Mr. Richard Parker was busy, said the clerk in toe outer office; for which Hal was not sorry, as it gave him a chance to get his breath. Seeing a young man flushed and panting, the clerk stared with curiosity; but Hal offered no explanation, and the breaker of teeth waited on the street outside. Mr. Parker received his caller in a couple of minutes. He was a well-fed gentleman with generous neck and chin, freshly shaved and rubbed with talcum powder. His clothing was handsome, his linen immaculate; one got the impression of a person who “did himself well.” There were papers on his desk, and he looked preoccupied.
“Well?” said he, with a swift glance at the young miner.
“I understand that I am speaking to the District Attorney of Pedro County?”
“That's right.”
“Mr. Parker, have you given any attention to the circumstances of the North Valley disaster?”
“No,” said Mr. Parker. “Why?”
“I have just come from North Valley, and I can give you information which may be of interest to you. There are a hundred and seven people entombed in the mine, and the company officials have sealed it, and are sacrificing those lives.”
The other put down the correspondence, and made an examination of his caller from under his heavy eyelids. “How do you know this?”
“I left there only a few hours ago. The facts are known to all the workers in the camp.”
“You are speaking from what you heard?”
“I am speaking from what I know at first hand. I saw the disaster, I saw the pit-mouth boarded over and covered with canvas. I know a man who was driven out of camp this morning for complaining about the delay in starting the fan. It has been over three days since the explosion, and still nothing has been done.”
Mr. Parker proceeded to fire a series of questions, in the sharp, suspicious manner customary to prosecuting officials. But Hal did not mind that; it was the man's business to make sure.
Presently he demanded to know how he could get corroboration of Hal's statements.
“You'll have to go up there,” was the reply.
“You say the facts are known to the men. Give me the names of some of them.”
“I have no authority to give their names, Mr. Parker.”
“What authority do you need? They will tell me, won't they?”
“They may, and they may not. One man has already lost his job; not every man cares to lose his job.”
“You expect me to go up there on your bare say-so?”
“I offer you more than my say-so. I offer an affidavit.”
“But what do I know about you?”
“You know that I worked in North Valley—or you can verify the fact by using the telephone. My name is Joe Smith, and I was a miner's helper in Number Two.”
But that was not sufficient, said Mr. Parker; his time was valuable, and before he took a trip to North Valley he must have the names of witnesses who would corroborate these statements.
“I offer you an affidavit!” exclaimed Hal. “I say that I have knowledge that a crime is being committed—that a hundred and seven human lives are being sac............