Argosy All-Story Weekly, February 4, 1922 — page 80: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

390 done as expeditiously as he had planned, if at early dawn, when the cage shot up- ward like an arrow’s flight, Hugh McGregor had not been waiting for him at the shaft- house door. CHAPTER VI. SPEAKING OF ACORNS, F Hugh McGregor had been a loquacious man, and Limpy MacVeigh been other- wise than drunken; if Hopewell Davies had been less ambitious, or found the eyes of Belle Shannon less alluring; if Jan Kowalski had been a gentleman; Margaret Ames not the little lady that she was; or, even more important, if William had not brought a white bull pup to Hobart—then the ancient saw about acorns and oak trees had been vainly written, so far as events in Hobart are concerned. Limpy MacVeigh had spoken of the heir ’ to Hobart as Wee Wully, and that name, transposed to Willy, stuck. It made Wil- liam very peevish on occasion. Scott Hanley, mystified by William’s failure to depart from Hobart, even more mystified by finding his name on the pay- roll for the mine, but debarred by his high position from knowing all the labor gossip of the town, called Hugh McGregor to re- quest some information. “T argued with him,” said Hugh. “ He’s doing well.” Further than this he would not commit himself. So that Hanley dictated a flat- ring letter to the office of his high su- a which completely neutralized the effect of the other letter which William finally wrote, for William, grown cautious, Pp second thought did not insert too much ‘matter calculated to cause complications. Hopewell Davies, as has been recorded, was president of the Miners’ Union, and a person of some authority. Jan Kowalski was secretary for the smeltermen, who were, for the most part, aliens of Slavic stock, Huns, Croats, Ruthenians, Slovaks—all called ‘“‘ Hunkies ” by the miners without distinction. Once it had happened that the men in the smelter went on strike. The miners, ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. led by Davies, for obscure reasons of his own, refused to strike in sympathy. This put a crimp in all Kowalski’s plans. Da- vies was not forgiven for that defeat. Thus grew the feud between miners and smelter- men, that was not allowed to perish for lack of fuel. At the smelter a heavy chain dependent from a crane, swinging a five-ton crucible of molten “blue metal” between cupola and convertors, snapped a link. Two men fell screaming beneath the white deluge. Some miner was said to-be responsible; this from Kowalski, who of course confined the story to dark hints spread among his ignorant countrymen. : Such were the threats of vengeance the tale evoked that when the Miners’ Union hall burned down—some one had carelessly thrown a smoldering cigar into a heap of trash—the miners immediately ascribed the loss of their papers and charter to spite work on the part of smeltermen. The difficulty might have stopped with that if Belle Shannon had not entered as a disturbing factor. She could not, for mere business’ sake, deny to Kowalski the privileges of the Horseshoe Club. Kowal- ski took advantage of his opportunities, which led to intense jealousy on the part of Davies, even to the point of believing that Kowalski’s rivalry was dangerous. With all credit to Belle Shannon, it was not. But Kowalski himself, encouraged by Belle’s tolerance, began to entertain an idea that if Davies could be successfully put away Belle might look with favor in his direction. . Kowalski had no scruples in such a case —there was only the question of expe- diency and anxiety to escape all conse- quences. The feud, smothered, smoldering, slowly heated to the flaming pvint under Jan Kowalski’s cautious ministrations. William ‘himself was not left entirely out- side this controversy, although he had no active part in it. Because William, through his occupancy of a bunk in Hugh McGreg- or’s cabin, had gained acquaintance with a different Limpy MacVeigh than the drunk- en jester of the Horseshoe Club, a shrewd fellow who knew books and men and who was Hugh McGregor’s only intimate. COMmiclboooks.Gom