“who’s your new shift boss?” glenister inquired of his partner, a few days later, indicating a man in the cut below, busied in setting a line of sluices.
“that’s old ‘slapjack’ simms, friend of mine from up dawson way.”
glenister laughed immoderately, for the object was unusually tall and loose-jointed, and wore a soiled suit of yellow mackinaw. he had laid off his coat, and now the baggy, bilious trousers hung precariously from his angular shoulders by suspenders of alarming frailty. his legs were lost in gum boots, also loose and cavernous, and his entire costume looked relaxed and flapping, so that he gave the impression of being able to shake himself out of his raiment, and to rise like a burlesque aphrodite. his face was overgrown with a grizzled tangle that looked as though it had been trimmed with button-hole scissors, while above the brush heap grandly soared a shiny, dome-like head.
“has he always been bald?”
“naw! he ain’t bald at all. he shaves his nob. in the early days he wore a long flowin’ mane which was inhabited by crickets, tree-toads, and such fauna. it got to be a hobby with him finally, so that he growed superstitious about goin’ uncurried, and would back into a corner with both guns drawed if a barber came near him. but once hank—that’s his real name—undertook to fry some slapjacks, and in givin’ the skillet a heave, the dough lit among his forest primeval, jest back of his ears, soft side down. hank polluted the gulch with langwidge which no man had ought to keep in himself without it was fumigated. disreppitableness oozed out through him like sweat through an ice-pitcher, an’ since then he’s been known as slapjack simms, an’ has kept his head shingled smooth as a gun bar’l. he’s a good miner, though; ain’t none better—an’ square as a die.”
sluicing had begun on the midas. long sinuous lengths of canvas hose wound down the creek bottom from the dam, like gigantic serpents, while the roll of gravel through the flumes mingled musically with the rush of waters, the tinkle of tools, and the song of steel on rock. there were four “strings” of boxes abreast, and the heaving line of shovellers ate rapidly into the creek bed, while teams with scrapers splashed through the tail races in an atmosphere of softened profanity. in the big white tents which sat back from the bluffs, fifty men of the night shift were asleep; for there is no respite here—no night, no sunday, no halt, during the hundred days in which the northland lends herself to pillage.
the mine lay cradled between wonderful, mossy, willow-mottled mountains, while above and below the gulch was dotted with tents and huts, and everywhere, from basin to hill crest, men dug and blasted, punily, patiently, while their tracks grew daily plainer over the face of this inscrutable wilderness.
a great contentment filled the two partners as they looked on this scene. to wrest from reluctant earth her richest treasures, to add to the wealth of the world, to create—here was satisfaction.
“we ain’t robbin’ no widders an’ orphans doin’ it, neither,” dextry suddenly remarked, expressing his partner’s feelings closely. they looked at each other and smiled with that rare understanding that exceeds words.
descending into the cut, the old man filled a gold-pan with dirt taken from under the feet of the workers, and washed it in a puddle, while the other watched his dexterous whirling motions. when he had finished, they poked the stream of yellow grains into a pile, then, with heads together, guessed its weight, laughing again delightedly, in perfect harmony and contentment.
“i’ve been waitin’ a turrible time fer this day,” said the elder. “i’ve suffered the plagues of prospectin’ from the mexicos to the circle, an’ yet i don’t begretch it none, now that i’ve struck pay.”
while they spoke, two miners struggled with a bowlder they had unearthed, and having scraped and washed it carefully, staggered back to place it on the cleaned bed-rock behind. one of them slipped, and it crashed against a brace which held the sluices in place. these boxes stand more than a man’s height above the bed-rock, resting on supporting posts and running full of water. should a sluice fall, the rushing stream carries out the gold which has lodged in the riffles and floods the bed-rock, raising havoc. too late the partners saw the string of boxes sway and bend at the joint. then, before they could reach the threatened spot to support it, slapjack simms, with a shriek, plunged flapping down into the cut and seized the flume. his great height stood him in good stead now, for where the joint had opened, water poured forth in a cataract. he dived under the breach unhesitatingly and, stooping, lifted the line as near to its former level as possible, holding the entire burden upon his naked pate. he gesticulated wildly for help, while over him poured the deluge of icy, muddy water. it entered his gaping waistband, bulging out his yellow trousers till they were fat and full and the seams were bursting, while his yawning boot-tops became as boiling springs. meanwhile he chattered forth profanity in such volume that the ear ached under it as must have ached the heroic slapjack under the chill of the melting snow. he was relieved quickly, however, and emerged triumphant, though blue and puckered, his wilderness of whiskers streaming like limber stalactites, his boots loosely “squishing,” while oaths still poured from him in such profusion that dextry whispered:
“ain’t he a ring-tailed wonder? it’s plumb solemn an’ reverent the way he makes them untamed cuss-words sit up an’ beg. it’s a privilege to be present. that’s a gift, that is.”
“you’d better get some dry clothes,” they suggested, and slapjack proceeded a few paces towards the tents, hobbling as though treading on pounded glass.
“ow—w!” he yelled. “these blasted boots is full of gravel.”
he seated himself and tugged at his foot till the boot came away with a sucking sound, then, instead of emptying the accumulation at random, he poured the contents into dextry’s empty gold-pan, rinsing it out carefully. the other boot he emptied likewise. they held a surprising amount of sediment, because the stream that had emerged from the crack in the sluices had carried with it pebbles, sand, and all the concentration of the riffles at this point. standing directly beneath the cataract, most of it had dived fairly into his inviting waistband, following down the lines of least resistance into his boot-legs and boiling out at the knees.
“wash that,” he said. “you’re apt to get a prospect.”
with artful passes dextry settled it in the pan bottom and washed away the gravel, leaving a yellow, glittering pile which raised a yell from the men who had lingered curiously.
“he pans forty dollars to the boot-leg,” one shouted.
“how much do you run to the foot, slapjack?”
“he’s a reg’lar free-milling ledge.”
“no, he ain’t—he’s too thin. he’s nothing but a stringer, but he’ll pay to work.”
the old miner grinned toothlessly.
“gentlemen, there ain’t no better way to save fine gold than with undercurrents an’ blanket riffles. i’ll have to wash these garments of mine an’ clean up the soapsuds ’cause there’s a hundred dollars in gold-dust clingin’ to my person this minute.” he went dripping up the bank, while the men returned to their work singing.
after lunch dextry saddled his bronco.
“i’m goin’ to town for a pair of gold-scales, but i’ll be back by supper, then we’ll clean up between shifts. she’d ought to give us a thousand ounces, the way that ground prospects.” he loped down the gulch, while his partner returned to the pit, the flashing shovel blades, and the rumbling undertone of the big workings that so fascinated him.
it was perhaps four o’clock when he was aroused from his labors by a shout from the bunk-tent, where a group of horsemen had clustered. as glenister drew near, he saw among them wilton struve, the lawyer, and the big, well-dressed tenderfoot of the northern—mcnamara—the man of the heavy hand. struve straightway engaged him.
“say, glenister, we’ve come out to see about the title to this claim.”
“what about it?”
“well, it was relocated about a month ago.” he paused.
“yes. what of that?”
“galloway has commenced suit.”
“the ground belongs to dextry and me. we discovered it, we opened it up, we’ve complied with the law, and we’re going to hold it.” glenister spoke with such conviction and heat as to nonplus struve, but mcnamara, who had sat his horse silently until now, answered:
“certainly, sir; if your title is good you will be protected, but the law has arrived in alaska and we’ve got to let it take its course. there’s no need of violence—none whatever—but, briefly, the situation is this: mr. galloway has commenced action against you; the court has enjoined you from working and has appointed me as receiver to operate the mine until the suit is settled. it’s an extraordinary procedure, of course, but the conditions are extraordinary in this country. the season is so short that it would be unjust to the rightful owner if the claim lay idle all summer—so, to avoid that, i’ve been put in charge, with instructions to operate it and preserve the proceeds subject to the court’s order. mr. voorhees here is the united states marshal. he will serve the papers.”
glenister threw up his hand in a gesture of restraint.
“hold on! do you mean to tell me that any court would recognize such a claim as galloway’s?”
“the law recognizes everything. if his grounds are no good, so much the better for you.”
“you can’t put in a receiver without notice to us. why, good lord! we never heard of a suit being commenced. we’ve never even been served with a summons and we haven’t had a chance to argue in our own defence.”
“i have just said that this is a remarkable state of affairs and unusual action had to be taken,” mcnamara replied, but the young miner grew excited.
“look here—this gold won’t get away. it’s safe in the ground. we’ll knock off work and let the claim lie idle till the thing is settled. you can’t really expect us to surrender possession of our mine on the mere allegation of some unknown man. that’s ridiculous. we won’t do it. why, you’ll have to let us argue our case, at least, before you try to put us off.”
voorhees shook his head. “we’ll have to follow instructions. the thing for you to do is to appear before the court to-morrow and have the receiver dismissed. if your title is as good as you say it is, you won’t have any trouble.”
“you’re not the only ones to suffer,” added mcnamara. “we’ve taken possession of all the mines below here.” he nodded down the gulch. “i’m an officer of the court and under bond—”
“how much?”
“five thousand dollars for each claim.”
“what! why, heavens, man, the poorest of these mines is producing that much every day!”
while he spoke, glenister was rapidly debating what course to follow.
“the place to argue this thing is before judge stillman,” said struve—but with little notion of the conflict going on within glenister. the youth yearned to fight—not with words nor quibbles nor legal phrases, but with steel and blows. and he felt that the impulse was as righteous as it was natural, for he knew this process was unjust, an outrage. mexico mullins’s warning recurred to him. and yet—. he shifted slowly as he talked till his back was to the door of the big tent. they were watching him carefully, for all their apparent languor and looseness in saddle; then as he started to leap within and rally his henchmen, his mind went back to the words of judge stillman and his niece. surely that old man was on the square. he couldn’t be otherwise with her beside him, believing in him; and a suspicion of deeper plots behind these actions was groundless. so far, all was legal, he supposed, with his scant knowledge of law; though the methods seemed unreasonable. the men might be doing what they thought to be right. why be the first to resist? the men on the mines below had not done so. the title to this ground was capable of such easy proof that he and dex need have no uneasiness. courts do not rob honest people nowadays, he argued, and moreover, perhaps the girl’s words were true, perhaps she would think more of him if he gave up the old fighting ways for her sake. certainly armed resistance to her uncle’s first edict would not please her. she had said he was too violent, so he would show her he could lay his savagery aside. she might smile on him approvingly, and that was worth taking a chance for—anyway it would mean but a few days’ delay in the mine’s run. as he reasoned he heard a low voice speaking within the open door. it was slapjack simms.
“step aside, lad. i’ve got the big uncovered.”
glenister saw the men on horseback snatch at their holsters, and, just in time, leaped at his foreman, for the old man had moved out into the open, a winchester at shoulder, his cheek cuddling the stock, his eyes cold and narrow. the young man flung the barrel up and wrenched the weapon from his hands.
“none of that, hank!” he cried, sharply. “i’ll say when to shoot.” he turned to look into the muzzles of guns held in the hands of every horseman—every horseman save one, for alec mcnamara sat unmoved, his handsome features, nonchalant and amused, nodding approval. it was at him that hank’s weapon had been levelled.
“this is bad enough at the best. don’t let’s make it any worse,” said he.
slapjack inhaled deeply, spat with disgust, and looked over his boss incredulously.
“well, of all the different kinds of damn fools,” he snorted, “you are the kindest.” he marched past the marshal and his deputies down to the cut, put on his coat, and vanished down the trail towards town, not deigning a backward glance either at the mine or at the man unfit to fight for.
