The following day, Mr. Blaisdell suddenly made his appearance at the camp, accompanied by Mr. Rivers and a mining expert who had come out in the interests of a Chicago firm, looking for good paying investments. Houston had received no word of their coming, and the first intimation which he had of their arrival was the sight of the three gentlemen, as he approached the house at dinner time.
“How are you, Houston?” said Mr. Blaisdell, pausing in his walk up and down before the house, and extending his hand, “How’s the work progressing?”
“Finely,” replied Houston, “the output is steadily increasing, week by week.”
“Keeps you pretty busy, I suppose? Well, I hope we can give you a little help before long; we’ve located Barden at last, and he starts for the west next week. Let me introduce you to Mr. Parsons, a mining expert from Chicago; Mr. Parsons, this is Mr. Houston, our general superintendent.”
Houston exchanged greetings with the stranger, and with Mr. Rivers, the latter watching him closely, though saying very little.
Dinner was served as quickly as possible, as Mr. Parsons was limited for time, and was to return to Silver City on the evening train. Most of the conversation at the table was on mines and mining, Mr. Blaisdell trying to impress each one present, Mr. Parsons in particular, with his extensive knowledge, both theoretical and practical, on all that pertained to the subject, as well as with a sense of the immense value of the properties owned by the company.
“Mr. W. E. Cameron, of New York, owns some very valuable mines out here, I understand,” said Mr. Parsons casually, his innocent remark producing rather a startling effect upon the minds of his listeners, though they, one and all, succeeded in preserving a calm exterior.
“He has an interest in some very fine properties,” replied Mr. Blaisdell blandly, though with a visible contracting of the muscles about the mouth, “you are acquainted with Mr. Cameron, I presume?”
“Oh, no, on the contrary, I never even met the gentleman, but he is extensively known among the leading business houses of Chicago, and he was pointed out to me, the day I came away, as the owner of some of the finest mines in this locality,” Mr. Parsons explained, thereby carrying consternation to the heart of every one present.
“Did I understand you to say that Mr. Cameron was in Chicago?” inquired Mr. Blaisdell, while Mr. Rivers’ restless eyes were at once on the alert.
“Certainly, he was there the day I left; at least, a gentleman with whom I happened to be talking about western investments, pointed him out to me, and cited him as the owner of western properties.”
“Ah, yes, did you hear anything said as to whether he was coming this way?”
“Nothing, nothing whatever, except what I have stated.”
“It’s all right,” said Mr. Rivers, speaking for the first time, and in his quick, incisive way; he feared Mr. Blaisdell had betrayed his anxiety; “all right, only we would like to know his whereabouts, as it will be necessary to wire him in a day or two, regarding some ore shipments. Can you give us the hotel where he was stopping?”
“I am very sorry that I cannot oblige you, but I have not the least idea where he was located; I simply saw him passing on the street.”
“It is of no consequence,” replied Mr. Blaisdell, with assumed indifference, “we can of course ascertain his present address from the New York house; it will take a little more time, that is all. We had better proceed to the mines at once, if Mr. Parsons is ready.”
When they had left and Haight was on his way to the mills, the four young men held a few moments’ consultation outside the house.
“By Jingo!” exclaimed Ned Rutherford, “it looks as though old Buncombe was going to get on to our surprise party that we’re planning for him! What are you fellows going to do about it?”
“Well,” said Van Dorn. “I’m not sure whether this is going to interfere with our arrangements or not; what do you think, Everard? will the company ‘smell a rat’ anywhere?”
“They are evidently alarmed at the possibility of Mr. Cameron’s coming out here, but there is nothing yet to arouse their suspicions against us, so I do not think it will interfere materially with our plans at present. They will be able to learn nothing of my uncle’s movements from the New York house, as he will have forestalled them there. He had but just reached Chicago when this Parsons left, and as he and Mr. Whitney wished, if possible, to remain there a few days, to consult with a legal firm who are personal friends of theirs, I think it best, in case this company remains quiet, to take no action yet for two or three days; but if the officers of the company begin to appear suspicious, or as if they were trying to cover their tracks, the sooner we telegraph for our party, the better; get them here as quickly as possible.”
“Yes, that will be best,” said Morton Rutherford, “if their suspicions are aroused, we cannot be too expeditious, for they will be desperate when they find themselves cornered.”
“We must hold ourselves in readiness to act promptly,” Houston added, “probably within twenty-four hours we will be able to decide which course to pursue.”
Houston went to his work determined to keep a close watch on the movements of Blaisdell and Rivers. A couple of hours later, however, the three men entered the mill where he was engaged superintending the weighing of some ore; Mr. Rivers went at once to Haight’s little private office, while Blaisdell approached him with the expert.
“Mr. Houston,” he said, “just take Mr. Parsons through the mills and entertain him for the next half hour. Mr. Rivers and myself will be engaged about that length of time.”
Houston complied with the request, and in a very short time discovered that Mr. Parsons’ knowledge of metallurgy and mineralogy was exceedingly limited, but that in exact proportion to his own ignorance, he had been profoundly impressed by the knowledge which Mr. Blaisdell had aired for his especial benefit, and the parrot-like way in which he repeated some of the expressions which Mr. Blaisdell kept as his “stock in trade,” was very amusing.
Meanwhile Houston was deeply interested in the private meeting held in Haight’s little dingy room, as he felt certain that some issues were being discussed and decisions reached that would, in their results, be of the greatest importance to him, and he awaited the reappearance of the general manager and secretary with considerable expectancy.
He was not disappointed; a glance at their faces revealed that the subjects under discussion had not been pleasant. Mr. Blaisdell’s face was white, and set in hard, determined lines, while that of his companion was flushed with anger, and his cunning, crafty eyes were full of suspicion, as they glanced repeatedly in Houston’s direction.
“Mr. Parsons,” said Mr. Blaisdell, “we will have to ask you to excuse Mr. Houston, as we have a little business with him, and if you will step over there in the office and sit down, we will have completed our business in half or three-quarters of an hour; by that time the team will be here, in readiness to take us to the train.”
After a few moments of desultory conversation about the work which Houston knew to be only preliminary, during which Mr. Rivers moved about in a nervous, restless manner, Mr. Blaisdell said:
“Mr. Houston, we hear some rather strange reports concerning your conduct lately; your actions have certainly been highly censurable, and the least that can be said is that you have exceeded your authority here in a very marked degree.”
“In what respect have I exceeded my authority?” demanded Houston, folding his arms, with an expression on his face that made the general manager regret that he had begun the encounter; but it was too late to retreat, besides, Rivers was watching him!
“In your manner of discharging the duties assigned to you; you have taken advantage of your position in the most reprehensible and unworthy way, and have overstepped the bounds when you had no right whatever to do so.”
“I shall have to ask you to be a little more explicit, Mr. Blaisdell,” Houston replied.
“Why don’t you come to the point, Blaisdell?” said Rivers impatiently. “What’s the use of beating about the bush? The long and the short of it is just this,” he added, turning to Houston, “you have been taking upon yourself what did not concern you, prying around, late at night, in mines with which you had nothing whatever to do, in company with miners who had no more business there than you had.”
“To what mine do you refer?” asked Houston, with exasperating persistency.
“I mean the Lucky Chance, and you know it,” retorted Rivers angrily.
“Mr. Rivers,” said Houston, in a tone that Blaisdell had heard on a former occasion, and with a steel-like glitter in his eyes that was anything but attractive to either of the gentlemen present; “Mr. Blaisdell knows, if you do not, that since my first coming here, whatever kind of work has been assigned to me, I have thoroughly familiarized myself with it. When I was given charge of these mines I had reason to suppose that each and every mine owned by the company was included under my supervision, and if there were any which the officers of the company, for reasons of their own, wished excluded from such supervision, it was their business so to inform me. I have not been so informed. Mr. Blaisdell himself took me into that mine, and nothing was said to lead me to suppose that that mine was any exception to those placed in my charge, and your informant, if he chose so to do, could tell you that I have inspected in like manner each and every mine under my supervision, taking with me one or both of the same men, when the mine happened to be one with which I was not familiar.”
“His intentions were all right,” interposed Mr. Blaisdell, “he was over-zealous, that was all.”
“Intentions be damned!” said Mr. Rivers, angrily, “he was altogether too officious, and I won’t have it; people in my employ have to know their place and keep it.”
“That is all very well,” said Houston, in cutting tones, “but I will not ask you, Mr. Rivers, or any one connected with this company, to tell me my place.”
“What!” exclaimed Rivers in a rage, “let me tell you, young man, it is to your interest to be a little careful.”
“Is it?” answered Houston scornfully; “Mr. Rivers,” he added, advancing toward that gentleman, “why don’t you discharge me? Wouldn’t that be to your interest?”
Mr. Rivers saw he had gone too far; “No,” he answered quickly, though sullenly, “we have said nothing about discharging you; you are too efficient a man for us to lose.”
“No, Houston,” added Mr. Blaisdell, “we wouldn’t think of discharging you, you’re too good a man.”
“No, I’m not too good a man,” replied Houston, facing them both with a look which they understood; “you don’t discharge me simply because,––you don’t dare to!” and he emphasized the last words with a heavy blow upon a rude desk standing near.
Blaisdell and Rivers exchanged glances, and for a moment were speechless. The former was the first to recover himself.
“Come, Houston,” he said, in a conciliatory tone, “we won’t have any more words; we all understand one another pretty well, and there’ll be no more complaints or trouble. You go on pretty much as you have done, and it will be all right. It’s time we were getting back now, but I’ll be out here next week with Barden, and we’ll fix things up satisfactory all ’round.”
“When will he get here?” asked Houston.
“The latter part of next week.”
Houston thought an instant, his party would be there the first or middle of the week.
“Very well,” he replied, “I tender my resignation now, to take effect when he comes.”
“Oh, no, Houston, no indeed, why, we couldn’t think of such a thing,” said Blaisdell, really alarmed, while Rivers maintained a sullen silence.
“I am not particularly anxious to hold this position, I can assure you; there is very little in it but hard work.”
“Oh, well, well, you stay by us a while longer, and we’ll take you into the company yet.”
“No,” said Houston, “it would be no use taking me into the company, I wouldn’t know my place, or keep it,” and with that parting shot, he turned and left them.
“Blaisdell,” said Rivers, his face relaxing for a moment into a grim smile, “it’s just as I told you, your smart young man is too smart for you. It’s my opinion we’ve caught a tartar;––we’re afraid to keep him, and we don’t dare let him go.”