Bill bluntly told Mr. Wright what he thought of his conduct, and expressed the hope in very plain words, that it would not be necessary for the new firm to have any business relations with the old company.
Four months later the Byram-Thorpe works were formally opened, with Bill as mine boss, Fred and Sam as superintendents, and Joe in charge of the shipments.
It must not be understood that the two boys were fully qualified for their responsible positions; Bill and Joe acted as advisers, and if one year's work is any criterion the quartette have administered the affairs most wisely, for in all the middle field there are no better or more contented miners than can be found at the Byram-Thorpe works.
In one year Skip was pronounced competent to take full charge of the store, and to-day it would be difficult to select a fellow better liked than he. On the Blacktown side of the mountain every one speaks of him in the most flattering terms, and at Farley's he is held up to breaker boys as an example of how one may live down a bad reputation.
Chunky still works under Donovan; he could not make up his mind to resign from the regulators, and to-day his record is by no means as good as it should be. Neither Fred nor Sam cared to take him with them, for both knew by bitter experience the aim of his association, and did not wish to introduce anything of the kind at the new mine.
Gus Dobson was arrested about a month after Sam had been pronounced innocent. On running away from Mr. Wright's house he hid in the woods near where Tim was found; but four weeks of this kind of a life was sufficient.
He presented a most deplorable appearance when he returned home one morning. His clothes were in tatters, the shoes literally hanging from his feet, and the pangs of hunger printed on his face. Imprisonment was a far less severe punishment than starvation, and as he said, "the judge couldn't give him any sentence worse than sneaking around the mountains without food or shelter."
The new mine has only been in operation about a year; but that is time enough to show that the vein is much richer than the one at Farley's. Instead of being forced to spend money making a shaft or slope, coal of good quality has been taken out from the first, and already do the original owners consider themselves wealthy. It is true the united amount in bank would not be thought large by many; but their income is considerably in excess of all necessary expenses and, what is better yet, perfect content dwells with them.