When I tell you that the vandals
were slowly backed away from the Cliffs and were, eventually, driven to
the gully back of the Devil's Causeway where those two men were engulfed
in the slide, the day they came to cajole your father into signing papers
for the Cliffs, you can picture their horror when the edge of the great
cliff began to crumble in. They could not turn to right or left, as they
were hemmed in by the pursuers, and they dared not remain where they were
for fear of being swallowed in the quicksand that was already sliding
downwards. So they gave up to the sheriff and surrendered their guns.
"That was a bad case, as one of the sheriff's men had been dangerously
wounded and it was feared he would die. All our valuable machinery was
ruined and all orders for the delivery of the lava jewels had to be
cancelled, or postponed for a year. So the culprits each got twenty years
and Oak Creek is quieter, by far, because more than a score of its worst
citizens are safely housed in jail."
As Tom ended his story, Polly unclasped her hands which she had nervously
clenched during the recital of the raids on her precious property.
"Oh, Tom! I never dreamed of all the trouble everyone would have because
of those precious mines, the day Nolla and I filed our papers at Oak
Creek," gasped Polly.
"No one does dream of these things--they only see the future in rosy
hues," retorted Tom.
"And to think of the work and worry John and you have had in establishing
this great undertaking, while I was in Europe taking life easy, and
spending money without a thought of how it was being produced at home!"
sighed Polly.
"That is as it should be, Polly. You were not squandering the money, but
using it in ways to profit yourself for the future. John and I knew, when
we started in on this mining venture, that the line would not lay in
flower-strewn paths, but that it might force us over all sorts of snags,
before we reached success."
"Well, it is fine of you to talk like this, Tom," admitted Polly,
gratefully. "If it were not for you boys taking an interest in the work,
I might as well say 'good-by' to the gold."
Tom laughed. "Polly, this is so insignificant a work to do for you--just
taking an interest in your mine. Some day I hope to prove in some greater
way, just what I want to, and can, do for you."
Tom's manner and looks again alarmed Polly and she changed the subject
adroitly. "Tom, do you like the home in Pebbly Pit
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