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O'Day in forcible terms cursed himself that he had not seen this before. It was evident enough now. Mr. Hobart, as superintendent, dare not antagonize the drink-indulging miners with open warfare against the saloon. Joe was his tool, carrying out his plans. Joe Ratowsky with his smattering of English did not know enough to make himself a formidable enemy.
It was then that Joe Ratowsky walked to the foot of the hill to telegraph Elizabeth to remain at Exeter. And the day following he called upon her, with a letter, putting the best construction he could upon the road being disabled. There was a little mule-driver in the mines who bore the euphonious name of Ketchomunoski.
He had evidence sufficient on that one count to have his license revoked. The trial passed off quickly. Four boys, not over sixteen, testified that Dennis O'Day himself had sold liquor to them, not once but many times. It was proof positive without Joe Ratowsky giving his testimony. O'Day himself sat hunched up in the prisoners' dock, glinting his keen eyes about from witness to juror.
She was disappointed at not being able to go home, but had no fear of a possible strike, or any danger to her father. Joe Ratowsky had reassured her, and besides her faith in her own father made her confident. There was no question in her mind about his being popular with the miners. He had been not only their superintendent, but physician, friend and banker.
Hobart sent Elizabeth a simple school suit of her own making. Joe Ratowsky carried it down to Exeter. So many accidents had occurred on the dinky-road that it had been abandoned until spring. The mines were closed; and the operators were making no effort to open them. Nora was in the room when Elizabeth spread out her new frock on the bed. "Look at the button-holes!" Elizabeth exclaimed.
An empty store-room had been fitted up with chairs and tables and a supply of books and magazines. Here the boys had the liberty of coming to smoke and talk together while Joe Ratowsky served coffee and sandwiches cheaper than O'Day could sell beer. It was not Ratowsky's doings. There was some one else behind the scenes who provided the brains and money to keep the business moving.
He was cunning enough to know that his safety now lay in his keeping within the limits of the law. He made ostentatious show of closing at the prescribed hours. All the while he kept his eyes and ears open to discover his enemy. Big Joe Ratowsky was the only probable one. He made frequent visits to "The Miner's Rest," but never drank. He knew the ages of all the miners.
Ratowsky could influence the men because he was foreign-born, a Pole, as the majority of them were. On the other hand, Dennis O'Day was a native American, a class of which the foreign element is suspicious. Yet at his instigation the miners had arisen. The article caused Elizabeth some uneasiness. She looked forward to the following day's paper, hoping it might contain a brighter outlook.
Hobart immediately sent word to Ratowsky, Ellis and half a dozen other men whom he knew would stand by him. Together they talked over the situation, cleaned their firearms, and then sent Ratowsky, by moonlight, down the mountain to purchase and bring back a supply of ammunition. By the following evening the strike at Bitumen was on.
They recounted the horrors of strikes past, and presaged them for strikes to come. No definite reasons had been given for the miners going out. The article hinted that only the grossest imposition of the operators had led them to consider a strike. The names of two men appeared frequently Dennis O'Day and Ratowsky who were opposed to each other. Strange to say, neither was a miner.
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