When Jim Strong, prospector, discovered silver ore in a lonely canyon, he named his mine claim the Bellehelen, after his two baby daughters. For a few years things went well with the Strongs and a thriving town grew up on the hillside. Then the main vein “petered” out, and, rather than sell out, Strong closed down the mine and became a mine-examiner for other people. As Helen grew up she became her father’s assistant, and they planned to save money and open up the Bellehelen again. Then Jim Strong was killed in an accident and Helen was left to carry out their plans alone.
She found immediate friends in Doctor Dave and his wife and quickly assembled her crew from among her father’s old miners. But she also met active opposition to her undertaking from a rival company called the Western Consolidated, which was determined to make her sell out. Helen was stubborn and thereby hangs the tale of the Bellehelen mine.
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