so he was only slightly startled when, an hour or two
+      later, he heard the knob of the cabin-door turned. A moment later came a
+      crash and the door was burst open, with the shoulder of a heavy man behind
+      it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The room was in confusion in a second. Men sprang to their feet, crying
+      out; others sat up bewildered, still half asleep. The room was bright from
+      an electric torch in the hands of one of the invaders. &ldquo;There's the
+      fellow!&rdquo; cried a voice, which Hal instantly recognised as belonging to
+      Jeff Cotton, the camp-marshal. &ldquo;Stick 'em up, there! You, Joe Smith!&rdquo; Hal
+      did not wait to see the glint of the marshal's revolver.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There followed a silence. As this drama was being staged for the benefit
+      of the other men, it was necessary to give them time to get thoroughly
+      awake, and to get their eyes used to the light. Meantime Hal stood, his
+      hands in the air. Behind the torch he could make out the faces of the
+      marshal, Bud Adams, Alec Stone, Jake Predovich, and two or three others.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, men,&rdquo; said Cotton, at last, &ldquo;you are some of the fellows that want a
+      check-weighman. And this is the man you chose. Is that right?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was no answer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm going to show you the kind of fellow he is. He came to Mr. Stone here
+      and offered to sell you out.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's a lie, men,&rdquo; said Hal, quietly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He took some money from Mr. Stone to sell you out!&rdquo; insisted the marshal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's a lie,&rdquo; said Hal, again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He's got that money now!&rdquo; cried the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And Hal cried, in turn, &ldquo;They are trying to frame something on me, boys!
+      Don't let them fool you!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Shut up,&rdquo; commanded the marshal; then, to the men, &ldquo;I'll show you. I
+      think he's got that money on him now. Jake, search him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The store-clerk advanced.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Watch out, boys!&rdquo; exclaimed Hal. &ldquo;They will put something in my pockets.&rdquo;
+       And then to Old Mike, who had started angrily forward, &ldquo;It's all right,
+      Mike! Let them alone!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Jake, take off your coat,&rdquo; ordered Cotton. &ldquo;Roll up your sleeves. Show
+      your hands.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      It was for all the world like the performance of a prestidigitator. The
+      little Jew took off his coat and rolled up his sleeves above his elbows.
+      He exhibited his hands to the audience, turning them this way and that;
+      then, keeping them out in front of him, he came slowly towards Hal, like a
+      hypnotist about to put him to sleep.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Watch him!&rdquo; said Cotton. &ldquo;He's got that money on him, I know.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Look sharp!&rdquo; cried Hal. &ldquo;If it isn't there, they'll put it there.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Keep your hands up, young fellow,&rdquo; commanded the marshal. &ldquo;Keep back from
+      him there!&rdquo; This last to Mike Sikoria and the other spectators, who were
+      pressing nearer, peering over one another's shoulders.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was all very serious at the time, but afterwards, when Hal recalled the
+      scene, he laughed over the grotesque figure of Predovich searching his
+      pockets while keeping as far away from him as possible, so that every one
+      might know that the money had actually come out of Hal's pocket. The
+      searcher put his hands first in the inside pockets, then in the pockets of
+      Hal's shirt. Time was needed to build up this climax!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Turn around,&rdquo; commanded Cotton; and Hal turned, and the Jew went through
+      his trouser-pockets. He took out in turn Hal's watch, his comb and mirror,
+      his handkerchief; after examining them and holding them up, he dropped them
+      onto the floor. There was a breathless hush when he came to Hal's purse,
+      and proceeded to open it. Thanks to the greed of the company, there was
+      nothing in the purse but some small change. Predovich closed it and
+      dropped it to the floor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Wait now! He's not through!&rdquo; cried the master of ceremonies. &ldquo;He's got
+      that money somewhere, boys! Did you look in his side-pockets, Jake?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not yet,&rdquo; said Jake.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Look sharp!&rdquo; cried the marshal; and every one craned forward eagerly,
+      while Predovich stooped down on one knee, and put his hand into one coat
+      pocket and then into the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He took his hand out again, and the look of dismay upon his face was so
+      obvious that Hal could hardly keep from laughing. &ldquo;It ain't dere!&rdquo; he
+      declared.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What?&rdquo; cried Cotton, and they stared at each other. &ldquo;By God, he's got rid
+      of it!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's no money on me, boys!&rdquo; proclaimed Hal. &ldquo;It's a job they are
+      trying to put over on us.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He's hid it!&rdquo; shouted the marshal. &ldquo;Find it, Jake!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Then Predovich began to search again, swiftly, and with less circumstance.
+      He was not thinking so much about the spectators now, as about all that
+      good money gone for nothing! He made Hal take off his coat, and ripped
+      open the lining; he unbuttoned the trousers and felt inside; he thrust his
+      fingers down inside Hal's shoes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But there was no money, and the searchers were at a standstill. &ldquo;He took
+      twenty-five dollars from Mr. Stone to sell you out!&rdquo; declared the marshal.
+      &ldquo;He's managed to get rid of it somehow.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Boys,&rdquo; cried Hal, &ldquo;they sent a spy in here, and told him to put money on
+      me.&rdquo; He was looking at Apostolikas as he spoke; he saw the man start and
+      shrink back.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's him! He's a scab!&rdquo; cried Old Mike. &ldquo;He's got the money on him, I
+      bet!&rdquo; And he made a move towards the Greek.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So the camp-marshal realised suddenly that it was time to ring down the
+      curtain on this drama. &ldquo;That's enough of this foolishness,&rdquo; he declared.
+      &ldquo;Bring that fellow along here!&rdquo; And in a flash a couple of the party had
+      seized Hal's wrists, and a third had grabbed him by the collar of his
+      shirt. Before the miners had time to realise what was happening, they had
+      rushed their prisoner out of the cabin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The quarter of an hour which followed was an uncomfortable one for the
+      would-be check-weighman. Outside, in the darkness, the camp-marshal was
+      free to give vent to his rage, and so was Alec Stone. They poured out
+      curses upon him, and kicked him and cuffed him as they went along. One of
+      the men who held his wrists twisted his arm, until he cried out with pain;
+      then they cursed him harder, and bade him hold his mouth. Down the dark
+      and silent street they went swiftly, and into the camp-marshal's office,
+      and upstairs to the room which served as the North Valley jail. Hal was
+      glad enough when they left him here, slamming the iron door behind them.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 16.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      It had been a crude and stupid plot, yet Hal realised that it was adapted
+      to the intelligence of the men for whom it was intended. But for the
+      accident that he had stayed awake, they would have found the money on him,
+      and next morning the whole camp would have heard that he had sold out. Of
+      course his immediate friends, the members of the committee, would not have
+      believed it; but the mass of the workers would have believed it, and so
+      the purpose of Tom Olson's visit to North Valley would have been balked.
+      Throughout the experiences which were to come to him, Hal retained his
+      vivid impression of that adventure; it served to him as a symbol of many
+      things. Just as the bosses had tried to bedevil him, to destroy his
+      influence with his followers, so later on he saw them trying to bedevil
+      the labour-movement, to confuse the intelligence of the whole country.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now Hal was in jail. He went to the window and tried the bars&mdash;but
+      found that they had been made for such trials. Then he groped his way
+      about in the darkness, examining his prison, which proved to be a steel
+      cage built inside the walls of an ordinary room. In one corner was a
+      bench, and in another corner another bench, somewhat broader, with a
+      mattress upon it. Hal had read a little about jails&mdash;enough to cause
+      him to avoid this mattress. He sat upon the bare bench, and began to
+      think.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It is a fact that there is a peculiar psychology incidental to being in
+      jail; just as there is a peculiar psychology incidental to straining your
+      back and breaking your hands loading coal-cars in a five foot vein; and
+      another, and quite different psychology, produced by living at ease off
+      the labours of coal-miners. In a jail, you have first of all the sense of
+      being an animal; the animal side of your being is emphasised, the animal
+      passions of hatred and fear are called into prominence, and if you are to
+      escape being dominated by them, it can only be by intense and concentrated
+      effort of the mind. So, if you are a thinking man, you do a great deal of
+      thinking in a jail; the days are long, and the nights still longer&mdash;you
+      have time for all the thoughts you can have.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The bench was hard, and seemed to grow harder. There was no position in
+      which it could be made to grow soft. Hal got up and paced about, then he
+      lay down for a while, then got up and walked again; and all the while he
+      thought, and all the while the jail-psychology was being impressed upon
+      his mind.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      First, he thought about his immediate problem. What were they going to do
+      to him? The obvious thing would be to put him out of camp, and so be done
+      with him; but would they rest content with that, in their irritation at
+      the trick he had played? Hal had heard vaguely of that native American
+      institution, the &ldquo;third degree,&rdquo; but had never had occasion to think of it
+      as a possibility in his own life. What a difference it made, to think of
+      it in that way!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had told Tom Olson that he would not pledge himself to organise a
+      union, but that he would pledge himself to get a check-weighman; and Olson
+      had laughed, and seemed quite content&mdash;apparently assuming that it
+      would come to the same thing. And now, it rather seemed that Olson had
+      known what he was talking about. For Hal found his thoughts no longer
+      troubled with fears of labour union domination and walking delegate
+      tyranny; on the contrary, he became suddenly willing for the people of
+      North Valley to have a union, and to be as tyrannical as they knew how!
+      And in this change, though Hal had no idea of it, he was repeating an
+      experience common among reformers; many of whom begin as mild and
+      benevolent advocates of some obvious bit of justice, and under the
+      operation of the jail-psychology are made into blazing and determined
+      revolutionists. &ldquo;Eternal spirit of the chainless mind,&rdquo; says Byron.
+      &ldquo;Greatest in dungeons Liberty thou art!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The poet goes on to add that &ldquo;When thy sons to fetters are confined&mdash;&rdquo;
+       then &ldquo;Freedom's fame finds wings on every wind.&rdquo; And just as it was in
+      Chillon, so it seemed to be in North Valley. Dawn came, and Hal stood at
+      the window of his cell, and heard the whistle blow and saw the workers
+      going to their tasks, the toil-bent, pallid faced creatures of the
+      underworld, like a file of baboons in the half-light. He waved his hand to
+      them, and they stopped and stared, and then waved back; he realised that
+      every one of those men must be thinking about his imprisonment, and the
+      reason for it&mdash;and so the jail-psychology was being communicated to
+      them. If any of them cherished distrust of unions, or doubt of the need of
+      organisation in North Valley&mdash;that distrust and that doubt were being
+      dissipated!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &mdash;There was only one thing discouraging about the matter, as Hal
+      thought it over. Why should the bosses have left him here in plain sight,
+      when they might so easily have put him into an automobile, and whisked him
+      down to Pedro before daylight? Was it a sign of the contempt they felt for
+      their slaves? Did they count upon the sight of the prisoner in the window
+      to produce fear instead of resentment? And might it not be that they
+      understood their workers better than the would-be check-weighman? He
+      recalled Mary Burke's pessimism about them, and anxiety gnawed at his
+      soul; and&mdash;such is the operation of the jail-psychology&mdash;he
+      fought against this anxiety. He hated the company for its cynicism, he
+      clenched his hands and set his teeth, desiring to teach the bosses a
+      lesson, to prove to them that their workers were not slaves, but men!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 17.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Toward the middle of the morning, Hal heard footsteps in the corridor
+      outside, and a man whom he did not know opened the barred door and set
+      down a pitcher of water and a tin plate with a hunk of bread on it. When
+      he started to leave, Hal spoke: &ldquo;Just a minute, please.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other frowned at him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Can you give me any idea how long I am to stay in here?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I cannot,&rdquo; said the man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If I'm to be locked up,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;I've certainly a right to know what
+      is the charge against me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Go to blazes!&rdquo; said the other, and slammed the door and went down the
+      corridor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal went to the window again, and passed the time watching the people who
+      went by. Groups of ragged children gathered, looking up at him, grinning
+      and making signs&mdash;until some one appeared below and ordered them
+      away.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As time passed, Hal became hungry. The taste of bread, eaten alone,
+      becomes speedily monotonous, and the taste of water does not relieve it;
+      nevertheless, Hal munched the bread, and drank the water, and wished for
+      more.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The day dragged by; and late in the afternoon the keeper came again, with
+      another hunk of bread and another pitcher of water. &ldquo;Listen a moment,&rdquo;
+       said Hal, as the man was turning away.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I got nothin' to say to you,&rdquo; said the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have something to say to you,&rdquo; pleaded Hal. &ldquo;I have read in a book&mdash;I
+      forget where, but it was written by some doctor&mdash;that white bread
+      does not contain the elements necessary to the sustaining of the human
+      body.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Go on!&rdquo; growled the jailer. &ldquo;What yer givin' us?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I mean,&rdquo; explained Hal, &ldquo;a diet of bread and water is not what I'd choose
+      to live on.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What would yer choose?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The tone suggested that the question was a rhetorical one; but Hal took it
+      in good faith. &ldquo;If I could have some beefsteak and mashed potatoes&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The door of the cell closed with a slam whose echoes drowned out the rest
+      of that imaginary menu. And so once more Hal sat on the hard bench, and
+      munched his hunk of bread, and thought jail-thoughts.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the quitting-whistle blew, he stood at the window, and saw the groups
+      of his friends once again, and got their covert signals of encouragement.
+      Then darkness fell, and another long vigil began.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was late; Hal had no means of telling how late, save that all the
+      lights in the camps were out. He made up his mind that he was in for the
+      night, and had settled himself on the floor with his arm for a pillow, and
+      had dozed off to sleep, when suddenly there came a scraping sound against
+      the bars of his window. He sat up with a start, and heard another sound,
+      unmistakably the rustling of paper. He sprang to the window, where by the
+      faint light of the stars he could make out something dangling. He caught
+      at it; it seemed to be an ordinary note-book, such as stenographers use,
+      tied on the end of a pole.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal looked out, but could see no one. He caught hold of the pole and
+      jerked it, as a signal; and then he heard a whisper which he recognised
+      instantly as Rovetta's. &ldquo;Hello! Listen. Write your name hundred times in
+      book. I come back. Understand?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The command was a sufficiently puzzling one, but Hal realised that this
+      was no time for explanations. He answered, &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; and broke the string and
+      took the notebook. There was a pencil attached, with a piece of cloth
+      wrapped round the point to protect it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The pole was withdrawn, and Hal sat on the bench, and began to write,
+      three or four times on a page, &ldquo;Joe Smith&mdash;Joe Smith&mdash;Joe
+      Smith.&rdquo; It is not hard to write &ldquo;Joe Smith,&rdquo; even in darkness, and so,
+      while his hand moved, Hal's mind was busy with this mystery. It was fairly
+      to be assumed that his committee did not want his autograph to distribute
+      for a souvenir; they must want it for some vital purpose, to meet some new
+      move of the bosses. The answer to this riddle was not slow in coming:
+      having failed in their effort to find money on him, the bosses had framed
+      up a letter, which they were exhibiting as having been written by the
+      would-be check-weigh-man. His friends wanted his signature to disprove the
+      authenticity of the letter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal wrote a free and rapid hand, with a generous flourish; he felt sure it
+      would be different from Alec Stone's idea of a working-boy's scrawl. His
+      pencil flew on and on&mdash;&ldquo;Joe Smith&mdash;Joe Smith&mdash;&rdquo; page after
+      page, until he was sure that he had written a signature for every miner in
+      the camp, and was beginning on the buddies. Then, hearing a whistle
+      outside, he stopped and sprang to the window.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Throw it!&rdquo; whispered a voice; and Hal threw it. He saw a form vanish up
+      the street, after which all was quiet again. He listened for a while, to
+      see if he had roused his jailer; then he lay down on the bench&mdash;and
+      thought more jail-thoughts!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 18.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Morning came, and the mine-whistle blew, and Hal stood at the window
+      again. This time he noticed that some of the miners on their way to work
+      had little strips of paper in their hands, which strips they waved
+      conspicuously for him to see. Old Mike Sikoria came along, having a whole
+      bunch of strips in his hands, which he was distributing to all who would
+      take them. Doubtless he had been warned to proceed secretly, but the
+      excitement of the occasion had been too much for him; he capered about
+      like a young spring lamb, and waved the strips at Hal in plain sight of
+      all the world.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Such indiscreet behaviour met the return it invited. As Hal watched, he
+      saw a stocky figure come striding round the corner, confronting the
+      startled old Slovak. It was Bud Adams, the mine-guard, and his hard fists
+      were clenched, and his whole body gathered for a blow. Mike saw him, and
+      was as if suddenly struck with paralysis; his toil-bent shoulders sunk
+      together, and his hands fell to his sides&mdash;his fingers opening, and
+      his precious strips of paper fluttering to the ground. Mike stared at Bud
+      like a fascinated rabbit, making no move to protect himself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal clutched the bars, with an impulse to leap to his friend's defence.
+      But the expected blow did not fall; the mine-guard contented himself with
+      glaring ferociously, and giving an order to the old man. Mike stooped and
+      picked up the papers&mdash;the process taking him some time, as he was
+      unable or unwilling to take his eyes off the mine-guard's. When he got
+      them all in his hands, there came another order, and he gave them up to
+      Bud. After which he fell back a step, and the other followed, his fists
+      still clenched, and a blow seeming about to leap from him every moment.
+      Mike receded another step, and then another&mdash;so the two of them
+      backed out of sight around the corner. Men who had been witnesses of this
+      little drama turned and slunk off, and Hal was given no clue as to its
+      outcome.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A couple of hours afterwards, Hal's jailer came up, this time without any
+      bread and water. He opened the door and commanded the prisoner to &ldquo;come
+      along.&rdquo; Hal went downstairs, and entered Jeff Cotton's office.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The camp-marshal sat at his desk with a cigar between his teeth. He was
+      writing, and he went on writing until the jailer had gone out and closed
+      the door. Then he turned his revolving chair and crossed his legs, leaning
+      back and looking at the young miner in his dirty blue overalls, his hair
+      tousled and his face pale from his period of confinement. The
+      camp-marshal's aristocratic face wore a smile. &ldquo;Well, young fellow,&rdquo; said
+      he, &ldquo;you've been having a lot of fun in this camp.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pretty fair, thank you,&rdquo; answered Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Beat us out all along the line, hey?&rdquo; Then, after a pause, &ldquo;Now, tell me,
+      what do you think you're going to get out of it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's what Alec Stone asked me,&rdquo; replied Hal. &ldquo;I don't think it would do
+      much good to explain. I doubt if you believe in altruism any more than
+      Stone does.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The camp-marshal took his cigar from his mouth, and flicked off the ashes.
+      His face became serious, and there was a silence, while he studied Hal.
+      &ldquo;You a union organiser?&rdquo; he asked, at last.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You're an educated man; you're no labourer, that I know. Who's paying
+      you?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There you are! You don't believe in altruism.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other blew a ring of smoke across the room. &ldquo;Just want to put the
+      company in the hole, hey? Some kind of agitator?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am a miner who wants to be a check-weighman.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Socialist?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That depends upon developments here.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said the marshal, &ldquo;you're an intelligent chap, that I can see. So
+      I'll lay my hand on the table and you can study it. You're not going to
+      serve as check-weighman in North Valley, nor any other place that the 'G.
+      F. C.' has anything to do with. Nor are you going to have the satisfaction
+      of putting the company in a hole. We're not even going to beat you up and
+      make a martyr of you. I was tempted to do that the other night, but I
+      changed my mind.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You might change the bruises on my arm,&rdquo; suggested Hal, in a pleasant
+      voice.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We're going to offer you the choice of two things,&rdquo; continued the
+      marshal, without heeding this mild sarcasm. &ldquo;Either you will sign a paper
+      admitting that you took the twenty-five dollars from Alec Stone, in which
+      case we will fire you and call it square; or else we will prove that you
+      took it, in which case we will send you to the pen for five or ten years.
+      Do you get that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Now when Hal had applied for the job of check-weighman, he had been
+      expecting to be thrown out of the camp, and had intended to go, counting
+      his education complete. But here, as he sat and gazed into the marshal's
+      menacing eyes, he decided suddenly that he did not want to leave North
+      Valley. He wanted to stay and take the measure of this gigantic &ldquo;burglar,&rdquo;
+       the General Fuel Company.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's a serious threat, Mr. Cotton,&rdquo; he remarked. &ldquo;Do you often do
+      things like that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We do them when we have to,&rdquo; was the reply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, it's a novel proposition. Tell me more about it. What will the
+      charge be?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm not sure about that&mdash;we'll put it up to our lawyers. Maybe
+      they'll call it conspiracy, maybe blackmail. They'll make it whatever
+      carries a long enough sentence.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And before I enter my plea, would you mind letting me see the letter I'm
+      supposed to have written.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, you've heard about the letter, have you?&rdquo; said the camp-marshal,
+      lifting his eyebrows in mild surprise. He took from his desk a sheet of
+      paper and handed it to Hal, who read:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Dere mister Stone, You don't need worry about the check-wayman. Pay me
+      twenty five dollars, and I will fix it right. Yours try, Joe Smith.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Having taken in the words of the letter, Hal examined the paper, and
+      perceived that his enemies had taken the trouble, not merely to forge a
+      letter in his name, but to have it photographed, to have a cut made of the
+      photograph, and to have it printed. Beyond doubt they had distributed it
+      broadcast in the camp. And all this in a few hours! It was as Olson had
+      said&mdash;a regular system to keep the men bedevilled.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 19.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal took a minute or so to ponder the situation. &ldquo;Mr. Cotton,&rdquo; he said, at
+      last. &ldquo;I know how to spell better than that. Also my handwriting is a bit
+      more fluent.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a trace of a smile about the marshal's cruel lips. &ldquo;I know,&rdquo; he
+      replied. &ldquo;I've not failed to compare them.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You have a good secret-service department!&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Before you get through, young fellow, you'll discover that our legal
+      department is equally efficient.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;they'll need to be; for I don't see how you can get
+      round the fact that I'm a check-weighman, chosen according to the law, and
+      with a group of the men behind me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If that's what you're counting on,&rdquo; retorted Cotton, &ldquo;you may as well
+      forget it. You've got no group any more.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh! You've got rid of them?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We've got rid of the ring-leaders.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of whom?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That old billy-goat, Sikoria, for one.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You've shipped him?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We have.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I saw the beginning of that. Where have you sent him?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That,&rdquo; smiled the marshal, &ldquo;is a job for <i>your</i> secret-service
+      department!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And who else?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;John Edstrom has gone down to bury his wife. It's not the first time that
+      dough-faced old preacher has made trouble for us, but it'll be the last.
+      You'll find him in Pedro&mdash;probably in the poor-house.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; responded Hal, quickly&mdash;and there came just a touch of elation
+      in his voice&mdash;&ldquo;he won't have to go to the poor-house at once. You
+      see, I've just sent twenty-five dollars to him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The camp-marshal frowned. &ldquo;Really!&rdquo; Then, after a pause, &ldquo;You <i>did</i>
+      have that money on you! I thought that lousy Greek had got away with it!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No. Your knave was honest. But so was I. I knew Edstrom had been getting
+      short weight for years, so he was the one person with any right to the
+      money.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      This story was untrue, of course; the money was still buried in Edstrom's
+      cabin. But Hal meant for the old miner to have it in the end, and meantime
+      he wanted to throw Cotton off the track.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A clever trick, young man!&rdquo; said the marshal. &ldquo;But you'll repent it
+      before you're through. It only makes me more determined to put you where
+      you can't do us any harm.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean in the pen? You understand, of course, it will mean a jury
+      trial. You can get a jury to do what you want?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They tell me you've been taking an interest in politics in Pedro County.
+      Haven't you looked into our jury-system?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, I haven't got that far.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The marshal began blowing rings of smoke again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, there are some three hundred men on our jury-list, and we know them
+      all. You'll find yourself facing a box with Jake Predovich as foreman,
+      three company-clerks, two of Alf Raymond's saloon-keepers, a ranchman with
+      a mortgage held by the company-bank, and five Mexicans who have no idea
+      what it's all about, but would stick a knife into your back for a drink of
+      whiskey. The District Attorney is a politician who favours the miners in
+      his speeches, and favours us in his acts; while Judge Denton, of the
+      district court, is the law partner of Vagleman, our chief-counsel. Do you
+      get all that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;I've heard of the 'Empire of Raymond'; I'm interested to
+      see the machinery. You're quite open about it!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; replied the marshal, &ldquo;I want you to know what you're up against.
+      We didn't start this fight, and we're perfectly willing to end it without
+      trouble. All we ask is that you make amends for the mischief you've done
+      us.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By 'making amends,' you mean I'm to disgrace myself&mdash;to tell the men
+      I'm a traitor?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Precisely,&rdquo; said the marshal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think I'll have a seat while I consider the matter,&rdquo; said Hal; and he
+      took a chair, and stretched out his legs, and made himself elaborately
+      comfortable. &ldquo;That bench upstairs is frightfully hard,&rdquo; said he, and
+      smiled mockingly upon the camp-marshal.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 20.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      When this conversation was continued, it was upon a new and unexpected
+      line. &ldquo;Cotton,&rdquo; remarked the prisoner, &ldquo;I perceive that you are a man of
+      education. It occurs to me that once upon a time you must have been what
+      the world calls a gentleman.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The blood started into the camp-marshal's face. &ldquo;You go to hell!&rdquo; said he.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I did not intend to ask questions,&rdquo; continued Hal. &ldquo;I can well understand
+      that you mightn't care to answer them. My point is that, being an
+      ex-gentleman, you may appreciate certain aspects of this case which would
+      be beyond the understanding of a nigger-driver like Stone, or an
+      efficiency expert like Cartwright. One gentleman can recognise another,
+      even in a miner's costume. Isn't that so?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal paused for an answer, and the marshal gave him a wary look. &ldquo;I suppose
+      so,&rdquo; he said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, to begin with, one gentleman does not smoke without inviting
+      another to join him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The man gave another look. Hal thought he was going to consign him to
+      hades once more; but instead he took a cigar from his vest-pocket and held
+      it out.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, thank you,&rdquo; said Hal, quietly. &ldquo;I do not smoke. But I like to be
+      invited.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a pause, while the two men measured each other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, Cotton,&rdquo; began the prisoner, &ldquo;you pictured the scene at my trial.
+      Let me carry on the story for you. You have your case all framed up, your
+      hand-picked jury in the box, and your hand-picked judge on the bench, your
+      hand-picked prosecuting-attorney putting through the job; you are ready to
+      send your victim to prison, for an example to the rest of your employés.
+      But suppose that, at the climax of the proceedings, you should make the
+      discovery that your victim is a person who cannot be sent to prison?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Cannot be sent to prison?&rdquo; repeated the other. His tone was thoughtful.
+      &ldquo;You'll have to explain.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Surely not to a man of your intelligence! Don't you know, Cotton, there
+      are people who cannot be sent to prison?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The camp-marshal smoked his cigar for a bit. &ldquo;There are some in this
+      county,&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;But I thought I knew them all.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;has it never occurred to you that there might be some
+      in this <i>state</i>?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There followed a long silence. The two men were gazing into each other's
+      eyes; and the more they gazed, the more plainly Hal read uncertainty in
+      the face of the marshal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Think how embarrassing it would be!&rdquo; he continued. &ldquo;You have your drama
+      all staged&mdash;as you did the night before last&mdash;only on a larger
+      stage, before a more important audience; and at the <i>dénouement</i> you
+      find that, instead of vindicating yourself before the workers in North
+      Valley, you have convicted yourself before the public of the state. You
+      have shown the whole community that you are law-breakers; worse than that&mdash;you
+      have shown that you are jack-asses!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      This time the camp-marshal gazed so long that his cigar went out. And
+      meantime Hal was lounging in his chair, smiling at him strangely. It was
+      as if a transformation was taking place before the marshal's eyes; the
+      miner's &ldquo;jumpers&rdquo; fell away from Hal's figure, and there was a suit of
+      evening-clothes in their place!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who the devil are you?&rdquo; cried the man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well now!&rdquo; laughed Hal. &ldquo;You boast of the efficiency of your secret
+      service department! Put them at work upon this problem. A young man, age
+      twenty-one, height five feet ten inches, weight one hundred and fifty-two
+      pounds, eyes brown, hair chestnut and rather wavy, manner genial, a
+      favourite with the ladies&mdash;at least that's what the society notes say&mdash;missing
+      since early in June, supposed to be hunting mountain-goats in Mexico. As
+      you know, Cotton, there's only one city in the state that has any
+      'society,' and in that city there are only twenty-five or thirty families
+      that count. For a secret service department like that of the 'G. F. C.',
+      that is really too easy.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Again there was a silence, until Hal broke it. &ldquo;Your distress is a tribute
+      to your insight. The company is lucky in the fact that one of its
+      camp-marshals happens to be an ex-gentleman.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Again the other flushed. &ldquo;Well, by God!&rdquo; he said, half to himself; and
+      then, making a last effort to hold his bluff&mdash;&ldquo;You're kidding me!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;'Kidding,' as you call it, is one of the favourite occupations of
+      society, Cotton. A good part of our intercourse consists of it&mdash;at
+      least among the younger set.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Suddenly the marshal rose. &ldquo;Say,&rdquo; he demanded, &ldquo;would you mind going back
+      upstairs for a few minutes?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal could not restrain his laughter at this. &ldquo;I should mind it very much,&rdquo;
+       he said. &ldquo;I have been on a bread and water diet for thirty-six hours, and
+      I should like very much to get out and have a breath of fresh air.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But,&rdquo; said the other, lamely, &ldquo;I've got to send you up there.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's another matter,&rdquo; replied Hal. &ldquo;If you send me, I'll go, but it's
+      your look-out. You've kept me here without legal authority, with no charge
+      against me, and without giving me an opportunity to see counsel. Unless
+      I'm very much mistaken, you are liable criminally for that, and the
+      company is liable civilly. That is your own affair, of course. I only want
+      to make clear my position&mdash;when you ask me would I <i>mind</i>
+      stepping upstairs, I, answer that I would mind very much indeed.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The camp-marshal stood for a bit, chewing nervously on his extinct cigar.
+      Then he went to the door. &ldquo;Hey, Gus!&rdquo; he called. Hal's jailer appeared,
+      and Cotton whispered to him, and he went away again. &ldquo;I'm telling him to
+      get you some food, and you can sit and eat it here. Will that suit you
+      better?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It depends,&rdquo; said Hal, making the most of the situation. &ldquo;Are you
+      inviting me as your prisoner, or as your guest?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, come off!&rdquo; said the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But I have to know my legal status. It will be of importance to my
+      lawyers.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Be my guest,&rdquo; said the camp-marshal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But when a guest has eaten, he is free to go out, if he wishes to!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I will let you know about that before you get through.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, be quick. I'm a rapid eater.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You'll promise you won't go away before that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If I do,&rdquo; was Hal's laughing reply, &ldquo;it will be only to my place of
+      business. You can look for me at the tipple, Cotton!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 21.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      The marshal went out, and a few moments later the jailer came back, with a
+      meal which presented a surprising contrast to the ones he had previously
+      served. There was a tray containing cold ham, a couple of soft boiled
+      eggs, some potato salad, and a cup of coffee with rolls and butter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, well!&rdquo; said Hal, condescendingly. &ldquo;That's even nicer than beefsteak
+      and mashed potatoes!&rdquo; He sat and watched, not offering to help, while the
+      other made room for the tray on the table in front of him. Then the man
+      stalked out, and Hal began to eat.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Before he had finished, the camp-marshal returned. He seated himself in
+      his revolving chair, and appeared to be meditative. Between bites, Hal
+      would look up and smile at him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Cotton,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;you know there is no more certain test of breeding
+      than table-manners. You will observe that I have not tucked my napkin in
+      my neck, as Alec Stone would have done.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm getting you,&rdquo; replied the marshal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal set his knife and fork side by side on his plate. &ldquo;Your man has
+      overlooked the finger-bowl,&rdquo; he remarked. &ldquo;However, don't bother. You
+      might ring for him now, and let him take the tray.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The camp-marshal used his voice for a bell, and the jailer came.
+      &ldquo;Unfortunately,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;when your people were searching me, night
+      before last, they dropped my purse, so I have no tip for the waiter.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The &ldquo;waiter&rdquo; glared at Hal as if he would like to bite him; but the
+      camp-marshal grinned. &ldquo;Clear out, Gus, and shut the door,&rdquo; said he.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then Hal stretched his legs and made himself comfortable again. &ldquo;I must
+      say I like being your guest better than being your prisoner!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a pause.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I've been talking it over with Mr. Cartwright,&rdquo; began the marshal. &ldquo;I've
+      got no way of telling how much of this is bluff that you've been giving
+      me, but it's evident enough that you're no miner. You may be some
+      newfangled kind of agitator, but I'm damned if I ever saw an agitator that
+      had tea-party manners. I suppose you've been brought up to money; but if
+      that's so, why you want to do this kind of thing is more than I can
+      imagine.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tell me, Cotton,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;did you never hear of <i>ennui</i>?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; replied the other, &ldquo;but aren't you rather young to be troubled with
+      that complaint?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Suppose I've seen others suffering from it, and wanted to try a different
+      way of living from theirs?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If you're what you say, you ought to be still in college.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I go back for my senior year this fall.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What college?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You doubt me still, I see!&rdquo; said Hal, and smiled. Then, unexpectedly,
+      with a spirit which only moonlit campuses and privilege could beget, he
+      chanted:
+    </p>
+<p class="pre">
+  &ldquo;Old King Coal was a merry old soul,<br>
+    <span class="m2">And a merry old soul was he;</span><br>
+  He made him a college, all full of knowledge&mdash;<br>
+   <span class="m2">Hurrah for you and me!&rdquo;</span>
+ </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What college is that?&rdquo; asked the marshal. And Hal sang again:
+    </p>
+<p class="pre">
+  &ldquo;Oh, Liza-Ann, come out with me,<br>
+  The moon is a-shinin' in the monkey-puzzle tree!<br>
+  Oh, Liza-Ann, I have began<br>
+  To sing you the song of Harrigan!&rdquo;
+ </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, well!&rdquo; commented the marshal, when the concert was over. &ldquo;Are there
+      many more like you at Harrigan?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A little group&mdash;enough to leaven the lump.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And this is your idea of a vacation?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, it isn't a vacation; it's a summer-course in practical sociology.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, I see!&rdquo; said the marshal; and he smiled in spite of himself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All last year we let the professors of political economy hand out their
+      theories to us. But somehow the theories didn't seem to correspond with
+      the facts. I said to myself, 'I've got to check them up.' You know the
+      phrases, perhaps&mdash;individualism, <i>laissez faire</i>, freedom of
+      contract, the right of every man to work for whom he pleases. And here you
+      see how the theories work out&mdash;a camp-marshal with a cruel smile on
+      his face and a gun on his hip, breaking the laws faster than a governor
+      can sign them.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The camp-marshal decided suddenly that he had had enough of this
+      &ldquo;tea-party.&rdquo; He rose to his feet to cut matters short. &ldquo;If you don't mind,
+      young man,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;we'll get down to business!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 22.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      He took a turn about the room, then he came and stopped in front of Hal.
+      He stood with his hands thrust into his pockets, with a certain jaunty
+      grace that was out of keeping with his occupation. He was a handsome
+      devil, Hal thought&mdash;in spite of his dangerous mouth, and the marks of
+      dissipation on him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Young man,&rdquo; he began, with another effort at geniality. &ldquo;I don't know who
+      you are, but you're wide awake; you've got your nerve with you, and I
+      admire you. So I'm willing to call the thing off, and let you go back and
+      finish that course at college.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had been studying the other's careful smile. &ldquo;Cotton,&rdquo; he said, at
+      last, &ldquo;let me get the proposition clear. I don't have to say I took that
+      money?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, we'll let you off from that.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you won't send me to the pen?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No. I never meant to do that, of course. I was only trying to bluff you.
+      All I ask is that you clear out, and give our people a chance to forget.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But what's there in that for me, Cotton? If I had wanted to run away, I
+      could have done it any time during the last eight or ten weeks.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, of course, but now it's different. Now it's a matter of my
+      consideration.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Cut out the consideration!&rdquo; exclaimed Hal. &ldquo;You want to get rid of me,
+      and you'd like to do it without trouble. But you can't&mdash;so forget
+      it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other was staring, puzzled. &ldquo;You mean you expect to stay here?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I mean just that.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Young man, I've had enough of this! I've got no more time to play. I
+      don't care who you are, I don't care about your threats. I'm the marshal
+      of this camp, and I have the job of keeping order in it. I say you're
+      going to get out!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But, Cotton,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;this is an incorporated town! I have a right to
+      walk on the streets&mdash;exactly as much right as you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm not going to waste time arguing. I'm going to put you into an
+      automobile and take you down to Pedro!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And suppose I go to the District Attorney and demand that he prosecute
+      you?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He'll laugh at you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And suppose I go to the Governor of the state?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He'll laugh still louder.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right, Cotton; maybe you know what you're doing; but I wonder&mdash;I
+      wonder just how sure you feel. Has it never occurred to you that your
+      superiors might not care to have you take these high-handed steps?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My superiors? Who do you mean?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's one man in the state you must respect&mdash;even though you
+      despise the District Attorney and the Governor. That is Peter Harrigan.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Peter Harrigan?&rdquo; echoed the other; and then he burst into a laugh. &ldquo;Well,
+      you <i>are</i> a merry lad!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal continued to study him, unmoved. &ldquo;I wonder if you're sure! He'll stand
+      for everything you've done.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He will!&rdquo; said the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;For the way you treat the workers? He knows you are giving short
+      weights.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh hell!&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;Where do you suppose he got the money for your
+      college?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a pause; at last the marshal asked, defiantly, &ldquo;Have you got
+      what you want?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; replied Hal. &ldquo;Of course, I thought it all along, but it's hard to
+      convince other people. Old Peter's not like most of these Western wolves,
+      you know; he's a pious high-church man.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The marshal smiled grimly. &ldquo;So long as there are sheep,&rdquo; said he,
+      &ldquo;there'll be wolves in sheep's clothing.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;And you leave them to feed on the lambs!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If any lamb is silly enough to be fooled by that old worn-out skin,&rdquo;
+       remarked the marshal, &ldquo;it deserves to be eaten.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal was studying the cynical face in front of him. &ldquo;Cotton,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;the
+      shepherds are asleep; but the watch-dogs are barking. Haven't you heard
+      them?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I hadn't noticed.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They are barking, barking! They are going to wake the shepherds! They are
+      going to save the sheep!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Religion don't interest me,&rdquo; said the other, looking bored; &ldquo;your kind
+      any more than Old Peter's.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And suddenly Hal rose to his feet. &ldquo;Cotton,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;my place is with
+      the flock! I'm going back to my job at the tipple!&rdquo; And he started towards
+      the door.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 23.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Jeff Cotton sprang forward. &ldquo;Stop!&rdquo; he cried.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Hal did not stop.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;See here, young man!&rdquo; cried the marshal. &ldquo;Don't carry this joke too far!&rdquo;
+       And he sprang to the door, just ahead of his prisoner. His hand moved
+      toward his hip.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Draw your gun, Cotton,&rdquo; said Hal; and, as the marshal obeyed, &ldquo;Now I will
+      stop. If I obey you in future, it will be at the point of your revolver.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The marshal's mouth was dangerous-looking. &ldquo;You may find that in this
+      country there's not so much between the drawing of a gun and the firing of
+      it!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I've explained my attitude,&rdquo; replied Hal. &ldquo;What are your orders?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Come back and sit in this chair.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So Hal sat, and the marshal went to his desk, and took up the telephone.
+      &ldquo;Number seven,&rdquo; he said, and waited a moment. &ldquo;That you, Tom? Bring the
+      car right away.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He hung up the receiver, and there followed a silence; finally Hal
+      inquired, &ldquo;I'm going to Pedro?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was no reply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see I've got on your nerves,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;But I don't suppose it's
+      occurred to you that you deprived me of my money last night. Also, I've an
+      account with the company, some money coming to me for my work? What about
+      that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The marshal took up the receiver and gave another number. &ldquo;Hello, Simpson.
+      This is Cotton. Will you figure out the time of Joe Smith, buddy in Number
+      Two, and send over the cash. Get his account at the store; and be quick,
+      we're waiting for it. He's going out in a hurry.&rdquo; Again he hung up the
+      receiver.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tell me,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;did you take that trouble for Mike Sikoria?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was silence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Let me suggest that when you get my time, you give me part of it in
+      scrip. I want it for a souvenir.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Still there was silence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You know,&rdquo; persisted the prisoner, tormentingly, &ldquo;there's a law against
+      paying wages in scrip.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The marshal was goaded to speech. &ldquo;We don't pay in scrip.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But you do, man! You know you do!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We give it when they ask their money ahead.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The law requires you to pay them twice a month, and you don't do it. You
+      pay them once a month, and meantime, if they need money, you give them
+      this imitation money!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, if it satisfies them, where's your kick?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If it doesn't satisfy them, you put them on the train and ship them out?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The marshal sat in silence, tapping impatiently with his fingers on the
+      desk.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Cotton,&rdquo; Hal began, again, &ldquo;I'm out for education, and there's something
+      I'd like you to explain to me&mdash;a problem in human psychology. When a
+      man puts through a deal like this, what does he tell himself about it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Young man,&rdquo; said the marshal, &ldquo;if you'll pardon me, you are getting to be
+      a bore.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, but we've got an automobile ride before us! Surely we can't sit in
+      silence all the way!&rdquo; After a moment he added, in a coaxing tone, &ldquo;I
+      really want to learn, you know. You might be able to win me over.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No!&rdquo; said Cotton, promptly. &ldquo;I'll not go in for anything like that!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But why not?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because, I'm no match for you in long-windedness. I've heard you
+      agitators before, you're all alike: you think the world is run by talk&mdash;but
+      it isn't.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had come to realise that he was not getting anywhere in his duel with
+      the camp-marshal. He had made every effort to get somewhere; he had
+      argued, threatened, bluffed, he had even sung songs for the marshal! But
+      the marshal was going to ship him out, that was all there was to it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had gone on with the quarrel, simply because he had to wait for the
+      automobile, and because he had endured indignities and had to vent his
+      anger and disappointment. But now he stopped quarrelling suddenly. His
+      attention was caught by the marshal's words, &ldquo;You think the world is run
+      by talk!&rdquo; Those were the words Hal's brother always used! And also, the
+      marshal had said, &ldquo;You agitators!&rdquo; For years it had been one of the taunts
+      Hal had heard from his brother, &ldquo;You will turn into one of these
+      agitators!&rdquo; Hal had answered, with boyish obstinacy, &ldquo;I don't care if I
+      do!&rdquo; And now, here the marshal was calling him an agitator, seriously,
+      without an apology, without the license of blood relationship. He repeated
+      the words, &ldquo;That's what gets me about you agitators&mdash;you come in here
+      trying to stir these people up&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So that was the way Hal seemed to the &ldquo;G. F. C.&rdquo;! He had come here
+      intending to be a spectator, to stand on the deck of the steamer and look
+      down into the ocean of social misery. He had considered every step so
+      carefully before he took it! He had merely tried to be a check-weighman,
+      nothing more! He had told Tom Olson he would not go in for unionism; he
+      had had a distrust of union organisers, of agitators of all sorts&mdash;blind,
+      irresponsible persons who went about stirring up dangerous passions. He
+      had come to admire Tom Olson&mdash;but that had only partly removed his
+      prejudices; Olson was only one agitator, not the whole lot of them!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But all his consideration for the company had counted for nothing;
+      likewise all his efforts to convince the marshal that he was a
+      leisure-class person. In spite of all Hal's &ldquo;tea-party manners,&rdquo; the
+      marshal had said, &ldquo;You agitators!&rdquo; What was he judging by, Hal wondered.
+      Had he, Hal Warner, come to look like one of these blind, irresponsible
+      persons? It was time that he took stock of himself!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Had two months of &ldquo;dirty work&rdquo; in the bowels of the earth changed him so?
+      The idea was bound to be disconcerting to one who had been a favourite of
+      the ladies! Did he talk like it?&mdash;he who had been &ldquo;kissing the
+      Blarney-stone!&rdquo; The marshal had said he was &ldquo;long-winded!&rdquo; Well, to be
+      sure, he had talked a lot; but what could the man expect&mdash;having shut
+      him up in jail for two nights and a day, with only his grievances to brood
+      over! Was that the way real agitators were made&mdash;being shut up with
+      grievances to brood over?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal recalled his broodings in the jail. He had been embittered; he had not
+      cared whether North Valley was dominated by labour unions. But that had
+      all been a mood, the same as his answer to his brother; that was jail
+      psychology, a part of his summer course in practical sociology. He had put
+      it aside; but apparently it had made a deeper impression upon him than he
+      had realised. It had changed his physical aspect! It had made him look and
+      talk like an agitator! It had made him &ldquo;irresponsible,&rdquo; &ldquo;blind!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Yes, that was it! All this dirt, ignorance, disease, this knavery and
+      oppression, this maiming of men in body and soul in the coal-camps of
+      America&mdash;all this did not exist&mdash;it was the hallucination of an
+      &ldquo;irresponsible&rdquo; brain! There was the evidence of Hal's brother and the
+      camp-marshal to prove it; there was the evidence of the whole world to
+      prove it! The camp-marshal and his brother and the whole world could not
+      be &ldquo;blind!&rdquo; And if you talked to them about these conditions, they
+      shrugged their shoulders, they called you a &ldquo;dreamer,&rdquo; a &ldquo;crank,&rdquo; they
+      said you were &ldquo;off your trolley&rdquo;; or else they became angry and bitter,
+      they called you names; they said, &ldquo;You agitators!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 24.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      The camp-marshal of North Valley had been &ldquo;agitated&rdquo; to such an extent
+      that he could not stay in his chair. All the harassments of his troubled
+      career had come pouring into his mind. He had begun pacing the floor, and
+      was talking away, regardless of whether Hal listened or not.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A campful of lousy wops! They can't understand any civilised language,
+      they've only one idea in the world&mdash;to shirk every lick of work they
+      can, to fill up their cars with slate and rock and blame it on some other
+      fellow, and go off to fill themselves with booze. They won't work fair,
+      they won't fight fair&mdash;they fight with a knife in the back! And you
+      agitators with your sympathy for them&mdash;why the hell do they come to
+      this country, unless they like it better than their own?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had heard this question before; but they had to wait for the
+      automobile&mdash;and being sure that he was an agitator now, he would make
+      all the trouble he could! &ldquo;The reason is obvious enough,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Isn't
+      it true that the 'G. F. C.' employs agents abroad to tell them of the
+      wonderful pay they get in America?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, they get it, don't they? Three times what they ever got at home!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, but it doesn't do them any good. There's another fact which the 'G.
+      F. C.' doesn't mention&mdash;that the cost of living is even higher than
+      the wages. Then, too, they're led to think of America as a land of
+      liberty; they come, hoping for a better chance for themselves and their
+      children; but they find a camp-marshal who's off in his geography&mdash;who
+      thinks the Rocky Mountains are somewhere in Russia!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know that line of talk!&rdquo; exclaimed the other. &ldquo;I learned to wave the
+      starry flag when I was a kid. But I tell you, you've got to get coal
+      mined, and it isn't the same thing as running a Fourth of July
+      celebration. Some church people make a law they shan't work on Sunday&mdash;and
+      what comes of that? They have thirty-six hours to get soused in, and so
+      they can't work on Monday!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Surely there's a remedy, Cotton! Suppose the company refused to rent
+      buildings to saloon-keepers?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good God! You think we haven't tried it? They go down to Pedro for the
+      stuff, and bring back all they can carry&mdash;inside them and out. And if
+      we stop that&mdash;then our hands move to some other camps, where they can
+      spend their money as they please. No, young man, when you have such
+      cattle, you have to drive them! And it takes a strong hand to do it&mdash;a
+      man like Peter Harrigan. If there's to be any coal, if industry's to go
+      on, if there's to be any progress&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We have that in our song!&rdquo; laughed Hal, breaking into the camp-marshal's
+      discourse&mdash;
+    </p>
+<p class="pre">
+  &ldquo;He keeps them a-roll, that merry old soul&mdash;<br>
+    <span class="m2">The wheels of industree;</span><br>
+  A-roll and a-roll, for his pipe and his bowl<br>
+    <span class="m2">And his college facultee!&rdquo;</span><br>
+ </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; growled the marshal. &ldquo;It's easy enough for you smart young chaps to
+      make verses, while you're living at ease on the old man's bounty. But that
+      don't answer any argument. Are you college boys ready to take over his
+      job? Or these Democrat politicians that come in here, talking fool-talk
+      about liberty, making labour laws for these wops&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I begin to understand,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;You object to the politicians who pass
+      the laws, you doubt their motives&mdash;and so you refuse to obey. But why
+      didn't you tell me sooner you were an anarchist?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Anarchist?&rdquo; cried the marshal. &ldquo;<i>Me</i> an anarchist?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's what an anarchist is, isn't it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good God! If that isn't the limit! You come here, stirring up the men&mdash;a
+      union agitator, or whatever you are&mdash;and you know that the first idea
+      of these people, when they do break loose, is to put dynamite in the
+      shafts and set fire to the buildings!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do they do that?&rdquo; There was surprise in Hal's tone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Haven't you read what they did in the last big strike? That dough-faced
+      old preacher, John Edstrom, could tell you. He was one of the bunch.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;you're mistaken. Edstrom has a different philosophy. But
+      others did, I've no doubt. And since I've been here, I can understand
+      their point of view entirely. When they set fire to the buildings, it was
+      because they thought you and Alec Stone might be inside.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The marshal did not smile.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They want to destroy the properties,&rdquo; continued Hal, &ldquo;because that's the
+      only way they can think of to punish the tyranny and greed of the owners.
+      But, Cotton, suppose some one were to put a new idea into their heads;
+      suppose some one were to say to them, 'Don't destroy the properties&mdash;<i>take
+      them!</i>'&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other stared. &ldquo;Take them! So that's your idea of morality!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It would be more moral than the method by which Peter got them in the
+      beginning.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What method is that?&rdquo; demanded the marshal, with some appearance of
+      indignation. &ldquo;He paid the market-price for them, didn't he?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He paid the market-price for politicians. Up in Western City I happen to
+      know a lady who was a school-commissioner when he was buying school-lands
+      from the state&mdash;lands that were known to contain coal. He was paying
+      three dollars an acre, and everybody knew they were worth three thousand.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Cotton, &ldquo;if you don't buy the politicians, you wake up some
+      fine morning and find that somebody else has bought them. If you have
+      property, you have to protect it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Cotton,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;you sell Old Peter your time&mdash;but surely you
+      might keep part of your brains! Enough to look at your monthly pay-check
+      and realise that you too are a wage-slave, not much better than the miners
+      you despise.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other smiled. &ldquo;My check might be bigger, I admit; but I've figured
+      over it, and I think I have an easier time than you agitators. I'm
+      top-dog, and I expect to stay on top.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, Cotton, on that view of life, I don't wonder you get drunk now and
+      then. A dog-fight, with no faith or humanity anywhere! Don't think I'm
+      sneering at you&mdash;I'm talking out of my heart to you. I'm not so
+      young, nor such a fool, that I haven't had the dog-fight aspect of things
+      brought to my attention. But there's something in a fellow that insists he
+      isn't all dog; he has at least a possibility of something better. Take
+      these poor under-dogs sweating inside the mountain, risking their lives
+      every hour of the day and night to provide you and me with coal to keep us
+      warm&mdash;to 'keep the wheels of industry a-roll'&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 25.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      These were the last words Hal spoke. They were obvious enough words, yet
+      when he looked back upon the coincidence, it seemed to him a singular one.
+      For while he was sitting there chatting, it happened that the poor
+      under-dogs inside the mountain were in the midst of one of those
+      experiences which make the romance and terror of coal-mining. One of the
+      boys who were employed underground, in violation of the child labour law,
+      was in the act of bungling his task. He was a &ldquo;spragger,&rdquo; whose duty it
+      was to thrust a stick into the wheel of a loaded car to hold it; and he
+      was a little chap, and the car was in motion when he made the attempt. It
+      knocked him against the wall&mdash;and so there was a load of coal rolling
+      down grade, pursued too late by half a dozen men. Gathering momentum, it
+      whirled round a curve and flew from the track, crashing into timbers and
+      knocking them loose. With the timbers came a shower of coal-dust,
+      accumulated for decades in these old workings; and at the same time came
+      an electric light wire, which, as it touched the car, produced a spark.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And so it was that Hal, chatting with the marshal, suddenly felt, rather
+      than heard, a deafening roar; he felt the air about him turn into a living
+      thing which struck him a mighty blow, hurling him flat upon the floor. The
+      windows of the room crashed inward upon him in a shower of glass, and the
+      plaster of the ceiling came down on his head in another shower.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When he raised himself, half stunned, he saw the marshal, also on the
+      floor; these two conversationalists stared at each other with horrified
+      eyes. Even as they crouched, there came a crash above their heads, and
+      half the ceiling of the room came toward them, with a great piece of
+      timber sticking through. All about them were other crashes, as if the end
+      of the world had come.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They struggled to their feet, and rushing to the door, flung it open, just
+      as a jagged piece of timber shattered the side-walk in front of them. They
+      sprang back again, &ldquo;Into the cellar!&rdquo; cried the marshal, leading the way
+      to the back-stairs.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But before they had started down these stairs, they realised that the
+      crashing had ceased. &ldquo;What is it?&rdquo; gasped Hal, as they stood.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mine-explosion,&rdquo; said the other; and after a few seconds they ran to the
+      door again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The first thing they saw was a vast pillar of dust and smoke, rising into
+      the sky above them. It spread before their dazed eyes, until it made night
+      of everything about them. There was still a rain of lighter debris
+      pattering down over the village; as they stared, and got their wits about
+      them, remembering how things had looked before this, they realised that
+      the shaft-house of Number One had disappeared.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Blown up, by God!&rdquo; cried the marshal; and the two ran out into the
+      street, and looking up, saw that a portion of the wrecked building had
+      fallen through the roof of the jail above their heads.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The rain of debris had now ceased, but there were clouds of dust which
+      covered the two men black; the clouds grew worse, until they could hardly
+      see their way at all. And with the darkness there fell silence, which,
+      after the sound of the explosion and the crashing of debris, seemed the
+      silence of death.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For a few moments Hal stood dazed. He saw a stream of men and boys pouring
+      from the breaker; while from every street there appeared a stream of
+      women; women old, women young&mdash;leaving their cooking on the stove,
+      their babies in the crib, with their older children screaming at their
+      skirts, they gathered in swarms about the pit-mouth, which was like the
+      steaming crater of a volcano.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Cartwright, the superintendent, appeared, running toward the fan-house.
+      Cotton joined him, and Hal followed. The fan-house was a wreck, the giant
+      fan lying on the ground a hundred feet away, its blades smashed. Hal was
+      too inexperienced in mine-matters to get the full significance of this;
+      but he saw the marshal and the superintendent stare blankly at each other,
+      and heard the former's exclamation, &ldquo;That does for us!&rdquo; Cartwright said
+      not a word; but his thin lips were pressed together, and there was fear in
+      his eyes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Back to the smoking pit-mouth the two men hurried, with Hal following.
+      Here were a hundred, two hundred women crowded, clamouring questions all
+      at once. They swarmed about the marshal, the superintendent, the other
+      bosses&mdash;even about Hal, crying hysterically in Polish and Bohemian
+      and Greek. When Hal shook his head, indicating that he did not understand
+      them, they moaned in anguish, or shrieked aloud. Some continued to stare
+      into the smoking pit-mouth; others covered the sight from their eyes, or
+      sank down upon their knees, sobbing, praying with uplifted hands.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Little by little Hal began to realise the full horror of a mine-disaster.
+      It was not noise and smoke and darkness, nor frantic, wailing women; it
+      was not anything above ground, but what was below in the smoking black
+      pit! It was men! Men whom Hal knew, whom he had worked with and joked
+      with, whose smiles he had shared; whose daily life he had come to know!
+      Scores, possibly hundreds of them, they were down here under his feet&mdash;some
+      dead, others injured, maimed. What would they do? What would those on the
+      surface do for them? Hal tried to get to Cotton, to ask him questions; but
+      the camp-marshal was surrounded, besieged. He was pushing the women back,
+      exclaiming, &ldquo;Go away! Go home!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      What? Go home? they cried. When their men were in the mine? They crowded
+      about him closer, imploring, shrieking.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Get out!&rdquo; he kept exclaiming. &ldquo;There's nothing you can do! There's
+      nothing anybody can do yet! Go home! Go home!&rdquo; He had to beat them back by
+      force, to keep them from pushing one another into the pit-mouth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Everywhere Hal looked were women in attitudes of grief: standing rigid,
+      staring ahead of them as if in a trance; sitting down, rocking to and fro;
+      on their knees with faces uplifted in prayer; clutching their terrified
+      children about their skirts. He saw an Austrian woman, a pitiful, pale
+      young thing with a ragged grey shawl about her head, stretching out her
+      hands and crying: &ldquo;Mein Mann! Mein Mann!&rdquo; Presently she covered her face,
+      and her voice died into a wail of despair: &ldquo;O, mein Mann! O, mein Mann!&rdquo;
+       She turned away, staggering about like some creature that has received a
+      death wound. Hal's eyes followed her; her cry, repeated over and over
+      incessantly, became the leit-motif of this symphony of horror.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He had read about mine-disasters in his morning newspaper; but here a
+      mine-disaster became a thing of human flesh and blood. The unendurable
+      part of it was the utter impotence of himself and of all the world. This
+      impotence became clearer to him each moment&mdash;from the exclamations of
+      Cotton and of the men he questioned. It was monstrous, incredible&mdash;but
+      it was so! They must send for a new fan, they must wait for it to be
+      brought in, they must set it up and get it into operation; they must wait
+      for hours after that while smoke and gas were cleared out of the main
+      passages of the mine; and until this had been done, there was nothing they
+      could do&mdash;absolutely nothing! The men inside the mine would stay.
+      Those who had not been killed outright would make their way into the
+      remoter chambers, and barricade themselves against the deadly &ldquo;after
+      damp.&rdquo; They would wait, without food or water, with air of doubtful
+      quality&mdash;they would wait and wait, until the rescue-crew could get to
+      them!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 26.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      At moments in the midst of this confusion, Hal found himself trying to
+      recall who had worked in Number One, among the people he knew. He himself
+      had been employed in Number Two, so he had naturally come to know more men
+      in that mine. But he had known some from the other mine&mdash;Old Rafferty
+      for one, and Mary Burke's father for another, and at least one of the
+      members of his check-weighman group&mdash;Zamierowski. Hal saw in a sudden
+      vision the face of this patient little man, who smiled so good-naturedly
+      while Americans were trying to say his name. And Old Rafferty, with all
+      his little Rafferties, and his piteous efforts to keep the favour of his
+      employers! And poor Patrick Burke, whom Hal had never seen sober;
+      doubtless he was sober now, if he was still alive!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then in the crowd Hal encountered Jerry Minetti, and learned that another
+      man who had been down was Farenzena, the Italian whose &ldquo;fanciulla&rdquo; had
+      played with him; and yet another was Judas Apostolikas&mdash;having taken
+      his thirty pieces of silver with him into the deathtrap!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      People were making up lists, just as Hal was doing, by asking questions of
+      others. These lists were subject to revision&mdash;sometimes under
+      dramatic circumstances. You saw a woman weeping, with her apron to her
+      eyes; suddenly she would look up, give a piercing cry, and fling her arms
+      about the neck of some man. As for Hal, he felt as if he were encountering
+      a ghost when suddenly he recognised Patrick Burke, standing in the midst
+      of a group of people. He went over and heard the old man's story&mdash;how
+      there was a Dago fellow who had stolen his timbers, and he had come up to
+      the surface for more; so his life had been saved, while the timber-thief
+      was down there still&mdash;a judgment of Providence upon mine-miscreants!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Presently Hal asked if Burke had been to tell his family. He had run home,
+      he said, but there was nobody there. So Hal began pushing his way through
+      the throngs, looking for Mary, or her sister Jennie, or her brother
+      Tommie. He persisted in this search, although it occurred to him to wonder
+      whether the family of a hopeless drunkard would appreciate the
+      interposition of Providence in his behalf.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He encountered Olson, who had had a narrow escape, being employed as a
+      surface-man near the hoist. All this was an old story to the organiser,
+      who had worked in mines since he was eight years old, and had seen many
+      kinds of disaster. He began to explain things to Hal, in a matter of fact
+      way. The law required a certain number of openings to every mine, also an
+      escape-way with ladders by which men could come out; but it cost good
+      money to dig holes in the ground.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At this time the immediate cause of the explosion was unknown, but they
+      could tell it was a &ldquo;dust explosion&rdquo; by the clouds of coke-dust, and no
+      one who had been into the mine and seen its dry condition would doubt what
+      they would find when they went down and traced out the &ldquo;force&rdquo; and its
+      effects. They were supposed to do regular sprinkling, but in such matters
+      the bosses used their own judgment.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal was only half listening to these explanations. The thing was too raw
+      and too horrible to him. What difference did it make whose fault it was?
+      The accident had happened, and the question was now how to meet the
+      emergency! Underneath Olson's sentences he heard the cry of men and boys
+      being asphyxiated in dark dungeons&mdash;he heard the wailing of women,
+      like a surf beating on a distant shore, or the faint, persistent
+      accompaniment of muted strings: &ldquo;O, mein Mann! O, mein Mann!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They came upon Jeff Cotton again. With half a dozen men to help him, he
+      was pushing back the crowd from the pit-mouth, and stretching barbed wired
+      to hold them back. He was none too gentle about it, Hal thought; but
+      doubtless women are provoking when they are hysterical. He was answering
+      their frenzied questions, &ldquo;Yes, yes! We're getting a new fan. We're doing
+      everything we can, I tell you. We'll get them out. Go home and wait.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But of course no one would go home. How could a woman sit in her house, or
+      go about her ordinary tasks of cooking or washing, while her man might be
+      suffering asphyxiation under the ground? The least she could do was to
+      stand at the pit-mouth&mdash;as near to him as she could get! Some of them
+      stood motionless, hour after hour, while others wandered through the
+      village streets, asking the same people, over and over again, if they had
+      seen their loved ones. Several had turned up, like Patrick Burke; there
+      seemed always a chance for one more.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 27.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      In the course of the afternoon Hal came upon Mary Burke on the street. She
+      had long ago found her father, and seen him off to O'Callahan's to
+      celebrate the favours of Providence. Now Mary was concerned with a graver
+      matter. Number Two Mine was in danger! The explosion in Number One had
+      been so violent that the gearing of the fan of the other mine, nearly a
+      mile up the canyon, had been thrown out of order. So the fan had stopped;
+      and when some one had gone to Alec Stone, asking that he bring out the
+      men, Stone had refused. &ldquo;What do ye think he said?&rdquo; cried Mary. &ldquo;What do
+      ye think? 'Damn the men! Save the mules!'&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had all but lost sight of the fact that there was a second mine in the
+      village, in which hundreds of men and boys were still at work. &ldquo;Wouldn't
+      they know about the explosion?&rdquo; he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They might have heard the noise,&rdquo; said Mary. &ldquo;But they'd not know what it
+      was; and the bosses won't tell them till they've got out the mules.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      For all that he had seen in North Valley, Hal could hardly credit that
+      story. &ldquo;How do you know it, Mary?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Young Rovetta just told me. He was there, and heard it with his own
+      ears.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He was staring at her. &ldquo;Let's go and make sure,&rdquo; he said, and they started
+      up the main street of the village. On the way they were joined by others&mdash;for
+      already the news of this fresh trouble had begun to spread. Jeff Cotton
+      went past them in an automobile, and Mary exclaimed, &ldquo;I told ye so! When
+      ye see him goin', ye know there's dirty work to be done!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They came to the shaft-house of Number Two, and found a swarm of people,
+      almost a riot. Women and children were shrieking and gesticulating,
+      threatening to break into the office and use the mine-telephone to warn
+      the men themselves. And here was the camp-marshal driving them back. Hal
+      and Mary arrived in time to see Mrs. David, whose husband was at work in
+      Number Two, shaking her fist in the marshal's face and screaming at him
+      like a wild-cat. He drew his revolver upon her; and at this Hal started
+      forward. A blind fury seized him&mdash;he would have thrown himself upon
+      the marshal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Mary Burke stopped him, flinging her arms about him, and pinning him
+      by main force. &ldquo;No, no!&rdquo; she cried. &ldquo;Stay back, man! D'ye want to get
+      killed?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He was amazed at her strength. He was amazed also at the vehemence of her
+      emotion. She was calling him a crazy fool, and names even more harsh.
+      &ldquo;Have ye no more sense than a woman? Running into the mouth of a revolver
+      like that!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The crisis passed in a moment, for Mrs. David fell back, and then the
+      marshal put up his weapon. But Mary continued scolding Hal, trying to drag
+      him away. &ldquo;Come on now! Come out of here!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But, Mary! We must do something!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye can do nothin', I tell ye! Ye'd ought to have sense enough to know it.
+      I'll not let ye get yeself murdered! Come away now!&rdquo; And half by force and
+      half by cajoling, she got him farther down the street.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He was trying to think out the situation. Were the men in Number Two
+      really in danger? Could it be possible that the bosses would take such a
+      chance in cold blood? And right at this moment, with the disaster in the
+      other mine before their eyes! He could not believe it; and meantime Mary,
+      at his side, was declaring that the men were in no real danger&mdash;it
+      was only Alec Stone's brutal words that had set her crazy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don't ye remember the time when the air-course was blocked before, and ye
+      helped to get up the mules yeself? Ye thought nothin' of it then, and 'tis
+      the same now. They'll get everybody out in time!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She was concealing her real feelings in order to keep him safe; he let her
+      lead him on, while he tried to think of something else to do. He would
+      think of the men in Number Two; they were his best friends, Jack David,
+      Tim Rafferty, Wresmak, Androkulos, Klowoski. He would think of them, in
+      their remote dungeons&mdash;breathing bad air, becoming sick and faint&mdash;in
+      order that mules might be saved! He would stop in his tracks, and Mary
+      would drag him on, repeating over and over, &ldquo;Ye can do nothin'! Nothin'!&rdquo;
+       And then he would think, What could he do? He had put up his best bluff to
+      Jeff Cotton a few hours earlier, and the answer had been the muzzle of the
+      marshal's revolver in his face. All he could accomplish now would be to
+      bring himself to Cotton's attention, and be thrust out of camp forthwith.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 28.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      They came to Mary's home; and next door was the home of the Slav woman,
+      Mrs. Zamboni, about whom in the past she had told him so many funny
+      stories. Mrs. Zamboni had had a new baby every year for sixteen years, and
+      eleven of these babies were still alive. Now her husband was trapped in
+      Number One, and she was distracted, wandering about the streets with the
+      greater part of her brood at her heels. At intervals she would emit a howl
+      like a tortured animal, and her brood would take it up in various timbres.
+      Hal stopped to listen to the sounds, but Mary put her fingers into her
+      ears and fled into the house. Hal followed her, and saw her fling herself
+      into a chair and burst into hysterical weeping. And suddenly Hal realised
+      what a strain this terrible affair had been upon Mary. It had been bad
+      enough to him&mdash;but he was a man, and more able to contemplate sights
+      of horror. Men went to their deaths in industry and war, and other men saw
+      them go and inured themselves to the spectacle. But women were the mothers
+      of these men; it was women who bore them in pain, nursed them and reared
+      them with endless patience&mdash;women could never become inured to the
+      spectacle! Then too, the women's fate was worse. If the men were dead,
+      that was the end of them; but the women must face the future, with its
+      bitter memories, its lonely and desolate struggle for existence. The women
+      must see the children suffering, dying by slow stages of deprivation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal's pity for all suffering women became concentrated upon the girl
+      beside him. He knew how tenderhearted she was. She had no man in the mine,
+      but some day she would have, and she was suffering the pangs of that
+      inexorable future. He looked at her, huddled in her chair, wiping away her
+      tears with the hem of her old blue calico. She seemed unspeakably pathetic&mdash;like
+      a child that has been hurt. She was sobbing out sentences now and then, as
+      if to herself: &ldquo;Oh, the poor women, the poor women! Did ye see the face of
+      Mrs. Jonotch? She'd jumped into the smoking pit-mouth if they'd let her!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don't suffer so, Mary!&rdquo; pleaded Hal&mdash;as if he thought she could
+      stop.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Let me alone!&rdquo; she cried. &ldquo;Let me have it out!&rdquo; And Hal, who had had no
+      experience with hysteria, stood helplessly by.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's more misery than I ever knew there was!&rdquo; she went on. &ldquo;'Tis
+      everywhere ye turn, a woman with her eyes burnin' with suffering wondering
+      if she'll ever see her man again! Or some mother whose lad may be dying
+      and she can do nothin' for him!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And neither can you do anything, Mary,&rdquo; Hal pleaded again. &ldquo;You're only
+      sorrowing yourself to death.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye say that to me?&rdquo; she cried. &ldquo;And when ye were ready to let Jeff Cotton
+      shoot ye, because you were so sorry for Mrs. David! No, the sights here
+      nobody can stand.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He could think of nothing to answer. He drew up a chair and sat by her in
+      silence, and after a while she began to grow calmer, and wiped away her
+      tears, and sat gazing dully through the doorway into the dirty little
+      street.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal's eyes followed hers. There were the ash-heaps and tomato-cans, there
+      were two of Mrs. Zamboni's bedraggled brood, poking with sticks into a
+      dump-heap&mdash;looking for something to eat, perhaps, or for something to
+      play with. There was the dry, waste grass of the road-side, grimy with
+      coal-dust, as was everything else in the village. What a scene!&mdash;And
+      this girl's eyes had never a sight of anything more inspiring than this.
+      Day in and day out, all her life long, she looked at this scene! Had he
+      ever for a moment reproached her for her &ldquo;black moods&rdquo;? With such an
+      environment could men or women be cheerful&mdash;could they dream of
+      beauty, aspire to heights of nobility and courage, to happy service of
+      their fellows? There was a miasma of despair over this place; it was not a
+      real place&mdash;it was a dream-place&mdash;a horrible, distorted
+      nightmare! It was like the black hole in the ground which haunted Hal's
+      imagination, with men and boys at the bottom of it, dying of asphyxiation!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Suddenly it came to Hal&mdash;he wanted to get away from North Valley! To
+      get away at all costs! The place had worn down his courage; slowly, day
+      after day, the sight of misery and want, of dirt and disease, of hunger,
+      oppression, despair, had eaten the soul out of him, had undermined his
+      fine structure of altruistic theories. Yes, he wanted to escape&mdash;to a
+      place where the sun shone, where the grass grew green, where human beings
+      stood erect and laughed and were free. He wanted to shut from his eyes the
+      dust and smoke of this nasty little village; to stop his ears to that
+      tormenting sound of women wailing: &ldquo;O, mein Mann! O, mein Mann!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He looked at the girl, who sat staring before her, bent forward, her arms
+      hanging limply over her knees.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mary,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;you must go away from here! It's no place for a
+      tenderhearted girl to be. It's no place for any one!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She gazed at him dully for a moment. &ldquo;It was me that was tellin' <i>you</i>
+      to go away,&rdquo; she said, at last. &ldquo;Ever since ye came here I been sayin' it!
+      Now I guess ye know what I mean.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I do, and I want to go. But I want you to go too.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;D'ye think 'twould do me any good, Joe?&rdquo; she asked. &ldquo;D'ye think 'twould
+      do me any good to get away? Could I ever forget the sights I've seen this
+      day? Could I ever have any real, honest happiness anywhere after this?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He tried to reassure her, but he was far from reassured himself. How would
+      it be with him? Would he ever feel that he had a right to happiness after
+      this? Could he take any satisfaction in a pleasant and comfortable world,
+      knowing that it was based upon such hideous misery? His thoughts went to
+      that world, where careless, pleasure-loving people sought gratification of
+      their desires. It came to him suddenly that what he wanted more than to
+      get away was to bring those people here, if only for a day, for an hour,
+      that they might hear this chorus of wailing women!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 29.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Mary made Hal swear that he would not get into a fight with Cotton; then
+      they went to Number Two. They found the mules coming up, and the bosses
+      promising that in a short while the men would be coming. Everything was
+      all right&mdash;there was not a bit of danger! But Mary was afraid to
+      trust Hal, in spite of his promise, so she lured him back to Number One.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They found that a rescue-car had just arrived from Pedro, bringing doctors
+      and nurses, also several &ldquo;helmets.&rdquo; These &ldquo;helmets&rdquo; were strange looking
+      contrivances, fastened over the head and shoulders, air-tight, and
+      provided with oxygen sufficient to last for an hour or more. The men who
+      wore them sat in a big bucket which was let down the shaft with a
+      windlass, and every now and then they pulled on a signal-cord to let those
+      on the surface know they were alive. When the first of them came back, he
+      reported that there were bodies near the foot of the shaft, but apparently
+      all dead. There was heavy black smoke, indicating a fire somewhere in the
+      mine; so nothing more could be done until the fan had been set up. By
+      reversing the fan, they could draw out the smoke and gases and clear the
+      shaft.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The state mine-inspector had been notified, but was ill at home, and was
+      sending one of his deputies. Under the law this official would have charge
+      of all the rescue work, but Hal found that the miners took no interest in
+      his presence. It had been his duty to prevent the accident, and he had not
+      done so. When he came, he would do what the company wanted.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Some time after dark the workers began to come out of Number Two, and
+      their women, waiting at the pit-mouth, fell upon their necks with cries of
+      thankfulness. Hal observed other women, whose men were in Number One, and
+      would perhaps never come out again, standing and watching these greetings
+      with wistful, tear-filled eyes. Among those who came out was Jack David,
+      and Hal walked home with him and his wife, listening to the latter abuse
+      Jeff Cotton and Alec Stone, which was an education in the vocabulary of
+      class-consciousness. The little Welsh woman repeated the pit-boss's
+      saying, &ldquo;Damn the men, save the mules!&rdquo; She said it again and again&mdash;it
+      seemed to delight her like a work of art, it summed up so perfectly the
+      attitude of the bosses to their men! There were many other people
+      repeating that saying, Hal found; it went all over the village, in a few
+      days it went all over the district. It summed up what the district
+      believed to be the attitude of the coal-operators to the workers!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Having got over the first shock of the disaster, Hal wanted information,
+      and he questioned Big Jack, a solid and well-read man who had given
+      thought to every aspect of the industry. In his quiet, slow way, he
+      explained to Hal that the frequency of accidents in this district was not
+      due to any special difficulty in operating these mines, the explosiveness
+      of the gases or the dryness of the atmosphere. It was merely the
+      carelessness of those in charge, their disregard of the laws for the
+      protection of the men. There ought to be a law with &ldquo;teeth&rdquo; in it&mdash;for
+      example, one providing that for every man killed in a coal-mine his heirs
+      should receive a thousand dollars, regardless of who had been to blame for
+      the accident. Then you would see how quickly the operators would get busy
+      and find remedies for the &ldquo;unusual&rdquo; dangers!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As it was, they knew that no matter how great their culpability, they
+      could get off with slight loss. Already, no doubt, their lawyers were on
+      the spot, and by the time the first bodies were brought out, they would be
+      fixing things up with the families. They would offer a widow a ticket back
+      to the old country; they would offer a whole family of orphaned children,
+      maybe fifty dollars, maybe a hundred dollars&mdash;and it would be a case
+      of take it or leave it. You could get nothing from the courts; the case
+      was so hopeless that you could not even find a lawyer to make the attempt.
+      That was one reform in which the companies believed, said &ldquo;Big Jack,&rdquo; with
+      sarcasm; they had put the &ldquo;shyster lawyer&rdquo; out of business!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 30.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      There followed a night and then another day of torturing suspense. The fan
+      came, but it had to be set up before anything could be done. As volumes of
+      black smoke continued to pour from the shaft, the opening was made tight
+      with a board and canvas cover; it was necessary, the bosses said, but to
+      Hal it seemed the climax of horror. To seal up men and boys in a place of
+      deadly gases!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was something peculiarly torturing in the idea of men caught in a
+      mine; they were directly under one's feet, yet it was impossible to get to
+      them, to communicate with them in any way! The people on top yearned to
+      them, and they, down below, yearned back. It was impossible to forget them
+      for even a few minutes. People would become abstracted while they talked,
+      and would stand staring into space; suddenly, in the midst of a crowd, a
+      woman would bury her face in her hands and burst into tears, and then all
+      the others would follow suit.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Few people slept in North Valley during those two nights. They held
+      mourning parties in their homes or on the streets. Some house-work had to
+      be done, of course, but no one did anything that could be left undone. The
+      children would not play; they stood about, silent, pale, like wizened-up
+      grown people, over-mature in knowledge of trouble. The nerves of every one
+      were on edge, the self-control of every one balanced upon a fine point.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was a situation bound to be fruitful in imaginings and rumours,
+      stimulated to those inclined to signs and omens&mdash;the seers of ghosts,
+      or those who went into trances, or possessed second sight or other
+      mysterious gifts. There were some living in a remote part of the village
+      who declared they had heard explosions under the ground, several blasts in
+      quick succession. The men underground were setting off dynamite by way of
+      signalling!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the course of the second day Hal sat with Mary Burke upon the steps of
+      her home. Old Patrick lay within, having found the secret of oblivion at
+      O'Callahan's. Now and then came the moaning of Mrs. Zamboni, who was in
+      her cabin with her brood of children. Mary had been in to feed them,
+      because the distracted mother let them starve and cry. Mary was worn out,
+      herself; the wonderful Irish complexion had faded, and there were no
+      curves to the vivid lips. They had been sitting in silence, for there was
+      nothing to talk of but the disaster&mdash;and they had said all there was
+      to say about that. But Hal had been thinking while he watched Mary.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Listen, Mary,&rdquo; he said, at last; &ldquo;when this thing is over, you must
+      really come away from here. I've thought it all out&mdash;I have friends
+      in Western City who will give you work, so you can take care of yourself,
+      and of your brother and sister too. Will you go?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But she did not answer. She continued to gaze indifferently into the dirty
+      little street.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Truly, Mary,&rdquo; he went on. &ldquo;Life isn't so terrible everywhere as it is
+      here. Come away! Hard as it is to believe, you'll forget all this. People
+      suffer, but then they stop suffering; it's nature's way&mdash;to make them
+      forget.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nature's way has been to beat me dead,&rdquo; said she.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, Mary. Despair can become a disease, but it hasn't with you. You're
+      just tired out. If you'll try to rouse yourself&mdash;&rdquo; And he reached
+      over and caught her hand with an attempt at playfulness. &ldquo;Cheer up, Mary!
+      You're coming away from North Valley.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She turned and looked at him. &ldquo;Am I?&rdquo; she asked, impassively; and she went
+      on studying his face. &ldquo;Who are ye, Joe Smith? What are ye doin' here?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Working in a coal-mine,&rdquo; he laughed, still trying to divert her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But she went on, as gravely as before. &ldquo;Ye're no working man, that I know.
+      And ye're always offering me help! Ye're always sayin' what ye can do for
+      me!&rdquo; She paused and there came some of the old defiance into her face.
+      &ldquo;Joe, ye can have no idea of the feelin's that have got hold of me just
+      now. I'm ready to do something desperate; ye'd best be leavin' me alone,
+      Joe!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think I understand, Mary. I would hardly blame you for anything you
+      did.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She took up his words eagerly. &ldquo;Wouldn't ye, Joe? Ye're sure? Then what I
+      want is to get the truth from ye. I want ye to talk it out fair!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right, Mary. What is it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But her defiance had vanished suddenly. Her eyes dropped, and he saw her
+      fingers picking nervously at a fold of her dress. &ldquo;About us, Joe,&rdquo; she
+      said. &ldquo;I've thought sometimes ye cared for me. I've thought ye liked to be
+      with me&mdash;not just because ye were sorry for me, but because of <i>me</i>.
+      I've not been sure, but I can't help thinkin' it's so. Is it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, it is,&rdquo; he said, a little uncertainly. &ldquo;I <i>do</i> care for you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then is it that ye don't care for that other girl all the time?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;it's not that.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye can care for two girls at the same time?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He did not know what to say. &ldquo;It would seem that I can, Mary.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She raised her eyes again and studied his face. &ldquo;Ye told me about that
+      other girl, and I been wonderin', was it only to put me off? Maybe it's me
+      own fault, but I can't make meself believe in that other girl, Joe!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You're mistaken, Mary,&rdquo; he answered, quickly. &ldquo;What I told you was true.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, maybe so,&rdquo; she said, but there was no conviction in her tone. &ldquo;Ye
+      come away from her, and ye never go where she is or see her&mdash;it's
+      hard to believe ye'd do that way if ye were very close to her. I just
+      don't think ye love her as much as ye might. And ye say you do care some
+      for me. So I've thought&mdash;I've wondered&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She stopped, forcing herself to meet his gaze: &ldquo;I been tryin' to work it
+      out! I know ye're too good a man for me, Joe. Ye come from a better place
+      in life, ye've a right to expect more in a woman&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's not that, Mary!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But she cut him short. &ldquo;I know that's true! Ye're only tryin' to save my
+      feelin's. I know ye're better than me! I've tried hard to hold me head up,
+      I've tried a long time not to let meself go to pieces. I've even tried to
+      keep cheerful, telling meself I'd not want to be like Mrs. Zamboni,
+      forever complainin'. But 'tis no use tellin' yourself lies! I been up to
+      the church, and heard the Reverend Spragg tell the people that the rich
+      and poor are the same in the sight of the Lord. And maybe 'tis so, but I'm
+      not the Lord, and I'll never pretend I'm not ashamed to be livin' in a
+      place like this.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm sure the Lord has no interest in keeping you here&mdash;&rdquo; he began.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But she broke in, &ldquo;What makes it so hard to bear is knowin' there's so
+      many wonderful things in the world, and ye can never have them! 'Tis as if
+      ye had to see them through a pane of glass, like in the window of a store.
+      Just think, Joe Smith&mdash;once, in a church in Sheridan, I heard a lady
+      sing beautiful music; once in my whole lifetime! Can ye guess what it
+      meant to me?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, Mary, I can.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But I had that all out with meself&mdash;years ago. I knew the price a
+      workin' girl has to pay for such things, and I said, I'll not let meself
+      think about them. I've hated this place, I've wanted to get away&mdash;but
+      there's only one way to go, to let some man take ye! So I've stayed; I've
+      kept straight, Joe. I want ye to believe that.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of course, Mary!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No! It's not been 'of course'! It means ye have to fight with
+      temptations. It's many a time I've looked at Jeff Cotton, and thought
+      about the things I need! And I've done without! But now comes the thing a
+      woman wants more than all the other things in the world!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She paused, but only for a moment. &ldquo;They tell ye to love a man of your own
+      class. Me old mother said that to me, before she died. But suppose ye
+      didn't happen to? Suppose ye'd stopped and thought what it meant, havin'
+      one baby after another, till ye're worn out and drop&mdash;like me old
+      mother did? Suppose ye knew good manners when ye see them&mdash;ye knew
+      interestin' talk when ye heard it!&rdquo; She clasped her hands suddenly before
+      her, exclaiming, &ldquo;Ah, 'tis something different ye are, Joe&mdash;so
+      different from anything around here! The way ye talk, the way ye move, the
+      gay look in your eyes! No miner ever had that happy look, Joe; me heart
+      stops beatin' almost when ye look at me!&rdquo; She stopped with a sharp
+      catching of her breath, and he saw that she was struggling for
+      self-control. After a moment she exclaimed, defiantly: &ldquo;But they'd tell
+      ye, be careful, ye daren't love that kind of man; ye'd only have your
+      heart broken!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was silence. For this problem the amateur sociologist had no
+      solution at hand&mdash;whether for the abstract question, or for its
+      concrete application!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 31.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Mary forced herself to go on. &ldquo;This is how I've worked it out, Joe! I said
+      to meself, 'Ye love this man; and it's his <i>love</i> ye want&mdash;nothin'
+      else! If he's got a place in the world, ye'd only hold him back&mdash;and
+      ye'd not want to do that. Ye don't want his name, or his friends, or any
+      of those things&mdash;ye want <i>him</i>!' Have ye ever heard of such a
+      thing as that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Her cheeks were flaming, but she continued to meet his gaze. &ldquo;Yes, I've
+      heard of it,&rdquo; he answered, in a low voice.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What would ye say to it? Is it honest? The Reverend Spragg would say
+      'twas the devil, no doubt; Father O'Gorman, down in Pedro, would call it
+      mortal sin; and maybe they know&mdash;but I don't! I only know I can't
+      stand it any more!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Tears sprang to her eyes, and she cried out suddenly, &ldquo;Oh, take me away
+      from here! Take me away and give me a chance, Joe! I'll ask nothing, I'll
+      never stand in your way; I'll work for ye, I'll cook and wash and do
+      everything for ye, I'll wear my fingers to the bone! Or I'll go out and
+      work at some job, and earn my share. And I'll make ye this promise&mdash;if
+      ever ye get tired and want to leave me, ye'll not hear a word of
+      complaint!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She made no conscious appeal to his senses; she sat gazing at him honestly
+      through her tears, and that made it all the harder to answer her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      What could he say? He felt the old dangerous impulse&mdash;to take the
+      girl in his arms and comfort her. When finally he spoke it was with an
+      effort to keep his voice calm. &ldquo;I'd say yes, Mary, if I thought it would
+      work.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It <i>would</i> work! It would, Joe! Ye can quit when ye want to. I mean
+      it!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's no woman lives who can be happy on such terms, Mary. She wants
+      her man, and she wants him to herself, and she wants him always; she's
+      only deluding herself if she believes anything else. You're over-wrought
+      now, what you've seen in the last few days has made you wild&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No!&rdquo; she exclaimed. &ldquo;'Tis not only that! I been thinkin' about it for
+      weeks.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know. You've been thinking, but you wouldn't have spoken if it hadn't
+      been for this horror.&rdquo; He paused for a moment, to renew his own
+      self-possession. &ldquo;It won't do, Mary,&rdquo; he declared. &ldquo;I've seen it tried
+      more than once, and I'm not so old either. My own brother tried it once,
+      and ruined himself.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, ye're afraid to trust me, Joe!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, it's not that; what I mean is&mdash;he ruined his own heart, he made
+      himself selfish. He took everything, and gave nothing. He's much older
+      than I, so I've had a chance to see its effect on him. He's cold, he has
+      no faith, even in his own nature; when you talk to him about making the
+      world better he tells you you're a fool.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's another way of bein' afraid of me,&rdquo; she insisted. &ldquo;Afraid you'd
+      ought to marry me!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But, Mary&mdash;there's the other girl. I really love her, and I'm
+      promised to her. What can I do?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;'Tis that I've never believed you loved her,&rdquo; she said, in a whisper. Her
+      eyes fell and she began picking nervously again at the faded blue dress,
+      which was smutted and grease-stained, perhaps from her recent effort with
+      Mrs. Zamboni's brood. Several times Hal thought she was going to speak,
+      but she shut her lips tightly again; he watched her, his heart aching.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When finally she spoke, it was still in a whisper, and there was a note of
+      humility he had never heard from her before. &ldquo;Ye'll not be wantin' to
+      speak to me, Joe, after what I've said.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, Mary!&rdquo; he exclaimed, and caught her hand, &ldquo;don't say I've made you
+      more unhappy! I want to help you! Won't you let me be your friend&mdash;your
+      real, true friend? Let me help you to get out of this trap; you'll have a
+      chance to look about, you'll find a way to be happy&mdash;the whole world
+      will seem different to you then, and you'll laugh at the idea that you
+      ever wanted me!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 32.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      The two of them went back to the pit-mouth. It had been two days since the
+      disaster, and still the fan had not been started, and there was no sign of
+      its being started. The hysteria of the women was growing, and there was a
+      tension in the crowds. Jeff Cotton had brought in a force of men to assist
+      him in keeping order. They had built a fence of barbed wire about the
+      pit-mouth and its approaches, and behind this wire they walked&mdash;hard-looking
+      citizens with policemen's &ldquo;billies,&rdquo; and the bulge of revolvers plainly
+      visible on their hips.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      During this long period of waiting, Hal had talks with members of his
+      check-weighman group. They told what had happened while he was in jail,
+      and this reminded him of something which had been driven from his mind by
+      the explosion. Poor old John Edstrom was down in Pedro, perhaps in dire
+      need. Hal went to the old Swede's cabin that night, climbed through a
+      window, and dug up the buried money. There were five five-dollar bills,
+      and he put them in an envelope, addressed them in care of General
+      Delivery, Pedro, and had Mary Burke take them to the post office and
+      register them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The hours dragged on, and still there was no sign of the pit-mouth being
+      opened. There began to be secret gatherings of the miners and their wives
+      to complain at the conduct of the company; and it was natural that Hal's
+      friends who had started the check-weighman movement, should take the lead
+      in these. They were among the most intelligent of the workers, and saw
+      farther into the meaning of events. They thought, not merely of the men
+      who were trapped under ground at this moment, but of thousands of others
+      who would be trapped through years to come. Hal, especially, was pondering
+      how he could accomplish something definite before he left the camp; for of
+      course he would have to leave soon&mdash;Jeff Cotton would remember him,
+      and carry out his threat to get rid of him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Newspapers had come in, with accounts of the disaster, and Hal and his
+      friends read these. It was evident that the company had been at pains to
+      have the accounts written from its own point of view. There existed some
+      public sensitiveness on the subject of mine-disasters in this state. The
+      death-rate from accidents was seen to be mounting steadily; the reports of
+      the state mine inspector showed six per thousand in one year, eight and a
+      half in the next, and twenty-one and a half in the next. When fifty or a
+      hundred men were killed in a single accident, and when such accidents kept
+      happening, one on the heels of another, even the most callous public could
+      not help asking questions. So in this case the &ldquo;G. F. C.&rdquo; had been careful
+      to minimise the loss of life, and to make excuses. The accident had been
+      owing to no fault of the company's; the mine had been regularly sprinkled,
+      both with water and adobe dust, and so the cause of the explosion must
+      have been the carelessness of the men in handling powder.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In Jack David's cabin one night there arose a discussion as to the number
+      of men entombed in the mine. The company's estimate of the number was
+      forty, but Minetti and Olson and David agreed that this was absurd. Any
+      man who went about in the crowds could satisfy himself that there were two
+      or three times as many unaccounted for. And this falsification was
+      deliberate, for the company had a checking system, whereby it knew the
+      name of every man in the mine. But most of these names were
+      unpronounceable Slavish, and the owners of the names had no friends to
+      mention them&mdash;at least not in any language understood by American
+      newspaper editors.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was all a part of the system, declared Jack David: its purpose and
+      effect being to enable the company to go on killing men without paying for
+      them, either in money or in prestige. It occurred to Hal that it might be
+      worth while to contradict these false statements&mdash;almost as worth
+      while as to save the men who were at this moment entombed. Any one who
+      came forward to make such a contradiction would of course be giving
+      himself up to the black-list; but then, Hal regarded himself as a man
+      already condemned to that penalty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom Olson spoke up. &ldquo;What would you do with your contradiction?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Give it to the papers,&rdquo; Hal answered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But what papers would print it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There are two rival papers in Pedro, aren't there?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;One owned by Alf Raymond, the sheriff-emperor, and the other by Vagleman,
+      counsel for the 'G. F. C.' Which one would you try?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well then, the outside papers&mdash;those in Western City. There are
+      reporters here now, and some one of them would surely take it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Olson answered, declaring that they would not get any but labour and
+      Socialist papers to print such news. But even that was well worth doing.
+      And Jack David, who was strong for unions and all their activities, put
+      in, &ldquo;The thing to do is to take a regular census, so as to know exactly
+      how many are in the mine.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The suggestion struck fire, and they agreed to set to work that same
+      evening. It would be a relief to do something, to have something in their
+      minds but despair. They passed the word to Mary Burke, to Rovetta,
+      Klowoski, and others; and at eleven o'clock the next morning they met
+      again, and the lists were put together, and it was found that no less than
+      a hundred and seven men and boys were positively known to be inside Number
+      One.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 33.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      As it happened, however, discussion of this list and the method of giving
+      it to the world was cut short by a more urgent matter. Jack David came in
+      with news of fresh trouble at the pit-mouth. The new fan was being put in
+      place; but they were slow about it, so slow that some people had become
+      convinced that they did not mean to start the fan at all, but were keeping
+      the mine sealed to prevent the fire from spreading. A group of such
+      malcontents had presumed to go to Mr. Carmichael, the deputy state
+      mine-inspector, to urge him to take some action; and the leader of these
+      protestants, Huszar, the Austrian, who had been one of Hal's
+      check-weighman group, had been taken into custody and marched at
+      double-quick to the gate of the stockade!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Jack David declared furthermore that he knew a carpenter who was working
+      in the fan-house, and who said that no haste whatever was being made. All
+      the men at the fan-house shared that opinion; the mine was sealed, and
+      would stay sealed until the company was sure the fire was out.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But,&rdquo; argued Hal, &ldquo;if they were to open it, the fire would spread; and
+      wouldn't that prevent rescue work?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not at all,&rdquo; declared &ldquo;Big Jack.&rdquo; He explained that by reversing the fan
+      they could draw the smoke up through the air-course, which would clear the
+      main passages for a time. &ldquo;But, you see, some coal might catch fire, and
+      some timbers; there might be falls of rock so they couldn't work some of
+      the rooms again.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How long will they keep the mine sealed?&rdquo; cried Hal, in consternation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nobody can say. In a big mine like that, a fire might smoulder for a
+      week.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Everybody be dead!&rdquo; cried Rosa Minetti, wringing her hands in a sudden
+      access of grief.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal turned to Olson. &ldquo;Would they possibly do such a thing?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's been done&mdash;more than once,&rdquo; was the organiser's reply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did you never hear about Cherry, Illinois?&rdquo; asked David. &ldquo;They did it
+      there, and more than three hundred people lost their lives.&rdquo; He went on to
+      tell that dreadful story, known to every coal-miner. They had sealed the
+      mine, while women fainted and men tore their clothes in frenzy&mdash;some
+      going insane. They had kept it sealed for two weeks, and when they opened
+      it, there were twenty-one men still alive!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They did the same thing in Diamondville, Wyoming,&rdquo; added Olson. &ldquo;They
+      built up a barrier, and when they took it away they found a heap of dead
+      men, who had crawled to it and torn their fingers to the bone trying to
+      break through.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My God!&rdquo; cried Hal, springing to his feet. &ldquo;And this man Carmichael&mdash;would
+      he stand for that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He'd tell you they were doing their best,&rdquo; said &ldquo;Big Jack.&rdquo; &ldquo;And maybe he
+      thinks they are. But you'll see&mdash;something'll keep happening; they'll
+      drag on from day to day, and they'll not start the fan till they're
+      ready.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why, it's murder!&rdquo; cried Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's business,&rdquo; said Tom Olson, quietly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal looked from one to another of the faces of these working people. Not
+      one but had friends in that trap; not one but might be in the same trap
+      to-morrow!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You have to stand it!&rdquo; he exclaimed, half to himself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don't you see the guards at the pit-mouth?&rdquo; answered David. &ldquo;Don't you
+      see the guns sticking out of their pockets?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They bring in more guards this morning,&rdquo; put in Jerry Minetti. &ldquo;Rosa, she
+      see them get off.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They know what they doin'!&rdquo; said Rosa. &ldquo;They only fraid we find it out!
+      They told Mrs. Zamboni she keep away or they send her out of camp. And old
+      Mrs. Jonotch&mdash;her husband and three sons inside!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They're getting rougher and rougher,&rdquo; declared Mrs. David. &ldquo;That big
+      fellow they call Pete, that came up from Pedro&mdash;the way he's handling
+      the women is a shame!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know him,&rdquo; put in Olson; &ldquo;Pete Hanun. They had him in Sheridan when the
+      union first opened headquarters. He smashed one of our organisers in the
+      mouth and broke four of his teeth. They say he has a jail-record.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      All through the previous year at college Hal had listened to lectures upon
+      political economy, filled with the praises of a thing called &ldquo;Private
+      Ownership.&rdquo; This Private Ownership developed initiative and economy; it
+      kept the wheels of industry a-roll, it kept fat the pay-rolls of college
+      faculties; it accorded itself with the sacred laws of supply and demand,
+      it was the basis of the progress and prosperity wherewith America had been
+      blessed. And here suddenly Hal found himself face to face with the reality
+      of it; he saw its wolfish eyes glaring into his own, he felt its smoking
+      hot breath in his face, he saw its gleaming fangs and claw-like fingers,
+      dripping with the blood of men and women and children. Private Ownership
+      of coal-mines! Private Ownership of sealed-up entrances and non-existent
+      escape-ways! Private Ownership of fans which did not start, of sprinklers
+      which did not sprinkle. Private Ownership of clubs and revolvers, and of
+      thugs and ex-convicts to use them, driving away rescuers and shutting up
+      agonised widows and orphans in their homes! Oh, the serene and well-fed
+      priests of Private Ownership, chanting in academic halls the praises of
+      the bloody Demon!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Suddenly Hal stopped still. Something had risen in him, the existence of
+      which he had never suspected. There was a new look upon his face, his
+      voice was deep as a strong man's when he spoke: &ldquo;I am going to make them
+      open that mine!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They looked at him. They were all of them close to the border of hysteria,
+      but they caught the strange note in his utterance. &ldquo;I am going to make
+      them open that mine!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How?&rdquo; asked Olson.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The public doesn't know about this thing. If the story got out, there'd
+      be such a clamour, it couldn't go on!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But how will you get it out?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll give it to the newspapers! They can't suppress such a thing&mdash;I
+      don't care how prejudiced they are!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But do you think they'd believe what a miner's buddy tells them?&rdquo; asked
+      Mrs. David.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll find a way to make them believe me,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;I'm going to make
+      them open that mine!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 34.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      In the course of his wanderings about the camp, Hal had observed several
+      wide-awake looking young men with notebooks in their hands. He could see
+      that these young men were being made guests of the company, chatting with
+      the bosses upon friendly terms; nevertheless, he believed that among them
+      he might find one who had a conscience&mdash;or at any rate who would
+      yield to the temptation of a &ldquo;scoop.&rdquo; So, leaving the gathering at Mrs.
+      David's, Hal went to the pit-mouth, watching out for one of these
+      reporters; when he found him, he followed him for a while, desiring to get
+      him where no company &ldquo;spotter&rdquo; might interfere. At the first chance, he
+      stepped up, and politely asked the reporter to come into a side street,
+      where they might converse undisturbed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The reporter obeyed the request; and Hal, concealing the intensity of his
+      feelings, so as not to repel the other, let it be known that he had worked
+      in North Valley for some months, and could tell much about conditions in
+      the camp. There was the matter of adobe-dust, for example. Explosions in
+      dry mines could be prevented by spraying the walls with this material. Did
+      the reporter happen to know that the company's claim to have used it was
+      entirely false?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      No, the reporter answered, he did not know this. He seemed interested, and
+      asked Hal's name and occupation. Hal told him &ldquo;Joe Smith,&rdquo; a &ldquo;buddy,&rdquo; who
+      had recently been chosen as check-weighman. The reporter, a lean and
+      keen-faced young man, asked many questions&mdash;intelligent questions;
+      incidentally he mentioned that he was the local correspondent of the great
+      press association whose stories of the disaster were sent to every corner
+      of the country. This seemed to Hal an extraordinary piece of good fortune,
+      and he proceeded to tell this Mr. Graham about the census which some of
+      the workers had taken; they were able to give the names of a hundred and
+      seven men and boys who were inside the mine. The list was at Mr. Graham's
+      disposal if he cared to see it. Mr. Graham seemed more interested than
+      ever, and made notes in his book.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Another thing, more important yet, Hal continued; the matter of the delay
+      in getting the fan started. It had been three days since the explosion,
+      but there had been no attempt at entering the mine. Had Mr. Graham seen
+      the disturbance at the pit-mouth that morning? Did he realise that a man
+      had been thrown out of camp merely because he had appealed to the deputy
+      state mine-inspector? Hal told what so many had come to believe&mdash;that
+      the company was saving property at the expense of life. He went on to
+      point out the human meaning of this&mdash;he told about old Mrs. Rafferty,
+      with her failing health and her eight children; about Mrs. Zamboni, with
+      eleven children; about Mrs. Jonotch, with a husband and three sons in the
+      mine. Led on by the reporter's interest, Hal began to show some of his
+      feeling. These were human beings, not animals; they loved and suffered,
+      even though they were poor and humble!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Most certainly!&rdquo; said Mr. Graham. &ldquo;You're right, and you may rest assured
+      I'll look into this.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's one thing more,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;If my name is mentioned, I'll be
+      fired, you know.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I won't mention it,&rdquo; said the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of course, if you can't publish the story without giving its source&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm the source,&rdquo; said the reporter, with a smile. &ldquo;Your name would not
+      add anything.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He spoke with quiet assurance; he seemed to know so completely both the
+      situation and his own duty in regard to it, that Hal felt a thrill of
+      triumph. It was as if a strong wind had come blowing from the outside
+      world, dispelling the miasma which hung over this coal-camp. Yes, this
+      reporter <i>was</i> the outside world! He was the power of public opinion,
+      making itself felt in this place of knavery and fear! He was the voice of
+      truth, the courage and rectitude of a great organisation of publicity,
+      independent of secret influences, lifted above corruption!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm indebted to you,&rdquo; said Mr. Graham, at the end, and Hal's sense of
+      victory was complete. What an extraordinary chance&mdash;that he should
+      have run into the agent of the great press association! The story would go
+      out to the great world of industry, which depended upon coal as its
+      life-blood. The men in the factories, the wheels of which were turned by
+      coal&mdash;the travellers on trains which were moved by coal&mdash;they
+      would hear at last of the sufferings of those who toiled in the bowels of
+      the earth for them! Even the ladies, reclining upon the decks of palatial
+      steamships in gleaming tropic seas&mdash;so marvellous was the power of
+      modern news-spreading agencies, that these ladies too might hear the cry
+      for help of these toilers, and of their wives and little ones! And from
+      this great world would come an answer, a universal shout of horror, of
+      execration, that would force even old Peter Harrigan to give way! So Hal
+      mused&mdash;for he was young, and this was his first crusade.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He was so happy that he was able to think of himself again, and to realise
+      that he had not eaten that day. It was noon-time, and he went into
+      Reminitsky's, and was about half through with the first course of
+      Reminitsky's two-course banquet, when his cruel disillusioning fell upon
+      him!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He looked up and saw Jeff Cotton striding into the dining-room, making
+      straight for him. There was blood in the marshal's eye, and Hal saw it,
+      and rose, instinctively.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Come!&rdquo; said Cotton, and took him by the coat-sleeve and marched him out,
+      almost before the rest of the diners had time to catch their breath.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had no opportunity now to display his &ldquo;tea-party manners&rdquo; to the
+      camp-marshal. As they walked, Cotton expressed his opinion of him, that he
+      was a skunk, a puppy, a person of undesirable ancestry; and when Hal
+      endeavoured to ask a question&mdash;which he did quite genuinely, not
+      grasping at once the meaning of what was happening&mdash;the marshal bade
+      him &ldquo;shut his face,&rdquo; and emphasised the command by a twist at his
+      coat-collar. At the same time two of the huskiest mine-guards, who had
+      been waiting at the dining-room door, took him, one by each arm, and
+      assisted his progress.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They went down the street and past Jeff Cotton's office, not stopping this
+      time. Their destination was the railroad-station, and when Hal got there,
+      he saw a train standing. The three men marched him to it, not releasing
+      him till they had jammed him down into a seat.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, young fellow,&rdquo; said Cotton, &ldquo;we'll see who's running this camp!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      By this time Hal had regained a part of his self-possession. &ldquo;Do I need a
+      ticket?&rdquo; he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll see to that,&rdquo; said the marshal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And do I get my things?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You save some questions for your college professors,&rdquo; snapped the
+      marshal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So Hal waited; and a minute or two later a man arrived on the run with his
+      scanty belongings, rolled into a bundle and tied with a piece of twine.
+      Hal noted that this man was big and ugly, and was addressed by the
+      camp-marshal as &ldquo;Pete.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The conductor shouted, &ldquo;All aboard!&rdquo; And at the same time Jeff Cotton
+      leaned over towards Hal and spoke in a menacing whisper: &ldquo;Take this from
+      me, young fellow; don't stop in Pedro, move on in a hurry, or something
+      will happen to you on a dark night.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      After which he strode down the aisle, and jumped off the moving train. But
+      Hal noticed that Pete Hanun, the breaker of teeth, stayed on the car a few
+      seats behind him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br><br>
+    </p>
+    <hr>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br><br><br><br>
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      BOOK THREE &mdash; THE HENCHMEN OF KING COAL
+    </h2>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 1.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      It was Hal's intention to get to Western City as quickly as possible to
+      call upon the newspaper editors. But first he must have money to travel,
+      and the best way he could think of to get it was to find John Edstrom. He
+      left the train, followed by Pete Hanun; after some inquiry, he came upon
+      the undertaker who had buried Edstrom's wife, and who told him where the
+      old Swede was staying, in the home of a labouring-man nearby.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Edstrom greeted him with eager questions: Who had been killed? What was
+      the situation? Hal told in brief sentences what had happened. When he
+      mentioned his need of money, Edstrom answered that he had a little, and
+      would lend it, but it was not enough for a ticket to Western City. Hal
+      asked about the twenty-five dollars which Mary Burke had sent by
+      registered mail; the old man had heard nothing about it, he had not been
+      to the post-office. &ldquo;Let's go now!&rdquo; said Hal, at once; but as they were
+      starting downstairs, a fresh difficulty occurred to him. Pete Hanun was on
+      the street outside, and it was likely that he had heard about this money
+      from Jeff Cotton; he might hold Edstrom up and take it away.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Let me suggest something,&rdquo; put in the old man. &ldquo;Come and see my friend Ed
+      MacKellar. He may be able to give us some advice&mdash;even to think of
+      some way to get the mine open.&rdquo; Edstrom explained that MacKellar, an old
+      Scotchman, had been a miner, but was now crippled, and held some petty
+      office in Pedro. He was a persistent opponent of &ldquo;Alf&rdquo; Raymond's machine,
+      and they had almost killed him on one occasion. His home was not far away,
+      and it would take little time to consult him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said Hal, and they set out at once. Pete Hanun followed them,
+      not more than a dozen yards behind, but did not interfere, and they turned
+      in at the gate of a little cottage. A woman opened the door for them, and
+      asked them into the dining-room where MacKellar was sitting&mdash;a
+      grey-haired old man, twisted up with rheumatism and obliged to go about on
+      crutches.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal told his story. As the Scotchman had been brought up in the mines, it
+      was not necessary to go into details about the situation. When Hal told
+      his idea of appealing to the newspapers, the other responded at once, &ldquo;You
+      won't have to go to Western City. There's a man right here who'll do the
+      business for you; Keating, of the <i>Gazette</i>.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Western City <i>Gazette?</i>&rdquo; exclaimed Hal. He knew this paper; an
+      evening journal selling for a cent, and read by working-men. Persons of
+      culture who referred to it disposed of it with the adjective &ldquo;yellow.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know,&rdquo; said MacKellar, noting Hal's tone. &ldquo;But it's the only paper that
+      will publish your story anyway.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where is this Keating?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He's been up at the mine. It's too bad you didn't meet him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Can we get hold of him now?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He might be in Pedro. Try the American Hotel.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal went to the telephone, and in a minute was hearing for the first time
+      the cheery voice of his friend and lieutenant-to-be, &ldquo;Billy&rdquo; Keating. In a
+      couple of minutes more the owner of the voice was at MacKellar's door,
+      wiping the perspiration from his half-bald forehead. He was round-faced,
+      like a full moon, and as jolly as Falstaff; when you got to know him
+      better, you discovered that he was loyal as a Newfoundland dog. For all
+      his bulk, Keating was a newspaper man, every inch of him &ldquo;on the job.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He started to question the young miner as soon as he was introduced, and
+      it quickly became clear to Hal that here was the man he was looking for.
+      Keating knew exactly what questions to ask, and had the whole story in a
+      few minutes. &ldquo;By thunder!&rdquo; he cried. &ldquo;My last edition!&rdquo; And he pulled out
+      his watch, and sprang to the telephone. &ldquo;Long distance,&rdquo; he called; then,
+      &ldquo;I want the city editor of the Western City <i>Gazette</i>. And, operator,
+      please see if you can't rush it through. It's very urgent, and last time I
+      had to wait nearly half an hour.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He turned back to Hal, and proceeded to ask more questions, at the same
+      time pulling a bunch of copy-paper from his pocket and making notes. He
+      got all Hal's statements about the lack of sprinkling, the absence of
+      escape-ways, the delay in starting the fan, the concealing of the number
+      of men in the mine. &ldquo;I knew things were crooked up there!&rdquo; he exclaimed.
+      &ldquo;But I couldn't get a lead! They kept a man with me every minute of the
+      time. You know a fellow named Predovich?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I do,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;The company store-clerk; he once went through my
+      pockets.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Keating made a face of disgust. &ldquo;Well, he was my chaperon. Imagine trying
+      to get the miners to talk to you with that sneak at your heels! I said to
+      the superintendent, 'I don't need anybody to escort me around your place.'
+      And he looked at me with a nasty little smile. 'We wouldn't want anything
+      to happen to you while you're in this camp, Mr. Keating.' 'You don't
+      consider it necessary to protect the lives of the other reporters,' I
+      said. 'No,' said he; 'but the <i>Gazette</i> has made a great many
+      enemies, you know.' 'Drop your fooling, Mr. Cartwright,' I said. 'You
+      propose to have me shadowed while I'm working on this assignment?' 'You
+      can put it that way,' he answered, 'if you think it'll please the readers
+      of the <i>Gazette</i>.'&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Too bad we didn't meet!&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;Or if you'd run into any of our
+      check-weighman crowd!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh! You know about that check-weighman business!&rdquo; exclaimed the reporter.
+      &ldquo;I got a hint of it&mdash;that's how I happened to be down here to-day. I
+      heard there was a man named Edstrom, who'd been shut out for making
+      trouble; and I thought if I could find him, I might get a lead.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal and MacKellar looked at the old Swede, and the three of them began to
+      laugh. &ldquo;Here's your man!&rdquo; said MacKellar.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And here's your check-weighman!&rdquo; added Edstrom, pointing to Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Instantly the reporter was on his job again; he began to fire another
+      series of questions. He would use that check-weighman story as a
+      &ldquo;follow-up&rdquo; for the next day, to keep the subject of North Valley alive.
+      The story had a direct bearing on the disaster, because it showed what the
+      North Valley bosses were doing when they should have been looking after
+      the safety of their mine. &ldquo;I'll write it out this afternoon and send it by
+      mail,&rdquo; said Keating; he added, with a smile, &ldquo;That's one advantage of
+      handling news the other papers won't touch&mdash;you don't have to worry
+      about losing your 'scoops'!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 2.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Keating went to the telephone again, to worry &ldquo;long distance&rdquo;; then,
+      grumbling about his last edition, he came back to ask more questions about
+      Hal's experiences. Before long he drew out the story of the young man's
+      first effort in the publicity game; at which he sank back in his chair,
+      and laughed until he shook, as the nursery-rhyme describes it, &ldquo;like a
+      bowlful of jelly.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Graham!&rdquo; he exclaimed. &ldquo;Fancy, MacKellar, he took that story to Graham!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The Scotchman seemed to find it equally funny; together they explained
+      that Graham was the political reporter of the <i>Eagle</i>, the paper in
+      Pedro which was owned by the Sheriff-emperor. One might call him Alf
+      Raymond's journalistic jackal; there was no job too dirty for him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But,&rdquo; cried Hal, &ldquo;he told me he was correspondent for the Western press
+      association!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He's that, too,&rdquo; replied Billy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But does the press association employ spies for the 'G. F. C.'?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The reporter answered, drily, &ldquo;When you understand the news game better,
+      you'll realise that the one thing the press association cares about in a
+      correspondent is that he should have respect for property. If respect for
+      property is the back-bone of his being, he can learn what news is, and the
+      right way to handle it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Keating turned to the Scotchman. &ldquo;Do you happen to have a typewriter in
+      the house, Mr. MacKellar?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;An old one,&rdquo; said the other&mdash;&ldquo;lame, like myself.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll make out with it. I'd ask this young man over to my hotel, but I
+      think he'd better keep off the streets as much as possible.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You're right. If you take my advice, you'll take the typewriter upstairs,
+      where there's no chance of a shot through the window.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Great heavens!&rdquo; exclaimed Hal. &ldquo;Is this America, or mediaeval Italy?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's the Empire of Raymond,&rdquo; replied MacKellar. &ldquo;They shot my friend Tom
+      Burton dead while he stood on the steps of his home. He was opposing the
+      machine, and had evidence about ballot-frauds he was going to put before
+      the Grand Jury.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      While Keating continued to fret with &ldquo;long distance,&rdquo; the old Scotchman
+      went on trying to impress upon Hal the danger of his position. Quite
+      recently an organiser of the miners' union had been beaten up in broad
+      day-light and left insensible on the sidewalk; MacKellar had watched the
+      trial and acquittal of the two thugs who had committed this crime&mdash;the
+      foreman of the jury being a saloon-keeper one of Raymond's heelers, and
+      the other jurymen being Mexicans, unable to comprehend a word of the court
+      proceedings.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Exactly such a jury as Jeff Cotton promised me!&rdquo; remarked Hal, with a
+      feeble attempt at a smile.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; answered the other; &ldquo;and don't make any mistake about it, if they
+      want to put you away, they can do it. They run the whole machine here. I
+      know how it is, for I had a political job myself, until they found they
+      couldn't use me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The old Scotchman went on to explain that he had been elected justice of
+      peace, and had tried to break up the business of policemen taking money
+      from the women of the town; he had been forced to resign, and his enemies
+      had made his life a torment. Recently he had been candidate for district
+      judge on the Progressive ticket, and told of his efforts to carry on a
+      campaign in the coal-camps&mdash;how his circulars had been confiscated,
+      his posters torn down, his supporters &ldquo;kangarooed.&rdquo; It was exactly as Alec
+      Stone, the pit-boss, had explained to Hal. In some of the camps the
+      meeting-halls belonged to the company; in others they belonged to
+      saloon-keepers whose credit depended upon Alf Raymond. In the few places
+      where there were halls that could be hired, the machine had gone to the
+      extreme of sending in rival entertainments, furnishing free music and free
+      beer in order to keep the crowds away from MacKellar.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All this time Billy Keating had been chafing and scolding at &ldquo;long
+      distance.&rdquo; Now at last he managed to get his call, and silence fell in the
+      room. &ldquo;Hello, Pringle, that you? This is Keating. Got a big story on the
+      North Valley disaster. Last edition put to bed yet? Put Jim on the wire.
+      Hello, Jim! Got your book?&rdquo; And then Billy, evidently talking to a
+      stenographer, began to tell the story he had got from Hal. Now and then he
+      would stop to repeat or spell a word; once or twice Hal corrected him on
+      details. So, in about a quarter of an hour, they put the job through; and
+      Keating turned to Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There you are, son,&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;Your story'll be on the street in Western
+      City in a little over an hour; it'll be down here as soon thereafter as
+      they can get telephone connections. And take my advice, if you want to
+      keep a whole skin, you'll be out of Pedro when that happens!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 3.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      When Hal spoke, he did not answer Billy Keating's last remark. He had been
+      listening to a retelling of the North Valley disaster over the telephone;
+      so he was not thinking about his skin, but about a hundred and seven men
+      and boys buried inside a mine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mr. Keating,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;are you sure the <i>Gazette</i> will print that
+      story?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good Lord!&rdquo; exclaimed the other. &ldquo;What am I here for?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, I've been disappointed once, you know.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, but you got into the wrong camp. We're a poor man's paper, and this
+      is what we live on.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's no chance of its being 'toned down'?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not the slightest, I assure you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's no chance of Peter Harrigan's suppressing it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Peter Harrigan made his attempts on the <i>Gazette</i> long ago, my boy.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;and now tell me this&mdash;will it do the work?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In what way?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I mean&mdash;in making them open the mine.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Keating considered for a moment. &ldquo;I'm afraid it won't do much.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal looked at him blankly. He had taken it for granted the publication of
+      the facts would force the company to move. But Keating explained that the
+      <i>Gazette</i> read mainly by working-people, and so had comparatively
+      little influence. &ldquo;We're an afternoon paper,&rdquo; he said; &ldquo;and when people
+      have been reading lies all morning, it's not easy to make them believe the
+      truth in the afternoon.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But won't the story go to other papers&mdash;over the country, I mean?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, we have a press service; but the papers are all like the <i>Gazette</i>&mdash;poor
+      man's papers. If there's something very raw, and we keep pounding away for
+      a long time, we can make an impression; at least we limit the amount of
+      news the Western press association can suppress. But when it comes to a
+      small matter like sealing up workingmen in a mine, all we can do is to
+      worry the 'G. F. C.' a little.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So Hal was just where he had begun! &ldquo;I must find some other plan,&rdquo; he
+      exclaimed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't see what you can do,&rdquo; replied the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a pause, while the young miner pondered. &ldquo;I had thought of going
+      up to Western City and appealing to the editors,&rdquo; he said, a little
+      uncertainly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, I can tell you about that&mdash;you might as well save your
+      car-fare. They wouldn't touch your story.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And if I appealed to the Governor?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In the first place, he probably wouldn't see you. And if he did, he
+      wouldn't do anything. He's not really the Governor, you know; he's a
+      puppet put up there to fool you. He only moves when Harrigan pulls a
+      string.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of course I knew he was Old Peter's man,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;But then&rdquo;&mdash;and
+      he concluded, somewhat lamely, &ldquo;What <i>can</i> I do?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      A smile of pity came upon the reporter's face. &ldquo;I can see this is the
+      first time you've been up against 'big business.'&rdquo; And then he added,
+      &ldquo;You're young! When you've had more experience, you'll leave these
+      problems to older heads!&rdquo; But Hal failed to get the reporter's sarcasm. He
+      had heard these exact words in such deadly seriousness from his brother!
+      Besides, he had just come from scenes of horror.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But don't you see, Mr. Keating?&rdquo; he exclaimed. &ldquo;It's impossible for me to
+      sit still while those men die?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't know about your sitting still,&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;All I know is
+      that all your moving about isn't going to do them any good.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal turned to Edstrom and MacKellar. &ldquo;Gentlemen,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;listen to me
+      for a minute.&rdquo; And there was a note of pleading in his voice&mdash;as if
+      he thought they were deliberately refusing to help him! &ldquo;We've got to do
+      something about this. We've <i>got</i> to do something! I'm new at the
+      game, as Mr. Keating says; but you aren't. Put your minds on it,
+      gentlemen, and help me work out a plan!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a long silence. &ldquo;God knows,&rdquo; said Edstrom, at last. &ldquo;I'd suggest
+      something if I could.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And I, too,&rdquo; said MacKellar. &ldquo;You're up against a stone-wall, my boy. The
+      government here is simply a department of the 'G. F. C.' The officials are
+      crooks&mdash;company servants, all of them.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Just a moment now,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;Let's consider. Suppose we had a real
+      government&mdash;what steps would we take? We'd carry such a case to the
+      District Attorney, wouldn't we?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, no doubt of it,&rdquo; said MacKellar.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mentioned him before,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;He threatened to prosecute some
+      mine-superintendents for ballot-frauds, you said.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That was while he was running for election,&rdquo; said MacKellar.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh! I remember what Jeff Cotton said&mdash;that he was friendly to the
+      miners in his speeches, and to the companies in his acts.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's the man,&rdquo; said the other, drily.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; argued Hal, &ldquo;oughtn't I go to him, to give him a chance, at least?
+      You can't tell, he might have a heart inside him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It isn't a heart he needs,&rdquo; replied MacKellar; &ldquo;it's a back-bone.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But surely I ought to put it up to him! If he won't do anything, at least
+      I'll put him on record, and it'll make another story for you, won't it,
+      Mr. Keating?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, that's true,&rdquo; admitted the reporter. &ldquo;What would you ask him to do?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why, to lay the matter before the Grand Jury; to bring indictments
+      against the North Valley bosses.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But that would take a long time; it wouldn't save the men in the mine.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What might save them would be the threat of it.&rdquo; MacKellar put in. &ldquo;I
+      don't think any threat of Dick Barker's would count for that much. The
+      bosses know they could stop him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, isn't there somebody else? Shouldn't I try the courts?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What courts?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't know. You tell me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said the Scotchman, &ldquo;to begin at the bottom, there's a justice of
+      the peace.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who's he?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Jim Anderson, a horse-doctor. He's like any other J.P. you ever knew&mdash;he
+      lives on petty graft.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is there a higher court?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, the district court; Judge Denton. He's the law-partner of Vagleman,
+      counsel for the 'G. F. C.' How far would you expect to get with him?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I suppose I'm clutching at straws,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;But they say that's what a
+      drowning man does. Anyway, I'm going to see these people, and maybe out of
+      the lot of them I can find one who'll act. It can't do any harm!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The three men thought of some harm it might do; they tried to make Hal
+      consider the danger of being slugged Or shot. &ldquo;They'll do it!&rdquo; exclaimed
+      MacKellar. &ldquo;And no trouble for them&mdash;they'll prove you were stabbed
+      by a drunken Dago, quarrelling over some woman.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But Hal had got his head set; he believed he could put this job through
+      before his enemies had time to lay any plans. Nor would he let any of his
+      friends accompany him; he had something more important for both Edstrom
+      and Keating to do&mdash;and as for MacKellar, he could not get about
+      rapidly enough. Hal bade Edstrom go to the post-office and get the
+      registered letter, and proceed at once to change the bills. It was his
+      plan to make out affidavits, and if the officials here would not act, to
+      take the affidavits to the Governor. And for this he would need money.
+      Meantime, he said, let Billy Keating write out the check-weighman story,
+      and in a couple of hours meet him at the American Hotel, to get copies of
+      the affidavits for the <i>Gazette</i>.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal was still wearing the miner's clothes he had worn on the night of his
+      arrest in Edstrom's cabin. But he declined MacKellar's offer to lend him a
+      business-suit; the old Scotchman's clothes would not fit him, he knew, and
+      it would be better to make his appeal as a real miner than as a misfit
+      gentleman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      These matters being settled, Hal went out upon the street, where Pete
+      Hanun, the breaker of teeth, fell in behind him. The young miner at once
+      broke into a run, and the other followed suit, and so the two of them sped
+      down the street, to the wonder of people on the way. As Hal had had
+      practice as a sprinter, no doubt Pete was glad that the District
+      Attorney's office was not far away!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 4.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Mr. Richard Parker was busy, said the clerk in toe outer office; for which
+      Hal was not sorry, as it gave him a chance to get his breath. Seeing a
+      young man flushed and panting, the clerk stared with curiosity; but Hal
+      offered no explanation, and the breaker of teeth waited on the street
+      outside.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Mr. Parker received his caller in a couple of minutes. He was a well-fed
+      gentleman with generous neck and chin, freshly shaved and rubbed with
+      talcum powder. His clothing was handsome, his linen immaculate; one got
+      the impression of a person who &ldquo;did himself well.&rdquo; There were papers on
+      his desk, and he looked preoccupied.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well?&rdquo; said he, with a swift glance at the young miner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I understand that I am speaking to the District Attorney of Pedro
+      County?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's right.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mr. Parker, have you given any attention to the circumstances of the
+      North Valley disaster?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Mr. Parker. &ldquo;Why?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have just come from North Valley, and I can give you information which
+      may be of interest to you. There are a hundred and seven people entombed
+      in the mine, and the company officials have sealed it, and are sacrificing
+      those lives.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other put down the correspondence, and made an examination of his
+      caller from under his heavy eyelids. &ldquo;How do you know this?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I left there only a few hours ago. The facts are known to all the workers
+      in the camp.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You are speaking from what you heard?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am speaking from what I know at first hand. I saw the disaster, I saw
+      the pit-mouth boarded over and covered with canvas. I know a man who was
+      driven out of camp this morning for complaining about the delay in
+      starting the fan. It has been over three days since the explosion, and
+      still nothing has been done.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Mr. Parker proceeded to fire a series of questions, in the sharp,
+      suspicious manner customary to prosecuting officials. But Hal did not mind
+      that; it was the man's business to make sure.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Presently he demanded to know how he could get corroboration of Hal's
+      statements.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You'll have to go up there,&rdquo; was the reply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You say the facts are known to the men. Give me the names of some of
+      them.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have no authority to give their names, Mr. Parker.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What authority do you need? They will tell me, won't they?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They may, and they may not. One man has already lost his job; not every
+      man cares to lose his job.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You expect me to go up there on your bare say-so?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I offer you more than my say-so. I offer an affidavit.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But what do I know about you?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You know that I worked in North Valley&mdash;or you can verify the fact
+      by using the telephone. My name is Joe Smith, and I was a miner's helper
+      in Number Two.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But that was not sufficient, said Mr. Parker; his time was valuable, and
+      before he took a trip to North Valley he must have the names of witnesses
+      who would corroborate these statements.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I offer you an affidavit!&rdquo; exclaimed Hal. &ldquo;I say that I have knowledge
+      that a crime is being committed&mdash;that a hundred and seven human lives
+      are being sacrificed. You don't consider that a sufficient reason for even
+      making inquiry?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The District Attorney answered again that he desired to do his duty, he
+      desired to protect the workers in their rights; but he could not afford to
+      go off on a &ldquo;wild goose chase,&rdquo; he must have the names of witnesses. And
+      Hal found himself wondering. Was the man merely taking the first pretext
+      for doing nothing? Or could it be that an official of the state would go
+      as far as to help the company by listing the names of &ldquo;trouble-makers&rdquo;?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In spite of his distrust, Hal was resolved to give the man every chance he
+      could. He went over the whole story of the disaster. He took Mr. Parker up
+      to the camp, showed him the agonised women and terrified children crowding
+      about the pit-mouth, driven back with clubs and revolvers. He named family
+      after family, widows and mothers and orphans. He told of the miners
+      clamouring for a chance to risk their lives to save their fellows. He let
+      his own feelings sweep him along; he pleaded with fervour for his
+      suffering friends.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Young man,&rdquo; said the other, breaking in upon his eloquence, &ldquo;how long
+      have you been working in North Valley?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;About ten weeks.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How long have you been working in coal-mines?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That was my first experience.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you think that in ten weeks you have learned enough to entitle you to
+      bring a charge of 'murder' against men who have spent their lives in
+      learning the business of mining?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;As I have told you,&rdquo; exclaimed Hal, &ldquo;it's not merely my opinion; it's the
+      opinion of the oldest and most experienced of the miners. I tell you no
+      effort whatever is being made to save those men! The bosses care nothing
+      about their men! One of them, Alec Stone, was heard by a crowd of people
+      to say, 'Damn the men! Save the mules!'&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Everybody up there is excited,&rdquo; declared the other. &ldquo;Nobody can think
+      straight at present&mdash;you can't think straight yourself. If the mine's
+      on fire, and if the fire is spreading to such an extent that it can't be
+      put out&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But, Mr. Parker, how can you say that it's spreading to such an extent?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, how can you say that it isn't?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a pause. &ldquo;I understand there's a deputy mine-inspector up
+      there,&rdquo; said the District Attorney, suddenly. &ldquo;What's his name?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Carmichael,&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, and what does <i>he</i> say about it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It was for appealing to him that the miner, Huszar, was turned out of
+      camp.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Mr. Parker&mdash;and there came a note into his voice by
+      which Hal knew that he had found the excuse he sought&mdash;&ldquo;Well, it's
+      Carmichael's business, and I have no right to butt in on it. If he comes
+      to me and asks for indictments, I'll act&mdash;but not otherwise. That's
+      all I have to say about it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And Hal rose. &ldquo;Very well, Mr. Parker,&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;I have put the facts
+      before you. I was told you wouldn't do anything, but I wanted to give you
+      a chance. Now I'm going to ask the Governor for your removal!&rdquo; And with
+      these words the young miner strode out of the office.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 5.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal went down the street to the American Hotel, where there was a public
+      stenographer. When this young woman discovered the nature of the material
+      he proposed to dictate, her fingers trembled visibly; but she did not
+      refuse the task, and Hal proceeded to set forth the circumstances of the
+      sealing of the pit-mouth of Number One Mine at North Valley, and to pray
+      for warrants for the arrest of Enos Cartwright and Alec Stone. Then he
+      gave an account of how he had been selected as check-weighman and been
+      refused access to the scales; and with all the legal phraseology he could
+      rake up, he prayed for the arrest of Enos Cartwright and James Peters,
+      superintendent and tipple-boss at North Valley, for these offences. In
+      another affidavit he narrated how Jeff Cotton, camp-marshal, had seized
+      him at night, mistreated him, and shut him in prison for thirty-six hours
+      without warrant or charge; also how Cotton, Pete Hanun, and two other
+      parties by name unknown, had illegally driven him from the town of North
+      Valley, threatening him with violence; for which he prayed the arrest of
+      Jeff Cotton, Pete Hanun, and the two parties unknown.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Before this task was finished, Billy Keating came in, bringing the
+      twenty-five dollars which Edstrom had got from the post-office. They found
+      a notary public, before whom Hal made oath to each document; and when
+      these had been duly inscribed and stamped with the seal of the state, he
+      gave carbon copies to Keating, who hurried off to catch a mail-train which
+      was just due. Billy would not trust such things to the local post-office;
+      for Pedro was the hell of a town, he declared. As they went out on the
+      street again they noticed that their body-guard had been increased by
+      another husky-looking personage, who made no attempt to conceal what he
+      was doing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal went around the corner to an office bearing the legend, &ldquo;J.W.
+      Anderson, Justice of the Peace.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Jim Anderson, the horse-doctor, sat at his desk within. He had evidently
+      chewed tobacco before he assumed the ermine, and his reddish-coloured
+      moustache still showed the stains. Hal observed such details, trying to
+      weigh his chances of success. He presented the affidavit describing his
+      treatment in North Valley, and sat waiting while His Honour read it
+      through with painful slowness.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said the man, at last, &ldquo;what do you want?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I want a warrant for Jeff Cotton's arrest.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other studied him for a minute. &ldquo;No, young fellow,&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;You
+      can't get no such warrant here.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why not?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because Cotton's a deputy-sheriff; he had a right to arrest you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To arrest me without a warrant?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How do you know he didn't have a warrant?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He admitted to me that he didn't.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, whether he had a warrant or not, it was his business to keep order
+      in the camp.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean he can do anything he pleases in the camp?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What I mean is, it ain't my business to interfere. Why didn't you see Si
+      Adams, up to the camp?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They didn't give me any chance to see him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; replied the other, &ldquo;there's nothing I can do for you. You can see
+      that for yourself. What kind of discipline could they keep in them camps
+      if any fellow that had a kick could come down here and have the marshal
+      arrested?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then a camp-marshal can act without regard to the law?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I didn't say that.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Suppose he had committed murder&mdash;would you give a warrant for that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, of course, if it was murder.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And if you knew that he was in the act of committing murder in a
+      coal-camp&mdash;would you try to stop him?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, of course.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then here's another affidavit,&rdquo; said Hal; and he produced the one about
+      the sealing of the mine. There was silence while Justice Anderson read it
+      through.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But again he shook his head. &ldquo;No, you can't get no such warrants here.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why not?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because it ain't my business to run a coal-mine. I don't understand it,
+      and I'd make a fool of myself if I tried to tell them people how to run
+      their business.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal argued with him. Could company officials in charge of a coal-mine
+      commit any sort of outrage upon their employés, and call it running their
+      business? Their control of the mine in such an emergency as this meant the
+      power of life and death over a hundred and seven men and boys; could it be
+      that the law had nothing to say in such a situation? But Mr. Anderson only
+      shook his head; it was not his business to interfere. Hal might go up to
+      the court-house and see Judge Denton about it. So Hal gathered up his
+      affidavits and went out to the street again&mdash;where there were now
+      three husky-looking personages waiting to escort him.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 6.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      The district court was in session and Hal sat for a while in the
+      court-room, watching Judge Denton. Here was another prosperous and
+      well-fed appearing gentleman, with a rubicund visage shining over the top
+      of his black silk robe. The young miner found himself regarding both the
+      robe and the visage with suspicion. Could it be that Hal was becoming
+      cynical, and losing his faith in his fellow man? What he thought of, in
+      connection with the Judge's appearance, was that there was a living to be
+      made sitting on the bench, while one's partner appeared before the bench
+      as coal-company counsel!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In an interval of the proceedings, Hal spoke to the clerk, and was told
+      that he might see the judge at four-thirty; but a few minutes later Pete
+      Hanun came in and whispered to this clerk. The clerk looked at Hal, then
+      he went up and whispered to the Judge. At four-thirty, when the court was
+      declared adjourned, the Judge rose and disappeared into his private
+      office; and when Hal applied to the clerk, the latter brought out the
+      message that Judge Denton was too busy to see him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Hal was not to be disposed of in that easy fashion. There was a side
+      door to the court-room, with a corridor beyond it, and while he stood
+      arguing with the clerk he saw the rubicund visage of the Judge flit past.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He darted in pursuit. He did not shout or make a disturbance; but when he
+      was close behind his victim, he said, quietly, &ldquo;Judge Denton, I appeal to
+      you for justice!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The Judge turned and looked at him, his countenance showing annoyance.
+      &ldquo;What do you want?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      It was a ticklish moment, for Pete Hanun was at Hal's heels, and it would
+      have needed no more than a nod from the Judge to cause him to collar Hal.
+      But the Judge, taken by surprise, permitted himself to parley with the
+      young miner; and the detective hesitated, and finally fell back a step or
+      two.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal repeated his appeal. &ldquo;Your Honour, there are a hundred and seven men
+      and boys now dying up at the North Valley mine. They are being murdered,
+      and I am trying to save their lives!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Young man,&rdquo; said the Judge, &ldquo;I have an urgent engagement down the
+      street.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well,&rdquo; replied Hal, &ldquo;I will walk with you and tell you as you go.&rdquo;
+       Nor did he give &ldquo;His Honour&rdquo; a chance to say whether this arrangement was
+      pleasing to him; he set out by his side, with Pete Hanun and the other two
+      men some ten yards in the rear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal told the story as he had told it to Mr. Richard Parker; and he
+      received the same response. Such matters were not easy to decide about;
+      they were hardly a Judge's business. There was a state official on the
+      ground, and it was for him to decide if there was violation of law.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal repeated his statement that a man who made a complaint to this
+      official had been thrown out of camp. &ldquo;And I was thrown out also, your
+      Honour.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What for?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nobody told me what for.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tut, tut, young man! They don't throw men out without telling them the
+      reason!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But they <i>do</i>, your Honour! Shortly before that they locked me up in
+      jail, and held me for thirty-six hours without the slightest show of
+      authority.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You must have been doing something!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What I had done was to be chosen by a committee of miners to act as their
+      check-weighman.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Their check-weighman?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, your Honour. I am informed there's a law providing that when the men
+      demand a check-weighman, and offer to pay for him, the company must permit
+      him to inspect the weights. Is that correct?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is, I believe.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And there's a penalty for refusing?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The law always carries a penalty, young man.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They tell me that law has been on the statute-books for fifteen or
+      sixteen years, and that the penalty is from twenty-five to five hundred
+      dollars fine. It's a case about which there can be no dispute, your Honour&mdash;the
+      miners notified the superintendent that they desired my services, and when
+      I presented myself at the tipple, I was refused access to the scales; then
+      I was seized and shut up in jail, and finally turned out of the camp. I
+      have made affidavit to these facts, and I think I have the right to ask
+      for warrants for the guilty men.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Can you produce witnesses to your statements?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can, your Honour. One of the committee of miners, John Edstrom, is now
+      in Pedro, having been kept out of his home, which he had rented and paid
+      for. The other, Mike Sikoria, was also thrown out of camp. There are many
+      others at North Valley who know all about it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a pause. Judge Denton for the first time took a good look at the
+      young miner at his side; and then he drew his brows together in solemn
+      thought, and his voice became deep and impressive. &ldquo;I shall take this
+      matter under advisement. What is your name, and where do you live?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Joe Smith, your Honour. I'm staying at Edward MacKellar's, but I don't
+      know how long I'll be able to stay there. There are company thugs watching
+      the place all the time.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's wild talk!&rdquo; said the Judge, impatiently.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;As it happens,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;we are being followed by three of them at this
+      moment&mdash;one of them the same Pete Hanun who helped to drive me out of
+      North Valley. If you will turn your head you will see them behind us.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But the portly Judge did not turn his head.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have been informed,&rdquo; Hal continued, &ldquo;that I am taking my life in my
+      hands by my present course of action. I believe I'm entitled to ask for
+      protection.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What do you want me to do?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To begin with, I'd like you to cause the arrest of the men who are
+      shadowing me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's not my business to cause such arrests. You should apply to a
+      policeman.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't see any policeman. Will you tell me where to find one?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      His Honour was growing weary of such persistence. &ldquo;Young man, what's the
+      matter with you is that you've been reading dime novels, and they've got
+      on your nerves!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But the men are right behind me, your Honour! Look at them!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I've told you it's not my business, young man!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But, your Honour, before I can find a policeman I may be dead!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other appeared to be untroubled by this possibility.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And, your Honour, while you are taking these matters under advisement,
+      the men in the mine will be dead!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Again there was no reply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have some affidavits here,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;Do you wish them?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You can give them to me if you want to,&rdquo; said the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You don't ask me for them?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I haven't yet.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then just one more question&mdash;if you will pardon me, your Honour. Can
+      you tell me where I can find an honest lawyer in this town&mdash;a man who
+      might be willing to take a case against the interests of the General Fuel
+      Company?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a silence&mdash;a long, long silence. Judge Denton, of the firm
+      of Denton and Vagleman, stared straight in front of him as he walked.
+      Whatever complicated processes might have been going on inside his mind,
+      his judicial features did not reveal them. &ldquo;No, young man,&rdquo; he said at
+      last, &ldquo;it's not my business to give you information about lawyers.&rdquo; And
+      with that the judge turned on his heel and went into the Elks' Club.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 7.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal stood and watched the portly figure until it disappeared; then he
+      turned back and passed the three detectives, who stopped. He stared at
+      them, but made no sign, nor did they. Some twenty feet behind him, they
+      fell in and followed as before.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Judge Denton had suggested consulting a policeman; and suddenly Hal
+      noticed that he was passing the City Hall, and it occurred to him that
+      this matter of his being shadowed might properly be brought to the
+      attention of the mayor of Pedro. He wondered what the chief magistrate of
+      such a &ldquo;hell of a town&rdquo; might be like; after due inquiry, he found himself
+      in the office of Mr. Ezra Perkins, a mild-mannered little gentleman who
+      had been in the undertaking-business, before he became a figure-head for
+      the so-called &ldquo;Democratic&rdquo; machine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He sat pulling nervously at a neatly trimmed brown beard, trying to
+      wriggle out of the dilemma into which Hal put him. Yes, it might possibly
+      be that a young miner was being followed on the streets of the town; but
+      whether or not this was against the law depended on the circumstances. If
+      he had made a disturbance in North Valley, and there was reason to believe
+      that he might be intending trouble, doubtless the company was keeping
+      track of him. But Pedro was a law-abiding place, and he would be protected
+      in his rights so long as he behaved himself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal replied by citing what MacKellar had told him about men being slugged
+      on the streets in broad day-light. To this Mr. Perkins answered that there
+      was uncertainty about the circumstances of these cases; anyhow, they had
+      happened before he became mayor. His was a reform administration, and he
+      had given strict orders to the Chief of Police that there were to be no
+      more incidents of the sort.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Will you go with me to the Chief of Police and give him orders now?&rdquo;
+       demanded Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I do not consider it necessary,&rdquo; said Mr. Perkins.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He was about to go home, it seemed. He was a pitiful little rodent, and it
+      was a shame to torment him; but Hal stuck to him for ten or twenty minutes
+      longer, arguing and insisting&mdash;until finally the little rodent bolted
+      for the door, and made his escape in an automobile. &ldquo;You can go to the
+      Chief of Police yourself,&rdquo; were his last words, as he started the machine;
+      and Hal decided to follow the suggestion. He had no hope left, but he was
+      possessed by a kind of dogged rage. He <i>would</i> not let go!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Upon inquiry of a passer-by, he learned that police headquarters was in
+      this same building, the entrance being just round the corner. He went in,
+      and found a man in uniform writing at a desk, who stated that the Chief
+      had &ldquo;stepped down the street.&rdquo; Hal sat down to wait, by a window through
+      which he could look out upon the three gunmen loitering across the way.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The man at the desk wrote on, but now and then he eyed the young miner
+      with that hostility which American policemen cultivate toward the lower
+      classes. To Hal this was a new phenomenon, and he found himself suddenly
+      wishing that he had put on MacKellar's clothes. Perhaps a policeman would
+      not have noticed the misfit!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Chief came in. His blue uniform concealed a burly figure, and his
+      moustache revealed the fact that his errand down the street had had to do
+      with beer. &ldquo;Well, young fellow?&rdquo; said he, fixing his gaze upon Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal explained his errand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What do you want me to do?&rdquo; asked the Chief, in a decidedly hostile
+      voice.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I want you to make those men stop following me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How can I make them stop?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You can lock them up, if necessary. I can point them out to you, if
+      you'll step to the window.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But the other made no move. &ldquo;I reckon if they're follerin' you, they've
+      got some reason for it. Have you been makin' trouble in the camps?&rdquo; He
+      asked this question with sudden force, as if it had occurred to him that
+      it might be his duty to lock up Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Hal, speaking as bravely as he could&mdash;&ldquo;no indeed, I
+      haven't been making trouble. I've only been demanding my rights.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How do I know what you been doin'?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The young miner was willing to explain, but the other cut him short. &ldquo;You
+      behave yourself while you're in this town, young feller, d'you see? If you
+      do, nobody'll bother you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;they've already threatened to bother me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What did they say?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They said something might happen to me on a dark night.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, so it might&mdash;you might fall down and hit your nose.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The Chief was pleased with this wit, but only for a moment. &ldquo;Understand,
+      young feller, we'll give you your rights in this town, but we got no love
+      for agitators, and we don't pretend to have. See?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You call a man an agitator when he demands his legal rights?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I ain't got time to argue with you, young feller. It's no easy matter
+      keepin' order in coal-camps, and I ain't going to meddle in the business.
+      I reckon the company detectives has got as good a right in this town as
+      you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a pause. Hal saw that there was nothing to be gained by further
+      discussion with the Chief. It was his first glimpse of the American
+      policeman as he appears to the labouring man in revolt, and he found it an
+      illuminating experience. There was dynamite in his heart as he turned and
+      went out to the street; nor was the amount of the explosive diminished by
+      the mocking grins which he noted upon the faces of Pete Hanun and the
+      other two husky-looking personages.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 8.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal judged that he had now exhausted his legal resources in Pedro; the
+      Chief of Police had not suggested any one else he might call upon, so
+      there seemed nothing he could do but go back to MacKellar's and await the
+      hour of the night train to Western City. He started to give his guardians
+      another run, by way of working off at least a part of his own temper; but
+      he found that they had anticipated this difficulty. An automobile came up
+      and the three of them stepped in. Not to be outdone, Hal engaged a hack,
+      and so the expedition returned in pomp to MacKellar's.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal found the old cripple in a state of perturbation. All that afternoon
+      his telephone had been ringing; one person after another had warned him&mdash;some
+      pleading with him, some abusing him. It was evident that among them were
+      people who had a hold on the old man; but he was undaunted, and would not
+      hear of Hal's going to stay at the hotel until train-time.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then Keating returned, with an exciting tale to tell. Schulman, general
+      manager of the &ldquo;G. F. C.,&rdquo; had been sending out messengers to hunt for
+      him, and finally had got him in his office, arguing and pleading, cajoling
+      and denouncing him by turns. He had got Cartwright on the telephone, and
+      the North Valley superintendent had laboured to convince Keating that he
+      had done the company a wrong. Cartwright had told a story about Hal's
+      efforts to hold up the company for money. &ldquo;Incidentally,&rdquo; said Keating,
+      &ldquo;he added the charge that you had seduced a girl in his camp.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal stared at his friend. &ldquo;Seduced a girl!&rdquo; he exclaimed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's what he said; a red-headed Irish girl.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, damn his soul!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There followed a silence, broken by a laugh from Billy. &ldquo;Don't glare at me
+      like that. <i>I</i> didn't say it!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But Hal continued to glare, nevertheless. &ldquo;The dirty little skunk!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Take it easy, sonny,&rdquo; said the fat man, soothingly. &ldquo;It's quite the usual
+      thing, to drag in a woman. It's so easy&mdash;for of course there always
+      <i>is</i> a woman. There's one in this case, I suppose?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's a perfectly decent girl.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But you've been friendly with her? You've been walking around where
+      people can see you?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So you see, they've got you. There's nothing you can do about a thing of
+      that sort.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You wait and see!&rdquo; Hal burst out.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The other gazed curiously at the angry young miner. &ldquo;What'll you do? Beat
+      him up some night?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But the young miner did not answer. &ldquo;You say he described the girl?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He was kind enough to say she was a red-headed beauty, and with no one to
+      protect her but a drunken father. I could understand that must have made
+      it pretty hard for her, in one of these coal-camps.&rdquo; There was a pause.
+      &ldquo;But see here,&rdquo; said the reporter, &ldquo;you'll only do the girl harm by making
+      a row. Nobody believes that women in coal-camps have any virtue. God
+      knows, I don't see how they do have, considering the sort of men who run
+      the camps, and the power they have.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mr. Keating,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;did <i>you</i> believe what Cartwright told
+      you?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Keating had started to light a cigar. He stopped in the middle, and his
+      eyes met Hal's. &ldquo;My dear boy,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;I didn't consider it my business
+      to have an opinion.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But what did you say to Cartwright?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah! That's another matter. I said that I'd been a newspaper man for a
+      good many years, and I knew his game.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thank you for that,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;You may be interested to know there isn't
+      any truth in the story.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Glad to hear it,&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;I believe you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Also you may be interested to know that I shan't drop the matter until
+      I've made Cartwright take it back.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, you're an enterprising cuss!&rdquo; laughed the reporter. &ldquo;Haven't you
+      got enough on your hands, with all the men you're going to get out of the
+      mine?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 9.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Billy Keating went out again, saying that he knew a man who might be
+      willing to talk to him on the quiet, and give him some idea what was going
+      to happen to Hal. Meantime Hal and Edstrom sat down to dinner with
+      MacKellar. The family were afraid to use the dining-room of their home,
+      but spread a little table in the upstairs hall. The distress of mind of
+      MacKellar's wife and daughter was apparent, and this brought home to Hal
+      the terror of life in this coal-country. Here were American women, in an
+      American home, a home with evidences of refinement and culture; yet they
+      felt and acted as if they were Russian conspirators, in terror of Siberia
+      and the knout!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The reporter was gone a couple of hours; when he came back, he brought
+      news. &ldquo;You can prepare for trouble, young fellow.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why so?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Jeff Cotton's in town.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How do you know?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I saw him in an automobile. If he left North Valley at this time, it was
+      for something serious, you may be sure.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What does he mean to do?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's no telling. He may have you slugged; he may have you run out of
+      town and dumped out in the desert; he may just have you arrested.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal considered for a moment. &ldquo;For slander?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Or for vagrancy; or on suspicion of having robbed a bank in Texas, or
+      murdered your great-grandmother in Tasmania. The point is, he'll keep you
+      locked up till this trouble has blown over.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;I don't want to be locked up. I want to go up to
+      Western City. I'm waiting for the train.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You may have to wait till morning,&rdquo; replied Keating. &ldquo;There's been
+      trouble on the railroad&mdash;a freight-car broke down and ripped up the
+      track; it'll be some time before it's clear.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They discussed this new problem back and forth. MacKellar wanted to get in
+      half a dozen friends and keep guard over Hal during the night; and Hal had
+      about agreed to this idea, when the discussion was given a new turn by a
+      chance remark of Keating's. &ldquo;Somebody else is tied up by the railroad
+      accident. The Coal King's son!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Coal King's son?&rdquo; echoed Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Young Percy Harrigan. He's got a private car here&mdash;or rather a whole
+      train. Think of it&mdash;dining-car, drawing-room car, two whole cars with
+      sleeping apartments! Wouldn't you like to be a son of the Coal King?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Has he come on account of the mine-disaster?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mine-disaster?&rdquo; echoed Keating. &ldquo;I doubt if he's heard of it. They've
+      been on a trip to the Grand Canyon, I was told; there's a baggage-car with
+      four automobiles.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is Old Peter with them?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, he's in New York. Percy's the host. He's got one of his automobiles
+      out, and was up in town&mdash;two other fellows and some girls.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who's in his party?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I couldn't find out. You can see, it might be a story for the <i>Gazette</i>&mdash;the
+      Coal King's son, coming by chance at the moment when a hundred and seven
+      of his serfs are perishing in the mine! If I could only have got him to
+      say a word about the disaster! If I could even have got him to say he
+      didn't know about it!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did you try?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What am I a reporter for?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What happened?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nothing happened; except that he froze me stiff.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where was this?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;On the street. They stopped at a drug-store, and I stepped up. 'Is this
+      Mr. Percy Harrigan?' He was looking into the store, over my head. 'I'm a
+      reporter,' I said, 'and I'd like to ask you about the accident up at North
+      Valley.' 'Excuse me,' he said, in a tone&mdash;gee, it makes your blood
+      cold to think of it! 'Just a word,' I pleaded. 'I don't give interviews,'
+      he answered; and that was all&mdash;he continued looking over my head, and
+      everybody else staring in front of them. They had turned to ice at my
+      first word. If ever I felt like a frozen worm!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a pause.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ain't it wonderful,&rdquo; reflected Billy, &ldquo;how quick you can build up an
+      aristocracy! When you looked at that car, the crowd in it and the airs
+      they wore, you'd think they'd been running the world since the time of
+      William the Conqueror. And Old Peter came into this country with a
+      pedlar's pack on his shoulders!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We're hustlers here,&rdquo; put in MacKellar.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We'll hustle all the way to hell in a generation more,&rdquo; said the
+      reporter. Then, after a minute, &ldquo;Say, but there's one girl in that bunch
+      that was the real thing! She sure did get me! You know all those fluffy
+      things they do themselves up in&mdash;soft and fuzzy, makes you think of
+      spring-time orchards. This one was exactly the colour of apple-blossoms.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You're susceptible to the charms of the ladies?&rdquo; inquired Hal, mildly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am,&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;I know it's all fake, but just the same, it makes
+      my little heart go pit-a-pat. I always want to think they're as lovely as
+      they look.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal's smile became reminiscent, and he quoted:
+    </p>
+<p class="pre">
+  &ldquo;Oh Liza-Ann, come out with me,<br>
+    <span class="m2">The moon is a-shinin' in the monkey-puzzle tree!&rdquo;</span>
+ </p>
+    <p>
+      Then he stopped, with a laugh. &ldquo;Don't wear your heart on your sleeve, Mr.
+      Keating. She wouldn't be above taking a peck at it as she passed.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;At me? A worm of a newspaper reporter?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;At you, a man!&rdquo; laughed Hal. &ldquo;I wouldn't want to accuse the lady of
+      posing; but a lady has her role in life, and has to keep her hand in.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a pause. The reporter was looking at the young miner with sudden
+      curiosity. &ldquo;See here,&rdquo; he remarked, &ldquo;I've been wondering about you. How do
+      you come to know so much about the psychology of the leisure class?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I used to have money once,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;My family's gone down as quickly
+      as the Harrigans have come up.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 10.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal went on to question Keating about the apple-blossom girl. &ldquo;Maybe I
+      could guess who she is. What colour was her hair?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The colour of molasses taffy when you've pulled it,&rdquo; said Billy; &ldquo;but all
+      fluffy and wonderful, with star-dust in it. Her eyes were brown, and her
+      cheeks pink and cream.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;She had two rows of pearly white teeth, that flashed at you when she
+      smiled?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;She didn't smile, unfortunately.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then her brown eyes gazed at you, wide open, full of wonder?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, they did&mdash;only it was into the drug-store window.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did she wear a white hat of soft straw, with a green and white flower
+      garden on it, and an olive green veil, and maybe cream white ribbons?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By George, I believe you've seen her!&rdquo; exclaimed the reporter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Maybe,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;Or maybe I'm describing the girl on the cover of one
+      of the current magazines!&rdquo; He smiled; but then, seeing the other's
+      curiosity, &ldquo;Seriously, I think I do know your young lady. If you announce
+      that Miss Jessie Arthur is a member of the Harrigan party, you won't be
+      taking a long chance.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can't afford to take any chance at all,&rdquo; said the reporter. &ldquo;You mean
+      Robert Arthur's daughter?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Heiress-apparent of the banking business of Arthur and Sons,&rdquo; said Hal.
+      &ldquo;It happens I know her by sight.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How's that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I worked in a grocery-store where she used to come.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Whereabouts?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Peterson and Company, in Western City.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oho! And you used to sell her candy.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Stuffed dates.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And your little heart used to go pit-a-pat, so that you could hardly
+      count the change?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Gave her too much, several times!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you wondered if she was as good as she was beautiful! One day you
+      were thrilled with hope, the next you were cynical and bitter&mdash;till
+      at last you gave up in despair, and ran away to work in a coal-mine!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They laughed, and MacKellar and Edstrom joined in. But suddenly Keating
+      became serious again. &ldquo;I ought to be away on that story!&rdquo; he exclaimed.
+      &ldquo;I've got to get something out of that crowd about the disaster. Think
+      what copy it would make!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But how can you do it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't know; I only know I ought to be trying. I'll hang round the
+      train, and maybe I can get one of the porters to talk.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Interview with the Coal King's porter!&rdquo; chuckled Hal. &ldquo;How it feels to
+      make up a multi-millionaire's bed!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How it feels to sell stuffed dates to a banker's daughter!&rdquo; countered the
+      other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But suddenly it was Hal's turn to become serious. &ldquo;Listen, Mr. Keating,&rdquo;
+       said he, &ldquo;why not let <i>me</i> interview young Harrigan?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;<i>You?</i>&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes! I'm the proper person&mdash;one of his miners! I help to make his
+      money for him, don't I? I'm the one to tell him about North Valley.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal saw the reporter staring at him in sudden excitement; he continued:
+      &ldquo;I've been to the District Attorney, the Justice of the Peace, the
+      District Judge, the Mayor and the Chief of Police. Now, why shouldn't I go
+      to the Owner?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By thunder!&rdquo; cried Billy. &ldquo;I believe you'd have the nerve!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I believe I would,&rdquo; replied Hal, quietly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The other scrambled out of his chair, wild with delight. &ldquo;I dare you!&rdquo; he
+      exclaimed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm ready,&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of course I mean it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that costume?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Certainly. I'm one of his miners.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But it won't go,&rdquo; cried the reporter. &ldquo;You'll stand no chance to get near
+      him unless you're well dressed.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Are you sure of that? What I've got on might be the garb of a
+      railroad-hand. Suppose there was something out of order in one of the cars&mdash;the
+      plumbing, for example?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But you couldn't fool the conductor or the porter.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I might be able to. Let's try it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a pause, while Keating thought. &ldquo;The truth is,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;it
+      doesn't matter whether you succeed or not&mdash;it's a story if you even
+      make the attempt. The Coal King's son appealed to by one of his serfs! The
+      hard heart of Plutocracy rejects the cry of Labour!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;but I really mean to get to him. Do you suppose he's got
+      back to the train yet?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They were starting to it when I left.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And where <i>is</i> the train?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Two or three hundred yards east of the station, I was told.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      MacKellar and Edstrom had been listening enthralled to this exciting
+      conversation. &ldquo;That ought to be just back of my house,&rdquo; said the former.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's a short train&mdash;four parlour-cars and a baggage-car,&rdquo; added
+      Keating. &ldquo;It ought to be easy to recognise.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The old Scotchman put in an objection. &ldquo;The difficulty may be to get out
+      of this house. I don't believe they mean to let you get away to-night.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By Jove, that's so!&rdquo; exclaimed Keating. &ldquo;We're talking too much&mdash;let's
+      get busy. Are they watching the back door, do you suppose?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They've been watching it all day,&rdquo; said MacKellar.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Listen,&rdquo; broke in Hal&mdash;&ldquo;I've an idea. They haven't tried to
+      interfere with your going out, have they, Mr. Keating?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, not yet.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nor with you, Mr. MacKellar?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, not yet,&rdquo; said the Scotchman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; Hal suggested, &ldquo;suppose you lend me your crutches?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Whereat Keating gave an exclamation of delight. &ldquo;The very thing!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll take your over-coat and hat,&rdquo; Hal added. &ldquo;I've watched you get
+      about, and I think I can give an imitation. As for Mr. Keating, he's not
+      easy to mistake.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Billy, the fat boy!&rdquo; laughed the other. &ldquo;Come, let's get on the job!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll go out by the front door at the same time,&rdquo; put in Edstrom, his old
+      voice trembling with excitement. &ldquo;Maybe that'll help to throw them off the
+      track.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 11.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      They had been sitting upstairs in MacKellar's room. Now they rose, and
+      were starting for the stairs, when suddenly there came a ring at the front
+      door bell. They stopped and stared at one another. &ldquo;There they are!&rdquo;
+       whispered Keating.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And MacKellar sat down suddenly, and held out his crutches to Hal. &ldquo;The
+      hat and coat are in the front hall,&rdquo; he exclaimed. &ldquo;Make a try for it!&rdquo;
+       His words were full of vigour, but like Edstrom, his voice was trembling.
+      He was no longer young, and could not take adventure gaily.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal and Keating ran downstairs, followed by Edstrom. Hal put on the coat
+      and hat, and they went to the back door, while at the same time Edstrom
+      answered the bell in front.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The back door opened into a yard, and this gave, through a side gate, into
+      an alley. Hal's heart was pounding furiously as he began to hobble along
+      with the crutches. He had to go at MacKellar's slow pace&mdash;while
+      Keating, at his side, started talking. He informed &ldquo;Mr. MacKellar,&rdquo; in a
+      casual voice, that the <i>Gazette</i> was a newspaper which believed in
+      the people's cause, and was pledged to publish the people's side of all
+      public questions. Discoursing thus, they went out of the gate and into the
+      alley.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A man emerged from the shadows and walked by them. He passed within three
+      feet of Hal, and peered at him, narrowly. Fortunately there was no moon;
+      Hal could not see the man's face, and hoped the man could not see his.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Meantime Keating was proceeding with his discourse. &ldquo;You understand, Mr.
+      MacKellar,&rdquo; he was saying, &ldquo;sometimes it's difficult to find out the truth
+      in a situation like this. When the interests are filling their newspapers
+      with falsehoods and exaggerations, it's a temptation for us to publish
+      falsehoods and exaggerations on the other side. But we find in the long
+      run that it pays best to publish the truth, Mr. MacKellar&mdash;we can
+      stand by it, and there's no come-back.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal, it must be admitted, was not paying much attention to this edifying
+      sermon. He was looking ahead, to where the alley debouched onto the
+      street. It was the street behind MacKellar's house, and only a block from
+      the railroad-track.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He dared not look behind, but he was straining his ears. Suddenly he heard
+      a shout, in John Edstrom's voice. &ldquo;Run! Run!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      In a flash, Hal dropped the two crutches, and started down the alley,
+      Keating at his heels. They heard cries behind them, and a voice, sounding
+      quite near, commanded, &ldquo;Halt!&rdquo; They had reached the end of the alley, and
+      were in the act of swerving, when a shot rang out and there was a crash of
+      glass in a house beyond them on the far side of the street.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Farther on was a vacant lot with a path running across it. Following this,
+      they dodged behind some shanties, and came to another street&mdash;and so
+      to the railroad tracks. There was a long line of freight-cars before them,
+      and they ran between two of these, and climbing over the couplings, saw a
+      great engine standing, its headlight gleaming full in their eyes. They
+      sprang in front of it, and alongside the train, passing a tender, then a
+      baggage-car, then a parlour-car.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Here we are!&rdquo; exclaimed Keating, who was puffing like a bellows.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal saw that there were only three more cars to the train; also, he saw a
+      man in a blue uniform standing at the steps. He dashed towards him. &ldquo;Your
+      car's on fire!&rdquo; he cried.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What?&rdquo; exclaimed the man. &ldquo;Where?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Here!&rdquo; cried Hal; and in a flash he had sprung past the other, up the
+      steps and into the car.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a long, narrow corridor, to be recognised as the kitchen portion
+      of a dining-car; at the other end of this corridor was a swinging door,
+      and to this Hal leaped. He heard the conductor shouting to him to stop,
+      but he paid no heed. He slipped off his over-coat and hat; and then,
+      pushing open the door, he entered a brightly lighted apartment&mdash;and
+      the presence of the Coal King's son.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 12.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      White linen and cut glass of the dining-saloon shone brilliantly under
+      electric lights, softened to the eye by pink shades. Seated at the tables
+      were half a dozen young men and as many young ladies, all in evening
+      costume; also two or three older ladies. They had begun the first course
+      of their meal, and were laughing and chatting, when suddenly came this
+      unexpected visitor, clad in coal-stained miner's jumpers. He was not
+      disturbing in the manner of his entry; but immediately behind him came a
+      fat man, perspiring, wild of aspect, and wheezing like an old fashioned
+      steam-engine; behind him came the conductor of the train, in a no less
+      evident state of agitation. So, of course, conversation ceased. The young
+      ladies turned in their chairs, while several of the young men sprang to
+      their feet.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There followed a silence: until finally one of the young men took a step
+      forward. &ldquo;What's this?&rdquo; he demanded, as one who had a right to demand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal advanced towards the speaker, a slender youth, correct in appearance,
+      but not distinguished looking. &ldquo;Hello, Percy!&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A look of amazement came upon the other's face. He stared, but seemed
+      unable to believe what he saw. And then suddenly came a cry from one of
+      the young ladies; the one having hair the colour of molasses taffy when
+      you've pulled it&mdash;but all fluffy and wonderful, with stardust in it.
+      Her cheeks were pink and cream, and her brown eyes gazed, wide open, full
+      of wonder. She wore a dinner gown of soft olive green, with a cream white
+      scarf of some filmy material thrown about her bare shoulders.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She had started to her feet. &ldquo;It's Hal!&rdquo; she cried.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hal Warner!&rdquo; echoed young Harrigan. &ldquo;Why, what in the world&mdash;?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He was interrupted by a clamour outside. &ldquo;Wait a moment,&rdquo; said Hal,
+      quietly. &ldquo;I think some one else is coming in.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The door was pushed violently open. It was pushed so violently that Billy
+      Keating and the conductor were thrust to one side; and Jeff Cotton
+      appeared in the entrance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The camp-marshal was breathless, his face full of the passion of the hunt.
+      In his right hand he carried a revolver. He glared about him, and saw the
+      two men he was chasing; also he saw the Coal King's son, and the rest of
+      the astonished company. He stood, stricken dumb.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The door was pushed again, forcing him aside, and two more men crowded in,
+      both of them carrying revolvers in their hands. The foremost was Pete
+      Hanun, and he also stood staring. The &ldquo;breaker of teeth&rdquo; had two teeth of
+      his own missing, and when his prize-fighter's jaw dropped down, the
+      deficiency became conspicuous. It was probably his first entrance into
+      society, and he was like an overgrown boy caught in the jam-closet.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Percy Harrigan's manner became distinctly imperious. &ldquo;What does this
+      mean?&rdquo; he demanded.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was Hal who answered. &ldquo;I am seeking a criminal, Percy.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What?&rdquo; There were little cries of alarm from the women.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, a criminal; the man who sealed up the mine.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sealed up the mine?&rdquo; echoed the other. &ldquo;What do you mean?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Let me explain. First, I will introduce my friends. Harrigan, this is my
+      friend Keating.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Billy suddenly realised that he had a hat on his head. He jerked it off;
+      but for the rest, his social instincts failed him. He could only stare. He
+      had not yet got all his breath.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Billy's a reporter,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;But you needn't worry&mdash;he's a
+      gentleman, and won't betray a confidence. You understand, Billy.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Y&mdash;yes,&rdquo; said Billy, faintly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And this,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;is Jeff Cotton, camp-marshal at North Valley. I
+      suppose you know, Percy, that the North Valley mines belong to the 'G. F.
+      C.' Cotton, this is Mr. Harrigan.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Then Cotton remembered his hat; also his revolver, which he tried to get
+      out of sight behind his back.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And this,&rdquo; continued Hal, &ldquo;is Mr. Pete Hanun, by profession a breaker of
+      teeth. This other gentleman, whose name I don't know, is presumably an
+      assistant-breaker.&rdquo; So Hal went on, observing the forms of social
+      intercourse, his purpose being to give his mind a chance to work. So much
+      depended upon the tactics he chose in this emergency! Should he take Percy
+      to one side and tell him the story quietly, leaving it to his sense of
+      justice and humanity? No, that was not the way one dealt with the
+      Harrigans! They had bullied their way to the front; if anything were done
+      with them, it would be by force! If anything were done with Percy, it
+      would be by laying hold of him before these guests, exposing the
+      situation, and using their feelings to coerce him!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Coal King's son was asking questions again. What was all this about?
+      So Hal began to describe the condition of the men inside the mine. &ldquo;They
+      have no food or water, except what they had in their dinner-pails; and
+      it's been three days and a half since the explosion! They are breathing
+      bad air; their heads are aching, the veins swelling in their foreheads;
+      their tongues are cracking, they are lying on the ground, gasping. But
+      they are waiting&mdash;kept alive by the faith they have in their friends
+      on the surface, who will try to get to them. They dare not take down the
+      barriers, because the gases would kill them at once. But they know the
+      rescuers will come, so they listen for the sounds of axes and picks. That
+      is the situation.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal stopped and waited for some sign of concern from young Harrigan. But
+      no such sign was given. Hal went on:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Think of it, Percy! There is one old man in that mine, an Irishman who
+      has a wife and eight children waiting to learn about his fate. I know one
+      woman who has a husband and three sons in the mine. For three days and a
+      half the women and children have been standing at the pit-mouth; I have
+      seen them sitting with their heads sunk upon their knees, or shaking their
+      fists, screaming curses at the criminal who is to blame.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a pause. &ldquo;The criminal?&rdquo; inquired young Harrigan. &ldquo;I don't
+      understand!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You'll hardly be able to believe it; but nothing has been done to rescue
+      these men. The criminal has nailed a cover of boards over the pit-mouth,
+      and put tarpaulin over it&mdash;sealing up men and boys to die!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a murmur of horror from the diners.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know, you can't conceive such a thing. The reason is, there's a fire in
+      the mine; if the fan is set to working, the coal will burn. But at the
+      same time, some of the passages could be got clear of smoke, and some of
+      the men could be rescued. So it's a question of property against lives;
+      and the criminal has decided for the property. He proposes to wait a week,
+      two weeks, until the fire has been smothered; <i>then</i> of course the
+      men and boys will be dead.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a silence. It was broken by young Harrigan. &ldquo;Who has done this?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;His name is Enos Cartwright.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But who <i>is</i> he?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Just now when I said that I was seeking the criminal, I misled you a
+      little, Percy. I did it because I wanted to collect my thoughts.&rdquo; Hal
+      paused: when he continued, his voice was sharper, his sentences falling
+      like blows. &ldquo;The criminal I've been telling you about is the
+      superintendent of the mine&mdash;a man employed and put in authority by
+      the General Fuel Company. The one who is being chased is not the one who
+      sealed up the mine, but the one who proposed to have it opened. He is
+      being treated as a malefactor, because the laws of the state, as well as
+      the laws of humanity, have been suppressed by the General Fuel Company; he
+      was forced to seek refuge in your car, in order to save his life from
+      thugs and gunmen in the company's employ!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 13.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Knowing these people well, Hal could measure the effect of the thunderbolt
+      he had hurled among them. They were people to whom good taste was the
+      first of all the virtues; he knew how he was offending them. If he was to
+      win them to the least extent, he must explain his presence here&mdash;a
+      trespasser upon the property of the Harrigans.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Percy,&rdquo; he continued, &ldquo;you remember how you used to jump on me last year
+      at college, because I listened to 'muck-rakers.' You saw fit to take
+      personal offence at it. You knew that their tales couldn't be true. But I
+      wanted to see for myself, so I went to work in a coal-mine. I saw the
+      explosion; I saw this man, Jeff Cotton, driving women and children away
+      from the pit-mouth with blows and curses. I set out to help the men in the
+      mine, and the marshal rushed me out of camp. He told me that if I didn't
+      go about my business, something would happen to me on a dark night. And
+      you see&mdash;this is a dark night!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal waited, to give young Harrigan a chance to grasp this situation and to
+      take command. But apparently young Harrigan was not aware of the presence
+      of the camp-marshal and his revolver. Hal tried again:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Evidently these men wouldn't have minded killing me; they fired at me
+      just now. The marshal still has the revolver and you can smell the
+      powder-smoke. So I took the liberty of entering your car, Percy. It was to
+      save my life, and you'll have to excuse me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The Coal King's son had here a sudden opportunity to be magnanimous. He
+      made haste to avail himself of it. &ldquo;Of course, Hal,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It was
+      quite all right to come here. If our employés were behaving in such
+      fashion, it was without authority, and they will surely pay for it.&rdquo; He
+      spoke with quiet certainty; it was the Harrigan manner, and before it Jeff
+      Cotton and the two mine-guards seemed to wither and shrink.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thank you, Percy,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;It's what I knew you'd say. I'm sorry to
+      have disturbed your dinner-party&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not at all, Hal; it was nothing of a party.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You see, Percy, it was not only to save myself, but the people in the
+      mine! They are dying, and every moment is precious. It will take a day at
+      least to get to them, so they'll be at their last gasp. Whatever's to be
+      done must be done at once.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Again Hal waited&mdash;until the pause became awkward. The diners had so
+      far been looking at him; but now they were looking at young Harrigan, and
+      young Harrigan felt the change.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't know just what you expect of me, Hal. My father employs competent
+      men to manage his business, and I certainly don't feel that I know enough
+      to give them any suggestions.&rdquo; This again in the Harrigan manner; but it
+      weakened before Hal's firm gaze. &ldquo;What can I do?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You can give the order to open the mine, to reverse the fan and start it.
+      That will draw out the smoke and gases, and the rescuers can go down.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But Hal, I assure you I have no authority to give such an order.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You must <i>take</i> the authority. Your father's in the East, the
+      officers of the company are in their beds at home; you are here!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But I don't understand such things, Hal! I don't know anything of the
+      situation&mdash;except what you tell me. And while I don't doubt your
+      word, any man may make a mistake in such a situation.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Come and see for yourself, Percy! That's all I ask, and it's easy enough.
+      Here is your train, your engine with steam up; have us switched onto the
+      North Valley branch, and we can be at the mine in half an hour. Then&mdash;let
+      me take you to the men who know! Men who've been working all their lives
+      in mines, who've seen accidents like this many times, and who will tell
+      you the truth&mdash;that there's a chance of saving many lives, and that
+      the chance is being thrown away to save some thousands of dollars' worth
+      of coal and timbers and track.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But even if that's true, Hal, I have no <i>power</i>!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If you come there, you can cut the red-tape in one minute. What those
+      bosses are doing is a thing that can only be done in darkness!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Under the pressure of Hal's vehemence, the Harrigan manner was failing;
+      the Coal King's son was becoming a bewildered and quite ordinary youth.
+      But there was a power greater than Hal behind him. He shook his head.
+      &ldquo;It's the old man's business, Hal. I've no right to butt in!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other, in his desperate need, turned to the rest of the party. His
+      gaze, moving from one face to another, rested upon the magazine-cover
+      countenance, with the brown eyes wide open, full of wonder.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Jessie! What do you think about it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl started, and distress leaped into her face. &ldquo;How do you mean,
+      Hal?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tell him he ought to save those lives!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The moments seemed ages as Hal waited. It was a test, he realised. The
+      brown eyes dropped. &ldquo;I don't understand such things, Hal!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But, Jessie, I am explaining them! Here are men and boys being suffocated
+      to death, in order to save a little money. Isn't that plain?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But how can I <i>know</i>, Hal?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm giving you my word, Jessie. Surely I wouldn't appeal to you unless I
+      knew.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Still she hesitated. And there came a swift note of feeling into his
+      voice: &ldquo;Jessie, dear!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      As if under a spell, the girl's eyes were raised to his; he saw a scarlet
+      flame of embarrassment spreading over her throat and cheeks. &ldquo;Jessie, I
+      know&mdash;it seems an intolerable thing to ask! You've never been rude to
+      a friend. But I remember once you forgot your good manners, when you saw a
+      rough fellow on the street beating an old drudge-horse. Don't you remember
+      how you rushed at him&mdash;like a wild thing! And now&mdash;think of it,
+      dear, here are old drudge-creatures being tortured to death; but not
+      horses&mdash;working-men!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Still the girl gazed at him. He could read grief, dismay in her eyes; he
+      saw tears steal from them, and stream down her cheeks. &ldquo;Oh, I don't know,
+      I don't <i>know!</i>&rdquo; she cried; and hid her face in her hands, and began
+      to sob aloud.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 14.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      There was a painful pause. Hal's gaze travelled on, and came to a
+      grey-haired lady in a black dinner-gown, with a rope of pearls about her
+      neck. &ldquo;Mrs. Curtis! Surely <i>you</i> will advise him!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The grey-haired lady started&mdash;was there no limit to his impudence?
+      She had witnessed the torturing of Jessie. But Jessie was his fiancée; he
+      had no such claim upon Mrs. Curtis. She answered, with iciness in her
+      tone: &ldquo;I could not undertake to dictate to my host in such a matter.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mrs. Curtis! You have founded a charity for the helping of stray cats and
+      dogs!&rdquo; These words rose to Hal's lips; but he did not say them. His eyes
+      moved on. Who else might help to bully a Harrigan?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Next to Mrs. Curtis sat Reggie Porter, with a rose in the button-hole of
+      his dinner-jacket. Hal knew the rôle in which Reggie was there&mdash;a
+      kind of male chaperon, an assistant host, an admirer to the wealthy, a
+      solace to the bored. Poor Reggie lived other people's lives, his soul
+      perpetually a-quiver with other people's excitements, with gossip,
+      preparations for tea-parties, praise of tea-parties past. And always the
+      soul was pushing; calculating, measuring opportunities, making up in tact
+      and elegance for distressing lack of money. Hal got one swift glimpse of
+      the face; the sharp little black moustaches seemed standing up with
+      excitement, and in a flash of horrible intuition Hal read the situation&mdash;Reggie
+      was expecting to be questioned, and had got ready an answer that would
+      increase his social capital in the Harrigan family bank!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Across the aisle sat Genevieve Halsey: tall, erect, built on the scale of
+      a statue. You thought of the ox-eyed Juno, and imagined stately emotions;
+      but when you came to know Genevieve, you discovered that her mind was
+      slow, and entirely occupied with herself. Next to her was Bob Creston,
+      smooth-shaven, rosy-cheeked, exuding well-being&mdash;what is called a
+      &ldquo;good fellow,&rdquo; with a wholesome ambition to win cups for his athletic
+      club, and to keep up the score of his rifle-team of the state militia.
+      Jolly Bob might have spoken, out of his good heart; but he was in love
+      with a cousin of Percy's, Betty Gunnison, who sat across the table from
+      him&mdash;and Hal saw her black eyes shining, her little fists clenched
+      tightly, her lips pressed white. Hal understood Betty&mdash;she was one of
+      the Harrigans, working at the Harrigan family task of making the children
+      of a pack-pedlar into leaders in the &ldquo;younger set!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Next sat &ldquo;Vivie&rdquo; Cass, whose talk was of horses and dogs and such
+      ungirlish matters; Hal had discussed social questions in her presence, and
+      heard her view expressed in one flashing sentence&mdash;&ldquo;If a man eats
+      with his knife, I consider him my personal enemy!&rdquo; Over her shoulder
+      peered the face of a man with pale eyes and yellow moustaches&mdash;Bert
+      Atkins, cynical and world-weary, whom the papers referred to as a
+      &ldquo;club-man,&rdquo; and whom Hal's brother had called a &ldquo;tame cat.&rdquo; There was
+      &ldquo;Dicky&rdquo; Everson, like Hal, a favourite of the ladies, but nothing more;
+      &ldquo;Billy&rdquo; Harris, son of another &ldquo;coal man&rdquo;; Daisy, his sister; and Blanche
+      Vagleman, whose father was Old Peter's head lawyer, whose brother was the
+      local counsel, and publisher of the Pedro <i>Star</i>.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So Hal's eyes moved from face to face, and his mind from personality to
+      personality. It was like the unrolling of a scroll; a panorama of a world
+      he had half forgotten. He had no time for reflection, but one impression
+      came to him, swift and overwhelming. Once he had lived in this world and
+      taken it as a matter of course. He had known these people, gone about with
+      them; they had seemed friendly, obliging, a good sort of people on the
+      whole. And now, what a change! They seemed no longer friendly! Was the
+      change in them? Or was it Hal who had become cynical&mdash;so that he saw
+      them in this terrifying new light, cold, and unconcerned as the stars
+      about men who were dying a few miles away!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal's eyes came back to the Coal King's son, and he discovered that Percy
+      was white with anger. &ldquo;I assure you, Hal, there's no use going on with
+      this. I have no intention of letting myself be bulldozed.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Percy's gaze shifted with sudden purpose to the camp-marshal. &ldquo;Cotton,
+      what do you say about this? Is Mr. Warner correct in his idea of the
+      situation?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You know what such a man would say, Percy!&rdquo; broke in Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't,&rdquo; was the reply. &ldquo;I wish to know. What is it, Cotton?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He's mistaken, Mr. Harrigan.&rdquo; The marshal's voice was sharp and defiant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In what way?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The company's doing everything to get the mine open, and has been from
+      the beginning.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh!&rdquo; And there was triumph in Percy's voice. &ldquo;What is the cause of the
+      delay?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The fan was broken, and we had to send for a new one. It's a job to set
+      it up&mdash;such things can't be done in an hour.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Percy turned to Hal. &ldquo;You see! There are two opinions, at least!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of course!&rdquo; cried Betty Gunnison, her black eyes snapping at Hal. She
+      would have said more, but Hal interrupted, stepping closer to his host.
+      &ldquo;Percy,&rdquo; he said, in a low voice, &ldquo;come back here, please. I have a word
+      to say to you alone.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was just a hint of menace in Hal's voice; his gaze went to the far
+      end of the car, a space occupied only by two negro waiters. These retired
+      in haste as the young men moved towards them; and so, having the Coal
+      King's son to himself, Hal went in to finish this fight.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 15.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Percy Harrigan was known to Hal, as a college-boy is known to his
+      class-mates. He was not brutal, like his grim old father; he was merely
+      self-indulgent, as one who had always had everything; he was weak, as one
+      who had never had to take a bold resolve. He had been brought up by the
+      women of the family, to be a part of what they called &ldquo;society&rdquo;; in which
+      process he had been given high notions of his own importance. The life of
+      the Harrigans was dominated by one painful memory&mdash;that of a pedlar's
+      pack; and Hal knew that Percy's most urgent purpose was to be regarded as
+      a real and true and freehanded aristocrat. It was this knowledge Hal was
+      using in his attack.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He began with apologies, attempting to soothe the other's anger. He had
+      not meant to make a scene like this; it was the gunmen who had forced it,
+      putting his life in danger. It was the very devil, being chased about at
+      night and shot at! He had lost his nerve, really; he had forgot what
+      little manners he had been able to keep as a miner's buddy. He had made a
+      spectacle of himself; good Lord yes, he realised how he must seem!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &mdash;And Hal looked at his dirty miner's jumpers, and then at Percy. He
+      could see that Percy was in hearty agreement thus far&mdash;he had indeed
+      made a spectacle of himself, and of Percy too! Hal was sorry about this
+      latter, but here they were, in a pickle, and it was certainly too late
+      now. This story was out&mdash;there could be no suppressing it! Hal might
+      sit down on his reporter-friend, Percy might sit down on the waiters and
+      the conductor and the camp-marshal and the gunmen&mdash;but he could not
+      possibly sit down on all his friends! They would talk about nothing else
+      for weeks! The story would be all over Western City in a day&mdash;this
+      amazing, melodramatic, ten-twenty-thirty story of a miner's buddy in the
+      private car of the Coal King's son!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you must see, Percy,&rdquo; Hal went on, &ldquo;it's the sort of thing that
+      sticks to a man. It's the thing by which everybody will form their idea of
+      you as long as you live!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll take my chances with my friends' criticism,&rdquo; said the other, with
+      some attempt at the Harrigan manner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You can make it whichever kind of story you choose,&rdquo; continued Hal,
+      implacably. &ldquo;The world will say, He decided for the dollars; or it will
+      say, He decided for the lives. Surely, Percy, your family doesn't need
+      those particular dollars so badly! Why, you've spent more on this one
+      train-trip!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And Hal waited, to give his victim time to calculate.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The result of the thinking was a question worthy of Old Peter. &ldquo;What are
+      <i>you</i> getting out of this?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Percy,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;you must <i>know</i> I'm getting nothing! If you can't
+      understand it otherwise, say to yourself that you are dealing with a man
+      who's irresponsible. I've seen so many terrible things&mdash;I've been
+      chased around so much by camp-marshals&mdash;why, Percy, that man Cotton
+      has six notches on his gun! I'm simply crazy!&rdquo; And into the brown eyes of
+      this miner's buddy came a look wild enough to convince a stronger man than
+      Percy Harrigan. &ldquo;I've got just one idea left in the world, Percy&mdash;to
+      save those miners! You make a mistake unless you realise how desperate I
+      am. So far I've done this thing incog! I've been Joe Smith, a miner's
+      buddy. If I'd come out and told my real name&mdash;well, maybe I wouldn't
+      have made them open the mine, but at least I'd have made a lot of trouble
+      for the G. F. C.! But I didn't do it; I knew what a scandal it would make,
+      and there was something I owed my father. But if I see there's no other
+      way, if it's a question of letting those people perish, I'll throw
+      everything else to the winds. Tell your father that; tell him I threatened
+      to turn this man Keating loose and blow the thing wide open&mdash;denounce
+      the company, appeal to the Governor, raise a disturbance and get arrested
+      on the street, if necessary, in order to force the facts before the
+      public. You see, I've got the facts, Percy! I've been there and seen with
+      my own eyes. Can't you realise that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other did not answer, but it was evident that he realised.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;On the other hand, see how you can fix it, if you choose. You were on a
+      pleasure trip when you heard of this disaster; you rushed up and took
+      command, you opened the mine, you saved the lives of your employés. That
+      is the way the papers will handle it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal, watching his victim intently, and groping for the path to his mind,
+      perceived that he had gone wrong. Crude as the Harrigans were, they had
+      learned that it is not aristocratic to be picturesque.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right then!&rdquo; said Hal, quickly. &ldquo;If you prefer, you needn't be
+      mentioned. The bosses up at the camp have the reporters under their
+      thumbs, they'll handle the story any way you want it. The one thing I care
+      about is that you run your car up and see the mine opened. Won't you do
+      it, Percy?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal was gazing into the other's eyes, knowing that life and death for the
+      miners hung upon his nod. &ldquo;Well? What is the answer?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hal,&rdquo; exclaimed Percy, &ldquo;my old man will give me hell!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right; but on the other hand, <i>I'll</i> give you hell; and which
+      will be worse?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Again there was a silence. &ldquo;Come along, Percy! For God's sake!&rdquo; And Hal's
+      tone was desperate, alarming.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And suddenly the other gave way. &ldquo;All right!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal drew a breath. &ldquo;But mind you!&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;You're not going up there to
+      let them fool you! They'll try to bluff you out&mdash;they may go as far
+      as to refuse to obey you. But you must stand by your guns&mdash;for, you
+      see, I'm going along, I'm going to see that mine open. I'll never quit
+      till the rescuers have gone down!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Will they go, Hal?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Will they go? Good God, man, they're clamouring for the chance to go!
+      They've almost been rioting for it. I'll go with them&mdash;and you, too,
+      Percy&mdash;the whole crowd of us idlers will go! When we come out, we'll
+      know something about the business of coal-mining!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right, I'm with you,&rdquo; said the Coal King's son.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 16.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal never knew what Percy said to Cartwright that night; he only knew that
+      when they arrived at the mine the superintendent was summoned to a
+      consultation, and half an hour later Percy emerged smiling, with the
+      announcement that Hal Warner had been mistaken all along; the mine
+      authorities had been making all possible haste to get the fan ready, with
+      the intention of opening the mine at the earliest moment. The work was now
+      completed, and in an hour or two the fan was to be started, and by morning
+      there would be a chance of rescuers getting in. Percy said this so
+      innocently that for a moment Hal wondered if Percy himself might not
+      believe it. Hal's position as guest of course required that he should
+      graciously pretend to believe it, consenting to appear as a fool before
+      the rest of the company.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Percy invited Hal and Billy Keating to spend the night in the train; but
+      this Hal declined. He was too dirty, he said; besides, he wanted to be up
+      at daylight, to be one of the first to go down the shaft. Percy answered
+      that the superintendent had vetoed this proposition&mdash;he did not want
+      any one to go down but experienced men, who could take care of themselves.
+      When there were so many on hand ready and eager to go, there was no need
+      to imperil the lives of amateurs.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At the risk of seeming ungracious, Hal declared that he would &ldquo;hang
+      around&rdquo; and see them take the cover off the pit-mouth. There were mourning
+      parties in some of the cabins, where women were gathered together who
+      could not sleep, and it would be an act of charity to take them the good
+      news.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal and Keating set out; they went first to the Rafferties', and saw Mrs.
+      Rafferty spring up and stare at them, and then scream aloud to the Holy
+      Virgin, waking all the little Rafferties to frightened clamour. When the
+      woman had made sure that they really knew what they were talking about,
+      she rushed out to spread the news, and so pretty soon the streets were
+      alive with hurrying figures, and a crowd gathered once more at the
+      pit-mouth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal and Keating went on to Jerry Minetti's. Out of a sense of loyalty to
+      Percy, Hal did no more than repeat Percy's own announcement, that it had
+      been Cartwright's intention all along to have the mine opened. It was
+      funny to see the effect of this statement&mdash;the face with which Jerry
+      looked at Hal! But they wasted no time in discussion; Jerry slipped into
+      his clothes and hurried with them to the pit-mouth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Sure enough, a gang was already tearing off the boards and canvas. Never
+      since Hal had been in North Valley had he seen men working with such a
+      will! Soon the great fan began to stir, and then to roar, and then to
+      sing; and there was a crowd of a hundred people, roaring and singing also.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It would be some hours before anything more could be done; and suddenly
+      Hal realised that he was exhausted. He and Billy Keating went back to the
+      Minetti cabin, and spreading themselves a blanket on the floor, lay down
+      with sighs of relief. As for Billy, he was soon snoring; but to Hal there
+      came sudden reaction from all the excitement, and sleep was far from him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      An ocean of thoughts came flooding into his mind: the world outside, <i>his</i>
+      world, which he had banished deliberately for several months, and which he
+      had so suddenly been compelled to remember! It had seemed so simple, what
+      he had set out to do that summer: to take another name, to become a member
+      of another class, to live its life and think its thoughts, and then come
+      back to his own world with a new and fascinating adventure to tell about!
+      The possibility that his own world, the world of Hal Warner, might find
+      him out as Joe Smith, the miner's buddy&mdash;that was a possibility which
+      had never come to his mind. He was like a burglar, working away at a job
+      in darkness, and suddenly finding the room flooded with light.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He had gone into the adventure, prepared to find things that would shock
+      him; he had known that somehow, somewhere, he would have to fight the
+      &ldquo;system.&rdquo; But he had never expected to find himself in the thick of the
+      class-war, leading a charge upon the trenches of his own associates. Nor
+      was this the end, he knew; this war would not be settled by the winning of
+      a trench! Lying here in the darkness and silence, Hal was realising what
+      he had got himself in for. To employ another simile, he was a man who
+      begins a flirtation on the street, and wakes up next morning to find
+      himself married.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was not that he had regrets for the course he had taken with Percy. No
+      other course had been thinkable. But while Hal had known these North
+      Valley people for ten weeks, he had known the occupants of Percy's car for
+      as many years. So these latter personalities loomed large in his
+      consciousness, and here in the darkness their thoughts about him, whether
+      actively hostile or passively astonished, laid siege to the defences of
+      his mind.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Particularly he found himself wrestling with Jessie Arthur. Her face rose
+      up before him, appealing, yearning. She had one of those perfect faces,
+      which irresistibly compel the soul of a man. Her brown eyes, soft and
+      shining, full of tenderness; her lips, quick to tremble with emotion; her
+      skin like apple-blossoms, her hair with star-dust in it! Hal was cynical
+      enough about coal-operators and mine-guards, but it never occurred to him
+      that Jessie's soul might be anything but what these bodily charms implied.
+      He was in love with her; and he was too young, too inexperienced in love
+      to realise that underneath the sweetness of girlhood, so genuine and so
+      lovable, might lie deep, unconscious cruelty, inherited and instinctive&mdash;the
+      cruelty of caste, the hardness of worldly prejudice. A man has to come to
+      middle age, and to suffer much, before he understands that the charms of
+      women, those rare and magical perfections of eyes and teeth and hair, that
+      softness of skin and delicacy of feature, have cost labour and care of
+      many generations, and imply inevitably that life has been feral, that
+      customs and conventions have been murderous and inhuman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Jessie had failed Hal in his desperate emergency. But now he went over the
+      scene, and told himself that the test had been an unfair one. He had known
+      her since childhood, and loved her, and never before had he seen an act or
+      heard a word that was not gracious and kind. But&mdash;so he told himself&mdash;she
+      gave her sympathy to those she knew; and what chance had she ever had to
+      know working-people? He must give her the chance; he must compel her, even
+      against her will, to broaden her understanding of life! The process might
+      hurt her, it might mar the unlined softness of her face, but nevertheless,
+      it would be good for her&mdash;it would be a &ldquo;growing pain&rdquo;!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So, lying there in the darkness and silence, Hal found himself absorbed in
+      long conversation with his sweetheart. He escorted her about the camp,
+      explaining things to her, introducing her to this one and that. He took
+      others of his private-car friends and introduced them to his North Valley
+      friends. There were individuals who had qualities in common, and would
+      surely hit it off! Bob Creston, for example, who was good at a &ldquo;song and
+      dance&rdquo;&mdash;he would surely be interested in &ldquo;Blinky,&rdquo; the vaudeville
+      specialist of the camp! Mrs. Curtis, who liked cats, would find a bond of
+      sisterhood with old Mrs. Nagle, who lived next door to the Minettis, and
+      kept five! And even Vivie Cass, who hated men who ate with their knives&mdash;she
+      would be driven to murder by the table-manners of Reminitsky's boarders,
+      but she would take delight in &ldquo;Dago Charlie,&rdquo; the tobacco-chewing mule
+      which had once been Hal's pet! Hal could hardly wait for daylight to come,
+      so that he might begin these efforts at social amalgamation!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 17.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Towards dawn Hal fell asleep; he was awakened by Billy Keating, who sat up
+      yawning, at the same time grumbling and bewailing. Hal realised that Billy
+      also had discovered troubles during the night. Never in all his career as
+      a journalist had he had such a story; never had any man had such a story&mdash;and
+      it must be killed!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Cartwright had got the reporters together late the night before and told
+      them the news&mdash;that the company had at last succeeded in getting the
+      mine ready to be opened; also that young Mr. Harrigan was there in his
+      private train, prompted by his concern for the entombed miners. The
+      reporters would mention his coming, of course, but were requested not to
+      &ldquo;play it up,&rdquo; nor to mention the names of Mr. Harrigan's guests. Needless
+      to say they were not told that the &ldquo;buddy&rdquo; who had been thrown out of camp
+      for insubordination had turned out to be the son of Edward S. Warner, the
+      &ldquo;coal magnate.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      A fine, cold rain was falling, and Hal borrowed an old coat of Jerry's and
+      slipped it on. Little Jerry clamoured to go with him, and after some
+      controversy Hal wrapped him in a shawl and slung him onto his shoulder. It
+      was barely daylight, but already the whole population of the village was
+      on hand at the pit-mouth. The helmet-men had gone down to make tests, so
+      the hour of final revelation was at hand. Women stood with wet shawls
+      about their hunched shoulders, their faces white and strained, their
+      suspense too great for any sort of utterance. A ghastly thought it was,
+      that while they were shuddering in the wet, their men below might be
+      expiring for lack of a few drops of water!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The helmet-men, coming up, reported that lights would burn at the bottom
+      of the shaft; so it was safe for men to go down without helmets, and the
+      volunteers of the first rescue party made ready. All night there had been
+      a clattering of hammers, where the carpenters were working on a new cage.
+      Now it was swung from the hoist, and the men took their places in it. When
+      at last the hoist began to move, and the group disappeared below the
+      surface of the ground, you could hear a sigh from a thousand throats, like
+      the moaning of wind in a pine-tree. They were leaving women and children
+      above, yet not one of these women would have asked them to stay&mdash;such
+      was the deep unconscious bond of solidarity which made these toilers of
+      twenty nations one!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was a slow process, letting down the cage; on account of the danger of
+      gas, and the newness of the cage, it was necessary to proceed a few feet
+      at a time, waiting for a pull upon the signal-cord to tell that the men
+      were all right. After they had reached the bottom, there would be more
+      time, no one could say how long, before they came upon survivors with
+      signs of life in them. There were bodies near the foot of the shaft,
+      according to the reports of the helmet-men, but there was no use delaying
+      to bring these up, for they must have been dead for days. Hal saw a crowd
+      of women clamouring about the helmet-men, trying to find out if these
+      bodies had been recognised. Also he saw Jeff Cotton and Bud Adams at their
+      old duty of driving the women back.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The cage returned for a second load of men. There was less need of caution
+      now; the hoist worked quickly, and group after group of men with silent,
+      set faces, and pickaxes and crow-bars and shovels in their hands, went
+      down into the pit of terror. They would scatter through the workings,
+      testing everywhere ahead of them with safety-lamps, and looking for
+      barriers erected by the imprisoned men for defence against the gases. As
+      they hammered on these barriers, perhaps they would hear the signals of
+      living men on the other side; or they would break through in silence, and
+      find men too far gone to make a sound, yet possibly with the spark of life
+      still in them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One by one, Hal's friends went down&mdash;&ldquo;Big Jack&rdquo; David, and Wresmak,
+      the Bohemian, Klowoski, the Pole, and finally Jerry Minetti. Little Jerry
+      waved his hand from his perch on Hal's shoulder; while Rosa, who had come
+      out and joined them, was clinging to Hal's arm, silent, as if her soul
+      were going down in the cage. There went blue-eyed Tim Rafferty to look for
+      his father, and black-eyed &ldquo;Andy,&rdquo; the Greek boy, whose father had
+      perished in a similar disaster years ago; there went Rovetta, and Carmino,
+      the pit-boss, Jerry's cousin. One by one their names ran through the
+      crowd, as of heroes marching out to battle.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 18.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Looking about, Hal saw some of the guests of the Harrigan party. There was
+      Vivie Cass, standing under an umbrella with Bert Atkins; and there was Bob
+      Creston with Dicky Everson. These two had on mackintoshes and water-proof
+      hats, and were talking to Cartwright; tall, immaculate men, who seemed
+      like creatures of another world beside the stunted and coal-smutted
+      miners.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Seeing Hal, they moved over to him. &ldquo;Where did you get the kid?&rdquo; inquired
+      Bob, his rosy, smooth-shaven face breaking into a smile.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I picked him up,&rdquo; said Hal, giving Little Jerry a toss and sliding him
+      off his shoulder.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hello, kid!&rdquo; said Bob.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And the answer came promptly, &ldquo;Hello, yourself!&rdquo; Little Jerry knew how to
+      talk American; he was a match for any society man! &ldquo;My father's went down
+      in that cage,&rdquo; said he, looking up at the tall stranger, his bright black
+      eyes sparkling.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is that so!&rdquo; replied the other. &ldquo;Why don't you go?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My father'll get 'em out. He ain't afraid o' nothin', my father!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What's your father's name?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Big Jerry.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oho! And what'll you be when you grow up?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm goin' to be a shot-firer.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In this mine?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You bet not!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why not?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Little Jerry looked mysterious. &ldquo;I ain't tellin' all I know,&rdquo; said he.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The two young fellows laughed. Here was education for them! &ldquo;Maybe you'll
+      go back to the old country?&rdquo; put in Dicky Everson.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, sir-ee!&rdquo; said Little Jerry. &ldquo;I'm American.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Maybe you'll be president some day.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's what my father says,&rdquo; replied the little chap&mdash;&ldquo;president of
+      a miners' union.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Again they laughed; but Rosa gave a nervous whisper and caught at the
+      child's sleeve. That was not the sort of thing to say to mysterious and
+      rich-looking strangers! &ldquo;This is Little Jerry's mother, Mrs. Minetti,&rdquo; put
+      in Hal, by way of reassuring her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Glad to meet you, Mrs. Minetti,&rdquo; said the two young men, taking off their
+      hats with elaborate bows; they stared, for Rosa was a pretty object as she
+      blushed and made her shy response. She was much embarrassed, having never
+      before in her life been bowed to by men like these.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And here they were greeting Joe Smith as an old friend, and calling him by
+      a strange name! She turned her black Italian eyes upon Hal in inquiry, and
+      he felt a flush creeping over him. It was almost as uncomfortable to be
+      found out by North Valley as to be found out by Western City!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The men talked about the rescue-work, and what Cartwright had been telling
+      of its progress. The fire was in one of the main passages, and was burning
+      out the timbering, spreading rapidly under the draft from the reversed
+      fan. There could be little hope of rescue in this part of the mine, but
+      the helmet-men would defy the heat and smoke in the burned out passages.
+      They knew how likely was the collapse of such portions of the mine; but
+      also they knew that men had been working here before the explosion. &ldquo;I
+      must say they're a game lot!&rdquo; remarked Dicky.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A group of women and children were gathered about to listen, their shyness
+      overcome by their torturing anxiety for news. They made one think of women
+      in war-time, listening to the roar of distant guns and waiting for the
+      bringing in of the wounded. Hal saw Bob and Dicky glance now and then at
+      the ring of faces about them; they were getting something of this mood,
+      and that was a part of what he had desired for them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Are the others coming out?&rdquo; he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't know,&rdquo; said Bob. &ldquo;I suppose they're having breakfast. It's time
+      we went in.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Won't you come with us?&rdquo; added Dicky.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, thanks,&rdquo; replied Hal, &ldquo;I've an engagement with the kid here.&rdquo; And he
+      gave Little Jerry's hand a squeeze. &ldquo;But tell some of the other fellows to
+      come. They'll be interested in these things.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said the two, as they moved away.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 19.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      After allowing a sufficient time for the party in the dining-car to finish
+      breakfast, Hal went down to the tracks, and induced the porter to take in
+      his name to Percy Harrigan. He was hoping to persuade Percy to see the
+      village under other than company chaperonage; he heard with dismay the
+      announcement that the party had arranged to depart in the course of a
+      couple of hours.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But you haven't seen anything at all!&rdquo; Hal protested.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They won't let us into the mine,&rdquo; replied the other. &ldquo;What else is there
+      we can do?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I wanted you to talk to the people and learn something about conditions
+      here. You ought not to lose this chance, Percy!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's all right, Hal, but you might understand this isn't a convenient
+      time. I've got a lot of people with me, and I've no right to ask them to
+      wait.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But can't they learn something also, Percy?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's raining,&rdquo; was the reply; &ldquo;and ladies would hardly care to stand
+      round in a crowd and see dead bodies brought out of a mine.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal got the rebuke. Yes, he had grown callous since coming to North
+      Valley; he had lost that delicacy of feeling, that intuitive understanding
+      of the sentiments of ladies, which he would surely have exhibited a short
+      time earlier in his life. He was excited about this disaster; it was a
+      personal thing to him, and he lost sight of the fact that to the ladies of
+      the Harrigan party it was, in its details, merely sordid and repelling. If
+      they went out in the mud and rain of a mining-village and stood about
+      staring, they would feel that they were exhibiting, not human compassion,
+      but idle curiosity. The sights they would see would harrow them to no
+      purpose; and incidentally they would be exposing themselves to distressing
+      publicity. As for offering sympathy to widows and orphans&mdash;well,
+      these were foreigners mostly, who could not understand what was said to
+      them, and who might be more embarrassed than helped by the intrusion into
+      their grief of persons from an alien world.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The business of offering sympathy had been reduced to a system by the
+      civilisation which these ladies helped to maintain; and, as it happened,
+      there was one present who was familiar with this system. Mrs. Curtis had
+      already acted, so Percy informed Hal; she had passed about a
+      subscription-paper, and in a couple of minutes over a thousand dollars had
+      been pledged. This would be paid by check to the &ldquo;Red Cross,&rdquo; whose agents
+      would understand how to distribute relief among such sufferers. So the
+      members of Percy's party felt that they had done the proper and delicate
+      thing, and might go their ways with a quiet conscience.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The world can't stop moving just because there's been a mine-disaster,&rdquo;
+       said the Coal King's son. &ldquo;People have engagements they must keep.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And he went on to explain what these engagements were. He himself had to
+      go to a dinner that evening, and would barely be able to make it. Bert
+      Atkins was to play a challenge match at billiards, and Mrs. Curtis was to
+      attend a committee meeting of a woman's club. Also it was the last Friday
+      of the month; had Hal forgotten what that meant?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After a moment Hal remembered&mdash;the &ldquo;Young People's Night&rdquo; at the
+      country club! He had a sudden vision of the white colonial mansion on the
+      mountain-side, with its doors and windows thrown wide, and the strains of
+      an orchestra floating out. In the ball-room the young ladies of Percy's
+      party would appear&mdash;Jessie, his sweetheart, among them&mdash;gowned
+      in filmy chiffons and laces, floating in a mist of perfume and colour and
+      music. They would laugh and chatter, they would flirt and scheme against
+      one another for the sovereignty of the ball-room&mdash;while here in North
+      Valley the sobbing widows would be clutching their mangled dead in their
+      arms! How strange, how ghastly it seemed! How like the scenes one read of
+      on the eve of the French Revolution!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 20.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Percy wanted Hal to come away with the party. He suggested this tactfully
+      at first, and then, as Hal did not take the hint, he began to press the
+      matter, showing signs of irritation. The mine was open now&mdash;what more
+      did Hal want? When Hal suggested that Cartwright might order it closed
+      again, Percy revealed the fact that the matter was in his father's hands.
+      The superintendent had sent a long telegram the night before, and an
+      answer was due at any moment. Whatever the answer ordered would have to be
+      done.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a grim look upon Hal's face, but he forced himself to speak
+      politely. &ldquo;If your father orders anything that interferes with the
+      rescuing of the men&mdash;don't you see, Percy, that I have to fight him?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But how <i>can</i> you fight him?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;With the one weapon I have&mdash;publicity.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean&mdash;&rdquo; Percy stopped, and stared.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I mean what I said before&mdash;I'd turn Billy Keating loose and blow
+      this whole story wide open.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, by God!&rdquo; cried young Harrigan. &ldquo;I must say I'd call it damned dirty
+      of you! You said you'd not do it, if I'd come here and open the mine!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But what good does it do to open it, if you close it again before the men
+      are out?&rdquo; Hal paused, and when he went on it was in a sincere attempt at
+      apology. &ldquo;Percy, don't imagine I fail to appreciate the embarrassments of
+      this situation. I know I must seem a cad to you&mdash;more than you've
+      cared to tell me. I called you my friend in spite of all our quarrels. All
+      I can do is to assure you that I never intended to get into such a
+      position as this.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, what the hell did you want to come here for? You knew it was the
+      property of a friend&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's the question at issue between us, Percy. Have you forgotten our
+      arguments? I tried to convince you what it meant that you and I should own
+      the things by which other people have to live. I said we were ignorant of
+      the conditions under which our properties were worked, we were a bunch of
+      parasites and idlers. But you laughed at me, called me a crank, an
+      anarchist, said I swallowed what any muck-raker fed me. So I said: 'I'll
+      go to one of Percy's mines! Then, when he tries to argue with me, I'll
+      have him!' That was the way the thing started&mdash;as a joke. But then I
+      got drawn into things. I don't want to be nasty, but no man with a drop of
+      red blood in his veins could stay in this place a week without wanting to
+      fight! That's why I want you to stay&mdash;you ought to stay, to meet some
+      of the people and see for yourself.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, I can't stay,&rdquo; said the other, coldly. &ldquo;And all I can tell you is
+      that I wish you'd go somewhere else to do your sociology.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But where could I go, Percy? Somebody owns everything. If it's a big
+      thing, it's almost certain to be somebody we know.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Said Percy, &ldquo;If I might make a suggestion, you could have begun with the
+      coal-mines of the Warner Company.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal laughed. &ldquo;You may be sure I thought of that, Percy. But see the
+      situation! If I was to accomplish my purpose, it was essential that I
+      shouldn't be known. And I had met some of my father's superintendents in
+      his office, and I knew they'd recognise me. So I <i>had</i> to go to some
+      other mines.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Most fortunate for the Warner Company,&rdquo; replied Percy, in an ugly tone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal answered, gravely, &ldquo;Let me tell you, I don't intend to leave the
+      Warner Company permanently out of my sociology.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; replied the other, &ldquo;all I can say is that we pass one of their
+      properties on our way back, and nothing would please me better than to
+      stop the train and let you off!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 21.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal went into the drawing-room car. There were Mrs. Curtis and Reggie
+      Porter, playing bridge with Genevieve Halsey and young Everson. Bob
+      Creston was chatting with Betty Gunnison, telling her what he had seen
+      outside, no doubt. Bert Atkins was looking over the morning paper,
+      yawning. Hal went on, seeking Jessie Arthur, and found her in one of the
+      compartments of the car, looking out of the rain-drenched window&mdash;learning
+      about a mining-camp in the manner permitted to young ladies of her class.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He expected to find her in a disturbed state of mind, and was prepared to
+      apologise. But when he met the look of distress she turned upon him, he
+      did not know just where to begin. He tried to speak casually&mdash;he had
+      heard she was going away. But she caught him by the hand, exclaiming:
+      &ldquo;Hal, you are coming with us!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He did not answer for a moment, but sat down by her. &ldquo;Have I made you
+      suffer so much, Jessie?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He saw tears start into her eyes. &ldquo;Haven't you <i>known</i> you were
+      making me suffer? Here I was as Percy's guest; and to have you put such
+      questions to me! What could I say? What do I know about the way Mr.
+      Harrigan should run his business?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, dear,&rdquo; he said, humbly. &ldquo;Perhaps I shouldn't have drawn you into it.
+      But the matter was so complicated and so sudden. Can't you understand
+      that, and forgive me? Everything has turned out so well!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But she did not think that everything had turned out well. &ldquo;In the first
+      place, for you to be here, in such a plight! And when I thought you were
+      hunting mountain-goats in Mexico!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He could not help laughing; but Jessie had not even a smile. &ldquo;And then&mdash;to
+      have you drag our love into the thing, there before every one!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Was that really so terrible, Jessie?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She looked at him with amazement. That he, Hal Warner, could have done
+      such a thing, and not realise how terrible it was! To put her in a
+      position where she had to break either the laws of love or the laws of
+      good-breeding! Why, it had amounted to a public quarrel. It would be the
+      talk of the town&mdash;there was no end to the embarrassment of it!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But, sweetheart!&rdquo; argued Hal. &ldquo;Try to see the reality of this thing&mdash;think
+      about those people in the mine. You really <i>must</i> do that!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She looked at him, and noticed the new, grim lines that had come upon his
+      youthful face. Also, she caught the note of suppressed passion in his
+      voice. He was pale and weary looking, in dirty clothes, his hair unkempt
+      and his face only half washed. It was terrifying&mdash;as if he had gone
+      to war.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Listen to me, Jessie,&rdquo; he insisted. &ldquo;I want you to know about these
+      things. If you and I are ever to make each other happy, you must try to
+      grow up with me. That was why I was glad to have you here&mdash;you would
+      have a chance to see for yourself. Now I ask you not to go without
+      seeing.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But I have to go, Hal. I can't ask Percy Harrigan to stay and
+      inconvenience everybody!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You can stay without him. You can ask one of the ladies to chaperon you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She gazed at him in dismay. &ldquo;Why, Hal! What a thing to suggest!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why so?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Think how it would look!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can't think so much about looks, dear&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She broke in: &ldquo;Think what Mamma would say!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;She wouldn't like it, I know&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;She would be wild! She would never forgive either of us. She would never
+      forgive any one who stayed with me. And what would Percy say, if I came
+      here as his guest, and stayed to spy on him and his father? Don't you see
+      how preposterous it would be?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Yes, he saw. He was defying all the conventions of her world, and it
+      seemed to her a course of madness. She clutched his hands in hers, and the
+      tears ran down her cheeks.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hal,&rdquo; she cried, &ldquo;I can't leave you in this dreadful place! You look like
+      a ghost, and a scarecrow, too! I want you to go and get some decent
+      clothes and come home on this train.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But he shook his head. &ldquo;It's not possible, Jessie.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why not?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because I have a duty to do here. Can't you understand, dear? All my
+      life, I've been living on the labour of coal-miners, and I've never taken
+      the trouble to go near them, to see how my money was got!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But, Hal! These aren't your people! They are Mr. Harrigan's people!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but it's all the same. They toil, and we live on their
+      toil, and take it as a matter of course.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But what can one <i>do</i> about it, Hal?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;One can understand it, if nothing else. And you see what I was able to do
+      in this case&mdash;to get the mine open.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hal,&rdquo; she exclaimed, &ldquo;I can't understand you! You've become so cynical,
+      you don't believe in any one! You're quite convinced that these officials
+      meant to murder their working people! As if Mr. Harrigan would let his
+      mines be run that way!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mr. Harrigan, Jessie? He passes the collection plate at St. George's!
+      That's the only place you've ever seen him, and that's all you know about
+      him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know what everybody says, Hal! Papa knows him, and my brothers&mdash;yes,
+      your own brother, too! Isn't it true that Edward would disapprove what
+      you're doing?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, dear, I fear so.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you set yourself up against them&mdash;against everybody you know! Is
+      it reasonable to think the older people are all wrong, and only you are
+      right? Isn't it at least possible you're making a mistake? Think about it&mdash;honestly,
+      Hal, for my sake!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She was looking at him pleadingly; and he leaned forward and took her
+      hand. &ldquo;Jessie,&rdquo; he said, his voice trembling, &ldquo;I <i>know</i> that these
+      working people are oppressed; I know it, because I have been one of them!
+      And I know that such men as Peter Harrigan, and even my own brother, are
+      to blame! And they've got to be faced by some one&mdash;they've got to be
+      made to see! I've come to see it clearly this summer&mdash;that's the job
+      I have to do!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She was gazing at him with her wide-open, beautiful eyes; underneath her
+      protests and her terror, she was thrilling with awe at this amazing madman
+      she loved. &ldquo;They will <i>kill</i> you!&rdquo; she cried.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, dearest&mdash;you don't need to worry about that&mdash;I don't think
+      they'll kill me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But they shot at you!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, they shot at Joe Smith, a miner's buddy. They won't shoot at the son
+      of a millionaire&mdash;not in America, Jessie.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But some dark night&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Set your mind at rest,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I've got Percy tied up in this, and
+      everybody knows it. There's no way they could kill me without the whole
+      story's coming out&mdash;and so I'm as safe as I would be in my bed at
+      home!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 22.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal was still possessed by his idea that Jessie must be taught&mdash;she
+      must have knowledge forced upon her, whether she would or no. The train
+      would not start for a couple of hours, and he tried to think of some use
+      he could make of that precious interval. He recalled that Rosa Minetti had
+      returned to her cabin to attend to her baby. A sudden vision came to him
+      of Jessie in that little home. Rosa was sweet and good, and assuredly
+      Little Jerry was a &ldquo;winner.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sweetheart,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I wish you'd come for a walk with me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But it's raining, Hal!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It won't hurt you to spoil one dress; you have plenty.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm not thinking of that&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I <i>wish</i> you'd come.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't feel comfortable about it, Hal. I'm here as Percy's guest, and he
+      mightn't like&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll ask him if he objects to your taking a stroll,&rdquo; he suggested, with
+      pretended gravity.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, no! That would make it worse!&rdquo; Jessie had no humour whatever about
+      these matters.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, Vivie Cass was out, and some of the others are going. He hasn't
+      objected to that.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know, Hal. But he knows they're all right.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal laughed. &ldquo;Come on, Jessie. Percy won't hold you for my sins! You have
+      a long train journey before you, and some fresh air will be good for you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She saw that she must make some concession to him, if she was to keep any
+      of her influence over him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; she said, with resignation, and disappeared and returned with
+      a heavy veil over her face, to conceal her from prying reportorial eyes;
+      also an equipment of mackintosh, umbrella and overshoes, against the rain.
+      The two stole out of the car, feeling like a couple of criminals.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Skirting the edge of the throng about the pit-mouth, they came to the
+      muddy, unpaved quarter in which the Italians had their homes; he held her
+      arm, steering her through the miniature sloughs and creeks. It was
+      thrilling to him to have her with him thus, to see her sweet face and hear
+      her voice full of love. Many a time he had thought of her here, and told
+      her in his imagination of his experiences!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He told her now&mdash;about the Minetti family, and how he had met Big and
+      Little Jerry on the street, and how they had taken him in, and then been
+      driven by fear to let him go again. He told his check-weighman story, and
+      was telling how Jeff Cotton had arrested him; but they came to the Minetti
+      cabin, and the terrifying narrative was cut short.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was Little Jerry who came to the door, with the remains of breakfast
+      distributed upon his cheeks; he stared in wonder at the mysteriously
+      veiled figure. Entering, they saw Rosa sitting in a chair nursing her
+      baby. She rose in confusion; but she did not quite like to turn her back
+      upon her guests, so she stood trying to hide her breast as best she could,
+      blushing and looking very girlish and pretty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal introduced Jessie, as an old friend who was interested to meet his new
+      friends, and Jessie threw back her veil and sat down. Little Jerry wiped
+      off his face at his mother's command, and then came where he could stare
+      at this incredibly lovely vision.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I've been telling Miss Arthur what good care you took of me,&rdquo; said Hal to
+      Rosa. &ldquo;She wanted to come and thank you for it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; added Jessie, graciously. &ldquo;Anybody who is good to Hal earns my
+      gratitude.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Rosa started to murmur something; but Little Jerry broke in, with his
+      cheerful voice, &ldquo;Why you call him Hal? His name's Joe!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ssh!&rdquo; cried Rosa. But Hal and Jessie laughed&mdash;and so the process of
+      Americanising Little Jerry was continued.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I've got lots of names,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;They called me Hal when I was a kid
+      like you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did <i>she</i> know you then?&rdquo; inquired Little Jerry.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, indeed.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is she your girl?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Rosa laughed shyly, and Jessie blushed, and looked charming. She realised
+      vaguely a difference in manners. These people accepted the existence of
+      &ldquo;girls,&rdquo; not concealing their interest in the phenomenon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's a secret,&rdquo; warned Hal. &ldquo;Don't you tell on us!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can keep a secret,&rdquo; said Little Jerry. After a moment's pause he added,
+      dropping his voice, &ldquo;You gotta keep secrets if you work in North Valley.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You bet your life,&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My father's a Socialist,&rdquo; continued the other, addressing Jessie; then,
+      since one thing leads on to another, &ldquo;My father's a shot-firer.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What's a shot-firer?&rdquo; asked Jessie, by way of being sociable.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Jesus!&rdquo; exclaimed Little Jerry. &ldquo;Don't you know nothin' about minin'?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Jessie. &ldquo;You tell me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You couldn't get no coal without a shot-firer,&rdquo; declared Little Jerry.
+      &ldquo;You gotta get a good one, too, or maybe you bust up the mine. My father's
+      the best they got.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What does he do?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, they got a drill&mdash;long, long, like this, all the way across
+      the room; and they turn it and bore holes in the coal. Sometimes they got
+      machines to drill, only we don't like them machines, 'cause it takes the
+      men's jobs. When they got the holes, then the shot-firer comes and sets
+      off the powder. You gotta have&mdash;&rdquo; and here Little Jerry slowed up,
+      pronouncing each syllable very carefully&mdash;&ldquo;per-miss-i-ble powder&mdash;what
+      don't make no flame. And you gotta know just how much to put in. If you
+      put in too much, you smash the coal, and the miner raises hell; if you
+      don't put in enough, you make too much work for him, an' he raises hell
+      again. So you gotta get a good shot-firer.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Jessie looked at Hal, and he saw that her dismay was mingled with genuine
+      amusement. He judged this a good way for her to get her education, so he
+      proceeded to draw out Little Jerry on other aspects of coal-mining: on
+      short weights and long hours, grafting bosses and camp-marshals,
+      company-stores and boarding-houses, Socialist agitators and union
+      organisers. Little Jerry talked freely of the secrets of the camp. &ldquo;It's
+      all right for you to know,&rdquo; he remarked gravely. &ldquo;You're Joe's girl!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You little cherub!&rdquo; exclaimed Jessie.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What's a cherub?&rdquo; was Little Jerry's reply.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 23.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      So the time passed in a way that was pleasant. Jessie was completely won
+      by this little Dago mine-urchin, in spite of all his frightful
+      curse-words; and Hal saw that she was won, and was delighted by the
+      success of this experiment in social amalgamation. He could not read
+      Jessie's mind, and realise that underneath her genuine delight were
+      reservations born of her prejudices, the instinctive cruelty of caste.
+      Yes, this little mine chap was a cherub, now; but how about when he grew
+      big? He would grow ugly and coarse-looking, in ten years one would not
+      know him from any other of the rough and dirty men of the village. Jessie
+      took the fact that common people grow ugly as they mature as a proof that
+      they are, in some deep and permanent way, the inferiors of those above
+      them. Hal was throwing away his time and strength, trying to make them
+      into something which Nature had obviously not intended them to be! She
+      decided to make that point to Hal on their way back to the train. She
+      realised that he had brought her here to educate her; like all the rest of
+      the world, she resented forcible education, and she was not without hope
+      that she might turn the tables and educate Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Pretty soon Rosa finished nursing the baby, and Jessie remarked the little
+      one's black eyes. This topic broke down the mother's shyness, and they
+      were chatting pleasantly, when suddenly they heard sounds outside which
+      caused them to start up. It was a clamour of women's voices; and Hal and
+      Rosa sprang to the door. Just now was a critical time, when every one was
+      on edge for news.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal threw open the door and called to those outside &ldquo;What is it?&rdquo; There
+      came a response, in a woman's voice, &ldquo;They've found Rafferty!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Alive?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nobody knows yet.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In Room Seventeen. Eleven of them&mdash;Rafferty, and young Flanagan, and
+      Johannson, the Swede. They're near dead&mdash;can't speak, they say. They
+      won't let anybody near them.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Other voices broke in; but the one which answered Hal had a different
+      quality; it was a warm, rich voice, unmistakably Irish, and it held
+      Jessie's attention. &ldquo;They've got them in the tipple-room, and the women
+      want to know about their men, and they won't tell them. They're beatin'
+      them back like dogs!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a tumult of weeping, and Hal stepped out of the cabin, and in a
+      minute or so he entered again, supporting on his arm a girl, clad in a
+      faded blue calico dress, and having a head of very conspicuous red hair.
+      She seemed half fainting, and kept moaning that it was horrible, horrible.
+      Hal led her to a chair, and she sank into it and hid her face in her
+      hands, sobbing, talking incoherently between her sobs.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Jessie stood looking at this girl. She felt the intensity of her
+      excitement, and shared it; yet at the same time there was something in
+      Jessie that resented it. She did not wish to be upset about things like
+      this, which she could not help. Of course these unfortunate people were
+      suffering; but&mdash;what a shocking lot of noise the poor thing was
+      making! A part of the poor thing's excitement was rage, and Jessie
+      realised that, and resented it still more. It was as if it were a personal
+      challenge to her; the same as Hal's fierce social passions, which so
+      bewildered and shocked her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They're beatin' the women back like dogs!&rdquo; the girl repeated.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mary,&rdquo; said Hal, trying to soothe her, &ldquo;the doctors will be doing their
+      best. The women couldn't expect to crowd about them!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Maybe they couldn't; but that's not it, Joe, and ye know it! They been
+      bringin' up dead bodies, some they found where the explosion was&mdash;blown
+      all to pieces. And they won't let anybody see them. Is that because of the
+      doctors? No, it ain't! It's because they want to tell lies about the
+      number killed! They want to count four or five legs to a man! And that's
+      what's drivin' the women crazy! I saw Mrs. Zamboni, tryin' to get into the
+      shed, and Pete Hanun caught her by the breasts and shoved her back. 'I
+      want my man!' she screamed. 'Well, what do you want him for? He's all in
+      pieces!' 'I want the pieces!' 'What good'll they do you? Are you goin' to
+      eat him?'&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There were cries of horror now, even from Jessie; and the strange girl hid
+      her face in her hands and began to sob again. Hal put his hand gently on
+      her arm.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mary,&rdquo; he pleaded, &ldquo;it's not so bad&mdash;at least they're getting the
+      people out.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How do ye know what they're doin'? They might be sealin' up parts of the
+      mine down below! That's what makes it so horrible&mdash;nobody knows
+      what's happenin'! Ye should have heard poor Mrs. Rafferty screamin'. Joe,
+      it went through me like a knife. Just think, it's been half an hour since
+      they brought him up, and the poor lady can't be told if her man is alive.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 24.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal stood for a few moments in thought. He was surprised that such things
+      should be happening while Percy Harrigan's train was in the village. He
+      was considering whether he should go to Percy, or whether a hint to Cotton
+      or Cartwright would not be sufficient.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mary,&rdquo; he said, in a quiet voice, &ldquo;you needn't distress yourself so. We
+      can get better treatment for the women, I'm sure.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But her sobbing went on. &ldquo;What can ye do? They're bound to have their
+      way!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;There's a difference now. Believe me&mdash;something can
+      be done. I'll step over and have a word with Jeff Cotton.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He started towards the door; but there came a cry: &ldquo;Hal!&rdquo; It was Jessie,
+      whom he had almost forgotten in his sudden anger at the bosses.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At her protest he turned and looked at her; then he looked at Mary. He saw
+      the latter's hands fall from her tear-stained face, and her expression of
+      grief give way to one of wonder. &ldquo;Hal!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Excuse me,&rdquo; he said, quickly. &ldquo;Miss Burke, this is my friend, Miss
+      Arthur.&rdquo; Then, not quite sure if this was a satisfactory introduction, he
+      added, &ldquo;Jessie, this is my friend, Mary.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Jessie's training could not fail in any emergency. &ldquo;Miss Burke,&rdquo; she said,
+      and smiled with perfect politeness. But Mary said nothing, and the
+      strained look did not leave her face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the first excitement she had almost failed to notice this stranger; but
+      now she stared, and realisation grew upon her. Here was a girl, beautiful
+      with a kind of beauty hardly to be conceived of in a mining-camp;
+      reserved, yet obviously expensive&mdash;even in a mackintosh and
+      rubber-shoes. Mary was used to the expensiveness of Mrs. O'Callahan, but
+      here was a new kind of expensiveness, subtle and compelling, strangely
+      unconscious. And she laid claim to Joe Smith, the miner's buddy! She
+      called him by a name hitherto unknown to his North Valley associates! It
+      needed no word from Little Jerry to guide Mary's instinct; she knew in a
+      flash that here was the &ldquo;other girl.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Mary was seized with sudden acute consciousness of the blue calico dress,
+      patched at the shoulder and stained with grease-spots; of her hands, big
+      and rough with hard labour; of her feet, clad in shoes worn sideways at
+      the heel, and threatening to break out at the toes. And as for Jessie, she
+      too had the woman's instinct; she too saw a girl who was beautiful, with a
+      kind of beauty of which she did not approve, but which she could not deny&mdash;the
+      beauty of robust health, of abounding animal energy. Jessie was not
+      unaware of the nature of her own charms, having been carefully educated to
+      conserve them; nor did she fail to make note of the other girl's handicaps&mdash;the
+      patched and greasy dress, the big rough hands, the shoes worn sideways.
+      But even so, she realised that &ldquo;Red Mary&rdquo; had a quality which she lacked&mdash;that
+      beside this wild rose of a mining-camp, she, Jessie Arthur, might possibly
+      seem a garden flower, fragile and insipid.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She had seen Hal lay his hand upon Mary's arm, and heard her speak to him.
+      She called him Joe! And a sudden fear had leaped into Jessie's heart.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Like many girls who have been delicately reared, Jessie Arthur knew more
+      than she admitted, even to herself. She knew enough to realise that young
+      men with ample means and leisure are not always saints and ascetics. Also,
+      she had heard the remark many times made that these women of the lower
+      orders had &ldquo;no morals.&rdquo; Just what did such a remark mean? What would be
+      the attitude of such a girl as Mary Burke&mdash;full-blooded and intense,
+      dissatisfied with her lot in life&mdash;to a man of culture and charm like
+      Hal? She would covet him, of course; no woman who knew him could fail to
+      covet him. And she would try to steal him away from his friends, from the
+      world to which he belonged, the future of happiness and ease to which he
+      was entitled. She would have powers&mdash;dark and terrible powers, all
+      the more appalling to Jessie because they were mysterious. Might they
+      possibly be able to overcome even the handicap of a dirty calico dress, of
+      big rough hands and shoes worn sideways?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      These reflections, which have taken many words to explain, came to Jessie
+      in one flash of intuition. She understood now, all at once, the
+      incomprehensible phenomenon&mdash;that Hal should leave friends and home
+      and career, to come and live amid this squalor and suffering! She saw the
+      old drama of the soul of man, heaven and hell contending for mastery of
+      it; and she knew that she was heaven, and that this &ldquo;Red Mary&rdquo; was hell.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She looked at Hal. He seemed to her so fine and true; his face was frank,
+      he was the soul of honourableness. No, it was impossible to believe that
+      he had yielded to such a lure! If that had been the case, he would never
+      have brought her to this cabin, he would never have taken a chance of her
+      meeting the girl. No; but he might be struggling against temptation, he
+      might be in the toils of it, and only half aware of it. He was a man, and
+      therefore blind; he was a dreamer, and it would be like him to idealise
+      this girl, calling her naïve and primitive, thinking that she had no
+      wiles! Jessie had come just in time to save him! And she would fight to
+      save him&mdash;using wiles more subtle than those at the command of any
+      mining-camp hussy!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 25.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      It was the surging up in Jessie Arthur of that instinctive self, the
+      creature of hereditary cruelty, of the existence of which Hal had no idea.
+      She drew back, and there was a quiet <i>hauteur</i> in her tone as she
+      spoke. &ldquo;Hal, come here, please.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He came; and she waited until he was close enough for intimacy, and then
+      said, &ldquo;Have you forgotten you have to take me back to the train?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Can't you come with me for a few minutes?&rdquo; he pleaded. &ldquo;It would have
+      such a good effect if you did.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can't go into that crowd,&rdquo; she answered; and suddenly her voice
+      trembled, and the tears came into her sweet brown eyes. &ldquo;Don't you know,
+      Hal, that I couldn't stand such terrible sights? This poor girl&mdash;she
+      is used to them&mdash;she is hardened! But I&mdash;I&mdash;oh, take me
+      away, take me away, dear Hal!&rdquo; This cry of a woman for protection came
+      with a familiar echo to Hal's mind. He did not stop to think&mdash;he was
+      moved by it instinctively. Yes, he had exposed the girl he loved to
+      suffering! He had meant it for her own good, but even so, it was cruel!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He stood close to her, and saw the love-light in her eyes; he saw the
+      tears, the trembling of her sensitive chin. She swayed to him, and he
+      caught her in his arms&mdash;and there, before these witnesses, she let
+      him press her to him, while she sobbed and whispered her distress. She had
+      been shy of caresses hitherto, watched and admonished by an experienced
+      mother; certainly she had never before made what could by the remotest
+      stretch of the imagination be considered an advance towards him. But now
+      she made it, and there was a cry of triumph in her soul as she saw that he
+      responded to it. He was still hers&mdash;and these low people should know
+      it, this &ldquo;other girl&rdquo; should know it!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Yet, in the midst of this very exultation, Jessie Arthur really felt the
+      grief she expressed for the women of North Valley; she really felt horror
+      at the story of Mrs. Zamboni's &ldquo;man&rdquo;: so intricate is the soul of woman,
+      so puzzling that faculty, older than the ages, which enables her to be
+      hysterical, and at the same time to be guided in the use of that hysteria
+      by deep and infallible calculation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But she made Hal realise that it was necessary for him to take her away.
+      He turned to Mary Burke and said, &ldquo;Miss Arthur's train is leaving in a
+      short time. I'll have to take her hack, and then I'll go to the pit-mouth
+      with you and see what I can do.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well,&rdquo; Mary answered; and her voice was hard and cold. But Hal did
+      not notice this. He was a man, and not able to keep up with the emotions
+      of one woman&mdash;to say nothing of two women at the same time.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He took Jessie out, and all the way back to the train she fought a
+      desperate fight to get him away from here. She no longer even suggested
+      that he get decent clothing; she was willing for him to come as he was, in
+      his coal-stained mining-jumpers, in the private train of the Coal King's
+      son. She besought him in the name of their affection. She threatened him
+      that if he did not come, this might be the last time they would meet. She
+      even broke down in the middle of the street, and let him stand there in
+      plain sight of miners' wives and children, and of possible newspaper
+      reporters, holding her in his arms and comforting her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal was much puzzled; but he would not give way. The idea of going off in
+      Percy Harrigan's train had come to seem morally repulsive to him; he hated
+      Percy Harrigan's train, and Percy Harrigan also, he declared. And Jessie
+      saw that she was only making him unreasonable&mdash;that before long he
+      might be hating her. With her instinctive <i>savoir faire</i>, she brought
+      up his suggestion that she might find some one to chaperon her, and stay
+      with him at North Valley until he was ready to come away.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal's heart leaped at that; he had no idea what was in her mind&mdash;the
+      certainty that no one of the ladies of the Harrigan party would run the
+      risk of offending her host by staying under such circumstances.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean it, sweetheart?&rdquo; he cried, happily.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She answered, &ldquo;I mean that I love you, Hal.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right, dear!&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We'll see if we can arrange it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But as they walked on, she managed, without his realising it, to cause him
+      to reflect upon the effect of her staying. She was willing to do it, if it
+      was what he wanted; but it would injure, perhaps irrevocably, his standing
+      with her parents. They would telegraph her to come at once; and if she did
+      not obey, they would come by the next train. So on, until at last Hal was
+      moved to withdraw his own suggestion. After all, what was the use of her
+      staying, if her mind was on the people at home, if she would simply keep
+      him in hot water? Before the conversation was over Hal had become clear in
+      his mind that North Valley was no place for Jessie Arthur, and that he had
+      been a fool to think he could bring the two together.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She tried to get him to promise to leave as soon as the last man had been
+      brought out of the mine. He answered that he intended to leave then,
+      unless some new emergency should arise. She tried to get an unqualified
+      promise; and failing in that, when they had nearly got to the train she
+      suddenly made a complete surrender. Let him do what he pleased&mdash;but
+      let him remember that she loved him, that she needed him, that she could
+      not do without him. No matter what he might do, no matter what people
+      might say about him, she believed in him, she would stand by him. Hal was
+      deeply touched, and took her in his arms again and kissed her tenderly
+      under the umbrella, in the presence of the wondering stares of several
+      urchins with coal-smutted faces. He pledged anew his love for her,
+      assuring her that no amount of interest in mining-camps should ever steal
+      him from her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then he put her on the train, and shook hands with the departing guests.
+      He was so very sombre and harassed-looking that the young men forbore to
+      &ldquo;kid&rdquo; him as they would otherwise have done. He stood on the
+      station-platform and saw the train roll away&mdash;and felt, to his own
+      desperate bewilderment, that he hated these friends of his boyhood and
+      youth. His reason protested against it; he told himself there was nothing
+      they could do, no reason on earth for them to stay&mdash;and yet he hated
+      them. They were hurrying off to dance and flirt at the country club&mdash;while
+      he was going back to the pit-mouth, to try to get Mrs. Zamboni the right
+      to inspect the pieces of her &ldquo;man&rdquo;!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br><br>
+    </p>
+    <hr>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br><br><br><br>
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      BOOK FOUR &mdash; THE WILL OF KING COAL
+    </h2>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 1.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      The pit of death was giving up its secrets. The hoist was busy, and
+      cage-load after cage-load came up, with bodies dead and bodies living and
+      bodies only to be classified after machines had pumped air into them for a
+      while. Hal stood in the rain and watched the crowd and thought that he had
+      never witnessed a scene so compelling to pity and terror. The silence that
+      would fall when any one appeared who might have news to tell! The sudden
+      shriek of anguish from some woman whose hopes were struck dead! The moans
+      of sympathy that ran through the crowd, alternating with cheers at some
+      good tidings, shaking the souls of the multitude as a storm of wind shakes
+      a reed-field!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And the stories that ran through the camp&mdash;brought up from the
+      underground world&mdash;stories of incredible sufferings, and of still
+      more incredible heroisms! Men who had been four days without food or
+      water, yet had resisted being carried out of the mine, proposing to stay
+      and help rescue others! Men who had lain together in the darkness and
+      silence, keeping themselves alive by the water which seeped from the rocks
+      overhead, taking turns lying face upwards where the drops fell, or wetting
+      pieces of their clothing and sucking out the moisture! Members of the
+      rescue parties would tell how they knocked upon the barriers, and heard
+      the faint answering signals of the imprisoned men; how madly they toiled
+      to cut through, and how, when at last a little hole appeared, they heard
+      the cries of joy, and saw the eyes of men shining from the darkness, while
+      they waited, gasping, for the hole to grow bigger, so that water and food
+      might be passed in!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In some places they were fighting the fire. Long lines of hose had been
+      sent down, and men were moving forward foot by foot, as the smoke and
+      steam were sucked out ahead of them by the fan. Those who did this work
+      were taking their lives in their hands, yet they went without hesitation.
+      There was always hope of finding men in barricaded rooms beyond.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal sought out Jeff Cotton at the entrance to the tipple-room, which had
+      been turned into a temporary hospital. It was the first time the two had
+      met since the revelation in Percy's car, and the camp-marshal's face took
+      on a rather sheepish grin. &ldquo;Well, Mr. Warner, you win,&rdquo; he remarked; and
+      after a little arguing he agreed to permit a couple of women to go into
+      the tipple-room and make a list of the injured, and go out and give the
+      news to the crowd. Hal went to the Minettis to ask Mary Burke to attend to
+      this; but Rosa said that Mary had gone out after he and Miss Arthur had
+      left, and no one knew where she was. So Hal went to Mrs. David, who
+      consented to get a couple of friends, and do the work without being called
+      a &ldquo;committee.&rdquo; &ldquo;I won't have any damned committees!&rdquo; the camp-marshal had
+      declared.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So the night passed, and part of another day. A clerk from the office came
+      to Hal with a sealed envelope, containing a telegram, addressed in care of
+      Cartwright. &ldquo;I most urgently beg of you to come home at once. It will be
+      distressing to Dad if he hears what has happened, and it will not be
+      possible to keep the matter from him for long.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      As Hal read, he frowned; evidently the Harrigans had got busy without
+      delay! He went to the office and telephoned his answer. &ldquo;Am planning to
+      leave in a day or two. Trust you will make an effort to spare Dad until
+      you have heard my story.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      This message troubled Hal. It started in his mind long arguments with his
+      brother, and explanations and apologies to his father. He loved the old
+      man tenderly. What a shame if some emissary of the Harrigans were to get
+      to him to upset him with misrepresentations!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Also these ideas had a tendency to make Hal homesick; they brought more
+      vividly to his thoughts the outside world, with its physical allurements&mdash;there
+      being a limit to the amount of unwholesome meals and dirty beds and
+      repulsive sights a man of refinement can force himself to endure. Hal
+      found himself obsessed by a vision of a club dining-room, with odours of
+      grilled steaks and hot rolls, and the colours of salads and fresh fruits
+      and cream. The conviction grew suddenly strong in him that his work in
+      North Valley was nearly done!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Another night passed, and another day. The last of the bodies had been
+      brought out, and the corpses shipped down to Pedro for one of those big
+      wholesale funerals which are a feature of mine-life. The fire was out, and
+      the rescue-crews had given place to a swarm of carpenters and timbermen,
+      repairing the damage and making the mine safe. The reporters had gone;
+      Billy Keating having clasped Hal's hand, and promised to meet him for
+      luncheon at the club. An agent of the &ldquo;Red Cross&rdquo; was on hand, and was
+      feeding the hungry out of Mrs. Curtis's subscription-list. What more was
+      there for Hal to do&mdash;except to bid good-bye to his friends, and
+      assure them of his help in the future?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      First among these friends was Mary Burke, whom he had had no chance to
+      talk to since the meeting with Jessie. He realised that Mary had been
+      deliberately avoiding him. She was not in her home, and he went to inquire
+      at the Rafferties', and stopped for a good-bye chat with the old woman
+      whose husband he had saved.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Rafferty was going to pull through. His wife had been allowed in to see
+      him, and tears rolled down her shrunken cheeks as she told about it. He
+      had been four days and nights blocked up in a little tunnel, with no food
+      or water, save for a few drops of coffee which he had shared with other
+      men. He could still not speak, he could hardly move a hand; but there was
+      life in his eyes, and his look had been a greeting from the soul she had
+      loved and served these thirty years and more. Mrs. Rafferty sang praises
+      to the Rafferty God, who had brought him safely through these perils; it
+      seemed obvious that He must be more efficient than the Protestant God of
+      Johannson, the giant Swede, who had lain by Rafferty's side and given up
+      the ghost.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the doctor had stated that the old Irishman would never be good to
+      work again; and Hal saw a shadow of terror cross the sunshine of Mrs.
+      Rafferty's rejoicing. How could a doctor say a thing like that? Rafferty
+      was old, to be sure; but he was tough&mdash;and could any doctor imagine
+      how hard a man would try who had a family looking to him? Sure, he was not
+      the one to give up for a bit of pain now and then! Besides him, there was
+      only Tim who was earning; and though Tim was a good lad, and worked
+      steady, any doctor ought to know that a big family could not be kept going
+      on the wages of one eighteen-year-old pit-boy. As for the other lads,
+      there was a law that said they were too young to work. Mrs. Rafferty
+      thought there should be some one to put a little sense into the heads of
+      them that made the laws&mdash;for if they wanted to forbid children to
+      work in coal-mines, they should surely provide some other way to feed the
+      children.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal listened, agreeing sympathetically, and meantime watching her, and
+      learning more from her actions than from her words. She had been obedient
+      to the teachings of her religion, to be fruitful and multiply; she had fed
+      three grown sons into the maw of industry, and had still eight children
+      and a man to care for. Hal wondered if she had ever rested a single minute
+      of daylight in all her fifty-four years. Certainly not while he had been
+      in her house! Even now, while praising the Rafferty God and blaming the
+      capitalist law-makers, she was getting a supper, moving swiftly, silently,
+      like a machine. She was lean as an old horse that has toiled across a
+      desert; the skin over her cheek-bones was tight as stretched rubber, and
+      cords stood out in her wrists like piano-wires.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And now she was cringing before the spectre of destitution. He asked what
+      she would do about it, and saw the shadow of terror cross her face again.
+      There was one recourse from starvation, it seemed&mdash;to have her
+      children taken from her, and put in some institution! At the mention of
+      this, one of the special nightmares of the poor, the old woman began to
+      sob and cry again that the doctor was wrong; he would see, and Hal would
+      see&mdash;Old Rafferty would be back at his job in a week or two!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 2.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal went out on the street again. It was the hour which would have been
+      sunset in a level region; the tops of the mountains were touched with a
+      purple light, and the air was fresh and chill with early fall. Down the
+      darkening streets he saw a gathering of men; there was shouting, and
+      people running towards the place, so he hurried up, with the thought in
+      his mind, &ldquo;What's the matter now?&rdquo; There were perhaps a hundred men crying
+      out, their voices mingling like the sound of waves on the sea. He could
+      make out words: &ldquo;Go on! Go on! We've had enough of it! Hurrah!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What's happened?&rdquo; he asked, of some one on the outskirts; and the man,
+      recognising him, raised a cry which ran through the throng: &ldquo;Joe Smith!
+      He's the boy for us! Come in here, Joe! Give us a speech!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But even while Hal was asking questions, trying to get the situation
+      clear, other shouts had drowned out his name. &ldquo;We've had enough of them
+      walking over us!&rdquo; And somebody cried, more loudly, &ldquo;Tell us about it! Tell
+      it again! Go on!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      A man was standing upon the steps of a building at one side. Hal stared in
+      amazement; it was Tim Rafferty. Of all people in the world&mdash;Tim, the
+      light-hearted and simple, Tim of the laughing face and the merry Irish
+      blue eyes! Now his sandy hair was tousled and his features distorted with
+      rage. &ldquo;Him near dead!&rdquo; he yelled. &ldquo;Him with his voice gone, and couldn't
+      move his hand! Eleven years he's slaved for them, and near killed in an
+      accident that's their own fault&mdash;every man in this crowd knows it's
+      their own fault, by God!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure thing! You're right!&rdquo; cried a chorus of voices &ldquo;Tell it all!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They give him twenty-five dollars and his hospital expenses&mdash;and
+      what'll his hospital expenses be? They'll have him out on the street again
+      before he's able to stand. You know that&mdash;they done it to Pete
+      Cullen!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You bet they did!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Them damned lawyers in there&mdash;gettin' 'em to sign papers when they
+      don't know what they're doin'. An' me that might help him can't get near!
+      By Christ, I say it's too much! Are we slaves, or are we dogs, that we
+      have to stand such things?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We'll stand no more of it!&rdquo; shouted one. &ldquo;We'll go in there and see to it
+      ourselves!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Come on!&rdquo; shouted another. &ldquo;To hell with their gunmen!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal pushed his way into the crowd. &ldquo;Tim!&rdquo; he cried. &ldquo;How do you know
+      this?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's a fellow in there seen it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can't tell you&mdash;they'd fire him; but it's somebody you know as
+      well as me. He come and told me. They're beatin' me old father out of
+      damages!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They do it all the time!&rdquo; shouted Wauchope, an English miner at Hal's
+      side. &ldquo;That's why they won't let us in there.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They done the same thing to my father!&rdquo; put in another voice. Hal
+      recognised Andy, the Greek boy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And they want to start Number Two in the mornin'!&rdquo; yelled Tim. &ldquo;Who'll go
+      down there again? And with Alec Stone, him that damns the men and saves
+      the mules!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We'll not go back in them mines till they're safe!&rdquo; shouted Wauchope.
+      &ldquo;Let them sprinkle them&mdash;or I'm done with the whole business.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And let 'em give us our weights!&rdquo; cried another. &ldquo;We'll have a
+      check-weighman, and we'll get what we earn!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So again came the cry, &ldquo;Joe Smith! Give us a speech, Joe! Soak it to 'em!
+      You're the boy!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal stood helpless, dismayed. He had counted his fight won&mdash;and here
+      was another beginning! The men were looking to him, calling upon him as
+      the boldest of the rebels. Only a few of them knew about the sudden change
+      in his fortunes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Even while he hesitated, the line of battle had swept past him; the
+      Englishman, Wauchope, sprang upon the steps and began to address the
+      throng. He was one of the bowed and stunted men, but in this emergency he
+      developed sudden lung-power. Hal listened in astonishment; this silent and
+      dull-looking fellow was the last he would have picked for a fighter. Tom
+      Olson had sounded him out, and reported that he would hear nothing, so
+      they had dismissed him from mind. And here he was, shouting terrible
+      defiance!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They're a set of robbers and murderers! They rob us everywhere we turn!
+      For my part, I've had enough of it! Have you?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a roar from every one within reach of his voice. They had all
+      had enough.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right, then&mdash;we'll fight them!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hurrah! Hurrah! We'll have our rights!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Jeff Cotton came up on the run, with &ldquo;Bud&rdquo; Adams and two or three of the
+      gunmen at his heels. The crowd turned upon them, the men on the outskirts
+      clenching their fists, showing their teeth like angry dogs. Cotton's face
+      was red with rage, but he saw that he had a serious matter in hand; he
+      turned and went for more help&mdash;and the mob roared with delight.
+      Already they had begun their fight! Already they had won their first
+      victory!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 3.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      The crowd moved down the street, shouting and cursing as it went. Some one
+      started to sing the Marseillaise, and others took it up, and the words
+      mounted to a frenzy:
+    </p>
+<p class="pre">
+  &ldquo;To arms! To arms, ye brave!<br>
+  March on, march on, all hearts resolved<br>
+  On victory or death!&rdquo;<br>
+ </p>
+    <p>
+      There were the oppressed of many nations in this crowd; they sang in a
+      score of languages, but it was the same song. They would sing a few bars,
+      and the yells of others would drown them out. &ldquo;March on! March on! All
+      hearts resolved!&rdquo; Some rushed away in different directions to spread the
+      news, and very soon the whole population of the village was on the spot;
+      the men waving their caps, the women lifting up their hands and shrieking&mdash;or
+      standing terrified, realising that babies could not be fed upon
+      revolutionary singing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tim Rafferty was raised up on the shoulders of the crowd and made to tell
+      his story once more. While he was telling it, his old mother came running,
+      and her shrieks rang above the clamour: &ldquo;Tim! Tim! Come down from there!
+      What's the matter wid ye?&rdquo; She was twisting her hands together in an agony
+      of fright; seeing Hal, she rushed up to him. &ldquo;Get him out of there, Joe!
+      Sure, the lad's gone crazy! They'll turn us out of the camp, they'll give
+      us nothin' at all&mdash;and what'll become of us? Mother of God, what's
+      the matter with the b'y?&rdquo; She called to Tim again; but Tim paid no
+      attention, if he heard her. Tim was on the march to Versailles!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Some one shouted that they would go to the hospital to protect the injured
+      men from the &ldquo;damned lawyers.&rdquo; Here was something definite, and the crowd
+      moved in that direction, Hal following with the stragglers, the women and
+      children, and the less bold among the men. He noticed some of the clerks
+      and salaried employés of the company; presently he saw Jeff Cotton again,
+      and heard him ordering these men to the office to get revolvers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Big Jack&rdquo; David came along with Jerry Minetti, and Hal drew back to
+      consult with them. Jerry was on fire. It had come&mdash;the revolt he had
+      been looking forward to for years! Why were they not making speeches,
+      getting control of the men and organising them?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Jack David voiced uncertainty. They had to consider if this outburst could
+      mean anything permanent.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Jerry answered that it would mean what they chose to make it mean. If they
+      took charge, they could guide the men and hold them together. Wasn't that
+      what Tom Olson had wanted?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      No, said the big Welshman, Olson had been trying to organise the men
+      secretly, as preliminary to a revolt in all the camps. That was quite
+      another thing from an open movement, limited to one camp. Was there any
+      hope of success for such a movement? If not, they would be foolish to
+      start, they would only be making sure of their own expulsion.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Jerry turned to Hal. What did he think?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And so at last Hal had to speak. It was hard for him to judge, he said. He
+      knew so little about labour matters. It was to learn about them that he
+      had come to North Valley. It was a hard thing to advise men to submit to
+      such treatment as they had been getting; but on the other hand, any one
+      could see that a futile outbreak would discourage everybody, and make it
+      harder than ever to organise them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So much Hal spoke; but there was more in his mind, which he could not
+      speak. He could not say to these men, &ldquo;I am a friend of yours, but I am
+      also a friend of your enemy, and in this crisis I cannot make up my mind
+      to which side I owe allegiance. I'm bound by a duty of politeness to the
+      masters of your lives; also, I'm anxious not to distress the girl I am to
+      marry!&rdquo; No, he could not say such things. He felt himself a traitor for
+      having them in his mind, and he could hardly bring himself to look these
+      men in the eye. Jerry knew that he was in some way connected with the
+      Harrigans; probably he had told the rest of Hal's friends, and they had
+      been discussing it and speculating about the meaning of it. Suppose they
+      should think he was a spy?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So Hal was relieved when Jack David spoke firmly. They would only be
+      playing the game of the enemy if they let themselves be drawn in
+      prematurely. They ought to have the advice of Tom Olson.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Where was Olson? Hal asked; and David explained that on the day when Hal
+      had been thrown out of camp, Olson had got his &ldquo;time&rdquo; and set out for
+      Sheridan, the local headquarters of the union, to report the situation. He
+      would probably not come back; he had got his little group together, he had
+      planted the seed of revolt in North Valley.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They discussed back and forth the problem of getting advice. It was
+      impossible to telephone from North Valley without everything they said
+      being listened to; but the evening train for Pedro left in a few minutes,
+      and &ldquo;Big Jack&rdquo; declared that some one ought to take it. The town of
+      Sheridan was only fifteen or twenty miles from Pedro, and there would be a
+      union official there to advise them; or they might use the long distance
+      telephone, and persuade one of the union leaders in Western City to take
+      the midnight train, and be in Pedro next morning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal, still hoping to withdraw himself, put this task off on Jack David.
+      They emptied out the contents of their pockets, so that he might have
+      funds enough, and the big Welshman darted off to catch the train. In the
+      meantime Jerry and Hal agreed to keep in the background, and to seek out
+      the other members of their group and warn them to do the same.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 4.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      This programme was a convenient one for Hal; but as he was to find almost
+      at once, it had been adopted too late. He and Jerry started after the
+      crowd, which had stopped in front of one of the company buildings; and as
+      they came nearer they heard some one making a speech. It was the voice of
+      a woman, the tones rising clear and compelling. They could not see the
+      speaker, because of the throng, but Hal recognised her voice, and caught
+      his companion by the arm. &ldquo;It's Mary Burke!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Mary Burke it was, for a fact; and she seemed to have the crowd in a kind
+      of frenzy. She would speak one sentence, and there would come a roar from
+      the throng; she would speak another sentence, and there would come another
+      roar. Hal and Jerry pushed their way in, to where they could make out the
+      words of this litany of rage.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Would they go down into the pit themselves, do ye think?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They would not!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Would they be dressed in silks and laces, do ye think?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They would not!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Would they have such fine soft hands, do ye think?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They would not!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Would they hold themselves too good to look at ye?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They would not! They would not!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And Mary swept on: &ldquo;If only ye'd stand together, they'd come to ye on
+      their knees to ask for terms! But ye're cowards, and they play on your
+      fears! Ye're traitors, and they buy ye out! They break ye into pieces,
+      they do what they please with ye&mdash;and then ride off in their private
+      cars, and leave gunmen to beat ye down and trample on your faces! How long
+      will ye stand it? How long?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The roar of the mob rolled down the street and back again. &ldquo;We'll not
+      stand it! We'll not stand it!&rdquo; Men shook their clenched fists, women
+      shrieked, even children shouted curses. &ldquo;We'll fight them! We'll slave no
+      more for them!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And Mary found a magic word. &ldquo;We'll have a union!&rdquo; she shouted. &ldquo;We'll get
+      together and stay together! If they refuse us our rights, we'll know what
+      to answer&mdash;we'll have a <i>strike!</i>&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a roar like the crashing of thunder in the mountains. Yes, Mary
+      had found the word! For many years it had not been spoken aloud in North
+      Valley, but now it ran like a flash of gunpowder through the throng.
+      &ldquo;Strike! Strike! Strike! Strike!&rdquo; It seemed as if they would never have
+      enough of it. Not all of them had understood Mary's speech, but they knew
+      this word, &ldquo;Strike!&rdquo; They translated and proclaimed it in Polish and
+      Bohemian and Italian and Greek. Men waved their caps, women waved their
+      aprons&mdash;in the semi-darkness it was like some strange kind of
+      vegetation tossed by a storm. Men clasped one another's hands, the more
+      demonstrative of the foreigners fell upon one another's necks. &ldquo;Strike!
+      Strike! Strike!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We're no longer slaves!&rdquo; cried the speaker. &ldquo;We're men&mdash;and we'll
+      live as men! We'll work as men&mdash;or we'll not work at all! We'll no
+      longer be a herd of cattle, that they can drive about as they please!
+      We'll organise, we'll stand together&mdash;shoulder to shoulder! Either
+      we'll win together, or we'll starve and die together! And not a man of us
+      will yield, not a man of us will turn traitor! Is there anybody here
+      who'll scab on his fellows?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a howl, which might have come from a pack of wolves. Let the man
+      who would scab on his fellows show his dirty face in that crowd!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye'll stand by the union?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We'll stand by it!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye'll swear?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We'll swear!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She flung her arms to heaven with a gesture of passionate adjuration.
+      &ldquo;Swear it on your lives! To stick to the rest of us, and never a man of ye
+      give way till ye've won! Swear! <i>Swear!</i>&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Men stood, imitating her gesture, their hands stretched up to the sky. &ldquo;We
+      swear! We swear!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye'll not let them break ye! Ye'll not let them frighten ye!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No! No!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Stand by your word, men! Stand by it! 'Tis the one chance for your wives
+      and childer!&rdquo; The girl rushed on&mdash;exhorting with leaping words and
+      passionate out-flung arms&mdash;a tall, swaying figure of furious
+      rebellion. Hal listened to the speech and watched the speaker, marvelling.
+      Here was a miracle of the human soul, here was hope born of despair! And
+      the crowd around her&mdash;they were sharing the wonderful rebirth; their
+      waving arms, their swaying forms responded to Mary as an orchestra to the
+      baton of a leader.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A thrill shook Hal&mdash;a thrill of triumph! He had been beaten down
+      himself, he had wanted to run from this place of torment; but now there
+      was hope in North Valley&mdash;now there would be victory, freedom!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ever since he had come to the coal-country, the knowledge had been growing
+      in Hal that the real tragedy of these people's lives was not their
+      physical suffering, but their mental depression&mdash;the dull, hopeless
+      misery in their minds. This had been driven into his consciousness day by
+      day, both by what he saw and by what others told him. Tom Olson had first
+      put it into words: &ldquo;Your worst troubles are inside the heads of the
+      fellows you're trying to help!&rdquo; How could hope be given to men in this
+      environment of terrorism? Even Hal himself, young and free as he was, had
+      been brought to despair. He came from a class which is accustomed to say,
+      &ldquo;Do this,&rdquo; or &ldquo;Do that,&rdquo; and it will be done. But these mine-slaves had
+      never known that sense of power, of certainty; on the contrary, they were
+      accustomed to having their efforts balked at every turn, their every
+      impulse to happiness or achievement crushed by another's will.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But here was this miracle of the human soul! Here was hope in North
+      Valley! Here were the people rising&mdash;and Mary Burke at their head! It
+      was his vision come true&mdash;Mary Burke with a glory in her face, and
+      her hair shining like a crown of gold! Mary Burke mounted upon a
+      snow-white horse, wearing a robe of white, soft and lustrous&mdash;like
+      Joan of Arc, or a leader in a suffrage parade! Yes, and she was at the
+      head of a host, he had the music of its marching in his ears!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Underneath Hal's jesting words had been a real vision, a real faith in
+      this girl. Since that day when he had first discovered her, a wild rose of
+      the mining-camp taking in the family wash, he had realised that she was no
+      pretty young working-girl, but a woman with a mind and a personality. She
+      saw farther, she felt more deeply than the average of these wage-slaves.
+      Her problem was the same as theirs, yet more complex. When he had wanted
+      to help her and had offered to get her a job, she had made clear that what
+      she craved was not merely relief from drudgery, but a life with
+      intellectual interest. So then the idea had come to him that Mary should
+      become a teacher, a leader of her people. She loved them, she suffered for
+      them and with them, and at the same time she had a mind that was capable
+      of seeking out the causes of their misery. But when he had gone to her
+      with plans of leadership, he had been met by her corroding despair; her
+      pessimism had seemed to mock his dreams, her contempt for these
+      mine-slaves had belittled his efforts in their behalf and in hers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And now, here she was taking up the role he had planned for her! Her very
+      soul was in this shouting throng, he thought. She had lived the lives of
+      these people, shared their every wrong, been driven to rebellion with
+      them. Being a mere man, Hal missed one important point about this
+      startling development; he did not realise that Mary's eloquence was
+      addressed, not merely to the Rafferties and the Wauchopes, and the rest of
+      the North Valley mine-slaves, but to a certain magazine-cover girl, clad
+      in a mackintosh and a pale green hat and a soft and filmy and horribly
+      expensive motoring veil!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 5.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Mary's speech was brought to a sudden end. A group of the men had moved
+      down the street, and there arose a disturbance there. The noise of it
+      swelled louder, and more people began to move in that direction. Mary
+      turned to look, and all at once the whole throng surged down the street.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The trouble was at the hospital. In front of this building was a porch,
+      and on it Cartwright and Alec Stone were standing, with a group of the
+      clerks and office-employés, among whom Hal saw Predovich, Johnson, the
+      postmaster, and Si Adams. At the foot of the steps stood Tim Rafferty,
+      with a swarm of determined men at his back. He was shouting, &ldquo;We want them
+      lawyers out of there!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The superintendent himself had undertaken to parley with him. &ldquo;There are
+      no lawyers in here, Rafferty.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We don't trust you!&rdquo; And the crowd took up the cry: &ldquo;We'll see for
+      ourselves!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You can't go into this building,&rdquo; declared Cartwright.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm goin' to see my father!&rdquo; shouted Tim. &ldquo;I've got a right to see my
+      father, ain't I?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You can see him in the morning. You can take him away, if you want to.
+      We've no desire to keep him. But he's asleep now, and you can't disturb
+      the others.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You weren't afraid to disturb them with your damned lawyers!&rdquo; And there
+      was a roar of approval&mdash;so loud that Cartwright's denial could hardly
+      be heard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There have been no lawyers near him, I tell you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's a lie!&rdquo; shouted Wauchope. &ldquo;They been in there all day, and you know
+      it. We mean to have them out.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Go on, Tim!&rdquo; cried Andy, the Greek boy, pushing his way to the front. &ldquo;Go
+      on!&rdquo; cried the others; and thus encouraged, Rafferty started up the steps.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I mean to see my father!&rdquo; As Cartwright caught him by the shoulder, he
+      yelled, &ldquo;Let me go, I say!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      It was evident that the superintendent was trying his best not to use
+      violence; he was ordering his own followers back at the same time that he
+      was holding the boy. But Tim's blood was up; he shoved forward, and the
+      superintendent, either striking him or trying to ward off a blow, threw
+      him backwards down the steps. There was an uproar of rage from the throng;
+      they surged forward, and at the same time some of the men on the porch
+      drew revolvers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The meaning of that situation was plain enough. In a moment more the mob
+      would be up the steps, and there would be shooting. And if once that
+      happened, who could guess the end? Wrought up as the crowd was, it might
+      not stop till it had fired every company building, perhaps not until it
+      had murdered every company representative.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had resolved to keep in the back-ground, but he saw that to keep in
+      the back-ground at that moment would be an act of cowardice, almost a
+      crime. He sprang forward, his cry rising above the clamour. &ldquo;Stop, men!
+      Stop!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was probably no other man in North Valley who could have got himself
+      heeded at that moment. But Hal had their confidence, he had earned the
+      right to be heard. Had he not been to prison for them, had they not seen
+      him behind the bars? &ldquo;Joe Smith!&rdquo; The cry ran from one end of the excited
+      throng to the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal was fighting his way forward, shoving men to one side, imploring,
+      commanding silence. &ldquo;Tim Rafferty! Wait!&rdquo; And Tim, recognising the voice,
+      obeyed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Once clear of the press, Hal sprang upon the porch, where Cartwright did
+      not attempt to interfere with him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Men!&rdquo; he cried. &ldquo;Hold on a moment! This isn't what you want! You don't
+      want a fight!&rdquo; He paused for an instant; but he knew that no mere negative
+      would hold them at that moment. They must be told what they did want. Just
+      now he had learned the particular words that would carry, and he
+      proclaimed them at the top of his voice: &ldquo;What you want is a union! A <i>strike!</i>&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He was answered by a roar from the crowd, the loudest yet. Yes, that was
+      what they wanted! A strike! And they wanted Joe Smith to organise it, to
+      lead it. He had been their leader once, he had been thrown out of camp for
+      it. How he had got back they were not quite clear&mdash;but here he was,
+      and he was their darling. Hurrah for him! They would follow him to hell
+      and back!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And wasn't he the boy with the nerve! Standing there on the porch of the
+      hospital, right under the very noses of the bosses, making a union speech
+      to them, and the bosses never daring to touch him! The crowd, realising
+      this situation, went wild with delight. The English-speaking men shouted
+      assent to his words; and those who could not understand, shouted because
+      the others did.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They did not want fighting&mdash;of course not! Fighting would not help
+      them! What would help them was to get together, and stand a solid body of
+      free men. There would be a union committee, able to speak for all of them,
+      to say that no man would go to work any more until justice was secured!
+      They would have an end to the business of discharging men because they
+      asked for their rights, of blacklisting men and driving them out of the
+      district because they presumed to want what the laws of the state awarded
+      them!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 6.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      How long could a man expect to stand on the steps of a company building,
+      with a super and a pit-boss at his back, and organise a union of
+      mine-workers? Hal realised that he must move the crowd from that perilous
+      place.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You'll do what I say, now?&rdquo; he demanded; and when they agreed in chorus,
+      he added the warning: &ldquo;There'll be no fighting! And no drinking! If you
+      see any man drunk to-night, sit on him and hold him down!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They laughed and cheered. Yes, they would keep straight. Here was a job
+      for sober men, you bet!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And now,&rdquo; Hal continued, &ldquo;the people in the hospital. We'll have a
+      committee go in and see about them. No noise&mdash;we don't want to
+      disturb the sick men. We only want to make sure nobody else is disturbing
+      them. Some one will go in and stay with them. Does that suit you?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Yes, that suited them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;Keep quiet for a moment.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And he turned to the superintendent. &ldquo;Cartwright,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;we want a
+      committee to go in and stay with our people.&rdquo; Then, as the superintendent
+      started to expostulate, he added, in a low voice, &ldquo;Don't be a fool, man!
+      Don't you see I'm trying to save your life?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The superintendent knew how bad it would be for discipline to let Hal
+      carry his point with the crowd; but also he saw the immediate danger&mdash;and
+      he was not sure of the courage and shooting ability of book-keepers and
+      stenographers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Be quick, man!&rdquo; exclaimed Hal. &ldquo;I can't hold these people long. If you
+      don't want hell breaking loose, come to your senses.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said Cartwright, swallowing his dignity.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And Hal turned to the men and announced the concession. There was a shout
+      of triumph.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, who's to go?&rdquo; said Hal, when he could be heard again; and he looked
+      about at the upturned faces. There Were Tim and Wauchope, the most obvious
+      ones; but Hal decided to keep them under his eye. He thought of Jerry
+      Minetti and of Mrs. David&mdash;but remembered his agreement with &ldquo;Big
+      Jack,&rdquo; to keep their own little group in the back-ground. Then he thought
+      of Mary Burke; she had already done herself all the harm she could do, and
+      she was a person the crowd would trust. He called her, and called Mrs.
+      Ferris, an American woman in the crowd. The two came up the steps, and Hal
+      turned to Cartwright.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, let's have an understanding,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;These people are going in to
+      stay with the sick men, and to talk to them if they want to, and nobody's
+      going to give them any orders but the doctors and nurses. Is that right?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said the superintendent, sullenly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good!&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;And for God's sake have a little sense and stand by
+      your word; this crowd has had all it can endure, and if you do any more to
+      provoke it, the consequences will be on you. And while you're about it,
+      see that the saloons are closed and kept closed until this trouble is
+      settled. And keep your people out of the way&mdash;don't let them go about
+      showing their guns and making faces.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Without waiting to hear the superintendent's reply, Hal turned to the
+      throng, and held up his hand for silence. &ldquo;Men,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;we have a big
+      job to do&mdash;we're going to organise a union. And we can't do it here
+      in front of the hospital. We've made too much noise already. Let's go off
+      quietly, and have our meeting on the dump in back of the power-house. Does
+      that suit you?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They answered that it suited them; and Hal, having seen the two women
+      passed safely into the hospital, sprang down from the porch to lead the
+      way. Jerry Minetti came to his side, trembling with delight; and Hal
+      clutched him by the arm and whispered, excitedly, &ldquo;Sing, Jerry! Sing them
+      some Dago song!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 7.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      They got to the place appointed without any fighting. And meantime Hal had
+      worked out in his mind a plan for communicating with this polyglot horde.
+      He knew that half the men could not understand a word of English, and that
+      half the remainder understood very little. Obviously, if he was to make
+      matters clear to them, they must be sorted out according to nationality,
+      and a reliable interpreter found for each group.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The process of sorting proved a slow one, involving no end of shouting and
+      good-natured jostling&mdash;Polish here, Bohemian here, Greek here,
+      Italian here! When this job had been done, and a man found from each
+      nationality who understood enough English to translate to his fellows, Hal
+      started in to make a speech. But before he had spoken many sentences,
+      pandemonium broke loose. All the interpreters started interpreting at the
+      same time&mdash;and at the top of their lungs; it was like a parade with
+      the bands close together! Hal was struck dumb; then he began to laugh, and
+      the various audiences began to laugh; the orators stopped, perplexed&mdash;then
+      they too began to laugh. So wave after wave of merriment rolled over the
+      throng; the mood of the assembly was changed all at once, from rage and
+      determination to the wildest hilarity. Hal learned his first lesson in the
+      handling of these hordes of child-like people, whose moods were quick,
+      whose tempers were balanced upon a fine point.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was necessary for him to make his speech through to the end, and then
+      move the various audiences apart, to be addressed by the various
+      interpreters. But then arose a new difficulty. How could any one control
+      these floods of eloquence? How be sure that the message was not being
+      distorted? Hal had been warned by Olson of company detectives who posed as
+      workers, gaining the confidence of men in order to incite them to
+      violence. And certainly some of these interpreters were violent-looking,
+      and one's remarks sounded strange in their translations!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was the Greek orator, for example; a wild man, with wild hair and
+      eyes, who tore all his passions to tatters. He stood upon a barrel-head,
+      with the light of two pit-lamps upon him, and some two score of his
+      compatriots at his feet; he waved his arms, he shook his fists, he
+      shrieked, he bellowed. But when Hal, becoming uneasy, went over and asked
+      another English-speaking Greek what the orator was saying, the answer was
+      that he was promising that the law should be enforced in North Valley!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal stood watching this perfervid little man, a study in the possibilities
+      of gesture. He drew back his shoulders and puffed out his chest, almost
+      throwing himself backwards off the barrel-head; he was saying that the
+      miners would be able to live like men. He crouched down and bowed his
+      head, moaning; he was telling them what would happen if they gave up. He
+      fastened his fingers in his long black hair and began tugging desperately;
+      he pulled, and then stretched out his empty hands; he pulled again, so
+      hard that it almost made one cry out with pain to watch him. Hal asked
+      what that was for; and the answer was, &ldquo;He say, 'Stand by union! Pull one
+      hair, he come out; pull all hairs, no come out'!&rdquo; It carried one back to
+      the days of Aesop and his fables!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom Olson had told Hal something about the technique of an organiser, who
+      wished to drill these ignorant hordes. He had to repeat and repeat, until
+      the dullest in his audience had grasped his meaning, had got into his head
+      the all-saving idea of solidarity. When the various orators had talked
+      themselves out, and the audiences had come back to the cinder-heap, Hal
+      made his speech all over again, in words of one syllable, in the kind of
+      pidgin-English which does duty in the camps. Sometimes he would stop to
+      reinforce it with Greek or Italian or Slavish words he had picked up. Or
+      perhaps his eloquence would inflame some one of the interpreters afresh,
+      and he would wait while the man shouted a few sentences to his
+      compatriots. It was not necessary to consider the possibility of boring
+      any one, for these were patient and long-suffering men, and now
+      desperately in earnest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They were going to have a union; they were going to do the thing in
+      regular form, with membership cards and officials chosen by ballot. So Hal
+      explained to them, step by step. There was no use organising unless they
+      meant to stay organised. They would choose leaders, one from each of the
+      principal language groups; and these leaders would meet and draw up a set
+      of demands, which would be submitted in mass-meeting, and ratified, and
+      then presented to the bosses with the announcement that until these terms
+      were granted, not a single North Valley worker would go back into the
+      pits.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Jerry Minetti, who knew all about unions, advised Hal to enroll the men at
+      once; he counted on the psychological effect of having each man come
+      forward and give in his name. But here at once they met a difficulty
+      encountered by all would-be organisers&mdash;lack of funds. There must be
+      pencils and paper for the enrollment; and Hal had emptied his pockets for
+      Jack David! He was forced to borrow a quarter, and send a messenger off to
+      the store. It was voted by the delegates that each member as he joined the
+      union should be assessed a dime. There would have to be some telegraphing
+      and telephoning if they were going to get help from the outside world.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A temporary committee was named, consisting of Tim Rafferty, Wauchope and
+      Hal, to keep the lists and the funds, and to run things until another
+      meeting could be held on the morrow; also a body-guard of a dozen of the
+      sturdiest and most reliable men were named to stay by the committee. The
+      messenger came back with pads and pencils, and sitting on the ground by
+      the light of pit-lamps, the interpreters wrote down the names of the men
+      who wished to join the union, each man in turn pledging his word for
+      solidarity and discipline. Then the meeting was declared adjourned till
+      daylight of the morrow, and the workers scattered to their homes to sleep,
+      with a joy and sense of power such as few of them had ever known in their
+      lives before.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 8.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      The committee and its body-guard repaired to the dining-room of
+      Reminitsky's, where they stretched themselves out on the floor; no one
+      attempted to interfere with them, and while the majority snored
+      peacefully, Hal and a small group sat writing out the list of demands
+      which were to be submitted to the bosses in the morning. It was arranged
+      that Jerry should go down to Pedro by the early morning train, to get into
+      touch with Jack David and the union officials, and report to them the
+      latest developments. Because the officials were sure to have detectives
+      following them, Hal warned Jerry to go to MacKellar's house, and have
+      MacKellar bring &ldquo;Big Jack&rdquo; to meet him there. Also Jerry must have
+      MacKellar get the <i>Gazette</i> on the long distance phone, and tell
+      Billy Keating about the strike.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A hundred things like this Hal had to think of; his head was a-buzz with
+      them, so that when he lay down to sleep he could not. He thought about the
+      bosses, and what they might be doing. The bosses would not be sleeping, he
+      felt sure!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And then came thoughts about his private-car friends; about the
+      strangeness of this plight into which he had got himself! He laughed aloud
+      in a kind of desperation as he recalled Percy's efforts to get him away
+      from here. And poor Jessie! What could he say to her now?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The bosses made no move that night; and when morning came, the strikers
+      hurried to the meeting-place, some of them without even stopping for
+      breakfast. They came tousled and unkempt, looking anxiously at their
+      fellows, as if unable to credit the memory of the bold thing they had done
+      on the night before. But finding the committee and its body-guard on hand
+      and ready for business, their courage revived, they felt again the
+      wonderful sentiment of solidarity which had made men of them. Pretty soon
+      speech-making began, and cheering and singing, which brought out the
+      laggards and the cowards. So in a short while the movement was in full
+      swing, with practically every man, woman and child among the workers
+      present.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Mary Burke came from the hospital, where she had spent the night. She
+      looked weary and bedraggled, but her spirit of battle had not slumped. She
+      reported that she had talked with some of the injured men, and that many
+      of them had signed &ldquo;releases,&rdquo; whereby the company protected itself
+      against even the threat of a lawsuit. Others had refused to sign, and Mary
+      had been vehement in warning them to stand out. Two other women
+      volunteered to go to the hospital, in order that she might have a chance
+      to rest; but Mary did not wish to rest, she did not feel as if she could
+      ever rest again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The members of the newly-organised union proceeded to elect officers. They
+      sought to make Hal president, but he was shy of binding himself in that
+      irrevocable way, and succeeded in putting the honour off on Wauchope. Tim
+      Rafferty was made treasurer and secretary. Then a committee was chosen to
+      go to Cartwright with the demands of the men. It included Hal, Wauchope,
+      and Tim; an Italian named Marcelli, whom Jerry had vouched for; a
+      representative of the Slavs and one of the Greeks&mdash;Rusick and
+      Zammakis, both of them solid and faithful men. Finally, with a good deal
+      of laughter and cheering, the meeting voted to add Mary Burke to this
+      committee. It was a new thing to have a woman in such a role, but Mary was
+      the daughter of a miner and the sister of a breaker-boy, and had as good a
+      right to speak as any one in North Valley.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 9.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal read the document which had been prepared the night before. They
+      demanded the right to have a union without being discharged for it. They
+      demanded a check-weighman, to be elected by the men themselves. They
+      demanded that the mines should be sprinkled to prevent explosions, and
+      properly timbered to prevent falls. They demanded the right to trade at
+      any store they pleased. Hal called attention to the fact that every one of
+      these demands was for a right guaranteed by the laws of the state; this
+      was a significant fact, and he urged the men not to include other demands.
+      After some argument they voted down the proposition of the radicals, who
+      wanted a ten per cent. increase in wages. Also they voted down the
+      proposition of a syndicalist-anarchist, who explained to them in a jumble
+      of English and Italian that the mines belonged to them, and that they
+      should refuse all compromise and turn the bosses out forthwith.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      While this speech was being delivered, young Rovetta pushed his way
+      through the crowd and drew Hal to one side. He had been down by the
+      railroad-station and seen the morning train come in. From it had descended
+      a crowd of thirty or forty men, of that &ldquo;hard citizen&rdquo; type which every
+      miner in the district could recognise at the first glance. Evidently the
+      company officials had been keeping the telephone-wires busy that night;
+      they were bringing in, not merely this train-load of guards, but
+      automobile loads from other camps&mdash;from the Northeastern down the
+      canyon, and from Barela, in a side canyon over the mountain.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal told this news to the meeting, which received it with howls of rage.
+      So that was the bosses' plan! Hot-heads sprang upon the cinder-heap, half
+      a dozen of them trying to make speeches at once. The leaders had to
+      suppress these too impetuous ones by main force; once more Hal gave the
+      warning of &ldquo;No fighting!&rdquo; They were going to have faith in their union;
+      they were going to present a solid front to the company, and the company
+      would learn the lesson that intimidation would not win a strike.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So it was agreed, and the committee set out for the company's office,
+      Wauchope carrying in his hand the written demands of the meeting. Behind
+      the committee marched the crowd in a solid mass; they packed the street in
+      front of the office, while the heroic seven went up the steps and passed
+      into the building. Wauchope made inquiry for Mr. Cartwright, and a clerk
+      took in the message.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They stood waiting; and meanwhile, one of the office-people, coming in
+      from the street, beckoned to Hal. He had an envelope in his hand, and gave
+      it over without a word. It was addressed, &ldquo;Joe Smith,&rdquo; and Hal opened it,
+      and found within a small visiting card, at which he stared. &ldquo;Edward S.
+      Warner, Jr.&rdquo;!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For a moment Hal could hardly believe the evidence of his eyesight. Edward
+      in North Valley! Then, turning the card over, he read, in his brother's
+      familiar handwriting, &ldquo;I am at Cartwright's house. I must see you. The
+      matter concerns Dad. Come instantly.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Fear leaped into Hal's heart. What could such a message mean?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He turned quickly to the committee and explained. &ldquo;My father's an old man,
+      and had a stroke of apoplexy three years ago. I'm afraid he may be dead,
+      or very ill. I must go.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's a trick!&rdquo; cried Wauchope excitedly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, not possibly,&rdquo; answered Hal. &ldquo;I know my brother's handwriting. I must
+      see him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; declared the other, &ldquo;we'll wait. We'll not see Cartwright until
+      you get back.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal considered this. &ldquo;I don't think that's wise,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You can do
+      what you have to do just as well without me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But I wanted you to do the talking!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; replied Hal, &ldquo;that's your business, Wauchope. You are the president
+      of the union. You know what the men want, as well as I do; you know what
+      they complain of. And besides, there's not going to be any need of talking
+      with Cartwright. Either he's going to grant our demands or he isn't.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They discussed the matter back and forth. Mary Burke insisted that they
+      were pulling Hal away just at the critical moment! He laughed as he
+      answered. She was as good as any man when it came to an argument. If
+      Wauchope showed signs of weakening, let her speak up!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 10.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      So Hal hurried off, and climbed the street which led to the
+      superintendent's house, a concrete bungalow set upon a little elevation
+      overlooking the camp. He rang the bell, and the door opened, and in the
+      entrance stood his brother.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward Warner was eight years older than Hal; the perfect type of the
+      young American business man. His figure was erect and athletic, his
+      features were regular and strong, his voice, his manner, everything about
+      him spoke of quiet decision, of energy precisely directed. As a rule, he
+      was a model of what the tailor's art could do, but just now there was
+      something abnormal about his attire as well as his manner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal's anxiety had been increasing all the way up the street. &ldquo;What's the
+      matter with Dad?&rdquo; he cried.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Dad's all right,&rdquo; was the answer&mdash;&ldquo;that is, for the moment.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then what&mdash;?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Peter Harrigan's on his way back from the East. He's due in Western City
+      to-morrow. You can see that something will be the matter with Dad unless
+      you quit this business at once.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had a sudden reaction from his fear. &ldquo;So that's all!&rdquo; he exclaimed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His brother was gazing at the young miner, dressed in sooty blue overalls,
+      his face streaked with black, his wavy hair all mussed. &ldquo;You wired me you
+      were going to leave here, Hal!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So I was; but things happened that I couldn't foresee. There's a strike.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; but what's that got to do with it?&rdquo; Then, with exasperation in his
+      voice, &ldquo;For God's sake, Hal, how much farther do you expect to go?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal stood for a few moments, looking at his brother. Even in a tension as
+      he was, he could not help laughing. &ldquo;I know how all this must seem to you,
+      Edward. It's a long story; I hardly know how to begin.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, I suppose not,&rdquo; said Edward, drily.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And Hal laughed again. &ldquo;Well, we agree that far, at any rate. What I was
+      hoping was that we could talk it all over quietly, after the excitement
+      was past. When I explain to you about conditions in this place&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But Edward interrupted. &ldquo;Really, Hal, there's no use of such an argument.
+      I have nothing to do with conditions in Peter Harrigan's camps.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The smile left Hal's face. &ldquo;Would you have preferred to have me
+      investigate conditions in the Warner camps?&rdquo; Hal had tried to suppress his
+      irritation, but there was simply no way these two could get along. &ldquo;We've
+      had our arguments about these things, Edward, and you've always had the
+      best of me&mdash;you could tell me I was a child, it was presumptuous of
+      me to dispute your assertions. But now&mdash;well, I'm a child no longer,
+      and we'll have to meet on a new basis.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal's tone, more than his words, made an impression. Edward thought before
+      he spoke. &ldquo;Well, what's your new basis?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Just now I'm in the midst of a strike, and I can hardly stop to explain.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You don't think of Dad in all this madness?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think of Dad, and of you too, Edward; but this is hardly the time&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If ever in the world there was a time, this is it!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal groaned inwardly. &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;sit down. I'll try to give
+      you some idea how I got swept into this.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He began to tell about the conditions he had found in this stronghold of
+      the &ldquo;G. F. C.&rdquo; As usual, when he talked about it, he became absorbed in
+      its human aspects; a fervour came into his tone, he was carried on, as he
+      had been when he tried to argue with the officials in Pedro. But his
+      eloquence was interrupted, even as it had been then; he discovered that
+      his brother was in such a state of exasperation that he could not listen
+      to a consecutive argument.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was the old, old story; it had been thus as far back as Hal could
+      remember. It seemed one of the mysteries of nature, how she could have
+      brought two such different temperaments out of the same parentage. Edward
+      was practical and positive; he knew what he wanted in the world, and he
+      knew how to get it; he was never troubled with doubts, nor with
+      self-questioning, nor with any other superfluous emotions; he could not
+      understand people who allowed that sort of waste in their mental
+      processes. He could not understand people who got &ldquo;swept into things.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      In the beginning, he had had with Hal the prestige of the elder brother.
+      He was handsome as a young Greek god, he was strong and masterful; whether
+      he was flying over the ice with sure, strong strokes, or cutting the water
+      with his glistening shoulders, or bringing down a partridge with the
+      certainty and swiftness of a lightning stroke, Edward was the incarnation
+      of Success. When he said that one's ideas were &ldquo;rot,&rdquo; when he spoke with
+      contempt of &ldquo;mollycoddles&rdquo;&mdash;then indeed one suffered in soul, and had
+      to go back to Shelley and Ruskin to renew one's courage.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The questioning of life had begun very early with Hal; there seemed to be
+      something in his nature which forced him to go to the roots of things; and
+      much as he looked up to his wonderful brother, he had been made to realise
+      that there were sides of life to which this brother was blind. To begin
+      with, there were religious doubts; the distresses of mind which plague a
+      young man when first it dawns upon him that the faith he has been brought
+      up in is a higher kind of fairy-tale. Edward had never asked such
+      questions, apparently. He went to church, because it was the thing to do;
+      more especially because it was pleasing to the young lady he wished to
+      marry to have him put on stately clothes, and escort her to a beautiful
+      place of music and flowers and perfumes, where she would meet her friends,
+      also in stately clothes. How abnormal it seemed to Edward that a young man
+      should give up this pleasant custom, merely because he could not be sure
+      that Jonah had swallowed a whale!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But it was when Hal's doubts attacked his brother's week-day religion&mdash;the
+      religion of the profit-system&mdash;that the controversy between them had
+      become deadly. At first Hal had known nothing about practical affairs, and
+      it had been Edward's duty to answer his questions. The prosperity of the
+      country had been built up by strong men; and these men had enemies&mdash;evil-minded
+      persons, animated by jealousy and other base passions, seeking to tear
+      down the mighty structure. At first this devil-theory had satisfied the
+      boy; but later on, as he had come to read and observe, he had been plagued
+      by doubts. In the end, listening to his brother's conversation, and
+      reading the writings of so-called &ldquo;muck-rakers,&rdquo; the realisation was
+      forced upon him that there were two types of mind in the controversy&mdash;those
+      who thought of profits, and those who thought of human beings.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward was alarmed at the books Hal was reading; he was still more alarmed
+      when he saw the ideas Hal was bringing home from college. There must have
+      been some strange change in Harrigan in a few years; no one had dreamed of
+      such ideas when Edward was there! No one had written satiric songs about
+      the faculty, or the endowments of eminent philanthropists!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the meantime Edward Warner Senior had had a paralytic stroke, and
+      Edward Junior had taken charge of the company. Three years of this had
+      given him the point of view of a coal-operator, hard and set for a
+      life-time. The business of a coal-operator was to buy his labour cheap, to
+      turn out the maximum product in the shortest time, and to sell the product
+      at the market price to parties whose credit was satisfactory. If a concern
+      was doing that, it was a successful concern; for any one to mention that
+      it was making wrecks of the people who dug the coal, was to be guilty of
+      sentimentality and impertinence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward had heard with dismay his brother's announcement that he meant to
+      study industry by spending his vacation as a common labourer. However,
+      when he considered it, he was inclined to think that the idea might not be
+      such a bad one. Perhaps Hal would not find what he was looking for;
+      perhaps, working with his hands, he might get some of the nonsense knocked
+      out of his head!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But now the experiment had been made, and the revelation had burst upon
+      Edward that it had been a ghastly failure. Hal had not come to realise
+      that labour was turbulent and lazy and incompetent, needing a strong hand
+      to rule it; on the contrary, he had become one of these turbulent ones
+      himself! A champion of the lazy and incompetent, an agitator, a fomenter
+      of class-prejudice, an enemy of his own friends, and of his brother's
+      business associates!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Never had Hal seen Edward in such a state of excitement. There was
+      something really abnormal about him, Hal realised; it puzzled him vaguely
+      while he talked, but he did not understand it until his brother told how
+      he had come to be here. He had been attending a dinner-dance at the home
+      of a friend, and Percy Harrigan had got him on the telephone at half past
+      eleven o'clock at night. Percy had had a message from Cartwright, to the
+      effect that Hal was leading a riot in North Valley; Percy had painted the
+      situation in such lurid colours that Edward had made a dash and caught the
+      midnight train, wearing his evening clothes, and without so much as a
+      tooth-brush with him!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal could hardly keep from bursting out laughing. His brother, his
+      punctilious and dignified brother, alighting from a sleeping-car at seven
+      o'clock in the morning, wearing a dress suit and a silk hat! And here he
+      was, Edward Warner Junior, the fastidious, who never paid less than a
+      hundred and fifty dollars for a suit of clothes, clad in a &ldquo;hand-me-down&rdquo;
+       for which he had expended twelve dollars and forty-eight cents in a
+      &ldquo;Jew-store&rdquo; in a coal-town!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 11.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      But Edward would not stop for a single smile; his every faculty was
+      absorbed in the task he had before him, to get his brother out of this
+      predicament, so dangerous and so humiliating. Hal had come to a town owned
+      by Edward's business friends, and had proceeded to meddle in their
+      affairs, to stir up their labouring people and imperil their property.
+      That North Valley was the property of the General Fuel Company&mdash;not
+      merely the mines and the houses, but likewise the people who lived in them&mdash;Edward
+      seemed to have no doubt whatever; Hal got only exclamations of annoyance
+      when he suggested any other point of view. Would there have been any town
+      of North Valley, if it had not been for the capital and energy of the
+      General Fuel Company? If the people of North Valley did not like the
+      conditions which the General Fuel Company offered them, they had one
+      simple and obvious remedy&mdash;to go somewhere else to work. But they
+      stayed; they got out the General Fuel Company's coal, they took the
+      General Fuel Company's wages&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, they've stopped taking them now,&rdquo; put in Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All right, that was their affair, replied Edward. But let them stop
+      because they wanted to&mdash;not because outside agitators put them up to
+      it. At any rate, let the agitators not include a member of the Warner
+      family!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The elder brother pictured old Peter Harrigan on his way back from the
+      East; the state of unutterable fury in which he would arrive, the storm he
+      would raise in the business world of Western City. Why, it was
+      unimaginable, such a thing had never been heard of! &ldquo;And right when we're
+      opening up a new mine&mdash;when we need every dollar of credit we can
+      get!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Aren't we big enough to stand off Peter Harrigan?&rdquo; inquired Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We have plenty of other people to stand off,&rdquo; was the answer. &ldquo;We don't
+      have to go out of our way to make enemies.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward spoke, not merely as the elder brother, but also as the money-man
+      of the family. When the father had broken down from over-work, and had
+      been changed in one terrible hour from a driving man of affairs into a
+      childish and pathetic invalid, Hal had been glad enough that there was one
+      member of the family who was practical; he had been perfectly willing to
+      see his brother shoulder these burdens, while he went off to college, to
+      amuse himself with satiric songs. Hal had no responsibilities, no one
+      asked anything of him&mdash;except that he would not throw sticks into the
+      wheels of the machine his brother was running. &ldquo;You are living by the coal
+      industry! Every dollar you spend comes from it&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know it! I know it!&rdquo; cried Hal. &ldquo;That's the thing that torments me! The
+      fact that I'm living upon the bounty of such wage-slaves&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, cut it out!&rdquo; cried Edward. &ldquo;That's not what I mean!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know&mdash;but it's what <i>I</i> mean! From now on I mean to know
+      about the people who work for me, and what sort of treatment they get. I'm
+      no longer your kid-brother, to be put off with platitudes.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You know ours are union mines, Hal&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, but what does that mean? How do we work it? Do we give the men their
+      weights?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of course! They have their check-weighmen.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But then, how do we compete with the operators in this district, who pay
+      for a ton of three thousand pounds?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We manage it&mdash;by economy.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Economy? I don't see Peter Harrigan wasting anything here!&rdquo; Hal paused
+      for an answer, but none came. &ldquo;Do we buy the check-weighmen? Do we bribe
+      the labour leaders?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward coloured slightly. &ldquo;What's the use of being nasty, Hal? You know I
+      don't do dirty work.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't mean to be nasty, Edward; but you must know that many a
+      business-man can say he doesn't do dirty work, because he has others do it
+      for him. What about politics, for instance? Do we run a machine, and put
+      our clerks and bosses into the local offices?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward did not answer, and Hal persisted, &ldquo;I mean to know these things!
+      I'm not going to be blind any more!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right, Hal&mdash;you can know anything you want; but for God's sake,
+      not now! If you want to be taken for a man, show a man's common sense!
+      Here's Old Peter getting back to Western City to-morrow night! Don't you
+      know that he'll be after me, raging like a mad bull? Don't you know that
+      if I tell him I can do nothing&mdash;that I've been down here and tried to
+      pull you away&mdash;don't you know he'll go after Dad?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward had tried all the arguments, and this was the only one that
+      counted. &ldquo;You must keep him away from Dad!&rdquo; exclaimed Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You tell me that!&rdquo; retorted the other. &ldquo;And when you know Old Peter!
+      Don't you know he'll get at him, if he has to break down the door of the
+      house? He'll throw the burden of his rage on that poor old man! You've
+      been warned about it clearly; you know it may be a matter of life and
+      death to keep Dad from getting excited. I don't know what he'd do; maybe
+      he'd fly into a rage with you, maybe he'd defend you. He's old and weak,
+      he's lost his grip on things. Anyhow, he'd not let Peter abuse you&mdash;and
+      like as not he'd drop dead in the midst of the dispute! Do you want to
+      have that on your conscience, along with the troubles of your workingmen
+      friends?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 12.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal sat staring in front of him, silent. Was it a fact that every man had
+      something in his life which palsied his arm, and struck him helpless in
+      the battle for social justice?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When he spoke again, it was in a low voice. &ldquo;Edward, I'm thinking about a
+      young Irish boy who works in these mines. He, too, has a father; and this
+      father was caught in the explosion. He's an old man, with a wife and seven
+      other children. He's a good man, the boy's a good boy. Let me tell you
+      what Peter Harrigan has done to them!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Edward, &ldquo;whatever it is, it's all right, you can help them.
+      They won't need to starve.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;but there are so many others; I can't help them all.
+      And besides, can't you see, Edward&mdash;what I'm thinking about is not
+      charity, but <i>justice</i>. I'm sure this boy, Tim Rafferty, loves his
+      father just exactly as much as I love my father; and there are other old
+      men here, with sons who love them&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, Hal, for Christ's sake!&rdquo; exclaimed Edward, in a sort of explosion. He
+      had no other words to express his impatience. &ldquo;Do you expect to take all
+      the troubles in the world on your shoulders?&rdquo; And he sprang up and caught
+      the other by the arm. &ldquo;Boy, you've got to come away from here!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal got up, without answering. He seemed irresolute, and his brother
+      started to draw him towards the door. &ldquo;I've got a car here. We can get a
+      train in an hour&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal saw that he had to speak firmly. &ldquo;No, Edward,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I can't come
+      just yet.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I tell you you <i>must</i> come!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can't. I made these men a promise!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In God's name&mdash;what are these men to you? Compared with your own
+      father!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can't explain it, Edward. I've talked for half an hour, and I don't
+      think you've even heard me. Suffice it to say that I see these people
+      caught in a trap&mdash;and one that my whole life has helped to make. I
+      can't leave them in it. What's more, I don't believe Dad would want me to
+      do it, if he understood.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other made a last effort at self-control. &ldquo;I'm not going to call you a
+      sentimental fool. Only, let me ask you one plain question. What do you
+      think you can <i>do</i> for these people?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think I can help to win decent conditions for them.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good God!&rdquo; cried Edward; he sighed, in his agony of exasperation. &ldquo;In
+      Peter Harrigan's mines! Don't you realise that he'll pick them up and
+      throw them out of here, neck and crop&mdash;the whole crew, every man in
+      the town, if necessary?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Perhaps,&rdquo; answered Hal; &ldquo;but if the men in the other mines should join
+      them&mdash;if the big union outside should stand by them&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You're dreaming, Hal! You're talking like a child! I talked to the
+      superintendent here; he had telegraphed the situation to Old Peter, and
+      had just got an answer. Already he's acted, no doubt.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Acted?&rdquo; echoed Hal. &ldquo;How do you mean?&rdquo; He was staring at his brother in
+      sudden anxiety.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They were going to turn the agitators out, of course.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;<i>What?</i> And while I'm here talking!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal turned toward the door. &ldquo;You knew it all the time!&rdquo; he exclaimed. &ldquo;You
+      kept me here deliberately!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He was starting away, but Edward sprang and caught him. &ldquo;What could you
+      have done?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Turn me loose!&rdquo; cried Hal, angrily.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don't be a fool, Hal! I've been trying to keep you out of the trouble.
+      There may be fighting.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward threw himself between Hal and the door, and there was a sharp
+      struggle. But the elder man was no longer the athlete, the young bronzed
+      god; he had been sitting at a desk in an office, while Hal had been doing
+      hard labour. Hal threw him to one side, and in a moment more had sprung
+      out of the door, and was running down the slope.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 13.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Coming to the main street of the village, Hal saw the crowd in front of
+      the office. One glance told him that something had happened. Men were
+      running this way and that, gesticulating, shouting. Some were coming in
+      his direction, and when they saw him they began to yell to him. The first
+      to reach him was Klowoski, the little Pole, breathless; gasping with
+      excitement. &ldquo;They fire our committee!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Fire them?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Fire 'em out! Down canyon!&rdquo; The little man was waving his arms in wild
+      gestures; his eyes seemed about to start out of his head. &ldquo;Take 'em off!
+      Whole bunch fellers&mdash;gunmen! People see them&mdash;come out back
+      door. Got ever'body's arm tied. Gunmen fellers hold 'em, don't let 'em
+      holler, can't do nothin'! Got them cars waitin'&mdash;what you call?&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Automobiles?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure, got three! Put ever'body in, quick like that&mdash;they go down
+      road like wind! Go down canyon, all gone! They bust our strike!&rdquo; And the
+      little Pole's voice ended in a howl of despair.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, they won't bust our strike!&rdquo; exclaimed Hal. &ldquo;Not yet!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Suddenly he was reminded of the fact that his brother had followed him&mdash;puffing
+      hard, for the run had been strenuous. He caught Hal by the arm,
+      exclaiming, &ldquo;Keep out of this, I tell you!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Thus while Hal was questioning Klowoski, he was struggling
+      half-unconsciously, to free himself from his brother's grasp. Suddenly the
+      matter was forced to an issue, for the little Polack emitted a cry like an
+      angry cat, and went at Edward with fingers outstretched like claws. Hal's
+      dignified brother would have had to part with his dignity, if Hal had not
+      caught Klowoski's onrush with his other arm. &ldquo;Let him alone!&rdquo; he said.
+      &ldquo;It's my brother!&rdquo; Whereupon the little man fell back and stood watching
+      in bewilderment.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal saw Androkulos running to him. The Greek boy had been in the street
+      back of the office, and had seen the committee carried off; nine people
+      had been taken&mdash;Wauchope, Tim Rafferty, and Mary Burke, Marcelli,
+      Zammakis and Rusick, and three others who had served as interpreters on
+      the night before. It had all been done so quickly that the crowd had
+      scarcely realised what was happening.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now, having grasped the meaning of it, the men were beside themselves with
+      rage. They shook their fists, shouting defiance to a group of officials
+      and guards who were visible upon the porch of the office-building. There
+      was a clamour of shouts for revenge.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal could see instantly the dangers of the situation; he was like a man
+      watching the burning fuse of a bomb. Now, if ever, this polyglot horde
+      must have leadership&mdash;wise and cool and resourceful leadership.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The crowd, discovering his presence, surged down upon him like a wave.
+      They gathered round him, howling. They had lost the rest of their
+      committee, but they still had Joe Smith. Joe Smith! Hurrah for Joe! Let
+      the gunmen take him, if they could! They waved their caps, they tried to
+      lift him upon their shoulders, so that all could see him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was clamour for a speech, and Hal started to make his way to the
+      steps of the nearest building, with Edward holding on to his coat. Edward
+      was jostled; he had to part with his dignity&mdash;but he did not part
+      with his brother. And when Hal was about to mount the steps, Edward made a
+      last desperate effort, shouting into his ear, &ldquo;Wait a minute! Wait! Are
+      you going to try to talk to this mob?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of course. Don't you see there'll be trouble if I don't?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You'll get yourself killed! You'll start a fight, and get a lot of these
+      poor devils shot! Use your common sense, Hal; the company has brought in
+      guards, and they are armed, and your people aren't.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's exactly why I have to speak!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The discussion was carried on under difficulties, the elder brother
+      clinging to the younger's arm, while the younger sought to pull free, and
+      the mob shouted with a single voice, &ldquo;Speech! Speech!&rdquo; There were some
+      near by who, like Klowoski, did not relish having this stranger
+      interfering with their champion, and showed signs of a disposition to &ldquo;mix
+      in&rdquo;; so at last Edward gave up the struggle, and the orator mounted the
+      steps and faced the throng.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 14.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal raised his arms as a signal for silence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Boys,&rdquo; he cried, &ldquo;they've kidnapped our committee. They think they'll
+      break our strike that way&mdash;but they'll find they've made a mistake!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They will! Right you are!&rdquo; roared a score of voices.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They forget that we've got a union. Hurrah for our North Valley union!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hurrah! Hurrah!&rdquo; The cry echoed to the canyon-walls.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And hurrah for the big union that will back us&mdash;the United
+      Mine-Workers of America!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Again the yell rang out; again and again. &ldquo;Hurrah for the union! Hurrah
+      for the United Mine-Workers!&rdquo; A big American miner, Ferris, was in the
+      front of the throng, and his voice beat in Hal's ears like a steam-siren.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Boys,&rdquo; Hal resumed, when at last he could be heard, &ldquo;use your brains a
+      moment. I warned you they would try to provoke you! They would like
+      nothing better than to start a scrap here, and get a chance to smash our
+      union! Don't forget that, boys, if they can make you fight, they'll smash
+      the union, and the union is our only hope!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Again came the cry: &ldquo;Hurrah for the union!&rdquo; Hal let them shout it in
+      twenty languages, until they were satisfied.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, boys,&rdquo; he went on, at last, &ldquo;they've shipped out our committee. They
+      may ship me out in the same way&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, they won't!&rdquo; shouted voices in the crowd. And there was a bellow of
+      rage from Ferris. &ldquo;Let them try it! We'll burn them in their beds!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But they <i>can</i> ship me out!&rdquo; argued Hal. &ldquo;You <i>know</i> they can
+      beat us at that game! They can call on the sheriff, they can get the
+      soldiers, if necessary! We can't oppose them by force&mdash;they can turn
+      out every man, woman and child in the village, if they choose. What we
+      have to get clear is that even that won't crush our union! Nor the big
+      union outside, that will be backing us! We can hold out, and make them
+      take us back in the end!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Some of Hal's friends, seeing what he was trying to do, came to his
+      support. &ldquo;No fighting! No violence! Stand by the union!&rdquo; And he went on to
+      drive the lesson home; even though the company might evict them, the big
+      union of the four hundred and fifty thousand mine-workers of the country
+      would feed them, it would call out the rest of the workers in the district
+      in sympathy. So the bosses, who thought to starve and cow them into
+      submission, would find their mines lying permanently idle. They would be
+      forced to give way, and the tactics of solidarity would triumph.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So Hal went on, recalling the things Olson had told him, and putting them
+      into practice. He saw hope in their faces again, dispelling the mood of
+      resentment and rage.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, boys,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;I'm going in to see the superintendent for you.
+      I'll be your committee, since they've shipped out the rest.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The steam-siren of Ferris bellowed again: &ldquo;You're the boy! Joe Smith!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right, men&mdash;now mind what I say! I'll see the super, and then
+      I'll go down to Pedro, where there'll be some officers of the United
+      Mine-workers this morning. I'll tell them the situation, and ask them to
+      back you. That's what you want, is it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      That was what they wanted. &ldquo;Big union!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right. I'll do the best I can for you, and I'll find some way to get
+      word to you. And meantime you stand firm. The bosses will tell you lies,
+      they'll try to deceive you, they'll send spies and trouble-makers among
+      you&mdash;but you hold fast, and wait for the big union.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal stood looking at the cheering crowd. He had time to note some of the
+      faces upturned to him. Pitiful, toil-worn faces they were, each making its
+      separate appeal, telling its individual story of deprivation and defeat.
+      Once more they were transfigured, shining with that wonderful new light
+      which he had seen for the first time the previous evening. It had been
+      crushed for a moment, but it flamed up again; it would never die in the
+      hearts of men&mdash;once they had learned the power it gave. Nothing Hal
+      had yet seen moved him so much as this new birth of enthusiasm. A
+      beautiful, a terrible thing it was!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal looked at his brother, to see how he had been moved. What he saw on
+      his brother's face was satisfaction, boundless relief. The matter had
+      turned out all right! Hal was coming away!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal turned again to the men; somehow, after his glance at Edward, they
+      seemed more pitiful than ever. For Edward typified the power they were
+      facing&mdash;the unseeing, uncomprehending power that meant to crush them.
+      The possibility of failure was revealed to Hal in a flash of emotion,
+      overwhelming him. He saw them as they would be, when no leader was at hand
+      to make speeches to them. He saw them waiting, their life-long habit of
+      obedience striving to reassert itself; a thousand fears besetting them, a
+      thousand rumours preying upon them&mdash;wild beasts set on them by their
+      cunning enemies. They would suffer, not merely for themselves, but for
+      their wives and children&mdash;the very same pangs of dread that Hal
+      suffered when he thought of one old man up in Western City, whose doctors
+      had warned him to avoid excitement.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      If they stood firm, if they kept their bargain with their leader, they
+      would be evicted from their homes, they would face the cold of the coming
+      winter, they would face hunger and the black-list. And he, meantime&mdash;what
+      would he be doing? What was his part of the bargain? He would interview
+      the superintendent for them, he would turn them over to the &ldquo;big union&rdquo;&mdash;and
+      then he would go off to his own life of ease and pleasure. To eat grilled
+      steaks and hot rolls in a perfectly appointed club, with suave and
+      softly-moving servitors at his beck! To dance at the country club with
+      exquisite creatures of chiffon and satin, of perfume and sweet smiles and
+      careless, happy charms! No, it was too easy! He might call that his duty
+      to his father and brother, but he would know in his heart that it was
+      treason to life; it was the devil, taking him onto a high mountain and
+      showing him all the kingdoms of the earth!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Moved by a sudden impulse, Hal raised his hands once more. &ldquo;Boys,&rdquo; he
+      said, &ldquo;we understand each other now. You'll not go back to work till the
+      big union tells you. And I, for my part, will stand by you. Your cause is
+      my cause, I'll go on fighting for you till you have your rights, till you
+      can live and work as men! Is that right?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's right! That's right!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very good, then&mdash;we'll swear to it!&rdquo; And Hal raised his hands, and
+      the men raised theirs, and amid a storm of shouts, and a frantic waving of
+      caps, he made them the pledge which he knew would bind his own conscience.
+      He made it deliberately, there in his brother's presence. This was no mere
+      charge on a trench, it was enlisting for a war! But even in that moment of
+      fervour, Hal would have been frightened had he realised the period of that
+      enlistment, the years of weary and desperate conflict to which he was
+      pledging his life.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 15.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal descended from his rostrum, and the crowds made way for him, and with
+      his brother at his side he went down the street to the office building,
+      upon the porch of which the guards were standing. His progress was a
+      triumphal one; rough voices shouted words of encouragement in his ears,
+      men jostled and fought to shake his hand or to pat him on the back; they
+      even patted Edward and tried to shake his hand, because he was with Hal,
+      and seemed to have his confidence. Afterwards Hal thought it over and was
+      merry. Such an adventure for Edward!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The younger man went up the steps of the building and spoke to the guards.
+      &ldquo;I want to see Mr. Cartwright.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He's inside,&rdquo; answered one, not cordially. With Edward following, Hal
+      entered, and was ushered into the private office of the superintendent.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Having been a working-man, and class-conscious, Hal was observant of the
+      manners of mine-superintendents; he noted that Cartwright bowed politely
+      to Edward, but did not include Edward's brother. &ldquo;Mr. Cartwright,&rdquo; he
+      said, &ldquo;I have come to you as a deputation from the workers of this camp.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The superintendent did not appear impressed by the announcement.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am instructed to say that the men demand the redress of four grievances
+      before they return to work. First&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Here Cartwright spoke, in his quick, sharp way. &ldquo;There's no use going on,
+      sir. This company will deal only with its men as individuals. It will
+      recognise no deputations.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal's answer was equally quick. &ldquo;Very well, Mr. Cartwright. In that case,
+      I come to you as an individual.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      For a moment the superintendent seemed nonplussed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I wish to ask four rights which are granted to me by the laws of this
+      state. First, the right to belong to a union, without being discharged for
+      it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other had recovered his manner of quiet mastery. &ldquo;You have that right,
+      sir; you have always had it. You know perfectly well that the company has
+      never discharged any one for belonging to a union.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The man was looking at Hal, and there was a duel of the eyes between them.
+      A cold anger moved Hal. His ability to endure this sort of thing was at an
+      end. &ldquo;Mr. Cartwright,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;you are the servant of one of the world's
+      greatest actors; and you support him ably.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other flushed and drew back; Edward put in quickly: &ldquo;Hal, there's
+      nothing to be gained by such talk!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He has all the world for an audience,&rdquo; persisted Hal. &ldquo;He plays the most
+      stupendous farce&mdash;and he and all his actors wearing such solemn
+      faces!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mr. Cartwright,&rdquo; said Edward, with dignity, &ldquo;I trust you understand that
+      I have done everything I can to restrain my brother.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of course, Mr. Warner,&rdquo; replied the superintendent. &ldquo;And you must know
+      that I, for my part, have done everything to show your brother
+      consideration.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Again!&rdquo; exclaimed Hal. &ldquo;This actor is a genius!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hal, if you have business with Mr. Cartwright&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He showed me consideration by sending his gunmen to seize me at night,
+      drag me out of a cabin, and nearly twist the arm off me! Such humour never
+      was!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Cartwright attempted to speak&mdash;but looking at Edward, not at Hal. &ldquo;At
+      that time&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He showed me consideration by having me locked up in jail and fed on
+      bread and water for two nights and a day! Can you beat that humour?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;At that time I did not know&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By forging my name to a letter and having it circulated in the camp!
+      Finally&mdash;most considerate of all&mdash;by telling a newspaper man
+      that I had seduced a girl here!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The superintendent flushed still redder. &ldquo;<i>No!</i>&rdquo; he declared.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;<i>What?</i>&rdquo; cried Hal. &ldquo;You didn't tell Billy Keating of the <i>Gazette</i>
+      that I had seduced a girl in North Valley? You didn't describe the girl to
+      him&mdash;a red-haired Irish girl?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I merely said, Mr. Warner, that I had heard certain rumours&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;<i>Certain</i> rumours, Mr. Cartwright? The certainty was all of your
+      making! You made a definite and explicit statement to Mr. Keating&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I did not!&rdquo; declared the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll soon prove it!&rdquo; And Hal started towards the telephone on
+      Cartwright's desk.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What are you going to do, Hal?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am going to get Billy Keating on the wire, and let you hear his
+      statement.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, rot, Hal!&rdquo; cried Edward. &ldquo;I don't care anything about Keating's
+      statement. You know that at that time Mr. Cartwright had no means of
+      knowing who you were.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Cartwright was quick to grasp this support. &ldquo;Of course not, Mr. Warner!
+      Your brother came here, pretending to be a working boy&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh!&rdquo; cried Hal. &ldquo;So that's it! You think it proper to circulate slanders
+      about working boys in your camp?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You have been here long enough to know what the morals of such boys are.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have been here long enough, Mr. Cartwright, to know that if you want to
+      go into the question of morals in North Valley, the place for you to begin
+      is with the bosses and guards you put in authority, and allow to prey upon
+      women.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward broke in: &ldquo;Hal, there's nothing to be gained by pursuing this
+      conversation. If you have any business here, get it over with, for God's
+      sake!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal made an effort to recover his self-possession. He came back to the
+      demands of the strike&mdash;but only to find that he had used up the
+      superintendent's self-possession. &ldquo;I have given you my answer,&rdquo; declared
+      Cartwright, &ldquo;I absolutely decline any further discussion.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;since you decline to permit a deputation of your men to
+      deal with you in plain, business-like fashion, I have to inform you as an
+      individual that every other individual in your camp refuses to work for
+      you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The superintendent did not let himself be impressed by this elaborate
+      sarcasm. &ldquo;All I have to tell you, sir, is that Number Two mine will resume
+      work in the morning, and that any one who refuses to work will be sent
+      down the canyon before night.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So quickly, Mr. Cartwright? They have rented their homes from the
+      company, and you know that according to the company's own lease they are
+      entitled to three days' notice before being evicted!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Cartwright was so unwise as to argue. He knew that Edward was hearing, and
+      he wished to clear himself. &ldquo;They will not be evicted by the company. They
+      will be dealt with by the town authorities.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of which you yourself are the head?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I happen to have been elected mayor of North Valley.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;As mayor of North Valley, you gave my brother to understand that you
+      would put me out, did you not?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I asked your brother to persuade you to leave.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But you made clear that if he could not do this, you would put me out?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, that is true.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And the reason you gave was that you had had instructions by telegraph
+      from Mr. Peter Harrigan. May I ask to what office Mr. Harrigan has been
+      elected in your town?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Cartwright saw his difficulty. &ldquo;Your brother misunderstood me,&rdquo; he said,
+      crossly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did you misunderstand him, Edward?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward had walked to the window in disgust; he was looking at tomato-cans
+      and cinder-heaps, and did not see fit to turn around. But the
+      superintendent knew that he was hearing, and considered it necessary to
+      cover the flaw in his argument. &ldquo;Young man,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;you have violated
+      several of the ordinances of this town.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is there an ordinance against organising a union of the miners?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; but there is one against speaking on the streets.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who passed that ordinance, if I may ask?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The town council.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Consisting of Johnson, postmaster and company-store clerk; Ellison,
+      company book-keeper; Strauss, company pit-boss; O'Callahan, company
+      saloon-keeper. Have I the list correct?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Cartwright did not answer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And the fifth member of the town council is yourself, ex-officio&mdash;Mr.
+      Enos Cartwright, mayor and company-superintendent.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Again there was no answer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You have an ordinance against street-speaking; and at the same time your
+      company owns the saloon-buildings, the boarding-houses, the church and the
+      school. Where do you expect the citizens to do their speaking?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You would make a good lawyer, young man. But we who have charge here know
+      perfectly well what you mean by 'speaking'!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You don't approve, then, of the citizens holding meetings?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I mean that we don't consider it necessary to provide agitators with
+      opportunity to incite our employés.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;May I ask, Mr. Cartwright, are you speaking as mayor of an American
+      community, or as superintendent of a coal-mine?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Cartwright's face had been growing continually redder. Addressing Edward's
+      back, he said, &ldquo;I don't see any reason why this should continue.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And Edward was of the same opinion. He turned. &ldquo;Really, Hal&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But, Edward! A man accuses your brother of being a law-breaker! Have you
+      hitherto known of any criminal tendencies in our family?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward turned to the window again and resumed his study of the
+      cinder-heaps and tomato-cans. It was a vulgar and stupid quarrel, but he
+      had seen enough of Hal's mood to realise that he would go on and on, so
+      long as any one was indiscreet enough to answer him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You say, Mr. Cartwright, that I have violated the ordinance against
+      speaking on the street. May I ask what penalty this ordinance carries?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You will find out when the penalty is exacted of you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal laughed. &ldquo;From what you said just now, I gather that the penalty is
+      expulsion from the town! If I understand legal procedure, I should have
+      been brought before the justice of the peace&mdash;who happens to be
+      another company store-clerk. Instead of that, I am sentenced by the mayor&mdash;or
+      is it the company superintendent? May I ask how that comes to be?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is because of my consideration&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;When did I ask consideration?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Consideration for your brother, I mean.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh! Then your ordinance provides that the mayor&mdash;or is it the
+      superintendent?&mdash;may show consideration for the brother of a
+      law-breaker, by changing his penalty to expulsion from the town. Was it
+      consideration for Tommie Burke that caused you to have his sister sent
+      down the canyon?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Cartwright clenched his hands. &ldquo;I've had all I'll stand of this!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He was again addressing Edward's back; and Edward turned and answered, &ldquo;I
+      don't blame you, sir.&rdquo; Then to Hal, &ldquo;I really think you've said enough!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I hope I've said enough,&rdquo; replied Hal&mdash;&ldquo;to convince you that the
+      pretence of American law in this coal-camp is a silly farce, an insult and
+      a humiliation to any man who respects the institutions of his country.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You, Mr. Warner,&rdquo; said the superintendent, to Edward, &ldquo;have had
+      experience in managing coal-mines. You know what it means to deal with
+      ignorant foreigners, who have no understanding of American law&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal burst out laughing. &ldquo;So you're teaching them American law! You're
+      teaching them by setting at naught every law of your town and state, every
+      constitutional guarantee&mdash;and substituting the instructions you get
+      by telegraph from Peter Harrigan!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Cartwright turned and walked to the door. &ldquo;Young man,&rdquo; said he, over his
+      shoulder, &ldquo;it will be necessary for you to leave North Valley this
+      morning. I only hope your brother will be able to persuade you to leave
+      without trouble.&rdquo; And the bang of the door behind him was the
+      superintendent's only farewell.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 17.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Edward turned upon his brother. &ldquo;Now what the devil did you want to put me
+      through a scene like that for? So undignified! So utterly uncalled for! A
+      quarrel with a man so far beneath you!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal stood where the superintendent had left him. He was looking at his
+      brother's angry face. &ldquo;Was that all you got out of it, Edward?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All that stuff about your private character! What do you care what a
+      fellow like Cartwright thinks about you?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I care nothing at all what he thinks, but I care about having him use
+      such a slander. That's one of their regular procedures, so Billy Keating
+      says.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward answered, coldly, &ldquo;Take my advice, and realise that when you deny a
+      scandal, you only give it circulation.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of course,&rdquo; answered Hal. &ldquo;That's what makes me so angry. Think of the
+      girl, the harm done to her!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's not up to you to worry about the girl.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Suppose that Cartwright had slandered some woman friend of yours. Would
+      you have felt the same indifference?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He'd not have slandered any friend of mine; I choose my friends more
+      carefully.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, of course. What that means is that you choose them among the rich.
+      But I happen to be more democratic in my tastes&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, for heaven's sake!&rdquo; cried Edward. &ldquo;You reformers are all alike&mdash;you
+      talk and talk and talk!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can tell you the reason for that, Edward&mdash;a man like you can shut
+      his eyes, but he can't shut his ears!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, can't you let up on me for awhile&mdash;long enough to get out of
+      this place? I feel as if I were sitting on the top of a volcano, and I've
+      no idea when it may break out again.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal began to laugh. &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; he said; &ldquo;I guess I haven't shown much
+      appreciation of your visit. I'll be more sociable now. My next business is
+      in Pedro, so I'll go that far with you. There's one thing more&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What is it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The company owes me money&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What money?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Some I've earned.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      It was Edward's turn to laugh. &ldquo;Enough to buy you a shave and a bath?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He took out his wallet, and pulled off several bills; and Hal, watching
+      him, realised suddenly a change which had taken place in his own
+      psychology. Not merely had he acquired the class-consciousness of the
+      working-man, he had acquired the money-consciousness as well. He was
+      actually concerned about the dollars the company owed him! He had earned
+      those dollars by back- and heart-breaking toil, lifting lumps of coal into
+      cars; the sum was enough to keep the whole Rafferty family alive for a
+      week or two. And here was Edward, with a smooth brown leather wallet full
+      of ten- and twenty-dollar bills, which he peeled off without counting,
+      exactly as if money grew on trees, or as if coal came out of the earth and
+      walked into furnaces to the sound of a fiddle and a flute!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward had of course no idea of these abnormal processes going on in his
+      brother's mind. He was holding out the bills. &ldquo;Get yourself some decent
+      things,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I hope you don't have to stay dirty in order to feel
+      democratic?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; answered Hal; and then, &ldquo;How are we going?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I've a car waiting, back of the office.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So you had everything ready!&rdquo; But Edward made no answer; afraid of
+      setting off the volcano again.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 18.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      They went out by the rear door of the office, entered the car, and sped
+      out of the village, unseen by the crowd. And all the way down the canyon
+      Edward pleaded with Hal to drop the controversy and come home at once. He
+      brought up the tragic question of Dad again; when that did not avail, he
+      began to threaten. Suppose Hal's money-resources were to be cut off,
+      suppose he were to find himself left out of his father's will&mdash;what
+      would he do then? Hal answered, without a smile, &ldquo;I can always get a job
+      as organiser for the United Mine-Workers.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So Edward gave up that line of attack. &ldquo;If you won't come,&rdquo; he declared,
+      &ldquo;I'm going to stay by you till you do!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said Hal. He could not help smiling at this dire threat. &ldquo;But
+      if I take you about and introduce you to my friends, you must agree that
+      what you hear shall be confidential.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other made a face of disgust. &ldquo;What the devil would I want to talk
+      about your friends for?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't know what might happen,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;You're going to meet Peter
+      Harrigan and take his side, and I can't tell what you might conceive it
+      your duty to do.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other exclaimed, with sudden passion, &ldquo;I'll tell you right now! If you
+      try to go back to that coal-camp, I swear to God I'll apply to the courts
+      and have you shut up in a sanitarium. I don't think I'd have much trouble
+      in persuading a judge that you're insane.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Hal, with a laugh&mdash;&ldquo;not a judge in this part of the
+      world!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Then, after studying his brother's face for a moment, it occurred to him
+      that it might be well not to let such an idea rest unimpeached in Edward's
+      mind. &ldquo;Wait,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;till you meet my friend Billy Keating, of the <i>Gazette</i>,
+      and hear what he would do with such a story! Billy is crazy to have me
+      turn him loose to 'play up' my fight with Old Peter!&rdquo; The conversation
+      went no farther&mdash;but Hal was sure that Edward would &ldquo;put that in his
+      pipe and smoke it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They came to the MacKellar home in Pedro, and Edward waited in the
+      automobile while Hal went inside. The old Scotchman welcomed him warmly,
+      and told him what news he had. Jerry Minetti had been there that morning,
+      and MacKellar at his request had telephoned to the office of the union in
+      Sheridan, and ascertained that Jack David had brought word about the
+      strike on the previous evening. All parties had been careful not to
+      mention names, for &ldquo;leaks&rdquo; in the telephone were notorious, but it was
+      clear who the messenger had been. As a result of the message, Johann
+      Hartman, president of the local union of the miners, was now at the
+      American Hotel in Pedro, together with James Moylan, secretary of the
+      district organisation&mdash;the latter having come down from Western City
+      on the same train as Edward.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This was all satisfactory; but MacKellar added a bit of information of
+      desperate import&mdash;the officers of the union declared that they could
+      not support a strike at the present time! It was premature, it could lead
+      to nothing but failure and discouragement to the larger movement they were
+      planning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Such a possibility Hal had himself realised at the outset. But he had
+      witnessed the new birth of freedom at North Valley, he had seen the
+      hungry, toil-worn faces of men looking up to him for support; he had been
+      moved by it, and had come to feel that the union officials must be moved
+      in the same way. &ldquo;They've simply got to back it!&rdquo; he exclaimed. &ldquo;Those men
+      must not be disappointed! They'll lose all hope, they'll sink into utter
+      despair! The labour men must realise that&mdash;I must make them!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The old Scotchman answered that Minetti had felt the same way. He had
+      flung caution to the winds, and rushed over to the hotel to see Hartman
+      and Moylan. Hal decided to follow, and went out to the automobile.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He explained matters to his brother, whose comment was, Of course! It was
+      what he had foretold. The poor, mis-guided miners would go back to their
+      work, and their would-be leader would have to admit the folly of his
+      course. There was a train for Western City in a couple of hours; it would
+      be a great favour if Hal would arrange to take it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal answered shortly that he was going to the American Hotel. His brother
+      might take him there, if he chose. So Edward gave the order to the driver
+      of the car. Incidentally, Edward began asking about clothing-stores in
+      Pedro. While Hal was in the hotel, pleading for the life of his newly-born
+      labour union, Edward would seek a costume in which he could &ldquo;feel like a
+      human being.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 19.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal found Jerry Minetti with the two officials in their hotel-room: Jim
+      Moylan, district secretary, a long, towering Irish boy, black-eyed and
+      black-haired, quick and sensitive, the sort of person one trusted and
+      liked at the first moment; and Johann Hartman, local president, a
+      grey-haired miner of German birth, reserved and slow-spoken, evidently a
+      man of much strength, both physical and moral. He had need of it, any one
+      could realise, having charge of a union headquarters in the heart of this
+      &ldquo;Empire of Raymond&rdquo;!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal first told of the kidnapping of the committee. This did not surprise
+      the officials, he found; it was the thing the companies regularly did when
+      there was threat of rebellion in the camps. That was why efforts to
+      organise openly were so utterly hopeless. There was no chance for anything
+      but a secret propaganda, maintained until every camp had the nucleus of an
+      organisation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So you can't back this strike!&rdquo; exclaimed Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Not possibly, was Moylan's reply. It would be lost as soon as it was
+      begun. There was no slightest hope of success until a lot of organisation
+      work had been done.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But meantime,&rdquo; argued Hal, &ldquo;the union at North Valley will go to pieces!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Perhaps,&rdquo; was the reply. &ldquo;We'll only have to start another. That's what
+      the labour movement is like.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Jim Moylan was young, and saw Hal's mood. &ldquo;Don't misunderstand us!&rdquo; he
+      cried. &ldquo;It's heartbreaking&mdash;but it's not in our power to help. We are
+      charged with building up the union, and we know that if we supported
+      everything that looked like a strike, we'd be bankrupt the first year. You
+      can't imagine how often this same thing happens&mdash;hardly a month we're
+      not called on to handle such a situation.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can see what you mean,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;But I thought that in this case,
+      right after the disaster, with the men so stirred&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The young Irishman smiled, rather sadly. &ldquo;You're new at this game,&rdquo; he
+      said. &ldquo;If a mine-disaster was enough to win a strike, God knows our job
+      would be easy. In Barela, just down the canyon from you, they've had three
+      big explosions&mdash;they've killed over five hundred men in the past
+      year!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal began to see how, in his inexperience, he had lost his sense of
+      proportion.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He looked at the two labour leaders, and recalled the picture of such a
+      person which he had brought with him to North Valley&mdash;a hot headed
+      and fiery agitator, luring honest workingmen from their jobs. But here was
+      the situation exactly reversed! Here was he in a blaze of excitement&mdash;and
+      two labour leaders turning the fire-hose on him! They sat quiet and
+      business-like, pronouncing a doom upon the slaves of North Valley. Back to
+      their black dungeons with them!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What can we tell the men?&rdquo; he asked, making an effort to repress his
+      chagrin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We can only tell them what I'm telling you&mdash;that we're helpless,
+      till we've got the whole district organised. Meantime, they have to stand
+      the gaff; they must do what they can to keep an organisation.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But all the active men will be fired!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, not quite all&mdash;they seldom get them all.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Here the stolid old German put in. In the last year the company had turned
+      out more than six thousand men because of union activity or suspicion of
+      it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;<i>Six thousand!</i>&rdquo; echoed Hal. &ldquo;You mean from this one district?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's what I mean.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But there aren't more than twelve or fifteen thousand men in the
+      district!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know that.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then how can you ever keep an organisation?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other answered, quietly, &ldquo;They treat the new men the same as they
+      treated the old.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal thought suddenly of John Edstrom's ants! Here they were&mdash;building
+      their bridge, building it again and again, as often as floods might
+      destroy it! They had not the swift impatience of a youth of the
+      leisure-class, accustomed to having his own way, accustomed to thinking of
+      freedom and decency and justice as necessities of life. Much as Hal
+      learned from the conversation of these men, he learned more from their
+      silences&mdash;the quiet, matter-of-fact way they took things which had
+      driven him beside himself with indignation. He began to realise what it
+      would mean to stand by his pledge to those poor devils in North Valley. He
+      would need more than one blaze of excitement; he would need brains and
+      patience and discipline, he would need years of study and hard work!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 20.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal found himself forced to accept the decision of the labour-leaders.
+      They had had experience, they could judge the situation. The miners would
+      have to go back to work, and Cartwright and Alec Stone and Jeff Cotton
+      would drive them as before! All that the rebels could do was to try to
+      keep a secret organisation in the camp.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Jerry Minetti mentioned Jack David. He had gone back this morning, without
+      having seen the labour-leaders. So he might escape suspicion, and keep his
+      job, and help the union work.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How about you?&rdquo; asked Hal. &ldquo;I suppose you've cooked your goose.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Jerry had never heard this phrase, but he got its meaning. &ldquo;Sure thing!&rdquo;
+       said he. &ldquo;Cooked him plenty!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Didn't you see the 'dicks' down stairs in the lobby?&rdquo; inquired Hartman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I haven't learned to recognise them yet.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, you will, if you stay at this business. There hasn't been a minute
+      since our office was opened that we haven't had half a dozen on the other
+      side of the street. Every man that comes to see us is followed back to his
+      camp and fired that same day. They've broken into my desk at night and
+      stolen my letters and papers; they've threatened us with death a hundred
+      times.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't see how you make any headway at all!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They can never stop us. They thought when they broke into my desk, they'd
+      get a list of our organisers. But you see, I carry the lists in my head!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No small task, either,&rdquo; put in Moylan. &ldquo;Would you like to know how many
+      organisers we have at work? Ninety-seven. And they haven't caught a single
+      one of them!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal heard him, amazed. Here was a new aspect of the labour movement! This
+      quiet, resolute old &ldquo;Dutchy,&rdquo; whom you might have taken for a
+      delicatessen-proprietor; this merry-eyed Irish boy, whom you would have
+      expected to be escorting a lady to a firemen's ball&mdash;&mdash;they were
+      captains of an army of sappers who were undermining the towers of Peter
+      Harrigan's fortress of greed!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hartman suggested that Jerry might take a chance at this sort of work. He
+      would surely be fired from North Valley, so he might as well send word to
+      his family to come to Pedro. In this way he might save himself to work as
+      an organiser; because it was the custom of these company &ldquo;spotters&rdquo; to
+      follow a man back to his camp and there identify him. If Jerry took a
+      train for Western City, they would be thrown off the track, and he might
+      get into some new camp and do organising among the Italians. Jerry
+      accepted this proposition with alacrity; it would put off the evil day
+      when Rosa and her little ones would be left to the mercy of chance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They were still talking when the telephone rang. It was Hartman's
+      secretary in Sheridan, reporting that he had just heard from the kidnapped
+      committee. The entire party, eight men and Mary Burke, had been taken to
+      Horton, a station not far up the line, and put on the train with many dire
+      threats. But they had left the train at the next stop, and declared their
+      intention of coming to Pedro. They were due at the hotel very soon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal desired to be present at this meeting, and went downstairs to tell his
+      brother. There was another dispute, of course. Edward reminded Hal that
+      the scenery of Pedro had a tendency to monotony; to which Hal could only
+      answer by offering to introduce his brother to his friends. They were men
+      who could teach Edward much, if he would consent to learn. He might attend
+      the session with the committee&mdash;eight men and a woman who had
+      ventured an act of heroism and been made the victims of a crime. Nor were
+      they bores, as Edward might be thinking! There was blue-eyed Tim Rafferty,
+      for example, a silent, smutty-faced gnome who had broken out of his black
+      cavern and spread unexpected golden wings of oratory; and Mary Burke, of
+      whom Edward might read in that afternoon's edition of the Western City <i>Gazette</i>&mdash;a
+      &ldquo;Joan of Arc of the coal-camps,&rdquo; or something equally picturesque. But
+      Edward's mood was not to be enlivened. He had a vision of his brother's
+      appearance in the paper as the companion of this Hibernian Joan!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal went off with Jerry Minetti to what his brother described as a
+      &ldquo;hash-house,&rdquo; while Edward proceeded in solitary state to the dining-room
+      of the American Hotel. But he was not left in solitary state; pretty soon
+      a sharp-faced young man was ushered to a seat beside him, and started up a
+      conversation. He was a &ldquo;drummer,&rdquo; he said; his &ldquo;line&rdquo; was hardware, what
+      was Edward's? Edward answered coldly that he had no &ldquo;line,&rdquo; but the young
+      man was not rebuffed&mdash;apparently his &ldquo;line&rdquo; had hardened his
+      sensibilities. Perhaps Edward was interested in coal-mines? Had he been
+      visiting the camps? He questioned so persistently, and came back so often
+      to the subject, that at last it dawned over Edward what this meant&mdash;he
+      was receiving the attention of a &ldquo;spotter!&rdquo; Strange to say, the
+      circumstance caused Edward more irritation against Peter Harrigan's regime
+      than all his brother's eloquence about oppression at North Valley.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 21.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Soon after dinner the kidnapped committee arrived, bedraggled in body and
+      weary in soul. They inquired for Johann Hartman, and were sent up to the
+      room, where there followed a painful scene. Eight men and a woman who had
+      ventured an act of heroism and been made the victims of a crime could not
+      easily be persuaded to see their efforts and sacrifices thrown on the
+      dump-heap, nor were they timid in expressing their opinions of those who
+      were betraying them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You been tryin' to get us out!&rdquo; cried Tim Rafferty. &ldquo;Ever since I can
+      remember you been at my old man to help you&mdash;an' here, when we do
+      what you ask, you throw us down!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We never asked you to go on strike,&rdquo; said Moylan.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, that's true. You only asked us to pay dues, so you fellows could have
+      fat salaries.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Our salaries aren't very fat,&rdquo; replied the young leader, patiently.
+      &ldquo;You'd find that out if you investigated.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, whatever they are, they go on, while ours stop. We're on the
+      streets, we're done for. Look at us&mdash;and most of us has got families,
+      too! I got an old mother an' a lot of brothers and sisters, an' my old man
+      done up an' can't work. What do you think's to become of us?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We'll help you out a little, Rafferty&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To hell with you!&rdquo; cried Tim. &ldquo;I don't want your help! When I need
+      charity, I'll go to the county. They're another bunch of grafters, but
+      they don't pretend to be friends to the workin' man.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Here was the thing Tom Olson had told Hal at the outset&mdash;the
+      workingmen bedevilled, not knowing whom to trust, suspecting the very
+      people who most desired to help them. &ldquo;Tim,&rdquo; he put in, &ldquo;there's no use
+      talking like that. We have to learn patience&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And the boy turned upon Hal. &ldquo;What do you know about it? It's all a joke
+      to you. You can go off and forget it when you get ready. You've got money,
+      they tell me!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal felt no resentment at this; it was what he heard from his own
+      conscience. &ldquo;It isn't so easy for me as you think, Tim. There are other
+      ways of suffering besides not having money&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Much sufferin' you'll do&mdash;with your rich folks!&rdquo; sneered Tim.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a murmur of protest from others of the committee.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good God, Rafferty!&rdquo; broke in Moylan. &ldquo;We can't help it, man&mdash;we're
+      just as helpless as you!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You say you're helpless&mdash;but you don't even try!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;<i>Try?</i> Do you want us to back a strike that we know hasn't a chance?
+      You might as well ask us to lie down and let a load of coal run over us.
+      We can't win, man! I tell you we can't <i>win</i>! We'd only be throwing
+      away our organisation!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Moylan became suddenly impassioned. He had seen a dozen sporadic strikes
+      in this district, and many a dozen young strikers, homeless, desolate,
+      embittered, turning their disappointment on him. &ldquo;We might support you
+      with our funds, you say&mdash;we might go on doing it, even while the
+      company ran the mine with scabs. But where would that land us, Rafferty? I
+      seen many a union on the rocks&mdash;and I ain't so old either! If we had
+      a bank, we'd support all the miners of the country, they'd never need to
+      work again till they got their rights. But this money we spend is the
+      money that other miners are earnin'&mdash;right now, down in the pits,
+      Rafferty, the same as you and your old man. They give us this money, and
+      they say, 'Use it to build up the union. Use it to help the men that
+      aren't organised&mdash;take them in, so they won't beat down our wages and
+      scab on us. But don't waste it, for God's sake; we have to work hard to
+      make it, and if we don't see results, you'll get no more out of us.' Don't
+      you see how that is, man? And how it weighs on us, worse even then the
+      fear that maybe we'll lose our poor salaries&mdash;though you might refuse
+      to believe anything so good of us? You don't need to talk to me like I was
+      Peter Harrigan's son. I was a spragger when I was ten years old, and I
+      ain't been out of the pits so long that I've forgot the feeling. I assure
+      you, the thing that keeps me awake at night ain't the fear of not gettin'
+      a living, for I give myself a bit of education, working nights, and I know
+      I could always turn out and earn what I need; but it's wondering whether
+      I'm spending the miners' money the best way, whether maybe I mightn't save
+      them a little misery if I hadn't 'a' done this or had 'a' done that. When
+      I come down on that sleeper last night, here's what I was thinking, Tim
+      Rafferty&mdash;all the time I listened to the train bumping&mdash;'Now I
+      got to see some more of the suffering, I got to let some good men turn
+      against us, because they can't see why we should get salaries while they
+      get the sack. How am I going to show them that I'm working for them&mdash;working
+      as hard as I know how&mdash;and that I'm not to blame for their trouble?'&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Here Wauchope broke in. &ldquo;There's no use talking any more. I see we're up
+      against it. We'll not trouble you, Moylan.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You trouble me,&rdquo; cried Moylan, &ldquo;unless you stand by the movement!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other laughed bitterly. &ldquo;You'll never know what I do. It's the road
+      for me&mdash;and you know it!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, wherever you go, it'll be the same; either you'll be fighting for
+      the union, or you'll be a weight that we have to carry.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The young leader turned from one to another of the committee, pleading
+      with them not to be embittered by this failure, but to turn it to their
+      profit, going on with the work of building up the solidarity of the
+      miners. Every man had to make his sacrifices, to pay his part of the
+      price. The thing of importance was that every man who was discharged
+      should be a spark of unionism, carrying the flame of revolt to a new part
+      of the country. Let each one do his part, and there would soon be no place
+      to which the masters could send for &ldquo;scabs.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 22.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      There was one member of this committee whom Hal watched with especial
+      anxiety&mdash;&mdash;Mary Burke. She had not yet said a word; while the
+      others argued and protested, she sat with her lips set and her hands
+      clenched. Hal knew what rage this failure must bring to her. She had risen
+      and struggled and hoped, and the result was what she had always said it
+      would be&mdash;nothing! Now he saw her, with eyes large and dark with
+      fatigue, fixed on this fiery young labour-leader. He knew that a war must
+      be going on within her. Would she drop out entirely now? It was the test
+      of her character&mdash;as it was the test of the characters of all of
+      them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If only we're strong enough and brave enough,&rdquo; Jim Moylan was saying, &ldquo;we
+      can use our defeats to educate our people and bring them together. Right
+      now, if we can make the men at North Valley see what we're doing, they
+      won't go back beaten, they won't be bitter against the union, they'll only
+      go back to wait. And ain't that a way to beat the bosses&mdash;to hold our
+      jobs, and keep the union alive, till we've got into all the camps, and can
+      strike and win?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a pause; then Mary spoke. &ldquo;How're you meanin' to tell the men?&rdquo;
+       Her voice was without emotion, but nevertheless, Hal's heart leaped.
+      Whether Mary had any hope or not, she was going to stay in line with the
+      rest of the ants!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Johann Hartman explained his idea. He would have circulars printed in
+      several languages and distributed secretly in the camp, ordering the men
+      back to work. But Jerry met this suggestion with a prompt no. The people
+      would not believe the circulars, they would suspect the bosses of having
+      them printed. Hadn't the bosses done worse than that, &ldquo;framing up&rdquo; a
+      letter from Joe Smith to balk the check-weighman movement? The only thing
+      that would help would be for some of the committee to get into the camp
+      and see the men face to face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And it got to be quick!&rdquo; Jerry insisted. &ldquo;They get notice to work in
+      morning, and them that don't be fired. They be the best men, too&mdash;men
+      we want to save.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Other members of the committee spoke up, agreeing with this. Said Rusick,
+      the Slav, slow-witted and slow-spoken, &ldquo;Them fellers get mighty damn sore
+      if they lose their job and don't got no strike.&rdquo; And Zammakis, the Greek,
+      quick and nervous, &ldquo;We say strike; we got to say no strike.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      What could they do? There was, in the first place, the difficulty of
+      getting away from the hotel, which was being watched by the &ldquo;spotters.&rdquo;
+       Hartman suggested that if they went out all together and scattered, the
+      detectives could not follow all of them. Those who escaped might get into
+      North Valley by hiding in the &ldquo;empties&rdquo; which went up to the mine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Moylan pointed out that the company would be anticipating this; and
+      Rusick, who had once been a hobo, put in: &ldquo;They sure search them cars.
+      They give us plenty hell, too, when they catch us.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Yes, it would be a dangerous mission. Mary spoke again. &ldquo;Maybe a lady
+      could do it better.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They'd beat a lady,&rdquo; said Minetti.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know, but maybe a lady might fool them. There's some widows that came
+      to Pedro for the funerals, and they're wearin' veils that hide their
+      faces. I might pretend to be one of them and get into the camp.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The men looked at one another. There was an idea! The scowl which had
+      stayed upon the face of Tim Rafferty ever since his quarrel with Moylan,
+      gave place suddenly to a broad grin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I seen Mrs. Zamboni on the street,&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;She had on black veils
+      enough to hide the lot of us.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And here Hal spoke, for the first time since Tim Rafferty had silenced
+      him. &ldquo;Does anybody know where to find Mrs. Zamboni?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;She stay with my friend, Mrs. Swajka,&rdquo; said Rusick.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;there's something you people don't know about this
+      situation. After they had fired you, I made another speech to the men, and
+      made them swear they'd stay on strike. So now I've got to go back and eat
+      my words. If we're relying on veils and things, a man can be fixed up as
+      well as a woman.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They were staring at him. &ldquo;They'll beat you to death if they catch you!&rdquo;
+       said Wauchope.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;I don't think so. Anyhow, it's up to me&rdquo;&mdash;he glanced
+      at Tim Rafferty&mdash;&ldquo;because I'm the only one who doesn't have to suffer
+      for the failure of our strike.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a pause.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm sorry I said that!&rdquo; cried Tim, impulsively.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's all right, old man,&rdquo; replied Hal. &ldquo;What you said is true, and I'd
+      like to do something to ease my conscience.&rdquo; He rose to his feet,
+      laughing. &ldquo;I'll make a peach of a widow!&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I'm going up and have
+      a tea-party with my friend Jeff Cotton!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 23.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal proposed going to find Mrs. Zamboni at the place where she was
+      staying; but Moylan interposed, objecting that the detectives would surely
+      follow him. Even though they should all go out of the hotel at once, the
+      one person the detective would surely stick to was the arch-rebel and
+      trouble-maker, Joe Smith. Finally they decided to bring Mrs. Zamboni to
+      the room. Let her come with Mrs. Swajka or some other woman who spoke
+      English, and go to the desk and ask for Mary Burke, explaining that Mary
+      had borrowed money from her, and that she had to have it to pay the
+      undertaker for the burial of her man. The hotel-clerk might not know who
+      Mary Burke was; but the watchful &ldquo;spotters&rdquo; would gather about and listen,
+      and if it was mentioned that Mary was from North Valley, some one would
+      connect her with the kidnapped committee.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This was made clear to Rusick, who hurried off, and in the course of half
+      an hour returned with the announcement that the women were on the way. A
+      few minutes later came a tap on the door, and there stood the black-garbed
+      old widow with her friend. She came in; and then came looks of dismay and
+      horrified exclamations. Rusick was requesting her to give up her weeds to
+      Joe Smith!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;She say she don't got nothing else,&rdquo; explained the Slav.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tell her I give her plenty money buy more,&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ai! Jesu!&rdquo; cried Mrs. Zamboni, pouring out a sputtering torrent.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;She say she don't got nothing to put on. She say it ain't good to go no
+      clothes!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hasn't she got on a petticoat?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;She say petticoat got holes!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a burst of laughter from the company, and the old woman turned
+      scarlet from her forehead to her ample throat. &ldquo;Tell her she wrap up in
+      blankets,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;Mary Burke buy her new things.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      It proved surprisingly difficult to separate Mrs. Zamboni from her widow's
+      weeds, which she had purchased with so great an expenditure of time and
+      tears. Never had a respectable lady who had borne sixteen children
+      received such a proposition; to sell the insignia of her grief&mdash;and
+      here in a hotel room, crowded with a dozen men! Nor was the task made
+      easier by the unseemly merriment of the men. &ldquo;Ai! Jesu!&rdquo; cried Mrs.
+      Zamboni again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tell her it's very, very important,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;Tell her I must have
+      them.&rdquo; And then, seeing that Rusick was making poor headway, he joined in,
+      in the compromise-English one learns in the camps. &ldquo;Got to have! Sure
+      thing! Got to hide! Quick! Get away from boss! See? Get killed if no go!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So at last the frightened old woman gave way. &ldquo;She say all turn backs,&rdquo;
+       said Rusick. And everybody turned, laughing in hilarious whispers, while,
+      with Mary Burke and Mrs. Swajka for a shield, Mrs. Zamboni got out of her
+      waist and skirt, putting a blanket round her red shoulders for modesty's
+      sake. When Hal put the garments on, there was a foot to spare all round;
+      but after they had stuffed two bed pillows down in the front of him, and
+      drawn them tight at the waist-line, the disguise was judged more
+      satisfactory. He put on the old lady's ample if ragged shoes, and Mary
+      Burke set the widow's bonnet on his head and adjusted the many veils;
+      after that Mrs. Zamboni's own brood of children would not have suspected
+      the disguise.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was a merry party for a few minutes; worn and hopeless as Mary had
+      seemed, she was possessed now by the spirit of fun. But then quickly the
+      laughter died. The time for action had come. Mary Burke said that she
+      would stay with what was left of Mrs. Zamboni, to answer the door in case
+      any of the hotel people or the detectives should come. Hal asked Jim
+      Moylan to see Edward, and say that Hal was writing a manifesto to the
+      North Valley workers, and would not be ready to leave until the midnight
+      train.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      These things agreed upon, Hal shook hands all round, and the eleven men
+      left the room at once, going down stairs and through the lobby, scattering
+      in every direction on the streets. Mrs. Swajka and the pseudo-Mrs. Zamboni
+      followed a minute later&mdash;and, as they anticipated, found the lobby
+      swept clear of detectives.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 24.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Bidding Mrs. Swajka farewell, Hal set out for the railroad station. But
+      before he had gone a block from the hotel, he ran into his brother, coming
+      straight towards him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward's face wore a bored look; his very manner of carrying the magazine
+      under his arm said that he had selected it in a last hopeless effort
+      against the monotony of Pedro. Such a trick of fate, to take a man of
+      important affairs, and immure him at the mercy of a maniac in a
+      God-forsaken coal-town! What did people do in such a hole? Pay a nickel to
+      look at moving pictures of cow-boys and counterfeiters?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward's aspect was too much for Hal's sense of humour. Besides, he had a
+      good excuse; was it not proper to make a test of his disguise, before
+      facing the real danger in North Valley?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He placed himself in the path of his brother's progress, and in Mrs.
+      Zamboni's high, complaining tones, began, &ldquo;Mister!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward stared at the interrupting black figure. &ldquo;Mister, you Joe Smith's
+      brother, hey?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The question had to be repeated before Edward gave his grudging answer. He
+      was not proud of the relationship.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mister,&rdquo; continued the whining voice, &ldquo;my old man got blow up in mine. I
+      get five pieces from my man what I got to bury yesterday in grave-yard. I
+      got to pay thirty dollar for bury them pieces and I don't got no more
+      money left. I don't got no money from them company fellers. They come
+      lawyer feller and he say maybe I get money for bury my man, if I don't jay
+      too much. But, Mister, I got eleven children I got to feed, and I don't
+      got no more man, and I don't find no new man for old woman like me. When I
+      go home I hear them children crying and I don't got no food, and them
+      company-stores don't give me no food. I think maybe you Joe Smith's
+      brother you good man, maybe you sorry for poor widow-woman, you maybe give
+      me some money, Mister, so I buy some food for them children.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said Edward. He pulled out his wallet and extracted a bill,
+      which happened to be for ten dollars. His manner seemed to say, &ldquo;For
+      heaven's sake, here!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Mrs. Zamboni clutched the bill with greedy fingers, but was not appeased.
+      &ldquo;You got plenty money, Mister! You rich man, hey! You maybe give me all
+      them moneys, so I got plenty feed them children? You don't know them
+      company-stores, Mister, them prices is way up high like mountains; them
+      children is hungry, they cry all day and night, and one piece money don't
+      last so long. You give me some more piece moneys, Mister&mdash;&mdash;hey?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll give you one more,&rdquo; said Edward. &ldquo;I need some for myself.&rdquo; He pulled
+      off another bill.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What you need so much, Mister? You don't got so many children, hey? And
+      you got plenty more money home, maybe!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's all I can give you,&rdquo; said the man. He took a step to one side, to
+      get round the obstruction in his path.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the obstruction took a step also&mdash;and with surprising agility.
+      &ldquo;Mister, I thank you for them moneys. I tell them children I get moneys
+      from good man. I like you, Mister Smith, you give money for poor
+      widow-woman&mdash;you nice man.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And the dreadful creature actually stuck out one of her paws, as if
+      expecting to pat Edward on the cheek, or to chuck him under the chin. He
+      recoiled, as from a contagion; but she followed him, determined to do
+      something to him, he could not be sure what. He had heard that these
+      foreigners had strange customs!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's all right! It's nothing!&rdquo; he insisted, and fell back&mdash;at the
+      same time glancing nervously about, to see if there were spectators of
+      this scene.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nice man, Mister! Nice man!&rdquo; cried the old woman, with increasing
+      cordiality. &ldquo;Maybe some day I find man like you, Mr. Edward Smith&mdash;so
+      I don't stay widow-woman no more. You think maybe you like to marry nice
+      Slavish woman, got plenty nice children?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward, perceiving that the matter was getting desperate, sprang to one
+      side. It was a spring which should have carried him to safety; but to his
+      dismay the Slavish widow sprang also&mdash;her claws caught him under the
+      arm-pit, and fastening in his ribs, gave him a ferocious pinch. After
+      which the owner of the claws went down the street, not looking back, but
+      making strange gobbling noises, which might have been the weeping of a
+      bereaved widow in Slavish, or might have been almost anything else.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 25.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      The train up to North Valley left very soon, and Hal figured that there
+      would be just time to accomplish his errand and catch the last train back.
+      He took his seat in the car without attracting attention, and sat in his
+      place until they were approaching their destination, the last stop up the
+      canyon. There were several of the miners' women in the car, and Hal picked
+      out one who belonged to Mrs. Zamboni's nationality, and moved over beside
+      her. She made place, with some remark; but Hal merely sobbed softly, and
+      the woman felt for his hand to comfort him. As his hands were clasped
+      together under the veils, she patted him reassuringly on the knee.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At the boundary of the stockaded village the train stopped, and Bud Adams
+      came through the car, scrutinising every passenger. Seeing this, Hal began
+      to sob again, and murmured something indistinct to his companion&mdash;which
+      caused her to lean towards him, speaking volubly in her native language.
+      &ldquo;Bud&rdquo; passed by.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When Hal came to leave the train, he took his companion's arm; he sobbed
+      some more, and she talked some more, and so they went down the platform,
+      under the very eyes of Pete Hanun, the &ldquo;breaker of teeth.&rdquo; Another woman
+      joined them, and they walked down the street, the women conversing in
+      Slavish, apparently without a suspicion of Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He had worked out his plan of action. He would not try to talk with the
+      men secretly&mdash;it would take too long, and he might be betrayed before
+      he had talked with a sufficient number. One bold stroke was the thing. In
+      half an hour it would be supper-time, and the feeders would gather in
+      Reminitsky's dining-room. He would give his message there!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal's two companions were puzzled that he passed the Zamboni cabin, where
+      presumably the Zamboni brood were being cared for by neighbours. But he
+      let them make what they could of this, and went on to the Minetti home. To
+      the astonished Rosa he revealed himself, and gave her husband's message&mdash;that
+      she should take herself and the children down to Pedro, and wait quietly
+      until she heard from him. She hurried out and brought in Jack David, to
+      whom Hal explained matters. &ldquo;Big Jack's&rdquo; part in the recent disturbance
+      had apparently not been suspected; he and his wife, with Rovetta, Wresmak,
+      and Klowoski, would remain as a nucleus through which the union could work
+      upon the men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The supper-hour was at hand, and the pseudo-Mrs. Zamboni emerged and
+      toddled down the street. As she passed into the dining-room of the
+      boarding-house, men looked at her, but no one spoke. It was the stage of
+      the meal where everybody was grabbing and devouring, in the effort to get
+      the best of his grabbing and devouring neighbours. The black-clad figure
+      went to the far end of the room; there was a vacant chair, and the figure
+      pulled it back from the table and climbed upon it. Then a shout rang
+      through the room: &ldquo;Boys! Boys!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The feeders looked up, and saw the widow's weeds thrown back, and their
+      leader, Joe Smith, gazing out at them. &ldquo;Boys! I've come with a message
+      from the union!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a yell; men leaped to their feet, chairs were flung back,
+      falling with a crash to the floor. Then, almost instantly, came silence;
+      you could have heard the movement of any man's jaws, had any man continued
+      to move them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Boys! I've been down to Pedro and seen the union people. I knew the
+      bosses wouldn't let me come back, so I dressed up, and here I am!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      It dawned upon them, the meaning of this fantastic costume; there were
+      cheers, laughter, yells of delight.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Hal stretched out his hands, and silence fell again. &ldquo;Listen to me!
+      The bosses won't let me talk long, and I've something important to say.
+      The union leaders say we can't win a strike now.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Consternation came into the faces before him. There were cries of dismay.
+      He went on:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We are only one camp, and the bosses would turn us out, they'd get in
+      scabs and run the mines without us. What we must have is a strike of all
+      the camps at once. One big union and one big strike! If we walked out now,
+      it would please the bosses; but we'll fool them&mdash;we'll keep our jobs,
+      and keep our union too! You are members of the union, you'll go on working
+      for the union! Hooray for the North Valley union!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      For a moment there was no response. It was hard for men to cheer over such
+      a prospect! Hal saw that he must touch a different chord.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We mustn't be cowards, boys! We've got to keep our nerve! I'm doing my
+      part&mdash;it took nerve to get in here! In Mrs. Zamboni's clothes, and
+      with two pillows stuffed in front of me!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He thumped the pillows, and there was a burst of laughter. Many in the
+      crowd knew Mrs. Zamboni&mdash;it was what comedians call a &ldquo;local gag.&rdquo;
+       The laughter spread, and became a gale of merriment. Men began to cheer:
+      &ldquo;Hurrah for Joe! You're the girl! Will you marry me, Joe?&rdquo; And so, of
+      course, it was easy for Hal to get a response when he shouted, &ldquo;Hurrah for
+      the North Valley union!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Again he raised his hands for silence, and went on again. &ldquo;Listen, men.
+      They'll turn me out, and you're not going to resist them. You're going to
+      work and keep your jobs, and get ready for the big strike. And you'll tell
+      the other men what I say. I can't talk to them all, but you tell them
+      about the union. Remember, there are people outside planning and fighting
+      for you. We're going to stand by the union, all of us, till we've brought
+      these coal-camps back into America!&rdquo; There was a cheer that shook the
+      walls of the room. Yes, that was what they wanted&mdash;to live in
+      America!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A crowd of men had gathered in the doorway, attracted by the uproar; Hal
+      noticed confusion and pushing, and saw the head and burly shoulders of his
+      enemy, Pete Hanun, come into sight.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Here come the gunmen, boys!&rdquo; he cried; and there was a roar of anger from
+      the crowd. Men turned, clenching their fists, glaring at the guard. But
+      Hal rushed on, quickly:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Boys, hear what I say! Keep your heads! I can't stay in North Valley, and
+      you know it! But I've done the thing I came to do, I've brought you the
+      message from the union. And you'll tell the other men&mdash;tell them to
+      stand by the union!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal went on, repeating his message over and over. Looking from one to
+      another of these toil-worn faces, he remembered the pledge he had made
+      them, and he made it anew: &ldquo;I'm going to stand by you! I'm going on with
+      the fight, boys!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There came more disturbance at the door, and suddenly Jeff Cotton
+      appeared, with a couple of additional guards, shoving their way into the
+      room, breathless and red in the face from running.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, there's the marshal!&rdquo; cried Hal. &ldquo;You needn't push, Cotton, there's
+      not going to be any trouble. We are union men here, we know how to control
+      ourselves. Now, boys, we're not giving up, we're not beaten, we're only
+      waiting for the men in the other camps! We have a union, and we mean to
+      keep it! Three cheers for the union!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The cheers rang out with a will: cheers for the union, cheers for Joe
+      Smith, cheers for the widow and her weeds!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You belong to the union! You stand by it, no matter what happens! If they
+      fire you, you take it on to the next place! You teach it to the new men,
+      you never let it die in your hearts! In union there is strength, in union
+      there is hope! Never forget it, men&mdash;<i>Union</i>!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The voice of the camp-marshal rang out. &ldquo;If you're coming, young woman,
+      come now!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal dropped a shy curtsey. &ldquo;Oh, Mr. Cotton! This is so sudden!&rdquo; The crowd
+      howled; and Hal descended from his platform. With coquettish gesturing he
+      replaced the widow's veils about his face, and tripped mincingly across
+      the dining-room. When he reached the camp-marshal, he daintily took that
+      worthy's arm, and with the &ldquo;breaker of teeth&rdquo; on the other side, and Bud
+      Adams bringing up the rear, he toddled out of the dining-room and down the
+      street.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hungry men gave up their suppers to behold that sight. They poured out of
+      the building, they followed, laughing, shouting, jeering. Others came from
+      every direction&mdash;by the time the party had reached the depot, a good
+      part of the population of the village was on hand; and everywhere went the
+      word, &ldquo;It's Joe Smith! Come back with a message from the union!&rdquo; Big,
+      coal-grimed miners laughed till the tears made streaks on their faces;
+      they fell on one another's necks for delight at this trick which had been
+      played upon their oppressors.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Even Jeff Cotton could not withhold his tribute. &ldquo;By God, you're the
+      limit!&rdquo; he muttered. He accepted the &ldquo;tea-party&rdquo; aspect of the affair, as
+      the easiest way to get rid of his recurrent guest, and avert the
+      possibilities of danger. He escorted the widow to the train and helped her
+      up the steps, posting escorts at the doors of her car; nor did the
+      attentions of these gallants cease until the train had moved down the
+      canyon and passed the limits of the North Valley stockade!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 26.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal took off his widow's weeds; and with them he shed the merriment he had
+      worn for the benefit of the men. There came a sudden reaction; he realised
+      that he was tired.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For ten days he had lived in a whirl of excitement, scarcely stopping to
+      sleep. Now he lay back in the car-seat, pale, exhausted; his head ached,
+      and he realised that the sum-total of his North Valley experience was
+      failure. There was left in him no trace of that spirit of adventure with
+      which he had set out upon his &ldquo;summer course in practical sociology.&rdquo; He
+      had studied his lessons, tried to recite them, and been &ldquo;flunked.&rdquo; He
+      smiled a bitter smile, recollecting the careless jesting that had been on
+      his lips as he came up that same canyon:
+    </p>
+<p class="pre">
+  &ldquo;He keeps them a-roll, that merry old soul&mdash;<br>
+    <span class="m2">The wheels of industree;</span><br>
+  A-roll and a-roll, for his pipe and his bowl<br>
+    <span class="m2">And his college facultee!&rdquo;</span><br>
+ </p>
+    <p>
+      The train arrived in Pedro, and Hal took a hack at the station and drove
+      to the hotel. He still carried the widow's weeds rolled into a bundle. He
+      might have left them in the train, but the impulse to economy which he had
+      acquired during the last ten weeks had become a habit. He would return
+      them to Mrs. Zamboni. The money he had promised her might better be used
+      to feed her young ones. The two pillows he would leave in the car; the
+      hotel might endure the loss!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Entering the lobby, the first person Hal saw was his brother, and the
+      sight of that patrician face made human by disgust relieved Hal's headache
+      in part. Life was harsh, life was cruel; but here was weary, waiting
+      Edward, that boon of comic relief!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward demanded to know where the devil he had been; and Hal answered,
+      &ldquo;I've been visiting the widows and orphans.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh!&rdquo; said Edward. &ldquo;And while I sit in this hole and stew! What's that
+      you've got under your arm?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal looked at the bundle. &ldquo;It's a souvenir of one of the widows,&rdquo; he said,
+      and unrolled the garments and spread them out before his brother's puzzled
+      eyes. &ldquo;A lady named Mrs. Swajka gave them to me. They belonged to another
+      lady, Mrs. Zamboni, but she doesn't need them any more.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What have <i>you</i> got to do with them?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It seems that Mrs. Zamboni is going to get married again.&rdquo; Hal lowered
+      his voice, confidentially. &ldquo;It's a romance, Edward&mdash;it may interest
+      you as an illustration of the manners of these foreign races. She met a
+      man on the street, a fine, fine man, she says&mdash;and he gave her a lot
+      of money. So she went and bought herself some new clothes, and she wants
+      to give these widow's weeds to the new man. That's the custom in her
+      country, it seems&mdash;her sign that she accepts him as a suitor.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Seeing the look of wonderment growing on his brother's face, Hal had to
+      stop for a moment to keep his own face straight. &ldquo;If that man wasn't
+      serious in his intention, Edward, he'll have trouble, for I know Mrs.
+      Zamboni's emotional nature. She'll follow him about everywhere&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hal, that creature is insane!&rdquo; And Edward looked about him nervously, as
+      if he thought the Slavish widow might appear suddenly in the hotel lobby
+      to demonstrate her emotional nature.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; replied Hal, &ldquo;it's just one of those differences in national
+      customs.&rdquo; And suddenly Hal's face gave way. He began to laugh; he laughed,
+      perhaps more loudly than good form permitted.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward was much annoyed. There were people in the lobby, and they were
+      staring at him. &ldquo;Cut it out, Hal!&rdquo; he exclaimed. &ldquo;Your fool jokes bore
+      me!&rdquo; But nevertheless, Hal could see uncertainty in his brother's face.
+      Edward recognised those widow's weeds. And how could he be sure about the
+      &ldquo;national customs&rdquo; of that grotesque creature who had pinched him in the
+      ribs on the street?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Cut it out!&rdquo; he cried again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal, changing his voice suddenly to the Zamboni key, exclaimed: &ldquo;Mister, I
+      got eight children I got to feed, and I don't got no more man, and I don't
+      find no new man for old woman like me!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So at last the truth in its full enormity began to dawn upon Edward. His
+      consternation and disgust poured themselves out; and Hal listened, his
+      laughter dying. &ldquo;Edward,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;you don't take me seriously even yet!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good God!&rdquo; cried the other. &ldquo;I believe you're really insane!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You were up there, Edward! You heard what I said to those poor devils!
+      And you actually thought I'd go off with you and forget about them!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward ignored this. &ldquo;You're really insane!&rdquo; he repeated. &ldquo;You'll get
+      yourself killed, in spite of all I can do!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But Hal only laughed. &ldquo;Not a chance of it! You should have seen the
+      tea-party manners of the camp-marshal!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 27.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Edward would have endeavoured to carry his brother away forthwith, but
+      there was no train until late at night; so Hal went upstairs, where he
+      found Moylan and Hartman with Mary Burke and Mrs. Zamboni, all eager to
+      hear his story. As the members of the committee, who had been out to
+      supper, came straggling in, the story was told again, and yet again. They
+      were almost as much delighted as the men in Reminitsky's. If only all
+      strikes that had to be called off could be called off as neatly as that!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Between these outbursts of satisfaction, they discussed their future.
+      Moylan was going back to Western City, Hartman to his office in Sheridan,
+      from which he would arrange to send new organisers into North Valley. No
+      doubt Cartwright would turn off many men&mdash;those who had made
+      themselves conspicuous during the strike, those who continued to talk
+      union out loud. But such men would have to be replaced, and the union knew
+      through what agencies the company got its hands. The North Valley miners
+      would find themselves mysteriously provided with union literature in their
+      various languages; it would be slipped under their pillows, or into their
+      dinner-pails, or the pockets of their coats while they were at work.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Also there was propaganda to be carried on among those who were turned
+      away; so that, wherever they went, they would take the message of
+      unionism. There had been a sympathetic outburst in Barela, Hal learned&mdash;starting
+      quite spontaneously that morning, when the men heard what had happened at
+      North Valley. A score of workers had been fired, and more would probably
+      follow in the morning. Here was a job for the members of the kidnapped
+      committee; Tim Rafferty, for example&mdash;would he care to stay in Pedro
+      for a week or two, to meet such men, and give them literature and
+      arguments?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This offer was welcome; for life looked desolate to the Irish boy at this
+      moment. He was out of a job, his father was a wreck, his family destitute
+      and helpless. They would have to leave their home, of course; there would
+      be no place for any Rafferty in North Valley. Where they would go, God
+      only knew; Tim would become a wanderer, living away from his people,
+      starving himself and sending home his pitiful savings.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal was watching the boy, and reading these thoughts. He, Hal Warner,
+      would play the god out of a machine in this case, and in several others
+      equally pitiful. He had the right to sign his father's name to checks, a
+      privilege which he believed he could retain, even while undertaking the
+      role of Haroun al Raschid in a mine-disaster. But what about the
+      mine-disasters and abortive strikes where there did not happen to be any
+      Haroun al Raschid at hand? What about those people, right in North Valley,
+      who did not happen to have told Hal of their affairs? He perceived that it
+      was only by turning his back and running that he would escape from his
+      adventure with any portion of his self-possession. Truly, this
+      fair-seeming and wonderful civilisation was like the floor of a
+      charnel-house or a field of battle; anywhere one drove a spade beneath its
+      surface, he uncovered horrors, sights for the eyes and stenches for the
+      nostrils that caused him to turn sick!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was Rusick, for example; he had a wife and two children, and not a
+      dollar in the world. In the year and more that he had worked, faithfully
+      and persistently, to get out coal for Peter Harrigan, he had never once
+      been able to get ahead of his bill for the necessities of life at Old
+      Peter's store. All his belongings in the world could be carried in a
+      bundle on his back, and whether he ever saw these again would depend upon
+      the whim of old Peter's camp-marshal and guards. Rusick would take to the
+      road, with a ticket purchased by the union. Perhaps he would find a job
+      and perhaps not; in any case, the best he could hope for in life was to
+      work for some other Harrigan, and run into debt at some other
+      company-store.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was Hobianish, a Serbian, and Hernandez, a Mexican, of whom the same
+      things were true, except that one had four children and the other six.
+      Bill Wauchope had only a wife&mdash;their babies had died, thank heaven,
+      he said. He did not seem to have been much moved by Jim Moylan's
+      pleadings; he was down and out; he would take to the road, and beat his
+      way to the East and back to England. They called this a free country! By
+      God, if he were to tell what had happened to him, he could not get an
+      English miner to believe it!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal gave these men his real name and address, and made them promise to let
+      him know how they got along. He would help a little, he said; in his mind
+      he was figuring how much he ought to do. How far shall a man go in
+      relieving the starvation about him, before he can enjoy his meals in a
+      well-appointed club? What casuist will work out this problem&mdash;telling
+      him the percentage he shall relieve of the starvation he happens
+      personally to know about, the percentage of that which he sees on the
+      streets, the percentage of that about which he reads in government reports
+      on the rise in the cost of living. To what extent is he permitted to close
+      his eyes, as he walks along the streets on his way to the club? To what
+      extent is he permitted to avoid reading government reports before going
+      out to dinner-dances with his fiancée? Problems such as these the masters
+      of the higher mathematics have neglected to solve; the wise men of the
+      academies and the holy men of the churches have likewise failed to work
+      out the formulas; and Hal, trying to obtain them by his crude mental
+      arithmetic, found no satisfaction in the results.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 28.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal wanted a chance to talk to Mary Burke; they had had no intimate talk
+      since the meeting with Jessie Arthur, and now he was going away, for a
+      long time. He wanted to find out what plans Mary had for the future, and&mdash;more
+      important yet&mdash;what was her state of mind. If he had been able to
+      lift this girl from despair, his summer course in practical sociology had
+      not been all a failure!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He asked her to go with him to say good-bye to John Edstrom, whom he had
+      not seen since their unceremonious parting at MacKellar's, when Hal had
+      fled to Percy Harrigan's train. Downstairs in the lobby Hal explained his
+      errand to his waiting brother, who made no comment, but merely remarked
+      that he would follow, if Hal had no objection. He did not care to make the
+      acquaintance of the Hibernian Joan of Arc, and would not come close enough
+      to interfere with Hal's conversation with the lady; but he wished to do
+      what he could for his brother's protection. So there set out a moon-light
+      procession&mdash;first Hal and Mary, then Edward, and then Edward's
+      dinner-table companion, the &ldquo;hardware-drummer!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal was embarrassed in beginning his farewell talk with Mary. He had no
+      idea how she felt towards him, and he admitted with a guilty pang that he
+      was a little afraid to find out! He thought it best to be cheerful, so he
+      started to tell her how fine he thought her conduct during the strike. But
+      she did not respond to his remarks, and at last he realised that she was
+      labouring with some thoughts of her own.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's somethin' I got to say to ye!&rdquo; she began, suddenly. &ldquo;A couple of
+      days ago I knew how I meant to say it, but now I don't.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; he laughed, &ldquo;say it as you meant to.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; 'twas bitter&mdash;and now I'm on my knees before ye.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not that I want you to be bitter,&rdquo; said Hal, still laughing, &ldquo;but it's I
+      that ought to be on my knees before you. I didn't accomplish anything, you
+      know.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye did all ye could&mdash;and more than the rest of us. I want ye to know
+      I'll never forget it. But I want ye to hear the other thing, too!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She walked on, staring before her, doubling up her hands in agitation.
+      &ldquo;Well?&rdquo; said he, still trying to keep a cheerful tone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye remember that day just after the explosion? Ye remember what I said
+      about&mdash;about goin' away with ye? I take it back.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, of course!&rdquo; said he, quickly. &ldquo;You were distracted, Mary&mdash;you
+      didn't know what you were saying.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, no! That's not it! But I've changed my mind; I don't mean to throw
+      meself away.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I told you you'd see it that way,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;No man is worth it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, lad!&rdquo; said she. &ldquo;'Tis the fine soothin' tongue ye have&mdash;but I'd
+      rather ye knew the truth. 'Tis that I've seen the other girl; and I hate
+      her!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They walked for a bit in silence. Hal had sense enough to realise that
+      here was a difficult subject. &ldquo;I don't want to be a prig, Mary,&rdquo; he said
+      gently; &ldquo;but you'll change your mind about that, too. You'll not hate her;
+      you'll be sorry for her.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She laughed&mdash;a raw, harsh laugh. &ldquo;What kind of a joke is that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know&mdash;it may seem like one. But it'll come to you some day. You
+      have a wonderful thing to live and fight for; while she&rdquo;&mdash;he
+      hesitated a moment, for he was not sure of his own ideas on this subject&mdash;&ldquo;she
+      has so many things to learn; and she may never learn them. She'll miss
+      some fine things.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know one of the fine things she does not mean to miss,&rdquo; said Mary,
+      grimly; &ldquo;that's Mr. Hal Warner.&rdquo; Then, after they had walked again in
+      silence: &ldquo;I want ye to understand me, Mr. Warner&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, Mary!&rdquo; he pleaded. &ldquo;Don't treat me that way! I'm Joe.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;Joe ye shall be. 'Twill remind ye of a pretty
+      adventure&mdash;bein' a workin' man for a few weeks. Well, that's a part
+      of what I have to tell ye. I've got my pride, even if I'm only a poor
+      miner's daughter; and the other day I found out me place.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How do you mean?&rdquo; he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye don't understand? Honest?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, honest,&rdquo; he said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye're stupid with women, Joe. Ye didn't see what the girl did to me!
+      'Twas some kind of a bug I was to her. She was not sure if I was the kind
+      that bites, but she took no chances&mdash;she threw me off, like that.&rdquo;
+       And Mary snapped her hand, as one does when troubled with a bug.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, now!&rdquo; pleaded Hal. &ldquo;You're not being fair!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm bein' just as fair as I've got it in me to be, Joe. I been off and
+      had it all out. I can see this much&mdash;'tis not her fault, maybe&mdash;'tis
+      her class; 'tis all of ye&mdash;the very best of ye, even yeself, Joe
+      Smith!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yea,&rdquo; he replied, &ldquo;Tim Rafferty said that.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tim said too much&mdash;but a part of it was true. Ye think ye've come
+      here and been one of us workin' people. But don't your own sense tell you
+      the difference, as if it was a canyon a million miles across&mdash;between
+      a poor ignorant creature in a minin' camp, and a rich man's daughter, a
+      lady? Ye'd tell me not to be ashamed of poverty; but would ye ever put me
+      by the side of her&mdash;for all your fine feelin's of friendship for them
+      that's beneath ye? Didn't ye show that at the Minettis'?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But don't you see, Mary&mdash;&rdquo; He made an effort to laugh. &ldquo;I got used
+      to obeying Jessie! I knew her a long time before I knew you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, Joe! Ye've a kind heart, and a pleasant way of speakin'. But wouldn't
+      it interest ye to know the real truth? Ye said ye'd come out here to learn
+      the truth!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And Hal answered, in a low voice, &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; and did not interrupt again.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 29.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Mary's voice had dropped low, and Hal thought how rich and warm it was
+      when she was deeply moved. She went on:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I lived all me life in minin' camps, Joe Smith, and I seen men robbed and
+      beaten, and women cryin' and childer hungry. I seen the company, like some
+      great wicked beast that eat them up. But I never knew why, or what it
+      meant&mdash;till that day, there at the Minettis'. I'd read about fine
+      ladies in books, ye see; but I'd never been spoke to by one, I'd never had
+      to swallow one, as ye might say. But there I did&mdash;and all at once I
+      seemed to know where the money goes that's wrung out of the miners. I saw
+      why people were robbin' us, grindin' the life out of us&mdash;for fine
+      ladies like that, to keep them so shinin' and soft! 'Twould not have been
+      so bad, if she'd not come just then, with all the men and boys dyin' down
+      in the pits&mdash;dyin' for that soft, white skin, and those soft, white
+      hands, and all those silky things she swished round in. My God, Joe&mdash;d'ye
+      know what she seemed to me like? Like a smooth, sleek cat that has just
+      eat up a whole nest full of baby mice, and has the blood of them all over
+      her cheeks!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Mary paused, breathing hard. Hal kept silence, and she went on again: &ldquo;I
+      had it out with meself, Joe! I don't want ye to think I'm any better than
+      I am, and I asked meself this question&mdash;Is it for the men in the pits
+      that ye hate her with such black murder? Or is it for the one man ye want,
+      and that she's got? And I knew the answer to that! But then I asked meself
+      another question, too&mdash;Would ye be like her if ye could? Would ye do
+      what she's doin' right now&mdash;would ye have it on your soul? And as God
+      hears me, Joe, 'tis the truth I speak&mdash;I'd not do it! No, not for the
+      love of any man that ever walked on this earth!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She had lifted her clenched fist as she spoke. She let it fall again, and
+      strode on, not even glancing at him. &ldquo;Ye might try a thousand years, Joe,
+      and ye'd not realise the feelin's that come to me there at the Minettis'.
+      The shame of it&mdash;not what she done to me, but what she made me in me
+      own eyes! Me, the daughter of a drunken old miner, and her&mdash;I don't
+      know what her father is, but she's some sort of princess, and she knows
+      it. And that's the thing that counts, Joe! 'Tis not that she has so much
+      money, and so many fine things; that she knows how to talk, and I don't,
+      and that her voice is sweet, and mine is ugly, when I'm ragin' as I am
+      now. No&mdash;'tis that she's so <i>sure!</i> That's the word I found to
+      say it; she's sure&mdash;sure&mdash;<i>sure!</i> She has the fine things,
+      she's always had them, she has a right to have them! And I have a right to
+      nothin' but trouble, I'm hunted all day by misery and fear, I've lost even
+      the roof over me head! Joe, ye know I've got some temper&mdash;I'm not
+      easy to beat down; but when I'd got through bein' taught me place, I went
+      off and hid meself, I ground me face in the dirt, for the black rage of
+      it! I said to meself, 'Tis true! There's somethin' in her better than me!
+      She's some kind of finer creature.&mdash;Look at these hands!&rdquo; She held
+      them out in the moonlight, with a swift, passionate gesture. &ldquo;So she's a
+      right to her man, and I'm a fool to have ever raised me eyes to him! I
+      have to see him go away, and crawl back into me leaky old shack! Yes,
+      that's the truth! And when I point it out to the man, what d'ye think he
+      says? Why, he tells me gently and kindly that I ought to be sorry for her!
+      Christ! did ye ever hear the like of that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a long silence. Hal could not have said anything now, if he had
+      wished to. He knew that this was what he had come to seek! This was the
+      naked soul of the class-war!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now,&rdquo; concluded Mary, with clenched hands, and a voice that corresponded,
+      &ldquo;now, I've had it out. I'm no slave; I've just as good a right to life as
+      any lady. I know I'll never have it, of course; I'll never wear good
+      clothes, nor live in a decent home, nor have the man I want; but I'll know
+      that I've done somethin' to help free the workin' people from the shame
+      that's put on them. That's what the strike done for me, Joe! The strike
+      showed me the way. We're beat this time, but somehow it hasn't made the
+      difference ye might think. I'm goin' to make more strikes before I quit,
+      and they won't all of them be beat!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She stopped speaking; and Hal walked beside her, stirred by a conflict of
+      emotions. His vision of her was indeed true; she would make more strikes!
+      He was glad and proud of that; but then came the thought that while she, a
+      girl, was going on with the bitter war, he, a man, would be eating grilled
+      beefsteaks at the club!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mary,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I'm ashamed of myself&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's not it, Joe! Ye've no call to be ashamed. Ye can't help it where
+      ye were born&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Perhaps not, Mary. But when a man knows he's never paid for any of the
+      things he's enjoyed all his life, surely the least he can do is to be
+      ashamed. I hope you'll try not to hate me as you do the others.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I never hated ye, Joe! Not for one moment! I tell ye fair and true, I
+      love ye as much as ever. I can say it, because I'd not have ye now; I've
+      seen the other girl, and I know ye'd never be satisfied with me. I don't
+      know if I ought to say it, but I'm thinkin' ye'll not be altogether
+      satisfied with her, either. Ye'll be unhappy either way&mdash;God help
+      ye!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl had read deeply into his soul in this last speech; so deeply that
+      Hal could not trust himself to answer. They were passing a street-lamp,
+      and she looked at him, for the first time since they had started on their
+      walk, and saw harassment in his face. A sudden tenderness came into her
+      voice. &ldquo;Joe,&rdquo; she said; &ldquo;ye're lookin' bad. 'Tis good ye're goin' away
+      from this place!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He tried to smile, but the effort was feeble.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Joe,&rdquo; she went on, &ldquo;ye asked me to be your friend. Well, I'll be that!&rdquo;
+       And she held out the big, rough hand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He took it. &ldquo;We'll not forget each other, Mary,&rdquo; he said. There was a
+      catch in his voice.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure, lad!&rdquo; she exclaimed. &ldquo;We'll make another strike some day, just like
+      we did at North Valley!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal pressed the big hand; but then suddenly, remembering his brother
+      stalking solemnly in the rear, he relinquished the clasp, and failed to
+      say all the fine things he had in his mind. He called himself a rebel, but
+      not enough to be sentimental before Edward!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 30.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      They came to the house where John Edstrom was staying. The labouring man's
+      wife opened the door. In answer to Hal's question, she said, &ldquo;The old
+      gentleman's pretty bad.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What's the matter with him?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Didn't you know he was hurt?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No. How?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They beat him up, sir. Broke his arm, and nearly broke his head.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal and Mary exclaimed in chorus, &ldquo;Who did it? When?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We don't know who did it. It was four nights ago.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal realised it must have happened while he was escaping from MacKellar's.
+      &ldquo;Have you had a doctor for him?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, sir; but we can't do much, because my man is out of work, and I have
+      the children and the boarders to look after.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal and Mary ran upstairs. Their old friend lay in darkness, but he
+      recognised their voices and greeted them with a feeble cry. The woman
+      brought a lamp, and they saw him lying on his back, his head done up in
+      bandages, and one arm bound in splints. He looked really desperately bad,
+      his kindly old eyes deep-sunken and haggard, and his face&mdash;Hal
+      remembered what Jeff Cotton had called him, &ldquo;that dough-faced old
+      preacher!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They got the story of what had happened at the time of Hal's flight to
+      Percy's train. Edstrom had shouted a warning to the fugitives, and set out
+      to run after them; when one of the mine-guards, running past him, had
+      fetched him a blow over the eye, knocking him down. He had struck his head
+      upon the pavement, and lain there unconscious for many hours. When finally
+      some one had come upon him, and summoned a policeman, they had gone
+      through his pockets, and found the address of this place where he was
+      staying written on a scrap of paper. That was all there was to the story&mdash;except
+      that Edstrom had refrained from sending to MacKellar for help, because he
+      had felt sure they were all working to get the mine open, and he did not
+      feel he had the right to put his troubles upon them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal listened to the old man's feeble statements, and there came back to
+      him a surge of that fury which his North Valley experience had generated
+      in him. It was foolish, perhaps; for to knock down an old man who had been
+      making trouble was a comparatively slight exercise of the functions of a
+      mine-guard. But to Hal it seemed the most characteristic of all the
+      outrages he had seen; it was an expression of the company's utter
+      blindness to all that was best in life. This old man, who was so gentle,
+      so patient, who had suffered so much, and not learned to hate, who had
+      kept his faith so true! What did his faith mean to the thugs of the
+      General Fuel Company? What had his philosophy availed him, his
+      saintliness, his hopes for mankind? They had fetched him one swipe as they
+      passed him, and left him lying&mdash;alive or dead, it was all the same.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had got some satisfaction out of his little adventure in widowhood,
+      and some out of Mary's self-victory; but there, listening to the old man's
+      whispered story, his satisfaction died. He realised again the grim truth
+      about his summer's experience&mdash;that the issue of it had been defeat.
+      Utter, unqualified defeat! He had caused the bosses a momentary chagrin;
+      but it would not take them many hours to realise that he had really done
+      them a service in calling off the strike for them. They would start the
+      wheels of industry again, and the workers would be just where they had
+      been before Joe Smith came to be stableman and buddy among them. What was
+      all the talk about solidarity, about hope for the future; what would it
+      amount to in the long run, the daily rolling of the wheels of industry?
+      The workers of North Valley would have exactly the right they had always
+      had&mdash;the right to be slaves, and if they did not care for that, the
+      right to be martyrs!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Mary sat holding the old man's hand and whispering words of passionate
+      sympathy, while Hal got up and paced the tiny attic, all ablaze with
+      anger. He resolved suddenly that he would not go back to Western City; he
+      would stay here, and get an honest lawyer to come, and set out to punish
+      the men who were guilty of this outrage. He would test out the law to the
+      limit; if necessary, he would begin a political fight, to put an end to
+      coal-company rule in this community. He would find some one to write up
+      these conditions, he would raise the money and publish a paper to make
+      them known! Before his surging wrath had spent itself, Hal Warner had
+      actually come out as a candidate for governor, and was overturning the
+      Republican machine&mdash;all because an unidentified coal-company
+      detective had knocked a dough-faced old miner into the gutter and broken
+      his arm!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 31.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      In the end, of course, Hal had to come down to practical matters. He sat
+      by the bed and told the old man tactfully that his brother had come to see
+      him and had given him some money. This brother had plenty of money, so
+      Edstrom could be taken to the hospital; or, if he preferred, Mary could
+      stay near here and take care of him. They turned to the landlady, who had
+      been standing in the doorway; she had three boarders in her little home,
+      it seemed, but if Mary could share a bed with the landlady's two children,
+      they might make out. In spite of Hal's protest, Mary accepted this offer;
+      he saw what was in her mind&mdash;she would take some of his money,
+      because of old Edstrom's need, but she would take just as little as she
+      possibly could.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      John Edstrom of course knew nothing of events since his injury, so Hal
+      told him the story briefly&mdash;though without mentioning the
+      transformation which had taken place in the miner's buddy. He told about
+      the part Mary had played in the strike; trying to entertain the poor old
+      man, he told how he had seen her mounted upon a snow-white horse, and
+      wearing a robe of white, soft and lustrous, like Joan of Arc, or the
+      leader of a suffrage parade.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure,&rdquo; said Mary, &ldquo;he's forever callin' attention to this old dress!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal looked; she was wearing the same blue calico. &ldquo;There's something
+      mysterious about that dress,&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;It's one of those that you read
+      about in fairy-stories, that forever patch themselves, and keep themselves
+      new and starchy. A body only needs one dress like that!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure, lad,&rdquo; she answered. &ldquo;There's no fairies in coal-camps&mdash;unless
+      'tis meself, that washes it at night, and dries it over the stove, and
+      irons it next mornin'.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She said this with unwavering cheerfulness; but even the old miner lying
+      in pain on the cot could realise the tragedy of a young girl's having only
+      one old dress in her love-hunting season. He looked at the young couple,
+      and saw their evident interest in each other; after the fashion of the
+      old, he was disposed to help along the romance. &ldquo;She may need some orange
+      blossoms,&rdquo; he ventured, feebly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Go along with ye!&rdquo; laughed Mary, still unwavering.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure,&rdquo; put in Hal, with hasty gallantry, &ldquo;'tis a blossom she is herself!
+      A rose in a mining-camp&mdash;and there's a dispute about her in the
+      poetry-books. One tells you to leave her on her stalk, and another says to
+      gather ye rosebuds while ye may, old time is still a-flying!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye're mixin' me up,&rdquo; said Mary. &ldquo;A while back I was ridin' on a white
+      horse.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I remember,&rdquo; said Old Edstrom, &ldquo;not so far back, you were an ant, Mary.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Her face became grave. To jest about her personal tragedy was one thing,
+      to jest about the strike was another. &ldquo;Yes, I remember. Ye said I'd stay
+      in the line! Ye were wiser than me, Mr. Edstrom.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's one of the things that come with being old, Mary.&rdquo; He moved his
+      gnarled old hand toward hers. &ldquo;You're going on, now?&rdquo; he asked. &ldquo;You're a
+      unionist now, Mary?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am that!&rdquo; she answered, promptly, her grey eyes shining.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's a saying,&rdquo; said he&mdash;&ldquo;once a striker, always a striker. Find
+      a way to get some education for yourself, Mary, and when the big strike
+      comes you'll be one of those the miners look to. I'll not be here, I know&mdash;the
+      young people must take my place.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll do my part,&rdquo; she answered. Her voice was low; it was a kind of
+      benediction the old man was giving her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The woman had gone downstairs to attend to her children; she came back now
+      to say that there was a gentleman at the door, who wanted to know when his
+      brother was coming. Hal remembered suddenly&mdash;Edward had been pacing
+      up and down all this while, with no company but a &ldquo;hardware drummer!&rdquo; The
+      younger brother's resolve to stay in Pedro had already begun to weaken
+      somewhat, and now it weakened still further; he realised that life is
+      complex, that duties conflict! He assured the old miner again of his
+      ability to see that he did not suffer from want, and then he bade him
+      farewell for a while.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He started out, and Mary went as far as the head of the stairway with him.
+      He took the girl's big, rough hand in his&mdash;this time with no one to
+      see. &ldquo;Mary,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I want you to know that nothing will make me forget
+      you; and nothing will make me forget the miners.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, Joe!&rdquo; she cried. &ldquo;Don't let them win ye away from us! We need ye so
+      bad!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm going back home for a while,&rdquo; he answered, &ldquo;but you can be sure that
+      no matter what happens in my life, I'm going to fight for the working
+      people. When the big strike comes, as we know it's coming in this
+      coal-country, I'll be here to do my share.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure lad,&rdquo; she said, looking him bravely in the eye, &ldquo;and good-bye to ye,
+      Joe Smith.&rdquo; Her eyes did not waver; but Hal noted a catch in her voice,
+      and he found himself with an impulse to take her in his arms. It was very
+      puzzling. He knew he loved Jessie Arthur; he remembered the question Mary
+      had once asked him&mdash;could he be in love with two girls at the same
+      time? It was not in accord with any moral code that had been impressed
+      upon him, but apparently he could!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 32.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      He went out to the street, where his brother was pacing up and down in a
+      ferment. The &ldquo;hardware drummer&rdquo; had made another effort to start a
+      conversation, and had been told to go to hell&mdash;no less!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, are you through now?&rdquo; Edward demanded, taking out his irritation on
+      Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; replied the other. &ldquo;I suppose so.&rdquo; He realised that Edward would
+      not be concerned about Edstrom's broken arm.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then, for God's sake, get some clothes on and let's have some food.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said Hal. But his answer was listless, and the other looked
+      at him sharply. Even by the moonlight Edward could see the lines in the
+      face of his younger brother, and the hollows around his eyes. For the
+      first time he realised how deeply these experiences were cutting into the
+      boy's soul. &ldquo;You poor kid!&rdquo; he exclaimed, with sudden feeling. But Hal did
+      not answer; he did not want sympathy, he did not want anything!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward made a gesture of despair. &ldquo;God knows, I don't know what to do for
+      you!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They started back to the hotel, and on the way Edward cast about in his
+      mind for a harmless subject of conversation. He mentioned that he had
+      foreseen the shutting up of the stores, and had purchased an outfit for
+      his brother. There was no need to thank him, he added grimly; he had no
+      intention of travelling to Western City in company with a hobo.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So the young miner had a bath, the first real one in a long time. (Never
+      again would it be possible for ladies to say in Hal Warner's presence that
+      the poor might at least keep clean!) He had a shave; he trimmed his
+      finger-nails, and brushed his hair, and dressed himself as a gentleman. In
+      spite of himself he found his cheerfulness partly restored. A strange and
+      wonderful sensation&mdash;to be dressed once more as a gentleman. He
+      thought of the saying of the old negro, who liked to stub his toe, because
+      it felt so good when it stopped hurting!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They went out to find a restaurant, and on the way one last misadventure
+      befell Edward. Hal saw an old miner walking past, and stopped with a cry:
+      &ldquo;Mike!&rdquo; He forgot all at once that he was a gentleman; the old miner
+      forgot it also. He stared for one bewildered moment, then he rushed at Hal
+      and seized him in the hug of a mountain grizzly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My buddy! My buddy!&rdquo; he cried, and gave Hal a prodigious thump on the
+      back. &ldquo;By Judas!&rdquo; And he gave him a thump with the other hand. &ldquo;Hey! you
+      old son-of-a-gun!&rdquo; And he gave him a hairy kiss!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But in the very midst of these raptures it dawned over him that there was
+      something wrong about his buddy. He drew back, staring. &ldquo;You got good
+      clothes! You got rich, hey?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Evidently the old fellow had heard no rumour concerning Hal's secret.
+      &ldquo;I've been doing pretty well,&rdquo; Hal said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What you work at, hey?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I been working at a strike in North Valley.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What's that? You make money working at strike?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal laughed, but did not explain. &ldquo;What you working at?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I work at strike too&mdash;all alone strike.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No job?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I work two days on railroad. Got busted track up there. Pay me
+      two-twenty-five a day. Then no more job.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Have you tried the mines?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What? Me? They got me all right! I go up to San José. Pit-boss say, 'Get
+      the hell out of here, you old groucher! You don't get no more jobs in this
+      district!'&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal looked Mike over, and saw that his dirty old face was drawn and white,
+      belying the feeble cheerfulness of his words. &ldquo;We're going to have
+      something to eat,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Won't you come with us?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure thing!&rdquo; said Mike, with alacrity. &ldquo;I go easy on grub now.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal introduced &ldquo;Mr. Edward Warner,&rdquo; who said &ldquo;How do you do?&rdquo; He accepted
+      gingerly the calloused paw which the old Slovak held out to him, but he
+      could not keep the look of irritation from his face. His patience was
+      utterly exhausted. He had hoped to find a decent restaurant and have some
+      real food; but now, of course, he could not enjoy anything, with this old
+      gobbler in front of him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They entered an all-night lunch-room, where Hal and Mike ordered
+      cheese-sandwiches and milk, and Edward sat and wondered at his brother's
+      ability to eat such food. Meantime the two cronies told each other their
+      stories, and Old Mike slapped his knee and cried out with delight over
+      Hal's exploits. &ldquo;Oh, you buddy!&rdquo; he exclaimed; then, to Edward, &ldquo;Ain't he
+      a daisy, hey?&rdquo; And he gave Edward a thump on the shoulder. &ldquo;By Judas, they
+      don't beat my buddy!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Mike Sikoria had last been seen by Hal from the window of the North Valley
+      jail, when he had been distributing the copies of Hal's signature, and Bud
+      Adams had taken him in charge. The mine-guard had marched him into a shed
+      in back of the power-house, where he had found Kauser and Kalovac, two
+      other fellows who had been arrested while helping in the distribution.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Mike detailed the experience with his usual animation. &ldquo;'Hey, Mister Bud,'
+      I say, 'if you going to send me down canyon, I want to get my things.'
+      'You go to hell for your things,' says he. And then I say, 'Mister Bud, I
+      want to get my time.' And he says, 'I give you plenty time right here!'
+      And he punch me and throw me over. Then he grab me up' again and pull me
+      outside, and I see big automobile waiting, and I say, 'Holy Judas! I get
+      ride in automobile! Here I am, old fellow fifty-seven years old, never
+      been in automobile ride all my days. I think always I die and never get in
+      automobile ride!' We go down canyon, and I look round and see them
+      mountains, and feel nice cool wind in my face, and I say, 'Bully for you,
+      Mister Bud, I don't never forget this automobile. I don't have such good
+      time any day all my life.' And he say, 'Shut your face, you old wop!' Then
+      we come out on prairie, we go up in Black Hills, and they stop, and say,
+      'Get out here, you sons o' guns.' And they leave us there all alone. They
+      say, 'You come back again, we catch you and we rip the guts out of you!'
+      They go away fast, and we got to walk seven hours, us fellers, before we
+      come to a house! But I don't mind that, I begged some grub, and then I got
+      job mending track; only I don't find out if you get out of jail, and I
+      think maybe I lose my buddy and never see him no more.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Here the old man stopped, gazing affectionately at Hal. &ldquo;I write you
+      letter to North Valley, but I don't hear nothing, and I got to walk all
+      the way on railroad track to look for you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      How was it? Hal wondered. He had encountered naked horror in this
+      coal-country&mdash;yet here he was, not entirely glad at the thought of
+      leaving it! He would miss Old Mike Sikoria, his hairy kiss and his
+      grizzly-bear hug!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He struck the old man dumb by pressing a twenty-dollar bill into his hand.
+      Also he gave him the address of Edstrom and Mary, and a note to Johann
+      Hartman, who might use him to work among the Slovaks who came down into
+      the town. Hal explained that he had to go back to Western City that night,
+      but that he would never forget his old friend, and would see that he had a
+      good job. He was trying to figure out some occupation for the old man on
+      his father's country-place. A pet grizzly!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Train-time came, and the long line of dark sleepers rolled in by the
+      depot-platform. It was late&mdash;after midnight; but, nevertheless, there
+      was Old Mike. He was in awe of Hal now, with his fine clothes and his
+      twenty-dollar bills; but, nevertheless, under stress of his emotion, he
+      gave him one more hug, and one more hairy kiss. &ldquo;Good-bye, my buddy!&rdquo; he
+      cried. &ldquo;You come back, my buddy! I don't forget my buddy!&rdquo; And when the
+      train began to move, he waved his ragged cap, and ran along the platform
+      to get a last glimpse, to call a last farewell. When Hal turned into the
+      car, it was with more than a trace of moisture in his eyes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br><br>
+    </p>
+    <hr>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br><br><br><br>
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      POSTSCRIPT
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      From previous experiences the writer has learned that many people, reading
+      a novel such as &ldquo;King Coal,&rdquo; desire to be informed as to whether it is
+      true to fact. They write to ask if the book is meant to be so taken; they
+      ask for evidence to convince themselves and others. Having answered
+      thousands of such letters in the course of his life, it seems to the
+      author the part of common-sense to answer some of them in advance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;King Coal&rdquo; is a picture of the life of the workers in unorganised
+      labour-camps in many parts of America, The writer has avoided naming a
+      definite place, for the reason that such conditions are to be found as far
+      apart as West Virginia, Alabama, Michigan, Minnesota, and Colorado. Most
+      of the details of his picture were gathered in the last-named state, which
+      the writer visited on three occasions during and just after the great
+      coal-strike of 1913-14. The book gives a true picture of conditions and
+      events observed by him at this time. Practically all the characters are
+      real persons, and every incident which has social significance is not
+      merely a true incident, but a typical one. The life portrayed in &ldquo;King
+      Coal&rdquo; is the life that is lived to-day by hundreds of thousands of men,
+      women and children in this &ldquo;land of the free.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The reader who wishes evidence may be accommodated. There was never a
+      strike more investigated than the Colorado coal-strike. The material about
+      it in the writer's possession cannot be less than eight million words, the
+      greater part of it sworn testimony taken under government supervision.
+      There is, first, the report of the Congressional Committee, a government
+      document of three thousand closely printed pages, about two million words;
+      an equal amount of testimony given before the U. S. Commission on
+      Industrial Relations, also a government document; a special report on the
+      Colorado strike, prepared for the same commission, a book of 189 pages,
+      supporting every contention of this story; about four hundred thousand
+      words of testimony given before a committee appointed at the suggestion of
+      the Governor of Colorado; a report made by the Rev. Henry A. Atkinson, who
+      investigated the strike as representative of the Federal Council of the
+      Churches of Christ in America, and of the Social Service Commission of the
+      Congregational Churches; the report of an elaborate investigation by the
+      Colorado state militia; the bulletins issued by both sides during the
+      controversy; the testimony given at various coroners' inquests; and,
+      finally, articles by different writers to be found in the files of <i>Everybody's
+      Magazine</i>, the <i>Metropolitan Magazine</i>, the <i>Survey</i>, <i>Harper's
+      Weekly</i>, and <i>Collier's Weekly</i>, all during the year 1914.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The writer prepared a collection of extracts from these various sources,
+      meaning to publish them in this place; but while the manuscript was in the
+      hands of the publishers, there appeared one document, which, in the weight
+      of its authority, seemed to discount all others. A decision was rendered
+      by the Supreme Court of the State of Colorado, in a case which included
+      the most fundamental of the many issues raised in &ldquo;King Coal.&rdquo; It is not
+      often that the writer of a novel of contemporary life is so fortunate as
+      to have the truth of his work passed upon and established by the highest
+      judicial tribunal of the community!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the elections of November, 1914, in Huerfano County, Colorado, J. B.
+      Farr, Republican candidate for re-election as sheriff, a person known
+      throughout the coal-country as &ldquo;the King of Huerfano County,&rdquo; was returned
+      as elected by a majority of 329 votes. His rival, the Democratic
+      candidate, contested the election, alleging &ldquo;malconduct, fraud and
+      corruption.&rdquo; The district court found in Farr's favour, and the case was
+      appealed on error to the Supreme Court of the State. On June 21st, 1916,
+      after Farr had served nearly the whole of his term of office, the Supreme
+      Court handed down a decision which unseated him and the entire ticket
+      elected with him, finding in favour of the opposition ticket in all cases
+      and upon all grounds charged.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The decision is long&mdash;about ten thousand words, and its legal
+      technicalities would not interest the reader. It will suffice to reprint
+      the essential paragraphs. The reader is asked to give these paragraphs
+      careful study, considering, not merely the specific offence denounced by
+      the court, but its wider implications. The offence was one so
+      unprecedented that the justices of the court, men chosen for their
+      learning in the history of offences, were moved to say: &ldquo;We find no such
+      example of fraud within the books, and must seek the letter and spirit of
+      the law in a free government, as a scale in which to weigh such conduct.&rdquo;
+       And let it be noted, this &ldquo;crime without a name&rdquo; was not a crime of
+      passion, but of policy; it was a crime deliberately planned and carried
+      out by profit-seeking corporations of enormous power. Let the reader
+      imagine the psychology of the men of great wealth who ordered this crime,
+      as a means of keeping and increasing their wealth; let him realise what
+      must be the attitude of such men to their helpless workers; and then let
+      him ask himself whether there is any act portrayed in &ldquo;King Coal&rdquo; which
+      men of such character would shrink from ordering.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Court decision first gives an outline of the case, using for the most
+      part the statements of the counsel for the defendant, Farr; so that for
+      practical purposes the following may be taken as the coal companies' own
+      account of their domain: &ldquo;Round the shaft of each mine are clustered the
+      tipple, the mine office, the shops, sheds and outbuildings; and huddled
+      close by, within a stone's throw, cottages of the miners built on the land
+      of, and owned by, the mining company. All the dwellers in the camp are
+      employés of the mine. There is no other industry. This is 'the camp.' Of
+      the eight 'closed camps' it appears that practically the same conditions
+      existed in all of them, and those conditions were in general that members
+      of the United Mine Workers of America, their organisers or agitators, were
+      prevented from coming into the camps, so far as it was possible to keep
+      them out, and to this end guards were stationed about them. Of the eight
+      'closed camps' one of them, 'Walsen,' was, and at the time of the trial
+      still was, enclosed by a fence erected at the beginning of the strike in
+      October, 1913: Rouse and Cameron were partly, but never entirely, enclosed
+      by fences. It is admitted that all persons entering these camps and
+      precincts were required by the companies to have passes, and it is
+      contended that this was an 'industrial necessity.'&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The Court then goes on as follows:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Federal troops entered the district in May of 1914, and the testimony
+      is in agreement that no serious acts of violence occurred thereafter, and
+      that order was preserved up to and subsequent to the election, and to the
+      time of this trial.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It was under this condition that in July, 1914, the Board of County
+      Commissioners changed certain of the election precincts so as to
+      constitute each of such camps an election precinct, and with but one
+      exception where a few ranches were included, these precincts were made to
+      conform to the fences and lines around each camp, protected by fences in
+      some instances and with armed guards in all cases. Thus each election
+      precinct by this unparalleled act of the commissioners was placed
+      exclusively within and upon the private grounds and under the private
+      control of a coal corporation, which autocratically declared who should
+      and who should not enter upon the territory of this political entity of
+      the state, so purposely bounded by the county commissioners.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;With but one exception all the lands and buildings within each of these
+      election precincts as so created, were owned or controlled by the coal
+      corporations; every person resident within such precincts was an employé
+      of these private corporations or their allied companies, with the single
+      exception: every judge, clerk or officer of election with the exception of
+      a saloon keeper, and partner of Farr, was an employé of the
+      coal-companies.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The polling places were upon the grounds, and in the buildings of these
+      companies; the registration lists were kept within the private offices or
+      buildings of such companies, and used and treated as their private
+      property.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thus were the public election districts and the public election machinery
+      turned over to the absolute domination and imperial control of private
+      coal corporations, and used by them as absolutely and privately as were
+      their mines, to and for their own private purposes, and upon which public
+      territory no man might enter for either public or private purpose, save
+      and except by the express permission of these private corporations.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This right to determine who should enter such so called election
+      precincts, appears from the record to have been exercised as against all
+      classes; merchants, tradesmen or what not, and whether the business of
+      such person was public or private. Indeed, it appears that in one instance
+      the governor and adjutant general of the state while on official business,
+      were denied admission to one of these closed camps. And that on the day of
+      election, the Democratic watchers and challengers for Walsen Mine
+      precinct, one of which was Neelley, the Democratic candidate for sheriff,
+      were forced to seek and secure a detail of Federal soldiers to escort them
+      into the precinct and to the polls, and that such soldiers remained as
+      such guard during the day and a part of the night....
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But if there was any doubt concerning the condition of the closed camps
+      and precincts, and the exclusion of representatives of the Democratic
+      party from discussing the issues of the campaign within the precincts
+      comprising the closed camps, it is entirely removed by the testimony of
+      the witness Weitzel, for contestee (Farr). He testified that he was a
+      resident of Pueblo, and was manager of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company;
+      that Rouse, Lester, Ideal, Cameron, Walsen, Pictou and McNally are camps
+      under his jurisdiction. That he had general charge of the camps and that
+      there was no company official in Colorado superior to him in this respect
+      except the president; that the superintendent and other employés are under
+      his supervision; that the Federal troops came about the 1st of May, 1914,
+      and continued until January, 1915. That in all those camps he tried to
+      keep out the people who were antagonistic to the company's interests; that
+      it was private property and so treated by his company; that through him
+      the company and its officials assumed to exercise authority as to who
+      might or who might not enter; that if persons could assure or satisfy the
+      man at the gate, or the superintendent that they were not connected with
+      the United Mine Workers, or in their employ as agitators, they were let
+      into the camp. That 'no one we were fighting against got in for social
+      intercourse or any other'; that he and officials under him assumed to pass
+      upon the question of whether or not any person coming there came for the
+      purpose of agitation. That Mr. Mitchell, the chairman of the Democratic
+      committee, as he recalled it, was identified with the agitators, ran a
+      newspaper and was connected either directly or indirectly with the United
+      Mine Workers; that Mr. Neelley, Democratic candidate for sheriff, was
+      identified with the strikers, and that he would be considered as an
+      objectionable character. That when the Federal troops came, they restored
+      peace and normal conditions; there was no rioting after that, there was no
+      fear on the part of the company when the Federal soldiers were here,
+      except fear of agitation. Asked if he guarded the camp against discussion,
+      against the espousal of the cause of the company, he replied, 'We didn't
+      encourage it.' The company would not encourage organisers to come into the
+      camp, no matter how peacefully they conducted themselves; that the company
+      did not permit men to come into the camp to discuss with the employés
+      certain principles, or to carry on arguments with them or to appeal to
+      their reason, or to discuss with them things along reasonable lines,
+      because it was known from experience that if they were allowed to come in
+      they would resort to threats of violence. They might not resort to any
+      violence at the time, but it might result in the people becoming
+      frightened and leaving, and they were anxious to hold their employés. He
+      was asked whether or not one had business there depended upon the decision
+      of the official in charge; he replied that the superintendent probably
+      would inquire of him what his business was. That any one that Farr asked
+      for a permit to enter the camp would likely get it....
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There was but one attempt to hold a political meeting in the closed
+      precincts. Joseph Patterson, who attempted to hold this meeting, testifies
+      concerning it as follows:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Was at a political meeting at Oakview. Had been a warm, personal friend
+      of Mr. Jones, the assistant superintendent of the Oakview mine, and had
+      written him a letter asking the courtesy of holding a political meeting.
+      On Saturday evening received a letter that he could hold such meeting. On
+      the day previous to the meeting witness received a 'phone message from the
+      assistant superintendent, in which the latter inquired whether witness was
+      coming up there to cause any trouble, and witness replied, certainly not,
+      and if the superintendent felt that way they would not come. Had advised
+      the superintendent that he and others were going to hold a political
+      meeting for the Democratic party. Jones, the superintendent, stated that
+      witness should come to the office that night before he went to the school
+      house for the purpose of the meeting; when witness arrived at the meeting
+      there were about six or eight English speaking people and a dozen to
+      fourteen Mexicans. The superintendent, Mr. Morgan, and Mr. Price, were
+      outside of the door most of the time. Witness noticed that the first few
+      fellows that came toward the school house, the superintendent stopped and
+      talked with them and they turned back to the camp. This happened several
+      times: as soon as they talked with Morgan they turned back. After he saw
+      that, witness went into the school house and said that it was no use to
+      hold any meeting; that it seemed that nobody was allowed to come. This
+      meeting was supposed to be in a public school house on the company
+      property. Had to get permission from the superintendent of the Oakview
+      mining Company to hold said political meeting.&rdquo;....
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It appears that the number of registered voters in the closed precincts
+      was very largely in excess of the number of votes cast, and this of itself
+      was sufficient to demand an open and fair investigation as to the
+      qualifications of the alleged voters.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It appears from the testimony that in these closed precincts many of
+      those who voted were unable to speak or read the English language, and
+      that in numerous instances, the election judges assisted such, by marking
+      the ballots for them in violation of the law. Again, it appears that the
+      ballots were printed so that.... (The decision here goes on to explain in
+      detail a device whereby the ballot was so printed that voting could be
+      controlled with the help of a card device.) Thus such voters were not
+      choosing candidates, but, under the direction of the companies, were
+      simply placing the cross where they found the particular letter R on the
+      ballot, so that the ballot was not an expression of opinion or judgment,
+      not an intelligent exercise of suffrage, but plainly a dictated coal
+      company vote, as much so as if the agents of these companies had marked
+      the ballots without the intervention of the voter. No more fraudulent and
+      infamous prostitution of the ballot is conceivable....
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Counsel contend that the closed precincts were an 'industrial necessity,'
+      and for such reason the conduct of the coal companies during the campaign
+      was justified. However such conduct may be viewed when confined to the
+      private property of such corporations in their private operation, the fact
+      remains that there is no justification when they were dealing with such
+      territory after it had been dedicated to a public use, and particularly
+      involving the right of the people to exercise their duties and powers as
+      electors in a popular government.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The fact appears that the members of the board of county commissioners
+      and all other county officers were Republicans, and as stated by counsel
+      for the contestees, the success of the Republican candidates was
+      considered by the coal companies, vital to their interests. The close
+      relationship of the coal companies and the Republican officials and
+      candidates appears to have been so marked both before and during the
+      campaign, as to justify the conclusion that such officers regarded their
+      duty to the coal companies as paramount to their duty to the public
+      service. To say that the closed precincts were not so created to suit the
+      convenience and interests of these corporations, or that they were not so
+      formed with the advice and consent of these corporations, is to discredit
+      human intelligence, and to deny human experience. The plain purpose of the
+      formation of the new precincts was that the coal companies might have
+      opportunity to conduct and control the elections therein, just as such
+      elections were conducted. The irresistible conclusion is that these close
+      precincts were so formed by the county commissioners with the connivance
+      of the representatives of the coal companies, if not by their express
+      command.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There can be no free, open and fair election as contemplated by the
+      constitution, where private industrial corporations so throttle public
+      opinion, deny the free exercise of choice by sovereign electors, dictate
+      and control all election officers, prohibit public discussion of public
+      questions, and imperially command what citizens may and what citizens may
+      not, peacefully and for lawful purposes, enter upon election or public
+      territory....
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We find no such example of fraud within the books, and must seek the
+      letter and spirit of the law in a free government, as a scale in which to
+      weigh such conduct....
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The denial of the right of peaceful assemblage, can have been for no
+      other purpose than to influence the election. There was no disturbance in
+      any of these precincts after they were created, up to the time of the
+      election, and up to the time of this trial. The Federal troops were
+      present at all times to preserve the peace and to protect life and
+      property. There was no reason to anticipate any disturbance. Therefore
+      this bold denial was an inexcusable and corrupt violation of the natural
+      and inalienable rights of the citizens.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The defence relies not upon conflicting evidence, but upon the contention
+      that the conduct of the election was justified as an 'industrial
+      necessity.'
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We have heard much in this state in recent years as to the denial of
+      inherent and constitutional rights of citizens being justified by
+      'military necessity,' but this we believe is the first time in our
+      experience when the violation of the fundamental rights of freemen has
+      been attempted to be justified by the plea of 'industrial necessity.'
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Even if we were to concede that there may be some palliation in the plea
+      of military necessity on the theory that such acts purport to be acts of
+      the government itself, through its military arm and with the purpose of
+      preserving the public peace and safety: yet that a private corporation,
+      with its privately armed forces, may violate the most sacred right of the
+      citizenship of the state and find lawful excuse in the plea of private
+      'industrial necessity' savours too much of anarchy to find approval by
+      courts of justice.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This case clearly comes within another exception to the rule, in that it
+      is plain that the findings were influenced by the bias and prejudice of
+      the trial judge.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A careful reading of the record discloses the rejection by the court of
+      so much palpably pertinent and competent testimony offered by the
+      contestors, as to force the conclusion that the trial judge was influenced
+      by bias and prejudice, to the extent at least, charged in the application
+      for a change of venue, and sufficient in itself to justify a reversal of
+      judgment....
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;For the foregoing reasons the judgment of the court in each case before
+      us, is reversed, and the entire poll in the said precincts of Niggerhead,
+      Ravenwood, Walsen Mine, Oakview, Pryor, Rouse and Cameron is annulled, and
+      held for naught, and the election in each of said precincts is hereby set
+      aside. This leaves a substantial and unquestioned majority for each of the
+      contestors in the county, and which entitles each contestor to be declared
+      elected to the office for which he was a candidate.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We find further, that J. B. Farr, the defendant in error, was not and is
+      not the duly elected sheriff of Huerfano county, and that E. L. Neelley,
+      the plaintiff in error, was and is the duly elected sheriff of said
+      county. It is therefore ordered that the said county, and that the said E.
+      L. Neelley, immediately and upon qualification as required by law, enter
+      and discharge the duties of the said office of sheriff of Huerfano
+      county....&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So much for the court opinion upon coal-camp politics. In relation
+      thereto, the writer has only one comment to offer. Let the reader not drop
+      the matter with the idea that because one set of corrupt officials have
+      been turned out of office in one American county, therefore justice has
+      been vindicated, and there is no longer need to be concerned about the
+      conditions portrayed in &ldquo;King Coal.&rdquo; The defeat of the &ldquo;King of Huerfano
+      County&rdquo; is but one step in a long road which the miners of Colorado have
+      to travel if ever they are to be free men. The industrial power of the
+      great corporations remains untouched by this decision; and this power is
+      greater than any political power ever wielded by the government of
+      Huerfano County, or even of the state of Colorado. This industrial power
+      is a deep, far-spreading root; and so long as it is allowed to thrive, it
+      will send up again and again the poisonous plant of political &ldquo;malconduct,
+      fraud and corruption.&rdquo; The citizens and workers of such industrial
+      communities, whether in Colorado, in West Virginia, Alabama, Michigan or
+      Minnesota, in the Chicago stock-yards, the steel-mills of Pittsburg, the
+      woollen-mills of Lawrence or the silk-mills of Paterson, will find that
+      they have neither peace nor freedom, until they have abolished the system
+      of production for profit, and established in the field of industry what
+      they are supposed to have already in the field of politics&mdash;a
+      government of the people, by the people, for the people.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      NOTE: On the day that the author finished the reading of the proofs of
+      &ldquo;King Coal,&rdquo; the following item appeared in his daily newspaper:
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      COLORADO MINE WORKERS ASK LEAVE TO STRIKE
+    </h3>
+    <h3>
+      [BY A. P. NIGHT WIRE]
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      DENVER (Colo.), June 14.&mdash;Officers of the United Mine Workers
+      representing members of that organisation employed by the Colorado Fuel
+      and Iron Company, have telegraphed their national officers asking
+      permission to strike.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At the morning session a resolution was adopted expressing disapprobation
+      of the action of J. F. Welborn, president of the fuel company, for failure
+      to attend the meeting, which was a part of the &ldquo;peace programme&rdquo; to
+      prevent industrial differences in the State during the war.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The grievances of the men, according to John McLennan, spokesman for them,
+      centre about the operation of the so-called &ldquo;Rockefeller plan&rdquo; at the
+      mines. McLennan said the failure of Mr. Welborn to attend the meeting and
+      discuss these grievances with the men precipitated the strike agitation.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      THE END
+    </h3>
+    <div style="height: 6em;">
+      <br><br><br><br><br><br>
+    </div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of King Coal, by Upton Sinclair
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: King Coal
+       A Novel
+
+Author: Upton Sinclair
+
+
+Release Date: February, 2005 [EBook #7522]
+This file was first posted on May 13, 2003
+Last Updated: April 26, 2013
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KING COAL ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Eric Eldred, Beth Trapaga and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+KING COAL
+
+_A NOVEL_
+
+By Upton Sinclair
+
+
+
+TO
+
+MARY CRAIG KIMBROUGH
+
+To whose persistence in the perilous task of tearing her husband's
+manuscript to pieces, the reader is indebted for the absence of most of
+the faults from this book.
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+BOOK ONE
+
+THE DOMAIN OF KING COAL
+
+
+BOOK TWO
+
+THE SERFS OF KING COAL
+
+
+BOOK THREE
+
+THE HENCHMEN OF KING COAL
+
+
+BOOK FOUR
+
+THE WILL OF KING COAL
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+
+Upton Sinclair is one of the not too many writers who have consecrated
+their lives to the agitation for social justice, and who have also
+enrolled their art in the service of a set purpose. A great and
+non-temporizing enthusiast, he never flinched from making sacrifices.
+Now and then he attained great material successes as a writer, but
+invariably he invested and lost his earnings in enterprises by which he
+had hoped to ward off injustice and to further human happiness. Though
+disappointed time after time, he never lost faith nor courage to start
+again.
+
+As a convinced socialist and eager advocate of unpopular doctrines, as
+an exposer of social conditions that would otherwise be screened away
+from the public eye, the most influential journals of his country were
+as a rule arraigned against him. Though always a poor man, though never
+willing to grant to publishers the concessions essential for many
+editions and general popularity, he was maliciously represented to be a
+carpet knight of radicalism and a socialist millionaire. He has several
+times been obliged to change his publisher, which goes to prove that he
+is no seeker of material gain.
+
+Upton Sinclair is one of the writers of the present time most deserving
+of a sympathetic interest. He shows his patriotism as an American, not
+by joining in hymns to the very conditional kind of liberty peculiar to
+the United States, but by agitating for infusing it with the elixir of
+real liberty, the liberty of humanity. He does not limit himself to a
+dispassionate and entertaining description of things as they are. But in
+his appeals to the honour and good-fellowship of his compatriots, he
+opens their eyes to the appalling conditions under which wage-earning
+slaves are living by the hundreds of thousands. His object is to better
+these unnatural conditions, to obtain for the very poorest a glimpse of
+light and happiness, to make even them realise the sensation of cosy
+well-being and the comfort of knowing that justice is to be found also
+for them.
+
+This time Upton Sinclair has absorbed himself in the study of the
+miner's life in the lonesome pits of the Rocky Mountains, and his
+sensitive and enthusiastic mind has brought to the world an American
+parallel to GERMINAL, Emile Zola's technical masterpiece.
+
+The conditions described in the two books are, however, essentially
+different. While Zola's working-men are all natives of France, one meets
+in Sinclair's book a motley variety of European emigrants, speaking a
+Babel of languages and therefore debarred from forming some sort of
+association to protect themselves against being exploited by the
+anonymous limited Company. Notwithstanding this natural bar against
+united action on the part of the wage-earning slaves, the Company feels
+far from at ease and jealously guards its interests against any attempt
+of organising the men.
+
+A young American of the upper class, with great sympathy for the
+downtrodden and an honest desire to get a first-hand knowledge of their
+conditions in order to help them, decides to take employment in a mine
+under a fictitious name and dressed like a working-man. His unusual way
+of trying to obtain work arouses suspicion. He is believed to be a
+professional strike-leader sent out to organise the miners against their
+exploiters, and he is not only refused work, but thrashed mercilessly.
+When finally he succeeds in getting inside, he discovers with growing
+indignation the shameless and inhuman way in which those who unearth the
+black coal are being exploited.
+
+These are the fundamental ideas of the book, but they give but a faint
+notion of the author's poetic attitude. Most beautifully is this shown
+in Hal's relation to a young Irish girl, Red Mary. She is poor, and her
+daily life harsh and joyless, but nevertheless her wonderful grace is
+one of the outstanding features of the book. The first impression of
+Mary is that of a Celtic Madonna with a tender heart for little
+children. She develops into a Valk�re of the working-class, always ready
+to fight for the worker's right.
+
+The last chapters of the book give a description of the miners' revolt
+against the Company. They insist upon their right to choose a deputy to
+control the weighing-in of the coal, and upon having the mines sprinkled
+regularly to prevent explosion. They will also be free to buy their food
+and utensils wherever they like, even in shops not belonging to the
+Company.
+
+In a postscript Sinclair explains the fundamental facts on which his
+work of art has been built up. Even without the postscript one could not
+help feeling convinced that the social conditions he describes are true
+to life. The main point is that Sinclair has not allowed himself to
+become inspired by hackneyed phrases that bondage and injustice and the
+other evils and crimes of Kingdoms have been banished from Republics,
+but that he is earnestly pointing to the honeycombed ground on which the
+greatest modern money-power has been built. The fundament of this power
+is not granite, but mines. It lives and breathes in the light, because
+it has thousands of unfortunates toiling in the darkness. It lives and
+has its being in proud liberty because thousands are slaving for it,
+whose thraldom is the price of this liberty.
+
+This is the impression given to the reader of this exciting novel.
+
+GEORG BRANDES.
+
+
+
+
+BOOK ONE
+
+THE DOMAIN OF KING COAL
+
+
+
+SECTION 1.
+
+The town of Pedro stood on the edge of the mountain country; a
+straggling assemblage of stores and saloons from which a number of
+branch railroads ran up into the canyons, feeding the coal-camps.
+Through the week it slept peacefully; but on Saturday nights, when the
+miners came trooping down, and the ranchmen came in on horseback and in
+automobiles, it wakened to a seething life.
+
+At the railroad station, one day late in June, a young man alighted from
+a train. He was about twenty-one years of age, with sensitive features,
+and brown hair having a tendency to waviness. He wore a frayed and faded
+suit of clothes, purchased in a quarter of his home city where the
+Hebrew merchants stand on the sidewalks to offer their wares; also a
+soiled blue shirt without a tie, and a pair of heavy boots which had
+seen much service. Strapped on his back was a change of clothing and a
+blanket, and in his pockets a comb, a toothbrush, and a small pocket
+mirror.
+
+Sitting in the smoking-car of the train, the young man had listened to
+the talk of the coal-camps, seeking to correct his accent. When he got
+off the train he proceeded down the track and washed his hands with
+cinders, and lightly powdered some over his face. After studying the
+effect of this in his mirror, he strolled down the main street of Pedro,
+and, selecting a little tobacco-shop, went in. In as surly a voice as he
+could muster, he inquired of the proprietress, "Can you tell me how to
+get to the Pine Creek mine?"
+
+The woman looked at him with no suspicion in her glance. She gave the
+desired information, and he took a trolley and got off at the foot of
+the Pine Creek canyon, up which he had a thirteen-mile trudge. It was
+a sunshiny day, with the sky crystal clear, and the mountain air
+invigourating. The young man seemed to be happy, and as he strode on
+his way, he sang a song with many verses:
+
+  "Old King Coal was a merry old soul,
+    And a merry old soul was he;
+  He made him a college all full of knowledge--
+    Hurrah for you and me!
+
+  "Oh, Liza-Ann, come out with me,
+    The moon is a-shinin' in the monkey-puzzle tree;
+  Oh, Liza-Ann, I have began
+    To sing you the song of Harrigan!
+
+  "He keeps them a-roll, this merry old soul--
+    The wheels of industree;
+  A-roll and a-roll, for his pipe and his bowl
+    And his college facultee!
+
+  "Oh, Mary-Jane, come out in the lane,
+    The moon is a-shinin' in the old pecan;
+  Oh, Mary-Jane, don't you hear me a-sayin'
+    I'll sing you the song of Harrigan!
+
+  "So hurrah for King Coal, and his fat pay-roll,
+    And his wheels of industree!
+  Hurrah for his pipe, and hurrah for his bowl--
+    And hurrah for you and me!
+
+  "Oh, Liza-Ann, come out with me,
+    The moon is a-shinin'--"
+
+And so on and on--as long as the moon was a-shinin' on a college campus.
+It was a mixture of happy nonsense and that questioning with which
+modern youth has begun to trouble its elders. As a marching tune, the
+song was a trifle swift for the grades of a mountain canyon; Warner
+could stop and shout to the canyon-walls, and listen to their answer,
+and then march on again. He had youth in his heart, and love and
+curiosity; also he had some change in his trousers' pocket, and a ten
+dollar bill, for extreme emergencies, sewed up in his belt. If a
+photographer for Peter Harrigan's General Fuel Company could have got a
+snap-shot of him that morning, it might have served as a "portrait of a
+coal-miner" in any "prosperity" publication.
+
+But the climb was a stiff one, and before the end the traveller became
+aware of the weight of his boots, and sang no more. Just as the sun was
+sinking up the canyon, he came upon his destination--a gate across the
+road, with a sign upon it:
+
+PINE CREEK COAL CO.
+
+PRIVATE PROPERTY
+
+TRESPASSING FORBIDDEN
+
+Hal approached the gate, which was of iron bars, and padlocked. After
+standing for a moment to get ready his surly voice, he kicked upon the
+gate and a man came out of a shack inside.
+
+"What do you want?" said he.
+
+"I want to get in. I'm looking for a job."
+
+"Where do you come from?"
+
+"From Pedro."
+
+"Where you been working?"
+
+"I never worked in a mine before."
+
+"Where did you work?"
+
+"In a grocery-store."
+
+"What grocery-store?"
+
+"Peterson & Co., in Western City."
+
+The guard came closer to the gate and studied him through the bars.
+
+"Hey, Bill!" he called, and another man came out from the cabin. "Here's
+a guy says he worked in a grocery, and he's lookin' for a job."
+
+"Where's your papers?" demanded Bill.
+
+Every one had told Hal that labour was scarce in the mines, and that the
+companies were ravenous for men; he had supposed that a workingman would
+only have to knock, and it would be opened unto him. "They didn't give
+me no papers," he said, and added, hastily, "I got drunk and they fired
+me." He felt quite sure that getting drunk would not bar one from a coal
+camp.
+
+But the two made no move to open the gate. The second man studied him
+deliberately from top to toe, and Hal was uneasily aware of possible
+sources of suspicion. "I'm all right," he declared. "Let me in, and I'll
+show you."
+
+Still the two made no move. They looked at each other, and then Bill
+answered, "We don't need no hands."
+
+"But," exclaimed Hal, "I saw a sign down the canyon--"
+
+"That's an old sign," said Bill.
+
+"But I walked all the way up here!"
+
+"You'll find it easier walkin' back."
+
+"But--it's night!"
+
+"Scared of the dark, kid?" inquired Bill, facetiously.
+
+"Oh, say!" replied Hal. "Give a fellow a chance! Ain't there some way I
+can pay for my keep--or at least for a bunk to-night?"
+
+"There's nothin' for you," said Bill, and turned and went into the
+cabin.
+
+The other man waited and watched, with a decidedly hostile look. Hal
+strove to plead with him, but thrice he repeated, "Down the canyon with
+you." So at last Hal gave up, and moved down the road a piece and sat
+down to reflect.
+
+It really seemed an absurdly illogical proceeding, to post a notice,
+"Hands Wanted," in conspicuous places on the roadside, causing a man to
+climb thirteen miles up a mountain canyon, only to be turned off without
+explanation. Hal was convinced that there must be jobs inside the
+stockade, and that if only he could get at the bosses he could persuade
+them. He got up and walked down the road a quarter of a mile, to where
+the railroad-track crossed it, winding up the canyon. A train of
+"empties" was passing, bound into the camp, the cars rattling and
+bumping as the engine toiled up the grade. This suggested a solution of
+the difficulty.
+
+It was already growing dark. Crouching slightly, Hal approached the
+cars, and when he was in the shadows, made a leap and swung onto one of
+them. It took but a second to clamber in, and he lay flat and waited,
+his heart thumping.
+
+Before a minute had passed he heard a shout, and looking over, he saw
+the Cerberus of the gate running down a path to the track, his
+companion, Bill, just behind him. "Hey! come out of there!" they yelled;
+and Bill leaped, and caught the car in which Hal was riding.
+
+The latter saw that the game was up, and sprang to the ground on the
+other side of the track and started out of the camp. Bill followed him,
+and as the train passed, the other man ran down the track to join him.
+Hal was walking rapidly, without a word; but the Cerberus of the gate
+had many words, most of them unprintable, and he seized Hal by the
+collar, and shoving him violently, planted a kick upon that portion of
+his anatomy which nature has constructed for the reception of kicks. Hal
+recovered his balance, and, as the man was still pursuing him, he turned
+and aimed a blow, striking him on the chest and making him reel.
+
+Hal's big brother had seen to it that he knew how to use his fists; he
+now squared off, prepared to receive the second of his assailants. But
+in coal-camps matters are not settled in that primitive way, it
+appeared. The man halted, and the muzzle of a revolver came suddenly
+under Hal's nose. "Stick 'em up!" said the man.
+
+This was a slang which Hal had never heard, but the meaning was
+inescapable; he "stuck 'em up." At the same moment his first assailant
+rushed at him, and dealt him a blow over the eye which sent him
+sprawling backward upon the stones.
+
+
+
+SECTION 2.
+
+When Hal came to himself again he was in darkness, and was conscious of
+agony from head to toe. He was lying on a stone floor, and he rolled
+over, but soon rolled back again, because there was no part of his back
+which was not sore. Later on, when he was able to study himself, he
+counted over a score of marks of the heavy boots of his assailants.
+
+He lay for an hour or two, making up his mind that he was in a lock-up,
+because he could see the starlight through iron bars. He could hear
+somebody snoring, and he called half a dozen times, in a louder and
+louder voice, until at last, hearing a growl, he inquired, "Can you give
+me a drink of water?"
+
+"I'll give you hell if you wake me up again," said the voice; after
+which Hal lay in silence until morning.
+
+A couple of hours after daylight, a man entered his cell. "Get up," said
+he, and added a prod with his foot. Hal had thought he could not do it,
+but he got up.
+
+"No funny business now," said his jailer, and grasping him by the sleeve
+of his coat, marched him out of the cell and down a little corridor into
+a sort of office, where sat a red-faced personage with a silver shield
+upon the lapel of his coat. Hal's two assailants of the night before
+stood nearby.
+
+"Well, kid?" said the personage in the chair. "Had a little time to
+think it over?"
+
+"Yes," said Hal, briefly.
+
+"What's the charge?" inquired the personage, of the two watchmen.
+
+"Trespassing and resisting arrest."
+
+"How much money you got, young fellow?" was, the next question.
+
+Hal hesitated.
+
+"Speak up there!" said the man.
+
+"Two dollars and sixty-seven cents," said Hal--"as well as I can
+remember."
+
+"Go on!" said the other. "What you givin' us?" And then, to the two
+watchmen, "Search him."
+
+"Take off your coat and pants," said Bill, promptly, "and your boots."
+
+"Oh, I say!" protested Hal.
+
+"Take 'em off!" said the man, and clenched his fists. Hal took 'em off,
+and they proceeded to go through the pockets, producing a purse with the
+amount stated, also a cheap watch, a strong pocket knife, the
+tooth-brush, comb and mirror, and two white handkerchiefs, which they
+looked at contemptuously and tossed to the spittle-drenched floor.
+
+They unrolled the pack, and threw the clean clothing about. Then,
+opening the pocket-knife, they proceeded to pry about the soles and
+heels of the boots, and to cut open the lining of the clothing. So they
+found the ten dollars in the belt, which they tossed onto the table with
+the other belongings. Then the personage with the shield announced, "I
+fine you twelve dollars and sixty-seven cents, and your watch and
+knife." He added, with a grin, "You can keep your snot-rags."
+
+"Now see here!" said Hal, angrily. "This is pretty raw!"
+
+"You get your duds on, young fellow, and get out of here as quick as you
+can, or you'll go in your shirt-tail."
+
+But Hal was angry enough to have been willing to go in his skin. "You
+tell me who you are, and your authority for this procedure?"
+
+"I'm marshal of the camp," said the man.
+
+"You mean you're an employ� of the General Fuel Company? And you propose
+to rob me--"
+
+"Put him out, Bill," said the marshal. And Hal saw Bill's fists clench.
+
+"All right," he said, swallowing his indignation. "Wait till I get my
+clothes on." And he proceeded to dress as quickly as possible; he rolled
+up his blanket and spare clothing, and started for the door.
+
+"Remember," said the marshal, "straight down the canyon with you, and if
+you show your face round here again, you'll get a bullet through you."
+
+So Hal went out into the sunshine, with a guard on each side of him as
+an escort. He was on the same mountain road, but in the midst of the
+company-village. In the distance he saw the great building of the
+breaker, and heard the incessant roar of machinery and falling coal. He
+marched past a double lane of company houses and shanties, where
+slattern women in doorways and dirty children digging in the dust of the
+roadside paused and grinned at him--for he limped as he walked, and it
+was evident enough what had happened to him.
+
+Hal had come with love and curiosity. The love was greatly
+diminished--evidently this was not the force which kept the wheels of
+industry a-roll. But the curiosity was greater than ever. What was there
+so carefully hidden inside this coal-camp stockade?
+
+Hal turned and looked at Bill, who had showed signs of humour the day
+before. "See here," said he, "you fellows have got my money, and you've
+blacked my eye and kicked me blue, so you ought to be satisfied. Before
+I go, tell me about it, won't you?"
+
+"Tell you what?" growled Bill.
+
+"Why did I get this?"
+
+"Because you're too gay, kid. Didn't you know you had no business trying
+to sneak in here?"
+
+"Yes," said Hal; "but that's not what I mean. Why didn't you let me in
+at first?"
+
+"If you wanted a job in a mine," demanded the man, "why didn't you go at
+it in the regular way?"
+
+"I didn't know the regular way."
+
+"That's just it. And we wasn't takin' chances with you. You didn't look
+straight."
+
+"But what did you think I was? What are you afraid of?"
+
+"Go on!" said the man. "You can't work me!"
+
+Hal walked a few steps in silence, pondering how to break through. "I
+see you're suspicious of me," he said. "I'll tell you the truth, if
+you'll let me." Then, as the other did not forbid him, "I'm a college
+boy, and I wanted to see life and shift for myself a while. I thought it
+would be a lark to come here."
+
+"Well," said Bill, "this ain't no foot-ball field. It's a coal-mine."
+
+Hal saw that his story had been accepted. "Tell me straight," he said,
+"what did you think I was?"
+
+"Well, I don't mind telling," growled Bill. "There's union agitators
+trying to organise these here camps, and we ain't taking no chances with
+'em. This company gets its men through agencies, and if you'd went and
+satisfied them, you'd 'a been passed in the regular way. Or if you'd
+went to the office down in Pedro and got a pass, you'd 'a been all
+right. But when a guy turns up at the gate, and looks like a dude and
+talks like a college perfessor, he don't get by, see?"
+
+"I see," said Hal. And then, "If you'll give me the price of a breakfast
+out of my money, I'll be obliged."
+
+"Breakfast is over," said Bill. "You sit round till the pinyons gets
+ripe." He laughed; but then, mellowed by his own joke, he took a quarter
+from his pocket and passed it to Hal. He opened the padlock on the gate
+and saw him out with a grin; and so ended Hal's first turn on the wheels
+of industry.
+
+
+
+SECTION 3.
+
+Hal Warner started to drag himself down the road, but was unable to make
+it. He got as far as a brooklet that came down the mountain-side, from
+which he might drink without fear of typhoid; there he lay the whole
+day, fasting. Towards evening a thunder-storm came up, and he crawled
+under the shelter of a rock, which was no shelter at all. His single
+blanket was soon soaked through, and he passed a night almost as
+miserable as the previous one. He could not sleep, but he could think,
+and he thought about what had happened to him. "Bill" had said that a
+coal mine was not a foot-ball field, but it seemed to Hal that the net
+impress of the two was very much the same. He congratulated himself that
+his profession was not that of a union organiser.
+
+At dawn he dragged himself up, and continued his journey, weak from cold
+and unaccustomed lack of food. In the course of the day he reached a
+power-station near the foot of the canyon. He did not have the price of
+a meal, and was afraid to beg; but in one of the group of buildings by
+the roadside was a store, and he entered and inquired concerning prunes,
+which were twenty-five cents a pound. The price was high, but so was the
+altitude, and as Hal found in the course of time, they explained the one
+by the other--not explaining, however, why the altitude of the price was
+always greater than the altitude of the store. Over the counter he saw a
+sign: "We buy scrip at ten per cent discount." He had heard rumours of a
+state law forbidding payment of wages in "scrip"; but he asked no
+questions, and carried off his very light pound of prunes, and sat down
+by the roadside and munched them.
+
+Just beyond the power-house, down on the railroad track, stood a little
+cabin with a garden behind it. He made his way there, and found a
+one-legged old watchman. He asked permission to spend the night on the
+floor of the cabin; and seeing the old fellow look at his black eye, he
+explained, "I tried to get a job at the mine, and they thought I was a
+union organiser."
+
+"Well," said the man, "I don't want no union organisers round here."
+
+"But I'm not one," pleaded Hal.
+
+"How do I know what you are? Maybe you're a company spy."
+
+"All I want is a dry place to sleep," said Hal. "Surely it won't be any
+harm for you to give me that."
+
+"I'm not so sure," the other answered. "However, you can spread your
+blanket in the corner. But don't you talk no union business to me."
+
+Hal had no desire to talk. He rolled himself in his blanket and slept
+like a man untroubled by either love or curiosity. In the morning the
+old fellow gave him a slice of corn bread and some young onions out of
+his garden, which had a more delicious taste than any breakfast that had
+ever been served him. When Hal thanked his host in parting, the latter
+remarked: "All right, young fellow, there's one thing you can do to pay
+me, and that is, say nothing about it. When a man has grey hair on his
+head and only one leg, he might as well be drowned in the creek as lose
+his job."
+
+Hal promised, and went his way. His bruises pained him less, and he was
+able to walk. There were ranch-houses in sight--it was like coming back
+suddenly to America!
+
+
+
+SECTION 4.
+
+Hal had now before him a week's adventures as a hobo: a genuine hobo,
+with no ten dollar bill inside his belt to take the reality out of his
+experiences. He took stock of his worldly goods and wondered if he still
+looked like a dude. He recalled that he had a smile which had fascinated
+the ladies; would it work in combination with a black eye? Having no
+other means of support, he tried it on susceptible looking housewives,
+and found it so successful that he was tempted to doubt the wisdom of
+honest labour. He sang the Harrigan song no more, but instead the words
+of a hobo-song he had once heard:
+
+"Oh, what's the use of workin' when there's women in the land?"
+
+The second day he made the acquaintance of two other gentlemen of the
+road, who sat by the railroad-track toasting some bacon over a fire.
+They welcomed him, and after they had heard his story, adopted him into
+the fraternity and instructed him in its ways of life. Pretty soon he
+made the acquaintance of one who had been a miner, and was able to give
+him the information he needed before climbing another canyon.
+
+"Dutch Mike" was the name this person bore, for reasons he did not
+explain. He was a black-eyed and dangerous-looking rascal, and when the
+subject of mines and mining was broached, he opened up the flood-gates
+of an amazing reservoir of profanity. He was through with that game--Hal
+or any other God-damned fool might have his job for the asking. It was
+only because there were so many natural-born God-damned fools in the
+world that the game could be kept going. "Dutch Mike" went on to relate
+dreadful tales of mine-life, and to summon before him the ghosts of one
+pit-boss after another, consigning them to the fires of eternal
+perdition.
+
+"I wanted to work while I was young," said he, "but now I'm cured, an'
+fer good." The world had come to seem to him a place especially
+constructed for the purpose of making him work, and every faculty he
+possessed was devoted to foiling this plot. Sitting by a camp-fire near
+the stream which ran down the valley, Hal had a merry time pointing out
+to "Dutch Mike" how he worked harder at dodging work than other men
+worked at working. The hobo did not seem to mind that, however--it was a
+matter of principle with him, and he was willing to make sacrifices for
+his convictions. Even when they had sent him to the work-house, he had
+refused to work; he had been shut in a dungeon, and had nearly died on a
+diet of bread and water, rather than work. If everybody would do the
+same, he said, they would soon "bust things."
+
+Hal took a fancy to this spontaneous revolutionist, and travelled with
+him for a couple of days, in the course of which he pumped him as to
+details of the life of a miner. Most of the companies used regular
+employment agencies, as the guard had mentioned; but the trouble was,
+these agencies got something from your pay for a long time--the bosses
+were "in cahoots" with them. When Hal wondered if this were not against
+the law, "Cut it out, Bo!" said his companion. "When you've had a job
+for a while, you'll know that the law in a coal-camp is what your boss
+tells you." The hobo went on to register his conviction that when one
+man has the giving of jobs, and other men have to scramble for them, the
+law would never have much to say in the deal. Hal judged this a profound
+observation, and wished that it might be communicated to the professor
+of political economy at Harrigan.
+
+On the second night of his acquaintance with "Dutch Mike," their
+"jungle" was raided by a constable with half a dozen deputies; for a
+determined effort was being made just then to drive vagrants from the
+neighbourhood--or to get them to work in the mines. Hal's friend, who
+slept with one eye open, made a break in the darkness, and Hal followed
+him, getting under the guard of the raiders by a foot-ball trick. They
+left their food and blankets behind them, but "Dutch Mike" made light of
+this, and lifted a chicken from a roost to keep them cheerful through
+the night hours, and stole a change of underclothing off a clothes-line
+the next day. Hal ate the chicken, and wore the underclothing, thus
+beginning his career in crime.
+
+Parting from "Dutch Mike," he went back to Pedro. The hobo had told him
+that saloon-keepers nearly always had friends in the coal-camps, and
+could help a fellow to a job. So Hal began enquiring, and the second one
+replied, Yes, he would give him a letter to a man at North Valley, and
+if he got the job, the friend would deduct a dollar a month from his
+pay. Hal agreed, and set out upon another tramp up another canyon, upon
+the strength of a sandwich "bummed" from a ranch-house at the entrance
+to the valley. At another stockaded gate of the General Fuel Company he
+presented his letter, addressed to a person named O'Callahan, who turned
+out also to be a saloon-keeper.
+
+The guard did not even open the letter, but passed Hal in at sight of
+it, and he sought out his man and applied for work. The man said he
+would help him, but would have to deduct a dollar a month for himself,
+as well as a dollar for his friend in Pedro. Hal kicked at this, and
+they bartered back and forth; finally, when Hal turned away and
+threatened to appeal directly to the "super," the saloon-keeper
+compromised on a dollar and a half.
+
+"You know mine-work?" he asked.
+
+"Brought up at it," said Hal, made wise, now, in the ways of the world.
+
+"Where did you work?"
+
+Hal named several mines, concerning which he had learned something from
+the hoboes. He was going by the name of "Joe Smith," which he judged
+likely to be found on the payroll of any mine. He had more than a week's
+growth of beard to disguise him, and had picked up some profanity as
+well.
+
+The saloon-keeper took him to interview Mr. Alec Stone, pit-boss in
+Number Two mine, who inquired promptly: "You know anything about mules?"
+
+"I worked in a stable," said Hal, "I know about horses."
+
+"Well, mules is different," said the man. "One of my stable-men got the
+colic the other day, and I don't know if he'll ever be any good again."
+
+"Give me a chance," said Hal. "I'll manage them."
+
+The boss looked him over. "You look like a bright chap," said he. "I'll
+pay you forty-five a month, and if you make good I'll make it fifty."
+
+"All right, sir. When do I start in?"
+
+"You can't start too quick to suit me. Where's your duds?"
+
+"This is all I've got," said Hal, pointing to the bundle of stolen
+underwear in his hand.
+
+"Well, chuck it there in the corner," said the man; then suddenly he
+stopped, and looked at Hal, frowning. "You belong to any union?"
+
+"Lord, no!"
+
+"Did you _ever_ belong to any union?"
+
+"No, sir. Never."
+
+The man's gaze seemed to imply that Hal was lying, and that his secret
+soul was about to be read. "You have to swear to that, you know, before
+you can work here."
+
+"All right," said Hal, "I'm willing."
+
+"I'll see you about it to-morrow," said the other. "I ain't got the
+paper with me. By the way, what's your religion?"
+
+"Seventh Day Adventist."
+
+"Holy Christ! What's that?"
+
+"It don't hurt," said Hal. "I ain't supposed to work on Saturdays, but I
+do."
+
+"Well, don't you go preachin' it round here. We got our own
+preacher--you chip in fifty cents a month for him out of your wages.
+Come ahead now, and I'll take you down." And so it was that Hal got his
+start in life.
+
+
+
+SECTION 5.
+
+The mule is notoriously a profane and godless creature; a blind alley of
+Nature, so to speak, a mistake of which she is ashamed, and which she
+does not permit to reproduce itself. The thirty mules under Hal's charge
+had been brought up in an environment calculated to foster the worst
+tendencies of their natures. He soon made the discovery that the "colic"
+of his predecessor had been caused by a mule's hind foot in the stomach;
+and he realised that he must not let his mind wander for an instant, if
+he were to avoid this dangerous disease.
+
+These mules lived their lives in the darkness of the earth's interior;
+only when they fell sick were they taken up to see the sunlight and to
+roll about in green pastures. There was one of them called "Dago
+Charlie," who had learned to chew tobacco, and to rummage in the pockets
+of the miners and their "buddies." Not knowing how to spit out the
+juice, he would make himself ill, and then he would swear off from
+indulgence. But the drivers and the pit-boys knew his failing, and would
+tempt "Dago Charlie" until he fell from grace. Hal soon discovered this
+moral tragedy, and carried the pain of it in his soul as he went about
+his all-day drudgery.
+
+He went down the shaft with the first cage, which was very early in the
+morning. He fed and watered his charges, and helped to harness them.
+Then, when the last four hoofs had clattered away, he cleaned out the
+stalls, and mended harness, and obeyed the orders of any person older
+than himself who happened to be about.
+
+Next to the mules, his torment was the "trapper-boys," and other
+youngsters with whom he came into contact. He was a newcomer, and so
+they hazed him; moreover, he had an inferior job--there seemed to their
+minds to be something humiliating and comic about the task of tending
+mules. These urchins came from a score of nations of Southern Europe and
+Asia; there were flat-faced Tartars and swarthy Greeks and shrewd-eyed
+little Japanese. They spoke a compromise language, consisting mainly of
+English curse words and obscenities; the filthiness which their minds
+had spawned was incredible to one born and raised in the sunlight. They
+alleged obscenities of their mothers and their grandmothers; also of the
+Virgin Mary, the one mythological character they had heard of. Poor
+little creatures of the dark, their souls grimed and smutted even more
+quickly and irrevocably than their faces!
+
+Hal had been advised by his boss to inquire for board at "Reminitsky's."
+He came up in the last car, at twilight, and was directed to a dimly
+lighted building of corrugated iron, where upon inquiry he was met by a
+stout Russian, who told him he could be taken care of for twenty-seven
+dollars a month, this including a cot in a room with eight other single
+men. After deducting a dollar and a half a month for his saloon-keepers,
+fifty cents for the company clergyman and a dollar for the company
+doctor, fifty cents a month for wash-house privileges and fifty cents
+for a sick and accident benefit fund, he had fourteen dollars a month
+with which to clothe himself, to found a family, to provide himself with
+beer and tobacco, and to patronise the libraries and colleges endowed by
+the philanthropic owners of coal mines.
+
+Supper was nearly over at Reminitsky's when he arrived; the floor looked
+like the scene of a cannibal picnic, and what food was left was cold. It
+was always to be this way with him, he found, and he had to make the
+best of it. The dining-room of this boarding-house, owned and managed by
+the G. F. C., brought to his mind the state prison, which he had once
+visited--with its rows of men sitting in silence, eating starch and
+grease out of tin-plates. The plates here were of crockery half an inch
+thick, but the starch and grease never failed; the formula of
+Reminitsky's cook seemed to be, When in doubt add grease, and boil it
+in. Even ravenous as Hal was after his long tramp and his labour below
+ground, he could hardly swallow this food. On Sundays, the only time he
+ate by daylight, the flies swarmed over everything, and he remembered
+having heard a physician say that an enlightened man should be more
+afraid of a fly than of a Bengal tiger. The boarding-house provided him
+with a cot and a supply of vermin, but with no blanket, which was a
+necessity in the mountain regions. So after supper he had to seek out
+his boss, and arrange to get credit at the company-store. They were
+willing to give a certain amount of credit, he found, as this would
+enable the camp-marshal to keep him from straying. There was no law to
+hold a man for debt--but Hal knew by this time how much a camp-marshal
+cared for law.
+
+
+
+SECTION 6.
+
+For three days Hal toiled in the bowels of the mine, and ate and pursued
+vermin at Reminitsky's. Then came a blessed Sunday, and he had a couple
+of free hours to see the sunlight and to get a look at the North Valley
+camp. It was a village straggling along more than a mile of the mountain
+canyon. In the centre were the great breaker-buildings, the shaft-house,
+and the power-house with its tall chimneys; nearby were the
+company-store and a couple of saloons. There were several
+boarding-houses like Reminitsky's, and long rows of board cabins
+containing from two to four rooms each, some of them occupied by several
+families. A little way up a slope stood a school-house, and another
+small one-room building which served as a church; the clergyman
+belonging to the General Fuel Company denomination. He was given the use
+of the building, by way of start over the saloons, which had to pay a
+heavy rental to the company; it seemed a proof of the innate perversity
+of human nature that even in spite of this advantage, heaven was losing
+out in the struggle against hell in the coal-camp.
+
+As one walked through this village, the first impression was of
+desolation. The mountains towered, barren and lonely, scarred with the
+wounds of geologic ages. In these canyons the sun set early in the
+afternoon, the snow came early in the fall; everywhere Nature's hand
+seemed against man, and man had succumbed to her power. Inside the camps
+one felt a still more cruel desolation--that of sordidness and
+animalism. There were a few pitiful attempts at vegetable-gardens, but
+the cinders and smoke killed everything, and the prevailing colour was
+of grime. The landscape was strewn with ash-heaps, old wire and
+tomato-cans, and smudged and smutty children playing.
+
+There was a part of the camp called "shanty-town," where, amid miniature
+mountains of slag, some of the lowest of the newly-arrived foreigners
+had been permitted to build themselves shacks out of old boards, tin,
+and sheets of tar-paper. These homes were beneath the dignity of
+chicken-houses, yet in some of them a dozen people were crowded, men and
+women sleeping on old rags and blankets on a cinder floor. Here the
+babies swarmed like maggots. They wore for the most part a single ragged
+smock, and their bare buttocks were shamelessly upturned to the heavens.
+It was so the children of the cave-men must have played, thought Hal;
+and waves of repulsion swept over him. He had come with love and
+curiosity, but both motives failed here. How could a man of sensitive
+nerves, aware of the refinements and graces of life, learn to love these
+people, who were an affront to his every sense--a stench to his
+nostrils, a jabbering to his ear, a procession of deformities to his
+eye? What had civilisation done for them? What could it do? After all,
+what were they fit for, but the dirty work they were penned up to do? So
+spoke the haughty race-consciousness of the Anglo-Saxon, contemplating
+these Mediterranean hordes, the very shape of whose heads was
+objectionable.
+
+But Hal stuck it out; and little by little new vision came to him. First
+of all, it was the fascination of the mines. They were old mines--veritable
+cities tunnelled out beneath the mountains, the main passages running
+for miles. One day Hal stole off from his job, and took a trip with a
+"rope-rider," and got through his physical senses a realisation of the
+vastness and strangeness and loneliness of this labyrinth of night. In
+Number Two mine the vein ran up at a slope of perhaps five degrees; in
+part of it the empty cars were hauled in long trains by an endless rope,
+but coming back loaded, they came of their own gravity. This involved
+much work for the "spraggers," or boys who did the braking; it sometimes
+meant run-away cars, and fresh perils added to the everyday perils of
+coal-mining.
+
+The vein varied from four to five feet in thickness; a cruelty of nature
+which made it necessary that the men at the "working face"--the place
+where new coal was being cut--should learn to shorten their stature.
+After Hal had squatted for a while and watched them at their tasks, he
+understood why they walked with head and shoulders bent over and arms
+hanging down, so that, seeing them coming out of the shaft in the
+gloaming, one thought of a file of baboons. The method of getting out
+the coal was to "undercut" it with a pick, and then blow it loose with a
+charge of powder. This meant that the miner had to lie on his side while
+working, and accounted for other physical peculiarities.
+
+Thus, as always, when one understood the lives of men, one came to pity
+instead of despising. Here was a separate race of creatures,
+subterranean, gnomes, pent up by society for purposes of its own.
+Outside in the sunshine-flooded canyon, long lines of cars rolled down
+with their freight of soft-coal; coal which would go to the ends of the
+earth, to places the miner never heard of, turning the wheels of
+industry whose products the miner would never see. It would make
+precious silks for fine ladies, it would cut precious jewels for their
+adornment; it would carry long trains of softly upholstered cars across
+deserts and over mountains; it would drive palatial steamships out of
+wintry tempests into gleaming tropic seas. And the fine ladies in their
+precious silks and jewels would eat and sleep and laugh and lie at
+ease--and would know no more of the stunted creatures of the dark than
+the stunted creatures knew of them. Hal reflected upon this, and subdued
+his Anglo-Saxon pride, finding forgiveness for what was repulsive in
+these people--their barbarous, jabbering speech, their vermin-ridden
+homes, their bare-bottomed babies.
+
+
+
+SECTION 7.
+
+It chanced before many days that Hal got a holiday, relieving the
+monotony of his labours as stableman: an accidental holiday, not
+provided for in his bargain with the pit-boss. Something went wrong with
+the ventilating-course in Number Two, and he began to notice a headache,
+and heard the men grumbling that their lamps were burning low. Then, as
+matters began to get serious, orders came to get the mules to the
+surface.
+
+Which meant an amusing adventure. The delight of Hal's pets at seeing
+the sunlight was irresistibly comic. They could not be kept from lying
+down and rolling on their backs in the cinder-strewn street; and when
+they were corralled in a distant part of the camp where actual grass
+grew, they abandoned themselves to rapture like a horde of school
+children at a picnic.
+
+So Hal had a few free hours; and being still young and not cured of idle
+curiosities, he climbed the canyon wall to see the mountains. As he was
+sliding down again, toward evening, a vivid spot of colour was painted
+into his picture of mine-life; he found himself in somebody's back yard,
+and being observed by somebody's daughter, who was taking in the family
+wash. It was a splendid figure of a lass, tall and vigorous, with the
+sort of hair that in polite circles is called auburn, and that flaming
+colour in the cheeks which is Nature's recompense to people who live
+where it rains all the time. She was the first beautiful sight Hal had
+seen since he had come up the canyon, and it was only natural that he
+should be interested. It seemed to him that, so long as the girl stared,
+he had a right to stare back. It did not occur to him that he too was a
+pleasing sight--that the mountain air had given colour to his cheeks and
+a shine to his gay brown eyes, while the mountain winds had blown his
+wavy brown hair.
+
+"Hello," said she, at last, in a warm voice, unmistakably Irish.
+
+"Hello yourself," said Hal, in the accepted dialect; then he added, with
+more elegance, "Pardon me for trespassing on your wash."
+
+Her grey eyes opened wider. "Go on!" she said.
+
+"I'd rather stay," said Hal. "It's a beautiful sunset."
+
+"I'll move, so ye can see it better." She carried her armful of clothes
+over and dropped them into the basket.
+
+"No," said Hal, "it's not so fine now. The colours have faded."
+
+She turned and gazed at him again. "Go on wid ye! I been teased about my
+hair since before I could talk."
+
+"'Tis envy," said Hal, dropping into her way of speech; and he came a
+few steps nearer, so that he could inspect the hair more closely. It lay
+above her brow in undulations which were agreeable to the decorative
+instinct, and a tight heavy braid of it fell over her shoulders and
+swung to her waist-line. He observed the shoulders, which were sturdy,
+obviously accustomed to hard labour; not conforming to accepted romantic
+standards of femininity, yet having an athletic grace of their own. They
+were covered with a faded blue calico dress, unfortunately not entirely
+clean; also, the young man noticed, there was a rent in one shoulder
+through which a patch of skin was visible. The girl's eyes, which had
+been following his, became defiant; she tossed a piece of her washing
+over the shoulder, where it stayed through the balance of the interview.
+
+"Who are ye?" she demanded, suddenly.
+
+"My name's Joe Smith. I'm a stableman in Number Two."
+
+"And what were ye doin' up there, if a body might ask?" She lifted her
+grey eyes to the bare mountainside, down which he had come sliding in a
+shower of loose stones and dirt.
+
+"I've been surveying my empire," said he.
+
+"Your what?"
+
+"My empire. The land belongs to the company, but the landscape belongs
+to him who cares for it."
+
+She tossed her head a little. "Where did ye learn to talk like ye do?"
+
+"In another life," said he--"before I became a stableman. Not in entire
+forgetfulness, but trailing clouds of glory did I come."
+
+For a moment she wrestled with this. Then a smile broke upon her face.
+"Sure, 'tis like a poetry-book! Say some more!"
+
+"_O, singe fort, so suess und fein_!" quoted Hal--and saw her look
+puzzled.
+
+"Aren't you American?" she inquired; and he laughed. To speak a foreign
+language in North Valley was not a mark of culture!
+
+"I've been listening to the crowd at Reminitsky's," he said,
+apologetically.
+
+"Oh! You eat there?"
+
+"I go there three times a day. I can't say I eat very much. Could you
+live on greasy beans?"
+
+"Sure," laughed the girl, "the good old pertaties is good enough for
+me."
+
+"I should have said you lived on rose leaves!" he observed.
+
+"Go on wid ye! 'Tis the blarney-stone ye been kissin'!"
+
+"'Tis no stone I'd be wastin' my kisses on."
+
+"Ye're gettin' bold, Mister Smith. I'll not listen to ye." And she
+turned away, and began industriously taking her clothes from the line.
+But Hal did not want to be dismissed. He came a step closer.
+
+"Coming down the mountain-side," he said, "I found something wonderful.
+It's bare and grim up there, but I came on a sheltered corner where the
+sun shone, and there was a wild rose. Only one! I thought to myself, 'So
+roses grow, even in the loneliest parts of the world!'"
+
+"Sure, 'tis a poetry-book again!" she cried. "Why didn't ye bring the
+rose?"
+
+"There is a poetry-book that tells us to 'leave the wild-rose on its
+stalk.' It will go on blooming there; but if one were to pluck it, it
+would wither in a few hours."
+
+He had meant nothing more by this than to keep the conversation going.
+But her answer turned the tide of their acquaintance.
+
+"Ye can never be sure, lad. Perhaps to-night a storm may come and blow
+it to pieces. Perhaps if ye'd pulled it and been happy, 'twould 'a been
+what the rose was for."
+
+Whatever of unconscious patronage there had been in the poet's attitude
+was lost now in the eternal mystery. Whether the girl knew it--or
+cared--she had won the woman's first victory. She had caught the man's
+mind and pinned it with curiosity. What did this wild rose of the mining
+camps mean?
+
+The wild rose, apparently unconscious that she had said anything
+epoch-making, was busy with the wash; and meantime Hal Warner studied
+her features and pondered her words. From a lady of sophistication they
+would have meant only one thing, an invitation; but in this girl's clear
+grey eyes was nothing of wantonness, only pain. But what was this pain
+in the face and words of one so young, so eager and alive? Was it the
+melancholy of her race, the thing one got in old folk-songs? Or was it a
+new and special kind of melancholy, engendered in mining-camps in the
+far West of America?
+
+The girl's countenance was as intriguing as her words. Her grey eyes
+were set under sharply defined dark brows, which did not match her hair.
+Her lips also were sharply defined, and straight, almost without curves,
+so that it seemed as if her mouth had been painted in carmine upon her
+face. These features gave her, when she stared at you, an aspect vivid
+and startling, bold, with a touch of defiance. But when she smiled, the
+red lips would curve into gentler lines, and the grey eyes would become
+wistful, and seemingly darker in colour. Winsome indeed, but not simple,
+was this Irish lass!
+
+
+
+SECTION 8.
+
+Hal asked the name of his new acquaintance, and she told him it was Mary
+Burke. "Ye've not been here long, I take it," she said, "or ye'd have
+heard of 'Red Mary.' 'Tis along of this hair."
+
+"I've not been here long," he answered, "but I shall hope to stay
+now--along of this hair! May I come to see you some time, Miss Burke?"
+
+She did not reply, but glanced at the house where she lived. It was an
+unpainted, three room cabin, more dilapidated than the average, with
+bare dirt and cinders about it, and what had once been a picket-fence,
+now falling apart and being used for stove-wood. The windows were
+cracked and broken, and upon the roof were signs of leaks that had been
+crudely patched.
+
+"May I come?" he made haste to ask again--so that he would not seem to
+look too critically at her home.
+
+"Perhaps ye may," said the girl, as she picked up the clothes basket. He
+stepped forward, offering to carry it, but she did not give it up.
+Holding it tight, and looking him defiantly in the face, she said, "Ye
+may come, but ye'll not find it a happy place to visit, Mr. Smith. Ye'll
+hear soon enough from the neighbours."
+
+"I don't think I know any of your neighbours," said he.
+
+There was sympathy in his voice; but her look was no less defiant.
+"Ye'll hear about it, Mr. Smith; but ye'll hear also that I hold me head
+up. And 'tis not so easy to do that in North Valley."
+
+"You don't like the place?" he asked; and he was amazed by the effect of
+this question, which was merely polite. It was as if a storm cloud had
+swept over the girl's face. "I hate it! 'Tis a place of fear and
+devils!"
+
+He hesitated a moment; then, "Will you tell me what you mean by that
+when I come?"
+
+But "Red Mary" was winsome again. "When ye come, Mr. Smith, I'll not be
+entertaining ye with troubles. I'll put on me company manner, and we'll
+go out for a nice walk, if ye please."
+
+All the way as he walked back to Reminitsky's to supper, Hal thought
+about this girl; not merely her pleasantness to the eye, so unexpected
+in this place of desolation, but her personality, which baffled him--the
+pain that seemed always just beneath the surface of her thoughts, the
+fierce pride which flashed out at the slightest suggestion of sympathy,
+the way she had of brightening when he spoke the language of metaphor,
+however trite. How had she come to know about poetry-books? He wanted to
+know more about this miracle of Nature--this wild rose blooming on a
+bare mountain-side!
+
+
+
+SECTION 9.
+
+There was one of Mary Burke's remarks upon which Hal soon got light--her
+statement that North Valley was a place of fear. He listened to the
+tales of these underworld men, until it came so that he shuddered with
+dread each time that he went down in the cage.
+
+There was a wire-haired and almond eyed Korean, named Cho, a
+"rope-rider" in Hal's part of the mine. He was one of those who had
+charge of the long trains of cars, called "trips," which were hauled
+through the main passage-ways; the name "rope-rider" came from the fact
+that he sat on the heavy iron ring to which the rope was attached. He
+invited Hal to a seat with him, and Hal accepted, at peril of his job as
+well as of his limbs. Cho had picked up what he fondly thought was
+English, and now and then one could understand a word. He pointed upon
+the ground, and shouted above the rattle of the cars: "Big dust!" Hal
+saw that the ground was covered with six inches of coal-dust, while on
+the old disused walls one could write his name in it. "Much blow-up!"
+said the rope-rider; and when the last empty cars had been shunted off
+into the working-rooms, and he was waiting to make up a return "trip,"
+he laboured with gestures to explain what he meant. "Load cars. Bang!
+Bust like hell!"
+
+Hal knew that the mountain air in this region was famous for its
+dryness; he learned now that the quality which meant life to invalids
+from every part of the world meant death to those who toiled to keep the
+invalids warm. Driven through the mines by great fans, this air took out
+every particle of moisture, and left coal dust so thick and dry that
+there were fatal explosions from the mere friction of loading-shovels.
+So it happened that these mines were killing several times as many men
+as other mines throughout the country.
+
+Was there no remedy for this, Hal asked, talking with one of his
+mule-drivers, Tim Rafferty, the evening after his ride with Cho. There
+was a remedy, said Tim--the law required sprinkling the mines with
+"adobe-dust"; and once in Tim's life, he remembered this law's being
+obeyed. There had come some "big fellows" inspecting things, and
+previous to their visit there had been an elaborate campaign of
+sprinkling. But that had been several years ago, and now the apparatus
+was stored away, nobody knew where, and one heard nothing about
+sprinkling.
+
+It was the same with precautions against gas. The North Valley mines
+were especially "gassy," it appeared. In these old rambling passages one
+smelt a stink as of all the rotten eggs in all the barn-yards of the
+world; and this sulphuretted hydrogen was the least dangerous of the
+gases against which a miner had to contend. There was the dreaded
+"choke-damp," which was odourless, and heavier than air. Striking into
+soft, greasy coal, one would open a pocket of this gas, a deposit laid
+up for countless ages, awaiting its predestined victim. A man might sink
+to sleep as he lay at work, and if his "buddy," or helper, happened to
+be out of sight, and to delay a minute too long, it would be all over
+with the man. And there was the still more dreaded "fire-damp," which
+might wreck a whole mine, and kill scores and even hundreds of men.
+
+Against these dangers there was a "fire-boss," whose duty was to go
+through the mine, testing for gas, and making sure that the
+ventilating-course was in order, and the fans working properly. The
+"fire-boss" was supposed to make his rounds in the early morning, and
+the law specified that no one should go to work till he had certified
+that all was safe. But what if the "fire-boss" overslept himself, or
+happened to be drunk? It was too much to expect thousands of dollars to
+be lost for such a reason. So sometimes one saw men ordered to their
+work, and sent down grumbling and cursing. Before many hours some of
+them would be prostrated with headache, and begging to be taken out; and
+perhaps the superintendent would not let them out, because if a few
+came, the rest would get scared and want to come also.
+
+Once, only last year, there had been an accident of that sort. A young
+mule-driver, a Croatian, told Hal about it while they sat munching the
+contents of their dinner-pails. The first cage-load of men had gone down
+into the mine, sullenly protesting; and soon afterwards some one had
+taken down a naked light, and there had been an explosion which had
+sounded like the blowing up of the inside of the world. Eight men had
+been killed, the force of the explosion being so great that some of the
+bodies had been wedged between the shaft wall and the cage, and it had
+been necessary to cut them to pieces to get them out. It was them Japs
+that were to blame, vowed Hal's informant. They hadn't ought to turn
+them loose in coal mines, for the devil himself couldn't keep a Jap from
+sneaking off to get a smoke.
+
+So Hal understood how North Valley was a place of fear. What tales the
+old chambers of these mines could have told, if they had had voices! Hal
+watched the throngs pouring in to their labours, and reflected that
+according to the statisticians of the government eight or nine of every
+thousand of them were destined to die violent deaths before a year was
+out, and some thirty more would be badly injured. And they knew this,
+they knew it better than all the statisticians of the government; yet
+they went to their tasks! Reflecting upon this, Hal was full of wonder.
+What was the force that kept men at such a task? Was it a sense of duty?
+Did they understand that society had to have coal and that some one had
+to do the "dirty work" of providing it? Did they have a vision of a
+future, great and wonderful, which was to grow out of their ill-requited
+toil? Or were they simply fools or cowards, submitting blindly, because
+they had not the wit nor the will to do otherwise? Curiosity held him,
+he wanted to understand the inner souls of these silent and patient
+armies which through the ages have surrendered their lives to other
+men's control.
+
+
+
+SECTION 10.
+
+Hal was coming to know these people; to see them no longer as a mass,
+to be despised or pitied in bulk, but as individuals, with individual
+temperaments and problems, exactly like people in the world of the
+sunlight. Mary Burke and Tim Rafferty, Cho the Korean and Madvik the
+Croatian--one by one these individualities etched themselves into the
+foreground of Hal's picture, making it a thing of life, moving him to
+sympathy and fellowship. Some of these people, to be sure, were stunted
+and dulled to a sordid ugliness of soul and body--but on the other hand,
+some of them were young, and had the light of hope in their hearts, and
+the spark of rebellion.
+
+There was "Andy," a boy of Greek parentage; Androkulos was his right
+name--but it was too much to expect any one to get that straight in a
+coal-camp. Hal noticed him at the store, and was struck by his beautiful
+features, and the mournful look in his big black eyes. They got to
+talking, and Andy made the discovery that Hal had not spent all his time
+in coal-camps, but had seen the great world. It was pitiful, the
+excitement that came into his voice; he was yearning for life, with its
+joys and adventures--and it was his destiny to sit ten hours a day by
+the side of a chute, with the rattle of coal in his ears and the dust of
+coal in his nostrils, picking out slate with his fingers. He was one of
+many scores of "breaker-boys."
+
+"Why don't you go away?" asked Hal.
+
+"Christ! How I get away? Got mother, two sisters."
+
+"And your father?" So Hal made the discovery that Andy's father had been
+one of those men whose bodies had had to be cut to pieces to get them
+out of the shaft. Now the son was chained to the father's place, until
+his time too should come!
+
+"Don't want to be miner!" cried the boy. "Don't want to get _kil-lid_!"
+
+He began to ask, timidly, what Hal thought he could do if he were to run
+away from his family and try his luck in the world outside. Hal,
+striving to remember where he had seen olive-skinned Greeks with big
+black eyes in this beautiful land of the free, could hold out no better
+prospect than a shoe-shining parlour, or the wiping out of wash-bowls in
+a hotel-lavatory, handing over the tips to a fat padrone.
+
+Andy had been to school, and had learned to read English, and the
+teacher had loaned him books and magazines with wonderful pictures in
+them; now he wanted more than pictures, he wanted the things which they
+portrayed. So Hal came face to face with one of the difficulties of
+mine-operators. They gathered a population of humble serfs, selected
+from twenty or thirty races of hereditary bondsmen; but owing to the
+absurd American custom of having public-schools, the children of this
+population learned to speak English, and even to read it. So they became
+too good for their lot in life; and then a wandering agitator would get
+in, and all of a sudden there would be hell. Therefore in every
+coal-camp had to be another kind of "fire-boss," whose duty it was to
+guard against another kind of explosions--not of carbon monoxide, but of
+the human soul.
+
+The immediate duties of this office in North Valley devolved upon Jeff
+Cotton, the camp-marshal. He was not at all what one would have expected
+from a person of his trade--lean and rather distinguished-looking, a man
+who in evening clothes might have passed for a diplomat. But his mouth
+would become ugly when he was displeased, and he carried a gun with six
+notches upon it; also he wore a deputy-sheriff's badge, to give him
+immunity for other notches he might wish to add. When Jeff Cotton came
+near, any man who was explosive went off to be explosive by himself. So
+there was "order" in North Valley, and it was only on Saturday and
+Sunday nights, when the drunks had to be suppressed, or on Monday
+mornings when they had to be haled forth and kicked to their work, that
+one realised upon what basis this "order" rested.
+
+Besides Jeff Cotton, and his assistant, "Bud" Adams, who wore badges,
+and were known, there were other assistants who wore no badges, and were
+not supposed to be known. Coming up in the cage one evening, Hal made
+some remark to the Croatian mule-driver, Madvik, about the high price of
+company-store merchandise, and was surprised to get a sharp kick on the
+ankle. Afterwards, as they were on their way to supper, Madvik gave him
+the reason. "Red-faced feller, Gus. Look out for him--company spotter."
+
+"Is that so?" said Hal, with interest. "How do you know?"
+
+"I know. Everybody know."
+
+"He don't look like he had much sense," said Hal--who had got his idea
+of detectives from Sherlock Holmes.
+
+"No take much sense. Go pit-boss, say, 'Joe feller talk too much. Say
+store rob him.' Any damn fool do that. Hey?"
+
+"To be sure," admitted Hal. "And the company pays him for it?"
+
+"Pit-boss pay him. Maybe give him drink, maybe two bits. Then pit-boss
+come to you: 'You shoot your mouth off too much, feller. Git the hell
+out of here!' See?"
+
+Hal saw.
+
+"So you go down canyon. Then maybe you go 'nother mine. Boss say, 'Where
+you work?' You say 'North Valley.' He say, 'What your name?' You say,
+'Joe Smith.' He say, 'Wait.' He go in, look at paper; he come out, say,
+'No job!' You say, 'Why not?' He say, 'Shoot off your mouth too much,
+feller. Git the hell out of here!' See?"
+
+"You mean a black-list," said Hal.
+
+"Sure, black-list. Maybe telephone, find out all about you. You do
+anything bad, like talk union"--Madvik had dropped his voice and
+whispered the word "union"--"they send your picture--don't get job
+nowhere in state. How you like that?"
+
+
+
+SECTION 11.
+
+Before long Hal had a chance to see this system of espionage at work,
+and he began to understand something of the force which kept these
+silent and patient armies at their tasks. On a Sunday morning he was
+strolling with his mule-driver friend Tim Rafferty, a kindly lad with a
+pair of dreamy blue eyes in his coal-smutted face. They came to Tim's
+home, and he invited Hal to come in and meet his family. The father was
+a bowed and toil-worn man, but with tremendous strength in his solid
+frame, the product of many generations of labour in coal-mines. He was
+known as "Old Rafferty," despite the fact that he was well under fifty.
+He had been a pit-boy at the age of nine, and he showed Hal a faded
+leather album with pictures of his ancestors in the "oul' country"--men
+with sad, deeply lined faces, sitting very stiff and solemn to have
+their presentments made permanent for posterity.
+
+The mother of the family was a gaunt, grey-haired woman, with no teeth,
+but with a warm heart. Hal took to her, because her home was clean; he
+sat on the family door-step, amid a crowd of little Rafferties with
+newly-washed Sunday faces, and fascinated them with tales of adventures
+cribbed from Clark Russell and Captain Mayne Reid. As a reward he was
+invited to stay for dinner, and had a clean knife and fork, and a clean
+plate of steaming hot potatoes, with two slices of salt pork on the
+side. It was so wonderful that he forthwith inquired if he might forsake
+his company boarding-house and come and board with them.
+
+Mrs. Rafferty opened wide her eyes. "Sure," exclaimed she, "do you think
+you'd be let?"
+
+"Why not?" asked Hal.
+
+"Sure, 't would be a bad example for the others."
+
+"Do you mean I _have_ to board at Reminitsky's?"
+
+"There be six company boardin'-houses," said the woman.
+
+"And what would they do if I came to you?"
+
+"First you'd get a hint, and then you'd go down the canyon, and maybe us
+after ye."
+
+"But there's lots of people have boarders in shanty-town," objected Hal.
+
+"Oh! Them wops! Nobody counts them--they live any way they happen to
+fall. But you started at Reminitsky's, and 't would not be healthy for
+them that took ye away."
+
+"I see," laughed Hal. "There seem to be a lot of unhealthy things
+hereabouts."
+
+"Sure there be! They sent down Nick Ammons because his wife bought milk
+down the canyon. They had a sick baby, and it's not much you get in this
+thin stuff at the store. They put chalk in it, I think; any way, you can
+see somethin' white in the bottom."
+
+"So you have to trade at the store, too!"
+
+"I thought ye said ye'd worked in coal-mines," put in Old Rafferty, who
+had been a silent listener.
+
+"So I have," said Hal. "But it wasn't quite that bad."
+
+"Sure," said Mrs. Rafferty, "I'd like to know where 'twas then--in this
+country. Me and me old man spent weary years a-huntin'."
+
+Thus far the conversation had proceeded naturally; but suddenly it was
+as if a shadow passed over it--a shadow of fear. Hal saw Old Rafferty
+look at his wife, and frown and make signs to her. After all, what did
+they know about this handsome young stranger, who talked so glibly, and
+had been in so many parts of the world?
+
+"'Tis not complainin' we'd be," said the old man.
+
+And his wife made haste to add, "If they let peddlers and the like of
+them come in, 'twould be no end to it, I suppose. We find they treat us
+here as well as anywhere."
+
+"'Tis no joke, the life of workin' men, wherever ye try it," added the
+other; and when young Tim started to express an opinion, they shut him
+up with such evident anxiety that Hal's heart ached for them, and he
+made haste to change the subject.
+
+
+
+SECTION 12.
+
+On the evening of the same Sunday Hal went to pay his promised call upon
+Mary Burke. She opened the front door of the cabin to let him in, and
+even by the dim rays of the little kerosene lamp, there came to him an
+impression of cheerfulness. "Hello," she said--just as she had said it
+when he had slid down the mountain into the family wash. He followed her
+into the room, and saw that the impression he had got of cheerfulness
+came from Mary herself. How bright and fresh she looked! The old blue
+calico, which had not been entirely clean, was newly laundered now, and
+on the shoulder where the rent had been was a neat patch of unfaded
+blue.
+
+There being only three rooms in Mary's home, two of these necessarily
+bed-rooms, she entertained her company in the kitchen. The room was
+bare, Hal saw--there was not even so much as a clock by way of ornament.
+The only charm the girl had been able to give to it, in preparation for
+company, was that of cleanness. The board floor had been newly sanded
+and scrubbed; the kitchen table also had been scrubbed, and the kettle
+on the stove, and the cracked tea-pot and bowls on the shelf. Mary's
+little brother and sister were in the room: Jennie, a dark-eyed,
+dark-haired little girl, frail, with a sad, rather frightened face; and
+Tommie, a round headed youngster, like a thousand other round headed and
+freckle-faced boys. Both of them were now sitting very straight in their
+chairs, staring at the visitor with a certain resentment, he thought. He
+suspected that they had been included in the general scrubbing. Inasmuch
+as it had been uncertain just when the visitor would come, they must
+have been required to do this every night, and he could imagine family
+disturbances, with arguments possibly not altogether complimentary to
+Mary's new "feller."
+
+There seemed to be a certain uneasiness in the place.
+
+Mary did not invite her company to a seat, but stood irresolute; and
+after Hal had ventured a couple of friendly remarks to the children, she
+said, abruptly, "Shall we be takin' that walk that we spoke of, Mr.
+Smith?"
+
+"Delighted!" said Hal; and while she pinned on her hat before the broken
+mirror on the shelf, he smiled at the children and quoted two lines from
+his Harrigan song--
+
+  "Oh, Mary-Jane, come out in the lane,
+  The moon is a-shinin' in the old pecan!"
+
+Tommie and Jennie were too shy to answer, but Mary exclaimed, "'Tis in a
+tin-can ye see it shinin' here!"
+
+They went out. In the soft summer night it was pleasant to stroll under
+the moon--especially when they had come to the remoter parts of the
+village, where there were not so many weary people on door-steps and
+children playing noisily. There were other young couples walking here,
+under the same moon; the hardest day's toil could not so sap their
+energies that they did not feel the spell of this soft summer night.
+
+Hal, being tired, was content to stroll and enjoy the stillness; but
+Mary Burke sought information about the mysterious young man she was
+with. "Ye've not worked long in coal-mines, Mr. Smith?" she remarked.
+
+Hal was a trifle disconcerted. "How did you find that out?"
+
+"Ye don't look it--ye don't talk it. Ye're not like anybody or anything
+around here. I don't know how to say it, but ye make me think more of
+the poetry-books."
+
+Flattered as Hal was by this na�ve confession, he did not want to talk
+of the mystery of himself. He took refuge in a question about the
+"poetry-books." "I've read some," said the girl; "more than ye'd have
+thought, perhaps." This with a flash of her defiance.
+
+He asked more questions, and learned that she, like the Greek boy,
+"Andy," had come under the influence of that disturbing American
+institution, the public-school; she had learned to read, and the pretty
+young teacher had helped her, lending her books and magazines. Thus she
+had been given a key to a treasure-house, a magic carpet on which to
+travel over the world. These similes Mary herself used--for the Arabian
+Nights had been one of the books that were loaned to her. On rainy days
+she would hide behind the sofa, reading at a spot where the light crept
+in--so that she might be safe from small brothers and sisters!
+
+Joe Smith had read these same books, it appeared; and this seemed
+remarkable to Mary, for books cost money and were hard to get. She
+explained how she had searched the camp for new magic carpets, finding a
+"poetry-book" by Longfellow, and a book of American history, and a story
+called "David Copperfield," and last and strangest of all, another story
+called "Pride and Prejudice." A curious freak of fortune--the prim and
+sentimentally quivering Jane Austen in a coal-camp in a far Western
+wilderness! An adventure for Jane, as well as for Mary!
+
+What had Mary made of it, Hal wondered. Had she revelled, shop-girl
+fashion, in scenes of pallid ease? He learned that what she had made of
+it was despair. This world outside, with its freedom and cleanness, its
+people living gracious and worth-while lives, was not for her; she was
+chained to a scrub-pail in a coal-camp. Things had got so much worse
+since the death of her mother, she said. Her voice had become dull and
+hard--Hal thought that he had never heard a young voice express such
+hopelessness.
+
+"You've never been anywhere but here?" he asked.
+
+"I been in two other camps," she said--"first the Gordon, and then East
+Run. But they're all alike."
+
+"But you've been down to the towns?"
+
+"Only for a day, once or twice a year. Once I was in Sheridan, and in a
+church I heard a lady sing."
+
+She stopped for a moment, lost in this memory. Then suddenly her voice
+changed--and he could imagine in the darkness that she had tossed her
+head defiantly. "I'll not be entertainin' company with my troubles! Ye
+know how tiresome that is when ye hear it from somebody else--like my
+next-door neighbour, Mrs. Zamboni. D' ye know her?"
+
+"No," said Hal.
+
+"The poor old lady has troubles enough, God knows. Her man's not much
+good--he's troubled with the drink; and she's got eleven childer, and
+that's too many for one woman. Don't ye think so?"
+
+She asked this with a na�vet� which made Hal laugh. "Yes," he said, "I
+do."
+
+"Well, I think people'd help her more if she'd not complain so! And half
+of it in the Slavish language, that a body can't understand!" So Mary
+began to tell funny things about Mrs. Zamboni and her other polyglot
+neighbours, imitating their murdering of the Irish dialect. Hal thought
+her humour was na�ve and delightful, and he led her on to more cheerful
+gossip during the remainder of their walk.
+
+
+
+SECTION 13.
+
+But then, as they were on their way home, tragedy fell upon them.
+Hearing a step behind them, Mary turned and looked; then catching Hal by
+the arm, she drew him into the shadows at the side, whispering to him to
+be silent. The bent figure of a man went past them, lurching from side
+to side.
+
+When he had turned and gone into the house, Mary said, "It's my father.
+He's ugly when he's like that." And Hal could hear her quick breathing
+in the darkness.
+
+So that was Mary's trouble--the difficulty in her home life to which she
+had referred at their first meeting! Hal understood many things in a
+flash--why her home was bare of ornament, and why she did not invite her
+company to sit down. He stood silent, not knowing what to say. Before he
+could find the word, Mary burst out, "Oh, how I hate O'Callahan, that
+sells the stuff to my father! His home with plenty to eat in it, and his
+wife dressin' in silk and goin' down to mass every Sunday, and thinkin'
+herself too good for a common miner's daughter! Sometimes I think I'd
+like to kill them both."
+
+"That wouldn't help much," Hal ventured.
+
+"No, I know--there'd only be some other one in his place. Ye got to do
+more than that, to change things here. Ye got to get after them that
+make money out of O'Callahan."
+
+So Mary's mind was groping for causes! Hal had thought her excitement
+was due to humiliation, or to fear of a scene of violence when she
+reached home; but she was thinking of the deeper aspects of this
+terrible drink problem. There was still enough unconscious snobbery in
+Hal Warner for him to be surprised at this phenomenon in a common
+miner's daughter; and so, as at their first meeting, his pity was turned
+to intellectual interest.
+
+"They'll stop the drink business altogether some day," he said. He had
+not known that he was a Prohibitionist; he had become one suddenly!
+
+"Well," she answered, "they'd best stop it soon, if they don't want to
+be too late. 'Tis a sight to make your heart sick to see the young lads
+comin' home staggerin', too drunk even to fight."
+
+Hal had not had time to see much of this aspect of North Valley. "They
+sell to boys?" he asked.
+
+"Sure, who's to care? A boy's money's as good as a man's."
+
+"But I should think the company--"
+
+"The company lets the saloon-buildin'--that's all the company cares."
+
+"But they must care something about the efficiency of their hands!"
+
+"Sure, there's plenty more where they come from. When ye can't work,
+they fire ye, and that's all there is to it."
+
+"And is it so easy to get skilled men?"
+
+"It don't take much skill to get out coal. The skill is in keepin' your
+bones whole--and if you can stand breakin' 'em, the company can stand
+it."
+
+They had come to the little cabin. Mary stood for a moment in silence.
+"I'm talkin' bitter again!" she exclaimed suddenly. "And I promised ye
+me company manner! But things keep happening to set me off." And she
+turned abruptly and ran into the house. Hal stood for a moment wondering
+if she would return; then, deciding that she had meant that as good
+night, he went slowly up the street.
+
+He fought against a mood of real depression, the first he had known
+since his coming to North Valley. He had managed so far to keep a
+certain degree of aloofness, that he might see this industrial world
+without prejudice. But to-night his pity for Mary had involved him more
+deeply. To be sure, he might be able to help her, to find her work in
+some less crushing environment; but his mind went on to the
+question--how many girls might there be in mining-camps, young and
+eager, hungering for life, but crushed by poverty, and by the burden of
+the drink problem?
+
+A man walked past Hal, greeting him in the semi-darkness with a nod and
+a motion of the hand. It was the Reverend Spragg, the gentleman who was
+officially commissioned to combat the demon rum in North Valley.
+
+Hal had been to the little white church the Sunday before, and heard the
+Reverend Spragg preach a doctrinal sermon, in which the blood of the
+lamb was liberally sprinkled, and the congregation heard where and how
+they were to receive compensation for the distresses they endured in
+this vale of tears.
+
+What a mockery it seemed! Once, indubitably, people had believed such
+doctrines; they had been willing to go to the stake for them. But now
+nobody went to the stake for them--on the contrary, the company
+compelled every worker to contribute out of his scanty earnings towards
+the preaching of them. How could the most ignorant of zealots confront
+such an arrangement without suspicion of his own piety? Somewhere at the
+head of the great dividend-paying machine that was called the General
+Fuel Company must be some devilish intelligence that had worked it all
+out, that had given the orders to its ecclesiastical staff: "We want the
+present--we leave you the future! We want the bodies--we leave you the
+souls! Teach them what you will about heaven--so long as you let us
+plunder them on earth!"
+
+In accordance with this devil's program, the Reverend Spragg might
+denounce the demon rum, but he said nothing about dividends based on the
+renting of rum-shops, nor about local politicians maintained by company
+contributions, plus the profits of wholesale liquor. He said nothing
+about the conclusions of modern hygiene, concerning over-work as a cause
+of the craving for alcohol; the phrase "industrial drinking," it seemed,
+was not known in General Fuel Company theology! In fact, when you
+listened to such a sermon, you would never have guessed that the hearers
+of it had physical bodies at all; certainly you would never have guessed
+that the preacher had a body, which was nourished by food produced by
+the overworked and under-nourished wage-slaves whom he taught!
+
+
+
+SECTION 14.
+
+For the most part the victims of this system were cowed and spoke of
+their wrongs only in whispers; but there was one place in the camp, Hal
+found, where they could not keep silence, where their sense of outrage
+battled with their fear. This place was the solar plexus of the
+mine-organism, the centre of its nervous energies; to change the simile,
+it was the judgment-seat, where the miner had sentence passed upon
+him--sentence either to plenty, or to starvation and despair.
+
+This place was the "tipple," where the coal that came out of the mine
+was weighed and recorded. Every digger, as he came from the cage, made
+for this spot. There was a bulletin-board, and on it his number, and the
+record of the weights of the cars he had sent out that day. And every
+man, no matter how ignorant, had learned enough English to read those
+figures.
+
+Hal had gradually come to realise that here was the place of drama. Most
+of the men would look, and then, without a sound or glance about, would
+slouch off with drooping shoulders. Others would mumble to
+themselves--or, what amounted to the same thing, would mumble to one
+another in barbarous dialects. But about one in five could speak
+English; and scarcely an evening passed that some man did not break
+loose, shaking his fist at the sky, or at the weigh-boss--behind the
+latter's back. He might gather a knot of fellow-grumblers about him; it
+was to be noted that the camp-marshal had the habit of being on hand at
+this hour.
+
+It was on one of these occasions that Hal first noticed Mike Sikoria, a
+grizzle-haired old Slovak, who had spent twenty years in the mines of
+these regions. All the bitterness of all the wrongs of all these years
+welled up in Old Mike, as he shouted his score aloud: "Nineteen,
+twenty-two, twenty-four, twenty! Is that my weight, Mister? You want me
+to believe that's my weight?"
+
+"That's your weight," said the weigh-boss, coldly.
+
+"Well, by Judas, your scale is off, Mister! Look at them cars--them cars
+is big! You measure them cars, Mister--seven feet long, three and a half
+feet high, four feet wide. And you tell me them don't go but twenty?"
+
+"You don't load them right," said the boss.
+
+"Don't load them right?" echoed the old miner; he became suddenly
+plaintive, as if more hurt than angered by such an insinuation. "You
+know all the years I work, and you tell me I don't know a load? When I
+load a car, I load him like a miner, I don't load him like a Jap, that
+don't know about a mine! I put it up--I chunk it up like a stack of hay.
+I load him square--like that." With gestures the old fellow was
+illustrating what he meant. "See there! There's a ton on the top, and a
+ton and a half on the bottom--and you tell me I get only nineteen,
+twenty!"
+
+"That's your weight," said the boss, implacably.
+
+"But, Mister, your scale is wrong! I tell you I used to get my weight. I
+used to get forty-five, forty-six on them cars. Here's my buddy--ask him
+if it ain't so. What is it, Bo?"
+
+"Um m m-mum," said Bo, who was a negro--though one could hardly be sure
+of this for the coal-dust on him.
+
+"I can't make a living no more!" exclaimed the old Slovak, his voice
+trembling and his wizened dark eyes full of pleading. "What you think I
+make? For fifteen days, fifty cents! I pay board, and so help me God,
+Mister--and I stand right here--I swear for God I make fifty cents. I
+dig the coal and I ain't got no weight, I ain't got nothing! Your scale
+is wrong!"
+
+"Get out!" said the weigh-boss, turning away.
+
+"But, Mister!" cried Old Mike, following behind him, and pouring his
+whole soul into his words. "What is this life, Mister? You work like a
+burro, and you don't get nothing for it! You burn your own powder--half
+a dollar a day powder--what you think of that? Crosscut--and you get
+nothing! Take the skip and a pillar, and you get nothing! Brush--and you
+get nothing! Here, by Judas, a poor man, going and working his body to
+the last point, and blood is run out! You starve me to death, I say! I
+have got to have something to eat, haven't I?"
+
+And suddenly the boss whirled upon him. "Get the hell out of here!" he
+shouted. "If you don't like it, get your time and quit. Shut your face,
+or I'll shut it for you."
+
+The old man quailed and fell silent. He stood for a moment more, biting
+his whiskered lips nervously; then his shoulders sank together, and he
+turned and slunk off, followed by his negro helper.
+
+
+
+SECTION 15.
+
+Old Mike boarded at Reminitsky's, and after supper was over, Hal sought
+him out. He was easy to know, and proved an interesting acquaintance.
+With the help of his eloquence Hal wandered through a score of camps in
+the district. The old fellow had a temper that he could not manage, and
+so he was always on the move; but all places were alike, he said--there
+was always some trick by which a miner was cheated of his earnings. A
+miner was a little business man, a contractor who took a certain job,
+with its expenses and its chance of profit or loss. A "place" was
+assigned to him by the boss--and he undertook to get out the coal from
+it, being paid at the rate of fifty-five cents a ton for each ton of
+clean coal. In some "places" a man could earn good money, and in others
+he would work for weeks, and not be able to keep up with his
+store-account.
+
+It all depended upon the amount of rock and slate that was found with
+the coal. If the vein was low, the man had one or two feet of rock to
+take off the ceiling, and this had to be loaded on separate cars and
+taken away. This work was called "brushing," and for it the miner
+received no pay. Or perhaps it was necessary to cut through a new
+passage, and clean out the rock; or perhaps to "grade the bottom," and
+lay the ties and rails over which the cars were brought in to be loaded;
+or perhaps the vein ran into a "fault," a broken place where there was
+rock instead of coal--and this rock must be hewed away before the miner
+could get at the coal. All such work was called "dead-work," and it was
+the cause of unceasing war. In the old days the company had paid extra
+for it; now, since they had got the upper hand of the men, they were
+refusing to pay. And so it was important to the miner to have a "place"
+assigned him where there was not so much of this dead work. And the
+"place" a man got depended upon the boss; so here, at the very outset,
+was endless opportunity for favouritism and graft, for quarrelling, or
+"keeping in" with the boss. What chance did a man stand who was poor and
+old and ugly, and could not speak English good? inquired old Mike, with
+bitterness. The boss stole his cars and gave them to other people; he
+took the weight off the cars, and gave them to fellows who boarded with
+him, or treated him to drinks, or otherwise curried favour with him.
+
+"I work five days in the Southeastern," said Mike, "and when I work them
+five days, so help me God, brother, if I don't get up out of this chair,
+fifteen cents I was still in the hole yet. Fourteen inches of rock! And
+the Mr. Bishop--that is the superintendent--I says, 'Do you pay
+something for that rock?' 'Huh?' says he. 'Well,' I says, 'if you don't
+pay nothing for the rock, I don't go ahead with it. I ain't got no place
+to put that rock.' 'Get the hell out of here,' says he, and when I
+started to fight he pull gun on me. And then I go to Cedar Mountain, and
+the super give me work there, and he says, 'You go Number Four,' and he
+says, 'Rail is in Number Three, and the ties.' And he says, 'I pay you
+for it when you put it in.' So I take it away and I put it in, and I
+work till twelve o'clock. Carried the three pair of rails and the ties,
+and I pulled all the spikes--"
+
+"Pulled the spikes?" asked Hal.
+
+"Got no good spikes. Got to use old spikes, what you pull out of them
+old ties. So then I says, 'What is my half day, what you promise me?'
+Says he, 'You ain't dug no coal yet!' 'But, mister,' says I, 'you
+promise me pay to pull them spikes and put in them ties!' Says he,
+'Company pay nothin' for dead work--you know that,' says he, and that is
+all the satisfaction I get."
+
+"And you didn't get your half day's pay?"
+
+"Sure I get nothin'. Boss do just as he please in coal mine."
+
+
+
+SECTION 16.
+
+There was another way, Old Mike explained, in which the miner was at the
+mercy of others; this was the matter of stealing cars. Each miner had
+brass checks with his number on them, and when he sent up a loaded car,
+he hung one of these checks on a hook inside. In the course of the long
+journey to the tipple, some one would change the check, and the car was
+gone. In some mines, the number was put on the car with chalk; and how
+easy it was for some one to rub it out and change it! It appeared to Hal
+that it would have been a simple matter to put a number padlock on the
+car, instead of a check; but such an equipment would have cost the
+company one or two hundred dollars, he was told, and so the stealing
+went on year after year.
+
+"You think it's the bosses steal these cars?" asked Hal.
+
+"Sometimes bosses, sometimes bosses' friend--sometimes company himself
+steal them from miners." In North Valley it was the company, the old
+Slovak insisted. It was no use sending up more than six cars in one day,
+he declared; you could never get credit for more than six. Nor was it
+worth while loading more than a ton on a car; they did not really weigh
+the cars, the boss just ran them quickly over the scales, and had orders
+not to go above a certain average. Mike told of an Italian who had
+loaded a car for a test, so high that he could barely pass it under the
+roof of the entry, and went up on the tipple and saw it weighed himself,
+and it was sixty-five hundred pounds. They gave him thirty-five hundred,
+and when he started to fight, they arrested him. Mike had not seen him
+arrested, but when he had come out of the mine, the man was gone, and
+nobody ever saw him again. After that they put a door onto the
+weigh-room, so that no one could see the scales.
+
+The more Hal listened to the men and reflected upon these things, the
+more he came to see that the miner was a contractor who had no
+opportunity to determine the size of the contract before he took it on,
+nor afterwards to determine how much work he had done. More than that,
+he was obliged to use supplies, over the price and measurements of which
+he had no control. He used powder, and would find himself docked at the
+end of the month for a certain quantity, and if the quantity was wrong,
+he would have no redress. He was charged a certain sum for
+"black-smithing"--the keeping of his tools in order; and he would find a
+dollar or two deducted from his account each month, even though he had
+not been near the blacksmith shop.
+
+Let any business-man in the world consider the proposition, thought Hal,
+and say if he would take a contract upon such terms! Would a man
+undertake to build a dam, for example, with no chance to measure the
+ground in advance, nor any way of determining how many cubic yards of
+concrete he had to put in? Would a grocer sell to a customer who
+proposed to come into the store and do his own weighing--and meantime
+locking the grocer outside? Merely to put such questions was to show the
+preposterousness of the thing; yet in this district were fifteen
+thousand men working on precisely such terms.
+
+Under the state law, the miner had a right to demand a check-weighman to
+protect his interest at the scales, paying this check-weighman's wages
+out of his own earnings. Whenever there was any public criticism about
+conditions in the coal-mines, this law would be triumphantly cited by
+the operators; and one had to have actual experience in order to realise
+what a bitter mockery this was to the miner.
+
+In the dining-room Hal sat next to a fair-haired Swedish giant named
+Johannson, who loaded timbers ten hours a day. This fellow was one who
+indulged in the luxury of speaking his mind, because he had youth and
+huge muscles, and no family to tie him down. He was what is called a
+"blanket-stiff," wandering from mine to harvest-field and from
+harvest-field to lumber-camp. Some one broached the subject of
+check-weighmen to him, and the whole table heard his scornful laugh. Let
+any man ask for a check-weighman!
+
+"You mean they would fire him?" asked Hal.
+
+"Maybe!" was the answer. "Maybe they make him fire himself."
+
+"How do you mean?"
+
+"They make his life one damn misery till he go."
+
+So it was with check-weighman--as with scrip, and with company stores,
+and with all the provisions of the law to protect the miner against
+accidents. You might demand your legal rights, but if you did, it was a
+matter of the boss's temper. He might make your life one damn misery
+till you went of your own accord. Or you might get a string of curses
+and an order, "Down the canyon!"--and likely as not the toe of a boot in
+your trouser-seat, or the muzzle of a revolver under your nose.
+
+
+
+SECTION 17.
+
+Such conditions made the coal-district a place of despair. Yet there
+were men who managed to get along somehow, and to raise families and
+keep decent homes. If one had the luck to escape accident, if he did not
+marry too young, or did not have too many children; if he could manage
+to escape the temptations of liquor, to which overwork and monotony
+drove so many; if, above all, he could keep on the right side of his
+boss--why then he might have a home, and even a little money on deposit
+with the company.
+
+Such a one was Jerry Minetti, who became one of Hal's best friends. He
+was a Milanese, and his name was Gerolamo, which had become Jerry in the
+"melting-pot." He was about twenty-five years of age, and what is
+unusual with the Italians, was of good stature. Their meeting took
+place--as did most of Hal's social experiences--on a Sunday. Jerry had
+just had a sleep and a wash, and had put on a pair of new blue overalls,
+so that he presented a cheering aspect in the sunlight. He walked with
+his head up and his shoulders square, and one could see that he had few
+cares in the world.
+
+But what caught Hal's attention was not so much Jerry as what followed
+at Jerry's heels; a perfect reproduction of him, quarter-size, also with
+a newly-washed face and a pair of new blue overalls. He too had his head
+up, and his shoulders square, and he was an irresistible object,
+throwing out his heels and trying his best to keep step. Since the
+longest strides he could take left him behind, he would break into a
+run, and getting close under his father's heels, would begin keeping
+step once more.
+
+Hal was going in the same direction, and it affected him like the music
+of a military band; he too wanted to throw his head up and square his
+shoulders and keep step. And then other people, seeing the grin on his
+face, would turn and watch, and grin also. But Jerry walked on gravely,
+unaware of this circus in the rear.
+
+They went into a house; and Hal, having nothing to do but enjoy life,
+stood waiting for them to come out. They returned in the same
+procession, only now the man had a sack of something on his shoulder,
+while the little chap had a smaller load poised in imitation. So Hal
+grinned again, and when they were opposite him, he said, "Hello."
+
+"Hello," said Jerry, and stopped. Then, seeing Hal's grin, he grinned
+back; and Hal looked at the little chap and grinned, and the little chap
+grinned back. Jerry, seeing what Hal was grinning at, grinned more than
+ever; so there stood all three in the middle of the road, grinning at
+one another for no apparent reason.
+
+"Gee, but that's a great kid!" said Hal.
+
+"Gee, you bet!" said Jerry; and he set down his sack. If some one
+desired to admire the kid, he was willing to stop any length of time.
+
+"Yours?" asked Hal.
+
+"You bet!" said Jerry, again.
+
+"Hello, Buster!" said Hal.
+
+"Hello yourself!" said the kid. One could see in a moment that he had
+been in the "melting-pot."
+
+"What's your name?" asked Hal.
+
+"Jerry," was the reply.
+
+"And what's his name?" Hal nodded towards the man--
+
+"Big Jerry."
+
+"Got any more like you at home?"
+
+"One more," said Big Jerry. "Baby."
+
+"He ain't like me," said Little Jerry. "He's little."
+
+"And you're big?" said Hal.
+
+"He can't walk!"
+
+"Neither can you walk!" laughed Hal, and caught him up and slung him
+onto his shoulder. "Come on, we'll ride!"
+
+So Big Jerry took up his sack again, and they started off; only this
+time it was Hal who fell behind and kept step, squaring his shoulders
+and flinging out his heels. Little Jerry caught onto the joke, and
+giggled and kicked his sturdy legs with delight. Big Jerry would look
+round, not knowing what the joke was, but enjoying it just the same.
+
+They came to the three-room cabin which was Both Jerrys' home; and Mrs.
+Jerry came to the door, a black-eyed Sicilian girl, who did not look old
+enough to have even one baby. They had another bout of grinning, at the
+end of which Big Jerry said, "You come in?"
+
+"Sure," said Hal.
+
+"You stay supper," added the other. "Got spaghetti."
+
+"Gee!" said Hal. "All right, let me stay, and pay for it."
+
+"Hell, no!" said Jerry. "You no pay!"
+
+"No! No pay!" cried Mrs. Jerry, shaking her pretty head energetically.
+
+"All right," said Hal, quickly, seeing that he might hurt their
+feelings. "I'll stay if you're sure you have enough."
+
+"Sure, plenty!" said Jerry. "Hey, Rosa?"
+
+"Sure, plenty!" said Mrs. Jerry.
+
+"Then I'll stay," said Hal. "You like spaghetti, Kid?"
+
+"Jesus!" cried Little Jerry.
+
+Hal looked about him at this Dago home. It was a tome in keeping with
+its pretty occupant. There were lace curtains in the windows, even
+shinier and whiter than at the Rafferties; there was an incredibly
+bright-coloured rug on the floor, and bright coloured pictures of Mount
+Vesuvius and of Garibaldi on the walls. Also there was a cabinet with
+many interesting treasures to look at--a bit of coral and a conch-shell,
+a shark's tooth and an Indian arrow-head, and a stuffed linnet with a
+glass cover over him. A while back Hal would not have thought of such
+things as especially stimulating to the imagination; but that was before
+he had begun to spend five-sixths of his waking hours in the bowels of
+the earth.
+
+He ate supper, a real Dago supper; the spaghetti proved to be real Dago
+spaghetti, smoking hot, with tomato sauce and a rich flavour of
+meat-juice. And all through the meal Hal smacked his lips and grinned at
+Little Jerry, who smacked his lips and grinned back. It was all so
+different from feeding at Reminitsky's pig-trough, that Hal thought he
+had never had such a good supper in his life before. As for Mr. and Mrs.
+Jerry, they were so proud of their wonderful kid, who could swear in
+English as good as a real American, that they were in the seventh
+heaven.
+
+When the meal was over, Hal leaned back and exclaimed, just as he had at
+the Rafferties', "Lord, how I wish I could board here!"
+
+He saw his host look at his wife. "All right," said he. "You come here.
+I board you. Hey, Rosa?"
+
+"Sure," said Rosa.
+
+Hal looked at them, astonished. "You're sure they'll let you?" he asked.
+
+"Let me? Who stop me?"
+
+"I don't know. Maybe Reminitsky. You might get into trouble."
+
+Jerry grinned. "I no fraid," said he. "Got friends here. Carmino my
+cousin. You know Carmino?"
+
+"No," said Hal.
+
+"Pit-boss in Number One. He stand by me. Old Reminitsky go hang! You
+come here, I give you bunk in that room, give you good grub. What you
+pay Reminitsky?"
+
+"Twenty-seven a month."
+
+"All right, you pay me twenty-seven, you get everything good. Can't get
+much stuff here, but Rosa good cook, she fix it."
+
+Hal's new friend--besides being a favourite of the boss--was a
+"shot-firer"; it was his duty to go about the mine at night, setting off
+the charges of powder which the miners had got ready by day. This was
+dangerous work, calling for a skilled man, and it paid pretty well; so
+Jerry got on in the world and was not afraid to speak his mind, within
+certain limits. He ignored the possibility that Hal might be a company
+spy, and astonished him by rebellious talk of the different kinds of
+graft in North Valley, and at other places he had worked since coming to
+America as a boy. Minetti was a Socialist, Hal learned; he took an
+Italian Socialist paper, and the clerk at the post-office knew what sort
+of paper it was, and would "josh" him about it. What was more
+remarkable, Mrs. Minetti was a Socialist also; that meant a great deal
+to a man, as Jerry explained, because she was not under the domination
+of a priest.
+
+
+
+SECTION 18.
+
+Hal made the move at once, sacrificing part of a month's board, which
+Reminitsky would charge against his account with the company. But he was
+willing to pay for the privilege of a clean home and clean food. To his
+amusement he found that in the eyes of his Irish friends he was losing
+caste by going to live with the Minettis. There were most rigid social
+lines in North Valley, it appeared. The Americans and English and Scotch
+looked down upon the Welsh and Irish; the Welsh and Irish looked down
+upon the Dagoes and Frenchies; the Dagoes and Frenchies looked down upon
+Polacks and Hunkies, these in turn upon Greeks, Bulgarians and
+"Montynegroes," and so on through a score of races of Eastern Europe,
+Lithuanians, Slovaks, and Croatians, Armenians, Roumanians, Rumelians,
+Ruthenians--ending up with Greasers, niggers, and last and lowest, Japs.
+
+It was when Hal went to pay another call upon the Rafferties that he
+made this discovery. Mary Burke happened to be there, and when she
+caught sight of him, her grey eyes beamed with mischief. "How do ye do,
+Mr. Minetti?" she cried.
+
+"How do ye do, Miss Rosetti?" he countered.
+
+"You lika da spagett?"
+
+"You no lika da spagett?"
+
+"I told ye once," laughed the girl--"the good old pertaties is good
+enough for me!"
+
+"And you remember," said he, "what I answered?"
+
+Yes, she remembered! Her cheeks took on the colour of the rose-leaves he
+had specified as her probable diet.
+
+And then the Rafferty children, who had got to know Hal well, joined in
+the teasing. "Mister Minetti! Lika da spagetti!" Hal, when he had
+grasped the situation, was tempted to retaliate by reminding them that
+he had offered to board with the Irish, and been turned down; but he
+feared that the elder Rafferty might not appreciate this joke, so
+instead he pretended to have supposed all along that the Rafferties were
+Italians. He addressed the elder Rafferty gravely, pronouncing the name
+with the accent on the second syllable--"Signer Rafferti"; and this so
+amused the old man that he chuckled over it at intervals for an hour.
+His heart warmed to this lively young fellow; he forgot some of his
+suspicions, and after the youngsters had been sent away to bed, he
+talked more or less frankly about his life as a coal-miner.
+
+"Old Rafferty" had once been on the way to high station. He had been
+made tipple-boss at the San Jos� mine, but had given up his job because
+he had thought that his religion did not permit him to do what he was
+ordered to do. It had been a crude proposition of keeping the men's
+score at a certain level, no matter how much coal they might send up;
+and when Rafferty had quit rather than obey such orders, he had had to
+leave the mine altogether; for of course everybody knew why he had quit,
+and his mere presence had the effect of keeping discontent alive.
+
+"You think there are no honest companies at all?" Hal asked.
+
+The old man answered, "There be some, but 'tis not so easy as ye might
+think to be honest. They have to meet each other's prices, and when one
+short-weights, the others have to. 'Tis a way of cuttin' wages without
+the men findin' it out; and there be people that do not like to fall
+behind with their profits." Hal found himself thinking of old Peter
+Harrigan, who controlled the General Fuel Company, and had made the
+remark: "I am a great clamourer for dividends!"
+
+"The trouble with the miner," continued Old Rafferty, "is that he has no
+one to speak for him. He stands alone--"
+
+During this discourse, Hal had glanced at "Red Mary," and noticed that
+she sat with her arms on the table, her sturdy shoulders bowed in a
+fashion which told of a hard day's toil. But here she broke into the
+conversation; her voice came suddenly, alive with scorn: "The trouble
+with the miner is that he's a _slave!_"
+
+"Ah, now--" put in the old man, protestingly.
+
+"He has the whole world against him, and he hasn't got the sense to get
+together--to form a union, and stand by it!"
+
+There fell a sudden silence in the Rafferty home. Even Hal was
+startled--for this was the first time during his stay in the camp that
+he had heard the dread word "union" spoken above a whisper.
+
+"I know!" said Mary, her grey eyes full of defiance. "Ye'll not have the
+word spoken! But some will speak it in spite of ye!"
+
+"'Tis all very well," said the old man. "When ye're young, and a woman
+too--"
+
+"A woman! Is it only the women that can have courage?"
+
+"Sure," said he, with a wry smile, "'tis the women that have the
+tongues, and that can't he stopped from usin' them. Even the boss must
+know that."
+
+"Maybe so," replied Mary. "And maybe 'tis the women have the most to
+suffer in a coal-camp; and maybe the boss knows that." The girl's cheeks
+were red.
+
+"Mebbe so," said Rafferty; and after that there was silence, while he
+sat puffing his pipe. It was evident that he did not care to go on, that
+he did not want union speeches made in his home. After a while Mrs.
+Rafferty made a timid effort to change the course of the talk, by asking
+after Mary's sister, who had not been well; and after they had discussed
+remedies for the ailments of children, Mary rose, saying, "I'll be goin'
+along."
+
+Hal rose also. "I'll walk with you, if I may," he said.
+
+"Sure," said she; and it seemed that the cheerfulness of the Rafferty
+family was restored by the sight of a bit of gallantry.
+
+
+
+SECTION 19.
+
+They strolled down the street, and Hal remarked, "That's the first word
+I've heard here about a union."
+
+Mary looked about her nervously. "Hush!" she whispered.
+
+"But I thought you said you were talking about it!"
+
+She answered, "'Tis one thing, talkin' in a friend's house, and another
+outside. What's the good of throwin' away your job?"
+
+He lowered his voice. "Would you seriously like to have a union here?"
+
+"Seriously?" said she. "Didn't ye see Mr. Rafferty--what a coward he is?
+That's the way they are! No, 'twas just a burst of my temper. I'm a bit
+crazy to-night--something happened to set me off."
+
+He thought she was going on, but apparently she changed her mind.
+Finally he asked, "What happened?"
+
+"Oh, 'twould do no good to talk," she answered; and they walked a bit
+farther in silence.
+
+"Tell me about it, won't you?" he said; and the kindness in his tone
+made its impression.
+
+"'Tis not much ye know of a coal-camp, Joe Smith," she said. "Can't ye
+imagine what it's like--bein' a woman in a place like this? And a woman
+they think good-lookin'!"
+
+"Oh, so it's that!" said he, and was silent again. "Some one's been
+troubling you?" he ventured after a while.
+
+"Sure! Some one's always troublin' us women! Always! Never a day but we
+hear it. Winks and nudges--everywhere ye turn."
+
+"Who is it?"
+
+"The bosses, the clerks--anybody that has a chance to wear a stiff
+collar, and thinks he can offer money to a girl. It begins before she's
+out of short skirts, and there's never any peace afterwards."
+
+"And you can't make them understand?"
+
+"I've made them understand me a bit; now they go after my old man."
+
+"What?"
+
+"Sure! D'ye suppose they'd not try that? Him that's so crazy for liquor,
+and can never get enough of it!"
+
+"And your father?--" But Hal stopped. She would not want that question
+asked!
+
+She had seen his hesitation, however. "He was a decent man once," she
+declared. "'Tis the life here, that turns a man into a coward. 'Tis
+everything ye need, everywhere ye turn--ye have to ask favours from some
+boss. The room ye work in, the dead work they pile on ye; or maybe 'tis
+more credit ye need at the store, or maybe the doctor to come when ye're
+sick. Just now 'tis our roof that leaks--so bad we can't find a dry
+place to sleep when it rains."
+
+"I see," said Hal. "Who owns the house?"
+
+"Sure, there's none but company houses here."
+
+"Who's supposed to fix it?"
+
+"Mr. Kosegi, the house-agent. But we gave him up long ago--if he does
+anything, he raises the rent. Today my father went to Mr. Cotton. He's
+supposed to look out for the health of the place, and it seems hardly
+healthy to keep people wet in their beds."
+
+"And what did Cotton say?" asked Hal, when she stopped again.
+
+"Well, don't ye know Jeff Cotton--can't ye guess what he'd say? 'That's
+a fine girl ye got, Burke! Why don't ye make her listen to reason?' And
+then he laughed, and told me old father he'd better learn to take a
+hint. 'Twas bad for an old man to sleep in the rain--he might get
+carried off by pneumonia."
+
+Hal could no longer keep back the question, "What did your father do?"
+
+"I'd not have ye think hard of my old father," she said, quickly. "He
+used to be a fightin' man, in the days before O'Callahan had his way
+with him. But now he knows what a camp-marshal can do to a miner!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 20.
+
+Mary Burke had said that the company could stand breaking the bones of
+its men; and not long after Number Two started up again, Hal had a
+chance to note the truth of this assertion.
+
+A miner's life depended upon the proper timbering of the room where he
+worked. The company undertook to furnish the timbers, but when the miner
+needed them, he would find none at hand, and would have to make the
+mile-long trip to the surface. He would select timbers of the proper
+length, and would mark them--the understanding being that they were to
+be delivered to his room by some of the labourers. But then some one
+else would carry them off--here was more graft and favouritism, and the
+miner might lose a day or two of work, while meantime his account was
+piling up at the store, and his children might have no shoes to go to
+school. Sometimes he would give up waiting for timbers, and go on taking
+out coal; so there would be a fall of rock--and the coroner's jury would
+bring in a verdict of "negligence," and the coal-operators would talk
+solemnly about the impossibility of teaching caution to miners. Not so
+very long ago Hal had read an interview which the president of the
+General Fuel Company had given to a newspaper, in which he set forth the
+idea that the more experience a miner had the more dangerous it was to
+employ him, because he thought he knew it all, and would not heed the
+wise regulations which the company laid down for his safety!
+
+In Number Two mine there were some places being operated by the "room
+and pillar" method; the coal being taken out as from a series of rooms,
+the portion corresponding to the walls of the rooms being left to uphold
+the roof. These walls are the "pillars"; and when the end of the vein is
+reached, the miner begins to work backwards, "pulling the pillars," and
+letting the roof collapse behind him. This is a dangerous task; as he
+works, the man has to listen to the drumming sounds of the rock above
+his head, and has to judge just when to make his escape. Sometimes he is
+too anxious to save a tool; or sometimes the collapse comes without
+warning. In that case the victim is seldom dug out; for it must be
+admitted that a man buried under a mountain is as well buried as a
+company could be expected to arrange it.
+
+In Number Two mine a man was caught in this way. He stumbled as he ran,
+and the lower half of his body was pinned fast; the doctor had to come
+and pump opiates into him, while the rescue crew was digging him loose.
+The first Hal knew of the accident was when he saw the body stretched
+out on a plank, with a couple of old sacks to cover it. He noticed that
+nobody stopped for a second glance. Going up from work, he asked his
+friend Madvik, the mule driver, who answered, "Lit'uanian feller--got
+mash." And that was all. Nobody knew him, and nobody cared about him.
+
+It happened that Mike Sikoria had been working nearby, and was one of
+those who helped to get the victim out. Mike's negro "buddy" had been in
+too great haste to get some of the rock out of the way, and had got his
+hand crushed, and would not be able to work for a month or so. Mike told
+Hal about it, in his broken English. It was a terrible thing to see a
+man trapped like that, gasping, his eyes almost popping out of his head.
+Fortunately he was a young fellow, and had no family.
+
+Hal asked what they would do with the body; the answer was they would
+bury him in the morning. The company had a piece of ground up the
+canyon.
+
+"But won't they have an inquest?" he inquired.
+
+"Inques'?" repeated the other. "What's he?"
+
+"Doesn't the coroner see the body?"
+
+The old Slovak shrugged his bowed shoulders; if there was a coroner in
+this part of the world, he had never heard of it; and he had worked in a
+good many mines, and seen a good many men put under the ground. "Put him
+in a box and dig a hole," was the way he described the procedure.
+
+"And doesn't the priest come?"
+
+"Priest too far away."
+
+Afterwards Hal made inquiry among the English-speaking men, and learned
+that the coroner did sometimes come to the camp. He would empanel a jury
+consisting of Jeff Cotton, the marshal, and Predovich, the Galician Jew
+who worked in the company store, and a clerk or two from the company's
+office, and a couple of Mexican labourers who had no idea what it was
+all about. This jury would view the corpse, and ask a couple of men what
+had happened, and then bring in a verdict: "We find that the deceased
+met his death from a fall of rock caused by his own fault." (In one case
+they had added the picturesque detail: "No relatives, and damned few
+friends!")
+
+For this service the coroner got a fee, and the company got an official
+verdict, which would be final in case some foreign consul should
+threaten a damage suit. So well did they have matters in hand that
+nobody in North Valley had ever got anything for death or injury; in
+fact, as Hal found later, there had not been a damage suit filed against
+any coal-operator in that county for twenty-three years!
+
+This particular, accident was of consequence to Hal, because it got him
+a chance to see the real work of mining. Old Mike was without a helper,
+and made the proposition that Hal should take the job. It was better
+than a stableman's, for it paid two dollars a day.
+
+"But will the boss let me change?" asked Hal.
+
+"You give him ten dollar, he change you," said Mike.
+
+"Sorry," said Hal, "I haven't got ten dollars."
+
+"You give him ten dollar credit," said the other.
+
+And Hal laughed. "They take scrip for graft, do they?"
+
+"Sure they take him," said Mike.
+
+"Suppose I treat my mules bad?" continued the other. "So I can make him
+change me for nothing!"
+
+"He change you to hell!" replied Mike. "You get him cross, he put us in
+bad room, cost us ten dollar a week. No, sir--you give him drink, say
+fine feller, make him feel good. You talk American--give him jolly!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 21.
+
+Hal was glad of this opportunity to get better acquainted with his
+pit-boss. Alec Stone was six feet high, and built in proportion, with
+arms like hams--soft with fat, yet possessed of enormous strength. He
+had learned his manner of handling men on a sugar-plantation in
+Louisiana--a fact which, when Hal heard it, explained much. Like a
+stage-manager who does not heed the real names of his actors, but calls
+them by their character-names, Stone had the habit of addressing his men
+by their nationalities: "You, Polack, get that rock into the car! Hey,
+Jap, bring them tools over here! Shut your mouth, now, Dago, and get to
+work, or I'll kick the breeches off you, sure as you're alive!"
+
+Hal had witnessed one occasion when there was a dispute as to whose duty
+it was to move timbers. There was a great two-handled cross-cut saw
+lying on the ground, and Stone seized it and began to wave it, like a
+mighty broadsword, in the face of a little Bohemian miner. "Load them
+timbers, Hunkie, or I'll carve you into bits!" And as the terrified man
+shrunk back, he followed, until his victim was flat against a wall, the
+weapon swinging to and fro under his nose after the fashion of "The Pit
+and the Pendulum." "Carve you into pieces, Hunkie! Carve you into
+stew-meat!" When at last the boss stepped back, the little Bohemian
+leaped to load the timbers.
+
+The curious part about it to Hal was that Stone seemed to be reasonably
+good-natured about such proceedings. Hardly one time in a thousand did
+he carry out his bloodthirsty threats, and like as not he would laugh
+when he had finished his tirade, and the object of it would grin in
+turn--but without slackening his frightened efforts. After the
+broad-sword waving episode, seeing that Hal had been watching, the boss
+remarked, "That's the way you have to manage them wops." Hal took this
+remark as a tribute to his American blood, and was duly flattered.
+
+He sought out the boss that evening, and found him with his feet upon
+the railing of his home. "Mr. Stone," said he, "I've something I'd like
+to ask you."
+
+"Fire away, kid," said the other.
+
+"Won't you come up to the saloon and have a drink?"
+
+"Want to get something out of me, hey? You can't work me, kid!" But
+nevertheless he slung down his feet from the railing, and knocked the
+ashes out of his pipe and strolled up the street with Hal.
+
+"Mr. Stone," said Hal, "I want to make a change."
+
+"What's that? Got a grouch on them mules?"
+
+"No, sir, but I got a better job in sight. Mike Sikoria's buddy is laid
+up, and I'd like to take his place, if you're willing."
+
+"Why, that's a nigger's place, kid. Ain't you scared to take a nigger's
+place?"
+
+"Why, sir?"
+
+"Don't you know about hoodoos?"
+
+"What I want," said Hal, "is the nigger's pay."
+
+"No," said the boss, abruptly, "you stick by them mules. I got a good
+stableman, and I don't want to spoil him. You stick, and by and by I'll
+give you a raise. You go into them pits, the first thing you know you'll
+get a fall of rock on your head, and the nigger's pay won't be no good
+to you."
+
+They came to the saloon and entered. Hal noted that a silence fell
+within, and every one nodded and watched. It was pleasant to be seen
+going out with one's boss.
+
+O'Callahan, the proprietor, came forward with his best society smile and
+joined them, and at Hal's invitation they ordered whiskies. "No, you
+stick to your job," continued the pit-boss. "You stay by it, and when
+you've learned to manage mules, I'll make a boss out of you, and let you
+manage men."
+
+Some of the bystanders tittered. The pit-boss poured down his whiskey,
+and set the glass on the bar. "That's no joke," said he, in a tone that
+every one could hear. "I learned that long ago about niggers. They'd say
+to me, 'For God's sake, don't talk to our niggers like that. Some night
+you'll have your house set afire.' But I said, 'Pet a nigger, and you've
+got a spoiled nigger.' I'd say, 'Nigger, don't you give me any of your
+imp, or I'll kick the breeches off you.' And they knew I was a
+gentleman, and they stepped lively."
+
+"Have another drink," said Hal.
+
+The pit-boss drank, and becoming more sociable, told nigger stories. On
+the sugar-plantations there was a rush season, when the rule was twenty
+hours' work a day; when some of the niggers tried to shirk it, they
+would arrest them for swearing or crap-shooting, and work them as
+convicts, without pay. The pit-boss told how one "buck" had been brought
+before the justice of the peace, and the charge read, "being
+cross-eyed"; for which offence he had been sentenced to sixty days' hard
+labour. This anecdote was enjoyed by the men in the saloon--whose
+race-feelings seemed to be stronger than their class-feelings.
+
+When the pair went out again, it was late, and the boss was cordial.
+"Mr. Stone," began Hal, "I don't want to bother you, but I'd like first
+rate to get more pay. If you could see your way to let me have that
+buddy's job, I'd be more than glad to divide with you."
+
+"Divide with me?" said Stone. "How d'ye mean?" Hal waited with some
+apprehension--for if Mike had not assured him so positively, he would
+have expected a swing from the pit-boss's mighty arm.
+
+"It's worth about fifteen a month more to me. I haven't any cash, but if
+you'd be willing to charge off ten dollars from my store-account, it
+would be well worth my while."
+
+They walked for a short way in silence. "Well, I'll tell you," said the
+boss, at last; "that old Slovak is a kicker--one of these fellows that
+thinks he could run the mine if he had a chance. And if you get to
+listenin' to him, and think you can come to me and grumble, by God--"
+
+"That's all right, sir," put in Hal, quickly. "I'll manage that for
+you--I'll shut him up. If you'd like me to, I'll see what fellows he
+talks with, and if any of them are trying to make trouble, I'll tip you
+off."
+
+"Now that's the talk," said the boss, promptly. "You do that, and I'll
+keep my eye on you and give you a chance. Not that I'm afraid of the old
+fellow--I told him last time that if I heard from him again, I'd kick
+the breeches off him. But when you got half a thousand of this foreign
+scum, some of them Anarchists, and some of them Bulgars and Montynegroes
+that's been fightin' each other at home--"
+
+"I understand," said Hal. "You have to watch 'em."
+
+"That's it," said the pit-boss. "And by the way, when you tell the
+store-clerk about that fifteen dollars, just say you lost it at poker."
+
+"I said ten dollars," put in Hal, quickly.
+
+"Yes, I know," responded the other. "But _I_ said fifteen!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 22.
+
+Hal told himself with satisfaction that he was now to do the real work
+of coal-mining. His imagination had been occupied with it for a long
+time; but as so often happens in the life of man, the first contact with
+reality killed the results of many years' imagining. It killed all
+imagining, in fact; Hal found that his entire stock of energy, both
+mental and physical, was consumed in enduring torment. If any one had
+told him the horror of attempting to work in a room five feet high, he
+would not have believed it. It was like some of the dreadful devices of
+torture which one saw in European castles, the "iron maiden" and the
+"spiked collar." Hal's back burned as if hot irons were being run up and
+down it; every separate joint and muscle cried aloud. It seemed as if he
+could never learn the lesson of the jagged ceiling above his head--he
+bumped it and continued to bump it, until his scalp was a mass of cuts
+and bruises, and his head ached till he was nearly blind, and he would
+have to throw himself flat on the ground.
+
+Then old Mike Sikoria would grin. "I know. Like green mule! Some day get
+tough!"
+
+Hal recalled the great thick callouses on the flanks of his former
+charges, where the harness rubbed against them. "Yes, I'm a 'green
+mule,' all right!"
+
+It was amazing how many ways there were to bruise and tear one's
+fingers, loading lumps of coal into a car. He put on a pair of gloves,
+but these wore through in a day. And then the gas, and the smoke of
+powder, stifling one; and the terrible burning of the eyes, from the
+dust and the feeble light. There was no way to rub these burning eyes,
+because everything about one was equally dusty. Could anybody have
+imagined the torment of that--any of those ladies who rode in softly
+upholstered parlour-cars, or reclined upon the decks of steam-ships in
+gleaming tropic seas?
+
+Old Mike was good to his new "buddy." Mike's spine was bent and his
+hands were hardened by forty years of this sort of toil, so he could do
+the work of two men, and entertain his friend with comments into the
+bargain. The old fellow had the habit of talking all the time, like a
+child; he would talk to his helper, to himself, to his tools. He would
+call these tools by obscene and terrifying names--but with entire
+friendliness and good humour. "Get in there, you son-of-a-gun!" he would
+say to his pick. "Come along here, you wop!" he would say to his car.
+"In with you, now, you old buster!" he would say to a lump of coal. And
+he would lecture Hal on the details of mining. He would tell stories of
+successful days, or of terrible mishaps. Above all he would tell about
+rascality--cursing the "G. F. C.," its foremen and superintendents, its
+officials, directors and stock-holders, and the world which permitted
+such a criminal institution to exist.
+
+Noon-time would come, and Hal would lie upon his back, too worn to eat.
+Old Mike would sit munching; his abundant whiskers came to a point on
+his chin, and as his jaws moved, he looked for all the world like an
+aged billy-goat. He was a kind-hearted and anxious old billy-goat, and
+sought to tempt his buddy with a bit of cheese or a swig of cold coffee.
+He believed in eating--no man could keep up steam if he did not stoke
+the furnace. Failing in this, he would try to divert Hal's mind, telling
+stories of mining-life in America and Russia. He was most proud to have
+an "American feller" for a buddy, and tried to make the work as easy as
+possible, for fear lest Hal might quit.
+
+Hal did not quit; but he would drag himself out towards night, so
+exhausted that he would fall asleep in the cage. He would fall asleep at
+supper, and go in and sink down on his cot and sleep like a log. And oh,
+the torture of being routed out before daybreak! Having to shake the
+sleep out of his head, and move his creaking joints, and become aware of
+the burning in his eyes, and the blisters and sores on his hands!
+
+It was a week before he had a moment that was not pain; and he never got
+fully used to the labour. It was impossible for any one to work so hard
+and keep his mental alertness, his eagerness and sensitiveness; it was
+impossible to work so hard and be an adventurer--to be anything, in
+fact, but a machine. Hal had heard that phrase of contempt, "the inertia
+of the masses," and had wondered about it. He no longer wondered, he
+knew. Could a man be brave enough to protest to a pit-boss when his body
+was numb with weariness? Could he think out a definite conclusion as to
+his rights and wrongs, and back his conclusion with effective action,
+when his mental faculties were paralysed by such weariness of body?
+
+Hal had come here, as one goes upon the deck of a ship in mid-ocean, to
+see the storm. In this ocean of social misery, of ignorance and despair,
+one saw upturned, tortured faces, writhing limbs and clutching hands; in
+one's ears was a storm of lamentation, upon one's cheek a spray of blood
+and tears. Hal found himself so deep in this ocean that he could no
+longer find consolation in the thought that he could escape whenever he
+wanted to: that he could say to himself, It is sad, it is terrible--but
+thank God, I can get out of it when I choose! I can go back into the
+warm and well-lighted saloon and tell the other passengers how
+picturesque it is, what an interesting experience they are missing!
+
+
+
+SECTION 23.
+
+During these days of torment, Hal did not go to see "Red Mary"; but
+then, one evening, the Minettis' baby having been sick, she came in to
+ask about it, bringing what she called "a bit of a custard" in a bowl.
+Hal was suspicious enough of the ways of men, especially of
+business-men; but when it came to women he was without insight--it did
+not occur to him as singular that an Irish girl with many troubles at
+home should come out to nurse a Dago woman's baby. He did not reflect
+that there were plenty of sick Irish babies in the camp, to whom Mary
+might have taken her "bit of a custard." And when he saw the surprise of
+Rosa, who had never met Mary before, he took it to be the touching
+gratitude of the poor!
+
+There are, in truth, many kinds of women, with many arts, and no man has
+time to learn them all. Hal had observed the shop-girl type, who dress
+themselves with many frills, and cast side-long glances, and indulge in
+fits of giggles to attract the attention of the male; he was familiar
+with the society-girl type, who achieve the same end with more subtle
+and alluring means. But could there be a type who hold little Dago
+babies in their laps, and call them pretty Irish names, and feed them
+custard out of a spoon? Hal had never heard of that kind, and he thought
+that "Red Mary" made a charming picture--a Celtic madonna with a
+Sicilian infant in her arms.
+
+He noticed that she was wearing the same faded blue calico-dress with a
+patch on the shoulder. Man though he was, he realised that dress is an
+important consideration in the lives of women. He was tempted to suspect
+that this blue calico might be the only dress that Mary owned; but
+seeing it newly laundered every time, he concluded that she must have at
+least one other. At any rate, here she was, crisp and fresh-looking; and
+with the new shining costume, she had put on the long promised "company
+manner": high spirits and badinage, precisely like any belle of the
+world of luxury, who powders and bedecks herself for a ball. She had
+been grim and complaining in former meetings with this interesting young
+man; she had frightened him away, apparently; perhaps she could win him
+back by womanliness and good humour.
+
+She rallied him upon his battered scalp and his creaking back, telling
+him he looked ten years older--which he was fully prepared to believe.
+Also she had fun with him for working under a Slovak--another loss of
+caste, it appeared! This was a joke the Minettis could share
+in--especially Little Jerry, who liked jokes. He told Mary how Joe Smith
+had had to pay fifteen dollars for his new job, besides several drinks
+at O'Callahan's. Also he told how Mike Sikoria had called Joe his "green
+mule." Little Jerry complained about the turn of events, for in the old
+days Joe had taught him a lot of fine new games--and now he was sore,
+and would not play them. Also, in the old days he had sung a lot of
+jolly songs, full of the most fascinating rhymes. There was a song about
+a "monkey puzzle tree"! Had Mary ever seen that kind of tree? Little
+Jerry never got tired of trying to imagine what it might look like.
+
+The Dago urchin stood and watched gravely while Mary fed the custard to
+the baby; and when two or three spoonfuls were held out to him, he
+opened his mouth wide, and afterwards licked his lips. Gee, that was
+good stuff!
+
+When the last taste was gone, he stood gazing at Mary's shining coronet.
+"Say," said he, "was your hair always like that?"
+
+Hal and Mary burst into laughter, while Rosa cried "Hush!" She was never
+sure what this youngster would say next.
+
+"Sure, did ye think I painted it?" asked Mary.
+
+"I didn't know," said Little Jerry. "It looks so nice and new." And he
+turned to Hal. "Ain't it?"
+
+"You bet," said Hal, and added, "Go on and tell her about it. Girls like
+compliments."
+
+"Compliments?" echoed Little Jerry. "What's that?"
+
+"Why," said Hal, "that's when you say that her hair is like the sunrise,
+and her eyes are like twilight, or that she's a wild rose on a
+mountain-side."
+
+"Oh," said the Dago urchin, somewhat doubtfully. "Anyhow," he added,
+"she make nice custard!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 24.
+
+The time came for Mary to take her departure, and Hal got up, wincing
+with pain, to escort her home. She regarded him gravely, having not
+realised before how seriously he was suffering. As they walked along she
+asked, "Why do ye do such work, when ye don't have to?"
+
+"But I _do_ have to! I have to earn a living!"
+
+"Ye don't have to earn it that way! A bright young fellow like you--an
+American!"
+
+"Well," said Hal, "I thought it would be interesting to see coal
+mining."
+
+"Now ye've seen it," said the girl--"now quit!"
+
+"But it won't do me any harm to go on for a while!"
+
+"Won't it? How can ye know? When any day they may carry you out on a
+plank!"
+
+Her "company manner" was gone; her voice was full of bitterness, as it
+always was when she spoke of North Valley. "I know what I'm tellin' ye,
+Joe Smith. Didn't I lose two brothers in it--as fine lads as ye'd find
+anywhere in the world! And many another lad I've seen go in laughin',
+and come out a corpse--or what is worse, for workin' people, a cripple.
+Sometimes I'd like to go and stand at the pit-mouth in the mornin' and
+cry to them, 'Go back, go back! Go down the canyon this day! Starve, if
+ye have to, beg if ye have to, only find some other work but
+coal-minin'!'"
+
+Her voice had risen to a passion of protest; when she went on a new note
+came into it--a note of personal terror. "It's worse now--since you
+came, Joe! To see ye settin' out on the life of a miner--you, that are
+young and strong and different. Oh, go away, Joe, go away while ye can!"
+
+He was astonished at her intensity. "Don't worry about me, Mary," he
+said. "Nothing will happen to me. I'll go away after a while."
+
+The path was irregular, and he had been holding her arm as they walked.
+He felt her trembling, and went on again, quickly, "It's not I that
+should go away, Mary. It's yourself. You hate the place--it's terrible
+for you to have to live here. Have you never thought of going away?"
+
+She did not answer at once, and when she did the excitement was gone
+from her voice; it was flat and dull with despair. "'Tis no use to think
+of me. There's nothin' I can do--there's nothin' any girl can do when
+she's poor. I've tried--but 'tis like bein' up against a stone wall. I
+can't even save the money to get on a train with! I've tried it--I been
+savin' for two years--and how much d'ye think I got, Joe? Seven dollars!
+Seven dollars in two years! No--ye can't save money in a place where
+there's so many things that wring the heart. Ye may hate them for being
+cowards--but ye must help when ye see a man killed, and his family
+turned out without a roof to cover them in the winter-time!"
+
+"You're too tender-hearted, Mary."
+
+"No, 'tis not that! Should I go off and leave me own brother and sister,
+that need me?"
+
+"But you could earn money and send it to them."
+
+"I earn a little here--I do cleanin' and nursin' for some that need me."
+
+"But outside--couldn't you earn more?"
+
+"I could get a job in a restaurant for seven or eight a week, but I'd
+have to spend more, and what I sent home would not go so far, with me
+away. Or I could get a job in some other woman's home, and work fourteen
+hours a day for it. But, Joe, 'tis not more drudgery I want, 'tis
+somethin' fair to look upon--somethin' of my own!" She flung out her
+arms suddenly like one being stifled. "Oh, I want somethin' that's fair
+and clean!"
+
+Again he felt her trembling. Again the path was rough, and having an
+impulse of sympathy, he put his arm about her. In the world of leisure,
+one might indulge in such considerateness, and he assumed it would not
+be different with a miner's daughter. But then, when she was close to
+him, he felt, rather than heard, a sob.
+
+"Mary!" he whispered; and they stopped. Almost without realising it, he
+put his other arm about her, and in a moment more he felt her warm
+breath on his cheek, and she was trembling and shaking in his embrace.
+"Joe! Joe!" she whispered. "_You_ take me away!"
+
+She was a rose in a mining-camp, and Hal was deeply moved. The primrose
+path of dalliance stretched fair before him, here in the soft summer
+night, with a moon overhead which bore the same message as it bore in
+the Italian gardens of the leisure-class. But not many minutes passed
+before a cold fear began to steal over Hal. There was a girl at home,
+waiting for him; and also there was the resolve which had been growing
+in him since his coming to this place--a resolve to find some way of
+compensation to the poor, to repay them for the freedom and culture he
+had taken; not to prey upon them, upon any individual among them. There
+were the Jeff Cottons for that!
+
+"Mary," he pleaded, "we mustn't do this."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Because--I'm not free. There is some one else."
+
+He felt her start, but she did not draw away.
+
+"Where?" she asked, in a low voice.
+
+"At home, waiting for me."
+
+"And why didn't ye tell me?"
+
+"I don't know."
+
+Hal realised in a moment that the girl had ground of complaint against
+him. According to the simple code of her world, he had gone some
+distance with her; he had been seen to walk out with her, he had been
+accounted her "fellow." He had led her to talk to him of herself--he had
+insisted upon having her confidences. And these people who were poor did
+not have subtleties, there was no room in their lives for intellectual
+curiosities, for Platonic friendships or philanderings. "Forgive me,
+Mary!" he said.
+
+She made no answer; but a sob escaped her, and she drew back from his
+arms--slowly. He struggled with an impulse to clasp her again. She was
+beautiful, warm with life--and so much in need of happiness!
+
+But he held himself in check, and for a minute or two they stood apart.
+Then he asked, humbly, "We can still be friends, Mary, can't we? You
+must know--I'm so _sorry_!"
+
+But she could not endure being pitied. "'Tis nothin'," she said. "Only I
+thought I was going to get away! That's what ye mean to me."
+
+
+
+SECTION 25.
+
+Hal had promised Alec Stone to keep a look-out for trouble-makers; and
+one evening the boss stopped him on the street, and asked him if he had
+anything to report. Hal took the occasion to indulge his sense of
+humour.
+
+"There's no harm in Mike Sikoria," said he. "He likes to shoot off his
+head, but if he's got somebody to listen, that's all he wants. He's just
+old and grouchy. But there's another fellow that I think would bear
+watching."
+
+"Who's that?" asked the boss.
+
+"I don't know his last name. They call him Gus and he's a 'cager.'
+Fellow with a red face."
+
+"I know," said Stone--"Gus Durking."
+
+"Well, he tried his best to get me to talk about unions. He keeps
+bringing it up, and I think he's some kind of trouble-maker."
+
+"I see," said the boss. "I'll get after him."
+
+"You won't say I told you," said Hal, anxiously.
+
+"Oh, no--sure not." And Hal caught the trace of a smile on the
+pit-boss's face.
+
+He went away, smiling in his turn. The "red-faced feller. Gus," was the
+person Madvik had named as being a "spotter" for the company!
+
+There were ins and outs to this matter of "spotting," and sometimes it
+was not easy to know what to think. One Sunday morning Hal went for a
+walk up the canyon, and on the way he met a young chap who got to
+talking with him, and after a while brought up the question of
+working-conditions in North Valley. He had only been there a week, he
+said, but everybody he had met seemed to be grumbling about short
+weight. He himself had a job as an "outside man," so it made no
+difference to him, but he was interested, and wondered what Hal had
+found.
+
+Straightway came the question, was this really a workingman, or had Alec
+Stone set some one to spying upon his spy. This was an intelligent
+fellow, an American--which in itself was suspicious, for most of the new
+men the company got in were from "somewhere East of Suez."
+
+Hal decided to spar for a while. He did not know, he said, that
+conditions were any worse here than elsewhere. You heard complaints, no
+matter what sort of job you took.
+
+Yes, said the stranger, but matters seemed to be especially bad in the
+coal-camps. Probably it was because they were so remote, and the
+companies owned everything in sight.
+
+"Where have you been?" asked Hal, thinking that this might trap him.
+
+But the other answered straight; he had evidently worked in half a dozen
+of the camps. In Mateo he had paid a dollar a month for wash-house
+privileges, and there had never been any water after the first three men
+had washed. There had been a common wash-tub for all the men, an
+unthinkably filthy arrangement. At Pine Creek--Hal found the very naming
+of the place made his heart stand still--at Pine Creek he had boarded
+with his boss, but the roof of the building leaked, and everything he
+owned was ruined; the boss would do nothing--yet when the boarder moved,
+he lost his job. At East Ridge, this man and a couple of other fellows
+had rented a two room cabin and started to board themselves, in spite of
+the fact that they had to pay a dollar-fifty a sack for potatoes and
+eleven cents a pound for sugar at the company store. They had continued
+until they made the discovery that the water supply had run short, and
+that the water for which they were paying the company a dollar a month
+was being pumped from the bottom of the mine, where the filth of mules
+and men was plentiful!
+
+Hal forced himself to remain non-committal; he shook his head and said
+it was too bad, but the workers always got it in the neck, and he didn't
+see what they could do about it. So they strolled back to the camp, the
+stranger evidently baffled, and Hal, for his part, feeling like the
+reader of a detective story at the end of the first chapter. Was this
+young man the murderer, or was he the hero? One would have to read on in
+the book to find out!
+
+
+
+SECTION 26.
+
+Hal kept his eye upon his new acquaintance, and perceived that he was
+talking with others. Before long the man tackled Old Mike; and Mike of
+course could not refuse an invitation to grumble, though it came from
+the devil himself. Hal decided that something must be done about it.
+
+He consulted his friend Jerry, who, being a radical, might have some
+touch-stone by which to test the stranger. Jerry sought him out at
+noon-time, and came back and reported that he was as much in the dark as
+Hal. Either the man was an agitator, seeking to "start something," or
+else he was a detective sent in by the company. There was only one way
+to find out--which was for some one to talk freely with him, and see
+what happened to that person!
+
+After some hesitation, Hal decided that he would be the victim. It
+rewakened his love of adventure, which digging in a coal-mine had
+subdued in him. The mysterious stranger was a new sort of miner, digging
+into the souls of men; Hal would countermine him, and perhaps blow him
+up. He could afford the experiment better than some others--better, for
+example, than little Mrs. David, who had already taken the stranger into
+her home, and revealed to him the fact that her husband had been a
+member of the most revolutionary of all miners' organisations, the South
+Wales Federation.
+
+So next Sunday Hal invited the stranger for another walk. The man showed
+reluctance--until Hal said that he wanted to talk to him. As they walked
+up the canyon, Hal began, "I've been thinking about what you said of
+conditions in these camps, and I've concluded it would be a good thing
+if we had a little shaking up here in North Valley."
+
+"Is that so?" said the other.
+
+"When I first came here, I used to think the men were grouchy. But now
+I've had a chance to see for myself, and I don't believe anybody gets a
+square deal. For one thing, nobody gets full weight in these mines--at
+least not unless he's some favourite of the boss. I'm sure of it, for
+I've tried all sorts of experiments with my partner. We've loaded a car
+extra light, and got eighteen hundredweight, and then we've loaded one
+high and solid, so that we'd know it had twice as much in it--but all we
+ever got was twenty-two and twenty-three. There's just no way you can
+get over that--though everybody knows those big cars can be made to hold
+two or three tons."
+
+"Yes, I suppose they might," said the other.
+
+"And if you get the smallest piece of rock in, you get a 'double-O,'
+sure as fate; and sometimes they say you got rock in when you didn't.
+There's no law to make them prove it."
+
+"No, I suppose not."
+
+"What it comes to is simply this--they make you think they are paying
+fifty-five a ton, but they've secretly cut you down to thirty-five. And
+yesterday at the company-store I paid a dollar and a half for a pair of
+blue overalls that I'd priced in Pedro for sixty cents."
+
+"Well," said the other, "the company has to haul them up here, you
+know!"
+
+So, gradually, Hal made the discovery that the tables were turned--the
+mysterious personage was now occupied in holding _him_ at arm's length!
+For some reason, Hal's sudden interest in industrial justice had failed
+to make an impression.
+
+So his career as a detective came to an inglorious end. "Say, man!" he
+exclaimed "What's your game, anyhow?"
+
+"Game?" said the other, quietly. "How do you mean?"
+
+"I mean, what are you here for?"
+
+"I'm here for two dollars a day--the same as you, I guess."
+
+Hal began to laugh. "You and I are like a couple of submarines, trying
+to find each other under water. I think we'd better come to the surface
+to do our fighting."
+
+The other considered the simile, and seemed to like it. "You come
+first," said he. But he did not smile. His quiet blue eyes were fixed on
+Hal with deadly seriousness.
+
+"All right," said Hal; "my story isn't very thrilling. I'm not an
+escaped convict, I'm not a company spy, as you may be thinking. Nor am I
+a 'natural born' coal-miner. I happen to have a brother and some friends
+at home who think they know about the coal-industry, and it got on my
+nerves, and I came to see for myself. That's all, except that I've found
+things interesting, and want to stay on a while, so I hope you aren't a
+'dick'!"
+
+The other walked in silence, weighing Hal's words. "That's not exactly
+what you'd call a usual story," he remarked, at last.
+
+"I know," replied Hal. "The best I can say for it is that it's true."
+
+"Well," said the stranger, "I'll take a chance on it. I have to trust
+somebody, if I'm ever to get anywhere. I picked you out because I liked
+your face." He gave Hal another searching look as he walked. "Your smile
+isn't that of a cheat. But you're young--so let me remind you of the
+importance of secrecy in this place."
+
+"I'll keep mum," said Hal; and the stranger opened a flap inside his
+shirt, and drew out a letter which certified him to be Thomas Olson, an
+organiser for the United Mine-Workers, the great national union of the
+coal-miners!
+
+
+
+SECTION 27.
+
+Hal was so startled by this discovery that he stopped in his tracks and
+gazed at the man. He had heard a lot about "trouble-makers" in the
+camps, but so far the only kind he had seen were those hired by the
+company to make trouble for the men. But now, here was a union
+organiser! Jerry had suggested the possibility, but Hal had not thought
+of it seriously; an organiser was a mythological creature, whispered
+about by the miners, cursed by the company and its servants, and by
+Hal's friends at home. An incendiary, a fire-brand, a loudmouthed,
+irresponsible person, stirring up blind and dangerous passions! Having
+heard such things all his life, Hal's first impulse was of distrust. He
+felt like the one-legged old switchman who had given him a place to
+sleep, after his beating at Pine Creek, and who had said, "Don't you
+talk no union business to me!"
+
+Seeing Hal's emotion, the organiser gave an uneasy laugh. "While you're
+hoping I'm not a 'dick,' I trust you understand I'm hoping _you're_ not
+one."
+
+Hal's answer was to the point. "I was taken for an organiser once," he
+said, and his hands sought the seat of his ancient bruises.
+
+The other laughed. "You got off with a beating? You were lucky. Down in
+Alabama, not so long ago, they tarred and feathered one of us."
+
+Dismay came upon Hal's face; but after a moment he too began to laugh.
+"I was just thinking about my brother and his friends--what they'd have
+said if I'd come home from Pine Creek in a coat of tar and feathers!"
+
+"Possibly," ventured the other, "they'd have said you got what you
+deserved."
+
+"Yes, that seems to be their attitude. That's the rule they apply to all
+the world--if anything goes wrong with you, it must be your own fault.
+It's a land of equal opportunity."
+
+"And you'll notice," said the organiser, "that the more privileges
+people have had, the more boldly they talk that way."
+
+Hal began to feel a sense of comradeship with this stranger, who was
+able to understand one's family troubles! It had been a long time since
+Hal had talked with any one from the outside world, and he found it a
+relief to his mind. He remembered how, after he had got his beating, he
+had lain out in the rain and congratulated himself that he was not what
+the guards had taken him for. Now he was curious about the psychology of
+an organiser. A man must have strong convictions to follow that
+occupation!
+
+He made the remark, and the other answered, "You can have my pay any
+time you'll do my work. But let me tell you, too, it isn't being beaten
+and kicked out of camp that bothers one most; it isn't the camp-marshal
+and the spy and the blacklist. Your worst troubles are inside the heads
+of the fellows you're trying to help! Have you ever thought what it
+would mean to try to explain things to men who speak twenty different
+languages?"
+
+"Yes, of course," said Hal. "I wonder how you ever get a start."
+
+"Well, you look for an interpreter--and maybe he's a company spy. Or
+maybe the first man you try to convert reports you to the boss. For, of
+course, some of the men are cowards, and some of them are crooks;
+they'll sell out the next fellow for a better 'place'--maybe for a glass
+of beer."
+
+"That must have a tendency to weaken your convictions," said Hal.
+
+"No," said the other, in a matter of fact tone. "It's hard, but one
+can't blame the poor devils. They're ignorant--kept so deliberately. The
+bosses bring them here, and have a regular system to keep them from
+getting together. And of course these European peoples have their old
+prejudices--national prejudices, religious prejudices, that keep them
+apart. You see two fellows, one you think is exactly as miserable as the
+other--but you find him despising the other, because back home he was
+the other's superior. So they play into the bosses' hands."
+
+
+
+SECTION 28.
+
+They had come to a remote place in the canyon, and found themselves
+seats on a flat rock, where they could talk in comfort.
+
+"Put yourself in their place," said the organiser. "They're in a strange
+country, and one person tells them one thing, and another tells them
+something else. The masters and their agents say: 'Don't trust the union
+agitators. They're a lot of grafters, they live easy and don't have to
+work. They take your money and call you out on strike, and you lose your
+jobs and your home; they sell you out, maybe, and go on to some other
+place to repeat the same trick.' And the workers think maybe that's
+true; they haven't the wit to see that if the union leaders are corrupt,
+it must be because the bosses are buying them. So you see, they're
+completely bedevilled; they don't know which way to turn."
+
+The man was speaking quietly, but there was a little glow of excitement
+in his face. "The company is forever repeating that these people are
+satisfied--that it's we who are stirring them up. But are they
+satisfied? You've been here long enough to know!"
+
+"There's no need to discuss that," Hal answered. "Of course they're not
+satisfied! They've seemed to me like a lot of children crying in the
+dark--not knowing what's the matter with them, or who's to blame, or
+where to turn for help."
+
+Hal found himself losing his distrust of this man. He did not correspond
+in any way to Hal's imaginary picture of a union organiser; he was a
+blue-eyed, clean-looking young American, and instead of being wild and
+loud-mouthed, he seemed rather wistful. He had indignation, of course,
+but it did not take the form of ranting or florid eloquence; and this
+repression was making its appeal to Hal, who, in spite of his democratic
+impulses, had the habits of thought of a class which shrinks from
+noisiness and over-emphasis.
+
+Also Hal was interested in his attitude towards the weaknesses of
+working-people. The "inertia" of the poor, which caused so many people
+to despair for them--their cowardice and instability--these were things
+about which Hal had heard all his life. "You can't help them," people
+would say. "They're dirty and lazy, they drink and shirk, they betray
+each other. They've always been like that." The idea would be summed up
+in a formula: "You can't change human nature!" Even Mary Burke, herself
+one of the working-class, spoke of the workers in this angry and
+scornful way. But Olson had faith in their manhood, and went ahead to
+awaken and teach them.
+
+To his mind the path was clear and straight. "They must be taught the
+lesson of solidarity. As individuals, they're helpless in the power of
+the great corporations; but if they stand together, if they sell their
+labour as a unit--then they really count for something." He paused, and
+looked at the other inquiringly. "How do you feel about unions?"
+
+Hal answered, "They're one of the things I want to find out about. You
+hear this and that--there's so much prejudice on each side. I want to
+help the under dog, but I want to be sure of the right way."
+
+"What other way is there?" And Olson paused. "To appeal to the tender
+hearts of the owners?"
+
+"Not exactly; but mightn't one appeal to the world in general--to public
+opinion? I was brought up an American, and learned to believe in my
+country. I can't think but there's some way to get justice. Maybe if the
+men were to go into politics--"
+
+"Politics?" cried Olson. "My God! How long have you been in this place?"
+
+"Only a couple of months."
+
+"Well, stay till November, and see what they do with the ballot-boxes in
+these camps!"
+
+"I can imagine, of course--"
+
+"No, you can't. Any more than you could imagine the graft and the
+misery!"
+
+"But if the men should take to voting together--"
+
+"How _can_ they take to voting together--when any one who mentions the
+idea goes down the canyon? Why, you can't even get naturalisation
+papers, unless you're a company man; they won't register you, unless the
+boss gives you an O. K. How are you going to make a start, unless you
+have a union?"
+
+It sounded reasonable, Hal had to admit; but he thought of the stories
+he had heard about "walking delegates," all the dreadful consequences of
+"union domination." He had not meant to go in for unionism!
+
+Olson was continuing. "We've had laws passed, a whole raft of laws about
+coal-mining--the eight-hour law, the anti-scrip law, the company-store
+law, the mine-sprinkling law, the check-weighman law. What difference
+has it made in North Valley that there are such laws on the
+statute-books? Would you ever even know about them?"
+
+"Ah, now!" said Hal. "If you put it that way--if your movement is to
+have the law enforced--I'm with you!"
+
+"But how will you get the law enforced, except by a union? No individual
+man can do it--it's 'down the canyon' with him if he mentions the law.
+In Western City our union people go to the state officials, but they
+never do anything--and why? They know we haven't got the men behind us!
+It's the same with the politicians as it is with the bosses--the union
+is the thing that counts!"
+
+Hal found this an entirely new argument. "People don't realise that
+idea--that men have to be organised to get their _legal_ rights."
+
+And the other threw up his hands with a comical gesture. "My God! If you
+want to make a list of the things that people don't realise about us
+miners!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 29.
+
+Olson was eager to win Hal, and went on to tell all the secrets of his
+work. He sought men who believed in unions, and were willing to take the
+risk of trying to convert others. In each place he visited he would get
+a group together, and would arrange some way to communicate with them
+after he left, smuggling in propaganda literature for distribution. So
+there would be the nucleus of an organisation. In a year or two they
+would have such a nucleus in every camp, and then they would be ready to
+come into the open, calling meetings in the towns, and in places in the
+canyons to which the miners would flock. So the flame of revolt would
+leap up; men would join the movement faster than the companies could get
+rid of them, and they would make a demand for their rights, backed with
+the threat of a strike throughout the entire district.
+
+"You understand," added Olson, "we have a legal right to organise--even
+though the bosses disapprove. You need not stand back on that score."
+
+"Yes," said Hal; "but it occurs to me that as a matter of tactics, it
+would be better here in North Valley if you chose some issue there's
+less controversy about; if, for instance, you'd concentrate on getting a
+check-weighman."
+
+The other smiled. "We'd have to have a union to back the demand; so
+what's the difference?"
+
+"Well," argued Hal, "there are prejudices to be reckoned with. Some
+people don't like the idea of a union--they think it means tyranny and
+violence--"
+
+The organiser laughed. "You aren't convinced but that it does yourself,
+are you! Well, all I can tell you is, if you want to tackle the job of
+getting a check-weighman in North Valley, I'll not stand in your way!"
+
+Here was an idea--a real idea! Life had grown dull for Hal since he had
+become a buddy, working in a place five feet high. This would promise
+livelier times!
+
+But was it a thing he wanted to do? So far he had been an observer of
+conditions in this coal-camp. He had convinced himself that conditions
+were cruel, and he had pretty well convinced himself that the cruelty
+was needless and deliberate. But when it came to a question of an action
+to be taken--then he hesitated, and old prejudices and fears made
+themselves heard. He had been told that labour was "turbulent" and
+"lazy," that it had to be "ruled with a strong hand"; now, was he
+willing to weaken the strong hand, to ally himself with those who
+"fomented labour troubles"?
+
+But this would not be the same thing, he told himself. This suggestion
+of Olson's was different from trade unionism, which might be a
+demoralising force, leading the workers from one demand to another,
+until they were seeking to "dominate industry." This would be merely an
+appeal to the law, a test of that honesty and fair dealing to which the
+company everywhere laid claim. If, as the bosses proclaimed, the workers
+were fully protected by the check-weighman law; if, as all the world was
+made to believe, the reason there was no check-weighman was simply
+because the men did not ask for one--why, then there would be no harm
+done. If on the other hand a demand for a right that was not merely a
+legal right, but a moral right as well--if that were taken by the bosses
+as an act of rebellion against the company--well, Hal would understand a
+little more about the "turbulence" of labour! If, as Old Mike and
+Johannson and the rest maintained, the bosses would "make your life one
+damn misery" till you left--then he would be ready to make a few damn
+miseries for the bosses in return!
+
+"It would be an adventure," said Hal, suddenly.
+
+And the other laughed. "It would that!"
+
+"You're thinking I'll have another Pine Creek experience," Hal added.
+"Well, maybe so--but I have to try things out for myself. You see, I've
+got a brother at home, and when I think about going in for revolution, I
+have imaginary arguments with him. I want to be able to say 'I didn't
+swallow anybody's theories; I tried it for myself, and this is what
+happened.'"
+
+"Well," replied the organiser, "that's all right. But while you're
+seeking education for yourself and your brother, don't forget that I've
+already got my education. I _know_ what happens to men who ask for a
+check-weighman, and I can't afford to sacrifice myself proving it
+again."
+
+"I never asked you to," laughed Hal. "If I won't join your movement, I
+can't expect you to join mine! But if I can find a few men who are
+willing to take the risk of making a demand for a check-weighman--that
+won't hurt your work, will it?"
+
+"Sure not!" said the other. "Just the opposite--it'll give me an object
+lesson to point to. There are men here who don't even know they've a
+legal right to a check-weighman. There are others who know they don't
+get their weights, but aren't sure its the company that's cheating them.
+If the bosses should refuse to let any one inspect the weights, if they
+should go further and fire the men who ask it--well, there'll be plenty
+of recruits for my union local!"
+
+"All right," said Hal. "I'm not setting out to recruit your union local,
+but if the company wants to recruit it, that's the company's affair!"
+And on this bargain the two shook hands.
+
+
+
+
+BOOK TWO
+
+THE SERFS OF KING COAL
+
+
+
+
+SECTION 1.
+
+Hal was now started upon a new career, more full of excitements than
+that of stableman or buddy, with perils greater than those of falling
+rock or the hind feet of mules in the stomach. The inertia which
+overwork produces had not had time to become a disease with him; youth
+was on his side, with its zest for more and yet more experience. He
+found it thrilling to be a conspirator, to carry about with him secrets
+as dark and mysterious as the passages of the mine in which he worked.
+
+But Jerry Minetti, the first person he told of Tom Olson's purpose in
+North Valley, was older in such thrills. The care-free look which Jerry
+was accustomed to wear vanished abruptly, and fear came into his eyes.
+"I know it come some day," he exclaimed--"trouble for me and Rosa!"
+
+"How do you mean?"
+
+"We get into it--get in sure. I say Rosa, 'Call yourself Socialist--what
+good that do? No help any. No use to vote here--they don't count no
+Socialist vote, only for joke!' I say, 'Got to have union. Got to
+strike!' But Rosa say, 'Wait little bit. Save little bit money, let
+children grow up. Then we help, no care if we no got any home.'"
+
+"But we're not going to start a union now!" objected Hal. "I have
+another plan for the present."
+
+Jerry, however, was not to be put at ease. "No can wait!" he declared.
+"Men no stand it! I say, 'It come some day quick--like blow-up in mine!
+Somebody start fight, everybody fight.'" And Jerry looked at Rosa, who
+sat with her black eyes fixed anxiously upon her husband. "We get into
+it," he said; and Hal saw their eyes turn to the room where Little Jerry
+and the baby were sleeping.
+
+Hal said nothing--he was beginning to understand the meaning of
+rebellion to such people. He watched with curiosity and pity the
+struggle that went on; a struggle as old as the soul of man--between the
+voice of self-interest, of comfort and prudence, and the call of duty,
+of the ideal. No trumpet sounded for this conflict, only the still small
+voice within.
+
+After a while Jerry asked what it was Hal and Olson had planned; and Hal
+explained that he wanted to make a test of the company's attitude toward
+the check-weighman law. Hal thought it a fine scheme; what did Jerry
+think?
+
+Jerry smiled sadly. "Yes, fine scheme for young feller--no got family!"
+
+"That's all right," said Hal, "I'll take the job--I'll be the
+check-weighman."
+
+"Got to have committee," said Jerry--"committee go see boss."
+
+"All right, but we'll get young fellows for that too--men who have no
+families. Some of the fellows who live in the chicken-coops in
+shanty-town. They won't care what happens to them."
+
+But Jerry would not share Hal's smile. "No got sense 'nough, them
+fellers. Take sense to stick together." He explained that they would
+need a group of men to stand back of the committee; such a group would
+have to be organised, to hold meetings in secret--it would be
+practically the same thing as a union, would be so regarded by the
+bosses and their spotters. And no organisation of any sort was permitted
+in the camps. There had been some Serbians who had wanted to belong to a
+fraternal order back in their home country, but even that had been
+forbidden. If you wanted to insure your life or your health, the company
+would attend to it--and get the profit from it. For that matter, you
+could not even buy a post-office money-order, to send funds back to the
+old country; the post-office clerk, who was at the same time a clerk in
+the company-store, would sell you some sort of a store-draft.
+
+So Hal was facing the very difficulties about which Olson had warned
+him. The first of them was Jerry's fear. Yet Hal knew that Jerry was no
+"coward"; if any man had a contempt for Jerry's attitude, it was because
+he had never been in Jerry's place!
+
+"All I'll ask of you now is advice," said Hal. "Give me the names of
+some young fellows who are trustworthy, and I'll get their help without
+anybody suspecting you."
+
+"You my boarder!" was Jerry's reply to this.
+
+So again Hal was "up against it." "You mean that would get you into
+trouble?"
+
+"Sure! They know we talk. They know I talk Socialism, anyhow. They fire
+me sure!"
+
+"But how about your cousin, the pit-boss in Number One?"
+
+"He no help. May be get fired himself. Say damn fool--board
+check-weighman!"
+
+"All right," said Hal. "Then I'll move away now, before it's too late.
+You can say I was a trouble-maker, and you turned me off."
+
+The Minettis sat gazing at each other--a mournful pair. They hated to
+lose their boarder, who was such good company, and paid them such good
+money. As for Hal, he felt nearly as bad, for he liked Jerry and his
+girl-wife, and Little Jerry--even the black-eyed baby, who made so much
+noise and interrupted conversation!
+
+"No!" said Jerry. "I no run, away! I do my share!"
+
+"That's all right," replied Hal. "You do your share--but not just yet.
+You stay on in the camp and help Olson after I'm fired. We don't want
+the best men put out at once."
+
+So, after further argument, it was decided, and Hal saw little Rosa sink
+back in her chair and draw a deep breath of relief. The time for
+martyrdom was put off; her little three-roomed cabin, her furniture and
+her shining pans and her pretty white lace curtains, might be hers for a
+few weeks longer!
+
+
+
+SECTION 2.
+
+Hal went back to Reminitsky's boarding-house; a heavy sacrifice, but not
+without its compensations, because it gave him more chance to talk with
+the men.
+
+He and Jerry made up a list of those who could be trusted with the
+secret: the list beginning with the name of Mike Sikoria. To be put on a
+committee, and sent to interview a boss, would appeal to Old Mike as the
+purpose for which he had been put upon earth! But they would not tell
+him about it until the last minute, for fear lest in his excitement he
+might shout out the announcement the next time he lost one of his cars.
+
+There was a young Bulgarian miner named Wresmak who worked near Hal. The
+road into this man's room ran up an incline, and he had hardly been able
+to push his "empties" up the grade. While he was sweating and straining
+at the task, Alec Stone had come along, and having a giant's contempt
+for physical weakness, began to cuff him. The man raised his
+arm--whether in offence or to ward off the blow, no one could be sure;
+but Stone fell upon him and kicked him all the way down the passage,
+pouring out upon him furious curses. Now the man was in another room,
+where he had taken out over forty car-loads of rock, and been allowed
+only three dollars for it. No one who watched his face when the pit-boss
+passed would doubt that this man would be ready to take his chances in a
+movement of protest.
+
+Then there was a man whom Jerry knew, who had just come out of the
+hospital, after contact with the butt-end of the camp-marshal's
+revolver. This was a Pole, who unfortunately did not know a word of
+English; but Olson, the organiser, had got into touch with another Pole,
+who spoke a little English, and would pass the word on to his
+fellow-countryman. Also there was a young Italian, Rovetta, whom Jerry
+knew and whose loyalty he could vouch for.
+
+There was another person Hal thought of--Mary Burke. He had been
+deliberately avoiding her of late; it seemed the one safe thing to
+do--although it seemed also a cruel thing, and left his mind ill at
+ease. He went over and over what had happened. How had the trouble got
+started? It is a man's duty in such cases to take the blame upon
+himself; but a man does not like to take blame upon himself, and he
+tries to make it as light as possible. Should Hal say that it was
+because he had been too officious that night in helping Mary where the
+path was rough? She had not actually needed such help, she was quite as
+capable on her feet as he! But he had really gone farther than that--he
+had had a definite sentimental impulse; and he had been a cad--he should
+have known all along that all this girl's discontent, all the longing of
+her starved soul, would become centred upon him, who was so "different,"
+who had had opportunity, who made her think of the "poetry-books"!
+
+But here suddenly seemed a solution of the difficulty; here was a new
+interest for Mary, a safe channel in which her emotions could run. A
+woman could not serve on a miners' committee, but she would be a good
+adviser, and her sharp tongue would be a weapon to drive others into
+line. Being aflame with this enterprise, Hal became impersonal,
+man-fashion--and so fell into another sentimental trap! He did not stop
+to think that Mary's interest in the check-weighman movement might be
+conditioned in part by a desire to see more of him; still less did it
+occur to him that he might be glad for a pretext to see Mary.
+
+No, he was picturing her in a new role, an activity more inspiriting
+than cooking and nursing. His "poetry-book" imagination took fire; he
+gave her a hope and a purpose, a pathway with a goal at the end. Had
+there not been women leaders in every great proletarian movement?
+
+He went to call on her, and met her at the door of her cabin. "'Tis a
+cheerin' sight to see ye, Joe Smith!" she said. And she looked him in
+the eye and smiled.
+
+"The same to you, Mary Burke!" he answered.
+
+She was game, he saw; she was going to be a "good sport." But he noticed
+that she was paler than when he had seen her last. Could it be that
+these gorgeous Irish complexions ever faded? He thought that she was
+thinner too; the old blue calico seemed less tight upon her.
+
+Hal plunged into his theme. "Mary, I had a vision of you to-day!"
+
+"Of me, lad? What's that?"
+
+He laughed. "I saw you with a glory in your face, and your hair shining
+like a crown of gold. You were mounted on a snow-white horse, and wore a
+robe of white, soft and lustrous--like Joan of Arc, or a leader in a
+suffrage parade. You were riding at the head of a host--I've still got
+the music in my ears, Mary!"
+
+"Go on with ye, lad--what's all this about?"
+
+"Come in and I'll tell you," he said.
+
+So they went into the bare kitchen, and sat in bare wooden chairs--Mary
+folding her hands in her lap like a child who has been promised a
+fairy-story. "Now hurry," said she. "I want to know about this new dress
+ye're givin' me. Are ye tired of me old calico?"
+
+He joined in her smile. "This is a dress you will weave for yourself,
+Mary, out of the finest threads of your own nature--out of courage and
+devotion and self-sacrifice."
+
+"Sure, 'tis the poetry-book again! But what is it ye're really meanin'?"
+
+He looked about him. "Is anybody here?"
+
+"Nobody."
+
+But instinctively he lowered his voice as he told his story. There was
+an organiser of the "big union" in the camp, and he was going to rouse
+the slaves to protest.
+
+The laughter went out of Mary's face. "Oh! It's that!" she said, in a
+flat tone. The vision of the snow-white horse and the soft and lustrous
+robe was gone. "Ye can never do anything of that sort here!"
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"'Tis the men in this place. Don't ye remember what I told ye at Mr.
+Rafferty's? They're cowards!"
+
+"Ah, Mary, it's easy to say that. But it's not so pleasant being turned
+out of your home--"
+
+"Do ye have to tell me that?" she cried, with sudden passion. "Haven't I
+seen that?"
+
+"Yes, Mary; but I want to _do_ something--"
+
+"Yes, and haven't I wanted to do something? Sure, I've wanted to bite
+off the noses of the bosses!"
+
+"Well," he laughed, "we'll make that a part of our programme." But Mary
+was not to be lured into cheerfulness; her mood was so full of pain and
+bewilderment that he had an impulse to reach out and take her hand
+again. But he checked that; he had come to divert her energies into a
+safe channel!
+
+"We must waken these men to resistance, Mary!"
+
+"Ye can't do it, Joe--not the English-speakin' men. The Greeks and the
+Bulgars, maybe--they're fightin' at home, and they might fight here. But
+the Irish never--never! Them that had any backbone went out long ago.
+Them that stayed has been made into boot-licks. I know them, every man
+of them. They grumble, and curse the boss, but then they think of the
+blacklist, and they go back and cringe at his feet."
+
+"What such men want--"
+
+"'Tis booze they want, and carousin' with the rotten women in the
+coal-towns, and sittin' up all night winnin' each other's money with a
+greasy pack of cards! They take their pleasure where they find it, and
+'tis nothin' better they want."
+
+"Then, Mary, if that's so, don't you see it's all the more reason for
+trying to teach them? If not for their own sakes, for the sake of their
+children! The children, mustn't grow up like that! They are learning
+English, at least--"
+
+Mary gave a scornful laugh. "Have ye been up to that school?"
+
+He answered no; and she told him there were a hundred and twenty
+children packed in one room, three in a seat, and solid all round the
+wall. She went on, with swift anger--the school was supposed to be paid
+for out of taxes, but as nobody owned any property but the company, it
+was all in the company's hands. The school-board consisted of Mr.
+Cartwright, the mine-superintendent, and Jake Predovich, a clerk in the
+store, and the preacher, the Reverend Spraggs. Old Spraggs would bump
+his nose on the floor if the "super" told him to.
+
+"Now, now!" said Hal, laughing. "You're down on him because his
+grandfather was an Orangeman!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 3.
+
+Mary Burke had been suckled upon despair, and the poison of it was deep
+in her blood. Hal began to realise that it would be as hard to give her
+a hope as to rouse the workers whom she despised. She was brave enough,
+no doubt, but how could he persuade her to be brave for men who had no
+courage for themselves?
+
+"Mary," he said, "in your heart you don't really hate these people. You
+know how they suffer, you pity them for it. You give their children your
+last cent when they need it--"
+
+"Ah, lad!" she cried, and he saw tears suddenly spring into her eyes.
+"'Tis because I love them so that I hate them! Sometimes 'tis the bosses
+I would murder, sometimes 'tis the men. What is it ye're wantin' me to
+do?"
+
+And then, even before he could answer, she began to run over the list of
+her acquaintances in the camp. Yes, there was one man Hal ought to talk
+to; he would be too old to join them, but his advice would be
+invaluable, and they could be sure he would never betray them. That was
+old John Edstrom, a Swede from Minnesota, who had worked in this
+district from the time the mines had first started up. He had been
+active in the great strike eight years ago, and had been black-listed,
+his four sons with him. The sons were scattered now to the four parts of
+the world, but the father had stayed nearby, working as a ranch-hand and
+railroad labourer, until a couple of years ago, during a rush season, he
+had got a chance to come back into the mines.
+
+He was old, old, declared Mary--must be sixty. And when Hal remarked
+that that did not sound so frightfully aged, she answered that one
+seldom heard of a man being able to work in a coal-mine at that age; in
+fact, there were not many who managed to live to that age. Edstrom's
+wife was dying now, and he was having a hard time.
+
+"'Twould not be fair to let such an old gentleman lose his job," said
+Mary. "But at least he could give ye good advice."
+
+So that evening the two of them went to call on John Edstrom, in a tiny
+unpainted cabin in "shanty-town," with a bare earth floor, and a half
+partition of rough boards to hide his dying wife from his callers. The
+woman's trouble was cancer, and this made calling a trying matter, for
+there was a fearful odour in the place. For some time it was impossible
+for Hal to force himself to think about anything else; but finally he
+overcame this weakness, telling himself that this was a war, and that a
+man must be ready for the hospital as well as for the parade-ground.
+
+He looked about, and saw that the cracks of Edstrom's cabin were stopped
+with rags, and the broken windowpanes mended with brown paper. The old
+man had evidently made an effort to keep the place neat, and Hal noticed
+a row of books on a shelf. Because it was cold in these mountain regions
+at night, even in September, the old man had a fire in the little
+cast-iron stove, and sat huddled by it. There were only a few hairs left
+on his head, and his scrubby beard was as white as anything could be in
+a coal-camp. The first impression of his face was of its pallor, and
+then of the benevolence in the faded dark eyes; also his voice was
+gentle, like a caress. He rose to greet his visitors, and put out to Hal
+a trembling hand, which resembled the paw of some animal, horny and
+misshapen. He made a move to draw up a bench, and apologised for his
+unskillful house-keeping. It occurred to Hal that a man might be able to
+work in a coal-mine at sixty, and not be able to work in it at
+sixty-one.
+
+Hal had requested Mary to say nothing about his purpose, until after he
+had a chance to judge for himself. So now the girl inquired about Mrs.
+Edstrom. There was no news, the man answered; she was lying in a stupor,
+as usual. Dr. Barrett had come again, but all he could do was to give
+her morphine. No one could do any more, the doctor declared.
+
+"Sure, he'd not know it if they could!" sniffed Mary.
+
+"He's not such a bad one, when he's sober," said Edstrom, patiently.
+
+"And how often is that?" sniffed Mary again. She added, by way of
+explanation to Hal, "He's a cousin of the super."
+
+Things were better here than in some places, said Edstrom. At Harvey's
+Run, where he had worked, a man had got his eye hurt, and had lost it
+through the doctor's instrument slipping; broken arms and legs had been
+set wrong, and either the men had to go through life as cripples, or go
+elsewhere and have the bones re-broken and reset, It was like everything
+else--the doctor was a part of the company machine, and if you had too
+much to say about him, it was down the canyon with you. You not only had
+a dollar a month taken out of your pay, but if you were injured, and he
+came to attend you, he would charge whatever extra he pleased.
+
+"And you have to pay?" asked Hal.
+
+"They take it off your account," said the old man.
+
+"Sometimes they take it when he's done nothin' at all," added Mary.
+"They charged Mrs. Zamboni twenty-five dollars for her last baby--and
+Dr. Barrett never set foot across her door till three hours after the
+baby was in my arms!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 4.
+
+The talk went on. Wishing to draw the old man out, Hal spoke of various
+troubles of the miners, and at last he suggested that the remedy might
+be found in a union. Edstrom's dark eyes studied him, and then turned to
+Mary. "Joe's all right," said the girl, quickly. "You can trust him."
+
+Edstrom made no direct answer to this, but remarked that he had once
+been in a strike. He was a marked man, now, and could only stay in the
+camp so long as he attended strictly to his own affairs. The part he had
+played in the big strike had never been forgotten; the bosses had let
+him work again, partly because they had needed him at a rush time, and
+partly because the pit-boss happened to be a personal friend.
+
+"Tell him about the big strike," said Mary. "He's new in this district."
+
+The old man had apparently accepted Mary's word for Hal's good faith,
+for he began to narrate those terrible events which were a whispered
+tradition of the camps. There had been a mighty effort of ten thousand
+slaves for freedom; and it had been crushed with utter ruthlessness.
+Ever since these mines had been started, the operators had controlled
+the local powers of government, and now, in the emergency, they had
+brought in the state militia as well, and used it frankly to drive the
+strikers back to work. They had seized the leaders and active men, and
+thrown them into jail without trial or charges; when the jails would
+hold no more, they kept some two hundred in an open stockade, called a
+"bull-pen," and finally they loaded them into freight-cars, took them at
+night out of the state, and dumped them off in the midst of the desert
+without food or water.
+
+John Edstrom had been one of these men. He told how one of his sons had
+been beaten and severely injured in jail, and how another had been kept
+for weeks in a damp cellar, so that he had come out crippled with
+rheumatism for life. The officers of the state militia had done these
+things; and when some of the local authorities were moved to protest,
+the militia had arrested them--even the judges of the civil courts had
+been forbidden to sit, under threat of imprisonment. "To hell with the
+constitution!" had been the word of the general in command; his
+subordinate had made famous the saying, "No habeas corpus; we'll give
+them post-mortems!"
+
+Tom Olson had impressed Hal with his self-control, but this old man made
+an even deeper impression upon him. As he listened, he became humble,
+touched with awe. Incredible as it might seem, when John Edstrom talked
+about his cruel experiences, it was without bitterness in his voice, and
+apparently without any in his heart. Here, in the midst of want and
+desolation, with his family broken and scattered, and the wolf of
+starvation at his door, he could look back upon the past without hatred
+of those who had ruined him. Nor was this because he was old and feeble,
+and had lost the spirit of revolt; it was because he had studied
+economics, and convinced himself that it was an evil system which
+blinded men's eyes and poisoned their souls. A better day was coming, he
+said, when this evil system would be changed, and it would be possible
+for men to be merciful to one another.
+
+At this point in the conversation, Mary Burke gave voice once more to
+her corroding despair. How could things ever be changed? The bosses were
+mean-hearted, and the men were cowards and traitors. That left nobody
+but God to do the changing--and God had left things as they were for
+such a long time!
+
+Hal was interested to hear how Edstrom dealt with this attitude. "Mary,"
+he said, "did you ever read about ants in Africa?"
+
+"No," said she.
+
+"They travel in long columns, millions and millions of them. And when
+they come to a ditch, the front ones fall in, and more and more of them
+on top, till they fill up the ditch, and the rest cross over. We are
+ants, Mary."
+
+"No matter how many go in," cried the girl, "none will ever get across.
+There's no bottom to the ditch!"
+
+He answered: "That's more than any ant can know. Mary. All they know is
+to go in. They cling to each other's bodies, even in death; they make a
+bridge, and the rest go over."
+
+"I'll step one side!" she declared, fiercely. "I'll not throw meself
+away."
+
+"You may step one side," answered the other--"but you'll step back into
+line again. I know you better than you know yourself, Mary."
+
+There was silence in the little cabin. The winds of an early fall
+shrilled outside, and life suddenly seemed to Hal a stern and merciless
+thing. He had thought in his youthful fervour it would be thrilling to
+be a revolutionist; but to be an ant, one of millions and millions, to
+perish in a bottomless ditch--that was something a man could hardly
+bring himself to face! He looked at the bowed figure of this white
+haired toiler, vague in the feeble lamplight, and found himself thinking
+of Rembrandt's painting, the Visit of Emmaus: the ill-lighted room in
+the dirty tavern, and the two ragged men, struck dumb by the glow of
+light about the forehead of their table-companion. It was not fantastic
+to imagine a glow of light about the forehead of this soft-voiced old
+man!
+
+"I never had any hope it would come in my time," the old man was saying
+gently. "I did use to hope my boys might see it--but now I'm not sure
+even of that. But in all my life I never doubted that some day the
+working-people will cross over to the promised land. They'll no longer
+be slaves, and what they make won't be wasted by idlers. And take it
+from one who knows, Mary--for a workingman or woman not to have that
+faith, is to have lost the reason for living."
+
+Hal decided that it would be safe to trust this man, and told him of his
+check-weighman plan. "We only want your advice," he explained,
+remembering Mary's warning. "Your sick wife--"
+
+But the old man answered, sadly, "She's almost gone, and I'll soon be
+following. What little strength I have left might as well be used for
+the cause."
+
+
+
+SECTION 5.
+
+This business of conspiracy was grimly real to men whose living came out
+of coal; but Hal, even at the most serious moments, continued to find in
+it the thrill of romance. He had read stories of revolutionists, and of
+the police who hunted them. That such excitements were to be had in
+Russia, he knew; but if any one had told him they could be had in his
+own free America, within a few hours' journey of his home city and his
+college-town, he could not have credited the statement.
+
+The evening after his visit to Edstrom, Hal was stopped on the street by
+his boss. Encountering him suddenly, Hal started, like a pick-pocket who
+runs into a policeman.
+
+"Hello, kid," said the pit-boss.
+
+"Hello, Mr. Stone," was the reply.
+
+"I want to talk to you," said the boss.
+
+"All right, sir." And then, under his breath, "He's got me!"
+
+"Come up to my house," said Stone; and Hal followed, feeling as if
+hand-cuffs were already on his wrists.
+
+"Say," said the man, as they walked, "I thought you were going to tell
+me if you'd heard any talk."
+
+"I haven't heard any, sir."
+
+"Well," continued Stone, "you want to get busy; there's sure to be
+kickers in every coal-camp." And deep within, Hal drew a sigh of relief.
+It was a false alarm!
+
+They came to the boss's house, and he took a chair on the piazza and
+motioned Hal to take another. They sat in semi-darkness, and Stone
+dropped his voice as he began. "What I want to talk to you about now is
+something else--this election."
+
+"Election, sir?"
+
+"Didn't you know there was one? The Congressman in this district died,
+and there's a special election three weeks from next Tuesday."
+
+"I see, sir." And Hal chuckled inwardly. He would get the information
+which Tom Olson had recommended to him!
+
+"You ain't heard any talk about it?" inquired the pit-boss.
+
+"Nothing at all, sir. I never pay much attention to politics--it ain't
+in my line."
+
+"Well, that's the way I like to hear a miner talk!" said the pit-boss,
+with heartiness. "If they all had sense enough to leave politics to the
+politicians, they'd be a sight better off. What they need is to tend to
+their own jobs."
+
+"Yes, sir," agreed Hal, meekly--"like I had to tend to them mules, if I
+didn't want to get the colic."
+
+The boss smiled appreciatively. "You've got more sense than most of 'em.
+If you'll stand by me, there'll be a chance for you to move up in the
+world."
+
+"Thank you, Mr. Stone," said Hal. "Give me a chance."
+
+"Well now, here's this election. Every year they send us a bunch of
+campaign money to handle. A bit of it might come your way."
+
+"I could use it, I reckon," said Hal, brightening visibly. "What is it
+you want?"
+
+There was a pause, while Stone puffed on his pipe. He went on, in a
+business-like manner. "What I want is somebody to feel things out a bit,
+and let me know the situation. I thought it better not to use the men
+that generally work for me, but somebody that wouldn't be suspected.
+Down in Sheridan and Pedro they say the Democrats are making a big stir,
+and the company's worried. I suppose you know the 'G. F. C.' is
+Republican."
+
+"I've heard so."
+
+"You might think a congressman don't have much to do with us, way off in
+Washington; but it has a bad effect to have him campaigning, telling the
+men the company's abusing them. So I'd like you just to kind o'
+circulate a bit, and start the men on politics, and see if any of them
+have been listening to this MacDougall talk. (MacDougall's this here
+Democrat, you know.) And I want to find out whether they've been sending
+in literature to this camp, or have any agents here. You see, they claim
+the right to come in and make speeches, and all that sort of thing.
+North Valley's an incorporated town, so they've got the law on their
+side, in a way, and if we shut 'em out, they make a howl in the papers,
+and it looks bad. So we have to get ahead of them in quiet ways.
+Fortunately there ain't any hall in the camp for them to meet in, and
+we've made a local ordinance against meetings on the street. If they try
+to bring in circulars, something has to happen to them before they get
+distributed. See?"
+
+"I see," said Hal; he thought of Tom Olson's propaganda literature!
+
+"We'll pass the word out,--it's the Republican the company wants
+elected; and you be on the lookout and see how they take it in the
+camp."
+
+"That sounds easy enough," said Hal. "But tell me, Mr. Stone, why do you
+bother? Do so many of these wops have votes?"
+
+"It ain't the wops so much. We get them naturalised on purpose--they
+vote our way for a glass of beer. But the English-speaking men, or the
+foreigners that's been here too long, and got too big for their
+breeches--they're the ones we got to watch. If they get to talking
+politics, they don't stop there; the first thing you know, they're
+listening to union agitators, and wanting to run the camp."
+
+"Oh yes, I see!" said Hal, and wondered if his voice sounded right.
+
+But the pit-boss was concerned with his own troubles. "As I told Si
+Adams the other day, what I'm looking for is fellows that talk some new
+lingo--one that nobody will ever understand! But I suppose that would be
+too easy. There's no way to keep them from learning some English!"
+
+Hal decided to make use of this opportunity to perfect his education.
+"Surely, Mr. Stone," he remarked, "you don't have to count any votes if
+you don't want to!"
+
+"Well, I'll tell you," replied Stone; "it's a question of the easiest
+way to manage things. When I was superintendent over to Happy Gulch, we
+didn't waste no time on politics. The company was Democratic at that
+time, and when election night come, we wrote down four hundred votes for
+the Democratic candidates. But the first thing we knew, a bunch of
+fellers was taken into town and got to swear they'd voted the Republican
+ticket in our camp. The Republican papers were full of it, and some fool
+judge ordered a recount, and we had to get busy over night and mark up a
+new lot of ballots. It gave us a lot of bother!"
+
+The pit-boss laughed, and Hal joined him discreetly.
+
+"So you see, you have to learn to manage. If there's votes for the wrong
+candidate in your camp, the fact gets out, and if the returns is too
+one-sided, there's a lot of grumbling. There's plenty of bosses that
+don't care, but I learned my lesson that time, and I got my own
+method--that is not to let any opposition start. See?"
+
+"Yes, I see."
+
+"Maybe a mine-boss has got no right to meddle in politics--but there's
+one thing he's got the say about, and that is who works in his mine.
+It's the easiest thing to weed out--weed out--" Hal never forgot the
+motion of beefy hands with which Alec Stone illustrated these words. As
+he went on, the tones of his voice did not seem so good-natured as
+usual. "The fellows that don't want to vote my way can go somewhere else
+to do their voting. That's all I got to say on politics!"
+
+There was a brief pause, while Stone puffed on his pipe. Then it may
+have occurred to him that it was not necessary to go into so much detail
+in breaking in a political recruit. When he resumed, it was in a
+good-natured tone of dismissal. "That's what you do, kid. To-morrow you
+get a sprained wrist, so you can't work for a few days, and that'll give
+you a chance to bum round and hear what the men are saying. Meantime,
+I'll see you get your wages."
+
+"That sounds all right," said Hal; but showing only a small part of his
+satisfaction!
+
+The pit-boss rose from his chair and knocked the ashes from his pipe.
+"Mind you--I want the goods. I've got other fellows working, and I'm
+comparing 'em. For all you know, I may have somebody watching you."
+
+"Yes," said Hal, and grinned cheerfully. "I'll not fail to bear that in
+mind."
+
+
+
+SECTION 6.
+
+The first thing Hal did was to seek out Tom Olson and narrate this
+experience. The two of them had a merry time over it. "I'm the favourite
+of a boss now!" laughed Hal.
+
+But the organiser became suddenly serious. "Be careful what you do for
+that fellow."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"He might use it on you later on. One of the things they try to do if
+you make any trouble for them, is to prove that you took money from
+them, or tried to."
+
+"But he won't have any proofs."
+
+"That's my point--don't give him any. If Stone says you've been playing
+the political game for him, then some fellow might remember that you did
+ask him about politics. So don't have any marked money on you."
+
+Hal laughed. "Money doesn't stay on me very long these days. But what
+shall I say if he asks me for a report?"
+
+"You'd better put your job right through, Joe--so that he won't have
+time to ask for any report."
+
+"All right," was the reply. "But just the same, I'm going to get all the
+fun there is, being the favourite of a boss!"
+
+And so, early the next morning when Hal went to his work he proceeded to
+"sprain his wrist." He walked about in pain, to the great concern of Old
+Mike; and when finally he decided that he would have to lay off, Mike
+followed him half way to the shaft, giving him advice about hot and cold
+cloths. Leaving the old Slovak to struggle along as best he could alone,
+Hal went out to bask in the wonderful sunshine of the upper world, and
+the still more wonderful sunshine of a boss's favour.
+
+First he went to his room at Reminitsky's, and tied a strip of old shirt
+about his wrist, and a clean handkerchief on top of that; by this symbol
+he was entitled to the freedom of the camp and the sympathy of all men,
+and so he sallied forth.
+
+Strolling towards the tipple of Number One, he encountered a wiry,
+quick-moving little man, with restless black eyes and a lean,
+intelligent face. He wore a pair of common miner's "jumpers," but even
+so, he was not to be taken for a workingman. Everything about him spoke
+of authority.
+
+"Morning, Mr. Cartwright," said Hal.
+
+"Good morning," replied the superintendent; then, with a glance at Hal's
+bandage, "You hurt?"
+
+"Yes, sir. Just a bit of sprain, but I thought I'd better lay off."
+
+"Been to the doctor?"
+
+"No, sir. I don't think it's that bad."
+
+"You'd better go. You never know how bad a sprain is."
+
+"Right, sir," said Hal. Then, as the superintendent was passing, "Do you
+think, Mr. Cartwright, that MacDougall stands any chance of being
+elected?"
+
+"I don't know," replied the other, surprised. "I hope not. You aren't
+going to vote for him, are you?"
+
+"Oh, no. I'm a Republican--born that way. But I wondered if you'd heard
+any MacDougall talk."
+
+"Well, I'm hardly the one that would hear it. You take an interest in
+politics?"
+
+"Yes, sir--in a way. In fact, that's how I came to get this wrist."
+
+"How's that? In a fight?"
+
+"No, sir; but you see, Mr. Stone wanted me to feel out sentiment in the
+camp, and he told me I'd better sprain my wrist and lay off."
+
+The "super," after staring at Hal, could not keep from laughing. Then he
+looked about him. "You want to be careful, talking about such things."
+
+"I thought I could surely trust the superintendent," said Hal, drily.
+
+The other measured him with his keen eyes; and Hal, who was getting the
+spirit of political democracy, took the liberty of returning the gaze.
+"You're a wide-awake young fellow," said Cartwright, at last. "Learn the
+ropes here, and make yourself useful, and I'll see you're not passed
+over."
+
+"All right, sir--thank you."
+
+"Maybe you'll be made an election-clerk this time. That's worth three
+dollars a day, you know."
+
+"Very good, sir." And Hal put on his smile again. "They tell me you're
+the mayor of North Valley."
+
+"I am."
+
+"And the justice of the peace is a clerk in your store. Well, Mr.
+Cartwright, if you need a president of the board of health or a dog
+catcher, I'm your man--as soon, that is, as my wrist gets well."
+
+And so Hal went on his way. Such "joshing" on the part of a "buddy" was
+of course absurdly presumptuous; the superintendent stood looking after
+him with a puzzled frown upon his face.
+
+
+
+SECTION 7.
+
+Hal did not look back, but turned into the company-store. "North Valley
+Trading Company" read the sign over the door; within was a Serbian woman
+pointing out what she wanted to buy, and two little Lithuanian girls
+watching the weighing of a pound of sugar. Hal strolled up to the person
+who was doing the weighing, a middle-aged man with a yellow moustache
+stained with tobacco-juice. "Morning, Judge."
+
+"Huh!" was the reply from Silas Adams, justice of the peace in the town
+of North Valley.
+
+"Judge," said Hal, "what do you think about the election?"
+
+"I don't think about it," said the other. "Busy weighin' sugar."
+
+"Anybody round here going to vote for MacDougall?"
+
+"They better not tell me if they are!"
+
+"What?" smiled Hal. "In this free American republic?"
+
+"In this part of the free American republic a man is free to dig coal,
+but not to vote for a skunk like MacDougall." Then, having tied up the
+sugar, the "J. P." whittled off a fresh chew from his plug, and turned
+to Hal. "What'll you have?"
+
+Hal purchased half a pound of dried peaches, so that he might have an
+excuse to loiter, and be able to keep time with the jaws of the Judge.
+While the order was being filled, he seated himself upon the counter.
+"You know," said he, "I used to work in a grocery."
+
+"That so? Where at?"
+
+"Peterson & Co., in American City." Hal had told this so often that he
+had begun to believe it.
+
+"Pay pretty good up there?"
+
+"Yes, pretty fair." Then, realising that he had no idea what would
+constitute good pay in a grocery, Hal added, quickly, "Got a bad wrist
+here!"
+
+"That so?" said the other.
+
+He did not show much sociability; but Hal persisted, refusing to believe
+that any one in a country store would miss an opening to discuss
+politics, even with a miner's helper. "Tell me," said he, "just what is
+the matter with MacDougall?"
+
+"The matter with him," said the Judge, "is that the company's against
+him." He looked hard at the young miner. "You meddlin' in politics?" he
+growled. But the young miner's gay brown eyes showed only appreciation
+of the earlier response; so the "J. P." was tempted into specifying the
+would-be congressman's vices. Thus conversation started; and pretty soon
+the others in the store joined in--"Bob" Johnson, bookkeeper and
+post-master, and "Jake" Predovich, the Galician Jew who was a member of
+the local school-board, and knew the words for staple groceries in
+fifteen languages.
+
+Hal listened to an exposition of the crimes of the political opposition
+in Pedro County. Their candidate, MacDougall, had come to the state as a
+"tin-horn gambler," yet now he was going around making speeches in
+churches, and talking about the moral sentiment of the community. "And
+him with a district chairman keeping three families in Pedro!" declared
+Si Adams.
+
+"Well," ventured Hal, "if what I hear is true, the Republican chairman
+isn't a plaster saint. They say he was drunk at the convention--"
+
+"Maybe so," said the "J. P." "But we ain't playin' for the prohibition
+vote; and we ain't playin' for the labour vote--tryin' to stir up the
+riff-raff in these coal-camps, promisin' 'em high wages an' short hours.
+Don't he know he can't get it for 'em? But he figgers he'll go off to
+Washington and leave us here to deal with the mess he's stirred up!"
+
+"Don't you fret," put in Bob Johnson--"he ain't goin' to no Washin'ton."
+
+The other two agreed, and Hal ventured again, "He says you stuff the
+ballot-boxes."
+
+"What do you suppose his crowd is doin' in the cities? We got to meet
+'em some way, ain't we?"
+
+"Oh, I see," said Hal, na�vely. "You stuff them worse!"
+
+"Sometimes we stuff the boxes, and sometimes we stuff the voters." There
+was an appreciative titter from the others, and the "J. P." was moved to
+reminiscence. "Two years ago I was election clerk, over to Sheridan, and
+we found we'd let 'em get ahead of us--they had carried the whole state.
+'By God,' said Alf. Raymond, 'we'll show 'em a trick from the
+coal-counties! And there won't be no recount business either!' So we
+held back our returns till the rest had come in, and when we seen how
+many votes we needed, we wrote 'em down. And that settled it."
+
+"That seems a simple method," remarked Hal. "They'll have to get up
+early to beat Alf."
+
+"You bet you!" said Si, with the complacency of one of the gang. "They
+call this county the 'Empire of Raymond.'"
+
+"It must be a cinch," said Hal--"being the sheriff, and having the
+naming of so many deputies as they need in these coal-camps!"
+
+"Yes," agreed the other. "And there's his wholesale liquor business,
+too. If you want a license in Pedro county, you not only vote for Alf,
+but you pay your bills on time!"
+
+"Must be a fortune in that!" remarked Hal; and the Judge, the
+Post-master and the School-commissioner appeared like children listening
+to a story of a feast. "You bet you!"
+
+"I suppose it takes money to run politics in this county," Hal added.
+
+"Well, Alf don't put none of it up, you can bet! That's the company's
+job."
+
+This from the Judge; and the School-commissioner added, "De coin in dese
+camps is beer."
+
+"Oh, I see!" laughed Hal. "The companies buy Alf's beer, and use it to
+get him votes!"
+
+"Sure thing!" said the Post-master.
+
+At this moment he happened to reach into his pocket for a cigar, and Hal
+observed a silver shield on the breast of his waistcoat. "That a
+deputy's badge?" he inquired, and then turned to examine the
+School-commissioner's costume. "Where's yours?"
+
+"I git mine ven election comes," said Jake, with a grin.
+
+"And yours, Judge?"
+
+"I'm a justice of the peace, young feller," said Silas, with dignity.
+
+Leaning round, and observing a bulge on the right hip of the
+School-commissioner, Hal put out his hand towards it. Instinctively the
+other moved his hand to the spot.
+
+Hal turned to the Post-master. "Yours?" he asked.
+
+"Mine's under the counter," grinned Bob.
+
+"And yours, Judge?"
+
+"Mine's in the desk," said the Judge.
+
+Hal drew a breath. "Gee!" said he. "It's like a steel trap!" He managed
+to keep the laugh on his face, but within he was conscious of other
+feelings than those of amusement. He was losing that "first fine
+careless rapture" with which he had set out to run with the hare and the
+hounds in North Valley!
+
+
+
+SECTION 8.
+
+Two days after this beginning of Hal's political career, it was arranged
+that the workers who were to make a demand for a check-weighman should
+meet in the home of Mrs. David. When Mike Sikoria came up from the pit
+that day, Hal took him aside and told him of the gathering. A look of
+delight came upon the old Slovak's face as he listened; he grabbed his
+buddy by the shoulders, crying, "You mean it?"
+
+"Sure meant it," said Hal. "You want to be on the committee to go and
+see the boss?"
+
+"_Pluha biedna_!" cried Mike--which is something dreadful in his own
+language. "By Judas, I pack up my old box again!"
+
+Hal felt a guilty pang. Should he let this old man into the thing? "You
+think you'll have to move out of camp?" he asked.
+
+"Move out of state this time! Move back to old country, maybe!" And Hal
+realised that he could not stop him now, even if he wanted to. The old
+fellow was so much excited that he hardly ate any supper, and his buddy
+was afraid to leave him alone, for fear he might blurt out the news.
+
+It had been agreed that those who attended the meeting should come one
+by one, and by different routes. Hal was one of the first to arrive, and
+he saw that the shades of the house had been drawn, and the lamps turned
+low. He entered by the back door, where "Big Jack" David stood on guard.
+"Big Jack," who had been a member of the South Wales Federation at home,
+made sure of Hal's identity, and then passed him in without a word.
+
+Inside was Mike--the first on hand. Mrs. David, a little black-eyed
+woman with a never-ceasing tongue, was bustling about, putting things in
+order; she was so nervous that she could not sit still. This couple had
+come from their birth-place only a year or so ago, and had brought all
+their wedding presents to their new home--pictures and bric-a-brac and
+linen. It was the prettiest home Hal had so far been in, and Mrs. David
+was risking it deliberately, because of her indignation that her husband
+had had to foreswear his union in order to get work in America.
+
+The young Italian, Rovetta, came, then old John Edstrom. There being not
+chairs enough in the house, Mrs. David had set some boxes against the
+wall, covering them with cloth; and Hal noticed that each person took
+one of these boxes, leaving the chairs for the later comers. Each one as
+he came in would nod to the others, and then silence would fall again.
+
+When Mary Burke entered, Hal divined from her aspect and manner that she
+had sunk back into her old mood of pessimism. He felt a momentary
+resentment. He was so thrilled with this adventure; he wanted everybody
+else to be thrilled--especially Mary! Like every one who has not
+suffered much, he was repelled by a condition of perpetual suffering in
+another. Of course Mary had good reasons for her black moods--but she
+herself considered it necessary to apologise for what she called her
+"complainin'"! She knew that he wanted her to help encourage the others;
+but here she was, putting herself in a corner and watching this
+wonderful proceeding, as if she had said: "I'm an ant, and I stay in
+line--but I'll not pretend I have any hope in it!"
+
+Rosa and Jerry had insisted on coming, in spite of Hal's offer to spare
+them. After them came the Bulgarian, Wresmak; then the Polacks, Klowoski
+and Zamierowski. Hal found these difficult names to remember, but the
+Polacks were not at all sensitive about this; they would grin
+good-naturedly while he practised, nor would they mind if he gave it up
+and called them Tony and Pete. They were humble men, accustomed all
+their lives to being driven about. Hal looked from one to another of
+their bowed forms and toil-worn faces, appearing more than ever sombre
+and mournful in the dim light; he wondered if the cruel persecution
+which had driven them to protest would suffice to hold them in line.
+
+Once a newcomer, having misunderstood the orders, came to the front door
+and knocked; and Hal noted that every one started, and some rose to
+their feet in alarm. Again he recognised the atmosphere of novels of
+Russian revolutionary life. He had to remind himself that these men and
+women, gathered here like criminals, were merely planning to ask for a
+right guaranteed them by the law!
+
+The last to come was an Austrian miner named Huszar, with whom Olson had
+got into touch. Then, it being time to begin, everybody looked uneasily
+at everybody else. Few of them had conspired before, and they did not
+know quite how to set about it. Olson, the one who would naturally have
+been their leader, had deliberately stayed away. They must run this
+check-weighman affair for themselves!
+
+"Somebody talk," said Mrs. David at last; and then, as the silence
+continued, she turned to Hal. "You're going to be the check-weighman.
+You talk."
+
+"I'm the youngest man here," said Hal, with a smile. "Some older fellow
+talk."
+
+But nobody else smiled. "Go on!" exclaimed old Mike; and so at last Hal
+stood up. It was something he was to experience many times in the
+future; because he was an American, and educated, he was forced into a
+position of leadership.
+
+"As I understand it, you people want a check-weighman. Now, they tell me
+the pay for a check-weighman should be three dollars a day, but we've
+got only seven miners among us, and that's not enough. I will offer to
+take the job for twenty-five cents a day from each man, which will make
+a dollar-seventy-five, less than what I'm getting now as a buddy. If we
+get thirty men to come in, then I'll take ten cents a day from each, and
+make the full three dollars. Does that seem fair?"
+
+"Sure!" said Mike; and the others added their assent by word or nod.
+
+"All right. Now, there's nobody that works in this mine but knows the
+men don't get their weight. It would cost the company several hundred
+dollars a day to give us our weight, and nobody should be so foolish as
+to imagine they'll do it without a struggle. We've got to make up our
+minds to stand together."
+
+"Sure, stand together!" cried Mike.
+
+"No get check-weighman!" exclaimed Jerry, pessimistically.
+
+"Not unless we try, Jerry," said Hal.
+
+And Mike thumped his knee. "Sure try! And get him too!"
+
+"Right!" cried "Big Jack." But his little wife was not satisfied with
+the response of the others. She gave Hal his first lesson in the
+drilling of these polyglot masses.
+
+"Talk to them. Make them understand you!" And she pointed them out one
+by one with her finger: "You! You! Wresmak, here, and you, Klowoski, and
+you, Zam--you other Polish fellow. Want check-weighman. Want to get all
+weight. Get all our money. Understand?"
+
+"Yes, yes!"
+
+"Get committee, go see super! Want check-weighman. Understand? Got to
+have check-weighman! No back down, no scare."
+
+"No--no scare!" Klowoski, who understood some English, explained rapidly
+to Zamierowski; and Zamierowski, whose head was still plastered where
+Jeff Cotton's revolver had hit it, nodded eagerly in assent. In spite of
+his bruises, he would stand by the others, and face the boss.
+
+This suggested another question. "Who's going to do the talking to the
+boss?"
+
+"You do that," said Mrs. David, to Hal.
+
+"But I'm the one that's to be paid. It's not for me to talk."
+
+"No one else can do it right," declared the woman.
+
+"Sure--got to be American feller!" said Mike.
+
+But Hal insisted. If he did the talking, it would look as if the
+check-weighman had been the source of the movement, and was engaged in
+making a good paying job for himself.
+
+There was discussion back and forth, until finally John Edstrom spoke
+up. "Put me on the committee."
+
+"You?" said Hal. "But you'll be thrown out! And what will your wife do?"
+
+"I think my wife is going to die to-night," said Edstrom, simply.
+
+He sat with his lips set tightly, looking straight before him. After a
+pause he went on: "If it isn't to-night, it will be to-morrow, the
+doctor says; and after that, nothing will matter. I shall have to go
+down to Pedro to bury her, and if I have to stay, it will make little
+difference to me, so I might as well do what I can for the rest of you.
+I've been a miner all my life, and Mr. Cartwright knows it; that might
+have some weight with him. Let Joe Smith and Sikoria and myself be the
+ones to go and see him, and the rest of you wait, and don't give up your
+jobs unless you have to."
+
+
+
+SECTION 9.
+
+Having settled the matter of the committee, Hal told the assembly how
+Alec Stone had asked him to spy upon the men. He thought they should
+know about it; the bosses might try to use it against him, as Olson had
+warned. "They may tell you I'm a traitor," he said. "You must trust me."
+
+"We trust you!" exclaimed Mike, with fervour; and the others nodded
+their agreement.
+
+"All right," Hal answered. "You can rest sure of this one thing--if I
+get onto that tipple, you're going to get your weights!"
+
+"Hear, hear!" cried "Big Jack," in English fashion. And a murmur ran
+about the room. They did not dare make much noise, but they made clear
+that that was what they wanted.
+
+Hal sat down, and began to unroll the bandage from his wrist. "I guess
+I'm through with this," he said, and explained how he had come to wear
+it.
+
+"What?" cried Old Mike. "You fool me like that?" And he caught the
+wrist, and when he had made sure there was no sign of swelling upon it,
+he shook it so that he almost sprained it really, laughing until the
+tears ran down his cheeks. "You old son-of-a-gun!" he exclaimed.
+Meantime Klowoski was telling the story to Zamierowski, and Jerry
+Minetti was explaining it to Wresmak, in the sort of pidgin-English
+which does duty in the camps. Hal had never seen such real laughter
+since coming to North Valley.
+
+But conspirators cannot lend themselves long to merriment. They came
+back to business again. It was agreed that the hour for the committee's
+visit to the superintendent should be quitting-time on the morrow. And
+then John Edstrom spoke, suggesting that they should agree upon their
+course of action in case they were offered violence.
+
+"You think there's much chance of that?" said some one.
+
+"Sure there be!" cried Mike Sikoria. "One time in Cedar Mountain we go
+see boss, say air-course blocked. What you think he do them fellers? He
+hit them one lick in nose, he kick them three times in behind, he run
+them out!"
+
+"Well," said Hal, "if there's going to be anything like that, we must be
+ready."
+
+"What you do?" demanded Jerry.
+
+It was time for Hal's leadership. "If he hits me one lick in the nose,"
+he declared, "I'll hit him one lick in the nose, that's all."
+
+There was a bit of applause at this. That was the way to talk! Hal
+tasted the joys of his leadership. But then his fine self-confidence met
+with a sudden check--a "lick in the nose" of his pride, so to speak.
+There came a woman's voice from the corner, low and grim: "Yes! And get
+ye'self killed for all your trouble!"
+
+He looked towards Mary Burke, and saw her vivid face, flushed and
+frowning. "What do you mean?" he asked. "Would you have us turn and run
+away?"
+
+"I would that!" said she. "Rather than have ye killed, I would! What'll
+ye do if he pulls his gun on ye?"
+
+"Would he pull his gun on a committee?"
+
+Old Mike broke in again. "One time in Barela--ain't I told you how I
+lose my cars? I tell weigh-boss somebody steal my cars, and he pull gun
+on me, and he say, 'Get the hell off that tipple, you old billy-goat, I
+shoot you full of holes!'"
+
+Among his class-mates at college, Hal had been wont to argue that the
+proper way to handle a burglar was to call out to him, saying, "Go
+ahead, old chap, and help yourself; there's nothing here I'm willing to
+get shot for." What was the value of anything a burglar could steal, in
+comparison with a man's own life? And surely, one would have thought,
+this was a good time to apply the plausible theory. But for some reason
+Hal failed even to remember it. He was going ahead, precisely as if a
+ton of coal per day was the one thing of consequence in life!
+
+"What shall we do?" he asked. "We don't want to back out."
+
+But even while he asked the question, Hal was realising that Mary was
+right. His was the attitude of the leisure-class person, used to having
+his own way; but Mary, though she had a temper too, was pointing the
+lesson of self-control. It was the second time to-night that she had
+injured his pride. But now he forgave her in his admiration; he had
+always known that Mary had a mind and could help him! His admiration was
+increased by what John Edstrom was saying--they must do nothing that
+would injure the cause of the "big union," and so they must resolve to
+offer no physical resistance, no matter what might be done to them.
+
+There was vehement argument on the other side. "We fight! We fight!"
+declared Old Mike, and cried out suddenly, as if in anticipation of the
+pain in his injured nose. "You say me stand that?"
+
+"If you fight back," said Edstrom, "we'll all get the worst of it. The
+company will say we started the trouble, and put us in the wrong. We've
+got to make up our mind to rely on moral force."
+
+So, after more discussion, it was agreed; every man would keep his
+temper--that is, if he could! So they shook hands all round, pledging
+themselves to stand firm. But, when the meeting was declared adjourned,
+and they stole out one by one into the night, they were a very sober and
+anxious lot of conspirators.
+
+
+
+SECTION 10.
+
+Hal slept but little that night. Amid the sounds of the snoring of eight
+of Reminitsky's other boarders, he lay going over in his mind various
+things which might happen on the morrow. Some of them were far from
+pleasant things; he tried to picture himself with a broken nose, or with
+tar and feathers on him. He recalled his theory as to the handling of
+burglars. The "G. F. C." was a burglar of gigantic and terrible
+proportions; surely this was a time to call out, "Help yourself!" But
+instead of doing it, Hal thought about Edstrom's ants, and wondered at
+the power which made them stay in line.
+
+When morning came, he went up into the mountains, where a man may wander
+and renew his moral force. When the sun had descended behind the
+mountain-tops, he descended also, and met Edstrom and Sikoria in front
+of the company office.
+
+They nodded a greeting, and Edstrom told Hal that his wife had died
+during the day. There being no undertaker in North Valley, he had
+arranged for a woman friend to take the body down to Pedro, so that he
+might be free for the interview with Cartwright. Hal put his hand on the
+old man's shoulder, but attempted no word of condolence; he saw that
+Edstrom had faced the trouble and was ready for duty.
+
+"Come ahead," said the old man, and the three went into the office.
+While a clerk took their message to the inner office, they stood for a
+couple of minutes, shifting uneasily from one foot to the other, and
+turning their caps in their hands in the familiar manner of the lowly.
+
+At last Mr. Cartwright appeared in the doorway, his small sparely-built
+figure eloquent of sharp authority. "Well, what's this?" he inquired.
+
+"If you please," said Edstrom, "we'd like to speak to you. We've
+decided, sir, that we want to have a check-weighman."
+
+"_What_?" The word came like the snap of a whip.
+
+"We'd like to have a check-weighman, sir."
+
+There was a moment's silence. "Come in here." They filed into the inner
+office, and he shut the door.
+
+"Now. What's this?"
+
+Edstrom repeated his words again.
+
+"What put that notion into your heads?"
+
+"Nothing, sir; only we thought we'd be better satisfied."
+
+"You think you're not getting your weight?"
+
+"Well, sir, you see--some of the men--we think it would be better if we
+had the check-weighman. We're willing to pay for him."
+
+"Who's this check-weighman to be?"
+
+"Joe Smith, here."
+
+Hal braced himself to meet the other's stare. "Oh! So it's you!" Then,
+after a moment, "So that's why you were feeling so gay!"
+
+Hal was not feeling in the least gay at the moment; but he forebore to
+say so. There was a silence.
+
+"Now, why do you fellows want to throw away your money?" The
+superintendent started to argue with them, showing the absurdity of the
+notion that they could gain anything by such a course. The mine had been
+running for years on its present system, and there had never been any
+complaint. The idea that a company as big and as responsible as the "G.
+F. C." would stoop to cheat its workers out of a few tons of coal! And
+so on, for several minutes.
+
+"Mr. Cartwright," said Edstrom, when the other had finished, "you know
+I've worked all my life in mines, and most of it in this district. I am
+telling you something I know when I say there is general dissatisfaction
+throughout these camps because the men feel they are not getting their
+weight. You say there has been no public complaint; you understand the
+reason for this--"
+
+"What is the reason?"
+
+"Well," said Edstrom, gently, "maybe you don't know the reason--but
+anyway we've decided that we want a check-weighman."
+
+It was evident that the superintendent had been taken by surprise, and
+was uncertain how to meet the issue. "You can imagine," he said, at
+last, "the company doesn't relish hearing that its men believe it's
+cheating them--"
+
+"We don't say the company knows anything about it, Mr. Cartwright. It's
+possible that some people may be taking advantage of us, without either
+the company or yourself having anything to do with it. It's for your
+protection as well as ours that a check-weighman is needed."
+
+"Thank you," said the other, drily. His tone revealed that he was
+holding himself in by an effort. "Very well," he added, at last. "That's
+enough about the matter, if your minds are made up. I'll give you my
+decision later."
+
+This was a dismissal, and Mike Sikoria turned humbly, and started to the
+door. But Edstrom was one of the ants that did not readily "step one
+side"; and Mike took a glance at him, and then stepped back into line in
+a hurry, as if hoping his delinquency had not been noted.
+
+"If you please, Mr. Cartwright," said Edstrom, "we'd like your decision,
+so as to have the check-weighman start in the morning."
+
+"What? You're in such a hurry?"
+
+"There's no reason for delay, sir. We've selected our man, and we're
+ready to pay him."
+
+"Who are the men who are ready to pay him? Just you two"
+
+"I am not at liberty to name the other men, sir."
+
+"Oh! So it's a secret movement!"
+
+"In a way--yes, sir."
+
+"Indeed!" said the superintendent, ominously. "And you don't care what
+the company thinks about it!"
+
+"It's not that, Mr. Cartwright, but we don't see anything for the
+company to object to. It's a simple business arrangement--"
+
+"Well, if it seems simple to you, it doesn't to me," snapped the other.
+And then, getting himself in hand, "Understand me, the company would not
+have the least objection to the men making sure of their weights, if
+they really think it's necessary. The company has always been willing to
+do the right thing. But it's not a matter that can be settled off hand.
+I will let you know later."
+
+Again they were dismissed, and again Old Mike turned, and Edstrom also.
+But now another ant sprang into the ditch. "Just when will you be
+prepared to let the check-weighman begin work, Mr. Cartwright?" asked
+Hal.
+
+The superintendent gave him a sharp look, and again it could be seen
+that he made a strong effort to keep his temper. "I'm not prepared to
+say," he replied. "I will let you know, as soon as convenient to me.
+That's all now." And as he spoke he opened the door, putting something
+into the action that was a command.
+
+"Mr. Cartwright," said Hal, "there's no law against our having a
+check-weighman, is there?"
+
+The look which these words drew from the superintendent showed that he
+knew full well what the law was. Hal accepted this look as an answer,
+and continued, "I have been selected by a committee of the men to act as
+their check-weighman, and this committee has duly notified the company.
+That makes me a check-weighman, I believe, Mr. Cartwright, and so all I
+have to do is to assume my duties." Without waiting for the
+superintendent's answer, he walked to the door, followed by his somewhat
+shocked companions.
+
+
+
+SECTION 11.
+
+At the meeting on the night before it had been agreed to spread the news
+of the check-weighman movement, for the sake of its propaganda value. So
+now when the three men came out from the office, there was a crowd
+waiting to know what had happened; men clamoured questions, and each one
+who got the story would be surrounded by others eager to hear. Hal made
+his way to the boarding-house, and when he had finished his supper, he
+set out from place to place in the camp, telling the men about the
+check-weighman plan and explaining that it was a legal right they were
+demanding. All this while Old Mike stayed on one side of him, and
+Edstrom on the other; for Tom Olson had insisted strenuously that Hal
+should not be left alone for a moment. Evidently the bosses had given
+the same order; for when Hal came out from Reminitsky's, there was
+"Jake" Predovich, the store-clerk, on the fringe of the crowd, and he
+followed wherever Hal went, doubtless making note of every one he spoke
+to.
+
+They consulted as to where they were to spend the night. Old Mike was
+nervous, taking the activities of the spy to mean that they were to be
+thugged in the darkness. He told horrible stories of that sort of thing.
+What could be an easier way for the company to settle the matter? They
+would fix up some story; the world outside would believe they had been
+killed in a drunken row, perhaps over some woman. This last suggestion
+especially troubled Hal; he thought of the people at home. No, he must
+not sleep in the village! And on the other hand he could not go down the
+canyon, for if he once passed the gate, he might not be allowed to
+repass it.
+
+An idea occurred to him. Why not go _up_ the canyon? There was no
+stockade at the upper end of the village--nothing but wilderness and
+rocks, without even a road.
+
+"But where we sleep?" demanded Old Mike, aghast.
+
+"Outdoors," said Hal.
+
+"_Pluha biedna_! And get the night air into my bones?"
+
+"You think you keep the day air in your bones when you sleep inside?"
+laughed Hal.
+
+"Why don't I, when I shut them windows tight, and cover up my bones?"
+
+"Well, risk the night air once," said Hal. "It's better than having
+somebody let it into you with a knife."
+
+"But that fellow Predovich--he follow us up canyon too!"
+
+"Yes, but he's only one man, and we don't have to fear him. If he went
+back for others, he'd never be able to find us in the darkness."
+
+Edstrom, whose notions of anatomy were not so crude as Mike's, gave his
+support to this suggestion; so they got their blankets and stumbled up
+the canyon in the still, star-lit night. For a while they heard the spy
+behind them, but finally his footsteps died away, and after they had
+moved on for some distance, they believed they were safe till daylight.
+Hal had slept out many a night as a hunter, but it was a new adventure
+to sleep out as the game!
+
+At dawn they rose, and shook the dew from their blankets, and wiped it
+from their eyes. Hal was young, and saw the glory of the morning, while
+poor Mike Sikoria groaned and grumbled over his stiff and aged joints.
+He thought he had ruined himself forever, but he took courage at
+Edstrom's mention of coffee, and they hurried down to breakfast at their
+boarding-house.
+
+Now came a critical time, when Hal had to be left by himself. Edstrom
+was obliged to go down to see to his wife's funeral; and it was obvious
+that if Mike Sikoria were to lay off work, he would be providing the
+boss with an excuse for firing him. The law which provided for a
+check-weighman had failed to provide for a check-weighman's body-guard!
+
+Hal had announced his programme in that flash of defiance in
+Cartwright's office. As soon as work started up, he went to the tipple.
+"Mr. Peters," he said, to the tipple-boss, "I've come to act as
+check-weighman."
+
+The tipple-boss was a man with a big black moustache, which made him
+look like the pictures of Nietzsche. He stared at Hal, frankly
+dumbfounded. "What the devil?" said he.
+
+"Some of the men have chosen me check-weighman," explained Hal, in a
+business-like manner. "When their cars come up, I'll see to their
+weights."
+
+"You keep off this tipple, young fellow!" said Peters. His manner was
+equally business-like.
+
+So the would-be check-weighman came out and sat on the steps to wait.
+The tipple was a fairly public place, and he judged he was as safe there
+as anywhere. Some of the men grinned and winked at him as they went
+about their work; several found a chance to whisper words of
+encouragement. And all morning he sat, like a protestant at the
+palace-gates of a mandarin in China, It was tedious work, but he
+believed that he would be able to stand it longer than the company.
+
+
+
+SECTION 12.
+
+In the middle of the morning a man came up to him--"Bud" Adams, a
+younger brother of the "J. P.," and Jeff Cotton's assistant. Bud was
+stocky, red-faced, and reputed to be handy with his fists. So Hal rose
+up warily when he saw him.
+
+"Hey, you," said Bud. "There's a telegram at the office for you."
+
+"For me?"
+
+"Your name's Joe Smith, ain't it?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Well, that's what it says."
+
+Hal considered for a moment. There was no one to be telegraphing Joe
+Smith. It was only a ruse to get him away.
+
+"What's in the telegram?" he asked.
+
+"How do I know?" said Bud.
+
+"Where is it from?"
+
+"I dunno that."
+
+"Well," said Hal, "you might bring it to me here."
+
+The other's eyes flew open. This was not a revolt, it was a revolution!
+"Who the hell's messenger boy do you think I am?" he demanded.
+
+"Don't the company deliver telegrams?" countered Hal, politely. And Bud
+stood struggling with his human impulses, while Hal watched him
+cautiously. But apparently those who had sent the messenger had given
+him precise instructions; for he controlled his wrath, and turned and
+strode away.
+
+Hal continued his vigil. He had his lunch with him; and was prepared to
+eat alone--understanding the risk that a man would be running who showed
+sympathy with him. He was surprised, therefore, when Johannson, the
+giant Swede, came and sat down by his side. There also came a young
+Mexican labourer, and a Greek miner. The revolution was spreading!
+
+Hal felt sure the company would not let this go on. And sure enough,
+towards the middle of the afternoon, the tipple-boss came out and
+beckoned to him. "Come here, you!" And Hal went in.
+
+The "weigh-room" was a fairly open place; but at one side was a door
+into an office. "This way," said the man.
+
+But Hal stopped where he was.
+
+"This is where the check-weighman belongs, Mr. Peters."
+
+"But I want to talk to you."
+
+"I can hear you, sir." Hal was in sight of the men, and he knew that was
+his only protection.
+
+The tipple-boss went back into the office; and a minute later Hal saw
+what had been intended. The door opened and Alec Stone came out.
+
+He stood for a moment looking at his political henchman. Then he came
+up. "Kid," he said, in a low voice, "you're overdoing this. I didn't
+intend you to go so far."
+
+"This is not what you intended, Mr. Stone," answered Hal.
+
+The pit-boss came closer yet. "What you looking for, kid? What you
+expect to get out of this?"
+
+Hal's gaze was unwavering. "Experience," he replied.
+
+"You're feeling smart, sonny. But you'd better stop and realise what
+you're up against. You ain't going to get away with it, you know; get
+that through your head--you ain't going to get away with it. You'd
+better come in and have a talk with me."
+
+There was a silence.
+
+"Don't you know how it'll be, Smith? These little fires start up--but we
+put 'em out. We know how to do it, we've got the machinery. It'll all be
+forgotten in a week or two, and then where'll you be at? Can't you see?"
+
+As Hal still made no reply, the other's voice dropped lower. "I
+understand your position. Just give me a nod, and it'll be all right.
+You tell the men that you've watched the weights, and that they're all
+right. They'll be satisfied, and you and me can fix it up later."
+
+"Mr. Stone," said Hal, with intense gravity, "am I correct in the
+impression that you are offering me a bribe?"
+
+In a flash, the man's self-control vanished. He thrust his huge fist
+within an inch of Hal's nose, and uttered a foul oath. But Hal did not
+remove his nose from the danger-zone, and over the fist a pair of angry
+brown eyes gazed at the pit-boss. "Mr. Stone, you had better realise
+this situation. I am in dead earnest about this matter, and I don't
+think it will be safe for you to offer me violence."
+
+For a moment or two the man continued to glare at Hal; but it appeared
+that he, like Bud Adams, had been given instructions. He turned abruptly
+and strode back into the office.
+
+Hal stood for a bit, until he had made sure of his composure. After
+which he strolled over towards the scales. A difficulty had occurred to
+him for the first time--that he did not know anything about the working
+of coal-scales.
+
+But he was given no time to learn. The tipple-boss reappeared. "Get out
+of here, fellow!" said he.
+
+"But you invited me in," remarked Hal, mildly.
+
+"Well, now I invite you out again."
+
+And so the protestant resumed his vigil at the mandarin's palace-gates.
+
+
+
+SECTION 13.
+
+When the quitting-whistle blew, Mike Sikoria came quickly to join Hal
+and hear what had happened. Mike was exultant, for several new men had
+come up to him and offered to join the check-weighman movement. The old
+fellow was not sure whether this was owing to his own eloquence as a
+propagandist, or to the fine young American buddy he had; but in either
+case he was equally proud. He gave Hal a note which had been slipped
+into his hand, and which Hal recognised as coming from Tom Olson. The
+organiser reported that every one in the camp was talking
+check-weighman, and so from a propaganda standpoint they could count
+their move a success, no matter what the bosses might do. He added that
+Hal should have a number of men stay with him that night, so as to have
+witnesses if the company tried to "pull off anything." "And be careful
+of the new men," he added; "one or two of them are sure to be spies."
+
+Hal and Mike discussed their programme for the second night. Neither of
+them were keen for sleeping out again--the old Slovak because of his
+bones, and Hal because he saw there were now several spies following
+them about. At Reminitsky's, he spoke to some of those who had offered
+their support, and asked them if they would be willing to spend the
+night with him in Edstrom's cabin. Not one shrank from this test of
+sincerity; they all got their blankets, and repaired to the place, where
+Hal lighted the lamp and held an impromptu check-weighman meeting--and
+incidentally entertained himself with a spy-hunt!
+
+One of the new-comers was a Pole named Wojecicowski; this, on top of
+Zamierowski, caused Hal to give up all effort to call the Poles by their
+names. "Woji" was an earnest little man, with a pathetic, tired face. He
+explained his presence by the statement that he was sick of being
+robbed; he would pay his share for a check-weighman, and if they fired
+him, all right, he would move on, and to hell with them. After which
+declaration he rolled up in a blanket and went to snoring on the floor
+of the cabin. That did not seem to be exactly the conduct of a spy.
+
+Another was an Italian, named Farenzena; a dark-browed and
+sinister-looking fellow, who might have served as a villain in any
+melodrama. He sat against the wall and talked in guttural tones, and Hal
+regarded him with deep suspicion. It was not easy to understand his
+English, but finally Hal managed to make out the story he was
+telling--that he was in love with a "fanciulla," and that the
+"fanciulla" was playing with him. He had about made up his mind that she
+was a coquette, and not worth bothering with, so he did not care any
+curses if they sent him down the canyon. "Don't fight for fanciulla,
+fight for check-weighman!" he concluded, with a growl.
+
+Another volunteer was a Greek labourer, a talkative young chap who had
+sat with Hal at lunch-time, and had given his name as Apostolikas. He
+entered into fluent conversation with Hal, explaining how much
+interested he was in the check-weighman plan; he wanted to know just
+what they were going to do, what chance of success they thought they
+had, who had started the movement and who was in it. Hal's replies took
+the form of little sermons on working-class solidarity. Each time the
+man would start to "pump" him, Hal would explain the importance of the
+present issue to the miners, how they must stand by one another and make
+sacrifices for the good of all. After he had talked abstract theories
+for half an hour, Apostolikas gave up and moved on to Mike Sikoria, who,
+having been given a wink by Hal, talked about "scabs," and the dreadful
+things that honest workingmen would do to them. When finally the Greek
+grew tired again, and lay down on the floor, Hal moved over to Old Mike
+and whispered that the first name of Apostolikas must be Judas!
+
+
+
+SECTION 14.
+
+Old Mike went to sleep quickly; but Hal had not worked for several days,
+and had exciting thoughts to keep him awake. He had been lying quiet for
+a couple of hours, when he became aware that some one was moving in the
+room. There was a lamp burning dimly, and through half-closed eyes he
+made out one of the men lifting himself to a sitting position. At first
+he could not be sure which one it was, but finally he recognised the
+Greek.
+
+Hal lay motionless, and after a minute or so he stole another look and
+saw the man crouching and listening, his hands still on the floor.
+Through half opened eye-lids Hal continued to steal glimpses, while the
+other rose and tip-toed towards him, stepping carefully over the
+sleeping forms.
+
+Hal did his best to simulate the breathing of sleep: no easy matter,
+with the man stooping over him, and a knife-thrust as one of the
+possibilities of the situation. He took the chance, however; and after
+what seemed an age, he felt the man's fingers lightly touch his side.
+They moved down to his coat-pocket.
+
+"Going to search me!" thought Hal; and waited, expecting the hand to
+travel to other pockets. But after what seemed an interminable period,
+he realised that Apostolikas had risen again, and was stepping back to
+his place. In a minute more he had lain down, and all was still in the
+cabin.
+
+Hal's hand moved to the pocket, and his fingers slid inside. They
+touched something, which he recognised instantly as a roll of bills.
+
+"I see!" thought he. "A frame-up!" And he laughed to himself, his mind
+going back to early boyhood--to a dilapidated trunk in the attic of his
+home, containing story-books that his father had owned. He could see
+them now, with their worn brown covers and crude pictures: "The Luck and
+Pluck Series," by Horatio Alger; "Live or Die," "Rough and Ready," etc.
+How he had thrilled over the story of the country-boy who comes to the
+city, and meets the villain who robs his employer's cash-drawer and
+drops the key of it into the hero's pocket! Evidently some one connected
+with the General Fuel Company had read Horatio Alger!
+
+Hal realised that he could not be too quick about getting those bills
+out of his pocket. He thought of returning them to "Judas," but decided
+that he would save them for Edstrom, who was likely to need money before
+long. He gave the Greek half an hour to go to sleep, then with his
+pocket-knife he gently picked out a hole in the cinders of the floor and
+buried the money as best he could. After which he wormed his way to
+another place, and lay thinking.
+
+
+
+SECTION 15.
+
+Would they wait until morning, or would they come soon? He was inclined
+to the latter guess, so he was only slightly startled when, an hour or
+two later, he heard the knob of the cabin-door turned. A moment later
+came a crash and the door was burst open, with the shoulder of a heavy
+man behind it.
+
+The room was in confusion in a second. Men sprang to their feet, crying
+out; others sat up bewildered, still half asleep. The room was bright
+from an electric torch in the hands of one of the invaders. "There's the
+fellow!" cried a voice, which Hal instantly recognised as belonging to
+Jeff Cotton, the camp-marshal. "Stick 'em up, there! You, Joe Smith!"
+Hal did not wait to see the glint of the marshal's revolver.
+
+There followed a silence. As this drama was being staged for the benefit
+of the other men, it was necessary to give them time to get thoroughly
+awake, and to get their eyes used to the light. Meantime Hal stood, his
+hands in the air. Behind the torch he could make out the faces of the
+marshal, Bud Adams, Alec Stone, Jake Predovich, and two or three others.
+
+"Now, men," said Cotton, at last, "you are some of the fellows that want
+a check-weighman. And this is the man you chose. Is that right?"
+
+There was no answer.
+
+"I'm going to show you the kind of fellow he is. He came to Mr. Stone
+here and offered to sell you out."
+
+"It's a lie, men," said Hal, quietly.
+
+"He took some money from Mr. Stone to sell you out!" insisted the
+marshal.
+
+"It's a lie," said Hal, again.
+
+"He's got that money now!" cried the other.
+
+And Hal cried, in turn, "They are trying to frame something on me, boys!
+Don't let them fool you!"
+
+"Shut up," commanded the marshal; then, to the men, "I'll show you. I
+think he's got that money on him now. Jake, search him."
+
+The store-clerk advanced.
+
+"Watch out, boys!" exclaimed Hal. "They will put something in my
+pockets." And then to Old Mike, who had started angrily forward, "It's
+all right, Mike! Let them alone!"
+
+"Jake, take off your coat," ordered Cotton. "Roll up your sleeves. Show
+your hands."
+
+It was for all the world like the performance of a prestidigitator. The
+little Jew took off his coat and rolled up his sleeves above his elbows.
+He exhibited his hands to the audience, turning them this way and that;
+then, keeping them out in front of him, he came slowly towards Hal, like
+a hypnotist about to put him to sleep.
+
+"Watch him!" said Cotton. "He's got that money on him, I know."
+
+"Look sharp!" cried Hal. "If it isn't there, they'll put it there."
+
+"Keep your hands up, young fellow," commanded the marshal. "Keep back
+from him there!" This last to Mike Sikoria and the other spectators, who
+were pressing nearer, peering over one another's shoulders.
+
+It was all very serious at the time, but afterwards, when Hal recalled
+the scene, he laughed over the grotesque figure of Predovich searching
+his pockets while keeping as far away from him as possible, so that
+every one might know that the money had actually come out of Hal's
+pocket. The searcher put his hands first in the inside pockets, then in
+the pockets of Hal's shirt. Time was needed to build up this climax!
+
+"Turn around," commanded Cotton; and Hal turned, and the Jew went
+through his trouser-pockets. He took out in turn Hal's watch, his comb
+and mirror, his handkerchief; after examining them and holding them up,
+he dropped them onto the floor. There was a breathless hush when he came
+to Hal's purse, and proceeded to open it. Thanks to the greed of the
+company, there was nothing in the purse but some small change. Predovich
+closed it and dropped it to the floor.
+
+"Wait now! He's not through!" cried the master of ceremonies. "He's got
+that money somewhere, boys! Did you look in his side-pockets, Jake?"
+
+"Not yet," said Jake.
+
+"Look sharp!" cried the marshal; and every one craned forward eagerly,
+while Predovich stooped down on one knee, and put his hand into one coat
+pocket and then into the other.
+
+He took his hand out again, and the look of dismay upon his face was so
+obvious that Hal could hardly keep from laughing. "It ain't dere!" he
+declared.
+
+"What?" cried Cotton, and they stared at each other. "By God, he's got
+rid of it!"
+
+"There's no money on me, boys!" proclaimed Hal. "It's a job they are
+trying to put over on us."
+
+"He's hid it!" shouted the marshal. "Find it, Jake!"
+
+Then Predovich began to search again, swiftly, and with less
+circumstance. He was not thinking so much about the spectators now, as
+about all that good money gone for nothing! He made Hal take off his
+coat, and ripped open the lining; he unbuttoned the trousers and felt
+inside; he thrust his fingers down inside Hal's shoes.
+
+But there was no money, and the searchers were at a standstill. "He took
+twenty-five dollars from Mr. Stone to sell you out!" declared the
+marshal. "He's managed to get rid of it somehow."
+
+"Boys," cried Hal, "they sent a spy in here, and told him to put money
+on me." He was looking at Apostolikas as he spoke; he saw the man start
+and shrink back.
+
+"That's him! He's a scab!" cried Old Mike. "He's got the money on him, I
+bet!" And he made a move towards the Greek.
+
+So the camp-marshal realised suddenly that it was time to ring down the
+curtain on this drama. "That's enough of this foolishness," he declared.
+"Bring that fellow along here!" And in a flash a couple of the party had
+seized Hal's wrists, and a third had grabbed him by the collar of his
+shirt. Before the miners had time to realise what was happening, they
+had rushed their prisoner out of the cabin.
+
+The quarter of an hour which followed was an uncomfortable one for the
+would-be check-weighman. Outside, in the darkness, the camp-marshal was
+free to give vent to his rage, and so was Alec Stone. They poured out
+curses upon him, and kicked him and cuffed him as they went along. One
+of the men who held his wrists twisted his arm, until he cried out with
+pain; then they cursed him harder, and bade him hold his mouth. Down the
+dark and silent street they went swiftly, and into the camp-marshal's
+office, and upstairs to the room which served as the North Valley jail.
+Hal was glad enough when they left him here, slamming the iron door
+behind them.
+
+
+
+SECTION 16.
+
+It had been a crude and stupid plot, yet Hal realised that it was
+adapted to the intelligence of the men for whom it was intended. But for
+the accident that he had stayed awake, they would have found the money
+on him, and next morning the whole camp would have heard that he had
+sold out. Of course his immediate friends, the members of the committee,
+would not have believed it; but the mass of the workers would have
+believed it, and so the purpose of Tom Olson's visit to North Valley
+would have been balked. Throughout the experiences which were to come to
+him, Hal retained his vivid impression of that adventure; it served to
+him as a symbol of many things. Just as the bosses had tried to bedevil
+him, to destroy his influence with his followers, so later on he saw
+them trying to bedevil the labour-movement, to confuse the intelligence
+of the whole country.
+
+Now Hal was in jail. He went to the window and tried the bars--but found
+that they had been made for such trials. Then he groped his way about in
+the darkness, examining his prison, which proved to be a steel cage
+built inside the walls of an ordinary room. In one corner was a bench,
+and in another corner another bench, somewhat broader, with a mattress
+upon it. Hal had read a little about jails--enough to cause him to avoid
+this mattress. He sat upon the bare bench, and began to think.
+
+It is a fact that there is a peculiar psychology incidental to being in
+jail; just as there is a peculiar psychology incidental to straining
+your back and breaking your hands loading coal-cars in a five foot vein;
+and another, and quite different psychology, produced by living at ease
+off the labours of coal-miners. In a jail, you have first of all the
+sense of being an animal; the animal side of your being is emphasised,
+the animal passions of hatred and fear are called into prominence, and
+if you are to escape being dominated by them, it can only be by intense
+and concentrated effort of the mind. So, if you are a thinking man, you
+do a great deal of thinking in a jail; the days are long, and the nights
+still longer--you have time for all the thoughts you can have.
+
+The bench was hard, and seemed to grow harder. There was no position in
+which it could be made to grow soft. Hal got up and paced about, then he
+lay down for a while, then got up and walked again; and all the while he
+thought, and all the while the jail-psychology was being impressed upon
+his mind.
+
+First, he thought about his immediate problem. What were they going to
+do to him? The obvious thing would be to put him out of camp, and so be
+done with him; but would they rest content with that, in their
+irritation at the trick he had played? Hal had heard vaguely of that
+native American institution, the "third degree," but had never had
+occasion to think of it as a possibility in his own life. What a
+difference it made, to think of it in that way!
+
+Hal had told Tom Olson that he would not pledge himself to organise a
+union, but that he would pledge himself to get a check-weighman; and
+Olson had laughed, and seemed quite content--apparently assuming that it
+would come to the same thing. And now, it rather seemed that Olson had
+known what he was talking about. For Hal found his thoughts no longer
+troubled with fears of labour union domination and walking delegate
+tyranny; on the contrary, he became suddenly willing for the people of
+North Valley to have a union, and to be as tyrannical as they knew how!
+And in this change, though Hal had no idea of it, he was repeating an
+experience common among reformers; many of whom begin as mild and
+benevolent advocates of some obvious bit of justice, and under the
+operation of the jail-psychology are made into blazing and determined
+revolutionists. "Eternal spirit of the chainless mind," says Byron.
+"Greatest in dungeons Liberty thou art!"
+
+The poet goes on to add that "When thy sons to fetters are confined--"
+then "Freedom's fame finds wings on every wind." And just as it was in
+Chillon, so it seemed to be in North Valley. Dawn came, and Hal stood at
+the window of his cell, and heard the whistle blow and saw the workers
+going to their tasks, the toil-bent, pallid faced creatures of the
+underworld, like a file of baboons in the half-light. He waved his hand
+to them, and they stopped and stared, and then waved back; he realised
+that every one of those men must be thinking about his imprisonment, and
+the reason for it--and so the jail-psychology was being communicated to
+them. If any of them cherished distrust of unions, or doubt of the need
+of organisation in North Valley--that distrust and that doubt were being
+dissipated!
+
+--There was only one thing discouraging about the matter, as Hal thought
+it over. Why should the bosses have left him here in plain sight, when
+they might so easily have put him into an automobile, and whisked him
+down to Pedro before daylight? Was it a sign of the contempt they felt
+for their slaves? Did they count upon the sight of the prisoner in the
+window to produce fear instead of resentment? And might it not be that
+they understood their workers better than the would-be check-weighman?
+He recalled Mary Burke's pessimism about them, and anxiety gnawed at his
+soul; and--such is the operation of the jail-psychology--he fought
+against this anxiety. He hated the company for its cynicism, he clenched
+his hands and set his teeth, desiring to teach the bosses a lesson, to
+prove to them that their workers were not slaves, but men!
+
+
+
+SECTION 17.
+
+Toward the middle of the morning, Hal heard footsteps in the corridor
+outside, and a man whom he did not know opened the barred door and set
+down a pitcher of water and a tin plate with a hunk of bread on it. When
+he started to leave, Hal spoke: "Just a minute, please."
+
+The other frowned at him.
+
+"Can you give me any idea how long I am to stay in here?"
+
+"I cannot," said the man.
+
+"If I'm to be locked up," said Hal, "I've certainly a right to know what
+is the charge against me."
+
+"Go to blazes!" said the other, and slammed the door and went down the
+corridor.
+
+Hal went to the window again, and passed the time watching the people
+who went by. Groups of ragged children gathered, looking up at him,
+grinning and making signs--until some one appeared below and ordered
+them away.
+
+As time passed, Hal became hungry. The taste of bread, eaten alone,
+becomes speedily monotonous, and the taste of water does not relieve it;
+nevertheless, Hal munched the bread, and drank the water, and wished for
+more.
+
+The day dragged by; and late in the afternoon the keeper came again,
+with another hunk of bread and another pitcher of water. "Listen a
+moment," said Hal, as the man was turning away.
+
+"I got nothin' to say to you," said the other.
+
+"I have something to say to you," pleaded Hal. "I have read in a book--I
+forget where, but it was written by some doctor--that white bread does
+not contain the elements necessary to the sustaining of the human body."
+
+"Go on!" growled the jailer. "What yer givin' us?"
+
+"I mean," explained Hal, "a diet of bread and water is not what I'd
+choose to live on."
+
+"What would yer choose?"
+
+The tone suggested that the question was a rhetorical one; but Hal took
+it in good faith. "If I could have some beefsteak and mashed potatoes--"
+
+The door of the cell closed with a slam whose echoes drowned out the
+rest of that imaginary menu. And so once more Hal sat on the hard bench,
+and munched his hunk of bread, and thought jail-thoughts.
+
+When the quitting-whistle blew, he stood at the window, and saw the
+groups of his friends once again, and got their covert signals of
+encouragement. Then darkness fell, and another long vigil began.
+
+It was late; Hal had no means of telling how late, save that all the
+lights in the camps were out. He made up his mind that he was in for the
+night, and had settled himself on the floor with his arm for a pillow,
+and had dozed off to sleep, when suddenly there came a scraping sound
+against the bars of his window. He sat up with a start, and heard
+another sound, unmistakably the rustling of paper. He sprang to the
+window, where by the faint light of the stars he could make out
+something dangling. He caught at it; it seemed to be an ordinary
+note-book, such as stenographers use, tied on the end of a pole.
+
+Hal looked out, but could see no one. He caught hold of the pole and
+jerked it, as a signal; and then he heard a whisper which he recognised
+instantly as Rovetta's. "Hello! Listen. Write your name hundred times in
+book. I come back. Understand?"
+
+The command was a sufficiently puzzling one, but Hal realised that this
+was no time for explanations. He answered, "Yes," and broke the string
+and took the notebook. There was a pencil attached, with a piece of
+cloth wrapped round the point to protect it.
+
+The pole was withdrawn, and Hal sat on the bench, and began to write,
+three or four times on a page, "Joe Smith--Joe Smith--Joe Smith." It is
+not hard to write "Joe Smith," even in darkness, and so, while his hand
+moved, Hal's mind was busy with this mystery. It was fairly to be
+assumed that his committee did not want his autograph to distribute for
+a souvenir; they must want it for some vital purpose, to meet some new
+move of the bosses. The answer to this riddle was not slow in coming:
+having failed in their effort to find money on him, the bosses had
+framed up a letter, which they were exhibiting as having been written by
+the would-be check-weigh-man. His friends wanted his signature to
+disprove the authenticity of the letter.
+
+Hal wrote a free and rapid hand, with a generous flourish; he felt sure
+it would be different from Alec Stone's idea of a working-boy's scrawl.
+His pencil flew on and on--"Joe Smith--Joe Smith--" page after page,
+until he was sure that he had written a signature for every miner in the
+camp, and was beginning on the buddies. Then, hearing a whistle outside,
+he stopped and sprang to the window.
+
+"Throw it!" whispered a voice; and Hal threw it. He saw a form vanish up
+the street, after which all was quiet again. He listened for a while, to
+see if he had roused his jailer; then he lay down on the bench--and
+thought more jail-thoughts!
+
+
+
+SECTION 18.
+
+Morning came, and the mine-whistle blew, and Hal stood at the window
+again. This time he noticed that some of the miners on their way to work
+had little strips of paper in their hands, which strips they waved
+conspicuously for him to see. Old Mike Sikoria came along, having a
+whole bunch of strips in his hands, which he was distributing to all who
+would take them. Doubtless he had been warned to proceed secretly, but
+the excitement of the occasion had been too much for him; he capered
+about like a young spring lamb, and waved the strips at Hal in plain
+sight of all the world.
+
+Such indiscreet behaviour met the return it invited. As Hal watched, he
+saw a stocky figure come striding round the corner, confronting the
+startled old Slovak. It was Bud Adams, the mine-guard, and his hard
+fists were clenched, and his whole body gathered for a blow. Mike saw
+him, and was as if suddenly struck with paralysis; his toil-bent
+shoulders sunk together, and his hands fell to his sides--his fingers
+opening, and his precious strips of paper fluttering to the ground. Mike
+stared at Bud like a fascinated rabbit, making no move to protect
+himself.
+
+Hal clutched the bars, with an impulse to leap to his friend's defence.
+But the expected blow did not fall; the mine-guard contented himself
+with glaring ferociously, and giving an order to the old man. Mike
+stooped and picked up the papers--the process taking him some time, as
+he was unable or unwilling to take his eyes off the mine-guard's. When
+he got them all in his hands, there came another order, and he gave them
+up to Bud. After which he fell back a step, and the other followed, his
+fists still clenched, and a blow seeming about to leap from him every
+moment. Mike receded another step, and then another--so the two of them
+backed out of sight around the corner. Men who had been witnesses of
+this little drama turned and slunk off, and Hal was given no clue as to
+its outcome.
+
+A couple of hours afterwards, Hal's jailer came up, this time without
+any bread and water. He opened the door and commanded the prisoner to
+"come along." Hal went downstairs, and entered Jeff Cotton's office.
+
+The camp-marshal sat at his desk with a cigar between his teeth. He was
+writing, and he went on writing until the jailer had gone out and closed
+the door. Then he turned his revolving chair and crossed his legs,
+leaning back and looking at the young miner in his dirty blue overalls,
+his hair tousled and his face pale from his period of confinement. The
+camp-marshal's aristocratic face wore a smile. "Well, young fellow,"
+said he, "you've been having a lot of fun in this camp."
+
+"Pretty fair, thank you," answered Hal.
+
+"Beat us out all along the line, hey?" Then, after a pause, "Now, tell
+me, what do you think you're going to get out of it?"
+
+"That's what Alec Stone asked me," replied Hal. "I don't think it would
+do much good to explain. I doubt if you believe in altruism any more
+than Stone does."
+
+The camp-marshal took his cigar from his mouth, and flicked off the
+ashes. His face became serious, and there was a silence, while he
+studied Hal. "You a union organiser?" he asked, at last.
+
+"No," said Hal.
+
+"You're an educated man; you're no labourer, that I know. Who's paying
+you?"
+
+"There you are! You don't believe in altruism."
+
+The other blew a ring of smoke across the room. "Just want to put the
+company in the hole, hey? Some kind of agitator?"
+
+"I am a miner who wants to be a check-weighman."
+
+"Socialist?"
+
+"That depends upon developments here."
+
+"Well," said the marshal, "you're an intelligent chap, that I can see.
+So I'll lay my hand on the table and you can study it. You're not going
+to serve as check-weighman in North Valley, nor any other place that the
+'G. F. C.' has anything to do with. Nor are you going to have the
+satisfaction of putting the company in a hole. We're not even going to
+beat you up and make a martyr of you. I was tempted to do that the other
+night, but I changed my mind."
+
+"You might change the bruises on my arm," suggested Hal, in a pleasant
+voice.
+
+"We're going to offer you the choice of two things," continued the
+marshal, without heeding this mild sarcasm. "Either you will sign a
+paper admitting that you took the twenty-five dollars from Alec Stone,
+in which case we will fire you and call it square; or else we will prove
+that you took it, in which case we will send you to the pen for five or
+ten years. Do you get that?"
+
+Now when Hal had applied for the job of check-weighman, he had been
+expecting to be thrown out of the camp, and had intended to go, counting
+his education complete. But here, as he sat and gazed into the marshal's
+menacing eyes, he decided suddenly that he did not want to leave North
+Valley. He wanted to stay and take the measure of this gigantic
+"burglar," the General Fuel Company.
+
+"That's a serious threat, Mr. Cotton," he remarked. "Do you often do
+things like that?"
+
+"We do them when we have to," was the reply.
+
+"Well, it's a novel proposition. Tell me more about it. What will the
+charge be?"
+
+"I'm not sure about that--we'll put it up to our lawyers. Maybe they'll
+call it conspiracy, maybe blackmail. They'll make it whatever carries a
+long enough sentence."
+
+"And before I enter my plea, would you mind letting me see the letter
+I'm supposed to have written."
+
+"Oh, you've heard about the letter, have you?" said the camp-marshal,
+lifting his eyebrows in mild surprise. He took from his desk a sheet of
+paper and handed it to Hal, who read:
+
+"Dere mister Stone, You don't need worry about the check-wayman. Pay me
+twenty five dollars, and I will fix it right. Yours try, Joe Smith."
+
+Having taken in the words of the letter, Hal examined the paper, and
+perceived that his enemies had taken the trouble, not merely to forge a
+letter in his name, but to have it photographed, to have a cut made of
+the photograph, and to have it printed. Beyond doubt they had
+distributed it broadcast in the camp. And all this in a few hours! It
+was as Olson had said--a regular system to keep the men bedevilled.
+
+
+
+SECTION 19.
+
+Hal took a minute or so to ponder the situation. "Mr. Cotton," he said,
+at last. "I know how to spell better than that. Also my handwriting is a
+bit more fluent."
+
+There was a trace of a smile about the marshal's cruel lips. "I know,"
+he replied. "I've not failed to compare them."
+
+"You have a good secret-service department!" said Hal.
+
+"Before you get through, young fellow, you'll discover that our legal
+department is equally efficient."
+
+"Well," said Hal, "they'll need to be; for I don't see how you can get
+round the fact that I'm a check-weighman, chosen according to the law,
+and with a group of the men behind me."
+
+"If that's what you're counting on," retorted Cotton, "you may as well
+forget it. You've got no group any more."
+
+"Oh! You've got rid of them?"
+
+"We've got rid of the ring-leaders."
+
+"Of whom?"
+
+"That old billy-goat, Sikoria, for one."
+
+"You've shipped him?"
+
+"We have."
+
+"I saw the beginning of that. Where have you sent him?"
+
+"That," smiled the marshal, "is a job for _your_ secret-service
+department!"
+
+"And who else?"
+
+"John Edstrom has gone down to bury his wife. It's not the first time
+that dough-faced old preacher has made trouble for us, but it'll be the
+last. You'll find him in Pedro--probably in the poor-house."
+
+"No," responded Hal, quickly--and there came just a touch of elation in
+his voice--"he won't have to go to the poor-house at once. You see, I've
+just sent twenty-five dollars to him."
+
+The camp-marshal frowned. "Really!" Then, after a pause, "You _did_ have
+that money on you! I thought that lousy Greek had got away with it!"
+
+"No. Your knave was honest. But so was I. I knew Edstrom had been
+getting short weight for years, so he was the one person with any right
+to the money."
+
+This story was untrue, of course; the money was still buried in
+Edstrom's cabin. But Hal meant for the old miner to have it in the end,
+and meantime he wanted to throw Cotton off the track.
+
+"A clever trick, young man!" said the marshal. "But you'll repent it
+before you're through. It only makes me more determined to put you where
+you can't do us any harm."
+
+"You mean in the pen? You understand, of course, it will mean a jury
+trial. You can get a jury to do what you want?"
+
+"They tell me you've been taking an interest in politics in Pedro
+County. Haven't you looked into our jury-system?"
+
+"No, I haven't got that far."
+
+The marshal began blowing rings of smoke again.
+
+"Well, there are some three hundred men on our jury-list, and we know
+them all. You'll find yourself facing a box with Jake Predovich as
+foreman, three company-clerks, two of Alf Raymond's saloon-keepers, a
+ranchman with a mortgage held by the company-bank, and five Mexicans who
+have no idea what it's all about, but would stick a knife into your back
+for a drink of whiskey. The District Attorney is a politician who
+favours the miners in his speeches, and favours us in his acts; while
+Judge Denton, of the district court, is the law partner of Vagleman, our
+chief-counsel. Do you get all that?"
+
+"Yes," said Hal. "I've heard of the 'Empire of Raymond'; I'm interested
+to see the machinery. You're quite open about it!"
+
+"Well," replied the marshal, "I want you to know what you're up against.
+We didn't start this fight, and we're perfectly willing to end it
+without trouble. All we ask is that you make amends for the mischief
+you've done us."
+
+"By 'making amends,' you mean I'm to disgrace myself--to tell the men
+I'm a traitor?"
+
+"Precisely," said the marshal.
+
+"I think I'll have a seat while I consider the matter," said Hal; and he
+took a chair, and stretched out his legs, and made himself elaborately
+comfortable. "That bench upstairs is frightfully hard," said he, and
+smiled mockingly upon the camp-marshal.
+
+
+
+SECTION 20.
+
+When this conversation was continued, it was upon a new and unexpected
+line. "Cotton," remarked the prisoner, "I perceive that you are a man of
+education. It occurs to me that once upon a time you must have been what
+the world calls a gentleman."
+
+The blood started into the camp-marshal's face. "You go to hell!" said
+he.
+
+"I did not intend to ask questions," continued Hal. "I can well
+understand that you mightn't care to answer them. My point is that,
+being an ex-gentleman, you may appreciate certain aspects of this case
+which would be beyond the understanding of a nigger-driver like Stone,
+or an efficiency expert like Cartwright. One gentleman can recognise
+another, even in a miner's costume. Isn't that so?"
+
+Hal paused for an answer, and the marshal gave him a wary look. "I
+suppose so," he said.
+
+"Well, to begin with, one gentleman does not smoke without inviting
+another to join him."
+
+The man gave another look. Hal thought he was going to consign him to
+hades once more; but instead he took a cigar from his vest-pocket and
+held it out.
+
+"No, thank you," said Hal, quietly. "I do not smoke. But I like to be
+invited."
+
+There was a pause, while the two men measured each other.
+
+"Now, Cotton," began the prisoner, "you pictured the scene at my trial.
+Let me carry on the story for you. You have your case all framed up,
+your hand-picked jury in the box, and your hand-picked judge on the
+bench, your hand-picked prosecuting-attorney putting through the job;
+you are ready to send your victim to prison, for an example to the rest
+of your employ�s. But suppose that, at the climax of the proceedings,
+you should make the discovery that your victim is a person who cannot be
+sent to prison?"
+
+"Cannot be sent to prison?" repeated the other. His tone was thoughtful.
+"You'll have to explain."
+
+"Surely not to a man of your intelligence! Don't you know, Cotton, there
+are people who cannot be sent to prison?"
+
+The camp-marshal smoked his cigar for a bit. "There are some in this
+county," said he. "But I thought I knew them all."
+
+"Well," said Hal, "has it never occurred to you that there might be some
+in this _state_?"
+
+There followed a long silence. The two men were gazing into each other's
+eyes; and the more they gazed, the more plainly Hal read uncertainty in
+the face of the marshal.
+
+"Think how embarrassing it would be!" he continued. "You have your drama
+all staged--as you did the night before last--only on a larger stage,
+before a more important audience; and at the _d�nouement_ you find that,
+instead of vindicating yourself before the workers in North Valley, you
+have convicted yourself before the public of the state. You have shown
+the whole community that you are law-breakers; worse than that--you have
+shown that you are jack-asses!"
+
+This time the camp-marshal gazed so long that his cigar went out. And
+meantime Hal was lounging in his chair, smiling at him strangely. It was
+as if a transformation was taking place before the marshal's eyes; the
+miner's "jumpers" fell away from Hal's figure, and there was a suit of
+evening-clothes in their place!
+
+"Who the devil are you?" cried the man.
+
+"Well now!" laughed Hal. "You boast of the efficiency of your secret
+service department! Put them at work upon this problem. A young man, age
+twenty-one, height five feet ten inches, weight one hundred and
+fifty-two pounds, eyes brown, hair chestnut and rather wavy, manner
+genial, a favourite with the ladies--at least that's what the society
+notes say--missing since early in June, supposed to be hunting
+mountain-goats in Mexico. As you know, Cotton, there's only one city in
+the state that has any 'society,' and in that city there are only
+twenty-five or thirty families that count. For a secret service
+department like that of the 'G. F. C.', that is really too easy."
+
+Again there was a silence, until Hal broke it. "Your distress is a
+tribute to your insight. The company is lucky in the fact that one of
+its camp-marshals happens to be an ex-gentleman."
+
+Again the other flushed. "Well, by God!" he said, half to himself; and
+then, making a last effort to hold his bluff--"You're kidding me!"
+
+"'Kidding,' as you call it, is one of the favourite occupations of
+society, Cotton. A good part of our intercourse consists of it--at least
+among the younger set."
+
+Suddenly the marshal rose. "Say," he demanded, "would you mind going
+back upstairs for a few minutes?"
+
+Hal could not restrain his laughter at this. "I should mind it very
+much," he said. "I have been on a bread and water diet for thirty-six
+hours, and I should like very much to get out and have a breath of fresh
+air."
+
+"But," said the other, lamely, "I've got to send you up there."
+
+"That's another matter," replied Hal. "If you send me, I'll go, but it's
+your look-out. You've kept me here without legal authority, with no
+charge against me, and without giving me an opportunity to see counsel.
+Unless I'm very much mistaken, you are liable criminally for that, and
+the company is liable civilly. That is your own affair, of course. I
+only want to make clear my position--when you ask me would I _mind_
+stepping upstairs, I, answer that I would mind very much indeed."
+
+The camp-marshal stood for a bit, chewing nervously on his extinct
+cigar. Then he went to the door. "Hey, Gus!" he called. Hal's jailer
+appeared, and Cotton whispered to him, and he went away again. "I'm
+telling him to get you some food, and you can sit and eat it here. Will
+that suit you better?"
+
+"It depends," said Hal, making the most of the situation. "Are you
+inviting me as your prisoner, or as your guest?"
+
+"Oh, come off!" said the other.
+
+"But I have to know my legal status. It will be of importance to my
+lawyers."
+
+"Be my guest," said the camp-marshal.
+
+"But when a guest has eaten, he is free to go out, if he wishes to!"
+
+"I will let you know about that before you get through."
+
+"Well, be quick. I'm a rapid eater."
+
+"You'll promise you won't go away before that?"
+
+"If I do," was Hal's laughing reply, "it will be only to my place of
+business. You can look for me at the tipple, Cotton!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 21.
+
+The marshal went out, and a few moments later the jailer came back, with
+a meal which presented a surprising contrast to the ones he had
+previously served. There was a tray containing cold ham, a couple of
+soft boiled eggs, some potato salad, and a cup of coffee with rolls and
+butter.
+
+"Well, well!" said Hal, condescendingly. "That's even nicer than
+beefsteak and mashed potatoes!" He sat and watched, not offering to
+help, while the other made room for the tray on the table in front of
+him. Then the man stalked out, and Hal began to eat.
+
+Before he had finished, the camp-marshal returned. He seated himself in
+his revolving chair, and appeared to be meditative. Between bites, Hal
+would look up and smile at him.
+
+"Cotton," said he, "you know there is no more certain test of breeding
+than table-manners. You will observe that I have not tucked my napkin in
+my neck, as Alec Stone would have done."
+
+"I'm getting you," replied the marshal.
+
+Hal set his knife and fork side by side on his plate. "Your man has
+overlooked the finger-bowl," he remarked. "However, don't bother. You
+might ring for him now, and let him take the tray."
+
+The camp-marshal used his voice for a bell, and the jailer came.
+"Unfortunately," said Hal, "when your people were searching me, night
+before last, they dropped my purse, so I have no tip for the waiter."
+
+The "waiter" glared at Hal as if he would like to bite him; but the
+camp-marshal grinned. "Clear out, Gus, and shut the door," said he.
+
+Then Hal stretched his legs and made himself comfortable again. "I must
+say I like being your guest better than being your prisoner!"
+
+There was a pause.
+
+"I've been talking it over with Mr. Cartwright," began the marshal.
+"I've got no way of telling how much of this is bluff that you've been
+giving me, but it's evident enough that you're no miner. You may be some
+newfangled kind of agitator, but I'm damned if I ever saw an agitator
+that had tea-party manners. I suppose you've been brought up to money;
+but if that's so, why you want to do this kind of thing is more than I
+can imagine."
+
+"Tell me, Cotton," said Hal, "did you never hear of _ennui_?"
+
+"Yes," replied the other, "but aren't you rather young to be troubled
+with that complaint?"
+
+"Suppose I've seen others suffering from it, and wanted to try a
+different way of living from theirs?"
+
+"If you're what you say, you ought to be still in college."
+
+"I go back for my senior year this fall."
+
+"What college?"
+
+"You doubt me still, I see!" said Hal, and smiled. Then, unexpectedly,
+with a spirit which only moonlit campuses and privilege could beget, he
+chanted:
+
+  "Old King Coal was a merry old soul,
+    And a merry old soul was he;
+  He made him a college, all full of knowledge--
+    Hurrah for you and me!"
+
+"What college is that?" asked the marshal. And Hal sang again:
+
+  "Oh, Liza-Ann, come out with me,
+  The moon is a-shinin' in the monkey-puzzle tree!
+  Oh, Liza-Ann, I have began
+  To sing you the song of Harrigan!"
+
+"Well, well!" commented the marshal, when the concert was over. "Are
+there many more like you at Harrigan?"
+
+"A little group--enough to leaven the lump."
+
+"And this is your idea of a vacation?"
+
+"No, it isn't a vacation; it's a summer-course in practical sociology."
+
+"Oh, I see!" said the marshal; and he smiled in spite of himself.
+
+"All last year we let the professors of political economy hand out their
+theories to us. But somehow the theories didn't seem to correspond with
+the facts. I said to myself, 'I've got to check them up.' You know the
+phrases, perhaps--individualism, _laissez faire_, freedom of contract,
+the right of every man to work for whom he pleases. And here you see how
+the theories work out--a camp-marshal with a cruel smile on his face and
+a gun on his hip, breaking the laws faster than a governor can sign
+them."
+
+The camp-marshal decided suddenly that he had had enough of this
+"tea-party." He rose to his feet to cut matters short. "If you don't
+mind, young man," said he, "we'll get down to business!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 22.
+
+He took a turn about the room, then he came and stopped in front of Hal.
+He stood with his hands thrust into his pockets, with a certain jaunty
+grace that was out of keeping with his occupation. He was a handsome
+devil, Hal thought--in spite of his dangerous mouth, and the marks of
+dissipation on him.
+
+"Young man," he began, with another effort at geniality. "I don't know
+who you are, but you're wide awake; you've got your nerve with you, and I
+admire you. So I'm willing to call the thing off, and let you go back
+and finish that course at college."
+
+Hal had been studying the other's careful smile. "Cotton," he said, at
+last, "let me get the proposition clear. I don't have to say I took that
+money?"
+
+"No, we'll let you off from that."
+
+"And you won't send me to the pen?"
+
+"No. I never meant to do that, of course. I was only trying to bluff
+you. All I ask is that you clear out, and give our people a chance to
+forget."
+
+"But what's there in that for me, Cotton? If I had wanted to run away, I
+could have done it any time during the last eight or ten weeks."
+
+"Yes, of course, but now it's different. Now it's a matter of my
+consideration."
+
+"Cut out the consideration!" exclaimed Hal. "You want to get rid of me,
+and you'd like to do it without trouble. But you can't--so forget it."
+
+The other was staring, puzzled. "You mean you expect to stay here?"
+
+"I mean just that."
+
+"Young man, I've had enough of this! I've got no more time to play. I
+don't care who you are, I don't care about your threats. I'm the marshal
+of this camp, and I have the job of keeping order in it. I say you're
+going to get out!"
+
+"But, Cotton," said Hal, "this is an incorporated town! I have a right
+to walk on the streets--exactly as much right as you."
+
+"I'm not going to waste time arguing. I'm going to put you into an
+automobile and take you down to Pedro!"
+
+"And suppose I go to the District Attorney and demand that he prosecute
+you?"
+
+"He'll laugh at you."
+
+"And suppose I go to the Governor of the state?"
+
+"He'll laugh still louder."
+
+"All right, Cotton; maybe you know what you're doing; but I wonder--I
+wonder just how sure you feel. Has it never occurred to you that your
+superiors might not care to have you take these high-handed steps?"
+
+"My superiors? Who do you mean?"
+
+"There's one man in the state you must respect--even though you despise
+the District Attorney and the Governor. That is Peter Harrigan."
+
+"Peter Harrigan?" echoed the other; and then he burst into a laugh.
+"Well, you _are_ a merry lad!"
+
+Hal continued to study him, unmoved. "I wonder if you're sure! He'll
+stand for everything you've done."
+
+"He will!" said the other.
+
+"For the way you treat the workers? He knows you are giving short
+weights."
+
+"Oh hell!" said the other. "Where do you suppose he got the money for
+your college?"
+
+There was a pause; at last the marshal asked, defiantly, "Have you got
+what you want?"
+
+"Yes," replied Hal. "Of course, I thought it all along, but it's hard to
+convince other people. Old Peter's not like most of these Western
+wolves, you know; he's a pious high-church man."
+
+The marshal smiled grimly. "So long as there are sheep," said he,
+"there'll be wolves in sheep's clothing."
+
+"I see," said Hal. "And you leave them to feed on the lambs!"
+
+"If any lamb is silly enough to be fooled by that old worn-out skin,"
+remarked the marshal, "it deserves to be eaten."
+
+Hal was studying the cynical face in front of him. "Cotton," he said,
+"the shepherds are asleep; but the watch-dogs are barking. Haven't you
+heard them?"
+
+"I hadn't noticed."
+
+"They are barking, barking! They are going to wake the shepherds! They
+are going to save the sheep!"
+
+"Religion don't interest me," said the other, looking bored; "your kind
+any more than Old Peter's."
+
+And suddenly Hal rose to his feet. "Cotton," said he, "my place is with
+the flock! I'm going back to my job at the tipple!" And he started
+towards the door.
+
+
+
+SECTION 23.
+
+Jeff Cotton sprang forward. "Stop!" he cried.
+
+But Hal did not stop.
+
+"See here, young man!" cried the marshal. "Don't carry this joke too
+far!" And he sprang to the door, just ahead of his prisoner. His hand
+moved toward his hip.
+
+"Draw your gun, Cotton," said Hal; and, as the marshal obeyed, "Now I
+will stop. If I obey you in future, it will be at the point of your
+revolver."
+
+The marshal's mouth was dangerous-looking. "You may find that in this
+country there's not so much between the drawing of a gun and the firing
+of it!"
+
+"I've explained my attitude," replied Hal. "What are your orders?"
+
+"Come back and sit in this chair."
+
+So Hal sat, and the marshal went to his desk, and took up the telephone.
+"Number seven," he said, and waited a moment. "That you, Tom? Bring the
+car right away."
+
+He hung up the receiver, and there followed a silence; finally Hal
+inquired, "I'm going to Pedro?"
+
+There was no reply.
+
+"I see I've got on your nerves," said Hal. "But I don't suppose it's
+occurred to you that you deprived me of my money last night. Also, I've
+an account with the company, some money coming to me for my work? What
+about that?"
+
+The marshal took up the receiver and gave another number. "Hello,
+Simpson. This is Cotton. Will you figure out the time of Joe Smith,
+buddy in Number Two, and send over the cash. Get his account at the
+store; and be quick, we're waiting for it. He's going out in a hurry."
+Again he hung up the receiver.
+
+"Tell me," said Hal, "did you take that trouble for Mike Sikoria?"
+
+There was silence.
+
+"Let me suggest that when you get my time, you give me part of it in
+scrip. I want it for a souvenir."
+
+Still there was silence.
+
+"You know," persisted the prisoner, tormentingly, "there's a law against
+paying wages in scrip."
+
+The marshal was goaded to speech. "We don't pay in scrip."
+
+"But you do, man! You know you do!"
+
+"We give it when they ask their money ahead."
+
+"The law requires you to pay them twice a month, and you don't do it.
+You pay them once a month, and meantime, if they need money, you give
+them this imitation money!"
+
+"Well, if it satisfies them, where's your kick?"
+
+"If it doesn't satisfy them, you put them on the train and ship them
+out?"
+
+The marshal sat in silence, tapping impatiently with his fingers on the
+desk.
+
+"Cotton," Hal began, again, "I'm out for education, and there's
+something I'd like you to explain to me--a problem in human psychology.
+When a man puts through a deal like this, what does he tell himself
+about it?"
+
+"Young man," said the marshal, "if you'll pardon me, you are getting to
+be a bore."
+
+"Oh, but we've got an automobile ride before us! Surely we can't sit in
+silence all the way!" After a moment he added, in a coaxing tone, "I
+really want to learn, you know. You might be able to win me over."
+
+"No!" said Cotton, promptly. "I'll not go in for anything like that!"
+
+"But why not?"
+
+"Because, I'm no match for you in long-windedness. I've heard you
+agitators before, you're all alike: you think the world is run by
+talk--but it isn't."
+
+Hal had come to realise that he was not getting anywhere in his duel
+with the camp-marshal. He had made every effort to get somewhere; he had
+argued, threatened, bluffed, he had even sung songs for the marshal! But
+the marshal was going to ship him out, that was all there was to it.
+
+Hal had gone on with the quarrel, simply because he had to wait for the
+automobile, and because he had endured indignities and had to vent his
+anger and disappointment. But now he stopped quarrelling suddenly. His
+attention was caught by the marshal's words, "You think the world is run
+by talk!" Those were the words Hal's brother always used! And also, the
+marshal had said, "You agitators!" For years it had been one of the
+taunts Hal had heard from his brother, "You will turn into one of these
+agitators!" Hal had answered, with boyish obstinacy, "I don't care if I
+do!" And now, here the marshal was calling him an agitator, seriously,
+without an apology, without the license of blood relationship. He
+repeated the words, "That's what gets me about you agitators--you come
+in here trying to stir these people up--"
+
+So that was the way Hal seemed to the "G. F. C."! He had come here
+intending to be a spectator, to stand on the deck of the steamer and
+look down into the ocean of social misery. He had considered every step
+so carefully before he took it! He had merely tried to be a
+check-weighman, nothing more! He had told Tom Olson he would not go in
+for unionism; he had had a distrust of union organisers, of agitators of
+all sorts--blind, irresponsible persons who went about stirring up
+dangerous passions. He had come to admire Tom Olson--but that had only
+partly removed his prejudices; Olson was only one agitator, not the
+whole lot of them!
+
+But all his consideration for the company had counted for nothing;
+likewise all his efforts to convince the marshal that he was a
+leisure-class person. In spite of all Hal's "tea-party manners," the
+marshal had said, "You agitators!" What was he judging by, Hal wondered.
+Had he, Hal Warner, come to look like one of these blind, irresponsible
+persons? It was time that he took stock of himself!
+
+Had two months of "dirty work" in the bowels of the earth changed him
+so? The idea was bound to be disconcerting to one who had been a
+favourite of the ladies! Did he talk like it?--he who had been "kissing
+the Blarney-stone!" The marshal had said he was "long-winded!" Well, to
+be sure, he had talked a lot; but what could the man expect--having shut
+him up in jail for two nights and a day, with only his grievances to
+brood over! Was that the way real agitators were made--being shut up
+with grievances to brood over?
+
+Hal recalled his broodings in the jail. He had been embittered; he had
+not cared whether North Valley was dominated by labour unions. But that
+had all been a mood, the same as his answer to his brother; that was
+jail psychology, a part of his summer course in practical sociology. He
+had put it aside; but apparently it had made a deeper impression upon
+him than he had realised. It had changed his physical aspect! It had
+made him look and talk like an agitator! It had made him
+"irresponsible," "blind!"
+
+Yes, that was it! All this dirt, ignorance, disease, this knavery and
+oppression, this maiming of men in body and soul in the coal-camps of
+America--all this did not exist--it was the hallucination of an
+"irresponsible" brain! There was the evidence of Hal's brother and the
+camp-marshal to prove it; there was the evidence of the whole world to
+prove it! The camp-marshal and his brother and the whole world could not
+be "blind!" And if you talked to them about these conditions, they
+shrugged their shoulders, they called you a "dreamer," a "crank," they
+said you were "off your trolley"; or else they became angry and bitter,
+they called you names; they said, "You agitators!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 24.
+
+The camp-marshal of North Valley had been "agitated" to such an extent
+that he could not stay in his chair. All the harassments of his troubled
+career had come pouring into his mind. He had begun pacing the floor,
+and was talking away, regardless of whether Hal listened or not.
+
+"A campful of lousy wops! They can't understand any civilised language,
+they've only one idea in the world--to shirk every lick of work they
+can, to fill up their cars with slate and rock and blame it on some
+other fellow, and go off to fill themselves with booze. They won't work
+fair, they won't fight fair--they fight with a knife in the back! And
+you agitators with your sympathy for them--why the hell do they come to
+this country, unless they like it better than their own?"
+
+Hal had heard this question before; but they had to wait for the
+automobile--and being sure that he was an agitator now, he would make
+all the trouble he could! "The reason is obvious enough," he said.
+"Isn't it true that the 'G. F. C.' employs agents abroad to tell them of
+the wonderful pay they get in America?"
+
+"Well, they get it, don't they? Three times what they ever got at home!"
+
+"Yes, but it doesn't do them any good. There's another fact which the
+'G. F. C.' doesn't mention--that the cost of living is even higher than
+the wages. Then, too, they're led to think of America as a land of
+liberty; they come, hoping for a better chance for themselves and their
+children; but they find a camp-marshal who's off in his geography--who
+thinks the Rocky Mountains are somewhere in Russia!"
+
+"I know that line of talk!" exclaimed the other. "I learned to wave the
+starry flag when I was a kid. But I tell you, you've got to get coal
+mined, and it isn't the same thing as running a Fourth of July
+celebration. Some church people make a law they shan't work on
+Sunday--and what comes of that? They have thirty-six hours to get soused
+in, and so they can't work on Monday!"
+
+"Surely there's a remedy, Cotton! Suppose the company refused to rent
+buildings to saloon-keepers?"
+
+"Good God! You think we haven't tried it? They go down to Pedro for the
+stuff, and bring back all they can carry--inside them and out. And if we
+stop that--then our hands move to some other camps, where they can spend
+their money as they please. No, young man, when you have such cattle,
+you have to drive them! And it takes a strong hand to do it--a man like
+Peter Harrigan. If there's to be any coal, if industry's to go on, if
+there's to be any progress--"
+
+"We have that in our song!" laughed Hal, breaking into the
+camp-marshal's discourse--
+
+  "He keeps them a-roll, that merry old soul--
+    The wheels of industree;
+  A-roll and a-roll, for his pipe and his bowl
+    And his college facultee!"
+
+"Yes," growled the marshal. "It's easy enough for you smart young chaps
+to make verses, while you're living at ease on the old man's bounty. But
+that don't answer any argument. Are you college boys ready to take over
+his job? Or these Democrat politicians that come in here, talking
+fool-talk about liberty, making labour laws for these wops--"
+
+"I begin to understand," said Hal. "You object to the politicians who
+pass the laws, you doubt their motives--and so you refuse to obey. But
+why didn't you tell me sooner you were an anarchist?"
+
+"Anarchist?" cried the marshal. "_Me_ an anarchist?"
+
+"That's what an anarchist is, isn't it?"
+
+"Good God! If that isn't the limit! You come here, stirring up the
+men--a union agitator, or whatever you are--and you know that the first
+idea of these people, when they do break loose, is to put dynamite in
+the shafts and set fire to the buildings!"
+
+"Do they do that?" There was surprise in Hal's tone.
+
+"Haven't you read what they did in the last big strike? That dough-faced
+old preacher, John Edstrom, could tell you. He was one of the bunch."
+
+"No," said Hal, "you're mistaken. Edstrom has a different philosophy.
+But others did, I've no doubt. And since I've been here, I can
+understand their point of view entirely. When they set fire to the
+buildings, it was because they thought you and Alec Stone might be
+inside."
+
+The marshal did not smile.
+
+"They want to destroy the properties," continued Hal, "because that's
+the only way they can think of to punish the tyranny and greed of the
+owners. But, Cotton, suppose some one were to put a new idea into their
+heads; suppose some one were to say to them, 'Don't destroy the
+properties--_take them!_'"
+
+The other stared. "Take them! So that's your idea of morality!"
+
+"It would be more moral than the method by which Peter got them in the
+beginning."
+
+"What method is that?" demanded the marshal, with some appearance of
+indignation. "He paid the market-price for them, didn't he?"
+
+"He paid the market-price for politicians. Up in Western City I happen
+to know a lady who was a school-commissioner when he was buying
+school-lands from the state--lands that were known to contain coal. He
+was paying three dollars an acre, and everybody knew they were worth
+three thousand."
+
+"Well," said Cotton, "if you don't buy the politicians, you wake up some
+fine morning and find that somebody else has bought them. If you have
+property, you have to protect it."
+
+"Cotton," said Hal, "you sell Old Peter your time--but surely you might
+keep part of your brains! Enough to look at your monthly pay-check and
+realise that you too are a wage-slave, not much better than the miners
+you despise."
+
+The other smiled. "My check might be bigger, I admit; but I've figured
+over it, and I think I have an easier time than you agitators. I'm
+top-dog, and I expect to stay on top."
+
+"Well, Cotton, on that view of life, I don't wonder you get drunk now
+and then. A dog-fight, with no faith or humanity anywhere! Don't think
+I'm sneering at you--I'm talking out of my heart to you. I'm not so
+young, nor such a fool, that I haven't had the dog-fight aspect of
+things brought to my attention. But there's something in a fellow that
+insists he isn't all dog; he has at least a possibility of something
+better. Take these poor under-dogs sweating inside the mountain, risking
+their lives every hour of the day and night to provide you and me with
+coal to keep us warm--to 'keep the wheels of industry a-roll'--"
+
+
+
+SECTION 25.
+
+These were the last words Hal spoke. They were obvious enough words, yet
+when he looked back upon the coincidence, it seemed to him a singular
+one. For while he was sitting there chatting, it happened that the poor
+under-dogs inside the mountain were in the midst of one of those
+experiences which make the romance and terror of coal-mining. One of the
+boys who were employed underground, in violation of the child labour
+law, was in the act of bungling his task. He was a "spragger," whose
+duty it was to thrust a stick into the wheel of a loaded car to hold it;
+and he was a little chap, and the car was in motion when he made the
+attempt. It knocked him against the wall--and so there was a load of
+coal rolling down grade, pursued too late by half a dozen men. Gathering
+momentum, it whirled round a curve and flew from the track, crashing
+into timbers and knocking them loose. With the timbers came a shower of
+coal-dust, accumulated for decades in these old workings; and at the
+same time came an electric light wire, which, as it touched the car,
+produced a spark.
+
+And so it was that Hal, chatting with the marshal, suddenly felt, rather
+than heard, a deafening roar; he felt the air about him turn into a
+living thing which struck him a mighty blow, hurling him flat upon the
+floor. The windows of the room crashed inward upon him in a shower of
+glass, and the plaster of the ceiling came down on his head in another
+shower.
+
+When he raised himself, half stunned, he saw the marshal, also on the
+floor; these two conversationalists stared at each other with horrified
+eyes. Even as they crouched, there came a crash above their heads, and
+half the ceiling of the room came toward them, with a great piece of
+timber sticking through. All about them were other crashes, as if the
+end of the world had come.
+
+They struggled to their feet, and rushing to the door, flung it open,
+just as a jagged piece of timber shattered the side-walk in front of
+them. They sprang back again, "Into the cellar!" cried the marshal,
+leading the way to the back-stairs.
+
+But before they had started down these stairs, they realised that the
+crashing had ceased. "What is it?" gasped Hal, as they stood.
+
+"Mine-explosion," said the other; and after a few seconds they ran to
+the door again.
+
+The first thing they saw was a vast pillar of dust and smoke, rising
+into the sky above them. It spread before their dazed eyes, until it
+made night of everything about them. There was still a rain of lighter
+debris pattering down over the village; as they stared, and got their
+wits about them, remembering how things had looked before this, they
+realised that the shaft-house of Number One had disappeared.
+
+"Blown up, by God!" cried the marshal; and the two ran out into the
+street, and looking up, saw that a portion of the wrecked building had
+fallen through the roof of the jail above their heads.
+
+The rain of debris had now ceased, but there were clouds of dust which
+covered the two men black; the clouds grew worse, until they could
+hardly see their way at all. And with the darkness there fell silence,
+which, after the sound of the explosion and the crashing of debris,
+seemed the silence of death.
+
+For a few moments Hal stood dazed. He saw a stream of men and boys
+pouring from the breaker; while from every street there appeared a
+stream of women; women old, women young--leaving their cooking on the
+stove, their babies in the crib, with their older children screaming at
+their skirts, they gathered in swarms about the pit-mouth, which was
+like the steaming crater of a volcano.
+
+Cartwright, the superintendent, appeared, running toward the fan-house.
+Cotton joined him, and Hal followed. The fan-house was a wreck, the
+giant fan lying on the ground a hundred feet away, its blades smashed.
+Hal was too inexperienced in mine-matters to get the full significance
+of this; but he saw the marshal and the superintendent stare blankly at
+each other, and heard the former's exclamation, "That does for us!"
+Cartwright said not a word; but his thin lips were pressed together, and
+there was fear in his eyes.
+
+Back to the smoking pit-mouth the two men hurried, with Hal following.
+Here were a hundred, two hundred women crowded, clamouring questions all
+at once. They swarmed about the marshal, the superintendent, the other
+bosses--even about Hal, crying hysterically in Polish and Bohemian and
+Greek. When Hal shook his head, indicating that he did not understand
+them, they moaned in anguish, or shrieked aloud. Some continued to stare
+into the smoking pit-mouth; others covered the sight from their eyes, or
+sank down upon their knees, sobbing, praying with uplifted hands.
+
+Little by little Hal began to realise the full horror of a
+mine-disaster. It was not noise and smoke and darkness, nor frantic,
+wailing women; it was not anything above ground, but what was below in
+the smoking black pit! It was men! Men whom Hal knew, whom he had worked
+with and joked with, whose smiles he had shared; whose daily life he had
+come to know! Scores, possibly hundreds of them, they were down here
+under his feet--some dead, others injured, maimed. What would they do?
+What would those on the surface do for them? Hal tried to get to Cotton,
+to ask him questions; but the camp-marshal was surrounded, besieged. He
+was pushing the women back, exclaiming, "Go away! Go home!"
+
+What? Go home? they cried. When their men were in the mine? They crowded
+about him closer, imploring, shrieking.
+
+"Get out!" he kept exclaiming. "There's nothing you can do! There's
+nothing anybody can do yet! Go home! Go home!" He had to beat them back
+by force, to keep them from pushing one another into the pit-mouth.
+
+Everywhere Hal looked were women in attitudes of grief: standing rigid,
+staring ahead of them as if in a trance; sitting down, rocking to and
+fro; on their knees with faces uplifted in prayer; clutching their
+terrified children about their skirts. He saw an Austrian woman, a
+pitiful, pale young thing with a ragged grey shawl about her head,
+stretching out her hands and crying: "Mein Mann! Mein Mann!" Presently
+she covered her face, and her voice died into a wail of despair: "O,
+mein Mann! O, mein Mann!" She turned away, staggering about like some
+creature that has received a death wound. Hal's eyes followed her; her
+cry, repeated over and over incessantly, became the leit-motif of this
+symphony of horror.
+
+He had read about mine-disasters in his morning newspaper; but here a
+mine-disaster became a thing of human flesh and blood. The unendurable
+part of it was the utter impotence of himself and of all the world. This
+impotence became clearer to him each moment--from the exclamations of
+Cotton and of the men he questioned. It was monstrous, incredible--but
+it was so! They must send for a new fan, they must wait for it to be
+brought in, they must set it up and get it into operation; they must
+wait for hours after that while smoke and gas were cleared out of the
+main passages of the mine; and until this had been done, there was
+nothing they could do--absolutely nothing! The men inside the mine would
+stay. Those who had not been killed outright would make their way into
+the remoter chambers, and barricade themselves against the deadly "after
+damp." They would wait, without food or water, with air of doubtful
+quality--they would wait and wait, until the rescue-crew could get to
+them!
+
+
+
+SECTION 26.
+
+At moments in the midst of this confusion, Hal found himself trying to
+recall who had worked in Number One, among the people he knew. He
+himself had been employed in Number Two, so he had naturally come to
+know more men in that mine. But he had known some from the other
+mine--Old Rafferty for one, and Mary Burke's father for another, and at
+least one of the members of his check-weighman group--Zamierowski. Hal
+saw in a sudden vision the face of this patient little man, who smiled
+so good-naturedly while Americans were trying to say his name. And Old
+Rafferty, with all his little Rafferties, and his piteous efforts to
+keep the favour of his employers! And poor Patrick Burke, whom Hal had
+never seen sober; doubtless he was sober now, if he was still alive!
+
+Then in the crowd Hal encountered Jerry Minetti, and learned that
+another man who had been down was Farenzena, the Italian whose
+"fanciulla" had played with him; and yet another was Judas
+Apostolikas--having taken his thirty pieces of silver with him into the
+deathtrap!
+
+People were making up lists, just as Hal was doing, by asking questions
+of others. These lists were subject to revision--sometimes under
+dramatic circumstances. You saw a woman weeping, with her apron to her
+eyes; suddenly she would look up, give a piercing cry, and fling her
+arms about the neck of some man. As for Hal, he felt as if he were
+encountering a ghost when suddenly he recognised Patrick Burke, standing
+in the midst of a group of people. He went over and heard the old man's
+story--how there was a Dago fellow who had stolen his timbers, and he
+had come up to the surface for more; so his life had been saved, while
+the timber-thief was down there still--a judgment of Providence upon
+mine-miscreants!
+
+Presently Hal asked if Burke had been to tell his family. He had run
+home, he said, but there was nobody there. So Hal began pushing his way
+through the throngs, looking for Mary, or her sister Jennie, or her
+brother Tommie. He persisted in this search, although it occurred to him
+to wonder whether the family of a hopeless drunkard would appreciate the
+interposition of Providence in his behalf.
+
+He encountered Olson, who had had a narrow escape, being employed as a
+surface-man near the hoist. All this was an old story to the organiser,
+who had worked in mines since he was eight years old, and had seen many
+kinds of disaster. He began to explain things to Hal, in a matter of
+fact way. The law required a certain number of openings to every mine,
+also an escape-way with ladders by which men could come out; but it cost
+good money to dig holes in the ground.
+
+At this time the immediate cause of the explosion was unknown, but they
+could tell it was a "dust explosion" by the clouds of coke-dust, and no
+one who had been into the mine and seen its dry condition would doubt
+what they would find when they went down and traced out the "force" and
+its effects. They were supposed to do regular sprinkling, but in such
+matters the bosses used their own judgment.
+
+Hal was only half listening to these explanations. The thing was too raw
+and too horrible to him. What difference did it make whose fault it was?
+The accident had happened, and the question was now how to meet the
+emergency! Underneath Olson's sentences he heard the cry of men and boys
+being asphyxiated in dark dungeons--he heard the wailing of women, like
+a surf beating on a distant shore, or the faint, persistent
+accompaniment of muted strings: "O, mein Mann! O, mein Mann!"
+
+They came upon Jeff Cotton again. With half a dozen men to help him, he
+was pushing back the crowd from the pit-mouth, and stretching barbed
+wired to hold them back. He was none too gentle about it, Hal thought;
+but doubtless women are provoking when they are hysterical. He was
+answering their frenzied questions, "Yes, yes! We're getting a new fan.
+We're doing everything we can, I tell you. We'll get them out. Go home
+and wait."
+
+But of course no one would go home. How could a woman sit in her house,
+or go about her ordinary tasks of cooking or washing, while her man
+might be suffering asphyxiation under the ground? The least she could do
+was to stand at the pit-mouth--as near to him as she could get! Some of
+them stood motionless, hour after hour, while others wandered through
+the village streets, asking the same people, over and over again, if
+they had seen their loved ones. Several had turned up, like Patrick
+Burke; there seemed always a chance for one more.
+
+
+
+SECTION 27.
+
+In the course of the afternoon Hal came upon Mary Burke on the street.
+She had long ago found her father, and seen him off to O'Callahan's to
+celebrate the favours of Providence. Now Mary was concerned with a
+graver matter. Number Two Mine was in danger! The explosion in Number
+One had been so violent that the gearing of the fan of the other mine,
+nearly a mile up the canyon, had been thrown out of order. So the fan
+had stopped; and when some one had gone to Alec Stone, asking that he
+bring out the men, Stone had refused. "What do ye think he said?" cried
+Mary. "What do ye think? 'Damn the men! Save the mules!'"
+
+Hal had all but lost sight of the fact that there was a second mine in
+the village, in which hundreds of men and boys were still at work.
+"Wouldn't they know about the explosion?" he asked.
+
+"They might have heard the noise," said Mary. "But they'd not know what
+it was; and the bosses won't tell them till they've got out the mules."
+
+For all that he had seen in North Valley, Hal could hardly credit that
+story. "How do you know it, Mary?"
+
+"Young Rovetta just told me. He was there, and heard it with his own
+ears."
+
+He was staring at her. "Let's go and make sure," he said, and they
+started up the main street of the village. On the way they were joined
+by others--for already the news of this fresh trouble had begun to
+spread. Jeff Cotton went past them in an automobile, and Mary exclaimed,
+"I told ye so! When ye see him goin', ye know there's dirty work to be
+done!"
+
+They came to the shaft-house of Number Two, and found a swarm of people,
+almost a riot. Women and children were shrieking and gesticulating,
+threatening to break into the office and use the mine-telephone to warn
+the men themselves. And here was the camp-marshal driving them back. Hal
+and Mary arrived in time to see Mrs. David, whose husband was at work in
+Number Two, shaking her fist in the marshal's face and screaming at him
+like a wild-cat. He drew his revolver upon her; and at this Hal started
+forward. A blind fury seized him--he would have thrown himself upon the
+marshal.
+
+But Mary Burke stopped him, flinging her arms about him, and pinning him
+by main force. "No, no!" she cried. "Stay back, man! D'ye want to get
+killed?"
+
+He was amazed at her strength. He was amazed also at the vehemence of
+her emotion. She was calling him a crazy fool, and names even more
+harsh. "Have ye no more sense than a woman? Running into the mouth of a
+revolver like that!"
+
+The crisis passed in a moment, for Mrs. David fell back, and then the
+marshal put up his weapon. But Mary continued scolding Hal, trying to
+drag him away. "Come on now! Come out of here!"
+
+"But, Mary! We must do something!"
+
+"Ye can do nothin', I tell ye! Ye'd ought to have sense enough to know
+it. I'll not let ye get yeself murdered! Come away now!" And half by
+force and half by cajoling, she got him farther down the street.
+
+He was trying to think out the situation. Were the men in Number Two
+really in danger? Could it be possible that the bosses would take such a
+chance in cold blood? And right at this moment, with the disaster in the
+other mine before their eyes! He could not believe it; and meantime
+Mary, at his side, was declaring that the men were in no real danger--it
+was only Alec Stone's brutal words that had set her crazy.
+
+"Don't ye remember the time when the air-course was blocked before, and
+ye helped to get up the mules yeself? Ye thought nothin' of it then, and
+'tis the same now. They'll get everybody out in time!"
+
+She was concealing her real feelings in order to keep him safe; he let
+her lead him on, while he tried to think of something else to do. He
+would think of the men in Number Two; they were his best friends, Jack
+David, Tim Rafferty, Wresmak, Androkulos, Klowoski. He would think of
+them, in their remote dungeons--breathing bad air, becoming sick and
+faint--in order that mules might be saved! He would stop in his tracks,
+and Mary would drag him on, repeating over and over, "Ye can do nothin'!
+Nothin'!" And then he would think, What could he do? He had put up his
+best bluff to Jeff Cotton a few hours earlier, and the answer had been
+the muzzle of the marshal's revolver in his face. All he could
+accomplish now would be to bring himself to Cotton's attention, and be
+thrust out of camp forthwith.
+
+
+
+SECTION 28.
+
+They came to Mary's home; and next door was the home of the Slav woman,
+Mrs. Zamboni, about whom in the past she had told him so many funny
+stories. Mrs. Zamboni had had a new baby every year for sixteen years,
+and eleven of these babies were still alive. Now her husband was trapped
+in Number One, and she was distracted, wandering about the streets with
+the greater part of her brood at her heels. At intervals she would emit
+a howl like a tortured animal, and her brood would take it up in various
+timbres. Hal stopped to listen to the sounds, but Mary put her fingers
+into her ears and fled into the house. Hal followed her, and saw her
+fling herself into a chair and burst into hysterical weeping. And
+suddenly Hal realised what a strain this terrible affair had been upon
+Mary. It had been bad enough to him--but he was a man, and more able to
+contemplate sights of horror. Men went to their deaths in industry and
+war, and other men saw them go and inured themselves to the spectacle.
+But women were the mothers of these men; it was women who bore them in
+pain, nursed them and reared them with endless patience--women could
+never become inured to the spectacle! Then too, the women's fate was
+worse. If the men were dead, that was the end of them; but the women
+must face the future, with its bitter memories, its lonely and desolate
+struggle for existence. The women must see the children suffering, dying
+by slow stages of deprivation.
+
+Hal's pity for all suffering women became concentrated upon the girl
+beside him. He knew how tenderhearted she was. She had no man in the
+mine, but some day she would have, and she was suffering the pangs of
+that inexorable future. He looked at her, huddled in her chair, wiping
+away her tears with the hem of her old blue calico. She seemed
+unspeakably pathetic--like a child that has been hurt. She was sobbing
+out sentences now and then, as if to herself: "Oh, the poor women, the
+poor women! Did ye see the face of Mrs. Jonotch? She'd jumped into the
+smoking pit-mouth if they'd let her!"
+
+"Don't suffer so, Mary!" pleaded Hal--as if he thought she could stop.
+
+"Let me alone!" she cried. "Let me have it out!" And Hal, who had had no
+experience with hysteria, stood helplessly by.
+
+"There's more misery than I ever knew there was!" she went on. "'Tis
+everywhere ye turn, a woman with her eyes burnin' with suffering
+wondering if she'll ever see her man again! Or some mother whose lad may
+be dying and she can do nothin' for him!"
+
+"And neither can you do anything, Mary," Hal pleaded again. "You're only
+sorrowing yourself to death."
+
+"Ye say that to me?" she cried. "And when ye were ready to let Jeff
+Cotton shoot ye, because you were so sorry for Mrs. David! No, the
+sights here nobody can stand."
+
+He could think of nothing to answer. He drew up a chair and sat by her
+in silence, and after a while she began to grow calmer, and wiped away
+her tears, and sat gazing dully through the doorway into the dirty
+little street.
+
+Hal's eyes followed hers. There were the ash-heaps and tomato-cans,
+there were two of Mrs. Zamboni's bedraggled brood, poking with sticks
+into a dump-heap--looking for something to eat, perhaps, or for
+something to play with. There was the dry, waste grass of the road-side,
+grimy with coal-dust, as was everything else in the village. What a
+scene!--And this girl's eyes had never a sight of anything more
+inspiring than this. Day in and day out, all her life long, she looked
+at this scene! Had he ever for a moment reproached her for her "black
+moods"? With such an environment could men or women be cheerful--could
+they dream of beauty, aspire to heights of nobility and courage, to
+happy service of their fellows? There was a miasma of despair over this
+place; it was not a real place--it was a dream-place--a horrible,
+distorted nightmare! It was like the black hole in the ground which
+haunted Hal's imagination, with men and boys at the bottom of it, dying
+of asphyxiation!
+
+Suddenly it came to Hal--he wanted to get away from North Valley! To get
+away at all costs! The place had worn down his courage; slowly, day
+after day, the sight of misery and want, of dirt and disease, of hunger,
+oppression, despair, had eaten the soul out of him, had undermined his
+fine structure of altruistic theories. Yes, he wanted to escape--to a
+place where the sun shone, where the grass grew green, where human
+beings stood erect and laughed and were free. He wanted to shut from his
+eyes the dust and smoke of this nasty little village; to stop his ears
+to that tormenting sound of women wailing: "O, mein Mann! O, mein Mann!"
+
+He looked at the girl, who sat staring before her, bent forward, her
+arms hanging limply over her knees.
+
+"Mary," he said, "you must go away from here! It's no place for a
+tenderhearted girl to be. It's no place for any one!"
+
+She gazed at him dully for a moment. "It was me that was tellin' _you_
+to go away," she said, at last. "Ever since ye came here I been sayin'
+it! Now I guess ye know what I mean."
+
+"Yes," he said, "I do, and I want to go. But I want you to go too."
+
+"D'ye think 'twould do me any good, Joe?" she asked. "D'ye think 'twould
+do me any good to get away? Could I ever forget the sights I've seen
+this day? Could I ever have any real, honest happiness anywhere after
+this?"
+
+He tried to reassure her, but he was far from reassured himself. How
+would it be with him? Would he ever feel that he had a right to
+happiness after this? Could he take any satisfaction in a pleasant and
+comfortable world, knowing that it was based upon such hideous misery?
+His thoughts went to that world, where careless, pleasure-loving people
+sought gratification of their desires. It came to him suddenly that what
+he wanted more than to get away was to bring those people here, if only
+for a day, for an hour, that they might hear this chorus of wailing
+women!
+
+
+
+SECTION 29.
+
+Mary made Hal swear that he would not get into a fight with Cotton; then
+they went to Number Two. They found the mules coming up, and the bosses
+promising that in a short while the men would be coming. Everything was
+all right--there was not a bit of danger! But Mary was afraid to trust
+Hal, in spite of his promise, so she lured him back to Number One.
+
+They found that a rescue-car had just arrived from Pedro, bringing
+doctors and nurses, also several "helmets." These "helmets" were strange
+looking contrivances, fastened over the head and shoulders, air-tight,
+and provided with oxygen sufficient to last for an hour or more. The men
+who wore them sat in a big bucket which was let down the shaft with a
+windlass, and every now and then they pulled on a signal-cord to let
+those on the surface know they were alive. When the first of them came
+back, he reported that there were bodies near the foot of the shaft, but
+apparently all dead. There was heavy black smoke, indicating a fire
+somewhere in the mine; so nothing more could be done until the fan had
+been set up. By reversing the fan, they could draw out the smoke and
+gases and clear the shaft.
+
+The state mine-inspector had been notified, but was ill at home, and was
+sending one of his deputies. Under the law this official would have
+charge of all the rescue work, but Hal found that the miners took no
+interest in his presence. It had been his duty to prevent the accident,
+and he had not done so. When he came, he would do what the company
+wanted.
+
+Some time after dark the workers began to come out of Number Two, and
+their women, waiting at the pit-mouth, fell upon their necks with cries
+of thankfulness. Hal observed other women, whose men were in Number One,
+and would perhaps never come out again, standing and watching these
+greetings with wistful, tear-filled eyes. Among those who came out was
+Jack David, and Hal walked home with him and his wife, listening to the
+latter abuse Jeff Cotton and Alec Stone, which was an education in the
+vocabulary of class-consciousness. The little Welsh woman repeated the
+pit-boss's saying, "Damn the men, save the mules!" She said it again and
+again--it seemed to delight her like a work of art, it summed up so
+perfectly the attitude of the bosses to their men! There were many other
+people repeating that saying, Hal found; it went all over the village,
+in a few days it went all over the district. It summed up what the
+district believed to be the attitude of the coal-operators to the
+workers!
+
+Having got over the first shock of the disaster, Hal wanted information,
+and he questioned Big Jack, a solid and well-read man who had given
+thought to every aspect of the industry. In his quiet, slow way, he
+explained to Hal that the frequency of accidents in this district was
+not due to any special difficulty in operating these mines, the
+explosiveness of the gases or the dryness of the atmosphere. It was
+merely the carelessness of those in charge, their disregard of the laws
+for the protection of the men. There ought to be a law with "teeth" in
+it--for example, one providing that for every man killed in a coal-mine
+his heirs should receive a thousand dollars, regardless of who had been
+to blame for the accident. Then you would see how quickly the operators
+would get busy and find remedies for the "unusual" dangers!
+
+As it was, they knew that no matter how great their culpability, they
+could get off with slight loss. Already, no doubt, their lawyers were on
+the spot, and by the time the first bodies were brought out, they would
+be fixing things up with the families. They would offer a widow a ticket
+back to the old country; they would offer a whole family of orphaned
+children, maybe fifty dollars, maybe a hundred dollars--and it would be
+a case of take it or leave it. You could get nothing from the courts;
+the case was so hopeless that you could not even find a lawyer to make
+the attempt. That was one reform in which the companies believed, said
+"Big Jack," with sarcasm; they had put the "shyster lawyer" out of
+business!
+
+
+
+SECTION 30.
+
+There followed a night and then another day of torturing suspense. The
+fan came, but it had to be set up before anything could be done. As
+volumes of black smoke continued to pour from the shaft, the opening was
+made tight with a board and canvas cover; it was necessary, the bosses
+said, but to Hal it seemed the climax of horror. To seal up men and boys
+in a place of deadly gases!
+
+There was something peculiarly torturing in the idea of men caught in a
+mine; they were directly under one's feet, yet it was impossible to get
+to them, to communicate with them in any way! The people on top yearned
+to them, and they, down below, yearned back. It was impossible to forget
+them for even a few minutes. People would become abstracted while they
+talked, and would stand staring into space; suddenly, in the midst of a
+crowd, a woman would bury her face in her hands and burst into tears,
+and then all the others would follow suit.
+
+Few people slept in North Valley during those two nights. They held
+mourning parties in their homes or on the streets. Some house-work had
+to be done, of course, but no one did anything that could be left
+undone. The children would not play; they stood about, silent, pale,
+like wizened-up grown people, over-mature in knowledge of trouble. The
+nerves of every one were on edge, the self-control of every one balanced
+upon a fine point.
+
+It was a situation bound to be fruitful in imaginings and rumours,
+stimulated to those inclined to signs and omens--the seers of ghosts, or
+those who went into trances, or possessed second sight or other
+mysterious gifts. There were some living in a remote part of the village
+who declared they had heard explosions under the ground, several blasts
+in quick succession. The men underground were setting off dynamite by
+way of signalling!
+
+In the course of the second day Hal sat with Mary Burke upon the steps
+of her home. Old Patrick lay within, having found the secret of oblivion
+at O'Callahan's. Now and then came the moaning of Mrs. Zamboni, who was
+in her cabin with her brood of children. Mary had been in to feed them,
+because the distracted mother let them starve and cry. Mary was worn
+out, herself; the wonderful Irish complexion had faded, and there were
+no curves to the vivid lips. They had been sitting in silence, for there
+was nothing to talk of but the disaster--and they had said all there was
+to say about that. But Hal had been thinking while he watched Mary.
+
+"Listen, Mary," he said, at last; "when this thing is over, you must
+really come away from here. I've thought it all out--I have friends in
+Western City who will give you work, so you can take care of yourself,
+and of your brother and sister too. Will you go?"
+
+But she did not answer. She continued to gaze indifferently into the
+dirty little street.
+
+"Truly, Mary," he went on. "Life isn't so terrible everywhere as it is
+here. Come away! Hard as it is to believe, you'll forget all this.
+People suffer, but then they stop suffering; it's nature's way--to make
+them forget."
+
+"Nature's way has been to beat me dead," said she.
+
+"Yes, Mary. Despair can become a disease, but it hasn't with you. You're
+just tired out. If you'll try to rouse yourself--" And he reached over
+and caught her hand with an attempt at playfulness. "Cheer up, Mary!
+You're coming away from North Valley."
+
+She turned and looked at him. "Am I?" she asked, impassively; and she
+went on studying his face. "Who are ye, Joe Smith? What are ye doin'
+here?"
+
+"Working in a coal-mine," he laughed, still trying to divert her.
+
+But she went on, as gravely as before. "Ye're no working man, that I
+know. And ye're always offering me help! Ye're always sayin' what ye can
+do for me!" She paused and there came some of the old defiance into her
+face. "Joe, ye can have no idea of the feelin's that have got hold of me
+just now. I'm ready to do something desperate; ye'd best be leavin' me
+alone, Joe!"
+
+"I think I understand, Mary. I would hardly blame you for anything you
+did."
+
+She took up his words eagerly. "Wouldn't ye, Joe? Ye're sure? Then what
+I want is to get the truth from ye. I want ye to talk it out fair!"
+
+"All right, Mary. What is it?"
+
+But her defiance had vanished suddenly. Her eyes dropped, and he saw her
+fingers picking nervously at a fold of her dress. "About us, Joe," she
+said. "I've thought sometimes ye cared for me. I've thought ye liked to
+be with me--not just because ye were sorry for me, but because of _me_.
+I've not been sure, but I can't help thinkin' it's so. Is it?"
+
+"Yes, it is," he said, a little uncertainly. "I _do_ care for you."
+
+"Then is it that ye don't care for that other girl all the time?"
+
+"No," he said, "it's not that."
+
+"Ye can care for two girls at the same time?"
+
+He did not know what to say. "It would seem that I can, Mary."
+
+She raised her eyes again and studied his face. "Ye told me about that
+other girl, and I been wonderin', was it only to put me off? Maybe it's
+me own fault, but I can't make meself believe in that other girl, Joe!"
+
+"You're mistaken, Mary," he answered, quickly. "What I told you was
+true."
+
+"Well, maybe so," she said, but there was no conviction in her tone. "Ye
+come away from her, and ye never go where she is or see her--it's hard
+to believe ye'd do that way if ye were very close to her. I just don't
+think ye love her as much as ye might. And ye say you do care some for
+me. So I've thought--I've wondered--"
+
+She stopped, forcing herself to meet his gaze: "I been tryin' to work it
+out! I know ye're too good a man for me, Joe. Ye come from a better
+place in life, ye've a right to expect more in a woman--"
+
+"It's not that, Mary!"
+
+But she cut him short. "I know that's true! Ye're only tryin' to save my
+feelin's. I know ye're better than me! I've tried hard to hold me head
+up, I've tried a long time not to let meself go to pieces. I've even
+tried to keep cheerful, telling meself I'd not want to be like Mrs.
+Zamboni, forever complainin'. But 'tis no use tellin' yourself lies! I
+been up to the church, and heard the Reverend Spragg tell the people
+that the rich and poor are the same in the sight of the Lord. And maybe
+'tis so, but I'm not the Lord, and I'll never pretend I'm not ashamed to
+be livin' in a place like this."
+
+"I'm sure the Lord has no interest in keeping you here--" he began.
+
+But she broke in, "What makes it so hard to bear is knowin' there's so
+many wonderful things in the world, and ye can never have them! 'Tis as
+if ye had to see them through a pane of glass, like in the window of a
+store. Just think, Joe Smith--once, in a church in Sheridan, I heard a
+lady sing beautiful music; once in my whole lifetime! Can ye guess what
+it meant to me?"
+
+"Yes, Mary, I can."
+
+"But I had that all out with meself--years ago. I knew the price a
+workin' girl has to pay for such things, and I said, I'll not let meself
+think about them. I've hated this place, I've wanted to get away--but
+there's only one way to go, to let some man take ye! So I've stayed;
+I've kept straight, Joe. I want ye to believe that."
+
+"Of course, Mary!"
+
+"No! It's not been 'of course'! It means ye have to fight with
+temptations. It's many a time I've looked at Jeff Cotton, and thought
+about the things I need! And I've done without! But now comes the thing
+a woman wants more than all the other things in the world!"
+
+She paused, but only for a moment. "They tell ye to love a man of your
+own class. Me old mother said that to me, before she died. But suppose
+ye didn't happen to? Suppose ye'd stopped and thought what it meant,
+havin' one baby after another, till ye're worn out and drop--like me old
+mother did? Suppose ye knew good manners when ye see them--ye knew
+interestin' talk when ye heard it!" She clasped her hands suddenly
+before her, exclaiming, "Ah, 'tis something different ye are, Joe--so
+different from anything around here! The way ye talk, the way ye move,
+the gay look in your eyes! No miner ever had that happy look, Joe; me
+heart stops beatin' almost when ye look at me!" She stopped with a sharp
+catching of her breath, and he saw that she was struggling for
+self-control. After a moment she exclaimed, defiantly: "But they'd tell
+ye, be careful, ye daren't love that kind of man; ye'd only have your
+heart broken!"
+
+There was silence. For this problem the amateur sociologist had no
+solution at hand--whether for the abstract question, or for its concrete
+application!
+
+
+
+SECTION 31.
+
+Mary forced herself to go on. "This is how I've worked it out, Joe! I
+said to meself, 'Ye love this man; and it's his _love_ ye want--nothin'
+else! If he's got a place in the world, ye'd only hold him back--and
+ye'd not want to do that. Ye don't want his name, or his friends, or any
+of those things--ye want _him_!' Have ye ever heard of such a thing as
+that?"
+
+Her cheeks were flaming, but she continued to meet his gaze. "Yes, I've
+heard of it," he answered, in a low voice.
+
+"What would ye say to it? Is it honest? The Reverend Spragg would say
+'twas the devil, no doubt; Father O'Gorman, down in Pedro, would call it
+mortal sin; and maybe they know--but I don't! I only know I can't stand
+it any more!"
+
+Tears sprang to her eyes, and she cried out suddenly, "Oh, take me away
+from here! Take me away and give me a chance, Joe! I'll ask nothing,
+I'll never stand in your way; I'll work for ye, I'll cook and wash and
+do everything for ye, I'll wear my fingers to the bone! Or I'll go out
+and work at some job, and earn my share. And I'll make ye this
+promise--if ever ye get tired and want to leave me, ye'll not hear a
+word of complaint!"
+
+She made no conscious appeal to his senses; she sat gazing at him
+honestly through her tears, and that made it all the harder to answer
+her.
+
+What could he say? He felt the old dangerous impulse--to take the girl
+in his arms and comfort her. When finally he spoke it was with an effort
+to keep his voice calm. "I'd say yes, Mary, if I thought it would work."
+
+"It _would_ work! It would, Joe! Ye can quit when ye want to. I mean
+it!"
+
+"There's no woman lives who can be happy on such terms, Mary. She wants
+her man, and she wants him to herself, and she wants him always; she's
+only deluding herself if she believes anything else. You're over-wrought
+now, what you've seen in the last few days has made you wild--"
+
+"No!" she exclaimed. "'Tis not only that! I been thinkin' about it for
+weeks."
+
+"I know. You've been thinking, but you wouldn't have spoken if it hadn't
+been for this horror." He paused for a moment, to renew his own
+self-possession. "It won't do, Mary," he declared. "I've seen it tried
+more than once, and I'm not so old either. My own brother tried it once,
+and ruined himself."
+
+"Ah, ye're afraid to trust me, Joe!"
+
+"No, it's not that; what I mean is--he ruined his own heart, he made
+himself selfish. He took everything, and gave nothing. He's much older
+than I, so I've had a chance to see its effect on him. He's cold, he has
+no faith, even in his own nature; when you talk to him about making the
+world better he tells you you're a fool."
+
+"It's another way of bein' afraid of me," she insisted. "Afraid you'd
+ought to marry me!"
+
+"But, Mary--there's the other girl. I really love her, and I'm promised
+to her. What can I do?"
+
+"'Tis that I've never believed you loved her," she said, in a whisper.
+Her eyes fell and she began picking nervously again at the faded blue
+dress, which was smutted and grease-stained, perhaps from her recent
+effort with Mrs. Zamboni's brood. Several times Hal thought she was
+going to speak, but she shut her lips tightly again; he watched her, his
+heart aching.
+
+When finally she spoke, it was still in a whisper, and there was a note
+of humility he had never heard from her before. "Ye'll not be wantin' to
+speak to me, Joe, after what I've said."
+
+"Oh, Mary!" he exclaimed, and caught her hand, "don't say I've made you
+more unhappy! I want to help you! Won't you let me be your friend--your
+real, true friend? Let me help you to get out of this trap; you'll have
+a chance to look about, you'll find a way to be happy--the whole world
+will seem different to you then, and you'll laugh at the idea that you
+ever wanted me!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 32.
+
+The two of them went back to the pit-mouth. It had been two days since
+the disaster, and still the fan had not been started, and there was no
+sign of its being started. The hysteria of the women was growing, and
+there was a tension in the crowds. Jeff Cotton had brought in a force of
+men to assist him in keeping order. They had built a fence of barbed
+wire about the pit-mouth and its approaches, and behind this wire they
+walked--hard-looking citizens with policemen's "billies," and the bulge
+of revolvers plainly visible on their hips.
+
+During this long period of waiting, Hal had talks with members of his
+check-weighman group. They told what had happened while he was in jail,
+and this reminded him of something which had been driven from his mind
+by the explosion. Poor old John Edstrom was down in Pedro, perhaps in
+dire need. Hal went to the old Swede's cabin that night, climbed through
+a window, and dug up the buried money. There were five five-dollar
+bills, and he put them in an envelope, addressed them in care of General
+Delivery, Pedro, and had Mary Burke take them to the post office and
+register them.
+
+The hours dragged on, and still there was no sign of the pit-mouth being
+opened. There began to be secret gatherings of the miners and their
+wives to complain at the conduct of the company; and it was natural that
+Hal's friends who had started the check-weighman movement, should take
+the lead in these. They were among the most intelligent of the workers,
+and saw farther into the meaning of events. They thought, not merely of
+the men who were trapped under ground at this moment, but of thousands
+of others who would be trapped through years to come. Hal, especially,
+was pondering how he could accomplish something definite before he left
+the camp; for of course he would have to leave soon--Jeff Cotton would
+remember him, and carry out his threat to get rid of him.
+
+Newspapers had come in, with accounts of the disaster, and Hal and his
+friends read these. It was evident that the company had been at pains to
+have the accounts written from its own point of view. There existed some
+public sensitiveness on the subject of mine-disasters in this state. The
+death-rate from accidents was seen to be mounting steadily; the reports
+of the state mine inspector showed six per thousand in one year, eight
+and a half in the next, and twenty-one and a half in the next. When
+fifty or a hundred men were killed in a single accident, and when such
+accidents kept happening, one on the heels of another, even the most
+callous public could not help asking questions. So in this case the "G.
+F. C." had been careful to minimise the loss of life, and to make
+excuses. The accident had been owing to no fault of the company's; the
+mine had been regularly sprinkled, both with water and adobe dust, and
+so the cause of the explosion must have been the carelessness of the men
+in handling powder.
+
+In Jack David's cabin one night there arose a discussion as to the
+number of men entombed in the mine. The company's estimate of the number
+was forty, but Minetti and Olson and David agreed that this was absurd.
+Any man who went about in the crowds could satisfy himself that there
+were two or three times as many unaccounted for. And this falsification
+was deliberate, for the company had a checking system, whereby it knew
+the name of every man in the mine. But most of these names were
+unpronounceable Slavish, and the owners of the names had no friends to
+mention them--at least not in any language understood by American
+newspaper editors.
+
+It was all a part of the system, declared Jack David: its purpose and
+effect being to enable the company to go on killing men without paying
+for them, either in money or in prestige. It occurred to Hal that it
+might be worth while to contradict these false statements--almost as
+worth while as to save the men who were at this moment entombed. Any one
+who came forward to make such a contradiction would of course be giving
+himself up to the black-list; but then, Hal regarded himself as a man
+already condemned to that penalty.
+
+Tom Olson spoke up. "What would you do with your contradiction?"
+
+"Give it to the papers," Hal answered.
+
+"But what papers would print it?"
+
+"There are two rival papers in Pedro, aren't there?"
+
+"One owned by Alf Raymond, the sheriff-emperor, and the other by
+Vagleman, counsel for the 'G. F. C.' Which one would you try?"
+
+"Well then, the outside papers--those in Western City. There are
+reporters here now, and some one of them would surely take it."
+
+Olson answered, declaring that they would not get any but labour and
+Socialist papers to print such news. But even that was well worth doing.
+And Jack David, who was strong for unions and all their activities, put
+in, "The thing to do is to take a regular census, so as to know exactly
+how many are in the mine."
+
+The suggestion struck fire, and they agreed to set to work that same
+evening. It would be a relief to do something, to have something in
+their minds but despair. They passed the word to Mary Burke, to Rovetta,
+Klowoski, and others; and at eleven o'clock the next morning they met
+again, and the lists were put together, and it was found that no less
+than a hundred and seven men and boys were positively known to be inside
+Number One.
+
+
+
+SECTION 33.
+
+As it happened, however, discussion of this list and the method of
+giving it to the world was cut short by a more urgent matter. Jack David
+came in with news of fresh trouble at the pit-mouth. The new fan was
+being put in place; but they were slow about it, so slow that some
+people had become convinced that they did not mean to start the fan at
+all, but were keeping the mine sealed to prevent the fire from
+spreading. A group of such malcontents had presumed to go to Mr.
+Carmichael, the deputy state mine-inspector, to urge him to take some
+action; and the leader of these protestants, Huszar, the Austrian, who
+had been one of Hal's check-weighman group, had been taken into custody
+and marched at double-quick to the gate of the stockade!
+
+Jack David declared furthermore that he knew a carpenter who was working
+in the fan-house, and who said that no haste whatever was being made.
+All the men at the fan-house shared that opinion; the mine was sealed,
+and would stay sealed until the company was sure the fire was out.
+
+"But," argued Hal, "if they were to open it, the fire would spread; and
+wouldn't that prevent rescue work?"
+
+"Not at all," declared "Big Jack." He explained that by reversing the
+fan they could draw the smoke up through the air-course, which would
+clear the main passages for a time. "But, you see, some coal might catch
+fire, and some timbers; there might be falls of rock so they couldn't
+work some of the rooms again."
+
+"How long will they keep the mine sealed?" cried Hal, in consternation.
+
+"Nobody can say. In a big mine like that, a fire might smoulder for a
+week."
+
+"Everybody be dead!" cried Rosa Minetti, wringing her hands in a sudden
+access of grief.
+
+Hal turned to Olson. "Would they possibly do such a thing?"
+
+"It's been done--more than once," was the organiser's reply.
+
+"Did you never hear about Cherry, Illinois?" asked David. "They did it
+there, and more than three hundred people lost their lives." He went on
+to tell that dreadful story, known to every coal-miner. They had sealed
+the mine, while women fainted and men tore their clothes in frenzy--some
+going insane. They had kept it sealed for two weeks, and when they
+opened it, there were twenty-one men still alive!
+
+"They did the same thing in Diamondville, Wyoming," added Olson. "They
+built up a barrier, and when they took it away they found a heap of dead
+men, who had crawled to it and torn their fingers to the bone trying to
+break through."
+
+"My God!" cried Hal, springing to his feet. "And this man
+Carmichael--would he stand for that?"
+
+"He'd tell you they were doing their best," said "Big Jack." "And maybe
+he thinks they are. But you'll see--something'll keep happening; they'll
+drag on from day to day, and they'll not start the fan till they're
+ready."
+
+"Why, it's murder!" cried Hal.
+
+"It's business," said Tom Olson, quietly.
+
+Hal looked from one to another of the faces of these working people. Not
+one but had friends in that trap; not one but might be in the same trap
+to-morrow!
+
+"You have to stand it!" he exclaimed, half to himself.
+
+"Don't you see the guards at the pit-mouth?" answered David. "Don't you
+see the guns sticking out of their pockets?"
+
+"They bring in more guards this morning," put in Jerry Minetti. "Rosa,
+she see them get off."
+
+"They know what they doin'!" said Rosa. "They only fraid we find it out!
+They told Mrs. Zamboni she keep away or they send her out of camp. And
+old Mrs. Jonotch--her husband and three sons inside!"
+
+"They're getting rougher and rougher," declared Mrs. David. "That big
+fellow they call Pete, that came up from Pedro--the way he's handling
+the women is a shame!"
+
+"I know him," put in Olson; "Pete Hanun. They had him in Sheridan when
+the union first opened headquarters. He smashed one of our organisers in
+the mouth and broke four of his teeth. They say he has a jail-record."
+
+All through the previous year at college Hal had listened to lectures
+upon political economy, filled with the praises of a thing called
+"Private Ownership." This Private Ownership developed initiative and
+economy; it kept the wheels of industry a-roll, it kept fat the
+pay-rolls of college faculties; it accorded itself with the sacred laws
+of supply and demand, it was the basis of the progress and prosperity
+wherewith America had been blessed. And here suddenly Hal found himself
+face to face with the reality of it; he saw its wolfish eyes glaring
+into his own, he felt its smoking hot breath in his face, he saw its
+gleaming fangs and claw-like fingers, dripping with the blood of men and
+women and children. Private Ownership of coal-mines! Private Ownership
+of sealed-up entrances and non-existent escape-ways! Private Ownership
+of fans which did not start, of sprinklers which did not sprinkle.
+Private Ownership of clubs and revolvers, and of thugs and ex-convicts
+to use them, driving away rescuers and shutting up agonised widows and
+orphans in their homes! Oh, the serene and well-fed priests of Private
+Ownership, chanting in academic halls the praises of the bloody Demon!
+
+Suddenly Hal stopped still. Something had risen in him, the existence of
+which he had never suspected. There was a new look upon his face, his
+voice was deep as a strong man's when he spoke: "I am going to make them
+open that mine!"
+
+They looked at him. They were all of them close to the border of
+hysteria, but they caught the strange note in his utterance. "I am going
+to make them open that mine!"
+
+"How?" asked Olson.
+
+"The public doesn't know about this thing. If the story got out, there'd
+be such a clamour, it couldn't go on!"
+
+"But how will you get it out?"
+
+"I'll give it to the newspapers! They can't suppress such a thing--I
+don't care how prejudiced they are!"
+
+"But do you think they'd believe what a miner's buddy tells them?" asked
+Mrs. David.
+
+"I'll find a way to make them believe me," said Hal. "I'm going to make
+them open that mine!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 34.
+
+In the course of his wanderings about the camp, Hal had observed several
+wide-awake looking young men with notebooks in their hands. He could see
+that these young men were being made guests of the company, chatting
+with the bosses upon friendly terms; nevertheless, he believed that
+among them he might find one who had a conscience--or at any rate who
+would yield to the temptation of a "scoop." So, leaving the gathering at
+Mrs. David's, Hal went to the pit-mouth, watching out for one of these
+reporters; when he found him, he followed him for a while, desiring to
+get him where no company "spotter" might interfere. At the first chance,
+he stepped up, and politely asked the reporter to come into a side
+street, where they might converse undisturbed.
+
+The reporter obeyed the request; and Hal, concealing the intensity of
+his feelings, so as not to repel the other, let it be known that he had
+worked in North Valley for some months, and could tell much about
+conditions in the camp. There was the matter of adobe-dust, for example.
+Explosions in dry mines could be prevented by spraying the walls with
+this material. Did the reporter happen to know that the company's claim
+to have used it was entirely false?
+
+No, the reporter answered, he did not know this. He seemed interested,
+and asked Hal's name and occupation. Hal told him "Joe Smith," a
+"buddy," who had recently been chosen as check-weighman. The reporter, a
+lean and keen-faced young man, asked many questions--intelligent
+questions; incidentally he mentioned that he was the local correspondent
+of the great press association whose stories of the disaster were sent
+to every corner of the country. This seemed to Hal an extraordinary
+piece of good fortune, and he proceeded to tell this Mr. Graham about
+the census which some of the workers had taken; they were able to give
+the names of a hundred and seven men and boys who were inside the mine.
+The list was at Mr. Graham's disposal if he cared to see it. Mr. Graham
+seemed more interested than ever, and made notes in his book.
+
+Another thing, more important yet, Hal continued; the matter of the
+delay in getting the fan started. It had been three days since the
+explosion, but there had been no attempt at entering the mine. Had Mr.
+Graham seen the disturbance at the pit-mouth that morning? Did he
+realise that a man had been thrown out of camp merely because he had
+appealed to the deputy state mine-inspector? Hal told what so many had
+come to believe--that the company was saving property at the expense of
+life. He went on to point out the human meaning of this--he told about
+old Mrs. Rafferty, with her failing health and her eight children; about
+Mrs. Zamboni, with eleven children; about Mrs. Jonotch, with a husband
+and three sons in the mine. Led on by the reporter's interest, Hal began
+to show some of his feeling. These were human beings, not animals; they
+loved and suffered, even though they were poor and humble!
+
+"Most certainly!" said Mr. Graham. "You're right, and you may rest
+assured I'll look into this."
+
+"There's one thing more," said Hal. "If my name is mentioned, I'll be
+fired, you know."
+
+"I won't mention it," said the other.
+
+"Of course, if you can't publish the story without giving its source--"
+
+"I'm the source," said the reporter, with a smile. "Your name would not
+add anything."
+
+He spoke with quiet assurance; he seemed to know so completely both the
+situation and his own duty in regard to it, that Hal felt a thrill of
+triumph. It was as if a strong wind had come blowing from the outside
+world, dispelling the miasma which hung over this coal-camp. Yes, this
+reporter _was_ the outside world! He was the power of public opinion,
+making itself felt in this place of knavery and fear! He was the voice
+of truth, the courage and rectitude of a great organisation of
+publicity, independent of secret influences, lifted above corruption!
+
+"I'm indebted to you," said Mr. Graham, at the end, and Hal's sense of
+victory was complete. What an extraordinary chance--that he should have
+run into the agent of the great press association! The story would go
+out to the great world of industry, which depended upon coal as its
+life-blood. The men in the factories, the wheels of which were turned by
+coal--the travellers on trains which were moved by coal--they would hear
+at last of the sufferings of those who toiled in the bowels of the earth
+for them! Even the ladies, reclining upon the decks of palatial
+steamships in gleaming tropic seas--so marvellous was the power of
+modern news-spreading agencies, that these ladies too might hear the cry
+for help of these toilers, and of their wives and little ones! And from
+this great world would come an answer, a universal shout of horror, of
+execration, that would force even old Peter Harrigan to give way! So Hal
+mused--for he was young, and this was his first crusade.
+
+He was so happy that he was able to think of himself again, and to
+realise that he had not eaten that day. It was noon-time, and he went
+into Reminitsky's, and was about half through with the first course of
+Reminitsky's two-course banquet, when his cruel disillusioning fell upon
+him!
+
+He looked up and saw Jeff Cotton striding into the dining-room, making
+straight for him. There was blood in the marshal's eye, and Hal saw it,
+and rose, instinctively.
+
+"Come!" said Cotton, and took him by the coat-sleeve and marched him
+out, almost before the rest of the diners had time to catch their
+breath.
+
+Hal had no opportunity now to display his "tea-party manners" to the
+camp-marshal. As they walked, Cotton expressed his opinion of him, that
+he was a skunk, a puppy, a person of undesirable ancestry; and when Hal
+endeavoured to ask a question--which he did quite genuinely, not
+grasping at once the meaning of what was happening--the marshal bade him
+"shut his face," and emphasised the command by a twist at his
+coat-collar. At the same time two of the huskiest mine-guards, who had
+been waiting at the dining-room door, took him, one by each arm, and
+assisted his progress.
+
+They went down the street and past Jeff Cotton's office, not stopping
+this time. Their destination was the railroad-station, and when Hal got
+there, he saw a train standing. The three men marched him to it, not
+releasing him till they had jammed him down into a seat.
+
+"Now, young fellow," said Cotton, "we'll see who's running this camp!"
+
+By this time Hal had regained a part of his self-possession. "Do I need
+a ticket?" he asked.
+
+"I'll see to that," said the marshal.
+
+"And do I get my things?"
+
+"You save some questions for your college professors," snapped the
+marshal.
+
+So Hal waited; and a minute or two later a man arrived on the run with
+his scanty belongings, rolled into a bundle and tied with a piece of
+twine. Hal noted that this man was big and ugly, and was addressed by
+the camp-marshal as "Pete."
+
+The conductor shouted, "All aboard!" And at the same time Jeff Cotton
+leaned over towards Hal and spoke in a menacing whisper: "Take this from
+me, young fellow; don't stop in Pedro, move on in a hurry, or something
+will happen to you on a dark night."
+
+After which he strode down the aisle, and jumped off the moving train.
+But Hal noticed that Pete Hanun, the breaker of teeth, stayed on the car
+a few seats behind him.
+
+
+
+
+BOOK THREE
+
+THE HENCHMEN OF KING COAL
+
+
+
+
+SECTION 1.
+
+It was Hal's intention to get to Western City as quickly as possible to
+call upon the newspaper editors. But first he must have money to travel,
+and the best way he could think of to get it was to find John Edstrom.
+He left the train, followed by Pete Hanun; after some inquiry, he came
+upon the undertaker who had buried Edstrom's wife, and who told him
+where the old Swede was staying, in the home of a labouring-man nearby.
+
+Edstrom greeted him with eager questions: Who had been killed? What was
+the situation? Hal told in brief sentences what had happened. When he
+mentioned his need of money, Edstrom answered that he had a little, and
+would lend it, but it was not enough for a ticket to Western City. Hal
+asked about the twenty-five dollars which Mary Burke had sent by
+registered mail; the old man had heard nothing about it, he had not been
+to the post-office. "Let's go now!" said Hal, at once; but as they were
+starting downstairs, a fresh difficulty occurred to him. Pete Hanun was
+on the street outside, and it was likely that he had heard about this
+money from Jeff Cotton; he might hold Edstrom up and take it away.
+
+"Let me suggest something," put in the old man. "Come and see my friend
+Ed MacKellar. He may be able to give us some advice--even to think of
+some way to get the mine open." Edstrom explained that MacKellar, an old
+Scotchman, had been a miner, but was now crippled, and held some petty
+office in Pedro. He was a persistent opponent of "Alf" Raymond's
+machine, and they had almost killed him on one occasion. His home was
+not far away, and it would take little time to consult him.
+
+"All right," said Hal, and they set out at once. Pete Hanun followed
+them, not more than a dozen yards behind, but did not interfere, and
+they turned in at the gate of a little cottage. A woman opened the door
+for them, and asked them into the dining-room where MacKellar was
+sitting--a grey-haired old man, twisted up with rheumatism and obliged
+to go about on crutches.
+
+Hal told his story. As the Scotchman had been brought up in the mines,
+it was not necessary to go into details about the situation. When Hal
+told his idea of appealing to the newspapers, the other responded at
+once, "You won't have to go to Western City. There's a man right here
+who'll do the business for you; Keating, of the _Gazette_."
+
+"The Western City _Gazette?_" exclaimed Hal. He knew this paper; an
+evening journal selling for a cent, and read by working-men. Persons of
+culture who referred to it disposed of it with the adjective "yellow."
+
+"I know," said MacKellar, noting Hal's tone. "But it's the only paper
+that will publish your story anyway."
+
+"Where is this Keating?"
+
+"He's been up at the mine. It's too bad you didn't meet him."
+
+"Can we get hold of him now?"
+
+"He might be in Pedro. Try the American Hotel."
+
+Hal went to the telephone, and in a minute was hearing for the first
+time the cheery voice of his friend and lieutenant-to-be, "Billy"
+Keating. In a couple of minutes more the owner of the voice was at
+MacKellar's door, wiping the perspiration from his half-bald forehead.
+He was round-faced, like a full moon, and as jolly as Falstaff; when you
+got to know him better, you discovered that he was loyal as a
+Newfoundland dog. For all his bulk, Keating was a newspaper man, every
+inch of him "on the job."
+
+He started to question the young miner as soon as he was introduced, and
+it quickly became clear to Hal that here was the man he was looking for.
+Keating knew exactly what questions to ask, and had the whole story in a
+few minutes. "By thunder!" he cried. "My last edition!" And he pulled
+out his watch, and sprang to the telephone. "Long distance," he called;
+then, "I want the city editor of the Western City _Gazette_. And,
+operator, please see if you can't rush it through. It's very urgent, and
+last time I had to wait nearly half an hour."
+
+He turned back to Hal, and proceeded to ask more questions, at the same
+time pulling a bunch of copy-paper from his pocket and making notes. He
+got all Hal's statements about the lack of sprinkling, the absence of
+escape-ways, the delay in starting the fan, the concealing of the number
+of men in the mine. "I knew things were crooked up there!" he exclaimed.
+"But I couldn't get a lead! They kept a man with me every minute of the
+time. You know a fellow named Predovich?"
+
+"I do," said Hal. "The company store-clerk; he once went through my
+pockets."
+
+Keating made a face of disgust. "Well, he was my chaperon. Imagine
+trying to get the miners to talk to you with that sneak at your heels! I
+said to the superintendent, 'I don't need anybody to escort me around
+your place.' And he looked at me with a nasty little smile. 'We wouldn't
+want anything to happen to you while you're in this camp, Mr. Keating.'
+'You don't consider it necessary to protect the lives of the other
+reporters,' I said. 'No,' said he; 'but the _Gazette_ has made a great
+many enemies, you know.' 'Drop your fooling, Mr. Cartwright,' I said.
+'You propose to have me shadowed while I'm working on this assignment?'
+'You can put it that way,' he answered, 'if you think it'll please the
+readers of the _Gazette_.'"
+
+"Too bad we didn't meet!" said Hal. "Or if you'd run into any of our
+check-weighman crowd!"
+
+"Oh! You know about that check-weighman business!" exclaimed the
+reporter. "I got a hint of it--that's how I happened to be down here
+to-day. I heard there was a man named Edstrom, who'd been shut out for
+making trouble; and I thought if I could find him, I might get a lead."
+
+Hal and MacKellar looked at the old Swede, and the three of them began
+to laugh. "Here's your man!" said MacKellar.
+
+"And here's your check-weighman!" added Edstrom, pointing to Hal.
+
+Instantly the reporter was on his job again; he began to fire another
+series of questions. He would use that check-weighman story as a
+"follow-up" for the next day, to keep the subject of North Valley alive.
+The story had a direct bearing on the disaster, because it showed what
+the North Valley bosses were doing when they should have been looking
+after the safety of their mine. "I'll write it out this afternoon and
+send it by mail," said Keating; he added, with a smile, "That's one
+advantage of handling news the other papers won't touch--you don't have
+to worry about losing your 'scoops'!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 2.
+
+Keating went to the telephone again, to worry "long distance"; then,
+grumbling about his last edition, he came back to ask more questions
+about Hal's experiences. Before long he drew out the story of the young
+man's first effort in the publicity game; at which he sank back in his
+chair, and laughed until he shook, as the nursery-rhyme describes it,
+"like a bowlful of jelly."
+
+"Graham!" he exclaimed. "Fancy, MacKellar, he took that story to
+Graham!"
+
+The Scotchman seemed to find it equally funny; together they explained
+that Graham was the political reporter of the _Eagle_, the paper in
+Pedro which was owned by the Sheriff-emperor. One might call him Alf
+Raymond's journalistic jackal; there was no job too dirty for him.
+
+"But," cried Hal, "he told me he was correspondent for the Western press
+association!"
+
+"He's that, too," replied Billy.
+
+"But does the press association employ spies for the 'G. F. C.'?"
+
+The reporter answered, drily, "When you understand the news game better,
+you'll realise that the one thing the press association cares about in a
+correspondent is that he should have respect for property. If respect
+for property is the back-bone of his being, he can learn what news is,
+and the right way to handle it."
+
+Keating turned to the Scotchman. "Do you happen to have a typewriter in
+the house, Mr. MacKellar?"
+
+"An old one," said the other--"lame, like myself."
+
+"I'll make out with it. I'd ask this young man over to my hotel, but I
+think he'd better keep off the streets as much as possible."
+
+"You're right. If you take my advice, you'll take the typewriter
+upstairs, where there's no chance of a shot through the window."
+
+"Great heavens!" exclaimed Hal. "Is this America, or mediaeval Italy?"
+
+"It's the Empire of Raymond," replied MacKellar. "They shot my friend
+Tom Burton dead while he stood on the steps of his home. He was opposing
+the machine, and had evidence about ballot-frauds he was going to put
+before the Grand Jury."
+
+While Keating continued to fret with "long distance," the old Scotchman
+went on trying to impress upon Hal the danger of his position. Quite
+recently an organiser of the miners' union had been beaten up in broad
+day-light and left insensible on the sidewalk; MacKellar had watched the
+trial and acquittal of the two thugs who had committed this crime--the
+foreman of the jury being a saloon-keeper one of Raymond's heelers, and
+the other jurymen being Mexicans, unable to comprehend a word of the
+court proceedings.
+
+"Exactly such a jury as Jeff Cotton promised me!" remarked Hal, with a
+feeble attempt at a smile.
+
+"Yes," answered the other; "and don't make any mistake about it, if they
+want to put you away, they can do it. They run the whole machine here. I
+know how it is, for I had a political job myself, until they found they
+couldn't use me."
+
+The old Scotchman went on to explain that he had been elected justice of
+peace, and had tried to break up the business of policemen taking money
+from the women of the town; he had been forced to resign, and his
+enemies had made his life a torment. Recently he had been candidate for
+district judge on the Progressive ticket, and told of his efforts to
+carry on a campaign in the coal-camps--how his circulars had been
+confiscated, his posters torn down, his supporters "kangarooed." It was
+exactly as Alec Stone, the pit-boss, had explained to Hal. In some of
+the camps the meeting-halls belonged to the company; in others they
+belonged to saloon-keepers whose credit depended upon Alf Raymond. In
+the few places where there were halls that could be hired, the machine
+had gone to the extreme of sending in rival entertainments, furnishing
+free music and free beer in order to keep the crowds away from
+MacKellar.
+
+All this time Billy Keating had been chafing and scolding at "long
+distance." Now at last he managed to get his call, and silence fell in
+the room. "Hello, Pringle, that you? This is Keating. Got a big story on
+the North Valley disaster. Last edition put to bed yet? Put Jim on the
+wire. Hello, Jim! Got your book?" And then Billy, evidently talking to a
+stenographer, began to tell the story he had got from Hal. Now and then
+he would stop to repeat or spell a word; once or twice Hal corrected him
+on details. So, in about a quarter of an hour, they put the job through;
+and Keating turned to Hal.
+
+"There you are, son," said he. "Your story'll be on the street in
+Western City in a little over an hour; it'll be down here as soon
+thereafter as they can get telephone connections. And take my advice, if
+you want to keep a whole skin, you'll be out of Pedro when that
+happens!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 3.
+
+When Hal spoke, he did not answer Billy Keating's last remark. He had
+been listening to a retelling of the North Valley disaster over the
+telephone; so he was not thinking about his skin, but about a hundred
+and seven men and boys buried inside a mine.
+
+"Mr. Keating," said he, "are you sure the _Gazette_ will print that
+story?"
+
+"Good Lord!" exclaimed the other. "What am I here for?"
+
+"Well, I've been disappointed once, you know."
+
+"Yes, but you got into the wrong camp. We're a poor man's paper, and
+this is what we live on."
+
+"There's no chance of its being 'toned down'?"
+
+"Not the slightest, I assure you."
+
+"There's no chance of Peter Harrigan's suppressing it?"
+
+"Peter Harrigan made his attempts on the _Gazette_ long ago, my boy."
+
+"Well," said Hal, "and now tell me this--will it do the work?"
+
+"In what way?"
+
+"I mean--in making them open the mine."
+
+Keating considered for a moment. "I'm afraid it won't do much."
+
+Hal looked at him blankly. He had taken it for granted the publication
+of the facts would force the company to move. But Keating explained that
+the _Gazette_ read mainly by working-people, and so had comparatively
+little influence. "We're an afternoon paper," he said; "and when people
+have been reading lies all morning, it's not easy to make them believe
+the truth in the afternoon."
+
+"But won't the story go to other papers--over the country, I mean?"
+
+"Yes, we have a press service; but the papers are all like the
+_Gazette_--poor man's papers. If there's something very raw, and we keep
+pounding away for a long time, we can make an impression; at least we
+limit the amount of news the Western press association can suppress. But
+when it comes to a small matter like sealing up workingmen in a mine,
+all we can do is to worry the 'G. F. C.' a little."
+
+So Hal was just where he had begun! "I must find some other plan," he
+exclaimed.
+
+"I don't see what you can do," replied the other.
+
+There was a pause, while the young miner pondered. "I had thought of
+going up to Western City and appealing to the editors," he said, a
+little uncertainly.
+
+"Well, I can tell you about that--you might as well save your car-fare.
+They wouldn't touch your story."
+
+"And if I appealed to the Governor?"
+
+"In the first place, he probably wouldn't see you. And if he did, he
+wouldn't do anything. He's not really the Governor, you know; he's a
+puppet put up there to fool you. He only moves when Harrigan pulls a
+string."
+
+"Of course I knew he was Old Peter's man," said Hal. "But then"--and he
+concluded, somewhat lamely, "What _can_ I do?"
+
+A smile of pity came upon the reporter's face. "I can see this is the
+first time you've been up against 'big business.'" And then he added,
+"You're young! When you've had more experience, you'll leave these
+problems to older heads!" But Hal failed to get the reporter's sarcasm.
+He had heard these exact words in such deadly seriousness from his
+brother! Besides, he had just come from scenes of horror.
+
+"But don't you see, Mr. Keating?" he exclaimed. "It's impossible for me
+to sit still while those men die?"
+
+"I don't know about your sitting still," said the other. "All I know is
+that all your moving about isn't going to do them any good."
+
+Hal turned to Edstrom and MacKellar. "Gentlemen," he said, "listen to me
+for a minute." And there was a note of pleading in his voice--as if he
+thought they were deliberately refusing to help him! "We've got to do
+something about this. We've _got_ to do something! I'm new at the game,
+as Mr. Keating says; but you aren't. Put your minds on it, gentlemen,
+and help me work out a plan!"
+
+There was a long silence. "God knows," said Edstrom, at last. "I'd
+suggest something if I could."
+
+"And I, too," said MacKellar. "You're up against a stone-wall, my boy.
+The government here is simply a department of the 'G. F. C.' The
+officials are crooks--company servants, all of them."
+
+"Just a moment now," said Hal. "Let's consider. Suppose we had a real
+government--what steps would we take? We'd carry such a case to the
+District Attorney, wouldn't we?"
+
+"Yes, no doubt of it," said MacKellar.
+
+"You mentioned him before," said Hal. "He threatened to prosecute some
+mine-superintendents for ballot-frauds, you said."
+
+"That was while he was running for election," said MacKellar.
+
+"Oh! I remember what Jeff Cotton said--that he was friendly to the
+miners in his speeches, and to the companies in his acts."
+
+"That's the man," said the other, drily.
+
+"Well," argued Hal, "oughtn't I go to him, to give him a chance, at
+least? You can't tell, he might have a heart inside him."
+
+"It isn't a heart he needs," replied MacKellar; "it's a back-bone."
+
+"But surely I ought to put it up to him! If he won't do anything, at
+least I'll put him on record, and it'll make another story for you,
+won't it, Mr. Keating?"
+
+"Yes, that's true," admitted the reporter. "What would you ask him to
+do?"
+
+"Why, to lay the matter before the Grand Jury; to bring indictments
+against the North Valley bosses."
+
+"But that would take a long time; it wouldn't save the men in the mine."
+
+"What might save them would be the threat of it." MacKellar put in. "I
+don't think any threat of Dick Barker's would count for that much. The
+bosses know they could stop him."
+
+"Well, isn't there somebody else? Shouldn't I try the courts?"
+
+"What courts?"
+
+"I don't know. You tell me."
+
+"Well," said the Scotchman, "to begin at the bottom, there's a justice
+of the peace."
+
+"Who's he?"
+
+"Jim Anderson, a horse-doctor. He's like any other J.P. you ever
+knew--he lives on petty graft."
+
+"Is there a higher court?"
+
+"Yes, the district court; Judge Denton. He's the law-partner of
+Vagleman, counsel for the 'G. F. C.' How far would you expect to get
+with him?"
+
+"I suppose I'm clutching at straws," said Hal. "But they say that's what
+a drowning man does. Anyway, I'm going to see these people, and maybe
+out of the lot of them I can find one who'll act. It can't do any harm!"
+
+The three men thought of some harm it might do; they tried to make Hal
+consider the danger of being slugged Or shot. "They'll do it!" exclaimed
+MacKellar. "And no trouble for them--they'll prove you were stabbed by a
+drunken Dago, quarrelling over some woman."
+
+But Hal had got his head set; he believed he could put this job through
+before his enemies had time to lay any plans. Nor would he let any of
+his friends accompany him; he had something more important for both
+Edstrom and Keating to do--and as for MacKellar, he could not get about
+rapidly enough. Hal bade Edstrom go to the post-office and get the
+registered letter, and proceed at once to change the bills. It was his
+plan to make out affidavits, and if the officials here would not act, to
+take the affidavits to the Governor. And for this he would need money.
+Meantime, he said, let Billy Keating write out the check-weighman story,
+and in a couple of hours meet him at the American Hotel, to get copies
+of the affidavits for the _Gazette_.
+
+Hal was still wearing the miner's clothes he had worn on the night of
+his arrest in Edstrom's cabin. But he declined MacKellar's offer to lend
+him a business-suit; the old Scotchman's clothes would not fit him, he
+knew, and it would be better to make his appeal as a real miner than as
+a misfit gentleman.
+
+These matters being settled, Hal went out upon the street, where Pete
+Hanun, the breaker of teeth, fell in behind him. The young miner at once
+broke into a run, and the other followed suit, and so the two of them
+sped down the street, to the wonder of people on the way. As Hal had had
+practice as a sprinter, no doubt Pete was glad that the District
+Attorney's office was not far away!
+
+
+
+SECTION 4.
+
+Mr. Richard Parker was busy, said the clerk in toe outer office; for
+which Hal was not sorry, as it gave him a chance to get his breath.
+Seeing a young man flushed and panting, the clerk stared with curiosity;
+but Hal offered no explanation, and the breaker of teeth waited on the
+street outside.
+
+Mr. Parker received his caller in a couple of minutes. He was a well-fed
+gentleman with generous neck and chin, freshly shaved and rubbed with
+talcum powder. His clothing was handsome, his linen immaculate; one got
+the impression of a person who "did himself well." There were papers on
+his desk, and he looked preoccupied.
+
+"Well?" said he, with a swift glance at the young miner.
+
+"I understand that I am speaking to the District Attorney of Pedro
+County?"
+
+"That's right."
+
+"Mr. Parker, have you given any attention to the circumstances of the
+North Valley disaster?"
+
+"No," said Mr. Parker. "Why?"
+
+"I have just come from North Valley, and I can give you information
+which may be of interest to you. There are a hundred and seven people
+entombed in the mine, and the company officials have sealed it, and are
+sacrificing those lives."
+
+The other put down the correspondence, and made an examination of his
+caller from under his heavy eyelids. "How do you know this?"
+
+"I left there only a few hours ago. The facts are known to all the
+workers in the camp."
+
+"You are speaking from what you heard?"
+
+"I am speaking from what I know at first hand. I saw the disaster, I saw
+the pit-mouth boarded over and covered with canvas. I know a man who was
+driven out of camp this morning for complaining about the delay in
+starting the fan. It has been over three days since the explosion, and
+still nothing has been done."
+
+Mr. Parker proceeded to fire a series of questions, in the sharp,
+suspicious manner customary to prosecuting officials. But Hal did not
+mind that; it was the man's business to make sure.
+
+Presently he demanded to know how he could get corroboration of Hal's
+statements.
+
+"You'll have to go up there," was the reply.
+
+"You say the facts are known to the men. Give me the names of some of
+them."
+
+"I have no authority to give their names, Mr. Parker."
+
+"What authority do you need? They will tell me, won't they?"
+
+"They may, and they may not. One man has already lost his job; not every
+man cares to lose his job."
+
+"You expect me to go up there on your bare say-so?"
+
+"I offer you more than my say-so. I offer an affidavit."
+
+"But what do I know about you?"
+
+"You know that I worked in North Valley--or you can verify the fact by
+using the telephone. My name is Joe Smith, and I was a miner's helper in
+Number Two."
+
+But that was not sufficient, said Mr. Parker; his time was valuable, and
+before he took a trip to North Valley he must have the names of
+witnesses who would corroborate these statements.
+
+"I offer you an affidavit!" exclaimed Hal. "I say that I have knowledge
+that a crime is being committed--that a hundred and seven human lives
+are being sacrificed. You don't consider that a sufficient reason for
+even making inquiry?"
+
+The District Attorney answered again that he desired to do his duty, he
+desired to protect the workers in their rights; but he could not afford
+to go off on a "wild goose chase," he must have the names of witnesses.
+And Hal found himself wondering. Was the man merely taking the first
+pretext for doing nothing? Or could it be that an official of the state
+would go as far as to help the company by listing the names of
+"trouble-makers"?
+
+In spite of his distrust, Hal was resolved to give the man every chance
+he could. He went over the whole story of the disaster. He took Mr.
+Parker up to the camp, showed him the agonised women and terrified
+children crowding about the pit-mouth, driven back with clubs and
+revolvers. He named family after family, widows and mothers and orphans.
+He told of the miners clamouring for a chance to risk their lives to
+save their fellows. He let his own feelings sweep him along; he pleaded
+with fervour for his suffering friends.
+
+"Young man," said the other, breaking in upon his eloquence, "how long
+have you been working in North Valley?"
+
+"About ten weeks."
+
+"How long have you been working in coal-mines?"
+
+"That was my first experience."
+
+"And you think that in ten weeks you have learned enough to entitle you
+to bring a charge of 'murder' against men who have spent their lives in
+learning the business of mining?"
+
+"As I have told you," exclaimed Hal, "it's not merely my opinion; it's
+the opinion of the oldest and most experienced of the miners. I tell you
+no effort whatever is being made to save those men! The bosses care
+nothing about their men! One of them, Alec Stone, was heard by a crowd
+of people to say, 'Damn the men! Save the mules!'"
+
+"Everybody up there is excited," declared the other. "Nobody can think
+straight at present--you can't think straight yourself. If the mine's on
+fire, and if the fire is spreading to such an extent that it can't be
+put out--"
+
+"But, Mr. Parker, how can you say that it's spreading to such an
+extent?"
+
+"Well, how can you say that it isn't?"
+
+There was a pause. "I understand there's a deputy mine-inspector up
+there," said the District Attorney, suddenly. "What's his name?"
+
+"Carmichael," said Hal.
+
+"Well, and what does _he_ say about it?"
+
+"It was for appealing to him that the miner, Huszar, was turned out of
+camp."
+
+"Well," said Mr. Parker--and there came a note into his voice by which
+Hal knew that he had found the excuse he sought--"Well, it's
+Carmichael's business, and I have no right to butt in on it. If he comes
+to me and asks for indictments, I'll act--but not otherwise. That's all
+I have to say about it."
+
+And Hal rose. "Very well, Mr. Parker," said he. "I have put the facts
+before you. I was told you wouldn't do anything, but I wanted to give
+you a chance. Now I'm going to ask the Governor for your removal!" And
+with these words the young miner strode out of the office.
+
+
+
+SECTION 5.
+
+Hal went down the street to the American Hotel, where there was a public
+stenographer. When this young woman discovered the nature of the
+material he proposed to dictate, her fingers trembled visibly; but she
+did not refuse the task, and Hal proceeded to set forth the
+circumstances of the sealing of the pit-mouth of Number One Mine at
+North Valley, and to pray for warrants for the arrest of Enos Cartwright
+and Alec Stone. Then he gave an account of how he had been selected as
+check-weighman and been refused access to the scales; and with all the
+legal phraseology he could rake up, he prayed for the arrest of Enos
+Cartwright and James Peters, superintendent and tipple-boss at North
+Valley, for these offences. In another affidavit he narrated how Jeff
+Cotton, camp-marshal, had seized him at night, mistreated him, and shut
+him in prison for thirty-six hours without warrant or charge; also how
+Cotton, Pete Hanun, and two other parties by name unknown, had illegally
+driven him from the town of North Valley, threatening him with violence;
+for which he prayed the arrest of Jeff Cotton, Pete Hanun, and the two
+parties unknown.
+
+Before this task was finished, Billy Keating came in, bringing the
+twenty-five dollars which Edstrom had got from the post-office. They
+found a notary public, before whom Hal made oath to each document; and
+when these had been duly inscribed and stamped with the seal of the
+state, he gave carbon copies to Keating, who hurried off to catch a
+mail-train which was just due. Billy would not trust such things to the
+local post-office; for Pedro was the hell of a town, he declared. As
+they went out on the street again they noticed that their body-guard had
+been increased by another husky-looking personage, who made no attempt
+to conceal what he was doing.
+
+Hal went around the corner to an office bearing the legend, "J.W.
+Anderson, Justice of the Peace."
+
+Jim Anderson, the horse-doctor, sat at his desk within. He had evidently
+chewed tobacco before he assumed the ermine, and his reddish-coloured
+moustache still showed the stains. Hal observed such details, trying to
+weigh his chances of success. He presented the affidavit describing his
+treatment in North Valley, and sat waiting while His Honour read it
+through with painful slowness.
+
+"Well," said the man, at last, "what do you want?"
+
+"I want a warrant for Jeff Cotton's arrest."
+
+The other studied him for a minute. "No, young fellow," said he. "You
+can't get no such warrant here."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Because Cotton's a deputy-sheriff; he had a right to arrest you."
+
+"To arrest me without a warrant?"
+
+"How do you know he didn't have a warrant?"
+
+"He admitted to me that he didn't."
+
+"Well, whether he had a warrant or not, it was his business to keep
+order in the camp."
+
+"You mean he can do anything he pleases in the camp?"
+
+"What I mean is, it ain't my business to interfere. Why didn't you see
+Si Adams, up to the camp?"
+
+"They didn't give me any chance to see him."
+
+"Well," replied the other, "there's nothing I can do for you. You can
+see that for yourself. What kind of discipline could they keep in them
+camps if any fellow that had a kick could come down here and have the
+marshal arrested?"
+
+"Then a camp-marshal can act without regard to the law?"
+
+"I didn't say that."
+
+"Suppose he had committed murder--would you give a warrant for that?"
+
+"Yes, of course, if it was murder."
+
+"And if you knew that he was in the act of committing murder in a
+coal-camp--would you try to stop him?"
+
+"Yes, of course."
+
+"Then here's another affidavit," said Hal; and he produced the one about
+the sealing of the mine. There was silence while Justice Anderson read
+it through.
+
+But again he shook his head. "No, you can't get no such warrants here."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Because it ain't my business to run a coal-mine. I don't understand it,
+and I'd make a fool of myself if I tried to tell them people how to run
+their business."
+
+Hal argued with him. Could company officials in charge of a coal-mine
+commit any sort of outrage upon their employ�s, and call it running
+their business? Their control of the mine in such an emergency as this
+meant the power of life and death over a hundred and seven men and boys;
+could it be that the law had nothing to say in such a situation? But Mr.
+Anderson only shook his head; it was not his business to interfere. Hal
+might go up to the court-house and see Judge Denton about it. So Hal
+gathered up his affidavits and went out to the street again--where there
+were now three husky-looking personages waiting to escort him.
+
+
+
+SECTION 6.
+
+The district court was in session and Hal sat for a while in the
+court-room, watching Judge Denton. Here was another prosperous and
+well-fed appearing gentleman, with a rubicund visage shining over the
+top of his black silk robe. The young miner found himself regarding both
+the robe and the visage with suspicion. Could it be that Hal was
+becoming cynical, and losing his faith in his fellow man? What he
+thought of, in connection with the Judge's appearance, was that there
+was a living to be made sitting on the bench, while one's partner
+appeared before the bench as coal-company counsel!
+
+In an interval of the proceedings, Hal spoke to the clerk, and was told
+that he might see the judge at four-thirty; but a few minutes later Pete
+Hanun came in and whispered to this clerk. The clerk looked at Hal, then
+he went up and whispered to the Judge. At four-thirty, when the court
+was declared adjourned, the Judge rose and disappeared into his private
+office; and when Hal applied to the clerk, the latter brought out the
+message that Judge Denton was too busy to see him.
+
+But Hal was not to be disposed of in that easy fashion. There was a side
+door to the court-room, with a corridor beyond it, and while he stood
+arguing with the clerk he saw the rubicund visage of the Judge flit
+past.
+
+He darted in pursuit. He did not shout or make a disturbance; but when
+he was close behind his victim, he said, quietly, "Judge Denton, I
+appeal to you for justice!"
+
+The Judge turned and looked at him, his countenance showing annoyance.
+"What do you want?"
+
+It was a ticklish moment, for Pete Hanun was at Hal's heels, and it
+would have needed no more than a nod from the Judge to cause him to
+collar Hal. But the Judge, taken by surprise, permitted himself to
+parley with the young miner; and the detective hesitated, and finally
+fell back a step or two.
+
+Hal repeated his appeal. "Your Honour, there are a hundred and seven men
+and boys now dying up at the North Valley mine. They are being murdered,
+and I am trying to save their lives!"
+
+"Young man," said the Judge, "I have an urgent engagement down the
+street."
+
+"Very well," replied Hal, "I will walk with you and tell you as you go."
+Nor did he give "His Honour" a chance to say whether this arrangement
+was pleasing to him; he set out by his side, with Pete Hanun and the
+other two men some ten yards in the rear.
+
+Hal told the story as he had told it to Mr. Richard Parker; and he
+received the same response. Such matters were not easy to decide about;
+they were hardly a Judge's business. There was a state official on the
+ground, and it was for him to decide if there was violation of law.
+
+Hal repeated his statement that a man who made a complaint to this
+official had been thrown out of camp. "And I was thrown out also, your
+Honour."
+
+"What for?"
+
+"Nobody told me what for."
+
+"Tut, tut, young man! They don't throw men out without telling them the
+reason!"
+
+"But they _do_, your Honour! Shortly before that they locked me up in
+jail, and held me for thirty-six hours without the slightest show of
+authority."
+
+"You must have been doing something!"
+
+"What I had done was to be chosen by a committee of miners to act as
+their check-weighman."
+
+"Their check-weighman?"
+
+"Yes, your Honour. I am informed there's a law providing that when the
+men demand a check-weighman, and offer to pay for him, the company must
+permit him to inspect the weights. Is that correct?"
+
+"It is, I believe."
+
+"And there's a penalty for refusing?"
+
+"The law always carries a penalty, young man."
+
+"They tell me that law has been on the statute-books for fifteen or
+sixteen years, and that the penalty is from twenty-five to five hundred
+dollars fine. It's a case about which there can be no dispute, your
+Honour--the miners notified the superintendent that they desired my
+services, and when I presented myself at the tipple, I was refused
+access to the scales; then I was seized and shut up in jail, and finally
+turned out of the camp. I have made affidavit to these facts, and I
+think I have the right to ask for warrants for the guilty men."
+
+"Can you produce witnesses to your statements?"
+
+"I can, your Honour. One of the committee of miners, John Edstrom, is
+now in Pedro, having been kept out of his home, which he had rented and
+paid for. The other, Mike Sikoria, was also thrown out of camp. There
+are many others at North Valley who know all about it."
+
+There was a pause. Judge Denton for the first time took a good look at
+the young miner at his side; and then he drew his brows together in
+solemn thought, and his voice became deep and impressive. "I shall take
+this matter under advisement. What is your name, and where do you live?"
+
+"Joe Smith, your Honour. I'm staying at Edward MacKellar's, but I don't
+know how long I'll be able to stay there. There are company thugs
+watching the place all the time."
+
+"That's wild talk!" said the Judge, impatiently.
+
+"As it happens," said Hal, "we are being followed by three of them at
+this moment--one of them the same Pete Hanun who helped to drive me out
+of North Valley. If you will turn your head you will see them behind
+us."
+
+But the portly Judge did not turn his head.
+
+"I have been informed," Hal continued, "that I am taking my life in my
+hands by my present course of action. I believe I'm entitled to ask for
+protection."
+
+"What do you want me to do?"
+
+"To begin with, I'd like you to cause the arrest of the men who are
+shadowing me."
+
+"It's not my business to cause such arrests. You should apply to a
+policeman."
+
+"I don't see any policeman. Will you tell me where to find one?"
+
+His Honour was growing weary of such persistence. "Young man, what's the
+matter with you is that you've been reading dime novels, and they've got
+on your nerves!"
+
+"But the men are right behind me, your Honour! Look at them!"
+
+"I've told you it's not my business, young man!"
+
+"But, your Honour, before I can find a policeman I may be dead!"
+
+The other appeared to be untroubled by this possibility.
+
+"And, your Honour, while you are taking these matters under advisement,
+the men in the mine will be dead!"
+
+Again there was no reply.
+
+"I have some affidavits here," said Hal. "Do you wish them?"
+
+"You can give them to me if you want to," said the other.
+
+"You don't ask me for them?"
+
+"I haven't yet."
+
+"Then just one more question--if you will pardon me, your Honour. Can
+you tell me where I can find an honest lawyer in this town--a man who
+might be willing to take a case against the interests of the General
+Fuel Company?"
+
+There was a silence--a long, long silence. Judge Denton, of the firm of
+Denton and Vagleman, stared straight in front of him as he walked.
+Whatever complicated processes might have been going on inside his mind,
+his judicial features did not reveal them. "No, young man," he said at
+last, "it's not my business to give you information about lawyers." And
+with that the judge turned on his heel and went into the Elks' Club.
+
+
+
+SECTION 7.
+
+Hal stood and watched the portly figure until it disappeared; then he
+turned back and passed the three detectives, who stopped. He stared at
+them, but made no sign, nor did they. Some twenty feet behind him, they
+fell in and followed as before.
+
+Judge Denton had suggested consulting a policeman; and suddenly Hal
+noticed that he was passing the City Hall, and it occurred to him that
+this matter of his being shadowed might properly be brought to the
+attention of the mayor of Pedro. He wondered what the chief magistrate
+of such a "hell of a town" might be like; after due inquiry, he found
+himself in the office of Mr. Ezra Perkins, a mild-mannered little
+gentleman who had been in the undertaking-business, before he became a
+figure-head for the so-called "Democratic" machine.
+
+He sat pulling nervously at a neatly trimmed brown beard, trying to
+wriggle out of the dilemma into which Hal put him. Yes, it might
+possibly be that a young miner was being followed on the streets of the
+town; but whether or not this was against the law depended on the
+circumstances. If he had made a disturbance in North Valley, and there
+was reason to believe that he might be intending trouble, doubtless the
+company was keeping track of him. But Pedro was a law-abiding place, and
+he would be protected in his rights so long as he behaved himself.
+
+Hal replied by citing what MacKellar had told him about men being
+slugged on the streets in broad day-light. To this Mr. Perkins answered
+that there was uncertainty about the circumstances of these cases;
+anyhow, they had happened before he became mayor. His was a reform
+administration, and he had given strict orders to the Chief of Police
+that there were to be no more incidents of the sort.
+
+"Will you go with me to the Chief of Police and give him orders now?"
+demanded Hal.
+
+"I do not consider it necessary," said Mr. Perkins.
+
+He was about to go home, it seemed. He was a pitiful little rodent, and
+it was a shame to torment him; but Hal stuck to him for ten or twenty
+minutes longer, arguing and insisting--until finally the little rodent
+bolted for the door, and made his escape in an automobile. "You can go
+to the Chief of Police yourself," were his last words, as he started the
+machine; and Hal decided to follow the suggestion. He had no hope left,
+but he was possessed by a kind of dogged rage. He _would_ not let go!
+
+Upon inquiry of a passer-by, he learned that police headquarters was in
+this same building, the entrance being just round the corner. He went
+in, and found a man in uniform writing at a desk, who stated that the
+Chief had "stepped down the street." Hal sat down to wait, by a window
+through which he could look out upon the three gunmen loitering across
+the way.
+
+The man at the desk wrote on, but now and then he eyed the young miner
+with that hostility which American policemen cultivate toward the lower
+classes. To Hal this was a new phenomenon, and he found himself suddenly
+wishing that he had put on MacKellar's clothes. Perhaps a policeman
+would not have noticed the misfit!
+
+The Chief came in. His blue uniform concealed a burly figure, and his
+moustache revealed the fact that his errand down the street had had to
+do with beer. "Well, young fellow?" said he, fixing his gaze upon Hal.
+
+Hal explained his errand.
+
+"What do you want me to do?" asked the Chief, in a decidedly hostile
+voice.
+
+"I want you to make those men stop following me."
+
+"How can I make them stop?"
+
+"You can lock them up, if necessary. I can point them out to you, if
+you'll step to the window."
+
+But the other made no move. "I reckon if they're follerin' you, they've
+got some reason for it. Have you been makin' trouble in the camps?" He
+asked this question with sudden force, as if it had occurred to him that
+it might be his duty to lock up Hal.
+
+"No," said Hal, speaking as bravely as he could--"no indeed, I haven't
+been making trouble. I've only been demanding my rights."
+
+"How do I know what you been doin'?"
+
+The young miner was willing to explain, but the other cut him short.
+"You behave yourself while you're in this town, young feller, d'you see?
+If you do, nobody'll bother you."
+
+"But," said Hal, "they've already threatened to bother me."
+
+"What did they say?"
+
+"They said something might happen to me on a dark night."
+
+"Well, so it might--you might fall down and hit your nose."
+
+The Chief was pleased with this wit, but only for a moment. "Understand,
+young feller, we'll give you your rights in this town, but we got no
+love for agitators, and we don't pretend to have. See?"
+
+"You call a man an agitator when he demands his legal rights?"
+
+"I ain't got time to argue with you, young feller. It's no easy matter
+keepin' order in coal-camps, and I ain't going to meddle in the
+business. I reckon the company detectives has got as good a right in
+this town as you."
+
+There was a pause. Hal saw that there was nothing to be gained by
+further discussion with the Chief. It was his first glimpse of the
+American policeman as he appears to the labouring man in revolt, and he
+found it an illuminating experience. There was dynamite in his heart as
+he turned and went out to the street; nor was the amount of the
+explosive diminished by the mocking grins which he noted upon the faces
+of Pete Hanun and the other two husky-looking personages.
+
+
+
+SECTION 8.
+
+Hal judged that he had now exhausted his legal resources in Pedro; the
+Chief of Police had not suggested any one else he might call upon, so
+there seemed nothing he could do but go back to MacKellar's and await
+the hour of the night train to Western City. He started to give his
+guardians another run, by way of working off at least a part of his own
+temper; but he found that they had anticipated this difficulty. An
+automobile came up and the three of them stepped in. Not to be outdone,
+Hal engaged a hack, and so the expedition returned in pomp to
+MacKellar's.
+
+Hal found the old cripple in a state of perturbation. All that afternoon
+his telephone had been ringing; one person after another had warned
+him--some pleading with him, some abusing him. It was evident that among
+them were people who had a hold on the old man; but he was undaunted,
+and would not hear of Hal's going to stay at the hotel until train-time.
+
+Then Keating returned, with an exciting tale to tell. Schulman, general
+manager of the "G. F. C.," had been sending out messengers to hunt for
+him, and finally had got him in his office, arguing and pleading,
+cajoling and denouncing him by turns. He had got Cartwright on the
+telephone, and the North Valley superintendent had laboured to convince
+Keating that he had done the company a wrong. Cartwright had told a
+story about Hal's efforts to hold up the company for money.
+"Incidentally," said Keating, "he added the charge that you had seduced
+a girl in his camp."
+
+Hal stared at his friend. "Seduced a girl!" he exclaimed.
+
+"That's what he said; a red-headed Irish girl."
+
+"Well, damn his soul!"
+
+There followed a silence, broken by a laugh from Billy. "Don't glare at
+me like that. _I_ didn't say it!"
+
+But Hal continued to glare, nevertheless. "The dirty little skunk!"
+
+"Take it easy, sonny," said the fat man, soothingly. "It's quite the
+usual thing, to drag in a woman. It's so easy--for of course there
+always _is_ a woman. There's one in this case, I suppose?"
+
+"There's a perfectly decent girl."
+
+"But you've been friendly with her? You've been walking around where
+people can see you?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"So you see, they've got you. There's nothing you can do about a thing
+of that sort."
+
+"You wait and see!" Hal burst out.
+
+The other gazed curiously at the angry young miner. "What'll you do?
+Beat him up some night?"
+
+But the young miner did not answer. "You say he described the girl?"
+
+"He was kind enough to say she was a red-headed beauty, and with no one
+to protect her but a drunken father. I could understand that must have
+made it pretty hard for her, in one of these coal-camps." There was a
+pause. "But see here," said the reporter, "you'll only do the girl harm
+by making a row. Nobody believes that women in coal-camps have any
+virtue. God knows, I don't see how they do have, considering the sort of
+men who run the camps, and the power they have."
+
+"Mr. Keating," said Hal, "did _you_ believe what Cartwright told you?"
+
+Keating had started to light a cigar. He stopped in the middle, and his
+eyes met Hal's. "My dear boy," said he, "I didn't consider it my
+business to have an opinion."
+
+"But what did you say to Cartwright?"
+
+"Ah! That's another matter. I said that I'd been a newspaper man for a
+good many years, and I knew his game."
+
+"Thank you for that," said Hal. "You may be interested to know there
+isn't any truth in the story."
+
+"Glad to hear it," said the other. "I believe you."
+
+"Also you may be interested to know that I shan't drop the matter until
+I've made Cartwright take it back."
+
+"Well, you're an enterprising cuss!" laughed the reporter. "Haven't you
+got enough on your hands, with all the men you're going to get out of
+the mine?"
+
+
+
+SECTION 9.
+
+Billy Keating went out again, saying that he knew a man who might be
+willing to talk to him on the quiet, and give him some idea what was
+going to happen to Hal. Meantime Hal and Edstrom sat down to dinner with
+MacKellar. The family were afraid to use the dining-room of their home,
+but spread a little table in the upstairs hall. The distress of mind of
+MacKellar's wife and daughter was apparent, and this brought home to Hal
+the terror of life in this coal-country. Here were American women, in an
+American home, a home with evidences of refinement and culture; yet they
+felt and acted as if they were Russian conspirators, in terror of
+Siberia and the knout!
+
+The reporter was gone a couple of hours; when he came back, he brought
+news. "You can prepare for trouble, young fellow."
+
+"Why so?"
+
+"Jeff Cotton's in town."
+
+"How do you know?"
+
+"I saw him in an automobile. If he left North Valley at this time, it
+was for something serious, you may be sure."
+
+"What does he mean to do?"
+
+"There's no telling. He may have you slugged; he may have you run out of
+town and dumped out in the desert; he may just have you arrested."
+
+Hal considered for a moment. "For slander?"
+
+"Or for vagrancy; or on suspicion of having robbed a bank in Texas, or
+murdered your great-grandmother in Tasmania. The point is, he'll keep
+you locked up till this trouble has blown over."
+
+"Well," said Hal, "I don't want to be locked up. I want to go up to
+Western City. I'm waiting for the train."
+
+"You may have to wait till morning," replied Keating. "There's been
+trouble on the railroad--a freight-car broke down and ripped up the
+track; it'll be some time before it's clear."
+
+They discussed this new problem back and forth. MacKellar wanted to get
+in half a dozen friends and keep guard over Hal during the night; and
+Hal had about agreed to this idea, when the discussion was given a new
+turn by a chance remark of Keating's. "Somebody else is tied up by the
+railroad accident. The Coal King's son!"
+
+"The Coal King's son?" echoed Hal.
+
+"Young Percy Harrigan. He's got a private car here--or rather a whole
+train. Think of it--dining-car, drawing-room car, two whole cars with
+sleeping apartments! Wouldn't you like to be a son of the Coal King?"
+
+"Has he come on account of the mine-disaster?"
+
+"Mine-disaster?" echoed Keating. "I doubt if he's heard of it. They've
+been on a trip to the Grand Canyon, I was told; there's a baggage-car
+with four automobiles."
+
+"Is Old Peter with them?"
+
+"No, he's in New York. Percy's the host. He's got one of his automobiles
+out, and was up in town--two other fellows and some girls."
+
+"Who's in his party?"
+
+"I couldn't find out. You can see, it might be a story for the
+_Gazette_--the Coal King's son, coming by chance at the moment when a
+hundred and seven of his serfs are perishing in the mine! If I could
+only have got him to say a word about the disaster! If I could even have
+got him to say he didn't know about it!"
+
+"Did you try?"
+
+"What am I a reporter for?"
+
+"What happened?"
+
+"Nothing happened; except that he froze me stiff."
+
+"Where was this?"
+
+"On the street. They stopped at a drug-store, and I stepped up. 'Is this
+Mr. Percy Harrigan?' He was looking into the store, over my head. 'I'm a
+reporter,' I said, 'and I'd like to ask you about the accident up at
+North Valley.' 'Excuse me,' he said, in a tone--gee, it makes your blood
+cold to think of it! 'Just a word,' I pleaded. 'I don't give
+interviews,' he answered; and that was all--he continued looking over my
+head, and everybody else staring in front of them. They had turned to
+ice at my first word. If ever I felt like a frozen worm!"
+
+There was a pause.
+
+"Ain't it wonderful," reflected Billy, "how quick you can build up an
+aristocracy! When you looked at that car, the crowd in it and the airs
+they wore, you'd think they'd been running the world since the time of
+William the Conqueror. And Old Peter came into this country with a
+pedlar's pack on his shoulders!"
+
+"We're hustlers here," put in MacKellar.
+
+"We'll hustle all the way to hell in a generation more," said the
+reporter. Then, after a minute, "Say, but there's one girl in that bunch
+that was the real thing! She sure did get me! You know all those fluffy
+things they do themselves up in--soft and fuzzy, makes you think of
+spring-time orchards. This one was exactly the colour of
+apple-blossoms."
+
+"You're susceptible to the charms of the ladies?" inquired Hal, mildly.
+
+"I am," said the other. "I know it's all fake, but just the same, it
+makes my little heart go pit-a-pat. I always want to think they're as
+lovely as they look."
+
+Hal's smile became reminiscent, and he quoted:
+
+  "Oh Liza-Ann, come out with me,
+    The moon is a-shinin' in the monkey-puzzle tree!"
+
+Then he stopped, with a laugh. "Don't wear your heart on your sleeve,
+Mr. Keating. She wouldn't be above taking a peck at it as she passed."
+
+"At me? A worm of a newspaper reporter?"
+
+"At you, a man!" laughed Hal. "I wouldn't want to accuse the lady of
+posing; but a lady has her role in life, and has to keep her hand in."
+
+There was a pause. The reporter was looking at the young miner with
+sudden curiosity. "See here," he remarked, "I've been wondering about
+you. How do you come to know so much about the psychology of the leisure
+class?"
+
+"I used to have money once," said Hal. "My family's gone down as quickly
+as the Harrigans have come up."
+
+
+
+SECTION 10.
+
+Hal went on to question Keating about the apple-blossom girl. "Maybe I
+could guess who she is. What colour was her hair?"
+
+"The colour of molasses taffy when you've pulled it," said Billy; "but
+all fluffy and wonderful, with star-dust in it. Her eyes were brown, and
+her cheeks pink and cream."
+
+"She had two rows of pearly white teeth, that flashed at you when she
+smiled?"
+
+"She didn't smile, unfortunately."
+
+"Then her brown eyes gazed at you, wide open, full of wonder?"
+
+"Yes, they did--only it was into the drug-store window."
+
+"Did she wear a white hat of soft straw, with a green and white flower
+garden on it, and an olive green veil, and maybe cream white ribbons?"
+
+"By George, I believe you've seen her!" exclaimed the reporter.
+
+"Maybe," said Hal. "Or maybe I'm describing the girl on the cover of one
+of the current magazines!" He smiled; but then, seeing the other's
+curiosity, "Seriously, I think I do know your young lady. If you
+announce that Miss Jessie Arthur is a member of the Harrigan party, you
+won't be taking a long chance."
+
+"I can't afford to take any chance at all," said the reporter. "You mean
+Robert Arthur's daughter?"
+
+"Heiress-apparent of the banking business of Arthur and Sons," said Hal.
+"It happens I know her by sight."
+
+"How's that?"
+
+"I worked in a grocery-store where she used to come."
+
+"Whereabouts?"
+
+"Peterson and Company, in Western City."
+
+"Oho! And you used to sell her candy."
+
+"Stuffed dates."
+
+"And your little heart used to go pit-a-pat, so that you could hardly
+count the change?"
+
+"Gave her too much, several times!"
+
+"And you wondered if she was as good as she was beautiful! One day you
+were thrilled with hope, the next you were cynical and bitter--till at
+last you gave up in despair, and ran away to work in a coal-mine!"
+
+They laughed, and MacKellar and Edstrom joined in. But suddenly Keating
+became serious again. "I ought to be away on that story!" he exclaimed.
+"I've got to get something out of that crowd about the disaster. Think
+what copy it would make!"
+
+"But how can you do it?"
+
+"I don't know; I only know I ought to be trying. I'll hang round the
+train, and maybe I can get one of the porters to talk."
+
+"Interview with the Coal King's porter!" chuckled Hal. "How it feels to
+make up a multi-millionaire's bed!"
+
+"How it feels to sell stuffed dates to a banker's daughter!" countered
+the other.
+
+But suddenly it was Hal's turn to become serious. "Listen, Mr. Keating,"
+said he, "why not let _me_ interview young Harrigan?"
+
+"_You?_"
+
+"Yes! I'm the proper person--one of his miners! I help to make his money
+for him, don't I? I'm the one to tell him about North Valley."
+
+Hal saw the reporter staring at him in sudden excitement; he continued:
+"I've been to the District Attorney, the Justice of the Peace, the
+District Judge, the Mayor and the Chief of Police. Now, why shouldn't I
+go to the Owner?"
+
+"By thunder!" cried Billy. "I believe you'd have the nerve!"
+
+"I believe I would," replied Hal, quietly.
+
+The other scrambled out of his chair, wild with delight. "I dare you!"
+he exclaimed.
+
+"I'm ready," said Hal.
+
+"You mean it?"
+
+"Of course I mean it."
+
+"In that costume?"
+
+"Certainly. I'm one of his miners."
+
+"But it won't go," cried the reporter. "You'll stand no chance to get
+near him unless you're well dressed."
+
+"Are you sure of that? What I've got on might be the garb of a
+railroad-hand. Suppose there was something out of order in one of the
+cars--the plumbing, for example?"
+
+"But you couldn't fool the conductor or the porter."
+
+"I might be able to. Let's try it."
+
+There was a pause, while Keating thought. "The truth is," he said, "it
+doesn't matter whether you succeed or not--it's a story if you even make
+the attempt. The Coal King's son appealed to by one of his serfs! The
+hard heart of Plutocracy rejects the cry of Labour!"
+
+"Yes," said Hal, "but I really mean to get to him. Do you suppose he's
+got back to the train yet?"
+
+"They were starting to it when I left."
+
+"And where _is_ the train?"
+
+"Two or three hundred yards east of the station, I was told."
+
+MacKellar and Edstrom had been listening enthralled to this exciting
+conversation. "That ought to be just back of my house," said the former.
+
+"It's a short train--four parlour-cars and a baggage-car," added
+Keating. "It ought to be easy to recognise."
+
+The old Scotchman put in an objection. "The difficulty may be to get out
+of this house. I don't believe they mean to let you get away to-night."
+
+"By Jove, that's so!" exclaimed Keating. "We're talking too much--let's
+get busy. Are they watching the back door, do you suppose?"
+
+"They've been watching it all day," said MacKellar.
+
+"Listen," broke in Hal--"I've an idea. They haven't tried to interfere
+with your going out, have they, Mr. Keating?"
+
+"No, not yet."
+
+"Nor with you, Mr. MacKellar?"
+
+"No, not yet," said the Scotchman.
+
+"Well," Hal suggested, "suppose you lend me your crutches?"
+
+Whereat Keating gave an exclamation of delight. "The very thing!"
+
+"I'll take your over-coat and hat," Hal added. "I've watched you get
+about, and I think I can give an imitation. As for Mr. Keating, he's not
+easy to mistake."
+
+"Billy, the fat boy!" laughed the other. "Come, let's get on the job!"
+
+"I'll go out by the front door at the same time," put in Edstrom, his
+old voice trembling with excitement. "Maybe that'll help to throw them
+off the track."
+
+
+
+SECTION 11.
+
+They had been sitting upstairs in MacKellar's room. Now they rose, and
+were starting for the stairs, when suddenly there came a ring at the
+front door bell. They stopped and stared at one another. "There they
+are!" whispered Keating.
+
+And MacKellar sat down suddenly, and held out his crutches to Hal. "The
+hat and coat are in the front hall," he exclaimed. "Make a try for it!"
+His words were full of vigour, but like Edstrom, his voice was
+trembling. He was no longer young, and could not take adventure gaily.
+
+Hal and Keating ran downstairs, followed by Edstrom. Hal put on the coat
+and hat, and they went to the back door, while at the same time Edstrom
+answered the bell in front.
+
+The back door opened into a yard, and this gave, through a side gate,
+into an alley. Hal's heart was pounding furiously as he began to hobble
+along with the crutches. He had to go at MacKellar's slow pace--while
+Keating, at his side, started talking. He informed "Mr. MacKellar," in a
+casual voice, that the _Gazette_ was a newspaper which believed in the
+people's cause, and was pledged to publish the people's side of all
+public questions. Discoursing thus, they went out of the gate and into
+the alley.
+
+A man emerged from the shadows and walked by them. He passed within
+three feet of Hal, and peered at him, narrowly. Fortunately there was no
+moon; Hal could not see the man's face, and hoped the man could not see
+his.
+
+Meantime Keating was proceeding with his discourse. "You understand, Mr.
+MacKellar," he was saying, "sometimes it's difficult to find out the
+truth in a situation like this. When the interests are filling their
+newspapers with falsehoods and exaggerations, it's a temptation for us
+to publish falsehoods and exaggerations on the other side. But we find
+in the long run that it pays best to publish the truth, Mr.
+MacKellar--we can stand by it, and there's no come-back."
+
+Hal, it must be admitted, was not paying much attention to this edifying
+sermon. He was looking ahead, to where the alley debouched onto the
+street. It was the street behind MacKellar's house, and only a block
+from the railroad-track.
+
+He dared not look behind, but he was straining his ears. Suddenly he
+heard a shout, in John Edstrom's voice. "Run! Run!"
+
+In a flash, Hal dropped the two crutches, and started down the alley,
+Keating at his heels. They heard cries behind them, and a voice,
+sounding quite near, commanded, "Halt!" They had reached the end of the
+alley, and were in the act of swerving, when a shot rang out and there
+was a crash of glass in a house beyond them on the far side of the
+street.
+
+Farther on was a vacant lot with a path running across it. Following
+this, they dodged behind some shanties, and came to another street--and
+so to the railroad tracks. There was a long line of freight-cars before
+them, and they ran between two of these, and climbing over the
+couplings, saw a great engine standing, its headlight gleaming full in
+their eyes. They sprang in front of it, and alongside the train, passing
+a tender, then a baggage-car, then a parlour-car.
+
+"Here we are!" exclaimed Keating, who was puffing like a bellows.
+
+Hal saw that there were only three more cars to the train; also, he saw
+a man in a blue uniform standing at the steps. He dashed towards him.
+"Your car's on fire!" he cried.
+
+"What?" exclaimed the man. "Where?"
+
+"Here!" cried Hal; and in a flash he had sprung past the other, up the
+steps and into the car.
+
+There was a long, narrow corridor, to be recognised as the kitchen
+portion of a dining-car; at the other end of this corridor was a
+swinging door, and to this Hal leaped. He heard the conductor shouting
+to him to stop, but he paid no heed. He slipped off his over-coat and
+hat; and then, pushing open the door, he entered a brightly lighted
+apartment--and the presence of the Coal King's son.
+
+
+
+SECTION 12.
+
+White linen and cut glass of the dining-saloon shone brilliantly under
+electric lights, softened to the eye by pink shades. Seated at the
+tables were half a dozen young men and as many young ladies, all in
+evening costume; also two or three older ladies. They had begun the
+first course of their meal, and were laughing and chatting, when
+suddenly came this unexpected visitor, clad in coal-stained miner's
+jumpers. He was not disturbing in the manner of his entry; but
+immediately behind him came a fat man, perspiring, wild of aspect, and
+wheezing like an old fashioned steam-engine; behind him came the
+conductor of the train, in a no less evident state of agitation. So, of
+course, conversation ceased. The young ladies turned in their chairs,
+while several of the young men sprang to their feet.
+
+There followed a silence: until finally one of the young men took a step
+forward. "What's this?" he demanded, as one who had a right to demand.
+
+Hal advanced towards the speaker, a slender youth, correct in
+appearance, but not distinguished looking. "Hello, Percy!" said Hal.
+
+A look of amazement came upon the other's face. He stared, but seemed
+unable to believe what he saw. And then suddenly came a cry from one of
+the young ladies; the one having hair the colour of molasses taffy when
+you've pulled it--but all fluffy and wonderful, with stardust in it. Her
+cheeks were pink and cream, and her brown eyes gazed, wide open, full of
+wonder. She wore a dinner gown of soft olive green, with a cream white
+scarf of some filmy material thrown about her bare shoulders.
+
+She had started to her feet. "It's Hal!" she cried.
+
+"Hal Warner!" echoed young Harrigan. "Why, what in the world--?"
+
+He was interrupted by a clamour outside. "Wait a moment," said Hal,
+quietly. "I think some one else is coming in."
+
+The door was pushed violently open. It was pushed so violently that
+Billy Keating and the conductor were thrust to one side; and Jeff Cotton
+appeared in the entrance.
+
+The camp-marshal was breathless, his face full of the passion of the
+hunt. In his right hand he carried a revolver. He glared about him, and
+saw the two men he was chasing; also he saw the Coal King's son, and the
+rest of the astonished company. He stood, stricken dumb.
+
+The door was pushed again, forcing him aside, and two more men crowded
+in, both of them carrying revolvers in their hands. The foremost was
+Pete Hanun, and he also stood staring. The "breaker of teeth" had two
+teeth of his own missing, and when his prize-fighter's jaw dropped down,
+the deficiency became conspicuous. It was probably his first entrance
+into society, and he was like an overgrown boy caught in the jam-closet.
+
+Percy Harrigan's manner became distinctly imperious. "What does this
+mean?" he demanded.
+
+It was Hal who answered. "I am seeking a criminal, Percy."
+
+"What?" There were little cries of alarm from the women.
+
+"Yes, a criminal; the man who sealed up the mine."
+
+"Sealed up the mine?" echoed the other. "What do you mean?"
+
+"Let me explain. First, I will introduce my friends. Harrigan, this is
+my friend Keating."
+
+Billy suddenly realised that he had a hat on his head. He jerked it off;
+but for the rest, his social instincts failed him. He could only stare.
+He had not yet got all his breath.
+
+"Billy's a reporter," said Hal. "But you needn't worry--he's a
+gentleman, and won't betray a confidence. You understand, Billy."
+
+"Y--yes," said Billy, faintly.
+
+"And this," said Hal, "is Jeff Cotton, camp-marshal at North Valley. I
+suppose you know, Percy, that the North Valley mines belong to the 'G.
+F. C.' Cotton, this is Mr. Harrigan."
+
+Then Cotton remembered his hat; also his revolver, which he tried to get
+out of sight behind his back.
+
+"And this," continued Hal, "is Mr. Pete Hanun, by profession a breaker
+of teeth. This other gentleman, whose name I don't know, is presumably
+an assistant-breaker." So Hal went on, observing the forms of social
+intercourse, his purpose being to give his mind a chance to work. So
+much depended upon the tactics he chose in this emergency! Should he
+take Percy to one side and tell him the story quietly, leaving it to his
+sense of justice and humanity? No, that was not the way one dealt with
+the Harrigans! They had bullied their way to the front; if anything were
+done with them, it would be by force! If anything were done with Percy,
+it would be by laying hold of him before these guests, exposing the
+situation, and using their feelings to coerce him!
+
+The Coal King's son was asking questions again. What was all this about?
+So Hal began to describe the condition of the men inside the mine. "They
+have no food or water, except what they had in their dinner-pails; and
+it's been three days and a half since the explosion! They are breathing
+bad air; their heads are aching, the veins swelling in their foreheads;
+their tongues are cracking, they are lying on the ground, gasping. But
+they are waiting--kept alive by the faith they have in their friends on
+the surface, who will try to get to them. They dare not take down the
+barriers, because the gases would kill them at once. But they know the
+rescuers will come, so they listen for the sounds of axes and picks.
+That is the situation."
+
+Hal stopped and waited for some sign of concern from young Harrigan. But
+no such sign was given. Hal went on:
+
+"Think of it, Percy! There is one old man in that mine, an Irishman who
+has a wife and eight children waiting to learn about his fate. I know
+one woman who has a husband and three sons in the mine. For three days
+and a half the women and children have been standing at the pit-mouth; I
+have seen them sitting with their heads sunk upon their knees, or
+shaking their fists, screaming curses at the criminal who is to blame."
+
+There was a pause. "The criminal?" inquired young Harrigan. "I don't
+understand!"
+
+"You'll hardly be able to believe it; but nothing has been done to
+rescue these men. The criminal has nailed a cover of boards over the
+pit-mouth, and put tarpaulin over it--sealing up men and boys to die!"
+
+There was a murmur of horror from the diners.
+
+"I know, you can't conceive such a thing. The reason is, there's a fire
+in the mine; if the fan is set to working, the coal will burn. But at
+the same time, some of the passages could be got clear of smoke, and
+some of the men could be rescued. So it's a question of property against
+lives; and the criminal has decided for the property. He proposes to
+wait a week, two weeks, until the fire has been smothered; _then_ of
+course the men and boys will be dead."
+
+There was a silence. It was broken by young Harrigan. "Who has done
+this?"
+
+"His name is Enos Cartwright."
+
+"But who _is_ he?"
+
+"Just now when I said that I was seeking the criminal, I misled you a
+little, Percy. I did it because I wanted to collect my thoughts." Hal
+paused: when he continued, his voice was sharper, his sentences falling
+like blows. "The criminal I've been telling you about is the
+superintendent of the mine--a man employed and put in authority by the
+General Fuel Company. The one who is being chased is not the one who
+sealed up the mine, but the one who proposed to have it opened. He is
+being treated as a malefactor, because the laws of the state, as well as
+the laws of humanity, have been suppressed by the General Fuel Company;
+he was forced to seek refuge in your car, in order to save his life from
+thugs and gunmen in the company's employ!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 13.
+
+Knowing these people well, Hal could measure the effect of the
+thunderbolt he had hurled among them. They were people to whom good
+taste was the first of all the virtues; he knew how he was offending
+them. If he was to win them to the least extent, he must explain his
+presence here--a trespasser upon the property of the Harrigans.
+
+"Percy," he continued, "you remember how you used to jump on me last
+year at college, because I listened to 'muck-rakers.' You saw fit to
+take personal offence at it. You knew that their tales couldn't be true.
+But I wanted to see for myself, so I went to work in a coal-mine. I saw
+the explosion; I saw this man, Jeff Cotton, driving women and children
+away from the pit-mouth with blows and curses. I set out to help the men
+in the mine, and the marshal rushed me out of camp. He told me that if I
+didn't go about my business, something would happen to me on a dark
+night. And you see--this is a dark night!"
+
+Hal waited, to give young Harrigan a chance to grasp this situation and
+to take command. But apparently young Harrigan was not aware of the
+presence of the camp-marshal and his revolver. Hal tried again:
+
+"Evidently these men wouldn't have minded killing me; they fired at me
+just now. The marshal still has the revolver and you can smell the
+powder-smoke. So I took the liberty of entering your car, Percy. It was
+to save my life, and you'll have to excuse me."
+
+The Coal King's son had here a sudden opportunity to be magnanimous. He
+made haste to avail himself of it. "Of course, Hal," he said. "It was
+quite all right to come here. If our employ�s were behaving in such
+fashion, it was without authority, and they will surely pay for it." He
+spoke with quiet certainty; it was the Harrigan manner, and before it
+Jeff Cotton and the two mine-guards seemed to wither and shrink.
+
+"Thank you, Percy," said Hal. "It's what I knew you'd say. I'm sorry to
+have disturbed your dinner-party--"
+
+"Not at all, Hal; it was nothing of a party."
+
+"You see, Percy, it was not only to save myself, but the people in the
+mine! They are dying, and every moment is precious. It will take a day
+at least to get to them, so they'll be at their last gasp. Whatever's to
+be done must be done at once."
+
+Again Hal waited--until the pause became awkward. The diners had so far
+been looking at him; but now they were looking at young Harrigan, and
+young Harrigan felt the change.
+
+"I don't know just what you expect of me, Hal. My father employs
+competent men to manage his business, and I certainly don't feel that I
+know enough to give them any suggestions." This again in the Harrigan
+manner; but it weakened before Hal's firm gaze. "What can I do?"
+
+"You can give the order to open the mine, to reverse the fan and start
+it. That will draw out the smoke and gases, and the rescuers can go
+down."
+
+"But Hal, I assure you I have no authority to give such an order."
+
+"You must _take_ the authority. Your father's in the East, the officers
+of the company are in their beds at home; you are here!"
+
+"But I don't understand such things, Hal! I don't know anything of the
+situation--except what you tell me. And while I don't doubt your word,
+any man may make a mistake in such a situation."
+
+"Come and see for yourself, Percy! That's all I ask, and it's easy
+enough. Here is your train, your engine with steam up; have us switched
+onto the North Valley branch, and we can be at the mine in half an hour.
+Then--let me take you to the men who know! Men who've been working all
+their lives in mines, who've seen accidents like this many times, and
+who will tell you the truth--that there's a chance of saving many lives,
+and that the chance is being thrown away to save some thousands of
+dollars' worth of coal and timbers and track."
+
+"But even if that's true, Hal, I have no _power_!"
+
+"If you come there, you can cut the red-tape in one minute. What those
+bosses are doing is a thing that can only be done in darkness!"
+
+Under the pressure of Hal's vehemence, the Harrigan manner was failing;
+the Coal King's son was becoming a bewildered and quite ordinary youth.
+But there was a power greater than Hal behind him. He shook his head.
+"It's the old man's business, Hal. I've no right to butt in!"
+
+The other, in his desperate need, turned to the rest of the party. His
+gaze, moving from one face to another, rested upon the magazine-cover
+countenance, with the brown eyes wide open, full of wonder.
+
+"Jessie! What do you think about it?"
+
+The girl started, and distress leaped into her face. "How do you mean,
+Hal?"
+
+"Tell him he ought to save those lives!"
+
+The moments seemed ages as Hal waited. It was a test, he realised. The
+brown eyes dropped. "I don't understand such things, Hal!"
+
+"But, Jessie, I am explaining them! Here are men and boys being
+suffocated to death, in order to save a little money. Isn't that plain?"
+
+"But how can I _know_, Hal?"
+
+"I'm giving you my word, Jessie. Surely I wouldn't appeal to you unless
+I knew."
+
+Still she hesitated. And there came a swift note of feeling into his
+voice: "Jessie, dear!"
+
+As if under a spell, the girl's eyes were raised to his; he saw a
+scarlet flame of embarrassment spreading over her throat and cheeks.
+"Jessie, I know--it seems an intolerable thing to ask! You've never been
+rude to a friend. But I remember once you forgot your good manners, when
+you saw a rough fellow on the street beating an old drudge-horse. Don't
+you remember how you rushed at him--like a wild thing! And now--think of
+it, dear, here are old drudge-creatures being tortured to death; but not
+horses--working-men!"
+
+Still the girl gazed at him. He could read grief, dismay in her eyes; he
+saw tears steal from them, and stream down her cheeks. "Oh, I don't
+know, I don't _know!_" she cried; and hid her face in her hands, and
+began to sob aloud.
+
+
+
+SECTION 14.
+
+There was a painful pause. Hal's gaze travelled on, and came to a
+grey-haired lady in a black dinner-gown, with a rope of pearls about her
+neck. "Mrs. Curtis! Surely _you_ will advise him!"
+
+The grey-haired lady started--was there no limit to his impudence? She
+had witnessed the torturing of Jessie. But Jessie was his fianc�e; he
+had no such claim upon Mrs. Curtis. She answered, with iciness in her
+tone: "I could not undertake to dictate to my host in such a matter."
+
+"Mrs. Curtis! You have founded a charity for the helping of stray cats
+and dogs!" These words rose to Hal's lips; but he did not say them. His
+eyes moved on. Who else might help to bully a Harrigan?
+
+Next to Mrs. Curtis sat Reggie Porter, with a rose in the button-hole of
+his dinner-jacket. Hal knew the r�le in which Reggie was there--a kind
+of male chaperon, an assistant host, an admirer to the wealthy, a solace
+to the bored. Poor Reggie lived other people's lives, his soul
+perpetually a-quiver with other people's excitements, with gossip,
+preparations for tea-parties, praise of tea-parties past. And always the
+soul was pushing; calculating, measuring opportunities, making up in
+tact and elegance for distressing lack of money. Hal got one swift
+glimpse of the face; the sharp little black moustaches seemed standing
+up with excitement, and in a flash of horrible intuition Hal read the
+situation--Reggie was expecting to be questioned, and had got ready an
+answer that would increase his social capital in the Harrigan family
+bank!
+
+Across the aisle sat Genevieve Halsey: tall, erect, built on the scale
+of a statue. You thought of the ox-eyed Juno, and imagined stately
+emotions; but when you came to know Genevieve, you discovered that her
+mind was slow, and entirely occupied with herself. Next to her was Bob
+Creston, smooth-shaven, rosy-cheeked, exuding well-being--what is called
+a "good fellow," with a wholesome ambition to win cups for his athletic
+club, and to keep up the score of his rifle-team of the state militia.
+Jolly Bob might have spoken, out of his good heart; but he was in love
+with a cousin of Percy's, Betty Gunnison, who sat across the table from
+him--and Hal saw her black eyes shining, her little fists clenched
+tightly, her lips pressed white. Hal understood Betty--she was one of
+the Harrigans, working at the Harrigan family task of making the
+children of a pack-pedlar into leaders in the "younger set!"
+
+Next sat "Vivie" Cass, whose talk was of horses and dogs and such
+ungirlish matters; Hal had discussed social questions in her presence,
+and heard her view expressed in one flashing sentence--"If a man eats
+with his knife, I consider him my personal enemy!" Over her shoulder
+peered the face of a man with pale eyes and yellow moustaches--Bert
+Atkins, cynical and world-weary, whom the papers referred to as a
+"club-man," and whom Hal's brother had called a "tame cat." There was
+"Dicky" Everson, like Hal, a favourite of the ladies, but nothing more;
+"Billy" Harris, son of another "coal man"; Daisy, his sister; and
+Blanche Vagleman, whose father was Old Peter's head lawyer, whose
+brother was the local counsel, and publisher of the Pedro _Star_.
+
+So Hal's eyes moved from face to face, and his mind from personality to
+personality. It was like the unrolling of a scroll; a panorama of a
+world he had half forgotten. He had no time for reflection, but one
+impression came to him, swift and overwhelming. Once he had lived in
+this world and taken it as a matter of course. He had known these
+people, gone about with them; they had seemed friendly, obliging, a good
+sort of people on the whole. And now, what a change! They seemed no
+longer friendly! Was the change in them? Or was it Hal who had become
+cynical--so that he saw them in this terrifying new light, cold, and
+unconcerned as the stars about men who were dying a few miles away!
+
+Hal's eyes came back to the Coal King's son, and he discovered that
+Percy was white with anger. "I assure you, Hal, there's no use going on
+with this. I have no intention of letting myself be bulldozed."
+
+Percy's gaze shifted with sudden purpose to the camp-marshal. "Cotton,
+what do you say about this? Is Mr. Warner correct in his idea of the
+situation?"
+
+"You know what such a man would say, Percy!" broke in Hal.
+
+"I don't," was the reply. "I wish to know. What is it, Cotton?"
+
+"He's mistaken, Mr. Harrigan." The marshal's voice was sharp and
+defiant.
+
+"In what way?"
+
+"The company's doing everything to get the mine open, and has been from
+the beginning."
+
+"Oh!" And there was triumph in Percy's voice. "What is the cause of the
+delay?"
+
+"The fan was broken, and we had to send for a new one. It's a job to set
+it up--such things can't be done in an hour."
+
+Percy turned to Hal. "You see! There are two opinions, at least!"
+
+"Of course!" cried Betty Gunnison, her black eyes snapping at Hal. She
+would have said more, but Hal interrupted, stepping closer to his host.
+"Percy," he said, in a low voice, "come back here, please. I have a word
+to say to you alone."
+
+There was just a hint of menace in Hal's voice; his gaze went to the far
+end of the car, a space occupied only by two negro waiters. These
+retired in haste as the young men moved towards them; and so, having the
+Coal King's son to himself, Hal went in to finish this fight.
+
+
+
+SECTION 15.
+
+Percy Harrigan was known to Hal, as a college-boy is known to his
+class-mates. He was not brutal, like his grim old father; he was merely
+self-indulgent, as one who had always had everything; he was weak, as
+one who had never had to take a bold resolve. He had been brought up by
+the women of the family, to be a part of what they called "society"; in
+which process he had been given high notions of his own importance. The
+life of the Harrigans was dominated by one painful memory--that of a
+pedlar's pack; and Hal knew that Percy's most urgent purpose was to be
+regarded as a real and true and freehanded aristocrat. It was this
+knowledge Hal was using in his attack.
+
+He began with apologies, attempting to soothe the other's anger. He had
+not meant to make a scene like this; it was the gunmen who had forced
+it, putting his life in danger. It was the very devil, being chased
+about at night and shot at! He had lost his nerve, really; he had forgot
+what little manners he had been able to keep as a miner's buddy. He had
+made a spectacle of himself; good Lord yes, he realised how he must
+seem!
+
+--And Hal looked at his dirty miner's jumpers, and then at Percy. He
+could see that Percy was in hearty agreement thus far--he had indeed
+made a spectacle of himself, and of Percy too! Hal was sorry about this
+latter, but here they were, in a pickle, and it was certainly too late
+now. This story was out--there could be no suppressing it! Hal might sit
+down on his reporter-friend, Percy might sit down on the waiters and the
+conductor and the camp-marshal and the gunmen--but he could not possibly
+sit down on all his friends! They would talk about nothing else for
+weeks! The story would be all over Western City in a day--this amazing,
+melodramatic, ten-twenty-thirty story of a miner's buddy in the private
+car of the Coal King's son!
+
+"And you must see, Percy," Hal went on, "it's the sort of thing that
+sticks to a man. It's the thing by which everybody will form their idea
+of you as long as you live!"
+
+"I'll take my chances with my friends' criticism," said the other, with
+some attempt at the Harrigan manner.
+
+"You can make it whichever kind of story you choose," continued Hal,
+implacably. "The world will say, He decided for the dollars; or it will
+say, He decided for the lives. Surely, Percy, your family doesn't need
+those particular dollars so badly! Why, you've spent more on this one
+train-trip!"
+
+And Hal waited, to give his victim time to calculate.
+
+The result of the thinking was a question worthy of Old Peter. "What are
+_you_ getting out of this?"
+
+"Percy," said Hal, "you must _know_ I'm getting nothing! If you can't
+understand it otherwise, say to yourself that you are dealing with a man
+who's irresponsible. I've seen so many terrible things--I've been chased
+around so much by camp-marshals--why, Percy, that man Cotton has six
+notches on his gun! I'm simply crazy!" And into the brown eyes of this
+miner's buddy came a look wild enough to convince a stronger man than
+Percy Harrigan. "I've got just one idea left in the world, Percy--to
+save those miners! You make a mistake unless you realise how desperate I
+am. So far I've done this thing incog! I've been Joe Smith, a miner's
+buddy. If I'd come out and told my real name--well, maybe I wouldn't
+have made them open the mine, but at least I'd have made a lot of
+trouble for the G. F. C.! But I didn't do it; I knew what a scandal it
+would make, and there was something I owed my father. But if I see
+there's no other way, if it's a question of letting those people perish,
+I'll throw everything else to the winds. Tell your father that; tell him
+I threatened to turn this man Keating loose and blow the thing wide
+open--denounce the company, appeal to the Governor, raise a disturbance
+and get arrested on the street, if necessary, in order to force the
+facts before the public. You see, I've got the facts, Percy! I've been
+there and seen with my own eyes. Can't you realise that?"
+
+The other did not answer, but it was evident that he realised.
+
+"On the other hand, see how you can fix it, if you choose. You were on a
+pleasure trip when you heard of this disaster; you rushed up and took
+command, you opened the mine, you saved the lives of your employ�s. That
+is the way the papers will handle it."
+
+Hal, watching his victim intently, and groping for the path to his mind,
+perceived that he had gone wrong. Crude as the Harrigans were, they had
+learned that it is not aristocratic to be picturesque.
+
+"All right then!" said Hal, quickly. "If you prefer, you needn't be
+mentioned. The bosses up at the camp have the reporters under their
+thumbs, they'll handle the story any way you want it. The one thing I
+care about is that you run your car up and see the mine opened. Won't
+you do it, Percy?"
+
+Hal was gazing into the other's eyes, knowing that life and death for
+the miners hung upon his nod. "Well? What is the answer?"
+
+"Hal," exclaimed Percy, "my old man will give me hell!"
+
+"All right; but on the other hand, _I'll_ give you hell; and which will
+be worse?"
+
+Again there was a silence. "Come along, Percy! For God's sake!" And
+Hal's tone was desperate, alarming.
+
+And suddenly the other gave way. "All right!"
+
+Hal drew a breath. "But mind you!" he added. "You're not going up there
+to let them fool you! They'll try to bluff you out--they may go as far
+as to refuse to obey you. But you must stand by your guns--for, you see,
+I'm going along, I'm going to see that mine open. I'll never quit till
+the rescuers have gone down!"
+
+"Will they go, Hal?"
+
+"Will they go? Good God, man, they're clamouring for the chance to go!
+They've almost been rioting for it. I'll go with them--and you, too,
+Percy--the whole crowd of us idlers will go! When we come out, we'll
+know something about the business of coal-mining!"
+
+"All right, I'm with you," said the Coal King's son.
+
+
+
+SECTION 16.
+
+Hal never knew what Percy said to Cartwright that night; he only knew
+that when they arrived at the mine the superintendent was summoned to a
+consultation, and half an hour later Percy emerged smiling, with the
+announcement that Hal Warner had been mistaken all along; the mine
+authorities had been making all possible haste to get the fan ready,
+with the intention of opening the mine at the earliest moment. The work
+was now completed, and in an hour or two the fan was to be started, and
+by morning there would be a chance of rescuers getting in. Percy said
+this so innocently that for a moment Hal wondered if Percy himself might
+not believe it. Hal's position as guest of course required that he
+should graciously pretend to believe it, consenting to appear as a fool
+before the rest of the company.
+
+Percy invited Hal and Billy Keating to spend the night in the train; but
+this Hal declined. He was too dirty, he said; besides, he wanted to be
+up at daylight, to be one of the first to go down the shaft. Percy
+answered that the superintendent had vetoed this proposition--he did not
+want any one to go down but experienced men, who could take care of
+themselves. When there were so many on hand ready and eager to go, there
+was no need to imperil the lives of amateurs.
+
+At the risk of seeming ungracious, Hal declared that he would "hang
+around" and see them take the cover off the pit-mouth. There were
+mourning parties in some of the cabins, where women were gathered
+together who could not sleep, and it would be an act of charity to take
+them the good news.
+
+Hal and Keating set out; they went first to the Rafferties', and saw
+Mrs. Rafferty spring up and stare at them, and then scream aloud to the
+Holy Virgin, waking all the little Rafferties to frightened clamour.
+When the woman had made sure that they really knew what they were
+talking about, she rushed out to spread the news, and so pretty soon the
+streets were alive with hurrying figures, and a crowd gathered once more
+at the pit-mouth.
+
+Hal and Keating went on to Jerry Minetti's. Out of a sense of loyalty to
+Percy, Hal did no more than repeat Percy's own announcement, that it had
+been Cartwright's intention all along to have the mine opened. It was
+funny to see the effect of this statement--the face with which Jerry
+looked at Hal! But they wasted no time in discussion; Jerry slipped into
+his clothes and hurried with them to the pit-mouth.
+
+Sure enough, a gang was already tearing off the boards and canvas. Never
+since Hal had been in North Valley had he seen men working with such a
+will! Soon the great fan began to stir, and then to roar, and then to
+sing; and there was a crowd of a hundred people, roaring and singing
+also.
+
+It would be some hours before anything more could be done; and suddenly
+Hal realised that he was exhausted. He and Billy Keating went back to
+the Minetti cabin, and spreading themselves a blanket on the floor, lay
+down with sighs of relief. As for Billy, he was soon snoring; but to Hal
+there came sudden reaction from all the excitement, and sleep was far
+from him.
+
+An ocean of thoughts came flooding into his mind: the world outside,
+_his_ world, which he had banished deliberately for several months, and
+which he had so suddenly been compelled to remember! It had seemed so
+simple, what he had set out to do that summer: to take another name, to
+become a member of another class, to live its life and think its
+thoughts, and then come back to his own world with a new and fascinating
+adventure to tell about! The possibility that his own world, the world
+of Hal Warner, might find him out as Joe Smith, the miner's buddy--that
+was a possibility which had never come to his mind. He was like a
+burglar, working away at a job in darkness, and suddenly finding the
+room flooded with light.
+
+He had gone into the adventure, prepared to find things that would shock
+him; he had known that somehow, somewhere, he would have to fight the
+"system." But he had never expected to find himself in the thick of the
+class-war, leading a charge upon the trenches of his own associates. Nor
+was this the end, he knew; this war would not be settled by the winning
+of a trench! Lying here in the darkness and silence, Hal was realising
+what he had got himself in for. To employ another simile, he was a man
+who begins a flirtation on the street, and wakes up next morning to find
+himself married.
+
+It was not that he had regrets for the course he had taken with Percy.
+No other course had been thinkable. But while Hal had known these North
+Valley people for ten weeks, he had known the occupants of Percy's car
+for as many years. So these latter personalities loomed large in his
+consciousness, and here in the darkness their thoughts about him,
+whether actively hostile or passively astonished, laid siege to the
+defences of his mind.
+
+Particularly he found himself wrestling with Jessie Arthur. Her face
+rose up before him, appealing, yearning. She had one of those perfect
+faces, which irresistibly compel the soul of a man. Her brown eyes, soft
+and shining, full of tenderness; her lips, quick to tremble with
+emotion; her skin like apple-blossoms, her hair with star-dust in it!
+Hal was cynical enough about coal-operators and mine-guards, but it
+never occurred to him that Jessie's soul might be anything but what
+these bodily charms implied. He was in love with her; and he was too
+young, too inexperienced in love to realise that underneath the
+sweetness of girlhood, so genuine and so lovable, might lie deep,
+unconscious cruelty, inherited and instinctive--the cruelty of caste,
+the hardness of worldly prejudice. A man has to come to middle age, and
+to suffer much, before he understands that the charms of women, those
+rare and magical perfections of eyes and teeth and hair, that softness
+of skin and delicacy of feature, have cost labour and care of many
+generations, and imply inevitably that life has been feral, that customs
+and conventions have been murderous and inhuman.
+
+Jessie had failed Hal in his desperate emergency. But now he went over
+the scene, and told himself that the test had been an unfair one. He had
+known her since childhood, and loved her, and never before had he seen
+an act or heard a word that was not gracious and kind. But--so he told
+himself--she gave her sympathy to those she knew; and what chance had
+she ever had to know working-people? He must give her the chance; he
+must compel her, even against her will, to broaden her understanding of
+life! The process might hurt her, it might mar the unlined softness of
+her face, but nevertheless, it would be good for her--it would be a
+"growing pain"!
+
+So, lying there in the darkness and silence, Hal found himself absorbed
+in long conversation with his sweetheart. He escorted her about the
+camp, explaining things to her, introducing her to this one and that. He
+took others of his private-car friends and introduced them to his North
+Valley friends. There were individuals who had qualities in common, and
+would surely hit it off! Bob Creston, for example, who was good at a
+"song and dance"--he would surely be interested in "Blinky," the
+vaudeville specialist of the camp! Mrs. Curtis, who liked cats, would
+find a bond of sisterhood with old Mrs. Nagle, who lived next door to
+the Minettis, and kept five! And even Vivie Cass, who hated men who ate
+with their knives--she would be driven to murder by the table-manners of
+Reminitsky's boarders, but she would take delight in "Dago Charlie," the
+tobacco-chewing mule which had once been Hal's pet! Hal could hardly
+wait for daylight to come, so that he might begin these efforts at
+social amalgamation!
+
+
+
+SECTION 17.
+
+Towards dawn Hal fell asleep; he was awakened by Billy Keating, who sat
+up yawning, at the same time grumbling and bewailing. Hal realised that
+Billy also had discovered troubles during the night. Never in all his
+career as a journalist had he had such a story; never had any man had
+such a story--and it must be killed!
+
+Cartwright had got the reporters together late the night before and told
+them the news--that the company had at last succeeded in getting the
+mine ready to be opened; also that young Mr. Harrigan was there in his
+private train, prompted by his concern for the entombed miners. The
+reporters would mention his coming, of course, but were requested not to
+"play it up," nor to mention the names of Mr. Harrigan's guests.
+Needless to say they were not told that the "buddy" who had been thrown
+out of camp for insubordination had turned out to be the son of Edward
+S. Warner, the "coal magnate."
+
+A fine, cold rain was falling, and Hal borrowed an old coat of Jerry's
+and slipped it on. Little Jerry clamoured to go with him, and after some
+controversy Hal wrapped him in a shawl and slung him onto his shoulder.
+It was barely daylight, but already the whole population of the village
+was on hand at the pit-mouth. The helmet-men had gone down to make
+tests, so the hour of final revelation was at hand. Women stood with wet
+shawls about their hunched shoulders, their faces white and strained,
+their suspense too great for any sort of utterance. A ghastly thought it
+was, that while they were shuddering in the wet, their men below might
+be expiring for lack of a few drops of water!
+
+The helmet-men, coming up, reported that lights would burn at the bottom
+of the shaft; so it was safe for men to go down without helmets, and the
+volunteers of the first rescue party made ready. All night there had
+been a clattering of hammers, where the carpenters were working on a new
+cage. Now it was swung from the hoist, and the men took their places in
+it. When at last the hoist began to move, and the group disappeared
+below the surface of the ground, you could hear a sigh from a thousand
+throats, like the moaning of wind in a pine-tree. They were leaving
+women and children above, yet not one of these women would have asked
+them to stay--such was the deep unconscious bond of solidarity which
+made these toilers of twenty nations one!
+
+It was a slow process, letting down the cage; on account of the danger
+of gas, and the newness of the cage, it was necessary to proceed a few
+feet at a time, waiting for a pull upon the signal-cord to tell that the
+men were all right. After they had reached the bottom, there would be
+more time, no one could say how long, before they came upon survivors
+with signs of life in them. There were bodies near the foot of the
+shaft, according to the reports of the helmet-men, but there was no use
+delaying to bring these up, for they must have been dead for days. Hal
+saw a crowd of women clamouring about the helmet-men, trying to find out
+if these bodies had been recognised. Also he saw Jeff Cotton and Bud
+Adams at their old duty of driving the women back.
+
+The cage returned for a second load of men. There was less need of
+caution now; the hoist worked quickly, and group after group of men with
+silent, set faces, and pickaxes and crow-bars and shovels in their
+hands, went down into the pit of terror. They would scatter through the
+workings, testing everywhere ahead of them with safety-lamps, and
+looking for barriers erected by the imprisoned men for defence against
+the gases. As they hammered on these barriers, perhaps they would hear
+the signals of living men on the other side; or they would break through
+in silence, and find men too far gone to make a sound, yet possibly with
+the spark of life still in them.
+
+One by one, Hal's friends went down--"Big Jack" David, and Wresmak, the
+Bohemian, Klowoski, the Pole, and finally Jerry Minetti. Little Jerry
+waved his hand from his perch on Hal's shoulder; while Rosa, who had
+come out and joined them, was clinging to Hal's arm, silent, as if her
+soul were going down in the cage. There went blue-eyed Tim Rafferty to
+look for his father, and black-eyed "Andy," the Greek boy, whose father
+had perished in a similar disaster years ago; there went Rovetta, and
+Carmino, the pit-boss, Jerry's cousin. One by one their names ran
+through the crowd, as of heroes marching out to battle.
+
+
+
+SECTION 18.
+
+Looking about, Hal saw some of the guests of the Harrigan party. There
+was Vivie Cass, standing under an umbrella with Bert Atkins; and there
+was Bob Creston with Dicky Everson. These two had on mackintoshes and
+water-proof hats, and were talking to Cartwright; tall, immaculate men,
+who seemed like creatures of another world beside the stunted and
+coal-smutted miners.
+
+Seeing Hal, they moved over to him. "Where did you get the kid?"
+inquired Bob, his rosy, smooth-shaven face breaking into a smile.
+
+"I picked him up," said Hal, giving Little Jerry a toss and sliding him
+off his shoulder.
+
+"Hello, kid!" said Bob.
+
+And the answer came promptly, "Hello, yourself!" Little Jerry knew how
+to talk American; he was a match for any society man! "My father's went
+down in that cage," said he, looking up at the tall stranger, his bright
+black eyes sparkling.
+
+"Is that so!" replied the other. "Why don't you go?"
+
+"My father'll get 'em out. He ain't afraid o' nothin', my father!"
+
+"What's your father's name?"
+
+"Big Jerry."
+
+"Oho! And what'll you be when you grow up?"
+
+"I'm goin' to be a shot-firer."
+
+"In this mine?"
+
+"You bet not!"
+
+"Why not?"
+
+Little Jerry looked mysterious. "I ain't tellin' all I know," said he.
+
+The two young fellows laughed. Here was education for them! "Maybe
+you'll go back to the old country?" put in Dicky Everson.
+
+"No, sir-ee!" said Little Jerry. "I'm American."
+
+"Maybe you'll be president some day."
+
+"That's what my father says," replied the little chap--"president of a
+miners' union."
+
+Again they laughed; but Rosa gave a nervous whisper and caught at the
+child's sleeve. That was not the sort of thing to say to mysterious and
+rich-looking strangers! "This is Little Jerry's mother, Mrs. Minetti,"
+put in Hal, by way of reassuring her.
+
+"Glad to meet you, Mrs. Minetti," said the two young men, taking off
+their hats with elaborate bows; they stared, for Rosa was a pretty
+object as she blushed and made her shy response. She was much
+embarrassed, having never before in her life been bowed to by men like
+these.
+
+And here they were greeting Joe Smith as an old friend, and calling him
+by a strange name! She turned her black Italian eyes upon Hal in
+inquiry, and he felt a flush creeping over him. It was almost as
+uncomfortable to be found out by North Valley as to be found out by
+Western City!
+
+The men talked about the rescue-work, and what Cartwright had been
+telling of its progress. The fire was in one of the main passages, and
+was burning out the timbering, spreading rapidly under the draft from
+the reversed fan. There could be little hope of rescue in this part of
+the mine, but the helmet-men would defy the heat and smoke in the burned
+out passages. They knew how likely was the collapse of such portions of
+the mine; but also they knew that men had been working here before the
+explosion. "I must say they're a game lot!" remarked Dicky.
+
+A group of women and children were gathered about to listen, their
+shyness overcome by their torturing anxiety for news. They made one
+think of women in war-time, listening to the roar of distant guns and
+waiting for the bringing in of the wounded. Hal saw Bob and Dicky glance
+now and then at the ring of faces about them; they were getting
+something of this mood, and that was a part of what he had desired for
+them.
+
+"Are the others coming out?" he asked.
+
+"I don't know," said Bob. "I suppose they're having breakfast. It's time
+we went in."
+
+"Won't you come with us?" added Dicky.
+
+"No, thanks," replied Hal, "I've an engagement with the kid here." And
+he gave Little Jerry's hand a squeeze. "But tell some of the other
+fellows to come. They'll be interested in these things."
+
+"All right," said the two, as they moved away.
+
+
+
+SECTION 19.
+
+After allowing a sufficient time for the party in the dining-car to
+finish breakfast, Hal went down to the tracks, and induced the porter to
+take in his name to Percy Harrigan. He was hoping to persuade Percy to
+see the village under other than company chaperonage; he heard with
+dismay the announcement that the party had arranged to depart in the
+course of a couple of hours.
+
+"But you haven't seen anything at all!" Hal protested.
+
+"They won't let us into the mine," replied the other. "What else is
+there we can do?"
+
+"I wanted you to talk to the people and learn something about conditions
+here. You ought not to lose this chance, Percy!"
+
+"That's all right, Hal, but you might understand this isn't a convenient
+time. I've got a lot of people with me, and I've no right to ask them to
+wait."
+
+"But can't they learn something also, Percy?"
+
+"It's raining," was the reply; "and ladies would hardly care to stand
+round in a crowd and see dead bodies brought out of a mine."
+
+Hal got the rebuke. Yes, he had grown callous since coming to North
+Valley; he had lost that delicacy of feeling, that intuitive
+understanding of the sentiments of ladies, which he would surely have
+exhibited a short time earlier in his life. He was excited about this
+disaster; it was a personal thing to him, and he lost sight of the fact
+that to the ladies of the Harrigan party it was, in its details, merely
+sordid and repelling. If they went out in the mud and rain of a
+mining-village and stood about staring, they would feel that they were
+exhibiting, not human compassion, but idle curiosity. The sights they
+would see would harrow them to no purpose; and incidentally they would
+be exposing themselves to distressing publicity. As for offering
+sympathy to widows and orphans--well, these were foreigners mostly, who
+could not understand what was said to them, and who might be more
+embarrassed than helped by the intrusion into their grief of persons
+from an alien world.
+
+The business of offering sympathy had been reduced to a system by the
+civilisation which these ladies helped to maintain; and, as it happened,
+there was one present who was familiar with this system. Mrs. Curtis had
+already acted, so Percy informed Hal; she had passed about a
+subscription-paper, and in a couple of minutes over a thousand dollars
+had been pledged. This would be paid by check to the "Red Cross," whose
+agents would understand how to distribute relief among such sufferers.
+So the members of Percy's party felt that they had done the proper and
+delicate thing, and might go their ways with a quiet conscience.
+
+"The world can't stop moving just because there's been a mine-disaster,"
+said the Coal King's son. "People have engagements they must keep."
+
+And he went on to explain what these engagements were. He himself had to
+go to a dinner that evening, and would barely be able to make it. Bert
+Atkins was to play a challenge match at billiards, and Mrs. Curtis was
+to attend a committee meeting of a woman's club. Also it was the last
+Friday of the month; had Hal forgotten what that meant?
+
+After a moment Hal remembered--the "Young People's Night" at the country
+club! He had a sudden vision of the white colonial mansion on the
+mountain-side, with its doors and windows thrown wide, and the strains
+of an orchestra floating out. In the ball-room the young ladies of
+Percy's party would appear--Jessie, his sweetheart, among them--gowned
+in filmy chiffons and laces, floating in a mist of perfume and colour
+and music. They would laugh and chatter, they would flirt and scheme
+against one another for the sovereignty of the ball-room--while here in
+North Valley the sobbing widows would be clutching their mangled dead in
+their arms! How strange, how ghastly it seemed! How like the scenes one
+read of on the eve of the French Revolution!
+
+
+
+SECTION 20.
+
+Percy wanted Hal to come away with the party. He suggested this
+tactfully at first, and then, as Hal did not take the hint, he began to
+press the matter, showing signs of irritation. The mine was open
+now--what more did Hal want? When Hal suggested that Cartwright might
+order it closed again, Percy revealed the fact that the matter was in
+his father's hands. The superintendent had sent a long telegram the
+night before, and an answer was due at any moment. Whatever the answer
+ordered would have to be done.
+
+There was a grim look upon Hal's face, but he forced himself to speak
+politely. "If your father orders anything that interferes with the
+rescuing of the men--don't you see, Percy, that I have to fight him?"
+
+"But how _can_ you fight him?"
+
+"With the one weapon I have--publicity."
+
+"You mean--" Percy stopped, and stared.
+
+"I mean what I said before--I'd turn Billy Keating loose and blow this
+whole story wide open."
+
+"Well, by God!" cried young Harrigan. "I must say I'd call it damned
+dirty of you! You said you'd not do it, if I'd come here and open the
+mine!"
+
+"But what good does it do to open it, if you close it again before the
+men are out?" Hal paused, and when he went on it was in a sincere
+attempt at apology. "Percy, don't imagine I fail to appreciate the
+embarrassments of this situation. I know I must seem a cad to you--more
+than you've cared to tell me. I called you my friend in spite of all our
+quarrels. All I can do is to assure you that I never intended to get
+into such a position as this."
+
+"Well, what the hell did you want to come here for? You knew it was the
+property of a friend--"
+
+"That's the question at issue between us, Percy. Have you forgotten our
+arguments? I tried to convince you what it meant that you and I should
+own the things by which other people have to live. I said we were
+ignorant of the conditions under which our properties were worked, we
+were a bunch of parasites and idlers. But you laughed at me, called me a
+crank, an anarchist, said I swallowed what any muck-raker fed me. So I
+said: 'I'll go to one of Percy's mines! Then, when he tries to argue
+with me, I'll have him!' That was the way the thing started--as a joke.
+But then I got drawn into things. I don't want to be nasty, but no man
+with a drop of red blood in his veins could stay in this place a week
+without wanting to fight! That's why I want you to stay--you ought to
+stay, to meet some of the people and see for yourself."
+
+"Well, I can't stay," said the other, coldly. "And all I can tell you is
+that I wish you'd go somewhere else to do your sociology."
+
+"But where could I go, Percy? Somebody owns everything. If it's a big
+thing, it's almost certain to be somebody we know."
+
+Said Percy, "If I might make a suggestion, you could have begun with the
+coal-mines of the Warner Company."
+
+Hal laughed. "You may be sure I thought of that, Percy. But see the
+situation! If I was to accomplish my purpose, it was essential that I
+shouldn't be known. And I had met some of my father's superintendents in
+his office, and I knew they'd recognise me. So I _had_ to go to some
+other mines."
+
+"Most fortunate for the Warner Company," replied Percy, in an ugly tone.
+
+Hal answered, gravely, "Let me tell you, I don't intend to leave the
+Warner Company permanently out of my sociology."
+
+"Well," replied the other, "all I can say is that we pass one of their
+properties on our way back, and nothing would please me better than to
+stop the train and let you off!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 21.
+
+Hal went into the drawing-room car. There were Mrs. Curtis and Reggie
+Porter, playing bridge with Genevieve Halsey and young Everson. Bob
+Creston was chatting with Betty Gunnison, telling her what he had seen
+outside, no doubt. Bert Atkins was looking over the morning paper,
+yawning. Hal went on, seeking Jessie Arthur, and found her in one of the
+compartments of the car, looking out of the rain-drenched
+window--learning about a mining-camp in the manner permitted to young
+ladies of her class.
+
+He expected to find her in a disturbed state of mind, and was prepared
+to apologise. But when he met the look of distress she turned upon him,
+he did not know just where to begin. He tried to speak casually--he had
+heard she was going away. But she caught him by the hand, exclaiming:
+"Hal, you are coming with us!"
+
+He did not answer for a moment, but sat down by her. "Have I made you
+suffer so much, Jessie?"
+
+He saw tears start into her eyes. "Haven't you _known_ you were making
+me suffer? Here I was as Percy's guest; and to have you put such
+questions to me! What could I say? What do I know about the way Mr.
+Harrigan should run his business?"
+
+"Yes, dear," he said, humbly. "Perhaps I shouldn't have drawn you into
+it. But the matter was so complicated and so sudden. Can't you
+understand that, and forgive me? Everything has turned out so well!"
+
+But she did not think that everything had turned out well. "In the first
+place, for you to be here, in such a plight! And when I thought you were
+hunting mountain-goats in Mexico!"
+
+He could not help laughing; but Jessie had not even a smile. "And
+then--to have you drag our love into the thing, there before every one!"
+
+"Was that really so terrible, Jessie?"
+
+She looked at him with amazement. That he, Hal Warner, could have done
+such a thing, and not realise how terrible it was! To put her in a
+position where she had to break either the laws of love or the laws of
+good-breeding! Why, it had amounted to a public quarrel. It would be the
+talk of the town--there was no end to the embarrassment of it!
+
+"But, sweetheart!" argued Hal. "Try to see the reality of this
+thing--think about those people in the mine. You really _must_ do that!"
+
+She looked at him, and noticed the new, grim lines that had come upon
+his youthful face. Also, she caught the note of suppressed passion in
+his voice. He was pale and weary looking, in dirty clothes, his hair
+unkempt and his face only half washed. It was terrifying--as if he had
+gone to war.
+
+"Listen to me, Jessie," he insisted. "I want you to know about these
+things. If you and I are ever to make each other happy, you must try to
+grow up with me. That was why I was glad to have you here--you would
+have a chance to see for yourself. Now I ask you not to go without
+seeing."
+
+"But I have to go, Hal. I can't ask Percy Harrigan to stay and
+inconvenience everybody!"
+
+"You can stay without him. You can ask one of the ladies to chaperon
+you."
+
+She gazed at him in dismay. "Why, Hal! What a thing to suggest!"
+
+"Why so?"
+
+"Think how it would look!"
+
+"I can't think so much about looks, dear--"
+
+She broke in: "Think what Mamma would say!"
+
+"She wouldn't like it, I know--"
+
+"She would be wild! She would never forgive either of us. She would
+never forgive any one who stayed with me. And what would Percy say, if I
+came here as his guest, and stayed to spy on him and his father? Don't
+you see how preposterous it would be?"
+
+Yes, he saw. He was defying all the conventions of her world, and it
+seemed to her a course of madness. She clutched his hands in hers, and
+the tears ran down her cheeks.
+
+"Hal," she cried, "I can't leave you in this dreadful place! You look
+like a ghost, and a scarecrow, too! I want you to go and get some decent
+clothes and come home on this train."
+
+But he shook his head. "It's not possible, Jessie."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Because I have a duty to do here. Can't you understand, dear? All my
+life, I've been living on the labour of coal-miners, and I've never
+taken the trouble to go near them, to see how my money was got!"
+
+"But, Hal! These aren't your people! They are Mr. Harrigan's people!"
+
+"Yes," he said, "but it's all the same. They toil, and we live on their
+toil, and take it as a matter of course."
+
+"But what can one _do_ about it, Hal?"
+
+"One can understand it, if nothing else. And you see what I was able to
+do in this case--to get the mine open."
+
+"Hal," she exclaimed, "I can't understand you! You've become so cynical,
+you don't believe in any one! You're quite convinced that these
+officials meant to murder their working people! As if Mr. Harrigan would
+let his mines be run that way!"
+
+"Mr. Harrigan, Jessie? He passes the collection plate at St. George's!
+That's the only place you've ever seen him, and that's all you know
+about him."
+
+"I know what everybody says, Hal! Papa knows him, and my brothers--yes,
+your own brother, too! Isn't it true that Edward would disapprove what
+you're doing?"
+
+"Yes, dear, I fear so."
+
+"And you set yourself up against them--against everybody you know! Is it
+reasonable to think the older people are all wrong, and only you are
+right? Isn't it at least possible you're making a mistake? Think about
+it--honestly, Hal, for my sake!"
+
+She was looking at him pleadingly; and he leaned forward and took her
+hand. "Jessie," he said, his voice trembling, "I _know_ that these
+working people are oppressed; I know it, because I have been one of
+them! And I know that such men as Peter Harrigan, and even my own
+brother, are to blame! And they've got to be faced by some one--they've
+got to be made to see! I've come to see it clearly this summer--that's
+the job I have to do!"
+
+She was gazing at him with her wide-open, beautiful eyes; underneath her
+protests and her terror, she was thrilling with awe at this amazing
+madman she loved. "They will _kill_ you!" she cried.
+
+"No, dearest--you don't need to worry about that--I don't think they'll
+kill me."
+
+"But they shot at you!"
+
+"No, they shot at Joe Smith, a miner's buddy. They won't shoot at the
+son of a millionaire--not in America, Jessie."
+
+"But some dark night--"
+
+"Set your mind at rest," he said, "I've got Percy tied up in this, and
+everybody knows it. There's no way they could kill me without the whole
+story's coming out--and so I'm as safe as I would be in my bed at home!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 22.
+
+Hal was still possessed by his idea that Jessie must be taught--she must
+have knowledge forced upon her, whether she would or no. The train would
+not start for a couple of hours, and he tried to think of some use he
+could make of that precious interval. He recalled that Rosa Minetti had
+returned to her cabin to attend to her baby. A sudden vision came to him
+of Jessie in that little home. Rosa was sweet and good, and assuredly
+Little Jerry was a "winner."
+
+"Sweetheart," he said, "I wish you'd come for a walk with me."
+
+"But it's raining, Hal!"
+
+"It won't hurt you to spoil one dress; you have plenty."
+
+"I'm not thinking of that--"
+
+"I _wish_ you'd come."
+
+"I don't feel comfortable about it, Hal. I'm here as Percy's guest, and
+he mightn't like--"
+
+"I'll ask him if he objects to your taking a stroll," he suggested, with
+pretended gravity.
+
+"No, no! That would make it worse!" Jessie had no humour whatever about
+these matters.
+
+"Well, Vivie Cass was out, and some of the others are going. He hasn't
+objected to that."
+
+"I know, Hal. But he knows they're all right."
+
+Hal laughed. "Come on, Jessie. Percy won't hold you for my sins! You
+have a long train journey before you, and some fresh air will be good
+for you."
+
+She saw that she must make some concession to him, if she was to keep
+any of her influence over him.
+
+"All right," she said, with resignation, and disappeared and returned
+with a heavy veil over her face, to conceal her from prying reportorial
+eyes; also an equipment of mackintosh, umbrella and overshoes, against
+the rain. The two stole out of the car, feeling like a couple of
+criminals.
+
+Skirting the edge of the throng about the pit-mouth, they came to the
+muddy, unpaved quarter in which the Italians had their homes; he held
+her arm, steering her through the miniature sloughs and creeks. It was
+thrilling to him to have her with him thus, to see her sweet face and
+hear her voice full of love. Many a time he had thought of her here, and
+told her in his imagination of his experiences!
+
+He told her now--about the Minetti family, and how he had met Big and
+Little Jerry on the street, and how they had taken him in, and then been
+driven by fear to let him go again. He told his check-weighman story,
+and was telling how Jeff Cotton had arrested him; but they came to the
+Minetti cabin, and the terrifying narrative was cut short.
+
+It was Little Jerry who came to the door, with the remains of breakfast
+distributed upon his cheeks; he stared in wonder at the mysteriously
+veiled figure. Entering, they saw Rosa sitting in a chair nursing her
+baby. She rose in confusion; but she did not quite like to turn her back
+upon her guests, so she stood trying to hide her breast as best she
+could, blushing and looking very girlish and pretty.
+
+Hal introduced Jessie, as an old friend who was interested to meet his
+new friends, and Jessie threw back her veil and sat down. Little Jerry
+wiped off his face at his mother's command, and then came where he could
+stare at this incredibly lovely vision.
+
+"I've been telling Miss Arthur what good care you took of me," said Hal
+to Rosa. "She wanted to come and thank you for it."
+
+"Yes," added Jessie, graciously. "Anybody who is good to Hal earns my
+gratitude."
+
+Rosa started to murmur something; but Little Jerry broke in, with his
+cheerful voice, "Why you call him Hal? His name's Joe!"
+
+"Ssh!" cried Rosa. But Hal and Jessie laughed--and so the process of
+Americanising Little Jerry was continued.
+
+"I've got lots of names," said Hal. "They called me Hal when I was a kid
+like you."
+
+"Did _she_ know you then?" inquired Little Jerry.
+
+"Yes, indeed."
+
+"Is she your girl?"
+
+Rosa laughed shyly, and Jessie blushed, and looked charming. She
+realised vaguely a difference in manners. These people accepted the
+existence of "girls," not concealing their interest in the phenomenon.
+
+"It's a secret," warned Hal. "Don't you tell on us!"
+
+"I can keep a secret," said Little Jerry. After a moment's pause he
+added, dropping his voice, "You gotta keep secrets if you work in North
+Valley."
+
+"You bet your life," said Hal.
+
+"My father's a Socialist," continued the other, addressing Jessie; then,
+since one thing leads on to another, "My father's a shot-firer."
+
+"What's a shot-firer?" asked Jessie, by way of being sociable.
+
+"Jesus!" exclaimed Little Jerry. "Don't you know nothin' about minin'?"
+
+"No," said Jessie. "You tell me."
+
+"You couldn't get no coal without a shot-firer," declared Little Jerry.
+"You gotta get a good one, too, or maybe you bust up the mine. My
+father's the best they got."
+
+"What does he do?"
+
+"Well, they got a drill--long, long, like this, all the way across the
+room; and they turn it and bore holes in the coal. Sometimes they got
+machines to drill, only we don't like them machines, 'cause it takes the
+men's jobs. When they got the holes, then the shot-firer comes and sets
+off the powder. You gotta have--" and here Little Jerry slowed up,
+pronouncing each syllable very carefully--"per-miss-i-ble powder--what
+don't make no flame. And you gotta know just how much to put in. If you
+put in too much, you smash the coal, and the miner raises hell; if you
+don't put in enough, you make too much work for him, an' he raises hell
+again. So you gotta get a good shot-firer."
+
+Jessie looked at Hal, and he saw that her dismay was mingled with
+genuine amusement. He judged this a good way for her to get her
+education, so he proceeded to draw out Little Jerry on other aspects of
+coal-mining: on short weights and long hours, grafting bosses and
+camp-marshals, company-stores and boarding-houses, Socialist agitators
+and union organisers. Little Jerry talked freely of the secrets of the
+camp. "It's all right for you to know," he remarked gravely. "You're
+Joe's girl!"
+
+"You little cherub!" exclaimed Jessie.
+
+"What's a cherub?" was Little Jerry's reply.
+
+
+
+SECTION 23.
+
+So the time passed in a way that was pleasant. Jessie was completely won
+by this little Dago mine-urchin, in spite of all his frightful
+curse-words; and Hal saw that she was won, and was delighted by the
+success of this experiment in social amalgamation. He could not read
+Jessie's mind, and realise that underneath her genuine delight were
+reservations born of her prejudices, the instinctive cruelty of caste.
+Yes, this little mine chap was a cherub, now; but how about when he grew
+big? He would grow ugly and coarse-looking, in ten years one would not
+know him from any other of the rough and dirty men of the village.
+Jessie took the fact that common people grow ugly as they mature as a
+proof that they are, in some deep and permanent way, the inferiors of
+those above them. Hal was throwing away his time and strength, trying to
+make them into something which Nature had obviously not intended them to
+be! She decided to make that point to Hal on their way back to the
+train. She realised that he had brought her here to educate her; like
+all the rest of the world, she resented forcible education, and she was
+not without hope that she might turn the tables and educate Hal.
+
+Pretty soon Rosa finished nursing the baby, and Jessie remarked the
+little one's black eyes. This topic broke down the mother's shyness, and
+they were chatting pleasantly, when suddenly they heard sounds outside
+which caused them to start up. It was a clamour of women's voices; and
+Hal and Rosa sprang to the door. Just now was a critical time, when
+every one was on edge for news.
+
+Hal threw open the door and called to those outside "What is it?" There
+came a response, in a woman's voice, "They've found Rafferty!"
+
+"Alive?"
+
+"Nobody knows yet."
+
+"Where?"
+
+"In Room Seventeen. Eleven of them--Rafferty, and young Flanagan, and
+Johannson, the Swede. They're near dead--can't speak, they say. They
+won't let anybody near them."
+
+Other voices broke in; but the one which answered Hal had a different
+quality; it was a warm, rich voice, unmistakably Irish, and it held
+Jessie's attention. "They've got them in the tipple-room, and the women
+want to know about their men, and they won't tell them. They're beatin'
+them back like dogs!"
+
+There was a tumult of weeping, and Hal stepped out of the cabin, and in
+a minute or so he entered again, supporting on his arm a girl, clad in a
+faded blue calico dress, and having a head of very conspicuous red hair.
+She seemed half fainting, and kept moaning that it was horrible,
+horrible. Hal led her to a chair, and she sank into it and hid her face
+in her hands, sobbing, talking incoherently between her sobs.
+
+Jessie stood looking at this girl. She felt the intensity of her
+excitement, and shared it; yet at the same time there was something in
+Jessie that resented it. She did not wish to be upset about things like
+this, which she could not help. Of course these unfortunate people were
+suffering; but--what a shocking lot of noise the poor thing was making!
+A part of the poor thing's excitement was rage, and Jessie realised
+that, and resented it still more. It was as if it were a personal
+challenge to her; the same as Hal's fierce social passions, which so
+bewildered and shocked her.
+
+"They're beatin' the women back like dogs!" the girl repeated.
+
+"Mary," said Hal, trying to soothe her, "the doctors will be doing their
+best. The women couldn't expect to crowd about them!"
+
+"Maybe they couldn't; but that's not it, Joe, and ye know it! They been
+bringin' up dead bodies, some they found where the explosion was--blown
+all to pieces. And they won't let anybody see them. Is that because of
+the doctors? No, it ain't! It's because they want to tell lies about the
+number killed! They want to count four or five legs to a man! And that's
+what's drivin' the women crazy! I saw Mrs. Zamboni, tryin' to get into
+the shed, and Pete Hanun caught her by the breasts and shoved her back.
+'I want my man!' she screamed. 'Well, what do you want him for? He's all
+in pieces!' 'I want the pieces!' 'What good'll they do you? Are you
+goin' to eat him?'"
+
+There were cries of horror now, even from Jessie; and the strange girl
+hid her face in her hands and began to sob again. Hal put his hand
+gently on her arm.
+
+"Mary," he pleaded, "it's not so bad--at least they're getting the
+people out."
+
+"How do ye know what they're doin'? They might be sealin' up parts of
+the mine down below! That's what makes it so horrible--nobody knows
+what's happenin'! Ye should have heard poor Mrs. Rafferty screamin'.
+Joe, it went through me like a knife. Just think, it's been half an hour
+since they brought him up, and the poor lady can't be told if her man is
+alive."
+
+
+
+SECTION 24.
+
+Hal stood for a few moments in thought. He was surprised that such
+things should be happening while Percy Harrigan's train was in the
+village. He was considering whether he should go to Percy, or whether a
+hint to Cotton or Cartwright would not be sufficient.
+
+"Mary," he said, in a quiet voice, "you needn't distress yourself so. We
+can get better treatment for the women, I'm sure."
+
+But her sobbing went on. "What can ye do? They're bound to have their
+way!"
+
+"No," said Hal. "There's a difference now. Believe me--something can be
+done. I'll step over and have a word with Jeff Cotton."
+
+He started towards the door; but there came a cry: "Hal!" It was Jessie,
+whom he had almost forgotten in his sudden anger at the bosses.
+
+At her protest he turned and looked at her; then he looked at Mary. He
+saw the latter's hands fall from her tear-stained face, and her
+expression of grief give way to one of wonder. "Hal!"
+
+"Excuse me," he said, quickly. "Miss Burke, this is my friend, Miss
+Arthur." Then, not quite sure if this was a satisfactory introduction,
+he added, "Jessie, this is my friend, Mary."
+
+Jessie's training could not fail in any emergency. "Miss Burke," she
+said, and smiled with perfect politeness. But Mary said nothing, and the
+strained look did not leave her face.
+
+In the first excitement she had almost failed to notice this stranger;
+but now she stared, and realisation grew upon her. Here was a girl,
+beautiful with a kind of beauty hardly to be conceived of in a
+mining-camp; reserved, yet obviously expensive--even in a mackintosh and
+rubber-shoes. Mary was used to the expensiveness of Mrs. O'Callahan, but
+here was a new kind of expensiveness, subtle and compelling, strangely
+unconscious. And she laid claim to Joe Smith, the miner's buddy! She
+called him by a name hitherto unknown to his North Valley associates! It
+needed no word from Little Jerry to guide Mary's instinct; she knew in a
+flash that here was the "other girl."
+
+Mary was seized with sudden acute consciousness of the blue calico
+dress, patched at the shoulder and stained with grease-spots; of her
+hands, big and rough with hard labour; of her feet, clad in shoes worn
+sideways at the heel, and threatening to break out at the toes. And as
+for Jessie, she too had the woman's instinct; she too saw a girl who was
+beautiful, with a kind of beauty of which she did not approve, but which
+she could not deny--the beauty of robust health, of abounding animal
+energy. Jessie was not unaware of the nature of her own charms, having
+been carefully educated to conserve them; nor did she fail to make note
+of the other girl's handicaps--the patched and greasy dress, the big
+rough hands, the shoes worn sideways. But even so, she realised that
+"Red Mary" had a quality which she lacked--that beside this wild rose of
+a mining-camp, she, Jessie Arthur, might possibly seem a garden flower,
+fragile and insipid.
+
+She had seen Hal lay his hand upon Mary's arm, and heard her speak to
+him. She called him Joe! And a sudden fear had leaped into Jessie's
+heart.
+
+Like many girls who have been delicately reared, Jessie Arthur knew more
+than she admitted, even to herself. She knew enough to realise that
+young men with ample means and leisure are not always saints and
+ascetics. Also, she had heard the remark many times made that these
+women of the lower orders had "no morals." Just what did such a remark
+mean? What would be the attitude of such a girl as Mary
+Burke--full-blooded and intense, dissatisfied with her lot in life--to a
+man of culture and charm like Hal? She would covet him, of course; no
+woman who knew him could fail to covet him. And she would try to steal
+him away from his friends, from the world to which he belonged, the
+future of happiness and ease to which he was entitled. She would have
+powers--dark and terrible powers, all the more appalling to Jessie
+because they were mysterious. Might they possibly be able to overcome
+even the handicap of a dirty calico dress, of big rough hands and shoes
+worn sideways?
+
+These reflections, which have taken many words to explain, came to
+Jessie in one flash of intuition. She understood now, all at once, the
+incomprehensible phenomenon--that Hal should leave friends and home and
+career, to come and live amid this squalor and suffering! She saw the
+old drama of the soul of man, heaven and hell contending for mastery of
+it; and she knew that she was heaven, and that this "Red Mary" was hell.
+
+She looked at Hal. He seemed to her so fine and true; his face was
+frank, he was the soul of honourableness. No, it was impossible to
+believe that he had yielded to such a lure! If that had been the case,
+he would never have brought her to this cabin, he would never have taken
+a chance of her meeting the girl. No; but he might be struggling against
+temptation, he might be in the toils of it, and only half aware of it.
+He was a man, and therefore blind; he was a dreamer, and it would be
+like him to idealise this girl, calling her na�ve and primitive,
+thinking that she had no wiles! Jessie had come just in time to save
+him! And she would fight to save him--using wiles more subtle than those
+at the command of any mining-camp hussy!
+
+
+
+SECTION 25.
+
+It was the surging up in Jessie Arthur of that instinctive self, the
+creature of hereditary cruelty, of the existence of which Hal had no
+idea. She drew back, and there was a quiet _hauteur_ in her tone as she
+spoke. "Hal, come here, please."
+
+He came; and she waited until he was close enough for intimacy, and then
+said, "Have you forgotten you have to take me back to the train?"
+
+"Can't you come with me for a few minutes?" he pleaded. "It would have
+such a good effect if you did."
+
+"I can't go into that crowd," she answered; and suddenly her voice
+trembled, and the tears came into her sweet brown eyes. "Don't you know,
+Hal, that I couldn't stand such terrible sights? This poor girl--she is
+used to them--she is hardened! But I--I--oh, take me away, take me away,
+dear Hal!" This cry of a woman for protection came with a familiar echo
+to Hal's mind. He did not stop to think--he was moved by it
+instinctively. Yes, he had exposed the girl he loved to suffering! He
+had meant it for her own good, but even so, it was cruel!
+
+He stood close to her, and saw the love-light in her eyes; he saw the
+tears, the trembling of her sensitive chin. She swayed to him, and he
+caught her in his arms--and there, before these witnesses, she let him
+press her to him, while she sobbed and whispered her distress. She had
+been shy of caresses hitherto, watched and admonished by an experienced
+mother; certainly she had never before made what could by the remotest
+stretch of the imagination be considered an advance towards him. But now
+she made it, and there was a cry of triumph in her soul as she saw that
+he responded to it. He was still hers--and these low people should know
+it, this "other girl" should know it!
+
+Yet, in the midst of this very exultation, Jessie Arthur really felt the
+grief she expressed for the women of North Valley; she really felt
+horror at the story of Mrs. Zamboni's "man": so intricate is the soul of
+woman, so puzzling that faculty, older than the ages, which enables her
+to be hysterical, and at the same time to be guided in the use of that
+hysteria by deep and infallible calculation.
+
+But she made Hal realise that it was necessary for him to take her away.
+He turned to Mary Burke and said, "Miss Arthur's train is leaving in a
+short time. I'll have to take her hack, and then I'll go to the
+pit-mouth with you and see what I can do."
+
+"Very well," Mary answered; and her voice was hard and cold. But Hal did
+not notice this. He was a man, and not able to keep up with the emotions
+of one woman--to say nothing of two women at the same time.
+
+He took Jessie out, and all the way hack to the train she fought a
+desperate fight to get him away from here. She no longer even suggested
+that he get decent clothing; she was willing for him to come as he was,
+in his coal-stained mining-jumpers, in the private train of the Coal
+King's son. She besought him in the name of their affection. She
+threatened him that if he did not come, this might be the last time they
+would meet. She even broke down in the middle of the street, and let him
+stand there in plain sight of miners' wives and children, and of
+possible newspaper reporters, holding her in his arms and comforting
+her.
+
+Hal was much puzzled; but he would not give way. The idea of going off
+in Percy Harrigan's train had come to seem morally repulsive to him; he
+hated Percy Harrigan's train, and Percy Harrigan also, he declared. And
+Jessie saw that she was only making him unreasonable--that before long
+he might be hating her. With her instinctive _savoir faire_, she brought
+up his suggestion that she might find some one to chaperon her, and stay
+with him at North Valley until he was ready to come away.
+
+Hal's heart leaped at that; he had no idea what was in her mind--the
+certainty that no one of the ladies of the Harrigan party would run the
+risk of offending her host by staying under such circumstances.
+
+"You mean it, sweetheart?" he cried, happily.
+
+She answered, "I mean that I love you, Hal."
+
+"All right, dear!" he said. "We'll see if we can arrange it."
+
+But as they walked on, she managed, without his realising it, to cause
+him to reflect upon the effect of her staying. She was willing to do it,
+if it was what he wanted; but it would injure, perhaps irrevocably, his
+standing with her parents. They would telegraph her to come at once; and
+if she did not obey, they would come by the next train. So on, until at
+last Hal was moved to withdraw his own suggestion. After all, what was
+the use of her staying, if her mind was on the people at home, if she
+would simply keep him in hot water? Before the conversation was over Hal
+had become clear in his mind that North Valley was no place for Jessie
+Arthur, and that he had been a fool to think he could bring the two
+together.
+
+She tried to get him to promise to leave as soon as the last man had
+been brought out of the mine. He answered that he intended to leave
+then, unless some new emergency should arise. She tried to get an
+unqualified promise; and failing in that, when they had nearly got to
+the train she suddenly made a complete surrender. Let him do what he
+pleased--but let him remember that she loved him, that she needed him,
+that she could not do without him. No matter what he might do, no matter
+what people might say about him, she believed in him, she would stand by
+him. Hal was deeply touched, and took her in his arms again and kissed
+her tenderly under the umbrella, in the presence of the wondering stares
+of several urchins with coal-smutted faces. He pledged anew his love for
+her, assuring her that no amount of interest in mining-camps should ever
+steal him from her.
+
+Then he put her on the train, and shook hands with the departing guests.
+He was so very sombre and harassed-looking that the young men forbore to
+"kid" him as they would otherwise have done. He stood on the
+station-platform and saw the train roll away--and felt, to his own
+desperate bewilderment, that he hated these friends of his boyhood and
+youth. His reason protested against it; he told himself there was
+nothing they could do, no reason on earth for them to stay--and yet he
+hated them. They were hurrying off to dance and flirt at the country
+club--while he was going back to the pit-mouth, to try to get Mrs.
+Zamboni the right to inspect the pieces of her "man"!
+
+
+
+
+BOOK FOUR
+
+THE WILL OF KING COAL
+
+
+
+
+SECTION 1.
+
+The pit of death was giving up its secrets. The hoist was busy, and
+cage-load after cage-load came up, with bodies dead and bodies living
+and bodies only to be classified after machines had pumped air into them
+for a while. Hal stood in the rain and watched the crowd and thought
+that he had never witnessed a scene so compelling to pity and terror.
+The silence that would fall when any one appeared who might have news to
+tell! The sudden shriek of anguish from some woman whose hopes were
+struck dead! The moans of sympathy that ran through the crowd,
+alternating with cheers at some good tidings, shaking the souls of the
+multitude as a storm of wind shakes a reed-field!
+
+And the stories that ran through the camp--brought up from the
+underground world--stories of incredible sufferings, and of still more
+incredible heroisms! Men who had been four days without food or water,
+yet had resisted being carried out of the mine, proposing to stay and
+help rescue others! Men who had lain together in the darkness and
+silence, keeping themselves alive by the water which seeped from the
+rocks overhead, taking turns lying face upwards where the drops fell, or
+wetting pieces of their clothing and sucking out the moisture! Members
+of the rescue parties would tell how they knocked upon the barriers, and
+heard the faint answering signals of the imprisoned men; how madly they
+toiled to cut through, and how, when at last a little hole appeared,
+they heard the cries of joy, and saw the eyes of men shining from the
+darkness, while they waited, gasping, for the hole to grow bigger, so
+that water and food might be passed in!
+
+In some places they were fighting the fire. Long lines of hose had been
+sent down, and men were moving forward foot by foot, as the smoke and
+steam were sucked out ahead of them by the fan. Those who did this work
+were taking their lives in their hands, yet they went without
+hesitation. There was always hope of finding men in barricaded rooms
+beyond.
+
+Hal sought out Jeff Cotton at the entrance to the tipple-room, which had
+been turned into a temporary hospital. It was the first time the two had
+met since the revelation in Percy's car, and the camp-marshal's face
+took on a rather sheepish grin. "Well, Mr. Warner, you win," he
+remarked; and after a little arguing he agreed to permit a couple of
+women to go into the tipple-room and make a list of the injured, and go
+out and give the news to the crowd. Hal went to the Minettis to ask Mary
+Burke to attend to this; but Rosa said that Mary had gone out after he
+and Miss Arthur had left, and no one knew where she was. So Hal went to
+Mrs. David, who consented to get a couple of friends, and do the work
+without being called a "committee." "I won't have any damned
+committees!" the camp-marshal had declared.
+
+So the night passed, and part of another day. A clerk from the office
+came to Hal with a sealed envelope, containing a telegram, addressed in
+care of Cartwright. "I most urgently beg of you to come home at once. It
+will be distressing to Dad if he hears what has happened, and it will
+not be possible to keep the matter from him for long."
+
+As Hal read, he frowned; evidently the Harrigans had got busy without
+delay! He went to the office and telephoned his answer. "Am planning to
+leave in a day or two. Trust you will make an effort to spare Dad until
+you have heard my story."
+
+This message troubled Hal. It started in his mind long arguments with
+his brother, and explanations and apologies to his father. He loved the
+old man tenderly. What a shame if some emissary of the Harrigans were to
+get to him to upset him with misrepresentations!
+
+Also these ideas had a tendency to make Hal homesick; they brought more
+vividly to his thoughts the outside world, with its physical
+allurements--there being a limit to the amount of unwholesome meals and
+dirty beds and repulsive sights a man of refinement can force himself to
+endure. Hal found himself obsessed by a vision of a club dining-room,
+with odours of grilled steaks and hot rolls, and the colours of salads
+and fresh fruits and cream. The conviction grew suddenly strong in him
+that his work in North Valley was nearly done!
+
+Another night passed, and another day. The last of the bodies had been
+brought out, and the corpses shipped down to Pedro for one of those big
+wholesale funerals which are a feature of mine-life. The fire was out,
+and the rescue-crews had given place to a swarm of carpenters and
+timbermen, repairing the damage and making the mine safe. The reporters
+had gone; Billy Keating having clasped Hal's hand, and promised to meet
+him for luncheon at the club. An agent of the "Red Cross" was on hand,
+and was feeding the hungry out of Mrs. Curtis's subscription-list. What
+more was there for Hal to do--except to bid good-bye to his friends, and
+assure them of his help in the future?
+
+First among these friends was Mary Burke, whom he had had no chance to
+talk to since the meeting with Jessie. He realised that Mary had been
+deliberately avoiding him. She was not in her home, and he went to
+inquire at the Rafferties', and stopped for a good-bye chat with the old
+woman whose husband he had saved.
+
+Rafferty was going to pull through. His wife had been allowed in to see
+him, and tears rolled down her shrunken cheeks as she told about it. He
+had been four days and nights blocked up in a little tunnel, with no
+food or water, save for a few drops of coffee which he had shared with
+other men. He could still not speak, he could hardly move a hand; but
+there was life in his eyes, and his look had been a greeting from the
+soul she had loved and served these thirty years and more. Mrs. Rafferty
+sang praises to the Rafferty God, who had brought him safely through
+these perils; it seemed obvious that He must be more efficient than the
+Protestant God of Johannson, the giant Swede, who had lain by Rafferty's
+side and given up the ghost.
+
+But the doctor had stated that the old Irishman would never be good to
+work again; and Hal saw a shadow of terror cross the sunshine of Mrs.
+Rafferty's rejoicing. How could a doctor say a thing like that? Rafferty
+was old, to be sure; but he was tough--and could any doctor imagine how
+hard a man would try who had a family looking to him? Sure, he was not
+the one to give up for a bit of pain now and then! Besides him, there
+was only Tim who was earning; and though Tim was a good lad, and worked
+steady, any doctor ought to know that a big family could not be kept
+going on the wages of one eighteen-year-old pit-boy. As for the other
+lads, there was a law that said they were too young to work. Mrs.
+Rafferty thought there should be some one to put a little sense into the
+heads of them that made the laws--for if they wanted to forbid children
+to work in coal-mines, they should surely provide some other way to feed
+the children.
+
+Hal listened, agreeing sympathetically, and meantime watching her, and
+learning more from her actions than from her words. She had been
+obedient to the teachings of her religion, to be fruitful and multiply;
+she had fed three grown sons into the maw of industry, and had still
+eight children and a man to care for. Hal wondered if she had ever
+rested a single minute of daylight in all her fifty-four years.
+Certainly not while he had been in her house! Even now, while praising
+the Rafferty God and blaming the capitalist law-makers, she was getting
+a supper, moving swiftly, silently, like a machine. She was lean as an
+old horse that has toiled across a desert; the skin over her cheek-bones
+was tight as stretched rubber, and cords stood out in her wrists like
+piano-wires.
+
+And now she was cringing before the spectre of destitution. He asked
+what she would do about it, and saw the shadow of terror cross her face
+again. There was one recourse from starvation, it seemed--to have her
+children taken from her, and put in some institution! At the mention of
+this, one of the special nightmares of the poor, the old woman began to
+sob and cry again that the doctor was wrong; he would see, and Hal would
+see--Old Rafferty would be back at his job in a week or two!
+
+
+
+SECTION 2.
+
+Hal went out on the street again. It was the hour which would have been
+sunset in a level region; the tops of the mountains were touched with a
+purple light, and the air was fresh and chill with early fall. Down the
+darkening streets he saw a gathering of men; there was shouting, and
+people running towards the place, so he hurried up, with the thought in
+his mind, "What's the matter now?" There were perhaps a hundred men
+crying out, their voices mingling like the sound of waves on the sea. He
+could make out words: "Go on! Go on! We've had enough of it! Hurrah!"
+
+"What's happened?" he asked, of some one on the outskirts; and the man,
+recognising him, raised a cry which ran through the throng: "Joe Smith!
+He's the boy for us! Come in here, Joe! Give us a speech!"
+
+But even while Hal was asking questions, trying to get the situation
+clear, other shouts had drowned out his name. "We've had enough of them
+walking over us!" And somebody cried, more loudly, "Tell us about it!
+Tell it again! Go on!"
+
+A man was standing upon the steps of a building at one side. Hal stared
+in amazement; it was Tim Rafferty. Of all people in the world--Tim, the
+light-hearted and simple, Tim of the laughing face and the merry Irish
+blue eyes! Now his sandy hair was tousled and his features distorted
+with rage. "Him near dead!" he yelled. "Him with his voice gone, and
+couldn't move his hand! Eleven years he's slaved for them, and near
+killed in an accident that's their own fault--every man in this crowd
+knows it's their own fault, by God!"
+
+"Sure thing! You're right!" cried a chorus of voices "Tell it all!"
+
+"They give him twenty-five dollars and his hospital expenses--and
+what'll his hospital expenses be? They'll have him out on the street
+again before he's able to stand. You know that--they done it to Pete
+Cullen!"
+
+"You bet they did!"
+
+"Them damned lawyers in there--gettin' 'em to sign papers when they
+don't know what they're doin'. An' me that might help him can't get
+near! By Christ, I say it's too much! Are we slaves, or are we dogs,
+that we have to stand such things?"
+
+"We'll stand no more of it!" shouted one. "We'll go in there and see to
+it ourselves!"
+
+"Come on!" shouted another. "To hell with their gunmen!"
+
+Hal pushed his way into the crowd. "Tim!" he cried. "How do you know
+this?"
+
+"There's a fellow in there seen it."
+
+"Who?"
+
+"I can't tell you--they'd fire him; but it's somebody you know as well
+as me. He come and told me. They're beatin' me old father out of
+damages!"
+
+"They do it all the time!" shouted Wauchope, an English miner at Hal's
+side. "That's why they won't let us in there."
+
+"They done the same thing to my father!" put in another voice. Hal
+recognised Andy, the Greek boy.
+
+"And they want to start Number Two in the mornin'!" yelled Tim. "Who'll
+go down there again? And with Alec Stone, him that damns the men and
+saves the mules!"
+
+"We'll not go back in them mines till they're safe!" shouted Wauchope.
+"Let them sprinkle them--or I'm done with the whole business."
+
+"And let 'em give us our weights!" cried another. "We'll have a
+check-weighman, and we'll get what we earn!"
+
+So again came the cry, "Joe Smith! Give us a speech, Joe! Soak it to
+'em! You're the boy!"
+
+Hal stood helpless, dismayed. He had counted his fight won--and here was
+another beginning! The men were looking to him, calling upon him as the
+boldest of the rebels. Only a few of them knew about the sudden change
+in his fortunes.
+
+Even while he hesitated, the line of battle had swept past him; the
+Englishman, Wauchope, sprang upon the steps and began to address the
+throng. He was one of the bowed and stunted men, but in this emergency
+he developed sudden lung-power. Hal listened in astonishment; this
+silent and dull-looking fellow was the last he would have picked for a
+fighter. Tom Olson had sounded him out, and reported that he would hear
+nothing, so they had dismissed him from mind. And here he was, shouting
+terrible defiance!
+
+"They're a set of robbers and murderers! They rob us everywhere we turn!
+For my part, I've had enough of it! Have you?"
+
+There was a roar from every one within reach of his voice. They had all
+had enough.
+
+"All right, then--we'll fight them!"
+
+"Hurrah! Hurrah! We'll have our rights!"
+
+Jeff Cotton came up on the run, with "Bud" Adams and two or three of the
+gunmen at his heels. The crowd turned upon them, the men on the
+outskirts clenching their fists, showing their teeth like angry dogs.
+Cotton's face was red with rage, but he saw that he had a serious matter
+in hand; he turned and went for more help--and the mob roared with
+delight. Already they had begun their fight! Already they had won their
+first victory!
+
+
+
+SECTION 3.
+
+The crowd moved down the street, shouting and cursing as it went. Some
+one started to sing the Marseillaise, and others took it up, and the
+words mounted to a frenzy:
+
+  "To arms! To arms, ye brave!
+  March on, march on, all hearts resolved
+  On victory or death!"
+
+There were the oppressed of many nations in this crowd; they sang in a
+score of languages, but it was the same song. They would sing a few
+bars, and the yells of others would drown them out. "March on! March on!
+All hearts resolved!" Some rushed away in different directions to spread
+the news, and very soon the whole population of the village was on the
+spot; the men waving their caps, the women lifting up their hands and
+shrieking--or standing terrified, realising that babies could not be fed
+upon revolutionary singing.
+
+Tim Rafferty was raised up on the shoulders of the crowd and made to
+tell his story once more. While he was telling it, his old mother came
+running, and her shrieks rang above the clamour: "Tim! Tim! Come down
+from there! What's the matter wid ye?" She was twisting her hands
+together in an agony of fright; seeing Hal, she rushed up to him. "Get
+him out of there, Joe! Sure, the lad's gone crazy! They'll turn us out
+of the camp, they'll give us nothin' at all--and what'll become of us?
+Mother of God, what's the matter with the b'y?" She called to Tim again;
+but Tim paid no attention, if he heard her. Tim was on the march to
+Versailles!
+
+Some one shouted that they would go to the hospital to protect the
+injured men from the "damned lawyers." Here was something definite, and
+the crowd moved in that direction, Hal following with the stragglers,
+the women and children, and the less bold among the men. He noticed some
+of the clerks and salaried employ�s of the company; presently he saw
+Jeff Cotton again, and heard him ordering these men to the office to get
+revolvers.
+
+"Big Jack" David came along with Jerry Minetti, and Hal drew back to
+consult with them. Jerry was on fire. It had come--the revolt he had
+been looking forward to for years! Why were they not making speeches,
+getting control of the men and organising them?
+
+Jack David voiced uncertainty. They had to consider if this outburst
+could mean anything permanent.
+
+Jerry answered that it would mean what they chose to make it mean. If
+they took charge, they could guide the men and hold them together.
+Wasn't that what Tom Olson had wanted?
+
+No, said the big Welshman, Olson had been trying to organise the men
+secretly, as preliminary to a revolt in all the camps. That was quite
+another thing from an open movement, limited to one camp. Was there any
+hope of success for such a movement? If not, they would be foolish to
+start, they would only be making sure of their own expulsion.
+
+Jerry turned to Hal. What did he think?
+
+And so at last Hal had to speak. It was hard for him to judge, he said.
+He knew so little about labour matters. It was to learn about them that
+he had come to North Valley. It was a hard thing to advise men to submit
+to such treatment as they had been getting; but on the other hand, any
+one could see that a futile outbreak would discourage everybody, and
+make it harder than ever to organise them.
+
+So much Hal spoke; but there was more in his mind, which he could not
+speak. He could not say to these men, "I am a friend of yours, but I am
+also a friend of your enemy, and in this crisis I cannot make up my mind
+to which side I owe allegiance. I'm bound by a duty of politeness to the
+masters of your lives; also, I'm anxious not to distress the girl I am
+to marry!" No, he could not say such things. He felt himself a traitor
+for having them in his mind, and he could hardly bring himself to look
+these men in the eye. Jerry knew that he was in some way connected with
+the Harrigans; probably he had told the rest of Hal's friends, and they
+had been discussing it and speculating about the meaning of it. Suppose
+they should think he was a spy?
+
+So Hal was relieved when Jack David spoke firmly. They would only be
+playing the game of the enemy if they let themselves be drawn in
+prematurely. They ought to have the advice of Tom Olson.
+
+Where was Olson? Hal asked; and David explained that on the day when Hal
+had been thrown out of camp, Olson had got his "time" and set out for
+Sheridan, the local headquarters of the union, to report the situation.
+He would probably not come back; he had got his little group together,
+he had planted the seed of revolt in North Valley.
+
+They discussed back and forth the problem of getting advice. It was
+impossible to telephone from North Valley without everything they said
+being listened to; but the evening train for Pedro left in a few
+minutes, and "Big Jack" declared that some one ought to take it. The
+town of Sheridan was only fifteen or twenty miles from Pedro, and there
+would be a union official there to advise them; or they might use the
+long distance telephone, and persuade one of the union leaders in
+Western City to take the midnight train, and be in Pedro next morning.
+
+Hal, still hoping to withdraw himself, put this task off on Jack David.
+They emptied out the contents of their pockets, so that he might have
+funds enough, and the big Welshman darted off to catch the train. In the
+meantime Jerry and Hal agreed to keep in the background, and to seek out
+the other members of their group and warn them to do the same.
+
+
+
+SECTION 4.
+
+This programme was a convenient one for Hal; but as he was to find
+almost at once, it had been adopted too late. He and Jerry started after
+the crowd, which had stopped in front of one of the company buildings;
+and as they came nearer they heard some one making a speech. It was the
+voice of a woman, the tones rising clear and compelling. They could not
+see the speaker, because of the throng, but Hal recognised her voice,
+and caught his companion by the arm. "It's Mary Burke!"
+
+Mary Burke it was, for a fact; and she seemed to have the crowd in a
+kind of frenzy. She would speak one sentence, and there would come a
+roar from the throng; she would speak another sentence, and there would
+come another roar. Hal and Jerry pushed their way in, to where they
+could make out the words of this litany of rage.
+
+"Would they go down into the pit themselves, do ye think?"
+
+"They would not!"
+
+"Would they be dressed in silks and laces, do ye think?"
+
+"They would not!"
+
+"Would they have such fine soft hands, do ye think?"
+
+"They would not!"
+
+"Would they hold themselves too good to look at ye?"
+
+"They would not! They would not!"
+
+And Mary swept on: "If only ye'd stand together, they'd come to ye on
+their knees to ask for terms! But ye're cowards, and they play on your
+fears! Ye're traitors, and they buy ye out! They break ye into pieces,
+they do what they please with ye--and then ride off in their private
+cars, and leave gunmen to beat ye down and trample on your faces! How
+long will ye stand it? How long?"
+
+The roar of the mob rolled down the street and back again. "We'll not
+stand it! We'll not stand it!" Men shook their clenched fists, women
+shrieked, even children shouted curses. "We'll fight them! We'll slave
+no more for them!"
+
+And Mary found a magic word. "We'll have a union!" she shouted. "We'll
+get together and stay together! If they refuse us our rights, we'll know
+what to answer--we'll have a _strike!_"
+
+There was a roar like the crashing of thunder in the mountains. Yes,
+Mary had found the word! For many years it had not been spoken aloud in
+North Valley, but now it ran like a flash of gunpowder through the
+throng. "Strike! Strike! Strike! Strike!" It seemed as if they would
+never have enough of it. Not all of them had understood Mary's speech,
+but they knew this word, "Strike!" They translated and proclaimed it in
+Polish and Bohemian and Italian and Greek. Men waved their caps, women
+waved their aprons--in the semi-darkness it was like some strange kind
+of vegetation tossed by a storm. Men clasped one another's hands, the
+more demonstrative of the foreigners fell upon one another's necks.
+"Strike! Strike! Strike!"
+
+"We're no longer slaves!" cried the speaker. "We're men--and we'll live
+as men! We'll work as men--or we'll not work at all! We'll no longer be
+a herd of cattle, that they can drive about as they please! We'll
+organise, we'll stand together--shoulder to shoulder! Either we'll win
+together, or we'll starve and die together! And not a man of us will
+yield, not a man of us will turn traitor! Is there anybody here who'll
+scab on his fellows?"
+
+There was a howl, which might have come from a pack of wolves. Let the
+man who would scab on his fellows show his dirty face in that crowd!
+
+"Ye'll stand by the union?"
+
+"We'll stand by it!"
+
+"Ye'll swear?"
+
+"We'll swear!"
+
+She flung her arms to heaven with a gesture of passionate adjuration.
+"Swear it on your lives! To stick to the rest of us, and never a man of
+ye give way till ye've won! Swear! _Swear!_"
+
+Men stood, imitating her gesture, their hands stretched up to the sky.
+"We swear! We swear!"
+
+"Ye'll not let them break ye! Ye'll not let them frighten ye!"
+
+"No! No!"
+
+"Stand by your word, men! Stand by it! 'Tis the one chance for your
+wives and childer!" The girl rushed on--exhorting with leaping words and
+passionate out-flung arms--a tall, swaying figure of furious rebellion.
+Hal listened to the speech and watched the speaker, marvelling. Here was
+a miracle of the human soul, here was hope born of despair! And the
+crowd around her--they were sharing the wonderful rebirth; their waving
+arms, their swaying forms responded to Mary as an orchestra to the baton
+of a leader.
+
+A thrill shook Hal--a thrill of triumph! He had been beaten down
+himself, he had wanted to run from this place of torment; but now there
+was hope in North Valley--now there would be victory, freedom!
+
+Ever since he had come to the coal-country, the knowledge had been
+growing in Hal that the real tragedy of these people's lives was not
+their physical suffering, but their mental depression--the dull,
+hopeless misery in their minds. This had been driven into his
+consciousness day by day, both by what he saw and by what others told
+him. Tom Olson had first put it into words: "Your worst troubles are
+inside the heads of the fellows you're trying to help!" How could hope
+be given to men in this environment of terrorism? Even Hal himself,
+young and free as he was, had been brought to despair. He came from a
+class which is accustomed to say, "Do this," or "Do that," and it will
+be done. But these mine-slaves had never known that sense of power, of
+certainty; on the contrary, they were accustomed to having their efforts
+balked at every turn, their every impulse to happiness or achievement
+crushed by another's will.
+
+But here was this miracle of the human soul! Here was hope in North
+Valley! Here were the people rising--and Mary Burke at their head! It
+was his vision come true--Mary Burke with a glory in her face, and her
+hair shining like a crown of gold! Mary Burke mounted upon a snow-white
+horse, wearing a robe of white, soft and lustrous--like Joan of Arc, or
+a leader in a suffrage parade! Yes, and she was at the head of a host,
+he had the music of its marching in his ears!
+
+Underneath Hal's jesting words had been a real vision, a real faith in
+this girl. Since that day when he had first discovered her, a wild rose
+of the mining-camp taking in the family wash, he had realised that she
+was no pretty young working-girl, but a woman with a mind and a
+personality. She saw farther, she felt more deeply than the average of
+these wage-slaves. Her problem was the same as theirs, yet more complex.
+When he had wanted to help her and had offered to get her a job, she had
+made clear that what she craved was not merely relief from drudgery, but
+a life with intellectual interest. So then the idea had come to him that
+Mary should become a teacher, a leader of her people. She loved them,
+she suffered for them and with them, and at the same time she had a mind
+that was capable of seeking out the causes of their misery. But when he
+had gone to her with plans of leadership, he had been met by her
+corroding despair; her pessimism had seemed to mock his dreams, her
+contempt for these mine-slaves had belittled his efforts in their behalf
+and in hers.
+
+And now, here she was taking up the role he had planned for her! Her
+very soul was in this shouting throng, he thought. She had lived the
+lives of these people, shared their every wrong, been driven to
+rebellion with them. Being a mere man, Hal missed one important point
+about this startling development; he did not realise that Mary's
+eloquence was addressed, not merely to the Rafferties and the Wauchopes,
+and the rest of the North Valley mine-slaves, but to a certain
+magazine-cover girl, clad in a mackintosh and a pale green hat and a
+soft and filmy and horribly expensive motoring veil!
+
+
+
+SECTION 5.
+
+Mary's speech was brought to a sudden end. A group of the men had moved
+down the street, and there arose a disturbance there. The noise of it
+swelled louder, and more people began to move in that direction. Mary
+turned to look, and all at once the whole throng surged down the street.
+
+The trouble was at the hospital. In front of this building was a porch,
+and on it Cartwright and Alec Stone were standing, with a group of the
+clerks and office-employ�s, among whom Hal saw Predovich, Johnson, the
+postmaster, and Si Adams. At the foot of the steps stood Tim Rafferty,
+with a swarm of determined men at his back. He was shouting, "We want
+them lawyers out of there!"
+
+The superintendent himself had undertaken to parley with him. "There are
+no lawyers in here, Rafferty."
+
+"We don't trust you!" And the crowd took up the cry: "We'll see for
+ourselves!"
+
+"You can't go into this building," declared Cartwright.
+
+"I'm goin' to see my father!" shouted Tim. "I've got a right to see my
+father, ain't I?"
+
+"You can see him in the morning. You can take him away, if you want to.
+We've no desire to keep him. But he's asleep now, and you can't disturb
+the others."
+
+"You weren't afraid to disturb them with your damned lawyers!" And there
+was a roar of approval--so loud that Cartwright's denial could hardly be
+heard.
+
+"There have been no lawyers near him, I tell you."
+
+"It's a lie!" shouted Wauchope. "They been in there all day, and you
+know it. We mean to have them out."
+
+"Go on, Tim!" cried Andy, the Greek boy, pushing his way to the front.
+"Go on!" cried the others; and thus encouraged, Rafferty started up the
+steps.
+
+"I mean to see my father!" As Cartwright caught him by the shoulder, he
+yelled, "Let me go, I say!"
+
+It was evident that the superintendent was trying his best not to use
+violence; he was ordering his own followers back at the same time that
+he was holding the boy. But Tim's blood was up; he shoved forward, and
+the superintendent, either striking him or trying to ward off a blow,
+threw him backwards down the steps. There was an uproar of rage from the
+throng; they surged forward, and at the same time some of the men on the
+porch drew revolvers.
+
+The meaning of that situation was plain enough. In a moment more the mob
+would be up the steps, and there would be shooting. And if once that
+happened, who could guess the end? Wrought up as the crowd was, it might
+not stop till it had fired every company building, perhaps not until it
+had murdered every company representative.
+
+Hal had resolved to keep in the back-ground, but he saw that to keep in
+the back-ground at that moment would be an act of cowardice, almost a
+crime. He sprang forward, his cry rising above the clamour. "Stop, men!
+Stop!"
+
+There was probably no other man in North Valley who could have got
+himself heeded at that moment. But Hal had their confidence, he had
+earned the right to be heard. Had he not been to prison for them, had
+they not seen him behind the bars? "Joe Smith!" The cry ran from one end
+of the excited throng to the other.
+
+Hal was fighting his way forward, shoving men to one side, imploring,
+commanding silence. "Tim Rafferty! Wait!" And Tim, recognising the
+voice, obeyed.
+
+Once clear of the press, Hal sprang upon the porch, where Cartwright did
+not attempt to interfere with him.
+
+"Men!" he cried. "Hold on a moment! This isn't what you want! You don't
+want a fight!" He paused for an instant; but he knew that no mere
+negative would hold them at that moment. They must be told what they did
+want. Just now he had learned the particular words that would carry, and
+he proclaimed them at the top of his voice: "What you want is a union! A
+_strike!_"
+
+He was answered by a roar from the crowd, the loudest yet. Yes, that was
+what they wanted! A strike! And they wanted Joe Smith to organise it, to
+lead it. He had been their leader once, he had been thrown out of camp
+for it. How he had got back they were not quite clear--but here he was,
+and he was their darling. Hurrah for him! They would follow him to hell
+and back!
+
+And wasn't he the boy with the nerve! Standing there on the porch of the
+hospital, right under the very noses of the bosses, making a union
+speech to them, and the bosses never daring to touch him! The crowd,
+realising this situation, went wild with delight. The English-speaking
+men shouted assent to his words; and those who could not understand,
+shouted because the others did.
+
+They did not want fighting--of course not! Fighting would not help them!
+What would help them was to get together, and stand a solid body of free
+men. There would be a union committee, able to speak for all of them, to
+say that no man would go to work any more until justice was secured!
+They would have an end to the business of discharging men because they
+asked for their rights, of blacklisting men and driving them out of the
+district because they presumed to want what the laws of the state
+awarded them!
+
+
+
+SECTION 6.
+
+How long could a man expect to stand on the steps of a company building,
+with a super and a pit-boss at his back, and organise a union of
+mine-workers? Hal realised that he must move the crowd from that
+perilous place.
+
+"You'll do what I say, now?" he demanded; and when they agreed in
+chorus, he added the warning: "There'll be no fighting! And no drinking!
+If you see any man drunk to-night, sit on him and hold him down!"
+
+They laughed and cheered. Yes, they would keep straight. Here was a job
+for sober men, you bet!
+
+"And now," Hal continued, "the people in the hospital. We'll have a
+committee go in and see about them. No noise--we don't want to disturb
+the sick men. We only want to make sure nobody else is disturbing them.
+Some one will go in and stay with them. Does that suit you?"
+
+Yes, that suited them.
+
+"All right," said Hal. "Keep quiet for a moment."
+
+And he turned to the superintendent. "Cartwright," said he, "we want a
+committee to go in and stay with our people." Then, as the
+superintendent started to expostulate, he added, in a low voice, "Don't
+be a fool, man! Don't you see I'm trying to save your life?"
+
+The superintendent knew how bad it would be for discipline to let Hal
+carry his point with the crowd; but also he saw the immediate
+danger--and he was not sure of the courage and shooting ability of
+book-keepers and stenographers.
+
+"Be quick, man!" exclaimed Hal. "I can't hold these people long. If you
+don't want hell breaking loose, come to your senses."
+
+"All right," said Cartwright, swallowing his dignity.
+
+And Hal turned to the men and announced the concession. There was a
+shout of triumph.
+
+"Now, who's to go?" said Hal, when he could be heard again; and he
+looked about at the upturned faces. There Were Tim and Wauchope, the
+most obvious ones; but Hal decided to keep them under his eye. He
+thought of Jerry Minetti and of Mrs. David--but remembered his agreement
+with "Big Jack," to keep their own little group in the back-ground. Then
+he thought of Mary Burke; she had already done herself all the harm she
+could do, and she was a person the crowd would trust. He called her, and
+called Mrs. Ferris, an American woman in the crowd. The two came up the
+steps, and Hal turned to Cartwright.
+
+"Now, let's have an understanding," he said. "These people are going in
+to stay with the sick men, and to talk to them if they want to, and
+nobody's going to give them any orders but the doctors and nurses. Is
+that right?"
+
+"All right," said the superintendent, sullenly.
+
+"Good!" said Hal. "And for God's sake have a little sense and stand by
+your word; this crowd has had all it can endure, and if you do any more
+to provoke it, the consequences will be on you. And while you're about
+it, see that the saloons are closed and kept closed until this trouble
+is settled. And keep your people out of the way--don't let them go about
+showing their guns and making faces."
+
+Without waiting to hear the superintendent's reply, Hal turned to the
+throng, and held up his hand for silence. "Men," he said, "we have a big
+job to do--we're going to organise a union. And we can't do it here in
+front of the hospital. We've made too much noise already. Let's go off
+quietly, and have our meeting on the dump in back of the power-house.
+Does that suit you?"
+
+They answered that it suited them; and Hal, having seen the two women
+passed safely into the hospital, sprang down from the porch to lead the
+way. Jerry Minetti came to his side, trembling with delight; and Hal
+clutched him by the arm and whispered, excitedly, "Sing, Jerry! Sing
+them some Dago song!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 7.
+
+They got to the place appointed without any fighting. And meantime Hal
+had worked out in his mind a plan for communicating with this polyglot
+horde. He knew that half the men could not understand a word of English,
+and that half the remainder understood very little. Obviously, if he was
+to make matters clear to them, they must be sorted out according to
+nationality, and a reliable interpreter found for each group.
+
+The process of sorting proved a slow one, involving no end of shouting
+and good-natured jostling--Polish here, Bohemian here, Greek here,
+Italian here! When this job had been done, and a man found from each
+nationality who understood enough English to translate to his fellows,
+Hal started in to make a speech. But before he had spoken many
+sentences, pandemonium broke loose. All the interpreters started
+interpreting at the same time--and at the top of their lungs; it was
+like a parade with the bands close together! Hal was struck dumb; then
+he began to laugh, and the various audiences began to laugh; the orators
+stopped, perplexed--then they too began to laugh. So wave after wave of
+merriment rolled over the throng; the mood of the assembly was changed
+all at once, from rage and determination to the wildest hilarity. Hal
+learned his first lesson in the handling of these hordes of child-like
+people, whose moods were quick, whose tempers were balanced upon a fine
+point.
+
+It was necessary for him to make his speech through to the end, and then
+move the various audiences apart, to be addressed by the various
+interpreters. But then arose a new difficulty. How could any one control
+these floods of eloquence? How be sure that the message was not being
+distorted? Hal had been warned by Olson of company detectives who posed
+as workers, gaining the confidence of men in order to incite them to
+violence. And certainly some of these interpreters were violent-looking,
+and one's remarks sounded strange in their translations!
+
+There was the Greek orator, for example; a wild man, with wild hair and
+eyes, who tore all his passions to tatters. He stood upon a barrel-head,
+with the light of two pit-lamps upon him, and some two score of his
+compatriots at his feet; he waved his arms, he shook his fists, he
+shrieked, he bellowed. But when Hal, becoming uneasy, went over and
+asked another English-speaking Greek what the orator was saying, the
+answer was that he was promising that the law should be enforced in
+North Valley!
+
+Hal stood watching this perfervid little man, a study in the
+possibilities of gesture. He drew back his shoulders and puffed out his
+chest, almost throwing himself backwards off the barrel-head; he was
+saying that the miners would be able to live like men. He crouched down
+and bowed his head, moaning; he was telling them what would happen if
+they gave up. He fastened his fingers in his long black hair and began
+tugging desperately; he pulled, and then stretched out his empty hands;
+he pulled again, so hard that it almost made one cry out with pain to
+watch him. Hal asked what that was for; and the answer was, "He say,
+'Stand by union! Pull one hair, he come out; pull all hairs, no come
+out'!" It carried one back to the days of Aesop and his fables!
+
+Tom Olson had told Hal something about the technique of an organiser,
+who wished to drill these ignorant hordes. He had to repeat and repeat,
+until the dullest in his audience had grasped his meaning, had got into
+his head the all-saving idea of solidarity. When the various orators had
+talked themselves out, and the audiences had come back to the
+cinder-heap, Hal made his speech all over again, in words of one
+syllable, in the kind of pidgin-English which does duty in the camps.
+Sometimes he would stop to reinforce it with Greek or Italian or Slavish
+words he had picked up. Or perhaps his eloquence would inflame some one
+of the interpreters afresh, and he would wait while the man shouted a
+few sentences to his compatriots. It was not necessary to consider the
+possibility of boring any one, for these were patient and long-suffering
+men, and now desperately in earnest.
+
+They were going to have a union; they were going to do the thing in
+regular form, with membership cards and officials chosen by ballot. So
+Hal explained to them, step by step. There was no use organising unless
+they meant to stay organised. They would choose leaders, one from each
+of the principal language groups; and these leaders would meet and draw
+up a set of demands, which would be submitted in mass-meeting, and
+ratified, and then presented to the bosses with the announcement that
+until these terms were granted, not a single North Valley worker would
+go back into the pits.
+
+Jerry Minetti, who knew all about unions, advised Hal to enroll the men
+at once; he counted on the psychological effect of having each man come
+forward and give in his name. But here at once they met a difficulty
+encountered by all would-be organisers--lack of funds. There must be
+pencils and paper for the enrollment; and Hal had emptied his pockets
+for Jack David! He was forced to borrow a quarter, and send a messenger
+off to the store. It was voted by the delegates that each member as he
+joined the union should be assessed a dime. There would have to be some
+telegraphing and telephoning if they were going to get help from the
+outside world.
+
+A temporary committee was named, consisting of Tim Rafferty, Wauchope
+and Hal, to keep the lists and the funds, and to run things until
+another meeting could be held on the morrow; also a body-guard of a
+dozen of the sturdiest and most reliable men were named to stay by the
+committee. The messenger came back with pads and pencils, and sitting on
+the ground by the light of pit-lamps, the interpreters wrote down the
+names of the men who wished to join the union, each man in turn pledging
+his word for solidarity and discipline. Then the meeting was declared
+adjourned till daylight of the morrow, and the workers scattered to
+their homes to sleep, with a joy and sense of power such as few of them
+had ever known in their lives before.
+
+
+
+SECTION 8.
+
+The committee and its body-guard repaired to the dining-room of
+Reminitsky's, where they stretched themselves out on the floor; no one
+attempted to interfere with them, and while the majority snored
+peacefully, Hal and a small group sat writing out the list of demands
+which were to be submitted to the bosses in the morning. It was arranged
+that Jerry should go down to Pedro by the early morning train, to get
+into touch with Jack David and the union officials, and report to them
+the latest developments. Because the officials were sure to have
+detectives following them, Hal warned Jerry to go to MacKellar's house,
+and have MacKellar bring "Big Jack" to meet him there. Also Jerry must
+have MacKellar get the _Gazette_ on the long distance phone, and tell
+Billy Keating about the strike.
+
+A hundred things like this Hal had to think of; his head was a-buzz with
+them, so that when he lay down to sleep he could not. He thought about
+the bosses, and what they might be doing. The bosses would not be
+sleeping, he felt sure!
+
+And then came thoughts about his private-car friends; about the
+strangeness of this plight into which he had got himself! He laughed
+aloud in a kind of desperation as he recalled Percy's efforts to get him
+away from here. And poor Jessie! What could he say to her now?
+
+The bosses made no move that night; and when morning came, the strikers
+hurried to the meeting-place, some of them without even stopping for
+breakfast. They came tousled and unkempt, looking anxiously at their
+fellows, as if unable to credit the memory of the bold thing they had
+done on the night before. But finding the committee and its body-guard
+on hand and ready for business, their courage revived, they felt again
+the wonderful sentiment of solidarity which had made men of them. Pretty
+soon speech-making began, and cheering and singing, which brought out
+the laggards and the cowards. So in a short while the movement was in
+full swing, with practically every man, woman and child among the
+workers present.
+
+Mary Burke came from the hospital, where she had spent the night. She
+looked weary and bedraggled, but her spirit of battle had not slumped.
+She reported that she had talked with some of the injured men, and that
+many of them had signed "releases," whereby the company protected itself
+against even the threat of a lawsuit. Others had refused to sign, and
+Mary had been vehement in warning them to stand out. Two other women
+volunteered to go to the hospital, in order that she might have a chance
+to rest; but Mary did not wish to rest, she did not feel as if she could
+ever rest again.
+
+The members of the newly-organised union proceeded to elect officers.
+They sought to make Hal president, but he was shy of binding himself in
+that irrevocable way, and succeeded in putting the honour off on
+Wauchope. Tim Rafferty was made treasurer and secretary. Then a
+committee was chosen to go to Cartwright with the demands of the men. It
+included Hal, Wauchope, and Tim; an Italian named Marcelli, whom Jerry
+had vouched for; a representative of the Slavs and one of the
+Greeks--Rusick and Zammakis, both of them solid and faithful men.
+Finally, with a good deal of laughter and cheering, the meeting voted to
+add Mary Burke to this committee. It was a new thing to have a woman in
+such a role, but Mary was the daughter of a miner and the sister of a
+breaker-boy, and had as good a right to speak as any one in North
+Valley.
+
+
+
+SECTION 9.
+
+Hal read the document which had been prepared the night before. They
+demanded the right to have a union without being discharged for it. They
+demanded a check-weighman, to be elected by the men themselves. They
+demanded that the mines should be sprinkled to prevent explosions, and
+properly timbered to prevent falls. They demanded the right to trade at
+any store they pleased. Hal called attention to the fact that every one
+of these demands was for a right guaranteed by the laws of the state;
+this was a significant fact, and he urged the men not to include other
+demands. After some argument they voted down the proposition of the
+radicals, who wanted a ten per cent. increase in wages. Also they voted
+down the proposition of a syndicalist-anarchist, who explained to them
+in a jumble of English and Italian that the mines belonged to them, and
+that they should refuse all compromise and turn the bosses out
+forthwith.
+
+While this speech was being delivered, young Rovetta pushed his way
+through the crowd and drew Hal to one side. He had been down by the
+railroad-station and seen the morning train come in. From it had
+descended a crowd of thirty or forty men, of that "hard citizen" type
+which every miner in the district could recognise at the first glance.
+Evidently the company officials had been keeping the telephone-wires
+busy that night; they were bringing in, not merely this train-load of
+guards, but automobile loads from other camps--from the Northeastern
+down the canyon, and from Barela, in a side canyon over the mountain.
+
+Hal told this news to the meeting, which received it with howls of rage.
+So that was the bosses' plan! Hot-heads sprang upon the cinder-heap,
+half a dozen of them trying to make speeches at once. The leaders had to
+suppress these too impetuous ones by main force; once more Hal gave the
+warning of "No fighting!" They were going to have faith in their union;
+they were going to present a solid front to the company, and the company
+would learn the lesson that intimidation would not win a strike.
+
+So it was agreed, and the committee set out for the company's office,
+Wauchope carrying in his hand the written demands of the meeting. Behind
+the committee marched the crowd in a solid mass; they packed the street
+in front of the office, while the heroic seven went up the steps and
+passed into the building. Wauchope made inquiry for Mr. Cartwright, and
+a clerk took in the message.
+
+They stood waiting; and meanwhile, one of the office-people, coming in
+from the street, beckoned to Hal. He had an envelope in his hand, and
+gave it over without a word. It was addressed, "Joe Smith," and Hal
+opened it, and found within a small visiting card, at which he stared.
+"Edward S. Warner, Jr."!
+
+For a moment Hal could hardly believe the evidence of his eyesight.
+Edward in North Valley! Then, turning the card over, he read, in his
+brother's familiar handwriting, "I am at Cartwright's house. I must see
+you. The matter concerns Dad. Come instantly."
+
+Fear leaped into Hal's heart. What could such a message mean?
+
+He turned quickly to the committee and explained. "My father's an old
+man, and had a stroke of apoplexy three years ago. I'm afraid he may be
+dead, or very ill. I must go."
+
+"It's a trick!" cried Wauchope excitedly.
+
+"No, not possibly," answered Hal. "I know my brother's handwriting. I
+must see him."
+
+"Well," declared the other, "we'll wait. We'll not see Cartwright until
+you get back."
+
+Hal considered this. "I don't think that's wise," he said. "You can do
+what you have to do just as well without me."
+
+"But I wanted you to do the talking!"
+
+"No," replied Hal, "that's your business, Wauchope. You are the
+president of the union. You know what the men want, as well as I do; you
+know what they complain of. And besides, there's not going to be any
+need of talking with Cartwright. Either he's going to grant our demands
+or he isn't."
+
+They discussed the matter back and forth. Mary Burke insisted that they
+were pulling Hal away just at the critical moment! He laughed as he
+answered. She was as good as any man when it came to an argument. If
+Wauchope showed signs of weakening, let her speak up!
+
+
+
+SECTION 10.
+
+So Hal hurried off, and climbed the street which led to the
+superintendent's house, a concrete bungalow set upon a little elevation
+overlooking the camp. He rang the bell, and the door opened, and in the
+entrance stood his brother.
+
+Edward Warner was eight years older than Hal; the perfect type of the
+young American business man. His figure was erect and athletic, his
+features were regular and strong, his voice, his manner, everything
+about him spoke of quiet decision, of energy precisely directed. As a
+rule, he was a model of what the tailor's art could do, but just now
+there was something abnormal about his attire as well as his manner.
+
+Hal's anxiety had been increasing all the way up the street. "What's the
+matter with Dad?" he cried.
+
+"Dad's all right," was the answer--"that is, for the moment."
+
+"Then what--?"
+
+"Peter Harrigan's on his way back from the East. He's due in Western
+City to-morrow. You can see that something will be the matter with Dad
+unless you quit this business at once."
+
+Hal had a sudden reaction from his fear. "So that's all!" he exclaimed.
+
+His brother was gazing at the young miner, dressed in sooty blue
+overalls, his face streaked with black, his wavy hair all mussed. "You
+wired me you were going to leave here, Hal!"
+
+"So I was; but things happened that I couldn't foresee. There's a
+strike."
+
+"Yes; but what's that got to do with it?" Then, with exasperation in his
+voice, "For God's sake, Hal, how much farther do you expect to go?"
+
+Hal stood for a few moments, looking at his brother. Even in a tension
+as he was, he could not help laughing. "I know how all this must seem to
+you, Edward. It's a long story; I hardly know how to begin."
+
+"No, I suppose not," said Edward, drily.
+
+And Hal laughed again. "Well, we agree that far, at any rate. What I was
+hoping was that we could talk it all over quietly, after the excitement
+was past. When I explain to you about conditions in this place--"
+
+But Edward interrupted. "Really, Hal, there's no use of such an
+argument. I have nothing to do with conditions in Peter Harrigan's
+camps."
+
+The smile left Hal's face. "Would you have preferred to have me
+investigate conditions in the Warner camps?" Hal had tried to suppress
+his irritation, but there was simply no way these two could get along.
+"We've had our arguments about these things, Edward, and you've always
+had the best of me--you could tell me I was a child, it was presumptuous
+of me to dispute your assertions. But now--well, I'm a child no longer,
+and we'll have to meet on a new basis."
+
+Hal's tone, more than his words, made an impression. Edward thought
+before he spoke. "Well, what's your new basis?"
+
+"Just now I'm in the midst of a strike, and I can hardly stop to
+explain."
+
+"You don't think of Dad in all this madness?"
+
+"I think of Dad, and of you too, Edward; but this is hardly the time--"
+
+"If ever in the world there was a time, this is it!"
+
+Hal groaned inwardly. "All right," he said, "sit down. I'll try to give
+you some idea how I got swept into this."
+
+He began to tell about the conditions he had found in this stronghold of
+the "G. F. C." As usual, when he talked about it, he became absorbed in
+its human aspects; a fervour came into his tone, he was carried on, as
+he had been when he tried to argue with the officials in Pedro. But his
+eloquence was interrupted, even as it had been then; he discovered that
+his brother was in such a state of exasperation that he could not listen
+to a consecutive argument.
+
+It was the old, old story; it had been thus as far back as Hal could
+remember. It seemed one of the mysteries of nature, how she could have
+brought two such different temperaments out of the same parentage.
+Edward was practical and positive; he knew what he wanted in the world,
+and he knew how to get it; he was never troubled with doubts, nor with
+self-questioning, nor with any other superfluous emotions; he could not
+understand people who allowed that sort of waste in their mental
+processes. He could not understand people who got "swept into things."
+
+In the beginning, he had had with Hal the prestige of the elder brother.
+He was handsome as a young Greek god, he was strong and masterful;
+whether he was flying over the ice with sure, strong strokes, or cutting
+the water with his glistening shoulders, or bringing down a partridge
+with the certainty and swiftness of a lightning stroke, Edward was the
+incarnation of Success. When he said that one's ideas were "rot," when
+he spoke with contempt of "mollycoddles"--then indeed one suffered in
+soul, and had to go back to Shelley and Ruskin to renew one's courage.
+
+The questioning of life had begun very early with Hal; there seemed to
+be something in his nature which forced him to go to the roots of
+things; and much as he looked up to his wonderful brother, he had been
+made to realise that there were sides of life to which this brother was
+blind. To begin with, there were religious doubts; the distresses of
+mind which plague a young man when first it dawns upon him that the
+faith he has been brought up in is a higher kind of fairy-tale. Edward
+had never asked such questions, apparently. He went to church, because
+it was the thing to do; more especially because it was pleasing to the
+young lady he wished to marry to have him put on stately clothes, and
+escort her to a beautiful place of music and flowers and perfumes, where
+she would meet her friends, also in stately clothes. How abnormal it
+seemed to Edward that a young man should give up this pleasant custom,
+merely because he could not be sure that Jonah had swallowed a whale!
+
+But it was when Hal's doubts attacked his brother's week-day
+religion--the religion of the profit-system--that the controversy
+between them had become deadly. At first Hal had known nothing about
+practical affairs, and it had been Edward's duty to answer his
+questions. The prosperity of the country had been built up by strong
+men; and these men had enemies--evil-minded persons, animated by
+jealousy and other base passions, seeking to tear down the mighty
+structure. At first this devil-theory had satisfied the boy; but later
+on, as he had come to read and observe, he had been plagued by doubts.
+In the end, listening to his brother's conversation, and reading the
+writings of so-called "muck-rakers," the realisation was forced upon him
+that there were two types of mind in the controversy--those who thought
+of profits, and those who thought of human beings.
+
+Edward was alarmed at the books Hal was reading; he was still more
+alarmed when he saw the ideas Hal was bringing home from college. There
+must have been some strange change in Harrigan in a few years; no one
+had dreamed of such ideas when Edward was there! No one had written
+satiric songs about the faculty, or the endowments of eminent
+philanthropists!
+
+In the meantime Edward Warner Senior had had a paralytic stroke, and
+Edward Junior had taken charge of the company. Three years of this had
+given him the point of view of a coal-operator, hard and set for a
+life-time. The business of a coal-operator was to buy his labour cheap,
+to turn out the maximum product in the shortest time, and to sell the
+product at the market price to parties whose credit was satisfactory. If
+a concern was doing that, it was a successful concern; for any one to
+mention that it was making wrecks of the people who dug the coal, was to
+be guilty of sentimentality and impertinence.
+
+Edward had heard with dismay his brother's announcement that he meant to
+study industry by spending his vacation as a common labourer. However,
+when he considered it, he was inclined to think that the idea might not
+be such a bad one. Perhaps Hal would not find what he was looking for;
+perhaps, working with his hands, he might get some of the nonsense
+knocked out of his head!
+
+But now the experiment had been made, and the revelation had burst upon
+Edward that it had been a ghastly failure. Hal had not come to realise
+that labour was turbulent and lazy and incompetent, needing a strong
+hand to rule it; on the contrary, he had become one of these turbulent
+ones himself! A champion of the lazy and incompetent, an agitator, a
+fomenter of class-prejudice, an enemy of his own friends, and of his
+brother's business associates!
+
+Never had Hal seen Edward in such a state of excitement. There was
+something really abnormal about him, Hal realised; it puzzled him
+vaguely while he talked, but he did not understand it until his brother
+told how he had come to be here. He had been attending a dinner-dance at
+the home of a friend, and Percy Harrigan had got him on the telephone at
+half past eleven o'clock at night. Percy had had a message from
+Cartwright, to the effect that Hal was leading a riot in North Valley;
+Percy had painted the situation in such lurid colours that Edward had
+made a dash and caught the midnight train, wearing his evening clothes,
+and without so much as a tooth-brush with him!
+
+Hal could hardly keep from bursting out laughing. His brother, his
+punctilious and dignified brother, alighting from a sleeping-car at
+seven o'clock in the morning, wearing a dress suit and a silk hat! And
+here he was, Edward Warner Junior, the fastidious, who never paid less
+than a hundred and fifty dollars for a suit of clothes, clad in a
+"hand-me-down" for which he had expended twelve dollars and forty-eight
+cents in a "Jew-store" in a coal-town!
+
+
+
+SECTION 11.
+
+But Edward would not stop for a single smile; his every faculty was
+absorbed in the task he had before him, to get his brother out of this
+predicament, so dangerous and so humiliating. Hal had come to a town
+owned by Edward's business friends, and had proceeded to meddle in their
+affairs, to stir up their labouring people and imperil their property.
+That North Valley was the property of the General Fuel Company--not
+merely the mines and the houses, but likewise the people who lived in
+them--Edward seemed to have no doubt whatever; Hal got only exclamations
+of annoyance when he suggested any other point of view. Would there have
+been any town of North Valley, if it had not been for the capital and
+energy of the General Fuel Company? If the people of North Valley did
+not like the conditions which the General Fuel Company offered them,
+they had one simple and obvious remedy--to go somewhere else to work.
+But they stayed; they got out the General Fuel Company's coal, they took
+the General Fuel Company's wages--
+
+"Well, they've stopped taking them now," put in Hal.
+
+All right, that was their affair, replied Edward. But let them stop
+because they wanted to--not because outside agitators put them up to it.
+At any rate, let the agitators not include a member of the Warner
+family!
+
+The elder brother pictured old Peter Harrigan on his way back from the
+East; the state of unutterable fury in which he would arrive, the storm
+he would raise in the business world of Western City. Why, it was
+unimaginable, such a thing had never been heard of! "And right when
+we're opening up a new mine--when we need every dollar of credit we can
+get!"
+
+"Aren't we big enough to stand off Peter Harrigan?" inquired Hal.
+
+"We have plenty of other people to stand off," was the answer. "We don't
+have to go out of our way to make enemies."
+
+Edward spoke, not merely as the elder brother, but also as the money-man
+of the family. When the father had broken down from over-work, and had
+been changed in one terrible hour from a driving man of affairs into a
+childish and pathetic invalid, Hal had been glad enough that there was
+one member of the family who was practical; he had been perfectly
+willing to see his brother shoulder these burdens, while he went off to
+college, to amuse himself with satiric songs. Hal had no
+responsibilities, no one asked anything of him--except that he would not
+throw sticks into the wheels of the machine his brother was running.
+"You are living by the coal industry! Every dollar you spend comes from
+it--"
+
+"I know it! I know it!" cried Hal. "That's the thing that torments me!
+The fact that I'm living upon the bounty of such wage-slaves--"
+
+"Oh, cut it out!" cried Edward. "That's not what I mean!"
+
+"I know--but it's what _I_ mean! From now on I mean to know about the
+people who work for me, and what sort of treatment they get. I'm no
+longer your kid-brother, to be put off with platitudes."
+
+"You know ours are union mines, Hal--"
+
+"Yes, but what does that mean? How do we work it? Do we give the men
+their weights?"
+
+"Of course! They have their check-weighmen."
+
+"But then, how do we compete with the operators in this district, who
+pay for a ton of three thousand pounds?"
+
+"We manage it--by economy."
+
+"Economy? I don't see Peter Harrigan wasting anything here!" Hal paused
+for an answer, but none came. "Do we buy the check-weighmen? Do we bribe
+the labour leaders?"
+
+Edward coloured slightly. "What's the use of being nasty, Hal? You know
+I don't do dirty work."
+
+"I don't mean to be nasty, Edward; but you must know that many a
+business-man can say he doesn't do dirty work, because he has others do
+it for him. What about politics, for instance? Do we run a machine, and
+put our clerks and bosses into the local offices?"
+
+Edward did not answer, and Hal persisted, "I mean to know these things!
+I'm not going to be blind any more!"
+
+"All right, Hal--you can know anything you want; but for God's sake, not
+now! If you want to be taken for a man, show a man's common sense!
+Here's Old Peter getting back to Western City to-morrow night! Don't you
+know that he'll be after me, raging like a mad bull? Don't you know that
+if I tell him I can do nothing--that I've been down here and tried to
+pull you away--don't you know he'll go after Dad?"
+
+Edward had tried all the arguments, and this was the only one that
+counted. "You must keep him away from Dad!" exclaimed Hal.
+
+"You tell me that!" retorted the other. "And when you know Old Peter!
+Don't you know he'll get at him, if he has to break down the door of the
+house? He'll throw the burden of his rage on that poor old man! You've
+been warned about it clearly; you know it may be a matter of life and
+death to keep Dad from getting excited. I don't know what he'd do; maybe
+he'd fly into a rage with you, maybe he'd defend you. He's old and weak,
+he's lost his grip on things. Anyhow, he'd not let Peter abuse you--and
+like as not he'd drop dead in the midst of the dispute! Do you want to
+have that on your conscience, along with the troubles of your workingmen
+friends?"
+
+
+
+SECTION 12.
+
+Hal sat staring in front of him, silent. Was it a fact that every man
+had something in his life which palsied his arm, and struck him helpless
+in the battle for social justice?
+
+When he spoke again, it was in a low voice. "Edward, I'm thinking about
+a young Irish boy who works in these mines. He, too, has a father; and
+this father was caught in the explosion. He's an old man, with a wife
+and seven other children. He's a good man, the boy's a good boy. Let me
+tell you what Peter Harrigan has done to them!"
+
+"Well," said Edward, "whatever it is, it's all right, you can help them.
+They won't need to starve."
+
+"I know," said Hal, "but there are so many others; I can't help them
+all. And besides, can't you see, Edward--what I'm thinking about is not
+charity, but _justice_. I'm sure this boy, Tim Rafferty, loves his
+father just exactly as much as I love my father; and there are other old
+men here, with sons who love them--"
+
+"Oh, Hal, for Christ's sake!" exclaimed Edward, in a sort of explosion.
+He had no other words to express his impatience. "Do you expect to take
+all the troubles in the world on your shoulders?" And he sprang up and
+caught the other by the arm. "Boy, you've got to come away from here!"
+
+Hal got up, without answering. He seemed irresolute, and his brother
+started to draw him towards the door. "I've got a car here. We can get a
+train in an hour--"
+
+Hal saw that he had to speak firmly. "No, Edward," he said. "I can't
+come just yet."
+
+"I tell you you _must_ come!"
+
+"I can't. I made these men a promise!"
+
+"In God's name--what are these men to you? Compared with your own
+father!"
+
+"I can't explain it, Edward. I've talked for half an hour, and I don't
+think you've even heard me. Suffice it to say that I see these people
+caught in a trap--and one that my whole life has helped to make. I can't
+leave them in it. What's more, I don't believe Dad would want me to do
+it, if he understood."
+
+The other made a last effort at self-control. "I'm not going to call you
+a sentimental fool. Only, let me ask you one plain question. What do you
+think you can _do_ for these people?"
+
+"I think I can help to win decent conditions for them."
+
+"Good God!" cried Edward; he sighed, in his agony of exasperation. "In
+Peter Harrigan's mines! Don't you realise that he'll pick them up and
+throw them out of here, neck and crop--the whole crew, every man in the
+town, if necessary?"
+
+"Perhaps," answered Hal; "but if the men in the other mines should join
+them--if the big union outside should stand by them--"
+
+"You're dreaming, Hal! You're talking like a child! I talked to the
+superintendent here; he had telegraphed the situation to Old Peter, and
+had just got an answer. Already he's acted, no doubt."
+
+"Acted?" echoed Hal. "How do you mean?" He was staring at his brother in
+sudden anxiety.
+
+"They were going to turn the agitators out, of course."
+
+"_What?_ And while I'm here talking!"
+
+Hal turned toward the door. "You knew it all the time!" he exclaimed.
+"You kept me here deliberately!"
+
+He was starting away, but Edward sprang and caught him. "What could you
+have done?"
+
+"Turn me loose!" cried Hal, angrily.
+
+"Don't be a fool, Hal! I've been trying to keep you out of the trouble.
+There may be fighting."
+
+Edward threw himself between Hal and the door, and there was a sharp
+struggle. But the elder man was no longer the athlete, the young bronzed
+god; he had been sitting at a desk in an office, while Hal had been
+doing hard labour. Hal threw him to one side, and in a moment more had
+sprung out of the door, and was running down the slope.
+
+
+
+SECTION 13.
+
+Coming to the main street of the village, Hal saw the crowd in front of
+the office. One glance told him that something had happened. Men were
+running this way and that, gesticulating, shouting. Some were coming in
+his direction, and when they saw him they began to yell to him. The
+first to reach him was Klowoski, the little Pole, breathless; gasping
+with excitement. "They fire our committee!"
+
+"Fire them?"
+
+"Fire 'em out! Down canyon!" The little man was waving his arms in wild
+gestures; his eyes seemed about to start out of his head. "Take 'em off!
+Whole bunch fellers--gunmen! People see them--come out back door. Got
+ever'body's arm tied. Gunmen fellers hold 'em, don't let 'em holler,
+can't do nothin'! Got them cars waitin'--what you call?--"
+
+"Automobiles?"
+
+"Sure, got three! Put ever'body in, quick like that--they go down road
+like wind! Go down canyon, all gone! They bust our strike!" And the
+little Pole's voice ended in a howl of despair.
+
+"No, they won't bust our strike!" exclaimed Hal. "Not yet!"
+
+Suddenly he was reminded of the fact that his brother had followed
+him--puffing hard, for the run had been strenuous. He caught Hal by the
+arm, exclaiming, "Keep out of this, I tell you!"
+
+Thus while Hal was questioning Klowoski, he was struggling
+half-unconsciously, to free himself from his brother's grasp. Suddenly
+the matter was forced to an issue, for the little Polack emitted a cry
+like an angry cat, and went at Edward with fingers outstretched like
+claws. Hal's dignified brother would have had to part with his dignity,
+if Hal had not caught Klowoski's onrush with his other arm. "Let him
+alone!" he said. "It's my brother!" Whereupon the little man fell back
+and stood watching in bewilderment.
+
+Hal saw Androkulos running to him. The Greek boy had been in the street
+back of the office, and had seen the committee carried off; nine people
+had been taken--Wauchope, Tim Rafferty, and Mary Burke, Marcelli,
+Zammakis and Rusick, and three others who had served as interpreters on
+the night before. It had all been done so quickly that the crowd had
+scarcely realised what was happening.
+
+Now, having grasped the meaning of it, the men were beside themselves
+with rage. They shook their fists, shouting defiance to a group of
+officials and guards who were visible upon the porch of the
+office-building. There was a clamour of shouts for revenge.
+
+Hal could see instantly the dangers of the situation; he was like a man
+watching the burning fuse of a bomb. Now, if ever, this polyglot horde
+must have leadership--wise and cool and resourceful leadership.
+
+The crowd, discovering his presence, surged down upon him like a wave.
+They gathered round him, howling. They had lost the rest of their
+committee, but they still had Joe Smith. Joe Smith! Hurrah for Joe! Let
+the gunmen take him, if they could! They waved their caps, they tried to
+lift him upon their shoulders, so that all could see him.
+
+There was clamour for a speech, and Hal started to make his way to the
+steps of the nearest building, with Edward holding on to his coat.
+Edward was jostled; he had to part with his dignity--but he did not part
+with his brother. And when Hal was about to mount the steps, Edward made
+a last desperate effort, shouting into his ear, "Wait a minute! Wait!
+Are you going to try to talk to this mob?"
+
+"Of course. Don't you see there'll be trouble if I don't?"
+
+"You'll get yourself killed! You'll start a fight, and get a lot of
+these poor devils shot! Use your common sense, Hal; the company has
+brought in guards, and they are armed, and your people aren't."
+
+"That's exactly why I have to speak!"
+
+The discussion was carried on under difficulties, the elder brother
+clinging to the younger's arm, while the younger sought to pull free,
+and the mob shouted with a single voice, "Speech! Speech!" There were
+some near by who, like Klowoski, did not relish having this stranger
+interfering with their champion, and showed signs of a disposition to
+"mix in"; so at last Edward gave up the struggle, and the orator mounted
+the steps and faced the throng.
+
+
+
+SECTION 14.
+
+Hal raised his arms as a signal for silence.
+
+"Boys," he cried, "they've kidnapped our committee. They think they'll
+break our strike that way--but they'll find they've made a mistake!"
+
+"They will! Right you are!" roared a score of voices.
+
+"They forget that we've got a union. Hurrah for our North Valley union!"
+
+"Hurrah! Hurrah!" The cry echoed to the canyon-walls.
+
+"And hurrah for the big union that will back us--the United Mine-Workers
+of America!"
+
+Again the yell rang out; again and again. "Hurrah for the union! Hurrah
+for the United Mine-Workers!" A big American miner, Ferris, was in the
+front of the throng, and his voice beat in Hal's ears like a
+steam-siren.
+
+"Boys," Hal resumed, when at last he could be heard, "use your brains a
+moment. I warned you they would try to provoke you! They would like
+nothing better than to start a scrap here, and get a chance to smash our
+union! Don't forget that, boys, if they can make you fight, they'll
+smash the union, and the union is our only hope!"
+
+Again came the cry: "Hurrah for the union!" Hal let them shout it in
+twenty languages, until they were satisfied.
+
+"Now, boys," he went on, at last, "they've shipped out our committee.
+They may ship me out in the same way--"
+
+"No, they won't!" shouted voices in the crowd. And there was a bellow of
+rage from Ferris. "Let them try it! We'll burn them in their beds!"
+
+"But they _can_ ship me out!" argued Hal. "You _know_ they can beat us
+at that game! They can call on the sheriff, they can get the soldiers,
+if necessary! We can't oppose them by force--they can turn out every
+man, woman and child in the village, if they choose. What we have to get
+clear is that even that won't crush our union! Nor the big union
+outside, that will be backing us! We can hold out, and make them take us
+back in the end!"
+
+Some of Hal's friends, seeing what he was trying to do, came to his
+support. "No fighting! No violence! Stand by the union!" And he went on
+to drive the lesson home; even though the company might evict them, the
+big union of the four hundred and fifty thousand mine-workers of the
+country would feed them, it would call out the rest of the workers in
+the district in sympathy. So the bosses, who thought to starve and cow
+them into submission, would find their mines lying permanently idle.
+They would be forced to give way, and the tactics of solidarity would
+triumph.
+
+So Hal went on, recalling the things Olson had told him, and putting
+them into practice. He saw hope in their faces again, dispelling the
+mood of resentment and rage.
+
+"Now, boys," said he, "I'm going in to see the superintendent for you.
+I'll be your committee, since they've shipped out the rest."
+
+The steam-siren of Ferris bellowed again: "You're the boy! Joe Smith!"
+
+"All right, men--now mind what I say! I'll see the super, and then I'll
+go down to Pedro, where there'll be some officers of the United
+Mine-workers this morning. I'll tell them the situation, and ask them to
+back you. That's what you want, is it?"
+
+That was what they wanted. "Big union!"
+
+"All right. I'll do the best I can for you, and I'll find some way to
+get word to you. And meantime you stand firm. The bosses will tell you
+lies, they'll try to deceive you, they'll send spies and trouble-makers
+among you--but you hold fast, and wait for the big union."
+
+Hal stood looking at the cheering crowd. He had time to note some of the
+faces upturned to him. Pitiful, toil-worn faces they were, each making
+its separate appeal, telling its individual story of deprivation and
+defeat. Once more they were transfigured, shining with that wonderful
+new light which he had seen for the first time the previous evening. It
+had been crushed for a moment, but it flamed up again; it would never
+die in the hearts of men--once they had learned the power it gave.
+Nothing Hal had yet seen moved him so much as this new birth of
+enthusiasm. A beautiful, a terrible thing it was!
+
+Hal looked at his brother, to see how he had been moved. What he saw on
+his brother's face was satisfaction, boundless relief. The matter had
+turned out all right! Hal was coming away!
+
+Hal turned again to the men; somehow, after his glance at Edward, they
+seemed more pitiful than ever. For Edward typified the power they were
+facing--the unseeing, uncomprehending power that meant to crush them.
+The possibility of failure was revealed to Hal in a flash of emotion,
+overwhelming him. He saw them as they would be, when no leader was at
+hand to make speeches to them. He saw them waiting, their life-long
+habit of obedience striving to reassert itself; a thousand fears
+besetting them, a thousand rumours preying upon them--wild beasts set on
+them by their cunning enemies. They would suffer, not merely for
+themselves, but for their wives and children--the very same pangs of
+dread that Hal suffered when he thought of one old man up in Western
+City, whose doctors had warned him to avoid excitement.
+
+If they stood firm, if they kept their bargain with their leader, they
+would be evicted from their homes, they would face the cold of the
+coming winter, they would face hunger and the black-list. And he,
+meantime--what would he be doing? What was his part of the bargain? He
+would interview the superintendent for them, he would turn them over to
+the "big union"--and then he would go off to his own life of ease and
+pleasure. To eat grilled steaks and hot rolls in a perfectly appointed
+club, with suave and softly-moving servitors at his beck! To dance at
+the country club with exquisite creatures of chiffon and satin, of
+perfume and sweet smiles and careless, happy charms! No, it was too
+easy! He might call that his duty to his father and brother, but he
+would know in his heart that it was treason to life; it was the devil,
+taking him onto a high mountain and showing him all the kingdoms of the
+earth!
+
+Moved by a sudden impulse, Hal raised his hands once more. "Boys," he
+said, "we understand each other now. You'll not go back to work till the
+big union tells you. And I, for my part, will stand by you. Your cause
+is my cause, I'll go on fighting for you till you have your rights, till
+you can live and work as men! Is that right?"
+
+"That's right! That's right!"
+
+"Very good, then--we'll swear to it!" And Hal raised his hands, and the
+men raised theirs, and amid a storm of shouts, and a frantic waving of
+caps, he made them the pledge which he knew would bind his own
+conscience. He made it deliberately, there in his brother's presence.
+This was no mere charge on a trench, it was enlisting for a war! But
+even in that moment of fervour, Hal would have been frightened had he
+realised the period of that enlistment, the years of weary and desperate
+conflict to which he was pledging his life.
+
+
+
+SECTION 15.
+
+Hal descended from his rostrum, and the crowds made way for him, and
+with his brother at his side he went down the street to the office
+building, upon the porch of which the guards were standing. His progress
+was a triumphal one; rough voices shouted words of encouragement in his
+ears, men jostled and fought to shake his hand or to pat him on the
+back; they even patted Edward and tried to shake his hand, because he
+was with Hal, and seemed to have his confidence. Afterwards Hal thought
+it over and was merry. Such an adventure for Edward!
+
+The younger man went up the steps of the building and spoke to the
+guards. "I want to see Mr. Cartwright."
+
+"He's inside," answered one, not cordially. With Edward following, Hal
+entered, and was ushered into the private office of the superintendent.
+
+Having been a working-man, and class-conscious, Hal was observant of the
+manners of mine-superintendents; he noted that Cartwright bowed politely
+to Edward, but did not include Edward's brother. "Mr. Cartwright," he
+said, "I have come to you as a deputation from the workers of this
+camp."
+
+The superintendent did not appear impressed by the announcement.
+
+"I am instructed to say that the men demand the redress of four
+grievances before they return to work. First--"
+
+Here Cartwright spoke, in his quick, sharp way. "There's no use going
+on, sir. This company will deal only with its men as individuals. It
+will recognise no deputations."
+
+Hal's answer was equally quick. "Very well, Mr. Cartwright. In that
+case, I come to you as an individual."
+
+For a moment the superintendent seemed nonplussed.
+
+"I wish to ask four rights which are granted to me by the laws of this
+state. First, the right to belong to a union, without being discharged
+for it."
+
+The other had recovered his manner of quiet mastery. "You have that
+right, sir; you have always had it. You know perfectly well that the
+company has never discharged any one for belonging to a union."
+
+The man was looking at Hal, and there was a duel of the eyes between
+them. A cold anger moved Hal. His ability to endure this sort of thing
+was at an end. "Mr. Cartwright," he said, "you are the servant of one of
+the world's greatest actors; and you support him ably."
+
+The other flushed and drew back; Edward put in quickly: "Hal, there's
+nothing to be gained by such talk!"
+
+"He has all the world for an audience," persisted Hal. "He plays the
+most stupendous farce--and he and all his actors wearing such solemn
+faces!"
+
+"Mr. Cartwright," said Edward, with dignity, "I trust you understand
+that I have done everything I can to restrain my brother."
+
+"Of course, Mr. Warner," replied the superintendent. "And you must know
+that I, for my part, have done everything to show your brother
+consideration."
+
+"Again!" exclaimed Hal. "This actor is a genius!"
+
+"Hal, if you have business with Mr. Cartwright--"
+
+"He showed me consideration by sending his gunmen to seize me at night,
+drag me out of a cabin, and nearly twist the arm off me! Such humour
+never was!"
+
+Cartwright attempted to speak--but looking at Edward, not at Hal. "At
+that time--"
+
+"He showed me consideration by having me locked up in jail and fed on
+bread and water for two nights and a day! Can you beat that humour?"
+
+"At that time I did not know--"
+
+"By forging my name to a letter and having it circulated in the camp!
+Finally--most considerate of all--by telling a newspaper man that I had
+seduced a girl here!"
+
+The superintendent flushed still redder. "_No!_" he declared.
+
+"_What?_" cried Hal. "You didn't tell Billy Keating of the _Gazette_
+that I had seduced a girl in North Valley? You didn't describe the girl
+to him--a red-haired Irish girl?"
+
+"I merely said, Mr. Warner, that I had heard certain rumours--"
+
+"_Certain_ rumours, Mr. Cartwright? The certainty was all of your
+making! You made a definite and explicit statement to Mr. Keating--"
+
+"I did not!" declared the other.
+
+"I'll soon prove it!" And Hal started towards the telephone on
+Cartwright's desk.
+
+"What are you going to do, Hal?"
+
+"I am going to get Billy Keating on the wire, and let you hear his
+statement."
+
+"Oh, rot, Hal!" cried Edward. "I don't care anything about Keating's
+statement. You know that at that time Mr. Cartwright had no means of
+knowing who you were."
+
+Cartwright was quick to grasp this support. "Of course not, Mr. Warner!
+Your brother came here, pretending to be a working boy--"
+
+"Oh!" cried Hal. "So that's it! You think it proper to circulate
+slanders about working boys in your camp?"
+
+"You have been here long enough to know what the morals of such boys
+are."
+
+"I have been here long enough, Mr. Cartwright, to know that if you want
+to go into the question of morals in North Valley, the place for you to
+begin is with the bosses and guards you put in authority, and allow to
+prey upon women."
+
+Edward broke in: "Hal, there's nothing to be gained by pursuing this
+conversation. If you have any business here, get it over with, for God's
+sake!"
+
+Hal made an effort to recover his self-possession. He came back to the
+demands of the strike--but only to find that he had used up the
+superintendent's self-possession. "I have given you my answer," declared
+Cartwright, "I absolutely decline any further discussion."
+
+"Well," said Hal, "since you decline to permit a deputation of your men
+to deal with you in plain, business-like fashion, I have to inform you
+as an individual that every other individual in your camp refuses to
+work for you."
+
+The superintendent did not let himself be impressed by this elaborate
+sarcasm. "All I have to tell you, sir, is that Number Two mine will
+resume work in the morning, and that any one who refuses to work will be
+sent down the canyon before night."
+
+"So quickly, Mr. Cartwright? They have rented their homes from the
+company, and you know that according to the company's own lease they are
+entitled to three days' notice before being evicted!"
+
+Cartwright was so unwise as to argue. He knew that Edward was hearing,
+and he wished to clear himself. "They will not be evicted by the
+company. They will be dealt with by the town authorities."
+
+"Of which you yourself are the head?"
+
+"I happen to have been elected mayor of North Valley."
+
+"As mayor of North Valley, you gave my brother to understand that you
+would put me out, did you not?"
+
+"I asked your brother to persuade you to leave."
+
+"But you made clear that if he could not do this, you would put me out?"
+
+"Yes, that is true."
+
+"And the reason you gave was that you had had instructions by telegraph
+from Mr. Peter Harrigan. May I ask to what office Mr. Harrigan has been
+elected in your town?"
+
+Cartwright saw his difficulty. "Your brother misunderstood me," he said,
+crossly.
+
+"Did you misunderstand him, Edward?"
+
+Edward had walked to the window in disgust; he was looking at
+tomato-cans and cinder-heaps, and did not see fit to turn around. But
+the superintendent knew that he was hearing, and considered it necessary
+to cover the flaw in his argument. "Young man," said he, "you have
+violated several of the ordinances of this town."
+
+"Is there an ordinance against organising a union of the miners?"
+
+"No; but there is one against speaking on the streets."
+
+"Who passed that ordinance, if I may ask?"
+
+"The town council."
+
+"Consisting of Johnson, postmaster and company-store clerk; Ellison,
+company book-keeper; Strauss, company pit-boss; O'Callahan, company
+saloon-keeper. Have I the list correct?"
+
+Cartwright did not answer.
+
+"And the fifth member of the town council is yourself, ex-officio--Mr.
+Enos Cartwright, mayor and company-superintendent."
+
+Again there was no answer.
+
+"You have an ordinance against street-speaking; and at the same time
+your company owns the saloon-buildings, the boarding-houses, the church
+and the school. Where do you expect the citizens to do their speaking?"
+
+"You would make a good lawyer, young man. But we who have charge here
+know perfectly well what you mean by 'speaking'!"
+
+"You don't approve, then, of the citizens holding meetings?"
+
+"I mean that we don't consider it necessary to provide agitators with
+opportunity to incite our employ�s."
+
+"May I ask, Mr. Cartwright, are you speaking as mayor of an American
+community, or as superintendent of a coal-mine?"
+
+Cartwright's face had been growing continually redder. Addressing
+Edward's back, he said, "I don't see any reason why this should
+continue."
+
+And Edward was of the same opinion. He turned. "Really, Hal--"
+
+"But, Edward! A man accuses your brother of being a law-breaker! Have
+you hitherto known of any criminal tendencies in our family?"
+
+Edward turned to the window again and resumed his study of the
+cinder-heaps and tomato-cans. It was a vulgar and stupid quarrel, but he
+had seen enough of Hal's mood to realise that he would go on and on, so
+long as any one was indiscreet enough to answer him.
+
+"You say, Mr. Cartwright, that I have violated the ordinance against
+speaking on the street. May I ask what penalty this ordinance carries?"
+
+"You will find out when the penalty is exacted of you."
+
+Hal laughed. "From what you said just now, I gather that the penalty is
+expulsion from the town! If I understand legal procedure, I should have
+been brought before the justice of the peace--who happens to be another
+company store-clerk. Instead of that, I am sentenced by the mayor--or is
+it the company superintendent? May I ask how that comes to be?"
+
+"It is because of my consideration--"
+
+"When did I ask consideration?"
+
+"Consideration for your brother, I mean."
+
+"Oh! Then your ordinance provides that the mayor--or is it the
+superintendent?--may show consideration for the brother of a
+law-breaker, by changing his penalty to expulsion from the town. Was it
+consideration for Tommie Burke that caused you to have his sister sent
+down the canyon?"
+
+Cartwright clenched his hands. "I've had all I'll stand of this!"
+
+He was again addressing Edward's back; and Edward turned and answered,
+"I don't blame you, sir." Then to Hal, "I really think you've said
+enough!"
+
+"I hope I've said enough," replied Hal--"to convince you that the
+pretence of American law in this coal-camp is a silly farce, an insult
+and a humiliation to any man who respects the institutions of his
+country."
+
+"You, Mr. Warner," said the superintendent, to Edward, "have had
+experience in managing coal-mines. You know what it means to deal with
+ignorant foreigners, who have no understanding of American law--"
+
+Hal burst out laughing. "So you're teaching them American law! You're
+teaching them by setting at naught every law of your town and state,
+every constitutional guarantee--and substituting the instructions you
+get by telegraph from Peter Harrigan!"
+
+Cartwright turned and walked to the door. "Young man," said he, over his
+shoulder, "it will be necessary for you to leave North Valley this
+morning. I only hope your brother will be able to persuade you to leave
+without trouble." And the bang of the door behind him was the
+superintendent's only farewell.
+
+
+
+SECTION 17.
+
+Edward turned upon his brother. "Now what the devil did you want to put
+me through a scene like that for? So undignified! So utterly uncalled
+for! A quarrel with a man so far beneath you!"
+
+Hal stood where the superintendent had left him. He was looking at his
+brother's angry face. "Was that all you got out of it, Edward?"
+
+"All that stuff about your private character! What do you care what a
+fellow like Cartwright thinks about you?"
+
+"I care nothing at all what he thinks, but I care about having him use
+such a slander. That's one of their regular procedures, so Billy Keating
+says."
+
+Edward answered, coldly, "Take my advice, and realise that when you deny
+a scandal, you only give it circulation."
+
+"Of course," answered Hal. "That's what makes me so angry. Think of the
+girl, the harm done to her!"
+
+"It's not up to you to worry about the girl."
+
+"Suppose that Cartwright had slandered some woman friend of yours. Would
+you have felt the same indifference?"
+
+"He'd not have slandered any friend of mine; I choose my friends more
+carefully."
+
+"Yes, of course. What that means is that you choose them among the rich.
+But I happen to be more democratic in my tastes--"
+
+"Oh, for heaven's sake!" cried Edward. "You reformers are all alike--you
+talk and talk and talk!"
+
+"I can tell you the reason for that, Edward--a man like you can shut his
+eyes, but he can't shut his ears!"
+
+"Well, can't you let up on me for awhile--long enough to get out of this
+place? I feel as if I were sitting on the top of a volcano, and I've no
+idea when it may break out again."
+
+Hal began to laugh. "All right," he said; "I guess I haven't shown much
+appreciation of your visit. I'll be more sociable now. My next business
+is in Pedro, so I'll go that far with you. There's one thing more--"
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"The company owes me money--"
+
+"What money?"
+
+"Some I've earned."
+
+It was Edward's turn to laugh. "Enough to buy you a shave and a bath?"
+
+He took out his wallet, and pulled off several bills; and Hal, watching
+him, realised suddenly a change which had taken place in his own
+psychology. Not merely had he acquired the class-consciousness of the
+working-man, he had acquired the money-consciousness as well. He was
+actually concerned about the dollars the company owed him! He had earned
+those dollars by back- and heart-breaking toil, lifting lumps of coal
+into cars; the sum was enough to keep the whole Rafferty family alive
+for a week or two. And here was Edward, with a smooth brown leather
+wallet full of ten- and twenty-dollar bills, which he peeled off without
+counting, exactly as if money grew on trees, or as if coal came out of
+the earth and walked into furnaces to the sound of a fiddle and a flute!
+
+Edward had of course no idea of these abnormal processes going on in his
+brother's mind. He was holding out the bills. "Get yourself some decent
+things," he said. "I hope you don't have to stay dirty in order to feel
+democratic?"
+
+"No," answered Hal; and then, "How are we going?"
+
+"I've a car waiting, back of the office."
+
+"So you had everything ready!" But Edward made no answer; afraid of
+setting off the volcano again.
+
+
+
+SECTION 18.
+
+They went out by the rear door of the office, entered the car, and sped
+out of the village, unseen by the crowd. And all the way down the canyon
+Edward pleaded with Hal to drop the controversy and come home at once.
+He brought up the tragic question of Dad again; when that did not avail,
+he began to threaten. Suppose Hal's money-resources were to be cut off,
+suppose he were to find himself left out of his father's will--what
+would he do then? Hal answered, without a smile, "I can always get a job
+as organiser for the United Mine-Workers."
+
+So Edward gave up that line of attack. "If you won't come," he declared,
+"I'm going to stay by you till you do!"
+
+"All right," said Hal. He could not help smiling at this dire threat.
+"But if I take you about and introduce you to my friends, you must agree
+that what you hear shall be confidential."
+
+The other made a face of disgust. "What the devil would I want to talk
+about your friends for?"
+
+"I don't know what might happen," said Hal. "You're going to meet Peter
+Harrigan and take his side, and I can't tell what you might conceive it
+your duty to do."
+
+The other exclaimed, with sudden passion, "I'll tell you right now! If
+you try to go back to that coal-camp, I swear to God I'll apply to the
+courts and have you shut up in a sanitarium. I don't think I'd have much
+trouble in persuading a judge that you're insane."
+
+"No," said Hal, with a laugh--"not a judge in this part of the world!"
+
+Then, after studying his brother's face for a moment, it occurred to him
+that it might be well not to let such an idea rest unimpeached in
+Edward's mind. "Wait," said he, "till you meet my friend Billy Keating,
+of the _Gazette_, and hear what he would do with such a story! Billy is
+crazy to have me turn him loose to 'play up' my fight with Old Peter!"
+The conversation went no farther--but Hal was sure that Edward would
+"put that in his pipe and smoke it."
+
+They came to the MacKellar home in Pedro, and Edward waited in the
+automobile while Hal went inside. The old Scotchman welcomed him warmly,
+and told him what news he had. Jerry Minetti had been there that
+morning, and MacKellar at his request had telephoned to the office of
+the union in Sheridan, and ascertained that Jack David had brought word
+about the strike on the previous evening. All parties had been careful
+not to mention names, for "leaks" in the telephone were notorious, but
+it was clear who the messenger had been. As a result of the message,
+Johann Hartman, president of the local union of the miners, was now at
+the American Hotel in Pedro, together with James Moylan, secretary of
+the district organisation--the latter having come down from Western City
+on the same train as Edward.
+
+This was all satisfactory; but MacKellar added a bit of information of
+desperate import--the officers of the union declared that they could not
+support a strike at the present time! It was premature, it could lead to
+nothing but failure and discouragement to the larger movement they were
+planning.
+
+Such a possibility Hal had himself realised at the outset. But he had
+witnessed the new birth of freedom at North Valley, he had seen the
+hungry, toil-worn faces of men looking up to him for support; he had
+been moved by it, and had come to feel that the union officials must be
+moved in the same way. "They've simply got to back it!" he exclaimed.
+"Those men must not be disappointed! They'll lose all hope, they'll sink
+into utter despair! The labour men must realise that--I must make them!"
+
+The old Scotchman answered that Minetti had felt the same way. He had
+flung caution to the winds, and rushed over to the hotel to see Hartman
+and Moylan. Hal decided to follow, and went out to the automobile.
+
+He explained matters to his brother, whose comment was, Of course! It
+was what he had foretold. The poor, mis-guided miners would go back to
+their work, and their would-be leader would have to admit the folly of
+his course. There was a train for Western City in a couple of hours; it
+would be a great favour if Hal would arrange to take it.
+
+Hal answered shortly that he was going to the American Hotel. His
+brother might take him there, if he chose. So Edward gave the order to
+the driver of the car. Incidentally, Edward began asking about
+clothing-stores in Pedro. While Hal was in the hotel, pleading for the
+life of his newly-born labour union, Edward would seek a costume in
+which he could "feel like a human being."
+
+
+
+SECTION 19.
+
+Hal found Jerry Minetti with the two officials in their hotel-room: Jim
+Moylan, district secretary, a long, towering Irish boy, black-eyed and
+black-haired, quick and sensitive, the sort of person one trusted and
+liked at the first moment; and Johann Hartman, local president, a
+grey-haired miner of German birth, reserved and slow-spoken, evidently a
+man of much strength, both physical and moral. He had need of it, any
+one could realise, having charge of a union headquarters in the heart of
+this "Empire of Raymond"!
+
+Hal first told of the kidnapping of the committee. This did not surprise
+the officials, he found; it was the thing the companies regularly did
+when there was threat of rebellion in the camps. That was why efforts to
+organise openly were so utterly hopeless. There was no chance for
+anything but a secret propaganda, maintained until every camp had the
+nucleus of an organisation.
+
+"So you can't back this strike!" exclaimed Hal.
+
+Not possibly, was Moylan's reply. It would be lost as soon as it was
+begun. There was no slightest hope of success until a lot of
+organisation work had been done.
+
+"But meantime," argued Hal, "the union at North Valley will go to
+pieces!"
+
+"Perhaps," was the reply. "We'll only have to start another. That's what
+the labour movement is like."
+
+Jim Moylan was young, and saw Hal's mood. "Don't misunderstand us!" he
+cried. "It's heartbreaking--but it's not in our power to help. We are
+charged with building up the union, and we know that if we supported
+everything that looked like a strike, we'd be bankrupt the first year.
+You can't imagine how often this same thing happens--hardly a month
+we're not called on to handle such a situation."
+
+"I can see what you mean," said Hal. "But I thought that in this case,
+right after the disaster, with the men so stirred--"
+
+The young Irishman smiled, rather sadly. "You're new at this game," he
+said. "If a mine-disaster was enough to win a strike, God knows our job
+would be easy. In Barela, just down the canyon from you, they've had
+three big explosions--they've killed over five hundred men in the past
+year!"
+
+Hal began to see how, in his inexperience, he had lost his sense of
+proportion.
+
+He looked at the two labour leaders, and recalled the picture of such a
+person which he had brought with him to North Valley--a hot headed and
+fiery agitator, luring honest workingmen from their jobs. But here was
+the situation exactly reversed! Here was he in a blaze of
+excitement--and two labour leaders turning the fire-hose on him! They
+sat quiet and business-like, pronouncing a doom upon the slaves of North
+Valley. Back to their black dungeons with them!
+
+"What can we tell the men?" he asked, making an effort to repress his
+chagrin.
+
+"We can only tell them what I'm telling you--that we're helpless, till
+we've got the whole district organised. Meantime, they have to stand the
+gaff; they must do what they can to keep an organisation."
+
+"But all the active men will be fired!"
+
+"No, not quite all--they seldom get them all."
+
+Here the stolid old German put in. In the last year the company had
+turned out more than six thousand men because of union activity or
+suspicion of it.
+
+"_Six thousand!_" echoed Hal. "You mean from this one district?"
+
+"That's what I mean."
+
+"But there aren't more than twelve or fifteen thousand men in the
+district!"
+
+"I know that."
+
+"Then how can you ever keep an organisation?"
+
+The other answered, quietly, "They treat the new men the same as they
+treated the old."
+
+Hal thought suddenly of John Edstrom's ants! Here they were--building
+their bridge, building it again and again, as often as floods might
+destroy it! They had not the swift impatience of a youth of the
+leisure-class, accustomed to having his own way, accustomed to thinking
+of freedom and decency and justice as necessities of life. Much as Hal
+learned from the conversation of these men, he learned more from their
+silences--the quiet, matter-of-fact way they took things which had
+driven him beside himself with indignation. He began to realise what it
+would mean to stand by his pledge to those poor devils in North Valley.
+He would need more than one blaze of excitement; he would need brains
+and patience and discipline, he would need years of study and hard work!
+
+
+
+SECTION 20.
+
+Hal found himself forced to accept the decision of the labour-leaders.
+They had had experience, they could judge the situation. The miners
+would have to go back to work, and Cartwright and Alec Stone and Jeff
+Cotton would drive them as before! All that the rebels could do was to
+try to keep a secret organisation in the camp.
+
+Jerry Minetti mentioned Jack David. He had gone back this morning,
+without having seen the labour-leaders. So he might escape suspicion,
+and keep his job, and help the union work.
+
+"How about you?" asked Hal. "I suppose you've cooked your goose."
+
+Jerry had never heard this phrase, but he got its meaning. "Sure thing!"
+said he. "Cooked him plenty!"
+
+"Didn't you see the 'dicks' down stairs in the lobby?" inquired Hartman.
+
+"I haven't learned to recognise them yet."
+
+"Well, you will, if you stay at this business. There hasn't been a
+minute since our office was opened that we haven't had half a dozen on
+the other side of the street. Every man that comes to see us is followed
+back to his camp and fired that same day. They've broken into my desk at
+night and stolen my letters and papers; they've threatened us with death
+a hundred times."
+
+"I don't see how you make any headway at all!"
+
+"They can never stop us. They thought when they broke into my desk,
+they'd get a list of our organisers. But you see, I carry the lists in
+my head!"
+
+"No small task, either," put in Moylan. "Would you like to know how many
+organisers we have at work? Ninety-seven. And they haven't caught a
+single one of them!"
+
+Hal heard him, amazed. Here was a new aspect of the labour movement!
+This quiet, resolute old "Dutchy," whom you might have taken for a
+delicatessen-proprietor; this merry-eyed Irish boy, whom you would have
+expected to be escorting a lady to a firemen's ball----they were
+captains of an army of sappers who were undermining the towers of Peter
+Harrigan's fortress of greed!
+
+Hartman suggested that Jerry might take a chance at this sort of work.
+He would surely be fired from North Valley, so he might as well send
+word to his family to come to Pedro. In this way he might save himself
+to work as an organiser; because it was the custom of these company
+"spotters" to follow a man back to his camp and there identify him. If
+Jerry took a train for Western City, they would be thrown off the track,
+and he might get into some new camp and do organising among the
+Italians. Jerry accepted this proposition with alacrity; it would put
+off the evil day when Rosa and her little ones would be left to the
+mercy of chance.
+
+They were still talking when the telephone rang. It was Hartman's
+secretary in Sheridan, reporting that he had just heard from the
+kidnapped committee. The entire party, eight men and Mary Burke, had
+been taken to Horton, a station not far up the line, and put on the
+train with many dire threats. But they had left the train at the next
+stop, and declared their intention of coming to Pedro. They were due at
+the hotel very soon.
+
+Hal desired to be present at this meeting, and went downstairs to tell
+his brother. There was another dispute, of course. Edward reminded Hal
+that the scenery of Pedro had a tendency to monotony; to which Hal could
+only answer by offering to introduce his brother to his friends. They
+were men who could teach Edward much, if he would consent to learn. He
+might attend the session with the committee--eight men and a woman who
+had ventured an act of heroism and been made the victims of a crime. Nor
+were they bores, as Edward might be thinking! There was blue-eyed Tim
+Rafferty, for example, a silent, smutty-faced gnome who had broken out
+of his black cavern and spread unexpected golden wings of oratory; and
+Mary Burke, of whom Edward might read in that afternoon's edition of the
+Western City _Gazette_--a "Joan of Arc of the coal-camps," or something
+equally picturesque. But Edward's mood was not to be enlivened. He had a
+vision of his brother's appearance in the paper as the companion of this
+Hibernian Joan!
+
+Hal went off with Jerry Minetti to what his brother described as a
+"hash-house," while Edward proceeded in solitary state to the
+dining-room of the American Hotel. But he was not left in solitary
+state; pretty soon a sharp-faced young man was ushered to a seat beside
+him, and started up a conversation. He was a "drummer," he said; his
+"line" was hardware, what was Edward's? Edward answered coldly that he
+had no "line," but the young man was not rebuffed--apparently his "line"
+had hardened his sensibilities. Perhaps Edward was interested in
+coal-mines? Had he been visiting the camps? He questioned so
+persistently, and came back so often to the subject, that at last it
+dawned over Edward what this meant--he was receiving the attention of a
+"spotter!" Strange to say, the circumstance caused Edward more
+irritation against Peter Harrigan's regime than all his brother's
+eloquence about oppression at North Valley.
+
+
+
+SECTION 21.
+
+Soon after dinner the kidnapped committee arrived, bedraggled in body
+and weary in soul. They inquired for Johann Hartman, and were sent up to
+the room, where there followed a painful scene. Eight men and a woman
+who had ventured an act of heroism and been made the victims of a crime
+could not easily be persuaded to see their efforts and sacrifices thrown
+on the dump-heap, nor were they timid in expressing their opinions of
+those who were betraying them.
+
+"You been tryin' to get us out!" cried Tim Rafferty. "Ever since I can
+remember you been at my old man to help you--an' here, when we do what
+you ask, you throw us down!"
+
+"We never asked you to go on strike," said Moylan.
+
+"No, that's true. You only asked us to pay dues, so you fellows could
+have fat salaries."
+
+"Our salaries aren't very fat," replied the young leader, patiently.
+"You'd find that out if you investigated."
+
+"Well, whatever they are, they go on, while ours stop. We're on the
+streets, we're done for. Look at us--and most of us has got families,
+too! I got an old mother an' a lot of brothers and sisters, an' my old
+man done up an' can't work. What do you think's to become of us?"
+
+"We'll help you out a little, Rafferty--"
+
+"To hell with you!" cried Tim. "I don't want your help! When I need
+charity, I'll go to the county. They're another bunch of grafters, but
+they don't pretend to be friends to the workin' man."
+
+Here was the thing Tom Olson had told Hal at the outset--the workingmen
+bedevilled, not knowing whom to trust, suspecting the very people who
+most desired to help them. "Tim," he put in, "there's no use talking
+like that. We have to learn patience--"
+
+And the boy turned upon Hal. "What do you know about it? It's all a joke
+to you. You can go off and forget it when you get ready. You've got
+money, they tell me!"
+
+Hal felt no resentment at this; it was what he heard from his own
+conscience. "It isn't so easy for me as you think, Tim. There are other
+ways of suffering besides not having money--"
+
+"Much sufferin' you'll do--with your rich folks!" sneered Tim.
+
+There was a murmur of protest from others of the committee.
+
+"Good God, Rafferty!" broke in Moylan. "We can't help it, man--we're
+just as helpless as you!"
+
+"You say you're helpless--but you don't even try!"
+
+"_Try?_ Do you want us to back a strike that we know hasn't a chance?
+You might as well ask us to lie down and let a load of coal run over us.
+We can't win, man! I tell you we can't _win_! We'd only be throwing away
+our organisation!"
+
+Moylan became suddenly impassioned. He had seen a dozen sporadic strikes
+in this district, and many a dozen young strikers, homeless, desolate,
+embittered, turning their disappointment on him. "We might support you
+with our funds, you say--we might go on doing it, even while the company
+ran the mine with scabs. But where would that land us, Rafferty? I seen
+many a union on the rocks--and I ain't so old either! If we had a bank,
+we'd support all the miners of the country, they'd never need to work
+again till they got their rights. But this money we spend is the money
+that other miners are earnin'--right now, down in the pits, Rafferty,
+the same as you and your old man. They give us this money, and they say,
+'Use it to build up the union. Use it to help the men that aren't
+organised--take them in, so they won't beat down our wages and scab on
+us. But don't waste it, for God's sake; we have to work hard to make it,
+and if we don't see results, you'll get no more out of us.' Don't you
+see how that is, man? And how it weighs on us, worse even then the fear
+that maybe we'll lose our poor salaries--though you might refuse to
+believe anything so good of us? You don't need to talk to me like I was
+Peter Harrigan's son. I was a spragger when I was ten years old, and I
+ain't been out of the pits so long that I've forgot the feeling. I
+assure you, the thing that keeps me awake at night ain't the fear of not
+gettin' a living, for I give myself a bit of education, working nights,
+and I know I could always turn out and earn what I need; but it's
+wondering whether I'm spending the miners' money the best way, whether
+maybe I mightn't save them a little misery if I hadn't 'a' done this or
+had 'a' done that. When I come down on that sleeper last night, here's
+what I was thinking, Tim Rafferty--all the time I listened to the train
+bumping--'Now I got to see some more of the suffering, I got to let some
+good men turn against us, because they can't see why we should get
+salaries while they get the sack. How am I going to show them that I'm
+working for them--working as hard as I know how--and that I'm not to
+blame for their trouble?'"
+
+Here Wauchope broke in. "There's no use talking any more. I see we're up
+against it. We'll not trouble you, Moylan."
+
+"You trouble me," cried Moylan, "unless you stand by the movement!"
+
+The other laughed bitterly. "You'll never know what I do. It's the road
+for me--and you know it!"
+
+"Well, wherever you go, it'll be the same; either you'll be fighting for
+the union, or you'll be a weight that we have to carry."
+
+The young leader turned from one to another of the committee, pleading
+with them not to be embittered by this failure, but to turn it to their
+profit, going on with the work of building up the solidarity of the
+miners. Every man had to make his sacrifices, to pay his part of the
+price. The thing of importance was that every man who was discharged
+should be a spark of unionism, carrying the flame of revolt to a new
+part of the country. Let each one do his part, and there would soon be
+no place to which the masters could send for "scabs."
+
+
+
+SECTION 22.
+
+There was one member of this committee whom Hal watched with especial
+anxiety----Mary Burke. She had not yet said a word; while the others
+argued and protested, she sat with her lips set and her hands clenched.
+Hal knew what rage this failure must bring to her. She had risen and
+struggled and hoped, and the result was what she had always said it
+would be--nothing! Now he saw her, with eyes large and dark with
+fatigue, fixed on this fiery young labour-leader. He knew that a war
+must be going on within her. Would she drop out entirely now? It was the
+test of her character--as it was the test of the characters of all of
+them.
+
+"If only we're strong enough and brave enough," Jim Moylan was saying,
+"we can use our defeats to educate our people and bring them together.
+Right now, if we can make the men at North Valley see what we're doing,
+they won't go back beaten, they won't be bitter against the union,
+they'll only go back to wait. And ain't that a way to beat the
+bosses--to hold our jobs, and keep the union alive, till we've got into
+all the camps, and can strike and win?"
+
+There was a pause; then Mary spoke. "How're you meanin' to tell the
+men?" Her voice was without emotion, but nevertheless, Hal's heart
+leaped. Whether Mary had any hope or not, she was going to stay in line
+with the rest of the ants!
+
+Johann Hartman explained his idea. He would have circulars printed in
+several languages and distributed secretly in the camp, ordering the men
+back to work. But Jerry met this suggestion with a prompt no. The people
+would not believe the circulars, they would suspect the bosses of having
+them printed. Hadn't the bosses done worse than that, "framing up" a
+letter from Joe Smith to balk the check-weighman movement? The only
+thing that would help would be for some of the committee to get into the
+camp and see the men face to face.
+
+"And it got to be quick!" Jerry insisted. "They get notice to work in
+morning, and them that don't be fired. They be the best men, too--men we
+want to save."
+
+Other members of the committee spoke up, agreeing with this. Said
+Rusick, the Slav, slow-witted and slow-spoken, "Them fellers get mighty
+damn sore if they lose their job and don't got no strike." And Zammakis,
+the Greek, quick and nervous, "We say strike; we got to say no strike."
+
+What could they do? There was, in the first place, the difficulty of
+getting away from the hotel, which was being watched by the "spotters."
+Hartman suggested that if they went out all together and scattered, the
+detectives could not follow all of them. Those who escaped might get
+into North Valley by hiding in the "empties" which went up to the mine.
+
+But Moylan pointed out that the company would be anticipating this; and
+Rusick, who had once been a hobo, put in: "They sure search them cars.
+They give us plenty hell, too, when they catch us."
+
+Yes, it would be a dangerous mission. Mary spoke again. "Maybe a lady
+could do it better."
+
+"They'd beat a lady," said Minetti.
+
+"I know, but maybe a lady might fool them. There's some widows that came
+to Pedro for the funerals, and they're wearin' veils that hide their
+faces. I might pretend to be one of them and get into the camp."
+
+The men looked at one another. There was an idea! The scowl which had
+stayed upon the face of Tim Rafferty ever since his quarrel with Moylan,
+gave place suddenly to a broad grin.
+
+"I seen Mrs. Zamboni on the street," said he. "She had on black veils
+enough to hide the lot of us."
+
+And here Hal spoke, for the first time since Tim Rafferty had silenced
+him. "Does anybody know where to find Mrs. Zamboni?"
+
+"She stay with my friend, Mrs. Swajka," said Rusick.
+
+"Well," said Hal, "there's something you people don't know about this
+situation. After they had fired you, I made another speech to the men,
+and made them swear they'd stay on strike. So now I've got to go back
+and eat my words. If we're relying on veils and things, a man can be
+fixed up as well as a woman."
+
+They were staring at him. "They'll beat you to death if they catch you!"
+said Wauchope.
+
+"No," said Hal, "I don't think so. Anyhow, it's up to me"--he glanced at
+Tim Rafferty--"because I'm the only one who doesn't have to suffer for
+the failure of our strike."
+
+There was a pause.
+
+"I'm sorry I said that!" cried Tim, impulsively.
+
+"That's all right, old man," replied Hal. "What you said is true, and
+I'd like to do something to ease my conscience." He rose to his feet,
+laughing. "I'll make a peach of a widow!" he said. "I'm going up and
+have a tea-party with my friend Jeff Cotton!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 23.
+
+Hal proposed going to find Mrs. Zamboni at the place where she was
+staying; but Moylan interposed, objecting that the detectives would
+surely follow him. Even though they should all go out of the hotel at
+once, the one person the detective would surely stick to was the
+arch-rebel and trouble-maker, Joe Smith. Finally they decided to bring
+Mrs. Zamboni to the room. Let her come with Mrs. Swajka or some other
+woman who spoke English, and go to the desk and ask for Mary Burke,
+explaining that Mary had borrowed money from her, and that she had to
+have it to pay the undertaker for the burial of her man. The hotel-clerk
+might not know who Mary Burke was; but the watchful "spotters" would
+gather about and listen, and if it was mentioned that Mary was from
+North Valley, some one would connect her with the kidnapped committee.
+
+This was made clear to Rusick, who hurried off, and in the course of
+half an hour returned with the announcement that the women were on the
+way. A few minutes later came a tap on the door, and there stood the
+black-garbed old widow with her friend. She came in; and then came looks
+of dismay and horrified exclamations. Rusick was requesting her to give
+up her weeds to Joe Smith!
+
+"She say she don't got nothing else," explained the Slav.
+
+"Tell her I give her plenty money buy more," said Hal.
+
+"Ai! Jesu!" cried Mrs. Zamboni, pouring out a sputtering torrent.
+
+"She say she don't got nothing to put on. She say it ain't good to go no
+clothes!"
+
+"Hasn't she got on a petticoat?"
+
+"She say petticoat got holes!"
+
+There was a burst of laughter from the company, and the old woman turned
+scarlet from her forehead to her ample throat. "Tell her she wrap up in
+blankets," said Hal. "Mary Burke buy her new things."
+
+It proved surprisingly difficult to separate Mrs. Zamboni from her
+widow's weeds, which she had purchased with so great an expenditure of
+time and tears. Never had a respectable lady who had borne sixteen
+children received such a proposition; to sell the insignia of her
+grief--and here in a hotel room, crowded with a dozen men! Nor was the
+task made easier by the unseemly merriment of the men. "Ai! Jesu!" cried
+Mrs. Zamboni again.
+
+"Tell her it's very, very important," said Hal. "Tell her I must have
+them." And then, seeing that Rusick was making poor headway, he joined
+in, in the compromise-English one learns in the camps. "Got to have!
+Sure thing! Got to hide! Quick! Get away from boss! See? Get killed if
+no go!"
+
+So at last the frightened old woman gave way. "She say all turn backs,"
+said Rusick. And everybody turned, laughing in hilarious whispers,
+while, with Mary Burke and Mrs. Swajka for a shield, Mrs. Zamboni got
+out of her waist and skirt, putting a blanket round her red shoulders
+for modesty's sake. When Hal put the garments on, there was a foot to
+spare all round; but after they had stuffed two bed pillows down in the
+front of him, and drawn them tight at the waist-line, the disguise was
+judged more satisfactory. He put on the old lady's ample if ragged
+shoes, and Mary Burke set the widow's bonnet on his head and adjusted
+the many veils; after that Mrs. Zamboni's own brood of children would
+not have suspected the disguise.
+
+It was a merry party for a few minutes; worn and hopeless as Mary had
+seemed, she was possessed now by the spirit of fun. But then quickly the
+laughter died. The time for action had come. Mary Burke said that she
+would stay with what was left of Mrs. Zamboni, to answer the door in
+case any of the hotel people or the detectives should come. Hal asked
+Jim Moylan to see Edward, and say that Hal was writing a manifesto to
+the North Valley workers, and would not be ready to leave until the
+midnight train.
+
+These things agreed upon, Hal shook hands all round, and the eleven men
+left the room at once, going down stairs and through the lobby,
+scattering in every direction on the streets. Mrs. Swajka and the
+pseudo-Mrs. Zamboni followed a minute later--and, as they anticipated,
+found the lobby swept clear of detectives.
+
+
+
+SECTION 24.
+
+Bidding Mrs. Swajka farewell, Hal set out for the railroad station. But
+before he had gone a block from the hotel, he ran into his brother,
+coming straight towards him.
+
+Edward's face wore a bored look; his very manner of carrying the
+magazine under his arm said that he had selected it in a last hopeless
+effort against the monotony of Pedro. Such a trick of fate, to take a
+man of important affairs, and immure him at the mercy of a maniac in a
+God-forsaken coal-town! What did people do in such a hole? Pay a nickel
+to look at moving pictures of cow-boys and counterfeiters?
+
+Edward's aspect was too much for Hal's sense of humour. Besides, he had
+a good excuse; was it not proper to make a test of his disguise, before
+facing the real danger in North Valley?
+
+He placed himself in the path of his brother's progress, and in Mrs.
+Zamboni's high, complaining tones, began, "Mister!"
+
+Edward stared at the interrupting black figure. "Mister, you Joe Smith's
+brother, hey?"
+
+The question had to be repeated before Edward gave his grudging answer.
+He was not proud of the relationship.
+
+"Mister," continued the whining voice, "my old man got blow up in mine.
+I get five pieces from my man what I got to bury yesterday in
+grave-yard. I got to pay thirty dollar for bury them pieces and I don't
+got no more money left. I don't got no money from them company fellers.
+They come lawyer feller and he say maybe I get money for bury my man, if
+I don't jay too much. But, Mister, I got eleven children I got to feed,
+and I don't got no more man, and I don't find no new man for old woman
+like me. When I go home I hear them children crying and I don't got no
+food, and them company-stores don't give me no food. I think maybe you
+Joe Smith's brother you good man, maybe you sorry for poor widow-woman,
+you maybe give me some money, Mister, so I buy some food for them
+children."
+
+"All right," said Edward. He pulled out his wallet and extracted a bill,
+which happened to be for ten dollars. His manner seemed to say, "For
+heaven's sake, here!"
+
+Mrs. Zamboni clutched the bill with greedy fingers, but was not
+appeased. "You got plenty money, Mister! You rich man, hey! You maybe
+give me all them moneys, so I got plenty feed them children? You don't
+know them company-stores, Mister, them prices is way up high like
+mountains; them children is hungry, they cry all day and night, and one
+piece money don't last so long. You give me some more piece moneys,
+Mister----hey?"
+
+"I'll give you one more," said Edward. "I need some for myself." He
+pulled off another bill.
+
+"What you need so much, Mister? You don't got so many children, hey? And
+you got plenty more money home, maybe!"
+
+"That's all I can give you," said the man. He took a step to one side,
+to get round the obstruction in his path.
+
+But the obstruction took a step also--and with surprising agility.
+"Mister, I thank you for them moneys. I tell them children I get moneys
+from good man. I like you, Mister Smith, you give money for poor
+widow-woman--you nice man."
+
+And the dreadful creature actually stuck out one of her paws, as if
+expecting to pat Edward on the cheek, or to chuck him under the chin. He
+recoiled, as from a contagion; but she followed him, determined to do
+something to him, he could not be sure what. He had heard that these
+foreigners had strange customs!
+
+"It's all right! It's nothing!" he insisted, and fell back--at the same
+time glancing nervously about, to see if there were spectators of this
+scene.
+
+"Nice man, Mister! Nice man!" cried the old woman, with increasing
+cordiality. "Maybe some day I find man like you, Mr. Edward Smith--so I
+don't stay widow-woman no more. You think maybe you like to marry nice
+Slavish woman, got plenty nice children?"
+
+Edward, perceiving that the matter was getting desperate, sprang to one
+side. It was a spring which should have carried him to safety; but to
+his dismay the Slavish widow sprang also--her claws caught him under the
+arm-pit, and fastening in his ribs, gave him a ferocious pinch. After
+which the owner of the claws went down the street, not looking back, but
+making strange gobbling noises, which might have been the weeping of a
+bereaved widow in Slavish, or might have been almost anything else.
+
+
+
+SECTION 25.
+
+The train up to North Valley left very soon, and Hal figured that there
+would be just time to accomplish his errand and catch the last train
+back. He took his seat in the car without attracting attention, and sat
+in his place until they were approaching their destination, the last
+stop up the canyon. There were several of the miners' women in the car,
+and Hal picked out one who belonged to Mrs. Zamboni's nationality, and
+moved over beside her. She made place, with some remark; but Hal merely
+sobbed softly, and the woman felt for his hand to comfort him. As his
+hands were clasped together under the veils, she patted him reassuringly
+on the knee.
+
+At the boundary of the stockaded village the train stopped, and Bud
+Adams came through the car, scrutinising every passenger. Seeing this,
+Hal began to sob again, and murmured something indistinct to his
+companion--which caused her to lean towards him, speaking volubly in her
+native language. "Bud" passed by.
+
+When Hal came to leave the train, he took his companion's arm; he sobbed
+some more, and she talked some more, and so they went down the platform,
+under the very eyes of Pete Hanun, the "breaker of teeth." Another woman
+joined them, and they walked down the street, the women conversing in
+Slavish, apparently without a suspicion of Hal.
+
+He had worked out his plan of action. He would not try to talk with the
+men secretly--it would take too long, and he might be betrayed before he
+had talked with a sufficient number. One bold stroke was the thing. In
+half an hour it would be supper-time, and the feeders would gather in
+Reminitsky's dining-room. He would give his message there!
+
+Hal's two companions were puzzled that he passed the Zamboni cabin,
+where presumably the Zamboni brood were being cared for by neighbours.
+But he let them make what they could of this, and went on to the Minetti
+home. To the astonished Rosa he revealed himself, and gave her husband's
+message--that she should take herself and the children down to Pedro,
+and wait quietly until she heard from him. She hurried out and brought
+in Jack David, to whom Hal explained matters. "Big Jack's" part in the
+recent disturbance had apparently not been suspected; he and his wife,
+with Rovetta, Wresmak, and Klowoski, would remain as a nucleus through
+which the union could work upon the men.
+
+The supper-hour was at hand, and the pseudo-Mrs. Zamboni emerged and
+toddled down the street. As she passed into the dining-room of the
+boarding-house, men looked at her, but no one spoke. It was the stage of
+the meal where everybody was grabbing and devouring, in the effort to
+get the best of his grabbing and devouring neighbours. The black-clad
+figure went to the far end of the room; there was a vacant chair, and
+the figure pulled it back from the table and climbed upon it. Then a
+shout rang through the room: "Boys! Boys!"
+
+The feeders looked up, and saw the widow's weeds thrown back, and their
+leader, Joe Smith, gazing out at them. "Boys! I've come with a message
+from the union!"
+
+There was a yell; men leaped to their feet, chairs were flung back,
+falling with a crash to the floor. Then, almost instantly, came silence;
+you could have heard the movement of any man's jaws, had any man
+continued to move them.
+
+"Boys! I've been down to Pedro and seen the union people. I knew the
+bosses wouldn't let me come back, so I dressed up, and here I am!"
+
+It dawned upon them, the meaning of this fantastic costume; there were
+cheers, laughter, yells of delight.
+
+But Hal stretched out his hands, and silence fell again. "Listen to me!
+The bosses won't let me talk long, and I've something important to say.
+The union leaders say we can't win a strike now."
+
+Consternation came into the faces before him. There were cries of
+dismay. He went on:
+
+"We are only one camp, and the bosses would turn us out, they'd get in
+scabs and run the mines without us. What we must have is a strike of all
+the camps at once. One big union and one big strike! If we walked out
+now, it would please the bosses; but we'll fool them--we'll keep our
+jobs, and keep our union too! You are members of the union, you'll go on
+working for the union! Hooray for the North Valley union!"
+
+For a moment there was no response. It was hard for men to cheer over
+such a prospect! Hal saw that he must touch a different chord.
+
+"We mustn't be cowards, boys! We've got to keep our nerve! I'm doing my
+part--it took nerve to get in here! In Mrs. Zamboni's clothes, and with
+two pillows stuffed in front of me!"
+
+He thumped the pillows, and there was a burst of laughter. Many in the
+crowd knew Mrs. Zamboni--it was what comedians call a "local gag." The
+laughter spread, and became a gale of merriment. Men began to cheer:
+"Hurrah for Joe! You're the girl! Will you marry me, Joe?" And so, of
+course, it was easy for Hal to get a response when he shouted, "Hurrah
+for the North Valley union!"
+
+Again he raised his hands for silence, and went on again. "Listen, men.
+They'll turn me out, and you're not going to resist them. You're going
+to work and keep your jobs, and get ready for the big strike. And you'll
+tell the other men what I say. I can't talk to them all, but you tell
+them about the union. Remember, there are people outside planning and
+fighting for you. We're going to stand by the union, all of us, till
+we've brought these coal-camps back into America!" There was a cheer
+that shook the walls of the room. Yes, that was what they wanted--to
+live in America!
+
+A crowd of men had gathered in the doorway, attracted by the uproar; Hal
+noticed confusion and pushing, and saw the head and burly shoulders of
+his enemy, Pete Hanun, come into sight.
+
+"Here come the gunmen, boys!" he cried; and there was a roar of anger
+from the crowd. Men turned, clenching their fists, glaring at the guard.
+But Hal rushed on, quickly:
+
+"Boys, hear what I say! Keep your heads! I can't stay in North Valley,
+and you know it! But I've done the thing I came to do, I've brought you
+the message from the union. And you'll tell the other men--tell them to
+stand by the union!"
+
+Hal went on, repeating his message over and over. Looking from one to
+another of these toil-worn faces, he remembered the pledge he had made
+them, and he made it anew: "I'm going to stand by you! I'm going on with
+the fight, boys!"
+
+There came more disturbance at the door, and suddenly Jeff Cotton
+appeared, with a couple of additional guards, shoving their way into the
+room, breathless and red in the face from running.
+
+"Ah, there's the marshal!" cried Hal. "You needn't push, Cotton, there's
+not going to be any trouble. We are union men here, we know how to
+control ourselves. Now, boys, we're not giving up, we're not beaten,
+we're only waiting for the men in the other camps! We have a union, and
+we mean to keep it! Three cheers for the union!"
+
+The cheers rang out with a will: cheers for the union, cheers for Joe
+Smith, cheers for the widow and her weeds!
+
+"You belong to the union! You stand by it, no matter what happens! If
+they fire you, you take it on to the next place! You teach it to the new
+men, you never let it die in your hearts! In union there is strength, in
+union there is hope! Never forget it, men--_Union_!"
+
+The voice of the camp-marshal rang out. "If you're coming, young woman,
+come now!"
+
+Hal dropped a shy curtsey. "Oh, Mr. Cotton! This is so sudden!" The
+crowd howled; and Hal descended from his platform. With coquettish
+gesturing he replaced the widow's veils about his face, and tripped
+mincingly across the dining-room. When he reached the camp-marshal, he
+daintily took that worthy's arm, and with the "breaker of teeth" on the
+other side, and Bud Adams bringing up the rear, he toddled out of the
+dining-room and down the street.
+
+Hungry men gave up their suppers to behold that sight. They poured out
+of the building, they followed, laughing, shouting, jeering. Others came
+from every direction--by the time the party had reached the depot, a
+good part of the population of the village was on hand; and everywhere
+went the word, "It's Joe Smith! Come back with a message from the
+union!" Big, coal-grimed miners laughed till the tears made streaks on
+their faces; they fell on one another's necks for delight at this trick
+which had been played upon their oppressors.
+
+Even Jeff Cotton could not withhold his tribute. "By God, you're the
+limit!" he muttered. He accepted the "tea-party" aspect of the affair,
+as the easiest way to get rid of his recurrent guest, and avert the
+possibilities of danger. He escorted the widow to the train and helped
+her up the steps, posting escorts at the doors of her car; nor did the
+attentions of these gallants cease until the train had moved down the
+canyon and passed the limits of the North Valley stockade!
+
+
+
+SECTION 26.
+
+Hal took off his widow's weeds; and with them he shed the merriment he
+had worn for the benefit of the men. There came a sudden reaction; he
+realised that he was tired.
+
+For ten days he had lived in a whirl of excitement, scarcely stopping to
+sleep. Now he lay back in the car-seat, pale, exhausted; his head ached,
+and he realised that the sum-total of his North Valley experience was
+failure. There was left in him no trace of that spirit of adventure with
+which he had set out upon his "summer course in practical sociology." He
+had studied his lessons, tried to recite them, and been "flunked." He
+smiled a bitter smile, recollecting the careless jesting that had been
+on his lips as he came up that same canyon:
+
+  "He keeps them a-roll, that merry old soul--
+    The wheels of industree;
+  A-roll and a-roll, for his pipe and his bowl
+    And his college facultee!"
+
+The train arrived in Pedro, and Hal took a hack at the station and drove
+to the hotel. He still carried the widow's weeds rolled into a bundle.
+He might have left them in the train, but the impulse to economy which
+he had acquired during the last ten weeks had become a habit. He would
+return them to Mrs. Zamboni. The money he had promised her might better
+be used to feed her young ones. The two pillows he would leave in the
+car; the hotel might endure the loss!
+
+Entering the lobby, the first person Hal saw was his brother, and the
+sight of that patrician face made human by disgust relieved Hal's
+headache in part. Life was harsh, life was cruel; but here was weary,
+waiting Edward, that boon of comic relief!
+
+Edward demanded to know where the devil he had been; and Hal answered,
+"I've been visiting the widows and orphans."
+
+"Oh!" said Edward. "And while I sit in this hole and stew! What's that
+you've got under your arm?"
+
+Hal looked at the bundle. "It's a souvenir of one of the widows," he
+said, and unrolled the garments and spread them out before his brother's
+puzzled eyes. "A lady named Mrs. Swajka gave them to me. They belonged
+to another lady, Mrs. Zamboni, but she doesn't need them any more."
+
+"What have _you_ got to do with them?"
+
+"It seems that Mrs. Zamboni is going to get married again." Hal lowered
+his voice, confidentially. "It's a romance, Edward--it may interest you
+as an illustration of the manners of these foreign races. She met a man
+on the street, a fine, fine man, she says--and he gave her a lot of
+money. So she went and bought herself some new clothes, and she wants to
+give these widow's weeds to the new man. That's the custom in her
+country, it seems--her sign that she accepts him as a suitor."
+
+Seeing the look of wonderment growing on his brother's face, Hal had to
+stop for a moment to keep his own face straight. "If that man wasn't
+serious in his intention, Edward, he'll have trouble, for I know Mrs.
+Zamboni's emotional nature. She'll follow him about everywhere--"
+
+"Hal, that creature is insane!" And Edward looked about him nervously,
+as if he thought the Slavish widow might appear suddenly in the hotel
+lobby to demonstrate her emotional nature.
+
+"No," replied Hal, "it's just one of those differences in national
+customs." And suddenly Hal's face gave way. He began to laugh; he
+laughed, perhaps more loudly than good form permitted.
+
+Edward was much annoyed. There were people in the lobby, and they were
+staring at him. "Cut it out, Hal!" he exclaimed. "Your fool jokes bore
+me!" But nevertheless, Hal could see uncertainty in his brother's face.
+Edward recognised those widow's weeds. And how could he be sure about
+the "national customs" of that grotesque creature who had pinched him in
+the ribs on the street?
+
+"Cut it out!" he cried again.
+
+Hal, changing his voice suddenly to the Zamboni key, exclaimed: "Mister,
+I got eight children I got to feed, and I don't got no more man, and I
+don't find no new man for old woman like me!"
+
+So at last the truth in its full enormity began to dawn upon Edward. His
+consternation and disgust poured themselves out; and Hal listened, his
+laughter dying. "Edward," he said, "you don't take me seriously even
+yet!"
+
+"Good God!" cried the other. "I believe you're really insane!"
+
+"You were up there, Edward! You heard what I said to those poor devils!
+And you actually thought I'd go off with you and forget about them!"
+
+Edward ignored this. "You're really insane!" he repeated. "You'll get
+yourself killed, in spite of all I can do!"
+
+But Hal only laughed. "Not a chance of it! You should have seen the
+tea-party manners of the camp-marshal!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 27.
+
+Edward would have endeavoured to carry his brother away forthwith, but
+there was no train until late at night; so Hal went upstairs, where he
+found Moylan and Hartman with Mary Burke and Mrs. Zamboni, all eager to
+hear his story. As the members of the committee, who had been out to
+supper, came straggling in, the story was told again, and yet again.
+They were almost as much delighted as the men in Reminitsky's. If only
+all strikes that had to be called off could be called off as neatly as
+that!
+
+Between these outbursts of satisfaction, they discussed their future.
+Moylan was going back to Western City, Hartman to his office in
+Sheridan, from which he would arrange to send new organisers into North
+Valley. No doubt Cartwright would turn off many men--those who had made
+themselves conspicuous during the strike, those who continued to talk
+union out loud. But such men would have to be replaced, and the union
+knew through what agencies the company got its hands. The North Valley
+miners would find themselves mysteriously provided with union literature
+in their various languages; it would be slipped under their pillows, or
+into their dinner-pails, or the pockets of their coats while they were
+at work.
+
+Also there was propaganda to be carried on among those who were turned
+away; so that, wherever they went, they would take the message of
+unionism. There had been a sympathetic outburst in Barela, Hal
+learned--starting quite spontaneously that morning, when the men heard
+what had happened at North Valley. A score of workers had been fired,
+and more would probably follow in the morning. Here was a job for the
+members of the kidnapped committee; Tim Rafferty, for example--would he
+care to stay in Pedro for a week or two, to meet such men, and give them
+literature and arguments?
+
+This offer was welcome; for life looked desolate to the Irish boy at
+this moment. He was out of a job, his father was a wreck, his family
+destitute and helpless. They would have to leave their home, of course;
+there would be no place for any Rafferty in North Valley. Where they
+would go, God only knew; Tim would become a wanderer, living away from
+his people, starving himself and sending home his pitiful savings.
+
+Hal was watching the boy, and reading these thoughts. He, Hal Warner,
+would play the god out of a machine in this case, and in several others
+equally pitiful. He had the right to sign his father's name to checks, a
+privilege which he believed he could retain, even while undertaking the
+role of Haroun al Raschid in a mine-disaster. But what about the
+mine-disasters and abortive strikes where there did not happen to be any
+Haroun al Raschid at hand? What about those people, right in North
+Valley, who did not happen to have told Hal of their affairs? He
+perceived that it was only by turning his back and running that he would
+escape from his adventure with any portion of his self-possession.
+Truly, this fair-seeming and wonderful civilisation was like the floor
+of a charnel-house or a field of battle; anywhere one drove a spade
+beneath its surface, he uncovered horrors, sights for the eyes and
+stenches for the nostrils that caused him to turn sick!
+
+There was Rusick, for example; he had a wife and two children, and not a
+dollar in the world. In the year and more that he had worked, faithfully
+and persistently, to get out coal for Peter Harrigan, he had never once
+been able to get ahead of his bill for the necessities of life at Old
+Peter's store. All his belongings in the world could be carried in a
+bundle on his back, and whether he ever saw these again would depend
+upon the whim of old Peter's camp-marshal and guards. Rusick would take
+to the road, with a ticket purchased by the union. Perhaps he would find
+a job and perhaps not; in any case, the best he could hope for in life
+was to work for some other Harrigan, and run into debt at some other
+company-store.
+
+There was Hobianish, a Serbian, and Hernandez, a Mexican, of whom the
+same things were true, except that one had four children and the other
+six. Bill Wauchope had only a wife--their babies had died, thank heaven,
+he said. He did not seem to have been much moved by Jim Moylan's
+pleadings; he was down and out; he would take to the road, and beat his
+way to the East and back to England. They called this a free country! By
+God, if he were to tell what had happened to him, he could not get an
+English miner to believe it!
+
+Hal gave these men his real name and address, and made them promise to
+let him know how they got along. He would help a little, he said; in his
+mind he was figuring how much he ought to do. How far shall a man go in
+relieving the starvation about him, before he can enjoy his meals in a
+well-appointed club? What casuist will work out this problem--telling
+him the percentage he shall relieve of the starvation he happens
+personally to know about, the percentage of that which he sees on the
+streets, the percentage of that about which he reads in government
+reports on the rise in the cost of living. To what extent is he
+permitted to close his eyes, as he walks along the streets on his way to
+the club? To what extent is he permitted to avoid reading government
+reports before going out to dinner-dances with his fianc�e? Problems
+such as these the masters of the higher mathematics have neglected to
+solve; the wise men of the academies and the holy men of the churches
+have likewise failed to work out the formulas; and Hal, trying to obtain
+them by his crude mental arithmetic, found no satisfaction in the
+results.
+
+
+
+SECTION 28.
+
+Hal wanted a chance to talk to Mary Burke; they had had no intimate talk
+since the meeting with Jessie Arthur, and now he was going away, for a
+long time. He wanted to find out what plans Mary had for the future,
+and--more important yet--what was her state of mind. If he had been able
+to lift this girl from despair, his summer course in practical sociology
+had not been all a failure!
+
+He asked her to go with him to say good-bye to John Edstrom, whom he had
+not seen since their unceremonious parting at MacKellar's, when Hal had
+fled to Percy Harrigan's train. Downstairs in the lobby Hal explained
+his errand to his waiting brother, who made no comment, but merely
+remarked that he would follow, if Hal had no objection. He did not care
+to make the acquaintance of the Hibernian Joan of Arc, and would not
+come close enough to interfere with Hal's conversation with the lady;
+but he wished to do what he could for his brother's protection. So there
+set out a moon-light procession--first Hal and Mary, then Edward, and
+then Edward's dinner-table companion, the "hardware-drummer!"
+
+Hal was embarrassed in beginning his farewell talk with Mary. He had no
+idea how she felt towards him, and he admitted with a guilty pang that
+he was a little afraid to find out! He thought it best to be cheerful,
+so he started to tell her how fine he thought her conduct during the
+strike. But she did not respond to his remarks, and at last he realised
+that she was labouring with some thoughts of her own.
+
+"There's somethin' I got to say to ye!" she began, suddenly. "A couple
+of days ago I knew how I meant to say it, but now I don't."
+
+"Well," he laughed, "say it as you meant to."
+
+"No; 'twas bitter--and now I'm on my knees before ye."
+
+"Not that I want you to be bitter," said Hal, still laughing, "but it's
+I that ought to be on my knees before you. I didn't accomplish anything,
+you know."
+
+"Ye did all ye could--and more than the rest of us. I want ye to know
+I'll never forget it. But I want ye to hear the other thing, too!"
+
+She walked on, staring before her, doubling up her hands in agitation.
+"Well?" said he, still trying to keep a cheerful tone.
+
+"Ye remember that day just after the explosion? Ye remember what I said
+about--about goin' away with ye? I take it back."
+
+"Oh, of course!" said he, quickly. "You were distracted, Mary--you
+didn't know what you were saying."
+
+"No, no! That's not it! But I've changed my mind; I don't mean to throw
+meself away."
+
+"I told you you'd see it that way," he said. "No man is worth it."
+
+"Ah, lad!" said she. "'Tis the fine soothin' tongue ye have--but I'd
+rather ye knew the truth. 'Tis that I've seen the other girl; and I hate
+her!"
+
+They walked for a bit in silence. Hal had sense enough to realise that
+here was a difficult subject. "I don't want to be a prig, Mary," he said
+gently; "but you'll change your mind about that, too. You'll not hate
+her; you'll be sorry for her."
+
+She laughed--a raw, harsh laugh. "What kind of a joke is that?"
+
+"I know--it may seem like one. But it'll come to you some day. You have
+a wonderful thing to live and fight for; while she"--he hesitated a
+moment, for he was not sure of his own ideas on this subject--"she has
+so many things to learn; and she may never learn them. She'll miss some
+fine things."
+
+"I know one of the fine things she does not mean to miss," said Mary,
+grimly; "that's Mr. Hal Warner." Then, after they had walked again in
+silence: "I want ye to understand me, Mr. Warner--"
+
+"Ah, Mary!" he pleaded. "Don't treat me that way! I'm Joe."
+
+"All right," she said, "Joe ye shall be. 'Twill remind ye of a pretty
+adventure--bein' a workin' man for a few weeks. Well, that's a part of
+what I have to tell ye. I've got my pride, even if I'm only a poor
+miner's daughter; and the other day I found out me place."
+
+"How do you mean?" he asked.
+
+"Ye don't understand? Honest?"
+
+"No, honest," he said.
+
+"Ye're stupid with women, Joe. Ye didn't see what the girl did to me!
+'Twas some kind of a bug I was to her. She was not sure if I was the
+kind that bites, but she took no chances--she threw me off, like that."
+And Mary snapped her hand, as one does when troubled with a bug.
+
+"Ah, now!" pleaded Hal. "You're not being fair!"
+
+"I'm bein' just as fair as I've got it in me to be, Joe. I been off and
+had it all out. I can see this much--'tis not her fault, maybe--'tis her
+class; 'tis all of ye--the very best of ye, even yeself, Joe Smith!"
+
+"Yea," he replied, "Tim Rafferty said that."
+
+"Tim said too much--but a part of it was true. Ye think ye've come here
+and been one of us workin' people. But don't your own sense tell you
+the difference, as if it was a canyon a million miles across--between a
+poor ignorant creature in a minin' camp, and a rich man's daughter, a
+lady? Ye'd tell me not to be ashamed of poverty; but would ye ever put
+me by the side of her--for all your fine feelin's of friendship for them
+that's beneath ye? Didn't ye show that at the Minettis'?"
+
+"But don't you see, Mary--" He made an effort to laugh. "I got used to
+obeying Jessie! I knew her a long time before I knew you."
+
+"Ah, Joe! Ye've a kind heart, and a pleasant way of speakin'. But
+wouldn't it interest ye to know the real truth? Ye said ye'd come out
+here to learn the truth!"
+
+And Hal answered, in a low voice, "Yes," and did not interrupt again.
+
+
+
+SECTION 29.
+
+Mary's voice had dropped low, and Hal thought how rich and warm it was
+when she was deeply moved. She went on:
+
+"I lived all me life in minin' camps, Joe Smith, and I seen men robbed
+and beaten, and women cryin' and childer hungry. I seen the company,
+like some great wicked beast that eat them up. But I never knew why, or
+what it meant--till that day, there at the Minettis'. I'd read about
+fine ladies in books, ye see; but I'd never been spoke to by one, I'd
+never had to swallow one, as ye might say. But there I did--and all at
+once I seemed to know where the money goes that's wrung out of the
+miners. I saw why people were robbin' us, grindin' the life out of
+us--for fine ladies like that, to keep them so shinin' and soft! 'Twould
+not have been so bad, if she'd not come just then, with all the men and
+boys dyin' down in the pits--dyin' for that soft, white skin, and those
+soft, white hands, and all those silky things she swished round in. My
+God, Joe--d'ye know what she seemed to me like? Like a smooth, sleek cat
+that has just eat up a whole nest full of baby mice, and has the blood
+of them all over her cheeks!"
+
+Mary paused, breathing hard. Hal kept silence, and she went on again: "I
+had it out with meself, Joe! I don't want ye to think I'm any better
+than I am, and I asked meself this question--Is it for the men in the
+pits that ye hate her with such black murder? Or is it for the one man
+ye want, and that she's got? And I knew the answer to that! But then I
+asked meself another question, too--Would ye be like her if ye could?
+Would ye do what she's doin' right now--would ye have it on your soul?
+And as God hears me, Joe, 'tis the truth I speak--I'd not do it! No, not
+for the love of any man that ever walked on this earth!"
+
+She had lifted her clenched fist as she spoke. She let it fall again,
+and strode on, not even glancing at him. "Ye might try a thousand years,
+Joe, and ye'd not realise the feelin's that come to me there at the
+Minettis'. The shame of it--not what she done to me, but what she made
+me in me own eyes! Me, the daughter of a drunken old miner, and her--I
+don't know what her father is, but she's some sort of princess, and she
+knows it. And that's the thing that counts, Joe! 'Tis not that she has
+so much money, and so many fine things; that she knows how to talk, and
+I don't, and that her voice is sweet, and mine is ugly, when I'm ragin'
+as I am now. No--'tis that she's so _sure!_ That's the word I found to
+say it; she's sure--sure--_sure!_ She has the fine things, she's always
+had them, she has a right to have them! And I have a right to nothin'
+but trouble, I'm hunted all day by misery and fear, I've lost even the
+roof over me head! Joe, ye know I've got some temper--I'm not easy to
+beat down; but when I'd got through bein' taught me place, I went off
+and hid meself, I ground me face in the dirt, for the black rage of it!
+I said to meself, 'Tis true! There's somethin' in her better than me!
+She's some kind of finer creature.--Look at these hands!" She held them
+out in the moonlight, with a swift, passionate gesture. "So she's a
+right to her man, and I'm a fool to have ever raised me eyes to him! I
+have to see him go away, and crawl back into me leaky old shack! Yes,
+that's the truth! And when I point it out to the man, what d'ye think he
+says? Why, he tells me gently and kindly that I ought to be sorry for
+her! Christ! did ye ever hear the like of that?"
+
+There was a long silence. Hal could not have said anything now, if he
+had wished to. He knew that this was what he had come to seek! This was
+the naked soul of the class-war!
+
+"Now," concluded Mary, with clenched hands, and a voice that
+corresponded, "now, I've had it out. I'm no slave; I've just as good a
+right to life as any lady. I know I'll never have it, of course; I'll
+never wear good clothes, nor live in a decent home, nor have the man I
+want; but I'll know that I've done somethin' to help free the workin'
+people from the shame that's put on them. That's what the strike done
+for me, Joe! The strike showed me the way. We're beat this time, but
+somehow it hasn't made the difference ye might think. I'm goin' to make
+more strikes before I quit, and they won't all of them be beat!"
+
+She stopped speaking; and Hal walked beside her, stirred by a conflict
+of emotions. His vision of her was indeed true; she would make more
+strikes! He was glad and proud of that; but then came the thought that
+while she, a girl, was going on with the bitter war, he, a man, would be
+eating grilled beefsteaks at the club!
+
+"Mary," he said, "I'm ashamed of myself--"
+
+"That's not it, Joe! Ye've no call to be ashamed. Ye can't help it where
+ye were born--"
+
+"Perhaps not, Mary. But when a man knows he's never paid for any of the
+things he's enjoyed all his life, surely the least he can do is to be
+ashamed. I hope you'll try not to hate me as you do the others."
+
+"I never hated ye, Joe! Not for one moment! I tell ye fair and true, I
+love ye as much as ever. I can say it, because I'd not have ye now; I've
+seen the other girl, and I know ye'd never be satisfied with me. I don't
+know if I ought to say it, but I'm thinkin' ye'll not be altogether
+satisfied with her, either. Ye'll be unhappy either way--God help ye!"
+
+The girl had read deeply into his soul in this last speech; so deeply
+that Hal could not trust himself to answer. They were passing a
+street-lamp, and she looked at him, for the first time since they had
+started on their walk, and saw harassment in his face. A sudden
+tenderness came into her voice. "Joe," she said; "ye're lookin' bad.
+'Tis good ye're goin' away from this place!"
+
+He tried to smile, but the effort was feeble.
+
+"Joe," she went on, "ye asked me to be your friend. Well, I'll be that!"
+And she held out the big, rough hand.
+
+He took it. "We'll not forget each other, Mary," he said. There was a
+catch in his voice.
+
+"Sure, lad!" she exclaimed. "We'll make another strike some day, just
+like we did at North Valley!"
+
+Hal pressed the big hand; but then suddenly, remembering his brother
+stalking solemnly in the rear, he relinquished the clasp, and failed to
+say all the fine things he had in his mind. He called himself a rebel,
+but not enough to be sentimental before Edward!
+
+
+
+SECTION 30.
+
+They came to the house where John Edstrom was staying. The labouring
+man's wife opened the door. In answer to Hal's question, she said, "The
+old gentleman's pretty bad."
+
+"What's the matter with him?"
+
+"Didn't you know he was hurt?"
+
+"No. How?"
+
+"They beat him up, sir. Broke his arm, and nearly broke his head."
+
+Hal and Mary exclaimed in chorus, "Who did it? When?"
+
+"We don't know who did it. It was four nights ago."
+
+Hal realised it must have happened while he was escaping from
+MacKellar's. "Have you had a doctor for him?"
+
+"Yes, sir; but we can't do much, because my man is out of work, and I
+have the children and the boarders to look after."
+
+Hal and Mary ran upstairs. Their old friend lay in darkness, but he
+recognised their voices and greeted them with a feeble cry. The woman
+brought a lamp, and they saw him lying on his back, his head done up in
+bandages, and one arm bound in splints. He looked really desperately
+bad, his kindly old eyes deep-sunken and haggard, and his face--Hal
+remembered what Jeff Cotton had called him, "that dough-faced old
+preacher!"
+
+They got the story of what had happened at the time of Hal's flight to
+Percy's train. Edstrom had shouted a warning to the fugitives, and set
+out to run after them; when one of the mine-guards, running past him,
+had fetched him a blow over the eye, knocking him down. He had struck
+his head upon the pavement, and lain there unconscious for many hours.
+When finally some one had come upon him, and summoned a policeman, they
+had gone through his pockets, and found the address of this place where
+he was staying written on a scrap of paper. That was all there was to
+the story--except that Edstrom had refrained from sending to MacKellar
+for help, because he had felt sure they were all working to get the mine
+open, and he did not feel he had the right to put his troubles upon
+them.
+
+Hal listened to the old man's feeble statements, and there came back to
+him a surge of that fury which his North Valley experience had generated
+in him. It was foolish, perhaps; for to knock down an old man who had
+been making trouble was a comparatively slight exercise of the functions
+of a mine-guard. But to Hal it seemed the most characteristic of all the
+outrages he had seen; it was an expression of the company's utter
+blindness to all that was best in life. This old man, who was so gentle,
+so patient, who had suffered so much, and not learned to hate, who had
+kept his faith so true! What did his faith mean to the thugs of the
+General Fuel Company? What had his philosophy availed him, his
+saintliness, his hopes for mankind? They had fetched him one swipe as
+they passed him, and left him lying--alive or dead, it was all the same.
+
+Hal had got some satisfaction out of his little adventure in widowhood,
+and some out of Mary's self-victory; but there, listening to the old
+man's whispered story, his satisfaction died. He realised again the grim
+truth about his summer's experience--that the issue of it had been
+defeat. Utter, unqualified defeat! He had caused the bosses a momentary
+chagrin; but it would not take them many hours to realise that he had
+really done them a service in calling off the strike for them. They
+would start the wheels of industry again, and the workers would be just
+where they had been before Joe Smith came to be stableman and buddy
+among them. What was all the talk about solidarity, about hope for the
+future; what would it amount to in the long run, the daily rolling of
+the wheels of industry? The workers of North Valley would have exactly
+the right they had always had--the right to be slaves, and if they did
+not care for that, the right to be martyrs!
+
+Mary sat holding the old man's hand and whispering words of passionate
+sympathy, while Hal got up and paced the tiny attic, all ablaze with
+anger. He resolved suddenly that he would not go back to Western City;
+he would stay here, and get an honest lawyer to come, and set out to
+punish the men who were guilty of this outrage. He would test out the
+law to the limit; if necessary, he would begin a political fight, to put
+an end to coal-company rule in this community. He would find some one to
+write up these conditions, he would raise the money and publish a paper
+to make them known! Before his surging wrath had spent itself, Hal
+Warner had actually come out as a candidate for governor, and was
+overturning the Republican machine--all because an unidentified
+coal-company detective had knocked a dough-faced old miner into the
+gutter and broken his arm!
+
+
+
+SECTION 31.
+
+In the end, of course, Hal had to come down to practical matters. He sat
+by the bed and told the old man tactfully that his brother had come to
+see him and had given him some money. This brother had plenty of money,
+so Edstrom could be taken to the hospital; or, if he preferred, Mary
+could stay near here and take care of him. They turned to the landlady,
+who had been standing in the doorway; she had three boarders in her
+little home, it seemed, but if Mary could share a bed with the
+landlady's two children, they might make out. In spite of Hal's protest,
+Mary accepted this offer; he saw what was in her mind--she would take
+some of his money, because of old Edstrom's need, but she would take
+just as little as she possibly could.
+
+John Edstrom of course knew nothing of events since his injury, so Hal
+told him the story briefly--though without mentioning the transformation
+which had taken place in the miner's buddy. He told about the part Mary
+had played in the strike; trying to entertain the poor old man, he told
+how he had seen her mounted upon a snow-white horse, and wearing a robe
+of white, soft and lustrous, like Joan of Arc, or the leader of a
+suffrage parade.
+
+"Sure," said Mary, "he's forever callin' attention to this old dress!"
+
+Hal looked; she was wearing the same blue calico. "There's something
+mysterious about that dress," said he. "It's one of those that you read
+about in fairy-stories, that forever patch themselves, and keep
+themselves new and starchy. A body only needs one dress like that!"
+
+"Sure, lad," she answered. "There's no fairies in coal-camps--unless
+'tis meself, that washes it at night, and dries it over the stove, and
+irons it next mornin'."
+
+She said this with unwavering cheerfulness; but even the old miner lying
+in pain on the cot could realise the tragedy of a young girl's having
+only one old dress in her love-hunting season. He looked at the young
+couple, and saw their evident interest in each other; after the fashion
+of the old, he was disposed to help along the romance. "She may need
+some orange blossoms," he ventured, feebly.
+
+"Go along with ye!" laughed Mary, still unwavering.
+
+"Sure," put in Hal, with hasty gallantry, "'tis a blossom she is
+herself! A rose in a mining-camp--and there's a dispute about her in the
+poetry-books. One tells you to leave her on her stalk, and another says
+to gather ye rosebuds while ye may, old time is still a-flying!"
+
+"Ye're mixin' me up," said Mary. "A while back I was ridin' on a white
+horse."
+
+"I remember," said Old Edstrom, "not so far back, you were an ant,
+Mary."
+
+Her face became grave. To jest about her personal tragedy was one thing,
+to jest about the strike was another. "Yes, I remember. Ye said I'd stay
+in the line! Ye were wiser than me, Mr. Edstrom."
+
+"That's one of the things that come with being old, Mary." He moved his
+gnarled old hand toward hers. "You're going on, now?" he asked. "You're
+a unionist now, Mary?"
+
+"I am that!" she answered, promptly, her grey eyes shining.
+
+"There's a saying," said he--"once a striker, always a striker. Find a
+way to get some education for yourself, Mary, and when the big strike
+comes you'll be one of those the miners look to. I'll not be here, I
+know--the young people must take my place."
+
+"I'll do my part," she answered. Her voice was low; it was a kind of
+benediction the old man was giving her.
+
+The woman had gone downstairs to attend to her children; she came back
+now to say that there was a gentleman at the door, who wanted to know
+when his brother was coming. Hal remembered suddenly--Edward had been
+pacing up and down all this while, with no company but a "hardware
+drummer!" The younger brother's resolve to stay in Pedro had already
+begun to weaken somewhat, and now it weakened still further; he realised
+that life is complex, that duties conflict! He assured the old miner
+again of his ability to see that he did not suffer from want, and then
+he bade him farewell for a while.
+
+He started out, and Mary went as far as the head of the stairway with
+him. He took the girl's big, rough hand in his--this time with no one to
+see. "Mary," he said, "I want you to know that nothing will make me
+forget you; and nothing will make me forget the miners."
+
+"Ah, Joe!" she cried. "Don't let them win ye away from us! We need ye so
+bad!"
+
+"I'm going back home for a while," he answered, "but you can be sure
+that no matter what happens in my life, I'm going to fight for the
+working people. When the big strike comes, as we know it's coming in
+this coal-country, I'll be here to do my share."
+
+"Sure lad," she said, looking him bravely in the eye, "and good-bye to
+ye, Joe Smith." Her eyes did not waver; but Hal noted a catch in her
+voice, and he found himself with an impulse to take her in his arms. It
+was very puzzling. He knew he loved Jessie Arthur; he remembered the
+question Mary had once asked him--could he be in love with two girls at
+the same time? It was not in accord with any moral code that had been
+impressed upon him, but apparently he could!
+
+
+
+SECTION 32.
+
+He went out to the street, where his brother was pacing up and down in a
+ferment. The "hardware drummer" had made another effort to start a
+conversation, and had been told to go to hell--no less!
+
+"Well, are you through now?" Edward demanded, taking out his irritation
+on Hal.
+
+"Yes," replied the other. "I suppose so." He realised that Edward would
+not be concerned about Edstrom's broken arm.
+
+"Then, for God's sake, get some clothes on and let's have some food."
+
+"All right," said Hal. But his answer was listless, and the other looked
+at him sharply. Even by the moonlight Edward could see the lines in the
+face of his younger brother, and the hollows around his eyes. For the
+first time he realised how deeply these experiences were cutting into
+the boy's soul. "You poor kid!" he exclaimed, with sudden feeling. But
+Hal did not answer; he did not want sympathy, he did not want anything!
+
+Edward made a gesture of despair. "God knows, I don't know what to do
+for you!"
+
+They started back to the hotel, and on the way Edward cast about in his
+mind for a harmless subject of conversation. He mentioned that he had
+foreseen the shutting up of the stores, and had purchased an outfit for
+his brother. There was no need to thank him, he added grimly; he had no
+intention of travelling to Western City in company with a hobo.
+
+So the young miner had a bath, the first real one in a long time. (Never
+again would it be possible for ladies to say in Hal Warner's presence
+that the poor might at least keep clean!) He had a shave; he trimmed his
+finger-nails, and brushed his hair, and dressed himself as a gentleman.
+In spite of himself he found his cheerfulness partly restored. A strange
+and wonderful sensation--to be dressed once more as a gentleman. He
+thought of the saying of the old negro, who liked to stub his toe,
+because it felt so good when it stopped hurting!
+
+They went out to find a restaurant, and on the way one last misadventure
+befell Edward. Hal saw an old miner walking past, and stopped with a
+cry: "Mike!" He forgot all at once that he was a gentleman; the old
+miner forgot it also. He stared for one bewildered moment, then he
+rushed at Hal and seized him in the hug of a mountain grizzly.
+
+"My buddy! My buddy!" he cried, and gave Hal a prodigious thump on the
+back. "By Judas!" And he gave him a thump with the other hand. "Hey! you
+old son-of-a-gun!" And he gave him a hairy kiss!
+
+But in the very midst of these raptures it dawned over him that there
+was something wrong about his buddy. He drew back, staring. "You got
+good clothes! You got rich, hey?"
+
+Evidently the old fellow had heard no rumour concerning Hal's secret.
+"I've been doing pretty well," Hal said.
+
+"What you work at, hey?"
+
+"I been working at a strike in North Valley."
+
+"What's that? You make money working at strike?"
+
+Hal laughed, but did not explain. "What you working at?"
+
+"I work at strike too--all alone strike."
+
+"No job?"
+
+"I work two days on railroad. Got busted track up there. Pay me
+two-twenty-five a day. Then no more job."
+
+"Have you tried the mines?"
+
+"What? Me? They got me all right! I go up to San Jos�. Pit-boss say,
+'Get the hell out of here, you old groucher! You don't get no more jobs
+in this district!'"
+
+Hal looked Mike over, and saw that his dirty old face was drawn and
+white, belying the feeble cheerfulness of his words. "We're going to
+have something to eat," he said. "Won't you come with us?"
+
+"Sure thing!" said Mike, with alacrity. "I go easy on grub now."
+
+Hal introduced "Mr. Edward Warner," who said "How do you do?" He
+accepted gingerly the calloused paw which the old Slovak held out to
+him, but he could not keep the look of irritation from his face. His
+patience was utterly exhausted. He had hoped to find a decent restaurant
+and have some real food; but now, of course, he could not enjoy
+anything, with this old gobbler in front of him.
+
+They entered an all-night lunch-room, where Hal and Mike ordered
+cheese-sandwiches and milk, and Edward sat and wondered at his brother's
+ability to eat such food. Meantime the two cronies told each other their
+stories, and Old Mike slapped his knee and cried out with delight over
+Hal's exploits. "Oh, you buddy!" he exclaimed; then, to Edward, "Ain't
+he a daisy, hey?" And he gave Edward a thump on the shoulder. "By Judas,
+they don't beat my buddy!"
+
+Mike Sikoria had last been seen by Hal from the window of the North
+Valley jail, when he had been distributing the copies of Hal's
+signature, and Bud Adams had taken him in charge. The mine-guard had
+marched him into a shed in back of the power-house, where he had found
+Kauser and Kalovac, two other fellows who had been arrested while
+helping in the distribution.
+
+Mike detailed the experience with his usual animation. "'Hey, Mister
+Bud,' I say, 'if you going to send me down canyon, I want to get my
+things.' 'You go to hell for your things,' says he. And then I say,
+'Mister Bud, I want to get my time.' And he says, 'I give you plenty
+time right here!' And he punch me and throw me over. Then he grab me up'
+again and pull me outside, and I see big automobile waiting, and I say,
+'Holy Judas! I get ride in automobile! Here I am, old fellow fifty-seven
+years old, never been in automobile ride all my days. I think always I
+die and never get in automobile ride!' We go down canyon, and I look
+round and see them mountains, and feel nice cool wind in my face, and I
+say, 'Bully for you, Mister Bud, I don't never forget this automobile. I
+don't have such good time any day all my life.' And he say, 'Shut your
+face, you old wop!' Then we come out on prairie, we go up in Black
+Hills, and they stop, and say, 'Get out here, you sons o' guns.' And
+they leave us there all alone. They say, 'You come back again, we catch
+you and we rip the guts out of you!' They go away fast, and we got to
+walk seven hours, us fellers, before we come to a house! But I don't
+mind that, I begged some grub, and then I got job mending track; only I
+don't find out if you get out of jail, and I think maybe I lose my buddy
+and never see him no more."
+
+Here the old man stopped, gazing affectionately at Hal. "I write you
+letter to North Valley, but I don't hear nothing, and I got to walk all
+the way on railroad track to look for you."
+
+How was it? Hal wondered. He had encountered naked horror in this
+coal-country--yet here he was, not entirely glad at the thought of
+leaving it! He would miss Old Mike Sikoria, his hairy kiss and his
+grizzly-bear hug!
+
+He struck the old man dumb by pressing a twenty-dollar bill into his
+hand. Also he gave him the address of Edstrom and Mary, and a note to
+Johann Hartman, who might use him to work among the Slovaks who came
+down into the town. Hal explained that he had to go back to Western City
+that night, but that he would never forget his old friend, and would see
+that he had a good job. He was trying to figure out some occupation for
+the old man on his father's country-place. A pet grizzly!
+
+Train-time came, and the long line of dark sleepers rolled in by the
+depot-platform. It was late--after midnight; but, nevertheless, there
+was Old Mike. He was in awe of Hal now, with his fine clothes and his
+twenty-dollar bills; but, nevertheless, under stress of his emotion, he
+gave him one more hug, and one more hairy kiss. "Good-bye, my buddy!" he
+cried. "You come back, my buddy! I don't forget my buddy!" And when the
+train began to move, he waved his ragged cap, and ran along the platform
+to get a last glimpse, to call a last farewell. When Hal turned into the
+car, it was with more than a trace of moisture in his eyes.
+
+
+
+
+POSTSCRIPT
+
+
+From previous experiences the writer has learned that many people,
+reading a novel such as "King Coal," desire to be informed as to whether
+it is true to fact. They write to ask if the book is meant to be so
+taken; they ask for evidence to convince themselves and others. Having
+answered thousands of such letters in the course of his life, it seems
+to the author the part of common-sense to answer some of them in
+advance.
+
+"King Coal" is a picture of the life of the workers in unorganised
+labour-camps in many parts of America, The writer has avoided naming a
+definite place, for the reason that such conditions are to be found as
+far apart as West Virginia, Alabama, Michigan, Minnesota, and Colorado.
+Most of the details of his picture were gathered in the last-named
+state, which the writer visited on three occasions during and just after
+the great coal-strike of 1913-14. The book gives a true picture of
+conditions and events observed by him at this time. Practically all the
+characters are real persons, and every incident which has social
+significance is not merely a true incident, but a typical one. The life
+portrayed in "King Coal" is the life that is lived to-day by hundreds of
+thousands of men, women and children in this "land of the free."
+
+The reader who wishes evidence may be accommodated. There was never a
+strike more investigated than the Colorado coal-strike. The material
+about it in the writer's possession cannot be less than eight million
+words, the greater part of it sworn testimony taken under government
+supervision. There is, first, the report of the Congressional Committee,
+a government document of three thousand closely printed pages, about two
+million words; an equal amount of testimony given before the U. S.
+Commission on Industrial Relations, also a government document; a
+special report on the Colorado strike, prepared for the same commission,
+a book of 189 pages, supporting every contention of this story; about
+four hundred thousand words of testimony given before a committee
+appointed at the suggestion of the Governor of Colorado; a report made
+by the Rev. Henry A. Atkinson, who investigated the strike as
+representative of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in
+America, and of the Social Service Commission of the Congregational
+Churches; the report of an elaborate investigation by the Colorado state
+militia; the bulletins issued by both sides during the controversy; the
+testimony given at various coroners' inquests; and, finally, articles by
+different writers to be found in the files of _Everybody's Magazine_,
+the _Metropolitan Magazine_, the _Survey_, _Harper's Weekly_, and
+_Collier's Weekly_, all during the year 1914.
+
+The writer prepared a collection of extracts from these various sources,
+meaning to publish them in this place; but while the manuscript was in
+the hands of the publishers, there appeared one document, which, in the
+weight of its authority, seemed to discount all others. A decision was
+rendered by the Supreme Court of the State of Colorado, in a case which
+included the most fundamental of the many issues raised in "King Coal."
+It is not often that the writer of a novel of contemporary life is so
+fortunate as to have the truth of his work passed upon and established
+by the highest judicial tribunal of the community!
+
+In the elections of November, 1914, in Huerfano County, Colorado, J. B.
+Farr, Republican candidate for re-election as sheriff, a person known
+throughout the coal-country as "the King of Huerfano County," was
+returned as elected by a majority of 329 votes. His rival, the
+Democratic candidate, contested the election, alleging "malconduct,
+fraud and corruption." The district court found in Farr's favour, and
+the case was appealed on error to the Supreme Court of the State. On
+June 21st, 1916, after Farr had served nearly the whole of his term of
+office, the Supreme Court handed down a decision which unseated him and
+the entire ticket elected with him, finding in favour of the opposition
+ticket in all cases and upon all grounds charged.
+
+The decision is long--about ten thousand words, and its legal
+technicalities would not interest the reader. It will suffice to reprint
+the essential paragraphs. The reader is asked to give these paragraphs
+careful study, considering, not merely the specific offence denounced by
+the court, but its wider implications. The offence was one so
+unprecedented that the justices of the court, men chosen for their
+learning in the history of offences, were moved to say: "We find no such
+example of fraud within the books, and must seek the letter and spirit
+of the law in a free government, as a scale in which to weigh such
+conduct." And let it be noted, this "crime without a name" was not a
+crime of passion, but of policy; it was a crime deliberately planned and
+carried out by profit-seeking corporations of enormous power. Let the
+reader imagine the psychology of the men of great wealth who ordered
+this crime, as a means of keeping and increasing their wealth; let him
+realise what must be the attitude of such men to their helpless workers;
+and then let him ask himself whether there is any act portrayed in "King
+Coal" which men of such character would shrink from ordering.
+
+The Court decision first gives an outline of the case, using for the
+most part the statements of the counsel for the defendant, Farr; so that
+for practical purposes the following may be taken as the coal companies'
+own account of their domain: "Round the shaft of each mine are clustered
+the tipple, the mine office, the shops, sheds and outbuildings; and
+huddled close by, within a stone's throw, cottages of the miners built
+on the land of, and owned by, the mining company. All the dwellers in
+the camp are employ�s of the mine. There is no other industry. This is
+'the camp.' Of the eight 'closed camps' it appears that practically the
+same conditions existed in all of them, and those conditions were in
+general that members of the United Mine Workers of America, their
+organisers or agitators, were prevented from coming into the camps, so
+far as it was possible to keep them out, and to this end guards were
+stationed about them. Of the eight 'closed camps' one of them, 'Walsen,'
+was, and at the time of the trial still was, enclosed by a fence erected
+at the beginning of the strike in October, 1913: Rouse and Cameron were
+partly, but never entirely, enclosed by fences. It is admitted that all
+persons entering these camps and precincts were required by the
+companies to have passes, and it is contended that this was an
+'industrial necessity.'"
+
+The Court then goes on as follows:
+
+"The Federal troops entered the district in May of 1914, and the
+testimony is in agreement that no serious acts of violence occurred
+thereafter, and that order was preserved up to and subsequent to the
+election, and to the time of this trial.
+
+"It was under this condition that in July, 1914, the Board of County
+Commissioners changed certain of the election precincts so as to
+constitute each of such camps an election precinct, and with but one
+exception where a few ranches were included, these precincts were made
+to conform to the fences and lines around each camp, protected by fences
+in some instances and with armed guards in all cases. Thus each election
+precinct by this unparalleled act of the commissioners was placed
+exclusively within and upon the private grounds and under the private
+control of a coal corporation, which autocratically declared who should
+and who should not enter upon the territory of this political entity of
+the state, so purposely bounded by the county commissioners.
+
+"With but one exception all the lands and buildings within each of these
+election precincts as so created, were owned or controlled by the coal
+corporations; every person resident within such precincts was an employ�
+of these private corporations or their allied companies, with the single
+exception: every judge, clerk or officer of election with the exception
+of a saloon keeper, and partner of Farr, was an employ� of the
+coal-companies.
+
+"The polling places were upon the grounds, and in the buildings of these
+companies; the registration lists were kept within the private offices
+or buildings of such companies, and used and treated as their private
+property.
+
+"Thus were the public election districts and the public election
+machinery turned over to the absolute domination and imperial control of
+private coal corporations, and used by them as absolutely and privately
+as were their mines, to and for their own private purposes, and upon
+which public territory no man might enter for either public or private
+purpose, save and except by the express permission of these private
+corporations.
+
+"This right to determine who should enter such so called election
+precincts, appears from the record to have been exercised as against all
+classes; merchants, tradesmen or what not, and whether the business of
+such person was public or private. Indeed, it appears that in one
+instance the governor and adjutant general of the state while on
+official business, were denied admission to one of these closed camps.
+And that on the day of election, the Democratic watchers and challengers
+for Walsen Mine precinct, one of which was Neelley, the Democratic
+candidate for sheriff, were forced to seek and secure a detail of
+Federal soldiers to escort them into the precinct and to the polls, and
+that such soldiers remained as such guard during the day and a part of
+the night....
+
+"But if there was any doubt concerning the condition of the closed camps
+and precincts, and the exclusion of representatives of the Democratic
+party from discussing the issues of the campaign within the precincts
+comprising the closed camps, it is entirely removed by the testimony of
+the witness Weitzel, for contestee (Farr). He testified that he was a
+resident of Pueblo, and was manager of the Colorado Fuel and Iron
+Company; that Rouse, Lester, Ideal, Cameron, Walsen, Pictou and McNally
+are camps under his jurisdiction. That he had general charge of the
+camps and that there was no company official in Colorado superior to him
+in this respect except the president; that the superintendent and other
+employ�s are under his supervision; that the Federal troops came about
+the 1st of May, 1914, and continued until January, 1915. That in all
+those camps he tried to keep out the people who were antagonistic to the
+company's interests; that it was private property and so treated by his
+company; that through him the company and its officials assumed to
+exercise authority as to who might or who might not enter; that if
+persons could assure or satisfy the man at the gate, or the
+superintendent that they were not connected with the United Mine
+Workers, or in their employ as agitators, they were let into the camp.
+That 'no one we were fighting against got in for social intercourse or
+any other'; that he and officials under him assumed to pass upon the
+question of whether or not any person coming there came for the purpose
+of agitation. That Mr. Mitchell, the chairman of the Democratic
+committee, as he recalled it, was identified with the agitators, ran a
+newspaper and was connected either directly or indirectly with the
+United Mine Workers; that Mr. Neelley, Democratic candidate for sheriff,
+was identified with the strikers, and that he would be considered as an
+objectionable character. That when the Federal troops came, they
+restored peace and normal conditions; there was no rioting after that,
+there was no fear on the part of the company when the Federal soldiers
+were here, except fear of agitation. Asked if he guarded the camp
+against discussion, against the espousal of the cause of the company, he
+replied, 'We didn't encourage it.' The company would not encourage
+organisers to come into the camp, no matter how peacefully they
+conducted themselves; that the company did not permit men to come into
+the camp to discuss with the employ�s certain principles, or to carry on
+arguments with them or to appeal to their reason, or to discuss with
+them things along reasonable lines, because it was known from experience
+that if they were allowed to come in they would resort to threats of
+violence. They might not resort to any violence at the time, but it
+might result in the people becoming frightened and leaving, and they
+were anxious to hold their employ�s. He was asked whether or not one had
+business there depended upon the decision of the official in charge; he
+replied that the superintendent probably would inquire of him what his
+business was. That any one that Farr asked for a permit to enter the
+camp would likely get it....
+
+"There was but one attempt to hold a political meeting in the closed
+precincts. Joseph Patterson, who attempted to hold this meeting,
+testifies concerning it as follows:
+
+"Was at a political meeting at Oakview. Had been a warm, personal friend
+of Mr. Jones, the assistant superintendent of the Oakview mine, and had
+written him a letter asking the courtesy of holding a political meeting.
+On Saturday evening received a letter that he could hold such meeting.
+On the day previous to the meeting witness received a 'phone message
+from the assistant superintendent, in which the latter inquired whether
+witness was coming up there to cause any trouble, and witness replied,
+certainly not, and if the superintendent felt that way they would not
+come. Had advised the superintendent that he and others were going to
+hold a political meeting for the Democratic party. Jones, the
+superintendent, stated that witness should come to the office that night
+before he went to the school house for the purpose of the meeting; when
+witness arrived at the meeting there were about six or eight English
+speaking people and a dozen to fourteen Mexicans. The superintendent,
+Mr. Morgan, and Mr. Price, were outside of the door most of the time.
+Witness noticed that the first few fellows that came toward the school
+house, the superintendent stopped and talked with them and they turned
+back to the camp. This happened several times: as soon as they talked
+with Morgan they turned back. After he saw that, witness went into the
+school house and said that it was no use to hold any meeting; that it
+seemed that nobody was allowed to come. This meeting was supposed to be
+in a public school house on the company property. Had to get permission
+from the superintendent of the Oakview mining Company to hold said
+political meeting."....
+
+"It appears that the number of registered voters in the closed precincts
+was very largely in excess of the number of votes cast, and this of
+itself was sufficient to demand an open and fair investigation as to the
+qualifications of the alleged voters.
+
+"It appears from the testimony that in these closed precincts many of
+those who voted were unable to speak or read the English language, and
+that in numerous instances, the election judges assisted such, by
+marking the ballots for them in violation of the law. Again, it appears
+that the ballots were printed so that.... (The decision here goes on to
+explain in detail a device whereby the ballot was so printed that voting
+could be controlled with the help of a card device.) Thus such voters
+were not choosing candidates, but, under the direction of the companies,
+were simply placing the cross where they found the particular letter R
+on the ballot, so that the ballot was not an expression of opinion or
+judgment, not an intelligent exercise of suffrage, but plainly a
+dictated coal company vote, as much so as if the agents of these
+companies had marked the ballots without the intervention of the voter.
+No more fraudulent and infamous prostitution of the ballot is
+conceivable....
+
+"Counsel contend that the closed precincts were an 'industrial
+necessity,' and for such reason the conduct of the coal companies during
+the campaign was justified. However such conduct may be viewed when
+confined to the private property of such corporations in their private
+operation, the fact remains that there is no justification when they
+were dealing with such territory after it had been dedicated to a public
+use, and particularly involving the right of the people to exercise
+their duties and powers as electors in a popular government.
+
+"The fact appears that the members of the board of county commissioners
+and all other county officers were Republicans, and as stated by counsel
+for the contestees, the success of the Republican candidates was
+considered by the coal companies, vital to their interests. The close
+relationship of the coal companies and the Republican officials and
+candidates appears to have been so marked both before and during the
+campaign, as to justify the conclusion that such officers regarded their
+duty to the coal companies as paramount to their duty to the public
+service. To say that the closed precincts were not so created to suit
+the convenience and interests of these corporations, or that they were
+not so formed with the advice and consent of these corporations, is to
+discredit human intelligence, and to deny human experience. The plain
+purpose of the formation of the new precincts was that the coal
+companies might have opportunity to conduct and control the elections
+therein, just as such elections were conducted. The irresistible
+conclusion is that these close precincts were so formed by the county
+commissioners with the connivance of the representatives of the coal
+companies, if not by their express command.
+
+"There can be no free, open and fair election as contemplated by the
+constitution, where private industrial corporations so throttle public
+opinion, deny the free exercise of choice by sovereign electors, dictate
+and control all election officers, prohibit public discussion of public
+questions, and imperially command what citizens may and what citizens
+may not, peacefully and for lawful purposes, enter upon election or
+public territory....
+
+"We find no such example of fraud within the books, and must seek the
+letter and spirit of the law in a free government, as a scale in which
+to weigh such conduct....
+
+"The denial of the right of peaceful assemblage, can have been for no
+other purpose than to influence the election. There was no disturbance
+in any of these precincts after they were created, up to the time of the
+election, and up to the time of this trial. The Federal troops were
+present at all times to preserve the peace and to protect life and
+property. There was no reason to anticipate any disturbance. Therefore
+this bold denial was an inexcusable and corrupt violation of the natural
+and inalienable rights of the citizens.
+
+"The defence relies not upon conflicting evidence, but upon the
+contention that the conduct of the election was justified as an
+'industrial necessity.'
+
+"We have heard much in this state in recent years as to the denial of
+inherent and constitutional rights of citizens being justified by
+'military necessity,' but this we believe is the first time in our
+experience when the violation of the fundamental rights of freemen has
+been attempted to be justified by the plea of 'industrial necessity.'
+
+"Even if we were to concede that there may be some palliation in the
+plea of military necessity on the theory that such acts purport to be
+acts of the government itself, through its military arm and with the
+purpose of preserving the public peace and safety: yet that a private
+corporation, with its privately armed forces, may violate the most
+sacred right of the citizenship of the state and find lawful excuse in
+the plea of private 'industrial necessity' savours too much of anarchy
+to find approval by courts of justice.
+
+"This case clearly comes within another exception to the rule, in that
+it is plain that the findings were influenced by the bias and prejudice
+of the trial judge.
+
+"A careful reading of the record discloses the rejection by the court of
+so much palpably pertinent and competent testimony offered by the
+contestors, as to force the conclusion that the trial judge was
+influenced by bias and prejudice, to the extent at least, charged in the
+application for a change of venue, and sufficient in itself to justify a
+reversal of judgment....
+
+"For the foregoing reasons the judgment of the court in each case before
+us, is reversed, and the entire poll in the said precincts of
+Niggerhead, Ravenwood, Walsen Mine, Oakview, Pryor, Rouse and Cameron is
+annulled, and held for naught, and the election in each of said
+precincts is hereby set aside. This leaves a substantial and
+unquestioned majority for each of the contestors in the county, and
+which entitles each contestor to be declared elected to the office for
+which he was a candidate.
+
+"We find further, that J. B. Farr, the defendant in error, was not and
+is not the duly elected sheriff of Huerfano county, and that E. L.
+Neelley, the plaintiff in error, was and is the duly elected sheriff of
+said county. It is therefore ordered that the said county, and that the
+said E. L. Neelley, immediately and upon qualification as required by
+law, enter and discharge the duties of the said office of sheriff of
+Huerfano county...."
+
+So much for the court opinion upon coal-camp politics. In relation
+thereto, the writer has only one comment to offer. Let the reader not
+drop the matter with the idea that because one set of corrupt officials
+have been turned out of office in one American county, therefore justice
+has been vindicated, and there is no longer need to be concerned about
+the conditions portrayed in "King Coal." The defeat of the "King of
+Huerfano County" is but one step in a long road which the miners of
+Colorado have to travel if ever they are to be free men. The industrial
+power of the great corporations remains untouched by this decision; and
+this power is greater than any political power ever wielded by the
+government of Huerfano County, or even of the state of Colorado. This
+industrial power is a deep, far-spreading root; and so long as it is
+allowed to thrive, it will send up again and again the poisonous plant
+of political "malconduct, fraud and corruption." The citizens and
+workers of such industrial communities, whether in Colorado, in West
+Virginia, Alabama, Michigan or Minnesota, in the Chicago stock-yards,
+the steel-mills of Pittsburg, the woollen-mills of Lawrence or the
+silk-mills of Paterson, will find that they have neither peace nor
+freedom, until they have abolished the system of production for profit,
+and established in the field of industry what they are supposed to have
+already in the field of politics--a government of the people, by the
+people, for the people.
+
+NOTE: On the day that the author finished the reading of the proofs of
+"King Coal," the following item appeared in his daily newspaper:
+
+COLORADO MINE WORKERS ASK LEAVE TO STRIKE
+
+[BY A. P. NIGHT WIRE]
+
+DENVER (Colo.), June 14.--Officers of the United Mine Workers
+representing members of that organisation employed by the Colorado Fuel
+and Iron Company, have telegraphed their national officers asking
+permission to strike.
+
+At the morning session a resolution was adopted expressing
+disapprobation of the action of J. F. Welborn, president of the fuel
+company, for failure to attend the meeting, which was a part of the
+"peace programme" to prevent industrial differences in the State during
+the war.
+
+The grievances of the men, according to John McLennan, spokesman for
+them, centre about the operation of the so-called "Rockefeller plan" at
+the mines. McLennan said the failure of Mr. Welborn to attend the
+meeting and discuss these grievances with the men precipitated the
+strike agitation.
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of King Coal, by Upton Sinclair
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+    <title>
+      King Coal, by Upton Sinclair
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+               text-align: right;}
+    pre        { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;}
+
+</style>
+  </head>
+  <body>
+
+
+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of King Coal, by Upton Sinclair
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: King Coal
+       A Novel
+
+Author: Upton Sinclair
+
+
+Release Date: February, 2005 [EBook #7522]
+This file was first posted on May 13, 2003
+Last Updated: March 10, 2018
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KING COAL ***
+
+
+
+
+Text file produced by Eric Eldred, Beth Trapaga and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team
+
+HTML file produced by David Widger
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+    <div style="height: 8em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h1>
+      KING COAL
+    </h1>
+    <h3>
+      <i>A NOVEL</i>
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      <br />
+    </p>
+    <h2>
+      By Upton Sinclair
+    </h2>
+    <h5>
+      TO <br /> <br /> MARY CRAIG KIMBROUGH <br /> <br /> To whose persistence in
+      the perilous task of tearing<br /> her husband's manuscript to pieces, the
+      reader is indebted <br /> for the absence of most of the faults from this
+      book.
+    </h5>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <b>CONTENTS</b>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_INTR"> INTRODUCTION </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> BOOK ONE &mdash; THE DOMAIN OF KING COAL </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> BOOK TWO &mdash; THE SERFS OF KING COAL </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> BOOK THREE &mdash; THE HENCHMEN OF KING COAL
+      </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> BOOK FOUR &mdash; THE WILL OF KING COAL </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> POSTSCRIPT </a>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_INTR" id="link2H_INTR"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      INTRODUCTION
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Upton Sinclair is one of the not too many writers who have consecrated
+      their lives to the agitation for social justice, and who have also
+      enrolled their art in the service of a set purpose. A great and
+      non-temporizing enthusiast, he never flinched from making sacrifices. Now
+      and then he attained great material successes as a writer, but invariably
+      he invested and lost his earnings in enterprises by which he had hoped to
+      ward off injustice and to further human happiness. Though disappointed
+      time after time, he never lost faith nor courage to start again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As a convinced socialist and eager advocate of unpopular doctrines, as an
+      exposer of social conditions that would otherwise be screened away from
+      the public eye, the most influential journals of his country were as a
+      rule arraigned against him. Though always a poor man, though never willing
+      to grant to publishers the concessions essential for many editions and
+      general popularity, he was maliciously represented to be a carpet knight
+      of radicalism and a socialist millionaire. He has several times been
+      obliged to change his publisher, which goes to prove that he is no seeker
+      of material gain.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Upton Sinclair is one of the writers of the present time most deserving of
+      a sympathetic interest. He shows his patriotism as an American, not by
+      joining in hymns to the very conditional kind of liberty peculiar to the
+      United States, but by agitating for infusing it with the elixir of real
+      liberty, the liberty of humanity. He does not limit himself to a
+      dispassionate and entertaining description of things as they are. But in
+      his appeals to the honour and good-fellowship of his compatriots, he opens
+      their eyes to the appalling conditions under which wage-earning slaves are
+      living by the hundreds of thousands. His object is to better these
+      unnatural conditions, to obtain for the very poorest a glimpse of light
+      and happiness, to make even them realise the sensation of cosy well-being
+      and the comfort of knowing that justice is to be found also for them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This time Upton Sinclair has absorbed himself in the study of the miner's
+      life in the lonesome pits of the Rocky Mountains, and his sensitive and
+      enthusiastic mind has brought to the world an American parallel to
+      GERMINAL, Emile Zola's technical masterpiece.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The conditions described in the two books are, however, essentially
+      different. While Zola's working-men are all natives of France, one meets
+      in Sinclair's book a motley variety of European emigrants, speaking a
+      Babel of languages and therefore debarred from forming some sort of
+      association to protect themselves against being exploited by the anonymous
+      limited Company. Notwithstanding this natural bar against united action on
+      the part of the wage-earning slaves, the Company feels far from at ease
+      and jealously guards its interests against any attempt of organising the
+      men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A young American of the upper class, with great sympathy for the
+      downtrodden and an honest desire to get a first-hand knowledge of their
+      conditions in order to help them, decides to take employment in a mine
+      under a fictitious name and dressed like a working-man. His unusual way of
+      trying to obtain work arouses suspicion. He is believed to be a
+      professional strike-leader sent out to organise the miners against their
+      exploiters, and he is not only refused work, but thrashed mercilessly.
+      When finally he succeeds in getting inside, he discovers with growing
+      indignation the shameless and inhuman way in which those who unearth the
+      black coal are being exploited.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      These are the fundamental ideas of the book, but they give but a faint
+      notion of the author's poetic attitude. Most beautifully is this shown in
+      Hal's relation to a young Irish girl, Red Mary. She is poor, and her daily
+      life harsh and joyless, but nevertheless her wonderful grace is one of the
+      outstanding features of the book. The first impression of Mary is that of
+      a Celtic Madonna with a tender heart for little children. She develops
+      into a Valküre of the working-class, always ready to fight for the
+      worker's right.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The last chapters of the book give a description of the miners' revolt
+      against the Company. They insist upon their right to choose a deputy to
+      control the weighing-in of the coal, and upon having the mines sprinkled
+      regularly to prevent explosion. They will also be free to buy their food
+      and utensils wherever they like, even in shops not belonging to the
+      Company.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In a postscript Sinclair explains the fundamental facts on which his work
+      of art has been built up. Even without the postscript one could not help
+      feeling convinced that the social conditions he describes are true to
+      life. The main point is that Sinclair has not allowed himself to become
+      inspired by hackneyed phrases that bondage and injustice and the other
+      evils and crimes of Kingdoms have been banished from Republics, but that
+      he is earnestly pointing to the honeycombed ground on which the greatest
+      modern money-power has been built. The fundament of this power is not
+      granite, but mines. It lives and breathes in the light, because it has
+      thousands of unfortunates toiling in the darkness. It lives and has its
+      being in proud liberty because thousands are slaving for it, whose
+      thraldom is the price of this liberty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This is the impression given to the reader of this exciting novel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      GEORG BRANDES.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      BOOK ONE &mdash; THE DOMAIN OF KING COAL
+    </h2>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 1.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      The town of Pedro stood on the edge of the mountain country; a straggling
+      assemblage of stores and saloons from which a number of branch railroads
+      ran up into the canyons, feeding the coal-camps. Through the week it slept
+      peacefully; but on Saturday nights, when the miners came trooping down,
+      and the ranchmen came in on horseback and in automobiles, it wakened to a
+      seething life.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At the railroad station, one day late in June, a young man alighted from a
+      train. He was about twenty-one years of age, with sensitive features, and
+      brown hair having a tendency to waviness. He wore a frayed and faded suit
+      of clothes, purchased in a quarter of his home city where the Hebrew
+      merchants stand on the sidewalks to offer their wares; also a soiled blue
+      shirt without a tie, and a pair of heavy boots which had seen much
+      service. Strapped on his back was a change of clothing and a blanket, and
+      in his pockets a comb, a toothbrush, and a small pocket mirror.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Sitting in the smoking-car of the train, the young man had listened to the
+      talk of the coal-camps, seeking to correct his accent. When he got off the
+      train he proceeded down the track and washed his hands with cinders, and
+      lightly powdered some over his face. After studying the effect of this in
+      his mirror, he strolled down the main street of Pedro, and, selecting a
+      little tobacco-shop, went in. In as surly a voice as he could muster, he
+      inquired of the proprietress, &ldquo;Can you tell me how to get to the Pine
+      Creek mine?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The woman looked at him with no suspicion in her glance. She gave the
+      desired information, and he took a trolley and got off at the foot of the
+      Pine Creek canyon, up which he had a thirteen-mile trudge. It was a
+      sunshiny day, with the sky crystal clear, and the mountain air
+      invigourating. The young man seemed to be happy, and as he strode on his
+      way, he sang a song with many verses:
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+  &ldquo;Old King Coal was a merry old soul,
+    And a merry old soul was he;
+  He made him a college all full of knowledge&mdash;
+    Hurrah for you and me!
+
+  &ldquo;Oh, Liza-Ann, come out with me,
+    The moon is a-shinin' in the monkey-puzzle tree;
+  Oh, Liza-Ann, I have began
+    To sing you the song of Harrigan!
+
+  &ldquo;He keeps them a-roll, this merry old soul&mdash;
+    The wheels of industree;
+  A-roll and a-roll, for his pipe and his bowl
+    And his college facultee!
+
+  &ldquo;Oh, Mary-Jane, come out in the lane,
+    The moon is a-shinin' in the old pecan;
+  Oh, Mary-Jane, don't you hear me a-sayin'
+    I'll sing you the song of Harrigan!
+
+  &ldquo;So hurrah for King Coal, and his fat pay-roll,
+    And his wheels of industree!
+  Hurrah for his pipe, and hurrah for his bowl&mdash;
+    And hurrah for you and me!
+
+  &ldquo;Oh, Liza-Ann, come out with me,
+    The moon is a-shinin'&mdash;&rdquo;
+ </pre>
+    <p>
+      And so on and on&mdash;as long as the moon was a-shinin' on a college
+      campus. It was a mixture of happy nonsense and that questioning with which
+      modern youth has begun to trouble its elders. As a marching tune, the song
+      was a trifle swift for the grades of a mountain canyon; Warner could stop
+      and shout to the canyon-walls, and listen to their answer, and then march
+      on again. He had youth in his heart, and love and curiosity; also he had
+      some change in his trousers' pocket, and a ten dollar bill, for extreme
+      emergencies, sewed up in his belt. If a photographer for Peter Harrigan's
+      General Fuel Company could have got a snap-shot of him that morning, it
+      might have served as a &ldquo;portrait of a coal-miner&rdquo; in any &ldquo;prosperity&rdquo;
+       publication.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the climb was a stiff one, and before the end the traveller became
+      aware of the weight of his boots, and sang no more. Just as the sun was
+      sinking up the canyon, he came upon his destination&mdash;a gate across
+      the road, with a sign upon it:
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      PINE CREEK COAL CO.
+    </h3>
+    <h3>
+      PRIVATE PROPERTY
+    </h3>
+    <h3>
+      TRESPASSING FORBIDDEN
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal approached the gate, which was of iron bars, and padlocked. After
+      standing for a moment to get ready his surly voice, he kicked upon the
+      gate and a man came out of a shack inside.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What do you want?&rdquo; said he.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I want to get in. I'm looking for a job.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where do you come from?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;From Pedro.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where you been working?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I never worked in a mine before.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where did you work?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In a grocery-store.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What grocery-store?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Peterson &amp; Co., in Western City.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The guard came closer to the gate and studied him through the bars.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hey, Bill!&rdquo; he called, and another man came out from the cabin. &ldquo;Here's a
+      guy says he worked in a grocery, and he's lookin' for a job.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where's your papers?&rdquo; demanded Bill.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Every one had told Hal that labour was scarce in the mines, and that the
+      companies were ravenous for men; he had supposed that a workingman would
+      only have to knock, and it would be opened unto him. &ldquo;They didn't give me
+      no papers,&rdquo; he said, and added, hastily, &ldquo;I got drunk and they fired me.&rdquo;
+       He felt quite sure that getting drunk would not bar one from a coal camp.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the two made no move to open the gate. The second man studied him
+      deliberately from top to toe, and Hal was uneasily aware of possible
+      sources of suspicion. &ldquo;I'm all right,&rdquo; he declared. &ldquo;Let me in, and I'll
+      show you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Still the two made no move. They looked at each other, and then Bill
+      answered, &ldquo;We don't need no hands.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But,&rdquo; exclaimed Hal, &ldquo;I saw a sign down the canyon&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's an old sign,&rdquo; said Bill.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But I walked all the way up here!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You'll find it easier walkin' back.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But&mdash;it's night!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Scared of the dark, kid?&rdquo; inquired Bill, facetiously.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, say!&rdquo; replied Hal. &ldquo;Give a fellow a chance! Ain't there some way I
+      can pay for my keep&mdash;or at least for a bunk to-night?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's nothin' for you,&rdquo; said Bill, and turned and went into the cabin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The other man waited and watched, with a decidedly hostile look. Hal
+      strove to plead with him, but thrice he repeated, &ldquo;Down the canyon with
+      you.&rdquo; So at last Hal gave up, and moved down the road a piece and sat down
+      to reflect.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It really seemed an absurdly illogical proceeding, to post a notice,
+      &ldquo;Hands Wanted,&rdquo; in conspicuous places on the roadside, causing a man to
+      climb thirteen miles up a mountain canyon, only to be turned off without
+      explanation. Hal was convinced that there must be jobs inside the
+      stockade, and that if only he could get at the bosses he could persuade
+      them. He got up and walked down the road a quarter of a mile, to where the
+      railroad-track crossed it, winding up the canyon. A train of &ldquo;empties&rdquo; was
+      passing, bound into the camp, the cars rattling and bumping as the engine
+      toiled up the grade. This suggested a solution of the difficulty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was already growing dark. Crouching slightly, Hal approached the cars,
+      and when he was in the shadows, made a leap and swung onto one of them. It
+      took but a second to clamber in, and he lay flat and waited, his heart
+      thumping.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Before a minute had passed he heard a shout, and looking over, he saw the
+      Cerberus of the gate running down a path to the track, his companion,
+      Bill, just behind him. &ldquo;Hey! come out of there!&rdquo; they yelled; and Bill
+      leaped, and caught the car in which Hal was riding.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The latter saw that the game was up, and sprang to the ground on the other
+      side of the track and started out of the camp. Bill followed him, and as
+      the train passed, the other man ran down the track to join him. Hal was
+      walking rapidly, without a word; but the Cerberus of the gate had many
+      words, most of them unprintable, and he seized Hal by the collar, and
+      shoving him violently, planted a kick upon that portion of his anatomy
+      which nature has constructed for the reception of kicks. Hal recovered his
+      balance, and, as the man was still pursuing him, he turned and aimed a
+      blow, striking him on the chest and making him reel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal's big brother had seen to it that he knew how to use his fists; he now
+      squared off, prepared to receive the second of his assailants. But in
+      coal-camps matters are not settled in that primitive way, it appeared. The
+      man halted, and the muzzle of a revolver came suddenly under Hal's nose.
+      &ldquo;Stick 'em up!&rdquo; said the man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This was a slang which Hal had never heard, but the meaning was
+      inescapable; he &ldquo;stuck 'em up.&rdquo; At the same moment his first assailant
+      rushed at him, and dealt him a blow over the eye which sent him sprawling
+      backward upon the stones.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 2.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      When Hal came to himself again he was in darkness, and was conscious of
+      agony from head to toe. He was lying on a stone floor, and he rolled over,
+      but soon rolled back again, because there was no part of his back which
+      was not sore. Later on, when he was able to study himself, he counted over
+      a score of marks of the heavy boots of his assailants.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He lay for an hour or two, making up his mind that he was in a lock-up,
+      because he could see the starlight through iron bars. He could hear
+      somebody snoring, and he called half a dozen times, in a louder and louder
+      voice, until at last, hearing a growl, he inquired, &ldquo;Can you give me a
+      drink of water?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll give you hell if you wake me up again,&rdquo; said the voice; after which
+      Hal lay in silence until morning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A couple of hours after daylight, a man entered his cell. &ldquo;Get up,&rdquo; said
+      he, and added a prod with his foot. Hal had thought he could not do it,
+      but he got up.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No funny business now,&rdquo; said his jailer, and grasping him by the sleeve
+      of his coat, marched him out of the cell and down a little corridor into a
+      sort of office, where sat a red-faced personage with a silver shield upon
+      the lapel of his coat. Hal's two assailants of the night before stood
+      nearby.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, kid?&rdquo; said the personage in the chair. &ldquo;Had a little time to think
+      it over?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Hal, briefly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What's the charge?&rdquo; inquired the personage, of the two watchmen.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Trespassing and resisting arrest.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How much money you got, young fellow?&rdquo; was, the next question.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal hesitated.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Speak up there!&rdquo; said the man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Two dollars and sixty-seven cents,&rdquo; said Hal&mdash;&ldquo;as well as I can
+      remember.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Go on!&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;What you givin' us?&rdquo; And then, to the two
+      watchmen, &ldquo;Search him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Take off your coat and pants,&rdquo; said Bill, promptly, &ldquo;and your boots.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, I say!&rdquo; protested Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Take 'em off!&rdquo; said the man, and clenched his fists. Hal took 'em off,
+      and they proceeded to go through the pockets, producing a purse with the
+      amount stated, also a cheap watch, a strong pocket knife, the tooth-brush,
+      comb and mirror, and two white handkerchiefs, which they looked at
+      contemptuously and tossed to the spittle-drenched floor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They unrolled the pack, and threw the clean clothing about. Then, opening
+      the pocket-knife, they proceeded to pry about the soles and heels of the
+      boots, and to cut open the lining of the clothing. So they found the ten
+      dollars in the belt, which they tossed onto the table with the other
+      belongings. Then the personage with the shield announced, &ldquo;I fine you
+      twelve dollars and sixty-seven cents, and your watch and knife.&rdquo; He added,
+      with a grin, &ldquo;You can keep your snot-rags.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now see here!&rdquo; said Hal, angrily. &ldquo;This is pretty raw!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You get your duds on, young fellow, and get out of here as quick as you
+      can, or you'll go in your shirt-tail.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But Hal was angry enough to have been willing to go in his skin. &ldquo;You tell
+      me who you are, and your authority for this procedure?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm marshal of the camp,&rdquo; said the man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean you're an employé of the General Fuel Company? And you propose
+      to rob me&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Put him out, Bill,&rdquo; said the marshal. And Hal saw Bill's fists clench.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; he said, swallowing his indignation. &ldquo;Wait till I get my
+      clothes on.&rdquo; And he proceeded to dress as quickly as possible; he rolled
+      up his blanket and spare clothing, and started for the door.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Remember,&rdquo; said the marshal, &ldquo;straight down the canyon with you, and if
+      you show your face round here again, you'll get a bullet through you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So Hal went out into the sunshine, with a guard on each side of him as an
+      escort. He was on the same mountain road, but in the midst of the
+      company-village. In the distance he saw the great building of the breaker,
+      and heard the incessant roar of machinery and falling coal. He marched
+      past a double lane of company houses and shanties, where slattern women in
+      doorways and dirty children digging in the dust of the roadside paused and
+      grinned at him&mdash;for he limped as he walked, and it was evident enough
+      what had happened to him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had come with love and curiosity. The love was greatly diminished&mdash;evidently
+      this was not the force which kept the wheels of industry a-roll. But the
+      curiosity was greater than ever. What was there so carefully hidden inside
+      this coal-camp stockade?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal turned and looked at Bill, who had showed signs of humour the day
+      before. &ldquo;See here,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;you fellows have got my money, and you've
+      blacked my eye and kicked me blue, so you ought to be satisfied. Before I
+      go, tell me about it, won't you?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tell you what?&rdquo; growled Bill.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why did I get this?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because you're too gay, kid. Didn't you know you had no business trying
+      to sneak in here?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Hal; &ldquo;but that's not what I mean. Why didn't you let me in at
+      first?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If you wanted a job in a mine,&rdquo; demanded the man, &ldquo;why didn't you go at
+      it in the regular way?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I didn't know the regular way.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's just it. And we wasn't takin' chances with you. You didn't look
+      straight.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But what did you think I was? What are you afraid of?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Go on!&rdquo; said the man. &ldquo;You can't work me!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal walked a few steps in silence, pondering how to break through. &ldquo;I see
+      you're suspicious of me,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I'll tell you the truth, if you'll let
+      me.&rdquo; Then, as the other did not forbid him, &ldquo;I'm a college boy, and I
+      wanted to see life and shift for myself a while. I thought it would be a
+      lark to come here.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Bill, &ldquo;this ain't no foot-ball field. It's a coal-mine.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal saw that his story had been accepted. &ldquo;Tell me straight,&rdquo; he said,
+      &ldquo;what did you think I was?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, I don't mind telling,&rdquo; growled Bill. &ldquo;There's union agitators
+      trying to organise these here camps, and we ain't taking no chances with
+      'em. This company gets its men through agencies, and if you'd went and
+      satisfied them, you'd 'a been passed in the regular way. Or if you'd went
+      to the office down in Pedro and got a pass, you'd 'a been all right. But
+      when a guy turns up at the gate, and looks like a dude and talks like a
+      college perfessor, he don't get by, see?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see,&rdquo; said Hal. And then, &ldquo;If you'll give me the price of a breakfast
+      out of my money, I'll be obliged.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Breakfast is over,&rdquo; said Bill. &ldquo;You sit round till the pinyons gets
+      ripe.&rdquo; He laughed; but then, mellowed by his own joke, he took a quarter
+      from his pocket and passed it to Hal. He opened the padlock on the gate
+      and saw him out with a grin; and so ended Hal's first turn on the wheels
+      of industry.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 3.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal Warner started to drag himself down the road, but was unable to make
+      it. He got as far as a brooklet that came down the mountain-side, from
+      which he might drink without fear of typhoid; there he lay the whole day,
+      fasting. Towards evening a thunder-storm came up, and he crawled under the
+      shelter of a rock, which was no shelter at all. His single blanket was
+      soon soaked through, and he passed a night almost as miserable as the
+      previous one. He could not sleep, but he could think, and he thought about
+      what had happened to him. &ldquo;Bill&rdquo; had said that a coal mine was not a
+      foot-ball field, but it seemed to Hal that the net impress of the two was
+      very much the same. He congratulated himself that his profession was not
+      that of a union organiser.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At dawn he dragged himself up, and continued his journey, weak from cold
+      and unaccustomed lack of food. In the course of the day he reached a
+      power-station near the foot of the canyon. He did not have the price of a
+      meal, and was afraid to beg; but in one of the group of buildings by the
+      roadside was a store, and he entered and inquired concerning prunes, which
+      were twenty-five cents a pound. The price was high, but so was the
+      altitude, and as Hal found in the course of time, they explained the one
+      by the other&mdash;not explaining, however, why the altitude of the price
+      was always greater than the altitude of the store. Over the counter he saw
+      a sign: &ldquo;We buy scrip at ten per cent discount.&rdquo; He had heard rumours of a
+      state law forbidding payment of wages in &ldquo;scrip&rdquo;; but he asked no
+      questions, and carried off his very light pound of prunes, and sat down by
+      the roadside and munched them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Just beyond the power-house, down on the railroad track, stood a little
+      cabin with a garden behind it. He made his way there, and found a
+      one-legged old watchman. He asked permission to spend the night on the
+      floor of the cabin; and seeing the old fellow look at his black eye, he
+      explained, &ldquo;I tried to get a job at the mine, and they thought I was a
+      union organiser.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said the man, &ldquo;I don't want no union organisers round here.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But I'm not one,&rdquo; pleaded Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How do I know what you are? Maybe you're a company spy.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All I want is a dry place to sleep,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;Surely it won't be any
+      harm for you to give me that.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm not so sure,&rdquo; the other answered. &ldquo;However, you can spread your
+      blanket in the corner. But don't you talk no union business to me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had no desire to talk. He rolled himself in his blanket and slept like
+      a man untroubled by either love or curiosity. In the morning the old
+      fellow gave him a slice of corn bread and some young onions out of his
+      garden, which had a more delicious taste than any breakfast that had ever
+      been served him. When Hal thanked his host in parting, the latter
+      remarked: &ldquo;All right, young fellow, there's one thing you can do to pay
+      me, and that is, say nothing about it. When a man has grey hair on his
+      head and only one leg, he might as well be drowned in the creek as lose
+      his job.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal promised, and went his way. His bruises pained him less, and he was
+      able to walk. There were ranch-houses in sight&mdash;it was like coming
+      back suddenly to America!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 4.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal had now before him a week's adventures as a hobo: a genuine hobo, with
+      no ten dollar bill inside his belt to take the reality out of his
+      experiences. He took stock of his worldly goods and wondered if he still
+      looked like a dude. He recalled that he had a smile which had fascinated
+      the ladies; would it work in combination with a black eye? Having no other
+      means of support, he tried it on susceptible looking housewives, and found
+      it so successful that he was tempted to doubt the wisdom of honest labour.
+      He sang the Harrigan song no more, but instead the words of a hobo-song he
+      had once heard:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, what's the use of workin' when there's women in the land?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The second day he made the acquaintance of two other gentlemen of the
+      road, who sat by the railroad-track toasting some bacon over a fire. They
+      welcomed him, and after they had heard his story, adopted him into the
+      fraternity and instructed him in its ways of life. Pretty soon he made the
+      acquaintance of one who had been a miner, and was able to give him the
+      information he needed before climbing another canyon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Dutch Mike&rdquo; was the name this person bore, for reasons he did not
+      explain. He was a black-eyed and dangerous-looking rascal, and when the
+      subject of mines and mining was broached, he opened up the flood-gates of
+      an amazing reservoir of profanity. He was through with that game&mdash;Hal
+      or any other God-damned fool might have his job for the asking. It was
+      only because there were so many natural-born God-damned fools in the world
+      that the game could be kept going. &ldquo;Dutch Mike&rdquo; went on to relate dreadful
+      tales of mine-life, and to summon before him the ghosts of one pit-boss
+      after another, consigning them to the fires of eternal perdition.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I wanted to work while I was young,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;but now I'm cured, an' fer
+      good.&rdquo; The world had come to seem to him a place especially constructed
+      for the purpose of making him work, and every faculty he possessed was
+      devoted to foiling this plot. Sitting by a camp-fire near the stream which
+      ran down the valley, Hal had a merry time pointing out to &ldquo;Dutch Mike&rdquo; how
+      he worked harder at dodging work than other men worked at working. The
+      hobo did not seem to mind that, however&mdash;it was a matter of principle
+      with him, and he was willing to make sacrifices for his convictions. Even
+      when they had sent him to the work-house, he had refused to work; he had
+      been shut in a dungeon, and had nearly died on a diet of bread and water,
+      rather than work. If everybody would do the same, he said, they would soon
+      &ldquo;bust things.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal took a fancy to this spontaneous revolutionist, and travelled with him
+      for a couple of days, in the course of which he pumped him as to details
+      of the life of a miner. Most of the companies used regular employment
+      agencies, as the guard had mentioned; but the trouble was, these agencies
+      got something from your pay for a long time&mdash;the bosses were &ldquo;in
+      cahoots&rdquo; with them. When Hal wondered if this were not against the law,
+      &ldquo;Cut it out, Bo!&rdquo; said his companion. &ldquo;When you've had a job for a while,
+      you'll know that the law in a coal-camp is what your boss tells you.&rdquo; The
+      hobo went on to register his conviction that when one man has the giving
+      of jobs, and other men have to scramble for them, the law would never have
+      much to say in the deal. Hal judged this a profound observation, and
+      wished that it might be communicated to the professor of political economy
+      at Harrigan.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      On the second night of his acquaintance with &ldquo;Dutch Mike,&rdquo; their &ldquo;jungle&rdquo;
+       was raided by a constable with half a dozen deputies; for a determined
+      effort was being made just then to drive vagrants from the neighbourhood&mdash;or
+      to get them to work in the mines. Hal's friend, who slept with one eye
+      open, made a break in the darkness, and Hal followed him, getting under
+      the guard of the raiders by a foot-ball trick. They left their food and
+      blankets behind them, but &ldquo;Dutch Mike&rdquo; made light of this, and lifted a
+      chicken from a roost to keep them cheerful through the night hours, and
+      stole a change of underclothing off a clothes-line the next day. Hal ate
+      the chicken, and wore the underclothing, thus beginning his career in
+      crime.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Parting from &ldquo;Dutch Mike,&rdquo; he went back to Pedro. The hobo had told him
+      that saloon-keepers nearly always had friends in the coal-camps, and could
+      help a fellow to a job. So Hal began enquiring, and the second one
+      replied, Yes, he would give him a letter to a man at North Valley, and if
+      he got the job, the friend would deduct a dollar a month from his pay. Hal
+      agreed, and set out upon another tramp up another canyon, upon the
+      strength of a sandwich &ldquo;bummed&rdquo; from a ranch-house at the entrance to the
+      valley. At another stockaded gate of the General Fuel Company he presented
+      his letter, addressed to a person named O'Callahan, who turned out also to
+      be a saloon-keeper.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The guard did not even open the letter, but passed Hal in at sight of it,
+      and he sought out his man and applied for work. The man said he would help
+      him, but would have to deduct a dollar a month for himself, as well as a
+      dollar for his friend in Pedro. Hal kicked at this, and they bartered back
+      and forth; finally, when Hal turned away and threatened to appeal directly
+      to the &ldquo;super,&rdquo; the saloon-keeper compromised on a dollar and a half.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You know mine-work?&rdquo; he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Brought up at it,&rdquo; said Hal, made wise, now, in the ways of the world.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where did you work?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal named several mines, concerning which he had learned something from
+      the hoboes. He was going by the name of &ldquo;Joe Smith,&rdquo; which he judged
+      likely to be found on the payroll of any mine. He had more than a week's
+      growth of beard to disguise him, and had picked up some profanity as well.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The saloon-keeper took him to interview Mr. Alec Stone, pit-boss in Number
+      Two mine, who inquired promptly: &ldquo;You know anything about mules?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I worked in a stable,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;I know about horses.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, mules is different,&rdquo; said the man. &ldquo;One of my stable-men got the
+      colic the other day, and I don't know if he'll ever be any good again.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Give me a chance,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;I'll manage them.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The boss looked him over. &ldquo;You look like a bright chap,&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;I'll
+      pay you forty-five a month, and if you make good I'll make it fifty.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right, sir. When do I start in?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You can't start too quick to suit me. Where's your duds?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This is all I've got,&rdquo; said Hal, pointing to the bundle of stolen
+      underwear in his hand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, chuck it there in the corner,&rdquo; said the man; then suddenly he
+      stopped, and looked at Hal, frowning. &ldquo;You belong to any union?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Lord, no!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did you <i>ever</i> belong to any union?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, sir. Never.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The man's gaze seemed to imply that Hal was lying, and that his secret
+      soul was about to be read. &ldquo;You have to swear to that, you know, before
+      you can work here.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;I'm willing.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll see you about it to-morrow,&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;I ain't got the paper
+      with me. By the way, what's your religion?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Seventh Day Adventist.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Holy Christ! What's that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It don't hurt,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;I ain't supposed to work on Saturdays, but I
+      do.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, don't you go preachin' it round here. We got our own preacher&mdash;you
+      chip in fifty cents a month for him out of your wages. Come ahead now, and
+      I'll take you down.&rdquo; And so it was that Hal got his start in life.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 5.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      The mule is notoriously a profane and godless creature; a blind alley of
+      Nature, so to speak, a mistake of which she is ashamed, and which she does
+      not permit to reproduce itself. The thirty mules under Hal's charge had
+      been brought up in an environment calculated to foster the worst
+      tendencies of their natures. He soon made the discovery that the &ldquo;colic&rdquo;
+       of his predecessor had been caused by a mule's hind foot in the stomach;
+      and he realised that he must not let his mind wander for an instant, if he
+      were to avoid this dangerous disease.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      These mules lived their lives in the darkness of the earth's interior;
+      only when they fell sick were they taken up to see the sunlight and to
+      roll about in green pastures. There was one of them called &ldquo;Dago Charlie,&rdquo;
+       who had learned to chew tobacco, and to rummage in the pockets of the
+      miners and their &ldquo;buddies.&rdquo; Not knowing how to spit out the juice, he
+      would make himself ill, and then he would swear off from indulgence. But
+      the drivers and the pit-boys knew his failing, and would tempt &ldquo;Dago
+      Charlie&rdquo; until he fell from grace. Hal soon discovered this moral tragedy,
+      and carried the pain of it in his soul as he went about his all-day
+      drudgery.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He went down the shaft with the first cage, which was very early in the
+      morning. He fed and watered his charges, and helped to harness them. Then,
+      when the last four hoofs had clattered away, he cleaned out the stalls,
+      and mended harness, and obeyed the orders of any person older than himself
+      who happened to be about.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Next to the mules, his torment was the &ldquo;trapper-boys,&rdquo; and other
+      youngsters with whom he came into contact. He was a newcomer, and so they
+      hazed him; moreover, he had an inferior job&mdash;there seemed to their
+      minds to be something humiliating and comic about the task of tending
+      mules. These urchins came from a score of nations of Southern Europe and
+      Asia; there were flat-faced Tartars and swarthy Greeks and shrewd-eyed
+      little Japanese. They spoke a compromise language, consisting mainly of
+      English curse words and obscenities; the filthiness which their minds had
+      spawned was incredible to one born and raised in the sunlight. They
+      alleged obscenities of their mothers and their grandmothers; also of the
+      Virgin Mary, the one mythological character they had heard of. Poor little
+      creatures of the dark, their souls grimed and smutted even more quickly
+      and irrevocably than their faces!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had been advised by his boss to inquire for board at &ldquo;Reminitsky's.&rdquo;
+       He came up in the last car, at twilight, and was directed to a dimly
+      lighted building of corrugated iron, where upon inquiry he was met by a
+      stout Russian, who told him he could be taken care of for twenty-seven
+      dollars a month, this including a cot in a room with eight other single
+      men. After deducting a dollar and a half a month for his saloon-keepers,
+      fifty cents for the company clergyman and a dollar for the company doctor,
+      fifty cents a month for wash-house privileges and fifty cents for a sick
+      and accident benefit fund, he had fourteen dollars a month with which to
+      clothe himself, to found a family, to provide himself with beer and
+      tobacco, and to patronise the libraries and colleges endowed by the
+      philanthropic owners of coal mines.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Supper was nearly over at Reminitsky's when he arrived; the floor looked
+      like the scene of a cannibal picnic, and what food was left was cold. It
+      was always to be this way with him, he found, and he had to make the best
+      of it. The dining-room of this boarding-house, owned and managed by the G.
+      F. C., brought to his mind the state prison, which he had once visited&mdash;with
+      its rows of men sitting in silence, eating starch and grease out of
+      tin-plates. The plates here were of crockery half an inch thick, but the
+      starch and grease never failed; the formula of Reminitsky's cook seemed to
+      be, When in doubt add grease, and boil it in. Even ravenous as Hal was
+      after his long tramp and his labour below ground, he could hardly swallow
+      this food. On Sundays, the only time he ate by daylight, the flies swarmed
+      over everything, and he remembered having heard a physician say that an
+      enlightened man should be more afraid of a fly than of a Bengal tiger. The
+      boarding-house provided him with a cot and a supply of vermin, but with no
+      blanket, which was a necessity in the mountain regions. So after supper he
+      had to seek out his boss, and arrange to get credit at the company-store.
+      They were willing to give a certain amount of credit, he found, as this
+      would enable the camp-marshal to keep him from straying. There was no law
+      to hold a man for debt&mdash;but Hal knew by this time how much a
+      camp-marshal cared for law.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 6.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      For three days Hal toiled in the bowels of the mine, and ate and pursued
+      vermin at Reminitsky's. Then came a blessed Sunday, and he had a couple of
+      free hours to see the sunlight and to get a look at the North Valley camp.
+      It was a village straggling along more than a mile of the mountain canyon.
+      In the centre were the great breaker-buildings, the shaft-house, and the
+      power-house with its tall chimneys; nearby were the company-store and a
+      couple of saloons. There were several boarding-houses like Reminitsky's,
+      and long rows of board cabins containing from two to four rooms each, some
+      of them occupied by several families. A little way up a slope stood a
+      school-house, and another small one-room building which served as a
+      church; the clergyman belonging to the General Fuel Company denomination.
+      He was given the use of the building, by way of start over the saloons,
+      which had to pay a heavy rental to the company; it seemed a proof of the
+      innate perversity of human nature that even in spite of this advantage,
+      heaven was losing out in the struggle against hell in the coal-camp.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As one walked through this village, the first impression was of
+      desolation. The mountains towered, barren and lonely, scarred with the
+      wounds of geologic ages. In these canyons the sun set early in the
+      afternoon, the snow came early in the fall; everywhere Nature's hand
+      seemed against man, and man had succumbed to her power. Inside the camps
+      one felt a still more cruel desolation&mdash;that of sordidness and
+      animalism. There were a few pitiful attempts at vegetable-gardens, but the
+      cinders and smoke killed everything, and the prevailing colour was of
+      grime. The landscape was strewn with ash-heaps, old wire and tomato-cans,
+      and smudged and smutty children playing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a part of the camp called &ldquo;shanty-town,&rdquo; where, amid miniature
+      mountains of slag, some of the lowest of the newly-arrived foreigners had
+      been permitted to build themselves shacks out of old boards, tin, and
+      sheets of tar-paper. These homes were beneath the dignity of
+      chicken-houses, yet in some of them a dozen people were crowded, men and
+      women sleeping on old rags and blankets on a cinder floor. Here the babies
+      swarmed like maggots. They wore for the most part a single ragged smock,
+      and their bare buttocks were shamelessly upturned to the heavens. It was
+      so the children of the cave-men must have played, thought Hal; and waves
+      of repulsion swept over him. He had come with love and curiosity, but both
+      motives failed here. How could a man of sensitive nerves, aware of the
+      refinements and graces of life, learn to love these people, who were an
+      affront to his every sense&mdash;a stench to his nostrils, a jabbering to
+      his ear, a procession of deformities to his eye? What had civilisation
+      done for them? What could it do? After all, what were they fit for, but
+      the dirty work they were penned up to do? So spoke the haughty
+      race-consciousness of the Anglo-Saxon, contemplating these Mediterranean
+      hordes, the very shape of whose heads was objectionable.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Hal stuck it out; and little by little new vision came to him. First
+      of all, it was the fascination of the mines. They were old mines&mdash;veritable
+      cities tunnelled out beneath the mountains, the main passages running for
+      miles. One day Hal stole off from his job, and took a trip with a
+      &ldquo;rope-rider,&rdquo; and got through his physical senses a realisation of the
+      vastness and strangeness and loneliness of this labyrinth of night. In
+      Number Two mine the vein ran up at a slope of perhaps five degrees; in
+      part of it the empty cars were hauled in long trains by an endless rope,
+      but coming back loaded, they came of their own gravity. This involved much
+      work for the &ldquo;spraggers,&rdquo; or boys who did the braking; it sometimes meant
+      run-away cars, and fresh perils added to the everyday perils of
+      coal-mining.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The vein varied from four to five feet in thickness; a cruelty of nature
+      which made it necessary that the men at the &ldquo;working face&rdquo;&mdash;the place
+      where new coal was being cut&mdash;should learn to shorten their stature.
+      After Hal had squatted for a while and watched them at their tasks, he
+      understood why they walked with head and shoulders bent over and arms
+      hanging down, so that, seeing them coming out of the shaft in the
+      gloaming, one thought of a file of baboons. The method of getting out the
+      coal was to &ldquo;undercut&rdquo; it with a pick, and then blow it loose with a
+      charge of powder. This meant that the miner had to lie on his side while
+      working, and accounted for other physical peculiarities.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Thus, as always, when one understood the lives of men, one came to pity
+      instead of despising. Here was a separate race of creatures, subterranean,
+      gnomes, pent up by society for purposes of its own. Outside in the
+      sunshine-flooded canyon, long lines of cars rolled down with their freight
+      of soft-coal; coal which would go to the ends of the earth, to places the
+      miner never heard of, turning the wheels of industry whose products the
+      miner would never see. It would make precious silks for fine ladies, it
+      would cut precious jewels for their adornment; it would carry long trains
+      of softly upholstered cars across deserts and over mountains; it would
+      drive palatial steamships out of wintry tempests into gleaming tropic
+      seas. And the fine ladies in their precious silks and jewels would eat and
+      sleep and laugh and lie at ease&mdash;and would know no more of the
+      stunted creatures of the dark than the stunted creatures knew of them. Hal
+      reflected upon this, and subdued his Anglo-Saxon pride, finding
+      forgiveness for what was repulsive in these people&mdash;their barbarous,
+      jabbering speech, their vermin-ridden homes, their bare-bottomed babies.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 7.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      It chanced before many days that Hal got a holiday, relieving the monotony
+      of his labours as stableman: an accidental holiday, not provided for in
+      his bargain with the pit-boss. Something went wrong with the
+      ventilating-course in Number Two, and he began to notice a headache, and
+      heard the men grumbling that their lamps were burning low. Then, as
+      matters began to get serious, orders came to get the mules to the surface.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Which meant an amusing adventure. The delight of Hal's pets at seeing the
+      sunlight was irresistibly comic. They could not be kept from lying down
+      and rolling on their backs in the cinder-strewn street; and when they were
+      corralled in a distant part of the camp where actual grass grew, they
+      abandoned themselves to rapture like a horde of school children at a
+      picnic.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So Hal had a few free hours; and being still young and not cured of idle
+      curiosities, he climbed the canyon wall to see the mountains. As he was
+      sliding down again, toward evening, a vivid spot of colour was painted
+      into his picture of mine-life; he found himself in somebody's back yard,
+      and being observed by somebody's daughter, who was taking in the family
+      wash. It was a splendid figure of a lass, tall and vigorous, with the sort
+      of hair that in polite circles is called auburn, and that flaming colour
+      in the cheeks which is Nature's recompense to people who live where it
+      rains all the time. She was the first beautiful sight Hal had seen since
+      he had come up the canyon, and it was only natural that he should be
+      interested. It seemed to him that, so long as the girl stared, he had a
+      right to stare back. It did not occur to him that he too was a pleasing
+      sight&mdash;that the mountain air had given colour to his cheeks and a
+      shine to his gay brown eyes, while the mountain winds had blown his wavy
+      brown hair.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hello,&rdquo; said she, at last, in a warm voice, unmistakably Irish.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hello yourself,&rdquo; said Hal, in the accepted dialect; then he added, with
+      more elegance, &ldquo;Pardon me for trespassing on your wash.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Her grey eyes opened wider. &ldquo;Go on!&rdquo; she said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'd rather stay,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;It's a beautiful sunset.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll move, so ye can see it better.&rdquo; She carried her armful of clothes
+      over and dropped them into the basket.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;it's not so fine now. The colours have faded.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She turned and gazed at him again. &ldquo;Go on wid ye! I been teased about my
+      hair since before I could talk.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;'Tis envy,&rdquo; said Hal, dropping into her way of speech; and he came a few
+      steps nearer, so that he could inspect the hair more closely. It lay above
+      her brow in undulations which were agreeable to the decorative instinct,
+      and a tight heavy braid of it fell over her shoulders and swung to her
+      waist-line. He observed the shoulders, which were sturdy, obviously
+      accustomed to hard labour; not conforming to accepted romantic standards
+      of femininity, yet having an athletic grace of their own. They were
+      covered with a faded blue calico dress, unfortunately not entirely clean;
+      also, the young man noticed, there was a rent in one shoulder through
+      which a patch of skin was visible. The girl's eyes, which had been
+      following his, became defiant; she tossed a piece of her washing over the
+      shoulder, where it stayed through the balance of the interview.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who are ye?&rdquo; she demanded, suddenly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My name's Joe Smith. I'm a stableman in Number Two.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And what were ye doin' up there, if a body might ask?&rdquo; She lifted her
+      grey eyes to the bare mountainside, down which he had come sliding in a
+      shower of loose stones and dirt.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I've been surveying my empire,&rdquo; said he.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your what?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My empire. The land belongs to the company, but the landscape belongs to
+      him who cares for it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She tossed her head a little. &ldquo;Where did ye learn to talk like ye do?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In another life,&rdquo; said he&mdash;&ldquo;before I became a stableman. Not in
+      entire forgetfulness, but trailing clouds of glory did I come.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      For a moment she wrestled with this. Then a smile broke upon her face.
+      &ldquo;Sure, 'tis like a poetry-book! Say some more!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;<i>O, singe fort, so suess und fein</i>!&rdquo; quoted Hal&mdash;and saw her
+      look puzzled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Aren't you American?&rdquo; she inquired; and he laughed. To speak a foreign
+      language in North Valley was not a mark of culture!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I've been listening to the crowd at Reminitsky's,&rdquo; he said,
+      apologetically.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh! You eat there?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I go there three times a day. I can't say I eat very much. Could you live
+      on greasy beans?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure,&rdquo; laughed the girl, &ldquo;the good old pertaties is good enough for me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I should have said you lived on rose leaves!&rdquo; he observed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Go on wid ye! 'Tis the blarney-stone ye been kissin'!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;'Tis no stone I'd be wastin' my kisses on.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye're gettin' bold, Mister Smith. I'll not listen to ye.&rdquo; And she turned
+      away, and began industriously taking her clothes from the line. But Hal
+      did not want to be dismissed. He came a step closer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Coming down the mountain-side,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I found something wonderful.
+      It's bare and grim up there, but I came on a sheltered corner where the
+      sun shone, and there was a wild rose. Only one! I thought to myself, 'So
+      roses grow, even in the loneliest parts of the world!'&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure, 'tis a poetry-book again!&rdquo; she cried. &ldquo;Why didn't ye bring the
+      rose?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is a poetry-book that tells us to 'leave the wild-rose on its
+      stalk.' It will go on blooming there; but if one were to pluck it, it
+      would wither in a few hours.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He had meant nothing more by this than to keep the conversation going. But
+      her answer turned the tide of their acquaintance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye can never be sure, lad. Perhaps to-night a storm may come and blow it
+      to pieces. Perhaps if ye'd pulled it and been happy, 'twould 'a been what
+      the rose was for.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Whatever of unconscious patronage there had been in the poet's attitude
+      was lost now in the eternal mystery. Whether the girl knew it&mdash;or
+      cared&mdash;she had won the woman's first victory. She had caught the
+      man's mind and pinned it with curiosity. What did this wild rose of the
+      mining camps mean?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The wild rose, apparently unconscious that she had said anything
+      epoch-making, was busy with the wash; and meantime Hal Warner studied her
+      features and pondered her words. From a lady of sophistication they would
+      have meant only one thing, an invitation; but in this girl's clear grey
+      eyes was nothing of wantonness, only pain. But what was this pain in the
+      face and words of one so young, so eager and alive? Was it the melancholy
+      of her race, the thing one got in old folk-songs? Or was it a new and
+      special kind of melancholy, engendered in mining-camps in the far West of
+      America?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl's countenance was as intriguing as her words. Her grey eyes were
+      set under sharply defined dark brows, which did not match her hair. Her
+      lips also were sharply defined, and straight, almost without curves, so
+      that it seemed as if her mouth had been painted in carmine upon her face.
+      These features gave her, when she stared at you, an aspect vivid and
+      startling, bold, with a touch of defiance. But when she smiled, the red
+      lips would curve into gentler lines, and the grey eyes would become
+      wistful, and seemingly darker in colour. Winsome indeed, but not simple,
+      was this Irish lass!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 8.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal asked the name of his new acquaintance, and she told him it was Mary
+      Burke. &ldquo;Ye've not been here long, I take it,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;or ye'd have
+      heard of 'Red Mary.' 'Tis along of this hair.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I've not been here long,&rdquo; he answered, &ldquo;but I shall hope to stay now&mdash;along
+      of this hair! May I come to see you some time, Miss Burke?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She did not reply, but glanced at the house where she lived. It was an
+      unpainted, three room cabin, more dilapidated than the average, with bare
+      dirt and cinders about it, and what had once been a picket-fence, now
+      falling apart and being used for stove-wood. The windows were cracked and
+      broken, and upon the roof were signs of leaks that had been crudely
+      patched.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;May I come?&rdquo; he made haste to ask again&mdash;so that he would not seem
+      to look too critically at her home.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Perhaps ye may,&rdquo; said the girl, as she picked up the clothes basket. He
+      stepped forward, offering to carry it, but she did not give it up. Holding
+      it tight, and looking him defiantly in the face, she said, &ldquo;Ye may come,
+      but ye'll not find it a happy place to visit, Mr. Smith. Ye'll hear soon
+      enough from the neighbours.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't think I know any of your neighbours,&rdquo; said he.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was sympathy in his voice; but her look was no less defiant. &ldquo;Ye'll
+      hear about it, Mr. Smith; but ye'll hear also that I hold me head up. And
+      'tis not so easy to do that in North Valley.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You don't like the place?&rdquo; he asked; and he was amazed by the effect of
+      this question, which was merely polite. It was as if a storm cloud had
+      swept over the girl's face. &ldquo;I hate it! 'Tis a place of fear and devils!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He hesitated a moment; then, &ldquo;Will you tell me what you mean by that when
+      I come?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But &ldquo;Red Mary&rdquo; was winsome again. &ldquo;When ye come, Mr. Smith, I'll not be
+      entertaining ye with troubles. I'll put on me company manner, and we'll go
+      out for a nice walk, if ye please.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      All the way as he walked back to Reminitsky's to supper, Hal thought about
+      this girl; not merely her pleasantness to the eye, so unexpected in this
+      place of desolation, but her personality, which baffled him&mdash;the pain
+      that seemed always just beneath the surface of her thoughts, the fierce
+      pride which flashed out at the slightest suggestion of sympathy, the way
+      she had of brightening when he spoke the language of metaphor, however
+      trite. How had she come to know about poetry-books? He wanted to know more
+      about this miracle of Nature&mdash;this wild rose blooming on a bare
+      mountain-side!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 9.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      There was one of Mary Burke's remarks upon which Hal soon got light&mdash;her
+      statement that North Valley was a place of fear. He listened to the tales
+      of these underworld men, until it came so that he shuddered with dread
+      each time that he went down in the cage.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a wire-haired and almond eyed Korean, named Cho, a &ldquo;rope-rider&rdquo;
+       in Hal's part of the mine. He was one of those who had charge of the long
+      trains of cars, called &ldquo;trips,&rdquo; which were hauled through the main
+      passage-ways; the name &ldquo;rope-rider&rdquo; came from the fact that he sat on the
+      heavy iron ring to which the rope was attached. He invited Hal to a seat
+      with him, and Hal accepted, at peril of his job as well as of his limbs.
+      Cho had picked up what he fondly thought was English, and now and then one
+      could understand a word. He pointed upon the ground, and shouted above the
+      rattle of the cars: &ldquo;Big dust!&rdquo; Hal saw that the ground was covered with
+      six inches of coal-dust, while on the old disused walls one could write
+      his name in it. &ldquo;Much blow-up!&rdquo; said the rope-rider; and when the last
+      empty cars had been shunted off into the working-rooms, and he was waiting
+      to make up a return &ldquo;trip,&rdquo; he laboured with gestures to explain what he
+      meant. &ldquo;Load cars. Bang! Bust like hell!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal knew that the mountain air in this region was famous for its dryness;
+      he learned now that the quality which meant life to invalids from every
+      part of the world meant death to those who toiled to keep the invalids
+      warm. Driven through the mines by great fans, this air took out every
+      particle of moisture, and left coal dust so thick and dry that there were
+      fatal explosions from the mere friction of loading-shovels. So it happened
+      that these mines were killing several times as many men as other mines
+      throughout the country.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Was there no remedy for this, Hal asked, talking with one of his
+      mule-drivers, Tim Rafferty, the evening after his ride with Cho. There was
+      a remedy, said Tim&mdash;the law required sprinkling the mines with
+      &ldquo;adobe-dust&rdquo;; and once in Tim's life, he remembered this law's being
+      obeyed. There had come some &ldquo;big fellows&rdquo; inspecting things, and previous
+      to their visit there had been an elaborate campaign of sprinkling. But
+      that had been several years ago, and now the apparatus was stored away,
+      nobody knew where, and one heard nothing about sprinkling.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was the same with precautions against gas. The North Valley mines were
+      especially &ldquo;gassy,&rdquo; it appeared. In these old rambling passages one smelt
+      a stink as of all the rotten eggs in all the barn-yards of the world; and
+      this sulphuretted hydrogen was the least dangerous of the gases against
+      which a miner had to contend. There was the dreaded &ldquo;choke-damp,&rdquo; which
+      was odourless, and heavier than air. Striking into soft, greasy coal, one
+      would open a pocket of this gas, a deposit laid up for countless ages,
+      awaiting its predestined victim. A man might sink to sleep as he lay at
+      work, and if his &ldquo;buddy,&rdquo; or helper, happened to be out of sight, and to
+      delay a minute too long, it would be all over with the man. And there was
+      the still more dreaded &ldquo;fire-damp,&rdquo; which might wreck a whole mine, and
+      kill scores and even hundreds of men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Against these dangers there was a &ldquo;fire-boss,&rdquo; whose duty was to go
+      through the mine, testing for gas, and making sure that the
+      ventilating-course was in order, and the fans working properly. The
+      &ldquo;fire-boss&rdquo; was supposed to make his rounds in the early morning, and the
+      law specified that no one should go to work till he had certified that all
+      was safe. But what if the &ldquo;fire-boss&rdquo; overslept himself, or happened to be
+      drunk? It was too much to expect thousands of dollars to be lost for such
+      a reason. So sometimes one saw men ordered to their work, and sent down
+      grumbling and cursing. Before many hours some of them would be prostrated
+      with headache, and begging to be taken out; and perhaps the superintendent
+      would not let them out, because if a few came, the rest would get scared
+      and want to come also.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Once, only last year, there had been an accident of that sort. A young
+      mule-driver, a Croatian, told Hal about it while they sat munching the
+      contents of their dinner-pails. The first cage-load of men had gone down
+      into the mine, sullenly protesting; and soon afterwards some one had taken
+      down a naked light, and there had been an explosion which had sounded like
+      the blowing up of the inside of the world. Eight men had been killed, the
+      force of the explosion being so great that some of the bodies had been
+      wedged between the shaft wall and the cage, and it had been necessary to
+      cut them to pieces to get them out. It was them Japs that were to blame,
+      vowed Hal's informant. They hadn't ought to turn them loose in coal mines,
+      for the devil himself couldn't keep a Jap from sneaking off to get a
+      smoke.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So Hal understood how North Valley was a place of fear. What tales the old
+      chambers of these mines could have told, if they had had voices! Hal
+      watched the throngs pouring in to their labours, and reflected that
+      according to the statisticians of the government eight or nine of every
+      thousand of them were destined to die violent deaths before a year was
+      out, and some thirty more would be badly injured. And they knew this, they
+      knew it better than all the statisticians of the government; yet they went
+      to their tasks! Reflecting upon this, Hal was full of wonder. What was the
+      force that kept men at such a task? Was it a sense of duty? Did they
+      understand that society had to have coal and that some one had to do the
+      &ldquo;dirty work&rdquo; of providing it? Did they have a vision of a future, great
+      and wonderful, which was to grow out of their ill-requited toil? Or were
+      they simply fools or cowards, submitting blindly, because they had not the
+      wit nor the will to do otherwise? Curiosity held him, he wanted to
+      understand the inner souls of these silent and patient armies which
+      through the ages have surrendered their lives to other men's control.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 10.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal was coming to know these people; to see them no longer as a mass, to
+      be despised or pitied in bulk, but as individuals, with individual
+      temperaments and problems, exactly like people in the world of the
+      sunlight. Mary Burke and Tim Rafferty, Cho the Korean and Madvik the
+      Croatian&mdash;one by one these individualities etched themselves into the
+      foreground of Hal's picture, making it a thing of life, moving him to
+      sympathy and fellowship. Some of these people, to be sure, were stunted
+      and dulled to a sordid ugliness of soul and body&mdash;but on the other
+      hand, some of them were young, and had the light of hope in their hearts,
+      and the spark of rebellion.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was &ldquo;Andy,&rdquo; a boy of Greek parentage; Androkulos was his right name&mdash;but
+      it was too much to expect any one to get that straight in a coal-camp. Hal
+      noticed him at the store, and was struck by his beautiful features, and
+      the mournful look in his big black eyes. They got to talking, and Andy
+      made the discovery that Hal had not spent all his time in coal-camps, but
+      had seen the great world. It was pitiful, the excitement that came into
+      his voice; he was yearning for life, with its joys and adventures&mdash;and
+      it was his destiny to sit ten hours a day by the side of a chute, with the
+      rattle of coal in his ears and the dust of coal in his nostrils, picking
+      out slate with his fingers. He was one of many scores of &ldquo;breaker-boys.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why don't you go away?&rdquo; asked Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Christ! How I get away? Got mother, two sisters.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And your father?&rdquo; So Hal made the discovery that Andy's father had been
+      one of those men whose bodies had had to be cut to pieces to get them out
+      of the shaft. Now the son was chained to the father's place, until his
+      time too should come!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don't want to be miner!&rdquo; cried the boy. &ldquo;Don't want to get <i>kil-lid</i>!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He began to ask, timidly, what Hal thought he could do if he were to run
+      away from his family and try his luck in the world outside. Hal, striving
+      to remember where he had seen olive-skinned Greeks with big black eyes in
+      this beautiful land of the free, could hold out no better prospect than a
+      shoe-shining parlour, or the wiping out of wash-bowls in a hotel-lavatory,
+      handing over the tips to a fat padrone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Andy had been to school, and had learned to read English, and the teacher
+      had loaned him books and magazines with wonderful pictures in them; now he
+      wanted more than pictures, he wanted the things which they portrayed. So
+      Hal came face to face with one of the difficulties of mine-operators. They
+      gathered a population of humble serfs, selected from twenty or thirty
+      races of hereditary bondsmen; but owing to the absurd American custom of
+      having public-schools, the children of this population learned to speak
+      English, and even to read it. So they became too good for their lot in
+      life; and then a wandering agitator would get in, and all of a sudden
+      there would be hell. Therefore in every coal-camp had to be another kind
+      of &ldquo;fire-boss,&rdquo; whose duty it was to guard against another kind of
+      explosions&mdash;not of carbon monoxide, but of the human soul.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The immediate duties of this office in North Valley devolved upon Jeff
+      Cotton, the camp-marshal. He was not at all what one would have expected
+      from a person of his trade&mdash;lean and rather distinguished-looking, a
+      man who in evening clothes might have passed for a diplomat. But his mouth
+      would become ugly when he was displeased, and he carried a gun with six
+      notches upon it; also he wore a deputy-sheriff's badge, to give him
+      immunity for other notches he might wish to add. When Jeff Cotton came
+      near, any man who was explosive went off to be explosive by himself. So
+      there was &ldquo;order&rdquo; in North Valley, and it was only on Saturday and Sunday
+      nights, when the drunks had to be suppressed, or on Monday mornings when
+      they had to be haled forth and kicked to their work, that one realised
+      upon what basis this &ldquo;order&rdquo; rested.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Besides Jeff Cotton, and his assistant, &ldquo;Bud&rdquo; Adams, who wore badges, and
+      were known, there were other assistants who wore no badges, and were not
+      supposed to be known. Coming up in the cage one evening, Hal made some
+      remark to the Croatian mule-driver, Madvik, about the high price of
+      company-store merchandise, and was surprised to get a sharp kick on the
+      ankle. Afterwards, as they were on their way to supper, Madvik gave him
+      the reason. &ldquo;Red-faced feller, Gus. Look out for him&mdash;company
+      spotter.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is that so?&rdquo; said Hal, with interest. &ldquo;How do you know?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know. Everybody know.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He don't look like he had much sense,&rdquo; said Hal&mdash;who had got his
+      idea of detectives from Sherlock Holmes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No take much sense. Go pit-boss, say, 'Joe feller talk too much. Say
+      store rob him.' Any damn fool do that. Hey?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To be sure,&rdquo; admitted Hal. &ldquo;And the company pays him for it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pit-boss pay him. Maybe give him drink, maybe two bits. Then pit-boss
+      come to you: 'You shoot your mouth off too much, feller. Git the hell out
+      of here!' See?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal saw.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So you go down canyon. Then maybe you go 'nother mine. Boss say, 'Where
+      you work?' You say 'North Valley.' He say, 'What your name?' You say, 'Joe
+      Smith.' He say, 'Wait.' He go in, look at paper; he come out, say, 'No
+      job!' You say, 'Why not?' He say, 'Shoot off your mouth too much, feller.
+      Git the hell out of here!' See?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean a black-list,&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure, black-list. Maybe telephone, find out all about you. You do
+      anything bad, like talk union&rdquo;&mdash;Madvik had dropped his voice and
+      whispered the word &ldquo;union&rdquo;&mdash;&ldquo;they send your picture&mdash;don't get
+      job nowhere in state. How you like that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 11.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Before long Hal had a chance to see this system of espionage at work, and
+      he began to understand something of the force which kept these silent and
+      patient armies at their tasks. On a Sunday morning he was strolling with
+      his mule-driver friend Tim Rafferty, a kindly lad with a pair of dreamy
+      blue eyes in his coal-smutted face. They came to Tim's home, and he
+      invited Hal to come in and meet his family. The father was a bowed and
+      toil-worn man, but with tremendous strength in his solid frame, the
+      product of many generations of labour in coal-mines. He was known as &ldquo;Old
+      Rafferty,&rdquo; despite the fact that he was well under fifty. He had been a
+      pit-boy at the age of nine, and he showed Hal a faded leather album with
+      pictures of his ancestors in the &ldquo;oul' country&rdquo;&mdash;men with sad, deeply
+      lined faces, sitting very stiff and solemn to have their presentments made
+      permanent for posterity.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The mother of the family was a gaunt, grey-haired woman, with no teeth,
+      but with a warm heart. Hal took to her, because her home was clean; he sat
+      on the family door-step, amid a crowd of little Rafferties with
+      newly-washed Sunday faces, and fascinated them with tales of adventures
+      cribbed from Clark Russell and Captain Mayne Reid. As a reward he was
+      invited to stay for dinner, and had a clean knife and fork, and a clean
+      plate of steaming hot potatoes, with two slices of salt pork on the side.
+      It was so wonderful that he forthwith inquired if he might forsake his
+      company boarding-house and come and board with them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Mrs. Rafferty opened wide her eyes. &ldquo;Sure,&rdquo; exclaimed she, &ldquo;do you think
+      you'd be let?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why not?&rdquo; asked Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure, 't would be a bad example for the others.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you mean I <i>have</i> to board at Reminitsky's?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There be six company boardin'-houses,&rdquo; said the woman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And what would they do if I came to you?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;First you'd get a hint, and then you'd go down the canyon, and maybe us
+      after ye.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But there's lots of people have boarders in shanty-town,&rdquo; objected Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh! Them wops! Nobody counts them&mdash;they live any way they happen to
+      fall. But you started at Reminitsky's, and 't would not be healthy for
+      them that took ye away.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see,&rdquo; laughed Hal. &ldquo;There seem to be a lot of unhealthy things
+      hereabouts.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure there be! They sent down Nick Ammons because his wife bought milk
+      down the canyon. They had a sick baby, and it's not much you get in this
+      thin stuff at the store. They put chalk in it, I think; any way, you can
+      see somethin' white in the bottom.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So you have to trade at the store, too!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I thought ye said ye'd worked in coal-mines,&rdquo; put in Old Rafferty, who
+      had been a silent listener.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So I have,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;But it wasn't quite that bad.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure,&rdquo; said Mrs. Rafferty, &ldquo;I'd like to know where 'twas then&mdash;in
+      this country. Me and me old man spent weary years a-huntin'.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Thus far the conversation had proceeded naturally; but suddenly it was as
+      if a shadow passed over it&mdash;a shadow of fear. Hal saw Old Rafferty
+      look at his wife, and frown and make signs to her. After all, what did
+      they know about this handsome young stranger, who talked so glibly, and
+      had been in so many parts of the world?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;'Tis not complainin' we'd be,&rdquo; said the old man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And his wife made haste to add, &ldquo;If they let peddlers and the like of them
+      come in, 'twould be no end to it, I suppose. We find they treat us here as
+      well as anywhere.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;'Tis no joke, the life of workin' men, wherever ye try it,&rdquo; added the
+      other; and when young Tim started to express an opinion, they shut him up
+      with such evident anxiety that Hal's heart ached for them, and he made
+      haste to change the subject.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 12.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      On the evening of the same Sunday Hal went to pay his promised call upon
+      Mary Burke. She opened the front door of the cabin to let him in, and even
+      by the dim rays of the little kerosene lamp, there came to him an
+      impression of cheerfulness. &ldquo;Hello,&rdquo; she said&mdash;just as she had said
+      it when he had slid down the mountain into the family wash. He followed
+      her into the room, and saw that the impression he had got of cheerfulness
+      came from Mary herself. How bright and fresh she looked! The old blue
+      calico, which had not been entirely clean, was newly laundered now, and on
+      the shoulder where the rent had been was a neat patch of unfaded blue.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There being only three rooms in Mary's home, two of these necessarily
+      bed-rooms, she entertained her company in the kitchen. The room was bare,
+      Hal saw&mdash;there was not even so much as a clock by way of ornament.
+      The only charm the girl had been able to give to it, in preparation for
+      company, was that of cleanness. The board floor had been newly sanded and
+      scrubbed; the kitchen table also had been scrubbed, and the kettle on the
+      stove, and the cracked tea-pot and bowls on the shelf. Mary's little
+      brother and sister were in the room: Jennie, a dark-eyed, dark-haired
+      little girl, frail, with a sad, rather frightened face; and Tommie, a
+      round headed youngster, like a thousand other round headed and
+      freckle-faced boys. Both of them were now sitting very straight in their
+      chairs, staring at the visitor with a certain resentment, he thought. He
+      suspected that they had been included in the general scrubbing. Inasmuch
+      as it had been uncertain just when the visitor would come, they must have
+      been required to do this every night, and he could imagine family
+      disturbances, with arguments possibly not altogether complimentary to
+      Mary's new &ldquo;feller.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There seemed to be a certain uneasiness in the place.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Mary did not invite her company to a seat, but stood irresolute; and after
+      Hal had ventured a couple of friendly remarks to the children, she said,
+      abruptly, &ldquo;Shall we be takin' that walk that we spoke of, Mr. Smith?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Delighted!&rdquo; said Hal; and while she pinned on her hat before the broken
+      mirror on the shelf, he smiled at the children and quoted two lines from
+      his Harrigan song&mdash;
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+  &ldquo;Oh, Mary-Jane, come out in the lane,
+  The moon is a-shinin' in the old pecan!&rdquo;
+ </pre>
+    <p>
+      Tommie and Jennie were too shy to answer, but Mary exclaimed, &ldquo;'Tis in a
+      tin-can ye see it shinin' here!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They went out. In the soft summer night it was pleasant to stroll under
+      the moon&mdash;especially when they had come to the remoter parts of the
+      village, where there were not so many weary people on door-steps and
+      children playing noisily. There were other young couples walking here,
+      under the same moon; the hardest day's toil could not so sap their
+      energies that they did not feel the spell of this soft summer night.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal, being tired, was content to stroll and enjoy the stillness; but Mary
+      Burke sought information about the mysterious young man she was with.
+      &ldquo;Ye've not worked long in coal-mines, Mr. Smith?&rdquo; she remarked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal was a trifle disconcerted. &ldquo;How did you find that out?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye don't look it&mdash;ye don't talk it. Ye're not like anybody or
+      anything around here. I don't know how to say it, but ye make me think
+      more of the poetry-books.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Flattered as Hal was by this naïve confession, he did not want to talk of
+      the mystery of himself. He took refuge in a question about the
+      &ldquo;poetry-books.&rdquo; &ldquo;I've read some,&rdquo; said the girl; &ldquo;more than ye'd have
+      thought, perhaps.&rdquo; This with a flash of her defiance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He asked more questions, and learned that she, like the Greek boy, &ldquo;Andy,&rdquo;
+       had come under the influence of that disturbing American institution, the
+      public-school; she had learned to read, and the pretty young teacher had
+      helped her, lending her books and magazines. Thus she had been given a key
+      to a treasure-house, a magic carpet on which to travel over the world.
+      These similes Mary herself used&mdash;for the Arabian Nights had been one
+      of the books that were loaned to her. On rainy days she would hide behind
+      the sofa, reading at a spot where the light crept in&mdash;so that she
+      might be safe from small brothers and sisters!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Joe Smith had read these same books, it appeared; and this seemed
+      remarkable to Mary, for books cost money and were hard to get. She
+      explained how she had searched the camp for new magic carpets, finding a
+      &ldquo;poetry-book&rdquo; by Longfellow, and a book of American history, and a story
+      called &ldquo;David Copperfield,&rdquo; and last and strangest of all, another story
+      called &ldquo;Pride and Prejudice.&rdquo; A curious freak of fortune&mdash;the prim
+      and sentimentally quivering Jane Austen in a coal-camp in a far Western
+      wilderness! An adventure for Jane, as well as for Mary!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      What had Mary made of it, Hal wondered. Had she revelled, shop-girl
+      fashion, in scenes of pallid ease? He learned that what she had made of it
+      was despair. This world outside, with its freedom and cleanness, its
+      people living gracious and worth-while lives, was not for her; she was
+      chained to a scrub-pail in a coal-camp. Things had got so much worse since
+      the death of her mother, she said. Her voice had become dull and hard&mdash;Hal
+      thought that he had never heard a young voice express such hopelessness.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You've never been anywhere but here?&rdquo; he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I been in two other camps,&rdquo; she said&mdash;&ldquo;first the Gordon, and then
+      East Run. But they're all alike.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But you've been down to the towns?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Only for a day, once or twice a year. Once I was in Sheridan, and in a
+      church I heard a lady sing.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She stopped for a moment, lost in this memory. Then suddenly her voice
+      changed&mdash;and he could imagine in the darkness that she had tossed her
+      head defiantly. &ldquo;I'll not be entertainin' company with my troubles! Ye
+      know how tiresome that is when ye hear it from somebody else&mdash;like my
+      next-door neighbour, Mrs. Zamboni. D' ye know her?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The poor old lady has troubles enough, God knows. Her man's not much good&mdash;he's
+      troubled with the drink; and she's got eleven childer, and that's too many
+      for one woman. Don't ye think so?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She asked this with a naïveté which made Hal laugh. &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I
+      do.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, I think people'd help her more if she'd not complain so! And half
+      of it in the Slavish language, that a body can't understand!&rdquo; So Mary
+      began to tell funny things about Mrs. Zamboni and her other polyglot
+      neighbours, imitating their murdering of the Irish dialect. Hal thought
+      her humour was naïve and delightful, and he led her on to more cheerful
+      gossip during the remainder of their walk.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 13.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      But then, as they were on their way home, tragedy fell upon them. Hearing
+      a step behind them, Mary turned and looked; then catching Hal by the arm,
+      she drew him into the shadows at the side, whispering to him to be silent.
+      The bent figure of a man went past them, lurching from side to side.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When he had turned and gone into the house, Mary said, &ldquo;It's my father.
+      He's ugly when he's like that.&rdquo; And Hal could hear her quick breathing in
+      the darkness.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So that was Mary's trouble&mdash;the difficulty in her home life to which
+      she had referred at their first meeting! Hal understood many things in a
+      flash&mdash;why her home was bare of ornament, and why she did not invite
+      her company to sit down. He stood silent, not knowing what to say. Before
+      he could find the word, Mary burst out, &ldquo;Oh, how I hate O'Callahan, that
+      sells the stuff to my father! His home with plenty to eat in it, and his
+      wife dressin' in silk and goin' down to mass every Sunday, and thinkin'
+      herself too good for a common miner's daughter! Sometimes I think I'd like
+      to kill them both.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That wouldn't help much,&rdquo; Hal ventured.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, I know&mdash;there'd only be some other one in his place. Ye got to
+      do more than that, to change things here. Ye got to get after them that
+      make money out of O'Callahan.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So Mary's mind was groping for causes! Hal had thought her excitement was
+      due to humiliation, or to fear of a scene of violence when she reached
+      home; but she was thinking of the deeper aspects of this terrible drink
+      problem. There was still enough unconscious snobbery in Hal Warner for him
+      to be surprised at this phenomenon in a common miner's daughter; and so,
+      as at their first meeting, his pity was turned to intellectual interest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They'll stop the drink business altogether some day,&rdquo; he said. He had not
+      known that he was a Prohibitionist; he had become one suddenly!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; she answered, &ldquo;they'd best stop it soon, if they don't want to be
+      too late. 'Tis a sight to make your heart sick to see the young lads
+      comin' home staggerin', too drunk even to fight.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had not had time to see much of this aspect of North Valley. &ldquo;They
+      sell to boys?&rdquo; he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure, who's to care? A boy's money's as good as a man's.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But I should think the company&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The company lets the saloon-buildin'&mdash;that's all the company cares.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But they must care something about the efficiency of their hands!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure, there's plenty more where they come from. When ye can't work, they
+      fire ye, and that's all there is to it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And is it so easy to get skilled men?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It don't take much skill to get out coal. The skill is in keepin' your
+      bones whole&mdash;and if you can stand breakin' 'em, the company can stand
+      it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They had come to the little cabin. Mary stood for a moment in silence.
+      &ldquo;I'm talkin' bitter again!&rdquo; she exclaimed suddenly. &ldquo;And I promised ye me
+      company manner! But things keep happening to set me off.&rdquo; And she turned
+      abruptly and ran into the house. Hal stood for a moment wondering if she
+      would return; then, deciding that she had meant that as good night, he
+      went slowly up the street.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He fought against a mood of real depression, the first he had known since
+      his coming to North Valley. He had managed so far to keep a certain degree
+      of aloofness, that he might see this industrial world without prejudice.
+      But to-night his pity for Mary had involved him more deeply. To be sure,
+      he might be able to help her, to find her work in some less crushing
+      environment; but his mind went on to the question&mdash;how many girls
+      might there be in mining-camps, young and eager, hungering for life, but
+      crushed by poverty, and by the burden of the drink problem?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A man walked past Hal, greeting him in the semi-darkness with a nod and a
+      motion of the hand. It was the Reverend Spragg, the gentleman who was
+      officially commissioned to combat the demon rum in North Valley.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had been to the little white church the Sunday before, and heard the
+      Reverend Spragg preach a doctrinal sermon, in which the blood of the lamb
+      was liberally sprinkled, and the congregation heard where and how they
+      were to receive compensation for the distresses they endured in this vale
+      of tears.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      What a mockery it seemed! Once, indubitably, people had believed such
+      doctrines; they had been willing to go to the stake for them. But now
+      nobody went to the stake for them&mdash;on the contrary, the company
+      compelled every worker to contribute out of his scanty earnings towards
+      the preaching of them. How could the most ignorant of zealots confront
+      such an arrangement without suspicion of his own piety? Somewhere at the
+      head of the great dividend-paying machine that was called the General Fuel
+      Company must be some devilish intelligence that had worked it all out,
+      that had given the orders to its ecclesiastical staff: &ldquo;We want the
+      present&mdash;we leave you the future! We want the bodies&mdash;we leave
+      you the souls! Teach them what you will about heaven&mdash;so long as you
+      let us plunder them on earth!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      In accordance with this devil's program, the Reverend Spragg might
+      denounce the demon rum, but he said nothing about dividends based on the
+      renting of rum-shops, nor about local politicians maintained by company
+      contributions, plus the profits of wholesale liquor. He said nothing about
+      the conclusions of modern hygiene, concerning over-work as a cause of the
+      craving for alcohol; the phrase &ldquo;industrial drinking,&rdquo; it seemed, was not
+      known in General Fuel Company theology! In fact, when you listened to such
+      a sermon, you would never have guessed that the hearers of it had physical
+      bodies at all; certainly you would never have guessed that the preacher
+      had a body, which was nourished by food produced by the overworked and
+      under-nourished wage-slaves whom he taught!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 14.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      For the most part the victims of this system were cowed and spoke of their
+      wrongs only in whispers; but there was one place in the camp, Hal found,
+      where they could not keep silence, where their sense of outrage battled
+      with their fear. This place was the solar plexus of the mine-organism, the
+      centre of its nervous energies; to change the simile, it was the
+      judgment-seat, where the miner had sentence passed upon him&mdash;sentence
+      either to plenty, or to starvation and despair.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This place was the &ldquo;tipple,&rdquo; where the coal that came out of the mine was
+      weighed and recorded. Every digger, as he came from the cage, made for
+      this spot. There was a bulletin-board, and on it his number, and the
+      record of the weights of the cars he had sent out that day. And every man,
+      no matter how ignorant, had learned enough English to read those figures.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had gradually come to realise that here was the place of drama. Most
+      of the men would look, and then, without a sound or glance about, would
+      slouch off with drooping shoulders. Others would mumble to themselves&mdash;or,
+      what amounted to the same thing, would mumble to one another in barbarous
+      dialects. But about one in five could speak English; and scarcely an
+      evening passed that some man did not break loose, shaking his fist at the
+      sky, or at the weigh-boss&mdash;behind the latter's back. He might gather
+      a knot of fellow-grumblers about him; it was to be noted that the
+      camp-marshal had the habit of being on hand at this hour.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was on one of these occasions that Hal first noticed Mike Sikoria, a
+      grizzle-haired old Slovak, who had spent twenty years in the mines of
+      these regions. All the bitterness of all the wrongs of all these years
+      welled up in Old Mike, as he shouted his score aloud: &ldquo;Nineteen,
+      twenty-two, twenty-four, twenty! Is that my weight, Mister? You want me to
+      believe that's my weight?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's your weight,&rdquo; said the weigh-boss, coldly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, by Judas, your scale is off, Mister! Look at them cars&mdash;them
+      cars is big! You measure them cars, Mister&mdash;seven feet long, three
+      and a half feet high, four feet wide. And you tell me them don't go but
+      twenty?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You don't load them right,&rdquo; said the boss.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don't load them right?&rdquo; echoed the old miner; he became suddenly
+      plaintive, as if more hurt than angered by such an insinuation. &ldquo;You know
+      all the years I work, and you tell me I don't know a load? When I load a
+      car, I load him like a miner, I don't load him like a Jap, that don't know
+      about a mine! I put it up&mdash;I chunk it up like a stack of hay. I load
+      him square&mdash;like that.&rdquo; With gestures the old fellow was illustrating
+      what he meant. &ldquo;See there! There's a ton on the top, and a ton and a half
+      on the bottom&mdash;and you tell me I get only nineteen, twenty!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's your weight,&rdquo; said the boss, implacably.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But, Mister, your scale is wrong! I tell you I used to get my weight. I
+      used to get forty-five, forty-six on them cars. Here's my buddy&mdash;ask
+      him if it ain't so. What is it, Bo?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Um m m-mum,&rdquo; said Bo, who was a negro&mdash;though one could hardly be
+      sure of this for the coal-dust on him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can't make a living no more!&rdquo; exclaimed the old Slovak, his voice
+      trembling and his wizened dark eyes full of pleading. &ldquo;What you think I
+      make? For fifteen days, fifty cents! I pay board, and so help me God,
+      Mister&mdash;and I stand right here&mdash;I swear for God I make fifty
+      cents. I dig the coal and I ain't got no weight, I ain't got nothing! Your
+      scale is wrong!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Get out!&rdquo; said the weigh-boss, turning away.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But, Mister!&rdquo; cried Old Mike, following behind him, and pouring his whole
+      soul into his words. &ldquo;What is this life, Mister? You work like a burro,
+      and you don't get nothing for it! You burn your own powder&mdash;half a
+      dollar a day powder&mdash;what you think of that? Crosscut&mdash;and you
+      get nothing! Take the skip and a pillar, and you get nothing! Brush&mdash;and
+      you get nothing! Here, by Judas, a poor man, going and working his body to
+      the last point, and blood is run out! You starve me to death, I say! I
+      have got to have something to eat, haven't I?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And suddenly the boss whirled upon him. &ldquo;Get the hell out of here!&rdquo; he
+      shouted. &ldquo;If you don't like it, get your time and quit. Shut your face, or
+      I'll shut it for you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The old man quailed and fell silent. He stood for a moment more, biting
+      his whiskered lips nervously; then his shoulders sank together, and he
+      turned and slunk off, followed by his negro helper.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 15.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Old Mike boarded at Reminitsky's, and after supper was over, Hal sought
+      him out. He was easy to know, and proved an interesting acquaintance. With
+      the help of his eloquence Hal wandered through a score of camps in the
+      district. The old fellow had a temper that he could not manage, and so he
+      was always on the move; but all places were alike, he said&mdash;there was
+      always some trick by which a miner was cheated of his earnings. A miner
+      was a little business man, a contractor who took a certain job, with its
+      expenses and its chance of profit or loss. A &ldquo;place&rdquo; was assigned to him
+      by the boss&mdash;and he undertook to get out the coal from it, being paid
+      at the rate of fifty-five cents a ton for each ton of clean coal. In some
+      &ldquo;places&rdquo; a man could earn good money, and in others he would work for
+      weeks, and not be able to keep up with his store-account.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It all depended upon the amount of rock and slate that was found with the
+      coal. If the vein was low, the man had one or two feet of rock to take off
+      the ceiling, and this had to be loaded on separate cars and taken away.
+      This work was called &ldquo;brushing,&rdquo; and for it the miner received no pay. Or
+      perhaps it was necessary to cut through a new passage, and clean out the
+      rock; or perhaps to &ldquo;grade the bottom,&rdquo; and lay the ties and rails over
+      which the cars were brought in to be loaded; or perhaps the vein ran into
+      a &ldquo;fault,&rdquo; a broken place where there was rock instead of coal&mdash;and
+      this rock must be hewed away before the miner could get at the coal. All
+      such work was called &ldquo;dead-work,&rdquo; and it was the cause of unceasing war.
+      In the old days the company had paid extra for it; now, since they had got
+      the upper hand of the men, they were refusing to pay. And so it was
+      important to the miner to have a &ldquo;place&rdquo; assigned him where there was not
+      so much of this dead work. And the &ldquo;place&rdquo; a man got depended upon the
+      boss; so here, at the very outset, was endless opportunity for favouritism
+      and graft, for quarrelling, or &ldquo;keeping in&rdquo; with the boss. What chance did
+      a man stand who was poor and old and ugly, and could not speak English
+      good? inquired old Mike, with bitterness. The boss stole his cars and gave
+      them to other people; he took the weight off the cars, and gave them to
+      fellows who boarded with him, or treated him to drinks, or otherwise
+      curried favour with him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I work five days in the Southeastern,&rdquo; said Mike, &ldquo;and when I work them
+      five days, so help me God, brother, if I don't get up out of this chair,
+      fifteen cents I was still in the hole yet. Fourteen inches of rock! And
+      the Mr. Bishop&mdash;that is the superintendent&mdash;I says, 'Do you pay
+      something for that rock?' 'Huh?' says he. 'Well,' I says, 'if you don't
+      pay nothing for the rock, I don't go ahead with it. I ain't got no place
+      to put that rock.' 'Get the hell out of here,' says he, and when I started
+      to fight he pull gun on me. And then I go to Cedar Mountain, and the super
+      give me work there, and he says, 'You go Number Four,' and he says, 'Rail
+      is in Number Three, and the ties.' And he says, 'I pay you for it when you
+      put it in.' So I take it away and I put it in, and I work till twelve
+      o'clock. Carried the three pair of rails and the ties, and I pulled all
+      the spikes&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pulled the spikes?&rdquo; asked Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Got no good spikes. Got to use old spikes, what you pull out of them old
+      ties. So then I says, 'What is my half day, what you promise me?' Says he,
+      'You ain't dug no coal yet!' 'But, mister,' says I, 'you promise me pay to
+      pull them spikes and put in them ties!' Says he, 'Company pay nothin' for
+      dead work&mdash;you know that,' says he, and that is all the satisfaction
+      I get.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you didn't get your half day's pay?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure I get nothin'. Boss do just as he please in coal mine.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 16.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      There was another way, Old Mike explained, in which the miner was at the
+      mercy of others; this was the matter of stealing cars. Each miner had
+      brass checks with his number on them, and when he sent up a loaded car, he
+      hung one of these checks on a hook inside. In the course of the long
+      journey to the tipple, some one would change the check, and the car was
+      gone. In some mines, the number was put on the car with chalk; and how
+      easy it was for some one to rub it out and change it! It appeared to Hal
+      that it would have been a simple matter to put a number padlock on the
+      car, instead of a check; but such an equipment would have cost the company
+      one or two hundred dollars, he was told, and so the stealing went on year
+      after year.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You think it's the bosses steal these cars?&rdquo; asked Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sometimes bosses, sometimes bosses' friend&mdash;sometimes company
+      himself steal them from miners.&rdquo; In North Valley it was the company, the
+      old Slovak insisted. It was no use sending up more than six cars in one
+      day, he declared; you could never get credit for more than six. Nor was it
+      worth while loading more than a ton on a car; they did not really weigh
+      the cars, the boss just ran them quickly over the scales, and had orders
+      not to go above a certain average. Mike told of an Italian who had loaded
+      a car for a test, so high that he could barely pass it under the roof of
+      the entry, and went up on the tipple and saw it weighed himself, and it
+      was sixty-five hundred pounds. They gave him thirty-five hundred, and when
+      he started to fight, they arrested him. Mike had not seen him arrested,
+      but when he had come out of the mine, the man was gone, and nobody ever
+      saw him again. After that they put a door onto the weigh-room, so that no
+      one could see the scales.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The more Hal listened to the men and reflected upon these things, the more
+      he came to see that the miner was a contractor who had no opportunity to
+      determine the size of the contract before he took it on, nor afterwards to
+      determine how much work he had done. More than that, he was obliged to use
+      supplies, over the price and measurements of which he had no control. He
+      used powder, and would find himself docked at the end of the month for a
+      certain quantity, and if the quantity was wrong, he would have no redress.
+      He was charged a certain sum for &ldquo;black-smithing&rdquo;&mdash;the keeping of his
+      tools in order; and he would find a dollar or two deducted from his
+      account each month, even though he had not been near the blacksmith shop.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Let any business-man in the world consider the proposition, thought Hal,
+      and say if he would take a contract upon such terms! Would a man undertake
+      to build a dam, for example, with no chance to measure the ground in
+      advance, nor any way of determining how many cubic yards of concrete he
+      had to put in? Would a grocer sell to a customer who proposed to come into
+      the store and do his own weighing&mdash;and meantime locking the grocer
+      outside? Merely to put such questions was to show the preposterousness of
+      the thing; yet in this district were fifteen thousand men working on
+      precisely such terms.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Under the state law, the miner had a right to demand a check-weighman to
+      protect his interest at the scales, paying this check-weighman's wages out
+      of his own earnings. Whenever there was any public criticism about
+      conditions in the coal-mines, this law would be triumphantly cited by the
+      operators; and one had to have actual experience in order to realise what
+      a bitter mockery this was to the miner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the dining-room Hal sat next to a fair-haired Swedish giant named
+      Johannson, who loaded timbers ten hours a day. This fellow was one who
+      indulged in the luxury of speaking his mind, because he had youth and huge
+      muscles, and no family to tie him down. He was what is called a
+      &ldquo;blanket-stiff,&rdquo; wandering from mine to harvest-field and from
+      harvest-field to lumber-camp. Some one broached the subject of
+      check-weighmen to him, and the whole table heard his scornful laugh. Let
+      any man ask for a check-weighman!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean they would fire him?&rdquo; asked Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Maybe!&rdquo; was the answer. &ldquo;Maybe they make him fire himself.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How do you mean?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They make his life one damn misery till he go.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So it was with check-weighman&mdash;as with scrip, and with company
+      stores, and with all the provisions of the law to protect the miner
+      against accidents. You might demand your legal rights, but if you did, it
+      was a matter of the boss's temper. He might make your life one damn misery
+      till you went of your own accord. Or you might get a string of curses and
+      an order, &ldquo;Down the canyon!&rdquo;&mdash;and likely as not the toe of a boot in
+      your trouser-seat, or the muzzle of a revolver under your nose.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 17.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Such conditions made the coal-district a place of despair. Yet there were
+      men who managed to get along somehow, and to raise families and keep
+      decent homes. If one had the luck to escape accident, if he did not marry
+      too young, or did not have too many children; if he could manage to escape
+      the temptations of liquor, to which overwork and monotony drove so many;
+      if, above all, he could keep on the right side of his boss&mdash;why then
+      he might have a home, and even a little money on deposit with the company.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Such a one was Jerry Minetti, who became one of Hal's best friends. He was
+      a Milanese, and his name was Gerolamo, which had become Jerry in the
+      &ldquo;melting-pot.&rdquo; He was about twenty-five years of age, and what is unusual
+      with the Italians, was of good stature. Their meeting took place&mdash;as
+      did most of Hal's social experiences&mdash;on a Sunday. Jerry had just had
+      a sleep and a wash, and had put on a pair of new blue overalls, so that he
+      presented a cheering aspect in the sunlight. He walked with his head up
+      and his shoulders square, and one could see that he had few cares in the
+      world.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But what caught Hal's attention was not so much Jerry as what followed at
+      Jerry's heels; a perfect reproduction of him, quarter-size, also with a
+      newly-washed face and a pair of new blue overalls. He too had his head up,
+      and his shoulders square, and he was an irresistible object, throwing out
+      his heels and trying his best to keep step. Since the longest strides he
+      could take left him behind, he would break into a run, and getting close
+      under his father's heels, would begin keeping step once more.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal was going in the same direction, and it affected him like the music of
+      a military band; he too wanted to throw his head up and square his
+      shoulders and keep step. And then other people, seeing the grin on his
+      face, would turn and watch, and grin also. But Jerry walked on gravely,
+      unaware of this circus in the rear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They went into a house; and Hal, having nothing to do but enjoy life,
+      stood waiting for them to come out. They returned in the same procession,
+      only now the man had a sack of something on his shoulder, while the little
+      chap had a smaller load poised in imitation. So Hal grinned again, and
+      when they were opposite him, he said, &ldquo;Hello.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hello,&rdquo; said Jerry, and stopped. Then, seeing Hal's grin, he grinned
+      back; and Hal looked at the little chap and grinned, and the little chap
+      grinned back. Jerry, seeing what Hal was grinning at, grinned more than
+      ever; so there stood all three in the middle of the road, grinning at one
+      another for no apparent reason.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Gee, but that's a great kid!&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Gee, you bet!&rdquo; said Jerry; and he set down his sack. If some one desired
+      to admire the kid, he was willing to stop any length of time.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yours?&rdquo; asked Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You bet!&rdquo; said Jerry, again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hello, Buster!&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hello yourself!&rdquo; said the kid. One could see in a moment that he had been
+      in the &ldquo;melting-pot.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What's your name?&rdquo; asked Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Jerry,&rdquo; was the reply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And what's his name?&rdquo; Hal nodded towards the man&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Big Jerry.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Got any more like you at home?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;One more,&rdquo; said Big Jerry. &ldquo;Baby.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He ain't like me,&rdquo; said Little Jerry. &ldquo;He's little.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you're big?&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He can't walk!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Neither can you walk!&rdquo; laughed Hal, and caught him up and slung him onto
+      his shoulder. &ldquo;Come on, we'll ride!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So Big Jerry took up his sack again, and they started off; only this time
+      it was Hal who fell behind and kept step, squaring his shoulders and
+      flinging out his heels. Little Jerry caught onto the joke, and giggled and
+      kicked his sturdy legs with delight. Big Jerry would look round, not
+      knowing what the joke was, but enjoying it just the same.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They came to the three-room cabin which was Both Jerrys' home; and Mrs.
+      Jerry came to the door, a black-eyed Sicilian girl, who did not look old
+      enough to have even one baby. They had another bout of grinning, at the
+      end of which Big Jerry said, &ldquo;You come in?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure,&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You stay supper,&rdquo; added the other. &ldquo;Got spaghetti.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Gee!&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;All right, let me stay, and pay for it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hell, no!&rdquo; said Jerry. &ldquo;You no pay!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No! No pay!&rdquo; cried Mrs. Jerry, shaking her pretty head energetically.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said Hal, quickly, seeing that he might hurt their feelings.
+      &ldquo;I'll stay if you're sure you have enough.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure, plenty!&rdquo; said Jerry. &ldquo;Hey, Rosa?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure, plenty!&rdquo; said Mrs. Jerry.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then I'll stay,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;You like spaghetti, Kid?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Jesus!&rdquo; cried Little Jerry.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal looked about him at this Dago home. It was a tome in keeping with its
+      pretty occupant. There were lace curtains in the windows, even shinier and
+      whiter than at the Rafferties; there was an incredibly bright-coloured rug
+      on the floor, and bright coloured pictures of Mount Vesuvius and of
+      Garibaldi on the walls. Also there was a cabinet with many interesting
+      treasures to look at&mdash;a bit of coral and a conch-shell, a shark's
+      tooth and an Indian arrow-head, and a stuffed linnet with a glass cover
+      over him. A while back Hal would not have thought of such things as
+      especially stimulating to the imagination; but that was before he had
+      begun to spend five-sixths of his waking hours in the bowels of the earth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He ate supper, a real Dago supper; the spaghetti proved to be real Dago
+      spaghetti, smoking hot, with tomato sauce and a rich flavour of
+      meat-juice. And all through the meal Hal smacked his lips and grinned at
+      Little Jerry, who smacked his lips and grinned back. It was all so
+      different from feeding at Reminitsky's pig-trough, that Hal thought he had
+      never had such a good supper in his life before. As for Mr. and Mrs.
+      Jerry, they were so proud of their wonderful kid, who could swear in
+      English as good as a real American, that they were in the seventh heaven.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the meal was over, Hal leaned back and exclaimed, just as he had at
+      the Rafferties', &ldquo;Lord, how I wish I could board here!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He saw his host look at his wife. &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;You come here. I
+      board you. Hey, Rosa?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure,&rdquo; said Rosa.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal looked at them, astonished. &ldquo;You're sure they'll let you?&rdquo; he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Let me? Who stop me?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't know. Maybe Reminitsky. You might get into trouble.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Jerry grinned. &ldquo;I no fraid,&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;Got friends here. Carmino my
+      cousin. You know Carmino?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pit-boss in Number One. He stand by me. Old Reminitsky go hang! You come
+      here, I give you bunk in that room, give you good grub. What you pay
+      Reminitsky?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Twenty-seven a month.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right, you pay me twenty-seven, you get everything good. Can't get
+      much stuff here, but Rosa good cook, she fix it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal's new friend&mdash;besides being a favourite of the boss&mdash;was a
+      &ldquo;shot-firer&rdquo;; it was his duty to go about the mine at night, setting off
+      the charges of powder which the miners had got ready by day. This was
+      dangerous work, calling for a skilled man, and it paid pretty well; so
+      Jerry got on in the world and was not afraid to speak his mind, within
+      certain limits. He ignored the possibility that Hal might be a company
+      spy, and astonished him by rebellious talk of the different kinds of graft
+      in North Valley, and at other places he had worked since coming to America
+      as a boy. Minetti was a Socialist, Hal learned; he took an Italian
+      Socialist paper, and the clerk at the post-office knew what sort of paper
+      it was, and would &ldquo;josh&rdquo; him about it. What was more remarkable, Mrs.
+      Minetti was a Socialist also; that meant a great deal to a man, as Jerry
+      explained, because she was not under the domination of a priest.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 18.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal made the move at once, sacrificing part of a month's board, which
+      Reminitsky would charge against his account with the company. But he was
+      willing to pay for the privilege of a clean home and clean food. To his
+      amusement he found that in the eyes of his Irish friends he was losing
+      caste by going to live with the Minettis. There were most rigid social
+      lines in North Valley, it appeared. The Americans and English and Scotch
+      looked down upon the Welsh and Irish; the Welsh and Irish looked down upon
+      the Dagoes and Frenchies; the Dagoes and Frenchies looked down upon
+      Polacks and Hunkies, these in turn upon Greeks, Bulgarians and
+      &ldquo;Montynegroes,&rdquo; and so on through a score of races of Eastern Europe,
+      Lithuanians, Slovaks, and Croatians, Armenians, Roumanians, Rumelians,
+      Ruthenians&mdash;ending up with Greasers, niggers, and last and lowest,
+      Japs.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was when Hal went to pay another call upon the Rafferties that he made
+      this discovery. Mary Burke happened to be there, and when she caught sight
+      of him, her grey eyes beamed with mischief. &ldquo;How do ye do, Mr. Minetti?&rdquo;
+       she cried.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How do ye do, Miss Rosetti?&rdquo; he countered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You lika da spagett?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You no lika da spagett?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I told ye once,&rdquo; laughed the girl&mdash;&ldquo;the good old pertaties is good
+      enough for me!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you remember,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;what I answered?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Yes, she remembered! Her cheeks took on the colour of the rose-leaves he
+      had specified as her probable diet.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And then the Rafferty children, who had got to know Hal well, joined in
+      the teasing. &ldquo;Mister Minetti! Lika da spagetti!&rdquo; Hal, when he had grasped
+      the situation, was tempted to retaliate by reminding them that he had
+      offered to board with the Irish, and been turned down; but he feared that
+      the elder Rafferty might not appreciate this joke, so instead he pretended
+      to have supposed all along that the Rafferties were Italians. He addressed
+      the elder Rafferty gravely, pronouncing the name with the accent on the
+      second syllable&mdash;&ldquo;Signer Rafferti&rdquo;; and this so amused the old man
+      that he chuckled over it at intervals for an hour. His heart warmed to
+      this lively young fellow; he forgot some of his suspicions, and after the
+      youngsters had been sent away to bed, he talked more or less frankly about
+      his life as a coal-miner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Old Rafferty&rdquo; had once been on the way to high station. He had been made
+      tipple-boss at the San José mine, but had given up his job because he had
+      thought that his religion did not permit him to do what he was ordered to
+      do. It had been a crude proposition of keeping the men's score at a
+      certain level, no matter how much coal they might send up; and when
+      Rafferty had quit rather than obey such orders, he had had to leave the
+      mine altogether; for of course everybody knew why he had quit, and his
+      mere presence had the effect of keeping discontent alive.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You think there are no honest companies at all?&rdquo; Hal asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The old man answered, &ldquo;There be some, but 'tis not so easy as ye might
+      think to be honest. They have to meet each other's prices, and when one
+      short-weights, the others have to. 'Tis a way of cuttin' wages without the
+      men findin' it out; and there be people that do not like to fall behind
+      with their profits.&rdquo; Hal found himself thinking of old Peter Harrigan, who
+      controlled the General Fuel Company, and had made the remark: &ldquo;I am a
+      great clamourer for dividends!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The trouble with the miner,&rdquo; continued Old Rafferty, &ldquo;is that he has no
+      one to speak for him. He stands alone&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      During this discourse, Hal had glanced at &ldquo;Red Mary,&rdquo; and noticed that she
+      sat with her arms on the table, her sturdy shoulders bowed in a fashion
+      which told of a hard day's toil. But here she broke into the conversation;
+      her voice came suddenly, alive with scorn: &ldquo;The trouble with the miner is
+      that he's a <i>slave!</i>&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, now&mdash;&rdquo; put in the old man, protestingly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He has the whole world against him, and he hasn't got the sense to get
+      together&mdash;to form a union, and stand by it!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There fell a sudden silence in the Rafferty home. Even Hal was startled&mdash;for
+      this was the first time during his stay in the camp that he had heard the
+      dread word &ldquo;union&rdquo; spoken above a whisper.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know!&rdquo; said Mary, her grey eyes full of defiance. &ldquo;Ye'll not have the
+      word spoken! But some will speak it in spite of ye!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;'Tis all very well,&rdquo; said the old man. &ldquo;When ye're young, and a woman too&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A woman! Is it only the women that can have courage?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure,&rdquo; said he, with a wry smile, &ldquo;'tis the women that have the tongues,
+      and that can't he stopped from usin' them. Even the boss must know that.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Maybe so,&rdquo; replied Mary. &ldquo;And maybe 'tis the women have the most to
+      suffer in a coal-camp; and maybe the boss knows that.&rdquo; The girl's cheeks
+      were red.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mebbe so,&rdquo; said Rafferty; and after that there was silence, while he sat
+      puffing his pipe. It was evident that he did not care to go on, that he
+      did not want union speeches made in his home. After a while Mrs. Rafferty
+      made a timid effort to change the course of the talk, by asking after
+      Mary's sister, who had not been well; and after they had discussed
+      remedies for the ailments of children, Mary rose, saying, &ldquo;I'll be goin'
+      along.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal rose also. &ldquo;I'll walk with you, if I may,&rdquo; he said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure,&rdquo; said she; and it seemed that the cheerfulness of the Rafferty
+      family was restored by the sight of a bit of gallantry.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 19.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      They strolled down the street, and Hal remarked, &ldquo;That's the first word
+      I've heard here about a union.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Mary looked about her nervously. &ldquo;Hush!&rdquo; she whispered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But I thought you said you were talking about it!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She answered, &ldquo;'Tis one thing, talkin' in a friend's house, and another
+      outside. What's the good of throwin' away your job?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He lowered his voice. &ldquo;Would you seriously like to have a union here?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Seriously?&rdquo; said she. &ldquo;Didn't ye see Mr. Rafferty&mdash;what a coward he
+      is? That's the way they are! No, 'twas just a burst of my temper. I'm a
+      bit crazy to-night&mdash;something happened to set me off.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He thought she was going on, but apparently she changed her mind. Finally
+      he asked, &ldquo;What happened?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, 'twould do no good to talk,&rdquo; she answered; and they walked a bit
+      farther in silence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tell me about it, won't you?&rdquo; he said; and the kindness in his tone made
+      its impression.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;'Tis not much ye know of a coal-camp, Joe Smith,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Can't ye
+      imagine what it's like&mdash;bein' a woman in a place like this? And a
+      woman they think good-lookin'!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, so it's that!&rdquo; said he, and was silent again. &ldquo;Some one's been
+      troubling you?&rdquo; he ventured after a while.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure! Some one's always troublin' us women! Always! Never a day but we
+      hear it. Winks and nudges&mdash;everywhere ye turn.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who is it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The bosses, the clerks&mdash;anybody that has a chance to wear a stiff
+      collar, and thinks he can offer money to a girl. It begins before she's
+      out of short skirts, and there's never any peace afterwards.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you can't make them understand?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I've made them understand me a bit; now they go after my old man.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure! D'ye suppose they'd not try that? Him that's so crazy for liquor,
+      and can never get enough of it!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And your father?&mdash;&rdquo; But Hal stopped. She would not want that
+      question asked!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She had seen his hesitation, however. &ldquo;He was a decent man once,&rdquo; she
+      declared. &ldquo;'Tis the life here, that turns a man into a coward. 'Tis
+      everything ye need, everywhere ye turn&mdash;ye have to ask favours from
+      some boss. The room ye work in, the dead work they pile on ye; or maybe
+      'tis more credit ye need at the store, or maybe the doctor to come when
+      ye're sick. Just now 'tis our roof that leaks&mdash;so bad we can't find a
+      dry place to sleep when it rains.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;Who owns the house?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure, there's none but company houses here.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who's supposed to fix it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mr. Kosegi, the house-agent. But we gave him up long ago&mdash;if he does
+      anything, he raises the rent. Today my father went to Mr. Cotton. He's
+      supposed to look out for the health of the place, and it seems hardly
+      healthy to keep people wet in their beds.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And what did Cotton say?&rdquo; asked Hal, when she stopped again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, don't ye know Jeff Cotton&mdash;can't ye guess what he'd say?
+      'That's a fine girl ye got, Burke! Why don't ye make her listen to
+      reason?' And then he laughed, and told me old father he'd better learn to
+      take a hint. 'Twas bad for an old man to sleep in the rain&mdash;he might
+      get carried off by pneumonia.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal could no longer keep back the question, &ldquo;What did your father do?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'd not have ye think hard of my old father,&rdquo; she said, quickly. &ldquo;He used
+      to be a fightin' man, in the days before O'Callahan had his way with him.
+      But now he knows what a camp-marshal can do to a miner!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 20.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Mary Burke had said that the company could stand breaking the bones of its
+      men; and not long after Number Two started up again, Hal had a chance to
+      note the truth of this assertion.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A miner's life depended upon the proper timbering of the room where he
+      worked. The company undertook to furnish the timbers, but when the miner
+      needed them, he would find none at hand, and would have to make the
+      mile-long trip to the surface. He would select timbers of the proper
+      length, and would mark them&mdash;the understanding being that they were
+      to be delivered to his room by some of the labourers. But then some one
+      else would carry them off&mdash;here was more graft and favouritism, and
+      the miner might lose a day or two of work, while meantime his account was
+      piling up at the store, and his children might have no shoes to go to
+      school. Sometimes he would give up waiting for timbers, and go on taking
+      out coal; so there would be a fall of rock&mdash;and the coroner's jury
+      would bring in a verdict of &ldquo;negligence,&rdquo; and the coal-operators would
+      talk solemnly about the impossibility of teaching caution to miners. Not
+      so very long ago Hal had read an interview which the president of the
+      General Fuel Company had given to a newspaper, in which he set forth the
+      idea that the more experience a miner had the more dangerous it was to
+      employ him, because he thought he knew it all, and would not heed the wise
+      regulations which the company laid down for his safety!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In Number Two mine there were some places being operated by the &ldquo;room and
+      pillar&rdquo; method; the coal being taken out as from a series of rooms, the
+      portion corresponding to the walls of the rooms being left to uphold the
+      roof. These walls are the &ldquo;pillars&rdquo;; and when the end of the vein is
+      reached, the miner begins to work backwards, &ldquo;pulling the pillars,&rdquo; and
+      letting the roof collapse behind him. This is a dangerous task; as he
+      works, the man has to listen to the drumming sounds of the rock above his
+      head, and has to judge just when to make his escape. Sometimes he is too
+      anxious to save a tool; or sometimes the collapse comes without warning.
+      In that case the victim is seldom dug out; for it must be admitted that a
+      man buried under a mountain is as well buried as a company could be
+      expected to arrange it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In Number Two mine a man was caught in this way. He stumbled as he ran,
+      and the lower half of his body was pinned fast; the doctor had to come and
+      pump opiates into him, while the rescue crew was digging him loose. The
+      first Hal knew of the accident was when he saw the body stretched out on a
+      plank, with a couple of old sacks to cover it. He noticed that nobody
+      stopped for a second glance. Going up from work, he asked his friend
+      Madvik, the mule driver, who answered, &ldquo;Lit'uanian feller&mdash;got mash.&rdquo;
+       And that was all. Nobody knew him, and nobody cared about him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It happened that Mike Sikoria had been working nearby, and was one of
+      those who helped to get the victim out. Mike's negro &ldquo;buddy&rdquo; had been in
+      too great haste to get some of the rock out of the way, and had got his
+      hand crushed, and would not be able to work for a month or so. Mike told
+      Hal about it, in his broken English. It was a terrible thing to see a man
+      trapped like that, gasping, his eyes almost popping out of his head.
+      Fortunately he was a young fellow, and had no family.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal asked what they would do with the body; the answer was they would bury
+      him in the morning. The company had a piece of ground up the canyon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But won't they have an inquest?&rdquo; he inquired.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Inques'?&rdquo; repeated the other. &ldquo;What's he?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Doesn't the coroner see the body?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The old Slovak shrugged his bowed shoulders; if there was a coroner in
+      this part of the world, he had never heard of it; and he had worked in a
+      good many mines, and seen a good many men put under the ground. &ldquo;Put him
+      in a box and dig a hole,&rdquo; was the way he described the procedure.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And doesn't the priest come?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Priest too far away.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Afterwards Hal made inquiry among the English-speaking men, and learned
+      that the coroner did sometimes come to the camp. He would empanel a jury
+      consisting of Jeff Cotton, the marshal, and Predovich, the Galician Jew
+      who worked in the company store, and a clerk or two from the company's
+      office, and a couple of Mexican labourers who had no idea what it was all
+      about. This jury would view the corpse, and ask a couple of men what had
+      happened, and then bring in a verdict: &ldquo;We find that the deceased met his
+      death from a fall of rock caused by his own fault.&rdquo; (In one case they had
+      added the picturesque detail: &ldquo;No relatives, and damned few friends!&rdquo;)
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For this service the coroner got a fee, and the company got an official
+      verdict, which would be final in case some foreign consul should threaten
+      a damage suit. So well did they have matters in hand that nobody in North
+      Valley had ever got anything for death or injury; in fact, as Hal found
+      later, there had not been a damage suit filed against any coal-operator in
+      that county for twenty-three years!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This particular, accident was of consequence to Hal, because it got him a
+      chance to see the real work of mining. Old Mike was without a helper, and
+      made the proposition that Hal should take the job. It was better than a
+      stableman's, for it paid two dollars a day.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But will the boss let me change?&rdquo; asked Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You give him ten dollar, he change you,&rdquo; said Mike.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sorry,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;I haven't got ten dollars.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You give him ten dollar credit,&rdquo; said the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And Hal laughed. &ldquo;They take scrip for graft, do they?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure they take him,&rdquo; said Mike.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Suppose I treat my mules bad?&rdquo; continued the other. &ldquo;So I can make him
+      change me for nothing!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He change you to hell!&rdquo; replied Mike. &ldquo;You get him cross, he put us in
+      bad room, cost us ten dollar a week. No, sir&mdash;you give him drink, say
+      fine feller, make him feel good. You talk American&mdash;give him jolly!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 21.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal was glad of this opportunity to get better acquainted with his
+      pit-boss. Alec Stone was six feet high, and built in proportion, with arms
+      like hams&mdash;soft with fat, yet possessed of enormous strength. He had
+      learned his manner of handling men on a sugar-plantation in Louisiana&mdash;a
+      fact which, when Hal heard it, explained much. Like a stage-manager who
+      does not heed the real names of his actors, but calls them by their
+      character-names, Stone had the habit of addressing his men by their
+      nationalities: &ldquo;You, Polack, get that rock into the car! Hey, Jap, bring
+      them tools over here! Shut your mouth, now, Dago, and get to work, or I'll
+      kick the breeches off you, sure as you're alive!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had witnessed one occasion when there was a dispute as to whose duty
+      it was to move timbers. There was a great two-handled cross-cut saw lying
+      on the ground, and Stone seized it and began to wave it, like a mighty
+      broadsword, in the face of a little Bohemian miner. &ldquo;Load them timbers,
+      Hunkie, or I'll carve you into bits!&rdquo; And as the terrified man shrunk
+      back, he followed, until his victim was flat against a wall, the weapon
+      swinging to and fro under his nose after the fashion of &ldquo;The Pit and the
+      Pendulum.&rdquo; &ldquo;Carve you into pieces, Hunkie! Carve you into stew-meat!&rdquo; When
+      at last the boss stepped back, the little Bohemian leaped to load the
+      timbers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The curious part about it to Hal was that Stone seemed to be reasonably
+      good-natured about such proceedings. Hardly one time in a thousand did he
+      carry out his bloodthirsty threats, and like as not he would laugh when he
+      had finished his tirade, and the object of it would grin in turn&mdash;but
+      without slackening his frightened efforts. After the broad-sword waving
+      episode, seeing that Hal had been watching, the boss remarked, &ldquo;That's the
+      way you have to manage them wops.&rdquo; Hal took this remark as a tribute to
+      his American blood, and was duly flattered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He sought out the boss that evening, and found him with his feet upon the
+      railing of his home. &ldquo;Mr. Stone,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;I've something I'd like to ask
+      you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Fire away, kid,&rdquo; said the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Won't you come up to the saloon and have a drink?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Want to get something out of me, hey? You can't work me, kid!&rdquo; But
+      nevertheless he slung down his feet from the railing, and knocked the
+      ashes out of his pipe and strolled up the street with Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mr. Stone,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;I want to make a change.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What's that? Got a grouch on them mules?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, sir, but I got a better job in sight. Mike Sikoria's buddy is laid
+      up, and I'd like to take his place, if you're willing.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why, that's a nigger's place, kid. Ain't you scared to take a nigger's
+      place?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why, sir?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don't you know about hoodoos?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What I want,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;is the nigger's pay.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said the boss, abruptly, &ldquo;you stick by them mules. I got a good
+      stableman, and I don't want to spoil him. You stick, and by and by I'll
+      give you a raise. You go into them pits, the first thing you know you'll
+      get a fall of rock on your head, and the nigger's pay won't be no good to
+      you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They came to the saloon and entered. Hal noted that a silence fell within,
+      and every one nodded and watched. It was pleasant to be seen going out
+      with one's boss.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      O'Callahan, the proprietor, came forward with his best society smile and
+      joined them, and at Hal's invitation they ordered whiskies. &ldquo;No, you stick
+      to your job,&rdquo; continued the pit-boss. &ldquo;You stay by it, and when you've
+      learned to manage mules, I'll make a boss out of you, and let you manage
+      men.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Some of the bystanders tittered. The pit-boss poured down his whiskey, and
+      set the glass on the bar. &ldquo;That's no joke,&rdquo; said he, in a tone that every
+      one could hear. &ldquo;I learned that long ago about niggers. They'd say to me,
+      'For God's sake, don't talk to our niggers like that. Some night you'll
+      have your house set afire.' But I said, 'Pet a nigger, and you've got a
+      spoiled nigger.' I'd say, 'Nigger, don't you give me any of your imp, or
+      I'll kick the breeches off you.' And they knew I was a gentleman, and they
+      stepped lively.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Have another drink,&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The pit-boss drank, and becoming more sociable, told nigger stories. On
+      the sugar-plantations there was a rush season, when the rule was twenty
+      hours' work a day; when some of the niggers tried to shirk it, they would
+      arrest them for swearing or crap-shooting, and work them as convicts,
+      without pay. The pit-boss told how one &ldquo;buck&rdquo; had been brought before the
+      justice of the peace, and the charge read, &ldquo;being cross-eyed&rdquo;; for which
+      offence he had been sentenced to sixty days' hard labour. This anecdote
+      was enjoyed by the men in the saloon&mdash;whose race-feelings seemed to
+      be stronger than their class-feelings.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the pair went out again, it was late, and the boss was cordial. &ldquo;Mr.
+      Stone,&rdquo; began Hal, &ldquo;I don't want to bother you, but I'd like first rate to
+      get more pay. If you could see your way to let me have that buddy's job,
+      I'd be more than glad to divide with you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Divide with me?&rdquo; said Stone. &ldquo;How d'ye mean?&rdquo; Hal waited with some
+      apprehension&mdash;for if Mike had not assured him so positively, he would
+      have expected a swing from the pit-boss's mighty arm.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's worth about fifteen a month more to me. I haven't any cash, but if
+      you'd be willing to charge off ten dollars from my store-account, it would
+      be well worth my while.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They walked for a short way in silence. &ldquo;Well, I'll tell you,&rdquo; said the
+      boss, at last; &ldquo;that old Slovak is a kicker&mdash;one of these fellows
+      that thinks he could run the mine if he had a chance. And if you get to
+      listenin' to him, and think you can come to me and grumble, by God&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's all right, sir,&rdquo; put in Hal, quickly. &ldquo;I'll manage that for you&mdash;I'll
+      shut him up. If you'd like me to, I'll see what fellows he talks with, and
+      if any of them are trying to make trouble, I'll tip you off.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now that's the talk,&rdquo; said the boss, promptly. &ldquo;You do that, and I'll
+      keep my eye on you and give you a chance. Not that I'm afraid of the old
+      fellow&mdash;I told him last time that if I heard from him again, I'd kick
+      the breeches off him. But when you got half a thousand of this foreign
+      scum, some of them Anarchists, and some of them Bulgars and Montynegroes
+      that's been fightin' each other at home&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I understand,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;You have to watch 'em.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's it,&rdquo; said the pit-boss. &ldquo;And by the way, when you tell the
+      store-clerk about that fifteen dollars, just say you lost it at poker.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I said ten dollars,&rdquo; put in Hal, quickly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, I know,&rdquo; responded the other. &ldquo;But <i>I</i> said fifteen!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 22.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal told himself with satisfaction that he was now to do the real work of
+      coal-mining. His imagination had been occupied with it for a long time;
+      but as so often happens in the life of man, the first contact with reality
+      killed the results of many years' imagining. It killed all imagining, in
+      fact; Hal found that his entire stock of energy, both mental and physical,
+      was consumed in enduring torment. If any one had told him the horror of
+      attempting to work in a room five feet high, he would not have believed
+      it. It was like some of the dreadful devices of torture which one saw in
+      European castles, the &ldquo;iron maiden&rdquo; and the &ldquo;spiked collar.&rdquo; Hal's back
+      burned as if hot irons were being run up and down it; every separate joint
+      and muscle cried aloud. It seemed as if he could never learn the lesson of
+      the jagged ceiling above his head&mdash;he bumped it and continued to bump
+      it, until his scalp was a mass of cuts and bruises, and his head ached
+      till he was nearly blind, and he would have to throw himself flat on the
+      ground.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then old Mike Sikoria would grin. &ldquo;I know. Like green mule! Some day get
+      tough!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal recalled the great thick callouses on the flanks of his former
+      charges, where the harness rubbed against them. &ldquo;Yes, I'm a 'green mule,'
+      all right!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      It was amazing how many ways there were to bruise and tear one's fingers,
+      loading lumps of coal into a car. He put on a pair of gloves, but these
+      wore through in a day. And then the gas, and the smoke of powder, stifling
+      one; and the terrible burning of the eyes, from the dust and the feeble
+      light. There was no way to rub these burning eyes, because everything
+      about one was equally dusty. Could anybody have imagined the torment of
+      that&mdash;any of those ladies who rode in softly upholstered
+      parlour-cars, or reclined upon the decks of steam-ships in gleaming tropic
+      seas?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Old Mike was good to his new &ldquo;buddy.&rdquo; Mike's spine was bent and his hands
+      were hardened by forty years of this sort of toil, so he could do the work
+      of two men, and entertain his friend with comments into the bargain. The
+      old fellow had the habit of talking all the time, like a child; he would
+      talk to his helper, to himself, to his tools. He would call these tools by
+      obscene and terrifying names&mdash;but with entire friendliness and good
+      humour. &ldquo;Get in there, you son-of-a-gun!&rdquo; he would say to his pick. &ldquo;Come
+      along here, you wop!&rdquo; he would say to his car. &ldquo;In with you, now, you old
+      buster!&rdquo; he would say to a lump of coal. And he would lecture Hal on the
+      details of mining. He would tell stories of successful days, or of
+      terrible mishaps. Above all he would tell about rascality&mdash;cursing
+      the &ldquo;G. F. C.,&rdquo; its foremen and superintendents, its officials, directors
+      and stock-holders, and the world which permitted such a criminal
+      institution to exist.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Noon-time would come, and Hal would lie upon his back, too worn to eat.
+      Old Mike would sit munching; his abundant whiskers came to a point on his
+      chin, and as his jaws moved, he looked for all the world like an aged
+      billy-goat. He was a kind-hearted and anxious old billy-goat, and sought
+      to tempt his buddy with a bit of cheese or a swig of cold coffee. He
+      believed in eating&mdash;no man could keep up steam if he did not stoke
+      the furnace. Failing in this, he would try to divert Hal's mind, telling
+      stories of mining-life in America and Russia. He was most proud to have an
+      &ldquo;American feller&rdquo; for a buddy, and tried to make the work as easy as
+      possible, for fear lest Hal might quit.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal did not quit; but he would drag himself out towards night, so
+      exhausted that he would fall asleep in the cage. He would fall asleep at
+      supper, and go in and sink down on his cot and sleep like a log. And oh,
+      the torture of being routed out before daybreak! Having to shake the sleep
+      out of his head, and move his creaking joints, and become aware of the
+      burning in his eyes, and the blisters and sores on his hands!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was a week before he had a moment that was not pain; and he never got
+      fully used to the labour. It was impossible for any one to work so hard
+      and keep his mental alertness, his eagerness and sensitiveness; it was
+      impossible to work so hard and be an adventurer&mdash;to be anything, in
+      fact, but a machine. Hal had heard that phrase of contempt, &ldquo;the inertia
+      of the masses,&rdquo; and had wondered about it. He no longer wondered, he knew.
+      Could a man be brave enough to protest to a pit-boss when his body was
+      numb with weariness? Could he think out a definite conclusion as to his
+      rights and wrongs, and back his conclusion with effective action, when his
+      mental faculties were paralysed by such weariness of body?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had come here, as one goes upon the deck of a ship in mid-ocean, to
+      see the storm. In this ocean of social misery, of ignorance and despair,
+      one saw upturned, tortured faces, writhing limbs and clutching hands; in
+      one's ears was a storm of lamentation, upon one's cheek a spray of blood
+      and tears. Hal found himself so deep in this ocean that he could no longer
+      find consolation in the thought that he could escape whenever he wanted
+      to: that he could say to himself, It is sad, it is terrible&mdash;but
+      thank God, I can get out of it when I choose! I can go back into the warm
+      and well-lighted saloon and tell the other passengers how picturesque it
+      is, what an interesting experience they are missing!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 23.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      During these days of torment, Hal did not go to see &ldquo;Red Mary&rdquo;; but then,
+      one evening, the Minettis' baby having been sick, she came in to ask about
+      it, bringing what she called &ldquo;a bit of a custard&rdquo; in a bowl. Hal was
+      suspicious enough of the ways of men, especially of business-men; but when
+      it came to women he was without insight&mdash;it did not occur to him as
+      singular that an Irish girl with many troubles at home should come out to
+      nurse a Dago woman's baby. He did not reflect that there were plenty of
+      sick Irish babies in the camp, to whom Mary might have taken her &ldquo;bit of a
+      custard.&rdquo; And when he saw the surprise of Rosa, who had never met Mary
+      before, he took it to be the touching gratitude of the poor!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There are, in truth, many kinds of women, with many arts, and no man has
+      time to learn them all. Hal had observed the shop-girl type, who dress
+      themselves with many frills, and cast side-long glances, and indulge in
+      fits of giggles to attract the attention of the male; he was familiar with
+      the society-girl type, who achieve the same end with more subtle and
+      alluring means. But could there be a type who hold little Dago babies in
+      their laps, and call them pretty Irish names, and feed them custard out of
+      a spoon? Hal had never heard of that kind, and he thought that &ldquo;Red Mary&rdquo;
+       made a charming picture&mdash;a Celtic madonna with a Sicilian infant in
+      her arms.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He noticed that she was wearing the same faded blue calico-dress with a
+      patch on the shoulder. Man though he was, he realised that dress is an
+      important consideration in the lives of women. He was tempted to suspect
+      that this blue calico might be the only dress that Mary owned; but seeing
+      it newly laundered every time, he concluded that she must have at least
+      one other. At any rate, here she was, crisp and fresh-looking; and with
+      the new shining costume, she had put on the long promised &ldquo;company
+      manner&rdquo;: high spirits and badinage, precisely like any belle of the world
+      of luxury, who powders and bedecks herself for a ball. She had been grim
+      and complaining in former meetings with this interesting young man; she
+      had frightened him away, apparently; perhaps she could win him back by
+      womanliness and good humour.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She rallied him upon his battered scalp and his creaking back, telling him
+      he looked ten years older&mdash;which he was fully prepared to believe.
+      Also she had fun with him for working under a Slovak&mdash;another loss of
+      caste, it appeared! This was a joke the Minettis could share in&mdash;especially
+      Little Jerry, who liked jokes. He told Mary how Joe Smith had had to pay
+      fifteen dollars for his new job, besides several drinks at O'Callahan's.
+      Also he told how Mike Sikoria had called Joe his &ldquo;green mule.&rdquo; Little
+      Jerry complained about the turn of events, for in the old days Joe had
+      taught him a lot of fine new games&mdash;and now he was sore, and would
+      not play them. Also, in the old days he had sung a lot of jolly songs,
+      full of the most fascinating rhymes. There was a song about a &ldquo;monkey
+      puzzle tree&rdquo;! Had Mary ever seen that kind of tree? Little Jerry never got
+      tired of trying to imagine what it might look like.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Dago urchin stood and watched gravely while Mary fed the custard to
+      the baby; and when two or three spoonfuls were held out to him, he opened
+      his mouth wide, and afterwards licked his lips. Gee, that was good stuff!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the last taste was gone, he stood gazing at Mary's shining coronet.
+      &ldquo;Say,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;was your hair always like that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal and Mary burst into laughter, while Rosa cried &ldquo;Hush!&rdquo; She was never
+      sure what this youngster would say next.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure, did ye think I painted it?&rdquo; asked Mary.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I didn't know,&rdquo; said Little Jerry. &ldquo;It looks so nice and new.&rdquo; And he
+      turned to Hal. &ldquo;Ain't it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You bet,&rdquo; said Hal, and added, &ldquo;Go on and tell her about it. Girls like
+      compliments.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Compliments?&rdquo; echoed Little Jerry. &ldquo;What's that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;that's when you say that her hair is like the sunrise,
+      and her eyes are like twilight, or that she's a wild rose on a
+      mountain-side.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh,&rdquo; said the Dago urchin, somewhat doubtfully. &ldquo;Anyhow,&rdquo; he added, &ldquo;she
+      make nice custard!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 24.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      The time came for Mary to take her departure, and Hal got up, wincing with
+      pain, to escort her home. She regarded him gravely, having not realised
+      before how seriously he was suffering. As they walked along she asked,
+      &ldquo;Why do ye do such work, when ye don't have to?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But I <i>do</i> have to! I have to earn a living!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye don't have to earn it that way! A bright young fellow like you&mdash;an
+      American!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;I thought it would be interesting to see coal mining.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now ye've seen it,&rdquo; said the girl&mdash;&ldquo;now quit!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But it won't do me any harm to go on for a while!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Won't it? How can ye know? When any day they may carry you out on a
+      plank!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Her &ldquo;company manner&rdquo; was gone; her voice was full of bitterness, as it
+      always was when she spoke of North Valley. &ldquo;I know what I'm tellin' ye,
+      Joe Smith. Didn't I lose two brothers in it&mdash;as fine lads as ye'd
+      find anywhere in the world! And many another lad I've seen go in laughin',
+      and come out a corpse&mdash;or what is worse, for workin' people, a
+      cripple. Sometimes I'd like to go and stand at the pit-mouth in the
+      mornin' and cry to them, 'Go back, go back! Go down the canyon this day!
+      Starve, if ye have to, beg if ye have to, only find some other work but
+      coal-minin'!'&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Her voice had risen to a passion of protest; when she went on a new note
+      came into it&mdash;a note of personal terror. &ldquo;It's worse now&mdash;since
+      you came, Joe! To see ye settin' out on the life of a miner&mdash;you,
+      that are young and strong and different. Oh, go away, Joe, go away while
+      ye can!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He was astonished at her intensity. &ldquo;Don't worry about me, Mary,&rdquo; he said.
+      &ldquo;Nothing will happen to me. I'll go away after a while.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The path was irregular, and he had been holding her arm as they walked. He
+      felt her trembling, and went on again, quickly, &ldquo;It's not I that should go
+      away, Mary. It's yourself. You hate the place&mdash;it's terrible for you
+      to have to live here. Have you never thought of going away?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She did not answer at once, and when she did the excitement was gone from
+      her voice; it was flat and dull with despair. &ldquo;'Tis no use to think of me.
+      There's nothin' I can do&mdash;there's nothin' any girl can do when she's
+      poor. I've tried&mdash;but 'tis like bein' up against a stone wall. I
+      can't even save the money to get on a train with! I've tried it&mdash;I
+      been savin' for two years&mdash;and how much d'ye think I got, Joe? Seven
+      dollars! Seven dollars in two years! No&mdash;ye can't save money in a
+      place where there's so many things that wring the heart. Ye may hate them
+      for being cowards&mdash;but ye must help when ye see a man killed, and his
+      family turned out without a roof to cover them in the winter-time!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You're too tender-hearted, Mary.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, 'tis not that! Should I go off and leave me own brother and sister,
+      that need me?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But you could earn money and send it to them.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I earn a little here&mdash;I do cleanin' and nursin' for some that need
+      me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But outside&mdash;couldn't you earn more?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I could get a job in a restaurant for seven or eight a week, but I'd have
+      to spend more, and what I sent home would not go so far, with me away. Or
+      I could get a job in some other woman's home, and work fourteen hours a
+      day for it. But, Joe, 'tis not more drudgery I want, 'tis somethin' fair
+      to look upon&mdash;somethin' of my own!&rdquo; She flung out her arms suddenly
+      like one being stifled. &ldquo;Oh, I want somethin' that's fair and clean!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Again he felt her trembling. Again the path was rough, and having an
+      impulse of sympathy, he put his arm about her. In the world of leisure,
+      one might indulge in such considerateness, and he assumed it would not be
+      different with a miner's daughter. But then, when she was close to him, he
+      felt, rather than heard, a sob.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mary!&rdquo; he whispered; and they stopped. Almost without realising it, he
+      put his other arm about her, and in a moment more he felt her warm breath
+      on his cheek, and she was trembling and shaking in his embrace. &ldquo;Joe!
+      Joe!&rdquo; she whispered. &ldquo;<i>You</i> take me away!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She was a rose in a mining-camp, and Hal was deeply moved. The primrose
+      path of dalliance stretched fair before him, here in the soft summer
+      night, with a moon overhead which bore the same message as it bore in the
+      Italian gardens of the leisure-class. But not many minutes passed before a
+      cold fear began to steal over Hal. There was a girl at home, waiting for
+      him; and also there was the resolve which had been growing in him since
+      his coming to this place&mdash;a resolve to find some way of compensation
+      to the poor, to repay them for the freedom and culture he had taken; not
+      to prey upon them, upon any individual among them. There were the Jeff
+      Cottons for that!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mary,&rdquo; he pleaded, &ldquo;we mustn't do this.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why not?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because&mdash;I'm not free. There is some one else.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He felt her start, but she did not draw away.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where?&rdquo; she asked, in a low voice.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;At home, waiting for me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And why didn't ye tell me?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't know.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal realised in a moment that the girl had ground of complaint against
+      him. According to the simple code of her world, he had gone some distance
+      with her; he had been seen to walk out with her, he had been accounted her
+      &ldquo;fellow.&rdquo; He had led her to talk to him of herself&mdash;he had insisted
+      upon having her confidences. And these people who were poor did not have
+      subtleties, there was no room in their lives for intellectual curiosities,
+      for Platonic friendships or philanderings. &ldquo;Forgive me, Mary!&rdquo; he said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She made no answer; but a sob escaped her, and she drew back from his arms&mdash;slowly.
+      He struggled with an impulse to clasp her again. She was beautiful, warm
+      with life&mdash;and so much in need of happiness!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But he held himself in check, and for a minute or two they stood apart.
+      Then he asked, humbly, &ldquo;We can still be friends, Mary, can't we? You must
+      know&mdash;I'm so <i>sorry</i>!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But she could not endure being pitied. &ldquo;'Tis nothin',&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Only I
+      thought I was going to get away! That's what ye mean to me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 25.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal had promised Alec Stone to keep a look-out for trouble-makers; and one
+      evening the boss stopped him on the street, and asked him if he had
+      anything to report. Hal took the occasion to indulge his sense of humour.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's no harm in Mike Sikoria,&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;He likes to shoot off his
+      head, but if he's got somebody to listen, that's all he wants. He's just
+      old and grouchy. But there's another fellow that I think would bear
+      watching.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who's that?&rdquo; asked the boss.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't know his last name. They call him Gus and he's a 'cager.' Fellow
+      with a red face.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know,&rdquo; said Stone&mdash;&ldquo;Gus Durking.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, he tried his best to get me to talk about unions. He keeps bringing
+      it up, and I think he's some kind of trouble-maker.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see,&rdquo; said the boss. &ldquo;I'll get after him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You won't say I told you,&rdquo; said Hal, anxiously.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, no&mdash;sure not.&rdquo; And Hal caught the trace of a smile on the
+      pit-boss's face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He went away, smiling in his turn. The &ldquo;red-faced feller. Gus,&rdquo; was the
+      person Madvik had named as being a &ldquo;spotter&rdquo; for the company!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There were ins and outs to this matter of &ldquo;spotting,&rdquo; and sometimes it was
+      not easy to know what to think. One Sunday morning Hal went for a walk up
+      the canyon, and on the way he met a young chap who got to talking with
+      him, and after a while brought up the question of working-conditions in
+      North Valley. He had only been there a week, he said, but everybody he had
+      met seemed to be grumbling about short weight. He himself had a job as an
+      &ldquo;outside man,&rdquo; so it made no difference to him, but he was interested, and
+      wondered what Hal had found.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Straightway came the question, was this really a workingman, or had Alec
+      Stone set some one to spying upon his spy. This was an intelligent fellow,
+      an American&mdash;which in itself was suspicious, for most of the new men
+      the company got in were from &ldquo;somewhere East of Suez.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal decided to spar for a while. He did not know, he said, that conditions
+      were any worse here than elsewhere. You heard complaints, no matter what
+      sort of job you took.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Yes, said the stranger, but matters seemed to be especially bad in the
+      coal-camps. Probably it was because they were so remote, and the companies
+      owned everything in sight.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where have you been?&rdquo; asked Hal, thinking that this might trap him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the other answered straight; he had evidently worked in half a dozen
+      of the camps. In Mateo he had paid a dollar a month for wash-house
+      privileges, and there had never been any water after the first three men
+      had washed. There had been a common wash-tub for all the men, an
+      unthinkably filthy arrangement. At Pine Creek&mdash;Hal found the very
+      naming of the place made his heart stand still&mdash;at Pine Creek he had
+      boarded with his boss, but the roof of the building leaked, and everything
+      he owned was ruined; the boss would do nothing&mdash;yet when the boarder
+      moved, he lost his job. At East Ridge, this man and a couple of other
+      fellows had rented a two room cabin and started to board themselves, in
+      spite of the fact that they had to pay a dollar-fifty a sack for potatoes
+      and eleven cents a pound for sugar at the company store. They had
+      continued until they made the discovery that the water supply had run
+      short, and that the water for which they were paying the company a dollar
+      a month was being pumped from the bottom of the mine, where the filth of
+      mules and men was plentiful!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal forced himself to remain non-committal; he shook his head and said it
+      was too bad, but the workers always got it in the neck, and he didn't see
+      what they could do about it. So they strolled back to the camp, the
+      stranger evidently baffled, and Hal, for his part, feeling like the reader
+      of a detective story at the end of the first chapter. Was this young man
+      the murderer, or was he the hero? One would have to read on in the book to
+      find out!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 26.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal kept his eye upon his new acquaintance, and perceived that he was
+      talking with others. Before long the man tackled Old Mike; and Mike of
+      course could not refuse an invitation to grumble, though it came from the
+      devil himself. Hal decided that something must be done about it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He consulted his friend Jerry, who, being a radical, might have some
+      touch-stone by which to test the stranger. Jerry sought him out at
+      noon-time, and came back and reported that he was as much in the dark as
+      Hal. Either the man was an agitator, seeking to &ldquo;start something,&rdquo; or else
+      he was a detective sent in by the company. There was only one way to find
+      out&mdash;which was for some one to talk freely with him, and see what
+      happened to that person!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After some hesitation, Hal decided that he would be the victim. It
+      rewakened his love of adventure, which digging in a coal-mine had subdued
+      in him. The mysterious stranger was a new sort of miner, digging into the
+      souls of men; Hal would countermine him, and perhaps blow him up. He could
+      afford the experiment better than some others&mdash;better, for example,
+      than little Mrs. David, who had already taken the stranger into her home,
+      and revealed to him the fact that her husband had been a member of the
+      most revolutionary of all miners' organisations, the South Wales
+      Federation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So next Sunday Hal invited the stranger for another walk. The man showed
+      reluctance&mdash;until Hal said that he wanted to talk to him. As they
+      walked up the canyon, Hal began, &ldquo;I've been thinking about what you said
+      of conditions in these camps, and I've concluded it would be a good thing
+      if we had a little shaking up here in North Valley.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is that so?&rdquo; said the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;When I first came here, I used to think the men were grouchy. But now
+      I've had a chance to see for myself, and I don't believe anybody gets a
+      square deal. For one thing, nobody gets full weight in these mines&mdash;at
+      least not unless he's some favourite of the boss. I'm sure of it, for I've
+      tried all sorts of experiments with my partner. We've loaded a car extra
+      light, and got eighteen hundredweight, and then we've loaded one high and
+      solid, so that we'd know it had twice as much in it&mdash;but all we ever
+      got was twenty-two and twenty-three. There's just no way you can get over
+      that&mdash;though everybody knows those big cars can be made to hold two
+      or three tons.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, I suppose they might,&rdquo; said the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And if you get the smallest piece of rock in, you get a 'double-O,' sure
+      as fate; and sometimes they say you got rock in when you didn't. There's
+      no law to make them prove it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, I suppose not.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What it comes to is simply this&mdash;they make you think they are paying
+      fifty-five a ton, but they've secretly cut you down to thirty-five. And
+      yesterday at the company-store I paid a dollar and a half for a pair of
+      blue overalls that I'd priced in Pedro for sixty cents.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said the other, &ldquo;the company has to haul them up here, you know!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So, gradually, Hal made the discovery that the tables were turned&mdash;the
+      mysterious personage was now occupied in holding <i>him</i> at arm's
+      length! For some reason, Hal's sudden interest in industrial justice had
+      failed to make an impression.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So his career as a detective came to an inglorious end. &ldquo;Say, man!&rdquo; he
+      exclaimed &ldquo;What's your game, anyhow?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Game?&rdquo; said the other, quietly. &ldquo;How do you mean?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I mean, what are you here for?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm here for two dollars a day&mdash;the same as you, I guess.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal began to laugh. &ldquo;You and I are like a couple of submarines, trying to
+      find each other under water. I think we'd better come to the surface to do
+      our fighting.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other considered the simile, and seemed to like it. &ldquo;You come first,&rdquo;
+       said he. But he did not smile. His quiet blue eyes were fixed on Hal with
+      deadly seriousness.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said Hal; &ldquo;my story isn't very thrilling. I'm not an escaped
+      convict, I'm not a company spy, as you may be thinking. Nor am I a
+      'natural born' coal-miner. I happen to have a brother and some friends at
+      home who think they know about the coal-industry, and it got on my nerves,
+      and I came to see for myself. That's all, except that I've found things
+      interesting, and want to stay on a while, so I hope you aren't a 'dick'!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other walked in silence, weighing Hal's words. &ldquo;That's not exactly
+      what you'd call a usual story,&rdquo; he remarked, at last.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know,&rdquo; replied Hal. &ldquo;The best I can say for it is that it's true.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said the stranger, &ldquo;I'll take a chance on it. I have to trust
+      somebody, if I'm ever to get anywhere. I picked you out because I liked
+      your face.&rdquo; He gave Hal another searching look as he walked. &ldquo;Your smile
+      isn't that of a cheat. But you're young&mdash;so let me remind you of the
+      importance of secrecy in this place.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll keep mum,&rdquo; said Hal; and the stranger opened a flap inside his
+      shirt, and drew out a letter which certified him to be Thomas Olson, an
+      organiser for the United Mine-Workers, the great national union of the
+      coal-miners!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 27.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal was so startled by this discovery that he stopped in his tracks and
+      gazed at the man. He had heard a lot about &ldquo;trouble-makers&rdquo; in the camps,
+      but so far the only kind he had seen were those hired by the company to
+      make trouble for the men. But now, here was a union organiser! Jerry had
+      suggested the possibility, but Hal had not thought of it seriously; an
+      organiser was a mythological creature, whispered about by the miners,
+      cursed by the company and its servants, and by Hal's friends at home. An
+      incendiary, a fire-brand, a loudmouthed, irresponsible person, stirring up
+      blind and dangerous passions! Having heard such things all his life, Hal's
+      first impulse was of distrust. He felt like the one-legged old switchman
+      who had given him a place to sleep, after his beating at Pine Creek, and
+      who had said, &ldquo;Don't you talk no union business to me!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Seeing Hal's emotion, the organiser gave an uneasy laugh. &ldquo;While you're
+      hoping I'm not a 'dick,' I trust you understand I'm hoping <i>you're</i>
+      not one.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal's answer was to the point. &ldquo;I was taken for an organiser once,&rdquo; he
+      said, and his hands sought the seat of his ancient bruises.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The other laughed. &ldquo;You got off with a beating? You were lucky. Down in
+      Alabama, not so long ago, they tarred and feathered one of us.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Dismay came upon Hal's face; but after a moment he too began to laugh. &ldquo;I
+      was just thinking about my brother and his friends&mdash;what they'd have
+      said if I'd come home from Pine Creek in a coat of tar and feathers!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Possibly,&rdquo; ventured the other, &ldquo;they'd have said you got what you
+      deserved.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, that seems to be their attitude. That's the rule they apply to all
+      the world&mdash;if anything goes wrong with you, it must be your own
+      fault. It's a land of equal opportunity.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you'll notice,&rdquo; said the organiser, &ldquo;that the more privileges people
+      have had, the more boldly they talk that way.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal began to feel a sense of comradeship with this stranger, who was able
+      to understand one's family troubles! It had been a long time since Hal had
+      talked with any one from the outside world, and he found it a relief to
+      his mind. He remembered how, after he had got his beating, he had lain out
+      in the rain and congratulated himself that he was not what the guards had
+      taken him for. Now he was curious about the psychology of an organiser. A
+      man must have strong convictions to follow that occupation!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He made the remark, and the other answered, &ldquo;You can have my pay any time
+      you'll do my work. But let me tell you, too, it isn't being beaten and
+      kicked out of camp that bothers one most; it isn't the camp-marshal and
+      the spy and the blacklist. Your worst troubles are inside the heads of the
+      fellows you're trying to help! Have you ever thought what it would mean to
+      try to explain things to men who speak twenty different languages?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, of course,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;I wonder how you ever get a start.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, you look for an interpreter&mdash;and maybe he's a company spy. Or
+      maybe the first man you try to convert reports you to the boss. For, of
+      course, some of the men are cowards, and some of them are crooks; they'll
+      sell out the next fellow for a better 'place'&mdash;maybe for a glass of
+      beer.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That must have a tendency to weaken your convictions,&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said the other, in a matter of fact tone. &ldquo;It's hard, but one can't
+      blame the poor devils. They're ignorant&mdash;kept so deliberately. The
+      bosses bring them here, and have a regular system to keep them from
+      getting together. And of course these European peoples have their old
+      prejudices&mdash;national prejudices, religious prejudices, that keep them
+      apart. You see two fellows, one you think is exactly as miserable as the
+      other&mdash;but you find him despising the other, because back home he was
+      the other's superior. So they play into the bosses' hands.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 28.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      They had come to a remote place in the canyon, and found themselves seats
+      on a flat rock, where they could talk in comfort.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Put yourself in their place,&rdquo; said the organiser. &ldquo;They're in a strange
+      country, and one person tells them one thing, and another tells them
+      something else. The masters and their agents say: 'Don't trust the union
+      agitators. They're a lot of grafters, they live easy and don't have to
+      work. They take your money and call you out on strike, and you lose your
+      jobs and your home; they sell you out, maybe, and go on to some other
+      place to repeat the same trick.' And the workers think maybe that's true;
+      they haven't the wit to see that if the union leaders are corrupt, it must
+      be because the bosses are buying them. So you see, they're completely
+      bedevilled; they don't know which way to turn.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The man was speaking quietly, but there was a little glow of excitement in
+      his face. &ldquo;The company is forever repeating that these people are
+      satisfied&mdash;that it's we who are stirring them up. But are they
+      satisfied? You've been here long enough to know!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's no need to discuss that,&rdquo; Hal answered. &ldquo;Of course they're not
+      satisfied! They've seemed to me like a lot of children crying in the dark&mdash;not
+      knowing what's the matter with them, or who's to blame, or where to turn
+      for help.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal found himself losing his distrust of this man. He did not correspond
+      in any way to Hal's imaginary picture of a union organiser; he was a
+      blue-eyed, clean-looking young American, and instead of being wild and
+      loud-mouthed, he seemed rather wistful. He had indignation, of course, but
+      it did not take the form of ranting or florid eloquence; and this
+      repression was making its appeal to Hal, who, in spite of his democratic
+      impulses, had the habits of thought of a class which shrinks from
+      noisiness and over-emphasis.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Also Hal was interested in his attitude towards the weaknesses of
+      working-people. The &ldquo;inertia&rdquo; of the poor, which caused so many people to
+      despair for them&mdash;their cowardice and instability&mdash;these were
+      things about which Hal had heard all his life. &ldquo;You can't help them,&rdquo;
+       people would say. &ldquo;They're dirty and lazy, they drink and shirk, they
+      betray each other. They've always been like that.&rdquo; The idea would be
+      summed up in a formula: &ldquo;You can't change human nature!&rdquo; Even Mary Burke,
+      herself one of the working-class, spoke of the workers in this angry and
+      scornful way. But Olson had faith in their manhood, and went ahead to
+      awaken and teach them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To his mind the path was clear and straight. &ldquo;They must be taught the
+      lesson of solidarity. As individuals, they're helpless in the power of the
+      great corporations; but if they stand together, if they sell their labour
+      as a unit&mdash;then they really count for something.&rdquo; He paused, and
+      looked at the other inquiringly. &ldquo;How do you feel about unions?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal answered, &ldquo;They're one of the things I want to find out about. You
+      hear this and that&mdash;there's so much prejudice on each side. I want to
+      help the under dog, but I want to be sure of the right way.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What other way is there?&rdquo; And Olson paused. &ldquo;To appeal to the tender
+      hearts of the owners?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not exactly; but mightn't one appeal to the world in general&mdash;to
+      public opinion? I was brought up an American, and learned to believe in my
+      country. I can't think but there's some way to get justice. Maybe if the
+      men were to go into politics&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Politics?&rdquo; cried Olson. &ldquo;My God! How long have you been in this place?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Only a couple of months.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, stay till November, and see what they do with the ballot-boxes in
+      these camps!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can imagine, of course&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, you can't. Any more than you could imagine the graft and the misery!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But if the men should take to voting together&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How <i>can</i> they take to voting together&mdash;when any one who
+      mentions the idea goes down the canyon? Why, you can't even get
+      naturalisation papers, unless you're a company man; they won't register
+      you, unless the boss gives you an O. K. How are you going to make a start,
+      unless you have a union?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      It sounded reasonable, Hal had to admit; but he thought of the stories he
+      had heard about &ldquo;walking delegates,&rdquo; all the dreadful consequences of
+      &ldquo;union domination.&rdquo; He had not meant to go in for unionism!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Olson was continuing. &ldquo;We've had laws passed, a whole raft of laws about
+      coal-mining&mdash;the eight-hour law, the anti-scrip law, the
+      company-store law, the mine-sprinkling law, the check-weighman law. What
+      difference has it made in North Valley that there are such laws on the
+      statute-books? Would you ever even know about them?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, now!&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;If you put it that way&mdash;if your movement is to
+      have the law enforced&mdash;I'm with you!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But how will you get the law enforced, except by a union? No individual
+      man can do it&mdash;it's 'down the canyon' with him if he mentions the
+      law. In Western City our union people go to the state officials, but they
+      never do anything&mdash;and why? They know we haven't got the men behind
+      us! It's the same with the politicians as it is with the bosses&mdash;the
+      union is the thing that counts!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal found this an entirely new argument. &ldquo;People don't realise that idea&mdash;that
+      men have to be organised to get their <i>legal</i> rights.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And the other threw up his hands with a comical gesture. &ldquo;My God! If you
+      want to make a list of the things that people don't realise about us
+      miners!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 29.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Olson was eager to win Hal, and went on to tell all the secrets of his
+      work. He sought men who believed in unions, and were willing to take the
+      risk of trying to convert others. In each place he visited he would get a
+      group together, and would arrange some way to communicate with them after
+      he left, smuggling in propaganda literature for distribution. So there
+      would be the nucleus of an organisation. In a year or two they would have
+      such a nucleus in every camp, and then they would be ready to come into
+      the open, calling meetings in the towns, and in places in the canyons to
+      which the miners would flock. So the flame of revolt would leap up; men
+      would join the movement faster than the companies could get rid of them,
+      and they would make a demand for their rights, backed with the threat of a
+      strike throughout the entire district.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You understand,&rdquo; added Olson, &ldquo;we have a legal right to organise&mdash;even
+      though the bosses disapprove. You need not stand back on that score.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Hal; &ldquo;but it occurs to me that as a matter of tactics, it
+      would be better here in North Valley if you chose some issue there's less
+      controversy about; if, for instance, you'd concentrate on getting a
+      check-weighman.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other smiled. &ldquo;We'd have to have a union to back the demand; so what's
+      the difference?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; argued Hal, &ldquo;there are prejudices to be reckoned with. Some people
+      don't like the idea of a union&mdash;they think it means tyranny and
+      violence&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The organiser laughed. &ldquo;You aren't convinced but that it does yourself,
+      are you! Well, all I can tell you is, if you want to tackle the job of
+      getting a check-weighman in North Valley, I'll not stand in your way!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Here was an idea&mdash;a real idea! Life had grown dull for Hal since he
+      had become a buddy, working in a place five feet high. This would promise
+      livelier times!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But was it a thing he wanted to do? So far he had been an observer of
+      conditions in this coal-camp. He had convinced himself that conditions
+      were cruel, and he had pretty well convinced himself that the cruelty was
+      needless and deliberate. But when it came to a question of an action to be
+      taken&mdash;then he hesitated, and old prejudices and fears made
+      themselves heard. He had been told that labour was &ldquo;turbulent&rdquo; and &ldquo;lazy,&rdquo;
+       that it had to be &ldquo;ruled with a strong hand&rdquo;; now, was he willing to
+      weaken the strong hand, to ally himself with those who &ldquo;fomented labour
+      troubles&rdquo;?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But this would not be the same thing, he told himself. This suggestion of
+      Olson's was different from trade unionism, which might be a demoralising
+      force, leading the workers from one demand to another, until they were
+      seeking to &ldquo;dominate industry.&rdquo; This would be merely an appeal to the law,
+      a test of that honesty and fair dealing to which the company everywhere
+      laid claim. If, as the bosses proclaimed, the workers were fully protected
+      by the check-weighman law; if, as all the world was made to believe, the
+      reason there was no check-weighman was simply because the men did not ask
+      for one&mdash;why, then there would be no harm done. If on the other hand
+      a demand for a right that was not merely a legal right, but a moral right
+      as well&mdash;if that were taken by the bosses as an act of rebellion
+      against the company&mdash;well, Hal would understand a little more about
+      the &ldquo;turbulence&rdquo; of labour! If, as Old Mike and Johannson and the rest
+      maintained, the bosses would &ldquo;make your life one damn misery&rdquo; till you
+      left&mdash;then he would be ready to make a few damn miseries for the
+      bosses in return!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It would be an adventure,&rdquo; said Hal, suddenly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And the other laughed. &ldquo;It would that!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You're thinking I'll have another Pine Creek experience,&rdquo; Hal added.
+      &ldquo;Well, maybe so&mdash;but I have to try things out for myself. You see,
+      I've got a brother at home, and when I think about going in for
+      revolution, I have imaginary arguments with him. I want to be able to say
+      'I didn't swallow anybody's theories; I tried it for myself, and this is
+      what happened.'&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; replied the organiser, &ldquo;that's all right. But while you're seeking
+      education for yourself and your brother, don't forget that I've already
+      got my education. I <i>know</i> what happens to men who ask for a
+      check-weighman, and I can't afford to sacrifice myself proving it again.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I never asked you to,&rdquo; laughed Hal. &ldquo;If I won't join your movement, I
+      can't expect you to join mine! But if I can find a few men who are willing
+      to take the risk of making a demand for a check-weighman&mdash;that won't
+      hurt your work, will it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure not!&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;Just the opposite&mdash;it'll give me an
+      object lesson to point to. There are men here who don't even know they've
+      a legal right to a check-weighman. There are others who know they don't
+      get their weights, but aren't sure its the company that's cheating them.
+      If the bosses should refuse to let any one inspect the weights, if they
+      should go further and fire the men who ask it&mdash;well, there'll be
+      plenty of recruits for my union local!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;I'm not setting out to recruit your union local,
+      but if the company wants to recruit it, that's the company's affair!&rdquo; And
+      on this bargain the two shook hands.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      BOOK TWO &mdash; THE SERFS OF KING COAL
+    </h2>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 1.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal was now started upon a new career, more full of excitements than that
+      of stableman or buddy, with perils greater than those of falling rock or
+      the hind feet of mules in the stomach. The inertia which overwork produces
+      had not had time to become a disease with him; youth was on his side, with
+      its zest for more and yet more experience. He found it thrilling to be a
+      conspirator, to carry about with him secrets as dark and mysterious as the
+      passages of the mine in which he worked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Jerry Minetti, the first person he told of Tom Olson's purpose in
+      North Valley, was older in such thrills. The care-free look which Jerry
+      was accustomed to wear vanished abruptly, and fear came into his eyes. &ldquo;I
+      know it come some day,&rdquo; he exclaimed&mdash;&ldquo;trouble for me and Rosa!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How do you mean?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We get into it&mdash;get in sure. I say Rosa, 'Call yourself Socialist&mdash;what
+      good that do? No help any. No use to vote here&mdash;they don't count no
+      Socialist vote, only for joke!' I say, 'Got to have union. Got to strike!'
+      But Rosa say, 'Wait little bit. Save little bit money, let children grow
+      up. Then we help, no care if we no got any home.'&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But we're not going to start a union now!&rdquo; objected Hal. &ldquo;I have another
+      plan for the present.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Jerry, however, was not to be put at ease. &ldquo;No can wait!&rdquo; he declared.
+      &ldquo;Men no stand it! I say, 'It come some day quick&mdash;like blow-up in
+      mine! Somebody start fight, everybody fight.'&rdquo; And Jerry looked at Rosa,
+      who sat with her black eyes fixed anxiously upon her husband. &ldquo;We get into
+      it,&rdquo; he said; and Hal saw their eyes turn to the room where Little Jerry
+      and the baby were sleeping.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal said nothing&mdash;he was beginning to understand the meaning of
+      rebellion to such people. He watched with curiosity and pity the struggle
+      that went on; a struggle as old as the soul of man&mdash;between the voice
+      of self-interest, of comfort and prudence, and the call of duty, of the
+      ideal. No trumpet sounded for this conflict, only the still small voice
+      within.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After a while Jerry asked what it was Hal and Olson had planned; and Hal
+      explained that he wanted to make a test of the company's attitude toward
+      the check-weighman law. Hal thought it a fine scheme; what did Jerry
+      think?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Jerry smiled sadly. &ldquo;Yes, fine scheme for young feller&mdash;no got
+      family!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's all right,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;I'll take the job&mdash;I'll be the
+      check-weighman.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Got to have committee,&rdquo; said Jerry&mdash;&ldquo;committee go see boss.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right, but we'll get young fellows for that too&mdash;men who have no
+      families. Some of the fellows who live in the chicken-coops in
+      shanty-town. They won't care what happens to them.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But Jerry would not share Hal's smile. &ldquo;No got sense 'nough, them fellers.
+      Take sense to stick together.&rdquo; He explained that they would need a group
+      of men to stand back of the committee; such a group would have to be
+      organised, to hold meetings in secret&mdash;it would be practically the
+      same thing as a union, would be so regarded by the bosses and their
+      spotters. And no organisation of any sort was permitted in the camps.
+      There had been some Serbians who had wanted to belong to a fraternal order
+      back in their home country, but even that had been forbidden. If you
+      wanted to insure your life or your health, the company would attend to it&mdash;and
+      get the profit from it. For that matter, you could not even buy a
+      post-office money-order, to send funds back to the old country; the
+      post-office clerk, who was at the same time a clerk in the company-store,
+      would sell you some sort of a store-draft.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So Hal was facing the very difficulties about which Olson had warned him.
+      The first of them was Jerry's fear. Yet Hal knew that Jerry was no
+      &ldquo;coward&rdquo;; if any man had a contempt for Jerry's attitude, it was because
+      he had never been in Jerry's place!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All I'll ask of you now is advice,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;Give me the names of some
+      young fellows who are trustworthy, and I'll get their help without anybody
+      suspecting you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You my boarder!&rdquo; was Jerry's reply to this.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So again Hal was &ldquo;up against it.&rdquo; &ldquo;You mean that would get you into
+      trouble?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure! They know we talk. They know I talk Socialism, anyhow. They fire me
+      sure!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But how about your cousin, the pit-boss in Number One?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He no help. May be get fired himself. Say damn fool&mdash;board
+      check-weighman!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;Then I'll move away now, before it's too late. You
+      can say I was a trouble-maker, and you turned me off.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The Minettis sat gazing at each other&mdash;a mournful pair. They hated to
+      lose their boarder, who was such good company, and paid them such good
+      money. As for Hal, he felt nearly as bad, for he liked Jerry and his
+      girl-wife, and Little Jerry&mdash;even the black-eyed baby, who made so
+      much noise and interrupted conversation!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No!&rdquo; said Jerry. &ldquo;I no run, away! I do my share!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's all right,&rdquo; replied Hal. &ldquo;You do your share&mdash;but not just
+      yet. You stay on in the camp and help Olson after I'm fired. We don't want
+      the best men put out at once.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So, after further argument, it was decided, and Hal saw little Rosa sink
+      back in her chair and draw a deep breath of relief. The time for martyrdom
+      was put off; her little three-roomed cabin, her furniture and her shining
+      pans and her pretty white lace curtains, might be hers for a few weeks
+      longer!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 2.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal went back to Reminitsky's boarding-house; a heavy sacrifice, but not
+      without its compensations, because it gave him more chance to talk with
+      the men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He and Jerry made up a list of those who could be trusted with the secret:
+      the list beginning with the name of Mike Sikoria. To be put on a
+      committee, and sent to interview a boss, would appeal to Old Mike as the
+      purpose for which he had been put upon earth! But they would not tell him
+      about it until the last minute, for fear lest in his excitement he might
+      shout out the announcement the next time he lost one of his cars.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a young Bulgarian miner named Wresmak who worked near Hal. The
+      road into this man's room ran up an incline, and he had hardly been able
+      to push his &ldquo;empties&rdquo; up the grade. While he was sweating and straining at
+      the task, Alec Stone had come along, and having a giant's contempt for
+      physical weakness, began to cuff him. The man raised his arm&mdash;whether
+      in offence or to ward off the blow, no one could be sure; but Stone fell
+      upon him and kicked him all the way down the passage, pouring out upon him
+      furious curses. Now the man was in another room, where he had taken out
+      over forty car-loads of rock, and been allowed only three dollars for it.
+      No one who watched his face when the pit-boss passed would doubt that this
+      man would be ready to take his chances in a movement of protest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then there was a man whom Jerry knew, who had just come out of the
+      hospital, after contact with the butt-end of the camp-marshal's revolver.
+      This was a Pole, who unfortunately did not know a word of English; but
+      Olson, the organiser, had got into touch with another Pole, who spoke a
+      little English, and would pass the word on to his fellow-countryman. Also
+      there was a young Italian, Rovetta, whom Jerry knew and whose loyalty he
+      could vouch for.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was another person Hal thought of&mdash;Mary Burke. He had been
+      deliberately avoiding her of late; it seemed the one safe thing to do&mdash;although
+      it seemed also a cruel thing, and left his mind ill at ease. He went over
+      and over what had happened. How had the trouble got started? It is a man's
+      duty in such cases to take the blame upon himself; but a man does not like
+      to take blame upon himself, and he tries to make it as light as possible.
+      Should Hal say that it was because he had been too officious that night in
+      helping Mary where the path was rough? She had not actually needed such
+      help, she was quite as capable on her feet as he! But he had really gone
+      farther than that&mdash;he had had a definite sentimental impulse; and he
+      had been a cad&mdash;he should have known all along that all this girl's
+      discontent, all the longing of her starved soul, would become centred upon
+      him, who was so &ldquo;different,&rdquo; who had had opportunity, who made her think
+      of the &ldquo;poetry-books&rdquo;!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But here suddenly seemed a solution of the difficulty; here was a new
+      interest for Mary, a safe channel in which her emotions could run. A woman
+      could not serve on a miners' committee, but she would be a good adviser,
+      and her sharp tongue would be a weapon to drive others into line. Being
+      aflame with this enterprise, Hal became impersonal, man-fashion&mdash;and
+      so fell into another sentimental trap! He did not stop to think that
+      Mary's interest in the check-weighman movement might be conditioned in
+      part by a desire to see more of him; still less did it occur to him that
+      he might be glad for a pretext to see Mary.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      No, he was picturing her in a new role, an activity more inspiriting than
+      cooking and nursing. His &ldquo;poetry-book&rdquo; imagination took fire; he gave her
+      a hope and a purpose, a pathway with a goal at the end. Had there not been
+      women leaders in every great proletarian movement?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He went to call on her, and met her at the door of her cabin. &ldquo;'Tis a
+      cheerin' sight to see ye, Joe Smith!&rdquo; she said. And she looked him in the
+      eye and smiled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The same to you, Mary Burke!&rdquo; he answered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She was game, he saw; she was going to be a &ldquo;good sport.&rdquo; But he noticed
+      that she was paler than when he had seen her last. Could it be that these
+      gorgeous Irish complexions ever faded? He thought that she was thinner
+      too; the old blue calico seemed less tight upon her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal plunged into his theme. &ldquo;Mary, I had a vision of you to-day!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of me, lad? What's that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He laughed. &ldquo;I saw you with a glory in your face, and your hair shining
+      like a crown of gold. You were mounted on a snow-white horse, and wore a
+      robe of white, soft and lustrous&mdash;like Joan of Arc, or a leader in a
+      suffrage parade. You were riding at the head of a host&mdash;I've still
+      got the music in my ears, Mary!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Go on with ye, lad&mdash;what's all this about?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Come in and I'll tell you,&rdquo; he said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So they went into the bare kitchen, and sat in bare wooden chairs&mdash;Mary
+      folding her hands in her lap like a child who has been promised a
+      fairy-story. &ldquo;Now hurry,&rdquo; said she. &ldquo;I want to know about this new dress
+      ye're givin' me. Are ye tired of me old calico?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He joined in her smile. &ldquo;This is a dress you will weave for yourself,
+      Mary, out of the finest threads of your own nature&mdash;out of courage
+      and devotion and self-sacrifice.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure, 'tis the poetry-book again! But what is it ye're really meanin'?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He looked about him. &ldquo;Is anybody here?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nobody.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But instinctively he lowered his voice as he told his story. There was an
+      organiser of the &ldquo;big union&rdquo; in the camp, and he was going to rouse the
+      slaves to protest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The laughter went out of Mary's face. &ldquo;Oh! It's that!&rdquo; she said, in a flat
+      tone. The vision of the snow-white horse and the soft and lustrous robe
+      was gone. &ldquo;Ye can never do anything of that sort here!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why not?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;'Tis the men in this place. Don't ye remember what I told ye at Mr.
+      Rafferty's? They're cowards!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, Mary, it's easy to say that. But it's not so pleasant being turned
+      out of your home&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do ye have to tell me that?&rdquo; she cried, with sudden passion. &ldquo;Haven't I
+      seen that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, Mary; but I want to <i>do</i> something&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, and haven't I wanted to do something? Sure, I've wanted to bite off
+      the noses of the bosses!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; he laughed, &ldquo;we'll make that a part of our programme.&rdquo; But Mary
+      was not to be lured into cheerfulness; her mood was so full of pain and
+      bewilderment that he had an impulse to reach out and take her hand again.
+      But he checked that; he had come to divert her energies into a safe
+      channel!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We must waken these men to resistance, Mary!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye can't do it, Joe&mdash;not the English-speakin' men. The Greeks and
+      the Bulgars, maybe&mdash;they're fightin' at home, and they might fight
+      here. But the Irish never&mdash;never! Them that had any backbone went out
+      long ago. Them that stayed has been made into boot-licks. I know them,
+      every man of them. They grumble, and curse the boss, but then they think
+      of the blacklist, and they go back and cringe at his feet.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What such men want&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;'Tis booze they want, and carousin' with the rotten women in the
+      coal-towns, and sittin' up all night winnin' each other's money with a
+      greasy pack of cards! They take their pleasure where they find it, and
+      'tis nothin' better they want.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then, Mary, if that's so, don't you see it's all the more reason for
+      trying to teach them? If not for their own sakes, for the sake of their
+      children! The children, mustn't grow up like that! They are learning
+      English, at least&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Mary gave a scornful laugh. &ldquo;Have ye been up to that school?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He answered no; and she told him there were a hundred and twenty children
+      packed in one room, three in a seat, and solid all round the wall. She
+      went on, with swift anger&mdash;the school was supposed to be paid for out
+      of taxes, but as nobody owned any property but the company, it was all in
+      the company's hands. The school-board consisted of Mr. Cartwright, the
+      mine-superintendent, and Jake Predovich, a clerk in the store, and the
+      preacher, the Reverend Spraggs. Old Spraggs would bump his nose on the
+      floor if the &ldquo;super&rdquo; told him to.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, now!&rdquo; said Hal, laughing. &ldquo;You're down on him because his
+      grandfather was an Orangeman!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 3.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Mary Burke had been suckled upon despair, and the poison of it was deep in
+      her blood. Hal began to realise that it would be as hard to give her a
+      hope as to rouse the workers whom she despised. She was brave enough, no
+      doubt, but how could he persuade her to be brave for men who had no
+      courage for themselves?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mary,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;in your heart you don't really hate these people. You
+      know how they suffer, you pity them for it. You give their children your
+      last cent when they need it&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, lad!&rdquo; she cried, and he saw tears suddenly spring into her eyes.
+      &ldquo;'Tis because I love them so that I hate them! Sometimes 'tis the bosses I
+      would murder, sometimes 'tis the men. What is it ye're wantin' me to do?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And then, even before he could answer, she began to run over the list of
+      her acquaintances in the camp. Yes, there was one man Hal ought to talk
+      to; he would be too old to join them, but his advice would be invaluable,
+      and they could be sure he would never betray them. That was old John
+      Edstrom, a Swede from Minnesota, who had worked in this district from the
+      time the mines had first started up. He had been active in the great
+      strike eight years ago, and had been black-listed, his four sons with him.
+      The sons were scattered now to the four parts of the world, but the father
+      had stayed nearby, working as a ranch-hand and railroad labourer, until a
+      couple of years ago, during a rush season, he had got a chance to come
+      back into the mines.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He was old, old, declared Mary&mdash;must be sixty. And when Hal remarked
+      that that did not sound so frightfully aged, she answered that one seldom
+      heard of a man being able to work in a coal-mine at that age; in fact,
+      there were not many who managed to live to that age. Edstrom's wife was
+      dying now, and he was having a hard time.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;'Twould not be fair to let such an old gentleman lose his job,&rdquo; said
+      Mary. &ldquo;But at least he could give ye good advice.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So that evening the two of them went to call on John Edstrom, in a tiny
+      unpainted cabin in &ldquo;shanty-town,&rdquo; with a bare earth floor, and a half
+      partition of rough boards to hide his dying wife from his callers. The
+      woman's trouble was cancer, and this made calling a trying matter, for
+      there was a fearful odour in the place. For some time it was impossible
+      for Hal to force himself to think about anything else; but finally he
+      overcame this weakness, telling himself that this was a war, and that a
+      man must be ready for the hospital as well as for the parade-ground.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He looked about, and saw that the cracks of Edstrom's cabin were stopped
+      with rags, and the broken windowpanes mended with brown paper. The old man
+      had evidently made an effort to keep the place neat, and Hal noticed a row
+      of books on a shelf. Because it was cold in these mountain regions at
+      night, even in September, the old man had a fire in the little cast-iron
+      stove, and sat huddled by it. There were only a few hairs left on his
+      head, and his scrubby beard was as white as anything could be in a
+      coal-camp. The first impression of his face was of its pallor, and then of
+      the benevolence in the faded dark eyes; also his voice was gentle, like a
+      caress. He rose to greet his visitors, and put out to Hal a trembling
+      hand, which resembled the paw of some animal, horny and misshapen. He made
+      a move to draw up a bench, and apologised for his unskillful
+      house-keeping. It occurred to Hal that a man might be able to work in a
+      coal-mine at sixty, and not be able to work in it at sixty-one.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had requested Mary to say nothing about his purpose, until after he
+      had a chance to judge for himself. So now the girl inquired about Mrs.
+      Edstrom. There was no news, the man answered; she was lying in a stupor,
+      as usual. Dr. Barrett had come again, but all he could do was to give her
+      morphine. No one could do any more, the doctor declared.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure, he'd not know it if they could!&rdquo; sniffed Mary.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He's not such a bad one, when he's sober,&rdquo; said Edstrom, patiently.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And how often is that?&rdquo; sniffed Mary again. She added, by way of
+      explanation to Hal, &ldquo;He's a cousin of the super.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Things were better here than in some places, said Edstrom. At Harvey's
+      Run, where he had worked, a man had got his eye hurt, and had lost it
+      through the doctor's instrument slipping; broken arms and legs had been
+      set wrong, and either the men had to go through life as cripples, or go
+      elsewhere and have the bones re-broken and reset, It was like everything
+      else&mdash;the doctor was a part of the company machine, and if you had
+      too much to say about him, it was down the canyon with you. You not only
+      had a dollar a month taken out of your pay, but if you were injured, and
+      he came to attend you, he would charge whatever extra he pleased.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you have to pay?&rdquo; asked Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They take it off your account,&rdquo; said the old man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sometimes they take it when he's done nothin' at all,&rdquo; added Mary. &ldquo;They
+      charged Mrs. Zamboni twenty-five dollars for her last baby&mdash;and Dr.
+      Barrett never set foot across her door till three hours after the baby was
+      in my arms!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 4.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      The talk went on. Wishing to draw the old man out, Hal spoke of various
+      troubles of the miners, and at last he suggested that the remedy might be
+      found in a union. Edstrom's dark eyes studied him, and then turned to
+      Mary. &ldquo;Joe's all right,&rdquo; said the girl, quickly. &ldquo;You can trust him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Edstrom made no direct answer to this, but remarked that he had once been
+      in a strike. He was a marked man, now, and could only stay in the camp so
+      long as he attended strictly to his own affairs. The part he had played in
+      the big strike had never been forgotten; the bosses had let him work
+      again, partly because they had needed him at a rush time, and partly
+      because the pit-boss happened to be a personal friend.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tell him about the big strike,&rdquo; said Mary. &ldquo;He's new in this district.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The old man had apparently accepted Mary's word for Hal's good faith, for
+      he began to narrate those terrible events which were a whispered tradition
+      of the camps. There had been a mighty effort of ten thousand slaves for
+      freedom; and it had been crushed with utter ruthlessness. Ever since these
+      mines had been started, the operators had controlled the local powers of
+      government, and now, in the emergency, they had brought in the state
+      militia as well, and used it frankly to drive the strikers back to work.
+      They had seized the leaders and active men, and thrown them into jail
+      without trial or charges; when the jails would hold no more, they kept
+      some two hundred in an open stockade, called a &ldquo;bull-pen,&rdquo; and finally
+      they loaded them into freight-cars, took them at night out of the state,
+      and dumped them off in the midst of the desert without food or water.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      John Edstrom had been one of these men. He told how one of his sons had
+      been beaten and severely injured in jail, and how another had been kept
+      for weeks in a damp cellar, so that he had come out crippled with
+      rheumatism for life. The officers of the state militia had done these
+      things; and when some of the local authorities were moved to protest, the
+      militia had arrested them&mdash;even the judges of the civil courts had
+      been forbidden to sit, under threat of imprisonment. &ldquo;To hell with the
+      constitution!&rdquo; had been the word of the general in command; his
+      subordinate had made famous the saying, &ldquo;No habeas corpus; we'll give them
+      post-mortems!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom Olson had impressed Hal with his self-control, but this old man made
+      an even deeper impression upon him. As he listened, he became humble,
+      touched with awe. Incredible as it might seem, when John Edstrom talked
+      about his cruel experiences, it was without bitterness in his voice, and
+      apparently without any in his heart. Here, in the midst of want and
+      desolation, with his family broken and scattered, and the wolf of
+      starvation at his door, he could look back upon the past without hatred of
+      those who had ruined him. Nor was this because he was old and feeble, and
+      had lost the spirit of revolt; it was because he had studied economics,
+      and convinced himself that it was an evil system which blinded men's eyes
+      and poisoned their souls. A better day was coming, he said, when this evil
+      system would be changed, and it would be possible for men to be merciful
+      to one another.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At this point in the conversation, Mary Burke gave voice once more to her
+      corroding despair. How could things ever be changed? The bosses were
+      mean-hearted, and the men were cowards and traitors. That left nobody but
+      God to do the changing&mdash;and God had left things as they were for such
+      a long time!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal was interested to hear how Edstrom dealt with this attitude. &ldquo;Mary,&rdquo;
+       he said, &ldquo;did you ever read about ants in Africa?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said she.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They travel in long columns, millions and millions of them. And when they
+      come to a ditch, the front ones fall in, and more and more of them on top,
+      till they fill up the ditch, and the rest cross over. We are ants, Mary.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No matter how many go in,&rdquo; cried the girl, &ldquo;none will ever get across.
+      There's no bottom to the ditch!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He answered: &ldquo;That's more than any ant can know. Mary. All they know is to
+      go in. They cling to each other's bodies, even in death; they make a
+      bridge, and the rest go over.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll step one side!&rdquo; she declared, fiercely. &ldquo;I'll not throw meself
+      away.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You may step one side,&rdquo; answered the other&mdash;&ldquo;but you'll step back
+      into line again. I know you better than you know yourself, Mary.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was silence in the little cabin. The winds of an early fall shrilled
+      outside, and life suddenly seemed to Hal a stern and merciless thing. He
+      had thought in his youthful fervour it would be thrilling to be a
+      revolutionist; but to be an ant, one of millions and millions, to perish
+      in a bottomless ditch&mdash;that was something a man could hardly bring
+      himself to face! He looked at the bowed figure of this white haired
+      toiler, vague in the feeble lamplight, and found himself thinking of
+      Rembrandt's painting, the Visit of Emmaus: the ill-lighted room in the
+      dirty tavern, and the two ragged men, struck dumb by the glow of light
+      about the forehead of their table-companion. It was not fantastic to
+      imagine a glow of light about the forehead of this soft-voiced old man!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I never had any hope it would come in my time,&rdquo; the old man was saying
+      gently. &ldquo;I did use to hope my boys might see it&mdash;but now I'm not sure
+      even of that. But in all my life I never doubted that some day the
+      working-people will cross over to the promised land. They'll no longer be
+      slaves, and what they make won't be wasted by idlers. And take it from one
+      who knows, Mary&mdash;for a workingman or woman not to have that faith, is
+      to have lost the reason for living.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal decided that it would be safe to trust this man, and told him of his
+      check-weighman plan. &ldquo;We only want your advice,&rdquo; he explained, remembering
+      Mary's warning. &ldquo;Your sick wife&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But the old man answered, sadly, &ldquo;She's almost gone, and I'll soon be
+      following. What little strength I have left might as well be used for the
+      cause.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 5.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      This business of conspiracy was grimly real to men whose living came out
+      of coal; but Hal, even at the most serious moments, continued to find in
+      it the thrill of romance. He had read stories of revolutionists, and of
+      the police who hunted them. That such excitements were to be had in
+      Russia, he knew; but if any one had told him they could be had in his own
+      free America, within a few hours' journey of his home city and his
+      college-town, he could not have credited the statement.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The evening after his visit to Edstrom, Hal was stopped on the street by
+      his boss. Encountering him suddenly, Hal started, like a pick-pocket who
+      runs into a policeman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hello, kid,&rdquo; said the pit-boss.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hello, Mr. Stone,&rdquo; was the reply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I want to talk to you,&rdquo; said the boss.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right, sir.&rdquo; And then, under his breath, &ldquo;He's got me!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Come up to my house,&rdquo; said Stone; and Hal followed, feeling as if
+      hand-cuffs were already on his wrists.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Say,&rdquo; said the man, as they walked, &ldquo;I thought you were going to tell me
+      if you'd heard any talk.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I haven't heard any, sir.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; continued Stone, &ldquo;you want to get busy; there's sure to be kickers
+      in every coal-camp.&rdquo; And deep within, Hal drew a sigh of relief. It was a
+      false alarm!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They came to the boss's house, and he took a chair on the piazza and
+      motioned Hal to take another. They sat in semi-darkness, and Stone dropped
+      his voice as he began. &ldquo;What I want to talk to you about now is something
+      else&mdash;this election.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Election, sir?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Didn't you know there was one? The Congressman in this district died, and
+      there's a special election three weeks from next Tuesday.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see, sir.&rdquo; And Hal chuckled inwardly. He would get the information
+      which Tom Olson had recommended to him!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You ain't heard any talk about it?&rdquo; inquired the pit-boss.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nothing at all, sir. I never pay much attention to politics&mdash;it
+      ain't in my line.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, that's the way I like to hear a miner talk!&rdquo; said the pit-boss,
+      with heartiness. &ldquo;If they all had sense enough to leave politics to the
+      politicians, they'd be a sight better off. What they need is to tend to
+      their own jobs.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, sir,&rdquo; agreed Hal, meekly&mdash;&ldquo;like I had to tend to them mules, if
+      I didn't want to get the colic.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The boss smiled appreciatively. &ldquo;You've got more sense than most of 'em.
+      If you'll stand by me, there'll be a chance for you to move up in the
+      world.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thank you, Mr. Stone,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;Give me a chance.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well now, here's this election. Every year they send us a bunch of
+      campaign money to handle. A bit of it might come your way.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I could use it, I reckon,&rdquo; said Hal, brightening visibly. &ldquo;What is it you
+      want?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a pause, while Stone puffed on his pipe. He went on, in a
+      business-like manner. &ldquo;What I want is somebody to feel things out a bit,
+      and let me know the situation. I thought it better not to use the men that
+      generally work for me, but somebody that wouldn't be suspected. Down in
+      Sheridan and Pedro they say the Democrats are making a big stir, and the
+      company's worried. I suppose you know the 'G. F. C.' is Republican.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I've heard so.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You might think a congressman don't have much to do with us, way off in
+      Washington; but it has a bad effect to have him campaigning, telling the
+      men the company's abusing them. So I'd like you just to kind o' circulate
+      a bit, and start the men on politics, and see if any of them have been
+      listening to this MacDougall talk. (MacDougall's this here Democrat, you
+      know.) And I want to find out whether they've been sending in literature
+      to this camp, or have any agents here. You see, they claim the right to
+      come in and make speeches, and all that sort of thing. North Valley's an
+      incorporated town, so they've got the law on their side, in a way, and if
+      we shut 'em out, they make a howl in the papers, and it looks bad. So we
+      have to get ahead of them in quiet ways. Fortunately there ain't any hall
+      in the camp for them to meet in, and we've made a local ordinance against
+      meetings on the street. If they try to bring in circulars, something has
+      to happen to them before they get distributed. See?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see,&rdquo; said Hal; he thought of Tom Olson's propaganda literature!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We'll pass the word out,&mdash;it's the Republican the company wants
+      elected; and you be on the lookout and see how they take it in the camp.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That sounds easy enough,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;But tell me, Mr. Stone, why do you
+      bother? Do so many of these wops have votes?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It ain't the wops so much. We get them naturalised on purpose&mdash;they
+      vote our way for a glass of beer. But the English-speaking men, or the
+      foreigners that's been here too long, and got too big for their breeches&mdash;they're
+      the ones we got to watch. If they get to talking politics, they don't stop
+      there; the first thing you know, they're listening to union agitators, and
+      wanting to run the camp.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh yes, I see!&rdquo; said Hal, and wondered if his voice sounded right.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the pit-boss was concerned with his own troubles. &ldquo;As I told Si Adams
+      the other day, what I'm looking for is fellows that talk some new lingo&mdash;one
+      that nobody will ever understand! But I suppose that would be too easy.
+      There's no way to keep them from learning some English!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal decided to make use of this opportunity to perfect his education.
+      &ldquo;Surely, Mr. Stone,&rdquo; he remarked, &ldquo;you don't have to count any votes if
+      you don't want to!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, I'll tell you,&rdquo; replied Stone; &ldquo;it's a question of the easiest way
+      to manage things. When I was superintendent over to Happy Gulch, we didn't
+      waste no time on politics. The company was Democratic at that time, and
+      when election night come, we wrote down four hundred votes for the
+      Democratic candidates. But the first thing we knew, a bunch of fellers was
+      taken into town and got to swear they'd voted the Republican ticket in our
+      camp. The Republican papers were full of it, and some fool judge ordered a
+      recount, and we had to get busy over night and mark up a new lot of
+      ballots. It gave us a lot of bother!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The pit-boss laughed, and Hal joined him discreetly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So you see, you have to learn to manage. If there's votes for the wrong
+      candidate in your camp, the fact gets out, and if the returns is too
+      one-sided, there's a lot of grumbling. There's plenty of bosses that don't
+      care, but I learned my lesson that time, and I got my own method&mdash;that
+      is not to let any opposition start. See?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, I see.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Maybe a mine-boss has got no right to meddle in politics&mdash;but
+      there's one thing he's got the say about, and that is who works in his
+      mine. It's the easiest thing to weed out&mdash;weed out&mdash;&rdquo; Hal never
+      forgot the motion of beefy hands with which Alec Stone illustrated these
+      words. As he went on, the tones of his voice did not seem so good-natured
+      as usual. &ldquo;The fellows that don't want to vote my way can go somewhere
+      else to do their voting. That's all I got to say on politics!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a brief pause, while Stone puffed on his pipe. Then it may have
+      occurred to him that it was not necessary to go into so much detail in
+      breaking in a political recruit. When he resumed, it was in a good-natured
+      tone of dismissal. &ldquo;That's what you do, kid. To-morrow you get a sprained
+      wrist, so you can't work for a few days, and that'll give you a chance to
+      bum round and hear what the men are saying. Meantime, I'll see you get
+      your wages.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That sounds all right,&rdquo; said Hal; but showing only a small part of his
+      satisfaction!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The pit-boss rose from his chair and knocked the ashes from his pipe.
+      &ldquo;Mind you&mdash;I want the goods. I've got other fellows working, and I'm
+      comparing 'em. For all you know, I may have somebody watching you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Hal, and grinned cheerfully. &ldquo;I'll not fail to bear that in
+      mind.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 6.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      The first thing Hal did was to seek out Tom Olson and narrate this
+      experience. The two of them had a merry time over it. &ldquo;I'm the favourite
+      of a boss now!&rdquo; laughed Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the organiser became suddenly serious. &ldquo;Be careful what you do for
+      that fellow.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He might use it on you later on. One of the things they try to do if you
+      make any trouble for them, is to prove that you took money from them, or
+      tried to.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But he won't have any proofs.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's my point&mdash;don't give him any. If Stone says you've been
+      playing the political game for him, then some fellow might remember that
+      you did ask him about politics. So don't have any marked money on you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal laughed. &ldquo;Money doesn't stay on me very long these days. But what
+      shall I say if he asks me for a report?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You'd better put your job right through, Joe&mdash;so that he won't have
+      time to ask for any report.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; was the reply. &ldquo;But just the same, I'm going to get all the
+      fun there is, being the favourite of a boss!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And so, early the next morning when Hal went to his work he proceeded to
+      &ldquo;sprain his wrist.&rdquo; He walked about in pain, to the great concern of Old
+      Mike; and when finally he decided that he would have to lay off, Mike
+      followed him half way to the shaft, giving him advice about hot and cold
+      cloths. Leaving the old Slovak to struggle along as best he could alone,
+      Hal went out to bask in the wonderful sunshine of the upper world, and the
+      still more wonderful sunshine of a boss's favour.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      First he went to his room at Reminitsky's, and tied a strip of old shirt
+      about his wrist, and a clean handkerchief on top of that; by this symbol
+      he was entitled to the freedom of the camp and the sympathy of all men,
+      and so he sallied forth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Strolling towards the tipple of Number One, he encountered a wiry,
+      quick-moving little man, with restless black eyes and a lean, intelligent
+      face. He wore a pair of common miner's &ldquo;jumpers,&rdquo; but even so, he was not
+      to be taken for a workingman. Everything about him spoke of authority.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Morning, Mr. Cartwright,&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good morning,&rdquo; replied the superintendent; then, with a glance at Hal's
+      bandage, &ldquo;You hurt?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, sir. Just a bit of sprain, but I thought I'd better lay off.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Been to the doctor?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, sir. I don't think it's that bad.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You'd better go. You never know how bad a sprain is.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Right, sir,&rdquo; said Hal. Then, as the superintendent was passing, &ldquo;Do you
+      think, Mr. Cartwright, that MacDougall stands any chance of being
+      elected?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't know,&rdquo; replied the other, surprised. &ldquo;I hope not. You aren't
+      going to vote for him, are you?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, no. I'm a Republican&mdash;born that way. But I wondered if you'd
+      heard any MacDougall talk.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, I'm hardly the one that would hear it. You take an interest in
+      politics?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, sir&mdash;in a way. In fact, that's how I came to get this wrist.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How's that? In a fight?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, sir; but you see, Mr. Stone wanted me to feel out sentiment in the
+      camp, and he told me I'd better sprain my wrist and lay off.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The &ldquo;super,&rdquo; after staring at Hal, could not keep from laughing. Then he
+      looked about him. &ldquo;You want to be careful, talking about such things.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I thought I could surely trust the superintendent,&rdquo; said Hal, drily.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The other measured him with his keen eyes; and Hal, who was getting the
+      spirit of political democracy, took the liberty of returning the gaze.
+      &ldquo;You're a wide-awake young fellow,&rdquo; said Cartwright, at last. &ldquo;Learn the
+      ropes here, and make yourself useful, and I'll see you're not passed
+      over.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right, sir&mdash;thank you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Maybe you'll be made an election-clerk this time. That's worth three
+      dollars a day, you know.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very good, sir.&rdquo; And Hal put on his smile again. &ldquo;They tell me you're the
+      mayor of North Valley.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And the justice of the peace is a clerk in your store. Well, Mr.
+      Cartwright, if you need a president of the board of health or a dog
+      catcher, I'm your man&mdash;as soon, that is, as my wrist gets well.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And so Hal went on his way. Such &ldquo;joshing&rdquo; on the part of a &ldquo;buddy&rdquo; was of
+      course absurdly presumptuous; the superintendent stood looking after him
+      with a puzzled frown upon his face.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 7.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal did not look back, but turned into the company-store. &ldquo;North Valley
+      Trading Company&rdquo; read the sign over the door; within was a Serbian woman
+      pointing out what she wanted to buy, and two little Lithuanian girls
+      watching the weighing of a pound of sugar. Hal strolled up to the person
+      who was doing the weighing, a middle-aged man with a yellow moustache
+      stained with tobacco-juice. &ldquo;Morning, Judge.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Huh!&rdquo; was the reply from Silas Adams, justice of the peace in the town of
+      North Valley.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Judge,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;what do you think about the election?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't think about it,&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;Busy weighin' sugar.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Anybody round here going to vote for MacDougall?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They better not tell me if they are!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What?&rdquo; smiled Hal. &ldquo;In this free American republic?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In this part of the free American republic a man is free to dig coal, but
+      not to vote for a skunk like MacDougall.&rdquo; Then, having tied up the sugar,
+      the &ldquo;J. P.&rdquo; whittled off a fresh chew from his plug, and turned to Hal.
+      &ldquo;What'll you have?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal purchased half a pound of dried peaches, so that he might have an
+      excuse to loiter, and be able to keep time with the jaws of the Judge.
+      While the order was being filled, he seated himself upon the counter. &ldquo;You
+      know,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;I used to work in a grocery.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That so? Where at?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Peterson &amp; Co., in American City.&rdquo; Hal had told this so often that he
+      had begun to believe it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pay pretty good up there?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, pretty fair.&rdquo; Then, realising that he had no idea what would
+      constitute good pay in a grocery, Hal added, quickly, &ldquo;Got a bad wrist
+      here!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That so?&rdquo; said the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He did not show much sociability; but Hal persisted, refusing to believe
+      that any one in a country store would miss an opening to discuss politics,
+      even with a miner's helper. &ldquo;Tell me,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;just what is the matter
+      with MacDougall?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The matter with him,&rdquo; said the Judge, &ldquo;is that the company's against
+      him.&rdquo; He looked hard at the young miner. &ldquo;You meddlin' in politics?&rdquo; he
+      growled. But the young miner's gay brown eyes showed only appreciation of
+      the earlier response; so the &ldquo;J. P.&rdquo; was tempted into specifying the
+      would-be congressman's vices. Thus conversation started; and pretty soon
+      the others in the store joined in&mdash;&ldquo;Bob&rdquo; Johnson, bookkeeper and
+      post-master, and &ldquo;Jake&rdquo; Predovich, the Galician Jew who was a member of
+      the local school-board, and knew the words for staple groceries in fifteen
+      languages.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal listened to an exposition of the crimes of the political opposition in
+      Pedro County. Their candidate, MacDougall, had come to the state as a
+      &ldquo;tin-horn gambler,&rdquo; yet now he was going around making speeches in
+      churches, and talking about the moral sentiment of the community. &ldquo;And him
+      with a district chairman keeping three families in Pedro!&rdquo; declared Si
+      Adams.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; ventured Hal, &ldquo;if what I hear is true, the Republican chairman
+      isn't a plaster saint. They say he was drunk at the convention&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Maybe so,&rdquo; said the &ldquo;J. P.&rdquo; &ldquo;But we ain't playin' for the prohibition
+      vote; and we ain't playin' for the labour vote&mdash;tryin' to stir up the
+      riff-raff in these coal-camps, promisin' 'em high wages an' short hours.
+      Don't he know he can't get it for 'em? But he figgers he'll go off to
+      Washington and leave us here to deal with the mess he's stirred up!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don't you fret,&rdquo; put in Bob Johnson&mdash;&ldquo;he ain't goin' to no
+      Washin'ton.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other two agreed, and Hal ventured again, &ldquo;He says you stuff the
+      ballot-boxes.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What do you suppose his crowd is doin' in the cities? We got to meet 'em
+      some way, ain't we?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, I see,&rdquo; said Hal, naïvely. &ldquo;You stuff them worse!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sometimes we stuff the boxes, and sometimes we stuff the voters.&rdquo; There
+      was an appreciative titter from the others, and the &ldquo;J. P.&rdquo; was moved to
+      reminiscence. &ldquo;Two years ago I was election clerk, over to Sheridan, and
+      we found we'd let 'em get ahead of us&mdash;they had carried the whole
+      state. 'By God,' said Alf. Raymond, 'we'll show 'em a trick from the
+      coal-counties! And there won't be no recount business either!' So we held
+      back our returns till the rest had come in, and when we seen how many
+      votes we needed, we wrote 'em down. And that settled it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That seems a simple method,&rdquo; remarked Hal. &ldquo;They'll have to get up early
+      to beat Alf.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You bet you!&rdquo; said Si, with the complacency of one of the gang. &ldquo;They
+      call this county the 'Empire of Raymond.'&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It must be a cinch,&rdquo; said Hal&mdash;&ldquo;being the sheriff, and having the
+      naming of so many deputies as they need in these coal-camps!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; agreed the other. &ldquo;And there's his wholesale liquor business, too.
+      If you want a license in Pedro county, you not only vote for Alf, but you
+      pay your bills on time!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Must be a fortune in that!&rdquo; remarked Hal; and the Judge, the Post-master
+      and the School-commissioner appeared like children listening to a story of
+      a feast. &ldquo;You bet you!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I suppose it takes money to run politics in this county,&rdquo; Hal added.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, Alf don't put none of it up, you can bet! That's the company's
+      job.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      This from the Judge; and the School-commissioner added, &ldquo;De coin in dese
+      camps is beer.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, I see!&rdquo; laughed Hal. &ldquo;The companies buy Alf's beer, and use it to get
+      him votes!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure thing!&rdquo; said the Post-master.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At this moment he happened to reach into his pocket for a cigar, and Hal
+      observed a silver shield on the breast of his waistcoat. &ldquo;That a deputy's
+      badge?&rdquo; he inquired, and then turned to examine the School-commissioner's
+      costume. &ldquo;Where's yours?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I git mine ven election comes,&rdquo; said Jake, with a grin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And yours, Judge?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm a justice of the peace, young feller,&rdquo; said Silas, with dignity.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Leaning round, and observing a bulge on the right hip of the
+      School-commissioner, Hal put out his hand towards it. Instinctively the
+      other moved his hand to the spot.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal turned to the Post-master. &ldquo;Yours?&rdquo; he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mine's under the counter,&rdquo; grinned Bob.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And yours, Judge?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mine's in the desk,&rdquo; said the Judge.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal drew a breath. &ldquo;Gee!&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;It's like a steel trap!&rdquo; He managed to
+      keep the laugh on his face, but within he was conscious of other feelings
+      than those of amusement. He was losing that &ldquo;first fine careless rapture&rdquo;
+       with which he had set out to run with the hare and the hounds in North
+      Valley!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 8.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Two days after this beginning of Hal's political career, it was arranged
+      that the workers who were to make a demand for a check-weighman should
+      meet in the home of Mrs. David. When Mike Sikoria came up from the pit
+      that day, Hal took him aside and told him of the gathering. A look of
+      delight came upon the old Slovak's face as he listened; he grabbed his
+      buddy by the shoulders, crying, &ldquo;You mean it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure meant it,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;You want to be on the committee to go and see
+      the boss?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;<i>Pluha biedna</i>!&rdquo; cried Mike&mdash;which is something dreadful in his
+      own language. &ldquo;By Judas, I pack up my old box again!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal felt a guilty pang. Should he let this old man into the thing? &ldquo;You
+      think you'll have to move out of camp?&rdquo; he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Move out of state this time! Move back to old country, maybe!&rdquo; And Hal
+      realised that he could not stop him now, even if he wanted to. The old
+      fellow was so much excited that he hardly ate any supper, and his buddy
+      was afraid to leave him alone, for fear he might blurt out the news.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It had been agreed that those who attended the meeting should come one by
+      one, and by different routes. Hal was one of the first to arrive, and he
+      saw that the shades of the house had been drawn, and the lamps turned low.
+      He entered by the back door, where &ldquo;Big Jack&rdquo; David stood on guard. &ldquo;Big
+      Jack,&rdquo; who had been a member of the South Wales Federation at home, made
+      sure of Hal's identity, and then passed him in without a word.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Inside was Mike&mdash;the first on hand. Mrs. David, a little black-eyed
+      woman with a never-ceasing tongue, was bustling about, putting things in
+      order; she was so nervous that she could not sit still. This couple had
+      come from their birth-place only a year or so ago, and had brought all
+      their wedding presents to their new home&mdash;pictures and bric-a-brac
+      and linen. It was the prettiest home Hal had so far been in, and Mrs.
+      David was risking it deliberately, because of her indignation that her
+      husband had had to foreswear his union in order to get work in America.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The young Italian, Rovetta, came, then old John Edstrom. There being not
+      chairs enough in the house, Mrs. David had set some boxes against the
+      wall, covering them with cloth; and Hal noticed that each person took one
+      of these boxes, leaving the chairs for the later comers. Each one as he
+      came in would nod to the others, and then silence would fall again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When Mary Burke entered, Hal divined from her aspect and manner that she
+      had sunk back into her old mood of pessimism. He felt a momentary
+      resentment. He was so thrilled with this adventure; he wanted everybody
+      else to be thrilled&mdash;especially Mary! Like every one who has not
+      suffered much, he was repelled by a condition of perpetual suffering in
+      another. Of course Mary had good reasons for her black moods&mdash;but she
+      herself considered it necessary to apologise for what she called her
+      &ldquo;complainin'&rdquo;! She knew that he wanted her to help encourage the others;
+      but here she was, putting herself in a corner and watching this wonderful
+      proceeding, as if she had said: &ldquo;I'm an ant, and I stay in line&mdash;but
+      I'll not pretend I have any hope in it!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Rosa and Jerry had insisted on coming, in spite of Hal's offer to spare
+      them. After them came the Bulgarian, Wresmak; then the Polacks, Klowoski
+      and Zamierowski. Hal found these difficult names to remember, but the
+      Polacks were not at all sensitive about this; they would grin
+      good-naturedly while he practised, nor would they mind if he gave it up
+      and called them Tony and Pete. They were humble men, accustomed all their
+      lives to being driven about. Hal looked from one to another of their bowed
+      forms and toil-worn faces, appearing more than ever sombre and mournful in
+      the dim light; he wondered if the cruel persecution which had driven them
+      to protest would suffice to hold them in line.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Once a newcomer, having misunderstood the orders, came to the front door
+      and knocked; and Hal noted that every one started, and some rose to their
+      feet in alarm. Again he recognised the atmosphere of novels of Russian
+      revolutionary life. He had to remind himself that these men and women,
+      gathered here like criminals, were merely planning to ask for a right
+      guaranteed them by the law!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The last to come was an Austrian miner named Huszar, with whom Olson had
+      got into touch. Then, it being time to begin, everybody looked uneasily at
+      everybody else. Few of them had conspired before, and they did not know
+      quite how to set about it. Olson, the one who would naturally have been
+      their leader, had deliberately stayed away. They must run this
+      check-weighman affair for themselves!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Somebody talk,&rdquo; said Mrs. David at last; and then, as the silence
+      continued, she turned to Hal. &ldquo;You're going to be the check-weighman. You
+      talk.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm the youngest man here,&rdquo; said Hal, with a smile. &ldquo;Some older fellow
+      talk.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But nobody else smiled. &ldquo;Go on!&rdquo; exclaimed old Mike; and so at last Hal
+      stood up. It was something he was to experience many times in the future;
+      because he was an American, and educated, he was forced into a position of
+      leadership.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;As I understand it, you people want a check-weighman. Now, they tell me
+      the pay for a check-weighman should be three dollars a day, but we've got
+      only seven miners among us, and that's not enough. I will offer to take
+      the job for twenty-five cents a day from each man, which will make a
+      dollar-seventy-five, less than what I'm getting now as a buddy. If we get
+      thirty men to come in, then I'll take ten cents a day from each, and make
+      the full three dollars. Does that seem fair?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure!&rdquo; said Mike; and the others added their assent by word or nod.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right. Now, there's nobody that works in this mine but knows the men
+      don't get their weight. It would cost the company several hundred dollars
+      a day to give us our weight, and nobody should be so foolish as to imagine
+      they'll do it without a struggle. We've got to make up our minds to stand
+      together.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure, stand together!&rdquo; cried Mike.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No get check-weighman!&rdquo; exclaimed Jerry, pessimistically.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not unless we try, Jerry,&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And Mike thumped his knee. &ldquo;Sure try! And get him too!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Right!&rdquo; cried &ldquo;Big Jack.&rdquo; But his little wife was not satisfied with the
+      response of the others. She gave Hal his first lesson in the drilling of
+      these polyglot masses.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Talk to them. Make them understand you!&rdquo; And she pointed them out one by
+      one with her finger: &ldquo;You! You! Wresmak, here, and you, Klowoski, and you,
+      Zam&mdash;you other Polish fellow. Want check-weighman. Want to get all
+      weight. Get all our money. Understand?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, yes!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Get committee, go see super! Want check-weighman. Understand? Got to have
+      check-weighman! No back down, no scare.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No&mdash;no scare!&rdquo; Klowoski, who understood some English, explained
+      rapidly to Zamierowski; and Zamierowski, whose head was still plastered
+      where Jeff Cotton's revolver had hit it, nodded eagerly in assent. In
+      spite of his bruises, he would stand by the others, and face the boss.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This suggested another question. &ldquo;Who's going to do the talking to the
+      boss?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You do that,&rdquo; said Mrs. David, to Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But I'm the one that's to be paid. It's not for me to talk.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No one else can do it right,&rdquo; declared the woman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure&mdash;got to be American feller!&rdquo; said Mike.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Hal insisted. If he did the talking, it would look as if the
+      check-weighman had been the source of the movement, and was engaged in
+      making a good paying job for himself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was discussion back and forth, until finally John Edstrom spoke up.
+      &ldquo;Put me on the committee.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You?&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;But you'll be thrown out! And what will your wife do?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think my wife is going to die to-night,&rdquo; said Edstrom, simply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He sat with his lips set tightly, looking straight before him. After a
+      pause he went on: &ldquo;If it isn't to-night, it will be to-morrow, the doctor
+      says; and after that, nothing will matter. I shall have to go down to
+      Pedro to bury her, and if I have to stay, it will make little difference
+      to me, so I might as well do what I can for the rest of you. I've been a
+      miner all my life, and Mr. Cartwright knows it; that might have some
+      weight with him. Let Joe Smith and Sikoria and myself be the ones to go
+      and see him, and the rest of you wait, and don't give up your jobs unless
+      you have to.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 9.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Having settled the matter of the committee, Hal told the assembly how Alec
+      Stone had asked him to spy upon the men. He thought they should know about
+      it; the bosses might try to use it against him, as Olson had warned. &ldquo;They
+      may tell you I'm a traitor,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You must trust me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We trust you!&rdquo; exclaimed Mike, with fervour; and the others nodded their
+      agreement.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; Hal answered. &ldquo;You can rest sure of this one thing&mdash;if I
+      get onto that tipple, you're going to get your weights!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hear, hear!&rdquo; cried &ldquo;Big Jack,&rdquo; in English fashion. And a murmur ran about
+      the room. They did not dare make much noise, but they made clear that that
+      was what they wanted.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal sat down, and began to unroll the bandage from his wrist. &ldquo;I guess I'm
+      through with this,&rdquo; he said, and explained how he had come to wear it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What?&rdquo; cried Old Mike. &ldquo;You fool me like that?&rdquo; And he caught the wrist,
+      and when he had made sure there was no sign of swelling upon it, he shook
+      it so that he almost sprained it really, laughing until the tears ran down
+      his cheeks. &ldquo;You old son-of-a-gun!&rdquo; he exclaimed. Meantime Klowoski was
+      telling the story to Zamierowski, and Jerry Minetti was explaining it to
+      Wresmak, in the sort of pidgin-English which does duty in the camps. Hal
+      had never seen such real laughter since coming to North Valley.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But conspirators cannot lend themselves long to merriment. They came back
+      to business again. It was agreed that the hour for the committee's visit
+      to the superintendent should be quitting-time on the morrow. And then John
+      Edstrom spoke, suggesting that they should agree upon their course of
+      action in case they were offered violence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You think there's much chance of that?&rdquo; said some one.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure there be!&rdquo; cried Mike Sikoria. &ldquo;One time in Cedar Mountain we go see
+      boss, say air-course blocked. What you think he do them fellers? He hit
+      them one lick in nose, he kick them three times in behind, he run them
+      out!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;if there's going to be anything like that, we must be
+      ready.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What you do?&rdquo; demanded Jerry.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was time for Hal's leadership. &ldquo;If he hits me one lick in the nose,&rdquo; he
+      declared, &ldquo;I'll hit him one lick in the nose, that's all.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a bit of applause at this. That was the way to talk! Hal tasted
+      the joys of his leadership. But then his fine self-confidence met with a
+      sudden check&mdash;a &ldquo;lick in the nose&rdquo; of his pride, so to speak. There
+      came a woman's voice from the corner, low and grim: &ldquo;Yes! And get ye'self
+      killed for all your trouble!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He looked towards Mary Burke, and saw her vivid face, flushed and
+      frowning. &ldquo;What do you mean?&rdquo; he asked. &ldquo;Would you have us turn and run
+      away?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I would that!&rdquo; said she. &ldquo;Rather than have ye killed, I would! What'll ye
+      do if he pulls his gun on ye?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Would he pull his gun on a committee?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Old Mike broke in again. &ldquo;One time in Barela&mdash;ain't I told you how I
+      lose my cars? I tell weigh-boss somebody steal my cars, and he pull gun on
+      me, and he say, 'Get the hell off that tipple, you old billy-goat, I shoot
+      you full of holes!'&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Among his class-mates at college, Hal had been wont to argue that the
+      proper way to handle a burglar was to call out to him, saying, &ldquo;Go ahead,
+      old chap, and help yourself; there's nothing here I'm willing to get shot
+      for.&rdquo; What was the value of anything a burglar could steal, in comparison
+      with a man's own life? And surely, one would have thought, this was a good
+      time to apply the plausible theory. But for some reason Hal failed even to
+      remember it. He was going ahead, precisely as if a ton of coal per day was
+      the one thing of consequence in life!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What shall we do?&rdquo; he asked. &ldquo;We don't want to back out.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But even while he asked the question, Hal was realising that Mary was
+      right. His was the attitude of the leisure-class person, used to having
+      his own way; but Mary, though she had a temper too, was pointing the
+      lesson of self-control. It was the second time to-night that she had
+      injured his pride. But now he forgave her in his admiration; he had always
+      known that Mary had a mind and could help him! His admiration was
+      increased by what John Edstrom was saying&mdash;they must do nothing that
+      would injure the cause of the &ldquo;big union,&rdquo; and so they must resolve to
+      offer no physical resistance, no matter what might be done to them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was vehement argument on the other side. &ldquo;We fight! We fight!&rdquo;
+       declared Old Mike, and cried out suddenly, as if in anticipation of the
+      pain in his injured nose. &ldquo;You say me stand that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If you fight back,&rdquo; said Edstrom, &ldquo;we'll all get the worst of it. The
+      company will say we started the trouble, and put us in the wrong. We've
+      got to make up our mind to rely on moral force.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So, after more discussion, it was agreed; every man would keep his temper&mdash;that
+      is, if he could! So they shook hands all round, pledging themselves to
+      stand firm. But, when the meeting was declared adjourned, and they stole
+      out one by one into the night, they were a very sober and anxious lot of
+      conspirators.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 10.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal slept but little that night. Amid the sounds of the snoring of eight
+      of Reminitsky's other boarders, he lay going over in his mind various
+      things which might happen on the morrow. Some of them were far from
+      pleasant things; he tried to picture himself with a broken nose, or with
+      tar and feathers on him. He recalled his theory as to the handling of
+      burglars. The &ldquo;G. F. C.&rdquo; was a burglar of gigantic and terrible
+      proportions; surely this was a time to call out, &ldquo;Help yourself!&rdquo; But
+      instead of doing it, Hal thought about Edstrom's ants, and wondered at the
+      power which made them stay in line.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When morning came, he went up into the mountains, where a man may wander
+      and renew his moral force. When the sun had descended behind the
+      mountain-tops, he descended also, and met Edstrom and Sikoria in front of
+      the company office.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They nodded a greeting, and Edstrom told Hal that his wife had died during
+      the day. There being no undertaker in North Valley, he had arranged for a
+      woman friend to take the body down to Pedro, so that he might be free for
+      the interview with Cartwright. Hal put his hand on the old man's shoulder,
+      but attempted no word of condolence; he saw that Edstrom had faced the
+      trouble and was ready for duty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Come ahead,&rdquo; said the old man, and the three went into the office. While
+      a clerk took their message to the inner office, they stood for a couple of
+      minutes, shifting uneasily from one foot to the other, and turning their
+      caps in their hands in the familiar manner of the lowly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last Mr. Cartwright appeared in the doorway, his small sparely-built
+      figure eloquent of sharp authority. &ldquo;Well, what's this?&rdquo; he inquired.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If you please,&rdquo; said Edstrom, &ldquo;we'd like to speak to you. We've decided,
+      sir, that we want to have a check-weighman.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;<i>What</i>?&rdquo; The word came like the snap of a whip.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We'd like to have a check-weighman, sir.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a moment's silence. &ldquo;Come in here.&rdquo; They filed into the inner
+      office, and he shut the door.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now. What's this?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Edstrom repeated his words again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What put that notion into your heads?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nothing, sir; only we thought we'd be better satisfied.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You think you're not getting your weight?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, sir, you see&mdash;some of the men&mdash;we think it would be
+      better if we had the check-weighman. We're willing to pay for him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who's this check-weighman to be?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Joe Smith, here.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal braced himself to meet the other's stare. &ldquo;Oh! So it's you!&rdquo; Then,
+      after a moment, &ldquo;So that's why you were feeling so gay!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal was not feeling in the least gay at the moment; but he forebore to say
+      so. There was a silence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, why do you fellows want to throw away your money?&rdquo; The
+      superintendent started to argue with them, showing the absurdity of the
+      notion that they could gain anything by such a course. The mine had been
+      running for years on its present system, and there had never been any
+      complaint. The idea that a company as big and as responsible as the &ldquo;G. F.
+      C.&rdquo; would stoop to cheat its workers out of a few tons of coal! And so on,
+      for several minutes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mr. Cartwright,&rdquo; said Edstrom, when the other had finished, &ldquo;you know
+      I've worked all my life in mines, and most of it in this district. I am
+      telling you something I know when I say there is general dissatisfaction
+      throughout these camps because the men feel they are not getting their
+      weight. You say there has been no public complaint; you understand the
+      reason for this&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What is the reason?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Edstrom, gently, &ldquo;maybe you don't know the reason&mdash;but
+      anyway we've decided that we want a check-weighman.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      It was evident that the superintendent had been taken by surprise, and was
+      uncertain how to meet the issue. &ldquo;You can imagine,&rdquo; he said, at last, &ldquo;the
+      company doesn't relish hearing that its men believe it's cheating them&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We don't say the company knows anything about it, Mr. Cartwright. It's
+      possible that some people may be taking advantage of us, without either
+      the company or yourself having anything to do with it. It's for your
+      protection as well as ours that a check-weighman is needed.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thank you,&rdquo; said the other, drily. His tone revealed that he was holding
+      himself in by an effort. &ldquo;Very well,&rdquo; he added, at last. &ldquo;That's enough
+      about the matter, if your minds are made up. I'll give you my decision
+      later.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      This was a dismissal, and Mike Sikoria turned humbly, and started to the
+      door. But Edstrom was one of the ants that did not readily &ldquo;step one
+      side&rdquo;; and Mike took a glance at him, and then stepped back into line in a
+      hurry, as if hoping his delinquency had not been noted.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If you please, Mr. Cartwright,&rdquo; said Edstrom, &ldquo;we'd like your decision,
+      so as to have the check-weighman start in the morning.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What? You're in such a hurry?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's no reason for delay, sir. We've selected our man, and we're ready
+      to pay him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who are the men who are ready to pay him? Just you two&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am not at liberty to name the other men, sir.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh! So it's a secret movement!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In a way&mdash;yes, sir.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Indeed!&rdquo; said the superintendent, ominously. &ldquo;And you don't care what the
+      company thinks about it!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's not that, Mr. Cartwright, but we don't see anything for the company
+      to object to. It's a simple business arrangement&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, if it seems simple to you, it doesn't to me,&rdquo; snapped the other.
+      And then, getting himself in hand, &ldquo;Understand me, the company would not
+      have the least objection to the men making sure of their weights, if they
+      really think it's necessary. The company has always been willing to do the
+      right thing. But it's not a matter that can be settled off hand. I will
+      let you know later.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Again they were dismissed, and again Old Mike turned, and Edstrom also.
+      But now another ant sprang into the ditch. &ldquo;Just when will you be prepared
+      to let the check-weighman begin work, Mr. Cartwright?&rdquo; asked Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The superintendent gave him a sharp look, and again it could be seen that
+      he made a strong effort to keep his temper. &ldquo;I'm not prepared to say,&rdquo; he
+      replied. &ldquo;I will let you know, as soon as convenient to me. That's all
+      now.&rdquo; And as he spoke he opened the door, putting something into the
+      action that was a command.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mr. Cartwright,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;there's no law against our having a
+      check-weighman, is there?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The look which these words drew from the superintendent showed that he
+      knew full well what the law was. Hal accepted this look as an answer, and
+      continued, &ldquo;I have been selected by a committee of the men to act as their
+      check-weighman, and this committee has duly notified the company. That
+      makes me a check-weighman, I believe, Mr. Cartwright, and so all I have to
+      do is to assume my duties.&rdquo; Without waiting for the superintendent's
+      answer, he walked to the door, followed by his somewhat shocked
+      companions.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 11.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      At the meeting on the night before it had been agreed to spread the news
+      of the check-weighman movement, for the sake of its propaganda value. So
+      now when the three men came out from the office, there was a crowd waiting
+      to know what had happened; men clamoured questions, and each one who got
+      the story would be surrounded by others eager to hear. Hal made his way to
+      the boarding-house, and when he had finished his supper, he set out from
+      place to place in the camp, telling the men about the check-weighman plan
+      and explaining that it was a legal right they were demanding. All this
+      while Old Mike stayed on one side of him, and Edstrom on the other; for
+      Tom Olson had insisted strenuously that Hal should not be left alone for a
+      moment. Evidently the bosses had given the same order; for when Hal came
+      out from Reminitsky's, there was &ldquo;Jake&rdquo; Predovich, the store-clerk, on the
+      fringe of the crowd, and he followed wherever Hal went, doubtless making
+      note of every one he spoke to.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They consulted as to where they were to spend the night. Old Mike was
+      nervous, taking the activities of the spy to mean that they were to be
+      thugged in the darkness. He told horrible stories of that sort of thing.
+      What could be an easier way for the company to settle the matter? They
+      would fix up some story; the world outside would believe they had been
+      killed in a drunken row, perhaps over some woman. This last suggestion
+      especially troubled Hal; he thought of the people at home. No, he must not
+      sleep in the village! And on the other hand he could not go down the
+      canyon, for if he once passed the gate, he might not be allowed to repass
+      it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      An idea occurred to him. Why not go <i>up</i> the canyon? There was no
+      stockade at the upper end of the village&mdash;nothing but wilderness and
+      rocks, without even a road.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But where we sleep?&rdquo; demanded Old Mike, aghast.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Outdoors,&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;<i>Pluha biedna</i>! And get the night air into my bones?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You think you keep the day air in your bones when you sleep inside?&rdquo;
+       laughed Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why don't I, when I shut them windows tight, and cover up my bones?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, risk the night air once,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;It's better than having
+      somebody let it into you with a knife.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But that fellow Predovich&mdash;he follow us up canyon too!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, but he's only one man, and we don't have to fear him. If he went
+      back for others, he'd never be able to find us in the darkness.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Edstrom, whose notions of anatomy were not so crude as Mike's, gave his
+      support to this suggestion; so they got their blankets and stumbled up the
+      canyon in the still, star-lit night. For a while they heard the spy behind
+      them, but finally his footsteps died away, and after they had moved on for
+      some distance, they believed they were safe till daylight. Hal had slept
+      out many a night as a hunter, but it was a new adventure to sleep out as
+      the game!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At dawn they rose, and shook the dew from their blankets, and wiped it
+      from their eyes. Hal was young, and saw the glory of the morning, while
+      poor Mike Sikoria groaned and grumbled over his stiff and aged joints. He
+      thought he had ruined himself forever, but he took courage at Edstrom's
+      mention of coffee, and they hurried down to breakfast at their
+      boarding-house.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now came a critical time, when Hal had to be left by himself. Edstrom was
+      obliged to go down to see to his wife's funeral; and it was obvious that
+      if Mike Sikoria were to lay off work, he would be providing the boss with
+      an excuse for firing him. The law which provided for a check-weighman had
+      failed to provide for a check-weighman's body-guard!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had announced his programme in that flash of defiance in Cartwright's
+      office. As soon as work started up, he went to the tipple. &ldquo;Mr. Peters,&rdquo;
+       he said, to the tipple-boss, &ldquo;I've come to act as check-weighman.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The tipple-boss was a man with a big black moustache, which made him look
+      like the pictures of Nietzsche. He stared at Hal, frankly dumbfounded.
+      &ldquo;What the devil?&rdquo; said he.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Some of the men have chosen me check-weighman,&rdquo; explained Hal, in a
+      business-like manner. &ldquo;When their cars come up, I'll see to their
+      weights.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You keep off this tipple, young fellow!&rdquo; said Peters. His manner was
+      equally business-like.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So the would-be check-weighman came out and sat on the steps to wait. The
+      tipple was a fairly public place, and he judged he was as safe there as
+      anywhere. Some of the men grinned and winked at him as they went about
+      their work; several found a chance to whisper words of encouragement. And
+      all morning he sat, like a protestant at the palace-gates of a mandarin in
+      China, It was tedious work, but he believed that he would be able to stand
+      it longer than the company.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 12.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      In the middle of the morning a man came up to him&mdash;&ldquo;Bud&rdquo; Adams, a
+      younger brother of the &ldquo;J. P.,&rdquo; and Jeff Cotton's assistant. Bud was
+      stocky, red-faced, and reputed to be handy with his fists. So Hal rose up
+      warily when he saw him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hey, you,&rdquo; said Bud. &ldquo;There's a telegram at the office for you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;For me?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your name's Joe Smith, ain't it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, that's what it says.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal considered for a moment. There was no one to be telegraphing Joe
+      Smith. It was only a ruse to get him away.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What's in the telegram?&rdquo; he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How do I know?&rdquo; said Bud.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where is it from?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I dunno that.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;you might bring it to me here.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other's eyes flew open. This was not a revolt, it was a revolution!
+      &ldquo;Who the hell's messenger boy do you think I am?&rdquo; he demanded.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don't the company deliver telegrams?&rdquo; countered Hal, politely. And Bud
+      stood struggling with his human impulses, while Hal watched him
+      cautiously. But apparently those who had sent the messenger had given him
+      precise instructions; for he controlled his wrath, and turned and strode
+      away.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal continued his vigil. He had his lunch with him; and was prepared to
+      eat alone&mdash;understanding the risk that a man would be running who
+      showed sympathy with him. He was surprised, therefore, when Johannson, the
+      giant Swede, came and sat down by his side. There also came a young
+      Mexican labourer, and a Greek miner. The revolution was spreading!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal felt sure the company would not let this go on. And sure enough,
+      towards the middle of the afternoon, the tipple-boss came out and beckoned
+      to him. &ldquo;Come here, you!&rdquo; And Hal went in.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The &ldquo;weigh-room&rdquo; was a fairly open place; but at one side was a door into
+      an office. &ldquo;This way,&rdquo; said the man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Hal stopped where he was.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This is where the check-weighman belongs, Mr. Peters.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But I want to talk to you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can hear you, sir.&rdquo; Hal was in sight of the men, and he knew that was
+      his only protection.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The tipple-boss went back into the office; and a minute later Hal saw what
+      had been intended. The door opened and Alec Stone came out.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He stood for a moment looking at his political henchman. Then he came up.
+      &ldquo;Kid,&rdquo; he said, in a low voice, &ldquo;you're overdoing this. I didn't intend
+      you to go so far.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This is not what you intended, Mr. Stone,&rdquo; answered Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The pit-boss came closer yet. &ldquo;What you looking for, kid? What you expect
+      to get out of this?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal's gaze was unwavering. &ldquo;Experience,&rdquo; he replied.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You're feeling smart, sonny. But you'd better stop and realise what
+      you're up against. You ain't going to get away with it, you know; get that
+      through your head&mdash;you ain't going to get away with it. You'd better
+      come in and have a talk with me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a silence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don't you know how it'll be, Smith? These little fires start up&mdash;but
+      we put 'em out. We know how to do it, we've got the machinery. It'll all
+      be forgotten in a week or two, and then where'll you be at? Can't you
+      see?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      As Hal still made no reply, the other's voice dropped lower. &ldquo;I understand
+      your position. Just give me a nod, and it'll be all right. You tell the
+      men that you've watched the weights, and that they're all right. They'll
+      be satisfied, and you and me can fix it up later.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mr. Stone,&rdquo; said Hal, with intense gravity, &ldquo;am I correct in the
+      impression that you are offering me a bribe?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      In a flash, the man's self-control vanished. He thrust his huge fist
+      within an inch of Hal's nose, and uttered a foul oath. But Hal did not
+      remove his nose from the danger-zone, and over the fist a pair of angry
+      brown eyes gazed at the pit-boss. &ldquo;Mr. Stone, you had better realise this
+      situation. I am in dead earnest about this matter, and I don't think it
+      will be safe for you to offer me violence.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      For a moment or two the man continued to glare at Hal; but it appeared
+      that he, like Bud Adams, had been given instructions. He turned abruptly
+      and strode back into the office.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal stood for a bit, until he had made sure of his composure. After which
+      he strolled over towards the scales. A difficulty had occurred to him for
+      the first time&mdash;that he did not know anything about the working of
+      coal-scales.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But he was given no time to learn. The tipple-boss reappeared. &ldquo;Get out of
+      here, fellow!&rdquo; said he.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But you invited me in,&rdquo; remarked Hal, mildly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, now I invite you out again.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And so the protestant resumed his vigil at the mandarin's palace-gates.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 13.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      When the quitting-whistle blew, Mike Sikoria came quickly to join Hal and
+      hear what had happened. Mike was exultant, for several new men had come up
+      to him and offered to join the check-weighman movement. The old fellow was
+      not sure whether this was owing to his own eloquence as a propagandist, or
+      to the fine young American buddy he had; but in either case he was equally
+      proud. He gave Hal a note which had been slipped into his hand, and which
+      Hal recognised as coming from Tom Olson. The organiser reported that every
+      one in the camp was talking check-weighman, and so from a propaganda
+      standpoint they could count their move a success, no matter what the
+      bosses might do. He added that Hal should have a number of men stay with
+      him that night, so as to have witnesses if the company tried to &ldquo;pull off
+      anything.&rdquo; &ldquo;And be careful of the new men,&rdquo; he added; &ldquo;one or two of them
+      are sure to be spies.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal and Mike discussed their programme for the second night. Neither of
+      them were keen for sleeping out again&mdash;the old Slovak because of his
+      bones, and Hal because he saw there were now several spies following them
+      about. At Reminitsky's, he spoke to some of those who had offered their
+      support, and asked them if they would be willing to spend the night with
+      him in Edstrom's cabin. Not one shrank from this test of sincerity; they
+      all got their blankets, and repaired to the place, where Hal lighted the
+      lamp and held an impromptu check-weighman meeting&mdash;and incidentally
+      entertained himself with a spy-hunt!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One of the new-comers was a Pole named Wojecicowski; this, on top of
+      Zamierowski, caused Hal to give up all effort to call the Poles by their
+      names. &ldquo;Woji&rdquo; was an earnest little man, with a pathetic, tired face. He
+      explained his presence by the statement that he was sick of being robbed;
+      he would pay his share for a check-weighman, and if they fired him, all
+      right, he would move on, and to hell with them. After which declaration he
+      rolled up in a blanket and went to snoring on the floor of the cabin. That
+      did not seem to be exactly the conduct of a spy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Another was an Italian, named Farenzena; a dark-browed and
+      sinister-looking fellow, who might have served as a villain in any
+      melodrama. He sat against the wall and talked in guttural tones, and Hal
+      regarded him with deep suspicion. It was not easy to understand his
+      English, but finally Hal managed to make out the story he was telling&mdash;that
+      he was in love with a &ldquo;fanciulla,&rdquo; and that the &ldquo;fanciulla&rdquo; was playing
+      with him. He had about made up his mind that she was a coquette, and not
+      worth bothering with, so he did not care any curses if they sent him down
+      the canyon. &ldquo;Don't fight for fanciulla, fight for check-weighman!&rdquo; he
+      concluded, with a growl.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Another volunteer was a Greek labourer, a talkative young chap who had sat
+      with Hal at lunch-time, and had given his name as Apostolikas. He entered
+      into fluent conversation with Hal, explaining how much interested he was
+      in the check-weighman plan; he wanted to know just what they were going to
+      do, what chance of success they thought they had, who had started the
+      movement and who was in it. Hal's replies took the form of little sermons
+      on working-class solidarity. Each time the man would start to &ldquo;pump&rdquo; him,
+      Hal would explain the importance of the present issue to the miners, how
+      they must stand by one another and make sacrifices for the good of all.
+      After he had talked abstract theories for half an hour, Apostolikas gave
+      up and moved on to Mike Sikoria, who, having been given a wink by Hal,
+      talked about &ldquo;scabs,&rdquo; and the dreadful things that honest workingmen would
+      do to them. When finally the Greek grew tired again, and lay down on the
+      floor, Hal moved over to Old Mike and whispered that the first name of
+      Apostolikas must be Judas!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 14.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Old Mike went to sleep quickly; but Hal had not worked for several days,
+      and had exciting thoughts to keep him awake. He had been lying quiet for a
+      couple of hours, when he became aware that some one was moving in the
+      room. There was a lamp burning dimly, and through half-closed eyes he made
+      out one of the men lifting himself to a sitting position. At first he
+      could not be sure which one it was, but finally he recognised the Greek.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal lay motionless, and after a minute or so he stole another look and saw
+      the man crouching and listening, his hands still on the floor. Through
+      half opened eye-lids Hal continued to steal glimpses, while the other rose
+      and tip-toed towards him, stepping carefully over the sleeping forms.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal did his best to simulate the breathing of sleep: no easy matter, with
+      the man stooping over him, and a knife-thrust as one of the possibilities
+      of the situation. He took the chance, however; and after what seemed an
+      age, he felt the man's fingers lightly touch his side. They moved down to
+      his coat-pocket.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Going to search me!&rdquo; thought Hal; and waited, expecting the hand to
+      travel to other pockets. But after what seemed an interminable period, he
+      realised that Apostolikas had risen again, and was stepping back to his
+      place. In a minute more he had lain down, and all was still in the cabin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal's hand moved to the pocket, and his fingers slid inside. They touched
+      something, which he recognised instantly as a roll of bills.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see!&rdquo; thought he. &ldquo;A frame-up!&rdquo; And he laughed to himself, his mind
+      going back to early boyhood&mdash;to a dilapidated trunk in the attic of
+      his home, containing story-books that his father had owned. He could see
+      them now, with their worn brown covers and crude pictures: &ldquo;The Luck and
+      Pluck Series,&rdquo; by Horatio Alger; &ldquo;Live or Die,&rdquo; &ldquo;Rough and Ready,&rdquo; etc.
+      How he had thrilled over the story of the country-boy who comes to the
+      city, and meets the villain who robs his employer's cash-drawer and drops
+      the key of it into the hero's pocket! Evidently some one connected with
+      the General Fuel Company had read Horatio Alger!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal realised that he could not be too quick about getting those bills out
+      of his pocket. He thought of returning them to &ldquo;Judas,&rdquo; but decided that
+      he would save them for Edstrom, who was likely to need money before long.
+      He gave the Greek half an hour to go to sleep, then with his pocket-knife
+      he gently picked out a hole in the cinders of the floor and buried the
+      money as best he could. After which he wormed his way to another place,
+      and lay thinking.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 15.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Would they wait until morning, or would they come soon? He was inclined to
+      the latter guess, so he was only slightly startled when, an hour or two
+      later, he heard the knob of the cabin-door turned. A moment later came a
+      crash and the door was burst open, with the shoulder of a heavy man behind
+      it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The room was in confusion in a second. Men sprang to their feet, crying
+      out; others sat up bewildered, still half asleep. The room was bright from
+      an electric torch in the hands of one of the invaders. &ldquo;There's the
+      fellow!&rdquo; cried a voice, which Hal instantly recognised as belonging to
+      Jeff Cotton, the camp-marshal. &ldquo;Stick 'em up, there! You, Joe Smith!&rdquo; Hal
+      did not wait to see the glint of the marshal's revolver.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There followed a silence. As this drama was being staged for the benefit
+      of the other men, it was necessary to give them time to get thoroughly
+      awake, and to get their eyes used to the light. Meantime Hal stood, his
+      hands in the air. Behind the torch he could make out the faces of the
+      marshal, Bud Adams, Alec Stone, Jake Predovich, and two or three others.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, men,&rdquo; said Cotton, at last, &ldquo;you are some of the fellows that want a
+      check-weighman. And this is the man you chose. Is that right?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was no answer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm going to show you the kind of fellow he is. He came to Mr. Stone here
+      and offered to sell you out.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's a lie, men,&rdquo; said Hal, quietly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He took some money from Mr. Stone to sell you out!&rdquo; insisted the marshal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's a lie,&rdquo; said Hal, again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He's got that money now!&rdquo; cried the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And Hal cried, in turn, &ldquo;They are trying to frame something on me, boys!
+      Don't let them fool you!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Shut up,&rdquo; commanded the marshal; then, to the men, &ldquo;I'll show you. I
+      think he's got that money on him now. Jake, search him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The store-clerk advanced.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Watch out, boys!&rdquo; exclaimed Hal. &ldquo;They will put something in my pockets.&rdquo;
+       And then to Old Mike, who had started angrily forward, &ldquo;It's all right,
+      Mike! Let them alone!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Jake, take off your coat,&rdquo; ordered Cotton. &ldquo;Roll up your sleeves. Show
+      your hands.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      It was for all the world like the performance of a prestidigitator. The
+      little Jew took off his coat and rolled up his sleeves above his elbows.
+      He exhibited his hands to the audience, turning them this way and that;
+      then, keeping them out in front of him, he came slowly towards Hal, like a
+      hypnotist about to put him to sleep.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Watch him!&rdquo; said Cotton. &ldquo;He's got that money on him, I know.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Look sharp!&rdquo; cried Hal. &ldquo;If it isn't there, they'll put it there.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Keep your hands up, young fellow,&rdquo; commanded the marshal. &ldquo;Keep back from
+      him there!&rdquo; This last to Mike Sikoria and the other spectators, who were
+      pressing nearer, peering over one another's shoulders.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was all very serious at the time, but afterwards, when Hal recalled the
+      scene, he laughed over the grotesque figure of Predovich searching his
+      pockets while keeping as far away from him as possible, so that every one
+      might know that the money had actually come out of Hal's pocket. The
+      searcher put his hands first in the inside pockets, then in the pockets of
+      Hal's shirt. Time was needed to build up this climax!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Turn around,&rdquo; commanded Cotton; and Hal turned, and the Jew went through
+      his trouser-pockets. He took out in turn Hal's watch, his comb and mirror,
+      his handkerchief; after examining them and holding them up, he dropped them
+      onto the floor. There was a breathless hush when he came to Hal's purse,
+      and proceeded to open it. Thanks to the greed of the company, there was
+      nothing in the purse but some small change. Predovich closed it and
+      dropped it to the floor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Wait now! He's not through!&rdquo; cried the master of ceremonies. &ldquo;He's got
+      that money somewhere, boys! Did you look in his side-pockets, Jake?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not yet,&rdquo; said Jake.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Look sharp!&rdquo; cried the marshal; and every one craned forward eagerly,
+      while Predovich stooped down on one knee, and put his hand into one coat
+      pocket and then into the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He took his hand out again, and the look of dismay upon his face was so
+      obvious that Hal could hardly keep from laughing. &ldquo;It ain't dere!&rdquo; he
+      declared.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What?&rdquo; cried Cotton, and they stared at each other. &ldquo;By God, he's got rid
+      of it!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's no money on me, boys!&rdquo; proclaimed Hal. &ldquo;It's a job they are
+      trying to put over on us.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He's hid it!&rdquo; shouted the marshal. &ldquo;Find it, Jake!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Then Predovich began to search again, swiftly, and with less circumstance.
+      He was not thinking so much about the spectators now, as about all that
+      good money gone for nothing! He made Hal take off his coat, and ripped
+      open the lining; he unbuttoned the trousers and felt inside; he thrust his
+      fingers down inside Hal's shoes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But there was no money, and the searchers were at a standstill. &ldquo;He took
+      twenty-five dollars from Mr. Stone to sell you out!&rdquo; declared the marshal.
+      &ldquo;He's managed to get rid of it somehow.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Boys,&rdquo; cried Hal, &ldquo;they sent a spy in here, and told him to put money on
+      me.&rdquo; He was looking at Apostolikas as he spoke; he saw the man start and
+      shrink back.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's him! He's a scab!&rdquo; cried Old Mike. &ldquo;He's got the money on him, I
+      bet!&rdquo; And he made a move towards the Greek.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So the camp-marshal realised suddenly that it was time to ring down the
+      curtain on this drama. &ldquo;That's enough of this foolishness,&rdquo; he declared.
+      &ldquo;Bring that fellow along here!&rdquo; And in a flash a couple of the party had
+      seized Hal's wrists, and a third had grabbed him by the collar of his
+      shirt. Before the miners had time to realise what was happening, they had
+      rushed their prisoner out of the cabin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The quarter of an hour which followed was an uncomfortable one for the
+      would-be check-weighman. Outside, in the darkness, the camp-marshal was
+      free to give vent to his rage, and so was Alec Stone. They poured out
+      curses upon him, and kicked him and cuffed him as they went along. One of
+      the men who held his wrists twisted his arm, until he cried out with pain;
+      then they cursed him harder, and bade him hold his mouth. Down the dark
+      and silent street they went swiftly, and into the camp-marshal's office,
+      and upstairs to the room which served as the North Valley jail. Hal was
+      glad enough when they left him here, slamming the iron door behind them.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 16.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      It had been a crude and stupid plot, yet Hal realised that it was adapted
+      to the intelligence of the men for whom it was intended. But for the
+      accident that he had stayed awake, they would have found the money on him,
+      and next morning the whole camp would have heard that he had sold out. Of
+      course his immediate friends, the members of the committee, would not have
+      believed it; but the mass of the workers would have believed it, and so
+      the purpose of Tom Olson's visit to North Valley would have been balked.
+      Throughout the experiences which were to come to him, Hal retained his
+      vivid impression of that adventure; it served to him as a symbol of many
+      things. Just as the bosses had tried to bedevil him, to destroy his
+      influence with his followers, so later on he saw them trying to bedevil
+      the labour-movement, to confuse the intelligence of the whole country.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now Hal was in jail. He went to the window and tried the bars&mdash;but
+      found that they had been made for such trials. Then he groped his way
+      about in the darkness, examining his prison, which proved to be a steel
+      cage built inside the walls of an ordinary room. In one corner was a
+      bench, and in another corner another bench, somewhat broader, with a
+      mattress upon it. Hal had read a little about jails&mdash;enough to cause
+      him to avoid this mattress. He sat upon the bare bench, and began to
+      think.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It is a fact that there is a peculiar psychology incidental to being in
+      jail; just as there is a peculiar psychology incidental to straining your
+      back and breaking your hands loading coal-cars in a five foot vein; and
+      another, and quite different psychology, produced by living at ease off
+      the labours of coal-miners. In a jail, you have first of all the sense of
+      being an animal; the animal side of your being is emphasised, the animal
+      passions of hatred and fear are called into prominence, and if you are to
+      escape being dominated by them, it can only be by intense and concentrated
+      effort of the mind. So, if you are a thinking man, you do a great deal of
+      thinking in a jail; the days are long, and the nights still longer&mdash;you
+      have time for all the thoughts you can have.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The bench was hard, and seemed to grow harder. There was no position in
+      which it could be made to grow soft. Hal got up and paced about, then he
+      lay down for a while, then got up and walked again; and all the while he
+      thought, and all the while the jail-psychology was being impressed upon
+      his mind.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      First, he thought about his immediate problem. What were they going to do
+      to him? The obvious thing would be to put him out of camp, and so be done
+      with him; but would they rest content with that, in their irritation at
+      the trick he had played? Hal had heard vaguely of that native American
+      institution, the &ldquo;third degree,&rdquo; but had never had occasion to think of it
+      as a possibility in his own life. What a difference it made, to think of
+      it in that way!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had told Tom Olson that he would not pledge himself to organise a
+      union, but that he would pledge himself to get a check-weighman; and Olson
+      had laughed, and seemed quite content&mdash;apparently assuming that it
+      would come to the same thing. And now, it rather seemed that Olson had
+      known what he was talking about. For Hal found his thoughts no longer
+      troubled with fears of labour union domination and walking delegate
+      tyranny; on the contrary, he became suddenly willing for the people of
+      North Valley to have a union, and to be as tyrannical as they knew how!
+      And in this change, though Hal had no idea of it, he was repeating an
+      experience common among reformers; many of whom begin as mild and
+      benevolent advocates of some obvious bit of justice, and under the
+      operation of the jail-psychology are made into blazing and determined
+      revolutionists. &ldquo;Eternal spirit of the chainless mind,&rdquo; says Byron.
+      &ldquo;Greatest in dungeons Liberty thou art!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The poet goes on to add that &ldquo;When thy sons to fetters are confined&mdash;&rdquo;
+       then &ldquo;Freedom's fame finds wings on every wind.&rdquo; And just as it was in
+      Chillon, so it seemed to be in North Valley. Dawn came, and Hal stood at
+      the window of his cell, and heard the whistle blow and saw the workers
+      going to their tasks, the toil-bent, pallid faced creatures of the
+      underworld, like a file of baboons in the half-light. He waved his hand to
+      them, and they stopped and stared, and then waved back; he realised that
+      every one of those men must be thinking about his imprisonment, and the
+      reason for it&mdash;and so the jail-psychology was being communicated to
+      them. If any of them cherished distrust of unions, or doubt of the need of
+      organisation in North Valley&mdash;that distrust and that doubt were being
+      dissipated!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &mdash;There was only one thing discouraging about the matter, as Hal
+      thought it over. Why should the bosses have left him here in plain sight,
+      when they might so easily have put him into an automobile, and whisked him
+      down to Pedro before daylight? Was it a sign of the contempt they felt for
+      their slaves? Did they count upon the sight of the prisoner in the window
+      to produce fear instead of resentment? And might it not be that they
+      understood their workers better than the would-be check-weighman? He
+      recalled Mary Burke's pessimism about them, and anxiety gnawed at his
+      soul; and&mdash;such is the operation of the jail-psychology&mdash;he
+      fought against this anxiety. He hated the company for its cynicism, he
+      clenched his hands and set his teeth, desiring to teach the bosses a
+      lesson, to prove to them that their workers were not slaves, but men!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 17.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Toward the middle of the morning, Hal heard footsteps in the corridor
+      outside, and a man whom he did not know opened the barred door and set
+      down a pitcher of water and a tin plate with a hunk of bread on it. When
+      he started to leave, Hal spoke: &ldquo;Just a minute, please.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other frowned at him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Can you give me any idea how long I am to stay in here?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I cannot,&rdquo; said the man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If I'm to be locked up,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;I've certainly a right to know what
+      is the charge against me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Go to blazes!&rdquo; said the other, and slammed the door and went down the
+      corridor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal went to the window again, and passed the time watching the people who
+      went by. Groups of ragged children gathered, looking up at him, grinning
+      and making signs&mdash;until some one appeared below and ordered them
+      away.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As time passed, Hal became hungry. The taste of bread, eaten alone,
+      becomes speedily monotonous, and the taste of water does not relieve it;
+      nevertheless, Hal munched the bread, and drank the water, and wished for
+      more.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The day dragged by; and late in the afternoon the keeper came again, with
+      another hunk of bread and another pitcher of water. &ldquo;Listen a moment,&rdquo;
+       said Hal, as the man was turning away.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I got nothin' to say to you,&rdquo; said the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have something to say to you,&rdquo; pleaded Hal. &ldquo;I have read in a book&mdash;I
+      forget where, but it was written by some doctor&mdash;that white bread
+      does not contain the elements necessary to the sustaining of the human
+      body.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Go on!&rdquo; growled the jailer. &ldquo;What yer givin' us?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I mean,&rdquo; explained Hal, &ldquo;a diet of bread and water is not what I'd choose
+      to live on.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What would yer choose?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The tone suggested that the question was a rhetorical one; but Hal took it
+      in good faith. &ldquo;If I could have some beefsteak and mashed potatoes&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The door of the cell closed with a slam whose echoes drowned out the rest
+      of that imaginary menu. And so once more Hal sat on the hard bench, and
+      munched his hunk of bread, and thought jail-thoughts.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the quitting-whistle blew, he stood at the window, and saw the groups
+      of his friends once again, and got their covert signals of encouragement.
+      Then darkness fell, and another long vigil began.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was late; Hal had no means of telling how late, save that all the
+      lights in the camps were out. He made up his mind that he was in for the
+      night, and had settled himself on the floor with his arm for a pillow, and
+      had dozed off to sleep, when suddenly there came a scraping sound against
+      the bars of his window. He sat up with a start, and heard another sound,
+      unmistakably the rustling of paper. He sprang to the window, where by the
+      faint light of the stars he could make out something dangling. He caught
+      at it; it seemed to be an ordinary note-book, such as stenographers use,
+      tied on the end of a pole.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal looked out, but could see no one. He caught hold of the pole and
+      jerked it, as a signal; and then he heard a whisper which he recognised
+      instantly as Rovetta's. &ldquo;Hello! Listen. Write your name hundred times in
+      book. I come back. Understand?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The command was a sufficiently puzzling one, but Hal realised that this
+      was no time for explanations. He answered, &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; and broke the string and
+      took the notebook. There was a pencil attached, with a piece of cloth
+      wrapped round the point to protect it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The pole was withdrawn, and Hal sat on the bench, and began to write,
+      three or four times on a page, &ldquo;Joe Smith&mdash;Joe Smith&mdash;Joe
+      Smith.&rdquo; It is not hard to write &ldquo;Joe Smith,&rdquo; even in darkness, and so,
+      while his hand moved, Hal's mind was busy with this mystery. It was fairly
+      to be assumed that his committee did not want his autograph to distribute
+      for a souvenir; they must want it for some vital purpose, to meet some new
+      move of the bosses. The answer to this riddle was not slow in coming:
+      having failed in their effort to find money on him, the bosses had framed
+      up a letter, which they were exhibiting as having been written by the
+      would-be check-weigh-man. His friends wanted his signature to disprove the
+      authenticity of the letter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal wrote a free and rapid hand, with a generous flourish; he felt sure it
+      would be different from Alec Stone's idea of a working-boy's scrawl. His
+      pencil flew on and on&mdash;&ldquo;Joe Smith&mdash;Joe Smith&mdash;&rdquo; page after
+      page, until he was sure that he had written a signature for every miner in
+      the camp, and was beginning on the buddies. Then, hearing a whistle
+      outside, he stopped and sprang to the window.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Throw it!&rdquo; whispered a voice; and Hal threw it. He saw a form vanish up
+      the street, after which all was quiet again. He listened for a while, to
+      see if he had roused his jailer; then he lay down on the bench&mdash;and
+      thought more jail-thoughts!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 18.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Morning came, and the mine-whistle blew, and Hal stood at the window
+      again. This time he noticed that some of the miners on their way to work
+      had little strips of paper in their hands, which strips they waved
+      conspicuously for him to see. Old Mike Sikoria came along, having a whole
+      bunch of strips in his hands, which he was distributing to all who would
+      take them. Doubtless he had been warned to proceed secretly, but the
+      excitement of the occasion had been too much for him; he capered about
+      like a young spring lamb, and waved the strips at Hal in plain sight of
+      all the world.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Such indiscreet behaviour met the return it invited. As Hal watched, he
+      saw a stocky figure come striding round the corner, confronting the
+      startled old Slovak. It was Bud Adams, the mine-guard, and his hard fists
+      were clenched, and his whole body gathered for a blow. Mike saw him, and
+      was as if suddenly struck with paralysis; his toil-bent shoulders sunk
+      together, and his hands fell to his sides&mdash;his fingers opening, and
+      his precious strips of paper fluttering to the ground. Mike stared at Bud
+      like a fascinated rabbit, making no move to protect himself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal clutched the bars, with an impulse to leap to his friend's defence.
+      But the expected blow did not fall; the mine-guard contented himself with
+      glaring ferociously, and giving an order to the old man. Mike stooped and
+      picked up the papers&mdash;the process taking him some time, as he was
+      unable or unwilling to take his eyes off the mine-guard's. When he got
+      them all in his hands, there came another order, and he gave them up to
+      Bud. After which he fell back a step, and the other followed, his fists
+      still clenched, and a blow seeming about to leap from him every moment.
+      Mike receded another step, and then another&mdash;so the two of them
+      backed out of sight around the corner. Men who had been witnesses of this
+      little drama turned and slunk off, and Hal was given no clue as to its
+      outcome.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A couple of hours afterwards, Hal's jailer came up, this time without any
+      bread and water. He opened the door and commanded the prisoner to &ldquo;come
+      along.&rdquo; Hal went downstairs, and entered Jeff Cotton's office.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The camp-marshal sat at his desk with a cigar between his teeth. He was
+      writing, and he went on writing until the jailer had gone out and closed
+      the door. Then he turned his revolving chair and crossed his legs, leaning
+      back and looking at the young miner in his dirty blue overalls, his hair
+      tousled and his face pale from his period of confinement. The
+      camp-marshal's aristocratic face wore a smile. &ldquo;Well, young fellow,&rdquo; said
+      he, &ldquo;you've been having a lot of fun in this camp.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pretty fair, thank you,&rdquo; answered Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Beat us out all along the line, hey?&rdquo; Then, after a pause, &ldquo;Now, tell me,
+      what do you think you're going to get out of it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's what Alec Stone asked me,&rdquo; replied Hal. &ldquo;I don't think it would do
+      much good to explain. I doubt if you believe in altruism any more than
+      Stone does.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The camp-marshal took his cigar from his mouth, and flicked off the ashes.
+      His face became serious, and there was a silence, while he studied Hal.
+      &ldquo;You a union organiser?&rdquo; he asked, at last.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You're an educated man; you're no labourer, that I know. Who's paying
+      you?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There you are! You don't believe in altruism.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other blew a ring of smoke across the room. &ldquo;Just want to put the
+      company in the hole, hey? Some kind of agitator?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am a miner who wants to be a check-weighman.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Socialist?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That depends upon developments here.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said the marshal, &ldquo;you're an intelligent chap, that I can see. So
+      I'll lay my hand on the table and you can study it. You're not going to
+      serve as check-weighman in North Valley, nor any other place that the 'G.
+      F. C.' has anything to do with. Nor are you going to have the satisfaction
+      of putting the company in a hole. We're not even going to beat you up and
+      make a martyr of you. I was tempted to do that the other night, but I
+      changed my mind.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You might change the bruises on my arm,&rdquo; suggested Hal, in a pleasant
+      voice.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We're going to offer you the choice of two things,&rdquo; continued the
+      marshal, without heeding this mild sarcasm. &ldquo;Either you will sign a paper
+      admitting that you took the twenty-five dollars from Alec Stone, in which
+      case we will fire you and call it square; or else we will prove that you
+      took it, in which case we will send you to the pen for five or ten years.
+      Do you get that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Now when Hal had applied for the job of check-weighman, he had been
+      expecting to be thrown out of the camp, and had intended to go, counting
+      his education complete. But here, as he sat and gazed into the marshal's
+      menacing eyes, he decided suddenly that he did not want to leave North
+      Valley. He wanted to stay and take the measure of this gigantic &ldquo;burglar,&rdquo;
+       the General Fuel Company.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's a serious threat, Mr. Cotton,&rdquo; he remarked. &ldquo;Do you often do
+      things like that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We do them when we have to,&rdquo; was the reply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, it's a novel proposition. Tell me more about it. What will the
+      charge be?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm not sure about that&mdash;we'll put it up to our lawyers. Maybe
+      they'll call it conspiracy, maybe blackmail. They'll make it whatever
+      carries a long enough sentence.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And before I enter my plea, would you mind letting me see the letter I'm
+      supposed to have written.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, you've heard about the letter, have you?&rdquo; said the camp-marshal,
+      lifting his eyebrows in mild surprise. He took from his desk a sheet of
+      paper and handed it to Hal, who read:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Dere mister Stone, You don't need worry about the check-wayman. Pay me
+      twenty five dollars, and I will fix it right. Yours try, Joe Smith.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Having taken in the words of the letter, Hal examined the paper, and
+      perceived that his enemies had taken the trouble, not merely to forge a
+      letter in his name, but to have it photographed, to have a cut made of the
+      photograph, and to have it printed. Beyond doubt they had distributed it
+      broadcast in the camp. And all this in a few hours! It was as Olson had
+      said&mdash;a regular system to keep the men bedevilled.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 19.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal took a minute or so to ponder the situation. &ldquo;Mr. Cotton,&rdquo; he said, at
+      last. &ldquo;I know how to spell better than that. Also my handwriting is a bit
+      more fluent.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a trace of a smile about the marshal's cruel lips. &ldquo;I know,&rdquo; he
+      replied. &ldquo;I've not failed to compare them.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You have a good secret-service department!&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Before you get through, young fellow, you'll discover that our legal
+      department is equally efficient.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;they'll need to be; for I don't see how you can get
+      round the fact that I'm a check-weighman, chosen according to the law, and
+      with a group of the men behind me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If that's what you're counting on,&rdquo; retorted Cotton, &ldquo;you may as well
+      forget it. You've got no group any more.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh! You've got rid of them?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We've got rid of the ring-leaders.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of whom?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That old billy-goat, Sikoria, for one.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You've shipped him?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We have.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I saw the beginning of that. Where have you sent him?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That,&rdquo; smiled the marshal, &ldquo;is a job for <i>your</i> secret-service
+      department!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And who else?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;John Edstrom has gone down to bury his wife. It's not the first time that
+      dough-faced old preacher has made trouble for us, but it'll be the last.
+      You'll find him in Pedro&mdash;probably in the poor-house.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; responded Hal, quickly&mdash;and there came just a touch of elation
+      in his voice&mdash;&ldquo;he won't have to go to the poor-house at once. You
+      see, I've just sent twenty-five dollars to him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The camp-marshal frowned. &ldquo;Really!&rdquo; Then, after a pause, &ldquo;You <i>did</i>
+      have that money on you! I thought that lousy Greek had got away with it!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No. Your knave was honest. But so was I. I knew Edstrom had been getting
+      short weight for years, so he was the one person with any right to the
+      money.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      This story was untrue, of course; the money was still buried in Edstrom's
+      cabin. But Hal meant for the old miner to have it in the end, and meantime
+      he wanted to throw Cotton off the track.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A clever trick, young man!&rdquo; said the marshal. &ldquo;But you'll repent it
+      before you're through. It only makes me more determined to put you where
+      you can't do us any harm.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean in the pen? You understand, of course, it will mean a jury
+      trial. You can get a jury to do what you want?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They tell me you've been taking an interest in politics in Pedro County.
+      Haven't you looked into our jury-system?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, I haven't got that far.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The marshal began blowing rings of smoke again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, there are some three hundred men on our jury-list, and we know them
+      all. You'll find yourself facing a box with Jake Predovich as foreman,
+      three company-clerks, two of Alf Raymond's saloon-keepers, a ranchman with
+      a mortgage held by the company-bank, and five Mexicans who have no idea
+      what it's all about, but would stick a knife into your back for a drink of
+      whiskey. The District Attorney is a politician who favours the miners in
+      his speeches, and favours us in his acts; while Judge Denton, of the
+      district court, is the law partner of Vagleman, our chief-counsel. Do you
+      get all that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;I've heard of the 'Empire of Raymond'; I'm interested to
+      see the machinery. You're quite open about it!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; replied the marshal, &ldquo;I want you to know what you're up against.
+      We didn't start this fight, and we're perfectly willing to end it without
+      trouble. All we ask is that you make amends for the mischief you've done
+      us.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By 'making amends,' you mean I'm to disgrace myself&mdash;to tell the men
+      I'm a traitor?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Precisely,&rdquo; said the marshal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think I'll have a seat while I consider the matter,&rdquo; said Hal; and he
+      took a chair, and stretched out his legs, and made himself elaborately
+      comfortable. &ldquo;That bench upstairs is frightfully hard,&rdquo; said he, and
+      smiled mockingly upon the camp-marshal.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 20.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      When this conversation was continued, it was upon a new and unexpected
+      line. &ldquo;Cotton,&rdquo; remarked the prisoner, &ldquo;I perceive that you are a man of
+      education. It occurs to me that once upon a time you must have been what
+      the world calls a gentleman.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The blood started into the camp-marshal's face. &ldquo;You go to hell!&rdquo; said he.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I did not intend to ask questions,&rdquo; continued Hal. &ldquo;I can well understand
+      that you mightn't care to answer them. My point is that, being an
+      ex-gentleman, you may appreciate certain aspects of this case which would
+      be beyond the understanding of a nigger-driver like Stone, or an
+      efficiency expert like Cartwright. One gentleman can recognise another,
+      even in a miner's costume. Isn't that so?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal paused for an answer, and the marshal gave him a wary look. &ldquo;I suppose
+      so,&rdquo; he said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, to begin with, one gentleman does not smoke without inviting
+      another to join him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The man gave another look. Hal thought he was going to consign him to
+      hades once more; but instead he took a cigar from his vest-pocket and held
+      it out.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, thank you,&rdquo; said Hal, quietly. &ldquo;I do not smoke. But I like to be
+      invited.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a pause, while the two men measured each other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, Cotton,&rdquo; began the prisoner, &ldquo;you pictured the scene at my trial.
+      Let me carry on the story for you. You have your case all framed up, your
+      hand-picked jury in the box, and your hand-picked judge on the bench, your
+      hand-picked prosecuting-attorney putting through the job; you are ready to
+      send your victim to prison, for an example to the rest of your employés.
+      But suppose that, at the climax of the proceedings, you should make the
+      discovery that your victim is a person who cannot be sent to prison?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Cannot be sent to prison?&rdquo; repeated the other. His tone was thoughtful.
+      &ldquo;You'll have to explain.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Surely not to a man of your intelligence! Don't you know, Cotton, there
+      are people who cannot be sent to prison?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The camp-marshal smoked his cigar for a bit. &ldquo;There are some in this
+      county,&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;But I thought I knew them all.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;has it never occurred to you that there might be some
+      in this <i>state</i>?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There followed a long silence. The two men were gazing into each other's
+      eyes; and the more they gazed, the more plainly Hal read uncertainty in
+      the face of the marshal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Think how embarrassing it would be!&rdquo; he continued. &ldquo;You have your drama
+      all staged&mdash;as you did the night before last&mdash;only on a larger
+      stage, before a more important audience; and at the <i>dénouement</i> you
+      find that, instead of vindicating yourself before the workers in North
+      Valley, you have convicted yourself before the public of the state. You
+      have shown the whole community that you are law-breakers; worse than that&mdash;you
+      have shown that you are jack-asses!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      This time the camp-marshal gazed so long that his cigar went out. And
+      meantime Hal was lounging in his chair, smiling at him strangely. It was
+      as if a transformation was taking place before the marshal's eyes; the
+      miner's &ldquo;jumpers&rdquo; fell away from Hal's figure, and there was a suit of
+      evening-clothes in their place!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who the devil are you?&rdquo; cried the man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well now!&rdquo; laughed Hal. &ldquo;You boast of the efficiency of your secret
+      service department! Put them at work upon this problem. A young man, age
+      twenty-one, height five feet ten inches, weight one hundred and fifty-two
+      pounds, eyes brown, hair chestnut and rather wavy, manner genial, a
+      favourite with the ladies&mdash;at least that's what the society notes say&mdash;missing
+      since early in June, supposed to be hunting mountain-goats in Mexico. As
+      you know, Cotton, there's only one city in the state that has any
+      'society,' and in that city there are only twenty-five or thirty families
+      that count. For a secret service department like that of the 'G. F. C.',
+      that is really too easy.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Again there was a silence, until Hal broke it. &ldquo;Your distress is a tribute
+      to your insight. The company is lucky in the fact that one of its
+      camp-marshals happens to be an ex-gentleman.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Again the other flushed. &ldquo;Well, by God!&rdquo; he said, half to himself; and
+      then, making a last effort to hold his bluff&mdash;&ldquo;You're kidding me!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;'Kidding,' as you call it, is one of the favourite occupations of
+      society, Cotton. A good part of our intercourse consists of it&mdash;at
+      least among the younger set.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Suddenly the marshal rose. &ldquo;Say,&rdquo; he demanded, &ldquo;would you mind going back
+      upstairs for a few minutes?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal could not restrain his laughter at this. &ldquo;I should mind it very much,&rdquo;
+       he said. &ldquo;I have been on a bread and water diet for thirty-six hours, and
+      I should like very much to get out and have a breath of fresh air.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But,&rdquo; said the other, lamely, &ldquo;I've got to send you up there.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's another matter,&rdquo; replied Hal. &ldquo;If you send me, I'll go, but it's
+      your look-out. You've kept me here without legal authority, with no charge
+      against me, and without giving me an opportunity to see counsel. Unless
+      I'm very much mistaken, you are liable criminally for that, and the
+      company is liable civilly. That is your own affair, of course. I only want
+      to make clear my position&mdash;when you ask me would I <i>mind</i>
+      stepping upstairs, I, answer that I would mind very much indeed.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The camp-marshal stood for a bit, chewing nervously on his extinct cigar.
+      Then he went to the door. &ldquo;Hey, Gus!&rdquo; he called. Hal's jailer appeared,
+      and Cotton whispered to him, and he went away again. &ldquo;I'm telling him to
+      get you some food, and you can sit and eat it here. Will that suit you
+      better?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It depends,&rdquo; said Hal, making the most of the situation. &ldquo;Are you
+      inviting me as your prisoner, or as your guest?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, come off!&rdquo; said the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But I have to know my legal status. It will be of importance to my
+      lawyers.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Be my guest,&rdquo; said the camp-marshal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But when a guest has eaten, he is free to go out, if he wishes to!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I will let you know about that before you get through.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, be quick. I'm a rapid eater.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You'll promise you won't go away before that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If I do,&rdquo; was Hal's laughing reply, &ldquo;it will be only to my place of
+      business. You can look for me at the tipple, Cotton!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 21.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      The marshal went out, and a few moments later the jailer came back, with a
+      meal which presented a surprising contrast to the ones he had previously
+      served. There was a tray containing cold ham, a couple of soft boiled
+      eggs, some potato salad, and a cup of coffee with rolls and butter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, well!&rdquo; said Hal, condescendingly. &ldquo;That's even nicer than beefsteak
+      and mashed potatoes!&rdquo; He sat and watched, not offering to help, while the
+      other made room for the tray on the table in front of him. Then the man
+      stalked out, and Hal began to eat.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Before he had finished, the camp-marshal returned. He seated himself in
+      his revolving chair, and appeared to be meditative. Between bites, Hal
+      would look up and smile at him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Cotton,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;you know there is no more certain test of breeding
+      than table-manners. You will observe that I have not tucked my napkin in
+      my neck, as Alec Stone would have done.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm getting you,&rdquo; replied the marshal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal set his knife and fork side by side on his plate. &ldquo;Your man has
+      overlooked the finger-bowl,&rdquo; he remarked. &ldquo;However, don't bother. You
+      might ring for him now, and let him take the tray.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The camp-marshal used his voice for a bell, and the jailer came.
+      &ldquo;Unfortunately,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;when your people were searching me, night
+      before last, they dropped my purse, so I have no tip for the waiter.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The &ldquo;waiter&rdquo; glared at Hal as if he would like to bite him; but the
+      camp-marshal grinned. &ldquo;Clear out, Gus, and shut the door,&rdquo; said he.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then Hal stretched his legs and made himself comfortable again. &ldquo;I must
+      say I like being your guest better than being your prisoner!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a pause.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I've been talking it over with Mr. Cartwright,&rdquo; began the marshal. &ldquo;I've
+      got no way of telling how much of this is bluff that you've been giving
+      me, but it's evident enough that you're no miner. You may be some
+      newfangled kind of agitator, but I'm damned if I ever saw an agitator that
+      had tea-party manners. I suppose you've been brought up to money; but if
+      that's so, why you want to do this kind of thing is more than I can
+      imagine.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tell me, Cotton,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;did you never hear of <i>ennui</i>?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; replied the other, &ldquo;but aren't you rather young to be troubled with
+      that complaint?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Suppose I've seen others suffering from it, and wanted to try a different
+      way of living from theirs?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If you're what you say, you ought to be still in college.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I go back for my senior year this fall.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What college?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You doubt me still, I see!&rdquo; said Hal, and smiled. Then, unexpectedly,
+      with a spirit which only moonlit campuses and privilege could beget, he
+      chanted:
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+  &ldquo;Old King Coal was a merry old soul,
+    And a merry old soul was he;
+  He made him a college, all full of knowledge&mdash;
+    Hurrah for you and me!&rdquo;
+ </pre>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What college is that?&rdquo; asked the marshal. And Hal sang again:
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+  &ldquo;Oh, Liza-Ann, come out with me,
+  The moon is a-shinin' in the monkey-puzzle tree!
+  Oh, Liza-Ann, I have began
+  To sing you the song of Harrigan!&rdquo;
+ </pre>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, well!&rdquo; commented the marshal, when the concert was over. &ldquo;Are there
+      many more like you at Harrigan?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A little group&mdash;enough to leaven the lump.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And this is your idea of a vacation?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, it isn't a vacation; it's a summer-course in practical sociology.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, I see!&rdquo; said the marshal; and he smiled in spite of himself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All last year we let the professors of political economy hand out their
+      theories to us. But somehow the theories didn't seem to correspond with
+      the facts. I said to myself, 'I've got to check them up.' You know the
+      phrases, perhaps&mdash;individualism, <i>laissez faire</i>, freedom of
+      contract, the right of every man to work for whom he pleases. And here you
+      see how the theories work out&mdash;a camp-marshal with a cruel smile on
+      his face and a gun on his hip, breaking the laws faster than a governor
+      can sign them.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The camp-marshal decided suddenly that he had had enough of this
+      &ldquo;tea-party.&rdquo; He rose to his feet to cut matters short. &ldquo;If you don't mind,
+      young man,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;we'll get down to business!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 22.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      He took a turn about the room, then he came and stopped in front of Hal.
+      He stood with his hands thrust into his pockets, with a certain jaunty
+      grace that was out of keeping with his occupation. He was a handsome
+      devil, Hal thought&mdash;in spite of his dangerous mouth, and the marks of
+      dissipation on him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Young man,&rdquo; he began, with another effort at geniality. &ldquo;I don't know who
+      you are, but you're wide awake; you've got your nerve with you, and I
+      admire you. So I'm willing to call the thing off, and let you go back and
+      finish that course at college.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had been studying the other's careful smile. &ldquo;Cotton,&rdquo; he said, at
+      last, &ldquo;let me get the proposition clear. I don't have to say I took that
+      money?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, we'll let you off from that.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you won't send me to the pen?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No. I never meant to do that, of course. I was only trying to bluff you.
+      All I ask is that you clear out, and give our people a chance to forget.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But what's there in that for me, Cotton? If I had wanted to run away, I
+      could have done it any time during the last eight or ten weeks.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, of course, but now it's different. Now it's a matter of my
+      consideration.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Cut out the consideration!&rdquo; exclaimed Hal. &ldquo;You want to get rid of me,
+      and you'd like to do it without trouble. But you can't&mdash;so forget
+      it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other was staring, puzzled. &ldquo;You mean you expect to stay here?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I mean just that.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Young man, I've had enough of this! I've got no more time to play. I
+      don't care who you are, I don't care about your threats. I'm the marshal
+      of this camp, and I have the job of keeping order in it. I say you're
+      going to get out!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But, Cotton,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;this is an incorporated town! I have a right to
+      walk on the streets&mdash;exactly as much right as you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm not going to waste time arguing. I'm going to put you into an
+      automobile and take you down to Pedro!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And suppose I go to the District Attorney and demand that he prosecute
+      you?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He'll laugh at you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And suppose I go to the Governor of the state?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He'll laugh still louder.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right, Cotton; maybe you know what you're doing; but I wonder&mdash;I
+      wonder just how sure you feel. Has it never occurred to you that your
+      superiors might not care to have you take these high-handed steps?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My superiors? Who do you mean?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's one man in the state you must respect&mdash;even though you
+      despise the District Attorney and the Governor. That is Peter Harrigan.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Peter Harrigan?&rdquo; echoed the other; and then he burst into a laugh. &ldquo;Well,
+      you <i>are</i> a merry lad!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal continued to study him, unmoved. &ldquo;I wonder if you're sure! He'll stand
+      for everything you've done.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He will!&rdquo; said the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;For the way you treat the workers? He knows you are giving short
+      weights.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh hell!&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;Where do you suppose he got the money for your
+      college?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a pause; at last the marshal asked, defiantly, &ldquo;Have you got
+      what you want?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; replied Hal. &ldquo;Of course, I thought it all along, but it's hard to
+      convince other people. Old Peter's not like most of these Western wolves,
+      you know; he's a pious high-church man.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The marshal smiled grimly. &ldquo;So long as there are sheep,&rdquo; said he,
+      &ldquo;there'll be wolves in sheep's clothing.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;And you leave them to feed on the lambs!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If any lamb is silly enough to be fooled by that old worn-out skin,&rdquo;
+       remarked the marshal, &ldquo;it deserves to be eaten.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal was studying the cynical face in front of him. &ldquo;Cotton,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;the
+      shepherds are asleep; but the watch-dogs are barking. Haven't you heard
+      them?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I hadn't noticed.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They are barking, barking! They are going to wake the shepherds! They are
+      going to save the sheep!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Religion don't interest me,&rdquo; said the other, looking bored; &ldquo;your kind
+      any more than Old Peter's.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And suddenly Hal rose to his feet. &ldquo;Cotton,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;my place is with
+      the flock! I'm going back to my job at the tipple!&rdquo; And he started towards
+      the door.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 23.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Jeff Cotton sprang forward. &ldquo;Stop!&rdquo; he cried.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Hal did not stop.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;See here, young man!&rdquo; cried the marshal. &ldquo;Don't carry this joke too far!&rdquo;
+       And he sprang to the door, just ahead of his prisoner. His hand moved
+      toward his hip.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Draw your gun, Cotton,&rdquo; said Hal; and, as the marshal obeyed, &ldquo;Now I will
+      stop. If I obey you in future, it will be at the point of your revolver.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The marshal's mouth was dangerous-looking. &ldquo;You may find that in this
+      country there's not so much between the drawing of a gun and the firing of
+      it!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I've explained my attitude,&rdquo; replied Hal. &ldquo;What are your orders?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Come back and sit in this chair.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So Hal sat, and the marshal went to his desk, and took up the telephone.
+      &ldquo;Number seven,&rdquo; he said, and waited a moment. &ldquo;That you, Tom? Bring the
+      car right away.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He hung up the receiver, and there followed a silence; finally Hal
+      inquired, &ldquo;I'm going to Pedro?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was no reply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see I've got on your nerves,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;But I don't suppose it's
+      occurred to you that you deprived me of my money last night. Also, I've an
+      account with the company, some money coming to me for my work? What about
+      that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The marshal took up the receiver and gave another number. &ldquo;Hello, Simpson.
+      This is Cotton. Will you figure out the time of Joe Smith, buddy in Number
+      Two, and send over the cash. Get his account at the store; and be quick,
+      we're waiting for it. He's going out in a hurry.&rdquo; Again he hung up the
+      receiver.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tell me,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;did you take that trouble for Mike Sikoria?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was silence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Let me suggest that when you get my time, you give me part of it in
+      scrip. I want it for a souvenir.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Still there was silence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You know,&rdquo; persisted the prisoner, tormentingly, &ldquo;there's a law against
+      paying wages in scrip.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The marshal was goaded to speech. &ldquo;We don't pay in scrip.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But you do, man! You know you do!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We give it when they ask their money ahead.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The law requires you to pay them twice a month, and you don't do it. You
+      pay them once a month, and meantime, if they need money, you give them
+      this imitation money!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, if it satisfies them, where's your kick?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If it doesn't satisfy them, you put them on the train and ship them out?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The marshal sat in silence, tapping impatiently with his fingers on the
+      desk.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Cotton,&rdquo; Hal began, again, &ldquo;I'm out for education, and there's something
+      I'd like you to explain to me&mdash;a problem in human psychology. When a
+      man puts through a deal like this, what does he tell himself about it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Young man,&rdquo; said the marshal, &ldquo;if you'll pardon me, you are getting to be
+      a bore.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, but we've got an automobile ride before us! Surely we can't sit in
+      silence all the way!&rdquo; After a moment he added, in a coaxing tone, &ldquo;I
+      really want to learn, you know. You might be able to win me over.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No!&rdquo; said Cotton, promptly. &ldquo;I'll not go in for anything like that!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But why not?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because, I'm no match for you in long-windedness. I've heard you
+      agitators before, you're all alike: you think the world is run by talk&mdash;but
+      it isn't.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had come to realise that he was not getting anywhere in his duel with
+      the camp-marshal. He had made every effort to get somewhere; he had
+      argued, threatened, bluffed, he had even sung songs for the marshal! But
+      the marshal was going to ship him out, that was all there was to it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had gone on with the quarrel, simply because he had to wait for the
+      automobile, and because he had endured indignities and had to vent his
+      anger and disappointment. But now he stopped quarrelling suddenly. His
+      attention was caught by the marshal's words, &ldquo;You think the world is run
+      by talk!&rdquo; Those were the words Hal's brother always used! And also, the
+      marshal had said, &ldquo;You agitators!&rdquo; For years it had been one of the taunts
+      Hal had heard from his brother, &ldquo;You will turn into one of these
+      agitators!&rdquo; Hal had answered, with boyish obstinacy, &ldquo;I don't care if I
+      do!&rdquo; And now, here the marshal was calling him an agitator, seriously,
+      without an apology, without the license of blood relationship. He repeated
+      the words, &ldquo;That's what gets me about you agitators&mdash;you come in here
+      trying to stir these people up&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So that was the way Hal seemed to the &ldquo;G. F. C.&rdquo;! He had come here
+      intending to be a spectator, to stand on the deck of the steamer and look
+      down into the ocean of social misery. He had considered every step so
+      carefully before he took it! He had merely tried to be a check-weighman,
+      nothing more! He had told Tom Olson he would not go in for unionism; he
+      had had a distrust of union organisers, of agitators of all sorts&mdash;blind,
+      irresponsible persons who went about stirring up dangerous passions. He
+      had come to admire Tom Olson&mdash;but that had only partly removed his
+      prejudices; Olson was only one agitator, not the whole lot of them!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But all his consideration for the company had counted for nothing;
+      likewise all his efforts to convince the marshal that he was a
+      leisure-class person. In spite of all Hal's &ldquo;tea-party manners,&rdquo; the
+      marshal had said, &ldquo;You agitators!&rdquo; What was he judging by, Hal wondered.
+      Had he, Hal Warner, come to look like one of these blind, irresponsible
+      persons? It was time that he took stock of himself!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Had two months of &ldquo;dirty work&rdquo; in the bowels of the earth changed him so?
+      The idea was bound to be disconcerting to one who had been a favourite of
+      the ladies! Did he talk like it?&mdash;he who had been &ldquo;kissing the
+      Blarney-stone!&rdquo; The marshal had said he was &ldquo;long-winded!&rdquo; Well, to be
+      sure, he had talked a lot; but what could the man expect&mdash;having shut
+      him up in jail for two nights and a day, with only his grievances to brood
+      over! Was that the way real agitators were made&mdash;being shut up with
+      grievances to brood over?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal recalled his broodings in the jail. He had been embittered; he had not
+      cared whether North Valley was dominated by labour unions. But that had
+      all been a mood, the same as his answer to his brother; that was jail
+      psychology, a part of his summer course in practical sociology. He had put
+      it aside; but apparently it had made a deeper impression upon him than he
+      had realised. It had changed his physical aspect! It had made him look and
+      talk like an agitator! It had made him &ldquo;irresponsible,&rdquo; &ldquo;blind!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Yes, that was it! All this dirt, ignorance, disease, this knavery and
+      oppression, this maiming of men in body and soul in the coal-camps of
+      America&mdash;all this did not exist&mdash;it was the hallucination of an
+      &ldquo;irresponsible&rdquo; brain! There was the evidence of Hal's brother and the
+      camp-marshal to prove it; there was the evidence of the whole world to
+      prove it! The camp-marshal and his brother and the whole world could not
+      be &ldquo;blind!&rdquo; And if you talked to them about these conditions, they
+      shrugged their shoulders, they called you a &ldquo;dreamer,&rdquo; a &ldquo;crank,&rdquo; they
+      said you were &ldquo;off your trolley&rdquo;; or else they became angry and bitter,
+      they called you names; they said, &ldquo;You agitators!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 24.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      The camp-marshal of North Valley had been &ldquo;agitated&rdquo; to such an extent
+      that he could not stay in his chair. All the harassments of his troubled
+      career had come pouring into his mind. He had begun pacing the floor, and
+      was talking away, regardless of whether Hal listened or not.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A campful of lousy wops! They can't understand any civilised language,
+      they've only one idea in the world&mdash;to shirk every lick of work they
+      can, to fill up their cars with slate and rock and blame it on some other
+      fellow, and go off to fill themselves with booze. They won't work fair,
+      they won't fight fair&mdash;they fight with a knife in the back! And you
+      agitators with your sympathy for them&mdash;why the hell do they come to
+      this country, unless they like it better than their own?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had heard this question before; but they had to wait for the
+      automobile&mdash;and being sure that he was an agitator now, he would make
+      all the trouble he could! &ldquo;The reason is obvious enough,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Isn't
+      it true that the 'G. F. C.' employs agents abroad to tell them of the
+      wonderful pay they get in America?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, they get it, don't they? Three times what they ever got at home!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, but it doesn't do them any good. There's another fact which the 'G.
+      F. C.' doesn't mention&mdash;that the cost of living is even higher than
+      the wages. Then, too, they're led to think of America as a land of
+      liberty; they come, hoping for a better chance for themselves and their
+      children; but they find a camp-marshal who's off in his geography&mdash;who
+      thinks the Rocky Mountains are somewhere in Russia!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know that line of talk!&rdquo; exclaimed the other. &ldquo;I learned to wave the
+      starry flag when I was a kid. But I tell you, you've got to get coal
+      mined, and it isn't the same thing as running a Fourth of July
+      celebration. Some church people make a law they shan't work on Sunday&mdash;and
+      what comes of that? They have thirty-six hours to get soused in, and so
+      they can't work on Monday!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Surely there's a remedy, Cotton! Suppose the company refused to rent
+      buildings to saloon-keepers?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good God! You think we haven't tried it? They go down to Pedro for the
+      stuff, and bring back all they can carry&mdash;inside them and out. And if
+      we stop that&mdash;then our hands move to some other camps, where they can
+      spend their money as they please. No, young man, when you have such
+      cattle, you have to drive them! And it takes a strong hand to do it&mdash;a
+      man like Peter Harrigan. If there's to be any coal, if industry's to go
+      on, if there's to be any progress&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We have that in our song!&rdquo; laughed Hal, breaking into the camp-marshal's
+      discourse&mdash;
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+  &ldquo;He keeps them a-roll, that merry old soul&mdash;
+    The wheels of industree;
+  A-roll and a-roll, for his pipe and his bowl
+    And his college facultee!&rdquo;
+ </pre>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; growled the marshal. &ldquo;It's easy enough for you smart young chaps to
+      make verses, while you're living at ease on the old man's bounty. But that
+      don't answer any argument. Are you college boys ready to take over his
+      job? Or these Democrat politicians that come in here, talking fool-talk
+      about liberty, making labour laws for these wops&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I begin to understand,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;You object to the politicians who pass
+      the laws, you doubt their motives&mdash;and so you refuse to obey. But why
+      didn't you tell me sooner you were an anarchist?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Anarchist?&rdquo; cried the marshal. &ldquo;<i>Me</i> an anarchist?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's what an anarchist is, isn't it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good God! If that isn't the limit! You come here, stirring up the men&mdash;a
+      union agitator, or whatever you are&mdash;and you know that the first idea
+      of these people, when they do break loose, is to put dynamite in the
+      shafts and set fire to the buildings!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do they do that?&rdquo; There was surprise in Hal's tone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Haven't you read what they did in the last big strike? That dough-faced
+      old preacher, John Edstrom, could tell you. He was one of the bunch.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;you're mistaken. Edstrom has a different philosophy. But
+      others did, I've no doubt. And since I've been here, I can understand
+      their point of view entirely. When they set fire to the buildings, it was
+      because they thought you and Alec Stone might be inside.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The marshal did not smile.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They want to destroy the properties,&rdquo; continued Hal, &ldquo;because that's the
+      only way they can think of to punish the tyranny and greed of the owners.
+      But, Cotton, suppose some one were to put a new idea into their heads;
+      suppose some one were to say to them, 'Don't destroy the properties&mdash;<i>take
+      them!</i>'&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other stared. &ldquo;Take them! So that's your idea of morality!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It would be more moral than the method by which Peter got them in the
+      beginning.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What method is that?&rdquo; demanded the marshal, with some appearance of
+      indignation. &ldquo;He paid the market-price for them, didn't he?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He paid the market-price for politicians. Up in Western City I happen to
+      know a lady who was a school-commissioner when he was buying school-lands
+      from the state&mdash;lands that were known to contain coal. He was paying
+      three dollars an acre, and everybody knew they were worth three thousand.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Cotton, &ldquo;if you don't buy the politicians, you wake up some
+      fine morning and find that somebody else has bought them. If you have
+      property, you have to protect it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Cotton,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;you sell Old Peter your time&mdash;but surely you
+      might keep part of your brains! Enough to look at your monthly pay-check
+      and realise that you too are a wage-slave, not much better than the miners
+      you despise.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other smiled. &ldquo;My check might be bigger, I admit; but I've figured
+      over it, and I think I have an easier time than you agitators. I'm
+      top-dog, and I expect to stay on top.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, Cotton, on that view of life, I don't wonder you get drunk now and
+      then. A dog-fight, with no faith or humanity anywhere! Don't think I'm
+      sneering at you&mdash;I'm talking out of my heart to you. I'm not so
+      young, nor such a fool, that I haven't had the dog-fight aspect of things
+      brought to my attention. But there's something in a fellow that insists he
+      isn't all dog; he has at least a possibility of something better. Take
+      these poor under-dogs sweating inside the mountain, risking their lives
+      every hour of the day and night to provide you and me with coal to keep us
+      warm&mdash;to 'keep the wheels of industry a-roll'&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 25.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      These were the last words Hal spoke. They were obvious enough words, yet
+      when he looked back upon the coincidence, it seemed to him a singular one.
+      For while he was sitting there chatting, it happened that the poor
+      under-dogs inside the mountain were in the midst of one of those
+      experiences which make the romance and terror of coal-mining. One of the
+      boys who were employed underground, in violation of the child labour law,
+      was in the act of bungling his task. He was a &ldquo;spragger,&rdquo; whose duty it
+      was to thrust a stick into the wheel of a loaded car to hold it; and he
+      was a little chap, and the car was in motion when he made the attempt. It
+      knocked him against the wall&mdash;and so there was a load of coal rolling
+      down grade, pursued too late by half a dozen men. Gathering momentum, it
+      whirled round a curve and flew from the track, crashing into timbers and
+      knocking them loose. With the timbers came a shower of coal-dust,
+      accumulated for decades in these old workings; and at the same time came
+      an electric light wire, which, as it touched the car, produced a spark.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And so it was that Hal, chatting with the marshal, suddenly felt, rather
+      than heard, a deafening roar; he felt the air about him turn into a living
+      thing which struck him a mighty blow, hurling him flat upon the floor. The
+      windows of the room crashed inward upon him in a shower of glass, and the
+      plaster of the ceiling came down on his head in another shower.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When he raised himself, half stunned, he saw the marshal, also on the
+      floor; these two conversationalists stared at each other with horrified
+      eyes. Even as they crouched, there came a crash above their heads, and
+      half the ceiling of the room came toward them, with a great piece of
+      timber sticking through. All about them were other crashes, as if the end
+      of the world had come.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They struggled to their feet, and rushing to the door, flung it open, just
+      as a jagged piece of timber shattered the side-walk in front of them. They
+      sprang back again, &ldquo;Into the cellar!&rdquo; cried the marshal, leading the way
+      to the back-stairs.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But before they had started down these stairs, they realised that the
+      crashing had ceased. &ldquo;What is it?&rdquo; gasped Hal, as they stood.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mine-explosion,&rdquo; said the other; and after a few seconds they ran to the
+      door again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The first thing they saw was a vast pillar of dust and smoke, rising into
+      the sky above them. It spread before their dazed eyes, until it made night
+      of everything about them. There was still a rain of lighter debris
+      pattering down over the village; as they stared, and got their wits about
+      them, remembering how things had looked before this, they realised that
+      the shaft-house of Number One had disappeared.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Blown up, by God!&rdquo; cried the marshal; and the two ran out into the
+      street, and looking up, saw that a portion of the wrecked building had
+      fallen through the roof of the jail above their heads.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The rain of debris had now ceased, but there were clouds of dust which
+      covered the two men black; the clouds grew worse, until they could hardly
+      see their way at all. And with the darkness there fell silence, which,
+      after the sound of the explosion and the crashing of debris, seemed the
+      silence of death.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For a few moments Hal stood dazed. He saw a stream of men and boys pouring
+      from the breaker; while from every street there appeared a stream of
+      women; women old, women young&mdash;leaving their cooking on the stove,
+      their babies in the crib, with their older children screaming at their
+      skirts, they gathered in swarms about the pit-mouth, which was like the
+      steaming crater of a volcano.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Cartwright, the superintendent, appeared, running toward the fan-house.
+      Cotton joined him, and Hal followed. The fan-house was a wreck, the giant
+      fan lying on the ground a hundred feet away, its blades smashed. Hal was
+      too inexperienced in mine-matters to get the full significance of this;
+      but he saw the marshal and the superintendent stare blankly at each other,
+      and heard the former's exclamation, &ldquo;That does for us!&rdquo; Cartwright said
+      not a word; but his thin lips were pressed together, and there was fear in
+      his eyes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Back to the smoking pit-mouth the two men hurried, with Hal following.
+      Here were a hundred, two hundred women crowded, clamouring questions all
+      at once. They swarmed about the marshal, the superintendent, the other
+      bosses&mdash;even about Hal, crying hysterically in Polish and Bohemian
+      and Greek. When Hal shook his head, indicating that he did not understand
+      them, they moaned in anguish, or shrieked aloud. Some continued to stare
+      into the smoking pit-mouth; others covered the sight from their eyes, or
+      sank down upon their knees, sobbing, praying with uplifted hands.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Little by little Hal began to realise the full horror of a mine-disaster.
+      It was not noise and smoke and darkness, nor frantic, wailing women; it
+      was not anything above ground, but what was below in the smoking black
+      pit! It was men! Men whom Hal knew, whom he had worked with and joked
+      with, whose smiles he had shared; whose daily life he had come to know!
+      Scores, possibly hundreds of them, they were down here under his feet&mdash;some
+      dead, others injured, maimed. What would they do? What would those on the
+      surface do for them? Hal tried to get to Cotton, to ask him questions; but
+      the camp-marshal was surrounded, besieged. He was pushing the women back,
+      exclaiming, &ldquo;Go away! Go home!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      What? Go home? they cried. When their men were in the mine? They crowded
+      about him closer, imploring, shrieking.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Get out!&rdquo; he kept exclaiming. &ldquo;There's nothing you can do! There's
+      nothing anybody can do yet! Go home! Go home!&rdquo; He had to beat them back by
+      force, to keep them from pushing one another into the pit-mouth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Everywhere Hal looked were women in attitudes of grief: standing rigid,
+      staring ahead of them as if in a trance; sitting down, rocking to and fro;
+      on their knees with faces uplifted in prayer; clutching their terrified
+      children about their skirts. He saw an Austrian woman, a pitiful, pale
+      young thing with a ragged grey shawl about her head, stretching out her
+      hands and crying: &ldquo;Mein Mann! Mein Mann!&rdquo; Presently she covered her face,
+      and her voice died into a wail of despair: &ldquo;O, mein Mann! O, mein Mann!&rdquo;
+       She turned away, staggering about like some creature that has received a
+      death wound. Hal's eyes followed her; her cry, repeated over and over
+      incessantly, became the leit-motif of this symphony of horror.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He had read about mine-disasters in his morning newspaper; but here a
+      mine-disaster became a thing of human flesh and blood. The unendurable
+      part of it was the utter impotence of himself and of all the world. This
+      impotence became clearer to him each moment&mdash;from the exclamations of
+      Cotton and of the men he questioned. It was monstrous, incredible&mdash;but
+      it was so! They must send for a new fan, they must wait for it to be
+      brought in, they must set it up and get it into operation; they must wait
+      for hours after that while smoke and gas were cleared out of the main
+      passages of the mine; and until this had been done, there was nothing they
+      could do&mdash;absolutely nothing! The men inside the mine would stay.
+      Those who had not been killed outright would make their way into the
+      remoter chambers, and barricade themselves against the deadly &ldquo;after
+      damp.&rdquo; They would wait, without food or water, with air of doubtful
+      quality&mdash;they would wait and wait, until the rescue-crew could get to
+      them!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 26.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      At moments in the midst of this confusion, Hal found himself trying to
+      recall who had worked in Number One, among the people he knew. He himself
+      had been employed in Number Two, so he had naturally come to know more men
+      in that mine. But he had known some from the other mine&mdash;Old Rafferty
+      for one, and Mary Burke's father for another, and at least one of the
+      members of his check-weighman group&mdash;Zamierowski. Hal saw in a sudden
+      vision the face of this patient little man, who smiled so good-naturedly
+      while Americans were trying to say his name. And Old Rafferty, with all
+      his little Rafferties, and his piteous efforts to keep the favour of his
+      employers! And poor Patrick Burke, whom Hal had never seen sober;
+      doubtless he was sober now, if he was still alive!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then in the crowd Hal encountered Jerry Minetti, and learned that another
+      man who had been down was Farenzena, the Italian whose &ldquo;fanciulla&rdquo; had
+      played with him; and yet another was Judas Apostolikas&mdash;having taken
+      his thirty pieces of silver with him into the deathtrap!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      People were making up lists, just as Hal was doing, by asking questions of
+      others. These lists were subject to revision&mdash;sometimes under
+      dramatic circumstances. You saw a woman weeping, with her apron to her
+      eyes; suddenly she would look up, give a piercing cry, and fling her arms
+      about the neck of some man. As for Hal, he felt as if he were encountering
+      a ghost when suddenly he recognised Patrick Burke, standing in the midst
+      of a group of people. He went over and heard the old man's story&mdash;how
+      there was a Dago fellow who had stolen his timbers, and he had come up to
+      the surface for more; so his life had been saved, while the timber-thief
+      was down there still&mdash;a judgment of Providence upon mine-miscreants!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Presently Hal asked if Burke had been to tell his family. He had run home,
+      he said, but there was nobody there. So Hal began pushing his way through
+      the throngs, looking for Mary, or her sister Jennie, or her brother
+      Tommie. He persisted in this search, although it occurred to him to wonder
+      whether the family of a hopeless drunkard would appreciate the
+      interposition of Providence in his behalf.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He encountered Olson, who had had a narrow escape, being employed as a
+      surface-man near the hoist. All this was an old story to the organiser,
+      who had worked in mines since he was eight years old, and had seen many
+      kinds of disaster. He began to explain things to Hal, in a matter of fact
+      way. The law required a certain number of openings to every mine, also an
+      escape-way with ladders by which men could come out; but it cost good
+      money to dig holes in the ground.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At this time the immediate cause of the explosion was unknown, but they
+      could tell it was a &ldquo;dust explosion&rdquo; by the clouds of coke-dust, and no
+      one who had been into the mine and seen its dry condition would doubt what
+      they would find when they went down and traced out the &ldquo;force&rdquo; and its
+      effects. They were supposed to do regular sprinkling, but in such matters
+      the bosses used their own judgment.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal was only half listening to these explanations. The thing was too raw
+      and too horrible to him. What difference did it make whose fault it was?
+      The accident had happened, and the question was now how to meet the
+      emergency! Underneath Olson's sentences he heard the cry of men and boys
+      being asphyxiated in dark dungeons&mdash;he heard the wailing of women,
+      like a surf beating on a distant shore, or the faint, persistent
+      accompaniment of muted strings: &ldquo;O, mein Mann! O, mein Mann!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They came upon Jeff Cotton again. With half a dozen men to help him, he
+      was pushing back the crowd from the pit-mouth, and stretching barbed wired
+      to hold them back. He was none too gentle about it, Hal thought; but
+      doubtless women are provoking when they are hysterical. He was answering
+      their frenzied questions, &ldquo;Yes, yes! We're getting a new fan. We're doing
+      everything we can, I tell you. We'll get them out. Go home and wait.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But of course no one would go home. How could a woman sit in her house, or
+      go about her ordinary tasks of cooking or washing, while her man might be
+      suffering asphyxiation under the ground? The least she could do was to
+      stand at the pit-mouth&mdash;as near to him as she could get! Some of them
+      stood motionless, hour after hour, while others wandered through the
+      village streets, asking the same people, over and over again, if they had
+      seen their loved ones. Several had turned up, like Patrick Burke; there
+      seemed always a chance for one more.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 27.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      In the course of the afternoon Hal came upon Mary Burke on the street. She
+      had long ago found her father, and seen him off to O'Callahan's to
+      celebrate the favours of Providence. Now Mary was concerned with a graver
+      matter. Number Two Mine was in danger! The explosion in Number One had
+      been so violent that the gearing of the fan of the other mine, nearly a
+      mile up the canyon, had been thrown out of order. So the fan had stopped;
+      and when some one had gone to Alec Stone, asking that he bring out the
+      men, Stone had refused. &ldquo;What do ye think he said?&rdquo; cried Mary. &ldquo;What do
+      ye think? 'Damn the men! Save the mules!'&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had all but lost sight of the fact that there was a second mine in the
+      village, in which hundreds of men and boys were still at work. &ldquo;Wouldn't
+      they know about the explosion?&rdquo; he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They might have heard the noise,&rdquo; said Mary. &ldquo;But they'd not know what it
+      was; and the bosses won't tell them till they've got out the mules.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      For all that he had seen in North Valley, Hal could hardly credit that
+      story. &ldquo;How do you know it, Mary?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Young Rovetta just told me. He was there, and heard it with his own
+      ears.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He was staring at her. &ldquo;Let's go and make sure,&rdquo; he said, and they started
+      up the main street of the village. On the way they were joined by others&mdash;for
+      already the news of this fresh trouble had begun to spread. Jeff Cotton
+      went past them in an automobile, and Mary exclaimed, &ldquo;I told ye so! When
+      ye see him goin', ye know there's dirty work to be done!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They came to the shaft-house of Number Two, and found a swarm of people,
+      almost a riot. Women and children were shrieking and gesticulating,
+      threatening to break into the office and use the mine-telephone to warn
+      the men themselves. And here was the camp-marshal driving them back. Hal
+      and Mary arrived in time to see Mrs. David, whose husband was at work in
+      Number Two, shaking her fist in the marshal's face and screaming at him
+      like a wild-cat. He drew his revolver upon her; and at this Hal started
+      forward. A blind fury seized him&mdash;he would have thrown himself upon
+      the marshal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Mary Burke stopped him, flinging her arms about him, and pinning him
+      by main force. &ldquo;No, no!&rdquo; she cried. &ldquo;Stay back, man! D'ye want to get
+      killed?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He was amazed at her strength. He was amazed also at the vehemence of her
+      emotion. She was calling him a crazy fool, and names even more harsh.
+      &ldquo;Have ye no more sense than a woman? Running into the mouth of a revolver
+      like that!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The crisis passed in a moment, for Mrs. David fell back, and then the
+      marshal put up his weapon. But Mary continued scolding Hal, trying to drag
+      him away. &ldquo;Come on now! Come out of here!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But, Mary! We must do something!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye can do nothin', I tell ye! Ye'd ought to have sense enough to know it.
+      I'll not let ye get yeself murdered! Come away now!&rdquo; And half by force and
+      half by cajoling, she got him farther down the street.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He was trying to think out the situation. Were the men in Number Two
+      really in danger? Could it be possible that the bosses would take such a
+      chance in cold blood? And right at this moment, with the disaster in the
+      other mine before their eyes! He could not believe it; and meantime Mary,
+      at his side, was declaring that the men were in no real danger&mdash;it
+      was only Alec Stone's brutal words that had set her crazy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don't ye remember the time when the air-course was blocked before, and ye
+      helped to get up the mules yeself? Ye thought nothin' of it then, and 'tis
+      the same now. They'll get everybody out in time!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She was concealing her real feelings in order to keep him safe; he let her
+      lead him on, while he tried to think of something else to do. He would
+      think of the men in Number Two; they were his best friends, Jack David,
+      Tim Rafferty, Wresmak, Androkulos, Klowoski. He would think of them, in
+      their remote dungeons&mdash;breathing bad air, becoming sick and faint&mdash;in
+      order that mules might be saved! He would stop in his tracks, and Mary
+      would drag him on, repeating over and over, &ldquo;Ye can do nothin'! Nothin'!&rdquo;
+       And then he would think, What could he do? He had put up his best bluff to
+      Jeff Cotton a few hours earlier, and the answer had been the muzzle of the
+      marshal's revolver in his face. All he could accomplish now would be to
+      bring himself to Cotton's attention, and be thrust out of camp forthwith.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 28.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      They came to Mary's home; and next door was the home of the Slav woman,
+      Mrs. Zamboni, about whom in the past she had told him so many funny
+      stories. Mrs. Zamboni had had a new baby every year for sixteen years, and
+      eleven of these babies were still alive. Now her husband was trapped in
+      Number One, and she was distracted, wandering about the streets with the
+      greater part of her brood at her heels. At intervals she would emit a howl
+      like a tortured animal, and her brood would take it up in various timbres.
+      Hal stopped to listen to the sounds, but Mary put her fingers into her
+      ears and fled into the house. Hal followed her, and saw her fling herself
+      into a chair and burst into hysterical weeping. And suddenly Hal realised
+      what a strain this terrible affair had been upon Mary. It had been bad
+      enough to him&mdash;but he was a man, and more able to contemplate sights
+      of horror. Men went to their deaths in industry and war, and other men saw
+      them go and inured themselves to the spectacle. But women were the mothers
+      of these men; it was women who bore them in pain, nursed them and reared
+      them with endless patience&mdash;women could never become inured to the
+      spectacle! Then too, the women's fate was worse. If the men were dead,
+      that was the end of them; but the women must face the future, with its
+      bitter memories, its lonely and desolate struggle for existence. The women
+      must see the children suffering, dying by slow stages of deprivation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal's pity for all suffering women became concentrated upon the girl
+      beside him. He knew how tenderhearted she was. She had no man in the mine,
+      but some day she would have, and she was suffering the pangs of that
+      inexorable future. He looked at her, huddled in her chair, wiping away her
+      tears with the hem of her old blue calico. She seemed unspeakably pathetic&mdash;like
+      a child that has been hurt. She was sobbing out sentences now and then, as
+      if to herself: &ldquo;Oh, the poor women, the poor women! Did ye see the face of
+      Mrs. Jonotch? She'd jumped into the smoking pit-mouth if they'd let her!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don't suffer so, Mary!&rdquo; pleaded Hal&mdash;as if he thought she could
+      stop.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Let me alone!&rdquo; she cried. &ldquo;Let me have it out!&rdquo; And Hal, who had had no
+      experience with hysteria, stood helplessly by.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's more misery than I ever knew there was!&rdquo; she went on. &ldquo;'Tis
+      everywhere ye turn, a woman with her eyes burnin' with suffering wondering
+      if she'll ever see her man again! Or some mother whose lad may be dying
+      and she can do nothin' for him!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And neither can you do anything, Mary,&rdquo; Hal pleaded again. &ldquo;You're only
+      sorrowing yourself to death.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye say that to me?&rdquo; she cried. &ldquo;And when ye were ready to let Jeff Cotton
+      shoot ye, because you were so sorry for Mrs. David! No, the sights here
+      nobody can stand.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He could think of nothing to answer. He drew up a chair and sat by her in
+      silence, and after a while she began to grow calmer, and wiped away her
+      tears, and sat gazing dully through the doorway into the dirty little
+      street.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal's eyes followed hers. There were the ash-heaps and tomato-cans, there
+      were two of Mrs. Zamboni's bedraggled brood, poking with sticks into a
+      dump-heap&mdash;looking for something to eat, perhaps, or for something to
+      play with. There was the dry, waste grass of the road-side, grimy with
+      coal-dust, as was everything else in the village. What a scene!&mdash;And
+      this girl's eyes had never a sight of anything more inspiring than this.
+      Day in and day out, all her life long, she looked at this scene! Had he
+      ever for a moment reproached her for her &ldquo;black moods&rdquo;? With such an
+      environment could men or women be cheerful&mdash;could they dream of
+      beauty, aspire to heights of nobility and courage, to happy service of
+      their fellows? There was a miasma of despair over this place; it was not a
+      real place&mdash;it was a dream-place&mdash;a horrible, distorted
+      nightmare! It was like the black hole in the ground which haunted Hal's
+      imagination, with men and boys at the bottom of it, dying of asphyxiation!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Suddenly it came to Hal&mdash;he wanted to get away from North Valley! To
+      get away at all costs! The place had worn down his courage; slowly, day
+      after day, the sight of misery and want, of dirt and disease, of hunger,
+      oppression, despair, had eaten the soul out of him, had undermined his
+      fine structure of altruistic theories. Yes, he wanted to escape&mdash;to a
+      place where the sun shone, where the grass grew green, where human beings
+      stood erect and laughed and were free. He wanted to shut from his eyes the
+      dust and smoke of this nasty little village; to stop his ears to that
+      tormenting sound of women wailing: &ldquo;O, mein Mann! O, mein Mann!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He looked at the girl, who sat staring before her, bent forward, her arms
+      hanging limply over her knees.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mary,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;you must go away from here! It's no place for a
+      tenderhearted girl to be. It's no place for any one!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She gazed at him dully for a moment. &ldquo;It was me that was tellin' <i>you</i>
+      to go away,&rdquo; she said, at last. &ldquo;Ever since ye came here I been sayin' it!
+      Now I guess ye know what I mean.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I do, and I want to go. But I want you to go too.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;D'ye think 'twould do me any good, Joe?&rdquo; she asked. &ldquo;D'ye think 'twould
+      do me any good to get away? Could I ever forget the sights I've seen this
+      day? Could I ever have any real, honest happiness anywhere after this?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He tried to reassure her, but he was far from reassured himself. How would
+      it be with him? Would he ever feel that he had a right to happiness after
+      this? Could he take any satisfaction in a pleasant and comfortable world,
+      knowing that it was based upon such hideous misery? His thoughts went to
+      that world, where careless, pleasure-loving people sought gratification of
+      their desires. It came to him suddenly that what he wanted more than to
+      get away was to bring those people here, if only for a day, for an hour,
+      that they might hear this chorus of wailing women!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 29.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Mary made Hal swear that he would not get into a fight with Cotton; then
+      they went to Number Two. They found the mules coming up, and the bosses
+      promising that in a short while the men would be coming. Everything was
+      all right&mdash;there was not a bit of danger! But Mary was afraid to
+      trust Hal, in spite of his promise, so she lured him back to Number One.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They found that a rescue-car had just arrived from Pedro, bringing doctors
+      and nurses, also several &ldquo;helmets.&rdquo; These &ldquo;helmets&rdquo; were strange looking
+      contrivances, fastened over the head and shoulders, air-tight, and
+      provided with oxygen sufficient to last for an hour or more. The men who
+      wore them sat in a big bucket which was let down the shaft with a
+      windlass, and every now and then they pulled on a signal-cord to let those
+      on the surface know they were alive. When the first of them came back, he
+      reported that there were bodies near the foot of the shaft, but apparently
+      all dead. There was heavy black smoke, indicating a fire somewhere in the
+      mine; so nothing more could be done until the fan had been set up. By
+      reversing the fan, they could draw out the smoke and gases and clear the
+      shaft.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The state mine-inspector had been notified, but was ill at home, and was
+      sending one of his deputies. Under the law this official would have charge
+      of all the rescue work, but Hal found that the miners took no interest in
+      his presence. It had been his duty to prevent the accident, and he had not
+      done so. When he came, he would do what the company wanted.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Some time after dark the workers began to come out of Number Two, and
+      their women, waiting at the pit-mouth, fell upon their necks with cries of
+      thankfulness. Hal observed other women, whose men were in Number One, and
+      would perhaps never come out again, standing and watching these greetings
+      with wistful, tear-filled eyes. Among those who came out was Jack David,
+      and Hal walked home with him and his wife, listening to the latter abuse
+      Jeff Cotton and Alec Stone, which was an education in the vocabulary of
+      class-consciousness. The little Welsh woman repeated the pit-boss's
+      saying, &ldquo;Damn the men, save the mules!&rdquo; She said it again and again&mdash;it
+      seemed to delight her like a work of art, it summed up so perfectly the
+      attitude of the bosses to their men! There were many other people
+      repeating that saying, Hal found; it went all over the village, in a few
+      days it went all over the district. It summed up what the district
+      believed to be the attitude of the coal-operators to the workers!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Having got over the first shock of the disaster, Hal wanted information,
+      and he questioned Big Jack, a solid and well-read man who had given
+      thought to every aspect of the industry. In his quiet, slow way, he
+      explained to Hal that the frequency of accidents in this district was not
+      due to any special difficulty in operating these mines, the explosiveness
+      of the gases or the dryness of the atmosphere. It was merely the
+      carelessness of those in charge, their disregard of the laws for the
+      protection of the men. There ought to be a law with &ldquo;teeth&rdquo; in it&mdash;for
+      example, one providing that for every man killed in a coal-mine his heirs
+      should receive a thousand dollars, regardless of who had been to blame for
+      the accident. Then you would see how quickly the operators would get busy
+      and find remedies for the &ldquo;unusual&rdquo; dangers!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As it was, they knew that no matter how great their culpability, they
+      could get off with slight loss. Already, no doubt, their lawyers were on
+      the spot, and by the time the first bodies were brought out, they would be
+      fixing things up with the families. They would offer a widow a ticket back
+      to the old country; they would offer a whole family of orphaned children,
+      maybe fifty dollars, maybe a hundred dollars&mdash;and it would be a case
+      of take it or leave it. You could get nothing from the courts; the case
+      was so hopeless that you could not even find a lawyer to make the attempt.
+      That was one reform in which the companies believed, said &ldquo;Big Jack,&rdquo; with
+      sarcasm; they had put the &ldquo;shyster lawyer&rdquo; out of business!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 30.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      There followed a night and then another day of torturing suspense. The fan
+      came, but it had to be set up before anything could be done. As volumes of
+      black smoke continued to pour from the shaft, the opening was made tight
+      with a board and canvas cover; it was necessary, the bosses said, but to
+      Hal it seemed the climax of horror. To seal up men and boys in a place of
+      deadly gases!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was something peculiarly torturing in the idea of men caught in a
+      mine; they were directly under one's feet, yet it was impossible to get to
+      them, to communicate with them in any way! The people on top yearned to
+      them, and they, down below, yearned back. It was impossible to forget them
+      for even a few minutes. People would become abstracted while they talked,
+      and would stand staring into space; suddenly, in the midst of a crowd, a
+      woman would bury her face in her hands and burst into tears, and then all
+      the others would follow suit.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Few people slept in North Valley during those two nights. They held
+      mourning parties in their homes or on the streets. Some house-work had to
+      be done, of course, but no one did anything that could be left undone. The
+      children would not play; they stood about, silent, pale, like wizened-up
+      grown people, over-mature in knowledge of trouble. The nerves of every one
+      were on edge, the self-control of every one balanced upon a fine point.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was a situation bound to be fruitful in imaginings and rumours,
+      stimulated to those inclined to signs and omens&mdash;the seers of ghosts,
+      or those who went into trances, or possessed second sight or other
+      mysterious gifts. There were some living in a remote part of the village
+      who declared they had heard explosions under the ground, several blasts in
+      quick succession. The men underground were setting off dynamite by way of
+      signalling!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the course of the second day Hal sat with Mary Burke upon the steps of
+      her home. Old Patrick lay within, having found the secret of oblivion at
+      O'Callahan's. Now and then came the moaning of Mrs. Zamboni, who was in
+      her cabin with her brood of children. Mary had been in to feed them,
+      because the distracted mother let them starve and cry. Mary was worn out,
+      herself; the wonderful Irish complexion had faded, and there were no
+      curves to the vivid lips. They had been sitting in silence, for there was
+      nothing to talk of but the disaster&mdash;and they had said all there was
+      to say about that. But Hal had been thinking while he watched Mary.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Listen, Mary,&rdquo; he said, at last; &ldquo;when this thing is over, you must
+      really come away from here. I've thought it all out&mdash;I have friends
+      in Western City who will give you work, so you can take care of yourself,
+      and of your brother and sister too. Will you go?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But she did not answer. She continued to gaze indifferently into the dirty
+      little street.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Truly, Mary,&rdquo; he went on. &ldquo;Life isn't so terrible everywhere as it is
+      here. Come away! Hard as it is to believe, you'll forget all this. People
+      suffer, but then they stop suffering; it's nature's way&mdash;to make them
+      forget.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nature's way has been to beat me dead,&rdquo; said she.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, Mary. Despair can become a disease, but it hasn't with you. You're
+      just tired out. If you'll try to rouse yourself&mdash;&rdquo; And he reached
+      over and caught her hand with an attempt at playfulness. &ldquo;Cheer up, Mary!
+      You're coming away from North Valley.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She turned and looked at him. &ldquo;Am I?&rdquo; she asked, impassively; and she went
+      on studying his face. &ldquo;Who are ye, Joe Smith? What are ye doin' here?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Working in a coal-mine,&rdquo; he laughed, still trying to divert her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But she went on, as gravely as before. &ldquo;Ye're no working man, that I know.
+      And ye're always offering me help! Ye're always sayin' what ye can do for
+      me!&rdquo; She paused and there came some of the old defiance into her face.
+      &ldquo;Joe, ye can have no idea of the feelin's that have got hold of me just
+      now. I'm ready to do something desperate; ye'd best be leavin' me alone,
+      Joe!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think I understand, Mary. I would hardly blame you for anything you
+      did.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She took up his words eagerly. &ldquo;Wouldn't ye, Joe? Ye're sure? Then what I
+      want is to get the truth from ye. I want ye to talk it out fair!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right, Mary. What is it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But her defiance had vanished suddenly. Her eyes dropped, and he saw her
+      fingers picking nervously at a fold of her dress. &ldquo;About us, Joe,&rdquo; she
+      said. &ldquo;I've thought sometimes ye cared for me. I've thought ye liked to be
+      with me&mdash;not just because ye were sorry for me, but because of <i>me</i>.
+      I've not been sure, but I can't help thinkin' it's so. Is it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, it is,&rdquo; he said, a little uncertainly. &ldquo;I <i>do</i> care for you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then is it that ye don't care for that other girl all the time?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;it's not that.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye can care for two girls at the same time?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He did not know what to say. &ldquo;It would seem that I can, Mary.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She raised her eyes again and studied his face. &ldquo;Ye told me about that
+      other girl, and I been wonderin', was it only to put me off? Maybe it's me
+      own fault, but I can't make meself believe in that other girl, Joe!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You're mistaken, Mary,&rdquo; he answered, quickly. &ldquo;What I told you was true.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, maybe so,&rdquo; she said, but there was no conviction in her tone. &ldquo;Ye
+      come away from her, and ye never go where she is or see her&mdash;it's
+      hard to believe ye'd do that way if ye were very close to her. I just
+      don't think ye love her as much as ye might. And ye say you do care some
+      for me. So I've thought&mdash;I've wondered&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She stopped, forcing herself to meet his gaze: &ldquo;I been tryin' to work it
+      out! I know ye're too good a man for me, Joe. Ye come from a better place
+      in life, ye've a right to expect more in a woman&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's not that, Mary!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But she cut him short. &ldquo;I know that's true! Ye're only tryin' to save my
+      feelin's. I know ye're better than me! I've tried hard to hold me head up,
+      I've tried a long time not to let meself go to pieces. I've even tried to
+      keep cheerful, telling meself I'd not want to be like Mrs. Zamboni,
+      forever complainin'. But 'tis no use tellin' yourself lies! I been up to
+      the church, and heard the Reverend Spragg tell the people that the rich
+      and poor are the same in the sight of the Lord. And maybe 'tis so, but I'm
+      not the Lord, and I'll never pretend I'm not ashamed to be livin' in a
+      place like this.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm sure the Lord has no interest in keeping you here&mdash;&rdquo; he began.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But she broke in, &ldquo;What makes it so hard to bear is knowin' there's so
+      many wonderful things in the world, and ye can never have them! 'Tis as if
+      ye had to see them through a pane of glass, like in the window of a store.
+      Just think, Joe Smith&mdash;once, in a church in Sheridan, I heard a lady
+      sing beautiful music; once in my whole lifetime! Can ye guess what it
+      meant to me?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, Mary, I can.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But I had that all out with meself&mdash;years ago. I knew the price a
+      workin' girl has to pay for such things, and I said, I'll not let meself
+      think about them. I've hated this place, I've wanted to get away&mdash;but
+      there's only one way to go, to let some man take ye! So I've stayed; I've
+      kept straight, Joe. I want ye to believe that.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of course, Mary!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No! It's not been 'of course'! It means ye have to fight with
+      temptations. It's many a time I've looked at Jeff Cotton, and thought
+      about the things I need! And I've done without! But now comes the thing a
+      woman wants more than all the other things in the world!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She paused, but only for a moment. &ldquo;They tell ye to love a man of your own
+      class. Me old mother said that to me, before she died. But suppose ye
+      didn't happen to? Suppose ye'd stopped and thought what it meant, havin'
+      one baby after another, till ye're worn out and drop&mdash;like me old
+      mother did? Suppose ye knew good manners when ye see them&mdash;ye knew
+      interestin' talk when ye heard it!&rdquo; She clasped her hands suddenly before
+      her, exclaiming, &ldquo;Ah, 'tis something different ye are, Joe&mdash;so
+      different from anything around here! The way ye talk, the way ye move, the
+      gay look in your eyes! No miner ever had that happy look, Joe; me heart
+      stops beatin' almost when ye look at me!&rdquo; She stopped with a sharp
+      catching of her breath, and he saw that she was struggling for
+      self-control. After a moment she exclaimed, defiantly: &ldquo;But they'd tell
+      ye, be careful, ye daren't love that kind of man; ye'd only have your
+      heart broken!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was silence. For this problem the amateur sociologist had no
+      solution at hand&mdash;whether for the abstract question, or for its
+      concrete application!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 31.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Mary forced herself to go on. &ldquo;This is how I've worked it out, Joe! I said
+      to meself, 'Ye love this man; and it's his <i>love</i> ye want&mdash;nothin'
+      else! If he's got a place in the world, ye'd only hold him back&mdash;and
+      ye'd not want to do that. Ye don't want his name, or his friends, or any
+      of those things&mdash;ye want <i>him</i>!' Have ye ever heard of such a
+      thing as that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Her cheeks were flaming, but she continued to meet his gaze. &ldquo;Yes, I've
+      heard of it,&rdquo; he answered, in a low voice.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What would ye say to it? Is it honest? The Reverend Spragg would say
+      'twas the devil, no doubt; Father O'Gorman, down in Pedro, would call it
+      mortal sin; and maybe they know&mdash;but I don't! I only know I can't
+      stand it any more!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Tears sprang to her eyes, and she cried out suddenly, &ldquo;Oh, take me away
+      from here! Take me away and give me a chance, Joe! I'll ask nothing, I'll
+      never stand in your way; I'll work for ye, I'll cook and wash and do
+      everything for ye, I'll wear my fingers to the bone! Or I'll go out and
+      work at some job, and earn my share. And I'll make ye this promise&mdash;if
+      ever ye get tired and want to leave me, ye'll not hear a word of
+      complaint!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She made no conscious appeal to his senses; she sat gazing at him honestly
+      through her tears, and that made it all the harder to answer her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      What could he say? He felt the old dangerous impulse&mdash;to take the
+      girl in his arms and comfort her. When finally he spoke it was with an
+      effort to keep his voice calm. &ldquo;I'd say yes, Mary, if I thought it would
+      work.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It <i>would</i> work! It would, Joe! Ye can quit when ye want to. I mean
+      it!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's no woman lives who can be happy on such terms, Mary. She wants
+      her man, and she wants him to herself, and she wants him always; she's
+      only deluding herself if she believes anything else. You're over-wrought
+      now, what you've seen in the last few days has made you wild&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No!&rdquo; she exclaimed. &ldquo;'Tis not only that! I been thinkin' about it for
+      weeks.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know. You've been thinking, but you wouldn't have spoken if it hadn't
+      been for this horror.&rdquo; He paused for a moment, to renew his own
+      self-possession. &ldquo;It won't do, Mary,&rdquo; he declared. &ldquo;I've seen it tried
+      more than once, and I'm not so old either. My own brother tried it once,
+      and ruined himself.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, ye're afraid to trust me, Joe!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, it's not that; what I mean is&mdash;he ruined his own heart, he made
+      himself selfish. He took everything, and gave nothing. He's much older
+      than I, so I've had a chance to see its effect on him. He's cold, he has
+      no faith, even in his own nature; when you talk to him about making the
+      world better he tells you you're a fool.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's another way of bein' afraid of me,&rdquo; she insisted. &ldquo;Afraid you'd
+      ought to marry me!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But, Mary&mdash;there's the other girl. I really love her, and I'm
+      promised to her. What can I do?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;'Tis that I've never believed you loved her,&rdquo; she said, in a whisper. Her
+      eyes fell and she began picking nervously again at the faded blue dress,
+      which was smutted and grease-stained, perhaps from her recent effort with
+      Mrs. Zamboni's brood. Several times Hal thought she was going to speak,
+      but she shut her lips tightly again; he watched her, his heart aching.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When finally she spoke, it was still in a whisper, and there was a note of
+      humility he had never heard from her before. &ldquo;Ye'll not be wantin' to
+      speak to me, Joe, after what I've said.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, Mary!&rdquo; he exclaimed, and caught her hand, &ldquo;don't say I've made you
+      more unhappy! I want to help you! Won't you let me be your friend&mdash;your
+      real, true friend? Let me help you to get out of this trap; you'll have a
+      chance to look about, you'll find a way to be happy&mdash;the whole world
+      will seem different to you then, and you'll laugh at the idea that you
+      ever wanted me!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 32.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      The two of them went back to the pit-mouth. It had been two days since the
+      disaster, and still the fan had not been started, and there was no sign of
+      its being started. The hysteria of the women was growing, and there was a
+      tension in the crowds. Jeff Cotton had brought in a force of men to assist
+      him in keeping order. They had built a fence of barbed wire about the
+      pit-mouth and its approaches, and behind this wire they walked&mdash;hard-looking
+      citizens with policemen's &ldquo;billies,&rdquo; and the bulge of revolvers plainly
+      visible on their hips.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      During this long period of waiting, Hal had talks with members of his
+      check-weighman group. They told what had happened while he was in jail,
+      and this reminded him of something which had been driven from his mind by
+      the explosion. Poor old John Edstrom was down in Pedro, perhaps in dire
+      need. Hal went to the old Swede's cabin that night, climbed through a
+      window, and dug up the buried money. There were five five-dollar bills,
+      and he put them in an envelope, addressed them in care of General
+      Delivery, Pedro, and had Mary Burke take them to the post office and
+      register them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The hours dragged on, and still there was no sign of the pit-mouth being
+      opened. There began to be secret gatherings of the miners and their wives
+      to complain at the conduct of the company; and it was natural that Hal's
+      friends who had started the check-weighman movement, should take the lead
+      in these. They were among the most intelligent of the workers, and saw
+      farther into the meaning of events. They thought, not merely of the men
+      who were trapped under ground at this moment, but of thousands of others
+      who would be trapped through years to come. Hal, especially, was pondering
+      how he could accomplish something definite before he left the camp; for of
+      course he would have to leave soon&mdash;Jeff Cotton would remember him,
+      and carry out his threat to get rid of him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Newspapers had come in, with accounts of the disaster, and Hal and his
+      friends read these. It was evident that the company had been at pains to
+      have the accounts written from its own point of view. There existed some
+      public sensitiveness on the subject of mine-disasters in this state. The
+      death-rate from accidents was seen to be mounting steadily; the reports of
+      the state mine inspector showed six per thousand in one year, eight and a
+      half in the next, and twenty-one and a half in the next. When fifty or a
+      hundred men were killed in a single accident, and when such accidents kept
+      happening, one on the heels of another, even the most callous public could
+      not help asking questions. So in this case the &ldquo;G. F. C.&rdquo; had been careful
+      to minimise the loss of life, and to make excuses. The accident had been
+      owing to no fault of the company's; the mine had been regularly sprinkled,
+      both with water and adobe dust, and so the cause of the explosion must
+      have been the carelessness of the men in handling powder.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In Jack David's cabin one night there arose a discussion as to the number
+      of men entombed in the mine. The company's estimate of the number was
+      forty, but Minetti and Olson and David agreed that this was absurd. Any
+      man who went about in the crowds could satisfy himself that there were two
+      or three times as many unaccounted for. And this falsification was
+      deliberate, for the company had a checking system, whereby it knew the
+      name of every man in the mine. But most of these names were
+      unpronounceable Slavish, and the owners of the names had no friends to
+      mention them&mdash;at least not in any language understood by American
+      newspaper editors.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was all a part of the system, declared Jack David: its purpose and
+      effect being to enable the company to go on killing men without paying for
+      them, either in money or in prestige. It occurred to Hal that it might be
+      worth while to contradict these false statements&mdash;almost as worth
+      while as to save the men who were at this moment entombed. Any one who
+      came forward to make such a contradiction would of course be giving
+      himself up to the black-list; but then, Hal regarded himself as a man
+      already condemned to that penalty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom Olson spoke up. &ldquo;What would you do with your contradiction?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Give it to the papers,&rdquo; Hal answered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But what papers would print it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There are two rival papers in Pedro, aren't there?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;One owned by Alf Raymond, the sheriff-emperor, and the other by Vagleman,
+      counsel for the 'G. F. C.' Which one would you try?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well then, the outside papers&mdash;those in Western City. There are
+      reporters here now, and some one of them would surely take it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Olson answered, declaring that they would not get any but labour and
+      Socialist papers to print such news. But even that was well worth doing.
+      And Jack David, who was strong for unions and all their activities, put
+      in, &ldquo;The thing to do is to take a regular census, so as to know exactly
+      how many are in the mine.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The suggestion struck fire, and they agreed to set to work that same
+      evening. It would be a relief to do something, to have something in their
+      minds but despair. They passed the word to Mary Burke, to Rovetta,
+      Klowoski, and others; and at eleven o'clock the next morning they met
+      again, and the lists were put together, and it was found that no less than
+      a hundred and seven men and boys were positively known to be inside Number
+      One.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 33.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      As it happened, however, discussion of this list and the method of giving
+      it to the world was cut short by a more urgent matter. Jack David came in
+      with news of fresh trouble at the pit-mouth. The new fan was being put in
+      place; but they were slow about it, so slow that some people had become
+      convinced that they did not mean to start the fan at all, but were keeping
+      the mine sealed to prevent the fire from spreading. A group of such
+      malcontents had presumed to go to Mr. Carmichael, the deputy state
+      mine-inspector, to urge him to take some action; and the leader of these
+      protestants, Huszar, the Austrian, who had been one of Hal's
+      check-weighman group, had been taken into custody and marched at
+      double-quick to the gate of the stockade!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Jack David declared furthermore that he knew a carpenter who was working
+      in the fan-house, and who said that no haste whatever was being made. All
+      the men at the fan-house shared that opinion; the mine was sealed, and
+      would stay sealed until the company was sure the fire was out.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But,&rdquo; argued Hal, &ldquo;if they were to open it, the fire would spread; and
+      wouldn't that prevent rescue work?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not at all,&rdquo; declared &ldquo;Big Jack.&rdquo; He explained that by reversing the fan
+      they could draw the smoke up through the air-course, which would clear the
+      main passages for a time. &ldquo;But, you see, some coal might catch fire, and
+      some timbers; there might be falls of rock so they couldn't work some of
+      the rooms again.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How long will they keep the mine sealed?&rdquo; cried Hal, in consternation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nobody can say. In a big mine like that, a fire might smoulder for a
+      week.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Everybody be dead!&rdquo; cried Rosa Minetti, wringing her hands in a sudden
+      access of grief.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal turned to Olson. &ldquo;Would they possibly do such a thing?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's been done&mdash;more than once,&rdquo; was the organiser's reply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did you never hear about Cherry, Illinois?&rdquo; asked David. &ldquo;They did it
+      there, and more than three hundred people lost their lives.&rdquo; He went on to
+      tell that dreadful story, known to every coal-miner. They had sealed the
+      mine, while women fainted and men tore their clothes in frenzy&mdash;some
+      going insane. They had kept it sealed for two weeks, and when they opened
+      it, there were twenty-one men still alive!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They did the same thing in Diamondville, Wyoming,&rdquo; added Olson. &ldquo;They
+      built up a barrier, and when they took it away they found a heap of dead
+      men, who had crawled to it and torn their fingers to the bone trying to
+      break through.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My God!&rdquo; cried Hal, springing to his feet. &ldquo;And this man Carmichael&mdash;would
+      he stand for that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He'd tell you they were doing their best,&rdquo; said &ldquo;Big Jack.&rdquo; &ldquo;And maybe he
+      thinks they are. But you'll see&mdash;something'll keep happening; they'll
+      drag on from day to day, and they'll not start the fan till they're
+      ready.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why, it's murder!&rdquo; cried Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's business,&rdquo; said Tom Olson, quietly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal looked from one to another of the faces of these working people. Not
+      one but had friends in that trap; not one but might be in the same trap
+      to-morrow!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You have to stand it!&rdquo; he exclaimed, half to himself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don't you see the guards at the pit-mouth?&rdquo; answered David. &ldquo;Don't you
+      see the guns sticking out of their pockets?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They bring in more guards this morning,&rdquo; put in Jerry Minetti. &ldquo;Rosa, she
+      see them get off.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They know what they doin'!&rdquo; said Rosa. &ldquo;They only fraid we find it out!
+      They told Mrs. Zamboni she keep away or they send her out of camp. And old
+      Mrs. Jonotch&mdash;her husband and three sons inside!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They're getting rougher and rougher,&rdquo; declared Mrs. David. &ldquo;That big
+      fellow they call Pete, that came up from Pedro&mdash;the way he's handling
+      the women is a shame!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know him,&rdquo; put in Olson; &ldquo;Pete Hanun. They had him in Sheridan when the
+      union first opened headquarters. He smashed one of our organisers in the
+      mouth and broke four of his teeth. They say he has a jail-record.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      All through the previous year at college Hal had listened to lectures upon
+      political economy, filled with the praises of a thing called &ldquo;Private
+      Ownership.&rdquo; This Private Ownership developed initiative and economy; it
+      kept the wheels of industry a-roll, it kept fat the pay-rolls of college
+      faculties; it accorded itself with the sacred laws of supply and demand,
+      it was the basis of the progress and prosperity wherewith America had been
+      blessed. And here suddenly Hal found himself face to face with the reality
+      of it; he saw its wolfish eyes glaring into his own, he felt its smoking
+      hot breath in his face, he saw its gleaming fangs and claw-like fingers,
+      dripping with the blood of men and women and children. Private Ownership
+      of coal-mines! Private Ownership of sealed-up entrances and non-existent
+      escape-ways! Private Ownership of fans which did not start, of sprinklers
+      which did not sprinkle. Private Ownership of clubs and revolvers, and of
+      thugs and ex-convicts to use them, driving away rescuers and shutting up
+      agonised widows and orphans in their homes! Oh, the serene and well-fed
+      priests of Private Ownership, chanting in academic halls the praises of
+      the bloody Demon!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Suddenly Hal stopped still. Something had risen in him, the existence of
+      which he had never suspected. There was a new look upon his face, his
+      voice was deep as a strong man's when he spoke: &ldquo;I am going to make them
+      open that mine!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They looked at him. They were all of them close to the border of hysteria,
+      but they caught the strange note in his utterance. &ldquo;I am going to make
+      them open that mine!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How?&rdquo; asked Olson.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The public doesn't know about this thing. If the story got out, there'd
+      be such a clamour, it couldn't go on!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But how will you get it out?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll give it to the newspapers! They can't suppress such a thing&mdash;I
+      don't care how prejudiced they are!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But do you think they'd believe what a miner's buddy tells them?&rdquo; asked
+      Mrs. David.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll find a way to make them believe me,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;I'm going to make
+      them open that mine!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 34.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      In the course of his wanderings about the camp, Hal had observed several
+      wide-awake looking young men with notebooks in their hands. He could see
+      that these young men were being made guests of the company, chatting with
+      the bosses upon friendly terms; nevertheless, he believed that among them
+      he might find one who had a conscience&mdash;or at any rate who would
+      yield to the temptation of a &ldquo;scoop.&rdquo; So, leaving the gathering at Mrs.
+      David's, Hal went to the pit-mouth, watching out for one of these
+      reporters; when he found him, he followed him for a while, desiring to get
+      him where no company &ldquo;spotter&rdquo; might interfere. At the first chance, he
+      stepped up, and politely asked the reporter to come into a side street,
+      where they might converse undisturbed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The reporter obeyed the request; and Hal, concealing the intensity of his
+      feelings, so as not to repel the other, let it be known that he had worked
+      in North Valley for some months, and could tell much about conditions in
+      the camp. There was the matter of adobe-dust, for example. Explosions in
+      dry mines could be prevented by spraying the walls with this material. Did
+      the reporter happen to know that the company's claim to have used it was
+      entirely false?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      No, the reporter answered, he did not know this. He seemed interested, and
+      asked Hal's name and occupation. Hal told him &ldquo;Joe Smith,&rdquo; a &ldquo;buddy,&rdquo; who
+      had recently been chosen as check-weighman. The reporter, a lean and
+      keen-faced young man, asked many questions&mdash;intelligent questions;
+      incidentally he mentioned that he was the local correspondent of the great
+      press association whose stories of the disaster were sent to every corner
+      of the country. This seemed to Hal an extraordinary piece of good fortune,
+      and he proceeded to tell this Mr. Graham about the census which some of
+      the workers had taken; they were able to give the names of a hundred and
+      seven men and boys who were inside the mine. The list was at Mr. Graham's
+      disposal if he cared to see it. Mr. Graham seemed more interested than
+      ever, and made notes in his book.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Another thing, more important yet, Hal continued; the matter of the delay
+      in getting the fan started. It had been three days since the explosion,
+      but there had been no attempt at entering the mine. Had Mr. Graham seen
+      the disturbance at the pit-mouth that morning? Did he realise that a man
+      had been thrown out of camp merely because he had appealed to the deputy
+      state mine-inspector? Hal told what so many had come to believe&mdash;that
+      the company was saving property at the expense of life. He went on to
+      point out the human meaning of this&mdash;he told about old Mrs. Rafferty,
+      with her failing health and her eight children; about Mrs. Zamboni, with
+      eleven children; about Mrs. Jonotch, with a husband and three sons in the
+      mine. Led on by the reporter's interest, Hal began to show some of his
+      feeling. These were human beings, not animals; they loved and suffered,
+      even though they were poor and humble!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Most certainly!&rdquo; said Mr. Graham. &ldquo;You're right, and you may rest assured
+      I'll look into this.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's one thing more,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;If my name is mentioned, I'll be
+      fired, you know.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I won't mention it,&rdquo; said the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of course, if you can't publish the story without giving its source&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm the source,&rdquo; said the reporter, with a smile. &ldquo;Your name would not
+      add anything.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He spoke with quiet assurance; he seemed to know so completely both the
+      situation and his own duty in regard to it, that Hal felt a thrill of
+      triumph. It was as if a strong wind had come blowing from the outside
+      world, dispelling the miasma which hung over this coal-camp. Yes, this
+      reporter <i>was</i> the outside world! He was the power of public opinion,
+      making itself felt in this place of knavery and fear! He was the voice of
+      truth, the courage and rectitude of a great organisation of publicity,
+      independent of secret influences, lifted above corruption!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm indebted to you,&rdquo; said Mr. Graham, at the end, and Hal's sense of
+      victory was complete. What an extraordinary chance&mdash;that he should
+      have run into the agent of the great press association! The story would go
+      out to the great world of industry, which depended upon coal as its
+      life-blood. The men in the factories, the wheels of which were turned by
+      coal&mdash;the travellers on trains which were moved by coal&mdash;they
+      would hear at last of the sufferings of those who toiled in the bowels of
+      the earth for them! Even the ladies, reclining upon the decks of palatial
+      steamships in gleaming tropic seas&mdash;so marvellous was the power of
+      modern news-spreading agencies, that these ladies too might hear the cry
+      for help of these toilers, and of their wives and little ones! And from
+      this great world would come an answer, a universal shout of horror, of
+      execration, that would force even old Peter Harrigan to give way! So Hal
+      mused&mdash;for he was young, and this was his first crusade.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He was so happy that he was able to think of himself again, and to realise
+      that he had not eaten that day. It was noon-time, and he went into
+      Reminitsky's, and was about half through with the first course of
+      Reminitsky's two-course banquet, when his cruel disillusioning fell upon
+      him!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He looked up and saw Jeff Cotton striding into the dining-room, making
+      straight for him. There was blood in the marshal's eye, and Hal saw it,
+      and rose, instinctively.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Come!&rdquo; said Cotton, and took him by the coat-sleeve and marched him out,
+      almost before the rest of the diners had time to catch their breath.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had no opportunity now to display his &ldquo;tea-party manners&rdquo; to the
+      camp-marshal. As they walked, Cotton expressed his opinion of him, that he
+      was a skunk, a puppy, a person of undesirable ancestry; and when Hal
+      endeavoured to ask a question&mdash;which he did quite genuinely, not
+      grasping at once the meaning of what was happening&mdash;the marshal bade
+      him &ldquo;shut his face,&rdquo; and emphasised the command by a twist at his
+      coat-collar. At the same time two of the huskiest mine-guards, who had
+      been waiting at the dining-room door, took him, one by each arm, and
+      assisted his progress.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They went down the street and past Jeff Cotton's office, not stopping this
+      time. Their destination was the railroad-station, and when Hal got there,
+      he saw a train standing. The three men marched him to it, not releasing
+      him till they had jammed him down into a seat.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, young fellow,&rdquo; said Cotton, &ldquo;we'll see who's running this camp!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      By this time Hal had regained a part of his self-possession. &ldquo;Do I need a
+      ticket?&rdquo; he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll see to that,&rdquo; said the marshal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And do I get my things?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You save some questions for your college professors,&rdquo; snapped the
+      marshal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So Hal waited; and a minute or two later a man arrived on the run with his
+      scanty belongings, rolled into a bundle and tied with a piece of twine.
+      Hal noted that this man was big and ugly, and was addressed by the
+      camp-marshal as &ldquo;Pete.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The conductor shouted, &ldquo;All aboard!&rdquo; And at the same time Jeff Cotton
+      leaned over towards Hal and spoke in a menacing whisper: &ldquo;Take this from
+      me, young fellow; don't stop in Pedro, move on in a hurry, or something
+      will happen to you on a dark night.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      After which he strode down the aisle, and jumped off the moving train. But
+      Hal noticed that Pete Hanun, the breaker of teeth, stayed on the car a few
+      seats behind him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      BOOK THREE &mdash; THE HENCHMEN OF KING COAL
+    </h2>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 1.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      It was Hal's intention to get to Western City as quickly as possible to
+      call upon the newspaper editors. But first he must have money to travel,
+      and the best way he could think of to get it was to find John Edstrom. He
+      left the train, followed by Pete Hanun; after some inquiry, he came upon
+      the undertaker who had buried Edstrom's wife, and who told him where the
+      old Swede was staying, in the home of a labouring-man nearby.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Edstrom greeted him with eager questions: Who had been killed? What was
+      the situation? Hal told in brief sentences what had happened. When he
+      mentioned his need of money, Edstrom answered that he had a little, and
+      would lend it, but it was not enough for a ticket to Western City. Hal
+      asked about the twenty-five dollars which Mary Burke had sent by
+      registered mail; the old man had heard nothing about it, he had not been
+      to the post-office. &ldquo;Let's go now!&rdquo; said Hal, at once; but as they were
+      starting downstairs, a fresh difficulty occurred to him. Pete Hanun was on
+      the street outside, and it was likely that he had heard about this money
+      from Jeff Cotton; he might hold Edstrom up and take it away.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Let me suggest something,&rdquo; put in the old man. &ldquo;Come and see my friend Ed
+      MacKellar. He may be able to give us some advice&mdash;even to think of
+      some way to get the mine open.&rdquo; Edstrom explained that MacKellar, an old
+      Scotchman, had been a miner, but was now crippled, and held some petty
+      office in Pedro. He was a persistent opponent of &ldquo;Alf&rdquo; Raymond's machine,
+      and they had almost killed him on one occasion. His home was not far away,
+      and it would take little time to consult him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said Hal, and they set out at once. Pete Hanun followed them,
+      not more than a dozen yards behind, but did not interfere, and they turned
+      in at the gate of a little cottage. A woman opened the door for them, and
+      asked them into the dining-room where MacKellar was sitting&mdash;a
+      grey-haired old man, twisted up with rheumatism and obliged to go about on
+      crutches.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal told his story. As the Scotchman had been brought up in the mines, it
+      was not necessary to go into details about the situation. When Hal told
+      his idea of appealing to the newspapers, the other responded at once, &ldquo;You
+      won't have to go to Western City. There's a man right here who'll do the
+      business for you; Keating, of the <i>Gazette</i>.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Western City <i>Gazette?</i>&rdquo; exclaimed Hal. He knew this paper; an
+      evening journal selling for a cent, and read by working-men. Persons of
+      culture who referred to it disposed of it with the adjective &ldquo;yellow.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know,&rdquo; said MacKellar, noting Hal's tone. &ldquo;But it's the only paper that
+      will publish your story anyway.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where is this Keating?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He's been up at the mine. It's too bad you didn't meet him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Can we get hold of him now?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He might be in Pedro. Try the American Hotel.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal went to the telephone, and in a minute was hearing for the first time
+      the cheery voice of his friend and lieutenant-to-be, &ldquo;Billy&rdquo; Keating. In a
+      couple of minutes more the owner of the voice was at MacKellar's door,
+      wiping the perspiration from his half-bald forehead. He was round-faced,
+      like a full moon, and as jolly as Falstaff; when you got to know him
+      better, you discovered that he was loyal as a Newfoundland dog. For all
+      his bulk, Keating was a newspaper man, every inch of him &ldquo;on the job.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He started to question the young miner as soon as he was introduced, and
+      it quickly became clear to Hal that here was the man he was looking for.
+      Keating knew exactly what questions to ask, and had the whole story in a
+      few minutes. &ldquo;By thunder!&rdquo; he cried. &ldquo;My last edition!&rdquo; And he pulled out
+      his watch, and sprang to the telephone. &ldquo;Long distance,&rdquo; he called; then,
+      &ldquo;I want the city editor of the Western City <i>Gazette</i>. And, operator,
+      please see if you can't rush it through. It's very urgent, and last time I
+      had to wait nearly half an hour.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He turned back to Hal, and proceeded to ask more questions, at the same
+      time pulling a bunch of copy-paper from his pocket and making notes. He
+      got all Hal's statements about the lack of sprinkling, the absence of
+      escape-ways, the delay in starting the fan, the concealing of the number
+      of men in the mine. &ldquo;I knew things were crooked up there!&rdquo; he exclaimed.
+      &ldquo;But I couldn't get a lead! They kept a man with me every minute of the
+      time. You know a fellow named Predovich?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I do,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;The company store-clerk; he once went through my
+      pockets.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Keating made a face of disgust. &ldquo;Well, he was my chaperon. Imagine trying
+      to get the miners to talk to you with that sneak at your heels! I said to
+      the superintendent, 'I don't need anybody to escort me around your place.'
+      And he looked at me with a nasty little smile. 'We wouldn't want anything
+      to happen to you while you're in this camp, Mr. Keating.' 'You don't
+      consider it necessary to protect the lives of the other reporters,' I
+      said. 'No,' said he; 'but the <i>Gazette</i> has made a great many
+      enemies, you know.' 'Drop your fooling, Mr. Cartwright,' I said. 'You
+      propose to have me shadowed while I'm working on this assignment?' 'You
+      can put it that way,' he answered, 'if you think it'll please the readers
+      of the <i>Gazette</i>.'&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Too bad we didn't meet!&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;Or if you'd run into any of our
+      check-weighman crowd!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh! You know about that check-weighman business!&rdquo; exclaimed the reporter.
+      &ldquo;I got a hint of it&mdash;that's how I happened to be down here to-day. I
+      heard there was a man named Edstrom, who'd been shut out for making
+      trouble; and I thought if I could find him, I might get a lead.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal and MacKellar looked at the old Swede, and the three of them began to
+      laugh. &ldquo;Here's your man!&rdquo; said MacKellar.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And here's your check-weighman!&rdquo; added Edstrom, pointing to Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Instantly the reporter was on his job again; he began to fire another
+      series of questions. He would use that check-weighman story as a
+      &ldquo;follow-up&rdquo; for the next day, to keep the subject of North Valley alive.
+      The story had a direct bearing on the disaster, because it showed what the
+      North Valley bosses were doing when they should have been looking after
+      the safety of their mine. &ldquo;I'll write it out this afternoon and send it by
+      mail,&rdquo; said Keating; he added, with a smile, &ldquo;That's one advantage of
+      handling news the other papers won't touch&mdash;you don't have to worry
+      about losing your 'scoops'!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 2.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Keating went to the telephone again, to worry &ldquo;long distance&rdquo;; then,
+      grumbling about his last edition, he came back to ask more questions about
+      Hal's experiences. Before long he drew out the story of the young man's
+      first effort in the publicity game; at which he sank back in his chair,
+      and laughed until he shook, as the nursery-rhyme describes it, &ldquo;like a
+      bowlful of jelly.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Graham!&rdquo; he exclaimed. &ldquo;Fancy, MacKellar, he took that story to Graham!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The Scotchman seemed to find it equally funny; together they explained
+      that Graham was the political reporter of the <i>Eagle</i>, the paper in
+      Pedro which was owned by the Sheriff-emperor. One might call him Alf
+      Raymond's journalistic jackal; there was no job too dirty for him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But,&rdquo; cried Hal, &ldquo;he told me he was correspondent for the Western press
+      association!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He's that, too,&rdquo; replied Billy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But does the press association employ spies for the 'G. F. C.'?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The reporter answered, drily, &ldquo;When you understand the news game better,
+      you'll realise that the one thing the press association cares about in a
+      correspondent is that he should have respect for property. If respect for
+      property is the back-bone of his being, he can learn what news is, and the
+      right way to handle it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Keating turned to the Scotchman. &ldquo;Do you happen to have a typewriter in
+      the house, Mr. MacKellar?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;An old one,&rdquo; said the other&mdash;&ldquo;lame, like myself.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll make out with it. I'd ask this young man over to my hotel, but I
+      think he'd better keep off the streets as much as possible.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You're right. If you take my advice, you'll take the typewriter upstairs,
+      where there's no chance of a shot through the window.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Great heavens!&rdquo; exclaimed Hal. &ldquo;Is this America, or mediaeval Italy?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's the Empire of Raymond,&rdquo; replied MacKellar. &ldquo;They shot my friend Tom
+      Burton dead while he stood on the steps of his home. He was opposing the
+      machine, and had evidence about ballot-frauds he was going to put before
+      the Grand Jury.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      While Keating continued to fret with &ldquo;long distance,&rdquo; the old Scotchman
+      went on trying to impress upon Hal the danger of his position. Quite
+      recently an organiser of the miners' union had been beaten up in broad
+      day-light and left insensible on the sidewalk; MacKellar had watched the
+      trial and acquittal of the two thugs who had committed this crime&mdash;the
+      foreman of the jury being a saloon-keeper one of Raymond's heelers, and
+      the other jurymen being Mexicans, unable to comprehend a word of the court
+      proceedings.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Exactly such a jury as Jeff Cotton promised me!&rdquo; remarked Hal, with a
+      feeble attempt at a smile.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; answered the other; &ldquo;and don't make any mistake about it, if they
+      want to put you away, they can do it. They run the whole machine here. I
+      know how it is, for I had a political job myself, until they found they
+      couldn't use me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The old Scotchman went on to explain that he had been elected justice of
+      peace, and had tried to break up the business of policemen taking money
+      from the women of the town; he had been forced to resign, and his enemies
+      had made his life a torment. Recently he had been candidate for district
+      judge on the Progressive ticket, and told of his efforts to carry on a
+      campaign in the coal-camps&mdash;how his circulars had been confiscated,
+      his posters torn down, his supporters &ldquo;kangarooed.&rdquo; It was exactly as Alec
+      Stone, the pit-boss, had explained to Hal. In some of the camps the
+      meeting-halls belonged to the company; in others they belonged to
+      saloon-keepers whose credit depended upon Alf Raymond. In the few places
+      where there were halls that could be hired, the machine had gone to the
+      extreme of sending in rival entertainments, furnishing free music and free
+      beer in order to keep the crowds away from MacKellar.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All this time Billy Keating had been chafing and scolding at &ldquo;long
+      distance.&rdquo; Now at last he managed to get his call, and silence fell in the
+      room. &ldquo;Hello, Pringle, that you? This is Keating. Got a big story on the
+      North Valley disaster. Last edition put to bed yet? Put Jim on the wire.
+      Hello, Jim! Got your book?&rdquo; And then Billy, evidently talking to a
+      stenographer, began to tell the story he had got from Hal. Now and then he
+      would stop to repeat or spell a word; once or twice Hal corrected him on
+      details. So, in about a quarter of an hour, they put the job through; and
+      Keating turned to Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There you are, son,&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;Your story'll be on the street in Western
+      City in a little over an hour; it'll be down here as soon thereafter as
+      they can get telephone connections. And take my advice, if you want to
+      keep a whole skin, you'll be out of Pedro when that happens!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 3.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      When Hal spoke, he did not answer Billy Keating's last remark. He had been
+      listening to a retelling of the North Valley disaster over the telephone;
+      so he was not thinking about his skin, but about a hundred and seven men
+      and boys buried inside a mine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mr. Keating,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;are you sure the <i>Gazette</i> will print that
+      story?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good Lord!&rdquo; exclaimed the other. &ldquo;What am I here for?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, I've been disappointed once, you know.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, but you got into the wrong camp. We're a poor man's paper, and this
+      is what we live on.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's no chance of its being 'toned down'?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not the slightest, I assure you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's no chance of Peter Harrigan's suppressing it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Peter Harrigan made his attempts on the <i>Gazette</i> long ago, my boy.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;and now tell me this&mdash;will it do the work?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In what way?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I mean&mdash;in making them open the mine.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Keating considered for a moment. &ldquo;I'm afraid it won't do much.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal looked at him blankly. He had taken it for granted the publication of
+      the facts would force the company to move. But Keating explained that the
+      <i>Gazette</i> read mainly by working-people, and so had comparatively
+      little influence. &ldquo;We're an afternoon paper,&rdquo; he said; &ldquo;and when people
+      have been reading lies all morning, it's not easy to make them believe the
+      truth in the afternoon.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But won't the story go to other papers&mdash;over the country, I mean?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, we have a press service; but the papers are all like the <i>Gazette</i>&mdash;poor
+      man's papers. If there's something very raw, and we keep pounding away for
+      a long time, we can make an impression; at least we limit the amount of
+      news the Western press association can suppress. But when it comes to a
+      small matter like sealing up workingmen in a mine, all we can do is to
+      worry the 'G. F. C.' a little.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So Hal was just where he had begun! &ldquo;I must find some other plan,&rdquo; he
+      exclaimed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't see what you can do,&rdquo; replied the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a pause, while the young miner pondered. &ldquo;I had thought of going
+      up to Western City and appealing to the editors,&rdquo; he said, a little
+      uncertainly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, I can tell you about that&mdash;you might as well save your
+      car-fare. They wouldn't touch your story.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And if I appealed to the Governor?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In the first place, he probably wouldn't see you. And if he did, he
+      wouldn't do anything. He's not really the Governor, you know; he's a
+      puppet put up there to fool you. He only moves when Harrigan pulls a
+      string.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of course I knew he was Old Peter's man,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;But then&rdquo;&mdash;and
+      he concluded, somewhat lamely, &ldquo;What <i>can</i> I do?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      A smile of pity came upon the reporter's face. &ldquo;I can see this is the
+      first time you've been up against 'big business.'&rdquo; And then he added,
+      &ldquo;You're young! When you've had more experience, you'll leave these
+      problems to older heads!&rdquo; But Hal failed to get the reporter's sarcasm. He
+      had heard these exact words in such deadly seriousness from his brother!
+      Besides, he had just come from scenes of horror.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But don't you see, Mr. Keating?&rdquo; he exclaimed. &ldquo;It's impossible for me to
+      sit still while those men die?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't know about your sitting still,&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;All I know is
+      that all your moving about isn't going to do them any good.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal turned to Edstrom and MacKellar. &ldquo;Gentlemen,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;listen to me
+      for a minute.&rdquo; And there was a note of pleading in his voice&mdash;as if
+      he thought they were deliberately refusing to help him! &ldquo;We've got to do
+      something about this. We've <i>got</i> to do something! I'm new at the
+      game, as Mr. Keating says; but you aren't. Put your minds on it,
+      gentlemen, and help me work out a plan!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a long silence. &ldquo;God knows,&rdquo; said Edstrom, at last. &ldquo;I'd suggest
+      something if I could.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And I, too,&rdquo; said MacKellar. &ldquo;You're up against a stone-wall, my boy. The
+      government here is simply a department of the 'G. F. C.' The officials are
+      crooks&mdash;company servants, all of them.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Just a moment now,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;Let's consider. Suppose we had a real
+      government&mdash;what steps would we take? We'd carry such a case to the
+      District Attorney, wouldn't we?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, no doubt of it,&rdquo; said MacKellar.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mentioned him before,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;He threatened to prosecute some
+      mine-superintendents for ballot-frauds, you said.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That was while he was running for election,&rdquo; said MacKellar.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh! I remember what Jeff Cotton said&mdash;that he was friendly to the
+      miners in his speeches, and to the companies in his acts.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's the man,&rdquo; said the other, drily.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; argued Hal, &ldquo;oughtn't I go to him, to give him a chance, at least?
+      You can't tell, he might have a heart inside him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It isn't a heart he needs,&rdquo; replied MacKellar; &ldquo;it's a back-bone.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But surely I ought to put it up to him! If he won't do anything, at least
+      I'll put him on record, and it'll make another story for you, won't it,
+      Mr. Keating?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, that's true,&rdquo; admitted the reporter. &ldquo;What would you ask him to do?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why, to lay the matter before the Grand Jury; to bring indictments
+      against the North Valley bosses.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But that would take a long time; it wouldn't save the men in the mine.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What might save them would be the threat of it.&rdquo; MacKellar put in. &ldquo;I
+      don't think any threat of Dick Barker's would count for that much. The
+      bosses know they could stop him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, isn't there somebody else? Shouldn't I try the courts?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What courts?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't know. You tell me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said the Scotchman, &ldquo;to begin at the bottom, there's a justice of
+      the peace.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who's he?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Jim Anderson, a horse-doctor. He's like any other J.P. you ever knew&mdash;he
+      lives on petty graft.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is there a higher court?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, the district court; Judge Denton. He's the law-partner of Vagleman,
+      counsel for the 'G. F. C.' How far would you expect to get with him?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I suppose I'm clutching at straws,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;But they say that's what a
+      drowning man does. Anyway, I'm going to see these people, and maybe out of
+      the lot of them I can find one who'll act. It can't do any harm!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The three men thought of some harm it might do; they tried to make Hal
+      consider the danger of being slugged Or shot. &ldquo;They'll do it!&rdquo; exclaimed
+      MacKellar. &ldquo;And no trouble for them&mdash;they'll prove you were stabbed
+      by a drunken Dago, quarrelling over some woman.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But Hal had got his head set; he believed he could put this job through
+      before his enemies had time to lay any plans. Nor would he let any of his
+      friends accompany him; he had something more important for both Edstrom
+      and Keating to do&mdash;and as for MacKellar, he could not get about
+      rapidly enough. Hal bade Edstrom go to the post-office and get the
+      registered letter, and proceed at once to change the bills. It was his
+      plan to make out affidavits, and if the officials here would not act, to
+      take the affidavits to the Governor. And for this he would need money.
+      Meantime, he said, let Billy Keating write out the check-weighman story,
+      and in a couple of hours meet him at the American Hotel, to get copies of
+      the affidavits for the <i>Gazette</i>.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal was still wearing the miner's clothes he had worn on the night of his
+      arrest in Edstrom's cabin. But he declined MacKellar's offer to lend him a
+      business-suit; the old Scotchman's clothes would not fit him, he knew, and
+      it would be better to make his appeal as a real miner than as a misfit
+      gentleman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      These matters being settled, Hal went out upon the street, where Pete
+      Hanun, the breaker of teeth, fell in behind him. The young miner at once
+      broke into a run, and the other followed suit, and so the two of them sped
+      down the street, to the wonder of people on the way. As Hal had had
+      practice as a sprinter, no doubt Pete was glad that the District
+      Attorney's office was not far away!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 4.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Mr. Richard Parker was busy, said the clerk in toe outer office; for which
+      Hal was not sorry, as it gave him a chance to get his breath. Seeing a
+      young man flushed and panting, the clerk stared with curiosity; but Hal
+      offered no explanation, and the breaker of teeth waited on the street
+      outside.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Mr. Parker received his caller in a couple of minutes. He was a well-fed
+      gentleman with generous neck and chin, freshly shaved and rubbed with
+      talcum powder. His clothing was handsome, his linen immaculate; one got
+      the impression of a person who &ldquo;did himself well.&rdquo; There were papers on
+      his desk, and he looked preoccupied.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well?&rdquo; said he, with a swift glance at the young miner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I understand that I am speaking to the District Attorney of Pedro
+      County?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's right.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mr. Parker, have you given any attention to the circumstances of the
+      North Valley disaster?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Mr. Parker. &ldquo;Why?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have just come from North Valley, and I can give you information which
+      may be of interest to you. There are a hundred and seven people entombed
+      in the mine, and the company officials have sealed it, and are sacrificing
+      those lives.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other put down the correspondence, and made an examination of his
+      caller from under his heavy eyelids. &ldquo;How do you know this?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I left there only a few hours ago. The facts are known to all the workers
+      in the camp.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You are speaking from what you heard?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am speaking from what I know at first hand. I saw the disaster, I saw
+      the pit-mouth boarded over and covered with canvas. I know a man who was
+      driven out of camp this morning for complaining about the delay in
+      starting the fan. It has been over three days since the explosion, and
+      still nothing has been done.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Mr. Parker proceeded to fire a series of questions, in the sharp,
+      suspicious manner customary to prosecuting officials. But Hal did not mind
+      that; it was the man's business to make sure.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Presently he demanded to know how he could get corroboration of Hal's
+      statements.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You'll have to go up there,&rdquo; was the reply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You say the facts are known to the men. Give me the names of some of
+      them.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have no authority to give their names, Mr. Parker.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What authority do you need? They will tell me, won't they?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They may, and they may not. One man has already lost his job; not every
+      man cares to lose his job.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You expect me to go up there on your bare say-so?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I offer you more than my say-so. I offer an affidavit.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But what do I know about you?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You know that I worked in North Valley&mdash;or you can verify the fact
+      by using the telephone. My name is Joe Smith, and I was a miner's helper
+      in Number Two.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But that was not sufficient, said Mr. Parker; his time was valuable, and
+      before he took a trip to North Valley he must have the names of witnesses
+      who would corroborate these statements.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I offer you an affidavit!&rdquo; exclaimed Hal. &ldquo;I say that I have knowledge
+      that a crime is being committed&mdash;that a hundred and seven human lives
+      are being sacrificed. You don't consider that a sufficient reason for even
+      making inquiry?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The District Attorney answered again that he desired to do his duty, he
+      desired to protect the workers in their rights; but he could not afford to
+      go off on a &ldquo;wild goose chase,&rdquo; he must have the names of witnesses. And
+      Hal found himself wondering. Was the man merely taking the first pretext
+      for doing nothing? Or could it be that an official of the state would go
+      as far as to help the company by listing the names of &ldquo;trouble-makers&rdquo;?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In spite of his distrust, Hal was resolved to give the man every chance he
+      could. He went over the whole story of the disaster. He took Mr. Parker up
+      to the camp, showed him the agonised women and terrified children crowding
+      about the pit-mouth, driven back with clubs and revolvers. He named family
+      after family, widows and mothers and orphans. He told of the miners
+      clamouring for a chance to risk their lives to save their fellows. He let
+      his own feelings sweep him along; he pleaded with fervour for his
+      suffering friends.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Young man,&rdquo; said the other, breaking in upon his eloquence, &ldquo;how long
+      have you been working in North Valley?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;About ten weeks.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How long have you been working in coal-mines?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That was my first experience.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you think that in ten weeks you have learned enough to entitle you to
+      bring a charge of 'murder' against men who have spent their lives in
+      learning the business of mining?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;As I have told you,&rdquo; exclaimed Hal, &ldquo;it's not merely my opinion; it's the
+      opinion of the oldest and most experienced of the miners. I tell you no
+      effort whatever is being made to save those men! The bosses care nothing
+      about their men! One of them, Alec Stone, was heard by a crowd of people
+      to say, 'Damn the men! Save the mules!'&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Everybody up there is excited,&rdquo; declared the other. &ldquo;Nobody can think
+      straight at present&mdash;you can't think straight yourself. If the mine's
+      on fire, and if the fire is spreading to such an extent that it can't be
+      put out&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But, Mr. Parker, how can you say that it's spreading to such an extent?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, how can you say that it isn't?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a pause. &ldquo;I understand there's a deputy mine-inspector up
+      there,&rdquo; said the District Attorney, suddenly. &ldquo;What's his name?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Carmichael,&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, and what does <i>he</i> say about it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It was for appealing to him that the miner, Huszar, was turned out of
+      camp.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Mr. Parker&mdash;and there came a note into his voice by
+      which Hal knew that he had found the excuse he sought&mdash;&ldquo;Well, it's
+      Carmichael's business, and I have no right to butt in on it. If he comes
+      to me and asks for indictments, I'll act&mdash;but not otherwise. That's
+      all I have to say about it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And Hal rose. &ldquo;Very well, Mr. Parker,&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;I have put the facts
+      before you. I was told you wouldn't do anything, but I wanted to give you
+      a chance. Now I'm going to ask the Governor for your removal!&rdquo; And with
+      these words the young miner strode out of the office.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 5.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal went down the street to the American Hotel, where there was a public
+      stenographer. When this young woman discovered the nature of the material
+      he proposed to dictate, her fingers trembled visibly; but she did not
+      refuse the task, and Hal proceeded to set forth the circumstances of the
+      sealing of the pit-mouth of Number One Mine at North Valley, and to pray
+      for warrants for the arrest of Enos Cartwright and Alec Stone. Then he
+      gave an account of how he had been selected as check-weighman and been
+      refused access to the scales; and with all the legal phraseology he could
+      rake up, he prayed for the arrest of Enos Cartwright and James Peters,
+      superintendent and tipple-boss at North Valley, for these offences. In
+      another affidavit he narrated how Jeff Cotton, camp-marshal, had seized
+      him at night, mistreated him, and shut him in prison for thirty-six hours
+      without warrant or charge; also how Cotton, Pete Hanun, and two other
+      parties by name unknown, had illegally driven him from the town of North
+      Valley, threatening him with violence; for which he prayed the arrest of
+      Jeff Cotton, Pete Hanun, and the two parties unknown.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Before this task was finished, Billy Keating came in, bringing the
+      twenty-five dollars which Edstrom had got from the post-office. They found
+      a notary public, before whom Hal made oath to each document; and when
+      these had been duly inscribed and stamped with the seal of the state, he
+      gave carbon copies to Keating, who hurried off to catch a mail-train which
+      was just due. Billy would not trust such things to the local post-office;
+      for Pedro was the hell of a town, he declared. As they went out on the
+      street again they noticed that their body-guard had been increased by
+      another husky-looking personage, who made no attempt to conceal what he
+      was doing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal went around the corner to an office bearing the legend, &ldquo;J.W.
+      Anderson, Justice of the Peace.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Jim Anderson, the horse-doctor, sat at his desk within. He had evidently
+      chewed tobacco before he assumed the ermine, and his reddish-coloured
+      moustache still showed the stains. Hal observed such details, trying to
+      weigh his chances of success. He presented the affidavit describing his
+      treatment in North Valley, and sat waiting while His Honour read it
+      through with painful slowness.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said the man, at last, &ldquo;what do you want?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I want a warrant for Jeff Cotton's arrest.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other studied him for a minute. &ldquo;No, young fellow,&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;You
+      can't get no such warrant here.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why not?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because Cotton's a deputy-sheriff; he had a right to arrest you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To arrest me without a warrant?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How do you know he didn't have a warrant?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He admitted to me that he didn't.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, whether he had a warrant or not, it was his business to keep order
+      in the camp.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean he can do anything he pleases in the camp?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What I mean is, it ain't my business to interfere. Why didn't you see Si
+      Adams, up to the camp?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They didn't give me any chance to see him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; replied the other, &ldquo;there's nothing I can do for you. You can see
+      that for yourself. What kind of discipline could they keep in them camps
+      if any fellow that had a kick could come down here and have the marshal
+      arrested?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then a camp-marshal can act without regard to the law?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I didn't say that.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Suppose he had committed murder&mdash;would you give a warrant for that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, of course, if it was murder.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And if you knew that he was in the act of committing murder in a
+      coal-camp&mdash;would you try to stop him?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, of course.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then here's another affidavit,&rdquo; said Hal; and he produced the one about
+      the sealing of the mine. There was silence while Justice Anderson read it
+      through.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But again he shook his head. &ldquo;No, you can't get no such warrants here.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why not?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because it ain't my business to run a coal-mine. I don't understand it,
+      and I'd make a fool of myself if I tried to tell them people how to run
+      their business.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal argued with him. Could company officials in charge of a coal-mine
+      commit any sort of outrage upon their employés, and call it running their
+      business? Their control of the mine in such an emergency as this meant the
+      power of life and death over a hundred and seven men and boys; could it be
+      that the law had nothing to say in such a situation? But Mr. Anderson only
+      shook his head; it was not his business to interfere. Hal might go up to
+      the court-house and see Judge Denton about it. So Hal gathered up his
+      affidavits and went out to the street again&mdash;where there were now
+      three husky-looking personages waiting to escort him.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 6.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      The district court was in session and Hal sat for a while in the
+      court-room, watching Judge Denton. Here was another prosperous and
+      well-fed appearing gentleman, with a rubicund visage shining over the top
+      of his black silk robe. The young miner found himself regarding both the
+      robe and the visage with suspicion. Could it be that Hal was becoming
+      cynical, and losing his faith in his fellow man? What he thought of, in
+      connection with the Judge's appearance, was that there was a living to be
+      made sitting on the bench, while one's partner appeared before the bench
+      as coal-company counsel!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In an interval of the proceedings, Hal spoke to the clerk, and was told
+      that he might see the judge at four-thirty; but a few minutes later Pete
+      Hanun came in and whispered to this clerk. The clerk looked at Hal, then
+      he went up and whispered to the Judge. At four-thirty, when the court was
+      declared adjourned, the Judge rose and disappeared into his private
+      office; and when Hal applied to the clerk, the latter brought out the
+      message that Judge Denton was too busy to see him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Hal was not to be disposed of in that easy fashion. There was a side
+      door to the court-room, with a corridor beyond it, and while he stood
+      arguing with the clerk he saw the rubicund visage of the Judge flit past.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He darted in pursuit. He did not shout or make a disturbance; but when he
+      was close behind his victim, he said, quietly, &ldquo;Judge Denton, I appeal to
+      you for justice!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The Judge turned and looked at him, his countenance showing annoyance.
+      &ldquo;What do you want?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      It was a ticklish moment, for Pete Hanun was at Hal's heels, and it would
+      have needed no more than a nod from the Judge to cause him to collar Hal.
+      But the Judge, taken by surprise, permitted himself to parley with the
+      young miner; and the detective hesitated, and finally fell back a step or
+      two.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal repeated his appeal. &ldquo;Your Honour, there are a hundred and seven men
+      and boys now dying up at the North Valley mine. They are being murdered,
+      and I am trying to save their lives!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Young man,&rdquo; said the Judge, &ldquo;I have an urgent engagement down the
+      street.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well,&rdquo; replied Hal, &ldquo;I will walk with you and tell you as you go.&rdquo;
+       Nor did he give &ldquo;His Honour&rdquo; a chance to say whether this arrangement was
+      pleasing to him; he set out by his side, with Pete Hanun and the other two
+      men some ten yards in the rear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal told the story as he had told it to Mr. Richard Parker; and he
+      received the same response. Such matters were not easy to decide about;
+      they were hardly a Judge's business. There was a state official on the
+      ground, and it was for him to decide if there was violation of law.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal repeated his statement that a man who made a complaint to this
+      official had been thrown out of camp. &ldquo;And I was thrown out also, your
+      Honour.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What for?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nobody told me what for.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tut, tut, young man! They don't throw men out without telling them the
+      reason!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But they <i>do</i>, your Honour! Shortly before that they locked me up in
+      jail, and held me for thirty-six hours without the slightest show of
+      authority.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You must have been doing something!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What I had done was to be chosen by a committee of miners to act as their
+      check-weighman.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Their check-weighman?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, your Honour. I am informed there's a law providing that when the men
+      demand a check-weighman, and offer to pay for him, the company must permit
+      him to inspect the weights. Is that correct?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is, I believe.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And there's a penalty for refusing?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The law always carries a penalty, young man.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They tell me that law has been on the statute-books for fifteen or
+      sixteen years, and that the penalty is from twenty-five to five hundred
+      dollars fine. It's a case about which there can be no dispute, your Honour&mdash;the
+      miners notified the superintendent that they desired my services, and when
+      I presented myself at the tipple, I was refused access to the scales; then
+      I was seized and shut up in jail, and finally turned out of the camp. I
+      have made affidavit to these facts, and I think I have the right to ask
+      for warrants for the guilty men.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Can you produce witnesses to your statements?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can, your Honour. One of the committee of miners, John Edstrom, is now
+      in Pedro, having been kept out of his home, which he had rented and paid
+      for. The other, Mike Sikoria, was also thrown out of camp. There are many
+      others at North Valley who know all about it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a pause. Judge Denton for the first time took a good look at the
+      young miner at his side; and then he drew his brows together in solemn
+      thought, and his voice became deep and impressive. &ldquo;I shall take this
+      matter under advisement. What is your name, and where do you live?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Joe Smith, your Honour. I'm staying at Edward MacKellar's, but I don't
+      know how long I'll be able to stay there. There are company thugs watching
+      the place all the time.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's wild talk!&rdquo; said the Judge, impatiently.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;As it happens,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;we are being followed by three of them at this
+      moment&mdash;one of them the same Pete Hanun who helped to drive me out of
+      North Valley. If you will turn your head you will see them behind us.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But the portly Judge did not turn his head.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have been informed,&rdquo; Hal continued, &ldquo;that I am taking my life in my
+      hands by my present course of action. I believe I'm entitled to ask for
+      protection.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What do you want me to do?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To begin with, I'd like you to cause the arrest of the men who are
+      shadowing me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's not my business to cause such arrests. You should apply to a
+      policeman.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't see any policeman. Will you tell me where to find one?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      His Honour was growing weary of such persistence. &ldquo;Young man, what's the
+      matter with you is that you've been reading dime novels, and they've got
+      on your nerves!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But the men are right behind me, your Honour! Look at them!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I've told you it's not my business, young man!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But, your Honour, before I can find a policeman I may be dead!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other appeared to be untroubled by this possibility.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And, your Honour, while you are taking these matters under advisement,
+      the men in the mine will be dead!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Again there was no reply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have some affidavits here,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;Do you wish them?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You can give them to me if you want to,&rdquo; said the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You don't ask me for them?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I haven't yet.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then just one more question&mdash;if you will pardon me, your Honour. Can
+      you tell me where I can find an honest lawyer in this town&mdash;a man who
+      might be willing to take a case against the interests of the General Fuel
+      Company?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a silence&mdash;a long, long silence. Judge Denton, of the firm
+      of Denton and Vagleman, stared straight in front of him as he walked.
+      Whatever complicated processes might have been going on inside his mind,
+      his judicial features did not reveal them. &ldquo;No, young man,&rdquo; he said at
+      last, &ldquo;it's not my business to give you information about lawyers.&rdquo; And
+      with that the judge turned on his heel and went into the Elks' Club.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 7.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal stood and watched the portly figure until it disappeared; then he
+      turned back and passed the three detectives, who stopped. He stared at
+      them, but made no sign, nor did they. Some twenty feet behind him, they
+      fell in and followed as before.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Judge Denton had suggested consulting a policeman; and suddenly Hal
+      noticed that he was passing the City Hall, and it occurred to him that
+      this matter of his being shadowed might properly be brought to the
+      attention of the mayor of Pedro. He wondered what the chief magistrate of
+      such a &ldquo;hell of a town&rdquo; might be like; after due inquiry, he found himself
+      in the office of Mr. Ezra Perkins, a mild-mannered little gentleman who
+      had been in the undertaking-business, before he became a figure-head for
+      the so-called &ldquo;Democratic&rdquo; machine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He sat pulling nervously at a neatly trimmed brown beard, trying to
+      wriggle out of the dilemma into which Hal put him. Yes, it might possibly
+      be that a young miner was being followed on the streets of the town; but
+      whether or not this was against the law depended on the circumstances. If
+      he had made a disturbance in North Valley, and there was reason to believe
+      that he might be intending trouble, doubtless the company was keeping
+      track of him. But Pedro was a law-abiding place, and he would be protected
+      in his rights so long as he behaved himself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal replied by citing what MacKellar had told him about men being slugged
+      on the streets in broad day-light. To this Mr. Perkins answered that there
+      was uncertainty about the circumstances of these cases; anyhow, they had
+      happened before he became mayor. His was a reform administration, and he
+      had given strict orders to the Chief of Police that there were to be no
+      more incidents of the sort.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Will you go with me to the Chief of Police and give him orders now?&rdquo;
+       demanded Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I do not consider it necessary,&rdquo; said Mr. Perkins.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He was about to go home, it seemed. He was a pitiful little rodent, and it
+      was a shame to torment him; but Hal stuck to him for ten or twenty minutes
+      longer, arguing and insisting&mdash;until finally the little rodent bolted
+      for the door, and made his escape in an automobile. &ldquo;You can go to the
+      Chief of Police yourself,&rdquo; were his last words, as he started the machine;
+      and Hal decided to follow the suggestion. He had no hope left, but he was
+      possessed by a kind of dogged rage. He <i>would</i> not let go!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Upon inquiry of a passer-by, he learned that police headquarters was in
+      this same building, the entrance being just round the corner. He went in,
+      and found a man in uniform writing at a desk, who stated that the Chief
+      had &ldquo;stepped down the street.&rdquo; Hal sat down to wait, by a window through
+      which he could look out upon the three gunmen loitering across the way.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The man at the desk wrote on, but now and then he eyed the young miner
+      with that hostility which American policemen cultivate toward the lower
+      classes. To Hal this was a new phenomenon, and he found himself suddenly
+      wishing that he had put on MacKellar's clothes. Perhaps a policeman would
+      not have noticed the misfit!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Chief came in. His blue uniform concealed a burly figure, and his
+      moustache revealed the fact that his errand down the street had had to do
+      with beer. &ldquo;Well, young fellow?&rdquo; said he, fixing his gaze upon Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal explained his errand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What do you want me to do?&rdquo; asked the Chief, in a decidedly hostile
+      voice.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I want you to make those men stop following me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How can I make them stop?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You can lock them up, if necessary. I can point them out to you, if
+      you'll step to the window.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But the other made no move. &ldquo;I reckon if they're follerin' you, they've
+      got some reason for it. Have you been makin' trouble in the camps?&rdquo; He
+      asked this question with sudden force, as if it had occurred to him that
+      it might be his duty to lock up Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Hal, speaking as bravely as he could&mdash;&ldquo;no indeed, I
+      haven't been making trouble. I've only been demanding my rights.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How do I know what you been doin'?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The young miner was willing to explain, but the other cut him short. &ldquo;You
+      behave yourself while you're in this town, young feller, d'you see? If you
+      do, nobody'll bother you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;they've already threatened to bother me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What did they say?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They said something might happen to me on a dark night.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, so it might&mdash;you might fall down and hit your nose.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The Chief was pleased with this wit, but only for a moment. &ldquo;Understand,
+      young feller, we'll give you your rights in this town, but we got no love
+      for agitators, and we don't pretend to have. See?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You call a man an agitator when he demands his legal rights?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I ain't got time to argue with you, young feller. It's no easy matter
+      keepin' order in coal-camps, and I ain't going to meddle in the business.
+      I reckon the company detectives has got as good a right in this town as
+      you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a pause. Hal saw that there was nothing to be gained by further
+      discussion with the Chief. It was his first glimpse of the American
+      policeman as he appears to the labouring man in revolt, and he found it an
+      illuminating experience. There was dynamite in his heart as he turned and
+      went out to the street; nor was the amount of the explosive diminished by
+      the mocking grins which he noted upon the faces of Pete Hanun and the
+      other two husky-looking personages.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 8.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal judged that he had now exhausted his legal resources in Pedro; the
+      Chief of Police had not suggested any one else he might call upon, so
+      there seemed nothing he could do but go back to MacKellar's and await the
+      hour of the night train to Western City. He started to give his guardians
+      another run, by way of working off at least a part of his own temper; but
+      he found that they had anticipated this difficulty. An automobile came up
+      and the three of them stepped in. Not to be outdone, Hal engaged a hack,
+      and so the expedition returned in pomp to MacKellar's.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal found the old cripple in a state of perturbation. All that afternoon
+      his telephone had been ringing; one person after another had warned him&mdash;some
+      pleading with him, some abusing him. It was evident that among them were
+      people who had a hold on the old man; but he was undaunted, and would not
+      hear of Hal's going to stay at the hotel until train-time.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then Keating returned, with an exciting tale to tell. Schulman, general
+      manager of the &ldquo;G. F. C.,&rdquo; had been sending out messengers to hunt for
+      him, and finally had got him in his office, arguing and pleading, cajoling
+      and denouncing him by turns. He had got Cartwright on the telephone, and
+      the North Valley superintendent had laboured to convince Keating that he
+      had done the company a wrong. Cartwright had told a story about Hal's
+      efforts to hold up the company for money. &ldquo;Incidentally,&rdquo; said Keating,
+      &ldquo;he added the charge that you had seduced a girl in his camp.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal stared at his friend. &ldquo;Seduced a girl!&rdquo; he exclaimed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's what he said; a red-headed Irish girl.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, damn his soul!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There followed a silence, broken by a laugh from Billy. &ldquo;Don't glare at me
+      like that. <i>I</i> didn't say it!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But Hal continued to glare, nevertheless. &ldquo;The dirty little skunk!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Take it easy, sonny,&rdquo; said the fat man, soothingly. &ldquo;It's quite the usual
+      thing, to drag in a woman. It's so easy&mdash;for of course there always
+      <i>is</i> a woman. There's one in this case, I suppose?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's a perfectly decent girl.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But you've been friendly with her? You've been walking around where
+      people can see you?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So you see, they've got you. There's nothing you can do about a thing of
+      that sort.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You wait and see!&rdquo; Hal burst out.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The other gazed curiously at the angry young miner. &ldquo;What'll you do? Beat
+      him up some night?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But the young miner did not answer. &ldquo;You say he described the girl?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He was kind enough to say she was a red-headed beauty, and with no one to
+      protect her but a drunken father. I could understand that must have made
+      it pretty hard for her, in one of these coal-camps.&rdquo; There was a pause.
+      &ldquo;But see here,&rdquo; said the reporter, &ldquo;you'll only do the girl harm by making
+      a row. Nobody believes that women in coal-camps have any virtue. God
+      knows, I don't see how they do have, considering the sort of men who run
+      the camps, and the power they have.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mr. Keating,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;did <i>you</i> believe what Cartwright told
+      you?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Keating had started to light a cigar. He stopped in the middle, and his
+      eyes met Hal's. &ldquo;My dear boy,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;I didn't consider it my business
+      to have an opinion.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But what did you say to Cartwright?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah! That's another matter. I said that I'd been a newspaper man for a
+      good many years, and I knew his game.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thank you for that,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;You may be interested to know there isn't
+      any truth in the story.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Glad to hear it,&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;I believe you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Also you may be interested to know that I shan't drop the matter until
+      I've made Cartwright take it back.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, you're an enterprising cuss!&rdquo; laughed the reporter. &ldquo;Haven't you
+      got enough on your hands, with all the men you're going to get out of the
+      mine?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 9.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Billy Keating went out again, saying that he knew a man who might be
+      willing to talk to him on the quiet, and give him some idea what was going
+      to happen to Hal. Meantime Hal and Edstrom sat down to dinner with
+      MacKellar. The family were afraid to use the dining-room of their home,
+      but spread a little table in the upstairs hall. The distress of mind of
+      MacKellar's wife and daughter was apparent, and this brought home to Hal
+      the terror of life in this coal-country. Here were American women, in an
+      American home, a home with evidences of refinement and culture; yet they
+      felt and acted as if they were Russian conspirators, in terror of Siberia
+      and the knout!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The reporter was gone a couple of hours; when he came back, he brought
+      news. &ldquo;You can prepare for trouble, young fellow.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why so?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Jeff Cotton's in town.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How do you know?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I saw him in an automobile. If he left North Valley at this time, it was
+      for something serious, you may be sure.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What does he mean to do?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's no telling. He may have you slugged; he may have you run out of
+      town and dumped out in the desert; he may just have you arrested.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal considered for a moment. &ldquo;For slander?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Or for vagrancy; or on suspicion of having robbed a bank in Texas, or
+      murdered your great-grandmother in Tasmania. The point is, he'll keep you
+      locked up till this trouble has blown over.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;I don't want to be locked up. I want to go up to
+      Western City. I'm waiting for the train.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You may have to wait till morning,&rdquo; replied Keating. &ldquo;There's been
+      trouble on the railroad&mdash;a freight-car broke down and ripped up the
+      track; it'll be some time before it's clear.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They discussed this new problem back and forth. MacKellar wanted to get in
+      half a dozen friends and keep guard over Hal during the night; and Hal had
+      about agreed to this idea, when the discussion was given a new turn by a
+      chance remark of Keating's. &ldquo;Somebody else is tied up by the railroad
+      accident. The Coal King's son!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Coal King's son?&rdquo; echoed Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Young Percy Harrigan. He's got a private car here&mdash;or rather a whole
+      train. Think of it&mdash;dining-car, drawing-room car, two whole cars with
+      sleeping apartments! Wouldn't you like to be a son of the Coal King?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Has he come on account of the mine-disaster?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mine-disaster?&rdquo; echoed Keating. &ldquo;I doubt if he's heard of it. They've
+      been on a trip to the Grand Canyon, I was told; there's a baggage-car with
+      four automobiles.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is Old Peter with them?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, he's in New York. Percy's the host. He's got one of his automobiles
+      out, and was up in town&mdash;two other fellows and some girls.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who's in his party?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I couldn't find out. You can see, it might be a story for the <i>Gazette</i>&mdash;the
+      Coal King's son, coming by chance at the moment when a hundred and seven
+      of his serfs are perishing in the mine! If I could only have got him to
+      say a word about the disaster! If I could even have got him to say he
+      didn't know about it!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did you try?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What am I a reporter for?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What happened?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nothing happened; except that he froze me stiff.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where was this?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;On the street. They stopped at a drug-store, and I stepped up. 'Is this
+      Mr. Percy Harrigan?' He was looking into the store, over my head. 'I'm a
+      reporter,' I said, 'and I'd like to ask you about the accident up at North
+      Valley.' 'Excuse me,' he said, in a tone&mdash;gee, it makes your blood
+      cold to think of it! 'Just a word,' I pleaded. 'I don't give interviews,'
+      he answered; and that was all&mdash;he continued looking over my head, and
+      everybody else staring in front of them. They had turned to ice at my
+      first word. If ever I felt like a frozen worm!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a pause.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ain't it wonderful,&rdquo; reflected Billy, &ldquo;how quick you can build up an
+      aristocracy! When you looked at that car, the crowd in it and the airs
+      they wore, you'd think they'd been running the world since the time of
+      William the Conqueror. And Old Peter came into this country with a
+      pedlar's pack on his shoulders!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We're hustlers here,&rdquo; put in MacKellar.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We'll hustle all the way to hell in a generation more,&rdquo; said the
+      reporter. Then, after a minute, &ldquo;Say, but there's one girl in that bunch
+      that was the real thing! She sure did get me! You know all those fluffy
+      things they do themselves up in&mdash;soft and fuzzy, makes you think of
+      spring-time orchards. This one was exactly the colour of apple-blossoms.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You're susceptible to the charms of the ladies?&rdquo; inquired Hal, mildly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am,&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;I know it's all fake, but just the same, it makes
+      my little heart go pit-a-pat. I always want to think they're as lovely as
+      they look.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal's smile became reminiscent, and he quoted:
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+  &ldquo;Oh Liza-Ann, come out with me,
+    The moon is a-shinin' in the monkey-puzzle tree!&rdquo;
+ </pre>
+    <p>
+      Then he stopped, with a laugh. &ldquo;Don't wear your heart on your sleeve, Mr.
+      Keating. She wouldn't be above taking a peck at it as she passed.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;At me? A worm of a newspaper reporter?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;At you, a man!&rdquo; laughed Hal. &ldquo;I wouldn't want to accuse the lady of
+      posing; but a lady has her role in life, and has to keep her hand in.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a pause. The reporter was looking at the young miner with sudden
+      curiosity. &ldquo;See here,&rdquo; he remarked, &ldquo;I've been wondering about you. How do
+      you come to know so much about the psychology of the leisure class?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I used to have money once,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;My family's gone down as quickly
+      as the Harrigans have come up.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 10.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal went on to question Keating about the apple-blossom girl. &ldquo;Maybe I
+      could guess who she is. What colour was her hair?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The colour of molasses taffy when you've pulled it,&rdquo; said Billy; &ldquo;but all
+      fluffy and wonderful, with star-dust in it. Her eyes were brown, and her
+      cheeks pink and cream.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;She had two rows of pearly white teeth, that flashed at you when she
+      smiled?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;She didn't smile, unfortunately.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then her brown eyes gazed at you, wide open, full of wonder?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, they did&mdash;only it was into the drug-store window.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did she wear a white hat of soft straw, with a green and white flower
+      garden on it, and an olive green veil, and maybe cream white ribbons?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By George, I believe you've seen her!&rdquo; exclaimed the reporter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Maybe,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;Or maybe I'm describing the girl on the cover of one
+      of the current magazines!&rdquo; He smiled; but then, seeing the other's
+      curiosity, &ldquo;Seriously, I think I do know your young lady. If you announce
+      that Miss Jessie Arthur is a member of the Harrigan party, you won't be
+      taking a long chance.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can't afford to take any chance at all,&rdquo; said the reporter. &ldquo;You mean
+      Robert Arthur's daughter?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Heiress-apparent of the banking business of Arthur and Sons,&rdquo; said Hal.
+      &ldquo;It happens I know her by sight.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How's that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I worked in a grocery-store where she used to come.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Whereabouts?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Peterson and Company, in Western City.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oho! And you used to sell her candy.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Stuffed dates.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And your little heart used to go pit-a-pat, so that you could hardly
+      count the change?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Gave her too much, several times!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you wondered if she was as good as she was beautiful! One day you
+      were thrilled with hope, the next you were cynical and bitter&mdash;till
+      at last you gave up in despair, and ran away to work in a coal-mine!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They laughed, and MacKellar and Edstrom joined in. But suddenly Keating
+      became serious again. &ldquo;I ought to be away on that story!&rdquo; he exclaimed.
+      &ldquo;I've got to get something out of that crowd about the disaster. Think
+      what copy it would make!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But how can you do it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't know; I only know I ought to be trying. I'll hang round the
+      train, and maybe I can get one of the porters to talk.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Interview with the Coal King's porter!&rdquo; chuckled Hal. &ldquo;How it feels to
+      make up a multi-millionaire's bed!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How it feels to sell stuffed dates to a banker's daughter!&rdquo; countered the
+      other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But suddenly it was Hal's turn to become serious. &ldquo;Listen, Mr. Keating,&rdquo;
+       said he, &ldquo;why not let <i>me</i> interview young Harrigan?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;<i>You?</i>&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes! I'm the proper person&mdash;one of his miners! I help to make his
+      money for him, don't I? I'm the one to tell him about North Valley.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal saw the reporter staring at him in sudden excitement; he continued:
+      &ldquo;I've been to the District Attorney, the Justice of the Peace, the
+      District Judge, the Mayor and the Chief of Police. Now, why shouldn't I go
+      to the Owner?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By thunder!&rdquo; cried Billy. &ldquo;I believe you'd have the nerve!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I believe I would,&rdquo; replied Hal, quietly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The other scrambled out of his chair, wild with delight. &ldquo;I dare you!&rdquo; he
+      exclaimed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm ready,&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of course I mean it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that costume?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Certainly. I'm one of his miners.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But it won't go,&rdquo; cried the reporter. &ldquo;You'll stand no chance to get near
+      him unless you're well dressed.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Are you sure of that? What I've got on might be the garb of a
+      railroad-hand. Suppose there was something out of order in one of the cars&mdash;the
+      plumbing, for example?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But you couldn't fool the conductor or the porter.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I might be able to. Let's try it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a pause, while Keating thought. &ldquo;The truth is,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;it
+      doesn't matter whether you succeed or not&mdash;it's a story if you even
+      make the attempt. The Coal King's son appealed to by one of his serfs! The
+      hard heart of Plutocracy rejects the cry of Labour!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;but I really mean to get to him. Do you suppose he's got
+      back to the train yet?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They were starting to it when I left.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And where <i>is</i> the train?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Two or three hundred yards east of the station, I was told.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      MacKellar and Edstrom had been listening enthralled to this exciting
+      conversation. &ldquo;That ought to be just back of my house,&rdquo; said the former.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's a short train&mdash;four parlour-cars and a baggage-car,&rdquo; added
+      Keating. &ldquo;It ought to be easy to recognise.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The old Scotchman put in an objection. &ldquo;The difficulty may be to get out
+      of this house. I don't believe they mean to let you get away to-night.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By Jove, that's so!&rdquo; exclaimed Keating. &ldquo;We're talking too much&mdash;let's
+      get busy. Are they watching the back door, do you suppose?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They've been watching it all day,&rdquo; said MacKellar.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Listen,&rdquo; broke in Hal&mdash;&ldquo;I've an idea. They haven't tried to
+      interfere with your going out, have they, Mr. Keating?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, not yet.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nor with you, Mr. MacKellar?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, not yet,&rdquo; said the Scotchman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; Hal suggested, &ldquo;suppose you lend me your crutches?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Whereat Keating gave an exclamation of delight. &ldquo;The very thing!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll take your over-coat and hat,&rdquo; Hal added. &ldquo;I've watched you get
+      about, and I think I can give an imitation. As for Mr. Keating, he's not
+      easy to mistake.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Billy, the fat boy!&rdquo; laughed the other. &ldquo;Come, let's get on the job!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll go out by the front door at the same time,&rdquo; put in Edstrom, his old
+      voice trembling with excitement. &ldquo;Maybe that'll help to throw them off the
+      track.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 11.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      They had been sitting upstairs in MacKellar's room. Now they rose, and
+      were starting for the stairs, when suddenly there came a ring at the front
+      door bell. They stopped and stared at one another. &ldquo;There they are!&rdquo;
+       whispered Keating.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And MacKellar sat down suddenly, and held out his crutches to Hal. &ldquo;The
+      hat and coat are in the front hall,&rdquo; he exclaimed. &ldquo;Make a try for it!&rdquo;
+       His words were full of vigour, but like Edstrom, his voice was trembling.
+      He was no longer young, and could not take adventure gaily.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal and Keating ran downstairs, followed by Edstrom. Hal put on the coat
+      and hat, and they went to the back door, while at the same time Edstrom
+      answered the bell in front.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The back door opened into a yard, and this gave, through a side gate, into
+      an alley. Hal's heart was pounding furiously as he began to hobble along
+      with the crutches. He had to go at MacKellar's slow pace&mdash;while
+      Keating, at his side, started talking. He informed &ldquo;Mr. MacKellar,&rdquo; in a
+      casual voice, that the <i>Gazette</i> was a newspaper which believed in
+      the people's cause, and was pledged to publish the people's side of all
+      public questions. Discoursing thus, they went out of the gate and into the
+      alley.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A man emerged from the shadows and walked by them. He passed within three
+      feet of Hal, and peered at him, narrowly. Fortunately there was no moon;
+      Hal could not see the man's face, and hoped the man could not see his.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Meantime Keating was proceeding with his discourse. &ldquo;You understand, Mr.
+      MacKellar,&rdquo; he was saying, &ldquo;sometimes it's difficult to find out the truth
+      in a situation like this. When the interests are filling their newspapers
+      with falsehoods and exaggerations, it's a temptation for us to publish
+      falsehoods and exaggerations on the other side. But we find in the long
+      run that it pays best to publish the truth, Mr. MacKellar&mdash;we can
+      stand by it, and there's no come-back.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal, it must be admitted, was not paying much attention to this edifying
+      sermon. He was looking ahead, to where the alley debouched onto the
+      street. It was the street behind MacKellar's house, and only a block from
+      the railroad-track.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He dared not look behind, but he was straining his ears. Suddenly he heard
+      a shout, in John Edstrom's voice. &ldquo;Run! Run!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      In a flash, Hal dropped the two crutches, and started down the alley,
+      Keating at his heels. They heard cries behind them, and a voice, sounding
+      quite near, commanded, &ldquo;Halt!&rdquo; They had reached the end of the alley, and
+      were in the act of swerving, when a shot rang out and there was a crash of
+      glass in a house beyond them on the far side of the street.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Farther on was a vacant lot with a path running across it. Following this,
+      they dodged behind some shanties, and came to another street&mdash;and so
+      to the railroad tracks. There was a long line of freight-cars before them,
+      and they ran between two of these, and climbing over the couplings, saw a
+      great engine standing, its headlight gleaming full in their eyes. They
+      sprang in front of it, and alongside the train, passing a tender, then a
+      baggage-car, then a parlour-car.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Here we are!&rdquo; exclaimed Keating, who was puffing like a bellows.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal saw that there were only three more cars to the train; also, he saw a
+      man in a blue uniform standing at the steps. He dashed towards him. &ldquo;Your
+      car's on fire!&rdquo; he cried.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What?&rdquo; exclaimed the man. &ldquo;Where?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Here!&rdquo; cried Hal; and in a flash he had sprung past the other, up the
+      steps and into the car.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a long, narrow corridor, to be recognised as the kitchen portion
+      of a dining-car; at the other end of this corridor was a swinging door,
+      and to this Hal leaped. He heard the conductor shouting to him to stop,
+      but he paid no heed. He slipped off his over-coat and hat; and then,
+      pushing open the door, he entered a brightly lighted apartment&mdash;and
+      the presence of the Coal King's son.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 12.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      White linen and cut glass of the dining-saloon shone brilliantly under
+      electric lights, softened to the eye by pink shades. Seated at the tables
+      were half a dozen young men and as many young ladies, all in evening
+      costume; also two or three older ladies. They had begun the first course
+      of their meal, and were laughing and chatting, when suddenly came this
+      unexpected visitor, clad in coal-stained miner's jumpers. He was not
+      disturbing in the manner of his entry; but immediately behind him came a
+      fat man, perspiring, wild of aspect, and wheezing like an old fashioned
+      steam-engine; behind him came the conductor of the train, in a no less
+      evident state of agitation. So, of course, conversation ceased. The young
+      ladies turned in their chairs, while several of the young men sprang to
+      their feet.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There followed a silence: until finally one of the young men took a step
+      forward. &ldquo;What's this?&rdquo; he demanded, as one who had a right to demand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal advanced towards the speaker, a slender youth, correct in appearance,
+      but not distinguished looking. &ldquo;Hello, Percy!&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A look of amazement came upon the other's face. He stared, but seemed
+      unable to believe what he saw. And then suddenly came a cry from one of
+      the young ladies; the one having hair the colour of molasses taffy when
+      you've pulled it&mdash;but all fluffy and wonderful, with stardust in it.
+      Her cheeks were pink and cream, and her brown eyes gazed, wide open, full
+      of wonder. She wore a dinner gown of soft olive green, with a cream white
+      scarf of some filmy material thrown about her bare shoulders.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She had started to her feet. &ldquo;It's Hal!&rdquo; she cried.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hal Warner!&rdquo; echoed young Harrigan. &ldquo;Why, what in the world&mdash;?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He was interrupted by a clamour outside. &ldquo;Wait a moment,&rdquo; said Hal,
+      quietly. &ldquo;I think some one else is coming in.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The door was pushed violently open. It was pushed so violently that Billy
+      Keating and the conductor were thrust to one side; and Jeff Cotton
+      appeared in the entrance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The camp-marshal was breathless, his face full of the passion of the hunt.
+      In his right hand he carried a revolver. He glared about him, and saw the
+      two men he was chasing; also he saw the Coal King's son, and the rest of
+      the astonished company. He stood, stricken dumb.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The door was pushed again, forcing him aside, and two more men crowded in,
+      both of them carrying revolvers in their hands. The foremost was Pete
+      Hanun, and he also stood staring. The &ldquo;breaker of teeth&rdquo; had two teeth of
+      his own missing, and when his prize-fighter's jaw dropped down, the
+      deficiency became conspicuous. It was probably his first entrance into
+      society, and he was like an overgrown boy caught in the jam-closet.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Percy Harrigan's manner became distinctly imperious. &ldquo;What does this
+      mean?&rdquo; he demanded.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was Hal who answered. &ldquo;I am seeking a criminal, Percy.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What?&rdquo; There were little cries of alarm from the women.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, a criminal; the man who sealed up the mine.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sealed up the mine?&rdquo; echoed the other. &ldquo;What do you mean?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Let me explain. First, I will introduce my friends. Harrigan, this is my
+      friend Keating.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Billy suddenly realised that he had a hat on his head. He jerked it off;
+      but for the rest, his social instincts failed him. He could only stare. He
+      had not yet got all his breath.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Billy's a reporter,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;But you needn't worry&mdash;he's a
+      gentleman, and won't betray a confidence. You understand, Billy.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Y&mdash;yes,&rdquo; said Billy, faintly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And this,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;is Jeff Cotton, camp-marshal at North Valley. I
+      suppose you know, Percy, that the North Valley mines belong to the 'G. F.
+      C.' Cotton, this is Mr. Harrigan.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Then Cotton remembered his hat; also his revolver, which he tried to get
+      out of sight behind his back.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And this,&rdquo; continued Hal, &ldquo;is Mr. Pete Hanun, by profession a breaker of
+      teeth. This other gentleman, whose name I don't know, is presumably an
+      assistant-breaker.&rdquo; So Hal went on, observing the forms of social
+      intercourse, his purpose being to give his mind a chance to work. So much
+      depended upon the tactics he chose in this emergency! Should he take Percy
+      to one side and tell him the story quietly, leaving it to his sense of
+      justice and humanity? No, that was not the way one dealt with the
+      Harrigans! They had bullied their way to the front; if anything were done
+      with them, it would be by force! If anything were done with Percy, it
+      would be by laying hold of him before these guests, exposing the
+      situation, and using their feelings to coerce him!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Coal King's son was asking questions again. What was all this about?
+      So Hal began to describe the condition of the men inside the mine. &ldquo;They
+      have no food or water, except what they had in their dinner-pails; and
+      it's been three days and a half since the explosion! They are breathing
+      bad air; their heads are aching, the veins swelling in their foreheads;
+      their tongues are cracking, they are lying on the ground, gasping. But
+      they are waiting&mdash;kept alive by the faith they have in their friends
+      on the surface, who will try to get to them. They dare not take down the
+      barriers, because the gases would kill them at once. But they know the
+      rescuers will come, so they listen for the sounds of axes and picks. That
+      is the situation.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal stopped and waited for some sign of concern from young Harrigan. But
+      no such sign was given. Hal went on:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Think of it, Percy! There is one old man in that mine, an Irishman who
+      has a wife and eight children waiting to learn about his fate. I know one
+      woman who has a husband and three sons in the mine. For three days and a
+      half the women and children have been standing at the pit-mouth; I have
+      seen them sitting with their heads sunk upon their knees, or shaking their
+      fists, screaming curses at the criminal who is to blame.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a pause. &ldquo;The criminal?&rdquo; inquired young Harrigan. &ldquo;I don't
+      understand!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You'll hardly be able to believe it; but nothing has been done to rescue
+      these men. The criminal has nailed a cover of boards over the pit-mouth,
+      and put tarpaulin over it&mdash;sealing up men and boys to die!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a murmur of horror from the diners.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know, you can't conceive such a thing. The reason is, there's a fire in
+      the mine; if the fan is set to working, the coal will burn. But at the
+      same time, some of the passages could be got clear of smoke, and some of
+      the men could be rescued. So it's a question of property against lives;
+      and the criminal has decided for the property. He proposes to wait a week,
+      two weeks, until the fire has been smothered; <i>then</i> of course the
+      men and boys will be dead.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a silence. It was broken by young Harrigan. &ldquo;Who has done this?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;His name is Enos Cartwright.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But who <i>is</i> he?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Just now when I said that I was seeking the criminal, I misled you a
+      little, Percy. I did it because I wanted to collect my thoughts.&rdquo; Hal
+      paused: when he continued, his voice was sharper, his sentences falling
+      like blows. &ldquo;The criminal I've been telling you about is the
+      superintendent of the mine&mdash;a man employed and put in authority by
+      the General Fuel Company. The one who is being chased is not the one who
+      sealed up the mine, but the one who proposed to have it opened. He is
+      being treated as a malefactor, because the laws of the state, as well as
+      the laws of humanity, have been suppressed by the General Fuel Company; he
+      was forced to seek refuge in your car, in order to save his life from
+      thugs and gunmen in the company's employ!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 13.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Knowing these people well, Hal could measure the effect of the thunderbolt
+      he had hurled among them. They were people to whom good taste was the
+      first of all the virtues; he knew how he was offending them. If he was to
+      win them to the least extent, he must explain his presence here&mdash;a
+      trespasser upon the property of the Harrigans.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Percy,&rdquo; he continued, &ldquo;you remember how you used to jump on me last year
+      at college, because I listened to 'muck-rakers.' You saw fit to take
+      personal offence at it. You knew that their tales couldn't be true. But I
+      wanted to see for myself, so I went to work in a coal-mine. I saw the
+      explosion; I saw this man, Jeff Cotton, driving women and children away
+      from the pit-mouth with blows and curses. I set out to help the men in the
+      mine, and the marshal rushed me out of camp. He told me that if I didn't
+      go about my business, something would happen to me on a dark night. And
+      you see&mdash;this is a dark night!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal waited, to give young Harrigan a chance to grasp this situation and to
+      take command. But apparently young Harrigan was not aware of the presence
+      of the camp-marshal and his revolver. Hal tried again:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Evidently these men wouldn't have minded killing me; they fired at me
+      just now. The marshal still has the revolver and you can smell the
+      powder-smoke. So I took the liberty of entering your car, Percy. It was to
+      save my life, and you'll have to excuse me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The Coal King's son had here a sudden opportunity to be magnanimous. He
+      made haste to avail himself of it. &ldquo;Of course, Hal,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It was
+      quite all right to come here. If our employés were behaving in such
+      fashion, it was without authority, and they will surely pay for it.&rdquo; He
+      spoke with quiet certainty; it was the Harrigan manner, and before it Jeff
+      Cotton and the two mine-guards seemed to wither and shrink.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thank you, Percy,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;It's what I knew you'd say. I'm sorry to
+      have disturbed your dinner-party&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not at all, Hal; it was nothing of a party.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You see, Percy, it was not only to save myself, but the people in the
+      mine! They are dying, and every moment is precious. It will take a day at
+      least to get to them, so they'll be at their last gasp. Whatever's to be
+      done must be done at once.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Again Hal waited&mdash;until the pause became awkward. The diners had so
+      far been looking at him; but now they were looking at young Harrigan, and
+      young Harrigan felt the change.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't know just what you expect of me, Hal. My father employs competent
+      men to manage his business, and I certainly don't feel that I know enough
+      to give them any suggestions.&rdquo; This again in the Harrigan manner; but it
+      weakened before Hal's firm gaze. &ldquo;What can I do?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You can give the order to open the mine, to reverse the fan and start it.
+      That will draw out the smoke and gases, and the rescuers can go down.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But Hal, I assure you I have no authority to give such an order.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You must <i>take</i> the authority. Your father's in the East, the
+      officers of the company are in their beds at home; you are here!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But I don't understand such things, Hal! I don't know anything of the
+      situation&mdash;except what you tell me. And while I don't doubt your
+      word, any man may make a mistake in such a situation.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Come and see for yourself, Percy! That's all I ask, and it's easy enough.
+      Here is your train, your engine with steam up; have us switched onto the
+      North Valley branch, and we can be at the mine in half an hour. Then&mdash;let
+      me take you to the men who know! Men who've been working all their lives
+      in mines, who've seen accidents like this many times, and who will tell
+      you the truth&mdash;that there's a chance of saving many lives, and that
+      the chance is being thrown away to save some thousands of dollars' worth
+      of coal and timbers and track.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But even if that's true, Hal, I have no <i>power</i>!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If you come there, you can cut the red-tape in one minute. What those
+      bosses are doing is a thing that can only be done in darkness!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Under the pressure of Hal's vehemence, the Harrigan manner was failing;
+      the Coal King's son was becoming a bewildered and quite ordinary youth.
+      But there was a power greater than Hal behind him. He shook his head.
+      &ldquo;It's the old man's business, Hal. I've no right to butt in!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other, in his desperate need, turned to the rest of the party. His
+      gaze, moving from one face to another, rested upon the magazine-cover
+      countenance, with the brown eyes wide open, full of wonder.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Jessie! What do you think about it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl started, and distress leaped into her face. &ldquo;How do you mean,
+      Hal?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tell him he ought to save those lives!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The moments seemed ages as Hal waited. It was a test, he realised. The
+      brown eyes dropped. &ldquo;I don't understand such things, Hal!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But, Jessie, I am explaining them! Here are men and boys being suffocated
+      to death, in order to save a little money. Isn't that plain?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But how can I <i>know</i>, Hal?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm giving you my word, Jessie. Surely I wouldn't appeal to you unless I
+      knew.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Still she hesitated. And there came a swift note of feeling into his
+      voice: &ldquo;Jessie, dear!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      As if under a spell, the girl's eyes were raised to his; he saw a scarlet
+      flame of embarrassment spreading over her throat and cheeks. &ldquo;Jessie, I
+      know&mdash;it seems an intolerable thing to ask! You've never been rude to
+      a friend. But I remember once you forgot your good manners, when you saw a
+      rough fellow on the street beating an old drudge-horse. Don't you remember
+      how you rushed at him&mdash;like a wild thing! And now&mdash;think of it,
+      dear, here are old drudge-creatures being tortured to death; but not
+      horses&mdash;working-men!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Still the girl gazed at him. He could read grief, dismay in her eyes; he
+      saw tears steal from them, and stream down her cheeks. &ldquo;Oh, I don't know,
+      I don't <i>know!</i>&rdquo; she cried; and hid her face in her hands, and began
+      to sob aloud.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 14.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      There was a painful pause. Hal's gaze travelled on, and came to a
+      grey-haired lady in a black dinner-gown, with a rope of pearls about her
+      neck. &ldquo;Mrs. Curtis! Surely <i>you</i> will advise him!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The grey-haired lady started&mdash;was there no limit to his impudence?
+      She had witnessed the torturing of Jessie. But Jessie was his fiancée; he
+      had no such claim upon Mrs. Curtis. She answered, with iciness in her
+      tone: &ldquo;I could not undertake to dictate to my host in such a matter.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mrs. Curtis! You have founded a charity for the helping of stray cats and
+      dogs!&rdquo; These words rose to Hal's lips; but he did not say them. His eyes
+      moved on. Who else might help to bully a Harrigan?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Next to Mrs. Curtis sat Reggie Porter, with a rose in the button-hole of
+      his dinner-jacket. Hal knew the rôle in which Reggie was there&mdash;a
+      kind of male chaperon, an assistant host, an admirer to the wealthy, a
+      solace to the bored. Poor Reggie lived other people's lives, his soul
+      perpetually a-quiver with other people's excitements, with gossip,
+      preparations for tea-parties, praise of tea-parties past. And always the
+      soul was pushing; calculating, measuring opportunities, making up in tact
+      and elegance for distressing lack of money. Hal got one swift glimpse of
+      the face; the sharp little black moustaches seemed standing up with
+      excitement, and in a flash of horrible intuition Hal read the situation&mdash;Reggie
+      was expecting to be questioned, and had got ready an answer that would
+      increase his social capital in the Harrigan family bank!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Across the aisle sat Genevieve Halsey: tall, erect, built on the scale of
+      a statue. You thought of the ox-eyed Juno, and imagined stately emotions;
+      but when you came to know Genevieve, you discovered that her mind was
+      slow, and entirely occupied with herself. Next to her was Bob Creston,
+      smooth-shaven, rosy-cheeked, exuding well-being&mdash;what is called a
+      &ldquo;good fellow,&rdquo; with a wholesome ambition to win cups for his athletic
+      club, and to keep up the score of his rifle-team of the state militia.
+      Jolly Bob might have spoken, out of his good heart; but he was in love
+      with a cousin of Percy's, Betty Gunnison, who sat across the table from
+      him&mdash;and Hal saw her black eyes shining, her little fists clenched
+      tightly, her lips pressed white. Hal understood Betty&mdash;she was one of
+      the Harrigans, working at the Harrigan family task of making the children
+      of a pack-pedlar into leaders in the &ldquo;younger set!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Next sat &ldquo;Vivie&rdquo; Cass, whose talk was of horses and dogs and such
+      ungirlish matters; Hal had discussed social questions in her presence, and
+      heard her view expressed in one flashing sentence&mdash;&ldquo;If a man eats
+      with his knife, I consider him my personal enemy!&rdquo; Over her shoulder
+      peered the face of a man with pale eyes and yellow moustaches&mdash;Bert
+      Atkins, cynical and world-weary, whom the papers referred to as a
+      &ldquo;club-man,&rdquo; and whom Hal's brother had called a &ldquo;tame cat.&rdquo; There was
+      &ldquo;Dicky&rdquo; Everson, like Hal, a favourite of the ladies, but nothing more;
+      &ldquo;Billy&rdquo; Harris, son of another &ldquo;coal man&rdquo;; Daisy, his sister; and Blanche
+      Vagleman, whose father was Old Peter's head lawyer, whose brother was the
+      local counsel, and publisher of the Pedro <i>Star</i>.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So Hal's eyes moved from face to face, and his mind from personality to
+      personality. It was like the unrolling of a scroll; a panorama of a world
+      he had half forgotten. He had no time for reflection, but one impression
+      came to him, swift and overwhelming. Once he had lived in this world and
+      taken it as a matter of course. He had known these people, gone about with
+      them; they had seemed friendly, obliging, a good sort of people on the
+      whole. And now, what a change! They seemed no longer friendly! Was the
+      change in them? Or was it Hal who had become cynical&mdash;so that he saw
+      them in this terrifying new light, cold, and unconcerned as the stars
+      about men who were dying a few miles away!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal's eyes came back to the Coal King's son, and he discovered that Percy
+      was white with anger. &ldquo;I assure you, Hal, there's no use going on with
+      this. I have no intention of letting myself be bulldozed.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Percy's gaze shifted with sudden purpose to the camp-marshal. &ldquo;Cotton,
+      what do you say about this? Is Mr. Warner correct in his idea of the
+      situation?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You know what such a man would say, Percy!&rdquo; broke in Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't,&rdquo; was the reply. &ldquo;I wish to know. What is it, Cotton?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He's mistaken, Mr. Harrigan.&rdquo; The marshal's voice was sharp and defiant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In what way?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The company's doing everything to get the mine open, and has been from
+      the beginning.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh!&rdquo; And there was triumph in Percy's voice. &ldquo;What is the cause of the
+      delay?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The fan was broken, and we had to send for a new one. It's a job to set
+      it up&mdash;such things can't be done in an hour.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Percy turned to Hal. &ldquo;You see! There are two opinions, at least!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of course!&rdquo; cried Betty Gunnison, her black eyes snapping at Hal. She
+      would have said more, but Hal interrupted, stepping closer to his host.
+      &ldquo;Percy,&rdquo; he said, in a low voice, &ldquo;come back here, please. I have a word
+      to say to you alone.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was just a hint of menace in Hal's voice; his gaze went to the far
+      end of the car, a space occupied only by two negro waiters. These retired
+      in haste as the young men moved towards them; and so, having the Coal
+      King's son to himself, Hal went in to finish this fight.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 15.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Percy Harrigan was known to Hal, as a college-boy is known to his
+      class-mates. He was not brutal, like his grim old father; he was merely
+      self-indulgent, as one who had always had everything; he was weak, as one
+      who had never had to take a bold resolve. He had been brought up by the
+      women of the family, to be a part of what they called &ldquo;society&rdquo;; in which
+      process he had been given high notions of his own importance. The life of
+      the Harrigans was dominated by one painful memory&mdash;that of a pedlar's
+      pack; and Hal knew that Percy's most urgent purpose was to be regarded as
+      a real and true and freehanded aristocrat. It was this knowledge Hal was
+      using in his attack.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He began with apologies, attempting to soothe the other's anger. He had
+      not meant to make a scene like this; it was the gunmen who had forced it,
+      putting his life in danger. It was the very devil, being chased about at
+      night and shot at! He had lost his nerve, really; he had forgot what
+      little manners he had been able to keep as a miner's buddy. He had made a
+      spectacle of himself; good Lord yes, he realised how he must seem!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &mdash;And Hal looked at his dirty miner's jumpers, and then at Percy. He
+      could see that Percy was in hearty agreement thus far&mdash;he had indeed
+      made a spectacle of himself, and of Percy too! Hal was sorry about this
+      latter, but here they were, in a pickle, and it was certainly too late
+      now. This story was out&mdash;there could be no suppressing it! Hal might
+      sit down on his reporter-friend, Percy might sit down on the waiters and
+      the conductor and the camp-marshal and the gunmen&mdash;but he could not
+      possibly sit down on all his friends! They would talk about nothing else
+      for weeks! The story would be all over Western City in a day&mdash;this
+      amazing, melodramatic, ten-twenty-thirty story of a miner's buddy in the
+      private car of the Coal King's son!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you must see, Percy,&rdquo; Hal went on, &ldquo;it's the sort of thing that
+      sticks to a man. It's the thing by which everybody will form their idea of
+      you as long as you live!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll take my chances with my friends' criticism,&rdquo; said the other, with
+      some attempt at the Harrigan manner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You can make it whichever kind of story you choose,&rdquo; continued Hal,
+      implacably. &ldquo;The world will say, He decided for the dollars; or it will
+      say, He decided for the lives. Surely, Percy, your family doesn't need
+      those particular dollars so badly! Why, you've spent more on this one
+      train-trip!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And Hal waited, to give his victim time to calculate.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The result of the thinking was a question worthy of Old Peter. &ldquo;What are
+      <i>you</i> getting out of this?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Percy,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;you must <i>know</i> I'm getting nothing! If you can't
+      understand it otherwise, say to yourself that you are dealing with a man
+      who's irresponsible. I've seen so many terrible things&mdash;I've been
+      chased around so much by camp-marshals&mdash;why, Percy, that man Cotton
+      has six notches on his gun! I'm simply crazy!&rdquo; And into the brown eyes of
+      this miner's buddy came a look wild enough to convince a stronger man than
+      Percy Harrigan. &ldquo;I've got just one idea left in the world, Percy&mdash;to
+      save those miners! You make a mistake unless you realise how desperate I
+      am. So far I've done this thing incog! I've been Joe Smith, a miner's
+      buddy. If I'd come out and told my real name&mdash;well, maybe I wouldn't
+      have made them open the mine, but at least I'd have made a lot of trouble
+      for the G. F. C.! But I didn't do it; I knew what a scandal it would make,
+      and there was something I owed my father. But if I see there's no other
+      way, if it's a question of letting those people perish, I'll throw
+      everything else to the winds. Tell your father that; tell him I threatened
+      to turn this man Keating loose and blow the thing wide open&mdash;denounce
+      the company, appeal to the Governor, raise a disturbance and get arrested
+      on the street, if necessary, in order to force the facts before the
+      public. You see, I've got the facts, Percy! I've been there and seen with
+      my own eyes. Can't you realise that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other did not answer, but it was evident that he realised.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;On the other hand, see how you can fix it, if you choose. You were on a
+      pleasure trip when you heard of this disaster; you rushed up and took
+      command, you opened the mine, you saved the lives of your employés. That
+      is the way the papers will handle it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal, watching his victim intently, and groping for the path to his mind,
+      perceived that he had gone wrong. Crude as the Harrigans were, they had
+      learned that it is not aristocratic to be picturesque.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right then!&rdquo; said Hal, quickly. &ldquo;If you prefer, you needn't be
+      mentioned. The bosses up at the camp have the reporters under their
+      thumbs, they'll handle the story any way you want it. The one thing I care
+      about is that you run your car up and see the mine opened. Won't you do
+      it, Percy?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal was gazing into the other's eyes, knowing that life and death for the
+      miners hung upon his nod. &ldquo;Well? What is the answer?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hal,&rdquo; exclaimed Percy, &ldquo;my old man will give me hell!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right; but on the other hand, <i>I'll</i> give you hell; and which
+      will be worse?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Again there was a silence. &ldquo;Come along, Percy! For God's sake!&rdquo; And Hal's
+      tone was desperate, alarming.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And suddenly the other gave way. &ldquo;All right!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal drew a breath. &ldquo;But mind you!&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;You're not going up there to
+      let them fool you! They'll try to bluff you out&mdash;they may go as far
+      as to refuse to obey you. But you must stand by your guns&mdash;for, you
+      see, I'm going along, I'm going to see that mine open. I'll never quit
+      till the rescuers have gone down!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Will they go, Hal?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Will they go? Good God, man, they're clamouring for the chance to go!
+      They've almost been rioting for it. I'll go with them&mdash;and you, too,
+      Percy&mdash;the whole crowd of us idlers will go! When we come out, we'll
+      know something about the business of coal-mining!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right, I'm with you,&rdquo; said the Coal King's son.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 16.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal never knew what Percy said to Cartwright that night; he only knew that
+      when they arrived at the mine the superintendent was summoned to a
+      consultation, and half an hour later Percy emerged smiling, with the
+      announcement that Hal Warner had been mistaken all along; the mine
+      authorities had been making all possible haste to get the fan ready, with
+      the intention of opening the mine at the earliest moment. The work was now
+      completed, and in an hour or two the fan was to be started, and by morning
+      there would be a chance of rescuers getting in. Percy said this so
+      innocently that for a moment Hal wondered if Percy himself might not
+      believe it. Hal's position as guest of course required that he should
+      graciously pretend to believe it, consenting to appear as a fool before
+      the rest of the company.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Percy invited Hal and Billy Keating to spend the night in the train; but
+      this Hal declined. He was too dirty, he said; besides, he wanted to be up
+      at daylight, to be one of the first to go down the shaft. Percy answered
+      that the superintendent had vetoed this proposition&mdash;he did not want
+      any one to go down but experienced men, who could take care of themselves.
+      When there were so many on hand ready and eager to go, there was no need
+      to imperil the lives of amateurs.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At the risk of seeming ungracious, Hal declared that he would &ldquo;hang
+      around&rdquo; and see them take the cover off the pit-mouth. There were mourning
+      parties in some of the cabins, where women were gathered together who
+      could not sleep, and it would be an act of charity to take them the good
+      news.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal and Keating set out; they went first to the Rafferties', and saw Mrs.
+      Rafferty spring up and stare at them, and then scream aloud to the Holy
+      Virgin, waking all the little Rafferties to frightened clamour. When the
+      woman had made sure that they really knew what they were talking about,
+      she rushed out to spread the news, and so pretty soon the streets were
+      alive with hurrying figures, and a crowd gathered once more at the
+      pit-mouth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal and Keating went on to Jerry Minetti's. Out of a sense of loyalty to
+      Percy, Hal did no more than repeat Percy's own announcement, that it had
+      been Cartwright's intention all along to have the mine opened. It was
+      funny to see the effect of this statement&mdash;the face with which Jerry
+      looked at Hal! But they wasted no time in discussion; Jerry slipped into
+      his clothes and hurried with them to the pit-mouth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Sure enough, a gang was already tearing off the boards and canvas. Never
+      since Hal had been in North Valley had he seen men working with such a
+      will! Soon the great fan began to stir, and then to roar, and then to
+      sing; and there was a crowd of a hundred people, roaring and singing also.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It would be some hours before anything more could be done; and suddenly
+      Hal realised that he was exhausted. He and Billy Keating went back to the
+      Minetti cabin, and spreading themselves a blanket on the floor, lay down
+      with sighs of relief. As for Billy, he was soon snoring; but to Hal there
+      came sudden reaction from all the excitement, and sleep was far from him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      An ocean of thoughts came flooding into his mind: the world outside, <i>his</i>
+      world, which he had banished deliberately for several months, and which he
+      had so suddenly been compelled to remember! It had seemed so simple, what
+      he had set out to do that summer: to take another name, to become a member
+      of another class, to live its life and think its thoughts, and then come
+      back to his own world with a new and fascinating adventure to tell about!
+      The possibility that his own world, the world of Hal Warner, might find
+      him out as Joe Smith, the miner's buddy&mdash;that was a possibility which
+      had never come to his mind. He was like a burglar, working away at a job
+      in darkness, and suddenly finding the room flooded with light.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He had gone into the adventure, prepared to find things that would shock
+      him; he had known that somehow, somewhere, he would have to fight the
+      &ldquo;system.&rdquo; But he had never expected to find himself in the thick of the
+      class-war, leading a charge upon the trenches of his own associates. Nor
+      was this the end, he knew; this war would not be settled by the winning of
+      a trench! Lying here in the darkness and silence, Hal was realising what
+      he had got himself in for. To employ another simile, he was a man who
+      begins a flirtation on the street, and wakes up next morning to find
+      himself married.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was not that he had regrets for the course he had taken with Percy. No
+      other course had been thinkable. But while Hal had known these North
+      Valley people for ten weeks, he had known the occupants of Percy's car for
+      as many years. So these latter personalities loomed large in his
+      consciousness, and here in the darkness their thoughts about him, whether
+      actively hostile or passively astonished, laid siege to the defences of
+      his mind.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Particularly he found himself wrestling with Jessie Arthur. Her face rose
+      up before him, appealing, yearning. She had one of those perfect faces,
+      which irresistibly compel the soul of a man. Her brown eyes, soft and
+      shining, full of tenderness; her lips, quick to tremble with emotion; her
+      skin like apple-blossoms, her hair with star-dust in it! Hal was cynical
+      enough about coal-operators and mine-guards, but it never occurred to him
+      that Jessie's soul might be anything but what these bodily charms implied.
+      He was in love with her; and he was too young, too inexperienced in love
+      to realise that underneath the sweetness of girlhood, so genuine and so
+      lovable, might lie deep, unconscious cruelty, inherited and instinctive&mdash;the
+      cruelty of caste, the hardness of worldly prejudice. A man has to come to
+      middle age, and to suffer much, before he understands that the charms of
+      women, those rare and magical perfections of eyes and teeth and hair, that
+      softness of skin and delicacy of feature, have cost labour and care of
+      many generations, and imply inevitably that life has been feral, that
+      customs and conventions have been murderous and inhuman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Jessie had failed Hal in his desperate emergency. But now he went over the
+      scene, and told himself that the test had been an unfair one. He had known
+      her since childhood, and loved her, and never before had he seen an act or
+      heard a word that was not gracious and kind. But&mdash;so he told himself&mdash;she
+      gave her sympathy to those she knew; and what chance had she ever had to
+      know working-people? He must give her the chance; he must compel her, even
+      against her will, to broaden her understanding of life! The process might
+      hurt her, it might mar the unlined softness of her face, but nevertheless,
+      it would be good for her&mdash;it would be a &ldquo;growing pain&rdquo;!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So, lying there in the darkness and silence, Hal found himself absorbed in
+      long conversation with his sweetheart. He escorted her about the camp,
+      explaining things to her, introducing her to this one and that. He took
+      others of his private-car friends and introduced them to his North Valley
+      friends. There were individuals who had qualities in common, and would
+      surely hit it off! Bob Creston, for example, who was good at a &ldquo;song and
+      dance&rdquo;&mdash;he would surely be interested in &ldquo;Blinky,&rdquo; the vaudeville
+      specialist of the camp! Mrs. Curtis, who liked cats, would find a bond of
+      sisterhood with old Mrs. Nagle, who lived next door to the Minettis, and
+      kept five! And even Vivie Cass, who hated men who ate with their knives&mdash;she
+      would be driven to murder by the table-manners of Reminitsky's boarders,
+      but she would take delight in &ldquo;Dago Charlie,&rdquo; the tobacco-chewing mule
+      which had once been Hal's pet! Hal could hardly wait for daylight to come,
+      so that he might begin these efforts at social amalgamation!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 17.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Towards dawn Hal fell asleep; he was awakened by Billy Keating, who sat up
+      yawning, at the same time grumbling and bewailing. Hal realised that Billy
+      also had discovered troubles during the night. Never in all his career as
+      a journalist had he had such a story; never had any man had such a story&mdash;and
+      it must be killed!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Cartwright had got the reporters together late the night before and told
+      them the news&mdash;that the company had at last succeeded in getting the
+      mine ready to be opened; also that young Mr. Harrigan was there in his
+      private train, prompted by his concern for the entombed miners. The
+      reporters would mention his coming, of course, but were requested not to
+      &ldquo;play it up,&rdquo; nor to mention the names of Mr. Harrigan's guests. Needless
+      to say they were not told that the &ldquo;buddy&rdquo; who had been thrown out of camp
+      for insubordination had turned out to be the son of Edward S. Warner, the
+      &ldquo;coal magnate.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      A fine, cold rain was falling, and Hal borrowed an old coat of Jerry's and
+      slipped it on. Little Jerry clamoured to go with him, and after some
+      controversy Hal wrapped him in a shawl and slung him onto his shoulder. It
+      was barely daylight, but already the whole population of the village was
+      on hand at the pit-mouth. The helmet-men had gone down to make tests, so
+      the hour of final revelation was at hand. Women stood with wet shawls
+      about their hunched shoulders, their faces white and strained, their
+      suspense too great for any sort of utterance. A ghastly thought it was,
+      that while they were shuddering in the wet, their men below might be
+      expiring for lack of a few drops of water!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The helmet-men, coming up, reported that lights would burn at the bottom
+      of the shaft; so it was safe for men to go down without helmets, and the
+      volunteers of the first rescue party made ready. All night there had been
+      a clattering of hammers, where the carpenters were working on a new cage.
+      Now it was swung from the hoist, and the men took their places in it. When
+      at last the hoist began to move, and the group disappeared below the
+      surface of the ground, you could hear a sigh from a thousand throats, like
+      the moaning of wind in a pine-tree. They were leaving women and children
+      above, yet not one of these women would have asked them to stay&mdash;such
+      was the deep unconscious bond of solidarity which made these toilers of
+      twenty nations one!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was a slow process, letting down the cage; on account of the danger of
+      gas, and the newness of the cage, it was necessary to proceed a few feet
+      at a time, waiting for a pull upon the signal-cord to tell that the men
+      were all right. After they had reached the bottom, there would be more
+      time, no one could say how long, before they came upon survivors with
+      signs of life in them. There were bodies near the foot of the shaft,
+      according to the reports of the helmet-men, but there was no use delaying
+      to bring these up, for they must have been dead for days. Hal saw a crowd
+      of women clamouring about the helmet-men, trying to find out if these
+      bodies had been recognised. Also he saw Jeff Cotton and Bud Adams at their
+      old duty of driving the women back.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The cage returned for a second load of men. There was less need of caution
+      now; the hoist worked quickly, and group after group of men with silent,
+      set faces, and pickaxes and crow-bars and shovels in their hands, went
+      down into the pit of terror. They would scatter through the workings,
+      testing everywhere ahead of them with safety-lamps, and looking for
+      barriers erected by the imprisoned men for defence against the gases. As
+      they hammered on these barriers, perhaps they would hear the signals of
+      living men on the other side; or they would break through in silence, and
+      find men too far gone to make a sound, yet possibly with the spark of life
+      still in them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One by one, Hal's friends went down&mdash;&ldquo;Big Jack&rdquo; David, and Wresmak,
+      the Bohemian, Klowoski, the Pole, and finally Jerry Minetti. Little Jerry
+      waved his hand from his perch on Hal's shoulder; while Rosa, who had come
+      out and joined them, was clinging to Hal's arm, silent, as if her soul
+      were going down in the cage. There went blue-eyed Tim Rafferty to look for
+      his father, and black-eyed &ldquo;Andy,&rdquo; the Greek boy, whose father had
+      perished in a similar disaster years ago; there went Rovetta, and Carmino,
+      the pit-boss, Jerry's cousin. One by one their names ran through the
+      crowd, as of heroes marching out to battle.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 18.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Looking about, Hal saw some of the guests of the Harrigan party. There was
+      Vivie Cass, standing under an umbrella with Bert Atkins; and there was Bob
+      Creston with Dicky Everson. These two had on mackintoshes and water-proof
+      hats, and were talking to Cartwright; tall, immaculate men, who seemed
+      like creatures of another world beside the stunted and coal-smutted
+      miners.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Seeing Hal, they moved over to him. &ldquo;Where did you get the kid?&rdquo; inquired
+      Bob, his rosy, smooth-shaven face breaking into a smile.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I picked him up,&rdquo; said Hal, giving Little Jerry a toss and sliding him
+      off his shoulder.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hello, kid!&rdquo; said Bob.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And the answer came promptly, &ldquo;Hello, yourself!&rdquo; Little Jerry knew how to
+      talk American; he was a match for any society man! &ldquo;My father's went down
+      in that cage,&rdquo; said he, looking up at the tall stranger, his bright black
+      eyes sparkling.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is that so!&rdquo; replied the other. &ldquo;Why don't you go?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My father'll get 'em out. He ain't afraid o' nothin', my father!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What's your father's name?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Big Jerry.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oho! And what'll you be when you grow up?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm goin' to be a shot-firer.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In this mine?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You bet not!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why not?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Little Jerry looked mysterious. &ldquo;I ain't tellin' all I know,&rdquo; said he.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The two young fellows laughed. Here was education for them! &ldquo;Maybe you'll
+      go back to the old country?&rdquo; put in Dicky Everson.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, sir-ee!&rdquo; said Little Jerry. &ldquo;I'm American.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Maybe you'll be president some day.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's what my father says,&rdquo; replied the little chap&mdash;&ldquo;president of
+      a miners' union.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Again they laughed; but Rosa gave a nervous whisper and caught at the
+      child's sleeve. That was not the sort of thing to say to mysterious and
+      rich-looking strangers! &ldquo;This is Little Jerry's mother, Mrs. Minetti,&rdquo; put
+      in Hal, by way of reassuring her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Glad to meet you, Mrs. Minetti,&rdquo; said the two young men, taking off their
+      hats with elaborate bows; they stared, for Rosa was a pretty object as she
+      blushed and made her shy response. She was much embarrassed, having never
+      before in her life been bowed to by men like these.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And here they were greeting Joe Smith as an old friend, and calling him by
+      a strange name! She turned her black Italian eyes upon Hal in inquiry, and
+      he felt a flush creeping over him. It was almost as uncomfortable to be
+      found out by North Valley as to be found out by Western City!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The men talked about the rescue-work, and what Cartwright had been telling
+      of its progress. The fire was in one of the main passages, and was burning
+      out the timbering, spreading rapidly under the draft from the reversed
+      fan. There could be little hope of rescue in this part of the mine, but
+      the helmet-men would defy the heat and smoke in the burned out passages.
+      They knew how likely was the collapse of such portions of the mine; but
+      also they knew that men had been working here before the explosion. &ldquo;I
+      must say they're a game lot!&rdquo; remarked Dicky.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A group of women and children were gathered about to listen, their shyness
+      overcome by their torturing anxiety for news. They made one think of women
+      in war-time, listening to the roar of distant guns and waiting for the
+      bringing in of the wounded. Hal saw Bob and Dicky glance now and then at
+      the ring of faces about them; they were getting something of this mood,
+      and that was a part of what he had desired for them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Are the others coming out?&rdquo; he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't know,&rdquo; said Bob. &ldquo;I suppose they're having breakfast. It's time
+      we went in.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Won't you come with us?&rdquo; added Dicky.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, thanks,&rdquo; replied Hal, &ldquo;I've an engagement with the kid here.&rdquo; And he
+      gave Little Jerry's hand a squeeze. &ldquo;But tell some of the other fellows to
+      come. They'll be interested in these things.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said the two, as they moved away.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 19.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      After allowing a sufficient time for the party in the dining-car to finish
+      breakfast, Hal went down to the tracks, and induced the porter to take in
+      his name to Percy Harrigan. He was hoping to persuade Percy to see the
+      village under other than company chaperonage; he heard with dismay the
+      announcement that the party had arranged to depart in the course of a
+      couple of hours.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But you haven't seen anything at all!&rdquo; Hal protested.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They won't let us into the mine,&rdquo; replied the other. &ldquo;What else is there
+      we can do?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I wanted you to talk to the people and learn something about conditions
+      here. You ought not to lose this chance, Percy!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's all right, Hal, but you might understand this isn't a convenient
+      time. I've got a lot of people with me, and I've no right to ask them to
+      wait.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But can't they learn something also, Percy?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's raining,&rdquo; was the reply; &ldquo;and ladies would hardly care to stand
+      round in a crowd and see dead bodies brought out of a mine.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal got the rebuke. Yes, he had grown callous since coming to North
+      Valley; he had lost that delicacy of feeling, that intuitive understanding
+      of the sentiments of ladies, which he would surely have exhibited a short
+      time earlier in his life. He was excited about this disaster; it was a
+      personal thing to him, and he lost sight of the fact that to the ladies of
+      the Harrigan party it was, in its details, merely sordid and repelling. If
+      they went out in the mud and rain of a mining-village and stood about
+      staring, they would feel that they were exhibiting, not human compassion,
+      but idle curiosity. The sights they would see would harrow them to no
+      purpose; and incidentally they would be exposing themselves to distressing
+      publicity. As for offering sympathy to widows and orphans&mdash;well,
+      these were foreigners mostly, who could not understand what was said to
+      them, and who might be more embarrassed than helped by the intrusion into
+      their grief of persons from an alien world.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The business of offering sympathy had been reduced to a system by the
+      civilisation which these ladies helped to maintain; and, as it happened,
+      there was one present who was familiar with this system. Mrs. Curtis had
+      already acted, so Percy informed Hal; she had passed about a
+      subscription-paper, and in a couple of minutes over a thousand dollars had
+      been pledged. This would be paid by check to the &ldquo;Red Cross,&rdquo; whose agents
+      would understand how to distribute relief among such sufferers. So the
+      members of Percy's party felt that they had done the proper and delicate
+      thing, and might go their ways with a quiet conscience.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The world can't stop moving just because there's been a mine-disaster,&rdquo;
+       said the Coal King's son. &ldquo;People have engagements they must keep.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And he went on to explain what these engagements were. He himself had to
+      go to a dinner that evening, and would barely be able to make it. Bert
+      Atkins was to play a challenge match at billiards, and Mrs. Curtis was to
+      attend a committee meeting of a woman's club. Also it was the last Friday
+      of the month; had Hal forgotten what that meant?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After a moment Hal remembered&mdash;the &ldquo;Young People's Night&rdquo; at the
+      country club! He had a sudden vision of the white colonial mansion on the
+      mountain-side, with its doors and windows thrown wide, and the strains of
+      an orchestra floating out. In the ball-room the young ladies of Percy's
+      party would appear&mdash;Jessie, his sweetheart, among them&mdash;gowned
+      in filmy chiffons and laces, floating in a mist of perfume and colour and
+      music. They would laugh and chatter, they would flirt and scheme against
+      one another for the sovereignty of the ball-room&mdash;while here in North
+      Valley the sobbing widows would be clutching their mangled dead in their
+      arms! How strange, how ghastly it seemed! How like the scenes one read of
+      on the eve of the French Revolution!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 20.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Percy wanted Hal to come away with the party. He suggested this tactfully
+      at first, and then, as Hal did not take the hint, he began to press the
+      matter, showing signs of irritation. The mine was open now&mdash;what more
+      did Hal want? When Hal suggested that Cartwright might order it closed
+      again, Percy revealed the fact that the matter was in his father's hands.
+      The superintendent had sent a long telegram the night before, and an
+      answer was due at any moment. Whatever the answer ordered would have to be
+      done.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a grim look upon Hal's face, but he forced himself to speak
+      politely. &ldquo;If your father orders anything that interferes with the
+      rescuing of the men&mdash;don't you see, Percy, that I have to fight him?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But how <i>can</i> you fight him?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;With the one weapon I have&mdash;publicity.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean&mdash;&rdquo; Percy stopped, and stared.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I mean what I said before&mdash;I'd turn Billy Keating loose and blow
+      this whole story wide open.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, by God!&rdquo; cried young Harrigan. &ldquo;I must say I'd call it damned dirty
+      of you! You said you'd not do it, if I'd come here and open the mine!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But what good does it do to open it, if you close it again before the men
+      are out?&rdquo; Hal paused, and when he went on it was in a sincere attempt at
+      apology. &ldquo;Percy, don't imagine I fail to appreciate the embarrassments of
+      this situation. I know I must seem a cad to you&mdash;more than you've
+      cared to tell me. I called you my friend in spite of all our quarrels. All
+      I can do is to assure you that I never intended to get into such a
+      position as this.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, what the hell did you want to come here for? You knew it was the
+      property of a friend&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's the question at issue between us, Percy. Have you forgotten our
+      arguments? I tried to convince you what it meant that you and I should own
+      the things by which other people have to live. I said we were ignorant of
+      the conditions under which our properties were worked, we were a bunch of
+      parasites and idlers. But you laughed at me, called me a crank, an
+      anarchist, said I swallowed what any muck-raker fed me. So I said: 'I'll
+      go to one of Percy's mines! Then, when he tries to argue with me, I'll
+      have him!' That was the way the thing started&mdash;as a joke. But then I
+      got drawn into things. I don't want to be nasty, but no man with a drop of
+      red blood in his veins could stay in this place a week without wanting to
+      fight! That's why I want you to stay&mdash;you ought to stay, to meet some
+      of the people and see for yourself.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, I can't stay,&rdquo; said the other, coldly. &ldquo;And all I can tell you is
+      that I wish you'd go somewhere else to do your sociology.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But where could I go, Percy? Somebody owns everything. If it's a big
+      thing, it's almost certain to be somebody we know.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Said Percy, &ldquo;If I might make a suggestion, you could have begun with the
+      coal-mines of the Warner Company.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal laughed. &ldquo;You may be sure I thought of that, Percy. But see the
+      situation! If I was to accomplish my purpose, it was essential that I
+      shouldn't be known. And I had met some of my father's superintendents in
+      his office, and I knew they'd recognise me. So I <i>had</i> to go to some
+      other mines.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Most fortunate for the Warner Company,&rdquo; replied Percy, in an ugly tone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal answered, gravely, &ldquo;Let me tell you, I don't intend to leave the
+      Warner Company permanently out of my sociology.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; replied the other, &ldquo;all I can say is that we pass one of their
+      properties on our way back, and nothing would please me better than to
+      stop the train and let you off!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 21.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal went into the drawing-room car. There were Mrs. Curtis and Reggie
+      Porter, playing bridge with Genevieve Halsey and young Everson. Bob
+      Creston was chatting with Betty Gunnison, telling her what he had seen
+      outside, no doubt. Bert Atkins was looking over the morning paper,
+      yawning. Hal went on, seeking Jessie Arthur, and found her in one of the
+      compartments of the car, looking out of the rain-drenched window&mdash;learning
+      about a mining-camp in the manner permitted to young ladies of her class.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He expected to find her in a disturbed state of mind, and was prepared to
+      apologise. But when he met the look of distress she turned upon him, he
+      did not know just where to begin. He tried to speak casually&mdash;he had
+      heard she was going away. But she caught him by the hand, exclaiming:
+      &ldquo;Hal, you are coming with us!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He did not answer for a moment, but sat down by her. &ldquo;Have I made you
+      suffer so much, Jessie?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He saw tears start into her eyes. &ldquo;Haven't you <i>known</i> you were
+      making me suffer? Here I was as Percy's guest; and to have you put such
+      questions to me! What could I say? What do I know about the way Mr.
+      Harrigan should run his business?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, dear,&rdquo; he said, humbly. &ldquo;Perhaps I shouldn't have drawn you into it.
+      But the matter was so complicated and so sudden. Can't you understand
+      that, and forgive me? Everything has turned out so well!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But she did not think that everything had turned out well. &ldquo;In the first
+      place, for you to be here, in such a plight! And when I thought you were
+      hunting mountain-goats in Mexico!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He could not help laughing; but Jessie had not even a smile. &ldquo;And then&mdash;to
+      have you drag our love into the thing, there before every one!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Was that really so terrible, Jessie?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She looked at him with amazement. That he, Hal Warner, could have done
+      such a thing, and not realise how terrible it was! To put her in a
+      position where she had to break either the laws of love or the laws of
+      good-breeding! Why, it had amounted to a public quarrel. It would be the
+      talk of the town&mdash;there was no end to the embarrassment of it!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But, sweetheart!&rdquo; argued Hal. &ldquo;Try to see the reality of this thing&mdash;think
+      about those people in the mine. You really <i>must</i> do that!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She looked at him, and noticed the new, grim lines that had come upon his
+      youthful face. Also, she caught the note of suppressed passion in his
+      voice. He was pale and weary looking, in dirty clothes, his hair unkempt
+      and his face only half washed. It was terrifying&mdash;as if he had gone
+      to war.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Listen to me, Jessie,&rdquo; he insisted. &ldquo;I want you to know about these
+      things. If you and I are ever to make each other happy, you must try to
+      grow up with me. That was why I was glad to have you here&mdash;you would
+      have a chance to see for yourself. Now I ask you not to go without
+      seeing.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But I have to go, Hal. I can't ask Percy Harrigan to stay and
+      inconvenience everybody!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You can stay without him. You can ask one of the ladies to chaperon you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She gazed at him in dismay. &ldquo;Why, Hal! What a thing to suggest!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why so?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Think how it would look!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can't think so much about looks, dear&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She broke in: &ldquo;Think what Mamma would say!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;She wouldn't like it, I know&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;She would be wild! She would never forgive either of us. She would never
+      forgive any one who stayed with me. And what would Percy say, if I came
+      here as his guest, and stayed to spy on him and his father? Don't you see
+      how preposterous it would be?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Yes, he saw. He was defying all the conventions of her world, and it
+      seemed to her a course of madness. She clutched his hands in hers, and the
+      tears ran down her cheeks.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hal,&rdquo; she cried, &ldquo;I can't leave you in this dreadful place! You look like
+      a ghost, and a scarecrow, too! I want you to go and get some decent
+      clothes and come home on this train.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But he shook his head. &ldquo;It's not possible, Jessie.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why not?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because I have a duty to do here. Can't you understand, dear? All my
+      life, I've been living on the labour of coal-miners, and I've never taken
+      the trouble to go near them, to see how my money was got!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But, Hal! These aren't your people! They are Mr. Harrigan's people!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but it's all the same. They toil, and we live on their
+      toil, and take it as a matter of course.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But what can one <i>do</i> about it, Hal?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;One can understand it, if nothing else. And you see what I was able to do
+      in this case&mdash;to get the mine open.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hal,&rdquo; she exclaimed, &ldquo;I can't understand you! You've become so cynical,
+      you don't believe in any one! You're quite convinced that these officials
+      meant to murder their working people! As if Mr. Harrigan would let his
+      mines be run that way!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mr. Harrigan, Jessie? He passes the collection plate at St. George's!
+      That's the only place you've ever seen him, and that's all you know about
+      him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know what everybody says, Hal! Papa knows him, and my brothers&mdash;yes,
+      your own brother, too! Isn't it true that Edward would disapprove what
+      you're doing?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, dear, I fear so.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you set yourself up against them&mdash;against everybody you know! Is
+      it reasonable to think the older people are all wrong, and only you are
+      right? Isn't it at least possible you're making a mistake? Think about it&mdash;honestly,
+      Hal, for my sake!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She was looking at him pleadingly; and he leaned forward and took her
+      hand. &ldquo;Jessie,&rdquo; he said, his voice trembling, &ldquo;I <i>know</i> that these
+      working people are oppressed; I know it, because I have been one of them!
+      And I know that such men as Peter Harrigan, and even my own brother, are
+      to blame! And they've got to be faced by some one&mdash;they've got to be
+      made to see! I've come to see it clearly this summer&mdash;that's the job
+      I have to do!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She was gazing at him with her wide-open, beautiful eyes; underneath her
+      protests and her terror, she was thrilling with awe at this amazing madman
+      she loved. &ldquo;They will <i>kill</i> you!&rdquo; she cried.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, dearest&mdash;you don't need to worry about that&mdash;I don't think
+      they'll kill me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But they shot at you!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, they shot at Joe Smith, a miner's buddy. They won't shoot at the son
+      of a millionaire&mdash;not in America, Jessie.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But some dark night&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Set your mind at rest,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I've got Percy tied up in this, and
+      everybody knows it. There's no way they could kill me without the whole
+      story's coming out&mdash;and so I'm as safe as I would be in my bed at
+      home!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 22.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal was still possessed by his idea that Jessie must be taught&mdash;she
+      must have knowledge forced upon her, whether she would or no. The train
+      would not start for a couple of hours, and he tried to think of some use
+      he could make of that precious interval. He recalled that Rosa Minetti had
+      returned to her cabin to attend to her baby. A sudden vision came to him
+      of Jessie in that little home. Rosa was sweet and good, and assuredly
+      Little Jerry was a &ldquo;winner.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sweetheart,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I wish you'd come for a walk with me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But it's raining, Hal!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It won't hurt you to spoil one dress; you have plenty.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm not thinking of that&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I <i>wish</i> you'd come.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't feel comfortable about it, Hal. I'm here as Percy's guest, and he
+      mightn't like&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll ask him if he objects to your taking a stroll,&rdquo; he suggested, with
+      pretended gravity.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, no! That would make it worse!&rdquo; Jessie had no humour whatever about
+      these matters.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, Vivie Cass was out, and some of the others are going. He hasn't
+      objected to that.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know, Hal. But he knows they're all right.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal laughed. &ldquo;Come on, Jessie. Percy won't hold you for my sins! You have
+      a long train journey before you, and some fresh air will be good for you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She saw that she must make some concession to him, if she was to keep any
+      of her influence over him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; she said, with resignation, and disappeared and returned with
+      a heavy veil over her face, to conceal her from prying reportorial eyes;
+      also an equipment of mackintosh, umbrella and overshoes, against the rain.
+      The two stole out of the car, feeling like a couple of criminals.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Skirting the edge of the throng about the pit-mouth, they came to the
+      muddy, unpaved quarter in which the Italians had their homes; he held her
+      arm, steering her through the miniature sloughs and creeks. It was
+      thrilling to him to have her with him thus, to see her sweet face and hear
+      her voice full of love. Many a time he had thought of her here, and told
+      her in his imagination of his experiences!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He told her now&mdash;about the Minetti family, and how he had met Big and
+      Little Jerry on the street, and how they had taken him in, and then been
+      driven by fear to let him go again. He told his check-weighman story, and
+      was telling how Jeff Cotton had arrested him; but they came to the Minetti
+      cabin, and the terrifying narrative was cut short.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was Little Jerry who came to the door, with the remains of breakfast
+      distributed upon his cheeks; he stared in wonder at the mysteriously
+      veiled figure. Entering, they saw Rosa sitting in a chair nursing her
+      baby. She rose in confusion; but she did not quite like to turn her back
+      upon her guests, so she stood trying to hide her breast as best she could,
+      blushing and looking very girlish and pretty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal introduced Jessie, as an old friend who was interested to meet his new
+      friends, and Jessie threw back her veil and sat down. Little Jerry wiped
+      off his face at his mother's command, and then came where he could stare
+      at this incredibly lovely vision.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I've been telling Miss Arthur what good care you took of me,&rdquo; said Hal to
+      Rosa. &ldquo;She wanted to come and thank you for it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; added Jessie, graciously. &ldquo;Anybody who is good to Hal earns my
+      gratitude.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Rosa started to murmur something; but Little Jerry broke in, with his
+      cheerful voice, &ldquo;Why you call him Hal? His name's Joe!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ssh!&rdquo; cried Rosa. But Hal and Jessie laughed&mdash;and so the process of
+      Americanising Little Jerry was continued.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I've got lots of names,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;They called me Hal when I was a kid
+      like you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did <i>she</i> know you then?&rdquo; inquired Little Jerry.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, indeed.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is she your girl?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Rosa laughed shyly, and Jessie blushed, and looked charming. She realised
+      vaguely a difference in manners. These people accepted the existence of
+      &ldquo;girls,&rdquo; not concealing their interest in the phenomenon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's a secret,&rdquo; warned Hal. &ldquo;Don't you tell on us!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can keep a secret,&rdquo; said Little Jerry. After a moment's pause he added,
+      dropping his voice, &ldquo;You gotta keep secrets if you work in North Valley.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You bet your life,&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My father's a Socialist,&rdquo; continued the other, addressing Jessie; then,
+      since one thing leads on to another, &ldquo;My father's a shot-firer.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What's a shot-firer?&rdquo; asked Jessie, by way of being sociable.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Jesus!&rdquo; exclaimed Little Jerry. &ldquo;Don't you know nothin' about minin'?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Jessie. &ldquo;You tell me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You couldn't get no coal without a shot-firer,&rdquo; declared Little Jerry.
+      &ldquo;You gotta get a good one, too, or maybe you bust up the mine. My father's
+      the best they got.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What does he do?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, they got a drill&mdash;long, long, like this, all the way across
+      the room; and they turn it and bore holes in the coal. Sometimes they got
+      machines to drill, only we don't like them machines, 'cause it takes the
+      men's jobs. When they got the holes, then the shot-firer comes and sets
+      off the powder. You gotta have&mdash;&rdquo; and here Little Jerry slowed up,
+      pronouncing each syllable very carefully&mdash;&ldquo;per-miss-i-ble powder&mdash;what
+      don't make no flame. And you gotta know just how much to put in. If you
+      put in too much, you smash the coal, and the miner raises hell; if you
+      don't put in enough, you make too much work for him, an' he raises hell
+      again. So you gotta get a good shot-firer.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Jessie looked at Hal, and he saw that her dismay was mingled with genuine
+      amusement. He judged this a good way for her to get her education, so he
+      proceeded to draw out Little Jerry on other aspects of coal-mining: on
+      short weights and long hours, grafting bosses and camp-marshals,
+      company-stores and boarding-houses, Socialist agitators and union
+      organisers. Little Jerry talked freely of the secrets of the camp. &ldquo;It's
+      all right for you to know,&rdquo; he remarked gravely. &ldquo;You're Joe's girl!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You little cherub!&rdquo; exclaimed Jessie.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What's a cherub?&rdquo; was Little Jerry's reply.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 23.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      So the time passed in a way that was pleasant. Jessie was completely won
+      by this little Dago mine-urchin, in spite of all his frightful
+      curse-words; and Hal saw that she was won, and was delighted by the
+      success of this experiment in social amalgamation. He could not read
+      Jessie's mind, and realise that underneath her genuine delight were
+      reservations born of her prejudices, the instinctive cruelty of caste.
+      Yes, this little mine chap was a cherub, now; but how about when he grew
+      big? He would grow ugly and coarse-looking, in ten years one would not
+      know him from any other of the rough and dirty men of the village. Jessie
+      took the fact that common people grow ugly as they mature as a proof that
+      they are, in some deep and permanent way, the inferiors of those above
+      them. Hal was throwing away his time and strength, trying to make them
+      into something which Nature had obviously not intended them to be! She
+      decided to make that point to Hal on their way back to the train. She
+      realised that he had brought her here to educate her; like all the rest of
+      the world, she resented forcible education, and she was not without hope
+      that she might turn the tables and educate Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Pretty soon Rosa finished nursing the baby, and Jessie remarked the little
+      one's black eyes. This topic broke down the mother's shyness, and they
+      were chatting pleasantly, when suddenly they heard sounds outside which
+      caused them to start up. It was a clamour of women's voices; and Hal and
+      Rosa sprang to the door. Just now was a critical time, when every one was
+      on edge for news.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal threw open the door and called to those outside &ldquo;What is it?&rdquo; There
+      came a response, in a woman's voice, &ldquo;They've found Rafferty!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Alive?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nobody knows yet.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In Room Seventeen. Eleven of them&mdash;Rafferty, and young Flanagan, and
+      Johannson, the Swede. They're near dead&mdash;can't speak, they say. They
+      won't let anybody near them.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Other voices broke in; but the one which answered Hal had a different
+      quality; it was a warm, rich voice, unmistakably Irish, and it held
+      Jessie's attention. &ldquo;They've got them in the tipple-room, and the women
+      want to know about their men, and they won't tell them. They're beatin'
+      them back like dogs!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a tumult of weeping, and Hal stepped out of the cabin, and in a
+      minute or so he entered again, supporting on his arm a girl, clad in a
+      faded blue calico dress, and having a head of very conspicuous red hair.
+      She seemed half fainting, and kept moaning that it was horrible, horrible.
+      Hal led her to a chair, and she sank into it and hid her face in her
+      hands, sobbing, talking incoherently between her sobs.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Jessie stood looking at this girl. She felt the intensity of her
+      excitement, and shared it; yet at the same time there was something in
+      Jessie that resented it. She did not wish to be upset about things like
+      this, which she could not help. Of course these unfortunate people were
+      suffering; but&mdash;what a shocking lot of noise the poor thing was
+      making! A part of the poor thing's excitement was rage, and Jessie
+      realised that, and resented it still more. It was as if it were a personal
+      challenge to her; the same as Hal's fierce social passions, which so
+      bewildered and shocked her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They're beatin' the women back like dogs!&rdquo; the girl repeated.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mary,&rdquo; said Hal, trying to soothe her, &ldquo;the doctors will be doing their
+      best. The women couldn't expect to crowd about them!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Maybe they couldn't; but that's not it, Joe, and ye know it! They been
+      bringin' up dead bodies, some they found where the explosion was&mdash;blown
+      all to pieces. And they won't let anybody see them. Is that because of the
+      doctors? No, it ain't! It's because they want to tell lies about the
+      number killed! They want to count four or five legs to a man! And that's
+      what's drivin' the women crazy! I saw Mrs. Zamboni, tryin' to get into the
+      shed, and Pete Hanun caught her by the breasts and shoved her back. 'I
+      want my man!' she screamed. 'Well, what do you want him for? He's all in
+      pieces!' 'I want the pieces!' 'What good'll they do you? Are you goin' to
+      eat him?'&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There were cries of horror now, even from Jessie; and the strange girl hid
+      her face in her hands and began to sob again. Hal put his hand gently on
+      her arm.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mary,&rdquo; he pleaded, &ldquo;it's not so bad&mdash;at least they're getting the
+      people out.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How do ye know what they're doin'? They might be sealin' up parts of the
+      mine down below! That's what makes it so horrible&mdash;nobody knows
+      what's happenin'! Ye should have heard poor Mrs. Rafferty screamin'. Joe,
+      it went through me like a knife. Just think, it's been half an hour since
+      they brought him up, and the poor lady can't be told if her man is alive.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 24.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal stood for a few moments in thought. He was surprised that such things
+      should be happening while Percy Harrigan's train was in the village. He
+      was considering whether he should go to Percy, or whether a hint to Cotton
+      or Cartwright would not be sufficient.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mary,&rdquo; he said, in a quiet voice, &ldquo;you needn't distress yourself so. We
+      can get better treatment for the women, I'm sure.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But her sobbing went on. &ldquo;What can ye do? They're bound to have their
+      way!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;There's a difference now. Believe me&mdash;something can
+      be done. I'll step over and have a word with Jeff Cotton.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He started towards the door; but there came a cry: &ldquo;Hal!&rdquo; It was Jessie,
+      whom he had almost forgotten in his sudden anger at the bosses.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At her protest he turned and looked at her; then he looked at Mary. He saw
+      the latter's hands fall from her tear-stained face, and her expression of
+      grief give way to one of wonder. &ldquo;Hal!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Excuse me,&rdquo; he said, quickly. &ldquo;Miss Burke, this is my friend, Miss
+      Arthur.&rdquo; Then, not quite sure if this was a satisfactory introduction, he
+      added, &ldquo;Jessie, this is my friend, Mary.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Jessie's training could not fail in any emergency. &ldquo;Miss Burke,&rdquo; she said,
+      and smiled with perfect politeness. But Mary said nothing, and the
+      strained look did not leave her face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the first excitement she had almost failed to notice this stranger; but
+      now she stared, and realisation grew upon her. Here was a girl, beautiful
+      with a kind of beauty hardly to be conceived of in a mining-camp;
+      reserved, yet obviously expensive&mdash;even in a mackintosh and
+      rubber-shoes. Mary was used to the expensiveness of Mrs. O'Callahan, but
+      here was a new kind of expensiveness, subtle and compelling, strangely
+      unconscious. And she laid claim to Joe Smith, the miner's buddy! She
+      called him by a name hitherto unknown to his North Valley associates! It
+      needed no word from Little Jerry to guide Mary's instinct; she knew in a
+      flash that here was the &ldquo;other girl.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Mary was seized with sudden acute consciousness of the blue calico dress,
+      patched at the shoulder and stained with grease-spots; of her hands, big
+      and rough with hard labour; of her feet, clad in shoes worn sideways at
+      the heel, and threatening to break out at the toes. And as for Jessie, she
+      too had the woman's instinct; she too saw a girl who was beautiful, with a
+      kind of beauty of which she did not approve, but which she could not deny&mdash;the
+      beauty of robust health, of abounding animal energy. Jessie was not
+      unaware of the nature of her own charms, having been carefully educated to
+      conserve them; nor did she fail to make note of the other girl's handicaps&mdash;the
+      patched and greasy dress, the big rough hands, the shoes worn sideways.
+      But even so, she realised that &ldquo;Red Mary&rdquo; had a quality which she lacked&mdash;that
+      beside this wild rose of a mining-camp, she, Jessie Arthur, might possibly
+      seem a garden flower, fragile and insipid.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She had seen Hal lay his hand upon Mary's arm, and heard her speak to him.
+      She called him Joe! And a sudden fear had leaped into Jessie's heart.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Like many girls who have been delicately reared, Jessie Arthur knew more
+      than she admitted, even to herself. She knew enough to realise that young
+      men with ample means and leisure are not always saints and ascetics. Also,
+      she had heard the remark many times made that these women of the lower
+      orders had &ldquo;no morals.&rdquo; Just what did such a remark mean? What would be
+      the attitude of such a girl as Mary Burke&mdash;full-blooded and intense,
+      dissatisfied with her lot in life&mdash;to a man of culture and charm like
+      Hal? She would covet him, of course; no woman who knew him could fail to
+      covet him. And she would try to steal him away from his friends, from the
+      world to which he belonged, the future of happiness and ease to which he
+      was entitled. She would have powers&mdash;dark and terrible powers, all
+      the more appalling to Jessie because they were mysterious. Might they
+      possibly be able to overcome even the handicap of a dirty calico dress, of
+      big rough hands and shoes worn sideways?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      These reflections, which have taken many words to explain, came to Jessie
+      in one flash of intuition. She understood now, all at once, the
+      incomprehensible phenomenon&mdash;that Hal should leave friends and home
+      and career, to come and live amid this squalor and suffering! She saw the
+      old drama of the soul of man, heaven and hell contending for mastery of
+      it; and she knew that she was heaven, and that this &ldquo;Red Mary&rdquo; was hell.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She looked at Hal. He seemed to her so fine and true; his face was frank,
+      he was the soul of honourableness. No, it was impossible to believe that
+      he had yielded to such a lure! If that had been the case, he would never
+      have brought her to this cabin, he would never have taken a chance of her
+      meeting the girl. No; but he might be struggling against temptation, he
+      might be in the toils of it, and only half aware of it. He was a man, and
+      therefore blind; he was a dreamer, and it would be like him to idealise
+      this girl, calling her naïve and primitive, thinking that she had no
+      wiles! Jessie had come just in time to save him! And she would fight to
+      save him&mdash;using wiles more subtle than those at the command of any
+      mining-camp hussy!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 25.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      It was the surging up in Jessie Arthur of that instinctive self, the
+      creature of hereditary cruelty, of the existence of which Hal had no idea.
+      She drew back, and there was a quiet <i>hauteur</i> in her tone as she
+      spoke. &ldquo;Hal, come here, please.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He came; and she waited until he was close enough for intimacy, and then
+      said, &ldquo;Have you forgotten you have to take me back to the train?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Can't you come with me for a few minutes?&rdquo; he pleaded. &ldquo;It would have
+      such a good effect if you did.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can't go into that crowd,&rdquo; she answered; and suddenly her voice
+      trembled, and the tears came into her sweet brown eyes. &ldquo;Don't you know,
+      Hal, that I couldn't stand such terrible sights? This poor girl&mdash;she
+      is used to them&mdash;she is hardened! But I&mdash;I&mdash;oh, take me
+      away, take me away, dear Hal!&rdquo; This cry of a woman for protection came
+      with a familiar echo to Hal's mind. He did not stop to think&mdash;he was
+      moved by it instinctively. Yes, he had exposed the girl he loved to
+      suffering! He had meant it for her own good, but even so, it was cruel!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He stood close to her, and saw the love-light in her eyes; he saw the
+      tears, the trembling of her sensitive chin. She swayed to him, and he
+      caught her in his arms&mdash;and there, before these witnesses, she let
+      him press her to him, while she sobbed and whispered her distress. She had
+      been shy of caresses hitherto, watched and admonished by an experienced
+      mother; certainly she had never before made what could by the remotest
+      stretch of the imagination be considered an advance towards him. But now
+      she made it, and there was a cry of triumph in her soul as she saw that he
+      responded to it. He was still hers&mdash;and these low people should know
+      it, this &ldquo;other girl&rdquo; should know it!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Yet, in the midst of this very exultation, Jessie Arthur really felt the
+      grief she expressed for the women of North Valley; she really felt horror
+      at the story of Mrs. Zamboni's &ldquo;man&rdquo;: so intricate is the soul of woman,
+      so puzzling that faculty, older than the ages, which enables her to be
+      hysterical, and at the same time to be guided in the use of that hysteria
+      by deep and infallible calculation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But she made Hal realise that it was necessary for him to take her away.
+      He turned to Mary Burke and said, &ldquo;Miss Arthur's train is leaving in a
+      short time. I'll have to take her hack, and then I'll go to the pit-mouth
+      with you and see what I can do.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well,&rdquo; Mary answered; and her voice was hard and cold. But Hal did
+      not notice this. He was a man, and not able to keep up with the emotions
+      of one woman&mdash;to say nothing of two women at the same time.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He took Jessie out, and all the way hack to the train she fought a
+      desperate fight to get him away from here. She no longer even suggested
+      that he get decent clothing; she was willing for him to come as he was, in
+      his coal-stained mining-jumpers, in the private train of the Coal King's
+      son. She besought him in the name of their affection. She threatened him
+      that if he did not come, this might be the last time they would meet. She
+      even broke down in the middle of the street, and let him stand there in
+      plain sight of miners' wives and children, and of possible newspaper
+      reporters, holding her in his arms and comforting her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal was much puzzled; but he would not give way. The idea of going off in
+      Percy Harrigan's train had come to seem morally repulsive to him; he hated
+      Percy Harrigan's train, and Percy Harrigan also, he declared. And Jessie
+      saw that she was only making him unreasonable&mdash;that before long he
+      might be hating her. With her instinctive <i>savoir faire</i>, she brought
+      up his suggestion that she might find some one to chaperon her, and stay
+      with him at North Valley until he was ready to come away.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal's heart leaped at that; he had no idea what was in her mind&mdash;the
+      certainty that no one of the ladies of the Harrigan party would run the
+      risk of offending her host by staying under such circumstances.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean it, sweetheart?&rdquo; he cried, happily.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She answered, &ldquo;I mean that I love you, Hal.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right, dear!&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We'll see if we can arrange it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But as they walked on, she managed, without his realising it, to cause him
+      to reflect upon the effect of her staying. She was willing to do it, if it
+      was what he wanted; but it would injure, perhaps irrevocably, his standing
+      with her parents. They would telegraph her to come at once; and if she did
+      not obey, they would come by the next train. So on, until at last Hal was
+      moved to withdraw his own suggestion. After all, what was the use of her
+      staying, if her mind was on the people at home, if she would simply keep
+      him in hot water? Before the conversation was over Hal had become clear in
+      his mind that North Valley was no place for Jessie Arthur, and that he had
+      been a fool to think he could bring the two together.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She tried to get him to promise to leave as soon as the last man had been
+      brought out of the mine. He answered that he intended to leave then,
+      unless some new emergency should arise. She tried to get an unqualified
+      promise; and failing in that, when they had nearly got to the train she
+      suddenly made a complete surrender. Let him do what he pleased&mdash;but
+      let him remember that she loved him, that she needed him, that she could
+      not do without him. No matter what he might do, no matter what people
+      might say about him, she believed in him, she would stand by him. Hal was
+      deeply touched, and took her in his arms again and kissed her tenderly
+      under the umbrella, in the presence of the wondering stares of several
+      urchins with coal-smutted faces. He pledged anew his love for her,
+      assuring her that no amount of interest in mining-camps should ever steal
+      him from her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then he put her on the train, and shook hands with the departing guests.
+      He was so very sombre and harassed-looking that the young men forbore to
+      &ldquo;kid&rdquo; him as they would otherwise have done. He stood on the
+      station-platform and saw the train roll away&mdash;and felt, to his own
+      desperate bewilderment, that he hated these friends of his boyhood and
+      youth. His reason protested against it; he told himself there was nothing
+      they could do, no reason on earth for them to stay&mdash;and yet he hated
+      them. They were hurrying off to dance and flirt at the country club&mdash;while
+      he was going back to the pit-mouth, to try to get Mrs. Zamboni the right
+      to inspect the pieces of her &ldquo;man&rdquo;!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      BOOK FOUR &mdash; THE WILL OF KING COAL
+    </h2>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 1.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      The pit of death was giving up its secrets. The hoist was busy, and
+      cage-load after cage-load came up, with bodies dead and bodies living and
+      bodies only to be classified after machines had pumped air into them for a
+      while. Hal stood in the rain and watched the crowd and thought that he had
+      never witnessed a scene so compelling to pity and terror. The silence that
+      would fall when any one appeared who might have news to tell! The sudden
+      shriek of anguish from some woman whose hopes were struck dead! The moans
+      of sympathy that ran through the crowd, alternating with cheers at some
+      good tidings, shaking the souls of the multitude as a storm of wind shakes
+      a reed-field!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And the stories that ran through the camp&mdash;brought up from the
+      underground world&mdash;stories of incredible sufferings, and of still
+      more incredible heroisms! Men who had been four days without food or
+      water, yet had resisted being carried out of the mine, proposing to stay
+      and help rescue others! Men who had lain together in the darkness and
+      silence, keeping themselves alive by the water which seeped from the rocks
+      overhead, taking turns lying face upwards where the drops fell, or wetting
+      pieces of their clothing and sucking out the moisture! Members of the
+      rescue parties would tell how they knocked upon the barriers, and heard
+      the faint answering signals of the imprisoned men; how madly they toiled
+      to cut through, and how, when at last a little hole appeared, they heard
+      the cries of joy, and saw the eyes of men shining from the darkness, while
+      they waited, gasping, for the hole to grow bigger, so that water and food
+      might be passed in!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In some places they were fighting the fire. Long lines of hose had been
+      sent down, and men were moving forward foot by foot, as the smoke and
+      steam were sucked out ahead of them by the fan. Those who did this work
+      were taking their lives in their hands, yet they went without hesitation.
+      There was always hope of finding men in barricaded rooms beyond.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal sought out Jeff Cotton at the entrance to the tipple-room, which had
+      been turned into a temporary hospital. It was the first time the two had
+      met since the revelation in Percy's car, and the camp-marshal's face took
+      on a rather sheepish grin. &ldquo;Well, Mr. Warner, you win,&rdquo; he remarked; and
+      after a little arguing he agreed to permit a couple of women to go into
+      the tipple-room and make a list of the injured, and go out and give the
+      news to the crowd. Hal went to the Minettis to ask Mary Burke to attend to
+      this; but Rosa said that Mary had gone out after he and Miss Arthur had
+      left, and no one knew where she was. So Hal went to Mrs. David, who
+      consented to get a couple of friends, and do the work without being called
+      a &ldquo;committee.&rdquo; &ldquo;I won't have any damned committees!&rdquo; the camp-marshal had
+      declared.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So the night passed, and part of another day. A clerk from the office came
+      to Hal with a sealed envelope, containing a telegram, addressed in care of
+      Cartwright. &ldquo;I most urgently beg of you to come home at once. It will be
+      distressing to Dad if he hears what has happened, and it will not be
+      possible to keep the matter from him for long.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      As Hal read, he frowned; evidently the Harrigans had got busy without
+      delay! He went to the office and telephoned his answer. &ldquo;Am planning to
+      leave in a day or two. Trust you will make an effort to spare Dad until
+      you have heard my story.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      This message troubled Hal. It started in his mind long arguments with his
+      brother, and explanations and apologies to his father. He loved the old
+      man tenderly. What a shame if some emissary of the Harrigans were to get
+      to him to upset him with misrepresentations!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Also these ideas had a tendency to make Hal homesick; they brought more
+      vividly to his thoughts the outside world, with its physical allurements&mdash;there
+      being a limit to the amount of unwholesome meals and dirty beds and
+      repulsive sights a man of refinement can force himself to endure. Hal
+      found himself obsessed by a vision of a club dining-room, with odours of
+      grilled steaks and hot rolls, and the colours of salads and fresh fruits
+      and cream. The conviction grew suddenly strong in him that his work in
+      North Valley was nearly done!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Another night passed, and another day. The last of the bodies had been
+      brought out, and the corpses shipped down to Pedro for one of those big
+      wholesale funerals which are a feature of mine-life. The fire was out, and
+      the rescue-crews had given place to a swarm of carpenters and timbermen,
+      repairing the damage and making the mine safe. The reporters had gone;
+      Billy Keating having clasped Hal's hand, and promised to meet him for
+      luncheon at the club. An agent of the &ldquo;Red Cross&rdquo; was on hand, and was
+      feeding the hungry out of Mrs. Curtis's subscription-list. What more was
+      there for Hal to do&mdash;except to bid good-bye to his friends, and
+      assure them of his help in the future?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      First among these friends was Mary Burke, whom he had had no chance to
+      talk to since the meeting with Jessie. He realised that Mary had been
+      deliberately avoiding him. She was not in her home, and he went to inquire
+      at the Rafferties', and stopped for a good-bye chat with the old woman
+      whose husband he had saved.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Rafferty was going to pull through. His wife had been allowed in to see
+      him, and tears rolled down her shrunken cheeks as she told about it. He
+      had been four days and nights blocked up in a little tunnel, with no food
+      or water, save for a few drops of coffee which he had shared with other
+      men. He could still not speak, he could hardly move a hand; but there was
+      life in his eyes, and his look had been a greeting from the soul she had
+      loved and served these thirty years and more. Mrs. Rafferty sang praises
+      to the Rafferty God, who had brought him safely through these perils; it
+      seemed obvious that He must be more efficient than the Protestant God of
+      Johannson, the giant Swede, who had lain by Rafferty's side and given up
+      the ghost.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the doctor had stated that the old Irishman would never be good to
+      work again; and Hal saw a shadow of terror cross the sunshine of Mrs.
+      Rafferty's rejoicing. How could a doctor say a thing like that? Rafferty
+      was old, to be sure; but he was tough&mdash;and could any doctor imagine
+      how hard a man would try who had a family looking to him? Sure, he was not
+      the one to give up for a bit of pain now and then! Besides him, there was
+      only Tim who was earning; and though Tim was a good lad, and worked
+      steady, any doctor ought to know that a big family could not be kept going
+      on the wages of one eighteen-year-old pit-boy. As for the other lads,
+      there was a law that said they were too young to work. Mrs. Rafferty
+      thought there should be some one to put a little sense into the heads of
+      them that made the laws&mdash;for if they wanted to forbid children to
+      work in coal-mines, they should surely provide some other way to feed the
+      children.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal listened, agreeing sympathetically, and meantime watching her, and
+      learning more from her actions than from her words. She had been obedient
+      to the teachings of her religion, to be fruitful and multiply; she had fed
+      three grown sons into the maw of industry, and had still eight children
+      and a man to care for. Hal wondered if she had ever rested a single minute
+      of daylight in all her fifty-four years. Certainly not while he had been
+      in her house! Even now, while praising the Rafferty God and blaming the
+      capitalist law-makers, she was getting a supper, moving swiftly, silently,
+      like a machine. She was lean as an old horse that has toiled across a
+      desert; the skin over her cheek-bones was tight as stretched rubber, and
+      cords stood out in her wrists like piano-wires.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And now she was cringing before the spectre of destitution. He asked what
+      she would do about it, and saw the shadow of terror cross her face again.
+      There was one recourse from starvation, it seemed&mdash;to have her
+      children taken from her, and put in some institution! At the mention of
+      this, one of the special nightmares of the poor, the old woman began to
+      sob and cry again that the doctor was wrong; he would see, and Hal would
+      see&mdash;Old Rafferty would be back at his job in a week or two!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 2.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal went out on the street again. It was the hour which would have been
+      sunset in a level region; the tops of the mountains were touched with a
+      purple light, and the air was fresh and chill with early fall. Down the
+      darkening streets he saw a gathering of men; there was shouting, and
+      people running towards the place, so he hurried up, with the thought in
+      his mind, &ldquo;What's the matter now?&rdquo; There were perhaps a hundred men crying
+      out, their voices mingling like the sound of waves on the sea. He could
+      make out words: &ldquo;Go on! Go on! We've had enough of it! Hurrah!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What's happened?&rdquo; he asked, of some one on the outskirts; and the man,
+      recognising him, raised a cry which ran through the throng: &ldquo;Joe Smith!
+      He's the boy for us! Come in here, Joe! Give us a speech!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But even while Hal was asking questions, trying to get the situation
+      clear, other shouts had drowned out his name. &ldquo;We've had enough of them
+      walking over us!&rdquo; And somebody cried, more loudly, &ldquo;Tell us about it! Tell
+      it again! Go on!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      A man was standing upon the steps of a building at one side. Hal stared in
+      amazement; it was Tim Rafferty. Of all people in the world&mdash;Tim, the
+      light-hearted and simple, Tim of the laughing face and the merry Irish
+      blue eyes! Now his sandy hair was tousled and his features distorted with
+      rage. &ldquo;Him near dead!&rdquo; he yelled. &ldquo;Him with his voice gone, and couldn't
+      move his hand! Eleven years he's slaved for them, and near killed in an
+      accident that's their own fault&mdash;every man in this crowd knows it's
+      their own fault, by God!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure thing! You're right!&rdquo; cried a chorus of voices &ldquo;Tell it all!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They give him twenty-five dollars and his hospital expenses&mdash;and
+      what'll his hospital expenses be? They'll have him out on the street again
+      before he's able to stand. You know that&mdash;they done it to Pete
+      Cullen!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You bet they did!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Them damned lawyers in there&mdash;gettin' 'em to sign papers when they
+      don't know what they're doin'. An' me that might help him can't get near!
+      By Christ, I say it's too much! Are we slaves, or are we dogs, that we
+      have to stand such things?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We'll stand no more of it!&rdquo; shouted one. &ldquo;We'll go in there and see to it
+      ourselves!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Come on!&rdquo; shouted another. &ldquo;To hell with their gunmen!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal pushed his way into the crowd. &ldquo;Tim!&rdquo; he cried. &ldquo;How do you know
+      this?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's a fellow in there seen it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can't tell you&mdash;they'd fire him; but it's somebody you know as
+      well as me. He come and told me. They're beatin' me old father out of
+      damages!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They do it all the time!&rdquo; shouted Wauchope, an English miner at Hal's
+      side. &ldquo;That's why they won't let us in there.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They done the same thing to my father!&rdquo; put in another voice. Hal
+      recognised Andy, the Greek boy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And they want to start Number Two in the mornin'!&rdquo; yelled Tim. &ldquo;Who'll go
+      down there again? And with Alec Stone, him that damns the men and saves
+      the mules!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We'll not go back in them mines till they're safe!&rdquo; shouted Wauchope.
+      &ldquo;Let them sprinkle them&mdash;or I'm done with the whole business.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And let 'em give us our weights!&rdquo; cried another. &ldquo;We'll have a
+      check-weighman, and we'll get what we earn!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So again came the cry, &ldquo;Joe Smith! Give us a speech, Joe! Soak it to 'em!
+      You're the boy!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal stood helpless, dismayed. He had counted his fight won&mdash;and here
+      was another beginning! The men were looking to him, calling upon him as
+      the boldest of the rebels. Only a few of them knew about the sudden change
+      in his fortunes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Even while he hesitated, the line of battle had swept past him; the
+      Englishman, Wauchope, sprang upon the steps and began to address the
+      throng. He was one of the bowed and stunted men, but in this emergency he
+      developed sudden lung-power. Hal listened in astonishment; this silent and
+      dull-looking fellow was the last he would have picked for a fighter. Tom
+      Olson had sounded him out, and reported that he would hear nothing, so
+      they had dismissed him from mind. And here he was, shouting terrible
+      defiance!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They're a set of robbers and murderers! They rob us everywhere we turn!
+      For my part, I've had enough of it! Have you?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a roar from every one within reach of his voice. They had all
+      had enough.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right, then&mdash;we'll fight them!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hurrah! Hurrah! We'll have our rights!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Jeff Cotton came up on the run, with &ldquo;Bud&rdquo; Adams and two or three of the
+      gunmen at his heels. The crowd turned upon them, the men on the outskirts
+      clenching their fists, showing their teeth like angry dogs. Cotton's face
+      was red with rage, but he saw that he had a serious matter in hand; he
+      turned and went for more help&mdash;and the mob roared with delight.
+      Already they had begun their fight! Already they had won their first
+      victory!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 3.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      The crowd moved down the street, shouting and cursing as it went. Some one
+      started to sing the Marseillaise, and others took it up, and the words
+      mounted to a frenzy:
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+  &ldquo;To arms! To arms, ye brave!
+  March on, march on, all hearts resolved
+  On victory or death!&rdquo;
+ </pre>
+    <p>
+      There were the oppressed of many nations in this crowd; they sang in a
+      score of languages, but it was the same song. They would sing a few bars,
+      and the yells of others would drown them out. &ldquo;March on! March on! All
+      hearts resolved!&rdquo; Some rushed away in different directions to spread the
+      news, and very soon the whole population of the village was on the spot;
+      the men waving their caps, the women lifting up their hands and shrieking&mdash;or
+      standing terrified, realising that babies could not be fed upon
+      revolutionary singing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tim Rafferty was raised up on the shoulders of the crowd and made to tell
+      his story once more. While he was telling it, his old mother came running,
+      and her shrieks rang above the clamour: &ldquo;Tim! Tim! Come down from there!
+      What's the matter wid ye?&rdquo; She was twisting her hands together in an agony
+      of fright; seeing Hal, she rushed up to him. &ldquo;Get him out of there, Joe!
+      Sure, the lad's gone crazy! They'll turn us out of the camp, they'll give
+      us nothin' at all&mdash;and what'll become of us? Mother of God, what's
+      the matter with the b'y?&rdquo; She called to Tim again; but Tim paid no
+      attention, if he heard her. Tim was on the march to Versailles!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Some one shouted that they would go to the hospital to protect the injured
+      men from the &ldquo;damned lawyers.&rdquo; Here was something definite, and the crowd
+      moved in that direction, Hal following with the stragglers, the women and
+      children, and the less bold among the men. He noticed some of the clerks
+      and salaried employés of the company; presently he saw Jeff Cotton again,
+      and heard him ordering these men to the office to get revolvers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Big Jack&rdquo; David came along with Jerry Minetti, and Hal drew back to
+      consult with them. Jerry was on fire. It had come&mdash;the revolt he had
+      been looking forward to for years! Why were they not making speeches,
+      getting control of the men and organising them?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Jack David voiced uncertainty. They had to consider if this outburst could
+      mean anything permanent.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Jerry answered that it would mean what they chose to make it mean. If they
+      took charge, they could guide the men and hold them together. Wasn't that
+      what Tom Olson had wanted?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      No, said the big Welshman, Olson had been trying to organise the men
+      secretly, as preliminary to a revolt in all the camps. That was quite
+      another thing from an open movement, limited to one camp. Was there any
+      hope of success for such a movement? If not, they would be foolish to
+      start, they would only be making sure of their own expulsion.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Jerry turned to Hal. What did he think?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And so at last Hal had to speak. It was hard for him to judge, he said. He
+      knew so little about labour matters. It was to learn about them that he
+      had come to North Valley. It was a hard thing to advise men to submit to
+      such treatment as they had been getting; but on the other hand, any one
+      could see that a futile outbreak would discourage everybody, and make it
+      harder than ever to organise them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So much Hal spoke; but there was more in his mind, which he could not
+      speak. He could not say to these men, &ldquo;I am a friend of yours, but I am
+      also a friend of your enemy, and in this crisis I cannot make up my mind
+      to which side I owe allegiance. I'm bound by a duty of politeness to the
+      masters of your lives; also, I'm anxious not to distress the girl I am to
+      marry!&rdquo; No, he could not say such things. He felt himself a traitor for
+      having them in his mind, and he could hardly bring himself to look these
+      men in the eye. Jerry knew that he was in some way connected with the
+      Harrigans; probably he had told the rest of Hal's friends, and they had
+      been discussing it and speculating about the meaning of it. Suppose they
+      should think he was a spy?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So Hal was relieved when Jack David spoke firmly. They would only be
+      playing the game of the enemy if they let themselves be drawn in
+      prematurely. They ought to have the advice of Tom Olson.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Where was Olson? Hal asked; and David explained that on the day when Hal
+      had been thrown out of camp, Olson had got his &ldquo;time&rdquo; and set out for
+      Sheridan, the local headquarters of the union, to report the situation. He
+      would probably not come back; he had got his little group together, he had
+      planted the seed of revolt in North Valley.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They discussed back and forth the problem of getting advice. It was
+      impossible to telephone from North Valley without everything they said
+      being listened to; but the evening train for Pedro left in a few minutes,
+      and &ldquo;Big Jack&rdquo; declared that some one ought to take it. The town of
+      Sheridan was only fifteen or twenty miles from Pedro, and there would be a
+      union official there to advise them; or they might use the long distance
+      telephone, and persuade one of the union leaders in Western City to take
+      the midnight train, and be in Pedro next morning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal, still hoping to withdraw himself, put this task off on Jack David.
+      They emptied out the contents of their pockets, so that he might have
+      funds enough, and the big Welshman darted off to catch the train. In the
+      meantime Jerry and Hal agreed to keep in the background, and to seek out
+      the other members of their group and warn them to do the same.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 4.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      This programme was a convenient one for Hal; but as he was to find almost
+      at once, it had been adopted too late. He and Jerry started after the
+      crowd, which had stopped in front of one of the company buildings; and as
+      they came nearer they heard some one making a speech. It was the voice of
+      a woman, the tones rising clear and compelling. They could not see the
+      speaker, because of the throng, but Hal recognised her voice, and caught
+      his companion by the arm. &ldquo;It's Mary Burke!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Mary Burke it was, for a fact; and she seemed to have the crowd in a kind
+      of frenzy. She would speak one sentence, and there would come a roar from
+      the throng; she would speak another sentence, and there would come another
+      roar. Hal and Jerry pushed their way in, to where they could make out the
+      words of this litany of rage.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Would they go down into the pit themselves, do ye think?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They would not!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Would they be dressed in silks and laces, do ye think?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They would not!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Would they have such fine soft hands, do ye think?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They would not!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Would they hold themselves too good to look at ye?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They would not! They would not!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And Mary swept on: &ldquo;If only ye'd stand together, they'd come to ye on
+      their knees to ask for terms! But ye're cowards, and they play on your
+      fears! Ye're traitors, and they buy ye out! They break ye into pieces,
+      they do what they please with ye&mdash;and then ride off in their private
+      cars, and leave gunmen to beat ye down and trample on your faces! How long
+      will ye stand it? How long?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The roar of the mob rolled down the street and back again. &ldquo;We'll not
+      stand it! We'll not stand it!&rdquo; Men shook their clenched fists, women
+      shrieked, even children shouted curses. &ldquo;We'll fight them! We'll slave no
+      more for them!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And Mary found a magic word. &ldquo;We'll have a union!&rdquo; she shouted. &ldquo;We'll get
+      together and stay together! If they refuse us our rights, we'll know what
+      to answer&mdash;we'll have a <i>strike!</i>&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a roar like the crashing of thunder in the mountains. Yes, Mary
+      had found the word! For many years it had not been spoken aloud in North
+      Valley, but now it ran like a flash of gunpowder through the throng.
+      &ldquo;Strike! Strike! Strike! Strike!&rdquo; It seemed as if they would never have
+      enough of it. Not all of them had understood Mary's speech, but they knew
+      this word, &ldquo;Strike!&rdquo; They translated and proclaimed it in Polish and
+      Bohemian and Italian and Greek. Men waved their caps, women waved their
+      aprons&mdash;in the semi-darkness it was like some strange kind of
+      vegetation tossed by a storm. Men clasped one another's hands, the more
+      demonstrative of the foreigners fell upon one another's necks. &ldquo;Strike!
+      Strike! Strike!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We're no longer slaves!&rdquo; cried the speaker. &ldquo;We're men&mdash;and we'll
+      live as men! We'll work as men&mdash;or we'll not work at all! We'll no
+      longer be a herd of cattle, that they can drive about as they please!
+      We'll organise, we'll stand together&mdash;shoulder to shoulder! Either
+      we'll win together, or we'll starve and die together! And not a man of us
+      will yield, not a man of us will turn traitor! Is there anybody here
+      who'll scab on his fellows?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a howl, which might have come from a pack of wolves. Let the man
+      who would scab on his fellows show his dirty face in that crowd!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye'll stand by the union?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We'll stand by it!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye'll swear?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We'll swear!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She flung her arms to heaven with a gesture of passionate adjuration.
+      &ldquo;Swear it on your lives! To stick to the rest of us, and never a man of ye
+      give way till ye've won! Swear! <i>Swear!</i>&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Men stood, imitating her gesture, their hands stretched up to the sky. &ldquo;We
+      swear! We swear!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye'll not let them break ye! Ye'll not let them frighten ye!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No! No!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Stand by your word, men! Stand by it! 'Tis the one chance for your wives
+      and childer!&rdquo; The girl rushed on&mdash;exhorting with leaping words and
+      passionate out-flung arms&mdash;a tall, swaying figure of furious
+      rebellion. Hal listened to the speech and watched the speaker, marvelling.
+      Here was a miracle of the human soul, here was hope born of despair! And
+      the crowd around her&mdash;they were sharing the wonderful rebirth; their
+      waving arms, their swaying forms responded to Mary as an orchestra to the
+      baton of a leader.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A thrill shook Hal&mdash;a thrill of triumph! He had been beaten down
+      himself, he had wanted to run from this place of torment; but now there
+      was hope in North Valley&mdash;now there would be victory, freedom!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ever since he had come to the coal-country, the knowledge had been growing
+      in Hal that the real tragedy of these people's lives was not their
+      physical suffering, but their mental depression&mdash;the dull, hopeless
+      misery in their minds. This had been driven into his consciousness day by
+      day, both by what he saw and by what others told him. Tom Olson had first
+      put it into words: &ldquo;Your worst troubles are inside the heads of the
+      fellows you're trying to help!&rdquo; How could hope be given to men in this
+      environment of terrorism? Even Hal himself, young and free as he was, had
+      been brought to despair. He came from a class which is accustomed to say,
+      &ldquo;Do this,&rdquo; or &ldquo;Do that,&rdquo; and it will be done. But these mine-slaves had
+      never known that sense of power, of certainty; on the contrary, they were
+      accustomed to having their efforts balked at every turn, their every
+      impulse to happiness or achievement crushed by another's will.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But here was this miracle of the human soul! Here was hope in North
+      Valley! Here were the people rising&mdash;and Mary Burke at their head! It
+      was his vision come true&mdash;Mary Burke with a glory in her face, and
+      her hair shining like a crown of gold! Mary Burke mounted upon a
+      snow-white horse, wearing a robe of white, soft and lustrous&mdash;like
+      Joan of Arc, or a leader in a suffrage parade! Yes, and she was at the
+      head of a host, he had the music of its marching in his ears!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Underneath Hal's jesting words had been a real vision, a real faith in
+      this girl. Since that day when he had first discovered her, a wild rose of
+      the mining-camp taking in the family wash, he had realised that she was no
+      pretty young working-girl, but a woman with a mind and a personality. She
+      saw farther, she felt more deeply than the average of these wage-slaves.
+      Her problem was the same as theirs, yet more complex. When he had wanted
+      to help her and had offered to get her a job, she had made clear that what
+      she craved was not merely relief from drudgery, but a life with
+      intellectual interest. So then the idea had come to him that Mary should
+      become a teacher, a leader of her people. She loved them, she suffered for
+      them and with them, and at the same time she had a mind that was capable
+      of seeking out the causes of their misery. But when he had gone to her
+      with plans of leadership, he had been met by her corroding despair; her
+      pessimism had seemed to mock his dreams, her contempt for these
+      mine-slaves had belittled his efforts in their behalf and in hers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And now, here she was taking up the role he had planned for her! Her very
+      soul was in this shouting throng, he thought. She had lived the lives of
+      these people, shared their every wrong, been driven to rebellion with
+      them. Being a mere man, Hal missed one important point about this
+      startling development; he did not realise that Mary's eloquence was
+      addressed, not merely to the Rafferties and the Wauchopes, and the rest of
+      the North Valley mine-slaves, but to a certain magazine-cover girl, clad
+      in a mackintosh and a pale green hat and a soft and filmy and horribly
+      expensive motoring veil!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 5.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Mary's speech was brought to a sudden end. A group of the men had moved
+      down the street, and there arose a disturbance there. The noise of it
+      swelled louder, and more people began to move in that direction. Mary
+      turned to look, and all at once the whole throng surged down the street.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The trouble was at the hospital. In front of this building was a porch,
+      and on it Cartwright and Alec Stone were standing, with a group of the
+      clerks and office-employés, among whom Hal saw Predovich, Johnson, the
+      postmaster, and Si Adams. At the foot of the steps stood Tim Rafferty,
+      with a swarm of determined men at his back. He was shouting, &ldquo;We want them
+      lawyers out of there!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The superintendent himself had undertaken to parley with him. &ldquo;There are
+      no lawyers in here, Rafferty.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We don't trust you!&rdquo; And the crowd took up the cry: &ldquo;We'll see for
+      ourselves!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You can't go into this building,&rdquo; declared Cartwright.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm goin' to see my father!&rdquo; shouted Tim. &ldquo;I've got a right to see my
+      father, ain't I?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You can see him in the morning. You can take him away, if you want to.
+      We've no desire to keep him. But he's asleep now, and you can't disturb
+      the others.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You weren't afraid to disturb them with your damned lawyers!&rdquo; And there
+      was a roar of approval&mdash;so loud that Cartwright's denial could hardly
+      be heard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There have been no lawyers near him, I tell you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's a lie!&rdquo; shouted Wauchope. &ldquo;They been in there all day, and you know
+      it. We mean to have them out.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Go on, Tim!&rdquo; cried Andy, the Greek boy, pushing his way to the front. &ldquo;Go
+      on!&rdquo; cried the others; and thus encouraged, Rafferty started up the steps.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I mean to see my father!&rdquo; As Cartwright caught him by the shoulder, he
+      yelled, &ldquo;Let me go, I say!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      It was evident that the superintendent was trying his best not to use
+      violence; he was ordering his own followers back at the same time that he
+      was holding the boy. But Tim's blood was up; he shoved forward, and the
+      superintendent, either striking him or trying to ward off a blow, threw
+      him backwards down the steps. There was an uproar of rage from the throng;
+      they surged forward, and at the same time some of the men on the porch
+      drew revolvers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The meaning of that situation was plain enough. In a moment more the mob
+      would be up the steps, and there would be shooting. And if once that
+      happened, who could guess the end? Wrought up as the crowd was, it might
+      not stop till it had fired every company building, perhaps not until it
+      had murdered every company representative.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had resolved to keep in the back-ground, but he saw that to keep in
+      the back-ground at that moment would be an act of cowardice, almost a
+      crime. He sprang forward, his cry rising above the clamour. &ldquo;Stop, men!
+      Stop!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was probably no other man in North Valley who could have got himself
+      heeded at that moment. But Hal had their confidence, he had earned the
+      right to be heard. Had he not been to prison for them, had they not seen
+      him behind the bars? &ldquo;Joe Smith!&rdquo; The cry ran from one end of the excited
+      throng to the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal was fighting his way forward, shoving men to one side, imploring,
+      commanding silence. &ldquo;Tim Rafferty! Wait!&rdquo; And Tim, recognising the voice,
+      obeyed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Once clear of the press, Hal sprang upon the porch, where Cartwright did
+      not attempt to interfere with him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Men!&rdquo; he cried. &ldquo;Hold on a moment! This isn't what you want! You don't
+      want a fight!&rdquo; He paused for an instant; but he knew that no mere negative
+      would hold them at that moment. They must be told what they did want. Just
+      now he had learned the particular words that would carry, and he
+      proclaimed them at the top of his voice: &ldquo;What you want is a union! A <i>strike!</i>&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He was answered by a roar from the crowd, the loudest yet. Yes, that was
+      what they wanted! A strike! And they wanted Joe Smith to organise it, to
+      lead it. He had been their leader once, he had been thrown out of camp for
+      it. How he had got back they were not quite clear&mdash;but here he was,
+      and he was their darling. Hurrah for him! They would follow him to hell
+      and back!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And wasn't he the boy with the nerve! Standing there on the porch of the
+      hospital, right under the very noses of the bosses, making a union speech
+      to them, and the bosses never daring to touch him! The crowd, realising
+      this situation, went wild with delight. The English-speaking men shouted
+      assent to his words; and those who could not understand, shouted because
+      the others did.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They did not want fighting&mdash;of course not! Fighting would not help
+      them! What would help them was to get together, and stand a solid body of
+      free men. There would be a union committee, able to speak for all of them,
+      to say that no man would go to work any more until justice was secured!
+      They would have an end to the business of discharging men because they
+      asked for their rights, of blacklisting men and driving them out of the
+      district because they presumed to want what the laws of the state awarded
+      them!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 6.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      How long could a man expect to stand on the steps of a company building,
+      with a super and a pit-boss at his back, and organise a union of
+      mine-workers? Hal realised that he must move the crowd from that perilous
+      place.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You'll do what I say, now?&rdquo; he demanded; and when they agreed in chorus,
+      he added the warning: &ldquo;There'll be no fighting! And no drinking! If you
+      see any man drunk to-night, sit on him and hold him down!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They laughed and cheered. Yes, they would keep straight. Here was a job
+      for sober men, you bet!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And now,&rdquo; Hal continued, &ldquo;the people in the hospital. We'll have a
+      committee go in and see about them. No noise&mdash;we don't want to
+      disturb the sick men. We only want to make sure nobody else is disturbing
+      them. Some one will go in and stay with them. Does that suit you?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Yes, that suited them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;Keep quiet for a moment.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And he turned to the superintendent. &ldquo;Cartwright,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;we want a
+      committee to go in and stay with our people.&rdquo; Then, as the superintendent
+      started to expostulate, he added, in a low voice, &ldquo;Don't be a fool, man!
+      Don't you see I'm trying to save your life?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The superintendent knew how bad it would be for discipline to let Hal
+      carry his point with the crowd; but also he saw the immediate danger&mdash;and
+      he was not sure of the courage and shooting ability of book-keepers and
+      stenographers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Be quick, man!&rdquo; exclaimed Hal. &ldquo;I can't hold these people long. If you
+      don't want hell breaking loose, come to your senses.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said Cartwright, swallowing his dignity.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And Hal turned to the men and announced the concession. There was a shout
+      of triumph.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, who's to go?&rdquo; said Hal, when he could be heard again; and he looked
+      about at the upturned faces. There Were Tim and Wauchope, the most obvious
+      ones; but Hal decided to keep them under his eye. He thought of Jerry
+      Minetti and of Mrs. David&mdash;but remembered his agreement with &ldquo;Big
+      Jack,&rdquo; to keep their own little group in the back-ground. Then he thought
+      of Mary Burke; she had already done herself all the harm she could do, and
+      she was a person the crowd would trust. He called her, and called Mrs.
+      Ferris, an American woman in the crowd. The two came up the steps, and Hal
+      turned to Cartwright.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, let's have an understanding,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;These people are going in to
+      stay with the sick men, and to talk to them if they want to, and nobody's
+      going to give them any orders but the doctors and nurses. Is that right?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said the superintendent, sullenly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good!&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;And for God's sake have a little sense and stand by
+      your word; this crowd has had all it can endure, and if you do any more to
+      provoke it, the consequences will be on you. And while you're about it,
+      see that the saloons are closed and kept closed until this trouble is
+      settled. And keep your people out of the way&mdash;don't let them go about
+      showing their guns and making faces.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Without waiting to hear the superintendent's reply, Hal turned to the
+      throng, and held up his hand for silence. &ldquo;Men,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;we have a big
+      job to do&mdash;we're going to organise a union. And we can't do it here
+      in front of the hospital. We've made too much noise already. Let's go off
+      quietly, and have our meeting on the dump in back of the power-house. Does
+      that suit you?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They answered that it suited them; and Hal, having seen the two women
+      passed safely into the hospital, sprang down from the porch to lead the
+      way. Jerry Minetti came to his side, trembling with delight; and Hal
+      clutched him by the arm and whispered, excitedly, &ldquo;Sing, Jerry! Sing them
+      some Dago song!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 7.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      They got to the place appointed without any fighting. And meantime Hal had
+      worked out in his mind a plan for communicating with this polyglot horde.
+      He knew that half the men could not understand a word of English, and that
+      half the remainder understood very little. Obviously, if he was to make
+      matters clear to them, they must be sorted out according to nationality,
+      and a reliable interpreter found for each group.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The process of sorting proved a slow one, involving no end of shouting and
+      good-natured jostling&mdash;Polish here, Bohemian here, Greek here,
+      Italian here! When this job had been done, and a man found from each
+      nationality who understood enough English to translate to his fellows, Hal
+      started in to make a speech. But before he had spoken many sentences,
+      pandemonium broke loose. All the interpreters started interpreting at the
+      same time&mdash;and at the top of their lungs; it was like a parade with
+      the bands close together! Hal was struck dumb; then he began to laugh, and
+      the various audiences began to laugh; the orators stopped, perplexed&mdash;then
+      they too began to laugh. So wave after wave of merriment rolled over the
+      throng; the mood of the assembly was changed all at once, from rage and
+      determination to the wildest hilarity. Hal learned his first lesson in the
+      handling of these hordes of child-like people, whose moods were quick,
+      whose tempers were balanced upon a fine point.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was necessary for him to make his speech through to the end, and then
+      move the various audiences apart, to be addressed by the various
+      interpreters. But then arose a new difficulty. How could any one control
+      these floods of eloquence? How be sure that the message was not being
+      distorted? Hal had been warned by Olson of company detectives who posed as
+      workers, gaining the confidence of men in order to incite them to
+      violence. And certainly some of these interpreters were violent-looking,
+      and one's remarks sounded strange in their translations!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was the Greek orator, for example; a wild man, with wild hair and
+      eyes, who tore all his passions to tatters. He stood upon a barrel-head,
+      with the light of two pit-lamps upon him, and some two score of his
+      compatriots at his feet; he waved his arms, he shook his fists, he
+      shrieked, he bellowed. But when Hal, becoming uneasy, went over and asked
+      another English-speaking Greek what the orator was saying, the answer was
+      that he was promising that the law should be enforced in North Valley!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal stood watching this perfervid little man, a study in the possibilities
+      of gesture. He drew back his shoulders and puffed out his chest, almost
+      throwing himself backwards off the barrel-head; he was saying that the
+      miners would be able to live like men. He crouched down and bowed his
+      head, moaning; he was telling them what would happen if they gave up. He
+      fastened his fingers in his long black hair and began tugging desperately;
+      he pulled, and then stretched out his empty hands; he pulled again, so
+      hard that it almost made one cry out with pain to watch him. Hal asked
+      what that was for; and the answer was, &ldquo;He say, 'Stand by union! Pull one
+      hair, he come out; pull all hairs, no come out'!&rdquo; It carried one back to
+      the days of Aesop and his fables!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Tom Olson had told Hal something about the technique of an organiser, who
+      wished to drill these ignorant hordes. He had to repeat and repeat, until
+      the dullest in his audience had grasped his meaning, had got into his head
+      the all-saving idea of solidarity. When the various orators had talked
+      themselves out, and the audiences had come back to the cinder-heap, Hal
+      made his speech all over again, in words of one syllable, in the kind of
+      pidgin-English which does duty in the camps. Sometimes he would stop to
+      reinforce it with Greek or Italian or Slavish words he had picked up. Or
+      perhaps his eloquence would inflame some one of the interpreters afresh,
+      and he would wait while the man shouted a few sentences to his
+      compatriots. It was not necessary to consider the possibility of boring
+      any one, for these were patient and long-suffering men, and now
+      desperately in earnest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They were going to have a union; they were going to do the thing in
+      regular form, with membership cards and officials chosen by ballot. So Hal
+      explained to them, step by step. There was no use organising unless they
+      meant to stay organised. They would choose leaders, one from each of the
+      principal language groups; and these leaders would meet and draw up a set
+      of demands, which would be submitted in mass-meeting, and ratified, and
+      then presented to the bosses with the announcement that until these terms
+      were granted, not a single North Valley worker would go back into the
+      pits.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Jerry Minetti, who knew all about unions, advised Hal to enroll the men at
+      once; he counted on the psychological effect of having each man come
+      forward and give in his name. But here at once they met a difficulty
+      encountered by all would-be organisers&mdash;lack of funds. There must be
+      pencils and paper for the enrollment; and Hal had emptied his pockets for
+      Jack David! He was forced to borrow a quarter, and send a messenger off to
+      the store. It was voted by the delegates that each member as he joined the
+      union should be assessed a dime. There would have to be some telegraphing
+      and telephoning if they were going to get help from the outside world.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A temporary committee was named, consisting of Tim Rafferty, Wauchope and
+      Hal, to keep the lists and the funds, and to run things until another
+      meeting could be held on the morrow; also a body-guard of a dozen of the
+      sturdiest and most reliable men were named to stay by the committee. The
+      messenger came back with pads and pencils, and sitting on the ground by
+      the light of pit-lamps, the interpreters wrote down the names of the men
+      who wished to join the union, each man in turn pledging his word for
+      solidarity and discipline. Then the meeting was declared adjourned till
+      daylight of the morrow, and the workers scattered to their homes to sleep,
+      with a joy and sense of power such as few of them had ever known in their
+      lives before.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 8.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      The committee and its body-guard repaired to the dining-room of
+      Reminitsky's, where they stretched themselves out on the floor; no one
+      attempted to interfere with them, and while the majority snored
+      peacefully, Hal and a small group sat writing out the list of demands
+      which were to be submitted to the bosses in the morning. It was arranged
+      that Jerry should go down to Pedro by the early morning train, to get into
+      touch with Jack David and the union officials, and report to them the
+      latest developments. Because the officials were sure to have detectives
+      following them, Hal warned Jerry to go to MacKellar's house, and have
+      MacKellar bring &ldquo;Big Jack&rdquo; to meet him there. Also Jerry must have
+      MacKellar get the <i>Gazette</i> on the long distance phone, and tell
+      Billy Keating about the strike.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A hundred things like this Hal had to think of; his head was a-buzz with
+      them, so that when he lay down to sleep he could not. He thought about the
+      bosses, and what they might be doing. The bosses would not be sleeping, he
+      felt sure!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And then came thoughts about his private-car friends; about the
+      strangeness of this plight into which he had got himself! He laughed aloud
+      in a kind of desperation as he recalled Percy's efforts to get him away
+      from here. And poor Jessie! What could he say to her now?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The bosses made no move that night; and when morning came, the strikers
+      hurried to the meeting-place, some of them without even stopping for
+      breakfast. They came tousled and unkempt, looking anxiously at their
+      fellows, as if unable to credit the memory of the bold thing they had done
+      on the night before. But finding the committee and its body-guard on hand
+      and ready for business, their courage revived, they felt again the
+      wonderful sentiment of solidarity which had made men of them. Pretty soon
+      speech-making began, and cheering and singing, which brought out the
+      laggards and the cowards. So in a short while the movement was in full
+      swing, with practically every man, woman and child among the workers
+      present.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Mary Burke came from the hospital, where she had spent the night. She
+      looked weary and bedraggled, but her spirit of battle had not slumped. She
+      reported that she had talked with some of the injured men, and that many
+      of them had signed &ldquo;releases,&rdquo; whereby the company protected itself
+      against even the threat of a lawsuit. Others had refused to sign, and Mary
+      had been vehement in warning them to stand out. Two other women
+      volunteered to go to the hospital, in order that she might have a chance
+      to rest; but Mary did not wish to rest, she did not feel as if she could
+      ever rest again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The members of the newly-organised union proceeded to elect officers. They
+      sought to make Hal president, but he was shy of binding himself in that
+      irrevocable way, and succeeded in putting the honour off on Wauchope. Tim
+      Rafferty was made treasurer and secretary. Then a committee was chosen to
+      go to Cartwright with the demands of the men. It included Hal, Wauchope,
+      and Tim; an Italian named Marcelli, whom Jerry had vouched for; a
+      representative of the Slavs and one of the Greeks&mdash;Rusick and
+      Zammakis, both of them solid and faithful men. Finally, with a good deal
+      of laughter and cheering, the meeting voted to add Mary Burke to this
+      committee. It was a new thing to have a woman in such a role, but Mary was
+      the daughter of a miner and the sister of a breaker-boy, and had as good a
+      right to speak as any one in North Valley.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 9.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal read the document which had been prepared the night before. They
+      demanded the right to have a union without being discharged for it. They
+      demanded a check-weighman, to be elected by the men themselves. They
+      demanded that the mines should be sprinkled to prevent explosions, and
+      properly timbered to prevent falls. They demanded the right to trade at
+      any store they pleased. Hal called attention to the fact that every one of
+      these demands was for a right guaranteed by the laws of the state; this
+      was a significant fact, and he urged the men not to include other demands.
+      After some argument they voted down the proposition of the radicals, who
+      wanted a ten per cent. increase in wages. Also they voted down the
+      proposition of a syndicalist-anarchist, who explained to them in a jumble
+      of English and Italian that the mines belonged to them, and that they
+      should refuse all compromise and turn the bosses out forthwith.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      While this speech was being delivered, young Rovetta pushed his way
+      through the crowd and drew Hal to one side. He had been down by the
+      railroad-station and seen the morning train come in. From it had descended
+      a crowd of thirty or forty men, of that &ldquo;hard citizen&rdquo; type which every
+      miner in the district could recognise at the first glance. Evidently the
+      company officials had been keeping the telephone-wires busy that night;
+      they were bringing in, not merely this train-load of guards, but
+      automobile loads from other camps&mdash;from the Northeastern down the
+      canyon, and from Barela, in a side canyon over the mountain.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal told this news to the meeting, which received it with howls of rage.
+      So that was the bosses' plan! Hot-heads sprang upon the cinder-heap, half
+      a dozen of them trying to make speeches at once. The leaders had to
+      suppress these too impetuous ones by main force; once more Hal gave the
+      warning of &ldquo;No fighting!&rdquo; They were going to have faith in their union;
+      they were going to present a solid front to the company, and the company
+      would learn the lesson that intimidation would not win a strike.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So it was agreed, and the committee set out for the company's office,
+      Wauchope carrying in his hand the written demands of the meeting. Behind
+      the committee marched the crowd in a solid mass; they packed the street in
+      front of the office, while the heroic seven went up the steps and passed
+      into the building. Wauchope made inquiry for Mr. Cartwright, and a clerk
+      took in the message.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They stood waiting; and meanwhile, one of the office-people, coming in
+      from the street, beckoned to Hal. He had an envelope in his hand, and gave
+      it over without a word. It was addressed, &ldquo;Joe Smith,&rdquo; and Hal opened it,
+      and found within a small visiting card, at which he stared. &ldquo;Edward S.
+      Warner, Jr.&rdquo;!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For a moment Hal could hardly believe the evidence of his eyesight. Edward
+      in North Valley! Then, turning the card over, he read, in his brother's
+      familiar handwriting, &ldquo;I am at Cartwright's house. I must see you. The
+      matter concerns Dad. Come instantly.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Fear leaped into Hal's heart. What could such a message mean?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He turned quickly to the committee and explained. &ldquo;My father's an old man,
+      and had a stroke of apoplexy three years ago. I'm afraid he may be dead,
+      or very ill. I must go.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's a trick!&rdquo; cried Wauchope excitedly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, not possibly,&rdquo; answered Hal. &ldquo;I know my brother's handwriting. I must
+      see him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; declared the other, &ldquo;we'll wait. We'll not see Cartwright until
+      you get back.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal considered this. &ldquo;I don't think that's wise,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You can do
+      what you have to do just as well without me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But I wanted you to do the talking!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; replied Hal, &ldquo;that's your business, Wauchope. You are the president
+      of the union. You know what the men want, as well as I do; you know what
+      they complain of. And besides, there's not going to be any need of talking
+      with Cartwright. Either he's going to grant our demands or he isn't.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They discussed the matter back and forth. Mary Burke insisted that they
+      were pulling Hal away just at the critical moment! He laughed as he
+      answered. She was as good as any man when it came to an argument. If
+      Wauchope showed signs of weakening, let her speak up!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 10.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      So Hal hurried off, and climbed the street which led to the
+      superintendent's house, a concrete bungalow set upon a little elevation
+      overlooking the camp. He rang the bell, and the door opened, and in the
+      entrance stood his brother.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward Warner was eight years older than Hal; the perfect type of the
+      young American business man. His figure was erect and athletic, his
+      features were regular and strong, his voice, his manner, everything about
+      him spoke of quiet decision, of energy precisely directed. As a rule, he
+      was a model of what the tailor's art could do, but just now there was
+      something abnormal about his attire as well as his manner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal's anxiety had been increasing all the way up the street. &ldquo;What's the
+      matter with Dad?&rdquo; he cried.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Dad's all right,&rdquo; was the answer&mdash;&ldquo;that is, for the moment.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then what&mdash;?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Peter Harrigan's on his way back from the East. He's due in Western City
+      to-morrow. You can see that something will be the matter with Dad unless
+      you quit this business at once.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had a sudden reaction from his fear. &ldquo;So that's all!&rdquo; he exclaimed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His brother was gazing at the young miner, dressed in sooty blue overalls,
+      his face streaked with black, his wavy hair all mussed. &ldquo;You wired me you
+      were going to leave here, Hal!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So I was; but things happened that I couldn't foresee. There's a strike.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; but what's that got to do with it?&rdquo; Then, with exasperation in his
+      voice, &ldquo;For God's sake, Hal, how much farther do you expect to go?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal stood for a few moments, looking at his brother. Even in a tension as
+      he was, he could not help laughing. &ldquo;I know how all this must seem to you,
+      Edward. It's a long story; I hardly know how to begin.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, I suppose not,&rdquo; said Edward, drily.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And Hal laughed again. &ldquo;Well, we agree that far, at any rate. What I was
+      hoping was that we could talk it all over quietly, after the excitement
+      was past. When I explain to you about conditions in this place&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But Edward interrupted. &ldquo;Really, Hal, there's no use of such an argument.
+      I have nothing to do with conditions in Peter Harrigan's camps.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The smile left Hal's face. &ldquo;Would you have preferred to have me
+      investigate conditions in the Warner camps?&rdquo; Hal had tried to suppress his
+      irritation, but there was simply no way these two could get along. &ldquo;We've
+      had our arguments about these things, Edward, and you've always had the
+      best of me&mdash;you could tell me I was a child, it was presumptuous of
+      me to dispute your assertions. But now&mdash;well, I'm a child no longer,
+      and we'll have to meet on a new basis.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal's tone, more than his words, made an impression. Edward thought before
+      he spoke. &ldquo;Well, what's your new basis?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Just now I'm in the midst of a strike, and I can hardly stop to explain.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You don't think of Dad in all this madness?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think of Dad, and of you too, Edward; but this is hardly the time&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If ever in the world there was a time, this is it!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal groaned inwardly. &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;sit down. I'll try to give
+      you some idea how I got swept into this.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He began to tell about the conditions he had found in this stronghold of
+      the &ldquo;G. F. C.&rdquo; As usual, when he talked about it, he became absorbed in
+      its human aspects; a fervour came into his tone, he was carried on, as he
+      had been when he tried to argue with the officials in Pedro. But his
+      eloquence was interrupted, even as it had been then; he discovered that
+      his brother was in such a state of exasperation that he could not listen
+      to a consecutive argument.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was the old, old story; it had been thus as far back as Hal could
+      remember. It seemed one of the mysteries of nature, how she could have
+      brought two such different temperaments out of the same parentage. Edward
+      was practical and positive; he knew what he wanted in the world, and he
+      knew how to get it; he was never troubled with doubts, nor with
+      self-questioning, nor with any other superfluous emotions; he could not
+      understand people who allowed that sort of waste in their mental
+      processes. He could not understand people who got &ldquo;swept into things.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      In the beginning, he had had with Hal the prestige of the elder brother.
+      He was handsome as a young Greek god, he was strong and masterful; whether
+      he was flying over the ice with sure, strong strokes, or cutting the water
+      with his glistening shoulders, or bringing down a partridge with the
+      certainty and swiftness of a lightning stroke, Edward was the incarnation
+      of Success. When he said that one's ideas were &ldquo;rot,&rdquo; when he spoke with
+      contempt of &ldquo;mollycoddles&rdquo;&mdash;then indeed one suffered in soul, and had
+      to go back to Shelley and Ruskin to renew one's courage.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The questioning of life had begun very early with Hal; there seemed to be
+      something in his nature which forced him to go to the roots of things; and
+      much as he looked up to his wonderful brother, he had been made to realise
+      that there were sides of life to which this brother was blind. To begin
+      with, there were religious doubts; the distresses of mind which plague a
+      young man when first it dawns upon him that the faith he has been brought
+      up in is a higher kind of fairy-tale. Edward had never asked such
+      questions, apparently. He went to church, because it was the thing to do;
+      more especially because it was pleasing to the young lady he wished to
+      marry to have him put on stately clothes, and escort her to a beautiful
+      place of music and flowers and perfumes, where she would meet her friends,
+      also in stately clothes. How abnormal it seemed to Edward that a young man
+      should give up this pleasant custom, merely because he could not be sure
+      that Jonah had swallowed a whale!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But it was when Hal's doubts attacked his brother's week-day religion&mdash;the
+      religion of the profit-system&mdash;that the controversy between them had
+      become deadly. At first Hal had known nothing about practical affairs, and
+      it had been Edward's duty to answer his questions. The prosperity of the
+      country had been built up by strong men; and these men had enemies&mdash;evil-minded
+      persons, animated by jealousy and other base passions, seeking to tear
+      down the mighty structure. At first this devil-theory had satisfied the
+      boy; but later on, as he had come to read and observe, he had been plagued
+      by doubts. In the end, listening to his brother's conversation, and
+      reading the writings of so-called &ldquo;muck-rakers,&rdquo; the realisation was
+      forced upon him that there were two types of mind in the controversy&mdash;those
+      who thought of profits, and those who thought of human beings.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward was alarmed at the books Hal was reading; he was still more alarmed
+      when he saw the ideas Hal was bringing home from college. There must have
+      been some strange change in Harrigan in a few years; no one had dreamed of
+      such ideas when Edward was there! No one had written satiric songs about
+      the faculty, or the endowments of eminent philanthropists!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the meantime Edward Warner Senior had had a paralytic stroke, and
+      Edward Junior had taken charge of the company. Three years of this had
+      given him the point of view of a coal-operator, hard and set for a
+      life-time. The business of a coal-operator was to buy his labour cheap, to
+      turn out the maximum product in the shortest time, and to sell the product
+      at the market price to parties whose credit was satisfactory. If a concern
+      was doing that, it was a successful concern; for any one to mention that
+      it was making wrecks of the people who dug the coal, was to be guilty of
+      sentimentality and impertinence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward had heard with dismay his brother's announcement that he meant to
+      study industry by spending his vacation as a common labourer. However,
+      when he considered it, he was inclined to think that the idea might not be
+      such a bad one. Perhaps Hal would not find what he was looking for;
+      perhaps, working with his hands, he might get some of the nonsense knocked
+      out of his head!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But now the experiment had been made, and the revelation had burst upon
+      Edward that it had been a ghastly failure. Hal had not come to realise
+      that labour was turbulent and lazy and incompetent, needing a strong hand
+      to rule it; on the contrary, he had become one of these turbulent ones
+      himself! A champion of the lazy and incompetent, an agitator, a fomenter
+      of class-prejudice, an enemy of his own friends, and of his brother's
+      business associates!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Never had Hal seen Edward in such a state of excitement. There was
+      something really abnormal about him, Hal realised; it puzzled him vaguely
+      while he talked, but he did not understand it until his brother told how
+      he had come to be here. He had been attending a dinner-dance at the home
+      of a friend, and Percy Harrigan had got him on the telephone at half past
+      eleven o'clock at night. Percy had had a message from Cartwright, to the
+      effect that Hal was leading a riot in North Valley; Percy had painted the
+      situation in such lurid colours that Edward had made a dash and caught the
+      midnight train, wearing his evening clothes, and without so much as a
+      tooth-brush with him!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal could hardly keep from bursting out laughing. His brother, his
+      punctilious and dignified brother, alighting from a sleeping-car at seven
+      o'clock in the morning, wearing a dress suit and a silk hat! And here he
+      was, Edward Warner Junior, the fastidious, who never paid less than a
+      hundred and fifty dollars for a suit of clothes, clad in a &ldquo;hand-me-down&rdquo;
+       for which he had expended twelve dollars and forty-eight cents in a
+      &ldquo;Jew-store&rdquo; in a coal-town!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 11.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      But Edward would not stop for a single smile; his every faculty was
+      absorbed in the task he had before him, to get his brother out of this
+      predicament, so dangerous and so humiliating. Hal had come to a town owned
+      by Edward's business friends, and had proceeded to meddle in their
+      affairs, to stir up their labouring people and imperil their property.
+      That North Valley was the property of the General Fuel Company&mdash;not
+      merely the mines and the houses, but likewise the people who lived in them&mdash;Edward
+      seemed to have no doubt whatever; Hal got only exclamations of annoyance
+      when he suggested any other point of view. Would there have been any town
+      of North Valley, if it had not been for the capital and energy of the
+      General Fuel Company? If the people of North Valley did not like the
+      conditions which the General Fuel Company offered them, they had one
+      simple and obvious remedy&mdash;to go somewhere else to work. But they
+      stayed; they got out the General Fuel Company's coal, they took the
+      General Fuel Company's wages&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, they've stopped taking them now,&rdquo; put in Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All right, that was their affair, replied Edward. But let them stop
+      because they wanted to&mdash;not because outside agitators put them up to
+      it. At any rate, let the agitators not include a member of the Warner
+      family!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The elder brother pictured old Peter Harrigan on his way back from the
+      East; the state of unutterable fury in which he would arrive, the storm he
+      would raise in the business world of Western City. Why, it was
+      unimaginable, such a thing had never been heard of! &ldquo;And right when we're
+      opening up a new mine&mdash;when we need every dollar of credit we can
+      get!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Aren't we big enough to stand off Peter Harrigan?&rdquo; inquired Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We have plenty of other people to stand off,&rdquo; was the answer. &ldquo;We don't
+      have to go out of our way to make enemies.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward spoke, not merely as the elder brother, but also as the money-man
+      of the family. When the father had broken down from over-work, and had
+      been changed in one terrible hour from a driving man of affairs into a
+      childish and pathetic invalid, Hal had been glad enough that there was one
+      member of the family who was practical; he had been perfectly willing to
+      see his brother shoulder these burdens, while he went off to college, to
+      amuse himself with satiric songs. Hal had no responsibilities, no one
+      asked anything of him&mdash;except that he would not throw sticks into the
+      wheels of the machine his brother was running. &ldquo;You are living by the coal
+      industry! Every dollar you spend comes from it&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know it! I know it!&rdquo; cried Hal. &ldquo;That's the thing that torments me! The
+      fact that I'm living upon the bounty of such wage-slaves&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, cut it out!&rdquo; cried Edward. &ldquo;That's not what I mean!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know&mdash;but it's what <i>I</i> mean! From now on I mean to know
+      about the people who work for me, and what sort of treatment they get. I'm
+      no longer your kid-brother, to be put off with platitudes.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You know ours are union mines, Hal&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, but what does that mean? How do we work it? Do we give the men their
+      weights?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of course! They have their check-weighmen.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But then, how do we compete with the operators in this district, who pay
+      for a ton of three thousand pounds?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We manage it&mdash;by economy.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Economy? I don't see Peter Harrigan wasting anything here!&rdquo; Hal paused
+      for an answer, but none came. &ldquo;Do we buy the check-weighmen? Do we bribe
+      the labour leaders?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward coloured slightly. &ldquo;What's the use of being nasty, Hal? You know I
+      don't do dirty work.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't mean to be nasty, Edward; but you must know that many a
+      business-man can say he doesn't do dirty work, because he has others do it
+      for him. What about politics, for instance? Do we run a machine, and put
+      our clerks and bosses into the local offices?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward did not answer, and Hal persisted, &ldquo;I mean to know these things!
+      I'm not going to be blind any more!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right, Hal&mdash;you can know anything you want; but for God's sake,
+      not now! If you want to be taken for a man, show a man's common sense!
+      Here's Old Peter getting back to Western City to-morrow night! Don't you
+      know that he'll be after me, raging like a mad bull? Don't you know that
+      if I tell him I can do nothing&mdash;that I've been down here and tried to
+      pull you away&mdash;don't you know he'll go after Dad?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward had tried all the arguments, and this was the only one that
+      counted. &ldquo;You must keep him away from Dad!&rdquo; exclaimed Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You tell me that!&rdquo; retorted the other. &ldquo;And when you know Old Peter!
+      Don't you know he'll get at him, if he has to break down the door of the
+      house? He'll throw the burden of his rage on that poor old man! You've
+      been warned about it clearly; you know it may be a matter of life and
+      death to keep Dad from getting excited. I don't know what he'd do; maybe
+      he'd fly into a rage with you, maybe he'd defend you. He's old and weak,
+      he's lost his grip on things. Anyhow, he'd not let Peter abuse you&mdash;and
+      like as not he'd drop dead in the midst of the dispute! Do you want to
+      have that on your conscience, along with the troubles of your workingmen
+      friends?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 12.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal sat staring in front of him, silent. Was it a fact that every man had
+      something in his life which palsied his arm, and struck him helpless in
+      the battle for social justice?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When he spoke again, it was in a low voice. &ldquo;Edward, I'm thinking about a
+      young Irish boy who works in these mines. He, too, has a father; and this
+      father was caught in the explosion. He's an old man, with a wife and seven
+      other children. He's a good man, the boy's a good boy. Let me tell you
+      what Peter Harrigan has done to them!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Edward, &ldquo;whatever it is, it's all right, you can help them.
+      They won't need to starve.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;but there are so many others; I can't help them all.
+      And besides, can't you see, Edward&mdash;what I'm thinking about is not
+      charity, but <i>justice</i>. I'm sure this boy, Tim Rafferty, loves his
+      father just exactly as much as I love my father; and there are other old
+      men here, with sons who love them&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, Hal, for Christ's sake!&rdquo; exclaimed Edward, in a sort of explosion. He
+      had no other words to express his impatience. &ldquo;Do you expect to take all
+      the troubles in the world on your shoulders?&rdquo; And he sprang up and caught
+      the other by the arm. &ldquo;Boy, you've got to come away from here!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal got up, without answering. He seemed irresolute, and his brother
+      started to draw him towards the door. &ldquo;I've got a car here. We can get a
+      train in an hour&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal saw that he had to speak firmly. &ldquo;No, Edward,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I can't come
+      just yet.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I tell you you <i>must</i> come!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can't. I made these men a promise!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In God's name&mdash;what are these men to you? Compared with your own
+      father!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can't explain it, Edward. I've talked for half an hour, and I don't
+      think you've even heard me. Suffice it to say that I see these people
+      caught in a trap&mdash;and one that my whole life has helped to make. I
+      can't leave them in it. What's more, I don't believe Dad would want me to
+      do it, if he understood.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other made a last effort at self-control. &ldquo;I'm not going to call you a
+      sentimental fool. Only, let me ask you one plain question. What do you
+      think you can <i>do</i> for these people?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think I can help to win decent conditions for them.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good God!&rdquo; cried Edward; he sighed, in his agony of exasperation. &ldquo;In
+      Peter Harrigan's mines! Don't you realise that he'll pick them up and
+      throw them out of here, neck and crop&mdash;the whole crew, every man in
+      the town, if necessary?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Perhaps,&rdquo; answered Hal; &ldquo;but if the men in the other mines should join
+      them&mdash;if the big union outside should stand by them&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You're dreaming, Hal! You're talking like a child! I talked to the
+      superintendent here; he had telegraphed the situation to Old Peter, and
+      had just got an answer. Already he's acted, no doubt.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Acted?&rdquo; echoed Hal. &ldquo;How do you mean?&rdquo; He was staring at his brother in
+      sudden anxiety.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They were going to turn the agitators out, of course.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;<i>What?</i> And while I'm here talking!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal turned toward the door. &ldquo;You knew it all the time!&rdquo; he exclaimed. &ldquo;You
+      kept me here deliberately!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He was starting away, but Edward sprang and caught him. &ldquo;What could you
+      have done?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Turn me loose!&rdquo; cried Hal, angrily.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don't be a fool, Hal! I've been trying to keep you out of the trouble.
+      There may be fighting.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward threw himself between Hal and the door, and there was a sharp
+      struggle. But the elder man was no longer the athlete, the young bronzed
+      god; he had been sitting at a desk in an office, while Hal had been doing
+      hard labour. Hal threw him to one side, and in a moment more had sprung
+      out of the door, and was running down the slope.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 13.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Coming to the main street of the village, Hal saw the crowd in front of
+      the office. One glance told him that something had happened. Men were
+      running this way and that, gesticulating, shouting. Some were coming in
+      his direction, and when they saw him they began to yell to him. The first
+      to reach him was Klowoski, the little Pole, breathless; gasping with
+      excitement. &ldquo;They fire our committee!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Fire them?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Fire 'em out! Down canyon!&rdquo; The little man was waving his arms in wild
+      gestures; his eyes seemed about to start out of his head. &ldquo;Take 'em off!
+      Whole bunch fellers&mdash;gunmen! People see them&mdash;come out back
+      door. Got ever'body's arm tied. Gunmen fellers hold 'em, don't let 'em
+      holler, can't do nothin'! Got them cars waitin'&mdash;what you call?&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Automobiles?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure, got three! Put ever'body in, quick like that&mdash;they go down
+      road like wind! Go down canyon, all gone! They bust our strike!&rdquo; And the
+      little Pole's voice ended in a howl of despair.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, they won't bust our strike!&rdquo; exclaimed Hal. &ldquo;Not yet!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Suddenly he was reminded of the fact that his brother had followed him&mdash;puffing
+      hard, for the run had been strenuous. He caught Hal by the arm,
+      exclaiming, &ldquo;Keep out of this, I tell you!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Thus while Hal was questioning Klowoski, he was struggling
+      half-unconsciously, to free himself from his brother's grasp. Suddenly the
+      matter was forced to an issue, for the little Polack emitted a cry like an
+      angry cat, and went at Edward with fingers outstretched like claws. Hal's
+      dignified brother would have had to part with his dignity, if Hal had not
+      caught Klowoski's onrush with his other arm. &ldquo;Let him alone!&rdquo; he said.
+      &ldquo;It's my brother!&rdquo; Whereupon the little man fell back and stood watching
+      in bewilderment.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal saw Androkulos running to him. The Greek boy had been in the street
+      back of the office, and had seen the committee carried off; nine people
+      had been taken&mdash;Wauchope, Tim Rafferty, and Mary Burke, Marcelli,
+      Zammakis and Rusick, and three others who had served as interpreters on
+      the night before. It had all been done so quickly that the crowd had
+      scarcely realised what was happening.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now, having grasped the meaning of it, the men were beside themselves with
+      rage. They shook their fists, shouting defiance to a group of officials
+      and guards who were visible upon the porch of the office-building. There
+      was a clamour of shouts for revenge.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal could see instantly the dangers of the situation; he was like a man
+      watching the burning fuse of a bomb. Now, if ever, this polyglot horde
+      must have leadership&mdash;wise and cool and resourceful leadership.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The crowd, discovering his presence, surged down upon him like a wave.
+      They gathered round him, howling. They had lost the rest of their
+      committee, but they still had Joe Smith. Joe Smith! Hurrah for Joe! Let
+      the gunmen take him, if they could! They waved their caps, they tried to
+      lift him upon their shoulders, so that all could see him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was clamour for a speech, and Hal started to make his way to the
+      steps of the nearest building, with Edward holding on to his coat. Edward
+      was jostled; he had to part with his dignity&mdash;but he did not part
+      with his brother. And when Hal was about to mount the steps, Edward made a
+      last desperate effort, shouting into his ear, &ldquo;Wait a minute! Wait! Are
+      you going to try to talk to this mob?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of course. Don't you see there'll be trouble if I don't?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You'll get yourself killed! You'll start a fight, and get a lot of these
+      poor devils shot! Use your common sense, Hal; the company has brought in
+      guards, and they are armed, and your people aren't.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's exactly why I have to speak!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The discussion was carried on under difficulties, the elder brother
+      clinging to the younger's arm, while the younger sought to pull free, and
+      the mob shouted with a single voice, &ldquo;Speech! Speech!&rdquo; There were some
+      near by who, like Klowoski, did not relish having this stranger
+      interfering with their champion, and showed signs of a disposition to &ldquo;mix
+      in&rdquo;; so at last Edward gave up the struggle, and the orator mounted the
+      steps and faced the throng.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 14.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal raised his arms as a signal for silence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Boys,&rdquo; he cried, &ldquo;they've kidnapped our committee. They think they'll
+      break our strike that way&mdash;but they'll find they've made a mistake!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They will! Right you are!&rdquo; roared a score of voices.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They forget that we've got a union. Hurrah for our North Valley union!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hurrah! Hurrah!&rdquo; The cry echoed to the canyon-walls.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And hurrah for the big union that will back us&mdash;the United
+      Mine-Workers of America!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Again the yell rang out; again and again. &ldquo;Hurrah for the union! Hurrah
+      for the United Mine-Workers!&rdquo; A big American miner, Ferris, was in the
+      front of the throng, and his voice beat in Hal's ears like a steam-siren.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Boys,&rdquo; Hal resumed, when at last he could be heard, &ldquo;use your brains a
+      moment. I warned you they would try to provoke you! They would like
+      nothing better than to start a scrap here, and get a chance to smash our
+      union! Don't forget that, boys, if they can make you fight, they'll smash
+      the union, and the union is our only hope!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Again came the cry: &ldquo;Hurrah for the union!&rdquo; Hal let them shout it in
+      twenty languages, until they were satisfied.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, boys,&rdquo; he went on, at last, &ldquo;they've shipped out our committee. They
+      may ship me out in the same way&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, they won't!&rdquo; shouted voices in the crowd. And there was a bellow of
+      rage from Ferris. &ldquo;Let them try it! We'll burn them in their beds!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But they <i>can</i> ship me out!&rdquo; argued Hal. &ldquo;You <i>know</i> they can
+      beat us at that game! They can call on the sheriff, they can get the
+      soldiers, if necessary! We can't oppose them by force&mdash;they can turn
+      out every man, woman and child in the village, if they choose. What we
+      have to get clear is that even that won't crush our union! Nor the big
+      union outside, that will be backing us! We can hold out, and make them
+      take us back in the end!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Some of Hal's friends, seeing what he was trying to do, came to his
+      support. &ldquo;No fighting! No violence! Stand by the union!&rdquo; And he went on to
+      drive the lesson home; even though the company might evict them, the big
+      union of the four hundred and fifty thousand mine-workers of the country
+      would feed them, it would call out the rest of the workers in the district
+      in sympathy. So the bosses, who thought to starve and cow them into
+      submission, would find their mines lying permanently idle. They would be
+      forced to give way, and the tactics of solidarity would triumph.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So Hal went on, recalling the things Olson had told him, and putting them
+      into practice. He saw hope in their faces again, dispelling the mood of
+      resentment and rage.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, boys,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;I'm going in to see the superintendent for you.
+      I'll be your committee, since they've shipped out the rest.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The steam-siren of Ferris bellowed again: &ldquo;You're the boy! Joe Smith!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right, men&mdash;now mind what I say! I'll see the super, and then
+      I'll go down to Pedro, where there'll be some officers of the United
+      Mine-workers this morning. I'll tell them the situation, and ask them to
+      back you. That's what you want, is it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      That was what they wanted. &ldquo;Big union!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right. I'll do the best I can for you, and I'll find some way to get
+      word to you. And meantime you stand firm. The bosses will tell you lies,
+      they'll try to deceive you, they'll send spies and trouble-makers among
+      you&mdash;but you hold fast, and wait for the big union.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal stood looking at the cheering crowd. He had time to note some of the
+      faces upturned to him. Pitiful, toil-worn faces they were, each making its
+      separate appeal, telling its individual story of deprivation and defeat.
+      Once more they were transfigured, shining with that wonderful new light
+      which he had seen for the first time the previous evening. It had been
+      crushed for a moment, but it flamed up again; it would never die in the
+      hearts of men&mdash;once they had learned the power it gave. Nothing Hal
+      had yet seen moved him so much as this new birth of enthusiasm. A
+      beautiful, a terrible thing it was!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal looked at his brother, to see how he had been moved. What he saw on
+      his brother's face was satisfaction, boundless relief. The matter had
+      turned out all right! Hal was coming away!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal turned again to the men; somehow, after his glance at Edward, they
+      seemed more pitiful than ever. For Edward typified the power they were
+      facing&mdash;the unseeing, uncomprehending power that meant to crush them.
+      The possibility of failure was revealed to Hal in a flash of emotion,
+      overwhelming him. He saw them as they would be, when no leader was at hand
+      to make speeches to them. He saw them waiting, their life-long habit of
+      obedience striving to reassert itself; a thousand fears besetting them, a
+      thousand rumours preying upon them&mdash;wild beasts set on them by their
+      cunning enemies. They would suffer, not merely for themselves, but for
+      their wives and children&mdash;the very same pangs of dread that Hal
+      suffered when he thought of one old man up in Western City, whose doctors
+      had warned him to avoid excitement.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      If they stood firm, if they kept their bargain with their leader, they
+      would be evicted from their homes, they would face the cold of the coming
+      winter, they would face hunger and the black-list. And he, meantime&mdash;what
+      would he be doing? What was his part of the bargain? He would interview
+      the superintendent for them, he would turn them over to the &ldquo;big union&rdquo;&mdash;and
+      then he would go off to his own life of ease and pleasure. To eat grilled
+      steaks and hot rolls in a perfectly appointed club, with suave and
+      softly-moving servitors at his beck! To dance at the country club with
+      exquisite creatures of chiffon and satin, of perfume and sweet smiles and
+      careless, happy charms! No, it was too easy! He might call that his duty
+      to his father and brother, but he would know in his heart that it was
+      treason to life; it was the devil, taking him onto a high mountain and
+      showing him all the kingdoms of the earth!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Moved by a sudden impulse, Hal raised his hands once more. &ldquo;Boys,&rdquo; he
+      said, &ldquo;we understand each other now. You'll not go back to work till the
+      big union tells you. And I, for my part, will stand by you. Your cause is
+      my cause, I'll go on fighting for you till you have your rights, till you
+      can live and work as men! Is that right?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's right! That's right!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very good, then&mdash;we'll swear to it!&rdquo; And Hal raised his hands, and
+      the men raised theirs, and amid a storm of shouts, and a frantic waving of
+      caps, he made them the pledge which he knew would bind his own conscience.
+      He made it deliberately, there in his brother's presence. This was no mere
+      charge on a trench, it was enlisting for a war! But even in that moment of
+      fervour, Hal would have been frightened had he realised the period of that
+      enlistment, the years of weary and desperate conflict to which he was
+      pledging his life.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 15.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal descended from his rostrum, and the crowds made way for him, and with
+      his brother at his side he went down the street to the office building,
+      upon the porch of which the guards were standing. His progress was a
+      triumphal one; rough voices shouted words of encouragement in his ears,
+      men jostled and fought to shake his hand or to pat him on the back; they
+      even patted Edward and tried to shake his hand, because he was with Hal,
+      and seemed to have his confidence. Afterwards Hal thought it over and was
+      merry. Such an adventure for Edward!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The younger man went up the steps of the building and spoke to the guards.
+      &ldquo;I want to see Mr. Cartwright.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He's inside,&rdquo; answered one, not cordially. With Edward following, Hal
+      entered, and was ushered into the private office of the superintendent.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Having been a working-man, and class-conscious, Hal was observant of the
+      manners of mine-superintendents; he noted that Cartwright bowed politely
+      to Edward, but did not include Edward's brother. &ldquo;Mr. Cartwright,&rdquo; he
+      said, &ldquo;I have come to you as a deputation from the workers of this camp.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The superintendent did not appear impressed by the announcement.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am instructed to say that the men demand the redress of four grievances
+      before they return to work. First&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Here Cartwright spoke, in his quick, sharp way. &ldquo;There's no use going on,
+      sir. This company will deal only with its men as individuals. It will
+      recognise no deputations.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal's answer was equally quick. &ldquo;Very well, Mr. Cartwright. In that case,
+      I come to you as an individual.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      For a moment the superintendent seemed nonplussed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I wish to ask four rights which are granted to me by the laws of this
+      state. First, the right to belong to a union, without being discharged for
+      it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other had recovered his manner of quiet mastery. &ldquo;You have that right,
+      sir; you have always had it. You know perfectly well that the company has
+      never discharged any one for belonging to a union.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The man was looking at Hal, and there was a duel of the eyes between them.
+      A cold anger moved Hal. His ability to endure this sort of thing was at an
+      end. &ldquo;Mr. Cartwright,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;you are the servant of one of the world's
+      greatest actors; and you support him ably.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other flushed and drew back; Edward put in quickly: &ldquo;Hal, there's
+      nothing to be gained by such talk!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He has all the world for an audience,&rdquo; persisted Hal. &ldquo;He plays the most
+      stupendous farce&mdash;and he and all his actors wearing such solemn
+      faces!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mr. Cartwright,&rdquo; said Edward, with dignity, &ldquo;I trust you understand that
+      I have done everything I can to restrain my brother.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of course, Mr. Warner,&rdquo; replied the superintendent. &ldquo;And you must know
+      that I, for my part, have done everything to show your brother
+      consideration.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Again!&rdquo; exclaimed Hal. &ldquo;This actor is a genius!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hal, if you have business with Mr. Cartwright&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He showed me consideration by sending his gunmen to seize me at night,
+      drag me out of a cabin, and nearly twist the arm off me! Such humour never
+      was!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Cartwright attempted to speak&mdash;but looking at Edward, not at Hal. &ldquo;At
+      that time&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He showed me consideration by having me locked up in jail and fed on
+      bread and water for two nights and a day! Can you beat that humour?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;At that time I did not know&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By forging my name to a letter and having it circulated in the camp!
+      Finally&mdash;most considerate of all&mdash;by telling a newspaper man
+      that I had seduced a girl here!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The superintendent flushed still redder. &ldquo;<i>No!</i>&rdquo; he declared.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;<i>What?</i>&rdquo; cried Hal. &ldquo;You didn't tell Billy Keating of the <i>Gazette</i>
+      that I had seduced a girl in North Valley? You didn't describe the girl to
+      him&mdash;a red-haired Irish girl?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I merely said, Mr. Warner, that I had heard certain rumours&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;<i>Certain</i> rumours, Mr. Cartwright? The certainty was all of your
+      making! You made a definite and explicit statement to Mr. Keating&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I did not!&rdquo; declared the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll soon prove it!&rdquo; And Hal started towards the telephone on
+      Cartwright's desk.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What are you going to do, Hal?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am going to get Billy Keating on the wire, and let you hear his
+      statement.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, rot, Hal!&rdquo; cried Edward. &ldquo;I don't care anything about Keating's
+      statement. You know that at that time Mr. Cartwright had no means of
+      knowing who you were.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Cartwright was quick to grasp this support. &ldquo;Of course not, Mr. Warner!
+      Your brother came here, pretending to be a working boy&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh!&rdquo; cried Hal. &ldquo;So that's it! You think it proper to circulate slanders
+      about working boys in your camp?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You have been here long enough to know what the morals of such boys are.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have been here long enough, Mr. Cartwright, to know that if you want to
+      go into the question of morals in North Valley, the place for you to begin
+      is with the bosses and guards you put in authority, and allow to prey upon
+      women.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward broke in: &ldquo;Hal, there's nothing to be gained by pursuing this
+      conversation. If you have any business here, get it over with, for God's
+      sake!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal made an effort to recover his self-possession. He came back to the
+      demands of the strike&mdash;but only to find that he had used up the
+      superintendent's self-possession. &ldquo;I have given you my answer,&rdquo; declared
+      Cartwright, &ldquo;I absolutely decline any further discussion.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;since you decline to permit a deputation of your men to
+      deal with you in plain, business-like fashion, I have to inform you as an
+      individual that every other individual in your camp refuses to work for
+      you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The superintendent did not let himself be impressed by this elaborate
+      sarcasm. &ldquo;All I have to tell you, sir, is that Number Two mine will resume
+      work in the morning, and that any one who refuses to work will be sent
+      down the canyon before night.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So quickly, Mr. Cartwright? They have rented their homes from the
+      company, and you know that according to the company's own lease they are
+      entitled to three days' notice before being evicted!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Cartwright was so unwise as to argue. He knew that Edward was hearing, and
+      he wished to clear himself. &ldquo;They will not be evicted by the company. They
+      will be dealt with by the town authorities.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of which you yourself are the head?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I happen to have been elected mayor of North Valley.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;As mayor of North Valley, you gave my brother to understand that you
+      would put me out, did you not?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I asked your brother to persuade you to leave.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But you made clear that if he could not do this, you would put me out?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, that is true.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And the reason you gave was that you had had instructions by telegraph
+      from Mr. Peter Harrigan. May I ask to what office Mr. Harrigan has been
+      elected in your town?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Cartwright saw his difficulty. &ldquo;Your brother misunderstood me,&rdquo; he said,
+      crossly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did you misunderstand him, Edward?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward had walked to the window in disgust; he was looking at tomato-cans
+      and cinder-heaps, and did not see fit to turn around. But the
+      superintendent knew that he was hearing, and considered it necessary to
+      cover the flaw in his argument. &ldquo;Young man,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;you have violated
+      several of the ordinances of this town.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is there an ordinance against organising a union of the miners?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; but there is one against speaking on the streets.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who passed that ordinance, if I may ask?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The town council.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Consisting of Johnson, postmaster and company-store clerk; Ellison,
+      company book-keeper; Strauss, company pit-boss; O'Callahan, company
+      saloon-keeper. Have I the list correct?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Cartwright did not answer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And the fifth member of the town council is yourself, ex-officio&mdash;Mr.
+      Enos Cartwright, mayor and company-superintendent.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Again there was no answer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You have an ordinance against street-speaking; and at the same time your
+      company owns the saloon-buildings, the boarding-houses, the church and the
+      school. Where do you expect the citizens to do their speaking?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You would make a good lawyer, young man. But we who have charge here know
+      perfectly well what you mean by 'speaking'!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You don't approve, then, of the citizens holding meetings?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I mean that we don't consider it necessary to provide agitators with
+      opportunity to incite our employés.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;May I ask, Mr. Cartwright, are you speaking as mayor of an American
+      community, or as superintendent of a coal-mine?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Cartwright's face had been growing continually redder. Addressing Edward's
+      back, he said, &ldquo;I don't see any reason why this should continue.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And Edward was of the same opinion. He turned. &ldquo;Really, Hal&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But, Edward! A man accuses your brother of being a law-breaker! Have you
+      hitherto known of any criminal tendencies in our family?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward turned to the window again and resumed his study of the
+      cinder-heaps and tomato-cans. It was a vulgar and stupid quarrel, but he
+      had seen enough of Hal's mood to realise that he would go on and on, so
+      long as any one was indiscreet enough to answer him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You say, Mr. Cartwright, that I have violated the ordinance against
+      speaking on the street. May I ask what penalty this ordinance carries?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You will find out when the penalty is exacted of you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal laughed. &ldquo;From what you said just now, I gather that the penalty is
+      expulsion from the town! If I understand legal procedure, I should have
+      been brought before the justice of the peace&mdash;who happens to be
+      another company store-clerk. Instead of that, I am sentenced by the mayor&mdash;or
+      is it the company superintendent? May I ask how that comes to be?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is because of my consideration&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;When did I ask consideration?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Consideration for your brother, I mean.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh! Then your ordinance provides that the mayor&mdash;or is it the
+      superintendent?&mdash;may show consideration for the brother of a
+      law-breaker, by changing his penalty to expulsion from the town. Was it
+      consideration for Tommie Burke that caused you to have his sister sent
+      down the canyon?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Cartwright clenched his hands. &ldquo;I've had all I'll stand of this!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He was again addressing Edward's back; and Edward turned and answered, &ldquo;I
+      don't blame you, sir.&rdquo; Then to Hal, &ldquo;I really think you've said enough!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I hope I've said enough,&rdquo; replied Hal&mdash;&ldquo;to convince you that the
+      pretence of American law in this coal-camp is a silly farce, an insult and
+      a humiliation to any man who respects the institutions of his country.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You, Mr. Warner,&rdquo; said the superintendent, to Edward, &ldquo;have had
+      experience in managing coal-mines. You know what it means to deal with
+      ignorant foreigners, who have no understanding of American law&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal burst out laughing. &ldquo;So you're teaching them American law! You're
+      teaching them by setting at naught every law of your town and state, every
+      constitutional guarantee&mdash;and substituting the instructions you get
+      by telegraph from Peter Harrigan!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Cartwright turned and walked to the door. &ldquo;Young man,&rdquo; said he, over his
+      shoulder, &ldquo;it will be necessary for you to leave North Valley this
+      morning. I only hope your brother will be able to persuade you to leave
+      without trouble.&rdquo; And the bang of the door behind him was the
+      superintendent's only farewell.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 17.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Edward turned upon his brother. &ldquo;Now what the devil did you want to put me
+      through a scene like that for? So undignified! So utterly uncalled for! A
+      quarrel with a man so far beneath you!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal stood where the superintendent had left him. He was looking at his
+      brother's angry face. &ldquo;Was that all you got out of it, Edward?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All that stuff about your private character! What do you care what a
+      fellow like Cartwright thinks about you?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I care nothing at all what he thinks, but I care about having him use
+      such a slander. That's one of their regular procedures, so Billy Keating
+      says.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward answered, coldly, &ldquo;Take my advice, and realise that when you deny a
+      scandal, you only give it circulation.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of course,&rdquo; answered Hal. &ldquo;That's what makes me so angry. Think of the
+      girl, the harm done to her!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's not up to you to worry about the girl.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Suppose that Cartwright had slandered some woman friend of yours. Would
+      you have felt the same indifference?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He'd not have slandered any friend of mine; I choose my friends more
+      carefully.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, of course. What that means is that you choose them among the rich.
+      But I happen to be more democratic in my tastes&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, for heaven's sake!&rdquo; cried Edward. &ldquo;You reformers are all alike&mdash;you
+      talk and talk and talk!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can tell you the reason for that, Edward&mdash;a man like you can shut
+      his eyes, but he can't shut his ears!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, can't you let up on me for awhile&mdash;long enough to get out of
+      this place? I feel as if I were sitting on the top of a volcano, and I've
+      no idea when it may break out again.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal began to laugh. &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; he said; &ldquo;I guess I haven't shown much
+      appreciation of your visit. I'll be more sociable now. My next business is
+      in Pedro, so I'll go that far with you. There's one thing more&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What is it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The company owes me money&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What money?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Some I've earned.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      It was Edward's turn to laugh. &ldquo;Enough to buy you a shave and a bath?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He took out his wallet, and pulled off several bills; and Hal, watching
+      him, realised suddenly a change which had taken place in his own
+      psychology. Not merely had he acquired the class-consciousness of the
+      working-man, he had acquired the money-consciousness as well. He was
+      actually concerned about the dollars the company owed him! He had earned
+      those dollars by back- and heart-breaking toil, lifting lumps of coal into
+      cars; the sum was enough to keep the whole Rafferty family alive for a
+      week or two. And here was Edward, with a smooth brown leather wallet full
+      of ten- and twenty-dollar bills, which he peeled off without counting,
+      exactly as if money grew on trees, or as if coal came out of the earth and
+      walked into furnaces to the sound of a fiddle and a flute!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward had of course no idea of these abnormal processes going on in his
+      brother's mind. He was holding out the bills. &ldquo;Get yourself some decent
+      things,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I hope you don't have to stay dirty in order to feel
+      democratic?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; answered Hal; and then, &ldquo;How are we going?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I've a car waiting, back of the office.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So you had everything ready!&rdquo; But Edward made no answer; afraid of
+      setting off the volcano again.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 18.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      They went out by the rear door of the office, entered the car, and sped
+      out of the village, unseen by the crowd. And all the way down the canyon
+      Edward pleaded with Hal to drop the controversy and come home at once. He
+      brought up the tragic question of Dad again; when that did not avail, he
+      began to threaten. Suppose Hal's money-resources were to be cut off,
+      suppose he were to find himself left out of his father's will&mdash;what
+      would he do then? Hal answered, without a smile, &ldquo;I can always get a job
+      as organiser for the United Mine-Workers.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So Edward gave up that line of attack. &ldquo;If you won't come,&rdquo; he declared,
+      &ldquo;I'm going to stay by you till you do!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said Hal. He could not help smiling at this dire threat. &ldquo;But
+      if I take you about and introduce you to my friends, you must agree that
+      what you hear shall be confidential.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other made a face of disgust. &ldquo;What the devil would I want to talk
+      about your friends for?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't know what might happen,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;You're going to meet Peter
+      Harrigan and take his side, and I can't tell what you might conceive it
+      your duty to do.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other exclaimed, with sudden passion, &ldquo;I'll tell you right now! If you
+      try to go back to that coal-camp, I swear to God I'll apply to the courts
+      and have you shut up in a sanitarium. I don't think I'd have much trouble
+      in persuading a judge that you're insane.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Hal, with a laugh&mdash;&ldquo;not a judge in this part of the
+      world!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Then, after studying his brother's face for a moment, it occurred to him
+      that it might be well not to let such an idea rest unimpeached in Edward's
+      mind. &ldquo;Wait,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;till you meet my friend Billy Keating, of the <i>Gazette</i>,
+      and hear what he would do with such a story! Billy is crazy to have me
+      turn him loose to 'play up' my fight with Old Peter!&rdquo; The conversation
+      went no farther&mdash;but Hal was sure that Edward would &ldquo;put that in his
+      pipe and smoke it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They came to the MacKellar home in Pedro, and Edward waited in the
+      automobile while Hal went inside. The old Scotchman welcomed him warmly,
+      and told him what news he had. Jerry Minetti had been there that morning,
+      and MacKellar at his request had telephoned to the office of the union in
+      Sheridan, and ascertained that Jack David had brought word about the
+      strike on the previous evening. All parties had been careful not to
+      mention names, for &ldquo;leaks&rdquo; in the telephone were notorious, but it was
+      clear who the messenger had been. As a result of the message, Johann
+      Hartman, president of the local union of the miners, was now at the
+      American Hotel in Pedro, together with James Moylan, secretary of the
+      district organisation&mdash;the latter having come down from Western City
+      on the same train as Edward.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This was all satisfactory; but MacKellar added a bit of information of
+      desperate import&mdash;the officers of the union declared that they could
+      not support a strike at the present time! It was premature, it could lead
+      to nothing but failure and discouragement to the larger movement they were
+      planning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Such a possibility Hal had himself realised at the outset. But he had
+      witnessed the new birth of freedom at North Valley, he had seen the
+      hungry, toil-worn faces of men looking up to him for support; he had been
+      moved by it, and had come to feel that the union officials must be moved
+      in the same way. &ldquo;They've simply got to back it!&rdquo; he exclaimed. &ldquo;Those men
+      must not be disappointed! They'll lose all hope, they'll sink into utter
+      despair! The labour men must realise that&mdash;I must make them!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The old Scotchman answered that Minetti had felt the same way. He had
+      flung caution to the winds, and rushed over to the hotel to see Hartman
+      and Moylan. Hal decided to follow, and went out to the automobile.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He explained matters to his brother, whose comment was, Of course! It was
+      what he had foretold. The poor, mis-guided miners would go back to their
+      work, and their would-be leader would have to admit the folly of his
+      course. There was a train for Western City in a couple of hours; it would
+      be a great favour if Hal would arrange to take it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal answered shortly that he was going to the American Hotel. His brother
+      might take him there, if he chose. So Edward gave the order to the driver
+      of the car. Incidentally, Edward began asking about clothing-stores in
+      Pedro. While Hal was in the hotel, pleading for the life of his newly-born
+      labour union, Edward would seek a costume in which he could &ldquo;feel like a
+      human being.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 19.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal found Jerry Minetti with the two officials in their hotel-room: Jim
+      Moylan, district secretary, a long, towering Irish boy, black-eyed and
+      black-haired, quick and sensitive, the sort of person one trusted and
+      liked at the first moment; and Johann Hartman, local president, a
+      grey-haired miner of German birth, reserved and slow-spoken, evidently a
+      man of much strength, both physical and moral. He had need of it, any one
+      could realise, having charge of a union headquarters in the heart of this
+      &ldquo;Empire of Raymond&rdquo;!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal first told of the kidnapping of the committee. This did not surprise
+      the officials, he found; it was the thing the companies regularly did when
+      there was threat of rebellion in the camps. That was why efforts to
+      organise openly were so utterly hopeless. There was no chance for anything
+      but a secret propaganda, maintained until every camp had the nucleus of an
+      organisation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So you can't back this strike!&rdquo; exclaimed Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Not possibly, was Moylan's reply. It would be lost as soon as it was
+      begun. There was no slightest hope of success until a lot of organisation
+      work had been done.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But meantime,&rdquo; argued Hal, &ldquo;the union at North Valley will go to pieces!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Perhaps,&rdquo; was the reply. &ldquo;We'll only have to start another. That's what
+      the labour movement is like.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Jim Moylan was young, and saw Hal's mood. &ldquo;Don't misunderstand us!&rdquo; he
+      cried. &ldquo;It's heartbreaking&mdash;but it's not in our power to help. We are
+      charged with building up the union, and we know that if we supported
+      everything that looked like a strike, we'd be bankrupt the first year. You
+      can't imagine how often this same thing happens&mdash;hardly a month we're
+      not called on to handle such a situation.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can see what you mean,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;But I thought that in this case,
+      right after the disaster, with the men so stirred&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The young Irishman smiled, rather sadly. &ldquo;You're new at this game,&rdquo; he
+      said. &ldquo;If a mine-disaster was enough to win a strike, God knows our job
+      would be easy. In Barela, just down the canyon from you, they've had three
+      big explosions&mdash;they've killed over five hundred men in the past
+      year!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal began to see how, in his inexperience, he had lost his sense of
+      proportion.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He looked at the two labour leaders, and recalled the picture of such a
+      person which he had brought with him to North Valley&mdash;a hot headed
+      and fiery agitator, luring honest workingmen from their jobs. But here was
+      the situation exactly reversed! Here was he in a blaze of excitement&mdash;and
+      two labour leaders turning the fire-hose on him! They sat quiet and
+      business-like, pronouncing a doom upon the slaves of North Valley. Back to
+      their black dungeons with them!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What can we tell the men?&rdquo; he asked, making an effort to repress his
+      chagrin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We can only tell them what I'm telling you&mdash;that we're helpless,
+      till we've got the whole district organised. Meantime, they have to stand
+      the gaff; they must do what they can to keep an organisation.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But all the active men will be fired!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, not quite all&mdash;they seldom get them all.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Here the stolid old German put in. In the last year the company had turned
+      out more than six thousand men because of union activity or suspicion of
+      it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;<i>Six thousand!</i>&rdquo; echoed Hal. &ldquo;You mean from this one district?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's what I mean.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But there aren't more than twelve or fifteen thousand men in the
+      district!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know that.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then how can you ever keep an organisation?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other answered, quietly, &ldquo;They treat the new men the same as they
+      treated the old.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal thought suddenly of John Edstrom's ants! Here they were&mdash;building
+      their bridge, building it again and again, as often as floods might
+      destroy it! They had not the swift impatience of a youth of the
+      leisure-class, accustomed to having his own way, accustomed to thinking of
+      freedom and decency and justice as necessities of life. Much as Hal
+      learned from the conversation of these men, he learned more from their
+      silences&mdash;the quiet, matter-of-fact way they took things which had
+      driven him beside himself with indignation. He began to realise what it
+      would mean to stand by his pledge to those poor devils in North Valley. He
+      would need more than one blaze of excitement; he would need brains and
+      patience and discipline, he would need years of study and hard work!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 20.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal found himself forced to accept the decision of the labour-leaders.
+      They had had experience, they could judge the situation. The miners would
+      have to go back to work, and Cartwright and Alec Stone and Jeff Cotton
+      would drive them as before! All that the rebels could do was to try to
+      keep a secret organisation in the camp.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Jerry Minetti mentioned Jack David. He had gone back this morning, without
+      having seen the labour-leaders. So he might escape suspicion, and keep his
+      job, and help the union work.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How about you?&rdquo; asked Hal. &ldquo;I suppose you've cooked your goose.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Jerry had never heard this phrase, but he got its meaning. &ldquo;Sure thing!&rdquo;
+       said he. &ldquo;Cooked him plenty!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Didn't you see the 'dicks' down stairs in the lobby?&rdquo; inquired Hartman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I haven't learned to recognise them yet.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, you will, if you stay at this business. There hasn't been a minute
+      since our office was opened that we haven't had half a dozen on the other
+      side of the street. Every man that comes to see us is followed back to his
+      camp and fired that same day. They've broken into my desk at night and
+      stolen my letters and papers; they've threatened us with death a hundred
+      times.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't see how you make any headway at all!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They can never stop us. They thought when they broke into my desk, they'd
+      get a list of our organisers. But you see, I carry the lists in my head!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No small task, either,&rdquo; put in Moylan. &ldquo;Would you like to know how many
+      organisers we have at work? Ninety-seven. And they haven't caught a single
+      one of them!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal heard him, amazed. Here was a new aspect of the labour movement! This
+      quiet, resolute old &ldquo;Dutchy,&rdquo; whom you might have taken for a
+      delicatessen-proprietor; this merry-eyed Irish boy, whom you would have
+      expected to be escorting a lady to a firemen's ball&mdash;&mdash;they were
+      captains of an army of sappers who were undermining the towers of Peter
+      Harrigan's fortress of greed!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hartman suggested that Jerry might take a chance at this sort of work. He
+      would surely be fired from North Valley, so he might as well send word to
+      his family to come to Pedro. In this way he might save himself to work as
+      an organiser; because it was the custom of these company &ldquo;spotters&rdquo; to
+      follow a man back to his camp and there identify him. If Jerry took a
+      train for Western City, they would be thrown off the track, and he might
+      get into some new camp and do organising among the Italians. Jerry
+      accepted this proposition with alacrity; it would put off the evil day
+      when Rosa and her little ones would be left to the mercy of chance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They were still talking when the telephone rang. It was Hartman's
+      secretary in Sheridan, reporting that he had just heard from the kidnapped
+      committee. The entire party, eight men and Mary Burke, had been taken to
+      Horton, a station not far up the line, and put on the train with many dire
+      threats. But they had left the train at the next stop, and declared their
+      intention of coming to Pedro. They were due at the hotel very soon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal desired to be present at this meeting, and went downstairs to tell his
+      brother. There was another dispute, of course. Edward reminded Hal that
+      the scenery of Pedro had a tendency to monotony; to which Hal could only
+      answer by offering to introduce his brother to his friends. They were men
+      who could teach Edward much, if he would consent to learn. He might attend
+      the session with the committee&mdash;eight men and a woman who had
+      ventured an act of heroism and been made the victims of a crime. Nor were
+      they bores, as Edward might be thinking! There was blue-eyed Tim Rafferty,
+      for example, a silent, smutty-faced gnome who had broken out of his black
+      cavern and spread unexpected golden wings of oratory; and Mary Burke, of
+      whom Edward might read in that afternoon's edition of the Western City <i>Gazette</i>&mdash;a
+      &ldquo;Joan of Arc of the coal-camps,&rdquo; or something equally picturesque. But
+      Edward's mood was not to be enlivened. He had a vision of his brother's
+      appearance in the paper as the companion of this Hibernian Joan!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal went off with Jerry Minetti to what his brother described as a
+      &ldquo;hash-house,&rdquo; while Edward proceeded in solitary state to the dining-room
+      of the American Hotel. But he was not left in solitary state; pretty soon
+      a sharp-faced young man was ushered to a seat beside him, and started up a
+      conversation. He was a &ldquo;drummer,&rdquo; he said; his &ldquo;line&rdquo; was hardware, what
+      was Edward's? Edward answered coldly that he had no &ldquo;line,&rdquo; but the young
+      man was not rebuffed&mdash;apparently his &ldquo;line&rdquo; had hardened his
+      sensibilities. Perhaps Edward was interested in coal-mines? Had he been
+      visiting the camps? He questioned so persistently, and came back so often
+      to the subject, that at last it dawned over Edward what this meant&mdash;he
+      was receiving the attention of a &ldquo;spotter!&rdquo; Strange to say, the
+      circumstance caused Edward more irritation against Peter Harrigan's regime
+      than all his brother's eloquence about oppression at North Valley.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 21.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Soon after dinner the kidnapped committee arrived, bedraggled in body and
+      weary in soul. They inquired for Johann Hartman, and were sent up to the
+      room, where there followed a painful scene. Eight men and a woman who had
+      ventured an act of heroism and been made the victims of a crime could not
+      easily be persuaded to see their efforts and sacrifices thrown on the
+      dump-heap, nor were they timid in expressing their opinions of those who
+      were betraying them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You been tryin' to get us out!&rdquo; cried Tim Rafferty. &ldquo;Ever since I can
+      remember you been at my old man to help you&mdash;an' here, when we do
+      what you ask, you throw us down!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We never asked you to go on strike,&rdquo; said Moylan.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, that's true. You only asked us to pay dues, so you fellows could have
+      fat salaries.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Our salaries aren't very fat,&rdquo; replied the young leader, patiently.
+      &ldquo;You'd find that out if you investigated.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, whatever they are, they go on, while ours stop. We're on the
+      streets, we're done for. Look at us&mdash;and most of us has got families,
+      too! I got an old mother an' a lot of brothers and sisters, an' my old man
+      done up an' can't work. What do you think's to become of us?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We'll help you out a little, Rafferty&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To hell with you!&rdquo; cried Tim. &ldquo;I don't want your help! When I need
+      charity, I'll go to the county. They're another bunch of grafters, but
+      they don't pretend to be friends to the workin' man.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Here was the thing Tom Olson had told Hal at the outset&mdash;the
+      workingmen bedevilled, not knowing whom to trust, suspecting the very
+      people who most desired to help them. &ldquo;Tim,&rdquo; he put in, &ldquo;there's no use
+      talking like that. We have to learn patience&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And the boy turned upon Hal. &ldquo;What do you know about it? It's all a joke
+      to you. You can go off and forget it when you get ready. You've got money,
+      they tell me!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal felt no resentment at this; it was what he heard from his own
+      conscience. &ldquo;It isn't so easy for me as you think, Tim. There are other
+      ways of suffering besides not having money&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Much sufferin' you'll do&mdash;with your rich folks!&rdquo; sneered Tim.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a murmur of protest from others of the committee.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good God, Rafferty!&rdquo; broke in Moylan. &ldquo;We can't help it, man&mdash;we're
+      just as helpless as you!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You say you're helpless&mdash;but you don't even try!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;<i>Try?</i> Do you want us to back a strike that we know hasn't a chance?
+      You might as well ask us to lie down and let a load of coal run over us.
+      We can't win, man! I tell you we can't <i>win</i>! We'd only be throwing
+      away our organisation!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Moylan became suddenly impassioned. He had seen a dozen sporadic strikes
+      in this district, and many a dozen young strikers, homeless, desolate,
+      embittered, turning their disappointment on him. &ldquo;We might support you
+      with our funds, you say&mdash;we might go on doing it, even while the
+      company ran the mine with scabs. But where would that land us, Rafferty? I
+      seen many a union on the rocks&mdash;and I ain't so old either! If we had
+      a bank, we'd support all the miners of the country, they'd never need to
+      work again till they got their rights. But this money we spend is the
+      money that other miners are earnin'&mdash;right now, down in the pits,
+      Rafferty, the same as you and your old man. They give us this money, and
+      they say, 'Use it to build up the union. Use it to help the men that
+      aren't organised&mdash;take them in, so they won't beat down our wages and
+      scab on us. But don't waste it, for God's sake; we have to work hard to
+      make it, and if we don't see results, you'll get no more out of us.' Don't
+      you see how that is, man? And how it weighs on us, worse even then the
+      fear that maybe we'll lose our poor salaries&mdash;though you might refuse
+      to believe anything so good of us? You don't need to talk to me like I was
+      Peter Harrigan's son. I was a spragger when I was ten years old, and I
+      ain't been out of the pits so long that I've forgot the feeling. I assure
+      you, the thing that keeps me awake at night ain't the fear of not gettin'
+      a living, for I give myself a bit of education, working nights, and I know
+      I could always turn out and earn what I need; but it's wondering whether
+      I'm spending the miners' money the best way, whether maybe I mightn't save
+      them a little misery if I hadn't 'a' done this or had 'a' done that. When
+      I come down on that sleeper last night, here's what I was thinking, Tim
+      Rafferty&mdash;all the time I listened to the train bumping&mdash;'Now I
+      got to see some more of the suffering, I got to let some good men turn
+      against us, because they can't see why we should get salaries while they
+      get the sack. How am I going to show them that I'm working for them&mdash;working
+      as hard as I know how&mdash;and that I'm not to blame for their trouble?'&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Here Wauchope broke in. &ldquo;There's no use talking any more. I see we're up
+      against it. We'll not trouble you, Moylan.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You trouble me,&rdquo; cried Moylan, &ldquo;unless you stand by the movement!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The other laughed bitterly. &ldquo;You'll never know what I do. It's the road
+      for me&mdash;and you know it!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, wherever you go, it'll be the same; either you'll be fighting for
+      the union, or you'll be a weight that we have to carry.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The young leader turned from one to another of the committee, pleading
+      with them not to be embittered by this failure, but to turn it to their
+      profit, going on with the work of building up the solidarity of the
+      miners. Every man had to make his sacrifices, to pay his part of the
+      price. The thing of importance was that every man who was discharged
+      should be a spark of unionism, carrying the flame of revolt to a new part
+      of the country. Let each one do his part, and there would soon be no place
+      to which the masters could send for &ldquo;scabs.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 22.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      There was one member of this committee whom Hal watched with especial
+      anxiety&mdash;&mdash;Mary Burke. She had not yet said a word; while the
+      others argued and protested, she sat with her lips set and her hands
+      clenched. Hal knew what rage this failure must bring to her. She had risen
+      and struggled and hoped, and the result was what she had always said it
+      would be&mdash;nothing! Now he saw her, with eyes large and dark with
+      fatigue, fixed on this fiery young labour-leader. He knew that a war must
+      be going on within her. Would she drop out entirely now? It was the test
+      of her character&mdash;as it was the test of the characters of all of
+      them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If only we're strong enough and brave enough,&rdquo; Jim Moylan was saying, &ldquo;we
+      can use our defeats to educate our people and bring them together. Right
+      now, if we can make the men at North Valley see what we're doing, they
+      won't go back beaten, they won't be bitter against the union, they'll only
+      go back to wait. And ain't that a way to beat the bosses&mdash;to hold our
+      jobs, and keep the union alive, till we've got into all the camps, and can
+      strike and win?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a pause; then Mary spoke. &ldquo;How're you meanin' to tell the men?&rdquo;
+       Her voice was without emotion, but nevertheless, Hal's heart leaped.
+      Whether Mary had any hope or not, she was going to stay in line with the
+      rest of the ants!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Johann Hartman explained his idea. He would have circulars printed in
+      several languages and distributed secretly in the camp, ordering the men
+      back to work. But Jerry met this suggestion with a prompt no. The people
+      would not believe the circulars, they would suspect the bosses of having
+      them printed. Hadn't the bosses done worse than that, &ldquo;framing up&rdquo; a
+      letter from Joe Smith to balk the check-weighman movement? The only thing
+      that would help would be for some of the committee to get into the camp
+      and see the men face to face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And it got to be quick!&rdquo; Jerry insisted. &ldquo;They get notice to work in
+      morning, and them that don't be fired. They be the best men, too&mdash;men
+      we want to save.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Other members of the committee spoke up, agreeing with this. Said Rusick,
+      the Slav, slow-witted and slow-spoken, &ldquo;Them fellers get mighty damn sore
+      if they lose their job and don't got no strike.&rdquo; And Zammakis, the Greek,
+      quick and nervous, &ldquo;We say strike; we got to say no strike.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      What could they do? There was, in the first place, the difficulty of
+      getting away from the hotel, which was being watched by the &ldquo;spotters.&rdquo;
+       Hartman suggested that if they went out all together and scattered, the
+      detectives could not follow all of them. Those who escaped might get into
+      North Valley by hiding in the &ldquo;empties&rdquo; which went up to the mine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Moylan pointed out that the company would be anticipating this; and
+      Rusick, who had once been a hobo, put in: &ldquo;They sure search them cars.
+      They give us plenty hell, too, when they catch us.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Yes, it would be a dangerous mission. Mary spoke again. &ldquo;Maybe a lady
+      could do it better.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They'd beat a lady,&rdquo; said Minetti.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know, but maybe a lady might fool them. There's some widows that came
+      to Pedro for the funerals, and they're wearin' veils that hide their
+      faces. I might pretend to be one of them and get into the camp.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The men looked at one another. There was an idea! The scowl which had
+      stayed upon the face of Tim Rafferty ever since his quarrel with Moylan,
+      gave place suddenly to a broad grin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I seen Mrs. Zamboni on the street,&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;She had on black veils
+      enough to hide the lot of us.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And here Hal spoke, for the first time since Tim Rafferty had silenced
+      him. &ldquo;Does anybody know where to find Mrs. Zamboni?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;She stay with my friend, Mrs. Swajka,&rdquo; said Rusick.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;there's something you people don't know about this
+      situation. After they had fired you, I made another speech to the men, and
+      made them swear they'd stay on strike. So now I've got to go back and eat
+      my words. If we're relying on veils and things, a man can be fixed up as
+      well as a woman.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They were staring at him. &ldquo;They'll beat you to death if they catch you!&rdquo;
+       said Wauchope.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Hal, &ldquo;I don't think so. Anyhow, it's up to me&rdquo;&mdash;he glanced
+      at Tim Rafferty&mdash;&ldquo;because I'm the only one who doesn't have to suffer
+      for the failure of our strike.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a pause.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm sorry I said that!&rdquo; cried Tim, impulsively.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's all right, old man,&rdquo; replied Hal. &ldquo;What you said is true, and I'd
+      like to do something to ease my conscience.&rdquo; He rose to his feet,
+      laughing. &ldquo;I'll make a peach of a widow!&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I'm going up and have
+      a tea-party with my friend Jeff Cotton!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 23.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal proposed going to find Mrs. Zamboni at the place where she was
+      staying; but Moylan interposed, objecting that the detectives would surely
+      follow him. Even though they should all go out of the hotel at once, the
+      one person the detective would surely stick to was the arch-rebel and
+      trouble-maker, Joe Smith. Finally they decided to bring Mrs. Zamboni to
+      the room. Let her come with Mrs. Swajka or some other woman who spoke
+      English, and go to the desk and ask for Mary Burke, explaining that Mary
+      had borrowed money from her, and that she had to have it to pay the
+      undertaker for the burial of her man. The hotel-clerk might not know who
+      Mary Burke was; but the watchful &ldquo;spotters&rdquo; would gather about and listen,
+      and if it was mentioned that Mary was from North Valley, some one would
+      connect her with the kidnapped committee.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This was made clear to Rusick, who hurried off, and in the course of half
+      an hour returned with the announcement that the women were on the way. A
+      few minutes later came a tap on the door, and there stood the black-garbed
+      old widow with her friend. She came in; and then came looks of dismay and
+      horrified exclamations. Rusick was requesting her to give up her weeds to
+      Joe Smith!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;She say she don't got nothing else,&rdquo; explained the Slav.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tell her I give her plenty money buy more,&rdquo; said Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ai! Jesu!&rdquo; cried Mrs. Zamboni, pouring out a sputtering torrent.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;She say she don't got nothing to put on. She say it ain't good to go no
+      clothes!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hasn't she got on a petticoat?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;She say petticoat got holes!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a burst of laughter from the company, and the old woman turned
+      scarlet from her forehead to her ample throat. &ldquo;Tell her she wrap up in
+      blankets,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;Mary Burke buy her new things.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      It proved surprisingly difficult to separate Mrs. Zamboni from her widow's
+      weeds, which she had purchased with so great an expenditure of time and
+      tears. Never had a respectable lady who had borne sixteen children
+      received such a proposition; to sell the insignia of her grief&mdash;and
+      here in a hotel room, crowded with a dozen men! Nor was the task made
+      easier by the unseemly merriment of the men. &ldquo;Ai! Jesu!&rdquo; cried Mrs.
+      Zamboni again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tell her it's very, very important,&rdquo; said Hal. &ldquo;Tell her I must have
+      them.&rdquo; And then, seeing that Rusick was making poor headway, he joined in,
+      in the compromise-English one learns in the camps. &ldquo;Got to have! Sure
+      thing! Got to hide! Quick! Get away from boss! See? Get killed if no go!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So at last the frightened old woman gave way. &ldquo;She say all turn backs,&rdquo;
+       said Rusick. And everybody turned, laughing in hilarious whispers, while,
+      with Mary Burke and Mrs. Swajka for a shield, Mrs. Zamboni got out of her
+      waist and skirt, putting a blanket round her red shoulders for modesty's
+      sake. When Hal put the garments on, there was a foot to spare all round;
+      but after they had stuffed two bed pillows down in the front of him, and
+      drawn them tight at the waist-line, the disguise was judged more
+      satisfactory. He put on the old lady's ample if ragged shoes, and Mary
+      Burke set the widow's bonnet on his head and adjusted the many veils;
+      after that Mrs. Zamboni's own brood of children would not have suspected
+      the disguise.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was a merry party for a few minutes; worn and hopeless as Mary had
+      seemed, she was possessed now by the spirit of fun. But then quickly the
+      laughter died. The time for action had come. Mary Burke said that she
+      would stay with what was left of Mrs. Zamboni, to answer the door in case
+      any of the hotel people or the detectives should come. Hal asked Jim
+      Moylan to see Edward, and say that Hal was writing a manifesto to the
+      North Valley workers, and would not be ready to leave until the midnight
+      train.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      These things agreed upon, Hal shook hands all round, and the eleven men
+      left the room at once, going down stairs and through the lobby, scattering
+      in every direction on the streets. Mrs. Swajka and the pseudo-Mrs. Zamboni
+      followed a minute later&mdash;and, as they anticipated, found the lobby
+      swept clear of detectives.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 24.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Bidding Mrs. Swajka farewell, Hal set out for the railroad station. But
+      before he had gone a block from the hotel, he ran into his brother, coming
+      straight towards him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward's face wore a bored look; his very manner of carrying the magazine
+      under his arm said that he had selected it in a last hopeless effort
+      against the monotony of Pedro. Such a trick of fate, to take a man of
+      important affairs, and immure him at the mercy of a maniac in a
+      God-forsaken coal-town! What did people do in such a hole? Pay a nickel to
+      look at moving pictures of cow-boys and counterfeiters?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward's aspect was too much for Hal's sense of humour. Besides, he had a
+      good excuse; was it not proper to make a test of his disguise, before
+      facing the real danger in North Valley?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He placed himself in the path of his brother's progress, and in Mrs.
+      Zamboni's high, complaining tones, began, &ldquo;Mister!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward stared at the interrupting black figure. &ldquo;Mister, you Joe Smith's
+      brother, hey?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The question had to be repeated before Edward gave his grudging answer. He
+      was not proud of the relationship.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mister,&rdquo; continued the whining voice, &ldquo;my old man got blow up in mine. I
+      get five pieces from my man what I got to bury yesterday in grave-yard. I
+      got to pay thirty dollar for bury them pieces and I don't got no more
+      money left. I don't got no money from them company fellers. They come
+      lawyer feller and he say maybe I get money for bury my man, if I don't jay
+      too much. But, Mister, I got eleven children I got to feed, and I don't
+      got no more man, and I don't find no new man for old woman like me. When I
+      go home I hear them children crying and I don't got no food, and them
+      company-stores don't give me no food. I think maybe you Joe Smith's
+      brother you good man, maybe you sorry for poor widow-woman, you maybe give
+      me some money, Mister, so I buy some food for them children.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said Edward. He pulled out his wallet and extracted a bill,
+      which happened to be for ten dollars. His manner seemed to say, &ldquo;For
+      heaven's sake, here!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Mrs. Zamboni clutched the bill with greedy fingers, but was not appeased.
+      &ldquo;You got plenty money, Mister! You rich man, hey! You maybe give me all
+      them moneys, so I got plenty feed them children? You don't know them
+      company-stores, Mister, them prices is way up high like mountains; them
+      children is hungry, they cry all day and night, and one piece money don't
+      last so long. You give me some more piece moneys, Mister&mdash;&mdash;hey?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll give you one more,&rdquo; said Edward. &ldquo;I need some for myself.&rdquo; He pulled
+      off another bill.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What you need so much, Mister? You don't got so many children, hey? And
+      you got plenty more money home, maybe!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's all I can give you,&rdquo; said the man. He took a step to one side, to
+      get round the obstruction in his path.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the obstruction took a step also&mdash;and with surprising agility.
+      &ldquo;Mister, I thank you for them moneys. I tell them children I get moneys
+      from good man. I like you, Mister Smith, you give money for poor
+      widow-woman&mdash;you nice man.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And the dreadful creature actually stuck out one of her paws, as if
+      expecting to pat Edward on the cheek, or to chuck him under the chin. He
+      recoiled, as from a contagion; but she followed him, determined to do
+      something to him, he could not be sure what. He had heard that these
+      foreigners had strange customs!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's all right! It's nothing!&rdquo; he insisted, and fell back&mdash;at the
+      same time glancing nervously about, to see if there were spectators of
+      this scene.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nice man, Mister! Nice man!&rdquo; cried the old woman, with increasing
+      cordiality. &ldquo;Maybe some day I find man like you, Mr. Edward Smith&mdash;so
+      I don't stay widow-woman no more. You think maybe you like to marry nice
+      Slavish woman, got plenty nice children?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward, perceiving that the matter was getting desperate, sprang to one
+      side. It was a spring which should have carried him to safety; but to his
+      dismay the Slavish widow sprang also&mdash;her claws caught him under the
+      arm-pit, and fastening in his ribs, gave him a ferocious pinch. After
+      which the owner of the claws went down the street, not looking back, but
+      making strange gobbling noises, which might have been the weeping of a
+      bereaved widow in Slavish, or might have been almost anything else.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 25.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      The train up to North Valley left very soon, and Hal figured that there
+      would be just time to accomplish his errand and catch the last train back.
+      He took his seat in the car without attracting attention, and sat in his
+      place until they were approaching their destination, the last stop up the
+      canyon. There were several of the miners' women in the car, and Hal picked
+      out one who belonged to Mrs. Zamboni's nationality, and moved over beside
+      her. She made place, with some remark; but Hal merely sobbed softly, and
+      the woman felt for his hand to comfort him. As his hands were clasped
+      together under the veils, she patted him reassuringly on the knee.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At the boundary of the stockaded village the train stopped, and Bud Adams
+      came through the car, scrutinising every passenger. Seeing this, Hal began
+      to sob again, and murmured something indistinct to his companion&mdash;which
+      caused her to lean towards him, speaking volubly in her native language.
+      &ldquo;Bud&rdquo; passed by.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When Hal came to leave the train, he took his companion's arm; he sobbed
+      some more, and she talked some more, and so they went down the platform,
+      under the very eyes of Pete Hanun, the &ldquo;breaker of teeth.&rdquo; Another woman
+      joined them, and they walked down the street, the women conversing in
+      Slavish, apparently without a suspicion of Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He had worked out his plan of action. He would not try to talk with the
+      men secretly&mdash;it would take too long, and he might be betrayed before
+      he had talked with a sufficient number. One bold stroke was the thing. In
+      half an hour it would be supper-time, and the feeders would gather in
+      Reminitsky's dining-room. He would give his message there!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal's two companions were puzzled that he passed the Zamboni cabin, where
+      presumably the Zamboni brood were being cared for by neighbours. But he
+      let them make what they could of this, and went on to the Minetti home. To
+      the astonished Rosa he revealed himself, and gave her husband's message&mdash;that
+      she should take herself and the children down to Pedro, and wait quietly
+      until she heard from him. She hurried out and brought in Jack David, to
+      whom Hal explained matters. &ldquo;Big Jack's&rdquo; part in the recent disturbance
+      had apparently not been suspected; he and his wife, with Rovetta, Wresmak,
+      and Klowoski, would remain as a nucleus through which the union could work
+      upon the men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The supper-hour was at hand, and the pseudo-Mrs. Zamboni emerged and
+      toddled down the street. As she passed into the dining-room of the
+      boarding-house, men looked at her, but no one spoke. It was the stage of
+      the meal where everybody was grabbing and devouring, in the effort to get
+      the best of his grabbing and devouring neighbours. The black-clad figure
+      went to the far end of the room; there was a vacant chair, and the figure
+      pulled it back from the table and climbed upon it. Then a shout rang
+      through the room: &ldquo;Boys! Boys!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The feeders looked up, and saw the widow's weeds thrown back, and their
+      leader, Joe Smith, gazing out at them. &ldquo;Boys! I've come with a message
+      from the union!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a yell; men leaped to their feet, chairs were flung back,
+      falling with a crash to the floor. Then, almost instantly, came silence;
+      you could have heard the movement of any man's jaws, had any man continued
+      to move them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Boys! I've been down to Pedro and seen the union people. I knew the
+      bosses wouldn't let me come back, so I dressed up, and here I am!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      It dawned upon them, the meaning of this fantastic costume; there were
+      cheers, laughter, yells of delight.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Hal stretched out his hands, and silence fell again. &ldquo;Listen to me!
+      The bosses won't let me talk long, and I've something important to say.
+      The union leaders say we can't win a strike now.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Consternation came into the faces before him. There were cries of dismay.
+      He went on:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We are only one camp, and the bosses would turn us out, they'd get in
+      scabs and run the mines without us. What we must have is a strike of all
+      the camps at once. One big union and one big strike! If we walked out now,
+      it would please the bosses; but we'll fool them&mdash;we'll keep our jobs,
+      and keep our union too! You are members of the union, you'll go on working
+      for the union! Hooray for the North Valley union!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      For a moment there was no response. It was hard for men to cheer over such
+      a prospect! Hal saw that he must touch a different chord.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We mustn't be cowards, boys! We've got to keep our nerve! I'm doing my
+      part&mdash;it took nerve to get in here! In Mrs. Zamboni's clothes, and
+      with two pillows stuffed in front of me!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He thumped the pillows, and there was a burst of laughter. Many in the
+      crowd knew Mrs. Zamboni&mdash;it was what comedians call a &ldquo;local gag.&rdquo;
+       The laughter spread, and became a gale of merriment. Men began to cheer:
+      &ldquo;Hurrah for Joe! You're the girl! Will you marry me, Joe?&rdquo; And so, of
+      course, it was easy for Hal to get a response when he shouted, &ldquo;Hurrah for
+      the North Valley union!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Again he raised his hands for silence, and went on again. &ldquo;Listen, men.
+      They'll turn me out, and you're not going to resist them. You're going to
+      work and keep your jobs, and get ready for the big strike. And you'll tell
+      the other men what I say. I can't talk to them all, but you tell them
+      about the union. Remember, there are people outside planning and fighting
+      for you. We're going to stand by the union, all of us, till we've brought
+      these coal-camps back into America!&rdquo; There was a cheer that shook the
+      walls of the room. Yes, that was what they wanted&mdash;to live in
+      America!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A crowd of men had gathered in the doorway, attracted by the uproar; Hal
+      noticed confusion and pushing, and saw the head and burly shoulders of his
+      enemy, Pete Hanun, come into sight.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Here come the gunmen, boys!&rdquo; he cried; and there was a roar of anger from
+      the crowd. Men turned, clenching their fists, glaring at the guard. But
+      Hal rushed on, quickly:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Boys, hear what I say! Keep your heads! I can't stay in North Valley, and
+      you know it! But I've done the thing I came to do, I've brought you the
+      message from the union. And you'll tell the other men&mdash;tell them to
+      stand by the union!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal went on, repeating his message over and over. Looking from one to
+      another of these toil-worn faces, he remembered the pledge he had made
+      them, and he made it anew: &ldquo;I'm going to stand by you! I'm going on with
+      the fight, boys!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There came more disturbance at the door, and suddenly Jeff Cotton
+      appeared, with a couple of additional guards, shoving their way into the
+      room, breathless and red in the face from running.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, there's the marshal!&rdquo; cried Hal. &ldquo;You needn't push, Cotton, there's
+      not going to be any trouble. We are union men here, we know how to control
+      ourselves. Now, boys, we're not giving up, we're not beaten, we're only
+      waiting for the men in the other camps! We have a union, and we mean to
+      keep it! Three cheers for the union!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The cheers rang out with a will: cheers for the union, cheers for Joe
+      Smith, cheers for the widow and her weeds!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You belong to the union! You stand by it, no matter what happens! If they
+      fire you, you take it on to the next place! You teach it to the new men,
+      you never let it die in your hearts! In union there is strength, in union
+      there is hope! Never forget it, men&mdash;<i>Union</i>!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The voice of the camp-marshal rang out. &ldquo;If you're coming, young woman,
+      come now!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal dropped a shy curtsey. &ldquo;Oh, Mr. Cotton! This is so sudden!&rdquo; The crowd
+      howled; and Hal descended from his platform. With coquettish gesturing he
+      replaced the widow's veils about his face, and tripped mincingly across
+      the dining-room. When he reached the camp-marshal, he daintily took that
+      worthy's arm, and with the &ldquo;breaker of teeth&rdquo; on the other side, and Bud
+      Adams bringing up the rear, he toddled out of the dining-room and down the
+      street.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hungry men gave up their suppers to behold that sight. They poured out of
+      the building, they followed, laughing, shouting, jeering. Others came from
+      every direction&mdash;by the time the party had reached the depot, a good
+      part of the population of the village was on hand; and everywhere went the
+      word, &ldquo;It's Joe Smith! Come back with a message from the union!&rdquo; Big,
+      coal-grimed miners laughed till the tears made streaks on their faces;
+      they fell on one another's necks for delight at this trick which had been
+      played upon their oppressors.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Even Jeff Cotton could not withhold his tribute. &ldquo;By God, you're the
+      limit!&rdquo; he muttered. He accepted the &ldquo;tea-party&rdquo; aspect of the affair, as
+      the easiest way to get rid of his recurrent guest, and avert the
+      possibilities of danger. He escorted the widow to the train and helped her
+      up the steps, posting escorts at the doors of her car; nor did the
+      attentions of these gallants cease until the train had moved down the
+      canyon and passed the limits of the North Valley stockade!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 26.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal took off his widow's weeds; and with them he shed the merriment he had
+      worn for the benefit of the men. There came a sudden reaction; he realised
+      that he was tired.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For ten days he had lived in a whirl of excitement, scarcely stopping to
+      sleep. Now he lay back in the car-seat, pale, exhausted; his head ached,
+      and he realised that the sum-total of his North Valley experience was
+      failure. There was left in him no trace of that spirit of adventure with
+      which he had set out upon his &ldquo;summer course in practical sociology.&rdquo; He
+      had studied his lessons, tried to recite them, and been &ldquo;flunked.&rdquo; He
+      smiled a bitter smile, recollecting the careless jesting that had been on
+      his lips as he came up that same canyon:
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+  &ldquo;He keeps them a-roll, that merry old soul&mdash;
+    The wheels of industree;
+  A-roll and a-roll, for his pipe and his bowl
+    And his college facultee!&rdquo;
+ </pre>
+    <p>
+      The train arrived in Pedro, and Hal took a hack at the station and drove
+      to the hotel. He still carried the widow's weeds rolled into a bundle. He
+      might have left them in the train, but the impulse to economy which he had
+      acquired during the last ten weeks had become a habit. He would return
+      them to Mrs. Zamboni. The money he had promised her might better be used
+      to feed her young ones. The two pillows he would leave in the car; the
+      hotel might endure the loss!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Entering the lobby, the first person Hal saw was his brother, and the
+      sight of that patrician face made human by disgust relieved Hal's headache
+      in part. Life was harsh, life was cruel; but here was weary, waiting
+      Edward, that boon of comic relief!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward demanded to know where the devil he had been; and Hal answered,
+      &ldquo;I've been visiting the widows and orphans.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh!&rdquo; said Edward. &ldquo;And while I sit in this hole and stew! What's that
+      you've got under your arm?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal looked at the bundle. &ldquo;It's a souvenir of one of the widows,&rdquo; he said,
+      and unrolled the garments and spread them out before his brother's puzzled
+      eyes. &ldquo;A lady named Mrs. Swajka gave them to me. They belonged to another
+      lady, Mrs. Zamboni, but she doesn't need them any more.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What have <i>you</i> got to do with them?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It seems that Mrs. Zamboni is going to get married again.&rdquo; Hal lowered
+      his voice, confidentially. &ldquo;It's a romance, Edward&mdash;it may interest
+      you as an illustration of the manners of these foreign races. She met a
+      man on the street, a fine, fine man, she says&mdash;and he gave her a lot
+      of money. So she went and bought herself some new clothes, and she wants
+      to give these widow's weeds to the new man. That's the custom in her
+      country, it seems&mdash;her sign that she accepts him as a suitor.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Seeing the look of wonderment growing on his brother's face, Hal had to
+      stop for a moment to keep his own face straight. &ldquo;If that man wasn't
+      serious in his intention, Edward, he'll have trouble, for I know Mrs.
+      Zamboni's emotional nature. She'll follow him about everywhere&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hal, that creature is insane!&rdquo; And Edward looked about him nervously, as
+      if he thought the Slavish widow might appear suddenly in the hotel lobby
+      to demonstrate her emotional nature.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; replied Hal, &ldquo;it's just one of those differences in national
+      customs.&rdquo; And suddenly Hal's face gave way. He began to laugh; he laughed,
+      perhaps more loudly than good form permitted.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward was much annoyed. There were people in the lobby, and they were
+      staring at him. &ldquo;Cut it out, Hal!&rdquo; he exclaimed. &ldquo;Your fool jokes bore
+      me!&rdquo; But nevertheless, Hal could see uncertainty in his brother's face.
+      Edward recognised those widow's weeds. And how could he be sure about the
+      &ldquo;national customs&rdquo; of that grotesque creature who had pinched him in the
+      ribs on the street?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Cut it out!&rdquo; he cried again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal, changing his voice suddenly to the Zamboni key, exclaimed: &ldquo;Mister, I
+      got eight children I got to feed, and I don't got no more man, and I don't
+      find no new man for old woman like me!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So at last the truth in its full enormity began to dawn upon Edward. His
+      consternation and disgust poured themselves out; and Hal listened, his
+      laughter dying. &ldquo;Edward,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;you don't take me seriously even yet!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good God!&rdquo; cried the other. &ldquo;I believe you're really insane!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You were up there, Edward! You heard what I said to those poor devils!
+      And you actually thought I'd go off with you and forget about them!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward ignored this. &ldquo;You're really insane!&rdquo; he repeated. &ldquo;You'll get
+      yourself killed, in spite of all I can do!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But Hal only laughed. &ldquo;Not a chance of it! You should have seen the
+      tea-party manners of the camp-marshal!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 27.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Edward would have endeavoured to carry his brother away forthwith, but
+      there was no train until late at night; so Hal went upstairs, where he
+      found Moylan and Hartman with Mary Burke and Mrs. Zamboni, all eager to
+      hear his story. As the members of the committee, who had been out to
+      supper, came straggling in, the story was told again, and yet again. They
+      were almost as much delighted as the men in Reminitsky's. If only all
+      strikes that had to be called off could be called off as neatly as that!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Between these outbursts of satisfaction, they discussed their future.
+      Moylan was going back to Western City, Hartman to his office in Sheridan,
+      from which he would arrange to send new organisers into North Valley. No
+      doubt Cartwright would turn off many men&mdash;those who had made
+      themselves conspicuous during the strike, those who continued to talk
+      union out loud. But such men would have to be replaced, and the union knew
+      through what agencies the company got its hands. The North Valley miners
+      would find themselves mysteriously provided with union literature in their
+      various languages; it would be slipped under their pillows, or into their
+      dinner-pails, or the pockets of their coats while they were at work.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Also there was propaganda to be carried on among those who were turned
+      away; so that, wherever they went, they would take the message of
+      unionism. There had been a sympathetic outburst in Barela, Hal learned&mdash;starting
+      quite spontaneously that morning, when the men heard what had happened at
+      North Valley. A score of workers had been fired, and more would probably
+      follow in the morning. Here was a job for the members of the kidnapped
+      committee; Tim Rafferty, for example&mdash;would he care to stay in Pedro
+      for a week or two, to meet such men, and give them literature and
+      arguments?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This offer was welcome; for life looked desolate to the Irish boy at this
+      moment. He was out of a job, his father was a wreck, his family destitute
+      and helpless. They would have to leave their home, of course; there would
+      be no place for any Rafferty in North Valley. Where they would go, God
+      only knew; Tim would become a wanderer, living away from his people,
+      starving himself and sending home his pitiful savings.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal was watching the boy, and reading these thoughts. He, Hal Warner,
+      would play the god out of a machine in this case, and in several others
+      equally pitiful. He had the right to sign his father's name to checks, a
+      privilege which he believed he could retain, even while undertaking the
+      role of Haroun al Raschid in a mine-disaster. But what about the
+      mine-disasters and abortive strikes where there did not happen to be any
+      Haroun al Raschid at hand? What about those people, right in North Valley,
+      who did not happen to have told Hal of their affairs? He perceived that it
+      was only by turning his back and running that he would escape from his
+      adventure with any portion of his self-possession. Truly, this
+      fair-seeming and wonderful civilisation was like the floor of a
+      charnel-house or a field of battle; anywhere one drove a spade beneath its
+      surface, he uncovered horrors, sights for the eyes and stenches for the
+      nostrils that caused him to turn sick!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was Rusick, for example; he had a wife and two children, and not a
+      dollar in the world. In the year and more that he had worked, faithfully
+      and persistently, to get out coal for Peter Harrigan, he had never once
+      been able to get ahead of his bill for the necessities of life at Old
+      Peter's store. All his belongings in the world could be carried in a
+      bundle on his back, and whether he ever saw these again would depend upon
+      the whim of old Peter's camp-marshal and guards. Rusick would take to the
+      road, with a ticket purchased by the union. Perhaps he would find a job
+      and perhaps not; in any case, the best he could hope for in life was to
+      work for some other Harrigan, and run into debt at some other
+      company-store.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was Hobianish, a Serbian, and Hernandez, a Mexican, of whom the same
+      things were true, except that one had four children and the other six.
+      Bill Wauchope had only a wife&mdash;their babies had died, thank heaven,
+      he said. He did not seem to have been much moved by Jim Moylan's
+      pleadings; he was down and out; he would take to the road, and beat his
+      way to the East and back to England. They called this a free country! By
+      God, if he were to tell what had happened to him, he could not get an
+      English miner to believe it!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal gave these men his real name and address, and made them promise to let
+      him know how they got along. He would help a little, he said; in his mind
+      he was figuring how much he ought to do. How far shall a man go in
+      relieving the starvation about him, before he can enjoy his meals in a
+      well-appointed club? What casuist will work out this problem&mdash;telling
+      him the percentage he shall relieve of the starvation he happens
+      personally to know about, the percentage of that which he sees on the
+      streets, the percentage of that about which he reads in government reports
+      on the rise in the cost of living. To what extent is he permitted to close
+      his eyes, as he walks along the streets on his way to the club? To what
+      extent is he permitted to avoid reading government reports before going
+      out to dinner-dances with his fiancée? Problems such as these the masters
+      of the higher mathematics have neglected to solve; the wise men of the
+      academies and the holy men of the churches have likewise failed to work
+      out the formulas; and Hal, trying to obtain them by his crude mental
+      arithmetic, found no satisfaction in the results.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 28.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Hal wanted a chance to talk to Mary Burke; they had had no intimate talk
+      since the meeting with Jessie Arthur, and now he was going away, for a
+      long time. He wanted to find out what plans Mary had for the future, and&mdash;more
+      important yet&mdash;what was her state of mind. If he had been able to
+      lift this girl from despair, his summer course in practical sociology had
+      not been all a failure!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He asked her to go with him to say good-bye to John Edstrom, whom he had
+      not seen since their unceremonious parting at MacKellar's, when Hal had
+      fled to Percy Harrigan's train. Downstairs in the lobby Hal explained his
+      errand to his waiting brother, who made no comment, but merely remarked
+      that he would follow, if Hal had no objection. He did not care to make the
+      acquaintance of the Hibernian Joan of Arc, and would not come close enough
+      to interfere with Hal's conversation with the lady; but he wished to do
+      what he could for his brother's protection. So there set out a moon-light
+      procession&mdash;first Hal and Mary, then Edward, and then Edward's
+      dinner-table companion, the &ldquo;hardware-drummer!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal was embarrassed in beginning his farewell talk with Mary. He had no
+      idea how she felt towards him, and he admitted with a guilty pang that he
+      was a little afraid to find out! He thought it best to be cheerful, so he
+      started to tell her how fine he thought her conduct during the strike. But
+      she did not respond to his remarks, and at last he realised that she was
+      labouring with some thoughts of her own.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's somethin' I got to say to ye!&rdquo; she began, suddenly. &ldquo;A couple of
+      days ago I knew how I meant to say it, but now I don't.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; he laughed, &ldquo;say it as you meant to.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; 'twas bitter&mdash;and now I'm on my knees before ye.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not that I want you to be bitter,&rdquo; said Hal, still laughing, &ldquo;but it's I
+      that ought to be on my knees before you. I didn't accomplish anything, you
+      know.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye did all ye could&mdash;and more than the rest of us. I want ye to know
+      I'll never forget it. But I want ye to hear the other thing, too!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She walked on, staring before her, doubling up her hands in agitation.
+      &ldquo;Well?&rdquo; said he, still trying to keep a cheerful tone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye remember that day just after the explosion? Ye remember what I said
+      about&mdash;about goin' away with ye? I take it back.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, of course!&rdquo; said he, quickly. &ldquo;You were distracted, Mary&mdash;you
+      didn't know what you were saying.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, no! That's not it! But I've changed my mind; I don't mean to throw
+      meself away.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I told you you'd see it that way,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;No man is worth it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, lad!&rdquo; said she. &ldquo;'Tis the fine soothin' tongue ye have&mdash;but I'd
+      rather ye knew the truth. 'Tis that I've seen the other girl; and I hate
+      her!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They walked for a bit in silence. Hal had sense enough to realise that
+      here was a difficult subject. &ldquo;I don't want to be a prig, Mary,&rdquo; he said
+      gently; &ldquo;but you'll change your mind about that, too. You'll not hate her;
+      you'll be sorry for her.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She laughed&mdash;a raw, harsh laugh. &ldquo;What kind of a joke is that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know&mdash;it may seem like one. But it'll come to you some day. You
+      have a wonderful thing to live and fight for; while she&rdquo;&mdash;he
+      hesitated a moment, for he was not sure of his own ideas on this subject&mdash;&ldquo;she
+      has so many things to learn; and she may never learn them. She'll miss
+      some fine things.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know one of the fine things she does not mean to miss,&rdquo; said Mary,
+      grimly; &ldquo;that's Mr. Hal Warner.&rdquo; Then, after they had walked again in
+      silence: &ldquo;I want ye to understand me, Mr. Warner&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, Mary!&rdquo; he pleaded. &ldquo;Don't treat me that way! I'm Joe.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;Joe ye shall be. 'Twill remind ye of a pretty
+      adventure&mdash;bein' a workin' man for a few weeks. Well, that's a part
+      of what I have to tell ye. I've got my pride, even if I'm only a poor
+      miner's daughter; and the other day I found out me place.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How do you mean?&rdquo; he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye don't understand? Honest?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, honest,&rdquo; he said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye're stupid with women, Joe. Ye didn't see what the girl did to me!
+      'Twas some kind of a bug I was to her. She was not sure if I was the kind
+      that bites, but she took no chances&mdash;she threw me off, like that.&rdquo;
+       And Mary snapped her hand, as one does when troubled with a bug.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, now!&rdquo; pleaded Hal. &ldquo;You're not being fair!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm bein' just as fair as I've got it in me to be, Joe. I been off and
+      had it all out. I can see this much&mdash;'tis not her fault, maybe&mdash;'tis
+      her class; 'tis all of ye&mdash;the very best of ye, even yeself, Joe
+      Smith!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yea,&rdquo; he replied, &ldquo;Tim Rafferty said that.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tim said too much&mdash;but a part of it was true. Ye think ye've come
+      here and been one of us workin' people. But don't your own sense tell you
+      the difference, as if it was a canyon a million miles across&mdash;between
+      a poor ignorant creature in a minin' camp, and a rich man's daughter, a
+      lady? Ye'd tell me not to be ashamed of poverty; but would ye ever put me
+      by the side of her&mdash;for all your fine feelin's of friendship for them
+      that's beneath ye? Didn't ye show that at the Minettis'?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But don't you see, Mary&mdash;&rdquo; He made an effort to laugh. &ldquo;I got used
+      to obeying Jessie! I knew her a long time before I knew you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, Joe! Ye've a kind heart, and a pleasant way of speakin'. But wouldn't
+      it interest ye to know the real truth? Ye said ye'd come out here to learn
+      the truth!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And Hal answered, in a low voice, &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; and did not interrupt again.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 29.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      Mary's voice had dropped low, and Hal thought how rich and warm it was
+      when she was deeply moved. She went on:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I lived all me life in minin' camps, Joe Smith, and I seen men robbed and
+      beaten, and women cryin' and childer hungry. I seen the company, like some
+      great wicked beast that eat them up. But I never knew why, or what it
+      meant&mdash;till that day, there at the Minettis'. I'd read about fine
+      ladies in books, ye see; but I'd never been spoke to by one, I'd never had
+      to swallow one, as ye might say. But there I did&mdash;and all at once I
+      seemed to know where the money goes that's wrung out of the miners. I saw
+      why people were robbin' us, grindin' the life out of us&mdash;for fine
+      ladies like that, to keep them so shinin' and soft! 'Twould not have been
+      so bad, if she'd not come just then, with all the men and boys dyin' down
+      in the pits&mdash;dyin' for that soft, white skin, and those soft, white
+      hands, and all those silky things she swished round in. My God, Joe&mdash;d'ye
+      know what she seemed to me like? Like a smooth, sleek cat that has just
+      eat up a whole nest full of baby mice, and has the blood of them all over
+      her cheeks!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Mary paused, breathing hard. Hal kept silence, and she went on again: &ldquo;I
+      had it out with meself, Joe! I don't want ye to think I'm any better than
+      I am, and I asked meself this question&mdash;Is it for the men in the pits
+      that ye hate her with such black murder? Or is it for the one man ye want,
+      and that she's got? And I knew the answer to that! But then I asked meself
+      another question, too&mdash;Would ye be like her if ye could? Would ye do
+      what she's doin' right now&mdash;would ye have it on your soul? And as God
+      hears me, Joe, 'tis the truth I speak&mdash;I'd not do it! No, not for the
+      love of any man that ever walked on this earth!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She had lifted her clenched fist as she spoke. She let it fall again, and
+      strode on, not even glancing at him. &ldquo;Ye might try a thousand years, Joe,
+      and ye'd not realise the feelin's that come to me there at the Minettis'.
+      The shame of it&mdash;not what she done to me, but what she made me in me
+      own eyes! Me, the daughter of a drunken old miner, and her&mdash;I don't
+      know what her father is, but she's some sort of princess, and she knows
+      it. And that's the thing that counts, Joe! 'Tis not that she has so much
+      money, and so many fine things; that she knows how to talk, and I don't,
+      and that her voice is sweet, and mine is ugly, when I'm ragin' as I am
+      now. No&mdash;'tis that she's so <i>sure!</i> That's the word I found to
+      say it; she's sure&mdash;sure&mdash;<i>sure!</i> She has the fine things,
+      she's always had them, she has a right to have them! And I have a right to
+      nothin' but trouble, I'm hunted all day by misery and fear, I've lost even
+      the roof over me head! Joe, ye know I've got some temper&mdash;I'm not
+      easy to beat down; but when I'd got through bein' taught me place, I went
+      off and hid meself, I ground me face in the dirt, for the black rage of
+      it! I said to meself, 'Tis true! There's somethin' in her better than me!
+      She's some kind of finer creature.&mdash;Look at these hands!&rdquo; She held
+      them out in the moonlight, with a swift, passionate gesture. &ldquo;So she's a
+      right to her man, and I'm a fool to have ever raised me eyes to him! I
+      have to see him go away, and crawl back into me leaky old shack! Yes,
+      that's the truth! And when I point it out to the man, what d'ye think he
+      says? Why, he tells me gently and kindly that I ought to be sorry for her!
+      Christ! did ye ever hear the like of that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a long silence. Hal could not have said anything now, if he had
+      wished to. He knew that this was what he had come to seek! This was the
+      naked soul of the class-war!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now,&rdquo; concluded Mary, with clenched hands, and a voice that corresponded,
+      &ldquo;now, I've had it out. I'm no slave; I've just as good a right to life as
+      any lady. I know I'll never have it, of course; I'll never wear good
+      clothes, nor live in a decent home, nor have the man I want; but I'll know
+      that I've done somethin' to help free the workin' people from the shame
+      that's put on them. That's what the strike done for me, Joe! The strike
+      showed me the way. We're beat this time, but somehow it hasn't made the
+      difference ye might think. I'm goin' to make more strikes before I quit,
+      and they won't all of them be beat!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She stopped speaking; and Hal walked beside her, stirred by a conflict of
+      emotions. His vision of her was indeed true; she would make more strikes!
+      He was glad and proud of that; but then came the thought that while she, a
+      girl, was going on with the bitter war, he, a man, would be eating grilled
+      beefsteaks at the club!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mary,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I'm ashamed of myself&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's not it, Joe! Ye've no call to be ashamed. Ye can't help it where
+      ye were born&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Perhaps not, Mary. But when a man knows he's never paid for any of the
+      things he's enjoyed all his life, surely the least he can do is to be
+      ashamed. I hope you'll try not to hate me as you do the others.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I never hated ye, Joe! Not for one moment! I tell ye fair and true, I
+      love ye as much as ever. I can say it, because I'd not have ye now; I've
+      seen the other girl, and I know ye'd never be satisfied with me. I don't
+      know if I ought to say it, but I'm thinkin' ye'll not be altogether
+      satisfied with her, either. Ye'll be unhappy either way&mdash;God help
+      ye!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl had read deeply into his soul in this last speech; so deeply that
+      Hal could not trust himself to answer. They were passing a street-lamp,
+      and she looked at him, for the first time since they had started on their
+      walk, and saw harassment in his face. A sudden tenderness came into her
+      voice. &ldquo;Joe,&rdquo; she said; &ldquo;ye're lookin' bad. 'Tis good ye're goin' away
+      from this place!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He tried to smile, but the effort was feeble.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Joe,&rdquo; she went on, &ldquo;ye asked me to be your friend. Well, I'll be that!&rdquo;
+       And she held out the big, rough hand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He took it. &ldquo;We'll not forget each other, Mary,&rdquo; he said. There was a
+      catch in his voice.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure, lad!&rdquo; she exclaimed. &ldquo;We'll make another strike some day, just like
+      we did at North Valley!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal pressed the big hand; but then suddenly, remembering his brother
+      stalking solemnly in the rear, he relinquished the clasp, and failed to
+      say all the fine things he had in his mind. He called himself a rebel, but
+      not enough to be sentimental before Edward!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 30.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      They came to the house where John Edstrom was staying. The labouring man's
+      wife opened the door. In answer to Hal's question, she said, &ldquo;The old
+      gentleman's pretty bad.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What's the matter with him?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Didn't you know he was hurt?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No. How?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They beat him up, sir. Broke his arm, and nearly broke his head.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal and Mary exclaimed in chorus, &ldquo;Who did it? When?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We don't know who did it. It was four nights ago.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal realised it must have happened while he was escaping from MacKellar's.
+      &ldquo;Have you had a doctor for him?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, sir; but we can't do much, because my man is out of work, and I have
+      the children and the boarders to look after.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal and Mary ran upstairs. Their old friend lay in darkness, but he
+      recognised their voices and greeted them with a feeble cry. The woman
+      brought a lamp, and they saw him lying on his back, his head done up in
+      bandages, and one arm bound in splints. He looked really desperately bad,
+      his kindly old eyes deep-sunken and haggard, and his face&mdash;Hal
+      remembered what Jeff Cotton had called him, &ldquo;that dough-faced old
+      preacher!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They got the story of what had happened at the time of Hal's flight to
+      Percy's train. Edstrom had shouted a warning to the fugitives, and set out
+      to run after them; when one of the mine-guards, running past him, had
+      fetched him a blow over the eye, knocking him down. He had struck his head
+      upon the pavement, and lain there unconscious for many hours. When finally
+      some one had come upon him, and summoned a policeman, they had gone
+      through his pockets, and found the address of this place where he was
+      staying written on a scrap of paper. That was all there was to the story&mdash;except
+      that Edstrom had refrained from sending to MacKellar for help, because he
+      had felt sure they were all working to get the mine open, and he did not
+      feel he had the right to put his troubles upon them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal listened to the old man's feeble statements, and there came back to
+      him a surge of that fury which his North Valley experience had generated
+      in him. It was foolish, perhaps; for to knock down an old man who had been
+      making trouble was a comparatively slight exercise of the functions of a
+      mine-guard. But to Hal it seemed the most characteristic of all the
+      outrages he had seen; it was an expression of the company's utter
+      blindness to all that was best in life. This old man, who was so gentle,
+      so patient, who had suffered so much, and not learned to hate, who had
+      kept his faith so true! What did his faith mean to the thugs of the
+      General Fuel Company? What had his philosophy availed him, his
+      saintliness, his hopes for mankind? They had fetched him one swipe as they
+      passed him, and left him lying&mdash;alive or dead, it was all the same.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal had got some satisfaction out of his little adventure in widowhood,
+      and some out of Mary's self-victory; but there, listening to the old man's
+      whispered story, his satisfaction died. He realised again the grim truth
+      about his summer's experience&mdash;that the issue of it had been defeat.
+      Utter, unqualified defeat! He had caused the bosses a momentary chagrin;
+      but it would not take them many hours to realise that he had really done
+      them a service in calling off the strike for them. They would start the
+      wheels of industry again, and the workers would be just where they had
+      been before Joe Smith came to be stableman and buddy among them. What was
+      all the talk about solidarity, about hope for the future; what would it
+      amount to in the long run, the daily rolling of the wheels of industry?
+      The workers of North Valley would have exactly the right they had always
+      had&mdash;the right to be slaves, and if they did not care for that, the
+      right to be martyrs!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Mary sat holding the old man's hand and whispering words of passionate
+      sympathy, while Hal got up and paced the tiny attic, all ablaze with
+      anger. He resolved suddenly that he would not go back to Western City; he
+      would stay here, and get an honest lawyer to come, and set out to punish
+      the men who were guilty of this outrage. He would test out the law to the
+      limit; if necessary, he would begin a political fight, to put an end to
+      coal-company rule in this community. He would find some one to write up
+      these conditions, he would raise the money and publish a paper to make
+      them known! Before his surging wrath had spent itself, Hal Warner had
+      actually come out as a candidate for governor, and was overturning the
+      Republican machine&mdash;all because an unidentified coal-company
+      detective had knocked a dough-faced old miner into the gutter and broken
+      his arm!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 31.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      In the end, of course, Hal had to come down to practical matters. He sat
+      by the bed and told the old man tactfully that his brother had come to see
+      him and had given him some money. This brother had plenty of money, so
+      Edstrom could be taken to the hospital; or, if he preferred, Mary could
+      stay near here and take care of him. They turned to the landlady, who had
+      been standing in the doorway; she had three boarders in her little home,
+      it seemed, but if Mary could share a bed with the landlady's two children,
+      they might make out. In spite of Hal's protest, Mary accepted this offer;
+      he saw what was in her mind&mdash;she would take some of his money,
+      because of old Edstrom's need, but she would take just as little as she
+      possibly could.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      John Edstrom of course knew nothing of events since his injury, so Hal
+      told him the story briefly&mdash;though without mentioning the
+      transformation which had taken place in the miner's buddy. He told about
+      the part Mary had played in the strike; trying to entertain the poor old
+      man, he told how he had seen her mounted upon a snow-white horse, and
+      wearing a robe of white, soft and lustrous, like Joan of Arc, or the
+      leader of a suffrage parade.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure,&rdquo; said Mary, &ldquo;he's forever callin' attention to this old dress!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal looked; she was wearing the same blue calico. &ldquo;There's something
+      mysterious about that dress,&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;It's one of those that you read
+      about in fairy-stories, that forever patch themselves, and keep themselves
+      new and starchy. A body only needs one dress like that!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure, lad,&rdquo; she answered. &ldquo;There's no fairies in coal-camps&mdash;unless
+      'tis meself, that washes it at night, and dries it over the stove, and
+      irons it next mornin'.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She said this with unwavering cheerfulness; but even the old miner lying
+      in pain on the cot could realise the tragedy of a young girl's having only
+      one old dress in her love-hunting season. He looked at the young couple,
+      and saw their evident interest in each other; after the fashion of the
+      old, he was disposed to help along the romance. &ldquo;She may need some orange
+      blossoms,&rdquo; he ventured, feebly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Go along with ye!&rdquo; laughed Mary, still unwavering.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure,&rdquo; put in Hal, with hasty gallantry, &ldquo;'tis a blossom she is herself!
+      A rose in a mining-camp&mdash;and there's a dispute about her in the
+      poetry-books. One tells you to leave her on her stalk, and another says to
+      gather ye rosebuds while ye may, old time is still a-flying!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ye're mixin' me up,&rdquo; said Mary. &ldquo;A while back I was ridin' on a white
+      horse.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I remember,&rdquo; said Old Edstrom, &ldquo;not so far back, you were an ant, Mary.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Her face became grave. To jest about her personal tragedy was one thing,
+      to jest about the strike was another. &ldquo;Yes, I remember. Ye said I'd stay
+      in the line! Ye were wiser than me, Mr. Edstrom.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's one of the things that come with being old, Mary.&rdquo; He moved his
+      gnarled old hand toward hers. &ldquo;You're going on, now?&rdquo; he asked. &ldquo;You're a
+      unionist now, Mary?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am that!&rdquo; she answered, promptly, her grey eyes shining.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's a saying,&rdquo; said he&mdash;&ldquo;once a striker, always a striker. Find
+      a way to get some education for yourself, Mary, and when the big strike
+      comes you'll be one of those the miners look to. I'll not be here, I know&mdash;the
+      young people must take my place.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll do my part,&rdquo; she answered. Her voice was low; it was a kind of
+      benediction the old man was giving her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The woman had gone downstairs to attend to her children; she came back now
+      to say that there was a gentleman at the door, who wanted to know when his
+      brother was coming. Hal remembered suddenly&mdash;Edward had been pacing
+      up and down all this while, with no company but a &ldquo;hardware drummer!&rdquo; The
+      younger brother's resolve to stay in Pedro had already begun to weaken
+      somewhat, and now it weakened still further; he realised that life is
+      complex, that duties conflict! He assured the old miner again of his
+      ability to see that he did not suffer from want, and then he bade him
+      farewell for a while.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He started out, and Mary went as far as the head of the stairway with him.
+      He took the girl's big, rough hand in his&mdash;this time with no one to
+      see. &ldquo;Mary,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I want you to know that nothing will make me forget
+      you; and nothing will make me forget the miners.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, Joe!&rdquo; she cried. &ldquo;Don't let them win ye away from us! We need ye so
+      bad!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm going back home for a while,&rdquo; he answered, &ldquo;but you can be sure that
+      no matter what happens in my life, I'm going to fight for the working
+      people. When the big strike comes, as we know it's coming in this
+      coal-country, I'll be here to do my share.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure lad,&rdquo; she said, looking him bravely in the eye, &ldquo;and good-bye to ye,
+      Joe Smith.&rdquo; Her eyes did not waver; but Hal noted a catch in her voice,
+      and he found himself with an impulse to take her in his arms. It was very
+      puzzling. He knew he loved Jessie Arthur; he remembered the question Mary
+      had once asked him&mdash;could he be in love with two girls at the same
+      time? It was not in accord with any moral code that had been impressed
+      upon him, but apparently he could!
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      SECTION 32.
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      He went out to the street, where his brother was pacing up and down in a
+      ferment. The &ldquo;hardware drummer&rdquo; had made another effort to start a
+      conversation, and had been told to go to hell&mdash;no less!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, are you through now?&rdquo; Edward demanded, taking out his irritation on
+      Hal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; replied the other. &ldquo;I suppose so.&rdquo; He realised that Edward would
+      not be concerned about Edstrom's broken arm.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then, for God's sake, get some clothes on and let's have some food.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said Hal. But his answer was listless, and the other looked
+      at him sharply. Even by the moonlight Edward could see the lines in the
+      face of his younger brother, and the hollows around his eyes. For the
+      first time he realised how deeply these experiences were cutting into the
+      boy's soul. &ldquo;You poor kid!&rdquo; he exclaimed, with sudden feeling. But Hal did
+      not answer; he did not want sympathy, he did not want anything!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Edward made a gesture of despair. &ldquo;God knows, I don't know what to do for
+      you!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They started back to the hotel, and on the way Edward cast about in his
+      mind for a harmless subject of conversation. He mentioned that he had
+      foreseen the shutting up of the stores, and had purchased an outfit for
+      his brother. There was no need to thank him, he added grimly; he had no
+      intention of travelling to Western City in company with a hobo.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So the young miner had a bath, the first real one in a long time. (Never
+      again would it be possible for ladies to say in Hal Warner's presence that
+      the poor might at least keep clean!) He had a shave; he trimmed his
+      finger-nails, and brushed his hair, and dressed himself as a gentleman. In
+      spite of himself he found his cheerfulness partly restored. A strange and
+      wonderful sensation&mdash;to be dressed once more as a gentleman. He
+      thought of the saying of the old negro, who liked to stub his toe, because
+      it felt so good when it stopped hurting!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They went out to find a restaurant, and on the way one last misadventure
+      befell Edward. Hal saw an old miner walking past, and stopped with a cry:
+      &ldquo;Mike!&rdquo; He forgot all at once that he was a gentleman; the old miner
+      forgot it also. He stared for one bewildered moment, then he rushed at Hal
+      and seized him in the hug of a mountain grizzly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My buddy! My buddy!&rdquo; he cried, and gave Hal a prodigious thump on the
+      back. &ldquo;By Judas!&rdquo; And he gave him a thump with the other hand. &ldquo;Hey! you
+      old son-of-a-gun!&rdquo; And he gave him a hairy kiss!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But in the very midst of these raptures it dawned over him that there was
+      something wrong about his buddy. He drew back, staring. &ldquo;You got good
+      clothes! You got rich, hey?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Evidently the old fellow had heard no rumour concerning Hal's secret.
+      &ldquo;I've been doing pretty well,&rdquo; Hal said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What you work at, hey?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I been working at a strike in North Valley.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What's that? You make money working at strike?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal laughed, but did not explain. &ldquo;What you working at?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I work at strike too&mdash;all alone strike.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No job?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I work two days on railroad. Got busted track up there. Pay me
+      two-twenty-five a day. Then no more job.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Have you tried the mines?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What? Me? They got me all right! I go up to San José. Pit-boss say, 'Get
+      the hell out of here, you old groucher! You don't get no more jobs in this
+      district!'&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal looked Mike over, and saw that his dirty old face was drawn and white,
+      belying the feeble cheerfulness of his words. &ldquo;We're going to have
+      something to eat,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Won't you come with us?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure thing!&rdquo; said Mike, with alacrity. &ldquo;I go easy on grub now.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hal introduced &ldquo;Mr. Edward Warner,&rdquo; who said &ldquo;How do you do?&rdquo; He accepted
+      gingerly the calloused paw which the old Slovak held out to him, but he
+      could not keep the look of irritation from his face. His patience was
+      utterly exhausted. He had hoped to find a decent restaurant and have some
+      real food; but now, of course, he could not enjoy anything, with this old
+      gobbler in front of him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They entered an all-night lunch-room, where Hal and Mike ordered
+      cheese-sandwiches and milk, and Edward sat and wondered at his brother's
+      ability to eat such food. Meantime the two cronies told each other their
+      stories, and Old Mike slapped his knee and cried out with delight over
+      Hal's exploits. &ldquo;Oh, you buddy!&rdquo; he exclaimed; then, to Edward, &ldquo;Ain't he
+      a daisy, hey?&rdquo; And he gave Edward a thump on the shoulder. &ldquo;By Judas, they
+      don't beat my buddy!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Mike Sikoria had last been seen by Hal from the window of the North Valley
+      jail, when he had been distributing the copies of Hal's signature, and Bud
+      Adams had taken him in charge. The mine-guard had marched him into a shed
+      in back of the power-house, where he had found Kauser and Kalovac, two
+      other fellows who had been arrested while helping in the distribution.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Mike detailed the experience with his usual animation. &ldquo;'Hey, Mister Bud,'
+      I say, 'if you going to send me down canyon, I want to get my things.'
+      'You go to hell for your things,' says he. And then I say, 'Mister Bud, I
+      want to get my time.' And he says, 'I give you plenty time right here!'
+      And he punch me and throw me over. Then he grab me up' again and pull me
+      outside, and I see big automobile waiting, and I say, 'Holy Judas! I get
+      ride in automobile! Here I am, old fellow fifty-seven years old, never
+      been in automobile ride all my days. I think always I die and never get in
+      automobile ride!' We go down canyon, and I look round and see them
+      mountains, and feel nice cool wind in my face, and I say, 'Bully for you,
+      Mister Bud, I don't never forget this automobile. I don't have such good
+      time any day all my life.' And he say, 'Shut your face, you old wop!' Then
+      we come out on prairie, we go up in Black Hills, and they stop, and say,
+      'Get out here, you sons o' guns.' And they leave us there all alone. They
+      say, 'You come back again, we catch you and we rip the guts out of you!'
+      They go away fast, and we got to walk seven hours, us fellers, before we
+      come to a house! But I don't mind that, I begged some grub, and then I got
+      job mending track; only I don't find out if you get out of jail, and I
+      think maybe I lose my buddy and never see him no more.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Here the old man stopped, gazing affectionately at Hal. &ldquo;I write you
+      letter to North Valley, but I don't hear nothing, and I got to walk all
+      the way on railroad track to look for you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      How was it? Hal wondered. He had encountered naked horror in this
+      coal-country&mdash;yet here he was, not entirely glad at the thought of
+      leaving it! He would miss Old Mike Sikoria, his hairy kiss and his
+      grizzly-bear hug!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He struck the old man dumb by pressing a twenty-dollar bill into his hand.
+      Also he gave him the address of Edstrom and Mary, and a note to Johann
+      Hartman, who might use him to work among the Slovaks who came down into
+      the town. Hal explained that he had to go back to Western City that night,
+      but that he would never forget his old friend, and would see that he had a
+      good job. He was trying to figure out some occupation for the old man on
+      his father's country-place. A pet grizzly!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Train-time came, and the long line of dark sleepers rolled in by the
+      depot-platform. It was late&mdash;after midnight; but, nevertheless, there
+      was Old Mike. He was in awe of Hal now, with his fine clothes and his
+      twenty-dollar bills; but, nevertheless, under stress of his emotion, he
+      gave him one more hug, and one more hairy kiss. &ldquo;Good-bye, my buddy!&rdquo; he
+      cried. &ldquo;You come back, my buddy! I don't forget my buddy!&rdquo; And when the
+      train began to move, he waved his ragged cap, and ran along the platform
+      to get a last glimpse, to call a last farewell. When Hal turned into the
+      car, it was with more than a trace of moisture in his eyes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      POSTSCRIPT
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      From previous experiences the writer has learned that many people, reading
+      a novel such as &ldquo;King Coal,&rdquo; desire to be informed as to whether it is
+      true to fact. They write to ask if the book is meant to be so taken; they
+      ask for evidence to convince themselves and others. Having answered
+      thousands of such letters in the course of his life, it seems to the
+      author the part of common-sense to answer some of them in advance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;King Coal&rdquo; is a picture of the life of the workers in unorganised
+      labour-camps in many parts of America, The writer has avoided naming a
+      definite place, for the reason that such conditions are to be found as far
+      apart as West Virginia, Alabama, Michigan, Minnesota, and Colorado. Most
+      of the details of his picture were gathered in the last-named state, which
+      the writer visited on three occasions during and just after the great
+      coal-strike of 1913-14. The book gives a true picture of conditions and
+      events observed by him at this time. Practically all the characters are
+      real persons, and every incident which has social significance is not
+      merely a true incident, but a typical one. The life portrayed in &ldquo;King
+      Coal&rdquo; is the life that is lived to-day by hundreds of thousands of men,
+      women and children in this &ldquo;land of the free.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The reader who wishes evidence may be accommodated. There was never a
+      strike more investigated than the Colorado coal-strike. The material about
+      it in the writer's possession cannot be less than eight million words, the
+      greater part of it sworn testimony taken under government supervision.
+      There is, first, the report of the Congressional Committee, a government
+      document of three thousand closely printed pages, about two million words;
+      an equal amount of testimony given before the U. S. Commission on
+      Industrial Relations, also a government document; a special report on the
+      Colorado strike, prepared for the same commission, a book of 189 pages,
+      supporting every contention of this story; about four hundred thousand
+      words of testimony given before a committee appointed at the suggestion of
+      the Governor of Colorado; a report made by the Rev. Henry A. Atkinson, who
+      investigated the strike as representative of the Federal Council of the
+      Churches of Christ in America, and of the Social Service Commission of the
+      Congregational Churches; the report of an elaborate investigation by the
+      Colorado state militia; the bulletins issued by both sides during the
+      controversy; the testimony given at various coroners' inquests; and,
+      finally, articles by different writers to be found in the files of <i>Everybody's
+      Magazine</i>, the <i>Metropolitan Magazine</i>, the <i>Survey</i>, <i>Harper's
+      Weekly</i>, and <i>Collier's Weekly</i>, all during the year 1914.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The writer prepared a collection of extracts from these various sources,
+      meaning to publish them in this place; but while the manuscript was in the
+      hands of the publishers, there appeared one document, which, in the weight
+      of its authority, seemed to discount all others. A decision was rendered
+      by the Supreme Court of the State of Colorado, in a case which included
+      the most fundamental of the many issues raised in &ldquo;King Coal.&rdquo; It is not
+      often that the writer of a novel of contemporary life is so fortunate as
+      to have the truth of his work passed upon and established by the highest
+      judicial tribunal of the community!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the elections of November, 1914, in Huerfano County, Colorado, J. B.
+      Farr, Republican candidate for re-election as sheriff, a person known
+      throughout the coal-country as &ldquo;the King of Huerfano County,&rdquo; was returned
+      as elected by a majority of 329 votes. His rival, the Democratic
+      candidate, contested the election, alleging &ldquo;malconduct, fraud and
+      corruption.&rdquo; The district court found in Farr's favour, and the case was
+      appealed on error to the Supreme Court of the State. On June 21st, 1916,
+      after Farr had served nearly the whole of his term of office, the Supreme
+      Court handed down a decision which unseated him and the entire ticket
+      elected with him, finding in favour of the opposition ticket in all cases
+      and upon all grounds charged.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The decision is long&mdash;about ten thousand words, and its legal
+      technicalities would not interest the reader. It will suffice to reprint
+      the essential paragraphs. The reader is asked to give these paragraphs
+      careful study, considering, not merely the specific offence denounced by
+      the court, but its wider implications. The offence was one so
+      unprecedented that the justices of the court, men chosen for their
+      learning in the history of offences, were moved to say: &ldquo;We find no such
+      example of fraud within the books, and must seek the letter and spirit of
+      the law in a free government, as a scale in which to weigh such conduct.&rdquo;
+       And let it be noted, this &ldquo;crime without a name&rdquo; was not a crime of
+      passion, but of policy; it was a crime deliberately planned and carried
+      out by profit-seeking corporations of enormous power. Let the reader
+      imagine the psychology of the men of great wealth who ordered this crime,
+      as a means of keeping and increasing their wealth; let him realise what
+      must be the attitude of such men to their helpless workers; and then let
+      him ask himself whether there is any act portrayed in &ldquo;King Coal&rdquo; which
+      men of such character would shrink from ordering.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Court decision first gives an outline of the case, using for the most
+      part the statements of the counsel for the defendant, Farr; so that for
+      practical purposes the following may be taken as the coal companies' own
+      account of their domain: &ldquo;Round the shaft of each mine are clustered the
+      tipple, the mine office, the shops, sheds and outbuildings; and huddled
+      close by, within a stone's throw, cottages of the miners built on the land
+      of, and owned by, the mining company. All the dwellers in the camp are
+      employés of the mine. There is no other industry. This is 'the camp.' Of
+      the eight 'closed camps' it appears that practically the same conditions
+      existed in all of them, and those conditions were in general that members
+      of the United Mine Workers of America, their organisers or agitators, were
+      prevented from coming into the camps, so far as it was possible to keep
+      them out, and to this end guards were stationed about them. Of the eight
+      'closed camps' one of them, 'Walsen,' was, and at the time of the trial
+      still was, enclosed by a fence erected at the beginning of the strike in
+      October, 1913: Rouse and Cameron were partly, but never entirely, enclosed
+      by fences. It is admitted that all persons entering these camps and
+      precincts were required by the companies to have passes, and it is
+      contended that this was an 'industrial necessity.'&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The Court then goes on as follows:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Federal troops entered the district in May of 1914, and the testimony
+      is in agreement that no serious acts of violence occurred thereafter, and
+      that order was preserved up to and subsequent to the election, and to the
+      time of this trial.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It was under this condition that in July, 1914, the Board of County
+      Commissioners changed certain of the election precincts so as to
+      constitute each of such camps an election precinct, and with but one
+      exception where a few ranches were included, these precincts were made to
+      conform to the fences and lines around each camp, protected by fences in
+      some instances and with armed guards in all cases. Thus each election
+      precinct by this unparalleled act of the commissioners was placed
+      exclusively within and upon the private grounds and under the private
+      control of a coal corporation, which autocratically declared who should
+      and who should not enter upon the territory of this political entity of
+      the state, so purposely bounded by the county commissioners.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;With but one exception all the lands and buildings within each of these
+      election precincts as so created, were owned or controlled by the coal
+      corporations; every person resident within such precincts was an employé
+      of these private corporations or their allied companies, with the single
+      exception: every judge, clerk or officer of election with the exception of
+      a saloon keeper, and partner of Farr, was an employé of the
+      coal-companies.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The polling places were upon the grounds, and in the buildings of these
+      companies; the registration lists were kept within the private offices or
+      buildings of such companies, and used and treated as their private
+      property.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thus were the public election districts and the public election machinery
+      turned over to the absolute domination and imperial control of private
+      coal corporations, and used by them as absolutely and privately as were
+      their mines, to and for their own private purposes, and upon which public
+      territory no man might enter for either public or private purpose, save
+      and except by the express permission of these private corporations.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This right to determine who should enter such so called election
+      precincts, appears from the record to have been exercised as against all
+      classes; merchants, tradesmen or what not, and whether the business of
+      such person was public or private. Indeed, it appears that in one instance
+      the governor and adjutant general of the state while on official business,
+      were denied admission to one of these closed camps. And that on the day of
+      election, the Democratic watchers and challengers for Walsen Mine
+      precinct, one of which was Neelley, the Democratic candidate for sheriff,
+      were forced to seek and secure a detail of Federal soldiers to escort them
+      into the precinct and to the polls, and that such soldiers remained as
+      such guard during the day and a part of the night....
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But if there was any doubt concerning the condition of the closed camps
+      and precincts, and the exclusion of representatives of the Democratic
+      party from discussing the issues of the campaign within the precincts
+      comprising the closed camps, it is entirely removed by the testimony of
+      the witness Weitzel, for contestee (Farr). He testified that he was a
+      resident of Pueblo, and was manager of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company;
+      that Rouse, Lester, Ideal, Cameron, Walsen, Pictou and McNally are camps
+      under his jurisdiction. That he had general charge of the camps and that
+      there was no company official in Colorado superior to him in this respect
+      except the president; that the superintendent and other employés are under
+      his supervision; that the Federal troops came about the 1st of May, 1914,
+      and continued until January, 1915. That in all those camps he tried to
+      keep out the people who were antagonistic to the company's interests; that
+      it was private property and so treated by his company; that through him
+      the company and its officials assumed to exercise authority as to who
+      might or who might not enter; that if persons could assure or satisfy the
+      man at the gate, or the superintendent that they were not connected with
+      the United Mine Workers, or in their employ as agitators, they were let
+      into the camp. That 'no one we were fighting against got in for social
+      intercourse or any other'; that he and officials under him assumed to pass
+      upon the question of whether or not any person coming there came for the
+      purpose of agitation. That Mr. Mitchell, the chairman of the Democratic
+      committee, as he recalled it, was identified with the agitators, ran a
+      newspaper and was connected either directly or indirectly with the United
+      Mine Workers; that Mr. Neelley, Democratic candidate for sheriff, was
+      identified with the strikers, and that he would be considered as an
+      objectionable character. That when the Federal troops came, they restored
+      peace and normal conditions; there was no rioting after that, there was no
+      fear on the part of the company when the Federal soldiers were here,
+      except fear of agitation. Asked if he guarded the camp against discussion,
+      against the espousal of the cause of the company, he replied, 'We didn't
+      encourage it.' The company would not encourage organisers to come into the
+      camp, no matter how peacefully they conducted themselves; that the company
+      did not permit men to come into the camp to discuss with the employés
+      certain principles, or to carry on arguments with them or to appeal to
+      their reason, or to discuss with them things along reasonable lines,
+      because it was known from experience that if they were allowed to come in
+      they would resort to threats of violence. They might not resort to any
+      violence at the time, but it might result in the people becoming
+      frightened and leaving, and they were anxious to hold their employés. He
+      was asked whether or not one had business there depended upon the decision
+      of the official in charge; he replied that the superintendent probably
+      would inquire of him what his business was. That any one that Farr asked
+      for a permit to enter the camp would likely get it....
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There was but one attempt to hold a political meeting in the closed
+      precincts. Joseph Patterson, who attempted to hold this meeting, testifies
+      concerning it as follows:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Was at a political meeting at Oakview. Had been a warm, personal friend
+      of Mr. Jones, the assistant superintendent of the Oakview mine, and had
+      written him a letter asking the courtesy of holding a political meeting.
+      On Saturday evening received a letter that he could hold such meeting. On
+      the day previous to the meeting witness received a 'phone message from the
+      assistant superintendent, in which the latter inquired whether witness was
+      coming up there to cause any trouble, and witness replied, certainly not,
+      and if the superintendent felt that way they would not come. Had advised
+      the superintendent that he and others were going to hold a political
+      meeting for the Democratic party. Jones, the superintendent, stated that
+      witness should come to the office that night before he went to the school
+      house for the purpose of the meeting; when witness arrived at the meeting
+      there were about six or eight English speaking people and a dozen to
+      fourteen Mexicans. The superintendent, Mr. Morgan, and Mr. Price, were
+      outside of the door most of the time. Witness noticed that the first few
+      fellows that came toward the school house, the superintendent stopped and
+      talked with them and they turned back to the camp. This happened several
+      times: as soon as they talked with Morgan they turned back. After he saw
+      that, witness went into the school house and said that it was no use to
+      hold any meeting; that it seemed that nobody was allowed to come. This
+      meeting was supposed to be in a public school house on the company
+      property. Had to get permission from the superintendent of the Oakview
+      mining Company to hold said political meeting.&rdquo;....
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It appears that the number of registered voters in the closed precincts
+      was very largely in excess of the number of votes cast, and this of itself
+      was sufficient to demand an open and fair investigation as to the
+      qualifications of the alleged voters.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It appears from the testimony that in these closed precincts many of
+      those who voted were unable to speak or read the English language, and
+      that in numerous instances, the election judges assisted such, by marking
+      the ballots for them in violation of the law. Again, it appears that the
+      ballots were printed so that.... (The decision here goes on to explain in
+      detail a device whereby the ballot was so printed that voting could be
+      controlled with the help of a card device.) Thus such voters were not
+      choosing candidates, but, under the direction of the companies, were
+      simply placing the cross where they found the particular letter R on the
+      ballot, so that the ballot was not an expression of opinion or judgment,
+      not an intelligent exercise of suffrage, but plainly a dictated coal
+      company vote, as much so as if the agents of these companies had marked
+      the ballots without the intervention of the voter. No more fraudulent and
+      infamous prostitution of the ballot is conceivable....
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Counsel contend that the closed precincts were an 'industrial necessity,'
+      and for such reason the conduct of the coal companies during the campaign
+      was justified. However such conduct may be viewed when confined to the
+      private property of such corporations in their private operation, the fact
+      remains that there is no justification when they were dealing with such
+      territory after it had been dedicated to a public use, and particularly
+      involving the right of the people to exercise their duties and powers as
+      electors in a popular government.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The fact appears that the members of the board of county commissioners
+      and all other county officers were Republicans, and as stated by counsel
+      for the contestees, the success of the Republican candidates was
+      considered by the coal companies, vital to their interests. The close
+      relationship of the coal companies and the Republican officials and
+      candidates appears to have been so marked both before and during the
+      campaign, as to justify the conclusion that such officers regarded their
+      duty to the coal companies as paramount to their duty to the public
+      service. To say that the closed precincts were not so created to suit the
+      convenience and interests of these corporations, or that they were not so
+      formed with the advice and consent of these corporations, is to discredit
+      human intelligence, and to deny human experience. The plain purpose of the
+      formation of the new precincts was that the coal companies might have
+      opportunity to conduct and control the elections therein, just as such
+      elections were conducted. The irresistible conclusion is that these close
+      precincts were so formed by the county commissioners with the connivance
+      of the representatives of the coal companies, if not by their express
+      command.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There can be no free, open and fair election as contemplated by the
+      constitution, where private industrial corporations so throttle public
+      opinion, deny the free exercise of choice by sovereign electors, dictate
+      and control all election officers, prohibit public discussion of public
+      questions, and imperially command what citizens may and what citizens may
+      not, peacefully and for lawful purposes, enter upon election or public
+      territory....
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We find no such example of fraud within the books, and must seek the
+      letter and spirit of the law in a free government, as a scale in which to
+      weigh such conduct....
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The denial of the right of peaceful assemblage, can have been for no
+      other purpose than to influence the election. There was no disturbance in
+      any of these precincts after they were created, up to the time of the
+      election, and up to the time of this trial. The Federal troops were
+      present at all times to preserve the peace and to protect life and
+      property. There was no reason to anticipate any disturbance. Therefore
+      this bold denial was an inexcusable and corrupt violation of the natural
+      and inalienable rights of the citizens.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The defence relies not upon conflicting evidence, but upon the contention
+      that the conduct of the election was justified as an 'industrial
+      necessity.'
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We have heard much in this state in recent years as to the denial of
+      inherent and constitutional rights of citizens being justified by
+      'military necessity,' but this we believe is the first time in our
+      experience when the violation of the fundamental rights of freemen has
+      been attempted to be justified by the plea of 'industrial necessity.'
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Even if we were to concede that there may be some palliation in the plea
+      of military necessity on the theory that such acts purport to be acts of
+      the government itself, through its military arm and with the purpose of
+      preserving the public peace and safety: yet that a private corporation,
+      with its privately armed forces, may violate the most sacred right of the
+      citizenship of the state and find lawful excuse in the plea of private
+      'industrial necessity' savours too much of anarchy to find approval by
+      courts of justice.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This case clearly comes within another exception to the rule, in that it
+      is plain that the findings were influenced by the bias and prejudice of
+      the trial judge.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A careful reading of the record discloses the rejection by the court of
+      so much palpably pertinent and competent testimony offered by the
+      contestors, as to force the conclusion that the trial judge was influenced
+      by bias and prejudice, to the extent at least, charged in the application
+      for a change of venue, and sufficient in itself to justify a reversal of
+      judgment....
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;For the foregoing reasons the judgment of the court in each case before
+      us, is reversed, and the entire poll in the said precincts of Niggerhead,
+      Ravenwood, Walsen Mine, Oakview, Pryor, Rouse and Cameron is annulled, and
+      held for naught, and the election in each of said precincts is hereby set
+      aside. This leaves a substantial and unquestioned majority for each of the
+      contestors in the county, and which entitles each contestor to be declared
+      elected to the office for which he was a candidate.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We find further, that J. B. Farr, the defendant in error, was not and is
+      not the duly elected sheriff of Huerfano county, and that E. L. Neelley,
+      the plaintiff in error, was and is the duly elected sheriff of said
+      county. It is therefore ordered that the said county, and that the said E.
+      L. Neelley, immediately and upon qualification as required by law, enter
+      and discharge the duties of the said office of sheriff of Huerfano
+      county....&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So much for the court opinion upon coal-camp politics. In relation
+      thereto, the writer has only one comment to offer. Let the reader not drop
+      the matter with the idea that because one set of corrupt officials have
+      been turned out of office in one American county, therefore justice has
+      been vindicated, and there is no longer need to be concerned about the
+      conditions portrayed in &ldquo;King Coal.&rdquo; The defeat of the &ldquo;King of Huerfano
+      County&rdquo; is but one step in a long road which the miners of Colorado have
+      to travel if ever they are to be free men. The industrial power of the
+      great corporations remains untouched by this decision; and this power is
+      greater than any political power ever wielded by the government of
+      Huerfano County, or even of the state of Colorado. This industrial power
+      is a deep, far-spreading root; and so long as it is allowed to thrive, it
+      will send up again and again the poisonous plant of political &ldquo;malconduct,
+      fraud and corruption.&rdquo; The citizens and workers of such industrial
+      communities, whether in Colorado, in West Virginia, Alabama, Michigan or
+      Minnesota, in the Chicago stock-yards, the steel-mills of Pittsburg, the
+      woollen-mills of Lawrence or the silk-mills of Paterson, will find that
+      they have neither peace nor freedom, until they have abolished the system
+      of production for profit, and established in the field of industry what
+      they are supposed to have already in the field of politics&mdash;a
+      government of the people, by the people, for the people.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      NOTE: On the day that the author finished the reading of the proofs of
+      &ldquo;King Coal,&rdquo; the following item appeared in his daily newspaper:
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      COLORADO MINE WORKERS ASK LEAVE TO STRIKE
+    </h3>
+    <h3>
+      [BY A. P. NIGHT WIRE]
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      DENVER (Colo.), June 14.&mdash;Officers of the United Mine Workers
+      representing members of that organisation employed by the Colorado Fuel
+      and Iron Company, have telegraphed their national officers asking
+      permission to strike.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At the morning session a resolution was adopted expressing disapprobation
+      of the action of J. F. Welborn, president of the fuel company, for failure
+      to attend the meeting, which was a part of the &ldquo;peace programme&rdquo; to
+      prevent industrial differences in the State during the war.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The grievances of the men, according to John McLennan, spokesman for them,
+      centre about the operation of the so-called &ldquo;Rockefeller plan&rdquo; at the
+      mines. McLennan said the failure of Mr. Welborn to attend the meeting and
+      discuss these grievances with the men precipitated the strike agitation.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      THE END
+    </h3>
+    <div style="height: 6em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of King Coal, by Upton Sinclair
+
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diff --git a/old/7522.txt b/old/7522.txt
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/7522.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,14775 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of King Coal, by Upton Sinclair
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: King Coal
+       A Novel
+
+Author: Upton Sinclair
+
+
+Release Date: February, 2005 [EBook #7522]
+This file was first posted on May 13, 2003
+Last Updated: April 26, 2013
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KING COAL ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Eric Eldred, Beth Trapaga and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+KING COAL
+
+_A NOVEL_
+
+By Upton Sinclair
+
+
+
+TO
+
+MARY CRAIG KIMBROUGH
+
+To whose persistence in the perilous task of tearing her husband's
+manuscript to pieces, the reader is indebted for the absence of most of
+the faults from this book.
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+BOOK ONE
+
+THE DOMAIN OF KING COAL
+
+
+BOOK TWO
+
+THE SERFS OF KING COAL
+
+
+BOOK THREE
+
+THE HENCHMEN OF KING COAL
+
+
+BOOK FOUR
+
+THE WILL OF KING COAL
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+
+Upton Sinclair is one of the not too many writers who have consecrated
+their lives to the agitation for social justice, and who have also
+enrolled their art in the service of a set purpose. A great and
+non-temporizing enthusiast, he never flinched from making sacrifices.
+Now and then he attained great material successes as a writer, but
+invariably he invested and lost his earnings in enterprises by which he
+had hoped to ward off injustice and to further human happiness. Though
+disappointed time after time, he never lost faith nor courage to start
+again.
+
+As a convinced socialist and eager advocate of unpopular doctrines, as
+an exposer of social conditions that would otherwise be screened away
+from the public eye, the most influential journals of his country were
+as a rule arraigned against him. Though always a poor man, though never
+willing to grant to publishers the concessions essential for many
+editions and general popularity, he was maliciously represented to be a
+carpet knight of radicalism and a socialist millionaire. He has several
+times been obliged to change his publisher, which goes to prove that he
+is no seeker of material gain.
+
+Upton Sinclair is one of the writers of the present time most deserving
+of a sympathetic interest. He shows his patriotism as an American, not
+by joining in hymns to the very conditional kind of liberty peculiar to
+the United States, but by agitating for infusing it with the elixir of
+real liberty, the liberty of humanity. He does not limit himself to a
+dispassionate and entertaining description of things as they are. But in
+his appeals to the honour and good-fellowship of his compatriots, he
+opens their eyes to the appalling conditions under which wage-earning
+slaves are living by the hundreds of thousands. His object is to better
+these unnatural conditions, to obtain for the very poorest a glimpse of
+light and happiness, to make even them realise the sensation of cosy
+well-being and the comfort of knowing that justice is to be found also
+for them.
+
+This time Upton Sinclair has absorbed himself in the study of the
+miner's life in the lonesome pits of the Rocky Mountains, and his
+sensitive and enthusiastic mind has brought to the world an American
+parallel to GERMINAL, Emile Zola's technical masterpiece.
+
+The conditions described in the two books are, however, essentially
+different. While Zola's working-men are all natives of France, one meets
+in Sinclair's book a motley variety of European emigrants, speaking a
+Babel of languages and therefore debarred from forming some sort of
+association to protect themselves against being exploited by the
+anonymous limited Company. Notwithstanding this natural bar against
+united action on the part of the wage-earning slaves, the Company feels
+far from at ease and jealously guards its interests against any attempt
+of organising the men.
+
+A young American of the upper class, with great sympathy for the
+downtrodden and an honest desire to get a first-hand knowledge of their
+conditions in order to help them, decides to take employment in a mine
+under a fictitious name and dressed like a working-man. His unusual way
+of trying to obtain work arouses suspicion. He is believed to be a
+professional strike-leader sent out to organise the miners against their
+exploiters, and he is not only refused work, but thrashed mercilessly.
+When finally he succeeds in getting inside, he discovers with growing
+indignation the shameless and inhuman way in which those who unearth the
+black coal are being exploited.
+
+These are the fundamental ideas of the book, but they give but a faint
+notion of the author's poetic attitude. Most beautifully is this shown
+in Hal's relation to a young Irish girl, Red Mary. She is poor, and her
+daily life harsh and joyless, but nevertheless her wonderful grace is
+one of the outstanding features of the book. The first impression of
+Mary is that of a Celtic Madonna with a tender heart for little
+children. She develops into a Valkuere of the working-class, always ready
+to fight for the worker's right.
+
+The last chapters of the book give a description of the miners' revolt
+against the Company. They insist upon their right to choose a deputy to
+control the weighing-in of the coal, and upon having the mines sprinkled
+regularly to prevent explosion. They will also be free to buy their food
+and utensils wherever they like, even in shops not belonging to the
+Company.
+
+In a postscript Sinclair explains the fundamental facts on which his
+work of art has been built up. Even without the postscript one could not
+help feeling convinced that the social conditions he describes are true
+to life. The main point is that Sinclair has not allowed himself to
+become inspired by hackneyed phrases that bondage and injustice and the
+other evils and crimes of Kingdoms have been banished from Republics,
+but that he is earnestly pointing to the honeycombed ground on which the
+greatest modern money-power has been built. The fundament of this power
+is not granite, but mines. It lives and breathes in the light, because
+it has thousands of unfortunates toiling in the darkness. It lives and
+has its being in proud liberty because thousands are slaving for it,
+whose thraldom is the price of this liberty.
+
+This is the impression given to the reader of this exciting novel.
+
+GEORG BRANDES.
+
+
+
+
+BOOK ONE
+
+THE DOMAIN OF KING COAL
+
+
+
+SECTION 1.
+
+The town of Pedro stood on the edge of the mountain country; a
+straggling assemblage of stores and saloons from which a number of
+branch railroads ran up into the canyons, feeding the coal-camps.
+Through the week it slept peacefully; but on Saturday nights, when the
+miners came trooping down, and the ranchmen came in on horseback and in
+automobiles, it wakened to a seething life.
+
+At the railroad station, one day late in June, a young man alighted from
+a train. He was about twenty-one years of age, with sensitive features,
+and brown hair having a tendency to waviness. He wore a frayed and faded
+suit of clothes, purchased in a quarter of his home city where the
+Hebrew merchants stand on the sidewalks to offer their wares; also a
+soiled blue shirt without a tie, and a pair of heavy boots which had
+seen much service. Strapped on his back was a change of clothing and a
+blanket, and in his pockets a comb, a toothbrush, and a small pocket
+mirror.
+
+Sitting in the smoking-car of the train, the young man had listened to
+the talk of the coal-camps, seeking to correct his accent. When he got
+off the train he proceeded down the track and washed his hands with
+cinders, and lightly powdered some over his face. After studying the
+effect of this in his mirror, he strolled down the main street of Pedro,
+and, selecting a little tobacco-shop, went in. In as surly a voice as he
+could muster, he inquired of the proprietress, "Can you tell me how to
+get to the Pine Creek mine?"
+
+The woman looked at him with no suspicion in her glance. She gave the
+desired information, and he took a trolley and got off at the foot of
+the Pine Creek canyon, up which he had a thirteen-mile trudge. It was
+a sunshiny day, with the sky crystal clear, and the mountain air
+invigourating. The young man seemed to be happy, and as he strode on
+his way, he sang a song with many verses:
+
+  "Old King Coal was a merry old soul,
+    And a merry old soul was he;
+  He made him a college all full of knowledge--
+    Hurrah for you and me!
+
+  "Oh, Liza-Ann, come out with me,
+    The moon is a-shinin' in the monkey-puzzle tree;
+  Oh, Liza-Ann, I have began
+    To sing you the song of Harrigan!
+
+  "He keeps them a-roll, this merry old soul--
+    The wheels of industree;
+  A-roll and a-roll, for his pipe and his bowl
+    And his college facultee!
+
+  "Oh, Mary-Jane, come out in the lane,
+    The moon is a-shinin' in the old pecan;
+  Oh, Mary-Jane, don't you hear me a-sayin'
+    I'll sing you the song of Harrigan!
+
+  "So hurrah for King Coal, and his fat pay-roll,
+    And his wheels of industree!
+  Hurrah for his pipe, and hurrah for his bowl--
+    And hurrah for you and me!
+
+  "Oh, Liza-Ann, come out with me,
+    The moon is a-shinin'--"
+
+And so on and on--as long as the moon was a-shinin' on a college campus.
+It was a mixture of happy nonsense and that questioning with which
+modern youth has begun to trouble its elders. As a marching tune, the
+song was a trifle swift for the grades of a mountain canyon; Warner
+could stop and shout to the canyon-walls, and listen to their answer,
+and then march on again. He had youth in his heart, and love and
+curiosity; also he had some change in his trousers' pocket, and a ten
+dollar bill, for extreme emergencies, sewed up in his belt. If a
+photographer for Peter Harrigan's General Fuel Company could have got a
+snap-shot of him that morning, it might have served as a "portrait of a
+coal-miner" in any "prosperity" publication.
+
+But the climb was a stiff one, and before the end the traveller became
+aware of the weight of his boots, and sang no more. Just as the sun was
+sinking up the canyon, he came upon his destination--a gate across the
+road, with a sign upon it:
+
+PINE CREEK COAL CO.
+
+PRIVATE PROPERTY
+
+TRESPASSING FORBIDDEN
+
+Hal approached the gate, which was of iron bars, and padlocked. After
+standing for a moment to get ready his surly voice, he kicked upon the
+gate and a man came out of a shack inside.
+
+"What do you want?" said he.
+
+"I want to get in. I'm looking for a job."
+
+"Where do you come from?"
+
+"From Pedro."
+
+"Where you been working?"
+
+"I never worked in a mine before."
+
+"Where did you work?"
+
+"In a grocery-store."
+
+"What grocery-store?"
+
+"Peterson & Co., in Western City."
+
+The guard came closer to the gate and studied him through the bars.
+
+"Hey, Bill!" he called, and another man came out from the cabin. "Here's
+a guy says he worked in a grocery, and he's lookin' for a job."
+
+"Where's your papers?" demanded Bill.
+
+Every one had told Hal that labour was scarce in the mines, and that the
+companies were ravenous for men; he had supposed that a workingman would
+only have to knock, and it would be opened unto him. "They didn't give
+me no papers," he said, and added, hastily, "I got drunk and they fired
+me." He felt quite sure that getting drunk would not bar one from a coal
+camp.
+
+But the two made no move to open the gate. The second man studied him
+deliberately from top to toe, and Hal was uneasily aware of possible
+sources of suspicion. "I'm all right," he declared. "Let me in, and I'll
+show you."
+
+Still the two made no move. They looked at each other, and then Bill
+answered, "We don't need no hands."
+
+"But," exclaimed Hal, "I saw a sign down the canyon--"
+
+"That's an old sign," said Bill.
+
+"But I walked all the way up here!"
+
+"You'll find it easier walkin' back."
+
+"But--it's night!"
+
+"Scared of the dark, kid?" inquired Bill, facetiously.
+
+"Oh, say!" replied Hal. "Give a fellow a chance! Ain't there some way I
+can pay for my keep--or at least for a bunk to-night?"
+
+"There's nothin' for you," said Bill, and turned and went into the
+cabin.
+
+The other man waited and watched, with a decidedly hostile look. Hal
+strove to plead with him, but thrice he repeated, "Down the canyon with
+you." So at last Hal gave up, and moved down the road a piece and sat
+down to reflect.
+
+It really seemed an absurdly illogical proceeding, to post a notice,
+"Hands Wanted," in conspicuous places on the roadside, causing a man to
+climb thirteen miles up a mountain canyon, only to be turned off without
+explanation. Hal was convinced that there must be jobs inside the
+stockade, and that if only he could get at the bosses he could persuade
+them. He got up and walked down the road a quarter of a mile, to where
+the railroad-track crossed it, winding up the canyon. A train of
+"empties" was passing, bound into the camp, the cars rattling and
+bumping as the engine toiled up the grade. This suggested a solution of
+the difficulty.
+
+It was already growing dark. Crouching slightly, Hal approached the
+cars, and when he was in the shadows, made a leap and swung onto one of
+them. It took but a second to clamber in, and he lay flat and waited,
+his heart thumping.
+
+Before a minute had passed he heard a shout, and looking over, he saw
+the Cerberus of the gate running down a path to the track, his
+companion, Bill, just behind him. "Hey! come out of there!" they yelled;
+and Bill leaped, and caught the car in which Hal was riding.
+
+The latter saw that the game was up, and sprang to the ground on the
+other side of the track and started out of the camp. Bill followed him,
+and as the train passed, the other man ran down the track to join him.
+Hal was walking rapidly, without a word; but the Cerberus of the gate
+had many words, most of them unprintable, and he seized Hal by the
+collar, and shoving him violently, planted a kick upon that portion of
+his anatomy which nature has constructed for the reception of kicks. Hal
+recovered his balance, and, as the man was still pursuing him, he turned
+and aimed a blow, striking him on the chest and making him reel.
+
+Hal's big brother had seen to it that he knew how to use his fists; he
+now squared off, prepared to receive the second of his assailants. But
+in coal-camps matters are not settled in that primitive way, it
+appeared. The man halted, and the muzzle of a revolver came suddenly
+under Hal's nose. "Stick 'em up!" said the man.
+
+This was a slang which Hal had never heard, but the meaning was
+inescapable; he "stuck 'em up." At the same moment his first assailant
+rushed at him, and dealt him a blow over the eye which sent him
+sprawling backward upon the stones.
+
+
+
+SECTION 2.
+
+When Hal came to himself again he was in darkness, and was conscious of
+agony from head to toe. He was lying on a stone floor, and he rolled
+over, but soon rolled back again, because there was no part of his back
+which was not sore. Later on, when he was able to study himself, he
+counted over a score of marks of the heavy boots of his assailants.
+
+He lay for an hour or two, making up his mind that he was in a lock-up,
+because he could see the starlight through iron bars. He could hear
+somebody snoring, and he called half a dozen times, in a louder and
+louder voice, until at last, hearing a growl, he inquired, "Can you give
+me a drink of water?"
+
+"I'll give you hell if you wake me up again," said the voice; after
+which Hal lay in silence until morning.
+
+A couple of hours after daylight, a man entered his cell. "Get up," said
+he, and added a prod with his foot. Hal had thought he could not do it,
+but he got up.
+
+"No funny business now," said his jailer, and grasping him by the sleeve
+of his coat, marched him out of the cell and down a little corridor into
+a sort of office, where sat a red-faced personage with a silver shield
+upon the lapel of his coat. Hal's two assailants of the night before
+stood nearby.
+
+"Well, kid?" said the personage in the chair. "Had a little time to
+think it over?"
+
+"Yes," said Hal, briefly.
+
+"What's the charge?" inquired the personage, of the two watchmen.
+
+"Trespassing and resisting arrest."
+
+"How much money you got, young fellow?" was, the next question.
+
+Hal hesitated.
+
+"Speak up there!" said the man.
+
+"Two dollars and sixty-seven cents," said Hal--"as well as I can
+remember."
+
+"Go on!" said the other. "What you givin' us?" And then, to the two
+watchmen, "Search him."
+
+"Take off your coat and pants," said Bill, promptly, "and your boots."
+
+"Oh, I say!" protested Hal.
+
+"Take 'em off!" said the man, and clenched his fists. Hal took 'em off,
+and they proceeded to go through the pockets, producing a purse with the
+amount stated, also a cheap watch, a strong pocket knife, the
+tooth-brush, comb and mirror, and two white handkerchiefs, which they
+looked at contemptuously and tossed to the spittle-drenched floor.
+
+They unrolled the pack, and threw the clean clothing about. Then,
+opening the pocket-knife, they proceeded to pry about the soles and
+heels of the boots, and to cut open the lining of the clothing. So they
+found the ten dollars in the belt, which they tossed onto the table with
+the other belongings. Then the personage with the shield announced, "I
+fine you twelve dollars and sixty-seven cents, and your watch and
+knife." He added, with a grin, "You can keep your snot-rags."
+
+"Now see here!" said Hal, angrily. "This is pretty raw!"
+
+"You get your duds on, young fellow, and get out of here as quick as you
+can, or you'll go in your shirt-tail."
+
+But Hal was angry enough to have been willing to go in his skin. "You
+tell me who you are, and your authority for this procedure?"
+
+"I'm marshal of the camp," said the man.
+
+"You mean you're an employe of the General Fuel Company? And you propose
+to rob me--"
+
+"Put him out, Bill," said the marshal. And Hal saw Bill's fists clench.
+
+"All right," he said, swallowing his indignation. "Wait till I get my
+clothes on." And he proceeded to dress as quickly as possible; he rolled
+up his blanket and spare clothing, and started for the door.
+
+"Remember," said the marshal, "straight down the canyon with you, and if
+you show your face round here again, you'll get a bullet through you."
+
+So Hal went out into the sunshine, with a guard on each side of him as
+an escort. He was on the same mountain road, but in the midst of the
+company-village. In the distance he saw the great building of the
+breaker, and heard the incessant roar of machinery and falling coal. He
+marched past a double lane of company houses and shanties, where
+slattern women in doorways and dirty children digging in the dust of the
+roadside paused and grinned at him--for he limped as he walked, and it
+was evident enough what had happened to him.
+
+Hal had come with love and curiosity. The love was greatly
+diminished--evidently this was not the force which kept the wheels of
+industry a-roll. But the curiosity was greater than ever. What was there
+so carefully hidden inside this coal-camp stockade?
+
+Hal turned and looked at Bill, who had showed signs of humour the day
+before. "See here," said he, "you fellows have got my money, and you've
+blacked my eye and kicked me blue, so you ought to be satisfied. Before
+I go, tell me about it, won't you?"
+
+"Tell you what?" growled Bill.
+
+"Why did I get this?"
+
+"Because you're too gay, kid. Didn't you know you had no business trying
+to sneak in here?"
+
+"Yes," said Hal; "but that's not what I mean. Why didn't you let me in
+at first?"
+
+"If you wanted a job in a mine," demanded the man, "why didn't you go at
+it in the regular way?"
+
+"I didn't know the regular way."
+
+"That's just it. And we wasn't takin' chances with you. You didn't look
+straight."
+
+"But what did you think I was? What are you afraid of?"
+
+"Go on!" said the man. "You can't work me!"
+
+Hal walked a few steps in silence, pondering how to break through. "I
+see you're suspicious of me," he said. "I'll tell you the truth, if
+you'll let me." Then, as the other did not forbid him, "I'm a college
+boy, and I wanted to see life and shift for myself a while. I thought it
+would be a lark to come here."
+
+"Well," said Bill, "this ain't no foot-ball field. It's a coal-mine."
+
+Hal saw that his story had been accepted. "Tell me straight," he said,
+"what did you think I was?"
+
+"Well, I don't mind telling," growled Bill. "There's union agitators
+trying to organise these here camps, and we ain't taking no chances with
+'em. This company gets its men through agencies, and if you'd went and
+satisfied them, you'd 'a been passed in the regular way. Or if you'd
+went to the office down in Pedro and got a pass, you'd 'a been all
+right. But when a guy turns up at the gate, and looks like a dude and
+talks like a college perfessor, he don't get by, see?"
+
+"I see," said Hal. And then, "If you'll give me the price of a breakfast
+out of my money, I'll be obliged."
+
+"Breakfast is over," said Bill. "You sit round till the pinyons gets
+ripe." He laughed; but then, mellowed by his own joke, he took a quarter
+from his pocket and passed it to Hal. He opened the padlock on the gate
+and saw him out with a grin; and so ended Hal's first turn on the wheels
+of industry.
+
+
+
+SECTION 3.
+
+Hal Warner started to drag himself down the road, but was unable to make
+it. He got as far as a brooklet that came down the mountain-side, from
+which he might drink without fear of typhoid; there he lay the whole
+day, fasting. Towards evening a thunder-storm came up, and he crawled
+under the shelter of a rock, which was no shelter at all. His single
+blanket was soon soaked through, and he passed a night almost as
+miserable as the previous one. He could not sleep, but he could think,
+and he thought about what had happened to him. "Bill" had said that a
+coal mine was not a foot-ball field, but it seemed to Hal that the net
+impress of the two was very much the same. He congratulated himself that
+his profession was not that of a union organiser.
+
+At dawn he dragged himself up, and continued his journey, weak from cold
+and unaccustomed lack of food. In the course of the day he reached a
+power-station near the foot of the canyon. He did not have the price of
+a meal, and was afraid to beg; but in one of the group of buildings by
+the roadside was a store, and he entered and inquired concerning prunes,
+which were twenty-five cents a pound. The price was high, but so was the
+altitude, and as Hal found in the course of time, they explained the one
+by the other--not explaining, however, why the altitude of the price was
+always greater than the altitude of the store. Over the counter he saw a
+sign: "We buy scrip at ten per cent discount." He had heard rumours of a
+state law forbidding payment of wages in "scrip"; but he asked no
+questions, and carried off his very light pound of prunes, and sat down
+by the roadside and munched them.
+
+Just beyond the power-house, down on the railroad track, stood a little
+cabin with a garden behind it. He made his way there, and found a
+one-legged old watchman. He asked permission to spend the night on the
+floor of the cabin; and seeing the old fellow look at his black eye, he
+explained, "I tried to get a job at the mine, and they thought I was a
+union organiser."
+
+"Well," said the man, "I don't want no union organisers round here."
+
+"But I'm not one," pleaded Hal.
+
+"How do I know what you are? Maybe you're a company spy."
+
+"All I want is a dry place to sleep," said Hal. "Surely it won't be any
+harm for you to give me that."
+
+"I'm not so sure," the other answered. "However, you can spread your
+blanket in the corner. But don't you talk no union business to me."
+
+Hal had no desire to talk. He rolled himself in his blanket and slept
+like a man untroubled by either love or curiosity. In the morning the
+old fellow gave him a slice of corn bread and some young onions out of
+his garden, which had a more delicious taste than any breakfast that had
+ever been served him. When Hal thanked his host in parting, the latter
+remarked: "All right, young fellow, there's one thing you can do to pay
+me, and that is, say nothing about it. When a man has grey hair on his
+head and only one leg, he might as well be drowned in the creek as lose
+his job."
+
+Hal promised, and went his way. His bruises pained him less, and he was
+able to walk. There were ranch-houses in sight--it was like coming back
+suddenly to America!
+
+
+
+SECTION 4.
+
+Hal had now before him a week's adventures as a hobo: a genuine hobo,
+with no ten dollar bill inside his belt to take the reality out of his
+experiences. He took stock of his worldly goods and wondered if he still
+looked like a dude. He recalled that he had a smile which had fascinated
+the ladies; would it work in combination with a black eye? Having no
+other means of support, he tried it on susceptible looking housewives,
+and found it so successful that he was tempted to doubt the wisdom of
+honest labour. He sang the Harrigan song no more, but instead the words
+of a hobo-song he had once heard:
+
+"Oh, what's the use of workin' when there's women in the land?"
+
+The second day he made the acquaintance of two other gentlemen of the
+road, who sat by the railroad-track toasting some bacon over a fire.
+They welcomed him, and after they had heard his story, adopted him into
+the fraternity and instructed him in its ways of life. Pretty soon he
+made the acquaintance of one who had been a miner, and was able to give
+him the information he needed before climbing another canyon.
+
+"Dutch Mike" was the name this person bore, for reasons he did not
+explain. He was a black-eyed and dangerous-looking rascal, and when the
+subject of mines and mining was broached, he opened up the flood-gates
+of an amazing reservoir of profanity. He was through with that game--Hal
+or any other God-damned fool might have his job for the asking. It was
+only because there were so many natural-born God-damned fools in the
+world that the game could be kept going. "Dutch Mike" went on to relate
+dreadful tales of mine-life, and to summon before him the ghosts of one
+pit-boss after another, consigning them to the fires of eternal
+perdition.
+
+"I wanted to work while I was young," said he, "but now I'm cured, an'
+fer good." The world had come to seem to him a place especially
+constructed for the purpose of making him work, and every faculty he
+possessed was devoted to foiling this plot. Sitting by a camp-fire near
+the stream which ran down the valley, Hal had a merry time pointing out
+to "Dutch Mike" how he worked harder at dodging work than other men
+worked at working. The hobo did not seem to mind that, however--it was a
+matter of principle with him, and he was willing to make sacrifices for
+his convictions. Even when they had sent him to the work-house, he had
+refused to work; he had been shut in a dungeon, and had nearly died on a
+diet of bread and water, rather than work. If everybody would do the
+same, he said, they would soon "bust things."
+
+Hal took a fancy to this spontaneous revolutionist, and travelled with
+him for a couple of days, in the course of which he pumped him as to
+details of the life of a miner. Most of the companies used regular
+employment agencies, as the guard had mentioned; but the trouble was,
+these agencies got something from your pay for a long time--the bosses
+were "in cahoots" with them. When Hal wondered if this were not against
+the law, "Cut it out, Bo!" said his companion. "When you've had a job
+for a while, you'll know that the law in a coal-camp is what your boss
+tells you." The hobo went on to register his conviction that when one
+man has the giving of jobs, and other men have to scramble for them, the
+law would never have much to say in the deal. Hal judged this a profound
+observation, and wished that it might be communicated to the professor
+of political economy at Harrigan.
+
+On the second night of his acquaintance with "Dutch Mike," their
+"jungle" was raided by a constable with half a dozen deputies; for a
+determined effort was being made just then to drive vagrants from the
+neighbourhood--or to get them to work in the mines. Hal's friend, who
+slept with one eye open, made a break in the darkness, and Hal followed
+him, getting under the guard of the raiders by a foot-ball trick. They
+left their food and blankets behind them, but "Dutch Mike" made light of
+this, and lifted a chicken from a roost to keep them cheerful through
+the night hours, and stole a change of underclothing off a clothes-line
+the next day. Hal ate the chicken, and wore the underclothing, thus
+beginning his career in crime.
+
+Parting from "Dutch Mike," he went back to Pedro. The hobo had told him
+that saloon-keepers nearly always had friends in the coal-camps, and
+could help a fellow to a job. So Hal began enquiring, and the second one
+replied, Yes, he would give him a letter to a man at North Valley, and
+if he got the job, the friend would deduct a dollar a month from his
+pay. Hal agreed, and set out upon another tramp up another canyon, upon
+the strength of a sandwich "bummed" from a ranch-house at the entrance
+to the valley. At another stockaded gate of the General Fuel Company he
+presented his letter, addressed to a person named O'Callahan, who turned
+out also to be a saloon-keeper.
+
+The guard did not even open the letter, but passed Hal in at sight of
+it, and he sought out his man and applied for work. The man said he
+would help him, but would have to deduct a dollar a month for himself,
+as well as a dollar for his friend in Pedro. Hal kicked at this, and
+they bartered back and forth; finally, when Hal turned away and
+threatened to appeal directly to the "super," the saloon-keeper
+compromised on a dollar and a half.
+
+"You know mine-work?" he asked.
+
+"Brought up at it," said Hal, made wise, now, in the ways of the world.
+
+"Where did you work?"
+
+Hal named several mines, concerning which he had learned something from
+the hoboes. He was going by the name of "Joe Smith," which he judged
+likely to be found on the payroll of any mine. He had more than a week's
+growth of beard to disguise him, and had picked up some profanity as
+well.
+
+The saloon-keeper took him to interview Mr. Alec Stone, pit-boss in
+Number Two mine, who inquired promptly: "You know anything about mules?"
+
+"I worked in a stable," said Hal, "I know about horses."
+
+"Well, mules is different," said the man. "One of my stable-men got the
+colic the other day, and I don't know if he'll ever be any good again."
+
+"Give me a chance," said Hal. "I'll manage them."
+
+The boss looked him over. "You look like a bright chap," said he. "I'll
+pay you forty-five a month, and if you make good I'll make it fifty."
+
+"All right, sir. When do I start in?"
+
+"You can't start too quick to suit me. Where's your duds?"
+
+"This is all I've got," said Hal, pointing to the bundle of stolen
+underwear in his hand.
+
+"Well, chuck it there in the corner," said the man; then suddenly he
+stopped, and looked at Hal, frowning. "You belong to any union?"
+
+"Lord, no!"
+
+"Did you _ever_ belong to any union?"
+
+"No, sir. Never."
+
+The man's gaze seemed to imply that Hal was lying, and that his secret
+soul was about to be read. "You have to swear to that, you know, before
+you can work here."
+
+"All right," said Hal, "I'm willing."
+
+"I'll see you about it to-morrow," said the other. "I ain't got the
+paper with me. By the way, what's your religion?"
+
+"Seventh Day Adventist."
+
+"Holy Christ! What's that?"
+
+"It don't hurt," said Hal. "I ain't supposed to work on Saturdays, but I
+do."
+
+"Well, don't you go preachin' it round here. We got our own
+preacher--you chip in fifty cents a month for him out of your wages.
+Come ahead now, and I'll take you down." And so it was that Hal got his
+start in life.
+
+
+
+SECTION 5.
+
+The mule is notoriously a profane and godless creature; a blind alley of
+Nature, so to speak, a mistake of which she is ashamed, and which she
+does not permit to reproduce itself. The thirty mules under Hal's charge
+had been brought up in an environment calculated to foster the worst
+tendencies of their natures. He soon made the discovery that the "colic"
+of his predecessor had been caused by a mule's hind foot in the stomach;
+and he realised that he must not let his mind wander for an instant, if
+he were to avoid this dangerous disease.
+
+These mules lived their lives in the darkness of the earth's interior;
+only when they fell sick were they taken up to see the sunlight and to
+roll about in green pastures. There was one of them called "Dago
+Charlie," who had learned to chew tobacco, and to rummage in the pockets
+of the miners and their "buddies." Not knowing how to spit out the
+juice, he would make himself ill, and then he would swear off from
+indulgence. But the drivers and the pit-boys knew his failing, and would
+tempt "Dago Charlie" until he fell from grace. Hal soon discovered this
+moral tragedy, and carried the pain of it in his soul as he went about
+his all-day drudgery.
+
+He went down the shaft with the first cage, which was very early in the
+morning. He fed and watered his charges, and helped to harness them.
+Then, when the last four hoofs had clattered away, he cleaned out the
+stalls, and mended harness, and obeyed the orders of any person older
+than himself who happened to be about.
+
+Next to the mules, his torment was the "trapper-boys," and other
+youngsters with whom he came into contact. He was a newcomer, and so
+they hazed him; moreover, he had an inferior job--there seemed to their
+minds to be something humiliating and comic about the task of tending
+mules. These urchins came from a score of nations of Southern Europe and
+Asia; there were flat-faced Tartars and swarthy Greeks and shrewd-eyed
+little Japanese. They spoke a compromise language, consisting mainly of
+English curse words and obscenities; the filthiness which their minds
+had spawned was incredible to one born and raised in the sunlight. They
+alleged obscenities of their mothers and their grandmothers; also of the
+Virgin Mary, the one mythological character they had heard of. Poor
+little creatures of the dark, their souls grimed and smutted even more
+quickly and irrevocably than their faces!
+
+Hal had been advised by his boss to inquire for board at "Reminitsky's."
+He came up in the last car, at twilight, and was directed to a dimly
+lighted building of corrugated iron, where upon inquiry he was met by a
+stout Russian, who told him he could be taken care of for twenty-seven
+dollars a month, this including a cot in a room with eight other single
+men. After deducting a dollar and a half a month for his saloon-keepers,
+fifty cents for the company clergyman and a dollar for the company
+doctor, fifty cents a month for wash-house privileges and fifty cents
+for a sick and accident benefit fund, he had fourteen dollars a month
+with which to clothe himself, to found a family, to provide himself with
+beer and tobacco, and to patronise the libraries and colleges endowed by
+the philanthropic owners of coal mines.
+
+Supper was nearly over at Reminitsky's when he arrived; the floor looked
+like the scene of a cannibal picnic, and what food was left was cold. It
+was always to be this way with him, he found, and he had to make the
+best of it. The dining-room of this boarding-house, owned and managed by
+the G. F. C., brought to his mind the state prison, which he had once
+visited--with its rows of men sitting in silence, eating starch and
+grease out of tin-plates. The plates here were of crockery half an inch
+thick, but the starch and grease never failed; the formula of
+Reminitsky's cook seemed to be, When in doubt add grease, and boil it
+in. Even ravenous as Hal was after his long tramp and his labour below
+ground, he could hardly swallow this food. On Sundays, the only time he
+ate by daylight, the flies swarmed over everything, and he remembered
+having heard a physician say that an enlightened man should be more
+afraid of a fly than of a Bengal tiger. The boarding-house provided him
+with a cot and a supply of vermin, but with no blanket, which was a
+necessity in the mountain regions. So after supper he had to seek out
+his boss, and arrange to get credit at the company-store. They were
+willing to give a certain amount of credit, he found, as this would
+enable the camp-marshal to keep him from straying. There was no law to
+hold a man for debt--but Hal knew by this time how much a camp-marshal
+cared for law.
+
+
+
+SECTION 6.
+
+For three days Hal toiled in the bowels of the mine, and ate and pursued
+vermin at Reminitsky's. Then came a blessed Sunday, and he had a couple
+of free hours to see the sunlight and to get a look at the North Valley
+camp. It was a village straggling along more than a mile of the mountain
+canyon. In the centre were the great breaker-buildings, the shaft-house,
+and the power-house with its tall chimneys; nearby were the
+company-store and a couple of saloons. There were several
+boarding-houses like Reminitsky's, and long rows of board cabins
+containing from two to four rooms each, some of them occupied by several
+families. A little way up a slope stood a school-house, and another
+small one-room building which served as a church; the clergyman
+belonging to the General Fuel Company denomination. He was given the use
+of the building, by way of start over the saloons, which had to pay a
+heavy rental to the company; it seemed a proof of the innate perversity
+of human nature that even in spite of this advantage, heaven was losing
+out in the struggle against hell in the coal-camp.
+
+As one walked through this village, the first impression was of
+desolation. The mountains towered, barren and lonely, scarred with the
+wounds of geologic ages. In these canyons the sun set early in the
+afternoon, the snow came early in the fall; everywhere Nature's hand
+seemed against man, and man had succumbed to her power. Inside the camps
+one felt a still more cruel desolation--that of sordidness and
+animalism. There were a few pitiful attempts at vegetable-gardens, but
+the cinders and smoke killed everything, and the prevailing colour was
+of grime. The landscape was strewn with ash-heaps, old wire and
+tomato-cans, and smudged and smutty children playing.
+
+There was a part of the camp called "shanty-town," where, amid miniature
+mountains of slag, some of the lowest of the newly-arrived foreigners
+had been permitted to build themselves shacks out of old boards, tin,
+and sheets of tar-paper. These homes were beneath the dignity of
+chicken-houses, yet in some of them a dozen people were crowded, men and
+women sleeping on old rags and blankets on a cinder floor. Here the
+babies swarmed like maggots. They wore for the most part a single ragged
+smock, and their bare buttocks were shamelessly upturned to the heavens.
+It was so the children of the cave-men must have played, thought Hal;
+and waves of repulsion swept over him. He had come with love and
+curiosity, but both motives failed here. How could a man of sensitive
+nerves, aware of the refinements and graces of life, learn to love these
+people, who were an affront to his every sense--a stench to his
+nostrils, a jabbering to his ear, a procession of deformities to his
+eye? What had civilisation done for them? What could it do? After all,
+what were they fit for, but the dirty work they were penned up to do? So
+spoke the haughty race-consciousness of the Anglo-Saxon, contemplating
+these Mediterranean hordes, the very shape of whose heads was
+objectionable.
+
+But Hal stuck it out; and little by little new vision came to him. First
+of all, it was the fascination of the mines. They were old mines--veritable
+cities tunnelled out beneath the mountains, the main passages running
+for miles. One day Hal stole off from his job, and took a trip with a
+"rope-rider," and got through his physical senses a realisation of the
+vastness and strangeness and loneliness of this labyrinth of night. In
+Number Two mine the vein ran up at a slope of perhaps five degrees; in
+part of it the empty cars were hauled in long trains by an endless rope,
+but coming back loaded, they came of their own gravity. This involved
+much work for the "spraggers," or boys who did the braking; it sometimes
+meant run-away cars, and fresh perils added to the everyday perils of
+coal-mining.
+
+The vein varied from four to five feet in thickness; a cruelty of nature
+which made it necessary that the men at the "working face"--the place
+where new coal was being cut--should learn to shorten their stature.
+After Hal had squatted for a while and watched them at their tasks, he
+understood why they walked with head and shoulders bent over and arms
+hanging down, so that, seeing them coming out of the shaft in the
+gloaming, one thought of a file of baboons. The method of getting out
+the coal was to "undercut" it with a pick, and then blow it loose with a
+charge of powder. This meant that the miner had to lie on his side while
+working, and accounted for other physical peculiarities.
+
+Thus, as always, when one understood the lives of men, one came to pity
+instead of despising. Here was a separate race of creatures,
+subterranean, gnomes, pent up by society for purposes of its own.
+Outside in the sunshine-flooded canyon, long lines of cars rolled down
+with their freight of soft-coal; coal which would go to the ends of the
+earth, to places the miner never heard of, turning the wheels of
+industry whose products the miner would never see. It would make
+precious silks for fine ladies, it would cut precious jewels for their
+adornment; it would carry long trains of softly upholstered cars across
+deserts and over mountains; it would drive palatial steamships out of
+wintry tempests into gleaming tropic seas. And the fine ladies in their
+precious silks and jewels would eat and sleep and laugh and lie at
+ease--and would know no more of the stunted creatures of the dark than
+the stunted creatures knew of them. Hal reflected upon this, and subdued
+his Anglo-Saxon pride, finding forgiveness for what was repulsive in
+these people--their barbarous, jabbering speech, their vermin-ridden
+homes, their bare-bottomed babies.
+
+
+
+SECTION 7.
+
+It chanced before many days that Hal got a holiday, relieving the
+monotony of his labours as stableman: an accidental holiday, not
+provided for in his bargain with the pit-boss. Something went wrong with
+the ventilating-course in Number Two, and he began to notice a headache,
+and heard the men grumbling that their lamps were burning low. Then, as
+matters began to get serious, orders came to get the mules to the
+surface.
+
+Which meant an amusing adventure. The delight of Hal's pets at seeing
+the sunlight was irresistibly comic. They could not be kept from lying
+down and rolling on their backs in the cinder-strewn street; and when
+they were corralled in a distant part of the camp where actual grass
+grew, they abandoned themselves to rapture like a horde of school
+children at a picnic.
+
+So Hal had a few free hours; and being still young and not cured of idle
+curiosities, he climbed the canyon wall to see the mountains. As he was
+sliding down again, toward evening, a vivid spot of colour was painted
+into his picture of mine-life; he found himself in somebody's back yard,
+and being observed by somebody's daughter, who was taking in the family
+wash. It was a splendid figure of a lass, tall and vigorous, with the
+sort of hair that in polite circles is called auburn, and that flaming
+colour in the cheeks which is Nature's recompense to people who live
+where it rains all the time. She was the first beautiful sight Hal had
+seen since he had come up the canyon, and it was only natural that he
+should be interested. It seemed to him that, so long as the girl stared,
+he had a right to stare back. It did not occur to him that he too was a
+pleasing sight--that the mountain air had given colour to his cheeks and
+a shine to his gay brown eyes, while the mountain winds had blown his
+wavy brown hair.
+
+"Hello," said she, at last, in a warm voice, unmistakably Irish.
+
+"Hello yourself," said Hal, in the accepted dialect; then he added, with
+more elegance, "Pardon me for trespassing on your wash."
+
+Her grey eyes opened wider. "Go on!" she said.
+
+"I'd rather stay," said Hal. "It's a beautiful sunset."
+
+"I'll move, so ye can see it better." She carried her armful of clothes
+over and dropped them into the basket.
+
+"No," said Hal, "it's not so fine now. The colours have faded."
+
+She turned and gazed at him again. "Go on wid ye! I been teased about my
+hair since before I could talk."
+
+"'Tis envy," said Hal, dropping into her way of speech; and he came a
+few steps nearer, so that he could inspect the hair more closely. It lay
+above her brow in undulations which were agreeable to the decorative
+instinct, and a tight heavy braid of it fell over her shoulders and
+swung to her waist-line. He observed the shoulders, which were sturdy,
+obviously accustomed to hard labour; not conforming to accepted romantic
+standards of femininity, yet having an athletic grace of their own. They
+were covered with a faded blue calico dress, unfortunately not entirely
+clean; also, the young man noticed, there was a rent in one shoulder
+through which a patch of skin was visible. The girl's eyes, which had
+been following his, became defiant; she tossed a piece of her washing
+over the shoulder, where it stayed through the balance of the interview.
+
+"Who are ye?" she demanded, suddenly.
+
+"My name's Joe Smith. I'm a stableman in Number Two."
+
+"And what were ye doin' up there, if a body might ask?" She lifted her
+grey eyes to the bare mountainside, down which he had come sliding in a
+shower of loose stones and dirt.
+
+"I've been surveying my empire," said he.
+
+"Your what?"
+
+"My empire. The land belongs to the company, but the landscape belongs
+to him who cares for it."
+
+She tossed her head a little. "Where did ye learn to talk like ye do?"
+
+"In another life," said he--"before I became a stableman. Not in entire
+forgetfulness, but trailing clouds of glory did I come."
+
+For a moment she wrestled with this. Then a smile broke upon her face.
+"Sure, 'tis like a poetry-book! Say some more!"
+
+"_O, singe fort, so suess und fein_!" quoted Hal--and saw her look
+puzzled.
+
+"Aren't you American?" she inquired; and he laughed. To speak a foreign
+language in North Valley was not a mark of culture!
+
+"I've been listening to the crowd at Reminitsky's," he said,
+apologetically.
+
+"Oh! You eat there?"
+
+"I go there three times a day. I can't say I eat very much. Could you
+live on greasy beans?"
+
+"Sure," laughed the girl, "the good old pertaties is good enough for
+me."
+
+"I should have said you lived on rose leaves!" he observed.
+
+"Go on wid ye! 'Tis the blarney-stone ye been kissin'!"
+
+"'Tis no stone I'd be wastin' my kisses on."
+
+"Ye're gettin' bold, Mister Smith. I'll not listen to ye." And she
+turned away, and began industriously taking her clothes from the line.
+But Hal did not want to be dismissed. He came a step closer.
+
+"Coming down the mountain-side," he said, "I found something wonderful.
+It's bare and grim up there, but I came on a sheltered corner where the
+sun shone, and there was a wild rose. Only one! I thought to myself, 'So
+roses grow, even in the loneliest parts of the world!'"
+
+"Sure, 'tis a poetry-book again!" she cried. "Why didn't ye bring the
+rose?"
+
+"There is a poetry-book that tells us to 'leave the wild-rose on its
+stalk.' It will go on blooming there; but if one were to pluck it, it
+would wither in a few hours."
+
+He had meant nothing more by this than to keep the conversation going.
+But her answer turned the tide of their acquaintance.
+
+"Ye can never be sure, lad. Perhaps to-night a storm may come and blow
+it to pieces. Perhaps if ye'd pulled it and been happy, 'twould 'a been
+what the rose was for."
+
+Whatever of unconscious patronage there had been in the poet's attitude
+was lost now in the eternal mystery. Whether the girl knew it--or
+cared--she had won the woman's first victory. She had caught the man's
+mind and pinned it with curiosity. What did this wild rose of the mining
+camps mean?
+
+The wild rose, apparently unconscious that she had said anything
+epoch-making, was busy with the wash; and meantime Hal Warner studied
+her features and pondered her words. From a lady of sophistication they
+would have meant only one thing, an invitation; but in this girl's clear
+grey eyes was nothing of wantonness, only pain. But what was this pain
+in the face and words of one so young, so eager and alive? Was it the
+melancholy of her race, the thing one got in old folk-songs? Or was it a
+new and special kind of melancholy, engendered in mining-camps in the
+far West of America?
+
+The girl's countenance was as intriguing as her words. Her grey eyes
+were set under sharply defined dark brows, which did not match her hair.
+Her lips also were sharply defined, and straight, almost without curves,
+so that it seemed as if her mouth had been painted in carmine upon her
+face. These features gave her, when she stared at you, an aspect vivid
+and startling, bold, with a touch of defiance. But when she smiled, the
+red lips would curve into gentler lines, and the grey eyes would become
+wistful, and seemingly darker in colour. Winsome indeed, but not simple,
+was this Irish lass!
+
+
+
+SECTION 8.
+
+Hal asked the name of his new acquaintance, and she told him it was Mary
+Burke. "Ye've not been here long, I take it," she said, "or ye'd have
+heard of 'Red Mary.' 'Tis along of this hair."
+
+"I've not been here long," he answered, "but I shall hope to stay
+now--along of this hair! May I come to see you some time, Miss Burke?"
+
+She did not reply, but glanced at the house where she lived. It was an
+unpainted, three room cabin, more dilapidated than the average, with
+bare dirt and cinders about it, and what had once been a picket-fence,
+now falling apart and being used for stove-wood. The windows were
+cracked and broken, and upon the roof were signs of leaks that had been
+crudely patched.
+
+"May I come?" he made haste to ask again--so that he would not seem to
+look too critically at her home.
+
+"Perhaps ye may," said the girl, as she picked up the clothes basket. He
+stepped forward, offering to carry it, but she did not give it up.
+Holding it tight, and looking him defiantly in the face, she said, "Ye
+may come, but ye'll not find it a happy place to visit, Mr. Smith. Ye'll
+hear soon enough from the neighbours."
+
+"I don't think I know any of your neighbours," said he.
+
+There was sympathy in his voice; but her look was no less defiant.
+"Ye'll hear about it, Mr. Smith; but ye'll hear also that I hold me head
+up. And 'tis not so easy to do that in North Valley."
+
+"You don't like the place?" he asked; and he was amazed by the effect of
+this question, which was merely polite. It was as if a storm cloud had
+swept over the girl's face. "I hate it! 'Tis a place of fear and
+devils!"
+
+He hesitated a moment; then, "Will you tell me what you mean by that
+when I come?"
+
+But "Red Mary" was winsome again. "When ye come, Mr. Smith, I'll not be
+entertaining ye with troubles. I'll put on me company manner, and we'll
+go out for a nice walk, if ye please."
+
+All the way as he walked back to Reminitsky's to supper, Hal thought
+about this girl; not merely her pleasantness to the eye, so unexpected
+in this place of desolation, but her personality, which baffled him--the
+pain that seemed always just beneath the surface of her thoughts, the
+fierce pride which flashed out at the slightest suggestion of sympathy,
+the way she had of brightening when he spoke the language of metaphor,
+however trite. How had she come to know about poetry-books? He wanted to
+know more about this miracle of Nature--this wild rose blooming on a
+bare mountain-side!
+
+
+
+SECTION 9.
+
+There was one of Mary Burke's remarks upon which Hal soon got light--her
+statement that North Valley was a place of fear. He listened to the
+tales of these underworld men, until it came so that he shuddered with
+dread each time that he went down in the cage.
+
+There was a wire-haired and almond eyed Korean, named Cho, a
+"rope-rider" in Hal's part of the mine. He was one of those who had
+charge of the long trains of cars, called "trips," which were hauled
+through the main passage-ways; the name "rope-rider" came from the fact
+that he sat on the heavy iron ring to which the rope was attached. He
+invited Hal to a seat with him, and Hal accepted, at peril of his job as
+well as of his limbs. Cho had picked up what he fondly thought was
+English, and now and then one could understand a word. He pointed upon
+the ground, and shouted above the rattle of the cars: "Big dust!" Hal
+saw that the ground was covered with six inches of coal-dust, while on
+the old disused walls one could write his name in it. "Much blow-up!"
+said the rope-rider; and when the last empty cars had been shunted off
+into the working-rooms, and he was waiting to make up a return "trip,"
+he laboured with gestures to explain what he meant. "Load cars. Bang!
+Bust like hell!"
+
+Hal knew that the mountain air in this region was famous for its
+dryness; he learned now that the quality which meant life to invalids
+from every part of the world meant death to those who toiled to keep the
+invalids warm. Driven through the mines by great fans, this air took out
+every particle of moisture, and left coal dust so thick and dry that
+there were fatal explosions from the mere friction of loading-shovels.
+So it happened that these mines were killing several times as many men
+as other mines throughout the country.
+
+Was there no remedy for this, Hal asked, talking with one of his
+mule-drivers, Tim Rafferty, the evening after his ride with Cho. There
+was a remedy, said Tim--the law required sprinkling the mines with
+"adobe-dust"; and once in Tim's life, he remembered this law's being
+obeyed. There had come some "big fellows" inspecting things, and
+previous to their visit there had been an elaborate campaign of
+sprinkling. But that had been several years ago, and now the apparatus
+was stored away, nobody knew where, and one heard nothing about
+sprinkling.
+
+It was the same with precautions against gas. The North Valley mines
+were especially "gassy," it appeared. In these old rambling passages one
+smelt a stink as of all the rotten eggs in all the barn-yards of the
+world; and this sulphuretted hydrogen was the least dangerous of the
+gases against which a miner had to contend. There was the dreaded
+"choke-damp," which was odourless, and heavier than air. Striking into
+soft, greasy coal, one would open a pocket of this gas, a deposit laid
+up for countless ages, awaiting its predestined victim. A man might sink
+to sleep as he lay at work, and if his "buddy," or helper, happened to
+be out of sight, and to delay a minute too long, it would be all over
+with the man. And there was the still more dreaded "fire-damp," which
+might wreck a whole mine, and kill scores and even hundreds of men.
+
+Against these dangers there was a "fire-boss," whose duty was to go
+through the mine, testing for gas, and making sure that the
+ventilating-course was in order, and the fans working properly. The
+"fire-boss" was supposed to make his rounds in the early morning, and
+the law specified that no one should go to work till he had certified
+that all was safe. But what if the "fire-boss" overslept himself, or
+happened to be drunk? It was too much to expect thousands of dollars to
+be lost for such a reason. So sometimes one saw men ordered to their
+work, and sent down grumbling and cursing. Before many hours some of
+them would be prostrated with headache, and begging to be taken out; and
+perhaps the superintendent would not let them out, because if a few
+came, the rest would get scared and want to come also.
+
+Once, only last year, there had been an accident of that sort. A young
+mule-driver, a Croatian, told Hal about it while they sat munching the
+contents of their dinner-pails. The first cage-load of men had gone down
+into the mine, sullenly protesting; and soon afterwards some one had
+taken down a naked light, and there had been an explosion which had
+sounded like the blowing up of the inside of the world. Eight men had
+been killed, the force of the explosion being so great that some of the
+bodies had been wedged between the shaft wall and the cage, and it had
+been necessary to cut them to pieces to get them out. It was them Japs
+that were to blame, vowed Hal's informant. They hadn't ought to turn
+them loose in coal mines, for the devil himself couldn't keep a Jap from
+sneaking off to get a smoke.
+
+So Hal understood how North Valley was a place of fear. What tales the
+old chambers of these mines could have told, if they had had voices! Hal
+watched the throngs pouring in to their labours, and reflected that
+according to the statisticians of the government eight or nine of every
+thousand of them were destined to die violent deaths before a year was
+out, and some thirty more would be badly injured. And they knew this,
+they knew it better than all the statisticians of the government; yet
+they went to their tasks! Reflecting upon this, Hal was full of wonder.
+What was the force that kept men at such a task? Was it a sense of duty?
+Did they understand that society had to have coal and that some one had
+to do the "dirty work" of providing it? Did they have a vision of a
+future, great and wonderful, which was to grow out of their ill-requited
+toil? Or were they simply fools or cowards, submitting blindly, because
+they had not the wit nor the will to do otherwise? Curiosity held him,
+he wanted to understand the inner souls of these silent and patient
+armies which through the ages have surrendered their lives to other
+men's control.
+
+
+
+SECTION 10.
+
+Hal was coming to know these people; to see them no longer as a mass,
+to be despised or pitied in bulk, but as individuals, with individual
+temperaments and problems, exactly like people in the world of the
+sunlight. Mary Burke and Tim Rafferty, Cho the Korean and Madvik the
+Croatian--one by one these individualities etched themselves into the
+foreground of Hal's picture, making it a thing of life, moving him to
+sympathy and fellowship. Some of these people, to be sure, were stunted
+and dulled to a sordid ugliness of soul and body--but on the other hand,
+some of them were young, and had the light of hope in their hearts, and
+the spark of rebellion.
+
+There was "Andy," a boy of Greek parentage; Androkulos was his right
+name--but it was too much to expect any one to get that straight in a
+coal-camp. Hal noticed him at the store, and was struck by his beautiful
+features, and the mournful look in his big black eyes. They got to
+talking, and Andy made the discovery that Hal had not spent all his time
+in coal-camps, but had seen the great world. It was pitiful, the
+excitement that came into his voice; he was yearning for life, with its
+joys and adventures--and it was his destiny to sit ten hours a day by
+the side of a chute, with the rattle of coal in his ears and the dust of
+coal in his nostrils, picking out slate with his fingers. He was one of
+many scores of "breaker-boys."
+
+"Why don't you go away?" asked Hal.
+
+"Christ! How I get away? Got mother, two sisters."
+
+"And your father?" So Hal made the discovery that Andy's father had been
+one of those men whose bodies had had to be cut to pieces to get them
+out of the shaft. Now the son was chained to the father's place, until
+his time too should come!
+
+"Don't want to be miner!" cried the boy. "Don't want to get _kil-lid_!"
+
+He began to ask, timidly, what Hal thought he could do if he were to run
+away from his family and try his luck in the world outside. Hal,
+striving to remember where he had seen olive-skinned Greeks with big
+black eyes in this beautiful land of the free, could hold out no better
+prospect than a shoe-shining parlour, or the wiping out of wash-bowls in
+a hotel-lavatory, handing over the tips to a fat padrone.
+
+Andy had been to school, and had learned to read English, and the
+teacher had loaned him books and magazines with wonderful pictures in
+them; now he wanted more than pictures, he wanted the things which they
+portrayed. So Hal came face to face with one of the difficulties of
+mine-operators. They gathered a population of humble serfs, selected
+from twenty or thirty races of hereditary bondsmen; but owing to the
+absurd American custom of having public-schools, the children of this
+population learned to speak English, and even to read it. So they became
+too good for their lot in life; and then a wandering agitator would get
+in, and all of a sudden there would be hell. Therefore in every
+coal-camp had to be another kind of "fire-boss," whose duty it was to
+guard against another kind of explosions--not of carbon monoxide, but of
+the human soul.
+
+The immediate duties of this office in North Valley devolved upon Jeff
+Cotton, the camp-marshal. He was not at all what one would have expected
+from a person of his trade--lean and rather distinguished-looking, a man
+who in evening clothes might have passed for a diplomat. But his mouth
+would become ugly when he was displeased, and he carried a gun with six
+notches upon it; also he wore a deputy-sheriff's badge, to give him
+immunity for other notches he might wish to add. When Jeff Cotton came
+near, any man who was explosive went off to be explosive by himself. So
+there was "order" in North Valley, and it was only on Saturday and
+Sunday nights, when the drunks had to be suppressed, or on Monday
+mornings when they had to be haled forth and kicked to their work, that
+one realised upon what basis this "order" rested.
+
+Besides Jeff Cotton, and his assistant, "Bud" Adams, who wore badges,
+and were known, there were other assistants who wore no badges, and were
+not supposed to be known. Coming up in the cage one evening, Hal made
+some remark to the Croatian mule-driver, Madvik, about the high price of
+company-store merchandise, and was surprised to get a sharp kick on the
+ankle. Afterwards, as they were on their way to supper, Madvik gave him
+the reason. "Red-faced feller, Gus. Look out for him--company spotter."
+
+"Is that so?" said Hal, with interest. "How do you know?"
+
+"I know. Everybody know."
+
+"He don't look like he had much sense," said Hal--who had got his idea
+of detectives from Sherlock Holmes.
+
+"No take much sense. Go pit-boss, say, 'Joe feller talk too much. Say
+store rob him.' Any damn fool do that. Hey?"
+
+"To be sure," admitted Hal. "And the company pays him for it?"
+
+"Pit-boss pay him. Maybe give him drink, maybe two bits. Then pit-boss
+come to you: 'You shoot your mouth off too much, feller. Git the hell
+out of here!' See?"
+
+Hal saw.
+
+"So you go down canyon. Then maybe you go 'nother mine. Boss say, 'Where
+you work?' You say 'North Valley.' He say, 'What your name?' You say,
+'Joe Smith.' He say, 'Wait.' He go in, look at paper; he come out, say,
+'No job!' You say, 'Why not?' He say, 'Shoot off your mouth too much,
+feller. Git the hell out of here!' See?"
+
+"You mean a black-list," said Hal.
+
+"Sure, black-list. Maybe telephone, find out all about you. You do
+anything bad, like talk union"--Madvik had dropped his voice and
+whispered the word "union"--"they send your picture--don't get job
+nowhere in state. How you like that?"
+
+
+
+SECTION 11.
+
+Before long Hal had a chance to see this system of espionage at work,
+and he began to understand something of the force which kept these
+silent and patient armies at their tasks. On a Sunday morning he was
+strolling with his mule-driver friend Tim Rafferty, a kindly lad with a
+pair of dreamy blue eyes in his coal-smutted face. They came to Tim's
+home, and he invited Hal to come in and meet his family. The father was
+a bowed and toil-worn man, but with tremendous strength in his solid
+frame, the product of many generations of labour in coal-mines. He was
+known as "Old Rafferty," despite the fact that he was well under fifty.
+He had been a pit-boy at the age of nine, and he showed Hal a faded
+leather album with pictures of his ancestors in the "oul' country"--men
+with sad, deeply lined faces, sitting very stiff and solemn to have
+their presentments made permanent for posterity.
+
+The mother of the family was a gaunt, grey-haired woman, with no teeth,
+but with a warm heart. Hal took to her, because her home was clean; he
+sat on the family door-step, amid a crowd of little Rafferties with
+newly-washed Sunday faces, and fascinated them with tales of adventures
+cribbed from Clark Russell and Captain Mayne Reid. As a reward he was
+invited to stay for dinner, and had a clean knife and fork, and a clean
+plate of steaming hot potatoes, with two slices of salt pork on the
+side. It was so wonderful that he forthwith inquired if he might forsake
+his company boarding-house and come and board with them.
+
+Mrs. Rafferty opened wide her eyes. "Sure," exclaimed she, "do you think
+you'd be let?"
+
+"Why not?" asked Hal.
+
+"Sure, 't would be a bad example for the others."
+
+"Do you mean I _have_ to board at Reminitsky's?"
+
+"There be six company boardin'-houses," said the woman.
+
+"And what would they do if I came to you?"
+
+"First you'd get a hint, and then you'd go down the canyon, and maybe us
+after ye."
+
+"But there's lots of people have boarders in shanty-town," objected Hal.
+
+"Oh! Them wops! Nobody counts them--they live any way they happen to
+fall. But you started at Reminitsky's, and 't would not be healthy for
+them that took ye away."
+
+"I see," laughed Hal. "There seem to be a lot of unhealthy things
+hereabouts."
+
+"Sure there be! They sent down Nick Ammons because his wife bought milk
+down the canyon. They had a sick baby, and it's not much you get in this
+thin stuff at the store. They put chalk in it, I think; any way, you can
+see somethin' white in the bottom."
+
+"So you have to trade at the store, too!"
+
+"I thought ye said ye'd worked in coal-mines," put in Old Rafferty, who
+had been a silent listener.
+
+"So I have," said Hal. "But it wasn't quite that bad."
+
+"Sure," said Mrs. Rafferty, "I'd like to know where 'twas then--in this
+country. Me and me old man spent weary years a-huntin'."
+
+Thus far the conversation had proceeded naturally; but suddenly it was
+as if a shadow passed over it--a shadow of fear. Hal saw Old Rafferty
+look at his wife, and frown and make signs to her. After all, what did
+they know about this handsome young stranger, who talked so glibly, and
+had been in so many parts of the world?
+
+"'Tis not complainin' we'd be," said the old man.
+
+And his wife made haste to add, "If they let peddlers and the like of
+them come in, 'twould be no end to it, I suppose. We find they treat us
+here as well as anywhere."
+
+"'Tis no joke, the life of workin' men, wherever ye try it," added the
+other; and when young Tim started to express an opinion, they shut him
+up with such evident anxiety that Hal's heart ached for them, and he
+made haste to change the subject.
+
+
+
+SECTION 12.
+
+On the evening of the same Sunday Hal went to pay his promised call upon
+Mary Burke. She opened the front door of the cabin to let him in, and
+even by the dim rays of the little kerosene lamp, there came to him an
+impression of cheerfulness. "Hello," she said--just as she had said it
+when he had slid down the mountain into the family wash. He followed her
+into the room, and saw that the impression he had got of cheerfulness
+came from Mary herself. How bright and fresh she looked! The old blue
+calico, which had not been entirely clean, was newly laundered now, and
+on the shoulder where the rent had been was a neat patch of unfaded
+blue.
+
+There being only three rooms in Mary's home, two of these necessarily
+bed-rooms, she entertained her company in the kitchen. The room was
+bare, Hal saw--there was not even so much as a clock by way of ornament.
+The only charm the girl had been able to give to it, in preparation for
+company, was that of cleanness. The board floor had been newly sanded
+and scrubbed; the kitchen table also had been scrubbed, and the kettle
+on the stove, and the cracked tea-pot and bowls on the shelf. Mary's
+little brother and sister were in the room: Jennie, a dark-eyed,
+dark-haired little girl, frail, with a sad, rather frightened face; and
+Tommie, a round headed youngster, like a thousand other round headed and
+freckle-faced boys. Both of them were now sitting very straight in their
+chairs, staring at the visitor with a certain resentment, he thought. He
+suspected that they had been included in the general scrubbing. Inasmuch
+as it had been uncertain just when the visitor would come, they must
+have been required to do this every night, and he could imagine family
+disturbances, with arguments possibly not altogether complimentary to
+Mary's new "feller."
+
+There seemed to be a certain uneasiness in the place.
+
+Mary did not invite her company to a seat, but stood irresolute; and
+after Hal had ventured a couple of friendly remarks to the children, she
+said, abruptly, "Shall we be takin' that walk that we spoke of, Mr.
+Smith?"
+
+"Delighted!" said Hal; and while she pinned on her hat before the broken
+mirror on the shelf, he smiled at the children and quoted two lines from
+his Harrigan song--
+
+  "Oh, Mary-Jane, come out in the lane,
+  The moon is a-shinin' in the old pecan!"
+
+Tommie and Jennie were too shy to answer, but Mary exclaimed, "'Tis in a
+tin-can ye see it shinin' here!"
+
+They went out. In the soft summer night it was pleasant to stroll under
+the moon--especially when they had come to the remoter parts of the
+village, where there were not so many weary people on door-steps and
+children playing noisily. There were other young couples walking here,
+under the same moon; the hardest day's toil could not so sap their
+energies that they did not feel the spell of this soft summer night.
+
+Hal, being tired, was content to stroll and enjoy the stillness; but
+Mary Burke sought information about the mysterious young man she was
+with. "Ye've not worked long in coal-mines, Mr. Smith?" she remarked.
+
+Hal was a trifle disconcerted. "How did you find that out?"
+
+"Ye don't look it--ye don't talk it. Ye're not like anybody or anything
+around here. I don't know how to say it, but ye make me think more of
+the poetry-books."
+
+Flattered as Hal was by this naive confession, he did not want to talk
+of the mystery of himself. He took refuge in a question about the
+"poetry-books." "I've read some," said the girl; "more than ye'd have
+thought, perhaps." This with a flash of her defiance.
+
+He asked more questions, and learned that she, like the Greek boy,
+"Andy," had come under the influence of that disturbing American
+institution, the public-school; she had learned to read, and the pretty
+young teacher had helped her, lending her books and magazines. Thus she
+had been given a key to a treasure-house, a magic carpet on which to
+travel over the world. These similes Mary herself used--for the Arabian
+Nights had been one of the books that were loaned to her. On rainy days
+she would hide behind the sofa, reading at a spot where the light crept
+in--so that she might be safe from small brothers and sisters!
+
+Joe Smith had read these same books, it appeared; and this seemed
+remarkable to Mary, for books cost money and were hard to get. She
+explained how she had searched the camp for new magic carpets, finding a
+"poetry-book" by Longfellow, and a book of American history, and a story
+called "David Copperfield," and last and strangest of all, another story
+called "Pride and Prejudice." A curious freak of fortune--the prim and
+sentimentally quivering Jane Austen in a coal-camp in a far Western
+wilderness! An adventure for Jane, as well as for Mary!
+
+What had Mary made of it, Hal wondered. Had she revelled, shop-girl
+fashion, in scenes of pallid ease? He learned that what she had made of
+it was despair. This world outside, with its freedom and cleanness, its
+people living gracious and worth-while lives, was not for her; she was
+chained to a scrub-pail in a coal-camp. Things had got so much worse
+since the death of her mother, she said. Her voice had become dull and
+hard--Hal thought that he had never heard a young voice express such
+hopelessness.
+
+"You've never been anywhere but here?" he asked.
+
+"I been in two other camps," she said--"first the Gordon, and then East
+Run. But they're all alike."
+
+"But you've been down to the towns?"
+
+"Only for a day, once or twice a year. Once I was in Sheridan, and in a
+church I heard a lady sing."
+
+She stopped for a moment, lost in this memory. Then suddenly her voice
+changed--and he could imagine in the darkness that she had tossed her
+head defiantly. "I'll not be entertainin' company with my troubles! Ye
+know how tiresome that is when ye hear it from somebody else--like my
+next-door neighbour, Mrs. Zamboni. D' ye know her?"
+
+"No," said Hal.
+
+"The poor old lady has troubles enough, God knows. Her man's not much
+good--he's troubled with the drink; and she's got eleven childer, and
+that's too many for one woman. Don't ye think so?"
+
+She asked this with a naivete which made Hal laugh. "Yes," he said, "I
+do."
+
+"Well, I think people'd help her more if she'd not complain so! And half
+of it in the Slavish language, that a body can't understand!" So Mary
+began to tell funny things about Mrs. Zamboni and her other polyglot
+neighbours, imitating their murdering of the Irish dialect. Hal thought
+her humour was naive and delightful, and he led her on to more cheerful
+gossip during the remainder of their walk.
+
+
+
+SECTION 13.
+
+But then, as they were on their way home, tragedy fell upon them.
+Hearing a step behind them, Mary turned and looked; then catching Hal by
+the arm, she drew him into the shadows at the side, whispering to him to
+be silent. The bent figure of a man went past them, lurching from side
+to side.
+
+When he had turned and gone into the house, Mary said, "It's my father.
+He's ugly when he's like that." And Hal could hear her quick breathing
+in the darkness.
+
+So that was Mary's trouble--the difficulty in her home life to which she
+had referred at their first meeting! Hal understood many things in a
+flash--why her home was bare of ornament, and why she did not invite her
+company to sit down. He stood silent, not knowing what to say. Before he
+could find the word, Mary burst out, "Oh, how I hate O'Callahan, that
+sells the stuff to my father! His home with plenty to eat in it, and his
+wife dressin' in silk and goin' down to mass every Sunday, and thinkin'
+herself too good for a common miner's daughter! Sometimes I think I'd
+like to kill them both."
+
+"That wouldn't help much," Hal ventured.
+
+"No, I know--there'd only be some other one in his place. Ye got to do
+more than that, to change things here. Ye got to get after them that
+make money out of O'Callahan."
+
+So Mary's mind was groping for causes! Hal had thought her excitement
+was due to humiliation, or to fear of a scene of violence when she
+reached home; but she was thinking of the deeper aspects of this
+terrible drink problem. There was still enough unconscious snobbery in
+Hal Warner for him to be surprised at this phenomenon in a common
+miner's daughter; and so, as at their first meeting, his pity was turned
+to intellectual interest.
+
+"They'll stop the drink business altogether some day," he said. He had
+not known that he was a Prohibitionist; he had become one suddenly!
+
+"Well," she answered, "they'd best stop it soon, if they don't want to
+be too late. 'Tis a sight to make your heart sick to see the young lads
+comin' home staggerin', too drunk even to fight."
+
+Hal had not had time to see much of this aspect of North Valley. "They
+sell to boys?" he asked.
+
+"Sure, who's to care? A boy's money's as good as a man's."
+
+"But I should think the company--"
+
+"The company lets the saloon-buildin'--that's all the company cares."
+
+"But they must care something about the efficiency of their hands!"
+
+"Sure, there's plenty more where they come from. When ye can't work,
+they fire ye, and that's all there is to it."
+
+"And is it so easy to get skilled men?"
+
+"It don't take much skill to get out coal. The skill is in keepin' your
+bones whole--and if you can stand breakin' 'em, the company can stand
+it."
+
+They had come to the little cabin. Mary stood for a moment in silence.
+"I'm talkin' bitter again!" she exclaimed suddenly. "And I promised ye
+me company manner! But things keep happening to set me off." And she
+turned abruptly and ran into the house. Hal stood for a moment wondering
+if she would return; then, deciding that she had meant that as good
+night, he went slowly up the street.
+
+He fought against a mood of real depression, the first he had known
+since his coming to North Valley. He had managed so far to keep a
+certain degree of aloofness, that he might see this industrial world
+without prejudice. But to-night his pity for Mary had involved him more
+deeply. To be sure, he might be able to help her, to find her work in
+some less crushing environment; but his mind went on to the
+question--how many girls might there be in mining-camps, young and
+eager, hungering for life, but crushed by poverty, and by the burden of
+the drink problem?
+
+A man walked past Hal, greeting him in the semi-darkness with a nod and
+a motion of the hand. It was the Reverend Spragg, the gentleman who was
+officially commissioned to combat the demon rum in North Valley.
+
+Hal had been to the little white church the Sunday before, and heard the
+Reverend Spragg preach a doctrinal sermon, in which the blood of the
+lamb was liberally sprinkled, and the congregation heard where and how
+they were to receive compensation for the distresses they endured in
+this vale of tears.
+
+What a mockery it seemed! Once, indubitably, people had believed such
+doctrines; they had been willing to go to the stake for them. But now
+nobody went to the stake for them--on the contrary, the company
+compelled every worker to contribute out of his scanty earnings towards
+the preaching of them. How could the most ignorant of zealots confront
+such an arrangement without suspicion of his own piety? Somewhere at the
+head of the great dividend-paying machine that was called the General
+Fuel Company must be some devilish intelligence that had worked it all
+out, that had given the orders to its ecclesiastical staff: "We want the
+present--we leave you the future! We want the bodies--we leave you the
+souls! Teach them what you will about heaven--so long as you let us
+plunder them on earth!"
+
+In accordance with this devil's program, the Reverend Spragg might
+denounce the demon rum, but he said nothing about dividends based on the
+renting of rum-shops, nor about local politicians maintained by company
+contributions, plus the profits of wholesale liquor. He said nothing
+about the conclusions of modern hygiene, concerning over-work as a cause
+of the craving for alcohol; the phrase "industrial drinking," it seemed,
+was not known in General Fuel Company theology! In fact, when you
+listened to such a sermon, you would never have guessed that the hearers
+of it had physical bodies at all; certainly you would never have guessed
+that the preacher had a body, which was nourished by food produced by
+the overworked and under-nourished wage-slaves whom he taught!
+
+
+
+SECTION 14.
+
+For the most part the victims of this system were cowed and spoke of
+their wrongs only in whispers; but there was one place in the camp, Hal
+found, where they could not keep silence, where their sense of outrage
+battled with their fear. This place was the solar plexus of the
+mine-organism, the centre of its nervous energies; to change the simile,
+it was the judgment-seat, where the miner had sentence passed upon
+him--sentence either to plenty, or to starvation and despair.
+
+This place was the "tipple," where the coal that came out of the mine
+was weighed and recorded. Every digger, as he came from the cage, made
+for this spot. There was a bulletin-board, and on it his number, and the
+record of the weights of the cars he had sent out that day. And every
+man, no matter how ignorant, had learned enough English to read those
+figures.
+
+Hal had gradually come to realise that here was the place of drama. Most
+of the men would look, and then, without a sound or glance about, would
+slouch off with drooping shoulders. Others would mumble to
+themselves--or, what amounted to the same thing, would mumble to one
+another in barbarous dialects. But about one in five could speak
+English; and scarcely an evening passed that some man did not break
+loose, shaking his fist at the sky, or at the weigh-boss--behind the
+latter's back. He might gather a knot of fellow-grumblers about him; it
+was to be noted that the camp-marshal had the habit of being on hand at
+this hour.
+
+It was on one of these occasions that Hal first noticed Mike Sikoria, a
+grizzle-haired old Slovak, who had spent twenty years in the mines of
+these regions. All the bitterness of all the wrongs of all these years
+welled up in Old Mike, as he shouted his score aloud: "Nineteen,
+twenty-two, twenty-four, twenty! Is that my weight, Mister? You want me
+to believe that's my weight?"
+
+"That's your weight," said the weigh-boss, coldly.
+
+"Well, by Judas, your scale is off, Mister! Look at them cars--them cars
+is big! You measure them cars, Mister--seven feet long, three and a half
+feet high, four feet wide. And you tell me them don't go but twenty?"
+
+"You don't load them right," said the boss.
+
+"Don't load them right?" echoed the old miner; he became suddenly
+plaintive, as if more hurt than angered by such an insinuation. "You
+know all the years I work, and you tell me I don't know a load? When I
+load a car, I load him like a miner, I don't load him like a Jap, that
+don't know about a mine! I put it up--I chunk it up like a stack of hay.
+I load him square--like that." With gestures the old fellow was
+illustrating what he meant. "See there! There's a ton on the top, and a
+ton and a half on the bottom--and you tell me I get only nineteen,
+twenty!"
+
+"That's your weight," said the boss, implacably.
+
+"But, Mister, your scale is wrong! I tell you I used to get my weight. I
+used to get forty-five, forty-six on them cars. Here's my buddy--ask him
+if it ain't so. What is it, Bo?"
+
+"Um m m-mum," said Bo, who was a negro--though one could hardly be sure
+of this for the coal-dust on him.
+
+"I can't make a living no more!" exclaimed the old Slovak, his voice
+trembling and his wizened dark eyes full of pleading. "What you think I
+make? For fifteen days, fifty cents! I pay board, and so help me God,
+Mister--and I stand right here--I swear for God I make fifty cents. I
+dig the coal and I ain't got no weight, I ain't got nothing! Your scale
+is wrong!"
+
+"Get out!" said the weigh-boss, turning away.
+
+"But, Mister!" cried Old Mike, following behind him, and pouring his
+whole soul into his words. "What is this life, Mister? You work like a
+burro, and you don't get nothing for it! You burn your own powder--half
+a dollar a day powder--what you think of that? Crosscut--and you get
+nothing! Take the skip and a pillar, and you get nothing! Brush--and you
+get nothing! Here, by Judas, a poor man, going and working his body to
+the last point, and blood is run out! You starve me to death, I say! I
+have got to have something to eat, haven't I?"
+
+And suddenly the boss whirled upon him. "Get the hell out of here!" he
+shouted. "If you don't like it, get your time and quit. Shut your face,
+or I'll shut it for you."
+
+The old man quailed and fell silent. He stood for a moment more, biting
+his whiskered lips nervously; then his shoulders sank together, and he
+turned and slunk off, followed by his negro helper.
+
+
+
+SECTION 15.
+
+Old Mike boarded at Reminitsky's, and after supper was over, Hal sought
+him out. He was easy to know, and proved an interesting acquaintance.
+With the help of his eloquence Hal wandered through a score of camps in
+the district. The old fellow had a temper that he could not manage, and
+so he was always on the move; but all places were alike, he said--there
+was always some trick by which a miner was cheated of his earnings. A
+miner was a little business man, a contractor who took a certain job,
+with its expenses and its chance of profit or loss. A "place" was
+assigned to him by the boss--and he undertook to get out the coal from
+it, being paid at the rate of fifty-five cents a ton for each ton of
+clean coal. In some "places" a man could earn good money, and in others
+he would work for weeks, and not be able to keep up with his
+store-account.
+
+It all depended upon the amount of rock and slate that was found with
+the coal. If the vein was low, the man had one or two feet of rock to
+take off the ceiling, and this had to be loaded on separate cars and
+taken away. This work was called "brushing," and for it the miner
+received no pay. Or perhaps it was necessary to cut through a new
+passage, and clean out the rock; or perhaps to "grade the bottom," and
+lay the ties and rails over which the cars were brought in to be loaded;
+or perhaps the vein ran into a "fault," a broken place where there was
+rock instead of coal--and this rock must be hewed away before the miner
+could get at the coal. All such work was called "dead-work," and it was
+the cause of unceasing war. In the old days the company had paid extra
+for it; now, since they had got the upper hand of the men, they were
+refusing to pay. And so it was important to the miner to have a "place"
+assigned him where there was not so much of this dead work. And the
+"place" a man got depended upon the boss; so here, at the very outset,
+was endless opportunity for favouritism and graft, for quarrelling, or
+"keeping in" with the boss. What chance did a man stand who was poor and
+old and ugly, and could not speak English good? inquired old Mike, with
+bitterness. The boss stole his cars and gave them to other people; he
+took the weight off the cars, and gave them to fellows who boarded with
+him, or treated him to drinks, or otherwise curried favour with him.
+
+"I work five days in the Southeastern," said Mike, "and when I work them
+five days, so help me God, brother, if I don't get up out of this chair,
+fifteen cents I was still in the hole yet. Fourteen inches of rock! And
+the Mr. Bishop--that is the superintendent--I says, 'Do you pay
+something for that rock?' 'Huh?' says he. 'Well,' I says, 'if you don't
+pay nothing for the rock, I don't go ahead with it. I ain't got no place
+to put that rock.' 'Get the hell out of here,' says he, and when I
+started to fight he pull gun on me. And then I go to Cedar Mountain, and
+the super give me work there, and he says, 'You go Number Four,' and he
+says, 'Rail is in Number Three, and the ties.' And he says, 'I pay you
+for it when you put it in.' So I take it away and I put it in, and I
+work till twelve o'clock. Carried the three pair of rails and the ties,
+and I pulled all the spikes--"
+
+"Pulled the spikes?" asked Hal.
+
+"Got no good spikes. Got to use old spikes, what you pull out of them
+old ties. So then I says, 'What is my half day, what you promise me?'
+Says he, 'You ain't dug no coal yet!' 'But, mister,' says I, 'you
+promise me pay to pull them spikes and put in them ties!' Says he,
+'Company pay nothin' for dead work--you know that,' says he, and that is
+all the satisfaction I get."
+
+"And you didn't get your half day's pay?"
+
+"Sure I get nothin'. Boss do just as he please in coal mine."
+
+
+
+SECTION 16.
+
+There was another way, Old Mike explained, in which the miner was at the
+mercy of others; this was the matter of stealing cars. Each miner had
+brass checks with his number on them, and when he sent up a loaded car,
+he hung one of these checks on a hook inside. In the course of the long
+journey to the tipple, some one would change the check, and the car was
+gone. In some mines, the number was put on the car with chalk; and how
+easy it was for some one to rub it out and change it! It appeared to Hal
+that it would have been a simple matter to put a number padlock on the
+car, instead of a check; but such an equipment would have cost the
+company one or two hundred dollars, he was told, and so the stealing
+went on year after year.
+
+"You think it's the bosses steal these cars?" asked Hal.
+
+"Sometimes bosses, sometimes bosses' friend--sometimes company himself
+steal them from miners." In North Valley it was the company, the old
+Slovak insisted. It was no use sending up more than six cars in one day,
+he declared; you could never get credit for more than six. Nor was it
+worth while loading more than a ton on a car; they did not really weigh
+the cars, the boss just ran them quickly over the scales, and had orders
+not to go above a certain average. Mike told of an Italian who had
+loaded a car for a test, so high that he could barely pass it under the
+roof of the entry, and went up on the tipple and saw it weighed himself,
+and it was sixty-five hundred pounds. They gave him thirty-five hundred,
+and when he started to fight, they arrested him. Mike had not seen him
+arrested, but when he had come out of the mine, the man was gone, and
+nobody ever saw him again. After that they put a door onto the
+weigh-room, so that no one could see the scales.
+
+The more Hal listened to the men and reflected upon these things, the
+more he came to see that the miner was a contractor who had no
+opportunity to determine the size of the contract before he took it on,
+nor afterwards to determine how much work he had done. More than that,
+he was obliged to use supplies, over the price and measurements of which
+he had no control. He used powder, and would find himself docked at the
+end of the month for a certain quantity, and if the quantity was wrong,
+he would have no redress. He was charged a certain sum for
+"black-smithing"--the keeping of his tools in order; and he would find a
+dollar or two deducted from his account each month, even though he had
+not been near the blacksmith shop.
+
+Let any business-man in the world consider the proposition, thought Hal,
+and say if he would take a contract upon such terms! Would a man
+undertake to build a dam, for example, with no chance to measure the
+ground in advance, nor any way of determining how many cubic yards of
+concrete he had to put in? Would a grocer sell to a customer who
+proposed to come into the store and do his own weighing--and meantime
+locking the grocer outside? Merely to put such questions was to show the
+preposterousness of the thing; yet in this district were fifteen
+thousand men working on precisely such terms.
+
+Under the state law, the miner had a right to demand a check-weighman to
+protect his interest at the scales, paying this check-weighman's wages
+out of his own earnings. Whenever there was any public criticism about
+conditions in the coal-mines, this law would be triumphantly cited by
+the operators; and one had to have actual experience in order to realise
+what a bitter mockery this was to the miner.
+
+In the dining-room Hal sat next to a fair-haired Swedish giant named
+Johannson, who loaded timbers ten hours a day. This fellow was one who
+indulged in the luxury of speaking his mind, because he had youth and
+huge muscles, and no family to tie him down. He was what is called a
+"blanket-stiff," wandering from mine to harvest-field and from
+harvest-field to lumber-camp. Some one broached the subject of
+check-weighmen to him, and the whole table heard his scornful laugh. Let
+any man ask for a check-weighman!
+
+"You mean they would fire him?" asked Hal.
+
+"Maybe!" was the answer. "Maybe they make him fire himself."
+
+"How do you mean?"
+
+"They make his life one damn misery till he go."
+
+So it was with check-weighman--as with scrip, and with company stores,
+and with all the provisions of the law to protect the miner against
+accidents. You might demand your legal rights, but if you did, it was a
+matter of the boss's temper. He might make your life one damn misery
+till you went of your own accord. Or you might get a string of curses
+and an order, "Down the canyon!"--and likely as not the toe of a boot in
+your trouser-seat, or the muzzle of a revolver under your nose.
+
+
+
+SECTION 17.
+
+Such conditions made the coal-district a place of despair. Yet there
+were men who managed to get along somehow, and to raise families and
+keep decent homes. If one had the luck to escape accident, if he did not
+marry too young, or did not have too many children; if he could manage
+to escape the temptations of liquor, to which overwork and monotony
+drove so many; if, above all, he could keep on the right side of his
+boss--why then he might have a home, and even a little money on deposit
+with the company.
+
+Such a one was Jerry Minetti, who became one of Hal's best friends. He
+was a Milanese, and his name was Gerolamo, which had become Jerry in the
+"melting-pot." He was about twenty-five years of age, and what is
+unusual with the Italians, was of good stature. Their meeting took
+place--as did most of Hal's social experiences--on a Sunday. Jerry had
+just had a sleep and a wash, and had put on a pair of new blue overalls,
+so that he presented a cheering aspect in the sunlight. He walked with
+his head up and his shoulders square, and one could see that he had few
+cares in the world.
+
+But what caught Hal's attention was not so much Jerry as what followed
+at Jerry's heels; a perfect reproduction of him, quarter-size, also with
+a newly-washed face and a pair of new blue overalls. He too had his head
+up, and his shoulders square, and he was an irresistible object,
+throwing out his heels and trying his best to keep step. Since the
+longest strides he could take left him behind, he would break into a
+run, and getting close under his father's heels, would begin keeping
+step once more.
+
+Hal was going in the same direction, and it affected him like the music
+of a military band; he too wanted to throw his head up and square his
+shoulders and keep step. And then other people, seeing the grin on his
+face, would turn and watch, and grin also. But Jerry walked on gravely,
+unaware of this circus in the rear.
+
+They went into a house; and Hal, having nothing to do but enjoy life,
+stood waiting for them to come out. They returned in the same
+procession, only now the man had a sack of something on his shoulder,
+while the little chap had a smaller load poised in imitation. So Hal
+grinned again, and when they were opposite him, he said, "Hello."
+
+"Hello," said Jerry, and stopped. Then, seeing Hal's grin, he grinned
+back; and Hal looked at the little chap and grinned, and the little chap
+grinned back. Jerry, seeing what Hal was grinning at, grinned more than
+ever; so there stood all three in the middle of the road, grinning at
+one another for no apparent reason.
+
+"Gee, but that's a great kid!" said Hal.
+
+"Gee, you bet!" said Jerry; and he set down his sack. If some one
+desired to admire the kid, he was willing to stop any length of time.
+
+"Yours?" asked Hal.
+
+"You bet!" said Jerry, again.
+
+"Hello, Buster!" said Hal.
+
+"Hello yourself!" said the kid. One could see in a moment that he had
+been in the "melting-pot."
+
+"What's your name?" asked Hal.
+
+"Jerry," was the reply.
+
+"And what's his name?" Hal nodded towards the man--
+
+"Big Jerry."
+
+"Got any more like you at home?"
+
+"One more," said Big Jerry. "Baby."
+
+"He ain't like me," said Little Jerry. "He's little."
+
+"And you're big?" said Hal.
+
+"He can't walk!"
+
+"Neither can you walk!" laughed Hal, and caught him up and slung him
+onto his shoulder. "Come on, we'll ride!"
+
+So Big Jerry took up his sack again, and they started off; only this
+time it was Hal who fell behind and kept step, squaring his shoulders
+and flinging out his heels. Little Jerry caught onto the joke, and
+giggled and kicked his sturdy legs with delight. Big Jerry would look
+round, not knowing what the joke was, but enjoying it just the same.
+
+They came to the three-room cabin which was Both Jerrys' home; and Mrs.
+Jerry came to the door, a black-eyed Sicilian girl, who did not look old
+enough to have even one baby. They had another bout of grinning, at the
+end of which Big Jerry said, "You come in?"
+
+"Sure," said Hal.
+
+"You stay supper," added the other. "Got spaghetti."
+
+"Gee!" said Hal. "All right, let me stay, and pay for it."
+
+"Hell, no!" said Jerry. "You no pay!"
+
+"No! No pay!" cried Mrs. Jerry, shaking her pretty head energetically.
+
+"All right," said Hal, quickly, seeing that he might hurt their
+feelings. "I'll stay if you're sure you have enough."
+
+"Sure, plenty!" said Jerry. "Hey, Rosa?"
+
+"Sure, plenty!" said Mrs. Jerry.
+
+"Then I'll stay," said Hal. "You like spaghetti, Kid?"
+
+"Jesus!" cried Little Jerry.
+
+Hal looked about him at this Dago home. It was a tome in keeping with
+its pretty occupant. There were lace curtains in the windows, even
+shinier and whiter than at the Rafferties; there was an incredibly
+bright-coloured rug on the floor, and bright coloured pictures of Mount
+Vesuvius and of Garibaldi on the walls. Also there was a cabinet with
+many interesting treasures to look at--a bit of coral and a conch-shell,
+a shark's tooth and an Indian arrow-head, and a stuffed linnet with a
+glass cover over him. A while back Hal would not have thought of such
+things as especially stimulating to the imagination; but that was before
+he had begun to spend five-sixths of his waking hours in the bowels of
+the earth.
+
+He ate supper, a real Dago supper; the spaghetti proved to be real Dago
+spaghetti, smoking hot, with tomato sauce and a rich flavour of
+meat-juice. And all through the meal Hal smacked his lips and grinned at
+Little Jerry, who smacked his lips and grinned back. It was all so
+different from feeding at Reminitsky's pig-trough, that Hal thought he
+had never had such a good supper in his life before. As for Mr. and Mrs.
+Jerry, they were so proud of their wonderful kid, who could swear in
+English as good as a real American, that they were in the seventh
+heaven.
+
+When the meal was over, Hal leaned back and exclaimed, just as he had at
+the Rafferties', "Lord, how I wish I could board here!"
+
+He saw his host look at his wife. "All right," said he. "You come here.
+I board you. Hey, Rosa?"
+
+"Sure," said Rosa.
+
+Hal looked at them, astonished. "You're sure they'll let you?" he asked.
+
+"Let me? Who stop me?"
+
+"I don't know. Maybe Reminitsky. You might get into trouble."
+
+Jerry grinned. "I no fraid," said he. "Got friends here. Carmino my
+cousin. You know Carmino?"
+
+"No," said Hal.
+
+"Pit-boss in Number One. He stand by me. Old Reminitsky go hang! You
+come here, I give you bunk in that room, give you good grub. What you
+pay Reminitsky?"
+
+"Twenty-seven a month."
+
+"All right, you pay me twenty-seven, you get everything good. Can't get
+much stuff here, but Rosa good cook, she fix it."
+
+Hal's new friend--besides being a favourite of the boss--was a
+"shot-firer"; it was his duty to go about the mine at night, setting off
+the charges of powder which the miners had got ready by day. This was
+dangerous work, calling for a skilled man, and it paid pretty well; so
+Jerry got on in the world and was not afraid to speak his mind, within
+certain limits. He ignored the possibility that Hal might be a company
+spy, and astonished him by rebellious talk of the different kinds of
+graft in North Valley, and at other places he had worked since coming to
+America as a boy. Minetti was a Socialist, Hal learned; he took an
+Italian Socialist paper, and the clerk at the post-office knew what sort
+of paper it was, and would "josh" him about it. What was more
+remarkable, Mrs. Minetti was a Socialist also; that meant a great deal
+to a man, as Jerry explained, because she was not under the domination
+of a priest.
+
+
+
+SECTION 18.
+
+Hal made the move at once, sacrificing part of a month's board, which
+Reminitsky would charge against his account with the company. But he was
+willing to pay for the privilege of a clean home and clean food. To his
+amusement he found that in the eyes of his Irish friends he was losing
+caste by going to live with the Minettis. There were most rigid social
+lines in North Valley, it appeared. The Americans and English and Scotch
+looked down upon the Welsh and Irish; the Welsh and Irish looked down
+upon the Dagoes and Frenchies; the Dagoes and Frenchies looked down upon
+Polacks and Hunkies, these in turn upon Greeks, Bulgarians and
+"Montynegroes," and so on through a score of races of Eastern Europe,
+Lithuanians, Slovaks, and Croatians, Armenians, Roumanians, Rumelians,
+Ruthenians--ending up with Greasers, niggers, and last and lowest, Japs.
+
+It was when Hal went to pay another call upon the Rafferties that he
+made this discovery. Mary Burke happened to be there, and when she
+caught sight of him, her grey eyes beamed with mischief. "How do ye do,
+Mr. Minetti?" she cried.
+
+"How do ye do, Miss Rosetti?" he countered.
+
+"You lika da spagett?"
+
+"You no lika da spagett?"
+
+"I told ye once," laughed the girl--"the good old pertaties is good
+enough for me!"
+
+"And you remember," said he, "what I answered?"
+
+Yes, she remembered! Her cheeks took on the colour of the rose-leaves he
+had specified as her probable diet.
+
+And then the Rafferty children, who had got to know Hal well, joined in
+the teasing. "Mister Minetti! Lika da spagetti!" Hal, when he had
+grasped the situation, was tempted to retaliate by reminding them that
+he had offered to board with the Irish, and been turned down; but he
+feared that the elder Rafferty might not appreciate this joke, so
+instead he pretended to have supposed all along that the Rafferties were
+Italians. He addressed the elder Rafferty gravely, pronouncing the name
+with the accent on the second syllable--"Signer Rafferti"; and this so
+amused the old man that he chuckled over it at intervals for an hour.
+His heart warmed to this lively young fellow; he forgot some of his
+suspicions, and after the youngsters had been sent away to bed, he
+talked more or less frankly about his life as a coal-miner.
+
+"Old Rafferty" had once been on the way to high station. He had been
+made tipple-boss at the San Jose mine, but had given up his job because
+he had thought that his religion did not permit him to do what he was
+ordered to do. It had been a crude proposition of keeping the men's
+score at a certain level, no matter how much coal they might send up;
+and when Rafferty had quit rather than obey such orders, he had had to
+leave the mine altogether; for of course everybody knew why he had quit,
+and his mere presence had the effect of keeping discontent alive.
+
+"You think there are no honest companies at all?" Hal asked.
+
+The old man answered, "There be some, but 'tis not so easy as ye might
+think to be honest. They have to meet each other's prices, and when one
+short-weights, the others have to. 'Tis a way of cuttin' wages without
+the men findin' it out; and there be people that do not like to fall
+behind with their profits." Hal found himself thinking of old Peter
+Harrigan, who controlled the General Fuel Company, and had made the
+remark: "I am a great clamourer for dividends!"
+
+"The trouble with the miner," continued Old Rafferty, "is that he has no
+one to speak for him. He stands alone--"
+
+During this discourse, Hal had glanced at "Red Mary," and noticed that
+she sat with her arms on the table, her sturdy shoulders bowed in a
+fashion which told of a hard day's toil. But here she broke into the
+conversation; her voice came suddenly, alive with scorn: "The trouble
+with the miner is that he's a _slave!_"
+
+"Ah, now--" put in the old man, protestingly.
+
+"He has the whole world against him, and he hasn't got the sense to get
+together--to form a union, and stand by it!"
+
+There fell a sudden silence in the Rafferty home. Even Hal was
+startled--for this was the first time during his stay in the camp that
+he had heard the dread word "union" spoken above a whisper.
+
+"I know!" said Mary, her grey eyes full of defiance. "Ye'll not have the
+word spoken! But some will speak it in spite of ye!"
+
+"'Tis all very well," said the old man. "When ye're young, and a woman
+too--"
+
+"A woman! Is it only the women that can have courage?"
+
+"Sure," said he, with a wry smile, "'tis the women that have the
+tongues, and that can't he stopped from usin' them. Even the boss must
+know that."
+
+"Maybe so," replied Mary. "And maybe 'tis the women have the most to
+suffer in a coal-camp; and maybe the boss knows that." The girl's cheeks
+were red.
+
+"Mebbe so," said Rafferty; and after that there was silence, while he
+sat puffing his pipe. It was evident that he did not care to go on, that
+he did not want union speeches made in his home. After a while Mrs.
+Rafferty made a timid effort to change the course of the talk, by asking
+after Mary's sister, who had not been well; and after they had discussed
+remedies for the ailments of children, Mary rose, saying, "I'll be goin'
+along."
+
+Hal rose also. "I'll walk with you, if I may," he said.
+
+"Sure," said she; and it seemed that the cheerfulness of the Rafferty
+family was restored by the sight of a bit of gallantry.
+
+
+
+SECTION 19.
+
+They strolled down the street, and Hal remarked, "That's the first word
+I've heard here about a union."
+
+Mary looked about her nervously. "Hush!" she whispered.
+
+"But I thought you said you were talking about it!"
+
+She answered, "'Tis one thing, talkin' in a friend's house, and another
+outside. What's the good of throwin' away your job?"
+
+He lowered his voice. "Would you seriously like to have a union here?"
+
+"Seriously?" said she. "Didn't ye see Mr. Rafferty--what a coward he is?
+That's the way they are! No, 'twas just a burst of my temper. I'm a bit
+crazy to-night--something happened to set me off."
+
+He thought she was going on, but apparently she changed her mind.
+Finally he asked, "What happened?"
+
+"Oh, 'twould do no good to talk," she answered; and they walked a bit
+farther in silence.
+
+"Tell me about it, won't you?" he said; and the kindness in his tone
+made its impression.
+
+"'Tis not much ye know of a coal-camp, Joe Smith," she said. "Can't ye
+imagine what it's like--bein' a woman in a place like this? And a woman
+they think good-lookin'!"
+
+"Oh, so it's that!" said he, and was silent again. "Some one's been
+troubling you?" he ventured after a while.
+
+"Sure! Some one's always troublin' us women! Always! Never a day but we
+hear it. Winks and nudges--everywhere ye turn."
+
+"Who is it?"
+
+"The bosses, the clerks--anybody that has a chance to wear a stiff
+collar, and thinks he can offer money to a girl. It begins before she's
+out of short skirts, and there's never any peace afterwards."
+
+"And you can't make them understand?"
+
+"I've made them understand me a bit; now they go after my old man."
+
+"What?"
+
+"Sure! D'ye suppose they'd not try that? Him that's so crazy for liquor,
+and can never get enough of it!"
+
+"And your father?--" But Hal stopped. She would not want that question
+asked!
+
+She had seen his hesitation, however. "He was a decent man once," she
+declared. "'Tis the life here, that turns a man into a coward. 'Tis
+everything ye need, everywhere ye turn--ye have to ask favours from some
+boss. The room ye work in, the dead work they pile on ye; or maybe 'tis
+more credit ye need at the store, or maybe the doctor to come when ye're
+sick. Just now 'tis our roof that leaks--so bad we can't find a dry
+place to sleep when it rains."
+
+"I see," said Hal. "Who owns the house?"
+
+"Sure, there's none but company houses here."
+
+"Who's supposed to fix it?"
+
+"Mr. Kosegi, the house-agent. But we gave him up long ago--if he does
+anything, he raises the rent. Today my father went to Mr. Cotton. He's
+supposed to look out for the health of the place, and it seems hardly
+healthy to keep people wet in their beds."
+
+"And what did Cotton say?" asked Hal, when she stopped again.
+
+"Well, don't ye know Jeff Cotton--can't ye guess what he'd say? 'That's
+a fine girl ye got, Burke! Why don't ye make her listen to reason?' And
+then he laughed, and told me old father he'd better learn to take a
+hint. 'Twas bad for an old man to sleep in the rain--he might get
+carried off by pneumonia."
+
+Hal could no longer keep back the question, "What did your father do?"
+
+"I'd not have ye think hard of my old father," she said, quickly. "He
+used to be a fightin' man, in the days before O'Callahan had his way
+with him. But now he knows what a camp-marshal can do to a miner!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 20.
+
+Mary Burke had said that the company could stand breaking the bones of
+its men; and not long after Number Two started up again, Hal had a
+chance to note the truth of this assertion.
+
+A miner's life depended upon the proper timbering of the room where he
+worked. The company undertook to furnish the timbers, but when the miner
+needed them, he would find none at hand, and would have to make the
+mile-long trip to the surface. He would select timbers of the proper
+length, and would mark them--the understanding being that they were to
+be delivered to his room by some of the labourers. But then some one
+else would carry them off--here was more graft and favouritism, and the
+miner might lose a day or two of work, while meantime his account was
+piling up at the store, and his children might have no shoes to go to
+school. Sometimes he would give up waiting for timbers, and go on taking
+out coal; so there would be a fall of rock--and the coroner's jury would
+bring in a verdict of "negligence," and the coal-operators would talk
+solemnly about the impossibility of teaching caution to miners. Not so
+very long ago Hal had read an interview which the president of the
+General Fuel Company had given to a newspaper, in which he set forth the
+idea that the more experience a miner had the more dangerous it was to
+employ him, because he thought he knew it all, and would not heed the
+wise regulations which the company laid down for his safety!
+
+In Number Two mine there were some places being operated by the "room
+and pillar" method; the coal being taken out as from a series of rooms,
+the portion corresponding to the walls of the rooms being left to uphold
+the roof. These walls are the "pillars"; and when the end of the vein is
+reached, the miner begins to work backwards, "pulling the pillars," and
+letting the roof collapse behind him. This is a dangerous task; as he
+works, the man has to listen to the drumming sounds of the rock above
+his head, and has to judge just when to make his escape. Sometimes he is
+too anxious to save a tool; or sometimes the collapse comes without
+warning. In that case the victim is seldom dug out; for it must be
+admitted that a man buried under a mountain is as well buried as a
+company could be expected to arrange it.
+
+In Number Two mine a man was caught in this way. He stumbled as he ran,
+and the lower half of his body was pinned fast; the doctor had to come
+and pump opiates into him, while the rescue crew was digging him loose.
+The first Hal knew of the accident was when he saw the body stretched
+out on a plank, with a couple of old sacks to cover it. He noticed that
+nobody stopped for a second glance. Going up from work, he asked his
+friend Madvik, the mule driver, who answered, "Lit'uanian feller--got
+mash." And that was all. Nobody knew him, and nobody cared about him.
+
+It happened that Mike Sikoria had been working nearby, and was one of
+those who helped to get the victim out. Mike's negro "buddy" had been in
+too great haste to get some of the rock out of the way, and had got his
+hand crushed, and would not be able to work for a month or so. Mike told
+Hal about it, in his broken English. It was a terrible thing to see a
+man trapped like that, gasping, his eyes almost popping out of his head.
+Fortunately he was a young fellow, and had no family.
+
+Hal asked what they would do with the body; the answer was they would
+bury him in the morning. The company had a piece of ground up the
+canyon.
+
+"But won't they have an inquest?" he inquired.
+
+"Inques'?" repeated the other. "What's he?"
+
+"Doesn't the coroner see the body?"
+
+The old Slovak shrugged his bowed shoulders; if there was a coroner in
+this part of the world, he had never heard of it; and he had worked in a
+good many mines, and seen a good many men put under the ground. "Put him
+in a box and dig a hole," was the way he described the procedure.
+
+"And doesn't the priest come?"
+
+"Priest too far away."
+
+Afterwards Hal made inquiry among the English-speaking men, and learned
+that the coroner did sometimes come to the camp. He would empanel a jury
+consisting of Jeff Cotton, the marshal, and Predovich, the Galician Jew
+who worked in the company store, and a clerk or two from the company's
+office, and a couple of Mexican labourers who had no idea what it was
+all about. This jury would view the corpse, and ask a couple of men what
+had happened, and then bring in a verdict: "We find that the deceased
+met his death from a fall of rock caused by his own fault." (In one case
+they had added the picturesque detail: "No relatives, and damned few
+friends!")
+
+For this service the coroner got a fee, and the company got an official
+verdict, which would be final in case some foreign consul should
+threaten a damage suit. So well did they have matters in hand that
+nobody in North Valley had ever got anything for death or injury; in
+fact, as Hal found later, there had not been a damage suit filed against
+any coal-operator in that county for twenty-three years!
+
+This particular, accident was of consequence to Hal, because it got him
+a chance to see the real work of mining. Old Mike was without a helper,
+and made the proposition that Hal should take the job. It was better
+than a stableman's, for it paid two dollars a day.
+
+"But will the boss let me change?" asked Hal.
+
+"You give him ten dollar, he change you," said Mike.
+
+"Sorry," said Hal, "I haven't got ten dollars."
+
+"You give him ten dollar credit," said the other.
+
+And Hal laughed. "They take scrip for graft, do they?"
+
+"Sure they take him," said Mike.
+
+"Suppose I treat my mules bad?" continued the other. "So I can make him
+change me for nothing!"
+
+"He change you to hell!" replied Mike. "You get him cross, he put us in
+bad room, cost us ten dollar a week. No, sir--you give him drink, say
+fine feller, make him feel good. You talk American--give him jolly!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 21.
+
+Hal was glad of this opportunity to get better acquainted with his
+pit-boss. Alec Stone was six feet high, and built in proportion, with
+arms like hams--soft with fat, yet possessed of enormous strength. He
+had learned his manner of handling men on a sugar-plantation in
+Louisiana--a fact which, when Hal heard it, explained much. Like a
+stage-manager who does not heed the real names of his actors, but calls
+them by their character-names, Stone had the habit of addressing his men
+by their nationalities: "You, Polack, get that rock into the car! Hey,
+Jap, bring them tools over here! Shut your mouth, now, Dago, and get to
+work, or I'll kick the breeches off you, sure as you're alive!"
+
+Hal had witnessed one occasion when there was a dispute as to whose duty
+it was to move timbers. There was a great two-handled cross-cut saw
+lying on the ground, and Stone seized it and began to wave it, like a
+mighty broadsword, in the face of a little Bohemian miner. "Load them
+timbers, Hunkie, or I'll carve you into bits!" And as the terrified man
+shrunk back, he followed, until his victim was flat against a wall, the
+weapon swinging to and fro under his nose after the fashion of "The Pit
+and the Pendulum." "Carve you into pieces, Hunkie! Carve you into
+stew-meat!" When at last the boss stepped back, the little Bohemian
+leaped to load the timbers.
+
+The curious part about it to Hal was that Stone seemed to be reasonably
+good-natured about such proceedings. Hardly one time in a thousand did
+he carry out his bloodthirsty threats, and like as not he would laugh
+when he had finished his tirade, and the object of it would grin in
+turn--but without slackening his frightened efforts. After the
+broad-sword waving episode, seeing that Hal had been watching, the boss
+remarked, "That's the way you have to manage them wops." Hal took this
+remark as a tribute to his American blood, and was duly flattered.
+
+He sought out the boss that evening, and found him with his feet upon
+the railing of his home. "Mr. Stone," said he, "I've something I'd like
+to ask you."
+
+"Fire away, kid," said the other.
+
+"Won't you come up to the saloon and have a drink?"
+
+"Want to get something out of me, hey? You can't work me, kid!" But
+nevertheless he slung down his feet from the railing, and knocked the
+ashes out of his pipe and strolled up the street with Hal.
+
+"Mr. Stone," said Hal, "I want to make a change."
+
+"What's that? Got a grouch on them mules?"
+
+"No, sir, but I got a better job in sight. Mike Sikoria's buddy is laid
+up, and I'd like to take his place, if you're willing."
+
+"Why, that's a nigger's place, kid. Ain't you scared to take a nigger's
+place?"
+
+"Why, sir?"
+
+"Don't you know about hoodoos?"
+
+"What I want," said Hal, "is the nigger's pay."
+
+"No," said the boss, abruptly, "you stick by them mules. I got a good
+stableman, and I don't want to spoil him. You stick, and by and by I'll
+give you a raise. You go into them pits, the first thing you know you'll
+get a fall of rock on your head, and the nigger's pay won't be no good
+to you."
+
+They came to the saloon and entered. Hal noted that a silence fell
+within, and every one nodded and watched. It was pleasant to be seen
+going out with one's boss.
+
+O'Callahan, the proprietor, came forward with his best society smile and
+joined them, and at Hal's invitation they ordered whiskies. "No, you
+stick to your job," continued the pit-boss. "You stay by it, and when
+you've learned to manage mules, I'll make a boss out of you, and let you
+manage men."
+
+Some of the bystanders tittered. The pit-boss poured down his whiskey,
+and set the glass on the bar. "That's no joke," said he, in a tone that
+every one could hear. "I learned that long ago about niggers. They'd say
+to me, 'For God's sake, don't talk to our niggers like that. Some night
+you'll have your house set afire.' But I said, 'Pet a nigger, and you've
+got a spoiled nigger.' I'd say, 'Nigger, don't you give me any of your
+imp, or I'll kick the breeches off you.' And they knew I was a
+gentleman, and they stepped lively."
+
+"Have another drink," said Hal.
+
+The pit-boss drank, and becoming more sociable, told nigger stories. On
+the sugar-plantations there was a rush season, when the rule was twenty
+hours' work a day; when some of the niggers tried to shirk it, they
+would arrest them for swearing or crap-shooting, and work them as
+convicts, without pay. The pit-boss told how one "buck" had been brought
+before the justice of the peace, and the charge read, "being
+cross-eyed"; for which offence he had been sentenced to sixty days' hard
+labour. This anecdote was enjoyed by the men in the saloon--whose
+race-feelings seemed to be stronger than their class-feelings.
+
+When the pair went out again, it was late, and the boss was cordial.
+"Mr. Stone," began Hal, "I don't want to bother you, but I'd like first
+rate to get more pay. If you could see your way to let me have that
+buddy's job, I'd be more than glad to divide with you."
+
+"Divide with me?" said Stone. "How d'ye mean?" Hal waited with some
+apprehension--for if Mike had not assured him so positively, he would
+have expected a swing from the pit-boss's mighty arm.
+
+"It's worth about fifteen a month more to me. I haven't any cash, but if
+you'd be willing to charge off ten dollars from my store-account, it
+would be well worth my while."
+
+They walked for a short way in silence. "Well, I'll tell you," said the
+boss, at last; "that old Slovak is a kicker--one of these fellows that
+thinks he could run the mine if he had a chance. And if you get to
+listenin' to him, and think you can come to me and grumble, by God--"
+
+"That's all right, sir," put in Hal, quickly. "I'll manage that for
+you--I'll shut him up. If you'd like me to, I'll see what fellows he
+talks with, and if any of them are trying to make trouble, I'll tip you
+off."
+
+"Now that's the talk," said the boss, promptly. "You do that, and I'll
+keep my eye on you and give you a chance. Not that I'm afraid of the old
+fellow--I told him last time that if I heard from him again, I'd kick
+the breeches off him. But when you got half a thousand of this foreign
+scum, some of them Anarchists, and some of them Bulgars and Montynegroes
+that's been fightin' each other at home--"
+
+"I understand," said Hal. "You have to watch 'em."
+
+"That's it," said the pit-boss. "And by the way, when you tell the
+store-clerk about that fifteen dollars, just say you lost it at poker."
+
+"I said ten dollars," put in Hal, quickly.
+
+"Yes, I know," responded the other. "But _I_ said fifteen!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 22.
+
+Hal told himself with satisfaction that he was now to do the real work
+of coal-mining. His imagination had been occupied with it for a long
+time; but as so often happens in the life of man, the first contact with
+reality killed the results of many years' imagining. It killed all
+imagining, in fact; Hal found that his entire stock of energy, both
+mental and physical, was consumed in enduring torment. If any one had
+told him the horror of attempting to work in a room five feet high, he
+would not have believed it. It was like some of the dreadful devices of
+torture which one saw in European castles, the "iron maiden" and the
+"spiked collar." Hal's back burned as if hot irons were being run up and
+down it; every separate joint and muscle cried aloud. It seemed as if he
+could never learn the lesson of the jagged ceiling above his head--he
+bumped it and continued to bump it, until his scalp was a mass of cuts
+and bruises, and his head ached till he was nearly blind, and he would
+have to throw himself flat on the ground.
+
+Then old Mike Sikoria would grin. "I know. Like green mule! Some day get
+tough!"
+
+Hal recalled the great thick callouses on the flanks of his former
+charges, where the harness rubbed against them. "Yes, I'm a 'green
+mule,' all right!"
+
+It was amazing how many ways there were to bruise and tear one's
+fingers, loading lumps of coal into a car. He put on a pair of gloves,
+but these wore through in a day. And then the gas, and the smoke of
+powder, stifling one; and the terrible burning of the eyes, from the
+dust and the feeble light. There was no way to rub these burning eyes,
+because everything about one was equally dusty. Could anybody have
+imagined the torment of that--any of those ladies who rode in softly
+upholstered parlour-cars, or reclined upon the decks of steam-ships in
+gleaming tropic seas?
+
+Old Mike was good to his new "buddy." Mike's spine was bent and his
+hands were hardened by forty years of this sort of toil, so he could do
+the work of two men, and entertain his friend with comments into the
+bargain. The old fellow had the habit of talking all the time, like a
+child; he would talk to his helper, to himself, to his tools. He would
+call these tools by obscene and terrifying names--but with entire
+friendliness and good humour. "Get in there, you son-of-a-gun!" he would
+say to his pick. "Come along here, you wop!" he would say to his car.
+"In with you, now, you old buster!" he would say to a lump of coal. And
+he would lecture Hal on the details of mining. He would tell stories of
+successful days, or of terrible mishaps. Above all he would tell about
+rascality--cursing the "G. F. C.," its foremen and superintendents, its
+officials, directors and stock-holders, and the world which permitted
+such a criminal institution to exist.
+
+Noon-time would come, and Hal would lie upon his back, too worn to eat.
+Old Mike would sit munching; his abundant whiskers came to a point on
+his chin, and as his jaws moved, he looked for all the world like an
+aged billy-goat. He was a kind-hearted and anxious old billy-goat, and
+sought to tempt his buddy with a bit of cheese or a swig of cold coffee.
+He believed in eating--no man could keep up steam if he did not stoke
+the furnace. Failing in this, he would try to divert Hal's mind, telling
+stories of mining-life in America and Russia. He was most proud to have
+an "American feller" for a buddy, and tried to make the work as easy as
+possible, for fear lest Hal might quit.
+
+Hal did not quit; but he would drag himself out towards night, so
+exhausted that he would fall asleep in the cage. He would fall asleep at
+supper, and go in and sink down on his cot and sleep like a log. And oh,
+the torture of being routed out before daybreak! Having to shake the
+sleep out of his head, and move his creaking joints, and become aware of
+the burning in his eyes, and the blisters and sores on his hands!
+
+It was a week before he had a moment that was not pain; and he never got
+fully used to the labour. It was impossible for any one to work so hard
+and keep his mental alertness, his eagerness and sensitiveness; it was
+impossible to work so hard and be an adventurer--to be anything, in
+fact, but a machine. Hal had heard that phrase of contempt, "the inertia
+of the masses," and had wondered about it. He no longer wondered, he
+knew. Could a man be brave enough to protest to a pit-boss when his body
+was numb with weariness? Could he think out a definite conclusion as to
+his rights and wrongs, and back his conclusion with effective action,
+when his mental faculties were paralysed by such weariness of body?
+
+Hal had come here, as one goes upon the deck of a ship in mid-ocean, to
+see the storm. In this ocean of social misery, of ignorance and despair,
+one saw upturned, tortured faces, writhing limbs and clutching hands; in
+one's ears was a storm of lamentation, upon one's cheek a spray of blood
+and tears. Hal found himself so deep in this ocean that he could no
+longer find consolation in the thought that he could escape whenever he
+wanted to: that he could say to himself, It is sad, it is terrible--but
+thank God, I can get out of it when I choose! I can go back into the
+warm and well-lighted saloon and tell the other passengers how
+picturesque it is, what an interesting experience they are missing!
+
+
+
+SECTION 23.
+
+During these days of torment, Hal did not go to see "Red Mary"; but
+then, one evening, the Minettis' baby having been sick, she came in to
+ask about it, bringing what she called "a bit of a custard" in a bowl.
+Hal was suspicious enough of the ways of men, especially of
+business-men; but when it came to women he was without insight--it did
+not occur to him as singular that an Irish girl with many troubles at
+home should come out to nurse a Dago woman's baby. He did not reflect
+that there were plenty of sick Irish babies in the camp, to whom Mary
+might have taken her "bit of a custard." And when he saw the surprise of
+Rosa, who had never met Mary before, he took it to be the touching
+gratitude of the poor!
+
+There are, in truth, many kinds of women, with many arts, and no man has
+time to learn them all. Hal had observed the shop-girl type, who dress
+themselves with many frills, and cast side-long glances, and indulge in
+fits of giggles to attract the attention of the male; he was familiar
+with the society-girl type, who achieve the same end with more subtle
+and alluring means. But could there be a type who hold little Dago
+babies in their laps, and call them pretty Irish names, and feed them
+custard out of a spoon? Hal had never heard of that kind, and he thought
+that "Red Mary" made a charming picture--a Celtic madonna with a
+Sicilian infant in her arms.
+
+He noticed that she was wearing the same faded blue calico-dress with a
+patch on the shoulder. Man though he was, he realised that dress is an
+important consideration in the lives of women. He was tempted to suspect
+that this blue calico might be the only dress that Mary owned; but
+seeing it newly laundered every time, he concluded that she must have at
+least one other. At any rate, here she was, crisp and fresh-looking; and
+with the new shining costume, she had put on the long promised "company
+manner": high spirits and badinage, precisely like any belle of the
+world of luxury, who powders and bedecks herself for a ball. She had
+been grim and complaining in former meetings with this interesting young
+man; she had frightened him away, apparently; perhaps she could win him
+back by womanliness and good humour.
+
+She rallied him upon his battered scalp and his creaking back, telling
+him he looked ten years older--which he was fully prepared to believe.
+Also she had fun with him for working under a Slovak--another loss of
+caste, it appeared! This was a joke the Minettis could share
+in--especially Little Jerry, who liked jokes. He told Mary how Joe Smith
+had had to pay fifteen dollars for his new job, besides several drinks
+at O'Callahan's. Also he told how Mike Sikoria had called Joe his "green
+mule." Little Jerry complained about the turn of events, for in the old
+days Joe had taught him a lot of fine new games--and now he was sore,
+and would not play them. Also, in the old days he had sung a lot of
+jolly songs, full of the most fascinating rhymes. There was a song about
+a "monkey puzzle tree"! Had Mary ever seen that kind of tree? Little
+Jerry never got tired of trying to imagine what it might look like.
+
+The Dago urchin stood and watched gravely while Mary fed the custard to
+the baby; and when two or three spoonfuls were held out to him, he
+opened his mouth wide, and afterwards licked his lips. Gee, that was
+good stuff!
+
+When the last taste was gone, he stood gazing at Mary's shining coronet.
+"Say," said he, "was your hair always like that?"
+
+Hal and Mary burst into laughter, while Rosa cried "Hush!" She was never
+sure what this youngster would say next.
+
+"Sure, did ye think I painted it?" asked Mary.
+
+"I didn't know," said Little Jerry. "It looks so nice and new." And he
+turned to Hal. "Ain't it?"
+
+"You bet," said Hal, and added, "Go on and tell her about it. Girls like
+compliments."
+
+"Compliments?" echoed Little Jerry. "What's that?"
+
+"Why," said Hal, "that's when you say that her hair is like the sunrise,
+and her eyes are like twilight, or that she's a wild rose on a
+mountain-side."
+
+"Oh," said the Dago urchin, somewhat doubtfully. "Anyhow," he added,
+"she make nice custard!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 24.
+
+The time came for Mary to take her departure, and Hal got up, wincing
+with pain, to escort her home. She regarded him gravely, having not
+realised before how seriously he was suffering. As they walked along she
+asked, "Why do ye do such work, when ye don't have to?"
+
+"But I _do_ have to! I have to earn a living!"
+
+"Ye don't have to earn it that way! A bright young fellow like you--an
+American!"
+
+"Well," said Hal, "I thought it would be interesting to see coal
+mining."
+
+"Now ye've seen it," said the girl--"now quit!"
+
+"But it won't do me any harm to go on for a while!"
+
+"Won't it? How can ye know? When any day they may carry you out on a
+plank!"
+
+Her "company manner" was gone; her voice was full of bitterness, as it
+always was when she spoke of North Valley. "I know what I'm tellin' ye,
+Joe Smith. Didn't I lose two brothers in it--as fine lads as ye'd find
+anywhere in the world! And many another lad I've seen go in laughin',
+and come out a corpse--or what is worse, for workin' people, a cripple.
+Sometimes I'd like to go and stand at the pit-mouth in the mornin' and
+cry to them, 'Go back, go back! Go down the canyon this day! Starve, if
+ye have to, beg if ye have to, only find some other work but
+coal-minin'!'"
+
+Her voice had risen to a passion of protest; when she went on a new note
+came into it--a note of personal terror. "It's worse now--since you
+came, Joe! To see ye settin' out on the life of a miner--you, that are
+young and strong and different. Oh, go away, Joe, go away while ye can!"
+
+He was astonished at her intensity. "Don't worry about me, Mary," he
+said. "Nothing will happen to me. I'll go away after a while."
+
+The path was irregular, and he had been holding her arm as they walked.
+He felt her trembling, and went on again, quickly, "It's not I that
+should go away, Mary. It's yourself. You hate the place--it's terrible
+for you to have to live here. Have you never thought of going away?"
+
+She did not answer at once, and when she did the excitement was gone
+from her voice; it was flat and dull with despair. "'Tis no use to think
+of me. There's nothin' I can do--there's nothin' any girl can do when
+she's poor. I've tried--but 'tis like bein' up against a stone wall. I
+can't even save the money to get on a train with! I've tried it--I been
+savin' for two years--and how much d'ye think I got, Joe? Seven dollars!
+Seven dollars in two years! No--ye can't save money in a place where
+there's so many things that wring the heart. Ye may hate them for being
+cowards--but ye must help when ye see a man killed, and his family
+turned out without a roof to cover them in the winter-time!"
+
+"You're too tender-hearted, Mary."
+
+"No, 'tis not that! Should I go off and leave me own brother and sister,
+that need me?"
+
+"But you could earn money and send it to them."
+
+"I earn a little here--I do cleanin' and nursin' for some that need me."
+
+"But outside--couldn't you earn more?"
+
+"I could get a job in a restaurant for seven or eight a week, but I'd
+have to spend more, and what I sent home would not go so far, with me
+away. Or I could get a job in some other woman's home, and work fourteen
+hours a day for it. But, Joe, 'tis not more drudgery I want, 'tis
+somethin' fair to look upon--somethin' of my own!" She flung out her
+arms suddenly like one being stifled. "Oh, I want somethin' that's fair
+and clean!"
+
+Again he felt her trembling. Again the path was rough, and having an
+impulse of sympathy, he put his arm about her. In the world of leisure,
+one might indulge in such considerateness, and he assumed it would not
+be different with a miner's daughter. But then, when she was close to
+him, he felt, rather than heard, a sob.
+
+"Mary!" he whispered; and they stopped. Almost without realising it, he
+put his other arm about her, and in a moment more he felt her warm
+breath on his cheek, and she was trembling and shaking in his embrace.
+"Joe! Joe!" she whispered. "_You_ take me away!"
+
+She was a rose in a mining-camp, and Hal was deeply moved. The primrose
+path of dalliance stretched fair before him, here in the soft summer
+night, with a moon overhead which bore the same message as it bore in
+the Italian gardens of the leisure-class. But not many minutes passed
+before a cold fear began to steal over Hal. There was a girl at home,
+waiting for him; and also there was the resolve which had been growing
+in him since his coming to this place--a resolve to find some way of
+compensation to the poor, to repay them for the freedom and culture he
+had taken; not to prey upon them, upon any individual among them. There
+were the Jeff Cottons for that!
+
+"Mary," he pleaded, "we mustn't do this."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Because--I'm not free. There is some one else."
+
+He felt her start, but she did not draw away.
+
+"Where?" she asked, in a low voice.
+
+"At home, waiting for me."
+
+"And why didn't ye tell me?"
+
+"I don't know."
+
+Hal realised in a moment that the girl had ground of complaint against
+him. According to the simple code of her world, he had gone some
+distance with her; he had been seen to walk out with her, he had been
+accounted her "fellow." He had led her to talk to him of herself--he had
+insisted upon having her confidences. And these people who were poor did
+not have subtleties, there was no room in their lives for intellectual
+curiosities, for Platonic friendships or philanderings. "Forgive me,
+Mary!" he said.
+
+She made no answer; but a sob escaped her, and she drew back from his
+arms--slowly. He struggled with an impulse to clasp her again. She was
+beautiful, warm with life--and so much in need of happiness!
+
+But he held himself in check, and for a minute or two they stood apart.
+Then he asked, humbly, "We can still be friends, Mary, can't we? You
+must know--I'm so _sorry_!"
+
+But she could not endure being pitied. "'Tis nothin'," she said. "Only I
+thought I was going to get away! That's what ye mean to me."
+
+
+
+SECTION 25.
+
+Hal had promised Alec Stone to keep a look-out for trouble-makers; and
+one evening the boss stopped him on the street, and asked him if he had
+anything to report. Hal took the occasion to indulge his sense of
+humour.
+
+"There's no harm in Mike Sikoria," said he. "He likes to shoot off his
+head, but if he's got somebody to listen, that's all he wants. He's just
+old and grouchy. But there's another fellow that I think would bear
+watching."
+
+"Who's that?" asked the boss.
+
+"I don't know his last name. They call him Gus and he's a 'cager.'
+Fellow with a red face."
+
+"I know," said Stone--"Gus Durking."
+
+"Well, he tried his best to get me to talk about unions. He keeps
+bringing it up, and I think he's some kind of trouble-maker."
+
+"I see," said the boss. "I'll get after him."
+
+"You won't say I told you," said Hal, anxiously.
+
+"Oh, no--sure not." And Hal caught the trace of a smile on the
+pit-boss's face.
+
+He went away, smiling in his turn. The "red-faced feller. Gus," was the
+person Madvik had named as being a "spotter" for the company!
+
+There were ins and outs to this matter of "spotting," and sometimes it
+was not easy to know what to think. One Sunday morning Hal went for a
+walk up the canyon, and on the way he met a young chap who got to
+talking with him, and after a while brought up the question of
+working-conditions in North Valley. He had only been there a week, he
+said, but everybody he had met seemed to be grumbling about short
+weight. He himself had a job as an "outside man," so it made no
+difference to him, but he was interested, and wondered what Hal had
+found.
+
+Straightway came the question, was this really a workingman, or had Alec
+Stone set some one to spying upon his spy. This was an intelligent
+fellow, an American--which in itself was suspicious, for most of the new
+men the company got in were from "somewhere East of Suez."
+
+Hal decided to spar for a while. He did not know, he said, that
+conditions were any worse here than elsewhere. You heard complaints, no
+matter what sort of job you took.
+
+Yes, said the stranger, but matters seemed to be especially bad in the
+coal-camps. Probably it was because they were so remote, and the
+companies owned everything in sight.
+
+"Where have you been?" asked Hal, thinking that this might trap him.
+
+But the other answered straight; he had evidently worked in half a dozen
+of the camps. In Mateo he had paid a dollar a month for wash-house
+privileges, and there had never been any water after the first three men
+had washed. There had been a common wash-tub for all the men, an
+unthinkably filthy arrangement. At Pine Creek--Hal found the very naming
+of the place made his heart stand still--at Pine Creek he had boarded
+with his boss, but the roof of the building leaked, and everything he
+owned was ruined; the boss would do nothing--yet when the boarder moved,
+he lost his job. At East Ridge, this man and a couple of other fellows
+had rented a two room cabin and started to board themselves, in spite of
+the fact that they had to pay a dollar-fifty a sack for potatoes and
+eleven cents a pound for sugar at the company store. They had continued
+until they made the discovery that the water supply had run short, and
+that the water for which they were paying the company a dollar a month
+was being pumped from the bottom of the mine, where the filth of mules
+and men was plentiful!
+
+Hal forced himself to remain non-committal; he shook his head and said
+it was too bad, but the workers always got it in the neck, and he didn't
+see what they could do about it. So they strolled back to the camp, the
+stranger evidently baffled, and Hal, for his part, feeling like the
+reader of a detective story at the end of the first chapter. Was this
+young man the murderer, or was he the hero? One would have to read on in
+the book to find out!
+
+
+
+SECTION 26.
+
+Hal kept his eye upon his new acquaintance, and perceived that he was
+talking with others. Before long the man tackled Old Mike; and Mike of
+course could not refuse an invitation to grumble, though it came from
+the devil himself. Hal decided that something must be done about it.
+
+He consulted his friend Jerry, who, being a radical, might have some
+touch-stone by which to test the stranger. Jerry sought him out at
+noon-time, and came back and reported that he was as much in the dark as
+Hal. Either the man was an agitator, seeking to "start something," or
+else he was a detective sent in by the company. There was only one way
+to find out--which was for some one to talk freely with him, and see
+what happened to that person!
+
+After some hesitation, Hal decided that he would be the victim. It
+rewakened his love of adventure, which digging in a coal-mine had
+subdued in him. The mysterious stranger was a new sort of miner, digging
+into the souls of men; Hal would countermine him, and perhaps blow him
+up. He could afford the experiment better than some others--better, for
+example, than little Mrs. David, who had already taken the stranger into
+her home, and revealed to him the fact that her husband had been a
+member of the most revolutionary of all miners' organisations, the South
+Wales Federation.
+
+So next Sunday Hal invited the stranger for another walk. The man showed
+reluctance--until Hal said that he wanted to talk to him. As they walked
+up the canyon, Hal began, "I've been thinking about what you said of
+conditions in these camps, and I've concluded it would be a good thing
+if we had a little shaking up here in North Valley."
+
+"Is that so?" said the other.
+
+"When I first came here, I used to think the men were grouchy. But now
+I've had a chance to see for myself, and I don't believe anybody gets a
+square deal. For one thing, nobody gets full weight in these mines--at
+least not unless he's some favourite of the boss. I'm sure of it, for
+I've tried all sorts of experiments with my partner. We've loaded a car
+extra light, and got eighteen hundredweight, and then we've loaded one
+high and solid, so that we'd know it had twice as much in it--but all we
+ever got was twenty-two and twenty-three. There's just no way you can
+get over that--though everybody knows those big cars can be made to hold
+two or three tons."
+
+"Yes, I suppose they might," said the other.
+
+"And if you get the smallest piece of rock in, you get a 'double-O,'
+sure as fate; and sometimes they say you got rock in when you didn't.
+There's no law to make them prove it."
+
+"No, I suppose not."
+
+"What it comes to is simply this--they make you think they are paying
+fifty-five a ton, but they've secretly cut you down to thirty-five. And
+yesterday at the company-store I paid a dollar and a half for a pair of
+blue overalls that I'd priced in Pedro for sixty cents."
+
+"Well," said the other, "the company has to haul them up here, you
+know!"
+
+So, gradually, Hal made the discovery that the tables were turned--the
+mysterious personage was now occupied in holding _him_ at arm's length!
+For some reason, Hal's sudden interest in industrial justice had failed
+to make an impression.
+
+So his career as a detective came to an inglorious end. "Say, man!" he
+exclaimed "What's your game, anyhow?"
+
+"Game?" said the other, quietly. "How do you mean?"
+
+"I mean, what are you here for?"
+
+"I'm here for two dollars a day--the same as you, I guess."
+
+Hal began to laugh. "You and I are like a couple of submarines, trying
+to find each other under water. I think we'd better come to the surface
+to do our fighting."
+
+The other considered the simile, and seemed to like it. "You come
+first," said he. But he did not smile. His quiet blue eyes were fixed on
+Hal with deadly seriousness.
+
+"All right," said Hal; "my story isn't very thrilling. I'm not an
+escaped convict, I'm not a company spy, as you may be thinking. Nor am I
+a 'natural born' coal-miner. I happen to have a brother and some friends
+at home who think they know about the coal-industry, and it got on my
+nerves, and I came to see for myself. That's all, except that I've found
+things interesting, and want to stay on a while, so I hope you aren't a
+'dick'!"
+
+The other walked in silence, weighing Hal's words. "That's not exactly
+what you'd call a usual story," he remarked, at last.
+
+"I know," replied Hal. "The best I can say for it is that it's true."
+
+"Well," said the stranger, "I'll take a chance on it. I have to trust
+somebody, if I'm ever to get anywhere. I picked you out because I liked
+your face." He gave Hal another searching look as he walked. "Your smile
+isn't that of a cheat. But you're young--so let me remind you of the
+importance of secrecy in this place."
+
+"I'll keep mum," said Hal; and the stranger opened a flap inside his
+shirt, and drew out a letter which certified him to be Thomas Olson, an
+organiser for the United Mine-Workers, the great national union of the
+coal-miners!
+
+
+
+SECTION 27.
+
+Hal was so startled by this discovery that he stopped in his tracks and
+gazed at the man. He had heard a lot about "trouble-makers" in the
+camps, but so far the only kind he had seen were those hired by the
+company to make trouble for the men. But now, here was a union
+organiser! Jerry had suggested the possibility, but Hal had not thought
+of it seriously; an organiser was a mythological creature, whispered
+about by the miners, cursed by the company and its servants, and by
+Hal's friends at home. An incendiary, a fire-brand, a loudmouthed,
+irresponsible person, stirring up blind and dangerous passions! Having
+heard such things all his life, Hal's first impulse was of distrust. He
+felt like the one-legged old switchman who had given him a place to
+sleep, after his beating at Pine Creek, and who had said, "Don't you
+talk no union business to me!"
+
+Seeing Hal's emotion, the organiser gave an uneasy laugh. "While you're
+hoping I'm not a 'dick,' I trust you understand I'm hoping _you're_ not
+one."
+
+Hal's answer was to the point. "I was taken for an organiser once," he
+said, and his hands sought the seat of his ancient bruises.
+
+The other laughed. "You got off with a beating? You were lucky. Down in
+Alabama, not so long ago, they tarred and feathered one of us."
+
+Dismay came upon Hal's face; but after a moment he too began to laugh.
+"I was just thinking about my brother and his friends--what they'd have
+said if I'd come home from Pine Creek in a coat of tar and feathers!"
+
+"Possibly," ventured the other, "they'd have said you got what you
+deserved."
+
+"Yes, that seems to be their attitude. That's the rule they apply to all
+the world--if anything goes wrong with you, it must be your own fault.
+It's a land of equal opportunity."
+
+"And you'll notice," said the organiser, "that the more privileges
+people have had, the more boldly they talk that way."
+
+Hal began to feel a sense of comradeship with this stranger, who was
+able to understand one's family troubles! It had been a long time since
+Hal had talked with any one from the outside world, and he found it a
+relief to his mind. He remembered how, after he had got his beating, he
+had lain out in the rain and congratulated himself that he was not what
+the guards had taken him for. Now he was curious about the psychology of
+an organiser. A man must have strong convictions to follow that
+occupation!
+
+He made the remark, and the other answered, "You can have my pay any
+time you'll do my work. But let me tell you, too, it isn't being beaten
+and kicked out of camp that bothers one most; it isn't the camp-marshal
+and the spy and the blacklist. Your worst troubles are inside the heads
+of the fellows you're trying to help! Have you ever thought what it
+would mean to try to explain things to men who speak twenty different
+languages?"
+
+"Yes, of course," said Hal. "I wonder how you ever get a start."
+
+"Well, you look for an interpreter--and maybe he's a company spy. Or
+maybe the first man you try to convert reports you to the boss. For, of
+course, some of the men are cowards, and some of them are crooks;
+they'll sell out the next fellow for a better 'place'--maybe for a glass
+of beer."
+
+"That must have a tendency to weaken your convictions," said Hal.
+
+"No," said the other, in a matter of fact tone. "It's hard, but one
+can't blame the poor devils. They're ignorant--kept so deliberately. The
+bosses bring them here, and have a regular system to keep them from
+getting together. And of course these European peoples have their old
+prejudices--national prejudices, religious prejudices, that keep them
+apart. You see two fellows, one you think is exactly as miserable as the
+other--but you find him despising the other, because back home he was
+the other's superior. So they play into the bosses' hands."
+
+
+
+SECTION 28.
+
+They had come to a remote place in the canyon, and found themselves
+seats on a flat rock, where they could talk in comfort.
+
+"Put yourself in their place," said the organiser. "They're in a strange
+country, and one person tells them one thing, and another tells them
+something else. The masters and their agents say: 'Don't trust the union
+agitators. They're a lot of grafters, they live easy and don't have to
+work. They take your money and call you out on strike, and you lose your
+jobs and your home; they sell you out, maybe, and go on to some other
+place to repeat the same trick.' And the workers think maybe that's
+true; they haven't the wit to see that if the union leaders are corrupt,
+it must be because the bosses are buying them. So you see, they're
+completely bedevilled; they don't know which way to turn."
+
+The man was speaking quietly, but there was a little glow of excitement
+in his face. "The company is forever repeating that these people are
+satisfied--that it's we who are stirring them up. But are they
+satisfied? You've been here long enough to know!"
+
+"There's no need to discuss that," Hal answered. "Of course they're not
+satisfied! They've seemed to me like a lot of children crying in the
+dark--not knowing what's the matter with them, or who's to blame, or
+where to turn for help."
+
+Hal found himself losing his distrust of this man. He did not correspond
+in any way to Hal's imaginary picture of a union organiser; he was a
+blue-eyed, clean-looking young American, and instead of being wild and
+loud-mouthed, he seemed rather wistful. He had indignation, of course,
+but it did not take the form of ranting or florid eloquence; and this
+repression was making its appeal to Hal, who, in spite of his democratic
+impulses, had the habits of thought of a class which shrinks from
+noisiness and over-emphasis.
+
+Also Hal was interested in his attitude towards the weaknesses of
+working-people. The "inertia" of the poor, which caused so many people
+to despair for them--their cowardice and instability--these were things
+about which Hal had heard all his life. "You can't help them," people
+would say. "They're dirty and lazy, they drink and shirk, they betray
+each other. They've always been like that." The idea would be summed up
+in a formula: "You can't change human nature!" Even Mary Burke, herself
+one of the working-class, spoke of the workers in this angry and
+scornful way. But Olson had faith in their manhood, and went ahead to
+awaken and teach them.
+
+To his mind the path was clear and straight. "They must be taught the
+lesson of solidarity. As individuals, they're helpless in the power of
+the great corporations; but if they stand together, if they sell their
+labour as a unit--then they really count for something." He paused, and
+looked at the other inquiringly. "How do you feel about unions?"
+
+Hal answered, "They're one of the things I want to find out about. You
+hear this and that--there's so much prejudice on each side. I want to
+help the under dog, but I want to be sure of the right way."
+
+"What other way is there?" And Olson paused. "To appeal to the tender
+hearts of the owners?"
+
+"Not exactly; but mightn't one appeal to the world in general--to public
+opinion? I was brought up an American, and learned to believe in my
+country. I can't think but there's some way to get justice. Maybe if the
+men were to go into politics--"
+
+"Politics?" cried Olson. "My God! How long have you been in this place?"
+
+"Only a couple of months."
+
+"Well, stay till November, and see what they do with the ballot-boxes in
+these camps!"
+
+"I can imagine, of course--"
+
+"No, you can't. Any more than you could imagine the graft and the
+misery!"
+
+"But if the men should take to voting together--"
+
+"How _can_ they take to voting together--when any one who mentions the
+idea goes down the canyon? Why, you can't even get naturalisation
+papers, unless you're a company man; they won't register you, unless the
+boss gives you an O. K. How are you going to make a start, unless you
+have a union?"
+
+It sounded reasonable, Hal had to admit; but he thought of the stories
+he had heard about "walking delegates," all the dreadful consequences of
+"union domination." He had not meant to go in for unionism!
+
+Olson was continuing. "We've had laws passed, a whole raft of laws about
+coal-mining--the eight-hour law, the anti-scrip law, the company-store
+law, the mine-sprinkling law, the check-weighman law. What difference
+has it made in North Valley that there are such laws on the
+statute-books? Would you ever even know about them?"
+
+"Ah, now!" said Hal. "If you put it that way--if your movement is to
+have the law enforced--I'm with you!"
+
+"But how will you get the law enforced, except by a union? No individual
+man can do it--it's 'down the canyon' with him if he mentions the law.
+In Western City our union people go to the state officials, but they
+never do anything--and why? They know we haven't got the men behind us!
+It's the same with the politicians as it is with the bosses--the union
+is the thing that counts!"
+
+Hal found this an entirely new argument. "People don't realise that
+idea--that men have to be organised to get their _legal_ rights."
+
+And the other threw up his hands with a comical gesture. "My God! If you
+want to make a list of the things that people don't realise about us
+miners!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 29.
+
+Olson was eager to win Hal, and went on to tell all the secrets of his
+work. He sought men who believed in unions, and were willing to take the
+risk of trying to convert others. In each place he visited he would get
+a group together, and would arrange some way to communicate with them
+after he left, smuggling in propaganda literature for distribution. So
+there would be the nucleus of an organisation. In a year or two they
+would have such a nucleus in every camp, and then they would be ready to
+come into the open, calling meetings in the towns, and in places in the
+canyons to which the miners would flock. So the flame of revolt would
+leap up; men would join the movement faster than the companies could get
+rid of them, and they would make a demand for their rights, backed with
+the threat of a strike throughout the entire district.
+
+"You understand," added Olson, "we have a legal right to organise--even
+though the bosses disapprove. You need not stand back on that score."
+
+"Yes," said Hal; "but it occurs to me that as a matter of tactics, it
+would be better here in North Valley if you chose some issue there's
+less controversy about; if, for instance, you'd concentrate on getting a
+check-weighman."
+
+The other smiled. "We'd have to have a union to back the demand; so
+what's the difference?"
+
+"Well," argued Hal, "there are prejudices to be reckoned with. Some
+people don't like the idea of a union--they think it means tyranny and
+violence--"
+
+The organiser laughed. "You aren't convinced but that it does yourself,
+are you! Well, all I can tell you is, if you want to tackle the job of
+getting a check-weighman in North Valley, I'll not stand in your way!"
+
+Here was an idea--a real idea! Life had grown dull for Hal since he had
+become a buddy, working in a place five feet high. This would promise
+livelier times!
+
+But was it a thing he wanted to do? So far he had been an observer of
+conditions in this coal-camp. He had convinced himself that conditions
+were cruel, and he had pretty well convinced himself that the cruelty
+was needless and deliberate. But when it came to a question of an action
+to be taken--then he hesitated, and old prejudices and fears made
+themselves heard. He had been told that labour was "turbulent" and
+"lazy," that it had to be "ruled with a strong hand"; now, was he
+willing to weaken the strong hand, to ally himself with those who
+"fomented labour troubles"?
+
+But this would not be the same thing, he told himself. This suggestion
+of Olson's was different from trade unionism, which might be a
+demoralising force, leading the workers from one demand to another,
+until they were seeking to "dominate industry." This would be merely an
+appeal to the law, a test of that honesty and fair dealing to which the
+company everywhere laid claim. If, as the bosses proclaimed, the workers
+were fully protected by the check-weighman law; if, as all the world was
+made to believe, the reason there was no check-weighman was simply
+because the men did not ask for one--why, then there would be no harm
+done. If on the other hand a demand for a right that was not merely a
+legal right, but a moral right as well--if that were taken by the bosses
+as an act of rebellion against the company--well, Hal would understand a
+little more about the "turbulence" of labour! If, as Old Mike and
+Johannson and the rest maintained, the bosses would "make your life one
+damn misery" till you left--then he would be ready to make a few damn
+miseries for the bosses in return!
+
+"It would be an adventure," said Hal, suddenly.
+
+And the other laughed. "It would that!"
+
+"You're thinking I'll have another Pine Creek experience," Hal added.
+"Well, maybe so--but I have to try things out for myself. You see, I've
+got a brother at home, and when I think about going in for revolution, I
+have imaginary arguments with him. I want to be able to say 'I didn't
+swallow anybody's theories; I tried it for myself, and this is what
+happened.'"
+
+"Well," replied the organiser, "that's all right. But while you're
+seeking education for yourself and your brother, don't forget that I've
+already got my education. I _know_ what happens to men who ask for a
+check-weighman, and I can't afford to sacrifice myself proving it
+again."
+
+"I never asked you to," laughed Hal. "If I won't join your movement, I
+can't expect you to join mine! But if I can find a few men who are
+willing to take the risk of making a demand for a check-weighman--that
+won't hurt your work, will it?"
+
+"Sure not!" said the other. "Just the opposite--it'll give me an object
+lesson to point to. There are men here who don't even know they've a
+legal right to a check-weighman. There are others who know they don't
+get their weights, but aren't sure its the company that's cheating them.
+If the bosses should refuse to let any one inspect the weights, if they
+should go further and fire the men who ask it--well, there'll be plenty
+of recruits for my union local!"
+
+"All right," said Hal. "I'm not setting out to recruit your union local,
+but if the company wants to recruit it, that's the company's affair!"
+And on this bargain the two shook hands.
+
+
+
+
+BOOK TWO
+
+THE SERFS OF KING COAL
+
+
+
+
+SECTION 1.
+
+Hal was now started upon a new career, more full of excitements than
+that of stableman or buddy, with perils greater than those of falling
+rock or the hind feet of mules in the stomach. The inertia which
+overwork produces had not had time to become a disease with him; youth
+was on his side, with its zest for more and yet more experience. He
+found it thrilling to be a conspirator, to carry about with him secrets
+as dark and mysterious as the passages of the mine in which he worked.
+
+But Jerry Minetti, the first person he told of Tom Olson's purpose in
+North Valley, was older in such thrills. The care-free look which Jerry
+was accustomed to wear vanished abruptly, and fear came into his eyes.
+"I know it come some day," he exclaimed--"trouble for me and Rosa!"
+
+"How do you mean?"
+
+"We get into it--get in sure. I say Rosa, 'Call yourself Socialist--what
+good that do? No help any. No use to vote here--they don't count no
+Socialist vote, only for joke!' I say, 'Got to have union. Got to
+strike!' But Rosa say, 'Wait little bit. Save little bit money, let
+children grow up. Then we help, no care if we no got any home.'"
+
+"But we're not going to start a union now!" objected Hal. "I have
+another plan for the present."
+
+Jerry, however, was not to be put at ease. "No can wait!" he declared.
+"Men no stand it! I say, 'It come some day quick--like blow-up in mine!
+Somebody start fight, everybody fight.'" And Jerry looked at Rosa, who
+sat with her black eyes fixed anxiously upon her husband. "We get into
+it," he said; and Hal saw their eyes turn to the room where Little Jerry
+and the baby were sleeping.
+
+Hal said nothing--he was beginning to understand the meaning of
+rebellion to such people. He watched with curiosity and pity the
+struggle that went on; a struggle as old as the soul of man--between the
+voice of self-interest, of comfort and prudence, and the call of duty,
+of the ideal. No trumpet sounded for this conflict, only the still small
+voice within.
+
+After a while Jerry asked what it was Hal and Olson had planned; and Hal
+explained that he wanted to make a test of the company's attitude toward
+the check-weighman law. Hal thought it a fine scheme; what did Jerry
+think?
+
+Jerry smiled sadly. "Yes, fine scheme for young feller--no got family!"
+
+"That's all right," said Hal, "I'll take the job--I'll be the
+check-weighman."
+
+"Got to have committee," said Jerry--"committee go see boss."
+
+"All right, but we'll get young fellows for that too--men who have no
+families. Some of the fellows who live in the chicken-coops in
+shanty-town. They won't care what happens to them."
+
+But Jerry would not share Hal's smile. "No got sense 'nough, them
+fellers. Take sense to stick together." He explained that they would
+need a group of men to stand back of the committee; such a group would
+have to be organised, to hold meetings in secret--it would be
+practically the same thing as a union, would be so regarded by the
+bosses and their spotters. And no organisation of any sort was permitted
+in the camps. There had been some Serbians who had wanted to belong to a
+fraternal order back in their home country, but even that had been
+forbidden. If you wanted to insure your life or your health, the company
+would attend to it--and get the profit from it. For that matter, you
+could not even buy a post-office money-order, to send funds back to the
+old country; the post-office clerk, who was at the same time a clerk in
+the company-store, would sell you some sort of a store-draft.
+
+So Hal was facing the very difficulties about which Olson had warned
+him. The first of them was Jerry's fear. Yet Hal knew that Jerry was no
+"coward"; if any man had a contempt for Jerry's attitude, it was because
+he had never been in Jerry's place!
+
+"All I'll ask of you now is advice," said Hal. "Give me the names of
+some young fellows who are trustworthy, and I'll get their help without
+anybody suspecting you."
+
+"You my boarder!" was Jerry's reply to this.
+
+So again Hal was "up against it." "You mean that would get you into
+trouble?"
+
+"Sure! They know we talk. They know I talk Socialism, anyhow. They fire
+me sure!"
+
+"But how about your cousin, the pit-boss in Number One?"
+
+"He no help. May be get fired himself. Say damn fool--board
+check-weighman!"
+
+"All right," said Hal. "Then I'll move away now, before it's too late.
+You can say I was a trouble-maker, and you turned me off."
+
+The Minettis sat gazing at each other--a mournful pair. They hated to
+lose their boarder, who was such good company, and paid them such good
+money. As for Hal, he felt nearly as bad, for he liked Jerry and his
+girl-wife, and Little Jerry--even the black-eyed baby, who made so much
+noise and interrupted conversation!
+
+"No!" said Jerry. "I no run, away! I do my share!"
+
+"That's all right," replied Hal. "You do your share--but not just yet.
+You stay on in the camp and help Olson after I'm fired. We don't want
+the best men put out at once."
+
+So, after further argument, it was decided, and Hal saw little Rosa sink
+back in her chair and draw a deep breath of relief. The time for
+martyrdom was put off; her little three-roomed cabin, her furniture and
+her shining pans and her pretty white lace curtains, might be hers for a
+few weeks longer!
+
+
+
+SECTION 2.
+
+Hal went back to Reminitsky's boarding-house; a heavy sacrifice, but not
+without its compensations, because it gave him more chance to talk with
+the men.
+
+He and Jerry made up a list of those who could be trusted with the
+secret: the list beginning with the name of Mike Sikoria. To be put on a
+committee, and sent to interview a boss, would appeal to Old Mike as the
+purpose for which he had been put upon earth! But they would not tell
+him about it until the last minute, for fear lest in his excitement he
+might shout out the announcement the next time he lost one of his cars.
+
+There was a young Bulgarian miner named Wresmak who worked near Hal. The
+road into this man's room ran up an incline, and he had hardly been able
+to push his "empties" up the grade. While he was sweating and straining
+at the task, Alec Stone had come along, and having a giant's contempt
+for physical weakness, began to cuff him. The man raised his
+arm--whether in offence or to ward off the blow, no one could be sure;
+but Stone fell upon him and kicked him all the way down the passage,
+pouring out upon him furious curses. Now the man was in another room,
+where he had taken out over forty car-loads of rock, and been allowed
+only three dollars for it. No one who watched his face when the pit-boss
+passed would doubt that this man would be ready to take his chances in a
+movement of protest.
+
+Then there was a man whom Jerry knew, who had just come out of the
+hospital, after contact with the butt-end of the camp-marshal's
+revolver. This was a Pole, who unfortunately did not know a word of
+English; but Olson, the organiser, had got into touch with another Pole,
+who spoke a little English, and would pass the word on to his
+fellow-countryman. Also there was a young Italian, Rovetta, whom Jerry
+knew and whose loyalty he could vouch for.
+
+There was another person Hal thought of--Mary Burke. He had been
+deliberately avoiding her of late; it seemed the one safe thing to
+do--although it seemed also a cruel thing, and left his mind ill at
+ease. He went over and over what had happened. How had the trouble got
+started? It is a man's duty in such cases to take the blame upon
+himself; but a man does not like to take blame upon himself, and he
+tries to make it as light as possible. Should Hal say that it was
+because he had been too officious that night in helping Mary where the
+path was rough? She had not actually needed such help, she was quite as
+capable on her feet as he! But he had really gone farther than that--he
+had had a definite sentimental impulse; and he had been a cad--he should
+have known all along that all this girl's discontent, all the longing of
+her starved soul, would become centred upon him, who was so "different,"
+who had had opportunity, who made her think of the "poetry-books"!
+
+But here suddenly seemed a solution of the difficulty; here was a new
+interest for Mary, a safe channel in which her emotions could run. A
+woman could not serve on a miners' committee, but she would be a good
+adviser, and her sharp tongue would be a weapon to drive others into
+line. Being aflame with this enterprise, Hal became impersonal,
+man-fashion--and so fell into another sentimental trap! He did not stop
+to think that Mary's interest in the check-weighman movement might be
+conditioned in part by a desire to see more of him; still less did it
+occur to him that he might be glad for a pretext to see Mary.
+
+No, he was picturing her in a new role, an activity more inspiriting
+than cooking and nursing. His "poetry-book" imagination took fire; he
+gave her a hope and a purpose, a pathway with a goal at the end. Had
+there not been women leaders in every great proletarian movement?
+
+He went to call on her, and met her at the door of her cabin. "'Tis a
+cheerin' sight to see ye, Joe Smith!" she said. And she looked him in
+the eye and smiled.
+
+"The same to you, Mary Burke!" he answered.
+
+She was game, he saw; she was going to be a "good sport." But he noticed
+that she was paler than when he had seen her last. Could it be that
+these gorgeous Irish complexions ever faded? He thought that she was
+thinner too; the old blue calico seemed less tight upon her.
+
+Hal plunged into his theme. "Mary, I had a vision of you to-day!"
+
+"Of me, lad? What's that?"
+
+He laughed. "I saw you with a glory in your face, and your hair shining
+like a crown of gold. You were mounted on a snow-white horse, and wore a
+robe of white, soft and lustrous--like Joan of Arc, or a leader in a
+suffrage parade. You were riding at the head of a host--I've still got
+the music in my ears, Mary!"
+
+"Go on with ye, lad--what's all this about?"
+
+"Come in and I'll tell you," he said.
+
+So they went into the bare kitchen, and sat in bare wooden chairs--Mary
+folding her hands in her lap like a child who has been promised a
+fairy-story. "Now hurry," said she. "I want to know about this new dress
+ye're givin' me. Are ye tired of me old calico?"
+
+He joined in her smile. "This is a dress you will weave for yourself,
+Mary, out of the finest threads of your own nature--out of courage and
+devotion and self-sacrifice."
+
+"Sure, 'tis the poetry-book again! But what is it ye're really meanin'?"
+
+He looked about him. "Is anybody here?"
+
+"Nobody."
+
+But instinctively he lowered his voice as he told his story. There was
+an organiser of the "big union" in the camp, and he was going to rouse
+the slaves to protest.
+
+The laughter went out of Mary's face. "Oh! It's that!" she said, in a
+flat tone. The vision of the snow-white horse and the soft and lustrous
+robe was gone. "Ye can never do anything of that sort here!"
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"'Tis the men in this place. Don't ye remember what I told ye at Mr.
+Rafferty's? They're cowards!"
+
+"Ah, Mary, it's easy to say that. But it's not so pleasant being turned
+out of your home--"
+
+"Do ye have to tell me that?" she cried, with sudden passion. "Haven't I
+seen that?"
+
+"Yes, Mary; but I want to _do_ something--"
+
+"Yes, and haven't I wanted to do something? Sure, I've wanted to bite
+off the noses of the bosses!"
+
+"Well," he laughed, "we'll make that a part of our programme." But Mary
+was not to be lured into cheerfulness; her mood was so full of pain and
+bewilderment that he had an impulse to reach out and take her hand
+again. But he checked that; he had come to divert her energies into a
+safe channel!
+
+"We must waken these men to resistance, Mary!"
+
+"Ye can't do it, Joe--not the English-speakin' men. The Greeks and the
+Bulgars, maybe--they're fightin' at home, and they might fight here. But
+the Irish never--never! Them that had any backbone went out long ago.
+Them that stayed has been made into boot-licks. I know them, every man
+of them. They grumble, and curse the boss, but then they think of the
+blacklist, and they go back and cringe at his feet."
+
+"What such men want--"
+
+"'Tis booze they want, and carousin' with the rotten women in the
+coal-towns, and sittin' up all night winnin' each other's money with a
+greasy pack of cards! They take their pleasure where they find it, and
+'tis nothin' better they want."
+
+"Then, Mary, if that's so, don't you see it's all the more reason for
+trying to teach them? If not for their own sakes, for the sake of their
+children! The children, mustn't grow up like that! They are learning
+English, at least--"
+
+Mary gave a scornful laugh. "Have ye been up to that school?"
+
+He answered no; and she told him there were a hundred and twenty
+children packed in one room, three in a seat, and solid all round the
+wall. She went on, with swift anger--the school was supposed to be paid
+for out of taxes, but as nobody owned any property but the company, it
+was all in the company's hands. The school-board consisted of Mr.
+Cartwright, the mine-superintendent, and Jake Predovich, a clerk in the
+store, and the preacher, the Reverend Spraggs. Old Spraggs would bump
+his nose on the floor if the "super" told him to.
+
+"Now, now!" said Hal, laughing. "You're down on him because his
+grandfather was an Orangeman!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 3.
+
+Mary Burke had been suckled upon despair, and the poison of it was deep
+in her blood. Hal began to realise that it would be as hard to give her
+a hope as to rouse the workers whom she despised. She was brave enough,
+no doubt, but how could he persuade her to be brave for men who had no
+courage for themselves?
+
+"Mary," he said, "in your heart you don't really hate these people. You
+know how they suffer, you pity them for it. You give their children your
+last cent when they need it--"
+
+"Ah, lad!" she cried, and he saw tears suddenly spring into her eyes.
+"'Tis because I love them so that I hate them! Sometimes 'tis the bosses
+I would murder, sometimes 'tis the men. What is it ye're wantin' me to
+do?"
+
+And then, even before he could answer, she began to run over the list of
+her acquaintances in the camp. Yes, there was one man Hal ought to talk
+to; he would be too old to join them, but his advice would be
+invaluable, and they could be sure he would never betray them. That was
+old John Edstrom, a Swede from Minnesota, who had worked in this
+district from the time the mines had first started up. He had been
+active in the great strike eight years ago, and had been black-listed,
+his four sons with him. The sons were scattered now to the four parts of
+the world, but the father had stayed nearby, working as a ranch-hand and
+railroad labourer, until a couple of years ago, during a rush season, he
+had got a chance to come back into the mines.
+
+He was old, old, declared Mary--must be sixty. And when Hal remarked
+that that did not sound so frightfully aged, she answered that one
+seldom heard of a man being able to work in a coal-mine at that age; in
+fact, there were not many who managed to live to that age. Edstrom's
+wife was dying now, and he was having a hard time.
+
+"'Twould not be fair to let such an old gentleman lose his job," said
+Mary. "But at least he could give ye good advice."
+
+So that evening the two of them went to call on John Edstrom, in a tiny
+unpainted cabin in "shanty-town," with a bare earth floor, and a half
+partition of rough boards to hide his dying wife from his callers. The
+woman's trouble was cancer, and this made calling a trying matter, for
+there was a fearful odour in the place. For some time it was impossible
+for Hal to force himself to think about anything else; but finally he
+overcame this weakness, telling himself that this was a war, and that a
+man must be ready for the hospital as well as for the parade-ground.
+
+He looked about, and saw that the cracks of Edstrom's cabin were stopped
+with rags, and the broken windowpanes mended with brown paper. The old
+man had evidently made an effort to keep the place neat, and Hal noticed
+a row of books on a shelf. Because it was cold in these mountain regions
+at night, even in September, the old man had a fire in the little
+cast-iron stove, and sat huddled by it. There were only a few hairs left
+on his head, and his scrubby beard was as white as anything could be in
+a coal-camp. The first impression of his face was of its pallor, and
+then of the benevolence in the faded dark eyes; also his voice was
+gentle, like a caress. He rose to greet his visitors, and put out to Hal
+a trembling hand, which resembled the paw of some animal, horny and
+misshapen. He made a move to draw up a bench, and apologised for his
+unskillful house-keeping. It occurred to Hal that a man might be able to
+work in a coal-mine at sixty, and not be able to work in it at
+sixty-one.
+
+Hal had requested Mary to say nothing about his purpose, until after he
+had a chance to judge for himself. So now the girl inquired about Mrs.
+Edstrom. There was no news, the man answered; she was lying in a stupor,
+as usual. Dr. Barrett had come again, but all he could do was to give
+her morphine. No one could do any more, the doctor declared.
+
+"Sure, he'd not know it if they could!" sniffed Mary.
+
+"He's not such a bad one, when he's sober," said Edstrom, patiently.
+
+"And how often is that?" sniffed Mary again. She added, by way of
+explanation to Hal, "He's a cousin of the super."
+
+Things were better here than in some places, said Edstrom. At Harvey's
+Run, where he had worked, a man had got his eye hurt, and had lost it
+through the doctor's instrument slipping; broken arms and legs had been
+set wrong, and either the men had to go through life as cripples, or go
+elsewhere and have the bones re-broken and reset, It was like everything
+else--the doctor was a part of the company machine, and if you had too
+much to say about him, it was down the canyon with you. You not only had
+a dollar a month taken out of your pay, but if you were injured, and he
+came to attend you, he would charge whatever extra he pleased.
+
+"And you have to pay?" asked Hal.
+
+"They take it off your account," said the old man.
+
+"Sometimes they take it when he's done nothin' at all," added Mary.
+"They charged Mrs. Zamboni twenty-five dollars for her last baby--and
+Dr. Barrett never set foot across her door till three hours after the
+baby was in my arms!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 4.
+
+The talk went on. Wishing to draw the old man out, Hal spoke of various
+troubles of the miners, and at last he suggested that the remedy might
+be found in a union. Edstrom's dark eyes studied him, and then turned to
+Mary. "Joe's all right," said the girl, quickly. "You can trust him."
+
+Edstrom made no direct answer to this, but remarked that he had once
+been in a strike. He was a marked man, now, and could only stay in the
+camp so long as he attended strictly to his own affairs. The part he had
+played in the big strike had never been forgotten; the bosses had let
+him work again, partly because they had needed him at a rush time, and
+partly because the pit-boss happened to be a personal friend.
+
+"Tell him about the big strike," said Mary. "He's new in this district."
+
+The old man had apparently accepted Mary's word for Hal's good faith,
+for he began to narrate those terrible events which were a whispered
+tradition of the camps. There had been a mighty effort of ten thousand
+slaves for freedom; and it had been crushed with utter ruthlessness.
+Ever since these mines had been started, the operators had controlled
+the local powers of government, and now, in the emergency, they had
+brought in the state militia as well, and used it frankly to drive the
+strikers back to work. They had seized the leaders and active men, and
+thrown them into jail without trial or charges; when the jails would
+hold no more, they kept some two hundred in an open stockade, called a
+"bull-pen," and finally they loaded them into freight-cars, took them at
+night out of the state, and dumped them off in the midst of the desert
+without food or water.
+
+John Edstrom had been one of these men. He told how one of his sons had
+been beaten and severely injured in jail, and how another had been kept
+for weeks in a damp cellar, so that he had come out crippled with
+rheumatism for life. The officers of the state militia had done these
+things; and when some of the local authorities were moved to protest,
+the militia had arrested them--even the judges of the civil courts had
+been forbidden to sit, under threat of imprisonment. "To hell with the
+constitution!" had been the word of the general in command; his
+subordinate had made famous the saying, "No habeas corpus; we'll give
+them post-mortems!"
+
+Tom Olson had impressed Hal with his self-control, but this old man made
+an even deeper impression upon him. As he listened, he became humble,
+touched with awe. Incredible as it might seem, when John Edstrom talked
+about his cruel experiences, it was without bitterness in his voice, and
+apparently without any in his heart. Here, in the midst of want and
+desolation, with his family broken and scattered, and the wolf of
+starvation at his door, he could look back upon the past without hatred
+of those who had ruined him. Nor was this because he was old and feeble,
+and had lost the spirit of revolt; it was because he had studied
+economics, and convinced himself that it was an evil system which
+blinded men's eyes and poisoned their souls. A better day was coming, he
+said, when this evil system would be changed, and it would be possible
+for men to be merciful to one another.
+
+At this point in the conversation, Mary Burke gave voice once more to
+her corroding despair. How could things ever be changed? The bosses were
+mean-hearted, and the men were cowards and traitors. That left nobody
+but God to do the changing--and God had left things as they were for
+such a long time!
+
+Hal was interested to hear how Edstrom dealt with this attitude. "Mary,"
+he said, "did you ever read about ants in Africa?"
+
+"No," said she.
+
+"They travel in long columns, millions and millions of them. And when
+they come to a ditch, the front ones fall in, and more and more of them
+on top, till they fill up the ditch, and the rest cross over. We are
+ants, Mary."
+
+"No matter how many go in," cried the girl, "none will ever get across.
+There's no bottom to the ditch!"
+
+He answered: "That's more than any ant can know. Mary. All they know is
+to go in. They cling to each other's bodies, even in death; they make a
+bridge, and the rest go over."
+
+"I'll step one side!" she declared, fiercely. "I'll not throw meself
+away."
+
+"You may step one side," answered the other--"but you'll step back into
+line again. I know you better than you know yourself, Mary."
+
+There was silence in the little cabin. The winds of an early fall
+shrilled outside, and life suddenly seemed to Hal a stern and merciless
+thing. He had thought in his youthful fervour it would be thrilling to
+be a revolutionist; but to be an ant, one of millions and millions, to
+perish in a bottomless ditch--that was something a man could hardly
+bring himself to face! He looked at the bowed figure of this white
+haired toiler, vague in the feeble lamplight, and found himself thinking
+of Rembrandt's painting, the Visit of Emmaus: the ill-lighted room in
+the dirty tavern, and the two ragged men, struck dumb by the glow of
+light about the forehead of their table-companion. It was not fantastic
+to imagine a glow of light about the forehead of this soft-voiced old
+man!
+
+"I never had any hope it would come in my time," the old man was saying
+gently. "I did use to hope my boys might see it--but now I'm not sure
+even of that. But in all my life I never doubted that some day the
+working-people will cross over to the promised land. They'll no longer
+be slaves, and what they make won't be wasted by idlers. And take it
+from one who knows, Mary--for a workingman or woman not to have that
+faith, is to have lost the reason for living."
+
+Hal decided that it would be safe to trust this man, and told him of his
+check-weighman plan. "We only want your advice," he explained,
+remembering Mary's warning. "Your sick wife--"
+
+But the old man answered, sadly, "She's almost gone, and I'll soon be
+following. What little strength I have left might as well be used for
+the cause."
+
+
+
+SECTION 5.
+
+This business of conspiracy was grimly real to men whose living came out
+of coal; but Hal, even at the most serious moments, continued to find in
+it the thrill of romance. He had read stories of revolutionists, and of
+the police who hunted them. That such excitements were to be had in
+Russia, he knew; but if any one had told him they could be had in his
+own free America, within a few hours' journey of his home city and his
+college-town, he could not have credited the statement.
+
+The evening after his visit to Edstrom, Hal was stopped on the street by
+his boss. Encountering him suddenly, Hal started, like a pick-pocket who
+runs into a policeman.
+
+"Hello, kid," said the pit-boss.
+
+"Hello, Mr. Stone," was the reply.
+
+"I want to talk to you," said the boss.
+
+"All right, sir." And then, under his breath, "He's got me!"
+
+"Come up to my house," said Stone; and Hal followed, feeling as if
+hand-cuffs were already on his wrists.
+
+"Say," said the man, as they walked, "I thought you were going to tell
+me if you'd heard any talk."
+
+"I haven't heard any, sir."
+
+"Well," continued Stone, "you want to get busy; there's sure to be
+kickers in every coal-camp." And deep within, Hal drew a sigh of relief.
+It was a false alarm!
+
+They came to the boss's house, and he took a chair on the piazza and
+motioned Hal to take another. They sat in semi-darkness, and Stone
+dropped his voice as he began. "What I want to talk to you about now is
+something else--this election."
+
+"Election, sir?"
+
+"Didn't you know there was one? The Congressman in this district died,
+and there's a special election three weeks from next Tuesday."
+
+"I see, sir." And Hal chuckled inwardly. He would get the information
+which Tom Olson had recommended to him!
+
+"You ain't heard any talk about it?" inquired the pit-boss.
+
+"Nothing at all, sir. I never pay much attention to politics--it ain't
+in my line."
+
+"Well, that's the way I like to hear a miner talk!" said the pit-boss,
+with heartiness. "If they all had sense enough to leave politics to the
+politicians, they'd be a sight better off. What they need is to tend to
+their own jobs."
+
+"Yes, sir," agreed Hal, meekly--"like I had to tend to them mules, if I
+didn't want to get the colic."
+
+The boss smiled appreciatively. "You've got more sense than most of 'em.
+If you'll stand by me, there'll be a chance for you to move up in the
+world."
+
+"Thank you, Mr. Stone," said Hal. "Give me a chance."
+
+"Well now, here's this election. Every year they send us a bunch of
+campaign money to handle. A bit of it might come your way."
+
+"I could use it, I reckon," said Hal, brightening visibly. "What is it
+you want?"
+
+There was a pause, while Stone puffed on his pipe. He went on, in a
+business-like manner. "What I want is somebody to feel things out a bit,
+and let me know the situation. I thought it better not to use the men
+that generally work for me, but somebody that wouldn't be suspected.
+Down in Sheridan and Pedro they say the Democrats are making a big stir,
+and the company's worried. I suppose you know the 'G. F. C.' is
+Republican."
+
+"I've heard so."
+
+"You might think a congressman don't have much to do with us, way off in
+Washington; but it has a bad effect to have him campaigning, telling the
+men the company's abusing them. So I'd like you just to kind o'
+circulate a bit, and start the men on politics, and see if any of them
+have been listening to this MacDougall talk. (MacDougall's this here
+Democrat, you know.) And I want to find out whether they've been sending
+in literature to this camp, or have any agents here. You see, they claim
+the right to come in and make speeches, and all that sort of thing.
+North Valley's an incorporated town, so they've got the law on their
+side, in a way, and if we shut 'em out, they make a howl in the papers,
+and it looks bad. So we have to get ahead of them in quiet ways.
+Fortunately there ain't any hall in the camp for them to meet in, and
+we've made a local ordinance against meetings on the street. If they try
+to bring in circulars, something has to happen to them before they get
+distributed. See?"
+
+"I see," said Hal; he thought of Tom Olson's propaganda literature!
+
+"We'll pass the word out,--it's the Republican the company wants
+elected; and you be on the lookout and see how they take it in the
+camp."
+
+"That sounds easy enough," said Hal. "But tell me, Mr. Stone, why do you
+bother? Do so many of these wops have votes?"
+
+"It ain't the wops so much. We get them naturalised on purpose--they
+vote our way for a glass of beer. But the English-speaking men, or the
+foreigners that's been here too long, and got too big for their
+breeches--they're the ones we got to watch. If they get to talking
+politics, they don't stop there; the first thing you know, they're
+listening to union agitators, and wanting to run the camp."
+
+"Oh yes, I see!" said Hal, and wondered if his voice sounded right.
+
+But the pit-boss was concerned with his own troubles. "As I told Si
+Adams the other day, what I'm looking for is fellows that talk some new
+lingo--one that nobody will ever understand! But I suppose that would be
+too easy. There's no way to keep them from learning some English!"
+
+Hal decided to make use of this opportunity to perfect his education.
+"Surely, Mr. Stone," he remarked, "you don't have to count any votes if
+you don't want to!"
+
+"Well, I'll tell you," replied Stone; "it's a question of the easiest
+way to manage things. When I was superintendent over to Happy Gulch, we
+didn't waste no time on politics. The company was Democratic at that
+time, and when election night come, we wrote down four hundred votes for
+the Democratic candidates. But the first thing we knew, a bunch of
+fellers was taken into town and got to swear they'd voted the Republican
+ticket in our camp. The Republican papers were full of it, and some fool
+judge ordered a recount, and we had to get busy over night and mark up a
+new lot of ballots. It gave us a lot of bother!"
+
+The pit-boss laughed, and Hal joined him discreetly.
+
+"So you see, you have to learn to manage. If there's votes for the wrong
+candidate in your camp, the fact gets out, and if the returns is too
+one-sided, there's a lot of grumbling. There's plenty of bosses that
+don't care, but I learned my lesson that time, and I got my own
+method--that is not to let any opposition start. See?"
+
+"Yes, I see."
+
+"Maybe a mine-boss has got no right to meddle in politics--but there's
+one thing he's got the say about, and that is who works in his mine.
+It's the easiest thing to weed out--weed out--" Hal never forgot the
+motion of beefy hands with which Alec Stone illustrated these words. As
+he went on, the tones of his voice did not seem so good-natured as
+usual. "The fellows that don't want to vote my way can go somewhere else
+to do their voting. That's all I got to say on politics!"
+
+There was a brief pause, while Stone puffed on his pipe. Then it may
+have occurred to him that it was not necessary to go into so much detail
+in breaking in a political recruit. When he resumed, it was in a
+good-natured tone of dismissal. "That's what you do, kid. To-morrow you
+get a sprained wrist, so you can't work for a few days, and that'll give
+you a chance to bum round and hear what the men are saying. Meantime,
+I'll see you get your wages."
+
+"That sounds all right," said Hal; but showing only a small part of his
+satisfaction!
+
+The pit-boss rose from his chair and knocked the ashes from his pipe.
+"Mind you--I want the goods. I've got other fellows working, and I'm
+comparing 'em. For all you know, I may have somebody watching you."
+
+"Yes," said Hal, and grinned cheerfully. "I'll not fail to bear that in
+mind."
+
+
+
+SECTION 6.
+
+The first thing Hal did was to seek out Tom Olson and narrate this
+experience. The two of them had a merry time over it. "I'm the favourite
+of a boss now!" laughed Hal.
+
+But the organiser became suddenly serious. "Be careful what you do for
+that fellow."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"He might use it on you later on. One of the things they try to do if
+you make any trouble for them, is to prove that you took money from
+them, or tried to."
+
+"But he won't have any proofs."
+
+"That's my point--don't give him any. If Stone says you've been playing
+the political game for him, then some fellow might remember that you did
+ask him about politics. So don't have any marked money on you."
+
+Hal laughed. "Money doesn't stay on me very long these days. But what
+shall I say if he asks me for a report?"
+
+"You'd better put your job right through, Joe--so that he won't have
+time to ask for any report."
+
+"All right," was the reply. "But just the same, I'm going to get all the
+fun there is, being the favourite of a boss!"
+
+And so, early the next morning when Hal went to his work he proceeded to
+"sprain his wrist." He walked about in pain, to the great concern of Old
+Mike; and when finally he decided that he would have to lay off, Mike
+followed him half way to the shaft, giving him advice about hot and cold
+cloths. Leaving the old Slovak to struggle along as best he could alone,
+Hal went out to bask in the wonderful sunshine of the upper world, and
+the still more wonderful sunshine of a boss's favour.
+
+First he went to his room at Reminitsky's, and tied a strip of old shirt
+about his wrist, and a clean handkerchief on top of that; by this symbol
+he was entitled to the freedom of the camp and the sympathy of all men,
+and so he sallied forth.
+
+Strolling towards the tipple of Number One, he encountered a wiry,
+quick-moving little man, with restless black eyes and a lean,
+intelligent face. He wore a pair of common miner's "jumpers," but even
+so, he was not to be taken for a workingman. Everything about him spoke
+of authority.
+
+"Morning, Mr. Cartwright," said Hal.
+
+"Good morning," replied the superintendent; then, with a glance at Hal's
+bandage, "You hurt?"
+
+"Yes, sir. Just a bit of sprain, but I thought I'd better lay off."
+
+"Been to the doctor?"
+
+"No, sir. I don't think it's that bad."
+
+"You'd better go. You never know how bad a sprain is."
+
+"Right, sir," said Hal. Then, as the superintendent was passing, "Do you
+think, Mr. Cartwright, that MacDougall stands any chance of being
+elected?"
+
+"I don't know," replied the other, surprised. "I hope not. You aren't
+going to vote for him, are you?"
+
+"Oh, no. I'm a Republican--born that way. But I wondered if you'd heard
+any MacDougall talk."
+
+"Well, I'm hardly the one that would hear it. You take an interest in
+politics?"
+
+"Yes, sir--in a way. In fact, that's how I came to get this wrist."
+
+"How's that? In a fight?"
+
+"No, sir; but you see, Mr. Stone wanted me to feel out sentiment in the
+camp, and he told me I'd better sprain my wrist and lay off."
+
+The "super," after staring at Hal, could not keep from laughing. Then he
+looked about him. "You want to be careful, talking about such things."
+
+"I thought I could surely trust the superintendent," said Hal, drily.
+
+The other measured him with his keen eyes; and Hal, who was getting the
+spirit of political democracy, took the liberty of returning the gaze.
+"You're a wide-awake young fellow," said Cartwright, at last. "Learn the
+ropes here, and make yourself useful, and I'll see you're not passed
+over."
+
+"All right, sir--thank you."
+
+"Maybe you'll be made an election-clerk this time. That's worth three
+dollars a day, you know."
+
+"Very good, sir." And Hal put on his smile again. "They tell me you're
+the mayor of North Valley."
+
+"I am."
+
+"And the justice of the peace is a clerk in your store. Well, Mr.
+Cartwright, if you need a president of the board of health or a dog
+catcher, I'm your man--as soon, that is, as my wrist gets well."
+
+And so Hal went on his way. Such "joshing" on the part of a "buddy" was
+of course absurdly presumptuous; the superintendent stood looking after
+him with a puzzled frown upon his face.
+
+
+
+SECTION 7.
+
+Hal did not look back, but turned into the company-store. "North Valley
+Trading Company" read the sign over the door; within was a Serbian woman
+pointing out what she wanted to buy, and two little Lithuanian girls
+watching the weighing of a pound of sugar. Hal strolled up to the person
+who was doing the weighing, a middle-aged man with a yellow moustache
+stained with tobacco-juice. "Morning, Judge."
+
+"Huh!" was the reply from Silas Adams, justice of the peace in the town
+of North Valley.
+
+"Judge," said Hal, "what do you think about the election?"
+
+"I don't think about it," said the other. "Busy weighin' sugar."
+
+"Anybody round here going to vote for MacDougall?"
+
+"They better not tell me if they are!"
+
+"What?" smiled Hal. "In this free American republic?"
+
+"In this part of the free American republic a man is free to dig coal,
+but not to vote for a skunk like MacDougall." Then, having tied up the
+sugar, the "J. P." whittled off a fresh chew from his plug, and turned
+to Hal. "What'll you have?"
+
+Hal purchased half a pound of dried peaches, so that he might have an
+excuse to loiter, and be able to keep time with the jaws of the Judge.
+While the order was being filled, he seated himself upon the counter.
+"You know," said he, "I used to work in a grocery."
+
+"That so? Where at?"
+
+"Peterson & Co., in American City." Hal had told this so often that he
+had begun to believe it.
+
+"Pay pretty good up there?"
+
+"Yes, pretty fair." Then, realising that he had no idea what would
+constitute good pay in a grocery, Hal added, quickly, "Got a bad wrist
+here!"
+
+"That so?" said the other.
+
+He did not show much sociability; but Hal persisted, refusing to believe
+that any one in a country store would miss an opening to discuss
+politics, even with a miner's helper. "Tell me," said he, "just what is
+the matter with MacDougall?"
+
+"The matter with him," said the Judge, "is that the company's against
+him." He looked hard at the young miner. "You meddlin' in politics?" he
+growled. But the young miner's gay brown eyes showed only appreciation
+of the earlier response; so the "J. P." was tempted into specifying the
+would-be congressman's vices. Thus conversation started; and pretty soon
+the others in the store joined in--"Bob" Johnson, bookkeeper and
+post-master, and "Jake" Predovich, the Galician Jew who was a member of
+the local school-board, and knew the words for staple groceries in
+fifteen languages.
+
+Hal listened to an exposition of the crimes of the political opposition
+in Pedro County. Their candidate, MacDougall, had come to the state as a
+"tin-horn gambler," yet now he was going around making speeches in
+churches, and talking about the moral sentiment of the community. "And
+him with a district chairman keeping three families in Pedro!" declared
+Si Adams.
+
+"Well," ventured Hal, "if what I hear is true, the Republican chairman
+isn't a plaster saint. They say he was drunk at the convention--"
+
+"Maybe so," said the "J. P." "But we ain't playin' for the prohibition
+vote; and we ain't playin' for the labour vote--tryin' to stir up the
+riff-raff in these coal-camps, promisin' 'em high wages an' short hours.
+Don't he know he can't get it for 'em? But he figgers he'll go off to
+Washington and leave us here to deal with the mess he's stirred up!"
+
+"Don't you fret," put in Bob Johnson--"he ain't goin' to no Washin'ton."
+
+The other two agreed, and Hal ventured again, "He says you stuff the
+ballot-boxes."
+
+"What do you suppose his crowd is doin' in the cities? We got to meet
+'em some way, ain't we?"
+
+"Oh, I see," said Hal, naively. "You stuff them worse!"
+
+"Sometimes we stuff the boxes, and sometimes we stuff the voters." There
+was an appreciative titter from the others, and the "J. P." was moved to
+reminiscence. "Two years ago I was election clerk, over to Sheridan, and
+we found we'd let 'em get ahead of us--they had carried the whole state.
+'By God,' said Alf. Raymond, 'we'll show 'em a trick from the
+coal-counties! And there won't be no recount business either!' So we
+held back our returns till the rest had come in, and when we seen how
+many votes we needed, we wrote 'em down. And that settled it."
+
+"That seems a simple method," remarked Hal. "They'll have to get up
+early to beat Alf."
+
+"You bet you!" said Si, with the complacency of one of the gang. "They
+call this county the 'Empire of Raymond.'"
+
+"It must be a cinch," said Hal--"being the sheriff, and having the
+naming of so many deputies as they need in these coal-camps!"
+
+"Yes," agreed the other. "And there's his wholesale liquor business,
+too. If you want a license in Pedro county, you not only vote for Alf,
+but you pay your bills on time!"
+
+"Must be a fortune in that!" remarked Hal; and the Judge, the
+Post-master and the School-commissioner appeared like children listening
+to a story of a feast. "You bet you!"
+
+"I suppose it takes money to run politics in this county," Hal added.
+
+"Well, Alf don't put none of it up, you can bet! That's the company's
+job."
+
+This from the Judge; and the School-commissioner added, "De coin in dese
+camps is beer."
+
+"Oh, I see!" laughed Hal. "The companies buy Alf's beer, and use it to
+get him votes!"
+
+"Sure thing!" said the Post-master.
+
+At this moment he happened to reach into his pocket for a cigar, and Hal
+observed a silver shield on the breast of his waistcoat. "That a
+deputy's badge?" he inquired, and then turned to examine the
+School-commissioner's costume. "Where's yours?"
+
+"I git mine ven election comes," said Jake, with a grin.
+
+"And yours, Judge?"
+
+"I'm a justice of the peace, young feller," said Silas, with dignity.
+
+Leaning round, and observing a bulge on the right hip of the
+School-commissioner, Hal put out his hand towards it. Instinctively the
+other moved his hand to the spot.
+
+Hal turned to the Post-master. "Yours?" he asked.
+
+"Mine's under the counter," grinned Bob.
+
+"And yours, Judge?"
+
+"Mine's in the desk," said the Judge.
+
+Hal drew a breath. "Gee!" said he. "It's like a steel trap!" He managed
+to keep the laugh on his face, but within he was conscious of other
+feelings than those of amusement. He was losing that "first fine
+careless rapture" with which he had set out to run with the hare and the
+hounds in North Valley!
+
+
+
+SECTION 8.
+
+Two days after this beginning of Hal's political career, it was arranged
+that the workers who were to make a demand for a check-weighman should
+meet in the home of Mrs. David. When Mike Sikoria came up from the pit
+that day, Hal took him aside and told him of the gathering. A look of
+delight came upon the old Slovak's face as he listened; he grabbed his
+buddy by the shoulders, crying, "You mean it?"
+
+"Sure meant it," said Hal. "You want to be on the committee to go and
+see the boss?"
+
+"_Pluha biedna_!" cried Mike--which is something dreadful in his own
+language. "By Judas, I pack up my old box again!"
+
+Hal felt a guilty pang. Should he let this old man into the thing? "You
+think you'll have to move out of camp?" he asked.
+
+"Move out of state this time! Move back to old country, maybe!" And Hal
+realised that he could not stop him now, even if he wanted to. The old
+fellow was so much excited that he hardly ate any supper, and his buddy
+was afraid to leave him alone, for fear he might blurt out the news.
+
+It had been agreed that those who attended the meeting should come one
+by one, and by different routes. Hal was one of the first to arrive, and
+he saw that the shades of the house had been drawn, and the lamps turned
+low. He entered by the back door, where "Big Jack" David stood on guard.
+"Big Jack," who had been a member of the South Wales Federation at home,
+made sure of Hal's identity, and then passed him in without a word.
+
+Inside was Mike--the first on hand. Mrs. David, a little black-eyed
+woman with a never-ceasing tongue, was bustling about, putting things in
+order; she was so nervous that she could not sit still. This couple had
+come from their birth-place only a year or so ago, and had brought all
+their wedding presents to their new home--pictures and bric-a-brac and
+linen. It was the prettiest home Hal had so far been in, and Mrs. David
+was risking it deliberately, because of her indignation that her husband
+had had to foreswear his union in order to get work in America.
+
+The young Italian, Rovetta, came, then old John Edstrom. There being not
+chairs enough in the house, Mrs. David had set some boxes against the
+wall, covering them with cloth; and Hal noticed that each person took
+one of these boxes, leaving the chairs for the later comers. Each one as
+he came in would nod to the others, and then silence would fall again.
+
+When Mary Burke entered, Hal divined from her aspect and manner that she
+had sunk back into her old mood of pessimism. He felt a momentary
+resentment. He was so thrilled with this adventure; he wanted everybody
+else to be thrilled--especially Mary! Like every one who has not
+suffered much, he was repelled by a condition of perpetual suffering in
+another. Of course Mary had good reasons for her black moods--but she
+herself considered it necessary to apologise for what she called her
+"complainin'"! She knew that he wanted her to help encourage the others;
+but here she was, putting herself in a corner and watching this
+wonderful proceeding, as if she had said: "I'm an ant, and I stay in
+line--but I'll not pretend I have any hope in it!"
+
+Rosa and Jerry had insisted on coming, in spite of Hal's offer to spare
+them. After them came the Bulgarian, Wresmak; then the Polacks, Klowoski
+and Zamierowski. Hal found these difficult names to remember, but the
+Polacks were not at all sensitive about this; they would grin
+good-naturedly while he practised, nor would they mind if he gave it up
+and called them Tony and Pete. They were humble men, accustomed all
+their lives to being driven about. Hal looked from one to another of
+their bowed forms and toil-worn faces, appearing more than ever sombre
+and mournful in the dim light; he wondered if the cruel persecution
+which had driven them to protest would suffice to hold them in line.
+
+Once a newcomer, having misunderstood the orders, came to the front door
+and knocked; and Hal noted that every one started, and some rose to
+their feet in alarm. Again he recognised the atmosphere of novels of
+Russian revolutionary life. He had to remind himself that these men and
+women, gathered here like criminals, were merely planning to ask for a
+right guaranteed them by the law!
+
+The last to come was an Austrian miner named Huszar, with whom Olson had
+got into touch. Then, it being time to begin, everybody looked uneasily
+at everybody else. Few of them had conspired before, and they did not
+know quite how to set about it. Olson, the one who would naturally have
+been their leader, had deliberately stayed away. They must run this
+check-weighman affair for themselves!
+
+"Somebody talk," said Mrs. David at last; and then, as the silence
+continued, she turned to Hal. "You're going to be the check-weighman.
+You talk."
+
+"I'm the youngest man here," said Hal, with a smile. "Some older fellow
+talk."
+
+But nobody else smiled. "Go on!" exclaimed old Mike; and so at last Hal
+stood up. It was something he was to experience many times in the
+future; because he was an American, and educated, he was forced into a
+position of leadership.
+
+"As I understand it, you people want a check-weighman. Now, they tell me
+the pay for a check-weighman should be three dollars a day, but we've
+got only seven miners among us, and that's not enough. I will offer to
+take the job for twenty-five cents a day from each man, which will make
+a dollar-seventy-five, less than what I'm getting now as a buddy. If we
+get thirty men to come in, then I'll take ten cents a day from each, and
+make the full three dollars. Does that seem fair?"
+
+"Sure!" said Mike; and the others added their assent by word or nod.
+
+"All right. Now, there's nobody that works in this mine but knows the
+men don't get their weight. It would cost the company several hundred
+dollars a day to give us our weight, and nobody should be so foolish as
+to imagine they'll do it without a struggle. We've got to make up our
+minds to stand together."
+
+"Sure, stand together!" cried Mike.
+
+"No get check-weighman!" exclaimed Jerry, pessimistically.
+
+"Not unless we try, Jerry," said Hal.
+
+And Mike thumped his knee. "Sure try! And get him too!"
+
+"Right!" cried "Big Jack." But his little wife was not satisfied with
+the response of the others. She gave Hal his first lesson in the
+drilling of these polyglot masses.
+
+"Talk to them. Make them understand you!" And she pointed them out one
+by one with her finger: "You! You! Wresmak, here, and you, Klowoski, and
+you, Zam--you other Polish fellow. Want check-weighman. Want to get all
+weight. Get all our money. Understand?"
+
+"Yes, yes!"
+
+"Get committee, go see super! Want check-weighman. Understand? Got to
+have check-weighman! No back down, no scare."
+
+"No--no scare!" Klowoski, who understood some English, explained rapidly
+to Zamierowski; and Zamierowski, whose head was still plastered where
+Jeff Cotton's revolver had hit it, nodded eagerly in assent. In spite of
+his bruises, he would stand by the others, and face the boss.
+
+This suggested another question. "Who's going to do the talking to the
+boss?"
+
+"You do that," said Mrs. David, to Hal.
+
+"But I'm the one that's to be paid. It's not for me to talk."
+
+"No one else can do it right," declared the woman.
+
+"Sure--got to be American feller!" said Mike.
+
+But Hal insisted. If he did the talking, it would look as if the
+check-weighman had been the source of the movement, and was engaged in
+making a good paying job for himself.
+
+There was discussion back and forth, until finally John Edstrom spoke
+up. "Put me on the committee."
+
+"You?" said Hal. "But you'll be thrown out! And what will your wife do?"
+
+"I think my wife is going to die to-night," said Edstrom, simply.
+
+He sat with his lips set tightly, looking straight before him. After a
+pause he went on: "If it isn't to-night, it will be to-morrow, the
+doctor says; and after that, nothing will matter. I shall have to go
+down to Pedro to bury her, and if I have to stay, it will make little
+difference to me, so I might as well do what I can for the rest of you.
+I've been a miner all my life, and Mr. Cartwright knows it; that might
+have some weight with him. Let Joe Smith and Sikoria and myself be the
+ones to go and see him, and the rest of you wait, and don't give up your
+jobs unless you have to."
+
+
+
+SECTION 9.
+
+Having settled the matter of the committee, Hal told the assembly how
+Alec Stone had asked him to spy upon the men. He thought they should
+know about it; the bosses might try to use it against him, as Olson had
+warned. "They may tell you I'm a traitor," he said. "You must trust me."
+
+"We trust you!" exclaimed Mike, with fervour; and the others nodded
+their agreement.
+
+"All right," Hal answered. "You can rest sure of this one thing--if I
+get onto that tipple, you're going to get your weights!"
+
+"Hear, hear!" cried "Big Jack," in English fashion. And a murmur ran
+about the room. They did not dare make much noise, but they made clear
+that that was what they wanted.
+
+Hal sat down, and began to unroll the bandage from his wrist. "I guess
+I'm through with this," he said, and explained how he had come to wear
+it.
+
+"What?" cried Old Mike. "You fool me like that?" And he caught the
+wrist, and when he had made sure there was no sign of swelling upon it,
+he shook it so that he almost sprained it really, laughing until the
+tears ran down his cheeks. "You old son-of-a-gun!" he exclaimed.
+Meantime Klowoski was telling the story to Zamierowski, and Jerry
+Minetti was explaining it to Wresmak, in the sort of pidgin-English
+which does duty in the camps. Hal had never seen such real laughter
+since coming to North Valley.
+
+But conspirators cannot lend themselves long to merriment. They came
+back to business again. It was agreed that the hour for the committee's
+visit to the superintendent should be quitting-time on the morrow. And
+then John Edstrom spoke, suggesting that they should agree upon their
+course of action in case they were offered violence.
+
+"You think there's much chance of that?" said some one.
+
+"Sure there be!" cried Mike Sikoria. "One time in Cedar Mountain we go
+see boss, say air-course blocked. What you think he do them fellers? He
+hit them one lick in nose, he kick them three times in behind, he run
+them out!"
+
+"Well," said Hal, "if there's going to be anything like that, we must be
+ready."
+
+"What you do?" demanded Jerry.
+
+It was time for Hal's leadership. "If he hits me one lick in the nose,"
+he declared, "I'll hit him one lick in the nose, that's all."
+
+There was a bit of applause at this. That was the way to talk! Hal
+tasted the joys of his leadership. But then his fine self-confidence met
+with a sudden check--a "lick in the nose" of his pride, so to speak.
+There came a woman's voice from the corner, low and grim: "Yes! And get
+ye'self killed for all your trouble!"
+
+He looked towards Mary Burke, and saw her vivid face, flushed and
+frowning. "What do you mean?" he asked. "Would you have us turn and run
+away?"
+
+"I would that!" said she. "Rather than have ye killed, I would! What'll
+ye do if he pulls his gun on ye?"
+
+"Would he pull his gun on a committee?"
+
+Old Mike broke in again. "One time in Barela--ain't I told you how I
+lose my cars? I tell weigh-boss somebody steal my cars, and he pull gun
+on me, and he say, 'Get the hell off that tipple, you old billy-goat, I
+shoot you full of holes!'"
+
+Among his class-mates at college, Hal had been wont to argue that the
+proper way to handle a burglar was to call out to him, saying, "Go
+ahead, old chap, and help yourself; there's nothing here I'm willing to
+get shot for." What was the value of anything a burglar could steal, in
+comparison with a man's own life? And surely, one would have thought,
+this was a good time to apply the plausible theory. But for some reason
+Hal failed even to remember it. He was going ahead, precisely as if a
+ton of coal per day was the one thing of consequence in life!
+
+"What shall we do?" he asked. "We don't want to back out."
+
+But even while he asked the question, Hal was realising that Mary was
+right. His was the attitude of the leisure-class person, used to having
+his own way; but Mary, though she had a temper too, was pointing the
+lesson of self-control. It was the second time to-night that she had
+injured his pride. But now he forgave her in his admiration; he had
+always known that Mary had a mind and could help him! His admiration was
+increased by what John Edstrom was saying--they must do nothing that
+would injure the cause of the "big union," and so they must resolve to
+offer no physical resistance, no matter what might be done to them.
+
+There was vehement argument on the other side. "We fight! We fight!"
+declared Old Mike, and cried out suddenly, as if in anticipation of the
+pain in his injured nose. "You say me stand that?"
+
+"If you fight back," said Edstrom, "we'll all get the worst of it. The
+company will say we started the trouble, and put us in the wrong. We've
+got to make up our mind to rely on moral force."
+
+So, after more discussion, it was agreed; every man would keep his
+temper--that is, if he could! So they shook hands all round, pledging
+themselves to stand firm. But, when the meeting was declared adjourned,
+and they stole out one by one into the night, they were a very sober and
+anxious lot of conspirators.
+
+
+
+SECTION 10.
+
+Hal slept but little that night. Amid the sounds of the snoring of eight
+of Reminitsky's other boarders, he lay going over in his mind various
+things which might happen on the morrow. Some of them were far from
+pleasant things; he tried to picture himself with a broken nose, or with
+tar and feathers on him. He recalled his theory as to the handling of
+burglars. The "G. F. C." was a burglar of gigantic and terrible
+proportions; surely this was a time to call out, "Help yourself!" But
+instead of doing it, Hal thought about Edstrom's ants, and wondered at
+the power which made them stay in line.
+
+When morning came, he went up into the mountains, where a man may wander
+and renew his moral force. When the sun had descended behind the
+mountain-tops, he descended also, and met Edstrom and Sikoria in front
+of the company office.
+
+They nodded a greeting, and Edstrom told Hal that his wife had died
+during the day. There being no undertaker in North Valley, he had
+arranged for a woman friend to take the body down to Pedro, so that he
+might be free for the interview with Cartwright. Hal put his hand on the
+old man's shoulder, but attempted no word of condolence; he saw that
+Edstrom had faced the trouble and was ready for duty.
+
+"Come ahead," said the old man, and the three went into the office.
+While a clerk took their message to the inner office, they stood for a
+couple of minutes, shifting uneasily from one foot to the other, and
+turning their caps in their hands in the familiar manner of the lowly.
+
+At last Mr. Cartwright appeared in the doorway, his small sparely-built
+figure eloquent of sharp authority. "Well, what's this?" he inquired.
+
+"If you please," said Edstrom, "we'd like to speak to you. We've
+decided, sir, that we want to have a check-weighman."
+
+"_What_?" The word came like the snap of a whip.
+
+"We'd like to have a check-weighman, sir."
+
+There was a moment's silence. "Come in here." They filed into the inner
+office, and he shut the door.
+
+"Now. What's this?"
+
+Edstrom repeated his words again.
+
+"What put that notion into your heads?"
+
+"Nothing, sir; only we thought we'd be better satisfied."
+
+"You think you're not getting your weight?"
+
+"Well, sir, you see--some of the men--we think it would be better if we
+had the check-weighman. We're willing to pay for him."
+
+"Who's this check-weighman to be?"
+
+"Joe Smith, here."
+
+Hal braced himself to meet the other's stare. "Oh! So it's you!" Then,
+after a moment, "So that's why you were feeling so gay!"
+
+Hal was not feeling in the least gay at the moment; but he forebore to
+say so. There was a silence.
+
+"Now, why do you fellows want to throw away your money?" The
+superintendent started to argue with them, showing the absurdity of the
+notion that they could gain anything by such a course. The mine had been
+running for years on its present system, and there had never been any
+complaint. The idea that a company as big and as responsible as the "G.
+F. C." would stoop to cheat its workers out of a few tons of coal! And
+so on, for several minutes.
+
+"Mr. Cartwright," said Edstrom, when the other had finished, "you know
+I've worked all my life in mines, and most of it in this district. I am
+telling you something I know when I say there is general dissatisfaction
+throughout these camps because the men feel they are not getting their
+weight. You say there has been no public complaint; you understand the
+reason for this--"
+
+"What is the reason?"
+
+"Well," said Edstrom, gently, "maybe you don't know the reason--but
+anyway we've decided that we want a check-weighman."
+
+It was evident that the superintendent had been taken by surprise, and
+was uncertain how to meet the issue. "You can imagine," he said, at
+last, "the company doesn't relish hearing that its men believe it's
+cheating them--"
+
+"We don't say the company knows anything about it, Mr. Cartwright. It's
+possible that some people may be taking advantage of us, without either
+the company or yourself having anything to do with it. It's for your
+protection as well as ours that a check-weighman is needed."
+
+"Thank you," said the other, drily. His tone revealed that he was
+holding himself in by an effort. "Very well," he added, at last. "That's
+enough about the matter, if your minds are made up. I'll give you my
+decision later."
+
+This was a dismissal, and Mike Sikoria turned humbly, and started to the
+door. But Edstrom was one of the ants that did not readily "step one
+side"; and Mike took a glance at him, and then stepped back into line in
+a hurry, as if hoping his delinquency had not been noted.
+
+"If you please, Mr. Cartwright," said Edstrom, "we'd like your decision,
+so as to have the check-weighman start in the morning."
+
+"What? You're in such a hurry?"
+
+"There's no reason for delay, sir. We've selected our man, and we're
+ready to pay him."
+
+"Who are the men who are ready to pay him? Just you two"
+
+"I am not at liberty to name the other men, sir."
+
+"Oh! So it's a secret movement!"
+
+"In a way--yes, sir."
+
+"Indeed!" said the superintendent, ominously. "And you don't care what
+the company thinks about it!"
+
+"It's not that, Mr. Cartwright, but we don't see anything for the
+company to object to. It's a simple business arrangement--"
+
+"Well, if it seems simple to you, it doesn't to me," snapped the other.
+And then, getting himself in hand, "Understand me, the company would not
+have the least objection to the men making sure of their weights, if
+they really think it's necessary. The company has always been willing to
+do the right thing. But it's not a matter that can be settled off hand.
+I will let you know later."
+
+Again they were dismissed, and again Old Mike turned, and Edstrom also.
+But now another ant sprang into the ditch. "Just when will you be
+prepared to let the check-weighman begin work, Mr. Cartwright?" asked
+Hal.
+
+The superintendent gave him a sharp look, and again it could be seen
+that he made a strong effort to keep his temper. "I'm not prepared to
+say," he replied. "I will let you know, as soon as convenient to me.
+That's all now." And as he spoke he opened the door, putting something
+into the action that was a command.
+
+"Mr. Cartwright," said Hal, "there's no law against our having a
+check-weighman, is there?"
+
+The look which these words drew from the superintendent showed that he
+knew full well what the law was. Hal accepted this look as an answer,
+and continued, "I have been selected by a committee of the men to act as
+their check-weighman, and this committee has duly notified the company.
+That makes me a check-weighman, I believe, Mr. Cartwright, and so all I
+have to do is to assume my duties." Without waiting for the
+superintendent's answer, he walked to the door, followed by his somewhat
+shocked companions.
+
+
+
+SECTION 11.
+
+At the meeting on the night before it had been agreed to spread the news
+of the check-weighman movement, for the sake of its propaganda value. So
+now when the three men came out from the office, there was a crowd
+waiting to know what had happened; men clamoured questions, and each one
+who got the story would be surrounded by others eager to hear. Hal made
+his way to the boarding-house, and when he had finished his supper, he
+set out from place to place in the camp, telling the men about the
+check-weighman plan and explaining that it was a legal right they were
+demanding. All this while Old Mike stayed on one side of him, and
+Edstrom on the other; for Tom Olson had insisted strenuously that Hal
+should not be left alone for a moment. Evidently the bosses had given
+the same order; for when Hal came out from Reminitsky's, there was
+"Jake" Predovich, the store-clerk, on the fringe of the crowd, and he
+followed wherever Hal went, doubtless making note of every one he spoke
+to.
+
+They consulted as to where they were to spend the night. Old Mike was
+nervous, taking the activities of the spy to mean that they were to be
+thugged in the darkness. He told horrible stories of that sort of thing.
+What could be an easier way for the company to settle the matter? They
+would fix up some story; the world outside would believe they had been
+killed in a drunken row, perhaps over some woman. This last suggestion
+especially troubled Hal; he thought of the people at home. No, he must
+not sleep in the village! And on the other hand he could not go down the
+canyon, for if he once passed the gate, he might not be allowed to
+repass it.
+
+An idea occurred to him. Why not go _up_ the canyon? There was no
+stockade at the upper end of the village--nothing but wilderness and
+rocks, without even a road.
+
+"But where we sleep?" demanded Old Mike, aghast.
+
+"Outdoors," said Hal.
+
+"_Pluha biedna_! And get the night air into my bones?"
+
+"You think you keep the day air in your bones when you sleep inside?"
+laughed Hal.
+
+"Why don't I, when I shut them windows tight, and cover up my bones?"
+
+"Well, risk the night air once," said Hal. "It's better than having
+somebody let it into you with a knife."
+
+"But that fellow Predovich--he follow us up canyon too!"
+
+"Yes, but he's only one man, and we don't have to fear him. If he went
+back for others, he'd never be able to find us in the darkness."
+
+Edstrom, whose notions of anatomy were not so crude as Mike's, gave his
+support to this suggestion; so they got their blankets and stumbled up
+the canyon in the still, star-lit night. For a while they heard the spy
+behind them, but finally his footsteps died away, and after they had
+moved on for some distance, they believed they were safe till daylight.
+Hal had slept out many a night as a hunter, but it was a new adventure
+to sleep out as the game!
+
+At dawn they rose, and shook the dew from their blankets, and wiped it
+from their eyes. Hal was young, and saw the glory of the morning, while
+poor Mike Sikoria groaned and grumbled over his stiff and aged joints.
+He thought he had ruined himself forever, but he took courage at
+Edstrom's mention of coffee, and they hurried down to breakfast at their
+boarding-house.
+
+Now came a critical time, when Hal had to be left by himself. Edstrom
+was obliged to go down to see to his wife's funeral; and it was obvious
+that if Mike Sikoria were to lay off work, he would be providing the
+boss with an excuse for firing him. The law which provided for a
+check-weighman had failed to provide for a check-weighman's body-guard!
+
+Hal had announced his programme in that flash of defiance in
+Cartwright's office. As soon as work started up, he went to the tipple.
+"Mr. Peters," he said, to the tipple-boss, "I've come to act as
+check-weighman."
+
+The tipple-boss was a man with a big black moustache, which made him
+look like the pictures of Nietzsche. He stared at Hal, frankly
+dumbfounded. "What the devil?" said he.
+
+"Some of the men have chosen me check-weighman," explained Hal, in a
+business-like manner. "When their cars come up, I'll see to their
+weights."
+
+"You keep off this tipple, young fellow!" said Peters. His manner was
+equally business-like.
+
+So the would-be check-weighman came out and sat on the steps to wait.
+The tipple was a fairly public place, and he judged he was as safe there
+as anywhere. Some of the men grinned and winked at him as they went
+about their work; several found a chance to whisper words of
+encouragement. And all morning he sat, like a protestant at the
+palace-gates of a mandarin in China, It was tedious work, but he
+believed that he would be able to stand it longer than the company.
+
+
+
+SECTION 12.
+
+In the middle of the morning a man came up to him--"Bud" Adams, a
+younger brother of the "J. P.," and Jeff Cotton's assistant. Bud was
+stocky, red-faced, and reputed to be handy with his fists. So Hal rose
+up warily when he saw him.
+
+"Hey, you," said Bud. "There's a telegram at the office for you."
+
+"For me?"
+
+"Your name's Joe Smith, ain't it?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Well, that's what it says."
+
+Hal considered for a moment. There was no one to be telegraphing Joe
+Smith. It was only a ruse to get him away.
+
+"What's in the telegram?" he asked.
+
+"How do I know?" said Bud.
+
+"Where is it from?"
+
+"I dunno that."
+
+"Well," said Hal, "you might bring it to me here."
+
+The other's eyes flew open. This was not a revolt, it was a revolution!
+"Who the hell's messenger boy do you think I am?" he demanded.
+
+"Don't the company deliver telegrams?" countered Hal, politely. And Bud
+stood struggling with his human impulses, while Hal watched him
+cautiously. But apparently those who had sent the messenger had given
+him precise instructions; for he controlled his wrath, and turned and
+strode away.
+
+Hal continued his vigil. He had his lunch with him; and was prepared to
+eat alone--understanding the risk that a man would be running who showed
+sympathy with him. He was surprised, therefore, when Johannson, the
+giant Swede, came and sat down by his side. There also came a young
+Mexican labourer, and a Greek miner. The revolution was spreading!
+
+Hal felt sure the company would not let this go on. And sure enough,
+towards the middle of the afternoon, the tipple-boss came out and
+beckoned to him. "Come here, you!" And Hal went in.
+
+The "weigh-room" was a fairly open place; but at one side was a door
+into an office. "This way," said the man.
+
+But Hal stopped where he was.
+
+"This is where the check-weighman belongs, Mr. Peters."
+
+"But I want to talk to you."
+
+"I can hear you, sir." Hal was in sight of the men, and he knew that was
+his only protection.
+
+The tipple-boss went back into the office; and a minute later Hal saw
+what had been intended. The door opened and Alec Stone came out.
+
+He stood for a moment looking at his political henchman. Then he came
+up. "Kid," he said, in a low voice, "you're overdoing this. I didn't
+intend you to go so far."
+
+"This is not what you intended, Mr. Stone," answered Hal.
+
+The pit-boss came closer yet. "What you looking for, kid? What you
+expect to get out of this?"
+
+Hal's gaze was unwavering. "Experience," he replied.
+
+"You're feeling smart, sonny. But you'd better stop and realise what
+you're up against. You ain't going to get away with it, you know; get
+that through your head--you ain't going to get away with it. You'd
+better come in and have a talk with me."
+
+There was a silence.
+
+"Don't you know how it'll be, Smith? These little fires start up--but we
+put 'em out. We know how to do it, we've got the machinery. It'll all be
+forgotten in a week or two, and then where'll you be at? Can't you see?"
+
+As Hal still made no reply, the other's voice dropped lower. "I
+understand your position. Just give me a nod, and it'll be all right.
+You tell the men that you've watched the weights, and that they're all
+right. They'll be satisfied, and you and me can fix it up later."
+
+"Mr. Stone," said Hal, with intense gravity, "am I correct in the
+impression that you are offering me a bribe?"
+
+In a flash, the man's self-control vanished. He thrust his huge fist
+within an inch of Hal's nose, and uttered a foul oath. But Hal did not
+remove his nose from the danger-zone, and over the fist a pair of angry
+brown eyes gazed at the pit-boss. "Mr. Stone, you had better realise
+this situation. I am in dead earnest about this matter, and I don't
+think it will be safe for you to offer me violence."
+
+For a moment or two the man continued to glare at Hal; but it appeared
+that he, like Bud Adams, had been given instructions. He turned abruptly
+and strode back into the office.
+
+Hal stood for a bit, until he had made sure of his composure. After
+which he strolled over towards the scales. A difficulty had occurred to
+him for the first time--that he did not know anything about the working
+of coal-scales.
+
+But he was given no time to learn. The tipple-boss reappeared. "Get out
+of here, fellow!" said he.
+
+"But you invited me in," remarked Hal, mildly.
+
+"Well, now I invite you out again."
+
+And so the protestant resumed his vigil at the mandarin's palace-gates.
+
+
+
+SECTION 13.
+
+When the quitting-whistle blew, Mike Sikoria came quickly to join Hal
+and hear what had happened. Mike was exultant, for several new men had
+come up to him and offered to join the check-weighman movement. The old
+fellow was not sure whether this was owing to his own eloquence as a
+propagandist, or to the fine young American buddy he had; but in either
+case he was equally proud. He gave Hal a note which had been slipped
+into his hand, and which Hal recognised as coming from Tom Olson. The
+organiser reported that every one in the camp was talking
+check-weighman, and so from a propaganda standpoint they could count
+their move a success, no matter what the bosses might do. He added that
+Hal should have a number of men stay with him that night, so as to have
+witnesses if the company tried to "pull off anything." "And be careful
+of the new men," he added; "one or two of them are sure to be spies."
+
+Hal and Mike discussed their programme for the second night. Neither of
+them were keen for sleeping out again--the old Slovak because of his
+bones, and Hal because he saw there were now several spies following
+them about. At Reminitsky's, he spoke to some of those who had offered
+their support, and asked them if they would be willing to spend the
+night with him in Edstrom's cabin. Not one shrank from this test of
+sincerity; they all got their blankets, and repaired to the place, where
+Hal lighted the lamp and held an impromptu check-weighman meeting--and
+incidentally entertained himself with a spy-hunt!
+
+One of the new-comers was a Pole named Wojecicowski; this, on top of
+Zamierowski, caused Hal to give up all effort to call the Poles by their
+names. "Woji" was an earnest little man, with a pathetic, tired face. He
+explained his presence by the statement that he was sick of being
+robbed; he would pay his share for a check-weighman, and if they fired
+him, all right, he would move on, and to hell with them. After which
+declaration he rolled up in a blanket and went to snoring on the floor
+of the cabin. That did not seem to be exactly the conduct of a spy.
+
+Another was an Italian, named Farenzena; a dark-browed and
+sinister-looking fellow, who might have served as a villain in any
+melodrama. He sat against the wall and talked in guttural tones, and Hal
+regarded him with deep suspicion. It was not easy to understand his
+English, but finally Hal managed to make out the story he was
+telling--that he was in love with a "fanciulla," and that the
+"fanciulla" was playing with him. He had about made up his mind that she
+was a coquette, and not worth bothering with, so he did not care any
+curses if they sent him down the canyon. "Don't fight for fanciulla,
+fight for check-weighman!" he concluded, with a growl.
+
+Another volunteer was a Greek labourer, a talkative young chap who had
+sat with Hal at lunch-time, and had given his name as Apostolikas. He
+entered into fluent conversation with Hal, explaining how much
+interested he was in the check-weighman plan; he wanted to know just
+what they were going to do, what chance of success they thought they
+had, who had started the movement and who was in it. Hal's replies took
+the form of little sermons on working-class solidarity. Each time the
+man would start to "pump" him, Hal would explain the importance of the
+present issue to the miners, how they must stand by one another and make
+sacrifices for the good of all. After he had talked abstract theories
+for half an hour, Apostolikas gave up and moved on to Mike Sikoria, who,
+having been given a wink by Hal, talked about "scabs," and the dreadful
+things that honest workingmen would do to them. When finally the Greek
+grew tired again, and lay down on the floor, Hal moved over to Old Mike
+and whispered that the first name of Apostolikas must be Judas!
+
+
+
+SECTION 14.
+
+Old Mike went to sleep quickly; but Hal had not worked for several days,
+and had exciting thoughts to keep him awake. He had been lying quiet for
+a couple of hours, when he became aware that some one was moving in the
+room. There was a lamp burning dimly, and through half-closed eyes he
+made out one of the men lifting himself to a sitting position. At first
+he could not be sure which one it was, but finally he recognised the
+Greek.
+
+Hal lay motionless, and after a minute or so he stole another look and
+saw the man crouching and listening, his hands still on the floor.
+Through half opened eye-lids Hal continued to steal glimpses, while the
+other rose and tip-toed towards him, stepping carefully over the
+sleeping forms.
+
+Hal did his best to simulate the breathing of sleep: no easy matter,
+with the man stooping over him, and a knife-thrust as one of the
+possibilities of the situation. He took the chance, however; and after
+what seemed an age, he felt the man's fingers lightly touch his side.
+They moved down to his coat-pocket.
+
+"Going to search me!" thought Hal; and waited, expecting the hand to
+travel to other pockets. But after what seemed an interminable period,
+he realised that Apostolikas had risen again, and was stepping back to
+his place. In a minute more he had lain down, and all was still in the
+cabin.
+
+Hal's hand moved to the pocket, and his fingers slid inside. They
+touched something, which he recognised instantly as a roll of bills.
+
+"I see!" thought he. "A frame-up!" And he laughed to himself, his mind
+going back to early boyhood--to a dilapidated trunk in the attic of his
+home, containing story-books that his father had owned. He could see
+them now, with their worn brown covers and crude pictures: "The Luck and
+Pluck Series," by Horatio Alger; "Live or Die," "Rough and Ready," etc.
+How he had thrilled over the story of the country-boy who comes to the
+city, and meets the villain who robs his employer's cash-drawer and
+drops the key of it into the hero's pocket! Evidently some one connected
+with the General Fuel Company had read Horatio Alger!
+
+Hal realised that he could not be too quick about getting those bills
+out of his pocket. He thought of returning them to "Judas," but decided
+that he would save them for Edstrom, who was likely to need money before
+long. He gave the Greek half an hour to go to sleep, then with his
+pocket-knife he gently picked out a hole in the cinders of the floor and
+buried the money as best he could. After which he wormed his way to
+another place, and lay thinking.
+
+
+
+SECTION 15.
+
+Would they wait until morning, or would they come soon? He was inclined
+to the latter guess, so he was only slightly startled when, an hour or
+two later, he heard the knob of the cabin-door turned. A moment later
+came a crash and the door was burst open, with the shoulder of a heavy
+man behind it.
+
+The room was in confusion in a second. Men sprang to their feet, crying
+out; others sat up bewildered, still half asleep. The room was bright
+from an electric torch in the hands of one of the invaders. "There's the
+fellow!" cried a voice, which Hal instantly recognised as belonging to
+Jeff Cotton, the camp-marshal. "Stick 'em up, there! You, Joe Smith!"
+Hal did not wait to see the glint of the marshal's revolver.
+
+There followed a silence. As this drama was being staged for the benefit
+of the other men, it was necessary to give them time to get thoroughly
+awake, and to get their eyes used to the light. Meantime Hal stood, his
+hands in the air. Behind the torch he could make out the faces of the
+marshal, Bud Adams, Alec Stone, Jake Predovich, and two or three others.
+
+"Now, men," said Cotton, at last, "you are some of the fellows that want
+a check-weighman. And this is the man you chose. Is that right?"
+
+There was no answer.
+
+"I'm going to show you the kind of fellow he is. He came to Mr. Stone
+here and offered to sell you out."
+
+"It's a lie, men," said Hal, quietly.
+
+"He took some money from Mr. Stone to sell you out!" insisted the
+marshal.
+
+"It's a lie," said Hal, again.
+
+"He's got that money now!" cried the other.
+
+And Hal cried, in turn, "They are trying to frame something on me, boys!
+Don't let them fool you!"
+
+"Shut up," commanded the marshal; then, to the men, "I'll show you. I
+think he's got that money on him now. Jake, search him."
+
+The store-clerk advanced.
+
+"Watch out, boys!" exclaimed Hal. "They will put something in my
+pockets." And then to Old Mike, who had started angrily forward, "It's
+all right, Mike! Let them alone!"
+
+"Jake, take off your coat," ordered Cotton. "Roll up your sleeves. Show
+your hands."
+
+It was for all the world like the performance of a prestidigitator. The
+little Jew took off his coat and rolled up his sleeves above his elbows.
+He exhibited his hands to the audience, turning them this way and that;
+then, keeping them out in front of him, he came slowly towards Hal, like
+a hypnotist about to put him to sleep.
+
+"Watch him!" said Cotton. "He's got that money on him, I know."
+
+"Look sharp!" cried Hal. "If it isn't there, they'll put it there."
+
+"Keep your hands up, young fellow," commanded the marshal. "Keep back
+from him there!" This last to Mike Sikoria and the other spectators, who
+were pressing nearer, peering over one another's shoulders.
+
+It was all very serious at the time, but afterwards, when Hal recalled
+the scene, he laughed over the grotesque figure of Predovich searching
+his pockets while keeping as far away from him as possible, so that
+every one might know that the money had actually come out of Hal's
+pocket. The searcher put his hands first in the inside pockets, then in
+the pockets of Hal's shirt. Time was needed to build up this climax!
+
+"Turn around," commanded Cotton; and Hal turned, and the Jew went
+through his trouser-pockets. He took out in turn Hal's watch, his comb
+and mirror, his handkerchief; after examining them and holding them up,
+he dropped them onto the floor. There was a breathless hush when he came
+to Hal's purse, and proceeded to open it. Thanks to the greed of the
+company, there was nothing in the purse but some small change. Predovich
+closed it and dropped it to the floor.
+
+"Wait now! He's not through!" cried the master of ceremonies. "He's got
+that money somewhere, boys! Did you look in his side-pockets, Jake?"
+
+"Not yet," said Jake.
+
+"Look sharp!" cried the marshal; and every one craned forward eagerly,
+while Predovich stooped down on one knee, and put his hand into one coat
+pocket and then into the other.
+
+He took his hand out again, and the look of dismay upon his face was so
+obvious that Hal could hardly keep from laughing. "It ain't dere!" he
+declared.
+
+"What?" cried Cotton, and they stared at each other. "By God, he's got
+rid of it!"
+
+"There's no money on me, boys!" proclaimed Hal. "It's a job they are
+trying to put over on us."
+
+"He's hid it!" shouted the marshal. "Find it, Jake!"
+
+Then Predovich began to search again, swiftly, and with less
+circumstance. He was not thinking so much about the spectators now, as
+about all that good money gone for nothing! He made Hal take off his
+coat, and ripped open the lining; he unbuttoned the trousers and felt
+inside; he thrust his fingers down inside Hal's shoes.
+
+But there was no money, and the searchers were at a standstill. "He took
+twenty-five dollars from Mr. Stone to sell you out!" declared the
+marshal. "He's managed to get rid of it somehow."
+
+"Boys," cried Hal, "they sent a spy in here, and told him to put money
+on me." He was looking at Apostolikas as he spoke; he saw the man start
+and shrink back.
+
+"That's him! He's a scab!" cried Old Mike. "He's got the money on him, I
+bet!" And he made a move towards the Greek.
+
+So the camp-marshal realised suddenly that it was time to ring down the
+curtain on this drama. "That's enough of this foolishness," he declared.
+"Bring that fellow along here!" And in a flash a couple of the party had
+seized Hal's wrists, and a third had grabbed him by the collar of his
+shirt. Before the miners had time to realise what was happening, they
+had rushed their prisoner out of the cabin.
+
+The quarter of an hour which followed was an uncomfortable one for the
+would-be check-weighman. Outside, in the darkness, the camp-marshal was
+free to give vent to his rage, and so was Alec Stone. They poured out
+curses upon him, and kicked him and cuffed him as they went along. One
+of the men who held his wrists twisted his arm, until he cried out with
+pain; then they cursed him harder, and bade him hold his mouth. Down the
+dark and silent street they went swiftly, and into the camp-marshal's
+office, and upstairs to the room which served as the North Valley jail.
+Hal was glad enough when they left him here, slamming the iron door
+behind them.
+
+
+
+SECTION 16.
+
+It had been a crude and stupid plot, yet Hal realised that it was
+adapted to the intelligence of the men for whom it was intended. But for
+the accident that he had stayed awake, they would have found the money
+on him, and next morning the whole camp would have heard that he had
+sold out. Of course his immediate friends, the members of the committee,
+would not have believed it; but the mass of the workers would have
+believed it, and so the purpose of Tom Olson's visit to North Valley
+would have been balked. Throughout the experiences which were to come to
+him, Hal retained his vivid impression of that adventure; it served to
+him as a symbol of many things. Just as the bosses had tried to bedevil
+him, to destroy his influence with his followers, so later on he saw
+them trying to bedevil the labour-movement, to confuse the intelligence
+of the whole country.
+
+Now Hal was in jail. He went to the window and tried the bars--but found
+that they had been made for such trials. Then he groped his way about in
+the darkness, examining his prison, which proved to be a steel cage
+built inside the walls of an ordinary room. In one corner was a bench,
+and in another corner another bench, somewhat broader, with a mattress
+upon it. Hal had read a little about jails--enough to cause him to avoid
+this mattress. He sat upon the bare bench, and began to think.
+
+It is a fact that there is a peculiar psychology incidental to being in
+jail; just as there is a peculiar psychology incidental to straining
+your back and breaking your hands loading coal-cars in a five foot vein;
+and another, and quite different psychology, produced by living at ease
+off the labours of coal-miners. In a jail, you have first of all the
+sense of being an animal; the animal side of your being is emphasised,
+the animal passions of hatred and fear are called into prominence, and
+if you are to escape being dominated by them, it can only be by intense
+and concentrated effort of the mind. So, if you are a thinking man, you
+do a great deal of thinking in a jail; the days are long, and the nights
+still longer--you have time for all the thoughts you can have.
+
+The bench was hard, and seemed to grow harder. There was no position in
+which it could be made to grow soft. Hal got up and paced about, then he
+lay down for a while, then got up and walked again; and all the while he
+thought, and all the while the jail-psychology was being impressed upon
+his mind.
+
+First, he thought about his immediate problem. What were they going to
+do to him? The obvious thing would be to put him out of camp, and so be
+done with him; but would they rest content with that, in their
+irritation at the trick he had played? Hal had heard vaguely of that
+native American institution, the "third degree," but had never had
+occasion to think of it as a possibility in his own life. What a
+difference it made, to think of it in that way!
+
+Hal had told Tom Olson that he would not pledge himself to organise a
+union, but that he would pledge himself to get a check-weighman; and
+Olson had laughed, and seemed quite content--apparently assuming that it
+would come to the same thing. And now, it rather seemed that Olson had
+known what he was talking about. For Hal found his thoughts no longer
+troubled with fears of labour union domination and walking delegate
+tyranny; on the contrary, he became suddenly willing for the people of
+North Valley to have a union, and to be as tyrannical as they knew how!
+And in this change, though Hal had no idea of it, he was repeating an
+experience common among reformers; many of whom begin as mild and
+benevolent advocates of some obvious bit of justice, and under the
+operation of the jail-psychology are made into blazing and determined
+revolutionists. "Eternal spirit of the chainless mind," says Byron.
+"Greatest in dungeons Liberty thou art!"
+
+The poet goes on to add that "When thy sons to fetters are confined--"
+then "Freedom's fame finds wings on every wind." And just as it was in
+Chillon, so it seemed to be in North Valley. Dawn came, and Hal stood at
+the window of his cell, and heard the whistle blow and saw the workers
+going to their tasks, the toil-bent, pallid faced creatures of the
+underworld, like a file of baboons in the half-light. He waved his hand
+to them, and they stopped and stared, and then waved back; he realised
+that every one of those men must be thinking about his imprisonment, and
+the reason for it--and so the jail-psychology was being communicated to
+them. If any of them cherished distrust of unions, or doubt of the need
+of organisation in North Valley--that distrust and that doubt were being
+dissipated!
+
+--There was only one thing discouraging about the matter, as Hal thought
+it over. Why should the bosses have left him here in plain sight, when
+they might so easily have put him into an automobile, and whisked him
+down to Pedro before daylight? Was it a sign of the contempt they felt
+for their slaves? Did they count upon the sight of the prisoner in the
+window to produce fear instead of resentment? And might it not be that
+they understood their workers better than the would-be check-weighman?
+He recalled Mary Burke's pessimism about them, and anxiety gnawed at his
+soul; and--such is the operation of the jail-psychology--he fought
+against this anxiety. He hated the company for its cynicism, he clenched
+his hands and set his teeth, desiring to teach the bosses a lesson, to
+prove to them that their workers were not slaves, but men!
+
+
+
+SECTION 17.
+
+Toward the middle of the morning, Hal heard footsteps in the corridor
+outside, and a man whom he did not know opened the barred door and set
+down a pitcher of water and a tin plate with a hunk of bread on it. When
+he started to leave, Hal spoke: "Just a minute, please."
+
+The other frowned at him.
+
+"Can you give me any idea how long I am to stay in here?"
+
+"I cannot," said the man.
+
+"If I'm to be locked up," said Hal, "I've certainly a right to know what
+is the charge against me."
+
+"Go to blazes!" said the other, and slammed the door and went down the
+corridor.
+
+Hal went to the window again, and passed the time watching the people
+who went by. Groups of ragged children gathered, looking up at him,
+grinning and making signs--until some one appeared below and ordered
+them away.
+
+As time passed, Hal became hungry. The taste of bread, eaten alone,
+becomes speedily monotonous, and the taste of water does not relieve it;
+nevertheless, Hal munched the bread, and drank the water, and wished for
+more.
+
+The day dragged by; and late in the afternoon the keeper came again,
+with another hunk of bread and another pitcher of water. "Listen a
+moment," said Hal, as the man was turning away.
+
+"I got nothin' to say to you," said the other.
+
+"I have something to say to you," pleaded Hal. "I have read in a book--I
+forget where, but it was written by some doctor--that white bread does
+not contain the elements necessary to the sustaining of the human body."
+
+"Go on!" growled the jailer. "What yer givin' us?"
+
+"I mean," explained Hal, "a diet of bread and water is not what I'd
+choose to live on."
+
+"What would yer choose?"
+
+The tone suggested that the question was a rhetorical one; but Hal took
+it in good faith. "If I could have some beefsteak and mashed potatoes--"
+
+The door of the cell closed with a slam whose echoes drowned out the
+rest of that imaginary menu. And so once more Hal sat on the hard bench,
+and munched his hunk of bread, and thought jail-thoughts.
+
+When the quitting-whistle blew, he stood at the window, and saw the
+groups of his friends once again, and got their covert signals of
+encouragement. Then darkness fell, and another long vigil began.
+
+It was late; Hal had no means of telling how late, save that all the
+lights in the camps were out. He made up his mind that he was in for the
+night, and had settled himself on the floor with his arm for a pillow,
+and had dozed off to sleep, when suddenly there came a scraping sound
+against the bars of his window. He sat up with a start, and heard
+another sound, unmistakably the rustling of paper. He sprang to the
+window, where by the faint light of the stars he could make out
+something dangling. He caught at it; it seemed to be an ordinary
+note-book, such as stenographers use, tied on the end of a pole.
+
+Hal looked out, but could see no one. He caught hold of the pole and
+jerked it, as a signal; and then he heard a whisper which he recognised
+instantly as Rovetta's. "Hello! Listen. Write your name hundred times in
+book. I come back. Understand?"
+
+The command was a sufficiently puzzling one, but Hal realised that this
+was no time for explanations. He answered, "Yes," and broke the string
+and took the notebook. There was a pencil attached, with a piece of
+cloth wrapped round the point to protect it.
+
+The pole was withdrawn, and Hal sat on the bench, and began to write,
+three or four times on a page, "Joe Smith--Joe Smith--Joe Smith." It is
+not hard to write "Joe Smith," even in darkness, and so, while his hand
+moved, Hal's mind was busy with this mystery. It was fairly to be
+assumed that his committee did not want his autograph to distribute for
+a souvenir; they must want it for some vital purpose, to meet some new
+move of the bosses. The answer to this riddle was not slow in coming:
+having failed in their effort to find money on him, the bosses had
+framed up a letter, which they were exhibiting as having been written by
+the would-be check-weigh-man. His friends wanted his signature to
+disprove the authenticity of the letter.
+
+Hal wrote a free and rapid hand, with a generous flourish; he felt sure
+it would be different from Alec Stone's idea of a working-boy's scrawl.
+His pencil flew on and on--"Joe Smith--Joe Smith--" page after page,
+until he was sure that he had written a signature for every miner in the
+camp, and was beginning on the buddies. Then, hearing a whistle outside,
+he stopped and sprang to the window.
+
+"Throw it!" whispered a voice; and Hal threw it. He saw a form vanish up
+the street, after which all was quiet again. He listened for a while, to
+see if he had roused his jailer; then he lay down on the bench--and
+thought more jail-thoughts!
+
+
+
+SECTION 18.
+
+Morning came, and the mine-whistle blew, and Hal stood at the window
+again. This time he noticed that some of the miners on their way to work
+had little strips of paper in their hands, which strips they waved
+conspicuously for him to see. Old Mike Sikoria came along, having a
+whole bunch of strips in his hands, which he was distributing to all who
+would take them. Doubtless he had been warned to proceed secretly, but
+the excitement of the occasion had been too much for him; he capered
+about like a young spring lamb, and waved the strips at Hal in plain
+sight of all the world.
+
+Such indiscreet behaviour met the return it invited. As Hal watched, he
+saw a stocky figure come striding round the corner, confronting the
+startled old Slovak. It was Bud Adams, the mine-guard, and his hard
+fists were clenched, and his whole body gathered for a blow. Mike saw
+him, and was as if suddenly struck with paralysis; his toil-bent
+shoulders sunk together, and his hands fell to his sides--his fingers
+opening, and his precious strips of paper fluttering to the ground. Mike
+stared at Bud like a fascinated rabbit, making no move to protect
+himself.
+
+Hal clutched the bars, with an impulse to leap to his friend's defence.
+But the expected blow did not fall; the mine-guard contented himself
+with glaring ferociously, and giving an order to the old man. Mike
+stooped and picked up the papers--the process taking him some time, as
+he was unable or unwilling to take his eyes off the mine-guard's. When
+he got them all in his hands, there came another order, and he gave them
+up to Bud. After which he fell back a step, and the other followed, his
+fists still clenched, and a blow seeming about to leap from him every
+moment. Mike receded another step, and then another--so the two of them
+backed out of sight around the corner. Men who had been witnesses of
+this little drama turned and slunk off, and Hal was given no clue as to
+its outcome.
+
+A couple of hours afterwards, Hal's jailer came up, this time without
+any bread and water. He opened the door and commanded the prisoner to
+"come along." Hal went downstairs, and entered Jeff Cotton's office.
+
+The camp-marshal sat at his desk with a cigar between his teeth. He was
+writing, and he went on writing until the jailer had gone out and closed
+the door. Then he turned his revolving chair and crossed his legs,
+leaning back and looking at the young miner in his dirty blue overalls,
+his hair tousled and his face pale from his period of confinement. The
+camp-marshal's aristocratic face wore a smile. "Well, young fellow,"
+said he, "you've been having a lot of fun in this camp."
+
+"Pretty fair, thank you," answered Hal.
+
+"Beat us out all along the line, hey?" Then, after a pause, "Now, tell
+me, what do you think you're going to get out of it?"
+
+"That's what Alec Stone asked me," replied Hal. "I don't think it would
+do much good to explain. I doubt if you believe in altruism any more
+than Stone does."
+
+The camp-marshal took his cigar from his mouth, and flicked off the
+ashes. His face became serious, and there was a silence, while he
+studied Hal. "You a union organiser?" he asked, at last.
+
+"No," said Hal.
+
+"You're an educated man; you're no labourer, that I know. Who's paying
+you?"
+
+"There you are! You don't believe in altruism."
+
+The other blew a ring of smoke across the room. "Just want to put the
+company in the hole, hey? Some kind of agitator?"
+
+"I am a miner who wants to be a check-weighman."
+
+"Socialist?"
+
+"That depends upon developments here."
+
+"Well," said the marshal, "you're an intelligent chap, that I can see.
+So I'll lay my hand on the table and you can study it. You're not going
+to serve as check-weighman in North Valley, nor any other place that the
+'G. F. C.' has anything to do with. Nor are you going to have the
+satisfaction of putting the company in a hole. We're not even going to
+beat you up and make a martyr of you. I was tempted to do that the other
+night, but I changed my mind."
+
+"You might change the bruises on my arm," suggested Hal, in a pleasant
+voice.
+
+"We're going to offer you the choice of two things," continued the
+marshal, without heeding this mild sarcasm. "Either you will sign a
+paper admitting that you took the twenty-five dollars from Alec Stone,
+in which case we will fire you and call it square; or else we will prove
+that you took it, in which case we will send you to the pen for five or
+ten years. Do you get that?"
+
+Now when Hal had applied for the job of check-weighman, he had been
+expecting to be thrown out of the camp, and had intended to go, counting
+his education complete. But here, as he sat and gazed into the marshal's
+menacing eyes, he decided suddenly that he did not want to leave North
+Valley. He wanted to stay and take the measure of this gigantic
+"burglar," the General Fuel Company.
+
+"That's a serious threat, Mr. Cotton," he remarked. "Do you often do
+things like that?"
+
+"We do them when we have to," was the reply.
+
+"Well, it's a novel proposition. Tell me more about it. What will the
+charge be?"
+
+"I'm not sure about that--we'll put it up to our lawyers. Maybe they'll
+call it conspiracy, maybe blackmail. They'll make it whatever carries a
+long enough sentence."
+
+"And before I enter my plea, would you mind letting me see the letter
+I'm supposed to have written."
+
+"Oh, you've heard about the letter, have you?" said the camp-marshal,
+lifting his eyebrows in mild surprise. He took from his desk a sheet of
+paper and handed it to Hal, who read:
+
+"Dere mister Stone, You don't need worry about the check-wayman. Pay me
+twenty five dollars, and I will fix it right. Yours try, Joe Smith."
+
+Having taken in the words of the letter, Hal examined the paper, and
+perceived that his enemies had taken the trouble, not merely to forge a
+letter in his name, but to have it photographed, to have a cut made of
+the photograph, and to have it printed. Beyond doubt they had
+distributed it broadcast in the camp. And all this in a few hours! It
+was as Olson had said--a regular system to keep the men bedevilled.
+
+
+
+SECTION 19.
+
+Hal took a minute or so to ponder the situation. "Mr. Cotton," he said,
+at last. "I know how to spell better than that. Also my handwriting is a
+bit more fluent."
+
+There was a trace of a smile about the marshal's cruel lips. "I know,"
+he replied. "I've not failed to compare them."
+
+"You have a good secret-service department!" said Hal.
+
+"Before you get through, young fellow, you'll discover that our legal
+department is equally efficient."
+
+"Well," said Hal, "they'll need to be; for I don't see how you can get
+round the fact that I'm a check-weighman, chosen according to the law,
+and with a group of the men behind me."
+
+"If that's what you're counting on," retorted Cotton, "you may as well
+forget it. You've got no group any more."
+
+"Oh! You've got rid of them?"
+
+"We've got rid of the ring-leaders."
+
+"Of whom?"
+
+"That old billy-goat, Sikoria, for one."
+
+"You've shipped him?"
+
+"We have."
+
+"I saw the beginning of that. Where have you sent him?"
+
+"That," smiled the marshal, "is a job for _your_ secret-service
+department!"
+
+"And who else?"
+
+"John Edstrom has gone down to bury his wife. It's not the first time
+that dough-faced old preacher has made trouble for us, but it'll be the
+last. You'll find him in Pedro--probably in the poor-house."
+
+"No," responded Hal, quickly--and there came just a touch of elation in
+his voice--"he won't have to go to the poor-house at once. You see, I've
+just sent twenty-five dollars to him."
+
+The camp-marshal frowned. "Really!" Then, after a pause, "You _did_ have
+that money on you! I thought that lousy Greek had got away with it!"
+
+"No. Your knave was honest. But so was I. I knew Edstrom had been
+getting short weight for years, so he was the one person with any right
+to the money."
+
+This story was untrue, of course; the money was still buried in
+Edstrom's cabin. But Hal meant for the old miner to have it in the end,
+and meantime he wanted to throw Cotton off the track.
+
+"A clever trick, young man!" said the marshal. "But you'll repent it
+before you're through. It only makes me more determined to put you where
+you can't do us any harm."
+
+"You mean in the pen? You understand, of course, it will mean a jury
+trial. You can get a jury to do what you want?"
+
+"They tell me you've been taking an interest in politics in Pedro
+County. Haven't you looked into our jury-system?"
+
+"No, I haven't got that far."
+
+The marshal began blowing rings of smoke again.
+
+"Well, there are some three hundred men on our jury-list, and we know
+them all. You'll find yourself facing a box with Jake Predovich as
+foreman, three company-clerks, two of Alf Raymond's saloon-keepers, a
+ranchman with a mortgage held by the company-bank, and five Mexicans who
+have no idea what it's all about, but would stick a knife into your back
+for a drink of whiskey. The District Attorney is a politician who
+favours the miners in his speeches, and favours us in his acts; while
+Judge Denton, of the district court, is the law partner of Vagleman, our
+chief-counsel. Do you get all that?"
+
+"Yes," said Hal. "I've heard of the 'Empire of Raymond'; I'm interested
+to see the machinery. You're quite open about it!"
+
+"Well," replied the marshal, "I want you to know what you're up against.
+We didn't start this fight, and we're perfectly willing to end it
+without trouble. All we ask is that you make amends for the mischief
+you've done us."
+
+"By 'making amends,' you mean I'm to disgrace myself--to tell the men
+I'm a traitor?"
+
+"Precisely," said the marshal.
+
+"I think I'll have a seat while I consider the matter," said Hal; and he
+took a chair, and stretched out his legs, and made himself elaborately
+comfortable. "That bench upstairs is frightfully hard," said he, and
+smiled mockingly upon the camp-marshal.
+
+
+
+SECTION 20.
+
+When this conversation was continued, it was upon a new and unexpected
+line. "Cotton," remarked the prisoner, "I perceive that you are a man of
+education. It occurs to me that once upon a time you must have been what
+the world calls a gentleman."
+
+The blood started into the camp-marshal's face. "You go to hell!" said
+he.
+
+"I did not intend to ask questions," continued Hal. "I can well
+understand that you mightn't care to answer them. My point is that,
+being an ex-gentleman, you may appreciate certain aspects of this case
+which would be beyond the understanding of a nigger-driver like Stone,
+or an efficiency expert like Cartwright. One gentleman can recognise
+another, even in a miner's costume. Isn't that so?"
+
+Hal paused for an answer, and the marshal gave him a wary look. "I
+suppose so," he said.
+
+"Well, to begin with, one gentleman does not smoke without inviting
+another to join him."
+
+The man gave another look. Hal thought he was going to consign him to
+hades once more; but instead he took a cigar from his vest-pocket and
+held it out.
+
+"No, thank you," said Hal, quietly. "I do not smoke. But I like to be
+invited."
+
+There was a pause, while the two men measured each other.
+
+"Now, Cotton," began the prisoner, "you pictured the scene at my trial.
+Let me carry on the story for you. You have your case all framed up,
+your hand-picked jury in the box, and your hand-picked judge on the
+bench, your hand-picked prosecuting-attorney putting through the job;
+you are ready to send your victim to prison, for an example to the rest
+of your employes. But suppose that, at the climax of the proceedings,
+you should make the discovery that your victim is a person who cannot be
+sent to prison?"
+
+"Cannot be sent to prison?" repeated the other. His tone was thoughtful.
+"You'll have to explain."
+
+"Surely not to a man of your intelligence! Don't you know, Cotton, there
+are people who cannot be sent to prison?"
+
+The camp-marshal smoked his cigar for a bit. "There are some in this
+county," said he. "But I thought I knew them all."
+
+"Well," said Hal, "has it never occurred to you that there might be some
+in this _state_?"
+
+There followed a long silence. The two men were gazing into each other's
+eyes; and the more they gazed, the more plainly Hal read uncertainty in
+the face of the marshal.
+
+"Think how embarrassing it would be!" he continued. "You have your drama
+all staged--as you did the night before last--only on a larger stage,
+before a more important audience; and at the _denouement_ you find that,
+instead of vindicating yourself before the workers in North Valley, you
+have convicted yourself before the public of the state. You have shown
+the whole community that you are law-breakers; worse than that--you have
+shown that you are jack-asses!"
+
+This time the camp-marshal gazed so long that his cigar went out. And
+meantime Hal was lounging in his chair, smiling at him strangely. It was
+as if a transformation was taking place before the marshal's eyes; the
+miner's "jumpers" fell away from Hal's figure, and there was a suit of
+evening-clothes in their place!
+
+"Who the devil are you?" cried the man.
+
+"Well now!" laughed Hal. "You boast of the efficiency of your secret
+service department! Put them at work upon this problem. A young man, age
+twenty-one, height five feet ten inches, weight one hundred and
+fifty-two pounds, eyes brown, hair chestnut and rather wavy, manner
+genial, a favourite with the ladies--at least that's what the society
+notes say--missing since early in June, supposed to be hunting
+mountain-goats in Mexico. As you know, Cotton, there's only one city in
+the state that has any 'society,' and in that city there are only
+twenty-five or thirty families that count. For a secret service
+department like that of the 'G. F. C.', that is really too easy."
+
+Again there was a silence, until Hal broke it. "Your distress is a
+tribute to your insight. The company is lucky in the fact that one of
+its camp-marshals happens to be an ex-gentleman."
+
+Again the other flushed. "Well, by God!" he said, half to himself; and
+then, making a last effort to hold his bluff--"You're kidding me!"
+
+"'Kidding,' as you call it, is one of the favourite occupations of
+society, Cotton. A good part of our intercourse consists of it--at least
+among the younger set."
+
+Suddenly the marshal rose. "Say," he demanded, "would you mind going
+back upstairs for a few minutes?"
+
+Hal could not restrain his laughter at this. "I should mind it very
+much," he said. "I have been on a bread and water diet for thirty-six
+hours, and I should like very much to get out and have a breath of fresh
+air."
+
+"But," said the other, lamely, "I've got to send you up there."
+
+"That's another matter," replied Hal. "If you send me, I'll go, but it's
+your look-out. You've kept me here without legal authority, with no
+charge against me, and without giving me an opportunity to see counsel.
+Unless I'm very much mistaken, you are liable criminally for that, and
+the company is liable civilly. That is your own affair, of course. I
+only want to make clear my position--when you ask me would I _mind_
+stepping upstairs, I, answer that I would mind very much indeed."
+
+The camp-marshal stood for a bit, chewing nervously on his extinct
+cigar. Then he went to the door. "Hey, Gus!" he called. Hal's jailer
+appeared, and Cotton whispered to him, and he went away again. "I'm
+telling him to get you some food, and you can sit and eat it here. Will
+that suit you better?"
+
+"It depends," said Hal, making the most of the situation. "Are you
+inviting me as your prisoner, or as your guest?"
+
+"Oh, come off!" said the other.
+
+"But I have to know my legal status. It will be of importance to my
+lawyers."
+
+"Be my guest," said the camp-marshal.
+
+"But when a guest has eaten, he is free to go out, if he wishes to!"
+
+"I will let you know about that before you get through."
+
+"Well, be quick. I'm a rapid eater."
+
+"You'll promise you won't go away before that?"
+
+"If I do," was Hal's laughing reply, "it will be only to my place of
+business. You can look for me at the tipple, Cotton!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 21.
+
+The marshal went out, and a few moments later the jailer came back, with
+a meal which presented a surprising contrast to the ones he had
+previously served. There was a tray containing cold ham, a couple of
+soft boiled eggs, some potato salad, and a cup of coffee with rolls and
+butter.
+
+"Well, well!" said Hal, condescendingly. "That's even nicer than
+beefsteak and mashed potatoes!" He sat and watched, not offering to
+help, while the other made room for the tray on the table in front of
+him. Then the man stalked out, and Hal began to eat.
+
+Before he had finished, the camp-marshal returned. He seated himself in
+his revolving chair, and appeared to be meditative. Between bites, Hal
+would look up and smile at him.
+
+"Cotton," said he, "you know there is no more certain test of breeding
+than table-manners. You will observe that I have not tucked my napkin in
+my neck, as Alec Stone would have done."
+
+"I'm getting you," replied the marshal.
+
+Hal set his knife and fork side by side on his plate. "Your man has
+overlooked the finger-bowl," he remarked. "However, don't bother. You
+might ring for him now, and let him take the tray."
+
+The camp-marshal used his voice for a bell, and the jailer came.
+"Unfortunately," said Hal, "when your people were searching me, night
+before last, they dropped my purse, so I have no tip for the waiter."
+
+The "waiter" glared at Hal as if he would like to bite him; but the
+camp-marshal grinned. "Clear out, Gus, and shut the door," said he.
+
+Then Hal stretched his legs and made himself comfortable again. "I must
+say I like being your guest better than being your prisoner!"
+
+There was a pause.
+
+"I've been talking it over with Mr. Cartwright," began the marshal.
+"I've got no way of telling how much of this is bluff that you've been
+giving me, but it's evident enough that you're no miner. You may be some
+newfangled kind of agitator, but I'm damned if I ever saw an agitator
+that had tea-party manners. I suppose you've been brought up to money;
+but if that's so, why you want to do this kind of thing is more than I
+can imagine."
+
+"Tell me, Cotton," said Hal, "did you never hear of _ennui_?"
+
+"Yes," replied the other, "but aren't you rather young to be troubled
+with that complaint?"
+
+"Suppose I've seen others suffering from it, and wanted to try a
+different way of living from theirs?"
+
+"If you're what you say, you ought to be still in college."
+
+"I go back for my senior year this fall."
+
+"What college?"
+
+"You doubt me still, I see!" said Hal, and smiled. Then, unexpectedly,
+with a spirit which only moonlit campuses and privilege could beget, he
+chanted:
+
+  "Old King Coal was a merry old soul,
+    And a merry old soul was he;
+  He made him a college, all full of knowledge--
+    Hurrah for you and me!"
+
+"What college is that?" asked the marshal. And Hal sang again:
+
+  "Oh, Liza-Ann, come out with me,
+  The moon is a-shinin' in the monkey-puzzle tree!
+  Oh, Liza-Ann, I have began
+  To sing you the song of Harrigan!"
+
+"Well, well!" commented the marshal, when the concert was over. "Are
+there many more like you at Harrigan?"
+
+"A little group--enough to leaven the lump."
+
+"And this is your idea of a vacation?"
+
+"No, it isn't a vacation; it's a summer-course in practical sociology."
+
+"Oh, I see!" said the marshal; and he smiled in spite of himself.
+
+"All last year we let the professors of political economy hand out their
+theories to us. But somehow the theories didn't seem to correspond with
+the facts. I said to myself, 'I've got to check them up.' You know the
+phrases, perhaps--individualism, _laissez faire_, freedom of contract,
+the right of every man to work for whom he pleases. And here you see how
+the theories work out--a camp-marshal with a cruel smile on his face and
+a gun on his hip, breaking the laws faster than a governor can sign
+them."
+
+The camp-marshal decided suddenly that he had had enough of this
+"tea-party." He rose to his feet to cut matters short. "If you don't
+mind, young man," said he, "we'll get down to business!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 22.
+
+He took a turn about the room, then he came and stopped in front of Hal.
+He stood with his hands thrust into his pockets, with a certain jaunty
+grace that was out of keeping with his occupation. He was a handsome
+devil, Hal thought--in spite of his dangerous mouth, and the marks of
+dissipation on him.
+
+"Young man," he began, with another effort at geniality. "I don't know
+who you are, but you're wide awake; you've got your nerve with you, and I
+admire you. So I'm willing to call the thing off, and let you go back
+and finish that course at college."
+
+Hal had been studying the other's careful smile. "Cotton," he said, at
+last, "let me get the proposition clear. I don't have to say I took that
+money?"
+
+"No, we'll let you off from that."
+
+"And you won't send me to the pen?"
+
+"No. I never meant to do that, of course. I was only trying to bluff
+you. All I ask is that you clear out, and give our people a chance to
+forget."
+
+"But what's there in that for me, Cotton? If I had wanted to run away, I
+could have done it any time during the last eight or ten weeks."
+
+"Yes, of course, but now it's different. Now it's a matter of my
+consideration."
+
+"Cut out the consideration!" exclaimed Hal. "You want to get rid of me,
+and you'd like to do it without trouble. But you can't--so forget it."
+
+The other was staring, puzzled. "You mean you expect to stay here?"
+
+"I mean just that."
+
+"Young man, I've had enough of this! I've got no more time to play. I
+don't care who you are, I don't care about your threats. I'm the marshal
+of this camp, and I have the job of keeping order in it. I say you're
+going to get out!"
+
+"But, Cotton," said Hal, "this is an incorporated town! I have a right
+to walk on the streets--exactly as much right as you."
+
+"I'm not going to waste time arguing. I'm going to put you into an
+automobile and take you down to Pedro!"
+
+"And suppose I go to the District Attorney and demand that he prosecute
+you?"
+
+"He'll laugh at you."
+
+"And suppose I go to the Governor of the state?"
+
+"He'll laugh still louder."
+
+"All right, Cotton; maybe you know what you're doing; but I wonder--I
+wonder just how sure you feel. Has it never occurred to you that your
+superiors might not care to have you take these high-handed steps?"
+
+"My superiors? Who do you mean?"
+
+"There's one man in the state you must respect--even though you despise
+the District Attorney and the Governor. That is Peter Harrigan."
+
+"Peter Harrigan?" echoed the other; and then he burst into a laugh.
+"Well, you _are_ a merry lad!"
+
+Hal continued to study him, unmoved. "I wonder if you're sure! He'll
+stand for everything you've done."
+
+"He will!" said the other.
+
+"For the way you treat the workers? He knows you are giving short
+weights."
+
+"Oh hell!" said the other. "Where do you suppose he got the money for
+your college?"
+
+There was a pause; at last the marshal asked, defiantly, "Have you got
+what you want?"
+
+"Yes," replied Hal. "Of course, I thought it all along, but it's hard to
+convince other people. Old Peter's not like most of these Western
+wolves, you know; he's a pious high-church man."
+
+The marshal smiled grimly. "So long as there are sheep," said he,
+"there'll be wolves in sheep's clothing."
+
+"I see," said Hal. "And you leave them to feed on the lambs!"
+
+"If any lamb is silly enough to be fooled by that old worn-out skin,"
+remarked the marshal, "it deserves to be eaten."
+
+Hal was studying the cynical face in front of him. "Cotton," he said,
+"the shepherds are asleep; but the watch-dogs are barking. Haven't you
+heard them?"
+
+"I hadn't noticed."
+
+"They are barking, barking! They are going to wake the shepherds! They
+are going to save the sheep!"
+
+"Religion don't interest me," said the other, looking bored; "your kind
+any more than Old Peter's."
+
+And suddenly Hal rose to his feet. "Cotton," said he, "my place is with
+the flock! I'm going back to my job at the tipple!" And he started
+towards the door.
+
+
+
+SECTION 23.
+
+Jeff Cotton sprang forward. "Stop!" he cried.
+
+But Hal did not stop.
+
+"See here, young man!" cried the marshal. "Don't carry this joke too
+far!" And he sprang to the door, just ahead of his prisoner. His hand
+moved toward his hip.
+
+"Draw your gun, Cotton," said Hal; and, as the marshal obeyed, "Now I
+will stop. If I obey you in future, it will be at the point of your
+revolver."
+
+The marshal's mouth was dangerous-looking. "You may find that in this
+country there's not so much between the drawing of a gun and the firing
+of it!"
+
+"I've explained my attitude," replied Hal. "What are your orders?"
+
+"Come back and sit in this chair."
+
+So Hal sat, and the marshal went to his desk, and took up the telephone.
+"Number seven," he said, and waited a moment. "That you, Tom? Bring the
+car right away."
+
+He hung up the receiver, and there followed a silence; finally Hal
+inquired, "I'm going to Pedro?"
+
+There was no reply.
+
+"I see I've got on your nerves," said Hal. "But I don't suppose it's
+occurred to you that you deprived me of my money last night. Also, I've
+an account with the company, some money coming to me for my work? What
+about that?"
+
+The marshal took up the receiver and gave another number. "Hello,
+Simpson. This is Cotton. Will you figure out the time of Joe Smith,
+buddy in Number Two, and send over the cash. Get his account at the
+store; and be quick, we're waiting for it. He's going out in a hurry."
+Again he hung up the receiver.
+
+"Tell me," said Hal, "did you take that trouble for Mike Sikoria?"
+
+There was silence.
+
+"Let me suggest that when you get my time, you give me part of it in
+scrip. I want it for a souvenir."
+
+Still there was silence.
+
+"You know," persisted the prisoner, tormentingly, "there's a law against
+paying wages in scrip."
+
+The marshal was goaded to speech. "We don't pay in scrip."
+
+"But you do, man! You know you do!"
+
+"We give it when they ask their money ahead."
+
+"The law requires you to pay them twice a month, and you don't do it.
+You pay them once a month, and meantime, if they need money, you give
+them this imitation money!"
+
+"Well, if it satisfies them, where's your kick?"
+
+"If it doesn't satisfy them, you put them on the train and ship them
+out?"
+
+The marshal sat in silence, tapping impatiently with his fingers on the
+desk.
+
+"Cotton," Hal began, again, "I'm out for education, and there's
+something I'd like you to explain to me--a problem in human psychology.
+When a man puts through a deal like this, what does he tell himself
+about it?"
+
+"Young man," said the marshal, "if you'll pardon me, you are getting to
+be a bore."
+
+"Oh, but we've got an automobile ride before us! Surely we can't sit in
+silence all the way!" After a moment he added, in a coaxing tone, "I
+really want to learn, you know. You might be able to win me over."
+
+"No!" said Cotton, promptly. "I'll not go in for anything like that!"
+
+"But why not?"
+
+"Because, I'm no match for you in long-windedness. I've heard you
+agitators before, you're all alike: you think the world is run by
+talk--but it isn't."
+
+Hal had come to realise that he was not getting anywhere in his duel
+with the camp-marshal. He had made every effort to get somewhere; he had
+argued, threatened, bluffed, he had even sung songs for the marshal! But
+the marshal was going to ship him out, that was all there was to it.
+
+Hal had gone on with the quarrel, simply because he had to wait for the
+automobile, and because he had endured indignities and had to vent his
+anger and disappointment. But now he stopped quarrelling suddenly. His
+attention was caught by the marshal's words, "You think the world is run
+by talk!" Those were the words Hal's brother always used! And also, the
+marshal had said, "You agitators!" For years it had been one of the
+taunts Hal had heard from his brother, "You will turn into one of these
+agitators!" Hal had answered, with boyish obstinacy, "I don't care if I
+do!" And now, here the marshal was calling him an agitator, seriously,
+without an apology, without the license of blood relationship. He
+repeated the words, "That's what gets me about you agitators--you come
+in here trying to stir these people up--"
+
+So that was the way Hal seemed to the "G. F. C."! He had come here
+intending to be a spectator, to stand on the deck of the steamer and
+look down into the ocean of social misery. He had considered every step
+so carefully before he took it! He had merely tried to be a
+check-weighman, nothing more! He had told Tom Olson he would not go in
+for unionism; he had had a distrust of union organisers, of agitators of
+all sorts--blind, irresponsible persons who went about stirring up
+dangerous passions. He had come to admire Tom Olson--but that had only
+partly removed his prejudices; Olson was only one agitator, not the
+whole lot of them!
+
+But all his consideration for the company had counted for nothing;
+likewise all his efforts to convince the marshal that he was a
+leisure-class person. In spite of all Hal's "tea-party manners," the
+marshal had said, "You agitators!" What was he judging by, Hal wondered.
+Had he, Hal Warner, come to look like one of these blind, irresponsible
+persons? It was time that he took stock of himself!
+
+Had two months of "dirty work" in the bowels of the earth changed him
+so? The idea was bound to be disconcerting to one who had been a
+favourite of the ladies! Did he talk like it?--he who had been "kissing
+the Blarney-stone!" The marshal had said he was "long-winded!" Well, to
+be sure, he had talked a lot; but what could the man expect--having shut
+him up in jail for two nights and a day, with only his grievances to
+brood over! Was that the way real agitators were made--being shut up
+with grievances to brood over?
+
+Hal recalled his broodings in the jail. He had been embittered; he had
+not cared whether North Valley was dominated by labour unions. But that
+had all been a mood, the same as his answer to his brother; that was
+jail psychology, a part of his summer course in practical sociology. He
+had put it aside; but apparently it had made a deeper impression upon
+him than he had realised. It had changed his physical aspect! It had
+made him look and talk like an agitator! It had made him
+"irresponsible," "blind!"
+
+Yes, that was it! All this dirt, ignorance, disease, this knavery and
+oppression, this maiming of men in body and soul in the coal-camps of
+America--all this did not exist--it was the hallucination of an
+"irresponsible" brain! There was the evidence of Hal's brother and the
+camp-marshal to prove it; there was the evidence of the whole world to
+prove it! The camp-marshal and his brother and the whole world could not
+be "blind!" And if you talked to them about these conditions, they
+shrugged their shoulders, they called you a "dreamer," a "crank," they
+said you were "off your trolley"; or else they became angry and bitter,
+they called you names; they said, "You agitators!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 24.
+
+The camp-marshal of North Valley had been "agitated" to such an extent
+that he could not stay in his chair. All the harassments of his troubled
+career had come pouring into his mind. He had begun pacing the floor,
+and was talking away, regardless of whether Hal listened or not.
+
+"A campful of lousy wops! They can't understand any civilised language,
+they've only one idea in the world--to shirk every lick of work they
+can, to fill up their cars with slate and rock and blame it on some
+other fellow, and go off to fill themselves with booze. They won't work
+fair, they won't fight fair--they fight with a knife in the back! And
+you agitators with your sympathy for them--why the hell do they come to
+this country, unless they like it better than their own?"
+
+Hal had heard this question before; but they had to wait for the
+automobile--and being sure that he was an agitator now, he would make
+all the trouble he could! "The reason is obvious enough," he said.
+"Isn't it true that the 'G. F. C.' employs agents abroad to tell them of
+the wonderful pay they get in America?"
+
+"Well, they get it, don't they? Three times what they ever got at home!"
+
+"Yes, but it doesn't do them any good. There's another fact which the
+'G. F. C.' doesn't mention--that the cost of living is even higher than
+the wages. Then, too, they're led to think of America as a land of
+liberty; they come, hoping for a better chance for themselves and their
+children; but they find a camp-marshal who's off in his geography--who
+thinks the Rocky Mountains are somewhere in Russia!"
+
+"I know that line of talk!" exclaimed the other. "I learned to wave the
+starry flag when I was a kid. But I tell you, you've got to get coal
+mined, and it isn't the same thing as running a Fourth of July
+celebration. Some church people make a law they shan't work on
+Sunday--and what comes of that? They have thirty-six hours to get soused
+in, and so they can't work on Monday!"
+
+"Surely there's a remedy, Cotton! Suppose the company refused to rent
+buildings to saloon-keepers?"
+
+"Good God! You think we haven't tried it? They go down to Pedro for the
+stuff, and bring back all they can carry--inside them and out. And if we
+stop that--then our hands move to some other camps, where they can spend
+their money as they please. No, young man, when you have such cattle,
+you have to drive them! And it takes a strong hand to do it--a man like
+Peter Harrigan. If there's to be any coal, if industry's to go on, if
+there's to be any progress--"
+
+"We have that in our song!" laughed Hal, breaking into the
+camp-marshal's discourse--
+
+  "He keeps them a-roll, that merry old soul--
+    The wheels of industree;
+  A-roll and a-roll, for his pipe and his bowl
+    And his college facultee!"
+
+"Yes," growled the marshal. "It's easy enough for you smart young chaps
+to make verses, while you're living at ease on the old man's bounty. But
+that don't answer any argument. Are you college boys ready to take over
+his job? Or these Democrat politicians that come in here, talking
+fool-talk about liberty, making labour laws for these wops--"
+
+"I begin to understand," said Hal. "You object to the politicians who
+pass the laws, you doubt their motives--and so you refuse to obey. But
+why didn't you tell me sooner you were an anarchist?"
+
+"Anarchist?" cried the marshal. "_Me_ an anarchist?"
+
+"That's what an anarchist is, isn't it?"
+
+"Good God! If that isn't the limit! You come here, stirring up the
+men--a union agitator, or whatever you are--and you know that the first
+idea of these people, when they do break loose, is to put dynamite in
+the shafts and set fire to the buildings!"
+
+"Do they do that?" There was surprise in Hal's tone.
+
+"Haven't you read what they did in the last big strike? That dough-faced
+old preacher, John Edstrom, could tell you. He was one of the bunch."
+
+"No," said Hal, "you're mistaken. Edstrom has a different philosophy.
+But others did, I've no doubt. And since I've been here, I can
+understand their point of view entirely. When they set fire to the
+buildings, it was because they thought you and Alec Stone might be
+inside."
+
+The marshal did not smile.
+
+"They want to destroy the properties," continued Hal, "because that's
+the only way they can think of to punish the tyranny and greed of the
+owners. But, Cotton, suppose some one were to put a new idea into their
+heads; suppose some one were to say to them, 'Don't destroy the
+properties--_take them!_'"
+
+The other stared. "Take them! So that's your idea of morality!"
+
+"It would be more moral than the method by which Peter got them in the
+beginning."
+
+"What method is that?" demanded the marshal, with some appearance of
+indignation. "He paid the market-price for them, didn't he?"
+
+"He paid the market-price for politicians. Up in Western City I happen
+to know a lady who was a school-commissioner when he was buying
+school-lands from the state--lands that were known to contain coal. He
+was paying three dollars an acre, and everybody knew they were worth
+three thousand."
+
+"Well," said Cotton, "if you don't buy the politicians, you wake up some
+fine morning and find that somebody else has bought them. If you have
+property, you have to protect it."
+
+"Cotton," said Hal, "you sell Old Peter your time--but surely you might
+keep part of your brains! Enough to look at your monthly pay-check and
+realise that you too are a wage-slave, not much better than the miners
+you despise."
+
+The other smiled. "My check might be bigger, I admit; but I've figured
+over it, and I think I have an easier time than you agitators. I'm
+top-dog, and I expect to stay on top."
+
+"Well, Cotton, on that view of life, I don't wonder you get drunk now
+and then. A dog-fight, with no faith or humanity anywhere! Don't think
+I'm sneering at you--I'm talking out of my heart to you. I'm not so
+young, nor such a fool, that I haven't had the dog-fight aspect of
+things brought to my attention. But there's something in a fellow that
+insists he isn't all dog; he has at least a possibility of something
+better. Take these poor under-dogs sweating inside the mountain, risking
+their lives every hour of the day and night to provide you and me with
+coal to keep us warm--to 'keep the wheels of industry a-roll'--"
+
+
+
+SECTION 25.
+
+These were the last words Hal spoke. They were obvious enough words, yet
+when he looked back upon the coincidence, it seemed to him a singular
+one. For while he was sitting there chatting, it happened that the poor
+under-dogs inside the mountain were in the midst of one of those
+experiences which make the romance and terror of coal-mining. One of the
+boys who were employed underground, in violation of the child labour
+law, was in the act of bungling his task. He was a "spragger," whose
+duty it was to thrust a stick into the wheel of a loaded car to hold it;
+and he was a little chap, and the car was in motion when he made the
+attempt. It knocked him against the wall--and so there was a load of
+coal rolling down grade, pursued too late by half a dozen men. Gathering
+momentum, it whirled round a curve and flew from the track, crashing
+into timbers and knocking them loose. With the timbers came a shower of
+coal-dust, accumulated for decades in these old workings; and at the
+same time came an electric light wire, which, as it touched the car,
+produced a spark.
+
+And so it was that Hal, chatting with the marshal, suddenly felt, rather
+than heard, a deafening roar; he felt the air about him turn into a
+living thing which struck him a mighty blow, hurling him flat upon the
+floor. The windows of the room crashed inward upon him in a shower of
+glass, and the plaster of the ceiling came down on his head in another
+shower.
+
+When he raised himself, half stunned, he saw the marshal, also on the
+floor; these two conversationalists stared at each other with horrified
+eyes. Even as they crouched, there came a crash above their heads, and
+half the ceiling of the room came toward them, with a great piece of
+timber sticking through. All about them were other crashes, as if the
+end of the world had come.
+
+They struggled to their feet, and rushing to the door, flung it open,
+just as a jagged piece of timber shattered the side-walk in front of
+them. They sprang back again, "Into the cellar!" cried the marshal,
+leading the way to the back-stairs.
+
+But before they had started down these stairs, they realised that the
+crashing had ceased. "What is it?" gasped Hal, as they stood.
+
+"Mine-explosion," said the other; and after a few seconds they ran to
+the door again.
+
+The first thing they saw was a vast pillar of dust and smoke, rising
+into the sky above them. It spread before their dazed eyes, until it
+made night of everything about them. There was still a rain of lighter
+debris pattering down over the village; as they stared, and got their
+wits about them, remembering how things had looked before this, they
+realised that the shaft-house of Number One had disappeared.
+
+"Blown up, by God!" cried the marshal; and the two ran out into the
+street, and looking up, saw that a portion of the wrecked building had
+fallen through the roof of the jail above their heads.
+
+The rain of debris had now ceased, but there were clouds of dust which
+covered the two men black; the clouds grew worse, until they could
+hardly see their way at all. And with the darkness there fell silence,
+which, after the sound of the explosion and the crashing of debris,
+seemed the silence of death.
+
+For a few moments Hal stood dazed. He saw a stream of men and boys
+pouring from the breaker; while from every street there appeared a
+stream of women; women old, women young--leaving their cooking on the
+stove, their babies in the crib, with their older children screaming at
+their skirts, they gathered in swarms about the pit-mouth, which was
+like the steaming crater of a volcano.
+
+Cartwright, the superintendent, appeared, running toward the fan-house.
+Cotton joined him, and Hal followed. The fan-house was a wreck, the
+giant fan lying on the ground a hundred feet away, its blades smashed.
+Hal was too inexperienced in mine-matters to get the full significance
+of this; but he saw the marshal and the superintendent stare blankly at
+each other, and heard the former's exclamation, "That does for us!"
+Cartwright said not a word; but his thin lips were pressed together, and
+there was fear in his eyes.
+
+Back to the smoking pit-mouth the two men hurried, with Hal following.
+Here were a hundred, two hundred women crowded, clamouring questions all
+at once. They swarmed about the marshal, the superintendent, the other
+bosses--even about Hal, crying hysterically in Polish and Bohemian and
+Greek. When Hal shook his head, indicating that he did not understand
+them, they moaned in anguish, or shrieked aloud. Some continued to stare
+into the smoking pit-mouth; others covered the sight from their eyes, or
+sank down upon their knees, sobbing, praying with uplifted hands.
+
+Little by little Hal began to realise the full horror of a
+mine-disaster. It was not noise and smoke and darkness, nor frantic,
+wailing women; it was not anything above ground, but what was below in
+the smoking black pit! It was men! Men whom Hal knew, whom he had worked
+with and joked with, whose smiles he had shared; whose daily life he had
+come to know! Scores, possibly hundreds of them, they were down here
+under his feet--some dead, others injured, maimed. What would they do?
+What would those on the surface do for them? Hal tried to get to Cotton,
+to ask him questions; but the camp-marshal was surrounded, besieged. He
+was pushing the women back, exclaiming, "Go away! Go home!"
+
+What? Go home? they cried. When their men were in the mine? They crowded
+about him closer, imploring, shrieking.
+
+"Get out!" he kept exclaiming. "There's nothing you can do! There's
+nothing anybody can do yet! Go home! Go home!" He had to beat them back
+by force, to keep them from pushing one another into the pit-mouth.
+
+Everywhere Hal looked were women in attitudes of grief: standing rigid,
+staring ahead of them as if in a trance; sitting down, rocking to and
+fro; on their knees with faces uplifted in prayer; clutching their
+terrified children about their skirts. He saw an Austrian woman, a
+pitiful, pale young thing with a ragged grey shawl about her head,
+stretching out her hands and crying: "Mein Mann! Mein Mann!" Presently
+she covered her face, and her voice died into a wail of despair: "O,
+mein Mann! O, mein Mann!" She turned away, staggering about like some
+creature that has received a death wound. Hal's eyes followed her; her
+cry, repeated over and over incessantly, became the leit-motif of this
+symphony of horror.
+
+He had read about mine-disasters in his morning newspaper; but here a
+mine-disaster became a thing of human flesh and blood. The unendurable
+part of it was the utter impotence of himself and of all the world. This
+impotence became clearer to him each moment--from the exclamations of
+Cotton and of the men he questioned. It was monstrous, incredible--but
+it was so! They must send for a new fan, they must wait for it to be
+brought in, they must set it up and get it into operation; they must
+wait for hours after that while smoke and gas were cleared out of the
+main passages of the mine; and until this had been done, there was
+nothing they could do--absolutely nothing! The men inside the mine would
+stay. Those who had not been killed outright would make their way into
+the remoter chambers, and barricade themselves against the deadly "after
+damp." They would wait, without food or water, with air of doubtful
+quality--they would wait and wait, until the rescue-crew could get to
+them!
+
+
+
+SECTION 26.
+
+At moments in the midst of this confusion, Hal found himself trying to
+recall who had worked in Number One, among the people he knew. He
+himself had been employed in Number Two, so he had naturally come to
+know more men in that mine. But he had known some from the other
+mine--Old Rafferty for one, and Mary Burke's father for another, and at
+least one of the members of his check-weighman group--Zamierowski. Hal
+saw in a sudden vision the face of this patient little man, who smiled
+so good-naturedly while Americans were trying to say his name. And Old
+Rafferty, with all his little Rafferties, and his piteous efforts to
+keep the favour of his employers! And poor Patrick Burke, whom Hal had
+never seen sober; doubtless he was sober now, if he was still alive!
+
+Then in the crowd Hal encountered Jerry Minetti, and learned that
+another man who had been down was Farenzena, the Italian whose
+"fanciulla" had played with him; and yet another was Judas
+Apostolikas--having taken his thirty pieces of silver with him into the
+deathtrap!
+
+People were making up lists, just as Hal was doing, by asking questions
+of others. These lists were subject to revision--sometimes under
+dramatic circumstances. You saw a woman weeping, with her apron to her
+eyes; suddenly she would look up, give a piercing cry, and fling her
+arms about the neck of some man. As for Hal, he felt as if he were
+encountering a ghost when suddenly he recognised Patrick Burke, standing
+in the midst of a group of people. He went over and heard the old man's
+story--how there was a Dago fellow who had stolen his timbers, and he
+had come up to the surface for more; so his life had been saved, while
+the timber-thief was down there still--a judgment of Providence upon
+mine-miscreants!
+
+Presently Hal asked if Burke had been to tell his family. He had run
+home, he said, but there was nobody there. So Hal began pushing his way
+through the throngs, looking for Mary, or her sister Jennie, or her
+brother Tommie. He persisted in this search, although it occurred to him
+to wonder whether the family of a hopeless drunkard would appreciate the
+interposition of Providence in his behalf.
+
+He encountered Olson, who had had a narrow escape, being employed as a
+surface-man near the hoist. All this was an old story to the organiser,
+who had worked in mines since he was eight years old, and had seen many
+kinds of disaster. He began to explain things to Hal, in a matter of
+fact way. The law required a certain number of openings to every mine,
+also an escape-way with ladders by which men could come out; but it cost
+good money to dig holes in the ground.
+
+At this time the immediate cause of the explosion was unknown, but they
+could tell it was a "dust explosion" by the clouds of coke-dust, and no
+one who had been into the mine and seen its dry condition would doubt
+what they would find when they went down and traced out the "force" and
+its effects. They were supposed to do regular sprinkling, but in such
+matters the bosses used their own judgment.
+
+Hal was only half listening to these explanations. The thing was too raw
+and too horrible to him. What difference did it make whose fault it was?
+The accident had happened, and the question was now how to meet the
+emergency! Underneath Olson's sentences he heard the cry of men and boys
+being asphyxiated in dark dungeons--he heard the wailing of women, like
+a surf beating on a distant shore, or the faint, persistent
+accompaniment of muted strings: "O, mein Mann! O, mein Mann!"
+
+They came upon Jeff Cotton again. With half a dozen men to help him, he
+was pushing back the crowd from the pit-mouth, and stretching barbed
+wired to hold them back. He was none too gentle about it, Hal thought;
+but doubtless women are provoking when they are hysterical. He was
+answering their frenzied questions, "Yes, yes! We're getting a new fan.
+We're doing everything we can, I tell you. We'll get them out. Go home
+and wait."
+
+But of course no one would go home. How could a woman sit in her house,
+or go about her ordinary tasks of cooking or washing, while her man
+might be suffering asphyxiation under the ground? The least she could do
+was to stand at the pit-mouth--as near to him as she could get! Some of
+them stood motionless, hour after hour, while others wandered through
+the village streets, asking the same people, over and over again, if
+they had seen their loved ones. Several had turned up, like Patrick
+Burke; there seemed always a chance for one more.
+
+
+
+SECTION 27.
+
+In the course of the afternoon Hal came upon Mary Burke on the street.
+She had long ago found her father, and seen him off to O'Callahan's to
+celebrate the favours of Providence. Now Mary was concerned with a
+graver matter. Number Two Mine was in danger! The explosion in Number
+One had been so violent that the gearing of the fan of the other mine,
+nearly a mile up the canyon, had been thrown out of order. So the fan
+had stopped; and when some one had gone to Alec Stone, asking that he
+bring out the men, Stone had refused. "What do ye think he said?" cried
+Mary. "What do ye think? 'Damn the men! Save the mules!'"
+
+Hal had all but lost sight of the fact that there was a second mine in
+the village, in which hundreds of men and boys were still at work.
+"Wouldn't they know about the explosion?" he asked.
+
+"They might have heard the noise," said Mary. "But they'd not know what
+it was; and the bosses won't tell them till they've got out the mules."
+
+For all that he had seen in North Valley, Hal could hardly credit that
+story. "How do you know it, Mary?"
+
+"Young Rovetta just told me. He was there, and heard it with his own
+ears."
+
+He was staring at her. "Let's go and make sure," he said, and they
+started up the main street of the village. On the way they were joined
+by others--for already the news of this fresh trouble had begun to
+spread. Jeff Cotton went past them in an automobile, and Mary exclaimed,
+"I told ye so! When ye see him goin', ye know there's dirty work to be
+done!"
+
+They came to the shaft-house of Number Two, and found a swarm of people,
+almost a riot. Women and children were shrieking and gesticulating,
+threatening to break into the office and use the mine-telephone to warn
+the men themselves. And here was the camp-marshal driving them back. Hal
+and Mary arrived in time to see Mrs. David, whose husband was at work in
+Number Two, shaking her fist in the marshal's face and screaming at him
+like a wild-cat. He drew his revolver upon her; and at this Hal started
+forward. A blind fury seized him--he would have thrown himself upon the
+marshal.
+
+But Mary Burke stopped him, flinging her arms about him, and pinning him
+by main force. "No, no!" she cried. "Stay back, man! D'ye want to get
+killed?"
+
+He was amazed at her strength. He was amazed also at the vehemence of
+her emotion. She was calling him a crazy fool, and names even more
+harsh. "Have ye no more sense than a woman? Running into the mouth of a
+revolver like that!"
+
+The crisis passed in a moment, for Mrs. David fell back, and then the
+marshal put up his weapon. But Mary continued scolding Hal, trying to
+drag him away. "Come on now! Come out of here!"
+
+"But, Mary! We must do something!"
+
+"Ye can do nothin', I tell ye! Ye'd ought to have sense enough to know
+it. I'll not let ye get yeself murdered! Come away now!" And half by
+force and half by cajoling, she got him farther down the street.
+
+He was trying to think out the situation. Were the men in Number Two
+really in danger? Could it be possible that the bosses would take such a
+chance in cold blood? And right at this moment, with the disaster in the
+other mine before their eyes! He could not believe it; and meantime
+Mary, at his side, was declaring that the men were in no real danger--it
+was only Alec Stone's brutal words that had set her crazy.
+
+"Don't ye remember the time when the air-course was blocked before, and
+ye helped to get up the mules yeself? Ye thought nothin' of it then, and
+'tis the same now. They'll get everybody out in time!"
+
+She was concealing her real feelings in order to keep him safe; he let
+her lead him on, while he tried to think of something else to do. He
+would think of the men in Number Two; they were his best friends, Jack
+David, Tim Rafferty, Wresmak, Androkulos, Klowoski. He would think of
+them, in their remote dungeons--breathing bad air, becoming sick and
+faint--in order that mules might be saved! He would stop in his tracks,
+and Mary would drag him on, repeating over and over, "Ye can do nothin'!
+Nothin'!" And then he would think, What could he do? He had put up his
+best bluff to Jeff Cotton a few hours earlier, and the answer had been
+the muzzle of the marshal's revolver in his face. All he could
+accomplish now would be to bring himself to Cotton's attention, and be
+thrust out of camp forthwith.
+
+
+
+SECTION 28.
+
+They came to Mary's home; and next door was the home of the Slav woman,
+Mrs. Zamboni, about whom in the past she had told him so many funny
+stories. Mrs. Zamboni had had a new baby every year for sixteen years,
+and eleven of these babies were still alive. Now her husband was trapped
+in Number One, and she was distracted, wandering about the streets with
+the greater part of her brood at her heels. At intervals she would emit
+a howl like a tortured animal, and her brood would take it up in various
+timbres. Hal stopped to listen to the sounds, but Mary put her fingers
+into her ears and fled into the house. Hal followed her, and saw her
+fling herself into a chair and burst into hysterical weeping. And
+suddenly Hal realised what a strain this terrible affair had been upon
+Mary. It had been bad enough to him--but he was a man, and more able to
+contemplate sights of horror. Men went to their deaths in industry and
+war, and other men saw them go and inured themselves to the spectacle.
+But women were the mothers of these men; it was women who bore them in
+pain, nursed them and reared them with endless patience--women could
+never become inured to the spectacle! Then too, the women's fate was
+worse. If the men were dead, that was the end of them; but the women
+must face the future, with its bitter memories, its lonely and desolate
+struggle for existence. The women must see the children suffering, dying
+by slow stages of deprivation.
+
+Hal's pity for all suffering women became concentrated upon the girl
+beside him. He knew how tenderhearted she was. She had no man in the
+mine, but some day she would have, and she was suffering the pangs of
+that inexorable future. He looked at her, huddled in her chair, wiping
+away her tears with the hem of her old blue calico. She seemed
+unspeakably pathetic--like a child that has been hurt. She was sobbing
+out sentences now and then, as if to herself: "Oh, the poor women, the
+poor women! Did ye see the face of Mrs. Jonotch? She'd jumped into the
+smoking pit-mouth if they'd let her!"
+
+"Don't suffer so, Mary!" pleaded Hal--as if he thought she could stop.
+
+"Let me alone!" she cried. "Let me have it out!" And Hal, who had had no
+experience with hysteria, stood helplessly by.
+
+"There's more misery than I ever knew there was!" she went on. "'Tis
+everywhere ye turn, a woman with her eyes burnin' with suffering
+wondering if she'll ever see her man again! Or some mother whose lad may
+be dying and she can do nothin' for him!"
+
+"And neither can you do anything, Mary," Hal pleaded again. "You're only
+sorrowing yourself to death."
+
+"Ye say that to me?" she cried. "And when ye were ready to let Jeff
+Cotton shoot ye, because you were so sorry for Mrs. David! No, the
+sights here nobody can stand."
+
+He could think of nothing to answer. He drew up a chair and sat by her
+in silence, and after a while she began to grow calmer, and wiped away
+her tears, and sat gazing dully through the doorway into the dirty
+little street.
+
+Hal's eyes followed hers. There were the ash-heaps and tomato-cans,
+there were two of Mrs. Zamboni's bedraggled brood, poking with sticks
+into a dump-heap--looking for something to eat, perhaps, or for
+something to play with. There was the dry, waste grass of the road-side,
+grimy with coal-dust, as was everything else in the village. What a
+scene!--And this girl's eyes had never a sight of anything more
+inspiring than this. Day in and day out, all her life long, she looked
+at this scene! Had he ever for a moment reproached her for her "black
+moods"? With such an environment could men or women be cheerful--could
+they dream of beauty, aspire to heights of nobility and courage, to
+happy service of their fellows? There was a miasma of despair over this
+place; it was not a real place--it was a dream-place--a horrible,
+distorted nightmare! It was like the black hole in the ground which
+haunted Hal's imagination, with men and boys at the bottom of it, dying
+of asphyxiation!
+
+Suddenly it came to Hal--he wanted to get away from North Valley! To get
+away at all costs! The place had worn down his courage; slowly, day
+after day, the sight of misery and want, of dirt and disease, of hunger,
+oppression, despair, had eaten the soul out of him, had undermined his
+fine structure of altruistic theories. Yes, he wanted to escape--to a
+place where the sun shone, where the grass grew green, where human
+beings stood erect and laughed and were free. He wanted to shut from his
+eyes the dust and smoke of this nasty little village; to stop his ears
+to that tormenting sound of women wailing: "O, mein Mann! O, mein Mann!"
+
+He looked at the girl, who sat staring before her, bent forward, her
+arms hanging limply over her knees.
+
+"Mary," he said, "you must go away from here! It's no place for a
+tenderhearted girl to be. It's no place for any one!"
+
+She gazed at him dully for a moment. "It was me that was tellin' _you_
+to go away," she said, at last. "Ever since ye came here I been sayin'
+it! Now I guess ye know what I mean."
+
+"Yes," he said, "I do, and I want to go. But I want you to go too."
+
+"D'ye think 'twould do me any good, Joe?" she asked. "D'ye think 'twould
+do me any good to get away? Could I ever forget the sights I've seen
+this day? Could I ever have any real, honest happiness anywhere after
+this?"
+
+He tried to reassure her, but he was far from reassured himself. How
+would it be with him? Would he ever feel that he had a right to
+happiness after this? Could he take any satisfaction in a pleasant and
+comfortable world, knowing that it was based upon such hideous misery?
+His thoughts went to that world, where careless, pleasure-loving people
+sought gratification of their desires. It came to him suddenly that what
+he wanted more than to get away was to bring those people here, if only
+for a day, for an hour, that they might hear this chorus of wailing
+women!
+
+
+
+SECTION 29.
+
+Mary made Hal swear that he would not get into a fight with Cotton; then
+they went to Number Two. They found the mules coming up, and the bosses
+promising that in a short while the men would be coming. Everything was
+all right--there was not a bit of danger! But Mary was afraid to trust
+Hal, in spite of his promise, so she lured him back to Number One.
+
+They found that a rescue-car had just arrived from Pedro, bringing
+doctors and nurses, also several "helmets." These "helmets" were strange
+looking contrivances, fastened over the head and shoulders, air-tight,
+and provided with oxygen sufficient to last for an hour or more. The men
+who wore them sat in a big bucket which was let down the shaft with a
+windlass, and every now and then they pulled on a signal-cord to let
+those on the surface know they were alive. When the first of them came
+back, he reported that there were bodies near the foot of the shaft, but
+apparently all dead. There was heavy black smoke, indicating a fire
+somewhere in the mine; so nothing more could be done until the fan had
+been set up. By reversing the fan, they could draw out the smoke and
+gases and clear the shaft.
+
+The state mine-inspector had been notified, but was ill at home, and was
+sending one of his deputies. Under the law this official would have
+charge of all the rescue work, but Hal found that the miners took no
+interest in his presence. It had been his duty to prevent the accident,
+and he had not done so. When he came, he would do what the company
+wanted.
+
+Some time after dark the workers began to come out of Number Two, and
+their women, waiting at the pit-mouth, fell upon their necks with cries
+of thankfulness. Hal observed other women, whose men were in Number One,
+and would perhaps never come out again, standing and watching these
+greetings with wistful, tear-filled eyes. Among those who came out was
+Jack David, and Hal walked home with him and his wife, listening to the
+latter abuse Jeff Cotton and Alec Stone, which was an education in the
+vocabulary of class-consciousness. The little Welsh woman repeated the
+pit-boss's saying, "Damn the men, save the mules!" She said it again and
+again--it seemed to delight her like a work of art, it summed up so
+perfectly the attitude of the bosses to their men! There were many other
+people repeating that saying, Hal found; it went all over the village,
+in a few days it went all over the district. It summed up what the
+district believed to be the attitude of the coal-operators to the
+workers!
+
+Having got over the first shock of the disaster, Hal wanted information,
+and he questioned Big Jack, a solid and well-read man who had given
+thought to every aspect of the industry. In his quiet, slow way, he
+explained to Hal that the frequency of accidents in this district was
+not due to any special difficulty in operating these mines, the
+explosiveness of the gases or the dryness of the atmosphere. It was
+merely the carelessness of those in charge, their disregard of the laws
+for the protection of the men. There ought to be a law with "teeth" in
+it--for example, one providing that for every man killed in a coal-mine
+his heirs should receive a thousand dollars, regardless of who had been
+to blame for the accident. Then you would see how quickly the operators
+would get busy and find remedies for the "unusual" dangers!
+
+As it was, they knew that no matter how great their culpability, they
+could get off with slight loss. Already, no doubt, their lawyers were on
+the spot, and by the time the first bodies were brought out, they would
+be fixing things up with the families. They would offer a widow a ticket
+back to the old country; they would offer a whole family of orphaned
+children, maybe fifty dollars, maybe a hundred dollars--and it would be
+a case of take it or leave it. You could get nothing from the courts;
+the case was so hopeless that you could not even find a lawyer to make
+the attempt. That was one reform in which the companies believed, said
+"Big Jack," with sarcasm; they had put the "shyster lawyer" out of
+business!
+
+
+
+SECTION 30.
+
+There followed a night and then another day of torturing suspense. The
+fan came, but it had to be set up before anything could be done. As
+volumes of black smoke continued to pour from the shaft, the opening was
+made tight with a board and canvas cover; it was necessary, the bosses
+said, but to Hal it seemed the climax of horror. To seal up men and boys
+in a place of deadly gases!
+
+There was something peculiarly torturing in the idea of men caught in a
+mine; they were directly under one's feet, yet it was impossible to get
+to them, to communicate with them in any way! The people on top yearned
+to them, and they, down below, yearned back. It was impossible to forget
+them for even a few minutes. People would become abstracted while they
+talked, and would stand staring into space; suddenly, in the midst of a
+crowd, a woman would bury her face in her hands and burst into tears,
+and then all the others would follow suit.
+
+Few people slept in North Valley during those two nights. They held
+mourning parties in their homes or on the streets. Some house-work had
+to be done, of course, but no one did anything that could be left
+undone. The children would not play; they stood about, silent, pale,
+like wizened-up grown people, over-mature in knowledge of trouble. The
+nerves of every one were on edge, the self-control of every one balanced
+upon a fine point.
+
+It was a situation bound to be fruitful in imaginings and rumours,
+stimulated to those inclined to signs and omens--the seers of ghosts, or
+those who went into trances, or possessed second sight or other
+mysterious gifts. There were some living in a remote part of the village
+who declared they had heard explosions under the ground, several blasts
+in quick succession. The men underground were setting off dynamite by
+way of signalling!
+
+In the course of the second day Hal sat with Mary Burke upon the steps
+of her home. Old Patrick lay within, having found the secret of oblivion
+at O'Callahan's. Now and then came the moaning of Mrs. Zamboni, who was
+in her cabin with her brood of children. Mary had been in to feed them,
+because the distracted mother let them starve and cry. Mary was worn
+out, herself; the wonderful Irish complexion had faded, and there were
+no curves to the vivid lips. They had been sitting in silence, for there
+was nothing to talk of but the disaster--and they had said all there was
+to say about that. But Hal had been thinking while he watched Mary.
+
+"Listen, Mary," he said, at last; "when this thing is over, you must
+really come away from here. I've thought it all out--I have friends in
+Western City who will give you work, so you can take care of yourself,
+and of your brother and sister too. Will you go?"
+
+But she did not answer. She continued to gaze indifferently into the
+dirty little street.
+
+"Truly, Mary," he went on. "Life isn't so terrible everywhere as it is
+here. Come away! Hard as it is to believe, you'll forget all this.
+People suffer, but then they stop suffering; it's nature's way--to make
+them forget."
+
+"Nature's way has been to beat me dead," said she.
+
+"Yes, Mary. Despair can become a disease, but it hasn't with you. You're
+just tired out. If you'll try to rouse yourself--" And he reached over
+and caught her hand with an attempt at playfulness. "Cheer up, Mary!
+You're coming away from North Valley."
+
+She turned and looked at him. "Am I?" she asked, impassively; and she
+went on studying his face. "Who are ye, Joe Smith? What are ye doin'
+here?"
+
+"Working in a coal-mine," he laughed, still trying to divert her.
+
+But she went on, as gravely as before. "Ye're no working man, that I
+know. And ye're always offering me help! Ye're always sayin' what ye can
+do for me!" She paused and there came some of the old defiance into her
+face. "Joe, ye can have no idea of the feelin's that have got hold of me
+just now. I'm ready to do something desperate; ye'd best be leavin' me
+alone, Joe!"
+
+"I think I understand, Mary. I would hardly blame you for anything you
+did."
+
+She took up his words eagerly. "Wouldn't ye, Joe? Ye're sure? Then what
+I want is to get the truth from ye. I want ye to talk it out fair!"
+
+"All right, Mary. What is it?"
+
+But her defiance had vanished suddenly. Her eyes dropped, and he saw her
+fingers picking nervously at a fold of her dress. "About us, Joe," she
+said. "I've thought sometimes ye cared for me. I've thought ye liked to
+be with me--not just because ye were sorry for me, but because of _me_.
+I've not been sure, but I can't help thinkin' it's so. Is it?"
+
+"Yes, it is," he said, a little uncertainly. "I _do_ care for you."
+
+"Then is it that ye don't care for that other girl all the time?"
+
+"No," he said, "it's not that."
+
+"Ye can care for two girls at the same time?"
+
+He did not know what to say. "It would seem that I can, Mary."
+
+She raised her eyes again and studied his face. "Ye told me about that
+other girl, and I been wonderin', was it only to put me off? Maybe it's
+me own fault, but I can't make meself believe in that other girl, Joe!"
+
+"You're mistaken, Mary," he answered, quickly. "What I told you was
+true."
+
+"Well, maybe so," she said, but there was no conviction in her tone. "Ye
+come away from her, and ye never go where she is or see her--it's hard
+to believe ye'd do that way if ye were very close to her. I just don't
+think ye love her as much as ye might. And ye say you do care some for
+me. So I've thought--I've wondered--"
+
+She stopped, forcing herself to meet his gaze: "I been tryin' to work it
+out! I know ye're too good a man for me, Joe. Ye come from a better
+place in life, ye've a right to expect more in a woman--"
+
+"It's not that, Mary!"
+
+But she cut him short. "I know that's true! Ye're only tryin' to save my
+feelin's. I know ye're better than me! I've tried hard to hold me head
+up, I've tried a long time not to let meself go to pieces. I've even
+tried to keep cheerful, telling meself I'd not want to be like Mrs.
+Zamboni, forever complainin'. But 'tis no use tellin' yourself lies! I
+been up to the church, and heard the Reverend Spragg tell the people
+that the rich and poor are the same in the sight of the Lord. And maybe
+'tis so, but I'm not the Lord, and I'll never pretend I'm not ashamed to
+be livin' in a place like this."
+
+"I'm sure the Lord has no interest in keeping you here--" he began.
+
+But she broke in, "What makes it so hard to bear is knowin' there's so
+many wonderful things in the world, and ye can never have them! 'Tis as
+if ye had to see them through a pane of glass, like in the window of a
+store. Just think, Joe Smith--once, in a church in Sheridan, I heard a
+lady sing beautiful music; once in my whole lifetime! Can ye guess what
+it meant to me?"
+
+"Yes, Mary, I can."
+
+"But I had that all out with meself--years ago. I knew the price a
+workin' girl has to pay for such things, and I said, I'll not let meself
+think about them. I've hated this place, I've wanted to get away--but
+there's only one way to go, to let some man take ye! So I've stayed;
+I've kept straight, Joe. I want ye to believe that."
+
+"Of course, Mary!"
+
+"No! It's not been 'of course'! It means ye have to fight with
+temptations. It's many a time I've looked at Jeff Cotton, and thought
+about the things I need! And I've done without! But now comes the thing
+a woman wants more than all the other things in the world!"
+
+She paused, but only for a moment. "They tell ye to love a man of your
+own class. Me old mother said that to me, before she died. But suppose
+ye didn't happen to? Suppose ye'd stopped and thought what it meant,
+havin' one baby after another, till ye're worn out and drop--like me old
+mother did? Suppose ye knew good manners when ye see them--ye knew
+interestin' talk when ye heard it!" She clasped her hands suddenly
+before her, exclaiming, "Ah, 'tis something different ye are, Joe--so
+different from anything around here! The way ye talk, the way ye move,
+the gay look in your eyes! No miner ever had that happy look, Joe; me
+heart stops beatin' almost when ye look at me!" She stopped with a sharp
+catching of her breath, and he saw that she was struggling for
+self-control. After a moment she exclaimed, defiantly: "But they'd tell
+ye, be careful, ye daren't love that kind of man; ye'd only have your
+heart broken!"
+
+There was silence. For this problem the amateur sociologist had no
+solution at hand--whether for the abstract question, or for its concrete
+application!
+
+
+
+SECTION 31.
+
+Mary forced herself to go on. "This is how I've worked it out, Joe! I
+said to meself, 'Ye love this man; and it's his _love_ ye want--nothin'
+else! If he's got a place in the world, ye'd only hold him back--and
+ye'd not want to do that. Ye don't want his name, or his friends, or any
+of those things--ye want _him_!' Have ye ever heard of such a thing as
+that?"
+
+Her cheeks were flaming, but she continued to meet his gaze. "Yes, I've
+heard of it," he answered, in a low voice.
+
+"What would ye say to it? Is it honest? The Reverend Spragg would say
+'twas the devil, no doubt; Father O'Gorman, down in Pedro, would call it
+mortal sin; and maybe they know--but I don't! I only know I can't stand
+it any more!"
+
+Tears sprang to her eyes, and she cried out suddenly, "Oh, take me away
+from here! Take me away and give me a chance, Joe! I'll ask nothing,
+I'll never stand in your way; I'll work for ye, I'll cook and wash and
+do everything for ye, I'll wear my fingers to the bone! Or I'll go out
+and work at some job, and earn my share. And I'll make ye this
+promise--if ever ye get tired and want to leave me, ye'll not hear a
+word of complaint!"
+
+She made no conscious appeal to his senses; she sat gazing at him
+honestly through her tears, and that made it all the harder to answer
+her.
+
+What could he say? He felt the old dangerous impulse--to take the girl
+in his arms and comfort her. When finally he spoke it was with an effort
+to keep his voice calm. "I'd say yes, Mary, if I thought it would work."
+
+"It _would_ work! It would, Joe! Ye can quit when ye want to. I mean
+it!"
+
+"There's no woman lives who can be happy on such terms, Mary. She wants
+her man, and she wants him to herself, and she wants him always; she's
+only deluding herself if she believes anything else. You're over-wrought
+now, what you've seen in the last few days has made you wild--"
+
+"No!" she exclaimed. "'Tis not only that! I been thinkin' about it for
+weeks."
+
+"I know. You've been thinking, but you wouldn't have spoken if it hadn't
+been for this horror." He paused for a moment, to renew his own
+self-possession. "It won't do, Mary," he declared. "I've seen it tried
+more than once, and I'm not so old either. My own brother tried it once,
+and ruined himself."
+
+"Ah, ye're afraid to trust me, Joe!"
+
+"No, it's not that; what I mean is--he ruined his own heart, he made
+himself selfish. He took everything, and gave nothing. He's much older
+than I, so I've had a chance to see its effect on him. He's cold, he has
+no faith, even in his own nature; when you talk to him about making the
+world better he tells you you're a fool."
+
+"It's another way of bein' afraid of me," she insisted. "Afraid you'd
+ought to marry me!"
+
+"But, Mary--there's the other girl. I really love her, and I'm promised
+to her. What can I do?"
+
+"'Tis that I've never believed you loved her," she said, in a whisper.
+Her eyes fell and she began picking nervously again at the faded blue
+dress, which was smutted and grease-stained, perhaps from her recent
+effort with Mrs. Zamboni's brood. Several times Hal thought she was
+going to speak, but she shut her lips tightly again; he watched her, his
+heart aching.
+
+When finally she spoke, it was still in a whisper, and there was a note
+of humility he had never heard from her before. "Ye'll not be wantin' to
+speak to me, Joe, after what I've said."
+
+"Oh, Mary!" he exclaimed, and caught her hand, "don't say I've made you
+more unhappy! I want to help you! Won't you let me be your friend--your
+real, true friend? Let me help you to get out of this trap; you'll have
+a chance to look about, you'll find a way to be happy--the whole world
+will seem different to you then, and you'll laugh at the idea that you
+ever wanted me!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 32.
+
+The two of them went back to the pit-mouth. It had been two days since
+the disaster, and still the fan had not been started, and there was no
+sign of its being started. The hysteria of the women was growing, and
+there was a tension in the crowds. Jeff Cotton had brought in a force of
+men to assist him in keeping order. They had built a fence of barbed
+wire about the pit-mouth and its approaches, and behind this wire they
+walked--hard-looking citizens with policemen's "billies," and the bulge
+of revolvers plainly visible on their hips.
+
+During this long period of waiting, Hal had talks with members of his
+check-weighman group. They told what had happened while he was in jail,
+and this reminded him of something which had been driven from his mind
+by the explosion. Poor old John Edstrom was down in Pedro, perhaps in
+dire need. Hal went to the old Swede's cabin that night, climbed through
+a window, and dug up the buried money. There were five five-dollar
+bills, and he put them in an envelope, addressed them in care of General
+Delivery, Pedro, and had Mary Burke take them to the post office and
+register them.
+
+The hours dragged on, and still there was no sign of the pit-mouth being
+opened. There began to be secret gatherings of the miners and their
+wives to complain at the conduct of the company; and it was natural that
+Hal's friends who had started the check-weighman movement, should take
+the lead in these. They were among the most intelligent of the workers,
+and saw farther into the meaning of events. They thought, not merely of
+the men who were trapped under ground at this moment, but of thousands
+of others who would be trapped through years to come. Hal, especially,
+was pondering how he could accomplish something definite before he left
+the camp; for of course he would have to leave soon--Jeff Cotton would
+remember him, and carry out his threat to get rid of him.
+
+Newspapers had come in, with accounts of the disaster, and Hal and his
+friends read these. It was evident that the company had been at pains to
+have the accounts written from its own point of view. There existed some
+public sensitiveness on the subject of mine-disasters in this state. The
+death-rate from accidents was seen to be mounting steadily; the reports
+of the state mine inspector showed six per thousand in one year, eight
+and a half in the next, and twenty-one and a half in the next. When
+fifty or a hundred men were killed in a single accident, and when such
+accidents kept happening, one on the heels of another, even the most
+callous public could not help asking questions. So in this case the "G.
+F. C." had been careful to minimise the loss of life, and to make
+excuses. The accident had been owing to no fault of the company's; the
+mine had been regularly sprinkled, both with water and adobe dust, and
+so the cause of the explosion must have been the carelessness of the men
+in handling powder.
+
+In Jack David's cabin one night there arose a discussion as to the
+number of men entombed in the mine. The company's estimate of the number
+was forty, but Minetti and Olson and David agreed that this was absurd.
+Any man who went about in the crowds could satisfy himself that there
+were two or three times as many unaccounted for. And this falsification
+was deliberate, for the company had a checking system, whereby it knew
+the name of every man in the mine. But most of these names were
+unpronounceable Slavish, and the owners of the names had no friends to
+mention them--at least not in any language understood by American
+newspaper editors.
+
+It was all a part of the system, declared Jack David: its purpose and
+effect being to enable the company to go on killing men without paying
+for them, either in money or in prestige. It occurred to Hal that it
+might be worth while to contradict these false statements--almost as
+worth while as to save the men who were at this moment entombed. Any one
+who came forward to make such a contradiction would of course be giving
+himself up to the black-list; but then, Hal regarded himself as a man
+already condemned to that penalty.
+
+Tom Olson spoke up. "What would you do with your contradiction?"
+
+"Give it to the papers," Hal answered.
+
+"But what papers would print it?"
+
+"There are two rival papers in Pedro, aren't there?"
+
+"One owned by Alf Raymond, the sheriff-emperor, and the other by
+Vagleman, counsel for the 'G. F. C.' Which one would you try?"
+
+"Well then, the outside papers--those in Western City. There are
+reporters here now, and some one of them would surely take it."
+
+Olson answered, declaring that they would not get any but labour and
+Socialist papers to print such news. But even that was well worth doing.
+And Jack David, who was strong for unions and all their activities, put
+in, "The thing to do is to take a regular census, so as to know exactly
+how many are in the mine."
+
+The suggestion struck fire, and they agreed to set to work that same
+evening. It would be a relief to do something, to have something in
+their minds but despair. They passed the word to Mary Burke, to Rovetta,
+Klowoski, and others; and at eleven o'clock the next morning they met
+again, and the lists were put together, and it was found that no less
+than a hundred and seven men and boys were positively known to be inside
+Number One.
+
+
+
+SECTION 33.
+
+As it happened, however, discussion of this list and the method of
+giving it to the world was cut short by a more urgent matter. Jack David
+came in with news of fresh trouble at the pit-mouth. The new fan was
+being put in place; but they were slow about it, so slow that some
+people had become convinced that they did not mean to start the fan at
+all, but were keeping the mine sealed to prevent the fire from
+spreading. A group of such malcontents had presumed to go to Mr.
+Carmichael, the deputy state mine-inspector, to urge him to take some
+action; and the leader of these protestants, Huszar, the Austrian, who
+had been one of Hal's check-weighman group, had been taken into custody
+and marched at double-quick to the gate of the stockade!
+
+Jack David declared furthermore that he knew a carpenter who was working
+in the fan-house, and who said that no haste whatever was being made.
+All the men at the fan-house shared that opinion; the mine was sealed,
+and would stay sealed until the company was sure the fire was out.
+
+"But," argued Hal, "if they were to open it, the fire would spread; and
+wouldn't that prevent rescue work?"
+
+"Not at all," declared "Big Jack." He explained that by reversing the
+fan they could draw the smoke up through the air-course, which would
+clear the main passages for a time. "But, you see, some coal might catch
+fire, and some timbers; there might be falls of rock so they couldn't
+work some of the rooms again."
+
+"How long will they keep the mine sealed?" cried Hal, in consternation.
+
+"Nobody can say. In a big mine like that, a fire might smoulder for a
+week."
+
+"Everybody be dead!" cried Rosa Minetti, wringing her hands in a sudden
+access of grief.
+
+Hal turned to Olson. "Would they possibly do such a thing?"
+
+"It's been done--more than once," was the organiser's reply.
+
+"Did you never hear about Cherry, Illinois?" asked David. "They did it
+there, and more than three hundred people lost their lives." He went on
+to tell that dreadful story, known to every coal-miner. They had sealed
+the mine, while women fainted and men tore their clothes in frenzy--some
+going insane. They had kept it sealed for two weeks, and when they
+opened it, there were twenty-one men still alive!
+
+"They did the same thing in Diamondville, Wyoming," added Olson. "They
+built up a barrier, and when they took it away they found a heap of dead
+men, who had crawled to it and torn their fingers to the bone trying to
+break through."
+
+"My God!" cried Hal, springing to his feet. "And this man
+Carmichael--would he stand for that?"
+
+"He'd tell you they were doing their best," said "Big Jack." "And maybe
+he thinks they are. But you'll see--something'll keep happening; they'll
+drag on from day to day, and they'll not start the fan till they're
+ready."
+
+"Why, it's murder!" cried Hal.
+
+"It's business," said Tom Olson, quietly.
+
+Hal looked from one to another of the faces of these working people. Not
+one but had friends in that trap; not one but might be in the same trap
+to-morrow!
+
+"You have to stand it!" he exclaimed, half to himself.
+
+"Don't you see the guards at the pit-mouth?" answered David. "Don't you
+see the guns sticking out of their pockets?"
+
+"They bring in more guards this morning," put in Jerry Minetti. "Rosa,
+she see them get off."
+
+"They know what they doin'!" said Rosa. "They only fraid we find it out!
+They told Mrs. Zamboni she keep away or they send her out of camp. And
+old Mrs. Jonotch--her husband and three sons inside!"
+
+"They're getting rougher and rougher," declared Mrs. David. "That big
+fellow they call Pete, that came up from Pedro--the way he's handling
+the women is a shame!"
+
+"I know him," put in Olson; "Pete Hanun. They had him in Sheridan when
+the union first opened headquarters. He smashed one of our organisers in
+the mouth and broke four of his teeth. They say he has a jail-record."
+
+All through the previous year at college Hal had listened to lectures
+upon political economy, filled with the praises of a thing called
+"Private Ownership." This Private Ownership developed initiative and
+economy; it kept the wheels of industry a-roll, it kept fat the
+pay-rolls of college faculties; it accorded itself with the sacred laws
+of supply and demand, it was the basis of the progress and prosperity
+wherewith America had been blessed. And here suddenly Hal found himself
+face to face with the reality of it; he saw its wolfish eyes glaring
+into his own, he felt its smoking hot breath in his face, he saw its
+gleaming fangs and claw-like fingers, dripping with the blood of men and
+women and children. Private Ownership of coal-mines! Private Ownership
+of sealed-up entrances and non-existent escape-ways! Private Ownership
+of fans which did not start, of sprinklers which did not sprinkle.
+Private Ownership of clubs and revolvers, and of thugs and ex-convicts
+to use them, driving away rescuers and shutting up agonised widows and
+orphans in their homes! Oh, the serene and well-fed priests of Private
+Ownership, chanting in academic halls the praises of the bloody Demon!
+
+Suddenly Hal stopped still. Something had risen in him, the existence of
+which he had never suspected. There was a new look upon his face, his
+voice was deep as a strong man's when he spoke: "I am going to make them
+open that mine!"
+
+They looked at him. They were all of them close to the border of
+hysteria, but they caught the strange note in his utterance. "I am going
+to make them open that mine!"
+
+"How?" asked Olson.
+
+"The public doesn't know about this thing. If the story got out, there'd
+be such a clamour, it couldn't go on!"
+
+"But how will you get it out?"
+
+"I'll give it to the newspapers! They can't suppress such a thing--I
+don't care how prejudiced they are!"
+
+"But do you think they'd believe what a miner's buddy tells them?" asked
+Mrs. David.
+
+"I'll find a way to make them believe me," said Hal. "I'm going to make
+them open that mine!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 34.
+
+In the course of his wanderings about the camp, Hal had observed several
+wide-awake looking young men with notebooks in their hands. He could see
+that these young men were being made guests of the company, chatting
+with the bosses upon friendly terms; nevertheless, he believed that
+among them he might find one who had a conscience--or at any rate who
+would yield to the temptation of a "scoop." So, leaving the gathering at
+Mrs. David's, Hal went to the pit-mouth, watching out for one of these
+reporters; when he found him, he followed him for a while, desiring to
+get him where no company "spotter" might interfere. At the first chance,
+he stepped up, and politely asked the reporter to come into a side
+street, where they might converse undisturbed.
+
+The reporter obeyed the request; and Hal, concealing the intensity of
+his feelings, so as not to repel the other, let it be known that he had
+worked in North Valley for some months, and could tell much about
+conditions in the camp. There was the matter of adobe-dust, for example.
+Explosions in dry mines could be prevented by spraying the walls with
+this material. Did the reporter happen to know that the company's claim
+to have used it was entirely false?
+
+No, the reporter answered, he did not know this. He seemed interested,
+and asked Hal's name and occupation. Hal told him "Joe Smith," a
+"buddy," who had recently been chosen as check-weighman. The reporter, a
+lean and keen-faced young man, asked many questions--intelligent
+questions; incidentally he mentioned that he was the local correspondent
+of the great press association whose stories of the disaster were sent
+to every corner of the country. This seemed to Hal an extraordinary
+piece of good fortune, and he proceeded to tell this Mr. Graham about
+the census which some of the workers had taken; they were able to give
+the names of a hundred and seven men and boys who were inside the mine.
+The list was at Mr. Graham's disposal if he cared to see it. Mr. Graham
+seemed more interested than ever, and made notes in his book.
+
+Another thing, more important yet, Hal continued; the matter of the
+delay in getting the fan started. It had been three days since the
+explosion, but there had been no attempt at entering the mine. Had Mr.
+Graham seen the disturbance at the pit-mouth that morning? Did he
+realise that a man had been thrown out of camp merely because he had
+appealed to the deputy state mine-inspector? Hal told what so many had
+come to believe--that the company was saving property at the expense of
+life. He went on to point out the human meaning of this--he told about
+old Mrs. Rafferty, with her failing health and her eight children; about
+Mrs. Zamboni, with eleven children; about Mrs. Jonotch, with a husband
+and three sons in the mine. Led on by the reporter's interest, Hal began
+to show some of his feeling. These were human beings, not animals; they
+loved and suffered, even though they were poor and humble!
+
+"Most certainly!" said Mr. Graham. "You're right, and you may rest
+assured I'll look into this."
+
+"There's one thing more," said Hal. "If my name is mentioned, I'll be
+fired, you know."
+
+"I won't mention it," said the other.
+
+"Of course, if you can't publish the story without giving its source--"
+
+"I'm the source," said the reporter, with a smile. "Your name would not
+add anything."
+
+He spoke with quiet assurance; he seemed to know so completely both the
+situation and his own duty in regard to it, that Hal felt a thrill of
+triumph. It was as if a strong wind had come blowing from the outside
+world, dispelling the miasma which hung over this coal-camp. Yes, this
+reporter _was_ the outside world! He was the power of public opinion,
+making itself felt in this place of knavery and fear! He was the voice
+of truth, the courage and rectitude of a great organisation of
+publicity, independent of secret influences, lifted above corruption!
+
+"I'm indebted to you," said Mr. Graham, at the end, and Hal's sense of
+victory was complete. What an extraordinary chance--that he should have
+run into the agent of the great press association! The story would go
+out to the great world of industry, which depended upon coal as its
+life-blood. The men in the factories, the wheels of which were turned by
+coal--the travellers on trains which were moved by coal--they would hear
+at last of the sufferings of those who toiled in the bowels of the earth
+for them! Even the ladies, reclining upon the decks of palatial
+steamships in gleaming tropic seas--so marvellous was the power of
+modern news-spreading agencies, that these ladies too might hear the cry
+for help of these toilers, and of their wives and little ones! And from
+this great world would come an answer, a universal shout of horror, of
+execration, that would force even old Peter Harrigan to give way! So Hal
+mused--for he was young, and this was his first crusade.
+
+He was so happy that he was able to think of himself again, and to
+realise that he had not eaten that day. It was noon-time, and he went
+into Reminitsky's, and was about half through with the first course of
+Reminitsky's two-course banquet, when his cruel disillusioning fell upon
+him!
+
+He looked up and saw Jeff Cotton striding into the dining-room, making
+straight for him. There was blood in the marshal's eye, and Hal saw it,
+and rose, instinctively.
+
+"Come!" said Cotton, and took him by the coat-sleeve and marched him
+out, almost before the rest of the diners had time to catch their
+breath.
+
+Hal had no opportunity now to display his "tea-party manners" to the
+camp-marshal. As they walked, Cotton expressed his opinion of him, that
+he was a skunk, a puppy, a person of undesirable ancestry; and when Hal
+endeavoured to ask a question--which he did quite genuinely, not
+grasping at once the meaning of what was happening--the marshal bade him
+"shut his face," and emphasised the command by a twist at his
+coat-collar. At the same time two of the huskiest mine-guards, who had
+been waiting at the dining-room door, took him, one by each arm, and
+assisted his progress.
+
+They went down the street and past Jeff Cotton's office, not stopping
+this time. Their destination was the railroad-station, and when Hal got
+there, he saw a train standing. The three men marched him to it, not
+releasing him till they had jammed him down into a seat.
+
+"Now, young fellow," said Cotton, "we'll see who's running this camp!"
+
+By this time Hal had regained a part of his self-possession. "Do I need
+a ticket?" he asked.
+
+"I'll see to that," said the marshal.
+
+"And do I get my things?"
+
+"You save some questions for your college professors," snapped the
+marshal.
+
+So Hal waited; and a minute or two later a man arrived on the run with
+his scanty belongings, rolled into a bundle and tied with a piece of
+twine. Hal noted that this man was big and ugly, and was addressed by
+the camp-marshal as "Pete."
+
+The conductor shouted, "All aboard!" And at the same time Jeff Cotton
+leaned over towards Hal and spoke in a menacing whisper: "Take this from
+me, young fellow; don't stop in Pedro, move on in a hurry, or something
+will happen to you on a dark night."
+
+After which he strode down the aisle, and jumped off the moving train.
+But Hal noticed that Pete Hanun, the breaker of teeth, stayed on the car
+a few seats behind him.
+
+
+
+
+BOOK THREE
+
+THE HENCHMEN OF KING COAL
+
+
+
+
+SECTION 1.
+
+It was Hal's intention to get to Western City as quickly as possible to
+call upon the newspaper editors. But first he must have money to travel,
+and the best way he could think of to get it was to find John Edstrom.
+He left the train, followed by Pete Hanun; after some inquiry, he came
+upon the undertaker who had buried Edstrom's wife, and who told him
+where the old Swede was staying, in the home of a labouring-man nearby.
+
+Edstrom greeted him with eager questions: Who had been killed? What was
+the situation? Hal told in brief sentences what had happened. When he
+mentioned his need of money, Edstrom answered that he had a little, and
+would lend it, but it was not enough for a ticket to Western City. Hal
+asked about the twenty-five dollars which Mary Burke had sent by
+registered mail; the old man had heard nothing about it, he had not been
+to the post-office. "Let's go now!" said Hal, at once; but as they were
+starting downstairs, a fresh difficulty occurred to him. Pete Hanun was
+on the street outside, and it was likely that he had heard about this
+money from Jeff Cotton; he might hold Edstrom up and take it away.
+
+"Let me suggest something," put in the old man. "Come and see my friend
+Ed MacKellar. He may be able to give us some advice--even to think of
+some way to get the mine open." Edstrom explained that MacKellar, an old
+Scotchman, had been a miner, but was now crippled, and held some petty
+office in Pedro. He was a persistent opponent of "Alf" Raymond's
+machine, and they had almost killed him on one occasion. His home was
+not far away, and it would take little time to consult him.
+
+"All right," said Hal, and they set out at once. Pete Hanun followed
+them, not more than a dozen yards behind, but did not interfere, and
+they turned in at the gate of a little cottage. A woman opened the door
+for them, and asked them into the dining-room where MacKellar was
+sitting--a grey-haired old man, twisted up with rheumatism and obliged
+to go about on crutches.
+
+Hal told his story. As the Scotchman had been brought up in the mines,
+it was not necessary to go into details about the situation. When Hal
+told his idea of appealing to the newspapers, the other responded at
+once, "You won't have to go to Western City. There's a man right here
+who'll do the business for you; Keating, of the _Gazette_."
+
+"The Western City _Gazette?_" exclaimed Hal. He knew this paper; an
+evening journal selling for a cent, and read by working-men. Persons of
+culture who referred to it disposed of it with the adjective "yellow."
+
+"I know," said MacKellar, noting Hal's tone. "But it's the only paper
+that will publish your story anyway."
+
+"Where is this Keating?"
+
+"He's been up at the mine. It's too bad you didn't meet him."
+
+"Can we get hold of him now?"
+
+"He might be in Pedro. Try the American Hotel."
+
+Hal went to the telephone, and in a minute was hearing for the first
+time the cheery voice of his friend and lieutenant-to-be, "Billy"
+Keating. In a couple of minutes more the owner of the voice was at
+MacKellar's door, wiping the perspiration from his half-bald forehead.
+He was round-faced, like a full moon, and as jolly as Falstaff; when you
+got to know him better, you discovered that he was loyal as a
+Newfoundland dog. For all his bulk, Keating was a newspaper man, every
+inch of him "on the job."
+
+He started to question the young miner as soon as he was introduced, and
+it quickly became clear to Hal that here was the man he was looking for.
+Keating knew exactly what questions to ask, and had the whole story in a
+few minutes. "By thunder!" he cried. "My last edition!" And he pulled
+out his watch, and sprang to the telephone. "Long distance," he called;
+then, "I want the city editor of the Western City _Gazette_. And,
+operator, please see if you can't rush it through. It's very urgent, and
+last time I had to wait nearly half an hour."
+
+He turned back to Hal, and proceeded to ask more questions, at the same
+time pulling a bunch of copy-paper from his pocket and making notes. He
+got all Hal's statements about the lack of sprinkling, the absence of
+escape-ways, the delay in starting the fan, the concealing of the number
+of men in the mine. "I knew things were crooked up there!" he exclaimed.
+"But I couldn't get a lead! They kept a man with me every minute of the
+time. You know a fellow named Predovich?"
+
+"I do," said Hal. "The company store-clerk; he once went through my
+pockets."
+
+Keating made a face of disgust. "Well, he was my chaperon. Imagine
+trying to get the miners to talk to you with that sneak at your heels! I
+said to the superintendent, 'I don't need anybody to escort me around
+your place.' And he looked at me with a nasty little smile. 'We wouldn't
+want anything to happen to you while you're in this camp, Mr. Keating.'
+'You don't consider it necessary to protect the lives of the other
+reporters,' I said. 'No,' said he; 'but the _Gazette_ has made a great
+many enemies, you know.' 'Drop your fooling, Mr. Cartwright,' I said.
+'You propose to have me shadowed while I'm working on this assignment?'
+'You can put it that way,' he answered, 'if you think it'll please the
+readers of the _Gazette_.'"
+
+"Too bad we didn't meet!" said Hal. "Or if you'd run into any of our
+check-weighman crowd!"
+
+"Oh! You know about that check-weighman business!" exclaimed the
+reporter. "I got a hint of it--that's how I happened to be down here
+to-day. I heard there was a man named Edstrom, who'd been shut out for
+making trouble; and I thought if I could find him, I might get a lead."
+
+Hal and MacKellar looked at the old Swede, and the three of them began
+to laugh. "Here's your man!" said MacKellar.
+
+"And here's your check-weighman!" added Edstrom, pointing to Hal.
+
+Instantly the reporter was on his job again; he began to fire another
+series of questions. He would use that check-weighman story as a
+"follow-up" for the next day, to keep the subject of North Valley alive.
+The story had a direct bearing on the disaster, because it showed what
+the North Valley bosses were doing when they should have been looking
+after the safety of their mine. "I'll write it out this afternoon and
+send it by mail," said Keating; he added, with a smile, "That's one
+advantage of handling news the other papers won't touch--you don't have
+to worry about losing your 'scoops'!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 2.
+
+Keating went to the telephone again, to worry "long distance"; then,
+grumbling about his last edition, he came back to ask more questions
+about Hal's experiences. Before long he drew out the story of the young
+man's first effort in the publicity game; at which he sank back in his
+chair, and laughed until he shook, as the nursery-rhyme describes it,
+"like a bowlful of jelly."
+
+"Graham!" he exclaimed. "Fancy, MacKellar, he took that story to
+Graham!"
+
+The Scotchman seemed to find it equally funny; together they explained
+that Graham was the political reporter of the _Eagle_, the paper in
+Pedro which was owned by the Sheriff-emperor. One might call him Alf
+Raymond's journalistic jackal; there was no job too dirty for him.
+
+"But," cried Hal, "he told me he was correspondent for the Western press
+association!"
+
+"He's that, too," replied Billy.
+
+"But does the press association employ spies for the 'G. F. C.'?"
+
+The reporter answered, drily, "When you understand the news game better,
+you'll realise that the one thing the press association cares about in a
+correspondent is that he should have respect for property. If respect
+for property is the back-bone of his being, he can learn what news is,
+and the right way to handle it."
+
+Keating turned to the Scotchman. "Do you happen to have a typewriter in
+the house, Mr. MacKellar?"
+
+"An old one," said the other--"lame, like myself."
+
+"I'll make out with it. I'd ask this young man over to my hotel, but I
+think he'd better keep off the streets as much as possible."
+
+"You're right. If you take my advice, you'll take the typewriter
+upstairs, where there's no chance of a shot through the window."
+
+"Great heavens!" exclaimed Hal. "Is this America, or mediaeval Italy?"
+
+"It's the Empire of Raymond," replied MacKellar. "They shot my friend
+Tom Burton dead while he stood on the steps of his home. He was opposing
+the machine, and had evidence about ballot-frauds he was going to put
+before the Grand Jury."
+
+While Keating continued to fret with "long distance," the old Scotchman
+went on trying to impress upon Hal the danger of his position. Quite
+recently an organiser of the miners' union had been beaten up in broad
+day-light and left insensible on the sidewalk; MacKellar had watched the
+trial and acquittal of the two thugs who had committed this crime--the
+foreman of the jury being a saloon-keeper one of Raymond's heelers, and
+the other jurymen being Mexicans, unable to comprehend a word of the
+court proceedings.
+
+"Exactly such a jury as Jeff Cotton promised me!" remarked Hal, with a
+feeble attempt at a smile.
+
+"Yes," answered the other; "and don't make any mistake about it, if they
+want to put you away, they can do it. They run the whole machine here. I
+know how it is, for I had a political job myself, until they found they
+couldn't use me."
+
+The old Scotchman went on to explain that he had been elected justice of
+peace, and had tried to break up the business of policemen taking money
+from the women of the town; he had been forced to resign, and his
+enemies had made his life a torment. Recently he had been candidate for
+district judge on the Progressive ticket, and told of his efforts to
+carry on a campaign in the coal-camps--how his circulars had been
+confiscated, his posters torn down, his supporters "kangarooed." It was
+exactly as Alec Stone, the pit-boss, had explained to Hal. In some of
+the camps the meeting-halls belonged to the company; in others they
+belonged to saloon-keepers whose credit depended upon Alf Raymond. In
+the few places where there were halls that could be hired, the machine
+had gone to the extreme of sending in rival entertainments, furnishing
+free music and free beer in order to keep the crowds away from
+MacKellar.
+
+All this time Billy Keating had been chafing and scolding at "long
+distance." Now at last he managed to get his call, and silence fell in
+the room. "Hello, Pringle, that you? This is Keating. Got a big story on
+the North Valley disaster. Last edition put to bed yet? Put Jim on the
+wire. Hello, Jim! Got your book?" And then Billy, evidently talking to a
+stenographer, began to tell the story he had got from Hal. Now and then
+he would stop to repeat or spell a word; once or twice Hal corrected him
+on details. So, in about a quarter of an hour, they put the job through;
+and Keating turned to Hal.
+
+"There you are, son," said he. "Your story'll be on the street in
+Western City in a little over an hour; it'll be down here as soon
+thereafter as they can get telephone connections. And take my advice, if
+you want to keep a whole skin, you'll be out of Pedro when that
+happens!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 3.
+
+When Hal spoke, he did not answer Billy Keating's last remark. He had
+been listening to a retelling of the North Valley disaster over the
+telephone; so he was not thinking about his skin, but about a hundred
+and seven men and boys buried inside a mine.
+
+"Mr. Keating," said he, "are you sure the _Gazette_ will print that
+story?"
+
+"Good Lord!" exclaimed the other. "What am I here for?"
+
+"Well, I've been disappointed once, you know."
+
+"Yes, but you got into the wrong camp. We're a poor man's paper, and
+this is what we live on."
+
+"There's no chance of its being 'toned down'?"
+
+"Not the slightest, I assure you."
+
+"There's no chance of Peter Harrigan's suppressing it?"
+
+"Peter Harrigan made his attempts on the _Gazette_ long ago, my boy."
+
+"Well," said Hal, "and now tell me this--will it do the work?"
+
+"In what way?"
+
+"I mean--in making them open the mine."
+
+Keating considered for a moment. "I'm afraid it won't do much."
+
+Hal looked at him blankly. He had taken it for granted the publication
+of the facts would force the company to move. But Keating explained that
+the _Gazette_ read mainly by working-people, and so had comparatively
+little influence. "We're an afternoon paper," he said; "and when people
+have been reading lies all morning, it's not easy to make them believe
+the truth in the afternoon."
+
+"But won't the story go to other papers--over the country, I mean?"
+
+"Yes, we have a press service; but the papers are all like the
+_Gazette_--poor man's papers. If there's something very raw, and we keep
+pounding away for a long time, we can make an impression; at least we
+limit the amount of news the Western press association can suppress. But
+when it comes to a small matter like sealing up workingmen in a mine,
+all we can do is to worry the 'G. F. C.' a little."
+
+So Hal was just where he had begun! "I must find some other plan," he
+exclaimed.
+
+"I don't see what you can do," replied the other.
+
+There was a pause, while the young miner pondered. "I had thought of
+going up to Western City and appealing to the editors," he said, a
+little uncertainly.
+
+"Well, I can tell you about that--you might as well save your car-fare.
+They wouldn't touch your story."
+
+"And if I appealed to the Governor?"
+
+"In the first place, he probably wouldn't see you. And if he did, he
+wouldn't do anything. He's not really the Governor, you know; he's a
+puppet put up there to fool you. He only moves when Harrigan pulls a
+string."
+
+"Of course I knew he was Old Peter's man," said Hal. "But then"--and he
+concluded, somewhat lamely, "What _can_ I do?"
+
+A smile of pity came upon the reporter's face. "I can see this is the
+first time you've been up against 'big business.'" And then he added,
+"You're young! When you've had more experience, you'll leave these
+problems to older heads!" But Hal failed to get the reporter's sarcasm.
+He had heard these exact words in such deadly seriousness from his
+brother! Besides, he had just come from scenes of horror.
+
+"But don't you see, Mr. Keating?" he exclaimed. "It's impossible for me
+to sit still while those men die?"
+
+"I don't know about your sitting still," said the other. "All I know is
+that all your moving about isn't going to do them any good."
+
+Hal turned to Edstrom and MacKellar. "Gentlemen," he said, "listen to me
+for a minute." And there was a note of pleading in his voice--as if he
+thought they were deliberately refusing to help him! "We've got to do
+something about this. We've _got_ to do something! I'm new at the game,
+as Mr. Keating says; but you aren't. Put your minds on it, gentlemen,
+and help me work out a plan!"
+
+There was a long silence. "God knows," said Edstrom, at last. "I'd
+suggest something if I could."
+
+"And I, too," said MacKellar. "You're up against a stone-wall, my boy.
+The government here is simply a department of the 'G. F. C.' The
+officials are crooks--company servants, all of them."
+
+"Just a moment now," said Hal. "Let's consider. Suppose we had a real
+government--what steps would we take? We'd carry such a case to the
+District Attorney, wouldn't we?"
+
+"Yes, no doubt of it," said MacKellar.
+
+"You mentioned him before," said Hal. "He threatened to prosecute some
+mine-superintendents for ballot-frauds, you said."
+
+"That was while he was running for election," said MacKellar.
+
+"Oh! I remember what Jeff Cotton said--that he was friendly to the
+miners in his speeches, and to the companies in his acts."
+
+"That's the man," said the other, drily.
+
+"Well," argued Hal, "oughtn't I go to him, to give him a chance, at
+least? You can't tell, he might have a heart inside him."
+
+"It isn't a heart he needs," replied MacKellar; "it's a back-bone."
+
+"But surely I ought to put it up to him! If he won't do anything, at
+least I'll put him on record, and it'll make another story for you,
+won't it, Mr. Keating?"
+
+"Yes, that's true," admitted the reporter. "What would you ask him to
+do?"
+
+"Why, to lay the matter before the Grand Jury; to bring indictments
+against the North Valley bosses."
+
+"But that would take a long time; it wouldn't save the men in the mine."
+
+"What might save them would be the threat of it." MacKellar put in. "I
+don't think any threat of Dick Barker's would count for that much. The
+bosses know they could stop him."
+
+"Well, isn't there somebody else? Shouldn't I try the courts?"
+
+"What courts?"
+
+"I don't know. You tell me."
+
+"Well," said the Scotchman, "to begin at the bottom, there's a justice
+of the peace."
+
+"Who's he?"
+
+"Jim Anderson, a horse-doctor. He's like any other J.P. you ever
+knew--he lives on petty graft."
+
+"Is there a higher court?"
+
+"Yes, the district court; Judge Denton. He's the law-partner of
+Vagleman, counsel for the 'G. F. C.' How far would you expect to get
+with him?"
+
+"I suppose I'm clutching at straws," said Hal. "But they say that's what
+a drowning man does. Anyway, I'm going to see these people, and maybe
+out of the lot of them I can find one who'll act. It can't do any harm!"
+
+The three men thought of some harm it might do; they tried to make Hal
+consider the danger of being slugged Or shot. "They'll do it!" exclaimed
+MacKellar. "And no trouble for them--they'll prove you were stabbed by a
+drunken Dago, quarrelling over some woman."
+
+But Hal had got his head set; he believed he could put this job through
+before his enemies had time to lay any plans. Nor would he let any of
+his friends accompany him; he had something more important for both
+Edstrom and Keating to do--and as for MacKellar, he could not get about
+rapidly enough. Hal bade Edstrom go to the post-office and get the
+registered letter, and proceed at once to change the bills. It was his
+plan to make out affidavits, and if the officials here would not act, to
+take the affidavits to the Governor. And for this he would need money.
+Meantime, he said, let Billy Keating write out the check-weighman story,
+and in a couple of hours meet him at the American Hotel, to get copies
+of the affidavits for the _Gazette_.
+
+Hal was still wearing the miner's clothes he had worn on the night of
+his arrest in Edstrom's cabin. But he declined MacKellar's offer to lend
+him a business-suit; the old Scotchman's clothes would not fit him, he
+knew, and it would be better to make his appeal as a real miner than as
+a misfit gentleman.
+
+These matters being settled, Hal went out upon the street, where Pete
+Hanun, the breaker of teeth, fell in behind him. The young miner at once
+broke into a run, and the other followed suit, and so the two of them
+sped down the street, to the wonder of people on the way. As Hal had had
+practice as a sprinter, no doubt Pete was glad that the District
+Attorney's office was not far away!
+
+
+
+SECTION 4.
+
+Mr. Richard Parker was busy, said the clerk in toe outer office; for
+which Hal was not sorry, as it gave him a chance to get his breath.
+Seeing a young man flushed and panting, the clerk stared with curiosity;
+but Hal offered no explanation, and the breaker of teeth waited on the
+street outside.
+
+Mr. Parker received his caller in a couple of minutes. He was a well-fed
+gentleman with generous neck and chin, freshly shaved and rubbed with
+talcum powder. His clothing was handsome, his linen immaculate; one got
+the impression of a person who "did himself well." There were papers on
+his desk, and he looked preoccupied.
+
+"Well?" said he, with a swift glance at the young miner.
+
+"I understand that I am speaking to the District Attorney of Pedro
+County?"
+
+"That's right."
+
+"Mr. Parker, have you given any attention to the circumstances of the
+North Valley disaster?"
+
+"No," said Mr. Parker. "Why?"
+
+"I have just come from North Valley, and I can give you information
+which may be of interest to you. There are a hundred and seven people
+entombed in the mine, and the company officials have sealed it, and are
+sacrificing those lives."
+
+The other put down the correspondence, and made an examination of his
+caller from under his heavy eyelids. "How do you know this?"
+
+"I left there only a few hours ago. The facts are known to all the
+workers in the camp."
+
+"You are speaking from what you heard?"
+
+"I am speaking from what I know at first hand. I saw the disaster, I saw
+the pit-mouth boarded over and covered with canvas. I know a man who was
+driven out of camp this morning for complaining about the delay in
+starting the fan. It has been over three days since the explosion, and
+still nothing has been done."
+
+Mr. Parker proceeded to fire a series of questions, in the sharp,
+suspicious manner customary to prosecuting officials. But Hal did not
+mind that; it was the man's business to make sure.
+
+Presently he demanded to know how he could get corroboration of Hal's
+statements.
+
+"You'll have to go up there," was the reply.
+
+"You say the facts are known to the men. Give me the names of some of
+them."
+
+"I have no authority to give their names, Mr. Parker."
+
+"What authority do you need? They will tell me, won't they?"
+
+"They may, and they may not. One man has already lost his job; not every
+man cares to lose his job."
+
+"You expect me to go up there on your bare say-so?"
+
+"I offer you more than my say-so. I offer an affidavit."
+
+"But what do I know about you?"
+
+"You know that I worked in North Valley--or you can verify the fact by
+using the telephone. My name is Joe Smith, and I was a miner's helper in
+Number Two."
+
+But that was not sufficient, said Mr. Parker; his time was valuable, and
+before he took a trip to North Valley he must have the names of
+witnesses who would corroborate these statements.
+
+"I offer you an affidavit!" exclaimed Hal. "I say that I have knowledge
+that a crime is being committed--that a hundred and seven human lives
+are being sacrificed. You don't consider that a sufficient reason for
+even making inquiry?"
+
+The District Attorney answered again that he desired to do his duty, he
+desired to protect the workers in their rights; but he could not afford
+to go off on a "wild goose chase," he must have the names of witnesses.
+And Hal found himself wondering. Was the man merely taking the first
+pretext for doing nothing? Or could it be that an official of the state
+would go as far as to help the company by listing the names of
+"trouble-makers"?
+
+In spite of his distrust, Hal was resolved to give the man every chance
+he could. He went over the whole story of the disaster. He took Mr.
+Parker up to the camp, showed him the agonised women and terrified
+children crowding about the pit-mouth, driven back with clubs and
+revolvers. He named family after family, widows and mothers and orphans.
+He told of the miners clamouring for a chance to risk their lives to
+save their fellows. He let his own feelings sweep him along; he pleaded
+with fervour for his suffering friends.
+
+"Young man," said the other, breaking in upon his eloquence, "how long
+have you been working in North Valley?"
+
+"About ten weeks."
+
+"How long have you been working in coal-mines?"
+
+"That was my first experience."
+
+"And you think that in ten weeks you have learned enough to entitle you
+to bring a charge of 'murder' against men who have spent their lives in
+learning the business of mining?"
+
+"As I have told you," exclaimed Hal, "it's not merely my opinion; it's
+the opinion of the oldest and most experienced of the miners. I tell you
+no effort whatever is being made to save those men! The bosses care
+nothing about their men! One of them, Alec Stone, was heard by a crowd
+of people to say, 'Damn the men! Save the mules!'"
+
+"Everybody up there is excited," declared the other. "Nobody can think
+straight at present--you can't think straight yourself. If the mine's on
+fire, and if the fire is spreading to such an extent that it can't be
+put out--"
+
+"But, Mr. Parker, how can you say that it's spreading to such an
+extent?"
+
+"Well, how can you say that it isn't?"
+
+There was a pause. "I understand there's a deputy mine-inspector up
+there," said the District Attorney, suddenly. "What's his name?"
+
+"Carmichael," said Hal.
+
+"Well, and what does _he_ say about it?"
+
+"It was for appealing to him that the miner, Huszar, was turned out of
+camp."
+
+"Well," said Mr. Parker--and there came a note into his voice by which
+Hal knew that he had found the excuse he sought--"Well, it's
+Carmichael's business, and I have no right to butt in on it. If he comes
+to me and asks for indictments, I'll act--but not otherwise. That's all
+I have to say about it."
+
+And Hal rose. "Very well, Mr. Parker," said he. "I have put the facts
+before you. I was told you wouldn't do anything, but I wanted to give
+you a chance. Now I'm going to ask the Governor for your removal!" And
+with these words the young miner strode out of the office.
+
+
+
+SECTION 5.
+
+Hal went down the street to the American Hotel, where there was a public
+stenographer. When this young woman discovered the nature of the
+material he proposed to dictate, her fingers trembled visibly; but she
+did not refuse the task, and Hal proceeded to set forth the
+circumstances of the sealing of the pit-mouth of Number One Mine at
+North Valley, and to pray for warrants for the arrest of Enos Cartwright
+and Alec Stone. Then he gave an account of how he had been selected as
+check-weighman and been refused access to the scales; and with all the
+legal phraseology he could rake up, he prayed for the arrest of Enos
+Cartwright and James Peters, superintendent and tipple-boss at North
+Valley, for these offences. In another affidavit he narrated how Jeff
+Cotton, camp-marshal, had seized him at night, mistreated him, and shut
+him in prison for thirty-six hours without warrant or charge; also how
+Cotton, Pete Hanun, and two other parties by name unknown, had illegally
+driven him from the town of North Valley, threatening him with violence;
+for which he prayed the arrest of Jeff Cotton, Pete Hanun, and the two
+parties unknown.
+
+Before this task was finished, Billy Keating came in, bringing the
+twenty-five dollars which Edstrom had got from the post-office. They
+found a notary public, before whom Hal made oath to each document; and
+when these had been duly inscribed and stamped with the seal of the
+state, he gave carbon copies to Keating, who hurried off to catch a
+mail-train which was just due. Billy would not trust such things to the
+local post-office; for Pedro was the hell of a town, he declared. As
+they went out on the street again they noticed that their body-guard had
+been increased by another husky-looking personage, who made no attempt
+to conceal what he was doing.
+
+Hal went around the corner to an office bearing the legend, "J.W.
+Anderson, Justice of the Peace."
+
+Jim Anderson, the horse-doctor, sat at his desk within. He had evidently
+chewed tobacco before he assumed the ermine, and his reddish-coloured
+moustache still showed the stains. Hal observed such details, trying to
+weigh his chances of success. He presented the affidavit describing his
+treatment in North Valley, and sat waiting while His Honour read it
+through with painful slowness.
+
+"Well," said the man, at last, "what do you want?"
+
+"I want a warrant for Jeff Cotton's arrest."
+
+The other studied him for a minute. "No, young fellow," said he. "You
+can't get no such warrant here."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Because Cotton's a deputy-sheriff; he had a right to arrest you."
+
+"To arrest me without a warrant?"
+
+"How do you know he didn't have a warrant?"
+
+"He admitted to me that he didn't."
+
+"Well, whether he had a warrant or not, it was his business to keep
+order in the camp."
+
+"You mean he can do anything he pleases in the camp?"
+
+"What I mean is, it ain't my business to interfere. Why didn't you see
+Si Adams, up to the camp?"
+
+"They didn't give me any chance to see him."
+
+"Well," replied the other, "there's nothing I can do for you. You can
+see that for yourself. What kind of discipline could they keep in them
+camps if any fellow that had a kick could come down here and have the
+marshal arrested?"
+
+"Then a camp-marshal can act without regard to the law?"
+
+"I didn't say that."
+
+"Suppose he had committed murder--would you give a warrant for that?"
+
+"Yes, of course, if it was murder."
+
+"And if you knew that he was in the act of committing murder in a
+coal-camp--would you try to stop him?"
+
+"Yes, of course."
+
+"Then here's another affidavit," said Hal; and he produced the one about
+the sealing of the mine. There was silence while Justice Anderson read
+it through.
+
+But again he shook his head. "No, you can't get no such warrants here."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Because it ain't my business to run a coal-mine. I don't understand it,
+and I'd make a fool of myself if I tried to tell them people how to run
+their business."
+
+Hal argued with him. Could company officials in charge of a coal-mine
+commit any sort of outrage upon their employes, and call it running
+their business? Their control of the mine in such an emergency as this
+meant the power of life and death over a hundred and seven men and boys;
+could it be that the law had nothing to say in such a situation? But Mr.
+Anderson only shook his head; it was not his business to interfere. Hal
+might go up to the court-house and see Judge Denton about it. So Hal
+gathered up his affidavits and went out to the street again--where there
+were now three husky-looking personages waiting to escort him.
+
+
+
+SECTION 6.
+
+The district court was in session and Hal sat for a while in the
+court-room, watching Judge Denton. Here was another prosperous and
+well-fed appearing gentleman, with a rubicund visage shining over the
+top of his black silk robe. The young miner found himself regarding both
+the robe and the visage with suspicion. Could it be that Hal was
+becoming cynical, and losing his faith in his fellow man? What he
+thought of, in connection with the Judge's appearance, was that there
+was a living to be made sitting on the bench, while one's partner
+appeared before the bench as coal-company counsel!
+
+In an interval of the proceedings, Hal spoke to the clerk, and was told
+that he might see the judge at four-thirty; but a few minutes later Pete
+Hanun came in and whispered to this clerk. The clerk looked at Hal, then
+he went up and whispered to the Judge. At four-thirty, when the court
+was declared adjourned, the Judge rose and disappeared into his private
+office; and when Hal applied to the clerk, the latter brought out the
+message that Judge Denton was too busy to see him.
+
+But Hal was not to be disposed of in that easy fashion. There was a side
+door to the court-room, with a corridor beyond it, and while he stood
+arguing with the clerk he saw the rubicund visage of the Judge flit
+past.
+
+He darted in pursuit. He did not shout or make a disturbance; but when
+he was close behind his victim, he said, quietly, "Judge Denton, I
+appeal to you for justice!"
+
+The Judge turned and looked at him, his countenance showing annoyance.
+"What do you want?"
+
+It was a ticklish moment, for Pete Hanun was at Hal's heels, and it
+would have needed no more than a nod from the Judge to cause him to
+collar Hal. But the Judge, taken by surprise, permitted himself to
+parley with the young miner; and the detective hesitated, and finally
+fell back a step or two.
+
+Hal repeated his appeal. "Your Honour, there are a hundred and seven men
+and boys now dying up at the North Valley mine. They are being murdered,
+and I am trying to save their lives!"
+
+"Young man," said the Judge, "I have an urgent engagement down the
+street."
+
+"Very well," replied Hal, "I will walk with you and tell you as you go."
+Nor did he give "His Honour" a chance to say whether this arrangement
+was pleasing to him; he set out by his side, with Pete Hanun and the
+other two men some ten yards in the rear.
+
+Hal told the story as he had told it to Mr. Richard Parker; and he
+received the same response. Such matters were not easy to decide about;
+they were hardly a Judge's business. There was a state official on the
+ground, and it was for him to decide if there was violation of law.
+
+Hal repeated his statement that a man who made a complaint to this
+official had been thrown out of camp. "And I was thrown out also, your
+Honour."
+
+"What for?"
+
+"Nobody told me what for."
+
+"Tut, tut, young man! They don't throw men out without telling them the
+reason!"
+
+"But they _do_, your Honour! Shortly before that they locked me up in
+jail, and held me for thirty-six hours without the slightest show of
+authority."
+
+"You must have been doing something!"
+
+"What I had done was to be chosen by a committee of miners to act as
+their check-weighman."
+
+"Their check-weighman?"
+
+"Yes, your Honour. I am informed there's a law providing that when the
+men demand a check-weighman, and offer to pay for him, the company must
+permit him to inspect the weights. Is that correct?"
+
+"It is, I believe."
+
+"And there's a penalty for refusing?"
+
+"The law always carries a penalty, young man."
+
+"They tell me that law has been on the statute-books for fifteen or
+sixteen years, and that the penalty is from twenty-five to five hundred
+dollars fine. It's a case about which there can be no dispute, your
+Honour--the miners notified the superintendent that they desired my
+services, and when I presented myself at the tipple, I was refused
+access to the scales; then I was seized and shut up in jail, and finally
+turned out of the camp. I have made affidavit to these facts, and I
+think I have the right to ask for warrants for the guilty men."
+
+"Can you produce witnesses to your statements?"
+
+"I can, your Honour. One of the committee of miners, John Edstrom, is
+now in Pedro, having been kept out of his home, which he had rented and
+paid for. The other, Mike Sikoria, was also thrown out of camp. There
+are many others at North Valley who know all about it."
+
+There was a pause. Judge Denton for the first time took a good look at
+the young miner at his side; and then he drew his brows together in
+solemn thought, and his voice became deep and impressive. "I shall take
+this matter under advisement. What is your name, and where do you live?"
+
+"Joe Smith, your Honour. I'm staying at Edward MacKellar's, but I don't
+know how long I'll be able to stay there. There are company thugs
+watching the place all the time."
+
+"That's wild talk!" said the Judge, impatiently.
+
+"As it happens," said Hal, "we are being followed by three of them at
+this moment--one of them the same Pete Hanun who helped to drive me out
+of North Valley. If you will turn your head you will see them behind
+us."
+
+But the portly Judge did not turn his head.
+
+"I have been informed," Hal continued, "that I am taking my life in my
+hands by my present course of action. I believe I'm entitled to ask for
+protection."
+
+"What do you want me to do?"
+
+"To begin with, I'd like you to cause the arrest of the men who are
+shadowing me."
+
+"It's not my business to cause such arrests. You should apply to a
+policeman."
+
+"I don't see any policeman. Will you tell me where to find one?"
+
+His Honour was growing weary of such persistence. "Young man, what's the
+matter with you is that you've been reading dime novels, and they've got
+on your nerves!"
+
+"But the men are right behind me, your Honour! Look at them!"
+
+"I've told you it's not my business, young man!"
+
+"But, your Honour, before I can find a policeman I may be dead!"
+
+The other appeared to be untroubled by this possibility.
+
+"And, your Honour, while you are taking these matters under advisement,
+the men in the mine will be dead!"
+
+Again there was no reply.
+
+"I have some affidavits here," said Hal. "Do you wish them?"
+
+"You can give them to me if you want to," said the other.
+
+"You don't ask me for them?"
+
+"I haven't yet."
+
+"Then just one more question--if you will pardon me, your Honour. Can
+you tell me where I can find an honest lawyer in this town--a man who
+might be willing to take a case against the interests of the General
+Fuel Company?"
+
+There was a silence--a long, long silence. Judge Denton, of the firm of
+Denton and Vagleman, stared straight in front of him as he walked.
+Whatever complicated processes might have been going on inside his mind,
+his judicial features did not reveal them. "No, young man," he said at
+last, "it's not my business to give you information about lawyers." And
+with that the judge turned on his heel and went into the Elks' Club.
+
+
+
+SECTION 7.
+
+Hal stood and watched the portly figure until it disappeared; then he
+turned back and passed the three detectives, who stopped. He stared at
+them, but made no sign, nor did they. Some twenty feet behind him, they
+fell in and followed as before.
+
+Judge Denton had suggested consulting a policeman; and suddenly Hal
+noticed that he was passing the City Hall, and it occurred to him that
+this matter of his being shadowed might properly be brought to the
+attention of the mayor of Pedro. He wondered what the chief magistrate
+of such a "hell of a town" might be like; after due inquiry, he found
+himself in the office of Mr. Ezra Perkins, a mild-mannered little
+gentleman who had been in the undertaking-business, before he became a
+figure-head for the so-called "Democratic" machine.
+
+He sat pulling nervously at a neatly trimmed brown beard, trying to
+wriggle out of the dilemma into which Hal put him. Yes, it might
+possibly be that a young miner was being followed on the streets of the
+town; but whether or not this was against the law depended on the
+circumstances. If he had made a disturbance in North Valley, and there
+was reason to believe that he might be intending trouble, doubtless the
+company was keeping track of him. But Pedro was a law-abiding place, and
+he would be protected in his rights so long as he behaved himself.
+
+Hal replied by citing what MacKellar had told him about men being
+slugged on the streets in broad day-light. To this Mr. Perkins answered
+that there was uncertainty about the circumstances of these cases;
+anyhow, they had happened before he became mayor. His was a reform
+administration, and he had given strict orders to the Chief of Police
+that there were to be no more incidents of the sort.
+
+"Will you go with me to the Chief of Police and give him orders now?"
+demanded Hal.
+
+"I do not consider it necessary," said Mr. Perkins.
+
+He was about to go home, it seemed. He was a pitiful little rodent, and
+it was a shame to torment him; but Hal stuck to him for ten or twenty
+minutes longer, arguing and insisting--until finally the little rodent
+bolted for the door, and made his escape in an automobile. "You can go
+to the Chief of Police yourself," were his last words, as he started the
+machine; and Hal decided to follow the suggestion. He had no hope left,
+but he was possessed by a kind of dogged rage. He _would_ not let go!
+
+Upon inquiry of a passer-by, he learned that police headquarters was in
+this same building, the entrance being just round the corner. He went
+in, and found a man in uniform writing at a desk, who stated that the
+Chief had "stepped down the street." Hal sat down to wait, by a window
+through which he could look out upon the three gunmen loitering across
+the way.
+
+The man at the desk wrote on, but now and then he eyed the young miner
+with that hostility which American policemen cultivate toward the lower
+classes. To Hal this was a new phenomenon, and he found himself suddenly
+wishing that he had put on MacKellar's clothes. Perhaps a policeman
+would not have noticed the misfit!
+
+The Chief came in. His blue uniform concealed a burly figure, and his
+moustache revealed the fact that his errand down the street had had to
+do with beer. "Well, young fellow?" said he, fixing his gaze upon Hal.
+
+Hal explained his errand.
+
+"What do you want me to do?" asked the Chief, in a decidedly hostile
+voice.
+
+"I want you to make those men stop following me."
+
+"How can I make them stop?"
+
+"You can lock them up, if necessary. I can point them out to you, if
+you'll step to the window."
+
+But the other made no move. "I reckon if they're follerin' you, they've
+got some reason for it. Have you been makin' trouble in the camps?" He
+asked this question with sudden force, as if it had occurred to him that
+it might be his duty to lock up Hal.
+
+"No," said Hal, speaking as bravely as he could--"no indeed, I haven't
+been making trouble. I've only been demanding my rights."
+
+"How do I know what you been doin'?"
+
+The young miner was willing to explain, but the other cut him short.
+"You behave yourself while you're in this town, young feller, d'you see?
+If you do, nobody'll bother you."
+
+"But," said Hal, "they've already threatened to bother me."
+
+"What did they say?"
+
+"They said something might happen to me on a dark night."
+
+"Well, so it might--you might fall down and hit your nose."
+
+The Chief was pleased with this wit, but only for a moment. "Understand,
+young feller, we'll give you your rights in this town, but we got no
+love for agitators, and we don't pretend to have. See?"
+
+"You call a man an agitator when he demands his legal rights?"
+
+"I ain't got time to argue with you, young feller. It's no easy matter
+keepin' order in coal-camps, and I ain't going to meddle in the
+business. I reckon the company detectives has got as good a right in
+this town as you."
+
+There was a pause. Hal saw that there was nothing to be gained by
+further discussion with the Chief. It was his first glimpse of the
+American policeman as he appears to the labouring man in revolt, and he
+found it an illuminating experience. There was dynamite in his heart as
+he turned and went out to the street; nor was the amount of the
+explosive diminished by the mocking grins which he noted upon the faces
+of Pete Hanun and the other two husky-looking personages.
+
+
+
+SECTION 8.
+
+Hal judged that he had now exhausted his legal resources in Pedro; the
+Chief of Police had not suggested any one else he might call upon, so
+there seemed nothing he could do but go back to MacKellar's and await
+the hour of the night train to Western City. He started to give his
+guardians another run, by way of working off at least a part of his own
+temper; but he found that they had anticipated this difficulty. An
+automobile came up and the three of them stepped in. Not to be outdone,
+Hal engaged a hack, and so the expedition returned in pomp to
+MacKellar's.
+
+Hal found the old cripple in a state of perturbation. All that afternoon
+his telephone had been ringing; one person after another had warned
+him--some pleading with him, some abusing him. It was evident that among
+them were people who had a hold on the old man; but he was undaunted,
+and would not hear of Hal's going to stay at the hotel until train-time.
+
+Then Keating returned, with an exciting tale to tell. Schulman, general
+manager of the "G. F. C.," had been sending out messengers to hunt for
+him, and finally had got him in his office, arguing and pleading,
+cajoling and denouncing him by turns. He had got Cartwright on the
+telephone, and the North Valley superintendent had laboured to convince
+Keating that he had done the company a wrong. Cartwright had told a
+story about Hal's efforts to hold up the company for money.
+"Incidentally," said Keating, "he added the charge that you had seduced
+a girl in his camp."
+
+Hal stared at his friend. "Seduced a girl!" he exclaimed.
+
+"That's what he said; a red-headed Irish girl."
+
+"Well, damn his soul!"
+
+There followed a silence, broken by a laugh from Billy. "Don't glare at
+me like that. _I_ didn't say it!"
+
+But Hal continued to glare, nevertheless. "The dirty little skunk!"
+
+"Take it easy, sonny," said the fat man, soothingly. "It's quite the
+usual thing, to drag in a woman. It's so easy--for of course there
+always _is_ a woman. There's one in this case, I suppose?"
+
+"There's a perfectly decent girl."
+
+"But you've been friendly with her? You've been walking around where
+people can see you?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"So you see, they've got you. There's nothing you can do about a thing
+of that sort."
+
+"You wait and see!" Hal burst out.
+
+The other gazed curiously at the angry young miner. "What'll you do?
+Beat him up some night?"
+
+But the young miner did not answer. "You say he described the girl?"
+
+"He was kind enough to say she was a red-headed beauty, and with no one
+to protect her but a drunken father. I could understand that must have
+made it pretty hard for her, in one of these coal-camps." There was a
+pause. "But see here," said the reporter, "you'll only do the girl harm
+by making a row. Nobody believes that women in coal-camps have any
+virtue. God knows, I don't see how they do have, considering the sort of
+men who run the camps, and the power they have."
+
+"Mr. Keating," said Hal, "did _you_ believe what Cartwright told you?"
+
+Keating had started to light a cigar. He stopped in the middle, and his
+eyes met Hal's. "My dear boy," said he, "I didn't consider it my
+business to have an opinion."
+
+"But what did you say to Cartwright?"
+
+"Ah! That's another matter. I said that I'd been a newspaper man for a
+good many years, and I knew his game."
+
+"Thank you for that," said Hal. "You may be interested to know there
+isn't any truth in the story."
+
+"Glad to hear it," said the other. "I believe you."
+
+"Also you may be interested to know that I shan't drop the matter until
+I've made Cartwright take it back."
+
+"Well, you're an enterprising cuss!" laughed the reporter. "Haven't you
+got enough on your hands, with all the men you're going to get out of
+the mine?"
+
+
+
+SECTION 9.
+
+Billy Keating went out again, saying that he knew a man who might be
+willing to talk to him on the quiet, and give him some idea what was
+going to happen to Hal. Meantime Hal and Edstrom sat down to dinner with
+MacKellar. The family were afraid to use the dining-room of their home,
+but spread a little table in the upstairs hall. The distress of mind of
+MacKellar's wife and daughter was apparent, and this brought home to Hal
+the terror of life in this coal-country. Here were American women, in an
+American home, a home with evidences of refinement and culture; yet they
+felt and acted as if they were Russian conspirators, in terror of
+Siberia and the knout!
+
+The reporter was gone a couple of hours; when he came back, he brought
+news. "You can prepare for trouble, young fellow."
+
+"Why so?"
+
+"Jeff Cotton's in town."
+
+"How do you know?"
+
+"I saw him in an automobile. If he left North Valley at this time, it
+was for something serious, you may be sure."
+
+"What does he mean to do?"
+
+"There's no telling. He may have you slugged; he may have you run out of
+town and dumped out in the desert; he may just have you arrested."
+
+Hal considered for a moment. "For slander?"
+
+"Or for vagrancy; or on suspicion of having robbed a bank in Texas, or
+murdered your great-grandmother in Tasmania. The point is, he'll keep
+you locked up till this trouble has blown over."
+
+"Well," said Hal, "I don't want to be locked up. I want to go up to
+Western City. I'm waiting for the train."
+
+"You may have to wait till morning," replied Keating. "There's been
+trouble on the railroad--a freight-car broke down and ripped up the
+track; it'll be some time before it's clear."
+
+They discussed this new problem back and forth. MacKellar wanted to get
+in half a dozen friends and keep guard over Hal during the night; and
+Hal had about agreed to this idea, when the discussion was given a new
+turn by a chance remark of Keating's. "Somebody else is tied up by the
+railroad accident. The Coal King's son!"
+
+"The Coal King's son?" echoed Hal.
+
+"Young Percy Harrigan. He's got a private car here--or rather a whole
+train. Think of it--dining-car, drawing-room car, two whole cars with
+sleeping apartments! Wouldn't you like to be a son of the Coal King?"
+
+"Has he come on account of the mine-disaster?"
+
+"Mine-disaster?" echoed Keating. "I doubt if he's heard of it. They've
+been on a trip to the Grand Canyon, I was told; there's a baggage-car
+with four automobiles."
+
+"Is Old Peter with them?"
+
+"No, he's in New York. Percy's the host. He's got one of his automobiles
+out, and was up in town--two other fellows and some girls."
+
+"Who's in his party?"
+
+"I couldn't find out. You can see, it might be a story for the
+_Gazette_--the Coal King's son, coming by chance at the moment when a
+hundred and seven of his serfs are perishing in the mine! If I could
+only have got him to say a word about the disaster! If I could even have
+got him to say he didn't know about it!"
+
+"Did you try?"
+
+"What am I a reporter for?"
+
+"What happened?"
+
+"Nothing happened; except that he froze me stiff."
+
+"Where was this?"
+
+"On the street. They stopped at a drug-store, and I stepped up. 'Is this
+Mr. Percy Harrigan?' He was looking into the store, over my head. 'I'm a
+reporter,' I said, 'and I'd like to ask you about the accident up at
+North Valley.' 'Excuse me,' he said, in a tone--gee, it makes your blood
+cold to think of it! 'Just a word,' I pleaded. 'I don't give
+interviews,' he answered; and that was all--he continued looking over my
+head, and everybody else staring in front of them. They had turned to
+ice at my first word. If ever I felt like a frozen worm!"
+
+There was a pause.
+
+"Ain't it wonderful," reflected Billy, "how quick you can build up an
+aristocracy! When you looked at that car, the crowd in it and the airs
+they wore, you'd think they'd been running the world since the time of
+William the Conqueror. And Old Peter came into this country with a
+pedlar's pack on his shoulders!"
+
+"We're hustlers here," put in MacKellar.
+
+"We'll hustle all the way to hell in a generation more," said the
+reporter. Then, after a minute, "Say, but there's one girl in that bunch
+that was the real thing! She sure did get me! You know all those fluffy
+things they do themselves up in--soft and fuzzy, makes you think of
+spring-time orchards. This one was exactly the colour of
+apple-blossoms."
+
+"You're susceptible to the charms of the ladies?" inquired Hal, mildly.
+
+"I am," said the other. "I know it's all fake, but just the same, it
+makes my little heart go pit-a-pat. I always want to think they're as
+lovely as they look."
+
+Hal's smile became reminiscent, and he quoted:
+
+  "Oh Liza-Ann, come out with me,
+    The moon is a-shinin' in the monkey-puzzle tree!"
+
+Then he stopped, with a laugh. "Don't wear your heart on your sleeve,
+Mr. Keating. She wouldn't be above taking a peck at it as she passed."
+
+"At me? A worm of a newspaper reporter?"
+
+"At you, a man!" laughed Hal. "I wouldn't want to accuse the lady of
+posing; but a lady has her role in life, and has to keep her hand in."
+
+There was a pause. The reporter was looking at the young miner with
+sudden curiosity. "See here," he remarked, "I've been wondering about
+you. How do you come to know so much about the psychology of the leisure
+class?"
+
+"I used to have money once," said Hal. "My family's gone down as quickly
+as the Harrigans have come up."
+
+
+
+SECTION 10.
+
+Hal went on to question Keating about the apple-blossom girl. "Maybe I
+could guess who she is. What colour was her hair?"
+
+"The colour of molasses taffy when you've pulled it," said Billy; "but
+all fluffy and wonderful, with star-dust in it. Her eyes were brown, and
+her cheeks pink and cream."
+
+"She had two rows of pearly white teeth, that flashed at you when she
+smiled?"
+
+"She didn't smile, unfortunately."
+
+"Then her brown eyes gazed at you, wide open, full of wonder?"
+
+"Yes, they did--only it was into the drug-store window."
+
+"Did she wear a white hat of soft straw, with a green and white flower
+garden on it, and an olive green veil, and maybe cream white ribbons?"
+
+"By George, I believe you've seen her!" exclaimed the reporter.
+
+"Maybe," said Hal. "Or maybe I'm describing the girl on the cover of one
+of the current magazines!" He smiled; but then, seeing the other's
+curiosity, "Seriously, I think I do know your young lady. If you
+announce that Miss Jessie Arthur is a member of the Harrigan party, you
+won't be taking a long chance."
+
+"I can't afford to take any chance at all," said the reporter. "You mean
+Robert Arthur's daughter?"
+
+"Heiress-apparent of the banking business of Arthur and Sons," said Hal.
+"It happens I know her by sight."
+
+"How's that?"
+
+"I worked in a grocery-store where she used to come."
+
+"Whereabouts?"
+
+"Peterson and Company, in Western City."
+
+"Oho! And you used to sell her candy."
+
+"Stuffed dates."
+
+"And your little heart used to go pit-a-pat, so that you could hardly
+count the change?"
+
+"Gave her too much, several times!"
+
+"And you wondered if she was as good as she was beautiful! One day you
+were thrilled with hope, the next you were cynical and bitter--till at
+last you gave up in despair, and ran away to work in a coal-mine!"
+
+They laughed, and MacKellar and Edstrom joined in. But suddenly Keating
+became serious again. "I ought to be away on that story!" he exclaimed.
+"I've got to get something out of that crowd about the disaster. Think
+what copy it would make!"
+
+"But how can you do it?"
+
+"I don't know; I only know I ought to be trying. I'll hang round the
+train, and maybe I can get one of the porters to talk."
+
+"Interview with the Coal King's porter!" chuckled Hal. "How it feels to
+make up a multi-millionaire's bed!"
+
+"How it feels to sell stuffed dates to a banker's daughter!" countered
+the other.
+
+But suddenly it was Hal's turn to become serious. "Listen, Mr. Keating,"
+said he, "why not let _me_ interview young Harrigan?"
+
+"_You?_"
+
+"Yes! I'm the proper person--one of his miners! I help to make his money
+for him, don't I? I'm the one to tell him about North Valley."
+
+Hal saw the reporter staring at him in sudden excitement; he continued:
+"I've been to the District Attorney, the Justice of the Peace, the
+District Judge, the Mayor and the Chief of Police. Now, why shouldn't I
+go to the Owner?"
+
+"By thunder!" cried Billy. "I believe you'd have the nerve!"
+
+"I believe I would," replied Hal, quietly.
+
+The other scrambled out of his chair, wild with delight. "I dare you!"
+he exclaimed.
+
+"I'm ready," said Hal.
+
+"You mean it?"
+
+"Of course I mean it."
+
+"In that costume?"
+
+"Certainly. I'm one of his miners."
+
+"But it won't go," cried the reporter. "You'll stand no chance to get
+near him unless you're well dressed."
+
+"Are you sure of that? What I've got on might be the garb of a
+railroad-hand. Suppose there was something out of order in one of the
+cars--the plumbing, for example?"
+
+"But you couldn't fool the conductor or the porter."
+
+"I might be able to. Let's try it."
+
+There was a pause, while Keating thought. "The truth is," he said, "it
+doesn't matter whether you succeed or not--it's a story if you even make
+the attempt. The Coal King's son appealed to by one of his serfs! The
+hard heart of Plutocracy rejects the cry of Labour!"
+
+"Yes," said Hal, "but I really mean to get to him. Do you suppose he's
+got back to the train yet?"
+
+"They were starting to it when I left."
+
+"And where _is_ the train?"
+
+"Two or three hundred yards east of the station, I was told."
+
+MacKellar and Edstrom had been listening enthralled to this exciting
+conversation. "That ought to be just back of my house," said the former.
+
+"It's a short train--four parlour-cars and a baggage-car," added
+Keating. "It ought to be easy to recognise."
+
+The old Scotchman put in an objection. "The difficulty may be to get out
+of this house. I don't believe they mean to let you get away to-night."
+
+"By Jove, that's so!" exclaimed Keating. "We're talking too much--let's
+get busy. Are they watching the back door, do you suppose?"
+
+"They've been watching it all day," said MacKellar.
+
+"Listen," broke in Hal--"I've an idea. They haven't tried to interfere
+with your going out, have they, Mr. Keating?"
+
+"No, not yet."
+
+"Nor with you, Mr. MacKellar?"
+
+"No, not yet," said the Scotchman.
+
+"Well," Hal suggested, "suppose you lend me your crutches?"
+
+Whereat Keating gave an exclamation of delight. "The very thing!"
+
+"I'll take your over-coat and hat," Hal added. "I've watched you get
+about, and I think I can give an imitation. As for Mr. Keating, he's not
+easy to mistake."
+
+"Billy, the fat boy!" laughed the other. "Come, let's get on the job!"
+
+"I'll go out by the front door at the same time," put in Edstrom, his
+old voice trembling with excitement. "Maybe that'll help to throw them
+off the track."
+
+
+
+SECTION 11.
+
+They had been sitting upstairs in MacKellar's room. Now they rose, and
+were starting for the stairs, when suddenly there came a ring at the
+front door bell. They stopped and stared at one another. "There they
+are!" whispered Keating.
+
+And MacKellar sat down suddenly, and held out his crutches to Hal. "The
+hat and coat are in the front hall," he exclaimed. "Make a try for it!"
+His words were full of vigour, but like Edstrom, his voice was
+trembling. He was no longer young, and could not take adventure gaily.
+
+Hal and Keating ran downstairs, followed by Edstrom. Hal put on the coat
+and hat, and they went to the back door, while at the same time Edstrom
+answered the bell in front.
+
+The back door opened into a yard, and this gave, through a side gate,
+into an alley. Hal's heart was pounding furiously as he began to hobble
+along with the crutches. He had to go at MacKellar's slow pace--while
+Keating, at his side, started talking. He informed "Mr. MacKellar," in a
+casual voice, that the _Gazette_ was a newspaper which believed in the
+people's cause, and was pledged to publish the people's side of all
+public questions. Discoursing thus, they went out of the gate and into
+the alley.
+
+A man emerged from the shadows and walked by them. He passed within
+three feet of Hal, and peered at him, narrowly. Fortunately there was no
+moon; Hal could not see the man's face, and hoped the man could not see
+his.
+
+Meantime Keating was proceeding with his discourse. "You understand, Mr.
+MacKellar," he was saying, "sometimes it's difficult to find out the
+truth in a situation like this. When the interests are filling their
+newspapers with falsehoods and exaggerations, it's a temptation for us
+to publish falsehoods and exaggerations on the other side. But we find
+in the long run that it pays best to publish the truth, Mr.
+MacKellar--we can stand by it, and there's no come-back."
+
+Hal, it must be admitted, was not paying much attention to this edifying
+sermon. He was looking ahead, to where the alley debouched onto the
+street. It was the street behind MacKellar's house, and only a block
+from the railroad-track.
+
+He dared not look behind, but he was straining his ears. Suddenly he
+heard a shout, in John Edstrom's voice. "Run! Run!"
+
+In a flash, Hal dropped the two crutches, and started down the alley,
+Keating at his heels. They heard cries behind them, and a voice,
+sounding quite near, commanded, "Halt!" They had reached the end of the
+alley, and were in the act of swerving, when a shot rang out and there
+was a crash of glass in a house beyond them on the far side of the
+street.
+
+Farther on was a vacant lot with a path running across it. Following
+this, they dodged behind some shanties, and came to another street--and
+so to the railroad tracks. There was a long line of freight-cars before
+them, and they ran between two of these, and climbing over the
+couplings, saw a great engine standing, its headlight gleaming full in
+their eyes. They sprang in front of it, and alongside the train, passing
+a tender, then a baggage-car, then a parlour-car.
+
+"Here we are!" exclaimed Keating, who was puffing like a bellows.
+
+Hal saw that there were only three more cars to the train; also, he saw
+a man in a blue uniform standing at the steps. He dashed towards him.
+"Your car's on fire!" he cried.
+
+"What?" exclaimed the man. "Where?"
+
+"Here!" cried Hal; and in a flash he had sprung past the other, up the
+steps and into the car.
+
+There was a long, narrow corridor, to be recognised as the kitchen
+portion of a dining-car; at the other end of this corridor was a
+swinging door, and to this Hal leaped. He heard the conductor shouting
+to him to stop, but he paid no heed. He slipped off his over-coat and
+hat; and then, pushing open the door, he entered a brightly lighted
+apartment--and the presence of the Coal King's son.
+
+
+
+SECTION 12.
+
+White linen and cut glass of the dining-saloon shone brilliantly under
+electric lights, softened to the eye by pink shades. Seated at the
+tables were half a dozen young men and as many young ladies, all in
+evening costume; also two or three older ladies. They had begun the
+first course of their meal, and were laughing and chatting, when
+suddenly came this unexpected visitor, clad in coal-stained miner's
+jumpers. He was not disturbing in the manner of his entry; but
+immediately behind him came a fat man, perspiring, wild of aspect, and
+wheezing like an old fashioned steam-engine; behind him came the
+conductor of the train, in a no less evident state of agitation. So, of
+course, conversation ceased. The young ladies turned in their chairs,
+while several of the young men sprang to their feet.
+
+There followed a silence: until finally one of the young men took a step
+forward. "What's this?" he demanded, as one who had a right to demand.
+
+Hal advanced towards the speaker, a slender youth, correct in
+appearance, but not distinguished looking. "Hello, Percy!" said Hal.
+
+A look of amazement came upon the other's face. He stared, but seemed
+unable to believe what he saw. And then suddenly came a cry from one of
+the young ladies; the one having hair the colour of molasses taffy when
+you've pulled it--but all fluffy and wonderful, with stardust in it. Her
+cheeks were pink and cream, and her brown eyes gazed, wide open, full of
+wonder. She wore a dinner gown of soft olive green, with a cream white
+scarf of some filmy material thrown about her bare shoulders.
+
+She had started to her feet. "It's Hal!" she cried.
+
+"Hal Warner!" echoed young Harrigan. "Why, what in the world--?"
+
+He was interrupted by a clamour outside. "Wait a moment," said Hal,
+quietly. "I think some one else is coming in."
+
+The door was pushed violently open. It was pushed so violently that
+Billy Keating and the conductor were thrust to one side; and Jeff Cotton
+appeared in the entrance.
+
+The camp-marshal was breathless, his face full of the passion of the
+hunt. In his right hand he carried a revolver. He glared about him, and
+saw the two men he was chasing; also he saw the Coal King's son, and the
+rest of the astonished company. He stood, stricken dumb.
+
+The door was pushed again, forcing him aside, and two more men crowded
+in, both of them carrying revolvers in their hands. The foremost was
+Pete Hanun, and he also stood staring. The "breaker of teeth" had two
+teeth of his own missing, and when his prize-fighter's jaw dropped down,
+the deficiency became conspicuous. It was probably his first entrance
+into society, and he was like an overgrown boy caught in the jam-closet.
+
+Percy Harrigan's manner became distinctly imperious. "What does this
+mean?" he demanded.
+
+It was Hal who answered. "I am seeking a criminal, Percy."
+
+"What?" There were little cries of alarm from the women.
+
+"Yes, a criminal; the man who sealed up the mine."
+
+"Sealed up the mine?" echoed the other. "What do you mean?"
+
+"Let me explain. First, I will introduce my friends. Harrigan, this is
+my friend Keating."
+
+Billy suddenly realised that he had a hat on his head. He jerked it off;
+but for the rest, his social instincts failed him. He could only stare.
+He had not yet got all his breath.
+
+"Billy's a reporter," said Hal. "But you needn't worry--he's a
+gentleman, and won't betray a confidence. You understand, Billy."
+
+"Y--yes," said Billy, faintly.
+
+"And this," said Hal, "is Jeff Cotton, camp-marshal at North Valley. I
+suppose you know, Percy, that the North Valley mines belong to the 'G.
+F. C.' Cotton, this is Mr. Harrigan."
+
+Then Cotton remembered his hat; also his revolver, which he tried to get
+out of sight behind his back.
+
+"And this," continued Hal, "is Mr. Pete Hanun, by profession a breaker
+of teeth. This other gentleman, whose name I don't know, is presumably
+an assistant-breaker." So Hal went on, observing the forms of social
+intercourse, his purpose being to give his mind a chance to work. So
+much depended upon the tactics he chose in this emergency! Should he
+take Percy to one side and tell him the story quietly, leaving it to his
+sense of justice and humanity? No, that was not the way one dealt with
+the Harrigans! They had bullied their way to the front; if anything were
+done with them, it would be by force! If anything were done with Percy,
+it would be by laying hold of him before these guests, exposing the
+situation, and using their feelings to coerce him!
+
+The Coal King's son was asking questions again. What was all this about?
+So Hal began to describe the condition of the men inside the mine. "They
+have no food or water, except what they had in their dinner-pails; and
+it's been three days and a half since the explosion! They are breathing
+bad air; their heads are aching, the veins swelling in their foreheads;
+their tongues are cracking, they are lying on the ground, gasping. But
+they are waiting--kept alive by the faith they have in their friends on
+the surface, who will try to get to them. They dare not take down the
+barriers, because the gases would kill them at once. But they know the
+rescuers will come, so they listen for the sounds of axes and picks.
+That is the situation."
+
+Hal stopped and waited for some sign of concern from young Harrigan. But
+no such sign was given. Hal went on:
+
+"Think of it, Percy! There is one old man in that mine, an Irishman who
+has a wife and eight children waiting to learn about his fate. I know
+one woman who has a husband and three sons in the mine. For three days
+and a half the women and children have been standing at the pit-mouth; I
+have seen them sitting with their heads sunk upon their knees, or
+shaking their fists, screaming curses at the criminal who is to blame."
+
+There was a pause. "The criminal?" inquired young Harrigan. "I don't
+understand!"
+
+"You'll hardly be able to believe it; but nothing has been done to
+rescue these men. The criminal has nailed a cover of boards over the
+pit-mouth, and put tarpaulin over it--sealing up men and boys to die!"
+
+There was a murmur of horror from the diners.
+
+"I know, you can't conceive such a thing. The reason is, there's a fire
+in the mine; if the fan is set to working, the coal will burn. But at
+the same time, some of the passages could be got clear of smoke, and
+some of the men could be rescued. So it's a question of property against
+lives; and the criminal has decided for the property. He proposes to
+wait a week, two weeks, until the fire has been smothered; _then_ of
+course the men and boys will be dead."
+
+There was a silence. It was broken by young Harrigan. "Who has done
+this?"
+
+"His name is Enos Cartwright."
+
+"But who _is_ he?"
+
+"Just now when I said that I was seeking the criminal, I misled you a
+little, Percy. I did it because I wanted to collect my thoughts." Hal
+paused: when he continued, his voice was sharper, his sentences falling
+like blows. "The criminal I've been telling you about is the
+superintendent of the mine--a man employed and put in authority by the
+General Fuel Company. The one who is being chased is not the one who
+sealed up the mine, but the one who proposed to have it opened. He is
+being treated as a malefactor, because the laws of the state, as well as
+the laws of humanity, have been suppressed by the General Fuel Company;
+he was forced to seek refuge in your car, in order to save his life from
+thugs and gunmen in the company's employ!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 13.
+
+Knowing these people well, Hal could measure the effect of the
+thunderbolt he had hurled among them. They were people to whom good
+taste was the first of all the virtues; he knew how he was offending
+them. If he was to win them to the least extent, he must explain his
+presence here--a trespasser upon the property of the Harrigans.
+
+"Percy," he continued, "you remember how you used to jump on me last
+year at college, because I listened to 'muck-rakers.' You saw fit to
+take personal offence at it. You knew that their tales couldn't be true.
+But I wanted to see for myself, so I went to work in a coal-mine. I saw
+the explosion; I saw this man, Jeff Cotton, driving women and children
+away from the pit-mouth with blows and curses. I set out to help the men
+in the mine, and the marshal rushed me out of camp. He told me that if I
+didn't go about my business, something would happen to me on a dark
+night. And you see--this is a dark night!"
+
+Hal waited, to give young Harrigan a chance to grasp this situation and
+to take command. But apparently young Harrigan was not aware of the
+presence of the camp-marshal and his revolver. Hal tried again:
+
+"Evidently these men wouldn't have minded killing me; they fired at me
+just now. The marshal still has the revolver and you can smell the
+powder-smoke. So I took the liberty of entering your car, Percy. It was
+to save my life, and you'll have to excuse me."
+
+The Coal King's son had here a sudden opportunity to be magnanimous. He
+made haste to avail himself of it. "Of course, Hal," he said. "It was
+quite all right to come here. If our employes were behaving in such
+fashion, it was without authority, and they will surely pay for it." He
+spoke with quiet certainty; it was the Harrigan manner, and before it
+Jeff Cotton and the two mine-guards seemed to wither and shrink.
+
+"Thank you, Percy," said Hal. "It's what I knew you'd say. I'm sorry to
+have disturbed your dinner-party--"
+
+"Not at all, Hal; it was nothing of a party."
+
+"You see, Percy, it was not only to save myself, but the people in the
+mine! They are dying, and every moment is precious. It will take a day
+at least to get to them, so they'll be at their last gasp. Whatever's to
+be done must be done at once."
+
+Again Hal waited--until the pause became awkward. The diners had so far
+been looking at him; but now they were looking at young Harrigan, and
+young Harrigan felt the change.
+
+"I don't know just what you expect of me, Hal. My father employs
+competent men to manage his business, and I certainly don't feel that I
+know enough to give them any suggestions." This again in the Harrigan
+manner; but it weakened before Hal's firm gaze. "What can I do?"
+
+"You can give the order to open the mine, to reverse the fan and start
+it. That will draw out the smoke and gases, and the rescuers can go
+down."
+
+"But Hal, I assure you I have no authority to give such an order."
+
+"You must _take_ the authority. Your father's in the East, the officers
+of the company are in their beds at home; you are here!"
+
+"But I don't understand such things, Hal! I don't know anything of the
+situation--except what you tell me. And while I don't doubt your word,
+any man may make a mistake in such a situation."
+
+"Come and see for yourself, Percy! That's all I ask, and it's easy
+enough. Here is your train, your engine with steam up; have us switched
+onto the North Valley branch, and we can be at the mine in half an hour.
+Then--let me take you to the men who know! Men who've been working all
+their lives in mines, who've seen accidents like this many times, and
+who will tell you the truth--that there's a chance of saving many lives,
+and that the chance is being thrown away to save some thousands of
+dollars' worth of coal and timbers and track."
+
+"But even if that's true, Hal, I have no _power_!"
+
+"If you come there, you can cut the red-tape in one minute. What those
+bosses are doing is a thing that can only be done in darkness!"
+
+Under the pressure of Hal's vehemence, the Harrigan manner was failing;
+the Coal King's son was becoming a bewildered and quite ordinary youth.
+But there was a power greater than Hal behind him. He shook his head.
+"It's the old man's business, Hal. I've no right to butt in!"
+
+The other, in his desperate need, turned to the rest of the party. His
+gaze, moving from one face to another, rested upon the magazine-cover
+countenance, with the brown eyes wide open, full of wonder.
+
+"Jessie! What do you think about it?"
+
+The girl started, and distress leaped into her face. "How do you mean,
+Hal?"
+
+"Tell him he ought to save those lives!"
+
+The moments seemed ages as Hal waited. It was a test, he realised. The
+brown eyes dropped. "I don't understand such things, Hal!"
+
+"But, Jessie, I am explaining them! Here are men and boys being
+suffocated to death, in order to save a little money. Isn't that plain?"
+
+"But how can I _know_, Hal?"
+
+"I'm giving you my word, Jessie. Surely I wouldn't appeal to you unless
+I knew."
+
+Still she hesitated. And there came a swift note of feeling into his
+voice: "Jessie, dear!"
+
+As if under a spell, the girl's eyes were raised to his; he saw a
+scarlet flame of embarrassment spreading over her throat and cheeks.
+"Jessie, I know--it seems an intolerable thing to ask! You've never been
+rude to a friend. But I remember once you forgot your good manners, when
+you saw a rough fellow on the street beating an old drudge-horse. Don't
+you remember how you rushed at him--like a wild thing! And now--think of
+it, dear, here are old drudge-creatures being tortured to death; but not
+horses--working-men!"
+
+Still the girl gazed at him. He could read grief, dismay in her eyes; he
+saw tears steal from them, and stream down her cheeks. "Oh, I don't
+know, I don't _know!_" she cried; and hid her face in her hands, and
+began to sob aloud.
+
+
+
+SECTION 14.
+
+There was a painful pause. Hal's gaze travelled on, and came to a
+grey-haired lady in a black dinner-gown, with a rope of pearls about her
+neck. "Mrs. Curtis! Surely _you_ will advise him!"
+
+The grey-haired lady started--was there no limit to his impudence? She
+had witnessed the torturing of Jessie. But Jessie was his fiancee; he
+had no such claim upon Mrs. Curtis. She answered, with iciness in her
+tone: "I could not undertake to dictate to my host in such a matter."
+
+"Mrs. Curtis! You have founded a charity for the helping of stray cats
+and dogs!" These words rose to Hal's lips; but he did not say them. His
+eyes moved on. Who else might help to bully a Harrigan?
+
+Next to Mrs. Curtis sat Reggie Porter, with a rose in the button-hole of
+his dinner-jacket. Hal knew the role in which Reggie was there--a kind
+of male chaperon, an assistant host, an admirer to the wealthy, a solace
+to the bored. Poor Reggie lived other people's lives, his soul
+perpetually a-quiver with other people's excitements, with gossip,
+preparations for tea-parties, praise of tea-parties past. And always the
+soul was pushing; calculating, measuring opportunities, making up in
+tact and elegance for distressing lack of money. Hal got one swift
+glimpse of the face; the sharp little black moustaches seemed standing
+up with excitement, and in a flash of horrible intuition Hal read the
+situation--Reggie was expecting to be questioned, and had got ready an
+answer that would increase his social capital in the Harrigan family
+bank!
+
+Across the aisle sat Genevieve Halsey: tall, erect, built on the scale
+of a statue. You thought of the ox-eyed Juno, and imagined stately
+emotions; but when you came to know Genevieve, you discovered that her
+mind was slow, and entirely occupied with herself. Next to her was Bob
+Creston, smooth-shaven, rosy-cheeked, exuding well-being--what is called
+a "good fellow," with a wholesome ambition to win cups for his athletic
+club, and to keep up the score of his rifle-team of the state militia.
+Jolly Bob might have spoken, out of his good heart; but he was in love
+with a cousin of Percy's, Betty Gunnison, who sat across the table from
+him--and Hal saw her black eyes shining, her little fists clenched
+tightly, her lips pressed white. Hal understood Betty--she was one of
+the Harrigans, working at the Harrigan family task of making the
+children of a pack-pedlar into leaders in the "younger set!"
+
+Next sat "Vivie" Cass, whose talk was of horses and dogs and such
+ungirlish matters; Hal had discussed social questions in her presence,
+and heard her view expressed in one flashing sentence--"If a man eats
+with his knife, I consider him my personal enemy!" Over her shoulder
+peered the face of a man with pale eyes and yellow moustaches--Bert
+Atkins, cynical and world-weary, whom the papers referred to as a
+"club-man," and whom Hal's brother had called a "tame cat." There was
+"Dicky" Everson, like Hal, a favourite of the ladies, but nothing more;
+"Billy" Harris, son of another "coal man"; Daisy, his sister; and
+Blanche Vagleman, whose father was Old Peter's head lawyer, whose
+brother was the local counsel, and publisher of the Pedro _Star_.
+
+So Hal's eyes moved from face to face, and his mind from personality to
+personality. It was like the unrolling of a scroll; a panorama of a
+world he had half forgotten. He had no time for reflection, but one
+impression came to him, swift and overwhelming. Once he had lived in
+this world and taken it as a matter of course. He had known these
+people, gone about with them; they had seemed friendly, obliging, a good
+sort of people on the whole. And now, what a change! They seemed no
+longer friendly! Was the change in them? Or was it Hal who had become
+cynical--so that he saw them in this terrifying new light, cold, and
+unconcerned as the stars about men who were dying a few miles away!
+
+Hal's eyes came back to the Coal King's son, and he discovered that
+Percy was white with anger. "I assure you, Hal, there's no use going on
+with this. I have no intention of letting myself be bulldozed."
+
+Percy's gaze shifted with sudden purpose to the camp-marshal. "Cotton,
+what do you say about this? Is Mr. Warner correct in his idea of the
+situation?"
+
+"You know what such a man would say, Percy!" broke in Hal.
+
+"I don't," was the reply. "I wish to know. What is it, Cotton?"
+
+"He's mistaken, Mr. Harrigan." The marshal's voice was sharp and
+defiant.
+
+"In what way?"
+
+"The company's doing everything to get the mine open, and has been from
+the beginning."
+
+"Oh!" And there was triumph in Percy's voice. "What is the cause of the
+delay?"
+
+"The fan was broken, and we had to send for a new one. It's a job to set
+it up--such things can't be done in an hour."
+
+Percy turned to Hal. "You see! There are two opinions, at least!"
+
+"Of course!" cried Betty Gunnison, her black eyes snapping at Hal. She
+would have said more, but Hal interrupted, stepping closer to his host.
+"Percy," he said, in a low voice, "come back here, please. I have a word
+to say to you alone."
+
+There was just a hint of menace in Hal's voice; his gaze went to the far
+end of the car, a space occupied only by two negro waiters. These
+retired in haste as the young men moved towards them; and so, having the
+Coal King's son to himself, Hal went in to finish this fight.
+
+
+
+SECTION 15.
+
+Percy Harrigan was known to Hal, as a college-boy is known to his
+class-mates. He was not brutal, like his grim old father; he was merely
+self-indulgent, as one who had always had everything; he was weak, as
+one who had never had to take a bold resolve. He had been brought up by
+the women of the family, to be a part of what they called "society"; in
+which process he had been given high notions of his own importance. The
+life of the Harrigans was dominated by one painful memory--that of a
+pedlar's pack; and Hal knew that Percy's most urgent purpose was to be
+regarded as a real and true and freehanded aristocrat. It was this
+knowledge Hal was using in his attack.
+
+He began with apologies, attempting to soothe the other's anger. He had
+not meant to make a scene like this; it was the gunmen who had forced
+it, putting his life in danger. It was the very devil, being chased
+about at night and shot at! He had lost his nerve, really; he had forgot
+what little manners he had been able to keep as a miner's buddy. He had
+made a spectacle of himself; good Lord yes, he realised how he must
+seem!
+
+--And Hal looked at his dirty miner's jumpers, and then at Percy. He
+could see that Percy was in hearty agreement thus far--he had indeed
+made a spectacle of himself, and of Percy too! Hal was sorry about this
+latter, but here they were, in a pickle, and it was certainly too late
+now. This story was out--there could be no suppressing it! Hal might sit
+down on his reporter-friend, Percy might sit down on the waiters and the
+conductor and the camp-marshal and the gunmen--but he could not possibly
+sit down on all his friends! They would talk about nothing else for
+weeks! The story would be all over Western City in a day--this amazing,
+melodramatic, ten-twenty-thirty story of a miner's buddy in the private
+car of the Coal King's son!
+
+"And you must see, Percy," Hal went on, "it's the sort of thing that
+sticks to a man. It's the thing by which everybody will form their idea
+of you as long as you live!"
+
+"I'll take my chances with my friends' criticism," said the other, with
+some attempt at the Harrigan manner.
+
+"You can make it whichever kind of story you choose," continued Hal,
+implacably. "The world will say, He decided for the dollars; or it will
+say, He decided for the lives. Surely, Percy, your family doesn't need
+those particular dollars so badly! Why, you've spent more on this one
+train-trip!"
+
+And Hal waited, to give his victim time to calculate.
+
+The result of the thinking was a question worthy of Old Peter. "What are
+_you_ getting out of this?"
+
+"Percy," said Hal, "you must _know_ I'm getting nothing! If you can't
+understand it otherwise, say to yourself that you are dealing with a man
+who's irresponsible. I've seen so many terrible things--I've been chased
+around so much by camp-marshals--why, Percy, that man Cotton has six
+notches on his gun! I'm simply crazy!" And into the brown eyes of this
+miner's buddy came a look wild enough to convince a stronger man than
+Percy Harrigan. "I've got just one idea left in the world, Percy--to
+save those miners! You make a mistake unless you realise how desperate I
+am. So far I've done this thing incog! I've been Joe Smith, a miner's
+buddy. If I'd come out and told my real name--well, maybe I wouldn't
+have made them open the mine, but at least I'd have made a lot of
+trouble for the G. F. C.! But I didn't do it; I knew what a scandal it
+would make, and there was something I owed my father. But if I see
+there's no other way, if it's a question of letting those people perish,
+I'll throw everything else to the winds. Tell your father that; tell him
+I threatened to turn this man Keating loose and blow the thing wide
+open--denounce the company, appeal to the Governor, raise a disturbance
+and get arrested on the street, if necessary, in order to force the
+facts before the public. You see, I've got the facts, Percy! I've been
+there and seen with my own eyes. Can't you realise that?"
+
+The other did not answer, but it was evident that he realised.
+
+"On the other hand, see how you can fix it, if you choose. You were on a
+pleasure trip when you heard of this disaster; you rushed up and took
+command, you opened the mine, you saved the lives of your employes. That
+is the way the papers will handle it."
+
+Hal, watching his victim intently, and groping for the path to his mind,
+perceived that he had gone wrong. Crude as the Harrigans were, they had
+learned that it is not aristocratic to be picturesque.
+
+"All right then!" said Hal, quickly. "If you prefer, you needn't be
+mentioned. The bosses up at the camp have the reporters under their
+thumbs, they'll handle the story any way you want it. The one thing I
+care about is that you run your car up and see the mine opened. Won't
+you do it, Percy?"
+
+Hal was gazing into the other's eyes, knowing that life and death for
+the miners hung upon his nod. "Well? What is the answer?"
+
+"Hal," exclaimed Percy, "my old man will give me hell!"
+
+"All right; but on the other hand, _I'll_ give you hell; and which will
+be worse?"
+
+Again there was a silence. "Come along, Percy! For God's sake!" And
+Hal's tone was desperate, alarming.
+
+And suddenly the other gave way. "All right!"
+
+Hal drew a breath. "But mind you!" he added. "You're not going up there
+to let them fool you! They'll try to bluff you out--they may go as far
+as to refuse to obey you. But you must stand by your guns--for, you see,
+I'm going along, I'm going to see that mine open. I'll never quit till
+the rescuers have gone down!"
+
+"Will they go, Hal?"
+
+"Will they go? Good God, man, they're clamouring for the chance to go!
+They've almost been rioting for it. I'll go with them--and you, too,
+Percy--the whole crowd of us idlers will go! When we come out, we'll
+know something about the business of coal-mining!"
+
+"All right, I'm with you," said the Coal King's son.
+
+
+
+SECTION 16.
+
+Hal never knew what Percy said to Cartwright that night; he only knew
+that when they arrived at the mine the superintendent was summoned to a
+consultation, and half an hour later Percy emerged smiling, with the
+announcement that Hal Warner had been mistaken all along; the mine
+authorities had been making all possible haste to get the fan ready,
+with the intention of opening the mine at the earliest moment. The work
+was now completed, and in an hour or two the fan was to be started, and
+by morning there would be a chance of rescuers getting in. Percy said
+this so innocently that for a moment Hal wondered if Percy himself might
+not believe it. Hal's position as guest of course required that he
+should graciously pretend to believe it, consenting to appear as a fool
+before the rest of the company.
+
+Percy invited Hal and Billy Keating to spend the night in the train; but
+this Hal declined. He was too dirty, he said; besides, he wanted to be
+up at daylight, to be one of the first to go down the shaft. Percy
+answered that the superintendent had vetoed this proposition--he did not
+want any one to go down but experienced men, who could take care of
+themselves. When there were so many on hand ready and eager to go, there
+was no need to imperil the lives of amateurs.
+
+At the risk of seeming ungracious, Hal declared that he would "hang
+around" and see them take the cover off the pit-mouth. There were
+mourning parties in some of the cabins, where women were gathered
+together who could not sleep, and it would be an act of charity to take
+them the good news.
+
+Hal and Keating set out; they went first to the Rafferties', and saw
+Mrs. Rafferty spring up and stare at them, and then scream aloud to the
+Holy Virgin, waking all the little Rafferties to frightened clamour.
+When the woman had made sure that they really knew what they were
+talking about, she rushed out to spread the news, and so pretty soon the
+streets were alive with hurrying figures, and a crowd gathered once more
+at the pit-mouth.
+
+Hal and Keating went on to Jerry Minetti's. Out of a sense of loyalty to
+Percy, Hal did no more than repeat Percy's own announcement, that it had
+been Cartwright's intention all along to have the mine opened. It was
+funny to see the effect of this statement--the face with which Jerry
+looked at Hal! But they wasted no time in discussion; Jerry slipped into
+his clothes and hurried with them to the pit-mouth.
+
+Sure enough, a gang was already tearing off the boards and canvas. Never
+since Hal had been in North Valley had he seen men working with such a
+will! Soon the great fan began to stir, and then to roar, and then to
+sing; and there was a crowd of a hundred people, roaring and singing
+also.
+
+It would be some hours before anything more could be done; and suddenly
+Hal realised that he was exhausted. He and Billy Keating went back to
+the Minetti cabin, and spreading themselves a blanket on the floor, lay
+down with sighs of relief. As for Billy, he was soon snoring; but to Hal
+there came sudden reaction from all the excitement, and sleep was far
+from him.
+
+An ocean of thoughts came flooding into his mind: the world outside,
+_his_ world, which he had banished deliberately for several months, and
+which he had so suddenly been compelled to remember! It had seemed so
+simple, what he had set out to do that summer: to take another name, to
+become a member of another class, to live its life and think its
+thoughts, and then come back to his own world with a new and fascinating
+adventure to tell about! The possibility that his own world, the world
+of Hal Warner, might find him out as Joe Smith, the miner's buddy--that
+was a possibility which had never come to his mind. He was like a
+burglar, working away at a job in darkness, and suddenly finding the
+room flooded with light.
+
+He had gone into the adventure, prepared to find things that would shock
+him; he had known that somehow, somewhere, he would have to fight the
+"system." But he had never expected to find himself in the thick of the
+class-war, leading a charge upon the trenches of his own associates. Nor
+was this the end, he knew; this war would not be settled by the winning
+of a trench! Lying here in the darkness and silence, Hal was realising
+what he had got himself in for. To employ another simile, he was a man
+who begins a flirtation on the street, and wakes up next morning to find
+himself married.
+
+It was not that he had regrets for the course he had taken with Percy.
+No other course had been thinkable. But while Hal had known these North
+Valley people for ten weeks, he had known the occupants of Percy's car
+for as many years. So these latter personalities loomed large in his
+consciousness, and here in the darkness their thoughts about him,
+whether actively hostile or passively astonished, laid siege to the
+defences of his mind.
+
+Particularly he found himself wrestling with Jessie Arthur. Her face
+rose up before him, appealing, yearning. She had one of those perfect
+faces, which irresistibly compel the soul of a man. Her brown eyes, soft
+and shining, full of tenderness; her lips, quick to tremble with
+emotion; her skin like apple-blossoms, her hair with star-dust in it!
+Hal was cynical enough about coal-operators and mine-guards, but it
+never occurred to him that Jessie's soul might be anything but what
+these bodily charms implied. He was in love with her; and he was too
+young, too inexperienced in love to realise that underneath the
+sweetness of girlhood, so genuine and so lovable, might lie deep,
+unconscious cruelty, inherited and instinctive--the cruelty of caste,
+the hardness of worldly prejudice. A man has to come to middle age, and
+to suffer much, before he understands that the charms of women, those
+rare and magical perfections of eyes and teeth and hair, that softness
+of skin and delicacy of feature, have cost labour and care of many
+generations, and imply inevitably that life has been feral, that customs
+and conventions have been murderous and inhuman.
+
+Jessie had failed Hal in his desperate emergency. But now he went over
+the scene, and told himself that the test had been an unfair one. He had
+known her since childhood, and loved her, and never before had he seen
+an act or heard a word that was not gracious and kind. But--so he told
+himself--she gave her sympathy to those she knew; and what chance had
+she ever had to know working-people? He must give her the chance; he
+must compel her, even against her will, to broaden her understanding of
+life! The process might hurt her, it might mar the unlined softness of
+her face, but nevertheless, it would be good for her--it would be a
+"growing pain"!
+
+So, lying there in the darkness and silence, Hal found himself absorbed
+in long conversation with his sweetheart. He escorted her about the
+camp, explaining things to her, introducing her to this one and that. He
+took others of his private-car friends and introduced them to his North
+Valley friends. There were individuals who had qualities in common, and
+would surely hit it off! Bob Creston, for example, who was good at a
+"song and dance"--he would surely be interested in "Blinky," the
+vaudeville specialist of the camp! Mrs. Curtis, who liked cats, would
+find a bond of sisterhood with old Mrs. Nagle, who lived next door to
+the Minettis, and kept five! And even Vivie Cass, who hated men who ate
+with their knives--she would be driven to murder by the table-manners of
+Reminitsky's boarders, but she would take delight in "Dago Charlie," the
+tobacco-chewing mule which had once been Hal's pet! Hal could hardly
+wait for daylight to come, so that he might begin these efforts at
+social amalgamation!
+
+
+
+SECTION 17.
+
+Towards dawn Hal fell asleep; he was awakened by Billy Keating, who sat
+up yawning, at the same time grumbling and bewailing. Hal realised that
+Billy also had discovered troubles during the night. Never in all his
+career as a journalist had he had such a story; never had any man had
+such a story--and it must be killed!
+
+Cartwright had got the reporters together late the night before and told
+them the news--that the company had at last succeeded in getting the
+mine ready to be opened; also that young Mr. Harrigan was there in his
+private train, prompted by his concern for the entombed miners. The
+reporters would mention his coming, of course, but were requested not to
+"play it up," nor to mention the names of Mr. Harrigan's guests.
+Needless to say they were not told that the "buddy" who had been thrown
+out of camp for insubordination had turned out to be the son of Edward
+S. Warner, the "coal magnate."
+
+A fine, cold rain was falling, and Hal borrowed an old coat of Jerry's
+and slipped it on. Little Jerry clamoured to go with him, and after some
+controversy Hal wrapped him in a shawl and slung him onto his shoulder.
+It was barely daylight, but already the whole population of the village
+was on hand at the pit-mouth. The helmet-men had gone down to make
+tests, so the hour of final revelation was at hand. Women stood with wet
+shawls about their hunched shoulders, their faces white and strained,
+their suspense too great for any sort of utterance. A ghastly thought it
+was, that while they were shuddering in the wet, their men below might
+be expiring for lack of a few drops of water!
+
+The helmet-men, coming up, reported that lights would burn at the bottom
+of the shaft; so it was safe for men to go down without helmets, and the
+volunteers of the first rescue party made ready. All night there had
+been a clattering of hammers, where the carpenters were working on a new
+cage. Now it was swung from the hoist, and the men took their places in
+it. When at last the hoist began to move, and the group disappeared
+below the surface of the ground, you could hear a sigh from a thousand
+throats, like the moaning of wind in a pine-tree. They were leaving
+women and children above, yet not one of these women would have asked
+them to stay--such was the deep unconscious bond of solidarity which
+made these toilers of twenty nations one!
+
+It was a slow process, letting down the cage; on account of the danger
+of gas, and the newness of the cage, it was necessary to proceed a few
+feet at a time, waiting for a pull upon the signal-cord to tell that the
+men were all right. After they had reached the bottom, there would be
+more time, no one could say how long, before they came upon survivors
+with signs of life in them. There were bodies near the foot of the
+shaft, according to the reports of the helmet-men, but there was no use
+delaying to bring these up, for they must have been dead for days. Hal
+saw a crowd of women clamouring about the helmet-men, trying to find out
+if these bodies had been recognised. Also he saw Jeff Cotton and Bud
+Adams at their old duty of driving the women back.
+
+The cage returned for a second load of men. There was less need of
+caution now; the hoist worked quickly, and group after group of men with
+silent, set faces, and pickaxes and crow-bars and shovels in their
+hands, went down into the pit of terror. They would scatter through the
+workings, testing everywhere ahead of them with safety-lamps, and
+looking for barriers erected by the imprisoned men for defence against
+the gases. As they hammered on these barriers, perhaps they would hear
+the signals of living men on the other side; or they would break through
+in silence, and find men too far gone to make a sound, yet possibly with
+the spark of life still in them.
+
+One by one, Hal's friends went down--"Big Jack" David, and Wresmak, the
+Bohemian, Klowoski, the Pole, and finally Jerry Minetti. Little Jerry
+waved his hand from his perch on Hal's shoulder; while Rosa, who had
+come out and joined them, was clinging to Hal's arm, silent, as if her
+soul were going down in the cage. There went blue-eyed Tim Rafferty to
+look for his father, and black-eyed "Andy," the Greek boy, whose father
+had perished in a similar disaster years ago; there went Rovetta, and
+Carmino, the pit-boss, Jerry's cousin. One by one their names ran
+through the crowd, as of heroes marching out to battle.
+
+
+
+SECTION 18.
+
+Looking about, Hal saw some of the guests of the Harrigan party. There
+was Vivie Cass, standing under an umbrella with Bert Atkins; and there
+was Bob Creston with Dicky Everson. These two had on mackintoshes and
+water-proof hats, and were talking to Cartwright; tall, immaculate men,
+who seemed like creatures of another world beside the stunted and
+coal-smutted miners.
+
+Seeing Hal, they moved over to him. "Where did you get the kid?"
+inquired Bob, his rosy, smooth-shaven face breaking into a smile.
+
+"I picked him up," said Hal, giving Little Jerry a toss and sliding him
+off his shoulder.
+
+"Hello, kid!" said Bob.
+
+And the answer came promptly, "Hello, yourself!" Little Jerry knew how
+to talk American; he was a match for any society man! "My father's went
+down in that cage," said he, looking up at the tall stranger, his bright
+black eyes sparkling.
+
+"Is that so!" replied the other. "Why don't you go?"
+
+"My father'll get 'em out. He ain't afraid o' nothin', my father!"
+
+"What's your father's name?"
+
+"Big Jerry."
+
+"Oho! And what'll you be when you grow up?"
+
+"I'm goin' to be a shot-firer."
+
+"In this mine?"
+
+"You bet not!"
+
+"Why not?"
+
+Little Jerry looked mysterious. "I ain't tellin' all I know," said he.
+
+The two young fellows laughed. Here was education for them! "Maybe
+you'll go back to the old country?" put in Dicky Everson.
+
+"No, sir-ee!" said Little Jerry. "I'm American."
+
+"Maybe you'll be president some day."
+
+"That's what my father says," replied the little chap--"president of a
+miners' union."
+
+Again they laughed; but Rosa gave a nervous whisper and caught at the
+child's sleeve. That was not the sort of thing to say to mysterious and
+rich-looking strangers! "This is Little Jerry's mother, Mrs. Minetti,"
+put in Hal, by way of reassuring her.
+
+"Glad to meet you, Mrs. Minetti," said the two young men, taking off
+their hats with elaborate bows; they stared, for Rosa was a pretty
+object as she blushed and made her shy response. She was much
+embarrassed, having never before in her life been bowed to by men like
+these.
+
+And here they were greeting Joe Smith as an old friend, and calling him
+by a strange name! She turned her black Italian eyes upon Hal in
+inquiry, and he felt a flush creeping over him. It was almost as
+uncomfortable to be found out by North Valley as to be found out by
+Western City!
+
+The men talked about the rescue-work, and what Cartwright had been
+telling of its progress. The fire was in one of the main passages, and
+was burning out the timbering, spreading rapidly under the draft from
+the reversed fan. There could be little hope of rescue in this part of
+the mine, but the helmet-men would defy the heat and smoke in the burned
+out passages. They knew how likely was the collapse of such portions of
+the mine; but also they knew that men had been working here before the
+explosion. "I must say they're a game lot!" remarked Dicky.
+
+A group of women and children were gathered about to listen, their
+shyness overcome by their torturing anxiety for news. They made one
+think of women in war-time, listening to the roar of distant guns and
+waiting for the bringing in of the wounded. Hal saw Bob and Dicky glance
+now and then at the ring of faces about them; they were getting
+something of this mood, and that was a part of what he had desired for
+them.
+
+"Are the others coming out?" he asked.
+
+"I don't know," said Bob. "I suppose they're having breakfast. It's time
+we went in."
+
+"Won't you come with us?" added Dicky.
+
+"No, thanks," replied Hal, "I've an engagement with the kid here." And
+he gave Little Jerry's hand a squeeze. "But tell some of the other
+fellows to come. They'll be interested in these things."
+
+"All right," said the two, as they moved away.
+
+
+
+SECTION 19.
+
+After allowing a sufficient time for the party in the dining-car to
+finish breakfast, Hal went down to the tracks, and induced the porter to
+take in his name to Percy Harrigan. He was hoping to persuade Percy to
+see the village under other than company chaperonage; he heard with
+dismay the announcement that the party had arranged to depart in the
+course of a couple of hours.
+
+"But you haven't seen anything at all!" Hal protested.
+
+"They won't let us into the mine," replied the other. "What else is
+there we can do?"
+
+"I wanted you to talk to the people and learn something about conditions
+here. You ought not to lose this chance, Percy!"
+
+"That's all right, Hal, but you might understand this isn't a convenient
+time. I've got a lot of people with me, and I've no right to ask them to
+wait."
+
+"But can't they learn something also, Percy?"
+
+"It's raining," was the reply; "and ladies would hardly care to stand
+round in a crowd and see dead bodies brought out of a mine."
+
+Hal got the rebuke. Yes, he had grown callous since coming to North
+Valley; he had lost that delicacy of feeling, that intuitive
+understanding of the sentiments of ladies, which he would surely have
+exhibited a short time earlier in his life. He was excited about this
+disaster; it was a personal thing to him, and he lost sight of the fact
+that to the ladies of the Harrigan party it was, in its details, merely
+sordid and repelling. If they went out in the mud and rain of a
+mining-village and stood about staring, they would feel that they were
+exhibiting, not human compassion, but idle curiosity. The sights they
+would see would harrow them to no purpose; and incidentally they would
+be exposing themselves to distressing publicity. As for offering
+sympathy to widows and orphans--well, these were foreigners mostly, who
+could not understand what was said to them, and who might be more
+embarrassed than helped by the intrusion into their grief of persons
+from an alien world.
+
+The business of offering sympathy had been reduced to a system by the
+civilisation which these ladies helped to maintain; and, as it happened,
+there was one present who was familiar with this system. Mrs. Curtis had
+already acted, so Percy informed Hal; she had passed about a
+subscription-paper, and in a couple of minutes over a thousand dollars
+had been pledged. This would be paid by check to the "Red Cross," whose
+agents would understand how to distribute relief among such sufferers.
+So the members of Percy's party felt that they had done the proper and
+delicate thing, and might go their ways with a quiet conscience.
+
+"The world can't stop moving just because there's been a mine-disaster,"
+said the Coal King's son. "People have engagements they must keep."
+
+And he went on to explain what these engagements were. He himself had to
+go to a dinner that evening, and would barely be able to make it. Bert
+Atkins was to play a challenge match at billiards, and Mrs. Curtis was
+to attend a committee meeting of a woman's club. Also it was the last
+Friday of the month; had Hal forgotten what that meant?
+
+After a moment Hal remembered--the "Young People's Night" at the country
+club! He had a sudden vision of the white colonial mansion on the
+mountain-side, with its doors and windows thrown wide, and the strains
+of an orchestra floating out. In the ball-room the young ladies of
+Percy's party would appear--Jessie, his sweetheart, among them--gowned
+in filmy chiffons and laces, floating in a mist of perfume and colour
+and music. They would laugh and chatter, they would flirt and scheme
+against one another for the sovereignty of the ball-room--while here in
+North Valley the sobbing widows would be clutching their mangled dead in
+their arms! How strange, how ghastly it seemed! How like the scenes one
+read of on the eve of the French Revolution!
+
+
+
+SECTION 20.
+
+Percy wanted Hal to come away with the party. He suggested this
+tactfully at first, and then, as Hal did not take the hint, he began to
+press the matter, showing signs of irritation. The mine was open
+now--what more did Hal want? When Hal suggested that Cartwright might
+order it closed again, Percy revealed the fact that the matter was in
+his father's hands. The superintendent had sent a long telegram the
+night before, and an answer was due at any moment. Whatever the answer
+ordered would have to be done.
+
+There was a grim look upon Hal's face, but he forced himself to speak
+politely. "If your father orders anything that interferes with the
+rescuing of the men--don't you see, Percy, that I have to fight him?"
+
+"But how _can_ you fight him?"
+
+"With the one weapon I have--publicity."
+
+"You mean--" Percy stopped, and stared.
+
+"I mean what I said before--I'd turn Billy Keating loose and blow this
+whole story wide open."
+
+"Well, by God!" cried young Harrigan. "I must say I'd call it damned
+dirty of you! You said you'd not do it, if I'd come here and open the
+mine!"
+
+"But what good does it do to open it, if you close it again before the
+men are out?" Hal paused, and when he went on it was in a sincere
+attempt at apology. "Percy, don't imagine I fail to appreciate the
+embarrassments of this situation. I know I must seem a cad to you--more
+than you've cared to tell me. I called you my friend in spite of all our
+quarrels. All I can do is to assure you that I never intended to get
+into such a position as this."
+
+"Well, what the hell did you want to come here for? You knew it was the
+property of a friend--"
+
+"That's the question at issue between us, Percy. Have you forgotten our
+arguments? I tried to convince you what it meant that you and I should
+own the things by which other people have to live. I said we were
+ignorant of the conditions under which our properties were worked, we
+were a bunch of parasites and idlers. But you laughed at me, called me a
+crank, an anarchist, said I swallowed what any muck-raker fed me. So I
+said: 'I'll go to one of Percy's mines! Then, when he tries to argue
+with me, I'll have him!' That was the way the thing started--as a joke.
+But then I got drawn into things. I don't want to be nasty, but no man
+with a drop of red blood in his veins could stay in this place a week
+without wanting to fight! That's why I want you to stay--you ought to
+stay, to meet some of the people and see for yourself."
+
+"Well, I can't stay," said the other, coldly. "And all I can tell you is
+that I wish you'd go somewhere else to do your sociology."
+
+"But where could I go, Percy? Somebody owns everything. If it's a big
+thing, it's almost certain to be somebody we know."
+
+Said Percy, "If I might make a suggestion, you could have begun with the
+coal-mines of the Warner Company."
+
+Hal laughed. "You may be sure I thought of that, Percy. But see the
+situation! If I was to accomplish my purpose, it was essential that I
+shouldn't be known. And I had met some of my father's superintendents in
+his office, and I knew they'd recognise me. So I _had_ to go to some
+other mines."
+
+"Most fortunate for the Warner Company," replied Percy, in an ugly tone.
+
+Hal answered, gravely, "Let me tell you, I don't intend to leave the
+Warner Company permanently out of my sociology."
+
+"Well," replied the other, "all I can say is that we pass one of their
+properties on our way back, and nothing would please me better than to
+stop the train and let you off!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 21.
+
+Hal went into the drawing-room car. There were Mrs. Curtis and Reggie
+Porter, playing bridge with Genevieve Halsey and young Everson. Bob
+Creston was chatting with Betty Gunnison, telling her what he had seen
+outside, no doubt. Bert Atkins was looking over the morning paper,
+yawning. Hal went on, seeking Jessie Arthur, and found her in one of the
+compartments of the car, looking out of the rain-drenched
+window--learning about a mining-camp in the manner permitted to young
+ladies of her class.
+
+He expected to find her in a disturbed state of mind, and was prepared
+to apologise. But when he met the look of distress she turned upon him,
+he did not know just where to begin. He tried to speak casually--he had
+heard she was going away. But she caught him by the hand, exclaiming:
+"Hal, you are coming with us!"
+
+He did not answer for a moment, but sat down by her. "Have I made you
+suffer so much, Jessie?"
+
+He saw tears start into her eyes. "Haven't you _known_ you were making
+me suffer? Here I was as Percy's guest; and to have you put such
+questions to me! What could I say? What do I know about the way Mr.
+Harrigan should run his business?"
+
+"Yes, dear," he said, humbly. "Perhaps I shouldn't have drawn you into
+it. But the matter was so complicated and so sudden. Can't you
+understand that, and forgive me? Everything has turned out so well!"
+
+But she did not think that everything had turned out well. "In the first
+place, for you to be here, in such a plight! And when I thought you were
+hunting mountain-goats in Mexico!"
+
+He could not help laughing; but Jessie had not even a smile. "And
+then--to have you drag our love into the thing, there before every one!"
+
+"Was that really so terrible, Jessie?"
+
+She looked at him with amazement. That he, Hal Warner, could have done
+such a thing, and not realise how terrible it was! To put her in a
+position where she had to break either the laws of love or the laws of
+good-breeding! Why, it had amounted to a public quarrel. It would be the
+talk of the town--there was no end to the embarrassment of it!
+
+"But, sweetheart!" argued Hal. "Try to see the reality of this
+thing--think about those people in the mine. You really _must_ do that!"
+
+She looked at him, and noticed the new, grim lines that had come upon
+his youthful face. Also, she caught the note of suppressed passion in
+his voice. He was pale and weary looking, in dirty clothes, his hair
+unkempt and his face only half washed. It was terrifying--as if he had
+gone to war.
+
+"Listen to me, Jessie," he insisted. "I want you to know about these
+things. If you and I are ever to make each other happy, you must try to
+grow up with me. That was why I was glad to have you here--you would
+have a chance to see for yourself. Now I ask you not to go without
+seeing."
+
+"But I have to go, Hal. I can't ask Percy Harrigan to stay and
+inconvenience everybody!"
+
+"You can stay without him. You can ask one of the ladies to chaperon
+you."
+
+She gazed at him in dismay. "Why, Hal! What a thing to suggest!"
+
+"Why so?"
+
+"Think how it would look!"
+
+"I can't think so much about looks, dear--"
+
+She broke in: "Think what Mamma would say!"
+
+"She wouldn't like it, I know--"
+
+"She would be wild! She would never forgive either of us. She would
+never forgive any one who stayed with me. And what would Percy say, if I
+came here as his guest, and stayed to spy on him and his father? Don't
+you see how preposterous it would be?"
+
+Yes, he saw. He was defying all the conventions of her world, and it
+seemed to her a course of madness. She clutched his hands in hers, and
+the tears ran down her cheeks.
+
+"Hal," she cried, "I can't leave you in this dreadful place! You look
+like a ghost, and a scarecrow, too! I want you to go and get some decent
+clothes and come home on this train."
+
+But he shook his head. "It's not possible, Jessie."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Because I have a duty to do here. Can't you understand, dear? All my
+life, I've been living on the labour of coal-miners, and I've never
+taken the trouble to go near them, to see how my money was got!"
+
+"But, Hal! These aren't your people! They are Mr. Harrigan's people!"
+
+"Yes," he said, "but it's all the same. They toil, and we live on their
+toil, and take it as a matter of course."
+
+"But what can one _do_ about it, Hal?"
+
+"One can understand it, if nothing else. And you see what I was able to
+do in this case--to get the mine open."
+
+"Hal," she exclaimed, "I can't understand you! You've become so cynical,
+you don't believe in any one! You're quite convinced that these
+officials meant to murder their working people! As if Mr. Harrigan would
+let his mines be run that way!"
+
+"Mr. Harrigan, Jessie? He passes the collection plate at St. George's!
+That's the only place you've ever seen him, and that's all you know
+about him."
+
+"I know what everybody says, Hal! Papa knows him, and my brothers--yes,
+your own brother, too! Isn't it true that Edward would disapprove what
+you're doing?"
+
+"Yes, dear, I fear so."
+
+"And you set yourself up against them--against everybody you know! Is it
+reasonable to think the older people are all wrong, and only you are
+right? Isn't it at least possible you're making a mistake? Think about
+it--honestly, Hal, for my sake!"
+
+She was looking at him pleadingly; and he leaned forward and took her
+hand. "Jessie," he said, his voice trembling, "I _know_ that these
+working people are oppressed; I know it, because I have been one of
+them! And I know that such men as Peter Harrigan, and even my own
+brother, are to blame! And they've got to be faced by some one--they've
+got to be made to see! I've come to see it clearly this summer--that's
+the job I have to do!"
+
+She was gazing at him with her wide-open, beautiful eyes; underneath her
+protests and her terror, she was thrilling with awe at this amazing
+madman she loved. "They will _kill_ you!" she cried.
+
+"No, dearest--you don't need to worry about that--I don't think they'll
+kill me."
+
+"But they shot at you!"
+
+"No, they shot at Joe Smith, a miner's buddy. They won't shoot at the
+son of a millionaire--not in America, Jessie."
+
+"But some dark night--"
+
+"Set your mind at rest," he said, "I've got Percy tied up in this, and
+everybody knows it. There's no way they could kill me without the whole
+story's coming out--and so I'm as safe as I would be in my bed at home!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 22.
+
+Hal was still possessed by his idea that Jessie must be taught--she must
+have knowledge forced upon her, whether she would or no. The train would
+not start for a couple of hours, and he tried to think of some use he
+could make of that precious interval. He recalled that Rosa Minetti had
+returned to her cabin to attend to her baby. A sudden vision came to him
+of Jessie in that little home. Rosa was sweet and good, and assuredly
+Little Jerry was a "winner."
+
+"Sweetheart," he said, "I wish you'd come for a walk with me."
+
+"But it's raining, Hal!"
+
+"It won't hurt you to spoil one dress; you have plenty."
+
+"I'm not thinking of that--"
+
+"I _wish_ you'd come."
+
+"I don't feel comfortable about it, Hal. I'm here as Percy's guest, and
+he mightn't like--"
+
+"I'll ask him if he objects to your taking a stroll," he suggested, with
+pretended gravity.
+
+"No, no! That would make it worse!" Jessie had no humour whatever about
+these matters.
+
+"Well, Vivie Cass was out, and some of the others are going. He hasn't
+objected to that."
+
+"I know, Hal. But he knows they're all right."
+
+Hal laughed. "Come on, Jessie. Percy won't hold you for my sins! You
+have a long train journey before you, and some fresh air will be good
+for you."
+
+She saw that she must make some concession to him, if she was to keep
+any of her influence over him.
+
+"All right," she said, with resignation, and disappeared and returned
+with a heavy veil over her face, to conceal her from prying reportorial
+eyes; also an equipment of mackintosh, umbrella and overshoes, against
+the rain. The two stole out of the car, feeling like a couple of
+criminals.
+
+Skirting the edge of the throng about the pit-mouth, they came to the
+muddy, unpaved quarter in which the Italians had their homes; he held
+her arm, steering her through the miniature sloughs and creeks. It was
+thrilling to him to have her with him thus, to see her sweet face and
+hear her voice full of love. Many a time he had thought of her here, and
+told her in his imagination of his experiences!
+
+He told her now--about the Minetti family, and how he had met Big and
+Little Jerry on the street, and how they had taken him in, and then been
+driven by fear to let him go again. He told his check-weighman story,
+and was telling how Jeff Cotton had arrested him; but they came to the
+Minetti cabin, and the terrifying narrative was cut short.
+
+It was Little Jerry who came to the door, with the remains of breakfast
+distributed upon his cheeks; he stared in wonder at the mysteriously
+veiled figure. Entering, they saw Rosa sitting in a chair nursing her
+baby. She rose in confusion; but she did not quite like to turn her back
+upon her guests, so she stood trying to hide her breast as best she
+could, blushing and looking very girlish and pretty.
+
+Hal introduced Jessie, as an old friend who was interested to meet his
+new friends, and Jessie threw back her veil and sat down. Little Jerry
+wiped off his face at his mother's command, and then came where he could
+stare at this incredibly lovely vision.
+
+"I've been telling Miss Arthur what good care you took of me," said Hal
+to Rosa. "She wanted to come and thank you for it."
+
+"Yes," added Jessie, graciously. "Anybody who is good to Hal earns my
+gratitude."
+
+Rosa started to murmur something; but Little Jerry broke in, with his
+cheerful voice, "Why you call him Hal? His name's Joe!"
+
+"Ssh!" cried Rosa. But Hal and Jessie laughed--and so the process of
+Americanising Little Jerry was continued.
+
+"I've got lots of names," said Hal. "They called me Hal when I was a kid
+like you."
+
+"Did _she_ know you then?" inquired Little Jerry.
+
+"Yes, indeed."
+
+"Is she your girl?"
+
+Rosa laughed shyly, and Jessie blushed, and looked charming. She
+realised vaguely a difference in manners. These people accepted the
+existence of "girls," not concealing their interest in the phenomenon.
+
+"It's a secret," warned Hal. "Don't you tell on us!"
+
+"I can keep a secret," said Little Jerry. After a moment's pause he
+added, dropping his voice, "You gotta keep secrets if you work in North
+Valley."
+
+"You bet your life," said Hal.
+
+"My father's a Socialist," continued the other, addressing Jessie; then,
+since one thing leads on to another, "My father's a shot-firer."
+
+"What's a shot-firer?" asked Jessie, by way of being sociable.
+
+"Jesus!" exclaimed Little Jerry. "Don't you know nothin' about minin'?"
+
+"No," said Jessie. "You tell me."
+
+"You couldn't get no coal without a shot-firer," declared Little Jerry.
+"You gotta get a good one, too, or maybe you bust up the mine. My
+father's the best they got."
+
+"What does he do?"
+
+"Well, they got a drill--long, long, like this, all the way across the
+room; and they turn it and bore holes in the coal. Sometimes they got
+machines to drill, only we don't like them machines, 'cause it takes the
+men's jobs. When they got the holes, then the shot-firer comes and sets
+off the powder. You gotta have--" and here Little Jerry slowed up,
+pronouncing each syllable very carefully--"per-miss-i-ble powder--what
+don't make no flame. And you gotta know just how much to put in. If you
+put in too much, you smash the coal, and the miner raises hell; if you
+don't put in enough, you make too much work for him, an' he raises hell
+again. So you gotta get a good shot-firer."
+
+Jessie looked at Hal, and he saw that her dismay was mingled with
+genuine amusement. He judged this a good way for her to get her
+education, so he proceeded to draw out Little Jerry on other aspects of
+coal-mining: on short weights and long hours, grafting bosses and
+camp-marshals, company-stores and boarding-houses, Socialist agitators
+and union organisers. Little Jerry talked freely of the secrets of the
+camp. "It's all right for you to know," he remarked gravely. "You're
+Joe's girl!"
+
+"You little cherub!" exclaimed Jessie.
+
+"What's a cherub?" was Little Jerry's reply.
+
+
+
+SECTION 23.
+
+So the time passed in a way that was pleasant. Jessie was completely won
+by this little Dago mine-urchin, in spite of all his frightful
+curse-words; and Hal saw that she was won, and was delighted by the
+success of this experiment in social amalgamation. He could not read
+Jessie's mind, and realise that underneath her genuine delight were
+reservations born of her prejudices, the instinctive cruelty of caste.
+Yes, this little mine chap was a cherub, now; but how about when he grew
+big? He would grow ugly and coarse-looking, in ten years one would not
+know him from any other of the rough and dirty men of the village.
+Jessie took the fact that common people grow ugly as they mature as a
+proof that they are, in some deep and permanent way, the inferiors of
+those above them. Hal was throwing away his time and strength, trying to
+make them into something which Nature had obviously not intended them to
+be! She decided to make that point to Hal on their way back to the
+train. She realised that he had brought her here to educate her; like
+all the rest of the world, she resented forcible education, and she was
+not without hope that she might turn the tables and educate Hal.
+
+Pretty soon Rosa finished nursing the baby, and Jessie remarked the
+little one's black eyes. This topic broke down the mother's shyness, and
+they were chatting pleasantly, when suddenly they heard sounds outside
+which caused them to start up. It was a clamour of women's voices; and
+Hal and Rosa sprang to the door. Just now was a critical time, when
+every one was on edge for news.
+
+Hal threw open the door and called to those outside "What is it?" There
+came a response, in a woman's voice, "They've found Rafferty!"
+
+"Alive?"
+
+"Nobody knows yet."
+
+"Where?"
+
+"In Room Seventeen. Eleven of them--Rafferty, and young Flanagan, and
+Johannson, the Swede. They're near dead--can't speak, they say. They
+won't let anybody near them."
+
+Other voices broke in; but the one which answered Hal had a different
+quality; it was a warm, rich voice, unmistakably Irish, and it held
+Jessie's attention. "They've got them in the tipple-room, and the women
+want to know about their men, and they won't tell them. They're beatin'
+them back like dogs!"
+
+There was a tumult of weeping, and Hal stepped out of the cabin, and in
+a minute or so he entered again, supporting on his arm a girl, clad in a
+faded blue calico dress, and having a head of very conspicuous red hair.
+She seemed half fainting, and kept moaning that it was horrible,
+horrible. Hal led her to a chair, and she sank into it and hid her face
+in her hands, sobbing, talking incoherently between her sobs.
+
+Jessie stood looking at this girl. She felt the intensity of her
+excitement, and shared it; yet at the same time there was something in
+Jessie that resented it. She did not wish to be upset about things like
+this, which she could not help. Of course these unfortunate people were
+suffering; but--what a shocking lot of noise the poor thing was making!
+A part of the poor thing's excitement was rage, and Jessie realised
+that, and resented it still more. It was as if it were a personal
+challenge to her; the same as Hal's fierce social passions, which so
+bewildered and shocked her.
+
+"They're beatin' the women back like dogs!" the girl repeated.
+
+"Mary," said Hal, trying to soothe her, "the doctors will be doing their
+best. The women couldn't expect to crowd about them!"
+
+"Maybe they couldn't; but that's not it, Joe, and ye know it! They been
+bringin' up dead bodies, some they found where the explosion was--blown
+all to pieces. And they won't let anybody see them. Is that because of
+the doctors? No, it ain't! It's because they want to tell lies about the
+number killed! They want to count four or five legs to a man! And that's
+what's drivin' the women crazy! I saw Mrs. Zamboni, tryin' to get into
+the shed, and Pete Hanun caught her by the breasts and shoved her back.
+'I want my man!' she screamed. 'Well, what do you want him for? He's all
+in pieces!' 'I want the pieces!' 'What good'll they do you? Are you
+goin' to eat him?'"
+
+There were cries of horror now, even from Jessie; and the strange girl
+hid her face in her hands and began to sob again. Hal put his hand
+gently on her arm.
+
+"Mary," he pleaded, "it's not so bad--at least they're getting the
+people out."
+
+"How do ye know what they're doin'? They might be sealin' up parts of
+the mine down below! That's what makes it so horrible--nobody knows
+what's happenin'! Ye should have heard poor Mrs. Rafferty screamin'.
+Joe, it went through me like a knife. Just think, it's been half an hour
+since they brought him up, and the poor lady can't be told if her man is
+alive."
+
+
+
+SECTION 24.
+
+Hal stood for a few moments in thought. He was surprised that such
+things should be happening while Percy Harrigan's train was in the
+village. He was considering whether he should go to Percy, or whether a
+hint to Cotton or Cartwright would not be sufficient.
+
+"Mary," he said, in a quiet voice, "you needn't distress yourself so. We
+can get better treatment for the women, I'm sure."
+
+But her sobbing went on. "What can ye do? They're bound to have their
+way!"
+
+"No," said Hal. "There's a difference now. Believe me--something can be
+done. I'll step over and have a word with Jeff Cotton."
+
+He started towards the door; but there came a cry: "Hal!" It was Jessie,
+whom he had almost forgotten in his sudden anger at the bosses.
+
+At her protest he turned and looked at her; then he looked at Mary. He
+saw the latter's hands fall from her tear-stained face, and her
+expression of grief give way to one of wonder. "Hal!"
+
+"Excuse me," he said, quickly. "Miss Burke, this is my friend, Miss
+Arthur." Then, not quite sure if this was a satisfactory introduction,
+he added, "Jessie, this is my friend, Mary."
+
+Jessie's training could not fail in any emergency. "Miss Burke," she
+said, and smiled with perfect politeness. But Mary said nothing, and the
+strained look did not leave her face.
+
+In the first excitement she had almost failed to notice this stranger;
+but now she stared, and realisation grew upon her. Here was a girl,
+beautiful with a kind of beauty hardly to be conceived of in a
+mining-camp; reserved, yet obviously expensive--even in a mackintosh and
+rubber-shoes. Mary was used to the expensiveness of Mrs. O'Callahan, but
+here was a new kind of expensiveness, subtle and compelling, strangely
+unconscious. And she laid claim to Joe Smith, the miner's buddy! She
+called him by a name hitherto unknown to his North Valley associates! It
+needed no word from Little Jerry to guide Mary's instinct; she knew in a
+flash that here was the "other girl."
+
+Mary was seized with sudden acute consciousness of the blue calico
+dress, patched at the shoulder and stained with grease-spots; of her
+hands, big and rough with hard labour; of her feet, clad in shoes worn
+sideways at the heel, and threatening to break out at the toes. And as
+for Jessie, she too had the woman's instinct; she too saw a girl who was
+beautiful, with a kind of beauty of which she did not approve, but which
+she could not deny--the beauty of robust health, of abounding animal
+energy. Jessie was not unaware of the nature of her own charms, having
+been carefully educated to conserve them; nor did she fail to make note
+of the other girl's handicaps--the patched and greasy dress, the big
+rough hands, the shoes worn sideways. But even so, she realised that
+"Red Mary" had a quality which she lacked--that beside this wild rose of
+a mining-camp, she, Jessie Arthur, might possibly seem a garden flower,
+fragile and insipid.
+
+She had seen Hal lay his hand upon Mary's arm, and heard her speak to
+him. She called him Joe! And a sudden fear had leaped into Jessie's
+heart.
+
+Like many girls who have been delicately reared, Jessie Arthur knew more
+than she admitted, even to herself. She knew enough to realise that
+young men with ample means and leisure are not always saints and
+ascetics. Also, she had heard the remark many times made that these
+women of the lower orders had "no morals." Just what did such a remark
+mean? What would be the attitude of such a girl as Mary
+Burke--full-blooded and intense, dissatisfied with her lot in life--to a
+man of culture and charm like Hal? She would covet him, of course; no
+woman who knew him could fail to covet him. And she would try to steal
+him away from his friends, from the world to which he belonged, the
+future of happiness and ease to which he was entitled. She would have
+powers--dark and terrible powers, all the more appalling to Jessie
+because they were mysterious. Might they possibly be able to overcome
+even the handicap of a dirty calico dress, of big rough hands and shoes
+worn sideways?
+
+These reflections, which have taken many words to explain, came to
+Jessie in one flash of intuition. She understood now, all at once, the
+incomprehensible phenomenon--that Hal should leave friends and home and
+career, to come and live amid this squalor and suffering! She saw the
+old drama of the soul of man, heaven and hell contending for mastery of
+it; and she knew that she was heaven, and that this "Red Mary" was hell.
+
+She looked at Hal. He seemed to her so fine and true; his face was
+frank, he was the soul of honourableness. No, it was impossible to
+believe that he had yielded to such a lure! If that had been the case,
+he would never have brought her to this cabin, he would never have taken
+a chance of her meeting the girl. No; but he might be struggling against
+temptation, he might be in the toils of it, and only half aware of it.
+He was a man, and therefore blind; he was a dreamer, and it would be
+like him to idealise this girl, calling her naive and primitive,
+thinking that she had no wiles! Jessie had come just in time to save
+him! And she would fight to save him--using wiles more subtle than those
+at the command of any mining-camp hussy!
+
+
+
+SECTION 25.
+
+It was the surging up in Jessie Arthur of that instinctive self, the
+creature of hereditary cruelty, of the existence of which Hal had no
+idea. She drew back, and there was a quiet _hauteur_ in her tone as she
+spoke. "Hal, come here, please."
+
+He came; and she waited until he was close enough for intimacy, and then
+said, "Have you forgotten you have to take me back to the train?"
+
+"Can't you come with me for a few minutes?" he pleaded. "It would have
+such a good effect if you did."
+
+"I can't go into that crowd," she answered; and suddenly her voice
+trembled, and the tears came into her sweet brown eyes. "Don't you know,
+Hal, that I couldn't stand such terrible sights? This poor girl--she is
+used to them--she is hardened! But I--I--oh, take me away, take me away,
+dear Hal!" This cry of a woman for protection came with a familiar echo
+to Hal's mind. He did not stop to think--he was moved by it
+instinctively. Yes, he had exposed the girl he loved to suffering! He
+had meant it for her own good, but even so, it was cruel!
+
+He stood close to her, and saw the love-light in her eyes; he saw the
+tears, the trembling of her sensitive chin. She swayed to him, and he
+caught her in his arms--and there, before these witnesses, she let him
+press her to him, while she sobbed and whispered her distress. She had
+been shy of caresses hitherto, watched and admonished by an experienced
+mother; certainly she had never before made what could by the remotest
+stretch of the imagination be considered an advance towards him. But now
+she made it, and there was a cry of triumph in her soul as she saw that
+he responded to it. He was still hers--and these low people should know
+it, this "other girl" should know it!
+
+Yet, in the midst of this very exultation, Jessie Arthur really felt the
+grief she expressed for the women of North Valley; she really felt
+horror at the story of Mrs. Zamboni's "man": so intricate is the soul of
+woman, so puzzling that faculty, older than the ages, which enables her
+to be hysterical, and at the same time to be guided in the use of that
+hysteria by deep and infallible calculation.
+
+But she made Hal realise that it was necessary for him to take her away.
+He turned to Mary Burke and said, "Miss Arthur's train is leaving in a
+short time. I'll have to take her hack, and then I'll go to the
+pit-mouth with you and see what I can do."
+
+"Very well," Mary answered; and her voice was hard and cold. But Hal did
+not notice this. He was a man, and not able to keep up with the emotions
+of one woman--to say nothing of two women at the same time.
+
+He took Jessie out, and all the way hack to the train she fought a
+desperate fight to get him away from here. She no longer even suggested
+that he get decent clothing; she was willing for him to come as he was,
+in his coal-stained mining-jumpers, in the private train of the Coal
+King's son. She besought him in the name of their affection. She
+threatened him that if he did not come, this might be the last time they
+would meet. She even broke down in the middle of the street, and let him
+stand there in plain sight of miners' wives and children, and of
+possible newspaper reporters, holding her in his arms and comforting
+her.
+
+Hal was much puzzled; but he would not give way. The idea of going off
+in Percy Harrigan's train had come to seem morally repulsive to him; he
+hated Percy Harrigan's train, and Percy Harrigan also, he declared. And
+Jessie saw that she was only making him unreasonable--that before long
+he might be hating her. With her instinctive _savoir faire_, she brought
+up his suggestion that she might find some one to chaperon her, and stay
+with him at North Valley until he was ready to come away.
+
+Hal's heart leaped at that; he had no idea what was in her mind--the
+certainty that no one of the ladies of the Harrigan party would run the
+risk of offending her host by staying under such circumstances.
+
+"You mean it, sweetheart?" he cried, happily.
+
+She answered, "I mean that I love you, Hal."
+
+"All right, dear!" he said. "We'll see if we can arrange it."
+
+But as they walked on, she managed, without his realising it, to cause
+him to reflect upon the effect of her staying. She was willing to do it,
+if it was what he wanted; but it would injure, perhaps irrevocably, his
+standing with her parents. They would telegraph her to come at once; and
+if she did not obey, they would come by the next train. So on, until at
+last Hal was moved to withdraw his own suggestion. After all, what was
+the use of her staying, if her mind was on the people at home, if she
+would simply keep him in hot water? Before the conversation was over Hal
+had become clear in his mind that North Valley was no place for Jessie
+Arthur, and that he had been a fool to think he could bring the two
+together.
+
+She tried to get him to promise to leave as soon as the last man had
+been brought out of the mine. He answered that he intended to leave
+then, unless some new emergency should arise. She tried to get an
+unqualified promise; and failing in that, when they had nearly got to
+the train she suddenly made a complete surrender. Let him do what he
+pleased--but let him remember that she loved him, that she needed him,
+that she could not do without him. No matter what he might do, no matter
+what people might say about him, she believed in him, she would stand by
+him. Hal was deeply touched, and took her in his arms again and kissed
+her tenderly under the umbrella, in the presence of the wondering stares
+of several urchins with coal-smutted faces. He pledged anew his love for
+her, assuring her that no amount of interest in mining-camps should ever
+steal him from her.
+
+Then he put her on the train, and shook hands with the departing guests.
+He was so very sombre and harassed-looking that the young men forbore to
+"kid" him as they would otherwise have done. He stood on the
+station-platform and saw the train roll away--and felt, to his own
+desperate bewilderment, that he hated these friends of his boyhood and
+youth. His reason protested against it; he told himself there was
+nothing they could do, no reason on earth for them to stay--and yet he
+hated them. They were hurrying off to dance and flirt at the country
+club--while he was going back to the pit-mouth, to try to get Mrs.
+Zamboni the right to inspect the pieces of her "man"!
+
+
+
+
+BOOK FOUR
+
+THE WILL OF KING COAL
+
+
+
+
+SECTION 1.
+
+The pit of death was giving up its secrets. The hoist was busy, and
+cage-load after cage-load came up, with bodies dead and bodies living
+and bodies only to be classified after machines had pumped air into them
+for a while. Hal stood in the rain and watched the crowd and thought
+that he had never witnessed a scene so compelling to pity and terror.
+The silence that would fall when any one appeared who might have news to
+tell! The sudden shriek of anguish from some woman whose hopes were
+struck dead! The moans of sympathy that ran through the crowd,
+alternating with cheers at some good tidings, shaking the souls of the
+multitude as a storm of wind shakes a reed-field!
+
+And the stories that ran through the camp--brought up from the
+underground world--stories of incredible sufferings, and of still more
+incredible heroisms! Men who had been four days without food or water,
+yet had resisted being carried out of the mine, proposing to stay and
+help rescue others! Men who had lain together in the darkness and
+silence, keeping themselves alive by the water which seeped from the
+rocks overhead, taking turns lying face upwards where the drops fell, or
+wetting pieces of their clothing and sucking out the moisture! Members
+of the rescue parties would tell how they knocked upon the barriers, and
+heard the faint answering signals of the imprisoned men; how madly they
+toiled to cut through, and how, when at last a little hole appeared,
+they heard the cries of joy, and saw the eyes of men shining from the
+darkness, while they waited, gasping, for the hole to grow bigger, so
+that water and food might be passed in!
+
+In some places they were fighting the fire. Long lines of hose had been
+sent down, and men were moving forward foot by foot, as the smoke and
+steam were sucked out ahead of them by the fan. Those who did this work
+were taking their lives in their hands, yet they went without
+hesitation. There was always hope of finding men in barricaded rooms
+beyond.
+
+Hal sought out Jeff Cotton at the entrance to the tipple-room, which had
+been turned into a temporary hospital. It was the first time the two had
+met since the revelation in Percy's car, and the camp-marshal's face
+took on a rather sheepish grin. "Well, Mr. Warner, you win," he
+remarked; and after a little arguing he agreed to permit a couple of
+women to go into the tipple-room and make a list of the injured, and go
+out and give the news to the crowd. Hal went to the Minettis to ask Mary
+Burke to attend to this; but Rosa said that Mary had gone out after he
+and Miss Arthur had left, and no one knew where she was. So Hal went to
+Mrs. David, who consented to get a couple of friends, and do the work
+without being called a "committee." "I won't have any damned
+committees!" the camp-marshal had declared.
+
+So the night passed, and part of another day. A clerk from the office
+came to Hal with a sealed envelope, containing a telegram, addressed in
+care of Cartwright. "I most urgently beg of you to come home at once. It
+will be distressing to Dad if he hears what has happened, and it will
+not be possible to keep the matter from him for long."
+
+As Hal read, he frowned; evidently the Harrigans had got busy without
+delay! He went to the office and telephoned his answer. "Am planning to
+leave in a day or two. Trust you will make an effort to spare Dad until
+you have heard my story."
+
+This message troubled Hal. It started in his mind long arguments with
+his brother, and explanations and apologies to his father. He loved the
+old man tenderly. What a shame if some emissary of the Harrigans were to
+get to him to upset him with misrepresentations!
+
+Also these ideas had a tendency to make Hal homesick; they brought more
+vividly to his thoughts the outside world, with its physical
+allurements--there being a limit to the amount of unwholesome meals and
+dirty beds and repulsive sights a man of refinement can force himself to
+endure. Hal found himself obsessed by a vision of a club dining-room,
+with odours of grilled steaks and hot rolls, and the colours of salads
+and fresh fruits and cream. The conviction grew suddenly strong in him
+that his work in North Valley was nearly done!
+
+Another night passed, and another day. The last of the bodies had been
+brought out, and the corpses shipped down to Pedro for one of those big
+wholesale funerals which are a feature of mine-life. The fire was out,
+and the rescue-crews had given place to a swarm of carpenters and
+timbermen, repairing the damage and making the mine safe. The reporters
+had gone; Billy Keating having clasped Hal's hand, and promised to meet
+him for luncheon at the club. An agent of the "Red Cross" was on hand,
+and was feeding the hungry out of Mrs. Curtis's subscription-list. What
+more was there for Hal to do--except to bid good-bye to his friends, and
+assure them of his help in the future?
+
+First among these friends was Mary Burke, whom he had had no chance to
+talk to since the meeting with Jessie. He realised that Mary had been
+deliberately avoiding him. She was not in her home, and he went to
+inquire at the Rafferties', and stopped for a good-bye chat with the old
+woman whose husband he had saved.
+
+Rafferty was going to pull through. His wife had been allowed in to see
+him, and tears rolled down her shrunken cheeks as she told about it. He
+had been four days and nights blocked up in a little tunnel, with no
+food or water, save for a few drops of coffee which he had shared with
+other men. He could still not speak, he could hardly move a hand; but
+there was life in his eyes, and his look had been a greeting from the
+soul she had loved and served these thirty years and more. Mrs. Rafferty
+sang praises to the Rafferty God, who had brought him safely through
+these perils; it seemed obvious that He must be more efficient than the
+Protestant God of Johannson, the giant Swede, who had lain by Rafferty's
+side and given up the ghost.
+
+But the doctor had stated that the old Irishman would never be good to
+work again; and Hal saw a shadow of terror cross the sunshine of Mrs.
+Rafferty's rejoicing. How could a doctor say a thing like that? Rafferty
+was old, to be sure; but he was tough--and could any doctor imagine how
+hard a man would try who had a family looking to him? Sure, he was not
+the one to give up for a bit of pain now and then! Besides him, there
+was only Tim who was earning; and though Tim was a good lad, and worked
+steady, any doctor ought to know that a big family could not be kept
+going on the wages of one eighteen-year-old pit-boy. As for the other
+lads, there was a law that said they were too young to work. Mrs.
+Rafferty thought there should be some one to put a little sense into the
+heads of them that made the laws--for if they wanted to forbid children
+to work in coal-mines, they should surely provide some other way to feed
+the children.
+
+Hal listened, agreeing sympathetically, and meantime watching her, and
+learning more from her actions than from her words. She had been
+obedient to the teachings of her religion, to be fruitful and multiply;
+she had fed three grown sons into the maw of industry, and had still
+eight children and a man to care for. Hal wondered if she had ever
+rested a single minute of daylight in all her fifty-four years.
+Certainly not while he had been in her house! Even now, while praising
+the Rafferty God and blaming the capitalist law-makers, she was getting
+a supper, moving swiftly, silently, like a machine. She was lean as an
+old horse that has toiled across a desert; the skin over her cheek-bones
+was tight as stretched rubber, and cords stood out in her wrists like
+piano-wires.
+
+And now she was cringing before the spectre of destitution. He asked
+what she would do about it, and saw the shadow of terror cross her face
+again. There was one recourse from starvation, it seemed--to have her
+children taken from her, and put in some institution! At the mention of
+this, one of the special nightmares of the poor, the old woman began to
+sob and cry again that the doctor was wrong; he would see, and Hal would
+see--Old Rafferty would be back at his job in a week or two!
+
+
+
+SECTION 2.
+
+Hal went out on the street again. It was the hour which would have been
+sunset in a level region; the tops of the mountains were touched with a
+purple light, and the air was fresh and chill with early fall. Down the
+darkening streets he saw a gathering of men; there was shouting, and
+people running towards the place, so he hurried up, with the thought in
+his mind, "What's the matter now?" There were perhaps a hundred men
+crying out, their voices mingling like the sound of waves on the sea. He
+could make out words: "Go on! Go on! We've had enough of it! Hurrah!"
+
+"What's happened?" he asked, of some one on the outskirts; and the man,
+recognising him, raised a cry which ran through the throng: "Joe Smith!
+He's the boy for us! Come in here, Joe! Give us a speech!"
+
+But even while Hal was asking questions, trying to get the situation
+clear, other shouts had drowned out his name. "We've had enough of them
+walking over us!" And somebody cried, more loudly, "Tell us about it!
+Tell it again! Go on!"
+
+A man was standing upon the steps of a building at one side. Hal stared
+in amazement; it was Tim Rafferty. Of all people in the world--Tim, the
+light-hearted and simple, Tim of the laughing face and the merry Irish
+blue eyes! Now his sandy hair was tousled and his features distorted
+with rage. "Him near dead!" he yelled. "Him with his voice gone, and
+couldn't move his hand! Eleven years he's slaved for them, and near
+killed in an accident that's their own fault--every man in this crowd
+knows it's their own fault, by God!"
+
+"Sure thing! You're right!" cried a chorus of voices "Tell it all!"
+
+"They give him twenty-five dollars and his hospital expenses--and
+what'll his hospital expenses be? They'll have him out on the street
+again before he's able to stand. You know that--they done it to Pete
+Cullen!"
+
+"You bet they did!"
+
+"Them damned lawyers in there--gettin' 'em to sign papers when they
+don't know what they're doin'. An' me that might help him can't get
+near! By Christ, I say it's too much! Are we slaves, or are we dogs,
+that we have to stand such things?"
+
+"We'll stand no more of it!" shouted one. "We'll go in there and see to
+it ourselves!"
+
+"Come on!" shouted another. "To hell with their gunmen!"
+
+Hal pushed his way into the crowd. "Tim!" he cried. "How do you know
+this?"
+
+"There's a fellow in there seen it."
+
+"Who?"
+
+"I can't tell you--they'd fire him; but it's somebody you know as well
+as me. He come and told me. They're beatin' me old father out of
+damages!"
+
+"They do it all the time!" shouted Wauchope, an English miner at Hal's
+side. "That's why they won't let us in there."
+
+"They done the same thing to my father!" put in another voice. Hal
+recognised Andy, the Greek boy.
+
+"And they want to start Number Two in the mornin'!" yelled Tim. "Who'll
+go down there again? And with Alec Stone, him that damns the men and
+saves the mules!"
+
+"We'll not go back in them mines till they're safe!" shouted Wauchope.
+"Let them sprinkle them--or I'm done with the whole business."
+
+"And let 'em give us our weights!" cried another. "We'll have a
+check-weighman, and we'll get what we earn!"
+
+So again came the cry, "Joe Smith! Give us a speech, Joe! Soak it to
+'em! You're the boy!"
+
+Hal stood helpless, dismayed. He had counted his fight won--and here was
+another beginning! The men were looking to him, calling upon him as the
+boldest of the rebels. Only a few of them knew about the sudden change
+in his fortunes.
+
+Even while he hesitated, the line of battle had swept past him; the
+Englishman, Wauchope, sprang upon the steps and began to address the
+throng. He was one of the bowed and stunted men, but in this emergency
+he developed sudden lung-power. Hal listened in astonishment; this
+silent and dull-looking fellow was the last he would have picked for a
+fighter. Tom Olson had sounded him out, and reported that he would hear
+nothing, so they had dismissed him from mind. And here he was, shouting
+terrible defiance!
+
+"They're a set of robbers and murderers! They rob us everywhere we turn!
+For my part, I've had enough of it! Have you?"
+
+There was a roar from every one within reach of his voice. They had all
+had enough.
+
+"All right, then--we'll fight them!"
+
+"Hurrah! Hurrah! We'll have our rights!"
+
+Jeff Cotton came up on the run, with "Bud" Adams and two or three of the
+gunmen at his heels. The crowd turned upon them, the men on the
+outskirts clenching their fists, showing their teeth like angry dogs.
+Cotton's face was red with rage, but he saw that he had a serious matter
+in hand; he turned and went for more help--and the mob roared with
+delight. Already they had begun their fight! Already they had won their
+first victory!
+
+
+
+SECTION 3.
+
+The crowd moved down the street, shouting and cursing as it went. Some
+one started to sing the Marseillaise, and others took it up, and the
+words mounted to a frenzy:
+
+  "To arms! To arms, ye brave!
+  March on, march on, all hearts resolved
+  On victory or death!"
+
+There were the oppressed of many nations in this crowd; they sang in a
+score of languages, but it was the same song. They would sing a few
+bars, and the yells of others would drown them out. "March on! March on!
+All hearts resolved!" Some rushed away in different directions to spread
+the news, and very soon the whole population of the village was on the
+spot; the men waving their caps, the women lifting up their hands and
+shrieking--or standing terrified, realising that babies could not be fed
+upon revolutionary singing.
+
+Tim Rafferty was raised up on the shoulders of the crowd and made to
+tell his story once more. While he was telling it, his old mother came
+running, and her shrieks rang above the clamour: "Tim! Tim! Come down
+from there! What's the matter wid ye?" She was twisting her hands
+together in an agony of fright; seeing Hal, she rushed up to him. "Get
+him out of there, Joe! Sure, the lad's gone crazy! They'll turn us out
+of the camp, they'll give us nothin' at all--and what'll become of us?
+Mother of God, what's the matter with the b'y?" She called to Tim again;
+but Tim paid no attention, if he heard her. Tim was on the march to
+Versailles!
+
+Some one shouted that they would go to the hospital to protect the
+injured men from the "damned lawyers." Here was something definite, and
+the crowd moved in that direction, Hal following with the stragglers,
+the women and children, and the less bold among the men. He noticed some
+of the clerks and salaried employes of the company; presently he saw
+Jeff Cotton again, and heard him ordering these men to the office to get
+revolvers.
+
+"Big Jack" David came along with Jerry Minetti, and Hal drew back to
+consult with them. Jerry was on fire. It had come--the revolt he had
+been looking forward to for years! Why were they not making speeches,
+getting control of the men and organising them?
+
+Jack David voiced uncertainty. They had to consider if this outburst
+could mean anything permanent.
+
+Jerry answered that it would mean what they chose to make it mean. If
+they took charge, they could guide the men and hold them together.
+Wasn't that what Tom Olson had wanted?
+
+No, said the big Welshman, Olson had been trying to organise the men
+secretly, as preliminary to a revolt in all the camps. That was quite
+another thing from an open movement, limited to one camp. Was there any
+hope of success for such a movement? If not, they would be foolish to
+start, they would only be making sure of their own expulsion.
+
+Jerry turned to Hal. What did he think?
+
+And so at last Hal had to speak. It was hard for him to judge, he said.
+He knew so little about labour matters. It was to learn about them that
+he had come to North Valley. It was a hard thing to advise men to submit
+to such treatment as they had been getting; but on the other hand, any
+one could see that a futile outbreak would discourage everybody, and
+make it harder than ever to organise them.
+
+So much Hal spoke; but there was more in his mind, which he could not
+speak. He could not say to these men, "I am a friend of yours, but I am
+also a friend of your enemy, and in this crisis I cannot make up my mind
+to which side I owe allegiance. I'm bound by a duty of politeness to the
+masters of your lives; also, I'm anxious not to distress the girl I am
+to marry!" No, he could not say such things. He felt himself a traitor
+for having them in his mind, and he could hardly bring himself to look
+these men in the eye. Jerry knew that he was in some way connected with
+the Harrigans; probably he had told the rest of Hal's friends, and they
+had been discussing it and speculating about the meaning of it. Suppose
+they should think he was a spy?
+
+So Hal was relieved when Jack David spoke firmly. They would only be
+playing the game of the enemy if they let themselves be drawn in
+prematurely. They ought to have the advice of Tom Olson.
+
+Where was Olson? Hal asked; and David explained that on the day when Hal
+had been thrown out of camp, Olson had got his "time" and set out for
+Sheridan, the local headquarters of the union, to report the situation.
+He would probably not come back; he had got his little group together,
+he had planted the seed of revolt in North Valley.
+
+They discussed back and forth the problem of getting advice. It was
+impossible to telephone from North Valley without everything they said
+being listened to; but the evening train for Pedro left in a few
+minutes, and "Big Jack" declared that some one ought to take it. The
+town of Sheridan was only fifteen or twenty miles from Pedro, and there
+would be a union official there to advise them; or they might use the
+long distance telephone, and persuade one of the union leaders in
+Western City to take the midnight train, and be in Pedro next morning.
+
+Hal, still hoping to withdraw himself, put this task off on Jack David.
+They emptied out the contents of their pockets, so that he might have
+funds enough, and the big Welshman darted off to catch the train. In the
+meantime Jerry and Hal agreed to keep in the background, and to seek out
+the other members of their group and warn them to do the same.
+
+
+
+SECTION 4.
+
+This programme was a convenient one for Hal; but as he was to find
+almost at once, it had been adopted too late. He and Jerry started after
+the crowd, which had stopped in front of one of the company buildings;
+and as they came nearer they heard some one making a speech. It was the
+voice of a woman, the tones rising clear and compelling. They could not
+see the speaker, because of the throng, but Hal recognised her voice,
+and caught his companion by the arm. "It's Mary Burke!"
+
+Mary Burke it was, for a fact; and she seemed to have the crowd in a
+kind of frenzy. She would speak one sentence, and there would come a
+roar from the throng; she would speak another sentence, and there would
+come another roar. Hal and Jerry pushed their way in, to where they
+could make out the words of this litany of rage.
+
+"Would they go down into the pit themselves, do ye think?"
+
+"They would not!"
+
+"Would they be dressed in silks and laces, do ye think?"
+
+"They would not!"
+
+"Would they have such fine soft hands, do ye think?"
+
+"They would not!"
+
+"Would they hold themselves too good to look at ye?"
+
+"They would not! They would not!"
+
+And Mary swept on: "If only ye'd stand together, they'd come to ye on
+their knees to ask for terms! But ye're cowards, and they play on your
+fears! Ye're traitors, and they buy ye out! They break ye into pieces,
+they do what they please with ye--and then ride off in their private
+cars, and leave gunmen to beat ye down and trample on your faces! How
+long will ye stand it? How long?"
+
+The roar of the mob rolled down the street and back again. "We'll not
+stand it! We'll not stand it!" Men shook their clenched fists, women
+shrieked, even children shouted curses. "We'll fight them! We'll slave
+no more for them!"
+
+And Mary found a magic word. "We'll have a union!" she shouted. "We'll
+get together and stay together! If they refuse us our rights, we'll know
+what to answer--we'll have a _strike!_"
+
+There was a roar like the crashing of thunder in the mountains. Yes,
+Mary had found the word! For many years it had not been spoken aloud in
+North Valley, but now it ran like a flash of gunpowder through the
+throng. "Strike! Strike! Strike! Strike!" It seemed as if they would
+never have enough of it. Not all of them had understood Mary's speech,
+but they knew this word, "Strike!" They translated and proclaimed it in
+Polish and Bohemian and Italian and Greek. Men waved their caps, women
+waved their aprons--in the semi-darkness it was like some strange kind
+of vegetation tossed by a storm. Men clasped one another's hands, the
+more demonstrative of the foreigners fell upon one another's necks.
+"Strike! Strike! Strike!"
+
+"We're no longer slaves!" cried the speaker. "We're men--and we'll live
+as men! We'll work as men--or we'll not work at all! We'll no longer be
+a herd of cattle, that they can drive about as they please! We'll
+organise, we'll stand together--shoulder to shoulder! Either we'll win
+together, or we'll starve and die together! And not a man of us will
+yield, not a man of us will turn traitor! Is there anybody here who'll
+scab on his fellows?"
+
+There was a howl, which might have come from a pack of wolves. Let the
+man who would scab on his fellows show his dirty face in that crowd!
+
+"Ye'll stand by the union?"
+
+"We'll stand by it!"
+
+"Ye'll swear?"
+
+"We'll swear!"
+
+She flung her arms to heaven with a gesture of passionate adjuration.
+"Swear it on your lives! To stick to the rest of us, and never a man of
+ye give way till ye've won! Swear! _Swear!_"
+
+Men stood, imitating her gesture, their hands stretched up to the sky.
+"We swear! We swear!"
+
+"Ye'll not let them break ye! Ye'll not let them frighten ye!"
+
+"No! No!"
+
+"Stand by your word, men! Stand by it! 'Tis the one chance for your
+wives and childer!" The girl rushed on--exhorting with leaping words and
+passionate out-flung arms--a tall, swaying figure of furious rebellion.
+Hal listened to the speech and watched the speaker, marvelling. Here was
+a miracle of the human soul, here was hope born of despair! And the
+crowd around her--they were sharing the wonderful rebirth; their waving
+arms, their swaying forms responded to Mary as an orchestra to the baton
+of a leader.
+
+A thrill shook Hal--a thrill of triumph! He had been beaten down
+himself, he had wanted to run from this place of torment; but now there
+was hope in North Valley--now there would be victory, freedom!
+
+Ever since he had come to the coal-country, the knowledge had been
+growing in Hal that the real tragedy of these people's lives was not
+their physical suffering, but their mental depression--the dull,
+hopeless misery in their minds. This had been driven into his
+consciousness day by day, both by what he saw and by what others told
+him. Tom Olson had first put it into words: "Your worst troubles are
+inside the heads of the fellows you're trying to help!" How could hope
+be given to men in this environment of terrorism? Even Hal himself,
+young and free as he was, had been brought to despair. He came from a
+class which is accustomed to say, "Do this," or "Do that," and it will
+be done. But these mine-slaves had never known that sense of power, of
+certainty; on the contrary, they were accustomed to having their efforts
+balked at every turn, their every impulse to happiness or achievement
+crushed by another's will.
+
+But here was this miracle of the human soul! Here was hope in North
+Valley! Here were the people rising--and Mary Burke at their head! It
+was his vision come true--Mary Burke with a glory in her face, and her
+hair shining like a crown of gold! Mary Burke mounted upon a snow-white
+horse, wearing a robe of white, soft and lustrous--like Joan of Arc, or
+a leader in a suffrage parade! Yes, and she was at the head of a host,
+he had the music of its marching in his ears!
+
+Underneath Hal's jesting words had been a real vision, a real faith in
+this girl. Since that day when he had first discovered her, a wild rose
+of the mining-camp taking in the family wash, he had realised that she
+was no pretty young working-girl, but a woman with a mind and a
+personality. She saw farther, she felt more deeply than the average of
+these wage-slaves. Her problem was the same as theirs, yet more complex.
+When he had wanted to help her and had offered to get her a job, she had
+made clear that what she craved was not merely relief from drudgery, but
+a life with intellectual interest. So then the idea had come to him that
+Mary should become a teacher, a leader of her people. She loved them,
+she suffered for them and with them, and at the same time she had a mind
+that was capable of seeking out the causes of their misery. But when he
+had gone to her with plans of leadership, he had been met by her
+corroding despair; her pessimism had seemed to mock his dreams, her
+contempt for these mine-slaves had belittled his efforts in their behalf
+and in hers.
+
+And now, here she was taking up the role he had planned for her! Her
+very soul was in this shouting throng, he thought. She had lived the
+lives of these people, shared their every wrong, been driven to
+rebellion with them. Being a mere man, Hal missed one important point
+about this startling development; he did not realise that Mary's
+eloquence was addressed, not merely to the Rafferties and the Wauchopes,
+and the rest of the North Valley mine-slaves, but to a certain
+magazine-cover girl, clad in a mackintosh and a pale green hat and a
+soft and filmy and horribly expensive motoring veil!
+
+
+
+SECTION 5.
+
+Mary's speech was brought to a sudden end. A group of the men had moved
+down the street, and there arose a disturbance there. The noise of it
+swelled louder, and more people began to move in that direction. Mary
+turned to look, and all at once the whole throng surged down the street.
+
+The trouble was at the hospital. In front of this building was a porch,
+and on it Cartwright and Alec Stone were standing, with a group of the
+clerks and office-employes, among whom Hal saw Predovich, Johnson, the
+postmaster, and Si Adams. At the foot of the steps stood Tim Rafferty,
+with a swarm of determined men at his back. He was shouting, "We want
+them lawyers out of there!"
+
+The superintendent himself had undertaken to parley with him. "There are
+no lawyers in here, Rafferty."
+
+"We don't trust you!" And the crowd took up the cry: "We'll see for
+ourselves!"
+
+"You can't go into this building," declared Cartwright.
+
+"I'm goin' to see my father!" shouted Tim. "I've got a right to see my
+father, ain't I?"
+
+"You can see him in the morning. You can take him away, if you want to.
+We've no desire to keep him. But he's asleep now, and you can't disturb
+the others."
+
+"You weren't afraid to disturb them with your damned lawyers!" And there
+was a roar of approval--so loud that Cartwright's denial could hardly be
+heard.
+
+"There have been no lawyers near him, I tell you."
+
+"It's a lie!" shouted Wauchope. "They been in there all day, and you
+know it. We mean to have them out."
+
+"Go on, Tim!" cried Andy, the Greek boy, pushing his way to the front.
+"Go on!" cried the others; and thus encouraged, Rafferty started up the
+steps.
+
+"I mean to see my father!" As Cartwright caught him by the shoulder, he
+yelled, "Let me go, I say!"
+
+It was evident that the superintendent was trying his best not to use
+violence; he was ordering his own followers back at the same time that
+he was holding the boy. But Tim's blood was up; he shoved forward, and
+the superintendent, either striking him or trying to ward off a blow,
+threw him backwards down the steps. There was an uproar of rage from the
+throng; they surged forward, and at the same time some of the men on the
+porch drew revolvers.
+
+The meaning of that situation was plain enough. In a moment more the mob
+would be up the steps, and there would be shooting. And if once that
+happened, who could guess the end? Wrought up as the crowd was, it might
+not stop till it had fired every company building, perhaps not until it
+had murdered every company representative.
+
+Hal had resolved to keep in the back-ground, but he saw that to keep in
+the back-ground at that moment would be an act of cowardice, almost a
+crime. He sprang forward, his cry rising above the clamour. "Stop, men!
+Stop!"
+
+There was probably no other man in North Valley who could have got
+himself heeded at that moment. But Hal had their confidence, he had
+earned the right to be heard. Had he not been to prison for them, had
+they not seen him behind the bars? "Joe Smith!" The cry ran from one end
+of the excited throng to the other.
+
+Hal was fighting his way forward, shoving men to one side, imploring,
+commanding silence. "Tim Rafferty! Wait!" And Tim, recognising the
+voice, obeyed.
+
+Once clear of the press, Hal sprang upon the porch, where Cartwright did
+not attempt to interfere with him.
+
+"Men!" he cried. "Hold on a moment! This isn't what you want! You don't
+want a fight!" He paused for an instant; but he knew that no mere
+negative would hold them at that moment. They must be told what they did
+want. Just now he had learned the particular words that would carry, and
+he proclaimed them at the top of his voice: "What you want is a union! A
+_strike!_"
+
+He was answered by a roar from the crowd, the loudest yet. Yes, that was
+what they wanted! A strike! And they wanted Joe Smith to organise it, to
+lead it. He had been their leader once, he had been thrown out of camp
+for it. How he had got back they were not quite clear--but here he was,
+and he was their darling. Hurrah for him! They would follow him to hell
+and back!
+
+And wasn't he the boy with the nerve! Standing there on the porch of the
+hospital, right under the very noses of the bosses, making a union
+speech to them, and the bosses never daring to touch him! The crowd,
+realising this situation, went wild with delight. The English-speaking
+men shouted assent to his words; and those who could not understand,
+shouted because the others did.
+
+They did not want fighting--of course not! Fighting would not help them!
+What would help them was to get together, and stand a solid body of free
+men. There would be a union committee, able to speak for all of them, to
+say that no man would go to work any more until justice was secured!
+They would have an end to the business of discharging men because they
+asked for their rights, of blacklisting men and driving them out of the
+district because they presumed to want what the laws of the state
+awarded them!
+
+
+
+SECTION 6.
+
+How long could a man expect to stand on the steps of a company building,
+with a super and a pit-boss at his back, and organise a union of
+mine-workers? Hal realised that he must move the crowd from that
+perilous place.
+
+"You'll do what I say, now?" he demanded; and when they agreed in
+chorus, he added the warning: "There'll be no fighting! And no drinking!
+If you see any man drunk to-night, sit on him and hold him down!"
+
+They laughed and cheered. Yes, they would keep straight. Here was a job
+for sober men, you bet!
+
+"And now," Hal continued, "the people in the hospital. We'll have a
+committee go in and see about them. No noise--we don't want to disturb
+the sick men. We only want to make sure nobody else is disturbing them.
+Some one will go in and stay with them. Does that suit you?"
+
+Yes, that suited them.
+
+"All right," said Hal. "Keep quiet for a moment."
+
+And he turned to the superintendent. "Cartwright," said he, "we want a
+committee to go in and stay with our people." Then, as the
+superintendent started to expostulate, he added, in a low voice, "Don't
+be a fool, man! Don't you see I'm trying to save your life?"
+
+The superintendent knew how bad it would be for discipline to let Hal
+carry his point with the crowd; but also he saw the immediate
+danger--and he was not sure of the courage and shooting ability of
+book-keepers and stenographers.
+
+"Be quick, man!" exclaimed Hal. "I can't hold these people long. If you
+don't want hell breaking loose, come to your senses."
+
+"All right," said Cartwright, swallowing his dignity.
+
+And Hal turned to the men and announced the concession. There was a
+shout of triumph.
+
+"Now, who's to go?" said Hal, when he could be heard again; and he
+looked about at the upturned faces. There Were Tim and Wauchope, the
+most obvious ones; but Hal decided to keep them under his eye. He
+thought of Jerry Minetti and of Mrs. David--but remembered his agreement
+with "Big Jack," to keep their own little group in the back-ground. Then
+he thought of Mary Burke; she had already done herself all the harm she
+could do, and she was a person the crowd would trust. He called her, and
+called Mrs. Ferris, an American woman in the crowd. The two came up the
+steps, and Hal turned to Cartwright.
+
+"Now, let's have an understanding," he said. "These people are going in
+to stay with the sick men, and to talk to them if they want to, and
+nobody's going to give them any orders but the doctors and nurses. Is
+that right?"
+
+"All right," said the superintendent, sullenly.
+
+"Good!" said Hal. "And for God's sake have a little sense and stand by
+your word; this crowd has had all it can endure, and if you do any more
+to provoke it, the consequences will be on you. And while you're about
+it, see that the saloons are closed and kept closed until this trouble
+is settled. And keep your people out of the way--don't let them go about
+showing their guns and making faces."
+
+Without waiting to hear the superintendent's reply, Hal turned to the
+throng, and held up his hand for silence. "Men," he said, "we have a big
+job to do--we're going to organise a union. And we can't do it here in
+front of the hospital. We've made too much noise already. Let's go off
+quietly, and have our meeting on the dump in back of the power-house.
+Does that suit you?"
+
+They answered that it suited them; and Hal, having seen the two women
+passed safely into the hospital, sprang down from the porch to lead the
+way. Jerry Minetti came to his side, trembling with delight; and Hal
+clutched him by the arm and whispered, excitedly, "Sing, Jerry! Sing
+them some Dago song!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 7.
+
+They got to the place appointed without any fighting. And meantime Hal
+had worked out in his mind a plan for communicating with this polyglot
+horde. He knew that half the men could not understand a word of English,
+and that half the remainder understood very little. Obviously, if he was
+to make matters clear to them, they must be sorted out according to
+nationality, and a reliable interpreter found for each group.
+
+The process of sorting proved a slow one, involving no end of shouting
+and good-natured jostling--Polish here, Bohemian here, Greek here,
+Italian here! When this job had been done, and a man found from each
+nationality who understood enough English to translate to his fellows,
+Hal started in to make a speech. But before he had spoken many
+sentences, pandemonium broke loose. All the interpreters started
+interpreting at the same time--and at the top of their lungs; it was
+like a parade with the bands close together! Hal was struck dumb; then
+he began to laugh, and the various audiences began to laugh; the orators
+stopped, perplexed--then they too began to laugh. So wave after wave of
+merriment rolled over the throng; the mood of the assembly was changed
+all at once, from rage and determination to the wildest hilarity. Hal
+learned his first lesson in the handling of these hordes of child-like
+people, whose moods were quick, whose tempers were balanced upon a fine
+point.
+
+It was necessary for him to make his speech through to the end, and then
+move the various audiences apart, to be addressed by the various
+interpreters. But then arose a new difficulty. How could any one control
+these floods of eloquence? How be sure that the message was not being
+distorted? Hal had been warned by Olson of company detectives who posed
+as workers, gaining the confidence of men in order to incite them to
+violence. And certainly some of these interpreters were violent-looking,
+and one's remarks sounded strange in their translations!
+
+There was the Greek orator, for example; a wild man, with wild hair and
+eyes, who tore all his passions to tatters. He stood upon a barrel-head,
+with the light of two pit-lamps upon him, and some two score of his
+compatriots at his feet; he waved his arms, he shook his fists, he
+shrieked, he bellowed. But when Hal, becoming uneasy, went over and
+asked another English-speaking Greek what the orator was saying, the
+answer was that he was promising that the law should be enforced in
+North Valley!
+
+Hal stood watching this perfervid little man, a study in the
+possibilities of gesture. He drew back his shoulders and puffed out his
+chest, almost throwing himself backwards off the barrel-head; he was
+saying that the miners would be able to live like men. He crouched down
+and bowed his head, moaning; he was telling them what would happen if
+they gave up. He fastened his fingers in his long black hair and began
+tugging desperately; he pulled, and then stretched out his empty hands;
+he pulled again, so hard that it almost made one cry out with pain to
+watch him. Hal asked what that was for; and the answer was, "He say,
+'Stand by union! Pull one hair, he come out; pull all hairs, no come
+out'!" It carried one back to the days of Aesop and his fables!
+
+Tom Olson had told Hal something about the technique of an organiser,
+who wished to drill these ignorant hordes. He had to repeat and repeat,
+until the dullest in his audience had grasped his meaning, had got into
+his head the all-saving idea of solidarity. When the various orators had
+talked themselves out, and the audiences had come back to the
+cinder-heap, Hal made his speech all over again, in words of one
+syllable, in the kind of pidgin-English which does duty in the camps.
+Sometimes he would stop to reinforce it with Greek or Italian or Slavish
+words he had picked up. Or perhaps his eloquence would inflame some one
+of the interpreters afresh, and he would wait while the man shouted a
+few sentences to his compatriots. It was not necessary to consider the
+possibility of boring any one, for these were patient and long-suffering
+men, and now desperately in earnest.
+
+They were going to have a union; they were going to do the thing in
+regular form, with membership cards and officials chosen by ballot. So
+Hal explained to them, step by step. There was no use organising unless
+they meant to stay organised. They would choose leaders, one from each
+of the principal language groups; and these leaders would meet and draw
+up a set of demands, which would be submitted in mass-meeting, and
+ratified, and then presented to the bosses with the announcement that
+until these terms were granted, not a single North Valley worker would
+go back into the pits.
+
+Jerry Minetti, who knew all about unions, advised Hal to enroll the men
+at once; he counted on the psychological effect of having each man come
+forward and give in his name. But here at once they met a difficulty
+encountered by all would-be organisers--lack of funds. There must be
+pencils and paper for the enrollment; and Hal had emptied his pockets
+for Jack David! He was forced to borrow a quarter, and send a messenger
+off to the store. It was voted by the delegates that each member as he
+joined the union should be assessed a dime. There would have to be some
+telegraphing and telephoning if they were going to get help from the
+outside world.
+
+A temporary committee was named, consisting of Tim Rafferty, Wauchope
+and Hal, to keep the lists and the funds, and to run things until
+another meeting could be held on the morrow; also a body-guard of a
+dozen of the sturdiest and most reliable men were named to stay by the
+committee. The messenger came back with pads and pencils, and sitting on
+the ground by the light of pit-lamps, the interpreters wrote down the
+names of the men who wished to join the union, each man in turn pledging
+his word for solidarity and discipline. Then the meeting was declared
+adjourned till daylight of the morrow, and the workers scattered to
+their homes to sleep, with a joy and sense of power such as few of them
+had ever known in their lives before.
+
+
+
+SECTION 8.
+
+The committee and its body-guard repaired to the dining-room of
+Reminitsky's, where they stretched themselves out on the floor; no one
+attempted to interfere with them, and while the majority snored
+peacefully, Hal and a small group sat writing out the list of demands
+which were to be submitted to the bosses in the morning. It was arranged
+that Jerry should go down to Pedro by the early morning train, to get
+into touch with Jack David and the union officials, and report to them
+the latest developments. Because the officials were sure to have
+detectives following them, Hal warned Jerry to go to MacKellar's house,
+and have MacKellar bring "Big Jack" to meet him there. Also Jerry must
+have MacKellar get the _Gazette_ on the long distance phone, and tell
+Billy Keating about the strike.
+
+A hundred things like this Hal had to think of; his head was a-buzz with
+them, so that when he lay down to sleep he could not. He thought about
+the bosses, and what they might be doing. The bosses would not be
+sleeping, he felt sure!
+
+And then came thoughts about his private-car friends; about the
+strangeness of this plight into which he had got himself! He laughed
+aloud in a kind of desperation as he recalled Percy's efforts to get him
+away from here. And poor Jessie! What could he say to her now?
+
+The bosses made no move that night; and when morning came, the strikers
+hurried to the meeting-place, some of them without even stopping for
+breakfast. They came tousled and unkempt, looking anxiously at their
+fellows, as if unable to credit the memory of the bold thing they had
+done on the night before. But finding the committee and its body-guard
+on hand and ready for business, their courage revived, they felt again
+the wonderful sentiment of solidarity which had made men of them. Pretty
+soon speech-making began, and cheering and singing, which brought out
+the laggards and the cowards. So in a short while the movement was in
+full swing, with practically every man, woman and child among the
+workers present.
+
+Mary Burke came from the hospital, where she had spent the night. She
+looked weary and bedraggled, but her spirit of battle had not slumped.
+She reported that she had talked with some of the injured men, and that
+many of them had signed "releases," whereby the company protected itself
+against even the threat of a lawsuit. Others had refused to sign, and
+Mary had been vehement in warning them to stand out. Two other women
+volunteered to go to the hospital, in order that she might have a chance
+to rest; but Mary did not wish to rest, she did not feel as if she could
+ever rest again.
+
+The members of the newly-organised union proceeded to elect officers.
+They sought to make Hal president, but he was shy of binding himself in
+that irrevocable way, and succeeded in putting the honour off on
+Wauchope. Tim Rafferty was made treasurer and secretary. Then a
+committee was chosen to go to Cartwright with the demands of the men. It
+included Hal, Wauchope, and Tim; an Italian named Marcelli, whom Jerry
+had vouched for; a representative of the Slavs and one of the
+Greeks--Rusick and Zammakis, both of them solid and faithful men.
+Finally, with a good deal of laughter and cheering, the meeting voted to
+add Mary Burke to this committee. It was a new thing to have a woman in
+such a role, but Mary was the daughter of a miner and the sister of a
+breaker-boy, and had as good a right to speak as any one in North
+Valley.
+
+
+
+SECTION 9.
+
+Hal read the document which had been prepared the night before. They
+demanded the right to have a union without being discharged for it. They
+demanded a check-weighman, to be elected by the men themselves. They
+demanded that the mines should be sprinkled to prevent explosions, and
+properly timbered to prevent falls. They demanded the right to trade at
+any store they pleased. Hal called attention to the fact that every one
+of these demands was for a right guaranteed by the laws of the state;
+this was a significant fact, and he urged the men not to include other
+demands. After some argument they voted down the proposition of the
+radicals, who wanted a ten per cent. increase in wages. Also they voted
+down the proposition of a syndicalist-anarchist, who explained to them
+in a jumble of English and Italian that the mines belonged to them, and
+that they should refuse all compromise and turn the bosses out
+forthwith.
+
+While this speech was being delivered, young Rovetta pushed his way
+through the crowd and drew Hal to one side. He had been down by the
+railroad-station and seen the morning train come in. From it had
+descended a crowd of thirty or forty men, of that "hard citizen" type
+which every miner in the district could recognise at the first glance.
+Evidently the company officials had been keeping the telephone-wires
+busy that night; they were bringing in, not merely this train-load of
+guards, but automobile loads from other camps--from the Northeastern
+down the canyon, and from Barela, in a side canyon over the mountain.
+
+Hal told this news to the meeting, which received it with howls of rage.
+So that was the bosses' plan! Hot-heads sprang upon the cinder-heap,
+half a dozen of them trying to make speeches at once. The leaders had to
+suppress these too impetuous ones by main force; once more Hal gave the
+warning of "No fighting!" They were going to have faith in their union;
+they were going to present a solid front to the company, and the company
+would learn the lesson that intimidation would not win a strike.
+
+So it was agreed, and the committee set out for the company's office,
+Wauchope carrying in his hand the written demands of the meeting. Behind
+the committee marched the crowd in a solid mass; they packed the street
+in front of the office, while the heroic seven went up the steps and
+passed into the building. Wauchope made inquiry for Mr. Cartwright, and
+a clerk took in the message.
+
+They stood waiting; and meanwhile, one of the office-people, coming in
+from the street, beckoned to Hal. He had an envelope in his hand, and
+gave it over without a word. It was addressed, "Joe Smith," and Hal
+opened it, and found within a small visiting card, at which he stared.
+"Edward S. Warner, Jr."!
+
+For a moment Hal could hardly believe the evidence of his eyesight.
+Edward in North Valley! Then, turning the card over, he read, in his
+brother's familiar handwriting, "I am at Cartwright's house. I must see
+you. The matter concerns Dad. Come instantly."
+
+Fear leaped into Hal's heart. What could such a message mean?
+
+He turned quickly to the committee and explained. "My father's an old
+man, and had a stroke of apoplexy three years ago. I'm afraid he may be
+dead, or very ill. I must go."
+
+"It's a trick!" cried Wauchope excitedly.
+
+"No, not possibly," answered Hal. "I know my brother's handwriting. I
+must see him."
+
+"Well," declared the other, "we'll wait. We'll not see Cartwright until
+you get back."
+
+Hal considered this. "I don't think that's wise," he said. "You can do
+what you have to do just as well without me."
+
+"But I wanted you to do the talking!"
+
+"No," replied Hal, "that's your business, Wauchope. You are the
+president of the union. You know what the men want, as well as I do; you
+know what they complain of. And besides, there's not going to be any
+need of talking with Cartwright. Either he's going to grant our demands
+or he isn't."
+
+They discussed the matter back and forth. Mary Burke insisted that they
+were pulling Hal away just at the critical moment! He laughed as he
+answered. She was as good as any man when it came to an argument. If
+Wauchope showed signs of weakening, let her speak up!
+
+
+
+SECTION 10.
+
+So Hal hurried off, and climbed the street which led to the
+superintendent's house, a concrete bungalow set upon a little elevation
+overlooking the camp. He rang the bell, and the door opened, and in the
+entrance stood his brother.
+
+Edward Warner was eight years older than Hal; the perfect type of the
+young American business man. His figure was erect and athletic, his
+features were regular and strong, his voice, his manner, everything
+about him spoke of quiet decision, of energy precisely directed. As a
+rule, he was a model of what the tailor's art could do, but just now
+there was something abnormal about his attire as well as his manner.
+
+Hal's anxiety had been increasing all the way up the street. "What's the
+matter with Dad?" he cried.
+
+"Dad's all right," was the answer--"that is, for the moment."
+
+"Then what--?"
+
+"Peter Harrigan's on his way back from the East. He's due in Western
+City to-morrow. You can see that something will be the matter with Dad
+unless you quit this business at once."
+
+Hal had a sudden reaction from his fear. "So that's all!" he exclaimed.
+
+His brother was gazing at the young miner, dressed in sooty blue
+overalls, his face streaked with black, his wavy hair all mussed. "You
+wired me you were going to leave here, Hal!"
+
+"So I was; but things happened that I couldn't foresee. There's a
+strike."
+
+"Yes; but what's that got to do with it?" Then, with exasperation in his
+voice, "For God's sake, Hal, how much farther do you expect to go?"
+
+Hal stood for a few moments, looking at his brother. Even in a tension
+as he was, he could not help laughing. "I know how all this must seem to
+you, Edward. It's a long story; I hardly know how to begin."
+
+"No, I suppose not," said Edward, drily.
+
+And Hal laughed again. "Well, we agree that far, at any rate. What I was
+hoping was that we could talk it all over quietly, after the excitement
+was past. When I explain to you about conditions in this place--"
+
+But Edward interrupted. "Really, Hal, there's no use of such an
+argument. I have nothing to do with conditions in Peter Harrigan's
+camps."
+
+The smile left Hal's face. "Would you have preferred to have me
+investigate conditions in the Warner camps?" Hal had tried to suppress
+his irritation, but there was simply no way these two could get along.
+"We've had our arguments about these things, Edward, and you've always
+had the best of me--you could tell me I was a child, it was presumptuous
+of me to dispute your assertions. But now--well, I'm a child no longer,
+and we'll have to meet on a new basis."
+
+Hal's tone, more than his words, made an impression. Edward thought
+before he spoke. "Well, what's your new basis?"
+
+"Just now I'm in the midst of a strike, and I can hardly stop to
+explain."
+
+"You don't think of Dad in all this madness?"
+
+"I think of Dad, and of you too, Edward; but this is hardly the time--"
+
+"If ever in the world there was a time, this is it!"
+
+Hal groaned inwardly. "All right," he said, "sit down. I'll try to give
+you some idea how I got swept into this."
+
+He began to tell about the conditions he had found in this stronghold of
+the "G. F. C." As usual, when he talked about it, he became absorbed in
+its human aspects; a fervour came into his tone, he was carried on, as
+he had been when he tried to argue with the officials in Pedro. But his
+eloquence was interrupted, even as it had been then; he discovered that
+his brother was in such a state of exasperation that he could not listen
+to a consecutive argument.
+
+It was the old, old story; it had been thus as far back as Hal could
+remember. It seemed one of the mysteries of nature, how she could have
+brought two such different temperaments out of the same parentage.
+Edward was practical and positive; he knew what he wanted in the world,
+and he knew how to get it; he was never troubled with doubts, nor with
+self-questioning, nor with any other superfluous emotions; he could not
+understand people who allowed that sort of waste in their mental
+processes. He could not understand people who got "swept into things."
+
+In the beginning, he had had with Hal the prestige of the elder brother.
+He was handsome as a young Greek god, he was strong and masterful;
+whether he was flying over the ice with sure, strong strokes, or cutting
+the water with his glistening shoulders, or bringing down a partridge
+with the certainty and swiftness of a lightning stroke, Edward was the
+incarnation of Success. When he said that one's ideas were "rot," when
+he spoke with contempt of "mollycoddles"--then indeed one suffered in
+soul, and had to go back to Shelley and Ruskin to renew one's courage.
+
+The questioning of life had begun very early with Hal; there seemed to
+be something in his nature which forced him to go to the roots of
+things; and much as he looked up to his wonderful brother, he had been
+made to realise that there were sides of life to which this brother was
+blind. To begin with, there were religious doubts; the distresses of
+mind which plague a young man when first it dawns upon him that the
+faith he has been brought up in is a higher kind of fairy-tale. Edward
+had never asked such questions, apparently. He went to church, because
+it was the thing to do; more especially because it was pleasing to the
+young lady he wished to marry to have him put on stately clothes, and
+escort her to a beautiful place of music and flowers and perfumes, where
+she would meet her friends, also in stately clothes. How abnormal it
+seemed to Edward that a young man should give up this pleasant custom,
+merely because he could not be sure that Jonah had swallowed a whale!
+
+But it was when Hal's doubts attacked his brother's week-day
+religion--the religion of the profit-system--that the controversy
+between them had become deadly. At first Hal had known nothing about
+practical affairs, and it had been Edward's duty to answer his
+questions. The prosperity of the country had been built up by strong
+men; and these men had enemies--evil-minded persons, animated by
+jealousy and other base passions, seeking to tear down the mighty
+structure. At first this devil-theory had satisfied the boy; but later
+on, as he had come to read and observe, he had been plagued by doubts.
+In the end, listening to his brother's conversation, and reading the
+writings of so-called "muck-rakers," the realisation was forced upon him
+that there were two types of mind in the controversy--those who thought
+of profits, and those who thought of human beings.
+
+Edward was alarmed at the books Hal was reading; he was still more
+alarmed when he saw the ideas Hal was bringing home from college. There
+must have been some strange change in Harrigan in a few years; no one
+had dreamed of such ideas when Edward was there! No one had written
+satiric songs about the faculty, or the endowments of eminent
+philanthropists!
+
+In the meantime Edward Warner Senior had had a paralytic stroke, and
+Edward Junior had taken charge of the company. Three years of this had
+given him the point of view of a coal-operator, hard and set for a
+life-time. The business of a coal-operator was to buy his labour cheap,
+to turn out the maximum product in the shortest time, and to sell the
+product at the market price to parties whose credit was satisfactory. If
+a concern was doing that, it was a successful concern; for any one to
+mention that it was making wrecks of the people who dug the coal, was to
+be guilty of sentimentality and impertinence.
+
+Edward had heard with dismay his brother's announcement that he meant to
+study industry by spending his vacation as a common labourer. However,
+when he considered it, he was inclined to think that the idea might not
+be such a bad one. Perhaps Hal would not find what he was looking for;
+perhaps, working with his hands, he might get some of the nonsense
+knocked out of his head!
+
+But now the experiment had been made, and the revelation had burst upon
+Edward that it had been a ghastly failure. Hal had not come to realise
+that labour was turbulent and lazy and incompetent, needing a strong
+hand to rule it; on the contrary, he had become one of these turbulent
+ones himself! A champion of the lazy and incompetent, an agitator, a
+fomenter of class-prejudice, an enemy of his own friends, and of his
+brother's business associates!
+
+Never had Hal seen Edward in such a state of excitement. There was
+something really abnormal about him, Hal realised; it puzzled him
+vaguely while he talked, but he did not understand it until his brother
+told how he had come to be here. He had been attending a dinner-dance at
+the home of a friend, and Percy Harrigan had got him on the telephone at
+half past eleven o'clock at night. Percy had had a message from
+Cartwright, to the effect that Hal was leading a riot in North Valley;
+Percy had painted the situation in such lurid colours that Edward had
+made a dash and caught the midnight train, wearing his evening clothes,
+and without so much as a tooth-brush with him!
+
+Hal could hardly keep from bursting out laughing. His brother, his
+punctilious and dignified brother, alighting from a sleeping-car at
+seven o'clock in the morning, wearing a dress suit and a silk hat! And
+here he was, Edward Warner Junior, the fastidious, who never paid less
+than a hundred and fifty dollars for a suit of clothes, clad in a
+"hand-me-down" for which he had expended twelve dollars and forty-eight
+cents in a "Jew-store" in a coal-town!
+
+
+
+SECTION 11.
+
+But Edward would not stop for a single smile; his every faculty was
+absorbed in the task he had before him, to get his brother out of this
+predicament, so dangerous and so humiliating. Hal had come to a town
+owned by Edward's business friends, and had proceeded to meddle in their
+affairs, to stir up their labouring people and imperil their property.
+That North Valley was the property of the General Fuel Company--not
+merely the mines and the houses, but likewise the people who lived in
+them--Edward seemed to have no doubt whatever; Hal got only exclamations
+of annoyance when he suggested any other point of view. Would there have
+been any town of North Valley, if it had not been for the capital and
+energy of the General Fuel Company? If the people of North Valley did
+not like the conditions which the General Fuel Company offered them,
+they had one simple and obvious remedy--to go somewhere else to work.
+But they stayed; they got out the General Fuel Company's coal, they took
+the General Fuel Company's wages--
+
+"Well, they've stopped taking them now," put in Hal.
+
+All right, that was their affair, replied Edward. But let them stop
+because they wanted to--not because outside agitators put them up to it.
+At any rate, let the agitators not include a member of the Warner
+family!
+
+The elder brother pictured old Peter Harrigan on his way back from the
+East; the state of unutterable fury in which he would arrive, the storm
+he would raise in the business world of Western City. Why, it was
+unimaginable, such a thing had never been heard of! "And right when
+we're opening up a new mine--when we need every dollar of credit we can
+get!"
+
+"Aren't we big enough to stand off Peter Harrigan?" inquired Hal.
+
+"We have plenty of other people to stand off," was the answer. "We don't
+have to go out of our way to make enemies."
+
+Edward spoke, not merely as the elder brother, but also as the money-man
+of the family. When the father had broken down from over-work, and had
+been changed in one terrible hour from a driving man of affairs into a
+childish and pathetic invalid, Hal had been glad enough that there was
+one member of the family who was practical; he had been perfectly
+willing to see his brother shoulder these burdens, while he went off to
+college, to amuse himself with satiric songs. Hal had no
+responsibilities, no one asked anything of him--except that he would not
+throw sticks into the wheels of the machine his brother was running.
+"You are living by the coal industry! Every dollar you spend comes from
+it--"
+
+"I know it! I know it!" cried Hal. "That's the thing that torments me!
+The fact that I'm living upon the bounty of such wage-slaves--"
+
+"Oh, cut it out!" cried Edward. "That's not what I mean!"
+
+"I know--but it's what _I_ mean! From now on I mean to know about the
+people who work for me, and what sort of treatment they get. I'm no
+longer your kid-brother, to be put off with platitudes."
+
+"You know ours are union mines, Hal--"
+
+"Yes, but what does that mean? How do we work it? Do we give the men
+their weights?"
+
+"Of course! They have their check-weighmen."
+
+"But then, how do we compete with the operators in this district, who
+pay for a ton of three thousand pounds?"
+
+"We manage it--by economy."
+
+"Economy? I don't see Peter Harrigan wasting anything here!" Hal paused
+for an answer, but none came. "Do we buy the check-weighmen? Do we bribe
+the labour leaders?"
+
+Edward coloured slightly. "What's the use of being nasty, Hal? You know
+I don't do dirty work."
+
+"I don't mean to be nasty, Edward; but you must know that many a
+business-man can say he doesn't do dirty work, because he has others do
+it for him. What about politics, for instance? Do we run a machine, and
+put our clerks and bosses into the local offices?"
+
+Edward did not answer, and Hal persisted, "I mean to know these things!
+I'm not going to be blind any more!"
+
+"All right, Hal--you can know anything you want; but for God's sake, not
+now! If you want to be taken for a man, show a man's common sense!
+Here's Old Peter getting back to Western City to-morrow night! Don't you
+know that he'll be after me, raging like a mad bull? Don't you know that
+if I tell him I can do nothing--that I've been down here and tried to
+pull you away--don't you know he'll go after Dad?"
+
+Edward had tried all the arguments, and this was the only one that
+counted. "You must keep him away from Dad!" exclaimed Hal.
+
+"You tell me that!" retorted the other. "And when you know Old Peter!
+Don't you know he'll get at him, if he has to break down the door of the
+house? He'll throw the burden of his rage on that poor old man! You've
+been warned about it clearly; you know it may be a matter of life and
+death to keep Dad from getting excited. I don't know what he'd do; maybe
+he'd fly into a rage with you, maybe he'd defend you. He's old and weak,
+he's lost his grip on things. Anyhow, he'd not let Peter abuse you--and
+like as not he'd drop dead in the midst of the dispute! Do you want to
+have that on your conscience, along with the troubles of your workingmen
+friends?"
+
+
+
+SECTION 12.
+
+Hal sat staring in front of him, silent. Was it a fact that every man
+had something in his life which palsied his arm, and struck him helpless
+in the battle for social justice?
+
+When he spoke again, it was in a low voice. "Edward, I'm thinking about
+a young Irish boy who works in these mines. He, too, has a father; and
+this father was caught in the explosion. He's an old man, with a wife
+and seven other children. He's a good man, the boy's a good boy. Let me
+tell you what Peter Harrigan has done to them!"
+
+"Well," said Edward, "whatever it is, it's all right, you can help them.
+They won't need to starve."
+
+"I know," said Hal, "but there are so many others; I can't help them
+all. And besides, can't you see, Edward--what I'm thinking about is not
+charity, but _justice_. I'm sure this boy, Tim Rafferty, loves his
+father just exactly as much as I love my father; and there are other old
+men here, with sons who love them--"
+
+"Oh, Hal, for Christ's sake!" exclaimed Edward, in a sort of explosion.
+He had no other words to express his impatience. "Do you expect to take
+all the troubles in the world on your shoulders?" And he sprang up and
+caught the other by the arm. "Boy, you've got to come away from here!"
+
+Hal got up, without answering. He seemed irresolute, and his brother
+started to draw him towards the door. "I've got a car here. We can get a
+train in an hour--"
+
+Hal saw that he had to speak firmly. "No, Edward," he said. "I can't
+come just yet."
+
+"I tell you you _must_ come!"
+
+"I can't. I made these men a promise!"
+
+"In God's name--what are these men to you? Compared with your own
+father!"
+
+"I can't explain it, Edward. I've talked for half an hour, and I don't
+think you've even heard me. Suffice it to say that I see these people
+caught in a trap--and one that my whole life has helped to make. I can't
+leave them in it. What's more, I don't believe Dad would want me to do
+it, if he understood."
+
+The other made a last effort at self-control. "I'm not going to call you
+a sentimental fool. Only, let me ask you one plain question. What do you
+think you can _do_ for these people?"
+
+"I think I can help to win decent conditions for them."
+
+"Good God!" cried Edward; he sighed, in his agony of exasperation. "In
+Peter Harrigan's mines! Don't you realise that he'll pick them up and
+throw them out of here, neck and crop--the whole crew, every man in the
+town, if necessary?"
+
+"Perhaps," answered Hal; "but if the men in the other mines should join
+them--if the big union outside should stand by them--"
+
+"You're dreaming, Hal! You're talking like a child! I talked to the
+superintendent here; he had telegraphed the situation to Old Peter, and
+had just got an answer. Already he's acted, no doubt."
+
+"Acted?" echoed Hal. "How do you mean?" He was staring at his brother in
+sudden anxiety.
+
+"They were going to turn the agitators out, of course."
+
+"_What?_ And while I'm here talking!"
+
+Hal turned toward the door. "You knew it all the time!" he exclaimed.
+"You kept me here deliberately!"
+
+He was starting away, but Edward sprang and caught him. "What could you
+have done?"
+
+"Turn me loose!" cried Hal, angrily.
+
+"Don't be a fool, Hal! I've been trying to keep you out of the trouble.
+There may be fighting."
+
+Edward threw himself between Hal and the door, and there was a sharp
+struggle. But the elder man was no longer the athlete, the young bronzed
+god; he had been sitting at a desk in an office, while Hal had been
+doing hard labour. Hal threw him to one side, and in a moment more had
+sprung out of the door, and was running down the slope.
+
+
+
+SECTION 13.
+
+Coming to the main street of the village, Hal saw the crowd in front of
+the office. One glance told him that something had happened. Men were
+running this way and that, gesticulating, shouting. Some were coming in
+his direction, and when they saw him they began to yell to him. The
+first to reach him was Klowoski, the little Pole, breathless; gasping
+with excitement. "They fire our committee!"
+
+"Fire them?"
+
+"Fire 'em out! Down canyon!" The little man was waving his arms in wild
+gestures; his eyes seemed about to start out of his head. "Take 'em off!
+Whole bunch fellers--gunmen! People see them--come out back door. Got
+ever'body's arm tied. Gunmen fellers hold 'em, don't let 'em holler,
+can't do nothin'! Got them cars waitin'--what you call?--"
+
+"Automobiles?"
+
+"Sure, got three! Put ever'body in, quick like that--they go down road
+like wind! Go down canyon, all gone! They bust our strike!" And the
+little Pole's voice ended in a howl of despair.
+
+"No, they won't bust our strike!" exclaimed Hal. "Not yet!"
+
+Suddenly he was reminded of the fact that his brother had followed
+him--puffing hard, for the run had been strenuous. He caught Hal by the
+arm, exclaiming, "Keep out of this, I tell you!"
+
+Thus while Hal was questioning Klowoski, he was struggling
+half-unconsciously, to free himself from his brother's grasp. Suddenly
+the matter was forced to an issue, for the little Polack emitted a cry
+like an angry cat, and went at Edward with fingers outstretched like
+claws. Hal's dignified brother would have had to part with his dignity,
+if Hal had not caught Klowoski's onrush with his other arm. "Let him
+alone!" he said. "It's my brother!" Whereupon the little man fell back
+and stood watching in bewilderment.
+
+Hal saw Androkulos running to him. The Greek boy had been in the street
+back of the office, and had seen the committee carried off; nine people
+had been taken--Wauchope, Tim Rafferty, and Mary Burke, Marcelli,
+Zammakis and Rusick, and three others who had served as interpreters on
+the night before. It had all been done so quickly that the crowd had
+scarcely realised what was happening.
+
+Now, having grasped the meaning of it, the men were beside themselves
+with rage. They shook their fists, shouting defiance to a group of
+officials and guards who were visible upon the porch of the
+office-building. There was a clamour of shouts for revenge.
+
+Hal could see instantly the dangers of the situation; he was like a man
+watching the burning fuse of a bomb. Now, if ever, this polyglot horde
+must have leadership--wise and cool and resourceful leadership.
+
+The crowd, discovering his presence, surged down upon him like a wave.
+They gathered round him, howling. They had lost the rest of their
+committee, but they still had Joe Smith. Joe Smith! Hurrah for Joe! Let
+the gunmen take him, if they could! They waved their caps, they tried to
+lift him upon their shoulders, so that all could see him.
+
+There was clamour for a speech, and Hal started to make his way to the
+steps of the nearest building, with Edward holding on to his coat.
+Edward was jostled; he had to part with his dignity--but he did not part
+with his brother. And when Hal was about to mount the steps, Edward made
+a last desperate effort, shouting into his ear, "Wait a minute! Wait!
+Are you going to try to talk to this mob?"
+
+"Of course. Don't you see there'll be trouble if I don't?"
+
+"You'll get yourself killed! You'll start a fight, and get a lot of
+these poor devils shot! Use your common sense, Hal; the company has
+brought in guards, and they are armed, and your people aren't."
+
+"That's exactly why I have to speak!"
+
+The discussion was carried on under difficulties, the elder brother
+clinging to the younger's arm, while the younger sought to pull free,
+and the mob shouted with a single voice, "Speech! Speech!" There were
+some near by who, like Klowoski, did not relish having this stranger
+interfering with their champion, and showed signs of a disposition to
+"mix in"; so at last Edward gave up the struggle, and the orator mounted
+the steps and faced the throng.
+
+
+
+SECTION 14.
+
+Hal raised his arms as a signal for silence.
+
+"Boys," he cried, "they've kidnapped our committee. They think they'll
+break our strike that way--but they'll find they've made a mistake!"
+
+"They will! Right you are!" roared a score of voices.
+
+"They forget that we've got a union. Hurrah for our North Valley union!"
+
+"Hurrah! Hurrah!" The cry echoed to the canyon-walls.
+
+"And hurrah for the big union that will back us--the United Mine-Workers
+of America!"
+
+Again the yell rang out; again and again. "Hurrah for the union! Hurrah
+for the United Mine-Workers!" A big American miner, Ferris, was in the
+front of the throng, and his voice beat in Hal's ears like a
+steam-siren.
+
+"Boys," Hal resumed, when at last he could be heard, "use your brains a
+moment. I warned you they would try to provoke you! They would like
+nothing better than to start a scrap here, and get a chance to smash our
+union! Don't forget that, boys, if they can make you fight, they'll
+smash the union, and the union is our only hope!"
+
+Again came the cry: "Hurrah for the union!" Hal let them shout it in
+twenty languages, until they were satisfied.
+
+"Now, boys," he went on, at last, "they've shipped out our committee.
+They may ship me out in the same way--"
+
+"No, they won't!" shouted voices in the crowd. And there was a bellow of
+rage from Ferris. "Let them try it! We'll burn them in their beds!"
+
+"But they _can_ ship me out!" argued Hal. "You _know_ they can beat us
+at that game! They can call on the sheriff, they can get the soldiers,
+if necessary! We can't oppose them by force--they can turn out every
+man, woman and child in the village, if they choose. What we have to get
+clear is that even that won't crush our union! Nor the big union
+outside, that will be backing us! We can hold out, and make them take us
+back in the end!"
+
+Some of Hal's friends, seeing what he was trying to do, came to his
+support. "No fighting! No violence! Stand by the union!" And he went on
+to drive the lesson home; even though the company might evict them, the
+big union of the four hundred and fifty thousand mine-workers of the
+country would feed them, it would call out the rest of the workers in
+the district in sympathy. So the bosses, who thought to starve and cow
+them into submission, would find their mines lying permanently idle.
+They would be forced to give way, and the tactics of solidarity would
+triumph.
+
+So Hal went on, recalling the things Olson had told him, and putting
+them into practice. He saw hope in their faces again, dispelling the
+mood of resentment and rage.
+
+"Now, boys," said he, "I'm going in to see the superintendent for you.
+I'll be your committee, since they've shipped out the rest."
+
+The steam-siren of Ferris bellowed again: "You're the boy! Joe Smith!"
+
+"All right, men--now mind what I say! I'll see the super, and then I'll
+go down to Pedro, where there'll be some officers of the United
+Mine-workers this morning. I'll tell them the situation, and ask them to
+back you. That's what you want, is it?"
+
+That was what they wanted. "Big union!"
+
+"All right. I'll do the best I can for you, and I'll find some way to
+get word to you. And meantime you stand firm. The bosses will tell you
+lies, they'll try to deceive you, they'll send spies and trouble-makers
+among you--but you hold fast, and wait for the big union."
+
+Hal stood looking at the cheering crowd. He had time to note some of the
+faces upturned to him. Pitiful, toil-worn faces they were, each making
+its separate appeal, telling its individual story of deprivation and
+defeat. Once more they were transfigured, shining with that wonderful
+new light which he had seen for the first time the previous evening. It
+had been crushed for a moment, but it flamed up again; it would never
+die in the hearts of men--once they had learned the power it gave.
+Nothing Hal had yet seen moved him so much as this new birth of
+enthusiasm. A beautiful, a terrible thing it was!
+
+Hal looked at his brother, to see how he had been moved. What he saw on
+his brother's face was satisfaction, boundless relief. The matter had
+turned out all right! Hal was coming away!
+
+Hal turned again to the men; somehow, after his glance at Edward, they
+seemed more pitiful than ever. For Edward typified the power they were
+facing--the unseeing, uncomprehending power that meant to crush them.
+The possibility of failure was revealed to Hal in a flash of emotion,
+overwhelming him. He saw them as they would be, when no leader was at
+hand to make speeches to them. He saw them waiting, their life-long
+habit of obedience striving to reassert itself; a thousand fears
+besetting them, a thousand rumours preying upon them--wild beasts set on
+them by their cunning enemies. They would suffer, not merely for
+themselves, but for their wives and children--the very same pangs of
+dread that Hal suffered when he thought of one old man up in Western
+City, whose doctors had warned him to avoid excitement.
+
+If they stood firm, if they kept their bargain with their leader, they
+would be evicted from their homes, they would face the cold of the
+coming winter, they would face hunger and the black-list. And he,
+meantime--what would he be doing? What was his part of the bargain? He
+would interview the superintendent for them, he would turn them over to
+the "big union"--and then he would go off to his own life of ease and
+pleasure. To eat grilled steaks and hot rolls in a perfectly appointed
+club, with suave and softly-moving servitors at his beck! To dance at
+the country club with exquisite creatures of chiffon and satin, of
+perfume and sweet smiles and careless, happy charms! No, it was too
+easy! He might call that his duty to his father and brother, but he
+would know in his heart that it was treason to life; it was the devil,
+taking him onto a high mountain and showing him all the kingdoms of the
+earth!
+
+Moved by a sudden impulse, Hal raised his hands once more. "Boys," he
+said, "we understand each other now. You'll not go back to work till the
+big union tells you. And I, for my part, will stand by you. Your cause
+is my cause, I'll go on fighting for you till you have your rights, till
+you can live and work as men! Is that right?"
+
+"That's right! That's right!"
+
+"Very good, then--we'll swear to it!" And Hal raised his hands, and the
+men raised theirs, and amid a storm of shouts, and a frantic waving of
+caps, he made them the pledge which he knew would bind his own
+conscience. He made it deliberately, there in his brother's presence.
+This was no mere charge on a trench, it was enlisting for a war! But
+even in that moment of fervour, Hal would have been frightened had he
+realised the period of that enlistment, the years of weary and desperate
+conflict to which he was pledging his life.
+
+
+
+SECTION 15.
+
+Hal descended from his rostrum, and the crowds made way for him, and
+with his brother at his side he went down the street to the office
+building, upon the porch of which the guards were standing. His progress
+was a triumphal one; rough voices shouted words of encouragement in his
+ears, men jostled and fought to shake his hand or to pat him on the
+back; they even patted Edward and tried to shake his hand, because he
+was with Hal, and seemed to have his confidence. Afterwards Hal thought
+it over and was merry. Such an adventure for Edward!
+
+The younger man went up the steps of the building and spoke to the
+guards. "I want to see Mr. Cartwright."
+
+"He's inside," answered one, not cordially. With Edward following, Hal
+entered, and was ushered into the private office of the superintendent.
+
+Having been a working-man, and class-conscious, Hal was observant of the
+manners of mine-superintendents; he noted that Cartwright bowed politely
+to Edward, but did not include Edward's brother. "Mr. Cartwright," he
+said, "I have come to you as a deputation from the workers of this
+camp."
+
+The superintendent did not appear impressed by the announcement.
+
+"I am instructed to say that the men demand the redress of four
+grievances before they return to work. First--"
+
+Here Cartwright spoke, in his quick, sharp way. "There's no use going
+on, sir. This company will deal only with its men as individuals. It
+will recognise no deputations."
+
+Hal's answer was equally quick. "Very well, Mr. Cartwright. In that
+case, I come to you as an individual."
+
+For a moment the superintendent seemed nonplussed.
+
+"I wish to ask four rights which are granted to me by the laws of this
+state. First, the right to belong to a union, without being discharged
+for it."
+
+The other had recovered his manner of quiet mastery. "You have that
+right, sir; you have always had it. You know perfectly well that the
+company has never discharged any one for belonging to a union."
+
+The man was looking at Hal, and there was a duel of the eyes between
+them. A cold anger moved Hal. His ability to endure this sort of thing
+was at an end. "Mr. Cartwright," he said, "you are the servant of one of
+the world's greatest actors; and you support him ably."
+
+The other flushed and drew back; Edward put in quickly: "Hal, there's
+nothing to be gained by such talk!"
+
+"He has all the world for an audience," persisted Hal. "He plays the
+most stupendous farce--and he and all his actors wearing such solemn
+faces!"
+
+"Mr. Cartwright," said Edward, with dignity, "I trust you understand
+that I have done everything I can to restrain my brother."
+
+"Of course, Mr. Warner," replied the superintendent. "And you must know
+that I, for my part, have done everything to show your brother
+consideration."
+
+"Again!" exclaimed Hal. "This actor is a genius!"
+
+"Hal, if you have business with Mr. Cartwright--"
+
+"He showed me consideration by sending his gunmen to seize me at night,
+drag me out of a cabin, and nearly twist the arm off me! Such humour
+never was!"
+
+Cartwright attempted to speak--but looking at Edward, not at Hal. "At
+that time--"
+
+"He showed me consideration by having me locked up in jail and fed on
+bread and water for two nights and a day! Can you beat that humour?"
+
+"At that time I did not know--"
+
+"By forging my name to a letter and having it circulated in the camp!
+Finally--most considerate of all--by telling a newspaper man that I had
+seduced a girl here!"
+
+The superintendent flushed still redder. "_No!_" he declared.
+
+"_What?_" cried Hal. "You didn't tell Billy Keating of the _Gazette_
+that I had seduced a girl in North Valley? You didn't describe the girl
+to him--a red-haired Irish girl?"
+
+"I merely said, Mr. Warner, that I had heard certain rumours--"
+
+"_Certain_ rumours, Mr. Cartwright? The certainty was all of your
+making! You made a definite and explicit statement to Mr. Keating--"
+
+"I did not!" declared the other.
+
+"I'll soon prove it!" And Hal started towards the telephone on
+Cartwright's desk.
+
+"What are you going to do, Hal?"
+
+"I am going to get Billy Keating on the wire, and let you hear his
+statement."
+
+"Oh, rot, Hal!" cried Edward. "I don't care anything about Keating's
+statement. You know that at that time Mr. Cartwright had no means of
+knowing who you were."
+
+Cartwright was quick to grasp this support. "Of course not, Mr. Warner!
+Your brother came here, pretending to be a working boy--"
+
+"Oh!" cried Hal. "So that's it! You think it proper to circulate
+slanders about working boys in your camp?"
+
+"You have been here long enough to know what the morals of such boys
+are."
+
+"I have been here long enough, Mr. Cartwright, to know that if you want
+to go into the question of morals in North Valley, the place for you to
+begin is with the bosses and guards you put in authority, and allow to
+prey upon women."
+
+Edward broke in: "Hal, there's nothing to be gained by pursuing this
+conversation. If you have any business here, get it over with, for God's
+sake!"
+
+Hal made an effort to recover his self-possession. He came back to the
+demands of the strike--but only to find that he had used up the
+superintendent's self-possession. "I have given you my answer," declared
+Cartwright, "I absolutely decline any further discussion."
+
+"Well," said Hal, "since you decline to permit a deputation of your men
+to deal with you in plain, business-like fashion, I have to inform you
+as an individual that every other individual in your camp refuses to
+work for you."
+
+The superintendent did not let himself be impressed by this elaborate
+sarcasm. "All I have to tell you, sir, is that Number Two mine will
+resume work in the morning, and that any one who refuses to work will be
+sent down the canyon before night."
+
+"So quickly, Mr. Cartwright? They have rented their homes from the
+company, and you know that according to the company's own lease they are
+entitled to three days' notice before being evicted!"
+
+Cartwright was so unwise as to argue. He knew that Edward was hearing,
+and he wished to clear himself. "They will not be evicted by the
+company. They will be dealt with by the town authorities."
+
+"Of which you yourself are the head?"
+
+"I happen to have been elected mayor of North Valley."
+
+"As mayor of North Valley, you gave my brother to understand that you
+would put me out, did you not?"
+
+"I asked your brother to persuade you to leave."
+
+"But you made clear that if he could not do this, you would put me out?"
+
+"Yes, that is true."
+
+"And the reason you gave was that you had had instructions by telegraph
+from Mr. Peter Harrigan. May I ask to what office Mr. Harrigan has been
+elected in your town?"
+
+Cartwright saw his difficulty. "Your brother misunderstood me," he said,
+crossly.
+
+"Did you misunderstand him, Edward?"
+
+Edward had walked to the window in disgust; he was looking at
+tomato-cans and cinder-heaps, and did not see fit to turn around. But
+the superintendent knew that he was hearing, and considered it necessary
+to cover the flaw in his argument. "Young man," said he, "you have
+violated several of the ordinances of this town."
+
+"Is there an ordinance against organising a union of the miners?"
+
+"No; but there is one against speaking on the streets."
+
+"Who passed that ordinance, if I may ask?"
+
+"The town council."
+
+"Consisting of Johnson, postmaster and company-store clerk; Ellison,
+company book-keeper; Strauss, company pit-boss; O'Callahan, company
+saloon-keeper. Have I the list correct?"
+
+Cartwright did not answer.
+
+"And the fifth member of the town council is yourself, ex-officio--Mr.
+Enos Cartwright, mayor and company-superintendent."
+
+Again there was no answer.
+
+"You have an ordinance against street-speaking; and at the same time
+your company owns the saloon-buildings, the boarding-houses, the church
+and the school. Where do you expect the citizens to do their speaking?"
+
+"You would make a good lawyer, young man. But we who have charge here
+know perfectly well what you mean by 'speaking'!"
+
+"You don't approve, then, of the citizens holding meetings?"
+
+"I mean that we don't consider it necessary to provide agitators with
+opportunity to incite our employes."
+
+"May I ask, Mr. Cartwright, are you speaking as mayor of an American
+community, or as superintendent of a coal-mine?"
+
+Cartwright's face had been growing continually redder. Addressing
+Edward's back, he said, "I don't see any reason why this should
+continue."
+
+And Edward was of the same opinion. He turned. "Really, Hal--"
+
+"But, Edward! A man accuses your brother of being a law-breaker! Have
+you hitherto known of any criminal tendencies in our family?"
+
+Edward turned to the window again and resumed his study of the
+cinder-heaps and tomato-cans. It was a vulgar and stupid quarrel, but he
+had seen enough of Hal's mood to realise that he would go on and on, so
+long as any one was indiscreet enough to answer him.
+
+"You say, Mr. Cartwright, that I have violated the ordinance against
+speaking on the street. May I ask what penalty this ordinance carries?"
+
+"You will find out when the penalty is exacted of you."
+
+Hal laughed. "From what you said just now, I gather that the penalty is
+expulsion from the town! If I understand legal procedure, I should have
+been brought before the justice of the peace--who happens to be another
+company store-clerk. Instead of that, I am sentenced by the mayor--or is
+it the company superintendent? May I ask how that comes to be?"
+
+"It is because of my consideration--"
+
+"When did I ask consideration?"
+
+"Consideration for your brother, I mean."
+
+"Oh! Then your ordinance provides that the mayor--or is it the
+superintendent?--may show consideration for the brother of a
+law-breaker, by changing his penalty to expulsion from the town. Was it
+consideration for Tommie Burke that caused you to have his sister sent
+down the canyon?"
+
+Cartwright clenched his hands. "I've had all I'll stand of this!"
+
+He was again addressing Edward's back; and Edward turned and answered,
+"I don't blame you, sir." Then to Hal, "I really think you've said
+enough!"
+
+"I hope I've said enough," replied Hal--"to convince you that the
+pretence of American law in this coal-camp is a silly farce, an insult
+and a humiliation to any man who respects the institutions of his
+country."
+
+"You, Mr. Warner," said the superintendent, to Edward, "have had
+experience in managing coal-mines. You know what it means to deal with
+ignorant foreigners, who have no understanding of American law--"
+
+Hal burst out laughing. "So you're teaching them American law! You're
+teaching them by setting at naught every law of your town and state,
+every constitutional guarantee--and substituting the instructions you
+get by telegraph from Peter Harrigan!"
+
+Cartwright turned and walked to the door. "Young man," said he, over his
+shoulder, "it will be necessary for you to leave North Valley this
+morning. I only hope your brother will be able to persuade you to leave
+without trouble." And the bang of the door behind him was the
+superintendent's only farewell.
+
+
+
+SECTION 17.
+
+Edward turned upon his brother. "Now what the devil did you want to put
+me through a scene like that for? So undignified! So utterly uncalled
+for! A quarrel with a man so far beneath you!"
+
+Hal stood where the superintendent had left him. He was looking at his
+brother's angry face. "Was that all you got out of it, Edward?"
+
+"All that stuff about your private character! What do you care what a
+fellow like Cartwright thinks about you?"
+
+"I care nothing at all what he thinks, but I care about having him use
+such a slander. That's one of their regular procedures, so Billy Keating
+says."
+
+Edward answered, coldly, "Take my advice, and realise that when you deny
+a scandal, you only give it circulation."
+
+"Of course," answered Hal. "That's what makes me so angry. Think of the
+girl, the harm done to her!"
+
+"It's not up to you to worry about the girl."
+
+"Suppose that Cartwright had slandered some woman friend of yours. Would
+you have felt the same indifference?"
+
+"He'd not have slandered any friend of mine; I choose my friends more
+carefully."
+
+"Yes, of course. What that means is that you choose them among the rich.
+But I happen to be more democratic in my tastes--"
+
+"Oh, for heaven's sake!" cried Edward. "You reformers are all alike--you
+talk and talk and talk!"
+
+"I can tell you the reason for that, Edward--a man like you can shut his
+eyes, but he can't shut his ears!"
+
+"Well, can't you let up on me for awhile--long enough to get out of this
+place? I feel as if I were sitting on the top of a volcano, and I've no
+idea when it may break out again."
+
+Hal began to laugh. "All right," he said; "I guess I haven't shown much
+appreciation of your visit. I'll be more sociable now. My next business
+is in Pedro, so I'll go that far with you. There's one thing more--"
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"The company owes me money--"
+
+"What money?"
+
+"Some I've earned."
+
+It was Edward's turn to laugh. "Enough to buy you a shave and a bath?"
+
+He took out his wallet, and pulled off several bills; and Hal, watching
+him, realised suddenly a change which had taken place in his own
+psychology. Not merely had he acquired the class-consciousness of the
+working-man, he had acquired the money-consciousness as well. He was
+actually concerned about the dollars the company owed him! He had earned
+those dollars by back- and heart-breaking toil, lifting lumps of coal
+into cars; the sum was enough to keep the whole Rafferty family alive
+for a week or two. And here was Edward, with a smooth brown leather
+wallet full of ten- and twenty-dollar bills, which he peeled off without
+counting, exactly as if money grew on trees, or as if coal came out of
+the earth and walked into furnaces to the sound of a fiddle and a flute!
+
+Edward had of course no idea of these abnormal processes going on in his
+brother's mind. He was holding out the bills. "Get yourself some decent
+things," he said. "I hope you don't have to stay dirty in order to feel
+democratic?"
+
+"No," answered Hal; and then, "How are we going?"
+
+"I've a car waiting, back of the office."
+
+"So you had everything ready!" But Edward made no answer; afraid of
+setting off the volcano again.
+
+
+
+SECTION 18.
+
+They went out by the rear door of the office, entered the car, and sped
+out of the village, unseen by the crowd. And all the way down the canyon
+Edward pleaded with Hal to drop the controversy and come home at once.
+He brought up the tragic question of Dad again; when that did not avail,
+he began to threaten. Suppose Hal's money-resources were to be cut off,
+suppose he were to find himself left out of his father's will--what
+would he do then? Hal answered, without a smile, "I can always get a job
+as organiser for the United Mine-Workers."
+
+So Edward gave up that line of attack. "If you won't come," he declared,
+"I'm going to stay by you till you do!"
+
+"All right," said Hal. He could not help smiling at this dire threat.
+"But if I take you about and introduce you to my friends, you must agree
+that what you hear shall be confidential."
+
+The other made a face of disgust. "What the devil would I want to talk
+about your friends for?"
+
+"I don't know what might happen," said Hal. "You're going to meet Peter
+Harrigan and take his side, and I can't tell what you might conceive it
+your duty to do."
+
+The other exclaimed, with sudden passion, "I'll tell you right now! If
+you try to go back to that coal-camp, I swear to God I'll apply to the
+courts and have you shut up in a sanitarium. I don't think I'd have much
+trouble in persuading a judge that you're insane."
+
+"No," said Hal, with a laugh--"not a judge in this part of the world!"
+
+Then, after studying his brother's face for a moment, it occurred to him
+that it might be well not to let such an idea rest unimpeached in
+Edward's mind. "Wait," said he, "till you meet my friend Billy Keating,
+of the _Gazette_, and hear what he would do with such a story! Billy is
+crazy to have me turn him loose to 'play up' my fight with Old Peter!"
+The conversation went no farther--but Hal was sure that Edward would
+"put that in his pipe and smoke it."
+
+They came to the MacKellar home in Pedro, and Edward waited in the
+automobile while Hal went inside. The old Scotchman welcomed him warmly,
+and told him what news he had. Jerry Minetti had been there that
+morning, and MacKellar at his request had telephoned to the office of
+the union in Sheridan, and ascertained that Jack David had brought word
+about the strike on the previous evening. All parties had been careful
+not to mention names, for "leaks" in the telephone were notorious, but
+it was clear who the messenger had been. As a result of the message,
+Johann Hartman, president of the local union of the miners, was now at
+the American Hotel in Pedro, together with James Moylan, secretary of
+the district organisation--the latter having come down from Western City
+on the same train as Edward.
+
+This was all satisfactory; but MacKellar added a bit of information of
+desperate import--the officers of the union declared that they could not
+support a strike at the present time! It was premature, it could lead to
+nothing but failure and discouragement to the larger movement they were
+planning.
+
+Such a possibility Hal had himself realised at the outset. But he had
+witnessed the new birth of freedom at North Valley, he had seen the
+hungry, toil-worn faces of men looking up to him for support; he had
+been moved by it, and had come to feel that the union officials must be
+moved in the same way. "They've simply got to back it!" he exclaimed.
+"Those men must not be disappointed! They'll lose all hope, they'll sink
+into utter despair! The labour men must realise that--I must make them!"
+
+The old Scotchman answered that Minetti had felt the same way. He had
+flung caution to the winds, and rushed over to the hotel to see Hartman
+and Moylan. Hal decided to follow, and went out to the automobile.
+
+He explained matters to his brother, whose comment was, Of course! It
+was what he had foretold. The poor, mis-guided miners would go back to
+their work, and their would-be leader would have to admit the folly of
+his course. There was a train for Western City in a couple of hours; it
+would be a great favour if Hal would arrange to take it.
+
+Hal answered shortly that he was going to the American Hotel. His
+brother might take him there, if he chose. So Edward gave the order to
+the driver of the car. Incidentally, Edward began asking about
+clothing-stores in Pedro. While Hal was in the hotel, pleading for the
+life of his newly-born labour union, Edward would seek a costume in
+which he could "feel like a human being."
+
+
+
+SECTION 19.
+
+Hal found Jerry Minetti with the two officials in their hotel-room: Jim
+Moylan, district secretary, a long, towering Irish boy, black-eyed and
+black-haired, quick and sensitive, the sort of person one trusted and
+liked at the first moment; and Johann Hartman, local president, a
+grey-haired miner of German birth, reserved and slow-spoken, evidently a
+man of much strength, both physical and moral. He had need of it, any
+one could realise, having charge of a union headquarters in the heart of
+this "Empire of Raymond"!
+
+Hal first told of the kidnapping of the committee. This did not surprise
+the officials, he found; it was the thing the companies regularly did
+when there was threat of rebellion in the camps. That was why efforts to
+organise openly were so utterly hopeless. There was no chance for
+anything but a secret propaganda, maintained until every camp had the
+nucleus of an organisation.
+
+"So you can't back this strike!" exclaimed Hal.
+
+Not possibly, was Moylan's reply. It would be lost as soon as it was
+begun. There was no slightest hope of success until a lot of
+organisation work had been done.
+
+"But meantime," argued Hal, "the union at North Valley will go to
+pieces!"
+
+"Perhaps," was the reply. "We'll only have to start another. That's what
+the labour movement is like."
+
+Jim Moylan was young, and saw Hal's mood. "Don't misunderstand us!" he
+cried. "It's heartbreaking--but it's not in our power to help. We are
+charged with building up the union, and we know that if we supported
+everything that looked like a strike, we'd be bankrupt the first year.
+You can't imagine how often this same thing happens--hardly a month
+we're not called on to handle such a situation."
+
+"I can see what you mean," said Hal. "But I thought that in this case,
+right after the disaster, with the men so stirred--"
+
+The young Irishman smiled, rather sadly. "You're new at this game," he
+said. "If a mine-disaster was enough to win a strike, God knows our job
+would be easy. In Barela, just down the canyon from you, they've had
+three big explosions--they've killed over five hundred men in the past
+year!"
+
+Hal began to see how, in his inexperience, he had lost his sense of
+proportion.
+
+He looked at the two labour leaders, and recalled the picture of such a
+person which he had brought with him to North Valley--a hot headed and
+fiery agitator, luring honest workingmen from their jobs. But here was
+the situation exactly reversed! Here was he in a blaze of
+excitement--and two labour leaders turning the fire-hose on him! They
+sat quiet and business-like, pronouncing a doom upon the slaves of North
+Valley. Back to their black dungeons with them!
+
+"What can we tell the men?" he asked, making an effort to repress his
+chagrin.
+
+"We can only tell them what I'm telling you--that we're helpless, till
+we've got the whole district organised. Meantime, they have to stand the
+gaff; they must do what they can to keep an organisation."
+
+"But all the active men will be fired!"
+
+"No, not quite all--they seldom get them all."
+
+Here the stolid old German put in. In the last year the company had
+turned out more than six thousand men because of union activity or
+suspicion of it.
+
+"_Six thousand!_" echoed Hal. "You mean from this one district?"
+
+"That's what I mean."
+
+"But there aren't more than twelve or fifteen thousand men in the
+district!"
+
+"I know that."
+
+"Then how can you ever keep an organisation?"
+
+The other answered, quietly, "They treat the new men the same as they
+treated the old."
+
+Hal thought suddenly of John Edstrom's ants! Here they were--building
+their bridge, building it again and again, as often as floods might
+destroy it! They had not the swift impatience of a youth of the
+leisure-class, accustomed to having his own way, accustomed to thinking
+of freedom and decency and justice as necessities of life. Much as Hal
+learned from the conversation of these men, he learned more from their
+silences--the quiet, matter-of-fact way they took things which had
+driven him beside himself with indignation. He began to realise what it
+would mean to stand by his pledge to those poor devils in North Valley.
+He would need more than one blaze of excitement; he would need brains
+and patience and discipline, he would need years of study and hard work!
+
+
+
+SECTION 20.
+
+Hal found himself forced to accept the decision of the labour-leaders.
+They had had experience, they could judge the situation. The miners
+would have to go back to work, and Cartwright and Alec Stone and Jeff
+Cotton would drive them as before! All that the rebels could do was to
+try to keep a secret organisation in the camp.
+
+Jerry Minetti mentioned Jack David. He had gone back this morning,
+without having seen the labour-leaders. So he might escape suspicion,
+and keep his job, and help the union work.
+
+"How about you?" asked Hal. "I suppose you've cooked your goose."
+
+Jerry had never heard this phrase, but he got its meaning. "Sure thing!"
+said he. "Cooked him plenty!"
+
+"Didn't you see the 'dicks' down stairs in the lobby?" inquired Hartman.
+
+"I haven't learned to recognise them yet."
+
+"Well, you will, if you stay at this business. There hasn't been a
+minute since our office was opened that we haven't had half a dozen on
+the other side of the street. Every man that comes to see us is followed
+back to his camp and fired that same day. They've broken into my desk at
+night and stolen my letters and papers; they've threatened us with death
+a hundred times."
+
+"I don't see how you make any headway at all!"
+
+"They can never stop us. They thought when they broke into my desk,
+they'd get a list of our organisers. But you see, I carry the lists in
+my head!"
+
+"No small task, either," put in Moylan. "Would you like to know how many
+organisers we have at work? Ninety-seven. And they haven't caught a
+single one of them!"
+
+Hal heard him, amazed. Here was a new aspect of the labour movement!
+This quiet, resolute old "Dutchy," whom you might have taken for a
+delicatessen-proprietor; this merry-eyed Irish boy, whom you would have
+expected to be escorting a lady to a firemen's ball----they were
+captains of an army of sappers who were undermining the towers of Peter
+Harrigan's fortress of greed!
+
+Hartman suggested that Jerry might take a chance at this sort of work.
+He would surely be fired from North Valley, so he might as well send
+word to his family to come to Pedro. In this way he might save himself
+to work as an organiser; because it was the custom of these company
+"spotters" to follow a man back to his camp and there identify him. If
+Jerry took a train for Western City, they would be thrown off the track,
+and he might get into some new camp and do organising among the
+Italians. Jerry accepted this proposition with alacrity; it would put
+off the evil day when Rosa and her little ones would be left to the
+mercy of chance.
+
+They were still talking when the telephone rang. It was Hartman's
+secretary in Sheridan, reporting that he had just heard from the
+kidnapped committee. The entire party, eight men and Mary Burke, had
+been taken to Horton, a station not far up the line, and put on the
+train with many dire threats. But they had left the train at the next
+stop, and declared their intention of coming to Pedro. They were due at
+the hotel very soon.
+
+Hal desired to be present at this meeting, and went downstairs to tell
+his brother. There was another dispute, of course. Edward reminded Hal
+that the scenery of Pedro had a tendency to monotony; to which Hal could
+only answer by offering to introduce his brother to his friends. They
+were men who could teach Edward much, if he would consent to learn. He
+might attend the session with the committee--eight men and a woman who
+had ventured an act of heroism and been made the victims of a crime. Nor
+were they bores, as Edward might be thinking! There was blue-eyed Tim
+Rafferty, for example, a silent, smutty-faced gnome who had broken out
+of his black cavern and spread unexpected golden wings of oratory; and
+Mary Burke, of whom Edward might read in that afternoon's edition of the
+Western City _Gazette_--a "Joan of Arc of the coal-camps," or something
+equally picturesque. But Edward's mood was not to be enlivened. He had a
+vision of his brother's appearance in the paper as the companion of this
+Hibernian Joan!
+
+Hal went off with Jerry Minetti to what his brother described as a
+"hash-house," while Edward proceeded in solitary state to the
+dining-room of the American Hotel. But he was not left in solitary
+state; pretty soon a sharp-faced young man was ushered to a seat beside
+him, and started up a conversation. He was a "drummer," he said; his
+"line" was hardware, what was Edward's? Edward answered coldly that he
+had no "line," but the young man was not rebuffed--apparently his "line"
+had hardened his sensibilities. Perhaps Edward was interested in
+coal-mines? Had he been visiting the camps? He questioned so
+persistently, and came back so often to the subject, that at last it
+dawned over Edward what this meant--he was receiving the attention of a
+"spotter!" Strange to say, the circumstance caused Edward more
+irritation against Peter Harrigan's regime than all his brother's
+eloquence about oppression at North Valley.
+
+
+
+SECTION 21.
+
+Soon after dinner the kidnapped committee arrived, bedraggled in body
+and weary in soul. They inquired for Johann Hartman, and were sent up to
+the room, where there followed a painful scene. Eight men and a woman
+who had ventured an act of heroism and been made the victims of a crime
+could not easily be persuaded to see their efforts and sacrifices thrown
+on the dump-heap, nor were they timid in expressing their opinions of
+those who were betraying them.
+
+"You been tryin' to get us out!" cried Tim Rafferty. "Ever since I can
+remember you been at my old man to help you--an' here, when we do what
+you ask, you throw us down!"
+
+"We never asked you to go on strike," said Moylan.
+
+"No, that's true. You only asked us to pay dues, so you fellows could
+have fat salaries."
+
+"Our salaries aren't very fat," replied the young leader, patiently.
+"You'd find that out if you investigated."
+
+"Well, whatever they are, they go on, while ours stop. We're on the
+streets, we're done for. Look at us--and most of us has got families,
+too! I got an old mother an' a lot of brothers and sisters, an' my old
+man done up an' can't work. What do you think's to become of us?"
+
+"We'll help you out a little, Rafferty--"
+
+"To hell with you!" cried Tim. "I don't want your help! When I need
+charity, I'll go to the county. They're another bunch of grafters, but
+they don't pretend to be friends to the workin' man."
+
+Here was the thing Tom Olson had told Hal at the outset--the workingmen
+bedevilled, not knowing whom to trust, suspecting the very people who
+most desired to help them. "Tim," he put in, "there's no use talking
+like that. We have to learn patience--"
+
+And the boy turned upon Hal. "What do you know about it? It's all a joke
+to you. You can go off and forget it when you get ready. You've got
+money, they tell me!"
+
+Hal felt no resentment at this; it was what he heard from his own
+conscience. "It isn't so easy for me as you think, Tim. There are other
+ways of suffering besides not having money--"
+
+"Much sufferin' you'll do--with your rich folks!" sneered Tim.
+
+There was a murmur of protest from others of the committee.
+
+"Good God, Rafferty!" broke in Moylan. "We can't help it, man--we're
+just as helpless as you!"
+
+"You say you're helpless--but you don't even try!"
+
+"_Try?_ Do you want us to back a strike that we know hasn't a chance?
+You might as well ask us to lie down and let a load of coal run over us.
+We can't win, man! I tell you we can't _win_! We'd only be throwing away
+our organisation!"
+
+Moylan became suddenly impassioned. He had seen a dozen sporadic strikes
+in this district, and many a dozen young strikers, homeless, desolate,
+embittered, turning their disappointment on him. "We might support you
+with our funds, you say--we might go on doing it, even while the company
+ran the mine with scabs. But where would that land us, Rafferty? I seen
+many a union on the rocks--and I ain't so old either! If we had a bank,
+we'd support all the miners of the country, they'd never need to work
+again till they got their rights. But this money we spend is the money
+that other miners are earnin'--right now, down in the pits, Rafferty,
+the same as you and your old man. They give us this money, and they say,
+'Use it to build up the union. Use it to help the men that aren't
+organised--take them in, so they won't beat down our wages and scab on
+us. But don't waste it, for God's sake; we have to work hard to make it,
+and if we don't see results, you'll get no more out of us.' Don't you
+see how that is, man? And how it weighs on us, worse even then the fear
+that maybe we'll lose our poor salaries--though you might refuse to
+believe anything so good of us? You don't need to talk to me like I was
+Peter Harrigan's son. I was a spragger when I was ten years old, and I
+ain't been out of the pits so long that I've forgot the feeling. I
+assure you, the thing that keeps me awake at night ain't the fear of not
+gettin' a living, for I give myself a bit of education, working nights,
+and I know I could always turn out and earn what I need; but it's
+wondering whether I'm spending the miners' money the best way, whether
+maybe I mightn't save them a little misery if I hadn't 'a' done this or
+had 'a' done that. When I come down on that sleeper last night, here's
+what I was thinking, Tim Rafferty--all the time I listened to the train
+bumping--'Now I got to see some more of the suffering, I got to let some
+good men turn against us, because they can't see why we should get
+salaries while they get the sack. How am I going to show them that I'm
+working for them--working as hard as I know how--and that I'm not to
+blame for their trouble?'"
+
+Here Wauchope broke in. "There's no use talking any more. I see we're up
+against it. We'll not trouble you, Moylan."
+
+"You trouble me," cried Moylan, "unless you stand by the movement!"
+
+The other laughed bitterly. "You'll never know what I do. It's the road
+for me--and you know it!"
+
+"Well, wherever you go, it'll be the same; either you'll be fighting for
+the union, or you'll be a weight that we have to carry."
+
+The young leader turned from one to another of the committee, pleading
+with them not to be embittered by this failure, but to turn it to their
+profit, going on with the work of building up the solidarity of the
+miners. Every man had to make his sacrifices, to pay his part of the
+price. The thing of importance was that every man who was discharged
+should be a spark of unionism, carrying the flame of revolt to a new
+part of the country. Let each one do his part, and there would soon be
+no place to which the masters could send for "scabs."
+
+
+
+SECTION 22.
+
+There was one member of this committee whom Hal watched with especial
+anxiety----Mary Burke. She had not yet said a word; while the others
+argued and protested, she sat with her lips set and her hands clenched.
+Hal knew what rage this failure must bring to her. She had risen and
+struggled and hoped, and the result was what she had always said it
+would be--nothing! Now he saw her, with eyes large and dark with
+fatigue, fixed on this fiery young labour-leader. He knew that a war
+must be going on within her. Would she drop out entirely now? It was the
+test of her character--as it was the test of the characters of all of
+them.
+
+"If only we're strong enough and brave enough," Jim Moylan was saying,
+"we can use our defeats to educate our people and bring them together.
+Right now, if we can make the men at North Valley see what we're doing,
+they won't go back beaten, they won't be bitter against the union,
+they'll only go back to wait. And ain't that a way to beat the
+bosses--to hold our jobs, and keep the union alive, till we've got into
+all the camps, and can strike and win?"
+
+There was a pause; then Mary spoke. "How're you meanin' to tell the
+men?" Her voice was without emotion, but nevertheless, Hal's heart
+leaped. Whether Mary had any hope or not, she was going to stay in line
+with the rest of the ants!
+
+Johann Hartman explained his idea. He would have circulars printed in
+several languages and distributed secretly in the camp, ordering the men
+back to work. But Jerry met this suggestion with a prompt no. The people
+would not believe the circulars, they would suspect the bosses of having
+them printed. Hadn't the bosses done worse than that, "framing up" a
+letter from Joe Smith to balk the check-weighman movement? The only
+thing that would help would be for some of the committee to get into the
+camp and see the men face to face.
+
+"And it got to be quick!" Jerry insisted. "They get notice to work in
+morning, and them that don't be fired. They be the best men, too--men we
+want to save."
+
+Other members of the committee spoke up, agreeing with this. Said
+Rusick, the Slav, slow-witted and slow-spoken, "Them fellers get mighty
+damn sore if they lose their job and don't got no strike." And Zammakis,
+the Greek, quick and nervous, "We say strike; we got to say no strike."
+
+What could they do? There was, in the first place, the difficulty of
+getting away from the hotel, which was being watched by the "spotters."
+Hartman suggested that if they went out all together and scattered, the
+detectives could not follow all of them. Those who escaped might get
+into North Valley by hiding in the "empties" which went up to the mine.
+
+But Moylan pointed out that the company would be anticipating this; and
+Rusick, who had once been a hobo, put in: "They sure search them cars.
+They give us plenty hell, too, when they catch us."
+
+Yes, it would be a dangerous mission. Mary spoke again. "Maybe a lady
+could do it better."
+
+"They'd beat a lady," said Minetti.
+
+"I know, but maybe a lady might fool them. There's some widows that came
+to Pedro for the funerals, and they're wearin' veils that hide their
+faces. I might pretend to be one of them and get into the camp."
+
+The men looked at one another. There was an idea! The scowl which had
+stayed upon the face of Tim Rafferty ever since his quarrel with Moylan,
+gave place suddenly to a broad grin.
+
+"I seen Mrs. Zamboni on the street," said he. "She had on black veils
+enough to hide the lot of us."
+
+And here Hal spoke, for the first time since Tim Rafferty had silenced
+him. "Does anybody know where to find Mrs. Zamboni?"
+
+"She stay with my friend, Mrs. Swajka," said Rusick.
+
+"Well," said Hal, "there's something you people don't know about this
+situation. After they had fired you, I made another speech to the men,
+and made them swear they'd stay on strike. So now I've got to go back
+and eat my words. If we're relying on veils and things, a man can be
+fixed up as well as a woman."
+
+They were staring at him. "They'll beat you to death if they catch you!"
+said Wauchope.
+
+"No," said Hal, "I don't think so. Anyhow, it's up to me"--he glanced at
+Tim Rafferty--"because I'm the only one who doesn't have to suffer for
+the failure of our strike."
+
+There was a pause.
+
+"I'm sorry I said that!" cried Tim, impulsively.
+
+"That's all right, old man," replied Hal. "What you said is true, and
+I'd like to do something to ease my conscience." He rose to his feet,
+laughing. "I'll make a peach of a widow!" he said. "I'm going up and
+have a tea-party with my friend Jeff Cotton!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 23.
+
+Hal proposed going to find Mrs. Zamboni at the place where she was
+staying; but Moylan interposed, objecting that the detectives would
+surely follow him. Even though they should all go out of the hotel at
+once, the one person the detective would surely stick to was the
+arch-rebel and trouble-maker, Joe Smith. Finally they decided to bring
+Mrs. Zamboni to the room. Let her come with Mrs. Swajka or some other
+woman who spoke English, and go to the desk and ask for Mary Burke,
+explaining that Mary had borrowed money from her, and that she had to
+have it to pay the undertaker for the burial of her man. The hotel-clerk
+might not know who Mary Burke was; but the watchful "spotters" would
+gather about and listen, and if it was mentioned that Mary was from
+North Valley, some one would connect her with the kidnapped committee.
+
+This was made clear to Rusick, who hurried off, and in the course of
+half an hour returned with the announcement that the women were on the
+way. A few minutes later came a tap on the door, and there stood the
+black-garbed old widow with her friend. She came in; and then came looks
+of dismay and horrified exclamations. Rusick was requesting her to give
+up her weeds to Joe Smith!
+
+"She say she don't got nothing else," explained the Slav.
+
+"Tell her I give her plenty money buy more," said Hal.
+
+"Ai! Jesu!" cried Mrs. Zamboni, pouring out a sputtering torrent.
+
+"She say she don't got nothing to put on. She say it ain't good to go no
+clothes!"
+
+"Hasn't she got on a petticoat?"
+
+"She say petticoat got holes!"
+
+There was a burst of laughter from the company, and the old woman turned
+scarlet from her forehead to her ample throat. "Tell her she wrap up in
+blankets," said Hal. "Mary Burke buy her new things."
+
+It proved surprisingly difficult to separate Mrs. Zamboni from her
+widow's weeds, which she had purchased with so great an expenditure of
+time and tears. Never had a respectable lady who had borne sixteen
+children received such a proposition; to sell the insignia of her
+grief--and here in a hotel room, crowded with a dozen men! Nor was the
+task made easier by the unseemly merriment of the men. "Ai! Jesu!" cried
+Mrs. Zamboni again.
+
+"Tell her it's very, very important," said Hal. "Tell her I must have
+them." And then, seeing that Rusick was making poor headway, he joined
+in, in the compromise-English one learns in the camps. "Got to have!
+Sure thing! Got to hide! Quick! Get away from boss! See? Get killed if
+no go!"
+
+So at last the frightened old woman gave way. "She say all turn backs,"
+said Rusick. And everybody turned, laughing in hilarious whispers,
+while, with Mary Burke and Mrs. Swajka for a shield, Mrs. Zamboni got
+out of her waist and skirt, putting a blanket round her red shoulders
+for modesty's sake. When Hal put the garments on, there was a foot to
+spare all round; but after they had stuffed two bed pillows down in the
+front of him, and drawn them tight at the waist-line, the disguise was
+judged more satisfactory. He put on the old lady's ample if ragged
+shoes, and Mary Burke set the widow's bonnet on his head and adjusted
+the many veils; after that Mrs. Zamboni's own brood of children would
+not have suspected the disguise.
+
+It was a merry party for a few minutes; worn and hopeless as Mary had
+seemed, she was possessed now by the spirit of fun. But then quickly the
+laughter died. The time for action had come. Mary Burke said that she
+would stay with what was left of Mrs. Zamboni, to answer the door in
+case any of the hotel people or the detectives should come. Hal asked
+Jim Moylan to see Edward, and say that Hal was writing a manifesto to
+the North Valley workers, and would not be ready to leave until the
+midnight train.
+
+These things agreed upon, Hal shook hands all round, and the eleven men
+left the room at once, going down stairs and through the lobby,
+scattering in every direction on the streets. Mrs. Swajka and the
+pseudo-Mrs. Zamboni followed a minute later--and, as they anticipated,
+found the lobby swept clear of detectives.
+
+
+
+SECTION 24.
+
+Bidding Mrs. Swajka farewell, Hal set out for the railroad station. But
+before he had gone a block from the hotel, he ran into his brother,
+coming straight towards him.
+
+Edward's face wore a bored look; his very manner of carrying the
+magazine under his arm said that he had selected it in a last hopeless
+effort against the monotony of Pedro. Such a trick of fate, to take a
+man of important affairs, and immure him at the mercy of a maniac in a
+God-forsaken coal-town! What did people do in such a hole? Pay a nickel
+to look at moving pictures of cow-boys and counterfeiters?
+
+Edward's aspect was too much for Hal's sense of humour. Besides, he had
+a good excuse; was it not proper to make a test of his disguise, before
+facing the real danger in North Valley?
+
+He placed himself in the path of his brother's progress, and in Mrs.
+Zamboni's high, complaining tones, began, "Mister!"
+
+Edward stared at the interrupting black figure. "Mister, you Joe Smith's
+brother, hey?"
+
+The question had to be repeated before Edward gave his grudging answer.
+He was not proud of the relationship.
+
+"Mister," continued the whining voice, "my old man got blow up in mine.
+I get five pieces from my man what I got to bury yesterday in
+grave-yard. I got to pay thirty dollar for bury them pieces and I don't
+got no more money left. I don't got no money from them company fellers.
+They come lawyer feller and he say maybe I get money for bury my man, if
+I don't jay too much. But, Mister, I got eleven children I got to feed,
+and I don't got no more man, and I don't find no new man for old woman
+like me. When I go home I hear them children crying and I don't got no
+food, and them company-stores don't give me no food. I think maybe you
+Joe Smith's brother you good man, maybe you sorry for poor widow-woman,
+you maybe give me some money, Mister, so I buy some food for them
+children."
+
+"All right," said Edward. He pulled out his wallet and extracted a bill,
+which happened to be for ten dollars. His manner seemed to say, "For
+heaven's sake, here!"
+
+Mrs. Zamboni clutched the bill with greedy fingers, but was not
+appeased. "You got plenty money, Mister! You rich man, hey! You maybe
+give me all them moneys, so I got plenty feed them children? You don't
+know them company-stores, Mister, them prices is way up high like
+mountains; them children is hungry, they cry all day and night, and one
+piece money don't last so long. You give me some more piece moneys,
+Mister----hey?"
+
+"I'll give you one more," said Edward. "I need some for myself." He
+pulled off another bill.
+
+"What you need so much, Mister? You don't got so many children, hey? And
+you got plenty more money home, maybe!"
+
+"That's all I can give you," said the man. He took a step to one side,
+to get round the obstruction in his path.
+
+But the obstruction took a step also--and with surprising agility.
+"Mister, I thank you for them moneys. I tell them children I get moneys
+from good man. I like you, Mister Smith, you give money for poor
+widow-woman--you nice man."
+
+And the dreadful creature actually stuck out one of her paws, as if
+expecting to pat Edward on the cheek, or to chuck him under the chin. He
+recoiled, as from a contagion; but she followed him, determined to do
+something to him, he could not be sure what. He had heard that these
+foreigners had strange customs!
+
+"It's all right! It's nothing!" he insisted, and fell back--at the same
+time glancing nervously about, to see if there were spectators of this
+scene.
+
+"Nice man, Mister! Nice man!" cried the old woman, with increasing
+cordiality. "Maybe some day I find man like you, Mr. Edward Smith--so I
+don't stay widow-woman no more. You think maybe you like to marry nice
+Slavish woman, got plenty nice children?"
+
+Edward, perceiving that the matter was getting desperate, sprang to one
+side. It was a spring which should have carried him to safety; but to
+his dismay the Slavish widow sprang also--her claws caught him under the
+arm-pit, and fastening in his ribs, gave him a ferocious pinch. After
+which the owner of the claws went down the street, not looking back, but
+making strange gobbling noises, which might have been the weeping of a
+bereaved widow in Slavish, or might have been almost anything else.
+
+
+
+SECTION 25.
+
+The train up to North Valley left very soon, and Hal figured that there
+would be just time to accomplish his errand and catch the last train
+back. He took his seat in the car without attracting attention, and sat
+in his place until they were approaching their destination, the last
+stop up the canyon. There were several of the miners' women in the car,
+and Hal picked out one who belonged to Mrs. Zamboni's nationality, and
+moved over beside her. She made place, with some remark; but Hal merely
+sobbed softly, and the woman felt for his hand to comfort him. As his
+hands were clasped together under the veils, she patted him reassuringly
+on the knee.
+
+At the boundary of the stockaded village the train stopped, and Bud
+Adams came through the car, scrutinising every passenger. Seeing this,
+Hal began to sob again, and murmured something indistinct to his
+companion--which caused her to lean towards him, speaking volubly in her
+native language. "Bud" passed by.
+
+When Hal came to leave the train, he took his companion's arm; he sobbed
+some more, and she talked some more, and so they went down the platform,
+under the very eyes of Pete Hanun, the "breaker of teeth." Another woman
+joined them, and they walked down the street, the women conversing in
+Slavish, apparently without a suspicion of Hal.
+
+He had worked out his plan of action. He would not try to talk with the
+men secretly--it would take too long, and he might be betrayed before he
+had talked with a sufficient number. One bold stroke was the thing. In
+half an hour it would be supper-time, and the feeders would gather in
+Reminitsky's dining-room. He would give his message there!
+
+Hal's two companions were puzzled that he passed the Zamboni cabin,
+where presumably the Zamboni brood were being cared for by neighbours.
+But he let them make what they could of this, and went on to the Minetti
+home. To the astonished Rosa he revealed himself, and gave her husband's
+message--that she should take herself and the children down to Pedro,
+and wait quietly until she heard from him. She hurried out and brought
+in Jack David, to whom Hal explained matters. "Big Jack's" part in the
+recent disturbance had apparently not been suspected; he and his wife,
+with Rovetta, Wresmak, and Klowoski, would remain as a nucleus through
+which the union could work upon the men.
+
+The supper-hour was at hand, and the pseudo-Mrs. Zamboni emerged and
+toddled down the street. As she passed into the dining-room of the
+boarding-house, men looked at her, but no one spoke. It was the stage of
+the meal where everybody was grabbing and devouring, in the effort to
+get the best of his grabbing and devouring neighbours. The black-clad
+figure went to the far end of the room; there was a vacant chair, and
+the figure pulled it back from the table and climbed upon it. Then a
+shout rang through the room: "Boys! Boys!"
+
+The feeders looked up, and saw the widow's weeds thrown back, and their
+leader, Joe Smith, gazing out at them. "Boys! I've come with a message
+from the union!"
+
+There was a yell; men leaped to their feet, chairs were flung back,
+falling with a crash to the floor. Then, almost instantly, came silence;
+you could have heard the movement of any man's jaws, had any man
+continued to move them.
+
+"Boys! I've been down to Pedro and seen the union people. I knew the
+bosses wouldn't let me come back, so I dressed up, and here I am!"
+
+It dawned upon them, the meaning of this fantastic costume; there were
+cheers, laughter, yells of delight.
+
+But Hal stretched out his hands, and silence fell again. "Listen to me!
+The bosses won't let me talk long, and I've something important to say.
+The union leaders say we can't win a strike now."
+
+Consternation came into the faces before him. There were cries of
+dismay. He went on:
+
+"We are only one camp, and the bosses would turn us out, they'd get in
+scabs and run the mines without us. What we must have is a strike of all
+the camps at once. One big union and one big strike! If we walked out
+now, it would please the bosses; but we'll fool them--we'll keep our
+jobs, and keep our union too! You are members of the union, you'll go on
+working for the union! Hooray for the North Valley union!"
+
+For a moment there was no response. It was hard for men to cheer over
+such a prospect! Hal saw that he must touch a different chord.
+
+"We mustn't be cowards, boys! We've got to keep our nerve! I'm doing my
+part--it took nerve to get in here! In Mrs. Zamboni's clothes, and with
+two pillows stuffed in front of me!"
+
+He thumped the pillows, and there was a burst of laughter. Many in the
+crowd knew Mrs. Zamboni--it was what comedians call a "local gag." The
+laughter spread, and became a gale of merriment. Men began to cheer:
+"Hurrah for Joe! You're the girl! Will you marry me, Joe?" And so, of
+course, it was easy for Hal to get a response when he shouted, "Hurrah
+for the North Valley union!"
+
+Again he raised his hands for silence, and went on again. "Listen, men.
+They'll turn me out, and you're not going to resist them. You're going
+to work and keep your jobs, and get ready for the big strike. And you'll
+tell the other men what I say. I can't talk to them all, but you tell
+them about the union. Remember, there are people outside planning and
+fighting for you. We're going to stand by the union, all of us, till
+we've brought these coal-camps back into America!" There was a cheer
+that shook the walls of the room. Yes, that was what they wanted--to
+live in America!
+
+A crowd of men had gathered in the doorway, attracted by the uproar; Hal
+noticed confusion and pushing, and saw the head and burly shoulders of
+his enemy, Pete Hanun, come into sight.
+
+"Here come the gunmen, boys!" he cried; and there was a roar of anger
+from the crowd. Men turned, clenching their fists, glaring at the guard.
+But Hal rushed on, quickly:
+
+"Boys, hear what I say! Keep your heads! I can't stay in North Valley,
+and you know it! But I've done the thing I came to do, I've brought you
+the message from the union. And you'll tell the other men--tell them to
+stand by the union!"
+
+Hal went on, repeating his message over and over. Looking from one to
+another of these toil-worn faces, he remembered the pledge he had made
+them, and he made it anew: "I'm going to stand by you! I'm going on with
+the fight, boys!"
+
+There came more disturbance at the door, and suddenly Jeff Cotton
+appeared, with a couple of additional guards, shoving their way into the
+room, breathless and red in the face from running.
+
+"Ah, there's the marshal!" cried Hal. "You needn't push, Cotton, there's
+not going to be any trouble. We are union men here, we know how to
+control ourselves. Now, boys, we're not giving up, we're not beaten,
+we're only waiting for the men in the other camps! We have a union, and
+we mean to keep it! Three cheers for the union!"
+
+The cheers rang out with a will: cheers for the union, cheers for Joe
+Smith, cheers for the widow and her weeds!
+
+"You belong to the union! You stand by it, no matter what happens! If
+they fire you, you take it on to the next place! You teach it to the new
+men, you never let it die in your hearts! In union there is strength, in
+union there is hope! Never forget it, men--_Union_!"
+
+The voice of the camp-marshal rang out. "If you're coming, young woman,
+come now!"
+
+Hal dropped a shy curtsey. "Oh, Mr. Cotton! This is so sudden!" The
+crowd howled; and Hal descended from his platform. With coquettish
+gesturing he replaced the widow's veils about his face, and tripped
+mincingly across the dining-room. When he reached the camp-marshal, he
+daintily took that worthy's arm, and with the "breaker of teeth" on the
+other side, and Bud Adams bringing up the rear, he toddled out of the
+dining-room and down the street.
+
+Hungry men gave up their suppers to behold that sight. They poured out
+of the building, they followed, laughing, shouting, jeering. Others came
+from every direction--by the time the party had reached the depot, a
+good part of the population of the village was on hand; and everywhere
+went the word, "It's Joe Smith! Come back with a message from the
+union!" Big, coal-grimed miners laughed till the tears made streaks on
+their faces; they fell on one another's necks for delight at this trick
+which had been played upon their oppressors.
+
+Even Jeff Cotton could not withhold his tribute. "By God, you're the
+limit!" he muttered. He accepted the "tea-party" aspect of the affair,
+as the easiest way to get rid of his recurrent guest, and avert the
+possibilities of danger. He escorted the widow to the train and helped
+her up the steps, posting escorts at the doors of her car; nor did the
+attentions of these gallants cease until the train had moved down the
+canyon and passed the limits of the North Valley stockade!
+
+
+
+SECTION 26.
+
+Hal took off his widow's weeds; and with them he shed the merriment he
+had worn for the benefit of the men. There came a sudden reaction; he
+realised that he was tired.
+
+For ten days he had lived in a whirl of excitement, scarcely stopping to
+sleep. Now he lay back in the car-seat, pale, exhausted; his head ached,
+and he realised that the sum-total of his North Valley experience was
+failure. There was left in him no trace of that spirit of adventure with
+which he had set out upon his "summer course in practical sociology." He
+had studied his lessons, tried to recite them, and been "flunked." He
+smiled a bitter smile, recollecting the careless jesting that had been
+on his lips as he came up that same canyon:
+
+  "He keeps them a-roll, that merry old soul--
+    The wheels of industree;
+  A-roll and a-roll, for his pipe and his bowl
+    And his college facultee!"
+
+The train arrived in Pedro, and Hal took a hack at the station and drove
+to the hotel. He still carried the widow's weeds rolled into a bundle.
+He might have left them in the train, but the impulse to economy which
+he had acquired during the last ten weeks had become a habit. He would
+return them to Mrs. Zamboni. The money he had promised her might better
+be used to feed her young ones. The two pillows he would leave in the
+car; the hotel might endure the loss!
+
+Entering the lobby, the first person Hal saw was his brother, and the
+sight of that patrician face made human by disgust relieved Hal's
+headache in part. Life was harsh, life was cruel; but here was weary,
+waiting Edward, that boon of comic relief!
+
+Edward demanded to know where the devil he had been; and Hal answered,
+"I've been visiting the widows and orphans."
+
+"Oh!" said Edward. "And while I sit in this hole and stew! What's that
+you've got under your arm?"
+
+Hal looked at the bundle. "It's a souvenir of one of the widows," he
+said, and unrolled the garments and spread them out before his brother's
+puzzled eyes. "A lady named Mrs. Swajka gave them to me. They belonged
+to another lady, Mrs. Zamboni, but she doesn't need them any more."
+
+"What have _you_ got to do with them?"
+
+"It seems that Mrs. Zamboni is going to get married again." Hal lowered
+his voice, confidentially. "It's a romance, Edward--it may interest you
+as an illustration of the manners of these foreign races. She met a man
+on the street, a fine, fine man, she says--and he gave her a lot of
+money. So she went and bought herself some new clothes, and she wants to
+give these widow's weeds to the new man. That's the custom in her
+country, it seems--her sign that she accepts him as a suitor."
+
+Seeing the look of wonderment growing on his brother's face, Hal had to
+stop for a moment to keep his own face straight. "If that man wasn't
+serious in his intention, Edward, he'll have trouble, for I know Mrs.
+Zamboni's emotional nature. She'll follow him about everywhere--"
+
+"Hal, that creature is insane!" And Edward looked about him nervously,
+as if he thought the Slavish widow might appear suddenly in the hotel
+lobby to demonstrate her emotional nature.
+
+"No," replied Hal, "it's just one of those differences in national
+customs." And suddenly Hal's face gave way. He began to laugh; he
+laughed, perhaps more loudly than good form permitted.
+
+Edward was much annoyed. There were people in the lobby, and they were
+staring at him. "Cut it out, Hal!" he exclaimed. "Your fool jokes bore
+me!" But nevertheless, Hal could see uncertainty in his brother's face.
+Edward recognised those widow's weeds. And how could he be sure about
+the "national customs" of that grotesque creature who had pinched him in
+the ribs on the street?
+
+"Cut it out!" he cried again.
+
+Hal, changing his voice suddenly to the Zamboni key, exclaimed: "Mister,
+I got eight children I got to feed, and I don't got no more man, and I
+don't find no new man for old woman like me!"
+
+So at last the truth in its full enormity began to dawn upon Edward. His
+consternation and disgust poured themselves out; and Hal listened, his
+laughter dying. "Edward," he said, "you don't take me seriously even
+yet!"
+
+"Good God!" cried the other. "I believe you're really insane!"
+
+"You were up there, Edward! You heard what I said to those poor devils!
+And you actually thought I'd go off with you and forget about them!"
+
+Edward ignored this. "You're really insane!" he repeated. "You'll get
+yourself killed, in spite of all I can do!"
+
+But Hal only laughed. "Not a chance of it! You should have seen the
+tea-party manners of the camp-marshal!"
+
+
+
+SECTION 27.
+
+Edward would have endeavoured to carry his brother away forthwith, but
+there was no train until late at night; so Hal went upstairs, where he
+found Moylan and Hartman with Mary Burke and Mrs. Zamboni, all eager to
+hear his story. As the members of the committee, who had been out to
+supper, came straggling in, the story was told again, and yet again.
+They were almost as much delighted as the men in Reminitsky's. If only
+all strikes that had to be called off could be called off as neatly as
+that!
+
+Between these outbursts of satisfaction, they discussed their future.
+Moylan was going back to Western City, Hartman to his office in
+Sheridan, from which he would arrange to send new organisers into North
+Valley. No doubt Cartwright would turn off many men--those who had made
+themselves conspicuous during the strike, those who continued to talk
+union out loud. But such men would have to be replaced, and the union
+knew through what agencies the company got its hands. The North Valley
+miners would find themselves mysteriously provided with union literature
+in their various languages; it would be slipped under their pillows, or
+into their dinner-pails, or the pockets of their coats while they were
+at work.
+
+Also there was propaganda to be carried on among those who were turned
+away; so that, wherever they went, they would take the message of
+unionism. There had been a sympathetic outburst in Barela, Hal
+learned--starting quite spontaneously that morning, when the men heard
+what had happened at North Valley. A score of workers had been fired,
+and more would probably follow in the morning. Here was a job for the
+members of the kidnapped committee; Tim Rafferty, for example--would he
+care to stay in Pedro for a week or two, to meet such men, and give them
+literature and arguments?
+
+This offer was welcome; for life looked desolate to the Irish boy at
+this moment. He was out of a job, his father was a wreck, his family
+destitute and helpless. They would have to leave their home, of course;
+there would be no place for any Rafferty in North Valley. Where they
+would go, God only knew; Tim would become a wanderer, living away from
+his people, starving himself and sending home his pitiful savings.
+
+Hal was watching the boy, and reading these thoughts. He, Hal Warner,
+would play the god out of a machine in this case, and in several others
+equally pitiful. He had the right to sign his father's name to checks, a
+privilege which he believed he could retain, even while undertaking the
+role of Haroun al Raschid in a mine-disaster. But what about the
+mine-disasters and abortive strikes where there did not happen to be any
+Haroun al Raschid at hand? What about those people, right in North
+Valley, who did not happen to have told Hal of their affairs? He
+perceived that it was only by turning his back and running that he would
+escape from his adventure with any portion of his self-possession.
+Truly, this fair-seeming and wonderful civilisation was like the floor
+of a charnel-house or a field of battle; anywhere one drove a spade
+beneath its surface, he uncovered horrors, sights for the eyes and
+stenches for the nostrils that caused him to turn sick!
+
+There was Rusick, for example; he had a wife and two children, and not a
+dollar in the world. In the year and more that he had worked, faithfully
+and persistently, to get out coal for Peter Harrigan, he had never once
+been able to get ahead of his bill for the necessities of life at Old
+Peter's store. All his belongings in the world could be carried in a
+bundle on his back, and whether he ever saw these again would depend
+upon the whim of old Peter's camp-marshal and guards. Rusick would take
+to the road, with a ticket purchased by the union. Perhaps he would find
+a job and perhaps not; in any case, the best he could hope for in life
+was to work for some other Harrigan, and run into debt at some other
+company-store.
+
+There was Hobianish, a Serbian, and Hernandez, a Mexican, of whom the
+same things were true, except that one had four children and the other
+six. Bill Wauchope had only a wife--their babies had died, thank heaven,
+he said. He did not seem to have been much moved by Jim Moylan's
+pleadings; he was down and out; he would take to the road, and beat his
+way to the East and back to England. They called this a free country! By
+God, if he were to tell what had happened to him, he could not get an
+English miner to believe it!
+
+Hal gave these men his real name and address, and made them promise to
+let him know how they got along. He would help a little, he said; in his
+mind he was figuring how much he ought to do. How far shall a man go in
+relieving the starvation about him, before he can enjoy his meals in a
+well-appointed club? What casuist will work out this problem--telling
+him the percentage he shall relieve of the starvation he happens
+personally to know about, the percentage of that which he sees on the
+streets, the percentage of that about which he reads in government
+reports on the rise in the cost of living. To what extent is he
+permitted to close his eyes, as he walks along the streets on his way to
+the club? To what extent is he permitted to avoid reading government
+reports before going out to dinner-dances with his fiancee? Problems
+such as these the masters of the higher mathematics have neglected to
+solve; the wise men of the academies and the holy men of the churches
+have likewise failed to work out the formulas; and Hal, trying to obtain
+them by his crude mental arithmetic, found no satisfaction in the
+results.
+
+
+
+SECTION 28.
+
+Hal wanted a chance to talk to Mary Burke; they had had no intimate talk
+since the meeting with Jessie Arthur, and now he was going away, for a
+long time. He wanted to find out what plans Mary had for the future,
+and--more important yet--what was her state of mind. If he had been able
+to lift this girl from despair, his summer course in practical sociology
+had not been all a failure!
+
+He asked her to go with him to say good-bye to John Edstrom, whom he had
+not seen since their unceremonious parting at MacKellar's, when Hal had
+fled to Percy Harrigan's train. Downstairs in the lobby Hal explained
+his errand to his waiting brother, who made no comment, but merely
+remarked that he would follow, if Hal had no objection. He did not care
+to make the acquaintance of the Hibernian Joan of Arc, and would not
+come close enough to interfere with Hal's conversation with the lady;
+but he wished to do what he could for his brother's protection. So there
+set out a moon-light procession--first Hal and Mary, then Edward, and
+then Edward's dinner-table companion, the "hardware-drummer!"
+
+Hal was embarrassed in beginning his farewell talk with Mary. He had no
+idea how she felt towards him, and he admitted with a guilty pang that
+he was a little afraid to find out! He thought it best to be cheerful,
+so he started to tell her how fine he thought her conduct during the
+strike. But she did not respond to his remarks, and at last he realised
+that she was labouring with some thoughts of her own.
+
+"There's somethin' I got to say to ye!" she began, suddenly. "A couple
+of days ago I knew how I meant to say it, but now I don't."
+
+"Well," he laughed, "say it as you meant to."
+
+"No; 'twas bitter--and now I'm on my knees before ye."
+
+"Not that I want you to be bitter," said Hal, still laughing, "but it's
+I that ought to be on my knees before you. I didn't accomplish anything,
+you know."
+
+"Ye did all ye could--and more than the rest of us. I want ye to know
+I'll never forget it. But I want ye to hear the other thing, too!"
+
+She walked on, staring before her, doubling up her hands in agitation.
+"Well?" said he, still trying to keep a cheerful tone.
+
+"Ye remember that day just after the explosion? Ye remember what I said
+about--about goin' away with ye? I take it back."
+
+"Oh, of course!" said he, quickly. "You were distracted, Mary--you
+didn't know what you were saying."
+
+"No, no! That's not it! But I've changed my mind; I don't mean to throw
+meself away."
+
+"I told you you'd see it that way," he said. "No man is worth it."
+
+"Ah, lad!" said she. "'Tis the fine soothin' tongue ye have--but I'd
+rather ye knew the truth. 'Tis that I've seen the other girl; and I hate
+her!"
+
+They walked for a bit in silence. Hal had sense enough to realise that
+here was a difficult subject. "I don't want to be a prig, Mary," he said
+gently; "but you'll change your mind about that, too. You'll not hate
+her; you'll be sorry for her."
+
+She laughed--a raw, harsh laugh. "What kind of a joke is that?"
+
+"I know--it may seem like one. But it'll come to you some day. You have
+a wonderful thing to live and fight for; while she"--he hesitated a
+moment, for he was not sure of his own ideas on this subject--"she has
+so many things to learn; and she may never learn them. She'll miss some
+fine things."
+
+"I know one of the fine things she does not mean to miss," said Mary,
+grimly; "that's Mr. Hal Warner." Then, after they had walked again in
+silence: "I want ye to understand me, Mr. Warner--"
+
+"Ah, Mary!" he pleaded. "Don't treat me that way! I'm Joe."
+
+"All right," she said, "Joe ye shall be. 'Twill remind ye of a pretty
+adventure--bein' a workin' man for a few weeks. Well, that's a part of
+what I have to tell ye. I've got my pride, even if I'm only a poor
+miner's daughter; and the other day I found out me place."
+
+"How do you mean?" he asked.
+
+"Ye don't understand? Honest?"
+
+"No, honest," he said.
+
+"Ye're stupid with women, Joe. Ye didn't see what the girl did to me!
+'Twas some kind of a bug I was to her. She was not sure if I was the
+kind that bites, but she took no chances--she threw me off, like that."
+And Mary snapped her hand, as one does when troubled with a bug.
+
+"Ah, now!" pleaded Hal. "You're not being fair!"
+
+"I'm bein' just as fair as I've got it in me to be, Joe. I been off and
+had it all out. I can see this much--'tis not her fault, maybe--'tis her
+class; 'tis all of ye--the very best of ye, even yeself, Joe Smith!"
+
+"Yea," he replied, "Tim Rafferty said that."
+
+"Tim said too much--but a part of it was true. Ye think ye've come here
+and been one of us workin' people. But don't your own sense tell you
+the difference, as if it was a canyon a million miles across--between a
+poor ignorant creature in a minin' camp, and a rich man's daughter, a
+lady? Ye'd tell me not to be ashamed of poverty; but would ye ever put
+me by the side of her--for all your fine feelin's of friendship for them
+that's beneath ye? Didn't ye show that at the Minettis'?"
+
+"But don't you see, Mary--" He made an effort to laugh. "I got used to
+obeying Jessie! I knew her a long time before I knew you."
+
+"Ah, Joe! Ye've a kind heart, and a pleasant way of speakin'. But
+wouldn't it interest ye to know the real truth? Ye said ye'd come out
+here to learn the truth!"
+
+And Hal answered, in a low voice, "Yes," and did not interrupt again.
+
+
+
+SECTION 29.
+
+Mary's voice had dropped low, and Hal thought how rich and warm it was
+when she was deeply moved. She went on:
+
+"I lived all me life in minin' camps, Joe Smith, and I seen men robbed
+and beaten, and women cryin' and childer hungry. I seen the company,
+like some great wicked beast that eat them up. But I never knew why, or
+what it meant--till that day, there at the Minettis'. I'd read about
+fine ladies in books, ye see; but I'd never been spoke to by one, I'd
+never had to swallow one, as ye might say. But there I did--and all at
+once I seemed to know where the money goes that's wrung out of the
+miners. I saw why people were robbin' us, grindin' the life out of
+us--for fine ladies like that, to keep them so shinin' and soft! 'Twould
+not have been so bad, if she'd not come just then, with all the men and
+boys dyin' down in the pits--dyin' for that soft, white skin, and those
+soft, white hands, and all those silky things she swished round in. My
+God, Joe--d'ye know what she seemed to me like? Like a smooth, sleek cat
+that has just eat up a whole nest full of baby mice, and has the blood
+of them all over her cheeks!"
+
+Mary paused, breathing hard. Hal kept silence, and she went on again: "I
+had it out with meself, Joe! I don't want ye to think I'm any better
+than I am, and I asked meself this question--Is it for the men in the
+pits that ye hate her with such black murder? Or is it for the one man
+ye want, and that she's got? And I knew the answer to that! But then I
+asked meself another question, too--Would ye be like her if ye could?
+Would ye do what she's doin' right now--would ye have it on your soul?
+And as God hears me, Joe, 'tis the truth I speak--I'd not do it! No, not
+for the love of any man that ever walked on this earth!"
+
+She had lifted her clenched fist as she spoke. She let it fall again,
+and strode on, not even glancing at him. "Ye might try a thousand years,
+Joe, and ye'd not realise the feelin's that come to me there at the
+Minettis'. The shame of it--not what she done to me, but what she made
+me in me own eyes! Me, the daughter of a drunken old miner, and her--I
+don't know what her father is, but she's some sort of princess, and she
+knows it. And that's the thing that counts, Joe! 'Tis not that she has
+so much money, and so many fine things; that she knows how to talk, and
+I don't, and that her voice is sweet, and mine is ugly, when I'm ragin'
+as I am now. No--'tis that she's so _sure!_ That's the word I found to
+say it; she's sure--sure--_sure!_ She has the fine things, she's always
+had them, she has a right to have them! And I have a right to nothin'
+but trouble, I'm hunted all day by misery and fear, I've lost even the
+roof over me head! Joe, ye know I've got some temper--I'm not easy to
+beat down; but when I'd got through bein' taught me place, I went off
+and hid meself, I ground me face in the dirt, for the black rage of it!
+I said to meself, 'Tis true! There's somethin' in her better than me!
+She's some kind of finer creature.--Look at these hands!" She held them
+out in the moonlight, with a swift, passionate gesture. "So she's a
+right to her man, and I'm a fool to have ever raised me eyes to him! I
+have to see him go away, and crawl back into me leaky old shack! Yes,
+that's the truth! And when I point it out to the man, what d'ye think he
+says? Why, he tells me gently and kindly that I ought to be sorry for
+her! Christ! did ye ever hear the like of that?"
+
+There was a long silence. Hal could not have said anything now, if he
+had wished to. He knew that this was what he had come to seek! This was
+the naked soul of the class-war!
+
+"Now," concluded Mary, with clenched hands, and a voice that
+corresponded, "now, I've had it out. I'm no slave; I've just as good a
+right to life as any lady. I know I'll never have it, of course; I'll
+never wear good clothes, nor live in a decent home, nor have the man I
+want; but I'll know that I've done somethin' to help free the workin'
+people from the shame that's put on them. That's what the strike done
+for me, Joe! The strike showed me the way. We're beat this time, but
+somehow it hasn't made the difference ye might think. I'm goin' to make
+more strikes before I quit, and they won't all of them be beat!"
+
+She stopped speaking; and Hal walked beside her, stirred by a conflict
+of emotions. His vision of her was indeed true; she would make more
+strikes! He was glad and proud of that; but then came the thought that
+while she, a girl, was going on with the bitter war, he, a man, would be
+eating grilled beefsteaks at the club!
+
+"Mary," he said, "I'm ashamed of myself--"
+
+"That's not it, Joe! Ye've no call to be ashamed. Ye can't help it where
+ye were born--"
+
+"Perhaps not, Mary. But when a man knows he's never paid for any of the
+things he's enjoyed all his life, surely the least he can do is to be
+ashamed. I hope you'll try not to hate me as you do the others."
+
+"I never hated ye, Joe! Not for one moment! I tell ye fair and true, I
+love ye as much as ever. I can say it, because I'd not have ye now; I've
+seen the other girl, and I know ye'd never be satisfied with me. I don't
+know if I ought to say it, but I'm thinkin' ye'll not be altogether
+satisfied with her, either. Ye'll be unhappy either way--God help ye!"
+
+The girl had read deeply into his soul in this last speech; so deeply
+that Hal could not trust himself to answer. They were passing a
+street-lamp, and she looked at him, for the first time since they had
+started on their walk, and saw harassment in his face. A sudden
+tenderness came into her voice. "Joe," she said; "ye're lookin' bad.
+'Tis good ye're goin' away from this place!"
+
+He tried to smile, but the effort was feeble.
+
+"Joe," she went on, "ye asked me to be your friend. Well, I'll be that!"
+And she held out the big, rough hand.
+
+He took it. "We'll not forget each other, Mary," he said. There was a
+catch in his voice.
+
+"Sure, lad!" she exclaimed. "We'll make another strike some day, just
+like we did at North Valley!"
+
+Hal pressed the big hand; but then suddenly, remembering his brother
+stalking solemnly in the rear, he relinquished the clasp, and failed to
+say all the fine things he had in his mind. He called himself a rebel,
+but not enough to be sentimental before Edward!
+
+
+
+SECTION 30.
+
+They came to the house where John Edstrom was staying. The labouring
+man's wife opened the door. In answer to Hal's question, she said, "The
+old gentleman's pretty bad."
+
+"What's the matter with him?"
+
+"Didn't you know he was hurt?"
+
+"No. How?"
+
+"They beat him up, sir. Broke his arm, and nearly broke his head."
+
+Hal and Mary exclaimed in chorus, "Who did it? When?"
+
+"We don't know who did it. It was four nights ago."
+
+Hal realised it must have happened while he was escaping from
+MacKellar's. "Have you had a doctor for him?"
+
+"Yes, sir; but we can't do much, because my man is out of work, and I
+have the children and the boarders to look after."
+
+Hal and Mary ran upstairs. Their old friend lay in darkness, but he
+recognised their voices and greeted them with a feeble cry. The woman
+brought a lamp, and they saw him lying on his back, his head done up in
+bandages, and one arm bound in splints. He looked really desperately
+bad, his kindly old eyes deep-sunken and haggard, and his face--Hal
+remembered what Jeff Cotton had called him, "that dough-faced old
+preacher!"
+
+They got the story of what had happened at the time of Hal's flight to
+Percy's train. Edstrom had shouted a warning to the fugitives, and set
+out to run after them; when one of the mine-guards, running past him,
+had fetched him a blow over the eye, knocking him down. He had struck
+his head upon the pavement, and lain there unconscious for many hours.
+When finally some one had come upon him, and summoned a policeman, they
+had gone through his pockets, and found the address of this place where
+he was staying written on a scrap of paper. That was all there was to
+the story--except that Edstrom had refrained from sending to MacKellar
+for help, because he had felt sure they were all working to get the mine
+open, and he did not feel he had the right to put his troubles upon
+them.
+
+Hal listened to the old man's feeble statements, and there came back to
+him a surge of that fury which his North Valley experience had generated
+in him. It was foolish, perhaps; for to knock down an old man who had
+been making trouble was a comparatively slight exercise of the functions
+of a mine-guard. But to Hal it seemed the most characteristic of all the
+outrages he had seen; it was an expression of the company's utter
+blindness to all that was best in life. This old man, who was so gentle,
+so patient, who had suffered so much, and not learned to hate, who had
+kept his faith so true! What did his faith mean to the thugs of the
+General Fuel Company? What had his philosophy availed him, his
+saintliness, his hopes for mankind? They had fetched him one swipe as
+they passed him, and left him lying--alive or dead, it was all the same.
+
+Hal had got some satisfaction out of his little adventure in widowhood,
+and some out of Mary's self-victory; but there, listening to the old
+man's whispered story, his satisfaction died. He realised again the grim
+truth about his summer's experience--that the issue of it had been
+defeat. Utter, unqualified defeat! He had caused the bosses a momentary
+chagrin; but it would not take them many hours to realise that he had
+really done them a service in calling off the strike for them. They
+would start the wheels of industry again, and the workers would be just
+where they had been before Joe Smith came to be stableman and buddy
+among them. What was all the talk about solidarity, about hope for the
+future; what would it amount to in the long run, the daily rolling of
+the wheels of industry? The workers of North Valley would have exactly
+the right they had always had--the right to be slaves, and if they did
+not care for that, the right to be martyrs!
+
+Mary sat holding the old man's hand and whispering words of passionate
+sympathy, while Hal got up and paced the tiny attic, all ablaze with
+anger. He resolved suddenly that he would not go back to Western City;
+he would stay here, and get an honest lawyer to come, and set out to
+punish the men who were guilty of this outrage. He would test out the
+law to the limit; if necessary, he would begin a political fight, to put
+an end to coal-company rule in this community. He would find some one to
+write up these conditions, he would raise the money and publish a paper
+to make them known! Before his surging wrath had spent itself, Hal
+Warner had actually come out as a candidate for governor, and was
+overturning the Republican machine--all because an unidentified
+coal-company detective had knocked a dough-faced old miner into the
+gutter and broken his arm!
+
+
+
+SECTION 31.
+
+In the end, of course, Hal had to come down to practical matters. He sat
+by the bed and told the old man tactfully that his brother had come to
+see him and had given him some money. This brother had plenty of money,
+so Edstrom could be taken to the hospital; or, if he preferred, Mary
+could stay near here and take care of him. They turned to the landlady,
+who had been standing in the doorway; she had three boarders in her
+little home, it seemed, but if Mary could share a bed with the
+landlady's two children, they might make out. In spite of Hal's protest,
+Mary accepted this offer; he saw what was in her mind--she would take
+some of his money, because of old Edstrom's need, but she would take
+just as little as she possibly could.
+
+John Edstrom of course knew nothing of events since his injury, so Hal
+told him the story briefly--though without mentioning the transformation
+which had taken place in the miner's buddy. He told about the part Mary
+had played in the strike; trying to entertain the poor old man, he told
+how he had seen her mounted upon a snow-white horse, and wearing a robe
+of white, soft and lustrous, like Joan of Arc, or the leader of a
+suffrage parade.
+
+"Sure," said Mary, "he's forever callin' attention to this old dress!"
+
+Hal looked; she was wearing the same blue calico. "There's something
+mysterious about that dress," said he. "It's one of those that you read
+about in fairy-stories, that forever patch themselves, and keep
+themselves new and starchy. A body only needs one dress like that!"
+
+"Sure, lad," she answered. "There's no fairies in coal-camps--unless
+'tis meself, that washes it at night, and dries it over the stove, and
+irons it next mornin'."
+
+She said this with unwavering cheerfulness; but even the old miner lying
+in pain on the cot could realise the tragedy of a young girl's having
+only one old dress in her love-hunting season. He looked at the young
+couple, and saw their evident interest in each other; after the fashion
+of the old, he was disposed to help along the romance. "She may need
+some orange blossoms," he ventured, feebly.
+
+"Go along with ye!" laughed Mary, still unwavering.
+
+"Sure," put in Hal, with hasty gallantry, "'tis a blossom she is
+herself! A rose in a mining-camp--and there's a dispute about her in the
+poetry-books. One tells you to leave her on her stalk, and another says
+to gather ye rosebuds while ye may, old time is still a-flying!"
+
+"Ye're mixin' me up," said Mary. "A while back I was ridin' on a white
+horse."
+
+"I remember," said Old Edstrom, "not so far back, you were an ant,
+Mary."
+
+Her face became grave. To jest about her personal tragedy was one thing,
+to jest about the strike was another. "Yes, I remember. Ye said I'd stay
+in the line! Ye were wiser than me, Mr. Edstrom."
+
+"That's one of the things that come with being old, Mary." He moved his
+gnarled old hand toward hers. "You're going on, now?" he asked. "You're
+a unionist now, Mary?"
+
+"I am that!" she answered, promptly, her grey eyes shining.
+
+"There's a saying," said he--"once a striker, always a striker. Find a
+way to get some education for yourself, Mary, and when the big strike
+comes you'll be one of those the miners look to. I'll not be here, I
+know--the young people must take my place."
+
+"I'll do my part," she answered. Her voice was low; it was a kind of
+benediction the old man was giving her.
+
+The woman had gone downstairs to attend to her children; she came back
+now to say that there was a gentleman at the door, who wanted to know
+when his brother was coming. Hal remembered suddenly--Edward had been
+pacing up and down all this while, with no company but a "hardware
+drummer!" The younger brother's resolve to stay in Pedro had already
+begun to weaken somewhat, and now it weakened still further; he realised
+that life is complex, that duties conflict! He assured the old miner
+again of his ability to see that he did not suffer from want, and then
+he bade him farewell for a while.
+
+He started out, and Mary went as far as the head of the stairway with
+him. He took the girl's big, rough hand in his--this time with no one to
+see. "Mary," he said, "I want you to know that nothing will make me
+forget you; and nothing will make me forget the miners."
+
+"Ah, Joe!" she cried. "Don't let them win ye away from us! We need ye so
+bad!"
+
+"I'm going back home for a while," he answered, "but you can be sure
+that no matter what happens in my life, I'm going to fight for the
+working people. When the big strike comes, as we know it's coming in
+this coal-country, I'll be here to do my share."
+
+"Sure lad," she said, looking him bravely in the eye, "and good-bye to
+ye, Joe Smith." Her eyes did not waver; but Hal noted a catch in her
+voice, and he found himself with an impulse to take her in his arms. It
+was very puzzling. He knew he loved Jessie Arthur; he remembered the
+question Mary had once asked him--could he be in love with two girls at
+the same time? It was not in accord with any moral code that had been
+impressed upon him, but apparently he could!
+
+
+
+SECTION 32.
+
+He went out to the street, where his brother was pacing up and down in a
+ferment. The "hardware drummer" had made another effort to start a
+conversation, and had been told to go to hell--no less!
+
+"Well, are you through now?" Edward demanded, taking out his irritation
+on Hal.
+
+"Yes," replied the other. "I suppose so." He realised that Edward would
+not be concerned about Edstrom's broken arm.
+
+"Then, for God's sake, get some clothes on and let's have some food."
+
+"All right," said Hal. But his answer was listless, and the other looked
+at him sharply. Even by the moonlight Edward could see the lines in the
+face of his younger brother, and the hollows around his eyes. For the
+first time he realised how deeply these experiences were cutting into
+the boy's soul. "You poor kid!" he exclaimed, with sudden feeling. But
+Hal did not answer; he did not want sympathy, he did not want anything!
+
+Edward made a gesture of despair. "God knows, I don't know what to do
+for you!"
+
+They started back to the hotel, and on the way Edward cast about in his
+mind for a harmless subject of conversation. He mentioned that he had
+foreseen the shutting up of the stores, and had purchased an outfit for
+his brother. There was no need to thank him, he added grimly; he had no
+intention of travelling to Western City in company with a hobo.
+
+So the young miner had a bath, the first real one in a long time. (Never
+again would it be possible for ladies to say in Hal Warner's presence
+that the poor might at least keep clean!) He had a shave; he trimmed his
+finger-nails, and brushed his hair, and dressed himself as a gentleman.
+In spite of himself he found his cheerfulness partly restored. A strange
+and wonderful sensation--to be dressed once more as a gentleman. He
+thought of the saying of the old negro, who liked to stub his toe,
+because it felt so good when it stopped hurting!
+
+They went out to find a restaurant, and on the way one last misadventure
+befell Edward. Hal saw an old miner walking past, and stopped with a
+cry: "Mike!" He forgot all at once that he was a gentleman; the old
+miner forgot it also. He stared for one bewildered moment, then he
+rushed at Hal and seized him in the hug of a mountain grizzly.
+
+"My buddy! My buddy!" he cried, and gave Hal a prodigious thump on the
+back. "By Judas!" And he gave him a thump with the other hand. "Hey! you
+old son-of-a-gun!" And he gave him a hairy kiss!
+
+But in the very midst of these raptures it dawned over him that there
+was something wrong about his buddy. He drew back, staring. "You got
+good clothes! You got rich, hey?"
+
+Evidently the old fellow had heard no rumour concerning Hal's secret.
+"I've been doing pretty well," Hal said.
+
+"What you work at, hey?"
+
+"I been working at a strike in North Valley."
+
+"What's that? You make money working at strike?"
+
+Hal laughed, but did not explain. "What you working at?"
+
+"I work at strike too--all alone strike."
+
+"No job?"
+
+"I work two days on railroad. Got busted track up there. Pay me
+two-twenty-five a day. Then no more job."
+
+"Have you tried the mines?"
+
+"What? Me? They got me all right! I go up to San Jose. Pit-boss say,
+'Get the hell out of here, you old groucher! You don't get no more jobs
+in this district!'"
+
+Hal looked Mike over, and saw that his dirty old face was drawn and
+white, belying the feeble cheerfulness of his words. "We're going to
+have something to eat," he said. "Won't you come with us?"
+
+"Sure thing!" said Mike, with alacrity. "I go easy on grub now."
+
+Hal introduced "Mr. Edward Warner," who said "How do you do?" He
+accepted gingerly the calloused paw which the old Slovak held out to
+him, but he could not keep the look of irritation from his face. His
+patience was utterly exhausted. He had hoped to find a decent restaurant
+and have some real food; but now, of course, he could not enjoy
+anything, with this old gobbler in front of him.
+
+They entered an all-night lunch-room, where Hal and Mike ordered
+cheese-sandwiches and milk, and Edward sat and wondered at his brother's
+ability to eat such food. Meantime the two cronies told each other their
+stories, and Old Mike slapped his knee and cried out with delight over
+Hal's exploits. "Oh, you buddy!" he exclaimed; then, to Edward, "Ain't
+he a daisy, hey?" And he gave Edward a thump on the shoulder. "By Judas,
+they don't beat my buddy!"
+
+Mike Sikoria had last been seen by Hal from the window of the North
+Valley jail, when he had been distributing the copies of Hal's
+signature, and Bud Adams had taken him in charge. The mine-guard had
+marched him into a shed in back of the power-house, where he had found
+Kauser and Kalovac, two other fellows who had been arrested while
+helping in the distribution.
+
+Mike detailed the experience with his usual animation. "'Hey, Mister
+Bud,' I say, 'if you going to send me down canyon, I want to get my
+things.' 'You go to hell for your things,' says he. And then I say,
+'Mister Bud, I want to get my time.' And he says, 'I give you plenty
+time right here!' And he punch me and throw me over. Then he grab me up'
+again and pull me outside, and I see big automobile waiting, and I say,
+'Holy Judas! I get ride in automobile! Here I am, old fellow fifty-seven
+years old, never been in automobile ride all my days. I think always I
+die and never get in automobile ride!' We go down canyon, and I look
+round and see them mountains, and feel nice cool wind in my face, and I
+say, 'Bully for you, Mister Bud, I don't never forget this automobile. I
+don't have such good time any day all my life.' And he say, 'Shut your
+face, you old wop!' Then we come out on prairie, we go up in Black
+Hills, and they stop, and say, 'Get out here, you sons o' guns.' And
+they leave us there all alone. They say, 'You come back again, we catch
+you and we rip the guts out of you!' They go away fast, and we got to
+walk seven hours, us fellers, before we come to a house! But I don't
+mind that, I begged some grub, and then I got job mending track; only I
+don't find out if you get out of jail, and I think maybe I lose my buddy
+and never see him no more."
+
+Here the old man stopped, gazing affectionately at Hal. "I write you
+letter to North Valley, but I don't hear nothing, and I got to walk all
+the way on railroad track to look for you."
+
+How was it? Hal wondered. He had encountered naked horror in this
+coal-country--yet here he was, not entirely glad at the thought of
+leaving it! He would miss Old Mike Sikoria, his hairy kiss and his
+grizzly-bear hug!
+
+He struck the old man dumb by pressing a twenty-dollar bill into his
+hand. Also he gave him the address of Edstrom and Mary, and a note to
+Johann Hartman, who might use him to work among the Slovaks who came
+down into the town. Hal explained that he had to go back to Western City
+that night, but that he would never forget his old friend, and would see
+that he had a good job. He was trying to figure out some occupation for
+the old man on his father's country-place. A pet grizzly!
+
+Train-time came, and the long line of dark sleepers rolled in by the
+depot-platform. It was late--after midnight; but, nevertheless, there
+was Old Mike. He was in awe of Hal now, with his fine clothes and his
+twenty-dollar bills; but, nevertheless, under stress of his emotion, he
+gave him one more hug, and one more hairy kiss. "Good-bye, my buddy!" he
+cried. "You come back, my buddy! I don't forget my buddy!" And when the
+train began to move, he waved his ragged cap, and ran along the platform
+to get a last glimpse, to call a last farewell. When Hal turned into the
+car, it was with more than a trace of moisture in his eyes.
+
+
+
+
+POSTSCRIPT
+
+
+From previous experiences the writer has learned that many people,
+reading a novel such as "King Coal," desire to be informed as to whether
+it is true to fact. They write to ask if the book is meant to be so
+taken; they ask for evidence to convince themselves and others. Having
+answered thousands of such letters in the course of his life, it seems
+to the author the part of common-sense to answer some of them in
+advance.
+
+"King Coal" is a picture of the life of the workers in unorganised
+labour-camps in many parts of America, The writer has avoided naming a
+definite place, for the reason that such conditions are to be found as
+far apart as West Virginia, Alabama, Michigan, Minnesota, and Colorado.
+Most of the details of his picture were gathered in the last-named
+state, which the writer visited on three occasions during and just after
+the great coal-strike of 1913-14. The book gives a true picture of
+conditions and events observed by him at this time. Practically all the
+characters are real persons, and every incident which has social
+significance is not merely a true incident, but a typical one. The life
+portrayed in "King Coal" is the life that is lived to-day by hundreds of
+thousands of men, women and children in this "land of the free."
+
+The reader who wishes evidence may be accommodated. There was never a
+strike more investigated than the Colorado coal-strike. The material
+about it in the writer's possession cannot be less than eight million
+words, the greater part of it sworn testimony taken under government
+supervision. There is, first, the report of the Congressional Committee,
+a government document of three thousand closely printed pages, about two
+million words; an equal amount of testimony given before the U. S.
+Commission on Industrial Relations, also a government document; a
+special report on the Colorado strike, prepared for the same commission,
+a book of 189 pages, supporting every contention of this story; about
+four hundred thousand words of testimony given before a committee
+appointed at the suggestion of the Governor of Colorado; a report made
+by the Rev. Henry A. Atkinson, who investigated the strike as
+representative of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in
+America, and of the Social Service Commission of the Congregational
+Churches; the report of an elaborate investigation by the Colorado state
+militia; the bulletins issued by both sides during the controversy; the
+testimony given at various coroners' inquests; and, finally, articles by
+different writers to be found in the files of _Everybody's Magazine_,
+the _Metropolitan Magazine_, the _Survey_, _Harper's Weekly_, and
+_Collier's Weekly_, all during the year 1914.
+
+The writer prepared a collection of extracts from these various sources,
+meaning to publish them in this place; but while the manuscript was in
+the hands of the publishers, there appeared one document, which, in the
+weight of its authority, seemed to discount all others. A decision was
+rendered by the Supreme Court of the State of Colorado, in a case which
+included the most fundamental of the many issues raised in "King Coal."
+It is not often that the writer of a novel of contemporary life is so
+fortunate as to have the truth of his work passed upon and established
+by the highest judicial tribunal of the community!
+
+In the elections of November, 1914, in Huerfano County, Colorado, J. B.
+Farr, Republican candidate for re-election as sheriff, a person known
+throughout the coal-country as "the King of Huerfano County," was
+returned as elected by a majority of 329 votes. His rival, the
+Democratic candidate, contested the election, alleging "malconduct,
+fraud and corruption." The district court found in Farr's favour, and
+the case was appealed on error to the Supreme Court of the State. On
+June 21st, 1916, after Farr had served nearly the whole of his term of
+office, the Supreme Court handed down a decision which unseated him and
+the entire ticket elected with him, finding in favour of the opposition
+ticket in all cases and upon all grounds charged.
+
+The decision is long--about ten thousand words, and its legal
+technicalities would not interest the reader. It will suffice to reprint
+the essential paragraphs. The reader is asked to give these paragraphs
+careful study, considering, not merely the specific offence denounced by
+the court, but its wider implications. The offence was one so
+unprecedented that the justices of the court, men chosen for their
+learning in the history of offences, were moved to say: "We find no such
+example of fraud within the books, and must seek the letter and spirit
+of the law in a free government, as a scale in which to weigh such
+conduct." And let it be noted, this "crime without a name" was not a
+crime of passion, but of policy; it was a crime deliberately planned and
+carried out by profit-seeking corporations of enormous power. Let the
+reader imagine the psychology of the men of great wealth who ordered
+this crime, as a means of keeping and increasing their wealth; let him
+realise what must be the attitude of such men to their helpless workers;
+and then let him ask himself whether there is any act portrayed in "King
+Coal" which men of such character would shrink from ordering.
+
+The Court decision first gives an outline of the case, using for the
+most part the statements of the counsel for the defendant, Farr; so that
+for practical purposes the following may be taken as the coal companies'
+own account of their domain: "Round the shaft of each mine are clustered
+the tipple, the mine office, the shops, sheds and outbuildings; and
+huddled close by, within a stone's throw, cottages of the miners built
+on the land of, and owned by, the mining company. All the dwellers in
+the camp are employes of the mine. There is no other industry. This is
+'the camp.' Of the eight 'closed camps' it appears that practically the
+same conditions existed in all of them, and those conditions were in
+general that members of the United Mine Workers of America, their
+organisers or agitators, were prevented from coming into the camps, so
+far as it was possible to keep them out, and to this end guards were
+stationed about them. Of the eight 'closed camps' one of them, 'Walsen,'
+was, and at the time of the trial still was, enclosed by a fence erected
+at the beginning of the strike in October, 1913: Rouse and Cameron were
+partly, but never entirely, enclosed by fences. It is admitted that all
+persons entering these camps and precincts were required by the
+companies to have passes, and it is contended that this was an
+'industrial necessity.'"
+
+The Court then goes on as follows:
+
+"The Federal troops entered the district in May of 1914, and the
+testimony is in agreement that no serious acts of violence occurred
+thereafter, and that order was preserved up to and subsequent to the
+election, and to the time of this trial.
+
+"It was under this condition that in July, 1914, the Board of County
+Commissioners changed certain of the election precincts so as to
+constitute each of such camps an election precinct, and with but one
+exception where a few ranches were included, these precincts were made
+to conform to the fences and lines around each camp, protected by fences
+in some instances and with armed guards in all cases. Thus each election
+precinct by this unparalleled act of the commissioners was placed
+exclusively within and upon the private grounds and under the private
+control of a coal corporation, which autocratically declared who should
+and who should not enter upon the territory of this political entity of
+the state, so purposely bounded by the county commissioners.
+
+"With but one exception all the lands and buildings within each of these
+election precincts as so created, were owned or controlled by the coal
+corporations; every person resident within such precincts was an employe
+of these private corporations or their allied companies, with the single
+exception: every judge, clerk or officer of election with the exception
+of a saloon keeper, and partner of Farr, was an employe of the
+coal-companies.
+
+"The polling places were upon the grounds, and in the buildings of these
+companies; the registration lists were kept within the private offices
+or buildings of such companies, and used and treated as their private
+property.
+
+"Thus were the public election districts and the public election
+machinery turned over to the absolute domination and imperial control of
+private coal corporations, and used by them as absolutely and privately
+as were their mines, to and for their own private purposes, and upon
+which public territory no man might enter for either public or private
+purpose, save and except by the express permission of these private
+corporations.
+
+"This right to determine who should enter such so called election
+precincts, appears from the record to have been exercised as against all
+classes; merchants, tradesmen or what not, and whether the business of
+such person was public or private. Indeed, it appears that in one
+instance the governor and adjutant general of the state while on
+official business, were denied admission to one of these closed camps.
+And that on the day of election, the Democratic watchers and challengers
+for Walsen Mine precinct, one of which was Neelley, the Democratic
+candidate for sheriff, were forced to seek and secure a detail of
+Federal soldiers to escort them into the precinct and to the polls, and
+that such soldiers remained as such guard during the day and a part of
+the night....
+
+"But if there was any doubt concerning the condition of the closed camps
+and precincts, and the exclusion of representatives of the Democratic
+party from discussing the issues of the campaign within the precincts
+comprising the closed camps, it is entirely removed by the testimony of
+the witness Weitzel, for contestee (Farr). He testified that he was a
+resident of Pueblo, and was manager of the Colorado Fuel and Iron
+Company; that Rouse, Lester, Ideal, Cameron, Walsen, Pictou and McNally
+are camps under his jurisdiction. That he had general charge of the
+camps and that there was no company official in Colorado superior to him
+in this respect except the president; that the superintendent and other
+employes are under his supervision; that the Federal troops came about
+the 1st of May, 1914, and continued until January, 1915. That in all
+those camps he tried to keep out the people who were antagonistic to the
+company's interests; that it was private property and so treated by his
+company; that through him the company and its officials assumed to
+exercise authority as to who might or who might not enter; that if
+persons could assure or satisfy the man at the gate, or the
+superintendent that they were not connected with the United Mine
+Workers, or in their employ as agitators, they were let into the camp.
+That 'no one we were fighting against got in for social intercourse or
+any other'; that he and officials under him assumed to pass upon the
+question of whether or not any person coming there came for the purpose
+of agitation. That Mr. Mitchell, the chairman of the Democratic
+committee, as he recalled it, was identified with the agitators, ran a
+newspaper and was connected either directly or indirectly with the
+United Mine Workers; that Mr. Neelley, Democratic candidate for sheriff,
+was identified with the strikers, and that he would be considered as an
+objectionable character. That when the Federal troops came, they
+restored peace and normal conditions; there was no rioting after that,
+there was no fear on the part of the company when the Federal soldiers
+were here, except fear of agitation. Asked if he guarded the camp
+against discussion, against the espousal of the cause of the company, he
+replied, 'We didn't encourage it.' The company would not encourage
+organisers to come into the camp, no matter how peacefully they
+conducted themselves; that the company did not permit men to come into
+the camp to discuss with the employes certain principles, or to carry on
+arguments with them or to appeal to their reason, or to discuss with
+them things along reasonable lines, because it was known from experience
+that if they were allowed to come in they would resort to threats of
+violence. They might not resort to any violence at the time, but it
+might result in the people becoming frightened and leaving, and they
+were anxious to hold their employes. He was asked whether or not one had
+business there depended upon the decision of the official in charge; he
+replied that the superintendent probably would inquire of him what his
+business was. That any one that Farr asked for a permit to enter the
+camp would likely get it....
+
+"There was but one attempt to hold a political meeting in the closed
+precincts. Joseph Patterson, who attempted to hold this meeting,
+testifies concerning it as follows:
+
+"Was at a political meeting at Oakview. Had been a warm, personal friend
+of Mr. Jones, the assistant superintendent of the Oakview mine, and had
+written him a letter asking the courtesy of holding a political meeting.
+On Saturday evening received a letter that he could hold such meeting.
+On the day previous to the meeting witness received a 'phone message
+from the assistant superintendent, in which the latter inquired whether
+witness was coming up there to cause any trouble, and witness replied,
+certainly not, and if the superintendent felt that way they would not
+come. Had advised the superintendent that he and others were going to
+hold a political meeting for the Democratic party. Jones, the
+superintendent, stated that witness should come to the office that night
+before he went to the school house for the purpose of the meeting; when
+witness arrived at the meeting there were about six or eight English
+speaking people and a dozen to fourteen Mexicans. The superintendent,
+Mr. Morgan, and Mr. Price, were outside of the door most of the time.
+Witness noticed that the first few fellows that came toward the school
+house, the superintendent stopped and talked with them and they turned
+back to the camp. This happened several times: as soon as they talked
+with Morgan they turned back. After he saw that, witness went into the
+school house and said that it was no use to hold any meeting; that it
+seemed that nobody was allowed to come. This meeting was supposed to be
+in a public school house on the company property. Had to get permission
+from the superintendent of the Oakview mining Company to hold said
+political meeting."....
+
+"It appears that the number of registered voters in the closed precincts
+was very largely in excess of the number of votes cast, and this of
+itself was sufficient to demand an open and fair investigation as to the
+qualifications of the alleged voters.
+
+"It appears from the testimony that in these closed precincts many of
+those who voted were unable to speak or read the English language, and
+that in numerous instances, the election judges assisted such, by
+marking the ballots for them in violation of the law. Again, it appears
+that the ballots were printed so that.... (The decision here goes on to
+explain in detail a device whereby the ballot was so printed that voting
+could be controlled with the help of a card device.) Thus such voters
+were not choosing candidates, but, under the direction of the companies,
+were simply placing the cross where they found the particular letter R
+on the ballot, so that the ballot was not an expression of opinion or
+judgment, not an intelligent exercise of suffrage, but plainly a
+dictated coal company vote, as much so as if the agents of these
+companies had marked the ballots without the intervention of the voter.
+No more fraudulent and infamous prostitution of the ballot is
+conceivable....
+
+"Counsel contend that the closed precincts were an 'industrial
+necessity,' and for such reason the conduct of the coal companies during
+the campaign was justified. However such conduct may be viewed when
+confined to the private property of such corporations in their private
+operation, the fact remains that there is no justification when they
+were dealing with such territory after it had been dedicated to a public
+use, and particularly involving the right of the people to exercise
+their duties and powers as electors in a popular government.
+
+"The fact appears that the members of the board of county commissioners
+and all other county officers were Republicans, and as stated by counsel
+for the contestees, the success of the Republican candidates was
+considered by the coal companies, vital to their interests. The close
+relationship of the coal companies and the Republican officials and
+candidates appears to have been so marked both before and during the
+campaign, as to justify the conclusion that such officers regarded their
+duty to the coal companies as paramount to their duty to the public
+service. To say that the closed precincts were not so created to suit
+the convenience and interests of these corporations, or that they were
+not so formed with the advice and consent of these corporations, is to
+discredit human intelligence, and to deny human experience. The plain
+purpose of the formation of the new precincts was that the coal
+companies might have opportunity to conduct and control the elections
+therein, just as such elections were conducted. The irresistible
+conclusion is that these close precincts were so formed by the county
+commissioners with the connivance of the representatives of the coal
+companies, if not by their express command.
+
+"There can be no free, open and fair election as contemplated by the
+constitution, where private industrial corporations so throttle public
+opinion, deny the free exercise of choice by sovereign electors, dictate
+and control all election officers, prohibit public discussion of public
+questions, and imperially command what citizens may and what citizens
+may not, peacefully and for lawful purposes, enter upon election or
+public territory....
+
+"We find no such example of fraud within the books, and must seek the
+letter and spirit of the law in a free government, as a scale in which
+to weigh such conduct....
+
+"The denial of the right of peaceful assemblage, can have been for no
+other purpose than to influence the election. There was no disturbance
+in any of these precincts after they were created, up to the time of the
+election, and up to the time of this trial. The Federal troops were
+present at all times to preserve the peace and to protect life and
+property. There was no reason to anticipate any disturbance. Therefore
+this bold denial was an inexcusable and corrupt violation of the natural
+and inalienable rights of the citizens.
+
+"The defence relies not upon conflicting evidence, but upon the
+contention that the conduct of the election was justified as an
+'industrial necessity.'
+
+"We have heard much in this state in recent years as to the denial of
+inherent and constitutional rights of citizens being justified by
+'military necessity,' but this we believe is the first time in our
+experience when the violation of the fundamental rights of freemen has
+been attempted to be justified by the plea of 'industrial necessity.'
+
+"Even if we were to concede that there may be some palliation in the
+plea of military necessity on the theory that such acts purport to be
+acts of the government itself, through its military arm and with the
+purpose of preserving the public peace and safety: yet that a private
+corporation, with its privately armed forces, may violate the most
+sacred right of the citizenship of the state and find lawful excuse in
+the plea of private 'industrial necessity' savours too much of anarchy
+to find approval by courts of justice.
+
+"This case clearly comes within another exception to the rule, in that
+it is plain that the findings were influenced by the bias and prejudice
+of the trial judge.
+
+"A careful reading of the record discloses the rejection by the court of
+so much palpably pertinent and competent testimony offered by the
+contestors, as to force the conclusion that the trial judge was
+influenced by bias and prejudice, to the extent at least, charged in the
+application for a change of venue, and sufficient in itself to justify a
+reversal of judgment....
+
+"For the foregoing reasons the judgment of the court in each case before
+us, is reversed, and the entire poll in the said precincts of
+Niggerhead, Ravenwood, Walsen Mine, Oakview, Pryor, Rouse and Cameron is
+annulled, and held for naught, and the election in each of said
+precincts is hereby set aside. This leaves a substantial and
+unquestioned majority for each of the contestors in the county, and
+which entitles each contestor to be declared elected to the office for
+which he was a candidate.
+
+"We find further, that J. B. Farr, the defendant in error, was not and
+is not the duly elected sheriff of Huerfano county, and that E. L.
+Neelley, the plaintiff in error, was and is the duly elected sheriff of
+said county. It is therefore ordered that the said county, and that the
+said E. L. Neelley, immediately and upon qualification as required by
+law, enter and discharge the duties of the said office of sheriff of
+Huerfano county...."
+
+So much for the court opinion upon coal-camp politics. In relation
+thereto, the writer has only one comment to offer. Let the reader not
+drop the matter with the idea that because one set of corrupt officials
+have been turned out of office in one American county, therefore justice
+has been vindicated, and there is no longer need to be concerned about
+the conditions portrayed in "King Coal." The defeat of the "King of
+Huerfano County" is but one step in a long road which the miners of
+Colorado have to travel if ever they are to be free men. The industrial
+power of the great corporations remains untouched by this decision; and
+this power is greater than any political power ever wielded by the
+government of Huerfano County, or even of the state of Colorado. This
+industrial power is a deep, far-spreading root; and so long as it is
+allowed to thrive, it will send up again and again the poisonous plant
+of political "malconduct, fraud and corruption." The citizens and
+workers of such industrial communities, whether in Colorado, in West
+Virginia, Alabama, Michigan or Minnesota, in the Chicago stock-yards,
+the steel-mills of Pittsburg, the woollen-mills of Lawrence or the
+silk-mills of Paterson, will find that they have neither peace nor
+freedom, until they have abolished the system of production for profit,
+and established in the field of industry what they are supposed to have
+already in the field of politics--a government of the people, by the
+people, for the people.
+
+NOTE: On the day that the author finished the reading of the proofs of
+"King Coal," the following item appeared in his daily newspaper:
+
+COLORADO MINE WORKERS ASK LEAVE TO STRIKE
+
+[BY A. P. NIGHT WIRE]
+
+DENVER (Colo.), June 14.--Officers of the United Mine Workers
+representing members of that organisation employed by the Colorado Fuel
+and Iron Company, have telegraphed their national officers asking
+permission to strike.
+
+At the morning session a resolution was adopted expressing
+disapprobation of the action of J. F. Welborn, president of the fuel
+company, for failure to attend the meeting, which was a part of the
+"peace programme" to prevent industrial differences in the State during
+the war.
+
+The grievances of the men, according to John McLennan, spokesman for
+them, centre about the operation of the so-called "Rockefeller plan" at
+the mines. McLennan said the failure of Mr. Welborn to attend the
+meeting and discuss these grievances with the men precipitated the
+strike agitation.
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of King Coal, by Upton Sinclair
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