continued about the same at the camp. On Friday favorable
reports concerning the new boarding-house began to be circulated,
brought the preceding evening by miners from another camp. Some of the
men looked sullen and defiant, others only painfully self-conscious, in
the presence of Darrell and the superintendent, but it was evident that
the crisis was approaching.

Late Friday night a horseman dismounted silently before the door of the
office building and Mr. Underwood walked quietly into Darrell's room.

"How's the new hotel? Overrun with boarders?" he asked, as he seated
himself, paying little attention to Darrell's exclamation of surprise.

"Chapman's men--about fifty in all--are the only ones there at present."

"Chapman!" ejaculated Mr. Underwood; "what is Chapman doing? He agreed
to stand in with the rest of us on this thing!"

"He told Hathaway this morning he was only doing it for experiment. The
boarding-house is located near his claims, you know, and he has
comparatively few men. So he said he didn't mind trying it for a month
or so."

"Confound him! I'll make it the dearest experiment ever he tried," said
Mr. Underwood, wrathfully; "he was in our office the other day trying to
negotiate a loan for twenty-five thousand dollars that he said he had
got to have within ten days or go to the wall. I'll see that he doesn't
get it anywhere about here unless he stands by his word with us."

After further conversation Mr. Underwood went out, saying he had a
little business about the camp to attend to. He returned in the course
of an hour, and Darrell heard him holding a long consultation with
Hathaway before he retired for the night.

The following morning the mill men of the camp, on going to their work,
were astonished to find the mill closed and silent, while fastened on
the great doors was a large placard which read as follows:

NOTICE.

The entire mining and milling plant of Camp Bird is closed down for
an indefinite period. All employees are requested to call at the
superintendent's office and receive their wages up to and including
Saturday, the 10th inst.
D. K. UNDERWOOD.

The miners found the hoist-house and the various shaft-houses closed and
deserted, with notices similar to the above posted on their doors.

Darrell, upon going to breakfast, learned that Mr. Underwood and the
superintendent had breakfasted at an early ho