“Bad land-slide on Grizzly. Demolished all machinery and wiped out the entire surface of mountain-top. No lives lost, but cave and vein of ore lost. Topography completely changed. Wait for summer to start new search and locate gold. Letter sent to Latimer and Dalken. Ask them for particulars. John Brewster.”
“Oh, Polly! That means that our gold mine has vanished, and all our income from it will be stopped!” cried Eleanor.
“We haven’t had any income to stop,” replied Polly, cynically. “About all the good we’ve ever had from Choko’s Find Mine has been violent physical exercise, expenses and the dreams that buoy hope.”
Her friends laughed in spite of the seriousness of the matter, and Eleanor added: “It also means that Daddy, and all of our New York investors, have lost the money they invested in the project.”
“Well, when Tom Latimer called on me the evening after our ducking in the Bay, he said he was not in favor of working on the mine so late in the season. He thought John was taking dreadful risks to keep the plant open when snowstorms and slides were imminent.
“But John told him that plenty of snow was just what was needed on the peaks, to cement the chasms and crevices together that had been opened by the summer’s heat and continued drought all Fall. In case no snow came, he said he would agree to abandon work when the cold weather became too severe to remain at that altitude.”
“This unexpected accident and loss of the mine does not prevent the output of the lava jewels, Polly, so there’ll be no noticeable difference in your income, will there?” asked Mrs. Fabian.
“Well, Tom explained it all to me. He said that mine affairs were so involved with the jewel works at Rainbow Cliffs, that one disaster affected the other interest. Rainbow Cliffs is part of Pebbly Pit Ranch, so the Cliffs were incorporated when work began on the mining of the lava. Then when trouble at Choko’s Find Mine started, the mines at Rainbow Cliffs were mortgaged to secure financial aid for the gold mine on the mountains. So that everything is mixed up now in this calamity,” explained Polly, tearfully.
Soon after this, the telephone rang. Mr. Latimer said he was coming to call, that evening, and Mr. Dalken wished to come in at the same time. Would the girls be home?
Polly assured him they would, and also that he would be welcomed as she wished to hear about the important matters that he could fully explain to her.