rdlessly. It was as though Fate had played
a deliberate trick, that it might laugh at him. And as he walked
along, he wondered more than ever about the mysterious telegram and the
mysterious conversation of the greasy Barnham in Denver. That--as he
saw it now--had been only an attempt at another trick. Suppose that he
had accepted; suppose that he had signified his willingness to sell his
mine and accept the good offices of the "secret friend" to end his
difficulties. What would have been the result?

For once a ray of cheer came to him. The Rodaines had known of this
strike long before he ever went to that office in Denver. They had
waited long enough to have their assays made and had completed their
first shipment to the smelter. There was no necessity that they buy
the Blue Poppy mine. Therefore, was it simply another trick to break
him, to lead him up to a point of high expectations, then, with a laugh
at his disappointment, throw him down again? His shoulders
straightened as they reached the outside air, and he moved close to
Harry as he told him his conjectures. The Cornishman bobbed his head.

"I never thought of it that way!" he agreed. "But it could explain a
lot of things. They 're working on our--what-you-call-it?"

"Psychological resistance."

"That's it. Psych--that's it. They want to beat us and they don't
care 'ow. It 'urts a person to be disappointed. That's it. I alwyes
said you 'ad a good 'ead on you! That's it. Let's go back to the Blue
Poppy."

Back they went, once more to descend the shaft, once more to follow the
trail along the drift toward the opening of the stope. And there,
where loose earth covered the place where a skeleton once had rested,
Fairchild took off his coat and rolled up his sleeves.

"Harry," he said, with a new determination, "this vein does n't look
like much, and the mine looks worse. From the viewpoint we 've got now
of the Rodaine plans, there may not be a cent in it. But if you're
game, I'm game, and we'll work the thing until it breaks us."

"You 've said it. If we 'it anything, fine and well--if we can turn
out five thousand dollars' worth of stuff before the trial comes up,
then we can sell hit under the direction of the court, turn over that
money for a cash bond, and get the deeds back. If we can't, and if the
mine peters out, then we ain't lost anything but a lot of 'opes and
time. But 'ere goes. We 'll double-jack. I 've got a big 'a