somewhere I had some
one that belonged to me, even if I never saw him and hardly knew him.
What was he like?"

"A big, silent, good-hearted fellow. I think there was a resemblance to
you, Miss Walton. He was dark complexioned, with almost black eyes,
but--there's something in your expression at times--that reminds me of
Ed." Wade frowned and studied the girl's face. "But I have a photograph
of him at the Camp. I'll send for it. Shall I?"

"It wouldn't be too much trouble?"

"No trouble at all. I'll just send a wire to Whitehead, the
superintendent. I met Ed in a queer way. It was at Cripple Creek. I'd
been there almost a year. After my mother died there wasn't anything to
keep me at home in Virginia, and there wasn't much money. So I hiked out
to Colorado, thinking about all I'd have to do was to cinch up my belt
and start to pick up gold nuggets in the streets. The best I could find
was work with a shovel in one of the mines over Victor way. Then I got
work in another mine handling explosives. I got in front of a missed
hole one fine day and was blown down a slope with about a hundred tons
of rock on top of me. As luck had it, however, the big ones wedged over
me and I wasn't hurt much, just scratched up a bit."

"But that was wonderful!" breathed Eve.

"Yes, it was sort of funny. I was covered up from one in the afternoon
until five, quite conscious all the time and pretty well scared. You
see, I couldn't help wondering just what would happen if the rocks
should settle. My eyes got the worst of it and I had to stay in the
hospital about a month. But I'm afraid I'm boring you. I was just
leading up to my meeting with Ed."

"Boring me! Don't be absurd! Then what happened?"

"Well, after I got out of the hospital I bought a burro and a tent and
hiked out for the Sangre--for the southern part of the State. I still
had some money coming to me for work when the trouble happened, and
after I got out I cashed an accident policy I'd luckily taken out a
month before. I stayed in the mountains pretty much all summer
prospecting. I found the biggest bunch of rock I'd ever seen, but no
yellow iron--I mean gold. Came sort of near starving before I got out. I
sold my outfit and went back to Cripple and struck another job with the
shovel and pick, digging prospect ditches. It was pretty tiresome work
and pretty cold, too. So when I'd got a month's wages I told the boss
he'd either have to put me underground or I'd quit. I sai