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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.
"That's more'n anybody else in these parts would do. Why, everybody's heard about Hal Dunbar. Everybody's scared of him. He can ride anything that's big enough to carry him; he can fight like a wildcat with his hands; and he can shoot like" his eye wandered toward a superlative "like Pete Reeve, almost," he concluded with a tone of awe. A spark of tenderness shone in the eye of Bull.
Barrett never set foot across her door till three hours after the baby was in my arms!" 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."
"Certainly, the paper will be run that way." "As easy as rolling off a log," put in McGuire Ellis, with suspicious smoothness. Veltman looked from one to the other. "Yes," he said: and again "Yes-s-s." But the life had gone from his voice. "Anything more?" "Nothing, thank you," answered Hal. "Brains, fire, ambition, energy, skill, everything but balance," said Ellis, as the door closed.
Shifting his position slightly the lad saw what was left of his troop standing idly about. At the same moment he felt a hand grasp his and heard a well-known voice exclaim: "I owe my life to you, Hal. It seems that you bob up wherever you are needed most." Hal turned and gazed at the speaker.
Some of my workmen tell me that you young rascals were sneaking about my yards and set fire to the sheds." "That will do, Mr. Melville. We'll listen to no such talk," and before the boys could speak or Melville reply Mr. Farnum pushed the boys before him out of the crowd. "All those fellows heard him say that, and some of them will believe it!" cried Hal.
"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!"
But the little man ran on, unheeding. "He'll run right smack into that other fellow if he doesn't watch out," Hal told himself. "Well, I suppose I'll have to stop him." Still holding his revolver in his right hand, he also broke into a run and made after the fleeing Stubbs. Several times he called, but Stubbs paid no heed. Then Hal grew angry.
"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!
"I don't get you, Hal. What has he got to do with it?" "Thought maybe you could tell me that. He's in the park now." "In the park?" "Yes and Jess Tighe knows it." "What's he doing here?" But even as he asked the other man, Dingwell guessed the answer. Not an hour before he had caught a glimpse of a white, strained face at the window. He knew now whose face it was.
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