thering
dirt underneath there--and I thought I'd wipe it up."

"I see," observed Wiley and his eyes narrowed down as he caught the
aroma of whiskey. "Well, clear up this mess," he said at last and
hurried to his office to telephone. A single line of wire stretched
out across the plain, connecting Keno with Vegas and the world, and
within half an hour he had dictated a rush order to be wired to his
supply-house in Los Angeles. If money would buy it he would grab a new
gear-wheel and have it shipped out by express; but if there was none
in stock he would have to wait for it; and the machine-shops were
months behind. Yet his whole mine was shut down on account of this
accident and, if he only had the money, he could almost afford to buy
a new engine and be done with it. He stopped and thought if there was
one in the country that he could get hold of, second-hand, and then he
thrust the matter aside. The problem of getting an engine on the
ground was one that could be worked out later, but in the meanwhile
the water was rising in the sump and the pumps would soon be
submerged. There were two shifts of miners who would have to be
discharged and--yes, the engine crew, too. It was against all the
rules for an engineer to be wiping up his engine while it was running,
and it was only by a miracle that the engineer himself had escaped
unhurt from the smash?

But was it a miracle? A swift stab of suspicion made Wiley's heart stand
still. Was this the first treacherous move in Blount's battle to win
back the mine? Had Blount, or some agent, suggested to the engineer that
an accident would be followed by a reward; and then had not the
engineer, when no one was looking, fed his overalls into the gearings?
He was a surly young brute and he met Wiley's eyes with a stare that
bordered on defiance, yet there was nothing to be gained by accusing
him. If Blount had bribed his men it was best to get rid of them without
the faintest suggestion of suspicion; and then take on a new crew,
shipped in from San Francisco or some equally distant place.

Wiley went underground with his men, opening up the air-cocks in the
pumps, and bringing out the powder and steel; and then the next morning,
just before the stage went out, he gave them all their time. They had a
certain constraint, a sullen silence in his presence, that argued them
against him at heart and, since the mine was closed down for some time
to come, he made a clean sweep of them all.