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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Shadow Mountain, by Dane Coolidge
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Shadow Mountain
+
+Author: Dane Coolidge
+
+Illustrator: George W. Gage
+
+Release Date: December 1, 2009 [EBook #30574]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SHADOW MOUNTAIN ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: She reached out smiling wistfully and touched him with
+her hand.]
+
+
+
+
+SHADOW MOUNTAIN
+
+BY
+
+DANE COOLIDGE
+
+AUTHOR OF THE DESERT TRAIL, ETC.
+
+FRONTISPIECE BY
+
+GEORGE W. GAGE
+
+[Illustration]
+
+GROSSET & DUNLAP
+
+PUBLISHERS NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+COPYRIGHT, 1919, BY
+
+W. J. WATT & COMPANY
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+  Chapter                                   Page
+       I.  The Last of Ten Thousand            1
+      II.  The Shotgun Widow                  10
+     III.  The Shadow                         22
+      IV.  The Ghost Man                      30
+       V.  A Load of Buckshot                 38
+      VI.  All Crazy                          48
+     VII.  Between Friends                    58
+    VIII.  The Tip                            68
+      IX.  A Peace Talk                       78
+       X.  The Best Head in Town              89
+      XI.  A Touch                            98
+     XII.  The Expert                        106
+    XIII.  A Sack of Cats                    118
+     XIV.  The Explosion                     127
+      XV.  The God of Ten Per Cent           135
+     XVI.  A Showdown With the Widow         143
+    XVII.  Peace--and the Price              151
+   XVIII.  On Christmas Day                  160
+     XIX.  The Enigma                        170
+      XX.  An Appeal To Charley              179
+     XXI.  The Dragon's Teeth                187
+    XXII.  Virginia Explains--Nothing        196
+   XXIII.  On Demand                         204
+    XXIV.  Double Trouble                    214
+     XXV.  Virginia Repents                  223
+    XXVI.  The Call                          231
+   XXVII.  The Thunder Clap                  239
+  XXVIII.  The Way Out                       248
+    XXIX.  Across Death Valley               259
+     XXX.  An Evening With Socrates          269
+    XXXI.  The Broken Trust                  279
+   XXXII.  A Huff                            290
+  XXXIII.  The Fiery Furnace                 299
+   XXXIV.  A Clean-up                        305
+
+
+
+
+SHADOW MOUNTAIN
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE LAST OF TEN THOUSAND
+
+
+Under the rim of Shadow Mountain, embraced like a pearl of great price
+by the curve of Bonanza Point and the mined-out slope of Gold Hill, the
+deserted city of Keno lay brooding and silent in the sun. A dry, gusty
+wind, swooping down through the northern pass, slammed the great iron
+fire-doors that hung creaking from the stone bank building, caught up a
+cloud of sand and dirt and, whirling it down past empty stores and assay
+offices, deposited it in the doorways of gambling houses and dance
+halls, long since abandoned to the rats. An old man, pottering about
+among the ruins, gathered up some broken boards and hobbled off; and
+once more Keno, the greatest gold camp the West has ever seen, sank back
+to silence and dreams.
+
+A round of shots wakened the echoes of Shadow Mountain; a lonely miner
+came down the trail from Gold Hill, where in the old days the Paymaster
+had turned out its million a month; and then, far out across the floor
+of the desert on the road that led in from the railroad, there appeared
+an arrow-point of dust. It grew to a racing streak of white, the distant
+purring of the motor gave way to a deep-voiced thunder and as the
+powerful car glided swiftly up the street the doors of old houses opened
+unexpectedly and the last of ten thousand looked out.
+
+There were old men and cripples, left stranded by the exodus; and
+prospectors who had moved into the vacant houses along with the other
+desert rats; but out on the gallery of the old Huff mansion--where the
+creepers still clung to the lattice--there was a flutter of white and a
+girl came out with a kitten in her arms. In the days of gold--when ten
+thousand men, the choice spirits of two hemispheres, had tramped down
+this same deserted street--the house of Colonel Huff, the discoverer of
+the Paymaster, had been the social center of Keno. And so it was still,
+for the Widow Huff remained; but across the front of the hospitable
+gallery where the Colonel had entertained the town, a cheap cloth sign
+announced meals fifty cents and Virginia, his daughter, was the waiter.
+She stood by the sign, still high-headed and patrician, and when the
+driver of the car saw her he came to a sudden stop. He was long and
+gaunt, with deep lines around his mouth from bucking the wind and dust
+and after a moment's hesitation he threw on his brake and leapt out.
+
+"Did you want something?" she asked and, glancing warily about, he
+nodded and came up the steps.
+
+"Yes," he said, still eying her doubtfully, "what's the chance for
+something to eat?"
+
+"Why, good," she answered with a suspicion of a smile. "Or--well, come
+in; I'll speak to mother."
+
+She showed him into the spacious dining room, where the Colonel had
+once presided in state, and hurried into the kitchen. The young man
+gazed after her, looked swiftly about the room and backed away towards
+the door; then his strong jaw closed down, he smiled grimly to himself
+and sat down unbidden at a table. The table was mahogany and, in a
+case against the wall, there was a scant display of cut glass; but the
+linen was worn thin and the expensive velvet carpet had been ruined by
+hob-nailed boots. Heavy workingmen's dishes lay on the tables, the
+plating was worn from the knives, and the last echoing ghost of
+vanished gentility was dispelled by a voice from the kitchen. It was
+the Widow Huff, once the first lady of Keno, but now a boarding-house
+cook.
+
+"What--a dinner now? At half-past three? And with this wind fairly
+driving me crazy? Well, I can't _hire_ anybody to keep such hours
+for _me_ and----"
+
+There was a murmur of low-voiced protest as Virginia pleaded his cause
+and then, as the Widow burst out anew, the young man pushed back his
+chair. His blue eyes, half hidden beneath bulging brows, turned a
+steely, fighting gray, his wind-blown hair fairly bristled; and as he
+listened to the last of the Widow's remarks his lower lip was thrust up
+scornfully.
+
+"You danged old heifer," he muttered and then the kitchen door flew
+open. The baleful look which he had intended for the Widow was surprised
+on his face by Virginia and after a startled moment she closed the door
+behind her.
+
+"Why--Wiley Holman!" she cried accusingly and a challenge leapt into his
+eyes.
+
+"Well?" he demanded and gazed at her sullenly as she scanned him from
+head to foot.
+
+"I knew it," she burst out. "I'd know that stubborn look anywhere! You
+double up your lip like your father. Honest John!" she added
+sarcastically and brushed some crumbs from the table.
+
+"Yes--Honest John!" he retorted. "And you don't need to say it like
+that, either. He's my father--I know him--and I'll tell you right now he
+never cheated a man in his life."
+
+"Well, he did!" she flared back, her eyes dark with anger, "and I'll
+bet--I'll bet if my father was here he'd--he'd prove it to your face!"
+
+She ended in a sob and as he saw the tears starting the son of Honest
+John relented.
+
+"Aw, Virginia," he pleaded, "what's the use of always fighting? He's
+gone now, so let's be friends. I was just going by when I saw you on the
+gallery, and I thought--well, let's you and I be friends."
+
+"What? After old Honest John robbed Papa of the Paymaster, and then
+hounded him to his death on the desert?"
+
+"He did nothing of the kind--he never robbed anybody! And as for
+hounding your father to his death, the Old Man never even knew about it.
+He was down on the ranch, and when they told him the news----"
+
+"Yes, that's you," she railed, stifling back her sobs, "you can always
+prove an alibi. But you'd better drift, Mr. Holman; because if mother
+knows you're here----"
+
+"Well, what?" he demanded, truculently.
+
+"She'll fill you full of buckshot."
+
+"Pah!" he scoffed and snapped his fingers in the air, after which he
+lapsed into silence.
+
+"Well, she will," she asserted, after waiting for him to speak, but
+Wiley only grunted.
+
+"Wait till I get that dinner," he said at last and slumped down into a
+chair. He muttered to himself, gazing dubiously towards the kitchen, and
+turned impatiently to look at some specimens in a case against the wall.
+They were the usual chunks of high-grade gold ore, but he examined one
+piece with great care.
+
+"Where'd you get this?" he asked, holding up a piece of white rock, and
+she sighed and brushed away her tears.
+
+"Over on the dump," she answered wearily. "That's all Paymaster ore.
+Don't you think you'd better go?"
+
+"Never ran away yet," he answered briefly and balanced the rock in his
+hand. "Pretty heavy," he observed, "I'll bet it would assay. Have you
+got very much on the dump?"
+
+"What--_that_?" she cried, snatching the specimen away from him and
+bursting into a nervous laugh. "That assay? Well, you are a
+greenie--it's nothing but barren white quartz!"
+
+"Oh, it is, eh?" he rejoined and gazed at her hectoringly. "You seem to
+know a whole lot about mineral."
+
+"Yes, I do," she boasted. "Death Valley Charley teaches me. I've learned
+how to pan, and everything. But that rock there--that's the barren
+quartz that the Paymaster ran into when the values went out of the ore.
+Old Charley knows all about it."
+
+"Yes, they all do," he observed and as his lip went up her eyes dilated
+suddenly in a panic.
+
+"Oh, you went to that school--I forgot all about it--where they study
+about the mines! Are you in the mining business now?"
+
+"Why, yes," he acknowledged, "but that doesn't make much difference. I
+find I can learn something from most everybody."
+
+"Well, of course, then," she stammered, "I shouldn't have said that; but
+the whole Paymaster dump is covered with that heavy quartz, and
+everybody knows it's barren. Are you just looking around or----"
+
+She hesitated politely and as he reached for another specimen she
+noticed a ring on his finger. It was of massive gold and, set in
+clutching claws, there were three stupendous diamonds. Not imitation
+stones nor small, off-colored diamonds, but brilliants of the very first
+water, clear as dew, yet holding in their hearts the faintest suggestion
+of blue.
+
+"Oh!" she gasped, and as he did not seem to notice, she drew her skirts
+away with a flourish. "I'm surprised," she mocked, "that you condescend
+to speak to us--of course you own your own mines!"
+
+"Nope," he replied, shrugging his shoulders at her sarcasm, "I'm nothing
+but a prospector, yet. And you don't need to be so surprised."
+
+"No!" she retorted, giving way to swift resentment. "I guess I
+don't--when you consider how you got your money. Here's Mother out
+cooking for you, and I'm the waiter; and you're traveling around in
+racing cars with thousand-dollar rings on your hands. But if old
+Honest John hadn't sold all his stock while he was advising my father
+to hold on----"
+
+"He did not!"
+
+"Yes, he did! He did, too! And now, after Father has been lost in Death
+Valley, and we have come down to this, your father writes over and
+offers to buy our stock for just the same as nothing. That's _my_
+ring you're wearing, and the money that paid for it----"
+
+"Oh, all right then," he sneered, stripping off the ring and handing it
+abruptly over to her, "if it's your ring, take it! But don't you say my
+father----"
+
+"Well, he did," she declared, "and you can keep your old ring! It won't
+bring back my father--now!"
+
+"No, it won't," he agreed, "but while we're about it I just want to tell
+you something. My father went broke, buying back Paymaster stock from
+friends he'd advised to go in--and he's got the stock to prove it--and
+when he heard that the Colonel was dead he decided to buy in your
+mother's. He mortgaged his cows to raise the money for her and then that
+old terror--I don't care if she is your mother--she slapped him in the
+face by refusing it. Well, he didn't like to say anything, but you can
+tell her from me she don't have to cook unless she wants to! She can
+sell--or buy--a hundred thousand shares of Paymaster any day she says
+the word; and if that isn't honest I don't know what is! I ask you, now;
+isn't that fair?"
+
+"What, at ten cents a share? When it used to sell for forty dollars!
+He's just trying to get control of the mine. And as for offering to buy
+or sell, that's perfectly ludicrous, because he knows we haven't any
+money!"
+
+"Well, what _do_ you want?" he demanded irritably, and then he thrust
+up his lip. "I know," he said, "you want your own way! All right, I'll
+never trouble you again. You can keep right on guarding that
+hole-in-the-ground until you dry up and blow away across the desert.
+And as for that old she-devil----"
+
+He paused at a sudden slam from the kitchen, and Virginia's eyes grew
+big; but as he rose to face the Widow Huff he slipped the white rock
+into his pocket.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+THE SHOTGUN WIDOW
+
+
+The Widow Huff was burdened with a tray and her eye sought wildly for
+Virginia but when she glimpsed Wiley moving swiftly towards the door she
+set down his dinner with a bang. The disrespectful epithet which he had
+applied to her had been lost in the clatter of plates, but the moment
+the Widow came into the room she sensed the hair-trigger atmosphere.
+
+"Here!" she ordered, taking command on the instant. "Come back here,
+young man, and pay me for this dinner! And Virginia Huff, you go out
+into the kitchen--how many times do I have to speak to you?"
+
+Virginia started and stopped, her resentful eyes on Wiley, a thin smile
+parting her lips.
+
+"He said----" she began, and then Wiley strode back and slapped down a
+dollar on the table.
+
+"Yes, and I meant it, too," he answered fiercely. "There's your pay--and
+you can keep your mine."
+
+"Why, certainly," responded the Widow without knowing what she was
+talking about, "and now you eat that dinner!"
+
+She pointed a finger to the tray of food and looked Wiley Holman in the
+eye. He wavered, gazing from her to the smiling Virginia, and then he
+drew up his chair.
+
+"I'll go you," he said and showed his teeth in a grin. "You can't hurt
+my feelings that way."
+
+He lifted the T-bone steak from the platter and transferred it swiftly
+to his plate and then, as he fell to eating ravenously, the Widow
+condescended to smile.
+
+"When I go to the trouble of cooking a man a steak," she announced with
+the suggestion of a swagger, "I expect him to stay and eat it."
+
+"All right," mumbled Wiley, and glancing fleeringly at Virginia, he went
+ahead with his meal.
+
+The Widow looked over her shoulder at her daughter and then back at the
+stranger, but as she was about to inquire into the cause of their
+quarrel she spied his diamond ring. She approached him closer under
+pretext of pouring out some water and then she sank down into a chair.
+
+"That is a very fine ring," she stated briefly. "Worth fifteen hundred
+dollars at the least. Haven't I seen you somewhere, before?"
+
+"Very likely," returned Wiley, not venturing to look up, "my business
+takes me everywhere."
+
+"I thought I recognized you," went on the Widow ingratiatingly; "you're
+a mining man, aren't you, Mister--er----"
+
+"Wiley," he answered, and at this bold piece of effrontery Virginia
+caught her breath.
+
+"Ah, yes, I remember you now," said the Widow. "You knew my husband, of
+course--Colonel Huff? He passed away on the twentieth of July; but there
+was a time, not so many years ago, that I wore a few diamonds myself."
+She fixed her restless eyes on his ring and heaved a discontented sigh.
+"Virginia," she directed, "run out into the kitchen and clean up that
+skillet and all. I declare, you do less and less every day--are you a
+married man, Mr. Wiley?"
+
+Without awaiting the answer to this portentous question, Virginia flung
+out into the kitchen and, left alone, the Widow drew nearer and her
+manner became suddenly confidential.
+
+"I'd like to talk with you," she began, "about my husband's mine. Of
+course you've heard of the famous Paymaster--that's the mill right over
+east of town--but there are very few men that know what I do about the
+reasons why that mine was shut down. It was commonly reported that
+Colonel Huff was trying to get possession of the property, but the truth
+of the matter is he was deceived by old John Holman and finally left
+holding the sack. You see, it was this way. My husband and John Holman
+had always been lifelong friends, but Colonel Huff was naturally
+generous while Holman thought of nothing but money. Well, my husband
+discovered the Paymaster--he was led to it by an Indian that he had
+saved from being killed by the soldiers--but, not having any money, he
+went to John Holman and they developed the mine together. It turned out
+very rich and such a rush you never saw--this valley was full of tents
+for miles--but it was so far from the railroad--seventy-four miles to
+Vegas--that the work was very expensive. The Company was reorganized and
+Mr. Blount, the banker, was given a third of the promotion stock. Then
+the five hundred thousand shares of treasury stock was put on the market
+in order to build the new mill; and when the railroad came in there was
+such a crazy speculation that everybody lost track of the transfers. My
+husband, of course, was generous to a fault and accustomed to living
+like a gentleman--and he invested very heavily in real estate, too--but
+this Mr. Blount was always out for his interest and Honest John would
+skin a dead flea."
+
+"Honest John!" challenged Wiley, looking up from his eating with an ugly
+glint in his eye, but the Widow was far away.
+
+"Yes, Honest John Holman," she sneered, without noticing his resentment.
+"They called him Honest John. Did you ever know one of these 'Honest
+John' fellows yet that wasn't a thorough-paced scoundrel? Well, old John
+Holman he threw in with Blount to deprive Colonel Huff of his profits
+and, with these street certificates everywhere and no one recording
+their transfers, the Colonel was naturally deceived into thinking that
+the selling was from the outside. But all the time, while they were
+selling their stock and hammering down the price of Paymaster, they were
+telling the Colonel that it was only temporary and he ought to support
+the market. So he bought in what he could, though it wasn't much, as he
+was interested in other properties, and then when the crash came he was
+left without anything and Blount and Holman were rich. The great panic
+came on and Blount foreclosed on everything, and then Mr. Huff fell out
+with John Holman and they closed the Paymaster down. That was ten years
+ago and, with the litigation and all, the stock went down to nothing.
+The whole camp went dead and all the folks moved away--but have you ever
+been through the mine? Well, I want you to go--that ground has hardly
+been scratched!"
+
+Wiley Holman glanced up doubtfully from under his heavy eyebrows and the
+Widow became voluble in her protests.
+
+"No, sir," she exclaimed, "I certainly ought to know, because the
+Colonel was Superintendent; and when he had been drinking--the town was
+awful, that way--he would tell me all about the mine. And that was his
+phrase--he used it always: 'That ground has hardly been scratched!' But
+when he fell out with old John Holman he--well, there was an explosion
+underground and the glory-hole stope caved in. They cleaned it out
+afterwards and hunted around, but all the rich ore was gone; but I'm
+just as certain as I'm sitting here this minute the Colonel knew where
+there was more! He never would admit it--he was peculiar, that way, he
+never would discuss his business before a woman. But he wouldn't deny
+it, and when he had been drinking--well, I know it's there, that's all!"
+
+She paused for her effect but Mr. Wiley, the mining man, was singularly
+unimpressed. He continued eating in moody silence and the Widow tried
+the question direct.
+
+"Well, what do you think about it?" she demanded bluffly. "Would you
+like to consider the property?"
+
+"No, I don't think so," he answered impersonally. "I'm on my way up
+north."
+
+"Well, when you come back, then. Since my husband is gone I'm so sick
+and tired of it all I'll consider any offer--for cash."
+
+"Nope," he responded, "I'm out for something different." Then to stem
+the tide of her impending protest, he broke his studious silence. "I'm
+looking for molybdenum," he went on quickly, "and some of these other
+rare metals that are in demand on account of the war. Ever find any
+vanadium or manganese around here? No, I guess they're all further
+north."
+
+He returned to his meal and the Widow surveyed him appraisingly with her
+bold, inquisitive eyes. She was a big, strapping woman, and handsome in
+a way; but the corners of her mouth were drawn down sharply in a sulky,
+lawless pout.
+
+"Aw, tell me the truth," she burst out at last. "What have you got
+against the property?"
+
+A somber glow came into his eyes as he opened his lips to speak, and
+then he veiled his smouldering hate behind a crafty smile.
+
+"The parties that I represent," he said deliberately, "are looking for a
+_mine_. But the man that puts his money into the Paymaster property
+is simply buying a lawsuit."
+
+"What do you mean?" demanded the Widow, rousing up indignantly in
+response to this sudden thrust.
+
+"I mean, no matter how rich the Paymaster may be--and I hear the whole
+district is worked out--I wouldn't even go up the hill to look at it
+until you showed me the title was good."
+
+The Widow sat and glowered as she meditated a fitting response and then
+she rose to her feet.
+
+"Well, all right, then," she sulked, "if you don't want to consider
+it--but you're missing the chance of your life."
+
+"Very likely," he muttered and reached for his hat. "Much obliged for
+cooking my dinner."
+
+He started for the door, but she flew swiftly after him and snatched him
+back into the room.
+
+"Now here!" she cried, "I want you to listen to me--I've got tired of
+this everlasting waiting. I waited around for ten years on the Colonel,
+to settle this matter up, and now that he's gone I'm going to settle it
+myself and get out of the cussed country. Maybe I don't own the mine,
+but I own a good part of it--I've got two hundred thousand shares of
+stock--and I could sell it to-morrow for twenty thousand dollars, so you
+don't need to turn up your nose. There must be something there after all
+these years, to bring an offer of ten cents a share; but I wouldn't take
+that money if it was the last act of my life--I just hate that Honest
+John Holman! He cheated my husband out of everything he had--and yet he
+did it in such a deceitful way that the Colonel would never believe it.
+I've called him a coward a thousand times for tolerating such an outrage
+for an instant, and now that he's gone I'm going to show Honest John
+that he can't put it over _me_!"
+
+She shook her head until her heavy black hair flew out like Medusa's
+locks and then Wiley laughed provokingly.
+
+"All right," he said, "but you can't rope me in on your feuds. If you
+want to give me an option on your stock in the company for five or ten
+cents a share I may take a look at your mine. But I'll tell you one
+thing--you'll sign an agreement first to leave the country and never
+come back. I'm a business man, working for business people, and these
+shotgun methods don't go."
+
+"Well, I'll do it!" exclaimed the Widow, passing by his numerous insults
+in a sudden mad grab at release. "Just draw up your paper and I'll sign
+it in a minute--but I want ten cents a share!"
+
+"Ten cents or ten dollars--it makes no difference to me. You can put it
+as high as you like--but if it's too high, my principals won't take it.
+I can't stop to inspect it now, because I'm due up north, but I'll tell
+you what I'll do. You give me an option on all your stock, with a
+written permission to take possession, and if the other two big owners
+will do as much I'll come back and consider the mine. But get this
+straight--the first time you butt in, this option and agreement is off!"
+
+"What do you mean--butt in?" demanded the Widow truculently, and then
+she bit her lip. "Well, never mind," she said, "just draw up your
+papers. I'll show you I'm business myself."
+
+"Huh!" he grunted and, whipping out a fountain pen, he sat down and
+wrote rapidly at a table. "There," he said tearing the leaf from his
+notebook and putting it into her hands, "just read that over and if you
+want to sign it we'll close the deal, right here."
+
+The Widow took the paper and, turning it to the light, began a labored
+perusal.
+
+"Memorandum of agreement," she muttered, squinting her eyes at his
+handwriting, "hmm, I'll have to go and get my glasses. 'For and in
+consideration of the sum of ten dollars--to me in hand paid by M. R.
+Wiley,' and so forth--oh well, I guess it's all right, just show me
+where to sign."
+
+"No," he said, "let me read it to you--you ought to know what you're
+signing."
+
+"No, just show me where to sign," protested the Widow petulantly, "and
+where it says ten cents a share."
+
+"Well, it says that here," answered Wiley, putting his finger on the
+place, "but I'm going to read it to you--it wouldn't be legal
+otherwise."
+
+He wiped the beaded sweat from his brow and glanced towards the kitchen
+door. In this desperate game which he was framing on the Widow the luck
+had all come his way, but as he cleared his throat and commenced to read
+Virginia came bounding in. She was carrying a kitten, but when she saw
+the paper between them she dropped it on the floor.
+
+"Virginia!" cried her mother, "go and hunt my glasses. They're somewhere
+in my bedroom."
+
+"All right," she responded, but when she came back she glanced
+inquiringly at the paper.
+
+"You can go now," announced the Widow, adjusting her glasses, but
+Virginia threw up her head.
+
+"Do you know who that is?" she demanded brusquely, pointing an accusing
+finger at Wiley.
+
+"Why--er--no," returned the Widow, now absorbed in the agreement.
+
+"Well, all right," she said after a hasty perusal, "but where's that sum
+of ten dollars? Now you hush, Virginia, and go--into--the--_kitchen_!
+Now, it says right here--oh, where is that place? Oh yes, 'the receipt
+whereof is hereby acknowledged'! _Virginia!_"
+
+She stamped her foot, but Virginia's blood was up and she made a grab at
+the paper.
+
+"Now, _listen!_" she screamed, stopping her mother in her rush.
+"That man there is Wiley Holman! Yes--Holman! Old Honest John's son!
+What's this you're going to sign?"
+
+She backed away, her eyes fixed on the agreement, while the Widow stood
+astounded.
+
+"Wiley _Holman_!" she shrieked, "why, you limb of Satan, you said
+your name was Wiley!"
+
+"It is," returned Wiley with one eye on the door, "the rest of my name
+is Holman."
+
+"But you signed it on this paper--you wrote it right there! Oh, I'll
+have the law on you for this!"
+
+She clutched at the paper and as Virginia gave it to her mother she
+turned an accusing glance upon Wiley.
+
+"Yes, that's just like you, Mr. M. R. Wiley," she observed with
+scathing sarcasm. "You were just that way when you were a kid here in
+Keno--always trying to get the advantage of somebody. But if I'd
+thought you had the nerve----" She glanced at the paper and gasped and
+Wiley showed his teeth in a grin.
+
+"Well, she crowded me to it," he answered with a swagger. "I'm strictly
+business--I'll sign up anybody. You can just keep that paper," he nodded
+to the Widow, "and send it to me by mail."
+
+He winked at Virginia and slipped swiftly out the door as the Widow
+made a rush for her gun. She came out after him, brandishing a
+double-barreled shotgun, just as he cranked up his machine to start.
+
+"I'll show you!" she yelled, jerking her gun to her shoulder. "I'll
+learn you to get funny with _me_!"
+
+She pulled the trigger, but Wiley was watching her and he ducked down
+behind the radiator.
+
+_Clank_, went the hammer and with a wail of rage the Widow snapped
+the other barrel.
+
+"You, Virginia!" she cried in a terrible voice, "have you been monkeying
+with my shotgun?"
+
+The answer was lost in a series of explosions that awoke every echo in
+Keno, and Wiley Holman leapt into his machine. He jerked off his brake
+and stepped on the foot throttle but as he roared off up the street he
+waved a grimy hand at Virginia.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+THE SHADOW
+
+
+The old, settled quiet returned to sleepy Keno--the quiet of the desert
+and of empty, noiseless houses stretching in long, sunburned rows down
+the canyon. The black lava patch, laid across the gray rhyolite flank of
+Shadow Mountain like the shade of an angry cloud, still frowned down
+upon the town like a portent of storms to come. But the sky was hot and
+gleaming and no storms came; nor did Wiley Holman return, though the
+Widow waited for him patiently. After all his boldness, his unbelievable
+effrontery in trying to steal her Paymaster stock, he had gone on
+laughing to seek other adventures and left her with the mine on her
+hands. But he would come back, she knew it; and with her gun loaded with
+buckshot she watched from the shelter of the gallery.
+
+Yet the days went by and then the weeks and at last the Widow, with a
+sigh of vexation, put up her gun and retired within. Now that the
+episode was over she felt vaguely regretful that he had failed, after
+all, in his purpose. If he had procured his option, under cover of her
+blindness, and obtained her quit-claim to the mine, she would at least
+have had the satisfaction of obtaining her own terms--and she would have
+the twenty thousand to spend. It was maddening, disgusting, when she
+thought it over, that he had turned out to be Holman's son, and she
+never quite forgave Virginia for dinning the fact into her ears. For
+what you don't know will never hurt you, and she had lost her last
+chance to sell. When she went back into the house she went back into the
+kitchen, and there she would have to stay. Either that or take Honest
+John's money.
+
+But he wanted the property--the Widow knew it--else why had he sent his
+son? All the wise-acres in Keno agreed with the Widow that Honest John
+had designs on her property and Death Valley Charley, who had jumped
+half the claims in the district, began once more to carry his gun. It
+was by virtue of that, more than of assessment work done or of any other
+legal right, that Charley held title to his claims; and until Wiley had
+come through town and attempted to bond the Paymaster he had feared no
+one but Stiff Neck George. Stiff Neck George had been Blount's gunman
+on the momentous occasion when they had tried to jump the Paymaster--and
+the Widow Huff had put him to flight with one blast from her trusty
+shotgun. But now that big interests were sending in their experts and
+mining was picking up everywhere Stiff Neck George might forget that
+humiliating defeat, so Death Valley Charley put on his six-shooter.
+
+He was a little, stooping man, burned chocolate brown by the sun and
+with eyes half blinded by the glare, and as the Widow gave up her
+fruitless vigil, Death Valley Charley took her place. But he was not
+alone, for through all the weary weeks Virginia had been watching her
+mother. She had slipped in and out, now lingering on the gallery, now
+listening through the doorway, expectant but at the same time afraid.
+She knew Wiley Holman much better than her mother, and she knew that he
+would come back. He was patient, that was all, more patient than an
+Indian, and he had his eye on their mine. For ten years and more Colonel
+Huff, and now the Widow, had held physical possession of the Paymaster.
+Every great iron-bound door was locked and padlocked and the Huff family
+held the keys, but in all those ten years Holman had never come near it
+and Blount had merely seized it on a labor lien. The very title to the
+mine was shrouded in mystery, for no one could locate the shares, and to
+openly lay claim to it and produce a majority of the stock would be
+equivalent to a confession of treachery. All that anyone knew surely was
+that some one of the three original owners--or some unsuspected party
+outside--had bought in and sequestered the almost valueless stock and
+was patiently biding his time. Since the Huffs did not own the stock
+themselves they knew for a certainty that it was held by either Holman
+or Blount.
+
+As Virginia sat on the gallery, listening subconsciously for the
+drumming of Wiley's racing motor up the road, she ran over in her mind
+the circumstances of his visit; and she could explain them all but one.
+Why, after failing of his mission, and narrowly escaping her mother's
+gun, had he waved his hand and smiled so gayly as he thundered away up
+the street? Had he other schemes more subtle; or was he simply reckless,
+regarding even this adventure as a joke? As a boy he had been both--a
+crafty schemer and reckless doer--but now he was grown to a man. And if
+the lines about his mouth were any criterion he would soon be coming
+back to carry out by stealth what he failed to accomplish by assault. So
+she, too, waited patiently, to foil his machinations and uphold the
+honor of the Huffs.
+
+In the good old days it had never been forgotten that the Huffs belonged
+to the Virginia quality, while the Holmans came from Maine; hence the
+Colonel's relations with Honest John Holman had at first been strictly
+business. John Holman was a Northerner, with no social graces and
+abstemious to a fault, but when his commercial honor upon a certain
+occasion had saved the Colonel from bankruptcy he had cast the
+traditions of the South to the winds and taken Honest John as his
+friend. "My friend," he called him and neither his wife nor his enemies
+could shake the Colonel's faith in his partner. Then, after years of
+mutual trust, the panic had come on, and the crash in Paymaster stock;
+and as their fortunes went tumbling and ugly rumors filled the air they
+had broken their friendship completely. Yet so great was his love for
+his old-time friend that he had never openly accused him; and Honest
+John Holman, after months of somber silence, had moved away and started
+a cow ranch. But it was a question of honesty between the two men and
+their children had never forgotten. Ten years had passed since they had
+been boy and girl together, but the moment they met the old quarrel
+flashed up again and now the feud was on.
+
+A boisterous blast of wind, whirling dust and papers down the street,
+announced the beginning of another sandstorm; and Death Valley Charley,
+who had been sitting outside the gate, came muttering up the steps.
+Behind him trotted Heine, his worshipful little dog, and as Virginia's
+pet cat suddenly arched its back, Death Valley took Heine in his arms.
+
+"Can't you hear 'em?" he asked tiptoeing rapidly up to Virginia. "It's
+them big guns, over in Europe. It's them forty-two centimeter howitzers
+and the French seventy-fives in the trenches along the Somme."
+
+"Do you think so?" murmured Virginia, smoothing down her cat's back, "it
+sounds like blasting to me."
+
+"No--big guns!" repeated Charley, regarding her intently through his
+wavering, sun-blinded eyes, and then he burst into a laugh. "You can
+hear 'em, can't you, Heine?" he cried to his dog, and Heine squirmed
+ecstatically and sneezed. "Hah, that's my little dog--you're so
+confectionate! Now get down on the floor, and don't you go near that
+cat."
+
+He put down the dog and advanced closer to Virginia.
+
+"He's coming!" he whispered. "I can hear him, plain--jurrr, jurrr; hud,
+hud, hud, hud, hud!"
+
+"Who's coming?" demanded Virginia, looking swiftly up the road.
+
+"Why--him! The man you're waiting for. Can't you hear him! Hrrrr--rud!
+He's coming to grab you and take you away in his auto!"
+
+"Oh, Charley!" exclaimed Virginia, not entirely displeased, "and where
+will you go then?"
+
+"I'll go to Death Valley," he answered mysteriously. "There's lots of
+gold over there. I came back one time and they says to me: 'Charley,
+where've you been for such a long time?' 'In Death Valley,' I says,
+'in the Funeral Range. Working in the Coffin mine, on the graveyard
+shift.' Hah, hah; they can't get nothing out of me. I know where
+there's gold--in the Ube-Hebes; it's a place where nobody goes. I saw
+your father there, the last time I went through, and he sent word to
+you not to worry. 'But for Christ's sake,' he says, 'don't tell my
+wife I'm here--I'm tired of her devilish chatter!'"
+
+"Charley!" reproved Virginia, and as he subsided into mutterings, she
+looked about with shocked eyes. "You talk too much," she said at last.
+"Didn't I tell you not to say that again? Because if mother hears it
+she'll drive you out of the house, and then what will Heine do?"
+
+"Heine! Come here, sir!" commanded Charley abruptly, and slapped him
+until he yelped. "Well, now," he warned as Heine slunk away, "you look
+out or you lose your house."
+
+"I guess you'd better go now," said Virginia discreetly, and continued
+her vigil alone. Death Valley was harmless, but when he began hearing
+things there was no telling where he would stop. The next minute he
+would be seeing things, and then getting messages, and then looking
+through mountains with radium. He was harmless, of course, but when
+there was a sandstorm--well, some people thought he was crazy. And
+there was a sandstorm coming up. It was blowing in from the north and
+rushing clouds of dirt down the street; and along in the night, when it
+had gained its full force, the sand and gravel would fly. She rose to go
+in, but just at that moment she heard a low drumming up the street. It
+increased to a bubbling, a drumming, a thunder, and like the spirit of
+the rough north wind Wiley Holman went racing through the town. His hat
+was off and as he drifted by his hair thrashed wildly in his eyes, yet
+he glanced up in passing and it seemed to Virginia that he gave her a
+roguish smile. Then in a series of explosions that brought the Widow
+running he dashed on and whirled out across the desert.
+
+"Oh, that devil!" she raged, brandishing her heavy shotgun at the
+disappearing cloud of dust. "He's just making that hubbub to mock me!
+He'll be coming back--I know it, the scoundrel--but you wait, he won't
+fool me again!"
+
+She stood on the gallery while the food scorched in the kitchen and
+watched the boring arrow of dust, but it swept on and on across the
+boundless desert until at last it was lost in the storm. "Oh, he'll be
+back!" she screamed to the gathering neighbors. "I know him, he's after
+my mine. But he'd better watch out! If he ever goes near it, I'll shoot
+him, you mark my word!"
+
+"No, he won't," said Virginia, but when they were all gone she came back
+and gazed down the road.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+THE GHOST-MAN
+
+
+As the sun paled to nothing in the yellow murk of dust, a high cloud of
+sand overleapt the northern peaks and came sifting down the slopes of
+Shadow Mountain. The gusts of wind began to wail in boding fury and then
+the storm struck the town. Dirt and papers flew before it; tin cans
+leapt forth from holes and alleys; and sticks and small stones, sucked
+up in the vortex, joined in on the devil's dance. Ancient signs creaked
+and groaned and threatened to leave their moorings, old houses gave up
+shingles and loose boards, and up the street on the deserted bank
+building, the fire-doors banged like cannon. Then the night came on and
+the streets of Keno were empty, except for the flying dirt.
+
+But it is nights such as this that move some men to greater daring and
+as Wiley Holman, far out on the desert, felt the rush and surge of wind
+he struck a swift circle and, turning back towards Keno, he bored his
+way into the teeth of the storm. The gravel from the road slashed and
+slatted against his radiator and his machine trembled before the buffets
+of the gale, but it was just such a night as he needed for his purpose
+and he ran with his lights switched off. If the Widow Huff, by any
+chance, should glance out across the plain she might notice their gleam
+and divine his purpose, which was to inspect the Paymaster mine. As a
+stockholder and part owner it was, of course, his right to enter the
+premises at will, but the Widow had placed her own personal mandate
+above the laws of the land, and it was better, and safer, to avoid all
+discussion by visiting the property after dark.
+
+Up the long slope of the valley the white racer moved slowly, shuddering
+and thundering as it took the first hill, and as the outlying houses
+leaped up from the darkness, Wiley muffled his panting exhaust. In the
+sheltered valley, under the lee of Shadow Mountain, the violence of the
+wind was checked and some casual citizen, out looking at the stars,
+might hear him above the storm. He turned off the main road and,
+following up a side street, glided quietly into the shelter of a barn,
+and five minutes later, with his prospector's pick and ore-sacks, he
+toiled up the trail to the mine.
+
+The Paymaster mine lay on the slope of Gold Hill, directly overlooking
+the town--first the huge, dismantled mill; then the white slide of the
+waste dump; and then, up the gulch, the looming gallows-frame of the
+hoist and the dim bulk of abandoned houses. The mine had made the town,
+and the town had clustered near it in the broad oval of the valley
+below; but in its day the Paymaster had been a community by itself, with
+offices and bunk-houses and stores. Now all was deserted and in the pale
+light of the moon it seemed the mere ghost of a mine. A loose strip of
+zinc on the corrugated-iron mill drummed and shuddered in a menacing
+undertone and at uncertain intervals some door inside smote its frame
+with a resounding bang. Straining timbers creaked and groaned, the wind
+mourned like a disembodied spirit, and as Wiley Holman jumped at a
+sudden sound he turned and glanced nervously behind him.
+
+It was not a shadow but the passing of a shadow that caught his roving
+eye and as he stripped off his wind-goggles and looked again he felt by
+instinct for his six-shooter. But it was not on his hip. He had taken
+his pick instead, and for the first time he felt a thrill of fear--not
+fear for his life nor of anything tangible, but that old, primordial
+fear of the night that only a gun can banish. He picked up a rock and
+walked back down the trail; but nothing leapt forth at him--even the
+shadow was gone, and he threw the rock petulantly away. It was the wind,
+and the noises, and the blinders on his goggles; but now that the great
+fear was born he jumped at every sound. He had been out before on worse
+nights than this--what was it, then, that he feared? With his back
+against a rock he stared about and listened until at last his nerve
+returned; then he went boldly to the dump, where the white quartz lay
+the thickest, and began to dig a hole with his pick.
+
+Deep as he could dig there was nothing but the white waste and he paced
+off the width of the pile; then very systematically he moved across the
+slope, grabbing handfuls of fine dirt at measured intervals and throwing
+them into an ore-sack. There was something about Virginia's piece of
+"barren quartz" that had appealed to his prospector's eye and even in
+the excitement of meeting the Widow he had not forgotten to sequester
+it. But a piece of rock from a girl's case of specimens is a far call
+from "ore in place" and he had come back that night to look the mine
+over and collect an average sample from the dump. There were hundreds of
+tons of that rock on the dump and it certainly was his right, as a part
+owner in the property, to sample it and have it assayed.
+
+Back and forth across the slide, now buffeted by the wind, now pelted by
+loosened stones, he continued his methodical test and then as he knelt
+to dig out a hole a great rock came bounding past. It came out of the
+darkness and went smashing down the hillside like some terrific engine
+of destruction and before he had more than scrambled from its path a
+second boulder was upon him. He dodged it by a hair's breadth and fell
+flat on his face, just as a stream of loose stone which the first flying
+rock had dislodged sent him rolling and tumbling down the slope in an
+avalanche of flying débris. For a minute he lay breathless while the
+waste rattled past him, and then he looked up the hill. No movement of
+his had started those great boulders. They had been launched by someone
+from above, and as he raised his head cautiously he beheld a gaunt
+figure standing outlined against the sky. It stood like a gibbet, its
+head to one side, a pistol in its hand; but as Wiley moved the man
+crouched and drew back as if he feared to be seen.
+
+Who he was Wiley did not know, nor could he divine his animus in thus
+attempting to take his life, but, being caught in the open without his
+gun, he played safe and lay quiet where he had fallen. The wind howled
+along the ridges and trailed off into silence and, looking around, Wiley
+caught the wink of a lantern as it came across the flat from town. The
+crash of the boulders as they bounded down the dump and then on through
+the brush below had undoubtedly aroused some inquisitive citizen, who
+was coming over to investigate. Wiley rose up quickly, for he did not
+wish to be discovered, but as he started towards the trail he met the
+ghost-man, creeping forward with his pistol ready to shoot.
+
+At times like this a man acts by instinct, and Wiley Holman dropped to
+the ground; then with the swiftness of an Indian he bellied off down the
+hill, looking back after every lightning move. The man was a murderer, a
+cold-blooded assassin; and, thinking him injured, he had been stealing
+up to his hiding-place to give him the _coup de grace_. Wiley
+rolled into a gulch and peered over the bank, his eyes starting out of
+his head with fear; and then, as the lantern began to bob below him, he
+turned and crept up the hill. Two trails led towards the mine, one on
+either side of the dump, and as the wind swept down with a sudden gust
+of fury, he ran up the farther trail. Once over the hill he could avoid
+both his pursuers and, cutting a wide circle, slip back to his machine
+and escape. The wind died to nothing as he neared the summit and he
+turned and looked back down the trail. Something moved--it was the man,
+his head twisted over his shoulder, his gun still held at a ready,
+creeping waspishly up the path.
+
+Wiley turned and fled, sick with rage at his own impotence, but as he
+whipped over the dump the earth opened up before him and he slipped
+and stopped on the brink of a chasm. It was the caved-in stope, the
+old glory-hole of the Paymaster, and it cut off his last escape. A
+sudden sinking of the heart, a feeling of fate being against him, came
+over him as he slunk along the bank; and then, as a path opened up
+before him, he took the steep slope at a bound. Further on in the
+darkness he saw the roof of the mill and the broken hummocks of the
+dump; beyond lay the other trail and the open country and his car--and
+the six-shooter--beyond! His feet seemed to fly as he dashed across
+the level and breasted a sudden ascent and then on its summit as the
+wind snatched him back someone struck him in full flight. "God!" he
+cried, and fought himself free but the other clutched him again.
+
+"Run!" she begged, and he knew it was Virginia, but he was in a panic
+for fear of what was behind.
+
+"No!" he cried, catching her roughly in his arms and starting the other
+way, "there's a crazy man back there and----"
+
+"No--no--no!" she clamored, bringing him to a halt with her struggles.
+"The other way--can't you hear what I'm saying to you----" And then
+Wiley saw the Widow.
+
+She was standing on the dump with her shotgun raised and pointed, and he
+hurled Virginia to one side.
+
+"Don't shoot!" he yelled, but as he ducked and started to run, the
+Widow's gun spoke out. A blow like that of a club struck his leg from
+under him and he fell to the ground in a heap, but even in his pain he
+remembered the presence which had followed with its head on one side.
+
+"You danged fool!" he cursed as the Widow ran up to him. "Keep that
+cartridge, whatever you do. There's a crazy man after me and----"
+
+"I see him!" shrieked the Widow, making a dash for the bank with her gun
+at her hip for the shot. "You git, you dastard!" she shrilled into the
+darkness and once more the old shotgun roared forth.
+
+"Oh, mother!" wept Virginia, throwing her arms about Wiley, and
+attempting to raise him up. "Oh, look what you've done--it's Wiley
+Holman--and now I hope you're satisfied!"
+
+"You bet I'm satisfied!" answered the Widow, exultingly. "That other
+fellow was Stiff Neck George!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+A LOAD OF BUCKSHOT
+
+
+Since he had turned back, far out on the desert, and braved the storm to
+inspect the Paymaster Mine, Wiley Holman had met nothing but disaster;
+but as he lay on the ground with one leg full of buckshot he blamed it
+all on the Widow. Without warning or justification, without even giving
+him a chance, she had sneaked up and potted him like a rabbit; and now,
+as men came running to witness his shame, she gloried in her badness.
+
+"Aha-ah!" she jeered, coming back to stand over him and Wiley reached
+for a stone.
+
+"You old she-cat," he burst out, "you say another word to me and I'll
+bounce this rock off your head!"
+
+He groaned and dropped the rock to take his leg in both hands, and then
+Virginia rushed to the rescue.
+
+"How badly are you hurt?" she asked, kneeling down beside him, but he
+jerked ungraciously away.
+
+"Go away and leave me alone!" he shouted to the world at large and the
+Widow took the hint to withdraw. Then in a series of frenzied curses
+Wiley stripped off his puttee and felt of his injured leg. It was wet
+with blood and two shot-holes in his shin-bone were giving him the most
+exquisite pain; the rest were just flesh-wounds where the buckshot had
+pierced his leggings and imbedded themselves in the muscles. He looked
+them over hastily by the light of a flashing lantern and then he rose up
+from the ground.
+
+"Gimme that gun for a crutch!" he demanded of the Widow; and Mrs. Huff,
+who had been surveying her work with awe, passed over the shotgun in
+silence. "All right, now," he went on, turning to Death Valley Charley,
+who had been patiently holding his lantern, "just show me the trail and
+I'll get out of camp before some crazy dastard ups and kills me."
+
+"That was Stiff Neck George," observed Charley mysteriously. "He's
+guarding the Paymaster for Blount."
+
+"Who--that fellow that was after me?" burst out Wiley in a passion as he
+hobbled off down the trail. "What the hell was he trying to do? The
+whole rotten mine isn't worth stealing from anybody. What's the matter
+with you people--are you crazy?"
+
+"Well, that's all right!" returned the Widow from the darkness. "You
+can't sneak in and jump _my_ mine!"
+
+"_Your_ mine, you old tarrier!" yelled Wiley furiously. "You'd
+better go to town and look it up. The whole danged works is mine--I
+bought it in for taxes!"
+
+"You--what?" cried the Widow, brushing Virginia and Charley aside and
+halting him in the trail. "You bought the Paymaster for _taxes_!"
+
+"Yes, for taxes," answered Wiley, "and got stung at that! Gimme
+eighty-three dollars and forty-one cents and you can have it back,
+with costs. But now listen, you old battle-ax; I've taken enough off
+of you. You went up on my property when I was making an inspection of
+it and made an attempt on my life; and if I hear a peep out of you,
+from this time on, I'll go down and swear out a warrant."
+
+"I didn't aim to kill you," defended the Widow, weakly. "I just tried to
+shoot you in the leg."
+
+"Well, you did it," returned Wiley, and, pushing; her aside, he limped
+on down the trail. The Widow followed meekly, talking in low tones with
+her daughter, and at last Virginia came up beside him.
+
+"Take him right to our house," she said to Charley, "and I'll nurse him
+until he gets well."
+
+"No, you take me to the Holman house!" directed Wiley, obstinately. "I
+guess we've got a house of our own."
+
+"Well, suit yourself," she murmured, and fell back to the rear while
+Wiley went hobbling on. At every step he jabbed the muzzle of the
+shotgun vindictively into the ground, but as he reached the flat and met
+a posse of citizens, he submitted to being carried on a door. The first
+pain had passed and a deadly numbness seemed to take the place of its
+bite; but as he moved his stiffened muscles, which were beginning to
+ache and throb, he realized that he was badly hurt. With a leg like that
+he could not drive out across the desert, seventy-four long miles to
+Vegas; nor would he, on the other hand, find the best of accommodations
+in the deserted house of his father. It had been a great home in its
+day, but that day was past, and the water connections too, and somebody
+must be handy to wait on him.
+
+"Say," he said, turning to Death Valley Charley, "have you got a house
+here in town? Well, take me to it and I'll pay you well, and for
+anything else that you do."
+
+"It won't cost you nothing," answered Charley quickly. "I used to know
+your father."
+
+"Well, you knew a good man then," replied Wiley grimly, but Death Valley
+did not respond. The Widow Huff was listening behind; and besides, he
+had his doubts.
+
+"I'll run on ahead," said Charley noncommittally, and when Wiley arrived
+a canvas cot was waiting for him, fully equipped except for the sheets.
+Virginia came in later with a pair on her arm, and after a look at
+Charley's greasy blankets Wiley allowed her to spread them on the bed.
+Then, as Death Valley laid a grimy paw on his leg and began to pick out
+the shot Wiley jerked away and asked Virginia impatiently if she didn't
+have a little carbolic.
+
+"Aw, he'll be all right," protested Charley cheerfully, as Virginia
+pushed him aside; "them buckshot won't hurt him much, nohow. Jest put on
+some pine pitch and a chew of tobacco and he'll fall off to sleep like a
+child."
+
+He stood blinking helplessly as Virginia heated some water and poured in
+a teaspoonful of carbolic, then as she bathed the wounds and picked out
+the last shot, Charley placed a disc on his phonograph.
+
+"Does he want some music?" he inquired of Heine, who was sitting up and
+begging, but Virginia put down her foot. "No, Charley," she said with a
+forbidding frown, "you go ask mother for a needle and thread."
+
+"He's kind of crazy to-night," she whispered to Wiley, when Death Valley
+was safely out of sight, "you'd better come over to the house."
+
+"Huh, I guess we're all crazy," answered Wiley, laughing shortly. "I can
+stand it--but how does he act?"
+
+"Oh, he hears things--and gets messages--and talks about Death Valley.
+He got lost over there, three years ago last August, and the heat kind
+of cooked his brains. He heard your automobile, when you came back
+to-night--that's why mother and all the rest of them went over to the
+mine to get you. I'm sorry she shot you up."
+
+"Well, don't you care," he said reassuringly. "But she sure overplayed
+her hand."
+
+"Yes, she did," acknowledged Virginia, trying not to quarrel with her
+patient, "but, of course, she didn't know about that tax sale."
+
+"Well, she knows it now," he answered pointedly, and when Charley came
+back they were silent. Virginia bandaged up his wound and slipped away
+and then Wiley lay back and sighed. There had been a time when he and
+Virginia had been friends, but now the fat was in the fire. It was her
+fighting mother, of course, and their quarrel about the Paymaster; but
+behind it all there was the old question between their fathers, and he
+knew that his father was right. He had not rigged the stock market, he
+had not cheated Colonel Huff, and he had not tried to get back the mine.
+That was a scheme of his own, put on foot on his own initiative--and
+brought to nothing by the Widow. He had hoped to win over Virginia and
+effect a reconciliation, but that hole in his leg told him all too well
+that the Widow could never be fooled. And, since she could not be
+placated, nor bought off, nor bluffed, there was nothing to do but quit.
+The world was large and there were other Virginias, as well as other
+Paymasters--only it seemed such a futile waste. He sighed again and then
+Death Valley Charley burst out into a cackling laugh.
+
+"I heard you," he said, "I heard you coming--away up there in the pass.
+Chuh, chuh, chuh, chud, chud, chud, chud; and I told Virginny you was
+coming."
+
+"Yes, I heard about it," answered Wiley sourly, "and then you told the
+Widow."
+
+"Oh, no, I didn't!" exulted Charley. "She'd've killed you, sure as
+shooting. I just told Virginny, that's all."
+
+"Oh!" observed Wiley, and lay so still that Charley regarded him
+intently. His eyes were blue and staring like a newborn babe's, but
+behind their look of childlike innocence there lurked a crafty smile.
+
+"I told her," went on Charley, "that you was coming to git her and take
+her away in your auto. She's a nice girl, Virginny, and never rode in
+one of them things--I never thought you'd try to steal her mine."
+
+"I did not!" denied Wiley, but Death Valley only smiled and waved the
+matter aside.
+
+"Never mind," he said, "they're all crazy, anyhow. They get that way
+every north wind. I'm here to take care of them--the Colonel asked me
+to, and keep people from stealing his mine. It's electricity that does
+it--it's about us everywhere--and that's what makes 'em crazy; but
+electricity is my servant; I bend it to my will; that's how I come to
+hear you. I heard you coming back, away out on the desert, and I knowed
+your heart wasn't right. You was coming back to rob the Colonel of his
+mine; and the Colonel, he saved my life once. He ain't dead, you know,
+he's over across Death Valley in them mountains they call the Ube-Hebes.
+Yes, I was lost on the desert and he followed my tracks and found me,
+running wild through the sand-hills; and then Virginia and Mrs. Huff,
+they looked after me until my health returned."
+
+"You can hear pretty well, then," suggested Wiley diplomatically. "You
+must know everything that goes on."
+
+"It's the electricity!" declared Charley. "It's about us everywhere, and
+that's what makes them crazy. All these desert rats are crazy, it's the
+electric storms that does it--Nevada is a great state for winds. But
+when they comes a sandstorm, and Mrs. Huff she wraps up her head, I feel
+the power coming on. I can hear far away and then I can hear close--I
+make the electricity my slave. But the rest, they go crazy; they have
+headaches and megrims, and Mrs. Huff she always wants to fight; but I'm
+here to take care of 'em--the Colonel asked me to, so you keep away from
+that mine."
+
+"Oh, sure," responded Wiley, "I won't bother the mine. As soon as I'm
+well I'll go home."
+
+"No, you stay," returned Charley, becoming suddenly confidential.
+"I'll show you a mountain of gold. It's over across Death Valley, in
+the Ube-Hebes; the Colonel is over there now."
+
+"Is that so?" inquired Wiley, and Charley looked at him strangely, as if
+dazed.
+
+"Aw, no; of course not!" he burst out angrily. "I forgot--the Colonel is
+dead. You Heine; come over here, sir."
+
+Heine crept up unwillingly and Charley slapped him. "Now--shut up!" he
+admonished and went off into crazy mutterings.
+
+"What's that?" he cried, rousing up suddenly to listen, and a savage
+look replaced the blank stare. "Can't you hear him?" he asked. "It's
+Stiff Neck George--he's coming up the alley to kill you. Here, take my
+gun; and when he opens the door you fill him full of holes!"
+
+Wiley listened intently, then he reached for the heavy pistol and sat
+up, watching the door. The wind soughed and howled and rattled at the
+windows, over which Charley had stretched heavy blankets, and it seemed
+to his startled imagination that someone was groping at the door. The
+memory of the skulking form that had followed him rose up with the
+distinctness of a vision and at a knock on the door he cocked his pistol
+and beckoned Death Valley to one side.
+
+"Come in!" he called, but as the door swung open it was Virginia who
+stood facing his gun.
+
+"O--oh!" she screamed, and then she flushed angrily as Charley began to
+laugh.
+
+"Well, laugh then, you fool," she said to Wiley, "and when you're
+through, just look at this that we found!"
+
+She held up the ore-bag that Wiley had lost and strode dramatically in.
+"Look at that!" she cried, and strewing the white quartz on the table
+she pointed her finger in his face. "You stole my specimen!" she cried
+accusingly. "That's why you came back for more. But you give it back to
+me--I want it this minute. I see you're honest--like your father!"
+
+She spat it out venomously, more venomously than was needful, for he
+was already fumbling for the rock; and when he gave it back he smiled
+over-scornfully and his lower lip mounted up.
+
+"All right," he said, "you don't have to holler for it. You're getting
+to be just like your mother."
+
+"I'm not!" she denied, but after looking at him a minute she burst into
+tears and fled.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+ALL CRAZY
+
+
+The wind was still blowing when Wiley was awakened by the cold of the
+October morning. In the house all was dark, on account of the blankets
+which Death Valley had nailed over the windows, but outside he could
+hear the thump of an axe and the whining yelp of a dog. Then Charley
+came in, his arms full of wood, and lit a roaring fire in the stove.
+Wiley dozed off again, for his leg had pained him and kept him awake
+half the night, and when he woke up it was to the strains of music and
+the mournful howls of Heine.
+
+"Ah, you are so confectionate!" exclaimed Charley in honeyed tones and
+laughed and patted him on the back. "Don't you like the fiddle, Heine?
+Well, listen to this now; the sweetest song of all."
+
+He stopped the rasping phonograph to put on another record and when
+Heine heard "Listen to the Mocking-bird" he barked and leapt with joy.
+Wiley listened for awhile, then he stirred in bed and at last he tried
+to get up; but his leg was very stiff and old Charley was oblivious, so
+he sank back and waited impatiently. Heine sat upon the floor before the
+largest of three phonographs, which ground out the Mocking-bird with
+variations; and each time he heard the whistled notes of the bird he
+rolled his eyes on Charley with a soulful, beseeching glance. The
+evening before, when his master had cuffed him, Wiley had considered
+Heine badly abused; but now as the concert promised to drag on
+indefinitely he was forced to amend his opinion.
+
+"Say," he spoke up at last, in a pause between records, "what's the
+chance of getting something to eat?"
+
+"Yes, there's plenty," answered Charley, and went on with his frolic
+until Wiley rose up in disgust. He had heated some water, besides
+tearing down a blanket and letting the daylight in, when there came a
+hurried knock at the door and the Widow appeared with his breakfast. She
+avoided his eyes, but her manner was ingratiating and she supplied the
+conversation herself.
+
+"Good morning!" she smiled,--"Charley, stop that awful racket and let
+Heine go out for his scraps. Well, I brought you your
+breakfast--Virginia isn't feeling very well--and I hope you're going
+to be all right. No, get right back into bed and I'll prop you up with
+pillows; Charley's got a hundred or so. I declare, it's a question
+which can grab the most; old Charley or Stiff Neck George. Every time
+anyone moves out--and sometimes when they don't--you'll see those two
+ghouls hanging around; and the minute they're gone, well, you never
+saw anything like it, the way they will fight for the loot. Charley's
+got a whole room filled up with bedding, and stoves and tables and
+chairs; and George--he's vicious--he takes nearly everything and piles
+it up down in his warehouse. It isn't his, of course, but----"
+
+"He hauls it off in a wheelbarrow," broke in Charley, virtuously. "He
+don't care what he does. They was a widow woman here whose daughter got
+sick and she had to go out for a week, and when she came back----"
+
+"Yes, her whole house was looted--he carried off even her
+sewing-machine!"
+
+"And a deep line of wheelbarrow tracks," added Charley, unctuously,
+"leading from her house right down to his. She nailed up all her windows
+before she went, but he----"
+
+"Yes, he broke in," supplied the Widow. "He's a desperate character
+and everybody is afraid of him, so he can do whatever he pleases; but
+you bet your life he can't run it over me--I filled him up with
+buckshot twice. Oh--that is--er--did you ever hear how he got his head
+twisted? Well, go right ahead now and eat up your toast. I asked him
+one time--that was before we'd had our trouble--what was the cause of
+his head being to one side. He looks, you know, for all the world like
+he was watching for a good kick from behind; but he tried to appear
+pathetic and told me a long story about saving a mother and her child
+in a flood. And when it was all over, according to him, he fell down
+in a faint in the mud; but the best accounts I get say he was dead
+drunk in the gutter and woke up with his head on one side."
+
+She ended with a sniff and Wiley glanced at Charley, but he was staring
+blankly away.
+
+"I don't like that man," spoke up Charley at last, "he kicked my dog,
+one time."
+
+"And he bootlegs something awful," added the Widow, desperately, for
+fear that the chatter would lag. "There doesn't a day go by but some
+drunken Piute comes whooping up the road, and that bunch of
+Shooshonnies----"
+
+"Yes, he sells to the bucks," observed Death Valley, slyly. "They're no
+good--they get drunk and tell. But you can trust the squaws--I had one
+here yesterday----"
+
+"You what?" shrieked the Widow, and Charley looked up startled, then
+rose and whistled to his dog.
+
+"Go lay down!" he commanded and slapped him till he yelped, after which
+he slipped fearfully away.
+
+"The very idea!" exclaimed the Widow frigidly and then she glanced at
+Wiley.
+
+"Mr. Holman," she began, "I came out here to talk business--there's
+nothing round-the-corner about me. Now what about this tax sale, and
+what does Blount mean by allowing you to buy it in for nothing?"
+
+"Well, I don't know," answered Wiley. "He refused to pay the taxes, so I
+bought in the property myself."
+
+"Yes, but what does he _mean_?"
+
+The Widow's voice rose to the old quarrelsome, nagging pitch, and Wiley
+winced as if he had been stabbed.
+
+"You'll have to ask _him_, Mrs. Huff, to find out for sure; but to
+a man with one leg it looks like this. Whatever you can say about him,
+Samuel J. is a business man, and I think he decided that, as a business
+investment, the Paymaster wasn't worth eighty-three, forty-one.
+Otherwise he would have bought it himself."
+
+"Unless, of course," added the Widow scornfully, "there was some
+understanding between you."
+
+"Oh, yes, sure," returned Wiley, and went on with his eating with a
+wearied, enduring sigh.
+
+"Well, I declare," exclaimed the Widow, after thinking it over,
+"sometimes I get so discouraged with the whole darned business you could
+buy me out for a cent!"
+
+She waited for a response, but Wiley showed no interest, so she went on
+with her general complaint.
+
+"First, it was the Colonel, with his gambling and drinking and inviting
+the whole town to his house; and then your father, or whoever it was,
+started all this stock market fuss; and from that time it's gone from
+bad to worse until I haven't a dollar to my name. I was brought up to be
+a lady--and so was Virginia--and now we're keeping a restaurant!"
+
+Wiley pulled down his lip in masterful silence and set the breakfast
+tray aside. It was nothing to him what the Widow Huff suffered--she had
+brought it all on herself. And whenever she was ready to write to his
+father she could receive her ten cents a share. That would keep her as a
+lady for several years to come, if she had as many shares as she
+claimed; but there was nothing to his mind so flat, stale and
+unprofitable as a further discussion of the Paymaster. Indeed, with one
+leg wound up in a bandage, it might easily prove disastrous. So he
+looked away and, after a minute, the Widow again took up her plaint.
+
+"Of course," she said, "I'm not a business woman, and I may have made
+some mistakes; but it doesn't seem right that Virginia's future should
+be ruined, just because of this foolish family quarrel. The Colonel is
+dead now and doesn't have to be considered; so--well, after thinking it
+over, and all the rest of it, I think I'll accept your offer."
+
+"Which offer?" demanded Wiley, suddenly startled from his ennui, and the
+Widow regarded him sternly.
+
+"Why, your offer to buy my stock--that paper you drew up for me. Here it
+is, and I'm willing to sign it."
+
+She drew out the paper and Wiley read it silently, then rolled it into a
+ball and chucked it into the corner.
+
+"No," he said, "that offer doesn't hold. I didn't know you then."
+
+"Well, you know me now!" she flashed back resentfully, "and you'd better
+come through with that money. I've taken enough off of you and your
+father without standing for any more of your gall. Now you write me out
+a check for twenty thousand dollars and here's my two hundred thousand
+shares. I know you're robbing me but I simply can't endure it--I can't
+stay here a single day longer!"
+
+She burst into angry tears as he shook his head and regarded her with
+steady eyes.
+
+"No," he said, "you can't do business that way. I haven't got twenty
+thousand dollars."
+
+"But--you offered it to me! You wrote out this paper and put it right
+under my eyes----"
+
+"No," he said, "I never offered you twenty thousand--I offered to take
+an option at that price. I wanted to see that mine, and I wanted to see
+it peaceably, and I thought I could do it that way; but that piece of
+paper simply gave me the option of buying the stock if I wanted to."
+
+"Well, you wanted to buy the stock--you were crazy to get hold of
+it--and now, when I'm willing, you won't take it!"
+
+"No, that's right," agreed Wiley, leaning back against his pillow. "And
+now, what are you going to do about it?"
+
+"I'm going to kill you!" shrieked the Widow in a frenzy. "I'm going to
+_make_ you take it! I declare, it seems like every single soul is
+against me--and me a poor helpless woman!"
+
+She sank back in a chair and began to sob hysterically and Wiley looked
+about for the old shotgun. It was far too short, but it had served once
+as a crutch, and in a pinch it must serve him again. Keno was no place
+for him, he saw that very plainly, and it was better to risk the long
+drive across the desert than to stay with this weeping virago. If she
+didn't kill him then she would kill him later, and he was powerless to
+strike back in defense. She would take advantage of every immunity of
+her sex to obtain her own way in the end. He located the gun--it was
+down behind his bed where he had dropped it when they helped him in--but
+as he was fishing it up the door burst open and Virginia stood looking
+at her mother. Behind her appeared Death Valley Charley, his eyes
+blinking fearfully; but at sight of the Widow he ducked around the
+corner while Virginia came resolutely in.
+
+"Oh, mother!" she burst out in a pleading, reproachful voice, "can't you
+see that Wiley is sick? Well, what's the use of creating a scene when
+it's likely to make him worse?"
+
+"I don't care!" wailed the Widow. "I hope he dies. I wish I'd killed
+him--I do!"
+
+"You do not!" returned Virginia, and shook her reprovingly. "I declare,
+I wonder what poor father would think if he heard how we'd treated a
+guest. Now you go back to the house and don't you come out again until
+Mr. Holman sends for you."
+
+"You shut up!" burst out the Widow, pushing her brusquely aside. "I
+guess I know what I'm about. But I'll fool you," she cried, whirling
+about on Wiley as she started towards the door. "I'll sell my stock to
+Blount!"
+
+She paused for the effect but Wiley did not answer and she returned to
+pursue her advantage.
+
+"I know you!" she announced. "You and old Honest John--you're trying to
+steal my mine. But I'm going to fool you, I'm going right down to Vegas
+and sell every share to Blount!"
+
+"Well, go to it," returned Wiley after a long, defiant silence, "and I
+hope you stick him a-plenty!"
+
+"Why, what's the matter?" inquired the Widow, brushing Virginia away
+again and swaggering up to his bed. "I thought you and Blount were good
+friends."
+
+"Yeh, guess again," replied Wiley grimly. "I'll tell him the mine shows
+up fine."
+
+"Well, it does!" she asserted. "The Colonel said it wasn't scratched.
+And didn't you steal that piece of quartz from Virginia? Oh, you gave it
+back, eh? Well, how did it assay? I know you found _something_
+pretty good!"
+
+"How could I give it back, if I'd had it assayed?" asked Wiley with
+compelling calm.
+
+"Well what _did_ you come back for?" demanded the Widow,
+triumphantly. "You must have figured to win somewhere."
+
+"Yes, I did," sighed Wiley, "but I was badly mistaken. All I want now is
+to get out of town."
+
+"Well, how about your father? That offer he made me! Has he backed out
+on that, too?"
+
+"No, he hasn't," answered Wiley, "my father keeps his word. You can get
+your money any time."
+
+"Well, of all the crazy crooked deals," the Widow began to rave, and
+then Wiley grabbed for the shotgun.
+
+"It may be crazy!" he shouted savagely, "but believe me, it isn't
+crooked. My father never did a crooked thing in his life, and you know
+it as well as I do; and if it wasn't that you're such a crook
+yourself----"
+
+"Wiley Holman!" raged the Widow, but he rose up on his crutch and
+shouldered his way out the door.
+
+"You're crazy!" he yelled, "the whole danged town's crazy. All except
+old Charley and me."
+
+He jerked his head and winked at Charley as he hobbled towards the
+street and Death Valley nodded gravely. There was a long, hateful
+silence; then the great motor roared out and the white racer rushed away
+across the desert.
+
+"Well, I don't care!" declared the Widow as she gazed after his dust and
+when the stage went out that day it took a lady passenger to Vegas.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+BETWEEN FRIENDS
+
+
+The madness of the Widow and Old Charley and Stiff Neck George was no
+mystery to Wiley Holman--it was the same form of mania which he
+encountered everywhere when he went to see men who owned mines. If he
+offered them a million for a ten-foot hole they would refuse it and
+demand ten million more, and if he offered them nothing they
+immediately scented a conspiracy to starve them out and gain
+possession of their mine. It was the illusion of hidden wealth, of
+buried treasure, which keeps half the mines in the West closed down
+and half of the rest in litigation; except that in Keno it seemed to
+be associated with gun-plays and a marked tendency towards homicide.
+So, upon his return from a short stay in the hospital he came up the
+main street silently, then stepped on the throttle and went through
+town a-smoking. But the Widow was out waiting for him in the middle of
+the road and, rather than run her down, he threw on both brakes and
+stopped.
+
+"Well, what now?" he inquired, frowning at the odor of heated rubber.
+"What's your particular grievance this trip?" He regarded her coldly,
+then bowed to Virginia and waved a friendly hand at Charley. "Hello,
+there, Death Valley," he called out jovially, as the Widow choked with a
+rush of words, "what's the news from the Funeral Range?"
+
+"Now, here!" exclaimed the Widow, advancing from the dust cloud, and
+glancing into the machine. "I want you to bring back that gun!"
+
+"I'm sorry, Mrs. Huff," he replied with finality, "but you'll have to
+get along without it. I turned it over to the sheriff, along with three
+buckshot and an affidavit regarding the shooting----"
+
+"What, you great, big coward!" stormed the Widow in a fury. "Did you run
+and complain to the sheriff?"
+
+"No, I walked," said Wiley, "and on one leg at that. But I might as well
+warn you that next time you make a gun-play you're likely to break into
+jail."
+
+"You're a coward!" she taunted. "You're standing in with Blount to beat
+me out of my mine. First you sneak off with my gun, so I can't protect
+my rights, and then Stiff Neck George comes up and jumps the Paymaster!"
+
+"The hell!" burst out Wiley, rising up in his seat and looking across at
+the mine.
+
+"Yes, the hell," she returned, "and he's warned off all comers and is
+holding the mine for Blount!"
+
+"For Blount!" he echoed and, seeing him roused at last, the Widow became
+subtly provocative.
+
+"For Samuel J. Blount," she repeated impressively. "He--he's got all my
+stock on a loan."
+
+"Oh!" observed Wiley, and as she raved on with her story he rubbed his
+chin in deep thought.
+
+"Yes, I went down to see him and he wouldn't buy it, so I left it as
+collateral on a loan. And then he came out here and looked over the mine
+again and told Stiff Neck George to stand guard. They're fixing to pump
+out the water."
+
+"Oho!" exclaimed Wiley, and his eyes began to kindle as he realized what
+Blount had done. Then reaching for the pistol that lay handy beside his
+leg, he leapt out with waspish quickness, only to stop short as he hurt
+his lame foot.
+
+"Go on!" hissed the Widow, advancing to his shoulder and pointing the
+way up the trail. "He stays right there by the dump. The mine is yours;
+go put him off--I would, if I had my gun."
+
+"Aw, pfooey!" he exclaimed, suddenly turning back and clamoring into his
+seat. "I've got one game leg already. Let 'im have the doggoned mine."
+
+"What? Are you going to back out? Well, you are a good one--and it
+stands in your name, this minute!"
+
+"Yes, and it isn't worth--that!" he said with conviction, and snapped
+his finger in the air. "He can have it. You can tell Blount, the next
+time you see him, he can buy in that tax title for the costs."
+
+He paused and muttered angrily, gazing off towards the dump where
+crooked-necked George stood guard, and then he hopped out to crank up.
+
+"Want a ride?" he asked, as he saw Virginia watching him and she
+hesitated and shook her head. "Come on," he smiled, casting aside his
+black mood, "let's take a little spin--just down on the desert and back.
+What's going on--getting ready to move?"
+
+He gazed with alarm at a pile of packing boxes that the Widow had
+marshaled on the gallery and then he looked back at Virginia. She was
+attired in a gown that had been very chic in the fall of nineteen ten,
+but, though it was scant for these bouffant days, she was the old
+Virginia still--slim and strong and dainty, and highbred in every line,
+with dark eyes that mirrored passing thoughts. She was the Virginia he
+had played with when Keno was booming and his own sisters had been there
+for company; and now after ten years he remembered the time when he had
+asked her, in vain, for a kiss.
+
+"I've got something to tell you," he said at last and Virginia stepped
+into the racer.
+
+"Virginia!" reminded the Widow, and then at a glance she turned round
+and flung into the house. There were times and occasions when she had
+found it safer not to press her maternal authority too far, and the look
+that she received was first notice from Virginia that such an occasion
+had arrived. The motor began to thunder, Wiley threw in the clutch, and
+with a speed that was startling, they whipped a sudden circle and went
+bubbling away down the road.
+
+It stretched on endlessly, this road across the desert, as straight as a
+surveyor's line, and as they cleared the rough gulches and glided down
+into its immensity Virginia glanced at the desert and sighed.
+
+"Pretty big," he suggested and as she nodded slowly he raised his eyes
+to the hills. "I don't know," he went on, "whether you'll like Los
+Angeles. You'll get lonely for this, sometimes."
+
+"Yes, but not for that"--she jerked a thumb back at Keno--"that place is
+pretty small. What's left, of course; but it seems to me sometimes
+they're all of them lame, halt and blind. Always quarreling and
+backbiting and jumping each other's claims--but--what do you think of
+the Paymaster?"
+
+She shot the question at him and it occurred suddenly to Wiley that
+perhaps she had a programme, too.
+
+"Well, I'll tell you," he began, deftly changing his ground, "I'm in
+Dutch on that, all around. When I came home full of buckshot and the Old
+Man heard about it I got my orders to come back and apologize. Well,
+I'll do that--to you--and you can tell your mother I'm sure sorry I went
+up on that dump."
+
+He grinned and motioned to his injured foot, but Virginia was in no mood
+for a joke.
+
+"That's all right," she said, "and I accept your apology--though I don't
+know exactly what it's for. But I asked your opinion of the Paymaster."
+
+"Oh, yes," he replied and then he began to temporize. "You'd better tell
+me what you want it for, first."
+
+"What? Do you have one opinion for one set of people and another for
+somebody else? I thought!"---- She paused and the hot blood leapt to her
+cheeks as she saw where her temper had led her. "Well," she explained,
+"I've got a few shares of stock."
+
+She said it quietly and the suggestion of scolding gave way to a
+chastened appeal. She remembered--and he sensed it--that winged shaft
+which he had flung back when she had said he was honest, like his
+father. He had told her then she was becoming like her mother, and
+Virginia could never endure that.
+
+"Ah, I see," he answered and went on hurriedly with a new note of
+friendliness in his voice. "Well, I'll tell you, Virginia, if it will be
+any accommodation to you I'll take over that stock myself. But--well, I
+hate to advise you--because--how many shares have you got?"
+
+"Oh, several thousand," she responded casually. "They were given to me
+by father--and by different men that I've helped. Mr. Masters, you know,
+that I took care of for a while, he gave me all he had when he died. But
+I don't want to sell them--I know there's no market, because Blount
+wouldn't give Mother anything--but if he should happen to strike
+something----"
+
+She glanced across at him swiftly but Wiley's face was grim.
+
+"Yes, _him_ find anything!" he jeered. "That fat-headed old tub! He
+knows about as much about mining as a hog does about the precession of
+the equinox. No; miracles may happen but, short of that, he'll never get
+back a cent!"
+
+"No, but Wiley," she protested, "you know as well as I do that the
+Paymaster isn't worked out. Now what's to prevent my stock becoming
+valuable sometime when they open it up?"
+
+"What's to prevent?" he repeated. "Well, I'll tell you what. If Blount
+makes a strike he'll close that mine down and send the company through
+bankruptcy. Then he'll buy the mine back on a judgment and you'll be
+left without a cent."
+
+"But what about you?" she suggested shrewdly. "Will you let him serve
+_you_ like that?"
+
+"Don't you think it!" he answered. "I know him too well--my money is
+somewhere else."
+
+"But if you should buy the mine?"
+
+"Well----" he stirred uneasily and then shot his machine ahead--"I
+haven't bought it yet."
+
+"No, but you offered to, and I don't see why----"
+
+"Do you want to sell your stock?" he asked abruptly and she flushed and
+shook her head. "Well!" he said and without further comment he slowed
+down and swung about.
+
+"Oh, dear," she sighed, as they started back and he turned upon her
+swiftly.
+
+"Do you know why I wouldn't have that mine," he inquired, "if you'd hand
+it to me as a gift? It's because of this everlasting fight. I own it,
+right now, if anybody does, and I've never been down the shaft. Now
+suppose I'd go over there and shoot it out with George and get
+possession of my mine. First Blount would come up with some other hired
+man-killer and I'd have a bout with him; and then your respected
+mother----"
+
+"Now you hush up!" she chided and he closed down his jaw like a
+steel-trap. She watched him covertly, then her eyes began to blink and
+she turned her head away. The desert rushed by them, worlds of waxy
+green creosote bushes and white, gnarly clumps of salt bush; and
+straight ahead, frowning down on the forgotten city, rose the black
+cloud-shadow of Shadow Mountain.
+
+"Oh, turn off here!" she cried, impulsively as they came to a fork in
+the road and, plowing up the sand, he skidded around a curve and
+struck off up the Death Valley road. They came together at the edge of
+the town--the long, straight road to the south, and the road-trail
+that led west into the silence. There were no tracks in it now but the
+flat hoof-prints of burros and the wire-twined wheel-marks of desert
+buckboards; even the road was half obliterated by the swoop of the
+winds which had torn up the hard-packed dirt, yet the going was good
+and as the racer purred on Virginia settled back in her seat.
+
+"I can't believe it," she said at last, "that we're going to leave here,
+forever. This is the road that Father took when he left home that last
+time--have you ever been over into Death Valley? It's a great, big
+sink, all white with salt and borax; and at the upper end, where he went
+across, there are miles and miles of sand-hills. He's buried out there
+somewhere, and the hills have covered him--but oh, it's so awful
+lonesome!"
+
+She turned away again and as her head went down Wiley stared straight
+ahead and blinked. He had known the Colonel and loved him well, and his
+father had loved him, too; but that rift had come between them and until
+it was healed he could never be a friend of Virginia's. She distrusted
+him in everything--in his silence and in his speech, his laughter and
+his anger, in his evasions and when he talked straight--it was better to
+say nothing now. He had intended to help her, to offer her money or any
+assistance he could give; but her heart was turned against him and the
+most he could hope for was to get back to Keno without a quarrel. The
+divide was far ahead, where the road struck the pass and swung over and
+down into the Great Valley; and, glancing up at the sun, he turned
+around slowly and rumbled back into town. Shadow Mountain rose before
+them; it towered above the valley like a brooding image of hate but as
+he smiled farewell at the sad-eyed Virginia something moved him to take
+her hand.
+
+"Good-by," he said, "you'll be gone when I come back. But if you get
+into trouble--let me know."
+
+He gave her hand a squeeze and Virginia looked at him sharply, then she
+let her dark lashes droop.
+
+"I'm in trouble now," she said at last. "What good did it do to tell
+you?"
+
+He winced and shrugged his shoulders, then gazed at her again with a
+challenge in his eyes.
+
+"If you'd trust _me_ more," he said very slowly, "perhaps I'd trust
+_you_ more. What is it you want me to do?"
+
+"I want you to answer me--yes or no. Shall I keep my stock, or sell it?"
+
+"You keep it," he answered, and avoided her eye until she climbed out
+and entered the house.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+THE TIP
+
+
+"Well?" inquired the Widow as her daughter came back from her ride with
+Wiley Holman; but Virginia was not giving out confidences. At last, and
+by a trick, she had surprised the truth from Wiley and he had told her
+to keep her stock. For weeks, for months, he had told her and everybody
+else that the Paymaster was not worth having; but when she had drooped
+her lashes and asked him for his opinion he had told her not to sell.
+Not hesitatingly nor doubtfully, or with any crafty intent; but
+honestly, as a friend, perhaps as a lover--and then he had looked away.
+He knew, of course, how his past actions must appear in the light of
+this later advice; but he had told her the truth and gone. The question
+was: What should she do?
+
+Virginia returned to her room and locked the door while her mother
+stormed around outside and at last she came to a decision. What Wiley
+had told her had been said in strictest confidence and it would not be
+fair to pass it on; but if he advised her not to sell he had a reason
+for his advice, and that reason was not far to find. It was in that
+white stone that he had stolen from her collection, and in the white
+quartz he had gathered from the dump. He claimed, of course, that he had
+not had her specimen assayed; but why, then, had he come back for more?
+And why had he been so careful to tell her and everyone that he would
+not take the Paymaster as a gift? As a matter of fact, he owned it that
+minute by virtue of his delinquent tax-sale, and his goings and comings
+had been nicely timed to enable him to keep track of his property. He
+was shrewd, that was all, but now she could read him; for he had spoken,
+for once, from his heart.
+
+The mail that night bore a sample of white quartz to a custom assayer in
+Vegas, but Virginia guarded her secret well. She had gained it by wiles
+that were not absolutely straight-forward, in that she had squeezed
+Wiley's hand in return, and since by so doing she had compromised with
+her conscience she placated it by withholding the great news. If she
+told her mother she would create a scene with Blount and demand the
+return of her stock; and the secret would get out and everybody would be
+buying stock and Wiley would blame it on her. No, everything must be
+kept dark and she mailed her sample when even the postmistress was gone.
+Perhaps Wiley was right in his extreme subterfuges and in always
+covering up his hand, but she would show him that there were others just
+as smart. She would take a leaf from his book and play a lone hand, too;
+only now, of course, she could not leave town.
+
+"Virginia!" scolded the Widow, when for the hundredth time she had
+discovered her dawdling at her packing. "If you don't get up and come
+and help me this minute I'll unpack and let you go alone."
+
+"Well, let's both unpack," said Virginia thoughtfully, and the Widow sat
+down with a crash.
+
+"I knew it!" she cried. "Ever since that Wiley Holman----"
+
+"Now, you hush up!" returned Virginia, flushing angrily. "You don't know
+what you're talking about!"
+
+"Well, if I don't know I can guess; but I never thought a Huff----"
+
+"Oh, you make me tired!" exclaimed Virginia, spitefully. "I'm staying
+here to watch that mine."
+
+"That--mine!" The Widow repeated it slowly and her eyes opened up big
+with triumph. "Virginia, do you mean to say you got the best of that
+whipper-snapper and----"
+
+"No, nothing of the kind! No! Can't you hear me? Oh, Mother, you'd drive
+a person crazy!"
+
+"I--see!" observed the Widow and stood nodding her head as Virginia went
+on with her protests. "Oh, my Lord!" she burst out, "and I put up all my
+stock for a measly eight hundred dollars! That scoundrelly Blount--I saw
+it in his eye the minute I mentioned my stock! He's tricked me, the
+rascal; but I'll fool him yet--I'll pay him back and get my stock!"
+
+"You'll pay him back? Why, you've spent half the money to redeem your
+jewels and the diamonds!"
+
+"Well, I'll pawn them again. Oh, it makes me wild to think how that
+rascal has tricked me!"
+
+"But, Mother," protested Virginia, "_he_ hasn't done any work yet.
+They haven't made any strike at the mine. Why not let it go until they
+pump out the water and really find some ore? And besides, how could
+Wiley know anything about it? He's never been down the shaft."
+
+"But--why you told me yourself----"
+
+"I never told you anything!" burst out Virginia tearfully. "You just
+jump at everything like a flea. And now you'll tell everybody, and
+Wiley'll say I did it, and----"
+
+"Virginia Huff!" cried her mother, dramatically, "are you in love with
+that--thief?"
+
+"He is not! No, I am not! Oh, I wish you'd quit talking to me--I tell
+you he never told me _anything_!"
+
+"Well, for goodness sake!" exclaimed the Widow pityingly, and stalked
+off to think it over.
+
+"You, Charley!" she exclaimed as she found Death Valley on the gallery
+pretending to nail up a box, "you leave those things alone. Well, that's
+all right; we've changed our minds and now we're going to stay."
+
+"That's good," replied Charley, laying his hammer aside, "I've been
+telling 'em so for days. It's coming everywhere; all the old camps are
+opening up, but Keno will beat them all."
+
+"Yes, that's right," assented the Widow absently, and as she bustled
+away to begin her unpacking, Death Valley looked at Heine and leered.
+
+"Didn't I tell you!" he crowed and, scuttling back to get his
+six-shooter, he went out and began re-locating claims. That was the
+beginning. The real rush came later when the pumps began to throb in
+the Paymaster. A stream of water like a sheet of silver flowed down
+the side of the dump and as if it's touch had brought forth men from
+the desert sands, the old-timers came drifting in. Once more the
+vacant sidewalks resounded to the thud of sturdy hob-nailed boots; and
+along with the locaters came pumpmen and miners to sound the flooded
+depths of the Paymaster.
+
+It was a great mine, a famous mine, the richest in all the West; within
+twenty months it had produced twelve million dollars and the lower
+levels had never been touched. But what was twelve million to what it
+would turn out when they located the hidden ore-body? On its record
+alone the Paymaster was a world-beater, but the ground had barely been
+scratched. Even Samuel Blount, who was cold as a stone and had sold out
+the entire town, even he had caught the contagion; and he was talking
+large on the bank corner when Holman came back through town.
+
+Wiley drove in from the north, his face burned by sun and wind and his
+machine weighed down with sacks of samples, but when he saw the crowd,
+and Blount in the middle of it, he threw on his brakes with a jerk.
+
+"Hello!" he hailed. "What's all the excitement? Has the Paymaster made a
+strike?"
+
+All eyes turned to Blount, who stepped down ponderously and waddled out
+to the auto. He was a very heavy man, with his mouth on one side and a
+mild, deceiving smile; and as he shook hands perfunctorily he glanced
+uneasily at Wiley, for he had heard about the tax-sale.
+
+"Why, no," he replied, "no strike as yet. How's everything with you, Mr.
+Holman?"
+
+"Fine and dandy, I guess," returned Wiley civilly. "Where did all these
+men jump up from?"
+
+"Oh, they just dropped in, or stopped over in passing. Do you still take
+an interest in mines?"
+
+"Well, yes," responded Wiley. "I'm a mining engineer, and so naturally I
+do take quite an interest. And by the way, Mr. Blount, did it ever occur
+to you that the Paymaster has been sold for taxes? Oh, that's all right,
+that's all right; I didn't know whether you'd heard about it--do you
+recognize my title to the mine?"
+
+"Well," began Blount, and then he smiled appeasingly, "I didn't just
+know where to reach you. Of course, according to law, you do hold the
+title; but I suppose you know that the stockholders of the company have
+five years in which to buy back the mine. Yes, that is the law; but I
+thought under the circumstances--the mine lying idle and all--you might
+be willing to waive your strict rights in the interests of, well,
+harmony."
+
+"I get you," answered Wiley, glancing at the staring onlookers, "and
+of course these gentlemen are our witnesses. You acknowledge my title,
+and that every bit of your work is being done on another man's ground;
+but, of course, if you make a strike I won't put any obstacles in your
+way. I'm for harmony, Mr. Blount, as big as a wolf; but there's one
+thing I want to ask you. Did you or did you not employ this Stiff Neck
+George to act as guard on the mine? Because two months ago, after I'd
+bought in the Paymaster for taxes, I went over to inspect the ground
+and Stiff Neck George----"
+
+"Oh, no! Oh dear, no!" protested Blount vigorously. "He was acting for
+himself. I heard about his actions, but I had nothing to do with
+them--I never even knew about it till lately."
+
+"But was he in your employ at the time of the shooting, and did you tell
+him to drive off all comers? Because----"
+
+"No! My dear boy, of course not! But come over to my office; I want to
+talk with you, Wiley."
+
+The banker beamed upon him affectionately and, shaking out a white
+handkerchief, wiped the sudden sweat from his brow; and then Wiley leapt
+to the ground.
+
+"All right," he said, "but let's go and see the mine first."
+
+He strapped on his pistol and waited expectantly and at last Blount
+breathed heavily and assented. Nothing more was said as they went across
+the flat and toiled up the trail to the mine. Wiley walked behind and as
+they mounted to the shaft-house his eyes wandered restlessly about;
+until, at the tool-shed, they suddenly focussed and a half-crouching man
+stepped out. He was tall and gnarly and the point of his chin rested
+stiffly on the slope of his shoulder. It was Stiff Neck George and he
+kept a crook in his elbow as he glanced from Blount to Wiley.
+
+"How's this?" demanded Wiley, putting Blount between him and George,
+"what's this man doing up here?"
+
+"Why, that's George," faltered Blount, "George Norcross, you know. He
+works for me around the mine."
+
+"Oh, he does, eh?" observed Wiley, in the cold tones of an examining
+lawyer. "How long has he been in your employ?"
+
+"Oh, since we opened up--that's all--just temporarily. This gentleman is
+all right, George; you can go."
+
+Stiff Neck George stood silent, his sunken eyes on Wiley, his sunburned
+lips parted in a grin, and then he turned and spat.
+
+"Eh, heh; hiding!" he chuckled and, stung by the taunt, Wiley stepped
+out into the open. His gun was pulled forward, his jaws set hard, and he
+looked the hired man-killer in the eye.
+
+"Don't you think it," he said, "I know you too well. You're afraid to
+fight in the day-time; you dirty, sneaking murderer!"
+
+He waited, poised, but George only laughed silently, though his
+poisonous eyes began to gleam.
+
+"What are you doing on my ground?" demanded Wiley, advancing
+threateningly with his pistol raised. "Don't you know I own this mine?"
+
+"No," snarled Stiff Neck George, coming suddenly to a crouch, "and,
+furthermore, I don't give a damn!"
+
+"Now, now, George," broke in Blount, "let's not have any words. Mr.
+Holman holds the title to this claim."
+
+"Heh--Holman!" mocked George, "Honest John's boy--eh?" He laughed
+insultingly and spat against the wind and Wiley's lip curled up
+scornfully.
+
+"Yes--Honest John," he repeated evenly. "And it's a wonder to me you
+don't take a few lessons and learn to spit clear of your chin."
+
+"You shut up!" snapped George as venomous as a rattlesnake. "Your damned
+old father was a thief!"
+
+"You're a liar!" yelled Wiley and, swinging his pistol like a club, he
+made a rush at the startled gunman. His eyes were flashing with a wild,
+reckless fury and as Stiff Neck George dodged and broke to run he leapt
+in and placed a fierce kick. "Now you git, you old dastard!" he shouted
+hoarsely and as George went down he grabbed him by the trousers and sent
+him sprawling down the dump. Sand, rocks and waste went avalanching
+after him, and a loose boulder thundered in his wake, until, at the
+bottom George scrambled to his feet and stood motionless, looking back.
+His head sank lower as he saw Wiley watching him and he slunk down
+closer to the ground, then with the swiftness of a panther that has
+marked down its prey he turned and skulked away.
+
+"That's bad business, Wiley," protested Blount half-heartedly and Wiley
+nodded assent.
+
+"Yes," he said, "he's dangerous now. I should have killed the dastard."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+A PEACE TALK
+
+
+While his blood was pounding and his heart was high, Wiley Holman went
+down into his mine. He rode down on the bucket, deftly balanced on the
+rim and fending off the wall with one hand, and when he came up he was
+smiling. Not smiling with his lips, but far back in his eyes, like a man
+who has found something good. Perhaps Blount surprised the look before
+it had fled for he beamed upon Wiley benevolently.
+
+"Well, Wiley, my boy," he began confidentially as he drew him off to one
+side, "I'm glad to see you're pleased. The gold is there--I find that
+everyone thinks so--all we need now is a little co-operation. That's all
+we need now--peace. We should lay aside all personal feelings and old
+animosities and join hands to make the Paymaster a success."
+
+"That's right, that's right," agreed Wiley cheerfully, "there's nobody
+believes in peace more than I do. But all the same," he went on almost
+savagely, "you've got to get rid of old George. I'm for peace, you
+understand, but if I find him here again--well, I'll have to take over
+the property. He's nothing but a professional murderer."
+
+"Yes, I know," explained Blount, "he's a dangerous man--but I don't like
+to let an old man starve. He's got a right to live the same as any of
+us, and, since he can't work--well, I gave him a job as watchman."
+
+"Well, all right," grumbled Wiley, "if you want to be charitable; but I
+suppose you know that, under the law, you're responsible for the acts of
+your agents?"
+
+"That's all right, that's all right," burst out Blount impatiently,
+"I'll never hire him again. He refused to obey my orders and----"
+
+"_And_ he tried to kill me!" broke in Wiley angrily, but Blount had
+thrown up both hands.
+
+"Oh, now, Wiley," he protested, "why can't we be reasonable? Why can't
+we get together on this?"
+
+"We can," returned Wiley, "but you've got to show me that you're not
+trying to jump my claim."
+
+"Oh, you know," exclaimed Blount, "as well as I do that a tax sale is
+never binding. The owners of the property are given five years'
+time----"
+
+"It is binding," corrected Wiley, "until the property is bought
+back--and I happen to be holding the deed. Now, here's the point--what
+authority have you got for coming in here and working this property?"
+
+"Well, you may as well know," replied Blount shortly, "that I own a
+majority of the stock."
+
+"Aha!" burst out Wiley. "I was listening for that. So you're the Honest
+John?"
+
+"What do you mean?" demanded Blount and, seeing the anger in his eyes,
+he hastened to head off the storm. "No, now listen to me, Wiley; it's
+not the way you think. I knew your father well, and I always found him
+the soul of honor; but I never liked to say anything, because Colonel
+Huff was my partner, too. So, when this trouble arose, I tried to remain
+neutral, without joining sides with either. It pained me very much to
+have people make remarks reflecting upon the honesty of your father, but
+as the confidant of both it was hardly in good taste for me to give out
+what I knew. So I let the matter go, hoping that time would heal the
+breach; but now that the Colonel is dead----"
+
+"Aha!" breathed Wiley and Blount nodded his head lugubriously.
+
+"Yes," he said, "that is the way it was. Your father was absolutely
+honest."
+
+"Well, but who sold the stock, and then bought it back--and put all the
+blame on my father?"
+
+"I can't tell you," answered Blount. "I never speak evil of the
+dead--but the Colonel was a very poor business man."
+
+"Yes, he was," agreed Wiley, and then, after a silence: "How did it
+happen that you got all his stock?"
+
+"Well, on mortgages and notes; and now as collateral on a loan that I
+made his widow. I own a clean majority of the stock."
+
+"Oh, you do, eh?" observed Wiley and rubbed his jaw thoughtfully while
+Blount looked mildly on. "Well, what are you going to do?"
+
+"Why, I'd like to buy back that tax deed," answered Blount amiably, "and
+get control of my property."
+
+"Oh," said Wiley, and looked down the valley with eyes that squinted
+shrewdly at the sun. "All right," he agreed, "just to show you that I'm
+a sport, I'll give you a quit-claim deed right now for the sum of one
+hundred dollars."
+
+"You will?" challenged Blount, reaching tremulously for his fountain pen
+and then he paused at a thought. "Very well," he said, but as he filled
+out the form he stopped and gazed uneasily at Wiley. Here was a mining
+engineer selling a possessory right to the Paymaster for the sum of one
+hundred dollars; while he, a banker, was spending a hundred dollars a
+day in what had proved so far to be dead work. "Er--I haven't any money
+with me," he suggested at length. "Perhaps--well, perhaps you could
+wait?"
+
+"Sure!" replied Wiley, rising up from where he was seated, "I'll wait
+for anything, except my supper. Where's the best place to eat in town,
+now?"
+
+"Why, at Mrs. Huff's," returned Blount in surprise. "But about this
+quit-claim, perhaps a check would do as well?"
+
+"What, are the Huffs still here?" exclaimed Wiley, starting off. "Why, I
+thought----"
+
+"No, they decided to stay," answered Blount, following after him. "But
+now, Wiley, about this quit-claim?"
+
+"Well, gimme your check! Or keep it, I don't care--I came away without
+my breakfast this morning."
+
+He strode off down the trail and Blount pulled up short and stood gazing
+after him blankly, then he shouted to him frantically and hurried down
+the slope to where Wiley was waiting impatiently.
+
+"Here, just sign this," he panted. "I'll write you out a check. But
+what's the matter, Wiley--didn't the mine show up as expected?"
+
+Wiley muttered unintelligibly as he signed the quit-claim which he
+retained until he had looked over the check. Then he folded up the check
+and kissed it surreptitiously before he stored it away in his
+pocketbook.
+
+"Why, yes," he said, "it shows up fine. I'll see you later, down at the
+house."
+
+Blount sat down suddenly, but as Wiley clattered off he shouted a
+warning after him.
+
+"Oh, Wiley, please don't mention that matter I spoke of!"
+
+"What matter?" yelled back Wiley and at another disquieting thought
+Blount jumped up and came galloping after him.
+
+"The matter of the Colonel," he panted in his ear, "and here's another
+thing, Wiley. You know Mrs. Huff--she's absolutely impossible and--well,
+she's been making me quite a little trouble. Now as a personal favor,
+please don't lend her any money or help her to get back her stock;
+because if you do----"
+
+"I won't!" promised Wiley, holding up his right hand. "But say, don't
+stop me--I'm starving."
+
+He ran down the trail, limping slightly on his game leg, and Blount sat
+down on a rock.
+
+"Well, I'll be bound!" he puffed and gazed at the quit-claim ruefully.
+
+The tables were all set when Wiley re-entered the dining-room from which
+he had retreated once before in such haste, and Virginia was there and
+waiting, though her smile was a trifle uncertain. A great deal of water
+had flowed down the gulch since he had advised her to keep her stock,
+but the assayer at Vegas was worse than negligent--he had not reported
+on the piece of white rock. Therefore she hardly knew, being still in
+the dark as to his motives in giving the advice, whether to greet Wiley
+as her savior or to receive him coldly, as a Judas. If the white quartz
+was full of gold that her father had overlooked--say fine gold, that
+would not show in the pan--then Wiley was indeed her friend; but if the
+quartz was barren and he had purposely deceived her in order to boom his
+own mine--she smiled with her lips and asked him rather faintly if he
+wanted his supper at once.
+
+But if Virginia was still a Huff, remembering past treacheries and
+living in the expectancy of more, the Widow cast aside all petty
+heart-burnings in her joy at the humiliation of Stiff Neck George.
+Leaving Virginia in the kitchen, to fry Wiley's steak, she rushed into
+the dining-room with her eyes ablaze and all but shook his hand.
+
+"Well, well," she exulted, "I'll have to take it back--you certainly did
+boot him good. I said you were a coward but I was watching you through
+my spy-glass and I nearly died a-laughing. You just walked right up to
+him--and you were cursing him scandalous, I could tell by the look on
+your face--and then all at once you made a jump and gave him that awful
+kick. Oh, ho, ho; you know I've always said he looked like a man that
+was watching for a swift kick from behind; and now--after waiting all
+these years--oh, ho ho--you gave him what was coming to him!"
+
+The Widow sat down and held her sides with laughter and Wiley's grim
+features, that had remained set and watchful, slowly relaxed to a
+flattered grin. He had indeed stood up to Stiff Neck George and booted
+him down the dump, so that the score of that night when he had been
+hunted like a rabbit was more than evened up; for George had sneaked up
+on an unarmed man and rolled down boulders from above, but he had
+outfaced him, man to man and gun to gun, and kicked him down the dump to
+boot. Yes, the Widow might well laugh, for it would be many a long day
+before Stiff Neck George heard the last of that affair.
+
+"And old Blount," laughed the Widow, "he was right there and saw it--his
+own hired bully, and all. Say, now Wiley, tell me all about it--what did
+Blount have to say? Did he tell you it was all a mistake? Yes, that's
+what he tells everybody, every time he gets into trouble; but he can't
+make excuses to me. Do you know what he's done? He's tied up all my
+stock as security for eight hundred dollars! What's eight hundred
+dollars--I turned it all in to get the best of my diamonds out of pawn.
+It made me feel so bad, seeing that diamond ring of yours; I just
+couldn't help getting them out. And now I'm flat and he's holding all my
+stock for a miserable little eight hundred dollars!"
+
+She ended up strong, but Wiley sensed a touch and his expressions of
+sympathy were guarded.
+
+"Now, you're a business man," she went on unheedingly. "I'll tell you
+what I'll do--you lend me the money to get back that stock and I'll sell
+it all to your father!"
+
+"To my father!" echoed Wiley and then his face turned grim and he
+laughed at some hidden joke. "Not much," he said, "I like the Old Man
+too much. You'd better sell it back to Blount."
+
+"To Blount? Why, hasn't your father been hounding me for months to get
+his hands on that stock? Well, I'd like to know then what you think
+you're doing? Have you gone back on your promise, or what?"
+
+"I never made any promise," returned Wiley pacifically. "It was my
+father that made the offer."
+
+"Oh, fiddlesticks!" exploded the Widow. "Well, what's the
+difference--you're working hand and glove!"
+
+"Not at all," corrected Wiley, "the Old Man is raising cattle. You can't
+get him to look at a mine."
+
+"Well, he offered to buy my stock!" exclaimed the Widow, badly
+flustered. "I'd like to know what this means?"
+
+"It's no use talking," returned Wiley wearily, "I've told you a thousand
+times. If you send your stock to John Holman at Vegas, he'll give you
+ten cents a share; but _I_ won't give you a cent."
+
+"Do you mean to say," demanded the Widow incredulously, "that you don't
+want that stock?"
+
+"That's it," assented Wiley. "I've just sold my tax title for a hundred
+dollars, to Blount."
+
+"Oh, this will drive me mad!" cried the Widow in a frenzy. "Virginia,
+come in here and help me!"
+
+Virginia came in with the steak slightly scorched and laid his dinner
+before Wiley. Her eyes were rather wild, for she had been listening
+through the doorway, but she turned to her mother inquiringly.
+
+"He says he's sold his tax claim," wailed the Widow in despair, "for one
+hundred dollars--to Blount. And then he turns around and says his father
+will buy my stock for ten cents a share in cash. But he won't lend me
+the money to pay my note to Blount and get my Paymaster stock back."
+
+"That's right," nodded Wiley, "you've got it all straight. Now let's
+quit before we get into a row."
+
+He bent over the steak and, after a meaning look at Virginia, the Widow
+discreetly withdrew.
+
+"We saw you fighting George," ventured Virginia at last as he seemed
+almost to ignore her presence. "Weren't you afraid he'd get mad and
+shoot you?"
+
+"Uh, huh," he grunted, "wasn't I hiding behind Blount? No, I had him
+whipped from the start. Bad conscience, I reckon; these crooks are all
+the same--they're afraid to fight in the open."
+
+"But _your_ conscience is all right, eh?" suggested Virginia
+sarcastically, and he glanced up from under his brows.
+
+"Yes," he said, "we've got 'em there, Virginia. Are you still holding
+onto that stock?"
+
+A swift flood of shame mantled Virginia's brow and then her dark eyes
+flashed fire.
+
+"Yes, I've got it," she said, "but what's the answer when you sell out
+your tax claim to Blount?"
+
+"I wonder," he observed and went on with his eating while she paced
+restlessly to and fro.
+
+"You told me to hold it," she burst out accusingly, "and then you turn
+around and sell!"
+
+"Well, why don't _you_ sell?" he suggested innocently, and she paused
+and bit her lip. Yes, why not? Why, because there were no buyers--except
+Wiley Holman and his father! The knowledge of her impotence almost
+drove her on to further madness, but another voice bade her beware.
+He had given her his advice, which was not to sell, and--oh, that
+accursed assayer! If she had his report she could flaunt it in his
+face or--she caught her breath and smiled.
+
+"No," she said, "you told me not to!"
+
+And Wiley smiled back and patted her hand.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+THE BEST HEAD IN TOWN
+
+
+What was Wiley Holman up to? Virginia paced the floor in a very
+unloverlike mood; and at last she sat down and wrote a scathing letter
+to the assayer, demanding her assay at once. She also enclosed one
+dollar in advance to test the sample for gold and silver and then, as an
+afterthought, she enclosed another bill and told him to test it for
+copper, lead, and zinc. There was something in that rock--she knew it
+just as well as she knew that Wiley was in love with her, and this was
+no time to pinch dollars. For ten years and more they had stuck there in
+Keno, waiting and waiting for something to happen, but now things had
+come to such a pass that it was better to know even the worst. For if
+the mine was barren and Wiley, after all, was only trying in his dumb
+way to help, then she must pocket her pride and sell him her stock and
+go away and hide her head. But if the white quartz was rich--well, that
+would be different; there would be several things to explain.
+
+Yet, if the quartz was barren, why did Wiley offer to buy her stock, and
+if it was rich, why did he sell his tax deed? And if his father stood
+ready to pay ten cents a share for two hundred thousand shares of stock
+why did Wiley refuse to redeem her mother's holdings for a petty eight
+hundred dollars? He must have the money, for his diamond ring alone was
+worth well over a thousand dollars; and he had tried repeatedly to get
+possession of this same stock which he now refused to accept as a gift.
+Virginia thought it over until her head was in a whirl and at last she
+stamped her foot. The assay would tell, and if he had been trying to
+cheat her--she drew her lips to a thin, hard line and looked more than
+ever like her mother.
+
+The work at the Paymaster went on intermittently, but Blount's early
+zest was lacking. For eight, yes, ten years he had waited patiently
+for the moment when he should get control of the mine; but now that he
+held it, without let or hindrance, somehow his enthusiasm flagged.
+Perhaps it was the fact that the timbering was expensive and that his
+gropings for the lost ore body came to nothing; but in the back of his
+mind Blount's growing distrust dated from the day he had bought
+Wiley's quit-claim. Wiley had come to the mine full of fury and
+aggressiveness, as his combat with Stiff Neck George clearly showed;
+but after he had gone down and inspected the workings he had sold out
+for one hundred dollars. And Wiley Holman was a mining engineer, with
+a name for Yankee shrewdness--he must have had a reason.
+
+Blount recalled his men from the drifts where they had been working and
+set them to crosscutting for the vein. It was too expensive, restoring
+all the square-sets and clearing out the fallen rock; and he had learned
+to his sorrow that Colonel Huff had blown up every heading with
+dynamite. In that tangle of shattered timbers and caved-in walls the
+miners made practically no progress, for the ground was treacherous and
+ten years under water had left the wood soft and slippery. To be sure
+the hidden chute lay at the breast of some such drift; but to clear them
+all out, with his limited equipment and no regular engineer in charge,
+would run up a staggering account. So Blount began to crosscut, and to
+sink along the contact, but chiefly to cut down expenses.
+
+With the railroad that had tapped the camp torn up and hauled away,
+every foot of timber, every stick of powder, cost twice as much as it
+ought. And then there was machinery, and gas and oil for the engine, and
+valves and spare parts for the pumps, and the board of the men, and
+overhead expenses--and not a single dollar coming in. Blount sat up late
+in his office, adding total to total, and at the end he leaned back
+aghast. At the very inside it was costing him two hundred dollars for
+every day that he operated the mine. And what was it turning back?
+Nothing. The mine had been gutted of every pound of ore that it would
+pay to sack and ship, and unless something was done to locate the lost
+ore body and give some guarantee of future values, well, the Paymaster
+would have to shut down. Blount considered it soberly, as a business man
+should, and then he sent for Wiley Holman.
+
+There were others, of course, to whom he might appeal; but he sent for
+Wiley first. He was a mining engineer, he had had his eye on the
+property and--well, he probably knew something about the lost vein. So
+he sent a wire, and then a man; and at last Holman, M. E., arrived. He
+came under protest, for he had been showing a mine of his own to some
+four-buckle experts from the east, and when Blount made his appeal he
+snorted.
+
+"Well, for the love of Miguel!" he exclaimed, starting up. "Do you think
+I'm going to help you for nothing? I'm a mining engineer, and the least
+it will cost you is five hundred dollars for a report. No, I don't think
+anything; and I don't know anything; and I won't take your mine on
+shares. I'm through--do you get me? I sold out my entire interest for
+one hundred dollars, cash. That puts me ahead of the game, up to date;
+and while I'm lucky I'll quit."
+
+He stamped out of the office--Blount having moved into the bank building
+where he had formerly officiated as president--and made a break for his
+machine; but other eyes had marked his arrival in town and Death Valley
+Charley button-holed him.
+
+"Say," he said, "do you want something good--an option on ten
+first-class claims? Well, come with me; I'll make you an offer that
+you can't hardly, possibly refuse."
+
+He led Wiley up an alley, then whisked him around corners and back to
+his house behind the Widow's.
+
+"Now, listen," he went on, when Wiley was in a chair and he had
+carefully fastened the door, "I'm going to show you something good."
+
+He reached under his bed and brought out ten sacks of samples which he
+spread, one by one, on the table.
+
+"Now, you see?" he said. "It's all that white quartz that you was after
+on the Paymaster dump. I followed the outcrop, on an extension of the
+Paymaster, and I took up ten, good, opened claims."
+
+"Umm," murmured Wiley, and examined each sample with a careful,
+appraising eye. "Yes, pretty good, Charley; I suppose you guarantee the
+title? Well, how much do you want for your claims?"
+
+"Oh, whatever you say," answered Charley modestly, "but I want two
+hundred dollars down."
+
+"And about a million apiece, I suppose, for the claims? It doesn't cost
+_me_ anything, you know, on an option."
+
+"Eh, heh, heh," laughed Charley indulgently and Heine, who had been
+looking from face to face, jumped up and barked with delight. "Eh, heh;
+yes, that's good; but you know me, Mr. Holman--I ain't so crazy as they
+think. No, I don't talk millions with my mouth full of beans; all I want
+is five hundred apiece. But I got to have two hundred down."
+
+"Oh," observed Wiley, "that's two dollars for the marriage license and
+the rest for the wedding journey. Well, if it's as serious as that----"
+He reached for his check-book and Charley cackled with merriment.
+
+"Yes, yes," he said, "then I _would_ be crazy. Do you know what the
+Colonel told me?
+
+"'Charley,' he says, 'whatever you do, don't marry no talking woman.
+She'll drive you crazy, the same as I am; but don't you forget that
+whiskey.'"
+
+"Oh, sure," exclaimed Wiley, beginning to write out the option, "this
+money is to buy whiskey for the Colonel!"
+
+"That's it," answered Charley. "He's over across Death Valley--in the
+Ube-Hebes--but I can't find my burros. They--Heine, come here, sir!"
+Heine came up cringing and Charley slapped him soundly. "Shut up!" he
+commanded and as Heine crept away Death Valley began to mutter to
+himself. "No, of course not; he's dead," he ended ineffectively, and
+Wiley looked up from his writing.
+
+"Who's dead?" he inquired, but Charley shook his head and listened
+through the wall.
+
+"Look out," he said, "I can hear her coming--jest give me that two
+hundred now."
+
+"Well, here's twenty," replied Wiley, passing over the money, and then
+there came a knock at the door.
+
+"Come in!" called out Charley and, as he motioned Wiley to be silent,
+Virginia appeared in the doorway.
+
+"Oh!" she cried, "I didn't know you were here!" But something in the way
+she fixed her eyes on him convinced Wiley that she had known, all the
+same.
+
+"Just a matter of business," he explained with a flourish, "I'm
+considering an option on some of Charley's claims."
+
+"Jest my bum claims!" mumbled Charley as Virginia glanced at him
+reprovingly. "Jest them ten up north of the Paymaster."
+
+"Oh," she said and drew back towards the door, "well, don't let me break
+up a trade."
+
+"You'd better sign as a witness," spoke up Wiley imperturbably, and she
+stepped over and looked at the paper.
+
+"What? All ten of those claims for five hundred apiece? Why, Charley,
+they may be worth millions!"
+
+"Well, put it down five million, then," suggested Wiley, grimly. "How
+much do you want for them, Charley?"
+
+"Five hundred dollars apiece," answered Charley promptly, "but they's
+got to be two hundred down."
+
+"Well?" inquired Wiley as Virginia still regarded him suspiciously, and
+then he beckoned her outside. "Say, what's the matter?" he asked
+reproachfully. "Let the old boy make his touch--he wants that two
+hundred for grub."
+
+"He does not!" she spat back. "I'm ashamed of you, Wiley Holman; taking
+advantage of a crazy man like that!"
+
+"Well, I don't know," he began in a slow, drawling tone that cut her to
+the quick, "he may not be as crazy as you think. I've just been offered
+a half interest in the Paymaster if I'll come out and take charge of
+it."
+
+"You _have_!" she cried, starting back and staring as he regarded
+her with steely eyes. "Well, are you going to take it?"
+
+"I don't know," he answered. "Thought I'd better see you first--it might
+be taking advantage of Blount."
+
+"Of Blount!" she echoed and then she saw his smile and realized that he
+was making fun of her.
+
+"Yes," went on Wiley, whose feelings had been ruffled, "he may be crazy,
+too. He sure was looking the part."
+
+"Now don't you laugh at me!" she burst out hotly. "This isn't as funny
+as you think. What's going to happen to us if you take over that mine? I
+declare, you've been standing in with Blount!"
+
+"I knew it," he mocked. "You catch me every time. But what about Charley
+here--does he get his money or not?" He turned to Death Valley, who was
+standing in the doorway watching their quarrel with startled eyes. "I
+guess you're right, Charley," he added, smiling wryly. "It must be
+something in the air."
+
+"Are you going to take that offer," demanded Virginia, wrathfully, "and
+rob me and mother of our mine?"
+
+"Oh, no," he answered, "I turned it down cold. I knew you wouldn't
+approve."
+
+"You knew nothing of the kind!" she came back sharply, the angry tears
+starting in her eyes. "And I don't believe he ever made it."
+
+"Well, ask him," suggested Wiley, and went back into the house,
+whereupon Death Valley closed the door.
+
+"Yes," whispered Charley, "it's in the air--there's electricity
+everywhere. But what about that option?"
+
+Wiley sat at the table, his eyes big with anger, his jaw set hard
+against the pain, and then he reached for his pen.
+
+"All right, Charley," he said, "but don't you let 'em kid you--you've
+got the best business head in town."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+A TOUCH
+
+
+The wrath of a man who is slow to anger cannot lightly be turned aside
+and, though Virginia drooped her lashes, the son of Honest John brushed
+past her without a word. She had followed him gratuitously to Death
+Valley's cabin and seriously questioned his good faith; and then, to fan
+the flames of his just resentment, she had suggested that he was telling
+an untruth. He had told her--and it seemed impossible--that Blount had
+offered him half the Paymaster, on shares; but the following morning,
+without a word of warning, the Paymaster Mine shut down. The pumps
+stopped abruptly, all the tools were removed, and as the foreman and
+miners who had been their boarders rolled up their beds and prepared to
+depart, the high-headed Virginia buried her face in her hands and
+retired to her bedroom to weep. And then to cap it all that miserable
+assayer sent in his belated report.
+
+"Gold--a trace. Silver--blank. Copper--blank. Lead--blank. Zinc--blank."
+
+The heavy white quartz which Wiley had made so much of was as barren as
+the dirt in the street. It had absolutely no value and--oh, wretched
+thought--he had offered to buy her stock out of charity! Out of the
+bigness of his heart--and then she had insulted him and accused him of
+robbing Death Valley Charley! In the light of this new day Death Valley
+was a magnate, with his check for two hundred dollars, and Virginia and
+her mother must either starve on in silence or accept the bounty of the
+Holmans. It was maddening, unbelievable--and to think what he had
+suffered from her, before he had finally gone off in a rage. But how
+sarcastic he had been when she had accused him of robbing Charley, and
+of standing in with Blount! He had said things then which no woman could
+forgive; no, not even if she were in the wrong. He had led her on to
+make unconsidered statements, smiling provokingly all the time; and
+then, when she had doubted that Blount had offered him the mine, he had
+said, "Well, ask him!" and shut the door in her face! And now, without
+asking, the question had been answered, for Blount had closed down the
+mine in despair and gone back to his bank in Vegas.
+
+The Paymaster was dead, and Keno was dead; and their eight hundred
+dollars was gone. All the profits from the miners which they had counted
+upon so confidently had disappeared in a single day; and now her mother
+would have to pawn her diamonds again in order to get out of town.
+Virginia paced up and down, debating the situation and seeking some
+possible escape, but every door was closed. She could not appeal to
+Wiley, for she knew her stock was worthless, and her hold on his
+sympathies was broken. He was a Yankee and cold, and his anger was
+cold--the kind that will not burn itself out. When he had loved her it
+was different; there was a spark of human kindness to which she could
+always appeal; but now he was as cold and passionless as a statue; with
+his jaws shut down like iron. She gave up and went out to see Charley.
+
+Death Valley was celebrating his sudden rise to affluence by a resort to
+the flowing bowl and when Virginia stepped in she found all three
+phonographs running and a two-gallon demijohn on the table. Death Valley
+himself was reposing in an armchair with one leg wrapped up in a white
+bandage and as she stopped the grinding phonographs and made a grab for
+the demijohn he held up two fingers reprovingly.
+
+"I'm snake-bit," he croaked. "Don't take away my medicine. Do you want
+your Uncle Charley to die?"
+
+"Why, Charley!" she cried, "you know you aren't snake-bit! The
+rattlesnakes are all holed up now."
+
+"Yes--holed up," he nodded; "that's how I got snake-bit. It was fourteen
+years ago, this month. Didn't you ever hear of my snake-mine--it was one
+of the marvels of Arizona--a two-foot stratum of snakes. I used to hook
+'em out as fast as I needed them and try out the oil to cure rheumatism;
+but one day I dropped one and he bit me on the leg, and it's been bad
+that same month ever since. Would you like to see the bite? There's the
+pattern of a diamond-back just as plain as anything, so I know it must
+have been a rattler."
+
+He reached resolutely for the demijohn and took a hearty drink whereat
+Virginia sat down with a sigh.
+
+"I'll tell you something," went on Charley confidentially. "Do you know
+why a snake shakes its tail? It's generating electricity to shoot in the
+pisen, and the longer a rattlesnake rattles----"
+
+"Oh, now, Charley," she begged, "can't you see I'm in trouble? Well,
+stop drinking and listen to what I say. You can help me a lot, if you
+will."
+
+"Who--me?" demanded Charley, and then he roused himself up and motioned
+for a dipper of water. "Well, all right," he said, "I hate to kill this
+whiskey----" He drank in great gulps and made a wry face as he rose up
+and looked around.
+
+"Where's Heine?" he demanded. "Here Heine, Heine!"
+
+"You drove him under the house," answered Virginia petulantly, "playing
+all three phonographs at once. Really, it's awful, Charley, and you'd
+better look out or mother will give you the bounce."
+
+"Scolding women--talking women," mused Charley drunkenly. "Well; what do
+you want me to do?"
+
+"I'm _not_ scolding!" denied Virginia, and then as he leered at her
+she gave way weakly to tears. "Well, I can't help it," she wailed, "she
+scolds me all the time and--she simply drives me to it."
+
+"They'll drive you crazy," murmured Charley philosophically. "There's
+nothing to do but hide out. But I must save the rest of that whiskey for
+the Colonel."
+
+He reached for the demijohn and corked it stoutly, after which he turned
+to Virginia.
+
+"Do you want some money?" he asked more kindly, bringing forth his roll
+as he spoke. "Well here, Virginny, there's one hundred dollars--it's
+nothing to your Uncle Charley. No, I got plenty more; and I'm going up
+the Ube-Hebes just as soon as I find my burros. They must be over to
+Cottonwood--there's lots of sand over there and Jinny, she's hell for
+rolling. No, take the money; I got it from Wiley Holman and he's got
+plenty more."
+
+He dropped it in her lap, but she jumped up hastily and put it back in
+his hands.
+
+"No, not that money," she said, "but listen to me, Charley; here's what
+I want you to do. I've got some stock in the Paymaster Mine that Wiley
+was trying to buy; but now--oh, you saw how he treated me yesterday--he
+wouldn't take it, if he knew. But Charley, you take it; and the next
+time you see him--well, try to get ten cents a share. We want to go
+away, Charley; because the mine is closed down and----"
+
+"Yes, yes, Virginny," spoke up Death Valley, soothingly, "I'll get you
+the money, right away."
+
+"But don't you tell him!" she warned in a panic, "because----"
+
+"You ought to be ashamed," said Charley reprovingly and went out to hunt
+up his burros. Virginia lingered about, looking off across the desert at
+the road down which Wiley had sped, and at last she bowed her head.
+Those last words of Charley's still rang in her ears and when, towards
+evening, he started off down the road she watched him out of sight.
+
+It was a long, dry road, this highway to Vegas, but twenty miles out, at
+Government Wells, there was water, and a good place to camp. Charley
+stopped there that night, and for three days more, until at last in the
+distance he saw Wiley's white racer at the tip of a streamer of dust. He
+went by like the wind but when he spied Charley he slowed down and
+backed up to his camp.
+
+"Hel-lo there, Old Timer," he hailed in surprise, "what are you doing,
+away out here?"
+
+"Oh, rambling around," responded Charley airily, waving his hand at the
+world at large. "It's good for man to be alone, away from them scolding
+women."
+
+The shadow of a smile passed over Wiley's bronzed face and then he
+became suddenly grim.
+
+"Bum scripture, Charley," he said, nodding shortly, "but you may be
+right, at that. What's the excitement around beautiful Keno?"
+
+"I don't know," lied Charley. "Ain't been in town since you was there,
+but she was sure booming, then. Say, I've got some stock in that
+Paymaster Mine that I might let you have, for cash. I'm burnt out on the
+town--they's too many people in it--I'm going back to the Ube-Hebes."
+
+"Well, take me along, then," suggested Wiley, "and we'll bring back a
+car-load of that gold. Maybe then I could buy your stock."
+
+"No, you buy it now," went on Charley insistently. "I'm broke and I need
+the money."
+
+"Oh, you do, eh?" jested Wiley. "Still thinking about that wedding trip?
+Well, I may need that money myself."
+
+"Eh, heh, heh," laughed Charley, and drawing forth a package he began to
+untie the strings. "Eh, heh; yes, that's right; I've been watching you
+young folks for some time. But I'll sell you this stock of mine cheap."
+
+He unrolled a cloth and flashed the certificates hopefully, but Wiley
+did not even look at them.
+
+"Nope," he said, "no Paymaster for me. I wouldn't accent that stock as a
+gift."
+
+"But it's rich!" protested Charley, his eyes beginning to get wild.
+"It's full of silver and gold. I can feel the electricity when I walk
+over the property--there's millions and millions, right there!"
+
+"Oh, there is, eh?" observed Wiley, and, snatching away the
+certificates, he ran them rapidly over. "Where'd you get these?" he
+asked, and Death Valley blinked, though he looked him straight in the
+eyes.
+
+"Why, I--bought 'em," he faltered, "and--the Colonel gave me some.
+And----"
+
+"How much do you want for them?" snapped Wiley, and Charley blinked
+again.
+
+"Ten cents a share," he answered, and Wiley's stern face hardened.
+
+"You take these back," he said, "and tell her I don't want 'em."
+
+"Who--Virginny?" inquired Death Valley, and then he kicked his leg and
+looked around for Heine.
+
+"Now, here," spoke up Wiley, "don't go to slapping that dog. How much do
+you want for the bunch?"
+
+"Four hundred dollars!" barked Charley, and stood watchful and expectant
+as Wiley sat deep in thought.
+
+"All right," he said, and as he wrote out the check Death Valley
+chuckled and leered at Heine.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+THE EXPERT
+
+
+Like the way of an eagle in the air or the way of a man with a maid, the
+ways of a mining promoter must be shrouded in mystery and doubt. For
+when he wants to buy, no man will sell; and when he wants to sell, no
+man will buy; and when he will neither buy nor sell he is generally
+suspected of both. Wiley Holman had two fights and a charge of buckshot
+to prove that he wanted the Paymaster, and the fact that he had refused
+a half interest for nothing to prove that he did not want it. Also he
+had sold his tax-title to the property for the sum of one hundred
+dollars. What then did it signify when he bought Virginia's despised
+stock for four hundred dollars, cash down? The man who could answer that
+could explain the way of a man with a maid.
+
+Samuel J. Blount made the claim--and he had his pile to prove it--that
+he could think a little closer than most men. A little closer, and a
+little farther; but the Paymaster had been his downfall. He had played
+the long game to get possession of the mine, only to find he had bought
+a white elephant. Every day that he held it he had thrown good money
+after bad and he sent out a search party for Wiley Holman. Wiley had
+refused half the mine, but that only proved that half of the mine did
+not appeal to him--perhaps he would take it all. Samuel J. had been a
+student for a good many years in the school of predatory business and he
+had learned the rules of the game. He knew that the buyer always decried
+the goods and magnified each tiny defect, whereas the seller by as
+natural a process played up every virtue to the limit. But any man who
+inspected the goods was a potential buyer of the same, and Wiley had
+shown more than a passing interest in the fate of the unlucky Paymaster.
+And Wiley was a mining engineer.
+
+They met in the glassed-in office of Blount in the ornate Bank of Vegas
+and for a half an hour or more Wiley sat tipped back in his chair while
+Blount talked of everything in general. It was a way he had, never to
+approach anything directly; but Wiley favored more direct methods.
+
+"I understood," he remarked, bringing his chair down with a bang, "that
+you wanted to see me on business?"
+
+"Yes, yes, Wiley," soothed Blount, "now please don't rush off--I wanted
+to see you about the Paymaster."
+
+"Well, shoot," returned Wiley, "but don't ask my advice, unless you're
+ready to pay for it."
+
+He tipped back his chair and sat waiting patiently while Blount
+unraveled his thoughts. He could think closer than most men, but not
+quicker, and the Paymaster was a tangled affair.
+
+"I have been told," he began at last, "that you are still buying
+Paymaster stock. Or at least--well, a check of yours came through here
+endorsed by Death Valley Charley, and Virginia Huff. Oh, yes, yes;
+that's your business, of course; but here's the point I'm coming to; it
+won't do you any good to buy in that stock because I've got a majority
+of it right here in my vault. If you want to control the Paymaster,
+don't go to someone else--I'm the man you want to see."
+
+He tapped himself on the breast and smiled impressively, and Wiley
+nodded his head.
+
+"All right," he said imperturbably, "when I want the Paymaster Mine I'll
+know right where to go."
+
+"Yes, you come to me," went on Blount after a minute, "and I'll do the
+best I can." He paused expectantly, but Wiley did not speak, so he went
+on blandly, as before. "The stock, of course, is nonassessable and the
+taxes are very small. I intend from now on to keep them paid up, so
+there will be no further tax sales. The stock of Mrs. Huff, which I now
+hold as collateral security, is practically mine already, as she has
+defaulted on her first month's interest and is preparing to leave the
+state. Of course, there is the stock which your father is holding--as I
+calculate, something over two hundred thousand shares--and what little
+remains outside; but if you are interested in the mine I am the man to
+talk to, so what would you like to propose?"
+
+"Well," began Wiley, and then he stopped and seemed to be lost in
+thought. "I'll tell you," he said, "I was interested in the Paymaster--I
+believe there's something there; but I've got some other propositions
+that I can handle a little easier, so if you don't mind we'll wait a
+while."
+
+"No, but Wiley," protested Blount as his man rose up to go, "now just
+sit down; I'm not quite through. Now I know just as well as you do that
+you take a great interest in that mine. Your troubles with Mrs. Huff and
+Stiff Neck George prove conclusively that such is the case; and I am
+convinced that, either from your father or some other source, you have
+valuable inside information. Now I must admit that I'm not a mining man
+and my management was not a success; but with your technical education
+and all the rest, I am convinced that the results would be different.
+No, there's no use denying it, because I know myself that you've been
+buying up Paymaster stock."
+
+"Sure," agreed Wiley, "I bought four hundred dollars worth. That would
+break the Bank of Vegas. But you've got lots of money--why don't you
+hire a competent mining man and go after that lost ore-body yourself?"
+
+"I may do that," replied Blount easily, "but in the meantime why not
+make me a reasonable offer, or take the mine on shares?"
+
+"If the Paymaster," observed Wiley, "was the only mine in the world, I'd
+make you a proposition in a minute. But a man in my position doesn't
+have to buy his mines, and I never work anything on shares."
+
+"Well, now Wiley, I've got another proposition, which you may or may not
+approve; but there's no harm, I hope, if I mention it. You know there's
+been a difference between me and your father since--well, since the
+Paymaster shut down. I respect him very much and have nothing but the
+kindliest feelings towards him but he--well, you know how it is. But I
+have been informed, Wiley, that since Colonel Huff's death, your father
+has been bidding for his stock. In fact, I have seen a letter written to
+Mrs. Huff in which he offers her ten cents a share. Now, of course, if
+you want to gain control of the company, I'm willing to do what's right;
+and so, after thinking it over, I have come to the conclusion that I
+will accept that offer now."
+
+"Umm," responded Wiley, squinting his eyes down shrewdly, "how much
+would that come to, in all?"
+
+"Well, twenty-one thousand, eight hundred dollars, for what I received
+from Mrs. Huff; but of course--well, he'd have to buy a little more of
+me in order to get positive control."
+
+"How much more?" asked Wiley, but Blount's crooked mouth pulled down in
+a crafty smile.
+
+"We can discuss that later," he suggested mildly. "Do you think he will
+buy the stock?"
+
+"Not if he takes my advice," answered Wiley coldly. "I can buy the whole
+block for eight hundred."
+
+"How?"
+
+"Why, by loaning Mrs. Huff the eight hundred dollars with which to take
+up her note."
+
+"I doubt it," replied Blount, and his mild, deceiving eyes took on the
+faintest shadow of a threat. "Mrs. Huff has defaulted on her first
+month's interest and, according to the terms of her note, the collateral
+automatically passes to me."
+
+"Well, keep it, then," burst out Wiley, "and I hope to God you get stuck
+for every cent. Your old mine isn't worth a dam'!"
+
+"Why--Wiley!" gasped Blount, quite shaken for the moment by this
+disastrous piece of news, "what reason have you for thinking that?"
+
+"Give me a hundred dollars as an advising expert and I'll tell you--and
+show you, too."
+
+"No, I hardly think so," answered Blount at last. "And, Wiley, you don't
+think so, either."
+
+"No?" challenged Wiley. "Well, you just watch my smoke and see whether I
+do or not."
+
+He had closed the door before Blount dragged him back like a haggling,
+relentless pawn-broker.
+
+"Make me a proposition," he clamored desperately, "and if it's anywhere
+in reason I'll accept it."
+
+"All right," answered Wiley, "but show me what you've got--I don't buy
+any cat in a bag."
+
+"And will you make me an offer?" demanded Blount hopefully. "Will you
+take the whole thing off my hands?"
+
+"I will if it's good--but you'll have to show me first that you've got a
+controlling share of the stock. And another thing, Mr. Blount, since our
+time is equally valuable, let's cut out this four-flushing stuff. If I'd
+wanted your mine so awfully bad I'd have held on to it when the title
+was mine; but I turned it back to you, just to let you look it over, and
+to keep the peace for once. But now, if you're satisfied, I might look
+it over; but it'll be under a bond and lease. The parties I represent
+are strictly business, and we make it a rule to tie everything up tight
+before we put out a cent. I'll want an option on every share you have,
+and I can't offer more than ten per cent royalty; but to compensate for
+that I'll agree to pay in full or vacate within six months from date."
+
+"But how much?" demanded Blount, brushing aside all the details, "how
+much will you pay me a share?"
+
+"I'll pay you," stated Wiley, "what I paid Death Valley Charley, and
+that's five cents a share."
+
+"Five cents!" shrilled Blount, rising up in protest, yet jumping at the
+price like a trout, "five cents--why, that's practically nothing!"
+
+"Just five cents more than nothing," observed Wiley judicially and
+waited for Blount to rave.
+
+"But your father," suggested Blount with a knowing leer, "is in the
+market at ten."
+
+"No, not in the market. He offered that to the Widow, but now the deal
+is off, because all of her stock has changed hands."
+
+"Well, the stock is the same," suggested Blount insinuatingly. "Give me
+seven and a half and split the profits."
+
+"Now don't be a crook," rapped out Wiley angrily. "Just because you
+would rob your own father doesn't by any means prove that I will."
+
+"Well, you certainly implied," protested Blount with injured innocence,
+"that this stock was to be sold to your father. And if it is worth that
+to him, why is it worth less to you? You must be working together."
+
+"No, we're not," declared Wiley. "I'm in on this alone, and have been,
+from the start. And just to set your mind at rest--he didn't make that
+offer because he wanted the stock, but to kind of help out the Widow."
+
+"Ah," smiled Blount, and nodded his head wisely, but there was a playful
+light in his eyes.
+
+"Yes--ah!" flashed back Wiley, "and if you think you're so danged smart
+I'll let you keep your old mine a few months."
+
+He started for the door again but Blount dragged him back and laid a
+metal box on the table.
+
+"Well, let's get down to business," he said with quick decision, and
+spread a heap of papers before his eyes. "There are all my Paymaster
+shares, and if you'll take them off my hands you can have them for six
+cents, cash."
+
+"I said five," returned Wiley, as he ran through the papers, "and an
+option to buy in six months. But this stock of the Widow's--I can't take
+that at any price--the Colonel isn't legally dead."
+
+"What?" yelled Blount, and sat down in a chair while he stared at the
+inscrutable Wiley.
+
+"His body was never found and, under the law, he can't be declared dead
+for seven years. Mrs. Huff had no right to sell his stock."
+
+"Oh, but he's dead, Wiley," assured Blount. "Surely there's no doubt of
+that. They found his burro, and his letters and everything; and where he
+had run wild through the sand. If that storm hadn't come up they would
+certainly have found his body--the Indian trailers said so; so why stick
+on a technicality?"
+
+"That's the law," said Wiley. "You know it yourself. But of course, if
+you want to vote this stock at a Directors' meeting we can still do
+business on that lease."
+
+"Oh, my Lord!" sighed Blount, and after a heavy silence he rose up and
+paced the floor. As for Wiley, he ran through the papers, making notes
+of dates and numbers, and then grimly began to fill out a legal blank.
+
+"There's the option," he said, passing over a paper, "and I see now how
+you double-crossed my father. So you don't need to sign unless you want
+to."
+
+"Why--er--what's that?" exclaimed Blount, coming out of his abstraction
+as Wiley slapped down the bundle of certificates.
+
+"I see by these endorsements," replied Wiley, "that you sold out before
+the panic and bought in all this stock afterwards."
+
+Blount started and a red line mounted up to his eyes as he hastily
+glanced over the option.
+
+"Well, I'll sign it," he mumbled, and reached for the pen, but Wiley
+checked his hand.
+
+"No, you ring for a notary," he said. "I want that signature
+acknowledged."
+
+The notary came and ran perfunctorily through his formula, after which
+he left them alone.
+
+"Now here's the bond and lease," went on Wiley curtly, "so bring on your
+Board of Directors and let's get this business over. By rights I ought
+to kill you."
+
+There was a special meeting then of the Board of Directors of The
+Paymaster Mining and Milling Company, and when the bond and lease was
+properly drawn up, they signed it and had it witnessed. Then once more
+the tense silence came over the room and Wiley rose to go.
+
+"Well," he said, "I've been waiting for ten years just to get these
+papers in my hands. And now, you danged crook, just to hit you where you
+live, I'm going to make a fortune."
+
+"A fortune!" echoed Blount, and then he clasped his hands and sank
+down weakly in a chair. "I knew it!" he moaned, "I knew it all the
+time--you've been trying to get that mine for months. But what is it,
+Wiley? Have you located the lost vein? Oh, I knew it; all the time!"
+
+"Yes, you did," jeered Wiley, "you didn't know anything, except how to
+grab hold of the stock. What good was it to you after you'd got the old
+mine--you didn't know what to do with it! All you knew was how to rob
+the widow and the orphan and deprive better men of their good name. You
+wait till I tell my Old Man about this--and how you were selling him
+out, all the time. If it wasn't for you he'd never been called Honest
+John by a bunch of these tin-horns and crooks. But I'll show you who's
+honest--I'm going to skin you alive for what you did to my father. You
+wait till I make my clean-up!"
+
+"But what is it, Wiley?" cried Blount, despairingly. "Have you really
+discovered the lost vein?"
+
+"No," grinned Wiley, "but I've consulted an expert and he tells me the
+mine is worth millions!"
+
+"What--millions?" burst out Blount, struggling up to his feet. "Now
+here, Wiley Holman; I want that option back! You secured it by fraud and
+misrepresentation and by concealment of the actual facts. I'll have the
+law on you--I'll break the contract--you came here with intent to
+defraud!"
+
+"Don't you think it!" returned Wiley, thrusting out his lip. "You
+thought you were trimming me, like taking candy from a baby. Why didn't
+_you_ get an expert? I offered to hire out to you, myself!"
+
+"Oh--hell!" choked Blount. "Well, tell me the worst--where was it he
+told you to dig?"
+
+"Why right down the shaft," answered Wiley blandly. "He's a new kind of
+mining expert and he locates the gold by electricity."
+
+"By electricity!" exclaimed Blount, and as he perceived Wiley's smile he
+straightened up in a rage. "I don't believe a word of it. Who is this
+man, anyway? I never heard of such a thing before!"
+
+"Oh, yes!" said Wiley, as he stepped out the door, "you know the
+professor well. They call him Death Valley Charley."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+A SACK OF CATS
+
+
+The weary work of packing had gone on endlessly in the bare rooms of the
+old Huff house and now Virginia, with two kittens in her arms and the
+mother cat following behind, was passing it all in review. A solid row
+of packing boxes, arrayed on the front gallery, awaited the motor truck;
+and here and there in corners lay piles of discarded treasures that were
+destined to go to Charley for loot. He was hanging about, with his
+pistol well in front, on the watch for Stiff Neck George; but up to that
+moment the Widow had not said the word that would start the mad rush for
+plunder. Her trunks were all packed, the china nested in barrels and the
+bedding sewed up in burlap; but still from day to day she put off the
+evil moment, and Virginia did not try to hurry her. The house had been
+their home for ten years and more and, though Los Angeles would be fine
+with its palm trees and bungalows, it was a strange land, far away. And
+what would they do in that city of strange faces and hustling, eager
+real-estate agents? It was that which held the Widow back.
+
+In the city there would be rent and water to pay for, and electric
+lights and wood; but in desolate Keno rent and water and wood were free,
+and the electric light company had taken down its poles. If the town
+were not so dead--if they could only make a living,--the Widow started
+up for the thousandth time, for she heard a racing auto down the street.
+It was Wiley Holman, as sure as shooting, and--well, Wiley was not so
+bad. It was his money, really, that had enabled them to pack up, and
+would enable them to go, when they started; and the Widow knew, as well
+as she knew anything, that he had designs upon the mine. He was after
+the Paymaster, and if he ever got hold of it--well, Keno would come back
+to its own. She rushed to the door and looked out into the street; and
+when she met Virginia, running away from meeting Wiley, she caught her
+and whirled her about.
+
+"Now you go back there," she hissed in her ear, "and I want you to be
+nice to him--he may have come back about the mine."
+
+Virginia went out the door and, as Wiley Holman saw her standing there,
+he leapt out and came up the steps.
+
+"Well, well," he said, "just in time to say good-by. And I wanted to see
+you, too." He smiled down at her boyishly and Virginia's eyes turned
+gentle as he took both her hands in his. "I've got some news to tell
+you," he burst out eagerly; "not news that will buy you anything but
+something to remember when you're gone."
+
+He led her to a box and, taking one of the kittens, sat down with his
+back to the door. Then he rose up hastily at a sudden rustle from behind
+and glanced inquiringly at Virginia.
+
+"It's just mother," she said and at the mention of her name Mrs. Huff
+came boldly out.
+
+"Why, good morning, Wiley," she said, smiling over-sweetly. "Seems to me
+you're awful early."
+
+"Yes," answered Wiley, trying vainly to seem polite, "I just stopped off
+to say good-by!"
+
+He offered her his hand, but the Widow ignored the hint and took the
+conversation to herself.
+
+"Well, I'm real glad you came," she went on sociably, "because I wanted
+to see you on a matter of business. In fact, I've been kind of waiting,
+on the chance that you might come through. Oh, I know that I don't
+count, but you can see Virginia afterwards; and I wanted to consult you
+about my stock. Yes, I know," she hastened on, as his face turned grim,
+"I haven't treated you fairly at all. I should have taken your offer,
+when you said you'd give ten cents for every share of stock that I had.
+But I took them to that Blount and he gave me next to nothing, and now
+he's holding the stock. But what I wanted to ask was: Isn't there some
+way we can arrange it to get it back and sell it to your father?"
+
+"No, I don't think so," answered Wiley, putting down the kitten,
+"and--well, I guess I'd better go."
+
+He rose up reluctantly, but the Widow would not hear to it and Virginia
+beckoned him to stay.
+
+"Well, now listen," persisted the Widow. "That stock certainly must be
+worth something."
+
+"Not to you," returned Wiley. "I saw Blount only yesterday and he says
+it belongs to him."
+
+"Well, it does not!" declared the Widow, but as no one contradicted her,
+she took a different tack. "Are you coming back?" she asked, smiling
+brightly. "Are you going to open up the mine?"
+
+Wiley's face fell for a moment.
+
+"What gave you that idea?" he inquired bluffly, but the Widow pointed a
+finger and laughed roguishly.
+
+"I knew it," she cried. "I've known it for months--and I wish you the
+best of good luck."
+
+"Oh, you do, eh?" grunted Wiley, and stood undecided as Mrs. Huff
+continued her assurances. He had come there to see Virginia, but
+business was business and the Widow seemed almost reasonable. "Huh,
+that's funny," he said at last. "I thought you had it in for me. What's
+the chance for getting a quit-claim?"
+
+"A quit-claim!" echoed the Widow, suddenly pricking up her ears. "Why,
+what do you want that for, now?"
+
+"Well, you're going away," explained Wiley quietly, "and it might come
+in handy, later, if I should want to take over the mine. Of course
+you've got no title--and no stock, for that matter--but I'll give you a
+hundred dollars, all the same."
+
+"I'll take it!" snapped the Widow and Wiley broke out laughing as he
+reached for his fountain pen.
+
+"Zingo!" he grinned and then he bit his lip, for the Widow was quick to
+take offence. "Of course," he went on, "this doesn't affect your stock
+if you should ever get it back from Blount. That is still your property,
+according to law, and this quit-claim just guarantees me free entry and
+possession. We'll get Virginia to witness the agreement."
+
+"All right," bridled the Widow and watched him cynically as he wrote out
+the quit-claim and check. "Oh! Actually!" she mocked as he put the check
+in her hands. "I just wanted to see if you were bluffing."
+
+"Well, you know now," he answered and sat in stony silence until she
+departed with a triumphant smirk. Then he glanced at Virginia and
+motioned towards the street, but she sighed and shook her head.
+
+"No," she said, "I can't leave the house--mother is likely to start any
+time, now."
+
+"I suppose you'll be glad to go," he suggested at last as she sat down
+and gathered up the kittens. "The old town is sure awful dead."
+
+"Yes--I guess so," she agreed half-heartedly. "You'd think so, but we
+don't seem to go."
+
+"Is there anything I can do for you?" he inquired after a silence. "You
+know what I told you once, Virginia."
+
+"Yes, I know," she answered bitterly, "but--Oh, I'm ashamed to let you
+help me, after the way I acted up about Charley."
+
+"Well, forget it," he said at length. "I guess I get kind of ugly when
+anyone doubts my good faith. It's on account of my father, and calling
+him Honest John--but say, I forgot to tell the news!"
+
+Virginia looked up inquiringly and he beckoned her into the corner where
+no one could overhear his words.
+
+"Blount sent for me yesterday--trying to sell me the mine," he whispered
+in her ear, "and I made him show me his stock. And when I looked on the
+back of his promotion certificates--the ones he got for promoting the
+mine--I found by the endorsements that he'd sold every one of them
+before or during the panic. Do you see? They were street certificates,
+passing from hand to hand without going to the company for transfer, but
+every broker that handled them had written down his name as a memorandum
+of the date and sale. Don't you see what he did--he set your father
+against my father, and my father against yours, and all the time, like
+the crook he is, he was selling them both out for a profit. I could have
+killed him, the old dog, only I thought it would hurt him more to
+whipsaw him out of his mine; but listen now, Virginia, don't you think
+we can be friends--because my father never robbed anybody of a cent! He
+thought more of the Colonel than he did of me; and I've started out,
+even if it is a little late, to prove that he was on the square."
+
+He stopped abruptly, for in his rush of words he had failed to note the
+anger in her eyes, until now she turned and faced him.
+
+"Oho!" she said, "so that's your idea--you're going to whipsaw Blount
+out of his mine?"
+
+"If I can!" hedged Wiley. "But for the Lord's sake, Virginia, don't tell
+what I said to your mother! It won't make any difference, because she's
+given me a quit-claim--but what's the use of having any trouble?"
+
+"Yes, sure enough!" murmured Virginia, with cutting sarcasm. "She might
+even demand her rights!"
+
+"Well, maybe you _like_ to fight!" burst out Wiley angrily, "and if
+you do, all right--hop to it! But I'll tell you one thing; if you can't
+be reasonable, I can be just as bullheaded as anybody!"
+
+"Yes, you can," she agreed and then she sighed wearily, and waved it all
+away with one hand. "Well, all right," she said, "I'm so sick and tired
+of it that I certainly don't want any more. And since I've taken your
+money, as you know very well, I'm going to go away and give you peace."
+
+Her eyes blinked fast, to hold back the tears, and once more the son of
+Honest John weakened.
+
+"No, I don't want you to go away," he answered gently, "but--isn't there
+something I can do before you go? I have to fight my way, you know that
+yourself, Virginia; but don't let that keep us from being friends. I'm a
+mining engineer, and I can't tell you all my plans, because that sure
+would put me out of business; but why can't you trust me, and then I'll
+trust you and--what is it you've got on your mind?"
+
+He reached for her hand but she drew it away and sat quiet, looking up
+the street.
+
+"You wouldn't understand," she said with a sigh. "You're always thinking
+about money and mines. But a woman is different--I suppose you'll laugh
+at me, but I'm worried about my cats."
+
+"About your cats!" he echoed, and she smiled up at him wistfully and
+then looked down at the kittens in her lap.
+
+"Yes," she said, "you know they were left to me when the people moved
+out of town, and now I've got eight of them and I just know that old
+Charley----"
+
+"He'll starve 'em to death," broke in Wiley, instantly. "I know the old
+tarrier well. You give 'em to me, Virginia, and I swear I'll take care
+of 'em just the same as I would of--you."
+
+"Oh," smiled Virginia, and then she gave him her hand and the old hatred
+died out in her eyes. "That's good of you, Wiley, and I certainly
+appreciate it; because no one would trust them with Charley. I'm going
+to take the two kittens, but you can have the rest of them and--you can
+write to me about them, sometimes."
+
+"Every week," answered Wiley. "I'll take 'em back to the ranch and the
+girls will look after them when I'm gone. We'll have to put them in
+sacks, but that will be better----"
+
+"Yes, that's better than starving," assented Virginia absently, and
+Wiley rose suddenly to go. There was something indefinable that stood
+between them, and no effort of his could break it down. He shook hands
+perfunctorily and started down the gallery and then abruptly he turned
+and swung back.
+
+"Here," he said, throwing her stock down before her, "I told you to hold
+onto that, once."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+THE EXPLOSION
+
+
+There are moments when his great secret rises to every man's lips and
+flutters to wing away; but a thought, a glance, a word said or unsaid,
+turns it back and he holds it more closely. Wiley Holman had a secret
+which might have changed Virginia's life and filled every day with joy
+and hope, but he shut down his lips and held it back and spoke kind
+words instead. There was a look in her eyes, a brooding glow of
+resentment when he spoke of his father and hers; and, while he spoke
+from the heart, she drooped her dark lashes and was silent beyond her
+wont. He gave her much but she gave him little--and the reason she was
+sorry to leave Keno was the parting with six suffering cats.
+
+There were girls that he knew who would have gone the limit and said
+something about missing Wiley Holman. So he gave her back her stock and
+put the cats in sacks and burnt up the road to the ranch. The next day
+the news came that he had bonded the Paymaster, but Wiley was far away.
+He caught the Limited and went speeding east, and then he came back,
+headed west; and finally he left Vegas followed by four lumbering auto
+trucks loaded down with freight and men. The time had come when he must
+put his fortunes to the test and Keno awaited him, anxiously.
+
+A cold, dusty wind raved down through the pass, driving even old Charley
+to shelter; but as the procession moved in across the desert the city of
+lost hopes came to life. Old grudges were forgotten, the dead past was
+thrust aside, and they lined up to bid him welcome--Death Valley Charley
+and Heine, Mrs. Huff and Virginia, and the last of ten thousand brave
+men. For nine years they had lived on, firm in their faith in the mighty
+Paymaster; and now again, for the hundredth time, the old hope rose up
+in their breasts. The town was theirs, they had seen it grow from
+nothing to a city of brick and stone, and they loved its ruins still.
+All it needed was some industry to put blood into its veins and it would
+thrill with energy and life. Even the Widow forgot her envy and her
+anger at his deception and greeted Wiley Holman with a smile.
+
+"Well--hello!" he hailed when he saw her in the crowd. "I thought you
+were going away."
+
+"Not much!" she returned. "Bring your men in to dinner. I'm having my
+dishes unpacked!"
+
+"Umm--good!" responded Wiley and, shrugging his shoulders, he led the
+way on to the mine. There were other faces that he would as soon have
+seen as the Widow's fighting mien, and he had brought his own cook
+along; but Mrs. Huff was a lady and as such it was her privilege to
+claim her woman's place in the kitchen. The town was part hers and the
+restaurant was her livelihood; and then, of course, there was Virginia.
+Having bidden her good-by, and taken care of her cats, he had reconciled
+himself to her loss, but not even the smile in her welcoming dark eyes
+could make him quite forget the Widow. She was an uncertain quantity,
+like a stick of frozen dynamite that will explode if it is thawed too
+soon; and there was a bombshell to come which gave more than even
+promise of producing spontaneous combustion. So Wiley sighed as he fired
+his cook, and told his men that they would board with the Widow.
+
+The first dinner was not so much, consisting largely of ham and eggs
+with the chickens out on a strike; but there was plenty of canned stuff
+and the Widow promised wonders when she got all her boxes unpacked. Yet
+with all her work before her and the dishes unwashed, she followed the
+crowd to the mine. That was the day of days, from which Keno would date
+time if Wiley made his promise good; and every man in town, and woman
+and child, went over to watch them begin. Up the old, abandoned road the
+auto trucks crept and crawled, and the shed and the houses that had been
+prepared by Blount now gave shelter to his hated successor. Only one man
+was absent and he sat on the hill-top, looking down like a lonely
+coyote. It was Stiff Neck George, that specter at the feast, the
+harbinger of evil to come; but as Wiley ordered the empty trucks to back
+up against the dump he glanced at the hill-top and smiled.
+
+"We'll take back a load of tungsten," he announced to the drivers and
+the crowd of onlookers stared.
+
+"Just load on that white stuff," he explained to the muckers and there
+was a general rush for the dump.
+
+"What did you say that stuff was?" inquired Death Valley Charley, after
+a hasty look at his specimen; and Keno awaited the answer, breathless.
+
+"Why, that's scheelite, Charley," replied Wiley confidentially, "and it
+runs about sixty per cent tungsten. It comes in pretty handy to harden
+those big guns that you hear shooting over in France."
+
+"Oh, tungsten," muttered Charley, blinking wisely at the rock while
+everyone else grabbed a sample. "Er--what do you say they use it for?"
+
+"Why, to harden high-speed steel for guns and turning-tools--haven't you
+read all about it in the papers?"
+
+"How much did you say it was worth?" asked the Widow cautiously, and
+Wiley knew that the bombshell was ignited.
+
+"Well, that's a question," he began, "that I can answer better when I
+get a report on this ore. It's all mixed up with quartz and ought to be
+milled, by rights, before I even ship it; but since the trucks are going
+back--well, if it turns out the way I calculate it might bring me forty
+dollars a unit."
+
+"A unit!" repeated the Widow, her voice low and measured. "Well, I'd
+just like to know how much a unit is?"
+
+"A hundredth of the standard of measure--in this case a ton of ore. That
+would come to twenty pounds."
+
+"Twenty pounds! What, of this stuff? And worth forty dollars! Well,
+somebody must be crazy!"
+
+"Yes, they're crazy for it," answered Wiley, "but it's just a temporary
+rage, brought on by the European war. The market is likely to break any
+time."
+
+"Why--tungsten!" murmured the Widow. "Who ever heard of such a thing?
+And it's been lying here idle all the time."
+
+"How much would that be a ton?" piped up someone in the crowd, and Mrs.
+Huff put her head to one side.
+
+"Let's see," she said, "forty dollars a unit--that's one hundredth of
+a ton. Oh, pshaw, it can't be that. Let's see, twenty pounds at forty
+dollars--that's two dollars a pound; and two thousand pounds,
+that's--oh, I don't believe it! I never even heard of tungsten!"
+
+"No, it's a new metal," replied Wiley ever so softly, "or rather, it's
+an acid. The technical magazines are full of articles that tell you all
+about it. It's found in wolframite, and hubnerite and so on; but this is
+calcium tungstate, where it is found in connection with lime. The others
+are combined variously with iron or manganese----"
+
+"Yes, manganese," broke in Charley importantly. "I know that well--and
+wolfite and all the rest. It certainly is wonderful how they build them
+big cannons that will shoot for twenty-two miles. But it's tungsden that
+does it, tungsden in connection with electricity and the invisible rays
+of raddium."
+
+"Oh, shut up!" burst out the Widow, thrusting him rudely aside and
+seizing a fresh handful of the rock. "I just can't hardly believe it."
+She gazed at the glossy fragments and then at the muckers, industriously
+loading the trucks; and then she cocked her head on one side.
+
+"Let's see--two times twenty--that's forty dollars a ton. No--four
+hundred! Why, no--four thousand!" She stopped short and made a hurried
+re-calculation, while a murmur ran through the crowd, and then Death
+Valley Charley gave a whoop.
+
+"Four thousand!" he shouted. "I told ye! I knowed it! I claimed she was
+rich, all the time!"
+
+"You did not!" snapped the Widow, putting her hand under his jaw and
+forcibly stifling his whoops. "You poor, crazy fool, you knew nothing of
+the kind--you sold out for five thousand dollars!" She pushed him away
+with a swift, disdainful shove that sent him reeling through the crowd
+and then she whirled on Wiley. "And I suppose," she accused, "that you
+knew all the time that this dump here was nothing but tungsten?"
+
+"Well, I had a good idea," he admitted deprecatingly, "although it's yet
+to be tested out. This is just a sample shipment----"
+
+"Yes, a sample shipment; and at two dollars a pound how much will it
+bring you in? Why, nothing, hardly; a mere bagatelle for a gentleman and
+a scholar like you; but what about me and poor Virginia, slaving around
+to cook your meals? What do we get for all our pains? Oh, I could kill
+you, you scoundrel! You knew it all the time, and yet you let me sell
+those shares!"
+
+She choked and Wiley shifted uneasily on the ore-pile, for of course he
+had done just that. To be sure he had urged her to sell them to his
+father for the sum of ten cents a share; but the mention of that fact,
+in her heated condition, would probably gain him nothing with the Widow.
+She was gasping for breath and, if nothing intervened, he was in for the
+scolding of his life. But it was all in the day's work and he glanced
+about for Virginia, to seek comfort from her smiling eyes. She would
+understand now why he had given her back her stock, and advised her from
+the start not to sell; but--he looked again, for her dark orbs were
+blazing and her lips were moving as with threats.
+
+"You knew it all the time!" screamed the Widow in a frenzy, but Wiley
+barely heard her. He heard her words, for they assaulted his ears in a
+series of screeching crescendos, but it was the unspoken message from
+the lips of Virginia that cut him to the quick. He had expected nothing
+else from the abusive Widow; but certainly, after all the kindnesses he
+had done her, he was entitled to something better from Virginia. Not
+only had he warned her to hold on to her stock, at a time when one word
+might ruin him; but he had bought it from Charley and then given it
+back, to show how he valued her friendship. And yet now, while the
+others were shouting with joy or rushing to stake out more claims, she
+stood by the Widow and with cruel, voiceless words added her burden to
+this pæan of hate. And she looked just like her mother!
+
+"You shut up, you old cat!" he burst out fiercely, as the Widow rushed
+in to assault him. "Shut your mouth and get off my ground!" He drew back
+his palm to launch a swift blow and then his hand fell slack. "Well,
+holler then," he said, "what do I give a dam' whether you like the deal
+or not? You'd be yammering, just the same. But it's lucky for you you're
+a woman."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+THE GOD OF TEN PER CENT
+
+
+It was the nature of the Widow to resort to violence in every crisis of
+her life and at each fresh memory of the effrontery of Wiley Holman she
+searched the empyrean for words. From the very start he had come to Keno
+with the intention of stealing her mine. First it was his father, who
+pitied her so much he was willing to buy her shares; then it was the tax
+sale, and he had sneaked in at night and tried to jump the Paymaster;
+then he had deceived her and stood in with Blount to make her sell all
+her stock for a song; and then, oh hateful thought, he had actually sold
+out to Blount for a hundred dollars, cash; only to put Blount in the
+hole and buy the mine back again for the price of the ore on the dump!
+
+The Widow poured forth her charges without pausing for breath or
+noticing that her audience had fled, and as Wiley went on about his
+business she raised her voice to a scream. The rest of the Kenoites, and
+some of the workmen, were out staking the nearby hills; but whenever she
+stopped she thought of some fresh duplicity which made reason totter on
+its throne. He had refused half the mine from Blount as a gift and then
+turned around and bought it all. He had refused to buy her shares, time
+and again, when he knew they were worth a million; and then, to cap the
+climax, he had let her sell to Blount and bought them for nothing from
+him. And even Death Valley Charley--poor, crazy, brain-sick Charley--he
+had robbed him of all ten of his claims!
+
+It was a damning arraignment, and Wiley's men listened grimly, but he
+only twisted his lip and nodded his head ironically. With one eye on his
+accuser, who was becoming hysterical, he hustled the ore into the empty
+trucks and started them off down the road; and then, as Virginia led her
+mother away, he re-engaged his cook. They had supper that night in the
+old, abandoned cook-house; and, so wonderfully do great minds work, that
+a complete bill of grub was discovered among the freight. Not only flour
+and beans and canned goods and potatoes, but baking powder and matches
+and salt; and the cook observed privately that you'd think Mr. Holman
+had intended to make camp all the time. It is thus that foresight leaps
+ahead into the future and robs life of half its ills; and the Widow
+Huff, still unpacking plates and saucers, was untroubled by clamorous
+guests. She had had her say and, as far as Wiley was concerned, there
+were no more favors to be expected.
+
+Yet the Widow was wise in the ways of mining camps and she prepared to
+feed a horde--and the next day they came, by automobile and
+motor-truck, until every table was filled. The rush was on, for
+four-thousand dollar ore will bring men from the ends of the world.
+Before the sun had set in the red glow of a sandstorm the desert was
+staked for miles. From the chimneys of old houses, long abandoned to
+the rats, rose the smokes of many fires and the rush and whine of
+passing automobiles told of races to distant grounds. All the old
+mines in the district, and of neighboring districts where the precious
+"heavy spar" occurred, were re-located--or jumped, as the case might
+be--and held to await future developments. The first thing was to
+stake. They could prospect the ground later. Tungsten now was king.
+Men who had never heard the name, or pronounced it haltingly, now
+spoke learnedly of tungsten tests; and he was a poor prospector indeed
+who lacked his bottle of hydrochloric acid and his test-tubes and
+strip of shiny tin. They swarmed about the base of the old Paymaster
+dump like bees around a broken pot of honey and when, pounded up and
+boiled in the hydrochloric acid, the solution bit the tin and turned
+bright blue, there was many a hearty curse at the fickle hand of
+fortune which had led Wiley Holman to that treasure.
+
+It had lain there for years, trampled down beneath their feet. Now this
+kid, this mining-school prospector, had come back and grabbed it all.
+Not only the Paymaster with its tons of mined ore, but the ten claims to
+the north, all showing good scheelite, which Death Valley Charley had
+located--he had held them down as well. Two hundred dollars down and a
+carefully worded option had tied them up for five thousand dollars, and
+there were tungsten-mad men in that crowd of boomers who would have
+given fifty thousand apiece. They came up to the mine where Wiley was
+working and waved their money in his face, and then went off grumbling
+as he refused all offers and went busily about his work. So they came,
+and went, until at last the great wave brought Samuel J. Blount himself.
+
+He came up the trail smiling, for there was nothing to be gained by
+making belated complaints; but when he saw the pile of precious white
+rock the smile died away in spite of him. It was the boast of Blount
+that, buying or selling, he always held out his ten per cent; but that
+pile of ore had cost him dear and he had sold it out for next to
+nothing. And it was his other boast that he could read men's hearts when
+they came to buy or sell, but here was a young man who had seen him
+coming twice and gained the advantage both times. So the smile grew
+longer in spite of his best efforts and when at last he found Wiley
+Holman in the office of the company it was perilously near a sulk.
+
+"Well, good morning, Wiley," he began with unction, and then he looked
+grievously about. The expensive gas engine which he had bought and
+installed was already unwatering the mine; spare timbers were going
+down, the new blacksmith-shop was running and Wiley was sitting at his
+desk. Everything was there, just the way he had left it, except that it
+belonged to Wiley. Blount heaved a heavy sigh and then set his features
+resolutely, for the battle was not over yet. To be sure the mine was
+bonded for a measly fifty thousand dollars, and his stock was tied up
+under an option; but many things can happen in six months' time and
+Wiley was only a boy. Granted that he was a miner and understood ore,
+there is such a thing as an "Act of God." Cables break without reason,
+mines cave and timbers fall; and certainly if there is a God of Ten Per
+Cent his just wrath would be visited upon Wiley. Blount knew that great
+god and worshipped him continually and he felt certain that something
+would happen, for when boys out of college take money away from bank
+presidents it comes dangerously close to sacrilege.
+
+"Well, well," murmured Blount, "quite a change, quite a change. Are you
+sure that stuff is tungsten, Wiley?"
+
+"Yes," responded Wiley, affecting a becoming modesty to cover up his
+youthful smirk. "Would you like to see it tested?"
+
+"Very much," answered Blount, and followed after him to the assay
+office, which Wiley had hurriedly fitted up. Wiley took a piece of
+scheelite and pounded it in a mortar until it was fine as flour, then
+dropped it into a test-tube and boiled it over a flame in a solution of
+hydrochloric and nitric acids.
+
+"Now," he said, when the tungstic acid had been dissolved, and he had
+dropped a small bar of tin into the solution. It turned a dark blue and
+Blount sighed again, for he had looked up the test in advance. "If it
+turns blue," a prospector had told him, "like the color of me overalls,
+then, sure as hell, it's tungsten."
+
+"Well, well," commented Blount, gazing mildly about, for great men do
+not stop to repine, "and what do you use these big scales for?"
+
+"That's for the quantitative test," explained Wiley importantly. "By
+weighing the sample first and extracting the tungsten we get the
+percentage, when it's been filtered and dried and weighed again, of the
+tungstic acid in the ore. But it's quite an elaborate process."
+
+"Yes, yes," assented Blount, still managing to smile pleasantly. "Rather
+out of my line, I guess. What per cent do your samples average?"
+
+"Oh, between sixty and seventy when I pick my specimens. I'm rigging up
+a jigger to separate the ore until I can get capital to start up the
+mill. It ought to be milled, by rights, and only the concentrates
+shipped; but while I'm getting started----"
+
+"Oh, draw on me--any time," broke in Blount, smiling radiantly. "I'd be
+only too glad to accommodate you. That's my business, you know; loaning
+out money on good security, and you're good up to fifty thousand
+dollars."
+
+"Do you mean it?" demanded Wiley after a startled silence, and Blount
+slapped him heartily on the back.
+
+"Just try me," he said. "I've been looking up the market and tungsten is
+simply booming. It's quoted at forty-five for sixty per cent
+concentrates, and you must have tons and tons on the dump."
+
+"Yes, lots of it," admitted Wiley, "and say, now that you mention it, I
+believe I'll take you up. I need a little money to install some
+machinery and get the old mill to running. How about ten thousand
+dollars?"
+
+"Why--all right," assented Blount, after a moment's thought. "Of course
+you'll give some security?"
+
+"Oh, sure," agreed Wiley. "My option on the mine--I suppose that's what
+you're after?"
+
+Blount blinked for a moment, for such plain speaking was surprising
+from one as shrewd as Wiley, but he summoned up his smile and nodded.
+"Why--why, yes, that's all right. Say one per cent a month--payable
+monthly--those are our ordinary short-time terms."
+
+"Suits me," said Wiley. "But no cut-throat clauses--none of this Widow
+Huff line of stuff. If I forget to pay my interest that doesn't make the
+principal due and the security forfeit and so on, world without end."
+
+"Oh, no; no, certainly," cried Blount with alacrity. "We'll make it a
+flat loan, if you like, and endeavor to treat you right. Of course
+you'll start a checking account and----"
+
+"No," said Wiley, "if I borrow the money I'll take it out of your bank
+and put it in another, right away. I never let friendship interfere with
+business or warp my business judgment."
+
+"Yes, but Wiley," protested Blount, "what difference does it make? Isn't
+my bank perfectly safe and sound?"
+
+"Undoubtedly," returned Wiley, "but--do you happen to remember a little
+check for four hundred dollars? It was made out by me in favor of Death
+Valley Charley and they cashed it through your bank--Virginia Huff, you
+know--in payment for Paymaster stock. Well, if you're going to keep
+track of my business like that----"
+
+"Oh, no, no," exclaimed Blount, suddenly remembering the means by which
+he had detected Wiley's purchase of Virginia's stock, "you misunderstand
+me, entirely. If you want to wait a few days for the money you are
+welcome to put it anywhere."
+
+"Well, hold on," began Wiley. "Now maybe I'd better go to the other
+bank----"
+
+"Oh, no, no, no," protested Blount, "I wouldn't hear of it. I'll write
+you the check, this minute. On your personal note--that's good enough
+for me. You can put up the collateral later."
+
+"Well, let's think this over," objected Wiley cannily. "I don't like to
+put up that option for security. That bond and lease is worth half a
+million dollars and----"
+
+"Just give me your note," broke in Blount hurriedly, "and hurry up--here
+comes Mrs. Huff."
+
+"All right," cried Wiley, and scribbled out the note while Blount was
+writing the check.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+A SHOW-DOWN WITH THE WIDOW
+
+
+If the benevolent Samuel Blount could have seen Wiley Holman's monthly
+statement from that mysterious "other bank" he would have crushed him
+with one blow of his ready, financial club and gone off with both
+bond-and-lease and option. But the pure, serene fire in those first
+water diamonds which graced the ring on Wiley's hand--that dazzled
+Samuel J. Blount as it had dazzled the Widow and many a store-keeper
+in Vegas. For it is hardly to be expected that a man with such a ring
+will have a bank account limited to three figures, any more than it is
+expected that a man with so little capital will be sitting in a game
+with millionaires. But Wiley was sitting in, holding his cards well
+against his chest, and already he had won ten thousand dollars. Which
+is one of the reasons why all mining promoters wear diamonds--and
+poker faces as well.
+
+Yet Blount was playing a game which had once won him a million dollars
+from just such plungers as Wiley, and if he also smiled as he tucked
+away the note it was not without excuse. There had been a time when this
+boy's father had sat in the game with Blount and now he was engaged in
+raising cattle on a ranch far back in the hills. And Colonel Huff, that
+prince of royal plungers, had surrendered at last to the bank. It was
+twelve per cent, compounded monthly, with demand, protest and notice
+waived, which had brought about this miracle of wealth; and since it is
+well known that history repeats itself, Mr. Blount could see Wiley's
+finish. The thing to do first was to regain his confidence and get him
+into his power and then, at the first sign of financial embarrassment,
+to call his notes and freeze him out. Such were the intentions of the
+benevolent Mr. Blount--if the Widow Huff did not kill him.
+
+She came toiling up the trail, followed by Virginia and Death Valley
+Charley and a crowd of curious citizens; and as they awaited the shock,
+Blount shuddered and smiled nervously, for he knew that she would demand
+back her stock. Wiley shuddered too, but instead of smiling he clenched
+his jaws like a vise; and as the Widow entered he signaled a waiting
+guard, who followed in close behind her. She halted before his desk, one
+hand on her hip the other on the butt of a six-shooter, and glanced
+insolently from one to the other.
+
+"Aha!" she exclaimed, "so you're talking it over,--how to take advantage
+of a poor widow! But I want to tell you now, and I don't care who knows
+it, I've been imposed upon long enough. Here you sit in your office,
+both of you worth up into the millions, and discuss the division of your
+spoils; while the daughter and the widow of the man that found this mine
+are slaving away in a restaurant."
+
+"Yes, I'm sorry, Mrs. Huff," interposed Blount, smiling gently. "We were
+just discussing your case. But it often happens that the best of us err
+in judgment, and in this case I've been caught worse than you were. Yes,
+I must admit that when I first heard about this tungsten and realized
+that I had sold out for nothing, I was moved for the moment to resent
+it; but under the circumstances----"
+
+"Aw, what are you talking about?" demanded the Widow scornfully. "Don't
+you think I can see through your game? You pretend to be enemies until
+you get hold of my stock and then you come out into the open. I always
+knew you were partners, but now I can prove it; because here you are,
+thick as thieves."
+
+"Yes, we're friendly," admitted Blount with a painful smile at Wiley,
+"but Wiley owns the mine. That is, he owns a bond and lease on the
+property, with the option of buying for fifty thousand dollars. And then
+besides that, I regret to say, he has an option on all my stock."
+
+"Oh! Yes!" scoffed the Widow. "You've been cleaned by this
+whipper-snapper that's just a few months out of college! He's taken
+away your mine and your stock and everything--but of course you don't
+mind a little thing like that. But what I want to know, and I came
+here to find out, is which of you has got my stock--because I'll tell
+you right now----" she whipped out her pistol and brandished it in the
+air--"I'll tell you right now I intend to get it back or kill the one
+or both of you!"
+
+Blount's lips framed a lie, and then he glanced at Wiley, who was
+standing with his hand by his gun.
+
+"Well, now, Mrs. Huff," he began at a venture, "I--perhaps this can all
+be arranged."
+
+"No! I want that stock!" cried the Widow in hot anger, "and I'm going to
+get it, too!"
+
+"Why--why yes," stammered Blount, "but you see it was this way--I had no
+idea of the value of the stock. And so when Wiley came to see me I gave
+him an option on it for--well, I believe it was five cents a share."
+
+"Ah!" triumphed the Widow, whirling to train her gun on Wiley, "so now
+I've got you, Mr. Man! You've been four-flushing long enough but I've
+got you dead to rights, and I want--that--Paymaster--stock!"
+
+She threw down on him awkwardly, but as the pistol was not cocked, Wiley
+only curled his lip and smiled indulgently, with a restraining glance at
+his guard.
+
+"Yes, Mrs. Huff," he agreed quite calmly, "I don't doubt you want it
+back. You want lots of things that you'll never get from me by coming
+around with these gun-plays. So put up that gun before you pull it off
+and I'll tell you about your husband's stock."
+
+"My _husband's_ stock!" cried the Widow in surprise, letting the
+six-shooter wobble down to her side. "Well I'd just like to tell you
+that that stock is _mine_, and furthermore----"
+
+"Oh, yes! Sure! Sure!" shrugged Wiley scornfully. "Of course you know it
+all! But that stock wasn't yours, and you couldn't transfer it, and so I
+didn't take any option on it. It's in the bank yet; and if you want to
+get it, why, here's the man to talk to."
+
+He jerked his thumb towards the cringing Blount, and exchanged scornful
+glances with Virginia. She was standing behind her mother and her glance
+seemed to say that he was passing the buck again; but his feeling for
+Virginia had suffered a great change and he replied to her head-toss
+with a sneer.
+
+"Now--now Wiley!" protested Blount, rising weakly to his feet and
+regarding his pseudo-partner reproachfully, "you know very well----"
+
+"Gimme that stock!" snapped the Widow, suddenly cocking the heavy pistol
+and throwing down savagely on Wiley; and then things began to happen.
+The watchful guard, who had been standing at her side, reached over and
+struck up the gun and as it went off with a bang, shooting a hole in the
+ceiling, he seized it and wrenched it away.
+
+"You're under arrest, Madam," he said with some asperity, and flashed
+his officer's star.
+
+"Well, who are you, sir?" demanded the Widow, vainly attempting to
+thrust him aside.
+
+"I'm a deputy sheriff, ma'am," replied the officer respectfully, "and
+I'd advise you not to resist. It'll be assault with intent to kill."
+
+"Why--I wouldn't kill anybody!" exclaimed the Widow breathlessly. "I
+was--I didn't intend to do anything."
+
+"Will you swear out a warrant?" inquired the deputy and Wiley nodded his
+head.
+
+"You bet I will," he said, "this is getting monotonous. She took a shot
+at me, once before."
+
+"Oh, Wiley!" wailed the Widow suddenly weakening in the pinch. "You know
+I never meant it!"
+
+"Well, maybe not," replied Wiley evenly, "but you hit me in the leg."
+
+"But _he_ pulled off my gun!" charged the Widow angrily, "I never
+went to do it!"
+
+"Well, come on;" said the deputy, "you can explain to the judge." And he
+took her by the arm. She went out, sobbing violently, and in the
+succeeding silence Wiley found himself confronted by Virginia. He had
+seen her before when the wild light of battle shot forth from her angry
+eyes but now there was a glow of soft, feminine reproach and the
+faintest suggestion of appeal.
+
+"Oh, Wiley Holman!" she cried, "I'll never forgive you! What do you mean
+by treating Mother like this?"
+
+"I mean," replied Wiley, "that I've taken about enough, and now we'll
+leave it to the law. If your mother is right the judge will let her go,
+but I guess it's come to a showdown."
+
+"What? Are you going to let them put my mother in jail?" she asked with
+tremulous awe, and then she burst into tears. "You ought to be ashamed!"
+she broke out impetuously. "I wish my father was here!"
+
+"Yes, so do I," answered Wiley gravely. "I'd be dealing with a
+gentleman, then. But if your mother thinks, just because she is a woman,
+she can run amuck with a gun, then she gives up all right to be treated
+like a lady and she has to take what's coming to her."
+
+"But Wiley!" she appealed, "just let her off this time and she'll never
+do it again. She's over-wrought and nervous and----"
+
+"Nope," said Wiley, "it's gone past me now--she'll have to answer before
+the judge. But if you think you can restrain her I'll be willing to let
+it go and have her bound over to keep the peace."
+
+"Oh, that'll be fine! If she just promises not to bother you and----"
+
+"And puts up a five-thousand-dollar bond," added Wiley. "And the next
+time she makes a gun-play or comes around and threatens me the five
+thousand dollars is gone."
+
+"Oho!" she accused, "so that's your scheme! You've been framing this up,
+all the time!"
+
+"Sure," nodded Wiley, with his old cynical smile, "I just love to be
+shot at. I got her to come over on purpose."
+
+"Well, I'll bet you did!" cried Virginia excitedly. "Didn't you have
+that officer right there? You've just framed this up to rob us. And how
+are we going to give a five-thousand-dollar bond when you know we
+haven't a cent? Oh, I--I hate you, Wiley Holman; and if you put my
+mother in jail I'll--I'll come back and kill you, myself!"
+
+She stamped her foot angrily, but a light leapt into Wiley's eyes such
+as had flamed there when he had faced Stiff Neck George.
+
+"Very well," he said, "if you people think you can rough-house me I'll
+show you I can rough it, myself. I've tried to be friendly and to give
+you the best of it; but now it's all off, for good. I hate to fight a
+woman, but----"
+
+"You do not!" she challenged. "You're a coward, that's what you are! And
+you can take your old stock back!"
+
+She drew a package from her bosom and slammed it spitefully on the table
+and rushed out after her mother. Wiley picked up the envelope and
+regarded it absently, his lip curling to a twisted smile. It was the
+package of stock which he had bought from Death Valley Charley and
+returned, as a gift, to Virginia.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+PEACE--AND THE PRICE
+
+
+In the justice court at Vegas the Widow Huff met her match in the person
+of the magistrate, who warned her peremptorily that if she interrupted
+again he would commit her for contempt of court. Then the bailiff smote
+his desk a resounding blow and there was silence in the presence of the
+law. It was a new thing to her, this power called the law and that
+accuser of all offenders, The People; and before she had finished she
+learned the great truth that no one is above the law. It governs us all
+and, but for the mercy of the courts, would land most of our hot-heads
+in jail. But though it was proved beyond the peradventure of a doubt
+that the Widow had attempted violence it was tacitly understood that,
+being a woman, there would be no actual commitment.
+
+Wiley Holman came forward and informed the court that the defendant had
+threatened his life and upon two occasions and had made assaults upon
+his person with the avowed intention of killing him. Upon being
+questioned by the judge he admitted recognizing a shotgun, and three
+buckshot which had been extracted from his leg; but in a voluntary
+statement he expressed the opinion that the defendant was hardly
+responsible. At the same time, he stated, since his place of business
+was not far from the defendant's home, he would respectfully request
+that she be placed in custody and bound over to keep the peace. The
+testimony of the officer and of other witnesses left no doubt as to the
+existence of a threat and after the Widow had made a chastened speech
+she was placed in the custody of the sheriff.
+
+To this humiliation was added the greater pang of depositing all her
+jewels with her bondsmen and when it was over and she was back in her
+home the Widow's proud spirit was broken. She retired to the kitchen and
+the balm of a great peace was laid upon tumultuous Keno. For years the
+bold ego of Colonel Huff's wife had dominated the very life of the camp,
+but the son of Honest John had at last found a way of putting her anger
+in leash. Rage as she might in the privacy of her kitchen, or pour out
+her woes to the neighbors, when Wiley Holman came by she turned away her
+face and allowed him to pass in silence. And Wiley himself never gave
+her a glance, nor Virginia when he met her in the street; for the memory
+of their insults was still hot in his brain, and all he asked for was
+peace.
+
+He was safe, at last, safe to remodel the mill and bring up the ore from
+the mine; but as his work grew and prospered the anger died in his
+breast and his heart turned back to Virginia. She was quiet now, with
+averted eyes and the sad, brooding face of a nun; and she worked early
+and late in the crowded dining-room, serving meals to the hard-rock
+miners. He had closed down his cook-house to give them some patronage,
+when the first mad rush of prospectors was past; but though they fed his
+men and took the money that he had paid them, they owned no obligation
+to him.
+
+In the Paymaster the pumps were working steadily now, clearing the water
+from the submerged passages, and as the first checks came back in
+payment for his tungsten he ordered more timbers and men. There was
+plenty of ore on the dump for the moment but, while he separated it from
+the waste and shipped it to town, he caught up the falling ground in the
+drifts and prepared to stope out the scheelite. In the old, dismantled
+mill he had a crew working over-time, installing a rock-crusher and a
+concentrating plant; and every truck that brought out timbers and
+supplies took back its tons of ore. The price of tungsten leapt from
+forty dollars a unit to sixty and sixty-five, and rival buyers clamored
+for his ore; the mills treated it for almost nothing in order to get
+control of it and his credit was A1 at the bank--but when he passed
+Virginia she turned her face away and his heart turned heavy as lead.
+
+It was the price of success, and Wiley recognized it, but he rebelled
+against his fate. What fault was it of his that her father and his
+father had fallen out over the mine? He had shown by the stock that the
+treachery had been Blount's and neither of them was to blame. What fault
+was it of his that she had a shrewish mother who was bent upon ruining
+her life? Had he not endured abuse and suffered grievous wounds before
+he had asserted his rights? And with Virginia herself, when had there
+ever been a time when he had forgotten his lover's part--except on that
+last day, when he had turned like a trodden worm and protested his right
+to live? And yet she blamed him for all her misfortunes and for every
+day that she slaved; and even took the stock which he had returned as a
+peace-offering and hurled it in his face!
+
+Wiley's lips set grimly as he gazed at the certificates for which men
+had striven and died. There were some from her father, transferred on
+her birthdays when the stock was around thirty and forty; and others
+from old prospectors like Henry Masters, who had left it to Virginia
+when they died. She had sent it to him by Charley, out of shame for her
+harsh words, and he had bought it for four hundred dollars, half the
+money that he had in the world. Those had been happy days, in spite of
+the anxiety, for he had made the sacrifice for her; and to prove his
+devotion--and make a peace-offering against the explosion that was bound
+to come--he had given the stock back to Virginia. That was when he was a
+prospector, doing business on a shoe-string, a racing car and a diamond
+ring; but now when he had made his _coup_ and could write his check
+for thousands she threw the stock back in his face.
+
+The stock had a value now for, under the terms of the bond and lease,
+one-tenth of the net mill returns were automatically withheld and turned
+in to the company as royalty; and if for any reason he failed to meet
+the payment when the fifty thousand-dollar option expired, then this
+stock and all Paymaster stock would take a sudden jump to five or ten
+dollars a share. And the stock was hers--she had received it from her
+father when he was the mining king of the West, and from old man Masters
+when he was dying in the cabin where she had helped to care for him for
+months--yet she would not accept it as a gift. Wiley pondered a long
+time and then, as Christmas drew near, he sent for Death Valley Charley.
+
+"Charley," he began, when he came up that night, "did I understand you
+to say one time that you were acting as a kind of guardian to Virginia?
+Well, now here's a bunch of stock that you sold to me once when you were
+slightly off your cabeza. There's over twelve thousand shares and all
+you asked was four hundred dollars, when you knew they were worth eight
+hundred at least."
+
+"Yes, that's so," admitted Charley, blinking and rubbing his chin, "but
+you know them women, Wiley. They're crazy, that's all, and the Colonel
+he told me special not to let them lose their mine."
+
+"Well, never mind the mine," said Wiley wincing. "I'm talking about this
+stock. Don't you think it's your duty, by George, as guardian, to turn
+around and buy it back? You've got five thousand dollars coming to you
+on those claims of yours and I'll tell you what I'll do. I'm short,
+right now on account of buying machinery, and so I can't pay you much
+cash; but if you'll take this stock back in part payment of your claims
+I'll give you four hundred more."
+
+"Well, all right," agreed Charley after gazing at him thoughtfully, "but
+you ought to give back that mine. The Colonel, he told me----"
+
+"What do you mean, give it back?" demanded Wiley, irritably. "It isn't
+my property yet. I've got to pay for it first and get it away from old
+Blount before I can give it to anybody. That's fifty thousand dollars
+that I've got to make clear between now and the twentieth of May; but
+believe me, Charley, if I once get it paid for I'm going to do something
+noble."
+
+"That's good," assented Charley, "but you've got to pay me, right
+off--there's something going to happen!" His sun-dazed eyes opened up
+wide with excitement and he listened long and earnestly at the door
+before he tiptoed back to Wiley's desk. "I can hear 'em," he said.
+"They're going to blow up the mine and shake the mountains down.
+They're boring through the ground, but I can hear them working--it's
+like worms eating their way through wood."
+
+"Is that so?" queried Wiley. "Well, maybe we can stop 'em. I'll look
+after it, right away. But now about this stock----"
+
+"It's the Germans!" burst out Charley. "They've got boring machines that
+eat through mountains like wood. And then, _bumm_, it's them mines,
+and the dynamite bombs----"
+
+"Yes, it's awful," agreed Wiley, "but here's your money, Charley; so
+maybe you'd better go. And you keep this stock now, until it comes
+Christmas; and then, Christmas Eve, you slip into the house and put it
+in Virginia's stocking."
+
+"Oh--yes," agreed Charley, still listening to the Germans and then he
+became lost in deep thought. "The Colonel will kill me," he said at
+last. "It's Christmas, and I ain't brought his whiskey."
+
+"Why, what's the matter?" joshed Wiley. "Why didn't you deliver it? Did
+you get caught in a sandstorm, or what?"
+
+"Yes, a sandstorm," answered Charley, solemnly. "It came down the valley
+like a wall. And my burros got away; but the Colonel, he found me--I was
+digging a hole in the sand."
+
+"Say, where are these Ube-Hebes?" broke in Wiley impulsively. "I'd like
+to go over there some time."
+
+"They're across Death Valley," answered Charley smiling craftily, "--on
+the west side, in the Funeral Range. The Coffin mine is there--I used to
+work in it--but they put me underground with a stiff for a pardner so I
+quit and come back to town."
+
+"Yes, I heard about that; but you forgot something, Charley--how about
+that graveyard shift? But I'll tell you what I'll do, if you'll take me
+to the Colonel I'll help Virginia get back her mine."
+
+He plumped the statement at him, for Charley was an innocent who spoke
+out the truth when he was jumped, but for once he detected the ruse.
+
+"The Colonel's dead," he answered sulkily and picked up his hat to go.
+
+"I doubt it!" scoffed Wiley. "I met a man the other day who said he'd
+seen him--in the Ube-Hebes mountains."
+
+"He did?" exclaimed Charley, and then he drew back and his eyes flashed
+with angry resentment. "You're a liar!" he burst out. "The Colonel is
+dead. He never said anything of the kind."
+
+"Yes, he did," insisted Wiley, "and you know the man well. He's got a
+little dog like Heine."
+
+"He's a liar!" cried Charley savagely, "and don't you go to talking or
+I'll make you wish you hadn't."
+
+"No, I won't," assured Wiley, "but here's the proposition--the Colonel
+left a lot of stock. And Mrs. Huff, being crazy, gave it all to Blount
+on a loan of eight hundred dollars. But if the Colonel should come back
+that transfer would be illegal and he could fix it to get back the mine.
+So don't talk to me about giving Virginia her mine--you go out and bring
+in the Colonel."
+
+"He's dead!" yelled Charley, scrabbling madly out the door. "You're a
+liar--I tell you he's dead!"
+
+"Yes, he's dead," observed Wiley, "just the same as I am. I'll have to
+get old Charley drunk."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+ON CHRISTMAS DAY
+
+
+Christmas came to Keno in a whirling snowstorm that shrouded Shadow
+Mountain in white and, as he stepped out in the morning and looked up at
+the peak, Wiley Holman felt a thrill of joy. The black shadow had
+bothered him, now that he had come to live under it; and a hundred times
+a day as it caught his eye he would glance up to find the dark cloud.
+But now it was gone and in place of the lava cap there was a mantle of
+gleaming snow. He looked down at the town and, on every graceless house,
+there had been bestowed a crown of white; all the tin cans were buried,
+the burned spots were covered over, and Keno was almost beautiful. A
+family of children were out in the street, trying to coast in their new
+Christmas wagons, and Wiley smiled to himself.
+
+He had brought back those children; he had brought the town to life and
+tenanted its vacant houses; and now, best of all, he had brought the
+spirit of Christmas, for he had sent a peace-offering to Virginia. She
+had spurned it once in the heat of passion, and called him a coward and
+a crook; but that package of stock would recall to her mind a time when
+she had known him for a friend. It would bring up old memories of their
+boy-and-girl love, which she knew he had never forgotten, and if there
+was anything to forgive she would know that he remembered it when he
+sent this offering by Charley.
+
+He was a crazy old rat, but he had his uses; and he had promised to give
+her the stock, without fail. It was to come, of course, from Charley
+himself, in atonement for selling it for nothing; but Virginia would
+know, even if she missed his flowered Christmas card, that the stock was
+a present from him. It had a value now far above the price he had paid
+for it when Charley had thrust it upon him and the dividend alone from
+the royalties on his lease would be twelve hundred dollars and more. And
+then her pro rata share, when he paid his fifty thousand dollars, would
+add another six hundred; and she knew that, for the asking, she could
+have half of what he had--or all, if she would take him, too.
+
+Wiley looked down on the house that sheltered Virginia and smiled to
+think of her there. She was waiting on miners, but the time would come
+when someone would be waiting on her. In the back of his brain a bold
+plan had been forming to feed fat his grudge against Blount and restore
+the Huffs to their own--and it needed but a word from her to put the
+plan into action. He held from Blount two separate and distinct papers;
+one a bond and lease on the mine, the other an option on his personal
+stock. But to grant the bond and lease--with its option for fifty
+thousand--Blount had been compelled to vote the Widow's stock; and if
+that stock was not his and had been illegally voted, then of course the
+bond and lease would be void.
+
+Yet even so he, Wiley Holman, had fully safeguarded his interests, for
+by his other option he could buy all Blount's stock for the sum of five
+cents a share. The four hundred thousand-odd shares would come to only
+twenty thousand dollars, as against fifty thousand on the bond and
+lease; and yet, by buying the stock at once, he could effectually debar
+Blount from any share in the accumulating profits. The small payments on
+past royalties and his five cents a share would be all that Blount would
+receive; and then he would be left, a spectacle for gods and men--a
+banker who had been beaten by a boy. It was the chicanery of Blount
+which had ruined his father and driven Colonel Huff to his death, and
+what could be better, as poetic justice, than to see him hoist on his
+own petard. And if the Colonel was not dead--as would appear from
+Charley's maunderings--if he could be discovered and brought back to
+town, then surely Virginia would forget the old feud and consent to be
+his wife. All this lay before him, a fairyland of imaginings, waiting
+only her magic touch to make it real; just a word, a smile, a promise of
+forgiveness--and of loyalty and love--and he, Wiley Holman, would go
+whirling on the errand that would win him wealth and renown.
+
+It would all be done for her, and yet he would not be the loser, for
+his own father held two hundred thousand shares of Paymaster; and he
+himself would save a fifty-thousand-dollar payment at an expense of a
+little over twenty. And if the Colonel could be found quickly--or his
+death disproved to make illegal the Widow's transfer of his
+stock--then the mine could be claimed at once and Blount deprived even
+of his royalties. Of course this could all be done without the help of
+Virginia or the co-operation of any of the Huffs for, although his
+father had refused from the first to have anything to do with the
+mine, Wiley knew that he could talk him over and persuade him to pool
+his stock. That would make six hundred thousand, a clean voting
+majority and a fortune in itself; but for the sake of Virginia, and to
+heal the ancient feud, it would be better to unite with the Huffs.
+
+Wiley paced up and down in the crisp, dry snow and watched for Virginia
+to come, and as his mind leapt ahead he saw her enthroned in a mansion,
+with him as her faithful vassal--when he was not her lord and king. For
+the Huffs were proud, even now in their poverty, and Virginia was the
+proudest of them all; and in this, their first meeting, he must remember
+what she had suffered and that it is hard for the loser to yield. It
+should be his part to speak with humility and dwell but lightly on the
+past while he pictured a future, entirely free from menial service, in
+which she could live according to her station. All her years of poverty
+and disappointment and loneliness would be forgotten in this sudden rise
+to wealth; and to complete the picture, Blount, the cause of all her
+suffering, would grovel, very unbankerlike, at their feet.
+
+Blount would grovel indeed when he felt the cold steel that would
+deprive him of all his stock, for he was still playing the game with his
+loans and extensions in the hope of winning back what he had lost. For
+money was his god, before whom there was no other, and he worshiped it
+day and night; and all his fair talk was no more than a pretense to lure
+Wiley into the net. Yet not for a minute would Wiley put up his option,
+or his bond and lease on the mine; and for all the money that Blount had
+loaned him he had given his mere note of hand. It was his promise to
+pay, unsecured by any collateral, and yet it was perfectly good. The
+money came and went--he could pay Blount at any time--but it was better
+to rehabilitate the mine.
+
+Wiley had a race before him, a race for big stakes, and he kept his eyes
+on the goal. To earn fifty thousand dollars in six months' time, earn it
+clean above all expense, required foresight and careful management, and
+a big daily output, for every day must count. The ore on the dump was in
+the nature of a grub-stake, a bonus for undertaking the game; and when
+it was all shipped the profits would drop to nothing unless he could
+bring up more ore. So he took his first checks, and what he could
+borrow, and timbered and cleaned out the mine; and, to save shipping out
+more ore, he had ordered expensive machinery to put the old mill into
+shape. It was the part of good judgment to spend quickly at first and
+build up the efficiency of his plant; and then the last few months, when
+Blount would begin to gloat, make a run that would put him in the clear.
+Clear not only of the bond and lease, but on Blount's stock as well, for
+it would pay for itself with the first dividend; and, to save paying any
+more royalties, Wiley was curtailing his wasteful shipments while he
+prepared to concentrate the ore in his mill.
+
+There were envious people in town who prophesied his failure and claimed
+that success had gone to his head, but he was confident he could show
+them that a man can take chances and yet play his cards to win. He had
+taken chances with Blount when he had accepted his money, for there were
+other banks that would lend on his mine; but in what more harmless way
+could he engage his attention and keep him from actual sabotage?
+
+It was that which he dreaded, the resort to open warfare, the fire and
+vandalism, and dynamite; and day and night he kept his eye on the works,
+and hired a night-watchman, to boot. But as long as Blount was convinced
+he could win back the mine peaceably he would not resort to violence
+and, though Stiff Neck George still hung about the camp, he kept
+scrupulously away from the Paymaster.
+
+As Christmas day wore on and the sun came out gleaming, Wiley swung off
+down the trail and through the town. He was a big man now, the man who
+had saved Keno after ten years of stagnation and lingering death; and
+yet there were those who disliked him. They recited old stories of his
+shrewd dealings with Mrs. Huff, and with Virginia and Death Valley
+Charley; and if any were forgotten the Widow undoubtedly recalled them.
+She was a shrewish woman, full of gossip and backbiting, and she let no
+opportunity pass; so that even old Charley cherished a certain
+resentment, though he disguised it as solicitude for the Huffs. And so
+on Christmas day, as Wiley walked down the street, many greetings lacked
+a holiday heartiness.
+
+The front room of the Huff house was full of children and, as Wiley
+walked back and forth, he caught a glimpse of Virginia; but she did
+not come out and, after lingering around for a while, he climbed up
+the trail to the mine. He had caught but a glimpse, but it was
+clean-cut as a cameo--a classic head, eagerly poised; dark hair,
+brushed smoothly back; and a smile, for some neighbor's child. That
+was Virginia, high-headed and patrician, but kind to lame dogs and
+lost cats. She had invited in the children but he, Wiley Holman, who
+had loved her since she was a child, had been permitted to pass
+unnoticed. He wandered about uneasily, then went back to his office
+and began to run over his accounts.
+
+Over a hundred thousand dollars had passed through his hands in less
+than a calendar month and yet the long haul across the desert from Vegas
+had put him in the hole. Besides the initial cost of cables and
+timbers--and of a rock breaker and the concentrating plant--there was a
+charge of approximately twenty dollars a ton for every pound of supplies
+he hauled out. And, because of the war, all supplies were high and the
+machinery houses were behind with their orders; yet so eager were the
+buyers to get hold of his tungsten that they almost took it out of the
+bins. He was storing up the ore, preparatory to milling it and shipping
+only the concentrates; but if they could have their way they would wrest
+it from his hands and rush it to the railroad post haste. One mysterious
+buyer had even offered him a contract at seventy dollars a unit--three
+dollars and a half a pound!
+
+Wiley opened up his notebook and made a careful estimate of what the ore
+on the dump would bring and his eyes grew big as he figured. At seventy
+dollars a unit it would come to more than he owed; and pay for the mine,
+to boot. It was a stupendous sum to come so quickly, before the mine was
+hardly opened up; but when the mill was running and the mine was sending
+up ore--he smiled dizzily and shook his head. A profit like that, if it
+ever became known, would make his position dangerous. It was too much of
+a temptation for Blount and his jumpers, and blackleg lawyers with fake
+claims. They could get out injunctions and tie up the work until he lost
+the mine by default!
+
+But would they dare do it? And how long would it take to raise fifty
+thousand dollars elsewhere? Wiley studied it all over in the silence of
+his office, for the mine was closed down for Christmas; and then once
+more he turned to his notebook and figured the ore underground. Then he
+figured the outside cost for installing his machinery, for freight and
+supplies and the payroll; and, adding twenty per cent for wear and tear
+and accidents, he figured the grand total for six months. That was
+astounding too but, when he put against it his ore and the price per
+ton, not even the chances that stood out against him could keep down
+that dizzy smile. He was made, he was rich, if he could just hold things
+level and do a day's work every day.
+
+The sun set at last as he sat planning details and, rising up stiffly,
+he pushed his papers aside and went out into the night. The snow had
+melted fast on the roofs and bare ridges and, as the last rays of sunset
+touched the peak with ruddy fingers, he noticed that the shadow had come
+back. The barren lava cap had thrown aside its Christmas mantle, melting
+the snow before it could pack; and now, grim and black, it stood out
+like a death-head above the white valley below. Lights flashed out from
+miners' windows, the scampering children ceased their clamor, and he
+wandered through the darkness alone.
+
+There was something he had forgotten, something big and significant, but
+his tired brain refused to respond. It was part of the scheme to beat
+Blount out of his stock, and the royalty from the shipments of ore;
+and--yes, it had to do with Virginia. It was going to make her rich, and
+both of them happy; but he could not recall it, at the moment. He was
+worn out, weary with the seething thoughts which had rioted through his
+mind all day, and he turned back dumbly to his office. It was dark and
+cold and as he groped for his matchbox his hand encountered a strange
+package. And yet it was not so strange--he seemed to remember it,
+somehow. He struck a hasty match and looked. It was the package of stock
+that he had sent to Virginia, but----The match burnt his fingers and he
+dropped it with a curse. She had refused his offer of peace.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+THE ENIGMA
+
+
+The heights and depths of life are sounded by emotions--cold reason lags
+behind. As thought cannot compass, so words cannot describe the
+anguished spirit's flight; and whether it soars to ecstasy or sinks to
+despair it comes back wide-eyed and silent. So any action which has been
+prompted by passion cannot be explained by a calculating mind, and to
+seek a reason where none exists is to stray still farther from the
+truth. Virginia Huff was poor and waited on the table for what she could
+eat and get to wear; and when she returned stock which was worth twelve
+hundred dollars without even a note of thanks it was not for any reason
+of the mind. It was a reason of the feelings, the soul, the human ego,
+which drives our minds and bodies to their tasks; a reason that soared
+up like a flaming aurora and stabbed the darkened sky with hate and
+passion. It was nothing to reason about, and yet Wiley reasoned.
+
+He put down the stocks and lit his lamp and examined the package
+carefully. Then he looked inside for some note of explanation and
+paused and swore to himself. No note was there, nor any sign that the
+stocks had ever passed through her hands. He rose up craftily and
+stepped out the door, passing silently from house to house, and then
+as he came back he threw his door open and examined the snow for
+tracks. If Death Valley Charley had failed of his mission, if he had
+neglected to place the shares in her stocking and then sneaked back to
+get rid of them--but Wiley put all thought of Charley aside for there
+in the snow was the print of a woman's shoe. Small and dainty it was
+and he knew in his heart that Virginia had been there and gone. She
+might have been watching him as he sat at his work, she might even be
+watching him now; but again something told him that, however she had
+come, she had gone away in a rage. The stab of the high heel, the
+heedless step into a mud-puddle, the swinging stride down the trail;
+all spoke of defiance, of a coming in the open and a return without
+fear of man or devil. She had come there to see him and, finding him
+away, she had thrown down the papers and gone home. And that was the
+answer to his love.
+
+Wiley sat down by the fire and tried to account for it. He imagined
+himself a woman, young and beautiful, but poor; working hard, as
+Virginia now worked, for her board and keep. Before her there was
+nothing--her father was dead or lost, her mother a hopeless scold, her
+fortune irretrievably gone--and yet she closed the only door out. As an
+earnest of his love, without asking anything in return, he had restored
+to her a portion of her stock; and she had promptly flung it back. Had
+Charley made some break in his method of presentation? But no, she would
+not mind if he had; it was something deeper, behind. He battered his
+brain, recalling every little incident that might have turned her heart
+against him, and it all brought him back to the trial.
+
+When he had had her mother arrested for coming into his office and
+demanding--what was it she had demanded? He remembered the six-shooter,
+and the deputy and Blount, and the Widow's rage and tears; and
+Virginia's return and all she had said to him--but what was it her
+mother had demanded? Her stock! All her stock! The stock she had refused
+to sell for ten cents a share and then had turned around and put up with
+Blount as security on a quick-action note. She had demanded it all back,
+without reason, without compensation, simply because she was a woman
+with a gun; and because he had invoked the law to protect him in his
+rights Virginia had sworn she would kill him. Wiley rose up swiftly and
+pulled the curtain across the window, and then he considered the matter
+again.
+
+It was not like Virginia to resort to any violence--she had been
+humiliated too often by her mother's--but she must still think he had
+deprived her of her rights. By what process of reasoning could they
+fix the blame on him for this stock which had been purloined by
+Blount, was beyond his strictly masculine mind; but women sometimes
+think by jumps. They skip a few processes, like a mathematical
+prodigy, and then arrive at some mammoth result. But, even if they
+exaggerated their grievance--was there anything behind it, any peg on
+which to hang this senseless hate?
+
+Well, of course he had deceived them about the mine. He had known it
+contained scheelite the moment he picked up that white rock that
+Virginia had placed in her collection, but naturally he had not
+announced it from the house-tops. With the Widow as a partner, or even
+as a stockholder, the best-natured man in the state of Nevada could not
+have worked the Paymaster at a profit. For that reason alone he had been
+fully justified in letting her freeze herself out; and if Virginia had
+taken his advice--but then, the poor girl had been distracted. She had
+been worn out and discouraged, hag-ridden by her mother and facing a
+trip to the city; and she had sold out for what she could get. She was a
+good girl, a brave girl, and a sweet and lovely one too; and it was
+foolish to blame her for anything. The thing to do, after all, was to
+find ways and means of bringing her back to her own. Just a word from
+Virginia and he could change her whole life, he could get back all her
+stock and her mother's as well and pour money into their laps--but first
+he must win her love. He must teach her to trust him, break down her
+suspicion and show her that he was her friend.
+
+Wiley thought a long time and the next morning at dawn he was up in his
+car and away. Virginia was a child. She did not reason about this and
+that, but was swayed by the impulses of the moment. Her life was ruled,
+not by her head but by her heart; and he had forgotten until that moment
+the sacks full of cats that he had taken from her house to the ranch.
+They were all her pets, and he had taken them as a trust when she was
+about to start for Los Angeles; but the mine had made him forget. They
+were safe at the ranch, with his sisters to look after them; but how
+many times since their estrangement began must some question have risen
+to her lips as to how they were, or if he would bring them back, or
+whether any had died or been lost? Yet she had turned her head away and
+refused to speak to him, even to demand back the pets she loved.
+
+The road was bad out across the desert, and on through Vegas to the
+ranch, but he came thundering back the next night. He had left the mine
+to run itself, for his thoughts were of Virginia, but as he slowed down
+at the sand-wash and listened for the pumps he noticed that the engine
+had stopped. Well, he had an engineer and that was his business--to keep
+the sump-hole pumped out; perhaps he had shut down for repairs. But the
+big thing, after all, was to restore Virginia her pets and win his way
+to a place in her heart. He drove boldly up the street and stopped
+before the house, but nobody came to the door. He waited a while, then
+leapt out uncertainly and released the mother of Virginia's pet kittens.
+She ran under the house and, as no one came out, Wiley let the rest of
+them go and turned disconsolately back towards the mine. If he had ever
+thought, when he had the Widow arrested, that Virginia was going to take
+it so hard--but then, of course, it had been absolutely necessary--and
+just wait till she found her kittens!
+
+There was trouble in the engine-house. He knew that the minute he saw
+the dancing torches in the dark, and he went up the trail on the run;
+but when he saw the wreckage, and the gear-wheel dismounted, he burst
+into a wailing curse. The mine had been all right, pumps operating,
+hoist running, when he had left the day before; but the minute he
+turned his back---- "What's the matter?" he demanded and then,
+pushing the engineer aside, he flashed a torch on the wreck. Wedged in
+the gearing of the shattered gear-wheel was a pair of engineer's
+overalls. They had jammed tight in the teeth and the resistless
+driving of the engine had cracked the great gear-wheel like an
+eggshell. Held solid by its base in the bolted concrete there had not
+been a half-inch's play and, since something must give, and the
+opposing wheel had stood, the enormous casting had smashed. The
+engineer and his helpers were pottering about, trying guiltily to
+remove the cause of the accident, but one look was enough to tell
+Wiley Holman that his mine was closed down for a week. No welding
+could ever repair that broken gear-wheel--he would have to wire for
+another.
+
+"Whose overalls are those?" he asked at last as the men sought to evade
+his eye and the engineer himself confessed ownership.
+
+"They're an old pair of mine," he explained, "that got caught when I was
+wiping up the grease."
+
+"What? Wiping up grease when the machinery was in motion? Why didn't you
+wait until it stopped?"
+
+"Well--I didn't; that's all. There was a big puddle of grease gathering
+dirt underneath there--and I thought I'd wipe it up."
+
+"I see," observed Wiley and his eyes narrowed down as he caught the
+aroma of whiskey. "Well, clear up this mess," he said at last and
+hurried to his office to telephone. A single line of wire stretched
+out across the plain, connecting Keno with Vegas and the world, and
+within half an hour he had dictated a rush order to be wired to his
+supply-house in Los Angeles. If money would buy it he would grab a new
+gear-wheel and have it shipped out by express; but if there was none
+in stock he would have to wait for it; and the machine-shops were
+months behind. Yet his whole mine was shut down on account of this
+accident and, if he only had the money, he could almost afford to buy
+a new engine and be done with it. He stopped and thought if there was
+one in the country that he could get hold of, second-hand, and then he
+thrust the matter aside. The problem of getting an engine on the
+ground was one that could be worked out later, but in the meanwhile
+the water was rising in the sump and the pumps would soon be
+submerged. There were two shifts of miners who would have to be
+discharged and--yes, the engine crew, too. It was against all the
+rules for an engineer to be wiping up his engine while it was running,
+and it was only by a miracle that the engineer himself had escaped
+unhurt from the smash?
+
+But was it a miracle? A swift stab of suspicion made Wiley's heart stand
+still. Was this the first treacherous move in Blount's battle to win
+back the mine? Had Blount, or some agent, suggested to the engineer that
+an accident would be followed by a reward; and then had not the
+engineer, when no one was looking, fed his overalls into the gearings?
+He was a surly young brute and he met Wiley's eyes with a stare that
+bordered on defiance, yet there was nothing to be gained by accusing
+him. If Blount had bribed his men it was best to get rid of them without
+the faintest suggestion of suspicion; and then take on a new crew,
+shipped in from San Francisco or some equally distant place.
+
+Wiley went underground with his men, opening up the air-cocks in the
+pumps, and bringing out the powder and steel; and then the next morning,
+just before the stage went out, he gave them all their time. They had a
+certain constraint, a sullen silence in his presence, that argued them
+against him at heart and, since the mine was closed down for some time
+to come, he made a clean sweep of them all. Yet it pained him somehow,
+being new at the game, to see all these miners against him and as they
+piled their rolls on the stage he lingered to see them off. He had paid
+them union wages and treated them right but now, with their time-checks
+in their pockets, they looked past him in stony silence. It puzzled him
+somehow, leaving him vaguely uneasy; but just as the stage pulled out he
+found the answer to his enigma. On the gallery of the Huff house as the
+automobile sped past there was a sudden flash of white and as Virginia
+appeared the young engineer rose up drunkenly and wafted her a kiss.
+After that the answer was plain.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+AN APPEAL TO CHARLEY
+
+
+What is a kiss waved by a drunken hand, to a man whose love is like the
+hills? And yet that kiss, wafted so amorously to Virginia, stirred up a
+rage in Wiley Holman's heart. Was it not enough to wait on the table,
+without cultivating the acquaintance of her boarders? And this foolish
+affair, whatever it was, had cost him at least ten thousand dollars. It
+would come to that before he was through with it--in lost time and new
+machinery and unearned profits--and all because Virginia had smiled at
+this drunken engineer, who had promptly sent his overalls through the
+driving-gear. Yet that was the natural result of letting his men board
+in town where they could hear the Widow's ravings against him.
+
+In the midst of his telephoning and giving directions to his mill-crew,
+who were still rushing their work on the mill, Wiley turned the matter
+over in his mind and it left him sick with doubts. He had counted upon
+the opposition of Blount, but Virginia's almost staggered him. It would
+make a difference, before his six months was up, if she set all his men
+against him, and yet he could not stop her. If he withdrew his men and
+boarded them himself that would only inflame the neighborhood the more,
+for it would deprive the Huffs of their livelihood; and if he let things
+go on it might result in more wrecks that would seriously interfere with
+his plans. No, the thing to do was to see Virginia at once and come to
+an understanding.
+
+A telegram from his supply-house reported the engine an old type with
+all parts out of stock, and he worked for hours making tedious
+measurements before he ordered the new gear-wheel made. Then he sent an
+urgent wire to rush him the new engine that had been ordered to supply
+power to the mill, only to be told once more that it was held up by
+previous orders and could not be delivered for a month. A month! And
+with the water mounting up in his shaft like the interest on his notes.
+It was no time for half measures. He leapt into his racer and burned up
+the road to Vegas. Three days later he returned with an old gas engine
+that he had salvaged from an abandoned mine and by the end of the week,
+by working day and night, he had the pumps lifting water. And then again
+he remembered Virginia.
+
+He had thought of her, of course, when he was speeding to and fro, but
+he was hardly in the mood for sentiment. There were more things to go
+wrong than he had thought humanly possible in the management of a mine,
+and between ordering his machinery and taking on new men he had had
+scant leisure for affairs of the heart. He was young and inexperienced
+and the dealers took advantage of it to foist off old stock and odd
+parts, and then his engineers became fractious and disgruntled because
+he expected quick results. It was all very different from what he had
+expected when he had taken over the Paymaster lease, and yet it had to
+be endured and muddled through somehow until the mine was safely his
+own. Then out would come the engines, and all second-hand machinery and
+makeshift parts, and with a superintendent who knew his job he would
+lean back in comfort and learn the mining business by proxy.
+
+Wiley shaved that evening and went down through the town, but when he
+put his hand on the Widow's gate his resolution failed him. He had
+placed her under bonds to keep the peace, and she had lived up to the
+undertaking scrupulously, but within her own house she had certain
+rights and privileges which even he dared not invade. If he stepped in
+that doorway she would order him out; and unquestionably she would be
+within her rights, since every man's house is his castle. So, on the
+very threshold of Virginia's retreat, he drew back and went to see Death
+Valley Charley.
+
+Death Valley was drunk, but his conscience was still active and he burst
+into a voluble explanation.
+
+"No, I gave her that stock," he protested earnestly, "but she made me
+take it back.
+
+"'It ain't mine,' she says, 'and I'll work my hands off before I'll take
+charity from anybody.'
+
+"'No, you keep it,' I says, just exactly like you tole me, 'because I'm
+your guardian, and all; and Wiley he says that I'm a hell of a poor one,
+because I sold him that stock for nothing. No,' I says, just exactly
+like you tole me, 'I want you to keep this stock.'"
+
+"Well?" inquired Wiley, as Charley paused to take a drink, "and what did
+Virginia say, then?"
+
+"Oh, I couldn't repeat it," answered Death Valley virtuously. "She don't
+seem to like you now. She says you stole her mine."
+
+"Huh!" grunted Wiley, and looked about the cabin which was littered with
+bottles and flasks. "Well, where've _you_ been?" he went on at
+last, the better to change the subject, and Charley leered at him
+shrewdly.
+
+"Over across Death Valley," he chanted drunkenly, "--on the east side,
+in the Funeral Range. But they put me to work on the graveyard shift so
+I quit and come back to town."
+
+"Ye-es," jeered Wiley, "you've been on a big drunk. What are you doing
+with this demijohn of whiskey?"
+
+"Why, I got it for the Colonel," replied Charley, laughing childishly,
+"and I started to take it over to him, but my burros got away at
+Daylight Springs, so I made camp and drunk it all up."
+
+"But it's full!" objected Wiley.
+
+"Yes, I refilled it," answered Charley and helped himself to another
+nip. "Thas second time now I took that whiskey to the Colonel and both
+times I drunk it up. Thas bad--the Colonel will kill me."
+
+"Yes, and do a danged good job," grumbled Wiley morosely. "You sure got
+me in Dutch with Virginia."
+
+"She says you stole her mine," defended Charley stoutly. "And don't you
+say nothing against Virginia. She's noblest girl the sun ever shined.
+I'll _kill_ any man that says different!"
+
+"Oh yes, sure," agreed Wiley, "I'd do that myself. But Charley, I didn't
+steal her mine. I got it from Blount, and if she wants it back--say,
+Charley, you tell her I want to see her!"
+
+He leaned over eagerly and laid his hand on Charley's shoulder, but
+Death Valley shook him off.
+
+"No!" he declaimed. "The Huffs are poor but proud--they don't take
+charity from no one!"
+
+"Aw, but, Charley," he argued, "this isn't charity. We'll get it away
+from Blount!"
+
+"You're drunk!" declared Charley and turned sternly to the demijohn
+which was rapidly going down.
+
+"Well, maybe I am," admitted Wiley craftily, "but that's all right,
+isn't it, between friends?"
+
+"Sure thing--have another!" responded Charley cordially, and Wiley
+poured out a generous portion.
+
+"Here's to you," he said, "Old Chuckawalla Charley--the man that put the
+Death in Death Valley. You're some desert rat, now ain't you, Charley?
+You helped pack the mud to build the butte and stoped out the guest
+chamber down in hell! Well, here's luck!" and he nodded his health.
+
+"Yes, you bet I'm an old-timer," boasted Death Valley vaingloriously.
+"I was at Panamint and Ballarat, and all them camps. Me and old Shorty
+Harris--we used to lead every rush--we was first at Greenwater and
+Skidoo. But these damned lizzies can beat us to it now--the old
+burro-man is too slow."
+
+"But crossing the sand, Charley, you've got us there; and climbing up
+these rocky washes. I've got a good machine--it'll take me most
+anywhere--but when it comes to crossing Death Valley, give me some burros
+and old Uncle Charley." He slapped him on the back and Uncle Charley
+smiled doubtfully and took another drink. "You bet," went on Wiley, with
+method in his madness. "I'd like nothing better, when I get a little
+time, than to have you take me out across Death Valley. What's it like,
+over there, Charley? Is it very far to water? But I'll bet you know
+every trail!"
+
+"I know 'em all," announced Charley proudly, "but here's one that nobody
+knows. It's the trail to the Ube-Hebes. First you go from here to
+Daylight Springs, but they ain't no feed around there, so you go over
+the divide and down six miles and camp at Hole-in-the-Rock. And there
+they's good feed and plenty of good water and a tin house where the
+freighters used to camp; and then you fill your tanks and the next day
+you follow the wash till it takes you down to Stovepipe Wells. That
+water is bad but the burros will drink it if you bail the hole out
+first, and the next day you cross the sand-hills and the Death Valley
+Sink and head for Cottonwood wash. Many is the man that has started for
+that gateway and died before he reached the water, but the Colonel----"
+
+Charley stopped abruptly and looked around for Heine and then he poured
+out a drink.
+
+"He's dead now," he concluded, but Wiley caught his eye and shook his
+head disapprovingly.
+
+"Not between friends," he said. "Ain't we drunk here together? Well,
+tell me the truth now--where is he? And listen here, Charley; I'll tell
+you something first that will make it all right with the Colonel. All he
+has to do is to come back to Keno and I'll give him his share in the
+mine. Then we can throw in together, and, when we get through, old
+Blount will be left holding the sack. Do you get the idea? I'm trying to
+be friends, but you've got to take me over to the Colonel!"
+
+"The Colonel is dead!" repeated Charley doggedly and then he cocked his
+head to one side. "Don't you hear 'em?" he asked, "it's them Germans or
+something----"
+
+"Never mind!" said Wiley sharply. "I'm talking about the Colonel, and
+I'll tell you what I'll do. I can't give the mine to Virginia because
+she won't take it; but the Colonel is a gentleman. He's reasonable,
+Charley, and I'd get along with him fine; so come on, now--go over and
+tell him!"
+
+He patted him on the back and a look of indecision crept into Charley's
+drink-dimmed eyes, but in the end he shook his head.
+
+"Nope," he muttered, "the Colonel is dead!" And Wiley threw up his
+hands.
+
+"Well, then here," he ran on, "you know me Charley; and you know I'm
+not trying to steal that mine. Now here's what I want you to do. You
+tell Virginia I want to see her; and then some night you bring her
+over and--well, maybe that will do just as well."
+
+"Will you give her back her mine?" inquired Charley pointedly, and Wiley
+rose up in a rage.
+
+"Yes!" he yelled, "for cripes' sake, what's the matter with you? You
+talk like everybody was a crook. Didn't I give her back her stock? Well
+then, I'll give her back her mine! But she's got to accept it, hasn't
+she?"
+
+"That was her I heard coming," answered Charley simply, but when Wiley
+looked out she was gone.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+THE DRAGON'S TEETH
+
+
+It is the curse of success that it raises up enemies as Jason's dragon
+teeth brought forth armed men. When he was skating around the country,
+examining mines and taking out options, Wiley could safely count every
+man his friend; but now that he had made his big _coup_ on the
+Paymaster they were against him, from Virginia down. If he went to her
+politely with a thousand-dollar bill and asked her to take it as a gift
+she would refuse to so much as look at him. And yet, as a matter of
+fact, he was the same old laughing Wiley--only now he did not laugh. It
+was not right, but it could not be helped.
+
+A long and weary month, full of vexatious delays and nerve-racking
+demands from his creditors, left its mark on Wiley's face; but in six
+weeks the mine and mill were running. Three shifts of men broke the ore
+at the face and sent it up the shaft to the grizzly and from there it
+was fed down through the enormous rock-crusher and then on through the
+ball-mills and rollers to the concentrating tables below. It was crushed
+and sorted and crushed again and ground fine in the revolving tubes, and
+then it was screened and washed and separated on vanners until nothing
+but the concentrates remained. The tail sluicings were sluiced off down
+the gulch, to add to the mighty dump that the Paymaster had left there
+in its prime. But even at its best, when it was working in gold ore that
+ran three or four thousand to the ton, even then the famous Paymaster
+had not turned out treasure like this.
+
+The banks were full of gold--they were shipping it to America in lots of
+ten and twelve million at a time--but tungsten was rare, it was
+necessary, almost priceless, and the demand for it increased by leaps
+and bounds. How could iron-masters harden the tools that were to turn
+out the mighty cannon that this gold had been sent over to buy, unless
+they could get the tungsten? Molybdenum, vanadium, manganese, and all
+the substitutes were commandeered to take its place; but month by month
+the price of tungsten crept up until now all the West was tungsten-mad.
+It had gone up from forty dollars to sixty, and now seventy, for a
+twenty-pound unit of concentrates--running sixty per cent or better of
+tungstic acid--and as Wiley resumed his shipments he received a frantic
+offer of seventy-five dollars a unit. And then once more he smiled.
+
+There had been a time when he had felt the cold hand of Blount closing
+down on his precious mine--and the other banks had refused to take over
+his notes. The property was not his, there was nothing tangible upon
+which to make a loan; and then, Blount had passed the word around. Wiley
+was indebted to him, and heavily indebted, and when he took the apple
+there would be no core for the rest. But now in a week the whole
+situation had changed and Wiley's smile brought forth answering smiles.
+The general store in Vegas extended his credit, even his supply-house
+had heard the good news; and Blount, who had grown arrogant, became
+suddenly friendly and fawning, trying vainly to cover up his hand. He
+was like a man who had clutched at a treasure and discovered himself a
+little too soon. The treasure was still Wiley's but--well, Blount was
+used to waiting, so he smiled and extended the notes.
+
+At three dollars and more a pound it would not take many tons of
+tungsten to put Wiley safely out of the hole, but when he ran over his
+accounts he was startled by the bills that were piling up against him. A
+thousand dollars was nothing to these mining machinery houses and his
+payroll was over two hundred a day; and then there was powder and timber
+and steel, and gasoline and oil, _and_ the freight across the
+desert. That went on everything, twenty dollars a ton whether they
+hauled both ways or one; and with so much at stake he had to treat
+everyone generously or run the chance of being tied up by a strike. Nor
+was there lacking the sinister evidence of some unfriendly if not
+hostile force, and as breakdowns recurred and unexpected accidents
+happened, Wiley came and went like a ghost. His gun was always on him
+and he watched each man warily, seeking out his enemies from his
+friends.
+
+As for Virginia and her mother, he had long since given up hope of
+stopping their venomous tongues; and Death Valley Charley, finding the
+pressure too strong, had conveniently dropped out of sight. In all that
+town, which he had found dead and unpeopled and had changed in a few
+months to a live camp, there was not a single soul that he could
+truthfully say was honestly and unquestionably his friend. It was not
+that they were against him, for most of them realized that their own
+success was bound up with his; but they were not actively for him, they
+did not boost and help him, but joined in on the old anvil chorus. He
+had cheated the Widow, he had beaten Virginia out of her stock, he had
+taken advantage of Death Valley Charley! But, they added--and this was
+what galled him--what else could you expect from the son of Honest John?
+
+Wiley gritted his teeth, but he did not speak his mind for the hour of
+vindication was at hand. When he had paid off his notes and his bills
+for supplies the first thing he would do, even before he took over the
+mine, would be to buy in Blount's Paymaster stock. And with that stock
+in his hands, with every tell-tale endorsement to prove the damning
+story of Blount's guilt, he would go to these old-timers and make them
+eat their words when they said his father was not honest. But as far as
+he was concerned, what difference did it make whether they considered
+him honest or not? Would they feel any more kindly towards his honest
+old father when he had proved that he had been faithful to the end? No,
+they thought they were virtuous and only denouncing injustice, but when
+that charge was taken out of their mouths they would clack on out of
+jealousy at his success. It was envy that really poisoned their minds
+and made them spit forth spleen, envy and chagrin at their own lack of
+foresight.
+
+The Paymaster dump had lain right at their doorway where all of them
+could inspect its ore, but no one had noticed the heavy spar. They had
+called it white quartz and dismissed it from their minds, but he had
+come among them with different eyes. He had gone to a school of mines,
+where he had learned to identify minerals, and he had kept up with the
+mining magazines; and while these poisonous knockers had been lamenting
+the results of the war he had jumped in and turned it to his advantage.
+He had done something practical, to the improvement of industry,
+something that might change in a certain measure, the very destiny of
+the world; but the moment he succeeded they had accused him of robbing
+half-wits and of oppressing the widow and the orphan. Wiley shut down
+his jaws and smiled dourly.
+
+There was small hope now of changing the widow and her "orphan" but if
+he could not convert them he could show them. As sure as he knew
+anything he was convinced that Colonel Huff had simply fled from his
+wife's nagging tongue and, when he got the time, Wiley intended to hire
+a pack-train and set out across Death Valley to find him. Virginia came
+and went, but always she avoided him scrupulously. Not once since she
+had returned from Vegas had she met his questioning eyes; and to all his
+advances she turned a deaf ear, if the statements of Charley could be
+trusted. The carefully thought out scheme of getting back the Huff stock
+and then forming an alliance against Blount had died before it was born;
+or it remained at best in suspended animation, pending Death Valley
+Charley's return. He had gone off with his burros but the longer Wiley
+waited on him the more he saw that Charley was a broken reed. No, the
+trimming of Blount, if it was done at all, would have to be done by
+him--and all he needed was time.
+
+Two months and a little more lay between him and the day of
+reckoning--the twentieth day of May. In that short time he must meet
+heavy obligations, pay off his notes, buy Blount's stock and purchase
+the mine; and if anything should happen--if the hoist should break
+down, the mill blow up, the market for tungsten fail--well, he could
+kiss the Paymaster good-by. The market and other influences were on
+the knees of the gods, but Wiley decided that there should be no more
+accidents. That was something preventable and no more love-sick
+engineers were going to use his gearings for a clothes mangle. He
+engaged two watchmen who were mechanics as well and then he kept watch
+over his watchmen. Neither by day nor by night did he go down the hill
+for more than a few minutes at a time and on dark, stormy nights he
+wandered about like a specter watching the shadows for Stiff Neck
+George. He was out there somewhere, Wiley knew it as instinctively as
+he knew that Virginia hated him, and yet he never appeared. He never
+made threats nor showed himself in the open but, somewhere, he was out
+there in the darkness; and sooner or later he would strike.
+
+The days dragged on slowly, with cold, March winds and sandstorms
+boiling in over Shadow Mountain; and then driving rain followed by
+bright, sunny weather and struggling flowers in the swales. It was
+spring, in a way, but not the spring of yester-year, with its songs and
+laughter and high hopes. Wiley felt the old call to be up and away, but
+his racer remained in its shed. He paced about restlessly, waiting for
+something to happen, observing the slightest signs--and then he found
+her tracks in the dust. Virginia had come up the trail in the night and
+had gone down past the mill. He knew her tracks well and, among the
+broad brogans of the miners, they stood out like the footprints of a
+fairy. Wiley's heart leapt up in his breast--and then it stood still.
+Had she come as an enemy or a friend?
+
+He followed her trail to where it had been trampled out by the
+watchman in making his regular rounds; and then, below the mill, he
+picked it up again as it went on down the path. Not once had she
+hesitated or turned from the beaten trail, but she had gone down after
+the graveyard shift. That went on at eleven and her tracks were
+superimposed on the hob-nailed boot-marks of the miners. When they had
+come off shift they had trampled them out again, except for a print
+here and there; and by the color of the dust Wiley shrewdly judged
+that she had visited him between twelve and one. Between the
+wind-blown footprints of the night-shift and the fresh red of the day
+shift as they had mounted the trail at seven, her high-arched steps
+had been made about midnight, for the dust had been whitened by the
+air. Wiley followed them silently, trampling them out as he went, and
+that night as the graveyard shift came on he slipped out and hid by
+the trail. What kind of a watchman was this, who let a woman come and
+go and never even saw her tracks in the dust? He could watch for
+Virginia; and meanwhile, incidentally, he could keep tab on this
+sleepy-headed guard.
+
+The _chuh_, _chuh_ of the engine echoed loud in the canyon as
+the hoist brought up the first cars, and then the rumble of the trams as
+they were pushed down the track and the clatter of the ore down the
+grizzly. A sharp _blap_, _blap_, from the compressor showed
+that the machine-men had set up their drills; and beneath all the rest
+there was the hushed rumble of the mill and the thunderous _rhump_,
+_rhump_, of the rock-breaker. It was a ponderous affair of the old
+jaw-type, surmounted by a fly-wheel of a full ton's weight that drove it
+rhythmically on; and as Wiley listened it made a music for his ears as
+sweet as any bass viol. In this mine of his there was an orchestration
+of busy sounds, from the clang of the bell to start or stop the engine,
+to this deep, rumbling undertone of the crusher; and every clang and
+crunch brought him that much nearer to the day when he would be free.
+
+He took shelter within the black mouth of a short tunnel by the trail
+and looked out at his little world--the huge mill, dimly lighted, the
+gaunt gallows-frame against the sky, and the sleeping town below. He had
+made them his own and now he must fight for them; and watch over them,
+day and night. Above him the stars shone out clean and cold, a million
+of them in the dry, desert air; and in the east the half moon rose up
+slowly above Gold Hill, where the wealth of ages lay hid. It had given
+up its gold but his hand had struck the blow that would open up its
+treasure vaults of tungsten. All it needed now was watchfulness and
+patience. The moon rose up higher and he dozed within the shadow and
+then a sound brought him to with a start. It was the crunch of gravel on
+the trail before him and as he looked out he saw Virginia.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+VIRGINIA EXPLAINS--NOTHING
+
+
+She was covered by a cloak and there was a man's hat on her head, but
+Wiley knew her--it was Virginia Huff. The moon had mounted high and the
+chill of the morning was in the air, so he could hardly flatter himself
+that she had come to see him. Perhaps it was just to see the mine. But
+if, beneath that cloak, she carried some instrument of destruction--he
+stepped out and watched her covertly. She tiptoed up the trail, glancing
+nervously about her, starting back as a trammer dumped his ore; and
+then, very slowly, she crept past his house and disappeared in the
+direction of the mill. Instantly he whipped out of his tunnel and
+started after her, running swiftly up the trail; but as he neared the
+summit she came catapulting against him, running as swiftly the other
+way.
+
+"Here! Stop!" he commanded as she leapt back with a stifled scream and
+then as she made a dash he plunged resolutely after her and caught her
+like a child.
+
+"You let go of me!" she panted, but he flung one arm about her and held
+both her hands to her side.
+
+"No," he said, and she struck out violently only to find herself
+clutched the tighter.
+
+"Wiley Holman!" she exploded, "if you don't let me go! You'd better--I
+saw a man back there!"
+
+"It's my watchman," answered Wiley. "I keep him to guard the mill. But
+what are you doing up here?"
+
+"No! It wasn't! It was Stiff Neck George! And he had something heavy in
+his hand! You'd better go and watch him!"
+
+She was struggling in his arms, her breath hot against his cheek, fear
+and rage in every word, but he crushed her roughly to his side.
+
+"Never mind about George," he said. "What are _you_ doing up here,
+now?"
+
+"But he'll blow up your mine! I've heard him threaten to! I just came up
+to tell you!"
+
+"Oh, that's different!" returned Wiley, relaxing his grip, "but never
+mind--my watchman will get him."
+
+"No! The watchman is asleep--I didn't see him anywhere! Oh, Wiley;
+please run and stop him!"
+
+"Nope," replied Wiley, "he can blow the whole mill up--I want to ask you
+a question."
+
+He released her reluctantly, for the touch of her had thrilled him, and
+the sweetness of her breath on his cheek--but she darted down the trail
+like a rabbit.
+
+"Here! Wait!" he ordered and outran her in ten jumps, at which she
+stooped and snatched up a rock.
+
+"Put that down!" he said, and as she swung back the rock, he braved it
+and caught her anyway. "Now," he went on, trembling from the smash of
+the blow, but holding her in a grip of steel, "we'll see what all this
+is about!"
+
+"You will not!" she hissed back, "because I won't answer you a word! And
+I hope old George ruins your mill!"
+
+"That's all right," he said, shaking his bloody head, "but, Judas, you
+did smash me with that stone! After that, I guess, I've got something
+coming to me!" And he reached down and kissed her lips.
+
+"You--stop!" she panted. "Oh, I--I'll kill you for that!" But Wiley only
+laughed recklessly.
+
+"All right!" he said, "what's the difference--I'd die happy! I almost
+wish you'd hit me again."
+
+"Well, I will!" she threatened, but when he released her she drew back
+and hung her head. "That isn't fair," she said, "you know I can't
+protect myself, and----"
+
+"Well, all right," he agreed, "we'll call it square then. But--I want to
+tell you something, Virginia."
+
+"Are you going to stand here," she burst out sharply, "and let him blow
+up your mill?"
+
+"Yes, I am," he answered. "I don't care what happens to me if you and I
+can be friends. I love you, Virginia, you know it as well as I do, and
+that's all I want in the world. Let's just be friends, the way we used
+to be when we were playing around town together. I've been trying to see
+you for months--it's seemed like forty years--and Virginia, you've got
+to listen to me!"
+
+He paused and drew nearer, and she stood waiting passively, as if daring
+him to touch her again; but he stooped and peered into her face. The
+night was not dark and in the ghostly moonlight he could see the cold
+anger in her eyes.
+
+"Yes, I know," he said, "you hate me like poison--but Virginia, this is
+going too far. It's all right to hate me, if that's the way you're
+built, but you ought to give me a chance. It looks very much as if you'd
+come up here to-night to do some damage to my mine; but I'll let that
+pass and say nothing about it if you'll only give me a chance. Let me
+tell you how I feel and then, some other time----"
+
+"Well, go on," she said, "but if your old mine blows up----"
+
+"I wish it would!" he burst out passionately. "If it would make any
+difference, I wish it was blown off the map. I can't bear to fight you,
+Virginia; it makes my life miserable, and I've tried to be friendly from
+the first. But is it right to blame a man for something he can't help
+and not even give him a chance to explain? If you think I've stolen your
+mine, why, go ahead and say so and let me give it back. I'll do it, so
+help me God, if you'll only say the word."
+
+"What word?" she asked, and he threw out his hands in a helpless appeal
+to her pity.
+
+"Any word," he said, "so long as it's friendly. But I just can't stand
+it to be without you!"
+
+"Oh," she said, and looked back up the trail as if meditating another
+dash to escape.
+
+"Well, what is it?" he asked at last. "Won't you even listen to me? I've
+got a plan to propose."
+
+"Why, certainly," she responded, "go ahead and tell it. And then, when
+it's done, can I go?"
+
+"Yes, you can go," he answered eagerly, "if you'll only just listen
+reasonably and think what this means to us both. We used to be friends,
+Virginia, and while I was working up this deal I did everything I could
+to help you. I didn't have much money then or I'd have done more for
+you, but you know my heart was right. I wasn't trying to take advantage
+of you. But the minute I got the mine it seems as if everybody turned
+against me--and you turned against me, too. That hurt me, Virginia,
+after what I'd tried to do for you, but I know you had your reasons. You
+blamed me for things that I never had done and--well, you wouldn't even
+speak to me. But that was all right--it was perfectly natural--and on
+Christmas I sent you back your stock. I only bought it from Charley to
+help you get to Los Angeles, and I considered that I was holding it in
+trust; so I sent it back by Charley, but I suppose he made some break,
+because I found it on my table that night. But you'll take it back now;
+won't you, Virginia?"
+
+His voice broke like a boy's in the earnestness of his appeal and yet it
+was hopeless, too, for he saw that she stood unmoved. He waited for an
+answer, then as she shifted her feet impatiently he went on with dogged
+persistence. It was useless, he knew it; and yet, sometime in the
+future, she might recall what he had said and take advantage of it.
+
+"Well, all right, then," he assented, "but the stock's yours if you want
+it. I'm holding it for you, in trust. But now here's what I wanted to
+tell you--I'd hoped we could do it together; but you ought to do it,
+anyway. You know that stock that your mother lost to Blount? Well, I
+know how you can get it back."
+
+He paused for her to speak, to exclaim perhaps at his magnanimity in
+offering to help her against her will, but she shrouded herself
+pettishly in her cloak.
+
+"Oh, you don't care, eh?" he asked with a bitter laugh. "Well, I wish to
+God, then, I didn't. But I do, Virginia! I can't stand it to see you
+slaving when there's anything in the world that I can do. Now here's the
+proposition: according to law your father isn't legally dead--he won't
+be for seven years--and so your mother, not being his heir yet, had no
+right to hypothecate that stock. It still belongs to your father's
+estate and all you have to do is to go to a lawyer and demand the
+property back. You're his daughter, you see, and a co-heir with your
+mother, and Blount will not dare to oppose it!"
+
+"Yes, thanks," returned Virginia. "Is that all?"
+
+"Why--no!" he said at last, clutching his hands at his side.
+"There's--I'll lend you the money, Virginia."
+
+"No, thank you!" she answered, and started off down the trail, but he
+stepped in her way and stopped her. His mood had changed, for his voice
+was rough and threatening, but he struggled to keep it down.
+
+"Is that all?" he demanded and without waiting for the answer he reached
+out and caught her by the arm. "Virginia," he said, "I've tried to be
+good to you, but maybe you don't appreciate it. And maybe I've made a
+mistake. There's something about you when I'm around that reminds me of
+a man with a grouch--only a man would speak out his mind. Now I've given
+you a chance to clean up twenty thousand dollars and I expect something
+more than: 'No, thanks!'"
+
+"Well, what _do_ you expect?" she asked, struggling feebly against
+his grasp.
+
+"I expect," he answered, "that you'll state your grievance and tell me
+why you won't have me?"
+
+"And if I do, will you let me go?"
+
+"When I get good and ready," he responded grimly. "I don't know whether
+I'm in love with you or not."
+
+"Well, my grievance," she went on defiantly, "is that you went to work
+deliberately and robbed me and mother of our mine. And as for winning
+_me_, that's one thing you can't steal--and I'll kill you if you
+don't let go of that hand!"
+
+"Yes," he said, "I've heard that before--it seems to run in the family.
+But don't you think for a minute that I'm afraid of getting killed--or
+that I'm trying to steal you, either. If you were an Indian squaw you
+might be worth stealing, because I could beat a little sense into your
+head; but the way things are now I'll just turn you loose--and kindly
+keep off my ground."
+
+He flung back her hand and stepped out of the trail but Virginia did not
+pass. Her breast heaved tumultuously and she turned upon him as she
+sought for a fitting retort; but while they stood panting, each
+glowering at the other, there was a crash from inside the old mill. Its
+huge bulk was lit up by a flash of light which went out in Stygian
+darkness and as they listened, aghast, the ground trembled beneath them
+and a tearing roar filled the air. It began at the stone-breaker and
+went down through the mill, like the progress of a devastating host, and
+as Wiley sprang forward, there was a terrifying smash which seemed to
+shake the mill to its base. Then all was silent and as he looked around
+he saw Virginia dancing off down the trail.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+ON DEMAND
+
+
+If there was anything left of his mill but the frame, Wiley's ears had
+played him false; and yet he stood and looked after Virginia. This
+grinding crash, this pandemonium of destruction which had left him sick
+with fear, had put joy into her dancing feet. Yes, she had danced--like
+a child that hears good news or runs to meet its father--and he had
+thought her worthy of his love! He had battered his brain for weeks to
+devise some plan whereby he could make his peace; he had taken her blows
+like a dog; and she had answered with this. Whether it was Stiff Neck
+George or some other man, she had known both his presence and his
+purpose; and now she rejoiced in the catastrophe. A hundred dollars
+would buy him a squaw more worthy of confidence and love.
+
+There was darkness in the mill, but when they brought the flares,
+Wiley saw that the ruin was complete. From the rock breaker to the
+concentrators there was nothing but splintered wood, twisted iron and
+upturned tanks; and the demon of destruction which had raged down
+through its length was nothing but the fly-wheel of the rock crusher.
+What power had uprooted it he was at a loss to conjecture but, a full
+ton in weight, it had jumped from its frame and plowed its way down
+through the mill. The ore-bins were intact, for the fly-wheel had
+overleapt them, but tables and tanks and concentrating jigs were
+utterly smashed and ruined. Even the wall of the mill had given way
+before it and the cold light of dawn crept in through a jagged
+aperture that marked its resistless course. The fly-wheel was gone and
+the damage was done; but there was still, of course, the post mortem.
+What had caused that massive shafting, with its ponderous speeding
+wheels, to leap from its bearings and go crashing down the descent,
+laying everything before it in ruins? Wiley summoned his engineer and,
+in the shattered jaws of the rock-breaker, they found the
+innocent-looking instrument of destruction. It was not a stick of
+dynamite, but a heavy steel sledge-hammer that had been cast into the
+jaws of the crusher. They had closed down upon it, the hammer had
+resisted, and then all the momentum of that whirling double fly-wheel
+had been brought to bear against it. Yet the hammer could not be
+crushed and, as the wheel had applied its weight, the resistance to
+its force had caused it to leap from its bearings and go hurtling down
+the incline.
+
+It was a very complete job, even better than dynamiting, and yet Wiley
+did not blame it on Stiff Neck George. Some miner, some millman, who had
+seen it done before, had repeated the performance for his benefit. Or
+was it, perhaps, for Virginia's? He remembered the engineer who had fed
+his greasy overalls into the gearings of the hoist. He had boarded with
+Virginia and had waved her a parting kiss--but this time it would be
+some trammer. Wiley gave them all their time on general principles, but
+he did not go down to witness the farewell. Whether the trammer kissed
+her good-by or simply kissed her hand was immaterial to him now--and, in
+case it might have been a millman or some miner underground, he laid off
+the whole night shift. The night-watchman went too, and the stage the
+following evening brought out a cook to start up the boarding-house.
+
+Wiley did not guess it--he knew it--Virginia Huff was the witch who had
+mixed the hell-broth that had raised up all this treachery against him.
+She had poisoned his men's minds and incited them to vandalism, but it
+would not happen again. He had been a fool to endure it so long; but she
+could starve now, for all that he cared. If she thought she could twist
+him like a ring around her finger while she egged on these men to wreck
+his mill, she had one more guess coming and then she would be right, for
+he had come to his senses at last. This was not the Virginia that he had
+known and loved--the Virginia he had played with in his youth--but a
+warped and embittered Virginia, a waspish, heartless vixen who had never
+been anything but cold. She had worked him deliberately, resorting to
+woman's wiles to gain what was not her due, and now when his mill was
+smashed into kindling wood, she danced and laughed for joy.
+
+What kind of a mind could a woman have, to do such a senseless thing and
+then laugh at the man who had helped her? She was kind to her cats, the
+neighbors all liked her, to everyone else she seemed human; but when it
+came to him she was a devil of hate, a fiend of ruthless cunning. She
+would tell him to his face--at three in the morning, when he had caught
+her running away from the mill--that she hoped his old mill would be
+ruined. And now, when the trammer or some other soft-head had sent one
+of his sledges through the crusher, she was laughing up her sleeve. But
+there was a hereafter coming for Virginia and her mother and they would
+get no more favors from him. If they crept to his feet and said they
+were starving he would tell them to get out and hustle. Meanwhile they
+had sent him broke.
+
+There would be no more ore concentrated in the Paymaster mill during
+the life of his bond and lease; and unless he could raise some money,
+and raise it quick, he was due to lose his mine. Whether he had
+abetted it or not, Blount would not fail to take advantage of this
+last, staggering blow to his fortunes; and there were notes and paper
+due which would easily serve as a pretext for a writ of attachment on
+his mine. Bad news travels fast, but Wiley set out to beat it by
+snatching at his one remaining chance. His mill was ruined, his output
+was stopped, but he still had the ore underground--and the buyers were
+crazy to get it. He sent out identical messages to ten big consumers
+and then sat down to await the results. They came with a rush, ten
+scrambling frantic bids for his total output for one year--and one of
+them was for eighty-four dollars! It was from the biggest buyer of
+them all, a man who was reputed to be the representative of a foreign
+government, a man who had paid cash on the nail. Wiley pondered a
+while, looked up his obligations to Blount, and accepted immediately
+by wire. But there was one proviso--he demanded an advance payment,
+which the buyer promptly wired to his bank. Then Wiley twisted up his
+lip and waited.
+
+Blount appeared the next day, dropping in casually as was his wont; but
+there was a cold, killing look in his eye and he had a deputy sheriff as
+a witness. They looked through the mill and Blount asked several leading
+questions before he ventured to come to the point, but at last he
+cleared his throat and spoke up.
+
+"Well, Wiley," he said, drawing some papers from his pocket, "I'm sorry,
+but I'll have to call your notes. If it were my money it would be
+different; but I'm a banker, you understand, and your paper is long
+overdue. I've extended it before because I admired your courage and
+thought you might possibly pull through, but this accident to your mill
+has impaired the property and I can't let it run any longer."
+
+"Oh, that's all right," said Wiley, "but you don't need to apologize,
+because there won't be any attachments and judgments. Just tell me how
+much it comes to and I'll write you out a check." He took the notes from
+Blount's palsied hand and spread them on the desk before him, but as he
+was jotting down the totals Blount grabbed them wildly away.
+
+"Not much!" he exclaimed, "I don't surrender those notes until the money
+is put in my hands! Your check isn't worth a pen stroke!"
+
+"Well, I don't know," returned Wiley. "There may be two opinions about
+that. I had a hunch, Mr. Blount, that you might spring something like
+this and so I made arrangements to accommodate you."
+
+"But you're strapped! You owe everybody!" cried Blount in a passion. "I
+don't believe you've got a cent!"
+
+"Just a minute," said Wiley, and took down his telephone. "Hello," he
+called, "get me the First National Bank." He waited then, twiddling
+his pencil placidly, while Blount's great neck swelled out with venom.
+"I figure," went on Wiley, as he waited for the connection, "that I
+owe you twenty-two thousand dollars, with interest amounting to
+two-eighty-three, sixty-one. Here's your check, all filled out, and
+when I get the bank you can ask the cashier if it's good."
+
+"But, Wiley--," began Blount.
+
+"Hello! Hello! Is this the First National? This is Holman, out at the
+Paymaster. Mr. Blount is here and, as I'm closing my account with
+him----"
+
+"No! No!" cried Blount in a panic, but Wiley went on with his talk.
+
+"Yes," he said, "the check is for twenty-two thousand, two eighty-three,
+sixty-one. Will you please set that amount aside to meet the payment on
+this check? All right, Mr. Blount, here's the bank."
+
+He held out the instrument and Blount seized it roughly, for he had
+heard of fake telephone messages before, but when he listened he
+recognized the voice.
+
+"Oh, Agnew?" he hailed, smiling genially at the 'phone. "Well, sorry
+to have troubled you, I'm sure. Oh, yes, yes; I know Wiley is all
+right; he's good with us for twenty thousand more. No, never mind the
+certification; we may let the matter drop. Yes, thank you very
+much--good-by!"
+
+He hung up the receiver and turned to Wiley; but the cold, killing look
+was gone.
+
+"Wiley," he chuckled, slapping him heartily on the back, "you certainly
+have put one over. It isn't every day that I find a man waiting with the
+check all made out to a cent; and somehow--well, I hate to take the
+money."
+
+"Yes, I know how you suffer," replied Wiley, grimly, "but let's get the
+agony over." He held out the check and Blount accepted it reluctantly,
+passing over the notes with a sigh.
+
+But for the trifling detail that "demand" had not been waived Blount
+could have gone into court without even asking for his money and secured
+an attachment against the property. But Wiley's firm insistence that all
+cut-throat clauses should be omitted had compelled Blount to demand
+payment on the notes; and then, by some process which still remained a
+mystery, he had raised the full amount to meet the payment. And so once
+more, after going to all the trouble of bringing a deputy sheriff along,
+Blount found himself balked and his dreams of judgment and lien
+permanently banished to the limbo of lost hopes.
+
+Wiley's over-prompt payment had confused Blount for the moment and
+thrown him into a panic. He had counted confidently upon crushing him
+at a blow and cutting short his inimical activities, but now of a
+sudden he found himself threatened with the loss of all his interests.
+If Wiley had made profits beyond his calculations--but no, he could
+not, for under the terms of their bond and lease one-tenth of the net
+profit on all his shipments was sent direct to Blount. And if what
+Wiley had received was only ten times the Company's royalty, he was
+still in debt to someone. Blount had followed him closely and he knew
+that his expenses had absorbed all his profits, up to date. But
+perhaps--and Blount paused--perhaps the other bank, or some outside
+parties, were backing him in his enterprise. He would have to look
+that matter up--first. But if not--if he was still running his mine as
+he had from the first, on his nerve and his diamond ring--then there
+were ways and means which should be speedily invoked to prevent him
+from meeting his payments.
+
+Scarcely a month remained before the bond and lease lapsed--and Wiley's
+option on Blount's personal stock--but any day he might raise the money
+and, by taking over Blount's stock, place him out of the running for
+good. These tungsten buyers who were so avid for its product might
+purchase an interest in the mine; they might advance the fifty thousand
+and take it over under the bond and lease, and bring all his plans to
+naught. As Blount paced about the office he suddenly saw himself
+defrauded of that which he had worked for for years. He saw his stock
+bought up first, to deprive him of the royalties, and then the mine
+snatched from his hands; and all he would have left would be the
+forfeited Huff stock and the small payment it would earn from the sale.
+Something would have to be done, and done every minute, to prevent him
+from carrying out his purpose.
+
+Blount paused in his nervous pacing and held out a flabby hand to Wiley,
+who was writing away at his desk.
+
+"Well, Wiley," he said, "I guess I must be going. But any time you need
+money----" He stopped and smiled amiably, in the soft, easy way he had
+when he wished to appear harmless as a dove, and Wiley glanced up
+briefly from his work.
+
+"Yes, thank you, Mr. Blount," he said. But he did not take his hand.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+DOUBLE TROUBLE
+
+
+The next two weeks of Wiley Holman's life were packed so full of trouble
+that there were those who almost pitied him, though the word had been
+passed around to lay off. It was Samuel J. Blount who was making the
+trouble, and who notified the rest to keep out, and so great was his
+influence in all the desert country that no one dared to interfere. What
+he did was all legal and according to business ethics, but it gloved the
+iron hand. Blount was reaching for the mine and he intended to get it,
+if he had to crush his man. The attachments and suits were but the
+shadow boxing of the bout; the rough stuff was held in reserve. And
+somehow Wiley sensed this, for he sat tight at the mine and hired a
+lawyer to meet the suits. His job was mining ore and he shoveled it out
+by the ton.
+
+The distressing accidents had suddenly ceased since he began to board
+his own men at the mine and, while his lawyer stalled and haggled to
+fight off an injunction, he rushed his ore to the railroad. It was too
+precious to ship loose, for at eighty-four dollars a unit it was worth
+over four dollars a pound; he sent it out sacked, with an armed guard on
+each truck to see that it was delivered and receipted for. As the checks
+came back he paid off all his debts, thus depriving Blount of his
+favorite club; and then, while Blount was casting about for new weapons,
+he began to lay aside his profits.
+
+They rolled up monstrously, for each five-ton truck load added several
+thousand dollars to his bank account, but the time was getting short.
+Less than three weeks remained before the bond and lease expired, and
+still Wiley was playing to win. He crammed his mine with men, snatching
+the ore from the stopes as the bonanza leasers had done at Tonopah, and
+doubling the miner's pay with bonuses. Every truck driver received his
+bonus, and night and day the great motors went thundering across the
+desert. The ore came up from below and was dumped on a jig, where it was
+sorted and hastily sacked; and after that there was nothing to do but
+sent it under guard to the railroad. There was no milling, no smelting,
+no tedious process of reduction; but the raw picked ore was rushed to
+the East and the checks came promptly back.
+
+Blount was fully informed now of the terms of his contract and of the
+source of his sudden wealth, but there was no way of reaching the buyer.
+A great war was on, every minute was precious--and every ounce of the
+tungsten was needed. The munitions makers could not pause for a single
+day in their mad rush to fill their contracts. The only ray of hope that
+Blount could see was that the price had broken to sixty dollars a unit.
+Wiley's contract called for eighty-four, throughout the full year--but
+suppose he should lose his mine. And suppose Blount should win it. He
+could offer better terms, provided always that the buyer would
+accommodate him now. Suppose, for instance, that the fat daily checks
+should cease coming during the life of the lease. That could easily be
+explained--it might be an error in book-keeping--but it would make quite
+a difference to Wiley. And in return for some such favor Blount could
+afford to sell the tungsten for, say, fifty-five dollars a unit.
+
+Blount was a careful man. He did not trust his message to the wires, nor
+did he put it on paper to convict him; he simply disappeared--but when
+he came back Wiley's lawyer was waiting with a check. It was for twenty
+thousand dollars, and in return for this payment the lawyer demanded all
+of Blount's stock. Four hundred thousand shares, worth five dollars
+apiece if the bond and lease should lapse, and called for under the
+option at five cents! In those few short days, while Blount had been
+speeding East, Wiley had piled up this profit and more--and now he was
+demanding his stock!
+
+"No!" said Blount, "that option is invalid because it was obtained by
+deception and fraud, and therefore I refuse to recognize it."
+
+"Very well," replied the lawyer, who made his living out of
+controversies, and, summoning witnesses to his offer, he placed the
+money in the hands of the court and plunged into furious litigation. It
+was furious, in a way, and yet not so furious as the next day and the
+next passed by; for the lawyer was a business man and dependent upon the
+good will of Blount. It was a civil suit and, since Wiley could not
+appear to state his case in Court, it was postponed by mutual consent.
+
+It had come over Wiley that, as long as he stood guard, no accident
+would happen at the mine; but he was equally convinced that, the moment
+he left it, the unexpected would happen. So, since Blount had elected to
+fight his suit, he let the fate of his option wait while he piled up
+money for his _coup_. As an individual, Blount might resist the
+sale of his stock; but as President of the Company he and his Board of
+Directors had given Wiley a valid bond and lease and, acting under its
+terms, Wiley still had an opportunity to gain a clear title to the mine.
+What happened to the stock could be thrashed out later, but with the
+Paymaster in his possession he could laugh his enemies to scorn--and he
+did not intend to be jumped! For who could tell, among these men who
+swarmed about him, which ones might be hired emissaries of Blount; and,
+once he was out of sight, they might seize the mine and hold it against
+all comers.
+
+It was a thing which had been done before, and was likely to be done
+again; and as the days slipped by, bringing him closer to the end, he
+looked about for some agent. Had he a man that he could trust to hold
+the mine, while he went into town to gain title to it? He looked them
+all over but, knowing Blount as he did, and the weakness of human
+nature, he hesitated and decided against it. No, it was better by far
+that _he_ should hold the mine--for possession, in mining, is
+everything--and send someone to pay over the money. That would be
+perfectly legal, and anyone could do it, but here again he hesitated.
+The zeal of his lawyer was failing of late--could he trust him to make
+the payment, in a town that was owned by Blount? Would he offer it
+legally and demand a legal surrender, and come out and put the deed in
+his hand? He might, but Wiley doubted it.
+
+There was something going on regarding the payments for his shipments
+which he was unable to straighten out over the 'phone, and his lawyer
+was neglecting even that. And yet, if those checks were held up much
+longer it might seriously interfere with his payment. He had wired
+repeatedly, but either the messages were not delivered or his buyer was
+trying to welch on his contract. What he wanted was an agent, to go
+directly to the buyer and get the matter adjusted. Wiley thought the
+matter over, then he 'phoned his lawyer to forget it and wrote direct to
+an express company, enclosing his bills of lading and authorizing them
+to collect the account. When it came to collecting bills you could trust
+the express company--and you could trust Uncle Sam with your mail--but
+as to the people in Vegas, and especially the telephone girl, he had his
+well-established doubts. His telegraphic messages went out over the
+'phone and were not a matter of record and if she happened to be eating
+a box of Blount's candy she might forget to relay them. It was borne in
+upon him, in fact, more strongly every day, that there are very few
+people you can trust. With a suitcase, yes--but with a mine worth
+millions? That calls for something more than common honesty.
+
+The fight for the Paymaster, and Wiley's race against time, was now on
+every tongue, and as the value of the property went up there was a
+sudden flurry in the stock. Men who had hoarded it secretly for eight
+and ten years, men who had moved to the ends of the world, all heard of
+the fabulous wealth of the new Paymaster and wrote in to offer their
+stock. Not to offer it, exactly, but to place it on record; and others
+began as quietly to buy. It was known that the royalties had piled up an
+accruing dividend of at least twenty cents a share; and with the sale of
+it imminent--and a greater rise coming in case there was no sale--there
+would be a further increase in value. It was good, in fact, for thirty
+cents cash, with a gambling chance up to five dollars; and the wise ones
+began to buy. Men he had not seen for years dropped in on Wiley to ask
+his advice about their stock; and one evening in his office, he looked
+up from his work to see the familiar face of Death Valley Charley.
+
+"Hello there, Charley," he said, still working. "Awful busy. What is it
+you want?"
+
+"Virginia wants her stock," answered Charley simply and blinked as he
+stood waiting the answer. There was a war on now between the Huffs and
+Holmans into which Wiley's father had been drawn; and since Honest John
+had repudiated his son's acts and disclaimed all interest in his deal,
+Charley knew that Wiley was bitter. He had cut off the Widow from her
+one source of revenue but, when she had accused him of doing it for his
+father, Wiley had forgotten the last of his chivalry. Not only did he
+board all his men himself but he promised to fire any man he had who was
+seen taking a meal at the Widow's. It was war to the knife, and Charley
+knew it, but he blinked his eyes and stood firm.
+
+"What stock?" demanded Wiley, and then he closed his lips and his eyes
+turned fighting gray. "You tell her," he said, "if she wants her stock,
+to come and get it herself."
+
+"But she sent me to get it!" objected Charley obstinately.
+
+"Yes, and I send you back," answered Wiley. "I gave her that stock
+twice, and I made it what it is, and if she wants it she can come and
+ask for it."
+
+"And will you give it to her?" asked Charley, but Wiley only grunted and
+went ahead with his writing.
+
+It was apparent to him what was in the wind. The Widow had written to
+demand of his father some return for the damage to her business; and
+Honest John had replied, and sent Wiley a copy, that he was in no ways
+responsible for his acts. This letter to Wiley had been followed by
+another in which his father had rebuked him for persecuting Mrs. Huff,
+and Wiley had replied with five pages, closely written, reciting his
+side of the case. At this John Holman had declared himself neutral and,
+beyond repeating his offer to buy the Widow's stock, had disclaimed all
+interest in her affairs. But now, with her stock still in Blount's hands
+and this last source of revenue closed to her, the Widow was left no
+alternative but to appeal indirectly to Wiley. What other way then was
+open, if she was ever to win back her stock, but to get back Virginia's
+shares and sell them to raise the eight hundred dollars? Wiley grumbled
+to himself as Death Valley Charley turned away and went on writing his
+letter.
+
+It had been a surprise, after his break with Virginia, to discover that
+it left him almost glad. It had removed a burden that had weighed him
+down for months, and it left him free to act. He could protect his
+property now as it should be protected, without thought of her or
+anybody; and he could board his own men and keep the gospel of hate from
+being constantly dinned into their ears. They were honest, simple
+miners, easily swayed by a woman's distress, but equally susceptible to
+the lure of gold; and now with a bonus after the minimum of work they
+were tearing out the ore like Titans. They were loyal and satisfied,
+greeting his coming with a friendly smile; but if Virginia got hold of
+them, or her venomous mother, where then would be his discipline?
+
+He was deep in his work when a shadow fell upon his desk and he looked
+up to see--Virginia.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+VIRGINIA REPENTS
+
+
+"I came for my stock," said Virginia coolly as she met his questioning
+eye and Wiley turned and rummaged in a drawer. The stock was hers and
+since she came and asked for it--he laid it on the desk and went ahead
+with his work. Virginia took the envelope and examined it carefully, but
+she did not go away. She glanced at him curiously, writing away so
+grimly, and there was a scar across his head. Could it be--yes, there
+her rock had struck him. The mark was still fresh, but he had given her
+the stock; and now he was privileged to hate her. That wound on his head
+would soon be overgrown and covered, but she had left a deeper scar on
+his heart. She had hurt his man's pride; and now he had hurt hers, and
+humbled her to ask for her stock. He looked up suddenly, feeling her
+eyes upon him, and Virginia drew back and blushed.
+
+"Oh--thank you," she stammered and turned to go, and yet she lingered to
+see what he would say.
+
+"You're welcome," he answered evenly, and took a fresh sheet of paper,
+but she refused to notice the hint. A sense of pique, of wonder at his
+politeness and half-resentment at his obliviousness of her presence,
+drew her back and she leaned against his desk.
+
+"What are you writing?" she asked as he glanced at her inquiringly. "Is
+it a letter to that squaw?"
+
+A sudden twitch of passion passed over his face at this reference to a
+dark page in their past and he drew the written sheet away.
+
+"No," he said, "I happened to remember a white girl----"
+
+"What?" burst out Virginia before she could check herself and he curled
+his lip up scornfully.
+
+"Yes," he nodded, "and she seems to think I'm all right."
+
+"Oh," she said and turned away her head with a painful twisted smile.
+Somehow she had always thought--and yet he must have met other girls--he
+was meeting them all the time! She tried to summon her anger, to carry
+her past this fresh stab, but the tears rose to her eyes instead.
+
+"I--we'll be going away soon," she went on hurriedly. "That is, if he
+gives us back our stock. Do you think he'll do it, Wiley? You know--the
+plan you spoke of. We're going to sell this stock to a broker and then
+pay Mr. Blount back."
+
+"I don't know," mumbled Wiley, and humped up over his letter, but it did
+not produce the effect he had hoped for.
+
+"Well--I'm sorry I hurt you," she broke out impulsively, rebuked by the
+long gash in his hair, "but you shouldn't have tried to stop me! I
+wasn't doing you any harm--I just came up there that night to see what
+was going on. And I did see Stiff Neck George, you can smile all you
+want to, and he had something heavy in his hand."
+
+She ran on with her explanation, only to trail off inconclusively as she
+saw his face growing grim. He did not believe her, he did not even
+listen; he just sat there patiently and waited.
+
+"Are you waiting for me to go?" she asked, smiling wanly, but even then
+he did not respond. There had been a time, not many weeks ago, when he
+would have risen up and offered her a chair; but he had got past that
+now and seemed really and sincerely to prefer his own company to hers.
+"I thought you might help us," she went on almost tearfully, "to get
+back our stock from Blount. It was nice of you to tell me, after the way
+I acted; but--oh, I don't know what it was that came over me! And I
+never even thanked you for telling me!"
+
+A cynical smile came into Wiley's eyes as he sat back and put down his
+pen, but even after that she hurried on. "Yes, I know you don't like
+me--you think I tried to wreck your mine and turned all your men against
+you--but I do thank you, all the same. You--you used to care, Wiley; but
+anyhow, I thank you and--I guess I'll be going now."
+
+She started for the door but he did not try to stop her. He even picked
+up his pen, and she turned back with fire in her eyes.
+
+"Well, you might say something," she said defiantly, "or don't you care
+what happens to me?"
+
+"No; I don't, Virginia," he answered quietly, "so just let it go at
+that. We can't get along, so what's the use of trying? You go your way
+and let me go mine."
+
+"Oh, I know!" she sighed, "you think I'm ungrateful--and you think I
+just came for my stock. But I didn't, altogether; I wanted to say I'm
+sorry and--oh, Wiley, _do_ you think he's alive?"
+
+"Who?" he asked; but he knew already--she was thinking about the
+Colonel.
+
+"Why, Father," she ran on. "I heard you that time when you got old
+Charley drunk. Do you think he's really alive? Because if he is!" She
+raised her eyes ecstatically and suddenly she was smiling into his.
+"Because if he is," she said, "and I can find him again--oh, Wiley;
+won't you help me find him?"
+
+"I'll think about it," responded Wiley, but his eyes were smiling back
+and the anger had died in his heart. After all, she was human; she could
+smile through her tears and reach out and touch his rough hand, and he
+could not bring himself to hate her. "After I pay for the mine," he
+suggested gently. "But now you'd better go."
+
+"Oh, no," she protested, "please tell me about it. Is he hiding in the
+Ube-Hebes? Oh, you don't know how glad I was when I heard you talking
+with Charley--I never did think he was dead. He sent me word once, not
+to worry about him, but--the Indians said he had died. That is--well,
+they said if it hadn't been for that sandstorm they would surely have
+found the body. And he'd thrown away his canteen, so he couldn't have
+had any water; and there wasn't any more for miles. He was lost, you
+know, and out of his head; and heading right out through the sand-hills.
+Oh, it's awful to talk about it, but of course we don't know for
+certain; and it might have been somebody else. Don't you think it was
+some other man?"
+
+"I don't know," answered Wiley, and sat staring straight ahead as she
+ran on with her arguments and entreaties. After all, what did he have
+to base his belief upon, except the babblings of brain-cracked
+Charley? They had found the Colonel's riding-burro, and his
+saddle-bags and papers, besides his rifle and canteen; and the
+Shoshone trailers had followed the tracks of a man until they were
+lost in the drifting sand-hills. And yet Charley's remarks, and his
+repeated attempts to get across the valley with some whiskey; there
+was something there, certainly, upon which to build hope--and Virginia
+was very insistent.
+
+"Yes, I think it was another man," he said at length. "Either that or
+your father escaped. He might have lost one canteen and still have had
+another, or he might have found his way to some water-hole. But from the
+way Charley talks, and tries to cover up his breaks, I feel sure that
+your father is alive."
+
+"Oh, goodie!" she cried and before he could stop her she had stooped
+over and kissed his bruised head. "Now you know I'm sorry," she burst
+out impulsively, "and will you go out and look for him at once?"
+
+"Pretty soon," said Wiley, putting her gently away. "After I make my
+payment on the mine. They'd be sure to jump me, now."
+
+"Oh, but why not now?" she pleaded. "They wouldn't jump your mine."
+
+"Yes, they would," he replied. "They'd jump me in a minute! I don't dare
+to go off the grounds."
+
+"But what's the mine," she demanded insistently, "compared to finding
+father?"
+
+"Well, not very much," he conceded frankly, "but this is the way I'm
+fixed. I've got the whole world against me, including you and your
+mother, and I've got to play out my hand. There's nobody I can
+trust--even my father has turned against me--and I've got to fight
+this out myself."
+
+"What? Just for the money? Do you think more of that than you do of
+finding my father?"
+
+"No, I don't," he said, "but I can't go now, and so there's no use
+talking."
+
+"No," she answered, drawing resentfully away from him, "there's no use
+talking to _you_! He might be dying, or out of food, but you don't
+think of anything but that money!"
+
+"Well, maybe so," he retorted tartly, "but if you'd just left me alone,
+instead of sicking all your dogs on me, I'd've been over there looking
+for him, long ago. Of course I'm wrong--that's understood from the
+start; but----"
+
+"What dogs did I set on you?" she demanded, flaring up, and he fixed her
+with sullen eyes.
+
+"Never mind," he said. "You know what you've done as well or better than
+I do. All I've got to say is that my conscience is clear and we'd better
+quit talking while we're friends."
+
+"Yes--friends!" she repeated, and then she stopped and at last she
+heaved a sigh. "Well, I don't care," she defended. "You drove me to it.
+A woman must protect herself, somehow."
+
+"Well, you can do it," he said, feeling tenderly of his head, and
+Virginia flew into a rage.
+
+"I told you I was _sorry_!" she cried, stamping her foot. "Isn't
+that enough? I'm sorry, I said!"
+
+"Yes, and I'm sorry," he answered, but his eyes were level and his jaw
+jutted out like a crag.
+
+"Sorry for what?" she demanded, and he sprang his trap.
+
+"Sorry I can't go out and hunt for your father."
+
+"Oh," she said, and drooped her head.
+
+"If we could pay for what we've done by just being sorry," he went on
+with a ghost of a smile, "we wouldn't be where we are. But you know we
+can't, Virginia. I'm sorry for some things myself, and I expect to pay
+for them, but I can't stop to do it now."
+
+"But will you go for him--sometime?" she asked, smiling wistfully.
+"Then--oh, Wiley; why can't we be friends?" She held out her hands
+and he rose up and took them, but with a startled look in his eyes.
+"You know that I'm sorry," she said, "and I'm willing to pay, too; if
+there's anything that I can do. Can't I help you, Wiley? Isn't there
+something I can do to help you pay for your mine? And I'll never
+oppose you again--if you'll only go and find my father!"
+
+She raised his hands and put them against her cheek and the quick tears
+sprang to his eyes.
+
+"I'll do it," he promised, "just the minute I can go. And--I'll try to
+be good to you, Virginia. Won't you give me a kiss, just to show it's
+all right? I'm sorry I treated you so rough. But it'll be all right now
+and we'll try to be friends again--I wasn't writing to any other girl."
+
+"Oh, weren't you?" she smiled. "Well, I'll kiss you, then--just once.
+But somehow, I'm afraid it won't last."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+THE CALL
+
+
+The long quarrel was over, they had made up--and kissed--and yet to
+Wiley it all seemed unreal. That is, all but the kiss. It was that,
+perhaps, which made the rest seem unreal, for it had changed the color
+of his life. Before, he had thought in terms of hard fact, but the
+kiss put a rainbow in the sky. It roused a great hope, a joy, an
+ecstasy, a sense of well-wishing for mankind; and yet it was only he
+who had changed. The world was the same; Samuel Blount was the same;
+and the miners, and Stiff Neck George. They were all there together in
+a rough-and-tumble fight to see who would get the Paymaster Mine and,
+even with the madness of her kiss in his soul, he pressed on towards
+the one, fixed goal.
+
+He had set out to win the Paymaster and win it he would if he had to
+shoot his way to victory. For Stiff Neck George, like a watchful coyote,
+had taken up his post on the hill; and from that sign alone Wiley knew
+that Blount had changed his tactics and appealed to the court of last
+resort. His attachments had failed, his injunction suit had failed, and
+his cheap attempt to cut off Wiley's checks. The money had come,
+promptly forwarded by the Express Company with a note of apology from
+the buyer, and it lay now in Wiley's office safe. All that was left to
+do was to send it to Blount and get back the deed to the property. Three
+days remained before the bond and lease expired, but that was not a day
+too much. The question was--who to send? Wiley thought the matter over,
+glanced at George up on the hill, and sent a note down to Virginia.
+
+She came up the trail smiling, for her proud reserve had vanished, and
+she even allowed him a kiss; but when he asked her to take the money to
+Blount she drew back and shook her head.
+
+"I'm afraid," she said, "--I'm afraid something might happen. Can't you
+send it by somebody else?"
+
+"No, that's just the point," he answered gravely. "Something is likely
+to happen if I do. My lawyer has turned crooked, and the bank won't
+touch it; so there's nobody to send but you. You can hide the money till
+you get there, so that no one will rob you on the way; and if anybody
+asks you, you can tell them about that stock deal and that you're going
+down to hold up Blount."
+
+"Why don't you go?" she objected and he pointed out the doorway at Stiff
+Neck George on the hill.
+
+"There he sits," he said, "like a red-necked old buzzard, just waiting
+for a chance to jump my mine. He may do it, anyhow--I wouldn't put it
+past him--but if he comes he'd better come a-shooting. You see, here's
+the point: the man that holds this mine can turn out ten thousand
+dollars a day, and that amount of money would hire enough lawyers to
+fight the outsiders to a standstill. If I get jumped I'm licked, because
+I haven't got any more money; and I'm going to stay right here and fight
+'em. But you take this money--there's fifty-two thousand dollars--and go
+down and make that payment. If you can't find Blount, then hunt up the
+clerk of the Superior Court and deposit the fifty thousand with him.
+Just bring me his receipt, with a memorandum of the payment, and he'll
+notify Blount himself."
+
+"I don't like to," she shuddered. "I'm afraid they won't take it, and
+then you'll----"
+
+"They've got to take it!" he broke in eagerly. "Just get the stage
+driver to go along as witness, and I'll give you a full power of
+attorney. And then listen, Virginia; you take the rest of this money and
+buy back your father's stock."
+
+"Oh, can I?" she cried and, reaching out for the money, she held it with
+tremulous hands. There were fifty thousand-dollar bills, golden yellow
+on the back and a rich, glossy black on the front; and others of smaller
+denominations, making fifty-two thousand in all. It was a fortune in
+itself, but in what it was to buy it was well worth over a million.
+
+"Aren't you afraid to trust me?" she asked at last, and when he smiled
+she hid it away. "All right," she said, "and as soon as I've paid it
+I'll call you up on the 'phone."
+
+She went out the next morning on the early stage and Wiley watched it
+rush across the plain. It was green as a lawn, that dry, treeless desert
+with its millions of evenly spaced creosote bushes; but as the sun rose
+higher it turned blood-red like an omen of evil to come. Many times
+before, in the glow of evening, he had seen the green change to red; but
+now it was ominous, with Stiff Neck George on the hill-top and Shadow
+Mountain frowning down behind. He paced about uneasily as the day wore
+on and at night he listened for the 'phone. She was to call him up, as
+soon as she had paid over the money; but it did not ring that night.
+
+The morning of the last day dawned fair and pleasant, with the fresh
+smell of dew in the air, and he awoke with a sense that all was well.
+Virginia was in Vegas and, when Blount came to his office, she would
+make the payment in his stead. There was no chance to fail, once she had
+found her man; and if Blount refused to accept it, which he could hardly
+do, she could simply leave the money with the court. There were no
+papers to confuse her, no forms to go through; Blount had made a legal
+contract to sell the property and she had a full power of attorney. All
+it called for was loyalty and faithfulness to her trust, and Wiley knew
+Virginia too well to think she would fail him now. She was proud and
+hot-headed, and she had fought him in the past; but, once she had given
+her word, she would keep her promise or die.
+
+As the sun rose higher he imagined her at the bank with the sheaf of
+bills hidden in her bosom, and Blount's surprise and palavering when he
+found he was caught and that his deep-laid plans had failed. He had
+schemed to catch Wiley between the horns of a dilemma, and either jump
+his mine when he went in to make the payment or force him to lose it by
+default. But, almost by a miracle, Virginia had appeared at the very
+moment when he was seeking a messenger; and by an even greater miracle,
+they had composed all their difficulties just in time for him to send
+her to town. It was like an act of Providence, an answer to prayer, if
+people any longer prayed; and, more, even, than the money and the joy of
+success, was the consciousness of Virginia's love. She had seemed so
+hostile, so distant and unattainable; but the moment that he forgot her
+and abandoned all hope she fluttered to his hand like a dove.
+
+The noon hour came and went and as Wiley watched the 'phone it seemed to
+him strangely silent. To be sure, few people called him, but--he
+snatched the receiver from the hook. He had guessed it--the 'phone was
+dead! He rattled the hook and listened impatiently, then he shouted and
+listened again, and black fancies rose up in his brain. What was the
+meaning of this? Had they cut the wire on him? And why? It really made
+no difference! Virginia was there; he had heard it from the stage-driver
+who had driven her in the day before--and yet, there must be a reason.
+Perhaps it was an accident, for the line was old and neglected, but why
+should it happen now? He hung up the receiver and reviewed it all
+calmly. There were a hundred things which might happen to the line, for
+it passed through rough country near Vegas; but the weather was fair and
+there was no wind blowing to topple over the poles. No one used the line
+but him--it had been connected up by Blount when he had first taken over
+the mine--and yet the wire had been cut. But by whom? As he sat there
+pondering he raised his eyes to the hill-top, and Stiff Neck George was
+gone!
+
+"The dastard!" cursed Wiley, leaping furiously to his feet and reaching
+for his rifle, but though he scanned the line through his high-power
+field-glasses there was not a man in sight. Wiley ran down to the shed
+and got out his racer that had lain there idle for months, but as his
+motor began to thunder, a head popped up and he saw Stiff Neck George on
+the ridge. He too had a rifle and, as he saw Wiley watching him, he
+dropped back and hid from sight.
+
+"Oho!" said Wiley, and, leaving his machine, he strode angrily back to
+the mine. So that was their game, to get him to leave and then slip in
+and jump his mine. Perhaps it was all arranged with the men he had
+working for him and George would not even have a fight. Neither his
+foremen nor the guards were men he would care to trust in a matter
+involving millions--and yet something was wrong in Vegas. There was
+treachery somewhere or they would not cut the line to keep him from
+getting the news. He lingered irresolutely, his hands itching for the
+steering wheel, his eyes searching for Stiff Neck George.
+
+There was a feud between them--he had braved George's killing gun and
+rushed in and kicked him down the dump. Would George, then, withhold his
+hand? But, down in Vegas, Blount was framing up some game to deprive him
+of title to his mine. Wiley weighed them in the balance, the two forces
+against him, and decided to stay with the mine. As long as he held it
+there were lawyers a-plenty to prove that his title was good, but if
+Stiff Neck George jumped it he would have to kill him to get back
+possession of the property. Or rather, he would have to fight him, for
+George was a gunman with notches on the butt of his six-shooter. No, he
+would have to get killed, or give up the Paymaster, whether Blount was
+right or wrong.
+
+He set his teeth and settled down to endure it--but he knew that
+Virginia would not fail him. He had given her the money, she knew what
+to do, and as sure as she hoped to save her father, he knew that she
+would do it. His part was to hold down the mine. The men came and went,
+the engine puffed and panted, and the long, dragging hours went by. As
+the darkness came on Wiley stalked in the shadows, looking out into the
+night for Stiff Neck George; but nothing stirred, the work went on as
+usual, and at midnight he gave up the search. His option had expired and
+either the mine was his or the title had reverted to the Company. There
+was nothing to watch for and so he slept, but at dawn his telephone
+jangled.
+
+Wiley rose up breathlessly and took down the receiver but no one
+answered his call. The 'phone was dead and yet it had rung--or was it
+only a dream? He hung up in disgust and went back to bed but something
+drew him back to the 'phone. He held down the hook and, with the
+receiver to his ear, let the lever rise slowly up. There was talking
+going on and men laughing in hoarse voices and the tramp of feet to and
+fro, but no one responded to his shouts. He hung up once more and then
+suddenly it came over him, a foreboding of impending disaster. Something
+was wrong, something big that must be stopped at once; and a voice
+called insistently for action. He leapt into his clothes and started for
+the door--then turned back and strapped on his pistol. As the sun rose
+up he was a speck in the desert, rushing on through a blood-red sea.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+THE THUNDER CLAP
+
+
+The broad streets of Vegas were swarming with traffic as Wiley glided
+swiftly into town and he noticed that people looked at him curiously.
+Perhaps it was all imagination but it seemed to him they eyed him
+coldly. Yet what they thought or felt was nothing to him then--his
+business was with Samuel J. Blount. The mine was unprotected--he had
+not even told his foreman that he was leaving, or where he was
+going--and there was no time for anything but business. If there was
+any trouble for him, Samuel J. Blount was at the bottom of it, and he
+drove straight up to the bank. It was a huge, granite structure with
+massive onyx pillars and smiling young clerks at the grilles; but he
+hurried past them all and turned down a hall to a room that was
+marked: President--Private. This was no time for dallying or sending
+in cards--he opened the door and stepped in.
+
+Samuel Blount was sitting at the head of a table with other men grouped
+about him, but as Wiley Holman entered they were silent. He glanced at
+Blount and then again at the men--they were the directors of the
+Paymaster Mining and Milling Company!
+
+"Good morning, Mr. Holman," spoke up Blount with asperity. "Please wait
+for me out in the hall."
+
+"Since when?" retorted Wiley and then, leaping to the point, "what about
+that deed to the Paymaster?"
+
+"Why--you must be misinformed," replied Blount slowly, at the same time
+pressing a button, "this is a meeting of the Board of Directors."
+
+"So I see," returned Wiley, "but I sent the money by Virginia to take up
+the option on the mine. Did you receive it or did you not?"
+
+A broad-shouldered man, very narrow between the eyes, came in and stood
+close to Wiley, and Blount smiled and cleared his throat.
+
+"No," he said, "we did not receive it?"
+
+"Oh, you didn't, eh?" said Wiley, glancing up at the janitor. "Perhaps
+you will tell me if it was offered to you?"
+
+"No, it was not offered to us," replied Blount, smiling blandly,
+"although Miss Huff did make a deposit."
+
+"Of fifty thousand dollars?"
+
+"No, it was more than that--fifty-two, I believe. It was deposited to
+your account."
+
+"Oh," observed Wiley, and looked them over again as the directors turned
+around to scowl. "Well, perhaps I can see Miss Huff?"
+
+"She is not here at present," replied Blount with finality, "and so I
+must ask you to withdraw."
+
+"Just a moment," said Wiley, as the janitor moved expectantly. "I came
+here on a matter of business with you and this Board of Directors and,
+since the matter is urgent, I must request an immediate hearing. You
+don't need to be alarmed--all I want is my answer and then I'll leave
+you alone. In the first place, Mr. Blount, will you please tell me the
+circumstances under which this deposit was made? I gave Miss Huff
+instructions to offer the money to you in payment for the Paymaster
+Mine."
+
+"Oh! Instructions, eh?" piped Blount with a satirical smile, and the
+Board stirred and nodded significantly. "Well, since you've just come in
+and are evidently unaware of the wide interest that has been taken in
+this case, I'll tell you a few things, Mr. Holman. The people of this
+town do not approve of the manner in which you have treated Mrs. Huff;
+and as for your 'instructions' to Virginia, let me tell you right now
+that we have saved her from becoming your victim."
+
+"My victim!" repeated Wiley, moving swiftly towards him, but the janitor
+caught him by the arm.
+
+"Yes, your victim," answered Blount with a venomous sneer, "or, at
+least, your intended victim. The people of Vegas had nothing to say when
+you deprived Virginia and her mother of their livelihood--it was your
+privilege as lessee of the mine to board your own men if you chose--but
+when you had the effrontery to send Virginia to this Board with
+'instructions' to jeopardize her own interests, we felt called on to
+interfere."
+
+"Why, you're crazy!" burst out Wiley. "What interests did she jeopardize
+by making that payment for me? As a matter of fact it was just the
+contrary--I gave her the money to get back the stock that you had
+practically stolen from her mother!"
+
+"Now! Now!" spoke up Blount, "we won't have any personalities, or I'll
+ask Mr. Jepson to remove you. You must know if you know anything that
+Virginia herself had over twelve thousand shares of stock; while her
+mother left with me, as collateral on a note, more than two hundred
+thousand shares more. Yet you asked this innocent girl, who trusted you
+so fully, to wipe out her whole inheritance at one blow. You asked her
+to come here and make a payment that would beat her out of half a
+million dollars--_for fifty thousand dollars!_"
+
+He paused and the men about the table murmured threateningly among
+themselves.
+
+"And now!" went on Blount with heavy irony, "you come here and ask for
+your deed!"
+
+"Yes, you bet I do!" snapped back Wiley, "and I'm going to get it, too.
+If Virginia came here and offered you that money, that's enough, in the
+eyes of the law. It was a legal payment under a legal contract, entered
+into by this Board of Directors; and I call you gentlemen to witness
+that she came here and offered the money."
+
+"She came to _me_!" corrected Blount, "and in no wise as the
+President of this Board!"
+
+"Well, you're the man that I told her to go to--and if she offered you
+the money, that's enough!"
+
+"Oh, it's enough, is it? Well, it may be enough for you, but it is not
+enough for the citizens of this town. We have organized a committee, of
+which Mr. Jepson is a member, to escort you out of Vegas; and I would
+say further that your bond and lease has lapsed and the Company will
+take over the mine."
+
+"We'll discuss that later," returned Wiley grimly, "but I'll tell you
+right now that there aren't men enough in Vegas to run me out of
+town--not if you call in the whole town and the Janitors' Union--so
+don't try to start anything rough. I'm a law-abiding citizen, and I
+know my rights, and I'm going to see this through." He put his back to
+the wall and the burly Jepson took the hint to move further away.
+"Now," said Wiley, "if we understand each other let's get right down
+to brass tacks. It's all very well to organize Vigilance Committees
+for the protection of trusting young ladies, but you know and I know
+that this is a matter of business, involving the title to a mine. And
+I'd like to say further that, when a Board of Directors talks a
+messenger out of her purpose and persuades her to disregard her
+instructions----"
+
+"Instructions!" bellowed Blount.
+
+"Yes--instructions!" repeated Wiley, "--instructions as my agent. I sent
+Miss Huff down here to make this payment and I gave her instructions
+regarding it."
+
+"Do you realize," blustered Blount, "that if she had followed those
+instructions she would have defrauded her own mother out of millions;
+that she would have ruined her own life and conferred her father's
+fortune upon the very man who was deceiving her?"
+
+"No, I do not," replied Wiley, "but even if I did, that has nothing to
+do with the case. As to my relations with Miss Huff, I am fully
+satisfied that she has nothing of which to complain; and since it was
+you, and the rest of the gang, who stood to lose by the deal, your
+indignation seems rather far-fetched. If you were sorry for Miss Huff
+and wished to help her you have abundant private means for doing so; but
+when you dissuade her from her purpose in order to save your own skin
+you go up against the law. I'm going to take this to court and when the
+evidence is heard I'm going to prove you a bunch of crooks. I don't
+believe for a minute that Virginia turned against me. I know that she
+offered you the money."
+
+"Oh, you know, do you?" sneered Blount as his Directors rallied about
+him. "Well, how are you going to prove it?"
+
+"By her own word!" said Wiley. "I know her too well. You just talked her
+out of it, afterward."
+
+"So you think," taunted Blount, "that she offered the money in payment,
+and demanded the delivery of the deed? And will you stand or fall on her
+testimony?"
+
+"Absolutely!" smiled Wiley, "and if she tells me she didn't do it I'll
+never take the matter into court."
+
+"Very well," replied Blount and turned towards the door, but the
+Directors rushed in and caught him. They thrust their heads together in
+a whispered, angry conference, now differing among themselves and now
+flying back to catch Blount, but in the end he shook them all off. "No,
+gentlemen," he said, "I have absolute confidence in the justice of my
+case. If you stand to lose a little I stand to lose a great deal--and I
+know she never asked for that deed!"
+
+"Well, bring her in, then," they conceded reluctantly, and turned
+venomous eyes upon Wiley. They knew him, and they feared him, and
+especially with this girl; for he was smiling and waiting confidently.
+But Blount was their czar, with his great block of stock pitted against
+their tiny holdings, and they sat down to await the issue.
+
+She came at last, ushered in through the back door by Blount, who smiled
+benevolently; and her eyes leapt on the instant to meet Wiley's.
+
+"Here is Miss Huff," announced Blount deliberately and the light died
+in Wiley's shining eyes. He had waited for her confidently, but that
+one defiant flash told him that Virginia had turned against him. She
+had thrown in her lot with Blount, and against her lover, and by her
+word he must stand or fall. She had been his agent, but if she had not
+carried out her trust---- "Any questions you would like to ask," went
+on Blount with ponderous calm, "I am sure Virginia will answer."
+
+He turned reassuringly and she nodded her head nervously, then stepped
+out and stood facing Wiley.
+
+"It is a question," began Wiley, speaking like one in a dream, "of the
+way you paid Mr. Blount that money. When you took it to him first,
+before they had talked to you, did you tell him it was my payment on the
+option?"
+
+Virginia glanced at Blount, then she took a deep breath and drew herself
+up very straight.
+
+"No," she said, "I spoke to him first about buying back father's stock."
+
+"But after that," he said, "didn't you hand him over the money and say
+it was sent by me?"
+
+"No, I didn't," she answered. "After the way you had treated me I didn't
+think it was right."
+
+"Not right!" he repeated with a slow, dazed smile. "Why--why wasn't it
+right, Virginia?"
+
+"Because," she went on, "you were trying to deceive me and beat me and
+mother out of our rights. You knew all the time that father's stock was
+still ours--and that Mr. Blount never even claimed it!"
+
+"Never claimed it!" cried Wiley, suddenly roused to resentment. "Well,
+Virginia, he most certainly did! He offered to sell it to me for five
+cents a share when I took out that option on the Paymaster!"
+
+"Now, now, Wiley!" began Blount, but Virginia cut him short with a
+scornful wave of the hand.
+
+"Never mind," she said. "I'll attend to this myself. I just want to tell
+him what I think!"
+
+"What you _think_!" raved Wiley, suddenly coming up fighting.
+"You've been fooled by a bunch of crooks. Never mind what you think--did
+you give him the money and tell him it came from me?"
+
+"I did not!" answered Virginia, her eyes flashing with hot anger, "and
+while I may not be able to think, I certainly wasn't fooled by
+_you_. No, I took your money and put it in the bank, and I let your
+option expire!"
+
+"My--God!" moaned Wiley, and groped for the door, but in the hall he
+stopped and turned back. There was some mistake--she had not understood.
+He slipped back and looked in once more. She was shaking hands with
+Blount--and smiling.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+THE WAY OUT
+
+
+When a woman treads the ways of deceit she smiles--like Mona Lisa. But
+was the great Leonardo deceived by the smile of his wife when she posed
+for him so sweetly? No, he read her thoughts--how she was thinking of
+another--and his master hand wove them in. There she smiles to-day,
+smooth and pretty and cryptic; but Leonardo, the man, worked with heavy
+heart as he laid bare the tragedy of his love. The message was for her,
+if she cared to read it, or for him, that rival for her love; or, if
+their hearts were pure and free from guilt, then there was no message at
+all. She was just a pretty woman, soft and gentle and smiling--as
+Virginia Huff had smiled.
+
+She had not smiled often, Wiley Holman remembered it now, as he went
+flying across the desert, and always there was something behind; but
+when she had looked up at Blount and taken his fat hand, then he had
+read her heart at a glance. If he had taken his punishment and not
+turned back he would have been spared this great ache in his breast; but
+no, he was not satisfied, he could not believe it, and so he had
+received a worse wound. She had been playing with him all the time and,
+when the supreme moment arrived, she had landed him like a trout; and
+then, when she had left him belly-up from his disaster, she had turned
+to Blount and smiled. There was no restraint now; she smiled to the
+teeth; and Blount and the Directors smiled.
+
+Wiley cursed to himself as he bored into the wind and burned up the road
+to Keno. The mine was nothing; he could find him another one, but
+Virginia had played him false. He did not mind losing her--he could find
+a better woman--but how could he save his lost pride? He had played his
+hand to win and, when it came to the showdown, she had slipped in the
+joker and cleaned him. The Widow would laugh when she heard the news,
+but she would not laugh at him. The road lay before him and his gas
+tanks were full. He would gather up his belongings and drift. He stepped
+on the throttle and went roaring through the town, but at the bottom of
+the hill he stopped. The mine was shut down, not a soul was in sight,
+and yet he had left but a few hours before.
+
+He toiled wearily up the trail, where he had caught Virginia running and
+held her fighting in his arms, and the world turned black at the
+thought. What madness had this been that had kept him from suspecting
+her when she had opposed his every move from the start. Had she not
+wrecked his engine and ruined his mill? Then why had he trusted her with
+his money? And that last innocent visit, when she had asked for her
+stock, and thanked him so demurely at the end! She would not be
+dismissed, all his rough words were wasted, until in the end she had
+leaned over and kissed him. A Judas-kiss? Yes, if ever there was one; or
+the kiss of Judith of Bethulia. But Judith had sold her kisses to save
+her people--Virginia had sold hers for gold.
+
+Yes, she had sold him out for money; after rebuking him from the
+beginning she had stabbed him to the heart for a price. It was always
+he, Wiley, who thought of nothing but money; who was the liar, the
+miser, the thief. Everything that he did, no matter how unselfish, was
+imputed to his love of money; and yet it had remained for Virginia,
+the censorious and virtuous, to violate her trust for gain. It was not
+for revenge that she had withheld the payment and snatched a million
+dollars from his hand; she had told him herself that it was because
+Blount had returned their stock and she would not throw it away. How
+quick Blount had been to see that way out and to bribe her by
+returning the stock--how damnably quick to read her envious heart and
+know that she would fall for the offer. Well, now let them keep it and
+smile their smug smiles and laugh at Honest Wiley; for if there ever
+was a curse on stolen money then Virginia's would buy her no
+happiness.
+
+He raised his bloodshot eyes to look for the last time at the Paymaster,
+which he had fought for and lost. What had they done to save it, to
+bring it to what it was, to merit it for their own? For years it had
+lain idle, and when he had opened it up they had fought him at every
+step. They had shot him down with buckshot, and beaten him down with
+rocks and threatened his life with Stiff Neck George. His eyes cleared
+suddenly and he looked about the dump--he had forgotten his feud with
+George. Yet if his men were gone, who then had driven them out but that
+crooked-necked, fighting fool? And if George had driven them out, then
+where was he now with his ancient, filed-down six-shooter? Wiley drew
+his gun forward and walked softly towards the house, but as he passed a
+metal ore-car a pistol was thrust into his face. He started back, and
+there was George.
+
+"Put 'em up!" he snarled, rising swiftly from behind the car, and the
+hot fury left Wiley's brain. His anger turned cold and he looked down
+the barrel at the grinning, spiteful eyes behind.
+
+"You go to hell!" he growled, and George jabbed the gun into his
+stomach.
+
+"Put 'em up!" he ordered, but some devil of resistance seized Wiley as
+his hands went up. It was close, too close, and George had the drop on
+him, but one hand struck out and the other clutched the gun while he
+twisted his lithe body aside. At the roar of the shot he went for his
+own gun, leaping back and stooping low. Another bullet clipped his shirt
+and then his own gun spat back, shooting blindly through the smoke. He
+emptied it, dodging swiftly and crouching close to the ground, and then
+he sprang behind the car. There was a silence, but as he listened he
+heard a gurgling noise, like the water flowing out of a canteen, and a
+sudden, sodden thump. He looked out, and George was down. His blood was
+gushing fast but the narrow, snaky eyes sought him out before they were
+filmed by death. It was over, like a rush of wind.
+
+Wiley flicked out his cylinder and filled it with fresh cartridges, then
+looked around for the rest. He was calm now, and calculating and
+infinitely brave; but no one stepped forth to face his gun. A boy, down
+in town, started running towards the mine, only to turn back at some
+imperative command. The whole valley was lifeless, yet the people were
+there, and soon they would venture forth. And then they would come up,
+and look at the body, and ask him to give up his gun; and if he did they
+would take him to Vegas and shut him up in jail, where the populace
+could come and stare at him. Blount and Jepson would come, and the Board
+of Directors; and, in order to put him away, they would tell how he had
+threatened George. They would make it appear that he had come to jump
+the mine, and that George was defending the property; and then, with the
+jury nicely packed, they would send him to the penitentiary, where he
+wouldn't interfere with their plans.
+
+In a moment of clairvoyance he saw Virginia before him, looking in
+through the prison bars and smiling, and suddenly he put up his gun. She
+had started this job and made him a murderer but he would rob her of
+that last chance to smile. There was a road that he knew that had been
+traveled before by men who were hard-pressed and desperate. It turned
+west across the desert and mounted by Daylight Springs to dip down the
+long slope to the Sink; and across the Valley of Death, if he could once
+pass over it, there was no one he need fear to meet. No one, that is,
+except stray men like himself, who had fled from the officers of the
+law. Great mountain ranges, so they said, stretched unpeopled and
+silent, beneath the glare of the desert sun; and though Death might
+linger near it was under the blue sky and away from the cold malice of
+men.
+
+From his safe in the office Wiley took out a roll of bills, all that was
+left of his vanished wealth; and he took down his rifle and belt; and
+then, walking softly past the body of Stiff Neck George, he cranked up
+his machine and started off. Every doorway in town was crowded with
+heads, craning out to see him pass, and as he turned down the main
+street he saw Death Valley Charley rushing out with a flask in his hand.
+
+"We seen ye!" he grinned as Wiley slowed down, and dropped the flask of
+whiskey on the seat.
+
+"You killed him fair!" he shouted after him, but Wiley had opened up the
+throttle and the answer to his praise was a roar.
+
+The sun was at high noon when Wiley topped the divide and glided down
+the canyon towards Death Valley. He could sense it in the distance by
+the veil of gray haze that hung like a pall across his way. Beyond it
+were high mountains, a solid wall of blue that seemed to rise from the
+depths and float, detached, against the sky; and up the winding wash
+which led slowly down and down, there came pulsing waves of heat. The
+canyon opened out into a broad, rocky sand-flat, shut in on both sides
+by knife-edged ridges dotted evenly with brittle white bushes; and each
+jagged rock and out-thrust point was burned black by the suns of
+centuries.
+
+He passed an ancient tractor, abandoned by the wayside, and a deserted,
+double-roofed house; and then, just below it where a ravine came down,
+he saw a sign-board, pointing. Up the gulch was another sign, still
+pointing on and up, and stamped through the metal of the disk was the
+single word: Water. It was Hole-in-the-Rock Springs that old Charley had
+spoken about and, somewhere up the canyon, there was a hole in the
+limestone cap, and beneath it a tank of sweet water. On many a scorching
+day some prospector, half dead from thirst, had toiled up that well-worn
+trail; but now the way was empty, the freighter's house given over to
+rats, and the road led on and on.
+
+A jagged, saw-tooth range rose up to block his way and the sand-flat
+narrowed down to a deep wash; and, then, still thundering on, he
+struggled out through its throat and the Valley seemed to rise up and
+smite him. He stopped his throbbing motor and sat appalled at its
+immensity. Funereal mountains, black and banded and water-channeled,
+rose up in solid walls on both sides and, down through the middle as far
+as the eye could see, there stretched a white ribbon, set in green. It
+swung back and forth across a wide, level expanse, narrow and gleaming
+with water at the north and blending in the south with gray sands. The
+writhing white band was Death Valley Sink, where the waters from
+countless desert ranges drained down and were sucked up by the sun. Far
+from the north it came, when the season was right and the cloudbursts
+swept the Grape-Vines and the White mountains; the Panamints to the west
+gave down water from winter snows that gathered on Telescope Peak; and
+every ravine of the somber Funeral Range was gutted by the rush of
+forgotten waters.
+
+The Valley was dry, bone-dry and desiccated, and yet every hill, every
+gulch and wash and canyon, showed the action of torrential waters. The
+chocolate-brown flanks of the towering mountain walls were creased, and
+ripped out and worn; and from the mouth of every canyon a great spit of
+sand and boulders had been spewed out and washed down towards the Sink.
+On the surface of this wash, rising up through thousands of feet, the
+tips of buried mountains peeped out like tiny hill-tops, yet black, and
+sharp and grim. The great ranges themselves, sweeping up from the
+profundity till they seemed to cut off the world, looked like molded
+cakes of chocolate which had been rained on and half melted down. They
+were washed-down, melted, stripped of earth and vegetation; and down
+from their flanks in a steep, even slope, lay the débris and scourings
+of centuries.
+
+The westering sun caught the glint of water in the poisonous,
+salt-marshes of the Sink; but, far to the south, the great ultimate
+Sink of Sinks was a-gleam with borax and salt. It was there where the
+white band widened out to a lake-bed, that men came in winter to do
+their assessment work and scrape up the cotton-ball borax. But if any
+were there now they would know him for a fugitive and he took the road
+to the west. It ran over boulders, ground smooth by rolling floods and
+burned deep brown by the sun, and as he twisted and turned, throwing
+his weight against the wheels, Wiley felt the growing heat. His shirt
+clung to his back, the sweat ran down his face and into his stinging
+eyes and as he stopped for a drink he noticed that the water no longer
+quenched his thirst. It was warm and flat and after each fresh drink
+the perspiration burst from every pore, as if his very skin cried out
+for moisture. Yet his canteen was getting light and, until he could
+find water, he put it resolutely away.
+
+The road swung down at last into a broad, flat dry-wash, where the
+gravel lay packed hard as iron, and as his racer took hold and began to
+leap and frolic, he tore down the valley like the wind. The sun was
+sinking low and the unknown lay before him, a land he had never seen;
+yet before the night came on he must map out his course and stake his
+life on the venture. Other automobiles might follow and snatch him back
+if he delayed but an hour in his flight; but, once across Death Valley
+and lost in those far mountains, he would leave the law behind. The men
+he met would be fugitives like himself, or prospectors, or wandering
+Shoshones; and, live or die, he would be away from it all--where he
+would never see Virginia again.
+
+The deep wash pinched in, as the other had done, before it gave out into
+the plain; and, then, as he whirled around a point, he glided out into
+the open. The foothills lay behind him and, straight athwart his way,
+stretched a sea of motionless sand-waves. As far north as he could see,
+the ocean of sand tossed and tumbled, the crests of its rollers crowned
+with brush and grotesque drift-wood, the gnarled trunks and roots of
+mesquite trees. To the east and west the high mountains still rose up,
+black and barren, shutting in the sea of sand; but across the valley a
+pass led smoothly up to a gap through the wall of the Panamints. It was
+Emigrant Wash, up which the hardy Mormons had toiled in their western
+pilgrimage, leaving at Lost Wagons and Salt Creek the bones of whole
+caravans as a tribute to the power of the desert.
+
+A smooth, steep slope led swiftly down to the edge of the Valley of
+Death and as Wiley looked across he saw as in a vision a massive gateway
+of stone. It was flung boldly out from the base of a blue mountain,
+enclosing a dark valley behind; and from between its lofty walls a white
+river of sand spread out like a flower down the slope. It was the
+gateway to the Ube-Hebes, just as Charley had described it, and it was
+only a few miles away. It lay just across the sand-flat, where the
+great, even waves seemed marching in a phalanx towards the south; and
+then up a little slope, all painted blue and purple, to the mysterious
+valley beyond. The sun, swinging low, touched the summits of distant
+sand-hills with a gleam of golden light and all the dark shadows moved
+toward him. A breath of air fanned his cheek, and as he drank deep from
+his canteen he nodded to the Gateway and smiled.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+ACROSS DEATH VALLEY
+
+
+The way to the Ube-Hebes lay across a low flat, glistening white with
+crystals of alkali; and as his car trundled on Wiley came to a strip of
+sand, piled up in the lee of a prostrate salt bush. Other bushes
+appeared, and more sand about them, and then a broad, smooth wave. It
+mounted up from the north, gently scalloped by the wind, and on the
+south side it broke off like a wall. He drove along below it, glancing
+up as it grew higher, until at last it cut off his view. All the north
+was gone, and the Gateway to his hiding-place; but the south and west
+were there. To the south lay mud flats, powdery dry but packed hard; and
+the west was a wilderness of sand.
+
+A giant mesquite tree, piled high with clinging drifts, rose up before
+the crest of his wave, and as he plowed in between them the edge of the
+crest poured down in a whispering cascade. Then more trees loomed up,
+and hundreds of white bushes each mounted on its pedestal of sand; and
+at the base of each salt-bush there were kangaroo-rat holes and the
+tracery of their tails in the dust. Men called it Death Valley, but for
+such as these it was a place of fullness and joy. They had capered
+about, striking the ground with their tails at the end of each playful
+jump, and the dry, brittle salt-bushes had been feast enough to them,
+who never knew the taste of grass or water.
+
+The sand-wave rose higher, leaving a damp hollow behind it where
+ice-plants grew green and rank; and as he crept along the thunder of
+his exhaust started tons of sliding silt. His wheels raced and
+burrowed as he struck a soft spot, and then abruptly they sank. He dug
+them out carefully and backed away, but a mound of drifted sand barred
+his way. Twist and turn as he would he could not get around it and at
+last he climbed to its summit. The sun was setting in purple and fire
+behind the black shoulder of the Panamints and like a path of gold it
+marked out the way, the only way to cross the Valley. At the south was
+the Sink with its treacherous bog-holes and further north the
+sand-hills were limitless--the only way, where the wagon-wheels had
+crossed, was buried deep in the sand. Three great mountains of sand,
+like huge breakers of the sea, had swept in and covered the
+wheel-tracks; and far to the west in the path of the sun their summits
+loomed two hundred feet high.
+
+He went back to his car and drove it desperately at the slope, only to
+bury the rear wheels to the axles; and as he dug them out the sand from
+the wave crest began to whisper and slip and slide. He cleared a great
+space and started his motor, but at the first shuddering tug the sand
+began to tremble and in a rush the wave was upon him. It buried him deep
+and as he leapt from his machine little rills of singing sand flowed
+around it. So far it had carried him, this high-powered, steel-springed
+racer; but now he must leave it for the sand to cover over and cross the
+great Valley alone. On many a rocky slope and sliding sand-hill it had
+clutched and plunged and fought its way, but now it was smothered in the
+treacherous, silt-fine sand and he must leave it, like a partner, to
+die. Yet if die it must, then in its desert burial the last trace of
+Wiley Holman would be lost. The first wind that blew would wipe out his
+footprints and the racer would sink beneath the waves. Wiley took his
+canteen, and Charley's bottle of whiskey, his rifle and a small sack of
+food and dared the great silence alone.
+
+While his motor had done the work he had not minded the heat and the
+pressure of blood in his head, but as he toiled up the sandy slope,
+sinking deeper at each stride, he felt the breath of the sand. All day
+it had lain there drinking in the sun's rays and now in the evening,
+when the upper air was cool, it radiated a sweltering heat. Wiley
+mounted to the summit of wave after wave, fighting his way towards the
+Gateway to the north; and then, beaten at last and choking with the
+exertion, he turned and followed a crest. The sand piled up before him
+in a vortex of sharp-edged ridges, reaching their apex in a huge pyramid
+to the west, and as he toiled on past its flank he felt a gusty rush of
+air, sucking down through Emigrant Wash. It was the wind, after all,
+that was king of Death Valley; for whichever way it blew it swept the
+sand before it, raising up pyramids and tearing them down. Along the
+crest of the high wave a feather-edge of sand leapt out like a plume
+into space and as he stopped to watch it Wiley could see that the
+mountain was moving by so much across the plain.
+
+A luminous half-moon floated high in the heavens and the sky was
+studded thick with pin-point stars. In that myriad of little stars,
+filling in between the big ones, the milky way was lost and reduced to
+obscurity--the whole sky was a milky way. Wiley sank down in the sand
+and gazed up sombrely as he wetted his parching lips from his canteen,
+and the evening star gleamed like a torch, looking down on the world
+he had fled. Across the Funeral Range, not a day's journey to the
+east, that same star lighted Virginia on her way while he, a fugitive,
+was flung like an atom into the depths of this sea of sand. It was
+deeper than the sea, scooped out far below the level of the cool
+breakers that broke along the shore; deep and dead, except for the
+wind that moved the drifting sand across the plains. And even as he
+lay there, looking up at the stars and wondering at the riddle of the
+universe, the busy wind was bringing grains of sand and burying him,
+each minute by so much.
+
+He rose up in a panic and hurried along the slope, where the sand of the
+wave was packed hardest, and he did not pause till he had passed the
+last drift and set his foot on the hard, gravelly slope. The wind was
+cooler now, for the night was well along and the bare ground had
+radiated its heat; but it was dry, powder dry, and every pore of his
+skin seemed to gasp and cry out for water. There was water, even yet, in
+the bottom of his canteen; but he dared not drink it till the Gateway
+was in sight, and the sand-wash that led to the valley beyond.
+
+An hour passed by as he toiled up the slope, now breaking into a run
+from impatience, now settling down doggedly to walk; and at last, clear
+and distinct, he saw the Gateway in the moonlight, and stopped to take
+his drink. It was cool now, the water, and infinitely sweet; yet he knew
+that the moment he drained the last drop he would feel the clutch of
+fear. It is an unreasoning thing, that fear of the desert which comes
+when the last drop is gone; and yet it is real and known to every
+wanderer, and guarded against by the bravest. He screwed the cap on his
+canteen and hurried up the slope, which grew steeper and rockier with
+each mile, but the phantom gateway seemed to lead on before him and
+recede into the black abyss of night. It was there, right before him,
+but instead of getting nearer, the Gateway loomed higher and higher; and
+daylight was near before he passed through its portals and entered the
+dark valley beyond.
+
+A gaunt row of cottonwoods rose up suddenly before him, their leaves
+whispering and clacking in the wind, and at this brave promise all fear
+for water left him and he drained his canteen to the bottom. Then he
+strode on up the canyon, that was deep and dark as a pocket, following
+the trail that should lead him to the spring; but as one mile and two
+dragged along with no water, he stopped and hid his rifle among the
+rocks. A little later he hid his belt with its heavy row of cartridges,
+and the sack of dry, useless food. What he needed was water and when he
+had drunk his fill he could come back and collect all his possessions.
+Two miles, five miles, he toiled up the creek bed with the cottonwoods
+rustling overhead; but though their roots were in the water, the sand
+was still dry and his tongue was swelling with thirst.
+
+He stumbled against a stone and fell weakly to the ground, only to leap
+to his feet again, frightened. Already it was coming, the stupifying
+lassitude, the reckless indifference to his fate, and yet he was hardly
+tired. The Valley had not been hot, any more than usual, and he had
+walked twice as far before; but now, with water just around the corner,
+he was lying down in the sand. He was sleepy, that was it, but he must
+get to water first or his pores would close up and he would die. He
+stripped off his pistol and threw it in the sand, and his hat, and the
+bottle of fiery whiskey; and then, head down, he plunged blindly
+forward, rushing on up the trail to find water.
+
+The sun rose higher and poured down into the narrow valley with its
+fringe of deceptive green; but though the trees became bigger and
+bushier in their tops the water did not come to the surface. It was
+underneath the sand, flowing along the bed-rock, and all that was needed
+was a solid reef of country-rock to bring it up to the surface. It would
+flow over the dyke in a beautiful water-fall, leaping and gurgling and
+going to waste; and after he had drunk he would lie down and wallow and
+give his whole body a drink. He would soak there for hours, sucking it
+up with his parched lips that were cracked now and bleeding from the
+drought; and then--he woke up suddenly, to find himself digging in the
+sand. He was going mad then, so soon after he was lost, and with water
+just up the stream. The creek was dry, where he had found himself
+digging, but up above it would be full of water. He hurried on again
+and, around the next turn, sure enough, he found a basin of water.
+
+It was hollowed from the rock, a round pool, undimpled, and upon its
+surface a pair of wasps floated about with airy grace. Their legs were
+outstretched and on the bottom of the hole he could see the round
+shadows of their tracks. It was a new kind of water, with a skin that
+would bend down and hold up the body of a wasp, and yet it seemed to
+be wet. He thrust in a finger and the wasps flew away--and then he
+dropped down and drank deep. When he woke from his madness the pool
+was half empty and the water was running down his face. He was wet all
+over and his lips were bleeding afresh, as if his very blood had been
+dry; but his body was weak and sick, and as he rose to his feet he
+tottered and fell down in the sand. When he roused up again the pool
+was filled with water and the wasps were back, floating on its
+surface.
+
+When he looked around he was in a little cove, shut in by towering
+walls; and, close against the cliff where the rock had been hollowed
+out, he saw an abandoned camp. There were ashes between the stones, and
+tin cans set on boxes, and a walled-in storage place behind, and as he
+looked again he saw a man's tracks, leading down a narrow path to the
+water. They turned off up the creek--high-heeled boots soled with
+rawhide and bound about with thongs--and Wiley rushed recklessly at the
+camp. When he had eaten last he could hardly remember, (it was a day or
+two back at the best), and as he peered into cans and found them empty
+he gave vent to a savage curse. He was weak, he was starving, and he had
+thrown away his food--and this man had hidden what he had. He kicked
+over the boxes and plunged into the store-room, throwing beans and flour
+sacks right and left, and then in the corner behind a huge pile of pinon
+nuts he found a single can of tomatoes.
+
+Whoever had treasured it had kept it too long, for Wiley's knife was
+already out and as he cut out the top he tipped it slowly up and drained
+it to the bottom.
+
+"Hey, there!" hailed a voice and Wiley started and laid down the can.
+Was it possible the officers had followed him? "Throw up your hands!"
+yelled the voice in a fury. "Throw 'em up, or I'll kill you, you
+scoundrel!"
+
+Wiley held up his hands, but he raised them reluctantly and the fighting
+look crept back into his eyes.
+
+"Well!" he challenged, "they're up--what about it?"
+
+A tall man with a pistol stepped out from behind a tree and advanced
+with his gun raised and cocked. His hair was hermit-long, his white
+beard trembled, and his voice cracked and shrilled with helpless rage.
+
+"What about it!" he repeated. "Well, by Jupiter, if you sass me, I'll
+shoot you for a camp-robbing hound!"
+
+"Well, go ahead then," burst out Wiley defiantly, "if that's the way you
+feel--all I took was one can of tomatoes!"
+
+"Yes! One can! Wasn't that all I had? And you robbed me before, you
+rascal!"
+
+"I did not!" retorted Wiley, and as the old man looked him over he
+hesitated and lowered his gun.
+
+"Say, who are you, anyway?" he asked at last and glanced swiftly at
+Wiley's tracks in the sand. "Well--that's all right," he ran on
+hastily, "I see you aren't the man. There was a renegade came through
+here on the twentieth of last July and stole everything I had. I
+trailed him, dad-burn him, clear to the edge of Death Valley--he was
+riding my favorite burro--and if it hadn't been for a sandstorm that
+came up and stopped me, I'd have bored him through and through. He
+stole my rifle and even my letters, and valuable papers besides; but
+he went to his reward, or I miss my guess, so we'll leave him to the
+mercy of hell. As for my tomatoes, you're welcome, my friend; it's
+long since I've had a guest."
+
+He held out his hand and advanced, smiling kindly, but Wiley stepped
+back--it was Colonel Huff.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX
+
+AN EVENING WITH SOCRATES
+
+
+How the Colonel had come to be reported dead it was easy enough now to
+surmise. Some desperate fugitive, or rambling hobo miner seeking a
+crosscut to the Borax Mines below, had raided his camp in his absence;
+and, riding off on his burro, had met his death in a sandstorm. His
+were the tracks that the Indians had followed and somewhere in Death
+Valley he lay beneath the sand dunes in place of a better man. But the
+Colonel--did he know that his family had mourned him as dead, and
+bandied his stock back and forth? Did he know that the Paymaster had
+been bonded and opened up, and lost again to Blount? And what would be
+his answer if he knew the man before him was the son of Honest John
+Holman? Wiley closed down his lips, then he took the outstretched hand
+and looked the Colonel straight in the eye.
+
+"I'm sorry, sir," he said, "that I can't give you my name or tell you
+where I'm from; but I've got a bottle of whiskey that will more than
+make up for the loss of that can of tomatoes!"
+
+"Whiskey!" shrilled the Colonel and then he smiled benignly and laid a
+fatherly hand upon his shoulder. "Never mind, my young friend, what you
+have done or not done; because I'm sure it was nothing dishonorable--and
+now if you will produce your bottle we'll drink to our better
+acquaintance."
+
+"I threw it away," answered Wiley apologetically, "but it can't be
+very far down the trail. I was short of water and lost, you might say,
+and--well, I guess I was a little wild."
+
+"And well you might be," replied the Colonel heartily, "if you crossed
+Death Valley afoot; and worn out and hungry, to boot. I'll just take
+the liberty of going after that bottle myself, before some skulking
+Shoo-shonnie gets hold of it."
+
+"Do so," smiled Wiley, "and when you've had your drink, perhaps you'll
+bring in my rifle and the rest."
+
+"Whatever you've dropped," returned the Colonel cordially, "if it's only
+a cartridge from your belt! And while I am gone, just make yourself at
+home. You seem to be in need of rest."
+
+"Yes, I am," agreed Wiley, and before the Colonel was out of sight he
+was fast asleep on his bed.
+
+It was dark when he awoke and the light of a fire played and flickered
+on the walls of his cave. The wind brought to his nostrils the odor of
+cooking beans and as he rose and looked out he saw the Colonel pacing up
+and down by the fire. His hat was off, his fine head thrown back and he
+was humming to himself and smiling.
+
+"Come out, sir; come out!" he cried upon the moment. "I trust you have
+enjoyed your day's rest. And now give me your hand, sir; I regret beyond
+words my boorish conduct of this morning."
+
+He shook hands effusively, still continuing his apologies for having
+taken Wiley for less than a gentleman; and while they ate together it
+became apparent to Wiley that the Colonel had had his drink. If there
+was anything left of the pint bottle of whiskey no mention was made of
+the fact; but even at that the liquor was well spent, for it had gained
+him a friend for life.
+
+"Young man," observed the Colonel, after looking at him closely, "I am a
+fugitive in a way, myself, but I cannot believe, from the look on your
+face, that your are anything else than honest. I shall respect your
+silence, as you respect mine, for your past is nothing to me; but if at
+any time I can assist you, just mention the fact and the deed is as good
+as done. I am a man of my word and, since true friends are rare, I beg
+of you not to forget me."
+
+"I'll remember that," said Wiley, and went on with his eating as the
+Colonel paced up and down. He was a noble-looking man of the Southern
+type, tall and slender, with flashing blue eyes; and the look that he
+gave him reminded Wiley of Virginia, only infinitely more kind and
+friendly. He had been, in his day, a prince of entertainers, of the rich
+and poor alike; and the kick of the whiskey had roused up those genial
+qualities which had made him the first citizen of Keno. He laughed and
+told stories and cracked merry jests, yet never for a moment did he
+forget his incognito nor attempt to violate Wiley's. They were gentlemen
+there together in the heart of the desert, and as such each was safe
+from intrusion. The rifle and cartridge belt, Wiley's pistol and the
+sack of food, were fetched and placed in his hands; and then at the end
+the Colonel produced the flask of whiskey which had been slightly
+diluted with water.
+
+"Now," he said, "we will drink a toast, my far-faring-knight of the
+desert. Shall it be that first toast: 'The Ladies--God bless them!'
+or----"
+
+"No!" answered Wiley, and the Colonel silently laughed.
+
+"Well said, my young friend," he replied, nodding wisely. "Even at your
+age you have learned something of life. No, let it be the toast that
+Socrates drank, and that rare company who sat at the Banquet. To Love!
+they drank; but not to love of woman. To love of mankind--of Man! To
+Friendship! In short, here's to you, my friend, and may you never regret
+this night!"
+
+They drank it in silence, and as Wiley sat thinking, the Colonel became
+reminiscent.
+
+"Ah, there was a company," he said, smiling mellowly, "such as the world
+will never see again. Agatho and Socrates, Aristophanes and Alcibiades,
+the picked men of ancient Athens; lying comfortably on their couches
+with the food before them and inviting their souls with wine. They began
+in the evening and in the morning it was Socrates who had them all under
+the table. And yet, of all men, he was the most abstemious--he could
+drink or let it alone. Alcibiades, the drunkard, gave witness that night
+to the courage and hardihood of Socrates--how he had carried him and his
+armor from the battlefield of Potidæa, and outfaced the enemy at
+Delium; how he marched barefoot through the ice while the others, well
+shod, froze; and endured famine without complaining; yet again, in the
+feasts at the military table, he was the only person that appeared to
+enjoy them. There was a man, my friend, such as the world has never
+seen, the greatest philosopher of all time; but do you know what
+philosophy he taught?"
+
+"No, I don't," admitted Wiley, and the Colonel sighed as he poured out a
+small libation.
+
+"And yet," he said, "you are a man of parts, with an education, very
+likely, of the best. But our schools and Universities now teach a man
+everything except the meaning and purpose of life. When I was in school
+we read our Plato and Xenophon as you now read your German and French;
+but what we learned, above the language itself, was the thought of that
+ancient time. You learn to earn money and to fight your way through
+life, but Socrates taught that friendship is above everything and that
+Truth is the Ultimate Good. But, ah well; I weary you, for each age
+lives unto itself, and who cares for the thoughts of an old man?"
+
+"No! Go on!" protested Wiley, but the Colonel sighed wearily and shook
+his head gloomily in thought.
+
+"I had a friend once," he said at last, "who had the same rugged honesty
+of Socrates. He was a man of few words but I truly believe that he never
+told a lie. And yet," went on the Colonel with a rueful smile, "they
+tell me that my friend recanted and deceived me at the last!"
+
+"_Who_ told you?" put in Wiley, suddenly rousing from his silence
+and the Colonel glanced at him sharply.
+
+"Ah, yes; well said, my friend! Who told me? Why, all of them--except my
+friend himself. I could not go to him with so much as a suggestion that
+he had betrayed the friendship of a lifetime; and he, no doubt, felt
+equally reluctant to explain what had never been charged. Yet I dared
+not approach him, for it was better to endure doubt than to suffer the
+certainty of his guilt. And so we drifted apart, and he moved away; and
+I have never seen my good friend since."
+
+Wiley sat in stunned silence, but his heart leapt up at this word of
+vindication for Honest John. To be sure his father had refused him help,
+and rebuked him for heckling the Widow, but loyalty ran strong in the
+Holman blood and he looked up at the Colonel and smiled.
+
+"Next time you go inside," he said at last, "take a chance and ask your
+friend."
+
+"I'll do that," agreed the Colonel, "but it won't be for some time
+because--well, I'm hiding out."
+
+"Here, too," returned Wiley, "and I'm _never_ going back. But say,
+listen; I'll tell _you_ one now. You trusted your friend, and the
+bunch told you that he'd betrayed you; I trusted my girl, and she told
+me to my face that she'd sold me out for fifty thousand dollars. Fifty
+thousand, at the most; and I lost about a million and killed a man over
+it, to boot. You take a chance with your friends, but when you trust a
+woman--you don't take any chance at all."
+
+"Ah, in self defense?" inquired the Colonel politely. "I thought I
+noticed a hole in your shirt. Yes, pretty close work--between your arm
+and your ribs. I've had a few close calls, myself."
+
+"Yes, but what do you think," demanded Wiley impatiently, "of a girl
+that will throw you down like that? I gave her the stock and to make it
+worth the money she turned around and ditched me. And then she looked me
+in the face and laughed!"
+
+"If you had studied," observed the Colonel, "the Republic of Plato you
+would have been saved your initial mistake; for it was an axiom among
+the Greeks that in all things women are inferior, and never to be
+trusted in large affairs. The great Plato pointed out, and it has never
+been controverted, that women are given to concealment and spite; and
+that in times of danger they are timid and cowardly, and should
+therefore have no voice in council. In fact, in the ideal State which he
+conceived, they were to be herded by themselves in a community dwelling
+and held in common by the state. There were to be no wives and no
+husbands, with their quarrels and petty bickerings, but the women were
+to be parceled out by certain controllers of marriage and required to
+breed men for the state. That is going rather far, and I hardly
+subscribe to it, but I think they should be kept in their place."
+
+"Well, they are cowardly, all right," agreed Wiley bitterly, "but that's
+better than when they fight. Because then, if you oppose them, everybody
+turns against you; and if you don't, they've got you whipped!"
+
+"Put it there!" exclaimed the Colonel, striking hands with him
+dramatically. "I swear, we shall get along famously. There is nothing I
+admire more than a gentle, modest woman, an ornament to her husband and
+her home; but when she puts on the trousers and presumes to question and
+dictate, what is there left for a gentleman to do? He cannot strike her,
+for she is his wife and he has sworn to cherish and protect her; and
+yet, by the gods, she can make his life more miserable than a dozen
+quarrelsome men. What is there to do but what I have done--to close up
+my affairs and depart? If there is such a thing as love, long absence
+may renew it, and the sorrow may chasten her heart; but I agree with
+Solomon that it is better to dwell in a corner of the house-top than
+with a scolding woman in a wide house."
+
+"You bet," nodded Wiley. "Gimme the desert solitude, every time. Is
+there any more whiskey in that bottle?"
+
+"And yet--" mused the Colonel, "--well, here's to our mothers! And may
+we ever be dutiful sons! After all, my friend, no man can escape his
+duty; and if duty should call us to endure a certain martyrdom we have
+the example of Socrates to sustain us. If report is true he had a
+scolding wife--the name of Xanthippe has become a proverb--and yet what
+more noble than Socrates' rebuke to his son when he behaved undutifully
+towards his mother? Where else in all literature will you find a more
+exalted statement of the duty we all owe our parents than in Socrates'
+dialogue with Lamprocles, his son, as recorded in the Memorabilia of
+Xenophon? And if, living with Xanthippe and listening to her railings,
+he could yet attain to such heights of philosophy is it not possible
+that men like you and me might come, through his philosophy, to endure
+it? It is that which I am pondering while I am alone here in the desert;
+but my spirit is weak and that accursed camp robber made off with my
+volume of Plato."
+
+"Well, personally," stated Wiley, his mind on the Widow, "I think I
+agree more with Plato. Let 'em keep in their place and not crush into
+business with their talk and their double-barreled shotguns."
+
+"I beg your pardon, sir," said the Colonel, drawing himself up gravely,
+"but did you happen to come through Keno?"
+
+"Never mind;" grumbled Wiley, "you might be the Sheriff. Tell me more
+about this married man, Socrates."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI
+
+THE BROKEN TRUST
+
+
+To seek always for Truth and Justice and the common good of mankind has
+seldom had its earthly reward but, twenty-three hundred and fifteen
+years after he drank the cup of hemlock, the soul of Socrates received
+its oration. Not that the Colonel was hipped upon the subject of the
+ancients, for he talked mining and showed some copper claims as well;
+but a similar tragedy in his own domestic life had evoked a profound
+admiration for Socrates. And if Wiley understood what lay behind his
+words he gave no hint to the Colonel. Always, morning, noon and night,
+he listened respectfully, his lips curling briefly at some thought; and
+at the end of a week the Colonel was as devoted to him as he had been
+formerly to his father.
+
+Yet when, as sometimes happened, the Colonel tried to draw him out, he
+shook his head stubbornly and was dumb. The problem that he had could
+not be solved by talk; it called for years to recover and forget; and if
+the Colonel once knew that his own daughter was involved he might rise
+up and demand a retraction. In his first rush of bitterness Wiley had
+stated without reservation that Virginia had sold him out for money, and
+the pride of the Huffs would scarcely allow this to pass unnoticed--and
+yet he would not retract it if he died for it. He knew from her own lips
+that Virginia had betrayed him, and it could never be explained away.
+
+If she argued that she was misled by Blount and his associates, he had
+warned her before she left; and if she had thought that he was doing her
+an injustice, that was not the way to correct it. She had accepted a
+trust and she had broken that trust to gain a personal profit--and that
+was the unpardonable sin. He could have excused her if she had weakened
+or made some mistake, but she had betrayed him deliberately and
+willfully; and as he sat off by himself, mulling it over in his mind,
+his eyes became stern and hard. For the killing of Stiff Neck George he
+had no regrets, and the treachery of Blount did not surprise him; but he
+had given this woman his heart to keep and she had sold him for fifty
+thousand dollars. All the rest became as nothing but this wound refused
+to heal, for he had lost his faith in womankind. Had he loved her less,
+or trusted her less, it would not have rankled so deep; but she had been
+his one woman, whose goings and comings he watched for, and all the time
+she was playing him false.
+
+He sat silent one morning in the cool shade of a wild grapevine, jerking
+the meat of a mountain sheep that he had killed; and as he worked
+mechanically, shredding the flesh into long strips, he watched the lower
+trail. Ten days had gone by since he had fled across the Valley, but the
+danger of pursuit had not passed and, as he saw a great owl that was
+nesting down below rise up blindly and flop away he paused and reached
+for his gun.
+
+"Never mind," said the Colonel who had noticed the movement. "I expect
+an old Indian in with grub. But step into the cave and if it's who you
+think it is you can count on me till the hair slips."
+
+Wiley stepped in quietly, strapping on his belt and pistol, and then the
+Colonel burst into a roar.
+
+"It's Charley," he cried, leaping nimbly to his feet and putting up his
+gun. "Come on, boy--here's where we get that drink!"
+
+Wiley looked out doubtfully as Heine rushed up and sniffed at the pans
+of meat, and then he ducked back and hid. Around the shoulder of the
+cliff came Death Valley Charley; but behind him, on a burro, was
+Virginia. He looked out again as the Colonel swore an oath and then she
+leapt off and ran towards them.
+
+"Oh--_Father_!" she cried and hung about his neck while the
+astonished Colonel kissed her doubtfully.
+
+"Well, well!" he protested as she fell to weeping, "what's the cause of
+all this distress? Is your mother not well, or----"
+
+"We--we thought you were _dead_!" she burst out indignantly, "and
+Charley there knew--all the time!"
+
+She let go of her father and turned upon Death Valley Charley, who was
+solicitously attending to Heine, and the Colonel spoke up peremptorily.
+
+"Here, Charley!" he commanded, "let that gluttonous cur wait. What's
+this I hear from Virginia? Didn't you tell her I was perfectly well?"
+
+"Why--why yes, sir; I did, sir," replied Charley, apologetically,
+"but--she only thought I was crazy. I told her, all the time----"
+
+"Oh, Charley!" reproached Virginia, "didn't you know better than that?
+You only said it when you had those spells. Why didn't you tell me when
+you were feeling all right--and you denied it, I know, repeatedly!"
+
+"The Colonel would kill me," mumbled Charley sullenly. "He told me not
+to tell. But I brought you the whiskey, sir; a whole big----"
+
+"Never mind the whiskey," said the Colonel sharply. "Now, let's get to
+the bottom of this matter. Why should you think I was dead when I had
+merely absented myself----"
+
+"But the body!" clamored Virginia. "We got word you were lost when your
+burro came in at the Borax works. And when we hired trackers, the
+Indians said you were lost--and your body was out in the sand-hills!"
+
+"It was that cursed camp-robber!" declared the Colonel with conviction.
+"Well, I'm glad he's gone to his reward. It was only some rascal that
+came through here and stole my riding burro--did they care for old Jack
+at the Works? Well, I shall thank them for it kindly; and anything I can
+do--but what's the matter, Virginia?"
+
+She had drawn away from him and was gazing about anxiously and Charley
+had slunk guiltily away.
+
+"Why--where's Wiley?" she cried, clutching her father by the arm. "Oh,
+isn't he here, after all?"
+
+"Wiley?" repeated the Colonel. "Why, who are you talking about? I never
+even heard of such a man."
+
+"Oh, he's dead then; he's lost!" she sobbed, sinking down on the ground
+in despair. "Oh, I knew it, all the time! But that old Charley----" She
+cast a hateful glance at him and the Colonel beckoned sternly.
+
+"What now?" he demanded as Charley sidled near. "Who is this Mr. Wiley?"
+
+"Why--er--Wiley; Wiley Holman, you know. I followed his tracks to the
+Gateway. Ain't he around here somewhere? I found this bottle----" He
+held up the flask that he had given to Wiley, and the Colonel started
+back with a cry.
+
+"What, a tall young fellow with leather puttees?"
+
+"Oh, yes, yes!" answered Virginia, suddenly springing to her feet again.
+"We followed him--isn't he here?"
+
+The Colonel turned slowly and glanced at the cave, where Wiley was still
+hiding close, and then he cleared his throat.
+
+"Well, kindly explain first why you should be following this gentleman,
+and----"
+
+"Oh, he's here, then!" sighed Virginia and fell into her father's arms,
+at which Charley scuttled rapidly away.
+
+"Mr. Holman," spoke up the Colonel, as Wiley did not stir, "may I ask
+you to come out here and explain?"
+
+There was a rustle inside the cave and at last Wiley came out, stuffing
+a strip of dried meat into his hip pocket.
+
+"I'll come out, yes," he said, "but, as I'm about to go, I'll leave it
+to your daughter to explain."
+
+He picked up his canteen and started down to the water-hole, but the
+Colonel called him sternly back.
+
+"My friend," he said, "it is the custom among gentlemen to answer a
+courteous question. I must ask you then what there is between you and my
+daughter, and why she should follow you across Death Valley?"
+
+"There is nothing between us," answered Wiley categorically, "and I
+don't know why she followed me--that is, if she really did."
+
+"Well, I did!" sobbed Virginia, burying her face on her father's breast,
+"but I wish I hadn't now!"
+
+"Huh!" grunted Wiley and stumped off down the trail where he filled his
+canteen at the pool. He was mad, mad all over, and yet he experienced a
+strange thrill at the thought of Virginia following him. He had left her
+smiling and shaking hands with Blount, but a curse had been on the
+money, and her conscience had forced her to follow him. It had been
+easy, for her, with a burro to ride on and Death Valley Charley to guide
+her; but with him it had been different. He had fled from arrest and it
+was only by accident that he had won to the water-hole in time. But yet,
+she had followed him; and now she would apologize and explain, as she
+had explained it all once before. Well, since she had come--and since
+the Colonel was watching him--he shouldered his canteen and came back.
+
+"My daughter tells me," began the Colonel formally, "that you are the
+son of my old friend, John Holman; and I trust that you will take my
+hand."
+
+He held out his hand and Wiley blinked as he returned the warm clasp of
+his friend. Ten days of companionship in the midst of that solitude had
+knitted their souls together and he loved the old Colonel like a father.
+
+"That's all right," he muttered. "And--say, hunt up the Old Man! Because
+he thinks the world of you, still."
+
+"I will do so," replied the Colonel, "but will you do me a favor? By
+gad, sir; I can't let you go. No, you must stay with me, Wiley, if that
+is your name; I want to talk with you later, about your father. But now,
+as a favor, since Virginia has come so far, I will ask you to sit down
+and listen to her. And--er--Wiley; just a moment!" He beckoned him to
+one side and spoke low in his ear. "About that woman who betrayed your
+trust--perhaps I'd better not mention her to Virginia?"
+
+Wiley's eyes grew big and then they narrowed. The Colonel thought there
+was another woman. How could he, proud soul, even think for a moment
+that Virginia herself had betrayed him? No, to his high mind it was
+inconceivable that a daughter of his should violate a trust; and there
+was Virginia, watching them.
+
+"Very well," replied Wiley, and smiled to himself as he laid down his
+gun and canteen. He led the way up the creek to where a gnarled old
+cottonwood cast its shadow against the cliff and smoothed out a seat
+against the bank. "Now sit down," he said, "and let's have this over
+with before the Colonel gets wise. He's a fine old gentleman and if his
+daughter took after him I wouldn't be dodging the sheriff."
+
+"Well, I came to tell you," began Virginia bravely, "that I'm sorry for
+what I've done. And to show you that I mean it I gave Blount back his
+stock."
+
+Wiley gazed at her grimly for a moment and then he curled up his lip.
+"Why not come through," he asked at last, "and acknowledge that he held
+it out on you?"
+
+Virginia started and then she smiled wanly.
+
+"No," she said, "it wasn't quite that. And yet--well, he didn't really
+give it to me."
+
+"I knew it!" exploded Wiley, "the doggoned piker! But of course you made
+a clean-up on your other stock?"
+
+"No, I didn't! I gave that away, too! But Wiley, why won't you listen to
+me? I didn't intend to do it, but he explained it all so nicely----"
+
+"Didn't I tell you he would?" he raged.
+
+"Yes, but listen; you don't understand. When I went to him first I asked
+for Father's stock and--he must have known what was coming. I guess he
+saw the bills. Anyway, he told me then that he had always loved my
+father, and that he wanted to protect us from you; and so, he said, he
+was just holding my Father's stock to keep you from getting it away from
+us. And then he called in some friends of his; and oh, they all became
+so indignant that I thought I couldn't be wrong! Why, they showed me
+that you would make millions by the deal, and all at our expense; and
+then--I don't know, something came over me. We'd been poor so long, and
+it would make you so rich; and, like a fool, I went and did it."
+
+"Well, that's all right," said Wiley. "I forgive you, and all that; but
+don't let your father know. He's got old-fashioned ideas about keeping a
+trust and--say, do you know what he thinks? I happened to mention, the
+first night I got in, that a woman had thrown me down; and he just now
+took me aside and told me not to worry because he'd never mention the
+lady to you. He thinks it was somebody else."
+
+"Oh," breathed Virginia, and then she sat silent while he kicked a hole
+in the dirt and waited. He was willing to concede anything, agree to
+anything, look pleasant at anything, until the ordeal was over; and then
+he intended to depart. Where he would go was a detail to be considered
+later when he felt the need of something to occupy his mind; right now
+he was only thinking that she looked very pale--and there was a tired,
+hunted look in her eyes. She had nerves, of course, the same as he had,
+and the trip across Death Valley had been hard on her; but if she
+suffered now, he had suffered also, and he failed to be as sorry as he
+should.
+
+"You'll be all right now," he said at last, when it seemed she would
+never speak up, "and I'm glad you found your father. He'll go back with
+you now and take a fall out of Blount and--well, you won't feel so poor,
+any more."
+
+"Yes, I will," returned Virginia, suddenly rousing up and looking at him
+with haggard eyes. "I'll always feel poor, because if I gave you back
+all I had it wouldn't be a tenth of what you lost."
+
+"Oh, that's all right," grumbled Wiley. "I don't care about the money.
+Are they hunting me for murder, or what?"
+
+"Oh, no; not for anything!" she answered eagerly. "You'll come back,
+won't you, Wiley? Mother was watching you through her glasses, and she
+says George fired first. They aren't trying to arrest you; all they want
+you to do is to give up and stand a brief trial. And I'll help you,
+Wiley; oh, I've just got to do something or I'll be miserable all my
+life!"
+
+"You're tired now," said Wiley. "It'll look different, pretty soon;
+and--well, I don't think I'll go in, right now."
+
+"But where will you go?" she entreated piteously. "Oh, Wiley, can't you
+see I'm sorry? Why can't you forgive me and let me try to make amends,
+instead of making both our lives so miserable?"
+
+"I don't know," answered Wiley. "It's just the way I feel. I've got
+nothing _against_ you; I just want to get away and forget a few
+things that you've done."
+
+"And then?" she asked, and he smiled enigmatically.
+
+"Well, maybe you'll forget me, too."
+
+"But Father!" she objected as he rose up suddenly and started off down
+the creek. "He thinks we're lovers, you know." Wiley stopped and the
+cold anger in his eyes gave way to a look of doubt. "Why not pretend we
+are?" she suggested wistfully. "Not really, but just before him. I told
+him we'd quarreled--and he knows I followed after you. Just to-day,
+Wiley; and then you can go. But if my father should think----"
+
+"Well, all right," he broke in, and as they stepped out into the open
+she slipped her hand into his.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII
+
+A HUFF
+
+
+The Colonel was sitting in the shade of a wild grapevine rapping out a
+series of questions at Charley, but at sight of the young people coming
+back hand in hand, he paused and smiled understandingly.
+
+"What now?" he said. "Is there a new earth and a new heaven? Ah, well;
+then Virginia's trip was worth while. But Charley here is so full of
+signs and wonders that my brain is fairly in a whirl. The Germans, it
+seems, have made a forty-two centimeter gun that is blasting down cities
+in France; and the Allies, to beat them, are constructing still larger
+ones made out of tungsten that is mined from the Paymaster. Yes, yes,
+Charley, that's all right, I don't doubt your word, but we'll call on
+Wiley for the details."
+
+He laughed indulgently and poured Charley out a drink which made his
+eyes blink and snap and then he waved him graciously away.
+
+"Take your burros up the canyon," he suggested briefly, and when Charley
+was gone he smiled. "Now," he said, as Virginia sat down beside him,
+"what's all this about the Paymaster and Keno?"
+
+"Well," began Virginia as Wiley sat silent, "there really was tungsten
+in the mine. Wiley discovered it first--he was just going through the
+town when he saw that specimen in my collection--and since then,--oh,
+everything has happened!"
+
+"By the dog!" exclaimed the Colonel starting quickly to his feet. "Do
+you mean that Crazy Charley spoke the truth? Is the mine really open and
+the town full of people and----"
+
+"You wouldn't know it!" cried Virginia, triumphantly. "All that heavy,
+white quartz was tungsten!"
+
+"What? That waste on the dump? But how much is it worth? Old Charley
+says it's better than gold!"
+
+"It is!" she answered. "Why, some of that rock ran five thousand dollars
+to the ton!"
+
+"Five--thousand!" repeated the Colonel, and then he whirled on Wiley.
+"What's the reason, then," he demanded, "that you're hiding out here in
+the hills? Didn't you get possession of the mine?"
+
+"Under a bond and lease," explained Wiley shortly. "I failed to meet the
+final payment."
+
+"Why--how much was this payment?" inquired the Colonel cautiously, as he
+sensed the sudden constraint. "It seems to me the mine should have paid
+it at once."
+
+"Fifty thousand," answered Wiley, gazing glumly at the ground and the
+Colonel opened his eyes!
+
+"Fifty thousand!" he exclaimed. "Only fifty thousand dollars? Well! What
+were the circumstances, Wiley?"
+
+He stood expectant and as Wiley boggled and hesitated Virginia rose up
+and stood beside him.
+
+"He got the bond and lease from Blount," she began, talking rapidly,
+"and when Blount found that the white quartz was tungsten ore, he did
+all he could to block Wiley. When Wiley first came through the town and
+stopped at our house he knew that that white quartz was tungsten; but he
+couldn't do anything, then. And then, by-and-by, when he tried to bond
+the mine, Blount came up himself and tried to work it."
+
+"He did, eh?" cried the Colonel. "Well, by what right, I'd like to know,
+did he dare to take possession of the Paymaster?"
+
+"Oh, he'd bought up all the stock; and Mother, she took yours and----"
+
+"What?" yelled the Colonel, and then he closed down his jaw and his
+blue eyes sparkled ominously. "Proceed," he said. "The information,
+first--but, by the gods, he shall answer for this!"
+
+"But all the time," went on Virginia hastily, "the mine belonged to
+Wiley. It had been sold for taxes--and he bought it!"
+
+"Ah!" observed the Colonel, and glanced at him shrewdly for he saw now
+where the tale was going.
+
+"Well," continued Virginia, "when Blount saw Wiley wanted it he came up
+and took it himself. And he hired Stiff Neck George to herd the mine and
+keep Wiley and everybody away. But when he was working it, why Wiley
+came back and claimed it under the tax sale; and he went right up to the
+mine and took away George's gun--and kicked him down the dump!"
+
+"He did!" exclaimed the Colonel, but Wiley did not look up, for his mind
+was on the end of the tale.
+
+"And then--oh, it's all mixed up, but Blount couldn't find any gold and
+so he leased the mine to Wiley. And the minute he found that the white
+quartz was tungsten, and worth three dollars a pound, he was mad as
+anything and did everything he could to keep him from meeting the
+payment. But Wiley went ahead and shipped a lot of ore and made a lot of
+money in spite of him. He cleaned out the mine and fixed up the mill and
+oh, Father, you wouldn't know the place!"
+
+"Probably not!" returned the Colonel, "but proceed with your story. Who
+holds the Paymaster, now?"
+
+"Why Blount, of course, and he's moved back to town and is simply
+shoveling out the ore!"
+
+"The scoundrel!" burst out the Colonel. "Wiley, we will return to Keno
+immediately and bring this blackguard to book! I have a stake in this
+matter, myself!"
+
+"Nope, not for me!" answered Wiley wearily. "You haven't heard all the
+story. I fell down on the final payment--it makes no difference how--and
+when I came back Blount had jumped the mine and Stiff Neck George was in
+charge. But instead of warning me off he hid behind a car and--well, I
+don't care to go back there, now."
+
+"Why, certainly! You must!" declared the Colonel warmly. "You were
+acting in self defense and I consider that your conduct was justified.
+In fact, my boy, I wish to congratulate you--Charley tells me he had the
+drop on you."
+
+"Yes, sure," grumbled Wiley, "but you aren't the judge--and there's a
+whole lot more to the story. It happens that I took an option on
+Blount's Paymaster stock, but when I offered the payment he protested
+the contract and took the case to court. Now--he's got the town of Vegas
+in his inside vest pocket, the lawyers and judges and all; and do you
+think for a minute he's going to let me come back and take away those
+four hundred thousand shares?"
+
+"Four hundred thousand?" repeated the Colonel incredulously, "do you
+mean to tell me----"
+
+"Yes, you bet I do!" said Wiley, "and I'll tell you something else.
+According to the dates on the back of those certificates it was Blount
+that sold you out. He sold all his promotion stock before the panic; and
+then, when the price was down to nothing, he turned around and bought it
+back. I knew from the first that he'd lied about my father and I kept
+after him till I got my hands on that stock--and then, when I'd proved
+it, he tried to put the blame on you!"
+
+"The devil!" exclaimed the Colonel, and paced up and down, snapping his
+fingers and muttering to himself. "The cowardly dastard!" he burst out
+at last. "He has poisoned ten years of my life. I must hurry back at
+once and go to John Holman and apologize to him publicly for this
+affront. After all the years that we were pardners in everything, and
+then to have me doubt his integrity! He was the soul of honor, one man
+in ten thousand; and yet I took the word of this lying Blount against
+the man I called My Friend! I remember, by gad, as if it were yesterday,
+the first time I really knew your father; and Blount was squeezing me,
+then. I owed him fifteen thousand dollars on a certain piece of property
+that was worth fifty thousand at least; and at the very last moment,
+when he was about to foreclose, John Holman loaned me the money. He
+mortgaged his cattle at the other bank and put the money in my hand, and
+Blount cursed him for an interfering fool! That was Blount, the Shylock,
+and Honest John Holman; and I turned against my friend."
+
+"Yes, that's right," agreed Wiley, "but if you want to make up for it,
+make 'em quit calling him 'Honest John'!"
+
+"No, indeed," cried the Colonel, his voice tremulous with emotion. "He
+shall still be called Honest John; and if any man doubts it or speaks
+the name fleeringly he shall answer personally to me. And now, about
+this stock--what was that, Virginia, that you were saying about my
+holdings?"
+
+"Why, Mother put them up as collateral on a loan, and Blount claimed
+them at the end of the first month."
+
+"All my stock? Well, by the horn-spoon--how much did your mother borrow?
+Eight--hundred? Eight hundred dollars? Well, that is enough, on the face
+of it--but never mind, I will recover the stock. It is certainly a
+revelation of human nature. The moment I am reported dead, these
+vultures strip my family of their all."
+
+"Well, I was one of them," spoke up Wiley bluntly, "but you don't need
+to blame my father. When I was having trouble with Mrs. Huff he wrote up
+and practically disowned me."
+
+"So you were one of them," observed the Colonel mildly. "And you had
+trouble with Mrs. Huff? But no matter?" he went on. "We can discuss all
+that later--now to return to this lawsuit, with Blount. Do I understand
+that you had an option on his entire four hundred thousand shares?"
+
+"For twenty thousand dollars," answered Wiley, "and he was glad to get
+it--but, of course, when I opened up that big body of tungsten, the
+stock was worth into millions. That is, if he could keep me from making
+both payments. He fought me from the start, but I put up the twenty
+thousand; and the clerk of the court is holding it yet, unless the case
+is decided. But Blount knew he could beat it, if he could keep me from
+buying the mine under the terms of my bond and lease; and now that he's
+in possession, taking out thirty or forty thousand every day, I'm licked
+before I begin. In fact, the case is called already and lost by default
+if I know that blackleg lawyer of mine."
+
+"But hire a good lawyer!" protested the Colonel. "A man has a right to
+his day in court and you have never appeared."
+
+"No, and I never will," spoke up Wiley despondently. "There's a whole
+lot to this case that you don't know. And the minute I appear they'll
+arrest me for murder and railroad me off to the Pen. No, I'm not going
+back, that's all."
+
+"But Wiley," reasoned the Colonel, "you've got great interests at
+stake--and your father will help you, I'm sure."
+
+"No, he won't," declared Wiley. "There isn't anybody that can help me,
+because Blount is in control of the courts. And I might as well add that
+I was run out of Vegas by a Committee appointed for the purpose." He
+rose up abruptly, rolling his sullen eyes on Virginia and the Colonel
+alike. "In fact," he burst out, "I haven't got a friend on the east side
+of Death Valley Sink."
+
+"But on the west side," suggested the Colonel, drawing Virginia to his
+side, "you have two good friends that I know----"
+
+"Wait till you hear it all," broke in Wiley, bitterly, "and you're
+likely to change your mind. No, I'm busted, I tell you, and the best
+thing I can do is drift and never come back."
+
+"And Virginia?" inquired the Colonel. "Am I right in supposing----"
+
+"No," he flared up. "Friend Virginia has quit me, along with----"
+
+"Why, Wiley!" cried Virginia, and he started and fell silent as he met
+her reproachful gaze. For the sake of the Colonel they were supposed
+to be lovers, whose quarrel had been happily made up, but this was
+very unloverlike.
+
+"Well, I don't deserve it," he muttered at last, "but friend Virginia
+has promised to stay with me."
+
+"Yes, I'm going to stay with him," spoke up Virginia quickly, "because
+it was all my fault. I'm going to go with him, father, wherever he goes
+and----"
+
+"God bless you, my daughter!" said the Colonel, smiling proudly, "and
+never forget you're a Huff!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII
+
+THE FIERY FURNACE
+
+
+To be a Huff, of course, was to be brave and true and never go back on a
+friend; but as the Colonel that evening began to speak on the subject,
+Virginia crept off to bed. She was tired from her night trip across the
+Sink of Death Valley, with only Crazy Charley for a guide; but it was
+Wiley, the inexorable, who drove her off weeping, for he would not take
+her hand. His mind was still fixed on the Gethsemane of the soul that he
+had gone through in Blount's bank at Vegas, and strive as she would she
+could not bring him back to play his poor part as lover. Whether she
+loved him or not was not the question--not even if she was willing to
+throw away her life by following him in his wanderings. Three times he
+had trusted her and three times she had played him false--and was that
+the honor of the Huffs?
+
+She was penitent now and, in the presence of her father, more gentle and
+womanly than seemed possible; but next week or next month or in the long
+years to come, was she the woman he could trust? They passed before his
+eyes in a swift series of images, the days when he had trusted her
+before; and always, behind her smile, there was something else,
+something cold and calculating and unkind. Her eyes were soft now, and
+gentle and imploring, but they had looked at him before with scorn and
+hateful laughter, when he had staked his soul on her word. He had
+trusted her--too far--and before Blount and all his sycophants she had
+made him a mock and a reviling.
+
+The Colonel was talking, for his mood was expansive, but at last he fell
+silent and waited.
+
+"Wiley, my boy," he said when Wiley looked up, "you must not let the past
+overmaster you. We all make mistakes, but if our hearts are right there
+is nothing that should cause vain regrets. I judged from what you said
+once that your present disaster is due to a misplaced trust--in fact, if
+I remember, to a woman. But do not let this treachery, this betrayal of
+a trust, turn your mind against all womankind. I have known many noble
+and high-minded women whom I would trust with my very life; and since
+Virginia, as I gather, has offered to bind up your wounds, I hope you
+will not remain embittered. She is my daughter, of course, and my love
+may have blinded me; but in all the long years she has been at my side,
+I can think of no instance in which she has played me false. Her nature
+is passionate, and she is sometimes quick to anger, but behind it all
+she is devotion itself and you can trust her absolutely."
+
+He paused expectantly, but as Wiley made no response he rose up and
+knocked out his pipe.
+
+"Well, good night," he said. "It is time we were retiring if we are to
+cross the Valley to-morrow. Have a drink? Well, all right; it's just as
+well. You're a good boy, Wiley; I'm proud of you."
+
+He clapped him on the shoulder as he went off to bed, but Wiley sat
+brooding by the fire. Death Valley Charley took his blankets and rolled
+up in the creek bed, so that his burros could not sneak by him in the
+night, and Heine laid down beside him; but when all was quiet Wiley rose
+up silently and tiptoed about the camp. He strapped on his pistol and
+picked up his gun, but as he was groping in the darkness for his canteen
+Heine trotted up and flapped his ears. It was his sign of friendship,
+like wagging his tail, and Wiley patted him quietly; but when he was
+gone, he lifted the canteen and slung it over his shoulder. In the land
+where he was going there were more dangers than one, but lack of water
+was the greatest. He stepped out into the moonlight and then, from the
+cave, he heard a muffled sound. Virginia was there and he was running
+away from her. He listened again--she was crying! Not weeping aloud or
+in choking sobs but in stifled, heart-broken sighs. He lowered his gun
+and stood scowling and irresolute, then he turned back and went to bed.
+
+In the morning they started late, resting in the shade of the Gateway
+until the sun had swung to the west; and then, as the shadow of the
+Panamints stretched out across the Valley, they repacked and started
+down the slope. In the lead went old Jinny, the mother of the bunch, and
+Jack and Johnny and Baby; and following behind his burros, paced Death
+Valley Charley with a long, willow club in his hand. The Colonel strode
+ahead, his mind on weighty matters; and behind him came Virginia on her
+free-footed burro with Wiley plodding silently in the rear. At irregular
+intervals Heine would drop back from the lead and sniff at them each in
+turn, but nothing was said, for the air was furnace dry and they were
+saving their strength for the sand.
+
+At sundown they reached the edge of the first yielding sand-dune that
+presaged the long pull to come and Death Valley Charley stopped and
+opened up a water-can while the burros gathered eagerly around. Then he
+poured each of them a drink in his shapeless old hat and started them
+across the Sink.
+
+"Now, you see?" he said, "you see where Jinny goes? She heads straight
+for Stovepipe Hole. She knows she gits water there and that makes her
+hurry--and the others they tag along behind."
+
+He took another drink from the Colonel's private stock and smiled as he
+smacked his lips. "It's hot to-day," he observed, squinting down his
+eyes and gazing ahead through the haze; "yes, it's hot for this time of
+year. But Virginia, you ride; and when Tom won't go no further, git off
+and he'll lead you to camp."
+
+He went on ahead, swinging his club and laughing, and Heine trotted
+soberly at his side; and as he followed the trough of sand-wave after
+sand-wave, the rest plodded along behind. A dry, baking heat seemed to
+rise up from the ground and the air was heavy and still; the burros
+began to groan as they toiled up the slope and their flanks turned wet
+with sweat; and then, as they topped a wave, they felt the scorching
+breath of the Sink. It came in puffs like the waves of some great sea
+upon whose shores they had set their feet; a seething, heaving sea of
+heat, breathing death along its lonely beach. It struck through their
+clothes like a blast of wind or the shimmering glow of a furnace and at
+each drink of water the sweat damped their brows and trickled in streams
+down their faces. A wearied burro halted and, as Charley chased him with
+his club, the rest rushed ahead to escape; and then, as they came to the
+crest of the wave, Virginia's burro stopped dead.
+
+"I'll lead him," she said as Wiley came up, and started after the pack.
+Wiley walked along beside her, for he saw that she was spent; and as her
+slender feet sank deep in the yielding sand she lagged and slowed down,
+and stopped. Then as she turned to take her canteen from the saddle, she
+swayed and clutched at the horn.
+
+"You'd better ride," he said and, taking her in his arms, he lifted her
+to the saddle like a child. Then he walked along behind, flogging the
+burro into action, but still they lagged to the rear. The moon rose up
+gleaming and cast black shadows along the sand-dunes, and in the lee of
+the wind-wracked mesquite trees; and from the darkness ahead of them
+they could hear crazy shoutings as Charley belabored his fleeing
+animals. They showed dim and ghostly, as they topped a distant ridge;
+and then Wiley and Virginia were alone. The pack-train, the Colonel and
+Death Valley Charley had vanished behind the crest of a wave; and as
+Wiley stopped to listen Virginia drooped in the saddle and fell, very
+gently, into his arms.
+
+He held her a moment, overcome with sudden pity, and then in a rush of
+unexpected emotion, he crushed her to his breast and kissed her. She was
+his, after all, to cherish, and protect; a frail reed, broken by his
+hand; and as he gave her water and bathed her face he remembered her
+weeping in the night. Her tears had been for him, whom she had followed
+so far only to find him harsh and unforgiving; and now, weak from grief,
+she had fainted in his arms, which had never reached out to console her.
+He gathered her to his breast in a belated atonement and as he kissed
+her again she stirred. Then he put her down, but when she felt his hands
+slacken she reached up and caught him by the neck. So she held him a
+while, until something gave way within him and he pressed his lips to
+hers.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV
+
+A CLEAN-UP
+
+
+A cool breeze drew down through Emigrant Wash and soothed the fever heat
+of Death Valley, and as the morning star rose up like a blazing beacon,
+Wiley carried Virginia to Stovepipe. They had sat for hours on the
+crest of a sand-hill, looking out over the sea of waves that seemed to
+ride on and mingle in the moonlight, and with no one to listen they had
+talked out their hearts and pledged the future in a kiss. Then they had
+gazed long and rested, looking up at the countless stars that obscured
+the Milky Way with their pin-points; and when the Colonel had found them
+Wiley was carrying her in his arms as if her weight were nothing.
+
+They camped at Stovepipe that day while Virginia gained back her
+strength, and at last they came in sight of Keno. She was riding now and
+Wiley was walking, with his head bowed down in thought; but when he
+looked up she reached out, smiling wistfully, and touched him with her
+hand. But the Colonel strode ahead, his head held high, his eagle eyes
+searching the distance; and when people ran out to greet him he thrust
+them aside, for he had spied Samuel Blount in the crowd.
+
+Blount was standing just outside the Widow's gate and a voice,
+unmistakable, was demanding in frantic haste the return of certain
+shares of stock. It was hardly the time for a business transaction, for
+her husband was returning as from the dead, but a sudden sense of her
+misused stewardship had driven the Widow to distraction.
+
+"What now?" demanded the Colonel, as he appeared upon the scene and his
+wife made a rush to embrace him. "Is this the time for scolding? Why,
+certainly I was alive--why should anybody doubt it? You may await me in
+the house, Aurelia!"
+
+"But Henry!" she wailed. "Oh, I thought you were dead--and this devil
+has robbed me of everything!"
+
+She pointed a threatening finger at Blount, who stepped forward, his
+lower lip trembling.
+
+"Why, how are you, Colonel!" he exclaimed with affected heartiness.
+"Well, well; we thought you were dead."
+
+"So I hear!" observed the Colonel, and looked at him so coldly that
+Blount blushed and withdrew his outstretched hand. "So I hear, sir!" he
+repeated, "but you were misinformed--I have come back to protect my
+rights."
+
+"He took all your stock," cried the Widow, vindictively, "on a loan of
+eight hundred dollars. And now he won't give it back."
+
+"Never mind," returned the Colonel. "I will attend to all that if you
+will go in and cook me some dinner. And next time I leave home I would
+recommend, Madam, that you leave my business affairs alone."
+
+"But Henry," she began, but he gazed at her so sternly that she turned
+and slipped away.
+
+"And you, sir," continued the Colonel, his words ringing out like pistol
+shots as he unloosed his wrath upon Blount, "I would like to inquire
+what excuse you have to offer for imposing on my wife and child? Is it
+true, as I hear, that you have taken my stock on a loan of eight hundred
+dollars?"
+
+"Why--why, no! That is, Colonel Huff----"
+
+"Have you the stock in your possession?" demanded the Colonel
+peremptorily. "Yes or no, now; and no 'buts' about it!"
+
+"Why, yes; I have," admitted Blount in a scared voice, "but I came by it
+according to law!"
+
+"You did not, sir!" retorted the Colonel, "because it was all in my name
+and my wife had no authority to transfer it. Do you deny the fact? Well,
+then give me back my stock or I shall hold you, sir, personally
+responsible!"
+
+Blount started back, for he knew the import of those dread words, and
+then he heaved a great sigh.
+
+"Very well," he said, "but I loaned her eight hundred dollars----"
+
+"Wiley!" called the Colonel, beckoning him quickly from the crowd. "Give
+me the loan of eight hundred dollars."
+
+And at that Blount opened up his eyes.
+
+"Oho!" he said, "so Wiley is with you? Well, just a moment, Mr. Huff."
+He turned to a man who stood beside him. "Arrest that man!" he said. "He
+killed my watchman, George Norcross."
+
+"Not so fast!" rapped out the Colonel, fixing the officer with steely
+eyes. "Mr. Holman is under my protection. Ah, thank you, Wiley--here is
+your money, Mr. Blount, with fifty dollars more for interest. And now I
+will thank you for that stock."
+
+"Do you set yourself up," demanded Blount with sudden bluster, "as being
+above the law?"
+
+"No, sir, I do not," replied the Colonel tartly. "But before we go any
+further I must ask you to restore my stock. Your order is sufficient, if
+the certificates are elsewhere----"
+
+"Well--all right!" sighed Blount, and wrote out an order which Colonel
+Huff gravely accepted. "And now," went on Blount, "I demand that you
+step aside and allow Wiley Holman to be taken."
+
+The Colonel's eyes narrowed, and he motioned the officer aside as he
+laid his own hand on Wiley's shoulder.
+
+"Every citizen of the state," he said with dignity, "has the authority
+to arrest a fugitive--and Mr. Holman is my prisoner. Is that
+satisfactory to you, Mr. Officer?"
+
+"Why--why, yes," stammered the Constable and as the Colonel smiled
+Blount forgot his studied repose. He had been deprived in one minute of
+a block of stock that was worth a round million dollars and the sting of
+his great loss maddened him.
+
+"You may smile, sir," he burst out, "but as sure as there's a law I'll
+put Wiley Holman in the Pen. And if you knew the truth, if you knew what
+he has done; I wonder, now, if you would go to such lengths? You might
+ask your wife how she has fared in your absence--or ask Virginia there!
+Didn't he send her as his messenger, to make a fake payment that would
+have deprived her and her mother of their rights? If it hadn't been for
+me your two hundred thousand shares wouldn't be worth two hundred cents.
+I ask Virginia now--didn't he send you to my bank----"
+
+"What?" demanded the Colonel, suddenly whirling upon his daughter, but
+Virginia avoided his eyes.
+
+"Yes," she said, "he did send me down--and I betrayed my trust. But it's
+just because of that that we'll stand by him now----"
+
+"Virginia!" said the Colonel, speaking with painful distinctness. "Do I
+understand that you were--that woman? And did Mr. Blount here, by any
+means whatever, persuade you to violate your trust?"
+
+"Yes, he did!" cried out Virginia, "but it was all my fault and I don't
+want Mr. Blount blamed for it. I did it out of meanness, but I was sorry
+for it afterwards and--oh, I wonder if I've got any mail." She broke
+away and dashed into the house and the Colonel brushed back his hair.
+
+"A Huff!" he murmured. "My God, what a blow! And Wiley, how can we ever
+repay you?"
+
+"Never mind," answered Wiley as he took the old man's hand. "I don't
+care about the money."
+
+"No, but the wrong, the disgrace," protested the Colonel, brokenly, and
+then he flared up at Blount.
+
+"You scoundrel, sir!" he cried. "How dared you induce my daughter to
+violate her sacred trust? By the gods, Sam Blount, I am greatly
+tempted----"
+
+"It's come!" called Virginia, running gayly down the steps, but at sight
+of her father she stopped. "Well, there it is," she said, putting a
+paper in his hand. "It shows that I was sorry, anyway."
+
+"What is this?" inquired the Colonel, fumbling feebly for his glasses,
+and Virginia snatched the paper away.
+
+"It's a letter from my lawyers!" she said, smiling wickedly. "And we'll
+show it to Mr. Blount."
+
+She took it over and put it in Blount's hands, and as he read the first
+line he turned pale.
+
+"Why--Virginia!" he gasped and then he clutched at his heart and reached
+out quickly for the fence. "Why--why, I thought that was all settled! I
+certainly understood it was--and what authority had you to interfere?"
+
+"Wiley's power of attorney," she answered defiantly, "I fired that
+crooked lawyer, after you'd got him all fixed, and hired a good one with
+my stock."
+
+"My Lord!" moaned Blount, "and after all I'd done for you!" And then he
+collapsed and was borne into the house. But Wiley, who had been so calm,
+suddenly leapt for the letter and read it through to the end.
+
+"Holy--jumping--Judas!" he burst out, running over to the Colonel who
+was standing with lack luster eyes. "Look here what Virginia has done!
+She's bought all Blount's stock, under that option I had, and cleaned
+him--down to a cent. She's won back the mine, and we can all go in
+together----"
+
+"Virginia!" spoke up the Colonel, beckoning her sternly to him. "Come
+down here, I wish to speak to you."
+
+She came down slowly and as her father began to talk the tears rose
+quickly to her eyes, but when Wiley took her hand she smiled back
+wistfully and crept within the circle of his arm.
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Shadow Mountain, by Dane Coolidge
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+<meta name="generator" content="eppg.rb 0.29 (30-Nov-2009)" />
+<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Shadow Mountain, by Dane Coolidge</title>
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Shadow Mountain, by Dane Coolidge
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Shadow Mountain
+
+Author: Dane Coolidge
+
+Illustrator: George W. Gage
+
+Release Date: December 1, 2009 [EBook #30574]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SHADOW MOUNTAIN ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<div class='figcenter'>
+<img src='images/illus-fpc.jpg' alt='' />
+<p class='center caption'>
+She reached out smiling wistfully and touched him with her hand.
+</p></div>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+
+<p class='tp' style='font-size:2.0em;margin-bottom:20px;'>SHADOW MOUNTAIN</p>
+<p class='tp' style=''>BY</p>
+<p class='tp' style='font-size:1.4em;margin-bottom:10px;'>DANE COOLIDGE</p>
+<p class='tp' style=''>AUTHOR OF</p>
+<p class='tp' style='font-size:1.1em;margin-bottom:30px;'>THE DESERT TRAIL, ETC.</p>
+<p class='tp' style=''>FRONTISPIECE BY</p>
+<p class='tp' style='font-size:1.2em;margin-bottom:30px;'>GEORGE W. GAGE</p>
+
+<div class='figcenter'>
+<img src='images/illus-emb.jpg' alt='' />
+</div>
+
+<p class='tp' style='font-size:1.2em;margin-top:30px;'>GROSSET &amp; DUNLAP</p>
+<p class='tp' style=''>PUBLISHERS&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;NEW YORK</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+
+<p class='tp' style='font-variant:small-caps;'>Copyright, 1919, By</p>
+<p class='tp' style=''>W. J. WATT &amp; COMPANY</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+
+<table summary='TOC'>
+<tr><td colspan='3' style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em;'>CONTENTS</td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1' style='font-size:smaller;'>CHAPTER</td><td></td><td class='c3' style='font-size:smaller;'>PAGE</td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>I.</td><td class='c2'>The Last of Ten Thousand</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_1'>1</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>II.</td><td class='c2'>The Shotgun Widow</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_2'>10</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>III.</td><td class='c2'>The Shadow</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_3'>22</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>IV.</td><td class='c2'>The Ghost Man</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_4'>30</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>V.</td><td class='c2'>A Load of Buckshot</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_5'>38</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>VI.</td><td class='c2'>All Crazy</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_6'>48</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>VII.</td><td class='c2'>Between Friends</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_7'>58</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>VIII.</td><td class='c2'>The Tip</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_8'>68</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>IX.</td><td class='c2'>A Peace Talk</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_9'>78</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>X.</td><td class='c2'>The Best Head in Town</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_10'>89</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>XI.</td><td class='c2'>A Touch</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_11'>98</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>XII.</td><td class='c2'>The Expert</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_12'>106</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>XIII.</td><td class='c2'>A Sack of Cats</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_13'>118</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>XIV.</td><td class='c2'>The Explosion</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_14'>127</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>XV.</td><td class='c2'>The God of Ten Per Cent</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_15'>135</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>XVI.</td><td class='c2'>A Showdown With the Widow</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_16'>143</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>XVII.</td><td class='c2'>Peace&#8211;and the Price</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_17'>151</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>XVIII.</td><td class='c2'>On Christmas Day</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_18'>160</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>XIX.</td><td class='c2'>The Enigma</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_19'>170</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>XX.</td><td class='c2'>An Appeal To Charley</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_20'>179</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>XXI.</td><td class='c2'>The Dragon&#8217;s Teeth</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_21'>187</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>XXII.</td><td class='c2'>Virginia Explains&#8211;Nothing</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_22'>196</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>XXIII.</td><td class='c2'>On Demand</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_23'>204</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>XXIV.</td><td class='c2'>Double Trouble</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_24'>214</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>XXV.</td><td class='c2'>Virginia Repents</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_25'>223</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>XXVI.</td><td class='c2'>The Call</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_26'>231</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>XXVII.</td><td class='c2'>The Thunder Clap</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_27'>239</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>XXVIII.</td><td class='c2'>The Way Out</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_28'>248</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>XXIX.</td><td class='c2'>Across Death Valley</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_29'>259</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>XXX.</td><td class='c2'>An Evening With Socrates</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_30'>269</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>XXXI.</td><td class='c2'>The Broken Trust</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_31'>279</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>XXXII.</td><td class='c2'>A Huff</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_32'>290</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>XXXIII.</td><td class='c2'>The Fiery Furnace</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_33'>299</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c1'>XXXIV.</td><td class='c2'>A Clean-up</td><td class='c3'><a href='#link_34'>305</a></td></tr>
+</table>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+
+<h1>SHADOW MOUNTAIN</h1>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+
+<p class='tp' style='font-size:1.6em;'><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_1'></a>1</span>SHADOW MOUNTAIN</p>
+
+<h2><a id='link_1'></a>CHAPTER I<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>The Last of Ten Thousand</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>Under the rim of Shadow Mountain, embraced like a pearl of great price by the
+curve of Bonanza Point and the mined-out slope of Gold Hill, the deserted city
+of Keno lay brooding and silent in the sun. A dry, gusty wind, swooping down
+through the northern pass, slammed the great iron fire-doors that hung creaking
+from the stone bank building, caught up a cloud of sand and dirt and, whirling
+it down past empty stores and assay offices, deposited it in the doorways of
+gambling houses and dance halls, long since abandoned to the rats. An old man,
+pottering about among the ruins, gathered up some broken boards and hobbled off;
+and once more Keno, the greatest gold camp the West has ever seen, sank back to
+silence and dreams.</p>
+
+<p>A round of shots wakened the echoes of Shadow Mountain; a lonely miner came
+down the trail from Gold Hill, where in the old days the Paymaster had <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_2'></a>2</span>turned out its million a
+month; and then, far out across the floor of the desert on the road that led in
+from the railroad, there appeared an arrow-point of dust. It grew to a racing
+streak of white, the distant purring of the motor gave way to a deep-voiced
+thunder and as the powerful car glided swiftly up the street the doors of old
+houses opened unexpectedly and the last of ten thousand looked out.</p>
+
+<p>There were old men and cripples, left stranded by the exodus; and prospectors
+who had moved into the vacant houses along with the other desert rats; but out
+on the gallery of the old Huff mansion&#8211;where the creepers still clung to
+the lattice&#8211;there was a flutter of white and a girl came out with a kitten
+in her arms. In the days of gold&#8211;when ten thousand men, the choice spirits
+of two hemispheres, had tramped down this same deserted street&#8211;the house
+of Colonel Huff, the discoverer of the Paymaster, had been the social center of
+Keno. And so it was still, for the Widow Huff remained; but across the front of
+the hospitable gallery where the Colonel had entertained the town, a cheap cloth
+sign announced meals fifty cents and Virginia, his daughter, was the waiter. She
+stood by the sign, still high-headed and patrician, and when the driver of the
+car saw her he came to a sudden stop. He was long and gaunt, with deep lines
+around his mouth from bucking the wind and dust and after a moment&#8217;s
+hesitation he threw on his brake and leapt out.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_3'></a>3</span>&#8220;Did you want
+something?&#8221; she asked and, glancing warily about, he nodded and came up
+the steps.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; he said, still eying her doubtfully, &#8220;what&#8217;s
+the chance for something to eat?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why, good,&#8221; she answered with a suspicion of a smile.
+&#8220;Or&#8211;well, come in; I&#8217;ll speak to mother.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She showed him into the spacious dining room, where the Colonel had once
+presided in state, and hurried into the kitchen. The young man gazed after her,
+looked swiftly about the room and backed away towards the door; then his strong
+jaw closed down, he smiled grimly to himself and sat down unbidden at a table.
+The table was mahogany and, in a case against the wall, there was a scant
+display of cut glass; but the linen was worn thin and the expensive velvet
+carpet had been ruined by hob-nailed boots. Heavy workingmen&#8217;s dishes lay
+on the tables, the plating was worn from the knives, and the last echoing ghost
+of vanished gentility was dispelled by a voice from the kitchen. It was the
+Widow Huff, once the first lady of Keno, but now a boarding-house cook.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What&#8211;a dinner now? At half-past three? And with this wind fairly
+driving me crazy? Well, I can&#8217;t <i>hire</i>anybody to keep such hours for
+<i>me</i> and&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>There was a murmur of low-voiced protest as Virginia pleaded his cause and
+then, as the Widow burst out anew, the young man pushed back his chair. His blue
+eyes, half hidden beneath bulging brows, turned a steely, fighting gray, his
+wind-blown <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_4'></a>4</span>hair fairly
+bristled; and as he listened to the last of the Widow&#8217;s remarks his lower
+lip was thrust up scornfully.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You danged old heifer,&#8221; he muttered and then the kitchen door
+flew open. The baleful look which he had intended for the Widow was surprised on
+his face by Virginia and after a startled moment she closed the door behind
+her.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why&#8211;Wiley Holman!&#8221; she cried accusingly and a challenge
+leapt into his eyes.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well?&#8221; he demanded and gazed at her sullenly as she scanned him
+from head to foot.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I knew it,&#8221; she burst out. &#8220;I&#8217;d know that stubborn
+look anywhere! You double up your lip like your father. Honest John!&#8221; she
+added sarcastically and brushed some crumbs from the table.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes&#8211;Honest John!&#8221; he retorted. &#8220;And you don&#8217;t
+need to say it like that, either. He&#8217;s my father&#8211;I know
+him&#8211;and I&#8217;ll tell you right now he never cheated a man in his
+life.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, he did!&#8221; she flared back, her eyes dark with anger,
+&#8220;and I&#8217;ll bet&#8211;I&#8217;ll bet if my father was here
+he&#8217;d&#8211;he&#8217;d prove it to your face!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She ended in a sob and as he saw the tears starting the son of Honest John
+relented.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Aw, Virginia,&#8221; he pleaded, &#8220;what&#8217;s the use of always
+fighting? He&#8217;s gone now, so let&#8217;s be friends. I was just going by
+when I saw you on the gallery, and I thought&#8211;well, let&#8217;s you and I
+be friends.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What? After old Honest John robbed Papa <span class='pagenum
+pncolor'><a id='page_5'></a>5</span>of the Paymaster, and then hounded him to
+his death on the desert?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;He did nothing of the kind&#8211;he never robbed anybody! And as for
+hounding your father to his death, the Old Man never even knew about it. He was
+down on the ranch, and when they told him the news&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, that&#8217;s you,&#8221; she railed, stifling back her sobs,
+&#8220;you can always prove an alibi. But you&#8217;d better drift, Mr. Holman;
+because if mother knows you&#8217;re here&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, what?&#8221; he demanded, truculently.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;She&#8217;ll fill you full of buckshot.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Pah!&#8221; he scoffed and snapped his fingers in the air, after which
+he lapsed into silence.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, she will,&#8221; she asserted, after waiting for him to speak,
+but Wiley only grunted.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Wait till I get that dinner,&#8221; he said at last and slumped down
+into a chair. He muttered to himself, gazing dubiously towards the kitchen, and
+turned impatiently to look at some specimens in a case against the wall. They
+were the usual chunks of high-grade gold ore, but he examined one piece with
+great care.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Where&#8217;d you get this?&#8221; he asked, holding up a piece of
+white rock, and she sighed and brushed away her tears.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Over on the dump,&#8221; she answered wearily. &#8220;That&#8217;s all
+Paymaster ore. Don&#8217;t you think you&#8217;d better go?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Never ran away yet,&#8221; he answered briefly and <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_6'></a>6</span>balanced the rock in his
+hand. &#8220;Pretty heavy,&#8221; he observed, &#8220;I&#8217;ll bet it would
+assay. Have you got very much on the dump?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What&#8211;<i>that</i>?&#8221; she cried, snatching the specimen away
+from him and bursting into a nervous laugh. &#8220;That assay? Well, you are a
+greenie&#8211;it&#8217;s nothing but barren white quartz!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, it is, eh?&#8221; he rejoined and gazed at her hectoringly.
+&#8220;You seem to know a whole lot about mineral.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I do,&#8221; she boasted. &#8220;Death Valley Charley teaches me.
+I&#8217;ve learned how to pan, and everything. But that rock
+there&#8211;that&#8217;s the barren quartz that the Paymaster ran into when the
+values went out of the ore. Old Charley knows all about it.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, they all do,&#8221; he observed and as his lip went up her eyes
+dilated suddenly in a panic.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, you went to that school&#8211;I forgot all about it&#8211;where
+they study about the mines! Are you in the mining business now?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why, yes,&#8221; he acknowledged, &#8220;but that doesn&#8217;t make
+much difference. I find I can learn something from most everybody.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, of course, then,&#8221; she stammered, &#8220;I shouldn&#8217;t
+have said that; but the whole Paymaster dump is covered with that heavy quartz,
+and everybody knows it&#8217;s barren. Are you just looking around
+or&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She hesitated politely and as he reached for another specimen she noticed a
+ring on his finger. <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_7'></a>7</span>It
+was of massive gold and, set in clutching claws, there were three stupendous
+diamonds. Not imitation stones nor small, off-colored diamonds, but brilliants
+of the very first water, clear as dew, yet holding in their hearts the faintest
+suggestion of blue.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh!&#8221; she gasped, and as he did not seem to notice, she drew her
+skirts away with a flourish. &#8220;I&#8217;m surprised,&#8221; she mocked,
+&#8220;that you condescend to speak to us&#8211;of course you own your own
+mines!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Nope,&#8221; he replied, shrugging his shoulders at her sarcasm,
+&#8220;I&#8217;m nothing but a prospector, yet. And you don&#8217;t need to be
+so surprised.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No!&#8221; she retorted, giving way to swift resentment. &#8220;I
+guess I don&#8217;t&#8211;when you consider how you got your money. Here&#8217;s
+Mother out cooking for you, and I&#8217;m the waiter; and you&#8217;re traveling
+around in racing cars with thousand-dollar rings on your hands. But if old
+Honest John hadn&#8217;t sold all his stock while he was advising my father to
+hold on&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;He did not!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, he did! He did, too! And now, after Father has been lost in Death
+Valley, and we have come down to this, your father writes over and offers to buy
+our stock for just the same as nothing. That&#8217;s <i>my</i>ring you&#8217;re
+wearing, and the money that paid for it&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, all right then,&#8221; he sneered, stripping off the ring and
+handing it abruptly over to her, &#8220;if <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_8'></a>8</span>it&#8217;s your ring, take it! But don&#8217;t you say
+my father&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, he did,&#8221; she declared, &#8220;and you can keep your old
+ring! It won&#8217;t bring back my father&#8211;now!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, it won&#8217;t,&#8221; he agreed, &#8220;but while we&#8217;re
+about it I just want to tell you something. My father went broke, buying back
+Paymaster stock from friends he&#8217;d advised to go in&#8211;and he&#8217;s
+got the stock to prove it&#8211;and when he heard that the Colonel was dead he
+decided to buy in your mother&#8217;s. He mortgaged his cows to raise the money
+for her and then that old terror&#8211;I don&#8217;t care if she is your
+mother&#8211;she slapped him in the face by refusing it. Well, he didn&#8217;t
+like to say anything, but you can tell her from me she don&#8217;t have to cook
+unless she wants to! She can sell&#8211;or buy&#8211;a hundred thousand shares
+of Paymaster any day she says the word; and if that isn&#8217;t honest I
+don&#8217;t know what is! I ask you, now; isn&#8217;t that fair?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What, at ten cents a share? When it used to sell for forty dollars!
+He&#8217;s just trying to get control of the mine. And as for offering to buy or
+sell, that&#8217;s perfectly ludicrous, because he knows we haven&#8217;t any
+money!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, what <i>do</i>you want?&#8221; he demanded irritably, and then
+he thrust up his lip. &#8220;I know,&#8221; he said, &#8220;you want your own
+way! All right, I&#8217;ll never trouble you again. You can keep right on
+guarding that hole-in-the-ground until you dry up <span class='pagenum
+pncolor'><a id='page_9'></a>9</span> and blow away across the desert. And as for
+that old she-devil&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He paused at a sudden slam from the kitchen, and Virginia&#8217;s eyes grew
+big; but as he rose to face the Widow Huff he slipped the white rock into his
+pocket.</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_10'></a>10</span><a id='link_2'></a>CHAPTER II<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>The Shotgun Widow</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>The Widow Huff was burdened with a tray and her eye sought wildly for
+Virginia but when she glimpsed Wiley moving swiftly towards the door she set
+down his dinner with a bang. The disrespectful epithet which he had applied to
+her had been lost in the clatter of plates, but the moment the Widow came into
+the room she sensed the hair-trigger atmosphere.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Here!&#8221; she ordered, taking command on the instant. &#8220;Come
+back here, young man, and pay me for this dinner! And Virginia Huff, you go out
+into the kitchen&#8211;how many times do I have to speak to you?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Virginia started and stopped, her resentful eyes on Wiley, a thin smile
+parting her lips.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;He said&#x2500;&#8221; she began, and then Wiley strode back and
+slapped down a dollar on the table.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, and I meant it, too,&#8221; he answered fiercely.
+&#8220;There&#8217;s your pay&#8211;and you can keep your mine.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why, certainly,&#8221; responded the Widow without knowing what she
+was talking about, &#8220;and now you eat that dinner!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_11'></a>11</span>She pointed a
+finger to the tray of food and looked Wiley Holman in the eye. He wavered,
+gazing from her to the smiling Virginia, and then he drew up his chair.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll go you,&#8221; he said and showed his teeth in a grin.
+&#8220;You can&#8217;t hurt my feelings that way.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He lifted the T-bone steak from the platter and transferred it swiftly to his
+plate and then, as he fell to eating ravenously, the Widow condescended to
+smile.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;When I go to the trouble of cooking a man a steak,&#8221; she
+announced with the suggestion of a swagger, &#8220;I expect him to stay and eat
+it.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;All right,&#8221; mumbled Wiley, and glancing fleeringly at Virginia,
+he went ahead with his meal.</p>
+
+<p>The Widow looked over her shoulder at her daughter and then back at the
+stranger, but as she was about to inquire into the cause of their quarrel she
+spied his diamond ring. She approached him closer under pretext of pouring out
+some water and then she sank down into a chair.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;That is a very fine ring,&#8221; she stated briefly. &#8220;Worth
+fifteen hundred dollars at the least. Haven&#8217;t I seen you somewhere,
+before?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Very likely,&#8221; returned Wiley, not venturing to look up,
+&#8220;my business takes me everywhere.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I thought I recognized you,&#8221; went on the Widow ingratiatingly;
+&#8220;you&#8217;re a mining man, aren&#8217;t you,
+Mister&#8211;er&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Wiley,&#8221; he answered, and at this bold piece of effrontery
+Virginia caught her breath.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_12'></a>12</span>&#8220;Ah, yes, I
+remember you now,&#8221; said the Widow. &#8220;You knew my husband, of
+course&#8211;Colonel Huff? He passed away on the twentieth of July; but there
+was a time, not so many years ago, that I wore a few diamonds myself.&#8221; She
+fixed her restless eyes on his ring and heaved a discontented sigh.
+&#8220;Virginia,&#8221; she directed, &#8220;run out into the kitchen and clean
+up that skillet and all. I declare, you do less and less every day&#8211;are you
+a married man, Mr. Wiley?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Without awaiting the answer to this portentous question, Virginia flung out
+into the kitchen and, left alone, the Widow drew nearer and her manner became
+suddenly confidential.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;d like to talk with you,&#8221; she began, &#8220;about my
+husband&#8217;s mine. Of course you&#8217;ve heard of the famous
+Paymaster&#8211;that&#8217;s the mill right over east of town&#8211;but there
+are very few men that know what I do about the reasons why that mine was shut
+down. It was commonly reported that Colonel Huff was trying to get possession of
+the property, but the truth of the matter is he was deceived by old John Holman
+and finally left holding the sack. You see, it was this way. My husband and John
+Holman had always been lifelong friends, but Colonel Huff was naturally generous
+while Holman thought of nothing but money. Well, my husband discovered the
+Paymaster&#8211;he was led to it by an Indian that he had saved from being
+killed by the soldiers&#8211;but, not having any money, he went to John Holman
+and they developed the mine together. <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_13'></a>13</span>It turned out very rich and such a rush you never
+saw&#8211;this valley was full of tents for miles&#8211;but it was so far from
+the railroad&#8211;seventy-four miles to Vegas&#8211;that the work was very
+expensive. The Company was reorganized and Mr. Blount, the banker, was given a
+third of the promotion stock. Then the five hundred thousand shares of treasury
+stock was put on the market in order to build the new mill; and when the
+railroad came in there was such a crazy speculation that everybody lost track of
+the transfers. My husband, of course, was generous to a fault and accustomed to
+living like a gentleman&#8211;and he invested very heavily in real estate,
+too&#8211;but this Mr. Blount was always out for his interest and Honest John
+would skin a dead flea.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Honest John!&#8221; challenged Wiley, looking up from his eating with
+an ugly glint in his eye, but the Widow was far away.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, Honest John Holman,&#8221; she sneered, without noticing his
+resentment. &#8220;They called him Honest John. Did you ever know one of these
+&#8216;Honest John&#8217; fellows yet that wasn&#8217;t a thorough-paced scoundrel?
+Well, old John Holman he threw in with Blount to deprive Colonel Huff of his
+profits and, with these street certificates everywhere and no one recording
+their transfers, the Colonel was naturally deceived into thinking that the
+selling was from the outside. But all the time, while they were selling their
+stock and hammering down the price of Paymaster, they were telling the Colonel
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_14'></a>14</span>that it was only
+temporary and he ought to support the market. So he bought in what he could,
+though it wasn&#8217;t much, as he was interested in other properties, and then
+when the crash came he was left without anything and Blount and Holman were
+rich. The great panic came on and Blount foreclosed on everything, and then Mr.
+Huff fell out with John Holman and they closed the Paymaster down. That was ten
+years ago and, with the litigation and all, the stock went down to nothing. The
+whole camp went dead and all the folks moved away&#8211;but have you ever been
+through the mine? Well, I want you to go&#8211;that ground has hardly been
+scratched!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Wiley Holman glanced up doubtfully from under his heavy eyebrows and the
+Widow became voluble in her protests.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, sir,&#8221; she exclaimed, &#8220;I certainly ought to know,
+because the Colonel was Superintendent; and when he had been drinking&#8211;the
+town was awful, that way&#8211;he would tell me all about the mine. And that was
+his phrase&#8211;he used it always: &#8216;That ground has hardly been
+scratched!&#8217; But when he fell out with old John Holman he&#8211;well, there
+was an explosion underground and the glory-hole stope caved in. They cleaned it
+out afterwards and hunted around, but all the rich ore was gone; but I&#8217;m
+just as certain as I&#8217;m sitting here this minute the Colonel knew where
+there was more! He never would admit it&#8211;he was peculiar, that way, he
+never would discuss his business before a <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_15'></a>15</span>woman. But he wouldn&#8217;t deny it, and when he had
+been drinking&#8211;well, I know it&#8217;s there, that&#8217;s all!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She paused for her effect but Mr. Wiley, the mining man, was singularly
+unimpressed. He continued eating in moody silence and the Widow tried the
+question direct.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, what do you think about it?&#8221; she demanded bluffly.
+&#8220;Would you like to consider the property?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, I don&#8217;t think so,&#8221; he answered impersonally.
+&#8220;I&#8217;m on my way up north.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, when you come back, then. Since my husband is gone I&#8217;m so
+sick and tired of it all I&#8217;ll consider any offer&#8211;for
+cash.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Nope,&#8221; he responded, &#8220;I&#8217;m out for something
+different.&#8221; Then to stem the tide of her impending protest, he broke his
+studious silence. &#8220;I&#8217;m looking for molybdenum,&#8221; he went on
+quickly, &#8220;and some of these other rare metals that are in demand on
+account of the war. Ever find any vanadium or manganese around here? No, I guess
+they&#8217;re all further north.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He returned to his meal and the Widow surveyed him appraisingly with her
+bold, inquisitive eyes. She was a big, strapping woman, and handsome in a way;
+but the corners of her mouth were drawn down sharply in a sulky, lawless
+pout.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Aw, tell me the truth,&#8221; she burst out at last. &#8220;What have
+you got against the property?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>A somber glow came into his eyes as he opened <span class='pagenum
+pncolor'><a id='page_16'></a>16</span>his lips to speak, and then he veiled his
+smouldering hate behind a crafty smile.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The parties that I represent,&#8221; he said deliberately, &#8220;are
+looking for a <i>mine</i>. But the man that puts his money into the Paymaster
+property is simply buying a lawsuit.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What do you mean?&#8221; demanded the Widow, rousing up indignantly in
+response to this sudden thrust.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I mean, no matter how rich the Paymaster may be&#8211;and I hear the
+whole district is worked out&#8211;I wouldn&#8217;t even go up the hill to look
+at it until you showed me the title was good.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The Widow sat and glowered as she meditated a fitting response and then she
+rose to her feet.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, all right, then,&#8221; she sulked, &#8220;if you don&#8217;t
+want to consider it&#8211;but you&#8217;re missing the chance of your
+life.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Very likely,&#8221; he muttered and reached for his hat. &#8220;Much
+obliged for cooking my dinner.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He started for the door, but she flew swiftly after him and snatched him back
+into the room.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Now here!&#8221; she cried, &#8220;I want you to listen to
+me&#8211;I&#8217;ve got tired of this everlasting waiting. I waited around for
+ten years on the Colonel, to settle this matter up, and now that he&#8217;s gone
+I&#8217;m going to settle it myself and get out of the cussed country. Maybe I
+don&#8217;t own the mine, but I own a good part of it&#8211;I&#8217;ve got two
+hundred thousand shares of stock&#8211;and I could sell it to-morrow for twenty
+thousand dollars, so you don&#8217;t need <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_17'></a>17</span>to turn up your nose. There must be something there
+after all these years, to bring an offer of ten cents a share; but I
+wouldn&#8217;t take that money if it was the last act of my life&#8211;I just
+hate that Honest John Holman! He cheated my husband out of everything he
+had&#8211;and yet he did it in such a deceitful way that the Colonel would never
+believe it. I&#8217;ve called him a coward a thousand times for tolerating such
+an outrage for an instant, and now that he&#8217;s gone I&#8217;m going to show
+Honest John that he can&#8217;t put it over <i>me</i>!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She shook her head until her heavy black hair flew out like Medusa&#8217;s
+locks and then Wiley laughed provokingly.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;All right,&#8221; he said, &#8220;but you can&#8217;t rope me in on
+your feuds. If you want to give me an option on your stock in the company for
+five or ten cents a share I may take a look at your mine. But I&#8217;ll tell
+you one thing&#8211;you&#8217;ll sign an agreement first to leave the country
+and never come back. I&#8217;m a business man, working for business people, and
+these shotgun methods don&#8217;t go.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, I&#8217;ll do it!&#8221; exclaimed the Widow, passing by his
+numerous insults in a sudden mad grab at release. &#8220;Just draw up your paper
+and I&#8217;ll sign it in a minute&#8211;but I want ten cents a
+share!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Ten cents or ten dollars&#8211;it makes no difference to me. You can
+put it as high as you like&#8211;but if it&#8217;s too high, my principals
+won&#8217;t take it. I can&#8217;t stop to inspect it now, because I&#8217;m due
+up north, but I&#8217;ll tell you what I&#8217;ll do. You give me an <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_18'></a>18</span>option on all your stock,
+with a written permission to take possession, and if the other two big owners
+will do as much I&#8217;ll come back and consider the mine. But get this
+straight&#8211;the first time you butt in, this option and agreement is
+off!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What do you mean&#8211;butt in?&#8221; demanded the Widow truculently,
+and then she bit her lip. &#8220;Well, never mind,&#8221; she said, &#8220;just
+draw up your papers. I&#8217;ll show you I&#8217;m business myself.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Huh!&#8221; he grunted and, whipping out a fountain pen, he sat down
+and wrote rapidly at a table. &#8220;There,&#8221; he said tearing the leaf from
+his notebook and putting it into her hands, &#8220;just read that over and if
+you want to sign it we&#8217;ll close the deal, right here.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The Widow took the paper and, turning it to the light, began a labored
+perusal.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Memorandum of agreement,&#8221; she muttered, squinting her eyes at
+his handwriting, &#8220;hmm, I&#8217;ll have to go and get my glasses. &#8216;For and
+in consideration of the sum of ten dollars&#8211;to me in hand paid by M. R.
+Wiley,&#8217; and so forth&#8211;oh well, I guess it&#8217;s all right, just
+show me where to sign.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; he said, &#8220;let me read it to you&#8211;you ought to
+know what you&#8217;re signing.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, just show me where to sign,&#8221; protested the Widow petulantly,
+&#8220;and where it says ten cents a share.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, it says that here,&#8221; answered Wiley, putting his finger on
+the place, &#8220;but I&#8217;m going to read it to you&#8211;it wouldn&#8217;t
+be legal otherwise.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_19'></a>19</span>He wiped the
+beaded sweat from his brow and glanced towards the kitchen door. In this
+desperate game which he was framing on the Widow the luck had all come his way,
+but as he cleared his throat and commenced to read Virginia came bounding in.
+She was carrying a kitten, but when she saw the paper between them she dropped
+it on the floor.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Virginia!&#8221; cried her mother, &#8220;go and hunt my glasses.
+They&#8217;re somewhere in my bedroom.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;All right,&#8221; she responded, but when she came back she glanced
+inquiringly at the paper.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You can go now,&#8221; announced the Widow, adjusting her glasses, but
+Virginia threw up her head.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Do you know who that is?&#8221; she demanded brusquely, pointing an
+accusing finger at Wiley.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why&#8211;er&#8211;no,&#8221; returned the Widow, now absorbed in the
+agreement.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, all right,&#8221; she said after a hasty perusal, &#8220;but
+where&#8217;s that sum of ten dollars? Now you hush, Virginia, and
+go&#8211;into&#8211;the&#8211;<i>kitchen</i>! Now, it says right here&#8211;oh,
+where is that place? Oh yes, &#8216;the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged&#8217;!
+<i>Virginia!</i>&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She stamped her foot, but Virginia&#8217;s blood was up and she made a grab
+at the paper.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Now, <i>listen!</i>&#8221; she screamed, stopping her mother in her
+rush. &#8220;That man there is Wiley Holman! Yes&#8211;Holman! Old Honest
+John&#8217;s son! What&#8217;s this you&#8217;re going to sign?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_20'></a>20</span>She backed away,
+her eyes fixed on the agreement, while the Widow stood astounded.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Wiley <i>Holman</i>!&#8221; she shrieked, &#8220;why, you limb of
+Satan, you said your name was Wiley!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It is,&#8221; returned Wiley with one eye on the door, &#8220;the rest
+of my name is Holman.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But you signed it on this paper&#8211;you wrote it right there! Oh,
+I&#8217;ll have the law on you for this!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She clutched at the paper and as Virginia gave it to her mother she turned an
+accusing glance upon Wiley.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, that&#8217;s just like you, Mr. M. R. Wiley,&#8221; she observed
+with scathing sarcasm. &#8220;You were just that way when you were a kid here in
+Keno&#8211; always trying to get the advantage of somebody. But if I&#8217;d
+thought you had the nerve&#x2500;&#8221; She glanced at the paper and gasped and
+Wiley showed his teeth in a grin.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, she crowded me to it,&#8221; he answered with a swagger.
+&#8220;I&#8217;m strictly business&#8211;I&#8217;ll sign up anybody. You can
+just keep that paper,&#8221; he nodded to the Widow, &#8220;and send it to me by
+mail.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He winked at Virginia and slipped swiftly out the door as the Widow made a
+rush for her gun. She came out after him, brandishing a double-barreled shotgun,
+just as he cranked up his machine to start.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll show you!&#8221; she yelled, jerking her gun to her
+shoulder. &#8220;I&#8217;ll learn you to get funny with <i>me</i>!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_21'></a>21</span>She pulled the
+trigger, but Wiley was watching her and he ducked down behind the radiator.</p>
+
+<p><i>Clank</i>, went the hammer and with a wail of rage the Widow snapped the
+other barrel.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You, Virginia!&#8221; she cried in a terrible voice, &#8220;have you
+been monkeying with my shotgun?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The answer was lost in a series of explosions that awoke every echo in Keno,
+and Wiley Holman leapt into his machine. He jerked off his brake and stepped on
+the foot throttle but as he roared off up the street he waved a grimy hand at
+Virginia.</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_22'></a>22</span><a id='link_3'></a>CHAPTER III<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>The Shadow</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>The old, settled quiet returned to sleepy Keno&#8211;the quiet of the desert
+and of empty, noiseless houses stretching in long, sunburned rows down the
+canyon. The black lava patch, laid across the gray rhyolite flank of Shadow
+Mountain like the shade of an angry cloud, still frowned down upon the town like
+a portent of storms to come. But the sky was hot and gleaming and no storms
+came; nor did Wiley Holman return, though the Widow waited for him patiently.
+After all his boldness, his unbelievable effrontery in trying to steal her
+Paymaster stock, he had gone on laughing to seek other adventures and left her
+with the mine on her hands. But he would come back, she knew it; and with her
+gun loaded with buckshot she watched from the shelter of the gallery.</p>
+
+<p>Yet the days went by and then the weeks and at last the Widow, with a sigh of
+vexation, put up her gun and retired within. Now that the episode was over she
+felt vaguely regretful that he had failed, after all, in his purpose. If he had
+procured his option, under cover of her blindness, and obtained her quit-claim
+to the mine, she <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_23'></a>23</span>would at least have had the satisfaction of obtaining
+her own terms&#8211;and she would have the twenty thousand to spend. It was
+maddening, disgusting, when she thought it over, that he had turned out to be
+Holman&#8217;s son, and she never quite forgave Virginia for dinning the fact
+into her ears. For what you don&#8217;t know will never hurt you, and she had
+lost her last chance to sell. When she went back into the house she went back
+into the kitchen, and there she would have to stay. Either that or take Honest
+John&#8217;s money.</p>
+
+<p>But he wanted the property&#8211;the Widow knew it&#8211;else why had he sent
+his son? All the wise-acres in Keno agreed with the Widow that Honest John had
+designs on her property and Death Valley Charley, who had jumped half the claims
+in the district, began once more to carry his gun. It was by virtue of that,
+more than of assessment work done or of any other legal right, that Charley held
+title to his claims; and until Wiley had come through town and attempted to bond
+the Paymaster he had feared no one but Stiff Neck George. Stiff Neck George had
+been Blount&#8217;s gunman on the momentous occasion when they had tried to
+jump the Paymaster&#8211;and the Widow Huff had put him to flight with one blast
+from her trusty shotgun. But now that big interests were sending in their
+experts and mining was picking up everywhere Stiff Neck George might forget that
+humiliating defeat, so Death Valley Charley put on his six-shooter.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_24'></a>24</span>He was a little,
+stooping man, burned chocolate brown by the sun and with eyes half blinded by
+the glare, and as the Widow gave up her fruitless vigil, Death Valley Charley
+took her place. But he was not alone, for through all the weary weeks Virginia
+had been watching her mother. She had slipped in and out, now lingering on the
+gallery, now listening through the doorway, expectant but at the same time
+afraid. She knew Wiley Holman much better than her mother, and she knew that he
+would come back. He was patient, that was all, more patient than an Indian, and
+he had his eye on their mine. For ten years and more Colonel Huff, and now the
+Widow, had held physical possession of the Paymaster. Every great iron-bound
+door was locked and padlocked and the Huff family held the keys, but in all
+those ten years Holman had never come near it and Blount had merely seized it on
+a labor lien. The very title to the mine was shrouded in mystery, for no one
+could locate the shares, and to openly lay claim to it and produce a majority of
+the stock would be equivalent to a confession of treachery. All that anyone knew
+surely was that some one of the three original owners&#8211;or some unsuspected
+party outside&#8211;had bought in and sequestered the almost valueless stock and
+was patiently biding his time. Since the Huffs did not own the stock themselves
+they knew for a certainty that it was held by either Holman or Blount.</p>
+
+<p>As Virginia sat on the gallery, listening subconsciously for the drumming of
+Wiley&#8217;s racing motor <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_25'></a>25</span>up the road, she ran over in her mind the
+circumstances of his visit; and she could explain them all but one. Why, after
+failing of his mission, and narrowly escaping her mother&#8217;s gun, had he
+waved his hand and smiled so gayly as he thundered away up the street? Had he
+other schemes more subtle; or was he simply reckless, regarding even this
+adventure as a joke? As a boy he had been both&#8211;a crafty schemer and
+reckless doer&#8211;but now he was grown to a man. And if the lines about his
+mouth were any criterion he would soon be coming back to carry out by stealth
+what he failed to accomplish by assault. So she, too, waited patiently, to foil
+his machinations and uphold the honor of the Huffs.</p>
+
+<p>In the good old days it had never been forgotten that the Huffs belonged to
+the Virginia quality, while the Holmans came from Maine; hence the
+Colonel&#8217;s relations with Honest John Holman had at first been strictly
+business. John Holman was a Northerner, with no social graces and abstemious to
+a fault, but when his commercial honor upon a certain occasion had saved the
+Colonel from bankruptcy he had cast the traditions of the South to the winds and
+taken Honest John as his friend. &#8220;My friend,&#8221; he called him and
+neither his wife nor his enemies could shake the Colonel&#8217;s faith in his
+partner. Then, after years of mutual trust, the panic had come on, and the crash
+in Paymaster stock; and as their fortunes went tumbling and ugly rumors filled
+the air they had broken <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_26'></a>26</span>their friendship completely. Yet so great was his love
+for his old-time friend that he had never openly accused him; and Honest John
+Holman, after months of somber silence, had moved away and started a cow ranch.
+But it was a question of honesty between the two men and their children had
+never forgotten. Ten years had passed since they had been boy and girl together,
+but the moment they met the old quarrel flashed up again and now the feud was
+on.</p>
+
+<p>A boisterous blast of wind, whirling dust and papers down the street,
+announced the beginning of another sandstorm; and Death Valley Charley, who had
+been sitting outside the gate, came muttering up the steps. Behind him trotted
+Heine, his worshipful little dog, and as Virginia&#8217;s pet cat suddenly
+arched its back, Death Valley took Heine in his arms.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Can&#8217;t you hear &#8217;em?&#8221; he asked tiptoeing rapidly up
+to Virginia. &#8220;It&#8217;s them big guns, over in Europe. It&#8217;s them
+forty-two centimeter howitzers and the French seventy-fives in the trenches
+along the Somme.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Do you think so?&#8221; murmured Virginia, smoothing down her
+cat&#8217;s back, &#8220;it sounds like blasting to me.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No&#8211;big guns!&#8221; repeated Charley, regarding her intently
+through his wavering, sun-blinded eyes, and then he burst into a laugh.
+&#8220;You can hear &#8217;em, can&#8217;t you, Heine?&#8221; he cried to his
+dog, and Heine squirmed ecstatically and sneezed. &#8220;Hah, that&#8217;s <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_27'></a>27</span>my little
+dog&#8211;you&#8217;re so confectionate! Now get down on the floor, and
+don&#8217;t you go near that cat.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He put down the dog and advanced closer to Virginia.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s coming!&#8221; he whispered. &#8220;I can hear him,
+plain&#8211;jurrr, jurrr; hud, hud, hud, hud, hud!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Who&#8217;s coming?&#8221; demanded Virginia, looking swiftly up the
+road.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why&#8211;him! The man you&#8217;re waiting for. Can&#8217;t you hear
+him! Hrrrr&#8211;rud! He&#8217;s coming to grab you and take you away in his
+auto!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, Charley!&#8221; exclaimed Virginia, not entirely displeased,
+&#8220;and where will you go then?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll go to Death Valley,&#8221; he answered mysteriously.
+&#8220;There&#8217;s lots of gold over there. I came back one time and they says
+to me: &#8216;Charley, where&#8217;ve you been for such a long time?&#8217; &#8216;In Death
+Valley,&#8217; I says, &#8216;in the Funeral Range. Working in the Coffin mine, on the
+graveyard shift.&#8217; Hah, hah; they can&#8217;t get nothing out of me. I know
+where there&#8217;s gold&#8211;in the Ube-Hebes; it&#8217;s a place where nobody
+goes. I saw your father there, the last time I went through, and he sent word to
+you not to worry. &#8216;But for Christ&#8217;s sake,&#8217; he says, &#8216;don&#8217;t
+tell my wife I&#8217;m here&#8211;I&#8217;m tired of her devilish
+chatter!&#8217;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Charley!&#8221; reproved Virginia, and as he subsided into mutterings,
+she looked about with shocked eyes. &#8220;You talk too much,&#8221; she said at
+last. &#8220;Didn&#8217;t I tell you not to say that again? Because <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_28'></a>28</span>if mother hears it
+she&#8217;ll drive you out of the house, and then what will Heine do?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Heine! Come here, sir!&#8221; commanded Charley abruptly, and slapped
+him until he yelped. &#8220;Well, now,&#8221; he warned as Heine slunk away,
+&#8220;you look out or you lose your house.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I guess you&#8217;d better go now,&#8221; said Virginia discreetly,
+and continued her vigil alone. Death Valley was harmless, but when he began
+hearing things there was no telling where he would stop. The next minute he
+would be seeing things, and then getting messages, and then looking through
+mountains with radium. He was harmless, of course, but when there was a
+sandstorm&#8211;well, some people thought he was crazy. And there was a
+sandstorm coming up. It was blowing in from the north and rushing clouds of
+dirt down the street; and along in the night, when it had gained its full force,
+the sand and gravel would fly. She rose to go in, but just at that moment she
+heard a low drumming up the street. It increased to a bubbling, a drumming, a
+thunder, and like the spirit of the rough north wind Wiley Holman went racing
+through the town. His hat was off and as he drifted by his hair thrashed wildly
+in his eyes, yet he glanced up in passing and it seemed to Virginia that he gave
+her a roguish smile. Then in a series of explosions that brought the Widow
+running he dashed on and whirled out across the desert.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, that devil!&#8221; she raged, brandishing her <span class='pagenum
+pncolor'><a id='page_29'></a>29</span>heavy shotgun at the disappearing cloud of
+dust. &#8220;He&#8217;s just making that hubbub to mock me! He&#8217;ll be
+coming back&#8211;I know it, the scoundrel&#8211;but you wait, he won&#8217;t
+fool me again!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She stood on the gallery while the food scorched in the kitchen and watched
+the boring arrow of dust, but it swept on and on across the boundless desert
+until at last it was lost in the storm. &#8220;Oh, he&#8217;ll be back!&#8221;
+she screamed to the gathering neighbors. &#8220;I know him, he&#8217;s after my
+mine. But he&#8217;d better watch out! If he ever goes near it, I&#8217;ll shoot
+him, you mark my word!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, he won&#8217;t,&#8221; said Virginia, but when they were all gone
+she came back and gazed down the road.</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_30'></a>30</span><a id='link_4'></a>CHAPTER IV<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>The Ghost-Man</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>As the sun paled to nothing in the yellow murk of dust, a high cloud of sand
+overleapt the northern peaks and came sifting down the slopes of Shadow
+Mountain. The gusts of wind began to wail in boding fury and then the storm
+struck the town. Dirt and papers flew before it; tin cans leapt forth from holes
+and alleys; and sticks and small stones, sucked up in the vortex, joined in on
+the devil&#8217;s dance. Ancient signs creaked and groaned and threatened to
+leave their moorings, old houses gave up shingles and loose boards, and up the
+street on the deserted bank building, the fire-doors banged like cannon. Then
+the night came on and the streets of Keno were empty, except for the flying
+dirt.</p>
+
+<p>But it is nights such as this that move some men to greater daring and as
+Wiley Holman, far out on the desert, felt the rush and surge of wind he struck a
+swift circle and, turning back towards Keno, he bored his way into the teeth of
+the storm. The gravel from the road slashed and slatted against his radiator and
+his machine trembled <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_31'></a>31</span>before the buffets of the gale, but it was just such a
+night as he needed for his purpose and he ran with his lights switched off. If
+the Widow Huff, by any chance, should glance out across the plain she might
+notice their gleam and divine his purpose, which was to inspect the Paymaster
+mine. As a stockholder and part owner it was, of course, his right to enter the
+premises at will, but the Widow had placed her own personal mandate above the
+laws of the land, and it was better, and safer, to avoid all discussion by
+visiting the property after dark.</p>
+
+<p>Up the long slope of the valley the white racer moved slowly, shuddering and
+thundering as it took the first hill, and as the outlying houses leaped up from
+the darkness, Wiley muffled his panting exhaust. In the sheltered valley, under
+the lee of Shadow Mountain, the violence of the wind was checked and some casual
+citizen, out looking at the stars, might hear him above the storm. He turned off
+the main road and, following up a side street, glided quietly into the shelter
+of a barn, and five minutes later, with his prospector&#8217;s pick and
+ore-sacks, he toiled up the trail to the mine.</p>
+
+<p>The Paymaster mine lay on the slope of Gold Hill, directly overlooking the
+town&#8211;first the huge, dismantled mill; then the white slide of the waste
+dump; and then, up the gulch, the looming gallows-frame of the hoist and the dim
+bulk of abandoned houses. The mine had made the town, and the <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_32'></a>32</span>town had clustered near it
+in the broad oval of the valley below; but in its day the Paymaster had been a
+community by itself, with offices and bunk-houses and stores. Now all was
+deserted and in the pale light of the moon it seemed the mere ghost of a mine. A
+loose strip of zinc on the corrugated-iron mill drummed and shuddered in a
+menacing undertone and at uncertain intervals some door inside smote its frame
+with a resounding bang. Straining timbers creaked and groaned, the wind mourned
+like a disembodied spirit, and as Wiley Holman jumped at a sudden sound he
+turned and glanced nervously behind him.</p>
+
+<p>It was not a shadow but the passing of a shadow that caught his roving eye
+and as he stripped off his wind-goggles and looked again he felt by instinct for
+his six-shooter. But it was not on his hip. He had taken his pick instead, and
+for the first time he felt a thrill of fear&#8211;not fear for his life nor of
+anything tangible, but that old, primordial fear of the night that only a gun
+can banish. He picked up a rock and walked back down the trail; but nothing
+leapt forth at him&#8211;even the shadow was gone, and he threw the rock
+petulantly away. It was the wind, and the noises, and the blinders on his
+goggles; but now that the great fear was born he jumped at every sound. He had
+been out before on worse nights than this&#8211;what was it, then, that he
+feared? With his back against a rock he stared about and listened until at last
+his nerve returned; then he went boldly to the <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_33'></a>33</span>dump, where the white quartz lay the thickest, and
+began to dig a hole with his pick.</p>
+
+<p>Deep as he could dig there was nothing but the white waste and he paced off
+the width of the pile; then very systematically he moved across the slope,
+grabbing handfuls of fine dirt at measured intervals and throwing them into an
+ore-sack. There was something about Virginia&#8217;s piece of &#8220;barren
+quartz&#8221; that had appealed to his prospector&#8217;s eye and even in the
+excitement of meeting the Widow he had not forgotten to sequester it. But a
+piece of rock from a girl&#8217;s case of specimens is a far call from
+&#8220;ore in place&#8221; and he had come back that night to look the mine over
+and collect an average sample from the dump. There were hundreds of tons of that
+rock on the dump and it certainly was his right, as a part owner in the
+property, to sample it and have it assayed.</p>
+
+<p>Back and forth across the slide, now buffeted by the wind, now pelted by
+loosened stones, he continued his methodical test and then as he knelt to dig
+out a hole a great rock came bounding past. It came out of the darkness and went
+smashing down the hillside like some terrific engine of destruction and before
+he had more than scrambled from its path a second boulder was upon him. He
+dodged it by a hair&#8217;s breadth and fell flat on his face, just as a stream
+of loose stone which the first flying rock had dislodged sent him rolling and
+tumbling down the slope in an avalanche of flying débris. For a minute he lay
+breathless while the <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_34'></a>34</span>waste rattled past him, and then he looked up the
+hill. No movement of his had started those great boulders. They had been
+launched by someone from above, and as he raised his head cautiously he beheld a
+gaunt figure standing outlined against the sky. It stood like a gibbet, its head
+to one side, a pistol in its hand; but as Wiley moved the man crouched and drew
+back as if he feared to be seen.</p>
+
+<p>Who he was Wiley did not know, nor could he divine his animus in thus
+attempting to take his life, but, being caught in the open without his gun, he
+played safe and lay quiet where he had fallen. The wind howled along the ridges
+and trailed off into silence and, looking around, Wiley caught the wink of a
+lantern as it came across the flat from town. The crash of the boulders as they
+bounded down the dump and then on through the brush below had undoubtedly
+aroused some inquisitive citizen, who was coming over to investigate. Wiley rose
+up quickly, for he did not wish to be discovered, but as he started towards the
+trail he met the ghost-man, creeping forward with his pistol ready to shoot.</p>
+
+<p>At times like this a man acts by instinct, and Wiley Holman dropped to the
+ground; then with the swiftness of an Indian he bellied off down the hill,
+looking back after every lightning move. The man was a murderer, a cold-blooded
+assassin; and, thinking him injured, he had been stealing up to his hiding-place
+to give him the <i>coup de grace</i>. <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_35'></a>35</span>Wiley rolled into a gulch and peered over the bank,
+his eyes starting out of his head with fear; and then, as the lantern began to
+bob below him, he turned and crept up the hill. Two trails led towards the mine,
+one on either side of the dump, and as the wind swept down with a sudden gust of
+fury, he ran up the farther trail. Once over the hill he could avoid both his
+pursuers and, cutting a wide circle, slip back to his machine and escape. The
+wind died to nothing as he neared the summit and he turned and looked back down
+the trail. Something moved&#8211;it was the man, his head twisted over his
+shoulder, his gun still held at a ready, creeping waspishly up the path.</p>
+
+<p>Wiley turned and fled, sick with rage at his own impotence, but as he whipped
+over the dump the earth opened up before him and he slipped and stopped on the
+brink of a chasm. It was the caved-in stope, the old glory-hole of the
+Paymaster, and it cut off his last escape. A sudden sinking of the heart, a
+feeling of fate being against him, came over him as he slunk along the bank; and
+then, as a path opened up before him, he took the steep slope at a bound.
+Further on in the darkness he saw the roof of the mill and the broken hummocks
+of the dump; beyond lay the other trail and the open country and his
+car&#8211;and the six-shooter&#8211;beyond! His feet seemed to fly as he dashed
+across the level and breasted a sudden ascent and then on its summit as the wind
+snatched him back someone struck him in full flight. &#8220;God!&#8221; <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_36'></a>36</span>he cried, and fought
+himself free but the other clutched him again.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Run!&#8221; she begged, and he knew it was Virginia, but he was in a
+panic for fear of what was behind.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No!&#8221; he cried, catching her roughly in his arms and starting the
+other way, &#8220;there&#8217;s a crazy man back there and&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No&#8211;no&#8211;no!&#8221; she clamored, bringing him to a halt with
+her struggles. &#8220;The other way&#8211;can&#8217;t you hear what I&#8217;m
+saying to you&#x2500;&#8221; And then Wiley saw the Widow.</p>
+
+<p>She was standing on the dump with her shotgun raised and pointed, and he
+hurled Virginia to one side.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t shoot!&#8221; he yelled, but as he ducked and started to
+run, the Widow&#8217;s gun spoke out. A blow like that of a club struck his leg
+from under him and he fell to the ground in a heap, but even in his pain he
+remembered the presence which had followed with its head on one side.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You danged fool!&#8221; he cursed as the Widow ran up to him.
+&#8220;Keep that cartridge, whatever you do. There&#8217;s a crazy man after me
+and&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I see him!&#8221; shrieked the Widow, making a dash for the bank with
+her gun at her hip for the shot. &#8220;You git, you dastard!&#8221; she
+shrilled into the darkness and once more the old shotgun roared forth.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, mother!&#8221; wept Virginia, throwing her arms about Wiley, and
+attempting to raise him up. &#8220;Oh, <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_37'></a>37</span>look what you&#8217;ve done&#8211;it&#8217;s Wiley
+Holman&#8211;and now I hope you&#8217;re satisfied!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You bet I&#8217;m satisfied!&#8221; answered the Widow, exultingly.
+&#8220;That other fellow was Stiff Neck George!&#8221;</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_38'></a>38</span><a id='link_5'></a>CHAPTER V<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>A Load of Buckshot</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>Since he had turned back, far out on the desert, and braved the storm to
+inspect the Paymaster Mine, Wiley Holman had met nothing but disaster; but as he
+lay on the ground with one leg full of buckshot he blamed it all on the Widow.
+Without warning or justification, without even giving him a chance, she had
+sneaked up and potted him like a rabbit; and now, as men came running to witness
+his shame, she gloried in her badness.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Aha-ah!&#8221; she jeered, coming back to stand over him and Wiley
+reached for a stone.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You old she-cat,&#8221; he burst out, &#8220;you say another word to
+me and I&#8217;ll bounce this rock off your head!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He groaned and dropped the rock to take his leg in both hands, and then
+Virginia rushed to the rescue.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;How badly are you hurt?&#8221; she asked, kneeling down beside him,
+but he jerked ungraciously away.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Go away and leave me alone!&#8221; he shouted to the world at large
+and the Widow took the hint to withdraw. Then in a series of frenzied curses
+Wiley stripped off his puttee and felt of his injured <span class='pagenum
+pncolor'><a id='page_39'></a>39</span>leg. It was wet with blood and two
+shot-holes in his shin-bone were giving him the most exquisite pain; the rest
+were just flesh-wounds where the buckshot had pierced his leggings and imbedded
+themselves in the muscles. He looked them over hastily by the light of a
+flashing lantern and then he rose up from the ground.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Gimme that gun for a crutch!&#8221; he demanded of the Widow; and Mrs.
+Huff, who had been surveying her work with awe, passed over the shotgun in
+silence. &#8220;All right, now,&#8221; he went on, turning to Death Valley
+Charley, who had been patiently holding his lantern, &#8220;just show me the
+trail and I&#8217;ll get out of camp before some crazy dastard ups and kills
+me.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;That was Stiff Neck George,&#8221; observed Charley mysteriously.
+&#8220;He&#8217;s guarding the Paymaster for Blount.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Who&#8211;that fellow that was after me?&#8221; burst out Wiley in a
+passion as he hobbled off down the trail. &#8220;What the hell was he trying to
+do? The whole rotten mine isn&#8217;t worth stealing from anybody. What&#8217;s
+the matter with you people&#8211;are you crazy?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, that&#8217;s all right!&#8221; returned the Widow from the
+darkness. &#8220;You can&#8217;t sneak in and jump <i>my</i>mine!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;<i>Your</i>mine, you old tarrier!&#8221; yelled Wiley furiously.
+&#8220;You&#8217;d better go to town and look it up. The whole danged works is
+mine&#8211;I bought it in for taxes!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_40'></a>40</span>&#8220;You&#8211;what?&#8221; cried the Widow,
+brushing Virginia and Charley aside and halting him in the trail. &#8220;You
+bought the Paymaster for <i>taxes</i>!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, for taxes,&#8221; answered Wiley, &#8220;and got stung at that!
+Gimme eighty-three dollars and forty-one cents and you can have it back, with
+costs. But now listen, you old battle-ax; I&#8217;ve taken enough off of you.
+You went up on my property when I was making an inspection of it and made an
+attempt on my life; and if I hear a peep out of you, from this time on,
+I&#8217;ll go down and swear out a warrant.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t aim to kill you,&#8221; defended the Widow, weakly.
+&#8220;I just tried to shoot you in the leg.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, you did it,&#8221; returned Wiley, and, pushing; her aside, he
+limped on down the trail. The Widow followed meekly, talking in low tones with
+her daughter, and at last Virginia came up beside him.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Take him right to our house,&#8221; she said to Charley, &#8220;and
+I&#8217;ll nurse him until he gets well.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, you take me to the Holman house!&#8221; directed Wiley,
+obstinately. &#8220;I guess we&#8217;ve got a house of our own.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, suit yourself,&#8221; she murmured, and fell back to the rear
+while Wiley went hobbling on. At every step he jabbed the muzzle of the shotgun
+vindictively into the ground, but as he reached the flat and met a posse of
+citizens, he submitted to being carried on a door. The first pain had passed and
+a deadly numbness seemed to take the <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_41'></a>41</span>place of its bite; but as he moved his stiffened
+muscles, which were beginning to ache and throb, he realized that he was badly
+hurt. With a leg like that he could not drive out across the desert,
+seventy-four long miles to Vegas; nor would he, on the other hand, find the best
+of accommodations in the deserted house of his father. It had been a great home
+in its day, but that day was past, and the water connections too, and somebody
+must be handy to wait on him.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Say,&#8221; he said, turning to Death Valley Charley, &#8220;have you
+got a house here in town? Well, take me to it and I&#8217;ll pay you well, and
+for anything else that you do.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It won&#8217;t cost you nothing,&#8221; answered Charley quickly.
+&#8220;I used to know your father.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, you knew a good man then,&#8221; replied Wiley grimly, but Death
+Valley did not respond. The Widow Huff was listening behind; and besides, he had
+his doubts.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll run on ahead,&#8221; said Charley noncommittally, and when
+Wiley arrived a canvas cot was waiting for him, fully equipped except for the
+sheets. Virginia came in later with a pair on her arm, and after a look at
+Charley&#8217;s greasy blankets Wiley allowed her to spread them on the bed.
+Then, as Death Valley laid a grimy paw on his leg and began to pick out the shot
+Wiley jerked away and asked Virginia impatiently if she didn&#8217;t have a
+little carbolic.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Aw, he&#8217;ll be all right,&#8221; protested Charley <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_42'></a>42</span>cheerfully, as Virginia
+pushed him aside; &#8220;them buckshot won&#8217;t hurt him much, nohow. Jest
+put on some pine pitch and a chew of tobacco and he&#8217;ll fall off to sleep
+like a child.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He stood blinking helplessly as Virginia heated some water and poured in a
+teaspoonful of carbolic, then as she bathed the wounds and picked out the last
+shot, Charley placed a disc on his phonograph.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Does he want some music?&#8221; he inquired of Heine, who was sitting
+up and begging, but Virginia put down her foot. &#8220;No, Charley,&#8221; she
+said with a forbidding frown, &#8220;you go ask mother for a needle and
+thread.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s kind of crazy to-night,&#8221; she whispered to Wiley, when
+Death Valley was safely out of sight, &#8220;you&#8217;d better come over to the
+house.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Huh, I guess we&#8217;re all crazy,&#8221; answered Wiley, laughing
+shortly. &#8220;I can stand it&#8211;but how does he act?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, he hears things&#8211;and gets messages&#8211;and talks about
+Death Valley. He got lost over there, three years ago last August, and the heat
+kind of cooked his brains. He heard your automobile, when you came back
+to-night&#8211;that&#8217;s why mother and all the rest of them went over to the
+mine to get you. I&#8217;m sorry she shot you up.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, don&#8217;t you care,&#8221; he said reassuringly. &#8220;But
+she sure overplayed her hand.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, she did,&#8221; acknowledged Virginia, trying not <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_43'></a>43</span>to quarrel with her
+patient, &#8220;but, of course, she didn&#8217;t know about that tax
+sale.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, she knows it now,&#8221; he answered pointedly, and when Charley
+came back they were silent. Virginia bandaged up his wound and slipped away and
+then Wiley lay back and sighed. There had been a time when he and Virginia had
+been friends, but now the fat was in the fire. It was her fighting mother, of
+course, and their quarrel about the Paymaster; but behind it all there was the
+old question between their fathers, and he knew that his father was right. He
+had not rigged the stock market, he had not cheated Colonel Huff, and he had not
+tried to get back the mine. That was a scheme of his own, put on foot on his own
+initiative&#8211;and brought to nothing by the Widow. He had hoped to win over
+Virginia and effect a reconciliation, but that hole in his leg told him all too
+well that the Widow could never be fooled. And, since she could not be placated,
+nor bought off, nor bluffed, there was nothing to do but quit. The world was
+large and there were other Virginias, as well as other Paymasters&#8211;only it
+seemed such a futile waste. He sighed again and then Death Valley Charley burst
+out into a cackling laugh.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I heard you,&#8221; he said, &#8220;I heard you coming&#8211;away up
+there in the pass. Chuh, chuh, chuh, chud, chud, chud, chud; and I told Virginny
+you was coming.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I heard about it,&#8221; answered Wiley sourly, &#8220;and then
+you told the Widow.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_44'></a>44</span>&#8220;Oh, no, I
+didn&#8217;t!&#8221; exulted Charley. &#8220;She&#8217;d&#8217;ve killed you,
+sure as shooting. I just told Virginny, that&#8217;s all.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh!&#8221; observed Wiley, and lay so still that Charley regarded him
+intently. His eyes were blue and staring like a newborn babe&#8217;s, but behind
+their look of childlike innocence there lurked a crafty smile.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I told her,&#8221; went on Charley, &#8220;that you was coming to git
+her and take her away in your auto. She&#8217;s a nice girl, Virginny, and never
+rode in one of them things&#8211;I never thought you&#8217;d try to steal her
+mine.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I did not!&#8221; denied Wiley, but Death Valley only smiled and waved
+the matter aside.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Never mind,&#8221; he said, &#8220;they&#8217;re all crazy, anyhow.
+They get that way every north wind. I&#8217;m here to take care of
+them&#8211;the Colonel asked me to, and keep people from stealing his mine.
+It&#8217;s electricity that does it&#8211;it&#8217;s about us
+everywhere&#8211;and that&#8217;s what makes &#8217;em crazy; but electricity is
+my servant; I bend it to my will; that&#8217;s how I come to hear you. I heard
+you coming back, away out on the desert, and I knowed your heart wasn&#8217;t
+right. You was coming back to rob the Colonel of his mine; and the Colonel, he
+saved my life once. He ain&#8217;t dead, you know, he&#8217;s over across Death
+Valley in them mountains they call the Ube-Hebes. Yes, I was lost on the desert
+and he followed my tracks and found me, running wild through the sand-hills; and
+then Virginia and <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_45'></a>45</span>Mrs. Huff, they looked after me until my health
+returned.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You can hear pretty well, then,&#8221; suggested Wiley diplomatically.
+&#8220;You must know everything that goes on.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s the electricity!&#8221; declared Charley. &#8220;It&#8217;s
+about us everywhere, and that&#8217;s what makes them crazy. All these desert
+rats are crazy, it&#8217;s the electric storms that does it&#8211;Nevada is a
+great state for winds. But when they comes a sandstorm, and Mrs. Huff she wraps
+up her head, I feel the power coming on. I can hear far away and then I can hear
+close&#8211;I make the electricity my slave. But the rest, they go crazy; they
+have headaches and megrims, and Mrs. Huff she always wants to fight; but
+I&#8217;m here to take care of &#8217;em&#8211;the Colonel asked me to, so you
+keep away from that mine.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, sure,&#8221; responded Wiley, &#8220;I won&#8217;t bother the
+mine. As soon as I&#8217;m well I&#8217;ll go home.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, you stay,&#8221; returned Charley, becoming suddenly confidential.
+&#8220;I&#8217;ll show you a mountain of gold. It&#8217;s over across Death
+Valley, in the Ube-Hebes; the Colonel is over there now.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Is that so?&#8221; inquired Wiley, and Charley looked at him
+strangely, as if dazed.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Aw, no; of course not!&#8221; he burst out angrily. &#8220;I
+forgot&#8211;the Colonel is dead. You Heine; come over here, sir.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Heine crept up unwillingly and Charley slapped <span class='pagenum
+pncolor'><a id='page_46'></a>46</span>him. &#8220;Now&#8211;shut up!&#8221; he
+admonished and went off into crazy mutterings.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s that?&#8221; he cried, rousing up suddenly to listen, and
+a savage look replaced the blank stare. &#8220;Can&#8217;t you hear him?&#8221;
+he asked. &#8220;It&#8217;s Stiff Neck George&#8211;he&#8217;s coming up the
+alley to kill you. Here, take my gun; and when he opens the door you fill him
+full of holes!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Wiley listened intently, then he reached for the heavy pistol and sat up,
+watching the door. The wind soughed and howled and rattled at the windows, over
+which Charley had stretched heavy blankets, and it seemed to his startled
+imagination that someone was groping at the door. The memory of the skulking
+form that had followed him rose up with the distinctness of a vision and at a
+knock on the door he cocked his pistol and beckoned Death Valley to one
+side.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Come in!&#8221; he called, but as the door swung open it was Virginia
+who stood facing his gun.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;O&#8211;oh!&#8221; she screamed, and then she flushed angrily as
+Charley began to laugh.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, laugh then, you fool,&#8221; she said to Wiley, &#8220;and when
+you&#8217;re through, just look at this that we found!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She held up the ore-bag that Wiley had lost and strode dramatically in.
+&#8220;Look at that!&#8221; she cried, and strewing the white quartz on the
+table she pointed her finger in his face. &#8220;You stole my specimen!&#8221;
+she cried accusingly. &#8220;That&#8217;s why you came back for more. But you
+give it back to <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_47'></a>47</span>me&#8211;I want it this minute. I see you&#8217;re
+honest&#8211;like your father!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She spat it out venomously, more venomously than was needful, for he was
+already fumbling for the rock; and when he gave it back he smiled
+over-scornfully and his lower lip mounted up.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;All right,&#8221; he said, &#8220;you don&#8217;t have to holler for
+it. You&#8217;re getting to be just like your mother.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not!&#8221; she denied, but after looking at him a minute
+she burst into tears and fled.</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_48'></a>48</span><a id='link_6'></a>CHAPTER VI<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>All Crazy</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>The wind was still blowing when Wiley was awakened by the cold of the October
+morning. In the house all was dark, on account of the blankets which Death
+Valley had nailed over the windows, but outside he could hear the thump of an
+axe and the whining yelp of a dog. Then Charley came in, his arms full of wood,
+and lit a roaring fire in the stove. Wiley dozed off again, for his leg had
+pained him and kept him awake half the night, and when he woke up it was to the
+strains of music and the mournful howls of Heine.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Ah, you are so confectionate!&#8221; exclaimed Charley in honeyed
+tones and laughed and patted him on the back. &#8220;Don&#8217;t you like the
+fiddle, Heine? Well, listen to this now; the sweetest song of all.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He stopped the rasping phonograph to put on another record and when Heine
+heard &#8220;Listen to the Mocking-bird&#8221; he barked and leapt with joy.
+Wiley listened for awhile, then he stirred in bed and at last he tried to get
+up; but his leg was very stiff and old Charley was oblivious, so he sank back
+and waited impatiently. Heine sat upon the <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_49'></a>49</span>floor before the largest of three phonographs, which
+ground out the Mocking-bird with variations; and each time he heard the whistled
+notes of the bird he rolled his eyes on Charley with a soulful, beseeching
+glance. The evening before, when his master had cuffed him, Wiley had considered
+Heine badly abused; but now as the concert promised to drag on indefinitely he
+was forced to amend his opinion.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Say,&#8221; he spoke up at last, in a pause between records,
+&#8220;what&#8217;s the chance of getting something to eat?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, there&#8217;s plenty,&#8221; answered Charley, and went on with
+his frolic until Wiley rose up in disgust. He had heated some water, besides
+tearing down a blanket and letting the daylight in, when there came a hurried
+knock at the door and the Widow appeared with his breakfast. She avoided his
+eyes, but her manner was ingratiating and she supplied the conversation
+herself.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Good morning!&#8221; she smiled,&#8211;&#8220;Charley, stop that awful
+racket and let Heine go out for his scraps. Well, I brought you your
+breakfast&#8211;Virginia isn&#8217;t feeling very well&#8211;and I hope
+you&#8217;re going to be all right. No, get right back into bed and I&#8217;ll
+prop you up with pillows; Charley&#8217;s got a hundred or so. I declare,
+it&#8217;s a question which can grab the most; old Charley or Stiff Neck George.
+Every time anyone moves out&#8211;and sometimes when they
+don&#8217;t&#8211;you&#8217;ll see those two ghouls hanging around; and the
+minute they&#8217;re <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_50'></a>50</span>gone, well, you never saw anything like it, the way
+they will fight for the loot. Charley&#8217;s got a whole room filled up with
+bedding, and stoves and tables and chairs; and George&#8211;he&#8217;s
+vicious&#8211;he takes nearly everything and piles it up down in his warehouse.
+It isn&#8217;t his, of course, but&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;He hauls it off in a wheelbarrow,&#8221; broke in Charley, virtuously.
+&#8220;He don&#8217;t care what he does. They was a widow woman here whose
+daughter got sick and she had to go out for a week, and when she came
+back&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, her whole house was looted&#8211;he carried off even her
+sewing-machine!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;And a deep line of wheelbarrow tracks,&#8221; added Charley,
+unctuously, &#8220;leading from her house right down to his. She nailed up all
+her windows before she went, but he&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, he broke in,&#8221; supplied the Widow. &#8220;He&#8217;s a
+desperate character and everybody is afraid of him, so he can do whatever he
+pleases; but you bet your life he can&#8217;t run it over me&#8211;I filled him
+up with buckshot twice. Oh&#8211;that is&#8211;er&#8211;did you ever hear how he
+got his head twisted? Well, go right ahead now and eat up your toast. I asked
+him one time&#8211;that was before we&#8217;d had our trouble&#8211;what was the
+cause of his head being to one side. He looks, you know, for all the world like
+he was watching for a good kick from behind; but he tried to appear pathetic and
+told me a long story about saving a mother and her child in a flood. And when it
+was all over, according to him, he <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_51'></a>51</span>fell down in a faint in the mud; but the best accounts
+I get say he was dead drunk in the gutter and woke up with his head on one
+side.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She ended with a sniff and Wiley glanced at Charley, but he was staring
+blankly away.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t like that man,&#8221; spoke up Charley at last,
+&#8220;he kicked my dog, one time.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;And he bootlegs something awful,&#8221; added the Widow, desperately,
+for fear that the chatter would lag. &#8220;There doesn&#8217;t a day go by but
+some drunken Piute comes whooping up the road, and that bunch of
+Shooshonnies&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, he sells to the bucks,&#8221; observed Death Valley, slyly.
+&#8220;They&#8217;re no good&#8211;they get drunk and tell. But you can trust
+the squaws&#8211;I had one here yesterday&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You what?&#8221; shrieked the Widow, and Charley looked up startled,
+then rose and whistled to his dog.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Go lay down!&#8221; he commanded and slapped him till he yelped, after
+which he slipped fearfully away.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The very idea!&#8221; exclaimed the Widow frigidly and then she
+glanced at Wiley.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Mr. Holman,&#8221; she began, &#8220;I came out here to talk
+business&#8211;there&#8217;s nothing round-the-corner about me. Now what about
+this tax sale, and what does Blount mean by allowing you to buy it in for
+nothing?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, I don&#8217;t know,&#8221; answered Wiley. &#8220;He refused to
+pay the taxes, so I bought in the property myself.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_52'></a>52</span>&#8220;Yes, but
+what does he <i>mean</i>?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The Widow&#8217;s voice rose to the old quarrelsome, nagging pitch, and Wiley
+winced as if he had been stabbed.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ll have to ask <i>him</i>, Mrs. Huff, to find out for sure;
+but to a man with one leg it looks like this. Whatever you can say about him,
+Samuel J. is a business man, and I think he decided that, as a business
+investment, the Paymaster wasn&#8217;t worth eighty-three, forty-one. Otherwise
+he would have bought it himself.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Unless, of course,&#8221; added the Widow scornfully, &#8220;there was
+some understanding between you.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, yes, sure,&#8221; returned Wiley, and went on with his eating with
+a wearied, enduring sigh.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, I declare,&#8221; exclaimed the Widow, after thinking it over,
+&#8220;sometimes I get so discouraged with the whole darned business you could
+buy me out for a cent!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She waited for a response, but Wiley showed no interest, so she went on with
+her general complaint.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;First, it was the Colonel, with his gambling and drinking and inviting
+the whole town to his house; and then your father, or whoever it was, started
+all this stock market fuss; and from that time it&#8217;s gone from bad to worse
+until I haven&#8217;t a dollar to my name. I was brought up to be a
+lady&#8211;and so was Virginia&#8211;and now we&#8217;re keeping a
+restaurant!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Wiley pulled down his lip in masterful silence and set the breakfast tray
+aside. It was nothing to <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_53'></a>53</span>him what the Widow Huff suffered&#8211;she had brought
+it all on herself. And whenever she was ready to write to his father she could
+receive her ten cents a share. That would keep her as a lady for several years
+to come, if she had as many shares as she claimed; but there was nothing to his
+mind so flat, stale and unprofitable as a further discussion of the Paymaster.
+Indeed, with one leg wound up in a bandage, it might easily prove disastrous. So
+he looked away and, after a minute, the Widow again took up her plaint.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Of course,&#8221; she said, &#8220;I&#8217;m not a business woman, and
+I may have made some mistakes; but it doesn&#8217;t seem right that
+Virginia&#8217;s future should be ruined, just because of this foolish family
+quarrel. The Colonel is dead now and doesn&#8217;t have to be considered;
+so&#8211;well, after thinking it over, and all the rest of it, I think
+I&#8217;ll accept your offer.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Which offer?&#8221; demanded Wiley, suddenly startled from his ennui,
+and the Widow regarded him sternly.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why, your offer to buy my stock&#8211;that paper you drew up for me.
+Here it is, and I&#8217;m willing to sign it.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She drew out the paper and Wiley read it silently, then rolled it into a ball
+and chucked it into the corner.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; he said, &#8220;that offer doesn&#8217;t hold. I
+didn&#8217;t know you then.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, you know me now!&#8221; she flashed back resentfully, &#8220;and
+you&#8217;d better come through with <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_54'></a>54</span>that money. I&#8217;ve taken enough off of you and
+your father without standing for any more of your gall. Now you write me out a
+check for twenty thousand dollars and here&#8217;s my two hundred thousand
+shares. I know you&#8217;re robbing me but I simply can&#8217;t endure
+it&#8211;I can&#8217;t stay here a single day longer!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She burst into angry tears as he shook his head and regarded her with steady
+eyes.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; he said, &#8220;you can&#8217;t do business that way. I
+haven&#8217;t got twenty thousand dollars.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But&#8211;you offered it to me! You wrote out this paper and put it
+right under my eyes&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; he said, &#8220;I never offered you twenty thousand&#8211;I
+offered to take an option at that price. I wanted to see that mine, and I wanted
+to see it peaceably, and I thought I could do it that way; but that piece of
+paper simply gave me the option of buying the stock if I wanted to.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, you wanted to buy the stock&#8211;you were crazy to get hold of
+it&#8211;and now, when I&#8217;m willing, you won&#8217;t take it!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, that&#8217;s right,&#8221; agreed Wiley, leaning back against his
+pillow. &#8220;And now, what are you going to do about it?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m going to kill you!&#8221; shrieked the Widow in a frenzy.
+&#8220;I&#8217;m going to <i>make</i>you take it! I declare, it seems like every
+single soul is against me&#8211;and me a poor helpless woman!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She sank back in a chair and began to sob hysterically and Wiley looked about
+for the old shotgun. <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_55'></a>55</span>It was far too short, but it had served once as a
+crutch, and in a pinch it must serve him again. Keno was no place for him, he
+saw that very plainly, and it was better to risk the long drive across the
+desert than to stay with this weeping virago. If she didn&#8217;t kill him then
+she would kill him later, and he was powerless to strike back in defense. She
+would take advantage of every immunity of her sex to obtain her own way in the
+end. He located the gun&#8211;it was down behind his bed where he had dropped it
+when they helped him in&#8211;but as he was fishing it up the door burst open
+and Virginia stood looking at her mother. Behind her appeared Death Valley
+Charley, his eyes blinking fearfully; but at sight of the Widow he ducked around
+the corner while Virginia came resolutely in.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, mother!&#8221; she burst out in a pleading, reproachful voice,
+&#8220;can&#8217;t you see that Wiley is sick? Well, what&#8217;s the use of
+creating a scene when it&#8217;s likely to make him worse?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t care!&#8221; wailed the Widow. &#8220;I hope he dies. I
+wish I&#8217;d killed him&#8211;I do!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You do not!&#8221; returned Virginia, and shook her reprovingly.
+&#8220;I declare, I wonder what poor father would think if he heard how
+we&#8217;d treated a guest. Now you go back to the house and don&#8217;t you
+come out again until Mr. Holman sends for you.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You shut up!&#8221; burst out the Widow, pushing her brusquely aside.
+&#8220;I guess I know what I&#8217;m about. But I&#8217;ll fool you,&#8221; she
+cried, whirling about <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_56'></a>56</span>on Wiley as she started towards the door.
+&#8220;I&#8217;ll sell my stock to Blount!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She paused for the effect but Wiley did not answer and she returned to pursue
+her advantage.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I know you!&#8221; she announced. &#8220;You and old Honest
+John&#8211;you&#8217;re trying to steal my mine. But I&#8217;m going to fool
+you, I&#8217;m going right down to Vegas and sell every share to
+Blount!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, go to it,&#8221; returned Wiley after a long, defiant silence,
+&#8220;and I hope you stick him a-plenty!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why, what&#8217;s the matter?&#8221; inquired the Widow, brushing
+Virginia away again and swaggering up to his bed. &#8220;I thought you and
+Blount were good friends.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yeh, guess again,&#8221; replied Wiley grimly. &#8220;I&#8217;ll tell
+him the mine shows up fine.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, it does!&#8221; she asserted. &#8220;The Colonel said it
+wasn&#8217;t scratched. And didn&#8217;t you steal that piece of quartz from
+Virginia? Oh, you gave it back, eh? Well, how did it assay? I know you found
+<i>something</i>pretty good!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;How could I give it back, if I&#8217;d had it assayed?&#8221; asked
+Wiley with compelling calm.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well what <i>did</i>you come back for?&#8221; demanded the Widow,
+triumphantly. &#8220;You must have figured to win somewhere.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I did,&#8221; sighed Wiley, &#8220;but I was badly mistaken. All
+I want now is to get out of town.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, how about your father? That offer he made me! Has he backed out
+on that, too?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, he hasn&#8217;t,&#8221; answered Wiley, &#8220;my father <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_57'></a>57</span>keeps his word. You can get
+your money any time.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, of all the crazy crooked deals,&#8221; the Widow began to rave,
+and then Wiley grabbed for the shotgun.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It may be crazy!&#8221; he shouted savagely, &#8220;but believe me, it
+isn&#8217;t crooked. My father never did a crooked thing in his life, and you
+know it as well as I do; and if it wasn&#8217;t that you&#8217;re such a crook
+yourself&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Wiley Holman!&#8221; raged the Widow, but he rose up on his crutch and
+shouldered his way out the door.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re crazy!&#8221; he yelled, &#8220;the whole danged
+town&#8217;s crazy. All except old Charley and me.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He jerked his head and winked at Charley as he hobbled towards the street and
+Death Valley nodded gravely. There was a long, hateful silence; then the great
+motor roared out and the white racer rushed away across the desert.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, I don&#8217;t care!&#8221; declared the Widow as she gazed after
+his dust and when the stage went out that day it took a lady passenger to
+Vegas.</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_58'></a>58</span><a id='link_7'></a>CHAPTER VII<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>Between Friends</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>The madness of the Widow and Old Charley and Stiff Neck George was no mystery
+to Wiley Holman&#8211;it was the same form of mania which he encountered
+everywhere when he went to see men who owned mines. If he offered them a million
+for a ten-foot hole they would refuse it and demand ten million more, and if he
+offered them nothing they immediately scented a conspiracy to starve them out
+and gain possession of their mine. It was the illusion of hidden wealth, of
+buried treasure, which keeps half the mines in the West closed down and half of
+the rest in litigation; except that in Keno it seemed to be associated with
+gun-plays and a marked tendency towards homicide. So, upon his return from a
+short stay in the hospital he came up the main street silently, then stepped on
+the throttle and went through town a-smoking. But the Widow was out waiting for
+him in the middle of the road and, rather than run her down, he threw on both
+brakes and stopped.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, what now?&#8221; he inquired, frowning at the odor of heated
+rubber. &#8220;What&#8217;s your particular <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_59'></a>59</span>grievance this trip?&#8221; He regarded her coldly,
+then bowed to Virginia and waved a friendly hand at Charley. &#8220;Hello,
+there, Death Valley,&#8221; he called out jovially, as the Widow choked with a
+rush of words, &#8220;what&#8217;s the news from the Funeral Range?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Now, here!&#8221; exclaimed the Widow, advancing from the dust cloud,
+and glancing into the machine. &#8220;I want you to bring back that
+gun!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m sorry, Mrs. Huff,&#8221; he replied with finality,
+&#8220;but you&#8217;ll have to get along without it. I turned it over to the
+sheriff, along with three buckshot and an affidavit regarding the
+shooting&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What, you great, big coward!&#8221; stormed the Widow in a fury.
+&#8220;Did you run and complain to the sheriff?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, I walked,&#8221; said Wiley, &#8220;and on one leg at that. But I
+might as well warn you that next time you make a gun-play you&#8217;re likely to
+break into jail.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re a coward!&#8221; she taunted. &#8220;You&#8217;re
+standing in with Blount to beat me out of my mine. First you sneak off with my
+gun, so I can&#8217;t protect my rights, and then Stiff Neck George comes up and
+jumps the Paymaster!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The hell!&#8221; burst out Wiley, rising up in his seat and looking
+across at the mine.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, the hell,&#8221; she returned, &#8220;and he&#8217;s warned off
+all comers and is holding the mine for Blount!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;For Blount!&#8221; he echoed and, seeing him roused at last, the Widow
+became subtly provocative.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_60'></a>60</span>&#8220;For Samuel
+J. Blount,&#8221; she repeated impressively. &#8220;He&#8211;he&#8217;s got all
+my stock on a loan.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh!&#8221; observed Wiley, and as she raved on with her story he
+rubbed his chin in deep thought.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I went down to see him and he wouldn&#8217;t buy it, so I left it
+as collateral on a loan. And then he came out here and looked over the mine
+again and told Stiff Neck George to stand guard. They&#8217;re fixing to pump
+out the water.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oho!&#8221; exclaimed Wiley, and his eyes began to kindle as he
+realized what Blount had done. Then reaching for the pistol that lay handy
+beside his leg, he leapt out with waspish quickness, only to stop short as he
+hurt his lame foot.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Go on!&#8221; hissed the Widow, advancing to his shoulder and pointing
+the way up the trail. &#8220;He stays right there by the dump. The mine is
+yours; go put him off&#8211;I would, if I had my gun.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Aw, pfooey!&#8221; he exclaimed, suddenly turning back and clamoring
+into his seat. &#8220;I&#8217;ve got one game leg already. Let &#8217;im have
+the doggoned mine.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What? Are you going to back out? Well, you are a good one&#8211;and it
+stands in your name, this minute!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, and it isn&#8217;t worth&#8211;that!&#8221; he said with
+conviction, and snapped his finger in the air. &#8220;He can have it. You can
+tell Blount, the next time you see him, he can buy in that tax title for the
+costs.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He paused and muttered angrily, gazing off towards the dump where
+crooked-necked George <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_61'></a>61</span>stood guard, and then he hopped out to crank up.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Want a ride?&#8221; he asked, as he saw Virginia watching him and she
+hesitated and shook her head. &#8220;Come on,&#8221; he smiled, casting aside
+his black mood, &#8220;let&#8217;s take a little spin&#8211;just down on the
+desert and back. What&#8217;s going on&#8211;getting ready to move?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He gazed with alarm at a pile of packing boxes that the Widow had marshaled
+on the gallery and then he looked back at Virginia. She was attired in a gown
+that had been very chic in the fall of nineteen ten, but, though it was scant
+for these bouffant days, she was the old Virginia still&#8211;slim and strong
+and dainty, and highbred in every line, with dark eyes that mirrored passing
+thoughts. She was the Virginia he had played with when Keno was booming and his
+own sisters had been there for company; and now after ten years he remembered
+the time when he had asked her, in vain, for a kiss.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve got something to tell you,&#8221; he said at last and
+Virginia stepped into the racer.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Virginia!&#8221; reminded the Widow, and then at a glance she turned
+round and flung into the house. There were times and occasions when she had
+found it safer not to press her maternal authority too far, and the look that
+she received was first notice from Virginia that such an occasion had arrived.
+The motor began to thunder, Wiley threw in the clutch, and with a speed that was
+startling, <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_62'></a>62</span>they
+whipped a sudden circle and went bubbling away down the road.</p>
+
+<p>It stretched on endlessly, this road across the desert, as straight as a
+surveyor&#8217;s line, and as they cleared the rough gulches and glided down
+into its immensity Virginia glanced at the desert and sighed.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Pretty big,&#8221; he suggested and as she nodded slowly he raised his
+eyes to the hills. &#8220;I don&#8217;t know,&#8221; he went on, &#8220;whether
+you&#8217;ll like Los Angeles. You&#8217;ll get lonely for this,
+sometimes.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, but not for that&#8221;&#8211;she jerked a thumb back at
+Keno&#8211;&#8220;that place is pretty small. What&#8217;s left, of course; but
+it seems to me sometimes they&#8217;re all of them lame, halt and blind. Always
+quarreling and backbiting and jumping each other&#8217;s
+claims&#8211;but&#8211;what do you think of the Paymaster?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She shot the question at him and it occurred suddenly to Wiley that perhaps
+she had a programme, too.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, I&#8217;ll tell you,&#8221; he began, deftly changing his
+ground, &#8220;I&#8217;m in Dutch on that, all around. When I came home full of
+buckshot and the Old Man heard about it I got my orders to come back and
+apologize. Well, I&#8217;ll do that&#8211;to you&#8211;and you can tell your
+mother I&#8217;m sure sorry I went up on that dump.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He grinned and motioned to his injured foot, but Virginia was in no mood for
+a joke.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s all right,&#8221; she said, &#8220;and I accept your
+apology&#8211;though I don&#8217;t know exactly what it&#8217;s for. But I asked
+your opinion of the Paymaster.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_63'></a>63</span>&#8220;Oh,
+yes,&#8221; he replied and then he began to temporize. &#8220;You&#8217;d better
+tell me what you want it for, first.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What? Do you have one opinion for one set of people and another for
+somebody else? I thought!&#8221;&#x2500; She paused and the hot blood leapt to
+her cheeks as she saw where her temper had led her. &#8220;Well,&#8221; she
+explained, &#8220;I&#8217;ve got a few shares of stock.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She said it quietly and the suggestion of scolding gave way to a chastened
+appeal. She remembered&#8211;and he sensed it&#8211;that winged shaft which he
+had flung back when she had said he was honest, like his father. He had told her
+then she was becoming like her mother, and Virginia could never endure that.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Ah, I see,&#8221; he answered and went on hurriedly with a new note of
+friendliness in his voice. &#8220;Well, I&#8217;ll tell you, Virginia, if it
+will be any accommodation to you I&#8217;ll take over that stock myself.
+But&#8211;well, I hate to advise you&#8211;because&#8211;how many shares have
+you got?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, several thousand,&#8221; she responded casually. &#8220;They were
+given to me by father&#8211;and by different men that I&#8217;ve helped. Mr.
+Masters, you know, that I took care of for a while, he gave me all he had when
+he died. But I don&#8217;t want to sell them&#8211;I know there&#8217;s no
+market, because Blount wouldn&#8217;t give Mother anything&#8211;but if he
+should happen to strike something&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She glanced across at him swiftly but Wiley&#8217;s face was grim.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_64'></a>64</span>&#8220;Yes,
+<i>him</i>find anything!&#8221; he jeered. &#8220;That fat-headed old tub! He
+knows about as much about mining as a hog does about the precession of the
+equinox. No; miracles may happen but, short of that, he&#8217;ll never get back
+a cent!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, but Wiley,&#8221; she protested, &#8220;you know as well as I do
+that the Paymaster isn&#8217;t worked out. Now what&#8217;s to prevent my stock
+becoming valuable sometime when they open it up?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s to prevent?&#8221; he repeated. &#8220;Well, I&#8217;ll
+tell you what. If Blount makes a strike he&#8217;ll close that mine down and
+send the company through bankruptcy. Then he&#8217;ll buy the mine back on a
+judgment and you&#8217;ll be left without a cent.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But what about you?&#8221; she suggested shrewdly. &#8220;Will you let
+him serve <i>you</i>like that?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t you think it!&#8221; he answered. &#8220;I know him too
+well&#8211;my money is somewhere else.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But if you should buy the mine?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well&#x2500;&#8221; he stirred uneasily and then shot his machine
+ahead&#8211;&#8220;I haven&#8217;t bought it yet.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, but you offered to, and I don&#8217;t see why&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Do you want to sell your stock?&#8221; he asked abruptly and she
+flushed and shook her head. &#8220;Well!&#8221; he said and without further
+comment he slowed down and swung about.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, dear,&#8221; she sighed, as they started back and he turned upon
+her swiftly.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Do you know why I wouldn&#8217;t have that mine,&#8221; he inquired,
+&#8220;if you&#8217;d hand it to me as a gift? It&#8217;s because of this
+everlasting fight. I own it, right <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_65'></a>65</span>now, if anybody does, and I&#8217;ve never been down
+the shaft. Now suppose I&#8217;d go over there and shoot it out with George and
+get possession of my mine. First Blount would come up with some other hired
+man-killer and I&#8217;d have a bout with him; and then your respected
+mother&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Now you hush up!&#8221; she chided and he closed down his jaw like a
+steel-trap. She watched him covertly, then her eyes began to blink and she
+turned her head away. The desert rushed by them, worlds of waxy green creosote
+bushes and white, gnarly clumps of salt bush; and straight ahead, frowning down
+on the forgotten city, rose the black cloud-shadow of Shadow Mountain.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, turn off here!&#8221; she cried, impulsively as they came to a
+fork in the road and, plowing up the sand, he skidded around a curve and struck
+off up the Death Valley road. They came together at the edge of the
+town&#8211;the long, straight road to the south, and the road-trail that led
+west into the silence. There were no tracks in it now but the flat hoof-prints
+of burros and the wire-twined wheel-marks of desert buckboards; even the road
+was half obliterated by the swoop of the winds which had torn up the hard-packed
+dirt, yet the going was good and as the racer purred on Virginia settled back in
+her seat.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t believe it,&#8221; she said at last, &#8220;that
+we&#8217;re going to leave here, forever. This is the road that Father took when
+he left home that last time&#8211;have you ever been over into Death Valley?
+It&#8217;s <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_66'></a>66</span>a great,
+big sink, all white with salt and borax; and at the upper end, where he went
+across, there are miles and miles of sand-hills. He&#8217;s buried out there
+somewhere, and the hills have covered him&#8211;but oh, it&#8217;s so awful
+lonesome!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She turned away again and as her head went down Wiley stared straight ahead
+and blinked. He had known the Colonel and loved him well, and his father had
+loved him, too; but that rift had come between them and until it was healed he
+could never be a friend of Virginia&#8217;s. She distrusted him in
+everything&#8211;in his silence and in his speech, his laughter and his anger,
+in his evasions and when he talked straight&#8211;it was better to say nothing
+now. He had intended to help her, to offer her money or any assistance he could
+give; but her heart was turned against him and the most he could hope for was to
+get back to Keno without a quarrel. The divide was far ahead, where the road
+struck the pass and swung over and down into the Great Valley; and, glancing up
+at the sun, he turned around slowly and rumbled back into town. Shadow Mountain
+rose before them; it towered above the valley like a brooding image of hate but
+as he smiled farewell at the sad-eyed Virginia something moved him to take her
+hand.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Good-by,&#8221; he said, &#8220;you&#8217;ll be gone when I come back.
+But if you get into trouble&#8211;let me know.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He gave her hand a squeeze and Virginia looked at him sharply, then she let
+her dark lashes droop.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_67'></a>67</span>&#8220;I&#8217;m
+in trouble now,&#8221; she said at last. &#8220;What good did it do to tell
+you?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He winced and shrugged his shoulders, then gazed at her again with a
+challenge in his eyes.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;If you&#8217;d trust <i>me</i>more,&#8221; he said very slowly,
+&#8220;perhaps I&#8217;d trust <i>you</i> more. What is it you want me to
+do?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I want you to answer me&#8211;yes or no. Shall I keep my stock, or
+sell it?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You keep it,&#8221; he answered, and avoided her eye until she climbed
+out and entered the house.</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_68'></a>68</span><a id='link_8'></a>CHAPTER VIII<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>The Tip</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well?&#8221; inquired the Widow as her daughter came back from her
+ride with Wiley Holman; but Virginia was not giving out confidences. At last,
+and by a trick, she had surprised the truth from Wiley and he had told her to
+keep her stock. For weeks, for months, he had told her and everybody else that
+the Paymaster was not worth having; but when she had drooped her lashes and
+asked him for his opinion he had told her not to sell. Not hesitatingly nor
+doubtfully, or with any crafty intent; but honestly, as a friend, perhaps as a
+lover&#8211;and then he had looked away. He knew, of course, how his past
+actions must appear in the light of this later advice; but he had told her the
+truth and gone. The question was: What should she do?</p>
+
+<p>Virginia returned to her room and locked the door while her mother stormed
+around outside and at last she came to a decision. What Wiley had told her had
+been said in strictest confidence and it would not be fair to pass it on; but if
+he advised her not to sell he had a reason for his advice, and <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_69'></a>69</span>that reason was not far to
+find. It was in that white stone that he had stolen from her collection, and in
+the white quartz he had gathered from the dump. He claimed, of course, that he
+had not had her specimen assayed; but why, then, had he come back for more? And
+why had he been so careful to tell her and everyone that he would not take the
+Paymaster as a gift? As a matter of fact, he owned it that minute by virtue of
+his delinquent tax-sale, and his goings and comings had been nicely timed to
+enable him to keep track of his property. He was shrewd, that was all, but now
+she could read him; for he had spoken, for once, from his heart.</p>
+
+<p>The mail that night bore a sample of white quartz to a custom assayer in
+Vegas, but Virginia guarded her secret well. She had gained it by wiles that
+were not absolutely straight-forward, in that she had squeezed Wiley&#8217;s
+hand in return, and since by so doing she had compromised with her conscience
+she placated it by withholding the great news. If she told her mother she would
+create a scene with Blount and demand the return of her stock; and the secret
+would get out and everybody would be buying stock and Wiley would blame it on
+her. No, everything must be kept dark and she mailed her sample when even the
+postmistress was gone. Perhaps Wiley was right in his extreme subterfuges and in
+always covering up his hand, but she would show him that there were others just
+as smart. She would take a leaf from his book and <span class='pagenum
+pncolor'><a id='page_70'></a>70</span>play a lone hand, too; only now, of
+course, she could not leave town.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Virginia!&#8221; scolded the Widow, when for the hundredth time she
+had discovered her dawdling at her packing. &#8220;If you don&#8217;t get up and
+come and help me this minute I&#8217;ll unpack and let you go alone.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, let&#8217;s both unpack,&#8221; said Virginia thoughtfully, and
+the Widow sat down with a crash.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I knew it!&#8221; she cried. &#8220;Ever since that Wiley
+Holman&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Now, you hush up!&#8221; returned Virginia, flushing angrily.
+&#8220;You don&#8217;t know what you&#8217;re talking about!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, if I don&#8217;t know I can guess; but I never thought a
+Huff&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, you make me tired!&#8221; exclaimed Virginia, spitefully.
+&#8220;I&#8217;m staying here to watch that mine.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;That&#8211;mine!&#8221; The Widow repeated it slowly and her eyes
+opened up big with triumph. &#8220;Virginia, do you mean to say you got the best
+of that whipper-snapper and&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, nothing of the kind! No! Can&#8217;t you hear me? Oh, Mother,
+you&#8217;d drive a person crazy!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I&#8211;see!&#8221; observed the Widow and stood nodding her head as
+Virginia went on with her protests. &#8220;Oh, my Lord!&#8221; she burst out,
+&#8220;and I put up all my stock for a measly eight hundred dollars! That
+scoundrelly Blount&#8211;I saw it in his eye the minute I mentioned my stock!
+He&#8217;s tricked me, the rascal; but I&#8217;ll fool him yet&#8211;I&#8217;ll
+pay him back and get my stock!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_71'></a>71</span>&#8220;You&#8217;ll pay him back? Why, you&#8217;ve
+spent half the money to redeem your jewels and the diamonds!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, I&#8217;ll pawn them again. Oh, it makes me wild to think how
+that rascal has tricked me!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But, Mother,&#8221; protested Virginia, &#8220;<i>he</i>hasn&#8217;t
+done any work yet. They haven&#8217;t made any strike at the mine. Why not let
+it go until they pump out the water and really find some ore? And besides, how
+could Wiley know anything about it? He&#8217;s never been down the
+shaft.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But&#8211;why you told me yourself&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I never told you anything!&#8221; burst out Virginia tearfully.
+&#8220;You just jump at everything like a flea. And now you&#8217;ll tell
+everybody, and Wiley&#8217;ll say I did it, and&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Virginia Huff!&#8221; cried her mother, dramatically, &#8220;are you
+in love with that&#8211;thief?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;He is not! No, I am not! Oh, I wish you&#8217;d quit talking to
+me&#8211;I tell you he never told me <i>anything</i>!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, for goodness sake!&#8221; exclaimed the Widow pityingly, and
+stalked off to think it over.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You, Charley!&#8221; she exclaimed as she found Death Valley on the
+gallery pretending to nail up a box, &#8220;you leave those things alone. Well,
+that&#8217;s all right; we&#8217;ve changed our minds and now we&#8217;re going
+to stay.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s good,&#8221; replied Charley, laying his hammer aside,
+&#8220;I&#8217;ve been telling &#8217;em so for days. It&#8217;s coming
+everywhere; all the old camps are opening up, but Keno will beat them
+all.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_72'></a>72</span>&#8220;Yes,
+that&#8217;s right,&#8221; assented the Widow absently, and as she bustled away
+to begin her unpacking, Death Valley looked at Heine and leered.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Didn&#8217;t I tell you!&#8221; he crowed and, scuttling back to get
+his six-shooter, he went out and began re-locating claims. That was the
+beginning. The real rush came later when the pumps began to throb in the
+Paymaster. A stream of water like a sheet of silver flowed down the side of the
+dump and as if it&#8217;s touch had brought forth men from the desert sands, the
+old-timers came drifting in. Once more the vacant sidewalks resounded to the
+thud of sturdy hob-nailed boots; and along with the locaters came pumpmen and
+miners to sound the flooded depths of the Paymaster.</p>
+
+<p>It was a great mine, a famous mine, the richest in all the West; within
+twenty months it had produced twelve million dollars and the lower levels had
+never been touched. But what was twelve million to what it would turn out when
+they located the hidden ore-body? On its record alone the Paymaster was a
+world-beater, but the ground had barely been scratched. Even Samuel Blount, who
+was cold as a stone and had sold out the entire town, even he had caught the
+contagion; and he was talking large on the bank corner when Holman came back
+through town.</p>
+
+<p>Wiley drove in from the north, his face burned by sun and wind and his
+machine weighed down with sacks of samples, but when he saw the crowd, <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_73'></a>73</span>and Blount in the middle of
+it, he threw on his brakes with a jerk.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Hello!&#8221; he hailed. &#8220;What&#8217;s all the excitement? Has
+the Paymaster made a strike?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>All eyes turned to Blount, who stepped down ponderously and waddled out to
+the auto. He was a very heavy man, with his mouth on one side and a mild,
+deceiving smile; and as he shook hands perfunctorily he glanced uneasily at
+Wiley, for he had heard about the tax-sale.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why, no,&#8221; he replied, &#8220;no strike as yet. How&#8217;s
+everything with you, Mr. Holman?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Fine and dandy, I guess,&#8221; returned Wiley civilly. &#8220;Where
+did all these men jump up from?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, they just dropped in, or stopped over in passing. Do you still
+take an interest in mines?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, yes,&#8221; responded Wiley. &#8220;I&#8217;m a mining engineer,
+and so naturally I do take quite an interest. And by the way, Mr. Blount, did it
+ever occur to you that the Paymaster has been sold for taxes? Oh, that&#8217;s
+all right, that&#8217;s all right; I didn&#8217;t know whether you&#8217;d heard
+about it&#8211;do you recognize my title to the mine?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well,&#8221; began Blount, and then he smiled appeasingly, &#8220;I
+didn&#8217;t just know where to reach you. Of course, according to law, you do
+hold the title; but I suppose you know that the stockholders of the company have
+five years in which to buy back the mine. Yes, that is the law; but I thought
+under the circumstances&#8211;the mine lying idle and all&#8211;you <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_74'></a>74</span>might be willing to waive
+your strict rights in the interests of, well, harmony.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I get you,&#8221; answered Wiley, glancing at the staring onlookers,
+&#8220;and of course these gentlemen are our witnesses. You acknowledge my
+title, and that every bit of your work is being done on another man&#8217;s
+ground; but, of course, if you make a strike I won&#8217;t put any obstacles in
+your way. I&#8217;m for harmony, Mr. Blount, as big as a wolf; but there&#8217;s
+one thing I want to ask you. Did you or did you not employ this Stiff Neck
+George to act as guard on the mine? Because two months ago, after I&#8217;d
+bought in the Paymaster for taxes, I went over to inspect the ground and Stiff
+Neck George&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, no! Oh dear, no!&#8221; protested Blount vigorously. &#8220;He was
+acting for himself. I heard about his actions, but I had nothing to do with
+them&#8211;I never even knew about it till lately.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But was he in your employ at the time of the shooting, and did you
+tell him to drive off all comers? Because&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No! My dear boy, of course not! But come over to my office; I want to
+talk with you, Wiley.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The banker beamed upon him affectionately and, shaking out a white
+handkerchief, wiped the sudden sweat from his brow; and then Wiley leapt to the
+ground.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;All right,&#8221; he said, &#8220;but let&#8217;s go and see the mine
+first.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He strapped on his pistol and waited expectantly <span class='pagenum
+pncolor'><a id='page_75'></a>75</span>and at last Blount breathed heavily and
+assented. Nothing more was said as they went across the flat and toiled up the
+trail to the mine. Wiley walked behind and as they mounted to the shaft-house
+his eyes wandered restlessly about; until, at the tool-shed, they suddenly
+focussed and a half-crouching man stepped out. He was tall and gnarly and the
+point of his chin rested stiffly on the slope of his shoulder. It was Stiff Neck
+George and he kept a crook in his elbow as he glanced from Blount to Wiley.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;How&#8217;s this?&#8221; demanded Wiley, putting Blount between him
+and George, &#8220;what&#8217;s this man doing up here?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why, that&#8217;s George,&#8221; faltered Blount, &#8220;George
+Norcross, you know. He works for me around the mine.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, he does, eh?&#8221; observed Wiley, in the cold tones of an
+examining lawyer. &#8220;How long has he been in your employ?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, since we opened up&#8211;that&#8217;s all&#8211;just temporarily.
+This gentleman is all right, George; you can go.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Stiff Neck George stood silent, his sunken eyes on Wiley, his sunburned lips
+parted in a grin, and then he turned and spat.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Eh, heh; hiding!&#8221; he chuckled and, stung by the taunt, Wiley
+stepped out into the open. His gun was pulled forward, his jaws set hard, and he
+looked the hired man-killer in the eye.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t you think it,&#8221; he said, &#8220;I know you too <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_76'></a>76</span>well. You&#8217;re afraid
+to fight in the day-time; you dirty, sneaking murderer!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He waited, poised, but George only laughed silently, though his poisonous
+eyes began to gleam.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What are you doing on my ground?&#8221; demanded Wiley, advancing
+threateningly with his pistol raised. &#8220;Don&#8217;t you know I own this
+mine?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; snarled Stiff Neck George, coming suddenly to a crouch,
+&#8220;and, furthermore, I don&#8217;t give a damn!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Now, now, George,&#8221; broke in Blount, &#8220;let&#8217;s not have
+any words. Mr. Holman holds the title to this claim.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Heh&#8211;Holman!&#8221; mocked George, &#8220;Honest John&#8217;s
+boy&#8211;eh?&#8221; He laughed insultingly and spat against the wind and
+Wiley&#8217;s lip curled up scornfully.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes&#8211;Honest John,&#8221; he repeated evenly. &#8220;And
+it&#8217;s a wonder to me you don&#8217;t take a few lessons and learn to spit
+clear of your chin.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You shut up!&#8221; snapped George as venomous as a rattlesnake.
+&#8220;Your damned old father was a thief!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re a liar!&#8221; yelled Wiley and, swinging his pistol like
+a club, he made a rush at the startled gunman. His eyes were flashing with a
+wild, reckless fury and as Stiff Neck George dodged and broke to run he leapt in
+and placed a fierce kick. &#8220;Now you git, you old dastard!&#8221; he shouted
+hoarsely and as George went down he grabbed him by the trousers and sent him
+sprawling down the dump. Sand, rocks and waste went avalanching after him, <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_77'></a>77</span>and a loose boulder
+thundered in his wake, until, at the bottom George scrambled to his feet and
+stood motionless, looking back. His head sank lower as he saw Wiley watching him
+and he slunk down closer to the ground, then with the swiftness of a panther
+that has marked down its prey he turned and skulked away.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s bad business, Wiley,&#8221; protested Blount
+half-heartedly and Wiley nodded assent.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; he said, &#8220;he&#8217;s dangerous now. I should have
+killed the dastard.&#8221;</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_78'></a>78</span><a id='link_9'></a>CHAPTER IX<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>A Peace Talk</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>While his blood was pounding and his heart was high, Wiley Holman went down
+into his mine. He rode down on the bucket, deftly balanced on the rim and
+fending off the wall with one hand, and when he came up he was smiling. Not
+smiling with his lips, but far back in his eyes, like a man who has found
+something good. Perhaps Blount surprised the look before it had fled for he
+beamed upon Wiley benevolently.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, Wiley, my boy,&#8221; he began confidentially as he drew him off
+to one side, &#8220;I&#8217;m glad to see you&#8217;re pleased. The gold is
+there&#8211;I find that everyone thinks so&#8211;all we need now is a little
+co-operation. That&#8217;s all we need now&#8211;peace. We should lay aside all
+personal feelings and old animosities and join hands to make the Paymaster a
+success.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s right, that&#8217;s right,&#8221; agreed Wiley
+cheerfully, &#8220;there&#8217;s nobody believes in peace more than I do. But
+all the same,&#8221; he went on almost savagely, &#8220;you&#8217;ve got to get
+rid of old George. I&#8217;m for peace, you understand, but if I find him here
+again&#8211;well, I&#8217;ll have to take over the property. He&#8217;s nothing
+but a professional murderer.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_79'></a>79</span>&#8220;Yes, I
+know,&#8221; explained Blount, &#8220;he&#8217;s a dangerous man&#8211;but I
+don&#8217;t like to let an old man starve. He&#8217;s got a right to live the
+same as any of us, and, since he can&#8217;t work&#8211;well, I gave him a job
+as watchman.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, all right,&#8221; grumbled Wiley, &#8220;if you want to be
+charitable; but I suppose you know that, under the law, you&#8217;re responsible
+for the acts of your agents?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s all right, that&#8217;s all right,&#8221; burst out
+Blount impatiently, &#8220;I&#8217;ll never hire him again. He refused to obey
+my orders and&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;<i>And</i>he tried to kill me!&#8221; broke in Wiley angrily, but
+Blount had thrown up both hands.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, now, Wiley,&#8221; he protested, &#8220;why can&#8217;t we be
+reasonable? Why can&#8217;t we get together on this?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;We can,&#8221; returned Wiley, &#8220;but you&#8217;ve got to show me
+that you&#8217;re not trying to jump my claim.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, you know,&#8221; exclaimed Blount, &#8220;as well as I do that a
+tax sale is never binding. The owners of the property are given five
+years&#8217; time&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It is binding,&#8221; corrected Wiley, &#8220;until the property is
+bought back&#8211;and I happen to be holding the deed. Now, here&#8217;s the
+point&#8211;what authority have you got for coming in here and working this
+property?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, you may as well know,&#8221; replied Blount shortly, &#8220;that
+I own a majority of the stock.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Aha!&#8221; burst out Wiley. &#8220;I was listening for that. So
+you&#8217;re the Honest John?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_80'></a>80</span>&#8220;What do you
+mean?&#8221; demanded Blount and, seeing the anger in his eyes, he hastened to
+head off the storm. &#8220;No, now listen to me, Wiley; it&#8217;s not the way
+you think. I knew your father well, and I always found him the soul of honor;
+but I never liked to say anything, because Colonel Huff was my partner, too. So,
+when this trouble arose, I tried to remain neutral, without joining sides with
+either. It pained me very much to have people make remarks reflecting upon the
+honesty of your father, but as the confidant of both it was hardly in good taste
+for me to give out what I knew. So I let the matter go, hoping that time would
+heal the breach; but now that the Colonel is dead&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Aha!&#8221; breathed Wiley and Blount nodded his head
+lugubriously.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; he said, &#8220;that is the way it was. Your father was
+absolutely honest.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, but who sold the stock, and then bought it back&#8211;and put
+all the blame on my father?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t tell you,&#8221; answered Blount. &#8220;I never speak
+evil of the dead&#8211;but the Colonel was a very poor business man.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, he was,&#8221; agreed Wiley, and then, after a silence:
+&#8220;How did it happen that you got all his stock?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, on mortgages and notes; and now as collateral on a loan that I
+made his widow. I own a clean majority of the stock.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, you do, eh?&#8221; observed Wiley and rubbed <span class='pagenum
+pncolor'><a id='page_81'></a>81</span>his jaw thoughtfully while Blount looked
+mildly on. &#8220;Well, what are you going to do?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why, I&#8217;d like to buy back that tax deed,&#8221; answered Blount
+amiably, &#8220;and get control of my property.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh,&#8221; said Wiley, and looked down the valley with eyes that
+squinted shrewdly at the sun. &#8220;All right,&#8221; he agreed, &#8220;just to
+show you that I&#8217;m a sport, I&#8217;ll give you a quit-claim deed right now
+for the sum of one hundred dollars.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You will?&#8221; challenged Blount, reaching tremulously for his
+fountain pen and then he paused at a thought. &#8220;Very well,&#8221; he said,
+but as he filled out the form he stopped and gazed uneasily at Wiley. Here was a
+mining engineer selling a possessory right to the Paymaster for the sum of one
+hundred dollars; while he, a banker, was spending a hundred dollars a day in
+what had proved so far to be dead work. &#8220;Er&#8211;I haven&#8217;t any
+money with me,&#8221; he suggested at length. &#8220;Perhaps&#8211;well, perhaps
+you could wait?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Sure!&#8221; replied Wiley, rising up from where he was seated,
+&#8220;I&#8217;ll wait for anything, except my supper. Where&#8217;s the best
+place to eat in town, now?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why, at Mrs. Huff&#8217;s,&#8221; returned Blount in surprise.
+&#8220;But about this quit-claim, perhaps a check would do as well?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What, are the Huffs still here?&#8221; exclaimed Wiley, starting off.
+&#8220;Why, I thought&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, they decided to stay,&#8221; answered Blount, <span class='pagenum
+pncolor'><a id='page_82'></a>82</span>following after him. &#8220;But now,
+Wiley, about this quit-claim?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, gimme your check! Or keep it, I don&#8217;t care&#8211;I came
+away without my breakfast this morning.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He strode off down the trail and Blount pulled up short and stood gazing
+after him blankly, then he shouted to him frantically and hurried down the slope
+to where Wiley was waiting impatiently.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Here, just sign this,&#8221; he panted. &#8220;I&#8217;ll write you
+out a check. But what&#8217;s the matter, Wiley&#8211;didn&#8217;t the mine show
+up as expected?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Wiley muttered unintelligibly as he signed the quit-claim which he retained
+until he had looked over the check. Then he folded up the check and kissed it
+surreptitiously before he stored it away in his pocketbook.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why, yes,&#8221; he said, &#8220;it shows up fine. I&#8217;ll see you
+later, down at the house.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Blount sat down suddenly, but as Wiley clattered off he shouted a warning
+after him.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, Wiley, please don&#8217;t mention that matter I spoke
+of!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What matter?&#8221; yelled back Wiley and at another disquieting
+thought Blount jumped up and came galloping after him.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The matter of the Colonel,&#8221; he panted in his ear, &#8220;and
+here&#8217;s another thing, Wiley. You know Mrs. Huff&#8211;she&#8217;s
+absolutely impossible and&#8211;well, she&#8217;s been making me quite a little
+trouble. Now as a personal favor, please don&#8217;t lend her any money <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_83'></a>83</span>or help her to get back her
+stock; because if you do&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I won&#8217;t!&#8221; promised Wiley, holding up his right hand.
+&#8220;But say, don&#8217;t stop me&#8211;I&#8217;m starving.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He ran down the trail, limping slightly on his game leg, and Blount sat down
+on a rock.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, I&#8217;ll be bound!&#8221; he puffed and gazed at the
+quit-claim ruefully.</p>
+
+<p>The tables were all set when Wiley re-entered the dining-room from which he
+had retreated once before in such haste, and Virginia was there and waiting,
+though her smile was a trifle uncertain. A great deal of water had flowed down
+the gulch since he had advised her to keep her stock, but the assayer at Vegas
+was worse than negligent&#8211;he had not reported on the piece of white rock.
+Therefore she hardly knew, being still in the dark as to his motives in giving
+the advice, whether to greet Wiley as her savior or to receive him coldly, as a
+Judas. If the white quartz was full of gold that her father had
+overlooked&#8211;say fine gold, that would not show in the pan&#8211;then Wiley
+was indeed her friend; but if the quartz was barren and he had purposely
+deceived her in order to boom his own mine&#8211;she smiled with her lips and
+asked him rather faintly if he wanted his supper at once.</p>
+
+<p>But if Virginia was still a Huff, remembering past treacheries and living in
+the expectancy of more, the Widow cast aside all petty heart-burnings in her joy
+at the humiliation of Stiff Neck George. Leaving Virginia in the kitchen, to fry
+Wiley&#8217;s <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_84'></a>84</span>steak,
+she rushed into the dining-room with her eyes ablaze and all but shook his
+hand.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, well,&#8221; she exulted, &#8220;I&#8217;ll have to take it
+back&#8211;you certainly did boot him good. I said you were a coward but I was
+watching you through my spy-glass and I nearly died a-laughing. You just walked
+right up to him&#8211;and you were cursing him scandalous, I could tell by the
+look on your face&#8211;and then all at once you made a jump and gave him that
+awful kick. Oh, ho, ho; you know I&#8217;ve always said he looked like a man
+that was watching for a swift kick from behind; and now&#8211;after waiting all
+these years&#8211;oh, ho ho&#8211;you gave him what was coming to
+him!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The Widow sat down and held her sides with laughter and Wiley&#8217;s grim
+features, that had remained set and watchful, slowly relaxed to a flattered
+grin. He had indeed stood up to Stiff Neck George and booted him down the dump,
+so that the score of that night when he had been hunted like a rabbit was more
+than evened up; for George had sneaked up on an unarmed man and rolled down
+boulders from above, but he had outfaced him, man to man and gun to gun, and
+kicked him down the dump to boot. Yes, the Widow might well laugh, for it would
+be many a long day before Stiff Neck George heard the last of that affair.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;And old Blount,&#8221; laughed the Widow, &#8220;he was right there
+and saw it&#8211;his own hired bully, and all. Say, now Wiley, tell me all about
+it&#8211;what did Blount have to say? Did he tell you it was <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_85'></a>85</span>all a mistake? Yes,
+that&#8217;s what he tells everybody, every time he gets into trouble; but he
+can&#8217;t make excuses to me. Do you know what he&#8217;s done? He&#8217;s
+tied up all my stock as security for eight hundred dollars! What&#8217;s eight
+hundred dollars&#8211;I turned it all in to get the best of my diamonds out of
+pawn. It made me feel so bad, seeing that diamond ring of yours; I just
+couldn&#8217;t help getting them out. And now I&#8217;m flat and he&#8217;s
+holding all my stock for a miserable little eight hundred dollars!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She ended up strong, but Wiley sensed a touch and his expressions of sympathy
+were guarded.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Now, you&#8217;re a business man,&#8221; she went on unheedingly.
+&#8220;I&#8217;ll tell you what I&#8217;ll do&#8211;you lend me the money to get
+back that stock and I&#8217;ll sell it all to your father!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;To my father!&#8221; echoed Wiley and then his face turned grim and he
+laughed at some hidden joke. &#8220;Not much,&#8221; he said, &#8220;I like the
+Old Man too much. You&#8217;d better sell it back to Blount.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;To Blount? Why, hasn&#8217;t your father been hounding me for months
+to get his hands on that stock? Well, I&#8217;d like to know then what you think
+you&#8217;re doing? Have you gone back on your promise, or what?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I never made any promise,&#8221; returned Wiley pacifically. &#8220;It
+was my father that made the offer.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, fiddlesticks!&#8221; exploded the Widow. &#8220;Well, <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_86'></a>86</span>what&#8217;s the
+difference&#8211;you&#8217;re working hand and glove!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Not at all,&#8221; corrected Wiley, &#8220;the Old Man is raising
+cattle. You can&#8217;t get him to look at a mine.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, he offered to buy my stock!&#8221; exclaimed the Widow, badly
+flustered. &#8220;I&#8217;d like to know what this means?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s no use talking,&#8221; returned Wiley wearily,
+&#8220;I&#8217;ve told you a thousand times. If you send your stock to John
+Holman at Vegas, he&#8217;ll give you ten cents a share; but <i>I</i>won&#8217;t
+give you a cent.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Do you mean to say,&#8221; demanded the Widow incredulously,
+&#8220;that you don&#8217;t want that stock?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s it,&#8221; assented Wiley. &#8220;I&#8217;ve just sold my
+tax title for a hundred dollars, to Blount.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, this will drive me mad!&#8221; cried the Widow in a frenzy.
+&#8220;Virginia, come in here and help me!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Virginia came in with the steak slightly scorched and laid his dinner before
+Wiley. Her eyes were rather wild, for she had been listening through the
+doorway, but she turned to her mother inquiringly.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;He says he&#8217;s sold his tax claim,&#8221; wailed the Widow in
+despair, &#8220;for one hundred dollars&#8211;to Blount. And then he turns
+around and says his father will buy my stock for ten cents a share in cash. But
+he won&#8217;t lend me the money to pay my note to Blount and get my Paymaster
+stock back.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s right,&#8221; nodded Wiley, &#8220;you&#8217;ve got it
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_87'></a>87</span>all straight. Now
+let&#8217;s quit before we get into a row.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He bent over the steak and, after a meaning look at Virginia, the Widow
+discreetly withdrew.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;We saw you fighting George,&#8221; ventured Virginia at last as he
+seemed almost to ignore her presence. &#8220;Weren&#8217;t you afraid he&#8217;d
+get mad and shoot you?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Uh, huh,&#8221; he grunted, &#8220;wasn&#8217;t I hiding behind
+Blount? No, I had him whipped from the start. Bad conscience, I reckon; these
+crooks are all the same&#8211;they&#8217;re afraid to fight in the
+open.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But <i>your</i>conscience is all right, eh?&#8221; suggested Virginia
+sarcastically, and he glanced up from under his brows.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; he said, &#8220;we&#8217;ve got &#8217;em there, Virginia.
+Are you still holding onto that stock?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>A swift flood of shame mantled Virginia&#8217;s brow and then her dark eyes
+flashed fire.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I&#8217;ve got it,&#8221; she said, &#8220;but what&#8217;s the
+answer when you sell out your tax claim to Blount?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I wonder,&#8221; he observed and went on with his eating while she
+paced restlessly to and fro.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You told me to hold it,&#8221; she burst out accusingly, &#8220;and
+then you turn around and sell!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, why don&#8217;t <i>you</i>sell?&#8221; he suggested innocently,
+and she paused and bit her lip. Yes, why not? Why, because there were no
+buyers&#8211;except Wiley Holman and his father! The knowledge of her impotence
+almost drove her on to further madness, but another voice bade her beware. He
+had given her his advice, which was not to sell, and&#8211;oh, <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_88'></a>88</span> that accursed assayer! If
+she had his report she could flaunt it in his face or&#8211;she caught her
+breath and smiled.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; she said, &#8220;you told me not to!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>And Wiley smiled back and patted her hand.</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_89'></a>89</span><a id='link_10'></a>CHAPTER X<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>The Best Head in Town</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>What was Wiley Holman up to? Virginia paced the floor in a very unloverlike
+mood; and at last she sat down and wrote a scathing letter to the assayer,
+demanding her assay at once. She also enclosed one dollar in advance to test the
+sample for gold and silver and then, as an afterthought, she enclosed another
+bill and told him to test it for copper, lead, and zinc. There was something in
+that rock&#8211;she knew it just as well as she knew that Wiley was in love with
+her, and this was no time to pinch dollars. For ten years and more they had
+stuck there in Keno, waiting and waiting for something to happen, but now things
+had come to such a pass that it was better to know even the worst. For if the
+mine was barren and Wiley, after all, was only trying in his dumb way to help,
+then she must pocket her pride and sell him her stock and go away and hide her
+head. But if the white quartz was rich&#8211;well, that would be different;
+there would be several things to explain.</p>
+
+<p>Yet, if the quartz was barren, why did Wiley offer to buy her stock, and if
+it was rich, why did <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_90'></a>90</span>he sell his tax deed? And if his father stood ready to
+pay ten cents a share for two hundred thousand shares of stock why did Wiley
+refuse to redeem her mother&#8217;s holdings for a petty eight hundred dollars?
+He must have the money, for his diamond ring alone was worth well over a
+thousand dollars; and he had tried repeatedly to get possession of this same
+stock which he now refused to accept as a gift. Virginia thought it over until
+her head was in a whirl and at last she stamped her foot. The assay would tell,
+and if he had been trying to cheat her&#8211;she drew her lips to a thin, hard
+line and looked more than ever like her mother.</p>
+
+<p>The work at the Paymaster went on intermittently, but Blount&#8217;s early
+zest was lacking. For eight, yes, ten years he had waited patiently for the
+moment when he should get control of the mine; but now that he held it, without
+let or hindrance, somehow his enthusiasm flagged. Perhaps it was the fact that
+the timbering was expensive and that his gropings for the lost ore body came to
+nothing; but in the back of his mind Blount&#8217;s growing distrust dated from
+the day he had bought Wiley&#8217;s quit-claim. Wiley had come to the mine full
+of fury and aggressiveness, as his combat with Stiff Neck George clearly showed;
+but after he had gone down and inspected the workings he had sold out for one
+hundred dollars. And Wiley Holman was a mining engineer, with a name for Yankee
+shrewdness&#8211;he must have had a reason.</p>
+
+<p>Blount recalled his men from the drifts where <span class='pagenum
+pncolor'><a id='page_91'></a>91</span>they had been working and set them to
+crosscutting for the vein. It was too expensive, restoring all the square-sets
+and clearing out the fallen rock; and he had learned to his sorrow that Colonel
+Huff had blown up every heading with dynamite. In that tangle of shattered
+timbers and caved-in walls the miners made practically no progress, for the
+ground was treacherous and ten years under water had left the wood soft and
+slippery. To be sure the hidden chute lay at the breast of some such drift; but
+to clear them all out, with his limited equipment and no regular engineer in
+charge, would run up a staggering account. So Blount began to crosscut, and to
+sink along the contact, but chiefly to cut down expenses.</p>
+
+<p>With the railroad that had tapped the camp torn up and hauled away, every
+foot of timber, every stick of powder, cost twice as much as it ought. And then
+there was machinery, and gas and oil for the engine, and valves and spare parts
+for the pumps, and the board of the men, and overhead expenses&#8211;and not a
+single dollar coming in. Blount sat up late in his office, adding total to
+total, and at the end he leaned back aghast. At the very inside it was costing
+him two hundred dollars for every day that he operated the mine. And what was it
+turning back? Nothing. The mine had been gutted of every pound of ore that it
+would pay to sack and ship, and unless something was done to locate the lost ore
+body and give some guarantee of future values, well, the Paymaster <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_92'></a>92</span>would have to shut down.
+Blount considered it soberly, as a business man should, and then he sent for
+Wiley Holman.</p>
+
+<p>There were others, of course, to whom he might appeal; but he sent for Wiley
+first. He was a mining engineer, he had had his eye on the property
+and&#8211;well, he probably knew something about the lost vein. So he sent a
+wire, and then a man; and at last Holman, M. E., arrived. He came under protest,
+for he had been showing a mine of his own to some four-buckle experts from the
+east, and when Blount made his appeal he snorted.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, for the love of Miguel!&#8221; he exclaimed, starting up.
+&#8220;Do you think I&#8217;m going to help you for nothing? I&#8217;m a mining
+engineer, and the least it will cost you is five hundred dollars for a report.
+No, I don&#8217;t think anything; and I don&#8217;t know anything; and I
+won&#8217;t take your mine on shares. I&#8217;m through&#8211;do you get me? I
+sold out my entire interest for one hundred dollars, cash. That puts me ahead of
+the game, up to date; and while I&#8217;m lucky I&#8217;ll quit.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He stamped out of the office&#8211;Blount having moved into the bank building
+where he had formerly officiated as president&#8211;and made a break for his
+machine; but other eyes had marked his arrival in town and Death Valley Charley
+button-holed him.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Say,&#8221; he said, &#8220;do you want something good&#8211;an option
+on ten first-class claims? Well, come with me; I&#8217;ll make you an offer that
+you can&#8217;t hardly, possibly refuse.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_93'></a>93</span>He led Wiley up an
+alley, then whisked him around corners and back to his house behind the
+Widow&#8217;s.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Now, listen,&#8221; he went on, when Wiley was in a chair and he had
+carefully fastened the door, &#8220;I&#8217;m going to show you something
+good.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He reached under his bed and brought out ten sacks of samples which he
+spread, one by one, on the table.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Now, you see?&#8221; he said. &#8220;It&#8217;s all that white quartz
+that you was after on the Paymaster dump. I followed the outcrop, on an
+extension of the Paymaster, and I took up ten, good, opened claims.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Umm,&#8221; murmured Wiley, and examined each sample with a careful,
+appraising eye. &#8220;Yes, pretty good, Charley; I suppose you guarantee the
+title? Well, how much do you want for your claims?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, whatever you say,&#8221; answered Charley modestly, &#8220;but I
+want two hundred dollars down.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;And about a million apiece, I suppose, for the claims? It
+doesn&#8217;t cost <i>me</i>anything, you know, on an option.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Eh, heh, heh,&#8221; laughed Charley indulgently and Heine, who had
+been looking from face to face, jumped up and barked with delight. &#8220;Eh,
+heh; yes, that&#8217;s good; but you know me, Mr. Holman&#8211;I ain&#8217;t so
+crazy as they think. No, I don&#8217;t talk millions with my mouth full of
+beans; all I want is five hundred apiece. But I got to have two hundred
+down.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh,&#8221; observed Wiley, &#8220;that&#8217;s two dollars for <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_94'></a>94</span>the marriage license and
+the rest for the wedding journey. Well, if it&#8217;s as serious as
+that&#x2500;&#8221; He reached for his check-book and Charley cackled with
+merriment.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, yes,&#8221; he said, &#8220;then I <i>would</i>be crazy. Do you
+know what the Colonel told me?</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;Charley,&#8217; he says, &#8216;whatever you do, don&#8217;t marry no
+talking woman. She&#8217;ll drive you crazy, the same as I am; but don&#8217;t
+you forget that whiskey.&#8217;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, sure,&#8221; exclaimed Wiley, beginning to write out the option,
+&#8220;this money is to buy whiskey for the Colonel!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s it,&#8221; answered Charley. &#8220;He&#8217;s over
+across Death Valley&#8211;in the Ube-Hebes&#8211;but I can&#8217;t find my
+burros. They&#8211;Heine, come here, sir!&#8221; Heine came up cringing and
+Charley slapped him soundly. &#8220;Shut up!&#8221; he commanded and as Heine
+crept away Death Valley began to mutter to himself. &#8220;No, of course not;
+he&#8217;s dead,&#8221; he ended ineffectively, and Wiley looked up from his
+writing.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Who&#8217;s dead?&#8221; he inquired, but Charley shook his head and
+listened through the wall.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Look out,&#8221; he said, &#8220;I can hear her coming&#8211;jest give
+me that two hundred now.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, here&#8217;s twenty,&#8221; replied Wiley, passing over the
+money, and then there came a knock at the door.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Come in!&#8221; called out Charley and, as he motioned Wiley to be
+silent, Virginia appeared in the doorway.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_95'></a>95</span>&#8220;Oh!&#8221;
+she cried, &#8220;I didn&#8217;t know you were here!&#8221; But something in the
+way she fixed her eyes on him convinced Wiley that she had known, all the
+same.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Just a matter of business,&#8221; he explained with a flourish,
+&#8220;I&#8217;m considering an option on some of Charley&#8217;s
+claims.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Jest my bum claims!&#8221; mumbled Charley as Virginia glanced at him
+reprovingly. &#8220;Jest them ten up north of the Paymaster.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh,&#8221; she said and drew back towards the door, &#8220;well,
+don&#8217;t let me break up a trade.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;d better sign as a witness,&#8221; spoke up Wiley
+imperturbably, and she stepped over and looked at the paper.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What? All ten of those claims for five hundred apiece? Why, Charley,
+they may be worth millions!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, put it down five million, then,&#8221; suggested Wiley, grimly.
+&#8220;How much do you want for them, Charley?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Five hundred dollars apiece,&#8221; answered Charley promptly,
+&#8220;but they&#8217;s got to be two hundred down.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well?&#8221; inquired Wiley as Virginia still regarded him
+suspiciously, and then he beckoned her outside. &#8220;Say, what&#8217;s the
+matter?&#8221; he asked reproachfully. &#8220;Let the old boy make his
+touch&#8211;he wants that two hundred for grub.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;He does not!&#8221; she spat back. &#8220;I&#8217;m ashamed of you,
+Wiley Holman; taking advantage of a crazy man like that!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_96'></a>96</span>&#8220;Well, I
+don&#8217;t know,&#8221; he began in a slow, drawling tone that cut her to the
+quick, &#8220;he may not be as crazy as you think. I&#8217;ve just been offered
+a half interest in the Paymaster if I&#8217;ll come out and take charge of
+it.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You <i>have</i>!&#8221; she cried, starting back and staring as he
+regarded her with steely eyes. &#8220;Well, are you going to take it?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know,&#8221; he answered. &#8220;Thought I&#8217;d
+better see you first&#8211;it might be taking advantage of Blount.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Of Blount!&#8221; she echoed and then she saw his smile and realized
+that he was making fun of her.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; went on Wiley, whose feelings had been ruffled, &#8220;he
+may be crazy, too. He sure was looking the part.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Now don&#8217;t you laugh at me!&#8221; she burst out hotly.
+&#8220;This isn&#8217;t as funny as you think. What&#8217;s going to happen to
+us if you take over that mine? I declare, you&#8217;ve been standing in with
+Blount!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I knew it,&#8221; he mocked. &#8220;You catch me every time. But what
+about Charley here&#8211;does he get his money or not?&#8221; He turned to Death
+Valley, who was standing in the doorway watching their quarrel with startled
+eyes. &#8220;I guess you&#8217;re right, Charley,&#8221; he added, smiling
+wryly. &#8220;It must be something in the air.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Are you going to take that offer,&#8221; demanded Virginia,
+wrathfully, &#8220;and rob me and mother of our mine?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_97'></a>97</span>&#8220;Oh,
+no,&#8221; he answered, &#8220;I turned it down cold. I knew you wouldn&#8217;t
+approve.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You knew nothing of the kind!&#8221; she came back sharply, the angry
+tears starting in her eyes. &#8220;And I don&#8217;t believe he ever made
+it.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, ask him,&#8221; suggested Wiley, and went back into the house,
+whereupon Death Valley closed the door.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; whispered Charley, &#8220;it&#8217;s in the
+air&#8211;there&#8217;s electricity everywhere. But what about that
+option?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Wiley sat at the table, his eyes big with anger, his jaw set hard against the
+pain, and then he reached for his pen.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;All right, Charley,&#8221; he said, &#8220;but don&#8217;t you let
+&#8217;em kid you&#8211;you&#8217;ve got the best business head in
+town.&#8221;</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_98'></a>98</span><a id='link_11'></a>CHAPTER XI<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>A Touch</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>The wrath of a man who is slow to anger cannot lightly be turned aside and,
+though Virginia drooped her lashes, the son of Honest John brushed past her
+without a word. She had followed him gratuitously to Death Valley&#8217;s cabin
+and seriously questioned his good faith; and then, to fan the flames of his just
+resentment, she had suggested that he was telling an untruth. He had told
+her&#8211;and it seemed impossible&#8211;that Blount had offered him half the
+Paymaster, on shares; but the following morning, without a word of warning, the
+Paymaster Mine shut down. The pumps stopped abruptly, all the tools were
+removed, and as the foreman and miners who had been their boarders rolled up
+their beds and prepared to depart, the high-headed Virginia buried her face in
+her hands and retired to her bedroom to weep. And then to cap it all that
+miserable assayer sent in his belated report.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Gold&#8211;a trace. Silver&#8211;blank. Copper&#8211;blank.
+Lead&#8211;blank. Zinc&#8211;blank.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The heavy white quartz which Wiley had made so much of was as barren as the
+dirt in the street. It had absolutely no value and&#8211;oh, wretched <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_99'></a>99</span>thought&#8211;he had
+offered to buy her stock out of charity! Out of the bigness of his
+heart&#8211;and then she had insulted him and accused him of robbing Death
+Valley Charley! In the light of this new day Death Valley was a magnate, with
+his check for two hundred dollars, and Virginia and her mother must either
+starve on in silence or accept the bounty of the Holmans. It was maddening,
+unbelievable&#8211;and to think what he had suffered from her, before he had
+finally gone off in a rage. But how sarcastic he had been when she had accused
+him of robbing Charley, and of standing in with Blount! He had said things then
+which no woman could forgive; no, not even if she were in the wrong. He had led
+her on to make unconsidered statements, smiling provokingly all the time; and
+then, when she had doubted that Blount had offered him the mine, he had said,
+&#8220;Well, ask him!&#8221; and shut the door in her face! And now, without
+asking, the question had been answered, for Blount had closed down the mine in
+despair and gone back to his bank in Vegas.</p>
+
+<p>The Paymaster was dead, and Keno was dead; and their eight hundred dollars
+was gone. All the profits from the miners which they had counted upon so
+confidently had disappeared in a single day; and now her mother would have to
+pawn her diamonds again in order to get out of town. Virginia paced up and down,
+debating the situation and seeking some possible escape, but every door was
+closed. She could not appeal to Wiley, <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_100'></a>100</span>for she knew her stock was worthless, and her hold
+on his sympathies was broken. He was a Yankee and cold, and his anger was
+cold&#8211;the kind that will not burn itself out. When he had loved her it was
+different; there was a spark of human kindness to which she could always appeal;
+but now he was as cold and passionless as a statue; with his jaws shut down like
+iron. She gave up and went out to see Charley.</p>
+
+<p>Death Valley was celebrating his sudden rise to affluence by a resort to the
+flowing bowl and when Virginia stepped in she found all three phonographs
+running and a two-gallon demijohn on the table. Death Valley himself was
+reposing in an armchair with one leg wrapped up in a white bandage and as she
+stopped the grinding phonographs and made a grab for the demijohn he held up two
+fingers reprovingly.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m snake-bit,&#8221; he croaked. &#8220;Don&#8217;t take away
+my medicine. Do you want your Uncle Charley to die?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why, Charley!&#8221; she cried, &#8220;you know you aren&#8217;t
+snake-bit! The rattlesnakes are all holed up now.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes&#8211;holed up,&#8221; he nodded; &#8220;that&#8217;s how I got
+snake-bit. It was fourteen years ago, this month. Didn&#8217;t you ever hear of
+my snake-mine&#8211;it was one of the marvels of Arizona&#8211;a two-foot
+stratum of snakes. I used to hook &#8217;em out as fast as I needed them and try
+out the oil to cure rheumatism; but one day I dropped one and he bit me on the
+leg, and it&#8217;s been bad that same <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_101'></a>101</span>month ever since. Would you like to see the bite?
+There&#8217;s the pattern of a diamond-back just as plain as anything, so I know
+it must have been a rattler.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He reached resolutely for the demijohn and took a hearty drink whereat
+Virginia sat down with a sigh.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll tell you something,&#8221; went on Charley confidentially.
+&#8220;Do you know why a snake shakes its tail? It&#8217;s generating
+electricity to shoot in the pisen, and the longer a rattlesnake
+rattles&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, now, Charley,&#8221; she begged, &#8220;can&#8217;t you see
+I&#8217;m in trouble? Well, stop drinking and listen to what I say. You can help
+me a lot, if you will.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Who&#8211;me?&#8221; demanded Charley, and then he roused himself up
+and motioned for a dipper of water. &#8220;Well, all right,&#8221; he said,
+&#8220;I hate to kill this whiskey&#x2500;&#8221; He drank in great gulps and
+made a wry face as he rose up and looked around.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Where&#8217;s Heine?&#8221; he demanded. &#8220;Here Heine,
+Heine!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You drove him under the house,&#8221; answered Virginia petulantly,
+&#8220;playing all three phonographs at once. Really, it&#8217;s awful, Charley,
+and you&#8217;d better look out or mother will give you the bounce.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Scolding women&#8211;talking women,&#8221; mused Charley drunkenly.
+&#8220;Well; what do you want me to do?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m <i>not</i>scolding!&#8221; denied Virginia, and then as he
+leered at her she gave way weakly to tears. &#8220;Well, I can&#8217;t help
+it,&#8221; she wailed, &#8220;she scolds me all the time and&#8211;she simply
+drives me to it.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_102'></a>102</span>&#8220;They&#8217;ll drive you crazy,&#8221;
+murmured Charley philosophically. &#8220;There&#8217;s nothing to do but hide
+out. But I must save the rest of that whiskey for the Colonel.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He reached for the demijohn and corked it stoutly, after which he turned to
+Virginia.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Do you want some money?&#8221; he asked more kindly, bringing forth
+his roll as he spoke. &#8220;Well here, Virginny, there&#8217;s one hundred
+dollars&#8211;it&#8217;s nothing to your Uncle Charley. No, I got plenty more;
+and I&#8217;m going up the Ube-Hebes just as soon as I find my burros. They must
+be over to Cottonwood&#8211;there&#8217;s lots of sand over there and Jinny,
+she&#8217;s hell for rolling. No, take the money; I got it from Wiley Holman and
+he&#8217;s got plenty more.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He dropped it in her lap, but she jumped up hastily and put it back in his
+hands.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, not that money,&#8221; she said, &#8220;but listen to me, Charley;
+here&#8217;s what I want you to do. I&#8217;ve got some stock in the Paymaster
+Mine that Wiley was trying to buy; but now&#8211;oh, you saw how he treated me
+yesterday&#8211;he wouldn&#8217;t take it, if he knew. But Charley, you take it;
+and the next time you see him&#8211;well, try to get ten cents a share. We want
+to go away, Charley; because the mine is closed down and&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, yes, Virginny,&#8221; spoke up Death Valley, soothingly,
+&#8220;I&#8217;ll get you the money, right away.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But don&#8217;t you tell him!&#8221; she warned in a panic,
+&#8220;because&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_103'></a>103</span>&#8220;You ought
+to be ashamed,&#8221; said Charley reprovingly and went out to hunt up his
+burros. Virginia lingered about, looking off across the desert at the road down
+which Wiley had sped, and at last she bowed her head. Those last words of
+Charley&#8217;s still rang in her ears and when, towards evening, he started off
+down the road she watched him out of sight.</p>
+
+<p>It was a long, dry road, this highway to Vegas, but twenty miles out, at
+Government Wells, there was water, and a good place to camp. Charley stopped
+there that night, and for three days more, until at last in the distance he saw
+Wiley&#8217;s white racer at the tip of a streamer of dust. He went by like the
+wind but when he spied Charley he slowed down and backed up to his camp.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Hel-lo there, Old Timer,&#8221; he hailed in surprise, &#8220;what are
+you doing, away out here?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, rambling around,&#8221; responded Charley airily, waving his hand
+at the world at large. &#8220;It&#8217;s good for man to be alone, away from
+them scolding women.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The shadow of a smile passed over Wiley&#8217;s bronzed face and then he
+became suddenly grim.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Bum scripture, Charley,&#8221; he said, nodding shortly, &#8220;but
+you may be right, at that. What&#8217;s the excitement around beautiful
+Keno?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know,&#8221; lied Charley. &#8220;Ain&#8217;t been in
+town since you was there, but she was sure booming, then. Say, I&#8217;ve got
+some stock in that Paymaster Mine that I might let you have, for cash. <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_104'></a>104</span>I&#8217;m burnt out on
+the town&#8211;they&#8217;s too many people in it&#8211;I&#8217;m going back to
+the Ube-Hebes.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, take me along, then,&#8221; suggested Wiley, &#8220;and
+we&#8217;ll bring back a car-load of that gold. Maybe then I could buy your
+stock.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, you buy it now,&#8221; went on Charley insistently.
+&#8220;I&#8217;m broke and I need the money.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, you do, eh?&#8221; jested Wiley. &#8220;Still thinking about that
+wedding trip? Well, I may need that money myself.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Eh, heh, heh,&#8221; laughed Charley, and drawing forth a package he
+began to untie the strings. &#8220;Eh, heh; yes, that&#8217;s right; I&#8217;ve
+been watching you young folks for some time. But I&#8217;ll sell you this stock
+of mine cheap.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He unrolled a cloth and flashed the certificates hopefully, but Wiley did not
+even look at them.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Nope,&#8221; he said, &#8220;no Paymaster for me. I wouldn&#8217;t
+accent that stock as a gift.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But it&#8217;s rich!&#8221; protested Charley, his eyes beginning to
+get wild. &#8220;It&#8217;s full of silver and gold. I can feel the electricity
+when I walk over the property&#8211;there&#8217;s millions and millions, right
+there!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, there is, eh?&#8221; observed Wiley, and, snatching away the
+certificates, he ran them rapidly over. &#8220;Where&#8217;d you get
+these?&#8221; he asked, and Death Valley blinked, though he looked him straight
+in the eyes.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why, I&#8211;bought &#8217;em,&#8221; he faltered,
+&#8220;and&#8211;the Colonel gave me some. And&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_105'></a>105</span>&#8220;How much
+do you want for them?&#8221; snapped Wiley, and Charley blinked again.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Ten cents a share,&#8221; he answered, and Wiley&#8217;s stern face
+hardened.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You take these back,&#8221; he said, &#8220;and tell her I don&#8217;t
+want &#8217;em.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Who&#8211;Virginny?&#8221; inquired Death Valley, and then he kicked
+his leg and looked around for Heine.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Now, here,&#8221; spoke up Wiley, &#8220;don&#8217;t go to slapping
+that dog. How much do you want for the bunch?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Four hundred dollars!&#8221; barked Charley, and stood watchful and
+expectant as Wiley sat deep in thought.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;All right,&#8221; he said, and as he wrote out the check Death Valley
+chuckled and leered at Heine.</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_106'></a>106</span><a id='link_12'></a>CHAPTER XII<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>The Expert</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>Like the way of an eagle in the air or the way of a man with a maid, the ways
+of a mining promoter must be shrouded in mystery and doubt. For when he wants to
+buy, no man will sell; and when he wants to sell, no man will buy; and when he
+will neither buy nor sell he is generally suspected of both. Wiley Holman had
+two fights and a charge of buckshot to prove that he wanted the Paymaster, and
+the fact that he had refused a half interest for nothing to prove that he did
+not want it. Also he had sold his tax-title to the property for the sum of one
+hundred dollars. What then did it signify when he bought Virginia&#8217;s
+despised stock for four hundred dollars, cash down? The man who could answer
+that could explain the way of a man with a maid.</p>
+
+<p>Samuel J. Blount made the claim&#8211;and he had his pile to prove
+it&#8211;that he could think a little closer than most men. A little closer, and
+a little farther; but the Paymaster had been his downfall. He had played the
+long game to get possession of the mine, only to find he had bought a white
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_107'></a>107</span>elephant. Every day
+that he held it he had thrown good money after bad and he sent out a search
+party for Wiley Holman. Wiley had refused half the mine, but that only proved
+that half of the mine did not appeal to him&#8211;perhaps he would take it all.
+Samuel J. had been a student for a good many years in the school of predatory
+business and he had learned the rules of the game. He knew that the buyer always
+decried the goods and magnified each tiny defect, whereas the seller by as
+natural a process played up every virtue to the limit. But any man who inspected
+the goods was a potential buyer of the same, and Wiley had shown more than a
+passing interest in the fate of the unlucky Paymaster. And Wiley was a mining
+engineer.</p>
+
+<p>They met in the glassed-in office of Blount in the ornate Bank of Vegas and
+for a half an hour or more Wiley sat tipped back in his chair while Blount
+talked of everything in general. It was a way he had, never to approach anything
+directly; but Wiley favored more direct methods.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I understood,&#8221; he remarked, bringing his chair down with a bang,
+&#8220;that you wanted to see me on business?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, yes, Wiley,&#8221; soothed Blount, &#8220;now please don&#8217;t
+rush off&#8211;I wanted to see you about the Paymaster.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, shoot,&#8221; returned Wiley, &#8220;but don&#8217;t ask my
+advice, unless you&#8217;re ready to pay for it.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He tipped back his chair and sat waiting patiently <span class='pagenum
+pncolor'><a id='page_108'></a>108</span>while Blount unraveled his thoughts. He
+could think closer than most men, but not quicker, and the Paymaster was a
+tangled affair.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I have been told,&#8221; he began at last, &#8220;that you are still
+buying Paymaster stock. Or at least&#8211;well, a check of yours came through
+here endorsed by Death Valley Charley, and Virginia Huff. Oh, yes, yes;
+that&#8217;s your business, of course; but here&#8217;s the point I&#8217;m
+coming to; it won&#8217;t do you any good to buy in that stock because
+I&#8217;ve got a majority of it right here in my vault. If you want to control
+the Paymaster, don&#8217;t go to someone else&#8211;I&#8217;m the man you want
+to see.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He tapped himself on the breast and smiled impressively, and Wiley nodded his
+head.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;All right,&#8221; he said imperturbably, &#8220;when I want the
+Paymaster Mine I&#8217;ll know right where to go.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, you come to me,&#8221; went on Blount after a minute, &#8220;and
+I&#8217;ll do the best I can.&#8221; He paused expectantly, but Wiley did not
+speak, so he went on blandly, as before. &#8220;The stock, of course, is
+nonassessable and the taxes are very small. I intend from now on to keep them
+paid up, so there will be no further tax sales. The stock of Mrs. Huff, which I
+now hold as collateral security, is practically mine already, as she has
+defaulted on her first month&#8217;s interest and is preparing to leave the
+state. Of course, there is the stock which your father is holding&#8211;as I
+calculate, something over two hundred thousand shares&#8211;and what little
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_109'></a>109</span>remains outside;
+but if you are interested in the mine I am the man to talk to, so what would you
+like to propose?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well,&#8221; began Wiley, and then he stopped and seemed to be lost in
+thought. &#8220;I&#8217;ll tell you,&#8221; he said, &#8220;I was interested in
+the Paymaster&#8211;I believe there&#8217;s something there; but I&#8217;ve got
+some other propositions that I can handle a little easier, so if you don&#8217;t
+mind we&#8217;ll wait a while.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, but Wiley,&#8221; protested Blount as his man rose up to go,
+&#8220;now just sit down; I&#8217;m not quite through. Now I know just as well
+as you do that you take a great interest in that mine. Your troubles with Mrs.
+Huff and Stiff Neck George prove conclusively that such is the case; and I am
+convinced that, either from your father or some other source, you have valuable
+inside information. Now I must admit that I&#8217;m not a mining man and my
+management was not a success; but with your technical education and all the
+rest, I am convinced that the results would be different. No, there&#8217;s no
+use denying it, because I know myself that you&#8217;ve been buying up Paymaster
+stock.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Sure,&#8221; agreed Wiley, &#8220;I bought four hundred dollars worth.
+That would break the Bank of Vegas. But you&#8217;ve got lots of money&#8211;why
+don&#8217;t you hire a competent mining man and go after that lost ore-body
+yourself?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I may do that,&#8221; replied Blount easily, &#8220;but in the
+meantime why not make me a reasonable offer, or take the mine on
+shares?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_110'></a>110</span>&#8220;If the
+Paymaster,&#8221; observed Wiley, &#8220;was the only mine in the world,
+I&#8217;d make you a proposition in a minute. But a man in my position
+doesn&#8217;t have to buy his mines, and I never work anything on
+shares.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, now Wiley, I&#8217;ve got another proposition, which you may or
+may not approve; but there&#8217;s no harm, I hope, if I mention it. You know
+there&#8217;s been a difference between me and your father since&#8211;well,
+since the Paymaster shut down. I respect him very much and have nothing but the
+kindliest feelings towards him but he&#8211;well, you know how it is. But I have
+been informed, Wiley, that since Colonel Huff&#8217;s death, your father has
+been bidding for his stock. In fact, I have seen a letter written to Mrs. Huff
+in which he offers her ten cents a share. Now, of course, if you want to gain
+control of the company, I&#8217;m willing to do what&#8217;s right; and so,
+after thinking it over, I have come to the conclusion that I will accept that
+offer now.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Umm,&#8221; responded Wiley, squinting his eyes down shrewdly,
+&#8220;how much would that come to, in all?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, twenty-one thousand, eight hundred dollars, for what I received
+from Mrs. Huff; but of course&#8211;well, he&#8217;d have to buy a little more
+of me in order to get positive control.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;How much more?&#8221; asked Wiley, but Blount&#8217;s crooked mouth
+pulled down in a crafty smile.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;We can discuss that later,&#8221; he suggested mildly. &#8220;Do you
+think he will buy the stock?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_111'></a>111</span>&#8220;Not if he
+takes my advice,&#8221; answered Wiley coldly. &#8220;I can buy the whole block
+for eight hundred.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;How?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why, by loaning Mrs. Huff the eight hundred dollars with which to take
+up her note.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I doubt it,&#8221; replied Blount, and his mild, deceiving eyes took
+on the faintest shadow of a threat. &#8220;Mrs. Huff has defaulted on her first
+month&#8217;s interest and, according to the terms of her note, the collateral
+automatically passes to me.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, keep it, then,&#8221; burst out Wiley, &#8220;and I hope to God
+you get stuck for every cent. Your old mine isn&#8217;t worth a
+dam&#8217;!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why&#8211;Wiley!&#8221; gasped Blount, quite shaken for the moment by
+this disastrous piece of news, &#8220;what reason have you for thinking
+that?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Give me a hundred dollars as an advising expert and I&#8217;ll tell
+you&#8211;and show you, too.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, I hardly think so,&#8221; answered Blount at last. &#8220;And,
+Wiley, you don&#8217;t think so, either.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No?&#8221; challenged Wiley. &#8220;Well, you just watch my smoke and
+see whether I do or not.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He had closed the door before Blount dragged him back like a haggling,
+relentless pawn-broker.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Make me a proposition,&#8221; he clamored desperately, &#8220;and if
+it&#8217;s anywhere in reason I&#8217;ll accept it.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;All right,&#8221; answered Wiley, &#8220;but show me what you&#8217;ve
+got&#8211;I don&#8217;t buy any cat in a bag.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;And will you make me an offer?&#8221; demanded <span class='pagenum
+pncolor'><a id='page_112'></a>112</span>Blount hopefully. &#8220;Will you take
+the whole thing off my hands?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I will if it&#8217;s good&#8211;but you&#8217;ll have to show me first
+that you&#8217;ve got a controlling share of the stock. And another thing, Mr.
+Blount, since our time is equally valuable, let&#8217;s cut out this
+four-flushing stuff. If I&#8217;d wanted your mine so awfully bad I&#8217;d have
+held on to it when the title was mine; but I turned it back to you, just to let
+you look it over, and to keep the peace for once. But now, if you&#8217;re
+satisfied, I might look it over; but it&#8217;ll be under a bond and lease. The
+parties I represent are strictly business, and we make it a rule to tie
+everything up tight before we put out a cent. I&#8217;ll want an option on every
+share you have, and I can&#8217;t offer more than ten per cent royalty; but to
+compensate for that I&#8217;ll agree to pay in full or vacate within six months
+from date.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But how much?&#8221; demanded Blount, brushing aside all the details,
+&#8220;how much will you pay me a share?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll pay you,&#8221; stated Wiley, &#8220;what I paid Death
+Valley Charley, and that&#8217;s five cents a share.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Five cents!&#8221; shrilled Blount, rising up in protest, yet jumping
+at the price like a trout, &#8220;five cents&#8211;why, that&#8217;s practically
+nothing!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Just five cents more than nothing,&#8221; observed Wiley judicially
+and waited for Blount to rave.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But your father,&#8221; suggested Blount with a knowing leer,
+&#8220;is in the market at ten.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, not in the market. He offered that to the <span class='pagenum
+pncolor'><a id='page_113'></a>113</span>Widow, but now the deal is off, because
+all of her stock has changed hands.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, the stock is the same,&#8221; suggested Blount insinuatingly.
+&#8220;Give me seven and a half and split the profits.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Now don&#8217;t be a crook,&#8221; rapped out Wiley angrily.
+&#8220;Just because you would rob your own father doesn&#8217;t by any means
+prove that I will.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, you certainly implied,&#8221; protested Blount with injured
+innocence, &#8220;that this stock was to be sold to your father. And if it is
+worth that to him, why is it worth less to you? You must be working
+together.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, we&#8217;re not,&#8221; declared Wiley. &#8220;I&#8217;m in on
+this alone, and have been, from the start. And just to set your mind at
+rest&#8211;he didn&#8217;t make that offer because he wanted the stock, but to
+kind of help out the Widow.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Ah,&#8221; smiled Blount, and nodded his head wisely, but there was a
+playful light in his eyes.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes&#8211;ah!&#8221; flashed back Wiley, &#8220;and if you think
+you&#8217;re so danged smart I&#8217;ll let you keep your old mine a few
+months.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He started for the door again but Blount dragged him back and laid a metal
+box on the table.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, let&#8217;s get down to business,&#8221; he said with quick
+decision, and spread a heap of papers before his eyes. &#8220;There are all my
+Paymaster shares, and if you&#8217;ll take them off my hands you can have them
+for six cents, cash.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I said five,&#8221; returned Wiley, as he ran through <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_114'></a>114</span>the papers, &#8220;and an
+option to buy in six months. But this stock of the Widow&#8217;s&#8211;I
+can&#8217;t take that at any price&#8211;the Colonel isn&#8217;t legally
+dead.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What?&#8221; yelled Blount, and sat down in a chair while he stared at
+the inscrutable Wiley.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;His body was never found and, under the law, he can&#8217;t be
+declared dead for seven years. Mrs. Huff had no right to sell his
+stock.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, but he&#8217;s dead, Wiley,&#8221; assured Blount. &#8220;Surely
+there&#8217;s no doubt of that. They found his burro, and his letters and
+everything; and where he had run wild through the sand. If that storm
+hadn&#8217;t come up they would certainly have found his body&#8211;the Indian
+trailers said so; so why stick on a technicality?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s the law,&#8221; said Wiley. &#8220;You know it yourself.
+But of course, if you want to vote this stock at a Directors&#8217; meeting we
+can still do business on that lease.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, my Lord!&#8221; sighed Blount, and after a heavy silence he rose
+up and paced the floor. As for Wiley, he ran through the papers, making notes of
+dates and numbers, and then grimly began to fill out a legal blank.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s the option,&#8221; he said, passing over a paper,
+&#8220;and I see now how you double-crossed my father. So you don&#8217;t need
+to sign unless you want to.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why&#8211;er&#8211;what&#8217;s that?&#8221; exclaimed Blount, coming
+out of his abstraction as Wiley slapped down the bundle of certificates.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I see by these endorsements,&#8221; replied Wiley, <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_115'></a>115</span>&#8220;that you sold out
+before the panic and bought in all this stock afterwards.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Blount started and a red line mounted up to his eyes as he hastily glanced
+over the option.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, I&#8217;ll sign it,&#8221; he mumbled, and reached for the pen,
+but Wiley checked his hand.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, you ring for a notary,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I want that
+signature acknowledged.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The notary came and ran perfunctorily through his formula, after which he
+left them alone.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Now here&#8217;s the bond and lease,&#8221; went on Wiley curtly,
+&#8220;so bring on your Board of Directors and let&#8217;s get this business
+over. By rights I ought to kill you.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>There was a special meeting then of the Board of Directors of The Paymaster
+Mining and Milling Company, and when the bond and lease was properly drawn up,
+they signed it and had it witnessed. Then once more the tense silence came over
+the room and Wiley rose to go.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well,&#8221; he said, &#8220;I&#8217;ve been waiting for ten years
+just to get these papers in my hands. And now, you danged crook, just to hit you
+where you live, I&#8217;m going to make a fortune.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;A fortune!&#8221; echoed Blount, and then he clasped his hands and
+sank down weakly in a chair. &#8220;I knew it!&#8221; he moaned, &#8220;I knew
+it all the time&#8211;you&#8217;ve been trying to get that mine for months. But
+what is it, Wiley? Have you located the lost vein? Oh, I knew it; all the
+time!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, you did,&#8221; jeered Wiley, &#8220;you didn&#8217;t know <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_116'></a>116</span>anything, except how to
+grab hold of the stock. What good was it to you after you&#8217;d got the old
+mine&#8211;you didn&#8217;t know what to do with it! All you knew was how to rob
+the widow and the orphan and deprive better men of their good name. You wait
+till I tell my Old Man about this&#8211;and how you were selling him out, all
+the time. If it wasn&#8217;t for you he&#8217;d never been called Honest John by
+a bunch of these tin-horns and crooks. But I&#8217;ll show you who&#8217;s
+honest&#8211;I&#8217;m going to skin you alive for what you did to my father.
+You wait till I make my clean-up!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But what is it, Wiley?&#8221; cried Blount, despairingly. &#8220;Have
+you really discovered the lost vein?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; grinned Wiley, &#8220;but I&#8217;ve consulted an expert
+and he tells me the mine is worth millions!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What&#8211;millions?&#8221; burst out Blount, struggling up to his
+feet. &#8220;Now here, Wiley Holman; I want that option back! You secured it by
+fraud and misrepresentation and by concealment of the actual facts. I&#8217;ll
+have the law on you&#8211;I&#8217;ll break the contract&#8211;you came here with
+intent to defraud!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t you think it!&#8221; returned Wiley, thrusting out his
+lip. &#8220;You thought you were trimming me, like taking candy from a baby. Why
+didn&#8217;t <i>you</i>get an expert? I offered to hire out to you,
+myself!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh&#8211;hell!&#8221; choked Blount. &#8220;Well, tell me the
+worst&#8211;where was it he told you to dig?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why right down the shaft,&#8221; answered Wiley blandly.
+&#8220;He&#8217;s a new kind of mining expert and he locates the gold by
+electricity.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_117'></a>117</span>&#8220;By
+electricity!&#8221; exclaimed Blount, and as he perceived Wiley&#8217;s smile he
+straightened up in a rage. &#8220;I don&#8217;t believe a word of it. Who is
+this man, anyway? I never heard of such a thing before!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, yes!&#8221; said Wiley, as he stepped out the door, &#8220;you
+know the professor well. They call him Death Valley Charley.&#8221;</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_118'></a>118</span><a id='link_13'></a>CHAPTER XIII<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>A Sack of Cats</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>The weary work of packing had gone on endlessly in the bare rooms of the old
+Huff house and now Virginia, with two kittens in her arms and the mother cat
+following behind, was passing it all in review. A solid row of packing boxes,
+arrayed on the front gallery, awaited the motor truck; and here and there in
+corners lay piles of discarded treasures that were destined to go to Charley for
+loot. He was hanging about, with his pistol well in front, on the watch for
+Stiff Neck George; but up to that moment the Widow had not said the word that
+would start the mad rush for plunder. Her trunks were all packed, the china
+nested in barrels and the bedding sewed up in burlap; but still from day to day
+she put off the evil moment, and Virginia did not try to hurry her. The house
+had been their home for ten years and more and, though Los Angeles would be fine
+with its palm trees and bungalows, it was a strange land, far away. And what
+would they do in that city of strange faces and hustling, eager real-estate
+agents? It was that which held the Widow back.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_119'></a>119</span>In the city
+there would be rent and water to pay for, and electric lights and wood; but in
+desolate Keno rent and water and wood were free, and the electric light company
+had taken down its poles. If the town were not so dead&#8211;if they could only
+make a living,&#8211;the Widow started up for the thousandth time, for she heard
+a racing auto down the street. It was Wiley Holman, as sure as shooting,
+and&#8211;well, Wiley was not so bad. It was his money, really, that had enabled
+them to pack up, and would enable them to go, when they started; and the Widow
+knew, as well as she knew anything, that he had designs upon the mine. He was
+after the Paymaster, and if he ever got hold of it&#8211;well, Keno would come
+back to its own. She rushed to the door and looked out into the street; and when
+she met Virginia, running away from meeting Wiley, she caught her and whirled
+her about.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Now you go back there,&#8221; she hissed in her ear, &#8220;and I want
+you to be nice to him&#8211;he may have come back about the mine.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Virginia went out the door and, as Wiley Holman saw her standing there, he
+leapt out and came up the steps.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, well,&#8221; he said, &#8220;just in time to say good-by. And I
+wanted to see you, too.&#8221; He smiled down at her boyishly and
+Virginia&#8217;s eyes turned gentle as he took both her hands in his.
+&#8220;I&#8217;ve got some news to tell you,&#8221; he burst out eagerly;
+&#8220;not news that will buy you anything but something to remember when
+you&#8217;re gone.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_120'></a>120</span>He led her to a
+box and, taking one of the kittens, sat down with his back to the door. Then he
+rose up hastily at a sudden rustle from behind and glanced inquiringly at
+Virginia.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s just mother,&#8221; she said and at the mention of her name
+Mrs. Huff came boldly out.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why, good morning, Wiley,&#8221; she said, smiling over-sweetly.
+&#8220;Seems to me you&#8217;re awful early.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; answered Wiley, trying vainly to seem polite, &#8220;I
+just stopped off to say good-by!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He offered her his hand, but the Widow ignored the hint and took the
+conversation to herself.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, I&#8217;m real glad you came,&#8221; she went on sociably,
+&#8220;because I wanted to see you on a matter of business. In fact, I&#8217;ve
+been kind of waiting, on the chance that you might come through. Oh, I know that
+I don&#8217;t count, but you can see Virginia afterwards; and I wanted to
+consult you about my stock. Yes, I know,&#8221; she hastened on, as his face
+turned grim, &#8220;I haven&#8217;t treated you fairly at all. I should have
+taken your offer, when you said you&#8217;d give ten cents for every share of
+stock that I had. But I took them to that Blount and he gave me next to nothing,
+and now he&#8217;s holding the stock. But what I wanted to ask was: Isn&#8217;t
+there some way we can arrange it to get it back and sell it to your
+father?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, I don&#8217;t think so,&#8221; answered Wiley, putting down the
+kitten, &#8220;and&#8211;well, I guess I&#8217;d better go.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He rose up reluctantly, but the Widow would not hear to it and Virginia
+beckoned him to stay.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_121'></a>121</span>&#8220;Well, now
+listen,&#8221; persisted the Widow. &#8220;That stock certainly must be worth
+something.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Not to you,&#8221; returned Wiley. &#8220;I saw Blount only yesterday
+and he says it belongs to him.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, it does not!&#8221; declared the Widow, but as no one
+contradicted her, she took a different tack. &#8220;Are you coming back?&#8221;
+she asked, smiling brightly. &#8220;Are you going to open up the
+mine?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Wiley&#8217;s face fell for a moment.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What gave you that idea?&#8221; he inquired bluffly, but the Widow
+pointed a finger and laughed roguishly.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I knew it,&#8221; she cried. &#8220;I&#8217;ve known it for
+months&#8211;and I wish you the best of good luck.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, you do, eh?&#8221; grunted Wiley, and stood undecided as Mrs. Huff
+continued her assurances. He had come there to see Virginia, but business was
+business and the Widow seemed almost reasonable. &#8220;Huh, that&#8217;s
+funny,&#8221; he said at last. &#8220;I thought you had it in for me.
+What&#8217;s the chance for getting a quit-claim?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;A quit-claim!&#8221; echoed the Widow, suddenly pricking up her ears.
+&#8220;Why, what do you want that for, now?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, you&#8217;re going away,&#8221; explained Wiley quietly,
+&#8220;and it might come in handy, later, if I should want to take over the
+mine. Of course you&#8217;ve got no title&#8211;and no stock, for that
+matter&#8211;but I&#8217;ll give you a hundred dollars, all the same.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll take it!&#8221; snapped the Widow and Wiley broke out
+laughing as he reached for his fountain pen.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_122'></a>122</span>&#8220;Zingo!&#8221; he grinned and then he bit his
+lip, for the Widow was quick to take offence. &#8220;Of course,&#8221; he went
+on, &#8220;this doesn&#8217;t affect your stock if you should ever get it back
+from Blount. That is still your property, according to law, and this quit-claim
+just guarantees me free entry and possession. We&#8217;ll get Virginia to
+witness the agreement.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;All right,&#8221; bridled the Widow and watched him cynically as he
+wrote out the quit-claim and check. &#8220;Oh! Actually!&#8221; she mocked as he
+put the check in her hands. &#8220;I just wanted to see if you were
+bluffing.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, you know now,&#8221; he answered and sat in stony silence until
+she departed with a triumphant smirk. Then he glanced at Virginia and motioned
+towards the street, but she sighed and shook her head.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; she said, &#8220;I can&#8217;t leave the house&#8211;mother
+is likely to start any time, now.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I suppose you&#8217;ll be glad to go,&#8221; he suggested at last as
+she sat down and gathered up the kittens. &#8220;The old town is sure awful
+dead.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes&#8211;I guess so,&#8221; she agreed half-heartedly.
+&#8220;You&#8217;d think so, but we don&#8217;t seem to go.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Is there anything I can do for you?&#8221; he inquired after a
+silence. &#8220;You know what I told you once, Virginia.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I know,&#8221; she answered bitterly, &#8220;but&#8211;Oh,
+I&#8217;m ashamed to let you help me, after the way I acted up about
+Charley.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, forget it,&#8221; he said at length. &#8220;I guess I <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_123'></a>123</span>get kind of ugly when
+anyone doubts my good faith. It&#8217;s on account of my father, and calling him
+Honest John&#8211;but say, I forgot to tell the news!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Virginia looked up inquiringly and he beckoned her into the corner where no
+one could overhear his words.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Blount sent for me yesterday&#8211;trying to sell me the mine,&#8221;
+he whispered in her ear, &#8220;and I made him show me his stock. And when I
+looked on the back of his promotion certificates&#8211;the ones he got for
+promoting the mine&#8211;I found by the endorsements that he&#8217;d sold every
+one of them before or during the panic. Do you see? They were street
+certificates, passing from hand to hand without going to the company for
+transfer, but every broker that handled them had written down his name as a
+memorandum of the date and sale. Don&#8217;t you see what he did&#8211;he set
+your father against my father, and my father against yours, and all the time,
+like the crook he is, he was selling them both out for a profit. I could have
+killed him, the old dog, only I thought it would hurt him more to whipsaw him
+out of his mine; but listen now, Virginia, don&#8217;t you think we can be
+friends&#8211;because my father never robbed anybody of a cent! He thought more
+of the Colonel than he did of me; and I&#8217;ve started out, even if it is a
+little late, to prove that he was on the square.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He stopped abruptly, for in his rush of words he had failed to note the anger
+in her eyes, until now she turned and faced him.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_124'></a>124</span>&#8220;Oho!&#8221; she said, &#8220;so that&#8217;s
+your idea&#8211;you&#8217;re going to whipsaw Blount out of his mine?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;If I can!&#8221; hedged Wiley. &#8220;But for the Lord&#8217;s sake,
+Virginia, don&#8217;t tell what I said to your mother! It won&#8217;t make any
+difference, because she&#8217;s given me a quit-claim&#8211;but what&#8217;s the
+use of having any trouble?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, sure enough!&#8221; murmured Virginia, with cutting sarcasm.
+&#8220;She might even demand her rights!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, maybe you <i>like</i>to fight!&#8221; burst out Wiley angrily,
+&#8220;and if you do, all right&#8211;hop to it! But I&#8217;ll tell you one
+thing; if you can&#8217;t be reasonable, I can be just as bullheaded as
+anybody!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, you can,&#8221; she agreed and then she sighed wearily, and waved
+it all away with one hand. &#8220;Well, all right,&#8221; she said,
+&#8220;I&#8217;m so sick and tired of it that I certainly don&#8217;t want any
+more. And since I&#8217;ve taken your money, as you know very well, I&#8217;m
+going to go away and give you peace.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Her eyes blinked fast, to hold back the tears, and once more the son of
+Honest John weakened.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, I don&#8217;t want you to go away,&#8221; he answered gently,
+&#8220;but&#8211;isn&#8217;t there something I can do before you go? I have to
+fight my way, you know that yourself, Virginia; but don&#8217;t let that keep us
+from being friends. I&#8217;m a mining engineer, and I can&#8217;t tell you all
+my plans, because that sure would put me out of business; but why can&#8217;t
+you trust me, and then I&#8217;ll trust you and&#8211;what is it you&#8217;ve
+got on your mind?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_125'></a>125</span>He reached for
+her hand but she drew it away and sat quiet, looking up the street.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You wouldn&#8217;t understand,&#8221; she said with a sigh.
+&#8220;You&#8217;re always thinking about money and mines. But a woman is
+different&#8211;I suppose you&#8217;ll laugh at me, but I&#8217;m worried about
+my cats.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;About your cats!&#8221; he echoed, and she smiled up at him wistfully
+and then looked down at the kittens in her lap.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; she said, &#8220;you know they were left to me when the
+people moved out of town, and now I&#8217;ve got eight of them and I just know
+that old Charley&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;ll starve &#8217;em to death,&#8221; broke in Wiley,
+instantly. &#8220;I know the old tarrier well. You give &#8217;em to me,
+Virginia, and I swear I&#8217;ll take care of &#8217;em just the same as I would
+of&#8211;you.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh,&#8221; smiled Virginia, and then she gave him her hand and the old
+hatred died out in her eyes. &#8220;That&#8217;s good of you, Wiley, and I
+certainly appreciate it; because no one would trust them with Charley. I&#8217;m
+going to take the two kittens, but you can have the rest of them and&#8211;you
+can write to me about them, sometimes.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Every week,&#8221; answered Wiley. &#8220;I&#8217;ll take &#8217;em
+back to the ranch and the girls will look after them when I&#8217;m gone.
+We&#8217;ll have to put them in sacks, but that will be
+better&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, that&#8217;s better than starving,&#8221; assented Virginia
+absently, and Wiley rose suddenly to go. There was something indefinable that
+stood between <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_126'></a>126</span>them,
+and no effort of his could break it down. He shook hands perfunctorily and
+started down the gallery and then abruptly he turned and swung back.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Here,&#8221; he said, throwing her stock down before her, &#8220;I
+told you to hold onto that, once.&#8221;</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_127'></a>127</span><a id='link_14'></a>CHAPTER XIV<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>The Explosion</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>There are moments when his great secret rises to every man&#8217;s lips and
+flutters to wing away; but a thought, a glance, a word said or unsaid, turns it
+back and he holds it more closely. Wiley Holman had a secret which might have
+changed Virginia&#8217;s life and filled every day with joy and hope, but he
+shut down his lips and held it back and spoke kind words instead. There was a
+look in her eyes, a brooding glow of resentment when he spoke of his father and
+hers; and, while he spoke from the heart, she drooped her dark lashes and was
+silent beyond her wont. He gave her much but she gave him little&#8211;and the
+reason she was sorry to leave Keno was the parting with six suffering cats.</p>
+
+<p>There were girls that he knew who would have gone the limit and said
+something about missing Wiley Holman. So he gave her back her stock and put the
+cats in sacks and burnt up the road to the ranch. The next day the news came
+that he had bonded the Paymaster, but Wiley was far away. He caught the Limited
+and went speeding east, and then he came back, headed west; and <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_128'></a>128</span>finally he left Vegas
+followed by four lumbering auto trucks loaded down with freight and men. The
+time had come when he must put his fortunes to the test and Keno awaited him,
+anxiously.</p>
+
+<p>A cold, dusty wind raved down through the pass, driving even old Charley to
+shelter; but as the procession moved in across the desert the city of lost hopes
+came to life. Old grudges were forgotten, the dead past was thrust aside, and
+they lined up to bid him welcome&#8211;Death Valley Charley and Heine, Mrs. Huff
+and Virginia, and the last of ten thousand brave men. For nine years they had
+lived on, firm in their faith in the mighty Paymaster; and now again, for the
+hundredth time, the old hope rose up in their breasts. The town was theirs, they
+had seen it grow from nothing to a city of brick and stone, and they loved its
+ruins still. All it needed was some industry to put blood into its veins and it
+would thrill with energy and life. Even the Widow forgot her envy and her anger
+at his deception and greeted Wiley Holman with a smile.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well&#8211;hello!&#8221; he hailed when he saw her in the crowd.
+&#8220;I thought you were going away.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Not much!&#8221; she returned. &#8220;Bring your men in to dinner.
+I&#8217;m having my dishes unpacked!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Umm&#8211;good!&#8221; responded Wiley and, shrugging his shoulders,
+he led the way on to the mine. There were other faces that he would as soon have
+seen as the Widow&#8217;s fighting mien, and he had brought his own cook along;
+but Mrs. Huff was a lady and <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_129'></a>129</span>as such it was her privilege to claim her
+woman&#8217;s place in the kitchen. The town was part hers and the restaurant
+was her livelihood; and then, of course, there was Virginia. Having bidden her
+good-by, and taken care of her cats, he had reconciled himself to her loss, but
+not even the smile in her welcoming dark eyes could make him quite forget the
+Widow. She was an uncertain quantity, like a stick of frozen dynamite that will
+explode if it is thawed too soon; and there was a bombshell to come which gave
+more than even promise of producing spontaneous combustion. So Wiley sighed as
+he fired his cook, and told his men that they would board with the Widow.</p>
+
+<p>The first dinner was not so much, consisting largely of ham and eggs with the
+chickens out on a strike; but there was plenty of canned stuff and the Widow
+promised wonders when she got all her boxes unpacked. Yet with all her work
+before her and the dishes unwashed, she followed the crowd to the mine. That was
+the day of days, from which Keno would date time if Wiley made his promise good;
+and every man in town, and woman and child, went over to watch them begin. Up
+the old, abandoned road the auto trucks crept and crawled, and the shed and the
+houses that had been prepared by Blount now gave shelter to his hated successor.
+Only one man was absent and he sat on the hill-top, looking down like a lonely
+coyote. It was Stiff Neck George, that specter at the feast, the harbinger of
+evil to come; but as <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_130'></a>130</span>Wiley ordered the empty trucks to back up against
+the dump he glanced at the hill-top and smiled.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ll take back a load of tungsten,&#8221; he announced to the
+drivers and the crowd of onlookers stared.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Just load on that white stuff,&#8221; he explained to the muckers and
+there was a general rush for the dump.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What did you say that stuff was?&#8221; inquired Death Valley Charley,
+after a hasty look at his specimen; and Keno awaited the answer, breathless.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why, that&#8217;s scheelite, Charley,&#8221; replied Wiley
+confidentially, &#8220;and it runs about sixty per cent tungsten. It comes in
+pretty handy to harden those big guns that you hear shooting over in
+France.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, tungsten,&#8221; muttered Charley, blinking wisely at the rock
+while everyone else grabbed a sample. &#8220;Er&#8211;what do you say they use
+it for?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why, to harden high-speed steel for guns and
+turning-tools&#8211;haven&#8217;t you read all about it in the
+papers?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;How much did you say it was worth?&#8221; asked the Widow cautiously,
+and Wiley knew that the bombshell was ignited.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, that&#8217;s a question,&#8221; he began, &#8220;that I can
+answer better when I get a report on this ore. It&#8217;s all mixed up with
+quartz and ought to be milled, by rights, before I even ship it; but since the
+trucks are going back&#8211;well, if it turns out the way I calculate it might
+bring me forty dollars a unit.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_131'></a>131</span>&#8220;A
+unit!&#8221; repeated the Widow, her voice low and measured. &#8220;Well,
+I&#8217;d just like to know how much a unit is?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;A hundredth of the standard of measure&#8211;in this case a ton of
+ore. That would come to twenty pounds.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Twenty pounds! What, of this stuff? And worth forty dollars! Well,
+somebody must be crazy!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, they&#8217;re crazy for it,&#8221; answered Wiley, &#8220;but
+it&#8217;s just a temporary rage, brought on by the European war. The market is
+likely to break any time.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why&#8211;tungsten!&#8221; murmured the Widow. &#8220;Who ever heard
+of such a thing? And it&#8217;s been lying here idle all the time.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;How much would that be a ton?&#8221; piped up someone in the crowd,
+and Mrs. Huff put her head to one side.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Let&#8217;s see,&#8221; she said, &#8220;forty dollars a
+unit&#8211;that&#8217;s one hundredth of a ton. Oh, pshaw, it can&#8217;t be
+that. Let&#8217;s see, twenty pounds at forty dollars&#8211;that&#8217;s two
+dollars a pound; and two thousand pounds, that&#8217;s&#8211;oh, I don&#8217;t
+believe it! I never even heard of tungsten!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, it&#8217;s a new metal,&#8221; replied Wiley ever so softly,
+&#8220;or rather, it&#8217;s an acid. The technical magazines are full of
+articles that tell you all about it. It&#8217;s found in wolframite, and
+hubnerite and so on; but this is calcium tungstate, where it is found in
+connection with lime. The others are combined variously with iron or
+manganese&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_132'></a>132</span>&#8220;Yes,
+manganese,&#8221; broke in Charley importantly. &#8220;I know that
+well&#8211;and wolfite and all the rest. It certainly is wonderful how they
+build them big cannons that will shoot for twenty-two miles. But it&#8217;s
+tungsden that does it, tungsden in connection with electricity and the invisible
+rays of raddium.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, shut up!&#8221; burst out the Widow, thrusting him rudely aside
+and seizing a fresh handful of the rock. &#8220;I just can&#8217;t hardly
+believe it.&#8221; She gazed at the glossy fragments and then at the muckers,
+industriously loading the trucks; and then she cocked her head on one side.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Let&#8217;s see&#8211;two times twenty&#8211;that&#8217;s forty
+dollars a ton. No&#8211;four hundred! Why, no&#8211;four thousand!&#8221; She
+stopped short and made a hurried re-calculation, while a murmur ran through the
+crowd, and then Death Valley Charley gave a whoop.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Four thousand!&#8221; he shouted. &#8220;I told ye! I knowed it! I
+claimed she was rich, all the time!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You did not!&#8221; snapped the Widow, putting her hand under his jaw
+and forcibly stifling his whoops. &#8220;You poor, crazy fool, you knew nothing
+of the kind&#8211;you sold out for five thousand dollars!&#8221; She pushed him
+away with a swift, disdainful shove that sent him reeling through the crowd and
+then she whirled on Wiley. &#8220;And I suppose,&#8221; she accused, &#8220;that
+you knew all the time that this dump here was nothing but tungsten?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, I had a good idea,&#8221; he admitted <span class='pagenum
+pncolor'><a id='page_133'></a>133</span>deprecatingly, &#8220;although
+it&#8217;s yet to be tested out. This is just a sample
+shipment&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, a sample shipment; and at two dollars a pound how much will it
+bring you in? Why, nothing, hardly; a mere bagatelle for a gentleman and a
+scholar like you; but what about me and poor Virginia, slaving around to cook
+your meals? What do we get for all our pains? Oh, I could kill you, you
+scoundrel! You knew it all the time, and yet you let me sell those
+shares!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She choked and Wiley shifted uneasily on the ore-pile, for of course he had
+done just that. To be sure he had urged her to sell them to his father for the
+sum of ten cents a share; but the mention of that fact, in her heated condition,
+would probably gain him nothing with the Widow. She was gasping for breath and,
+if nothing intervened, he was in for the scolding of his life. But it was all in
+the day&#8217;s work and he glanced about for Virginia, to seek comfort from her
+smiling eyes. She would understand now why he had given her back her stock, and
+advised her from the start not to sell; but&#8211;he looked again, for her dark
+orbs were blazing and her lips were moving as with threats.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You knew it all the time!&#8221; screamed the Widow in a frenzy, but
+Wiley barely heard her. He heard her words, for they assaulted his ears in a
+series of screeching crescendos, but it was the unspoken message from the lips
+of Virginia that cut him to the quick. He had expected nothing else from the
+abusive Widow; but certainly, after all the <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_134'></a>134</span>kindnesses he had done her, he was entitled to
+something better from Virginia. Not only had he warned her to hold on to her
+stock, at a time when one word might ruin him; but he had bought it from Charley
+and then given it back, to show how he valued her friendship. And yet now, while
+the others were shouting with joy or rushing to stake out more claims, she stood
+by the Widow and with cruel, voiceless words added her burden to this pæan of
+hate. And she looked just like her mother!</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You shut up, you old cat!&#8221; he burst out fiercely, as the Widow
+rushed in to assault him. &#8220;Shut your mouth and get off my ground!&#8221;
+He drew back his palm to launch a swift blow and then his hand fell slack.
+&#8220;Well, holler then,&#8221; he said, &#8220;what do I give a dam&#8217;
+whether you like the deal or not? You&#8217;d be yammering, just the same. But
+it&#8217;s lucky for you you&#8217;re a woman.&#8221;</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_135'></a>135</span><a id='link_15'></a>CHAPTER XV<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>The God of Ten Per Cent</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>It was the nature of the Widow to resort to violence in every crisis of her
+life and at each fresh memory of the effrontery of Wiley Holman she searched the
+empyrean for words. From the very start he had come to Keno with the intention
+of stealing her mine. First it was his father, who pitied her so much he was
+willing to buy her shares; then it was the tax sale, and he had sneaked in at
+night and tried to jump the Paymaster; then he had deceived her and stood in
+with Blount to make her sell all her stock for a song; and then, oh hateful
+thought, he had actually sold out to Blount for a hundred dollars, cash; only to
+put Blount in the hole and buy the mine back again for the price of the ore on
+the dump!</p>
+
+<p>The Widow poured forth her charges without pausing for breath or noticing
+that her audience had fled, and as Wiley went on about his business she raised
+her voice to a scream. The rest of the Kenoites, and some of the workmen, were
+out staking the nearby hills; but whenever she stopped she thought of some fresh
+duplicity which made reason totter on its throne. He had refused half the mine
+from Blount as a gift and then turned <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_136'></a>136</span>around and bought it all. He had refused to buy her
+shares, time and again, when he knew they were worth a million; and then, to cap
+the climax, he had let her sell to Blount and bought them for nothing from him.
+And even Death Valley Charley&#8211;poor, crazy, brain-sick Charley&#8211;he had
+robbed him of all ten of his claims!</p>
+
+<p>It was a damning arraignment, and Wiley&#8217;s men listened grimly, but he
+only twisted his lip and nodded his head ironically. With one eye on his
+accuser, who was becoming hysterical, he hustled the ore into the empty trucks
+and started them off down the road; and then, as Virginia led her mother away,
+he re-engaged his cook. They had supper that night in the old, abandoned
+cook-house; and, so wonderfully do great minds work, that a complete bill of
+grub was discovered among the freight. Not only flour and beans and canned goods
+and potatoes, but baking powder and matches and salt; and the cook observed
+privately that you&#8217;d think Mr. Holman had intended to make camp all the
+time. It is thus that foresight leaps ahead into the future and robs life of
+half its ills; and the Widow Huff, still unpacking plates and saucers, was
+untroubled by clamorous guests. She had had her say and, as far as Wiley was
+concerned, there were no more favors to be expected.</p>
+
+<p>Yet the Widow was wise in the ways of mining camps and she prepared to feed a
+horde&#8211;and the next day they came, by automobile and motor-truck, until
+every table was filled. The rush was <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_137'></a>137</span>on, for four-thousand dollar ore will bring men from
+the ends of the world. Before the sun had set in the red glow of a sandstorm the
+desert was staked for miles. From the chimneys of old houses, long abandoned to
+the rats, rose the smokes of many fires and the rush and whine of passing
+automobiles told of races to distant grounds. All the old mines in the district,
+and of neighboring districts where the precious &#8220;heavy spar&#8221;
+occurred, were re-located&#8211;or jumped, as the case might be&#8211;and held
+to await future developments. The first thing was to stake. They could prospect
+the ground later. Tungsten now was king. Men who had never heard the name, or
+pronounced it haltingly, now spoke learnedly of tungsten tests; and he was a
+poor prospector indeed who lacked his bottle of hydrochloric acid and his
+test-tubes and strip of shiny tin. They swarmed about the base of the old
+Paymaster dump like bees around a broken pot of honey and when, pounded up and
+boiled in the hydrochloric acid, the solution bit the tin and turned bright
+blue, there was many a hearty curse at the fickle hand of fortune which had led
+Wiley Holman to that treasure.</p>
+
+<p>It had lain there for years, trampled down beneath their feet. Now this kid,
+this mining-school prospector, had come back and grabbed it all. Not only the
+Paymaster with its tons of mined ore, but the ten claims to the north, all
+showing good scheelite, which Death Valley Charley had located&#8211;he had held
+them down as well. Two hundred dollars <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_138'></a>138</span>down and a carefully worded option had tied them up
+for five thousand dollars, and there were tungsten-mad men in that crowd of
+boomers who would have given fifty thousand apiece. They came up to the mine
+where Wiley was working and waved their money in his face, and then went off
+grumbling as he refused all offers and went busily about his work. So they came,
+and went, until at last the great wave brought Samuel J. Blount himself.</p>
+
+<p>He came up the trail smiling, for there was nothing to be gained by making
+belated complaints; but when he saw the pile of precious white rock the smile
+died away in spite of him. It was the boast of Blount that, buying or selling,
+he always held out his ten per cent; but that pile of ore had cost him dear and
+he had sold it out for next to nothing. And it was his other boast that he could
+read men&#8217;s hearts when they came to buy or sell, but here was a young man
+who had seen him coming twice and gained the advantage both times. So the smile
+grew longer in spite of his best efforts and when at last he found Wiley Holman
+in the office of the company it was perilously near a sulk.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, good morning, Wiley,&#8221; he began with unction, and then he
+looked grievously about. The expensive gas engine which he had bought and
+installed was already unwatering the mine; spare timbers were going down, the
+new blacksmith-shop was running and Wiley was sitting at his desk. Everything
+was there, just the way he had left it, except that it belonged to Wiley. Blount
+heaved <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_139'></a>139</span>a heavy sigh
+and then set his features resolutely, for the battle was not over yet. To be
+sure the mine was bonded for a measly fifty thousand dollars, and his stock was
+tied up under an option; but many things can happen in six months&#8217; time
+and Wiley was only a boy. Granted that he was a miner and understood ore, there
+is such a thing as an &#8220;Act of God.&#8221; Cables break without reason,
+mines cave and timbers fall; and certainly if there is a God of Ten Per Cent his
+just wrath would be visited upon Wiley. Blount knew that great god and
+worshipped him continually and he felt certain that something would happen, for
+when boys out of college take money away from bank presidents it comes
+dangerously close to sacrilege.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, well,&#8221; murmured Blount, &#8220;quite a change, quite a
+change. Are you sure that stuff is tungsten, Wiley?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; responded Wiley, affecting a becoming modesty to cover up
+his youthful smirk. &#8220;Would you like to see it tested?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Very much,&#8221; answered Blount, and followed after him to the assay
+office, which Wiley had hurriedly fitted up. Wiley took a piece of scheelite and
+pounded it in a mortar until it was fine as flour, then dropped it into a
+test-tube and boiled it over a flame in a solution of hydrochloric and nitric
+acids.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Now,&#8221; he said, when the tungstic acid had been dissolved, and he
+had dropped a small bar of tin into the solution. It turned a dark blue and
+Blount <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_140'></a>140</span>sighed
+again, for he had looked up the test in advance. &#8220;If it turns blue,&#8221;
+a prospector had told him, &#8220;like the color of me overalls, then, sure as
+hell, it&#8217;s tungsten.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, well,&#8221; commented Blount, gazing mildly about, for great
+men do not stop to repine, &#8220;and what do you use these big scales
+for?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s for the quantitative test,&#8221; explained Wiley
+importantly. &#8220;By weighing the sample first and extracting the tungsten we
+get the percentage, when it&#8217;s been filtered and dried and weighed again,
+of the tungstic acid in the ore. But it&#8217;s quite an elaborate
+process.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, yes,&#8221; assented Blount, still managing to smile pleasantly.
+&#8220;Rather out of my line, I guess. What per cent do your samples
+average?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, between sixty and seventy when I pick my specimens. I&#8217;m
+rigging up a jigger to separate the ore until I can get capital to start up the
+mill. It ought to be milled, by rights, and only the concentrates shipped; but
+while I&#8217;m getting started&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, draw on me&#8211;any time,&#8221; broke in Blount, smiling
+radiantly. &#8220;I&#8217;d be only too glad to accommodate you. That&#8217;s my
+business, you know; loaning out money on good security, and you&#8217;re good up
+to fifty thousand dollars.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Do you mean it?&#8221; demanded Wiley after a startled silence, and
+Blount slapped him heartily on the back.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Just try me,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I&#8217;ve been looking up the
+market and tungsten is simply booming. It&#8217;s <span class='pagenum
+pncolor'><a id='page_141'></a>141</span>quoted at forty-five for sixty per cent
+concentrates, and you must have tons and tons on the dump.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, lots of it,&#8221; admitted Wiley, &#8220;and say, now that you
+mention it, I believe I&#8217;ll take you up. I need a little money to install
+some machinery and get the old mill to running. How about ten thousand
+dollars?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why&#8211;all right,&#8221; assented Blount, after a moment&#8217;s
+thought. &#8220;Of course you&#8217;ll give some security?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, sure,&#8221; agreed Wiley. &#8220;My option on the mine&#8211;I
+suppose that&#8217;s what you&#8217;re after?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Blount blinked for a moment, for such plain speaking was surprising from one
+as shrewd as Wiley, but he summoned up his smile and nodded.
+&#8220;Why&#8211;why, yes, that&#8217;s all right. Say one per cent a
+month&#8211;payable monthly&#8211;those are our ordinary short-time
+terms.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Suits me,&#8221; said Wiley. &#8220;But no cut-throat
+clauses&#8211;none of this Widow Huff line of stuff. If I forget to pay my
+interest that doesn&#8217;t make the principal due and the security forfeit and
+so on, world without end.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, no; no, certainly,&#8221; cried Blount with alacrity.
+&#8220;We&#8217;ll make it a flat loan, if you like, and endeavor to treat you
+right. Of course you&#8217;ll start a checking account and&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; said Wiley, &#8220;if I borrow the money I&#8217;ll take it
+out of your bank and put it in another, right away. I never let friendship
+interfere with business or warp my business judgment.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_142'></a>142</span>&#8220;Yes, but
+Wiley,&#8221; protested Blount, &#8220;what difference does it make? Isn&#8217;t
+my bank perfectly safe and sound?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Undoubtedly,&#8221; returned Wiley, &#8220;but&#8211;do you happen to
+remember a little check for four hundred dollars? It was made out by me in favor
+of Death Valley Charley and they cashed it through your bank&#8211;Virginia
+Huff, you know&#8211;in payment for Paymaster stock. Well, if you&#8217;re going
+to keep track of my business like that&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, no, no,&#8221; exclaimed Blount, suddenly remembering the means by
+which he had detected Wiley&#8217;s purchase of Virginia&#8217;s stock,
+&#8220;you misunderstand me, entirely. If you want to wait a few days for the
+money you are welcome to put it anywhere.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, hold on,&#8221; began Wiley. &#8220;Now maybe I&#8217;d better
+go to the other bank&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, no, no, no,&#8221; protested Blount, &#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t hear
+of it. I&#8217;ll write you the check, this minute. On your personal
+note&#8211;that&#8217;s good enough for me. You can put up the collateral
+later.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, let&#8217;s think this over,&#8221; objected Wiley cannily.
+&#8220;I don&#8217;t like to put up that option for security. That bond and
+lease is worth half a million dollars and&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Just give me your note,&#8221; broke in Blount hurriedly, &#8220;and
+hurry up&#8211;here comes Mrs. Huff.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;All right,&#8221; cried Wiley, and scribbled out the note while Blount
+was writing the check.</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_143'></a>143</span><a id='link_16'></a>CHAPTER XVI<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>A Show-down With the Widow</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>If the benevolent Samuel Blount could have seen Wiley Holman&#8217;s monthly
+statement from that mysterious &#8220;other bank&#8221; he would have crushed
+him with one blow of his ready, financial club and gone off with both
+bond-and-lease and option. But the pure, serene fire in those first water
+diamonds which graced the ring on Wiley&#8217;s hand&#8211;that dazzled Samuel
+J. Blount as it had dazzled the Widow and many a store-keeper in Vegas. For it
+is hardly to be expected that a man with such a ring will have a bank account
+limited to three figures, any more than it is expected that a man with so little
+capital will be sitting in a game with millionaires. But Wiley was sitting in,
+holding his cards well against his chest, and already he had won ten thousand
+dollars. Which is one of the reasons why all mining promoters wear
+diamonds&#8211;and poker faces as well.</p>
+
+<p>Yet Blount was playing a game which had once won him a million dollars from
+just such plungers as Wiley, and if he also smiled as he tucked away the note it
+was not without excuse. There had been a time when this boy&#8217;s father had
+sat in the game with Blount and now he was engaged in raising <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_144'></a>144</span>cattle on a ranch far
+back in the hills. And Colonel Huff, that prince of royal plungers, had
+surrendered at last to the bank. It was twelve per cent, compounded monthly,
+with demand, protest and notice waived, which had brought about this miracle of
+wealth; and since it is well known that history repeats itself, Mr. Blount could
+see Wiley&#8217;s finish. The thing to do first was to regain his confidence and
+get him into his power and then, at the first sign of financial embarrassment,
+to call his notes and freeze him out. Such were the intentions of the benevolent
+Mr. Blount&#8211;if the Widow Huff did not kill him.</p>
+
+<p>She came toiling up the trail, followed by Virginia and Death Valley Charley
+and a crowd of curious citizens; and as they awaited the shock, Blount shuddered
+and smiled nervously, for he knew that she would demand back her stock. Wiley
+shuddered too, but instead of smiling he clenched his jaws like a vise; and as
+the Widow entered he signaled a waiting guard, who followed in close behind her.
+She halted before his desk, one hand on her hip the other on the butt of a
+six-shooter, and glanced insolently from one to the other.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Aha!&#8221; she exclaimed, &#8220;so you&#8217;re talking it
+over,&#8211;how to take advantage of a poor widow! But I want to tell you now,
+and I don&#8217;t care who knows it, I&#8217;ve been imposed upon long enough.
+Here you sit in your office, both of you worth up into the millions, and discuss
+the division of your spoils; while the daughter and the widow of the man <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_145'></a>145</span>that found this mine are
+slaving away in a restaurant.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I&#8217;m sorry, Mrs. Huff,&#8221; interposed Blount, smiling
+gently. &#8220;We were just discussing your case. But it often happens that the
+best of us err in judgment, and in this case I&#8217;ve been caught worse than
+you were. Yes, I must admit that when I first heard about this tungsten and
+realized that I had sold out for nothing, I was moved for the moment to resent
+it; but under the circumstances&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Aw, what are you talking about?&#8221; demanded the Widow scornfully.
+&#8220;Don&#8217;t you think I can see through your game? You pretend to be
+enemies until you get hold of my stock and then you come out into the open. I
+always knew you were partners, but now I can prove it; because here you are,
+thick as thieves.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, we&#8217;re friendly,&#8221; admitted Blount with a painful smile
+at Wiley, &#8220;but Wiley owns the mine. That is, he owns a bond and lease on
+the property, with the option of buying for fifty thousand dollars. And then
+besides that, I regret to say, he has an option on all my stock.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh! Yes!&#8221; scoffed the Widow. &#8220;You&#8217;ve been cleaned by
+this whipper-snapper that&#8217;s just a few months out of college! He&#8217;s
+taken away your mine and your stock and everything&#8211;but of course you
+don&#8217;t mind a little thing like that. But what I want to know, and I came
+here to find out, is which of you has got my stock&#8211;because I&#8217;ll tell
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_146'></a>146</span>you right
+now&#x2500;&#8221; she whipped out her pistol and brandished it in the
+air&#8211;&#8220;I&#8217;ll tell you right now I intend to get it back or kill
+the one or both of you!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Blount&#8217;s lips framed a lie, and then he glanced at Wiley, who was
+standing with his hand by his gun.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, now, Mrs. Huff,&#8221; he began at a venture,
+&#8220;I&#8211;perhaps this can all be arranged.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No! I want that stock!&#8221; cried the Widow in hot anger, &#8220;and
+I&#8217;m going to get it, too!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why&#8211;why yes,&#8221; stammered Blount, &#8220;but you see it was
+this way&#8211;I had no idea of the value of the stock. And so when Wiley came
+to see me I gave him an option on it for&#8211;well, I believe it was five cents
+a share.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Ah!&#8221; triumphed the Widow, whirling to train her gun on Wiley,
+&#8220;so now I&#8217;ve got you, Mr. Man! You&#8217;ve been four-flushing long
+enough but I&#8217;ve got you dead to rights, and I
+want&#8211;that&#8211;Paymaster&#8211;stock!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She threw down on him awkwardly, but as the pistol was not cocked, Wiley only
+curled his lip and smiled indulgently, with a restraining glance at his
+guard.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, Mrs. Huff,&#8221; he agreed quite calmly, &#8220;I don&#8217;t
+doubt you want it back. You want lots of things that you&#8217;ll never get from
+me by coming around with these gun-plays. So put up that gun before you pull it
+off and I&#8217;ll tell you about your husband&#8217;s stock.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_147'></a>147</span>&#8220;My
+<i>husband&#8217;s</i>stock!&#8221; cried the Widow in surprise, letting the
+six-shooter wobble down to her side. &#8220;Well I&#8217;d just like to tell you
+that that stock is <i>mine</i>, and furthermore&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, yes! Sure! Sure!&#8221; shrugged Wiley scornfully. &#8220;Of
+course you know it all! But that stock wasn&#8217;t yours, and you
+couldn&#8217;t transfer it, and so I didn&#8217;t take any option on it.
+It&#8217;s in the bank yet; and if you want to get it, why, here&#8217;s the man
+to talk to.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He jerked his thumb towards the cringing Blount, and exchanged scornful
+glances with Virginia. She was standing behind her mother and her glance seemed
+to say that he was passing the buck again; but his feeling for Virginia had
+suffered a great change and he replied to her head-toss with a sneer.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Now&#8211;now Wiley!&#8221; protested Blount, rising weakly to his
+feet and regarding his pseudo-partner reproachfully, &#8220;you know very
+well&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Gimme that stock!&#8221; snapped the Widow, suddenly cocking the heavy
+pistol and throwing down savagely on Wiley; and then things began to happen. The
+watchful guard, who had been standing at her side, reached over and struck up
+the gun and as it went off with a bang, shooting a hole in the ceiling, he
+seized it and wrenched it away.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re under arrest, Madam,&#8221; he said with some asperity,
+and flashed his officer&#8217;s star.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, who are you, sir?&#8221; demanded the Widow, vainly attempting
+to thrust him aside.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_148'></a>148</span>&#8220;I&#8217;m
+a deputy sheriff, ma&#8217;am,&#8221; replied the officer respectfully,
+&#8220;and I&#8217;d advise you not to resist. It&#8217;ll be assault with
+intent to kill.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why&#8211;I wouldn&#8217;t kill anybody!&#8221; exclaimed the Widow
+breathlessly. &#8220;I was&#8211;I didn&#8217;t intend to do
+anything.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Will you swear out a warrant?&#8221; inquired the deputy and Wiley
+nodded his head.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You bet I will,&#8221; he said, &#8220;this is getting monotonous. She
+took a shot at me, once before.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, Wiley!&#8221; wailed the Widow suddenly weakening in the pinch.
+&#8220;You know I never meant it!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, maybe not,&#8221; replied Wiley evenly, &#8220;but you hit me in
+the leg.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But <i>he</i>pulled off my gun!&#8221; charged the Widow angrily,
+&#8220;I never went to do it!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, come on;&#8221; said the deputy, &#8220;you can explain to the
+judge.&#8221; And he took her by the arm. She went out, sobbing violently, and
+in the succeeding silence Wiley found himself confronted by Virginia. He had
+seen her before when the wild light of battle shot forth from her angry eyes but
+now there was a glow of soft, feminine reproach and the faintest suggestion of
+appeal.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, Wiley Holman!&#8221; she cried, &#8220;I&#8217;ll never forgive
+you! What do you mean by treating Mother like this?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I mean,&#8221; replied Wiley, &#8220;that I&#8217;ve taken about
+enough, and now we&#8217;ll leave it to the law. If your mother is right the
+judge will let her go, but I guess it&#8217;s come to a showdown.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_149'></a>149</span>&#8220;What? Are
+you going to let them put my mother in jail?&#8221; she asked with tremulous
+awe, and then she burst into tears. &#8220;You ought to be ashamed!&#8221; she
+broke out impetuously. &#8220;I wish my father was here!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, so do I,&#8221; answered Wiley gravely. &#8220;I&#8217;d be
+dealing with a gentleman, then. But if your mother thinks, just because she is a
+woman, she can run amuck with a gun, then she gives up all right to be treated
+like a lady and she has to take what&#8217;s coming to her.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But Wiley!&#8221; she appealed, &#8220;just let her off this time and
+she&#8217;ll never do it again. She&#8217;s over-wrought and nervous
+and&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Nope,&#8221; said Wiley, &#8220;it&#8217;s gone past me
+now&#8211;she&#8217;ll have to answer before the judge. But if you think you can
+restrain her I&#8217;ll be willing to let it go and have her bound over to keep
+the peace.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, that&#8217;ll be fine! If she just promises not to bother you
+and&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;And puts up a five-thousand-dollar bond,&#8221; added Wiley.
+&#8220;And the next time she makes a gun-play or comes around and threatens me
+the five thousand dollars is gone.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oho!&#8221; she accused, &#8220;so that&#8217;s your scheme!
+You&#8217;ve been framing this up, all the time!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Sure,&#8221; nodded Wiley, with his old cynical smile, &#8220;I just
+love to be shot at. I got her to come over on purpose.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, I&#8217;ll bet you did!&#8221; cried Virginia excitedly.
+&#8220;Didn&#8217;t you have that officer right there? You&#8217;ve <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_150'></a>150</span>just framed this up to
+rob us. And how are we going to give a five-thousand-dollar bond when you know
+we haven&#8217;t a cent? Oh, I&#8211;I hate you, Wiley Holman; and if you put my
+mother in jail I&#8217;ll&#8211;I&#8217;ll come back and kill you,
+myself!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She stamped her foot angrily, but a light leapt into Wiley&#8217;s eyes such
+as had flamed there when he had faced Stiff Neck George.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Very well,&#8221; he said, &#8220;if you people think you can
+rough-house me I&#8217;ll show you I can rough it, myself. I&#8217;ve tried to
+be friendly and to give you the best of it; but now it&#8217;s all off, for
+good. I hate to fight a woman, but&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You do not!&#8221; she challenged. &#8220;You&#8217;re a coward,
+that&#8217;s what you are! And you can take your old stock back!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She drew a package from her bosom and slammed it spitefully on the table and
+rushed out after her mother. Wiley picked up the envelope and regarded it
+absently, his lip curling to a twisted smile. It was the package of stock which
+he had bought from Death Valley Charley and returned, as a gift, to
+Virginia.</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_151'></a>151</span><a id='link_17'></a>CHAPTER XVII<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>Peace&#8211;and the Price</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>In the justice court at Vegas the Widow Huff met her match in the person of
+the magistrate, who warned her peremptorily that if she interrupted again he
+would commit her for contempt of court. Then the bailiff smote his desk a
+resounding blow and there was silence in the presence of the law. It was a new
+thing to her, this power called the law and that accuser of all offenders, The
+People; and before she had finished she learned the great truth that no one is
+above the law. It governs us all and, but for the mercy of the courts, would
+land most of our hot-heads in jail. But though it was proved beyond the
+peradventure of a doubt that the Widow had attempted violence it was tacitly
+understood that, being a woman, there would be no actual commitment.</p>
+
+<p>Wiley Holman came forward and informed the court that the defendant had
+threatened his life and upon two occasions and had made assaults upon his person
+with the avowed intention of killing him. Upon being questioned by the judge he
+admitted <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_152'></a>152</span>recognizing a shotgun, and three buckshot which had
+been extracted from his leg; but in a voluntary statement he expressed the
+opinion that the defendant was hardly responsible. At the same time, he stated,
+since his place of business was not far from the defendant&#8217;s home, he
+would respectfully request that she be placed in custody and bound over to keep
+the peace. The testimony of the officer and of other witnesses left no doubt as
+to the existence of a threat and after the Widow had made a chastened speech she
+was placed in the custody of the sheriff.</p>
+
+<p>To this humiliation was added the greater pang of depositing all her jewels
+with her bondsmen and when it was over and she was back in her home the
+Widow&#8217;s proud spirit was broken. She retired to the kitchen and the balm
+of a great peace was laid upon tumultuous Keno. For years the bold ego of
+Colonel Huff&#8217;s wife had dominated the very life of the camp, but the son
+of Honest John had at last found a way of putting her anger in leash. Rage as
+she might in the privacy of her kitchen, or pour out her woes to the neighbors,
+when Wiley Holman came by she turned away her face and allowed him to pass in
+silence. And Wiley himself never gave her a glance, nor Virginia when he met her
+in the street; for the memory of their insults was still hot in his brain, and
+all he asked for was peace.</p>
+
+<p>He was safe, at last, safe to remodel the mill and bring up the ore from the
+mine; but as his <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_153'></a>153</span>work grew and prospered the anger died in his breast
+and his heart turned back to Virginia. She was quiet now, with averted eyes and
+the sad, brooding face of a nun; and she worked early and late in the crowded
+dining-room, serving meals to the hard-rock miners. He had closed down his
+cook-house to give them some patronage, when the first mad rush of prospectors
+was past; but though they fed his men and took the money that he had paid them,
+they owned no obligation to him.</p>
+
+<p>In the Paymaster the pumps were working steadily now, clearing the water from
+the submerged passages, and as the first checks came back in payment for his
+tungsten he ordered more timbers and men. There was plenty of ore on the dump
+for the moment but, while he separated it from the waste and shipped it to town,
+he caught up the falling ground in the drifts and prepared to stope out the
+scheelite. In the old, dismantled mill he had a crew working over-time,
+installing a rock-crusher and a concentrating plant; and every truck that
+brought out timbers and supplies took back its tons of ore. The price of
+tungsten leapt from forty dollars a unit to sixty and sixty-five, and rival
+buyers clamored for his ore; the mills treated it for almost nothing in order to
+get control of it and his credit was A1 at the bank&#8211;but when he passed
+Virginia she turned her face away and his heart turned heavy as lead.</p>
+
+<p>It was the price of success, and Wiley recognized it, but he rebelled against
+his fate. What <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_154'></a>154</span>fault was it of his that her father and his father
+had fallen out over the mine? He had shown by the stock that the treachery had
+been Blount&#8217;s and neither of them was to blame. What fault was it of his
+that she had a shrewish mother who was bent upon ruining her life? Had he not
+endured abuse and suffered grievous wounds before he had asserted his rights?
+And with Virginia herself, when had there ever been a time when he had forgotten
+his lover&#8217;s part&#8211;except on that last day, when he had turned like a
+trodden worm and protested his right to live? And yet she blamed him for all her
+misfortunes and for every day that she slaved; and even took the stock which he
+had returned as a peace-offering and hurled it in his face!</p>
+
+<p>Wiley&#8217;s lips set grimly as he gazed at the certificates for which men
+had striven and died. There were some from her father, transferred on her
+birthdays when the stock was around thirty and forty; and others from old
+prospectors like Henry Masters, who had left it to Virginia when they died. She
+had sent it to him by Charley, out of shame for her harsh words, and he had
+bought it for four hundred dollars, half the money that he had in the world.
+Those had been happy days, in spite of the anxiety, for he had made the
+sacrifice for her; and to prove his devotion&#8211;and make a peace-offering
+against the explosion that was bound to come&#8211;he had given the stock back
+to Virginia. That was when he was a prospector, doing business <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_155'></a>155</span>on a shoe-string, a
+racing car and a diamond ring; but now when he had made his <i>coup</i> and
+could write his check for thousands she threw the stock back in his face.</p>
+
+<p>The stock had a value now for, under the terms of the bond and lease,
+one-tenth of the net mill returns were automatically withheld and turned in to
+the company as royalty; and if for any reason he failed to meet the payment when
+the fifty thousand-dollar option expired, then this stock and all Paymaster
+stock would take a sudden jump to five or ten dollars a share. And the stock was
+hers&#8211;she had received it from her father when he was the mining king of
+the West, and from old man Masters when he was dying in the cabin where she had
+helped to care for him for months&#8211;yet she would not accept it as a gift.
+Wiley pondered a long time and then, as Christmas drew near, he sent for Death
+Valley Charley.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Charley,&#8221; he began, when he came up that night, &#8220;did I
+understand you to say one time that you were acting as a kind of guardian to
+Virginia? Well, now here&#8217;s a bunch of stock that you sold to me once when
+you were slightly off your cabeza. There&#8217;s over twelve thousand shares and
+all you asked was four hundred dollars, when you knew they were worth eight
+hundred at least.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, that&#8217;s so,&#8221; admitted Charley, blinking and rubbing
+his chin, &#8220;but you know them women, Wiley. They&#8217;re crazy,
+that&#8217;s all, and the Colonel <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_156'></a>156</span>he told me special not to let them lose their
+mine.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, never mind the mine,&#8221; said Wiley wincing. &#8220;I&#8217;m
+talking about this stock. Don&#8217;t you think it&#8217;s your duty, by George,
+as guardian, to turn around and buy it back? You&#8217;ve got five thousand
+dollars coming to you on those claims of yours and I&#8217;ll tell you what
+I&#8217;ll do. I&#8217;m short, right now on account of buying machinery, and so
+I can&#8217;t pay you much cash; but if you&#8217;ll take this stock back in
+part payment of your claims I&#8217;ll give you four hundred more.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, all right,&#8221; agreed Charley after gazing at him
+thoughtfully, &#8220;but you ought to give back that mine. The Colonel, he told
+me&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What do you mean, give it back?&#8221; demanded Wiley, irritably.
+&#8220;It isn&#8217;t my property yet. I&#8217;ve got to pay for it first and
+get it away from old Blount before I can give it to anybody. That&#8217;s fifty
+thousand dollars that I&#8217;ve got to make clear between now and the twentieth
+of May; but believe me, Charley, if I once get it paid for I&#8217;m going to do
+something noble.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s good,&#8221; assented Charley, &#8220;but you&#8217;ve
+got to pay me, right off&#8211;there&#8217;s something going to happen!&#8221;
+His sun-dazed eyes opened up wide with excitement and he listened long and
+earnestly at the door before he tiptoed back to Wiley&#8217;s desk. &#8220;I can
+hear &#8217;em,&#8221; he said. &#8220;They&#8217;re going to blow up the mine
+and shake the mountains down. They&#8217;re boring through the ground, but I can
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_157'></a>157</span>hear them
+working&#8211;it&#8217;s like worms eating their way through wood.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Is that so?&#8221; queried Wiley. &#8220;Well, maybe we can stop
+&#8217;em. I&#8217;ll look after it, right away. But now about this
+stock&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s the Germans!&#8221; burst out Charley. &#8220;They&#8217;ve
+got boring machines that eat through mountains like wood. And then, <i>bumm</i>,
+it&#8217;s them mines, and the dynamite bombs&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, it&#8217;s awful,&#8221; agreed Wiley, &#8220;but here&#8217;s
+your money, Charley; so maybe you&#8217;d better go. And you keep this stock
+now, until it comes Christmas; and then, Christmas Eve, you slip into the house
+and put it in Virginia&#8217;s stocking.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh&#8211;yes,&#8221; agreed Charley, still listening to the Germans
+and then he became lost in deep thought. &#8220;The Colonel will kill me,&#8221;
+he said at last. &#8220;It&#8217;s Christmas, and I ain&#8217;t brought his
+whiskey.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why, what&#8217;s the matter?&#8221; joshed Wiley. &#8220;Why
+didn&#8217;t you deliver it? Did you get caught in a sandstorm, or
+what?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, a sandstorm,&#8221; answered Charley, solemnly. &#8220;It came
+down the valley like a wall. And my burros got away; but the Colonel, he found
+me&#8211;I was digging a hole in the sand.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Say, where are these Ube-Hebes?&#8221; broke in Wiley impulsively.
+&#8220;I&#8217;d like to go over there some time.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;They&#8217;re across Death Valley,&#8221; answered Charley smiling
+craftily, &#8220;&#8211;on the west side, in the Funeral <span class='pagenum
+pncolor'><a id='page_158'></a>158</span>Range. The Coffin mine is there&#8211;I
+used to work in it&#8211;but they put me underground with a stiff for a pardner
+so I quit and come back to town.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I heard about that; but you forgot something, Charley&#8211;how
+about that graveyard shift? But I&#8217;ll tell you what I&#8217;ll do, if
+you&#8217;ll take me to the Colonel I&#8217;ll help Virginia get back her
+mine.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He plumped the statement at him, for Charley was an innocent who spoke out
+the truth when he was jumped, but for once he detected the ruse.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The Colonel&#8217;s dead,&#8221; he answered sulkily and picked up his
+hat to go.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I doubt it!&#8221; scoffed Wiley. &#8220;I met a man the other day who
+said he&#8217;d seen him&#8211;in the Ube-Hebes mountains.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;He did?&#8221; exclaimed Charley, and then he drew back and his eyes
+flashed with angry resentment. &#8220;You&#8217;re a liar!&#8221; he burst out.
+&#8220;The Colonel is dead. He never said anything of the kind.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, he did,&#8221; insisted Wiley, &#8220;and you know the man well.
+He&#8217;s got a little dog like Heine.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s a liar!&#8221; cried Charley savagely, &#8220;and
+don&#8217;t you go to talking or I&#8217;ll make you wish you
+hadn&#8217;t.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, I won&#8217;t,&#8221; assured Wiley, &#8220;but here&#8217;s the
+proposition&#8211;the Colonel left a lot of stock. And Mrs. Huff, being crazy,
+gave it all to Blount on a loan of eight hundred dollars. But if the Colonel
+should come back that transfer would be illegal and he could fix it to get back
+the mine. So don&#8217;t <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_159'></a>159</span>talk to me about giving Virginia her mine&#8211;you
+go out and bring in the Colonel.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s dead!&#8221; yelled Charley, scrabbling madly out the door.
+&#8220;You&#8217;re a liar&#8211;I tell you he&#8217;s dead!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, he&#8217;s dead,&#8221; observed Wiley, &#8220;just the same as I
+am. I&#8217;ll have to get old Charley drunk.&#8221;</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_160'></a>160</span><a id='link_18'></a>CHAPTER XVIII<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>On Christmas Day</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>Christmas came to Keno in a whirling snowstorm that shrouded Shadow Mountain
+in white and, as he stepped out in the morning and looked up at the peak, Wiley
+Holman felt a thrill of joy. The black shadow had bothered him, now that he had
+come to live under it; and a hundred times a day as it caught his eye he would
+glance up to find the dark cloud. But now it was gone and in place of the lava
+cap there was a mantle of gleaming snow. He looked down at the town and, on
+every graceless house, there had been bestowed a crown of white; all the tin
+cans were buried, the burned spots were covered over, and Keno was almost
+beautiful. A family of children were out in the street, trying to coast in their
+new Christmas wagons, and Wiley smiled to himself.</p>
+
+<p>He had brought back those children; he had brought the town to life and
+tenanted its vacant houses; and now, best of all, he had brought the spirit of
+Christmas, for he had sent a peace-offering to Virginia. She had spurned it once
+in the heat of passion, and called him a coward and a crook; <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_161'></a>161</span>but that package of stock
+would recall to her mind a time when she had known him for a friend. It would
+bring up old memories of their boy-and-girl love, which she knew he had never
+forgotten, and if there was anything to forgive she would know that he
+remembered it when he sent this offering by Charley.</p>
+
+<p>He was a crazy old rat, but he had his uses; and he had promised to give her
+the stock, without fail. It was to come, of course, from Charley himself, in
+atonement for selling it for nothing; but Virginia would know, even if she
+missed his flowered Christmas card, that the stock was a present from him. It
+had a value now far above the price he had paid for it when Charley had thrust
+it upon him and the dividend alone from the royalties on his lease would be
+twelve hundred dollars and more. And then her pro rata share, when he paid his
+fifty thousand dollars, would add another six hundred; and she knew that, for
+the asking, she could have half of what he had&#8211;or all, if she would take
+him, too.</p>
+
+<p>Wiley looked down on the house that sheltered Virginia and smiled to think of
+her there. She was waiting on miners, but the time would come when someone would
+be waiting on her. In the back of his brain a bold plan had been forming to feed
+fat his grudge against Blount and restore the Huffs to their own&#8211;and it
+needed but a word from her to put the plan into action. He held from Blount two
+separate and distinct papers; <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_162'></a>162</span>one a bond and lease on the mine, the other an
+option on his personal stock. But to grant the bond and lease&#8211;with its
+option for fifty thousand&#8211;Blount had been compelled to vote the
+Widow&#8217;s stock; and if that stock was not his and had been illegally voted,
+then of course the bond and lease would be void.</p>
+
+<p>Yet even so he, Wiley Holman, had fully safeguarded his interests, for by his
+other option he could buy all Blount&#8217;s stock for the sum of five cents a
+share. The four hundred thousand-odd shares would come to only twenty thousand
+dollars, as against fifty thousand on the bond and lease; and yet, by buying the
+stock at once, he could effectually debar Blount from any share in the
+accumulating profits. The small payments on past royalties and his five cents a
+share would be all that Blount would receive; and then he would be left, a
+spectacle for gods and men&#8211;a banker who had been beaten by a boy. It was
+the chicanery of Blount which had ruined his father and driven Colonel Huff to
+his death, and what could be better, as poetic justice, than to see him hoist on
+his own petard. And if the Colonel was not dead&#8211;as would appear from
+Charley&#8217;s maunderings&#8211;if he could be discovered and brought back to
+town, then surely Virginia would forget the old feud and consent to be his wife.
+All this lay before him, a fairyland of imaginings, waiting only her magic touch
+to make it real; just a word, a smile, a promise of forgiveness&#8211;and of
+loyalty and love&#8211;and <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_163'></a>163</span>he, Wiley Holman, would go whirling on the errand
+that would win him wealth and renown.</p>
+
+<p>It would all be done for her, and yet he would not be the loser, for his own
+father held two hundred thousand shares of Paymaster; and he himself would save
+a fifty-thousand-dollar payment at an expense of a little over twenty. And if
+the Colonel could be found quickly&#8211;or his death disproved to make illegal
+the Widow&#8217;s transfer of his stock&#8211;then the mine could be claimed at
+once and Blount deprived even of his royalties. Of course this could all be done
+without the help of Virginia or the co-operation of any of the Huffs for,
+although his father had refused from the first to have anything to do with the
+mine, Wiley knew that he could talk him over and persuade him to pool his stock.
+That would make six hundred thousand, a clean voting majority and a fortune in
+itself; but for the sake of Virginia, and to heal the ancient feud, it would be
+better to unite with the Huffs.</p>
+
+<p>Wiley paced up and down in the crisp, dry snow and watched for Virginia to
+come, and as his mind leapt ahead he saw her enthroned in a mansion, with him as
+her faithful vassal&#8211;when he was not her lord and king. For the Huffs were
+proud, even now in their poverty, and Virginia was the proudest of them all; and
+in this, their first meeting, he must remember what she had suffered and that it
+is hard for the loser to yield. It should be his part to speak with humility and
+dwell but <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_164'></a>164</span>lightly
+on the past while he pictured a future, entirely free from menial service, in
+which she could live according to her station. All her years of poverty and
+disappointment and loneliness would be forgotten in this sudden rise to wealth;
+and to complete the picture, Blount, the cause of all her suffering, would
+grovel, very unbankerlike, at their feet.</p>
+
+<p>Blount would grovel indeed when he felt the cold steel that would deprive him
+of all his stock, for he was still playing the game with his loans and
+extensions in the hope of winning back what he had lost. For money was his god,
+before whom there was no other, and he worshiped it day and night; and all his
+fair talk was no more than a pretense to lure Wiley into the net. Yet not for a
+minute would Wiley put up his option, or his bond and lease on the mine; and for
+all the money that Blount had loaned him he had given his mere note of hand. It
+was his promise to pay, unsecured by any collateral, and yet it was perfectly
+good. The money came and went&#8211;he could pay Blount at any time&#8211;but it
+was better to rehabilitate the mine.</p>
+
+<p>Wiley had a race before him, a race for big stakes, and he kept his eyes on
+the goal. To earn fifty thousand dollars in six months&#8217; time, earn it
+clean above all expense, required foresight and careful management, and a big
+daily output, for every day must count. The ore on the dump was in the nature of
+a grub-stake, a bonus for undertaking <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_165'></a>165</span>the game; and when it was all shipped the profits
+would drop to nothing unless he could bring up more ore. So he took his first
+checks, and what he could borrow, and timbered and cleaned out the mine; and, to
+save shipping out more ore, he had ordered expensive machinery to put the old
+mill into shape. It was the part of good judgment to spend quickly at first and
+build up the efficiency of his plant; and then the last few months, when Blount
+would begin to gloat, make a run that would put him in the clear. Clear not only
+of the bond and lease, but on Blount&#8217;s stock as well, for it would pay for
+itself with the first dividend; and, to save paying any more royalties, Wiley
+was curtailing his wasteful shipments while he prepared to concentrate the ore
+in his mill.</p>
+
+<p>There were envious people in town who prophesied his failure and claimed that
+success had gone to his head, but he was confident he could show them that a man
+can take chances and yet play his cards to win. He had taken chances with Blount
+when he had accepted his money, for there were other banks that would lend on
+his mine; but in what more harmless way could he engage his attention and keep
+him from actual sabotage?</p>
+
+<p>It was that which he dreaded, the resort to open warfare, the fire and
+vandalism, and dynamite; and day and night he kept his eye on the works, and
+hired a night-watchman, to boot. But as long as Blount was convinced he could
+win back the mine peaceably he would not resort to violence <span class='pagenum
+pncolor'><a id='page_166'></a>166</span>and, though Stiff Neck George still hung
+about the camp, he kept scrupulously away from the Paymaster.</p>
+
+<p>As Christmas day wore on and the sun came out gleaming, Wiley swung off down
+the trail and through the town. He was a big man now, the man who had saved Keno
+after ten years of stagnation and lingering death; and yet there were those who
+disliked him. They recited old stories of his shrewd dealings with Mrs. Huff,
+and with Virginia and Death Valley Charley; and if any were forgotten the Widow
+undoubtedly recalled them. She was a shrewish woman, full of gossip and
+backbiting, and she let no opportunity pass; so that even old Charley cherished
+a certain resentment, though he disguised it as solicitude for the Huffs. And so
+on Christmas day, as Wiley walked down the street, many greetings lacked a
+holiday heartiness.</p>
+
+<p>The front room of the Huff house was full of children and, as Wiley walked
+back and forth, he caught a glimpse of Virginia; but she did not come out and,
+after lingering around for a while, he climbed up the trail to the mine. He had
+caught but a glimpse, but it was clean-cut as a cameo&#8211;a classic head,
+eagerly poised; dark hair, brushed smoothly back; and a smile, for some
+neighbor&#8217;s child. That was Virginia, high-headed and patrician, but kind
+to lame dogs and lost cats. She had invited in the children but he, Wiley
+Holman, who had loved her since she was a <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_167'></a>167</span>child, had been permitted to pass unnoticed. He
+wandered about uneasily, then went back to his office and began to run over his
+accounts.</p>
+
+<p>Over a hundred thousand dollars had passed through his hands in less than a
+calendar month and yet the long haul across the desert from Vegas had put him in
+the hole. Besides the initial cost of cables and timbers&#8211;and of a rock
+breaker and the concentrating plant&#8211;there was a charge of approximately
+twenty dollars a ton for every pound of supplies he hauled out. And, because of
+the war, all supplies were high and the machinery houses were behind with their
+orders; yet so eager were the buyers to get hold of his tungsten that they
+almost took it out of the bins. He was storing up the ore, preparatory to
+milling it and shipping only the concentrates; but if they could have their way
+they would wrest it from his hands and rush it to the railroad post haste. One
+mysterious buyer had even offered him a contract at seventy dollars a
+unit&#8211;three dollars and a half a pound!</p>
+
+<p>Wiley opened up his notebook and made a careful estimate of what the ore on
+the dump would bring and his eyes grew big as he figured. At seventy dollars a
+unit it would come to more than he owed; and pay for the mine, to boot. It was a
+stupendous sum to come so quickly, before the mine was hardly opened up; but
+when the mill was running and the mine was sending up ore&#8211;he smiled
+dizzily and shook his head. A profit like that, if it ever became known, would
+make <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_168'></a>168</span>his position
+dangerous. It was too much of a temptation for Blount and his jumpers, and
+blackleg lawyers with fake claims. They could get out injunctions and tie up the
+work until he lost the mine by default!</p>
+
+<p>But would they dare do it? And how long would it take to raise fifty thousand
+dollars elsewhere? Wiley studied it all over in the silence of his office, for
+the mine was closed down for Christmas; and then once more he turned to his
+notebook and figured the ore underground. Then he figured the outside cost for
+installing his machinery, for freight and supplies and the payroll; and, adding
+twenty per cent for wear and tear and accidents, he figured the grand total for
+six months. That was astounding too but, when he put against it his ore and the
+price per ton, not even the chances that stood out against him could keep down
+that dizzy smile. He was made, he was rich, if he could just hold things level
+and do a day&#8217;s work every day.</p>
+
+<p>The sun set at last as he sat planning details and, rising up stiffly, he
+pushed his papers aside and went out into the night. The snow had melted fast on
+the roofs and bare ridges and, as the last rays of sunset touched the peak with
+ruddy fingers, he noticed that the shadow had come back. The barren lava cap had
+thrown aside its Christmas mantle, melting the snow before it could pack; and
+now, grim and black, it stood out like a death-head above the white valley
+below. Lights flashed out from miners&#8217; windows, the scampering <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_169'></a>169</span>children ceased their
+clamor, and he wandered through the darkness alone.</p>
+
+<p>There was something he had forgotten, something big and significant, but his
+tired brain refused to respond. It was part of the scheme to beat Blount out of
+his stock, and the royalty from the shipments of ore; and&#8211;yes, it had to
+do with Virginia. It was going to make her rich, and both of them happy; but he
+could not recall it, at the moment. He was worn out, weary with the seething
+thoughts which had rioted through his mind all day, and he turned back dumbly to
+his office. It was dark and cold and as he groped for his matchbox his hand
+encountered a strange package. And yet it was not so strange&#8211;he seemed to
+remember it, somehow. He struck a hasty match and looked. It was the package of
+stock that he had sent to Virginia, but&#x2500;The match burnt his fingers and
+he dropped it with a curse. She had refused his offer of peace.</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_170'></a>170</span><a id='link_19'></a>CHAPTER XIX<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>The Enigma</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>The heights and depths of life are sounded by emotions&#8211;cold reason lags
+behind. As thought cannot compass, so words cannot describe the anguished
+spirit&#8217;s flight; and whether it soars to ecstasy or sinks to despair it
+comes back wide-eyed and silent. So any action which has been prompted by
+passion cannot be explained by a calculating mind, and to seek a reason where
+none exists is to stray still farther from the truth. Virginia Huff was poor and
+waited on the table for what she could eat and get to wear; and when she
+returned stock which was worth twelve hundred dollars without even a note of
+thanks it was not for any reason of the mind. It was a reason of the feelings,
+the soul, the human ego, which drives our minds and bodies to their tasks; a
+reason that soared up like a flaming aurora and stabbed the darkened sky with
+hate and passion. It was nothing to reason about, and yet Wiley reasoned.</p>
+
+<p>He put down the stocks and lit his lamp and examined the package carefully.
+Then he looked inside for some note of explanation and paused <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_171'></a>171</span>and swore to himself. No
+note was there, nor any sign that the stocks had ever passed through her hands.
+He rose up craftily and stepped out the door, passing silently from house to
+house, and then as he came back he threw his door open and examined the snow for
+tracks. If Death Valley Charley had failed of his mission, if he had neglected
+to place the shares in her stocking and then sneaked back to get rid of
+them&#8211;but Wiley put all thought of Charley aside for there in the snow was
+the print of a woman&#8217;s shoe. Small and dainty it was and he knew in his
+heart that Virginia had been there and gone. She might have been watching him as
+he sat at his work, she might even be watching him now; but again something told
+him that, however she had come, she had gone away in a rage. The stab of the
+high heel, the heedless step into a mud-puddle, the swinging stride down the
+trail; all spoke of defiance, of a coming in the open and a return without fear
+of man or devil. She had come there to see him and, finding him away, she had
+thrown down the papers and gone home. And that was the answer to his love.</p>
+
+<p>Wiley sat down by the fire and tried to account for it. He imagined himself a
+woman, young and beautiful, but poor; working hard, as Virginia now worked, for
+her board and keep. Before her there was nothing&#8211;her father was dead or
+lost, her mother a hopeless scold, her fortune irretrievably gone&#8211;and yet
+she closed the only door out. As <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_172'></a>172</span>an earnest of his love, without asking anything in
+return, he had restored to her a portion of her stock; and she had promptly
+flung it back. Had Charley made some break in his method of presentation? But
+no, she would not mind if he had; it was something deeper, behind. He battered
+his brain, recalling every little incident that might have turned her heart
+against him, and it all brought him back to the trial.</p>
+
+<p>When he had had her mother arrested for coming into his office and
+demanding&#8211;what was it she had demanded? He remembered the six-shooter, and
+the deputy and Blount, and the Widow&#8217;s rage and tears; and
+Virginia&#8217;s return and all she had said to him&#8211;but what was it her
+mother had demanded? Her stock! All her stock! The stock she had refused to sell
+for ten cents a share and then had turned around and put up with Blount as
+security on a quick-action note. She had demanded it all back, without reason,
+without compensation, simply because she was a woman with a gun; and because he
+had invoked the law to protect him in his rights Virginia had sworn she would
+kill him. Wiley rose up swiftly and pulled the curtain across the window, and
+then he considered the matter again.</p>
+
+<p>It was not like Virginia to resort to any violence&#8211;she had been
+humiliated too often by her mother&#8217;s&#8211;but she must still think he had
+deprived her of her rights. By what process of reasoning could they fix the
+blame on him for this stock which had been <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_173'></a>173</span>purloined by Blount, was beyond his strictly
+masculine mind; but women sometimes think by jumps. They skip a few processes,
+like a mathematical prodigy, and then arrive at some mammoth result. But, even
+if they exaggerated their grievance&#8211;was there anything behind it, any peg
+on which to hang this senseless hate?</p>
+
+<p>Well, of course he had deceived them about the mine. He had known it
+contained scheelite the moment he picked up that white rock that Virginia had
+placed in her collection, but naturally he had not announced it from the
+house-tops. With the Widow as a partner, or even as a stockholder, the
+best-natured man in the state of Nevada could not have worked the Paymaster at a
+profit. For that reason alone he had been fully justified in letting her freeze
+herself out; and if Virginia had taken his advice&#8211;but then, the poor girl
+had been distracted. She had been worn out and discouraged, hag-ridden by her
+mother and facing a trip to the city; and she had sold out for what she could
+get. She was a good girl, a brave girl, and a sweet and lovely one too; and it
+was foolish to blame her for anything. The thing to do, after all, was to find
+ways and means of bringing her back to her own. Just a word from Virginia and he
+could change her whole life, he could get back all her stock and her
+mother&#8217;s as well and pour money into their laps&#8211;but first he must
+win her love. He must teach her to trust him, break down her suspicion and show
+her that he was her friend.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_174'></a>174</span>Wiley thought a
+long time and the next morning at dawn he was up in his car and away. Virginia
+was a child. She did not reason about this and that, but was swayed by the
+impulses of the moment. Her life was ruled, not by her head but by her heart;
+and he had forgotten until that moment the sacks full of cats that he had taken
+from her house to the ranch. They were all her pets, and he had taken them as a
+trust when she was about to start for Los Angeles; but the mine had made him
+forget. They were safe at the ranch, with his sisters to look after them; but
+how many times since their estrangement began must some question have risen to
+her lips as to how they were, or if he would bring them back, or whether any had
+died or been lost? Yet she had turned her head away and refused to speak to him,
+even to demand back the pets she loved.</p>
+
+<p>The road was bad out across the desert, and on through Vegas to the ranch,
+but he came thundering back the next night. He had left the mine to run itself,
+for his thoughts were of Virginia, but as he slowed down at the sand-wash and
+listened for the pumps he noticed that the engine had stopped. Well, he had an
+engineer and that was his business&#8211;to keep the sump-hole pumped out;
+perhaps he had shut down for repairs. But the big thing, after all, was to
+restore Virginia her pets and win his way to a place in her heart. He drove
+boldly up the street and stopped before the house, but nobody came to the door.
+He waited <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_175'></a>175</span>a while,
+then leapt out uncertainly and released the mother of Virginia&#8217;s pet
+kittens. She ran under the house and, as no one came out, Wiley let the rest of
+them go and turned disconsolately back towards the mine. If he had ever thought,
+when he had the Widow arrested, that Virginia was going to take it so
+hard&#8211;but then, of course, it had been absolutely necessary&#8211;and just
+wait till she found her kittens!</p>
+
+<p>There was trouble in the engine-house. He knew that the minute he saw the
+dancing torches in the dark, and he went up the trail on the run; but when he
+saw the wreckage, and the gear-wheel dismounted, he burst into a wailing curse.
+The mine had been all right, pumps operating, hoist running, when he had left
+the day before; but the minute he turned his back&#x2500;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s the matter?&#8221; he demanded and then, pushing the
+engineer aside, he flashed a torch on the wreck. Wedged in the gearing of the
+shattered gear-wheel was a pair of engineer&#8217;s overalls. They had jammed
+tight in the teeth and the resistless driving of the engine had cracked the
+great gear-wheel like an eggshell. Held solid by its base in the bolted concrete
+there had not been a half-inch&#8217;s play and, since something must give, and
+the opposing wheel had stood, the enormous casting had smashed. The engineer and
+his helpers were pottering about, trying guiltily to remove the cause of the
+accident, but one look was enough to tell Wiley Holman that his mine was closed
+down for <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_176'></a>176</span>a week. No
+welding could ever repair that broken gear-wheel&#8211;he would have to wire for
+another.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Whose overalls are those?&#8221; he asked at last as the men sought to
+evade his eye and the engineer himself confessed ownership.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;They&#8217;re an old pair of mine,&#8221; he explained, &#8220;that
+got caught when I was wiping up the grease.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What? Wiping up grease when the machinery was in motion? Why
+didn&#8217;t you wait until it stopped?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well&#8211;I didn&#8217;t; that&#8217;s all. There was a big puddle of
+grease gathering dirt underneath there&#8211;and I thought I&#8217;d wipe it
+up.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I see,&#8221; observed Wiley and his eyes narrowed down as he caught
+the aroma of whiskey. &#8220;Well, clear up this mess,&#8221; he said at last
+and hurried to his office to telephone. A single line of wire stretched out
+across the plain, connecting Keno with Vegas and the world, and within half an
+hour he had dictated a rush order to be wired to his supply-house in Los
+Angeles. If money would buy it he would grab a new gear-wheel and have it
+shipped out by express; but if there was none in stock he would have to wait for
+it; and the machine-shops were months behind. Yet his whole mine was shut down
+on account of this accident and, if he only had the money, he could almost
+afford to buy a new engine and be done with it. He stopped and thought if there
+was one in the country that he could get hold of, second-hand, and then he
+thrust the matter aside. The problem <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_177'></a>177</span>of getting an engine on the ground was one that
+could be worked out later, but in the meanwhile the water was rising in the sump
+and the pumps would soon be submerged. There were two shifts of miners who would
+have to be discharged and&#8211;yes, the engine crew, too. It was against all
+the rules for an engineer to be wiping up his engine while it was running, and
+it was only by a miracle that the engineer himself had escaped unhurt from the
+smash?</p>
+
+<p>But was it a miracle? A swift stab of suspicion made Wiley&#8217;s heart
+stand still. Was this the first treacherous move in Blount&#8217;s battle to win
+back the mine? Had Blount, or some agent, suggested to the engineer that an
+accident would be followed by a reward; and then had not the engineer, when no
+one was looking, fed his overalls into the gearings? He was a surly young brute
+and he met Wiley&#8217;s eyes with a stare that bordered on defiance, yet there
+was nothing to be gained by accusing him. If Blount had bribed his men it was
+best to get rid of them without the faintest suggestion of suspicion; and then
+take on a new crew, shipped in from San Francisco or some equally distant
+place.</p>
+
+<p>Wiley went underground with his men, opening up the air-cocks in the pumps,
+and bringing out the powder and steel; and then the next morning, just before
+the stage went out, he gave them all their time. They had a certain constraint,
+a sullen silence in his presence, that argued them <span class='pagenum
+pncolor'><a id='page_178'></a>178</span>against him at heart and, since the mine
+was closed down for some time to come, he made a clean sweep of them all. Yet it
+pained him somehow, being new at the game, to see all these miners against him
+and as they piled their rolls on the stage he lingered to see them off. He had
+paid them union wages and treated them right but now, with their time-checks in
+their pockets, they looked past him in stony silence. It puzzled him somehow,
+leaving him vaguely uneasy; but just as the stage pulled out he found the answer
+to his enigma. On the gallery of the Huff house as the automobile sped past
+there was a sudden flash of white and as Virginia appeared the young engineer
+rose up drunkenly and wafted her a kiss. After that the answer was plain.</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_179'></a>179</span><a id='link_20'></a>CHAPTER XX<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>An Appeal to Charley</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>What is a kiss waved by a drunken hand, to a man whose love is like the
+hills? And yet that kiss, wafted so amorously to Virginia, stirred up a rage in
+Wiley Holman&#8217;s heart. Was it not enough to wait on the table, without
+cultivating the acquaintance of her boarders? And this foolish affair, whatever
+it was, had cost him at least ten thousand dollars. It would come to that before
+he was through with it&#8211;in lost time and new machinery and unearned
+profits&#8211;and all because Virginia had smiled at this drunken engineer, who
+had promptly sent his overalls through the driving-gear. Yet that was the
+natural result of letting his men board in town where they could hear the
+Widow&#8217;s ravings against him.</p>
+
+<p>In the midst of his telephoning and giving directions to his mill-crew, who
+were still rushing their work on the mill, Wiley turned the matter over in his
+mind and it left him sick with doubts. He had counted upon the opposition of
+Blount, but Virginia&#8217;s almost staggered him. It would make a difference,
+before his six months was up, if she set all his men against him, and yet he
+could not stop <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_180'></a>180</span>her.
+If he withdrew his men and boarded them himself that would only inflame the
+neighborhood the more, for it would deprive the Huffs of their livelihood; and
+if he let things go on it might result in more wrecks that would seriously
+interfere with his plans. No, the thing to do was to see Virginia at once and
+come to an understanding.</p>
+
+<p>A telegram from his supply-house reported the engine an old type with all
+parts out of stock, and he worked for hours making tedious measurements before
+he ordered the new gear-wheel made. Then he sent an urgent wire to rush him the
+new engine that had been ordered to supply power to the mill, only to be told
+once more that it was held up by previous orders and could not be delivered for
+a month. A month! And with the water mounting up in his shaft like the interest
+on his notes. It was no time for half measures. He leapt into his racer and
+burned up the road to Vegas. Three days later he returned with an old gas engine
+that he had salvaged from an abandoned mine and by the end of the week, by
+working day and night, he had the pumps lifting water. And then again he
+remembered Virginia.</p>
+
+<p>He had thought of her, of course, when he was speeding to and fro, but he was
+hardly in the mood for sentiment. There were more things to go wrong than he had
+thought humanly possible in the management of a mine, and between ordering his
+machinery and taking on new men he had had scant leisure for affairs of the
+heart. He was young <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_181'></a>181</span>and inexperienced and the dealers took advantage of
+it to foist off old stock and odd parts, and then his engineers became fractious
+and disgruntled because he expected quick results. It was all very different
+from what he had expected when he had taken over the Paymaster lease, and yet it
+had to be endured and muddled through somehow until the mine was safely his own.
+Then out would come the engines, and all second-hand machinery and makeshift
+parts, and with a superintendent who knew his job he would lean back in comfort
+and learn the mining business by proxy.</p>
+
+<p>Wiley shaved that evening and went down through the town, but when he put his
+hand on the Widow&#8217;s gate his resolution failed him. He had placed her
+under bonds to keep the peace, and she had lived up to the undertaking
+scrupulously, but within her own house she had certain rights and privileges
+which even he dared not invade. If he stepped in that doorway she would order
+him out; and unquestionably she would be within her rights, since every
+man&#8217;s house is his castle. So, on the very threshold of Virginia&#8217;s
+retreat, he drew back and went to see Death Valley Charley.</p>
+
+<p>Death Valley was drunk, but his conscience was still active and he burst into
+a voluble explanation.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, I gave her that stock,&#8221; he protested earnestly, &#8220;but
+she made me take it back.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;It ain&#8217;t mine,&#8217; she says, &#8216;and I&#8217;ll work my hands
+off before I&#8217;ll take charity from anybody.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;No, you keep it,&#8217; I says, just exactly like you <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_182'></a>182</span>tole me, &#8216;because
+I&#8217;m your guardian, and all; and Wiley he says that I&#8217;m a hell of a
+poor one, because I sold him that stock for nothing. No,&#8217; I says, just
+exactly like you tole me, &#8216;I want you to keep this stock.&#8217;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well?&#8221; inquired Wiley, as Charley paused to take a drink,
+&#8220;and what did Virginia say, then?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, I couldn&#8217;t repeat it,&#8221; answered Death Valley
+virtuously. &#8220;She don&#8217;t seem to like you now. She says you stole her
+mine.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Huh!&#8221; grunted Wiley, and looked about the cabin which was
+littered with bottles and flasks. &#8220;Well, where&#8217;ve
+<i>you</i>been?&#8221; he went on at last, the better to change the subject, and
+Charley leered at him shrewdly.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Over across Death Valley,&#8221; he chanted drunkenly,
+&#8220;&#8211;on the east side, in the Funeral Range. But they put me to work on
+the graveyard shift so I quit and come back to town.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Ye-es,&#8221; jeered Wiley, &#8220;you&#8217;ve been on a big drunk.
+What are you doing with this demijohn of whiskey?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why, I got it for the Colonel,&#8221; replied Charley, laughing
+childishly, &#8220;and I started to take it over to him, but my burros got away
+at Daylight Springs, so I made camp and drunk it all up.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But it&#8217;s full!&#8221; objected Wiley.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I refilled it,&#8221; answered Charley and helped himself to
+another nip. &#8220;Thas second time now I took that whiskey to the Colonel and
+both times I drunk it up. Thas bad&#8211;the Colonel will kill me.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_183'></a>183</span>&#8220;Yes, and
+do a danged good job,&#8221; grumbled Wiley morosely. &#8220;You sure got me in
+Dutch with Virginia.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;She says you stole her mine,&#8221; defended Charley stoutly.
+&#8220;And don&#8217;t you say nothing against Virginia. She&#8217;s noblest
+girl the sun ever shined. I&#8217;ll <i>kill</i>any man that says
+different!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh yes, sure,&#8221; agreed Wiley, &#8220;I&#8217;d do that myself.
+But Charley, I didn&#8217;t steal her mine. I got it from Blount, and if she
+wants it back&#8211;say, Charley, you tell her I want to see her!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He leaned over eagerly and laid his hand on Charley&#8217;s shoulder, but
+Death Valley shook him off.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No!&#8221; he declaimed. &#8220;The Huffs are poor but
+proud&#8211;they don&#8217;t take charity from no one!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Aw, but, Charley,&#8221; he argued, &#8220;this isn&#8217;t charity.
+We&#8217;ll get it away from Blount!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re drunk!&#8221; declared Charley and turned sternly to the
+demijohn which was rapidly going down.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, maybe I am,&#8221; admitted Wiley craftily, &#8220;but
+that&#8217;s all right, isn&#8217;t it, between friends?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Sure thing&#8211;have another!&#8221; responded Charley cordially, and
+Wiley poured out a generous portion.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Here&#8217;s to you,&#8221; he said, &#8220;Old Chuckawalla
+Charley&#8211;the man that put the Death in Death Valley. You&#8217;re some
+desert rat, now ain&#8217;t you, Charley? You helped pack the mud to build the
+butte and stoped out the guest chamber down in hell! Well, here&#8217;s
+luck!&#8221; and he nodded his health.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, you bet I&#8217;m an old-timer,&#8221; boasted Death <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_184'></a>184</span>Valley vaingloriously.
+&#8220;I was at Panamint and Ballarat, and all them camps. Me and old Shorty
+Harris&#8211;we used to lead every rush&#8211;we was first at Greenwater and
+Skidoo. But these damned lizzies can beat us to it now&#8211;the old burro-man
+is too slow.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But crossing the sand, Charley, you&#8217;ve got us there; and
+climbing up these rocky washes. I&#8217;ve got a good machine&#8211;it&#8217;ll
+take me most anywhere&#8211;but when it comes to crossing Death Valley, give me
+some burros and old Uncle Charley.&#8221; He slapped him on the back and Uncle
+Charley smiled doubtfully and took another drink. &#8220;You bet,&#8221; went on
+Wiley, with method in his madness. &#8220;I&#8217;d like nothing better, when I
+get a little time, than to have you take me out across Death Valley.
+What&#8217;s it like, over there, Charley? Is it very far to water? But
+I&#8217;ll bet you know every trail!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I know &#8217;em all,&#8221; announced Charley proudly, &#8220;but
+here&#8217;s one that nobody knows. It&#8217;s the trail to the Ube-Hebes. First
+you go from here to Daylight Springs, but they ain&#8217;t no feed around there,
+so you go over the divide and down six miles and camp at Hole-in-the-Rock. And
+there they&#8217;s good feed and plenty of good water and a tin house where the
+freighters used to camp; and then you fill your tanks and the next day you
+follow the wash till it takes you down to Stovepipe Wells. That water is bad but
+the burros will drink it if you bail the hole out first, and the next day you
+cross the sand-hills and the Death Valley <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_185'></a>185</span>Sink and head for Cottonwood wash. Many is the man
+that has started for that gateway and died before he reached the water, but the
+Colonel&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Charley stopped abruptly and looked around for Heine and then he poured out a
+drink.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s dead now,&#8221; he concluded, but Wiley caught his eye and
+shook his head disapprovingly.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Not between friends,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Ain&#8217;t we drunk here
+together? Well, tell me the truth now&#8211;where is he? And listen here,
+Charley; I&#8217;ll tell you something first that will make it all right with
+the Colonel. All he has to do is to come back to Keno and I&#8217;ll give him
+his share in the mine. Then we can throw in together, and, when we get through,
+old Blount will be left holding the sack. Do you get the idea? I&#8217;m trying
+to be friends, but you&#8217;ve got to take me over to the Colonel!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The Colonel is dead!&#8221; repeated Charley doggedly and then he
+cocked his head to one side. &#8220;Don&#8217;t you hear &#8217;em?&#8221; he
+asked, &#8220;it&#8217;s them Germans or something&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Never mind!&#8221; said Wiley sharply. &#8220;I&#8217;m talking about
+the Colonel, and I&#8217;ll tell you what I&#8217;ll do. I can&#8217;t give the
+mine to Virginia because she won&#8217;t take it; but the Colonel is a
+gentleman. He&#8217;s reasonable, Charley, and I&#8217;d get along with him
+fine; so come on, now&#8211;go over and tell him!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He patted him on the back and a look of indecision crept into Charley&#8217;s
+drink-dimmed eyes, but in the end he shook his head.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_186'></a>186</span>&#8220;Nope,&#8221; he muttered, &#8220;the Colonel
+is dead!&#8221; And Wiley threw up his hands.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, then here,&#8221; he ran on, &#8220;you know me Charley; and you
+know I&#8217;m not trying to steal that mine. Now here&#8217;s what I want you
+to do. You tell Virginia I want to see her; and then some night you bring her
+over and&#8211;well, maybe that will do just as well.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Will you give her back her mine?&#8221; inquired Charley pointedly,
+and Wiley rose up in a rage.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes!&#8221; he yelled, &#8220;for cripes&#8217; sake, what&#8217;s the
+matter with you? You talk like everybody was a crook. Didn&#8217;t I give her
+back her stock? Well then, I&#8217;ll give her back her mine! But she&#8217;s
+got to accept it, hasn&#8217;t she?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;That was her I heard coming,&#8221; answered Charley simply, but when
+Wiley looked out she was gone.</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_187'></a>187</span><a id='link_21'></a>CHAPTER XXI<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>The Dragon&#8217;s Teeth</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>It is the curse of success that it raises up enemies as Jason&#8217;s dragon
+teeth brought forth armed men. When he was skating around the country, examining
+mines and taking out options, Wiley could safely count every man his friend; but
+now that he had made his big <i>coup</i>on the Paymaster they were against him,
+from Virginia down. If he went to her politely with a thousand-dollar bill and
+asked her to take it as a gift she would refuse to so much as look at him. And
+yet, as a matter of fact, he was the same old laughing Wiley&#8211;only now he
+did not laugh. It was not right, but it could not be helped.</p>
+
+<p>A long and weary month, full of vexatious delays and nerve-racking demands
+from his creditors, left its mark on Wiley&#8217;s face; but in six weeks the
+mine and mill were running. Three shifts of men broke the ore at the face and
+sent it up the shaft to the grizzly and from there it was fed down through the
+enormous rock-crusher and then on through the ball-mills and rollers to the
+concentrating tables below. It was crushed and sorted and crushed again and
+ground fine in the revolving tubes, and <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_188'></a>188</span>then it was screened and washed and separated on
+vanners until nothing but the concentrates remained. The tail sluicings were
+sluiced off down the gulch, to add to the mighty dump that the Paymaster had
+left there in its prime. But even at its best, when it was working in gold ore
+that ran three or four thousand to the ton, even then the famous Paymaster had
+not turned out treasure like this.</p>
+
+<p>The banks were full of gold&#8211;they were shipping it to America in lots of
+ten and twelve million at a time&#8211;but tungsten was rare, it was necessary,
+almost priceless, and the demand for it increased by leaps and bounds. How could
+iron-masters harden the tools that were to turn out the mighty cannon that this
+gold had been sent over to buy, unless they could get the tungsten? Molybdenum,
+vanadium, manganese, and all the substitutes were commandeered to take its
+place; but month by month the price of tungsten crept up until now all the West
+was tungsten-mad. It had gone up from forty dollars to sixty, and now seventy,
+for a twenty-pound unit of concentrates&#8211;running sixty per cent or better
+of tungstic acid&#8211;and as Wiley resumed his shipments he received a frantic
+offer of seventy-five dollars a unit. And then once more he smiled.</p>
+
+<p>There had been a time when he had felt the cold hand of Blount closing down
+on his precious mine&#8211;and the other banks had refused to take over his
+notes. The property was not his, there was nothing tangible upon which to make a
+loan; and <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_189'></a>189</span>then,
+Blount had passed the word around. Wiley was indebted to him, and heavily
+indebted, and when he took the apple there would be no core for the rest. But
+now in a week the whole situation had changed and Wiley&#8217;s smile brought
+forth answering smiles. The general store in Vegas extended his credit, even his
+supply-house had heard the good news; and Blount, who had grown arrogant, became
+suddenly friendly and fawning, trying vainly to cover up his hand. He was like a
+man who had clutched at a treasure and discovered himself a little too soon. The
+treasure was still Wiley&#8217;s but&#8211;well, Blount was used to waiting, so
+he smiled and extended the notes.</p>
+
+<p>At three dollars and more a pound it would not take many tons of tungsten to
+put Wiley safely out of the hole, but when he ran over his accounts he was
+startled by the bills that were piling up against him. A thousand dollars was
+nothing to these mining machinery houses and his payroll was over two hundred a
+day; and then there was powder and timber and steel, and gasoline and oil,
+<i>and</i>the freight across the desert. That went on everything, twenty dollars
+a ton whether they hauled both ways or one; and with so much at stake he had to
+treat everyone generously or run the chance of being tied up by a strike. Nor
+was there lacking the sinister evidence of some unfriendly if not hostile force,
+and as breakdowns recurred and unexpected accidents happened, Wiley came and
+went like a ghost. His gun was always <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_190'></a>190</span> on him and he watched each man warily, seeking out
+his enemies from his friends.</p>
+
+<p>As for Virginia and her mother, he had long since given up hope of stopping
+their venomous tongues; and Death Valley Charley, finding the pressure too
+strong, had conveniently dropped out of sight. In all that town, which he had
+found dead and unpeopled and had changed in a few months to a live camp, there
+was not a single soul that he could truthfully say was honestly and
+unquestionably his friend. It was not that they were against him, for most of
+them realized that their own success was bound up with his; but they were not
+actively for him, they did not boost and help him, but joined in on the old
+anvil chorus. He had cheated the Widow, he had beaten Virginia out of her stock,
+he had taken advantage of Death Valley Charley! But, they added&#8211;and this
+was what galled him&#8211;what else could you expect from the son of Honest
+John?</p>
+
+<p>Wiley gritted his teeth, but he did not speak his mind for the hour of
+vindication was at hand. When he had paid off his notes and his bills for
+supplies the first thing he would do, even before he took over the mine, would
+be to buy in Blount&#8217;s Paymaster stock. And with that stock in his hands,
+with every tell-tale endorsement to prove the damning story of Blount&#8217;s
+guilt, he would go to these old-timers and make them eat their words when they
+said his father was not honest. But as far as he was concerned, what difference
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_191'></a>191</span>did it make whether
+they considered him honest or not? Would they feel any more kindly towards his
+honest old father when he had proved that he had been faithful to the end? No,
+they thought they were virtuous and only denouncing injustice, but when that
+charge was taken out of their mouths they would clack on out of jealousy at his
+success. It was envy that really poisoned their minds and made them spit forth
+spleen, envy and chagrin at their own lack of foresight.</p>
+
+<p>The Paymaster dump had lain right at their doorway where all of them could
+inspect its ore, but no one had noticed the heavy spar. They had called it white
+quartz and dismissed it from their minds, but he had come among them with
+different eyes. He had gone to a school of mines, where he had learned to
+identify minerals, and he had kept up with the mining magazines; and while these
+poisonous knockers had been lamenting the results of the war he had jumped in
+and turned it to his advantage. He had done something practical, to the
+improvement of industry, something that might change in a certain measure, the
+very destiny of the world; but the moment he succeeded they had accused him of
+robbing half-wits and of oppressing the widow and the orphan. Wiley shut down
+his jaws and smiled dourly.</p>
+
+<p>There was small hope now of changing the widow and her &#8220;orphan&#8221;
+but if he could not convert them he could show them. As sure as he knew anything
+he was convinced that Colonel Huff had simply <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_192'></a>192</span>fled from his wife&#8217;s nagging tongue and, when
+he got the time, Wiley intended to hire a pack-train and set out across Death
+Valley to find him. Virginia came and went, but always she avoided him
+scrupulously. Not once since she had returned from Vegas had she met his
+questioning eyes; and to all his advances she turned a deaf ear, if the
+statements of Charley could be trusted. The carefully thought out scheme of
+getting back the Huff stock and then forming an alliance against Blount had died
+before it was born; or it remained at best in suspended animation, pending Death
+Valley Charley&#8217;s return. He had gone off with his burros but the longer
+Wiley waited on him the more he saw that Charley was a broken reed. No, the
+trimming of Blount, if it was done at all, would have to be done by
+him&#8211;and all he needed was time.</p>
+
+<p>Two months and a little more lay between him and the day of
+reckoning&#8211;the twentieth day of May. In that short time he must meet heavy
+obligations, pay off his notes, buy Blount&#8217;s stock and purchase the mine;
+and if anything should happen&#8211;if the hoist should break down, the mill
+blow up, the market for tungsten fail&#8211;well, he could kiss the Paymaster
+good-by. The market and other influences were on the knees of the gods, but Wiley
+decided that there should be no more accidents. That was something preventable
+and no more love-sick engineers were going to use his gearings for a clothes
+mangle. He engaged <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_193'></a>193</span>two watchmen who were mechanics as well and then he
+kept watch over his watchmen. Neither by day nor by night did he go down the
+hill for more than a few minutes at a time and on dark, stormy nights he
+wandered about like a specter watching the shadows for Stiff Neck George. He was
+out there somewhere, Wiley knew it as instinctively as he knew that Virginia
+hated him, and yet he never appeared. He never made threats nor showed himself
+in the open but, somewhere, he was out there in the darkness; and sooner or
+later he would strike.</p>
+
+<p>The days dragged on slowly, with cold, March winds and sandstorms boiling in
+over Shadow Mountain; and then driving rain followed by bright, sunny weather
+and struggling flowers in the swales. It was spring, in a way, but not the
+spring of yester-year, with its songs and laughter and high hopes. Wiley felt
+the old call to be up and away, but his racer remained in its shed. He paced
+about restlessly, waiting for something to happen, observing the slightest
+signs&#8211;and then he found her tracks in the dust. Virginia had come up the
+trail in the night and had gone down past the mill. He knew her tracks well and,
+among the broad brogans of the miners, they stood out like the footprints of a
+fairy. Wiley&#8217;s heart leapt up in his breast&#8211;and then it stood still.
+Had she come as an enemy or a friend?</p>
+
+<p>He followed her trail to where it had been trampled out by the watchman in
+making his regular rounds; <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_194'></a>194</span>and then, below the mill, he picked it up again as
+it went on down the path. Not once had she hesitated or turned from the beaten
+trail, but she had gone down after the graveyard shift. That went on at eleven
+and her tracks were superimposed on the hob-nailed boot-marks of the miners.
+When they had come off shift they had trampled them out again, except for a
+print here and there; and by the color of the dust Wiley shrewdly judged that
+she had visited him between twelve and one. Between the wind-blown footprints of
+the night-shift and the fresh red of the day shift as they had mounted the trail
+at seven, her high-arched steps had been made about midnight, for the dust had
+been whitened by the air. Wiley followed them silently, trampling them out as he
+went, and that night as the graveyard shift came on he slipped out and hid by
+the trail. What kind of a watchman was this, who let a woman come and go and
+never even saw her tracks in the dust? He could watch for Virginia; and
+meanwhile, incidentally, he could keep tab on this sleepy-headed guard.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>chuh</i>, <i>chuh</i>of the engine echoed loud in the canyon as the
+hoist brought up the first cars, and then the rumble of the trams as they were
+pushed down the track and the clatter of the ore down the grizzly. A sharp
+<i>blap</i>, <i>blap</i>, from the compressor showed that the machine-men had
+set up their drills; and beneath all the rest there was the hushed rumble of the
+mill and the thunderous <i>rhump</i>, <i>rhump</i>, of the rock-breaker. It was
+a <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_195'></a>195</span> ponderous affair
+of the old jaw-type, surmounted by a fly-wheel of a full ton&#8217;s weight that
+drove it rhythmically on; and as Wiley listened it made a music for his ears as
+sweet as any bass viol. In this mine of his there was an orchestration of busy
+sounds, from the clang of the bell to start or stop the engine, to this deep,
+rumbling undertone of the crusher; and every clang and crunch brought him that
+much nearer to the day when he would be free.</p>
+
+<p>He took shelter within the black mouth of a short tunnel by the trail and
+looked out at his little world&#8211;the huge mill, dimly lighted, the gaunt
+gallows-frame against the sky, and the sleeping town below. He had made them his
+own and now he must fight for them; and watch over them, day and night. Above
+him the stars shone out clean and cold, a million of them in the dry, desert
+air; and in the east the half moon rose up slowly above Gold Hill, where the
+wealth of ages lay hid. It had given up its gold but his hand had struck the
+blow that would open up its treasure vaults of tungsten. All it needed now was
+watchfulness and patience. The moon rose up higher and he dozed within the
+shadow and then a sound brought him to with a start. It was the crunch of gravel
+on the trail before him and as he looked out he saw Virginia.</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_196'></a>196</span><a id='link_22'></a>CHAPTER XXII<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>Virginia Explains&#8211;nothing</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>She was covered by a cloak and there was a man&#8217;s hat on her head, but
+Wiley knew her&#8211;it was Virginia Huff. The moon had mounted high and the
+chill of the morning was in the air, so he could hardly flatter himself that she
+had come to see him. Perhaps it was just to see the mine. But if, beneath that
+cloak, she carried some instrument of destruction&#8211;he stepped out and
+watched her covertly. She tiptoed up the trail, glancing nervously about her,
+starting back as a trammer dumped his ore; and then, very slowly, she crept past
+his house and disappeared in the direction of the mill. Instantly he whipped out
+of his tunnel and started after her, running swiftly up the trail; but as he
+neared the summit she came catapulting against him, running as swiftly the other
+way.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Here! Stop!&#8221; he commanded as she leapt back with a stifled
+scream and then as she made a dash he plunged resolutely after her and caught
+her like a child.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You let go of me!&#8221; she panted, but he flung <span class='pagenum
+pncolor'><a id='page_197'></a>197</span>one arm about her and held both her
+hands to her side.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; he said, and she struck out violently only to find herself
+clutched the tighter.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Wiley Holman!&#8221; she exploded, &#8220;if you don&#8217;t let me
+go! You&#8217;d better&#8211;I saw a man back there!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s my watchman,&#8221; answered Wiley. &#8220;I keep him to
+guard the mill. But what are you doing up here?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No! It wasn&#8217;t! It was Stiff Neck George! And he had something
+heavy in his hand! You&#8217;d better go and watch him!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She was struggling in his arms, her breath hot against his cheek, fear and
+rage in every word, but he crushed her roughly to his side.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Never mind about George,&#8221; he said. &#8220;What are
+<i>you</i>doing up here, now?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But he&#8217;ll blow up your mine! I&#8217;ve heard him threaten to! I
+just came up to tell you!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, that&#8217;s different!&#8221; returned Wiley, relaxing his grip,
+&#8220;but never mind&#8211;my watchman will get him.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No! The watchman is asleep&#8211;I didn&#8217;t see him anywhere! Oh,
+Wiley; please run and stop him!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Nope,&#8221; replied Wiley, &#8220;he can blow the whole mill
+up&#8211;I want to ask you a question.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He released her reluctantly, for the touch of her had thrilled him, and the
+sweetness of her breath on his cheek&#8211;but she darted down the trail like a
+rabbit.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_198'></a>198</span>&#8220;Here!
+Wait!&#8221; he ordered and outran her in ten jumps, at which she stooped and
+snatched up a rock.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Put that down!&#8221; he said, and as she swung back the rock, he
+braved it and caught her anyway. &#8220;Now,&#8221; he went on, trembling from
+the smash of the blow, but holding her in a grip of steel, &#8220;we&#8217;ll
+see what all this is about!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You will not!&#8221; she hissed back, &#8220;because I won&#8217;t
+answer you a word! And I hope old George ruins your mill!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s all right,&#8221; he said, shaking his bloody head,
+&#8220;but, Judas, you did smash me with that stone! After that, I guess,
+I&#8217;ve got something coming to me!&#8221; And he reached down and kissed her
+lips.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You&#8211;stop!&#8221; she panted. &#8220;Oh, I&#8211;I&#8217;ll kill
+you for that!&#8221; But Wiley only laughed recklessly.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;All right!&#8221; he said, &#8220;what&#8217;s the
+difference&#8211;I&#8217;d die happy! I almost wish you&#8217;d hit me
+again.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, I will!&#8221; she threatened, but when he released her she drew
+back and hung her head. &#8220;That isn&#8217;t fair,&#8221; she said,
+&#8220;you know I can&#8217;t protect myself, and&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, all right,&#8221; he agreed, &#8220;we&#8217;ll call it square
+then. But&#8211;I want to tell you something, Virginia.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Are you going to stand here,&#8221; she burst out sharply, &#8220;and
+let him blow up your mill?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I am,&#8221; he answered. &#8220;I don&#8217;t care what happens
+to me if you and I can be friends. I <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_199'></a>199</span>love you, Virginia, you know it as well as I do, and
+that&#8217;s all I want in the world. Let&#8217;s just be friends, the way we
+used to be when we were playing around town together. I&#8217;ve been trying to
+see you for months&#8211;it&#8217;s seemed like forty years&#8211;and Virginia,
+you&#8217;ve got to listen to me!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He paused and drew nearer, and she stood waiting passively, as if daring him
+to touch her again; but he stooped and peered into her face. The night was not
+dark and in the ghostly moonlight he could see the cold anger in her eyes.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I know,&#8221; he said, &#8220;you hate me like poison&#8211;but
+Virginia, this is going too far. It&#8217;s all right to hate me, if
+that&#8217;s the way you&#8217;re built, but you ought to give me a chance. It
+looks very much as if you&#8217;d come up here to-night to do some damage to my
+mine; but I&#8217;ll let that pass and say nothing about it if you&#8217;ll only
+give me a chance. Let me tell you how I feel and then, some other
+time&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, go on,&#8221; she said, &#8220;but if your old mine blows
+up&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I wish it would!&#8221; he burst out passionately. &#8220;If it would
+make any difference, I wish it was blown off the map. I can&#8217;t bear to
+fight you, Virginia; it makes my life miserable, and I&#8217;ve tried to be
+friendly from the first. But is it right to blame a man for something he
+can&#8217;t help and not even give him a chance to explain? If you think
+I&#8217;ve stolen your mine, why, go ahead and say so and let me give it back.
+I&#8217;ll do it, so help me God, if you&#8217;ll only say the word.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_200'></a>200</span>&#8220;What
+word?&#8221; she asked, and he threw out his hands in a helpless appeal to her
+pity.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Any word,&#8221; he said, &#8220;so long as it&#8217;s friendly. But I
+just can&#8217;t stand it to be without you!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh,&#8221; she said, and looked back up the trail as if meditating
+another dash to escape.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, what is it?&#8221; he asked at last. &#8220;Won&#8217;t you even
+listen to me? I&#8217;ve got a plan to propose.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why, certainly,&#8221; she responded, &#8220;go ahead and tell it. And
+then, when it&#8217;s done, can I go?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, you can go,&#8221; he answered eagerly, &#8220;if you&#8217;ll
+only just listen reasonably and think what this means to us both. We used to be
+friends, Virginia, and while I was working up this deal I did everything I could
+to help you. I didn&#8217;t have much money then or I&#8217;d have done more for
+you, but you know my heart was right. I wasn&#8217;t trying to take advantage of
+you. But the minute I got the mine it seems as if everybody turned against
+me&#8211;and you turned against me, too. That hurt me, Virginia, after what
+I&#8217;d tried to do for you, but I know you had your reasons. You blamed me
+for things that I never had done and&#8211;well, you wouldn&#8217;t even speak
+to me. But that was all right&#8211;it was perfectly natural&#8211;and on
+Christmas I sent you back your stock. I only bought it from Charley to help you
+get to Los Angeles, and I considered that I was holding it in trust; so I sent
+it back by Charley, but I suppose he made some break, because I found it on
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_201'></a>201</span>my table that
+night. But you&#8217;ll take it back now; won&#8217;t you, Virginia?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>His voice broke like a boy&#8217;s in the earnestness of his appeal and yet
+it was hopeless, too, for he saw that she stood unmoved. He waited for an
+answer, then as she shifted her feet impatiently he went on with dogged
+persistence. It was useless, he knew it; and yet, sometime in the future, she
+might recall what he had said and take advantage of it.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, all right, then,&#8221; he assented, &#8220;but the
+stock&#8217;s yours if you want it. I&#8217;m holding it for you, in trust. But
+now here&#8217;s what I wanted to tell you&#8211;I&#8217;d hoped we could do it
+together; but you ought to do it, anyway. You know that stock that your mother
+lost to Blount? Well, I know how you can get it back.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He paused for her to speak, to exclaim perhaps at his magnanimity in offering
+to help her against her will, but she shrouded herself pettishly in her
+cloak.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, you don&#8217;t care, eh?&#8221; he asked with a bitter laugh.
+&#8220;Well, I wish to God, then, I didn&#8217;t. But I do, Virginia! I
+can&#8217;t stand it to see you slaving when there&#8217;s anything in the world
+that I can do. Now here&#8217;s the proposition: according to law your father
+isn&#8217;t legally dead&#8211;he won&#8217;t be for seven years&#8211;and so
+your mother, not being his heir yet, had no right to hypothecate that stock. It
+still belongs to your father&#8217;s estate and all you have to do is to go to a
+lawyer and demand <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_202'></a>202</span>the property back. You&#8217;re his daughter, you
+see, and a co-heir with your mother, and Blount will not dare to oppose
+it!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, thanks,&#8221; returned Virginia. &#8220;Is that all?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why&#8211;no!&#8221; he said at last, clutching his hands at his side.
+&#8220;There&#8217;s&#8211;I&#8217;ll lend you the money, Virginia.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, thank you!&#8221; she answered, and started off down the trail,
+but he stepped in her way and stopped her. His mood had changed, for his voice
+was rough and threatening, but he struggled to keep it down.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Is that all?&#8221; he demanded and without waiting for the answer he
+reached out and caught her by the arm. &#8220;Virginia,&#8221; he said,
+&#8220;I&#8217;ve tried to be good to you, but maybe you don&#8217;t appreciate
+it. And maybe I&#8217;ve made a mistake. There&#8217;s something about you when
+I&#8217;m around that reminds me of a man with a grouch&#8211;only a man would
+speak out his mind. Now I&#8217;ve given you a chance to clean up twenty
+thousand dollars and I expect something more than: &#8216;No,
+thanks!&#8217;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, what <i>do</i>you expect?&#8221; she asked, struggling feebly
+against his grasp.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I expect,&#8221; he answered, &#8220;that you&#8217;ll state your
+grievance and tell me why you won&#8217;t have me?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;And if I do, will you let me go?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;When I get good and ready,&#8221; he responded grimly. &#8220;I
+don&#8217;t know whether I&#8217;m in love with you or not.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, my grievance,&#8221; she went on defiantly, <span class='pagenum
+pncolor'><a id='page_203'></a>203</span>&#8220;is that you went to work
+deliberately and robbed me and mother of our mine. And as for winning <i>me</i>,
+that&#8217;s one thing you can&#8217;t steal&#8211;and I&#8217;ll kill you if
+you don&#8217;t let go of that hand!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; he said, &#8220;I&#8217;ve heard that before&#8211;it
+seems to run in the family. But don&#8217;t you think for a minute that
+I&#8217;m afraid of getting killed&#8211;or that I&#8217;m trying to steal you,
+either. If you were an Indian squaw you might be worth stealing, because I could
+beat a little sense into your head; but the way things are now I&#8217;ll just
+turn you loose&#8211;and kindly keep off my ground.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He flung back her hand and stepped out of the trail but Virginia did not
+pass. Her breast heaved tumultuously and she turned upon him as she sought for a
+fitting retort; but while they stood panting, each glowering at the other, there
+was a crash from inside the old mill. Its huge bulk was lit up by a flash of
+light which went out in Stygian darkness and as they listened, aghast, the
+ground trembled beneath them and a tearing roar filled the air. It began at the
+stone-breaker and went down through the mill, like the progress of a devastating
+host, and as Wiley sprang forward, there was a terrifying smash which seemed to
+shake the mill to its base. Then all was silent and as he looked around he saw
+Virginia dancing off down the trail.</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_204'></a>204</span><a id='link_23'></a>CHAPTER XXIII<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>On Demand</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>If there was anything left of his mill but the frame, Wiley&#8217;s ears had
+played him false; and yet he stood and looked after Virginia. This grinding
+crash, this pandemonium of destruction which had left him sick with fear, had
+put joy into her dancing feet. Yes, she had danced&#8211;like a child that hears
+good news or runs to meet its father&#8211;and he had thought her worthy of his
+love! He had battered his brain for weeks to devise some plan whereby he could
+make his peace; he had taken her blows like a dog; and she had answered with
+this. Whether it was Stiff Neck George or some other man, she had known both his
+presence and his purpose; and now she rejoiced in the catastrophe. A hundred
+dollars would buy him a squaw more worthy of confidence and love.</p>
+
+<p>There was darkness in the mill, but when they brought the flares, Wiley saw
+that the ruin was complete. From the rock breaker to the concentrators there was
+nothing but splintered wood, twisted iron and upturned tanks; and the demon of
+destruction which had raged down through its length was nothing but the
+fly-wheel of the rock <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_205'></a>205</span>crusher. What power had uprooted it he was at a loss
+to conjecture but, a full ton in weight, it had jumped from its frame and plowed
+its way down through the mill. The ore-bins were intact, for the fly-wheel had
+overleapt them, but tables and tanks and concentrating jigs were utterly smashed
+and ruined. Even the wall of the mill had given way before it and the cold light
+of dawn crept in through a jagged aperture that marked its resistless course.
+The fly-wheel was gone and the damage was done; but there was still, of course,
+the post mortem. What had caused that massive shafting, with its ponderous
+speeding wheels, to leap from its bearings and go crashing down the descent,
+laying everything before it in ruins? Wiley summoned his engineer and, in the
+shattered jaws of the rock-breaker, they found the innocent-looking instrument
+of destruction. It was not a stick of dynamite, but a heavy steel sledge-hammer
+that had been cast into the jaws of the crusher. They had closed down upon it,
+the hammer had resisted, and then all the momentum of that whirling double
+fly-wheel had been brought to bear against it. Yet the hammer could not be
+crushed and, as the wheel had applied its weight, the resistance to its force
+had caused it to leap from its bearings and go hurtling down the incline.</p>
+
+<p>It was a very complete job, even better than dynamiting, and yet Wiley did
+not blame it on Stiff Neck George. Some miner, some millman, who had seen it
+done before, had repeated the <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_206'></a>206</span>performance for his benefit. Or was it, perhaps, for
+Virginia&#8217;s? He remembered the engineer who had fed his greasy overalls
+into the gearings of the hoist. He had boarded with Virginia and had waved her a
+parting kiss&#8211;but this time it would be some trammer. Wiley gave them all
+their time on general principles, but he did not go down to witness the
+farewell. Whether the trammer kissed her good-by or simply kissed her hand was
+immaterial to him now&#8211;and, in case it might have been a millman or some
+miner underground, he laid off the whole night shift. The night-watchman went
+too, and the stage the following evening brought out a cook to start up the
+boarding-house.</p>
+
+<p>Wiley did not guess it&#8211;he knew it&#8211;Virginia Huff was the witch who
+had mixed the hell-broth that had raised up all this treachery against him. She
+had poisoned his men&#8217;s minds and incited them to vandalism, but it would
+not happen again. He had been a fool to endure it so long; but she could starve
+now, for all that he cared. If she thought she could twist him like a ring
+around her finger while she egged on these men to wreck his mill, she had one
+more guess coming and then she would be right, for he had come to his senses at
+last. This was not the Virginia that he had known and loved&#8211;the Virginia
+he had played with in his youth&#8211;but a warped and embittered Virginia, a
+waspish, heartless vixen who had never been anything but cold. She had worked
+him deliberately, resorting to woman&#8217;s wiles to gain what was not her due,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_207'></a>207</span>and now when his
+mill was smashed into kindling wood, she danced and laughed for joy.</p>
+
+<p>What kind of a mind could a woman have, to do such a senseless thing and then
+laugh at the man who had helped her? She was kind to her cats, the neighbors all
+liked her, to everyone else she seemed human; but when it came to him she was a
+devil of hate, a fiend of ruthless cunning. She would tell him to his
+face&#8211;at three in the morning, when he had caught her running away from the
+mill&#8211;that she hoped his old mill would be ruined. And now, when the
+trammer or some other soft-head had sent one of his sledges through the crusher,
+she was laughing up her sleeve. But there was a hereafter coming for Virginia
+and her mother and they would get no more favors from him. If they crept to his
+feet and said they were starving he would tell them to get out and hustle.
+Meanwhile they had sent him broke.</p>
+
+<p>There would be no more ore concentrated in the Paymaster mill during the life
+of his bond and lease; and unless he could raise some money, and raise it quick,
+he was due to lose his mine. Whether he had abetted it or not, Blount would not
+fail to take advantage of this last, staggering blow to his fortunes; and there
+were notes and paper due which would easily serve as a pretext for a writ of
+attachment on his mine. Bad news travels fast, but Wiley set out to beat it by
+snatching at his one remaining chance. His mill was ruined, his output was
+stopped, but he still had the ore underground&#8211;and the <span class='pagenum
+pncolor'><a id='page_208'></a>208</span>buyers were crazy to get it. He sent out
+identical messages to ten big consumers and then sat down to await the results.
+They came with a rush, ten scrambling frantic bids for his total output for one
+year&#8211;and one of them was for eighty-four dollars! It was from the biggest
+buyer of them all, a man who was reputed to be the representative of a foreign
+government, a man who had paid cash on the nail. Wiley pondered a while, looked
+up his obligations to Blount, and accepted immediately by wire. But there was
+one proviso&#8211;he demanded an advance payment, which the buyer promptly wired
+to his bank. Then Wiley twisted up his lip and waited.</p>
+
+<p>Blount appeared the next day, dropping in casually as was his wont; but there
+was a cold, killing look in his eye and he had a deputy sheriff as a witness.
+They looked through the mill and Blount asked several leading questions before
+he ventured to come to the point, but at last he cleared his throat and spoke
+up.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, Wiley,&#8221; he said, drawing some papers from his pocket,
+&#8220;I&#8217;m sorry, but I&#8217;ll have to call your notes. If it were my
+money it would be different; but I&#8217;m a banker, you understand, and your
+paper is long overdue. I&#8217;ve extended it before because I admired your
+courage and thought you might possibly pull through, but this accident to your
+mill has impaired the property and I can&#8217;t let it run any
+longer.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_209'></a>209</span>&#8220;Oh,
+that&#8217;s all right,&#8221; said Wiley, &#8220;but you don&#8217;t need to
+apologize, because there won&#8217;t be any attachments and judgments. Just tell
+me how much it comes to and I&#8217;ll write you out a check.&#8221; He took the
+notes from Blount&#8217;s palsied hand and spread them on the desk before him,
+but as he was jotting down the totals Blount grabbed them wildly away.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Not much!&#8221; he exclaimed, &#8220;I don&#8217;t surrender those
+notes until the money is put in my hands! Your check isn&#8217;t worth a pen
+stroke!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, I don&#8217;t know,&#8221; returned Wiley. &#8220;There may be
+two opinions about that. I had a hunch, Mr. Blount, that you might spring
+something like this and so I made arrangements to accommodate you.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But you&#8217;re strapped! You owe everybody!&#8221; cried Blount in a
+passion. &#8220;I don&#8217;t believe you&#8217;ve got a cent!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Just a minute,&#8221; said Wiley, and took down his telephone.
+&#8220;Hello,&#8221; he called, &#8220;get me the First National Bank.&#8221; He
+waited then, twiddling his pencil placidly, while Blount&#8217;s great neck
+swelled out with venom. &#8220;I figure,&#8221; went on Wiley, as he waited for
+the connection, &#8220;that I owe you twenty-two thousand dollars, with interest
+amounting to two-eighty-three, sixty-one. Here&#8217;s your check, all filled
+out, and when I get the bank you can ask the cashier if it&#8217;s
+good.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But, Wiley&#8211;,&#8221; began Blount.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_210'></a>210</span>&#8220;Hello!
+Hello! Is this the First National? This is Holman, out at the Paymaster. Mr.
+Blount is here and, as I&#8217;m closing my account with him&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No! No!&#8221; cried Blount in a panic, but Wiley went on with his
+talk.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; he said, &#8220;the check is for twenty-two thousand, two
+eighty-three, sixty-one. Will you please set that amount aside to meet the
+payment on this check? All right, Mr. Blount, here&#8217;s the bank.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He held out the instrument and Blount seized it roughly, for he had heard of
+fake telephone messages before, but when he listened he recognized the
+voice.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, Agnew?&#8221; he hailed, smiling genially at the &#8217;phone.
+&#8220;Well, sorry to have troubled you, I&#8217;m sure. Oh, yes, yes; I know
+Wiley is all right; he&#8217;s good with us for twenty thousand more. No, never
+mind the certification; we may let the matter drop. Yes, thank you very
+much&#8211;good-by!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He hung up the receiver and turned to Wiley; but the cold, killing look was
+gone.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Wiley,&#8221; he chuckled, slapping him heartily on the back,
+&#8220;you certainly have put one over. It isn&#8217;t every day that I find a
+man waiting with the check all made out to a cent; and somehow&#8211;well, I
+hate to take the money.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I know how you suffer,&#8221; replied Wiley, grimly, &#8220;but
+let&#8217;s get the agony over.&#8221; He held <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_211'></a>211</span>out the check and Blount accepted it reluctantly,
+passing over the notes with a sigh.</p>
+
+<p>But for the trifling detail that &#8220;demand&#8221; had not been waived
+Blount could have gone into court without even asking for his money and secured
+an attachment against the property. But Wiley&#8217;s firm insistence that all
+cut-throat clauses should be omitted had compelled Blount to demand payment on
+the notes; and then, by some process which still remained a mystery, he had
+raised the full amount to meet the payment. And so once more, after going to all
+the trouble of bringing a deputy sheriff along, Blount found himself balked and
+his dreams of judgment and lien permanently banished to the limbo of lost
+hopes.</p>
+
+<p>Wiley&#8217;s over-prompt payment had confused Blount for the moment and
+thrown him into a panic. He had counted confidently upon crushing him at a blow
+and cutting short his inimical activities, but now of a sudden he found himself
+threatened with the loss of all his interests. If Wiley had made profits beyond
+his calculations&#8211;but no, he could not, for under the terms of their bond
+and lease one-tenth of the net profit on all his shipments was sent direct to
+Blount. And if what Wiley had received was only ten times the Company&#8217;s
+royalty, he was still in debt to someone. Blount had followed him closely and he
+knew that his expenses had absorbed all his profits, up to date. But
+perhaps&#8211;and Blount paused&#8211;perhaps the other bank, <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_212'></a>212</span>or some outside parties,
+were backing him in his enterprise. He would have to look that matter
+up&#8211;first. But if not&#8211;if he was still running his mine as he had from
+the first, on his nerve and his diamond ring&#8211;then there were ways and
+means which should be speedily invoked to prevent him from meeting his
+payments.</p>
+
+<p>Scarcely a month remained before the bond and lease lapsed&#8211;and
+Wiley&#8217;s option on Blount&#8217;s personal stock&#8211;but any day he might
+raise the money and, by taking over Blount&#8217;s stock, place him out of the
+running for good. These tungsten buyers who were so avid for its product might
+purchase an interest in the mine; they might advance the fifty thousand and take
+it over under the bond and lease, and bring all his plans to naught. As Blount
+paced about the office he suddenly saw himself defrauded of that which he had
+worked for for years. He saw his stock bought up first, to deprive him of the
+royalties, and then the mine snatched from his hands; and all he would have left
+would be the forfeited Huff stock and the small payment it would earn from the
+sale. Something would have to be done, and done every minute, to prevent him
+from carrying out his purpose.</p>
+
+<p>Blount paused in his nervous pacing and held out a flabby hand to Wiley, who
+was writing away at his desk.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, Wiley,&#8221; he said, &#8220;I guess I must be <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_213'></a>213</span>going. But any time you
+need money&#x2500;&#8221; He stopped and smiled amiably, in the soft, easy way
+he had when he wished to appear harmless as a dove, and Wiley glanced up briefly
+from his work.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, thank you, Mr. Blount,&#8221; he said. But he did not take his
+hand.</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_214'></a>214</span><a id='link_24'></a>CHAPTER XXIV<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>Double Trouble</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>The next two weeks of Wiley Holman&#8217;s life were packed so full of
+trouble that there were those who almost pitied him, though the word had been
+passed around to lay off. It was Samuel J. Blount who was making the trouble,
+and who notified the rest to keep out, and so great was his influence in all the
+desert country that no one dared to interfere. What he did was all legal and
+according to business ethics, but it gloved the iron hand. Blount was reaching
+for the mine and he intended to get it, if he had to crush his man. The
+attachments and suits were but the shadow boxing of the bout; the rough stuff
+was held in reserve. And somehow Wiley sensed this, for he sat tight at the mine
+and hired a lawyer to meet the suits. His job was mining ore and he shoveled it
+out by the ton.</p>
+
+<p>The distressing accidents had suddenly ceased since he began to board his own
+men at the mine and, while his lawyer stalled and haggled to fight off an
+injunction, he rushed his ore to the railroad. It was too precious to ship
+loose, for at eighty-four <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_215'></a>215</span>dollars a unit it was worth over four dollars a
+pound; he sent it out sacked, with an armed guard on each truck to see that it
+was delivered and receipted for. As the checks came back he paid off all his
+debts, thus depriving Blount of his favorite club; and then, while Blount was
+casting about for new weapons, he began to lay aside his profits.</p>
+
+<p>They rolled up monstrously, for each five-ton truck load added several
+thousand dollars to his bank account, but the time was getting short. Less than
+three weeks remained before the bond and lease expired, and still Wiley was
+playing to win. He crammed his mine with men, snatching the ore from the stopes
+as the bonanza leasers had done at Tonopah, and doubling the miner&#8217;s pay
+with bonuses. Every truck driver received his bonus, and night and day the great
+motors went thundering across the desert. The ore came up from below and was
+dumped on a jig, where it was sorted and hastily sacked; and after that there
+was nothing to do but sent it under guard to the railroad. There was no milling,
+no smelting, no tedious process of reduction; but the raw picked ore was rushed
+to the East and the checks came promptly back.</p>
+
+<p>Blount was fully informed now of the terms of his contract and of the source
+of his sudden wealth, but there was no way of reaching the buyer. A great war
+was on, every minute was precious&#8211;and every ounce of the tungsten was
+needed. The munitions makers could not pause for a single day <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_216'></a>216</span>in their mad rush to fill
+their contracts. The only ray of hope that Blount could see was that the price
+had broken to sixty dollars a unit. Wiley&#8217;s contract called for
+eighty-four, throughout the full year&#8211;but suppose he should lose his mine.
+And suppose Blount should win it. He could offer better terms, provided always
+that the buyer would accommodate him now. Suppose, for instance, that the fat
+daily checks should cease coming during the life of the lease. That could easily
+be explained&#8211;it might be an error in book-keeping&#8211;but it would make
+quite a difference to Wiley. And in return for some such favor Blount could
+afford to sell the tungsten for, say, fifty-five dollars a unit.</p>
+
+<p>Blount was a careful man. He did not trust his message to the wires, nor did
+he put it on paper to convict him; he simply disappeared&#8211;but when he came
+back Wiley&#8217;s lawyer was waiting with a check. It was for twenty thousand
+dollars, and in return for this payment the lawyer demanded all of
+Blount&#8217;s stock. Four hundred thousand shares, worth five dollars apiece if
+the bond and lease should lapse, and called for under the option at five cents!
+In those few short days, while Blount had been speeding East, Wiley had piled up
+this profit and more&#8211;and now he was demanding his stock!</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No!&#8221; said Blount, &#8220;that option is invalid because it was
+obtained by deception and fraud, and therefore I refuse to recognize
+it.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_217'></a>217</span>&#8220;Very
+well,&#8221; replied the lawyer, who made his living out of controversies, and,
+summoning witnesses to his offer, he placed the money in the hands of the court
+and plunged into furious litigation. It was furious, in a way, and yet not so
+furious as the next day and the next passed by; for the lawyer was a business
+man and dependent upon the good will of Blount. It was a civil suit and, since
+Wiley could not appear to state his case in Court, it was postponed by mutual
+consent.</p>
+
+<p>It had come over Wiley that, as long as he stood guard, no accident would
+happen at the mine; but he was equally convinced that, the moment he left it,
+the unexpected would happen. So, since Blount had elected to fight his suit, he
+let the fate of his option wait while he piled up money for his <i>coup</i>. As
+an individual, Blount might resist the sale of his stock; but as President of
+the Company he and his Board of Directors had given Wiley a valid bond and lease
+and, acting under its terms, Wiley still had an opportunity to gain a clear
+title to the mine. What happened to the stock could be thrashed out later, but
+with the Paymaster in his possession he could laugh his enemies to
+scorn&#8211;and he did not intend to be jumped! For who could tell, among these
+men who swarmed about him, which ones might be hired emissaries of Blount; and,
+once he was out of sight, they might seize the mine and hold it against all
+comers.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_218'></a>218</span>It was a thing
+which had been done before, and was likely to be done again; and as the days
+slipped by, bringing him closer to the end, he looked about for some agent. Had
+he a man that he could trust to hold the mine, while he went into town to gain
+title to it? He looked them all over but, knowing Blount as he did, and the
+weakness of human nature, he hesitated and decided against it. No, it was better
+by far that <i>he</i>should hold the mine&#8211;for possession, in mining, is
+everything&#8211;and send someone to pay over the money. That would be perfectly
+legal, and anyone could do it, but here again he hesitated. The zeal of his
+lawyer was failing of late&#8211;could he trust him to make the payment, in a
+town that was owned by Blount? Would he offer it legally and demand a legal
+surrender, and come out and put the deed in his hand? He might, but Wiley
+doubted it.</p>
+
+<p>There was something going on regarding the payments for his shipments which
+he was unable to straighten out over the &#8217;phone, and his lawyer was neglecting
+even that. And yet, if those checks were held up much longer it might seriously
+interfere with his payment. He had wired repeatedly, but either the messages
+were not delivered or his buyer was trying to welch on his contract. What he
+wanted was an agent, to go directly to the buyer and get the matter adjusted.
+Wiley thought the matter over, then he &#8217;phoned his lawyer to forget it and wrote
+direct to an express company, enclosing his bills of lading and authorizing
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_219'></a>219</span>them to collect the
+account. When it came to collecting bills you could trust the express
+company&#8211;and you could trust Uncle Sam with your mail&#8211;but as to the
+people in Vegas, and especially the telephone girl, he had his well-established
+doubts. His telegraphic messages went out over the &#8217;phone and were not a matter
+of record and if she happened to be eating a box of Blount&#8217;s candy she
+might forget to relay them. It was borne in upon him, in fact, more strongly
+every day, that there are very few people you can trust. With a suitcase,
+yes&#8211;but with a mine worth millions? That calls for something more than
+common honesty.</p>
+
+<p>The fight for the Paymaster, and Wiley&#8217;s race against time, was now on
+every tongue, and as the value of the property went up there was a sudden flurry
+in the stock. Men who had hoarded it secretly for eight and ten years, men who
+had moved to the ends of the world, all heard of the fabulous wealth of the new
+Paymaster and wrote in to offer their stock. Not to offer it, exactly, but to
+place it on record; and others began as quietly to buy. It was known that the
+royalties had piled up an accruing dividend of at least twenty cents a share;
+and with the sale of it imminent&#8211;and a greater rise coming in case there
+was no sale&#8211;there would be a further increase in value. It was good, in
+fact, for thirty cents cash, with a gambling chance up to five dollars; and the
+wise ones began to buy. Men he had not seen for years dropped in on Wiley to ask
+his advice about <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_220'></a>220</span>their stock; and one evening in his office, he
+looked up from his work to see the familiar face of Death Valley Charley.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Hello there, Charley,&#8221; he said, still working. &#8220;Awful
+busy. What is it you want?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Virginia wants her stock,&#8221; answered Charley simply and blinked
+as he stood waiting the answer. There was a war on now between the Huffs and
+Holmans into which Wiley&#8217;s father had been drawn; and since Honest John
+had repudiated his son&#8217;s acts and disclaimed all interest in his deal,
+Charley knew that Wiley was bitter. He had cut off the Widow from her one source
+of revenue but, when she had accused him of doing it for his father, Wiley had
+forgotten the last of his chivalry. Not only did he board all his men himself
+but he promised to fire any man he had who was seen taking a meal at the
+Widow&#8217;s. It was war to the knife, and Charley knew it, but he blinked his
+eyes and stood firm.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What stock?&#8221; demanded Wiley, and then he closed his lips and his
+eyes turned fighting gray. &#8220;You tell her,&#8221; he said, &#8220;if she
+wants her stock, to come and get it herself.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But she sent me to get it!&#8221; objected Charley obstinately.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, and I send you back,&#8221; answered Wiley. &#8220;I gave her
+that stock twice, and I made it what it is, and if she wants it she can come and
+ask for it.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;And will you give it to her?&#8221; asked Charley, <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_221'></a>221</span>but Wiley only grunted
+and went ahead with his writing.</p>
+
+<p>It was apparent to him what was in the wind. The Widow had written to demand
+of his father some return for the damage to her business; and Honest John had
+replied, and sent Wiley a copy, that he was in no ways responsible for his acts.
+This letter to Wiley had been followed by another in which his father had
+rebuked him for persecuting Mrs. Huff, and Wiley had replied with five pages,
+closely written, reciting his side of the case. At this John Holman had declared
+himself neutral and, beyond repeating his offer to buy the Widow&#8217;s stock,
+had disclaimed all interest in her affairs. But now, with her stock still in
+Blount&#8217;s hands and this last source of revenue closed to her, the Widow
+was left no alternative but to appeal indirectly to Wiley. What other way then
+was open, if she was ever to win back her stock, but to get back
+Virginia&#8217;s shares and sell them to raise the eight hundred dollars? Wiley
+grumbled to himself as Death Valley Charley turned away and went on writing his
+letter.</p>
+
+<p>It had been a surprise, after his break with Virginia, to discover that it
+left him almost glad. It had removed a burden that had weighed him down for
+months, and it left him free to act. He could protect his property now as it
+should be protected, without thought of her or anybody; and he could board his
+own men and keep the gospel of hate from being constantly dinned into <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_222'></a>222</span>their ears. They were
+honest, simple miners, easily swayed by a woman&#8217;s distress, but equally
+susceptible to the lure of gold; and now with a bonus after the minimum of work
+they were tearing out the ore like Titans. They were loyal and satisfied,
+greeting his coming with a friendly smile; but if Virginia got hold of them, or
+her venomous mother, where then would be his discipline?</p>
+
+<p>He was deep in his work when a shadow fell upon his desk and he looked up to
+see&#8211;Virginia.</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_223'></a>223</span><a id='link_25'></a>CHAPTER XXV<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>Virginia Repents</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>&#8220;I came for my stock,&#8221; said Virginia coolly as she met his
+questioning eye and Wiley turned and rummaged in a drawer. The stock was hers
+and since she came and asked for it&#8211;he laid it on the desk and went ahead
+with his work. Virginia took the envelope and examined it carefully, but she did
+not go away. She glanced at him curiously, writing away so grimly, and there was
+a scar across his head. Could it be&#8211;yes, there her rock had struck him.
+The mark was still fresh, but he had given her the stock; and now he was
+privileged to hate her. That wound on his head would soon be overgrown and
+covered, but she had left a deeper scar on his heart. She had hurt his
+man&#8217;s pride; and now he had hurt hers, and humbled her to ask for her
+stock. He looked up suddenly, feeling her eyes upon him, and Virginia drew back
+and blushed.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh&#8211;thank you,&#8221; she stammered and turned to go, and yet she
+lingered to see what he would say.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re welcome,&#8221; he answered evenly, and took a fresh
+sheet of paper, but she refused to notice the hint. A sense of pique, of wonder
+at his politeness <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_224'></a>224</span>and half-resentment at his obliviousness of her
+presence, drew her back and she leaned against his desk.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What are you writing?&#8221; she asked as he glanced at her
+inquiringly. &#8220;Is it a letter to that squaw?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>A sudden twitch of passion passed over his face at this reference to a dark
+page in their past and he drew the written sheet away.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; he said, &#8220;I happened to remember a white
+girl&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What?&#8221; burst out Virginia before she could check herself and he
+curled his lip up scornfully.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; he nodded, &#8220;and she seems to think I&#8217;m all
+right.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh,&#8221; she said and turned away her head with a painful twisted
+smile. Somehow she had always thought&#8211;and yet he must have met other
+girls&#8211;he was meeting them all the time! She tried to summon her anger, to
+carry her past this fresh stab, but the tears rose to her eyes instead.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I&#8211;we&#8217;ll be going away soon,&#8221; she went on hurriedly.
+&#8220;That is, if he gives us back our stock. Do you think he&#8217;ll do it,
+Wiley? You know&#8211;the plan you spoke of. We&#8217;re going to sell this
+stock to a broker and then pay Mr. Blount back.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know,&#8221; mumbled Wiley, and humped up over his
+letter, but it did not produce the effect he had hoped for.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well&#8211;I&#8217;m sorry I hurt you,&#8221; she broke out
+impulsively, rebuked by the long gash in his hair, &#8220;but you
+shouldn&#8217;t have tried to stop me! I <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_225'></a>225</span>wasn&#8217;t doing you any harm&#8211;I just came up
+there that night to see what was going on. And I did see Stiff Neck George, you
+can smile all you want to, and he had something heavy in his hand.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She ran on with her explanation, only to trail off inconclusively as she saw
+his face growing grim. He did not believe her, he did not even listen; he just
+sat there patiently and waited.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Are you waiting for me to go?&#8221; she asked, smiling wanly, but
+even then he did not respond. There had been a time, not many weeks ago, when he
+would have risen up and offered her a chair; but he had got past that now and
+seemed really and sincerely to prefer his own company to hers. &#8220;I thought
+you might help us,&#8221; she went on almost tearfully, &#8220;to get back our
+stock from Blount. It was nice of you to tell me, after the way I acted;
+but&#8211;oh, I don&#8217;t know what it was that came over me! And I never even
+thanked you for telling me!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>A cynical smile came into Wiley&#8217;s eyes as he sat back and put down his
+pen, but even after that she hurried on. &#8220;Yes, I know you don&#8217;t like
+me&#8211;you think I tried to wreck your mine and turned all your men against
+you&#8211;but I do thank you, all the same. You&#8211;you used to care, Wiley;
+but anyhow, I thank you and&#8211;I guess I&#8217;ll be going now.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She started for the door but he did not try to stop her. He even picked up
+his pen, and she turned back with fire in her eyes.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_226'></a>226</span>&#8220;Well, you
+might say something,&#8221; she said defiantly, &#8220;or don&#8217;t you care
+what happens to me?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No; I don&#8217;t, Virginia,&#8221; he answered quietly, &#8220;so
+just let it go at that. We can&#8217;t get along, so what&#8217;s the use of
+trying? You go your way and let me go mine.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, I know!&#8221; she sighed, &#8220;you think I&#8217;m
+ungrateful&#8211;and you think I just came for my stock. But I didn&#8217;t,
+altogether; I wanted to say I&#8217;m sorry and&#8211;oh, Wiley, <i>do</i>you
+think he&#8217;s alive?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Who?&#8221; he asked; but he knew already&#8211;she was thinking about
+the Colonel.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why, Father,&#8221; she ran on. &#8220;I heard you that time when you
+got old Charley drunk. Do you think he&#8217;s really alive? Because if he
+is!&#8221; She raised her eyes ecstatically and suddenly she was smiling into
+his. &#8220;Because if he is,&#8221; she said, &#8220;and I can find him
+again&#8211;oh, Wiley; won&#8217;t you help me find him?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll think about it,&#8221; responded Wiley, but his eyes were
+smiling back and the anger had died in his heart. After all, she was human; she
+could smile through her tears and reach out and touch his rough hand, and he
+could not bring himself to hate her. &#8220;After I pay for the mine,&#8221; he
+suggested gently. &#8220;But now you&#8217;d better go.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, no,&#8221; she protested, &#8220;please tell me about it. Is he
+hiding in the Ube-Hebes? Oh, you don&#8217;t know how glad I was when I heard
+you talking with Charley&#8211;I never did think he was dead. He sent me word
+once, not to worry about him, <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_227'></a>227</span>but&#8211;the Indians said he had died. That
+is&#8211;well, they said if it hadn&#8217;t been for that sandstorm they would
+surely have found the body. And he&#8217;d thrown away his canteen, so he
+couldn&#8217;t have had any water; and there wasn&#8217;t any more for miles. He
+was lost, you know, and out of his head; and heading right out through the
+sand-hills. Oh, it&#8217;s awful to talk about it, but of course we don&#8217;t
+know for certain; and it might have been somebody else. Don&#8217;t you think it
+was some other man?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know,&#8221; answered Wiley, and sat staring straight
+ahead as she ran on with her arguments and entreaties. After all, what did he
+have to base his belief upon, except the babblings of brain-cracked Charley?
+They had found the Colonel&#8217;s riding-burro, and his saddle-bags and papers,
+besides his rifle and canteen; and the Shoshone trailers had followed the tracks
+of a man until they were lost in the drifting sand-hills. And yet
+Charley&#8217;s remarks, and his repeated attempts to get across the valley with
+some whiskey; there was something there, certainly, upon which to build
+hope&#8211;and Virginia was very insistent.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I think it was another man,&#8221; he said at length.
+&#8220;Either that or your father escaped. He might have lost one canteen and
+still have had another, or he might have found his way to some water-hole. But
+from the way Charley talks, and tries to cover up his breaks, I feel sure that
+your father is alive.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_228'></a>228</span>&#8220;Oh,
+goodie!&#8221; she cried and before he could stop her she had stooped over and
+kissed his bruised head. &#8220;Now you know I&#8217;m sorry,&#8221; she burst
+out impulsively, &#8220;and will you go out and look for him at once?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Pretty soon,&#8221; said Wiley, putting her gently away. &#8220;After
+I make my payment on the mine. They&#8217;d be sure to jump me, now.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, but why not now?&#8221; she pleaded. &#8220;They wouldn&#8217;t
+jump your mine.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, they would,&#8221; he replied. &#8220;They&#8217;d jump me in a
+minute! I don&#8217;t dare to go off the grounds.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But what&#8217;s the mine,&#8221; she demanded insistently,
+&#8220;compared to finding father?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, not very much,&#8221; he conceded frankly, &#8220;but this is
+the way I&#8217;m fixed. I&#8217;ve got the whole world against me, including
+you and your mother, and I&#8217;ve got to play out my hand. There&#8217;s
+nobody I can trust&#8211;even my father has turned against me&#8211;and
+I&#8217;ve got to fight this out myself.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What? Just for the money? Do you think more of that than you do of
+finding my father?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, I don&#8217;t,&#8221; he said, &#8220;but I can&#8217;t go now,
+and so there&#8217;s no use talking.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; she answered, drawing resentfully away from him,
+&#8220;there&#8217;s no use talking to <i>you</i>! He might be dying, or out of
+food, but you don&#8217;t think of anything but that money!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, maybe so,&#8221; he retorted tartly, &#8220;but if you&#8217;d
+just left me alone, instead of sicking all your dogs on me, I&#8217;d&#8217;ve
+been over there looking <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_229'></a>229</span>for him, long ago. Of course I&#8217;m
+wrong&#8211;that&#8217;s understood from the start; but&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What dogs did I set on you?&#8221; she demanded, flaring up, and he
+fixed her with sullen eyes.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Never mind,&#8221; he said. &#8220;You know what you&#8217;ve done as
+well or better than I do. All I&#8217;ve got to say is that my conscience is
+clear and we&#8217;d better quit talking while we&#8217;re friends.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes&#8211;friends!&#8221; she repeated, and then she stopped and at
+last she heaved a sigh. &#8220;Well, I don&#8217;t care,&#8221; she defended.
+&#8220;You drove me to it. A woman must protect herself, somehow.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, you can do it,&#8221; he said, feeling tenderly of his head, and
+Virginia flew into a rage.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I told you I was <i>sorry</i>!&#8221; she cried, stamping her foot.
+&#8220;Isn&#8217;t that enough? I&#8217;m sorry, I said!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, and I&#8217;m sorry,&#8221; he answered, but his eyes were level
+and his jaw jutted out like a crag.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Sorry for what?&#8221; she demanded, and he sprang his trap.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Sorry I can&#8217;t go out and hunt for your father.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh,&#8221; she said, and drooped her head.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;If we could pay for what we&#8217;ve done by just being sorry,&#8221;
+he went on with a ghost of a smile, &#8220;we wouldn&#8217;t be where we are.
+But you know we can&#8217;t, Virginia. I&#8217;m sorry for some things myself,
+and I expect to pay for them, but I can&#8217;t stop to do it now.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But will you go for him&#8211;sometime?&#8221; she asked, smiling
+wistfully. &#8220;Then&#8211;oh, Wiley; why can&#8217;t we be friends?&#8221;
+She held out her hands and he <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_230'></a>230</span>rose up and took them, but with a startled look in
+his eyes. &#8220;You know that I&#8217;m sorry,&#8221; she said, &#8220;and
+I&#8217;m willing to pay, too; if there&#8217;s anything that I can do.
+Can&#8217;t I help you, Wiley? Isn&#8217;t there something I can do to help you
+pay for your mine? And I&#8217;ll never oppose you again&#8211;if you&#8217;ll
+only go and find my father!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She raised his hands and put them against her cheek and the quick tears
+sprang to his eyes.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll do it,&#8221; he promised, &#8220;just the minute I can go.
+And&#8211;I&#8217;ll try to be good to you, Virginia. Won&#8217;t you give me a
+kiss, just to show it&#8217;s all right? I&#8217;m sorry I treated you so rough.
+But it&#8217;ll be all right now and we&#8217;ll try to be friends again&#8211;I
+wasn&#8217;t writing to any other girl.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, weren&#8217;t you?&#8221; she smiled. &#8220;Well, I&#8217;ll kiss
+you, then&#8211;just once. But somehow, I&#8217;m afraid it won&#8217;t
+last.&#8221;</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_231'></a>231</span><a id='link_26'></a>CHAPTER XXVI<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>The Call</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>The long quarrel was over, they had made up&#8211;and kissed&#8211;and yet to
+Wiley it all seemed unreal. That is, all but the kiss. It was that, perhaps,
+which made the rest seem unreal, for it had changed the color of his life.
+Before, he had thought in terms of hard fact, but the kiss put a rainbow in the
+sky. It roused a great hope, a joy, an ecstasy, a sense of well-wishing for
+mankind; and yet it was only he who had changed. The world was the same; Samuel
+Blount was the same; and the miners, and Stiff Neck George. They were all there
+together in a rough-and-tumble fight to see who would get the Paymaster Mine
+and, even with the madness of her kiss in his soul, he pressed on towards the
+one, fixed goal.</p>
+
+<p>He had set out to win the Paymaster and win it he would if he had to shoot
+his way to victory. For Stiff Neck George, like a watchful coyote, had taken up
+his post on the hill; and from that sign alone Wiley knew that Blount had
+changed his tactics and appealed to the court of last resort. His attachments
+had failed, his injunction suit had failed, and his cheap attempt to cut off
+Wiley&#8217;s <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_232'></a>232</span>checks. The money had come, promptly forwarded by
+the Express Company with a note of apology from the buyer, and it lay now in
+Wiley&#8217;s office safe. All that was left to do was to send it to Blount and
+get back the deed to the property. Three days remained before the bond and lease
+expired, but that was not a day too much. The question was&#8211;who to send?
+Wiley thought the matter over, glanced at George up on the hill, and sent a note
+down to Virginia.</p>
+
+<p>She came up the trail smiling, for her proud reserve had vanished, and she
+even allowed him a kiss; but when he asked her to take the money to Blount she
+drew back and shook her head.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m afraid,&#8221; she said, &#8220;&#8211;I&#8217;m afraid
+something might happen. Can&#8217;t you send it by somebody else?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, that&#8217;s just the point,&#8221; he answered gravely.
+&#8220;Something is likely to happen if I do. My lawyer has turned crooked, and
+the bank won&#8217;t touch it; so there&#8217;s nobody to send but you. You can
+hide the money till you get there, so that no one will rob you on the way; and
+if anybody asks you, you can tell them about that stock deal and that
+you&#8217;re going down to hold up Blount.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why don&#8217;t you go?&#8221; she objected and he pointed out the
+doorway at Stiff Neck George on the hill.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;There he sits,&#8221; he said, &#8220;like a red-necked old buzzard,
+just waiting for a chance to jump my mine. He may do it, anyhow&#8211;I
+wouldn&#8217;t put it <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_233'></a>233</span>past him&#8211;but if he comes he&#8217;d better
+come a-shooting. You see, here&#8217;s the point: the man that holds this mine
+can turn out ten thousand dollars a day, and that amount of money would hire
+enough lawyers to fight the outsiders to a standstill. If I get jumped I&#8217;m
+licked, because I haven&#8217;t got any more money; and I&#8217;m going to stay
+right here and fight &#8217;em. But you take this money&#8211;there&#8217;s
+fifty-two thousand dollars&#8211;and go down and make that payment. If you
+can&#8217;t find Blount, then hunt up the clerk of the Superior Court and
+deposit the fifty thousand with him. Just bring me his receipt, with a
+memorandum of the payment, and he&#8217;ll notify Blount himself.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t like to,&#8221; she shuddered. &#8220;I&#8217;m afraid
+they won&#8217;t take it, and then you&#8217;ll&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;They&#8217;ve got to take it!&#8221; he broke in eagerly. &#8220;Just
+get the stage driver to go along as witness, and I&#8217;ll give you a full
+power of attorney. And then listen, Virginia; you take the rest of this money
+and buy back your father&#8217;s stock.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, can I?&#8221; she cried and, reaching out for the money, she held
+it with tremulous hands. There were fifty thousand-dollar bills, golden yellow
+on the back and a rich, glossy black on the front; and others of smaller
+denominations, making fifty-two thousand in all. It was a fortune in itself, but
+in what it was to buy it was well worth over a million.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Aren&#8217;t you afraid to trust me?&#8221; she asked at last, and
+when he smiled she hid it away. &#8220;All <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_234'></a>234</span>right,&#8221; she said, &#8220;and as soon as
+I&#8217;ve paid it I&#8217;ll call you up on the &#8217;phone.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She went out the next morning on the early stage and Wiley watched it rush
+across the plain. It was green as a lawn, that dry, treeless desert with its
+millions of evenly spaced creosote bushes; but as the sun rose higher it turned
+blood-red like an omen of evil to come. Many times before, in the glow of
+evening, he had seen the green change to red; but now it was ominous, with Stiff
+Neck George on the hill-top and Shadow Mountain frowning down behind. He paced
+about uneasily as the day wore on and at night he listened for the &#8217;phone. She
+was to call him up, as soon as she had paid over the money; but it did not ring
+that night.</p>
+
+<p>The morning of the last day dawned fair and pleasant, with the fresh smell of
+dew in the air, and he awoke with a sense that all was well. Virginia was in
+Vegas and, when Blount came to his office, she would make the payment in his
+stead. There was no chance to fail, once she had found her man; and if Blount
+refused to accept it, which he could hardly do, she could simply leave the money
+with the court. There were no papers to confuse her, no forms to go through;
+Blount had made a legal contract to sell the property and she had a full power
+of attorney. All it called for was loyalty and faithfulness to her trust, and
+Wiley knew Virginia too well to think she would fail him now. She was proud and
+hot-headed, and she <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_235'></a>235</span>had fought him in the past; but, once she had given
+her word, she would keep her promise or die.</p>
+
+<p>As the sun rose higher he imagined her at the bank with the sheaf of bills
+hidden in her bosom, and Blount&#8217;s surprise and palavering when he found he
+was caught and that his deep-laid plans had failed. He had schemed to catch
+Wiley between the horns of a dilemma, and either jump his mine when he went in
+to make the payment or force him to lose it by default. But, almost by a
+miracle, Virginia had appeared at the very moment when he was seeking a
+messenger; and by an even greater miracle, they had composed all their
+difficulties just in time for him to send her to town. It was like an act of
+Providence, an answer to prayer, if people any longer prayed; and, more, even,
+than the money and the joy of success, was the consciousness of Virginia&#8217;s
+love. She had seemed so hostile, so distant and unattainable; but the moment
+that he forgot her and abandoned all hope she fluttered to his hand like a
+dove.</p>
+
+<p>The noon hour came and went and as Wiley watched the &#8217;phone it seemed to him
+strangely silent. To be sure, few people called him, but&#8211;he snatched the
+receiver from the hook. He had guessed it&#8211;the &#8217;phone was dead! He rattled
+the hook and listened impatiently, then he shouted and listened again, and black
+fancies rose up in his brain. What was the meaning of this? Had they cut the
+wire on him? And why? It really made no difference! Virginia was there; he had
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_236'></a>236</span>heard it from the
+stage-driver who had driven her in the day before&#8211;and yet, there must be a
+reason. Perhaps it was an accident, for the line was old and neglected, but why
+should it happen now? He hung up the receiver and reviewed it all calmly. There
+were a hundred things which might happen to the line, for it passed through
+rough country near Vegas; but the weather was fair and there was no wind blowing
+to topple over the poles. No one used the line but him&#8211;it had been
+connected up by Blount when he had first taken over the mine&#8211;and yet the
+wire had been cut. But by whom? As he sat there pondering he raised his eyes to
+the hill-top, and Stiff Neck George was gone!</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The dastard!&#8221; cursed Wiley, leaping furiously to his feet and
+reaching for his rifle, but though he scanned the line through his high-power
+field-glasses there was not a man in sight. Wiley ran down to the shed and got
+out his racer that had lain there idle for months, but as his motor began to
+thunder, a head popped up and he saw Stiff Neck George on the ridge. He too had
+a rifle and, as he saw Wiley watching him, he dropped back and hid from
+sight.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oho!&#8221; said Wiley, and, leaving his machine, he strode angrily
+back to the mine. So that was their game, to get him to leave and then slip in
+and jump his mine. Perhaps it was all arranged with the men he had working for
+him and George would not even have a fight. Neither his foremen nor the guards
+were men he would care to trust <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_237'></a>237</span>in a matter involving millions&#8211;and yet
+something was wrong in Vegas. There was treachery somewhere or they would not
+cut the line to keep him from getting the news. He lingered irresolutely, his
+hands itching for the steering wheel, his eyes searching for Stiff Neck
+George.</p>
+
+<p>There was a feud between them&#8211;he had braved George&#8217;s killing gun
+and rushed in and kicked him down the dump. Would George, then, withhold his
+hand? But, down in Vegas, Blount was framing up some game to deprive him of
+title to his mine. Wiley weighed them in the balance, the two forces against
+him, and decided to stay with the mine. As long as he held it there were lawyers
+a-plenty to prove that his title was good, but if Stiff Neck George jumped it he
+would have to kill him to get back possession of the property. Or rather, he
+would have to fight him, for George was a gunman with notches on the butt of his
+six-shooter. No, he would have to get killed, or give up the Paymaster, whether
+Blount was right or wrong.</p>
+
+<p>He set his teeth and settled down to endure it&#8211;but he knew that
+Virginia would not fail him. He had given her the money, she knew what to do,
+and as sure as she hoped to save her father, he knew that she would do it. His
+part was to hold down the mine. The men came and went, the engine puffed and
+panted, and the long, dragging hours went by. As the darkness came on Wiley
+stalked in the shadows, looking out into the night for Stiff Neck George; but
+nothing stirred, the work <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_238'></a>238</span>went on as usual, and at midnight he gave up the
+search. His option had expired and either the mine was his or the title had
+reverted to the Company. There was nothing to watch for and so he slept, but at
+dawn his telephone jangled.</p>
+
+<p>Wiley rose up breathlessly and took down the receiver but no one answered his
+call. The &#8217;phone was dead and yet it had rung&#8211;or was it only a dream? He
+hung up in disgust and went back to bed but something drew him back to the
+&#8217;phone. He held down the hook and, with the receiver to his ear, let the lever
+rise slowly up. There was talking going on and men laughing in hoarse voices and
+the tramp of feet to and fro, but no one responded to his shouts. He hung up
+once more and then suddenly it came over him, a foreboding of impending
+disaster. Something was wrong, something big that must be stopped at once; and a
+voice called insistently for action. He leapt into his clothes and started for
+the door&#8211;then turned back and strapped on his pistol. As the sun rose up
+he was a speck in the desert, rushing on through a blood-red sea.</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_239'></a>239</span><a id='link_27'></a>CHAPTER XXVII<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>The Thunder Clap</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>The broad streets of Vegas were swarming with traffic as Wiley glided swiftly
+into town and he noticed that people looked at him curiously. Perhaps it was all
+imagination but it seemed to him they eyed him coldly. Yet what they thought or
+felt was nothing to him then&#8211;his business was with Samuel J. Blount. The
+mine was unprotected&#8211;he had not even told his foreman that he was leaving,
+or where he was going&#8211;and there was no time for anything but business. If
+there was any trouble for him, Samuel J. Blount was at the bottom of it, and he
+drove straight up to the bank. It was a huge, granite structure with massive
+onyx pillars and smiling young clerks at the grilles; but he hurried past them
+all and turned down a hall to a room that was marked: President&#8211;Private.
+This was no time for dallying or sending in cards&#8211;he opened the door and
+stepped in.</p>
+
+<p>Samuel Blount was sitting at the head of a table with other men grouped about
+him, but as Wiley Holman entered they were silent. He glanced at Blount and then
+again at the men&#8211;they were the <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_240'></a>240</span>directors of the Paymaster Mining and Milling
+Company!</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Good morning, Mr. Holman,&#8221; spoke up Blount with asperity.
+&#8220;Please wait for me out in the hall.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Since when?&#8221; retorted Wiley and then, leaping to the point,
+&#8220;what about that deed to the Paymaster?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why&#8211;you must be misinformed,&#8221; replied Blount slowly, at
+the same time pressing a button, &#8220;this is a meeting of the Board of
+Directors.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;So I see,&#8221; returned Wiley, &#8220;but I sent the money by
+Virginia to take up the option on the mine. Did you receive it or did you
+not?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>A broad-shouldered man, very narrow between the eyes, came in and stood close
+to Wiley, and Blount smiled and cleared his throat.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; he said, &#8220;we did not receive it?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, you didn&#8217;t, eh?&#8221; said Wiley, glancing up at the
+janitor. &#8220;Perhaps you will tell me if it was offered to you?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, it was not offered to us,&#8221; replied Blount, smiling blandly,
+&#8220;although Miss Huff did make a deposit.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Of fifty thousand dollars?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, it was more than that&#8211;fifty-two, I believe. It was deposited
+to your account.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh,&#8221; observed Wiley, and looked them over again as the directors
+turned around to scowl. &#8220;Well, perhaps I can see Miss Huff?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;She is not here at present,&#8221; replied Blount with finality,
+&#8220;and so I must ask you to withdraw.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_241'></a>241</span>&#8220;Just a
+moment,&#8221; said Wiley, as the janitor moved expectantly. &#8220;I came here
+on a matter of business with you and this Board of Directors and, since the
+matter is urgent, I must request an immediate hearing. You don&#8217;t need to
+be alarmed&#8211;all I want is my answer and then I&#8217;ll leave you alone. In
+the first place, Mr. Blount, will you please tell me the circumstances under
+which this deposit was made? I gave Miss Huff instructions to offer the money to
+you in payment for the Paymaster Mine.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh! Instructions, eh?&#8221; piped Blount with a satirical smile, and
+the Board stirred and nodded significantly. &#8220;Well, since you&#8217;ve just
+come in and are evidently unaware of the wide interest that has been taken in
+this case, I&#8217;ll tell you a few things, Mr. Holman. The people of this town
+do not approve of the manner in which you have treated Mrs. Huff; and as for
+your &#8216;instructions&#8217; to Virginia, let me tell you right now that we have
+saved her from becoming your victim.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;My victim!&#8221; repeated Wiley, moving swiftly towards him, but the
+janitor caught him by the arm.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, your victim,&#8221; answered Blount with a venomous sneer,
+&#8220;or, at least, your intended victim. The people of Vegas had nothing to
+say when you deprived Virginia and her mother of their livelihood&#8211;it was
+your privilege as lessee of the mine to board your own men if you
+chose&#8211;but when you had the effrontery to send Virginia to this <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_242'></a>242</span>Board with
+&#8216;instructions&#8217; to jeopardize her own interests, we felt called on to
+interfere.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why, you&#8217;re crazy!&#8221; burst out Wiley. &#8220;What interests
+did she jeopardize by making that payment for me? As a matter of fact it was
+just the contrary&#8211;I gave her the money to get back the stock that you had
+practically stolen from her mother!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Now! Now!&#8221; spoke up Blount, &#8220;we won&#8217;t have any
+personalities, or I&#8217;ll ask Mr. Jepson to remove you. You must know if you
+know anything that Virginia herself had over twelve thousand shares of stock;
+while her mother left with me, as collateral on a note, more than two hundred
+thousand shares more. Yet you asked this innocent girl, who trusted you so
+fully, to wipe out her whole inheritance at one blow. You asked her to come here
+and make a payment that would beat her out of half a million
+dollars&#8211;<i>for fifty thousand dollars!</i>&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He paused and the men about the table murmured threateningly among
+themselves.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;And now!&#8221; went on Blount with heavy irony, &#8220;you come here
+and ask for your deed!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, you bet I do!&#8221; snapped back Wiley, &#8220;and I&#8217;m
+going to get it, too. If Virginia came here and offered you that money,
+that&#8217;s enough, in the eyes of the law. It was a legal payment under a
+legal contract, entered into by this Board of Directors; and I call you
+gentlemen to witness that she came here and offered the money.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;She came to <i>me</i>!&#8221; corrected Blount, &#8220;and in no wise
+as the President of this Board!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_243'></a>243</span>&#8220;Well,
+you&#8217;re the man that I told her to go to&#8211;and if she offered you the
+money, that&#8217;s enough!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, it&#8217;s enough, is it? Well, it may be enough for you, but it
+is not enough for the citizens of this town. We have organized a committee, of
+which Mr. Jepson is a member, to escort you out of Vegas; and I would say
+further that your bond and lease has lapsed and the Company will take over the
+mine.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ll discuss that later,&#8221; returned Wiley grimly,
+&#8220;but I&#8217;ll tell you right now that there aren&#8217;t men enough in
+Vegas to run me out of town&#8211;not if you call in the whole town and the
+Janitors&#8217; Union&#8211;so don&#8217;t try to start anything rough.
+I&#8217;m a law-abiding citizen, and I know my rights, and I&#8217;m going to
+see this through.&#8221; He put his back to the wall and the burly Jepson took
+the hint to move further away. &#8220;Now,&#8221; said Wiley, &#8220;if we
+understand each other let&#8217;s get right down to brass tacks. It&#8217;s all
+very well to organize Vigilance Committees for the protection of trusting young
+ladies, but you know and I know that this is a matter of business, involving the
+title to a mine. And I&#8217;d like to say further that, when a Board of
+Directors talks a messenger out of her purpose and persuades her to disregard
+her instructions&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Instructions!&#8221; bellowed Blount.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes&#8211;instructions!&#8221; repeated Wiley,
+&#8220;&#8211;instructions as my agent. I sent Miss Huff down here to make this
+payment and I gave her instructions regarding it.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_244'></a>244</span>&#8220;Do you
+realize,&#8221; blustered Blount, &#8220;that if she had followed those
+instructions she would have defrauded her own mother out of millions; that she
+would have ruined her own life and conferred her father&#8217;s fortune upon the
+very man who was deceiving her?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, I do not,&#8221; replied Wiley, &#8220;but even if I did, that has
+nothing to do with the case. As to my relations with Miss Huff, I am fully
+satisfied that she has nothing of which to complain; and since it was you, and
+the rest of the gang, who stood to lose by the deal, your indignation seems
+rather far-fetched. If you were sorry for Miss Huff and wished to help her you
+have abundant private means for doing so; but when you dissuade her from her
+purpose in order to save your own skin you go up against the law. I&#8217;m
+going to take this to court and when the evidence is heard I&#8217;m going to
+prove you a bunch of crooks. I don&#8217;t believe for a minute that Virginia
+turned against me. I know that she offered you the money.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, you know, do you?&#8221; sneered Blount as his Directors rallied
+about him. &#8220;Well, how are you going to prove it?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;By her own word!&#8221; said Wiley. &#8220;I know her too well. You
+just talked her out of it, afterward.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;So you think,&#8221; taunted Blount, &#8220;that she offered the money
+in payment, and demanded the delivery of the deed? And will you stand or fall on
+her testimony?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Absolutely!&#8221; smiled Wiley, &#8220;and if she tells <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_245'></a>245</span>me she didn&#8217;t do it
+I&#8217;ll never take the matter into court.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Very well,&#8221; replied Blount and turned towards the door, but the
+Directors rushed in and caught him. They thrust their heads together in a
+whispered, angry conference, now differing among themselves and now flying back
+to catch Blount, but in the end he shook them all off. &#8220;No,
+gentlemen,&#8221; he said, &#8220;I have absolute confidence in the justice of
+my case. If you stand to lose a little I stand to lose a great deal&#8211;and I
+know she never asked for that deed!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, bring her in, then,&#8221; they conceded reluctantly, and turned
+venomous eyes upon Wiley. They knew him, and they feared him, and especially
+with this girl; for he was smiling and waiting confidently. But Blount was their
+czar, with his great block of stock pitted against their tiny holdings, and they
+sat down to await the issue.</p>
+
+<p>She came at last, ushered in through the back door by Blount, who smiled
+benevolently; and her eyes leapt on the instant to meet Wiley&#8217;s.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Here is Miss Huff,&#8221; announced Blount deliberately and the light
+died in Wiley&#8217;s shining eyes. He had waited for her confidently, but that
+one defiant flash told him that Virginia had turned against him. She had thrown
+in her lot with Blount, and against her lover, and by her word he must stand or
+fall. She had been his agent, but if she had not carried out her
+trust&#x2500;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Any questions you would like to ask,&#8221; went on <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_246'></a>246</span>Blount with ponderous
+calm, &#8220;I am sure Virginia will answer.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He turned reassuringly and she nodded her head nervously, then stepped out
+and stood facing Wiley.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It is a question,&#8221; began Wiley, speaking like one in a dream,
+&#8220;of the way you paid Mr. Blount that money. When you took it to him first,
+before they had talked to you, did you tell him it was my payment on the
+option?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Virginia glanced at Blount, then she took a deep breath and drew herself up
+very straight.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; she said, &#8220;I spoke to him first about buying back
+father&#8217;s stock.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But after that,&#8221; he said, &#8220;didn&#8217;t you hand him over
+the money and say it was sent by me?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, I didn&#8217;t,&#8221; she answered. &#8220;After the way you had
+treated me I didn&#8217;t think it was right.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Not right!&#8221; he repeated with a slow, dazed smile.
+&#8220;Why&#8211;why wasn&#8217;t it right, Virginia?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Because,&#8221; she went on, &#8220;you were trying to deceive me and
+beat me and mother out of our rights. You knew all the time that father&#8217;s
+stock was still ours&#8211;and that Mr. Blount never even claimed it!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Never claimed it!&#8221; cried Wiley, suddenly roused to resentment.
+&#8220;Well, Virginia, he most certainly did! He offered to sell it to me for
+five cents a share when I took out that option on the Paymaster!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Now, now, Wiley!&#8221; began Blount, but Virginia cut him short with
+a scornful wave of the hand.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_247'></a>247</span>&#8220;Never
+mind,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I&#8217;ll attend to this myself. I just want to
+tell him what I think!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What you <i>think</i>!&#8221; raved Wiley, suddenly coming up
+fighting. &#8220;You&#8217;ve been fooled by a bunch of crooks. Never mind what
+you think&#8211;did you give him the money and tell him it came from
+me?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I did not!&#8221; answered Virginia, her eyes flashing with hot anger,
+&#8220;and while I may not be able to think, I certainly wasn&#8217;t fooled by
+<i>you</i>. No, I took your money and put it in the bank, and I let your option
+expire!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;My&#8211;God!&#8221; moaned Wiley, and groped for the door, but in the
+hall he stopped and turned back. There was some mistake&#8211;she had not
+understood. He slipped back and looked in once more. She was shaking hands with
+Blount&#8211;and smiling.</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_248'></a>248</span><a id='link_28'></a>CHAPTER XXVIII<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>The Way Out</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>When a woman treads the ways of deceit she smiles&#8211;like Mona Lisa. But
+was the great Leonardo deceived by the smile of his wife when she posed for him
+so sweetly? No, he read her thoughts&#8211;how she was thinking of
+another&#8211;and his master hand wove them in. There she smiles to-day, smooth
+and pretty and cryptic; but Leonardo, the man, worked with heavy heart as he
+laid bare the tragedy of his love. The message was for her, if she cared to read
+it, or for him, that rival for her love; or, if their hearts were pure and free
+from guilt, then there was no message at all. She was just a pretty woman, soft
+and gentle and smiling&#8211;as Virginia Huff had smiled.</p>
+
+<p>She had not smiled often, Wiley Holman remembered it now, as he went flying
+across the desert, and always there was something behind; but when she had
+looked up at Blount and taken his fat hand, then he had read her heart at a
+glance. If he had taken his punishment and not turned back he would have been
+spared this great ache in his breast; but no, he was not satisfied, he could
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_249'></a>249</span>not believe it, and
+so he had received a worse wound. She had been playing with him all the time
+and, when the supreme moment arrived, she had landed him like a trout; and then,
+when she had left him belly-up from his disaster, she had turned to Blount and
+smiled. There was no restraint now; she smiled to the teeth; and Blount and the
+Directors smiled.</p>
+
+<p>Wiley cursed to himself as he bored into the wind and burned up the road to
+Keno. The mine was nothing; he could find him another one, but Virginia had
+played him false. He did not mind losing her&#8211;he could find a better
+woman&#8211;but how could he save his lost pride? He had played his hand to win
+and, when it came to the showdown, she had slipped in the joker and cleaned him.
+The Widow would laugh when she heard the news, but she would not laugh at him.
+The road lay before him and his gas tanks were full. He would gather up his
+belongings and drift. He stepped on the throttle and went roaring through the
+town, but at the bottom of the hill he stopped. The mine was shut down, not a
+soul was in sight, and yet he had left but a few hours before.</p>
+
+<p>He toiled wearily up the trail, where he had caught Virginia running and held
+her fighting in his arms, and the world turned black at the thought. What
+madness had this been that had kept him from suspecting her when she had opposed
+his every move from the start. Had she not wrecked his engine and ruined his
+mill? Then why had he trusted her with his money? And that last <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_250'></a>250</span>innocent visit, when she
+had asked for her stock, and thanked him so demurely at the end! She would not
+be dismissed, all his rough words were wasted, until in the end she had leaned
+over and kissed him. A Judas-kiss? Yes, if ever there was one; or the kiss of
+Judith of Bethulia. But Judith had sold her kisses to save her
+people&#8211;Virginia had sold hers for gold.</p>
+
+<p>Yes, she had sold him out for money; after rebuking him from the beginning
+she had stabbed him to the heart for a price. It was always he, Wiley, who
+thought of nothing but money; who was the liar, the miser, the thief. Everything
+that he did, no matter how unselfish, was imputed to his love of money; and yet
+it had remained for Virginia, the censorious and virtuous, to violate her trust
+for gain. It was not for revenge that she had withheld the payment and snatched
+a million dollars from his hand; she had told him herself that it was because
+Blount had returned their stock and she would not throw it away. How quick
+Blount had been to see that way out and to bribe her by returning the
+stock&#8211;how damnably quick to read her envious heart and know that she would
+fall for the offer. Well, now let them keep it and smile their smug smiles and
+laugh at Honest Wiley; for if there ever was a curse on stolen money then
+Virginia&#8217;s would buy her no happiness.</p>
+
+<p>He raised his bloodshot eyes to look for the last time at the Paymaster,
+which he had fought for <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_251'></a>251</span>and lost. What had they done to save it, to bring it
+to what it was, to merit it for their own? For years it had lain idle, and when
+he had opened it up they had fought him at every step. They had shot him down
+with buckshot, and beaten him down with rocks and threatened his life with Stiff
+Neck George. His eyes cleared suddenly and he looked about the dump&#8211;he had
+forgotten his feud with George. Yet if his men were gone, who then had driven
+them out but that crooked-necked, fighting fool? And if George had driven them
+out, then where was he now with his ancient, filed-down six-shooter? Wiley drew
+his gun forward and walked softly towards the house, but as he passed a metal
+ore-car a pistol was thrust into his face. He started back, and there was
+George.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Put &#8217;em up!&#8221; he snarled, rising swiftly from behind the
+car, and the hot fury left Wiley&#8217;s brain. His anger turned cold and he
+looked down the barrel at the grinning, spiteful eyes behind.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You go to hell!&#8221; he growled, and George jabbed the gun into his
+stomach.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Put &#8217;em up!&#8221; he ordered, but some devil of resistance
+seized Wiley as his hands went up. It was close, too close, and George had the
+drop on him, but one hand struck out and the other clutched the gun while he
+twisted his lithe body aside. At the roar of the shot he went for his own gun,
+leaping back and stooping low. Another bullet clipped his shirt and then his own
+gun spat back, shooting blindly through the smoke. He emptied <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_252'></a>252</span>it, dodging swiftly and
+crouching close to the ground, and then he sprang behind the car. There was a
+silence, but as he listened he heard a gurgling noise, like the water flowing
+out of a canteen, and a sudden, sodden thump. He looked out, and George was
+down. His blood was gushing fast but the narrow, snaky eyes sought him out
+before they were filmed by death. It was over, like a rush of wind.</p>
+
+<p>Wiley flicked out his cylinder and filled it with fresh cartridges, then
+looked around for the rest. He was calm now, and calculating and infinitely
+brave; but no one stepped forth to face his gun. A boy, down in town, started
+running towards the mine, only to turn back at some imperative command. The
+whole valley was lifeless, yet the people were there, and soon they would
+venture forth. And then they would come up, and look at the body, and ask him to
+give up his gun; and if he did they would take him to Vegas and shut him up in
+jail, where the populace could come and stare at him. Blount and Jepson would
+come, and the Board of Directors; and, in order to put him away, they would tell
+how he had threatened George. They would make it appear that he had come to jump
+the mine, and that George was defending the property; and then, with the jury
+nicely packed, they would send him to the penitentiary, where he wouldn&#8217;t
+interfere with their plans.</p>
+
+<p>In a moment of clairvoyance he saw Virginia <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_253'></a>253</span>before him, looking in through the prison bars and
+smiling, and suddenly he put up his gun. She had started this job and made him a
+murderer but he would rob her of that last chance to smile. There was a road
+that he knew that had been traveled before by men who were hard-pressed and
+desperate. It turned west across the desert and mounted by Daylight Springs to
+dip down the long slope to the Sink; and across the Valley of Death, if he could
+once pass over it, there was no one he need fear to meet. No one, that is,
+except stray men like himself, who had fled from the officers of the law. Great
+mountain ranges, so they said, stretched unpeopled and silent, beneath the glare
+of the desert sun; and though Death might linger near it was under the blue sky
+and away from the cold malice of men.</p>
+
+<p>From his safe in the office Wiley took out a roll of bills, all that was left
+of his vanished wealth; and he took down his rifle and belt; and then, walking
+softly past the body of Stiff Neck George, he cranked up his machine and started
+off. Every doorway in town was crowded with heads, craning out to see him pass,
+and as he turned down the main street he saw Death Valley Charley rushing out
+with a flask in his hand.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;We seen ye!&#8221; he grinned as Wiley slowed down, and dropped the
+flask of whiskey on the seat.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You killed him fair!&#8221; he shouted after him, but Wiley had opened
+up the throttle and the answer to his praise was a roar.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_254'></a>254</span>The sun was at
+high noon when Wiley topped the divide and glided down the canyon towards Death
+Valley. He could sense it in the distance by the veil of gray haze that hung
+like a pall across his way. Beyond it were high mountains, a solid wall of blue
+that seemed to rise from the depths and float, detached, against the sky; and up
+the winding wash which led slowly down and down, there came pulsing waves of
+heat. The canyon opened out into a broad, rocky sand-flat, shut in on both sides
+by knife-edged ridges dotted evenly with brittle white bushes; and each jagged
+rock and out-thrust point was burned black by the suns of centuries.</p>
+
+<p>He passed an ancient tractor, abandoned by the wayside, and a deserted,
+double-roofed house; and then, just below it where a ravine came down, he saw a
+sign-board, pointing. Up the gulch was another sign, still pointing on and up,
+and stamped through the metal of the disk was the single word: Water. It was
+Hole-in-the-Rock Springs that old Charley had spoken about and, somewhere up the
+canyon, there was a hole in the limestone cap, and beneath it a tank of sweet
+water. On many a scorching day some prospector, half dead from thirst, had
+toiled up that well-worn trail; but now the way was empty, the freighter&#8217;s
+house given over to rats, and the road led on and on.</p>
+
+<p>A jagged, saw-tooth range rose up to block his way and the sand-flat narrowed
+down to a deep wash; and, then, still thundering on, he <span class='pagenum
+pncolor'><a id='page_255'></a>255</span>struggled out through its throat and the
+Valley seemed to rise up and smite him. He stopped his throbbing motor and sat
+appalled at its immensity. Funereal mountains, black and banded and
+water-channeled, rose up in solid walls on both sides and, down through the
+middle as far as the eye could see, there stretched a white ribbon, set in
+green. It swung back and forth across a wide, level expanse, narrow and gleaming
+with water at the north and blending in the south with gray sands. The writhing
+white band was Death Valley Sink, where the waters from countless desert ranges
+drained down and were sucked up by the sun. Far from the north it came, when the
+season was right and the cloudbursts swept the Grape-Vines and the White
+mountains; the Panamints to the west gave down water from winter snows that
+gathered on Telescope Peak; and every ravine of the somber Funeral Range was
+gutted by the rush of forgotten waters.</p>
+
+<p>The Valley was dry, bone-dry and desiccated, and yet every hill, every gulch
+and wash and canyon, showed the action of torrential waters. The chocolate-brown
+flanks of the towering mountain walls were creased, and ripped out and worn; and
+from the mouth of every canyon a great spit of sand and boulders had been spewed
+out and washed down towards the Sink. On the surface of this wash, rising up
+through thousands of feet, the tips of buried mountains peeped out like tiny
+hill-tops, yet black, and sharp and grim. The <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_256'></a>256</span>great ranges themselves, sweeping up from the
+profundity till they seemed to cut off the world, looked like molded cakes of
+chocolate which had been rained on and half melted down. They were washed-down,
+melted, stripped of earth and vegetation; and down from their flanks in a steep,
+even slope, lay the débris and scourings of centuries.</p>
+
+<p>The westering sun caught the glint of water in the poisonous, salt-marshes of
+the Sink; but, far to the south, the great ultimate Sink of Sinks was a-gleam
+with borax and salt. It was there where the white band widened out to a
+lake-bed, that men came in winter to do their assessment work and scrape up the
+cotton-ball borax. But if any were there now they would know him for a fugitive
+and he took the road to the west. It ran over boulders, ground smooth by rolling
+floods and burned deep brown by the sun, and as he twisted and turned, throwing
+his weight against the wheels, Wiley felt the growing heat. His shirt clung to
+his back, the sweat ran down his face and into his stinging eyes and as he
+stopped for a drink he noticed that the water no longer quenched his thirst. It
+was warm and flat and after each fresh drink the perspiration burst from every
+pore, as if his very skin cried out for moisture. Yet his canteen was getting
+light and, until he could find water, he put it resolutely away.</p>
+
+<p>The road swung down at last into a broad, flat dry-wash, where the gravel lay
+packed hard as iron, and as his racer took hold and began to leap <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_257'></a>257</span>and frolic, he tore down
+the valley like the wind. The sun was sinking low and the unknown lay before
+him, a land he had never seen; yet before the night came on he must map out his
+course and stake his life on the venture. Other automobiles might follow and
+snatch him back if he delayed but an hour in his flight; but, once across Death
+Valley and lost in those far mountains, he would leave the law behind. The men
+he met would be fugitives like himself, or prospectors, or wandering Shoshones;
+and, live or die, he would be away from it all&#8211;where he would never see
+Virginia again.</p>
+
+<p>The deep wash pinched in, as the other had done, before it gave out into the
+plain; and, then, as he whirled around a point, he glided out into the open. The
+foothills lay behind him and, straight athwart his way, stretched a sea of
+motionless sand-waves. As far north as he could see, the ocean of sand tossed
+and tumbled, the crests of its rollers crowned with brush and grotesque
+drift-wood, the gnarled trunks and roots of mesquite trees. To the east and west
+the high mountains still rose up, black and barren, shutting in the sea of sand;
+but across the valley a pass led smoothly up to a gap through the wall of the
+Panamints. It was Emigrant Wash, up which the hardy Mormons had toiled in their
+western pilgrimage, leaving at Lost Wagons and Salt Creek the bones of whole
+caravans as a tribute to the power of the desert.</p>
+
+<p>A smooth, steep slope led swiftly down to the <span class='pagenum
+pncolor'><a id='page_258'></a>258</span>edge of the Valley of Death and as Wiley
+looked across he saw as in a vision a massive gateway of stone. It was flung
+boldly out from the base of a blue mountain, enclosing a dark valley behind; and
+from between its lofty walls a white river of sand spread out like a flower down
+the slope. It was the gateway to the Ube-Hebes, just as Charley had described
+it, and it was only a few miles away. It lay just across the sand-flat, where
+the great, even waves seemed marching in a phalanx towards the south; and then
+up a little slope, all painted blue and purple, to the mysterious valley beyond.
+The sun, swinging low, touched the summits of distant sand-hills with a gleam of
+golden light and all the dark shadows moved toward him. A breath of air fanned
+his cheek, and as he drank deep from his canteen he nodded to the Gateway and
+smiled.</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_259'></a>259</span><a id='link_29'></a>CHAPTER XXIX<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>Across Death Valley</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>The way to the Ube-Hebes lay across a low flat, glistening white with
+crystals of alkali; and as his car trundled on Wiley came to a strip of sand,
+piled up in the lee of a prostrate salt bush. Other bushes appeared, and more
+sand about them, and then a broad, smooth wave. It mounted up from the north,
+gently scalloped by the wind, and on the south side it broke off like a wall. He
+drove along below it, glancing up as it grew higher, until at last it cut off
+his view. All the north was gone, and the Gateway to his hiding-place; but the
+south and west were there. To the south lay mud flats, powdery dry but packed
+hard; and the west was a wilderness of sand.</p>
+
+<p>A giant mesquite tree, piled high with clinging drifts, rose up before the
+crest of his wave, and as he plowed in between them the edge of the crest poured
+down in a whispering cascade. Then more trees loomed up, and hundreds of white
+bushes each mounted on its pedestal of sand; and at the base of each salt-bush
+there were kangaroo-rat holes and the tracery of their tails in the dust. Men
+called it Death Valley, but for such as these <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_260'></a>260</span>it was a place of fullness and joy. They had capered
+about, striking the ground with their tails at the end of each playful jump, and
+the dry, brittle salt-bushes had been feast enough to them, who never knew the
+taste of grass or water.</p>
+
+<p>The sand-wave rose higher, leaving a damp hollow behind it where ice-plants
+grew green and rank; and as he crept along the thunder of his exhaust started
+tons of sliding silt. His wheels raced and burrowed as he struck a soft spot,
+and then abruptly they sank. He dug them out carefully and backed away, but a
+mound of drifted sand barred his way. Twist and turn as he would he could not
+get around it and at last he climbed to its summit. The sun was setting in
+purple and fire behind the black shoulder of the Panamints and like a path of
+gold it marked out the way, the only way to cross the Valley. At the south was
+the Sink with its treacherous bog-holes and further north the sand-hills were
+limitless&#8211;the only way, where the wagon-wheels had crossed, was buried
+deep in the sand. Three great mountains of sand, like huge breakers of the sea,
+had swept in and covered the wheel-tracks; and far to the west in the path of
+the sun their summits loomed two hundred feet high.</p>
+
+<p>He went back to his car and drove it desperately at the slope, only to bury
+the rear wheels to the axles; and as he dug them out the sand from the wave
+crest began to whisper and slip and slide. He cleared a great space and started
+his motor, but <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_261'></a>261</span>at
+the first shuddering tug the sand began to tremble and in a rush the wave was
+upon him. It buried him deep and as he leapt from his machine little rills of
+singing sand flowed around it. So far it had carried him, this high-powered,
+steel-springed racer; but now he must leave it for the sand to cover over and
+cross the great Valley alone. On many a rocky slope and sliding sand-hill it had
+clutched and plunged and fought its way, but now it was smothered in the
+treacherous, silt-fine sand and he must leave it, like a partner, to die. Yet if
+die it must, then in its desert burial the last trace of Wiley Holman would be
+lost. The first wind that blew would wipe out his footprints and the racer
+would sink beneath the waves. Wiley took his canteen, and Charley&#8217;s bottle
+of whiskey, his rifle and a small sack of food and dared the great silence
+alone.</p>
+
+<p>While his motor had done the work he had not minded the heat and the pressure
+of blood in his head, but as he toiled up the sandy slope, sinking deeper at
+each stride, he felt the breath of the sand. All day it had lain there drinking
+in the sun&#8217;s rays and now in the evening, when the upper air was cool, it
+radiated a sweltering heat. Wiley mounted to the summit of wave after wave,
+fighting his way towards the Gateway to the north; and then, beaten at last and
+choking with the exertion, he turned and followed a crest. The sand piled up
+before him in a vortex of sharp-edged ridges, reaching their apex in a huge
+pyramid to the west, and as <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_262'></a>262</span>he toiled on past its flank he felt a gusty rush of
+air, sucking down through Emigrant Wash. It was the wind, after all, that was
+king of Death Valley; for whichever way it blew it swept the sand before it,
+raising up pyramids and tearing them down. Along the crest of the high wave a
+feather-edge of sand leapt out like a plume into space and as he stopped to
+watch it Wiley could see that the mountain was moving by so much across the
+plain.</p>
+
+<p>A luminous half-moon floated high in the heavens and the sky was studded
+thick with pin-point stars. In that myriad of little stars, filling in between
+the big ones, the milky way was lost and reduced to obscurity&#8211;the whole
+sky was a milky way. Wiley sank down in the sand and gazed up sombrely as he
+wetted his parching lips from his canteen, and the evening star gleamed like a
+torch, looking down on the world he had fled. Across the Funeral Range, not a
+day&#8217;s journey to the east, that same star lighted Virginia on her way
+while he, a fugitive, was flung like an atom into the depths of this sea of
+sand. It was deeper than the sea, scooped out far below the level of the cool
+breakers that broke along the shore; deep and dead, except for the wind that
+moved the drifting sand across the plains. And even as he lay there, looking up
+at the stars and wondering at the riddle of the universe, the busy wind was
+bringing grains of sand and burying him, each minute by so much.</p>
+
+<p>He rose up in a panic and hurried along the <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_263'></a>263</span>slope, where the sand of the wave was packed
+hardest, and he did not pause till he had passed the last drift and set his foot
+on the hard, gravelly slope. The wind was cooler now, for the night was well
+along and the bare ground had radiated its heat; but it was dry, powder dry, and
+every pore of his skin seemed to gasp and cry out for water. There was water,
+even yet, in the bottom of his canteen; but he dared not drink it till the
+Gateway was in sight, and the sand-wash that led to the valley beyond.</p>
+
+<p>An hour passed by as he toiled up the slope, now breaking into a run from
+impatience, now settling down doggedly to walk; and at last, clear and distinct,
+he saw the Gateway in the moonlight, and stopped to take his drink. It was cool
+now, the water, and infinitely sweet; yet he knew that the moment he drained the
+last drop he would feel the clutch of fear. It is an unreasoning thing, that
+fear of the desert which comes when the last drop is gone; and yet it is real
+and known to every wanderer, and guarded against by the bravest. He screwed the
+cap on his canteen and hurried up the slope, which grew steeper and rockier with
+each mile, but the phantom gateway seemed to lead on before him and recede into
+the black abyss of night. It was there, right before him, but instead of getting
+nearer, the Gateway loomed higher and higher; and daylight was near before he
+passed through its portals and entered the dark valley beyond.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_264'></a>264</span>A gaunt row of
+cottonwoods rose up suddenly before him, their leaves whispering and clacking in
+the wind, and at this brave promise all fear for water left him and he drained
+his canteen to the bottom. Then he strode on up the canyon, that was deep and
+dark as a pocket, following the trail that should lead him to the spring; but as
+one mile and two dragged along with no water, he stopped and hid his rifle among
+the rocks. A little later he hid his belt with its heavy row of cartridges, and
+the sack of dry, useless food. What he needed was water and when he had drunk
+his fill he could come back and collect all his possessions. Two miles, five
+miles, he toiled up the creek bed with the cottonwoods rustling overhead; but
+though their roots were in the water, the sand was still dry and his tongue was
+swelling with thirst.</p>
+
+<p>He stumbled against a stone and fell weakly to the ground, only to leap to
+his feet again, frightened. Already it was coming, the stupifying lassitude, the
+reckless indifference to his fate, and yet he was hardly tired. The Valley had
+not been hot, any more than usual, and he had walked twice as far before; but
+now, with water just around the corner, he was lying down in the sand. He was
+sleepy, that was it, but he must get to water first or his pores would close up
+and he would die. He stripped off his pistol and threw it in the sand, and his
+hat, and the bottle of fiery whiskey; and then, head down, he plunged blindly
+forward, rushing on up the trail to find water.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_265'></a>265</span>The sun rose
+higher and poured down into the narrow valley with its fringe of deceptive
+green; but though the trees became bigger and bushier in their tops the water
+did not come to the surface. It was underneath the sand, flowing along the
+bed-rock, and all that was needed was a solid reef of country-rock to bring it
+up to the surface. It would flow over the dyke in a beautiful water-fall,
+leaping and gurgling and going to waste; and after he had drunk he would lie
+down and wallow and give his whole body a drink. He would soak there for hours,
+sucking it up with his parched lips that were cracked now and bleeding from the
+drought; and then&#8211;he woke up suddenly, to find himself digging in the
+sand. He was going mad then, so soon after he was lost, and with water just up
+the stream. The creek was dry, where he had found himself digging, but up above
+it would be full of water. He hurried on again and, around the next turn, sure
+enough, he found a basin of water.</p>
+
+<p>It was hollowed from the rock, a round pool, undimpled, and upon its surface
+a pair of wasps floated about with airy grace. Their legs were outstretched and
+on the bottom of the hole he could see the round shadows of their tracks. It was
+a new kind of water, with a skin that would bend down and hold up the body of a
+wasp, and yet it seemed to be wet. He thrust in a finger and the wasps flew
+away&#8211;and then he dropped down and drank deep. When he woke from his
+madness the pool was half empty and the water was
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_266'></a>266</span>running down his
+face. He was wet all over and his lips were bleeding afresh, as if his very
+blood had been dry; but his body was weak and sick, and as he rose to his feet
+he tottered and fell down in the sand. When he roused up again the pool was
+filled with water and the wasps were back, floating on its surface.</p>
+
+<p>When he looked around he was in a little cove, shut in by towering walls;
+and, close against the cliff where the rock had been hollowed out, he saw an
+abandoned camp. There were ashes between the stones, and tin cans set on boxes,
+and a walled-in storage place behind, and as he looked again he saw a
+man&#8217;s tracks, leading down a narrow path to the water. They turned off up
+the creek&#8211;high-heeled boots soled with rawhide and bound about with
+thongs&#8211;and Wiley rushed recklessly at the camp. When he had eaten last he
+could hardly remember, (it was a day or two back at the best), and as he peered
+into cans and found them empty he gave vent to a savage curse. He was weak, he
+was starving, and he had thrown away his food&#8211;and this man had hidden what
+he had. He kicked over the boxes and plunged into the store-room, throwing beans
+and flour sacks right and left, and then in the corner behind a huge pile of
+pinon nuts he found a single can of tomatoes.</p>
+
+<p>Whoever had treasured it had kept it too long, for Wiley&#8217;s knife was
+already out and as he cut out the top he tipped it slowly up and drained it to
+the bottom.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_267'></a>267</span>&#8220;Hey,
+there!&#8221; hailed a voice and Wiley started and laid down the can. Was it
+possible the officers had followed him? &#8220;Throw up your hands!&#8221;
+yelled the voice in a fury. &#8220;Throw &#8217;em up, or I&#8217;ll kill you,
+you scoundrel!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Wiley held up his hands, but he raised them reluctantly and the fighting look
+crept back into his eyes.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well!&#8221; he challenged, &#8220;they&#8217;re up&#8211;what about
+it?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>A tall man with a pistol stepped out from behind a tree and advanced with his
+gun raised and cocked. His hair was hermit-long, his white beard trembled, and
+his voice cracked and shrilled with helpless rage.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What about it!&#8221; he repeated. &#8220;Well, by Jupiter, if you
+sass me, I&#8217;ll shoot you for a camp-robbing hound!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, go ahead then,&#8221; burst out Wiley defiantly, &#8220;if
+that&#8217;s the way you feel&#8211;all I took was one can of
+tomatoes!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes! One can! Wasn&#8217;t that all I had? And you robbed me before,
+you rascal!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I did not!&#8221; retorted Wiley, and as the old man looked him over
+he hesitated and lowered his gun.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Say, who are you, anyway?&#8221; he asked at last and glanced swiftly
+at Wiley&#8217;s tracks in the sand. &#8220;Well&#8211;that&#8217;s all
+right,&#8221; he ran on hastily, &#8220;I see you aren&#8217;t the man. There
+was a renegade came through here on the twentieth of last July and <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_268'></a>268</span>stole everything I had. I
+trailed him, dad-burn him, clear to the edge of Death Valley&#8211;he was riding
+my favorite burro&#8211;and if it hadn&#8217;t been for a sandstorm that came up
+and stopped me, I&#8217;d have bored him through and through. He stole my rifle
+and even my letters, and valuable papers besides; but he went to his reward, or
+I miss my guess, so we&#8217;ll leave him to the mercy of hell. As for my
+tomatoes, you&#8217;re welcome, my friend; it&#8217;s long since I&#8217;ve had
+a guest.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He held out his hand and advanced, smiling kindly, but Wiley stepped
+back&#8211;it was Colonel Huff.</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_269'></a>269</span><a id='link_30'></a>CHAPTER XXX<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>An Evening with Socrates</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>How the Colonel had come to be reported dead it was easy enough now to
+surmise. Some desperate fugitive, or rambling hobo miner seeking a crosscut to
+the Borax Mines below, had raided his camp in his absence; and, riding off on
+his burro, had met his death in a sandstorm. His were the tracks that the
+Indians had followed and somewhere in Death Valley he lay beneath the sand dunes
+in place of a better man. But the Colonel&#8211;did he know that his family had
+mourned him as dead, and bandied his stock back and forth? Did he know that the
+Paymaster had been bonded and opened up, and lost again to Blount? And what
+would be his answer if he knew the man before him was the son of Honest John
+Holman? Wiley closed down his lips, then he took the outstretched hand and
+looked the Colonel straight in the eye.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m sorry, sir,&#8221; he said, &#8220;that I can&#8217;t give
+you my name or tell you where I&#8217;m from; but I&#8217;ve got a bottle of
+whiskey that will more than make up for the loss of that can of
+tomatoes!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_270'></a>270</span>&#8220;Whiskey!&#8221; shrilled the Colonel and then
+he smiled benignly and laid a fatherly hand upon his shoulder. &#8220;Never
+mind, my young friend, what you have done or not done; because I&#8217;m sure it
+was nothing dishonorable&#8211;and now if you will produce your bottle
+we&#8217;ll drink to our better acquaintance.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I threw it away,&#8221; answered Wiley apologetically, &#8220;but it
+can&#8217;t be very far down the trail. I was short of water and lost, you might
+say, and&#8211;well, I guess I was a little wild.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;And well you might be,&#8221; replied the Colonel heartily, &#8220;if
+you crossed Death Valley afoot; and worn out and hungry, to boot. I&#8217;ll
+just take the liberty of going after that bottle myself, before some skulking
+Shoo-shonnie gets hold of it.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Do so,&#8221; smiled Wiley, &#8220;and when you&#8217;ve had your
+drink, perhaps you&#8217;ll bring in my rifle and the rest.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Whatever you&#8217;ve dropped,&#8221; returned the Colonel cordially,
+&#8220;if it&#8217;s only a cartridge from your belt! And while I am gone, just
+make yourself at home. You seem to be in need of rest.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I am,&#8221; agreed Wiley, and before the Colonel was out of
+sight he was fast asleep on his bed.</p>
+
+<p>It was dark when he awoke and the light of a fire played and flickered on the
+walls of his cave. The wind brought to his nostrils the odor of cooking beans
+and as he rose and looked out he saw the Colonel pacing up and down by the fire.
+His hat <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_271'></a>271</span>was off,
+his fine head thrown back and he was humming to himself and smiling.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Come out, sir; come out!&#8221; he cried upon the moment. &#8220;I
+trust you have enjoyed your day&#8217;s rest. And now give me your hand, sir; I
+regret beyond words my boorish conduct of this morning.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He shook hands effusively, still continuing his apologies for having taken
+Wiley for less than a gentleman; and while they ate together it became apparent
+to Wiley that the Colonel had had his drink. If there was anything left of the
+pint bottle of whiskey no mention was made of the fact; but even at that the
+liquor was well spent, for it had gained him a friend for life.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Young man,&#8221; observed the Colonel, after looking at him closely,
+&#8220;I am a fugitive in a way, myself, but I cannot believe, from the look on
+your face, that your are anything else than honest. I shall respect your
+silence, as you respect mine, for your past is nothing to me; but if at any time
+I can assist you, just mention the fact and the deed is as good as done. I am a
+man of my word and, since true friends are rare, I beg of you not to forget
+me.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll remember that,&#8221; said Wiley, and went on with his
+eating as the Colonel paced up and down. He was a noble-looking man of the
+Southern type, tall and slender, with flashing blue eyes; and the look that he
+gave him reminded Wiley of Virginia, only infinitely more kind and friendly. He
+had <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_272'></a>272</span>been, in his
+day, a prince of entertainers, of the rich and poor alike; and the kick of the
+whiskey had roused up those genial qualities which had made him the first
+citizen of Keno. He laughed and told stories and cracked merry jests, yet never
+for a moment did he forget his incognito nor attempt to violate Wiley&#8217;s.
+They were gentlemen there together in the heart of the desert, and as such each
+was safe from intrusion. The rifle and cartridge belt, Wiley&#8217;s pistol and
+the sack of food, were fetched and placed in his hands; and then at the end the
+Colonel produced the flask of whiskey which had been slightly diluted with
+water.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Now,&#8221; he said, &#8220;we will drink a toast, my
+far-faring-knight of the desert. Shall it be that first toast: &#8216;The
+Ladies&#8211;God bless them!&#8217; or&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No!&#8221; answered Wiley, and the Colonel silently laughed.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well said, my young friend,&#8221; he replied, nodding wisely.
+&#8220;Even at your age you have learned something of life. No, let it be the
+toast that Socrates drank, and that rare company who sat at the Banquet. To
+Love! they drank; but not to love of woman. To love of mankind&#8211;of Man! To
+Friendship! In short, here&#8217;s to you, my friend, and may you never regret
+this night!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>They drank it in silence, and as Wiley sat thinking, the Colonel became
+reminiscent.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Ah, there was a company,&#8221; he said, smiling mellowly, &#8220;such
+as the world will never see again. Agatho and Socrates, Aristophanes and
+Alcibiades, <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_273'></a>273</span>the
+picked men of ancient Athens; lying comfortably on their couches with the food
+before them and inviting their souls with wine. They began in the evening and in
+the morning it was Socrates who had them all under the table. And yet, of all
+men, he was the most abstemious&#8211;he could drink or let it alone.
+Alcibiades, the drunkard, gave witness that night to the courage and hardihood
+of Socrates&#8211;how he had carried him and his armor from the battlefield of
+Potid&aelig;a, and outfaced the enemy at Delium; how he marched barefoot through the
+ice while the others, well shod, froze; and endured famine without complaining;
+yet again, in the feasts at the military table, he was the only person that
+appeared to enjoy them. There was a man, my friend, such as the world has never
+seen, the greatest philosopher of all time; but do you know what philosophy he
+taught?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, I don&#8217;t,&#8221; admitted Wiley, and the Colonel sighed as he
+poured out a small libation.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;And yet,&#8221; he said, &#8220;you are a man of parts, with an
+education, very likely, of the best. But our schools and Universities now teach
+a man everything except the meaning and purpose of life. When I was in school we
+read our Plato and Xenophon as you now read your German and French; but what we
+learned, above the language itself, was the thought of that ancient time. You
+learn to earn money and to fight your way through life, but Socrates taught that
+friendship is above everything and that Truth is the Ultimate Good. <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_274'></a>274</span>But, ah well; I weary
+you, for each age lives unto itself, and who cares for the thoughts of an old
+man?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No! Go on!&#8221; protested Wiley, but the Colonel sighed wearily and
+shook his head gloomily in thought.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I had a friend once,&#8221; he said at last, &#8220;who had the same
+rugged honesty of Socrates. He was a man of few words but I truly believe that
+he never told a lie. And yet,&#8221; went on the Colonel with a rueful smile,
+&#8220;they tell me that my friend recanted and deceived me at the
+last!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;<i>Who</i>told you?&#8221; put in Wiley, suddenly rousing from his
+silence and the Colonel glanced at him sharply.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Ah, yes; well said, my friend! Who told me? Why, all of
+them&#8211;except my friend himself. I could not go to him with so much as a
+suggestion that he had betrayed the friendship of a lifetime; and he, no doubt,
+felt equally reluctant to explain what had never been charged. Yet I dared not
+approach him, for it was better to endure doubt than to suffer the certainty of
+his guilt. And so we drifted apart, and he moved away; and I have never seen my
+good friend since.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Wiley sat in stunned silence, but his heart leapt up at this word of
+vindication for Honest John. To be sure his father had refused him help, and
+rebuked him for heckling the Widow, but loyalty ran strong in the Holman blood
+and he looked up at the Colonel and smiled.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_275'></a>275</span>&#8220;Next time
+you go inside,&#8221; he said at last, &#8220;take a chance and ask your
+friend.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll do that,&#8221; agreed the Colonel, &#8220;but it
+won&#8217;t be for some time because&#8211;well, I&#8217;m hiding
+out.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Here, too,&#8221; returned Wiley, &#8220;and I&#8217;m
+<i>never</i>going back. But say, listen; I&#8217;ll tell <i>you</i> one now. You
+trusted your friend, and the bunch told you that he&#8217;d betrayed you; I
+trusted my girl, and she told me to my face that she&#8217;d sold me out for
+fifty thousand dollars. Fifty thousand, at the most; and I lost about a million
+and killed a man over it, to boot. You take a chance with your friends, but when
+you trust a woman&#8211;you don&#8217;t take any chance at all.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Ah, in self defense?&#8221; inquired the Colonel politely. &#8220;I
+thought I noticed a hole in your shirt. Yes, pretty close work&#8211;between
+your arm and your ribs. I&#8217;ve had a few close calls, myself.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, but what do you think,&#8221; demanded Wiley impatiently,
+&#8220;of a girl that will throw you down like that? I gave her the stock and to
+make it worth the money she turned around and ditched me. And then she looked me
+in the face and laughed!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;If you had studied,&#8221; observed the Colonel, &#8220;the Republic
+of Plato you would have been saved your initial mistake; for it was an axiom
+among the Greeks that in all things women are inferior, and never to be trusted
+in large affairs. The great Plato pointed out, and it has never been
+controverted, that women are given to concealment and <span class='pagenum
+pncolor'><a id='page_276'></a>276</span>spite; and that in times of danger they
+are timid and cowardly, and should therefore have no voice in council. In fact,
+in the ideal State which he conceived, they were to be herded by themselves in a
+community dwelling and held in common by the state. There were to be no wives
+and no husbands, with their quarrels and petty bickerings, but the women were to
+be parceled out by certain controllers of marriage and required to breed men for
+the state. That is going rather far, and I hardly subscribe to it, but I think
+they should be kept in their place.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, they are cowardly, all right,&#8221; agreed Wiley bitterly,
+&#8220;but that&#8217;s better than when they fight. Because then, if you oppose
+them, everybody turns against you; and if you don&#8217;t, they&#8217;ve got you
+whipped!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Put it there!&#8221; exclaimed the Colonel, striking hands with him
+dramatically. &#8220;I swear, we shall get along famously. There is nothing I
+admire more than a gentle, modest woman, an ornament to her husband and her
+home; but when she puts on the trousers and presumes to question and dictate,
+what is there left for a gentleman to do? He cannot strike her, for she is his
+wife and he has sworn to cherish and protect her; and yet, by the gods, she can
+make his life more miserable than a dozen quarrelsome men. What is there to do
+but what I have done&#8211;to close up my affairs and depart? If there is such a
+thing as love, long absence may renew it, and the sorrow may chasten her heart;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_277'></a>277</span>but I agree with
+Solomon that it is better to dwell in a corner of the house-top than with a
+scolding woman in a wide house.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You bet,&#8221; nodded Wiley. &#8220;Gimme the desert solitude, every
+time. Is there any more whiskey in that bottle?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;And yet&#8211;&#8221; mused the Colonel, &#8220;&#8211;well,
+here&#8217;s to our mothers! And may we ever be dutiful sons! After all, my
+friend, no man can escape his duty; and if duty should call us to endure a
+certain martyrdom we have the example of Socrates to sustain us. If report is
+true he had a scolding wife&#8211;the name of Xanthippe has become a
+proverb&#8211;and yet what more noble than Socrates&#8217; rebuke to his son
+when he behaved undutifully towards his mother? Where else in all literature
+will you find a more exalted statement of the duty we all owe our parents than
+in Socrates&#8217; dialogue with Lamprocles, his son, as recorded in the
+Memorabilia of Xenophon? And if, living with Xanthippe and listening to her
+railings, he could yet attain to such heights of philosophy is it not possible
+that men like you and me might come, through his philosophy, to endure it? It is
+that which I am pondering while I am alone here in the desert; but my spirit is
+weak and that accursed camp robber made off with my volume of Plato.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, personally,&#8221; stated Wiley, his mind on the Widow, &#8220;I
+think I agree more with Plato. Let &#8217;em keep in their place and not crush
+into business with their talk and their double-barreled shotguns.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_278'></a>278</span>&#8220;I beg
+your pardon, sir,&#8221; said the Colonel, drawing himself up gravely,
+&#8220;but did you happen to come through Keno?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Never mind;&#8221; grumbled Wiley, &#8220;you might be the Sheriff.
+Tell me more about this married man, Socrates.&#8221;</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_279'></a>279</span><a id='link_31'></a>CHAPTER XXXI<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>The Broken Trust</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>To seek always for Truth and Justice and the common good of mankind has
+seldom had its earthly reward but, twenty-three hundred and fifteen years after
+he drank the cup of hemlock, the soul of Socrates received its oration. Not that
+the Colonel was hipped upon the subject of the ancients, for he talked mining
+and showed some copper claims as well; but a similar tragedy in his own domestic
+life had evoked a profound admiration for Socrates. And if Wiley understood what
+lay behind his words he gave no hint to the Colonel. Always, morning, noon and
+night, he listened respectfully, his lips curling briefly at some thought; and
+at the end of a week the Colonel was as devoted to him as he had been formerly
+to his father.</p>
+
+<p>Yet when, as sometimes happened, the Colonel tried to draw him out, he shook
+his head stubbornly and was dumb. The problem that he had could not be solved by
+talk; it called for years to recover and forget; and if the Colonel once knew
+that his own daughter was involved he might rise up and demand a retraction. In
+his first rush of <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_280'></a>280</span>bitterness Wiley had stated without reservation that
+Virginia had sold him out for money, and the pride of the Huffs would scarcely
+allow this to pass unnoticed&#8211;and yet he would not retract it if he died
+for it. He knew from her own lips that Virginia had betrayed him, and it could
+never be explained away.</p>
+
+<p>If she argued that she was misled by Blount and his associates, he had warned
+her before she left; and if she had thought that he was doing her an injustice,
+that was not the way to correct it. She had accepted a trust and she had broken
+that trust to gain a personal profit&#8211;and that was the unpardonable sin. He
+could have excused her if she had weakened or made some mistake, but she had
+betrayed him deliberately and willfully; and as he sat off by himself, mulling
+it over in his mind, his eyes became stern and hard. For the killing of Stiff
+Neck George he had no regrets, and the treachery of Blount did not surprise him;
+but he had given this woman his heart to keep and she had sold him for fifty
+thousand dollars. All the rest became as nothing but this wound refused to heal,
+for he had lost his faith in womankind. Had he loved her less, or trusted her
+less, it would not have rankled so deep; but she had been his one woman, whose
+goings and comings he watched for, and all the time she was playing him
+false.</p>
+
+<p>He sat silent one morning in the cool shade of a wild grapevine, jerking the
+meat of a mountain sheep that he had killed; and as he worked mechanically,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_281'></a>281</span>shredding the flesh
+into long strips, he watched the lower trail. Ten days had gone by since he had
+fled across the Valley, but the danger of pursuit had not passed and, as he saw
+a great owl that was nesting down below rise up blindly and flop away he paused
+and reached for his gun.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Never mind,&#8221; said the Colonel who had noticed the movement.
+&#8220;I expect an old Indian in with grub. But step into the cave and if
+it&#8217;s who you think it is you can count on me till the hair
+slips.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Wiley stepped in quietly, strapping on his belt and pistol, and then the
+Colonel burst into a roar.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s Charley,&#8221; he cried, leaping nimbly to his feet and
+putting up his gun. &#8220;Come on, boy&#8211;here&#8217;s where we get that
+drink!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Wiley looked out doubtfully as Heine rushed up and sniffed at the pans of
+meat, and then he ducked back and hid. Around the shoulder of the cliff came
+Death Valley Charley; but behind him, on a burro, was Virginia. He looked out
+again as the Colonel swore an oath and then she leapt off and ran towards
+them.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh&#8211;<i>Father</i>!&#8221; she cried and hung about his neck while
+the astonished Colonel kissed her doubtfully.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, well!&#8221; he protested as she fell to weeping,
+&#8220;what&#8217;s the cause of all this distress? Is your mother not well,
+or&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;We&#8211;we thought you were <i>dead</i>!&#8221; she burst out
+indignantly, &#8220;and Charley there knew&#8211;all the time!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_282'></a>282</span>She let go of
+her father and turned upon Death Valley Charley, who was solicitously attending
+to Heine, and the Colonel spoke up peremptorily.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Here, Charley!&#8221; he commanded, &#8220;let that gluttonous cur
+wait. What&#8217;s this I hear from Virginia? Didn&#8217;t you tell her I was
+perfectly well?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why&#8211;why yes, sir; I did, sir,&#8221; replied Charley,
+apologetically, &#8220;but&#8211;she only thought I was crazy. I told her, all
+the time&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, Charley!&#8221; reproached Virginia, &#8220;didn&#8217;t you know
+better than that? You only said it when you had those spells. Why didn&#8217;t
+you tell me when you were feeling all right&#8211;and you denied it, I know,
+repeatedly!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The Colonel would kill me,&#8221; mumbled Charley sullenly. &#8220;He
+told me not to tell. But I brought you the whiskey, sir; a whole
+big&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Never mind the whiskey,&#8221; said the Colonel sharply. &#8220;Now,
+let&#8217;s get to the bottom of this matter. Why should you think I was dead
+when I had merely absented myself&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But the body!&#8221; clamored Virginia. &#8220;We got word you were
+lost when your burro came in at the Borax works. And when we hired trackers, the
+Indians said you were lost&#8211;and your body was out in the
+sand-hills!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It was that cursed camp-robber!&#8221; declared the Colonel with
+conviction. &#8220;Well, I&#8217;m glad he&#8217;s gone to his reward. It was
+only some rascal that came through here and stole my riding burro&#8211;did they
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_283'></a>283</span>care for old Jack
+at the Works? Well, I shall thank them for it kindly; and anything I can
+do&#8211;but what&#8217;s the matter, Virginia?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She had drawn away from him and was gazing about anxiously and Charley had
+slunk guiltily away.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why&#8211;where&#8217;s Wiley?&#8221; she cried, clutching her father
+by the arm. &#8220;Oh, isn&#8217;t he here, after all?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Wiley?&#8221; repeated the Colonel. &#8220;Why, who are you talking
+about? I never even heard of such a man.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, he&#8217;s dead then; he&#8217;s lost!&#8221; she sobbed, sinking
+down on the ground in despair. &#8220;Oh, I knew it, all the time! But that old
+Charley&#x2500;&#8221; She cast a hateful glance at him and the Colonel beckoned
+sternly.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What now?&#8221; he demanded as Charley sidled near. &#8220;Who is
+this Mr. Wiley?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why&#8211;er&#8211;Wiley; Wiley Holman, you know. I followed his
+tracks to the Gateway. Ain&#8217;t he around here somewhere? I found this
+bottle&#x2500;&#8221; He held up the flask that he had given to Wiley, and the
+Colonel started back with a cry.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What, a tall young fellow with leather puttees?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, yes, yes!&#8221; answered Virginia, suddenly springing to her feet
+again. &#8220;We followed him&#8211;isn&#8217;t he here?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The Colonel turned slowly and glanced at the cave, where Wiley was still
+hiding close, and then he cleared his throat.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_284'></a>284</span>&#8220;Well,
+kindly explain first why you should be following this gentleman,
+and&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, he&#8217;s here, then!&#8221; sighed Virginia and fell into her
+father&#8217;s arms, at which Charley scuttled rapidly away.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Mr. Holman,&#8221; spoke up the Colonel, as Wiley did not stir,
+&#8220;may I ask you to come out here and explain?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>There was a rustle inside the cave and at last Wiley came out, stuffing a
+strip of dried meat into his hip pocket.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll come out, yes,&#8221; he said, &#8220;but, as I&#8217;m
+about to go, I&#8217;ll leave it to your daughter to explain.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He picked up his canteen and started down to the water-hole, but the Colonel
+called him sternly back.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;My friend,&#8221; he said, &#8220;it is the custom among gentlemen to
+answer a courteous question. I must ask you then what there is between you and
+my daughter, and why she should follow you across Death Valley?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;There is nothing between us,&#8221; answered Wiley categorically,
+&#8220;and I don&#8217;t know why she followed me&#8211;that is, if she really
+did.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, I did!&#8221; sobbed Virginia, burying her face on her
+father&#8217;s breast, &#8220;but I wish I hadn&#8217;t now!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Huh!&#8221; grunted Wiley and stumped off down the trail where he
+filled his canteen at the pool. He was mad, mad all over, and yet he experienced
+a strange thrill at the thought of Virginia following him. He had left her
+smiling and shaking hands <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_285'></a>285</span>with Blount, but a curse had been on the money, and
+her conscience had forced her to follow him. It had been easy, for her, with a
+burro to ride on and Death Valley Charley to guide her; but with him it had been
+different. He had fled from arrest and it was only by accident that he had won
+to the water-hole in time. But yet, she had followed him; and now she would
+apologize and explain, as she had explained it all once before. Well, since she
+had come&#8211;and since the Colonel was watching him&#8211;he shouldered his
+canteen and came back.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;My daughter tells me,&#8221; began the Colonel formally, &#8220;that
+you are the son of my old friend, John Holman; and I trust that you will take my
+hand.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He held out his hand and Wiley blinked as he returned the warm clasp of his
+friend. Ten days of companionship in the midst of that solitude had knitted
+their souls together and he loved the old Colonel like a father.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s all right,&#8221; he muttered. &#8220;And&#8211;say, hunt
+up the Old Man! Because he thinks the world of you, still.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I will do so,&#8221; replied the Colonel, &#8220;but will you do me a
+favor? By gad, sir; I can&#8217;t let you go. No, you must stay with me, Wiley,
+if that is your name; I want to talk with you later, about your father. But now,
+as a favor, since Virginia has come so far, I will ask you to sit down and
+listen to her. And&#8211;er&#8211;Wiley; just a moment!&#8221; <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_286'></a>286</span>He beckoned him to one
+side and spoke low in his ear. &#8220;About that woman who betrayed your
+trust&#8211;perhaps I&#8217;d better not mention her to Virginia?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Wiley&#8217;s eyes grew big and then they narrowed. The Colonel thought there
+was another woman. How could he, proud soul, even think for a moment that
+Virginia herself had betrayed him? No, to his high mind it was inconceivable
+that a daughter of his should violate a trust; and there was Virginia, watching
+them.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Very well,&#8221; replied Wiley, and smiled to himself as he laid down
+his gun and canteen. He led the way up the creek to where a gnarled old
+cottonwood cast its shadow against the cliff and smoothed out a seat against
+the bank. &#8220;Now sit down,&#8221; he said, &#8220;and let&#8217;s have this
+over with before the Colonel gets wise. He&#8217;s a fine old gentleman and if
+his daughter took after him I wouldn&#8217;t be dodging the sheriff.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, I came to tell you,&#8221; began Virginia bravely, &#8220;that
+I&#8217;m sorry for what I&#8217;ve done. And to show you that I mean it I gave
+Blount back his stock.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Wiley gazed at her grimly for a moment and then he curled up his lip.
+&#8220;Why not come through,&#8221; he asked at last, &#8220;and acknowledge
+that he held it out on you?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Virginia started and then she smiled wanly.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; she said, &#8220;it wasn&#8217;t quite that. And
+yet&#8211;well, he didn&#8217;t really give it to me.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I knew it!&#8221; exploded Wiley, &#8220;the doggoned <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_287'></a>287</span>piker! But of course you
+made a clean-up on your other stock?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, I didn&#8217;t! I gave that away, too! But Wiley, why won&#8217;t
+you listen to me? I didn&#8217;t intend to do it, but he explained it all so
+nicely&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Didn&#8217;t I tell you he would?&#8221; he raged.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, but listen; you don&#8217;t understand. When I went to him first
+I asked for Father&#8217;s stock and&#8211;he must have known what was coming. I
+guess he saw the bills. Anyway, he told me then that he had always loved my
+father, and that he wanted to protect us from you; and so, he said, he was just
+holding my Father&#8217;s stock to keep you from getting it away from us. And
+then he called in some friends of his; and oh, they all became so indignant that
+I thought I couldn&#8217;t be wrong! Why, they showed me that you would make
+millions by the deal, and all at our expense; and then&#8211;I don&#8217;t know,
+something came over me. We&#8217;d been poor so long, and it would make you so
+rich; and, like a fool, I went and did it.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, that&#8217;s all right,&#8221; said Wiley. &#8220;I forgive you,
+and all that; but don&#8217;t let your father know. He&#8217;s got old-fashioned
+ideas about keeping a trust and&#8211;say, do you know what he thinks? I
+happened to mention, the first night I got in, that a woman had thrown me down;
+and he just now took me aside and told me not to worry because he&#8217;d never
+mention the lady to you. He thinks it was somebody else.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh,&#8221; breathed Virginia, and then she sat silent <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_288'></a>288</span>while he kicked a hole in
+the dirt and waited. He was willing to concede anything, agree to anything, look
+pleasant at anything, until the ordeal was over; and then he intended to depart.
+Where he would go was a detail to be considered later when he felt the need of
+something to occupy his mind; right now he was only thinking that she looked
+very pale&#8211;and there was a tired, hunted look in her eyes. She had nerves,
+of course, the same as he had, and the trip across Death Valley had been hard on
+her; but if she suffered now, he had suffered also, and he failed to be as sorry
+as he should.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ll be all right now,&#8221; he said at last, when it seemed
+she would never speak up, &#8220;and I&#8217;m glad you found your father.
+He&#8217;ll go back with you now and take a fall out of Blount and&#8211;well,
+you won&#8217;t feel so poor, any more.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I will,&#8221; returned Virginia, suddenly rousing up and looking
+at him with haggard eyes. &#8220;I&#8217;ll always feel poor, because if I gave
+you back all I had it wouldn&#8217;t be a tenth of what you lost.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, that&#8217;s all right,&#8221; grumbled Wiley. &#8220;I
+don&#8217;t care about the money. Are they hunting me for murder, or
+what?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, no; not for anything!&#8221; she answered eagerly.
+&#8220;You&#8217;ll come back, won&#8217;t you, Wiley? Mother was watching you
+through her glasses, and she says George fired first. They aren&#8217;t trying
+to arrest you; all they want you to do is to give up and stand a brief trial.
+And I&#8217;ll help you, Wiley; <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_289'></a>289</span>oh, I&#8217;ve just got to do something or
+I&#8217;ll be miserable all my life!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re tired now,&#8221; said Wiley. &#8220;It&#8217;ll look
+different, pretty soon; and&#8211;well, I don&#8217;t think I&#8217;ll go in,
+right now.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But where will you go?&#8221; she entreated piteously. &#8220;Oh,
+Wiley, can&#8217;t you see I&#8217;m sorry? Why can&#8217;t you forgive me and
+let me try to make amends, instead of making both our lives so
+miserable?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know,&#8221; answered Wiley. &#8220;It&#8217;s just the
+way I feel. I&#8217;ve got nothing <i>against</i>you; I just want to get away
+and forget a few things that you&#8217;ve done.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;And then?&#8221; she asked, and he smiled enigmatically.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, maybe you&#8217;ll forget me, too.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But Father!&#8221; she objected as he rose up suddenly and started off
+down the creek. &#8220;He thinks we&#8217;re lovers, you know.&#8221; Wiley
+stopped and the cold anger in his eyes gave way to a look of doubt. &#8220;Why
+not pretend we are?&#8221; she suggested wistfully. &#8220;Not really, but just
+before him. I told him we&#8217;d quarreled&#8211;and he knows I followed after
+you. Just to-day, Wiley; and then you can go. But if my father should
+think&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, all right,&#8221; he broke in, and as they stepped out into the
+open she slipped her hand into his.</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_290'></a>290</span><a id='link_32'></a>CHAPTER XXXII<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>A Huff</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>The Colonel was sitting in the shade of a wild grapevine rapping out a
+series of questions at Charley, but at sight of the young people coming back
+hand in hand, he paused and smiled understandingly.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What now?&#8221; he said. &#8220;Is there a new earth and a new
+heaven? Ah, well; then Virginia&#8217;s trip was worth while. But Charley here
+is so full of signs and wonders that my brain is fairly in a whirl. The Germans,
+it seems, have made a forty-two centimeter gun that is blasting down cities in
+France; and the Allies, to beat them, are constructing still larger ones made
+out of tungsten that is mined from the Paymaster. Yes, yes, Charley,
+that&#8217;s all right, I don&#8217;t doubt your word, but we&#8217;ll call on
+Wiley for the details.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He laughed indulgently and poured Charley out a drink which made his eyes
+blink and snap and then he waved him graciously away.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Take your burros up the canyon,&#8221; he suggested briefly, and when
+Charley was gone he smiled. &#8220;Now,&#8221; he said, as Virginia sat down
+beside him, &#8220;what&#8217;s all this about the Paymaster and
+Keno?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well,&#8221; began Virginia as Wiley sat silent, <span class='pagenum
+pncolor'><a id='page_291'></a>291</span>&#8220;there really was tungsten in the
+mine. Wiley discovered it first&#8211;he was just going through the town when he
+saw that specimen in my collection&#8211;and since then,&#8211;oh, everything
+has happened!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;By the dog!&#8221; exclaimed the Colonel starting quickly to his feet.
+&#8220;Do you mean that Crazy Charley spoke the truth? Is the mine really open
+and the town full of people and&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You wouldn&#8217;t know it!&#8221; cried Virginia, triumphantly.
+&#8220;All that heavy, white quartz was tungsten!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What? That waste on the dump? But how much is it worth? Old Charley
+says it&#8217;s better than gold!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It is!&#8221; she answered. &#8220;Why, some of that rock ran five
+thousand dollars to the ton!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Five&#8211;thousand!&#8221; repeated the Colonel, and then he whirled
+on Wiley. &#8220;What&#8217;s the reason, then,&#8221; he demanded, &#8220;that
+you&#8217;re hiding out here in the hills? Didn&#8217;t you get possession of
+the mine?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Under a bond and lease,&#8221; explained Wiley shortly. &#8220;I
+failed to meet the final payment.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why&#8211;how much was this payment?&#8221; inquired the Colonel
+cautiously, as he sensed the sudden constraint. &#8220;It seems to me the mine
+should have paid it at once.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Fifty thousand,&#8221; answered Wiley, gazing glumly at the ground and
+the Colonel opened his eyes!</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Fifty thousand!&#8221; he exclaimed. &#8220;Only fifty thousand
+dollars? Well! What were the circumstances, Wiley?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_292'></a>292</span>He stood
+expectant and as Wiley boggled and hesitated Virginia rose up and stood beside
+him.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;He got the bond and lease from Blount,&#8221; she began, talking
+rapidly, &#8220;and when Blount found that the white quartz was tungsten ore, he
+did all he could to block Wiley. When Wiley first came through the town and
+stopped at our house he knew that that white quartz was tungsten; but he
+couldn&#8217;t do anything, then. And then, by-and-by, when he tried to bond the
+mine, Blount came up himself and tried to work it.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;He did, eh?&#8221; cried the Colonel. &#8220;Well, by what right,
+I&#8217;d like to know, did he dare to take possession of the
+Paymaster?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, he&#8217;d bought up all the stock; and Mother, she took yours
+and&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What?&#8221; yelled the Colonel, and then he closed down his jaw and
+his blue eyes sparkled ominously. &#8220;Proceed,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The
+information, first&#8211;but, by the gods, he shall answer for this!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But all the time,&#8221; went on Virginia hastily, &#8220;the mine
+belonged to Wiley. It had been sold for taxes&#8211;and he bought it!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Ah!&#8221; observed the Colonel, and glanced at him shrewdly for he
+saw now where the tale was going.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well,&#8221; continued Virginia, &#8220;when Blount saw Wiley wanted
+it he came up and took it himself. And he hired Stiff Neck George to herd the
+mine and keep Wiley and everybody away. But when he was working it, why Wiley
+came back and <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_293'></a>293</span>claimed it under the tax sale; and he went right up
+to the mine and took away George&#8217;s gun&#8211;and kicked him down the
+dump!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;He did!&#8221; exclaimed the Colonel, but Wiley did not look up, for
+his mind was on the end of the tale.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;And then&#8211;oh, it&#8217;s all mixed up, but Blount couldn&#8217;t
+find any gold and so he leased the mine to Wiley. And the minute he found that
+the white quartz was tungsten, and worth three dollars a pound, he was mad as
+anything and did everything he could to keep him from meeting the payment. But
+Wiley went ahead and shipped a lot of ore and made a lot of money in spite of
+him. He cleaned out the mine and fixed up the mill and oh, Father, you
+wouldn&#8217;t know the place!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Probably not!&#8221; returned the Colonel, &#8220;but proceed with
+your story. Who holds the Paymaster, now?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why Blount, of course, and he&#8217;s moved back to town and is simply
+shoveling out the ore!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The scoundrel!&#8221; burst out the Colonel. &#8220;Wiley, we will
+return to Keno immediately and bring this blackguard to book! I have a stake in
+this matter, myself!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Nope, not for me!&#8221; answered Wiley wearily. &#8220;You
+haven&#8217;t heard all the story. I fell down on the final payment&#8211;it
+makes no difference how&#8211;and when I came back Blount had jumped the mine
+and Stiff Neck George was in charge. But instead of warning me off he hid behind
+a car and&#8211;well, I don&#8217;t care to go back there, now.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_294'></a>294</span>&#8220;Why,
+certainly! You must!&#8221; declared the Colonel warmly. &#8220;You were acting
+in self defense and I consider that your conduct was justified. In fact, my boy,
+I wish to congratulate you&#8211;Charley tells me he had the drop on
+you.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, sure,&#8221; grumbled Wiley, &#8220;but you aren&#8217;t the
+judge&#8211;and there&#8217;s a whole lot more to the story. It happens that I
+took an option on Blount&#8217;s Paymaster stock, but when I offered the payment
+he protested the contract and took the case to court. Now&#8211;he&#8217;s got
+the town of Vegas in his inside vest pocket, the lawyers and judges and all; and
+do you think for a minute he&#8217;s going to let me come back and take away
+those four hundred thousand shares?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Four hundred thousand?&#8221; repeated the Colonel incredulously,
+&#8220;do you mean to tell me&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, you bet I do!&#8221; said Wiley, &#8220;and I&#8217;ll tell you
+something else. According to the dates on the back of those certificates it was
+Blount that sold you out. He sold all his promotion stock before the panic; and
+then, when the price was down to nothing, he turned around and bought it back. I
+knew from the first that he&#8217;d lied about my father and I kept after him
+till I got my hands on that stock&#8211;and then, when I&#8217;d proved it, he
+tried to put the blame on you!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The devil!&#8221; exclaimed the Colonel, and paced up and down,
+snapping his fingers and muttering to himself. &#8220;The cowardly
+dastard!&#8221; he burst out at last. &#8220;He has poisoned ten years of my
+life. <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_295'></a>295</span>I must hurry
+back at once and go to John Holman and apologize to him publicly for this
+affront. After all the years that we were pardners in everything, and then to
+have me doubt his integrity! He was the soul of honor, one man in ten thousand;
+and yet I took the word of this lying Blount against the man I called My Friend!
+I remember, by gad, as if it were yesterday, the first time I really knew your
+father; and Blount was squeezing me, then. I owed him fifteen thousand dollars
+on a certain piece of property that was worth fifty thousand at least; and at
+the very last moment, when he was about to foreclose, John Holman loaned me the
+money. He mortgaged his cattle at the other bank and put the money in my hand,
+and Blount cursed him for an interfering fool! That was Blount, the Shylock, and
+Honest John Holman; and I turned against my friend.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, that&#8217;s right,&#8221; agreed Wiley, &#8220;but if you want
+to make up for it, make &#8217;em quit calling him &#8216;Honest
+John&#8217;!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, indeed,&#8221; cried the Colonel, his voice tremulous with
+emotion. &#8220;He shall still be called Honest John; and if any man doubts it
+or speaks the name fleeringly he shall answer personally to me. And now, about
+this stock&#8211;what was that, Virginia, that you were saying about my
+holdings?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why, Mother put them up as collateral on a loan, and Blount claimed
+them at the end of the first month.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;All my stock? Well, by the horn-spoon&#8211;how <span class='pagenum
+pncolor'><a id='page_296'></a>296</span>much did your mother borrow?
+Eight&#8211;hundred? Eight hundred dollars? Well, that is enough, on the face of
+it&#8211;but never mind, I will recover the stock. It is certainly a revelation
+of human nature. The moment I am reported dead, these vultures strip my family
+of their all.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, I was one of them,&#8221; spoke up Wiley bluntly, &#8220;but you
+don&#8217;t need to blame my father. When I was having trouble with Mrs. Huff he
+wrote up and practically disowned me.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;So you were one of them,&#8221; observed the Colonel mildly.
+&#8220;And you had trouble with Mrs. Huff? But no matter?&#8221; he went on.
+&#8220;We can discuss all that later&#8211;now to return to this lawsuit, with
+Blount. Do I understand that you had an option on his entire four hundred
+thousand shares?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;For twenty thousand dollars,&#8221; answered Wiley, &#8220;and he was
+glad to get it&#8211;but, of course, when I opened up that big body of tungsten,
+the stock was worth into millions. That is, if he could keep me from making both
+payments. He fought me from the start, but I put up the twenty thousand; and the
+clerk of the court is holding it yet, unless the case is decided. But Blount
+knew he could beat it, if he could keep me from buying the mine under the terms
+of my bond and lease; and now that he&#8217;s in possession, taking out thirty
+or forty thousand every day, I&#8217;m licked before I begin. In fact, the case
+is called already and lost by default if I know that blackleg lawyer of
+mine.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But hire a good lawyer!&#8221; protested the Colonel. <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_297'></a>297</span>&#8220;A man has a right
+to his day in court and you have never appeared.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, and I never will,&#8221; spoke up Wiley despondently.
+&#8220;There&#8217;s a whole lot to this case that you don&#8217;t know. And the
+minute I appear they&#8217;ll arrest me for murder and railroad me off to the
+Pen. No, I&#8217;m not going back, that&#8217;s all.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But Wiley,&#8221; reasoned the Colonel, &#8220;you&#8217;ve got great
+interests at stake&#8211;and your father will help you, I&#8217;m
+sure.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, he won&#8217;t,&#8221; declared Wiley. &#8220;There isn&#8217;t
+anybody that can help me, because Blount is in control of the courts. And I
+might as well add that I was run out of Vegas by a Committee appointed for the
+purpose.&#8221; He rose up abruptly, rolling his sullen eyes on Virginia and the
+Colonel alike. &#8220;In fact,&#8221; he burst out, &#8220;I haven&#8217;t got a
+friend on the east side of Death Valley Sink.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But on the west side,&#8221; suggested the Colonel, drawing Virginia
+to his side, &#8220;you have two good friends that I know&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Wait till you hear it all,&#8221; broke in Wiley, bitterly, &#8220;and
+you&#8217;re likely to change your mind. No, I&#8217;m busted, I tell you, and
+the best thing I can do is drift and never come back.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;And Virginia?&#8221; inquired the Colonel. &#8220;Am I right in
+supposing&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; he flared up. &#8220;Friend Virginia has quit me, along
+with&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why, Wiley!&#8221; cried Virginia, and he started and fell silent as
+he met her reproachful gaze. For <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_298'></a>298</span>the sake of the Colonel they were supposed to be
+lovers, whose quarrel had been happily made up, but this was very
+unloverlike.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, I don&#8217;t deserve it,&#8221; he muttered at last, &#8220;but
+friend Virginia has promised to stay with me.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I&#8217;m going to stay with him,&#8221; spoke up Virginia
+quickly, &#8220;because it was all my fault. I&#8217;m going to go with him,
+father, wherever he goes and&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;God bless you, my daughter!&#8221; said the Colonel, smiling proudly,
+&#8220;and never forget you&#8217;re a Huff!&#8221;</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_299'></a>299</span><a id='link_33'></a>CHAPTER XXXIII<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>The Fiery Furnace</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>To be a Huff, of course, was to be brave and true and never go back on a
+friend; but as the Colonel that evening began to speak on the subject, Virginia
+crept off to bed. She was tired from her night trip across the Sink of Death
+Valley, with only Crazy Charley for a guide; but it was Wiley, the inexorable,
+who drove her off weeping, for he would not take her hand. His mind was still
+fixed on the Gethsemane of the soul that he had gone through in Blount&#8217;s
+bank at Vegas, and strive as she would she could not bring him back to play his
+poor part as lover. Whether she loved him or not was not the question&#8211;not
+even if she was willing to throw away her life by following him in his
+wanderings. Three times he had trusted her and three times she had played him
+false&#8211;and was that the honor of the Huffs?</p>
+
+<p>She was penitent now and, in the presence of her father, more gentle and
+womanly than seemed possible; but next week or next month or in the long years
+to come, was she the woman he could trust? They passed before his eyes in a
+swift series of images, the days when he had trusted her <span class='pagenum
+pncolor'><a id='page_300'></a>300</span>before; and always, behind her smile,
+there was something else, something cold and calculating and unkind. Her eyes
+were soft now, and gentle and imploring, but they had looked at him before with
+scorn and hateful laughter, when he had staked his soul on her word. He had
+trusted her&#8211;too far&#8211;and before Blount and all his sycophants she had
+made him a mock and a reviling.</p>
+
+<p>The Colonel was talking, for his mood was expansive, but at last he fell
+silent and waited.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Wiley, my boy,&#8221; he said when Wiley looked up, &#8220;you must not
+let the past overmaster you. We all make mistakes, but if our hearts are right
+there is nothing that should cause vain regrets. I judged from what you said
+once that your present disaster is due to a misplaced trust&#8211;in fact, if I
+remember, to a woman. But do not let this treachery, this betrayal of a trust,
+turn your mind against all womankind. I have known many noble and high-minded
+women whom I would trust with my very life; and since Virginia, as I gather, has
+offered to bind up your wounds, I hope you will not remain embittered. She is my
+daughter, of course, and my love may have blinded me; but in all the long years
+she has been at my side, I can think of no instance in which she has played me
+false. Her nature is passionate, and she is sometimes quick to anger, but behind
+it all she is devotion itself and you can trust her absolutely.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He paused expectantly, but as Wiley made no response he rose up and knocked
+out his pipe.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_301'></a>301</span>&#8220;Well,
+good night,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It is time we were retiring if we are to
+cross the Valley to-morrow. Have a drink? Well, all right; it&#8217;s just as
+well. You&#8217;re a good boy, Wiley; I&#8217;m proud of you.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He clapped him on the shoulder as he went off to bed, but Wiley sat brooding
+by the fire. Death Valley Charley took his blankets and rolled up in the creek
+bed, so that his burros could not sneak by him in the night, and Heine laid down
+beside him; but when all was quiet Wiley rose up silently and tiptoed about the
+camp. He strapped on his pistol and picked up his gun, but as he was groping in
+the darkness for his canteen Heine trotted up and flapped his ears. It was his
+sign of friendship, like wagging his tail, and Wiley patted him quietly; but
+when he was gone, he lifted the canteen and slung it over his shoulder. In the
+land where he was going there were more dangers than one, but lack of water was
+the greatest. He stepped out into the moonlight and then, from the cave, he
+heard a muffled sound. Virginia was there and he was running away from her. He
+listened again&#8211;she was crying! Not weeping aloud or in choking sobs but in
+stifled, heart-broken sighs. He lowered his gun and stood scowling and
+irresolute, then he turned back and went to bed.</p>
+
+<p>In the morning they started late, resting in the shade of the Gateway until
+the sun had swung to the west; and then, as the shadow of the Panamints
+stretched out across the Valley, they repacked and started down the slope. In
+the lead went old Jinny, <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_302'></a>302</span>the mother of the bunch, and Jack and Johnny and
+Baby; and following behind his burros, paced Death Valley Charley with a long,
+willow club in his hand. The Colonel strode ahead, his mind on weighty matters;
+and behind him came Virginia on her free-footed burro with Wiley plodding
+silently in the rear. At irregular intervals Heine would drop back from the lead
+and sniff at them each in turn, but nothing was said, for the air was furnace
+dry and they were saving their strength for the sand.</p>
+
+<p>At sundown they reached the edge of the first yielding sand-dune that
+presaged the long pull to come and Death Valley Charley stopped and opened up a
+water-can while the burros gathered eagerly around. Then he poured each of them
+a drink in his shapeless old hat and started them across the Sink.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Now, you see?&#8221; he said, &#8220;you see where Jinny goes? She
+heads straight for Stovepipe Hole. She knows she gits water there and that
+makes her hurry&#8211;and the others they tag along behind.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He took another drink from the Colonel&#8217;s private stock and smiled as he
+smacked his lips. &#8220;It&#8217;s hot to-day,&#8221; he observed, squinting
+down his eyes and gazing ahead through the haze; &#8220;yes, it&#8217;s hot for
+this time of year. But Virginia, you ride; and when Tom won&#8217;t go no
+further, git off and he&#8217;ll lead you to camp.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He went on ahead, swinging his club and laughing, and Heine trotted soberly
+at his side; and as he <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_303'></a>303</span>followed the trough of sand-wave after sand-wave,
+the rest plodded along behind. A dry, baking heat seemed to rise up from the
+ground and the air was heavy and still; the burros began to groan as they toiled
+up the slope and their flanks turned wet with sweat; and then, as they topped a
+wave, they felt the scorching breath of the Sink. It came in puffs like the
+waves of some great sea upon whose shores they had set their feet; a seething,
+heaving sea of heat, breathing death along its lonely beach. It struck through
+their clothes like a blast of wind or the shimmering glow of a furnace and at
+each drink of water the sweat damped their brows and trickled in streams down
+their faces. A wearied burro halted and, as Charley chased him with his club,
+the rest rushed ahead to escape; and then, as they came to the crest of the
+wave, Virginia&#8217;s burro stopped dead.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll lead him,&#8221; she said as Wiley came up, and started
+after the pack. Wiley walked along beside her, for he saw that she was spent;
+and as her slender feet sank deep in the yielding sand she lagged and slowed
+down, and stopped. Then as she turned to take her canteen from the saddle, she
+swayed and clutched at the horn.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;d better ride,&#8221; he said and, taking her in his arms,
+he lifted her to the saddle like a child. Then he walked along behind, flogging
+the burro into action, but still they lagged to the rear. The moon rose up
+gleaming and cast black shadows along the sand-dunes, and in the lee of the
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_304'></a>304</span>wind-wracked
+mesquite trees; and from the darkness ahead of them they could hear crazy
+shoutings as Charley belabored his fleeing animals. They showed dim and ghostly,
+as they topped a distant ridge; and then Wiley and Virginia were alone. The
+pack-train, the Colonel and Death Valley Charley had vanished behind the crest
+of a wave; and as Wiley stopped to listen Virginia drooped in the saddle and
+fell, very gently, into his arms.</p>
+
+<p>He held her a moment, overcome with sudden pity, and then in a rush of
+unexpected emotion, he crushed her to his breast and kissed her. She was his,
+after all, to cherish, and protect; a frail reed, broken by his hand; and as he
+gave her water and bathed her face he remembered her weeping in the night. Her
+tears had been for him, whom she had followed so far only to find him harsh and
+unforgiving; and now, weak from grief, she had fainted in his arms, which had
+never reached out to console her. He gathered her to his breast in a belated
+atonement and as he kissed her again she stirred. Then he put her down, but when
+she felt his hands slacken she reached up and caught him by the neck. So she
+held him a while, until something gave way within him and he pressed his lips to
+hers.</p>
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_305'></a>305</span><a id='link_34'></a>CHAPTER XXXIV<br /><span class='h2fs'><span style='font-variant:small-caps;'>A Clean-up</span></span></h2>
+
+<p>A cool breeze drew down through Emigrant Wash and soothed the fever heat of
+Death Valley, and as the morning star rose up like a blazing beacon, Wiley
+carried Virginia to Stovepipe. They had sat for hours on the crest of a
+sand-hill, looking out over the sea of waves that seemed to ride on and mingle
+in the moonlight, and with no one to listen they had talked out their hearts and
+pledged the future in a kiss. Then they had gazed long and rested, looking up at
+the countless stars that obscured the Milky Way with their pin-points; and when
+the Colonel had found them Wiley was carrying her in his arms as if her weight
+were nothing.</p>
+
+<p>They camped at Stovepipe that day while Virginia gained back her strength,
+and at last they came in sight of Keno. She was riding now and Wiley was
+walking, with his head bowed down in thought; but when he looked up she reached
+out, smiling wistfully, and touched him with her hand. But the Colonel strode
+ahead, his head held high, his eagle eyes searching the distance; and when
+people ran out to greet him he thrust <span class='pagenum pncolor'><a
+id='page_306'></a>306</span>them aside, for he had spied Samuel Blount in the
+crowd.</p>
+
+<p>Blount was standing just outside the Widow&#8217;s gate and a voice,
+unmistakable, was demanding in frantic haste the return of certain shares of
+stock. It was hardly the time for a business transaction, for her husband was
+returning as from the dead, but a sudden sense of her misused stewardship had
+driven the Widow to distraction.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What now?&#8221; demanded the Colonel, as he appeared upon the scene
+and his wife made a rush to embrace him. &#8220;Is this the time for scolding?
+Why, certainly I was alive&#8211;why should anybody doubt it? You may await me
+in the house, Aurelia!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But Henry!&#8221; she wailed. &#8220;Oh, I thought you were
+dead&#8211;and this devil has robbed me of everything!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She pointed a threatening finger at Blount, who stepped forward, his lower
+lip trembling.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why, how are you, Colonel!&#8221; he exclaimed with affected
+heartiness. &#8220;Well, well; we thought you were dead.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;So I hear!&#8221; observed the Colonel, and looked at him so coldly
+that Blount blushed and withdrew his outstretched hand. &#8220;So I hear,
+sir!&#8221; he repeated, &#8220;but you were misinformed&#8211;I have come back
+to protect my rights.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;He took all your stock,&#8221; cried the Widow, vindictively,
+&#8220;on a loan of eight hundred dollars. And now he won&#8217;t give it
+back.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Never mind,&#8221; returned the Colonel. &#8220;I will <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_307'></a>307</span>attend to all that if you
+will go in and cook me some dinner. And next time I leave home I would
+recommend, Madam, that you leave my business affairs alone.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But Henry,&#8221; she began, but he gazed at her so sternly that she
+turned and slipped away.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;And you, sir,&#8221; continued the Colonel, his words ringing out like
+pistol shots as he unloosed his wrath upon Blount, &#8220;I would like to
+inquire what excuse you have to offer for imposing on my wife and child? Is it
+true, as I hear, that you have taken my stock on a loan of eight hundred
+dollars?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why&#8211;why, no! That is, Colonel Huff&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Have you the stock in your possession?&#8221; demanded the Colonel
+peremptorily. &#8220;Yes or no, now; and no &#8216;buts&#8217; about it!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why, yes; I have,&#8221; admitted Blount in a scared voice, &#8220;but
+I came by it according to law!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You did not, sir!&#8221; retorted the Colonel, &#8220;because it was
+all in my name and my wife had no authority to transfer it. Do you deny the
+fact? Well, then give me back my stock or I shall hold you, sir, personally
+responsible!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Blount started back, for he knew the import of those dread words, and then he
+heaved a great sigh.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Very well,&#8221; he said, &#8220;but I loaned her eight hundred
+dollars&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Wiley!&#8221; called the Colonel, beckoning him quickly from the
+crowd. &#8220;Give me the loan of eight hundred dollars.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_308'></a>308</span>And at that
+Blount opened up his eyes.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oho!&#8221; he said, &#8220;so Wiley is with you? Well, just a moment,
+Mr. Huff.&#8221; He turned to a man who stood beside him. &#8220;Arrest that
+man!&#8221; he said. &#8220;He killed my watchman, George Norcross.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Not so fast!&#8221; rapped out the Colonel, fixing the officer with
+steely eyes. &#8220;Mr. Holman is under my protection. Ah, thank you,
+Wiley&#8211;here is your money, Mr. Blount, with fifty dollars more for
+interest. And now I will thank you for that stock.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Do you set yourself up,&#8221; demanded Blount with sudden bluster,
+&#8220;as being above the law?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, sir, I do not,&#8221; replied the Colonel tartly. &#8220;But
+before we go any further I must ask you to restore my stock. Your order is
+sufficient, if the certificates are elsewhere&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well&#8211;all right!&#8221; sighed Blount, and wrote out an order
+which Colonel Huff gravely accepted. &#8220;And now,&#8221; went on Blount,
+&#8220;I demand that you step aside and allow Wiley Holman to be
+taken.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The Colonel&#8217;s eyes narrowed, and he motioned the officer aside as he
+laid his own hand on Wiley&#8217;s shoulder.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Every citizen of the state,&#8221; he said with dignity, &#8220;has
+the authority to arrest a fugitive&#8211;and Mr. Holman is my prisoner. Is that
+satisfactory to you, Mr. Officer?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why&#8211;why, yes,&#8221; stammered the Constable and as the Colonel
+smiled Blount forgot his studied repose. He had been deprived in one minute of a
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_309'></a>309</span>block of stock that
+was worth a round million dollars and the sting of his great loss maddened
+him.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You may smile, sir,&#8221; he burst out, &#8220;but as sure as
+there&#8217;s a law I&#8217;ll put Wiley Holman in the Pen. And if you knew the
+truth, if you knew what he has done; I wonder, now, if you would go to such
+lengths? You might ask your wife how she has fared in your absence&#8211;or ask
+Virginia there! Didn&#8217;t he send her as his messenger, to make a fake
+payment that would have deprived her and her mother of their rights? If it
+hadn&#8217;t been for me your two hundred thousand shares wouldn&#8217;t be
+worth two hundred cents. I ask Virginia now&#8211;didn&#8217;t he send you to my
+bank&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What?&#8221; demanded the Colonel, suddenly whirling upon his
+daughter, but Virginia avoided his eyes.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; she said, &#8220;he did send me down&#8211;and I betrayed
+my trust. But it&#8217;s just because of that that we&#8217;ll stand by him
+now&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Virginia!&#8221; said the Colonel, speaking with painful distinctness.
+&#8220;Do I understand that you were&#8211;that woman? And did Mr. Blount here,
+by any means whatever, persuade you to violate your trust?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, he did!&#8221; cried out Virginia, &#8220;but it was all my fault
+and I don&#8217;t want Mr. Blount blamed for it. I did it out of meanness, but I
+was sorry for it afterwards and&#8211;oh, I wonder if I&#8217;ve got any
+mail.&#8221; She broke away and dashed into the house and the Colonel brushed
+back his hair.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_310'></a>310</span>&#8220;A
+Huff!&#8221; he murmured. &#8220;My God, what a blow! And Wiley, how can we ever
+repay you?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Never mind,&#8221; answered Wiley as he took the old man&#8217;s hand.
+&#8220;I don&#8217;t care about the money.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, but the wrong, the disgrace,&#8221; protested the Colonel,
+brokenly, and then he flared up at Blount.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You scoundrel, sir!&#8221; he cried. &#8220;How dared you induce my
+daughter to violate her sacred trust? By the gods, Sam Blount, I am greatly
+tempted&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s come!&#8221; called Virginia, running gayly down the steps,
+but at sight of her father she stopped. &#8220;Well, there it is,&#8221; she
+said, putting a paper in his hand. &#8220;It shows that I was sorry,
+anyway.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What is this?&#8221; inquired the Colonel, fumbling feebly for his
+glasses, and Virginia snatched the paper away.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a letter from my lawyers!&#8221; she said, smiling
+wickedly. &#8220;And we&#8217;ll show it to Mr. Blount.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She took it over and put it in Blount&#8217;s hands, and as he read the first
+line he turned pale.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why&#8211;Virginia!&#8221; he gasped and then he clutched at his heart
+and reached out quickly for the fence. &#8220;Why&#8211;why, I thought that was
+all settled! I certainly understood it was&#8211;and what authority had you to
+interfere?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Wiley&#8217;s power of attorney,&#8221; she answered defiantly,
+&#8220;I fired that crooked lawyer, after you&#8217;d got him all fixed, and
+hired a good one with my stock.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;My Lord!&#8221; moaned Blount, &#8220;and after all I&#8217;d <span
+class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_311'></a>311</span>done for you!&#8221; And
+then he collapsed and was borne into the house. But Wiley, who had been so calm,
+suddenly leapt for the letter and read it through to the end.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Holy&#8211;jumping&#8211;Judas!&#8221; he burst out, running over to
+the Colonel who was standing with lack luster eyes. &#8220;Look here what
+Virginia has done! She&#8217;s bought all Blount&#8217;s stock, under that
+option I had, and cleaned him&#8211;down to a cent. She&#8217;s won back the
+mine, and we can all go in together&#x2500;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Virginia!&#8221; spoke up the Colonel, beckoning her sternly to him.
+&#8220;Come down here, I wish to speak to you.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>She came down slowly and as her father began to talk the tears rose quickly
+to her eyes, but when Wiley took her hand she smiled back wistfully and crept
+within the circle of his arm.</p>
+
+<div class='center'>
+<p class='center'>THE END</p>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Shadow Mountain, by Dane Coolidge
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+</body>
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Shadow Mountain, by Dane Coolidge
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Shadow Mountain
+
+Author: Dane Coolidge
+
+Illustrator: George W. Gage
+
+Release Date: December 1, 2009 [EBook #30574]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SHADOW MOUNTAIN ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: She reached out smiling wistfully and touched him with
+her hand.]
+
+
+
+
+SHADOW MOUNTAIN
+
+BY
+
+DANE COOLIDGE
+
+AUTHOR OF THE DESERT TRAIL, ETC.
+
+FRONTISPIECE BY
+
+GEORGE W. GAGE
+
+[Illustration]
+
+GROSSET & DUNLAP
+
+PUBLISHERS NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+COPYRIGHT, 1919, BY
+
+W. J. WATT & COMPANY
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+  Chapter                                   Page
+       I.  The Last of Ten Thousand            1
+      II.  The Shotgun Widow                  10
+     III.  The Shadow                         22
+      IV.  The Ghost Man                      30
+       V.  A Load of Buckshot                 38
+      VI.  All Crazy                          48
+     VII.  Between Friends                    58
+    VIII.  The Tip                            68
+      IX.  A Peace Talk                       78
+       X.  The Best Head in Town              89
+      XI.  A Touch                            98
+     XII.  The Expert                        106
+    XIII.  A Sack of Cats                    118
+     XIV.  The Explosion                     127
+      XV.  The God of Ten Per Cent           135
+     XVI.  A Showdown With the Widow         143
+    XVII.  Peace--and the Price              151
+   XVIII.  On Christmas Day                  160
+     XIX.  The Enigma                        170
+      XX.  An Appeal To Charley              179
+     XXI.  The Dragon's Teeth                187
+    XXII.  Virginia Explains--Nothing        196
+   XXIII.  On Demand                         204
+    XXIV.  Double Trouble                    214
+     XXV.  Virginia Repents                  223
+    XXVI.  The Call                          231
+   XXVII.  The Thunder Clap                  239
+  XXVIII.  The Way Out                       248
+    XXIX.  Across Death Valley               259
+     XXX.  An Evening With Socrates          269
+    XXXI.  The Broken Trust                  279
+   XXXII.  A Huff                            290
+  XXXIII.  The Fiery Furnace                 299
+   XXXIV.  A Clean-up                        305
+
+
+
+
+SHADOW MOUNTAIN
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE LAST OF TEN THOUSAND
+
+
+Under the rim of Shadow Mountain, embraced like a pearl of great price
+by the curve of Bonanza Point and the mined-out slope of Gold Hill, the
+deserted city of Keno lay brooding and silent in the sun. A dry, gusty
+wind, swooping down through the northern pass, slammed the great iron
+fire-doors that hung creaking from the stone bank building, caught up a
+cloud of sand and dirt and, whirling it down past empty stores and assay
+offices, deposited it in the doorways of gambling houses and dance
+halls, long since abandoned to the rats. An old man, pottering about
+among the ruins, gathered up some broken boards and hobbled off; and
+once more Keno, the greatest gold camp the West has ever seen, sank back
+to silence and dreams.
+
+A round of shots wakened the echoes of Shadow Mountain; a lonely miner
+came down the trail from Gold Hill, where in the old days the Paymaster
+had turned out its million a month; and then, far out across the floor
+of the desert on the road that led in from the railroad, there appeared
+an arrow-point of dust. It grew to a racing streak of white, the distant
+purring of the motor gave way to a deep-voiced thunder and as the
+powerful car glided swiftly up the street the doors of old houses opened
+unexpectedly and the last of ten thousand looked out.
+
+There were old men and cripples, left stranded by the exodus; and
+prospectors who had moved into the vacant houses along with the other
+desert rats; but out on the gallery of the old Huff mansion--where the
+creepers still clung to the lattice--there was a flutter of white and a
+girl came out with a kitten in her arms. In the days of gold--when ten
+thousand men, the choice spirits of two hemispheres, had tramped down
+this same deserted street--the house of Colonel Huff, the discoverer of
+the Paymaster, had been the social center of Keno. And so it was still,
+for the Widow Huff remained; but across the front of the hospitable
+gallery where the Colonel had entertained the town, a cheap cloth sign
+announced meals fifty cents and Virginia, his daughter, was the waiter.
+She stood by the sign, still high-headed and patrician, and when the
+driver of the car saw her he came to a sudden stop. He was long and
+gaunt, with deep lines around his mouth from bucking the wind and dust
+and after a moment's hesitation he threw on his brake and leapt out.
+
+"Did you want something?" she asked and, glancing warily about, he
+nodded and came up the steps.
+
+"Yes," he said, still eying her doubtfully, "what's the chance for
+something to eat?"
+
+"Why, good," she answered with a suspicion of a smile. "Or--well, come
+in; I'll speak to mother."
+
+She showed him into the spacious dining room, where the Colonel had
+once presided in state, and hurried into the kitchen. The young man
+gazed after her, looked swiftly about the room and backed away towards
+the door; then his strong jaw closed down, he smiled grimly to himself
+and sat down unbidden at a table. The table was mahogany and, in a
+case against the wall, there was a scant display of cut glass; but the
+linen was worn thin and the expensive velvet carpet had been ruined by
+hob-nailed boots. Heavy workingmen's dishes lay on the tables, the
+plating was worn from the knives, and the last echoing ghost of
+vanished gentility was dispelled by a voice from the kitchen. It was
+the Widow Huff, once the first lady of Keno, but now a boarding-house
+cook.
+
+"What--a dinner now? At half-past three? And with this wind fairly
+driving me crazy? Well, I can't _hire_ anybody to keep such hours
+for _me_ and----"
+
+There was a murmur of low-voiced protest as Virginia pleaded his cause
+and then, as the Widow burst out anew, the young man pushed back his
+chair. His blue eyes, half hidden beneath bulging brows, turned a
+steely, fighting gray, his wind-blown hair fairly bristled; and as he
+listened to the last of the Widow's remarks his lower lip was thrust up
+scornfully.
+
+"You danged old heifer," he muttered and then the kitchen door flew
+open. The baleful look which he had intended for the Widow was surprised
+on his face by Virginia and after a startled moment she closed the door
+behind her.
+
+"Why--Wiley Holman!" she cried accusingly and a challenge leapt into his
+eyes.
+
+"Well?" he demanded and gazed at her sullenly as she scanned him from
+head to foot.
+
+"I knew it," she burst out. "I'd know that stubborn look anywhere! You
+double up your lip like your father. Honest John!" she added
+sarcastically and brushed some crumbs from the table.
+
+"Yes--Honest John!" he retorted. "And you don't need to say it like
+that, either. He's my father--I know him--and I'll tell you right now he
+never cheated a man in his life."
+
+"Well, he did!" she flared back, her eyes dark with anger, "and I'll
+bet--I'll bet if my father was here he'd--he'd prove it to your face!"
+
+She ended in a sob and as he saw the tears starting the son of Honest
+John relented.
+
+"Aw, Virginia," he pleaded, "what's the use of always fighting? He's
+gone now, so let's be friends. I was just going by when I saw you on the
+gallery, and I thought--well, let's you and I be friends."
+
+"What? After old Honest John robbed Papa of the Paymaster, and then
+hounded him to his death on the desert?"
+
+"He did nothing of the kind--he never robbed anybody! And as for
+hounding your father to his death, the Old Man never even knew about it.
+He was down on the ranch, and when they told him the news----"
+
+"Yes, that's you," she railed, stifling back her sobs, "you can always
+prove an alibi. But you'd better drift, Mr. Holman; because if mother
+knows you're here----"
+
+"Well, what?" he demanded, truculently.
+
+"She'll fill you full of buckshot."
+
+"Pah!" he scoffed and snapped his fingers in the air, after which he
+lapsed into silence.
+
+"Well, she will," she asserted, after waiting for him to speak, but
+Wiley only grunted.
+
+"Wait till I get that dinner," he said at last and slumped down into a
+chair. He muttered to himself, gazing dubiously towards the kitchen, and
+turned impatiently to look at some specimens in a case against the wall.
+They were the usual chunks of high-grade gold ore, but he examined one
+piece with great care.
+
+"Where'd you get this?" he asked, holding up a piece of white rock, and
+she sighed and brushed away her tears.
+
+"Over on the dump," she answered wearily. "That's all Paymaster ore.
+Don't you think you'd better go?"
+
+"Never ran away yet," he answered briefly and balanced the rock in his
+hand. "Pretty heavy," he observed, "I'll bet it would assay. Have you
+got very much on the dump?"
+
+"What--_that_?" she cried, snatching the specimen away from him and
+bursting into a nervous laugh. "That assay? Well, you are a
+greenie--it's nothing but barren white quartz!"
+
+"Oh, it is, eh?" he rejoined and gazed at her hectoringly. "You seem to
+know a whole lot about mineral."
+
+"Yes, I do," she boasted. "Death Valley Charley teaches me. I've learned
+how to pan, and everything. But that rock there--that's the barren
+quartz that the Paymaster ran into when the values went out of the ore.
+Old Charley knows all about it."
+
+"Yes, they all do," he observed and as his lip went up her eyes dilated
+suddenly in a panic.
+
+"Oh, you went to that school--I forgot all about it--where they study
+about the mines! Are you in the mining business now?"
+
+"Why, yes," he acknowledged, "but that doesn't make much difference. I
+find I can learn something from most everybody."
+
+"Well, of course, then," she stammered, "I shouldn't have said that; but
+the whole Paymaster dump is covered with that heavy quartz, and
+everybody knows it's barren. Are you just looking around or----"
+
+She hesitated politely and as he reached for another specimen she
+noticed a ring on his finger. It was of massive gold and, set in
+clutching claws, there were three stupendous diamonds. Not imitation
+stones nor small, off-colored diamonds, but brilliants of the very first
+water, clear as dew, yet holding in their hearts the faintest suggestion
+of blue.
+
+"Oh!" she gasped, and as he did not seem to notice, she drew her skirts
+away with a flourish. "I'm surprised," she mocked, "that you condescend
+to speak to us--of course you own your own mines!"
+
+"Nope," he replied, shrugging his shoulders at her sarcasm, "I'm nothing
+but a prospector, yet. And you don't need to be so surprised."
+
+"No!" she retorted, giving way to swift resentment. "I guess I
+don't--when you consider how you got your money. Here's Mother out
+cooking for you, and I'm the waiter; and you're traveling around in
+racing cars with thousand-dollar rings on your hands. But if old
+Honest John hadn't sold all his stock while he was advising my father
+to hold on----"
+
+"He did not!"
+
+"Yes, he did! He did, too! And now, after Father has been lost in Death
+Valley, and we have come down to this, your father writes over and
+offers to buy our stock for just the same as nothing. That's _my_
+ring you're wearing, and the money that paid for it----"
+
+"Oh, all right then," he sneered, stripping off the ring and handing it
+abruptly over to her, "if it's your ring, take it! But don't you say my
+father----"
+
+"Well, he did," she declared, "and you can keep your old ring! It won't
+bring back my father--now!"
+
+"No, it won't," he agreed, "but while we're about it I just want to tell
+you something. My father went broke, buying back Paymaster stock from
+friends he'd advised to go in--and he's got the stock to prove it--and
+when he heard that the Colonel was dead he decided to buy in your
+mother's. He mortgaged his cows to raise the money for her and then that
+old terror--I don't care if she is your mother--she slapped him in the
+face by refusing it. Well, he didn't like to say anything, but you can
+tell her from me she don't have to cook unless she wants to! She can
+sell--or buy--a hundred thousand shares of Paymaster any day she says
+the word; and if that isn't honest I don't know what is! I ask you, now;
+isn't that fair?"
+
+"What, at ten cents a share? When it used to sell for forty dollars!
+He's just trying to get control of the mine. And as for offering to buy
+or sell, that's perfectly ludicrous, because he knows we haven't any
+money!"
+
+"Well, what _do_ you want?" he demanded irritably, and then he thrust
+up his lip. "I know," he said, "you want your own way! All right, I'll
+never trouble you again. You can keep right on guarding that
+hole-in-the-ground until you dry up and blow away across the desert.
+And as for that old she-devil----"
+
+He paused at a sudden slam from the kitchen, and Virginia's eyes grew
+big; but as he rose to face the Widow Huff he slipped the white rock
+into his pocket.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+THE SHOTGUN WIDOW
+
+
+The Widow Huff was burdened with a tray and her eye sought wildly for
+Virginia but when she glimpsed Wiley moving swiftly towards the door she
+set down his dinner with a bang. The disrespectful epithet which he had
+applied to her had been lost in the clatter of plates, but the moment
+the Widow came into the room she sensed the hair-trigger atmosphere.
+
+"Here!" she ordered, taking command on the instant. "Come back here,
+young man, and pay me for this dinner! And Virginia Huff, you go out
+into the kitchen--how many times do I have to speak to you?"
+
+Virginia started and stopped, her resentful eyes on Wiley, a thin smile
+parting her lips.
+
+"He said----" she began, and then Wiley strode back and slapped down a
+dollar on the table.
+
+"Yes, and I meant it, too," he answered fiercely. "There's your pay--and
+you can keep your mine."
+
+"Why, certainly," responded the Widow without knowing what she was
+talking about, "and now you eat that dinner!"
+
+She pointed a finger to the tray of food and looked Wiley Holman in the
+eye. He wavered, gazing from her to the smiling Virginia, and then he
+drew up his chair.
+
+"I'll go you," he said and showed his teeth in a grin. "You can't hurt
+my feelings that way."
+
+He lifted the T-bone steak from the platter and transferred it swiftly
+to his plate and then, as he fell to eating ravenously, the Widow
+condescended to smile.
+
+"When I go to the trouble of cooking a man a steak," she announced with
+the suggestion of a swagger, "I expect him to stay and eat it."
+
+"All right," mumbled Wiley, and glancing fleeringly at Virginia, he went
+ahead with his meal.
+
+The Widow looked over her shoulder at her daughter and then back at the
+stranger, but as she was about to inquire into the cause of their
+quarrel she spied his diamond ring. She approached him closer under
+pretext of pouring out some water and then she sank down into a chair.
+
+"That is a very fine ring," she stated briefly. "Worth fifteen hundred
+dollars at the least. Haven't I seen you somewhere, before?"
+
+"Very likely," returned Wiley, not venturing to look up, "my business
+takes me everywhere."
+
+"I thought I recognized you," went on the Widow ingratiatingly; "you're
+a mining man, aren't you, Mister--er----"
+
+"Wiley," he answered, and at this bold piece of effrontery Virginia
+caught her breath.
+
+"Ah, yes, I remember you now," said the Widow. "You knew my husband, of
+course--Colonel Huff? He passed away on the twentieth of July; but there
+was a time, not so many years ago, that I wore a few diamonds myself."
+She fixed her restless eyes on his ring and heaved a discontented sigh.
+"Virginia," she directed, "run out into the kitchen and clean up that
+skillet and all. I declare, you do less and less every day--are you a
+married man, Mr. Wiley?"
+
+Without awaiting the answer to this portentous question, Virginia flung
+out into the kitchen and, left alone, the Widow drew nearer and her
+manner became suddenly confidential.
+
+"I'd like to talk with you," she began, "about my husband's mine. Of
+course you've heard of the famous Paymaster--that's the mill right over
+east of town--but there are very few men that know what I do about the
+reasons why that mine was shut down. It was commonly reported that
+Colonel Huff was trying to get possession of the property, but the truth
+of the matter is he was deceived by old John Holman and finally left
+holding the sack. You see, it was this way. My husband and John Holman
+had always been lifelong friends, but Colonel Huff was naturally
+generous while Holman thought of nothing but money. Well, my husband
+discovered the Paymaster--he was led to it by an Indian that he had
+saved from being killed by the soldiers--but, not having any money, he
+went to John Holman and they developed the mine together. It turned out
+very rich and such a rush you never saw--this valley was full of tents
+for miles--but it was so far from the railroad--seventy-four miles to
+Vegas--that the work was very expensive. The Company was reorganized and
+Mr. Blount, the banker, was given a third of the promotion stock. Then
+the five hundred thousand shares of treasury stock was put on the market
+in order to build the new mill; and when the railroad came in there was
+such a crazy speculation that everybody lost track of the transfers. My
+husband, of course, was generous to a fault and accustomed to living
+like a gentleman--and he invested very heavily in real estate, too--but
+this Mr. Blount was always out for his interest and Honest John would
+skin a dead flea."
+
+"Honest John!" challenged Wiley, looking up from his eating with an ugly
+glint in his eye, but the Widow was far away.
+
+"Yes, Honest John Holman," she sneered, without noticing his resentment.
+"They called him Honest John. Did you ever know one of these 'Honest
+John' fellows yet that wasn't a thorough-paced scoundrel? Well, old John
+Holman he threw in with Blount to deprive Colonel Huff of his profits
+and, with these street certificates everywhere and no one recording
+their transfers, the Colonel was naturally deceived into thinking that
+the selling was from the outside. But all the time, while they were
+selling their stock and hammering down the price of Paymaster, they were
+telling the Colonel that it was only temporary and he ought to support
+the market. So he bought in what he could, though it wasn't much, as he
+was interested in other properties, and then when the crash came he was
+left without anything and Blount and Holman were rich. The great panic
+came on and Blount foreclosed on everything, and then Mr. Huff fell out
+with John Holman and they closed the Paymaster down. That was ten years
+ago and, with the litigation and all, the stock went down to nothing.
+The whole camp went dead and all the folks moved away--but have you ever
+been through the mine? Well, I want you to go--that ground has hardly
+been scratched!"
+
+Wiley Holman glanced up doubtfully from under his heavy eyebrows and the
+Widow became voluble in her protests.
+
+"No, sir," she exclaimed, "I certainly ought to know, because the
+Colonel was Superintendent; and when he had been drinking--the town was
+awful, that way--he would tell me all about the mine. And that was his
+phrase--he used it always: 'That ground has hardly been scratched!' But
+when he fell out with old John Holman he--well, there was an explosion
+underground and the glory-hole stope caved in. They cleaned it out
+afterwards and hunted around, but all the rich ore was gone; but I'm
+just as certain as I'm sitting here this minute the Colonel knew where
+there was more! He never would admit it--he was peculiar, that way, he
+never would discuss his business before a woman. But he wouldn't deny
+it, and when he had been drinking--well, I know it's there, that's all!"
+
+She paused for her effect but Mr. Wiley, the mining man, was singularly
+unimpressed. He continued eating in moody silence and the Widow tried
+the question direct.
+
+"Well, what do you think about it?" she demanded bluffly. "Would you
+like to consider the property?"
+
+"No, I don't think so," he answered impersonally. "I'm on my way up
+north."
+
+"Well, when you come back, then. Since my husband is gone I'm so sick
+and tired of it all I'll consider any offer--for cash."
+
+"Nope," he responded, "I'm out for something different." Then to stem
+the tide of her impending protest, he broke his studious silence. "I'm
+looking for molybdenum," he went on quickly, "and some of these other
+rare metals that are in demand on account of the war. Ever find any
+vanadium or manganese around here? No, I guess they're all further
+north."
+
+He returned to his meal and the Widow surveyed him appraisingly with her
+bold, inquisitive eyes. She was a big, strapping woman, and handsome in
+a way; but the corners of her mouth were drawn down sharply in a sulky,
+lawless pout.
+
+"Aw, tell me the truth," she burst out at last. "What have you got
+against the property?"
+
+A somber glow came into his eyes as he opened his lips to speak, and
+then he veiled his smouldering hate behind a crafty smile.
+
+"The parties that I represent," he said deliberately, "are looking for a
+_mine_. But the man that puts his money into the Paymaster property
+is simply buying a lawsuit."
+
+"What do you mean?" demanded the Widow, rousing up indignantly in
+response to this sudden thrust.
+
+"I mean, no matter how rich the Paymaster may be--and I hear the whole
+district is worked out--I wouldn't even go up the hill to look at it
+until you showed me the title was good."
+
+The Widow sat and glowered as she meditated a fitting response and then
+she rose to her feet.
+
+"Well, all right, then," she sulked, "if you don't want to consider
+it--but you're missing the chance of your life."
+
+"Very likely," he muttered and reached for his hat. "Much obliged for
+cooking my dinner."
+
+He started for the door, but she flew swiftly after him and snatched him
+back into the room.
+
+"Now here!" she cried, "I want you to listen to me--I've got tired of
+this everlasting waiting. I waited around for ten years on the Colonel,
+to settle this matter up, and now that he's gone I'm going to settle it
+myself and get out of the cussed country. Maybe I don't own the mine,
+but I own a good part of it--I've got two hundred thousand shares of
+stock--and I could sell it to-morrow for twenty thousand dollars, so you
+don't need to turn up your nose. There must be something there after all
+these years, to bring an offer of ten cents a share; but I wouldn't take
+that money if it was the last act of my life--I just hate that Honest
+John Holman! He cheated my husband out of everything he had--and yet he
+did it in such a deceitful way that the Colonel would never believe it.
+I've called him a coward a thousand times for tolerating such an outrage
+for an instant, and now that he's gone I'm going to show Honest John
+that he can't put it over _me_!"
+
+She shook her head until her heavy black hair flew out like Medusa's
+locks and then Wiley laughed provokingly.
+
+"All right," he said, "but you can't rope me in on your feuds. If you
+want to give me an option on your stock in the company for five or ten
+cents a share I may take a look at your mine. But I'll tell you one
+thing--you'll sign an agreement first to leave the country and never
+come back. I'm a business man, working for business people, and these
+shotgun methods don't go."
+
+"Well, I'll do it!" exclaimed the Widow, passing by his numerous insults
+in a sudden mad grab at release. "Just draw up your paper and I'll sign
+it in a minute--but I want ten cents a share!"
+
+"Ten cents or ten dollars--it makes no difference to me. You can put it
+as high as you like--but if it's too high, my principals won't take it.
+I can't stop to inspect it now, because I'm due up north, but I'll tell
+you what I'll do. You give me an option on all your stock, with a
+written permission to take possession, and if the other two big owners
+will do as much I'll come back and consider the mine. But get this
+straight--the first time you butt in, this option and agreement is off!"
+
+"What do you mean--butt in?" demanded the Widow truculently, and then
+she bit her lip. "Well, never mind," she said, "just draw up your
+papers. I'll show you I'm business myself."
+
+"Huh!" he grunted and, whipping out a fountain pen, he sat down and
+wrote rapidly at a table. "There," he said tearing the leaf from his
+notebook and putting it into her hands, "just read that over and if you
+want to sign it we'll close the deal, right here."
+
+The Widow took the paper and, turning it to the light, began a labored
+perusal.
+
+"Memorandum of agreement," she muttered, squinting her eyes at his
+handwriting, "hmm, I'll have to go and get my glasses. 'For and in
+consideration of the sum of ten dollars--to me in hand paid by M. R.
+Wiley,' and so forth--oh well, I guess it's all right, just show me
+where to sign."
+
+"No," he said, "let me read it to you--you ought to know what you're
+signing."
+
+"No, just show me where to sign," protested the Widow petulantly, "and
+where it says ten cents a share."
+
+"Well, it says that here," answered Wiley, putting his finger on the
+place, "but I'm going to read it to you--it wouldn't be legal
+otherwise."
+
+He wiped the beaded sweat from his brow and glanced towards the kitchen
+door. In this desperate game which he was framing on the Widow the luck
+had all come his way, but as he cleared his throat and commenced to read
+Virginia came bounding in. She was carrying a kitten, but when she saw
+the paper between them she dropped it on the floor.
+
+"Virginia!" cried her mother, "go and hunt my glasses. They're somewhere
+in my bedroom."
+
+"All right," she responded, but when she came back she glanced
+inquiringly at the paper.
+
+"You can go now," announced the Widow, adjusting her glasses, but
+Virginia threw up her head.
+
+"Do you know who that is?" she demanded brusquely, pointing an accusing
+finger at Wiley.
+
+"Why--er--no," returned the Widow, now absorbed in the agreement.
+
+"Well, all right," she said after a hasty perusal, "but where's that sum
+of ten dollars? Now you hush, Virginia, and go--into--the--_kitchen_!
+Now, it says right here--oh, where is that place? Oh yes, 'the receipt
+whereof is hereby acknowledged'! _Virginia!_"
+
+She stamped her foot, but Virginia's blood was up and she made a grab at
+the paper.
+
+"Now, _listen!_" she screamed, stopping her mother in her rush.
+"That man there is Wiley Holman! Yes--Holman! Old Honest John's son!
+What's this you're going to sign?"
+
+She backed away, her eyes fixed on the agreement, while the Widow stood
+astounded.
+
+"Wiley _Holman_!" she shrieked, "why, you limb of Satan, you said
+your name was Wiley!"
+
+"It is," returned Wiley with one eye on the door, "the rest of my name
+is Holman."
+
+"But you signed it on this paper--you wrote it right there! Oh, I'll
+have the law on you for this!"
+
+She clutched at the paper and as Virginia gave it to her mother she
+turned an accusing glance upon Wiley.
+
+"Yes, that's just like you, Mr. M. R. Wiley," she observed with
+scathing sarcasm. "You were just that way when you were a kid here in
+Keno--always trying to get the advantage of somebody. But if I'd
+thought you had the nerve----" She glanced at the paper and gasped and
+Wiley showed his teeth in a grin.
+
+"Well, she crowded me to it," he answered with a swagger. "I'm strictly
+business--I'll sign up anybody. You can just keep that paper," he nodded
+to the Widow, "and send it to me by mail."
+
+He winked at Virginia and slipped swiftly out the door as the Widow
+made a rush for her gun. She came out after him, brandishing a
+double-barreled shotgun, just as he cranked up his machine to start.
+
+"I'll show you!" she yelled, jerking her gun to her shoulder. "I'll
+learn you to get funny with _me_!"
+
+She pulled the trigger, but Wiley was watching her and he ducked down
+behind the radiator.
+
+_Clank_, went the hammer and with a wail of rage the Widow snapped
+the other barrel.
+
+"You, Virginia!" she cried in a terrible voice, "have you been monkeying
+with my shotgun?"
+
+The answer was lost in a series of explosions that awoke every echo in
+Keno, and Wiley Holman leapt into his machine. He jerked off his brake
+and stepped on the foot throttle but as he roared off up the street he
+waved a grimy hand at Virginia.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+THE SHADOW
+
+
+The old, settled quiet returned to sleepy Keno--the quiet of the desert
+and of empty, noiseless houses stretching in long, sunburned rows down
+the canyon. The black lava patch, laid across the gray rhyolite flank of
+Shadow Mountain like the shade of an angry cloud, still frowned down
+upon the town like a portent of storms to come. But the sky was hot and
+gleaming and no storms came; nor did Wiley Holman return, though the
+Widow waited for him patiently. After all his boldness, his unbelievable
+effrontery in trying to steal her Paymaster stock, he had gone on
+laughing to seek other adventures and left her with the mine on her
+hands. But he would come back, she knew it; and with her gun loaded with
+buckshot she watched from the shelter of the gallery.
+
+Yet the days went by and then the weeks and at last the Widow, with a
+sigh of vexation, put up her gun and retired within. Now that the
+episode was over she felt vaguely regretful that he had failed, after
+all, in his purpose. If he had procured his option, under cover of her
+blindness, and obtained her quit-claim to the mine, she would at least
+have had the satisfaction of obtaining her own terms--and she would have
+the twenty thousand to spend. It was maddening, disgusting, when she
+thought it over, that he had turned out to be Holman's son, and she
+never quite forgave Virginia for dinning the fact into her ears. For
+what you don't know will never hurt you, and she had lost her last
+chance to sell. When she went back into the house she went back into the
+kitchen, and there she would have to stay. Either that or take Honest
+John's money.
+
+But he wanted the property--the Widow knew it--else why had he sent his
+son? All the wise-acres in Keno agreed with the Widow that Honest John
+had designs on her property and Death Valley Charley, who had jumped
+half the claims in the district, began once more to carry his gun. It
+was by virtue of that, more than of assessment work done or of any other
+legal right, that Charley held title to his claims; and until Wiley had
+come through town and attempted to bond the Paymaster he had feared no
+one but Stiff Neck George. Stiff Neck George had been Blount's gunman
+on the momentous occasion when they had tried to jump the Paymaster--and
+the Widow Huff had put him to flight with one blast from her trusty
+shotgun. But now that big interests were sending in their experts and
+mining was picking up everywhere Stiff Neck George might forget that
+humiliating defeat, so Death Valley Charley put on his six-shooter.
+
+He was a little, stooping man, burned chocolate brown by the sun and
+with eyes half blinded by the glare, and as the Widow gave up her
+fruitless vigil, Death Valley Charley took her place. But he was not
+alone, for through all the weary weeks Virginia had been watching her
+mother. She had slipped in and out, now lingering on the gallery, now
+listening through the doorway, expectant but at the same time afraid.
+She knew Wiley Holman much better than her mother, and she knew that he
+would come back. He was patient, that was all, more patient than an
+Indian, and he had his eye on their mine. For ten years and more Colonel
+Huff, and now the Widow, had held physical possession of the Paymaster.
+Every great iron-bound door was locked and padlocked and the Huff family
+held the keys, but in all those ten years Holman had never come near it
+and Blount had merely seized it on a labor lien. The very title to the
+mine was shrouded in mystery, for no one could locate the shares, and to
+openly lay claim to it and produce a majority of the stock would be
+equivalent to a confession of treachery. All that anyone knew surely was
+that some one of the three original owners--or some unsuspected party
+outside--had bought in and sequestered the almost valueless stock and
+was patiently biding his time. Since the Huffs did not own the stock
+themselves they knew for a certainty that it was held by either Holman
+or Blount.
+
+As Virginia sat on the gallery, listening subconsciously for the
+drumming of Wiley's racing motor up the road, she ran over in her mind
+the circumstances of his visit; and she could explain them all but one.
+Why, after failing of his mission, and narrowly escaping her mother's
+gun, had he waved his hand and smiled so gayly as he thundered away up
+the street? Had he other schemes more subtle; or was he simply reckless,
+regarding even this adventure as a joke? As a boy he had been both--a
+crafty schemer and reckless doer--but now he was grown to a man. And if
+the lines about his mouth were any criterion he would soon be coming
+back to carry out by stealth what he failed to accomplish by assault. So
+she, too, waited patiently, to foil his machinations and uphold the
+honor of the Huffs.
+
+In the good old days it had never been forgotten that the Huffs belonged
+to the Virginia quality, while the Holmans came from Maine; hence the
+Colonel's relations with Honest John Holman had at first been strictly
+business. John Holman was a Northerner, with no social graces and
+abstemious to a fault, but when his commercial honor upon a certain
+occasion had saved the Colonel from bankruptcy he had cast the
+traditions of the South to the winds and taken Honest John as his
+friend. "My friend," he called him and neither his wife nor his enemies
+could shake the Colonel's faith in his partner. Then, after years of
+mutual trust, the panic had come on, and the crash in Paymaster stock;
+and as their fortunes went tumbling and ugly rumors filled the air they
+had broken their friendship completely. Yet so great was his love for
+his old-time friend that he had never openly accused him; and Honest
+John Holman, after months of somber silence, had moved away and started
+a cow ranch. But it was a question of honesty between the two men and
+their children had never forgotten. Ten years had passed since they had
+been boy and girl together, but the moment they met the old quarrel
+flashed up again and now the feud was on.
+
+A boisterous blast of wind, whirling dust and papers down the street,
+announced the beginning of another sandstorm; and Death Valley Charley,
+who had been sitting outside the gate, came muttering up the steps.
+Behind him trotted Heine, his worshipful little dog, and as Virginia's
+pet cat suddenly arched its back, Death Valley took Heine in his arms.
+
+"Can't you hear 'em?" he asked tiptoeing rapidly up to Virginia. "It's
+them big guns, over in Europe. It's them forty-two centimeter howitzers
+and the French seventy-fives in the trenches along the Somme."
+
+"Do you think so?" murmured Virginia, smoothing down her cat's back, "it
+sounds like blasting to me."
+
+"No--big guns!" repeated Charley, regarding her intently through his
+wavering, sun-blinded eyes, and then he burst into a laugh. "You can
+hear 'em, can't you, Heine?" he cried to his dog, and Heine squirmed
+ecstatically and sneezed. "Hah, that's my little dog--you're so
+confectionate! Now get down on the floor, and don't you go near that
+cat."
+
+He put down the dog and advanced closer to Virginia.
+
+"He's coming!" he whispered. "I can hear him, plain--jurrr, jurrr; hud,
+hud, hud, hud, hud!"
+
+"Who's coming?" demanded Virginia, looking swiftly up the road.
+
+"Why--him! The man you're waiting for. Can't you hear him! Hrrrr--rud!
+He's coming to grab you and take you away in his auto!"
+
+"Oh, Charley!" exclaimed Virginia, not entirely displeased, "and where
+will you go then?"
+
+"I'll go to Death Valley," he answered mysteriously. "There's lots of
+gold over there. I came back one time and they says to me: 'Charley,
+where've you been for such a long time?' 'In Death Valley,' I says,
+'in the Funeral Range. Working in the Coffin mine, on the graveyard
+shift.' Hah, hah; they can't get nothing out of me. I know where
+there's gold--in the Ube-Hebes; it's a place where nobody goes. I saw
+your father there, the last time I went through, and he sent word to
+you not to worry. 'But for Christ's sake,' he says, 'don't tell my
+wife I'm here--I'm tired of her devilish chatter!'"
+
+"Charley!" reproved Virginia, and as he subsided into mutterings, she
+looked about with shocked eyes. "You talk too much," she said at last.
+"Didn't I tell you not to say that again? Because if mother hears it
+she'll drive you out of the house, and then what will Heine do?"
+
+"Heine! Come here, sir!" commanded Charley abruptly, and slapped him
+until he yelped. "Well, now," he warned as Heine slunk away, "you look
+out or you lose your house."
+
+"I guess you'd better go now," said Virginia discreetly, and continued
+her vigil alone. Death Valley was harmless, but when he began hearing
+things there was no telling where he would stop. The next minute he
+would be seeing things, and then getting messages, and then looking
+through mountains with radium. He was harmless, of course, but when
+there was a sandstorm--well, some people thought he was crazy. And
+there was a sandstorm coming up. It was blowing in from the north and
+rushing clouds of dirt down the street; and along in the night, when it
+had gained its full force, the sand and gravel would fly. She rose to go
+in, but just at that moment she heard a low drumming up the street. It
+increased to a bubbling, a drumming, a thunder, and like the spirit of
+the rough north wind Wiley Holman went racing through the town. His hat
+was off and as he drifted by his hair thrashed wildly in his eyes, yet
+he glanced up in passing and it seemed to Virginia that he gave her a
+roguish smile. Then in a series of explosions that brought the Widow
+running he dashed on and whirled out across the desert.
+
+"Oh, that devil!" she raged, brandishing her heavy shotgun at the
+disappearing cloud of dust. "He's just making that hubbub to mock me!
+He'll be coming back--I know it, the scoundrel--but you wait, he won't
+fool me again!"
+
+She stood on the gallery while the food scorched in the kitchen and
+watched the boring arrow of dust, but it swept on and on across the
+boundless desert until at last it was lost in the storm. "Oh, he'll be
+back!" she screamed to the gathering neighbors. "I know him, he's after
+my mine. But he'd better watch out! If he ever goes near it, I'll shoot
+him, you mark my word!"
+
+"No, he won't," said Virginia, but when they were all gone she came back
+and gazed down the road.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+THE GHOST-MAN
+
+
+As the sun paled to nothing in the yellow murk of dust, a high cloud of
+sand overleapt the northern peaks and came sifting down the slopes of
+Shadow Mountain. The gusts of wind began to wail in boding fury and then
+the storm struck the town. Dirt and papers flew before it; tin cans
+leapt forth from holes and alleys; and sticks and small stones, sucked
+up in the vortex, joined in on the devil's dance. Ancient signs creaked
+and groaned and threatened to leave their moorings, old houses gave up
+shingles and loose boards, and up the street on the deserted bank
+building, the fire-doors banged like cannon. Then the night came on and
+the streets of Keno were empty, except for the flying dirt.
+
+But it is nights such as this that move some men to greater daring and
+as Wiley Holman, far out on the desert, felt the rush and surge of wind
+he struck a swift circle and, turning back towards Keno, he bored his
+way into the teeth of the storm. The gravel from the road slashed and
+slatted against his radiator and his machine trembled before the buffets
+of the gale, but it was just such a night as he needed for his purpose
+and he ran with his lights switched off. If the Widow Huff, by any
+chance, should glance out across the plain she might notice their gleam
+and divine his purpose, which was to inspect the Paymaster mine. As a
+stockholder and part owner it was, of course, his right to enter the
+premises at will, but the Widow had placed her own personal mandate
+above the laws of the land, and it was better, and safer, to avoid all
+discussion by visiting the property after dark.
+
+Up the long slope of the valley the white racer moved slowly, shuddering
+and thundering as it took the first hill, and as the outlying houses
+leaped up from the darkness, Wiley muffled his panting exhaust. In the
+sheltered valley, under the lee of Shadow Mountain, the violence of the
+wind was checked and some casual citizen, out looking at the stars,
+might hear him above the storm. He turned off the main road and,
+following up a side street, glided quietly into the shelter of a barn,
+and five minutes later, with his prospector's pick and ore-sacks, he
+toiled up the trail to the mine.
+
+The Paymaster mine lay on the slope of Gold Hill, directly overlooking
+the town--first the huge, dismantled mill; then the white slide of the
+waste dump; and then, up the gulch, the looming gallows-frame of the
+hoist and the dim bulk of abandoned houses. The mine had made the town,
+and the town had clustered near it in the broad oval of the valley
+below; but in its day the Paymaster had been a community by itself, with
+offices and bunk-houses and stores. Now all was deserted and in the pale
+light of the moon it seemed the mere ghost of a mine. A loose strip of
+zinc on the corrugated-iron mill drummed and shuddered in a menacing
+undertone and at uncertain intervals some door inside smote its frame
+with a resounding bang. Straining timbers creaked and groaned, the wind
+mourned like a disembodied spirit, and as Wiley Holman jumped at a
+sudden sound he turned and glanced nervously behind him.
+
+It was not a shadow but the passing of a shadow that caught his roving
+eye and as he stripped off his wind-goggles and looked again he felt by
+instinct for his six-shooter. But it was not on his hip. He had taken
+his pick instead, and for the first time he felt a thrill of fear--not
+fear for his life nor of anything tangible, but that old, primordial
+fear of the night that only a gun can banish. He picked up a rock and
+walked back down the trail; but nothing leapt forth at him--even the
+shadow was gone, and he threw the rock petulantly away. It was the wind,
+and the noises, and the blinders on his goggles; but now that the great
+fear was born he jumped at every sound. He had been out before on worse
+nights than this--what was it, then, that he feared? With his back
+against a rock he stared about and listened until at last his nerve
+returned; then he went boldly to the dump, where the white quartz lay
+the thickest, and began to dig a hole with his pick.
+
+Deep as he could dig there was nothing but the white waste and he paced
+off the width of the pile; then very systematically he moved across the
+slope, grabbing handfuls of fine dirt at measured intervals and throwing
+them into an ore-sack. There was something about Virginia's piece of
+"barren quartz" that had appealed to his prospector's eye and even in
+the excitement of meeting the Widow he had not forgotten to sequester
+it. But a piece of rock from a girl's case of specimens is a far call
+from "ore in place" and he had come back that night to look the mine
+over and collect an average sample from the dump. There were hundreds of
+tons of that rock on the dump and it certainly was his right, as a part
+owner in the property, to sample it and have it assayed.
+
+Back and forth across the slide, now buffeted by the wind, now pelted by
+loosened stones, he continued his methodical test and then as he knelt
+to dig out a hole a great rock came bounding past. It came out of the
+darkness and went smashing down the hillside like some terrific engine
+of destruction and before he had more than scrambled from its path a
+second boulder was upon him. He dodged it by a hair's breadth and fell
+flat on his face, just as a stream of loose stone which the first flying
+rock had dislodged sent him rolling and tumbling down the slope in an
+avalanche of flying debris. For a minute he lay breathless while the
+waste rattled past him, and then he looked up the hill. No movement of
+his had started those great boulders. They had been launched by someone
+from above, and as he raised his head cautiously he beheld a gaunt
+figure standing outlined against the sky. It stood like a gibbet, its
+head to one side, a pistol in its hand; but as Wiley moved the man
+crouched and drew back as if he feared to be seen.
+
+Who he was Wiley did not know, nor could he divine his animus in thus
+attempting to take his life, but, being caught in the open without his
+gun, he played safe and lay quiet where he had fallen. The wind howled
+along the ridges and trailed off into silence and, looking around, Wiley
+caught the wink of a lantern as it came across the flat from town. The
+crash of the boulders as they bounded down the dump and then on through
+the brush below had undoubtedly aroused some inquisitive citizen, who
+was coming over to investigate. Wiley rose up quickly, for he did not
+wish to be discovered, but as he started towards the trail he met the
+ghost-man, creeping forward with his pistol ready to shoot.
+
+At times like this a man acts by instinct, and Wiley Holman dropped to
+the ground; then with the swiftness of an Indian he bellied off down the
+hill, looking back after every lightning move. The man was a murderer, a
+cold-blooded assassin; and, thinking him injured, he had been stealing
+up to his hiding-place to give him the _coup de grace_. Wiley
+rolled into a gulch and peered over the bank, his eyes starting out of
+his head with fear; and then, as the lantern began to bob below him, he
+turned and crept up the hill. Two trails led towards the mine, one on
+either side of the dump, and as the wind swept down with a sudden gust
+of fury, he ran up the farther trail. Once over the hill he could avoid
+both his pursuers and, cutting a wide circle, slip back to his machine
+and escape. The wind died to nothing as he neared the summit and he
+turned and looked back down the trail. Something moved--it was the man,
+his head twisted over his shoulder, his gun still held at a ready,
+creeping waspishly up the path.
+
+Wiley turned and fled, sick with rage at his own impotence, but as he
+whipped over the dump the earth opened up before him and he slipped
+and stopped on the brink of a chasm. It was the caved-in stope, the
+old glory-hole of the Paymaster, and it cut off his last escape. A
+sudden sinking of the heart, a feeling of fate being against him, came
+over him as he slunk along the bank; and then, as a path opened up
+before him, he took the steep slope at a bound. Further on in the
+darkness he saw the roof of the mill and the broken hummocks of the
+dump; beyond lay the other trail and the open country and his car--and
+the six-shooter--beyond! His feet seemed to fly as he dashed across
+the level and breasted a sudden ascent and then on its summit as the
+wind snatched him back someone struck him in full flight. "God!" he
+cried, and fought himself free but the other clutched him again.
+
+"Run!" she begged, and he knew it was Virginia, but he was in a panic
+for fear of what was behind.
+
+"No!" he cried, catching her roughly in his arms and starting the other
+way, "there's a crazy man back there and----"
+
+"No--no--no!" she clamored, bringing him to a halt with her struggles.
+"The other way--can't you hear what I'm saying to you----" And then
+Wiley saw the Widow.
+
+She was standing on the dump with her shotgun raised and pointed, and he
+hurled Virginia to one side.
+
+"Don't shoot!" he yelled, but as he ducked and started to run, the
+Widow's gun spoke out. A blow like that of a club struck his leg from
+under him and he fell to the ground in a heap, but even in his pain he
+remembered the presence which had followed with its head on one side.
+
+"You danged fool!" he cursed as the Widow ran up to him. "Keep that
+cartridge, whatever you do. There's a crazy man after me and----"
+
+"I see him!" shrieked the Widow, making a dash for the bank with her gun
+at her hip for the shot. "You git, you dastard!" she shrilled into the
+darkness and once more the old shotgun roared forth.
+
+"Oh, mother!" wept Virginia, throwing her arms about Wiley, and
+attempting to raise him up. "Oh, look what you've done--it's Wiley
+Holman--and now I hope you're satisfied!"
+
+"You bet I'm satisfied!" answered the Widow, exultingly. "That other
+fellow was Stiff Neck George!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+A LOAD OF BUCKSHOT
+
+
+Since he had turned back, far out on the desert, and braved the storm to
+inspect the Paymaster Mine, Wiley Holman had met nothing but disaster;
+but as he lay on the ground with one leg full of buckshot he blamed it
+all on the Widow. Without warning or justification, without even giving
+him a chance, she had sneaked up and potted him like a rabbit; and now,
+as men came running to witness his shame, she gloried in her badness.
+
+"Aha-ah!" she jeered, coming back to stand over him and Wiley reached
+for a stone.
+
+"You old she-cat," he burst out, "you say another word to me and I'll
+bounce this rock off your head!"
+
+He groaned and dropped the rock to take his leg in both hands, and then
+Virginia rushed to the rescue.
+
+"How badly are you hurt?" she asked, kneeling down beside him, but he
+jerked ungraciously away.
+
+"Go away and leave me alone!" he shouted to the world at large and the
+Widow took the hint to withdraw. Then in a series of frenzied curses
+Wiley stripped off his puttee and felt of his injured leg. It was wet
+with blood and two shot-holes in his shin-bone were giving him the most
+exquisite pain; the rest were just flesh-wounds where the buckshot had
+pierced his leggings and imbedded themselves in the muscles. He looked
+them over hastily by the light of a flashing lantern and then he rose up
+from the ground.
+
+"Gimme that gun for a crutch!" he demanded of the Widow; and Mrs. Huff,
+who had been surveying her work with awe, passed over the shotgun in
+silence. "All right, now," he went on, turning to Death Valley Charley,
+who had been patiently holding his lantern, "just show me the trail and
+I'll get out of camp before some crazy dastard ups and kills me."
+
+"That was Stiff Neck George," observed Charley mysteriously. "He's
+guarding the Paymaster for Blount."
+
+"Who--that fellow that was after me?" burst out Wiley in a passion as he
+hobbled off down the trail. "What the hell was he trying to do? The
+whole rotten mine isn't worth stealing from anybody. What's the matter
+with you people--are you crazy?"
+
+"Well, that's all right!" returned the Widow from the darkness. "You
+can't sneak in and jump _my_ mine!"
+
+"_Your_ mine, you old tarrier!" yelled Wiley furiously. "You'd
+better go to town and look it up. The whole danged works is mine--I
+bought it in for taxes!"
+
+"You--what?" cried the Widow, brushing Virginia and Charley aside and
+halting him in the trail. "You bought the Paymaster for _taxes_!"
+
+"Yes, for taxes," answered Wiley, "and got stung at that! Gimme
+eighty-three dollars and forty-one cents and you can have it back,
+with costs. But now listen, you old battle-ax; I've taken enough off
+of you. You went up on my property when I was making an inspection of
+it and made an attempt on my life; and if I hear a peep out of you,
+from this time on, I'll go down and swear out a warrant."
+
+"I didn't aim to kill you," defended the Widow, weakly. "I just tried to
+shoot you in the leg."
+
+"Well, you did it," returned Wiley, and, pushing; her aside, he limped
+on down the trail. The Widow followed meekly, talking in low tones with
+her daughter, and at last Virginia came up beside him.
+
+"Take him right to our house," she said to Charley, "and I'll nurse him
+until he gets well."
+
+"No, you take me to the Holman house!" directed Wiley, obstinately. "I
+guess we've got a house of our own."
+
+"Well, suit yourself," she murmured, and fell back to the rear while
+Wiley went hobbling on. At every step he jabbed the muzzle of the
+shotgun vindictively into the ground, but as he reached the flat and met
+a posse of citizens, he submitted to being carried on a door. The first
+pain had passed and a deadly numbness seemed to take the place of its
+bite; but as he moved his stiffened muscles, which were beginning to
+ache and throb, he realized that he was badly hurt. With a leg like that
+he could not drive out across the desert, seventy-four long miles to
+Vegas; nor would he, on the other hand, find the best of accommodations
+in the deserted house of his father. It had been a great home in its
+day, but that day was past, and the water connections too, and somebody
+must be handy to wait on him.
+
+"Say," he said, turning to Death Valley Charley, "have you got a house
+here in town? Well, take me to it and I'll pay you well, and for
+anything else that you do."
+
+"It won't cost you nothing," answered Charley quickly. "I used to know
+your father."
+
+"Well, you knew a good man then," replied Wiley grimly, but Death Valley
+did not respond. The Widow Huff was listening behind; and besides, he
+had his doubts.
+
+"I'll run on ahead," said Charley noncommittally, and when Wiley arrived
+a canvas cot was waiting for him, fully equipped except for the sheets.
+Virginia came in later with a pair on her arm, and after a look at
+Charley's greasy blankets Wiley allowed her to spread them on the bed.
+Then, as Death Valley laid a grimy paw on his leg and began to pick out
+the shot Wiley jerked away and asked Virginia impatiently if she didn't
+have a little carbolic.
+
+"Aw, he'll be all right," protested Charley cheerfully, as Virginia
+pushed him aside; "them buckshot won't hurt him much, nohow. Jest put on
+some pine pitch and a chew of tobacco and he'll fall off to sleep like a
+child."
+
+He stood blinking helplessly as Virginia heated some water and poured in
+a teaspoonful of carbolic, then as she bathed the wounds and picked out
+the last shot, Charley placed a disc on his phonograph.
+
+"Does he want some music?" he inquired of Heine, who was sitting up and
+begging, but Virginia put down her foot. "No, Charley," she said with a
+forbidding frown, "you go ask mother for a needle and thread."
+
+"He's kind of crazy to-night," she whispered to Wiley, when Death Valley
+was safely out of sight, "you'd better come over to the house."
+
+"Huh, I guess we're all crazy," answered Wiley, laughing shortly. "I can
+stand it--but how does he act?"
+
+"Oh, he hears things--and gets messages--and talks about Death Valley.
+He got lost over there, three years ago last August, and the heat kind
+of cooked his brains. He heard your automobile, when you came back
+to-night--that's why mother and all the rest of them went over to the
+mine to get you. I'm sorry she shot you up."
+
+"Well, don't you care," he said reassuringly. "But she sure overplayed
+her hand."
+
+"Yes, she did," acknowledged Virginia, trying not to quarrel with her
+patient, "but, of course, she didn't know about that tax sale."
+
+"Well, she knows it now," he answered pointedly, and when Charley came
+back they were silent. Virginia bandaged up his wound and slipped away
+and then Wiley lay back and sighed. There had been a time when he and
+Virginia had been friends, but now the fat was in the fire. It was her
+fighting mother, of course, and their quarrel about the Paymaster; but
+behind it all there was the old question between their fathers, and he
+knew that his father was right. He had not rigged the stock market, he
+had not cheated Colonel Huff, and he had not tried to get back the mine.
+That was a scheme of his own, put on foot on his own initiative--and
+brought to nothing by the Widow. He had hoped to win over Virginia and
+effect a reconciliation, but that hole in his leg told him all too well
+that the Widow could never be fooled. And, since she could not be
+placated, nor bought off, nor bluffed, there was nothing to do but quit.
+The world was large and there were other Virginias, as well as other
+Paymasters--only it seemed such a futile waste. He sighed again and then
+Death Valley Charley burst out into a cackling laugh.
+
+"I heard you," he said, "I heard you coming--away up there in the pass.
+Chuh, chuh, chuh, chud, chud, chud, chud; and I told Virginny you was
+coming."
+
+"Yes, I heard about it," answered Wiley sourly, "and then you told the
+Widow."
+
+"Oh, no, I didn't!" exulted Charley. "She'd've killed you, sure as
+shooting. I just told Virginny, that's all."
+
+"Oh!" observed Wiley, and lay so still that Charley regarded him
+intently. His eyes were blue and staring like a newborn babe's, but
+behind their look of childlike innocence there lurked a crafty smile.
+
+"I told her," went on Charley, "that you was coming to git her and take
+her away in your auto. She's a nice girl, Virginny, and never rode in
+one of them things--I never thought you'd try to steal her mine."
+
+"I did not!" denied Wiley, but Death Valley only smiled and waved the
+matter aside.
+
+"Never mind," he said, "they're all crazy, anyhow. They get that way
+every north wind. I'm here to take care of them--the Colonel asked me
+to, and keep people from stealing his mine. It's electricity that does
+it--it's about us everywhere--and that's what makes 'em crazy; but
+electricity is my servant; I bend it to my will; that's how I come to
+hear you. I heard you coming back, away out on the desert, and I knowed
+your heart wasn't right. You was coming back to rob the Colonel of his
+mine; and the Colonel, he saved my life once. He ain't dead, you know,
+he's over across Death Valley in them mountains they call the Ube-Hebes.
+Yes, I was lost on the desert and he followed my tracks and found me,
+running wild through the sand-hills; and then Virginia and Mrs. Huff,
+they looked after me until my health returned."
+
+"You can hear pretty well, then," suggested Wiley diplomatically. "You
+must know everything that goes on."
+
+"It's the electricity!" declared Charley. "It's about us everywhere, and
+that's what makes them crazy. All these desert rats are crazy, it's the
+electric storms that does it--Nevada is a great state for winds. But
+when they comes a sandstorm, and Mrs. Huff she wraps up her head, I feel
+the power coming on. I can hear far away and then I can hear close--I
+make the electricity my slave. But the rest, they go crazy; they have
+headaches and megrims, and Mrs. Huff she always wants to fight; but I'm
+here to take care of 'em--the Colonel asked me to, so you keep away from
+that mine."
+
+"Oh, sure," responded Wiley, "I won't bother the mine. As soon as I'm
+well I'll go home."
+
+"No, you stay," returned Charley, becoming suddenly confidential.
+"I'll show you a mountain of gold. It's over across Death Valley, in
+the Ube-Hebes; the Colonel is over there now."
+
+"Is that so?" inquired Wiley, and Charley looked at him strangely, as if
+dazed.
+
+"Aw, no; of course not!" he burst out angrily. "I forgot--the Colonel is
+dead. You Heine; come over here, sir."
+
+Heine crept up unwillingly and Charley slapped him. "Now--shut up!" he
+admonished and went off into crazy mutterings.
+
+"What's that?" he cried, rousing up suddenly to listen, and a savage
+look replaced the blank stare. "Can't you hear him?" he asked. "It's
+Stiff Neck George--he's coming up the alley to kill you. Here, take my
+gun; and when he opens the door you fill him full of holes!"
+
+Wiley listened intently, then he reached for the heavy pistol and sat
+up, watching the door. The wind soughed and howled and rattled at the
+windows, over which Charley had stretched heavy blankets, and it seemed
+to his startled imagination that someone was groping at the door. The
+memory of the skulking form that had followed him rose up with the
+distinctness of a vision and at a knock on the door he cocked his pistol
+and beckoned Death Valley to one side.
+
+"Come in!" he called, but as the door swung open it was Virginia who
+stood facing his gun.
+
+"O--oh!" she screamed, and then she flushed angrily as Charley began to
+laugh.
+
+"Well, laugh then, you fool," she said to Wiley, "and when you're
+through, just look at this that we found!"
+
+She held up the ore-bag that Wiley had lost and strode dramatically in.
+"Look at that!" she cried, and strewing the white quartz on the table
+she pointed her finger in his face. "You stole my specimen!" she cried
+accusingly. "That's why you came back for more. But you give it back to
+me--I want it this minute. I see you're honest--like your father!"
+
+She spat it out venomously, more venomously than was needful, for he
+was already fumbling for the rock; and when he gave it back he smiled
+over-scornfully and his lower lip mounted up.
+
+"All right," he said, "you don't have to holler for it. You're getting
+to be just like your mother."
+
+"I'm not!" she denied, but after looking at him a minute she burst into
+tears and fled.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+ALL CRAZY
+
+
+The wind was still blowing when Wiley was awakened by the cold of the
+October morning. In the house all was dark, on account of the blankets
+which Death Valley had nailed over the windows, but outside he could
+hear the thump of an axe and the whining yelp of a dog. Then Charley
+came in, his arms full of wood, and lit a roaring fire in the stove.
+Wiley dozed off again, for his leg had pained him and kept him awake
+half the night, and when he woke up it was to the strains of music and
+the mournful howls of Heine.
+
+"Ah, you are so confectionate!" exclaimed Charley in honeyed tones and
+laughed and patted him on the back. "Don't you like the fiddle, Heine?
+Well, listen to this now; the sweetest song of all."
+
+He stopped the rasping phonograph to put on another record and when
+Heine heard "Listen to the Mocking-bird" he barked and leapt with joy.
+Wiley listened for awhile, then he stirred in bed and at last he tried
+to get up; but his leg was very stiff and old Charley was oblivious, so
+he sank back and waited impatiently. Heine sat upon the floor before the
+largest of three phonographs, which ground out the Mocking-bird with
+variations; and each time he heard the whistled notes of the bird he
+rolled his eyes on Charley with a soulful, beseeching glance. The
+evening before, when his master had cuffed him, Wiley had considered
+Heine badly abused; but now as the concert promised to drag on
+indefinitely he was forced to amend his opinion.
+
+"Say," he spoke up at last, in a pause between records, "what's the
+chance of getting something to eat?"
+
+"Yes, there's plenty," answered Charley, and went on with his frolic
+until Wiley rose up in disgust. He had heated some water, besides
+tearing down a blanket and letting the daylight in, when there came a
+hurried knock at the door and the Widow appeared with his breakfast. She
+avoided his eyes, but her manner was ingratiating and she supplied the
+conversation herself.
+
+"Good morning!" she smiled,--"Charley, stop that awful racket and let
+Heine go out for his scraps. Well, I brought you your
+breakfast--Virginia isn't feeling very well--and I hope you're going
+to be all right. No, get right back into bed and I'll prop you up with
+pillows; Charley's got a hundred or so. I declare, it's a question
+which can grab the most; old Charley or Stiff Neck George. Every time
+anyone moves out--and sometimes when they don't--you'll see those two
+ghouls hanging around; and the minute they're gone, well, you never
+saw anything like it, the way they will fight for the loot. Charley's
+got a whole room filled up with bedding, and stoves and tables and
+chairs; and George--he's vicious--he takes nearly everything and piles
+it up down in his warehouse. It isn't his, of course, but----"
+
+"He hauls it off in a wheelbarrow," broke in Charley, virtuously. "He
+don't care what he does. They was a widow woman here whose daughter got
+sick and she had to go out for a week, and when she came back----"
+
+"Yes, her whole house was looted--he carried off even her
+sewing-machine!"
+
+"And a deep line of wheelbarrow tracks," added Charley, unctuously,
+"leading from her house right down to his. She nailed up all her windows
+before she went, but he----"
+
+"Yes, he broke in," supplied the Widow. "He's a desperate character
+and everybody is afraid of him, so he can do whatever he pleases; but
+you bet your life he can't run it over me--I filled him up with
+buckshot twice. Oh--that is--er--did you ever hear how he got his head
+twisted? Well, go right ahead now and eat up your toast. I asked him
+one time--that was before we'd had our trouble--what was the cause of
+his head being to one side. He looks, you know, for all the world like
+he was watching for a good kick from behind; but he tried to appear
+pathetic and told me a long story about saving a mother and her child
+in a flood. And when it was all over, according to him, he fell down
+in a faint in the mud; but the best accounts I get say he was dead
+drunk in the gutter and woke up with his head on one side."
+
+She ended with a sniff and Wiley glanced at Charley, but he was staring
+blankly away.
+
+"I don't like that man," spoke up Charley at last, "he kicked my dog,
+one time."
+
+"And he bootlegs something awful," added the Widow, desperately, for
+fear that the chatter would lag. "There doesn't a day go by but some
+drunken Piute comes whooping up the road, and that bunch of
+Shooshonnies----"
+
+"Yes, he sells to the bucks," observed Death Valley, slyly. "They're no
+good--they get drunk and tell. But you can trust the squaws--I had one
+here yesterday----"
+
+"You what?" shrieked the Widow, and Charley looked up startled, then
+rose and whistled to his dog.
+
+"Go lay down!" he commanded and slapped him till he yelped, after which
+he slipped fearfully away.
+
+"The very idea!" exclaimed the Widow frigidly and then she glanced at
+Wiley.
+
+"Mr. Holman," she began, "I came out here to talk business--there's
+nothing round-the-corner about me. Now what about this tax sale, and
+what does Blount mean by allowing you to buy it in for nothing?"
+
+"Well, I don't know," answered Wiley. "He refused to pay the taxes, so I
+bought in the property myself."
+
+"Yes, but what does he _mean_?"
+
+The Widow's voice rose to the old quarrelsome, nagging pitch, and Wiley
+winced as if he had been stabbed.
+
+"You'll have to ask _him_, Mrs. Huff, to find out for sure; but to
+a man with one leg it looks like this. Whatever you can say about him,
+Samuel J. is a business man, and I think he decided that, as a business
+investment, the Paymaster wasn't worth eighty-three, forty-one.
+Otherwise he would have bought it himself."
+
+"Unless, of course," added the Widow scornfully, "there was some
+understanding between you."
+
+"Oh, yes, sure," returned Wiley, and went on with his eating with a
+wearied, enduring sigh.
+
+"Well, I declare," exclaimed the Widow, after thinking it over,
+"sometimes I get so discouraged with the whole darned business you could
+buy me out for a cent!"
+
+She waited for a response, but Wiley showed no interest, so she went on
+with her general complaint.
+
+"First, it was the Colonel, with his gambling and drinking and inviting
+the whole town to his house; and then your father, or whoever it was,
+started all this stock market fuss; and from that time it's gone from
+bad to worse until I haven't a dollar to my name. I was brought up to be
+a lady--and so was Virginia--and now we're keeping a restaurant!"
+
+Wiley pulled down his lip in masterful silence and set the breakfast
+tray aside. It was nothing to him what the Widow Huff suffered--she had
+brought it all on herself. And whenever she was ready to write to his
+father she could receive her ten cents a share. That would keep her as a
+lady for several years to come, if she had as many shares as she
+claimed; but there was nothing to his mind so flat, stale and
+unprofitable as a further discussion of the Paymaster. Indeed, with one
+leg wound up in a bandage, it might easily prove disastrous. So he
+looked away and, after a minute, the Widow again took up her plaint.
+
+"Of course," she said, "I'm not a business woman, and I may have made
+some mistakes; but it doesn't seem right that Virginia's future should
+be ruined, just because of this foolish family quarrel. The Colonel is
+dead now and doesn't have to be considered; so--well, after thinking it
+over, and all the rest of it, I think I'll accept your offer."
+
+"Which offer?" demanded Wiley, suddenly startled from his ennui, and the
+Widow regarded him sternly.
+
+"Why, your offer to buy my stock--that paper you drew up for me. Here it
+is, and I'm willing to sign it."
+
+She drew out the paper and Wiley read it silently, then rolled it into a
+ball and chucked it into the corner.
+
+"No," he said, "that offer doesn't hold. I didn't know you then."
+
+"Well, you know me now!" she flashed back resentfully, "and you'd better
+come through with that money. I've taken enough off of you and your
+father without standing for any more of your gall. Now you write me out
+a check for twenty thousand dollars and here's my two hundred thousand
+shares. I know you're robbing me but I simply can't endure it--I can't
+stay here a single day longer!"
+
+She burst into angry tears as he shook his head and regarded her with
+steady eyes.
+
+"No," he said, "you can't do business that way. I haven't got twenty
+thousand dollars."
+
+"But--you offered it to me! You wrote out this paper and put it right
+under my eyes----"
+
+"No," he said, "I never offered you twenty thousand--I offered to take
+an option at that price. I wanted to see that mine, and I wanted to see
+it peaceably, and I thought I could do it that way; but that piece of
+paper simply gave me the option of buying the stock if I wanted to."
+
+"Well, you wanted to buy the stock--you were crazy to get hold of
+it--and now, when I'm willing, you won't take it!"
+
+"No, that's right," agreed Wiley, leaning back against his pillow. "And
+now, what are you going to do about it?"
+
+"I'm going to kill you!" shrieked the Widow in a frenzy. "I'm going to
+_make_ you take it! I declare, it seems like every single soul is
+against me--and me a poor helpless woman!"
+
+She sank back in a chair and began to sob hysterically and Wiley looked
+about for the old shotgun. It was far too short, but it had served once
+as a crutch, and in a pinch it must serve him again. Keno was no place
+for him, he saw that very plainly, and it was better to risk the long
+drive across the desert than to stay with this weeping virago. If she
+didn't kill him then she would kill him later, and he was powerless to
+strike back in defense. She would take advantage of every immunity of
+her sex to obtain her own way in the end. He located the gun--it was
+down behind his bed where he had dropped it when they helped him in--but
+as he was fishing it up the door burst open and Virginia stood looking
+at her mother. Behind her appeared Death Valley Charley, his eyes
+blinking fearfully; but at sight of the Widow he ducked around the
+corner while Virginia came resolutely in.
+
+"Oh, mother!" she burst out in a pleading, reproachful voice, "can't you
+see that Wiley is sick? Well, what's the use of creating a scene when
+it's likely to make him worse?"
+
+"I don't care!" wailed the Widow. "I hope he dies. I wish I'd killed
+him--I do!"
+
+"You do not!" returned Virginia, and shook her reprovingly. "I declare,
+I wonder what poor father would think if he heard how we'd treated a
+guest. Now you go back to the house and don't you come out again until
+Mr. Holman sends for you."
+
+"You shut up!" burst out the Widow, pushing her brusquely aside. "I
+guess I know what I'm about. But I'll fool you," she cried, whirling
+about on Wiley as she started towards the door. "I'll sell my stock to
+Blount!"
+
+She paused for the effect but Wiley did not answer and she returned to
+pursue her advantage.
+
+"I know you!" she announced. "You and old Honest John--you're trying to
+steal my mine. But I'm going to fool you, I'm going right down to Vegas
+and sell every share to Blount!"
+
+"Well, go to it," returned Wiley after a long, defiant silence, "and I
+hope you stick him a-plenty!"
+
+"Why, what's the matter?" inquired the Widow, brushing Virginia away
+again and swaggering up to his bed. "I thought you and Blount were good
+friends."
+
+"Yeh, guess again," replied Wiley grimly. "I'll tell him the mine shows
+up fine."
+
+"Well, it does!" she asserted. "The Colonel said it wasn't scratched.
+And didn't you steal that piece of quartz from Virginia? Oh, you gave it
+back, eh? Well, how did it assay? I know you found _something_
+pretty good!"
+
+"How could I give it back, if I'd had it assayed?" asked Wiley with
+compelling calm.
+
+"Well what _did_ you come back for?" demanded the Widow,
+triumphantly. "You must have figured to win somewhere."
+
+"Yes, I did," sighed Wiley, "but I was badly mistaken. All I want now is
+to get out of town."
+
+"Well, how about your father? That offer he made me! Has he backed out
+on that, too?"
+
+"No, he hasn't," answered Wiley, "my father keeps his word. You can get
+your money any time."
+
+"Well, of all the crazy crooked deals," the Widow began to rave, and
+then Wiley grabbed for the shotgun.
+
+"It may be crazy!" he shouted savagely, "but believe me, it isn't
+crooked. My father never did a crooked thing in his life, and you know
+it as well as I do; and if it wasn't that you're such a crook
+yourself----"
+
+"Wiley Holman!" raged the Widow, but he rose up on his crutch and
+shouldered his way out the door.
+
+"You're crazy!" he yelled, "the whole danged town's crazy. All except
+old Charley and me."
+
+He jerked his head and winked at Charley as he hobbled towards the
+street and Death Valley nodded gravely. There was a long, hateful
+silence; then the great motor roared out and the white racer rushed away
+across the desert.
+
+"Well, I don't care!" declared the Widow as she gazed after his dust and
+when the stage went out that day it took a lady passenger to Vegas.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+BETWEEN FRIENDS
+
+
+The madness of the Widow and Old Charley and Stiff Neck George was no
+mystery to Wiley Holman--it was the same form of mania which he
+encountered everywhere when he went to see men who owned mines. If he
+offered them a million for a ten-foot hole they would refuse it and
+demand ten million more, and if he offered them nothing they
+immediately scented a conspiracy to starve them out and gain
+possession of their mine. It was the illusion of hidden wealth, of
+buried treasure, which keeps half the mines in the West closed down
+and half of the rest in litigation; except that in Keno it seemed to
+be associated with gun-plays and a marked tendency towards homicide.
+So, upon his return from a short stay in the hospital he came up the
+main street silently, then stepped on the throttle and went through
+town a-smoking. But the Widow was out waiting for him in the middle of
+the road and, rather than run her down, he threw on both brakes and
+stopped.
+
+"Well, what now?" he inquired, frowning at the odor of heated rubber.
+"What's your particular grievance this trip?" He regarded her coldly,
+then bowed to Virginia and waved a friendly hand at Charley. "Hello,
+there, Death Valley," he called out jovially, as the Widow choked with a
+rush of words, "what's the news from the Funeral Range?"
+
+"Now, here!" exclaimed the Widow, advancing from the dust cloud, and
+glancing into the machine. "I want you to bring back that gun!"
+
+"I'm sorry, Mrs. Huff," he replied with finality, "but you'll have to
+get along without it. I turned it over to the sheriff, along with three
+buckshot and an affidavit regarding the shooting----"
+
+"What, you great, big coward!" stormed the Widow in a fury. "Did you run
+and complain to the sheriff?"
+
+"No, I walked," said Wiley, "and on one leg at that. But I might as well
+warn you that next time you make a gun-play you're likely to break into
+jail."
+
+"You're a coward!" she taunted. "You're standing in with Blount to beat
+me out of my mine. First you sneak off with my gun, so I can't protect
+my rights, and then Stiff Neck George comes up and jumps the Paymaster!"
+
+"The hell!" burst out Wiley, rising up in his seat and looking across at
+the mine.
+
+"Yes, the hell," she returned, "and he's warned off all comers and is
+holding the mine for Blount!"
+
+"For Blount!" he echoed and, seeing him roused at last, the Widow became
+subtly provocative.
+
+"For Samuel J. Blount," she repeated impressively. "He--he's got all my
+stock on a loan."
+
+"Oh!" observed Wiley, and as she raved on with her story he rubbed his
+chin in deep thought.
+
+"Yes, I went down to see him and he wouldn't buy it, so I left it as
+collateral on a loan. And then he came out here and looked over the mine
+again and told Stiff Neck George to stand guard. They're fixing to pump
+out the water."
+
+"Oho!" exclaimed Wiley, and his eyes began to kindle as he realized what
+Blount had done. Then reaching for the pistol that lay handy beside his
+leg, he leapt out with waspish quickness, only to stop short as he hurt
+his lame foot.
+
+"Go on!" hissed the Widow, advancing to his shoulder and pointing the
+way up the trail. "He stays right there by the dump. The mine is yours;
+go put him off--I would, if I had my gun."
+
+"Aw, pfooey!" he exclaimed, suddenly turning back and clamoring into his
+seat. "I've got one game leg already. Let 'im have the doggoned mine."
+
+"What? Are you going to back out? Well, you are a good one--and it
+stands in your name, this minute!"
+
+"Yes, and it isn't worth--that!" he said with conviction, and snapped
+his finger in the air. "He can have it. You can tell Blount, the next
+time you see him, he can buy in that tax title for the costs."
+
+He paused and muttered angrily, gazing off towards the dump where
+crooked-necked George stood guard, and then he hopped out to crank up.
+
+"Want a ride?" he asked, as he saw Virginia watching him and she
+hesitated and shook her head. "Come on," he smiled, casting aside his
+black mood, "let's take a little spin--just down on the desert and back.
+What's going on--getting ready to move?"
+
+He gazed with alarm at a pile of packing boxes that the Widow had
+marshaled on the gallery and then he looked back at Virginia. She was
+attired in a gown that had been very chic in the fall of nineteen ten,
+but, though it was scant for these bouffant days, she was the old
+Virginia still--slim and strong and dainty, and highbred in every line,
+with dark eyes that mirrored passing thoughts. She was the Virginia he
+had played with when Keno was booming and his own sisters had been there
+for company; and now after ten years he remembered the time when he had
+asked her, in vain, for a kiss.
+
+"I've got something to tell you," he said at last and Virginia stepped
+into the racer.
+
+"Virginia!" reminded the Widow, and then at a glance she turned round
+and flung into the house. There were times and occasions when she had
+found it safer not to press her maternal authority too far, and the look
+that she received was first notice from Virginia that such an occasion
+had arrived. The motor began to thunder, Wiley threw in the clutch, and
+with a speed that was startling, they whipped a sudden circle and went
+bubbling away down the road.
+
+It stretched on endlessly, this road across the desert, as straight as a
+surveyor's line, and as they cleared the rough gulches and glided down
+into its immensity Virginia glanced at the desert and sighed.
+
+"Pretty big," he suggested and as she nodded slowly he raised his eyes
+to the hills. "I don't know," he went on, "whether you'll like Los
+Angeles. You'll get lonely for this, sometimes."
+
+"Yes, but not for that"--she jerked a thumb back at Keno--"that place is
+pretty small. What's left, of course; but it seems to me sometimes
+they're all of them lame, halt and blind. Always quarreling and
+backbiting and jumping each other's claims--but--what do you think of
+the Paymaster?"
+
+She shot the question at him and it occurred suddenly to Wiley that
+perhaps she had a programme, too.
+
+"Well, I'll tell you," he began, deftly changing his ground, "I'm in
+Dutch on that, all around. When I came home full of buckshot and the Old
+Man heard about it I got my orders to come back and apologize. Well,
+I'll do that--to you--and you can tell your mother I'm sure sorry I went
+up on that dump."
+
+He grinned and motioned to his injured foot, but Virginia was in no mood
+for a joke.
+
+"That's all right," she said, "and I accept your apology--though I don't
+know exactly what it's for. But I asked your opinion of the Paymaster."
+
+"Oh, yes," he replied and then he began to temporize. "You'd better tell
+me what you want it for, first."
+
+"What? Do you have one opinion for one set of people and another for
+somebody else? I thought!"---- She paused and the hot blood leapt to her
+cheeks as she saw where her temper had led her. "Well," she explained,
+"I've got a few shares of stock."
+
+She said it quietly and the suggestion of scolding gave way to a
+chastened appeal. She remembered--and he sensed it--that winged shaft
+which he had flung back when she had said he was honest, like his
+father. He had told her then she was becoming like her mother, and
+Virginia could never endure that.
+
+"Ah, I see," he answered and went on hurriedly with a new note of
+friendliness in his voice. "Well, I'll tell you, Virginia, if it will be
+any accommodation to you I'll take over that stock myself. But--well, I
+hate to advise you--because--how many shares have you got?"
+
+"Oh, several thousand," she responded casually. "They were given to me
+by father--and by different men that I've helped. Mr. Masters, you know,
+that I took care of for a while, he gave me all he had when he died. But
+I don't want to sell them--I know there's no market, because Blount
+wouldn't give Mother anything--but if he should happen to strike
+something----"
+
+She glanced across at him swiftly but Wiley's face was grim.
+
+"Yes, _him_ find anything!" he jeered. "That fat-headed old tub! He
+knows about as much about mining as a hog does about the precession of
+the equinox. No; miracles may happen but, short of that, he'll never get
+back a cent!"
+
+"No, but Wiley," she protested, "you know as well as I do that the
+Paymaster isn't worked out. Now what's to prevent my stock becoming
+valuable sometime when they open it up?"
+
+"What's to prevent?" he repeated. "Well, I'll tell you what. If Blount
+makes a strike he'll close that mine down and send the company through
+bankruptcy. Then he'll buy the mine back on a judgment and you'll be
+left without a cent."
+
+"But what about you?" she suggested shrewdly. "Will you let him serve
+_you_ like that?"
+
+"Don't you think it!" he answered. "I know him too well--my money is
+somewhere else."
+
+"But if you should buy the mine?"
+
+"Well----" he stirred uneasily and then shot his machine ahead--"I
+haven't bought it yet."
+
+"No, but you offered to, and I don't see why----"
+
+"Do you want to sell your stock?" he asked abruptly and she flushed and
+shook her head. "Well!" he said and without further comment he slowed
+down and swung about.
+
+"Oh, dear," she sighed, as they started back and he turned upon her
+swiftly.
+
+"Do you know why I wouldn't have that mine," he inquired, "if you'd hand
+it to me as a gift? It's because of this everlasting fight. I own it,
+right now, if anybody does, and I've never been down the shaft. Now
+suppose I'd go over there and shoot it out with George and get
+possession of my mine. First Blount would come up with some other hired
+man-killer and I'd have a bout with him; and then your respected
+mother----"
+
+"Now you hush up!" she chided and he closed down his jaw like a
+steel-trap. She watched him covertly, then her eyes began to blink and
+she turned her head away. The desert rushed by them, worlds of waxy
+green creosote bushes and white, gnarly clumps of salt bush; and
+straight ahead, frowning down on the forgotten city, rose the black
+cloud-shadow of Shadow Mountain.
+
+"Oh, turn off here!" she cried, impulsively as they came to a fork in
+the road and, plowing up the sand, he skidded around a curve and
+struck off up the Death Valley road. They came together at the edge of
+the town--the long, straight road to the south, and the road-trail
+that led west into the silence. There were no tracks in it now but the
+flat hoof-prints of burros and the wire-twined wheel-marks of desert
+buckboards; even the road was half obliterated by the swoop of the
+winds which had torn up the hard-packed dirt, yet the going was good
+and as the racer purred on Virginia settled back in her seat.
+
+"I can't believe it," she said at last, "that we're going to leave here,
+forever. This is the road that Father took when he left home that last
+time--have you ever been over into Death Valley? It's a great, big
+sink, all white with salt and borax; and at the upper end, where he went
+across, there are miles and miles of sand-hills. He's buried out there
+somewhere, and the hills have covered him--but oh, it's so awful
+lonesome!"
+
+She turned away again and as her head went down Wiley stared straight
+ahead and blinked. He had known the Colonel and loved him well, and his
+father had loved him, too; but that rift had come between them and until
+it was healed he could never be a friend of Virginia's. She distrusted
+him in everything--in his silence and in his speech, his laughter and
+his anger, in his evasions and when he talked straight--it was better to
+say nothing now. He had intended to help her, to offer her money or any
+assistance he could give; but her heart was turned against him and the
+most he could hope for was to get back to Keno without a quarrel. The
+divide was far ahead, where the road struck the pass and swung over and
+down into the Great Valley; and, glancing up at the sun, he turned
+around slowly and rumbled back into town. Shadow Mountain rose before
+them; it towered above the valley like a brooding image of hate but as
+he smiled farewell at the sad-eyed Virginia something moved him to take
+her hand.
+
+"Good-by," he said, "you'll be gone when I come back. But if you get
+into trouble--let me know."
+
+He gave her hand a squeeze and Virginia looked at him sharply, then she
+let her dark lashes droop.
+
+"I'm in trouble now," she said at last. "What good did it do to tell
+you?"
+
+He winced and shrugged his shoulders, then gazed at her again with a
+challenge in his eyes.
+
+"If you'd trust _me_ more," he said very slowly, "perhaps I'd trust
+_you_ more. What is it you want me to do?"
+
+"I want you to answer me--yes or no. Shall I keep my stock, or sell it?"
+
+"You keep it," he answered, and avoided her eye until she climbed out
+and entered the house.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+THE TIP
+
+
+"Well?" inquired the Widow as her daughter came back from her ride with
+Wiley Holman; but Virginia was not giving out confidences. At last, and
+by a trick, she had surprised the truth from Wiley and he had told her
+to keep her stock. For weeks, for months, he had told her and everybody
+else that the Paymaster was not worth having; but when she had drooped
+her lashes and asked him for his opinion he had told her not to sell.
+Not hesitatingly nor doubtfully, or with any crafty intent; but
+honestly, as a friend, perhaps as a lover--and then he had looked away.
+He knew, of course, how his past actions must appear in the light of
+this later advice; but he had told her the truth and gone. The question
+was: What should she do?
+
+Virginia returned to her room and locked the door while her mother
+stormed around outside and at last she came to a decision. What Wiley
+had told her had been said in strictest confidence and it would not be
+fair to pass it on; but if he advised her not to sell he had a reason
+for his advice, and that reason was not far to find. It was in that
+white stone that he had stolen from her collection, and in the white
+quartz he had gathered from the dump. He claimed, of course, that he had
+not had her specimen assayed; but why, then, had he come back for more?
+And why had he been so careful to tell her and everyone that he would
+not take the Paymaster as a gift? As a matter of fact, he owned it that
+minute by virtue of his delinquent tax-sale, and his goings and comings
+had been nicely timed to enable him to keep track of his property. He
+was shrewd, that was all, but now she could read him; for he had spoken,
+for once, from his heart.
+
+The mail that night bore a sample of white quartz to a custom assayer in
+Vegas, but Virginia guarded her secret well. She had gained it by wiles
+that were not absolutely straight-forward, in that she had squeezed
+Wiley's hand in return, and since by so doing she had compromised with
+her conscience she placated it by withholding the great news. If she
+told her mother she would create a scene with Blount and demand the
+return of her stock; and the secret would get out and everybody would be
+buying stock and Wiley would blame it on her. No, everything must be
+kept dark and she mailed her sample when even the postmistress was gone.
+Perhaps Wiley was right in his extreme subterfuges and in always
+covering up his hand, but she would show him that there were others just
+as smart. She would take a leaf from his book and play a lone hand, too;
+only now, of course, she could not leave town.
+
+"Virginia!" scolded the Widow, when for the hundredth time she had
+discovered her dawdling at her packing. "If you don't get up and come
+and help me this minute I'll unpack and let you go alone."
+
+"Well, let's both unpack," said Virginia thoughtfully, and the Widow sat
+down with a crash.
+
+"I knew it!" she cried. "Ever since that Wiley Holman----"
+
+"Now, you hush up!" returned Virginia, flushing angrily. "You don't know
+what you're talking about!"
+
+"Well, if I don't know I can guess; but I never thought a Huff----"
+
+"Oh, you make me tired!" exclaimed Virginia, spitefully. "I'm staying
+here to watch that mine."
+
+"That--mine!" The Widow repeated it slowly and her eyes opened up big
+with triumph. "Virginia, do you mean to say you got the best of that
+whipper-snapper and----"
+
+"No, nothing of the kind! No! Can't you hear me? Oh, Mother, you'd drive
+a person crazy!"
+
+"I--see!" observed the Widow and stood nodding her head as Virginia went
+on with her protests. "Oh, my Lord!" she burst out, "and I put up all my
+stock for a measly eight hundred dollars! That scoundrelly Blount--I saw
+it in his eye the minute I mentioned my stock! He's tricked me, the
+rascal; but I'll fool him yet--I'll pay him back and get my stock!"
+
+"You'll pay him back? Why, you've spent half the money to redeem your
+jewels and the diamonds!"
+
+"Well, I'll pawn them again. Oh, it makes me wild to think how that
+rascal has tricked me!"
+
+"But, Mother," protested Virginia, "_he_ hasn't done any work yet.
+They haven't made any strike at the mine. Why not let it go until they
+pump out the water and really find some ore? And besides, how could
+Wiley know anything about it? He's never been down the shaft."
+
+"But--why you told me yourself----"
+
+"I never told you anything!" burst out Virginia tearfully. "You just
+jump at everything like a flea. And now you'll tell everybody, and
+Wiley'll say I did it, and----"
+
+"Virginia Huff!" cried her mother, dramatically, "are you in love with
+that--thief?"
+
+"He is not! No, I am not! Oh, I wish you'd quit talking to me--I tell
+you he never told me _anything_!"
+
+"Well, for goodness sake!" exclaimed the Widow pityingly, and stalked
+off to think it over.
+
+"You, Charley!" she exclaimed as she found Death Valley on the gallery
+pretending to nail up a box, "you leave those things alone. Well, that's
+all right; we've changed our minds and now we're going to stay."
+
+"That's good," replied Charley, laying his hammer aside, "I've been
+telling 'em so for days. It's coming everywhere; all the old camps are
+opening up, but Keno will beat them all."
+
+"Yes, that's right," assented the Widow absently, and as she bustled
+away to begin her unpacking, Death Valley looked at Heine and leered.
+
+"Didn't I tell you!" he crowed and, scuttling back to get his
+six-shooter, he went out and began re-locating claims. That was the
+beginning. The real rush came later when the pumps began to throb in
+the Paymaster. A stream of water like a sheet of silver flowed down
+the side of the dump and as if it's touch had brought forth men from
+the desert sands, the old-timers came drifting in. Once more the
+vacant sidewalks resounded to the thud of sturdy hob-nailed boots; and
+along with the locaters came pumpmen and miners to sound the flooded
+depths of the Paymaster.
+
+It was a great mine, a famous mine, the richest in all the West; within
+twenty months it had produced twelve million dollars and the lower
+levels had never been touched. But what was twelve million to what it
+would turn out when they located the hidden ore-body? On its record
+alone the Paymaster was a world-beater, but the ground had barely been
+scratched. Even Samuel Blount, who was cold as a stone and had sold out
+the entire town, even he had caught the contagion; and he was talking
+large on the bank corner when Holman came back through town.
+
+Wiley drove in from the north, his face burned by sun and wind and his
+machine weighed down with sacks of samples, but when he saw the crowd,
+and Blount in the middle of it, he threw on his brakes with a jerk.
+
+"Hello!" he hailed. "What's all the excitement? Has the Paymaster made a
+strike?"
+
+All eyes turned to Blount, who stepped down ponderously and waddled out
+to the auto. He was a very heavy man, with his mouth on one side and a
+mild, deceiving smile; and as he shook hands perfunctorily he glanced
+uneasily at Wiley, for he had heard about the tax-sale.
+
+"Why, no," he replied, "no strike as yet. How's everything with you, Mr.
+Holman?"
+
+"Fine and dandy, I guess," returned Wiley civilly. "Where did all these
+men jump up from?"
+
+"Oh, they just dropped in, or stopped over in passing. Do you still take
+an interest in mines?"
+
+"Well, yes," responded Wiley. "I'm a mining engineer, and so naturally I
+do take quite an interest. And by the way, Mr. Blount, did it ever occur
+to you that the Paymaster has been sold for taxes? Oh, that's all right,
+that's all right; I didn't know whether you'd heard about it--do you
+recognize my title to the mine?"
+
+"Well," began Blount, and then he smiled appeasingly, "I didn't just
+know where to reach you. Of course, according to law, you do hold the
+title; but I suppose you know that the stockholders of the company have
+five years in which to buy back the mine. Yes, that is the law; but I
+thought under the circumstances--the mine lying idle and all--you might
+be willing to waive your strict rights in the interests of, well,
+harmony."
+
+"I get you," answered Wiley, glancing at the staring onlookers, "and
+of course these gentlemen are our witnesses. You acknowledge my title,
+and that every bit of your work is being done on another man's ground;
+but, of course, if you make a strike I won't put any obstacles in your
+way. I'm for harmony, Mr. Blount, as big as a wolf; but there's one
+thing I want to ask you. Did you or did you not employ this Stiff Neck
+George to act as guard on the mine? Because two months ago, after I'd
+bought in the Paymaster for taxes, I went over to inspect the ground
+and Stiff Neck George----"
+
+"Oh, no! Oh dear, no!" protested Blount vigorously. "He was acting for
+himself. I heard about his actions, but I had nothing to do with
+them--I never even knew about it till lately."
+
+"But was he in your employ at the time of the shooting, and did you tell
+him to drive off all comers? Because----"
+
+"No! My dear boy, of course not! But come over to my office; I want to
+talk with you, Wiley."
+
+The banker beamed upon him affectionately and, shaking out a white
+handkerchief, wiped the sudden sweat from his brow; and then Wiley leapt
+to the ground.
+
+"All right," he said, "but let's go and see the mine first."
+
+He strapped on his pistol and waited expectantly and at last Blount
+breathed heavily and assented. Nothing more was said as they went across
+the flat and toiled up the trail to the mine. Wiley walked behind and as
+they mounted to the shaft-house his eyes wandered restlessly about;
+until, at the tool-shed, they suddenly focussed and a half-crouching man
+stepped out. He was tall and gnarly and the point of his chin rested
+stiffly on the slope of his shoulder. It was Stiff Neck George and he
+kept a crook in his elbow as he glanced from Blount to Wiley.
+
+"How's this?" demanded Wiley, putting Blount between him and George,
+"what's this man doing up here?"
+
+"Why, that's George," faltered Blount, "George Norcross, you know. He
+works for me around the mine."
+
+"Oh, he does, eh?" observed Wiley, in the cold tones of an examining
+lawyer. "How long has he been in your employ?"
+
+"Oh, since we opened up--that's all--just temporarily. This gentleman is
+all right, George; you can go."
+
+Stiff Neck George stood silent, his sunken eyes on Wiley, his sunburned
+lips parted in a grin, and then he turned and spat.
+
+"Eh, heh; hiding!" he chuckled and, stung by the taunt, Wiley stepped
+out into the open. His gun was pulled forward, his jaws set hard, and he
+looked the hired man-killer in the eye.
+
+"Don't you think it," he said, "I know you too well. You're afraid to
+fight in the day-time; you dirty, sneaking murderer!"
+
+He waited, poised, but George only laughed silently, though his
+poisonous eyes began to gleam.
+
+"What are you doing on my ground?" demanded Wiley, advancing
+threateningly with his pistol raised. "Don't you know I own this mine?"
+
+"No," snarled Stiff Neck George, coming suddenly to a crouch, "and,
+furthermore, I don't give a damn!"
+
+"Now, now, George," broke in Blount, "let's not have any words. Mr.
+Holman holds the title to this claim."
+
+"Heh--Holman!" mocked George, "Honest John's boy--eh?" He laughed
+insultingly and spat against the wind and Wiley's lip curled up
+scornfully.
+
+"Yes--Honest John," he repeated evenly. "And it's a wonder to me you
+don't take a few lessons and learn to spit clear of your chin."
+
+"You shut up!" snapped George as venomous as a rattlesnake. "Your damned
+old father was a thief!"
+
+"You're a liar!" yelled Wiley and, swinging his pistol like a club, he
+made a rush at the startled gunman. His eyes were flashing with a wild,
+reckless fury and as Stiff Neck George dodged and broke to run he leapt
+in and placed a fierce kick. "Now you git, you old dastard!" he shouted
+hoarsely and as George went down he grabbed him by the trousers and sent
+him sprawling down the dump. Sand, rocks and waste went avalanching
+after him, and a loose boulder thundered in his wake, until, at the
+bottom George scrambled to his feet and stood motionless, looking back.
+His head sank lower as he saw Wiley watching him and he slunk down
+closer to the ground, then with the swiftness of a panther that has
+marked down its prey he turned and skulked away.
+
+"That's bad business, Wiley," protested Blount half-heartedly and Wiley
+nodded assent.
+
+"Yes," he said, "he's dangerous now. I should have killed the dastard."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+A PEACE TALK
+
+
+While his blood was pounding and his heart was high, Wiley Holman went
+down into his mine. He rode down on the bucket, deftly balanced on the
+rim and fending off the wall with one hand, and when he came up he was
+smiling. Not smiling with his lips, but far back in his eyes, like a man
+who has found something good. Perhaps Blount surprised the look before
+it had fled for he beamed upon Wiley benevolently.
+
+"Well, Wiley, my boy," he began confidentially as he drew him off to one
+side, "I'm glad to see you're pleased. The gold is there--I find that
+everyone thinks so--all we need now is a little co-operation. That's all
+we need now--peace. We should lay aside all personal feelings and old
+animosities and join hands to make the Paymaster a success."
+
+"That's right, that's right," agreed Wiley cheerfully, "there's nobody
+believes in peace more than I do. But all the same," he went on almost
+savagely, "you've got to get rid of old George. I'm for peace, you
+understand, but if I find him here again--well, I'll have to take over
+the property. He's nothing but a professional murderer."
+
+"Yes, I know," explained Blount, "he's a dangerous man--but I don't like
+to let an old man starve. He's got a right to live the same as any of
+us, and, since he can't work--well, I gave him a job as watchman."
+
+"Well, all right," grumbled Wiley, "if you want to be charitable; but I
+suppose you know that, under the law, you're responsible for the acts of
+your agents?"
+
+"That's all right, that's all right," burst out Blount impatiently,
+"I'll never hire him again. He refused to obey my orders and----"
+
+"_And_ he tried to kill me!" broke in Wiley angrily, but Blount had
+thrown up both hands.
+
+"Oh, now, Wiley," he protested, "why can't we be reasonable? Why can't
+we get together on this?"
+
+"We can," returned Wiley, "but you've got to show me that you're not
+trying to jump my claim."
+
+"Oh, you know," exclaimed Blount, "as well as I do that a tax sale is
+never binding. The owners of the property are given five years'
+time----"
+
+"It is binding," corrected Wiley, "until the property is bought
+back--and I happen to be holding the deed. Now, here's the point--what
+authority have you got for coming in here and working this property?"
+
+"Well, you may as well know," replied Blount shortly, "that I own a
+majority of the stock."
+
+"Aha!" burst out Wiley. "I was listening for that. So you're the Honest
+John?"
+
+"What do you mean?" demanded Blount and, seeing the anger in his eyes,
+he hastened to head off the storm. "No, now listen to me, Wiley; it's
+not the way you think. I knew your father well, and I always found him
+the soul of honor; but I never liked to say anything, because Colonel
+Huff was my partner, too. So, when this trouble arose, I tried to remain
+neutral, without joining sides with either. It pained me very much to
+have people make remarks reflecting upon the honesty of your father, but
+as the confidant of both it was hardly in good taste for me to give out
+what I knew. So I let the matter go, hoping that time would heal the
+breach; but now that the Colonel is dead----"
+
+"Aha!" breathed Wiley and Blount nodded his head lugubriously.
+
+"Yes," he said, "that is the way it was. Your father was absolutely
+honest."
+
+"Well, but who sold the stock, and then bought it back--and put all the
+blame on my father?"
+
+"I can't tell you," answered Blount. "I never speak evil of the
+dead--but the Colonel was a very poor business man."
+
+"Yes, he was," agreed Wiley, and then, after a silence: "How did it
+happen that you got all his stock?"
+
+"Well, on mortgages and notes; and now as collateral on a loan that I
+made his widow. I own a clean majority of the stock."
+
+"Oh, you do, eh?" observed Wiley and rubbed his jaw thoughtfully while
+Blount looked mildly on. "Well, what are you going to do?"
+
+"Why, I'd like to buy back that tax deed," answered Blount amiably, "and
+get control of my property."
+
+"Oh," said Wiley, and looked down the valley with eyes that squinted
+shrewdly at the sun. "All right," he agreed, "just to show you that I'm
+a sport, I'll give you a quit-claim deed right now for the sum of one
+hundred dollars."
+
+"You will?" challenged Blount, reaching tremulously for his fountain pen
+and then he paused at a thought. "Very well," he said, but as he filled
+out the form he stopped and gazed uneasily at Wiley. Here was a mining
+engineer selling a possessory right to the Paymaster for the sum of one
+hundred dollars; while he, a banker, was spending a hundred dollars a
+day in what had proved so far to be dead work. "Er--I haven't any money
+with me," he suggested at length. "Perhaps--well, perhaps you could
+wait?"
+
+"Sure!" replied Wiley, rising up from where he was seated, "I'll wait
+for anything, except my supper. Where's the best place to eat in town,
+now?"
+
+"Why, at Mrs. Huff's," returned Blount in surprise. "But about this
+quit-claim, perhaps a check would do as well?"
+
+"What, are the Huffs still here?" exclaimed Wiley, starting off. "Why, I
+thought----"
+
+"No, they decided to stay," answered Blount, following after him. "But
+now, Wiley, about this quit-claim?"
+
+"Well, gimme your check! Or keep it, I don't care--I came away without
+my breakfast this morning."
+
+He strode off down the trail and Blount pulled up short and stood gazing
+after him blankly, then he shouted to him frantically and hurried down
+the slope to where Wiley was waiting impatiently.
+
+"Here, just sign this," he panted. "I'll write you out a check. But
+what's the matter, Wiley--didn't the mine show up as expected?"
+
+Wiley muttered unintelligibly as he signed the quit-claim which he
+retained until he had looked over the check. Then he folded up the check
+and kissed it surreptitiously before he stored it away in his
+pocketbook.
+
+"Why, yes," he said, "it shows up fine. I'll see you later, down at the
+house."
+
+Blount sat down suddenly, but as Wiley clattered off he shouted a
+warning after him.
+
+"Oh, Wiley, please don't mention that matter I spoke of!"
+
+"What matter?" yelled back Wiley and at another disquieting thought
+Blount jumped up and came galloping after him.
+
+"The matter of the Colonel," he panted in his ear, "and here's another
+thing, Wiley. You know Mrs. Huff--she's absolutely impossible and--well,
+she's been making me quite a little trouble. Now as a personal favor,
+please don't lend her any money or help her to get back her stock;
+because if you do----"
+
+"I won't!" promised Wiley, holding up his right hand. "But say, don't
+stop me--I'm starving."
+
+He ran down the trail, limping slightly on his game leg, and Blount sat
+down on a rock.
+
+"Well, I'll be bound!" he puffed and gazed at the quit-claim ruefully.
+
+The tables were all set when Wiley re-entered the dining-room from which
+he had retreated once before in such haste, and Virginia was there and
+waiting, though her smile was a trifle uncertain. A great deal of water
+had flowed down the gulch since he had advised her to keep her stock,
+but the assayer at Vegas was worse than negligent--he had not reported
+on the piece of white rock. Therefore she hardly knew, being still in
+the dark as to his motives in giving the advice, whether to greet Wiley
+as her savior or to receive him coldly, as a Judas. If the white quartz
+was full of gold that her father had overlooked--say fine gold, that
+would not show in the pan--then Wiley was indeed her friend; but if the
+quartz was barren and he had purposely deceived her in order to boom his
+own mine--she smiled with her lips and asked him rather faintly if he
+wanted his supper at once.
+
+But if Virginia was still a Huff, remembering past treacheries and
+living in the expectancy of more, the Widow cast aside all petty
+heart-burnings in her joy at the humiliation of Stiff Neck George.
+Leaving Virginia in the kitchen, to fry Wiley's steak, she rushed into
+the dining-room with her eyes ablaze and all but shook his hand.
+
+"Well, well," she exulted, "I'll have to take it back--you certainly did
+boot him good. I said you were a coward but I was watching you through
+my spy-glass and I nearly died a-laughing. You just walked right up to
+him--and you were cursing him scandalous, I could tell by the look on
+your face--and then all at once you made a jump and gave him that awful
+kick. Oh, ho, ho; you know I've always said he looked like a man that
+was watching for a swift kick from behind; and now--after waiting all
+these years--oh, ho ho--you gave him what was coming to him!"
+
+The Widow sat down and held her sides with laughter and Wiley's grim
+features, that had remained set and watchful, slowly relaxed to a
+flattered grin. He had indeed stood up to Stiff Neck George and booted
+him down the dump, so that the score of that night when he had been
+hunted like a rabbit was more than evened up; for George had sneaked up
+on an unarmed man and rolled down boulders from above, but he had
+outfaced him, man to man and gun to gun, and kicked him down the dump to
+boot. Yes, the Widow might well laugh, for it would be many a long day
+before Stiff Neck George heard the last of that affair.
+
+"And old Blount," laughed the Widow, "he was right there and saw it--his
+own hired bully, and all. Say, now Wiley, tell me all about it--what did
+Blount have to say? Did he tell you it was all a mistake? Yes, that's
+what he tells everybody, every time he gets into trouble; but he can't
+make excuses to me. Do you know what he's done? He's tied up all my
+stock as security for eight hundred dollars! What's eight hundred
+dollars--I turned it all in to get the best of my diamonds out of pawn.
+It made me feel so bad, seeing that diamond ring of yours; I just
+couldn't help getting them out. And now I'm flat and he's holding all my
+stock for a miserable little eight hundred dollars!"
+
+She ended up strong, but Wiley sensed a touch and his expressions of
+sympathy were guarded.
+
+"Now, you're a business man," she went on unheedingly. "I'll tell you
+what I'll do--you lend me the money to get back that stock and I'll sell
+it all to your father!"
+
+"To my father!" echoed Wiley and then his face turned grim and he
+laughed at some hidden joke. "Not much," he said, "I like the Old Man
+too much. You'd better sell it back to Blount."
+
+"To Blount? Why, hasn't your father been hounding me for months to get
+his hands on that stock? Well, I'd like to know then what you think
+you're doing? Have you gone back on your promise, or what?"
+
+"I never made any promise," returned Wiley pacifically. "It was my
+father that made the offer."
+
+"Oh, fiddlesticks!" exploded the Widow. "Well, what's the
+difference--you're working hand and glove!"
+
+"Not at all," corrected Wiley, "the Old Man is raising cattle. You can't
+get him to look at a mine."
+
+"Well, he offered to buy my stock!" exclaimed the Widow, badly
+flustered. "I'd like to know what this means?"
+
+"It's no use talking," returned Wiley wearily, "I've told you a thousand
+times. If you send your stock to John Holman at Vegas, he'll give you
+ten cents a share; but _I_ won't give you a cent."
+
+"Do you mean to say," demanded the Widow incredulously, "that you don't
+want that stock?"
+
+"That's it," assented Wiley. "I've just sold my tax title for a hundred
+dollars, to Blount."
+
+"Oh, this will drive me mad!" cried the Widow in a frenzy. "Virginia,
+come in here and help me!"
+
+Virginia came in with the steak slightly scorched and laid his dinner
+before Wiley. Her eyes were rather wild, for she had been listening
+through the doorway, but she turned to her mother inquiringly.
+
+"He says he's sold his tax claim," wailed the Widow in despair, "for one
+hundred dollars--to Blount. And then he turns around and says his father
+will buy my stock for ten cents a share in cash. But he won't lend me
+the money to pay my note to Blount and get my Paymaster stock back."
+
+"That's right," nodded Wiley, "you've got it all straight. Now let's
+quit before we get into a row."
+
+He bent over the steak and, after a meaning look at Virginia, the Widow
+discreetly withdrew.
+
+"We saw you fighting George," ventured Virginia at last as he seemed
+almost to ignore her presence. "Weren't you afraid he'd get mad and
+shoot you?"
+
+"Uh, huh," he grunted, "wasn't I hiding behind Blount? No, I had him
+whipped from the start. Bad conscience, I reckon; these crooks are all
+the same--they're afraid to fight in the open."
+
+"But _your_ conscience is all right, eh?" suggested Virginia
+sarcastically, and he glanced up from under his brows.
+
+"Yes," he said, "we've got 'em there, Virginia. Are you still holding
+onto that stock?"
+
+A swift flood of shame mantled Virginia's brow and then her dark eyes
+flashed fire.
+
+"Yes, I've got it," she said, "but what's the answer when you sell out
+your tax claim to Blount?"
+
+"I wonder," he observed and went on with his eating while she paced
+restlessly to and fro.
+
+"You told me to hold it," she burst out accusingly, "and then you turn
+around and sell!"
+
+"Well, why don't _you_ sell?" he suggested innocently, and she paused
+and bit her lip. Yes, why not? Why, because there were no buyers--except
+Wiley Holman and his father! The knowledge of her impotence almost
+drove her on to further madness, but another voice bade her beware.
+He had given her his advice, which was not to sell, and--oh, that
+accursed assayer! If she had his report she could flaunt it in his
+face or--she caught her breath and smiled.
+
+"No," she said, "you told me not to!"
+
+And Wiley smiled back and patted her hand.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+THE BEST HEAD IN TOWN
+
+
+What was Wiley Holman up to? Virginia paced the floor in a very
+unloverlike mood; and at last she sat down and wrote a scathing letter
+to the assayer, demanding her assay at once. She also enclosed one
+dollar in advance to test the sample for gold and silver and then, as an
+afterthought, she enclosed another bill and told him to test it for
+copper, lead, and zinc. There was something in that rock--she knew it
+just as well as she knew that Wiley was in love with her, and this was
+no time to pinch dollars. For ten years and more they had stuck there in
+Keno, waiting and waiting for something to happen, but now things had
+come to such a pass that it was better to know even the worst. For if
+the mine was barren and Wiley, after all, was only trying in his dumb
+way to help, then she must pocket her pride and sell him her stock and
+go away and hide her head. But if the white quartz was rich--well, that
+would be different; there would be several things to explain.
+
+Yet, if the quartz was barren, why did Wiley offer to buy her stock, and
+if it was rich, why did he sell his tax deed? And if his father stood
+ready to pay ten cents a share for two hundred thousand shares of stock
+why did Wiley refuse to redeem her mother's holdings for a petty eight
+hundred dollars? He must have the money, for his diamond ring alone was
+worth well over a thousand dollars; and he had tried repeatedly to get
+possession of this same stock which he now refused to accept as a gift.
+Virginia thought it over until her head was in a whirl and at last she
+stamped her foot. The assay would tell, and if he had been trying to
+cheat her--she drew her lips to a thin, hard line and looked more than
+ever like her mother.
+
+The work at the Paymaster went on intermittently, but Blount's early
+zest was lacking. For eight, yes, ten years he had waited patiently
+for the moment when he should get control of the mine; but now that he
+held it, without let or hindrance, somehow his enthusiasm flagged.
+Perhaps it was the fact that the timbering was expensive and that his
+gropings for the lost ore body came to nothing; but in the back of his
+mind Blount's growing distrust dated from the day he had bought
+Wiley's quit-claim. Wiley had come to the mine full of fury and
+aggressiveness, as his combat with Stiff Neck George clearly showed;
+but after he had gone down and inspected the workings he had sold out
+for one hundred dollars. And Wiley Holman was a mining engineer, with
+a name for Yankee shrewdness--he must have had a reason.
+
+Blount recalled his men from the drifts where they had been working and
+set them to crosscutting for the vein. It was too expensive, restoring
+all the square-sets and clearing out the fallen rock; and he had learned
+to his sorrow that Colonel Huff had blown up every heading with
+dynamite. In that tangle of shattered timbers and caved-in walls the
+miners made practically no progress, for the ground was treacherous and
+ten years under water had left the wood soft and slippery. To be sure
+the hidden chute lay at the breast of some such drift; but to clear them
+all out, with his limited equipment and no regular engineer in charge,
+would run up a staggering account. So Blount began to crosscut, and to
+sink along the contact, but chiefly to cut down expenses.
+
+With the railroad that had tapped the camp torn up and hauled away,
+every foot of timber, every stick of powder, cost twice as much as it
+ought. And then there was machinery, and gas and oil for the engine, and
+valves and spare parts for the pumps, and the board of the men, and
+overhead expenses--and not a single dollar coming in. Blount sat up late
+in his office, adding total to total, and at the end he leaned back
+aghast. At the very inside it was costing him two hundred dollars for
+every day that he operated the mine. And what was it turning back?
+Nothing. The mine had been gutted of every pound of ore that it would
+pay to sack and ship, and unless something was done to locate the lost
+ore body and give some guarantee of future values, well, the Paymaster
+would have to shut down. Blount considered it soberly, as a business man
+should, and then he sent for Wiley Holman.
+
+There were others, of course, to whom he might appeal; but he sent for
+Wiley first. He was a mining engineer, he had had his eye on the
+property and--well, he probably knew something about the lost vein. So
+he sent a wire, and then a man; and at last Holman, M. E., arrived. He
+came under protest, for he had been showing a mine of his own to some
+four-buckle experts from the east, and when Blount made his appeal he
+snorted.
+
+"Well, for the love of Miguel!" he exclaimed, starting up. "Do you think
+I'm going to help you for nothing? I'm a mining engineer, and the least
+it will cost you is five hundred dollars for a report. No, I don't think
+anything; and I don't know anything; and I won't take your mine on
+shares. I'm through--do you get me? I sold out my entire interest for
+one hundred dollars, cash. That puts me ahead of the game, up to date;
+and while I'm lucky I'll quit."
+
+He stamped out of the office--Blount having moved into the bank building
+where he had formerly officiated as president--and made a break for his
+machine; but other eyes had marked his arrival in town and Death Valley
+Charley button-holed him.
+
+"Say," he said, "do you want something good--an option on ten
+first-class claims? Well, come with me; I'll make you an offer that
+you can't hardly, possibly refuse."
+
+He led Wiley up an alley, then whisked him around corners and back to
+his house behind the Widow's.
+
+"Now, listen," he went on, when Wiley was in a chair and he had
+carefully fastened the door, "I'm going to show you something good."
+
+He reached under his bed and brought out ten sacks of samples which he
+spread, one by one, on the table.
+
+"Now, you see?" he said. "It's all that white quartz that you was after
+on the Paymaster dump. I followed the outcrop, on an extension of the
+Paymaster, and I took up ten, good, opened claims."
+
+"Umm," murmured Wiley, and examined each sample with a careful,
+appraising eye. "Yes, pretty good, Charley; I suppose you guarantee the
+title? Well, how much do you want for your claims?"
+
+"Oh, whatever you say," answered Charley modestly, "but I want two
+hundred dollars down."
+
+"And about a million apiece, I suppose, for the claims? It doesn't cost
+_me_ anything, you know, on an option."
+
+"Eh, heh, heh," laughed Charley indulgently and Heine, who had been
+looking from face to face, jumped up and barked with delight. "Eh, heh;
+yes, that's good; but you know me, Mr. Holman--I ain't so crazy as they
+think. No, I don't talk millions with my mouth full of beans; all I want
+is five hundred apiece. But I got to have two hundred down."
+
+"Oh," observed Wiley, "that's two dollars for the marriage license and
+the rest for the wedding journey. Well, if it's as serious as that----"
+He reached for his check-book and Charley cackled with merriment.
+
+"Yes, yes," he said, "then I _would_ be crazy. Do you know what the
+Colonel told me?
+
+"'Charley,' he says, 'whatever you do, don't marry no talking woman.
+She'll drive you crazy, the same as I am; but don't you forget that
+whiskey.'"
+
+"Oh, sure," exclaimed Wiley, beginning to write out the option, "this
+money is to buy whiskey for the Colonel!"
+
+"That's it," answered Charley. "He's over across Death Valley--in the
+Ube-Hebes--but I can't find my burros. They--Heine, come here, sir!"
+Heine came up cringing and Charley slapped him soundly. "Shut up!" he
+commanded and as Heine crept away Death Valley began to mutter to
+himself. "No, of course not; he's dead," he ended ineffectively, and
+Wiley looked up from his writing.
+
+"Who's dead?" he inquired, but Charley shook his head and listened
+through the wall.
+
+"Look out," he said, "I can hear her coming--jest give me that two
+hundred now."
+
+"Well, here's twenty," replied Wiley, passing over the money, and then
+there came a knock at the door.
+
+"Come in!" called out Charley and, as he motioned Wiley to be silent,
+Virginia appeared in the doorway.
+
+"Oh!" she cried, "I didn't know you were here!" But something in the way
+she fixed her eyes on him convinced Wiley that she had known, all the
+same.
+
+"Just a matter of business," he explained with a flourish, "I'm
+considering an option on some of Charley's claims."
+
+"Jest my bum claims!" mumbled Charley as Virginia glanced at him
+reprovingly. "Jest them ten up north of the Paymaster."
+
+"Oh," she said and drew back towards the door, "well, don't let me break
+up a trade."
+
+"You'd better sign as a witness," spoke up Wiley imperturbably, and she
+stepped over and looked at the paper.
+
+"What? All ten of those claims for five hundred apiece? Why, Charley,
+they may be worth millions!"
+
+"Well, put it down five million, then," suggested Wiley, grimly. "How
+much do you want for them, Charley?"
+
+"Five hundred dollars apiece," answered Charley promptly, "but they's
+got to be two hundred down."
+
+"Well?" inquired Wiley as Virginia still regarded him suspiciously, and
+then he beckoned her outside. "Say, what's the matter?" he asked
+reproachfully. "Let the old boy make his touch--he wants that two
+hundred for grub."
+
+"He does not!" she spat back. "I'm ashamed of you, Wiley Holman; taking
+advantage of a crazy man like that!"
+
+"Well, I don't know," he began in a slow, drawling tone that cut her to
+the quick, "he may not be as crazy as you think. I've just been offered
+a half interest in the Paymaster if I'll come out and take charge of
+it."
+
+"You _have_!" she cried, starting back and staring as he regarded
+her with steely eyes. "Well, are you going to take it?"
+
+"I don't know," he answered. "Thought I'd better see you first--it might
+be taking advantage of Blount."
+
+"Of Blount!" she echoed and then she saw his smile and realized that he
+was making fun of her.
+
+"Yes," went on Wiley, whose feelings had been ruffled, "he may be crazy,
+too. He sure was looking the part."
+
+"Now don't you laugh at me!" she burst out hotly. "This isn't as funny
+as you think. What's going to happen to us if you take over that mine? I
+declare, you've been standing in with Blount!"
+
+"I knew it," he mocked. "You catch me every time. But what about Charley
+here--does he get his money or not?" He turned to Death Valley, who was
+standing in the doorway watching their quarrel with startled eyes. "I
+guess you're right, Charley," he added, smiling wryly. "It must be
+something in the air."
+
+"Are you going to take that offer," demanded Virginia, wrathfully, "and
+rob me and mother of our mine?"
+
+"Oh, no," he answered, "I turned it down cold. I knew you wouldn't
+approve."
+
+"You knew nothing of the kind!" she came back sharply, the angry tears
+starting in her eyes. "And I don't believe he ever made it."
+
+"Well, ask him," suggested Wiley, and went back into the house,
+whereupon Death Valley closed the door.
+
+"Yes," whispered Charley, "it's in the air--there's electricity
+everywhere. But what about that option?"
+
+Wiley sat at the table, his eyes big with anger, his jaw set hard
+against the pain, and then he reached for his pen.
+
+"All right, Charley," he said, "but don't you let 'em kid you--you've
+got the best business head in town."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+A TOUCH
+
+
+The wrath of a man who is slow to anger cannot lightly be turned aside
+and, though Virginia drooped her lashes, the son of Honest John brushed
+past her without a word. She had followed him gratuitously to Death
+Valley's cabin and seriously questioned his good faith; and then, to fan
+the flames of his just resentment, she had suggested that he was telling
+an untruth. He had told her--and it seemed impossible--that Blount had
+offered him half the Paymaster, on shares; but the following morning,
+without a word of warning, the Paymaster Mine shut down. The pumps
+stopped abruptly, all the tools were removed, and as the foreman and
+miners who had been their boarders rolled up their beds and prepared to
+depart, the high-headed Virginia buried her face in her hands and
+retired to her bedroom to weep. And then to cap it all that miserable
+assayer sent in his belated report.
+
+"Gold--a trace. Silver--blank. Copper--blank. Lead--blank. Zinc--blank."
+
+The heavy white quartz which Wiley had made so much of was as barren as
+the dirt in the street. It had absolutely no value and--oh, wretched
+thought--he had offered to buy her stock out of charity! Out of the
+bigness of his heart--and then she had insulted him and accused him of
+robbing Death Valley Charley! In the light of this new day Death Valley
+was a magnate, with his check for two hundred dollars, and Virginia and
+her mother must either starve on in silence or accept the bounty of the
+Holmans. It was maddening, unbelievable--and to think what he had
+suffered from her, before he had finally gone off in a rage. But how
+sarcastic he had been when she had accused him of robbing Charley, and
+of standing in with Blount! He had said things then which no woman could
+forgive; no, not even if she were in the wrong. He had led her on to
+make unconsidered statements, smiling provokingly all the time; and
+then, when she had doubted that Blount had offered him the mine, he had
+said, "Well, ask him!" and shut the door in her face! And now, without
+asking, the question had been answered, for Blount had closed down the
+mine in despair and gone back to his bank in Vegas.
+
+The Paymaster was dead, and Keno was dead; and their eight hundred
+dollars was gone. All the profits from the miners which they had counted
+upon so confidently had disappeared in a single day; and now her mother
+would have to pawn her diamonds again in order to get out of town.
+Virginia paced up and down, debating the situation and seeking some
+possible escape, but every door was closed. She could not appeal to
+Wiley, for she knew her stock was worthless, and her hold on his
+sympathies was broken. He was a Yankee and cold, and his anger was
+cold--the kind that will not burn itself out. When he had loved her it
+was different; there was a spark of human kindness to which she could
+always appeal; but now he was as cold and passionless as a statue; with
+his jaws shut down like iron. She gave up and went out to see Charley.
+
+Death Valley was celebrating his sudden rise to affluence by a resort to
+the flowing bowl and when Virginia stepped in she found all three
+phonographs running and a two-gallon demijohn on the table. Death Valley
+himself was reposing in an armchair with one leg wrapped up in a white
+bandage and as she stopped the grinding phonographs and made a grab for
+the demijohn he held up two fingers reprovingly.
+
+"I'm snake-bit," he croaked. "Don't take away my medicine. Do you want
+your Uncle Charley to die?"
+
+"Why, Charley!" she cried, "you know you aren't snake-bit! The
+rattlesnakes are all holed up now."
+
+"Yes--holed up," he nodded; "that's how I got snake-bit. It was fourteen
+years ago, this month. Didn't you ever hear of my snake-mine--it was one
+of the marvels of Arizona--a two-foot stratum of snakes. I used to hook
+'em out as fast as I needed them and try out the oil to cure rheumatism;
+but one day I dropped one and he bit me on the leg, and it's been bad
+that same month ever since. Would you like to see the bite? There's the
+pattern of a diamond-back just as plain as anything, so I know it must
+have been a rattler."
+
+He reached resolutely for the demijohn and took a hearty drink whereat
+Virginia sat down with a sigh.
+
+"I'll tell you something," went on Charley confidentially. "Do you know
+why a snake shakes its tail? It's generating electricity to shoot in the
+pisen, and the longer a rattlesnake rattles----"
+
+"Oh, now, Charley," she begged, "can't you see I'm in trouble? Well,
+stop drinking and listen to what I say. You can help me a lot, if you
+will."
+
+"Who--me?" demanded Charley, and then he roused himself up and motioned
+for a dipper of water. "Well, all right," he said, "I hate to kill this
+whiskey----" He drank in great gulps and made a wry face as he rose up
+and looked around.
+
+"Where's Heine?" he demanded. "Here Heine, Heine!"
+
+"You drove him under the house," answered Virginia petulantly, "playing
+all three phonographs at once. Really, it's awful, Charley, and you'd
+better look out or mother will give you the bounce."
+
+"Scolding women--talking women," mused Charley drunkenly. "Well; what do
+you want me to do?"
+
+"I'm _not_ scolding!" denied Virginia, and then as he leered at her
+she gave way weakly to tears. "Well, I can't help it," she wailed, "she
+scolds me all the time and--she simply drives me to it."
+
+"They'll drive you crazy," murmured Charley philosophically. "There's
+nothing to do but hide out. But I must save the rest of that whiskey for
+the Colonel."
+
+He reached for the demijohn and corked it stoutly, after which he turned
+to Virginia.
+
+"Do you want some money?" he asked more kindly, bringing forth his roll
+as he spoke. "Well here, Virginny, there's one hundred dollars--it's
+nothing to your Uncle Charley. No, I got plenty more; and I'm going up
+the Ube-Hebes just as soon as I find my burros. They must be over to
+Cottonwood--there's lots of sand over there and Jinny, she's hell for
+rolling. No, take the money; I got it from Wiley Holman and he's got
+plenty more."
+
+He dropped it in her lap, but she jumped up hastily and put it back in
+his hands.
+
+"No, not that money," she said, "but listen to me, Charley; here's what
+I want you to do. I've got some stock in the Paymaster Mine that Wiley
+was trying to buy; but now--oh, you saw how he treated me yesterday--he
+wouldn't take it, if he knew. But Charley, you take it; and the next
+time you see him--well, try to get ten cents a share. We want to go
+away, Charley; because the mine is closed down and----"
+
+"Yes, yes, Virginny," spoke up Death Valley, soothingly, "I'll get you
+the money, right away."
+
+"But don't you tell him!" she warned in a panic, "because----"
+
+"You ought to be ashamed," said Charley reprovingly and went out to hunt
+up his burros. Virginia lingered about, looking off across the desert at
+the road down which Wiley had sped, and at last she bowed her head.
+Those last words of Charley's still rang in her ears and when, towards
+evening, he started off down the road she watched him out of sight.
+
+It was a long, dry road, this highway to Vegas, but twenty miles out, at
+Government Wells, there was water, and a good place to camp. Charley
+stopped there that night, and for three days more, until at last in the
+distance he saw Wiley's white racer at the tip of a streamer of dust. He
+went by like the wind but when he spied Charley he slowed down and
+backed up to his camp.
+
+"Hel-lo there, Old Timer," he hailed in surprise, "what are you doing,
+away out here?"
+
+"Oh, rambling around," responded Charley airily, waving his hand at the
+world at large. "It's good for man to be alone, away from them scolding
+women."
+
+The shadow of a smile passed over Wiley's bronzed face and then he
+became suddenly grim.
+
+"Bum scripture, Charley," he said, nodding shortly, "but you may be
+right, at that. What's the excitement around beautiful Keno?"
+
+"I don't know," lied Charley. "Ain't been in town since you was there,
+but she was sure booming, then. Say, I've got some stock in that
+Paymaster Mine that I might let you have, for cash. I'm burnt out on the
+town--they's too many people in it--I'm going back to the Ube-Hebes."
+
+"Well, take me along, then," suggested Wiley, "and we'll bring back a
+car-load of that gold. Maybe then I could buy your stock."
+
+"No, you buy it now," went on Charley insistently. "I'm broke and I need
+the money."
+
+"Oh, you do, eh?" jested Wiley. "Still thinking about that wedding trip?
+Well, I may need that money myself."
+
+"Eh, heh, heh," laughed Charley, and drawing forth a package he began to
+untie the strings. "Eh, heh; yes, that's right; I've been watching you
+young folks for some time. But I'll sell you this stock of mine cheap."
+
+He unrolled a cloth and flashed the certificates hopefully, but Wiley
+did not even look at them.
+
+"Nope," he said, "no Paymaster for me. I wouldn't accent that stock as a
+gift."
+
+"But it's rich!" protested Charley, his eyes beginning to get wild.
+"It's full of silver and gold. I can feel the electricity when I walk
+over the property--there's millions and millions, right there!"
+
+"Oh, there is, eh?" observed Wiley, and, snatching away the
+certificates, he ran them rapidly over. "Where'd you get these?" he
+asked, and Death Valley blinked, though he looked him straight in the
+eyes.
+
+"Why, I--bought 'em," he faltered, "and--the Colonel gave me some.
+And----"
+
+"How much do you want for them?" snapped Wiley, and Charley blinked
+again.
+
+"Ten cents a share," he answered, and Wiley's stern face hardened.
+
+"You take these back," he said, "and tell her I don't want 'em."
+
+"Who--Virginny?" inquired Death Valley, and then he kicked his leg and
+looked around for Heine.
+
+"Now, here," spoke up Wiley, "don't go to slapping that dog. How much do
+you want for the bunch?"
+
+"Four hundred dollars!" barked Charley, and stood watchful and expectant
+as Wiley sat deep in thought.
+
+"All right," he said, and as he wrote out the check Death Valley
+chuckled and leered at Heine.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+THE EXPERT
+
+
+Like the way of an eagle in the air or the way of a man with a maid, the
+ways of a mining promoter must be shrouded in mystery and doubt. For
+when he wants to buy, no man will sell; and when he wants to sell, no
+man will buy; and when he will neither buy nor sell he is generally
+suspected of both. Wiley Holman had two fights and a charge of buckshot
+to prove that he wanted the Paymaster, and the fact that he had refused
+a half interest for nothing to prove that he did not want it. Also he
+had sold his tax-title to the property for the sum of one hundred
+dollars. What then did it signify when he bought Virginia's despised
+stock for four hundred dollars, cash down? The man who could answer that
+could explain the way of a man with a maid.
+
+Samuel J. Blount made the claim--and he had his pile to prove it--that
+he could think a little closer than most men. A little closer, and a
+little farther; but the Paymaster had been his downfall. He had played
+the long game to get possession of the mine, only to find he had bought
+a white elephant. Every day that he held it he had thrown good money
+after bad and he sent out a search party for Wiley Holman. Wiley had
+refused half the mine, but that only proved that half of the mine did
+not appeal to him--perhaps he would take it all. Samuel J. had been a
+student for a good many years in the school of predatory business and he
+had learned the rules of the game. He knew that the buyer always decried
+the goods and magnified each tiny defect, whereas the seller by as
+natural a process played up every virtue to the limit. But any man who
+inspected the goods was a potential buyer of the same, and Wiley had
+shown more than a passing interest in the fate of the unlucky Paymaster.
+And Wiley was a mining engineer.
+
+They met in the glassed-in office of Blount in the ornate Bank of Vegas
+and for a half an hour or more Wiley sat tipped back in his chair while
+Blount talked of everything in general. It was a way he had, never to
+approach anything directly; but Wiley favored more direct methods.
+
+"I understood," he remarked, bringing his chair down with a bang, "that
+you wanted to see me on business?"
+
+"Yes, yes, Wiley," soothed Blount, "now please don't rush off--I wanted
+to see you about the Paymaster."
+
+"Well, shoot," returned Wiley, "but don't ask my advice, unless you're
+ready to pay for it."
+
+He tipped back his chair and sat waiting patiently while Blount
+unraveled his thoughts. He could think closer than most men, but not
+quicker, and the Paymaster was a tangled affair.
+
+"I have been told," he began at last, "that you are still buying
+Paymaster stock. Or at least--well, a check of yours came through here
+endorsed by Death Valley Charley, and Virginia Huff. Oh, yes, yes;
+that's your business, of course; but here's the point I'm coming to; it
+won't do you any good to buy in that stock because I've got a majority
+of it right here in my vault. If you want to control the Paymaster,
+don't go to someone else--I'm the man you want to see."
+
+He tapped himself on the breast and smiled impressively, and Wiley
+nodded his head.
+
+"All right," he said imperturbably, "when I want the Paymaster Mine I'll
+know right where to go."
+
+"Yes, you come to me," went on Blount after a minute, "and I'll do the
+best I can." He paused expectantly, but Wiley did not speak, so he went
+on blandly, as before. "The stock, of course, is nonassessable and the
+taxes are very small. I intend from now on to keep them paid up, so
+there will be no further tax sales. The stock of Mrs. Huff, which I now
+hold as collateral security, is practically mine already, as she has
+defaulted on her first month's interest and is preparing to leave the
+state. Of course, there is the stock which your father is holding--as I
+calculate, something over two hundred thousand shares--and what little
+remains outside; but if you are interested in the mine I am the man to
+talk to, so what would you like to propose?"
+
+"Well," began Wiley, and then he stopped and seemed to be lost in
+thought. "I'll tell you," he said, "I was interested in the Paymaster--I
+believe there's something there; but I've got some other propositions
+that I can handle a little easier, so if you don't mind we'll wait a
+while."
+
+"No, but Wiley," protested Blount as his man rose up to go, "now just
+sit down; I'm not quite through. Now I know just as well as you do that
+you take a great interest in that mine. Your troubles with Mrs. Huff and
+Stiff Neck George prove conclusively that such is the case; and I am
+convinced that, either from your father or some other source, you have
+valuable inside information. Now I must admit that I'm not a mining man
+and my management was not a success; but with your technical education
+and all the rest, I am convinced that the results would be different.
+No, there's no use denying it, because I know myself that you've been
+buying up Paymaster stock."
+
+"Sure," agreed Wiley, "I bought four hundred dollars worth. That would
+break the Bank of Vegas. But you've got lots of money--why don't you
+hire a competent mining man and go after that lost ore-body yourself?"
+
+"I may do that," replied Blount easily, "but in the meantime why not
+make me a reasonable offer, or take the mine on shares?"
+
+"If the Paymaster," observed Wiley, "was the only mine in the world, I'd
+make you a proposition in a minute. But a man in my position doesn't
+have to buy his mines, and I never work anything on shares."
+
+"Well, now Wiley, I've got another proposition, which you may or may not
+approve; but there's no harm, I hope, if I mention it. You know there's
+been a difference between me and your father since--well, since the
+Paymaster shut down. I respect him very much and have nothing but the
+kindliest feelings towards him but he--well, you know how it is. But I
+have been informed, Wiley, that since Colonel Huff's death, your father
+has been bidding for his stock. In fact, I have seen a letter written to
+Mrs. Huff in which he offers her ten cents a share. Now, of course, if
+you want to gain control of the company, I'm willing to do what's right;
+and so, after thinking it over, I have come to the conclusion that I
+will accept that offer now."
+
+"Umm," responded Wiley, squinting his eyes down shrewdly, "how much
+would that come to, in all?"
+
+"Well, twenty-one thousand, eight hundred dollars, for what I received
+from Mrs. Huff; but of course--well, he'd have to buy a little more of
+me in order to get positive control."
+
+"How much more?" asked Wiley, but Blount's crooked mouth pulled down in
+a crafty smile.
+
+"We can discuss that later," he suggested mildly. "Do you think he will
+buy the stock?"
+
+"Not if he takes my advice," answered Wiley coldly. "I can buy the whole
+block for eight hundred."
+
+"How?"
+
+"Why, by loaning Mrs. Huff the eight hundred dollars with which to take
+up her note."
+
+"I doubt it," replied Blount, and his mild, deceiving eyes took on the
+faintest shadow of a threat. "Mrs. Huff has defaulted on her first
+month's interest and, according to the terms of her note, the collateral
+automatically passes to me."
+
+"Well, keep it, then," burst out Wiley, "and I hope to God you get stuck
+for every cent. Your old mine isn't worth a dam'!"
+
+"Why--Wiley!" gasped Blount, quite shaken for the moment by this
+disastrous piece of news, "what reason have you for thinking that?"
+
+"Give me a hundred dollars as an advising expert and I'll tell you--and
+show you, too."
+
+"No, I hardly think so," answered Blount at last. "And, Wiley, you don't
+think so, either."
+
+"No?" challenged Wiley. "Well, you just watch my smoke and see whether I
+do or not."
+
+He had closed the door before Blount dragged him back like a haggling,
+relentless pawn-broker.
+
+"Make me a proposition," he clamored desperately, "and if it's anywhere
+in reason I'll accept it."
+
+"All right," answered Wiley, "but show me what you've got--I don't buy
+any cat in a bag."
+
+"And will you make me an offer?" demanded Blount hopefully. "Will you
+take the whole thing off my hands?"
+
+"I will if it's good--but you'll have to show me first that you've got a
+controlling share of the stock. And another thing, Mr. Blount, since our
+time is equally valuable, let's cut out this four-flushing stuff. If I'd
+wanted your mine so awfully bad I'd have held on to it when the title
+was mine; but I turned it back to you, just to let you look it over, and
+to keep the peace for once. But now, if you're satisfied, I might look
+it over; but it'll be under a bond and lease. The parties I represent
+are strictly business, and we make it a rule to tie everything up tight
+before we put out a cent. I'll want an option on every share you have,
+and I can't offer more than ten per cent royalty; but to compensate for
+that I'll agree to pay in full or vacate within six months from date."
+
+"But how much?" demanded Blount, brushing aside all the details, "how
+much will you pay me a share?"
+
+"I'll pay you," stated Wiley, "what I paid Death Valley Charley, and
+that's five cents a share."
+
+"Five cents!" shrilled Blount, rising up in protest, yet jumping at the
+price like a trout, "five cents--why, that's practically nothing!"
+
+"Just five cents more than nothing," observed Wiley judicially and
+waited for Blount to rave.
+
+"But your father," suggested Blount with a knowing leer, "is in the
+market at ten."
+
+"No, not in the market. He offered that to the Widow, but now the deal
+is off, because all of her stock has changed hands."
+
+"Well, the stock is the same," suggested Blount insinuatingly. "Give me
+seven and a half and split the profits."
+
+"Now don't be a crook," rapped out Wiley angrily. "Just because you
+would rob your own father doesn't by any means prove that I will."
+
+"Well, you certainly implied," protested Blount with injured innocence,
+"that this stock was to be sold to your father. And if it is worth that
+to him, why is it worth less to you? You must be working together."
+
+"No, we're not," declared Wiley. "I'm in on this alone, and have been,
+from the start. And just to set your mind at rest--he didn't make that
+offer because he wanted the stock, but to kind of help out the Widow."
+
+"Ah," smiled Blount, and nodded his head wisely, but there was a playful
+light in his eyes.
+
+"Yes--ah!" flashed back Wiley, "and if you think you're so danged smart
+I'll let you keep your old mine a few months."
+
+He started for the door again but Blount dragged him back and laid a
+metal box on the table.
+
+"Well, let's get down to business," he said with quick decision, and
+spread a heap of papers before his eyes. "There are all my Paymaster
+shares, and if you'll take them off my hands you can have them for six
+cents, cash."
+
+"I said five," returned Wiley, as he ran through the papers, "and an
+option to buy in six months. But this stock of the Widow's--I can't take
+that at any price--the Colonel isn't legally dead."
+
+"What?" yelled Blount, and sat down in a chair while he stared at the
+inscrutable Wiley.
+
+"His body was never found and, under the law, he can't be declared dead
+for seven years. Mrs. Huff had no right to sell his stock."
+
+"Oh, but he's dead, Wiley," assured Blount. "Surely there's no doubt of
+that. They found his burro, and his letters and everything; and where he
+had run wild through the sand. If that storm hadn't come up they would
+certainly have found his body--the Indian trailers said so; so why stick
+on a technicality?"
+
+"That's the law," said Wiley. "You know it yourself. But of course, if
+you want to vote this stock at a Directors' meeting we can still do
+business on that lease."
+
+"Oh, my Lord!" sighed Blount, and after a heavy silence he rose up and
+paced the floor. As for Wiley, he ran through the papers, making notes
+of dates and numbers, and then grimly began to fill out a legal blank.
+
+"There's the option," he said, passing over a paper, "and I see now how
+you double-crossed my father. So you don't need to sign unless you want
+to."
+
+"Why--er--what's that?" exclaimed Blount, coming out of his abstraction
+as Wiley slapped down the bundle of certificates.
+
+"I see by these endorsements," replied Wiley, "that you sold out before
+the panic and bought in all this stock afterwards."
+
+Blount started and a red line mounted up to his eyes as he hastily
+glanced over the option.
+
+"Well, I'll sign it," he mumbled, and reached for the pen, but Wiley
+checked his hand.
+
+"No, you ring for a notary," he said. "I want that signature
+acknowledged."
+
+The notary came and ran perfunctorily through his formula, after which
+he left them alone.
+
+"Now here's the bond and lease," went on Wiley curtly, "so bring on your
+Board of Directors and let's get this business over. By rights I ought
+to kill you."
+
+There was a special meeting then of the Board of Directors of The
+Paymaster Mining and Milling Company, and when the bond and lease was
+properly drawn up, they signed it and had it witnessed. Then once more
+the tense silence came over the room and Wiley rose to go.
+
+"Well," he said, "I've been waiting for ten years just to get these
+papers in my hands. And now, you danged crook, just to hit you where you
+live, I'm going to make a fortune."
+
+"A fortune!" echoed Blount, and then he clasped his hands and sank
+down weakly in a chair. "I knew it!" he moaned, "I knew it all the
+time--you've been trying to get that mine for months. But what is it,
+Wiley? Have you located the lost vein? Oh, I knew it; all the time!"
+
+"Yes, you did," jeered Wiley, "you didn't know anything, except how to
+grab hold of the stock. What good was it to you after you'd got the old
+mine--you didn't know what to do with it! All you knew was how to rob
+the widow and the orphan and deprive better men of their good name. You
+wait till I tell my Old Man about this--and how you were selling him
+out, all the time. If it wasn't for you he'd never been called Honest
+John by a bunch of these tin-horns and crooks. But I'll show you who's
+honest--I'm going to skin you alive for what you did to my father. You
+wait till I make my clean-up!"
+
+"But what is it, Wiley?" cried Blount, despairingly. "Have you really
+discovered the lost vein?"
+
+"No," grinned Wiley, "but I've consulted an expert and he tells me the
+mine is worth millions!"
+
+"What--millions?" burst out Blount, struggling up to his feet. "Now
+here, Wiley Holman; I want that option back! You secured it by fraud and
+misrepresentation and by concealment of the actual facts. I'll have the
+law on you--I'll break the contract--you came here with intent to
+defraud!"
+
+"Don't you think it!" returned Wiley, thrusting out his lip. "You
+thought you were trimming me, like taking candy from a baby. Why didn't
+_you_ get an expert? I offered to hire out to you, myself!"
+
+"Oh--hell!" choked Blount. "Well, tell me the worst--where was it he
+told you to dig?"
+
+"Why right down the shaft," answered Wiley blandly. "He's a new kind of
+mining expert and he locates the gold by electricity."
+
+"By electricity!" exclaimed Blount, and as he perceived Wiley's smile he
+straightened up in a rage. "I don't believe a word of it. Who is this
+man, anyway? I never heard of such a thing before!"
+
+"Oh, yes!" said Wiley, as he stepped out the door, "you know the
+professor well. They call him Death Valley Charley."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+A SACK OF CATS
+
+
+The weary work of packing had gone on endlessly in the bare rooms of the
+old Huff house and now Virginia, with two kittens in her arms and the
+mother cat following behind, was passing it all in review. A solid row
+of packing boxes, arrayed on the front gallery, awaited the motor truck;
+and here and there in corners lay piles of discarded treasures that were
+destined to go to Charley for loot. He was hanging about, with his
+pistol well in front, on the watch for Stiff Neck George; but up to that
+moment the Widow had not said the word that would start the mad rush for
+plunder. Her trunks were all packed, the china nested in barrels and the
+bedding sewed up in burlap; but still from day to day she put off the
+evil moment, and Virginia did not try to hurry her. The house had been
+their home for ten years and more and, though Los Angeles would be fine
+with its palm trees and bungalows, it was a strange land, far away. And
+what would they do in that city of strange faces and hustling, eager
+real-estate agents? It was that which held the Widow back.
+
+In the city there would be rent and water to pay for, and electric
+lights and wood; but in desolate Keno rent and water and wood were free,
+and the electric light company had taken down its poles. If the town
+were not so dead--if they could only make a living,--the Widow started
+up for the thousandth time, for she heard a racing auto down the street.
+It was Wiley Holman, as sure as shooting, and--well, Wiley was not so
+bad. It was his money, really, that had enabled them to pack up, and
+would enable them to go, when they started; and the Widow knew, as well
+as she knew anything, that he had designs upon the mine. He was after
+the Paymaster, and if he ever got hold of it--well, Keno would come back
+to its own. She rushed to the door and looked out into the street; and
+when she met Virginia, running away from meeting Wiley, she caught her
+and whirled her about.
+
+"Now you go back there," she hissed in her ear, "and I want you to be
+nice to him--he may have come back about the mine."
+
+Virginia went out the door and, as Wiley Holman saw her standing there,
+he leapt out and came up the steps.
+
+"Well, well," he said, "just in time to say good-by. And I wanted to see
+you, too." He smiled down at her boyishly and Virginia's eyes turned
+gentle as he took both her hands in his. "I've got some news to tell
+you," he burst out eagerly; "not news that will buy you anything but
+something to remember when you're gone."
+
+He led her to a box and, taking one of the kittens, sat down with his
+back to the door. Then he rose up hastily at a sudden rustle from behind
+and glanced inquiringly at Virginia.
+
+"It's just mother," she said and at the mention of her name Mrs. Huff
+came boldly out.
+
+"Why, good morning, Wiley," she said, smiling over-sweetly. "Seems to me
+you're awful early."
+
+"Yes," answered Wiley, trying vainly to seem polite, "I just stopped off
+to say good-by!"
+
+He offered her his hand, but the Widow ignored the hint and took the
+conversation to herself.
+
+"Well, I'm real glad you came," she went on sociably, "because I wanted
+to see you on a matter of business. In fact, I've been kind of waiting,
+on the chance that you might come through. Oh, I know that I don't
+count, but you can see Virginia afterwards; and I wanted to consult you
+about my stock. Yes, I know," she hastened on, as his face turned grim,
+"I haven't treated you fairly at all. I should have taken your offer,
+when you said you'd give ten cents for every share of stock that I had.
+But I took them to that Blount and he gave me next to nothing, and now
+he's holding the stock. But what I wanted to ask was: Isn't there some
+way we can arrange it to get it back and sell it to your father?"
+
+"No, I don't think so," answered Wiley, putting down the kitten,
+"and--well, I guess I'd better go."
+
+He rose up reluctantly, but the Widow would not hear to it and Virginia
+beckoned him to stay.
+
+"Well, now listen," persisted the Widow. "That stock certainly must be
+worth something."
+
+"Not to you," returned Wiley. "I saw Blount only yesterday and he says
+it belongs to him."
+
+"Well, it does not!" declared the Widow, but as no one contradicted her,
+she took a different tack. "Are you coming back?" she asked, smiling
+brightly. "Are you going to open up the mine?"
+
+Wiley's face fell for a moment.
+
+"What gave you that idea?" he inquired bluffly, but the Widow pointed a
+finger and laughed roguishly.
+
+"I knew it," she cried. "I've known it for months--and I wish you the
+best of good luck."
+
+"Oh, you do, eh?" grunted Wiley, and stood undecided as Mrs. Huff
+continued her assurances. He had come there to see Virginia, but
+business was business and the Widow seemed almost reasonable. "Huh,
+that's funny," he said at last. "I thought you had it in for me. What's
+the chance for getting a quit-claim?"
+
+"A quit-claim!" echoed the Widow, suddenly pricking up her ears. "Why,
+what do you want that for, now?"
+
+"Well, you're going away," explained Wiley quietly, "and it might come
+in handy, later, if I should want to take over the mine. Of course
+you've got no title--and no stock, for that matter--but I'll give you a
+hundred dollars, all the same."
+
+"I'll take it!" snapped the Widow and Wiley broke out laughing as he
+reached for his fountain pen.
+
+"Zingo!" he grinned and then he bit his lip, for the Widow was quick to
+take offence. "Of course," he went on, "this doesn't affect your stock
+if you should ever get it back from Blount. That is still your property,
+according to law, and this quit-claim just guarantees me free entry and
+possession. We'll get Virginia to witness the agreement."
+
+"All right," bridled the Widow and watched him cynically as he wrote out
+the quit-claim and check. "Oh! Actually!" she mocked as he put the check
+in her hands. "I just wanted to see if you were bluffing."
+
+"Well, you know now," he answered and sat in stony silence until she
+departed with a triumphant smirk. Then he glanced at Virginia and
+motioned towards the street, but she sighed and shook her head.
+
+"No," she said, "I can't leave the house--mother is likely to start any
+time, now."
+
+"I suppose you'll be glad to go," he suggested at last as she sat down
+and gathered up the kittens. "The old town is sure awful dead."
+
+"Yes--I guess so," she agreed half-heartedly. "You'd think so, but we
+don't seem to go."
+
+"Is there anything I can do for you?" he inquired after a silence. "You
+know what I told you once, Virginia."
+
+"Yes, I know," she answered bitterly, "but--Oh, I'm ashamed to let you
+help me, after the way I acted up about Charley."
+
+"Well, forget it," he said at length. "I guess I get kind of ugly when
+anyone doubts my good faith. It's on account of my father, and calling
+him Honest John--but say, I forgot to tell the news!"
+
+Virginia looked up inquiringly and he beckoned her into the corner where
+no one could overhear his words.
+
+"Blount sent for me yesterday--trying to sell me the mine," he whispered
+in her ear, "and I made him show me his stock. And when I looked on the
+back of his promotion certificates--the ones he got for promoting the
+mine--I found by the endorsements that he'd sold every one of them
+before or during the panic. Do you see? They were street certificates,
+passing from hand to hand without going to the company for transfer, but
+every broker that handled them had written down his name as a memorandum
+of the date and sale. Don't you see what he did--he set your father
+against my father, and my father against yours, and all the time, like
+the crook he is, he was selling them both out for a profit. I could have
+killed him, the old dog, only I thought it would hurt him more to
+whipsaw him out of his mine; but listen now, Virginia, don't you think
+we can be friends--because my father never robbed anybody of a cent! He
+thought more of the Colonel than he did of me; and I've started out,
+even if it is a little late, to prove that he was on the square."
+
+He stopped abruptly, for in his rush of words he had failed to note the
+anger in her eyes, until now she turned and faced him.
+
+"Oho!" she said, "so that's your idea--you're going to whipsaw Blount
+out of his mine?"
+
+"If I can!" hedged Wiley. "But for the Lord's sake, Virginia, don't tell
+what I said to your mother! It won't make any difference, because she's
+given me a quit-claim--but what's the use of having any trouble?"
+
+"Yes, sure enough!" murmured Virginia, with cutting sarcasm. "She might
+even demand her rights!"
+
+"Well, maybe you _like_ to fight!" burst out Wiley angrily, "and if
+you do, all right--hop to it! But I'll tell you one thing; if you can't
+be reasonable, I can be just as bullheaded as anybody!"
+
+"Yes, you can," she agreed and then she sighed wearily, and waved it all
+away with one hand. "Well, all right," she said, "I'm so sick and tired
+of it that I certainly don't want any more. And since I've taken your
+money, as you know very well, I'm going to go away and give you peace."
+
+Her eyes blinked fast, to hold back the tears, and once more the son of
+Honest John weakened.
+
+"No, I don't want you to go away," he answered gently, "but--isn't there
+something I can do before you go? I have to fight my way, you know that
+yourself, Virginia; but don't let that keep us from being friends. I'm a
+mining engineer, and I can't tell you all my plans, because that sure
+would put me out of business; but why can't you trust me, and then I'll
+trust you and--what is it you've got on your mind?"
+
+He reached for her hand but she drew it away and sat quiet, looking up
+the street.
+
+"You wouldn't understand," she said with a sigh. "You're always thinking
+about money and mines. But a woman is different--I suppose you'll laugh
+at me, but I'm worried about my cats."
+
+"About your cats!" he echoed, and she smiled up at him wistfully and
+then looked down at the kittens in her lap.
+
+"Yes," she said, "you know they were left to me when the people moved
+out of town, and now I've got eight of them and I just know that old
+Charley----"
+
+"He'll starve 'em to death," broke in Wiley, instantly. "I know the old
+tarrier well. You give 'em to me, Virginia, and I swear I'll take care
+of 'em just the same as I would of--you."
+
+"Oh," smiled Virginia, and then she gave him her hand and the old hatred
+died out in her eyes. "That's good of you, Wiley, and I certainly
+appreciate it; because no one would trust them with Charley. I'm going
+to take the two kittens, but you can have the rest of them and--you can
+write to me about them, sometimes."
+
+"Every week," answered Wiley. "I'll take 'em back to the ranch and the
+girls will look after them when I'm gone. We'll have to put them in
+sacks, but that will be better----"
+
+"Yes, that's better than starving," assented Virginia absently, and
+Wiley rose suddenly to go. There was something indefinable that stood
+between them, and no effort of his could break it down. He shook hands
+perfunctorily and started down the gallery and then abruptly he turned
+and swung back.
+
+"Here," he said, throwing her stock down before her, "I told you to hold
+onto that, once."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+THE EXPLOSION
+
+
+There are moments when his great secret rises to every man's lips and
+flutters to wing away; but a thought, a glance, a word said or unsaid,
+turns it back and he holds it more closely. Wiley Holman had a secret
+which might have changed Virginia's life and filled every day with joy
+and hope, but he shut down his lips and held it back and spoke kind
+words instead. There was a look in her eyes, a brooding glow of
+resentment when he spoke of his father and hers; and, while he spoke
+from the heart, she drooped her dark lashes and was silent beyond her
+wont. He gave her much but she gave him little--and the reason she was
+sorry to leave Keno was the parting with six suffering cats.
+
+There were girls that he knew who would have gone the limit and said
+something about missing Wiley Holman. So he gave her back her stock and
+put the cats in sacks and burnt up the road to the ranch. The next day
+the news came that he had bonded the Paymaster, but Wiley was far away.
+He caught the Limited and went speeding east, and then he came back,
+headed west; and finally he left Vegas followed by four lumbering auto
+trucks loaded down with freight and men. The time had come when he must
+put his fortunes to the test and Keno awaited him, anxiously.
+
+A cold, dusty wind raved down through the pass, driving even old Charley
+to shelter; but as the procession moved in across the desert the city of
+lost hopes came to life. Old grudges were forgotten, the dead past was
+thrust aside, and they lined up to bid him welcome--Death Valley Charley
+and Heine, Mrs. Huff and Virginia, and the last of ten thousand brave
+men. For nine years they had lived on, firm in their faith in the mighty
+Paymaster; and now again, for the hundredth time, the old hope rose up
+in their breasts. The town was theirs, they had seen it grow from
+nothing to a city of brick and stone, and they loved its ruins still.
+All it needed was some industry to put blood into its veins and it would
+thrill with energy and life. Even the Widow forgot her envy and her
+anger at his deception and greeted Wiley Holman with a smile.
+
+"Well--hello!" he hailed when he saw her in the crowd. "I thought you
+were going away."
+
+"Not much!" she returned. "Bring your men in to dinner. I'm having my
+dishes unpacked!"
+
+"Umm--good!" responded Wiley and, shrugging his shoulders, he led the
+way on to the mine. There were other faces that he would as soon have
+seen as the Widow's fighting mien, and he had brought his own cook
+along; but Mrs. Huff was a lady and as such it was her privilege to
+claim her woman's place in the kitchen. The town was part hers and the
+restaurant was her livelihood; and then, of course, there was Virginia.
+Having bidden her good-by, and taken care of her cats, he had reconciled
+himself to her loss, but not even the smile in her welcoming dark eyes
+could make him quite forget the Widow. She was an uncertain quantity,
+like a stick of frozen dynamite that will explode if it is thawed too
+soon; and there was a bombshell to come which gave more than even
+promise of producing spontaneous combustion. So Wiley sighed as he fired
+his cook, and told his men that they would board with the Widow.
+
+The first dinner was not so much, consisting largely of ham and eggs
+with the chickens out on a strike; but there was plenty of canned stuff
+and the Widow promised wonders when she got all her boxes unpacked. Yet
+with all her work before her and the dishes unwashed, she followed the
+crowd to the mine. That was the day of days, from which Keno would date
+time if Wiley made his promise good; and every man in town, and woman
+and child, went over to watch them begin. Up the old, abandoned road the
+auto trucks crept and crawled, and the shed and the houses that had been
+prepared by Blount now gave shelter to his hated successor. Only one man
+was absent and he sat on the hill-top, looking down like a lonely
+coyote. It was Stiff Neck George, that specter at the feast, the
+harbinger of evil to come; but as Wiley ordered the empty trucks to back
+up against the dump he glanced at the hill-top and smiled.
+
+"We'll take back a load of tungsten," he announced to the drivers and
+the crowd of onlookers stared.
+
+"Just load on that white stuff," he explained to the muckers and there
+was a general rush for the dump.
+
+"What did you say that stuff was?" inquired Death Valley Charley, after
+a hasty look at his specimen; and Keno awaited the answer, breathless.
+
+"Why, that's scheelite, Charley," replied Wiley confidentially, "and it
+runs about sixty per cent tungsten. It comes in pretty handy to harden
+those big guns that you hear shooting over in France."
+
+"Oh, tungsten," muttered Charley, blinking wisely at the rock while
+everyone else grabbed a sample. "Er--what do you say they use it for?"
+
+"Why, to harden high-speed steel for guns and turning-tools--haven't you
+read all about it in the papers?"
+
+"How much did you say it was worth?" asked the Widow cautiously, and
+Wiley knew that the bombshell was ignited.
+
+"Well, that's a question," he began, "that I can answer better when I
+get a report on this ore. It's all mixed up with quartz and ought to be
+milled, by rights, before I even ship it; but since the trucks are going
+back--well, if it turns out the way I calculate it might bring me forty
+dollars a unit."
+
+"A unit!" repeated the Widow, her voice low and measured. "Well, I'd
+just like to know how much a unit is?"
+
+"A hundredth of the standard of measure--in this case a ton of ore. That
+would come to twenty pounds."
+
+"Twenty pounds! What, of this stuff? And worth forty dollars! Well,
+somebody must be crazy!"
+
+"Yes, they're crazy for it," answered Wiley, "but it's just a temporary
+rage, brought on by the European war. The market is likely to break any
+time."
+
+"Why--tungsten!" murmured the Widow. "Who ever heard of such a thing?
+And it's been lying here idle all the time."
+
+"How much would that be a ton?" piped up someone in the crowd, and Mrs.
+Huff put her head to one side.
+
+"Let's see," she said, "forty dollars a unit--that's one hundredth of
+a ton. Oh, pshaw, it can't be that. Let's see, twenty pounds at forty
+dollars--that's two dollars a pound; and two thousand pounds,
+that's--oh, I don't believe it! I never even heard of tungsten!"
+
+"No, it's a new metal," replied Wiley ever so softly, "or rather, it's
+an acid. The technical magazines are full of articles that tell you all
+about it. It's found in wolframite, and hubnerite and so on; but this is
+calcium tungstate, where it is found in connection with lime. The others
+are combined variously with iron or manganese----"
+
+"Yes, manganese," broke in Charley importantly. "I know that well--and
+wolfite and all the rest. It certainly is wonderful how they build them
+big cannons that will shoot for twenty-two miles. But it's tungsden that
+does it, tungsden in connection with electricity and the invisible rays
+of raddium."
+
+"Oh, shut up!" burst out the Widow, thrusting him rudely aside and
+seizing a fresh handful of the rock. "I just can't hardly believe it."
+She gazed at the glossy fragments and then at the muckers, industriously
+loading the trucks; and then she cocked her head on one side.
+
+"Let's see--two times twenty--that's forty dollars a ton. No--four
+hundred! Why, no--four thousand!" She stopped short and made a hurried
+re-calculation, while a murmur ran through the crowd, and then Death
+Valley Charley gave a whoop.
+
+"Four thousand!" he shouted. "I told ye! I knowed it! I claimed she was
+rich, all the time!"
+
+"You did not!" snapped the Widow, putting her hand under his jaw and
+forcibly stifling his whoops. "You poor, crazy fool, you knew nothing of
+the kind--you sold out for five thousand dollars!" She pushed him away
+with a swift, disdainful shove that sent him reeling through the crowd
+and then she whirled on Wiley. "And I suppose," she accused, "that you
+knew all the time that this dump here was nothing but tungsten?"
+
+"Well, I had a good idea," he admitted deprecatingly, "although it's yet
+to be tested out. This is just a sample shipment----"
+
+"Yes, a sample shipment; and at two dollars a pound how much will it
+bring you in? Why, nothing, hardly; a mere bagatelle for a gentleman and
+a scholar like you; but what about me and poor Virginia, slaving around
+to cook your meals? What do we get for all our pains? Oh, I could kill
+you, you scoundrel! You knew it all the time, and yet you let me sell
+those shares!"
+
+She choked and Wiley shifted uneasily on the ore-pile, for of course he
+had done just that. To be sure he had urged her to sell them to his
+father for the sum of ten cents a share; but the mention of that fact,
+in her heated condition, would probably gain him nothing with the Widow.
+She was gasping for breath and, if nothing intervened, he was in for the
+scolding of his life. But it was all in the day's work and he glanced
+about for Virginia, to seek comfort from her smiling eyes. She would
+understand now why he had given her back her stock, and advised her from
+the start not to sell; but--he looked again, for her dark orbs were
+blazing and her lips were moving as with threats.
+
+"You knew it all the time!" screamed the Widow in a frenzy, but Wiley
+barely heard her. He heard her words, for they assaulted his ears in a
+series of screeching crescendos, but it was the unspoken message from
+the lips of Virginia that cut him to the quick. He had expected nothing
+else from the abusive Widow; but certainly, after all the kindnesses he
+had done her, he was entitled to something better from Virginia. Not
+only had he warned her to hold on to her stock, at a time when one word
+might ruin him; but he had bought it from Charley and then given it
+back, to show how he valued her friendship. And yet now, while the
+others were shouting with joy or rushing to stake out more claims, she
+stood by the Widow and with cruel, voiceless words added her burden to
+this paean of hate. And she looked just like her mother!
+
+"You shut up, you old cat!" he burst out fiercely, as the Widow rushed
+in to assault him. "Shut your mouth and get off my ground!" He drew back
+his palm to launch a swift blow and then his hand fell slack. "Well,
+holler then," he said, "what do I give a dam' whether you like the deal
+or not? You'd be yammering, just the same. But it's lucky for you you're
+a woman."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+THE GOD OF TEN PER CENT
+
+
+It was the nature of the Widow to resort to violence in every crisis of
+her life and at each fresh memory of the effrontery of Wiley Holman she
+searched the empyrean for words. From the very start he had come to Keno
+with the intention of stealing her mine. First it was his father, who
+pitied her so much he was willing to buy her shares; then it was the tax
+sale, and he had sneaked in at night and tried to jump the Paymaster;
+then he had deceived her and stood in with Blount to make her sell all
+her stock for a song; and then, oh hateful thought, he had actually sold
+out to Blount for a hundred dollars, cash; only to put Blount in the
+hole and buy the mine back again for the price of the ore on the dump!
+
+The Widow poured forth her charges without pausing for breath or
+noticing that her audience had fled, and as Wiley went on about his
+business she raised her voice to a scream. The rest of the Kenoites, and
+some of the workmen, were out staking the nearby hills; but whenever she
+stopped she thought of some fresh duplicity which made reason totter on
+its throne. He had refused half the mine from Blount as a gift and then
+turned around and bought it all. He had refused to buy her shares, time
+and again, when he knew they were worth a million; and then, to cap the
+climax, he had let her sell to Blount and bought them for nothing from
+him. And even Death Valley Charley--poor, crazy, brain-sick Charley--he
+had robbed him of all ten of his claims!
+
+It was a damning arraignment, and Wiley's men listened grimly, but he
+only twisted his lip and nodded his head ironically. With one eye on his
+accuser, who was becoming hysterical, he hustled the ore into the empty
+trucks and started them off down the road; and then, as Virginia led her
+mother away, he re-engaged his cook. They had supper that night in the
+old, abandoned cook-house; and, so wonderfully do great minds work, that
+a complete bill of grub was discovered among the freight. Not only flour
+and beans and canned goods and potatoes, but baking powder and matches
+and salt; and the cook observed privately that you'd think Mr. Holman
+had intended to make camp all the time. It is thus that foresight leaps
+ahead into the future and robs life of half its ills; and the Widow
+Huff, still unpacking plates and saucers, was untroubled by clamorous
+guests. She had had her say and, as far as Wiley was concerned, there
+were no more favors to be expected.
+
+Yet the Widow was wise in the ways of mining camps and she prepared to
+feed a horde--and the next day they came, by automobile and
+motor-truck, until every table was filled. The rush was on, for
+four-thousand dollar ore will bring men from the ends of the world.
+Before the sun had set in the red glow of a sandstorm the desert was
+staked for miles. From the chimneys of old houses, long abandoned to
+the rats, rose the smokes of many fires and the rush and whine of
+passing automobiles told of races to distant grounds. All the old
+mines in the district, and of neighboring districts where the precious
+"heavy spar" occurred, were re-located--or jumped, as the case might
+be--and held to await future developments. The first thing was to
+stake. They could prospect the ground later. Tungsten now was king.
+Men who had never heard the name, or pronounced it haltingly, now
+spoke learnedly of tungsten tests; and he was a poor prospector indeed
+who lacked his bottle of hydrochloric acid and his test-tubes and
+strip of shiny tin. They swarmed about the base of the old Paymaster
+dump like bees around a broken pot of honey and when, pounded up and
+boiled in the hydrochloric acid, the solution bit the tin and turned
+bright blue, there was many a hearty curse at the fickle hand of
+fortune which had led Wiley Holman to that treasure.
+
+It had lain there for years, trampled down beneath their feet. Now this
+kid, this mining-school prospector, had come back and grabbed it all.
+Not only the Paymaster with its tons of mined ore, but the ten claims to
+the north, all showing good scheelite, which Death Valley Charley had
+located--he had held them down as well. Two hundred dollars down and a
+carefully worded option had tied them up for five thousand dollars, and
+there were tungsten-mad men in that crowd of boomers who would have
+given fifty thousand apiece. They came up to the mine where Wiley was
+working and waved their money in his face, and then went off grumbling
+as he refused all offers and went busily about his work. So they came,
+and went, until at last the great wave brought Samuel J. Blount himself.
+
+He came up the trail smiling, for there was nothing to be gained by
+making belated complaints; but when he saw the pile of precious white
+rock the smile died away in spite of him. It was the boast of Blount
+that, buying or selling, he always held out his ten per cent; but that
+pile of ore had cost him dear and he had sold it out for next to
+nothing. And it was his other boast that he could read men's hearts when
+they came to buy or sell, but here was a young man who had seen him
+coming twice and gained the advantage both times. So the smile grew
+longer in spite of his best efforts and when at last he found Wiley
+Holman in the office of the company it was perilously near a sulk.
+
+"Well, good morning, Wiley," he began with unction, and then he looked
+grievously about. The expensive gas engine which he had bought and
+installed was already unwatering the mine; spare timbers were going
+down, the new blacksmith-shop was running and Wiley was sitting at his
+desk. Everything was there, just the way he had left it, except that it
+belonged to Wiley. Blount heaved a heavy sigh and then set his features
+resolutely, for the battle was not over yet. To be sure the mine was
+bonded for a measly fifty thousand dollars, and his stock was tied up
+under an option; but many things can happen in six months' time and
+Wiley was only a boy. Granted that he was a miner and understood ore,
+there is such a thing as an "Act of God." Cables break without reason,
+mines cave and timbers fall; and certainly if there is a God of Ten Per
+Cent his just wrath would be visited upon Wiley. Blount knew that great
+god and worshipped him continually and he felt certain that something
+would happen, for when boys out of college take money away from bank
+presidents it comes dangerously close to sacrilege.
+
+"Well, well," murmured Blount, "quite a change, quite a change. Are you
+sure that stuff is tungsten, Wiley?"
+
+"Yes," responded Wiley, affecting a becoming modesty to cover up his
+youthful smirk. "Would you like to see it tested?"
+
+"Very much," answered Blount, and followed after him to the assay
+office, which Wiley had hurriedly fitted up. Wiley took a piece of
+scheelite and pounded it in a mortar until it was fine as flour, then
+dropped it into a test-tube and boiled it over a flame in a solution of
+hydrochloric and nitric acids.
+
+"Now," he said, when the tungstic acid had been dissolved, and he had
+dropped a small bar of tin into the solution. It turned a dark blue and
+Blount sighed again, for he had looked up the test in advance. "If it
+turns blue," a prospector had told him, "like the color of me overalls,
+then, sure as hell, it's tungsten."
+
+"Well, well," commented Blount, gazing mildly about, for great men do
+not stop to repine, "and what do you use these big scales for?"
+
+"That's for the quantitative test," explained Wiley importantly. "By
+weighing the sample first and extracting the tungsten we get the
+percentage, when it's been filtered and dried and weighed again, of the
+tungstic acid in the ore. But it's quite an elaborate process."
+
+"Yes, yes," assented Blount, still managing to smile pleasantly. "Rather
+out of my line, I guess. What per cent do your samples average?"
+
+"Oh, between sixty and seventy when I pick my specimens. I'm rigging up
+a jigger to separate the ore until I can get capital to start up the
+mill. It ought to be milled, by rights, and only the concentrates
+shipped; but while I'm getting started----"
+
+"Oh, draw on me--any time," broke in Blount, smiling radiantly. "I'd be
+only too glad to accommodate you. That's my business, you know; loaning
+out money on good security, and you're good up to fifty thousand
+dollars."
+
+"Do you mean it?" demanded Wiley after a startled silence, and Blount
+slapped him heartily on the back.
+
+"Just try me," he said. "I've been looking up the market and tungsten is
+simply booming. It's quoted at forty-five for sixty per cent
+concentrates, and you must have tons and tons on the dump."
+
+"Yes, lots of it," admitted Wiley, "and say, now that you mention it, I
+believe I'll take you up. I need a little money to install some
+machinery and get the old mill to running. How about ten thousand
+dollars?"
+
+"Why--all right," assented Blount, after a moment's thought. "Of course
+you'll give some security?"
+
+"Oh, sure," agreed Wiley. "My option on the mine--I suppose that's what
+you're after?"
+
+Blount blinked for a moment, for such plain speaking was surprising
+from one as shrewd as Wiley, but he summoned up his smile and nodded.
+"Why--why, yes, that's all right. Say one per cent a month--payable
+monthly--those are our ordinary short-time terms."
+
+"Suits me," said Wiley. "But no cut-throat clauses--none of this Widow
+Huff line of stuff. If I forget to pay my interest that doesn't make the
+principal due and the security forfeit and so on, world without end."
+
+"Oh, no; no, certainly," cried Blount with alacrity. "We'll make it a
+flat loan, if you like, and endeavor to treat you right. Of course
+you'll start a checking account and----"
+
+"No," said Wiley, "if I borrow the money I'll take it out of your bank
+and put it in another, right away. I never let friendship interfere with
+business or warp my business judgment."
+
+"Yes, but Wiley," protested Blount, "what difference does it make? Isn't
+my bank perfectly safe and sound?"
+
+"Undoubtedly," returned Wiley, "but--do you happen to remember a little
+check for four hundred dollars? It was made out by me in favor of Death
+Valley Charley and they cashed it through your bank--Virginia Huff, you
+know--in payment for Paymaster stock. Well, if you're going to keep
+track of my business like that----"
+
+"Oh, no, no," exclaimed Blount, suddenly remembering the means by which
+he had detected Wiley's purchase of Virginia's stock, "you misunderstand
+me, entirely. If you want to wait a few days for the money you are
+welcome to put it anywhere."
+
+"Well, hold on," began Wiley. "Now maybe I'd better go to the other
+bank----"
+
+"Oh, no, no, no," protested Blount, "I wouldn't hear of it. I'll write
+you the check, this minute. On your personal note--that's good enough
+for me. You can put up the collateral later."
+
+"Well, let's think this over," objected Wiley cannily. "I don't like to
+put up that option for security. That bond and lease is worth half a
+million dollars and----"
+
+"Just give me your note," broke in Blount hurriedly, "and hurry up--here
+comes Mrs. Huff."
+
+"All right," cried Wiley, and scribbled out the note while Blount was
+writing the check.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+A SHOW-DOWN WITH THE WIDOW
+
+
+If the benevolent Samuel Blount could have seen Wiley Holman's monthly
+statement from that mysterious "other bank" he would have crushed him
+with one blow of his ready, financial club and gone off with both
+bond-and-lease and option. But the pure, serene fire in those first
+water diamonds which graced the ring on Wiley's hand--that dazzled
+Samuel J. Blount as it had dazzled the Widow and many a store-keeper
+in Vegas. For it is hardly to be expected that a man with such a ring
+will have a bank account limited to three figures, any more than it is
+expected that a man with so little capital will be sitting in a game
+with millionaires. But Wiley was sitting in, holding his cards well
+against his chest, and already he had won ten thousand dollars. Which
+is one of the reasons why all mining promoters wear diamonds--and
+poker faces as well.
+
+Yet Blount was playing a game which had once won him a million dollars
+from just such plungers as Wiley, and if he also smiled as he tucked
+away the note it was not without excuse. There had been a time when this
+boy's father had sat in the game with Blount and now he was engaged in
+raising cattle on a ranch far back in the hills. And Colonel Huff, that
+prince of royal plungers, had surrendered at last to the bank. It was
+twelve per cent, compounded monthly, with demand, protest and notice
+waived, which had brought about this miracle of wealth; and since it is
+well known that history repeats itself, Mr. Blount could see Wiley's
+finish. The thing to do first was to regain his confidence and get him
+into his power and then, at the first sign of financial embarrassment,
+to call his notes and freeze him out. Such were the intentions of the
+benevolent Mr. Blount--if the Widow Huff did not kill him.
+
+She came toiling up the trail, followed by Virginia and Death Valley
+Charley and a crowd of curious citizens; and as they awaited the shock,
+Blount shuddered and smiled nervously, for he knew that she would demand
+back her stock. Wiley shuddered too, but instead of smiling he clenched
+his jaws like a vise; and as the Widow entered he signaled a waiting
+guard, who followed in close behind her. She halted before his desk, one
+hand on her hip the other on the butt of a six-shooter, and glanced
+insolently from one to the other.
+
+"Aha!" she exclaimed, "so you're talking it over,--how to take advantage
+of a poor widow! But I want to tell you now, and I don't care who knows
+it, I've been imposed upon long enough. Here you sit in your office,
+both of you worth up into the millions, and discuss the division of your
+spoils; while the daughter and the widow of the man that found this mine
+are slaving away in a restaurant."
+
+"Yes, I'm sorry, Mrs. Huff," interposed Blount, smiling gently. "We were
+just discussing your case. But it often happens that the best of us err
+in judgment, and in this case I've been caught worse than you were. Yes,
+I must admit that when I first heard about this tungsten and realized
+that I had sold out for nothing, I was moved for the moment to resent
+it; but under the circumstances----"
+
+"Aw, what are you talking about?" demanded the Widow scornfully. "Don't
+you think I can see through your game? You pretend to be enemies until
+you get hold of my stock and then you come out into the open. I always
+knew you were partners, but now I can prove it; because here you are,
+thick as thieves."
+
+"Yes, we're friendly," admitted Blount with a painful smile at Wiley,
+"but Wiley owns the mine. That is, he owns a bond and lease on the
+property, with the option of buying for fifty thousand dollars. And then
+besides that, I regret to say, he has an option on all my stock."
+
+"Oh! Yes!" scoffed the Widow. "You've been cleaned by this
+whipper-snapper that's just a few months out of college! He's taken
+away your mine and your stock and everything--but of course you don't
+mind a little thing like that. But what I want to know, and I came
+here to find out, is which of you has got my stock--because I'll tell
+you right now----" she whipped out her pistol and brandished it in the
+air--"I'll tell you right now I intend to get it back or kill the one
+or both of you!"
+
+Blount's lips framed a lie, and then he glanced at Wiley, who was
+standing with his hand by his gun.
+
+"Well, now, Mrs. Huff," he began at a venture, "I--perhaps this can all
+be arranged."
+
+"No! I want that stock!" cried the Widow in hot anger, "and I'm going to
+get it, too!"
+
+"Why--why yes," stammered Blount, "but you see it was this way--I had no
+idea of the value of the stock. And so when Wiley came to see me I gave
+him an option on it for--well, I believe it was five cents a share."
+
+"Ah!" triumphed the Widow, whirling to train her gun on Wiley, "so now
+I've got you, Mr. Man! You've been four-flushing long enough but I've
+got you dead to rights, and I want--that--Paymaster--stock!"
+
+She threw down on him awkwardly, but as the pistol was not cocked, Wiley
+only curled his lip and smiled indulgently, with a restraining glance at
+his guard.
+
+"Yes, Mrs. Huff," he agreed quite calmly, "I don't doubt you want it
+back. You want lots of things that you'll never get from me by coming
+around with these gun-plays. So put up that gun before you pull it off
+and I'll tell you about your husband's stock."
+
+"My _husband's_ stock!" cried the Widow in surprise, letting the
+six-shooter wobble down to her side. "Well I'd just like to tell you
+that that stock is _mine_, and furthermore----"
+
+"Oh, yes! Sure! Sure!" shrugged Wiley scornfully. "Of course you know it
+all! But that stock wasn't yours, and you couldn't transfer it, and so I
+didn't take any option on it. It's in the bank yet; and if you want to
+get it, why, here's the man to talk to."
+
+He jerked his thumb towards the cringing Blount, and exchanged scornful
+glances with Virginia. She was standing behind her mother and her glance
+seemed to say that he was passing the buck again; but his feeling for
+Virginia had suffered a great change and he replied to her head-toss
+with a sneer.
+
+"Now--now Wiley!" protested Blount, rising weakly to his feet and
+regarding his pseudo-partner reproachfully, "you know very well----"
+
+"Gimme that stock!" snapped the Widow, suddenly cocking the heavy pistol
+and throwing down savagely on Wiley; and then things began to happen.
+The watchful guard, who had been standing at her side, reached over and
+struck up the gun and as it went off with a bang, shooting a hole in the
+ceiling, he seized it and wrenched it away.
+
+"You're under arrest, Madam," he said with some asperity, and flashed
+his officer's star.
+
+"Well, who are you, sir?" demanded the Widow, vainly attempting to
+thrust him aside.
+
+"I'm a deputy sheriff, ma'am," replied the officer respectfully, "and
+I'd advise you not to resist. It'll be assault with intent to kill."
+
+"Why--I wouldn't kill anybody!" exclaimed the Widow breathlessly. "I
+was--I didn't intend to do anything."
+
+"Will you swear out a warrant?" inquired the deputy and Wiley nodded his
+head.
+
+"You bet I will," he said, "this is getting monotonous. She took a shot
+at me, once before."
+
+"Oh, Wiley!" wailed the Widow suddenly weakening in the pinch. "You know
+I never meant it!"
+
+"Well, maybe not," replied Wiley evenly, "but you hit me in the leg."
+
+"But _he_ pulled off my gun!" charged the Widow angrily, "I never
+went to do it!"
+
+"Well, come on;" said the deputy, "you can explain to the judge." And he
+took her by the arm. She went out, sobbing violently, and in the
+succeeding silence Wiley found himself confronted by Virginia. He had
+seen her before when the wild light of battle shot forth from her angry
+eyes but now there was a glow of soft, feminine reproach and the
+faintest suggestion of appeal.
+
+"Oh, Wiley Holman!" she cried, "I'll never forgive you! What do you mean
+by treating Mother like this?"
+
+"I mean," replied Wiley, "that I've taken about enough, and now we'll
+leave it to the law. If your mother is right the judge will let her go,
+but I guess it's come to a showdown."
+
+"What? Are you going to let them put my mother in jail?" she asked with
+tremulous awe, and then she burst into tears. "You ought to be ashamed!"
+she broke out impetuously. "I wish my father was here!"
+
+"Yes, so do I," answered Wiley gravely. "I'd be dealing with a
+gentleman, then. But if your mother thinks, just because she is a woman,
+she can run amuck with a gun, then she gives up all right to be treated
+like a lady and she has to take what's coming to her."
+
+"But Wiley!" she appealed, "just let her off this time and she'll never
+do it again. She's over-wrought and nervous and----"
+
+"Nope," said Wiley, "it's gone past me now--she'll have to answer before
+the judge. But if you think you can restrain her I'll be willing to let
+it go and have her bound over to keep the peace."
+
+"Oh, that'll be fine! If she just promises not to bother you and----"
+
+"And puts up a five-thousand-dollar bond," added Wiley. "And the next
+time she makes a gun-play or comes around and threatens me the five
+thousand dollars is gone."
+
+"Oho!" she accused, "so that's your scheme! You've been framing this up,
+all the time!"
+
+"Sure," nodded Wiley, with his old cynical smile, "I just love to be
+shot at. I got her to come over on purpose."
+
+"Well, I'll bet you did!" cried Virginia excitedly. "Didn't you have
+that officer right there? You've just framed this up to rob us. And how
+are we going to give a five-thousand-dollar bond when you know we
+haven't a cent? Oh, I--I hate you, Wiley Holman; and if you put my
+mother in jail I'll--I'll come back and kill you, myself!"
+
+She stamped her foot angrily, but a light leapt into Wiley's eyes such
+as had flamed there when he had faced Stiff Neck George.
+
+"Very well," he said, "if you people think you can rough-house me I'll
+show you I can rough it, myself. I've tried to be friendly and to give
+you the best of it; but now it's all off, for good. I hate to fight a
+woman, but----"
+
+"You do not!" she challenged. "You're a coward, that's what you are! And
+you can take your old stock back!"
+
+She drew a package from her bosom and slammed it spitefully on the table
+and rushed out after her mother. Wiley picked up the envelope and
+regarded it absently, his lip curling to a twisted smile. It was the
+package of stock which he had bought from Death Valley Charley and
+returned, as a gift, to Virginia.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+PEACE--AND THE PRICE
+
+
+In the justice court at Vegas the Widow Huff met her match in the person
+of the magistrate, who warned her peremptorily that if she interrupted
+again he would commit her for contempt of court. Then the bailiff smote
+his desk a resounding blow and there was silence in the presence of the
+law. It was a new thing to her, this power called the law and that
+accuser of all offenders, The People; and before she had finished she
+learned the great truth that no one is above the law. It governs us all
+and, but for the mercy of the courts, would land most of our hot-heads
+in jail. But though it was proved beyond the peradventure of a doubt
+that the Widow had attempted violence it was tacitly understood that,
+being a woman, there would be no actual commitment.
+
+Wiley Holman came forward and informed the court that the defendant had
+threatened his life and upon two occasions and had made assaults upon
+his person with the avowed intention of killing him. Upon being
+questioned by the judge he admitted recognizing a shotgun, and three
+buckshot which had been extracted from his leg; but in a voluntary
+statement he expressed the opinion that the defendant was hardly
+responsible. At the same time, he stated, since his place of business
+was not far from the defendant's home, he would respectfully request
+that she be placed in custody and bound over to keep the peace. The
+testimony of the officer and of other witnesses left no doubt as to the
+existence of a threat and after the Widow had made a chastened speech
+she was placed in the custody of the sheriff.
+
+To this humiliation was added the greater pang of depositing all her
+jewels with her bondsmen and when it was over and she was back in her
+home the Widow's proud spirit was broken. She retired to the kitchen and
+the balm of a great peace was laid upon tumultuous Keno. For years the
+bold ego of Colonel Huff's wife had dominated the very life of the camp,
+but the son of Honest John had at last found a way of putting her anger
+in leash. Rage as she might in the privacy of her kitchen, or pour out
+her woes to the neighbors, when Wiley Holman came by she turned away her
+face and allowed him to pass in silence. And Wiley himself never gave
+her a glance, nor Virginia when he met her in the street; for the memory
+of their insults was still hot in his brain, and all he asked for was
+peace.
+
+He was safe, at last, safe to remodel the mill and bring up the ore from
+the mine; but as his work grew and prospered the anger died in his
+breast and his heart turned back to Virginia. She was quiet now, with
+averted eyes and the sad, brooding face of a nun; and she worked early
+and late in the crowded dining-room, serving meals to the hard-rock
+miners. He had closed down his cook-house to give them some patronage,
+when the first mad rush of prospectors was past; but though they fed his
+men and took the money that he had paid them, they owned no obligation
+to him.
+
+In the Paymaster the pumps were working steadily now, clearing the water
+from the submerged passages, and as the first checks came back in
+payment for his tungsten he ordered more timbers and men. There was
+plenty of ore on the dump for the moment but, while he separated it from
+the waste and shipped it to town, he caught up the falling ground in the
+drifts and prepared to stope out the scheelite. In the old, dismantled
+mill he had a crew working over-time, installing a rock-crusher and a
+concentrating plant; and every truck that brought out timbers and
+supplies took back its tons of ore. The price of tungsten leapt from
+forty dollars a unit to sixty and sixty-five, and rival buyers clamored
+for his ore; the mills treated it for almost nothing in order to get
+control of it and his credit was A1 at the bank--but when he passed
+Virginia she turned her face away and his heart turned heavy as lead.
+
+It was the price of success, and Wiley recognized it, but he rebelled
+against his fate. What fault was it of his that her father and his
+father had fallen out over the mine? He had shown by the stock that the
+treachery had been Blount's and neither of them was to blame. What fault
+was it of his that she had a shrewish mother who was bent upon ruining
+her life? Had he not endured abuse and suffered grievous wounds before
+he had asserted his rights? And with Virginia herself, when had there
+ever been a time when he had forgotten his lover's part--except on that
+last day, when he had turned like a trodden worm and protested his right
+to live? And yet she blamed him for all her misfortunes and for every
+day that she slaved; and even took the stock which he had returned as a
+peace-offering and hurled it in his face!
+
+Wiley's lips set grimly as he gazed at the certificates for which men
+had striven and died. There were some from her father, transferred on
+her birthdays when the stock was around thirty and forty; and others
+from old prospectors like Henry Masters, who had left it to Virginia
+when they died. She had sent it to him by Charley, out of shame for her
+harsh words, and he had bought it for four hundred dollars, half the
+money that he had in the world. Those had been happy days, in spite of
+the anxiety, for he had made the sacrifice for her; and to prove his
+devotion--and make a peace-offering against the explosion that was bound
+to come--he had given the stock back to Virginia. That was when he was a
+prospector, doing business on a shoe-string, a racing car and a diamond
+ring; but now when he had made his _coup_ and could write his check
+for thousands she threw the stock back in his face.
+
+The stock had a value now for, under the terms of the bond and lease,
+one-tenth of the net mill returns were automatically withheld and turned
+in to the company as royalty; and if for any reason he failed to meet
+the payment when the fifty thousand-dollar option expired, then this
+stock and all Paymaster stock would take a sudden jump to five or ten
+dollars a share. And the stock was hers--she had received it from her
+father when he was the mining king of the West, and from old man Masters
+when he was dying in the cabin where she had helped to care for him for
+months--yet she would not accept it as a gift. Wiley pondered a long
+time and then, as Christmas drew near, he sent for Death Valley Charley.
+
+"Charley," he began, when he came up that night, "did I understand you
+to say one time that you were acting as a kind of guardian to Virginia?
+Well, now here's a bunch of stock that you sold to me once when you were
+slightly off your cabeza. There's over twelve thousand shares and all
+you asked was four hundred dollars, when you knew they were worth eight
+hundred at least."
+
+"Yes, that's so," admitted Charley, blinking and rubbing his chin, "but
+you know them women, Wiley. They're crazy, that's all, and the Colonel
+he told me special not to let them lose their mine."
+
+"Well, never mind the mine," said Wiley wincing. "I'm talking about this
+stock. Don't you think it's your duty, by George, as guardian, to turn
+around and buy it back? You've got five thousand dollars coming to you
+on those claims of yours and I'll tell you what I'll do. I'm short,
+right now on account of buying machinery, and so I can't pay you much
+cash; but if you'll take this stock back in part payment of your claims
+I'll give you four hundred more."
+
+"Well, all right," agreed Charley after gazing at him thoughtfully, "but
+you ought to give back that mine. The Colonel, he told me----"
+
+"What do you mean, give it back?" demanded Wiley, irritably. "It isn't
+my property yet. I've got to pay for it first and get it away from old
+Blount before I can give it to anybody. That's fifty thousand dollars
+that I've got to make clear between now and the twentieth of May; but
+believe me, Charley, if I once get it paid for I'm going to do something
+noble."
+
+"That's good," assented Charley, "but you've got to pay me, right
+off--there's something going to happen!" His sun-dazed eyes opened up
+wide with excitement and he listened long and earnestly at the door
+before he tiptoed back to Wiley's desk. "I can hear 'em," he said.
+"They're going to blow up the mine and shake the mountains down.
+They're boring through the ground, but I can hear them working--it's
+like worms eating their way through wood."
+
+"Is that so?" queried Wiley. "Well, maybe we can stop 'em. I'll look
+after it, right away. But now about this stock----"
+
+"It's the Germans!" burst out Charley. "They've got boring machines that
+eat through mountains like wood. And then, _bumm_, it's them mines,
+and the dynamite bombs----"
+
+"Yes, it's awful," agreed Wiley, "but here's your money, Charley; so
+maybe you'd better go. And you keep this stock now, until it comes
+Christmas; and then, Christmas Eve, you slip into the house and put it
+in Virginia's stocking."
+
+"Oh--yes," agreed Charley, still listening to the Germans and then he
+became lost in deep thought. "The Colonel will kill me," he said at
+last. "It's Christmas, and I ain't brought his whiskey."
+
+"Why, what's the matter?" joshed Wiley. "Why didn't you deliver it? Did
+you get caught in a sandstorm, or what?"
+
+"Yes, a sandstorm," answered Charley, solemnly. "It came down the valley
+like a wall. And my burros got away; but the Colonel, he found me--I was
+digging a hole in the sand."
+
+"Say, where are these Ube-Hebes?" broke in Wiley impulsively. "I'd like
+to go over there some time."
+
+"They're across Death Valley," answered Charley smiling craftily, "--on
+the west side, in the Funeral Range. The Coffin mine is there--I used to
+work in it--but they put me underground with a stiff for a pardner so I
+quit and come back to town."
+
+"Yes, I heard about that; but you forgot something, Charley--how about
+that graveyard shift? But I'll tell you what I'll do, if you'll take me
+to the Colonel I'll help Virginia get back her mine."
+
+He plumped the statement at him, for Charley was an innocent who spoke
+out the truth when he was jumped, but for once he detected the ruse.
+
+"The Colonel's dead," he answered sulkily and picked up his hat to go.
+
+"I doubt it!" scoffed Wiley. "I met a man the other day who said he'd
+seen him--in the Ube-Hebes mountains."
+
+"He did?" exclaimed Charley, and then he drew back and his eyes flashed
+with angry resentment. "You're a liar!" he burst out. "The Colonel is
+dead. He never said anything of the kind."
+
+"Yes, he did," insisted Wiley, "and you know the man well. He's got a
+little dog like Heine."
+
+"He's a liar!" cried Charley savagely, "and don't you go to talking or
+I'll make you wish you hadn't."
+
+"No, I won't," assured Wiley, "but here's the proposition--the Colonel
+left a lot of stock. And Mrs. Huff, being crazy, gave it all to Blount
+on a loan of eight hundred dollars. But if the Colonel should come back
+that transfer would be illegal and he could fix it to get back the mine.
+So don't talk to me about giving Virginia her mine--you go out and bring
+in the Colonel."
+
+"He's dead!" yelled Charley, scrabbling madly out the door. "You're a
+liar--I tell you he's dead!"
+
+"Yes, he's dead," observed Wiley, "just the same as I am. I'll have to
+get old Charley drunk."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+ON CHRISTMAS DAY
+
+
+Christmas came to Keno in a whirling snowstorm that shrouded Shadow
+Mountain in white and, as he stepped out in the morning and looked up at
+the peak, Wiley Holman felt a thrill of joy. The black shadow had
+bothered him, now that he had come to live under it; and a hundred times
+a day as it caught his eye he would glance up to find the dark cloud.
+But now it was gone and in place of the lava cap there was a mantle of
+gleaming snow. He looked down at the town and, on every graceless house,
+there had been bestowed a crown of white; all the tin cans were buried,
+the burned spots were covered over, and Keno was almost beautiful. A
+family of children were out in the street, trying to coast in their new
+Christmas wagons, and Wiley smiled to himself.
+
+He had brought back those children; he had brought the town to life and
+tenanted its vacant houses; and now, best of all, he had brought the
+spirit of Christmas, for he had sent a peace-offering to Virginia. She
+had spurned it once in the heat of passion, and called him a coward and
+a crook; but that package of stock would recall to her mind a time when
+she had known him for a friend. It would bring up old memories of their
+boy-and-girl love, which she knew he had never forgotten, and if there
+was anything to forgive she would know that he remembered it when he
+sent this offering by Charley.
+
+He was a crazy old rat, but he had his uses; and he had promised to give
+her the stock, without fail. It was to come, of course, from Charley
+himself, in atonement for selling it for nothing; but Virginia would
+know, even if she missed his flowered Christmas card, that the stock was
+a present from him. It had a value now far above the price he had paid
+for it when Charley had thrust it upon him and the dividend alone from
+the royalties on his lease would be twelve hundred dollars and more. And
+then her pro rata share, when he paid his fifty thousand dollars, would
+add another six hundred; and she knew that, for the asking, she could
+have half of what he had--or all, if she would take him, too.
+
+Wiley looked down on the house that sheltered Virginia and smiled to
+think of her there. She was waiting on miners, but the time would come
+when someone would be waiting on her. In the back of his brain a bold
+plan had been forming to feed fat his grudge against Blount and restore
+the Huffs to their own--and it needed but a word from her to put the
+plan into action. He held from Blount two separate and distinct papers;
+one a bond and lease on the mine, the other an option on his personal
+stock. But to grant the bond and lease--with its option for fifty
+thousand--Blount had been compelled to vote the Widow's stock; and if
+that stock was not his and had been illegally voted, then of course the
+bond and lease would be void.
+
+Yet even so he, Wiley Holman, had fully safeguarded his interests, for
+by his other option he could buy all Blount's stock for the sum of five
+cents a share. The four hundred thousand-odd shares would come to only
+twenty thousand dollars, as against fifty thousand on the bond and
+lease; and yet, by buying the stock at once, he could effectually debar
+Blount from any share in the accumulating profits. The small payments on
+past royalties and his five cents a share would be all that Blount would
+receive; and then he would be left, a spectacle for gods and men--a
+banker who had been beaten by a boy. It was the chicanery of Blount
+which had ruined his father and driven Colonel Huff to his death, and
+what could be better, as poetic justice, than to see him hoist on his
+own petard. And if the Colonel was not dead--as would appear from
+Charley's maunderings--if he could be discovered and brought back to
+town, then surely Virginia would forget the old feud and consent to be
+his wife. All this lay before him, a fairyland of imaginings, waiting
+only her magic touch to make it real; just a word, a smile, a promise of
+forgiveness--and of loyalty and love--and he, Wiley Holman, would go
+whirling on the errand that would win him wealth and renown.
+
+It would all be done for her, and yet he would not be the loser, for
+his own father held two hundred thousand shares of Paymaster; and he
+himself would save a fifty-thousand-dollar payment at an expense of a
+little over twenty. And if the Colonel could be found quickly--or his
+death disproved to make illegal the Widow's transfer of his
+stock--then the mine could be claimed at once and Blount deprived even
+of his royalties. Of course this could all be done without the help of
+Virginia or the co-operation of any of the Huffs for, although his
+father had refused from the first to have anything to do with the
+mine, Wiley knew that he could talk him over and persuade him to pool
+his stock. That would make six hundred thousand, a clean voting
+majority and a fortune in itself; but for the sake of Virginia, and to
+heal the ancient feud, it would be better to unite with the Huffs.
+
+Wiley paced up and down in the crisp, dry snow and watched for Virginia
+to come, and as his mind leapt ahead he saw her enthroned in a mansion,
+with him as her faithful vassal--when he was not her lord and king. For
+the Huffs were proud, even now in their poverty, and Virginia was the
+proudest of them all; and in this, their first meeting, he must remember
+what she had suffered and that it is hard for the loser to yield. It
+should be his part to speak with humility and dwell but lightly on the
+past while he pictured a future, entirely free from menial service, in
+which she could live according to her station. All her years of poverty
+and disappointment and loneliness would be forgotten in this sudden rise
+to wealth; and to complete the picture, Blount, the cause of all her
+suffering, would grovel, very unbankerlike, at their feet.
+
+Blount would grovel indeed when he felt the cold steel that would
+deprive him of all his stock, for he was still playing the game with his
+loans and extensions in the hope of winning back what he had lost. For
+money was his god, before whom there was no other, and he worshiped it
+day and night; and all his fair talk was no more than a pretense to lure
+Wiley into the net. Yet not for a minute would Wiley put up his option,
+or his bond and lease on the mine; and for all the money that Blount had
+loaned him he had given his mere note of hand. It was his promise to
+pay, unsecured by any collateral, and yet it was perfectly good. The
+money came and went--he could pay Blount at any time--but it was better
+to rehabilitate the mine.
+
+Wiley had a race before him, a race for big stakes, and he kept his eyes
+on the goal. To earn fifty thousand dollars in six months' time, earn it
+clean above all expense, required foresight and careful management, and
+a big daily output, for every day must count. The ore on the dump was in
+the nature of a grub-stake, a bonus for undertaking the game; and when
+it was all shipped the profits would drop to nothing unless he could
+bring up more ore. So he took his first checks, and what he could
+borrow, and timbered and cleaned out the mine; and, to save shipping out
+more ore, he had ordered expensive machinery to put the old mill into
+shape. It was the part of good judgment to spend quickly at first and
+build up the efficiency of his plant; and then the last few months, when
+Blount would begin to gloat, make a run that would put him in the clear.
+Clear not only of the bond and lease, but on Blount's stock as well, for
+it would pay for itself with the first dividend; and, to save paying any
+more royalties, Wiley was curtailing his wasteful shipments while he
+prepared to concentrate the ore in his mill.
+
+There were envious people in town who prophesied his failure and claimed
+that success had gone to his head, but he was confident he could show
+them that a man can take chances and yet play his cards to win. He had
+taken chances with Blount when he had accepted his money, for there were
+other banks that would lend on his mine; but in what more harmless way
+could he engage his attention and keep him from actual sabotage?
+
+It was that which he dreaded, the resort to open warfare, the fire and
+vandalism, and dynamite; and day and night he kept his eye on the works,
+and hired a night-watchman, to boot. But as long as Blount was convinced
+he could win back the mine peaceably he would not resort to violence
+and, though Stiff Neck George still hung about the camp, he kept
+scrupulously away from the Paymaster.
+
+As Christmas day wore on and the sun came out gleaming, Wiley swung off
+down the trail and through the town. He was a big man now, the man who
+had saved Keno after ten years of stagnation and lingering death; and
+yet there were those who disliked him. They recited old stories of his
+shrewd dealings with Mrs. Huff, and with Virginia and Death Valley
+Charley; and if any were forgotten the Widow undoubtedly recalled them.
+She was a shrewish woman, full of gossip and backbiting, and she let no
+opportunity pass; so that even old Charley cherished a certain
+resentment, though he disguised it as solicitude for the Huffs. And so
+on Christmas day, as Wiley walked down the street, many greetings lacked
+a holiday heartiness.
+
+The front room of the Huff house was full of children and, as Wiley
+walked back and forth, he caught a glimpse of Virginia; but she did
+not come out and, after lingering around for a while, he climbed up
+the trail to the mine. He had caught but a glimpse, but it was
+clean-cut as a cameo--a classic head, eagerly poised; dark hair,
+brushed smoothly back; and a smile, for some neighbor's child. That
+was Virginia, high-headed and patrician, but kind to lame dogs and
+lost cats. She had invited in the children but he, Wiley Holman, who
+had loved her since she was a child, had been permitted to pass
+unnoticed. He wandered about uneasily, then went back to his office
+and began to run over his accounts.
+
+Over a hundred thousand dollars had passed through his hands in less
+than a calendar month and yet the long haul across the desert from Vegas
+had put him in the hole. Besides the initial cost of cables and
+timbers--and of a rock breaker and the concentrating plant--there was a
+charge of approximately twenty dollars a ton for every pound of supplies
+he hauled out. And, because of the war, all supplies were high and the
+machinery houses were behind with their orders; yet so eager were the
+buyers to get hold of his tungsten that they almost took it out of the
+bins. He was storing up the ore, preparatory to milling it and shipping
+only the concentrates; but if they could have their way they would wrest
+it from his hands and rush it to the railroad post haste. One mysterious
+buyer had even offered him a contract at seventy dollars a unit--three
+dollars and a half a pound!
+
+Wiley opened up his notebook and made a careful estimate of what the ore
+on the dump would bring and his eyes grew big as he figured. At seventy
+dollars a unit it would come to more than he owed; and pay for the mine,
+to boot. It was a stupendous sum to come so quickly, before the mine was
+hardly opened up; but when the mill was running and the mine was sending
+up ore--he smiled dizzily and shook his head. A profit like that, if it
+ever became known, would make his position dangerous. It was too much of
+a temptation for Blount and his jumpers, and blackleg lawyers with fake
+claims. They could get out injunctions and tie up the work until he lost
+the mine by default!
+
+But would they dare do it? And how long would it take to raise fifty
+thousand dollars elsewhere? Wiley studied it all over in the silence of
+his office, for the mine was closed down for Christmas; and then once
+more he turned to his notebook and figured the ore underground. Then he
+figured the outside cost for installing his machinery, for freight and
+supplies and the payroll; and, adding twenty per cent for wear and tear
+and accidents, he figured the grand total for six months. That was
+astounding too but, when he put against it his ore and the price per
+ton, not even the chances that stood out against him could keep down
+that dizzy smile. He was made, he was rich, if he could just hold things
+level and do a day's work every day.
+
+The sun set at last as he sat planning details and, rising up stiffly,
+he pushed his papers aside and went out into the night. The snow had
+melted fast on the roofs and bare ridges and, as the last rays of sunset
+touched the peak with ruddy fingers, he noticed that the shadow had come
+back. The barren lava cap had thrown aside its Christmas mantle, melting
+the snow before it could pack; and now, grim and black, it stood out
+like a death-head above the white valley below. Lights flashed out from
+miners' windows, the scampering children ceased their clamor, and he
+wandered through the darkness alone.
+
+There was something he had forgotten, something big and significant, but
+his tired brain refused to respond. It was part of the scheme to beat
+Blount out of his stock, and the royalty from the shipments of ore;
+and--yes, it had to do with Virginia. It was going to make her rich, and
+both of them happy; but he could not recall it, at the moment. He was
+worn out, weary with the seething thoughts which had rioted through his
+mind all day, and he turned back dumbly to his office. It was dark and
+cold and as he groped for his matchbox his hand encountered a strange
+package. And yet it was not so strange--he seemed to remember it,
+somehow. He struck a hasty match and looked. It was the package of stock
+that he had sent to Virginia, but----The match burnt his fingers and he
+dropped it with a curse. She had refused his offer of peace.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+THE ENIGMA
+
+
+The heights and depths of life are sounded by emotions--cold reason lags
+behind. As thought cannot compass, so words cannot describe the
+anguished spirit's flight; and whether it soars to ecstasy or sinks to
+despair it comes back wide-eyed and silent. So any action which has been
+prompted by passion cannot be explained by a calculating mind, and to
+seek a reason where none exists is to stray still farther from the
+truth. Virginia Huff was poor and waited on the table for what she could
+eat and get to wear; and when she returned stock which was worth twelve
+hundred dollars without even a note of thanks it was not for any reason
+of the mind. It was a reason of the feelings, the soul, the human ego,
+which drives our minds and bodies to their tasks; a reason that soared
+up like a flaming aurora and stabbed the darkened sky with hate and
+passion. It was nothing to reason about, and yet Wiley reasoned.
+
+He put down the stocks and lit his lamp and examined the package
+carefully. Then he looked inside for some note of explanation and
+paused and swore to himself. No note was there, nor any sign that the
+stocks had ever passed through her hands. He rose up craftily and
+stepped out the door, passing silently from house to house, and then
+as he came back he threw his door open and examined the snow for
+tracks. If Death Valley Charley had failed of his mission, if he had
+neglected to place the shares in her stocking and then sneaked back to
+get rid of them--but Wiley put all thought of Charley aside for there
+in the snow was the print of a woman's shoe. Small and dainty it was
+and he knew in his heart that Virginia had been there and gone. She
+might have been watching him as he sat at his work, she might even be
+watching him now; but again something told him that, however she had
+come, she had gone away in a rage. The stab of the high heel, the
+heedless step into a mud-puddle, the swinging stride down the trail;
+all spoke of defiance, of a coming in the open and a return without
+fear of man or devil. She had come there to see him and, finding him
+away, she had thrown down the papers and gone home. And that was the
+answer to his love.
+
+Wiley sat down by the fire and tried to account for it. He imagined
+himself a woman, young and beautiful, but poor; working hard, as
+Virginia now worked, for her board and keep. Before her there was
+nothing--her father was dead or lost, her mother a hopeless scold, her
+fortune irretrievably gone--and yet she closed the only door out. As an
+earnest of his love, without asking anything in return, he had restored
+to her a portion of her stock; and she had promptly flung it back. Had
+Charley made some break in his method of presentation? But no, she would
+not mind if he had; it was something deeper, behind. He battered his
+brain, recalling every little incident that might have turned her heart
+against him, and it all brought him back to the trial.
+
+When he had had her mother arrested for coming into his office and
+demanding--what was it she had demanded? He remembered the six-shooter,
+and the deputy and Blount, and the Widow's rage and tears; and
+Virginia's return and all she had said to him--but what was it her
+mother had demanded? Her stock! All her stock! The stock she had refused
+to sell for ten cents a share and then had turned around and put up with
+Blount as security on a quick-action note. She had demanded it all back,
+without reason, without compensation, simply because she was a woman
+with a gun; and because he had invoked the law to protect him in his
+rights Virginia had sworn she would kill him. Wiley rose up swiftly and
+pulled the curtain across the window, and then he considered the matter
+again.
+
+It was not like Virginia to resort to any violence--she had been
+humiliated too often by her mother's--but she must still think he had
+deprived her of her rights. By what process of reasoning could they
+fix the blame on him for this stock which had been purloined by
+Blount, was beyond his strictly masculine mind; but women sometimes
+think by jumps. They skip a few processes, like a mathematical
+prodigy, and then arrive at some mammoth result. But, even if they
+exaggerated their grievance--was there anything behind it, any peg on
+which to hang this senseless hate?
+
+Well, of course he had deceived them about the mine. He had known it
+contained scheelite the moment he picked up that white rock that
+Virginia had placed in her collection, but naturally he had not
+announced it from the house-tops. With the Widow as a partner, or even
+as a stockholder, the best-natured man in the state of Nevada could not
+have worked the Paymaster at a profit. For that reason alone he had been
+fully justified in letting her freeze herself out; and if Virginia had
+taken his advice--but then, the poor girl had been distracted. She had
+been worn out and discouraged, hag-ridden by her mother and facing a
+trip to the city; and she had sold out for what she could get. She was a
+good girl, a brave girl, and a sweet and lovely one too; and it was
+foolish to blame her for anything. The thing to do, after all, was to
+find ways and means of bringing her back to her own. Just a word from
+Virginia and he could change her whole life, he could get back all her
+stock and her mother's as well and pour money into their laps--but first
+he must win her love. He must teach her to trust him, break down her
+suspicion and show her that he was her friend.
+
+Wiley thought a long time and the next morning at dawn he was up in his
+car and away. Virginia was a child. She did not reason about this and
+that, but was swayed by the impulses of the moment. Her life was ruled,
+not by her head but by her heart; and he had forgotten until that moment
+the sacks full of cats that he had taken from her house to the ranch.
+They were all her pets, and he had taken them as a trust when she was
+about to start for Los Angeles; but the mine had made him forget. They
+were safe at the ranch, with his sisters to look after them; but how
+many times since their estrangement began must some question have risen
+to her lips as to how they were, or if he would bring them back, or
+whether any had died or been lost? Yet she had turned her head away and
+refused to speak to him, even to demand back the pets she loved.
+
+The road was bad out across the desert, and on through Vegas to the
+ranch, but he came thundering back the next night. He had left the mine
+to run itself, for his thoughts were of Virginia, but as he slowed down
+at the sand-wash and listened for the pumps he noticed that the engine
+had stopped. Well, he had an engineer and that was his business--to keep
+the sump-hole pumped out; perhaps he had shut down for repairs. But the
+big thing, after all, was to restore Virginia her pets and win his way
+to a place in her heart. He drove boldly up the street and stopped
+before the house, but nobody came to the door. He waited a while, then
+leapt out uncertainly and released the mother of Virginia's pet kittens.
+She ran under the house and, as no one came out, Wiley let the rest of
+them go and turned disconsolately back towards the mine. If he had ever
+thought, when he had the Widow arrested, that Virginia was going to take
+it so hard--but then, of course, it had been absolutely necessary--and
+just wait till she found her kittens!
+
+There was trouble in the engine-house. He knew that the minute he saw
+the dancing torches in the dark, and he went up the trail on the run;
+but when he saw the wreckage, and the gear-wheel dismounted, he burst
+into a wailing curse. The mine had been all right, pumps operating,
+hoist running, when he had left the day before; but the minute he
+turned his back---- "What's the matter?" he demanded and then,
+pushing the engineer aside, he flashed a torch on the wreck. Wedged in
+the gearing of the shattered gear-wheel was a pair of engineer's
+overalls. They had jammed tight in the teeth and the resistless
+driving of the engine had cracked the great gear-wheel like an
+eggshell. Held solid by its base in the bolted concrete there had not
+been a half-inch's play and, since something must give, and the
+opposing wheel had stood, the enormous casting had smashed. The
+engineer and his helpers were pottering about, trying guiltily to
+remove the cause of the accident, but one look was enough to tell
+Wiley Holman that his mine was closed down for a week. No welding
+could ever repair that broken gear-wheel--he would have to wire for
+another.
+
+"Whose overalls are those?" he asked at last as the men sought to evade
+his eye and the engineer himself confessed ownership.
+
+"They're an old pair of mine," he explained, "that got caught when I was
+wiping up the grease."
+
+"What? Wiping up grease when the machinery was in motion? Why didn't you
+wait until it stopped?"
+
+"Well--I didn't; that's all. There was a big puddle of grease gathering
+dirt underneath there--and I thought I'd wipe it up."
+
+"I see," observed Wiley and his eyes narrowed down as he caught the
+aroma of whiskey. "Well, clear up this mess," he said at last and
+hurried to his office to telephone. A single line of wire stretched
+out across the plain, connecting Keno with Vegas and the world, and
+within half an hour he had dictated a rush order to be wired to his
+supply-house in Los Angeles. If money would buy it he would grab a new
+gear-wheel and have it shipped out by express; but if there was none
+in stock he would have to wait for it; and the machine-shops were
+months behind. Yet his whole mine was shut down on account of this
+accident and, if he only had the money, he could almost afford to buy
+a new engine and be done with it. He stopped and thought if there was
+one in the country that he could get hold of, second-hand, and then he
+thrust the matter aside. The problem of getting an engine on the
+ground was one that could be worked out later, but in the meanwhile
+the water was rising in the sump and the pumps would soon be
+submerged. There were two shifts of miners who would have to be
+discharged and--yes, the engine crew, too. It was against all the
+rules for an engineer to be wiping up his engine while it was running,
+and it was only by a miracle that the engineer himself had escaped
+unhurt from the smash?
+
+But was it a miracle? A swift stab of suspicion made Wiley's heart stand
+still. Was this the first treacherous move in Blount's battle to win
+back the mine? Had Blount, or some agent, suggested to the engineer that
+an accident would be followed by a reward; and then had not the
+engineer, when no one was looking, fed his overalls into the gearings?
+He was a surly young brute and he met Wiley's eyes with a stare that
+bordered on defiance, yet there was nothing to be gained by accusing
+him. If Blount had bribed his men it was best to get rid of them without
+the faintest suggestion of suspicion; and then take on a new crew,
+shipped in from San Francisco or some equally distant place.
+
+Wiley went underground with his men, opening up the air-cocks in the
+pumps, and bringing out the powder and steel; and then the next morning,
+just before the stage went out, he gave them all their time. They had a
+certain constraint, a sullen silence in his presence, that argued them
+against him at heart and, since the mine was closed down for some time
+to come, he made a clean sweep of them all. Yet it pained him somehow,
+being new at the game, to see all these miners against him and as they
+piled their rolls on the stage he lingered to see them off. He had paid
+them union wages and treated them right but now, with their time-checks
+in their pockets, they looked past him in stony silence. It puzzled him
+somehow, leaving him vaguely uneasy; but just as the stage pulled out he
+found the answer to his enigma. On the gallery of the Huff house as the
+automobile sped past there was a sudden flash of white and as Virginia
+appeared the young engineer rose up drunkenly and wafted her a kiss.
+After that the answer was plain.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+AN APPEAL TO CHARLEY
+
+
+What is a kiss waved by a drunken hand, to a man whose love is like the
+hills? And yet that kiss, wafted so amorously to Virginia, stirred up a
+rage in Wiley Holman's heart. Was it not enough to wait on the table,
+without cultivating the acquaintance of her boarders? And this foolish
+affair, whatever it was, had cost him at least ten thousand dollars. It
+would come to that before he was through with it--in lost time and new
+machinery and unearned profits--and all because Virginia had smiled at
+this drunken engineer, who had promptly sent his overalls through the
+driving-gear. Yet that was the natural result of letting his men board
+in town where they could hear the Widow's ravings against him.
+
+In the midst of his telephoning and giving directions to his mill-crew,
+who were still rushing their work on the mill, Wiley turned the matter
+over in his mind and it left him sick with doubts. He had counted upon
+the opposition of Blount, but Virginia's almost staggered him. It would
+make a difference, before his six months was up, if she set all his men
+against him, and yet he could not stop her. If he withdrew his men and
+boarded them himself that would only inflame the neighborhood the more,
+for it would deprive the Huffs of their livelihood; and if he let things
+go on it might result in more wrecks that would seriously interfere with
+his plans. No, the thing to do was to see Virginia at once and come to
+an understanding.
+
+A telegram from his supply-house reported the engine an old type with
+all parts out of stock, and he worked for hours making tedious
+measurements before he ordered the new gear-wheel made. Then he sent an
+urgent wire to rush him the new engine that had been ordered to supply
+power to the mill, only to be told once more that it was held up by
+previous orders and could not be delivered for a month. A month! And
+with the water mounting up in his shaft like the interest on his notes.
+It was no time for half measures. He leapt into his racer and burned up
+the road to Vegas. Three days later he returned with an old gas engine
+that he had salvaged from an abandoned mine and by the end of the week,
+by working day and night, he had the pumps lifting water. And then again
+he remembered Virginia.
+
+He had thought of her, of course, when he was speeding to and fro, but
+he was hardly in the mood for sentiment. There were more things to go
+wrong than he had thought humanly possible in the management of a mine,
+and between ordering his machinery and taking on new men he had had
+scant leisure for affairs of the heart. He was young and inexperienced
+and the dealers took advantage of it to foist off old stock and odd
+parts, and then his engineers became fractious and disgruntled because
+he expected quick results. It was all very different from what he had
+expected when he had taken over the Paymaster lease, and yet it had to
+be endured and muddled through somehow until the mine was safely his
+own. Then out would come the engines, and all second-hand machinery and
+makeshift parts, and with a superintendent who knew his job he would
+lean back in comfort and learn the mining business by proxy.
+
+Wiley shaved that evening and went down through the town, but when he
+put his hand on the Widow's gate his resolution failed him. He had
+placed her under bonds to keep the peace, and she had lived up to the
+undertaking scrupulously, but within her own house she had certain
+rights and privileges which even he dared not invade. If he stepped in
+that doorway she would order him out; and unquestionably she would be
+within her rights, since every man's house is his castle. So, on the
+very threshold of Virginia's retreat, he drew back and went to see Death
+Valley Charley.
+
+Death Valley was drunk, but his conscience was still active and he burst
+into a voluble explanation.
+
+"No, I gave her that stock," he protested earnestly, "but she made me
+take it back.
+
+"'It ain't mine,' she says, 'and I'll work my hands off before I'll take
+charity from anybody.'
+
+"'No, you keep it,' I says, just exactly like you tole me, 'because I'm
+your guardian, and all; and Wiley he says that I'm a hell of a poor one,
+because I sold him that stock for nothing. No,' I says, just exactly
+like you tole me, 'I want you to keep this stock.'"
+
+"Well?" inquired Wiley, as Charley paused to take a drink, "and what did
+Virginia say, then?"
+
+"Oh, I couldn't repeat it," answered Death Valley virtuously. "She don't
+seem to like you now. She says you stole her mine."
+
+"Huh!" grunted Wiley, and looked about the cabin which was littered with
+bottles and flasks. "Well, where've _you_ been?" he went on at
+last, the better to change the subject, and Charley leered at him
+shrewdly.
+
+"Over across Death Valley," he chanted drunkenly, "--on the east side,
+in the Funeral Range. But they put me to work on the graveyard shift so
+I quit and come back to town."
+
+"Ye-es," jeered Wiley, "you've been on a big drunk. What are you doing
+with this demijohn of whiskey?"
+
+"Why, I got it for the Colonel," replied Charley, laughing childishly,
+"and I started to take it over to him, but my burros got away at
+Daylight Springs, so I made camp and drunk it all up."
+
+"But it's full!" objected Wiley.
+
+"Yes, I refilled it," answered Charley and helped himself to another
+nip. "Thas second time now I took that whiskey to the Colonel and both
+times I drunk it up. Thas bad--the Colonel will kill me."
+
+"Yes, and do a danged good job," grumbled Wiley morosely. "You sure got
+me in Dutch with Virginia."
+
+"She says you stole her mine," defended Charley stoutly. "And don't you
+say nothing against Virginia. She's noblest girl the sun ever shined.
+I'll _kill_ any man that says different!"
+
+"Oh yes, sure," agreed Wiley, "I'd do that myself. But Charley, I didn't
+steal her mine. I got it from Blount, and if she wants it back--say,
+Charley, you tell her I want to see her!"
+
+He leaned over eagerly and laid his hand on Charley's shoulder, but
+Death Valley shook him off.
+
+"No!" he declaimed. "The Huffs are poor but proud--they don't take
+charity from no one!"
+
+"Aw, but, Charley," he argued, "this isn't charity. We'll get it away
+from Blount!"
+
+"You're drunk!" declared Charley and turned sternly to the demijohn
+which was rapidly going down.
+
+"Well, maybe I am," admitted Wiley craftily, "but that's all right,
+isn't it, between friends?"
+
+"Sure thing--have another!" responded Charley cordially, and Wiley
+poured out a generous portion.
+
+"Here's to you," he said, "Old Chuckawalla Charley--the man that put the
+Death in Death Valley. You're some desert rat, now ain't you, Charley?
+You helped pack the mud to build the butte and stoped out the guest
+chamber down in hell! Well, here's luck!" and he nodded his health.
+
+"Yes, you bet I'm an old-timer," boasted Death Valley vaingloriously.
+"I was at Panamint and Ballarat, and all them camps. Me and old Shorty
+Harris--we used to lead every rush--we was first at Greenwater and
+Skidoo. But these damned lizzies can beat us to it now--the old
+burro-man is too slow."
+
+"But crossing the sand, Charley, you've got us there; and climbing up
+these rocky washes. I've got a good machine--it'll take me most
+anywhere--but when it comes to crossing Death Valley, give me some burros
+and old Uncle Charley." He slapped him on the back and Uncle Charley
+smiled doubtfully and took another drink. "You bet," went on Wiley, with
+method in his madness. "I'd like nothing better, when I get a little
+time, than to have you take me out across Death Valley. What's it like,
+over there, Charley? Is it very far to water? But I'll bet you know
+every trail!"
+
+"I know 'em all," announced Charley proudly, "but here's one that nobody
+knows. It's the trail to the Ube-Hebes. First you go from here to
+Daylight Springs, but they ain't no feed around there, so you go over
+the divide and down six miles and camp at Hole-in-the-Rock. And there
+they's good feed and plenty of good water and a tin house where the
+freighters used to camp; and then you fill your tanks and the next day
+you follow the wash till it takes you down to Stovepipe Wells. That
+water is bad but the burros will drink it if you bail the hole out
+first, and the next day you cross the sand-hills and the Death Valley
+Sink and head for Cottonwood wash. Many is the man that has started for
+that gateway and died before he reached the water, but the Colonel----"
+
+Charley stopped abruptly and looked around for Heine and then he poured
+out a drink.
+
+"He's dead now," he concluded, but Wiley caught his eye and shook his
+head disapprovingly.
+
+"Not between friends," he said. "Ain't we drunk here together? Well,
+tell me the truth now--where is he? And listen here, Charley; I'll tell
+you something first that will make it all right with the Colonel. All he
+has to do is to come back to Keno and I'll give him his share in the
+mine. Then we can throw in together, and, when we get through, old
+Blount will be left holding the sack. Do you get the idea? I'm trying to
+be friends, but you've got to take me over to the Colonel!"
+
+"The Colonel is dead!" repeated Charley doggedly and then he cocked his
+head to one side. "Don't you hear 'em?" he asked, "it's them Germans or
+something----"
+
+"Never mind!" said Wiley sharply. "I'm talking about the Colonel, and
+I'll tell you what I'll do. I can't give the mine to Virginia because
+she won't take it; but the Colonel is a gentleman. He's reasonable,
+Charley, and I'd get along with him fine; so come on, now--go over and
+tell him!"
+
+He patted him on the back and a look of indecision crept into Charley's
+drink-dimmed eyes, but in the end he shook his head.
+
+"Nope," he muttered, "the Colonel is dead!" And Wiley threw up his
+hands.
+
+"Well, then here," he ran on, "you know me Charley; and you know I'm
+not trying to steal that mine. Now here's what I want you to do. You
+tell Virginia I want to see her; and then some night you bring her
+over and--well, maybe that will do just as well."
+
+"Will you give her back her mine?" inquired Charley pointedly, and Wiley
+rose up in a rage.
+
+"Yes!" he yelled, "for cripes' sake, what's the matter with you? You
+talk like everybody was a crook. Didn't I give her back her stock? Well
+then, I'll give her back her mine! But she's got to accept it, hasn't
+she?"
+
+"That was her I heard coming," answered Charley simply, but when Wiley
+looked out she was gone.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+THE DRAGON'S TEETH
+
+
+It is the curse of success that it raises up enemies as Jason's dragon
+teeth brought forth armed men. When he was skating around the country,
+examining mines and taking out options, Wiley could safely count every
+man his friend; but now that he had made his big _coup_ on the
+Paymaster they were against him, from Virginia down. If he went to her
+politely with a thousand-dollar bill and asked her to take it as a gift
+she would refuse to so much as look at him. And yet, as a matter of
+fact, he was the same old laughing Wiley--only now he did not laugh. It
+was not right, but it could not be helped.
+
+A long and weary month, full of vexatious delays and nerve-racking
+demands from his creditors, left its mark on Wiley's face; but in six
+weeks the mine and mill were running. Three shifts of men broke the ore
+at the face and sent it up the shaft to the grizzly and from there it
+was fed down through the enormous rock-crusher and then on through the
+ball-mills and rollers to the concentrating tables below. It was crushed
+and sorted and crushed again and ground fine in the revolving tubes, and
+then it was screened and washed and separated on vanners until nothing
+but the concentrates remained. The tail sluicings were sluiced off down
+the gulch, to add to the mighty dump that the Paymaster had left there
+in its prime. But even at its best, when it was working in gold ore that
+ran three or four thousand to the ton, even then the famous Paymaster
+had not turned out treasure like this.
+
+The banks were full of gold--they were shipping it to America in lots of
+ten and twelve million at a time--but tungsten was rare, it was
+necessary, almost priceless, and the demand for it increased by leaps
+and bounds. How could iron-masters harden the tools that were to turn
+out the mighty cannon that this gold had been sent over to buy, unless
+they could get the tungsten? Molybdenum, vanadium, manganese, and all
+the substitutes were commandeered to take its place; but month by month
+the price of tungsten crept up until now all the West was tungsten-mad.
+It had gone up from forty dollars to sixty, and now seventy, for a
+twenty-pound unit of concentrates--running sixty per cent or better of
+tungstic acid--and as Wiley resumed his shipments he received a frantic
+offer of seventy-five dollars a unit. And then once more he smiled.
+
+There had been a time when he had felt the cold hand of Blount closing
+down on his precious mine--and the other banks had refused to take over
+his notes. The property was not his, there was nothing tangible upon
+which to make a loan; and then, Blount had passed the word around. Wiley
+was indebted to him, and heavily indebted, and when he took the apple
+there would be no core for the rest. But now in a week the whole
+situation had changed and Wiley's smile brought forth answering smiles.
+The general store in Vegas extended his credit, even his supply-house
+had heard the good news; and Blount, who had grown arrogant, became
+suddenly friendly and fawning, trying vainly to cover up his hand. He
+was like a man who had clutched at a treasure and discovered himself a
+little too soon. The treasure was still Wiley's but--well, Blount was
+used to waiting, so he smiled and extended the notes.
+
+At three dollars and more a pound it would not take many tons of
+tungsten to put Wiley safely out of the hole, but when he ran over his
+accounts he was startled by the bills that were piling up against him. A
+thousand dollars was nothing to these mining machinery houses and his
+payroll was over two hundred a day; and then there was powder and timber
+and steel, and gasoline and oil, _and_ the freight across the
+desert. That went on everything, twenty dollars a ton whether they
+hauled both ways or one; and with so much at stake he had to treat
+everyone generously or run the chance of being tied up by a strike. Nor
+was there lacking the sinister evidence of some unfriendly if not
+hostile force, and as breakdowns recurred and unexpected accidents
+happened, Wiley came and went like a ghost. His gun was always on him
+and he watched each man warily, seeking out his enemies from his
+friends.
+
+As for Virginia and her mother, he had long since given up hope of
+stopping their venomous tongues; and Death Valley Charley, finding the
+pressure too strong, had conveniently dropped out of sight. In all that
+town, which he had found dead and unpeopled and had changed in a few
+months to a live camp, there was not a single soul that he could
+truthfully say was honestly and unquestionably his friend. It was not
+that they were against him, for most of them realized that their own
+success was bound up with his; but they were not actively for him, they
+did not boost and help him, but joined in on the old anvil chorus. He
+had cheated the Widow, he had beaten Virginia out of her stock, he had
+taken advantage of Death Valley Charley! But, they added--and this was
+what galled him--what else could you expect from the son of Honest John?
+
+Wiley gritted his teeth, but he did not speak his mind for the hour of
+vindication was at hand. When he had paid off his notes and his bills
+for supplies the first thing he would do, even before he took over the
+mine, would be to buy in Blount's Paymaster stock. And with that stock
+in his hands, with every tell-tale endorsement to prove the damning
+story of Blount's guilt, he would go to these old-timers and make them
+eat their words when they said his father was not honest. But as far as
+he was concerned, what difference did it make whether they considered
+him honest or not? Would they feel any more kindly towards his honest
+old father when he had proved that he had been faithful to the end? No,
+they thought they were virtuous and only denouncing injustice, but when
+that charge was taken out of their mouths they would clack on out of
+jealousy at his success. It was envy that really poisoned their minds
+and made them spit forth spleen, envy and chagrin at their own lack of
+foresight.
+
+The Paymaster dump had lain right at their doorway where all of them
+could inspect its ore, but no one had noticed the heavy spar. They had
+called it white quartz and dismissed it from their minds, but he had
+come among them with different eyes. He had gone to a school of mines,
+where he had learned to identify minerals, and he had kept up with the
+mining magazines; and while these poisonous knockers had been lamenting
+the results of the war he had jumped in and turned it to his advantage.
+He had done something practical, to the improvement of industry,
+something that might change in a certain measure, the very destiny of
+the world; but the moment he succeeded they had accused him of robbing
+half-wits and of oppressing the widow and the orphan. Wiley shut down
+his jaws and smiled dourly.
+
+There was small hope now of changing the widow and her "orphan" but if
+he could not convert them he could show them. As sure as he knew
+anything he was convinced that Colonel Huff had simply fled from his
+wife's nagging tongue and, when he got the time, Wiley intended to hire
+a pack-train and set out across Death Valley to find him. Virginia came
+and went, but always she avoided him scrupulously. Not once since she
+had returned from Vegas had she met his questioning eyes; and to all his
+advances she turned a deaf ear, if the statements of Charley could be
+trusted. The carefully thought out scheme of getting back the Huff stock
+and then forming an alliance against Blount had died before it was born;
+or it remained at best in suspended animation, pending Death Valley
+Charley's return. He had gone off with his burros but the longer Wiley
+waited on him the more he saw that Charley was a broken reed. No, the
+trimming of Blount, if it was done at all, would have to be done by
+him--and all he needed was time.
+
+Two months and a little more lay between him and the day of
+reckoning--the twentieth day of May. In that short time he must meet
+heavy obligations, pay off his notes, buy Blount's stock and purchase
+the mine; and if anything should happen--if the hoist should break
+down, the mill blow up, the market for tungsten fail--well, he could
+kiss the Paymaster good-by. The market and other influences were on
+the knees of the gods, but Wiley decided that there should be no more
+accidents. That was something preventable and no more love-sick
+engineers were going to use his gearings for a clothes mangle. He
+engaged two watchmen who were mechanics as well and then he kept watch
+over his watchmen. Neither by day nor by night did he go down the hill
+for more than a few minutes at a time and on dark, stormy nights he
+wandered about like a specter watching the shadows for Stiff Neck
+George. He was out there somewhere, Wiley knew it as instinctively as
+he knew that Virginia hated him, and yet he never appeared. He never
+made threats nor showed himself in the open but, somewhere, he was out
+there in the darkness; and sooner or later he would strike.
+
+The days dragged on slowly, with cold, March winds and sandstorms
+boiling in over Shadow Mountain; and then driving rain followed by
+bright, sunny weather and struggling flowers in the swales. It was
+spring, in a way, but not the spring of yester-year, with its songs and
+laughter and high hopes. Wiley felt the old call to be up and away, but
+his racer remained in its shed. He paced about restlessly, waiting for
+something to happen, observing the slightest signs--and then he found
+her tracks in the dust. Virginia had come up the trail in the night and
+had gone down past the mill. He knew her tracks well and, among the
+broad brogans of the miners, they stood out like the footprints of a
+fairy. Wiley's heart leapt up in his breast--and then it stood still.
+Had she come as an enemy or a friend?
+
+He followed her trail to where it had been trampled out by the
+watchman in making his regular rounds; and then, below the mill, he
+picked it up again as it went on down the path. Not once had she
+hesitated or turned from the beaten trail, but she had gone down after
+the graveyard shift. That went on at eleven and her tracks were
+superimposed on the hob-nailed boot-marks of the miners. When they had
+come off shift they had trampled them out again, except for a print
+here and there; and by the color of the dust Wiley shrewdly judged
+that she had visited him between twelve and one. Between the
+wind-blown footprints of the night-shift and the fresh red of the day
+shift as they had mounted the trail at seven, her high-arched steps
+had been made about midnight, for the dust had been whitened by the
+air. Wiley followed them silently, trampling them out as he went, and
+that night as the graveyard shift came on he slipped out and hid by
+the trail. What kind of a watchman was this, who let a woman come and
+go and never even saw her tracks in the dust? He could watch for
+Virginia; and meanwhile, incidentally, he could keep tab on this
+sleepy-headed guard.
+
+The _chuh_, _chuh_ of the engine echoed loud in the canyon as
+the hoist brought up the first cars, and then the rumble of the trams as
+they were pushed down the track and the clatter of the ore down the
+grizzly. A sharp _blap_, _blap_, from the compressor showed
+that the machine-men had set up their drills; and beneath all the rest
+there was the hushed rumble of the mill and the thunderous _rhump_,
+_rhump_, of the rock-breaker. It was a ponderous affair of the old
+jaw-type, surmounted by a fly-wheel of a full ton's weight that drove it
+rhythmically on; and as Wiley listened it made a music for his ears as
+sweet as any bass viol. In this mine of his there was an orchestration
+of busy sounds, from the clang of the bell to start or stop the engine,
+to this deep, rumbling undertone of the crusher; and every clang and
+crunch brought him that much nearer to the day when he would be free.
+
+He took shelter within the black mouth of a short tunnel by the trail
+and looked out at his little world--the huge mill, dimly lighted, the
+gaunt gallows-frame against the sky, and the sleeping town below. He had
+made them his own and now he must fight for them; and watch over them,
+day and night. Above him the stars shone out clean and cold, a million
+of them in the dry, desert air; and in the east the half moon rose up
+slowly above Gold Hill, where the wealth of ages lay hid. It had given
+up its gold but his hand had struck the blow that would open up its
+treasure vaults of tungsten. All it needed now was watchfulness and
+patience. The moon rose up higher and he dozed within the shadow and
+then a sound brought him to with a start. It was the crunch of gravel on
+the trail before him and as he looked out he saw Virginia.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+VIRGINIA EXPLAINS--NOTHING
+
+
+She was covered by a cloak and there was a man's hat on her head, but
+Wiley knew her--it was Virginia Huff. The moon had mounted high and the
+chill of the morning was in the air, so he could hardly flatter himself
+that she had come to see him. Perhaps it was just to see the mine. But
+if, beneath that cloak, she carried some instrument of destruction--he
+stepped out and watched her covertly. She tiptoed up the trail, glancing
+nervously about her, starting back as a trammer dumped his ore; and
+then, very slowly, she crept past his house and disappeared in the
+direction of the mill. Instantly he whipped out of his tunnel and
+started after her, running swiftly up the trail; but as he neared the
+summit she came catapulting against him, running as swiftly the other
+way.
+
+"Here! Stop!" he commanded as she leapt back with a stifled scream and
+then as she made a dash he plunged resolutely after her and caught her
+like a child.
+
+"You let go of me!" she panted, but he flung one arm about her and held
+both her hands to her side.
+
+"No," he said, and she struck out violently only to find herself
+clutched the tighter.
+
+"Wiley Holman!" she exploded, "if you don't let me go! You'd better--I
+saw a man back there!"
+
+"It's my watchman," answered Wiley. "I keep him to guard the mill. But
+what are you doing up here?"
+
+"No! It wasn't! It was Stiff Neck George! And he had something heavy in
+his hand! You'd better go and watch him!"
+
+She was struggling in his arms, her breath hot against his cheek, fear
+and rage in every word, but he crushed her roughly to his side.
+
+"Never mind about George," he said. "What are _you_ doing up here,
+now?"
+
+"But he'll blow up your mine! I've heard him threaten to! I just came up
+to tell you!"
+
+"Oh, that's different!" returned Wiley, relaxing his grip, "but never
+mind--my watchman will get him."
+
+"No! The watchman is asleep--I didn't see him anywhere! Oh, Wiley;
+please run and stop him!"
+
+"Nope," replied Wiley, "he can blow the whole mill up--I want to ask you
+a question."
+
+He released her reluctantly, for the touch of her had thrilled him, and
+the sweetness of her breath on his cheek--but she darted down the trail
+like a rabbit.
+
+"Here! Wait!" he ordered and outran her in ten jumps, at which she
+stooped and snatched up a rock.
+
+"Put that down!" he said, and as she swung back the rock, he braved it
+and caught her anyway. "Now," he went on, trembling from the smash of
+the blow, but holding her in a grip of steel, "we'll see what all this
+is about!"
+
+"You will not!" she hissed back, "because I won't answer you a word! And
+I hope old George ruins your mill!"
+
+"That's all right," he said, shaking his bloody head, "but, Judas, you
+did smash me with that stone! After that, I guess, I've got something
+coming to me!" And he reached down and kissed her lips.
+
+"You--stop!" she panted. "Oh, I--I'll kill you for that!" But Wiley only
+laughed recklessly.
+
+"All right!" he said, "what's the difference--I'd die happy! I almost
+wish you'd hit me again."
+
+"Well, I will!" she threatened, but when he released her she drew back
+and hung her head. "That isn't fair," she said, "you know I can't
+protect myself, and----"
+
+"Well, all right," he agreed, "we'll call it square then. But--I want to
+tell you something, Virginia."
+
+"Are you going to stand here," she burst out sharply, "and let him blow
+up your mill?"
+
+"Yes, I am," he answered. "I don't care what happens to me if you and I
+can be friends. I love you, Virginia, you know it as well as I do, and
+that's all I want in the world. Let's just be friends, the way we used
+to be when we were playing around town together. I've been trying to see
+you for months--it's seemed like forty years--and Virginia, you've got
+to listen to me!"
+
+He paused and drew nearer, and she stood waiting passively, as if daring
+him to touch her again; but he stooped and peered into her face. The
+night was not dark and in the ghostly moonlight he could see the cold
+anger in her eyes.
+
+"Yes, I know," he said, "you hate me like poison--but Virginia, this is
+going too far. It's all right to hate me, if that's the way you're
+built, but you ought to give me a chance. It looks very much as if you'd
+come up here to-night to do some damage to my mine; but I'll let that
+pass and say nothing about it if you'll only give me a chance. Let me
+tell you how I feel and then, some other time----"
+
+"Well, go on," she said, "but if your old mine blows up----"
+
+"I wish it would!" he burst out passionately. "If it would make any
+difference, I wish it was blown off the map. I can't bear to fight you,
+Virginia; it makes my life miserable, and I've tried to be friendly from
+the first. But is it right to blame a man for something he can't help
+and not even give him a chance to explain? If you think I've stolen your
+mine, why, go ahead and say so and let me give it back. I'll do it, so
+help me God, if you'll only say the word."
+
+"What word?" she asked, and he threw out his hands in a helpless appeal
+to her pity.
+
+"Any word," he said, "so long as it's friendly. But I just can't stand
+it to be without you!"
+
+"Oh," she said, and looked back up the trail as if meditating another
+dash to escape.
+
+"Well, what is it?" he asked at last. "Won't you even listen to me? I've
+got a plan to propose."
+
+"Why, certainly," she responded, "go ahead and tell it. And then, when
+it's done, can I go?"
+
+"Yes, you can go," he answered eagerly, "if you'll only just listen
+reasonably and think what this means to us both. We used to be friends,
+Virginia, and while I was working up this deal I did everything I could
+to help you. I didn't have much money then or I'd have done more for
+you, but you know my heart was right. I wasn't trying to take advantage
+of you. But the minute I got the mine it seems as if everybody turned
+against me--and you turned against me, too. That hurt me, Virginia,
+after what I'd tried to do for you, but I know you had your reasons. You
+blamed me for things that I never had done and--well, you wouldn't even
+speak to me. But that was all right--it was perfectly natural--and on
+Christmas I sent you back your stock. I only bought it from Charley to
+help you get to Los Angeles, and I considered that I was holding it in
+trust; so I sent it back by Charley, but I suppose he made some break,
+because I found it on my table that night. But you'll take it back now;
+won't you, Virginia?"
+
+His voice broke like a boy's in the earnestness of his appeal and yet it
+was hopeless, too, for he saw that she stood unmoved. He waited for an
+answer, then as she shifted her feet impatiently he went on with dogged
+persistence. It was useless, he knew it; and yet, sometime in the
+future, she might recall what he had said and take advantage of it.
+
+"Well, all right, then," he assented, "but the stock's yours if you want
+it. I'm holding it for you, in trust. But now here's what I wanted to
+tell you--I'd hoped we could do it together; but you ought to do it,
+anyway. You know that stock that your mother lost to Blount? Well, I
+know how you can get it back."
+
+He paused for her to speak, to exclaim perhaps at his magnanimity in
+offering to help her against her will, but she shrouded herself
+pettishly in her cloak.
+
+"Oh, you don't care, eh?" he asked with a bitter laugh. "Well, I wish to
+God, then, I didn't. But I do, Virginia! I can't stand it to see you
+slaving when there's anything in the world that I can do. Now here's the
+proposition: according to law your father isn't legally dead--he won't
+be for seven years--and so your mother, not being his heir yet, had no
+right to hypothecate that stock. It still belongs to your father's
+estate and all you have to do is to go to a lawyer and demand the
+property back. You're his daughter, you see, and a co-heir with your
+mother, and Blount will not dare to oppose it!"
+
+"Yes, thanks," returned Virginia. "Is that all?"
+
+"Why--no!" he said at last, clutching his hands at his side.
+"There's--I'll lend you the money, Virginia."
+
+"No, thank you!" she answered, and started off down the trail, but he
+stepped in her way and stopped her. His mood had changed, for his voice
+was rough and threatening, but he struggled to keep it down.
+
+"Is that all?" he demanded and without waiting for the answer he reached
+out and caught her by the arm. "Virginia," he said, "I've tried to be
+good to you, but maybe you don't appreciate it. And maybe I've made a
+mistake. There's something about you when I'm around that reminds me of
+a man with a grouch--only a man would speak out his mind. Now I've given
+you a chance to clean up twenty thousand dollars and I expect something
+more than: 'No, thanks!'"
+
+"Well, what _do_ you expect?" she asked, struggling feebly against
+his grasp.
+
+"I expect," he answered, "that you'll state your grievance and tell me
+why you won't have me?"
+
+"And if I do, will you let me go?"
+
+"When I get good and ready," he responded grimly. "I don't know whether
+I'm in love with you or not."
+
+"Well, my grievance," she went on defiantly, "is that you went to work
+deliberately and robbed me and mother of our mine. And as for winning
+_me_, that's one thing you can't steal--and I'll kill you if you
+don't let go of that hand!"
+
+"Yes," he said, "I've heard that before--it seems to run in the family.
+But don't you think for a minute that I'm afraid of getting killed--or
+that I'm trying to steal you, either. If you were an Indian squaw you
+might be worth stealing, because I could beat a little sense into your
+head; but the way things are now I'll just turn you loose--and kindly
+keep off my ground."
+
+He flung back her hand and stepped out of the trail but Virginia did not
+pass. Her breast heaved tumultuously and she turned upon him as she
+sought for a fitting retort; but while they stood panting, each
+glowering at the other, there was a crash from inside the old mill. Its
+huge bulk was lit up by a flash of light which went out in Stygian
+darkness and as they listened, aghast, the ground trembled beneath them
+and a tearing roar filled the air. It began at the stone-breaker and
+went down through the mill, like the progress of a devastating host, and
+as Wiley sprang forward, there was a terrifying smash which seemed to
+shake the mill to its base. Then all was silent and as he looked around
+he saw Virginia dancing off down the trail.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+ON DEMAND
+
+
+If there was anything left of his mill but the frame, Wiley's ears had
+played him false; and yet he stood and looked after Virginia. This
+grinding crash, this pandemonium of destruction which had left him sick
+with fear, had put joy into her dancing feet. Yes, she had danced--like
+a child that hears good news or runs to meet its father--and he had
+thought her worthy of his love! He had battered his brain for weeks to
+devise some plan whereby he could make his peace; he had taken her blows
+like a dog; and she had answered with this. Whether it was Stiff Neck
+George or some other man, she had known both his presence and his
+purpose; and now she rejoiced in the catastrophe. A hundred dollars
+would buy him a squaw more worthy of confidence and love.
+
+There was darkness in the mill, but when they brought the flares,
+Wiley saw that the ruin was complete. From the rock breaker to the
+concentrators there was nothing but splintered wood, twisted iron and
+upturned tanks; and the demon of destruction which had raged down
+through its length was nothing but the fly-wheel of the rock crusher.
+What power had uprooted it he was at a loss to conjecture but, a full
+ton in weight, it had jumped from its frame and plowed its way down
+through the mill. The ore-bins were intact, for the fly-wheel had
+overleapt them, but tables and tanks and concentrating jigs were
+utterly smashed and ruined. Even the wall of the mill had given way
+before it and the cold light of dawn crept in through a jagged
+aperture that marked its resistless course. The fly-wheel was gone and
+the damage was done; but there was still, of course, the post mortem.
+What had caused that massive shafting, with its ponderous speeding
+wheels, to leap from its bearings and go crashing down the descent,
+laying everything before it in ruins? Wiley summoned his engineer and,
+in the shattered jaws of the rock-breaker, they found the
+innocent-looking instrument of destruction. It was not a stick of
+dynamite, but a heavy steel sledge-hammer that had been cast into the
+jaws of the crusher. They had closed down upon it, the hammer had
+resisted, and then all the momentum of that whirling double fly-wheel
+had been brought to bear against it. Yet the hammer could not be
+crushed and, as the wheel had applied its weight, the resistance to
+its force had caused it to leap from its bearings and go hurtling down
+the incline.
+
+It was a very complete job, even better than dynamiting, and yet Wiley
+did not blame it on Stiff Neck George. Some miner, some millman, who had
+seen it done before, had repeated the performance for his benefit. Or
+was it, perhaps, for Virginia's? He remembered the engineer who had fed
+his greasy overalls into the gearings of the hoist. He had boarded with
+Virginia and had waved her a parting kiss--but this time it would be
+some trammer. Wiley gave them all their time on general principles, but
+he did not go down to witness the farewell. Whether the trammer kissed
+her good-by or simply kissed her hand was immaterial to him now--and, in
+case it might have been a millman or some miner underground, he laid off
+the whole night shift. The night-watchman went too, and the stage the
+following evening brought out a cook to start up the boarding-house.
+
+Wiley did not guess it--he knew it--Virginia Huff was the witch who had
+mixed the hell-broth that had raised up all this treachery against him.
+She had poisoned his men's minds and incited them to vandalism, but it
+would not happen again. He had been a fool to endure it so long; but she
+could starve now, for all that he cared. If she thought she could twist
+him like a ring around her finger while she egged on these men to wreck
+his mill, she had one more guess coming and then she would be right, for
+he had come to his senses at last. This was not the Virginia that he had
+known and loved--the Virginia he had played with in his youth--but a
+warped and embittered Virginia, a waspish, heartless vixen who had never
+been anything but cold. She had worked him deliberately, resorting to
+woman's wiles to gain what was not her due, and now when his mill was
+smashed into kindling wood, she danced and laughed for joy.
+
+What kind of a mind could a woman have, to do such a senseless thing and
+then laugh at the man who had helped her? She was kind to her cats, the
+neighbors all liked her, to everyone else she seemed human; but when it
+came to him she was a devil of hate, a fiend of ruthless cunning. She
+would tell him to his face--at three in the morning, when he had caught
+her running away from the mill--that she hoped his old mill would be
+ruined. And now, when the trammer or some other soft-head had sent one
+of his sledges through the crusher, she was laughing up her sleeve. But
+there was a hereafter coming for Virginia and her mother and they would
+get no more favors from him. If they crept to his feet and said they
+were starving he would tell them to get out and hustle. Meanwhile they
+had sent him broke.
+
+There would be no more ore concentrated in the Paymaster mill during
+the life of his bond and lease; and unless he could raise some money,
+and raise it quick, he was due to lose his mine. Whether he had
+abetted it or not, Blount would not fail to take advantage of this
+last, staggering blow to his fortunes; and there were notes and paper
+due which would easily serve as a pretext for a writ of attachment on
+his mine. Bad news travels fast, but Wiley set out to beat it by
+snatching at his one remaining chance. His mill was ruined, his output
+was stopped, but he still had the ore underground--and the buyers were
+crazy to get it. He sent out identical messages to ten big consumers
+and then sat down to await the results. They came with a rush, ten
+scrambling frantic bids for his total output for one year--and one of
+them was for eighty-four dollars! It was from the biggest buyer of
+them all, a man who was reputed to be the representative of a foreign
+government, a man who had paid cash on the nail. Wiley pondered a
+while, looked up his obligations to Blount, and accepted immediately
+by wire. But there was one proviso--he demanded an advance payment,
+which the buyer promptly wired to his bank. Then Wiley twisted up his
+lip and waited.
+
+Blount appeared the next day, dropping in casually as was his wont; but
+there was a cold, killing look in his eye and he had a deputy sheriff as
+a witness. They looked through the mill and Blount asked several leading
+questions before he ventured to come to the point, but at last he
+cleared his throat and spoke up.
+
+"Well, Wiley," he said, drawing some papers from his pocket, "I'm sorry,
+but I'll have to call your notes. If it were my money it would be
+different; but I'm a banker, you understand, and your paper is long
+overdue. I've extended it before because I admired your courage and
+thought you might possibly pull through, but this accident to your mill
+has impaired the property and I can't let it run any longer."
+
+"Oh, that's all right," said Wiley, "but you don't need to apologize,
+because there won't be any attachments and judgments. Just tell me how
+much it comes to and I'll write you out a check." He took the notes from
+Blount's palsied hand and spread them on the desk before him, but as he
+was jotting down the totals Blount grabbed them wildly away.
+
+"Not much!" he exclaimed, "I don't surrender those notes until the money
+is put in my hands! Your check isn't worth a pen stroke!"
+
+"Well, I don't know," returned Wiley. "There may be two opinions about
+that. I had a hunch, Mr. Blount, that you might spring something like
+this and so I made arrangements to accommodate you."
+
+"But you're strapped! You owe everybody!" cried Blount in a passion. "I
+don't believe you've got a cent!"
+
+"Just a minute," said Wiley, and took down his telephone. "Hello," he
+called, "get me the First National Bank." He waited then, twiddling
+his pencil placidly, while Blount's great neck swelled out with venom.
+"I figure," went on Wiley, as he waited for the connection, "that I
+owe you twenty-two thousand dollars, with interest amounting to
+two-eighty-three, sixty-one. Here's your check, all filled out, and
+when I get the bank you can ask the cashier if it's good."
+
+"But, Wiley--," began Blount.
+
+"Hello! Hello! Is this the First National? This is Holman, out at the
+Paymaster. Mr. Blount is here and, as I'm closing my account with
+him----"
+
+"No! No!" cried Blount in a panic, but Wiley went on with his talk.
+
+"Yes," he said, "the check is for twenty-two thousand, two eighty-three,
+sixty-one. Will you please set that amount aside to meet the payment on
+this check? All right, Mr. Blount, here's the bank."
+
+He held out the instrument and Blount seized it roughly, for he had
+heard of fake telephone messages before, but when he listened he
+recognized the voice.
+
+"Oh, Agnew?" he hailed, smiling genially at the 'phone. "Well, sorry
+to have troubled you, I'm sure. Oh, yes, yes; I know Wiley is all
+right; he's good with us for twenty thousand more. No, never mind the
+certification; we may let the matter drop. Yes, thank you very
+much--good-by!"
+
+He hung up the receiver and turned to Wiley; but the cold, killing look
+was gone.
+
+"Wiley," he chuckled, slapping him heartily on the back, "you certainly
+have put one over. It isn't every day that I find a man waiting with the
+check all made out to a cent; and somehow--well, I hate to take the
+money."
+
+"Yes, I know how you suffer," replied Wiley, grimly, "but let's get the
+agony over." He held out the check and Blount accepted it reluctantly,
+passing over the notes with a sigh.
+
+But for the trifling detail that "demand" had not been waived Blount
+could have gone into court without even asking for his money and secured
+an attachment against the property. But Wiley's firm insistence that all
+cut-throat clauses should be omitted had compelled Blount to demand
+payment on the notes; and then, by some process which still remained a
+mystery, he had raised the full amount to meet the payment. And so once
+more, after going to all the trouble of bringing a deputy sheriff along,
+Blount found himself balked and his dreams of judgment and lien
+permanently banished to the limbo of lost hopes.
+
+Wiley's over-prompt payment had confused Blount for the moment and
+thrown him into a panic. He had counted confidently upon crushing him
+at a blow and cutting short his inimical activities, but now of a
+sudden he found himself threatened with the loss of all his interests.
+If Wiley had made profits beyond his calculations--but no, he could
+not, for under the terms of their bond and lease one-tenth of the net
+profit on all his shipments was sent direct to Blount. And if what
+Wiley had received was only ten times the Company's royalty, he was
+still in debt to someone. Blount had followed him closely and he knew
+that his expenses had absorbed all his profits, up to date. But
+perhaps--and Blount paused--perhaps the other bank, or some outside
+parties, were backing him in his enterprise. He would have to look
+that matter up--first. But if not--if he was still running his mine as
+he had from the first, on his nerve and his diamond ring--then there
+were ways and means which should be speedily invoked to prevent him
+from meeting his payments.
+
+Scarcely a month remained before the bond and lease lapsed--and Wiley's
+option on Blount's personal stock--but any day he might raise the money
+and, by taking over Blount's stock, place him out of the running for
+good. These tungsten buyers who were so avid for its product might
+purchase an interest in the mine; they might advance the fifty thousand
+and take it over under the bond and lease, and bring all his plans to
+naught. As Blount paced about the office he suddenly saw himself
+defrauded of that which he had worked for for years. He saw his stock
+bought up first, to deprive him of the royalties, and then the mine
+snatched from his hands; and all he would have left would be the
+forfeited Huff stock and the small payment it would earn from the sale.
+Something would have to be done, and done every minute, to prevent him
+from carrying out his purpose.
+
+Blount paused in his nervous pacing and held out a flabby hand to Wiley,
+who was writing away at his desk.
+
+"Well, Wiley," he said, "I guess I must be going. But any time you need
+money----" He stopped and smiled amiably, in the soft, easy way he had
+when he wished to appear harmless as a dove, and Wiley glanced up
+briefly from his work.
+
+"Yes, thank you, Mr. Blount," he said. But he did not take his hand.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+DOUBLE TROUBLE
+
+
+The next two weeks of Wiley Holman's life were packed so full of trouble
+that there were those who almost pitied him, though the word had been
+passed around to lay off. It was Samuel J. Blount who was making the
+trouble, and who notified the rest to keep out, and so great was his
+influence in all the desert country that no one dared to interfere. What
+he did was all legal and according to business ethics, but it gloved the
+iron hand. Blount was reaching for the mine and he intended to get it,
+if he had to crush his man. The attachments and suits were but the
+shadow boxing of the bout; the rough stuff was held in reserve. And
+somehow Wiley sensed this, for he sat tight at the mine and hired a
+lawyer to meet the suits. His job was mining ore and he shoveled it out
+by the ton.
+
+The distressing accidents had suddenly ceased since he began to board
+his own men at the mine and, while his lawyer stalled and haggled to
+fight off an injunction, he rushed his ore to the railroad. It was too
+precious to ship loose, for at eighty-four dollars a unit it was worth
+over four dollars a pound; he sent it out sacked, with an armed guard on
+each truck to see that it was delivered and receipted for. As the checks
+came back he paid off all his debts, thus depriving Blount of his
+favorite club; and then, while Blount was casting about for new weapons,
+he began to lay aside his profits.
+
+They rolled up monstrously, for each five-ton truck load added several
+thousand dollars to his bank account, but the time was getting short.
+Less than three weeks remained before the bond and lease expired, and
+still Wiley was playing to win. He crammed his mine with men, snatching
+the ore from the stopes as the bonanza leasers had done at Tonopah, and
+doubling the miner's pay with bonuses. Every truck driver received his
+bonus, and night and day the great motors went thundering across the
+desert. The ore came up from below and was dumped on a jig, where it was
+sorted and hastily sacked; and after that there was nothing to do but
+sent it under guard to the railroad. There was no milling, no smelting,
+no tedious process of reduction; but the raw picked ore was rushed to
+the East and the checks came promptly back.
+
+Blount was fully informed now of the terms of his contract and of the
+source of his sudden wealth, but there was no way of reaching the buyer.
+A great war was on, every minute was precious--and every ounce of the
+tungsten was needed. The munitions makers could not pause for a single
+day in their mad rush to fill their contracts. The only ray of hope that
+Blount could see was that the price had broken to sixty dollars a unit.
+Wiley's contract called for eighty-four, throughout the full year--but
+suppose he should lose his mine. And suppose Blount should win it. He
+could offer better terms, provided always that the buyer would
+accommodate him now. Suppose, for instance, that the fat daily checks
+should cease coming during the life of the lease. That could easily be
+explained--it might be an error in book-keeping--but it would make quite
+a difference to Wiley. And in return for some such favor Blount could
+afford to sell the tungsten for, say, fifty-five dollars a unit.
+
+Blount was a careful man. He did not trust his message to the wires, nor
+did he put it on paper to convict him; he simply disappeared--but when
+he came back Wiley's lawyer was waiting with a check. It was for twenty
+thousand dollars, and in return for this payment the lawyer demanded all
+of Blount's stock. Four hundred thousand shares, worth five dollars
+apiece if the bond and lease should lapse, and called for under the
+option at five cents! In those few short days, while Blount had been
+speeding East, Wiley had piled up this profit and more--and now he was
+demanding his stock!
+
+"No!" said Blount, "that option is invalid because it was obtained by
+deception and fraud, and therefore I refuse to recognize it."
+
+"Very well," replied the lawyer, who made his living out of
+controversies, and, summoning witnesses to his offer, he placed the
+money in the hands of the court and plunged into furious litigation. It
+was furious, in a way, and yet not so furious as the next day and the
+next passed by; for the lawyer was a business man and dependent upon the
+good will of Blount. It was a civil suit and, since Wiley could not
+appear to state his case in Court, it was postponed by mutual consent.
+
+It had come over Wiley that, as long as he stood guard, no accident
+would happen at the mine; but he was equally convinced that, the moment
+he left it, the unexpected would happen. So, since Blount had elected to
+fight his suit, he let the fate of his option wait while he piled up
+money for his _coup_. As an individual, Blount might resist the
+sale of his stock; but as President of the Company he and his Board of
+Directors had given Wiley a valid bond and lease and, acting under its
+terms, Wiley still had an opportunity to gain a clear title to the mine.
+What happened to the stock could be thrashed out later, but with the
+Paymaster in his possession he could laugh his enemies to scorn--and he
+did not intend to be jumped! For who could tell, among these men who
+swarmed about him, which ones might be hired emissaries of Blount; and,
+once he was out of sight, they might seize the mine and hold it against
+all comers.
+
+It was a thing which had been done before, and was likely to be done
+again; and as the days slipped by, bringing him closer to the end, he
+looked about for some agent. Had he a man that he could trust to hold
+the mine, while he went into town to gain title to it? He looked them
+all over but, knowing Blount as he did, and the weakness of human
+nature, he hesitated and decided against it. No, it was better by far
+that _he_ should hold the mine--for possession, in mining, is
+everything--and send someone to pay over the money. That would be
+perfectly legal, and anyone could do it, but here again he hesitated.
+The zeal of his lawyer was failing of late--could he trust him to make
+the payment, in a town that was owned by Blount? Would he offer it
+legally and demand a legal surrender, and come out and put the deed in
+his hand? He might, but Wiley doubted it.
+
+There was something going on regarding the payments for his shipments
+which he was unable to straighten out over the 'phone, and his lawyer
+was neglecting even that. And yet, if those checks were held up much
+longer it might seriously interfere with his payment. He had wired
+repeatedly, but either the messages were not delivered or his buyer was
+trying to welch on his contract. What he wanted was an agent, to go
+directly to the buyer and get the matter adjusted. Wiley thought the
+matter over, then he 'phoned his lawyer to forget it and wrote direct to
+an express company, enclosing his bills of lading and authorizing them
+to collect the account. When it came to collecting bills you could trust
+the express company--and you could trust Uncle Sam with your mail--but
+as to the people in Vegas, and especially the telephone girl, he had his
+well-established doubts. His telegraphic messages went out over the
+'phone and were not a matter of record and if she happened to be eating
+a box of Blount's candy she might forget to relay them. It was borne in
+upon him, in fact, more strongly every day, that there are very few
+people you can trust. With a suitcase, yes--but with a mine worth
+millions? That calls for something more than common honesty.
+
+The fight for the Paymaster, and Wiley's race against time, was now on
+every tongue, and as the value of the property went up there was a
+sudden flurry in the stock. Men who had hoarded it secretly for eight
+and ten years, men who had moved to the ends of the world, all heard of
+the fabulous wealth of the new Paymaster and wrote in to offer their
+stock. Not to offer it, exactly, but to place it on record; and others
+began as quietly to buy. It was known that the royalties had piled up an
+accruing dividend of at least twenty cents a share; and with the sale of
+it imminent--and a greater rise coming in case there was no sale--there
+would be a further increase in value. It was good, in fact, for thirty
+cents cash, with a gambling chance up to five dollars; and the wise ones
+began to buy. Men he had not seen for years dropped in on Wiley to ask
+his advice about their stock; and one evening in his office, he looked
+up from his work to see the familiar face of Death Valley Charley.
+
+"Hello there, Charley," he said, still working. "Awful busy. What is it
+you want?"
+
+"Virginia wants her stock," answered Charley simply and blinked as he
+stood waiting the answer. There was a war on now between the Huffs and
+Holmans into which Wiley's father had been drawn; and since Honest John
+had repudiated his son's acts and disclaimed all interest in his deal,
+Charley knew that Wiley was bitter. He had cut off the Widow from her
+one source of revenue but, when she had accused him of doing it for his
+father, Wiley had forgotten the last of his chivalry. Not only did he
+board all his men himself but he promised to fire any man he had who was
+seen taking a meal at the Widow's. It was war to the knife, and Charley
+knew it, but he blinked his eyes and stood firm.
+
+"What stock?" demanded Wiley, and then he closed his lips and his eyes
+turned fighting gray. "You tell her," he said, "if she wants her stock,
+to come and get it herself."
+
+"But she sent me to get it!" objected Charley obstinately.
+
+"Yes, and I send you back," answered Wiley. "I gave her that stock
+twice, and I made it what it is, and if she wants it she can come and
+ask for it."
+
+"And will you give it to her?" asked Charley, but Wiley only grunted and
+went ahead with his writing.
+
+It was apparent to him what was in the wind. The Widow had written to
+demand of his father some return for the damage to her business; and
+Honest John had replied, and sent Wiley a copy, that he was in no ways
+responsible for his acts. This letter to Wiley had been followed by
+another in which his father had rebuked him for persecuting Mrs. Huff,
+and Wiley had replied with five pages, closely written, reciting his
+side of the case. At this John Holman had declared himself neutral and,
+beyond repeating his offer to buy the Widow's stock, had disclaimed all
+interest in her affairs. But now, with her stock still in Blount's hands
+and this last source of revenue closed to her, the Widow was left no
+alternative but to appeal indirectly to Wiley. What other way then was
+open, if she was ever to win back her stock, but to get back Virginia's
+shares and sell them to raise the eight hundred dollars? Wiley grumbled
+to himself as Death Valley Charley turned away and went on writing his
+letter.
+
+It had been a surprise, after his break with Virginia, to discover that
+it left him almost glad. It had removed a burden that had weighed him
+down for months, and it left him free to act. He could protect his
+property now as it should be protected, without thought of her or
+anybody; and he could board his own men and keep the gospel of hate from
+being constantly dinned into their ears. They were honest, simple
+miners, easily swayed by a woman's distress, but equally susceptible to
+the lure of gold; and now with a bonus after the minimum of work they
+were tearing out the ore like Titans. They were loyal and satisfied,
+greeting his coming with a friendly smile; but if Virginia got hold of
+them, or her venomous mother, where then would be his discipline?
+
+He was deep in his work when a shadow fell upon his desk and he looked
+up to see--Virginia.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+VIRGINIA REPENTS
+
+
+"I came for my stock," said Virginia coolly as she met his questioning
+eye and Wiley turned and rummaged in a drawer. The stock was hers and
+since she came and asked for it--he laid it on the desk and went ahead
+with his work. Virginia took the envelope and examined it carefully, but
+she did not go away. She glanced at him curiously, writing away so
+grimly, and there was a scar across his head. Could it be--yes, there
+her rock had struck him. The mark was still fresh, but he had given her
+the stock; and now he was privileged to hate her. That wound on his head
+would soon be overgrown and covered, but she had left a deeper scar on
+his heart. She had hurt his man's pride; and now he had hurt hers, and
+humbled her to ask for her stock. He looked up suddenly, feeling her
+eyes upon him, and Virginia drew back and blushed.
+
+"Oh--thank you," she stammered and turned to go, and yet she lingered to
+see what he would say.
+
+"You're welcome," he answered evenly, and took a fresh sheet of paper,
+but she refused to notice the hint. A sense of pique, of wonder at his
+politeness and half-resentment at his obliviousness of her presence,
+drew her back and she leaned against his desk.
+
+"What are you writing?" she asked as he glanced at her inquiringly. "Is
+it a letter to that squaw?"
+
+A sudden twitch of passion passed over his face at this reference to a
+dark page in their past and he drew the written sheet away.
+
+"No," he said, "I happened to remember a white girl----"
+
+"What?" burst out Virginia before she could check herself and he curled
+his lip up scornfully.
+
+"Yes," he nodded, "and she seems to think I'm all right."
+
+"Oh," she said and turned away her head with a painful twisted smile.
+Somehow she had always thought--and yet he must have met other girls--he
+was meeting them all the time! She tried to summon her anger, to carry
+her past this fresh stab, but the tears rose to her eyes instead.
+
+"I--we'll be going away soon," she went on hurriedly. "That is, if he
+gives us back our stock. Do you think he'll do it, Wiley? You know--the
+plan you spoke of. We're going to sell this stock to a broker and then
+pay Mr. Blount back."
+
+"I don't know," mumbled Wiley, and humped up over his letter, but it did
+not produce the effect he had hoped for.
+
+"Well--I'm sorry I hurt you," she broke out impulsively, rebuked by the
+long gash in his hair, "but you shouldn't have tried to stop me! I
+wasn't doing you any harm--I just came up there that night to see what
+was going on. And I did see Stiff Neck George, you can smile all you
+want to, and he had something heavy in his hand."
+
+She ran on with her explanation, only to trail off inconclusively as she
+saw his face growing grim. He did not believe her, he did not even
+listen; he just sat there patiently and waited.
+
+"Are you waiting for me to go?" she asked, smiling wanly, but even then
+he did not respond. There had been a time, not many weeks ago, when he
+would have risen up and offered her a chair; but he had got past that
+now and seemed really and sincerely to prefer his own company to hers.
+"I thought you might help us," she went on almost tearfully, "to get
+back our stock from Blount. It was nice of you to tell me, after the way
+I acted; but--oh, I don't know what it was that came over me! And I
+never even thanked you for telling me!"
+
+A cynical smile came into Wiley's eyes as he sat back and put down his
+pen, but even after that she hurried on. "Yes, I know you don't like
+me--you think I tried to wreck your mine and turned all your men against
+you--but I do thank you, all the same. You--you used to care, Wiley; but
+anyhow, I thank you and--I guess I'll be going now."
+
+She started for the door but he did not try to stop her. He even picked
+up his pen, and she turned back with fire in her eyes.
+
+"Well, you might say something," she said defiantly, "or don't you care
+what happens to me?"
+
+"No; I don't, Virginia," he answered quietly, "so just let it go at
+that. We can't get along, so what's the use of trying? You go your way
+and let me go mine."
+
+"Oh, I know!" she sighed, "you think I'm ungrateful--and you think I
+just came for my stock. But I didn't, altogether; I wanted to say I'm
+sorry and--oh, Wiley, _do_ you think he's alive?"
+
+"Who?" he asked; but he knew already--she was thinking about the
+Colonel.
+
+"Why, Father," she ran on. "I heard you that time when you got old
+Charley drunk. Do you think he's really alive? Because if he is!" She
+raised her eyes ecstatically and suddenly she was smiling into his.
+"Because if he is," she said, "and I can find him again--oh, Wiley;
+won't you help me find him?"
+
+"I'll think about it," responded Wiley, but his eyes were smiling back
+and the anger had died in his heart. After all, she was human; she could
+smile through her tears and reach out and touch his rough hand, and he
+could not bring himself to hate her. "After I pay for the mine," he
+suggested gently. "But now you'd better go."
+
+"Oh, no," she protested, "please tell me about it. Is he hiding in the
+Ube-Hebes? Oh, you don't know how glad I was when I heard you talking
+with Charley--I never did think he was dead. He sent me word once, not
+to worry about him, but--the Indians said he had died. That is--well,
+they said if it hadn't been for that sandstorm they would surely have
+found the body. And he'd thrown away his canteen, so he couldn't have
+had any water; and there wasn't any more for miles. He was lost, you
+know, and out of his head; and heading right out through the sand-hills.
+Oh, it's awful to talk about it, but of course we don't know for
+certain; and it might have been somebody else. Don't you think it was
+some other man?"
+
+"I don't know," answered Wiley, and sat staring straight ahead as she
+ran on with her arguments and entreaties. After all, what did he have
+to base his belief upon, except the babblings of brain-cracked
+Charley? They had found the Colonel's riding-burro, and his
+saddle-bags and papers, besides his rifle and canteen; and the
+Shoshone trailers had followed the tracks of a man until they were
+lost in the drifting sand-hills. And yet Charley's remarks, and his
+repeated attempts to get across the valley with some whiskey; there
+was something there, certainly, upon which to build hope--and Virginia
+was very insistent.
+
+"Yes, I think it was another man," he said at length. "Either that or
+your father escaped. He might have lost one canteen and still have had
+another, or he might have found his way to some water-hole. But from the
+way Charley talks, and tries to cover up his breaks, I feel sure that
+your father is alive."
+
+"Oh, goodie!" she cried and before he could stop her she had stooped
+over and kissed his bruised head. "Now you know I'm sorry," she burst
+out impulsively, "and will you go out and look for him at once?"
+
+"Pretty soon," said Wiley, putting her gently away. "After I make my
+payment on the mine. They'd be sure to jump me, now."
+
+"Oh, but why not now?" she pleaded. "They wouldn't jump your mine."
+
+"Yes, they would," he replied. "They'd jump me in a minute! I don't dare
+to go off the grounds."
+
+"But what's the mine," she demanded insistently, "compared to finding
+father?"
+
+"Well, not very much," he conceded frankly, "but this is the way I'm
+fixed. I've got the whole world against me, including you and your
+mother, and I've got to play out my hand. There's nobody I can
+trust--even my father has turned against me--and I've got to fight
+this out myself."
+
+"What? Just for the money? Do you think more of that than you do of
+finding my father?"
+
+"No, I don't," he said, "but I can't go now, and so there's no use
+talking."
+
+"No," she answered, drawing resentfully away from him, "there's no use
+talking to _you_! He might be dying, or out of food, but you don't
+think of anything but that money!"
+
+"Well, maybe so," he retorted tartly, "but if you'd just left me alone,
+instead of sicking all your dogs on me, I'd've been over there looking
+for him, long ago. Of course I'm wrong--that's understood from the
+start; but----"
+
+"What dogs did I set on you?" she demanded, flaring up, and he fixed her
+with sullen eyes.
+
+"Never mind," he said. "You know what you've done as well or better than
+I do. All I've got to say is that my conscience is clear and we'd better
+quit talking while we're friends."
+
+"Yes--friends!" she repeated, and then she stopped and at last she
+heaved a sigh. "Well, I don't care," she defended. "You drove me to it.
+A woman must protect herself, somehow."
+
+"Well, you can do it," he said, feeling tenderly of his head, and
+Virginia flew into a rage.
+
+"I told you I was _sorry_!" she cried, stamping her foot. "Isn't
+that enough? I'm sorry, I said!"
+
+"Yes, and I'm sorry," he answered, but his eyes were level and his jaw
+jutted out like a crag.
+
+"Sorry for what?" she demanded, and he sprang his trap.
+
+"Sorry I can't go out and hunt for your father."
+
+"Oh," she said, and drooped her head.
+
+"If we could pay for what we've done by just being sorry," he went on
+with a ghost of a smile, "we wouldn't be where we are. But you know we
+can't, Virginia. I'm sorry for some things myself, and I expect to pay
+for them, but I can't stop to do it now."
+
+"But will you go for him--sometime?" she asked, smiling wistfully.
+"Then--oh, Wiley; why can't we be friends?" She held out her hands
+and he rose up and took them, but with a startled look in his eyes.
+"You know that I'm sorry," she said, "and I'm willing to pay, too; if
+there's anything that I can do. Can't I help you, Wiley? Isn't there
+something I can do to help you pay for your mine? And I'll never
+oppose you again--if you'll only go and find my father!"
+
+She raised his hands and put them against her cheek and the quick tears
+sprang to his eyes.
+
+"I'll do it," he promised, "just the minute I can go. And--I'll try to
+be good to you, Virginia. Won't you give me a kiss, just to show it's
+all right? I'm sorry I treated you so rough. But it'll be all right now
+and we'll try to be friends again--I wasn't writing to any other girl."
+
+"Oh, weren't you?" she smiled. "Well, I'll kiss you, then--just once.
+But somehow, I'm afraid it won't last."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+THE CALL
+
+
+The long quarrel was over, they had made up--and kissed--and yet to
+Wiley it all seemed unreal. That is, all but the kiss. It was that,
+perhaps, which made the rest seem unreal, for it had changed the color
+of his life. Before, he had thought in terms of hard fact, but the
+kiss put a rainbow in the sky. It roused a great hope, a joy, an
+ecstasy, a sense of well-wishing for mankind; and yet it was only he
+who had changed. The world was the same; Samuel Blount was the same;
+and the miners, and Stiff Neck George. They were all there together in
+a rough-and-tumble fight to see who would get the Paymaster Mine and,
+even with the madness of her kiss in his soul, he pressed on towards
+the one, fixed goal.
+
+He had set out to win the Paymaster and win it he would if he had to
+shoot his way to victory. For Stiff Neck George, like a watchful coyote,
+had taken up his post on the hill; and from that sign alone Wiley knew
+that Blount had changed his tactics and appealed to the court of last
+resort. His attachments had failed, his injunction suit had failed, and
+his cheap attempt to cut off Wiley's checks. The money had come,
+promptly forwarded by the Express Company with a note of apology from
+the buyer, and it lay now in Wiley's office safe. All that was left to
+do was to send it to Blount and get back the deed to the property. Three
+days remained before the bond and lease expired, but that was not a day
+too much. The question was--who to send? Wiley thought the matter over,
+glanced at George up on the hill, and sent a note down to Virginia.
+
+She came up the trail smiling, for her proud reserve had vanished, and
+she even allowed him a kiss; but when he asked her to take the money to
+Blount she drew back and shook her head.
+
+"I'm afraid," she said, "--I'm afraid something might happen. Can't you
+send it by somebody else?"
+
+"No, that's just the point," he answered gravely. "Something is likely
+to happen if I do. My lawyer has turned crooked, and the bank won't
+touch it; so there's nobody to send but you. You can hide the money till
+you get there, so that no one will rob you on the way; and if anybody
+asks you, you can tell them about that stock deal and that you're going
+down to hold up Blount."
+
+"Why don't you go?" she objected and he pointed out the doorway at Stiff
+Neck George on the hill.
+
+"There he sits," he said, "like a red-necked old buzzard, just waiting
+for a chance to jump my mine. He may do it, anyhow--I wouldn't put it
+past him--but if he comes he'd better come a-shooting. You see, here's
+the point: the man that holds this mine can turn out ten thousand
+dollars a day, and that amount of money would hire enough lawyers to
+fight the outsiders to a standstill. If I get jumped I'm licked, because
+I haven't got any more money; and I'm going to stay right here and fight
+'em. But you take this money--there's fifty-two thousand dollars--and go
+down and make that payment. If you can't find Blount, then hunt up the
+clerk of the Superior Court and deposit the fifty thousand with him.
+Just bring me his receipt, with a memorandum of the payment, and he'll
+notify Blount himself."
+
+"I don't like to," she shuddered. "I'm afraid they won't take it, and
+then you'll----"
+
+"They've got to take it!" he broke in eagerly. "Just get the stage
+driver to go along as witness, and I'll give you a full power of
+attorney. And then listen, Virginia; you take the rest of this money and
+buy back your father's stock."
+
+"Oh, can I?" she cried and, reaching out for the money, she held it with
+tremulous hands. There were fifty thousand-dollar bills, golden yellow
+on the back and a rich, glossy black on the front; and others of smaller
+denominations, making fifty-two thousand in all. It was a fortune in
+itself, but in what it was to buy it was well worth over a million.
+
+"Aren't you afraid to trust me?" she asked at last, and when he smiled
+she hid it away. "All right," she said, "and as soon as I've paid it
+I'll call you up on the 'phone."
+
+She went out the next morning on the early stage and Wiley watched it
+rush across the plain. It was green as a lawn, that dry, treeless desert
+with its millions of evenly spaced creosote bushes; but as the sun rose
+higher it turned blood-red like an omen of evil to come. Many times
+before, in the glow of evening, he had seen the green change to red; but
+now it was ominous, with Stiff Neck George on the hill-top and Shadow
+Mountain frowning down behind. He paced about uneasily as the day wore
+on and at night he listened for the 'phone. She was to call him up, as
+soon as she had paid over the money; but it did not ring that night.
+
+The morning of the last day dawned fair and pleasant, with the fresh
+smell of dew in the air, and he awoke with a sense that all was well.
+Virginia was in Vegas and, when Blount came to his office, she would
+make the payment in his stead. There was no chance to fail, once she had
+found her man; and if Blount refused to accept it, which he could hardly
+do, she could simply leave the money with the court. There were no
+papers to confuse her, no forms to go through; Blount had made a legal
+contract to sell the property and she had a full power of attorney. All
+it called for was loyalty and faithfulness to her trust, and Wiley knew
+Virginia too well to think she would fail him now. She was proud and
+hot-headed, and she had fought him in the past; but, once she had given
+her word, she would keep her promise or die.
+
+As the sun rose higher he imagined her at the bank with the sheaf of
+bills hidden in her bosom, and Blount's surprise and palavering when he
+found he was caught and that his deep-laid plans had failed. He had
+schemed to catch Wiley between the horns of a dilemma, and either jump
+his mine when he went in to make the payment or force him to lose it by
+default. But, almost by a miracle, Virginia had appeared at the very
+moment when he was seeking a messenger; and by an even greater miracle,
+they had composed all their difficulties just in time for him to send
+her to town. It was like an act of Providence, an answer to prayer, if
+people any longer prayed; and, more, even, than the money and the joy of
+success, was the consciousness of Virginia's love. She had seemed so
+hostile, so distant and unattainable; but the moment that he forgot her
+and abandoned all hope she fluttered to his hand like a dove.
+
+The noon hour came and went and as Wiley watched the 'phone it seemed to
+him strangely silent. To be sure, few people called him, but--he
+snatched the receiver from the hook. He had guessed it--the 'phone was
+dead! He rattled the hook and listened impatiently, then he shouted and
+listened again, and black fancies rose up in his brain. What was the
+meaning of this? Had they cut the wire on him? And why? It really made
+no difference! Virginia was there; he had heard it from the stage-driver
+who had driven her in the day before--and yet, there must be a reason.
+Perhaps it was an accident, for the line was old and neglected, but why
+should it happen now? He hung up the receiver and reviewed it all
+calmly. There were a hundred things which might happen to the line, for
+it passed through rough country near Vegas; but the weather was fair and
+there was no wind blowing to topple over the poles. No one used the line
+but him--it had been connected up by Blount when he had first taken over
+the mine--and yet the wire had been cut. But by whom? As he sat there
+pondering he raised his eyes to the hill-top, and Stiff Neck George was
+gone!
+
+"The dastard!" cursed Wiley, leaping furiously to his feet and reaching
+for his rifle, but though he scanned the line through his high-power
+field-glasses there was not a man in sight. Wiley ran down to the shed
+and got out his racer that had lain there idle for months, but as his
+motor began to thunder, a head popped up and he saw Stiff Neck George on
+the ridge. He too had a rifle and, as he saw Wiley watching him, he
+dropped back and hid from sight.
+
+"Oho!" said Wiley, and, leaving his machine, he strode angrily back to
+the mine. So that was their game, to get him to leave and then slip in
+and jump his mine. Perhaps it was all arranged with the men he had
+working for him and George would not even have a fight. Neither his
+foremen nor the guards were men he would care to trust in a matter
+involving millions--and yet something was wrong in Vegas. There was
+treachery somewhere or they would not cut the line to keep him from
+getting the news. He lingered irresolutely, his hands itching for the
+steering wheel, his eyes searching for Stiff Neck George.
+
+There was a feud between them--he had braved George's killing gun and
+rushed in and kicked him down the dump. Would George, then, withhold his
+hand? But, down in Vegas, Blount was framing up some game to deprive him
+of title to his mine. Wiley weighed them in the balance, the two forces
+against him, and decided to stay with the mine. As long as he held it
+there were lawyers a-plenty to prove that his title was good, but if
+Stiff Neck George jumped it he would have to kill him to get back
+possession of the property. Or rather, he would have to fight him, for
+George was a gunman with notches on the butt of his six-shooter. No, he
+would have to get killed, or give up the Paymaster, whether Blount was
+right or wrong.
+
+He set his teeth and settled down to endure it--but he knew that
+Virginia would not fail him. He had given her the money, she knew what
+to do, and as sure as she hoped to save her father, he knew that she
+would do it. His part was to hold down the mine. The men came and went,
+the engine puffed and panted, and the long, dragging hours went by. As
+the darkness came on Wiley stalked in the shadows, looking out into the
+night for Stiff Neck George; but nothing stirred, the work went on as
+usual, and at midnight he gave up the search. His option had expired and
+either the mine was his or the title had reverted to the Company. There
+was nothing to watch for and so he slept, but at dawn his telephone
+jangled.
+
+Wiley rose up breathlessly and took down the receiver but no one
+answered his call. The 'phone was dead and yet it had rung--or was it
+only a dream? He hung up in disgust and went back to bed but something
+drew him back to the 'phone. He held down the hook and, with the
+receiver to his ear, let the lever rise slowly up. There was talking
+going on and men laughing in hoarse voices and the tramp of feet to and
+fro, but no one responded to his shouts. He hung up once more and then
+suddenly it came over him, a foreboding of impending disaster. Something
+was wrong, something big that must be stopped at once; and a voice
+called insistently for action. He leapt into his clothes and started for
+the door--then turned back and strapped on his pistol. As the sun rose
+up he was a speck in the desert, rushing on through a blood-red sea.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+THE THUNDER CLAP
+
+
+The broad streets of Vegas were swarming with traffic as Wiley glided
+swiftly into town and he noticed that people looked at him curiously.
+Perhaps it was all imagination but it seemed to him they eyed him
+coldly. Yet what they thought or felt was nothing to him then--his
+business was with Samuel J. Blount. The mine was unprotected--he had
+not even told his foreman that he was leaving, or where he was
+going--and there was no time for anything but business. If there was
+any trouble for him, Samuel J. Blount was at the bottom of it, and he
+drove straight up to the bank. It was a huge, granite structure with
+massive onyx pillars and smiling young clerks at the grilles; but he
+hurried past them all and turned down a hall to a room that was
+marked: President--Private. This was no time for dallying or sending
+in cards--he opened the door and stepped in.
+
+Samuel Blount was sitting at the head of a table with other men grouped
+about him, but as Wiley Holman entered they were silent. He glanced at
+Blount and then again at the men--they were the directors of the
+Paymaster Mining and Milling Company!
+
+"Good morning, Mr. Holman," spoke up Blount with asperity. "Please wait
+for me out in the hall."
+
+"Since when?" retorted Wiley and then, leaping to the point, "what about
+that deed to the Paymaster?"
+
+"Why--you must be misinformed," replied Blount slowly, at the same time
+pressing a button, "this is a meeting of the Board of Directors."
+
+"So I see," returned Wiley, "but I sent the money by Virginia to take up
+the option on the mine. Did you receive it or did you not?"
+
+A broad-shouldered man, very narrow between the eyes, came in and stood
+close to Wiley, and Blount smiled and cleared his throat.
+
+"No," he said, "we did not receive it?"
+
+"Oh, you didn't, eh?" said Wiley, glancing up at the janitor. "Perhaps
+you will tell me if it was offered to you?"
+
+"No, it was not offered to us," replied Blount, smiling blandly,
+"although Miss Huff did make a deposit."
+
+"Of fifty thousand dollars?"
+
+"No, it was more than that--fifty-two, I believe. It was deposited to
+your account."
+
+"Oh," observed Wiley, and looked them over again as the directors turned
+around to scowl. "Well, perhaps I can see Miss Huff?"
+
+"She is not here at present," replied Blount with finality, "and so I
+must ask you to withdraw."
+
+"Just a moment," said Wiley, as the janitor moved expectantly. "I came
+here on a matter of business with you and this Board of Directors and,
+since the matter is urgent, I must request an immediate hearing. You
+don't need to be alarmed--all I want is my answer and then I'll leave
+you alone. In the first place, Mr. Blount, will you please tell me the
+circumstances under which this deposit was made? I gave Miss Huff
+instructions to offer the money to you in payment for the Paymaster
+Mine."
+
+"Oh! Instructions, eh?" piped Blount with a satirical smile, and the
+Board stirred and nodded significantly. "Well, since you've just come in
+and are evidently unaware of the wide interest that has been taken in
+this case, I'll tell you a few things, Mr. Holman. The people of this
+town do not approve of the manner in which you have treated Mrs. Huff;
+and as for your 'instructions' to Virginia, let me tell you right now
+that we have saved her from becoming your victim."
+
+"My victim!" repeated Wiley, moving swiftly towards him, but the janitor
+caught him by the arm.
+
+"Yes, your victim," answered Blount with a venomous sneer, "or, at
+least, your intended victim. The people of Vegas had nothing to say when
+you deprived Virginia and her mother of their livelihood--it was your
+privilege as lessee of the mine to board your own men if you chose--but
+when you had the effrontery to send Virginia to this Board with
+'instructions' to jeopardize her own interests, we felt called on to
+interfere."
+
+"Why, you're crazy!" burst out Wiley. "What interests did she jeopardize
+by making that payment for me? As a matter of fact it was just the
+contrary--I gave her the money to get back the stock that you had
+practically stolen from her mother!"
+
+"Now! Now!" spoke up Blount, "we won't have any personalities, or I'll
+ask Mr. Jepson to remove you. You must know if you know anything that
+Virginia herself had over twelve thousand shares of stock; while her
+mother left with me, as collateral on a note, more than two hundred
+thousand shares more. Yet you asked this innocent girl, who trusted you
+so fully, to wipe out her whole inheritance at one blow. You asked her
+to come here and make a payment that would beat her out of half a
+million dollars--_for fifty thousand dollars!_"
+
+He paused and the men about the table murmured threateningly among
+themselves.
+
+"And now!" went on Blount with heavy irony, "you come here and ask for
+your deed!"
+
+"Yes, you bet I do!" snapped back Wiley, "and I'm going to get it, too.
+If Virginia came here and offered you that money, that's enough, in the
+eyes of the law. It was a legal payment under a legal contract, entered
+into by this Board of Directors; and I call you gentlemen to witness
+that she came here and offered the money."
+
+"She came to _me_!" corrected Blount, "and in no wise as the
+President of this Board!"
+
+"Well, you're the man that I told her to go to--and if she offered you
+the money, that's enough!"
+
+"Oh, it's enough, is it? Well, it may be enough for you, but it is not
+enough for the citizens of this town. We have organized a committee, of
+which Mr. Jepson is a member, to escort you out of Vegas; and I would
+say further that your bond and lease has lapsed and the Company will
+take over the mine."
+
+"We'll discuss that later," returned Wiley grimly, "but I'll tell you
+right now that there aren't men enough in Vegas to run me out of
+town--not if you call in the whole town and the Janitors' Union--so
+don't try to start anything rough. I'm a law-abiding citizen, and I
+know my rights, and I'm going to see this through." He put his back to
+the wall and the burly Jepson took the hint to move further away.
+"Now," said Wiley, "if we understand each other let's get right down
+to brass tacks. It's all very well to organize Vigilance Committees
+for the protection of trusting young ladies, but you know and I know
+that this is a matter of business, involving the title to a mine. And
+I'd like to say further that, when a Board of Directors talks a
+messenger out of her purpose and persuades her to disregard her
+instructions----"
+
+"Instructions!" bellowed Blount.
+
+"Yes--instructions!" repeated Wiley, "--instructions as my agent. I sent
+Miss Huff down here to make this payment and I gave her instructions
+regarding it."
+
+"Do you realize," blustered Blount, "that if she had followed those
+instructions she would have defrauded her own mother out of millions;
+that she would have ruined her own life and conferred her father's
+fortune upon the very man who was deceiving her?"
+
+"No, I do not," replied Wiley, "but even if I did, that has nothing to
+do with the case. As to my relations with Miss Huff, I am fully
+satisfied that she has nothing of which to complain; and since it was
+you, and the rest of the gang, who stood to lose by the deal, your
+indignation seems rather far-fetched. If you were sorry for Miss Huff
+and wished to help her you have abundant private means for doing so; but
+when you dissuade her from her purpose in order to save your own skin
+you go up against the law. I'm going to take this to court and when the
+evidence is heard I'm going to prove you a bunch of crooks. I don't
+believe for a minute that Virginia turned against me. I know that she
+offered you the money."
+
+"Oh, you know, do you?" sneered Blount as his Directors rallied about
+him. "Well, how are you going to prove it?"
+
+"By her own word!" said Wiley. "I know her too well. You just talked her
+out of it, afterward."
+
+"So you think," taunted Blount, "that she offered the money in payment,
+and demanded the delivery of the deed? And will you stand or fall on her
+testimony?"
+
+"Absolutely!" smiled Wiley, "and if she tells me she didn't do it I'll
+never take the matter into court."
+
+"Very well," replied Blount and turned towards the door, but the
+Directors rushed in and caught him. They thrust their heads together in
+a whispered, angry conference, now differing among themselves and now
+flying back to catch Blount, but in the end he shook them all off. "No,
+gentlemen," he said, "I have absolute confidence in the justice of my
+case. If you stand to lose a little I stand to lose a great deal--and I
+know she never asked for that deed!"
+
+"Well, bring her in, then," they conceded reluctantly, and turned
+venomous eyes upon Wiley. They knew him, and they feared him, and
+especially with this girl; for he was smiling and waiting confidently.
+But Blount was their czar, with his great block of stock pitted against
+their tiny holdings, and they sat down to await the issue.
+
+She came at last, ushered in through the back door by Blount, who smiled
+benevolently; and her eyes leapt on the instant to meet Wiley's.
+
+"Here is Miss Huff," announced Blount deliberately and the light died
+in Wiley's shining eyes. He had waited for her confidently, but that
+one defiant flash told him that Virginia had turned against him. She
+had thrown in her lot with Blount, and against her lover, and by her
+word he must stand or fall. She had been his agent, but if she had not
+carried out her trust---- "Any questions you would like to ask," went
+on Blount with ponderous calm, "I am sure Virginia will answer."
+
+He turned reassuringly and she nodded her head nervously, then stepped
+out and stood facing Wiley.
+
+"It is a question," began Wiley, speaking like one in a dream, "of the
+way you paid Mr. Blount that money. When you took it to him first,
+before they had talked to you, did you tell him it was my payment on the
+option?"
+
+Virginia glanced at Blount, then she took a deep breath and drew herself
+up very straight.
+
+"No," she said, "I spoke to him first about buying back father's stock."
+
+"But after that," he said, "didn't you hand him over the money and say
+it was sent by me?"
+
+"No, I didn't," she answered. "After the way you had treated me I didn't
+think it was right."
+
+"Not right!" he repeated with a slow, dazed smile. "Why--why wasn't it
+right, Virginia?"
+
+"Because," she went on, "you were trying to deceive me and beat me and
+mother out of our rights. You knew all the time that father's stock was
+still ours--and that Mr. Blount never even claimed it!"
+
+"Never claimed it!" cried Wiley, suddenly roused to resentment. "Well,
+Virginia, he most certainly did! He offered to sell it to me for five
+cents a share when I took out that option on the Paymaster!"
+
+"Now, now, Wiley!" began Blount, but Virginia cut him short with a
+scornful wave of the hand.
+
+"Never mind," she said. "I'll attend to this myself. I just want to tell
+him what I think!"
+
+"What you _think_!" raved Wiley, suddenly coming up fighting.
+"You've been fooled by a bunch of crooks. Never mind what you think--did
+you give him the money and tell him it came from me?"
+
+"I did not!" answered Virginia, her eyes flashing with hot anger, "and
+while I may not be able to think, I certainly wasn't fooled by
+_you_. No, I took your money and put it in the bank, and I let your
+option expire!"
+
+"My--God!" moaned Wiley, and groped for the door, but in the hall he
+stopped and turned back. There was some mistake--she had not understood.
+He slipped back and looked in once more. She was shaking hands with
+Blount--and smiling.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+THE WAY OUT
+
+
+When a woman treads the ways of deceit she smiles--like Mona Lisa. But
+was the great Leonardo deceived by the smile of his wife when she posed
+for him so sweetly? No, he read her thoughts--how she was thinking of
+another--and his master hand wove them in. There she smiles to-day,
+smooth and pretty and cryptic; but Leonardo, the man, worked with heavy
+heart as he laid bare the tragedy of his love. The message was for her,
+if she cared to read it, or for him, that rival for her love; or, if
+their hearts were pure and free from guilt, then there was no message at
+all. She was just a pretty woman, soft and gentle and smiling--as
+Virginia Huff had smiled.
+
+She had not smiled often, Wiley Holman remembered it now, as he went
+flying across the desert, and always there was something behind; but
+when she had looked up at Blount and taken his fat hand, then he had
+read her heart at a glance. If he had taken his punishment and not
+turned back he would have been spared this great ache in his breast; but
+no, he was not satisfied, he could not believe it, and so he had
+received a worse wound. She had been playing with him all the time and,
+when the supreme moment arrived, she had landed him like a trout; and
+then, when she had left him belly-up from his disaster, she had turned
+to Blount and smiled. There was no restraint now; she smiled to the
+teeth; and Blount and the Directors smiled.
+
+Wiley cursed to himself as he bored into the wind and burned up the road
+to Keno. The mine was nothing; he could find him another one, but
+Virginia had played him false. He did not mind losing her--he could find
+a better woman--but how could he save his lost pride? He had played his
+hand to win and, when it came to the showdown, she had slipped in the
+joker and cleaned him. The Widow would laugh when she heard the news,
+but she would not laugh at him. The road lay before him and his gas
+tanks were full. He would gather up his belongings and drift. He stepped
+on the throttle and went roaring through the town, but at the bottom of
+the hill he stopped. The mine was shut down, not a soul was in sight,
+and yet he had left but a few hours before.
+
+He toiled wearily up the trail, where he had caught Virginia running and
+held her fighting in his arms, and the world turned black at the
+thought. What madness had this been that had kept him from suspecting
+her when she had opposed his every move from the start. Had she not
+wrecked his engine and ruined his mill? Then why had he trusted her with
+his money? And that last innocent visit, when she had asked for her
+stock, and thanked him so demurely at the end! She would not be
+dismissed, all his rough words were wasted, until in the end she had
+leaned over and kissed him. A Judas-kiss? Yes, if ever there was one; or
+the kiss of Judith of Bethulia. But Judith had sold her kisses to save
+her people--Virginia had sold hers for gold.
+
+Yes, she had sold him out for money; after rebuking him from the
+beginning she had stabbed him to the heart for a price. It was always
+he, Wiley, who thought of nothing but money; who was the liar, the
+miser, the thief. Everything that he did, no matter how unselfish, was
+imputed to his love of money; and yet it had remained for Virginia,
+the censorious and virtuous, to violate her trust for gain. It was not
+for revenge that she had withheld the payment and snatched a million
+dollars from his hand; she had told him herself that it was because
+Blount had returned their stock and she would not throw it away. How
+quick Blount had been to see that way out and to bribe her by
+returning the stock--how damnably quick to read her envious heart and
+know that she would fall for the offer. Well, now let them keep it and
+smile their smug smiles and laugh at Honest Wiley; for if there ever
+was a curse on stolen money then Virginia's would buy her no
+happiness.
+
+He raised his bloodshot eyes to look for the last time at the Paymaster,
+which he had fought for and lost. What had they done to save it, to
+bring it to what it was, to merit it for their own? For years it had
+lain idle, and when he had opened it up they had fought him at every
+step. They had shot him down with buckshot, and beaten him down with
+rocks and threatened his life with Stiff Neck George. His eyes cleared
+suddenly and he looked about the dump--he had forgotten his feud with
+George. Yet if his men were gone, who then had driven them out but that
+crooked-necked, fighting fool? And if George had driven them out, then
+where was he now with his ancient, filed-down six-shooter? Wiley drew
+his gun forward and walked softly towards the house, but as he passed a
+metal ore-car a pistol was thrust into his face. He started back, and
+there was George.
+
+"Put 'em up!" he snarled, rising swiftly from behind the car, and the
+hot fury left Wiley's brain. His anger turned cold and he looked down
+the barrel at the grinning, spiteful eyes behind.
+
+"You go to hell!" he growled, and George jabbed the gun into his
+stomach.
+
+"Put 'em up!" he ordered, but some devil of resistance seized Wiley as
+his hands went up. It was close, too close, and George had the drop on
+him, but one hand struck out and the other clutched the gun while he
+twisted his lithe body aside. At the roar of the shot he went for his
+own gun, leaping back and stooping low. Another bullet clipped his shirt
+and then his own gun spat back, shooting blindly through the smoke. He
+emptied it, dodging swiftly and crouching close to the ground, and then
+he sprang behind the car. There was a silence, but as he listened he
+heard a gurgling noise, like the water flowing out of a canteen, and a
+sudden, sodden thump. He looked out, and George was down. His blood was
+gushing fast but the narrow, snaky eyes sought him out before they were
+filmed by death. It was over, like a rush of wind.
+
+Wiley flicked out his cylinder and filled it with fresh cartridges, then
+looked around for the rest. He was calm now, and calculating and
+infinitely brave; but no one stepped forth to face his gun. A boy, down
+in town, started running towards the mine, only to turn back at some
+imperative command. The whole valley was lifeless, yet the people were
+there, and soon they would venture forth. And then they would come up,
+and look at the body, and ask him to give up his gun; and if he did they
+would take him to Vegas and shut him up in jail, where the populace
+could come and stare at him. Blount and Jepson would come, and the Board
+of Directors; and, in order to put him away, they would tell how he had
+threatened George. They would make it appear that he had come to jump
+the mine, and that George was defending the property; and then, with the
+jury nicely packed, they would send him to the penitentiary, where he
+wouldn't interfere with their plans.
+
+In a moment of clairvoyance he saw Virginia before him, looking in
+through the prison bars and smiling, and suddenly he put up his gun. She
+had started this job and made him a murderer but he would rob her of
+that last chance to smile. There was a road that he knew that had been
+traveled before by men who were hard-pressed and desperate. It turned
+west across the desert and mounted by Daylight Springs to dip down the
+long slope to the Sink; and across the Valley of Death, if he could once
+pass over it, there was no one he need fear to meet. No one, that is,
+except stray men like himself, who had fled from the officers of the
+law. Great mountain ranges, so they said, stretched unpeopled and
+silent, beneath the glare of the desert sun; and though Death might
+linger near it was under the blue sky and away from the cold malice of
+men.
+
+From his safe in the office Wiley took out a roll of bills, all that was
+left of his vanished wealth; and he took down his rifle and belt; and
+then, walking softly past the body of Stiff Neck George, he cranked up
+his machine and started off. Every doorway in town was crowded with
+heads, craning out to see him pass, and as he turned down the main
+street he saw Death Valley Charley rushing out with a flask in his hand.
+
+"We seen ye!" he grinned as Wiley slowed down, and dropped the flask of
+whiskey on the seat.
+
+"You killed him fair!" he shouted after him, but Wiley had opened up the
+throttle and the answer to his praise was a roar.
+
+The sun was at high noon when Wiley topped the divide and glided down
+the canyon towards Death Valley. He could sense it in the distance by
+the veil of gray haze that hung like a pall across his way. Beyond it
+were high mountains, a solid wall of blue that seemed to rise from the
+depths and float, detached, against the sky; and up the winding wash
+which led slowly down and down, there came pulsing waves of heat. The
+canyon opened out into a broad, rocky sand-flat, shut in on both sides
+by knife-edged ridges dotted evenly with brittle white bushes; and each
+jagged rock and out-thrust point was burned black by the suns of
+centuries.
+
+He passed an ancient tractor, abandoned by the wayside, and a deserted,
+double-roofed house; and then, just below it where a ravine came down,
+he saw a sign-board, pointing. Up the gulch was another sign, still
+pointing on and up, and stamped through the metal of the disk was the
+single word: Water. It was Hole-in-the-Rock Springs that old Charley had
+spoken about and, somewhere up the canyon, there was a hole in the
+limestone cap, and beneath it a tank of sweet water. On many a scorching
+day some prospector, half dead from thirst, had toiled up that well-worn
+trail; but now the way was empty, the freighter's house given over to
+rats, and the road led on and on.
+
+A jagged, saw-tooth range rose up to block his way and the sand-flat
+narrowed down to a deep wash; and, then, still thundering on, he
+struggled out through its throat and the Valley seemed to rise up and
+smite him. He stopped his throbbing motor and sat appalled at its
+immensity. Funereal mountains, black and banded and water-channeled,
+rose up in solid walls on both sides and, down through the middle as far
+as the eye could see, there stretched a white ribbon, set in green. It
+swung back and forth across a wide, level expanse, narrow and gleaming
+with water at the north and blending in the south with gray sands. The
+writhing white band was Death Valley Sink, where the waters from
+countless desert ranges drained down and were sucked up by the sun. Far
+from the north it came, when the season was right and the cloudbursts
+swept the Grape-Vines and the White mountains; the Panamints to the west
+gave down water from winter snows that gathered on Telescope Peak; and
+every ravine of the somber Funeral Range was gutted by the rush of
+forgotten waters.
+
+The Valley was dry, bone-dry and desiccated, and yet every hill, every
+gulch and wash and canyon, showed the action of torrential waters. The
+chocolate-brown flanks of the towering mountain walls were creased, and
+ripped out and worn; and from the mouth of every canyon a great spit of
+sand and boulders had been spewed out and washed down towards the Sink.
+On the surface of this wash, rising up through thousands of feet, the
+tips of buried mountains peeped out like tiny hill-tops, yet black, and
+sharp and grim. The great ranges themselves, sweeping up from the
+profundity till they seemed to cut off the world, looked like molded
+cakes of chocolate which had been rained on and half melted down. They
+were washed-down, melted, stripped of earth and vegetation; and down
+from their flanks in a steep, even slope, lay the debris and scourings
+of centuries.
+
+The westering sun caught the glint of water in the poisonous,
+salt-marshes of the Sink; but, far to the south, the great ultimate
+Sink of Sinks was a-gleam with borax and salt. It was there where the
+white band widened out to a lake-bed, that men came in winter to do
+their assessment work and scrape up the cotton-ball borax. But if any
+were there now they would know him for a fugitive and he took the road
+to the west. It ran over boulders, ground smooth by rolling floods and
+burned deep brown by the sun, and as he twisted and turned, throwing
+his weight against the wheels, Wiley felt the growing heat. His shirt
+clung to his back, the sweat ran down his face and into his stinging
+eyes and as he stopped for a drink he noticed that the water no longer
+quenched his thirst. It was warm and flat and after each fresh drink
+the perspiration burst from every pore, as if his very skin cried out
+for moisture. Yet his canteen was getting light and, until he could
+find water, he put it resolutely away.
+
+The road swung down at last into a broad, flat dry-wash, where the
+gravel lay packed hard as iron, and as his racer took hold and began to
+leap and frolic, he tore down the valley like the wind. The sun was
+sinking low and the unknown lay before him, a land he had never seen;
+yet before the night came on he must map out his course and stake his
+life on the venture. Other automobiles might follow and snatch him back
+if he delayed but an hour in his flight; but, once across Death Valley
+and lost in those far mountains, he would leave the law behind. The men
+he met would be fugitives like himself, or prospectors, or wandering
+Shoshones; and, live or die, he would be away from it all--where he
+would never see Virginia again.
+
+The deep wash pinched in, as the other had done, before it gave out into
+the plain; and, then, as he whirled around a point, he glided out into
+the open. The foothills lay behind him and, straight athwart his way,
+stretched a sea of motionless sand-waves. As far north as he could see,
+the ocean of sand tossed and tumbled, the crests of its rollers crowned
+with brush and grotesque drift-wood, the gnarled trunks and roots of
+mesquite trees. To the east and west the high mountains still rose up,
+black and barren, shutting in the sea of sand; but across the valley a
+pass led smoothly up to a gap through the wall of the Panamints. It was
+Emigrant Wash, up which the hardy Mormons had toiled in their western
+pilgrimage, leaving at Lost Wagons and Salt Creek the bones of whole
+caravans as a tribute to the power of the desert.
+
+A smooth, steep slope led swiftly down to the edge of the Valley of
+Death and as Wiley looked across he saw as in a vision a massive gateway
+of stone. It was flung boldly out from the base of a blue mountain,
+enclosing a dark valley behind; and from between its lofty walls a white
+river of sand spread out like a flower down the slope. It was the
+gateway to the Ube-Hebes, just as Charley had described it, and it was
+only a few miles away. It lay just across the sand-flat, where the
+great, even waves seemed marching in a phalanx towards the south; and
+then up a little slope, all painted blue and purple, to the mysterious
+valley beyond. The sun, swinging low, touched the summits of distant
+sand-hills with a gleam of golden light and all the dark shadows moved
+toward him. A breath of air fanned his cheek, and as he drank deep from
+his canteen he nodded to the Gateway and smiled.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+ACROSS DEATH VALLEY
+
+
+The way to the Ube-Hebes lay across a low flat, glistening white with
+crystals of alkali; and as his car trundled on Wiley came to a strip of
+sand, piled up in the lee of a prostrate salt bush. Other bushes
+appeared, and more sand about them, and then a broad, smooth wave. It
+mounted up from the north, gently scalloped by the wind, and on the
+south side it broke off like a wall. He drove along below it, glancing
+up as it grew higher, until at last it cut off his view. All the north
+was gone, and the Gateway to his hiding-place; but the south and west
+were there. To the south lay mud flats, powdery dry but packed hard; and
+the west was a wilderness of sand.
+
+A giant mesquite tree, piled high with clinging drifts, rose up before
+the crest of his wave, and as he plowed in between them the edge of the
+crest poured down in a whispering cascade. Then more trees loomed up,
+and hundreds of white bushes each mounted on its pedestal of sand; and
+at the base of each salt-bush there were kangaroo-rat holes and the
+tracery of their tails in the dust. Men called it Death Valley, but for
+such as these it was a place of fullness and joy. They had capered
+about, striking the ground with their tails at the end of each playful
+jump, and the dry, brittle salt-bushes had been feast enough to them,
+who never knew the taste of grass or water.
+
+The sand-wave rose higher, leaving a damp hollow behind it where
+ice-plants grew green and rank; and as he crept along the thunder of
+his exhaust started tons of sliding silt. His wheels raced and
+burrowed as he struck a soft spot, and then abruptly they sank. He dug
+them out carefully and backed away, but a mound of drifted sand barred
+his way. Twist and turn as he would he could not get around it and at
+last he climbed to its summit. The sun was setting in purple and fire
+behind the black shoulder of the Panamints and like a path of gold it
+marked out the way, the only way to cross the Valley. At the south was
+the Sink with its treacherous bog-holes and further north the
+sand-hills were limitless--the only way, where the wagon-wheels had
+crossed, was buried deep in the sand. Three great mountains of sand,
+like huge breakers of the sea, had swept in and covered the
+wheel-tracks; and far to the west in the path of the sun their summits
+loomed two hundred feet high.
+
+He went back to his car and drove it desperately at the slope, only to
+bury the rear wheels to the axles; and as he dug them out the sand from
+the wave crest began to whisper and slip and slide. He cleared a great
+space and started his motor, but at the first shuddering tug the sand
+began to tremble and in a rush the wave was upon him. It buried him deep
+and as he leapt from his machine little rills of singing sand flowed
+around it. So far it had carried him, this high-powered, steel-springed
+racer; but now he must leave it for the sand to cover over and cross the
+great Valley alone. On many a rocky slope and sliding sand-hill it had
+clutched and plunged and fought its way, but now it was smothered in the
+treacherous, silt-fine sand and he must leave it, like a partner, to
+die. Yet if die it must, then in its desert burial the last trace of
+Wiley Holman would be lost. The first wind that blew would wipe out his
+footprints and the racer would sink beneath the waves. Wiley took his
+canteen, and Charley's bottle of whiskey, his rifle and a small sack of
+food and dared the great silence alone.
+
+While his motor had done the work he had not minded the heat and the
+pressure of blood in his head, but as he toiled up the sandy slope,
+sinking deeper at each stride, he felt the breath of the sand. All day
+it had lain there drinking in the sun's rays and now in the evening,
+when the upper air was cool, it radiated a sweltering heat. Wiley
+mounted to the summit of wave after wave, fighting his way towards the
+Gateway to the north; and then, beaten at last and choking with the
+exertion, he turned and followed a crest. The sand piled up before him
+in a vortex of sharp-edged ridges, reaching their apex in a huge pyramid
+to the west, and as he toiled on past its flank he felt a gusty rush of
+air, sucking down through Emigrant Wash. It was the wind, after all,
+that was king of Death Valley; for whichever way it blew it swept the
+sand before it, raising up pyramids and tearing them down. Along the
+crest of the high wave a feather-edge of sand leapt out like a plume
+into space and as he stopped to watch it Wiley could see that the
+mountain was moving by so much across the plain.
+
+A luminous half-moon floated high in the heavens and the sky was
+studded thick with pin-point stars. In that myriad of little stars,
+filling in between the big ones, the milky way was lost and reduced to
+obscurity--the whole sky was a milky way. Wiley sank down in the sand
+and gazed up sombrely as he wetted his parching lips from his canteen,
+and the evening star gleamed like a torch, looking down on the world
+he had fled. Across the Funeral Range, not a day's journey to the
+east, that same star lighted Virginia on her way while he, a fugitive,
+was flung like an atom into the depths of this sea of sand. It was
+deeper than the sea, scooped out far below the level of the cool
+breakers that broke along the shore; deep and dead, except for the
+wind that moved the drifting sand across the plains. And even as he
+lay there, looking up at the stars and wondering at the riddle of the
+universe, the busy wind was bringing grains of sand and burying him,
+each minute by so much.
+
+He rose up in a panic and hurried along the slope, where the sand of the
+wave was packed hardest, and he did not pause till he had passed the
+last drift and set his foot on the hard, gravelly slope. The wind was
+cooler now, for the night was well along and the bare ground had
+radiated its heat; but it was dry, powder dry, and every pore of his
+skin seemed to gasp and cry out for water. There was water, even yet, in
+the bottom of his canteen; but he dared not drink it till the Gateway
+was in sight, and the sand-wash that led to the valley beyond.
+
+An hour passed by as he toiled up the slope, now breaking into a run
+from impatience, now settling down doggedly to walk; and at last, clear
+and distinct, he saw the Gateway in the moonlight, and stopped to take
+his drink. It was cool now, the water, and infinitely sweet; yet he knew
+that the moment he drained the last drop he would feel the clutch of
+fear. It is an unreasoning thing, that fear of the desert which comes
+when the last drop is gone; and yet it is real and known to every
+wanderer, and guarded against by the bravest. He screwed the cap on his
+canteen and hurried up the slope, which grew steeper and rockier with
+each mile, but the phantom gateway seemed to lead on before him and
+recede into the black abyss of night. It was there, right before him,
+but instead of getting nearer, the Gateway loomed higher and higher; and
+daylight was near before he passed through its portals and entered the
+dark valley beyond.
+
+A gaunt row of cottonwoods rose up suddenly before him, their leaves
+whispering and clacking in the wind, and at this brave promise all fear
+for water left him and he drained his canteen to the bottom. Then he
+strode on up the canyon, that was deep and dark as a pocket, following
+the trail that should lead him to the spring; but as one mile and two
+dragged along with no water, he stopped and hid his rifle among the
+rocks. A little later he hid his belt with its heavy row of cartridges,
+and the sack of dry, useless food. What he needed was water and when he
+had drunk his fill he could come back and collect all his possessions.
+Two miles, five miles, he toiled up the creek bed with the cottonwoods
+rustling overhead; but though their roots were in the water, the sand
+was still dry and his tongue was swelling with thirst.
+
+He stumbled against a stone and fell weakly to the ground, only to leap
+to his feet again, frightened. Already it was coming, the stupifying
+lassitude, the reckless indifference to his fate, and yet he was hardly
+tired. The Valley had not been hot, any more than usual, and he had
+walked twice as far before; but now, with water just around the corner,
+he was lying down in the sand. He was sleepy, that was it, but he must
+get to water first or his pores would close up and he would die. He
+stripped off his pistol and threw it in the sand, and his hat, and the
+bottle of fiery whiskey; and then, head down, he plunged blindly
+forward, rushing on up the trail to find water.
+
+The sun rose higher and poured down into the narrow valley with its
+fringe of deceptive green; but though the trees became bigger and
+bushier in their tops the water did not come to the surface. It was
+underneath the sand, flowing along the bed-rock, and all that was needed
+was a solid reef of country-rock to bring it up to the surface. It would
+flow over the dyke in a beautiful water-fall, leaping and gurgling and
+going to waste; and after he had drunk he would lie down and wallow and
+give his whole body a drink. He would soak there for hours, sucking it
+up with his parched lips that were cracked now and bleeding from the
+drought; and then--he woke up suddenly, to find himself digging in the
+sand. He was going mad then, so soon after he was lost, and with water
+just up the stream. The creek was dry, where he had found himself
+digging, but up above it would be full of water. He hurried on again
+and, around the next turn, sure enough, he found a basin of water.
+
+It was hollowed from the rock, a round pool, undimpled, and upon its
+surface a pair of wasps floated about with airy grace. Their legs were
+outstretched and on the bottom of the hole he could see the round
+shadows of their tracks. It was a new kind of water, with a skin that
+would bend down and hold up the body of a wasp, and yet it seemed to
+be wet. He thrust in a finger and the wasps flew away--and then he
+dropped down and drank deep. When he woke from his madness the pool
+was half empty and the water was running down his face. He was wet all
+over and his lips were bleeding afresh, as if his very blood had been
+dry; but his body was weak and sick, and as he rose to his feet he
+tottered and fell down in the sand. When he roused up again the pool
+was filled with water and the wasps were back, floating on its
+surface.
+
+When he looked around he was in a little cove, shut in by towering
+walls; and, close against the cliff where the rock had been hollowed
+out, he saw an abandoned camp. There were ashes between the stones, and
+tin cans set on boxes, and a walled-in storage place behind, and as he
+looked again he saw a man's tracks, leading down a narrow path to the
+water. They turned off up the creek--high-heeled boots soled with
+rawhide and bound about with thongs--and Wiley rushed recklessly at the
+camp. When he had eaten last he could hardly remember, (it was a day or
+two back at the best), and as he peered into cans and found them empty
+he gave vent to a savage curse. He was weak, he was starving, and he had
+thrown away his food--and this man had hidden what he had. He kicked
+over the boxes and plunged into the store-room, throwing beans and flour
+sacks right and left, and then in the corner behind a huge pile of pinon
+nuts he found a single can of tomatoes.
+
+Whoever had treasured it had kept it too long, for Wiley's knife was
+already out and as he cut out the top he tipped it slowly up and drained
+it to the bottom.
+
+"Hey, there!" hailed a voice and Wiley started and laid down the can.
+Was it possible the officers had followed him? "Throw up your hands!"
+yelled the voice in a fury. "Throw 'em up, or I'll kill you, you
+scoundrel!"
+
+Wiley held up his hands, but he raised them reluctantly and the fighting
+look crept back into his eyes.
+
+"Well!" he challenged, "they're up--what about it?"
+
+A tall man with a pistol stepped out from behind a tree and advanced
+with his gun raised and cocked. His hair was hermit-long, his white
+beard trembled, and his voice cracked and shrilled with helpless rage.
+
+"What about it!" he repeated. "Well, by Jupiter, if you sass me, I'll
+shoot you for a camp-robbing hound!"
+
+"Well, go ahead then," burst out Wiley defiantly, "if that's the way you
+feel--all I took was one can of tomatoes!"
+
+"Yes! One can! Wasn't that all I had? And you robbed me before, you
+rascal!"
+
+"I did not!" retorted Wiley, and as the old man looked him over he
+hesitated and lowered his gun.
+
+"Say, who are you, anyway?" he asked at last and glanced swiftly at
+Wiley's tracks in the sand. "Well--that's all right," he ran on
+hastily, "I see you aren't the man. There was a renegade came through
+here on the twentieth of last July and stole everything I had. I
+trailed him, dad-burn him, clear to the edge of Death Valley--he was
+riding my favorite burro--and if it hadn't been for a sandstorm that
+came up and stopped me, I'd have bored him through and through. He
+stole my rifle and even my letters, and valuable papers besides; but
+he went to his reward, or I miss my guess, so we'll leave him to the
+mercy of hell. As for my tomatoes, you're welcome, my friend; it's
+long since I've had a guest."
+
+He held out his hand and advanced, smiling kindly, but Wiley stepped
+back--it was Colonel Huff.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX
+
+AN EVENING WITH SOCRATES
+
+
+How the Colonel had come to be reported dead it was easy enough now to
+surmise. Some desperate fugitive, or rambling hobo miner seeking a
+crosscut to the Borax Mines below, had raided his camp in his absence;
+and, riding off on his burro, had met his death in a sandstorm. His
+were the tracks that the Indians had followed and somewhere in Death
+Valley he lay beneath the sand dunes in place of a better man. But the
+Colonel--did he know that his family had mourned him as dead, and
+bandied his stock back and forth? Did he know that the Paymaster had
+been bonded and opened up, and lost again to Blount? And what would be
+his answer if he knew the man before him was the son of Honest John
+Holman? Wiley closed down his lips, then he took the outstretched hand
+and looked the Colonel straight in the eye.
+
+"I'm sorry, sir," he said, "that I can't give you my name or tell you
+where I'm from; but I've got a bottle of whiskey that will more than
+make up for the loss of that can of tomatoes!"
+
+"Whiskey!" shrilled the Colonel and then he smiled benignly and laid a
+fatherly hand upon his shoulder. "Never mind, my young friend, what you
+have done or not done; because I'm sure it was nothing dishonorable--and
+now if you will produce your bottle we'll drink to our better
+acquaintance."
+
+"I threw it away," answered Wiley apologetically, "but it can't be
+very far down the trail. I was short of water and lost, you might say,
+and--well, I guess I was a little wild."
+
+"And well you might be," replied the Colonel heartily, "if you crossed
+Death Valley afoot; and worn out and hungry, to boot. I'll just take
+the liberty of going after that bottle myself, before some skulking
+Shoo-shonnie gets hold of it."
+
+"Do so," smiled Wiley, "and when you've had your drink, perhaps you'll
+bring in my rifle and the rest."
+
+"Whatever you've dropped," returned the Colonel cordially, "if it's only
+a cartridge from your belt! And while I am gone, just make yourself at
+home. You seem to be in need of rest."
+
+"Yes, I am," agreed Wiley, and before the Colonel was out of sight he
+was fast asleep on his bed.
+
+It was dark when he awoke and the light of a fire played and flickered
+on the walls of his cave. The wind brought to his nostrils the odor of
+cooking beans and as he rose and looked out he saw the Colonel pacing up
+and down by the fire. His hat was off, his fine head thrown back and he
+was humming to himself and smiling.
+
+"Come out, sir; come out!" he cried upon the moment. "I trust you have
+enjoyed your day's rest. And now give me your hand, sir; I regret beyond
+words my boorish conduct of this morning."
+
+He shook hands effusively, still continuing his apologies for having
+taken Wiley for less than a gentleman; and while they ate together it
+became apparent to Wiley that the Colonel had had his drink. If there
+was anything left of the pint bottle of whiskey no mention was made of
+the fact; but even at that the liquor was well spent, for it had gained
+him a friend for life.
+
+"Young man," observed the Colonel, after looking at him closely, "I am a
+fugitive in a way, myself, but I cannot believe, from the look on your
+face, that your are anything else than honest. I shall respect your
+silence, as you respect mine, for your past is nothing to me; but if at
+any time I can assist you, just mention the fact and the deed is as good
+as done. I am a man of my word and, since true friends are rare, I beg
+of you not to forget me."
+
+"I'll remember that," said Wiley, and went on with his eating as the
+Colonel paced up and down. He was a noble-looking man of the Southern
+type, tall and slender, with flashing blue eyes; and the look that he
+gave him reminded Wiley of Virginia, only infinitely more kind and
+friendly. He had been, in his day, a prince of entertainers, of the rich
+and poor alike; and the kick of the whiskey had roused up those genial
+qualities which had made him the first citizen of Keno. He laughed and
+told stories and cracked merry jests, yet never for a moment did he
+forget his incognito nor attempt to violate Wiley's. They were gentlemen
+there together in the heart of the desert, and as such each was safe
+from intrusion. The rifle and cartridge belt, Wiley's pistol and the
+sack of food, were fetched and placed in his hands; and then at the end
+the Colonel produced the flask of whiskey which had been slightly
+diluted with water.
+
+"Now," he said, "we will drink a toast, my far-faring-knight of the
+desert. Shall it be that first toast: 'The Ladies--God bless them!'
+or----"
+
+"No!" answered Wiley, and the Colonel silently laughed.
+
+"Well said, my young friend," he replied, nodding wisely. "Even at your
+age you have learned something of life. No, let it be the toast that
+Socrates drank, and that rare company who sat at the Banquet. To Love!
+they drank; but not to love of woman. To love of mankind--of Man! To
+Friendship! In short, here's to you, my friend, and may you never regret
+this night!"
+
+They drank it in silence, and as Wiley sat thinking, the Colonel became
+reminiscent.
+
+"Ah, there was a company," he said, smiling mellowly, "such as the world
+will never see again. Agatho and Socrates, Aristophanes and Alcibiades,
+the picked men of ancient Athens; lying comfortably on their couches
+with the food before them and inviting their souls with wine. They began
+in the evening and in the morning it was Socrates who had them all under
+the table. And yet, of all men, he was the most abstemious--he could
+drink or let it alone. Alcibiades, the drunkard, gave witness that night
+to the courage and hardihood of Socrates--how he had carried him and his
+armor from the battlefield of Potidaea, and outfaced the enemy at
+Delium; how he marched barefoot through the ice while the others, well
+shod, froze; and endured famine without complaining; yet again, in the
+feasts at the military table, he was the only person that appeared to
+enjoy them. There was a man, my friend, such as the world has never
+seen, the greatest philosopher of all time; but do you know what
+philosophy he taught?"
+
+"No, I don't," admitted Wiley, and the Colonel sighed as he poured out a
+small libation.
+
+"And yet," he said, "you are a man of parts, with an education, very
+likely, of the best. But our schools and Universities now teach a man
+everything except the meaning and purpose of life. When I was in school
+we read our Plato and Xenophon as you now read your German and French;
+but what we learned, above the language itself, was the thought of that
+ancient time. You learn to earn money and to fight your way through
+life, but Socrates taught that friendship is above everything and that
+Truth is the Ultimate Good. But, ah well; I weary you, for each age
+lives unto itself, and who cares for the thoughts of an old man?"
+
+"No! Go on!" protested Wiley, but the Colonel sighed wearily and shook
+his head gloomily in thought.
+
+"I had a friend once," he said at last, "who had the same rugged honesty
+of Socrates. He was a man of few words but I truly believe that he never
+told a lie. And yet," went on the Colonel with a rueful smile, "they
+tell me that my friend recanted and deceived me at the last!"
+
+"_Who_ told you?" put in Wiley, suddenly rousing from his silence
+and the Colonel glanced at him sharply.
+
+"Ah, yes; well said, my friend! Who told me? Why, all of them--except my
+friend himself. I could not go to him with so much as a suggestion that
+he had betrayed the friendship of a lifetime; and he, no doubt, felt
+equally reluctant to explain what had never been charged. Yet I dared
+not approach him, for it was better to endure doubt than to suffer the
+certainty of his guilt. And so we drifted apart, and he moved away; and
+I have never seen my good friend since."
+
+Wiley sat in stunned silence, but his heart leapt up at this word of
+vindication for Honest John. To be sure his father had refused him help,
+and rebuked him for heckling the Widow, but loyalty ran strong in the
+Holman blood and he looked up at the Colonel and smiled.
+
+"Next time you go inside," he said at last, "take a chance and ask your
+friend."
+
+"I'll do that," agreed the Colonel, "but it won't be for some time
+because--well, I'm hiding out."
+
+"Here, too," returned Wiley, "and I'm _never_ going back. But say,
+listen; I'll tell _you_ one now. You trusted your friend, and the
+bunch told you that he'd betrayed you; I trusted my girl, and she told
+me to my face that she'd sold me out for fifty thousand dollars. Fifty
+thousand, at the most; and I lost about a million and killed a man over
+it, to boot. You take a chance with your friends, but when you trust a
+woman--you don't take any chance at all."
+
+"Ah, in self defense?" inquired the Colonel politely. "I thought I
+noticed a hole in your shirt. Yes, pretty close work--between your arm
+and your ribs. I've had a few close calls, myself."
+
+"Yes, but what do you think," demanded Wiley impatiently, "of a girl
+that will throw you down like that? I gave her the stock and to make it
+worth the money she turned around and ditched me. And then she looked me
+in the face and laughed!"
+
+"If you had studied," observed the Colonel, "the Republic of Plato you
+would have been saved your initial mistake; for it was an axiom among
+the Greeks that in all things women are inferior, and never to be
+trusted in large affairs. The great Plato pointed out, and it has never
+been controverted, that women are given to concealment and spite; and
+that in times of danger they are timid and cowardly, and should
+therefore have no voice in council. In fact, in the ideal State which he
+conceived, they were to be herded by themselves in a community dwelling
+and held in common by the state. There were to be no wives and no
+husbands, with their quarrels and petty bickerings, but the women were
+to be parceled out by certain controllers of marriage and required to
+breed men for the state. That is going rather far, and I hardly
+subscribe to it, but I think they should be kept in their place."
+
+"Well, they are cowardly, all right," agreed Wiley bitterly, "but that's
+better than when they fight. Because then, if you oppose them, everybody
+turns against you; and if you don't, they've got you whipped!"
+
+"Put it there!" exclaimed the Colonel, striking hands with him
+dramatically. "I swear, we shall get along famously. There is nothing I
+admire more than a gentle, modest woman, an ornament to her husband and
+her home; but when she puts on the trousers and presumes to question and
+dictate, what is there left for a gentleman to do? He cannot strike her,
+for she is his wife and he has sworn to cherish and protect her; and
+yet, by the gods, she can make his life more miserable than a dozen
+quarrelsome men. What is there to do but what I have done--to close up
+my affairs and depart? If there is such a thing as love, long absence
+may renew it, and the sorrow may chasten her heart; but I agree with
+Solomon that it is better to dwell in a corner of the house-top than
+with a scolding woman in a wide house."
+
+"You bet," nodded Wiley. "Gimme the desert solitude, every time. Is
+there any more whiskey in that bottle?"
+
+"And yet--" mused the Colonel, "--well, here's to our mothers! And may
+we ever be dutiful sons! After all, my friend, no man can escape his
+duty; and if duty should call us to endure a certain martyrdom we have
+the example of Socrates to sustain us. If report is true he had a
+scolding wife--the name of Xanthippe has become a proverb--and yet what
+more noble than Socrates' rebuke to his son when he behaved undutifully
+towards his mother? Where else in all literature will you find a more
+exalted statement of the duty we all owe our parents than in Socrates'
+dialogue with Lamprocles, his son, as recorded in the Memorabilia of
+Xenophon? And if, living with Xanthippe and listening to her railings,
+he could yet attain to such heights of philosophy is it not possible
+that men like you and me might come, through his philosophy, to endure
+it? It is that which I am pondering while I am alone here in the desert;
+but my spirit is weak and that accursed camp robber made off with my
+volume of Plato."
+
+"Well, personally," stated Wiley, his mind on the Widow, "I think I
+agree more with Plato. Let 'em keep in their place and not crush into
+business with their talk and their double-barreled shotguns."
+
+"I beg your pardon, sir," said the Colonel, drawing himself up gravely,
+"but did you happen to come through Keno?"
+
+"Never mind;" grumbled Wiley, "you might be the Sheriff. Tell me more
+about this married man, Socrates."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI
+
+THE BROKEN TRUST
+
+
+To seek always for Truth and Justice and the common good of mankind has
+seldom had its earthly reward but, twenty-three hundred and fifteen
+years after he drank the cup of hemlock, the soul of Socrates received
+its oration. Not that the Colonel was hipped upon the subject of the
+ancients, for he talked mining and showed some copper claims as well;
+but a similar tragedy in his own domestic life had evoked a profound
+admiration for Socrates. And if Wiley understood what lay behind his
+words he gave no hint to the Colonel. Always, morning, noon and night,
+he listened respectfully, his lips curling briefly at some thought; and
+at the end of a week the Colonel was as devoted to him as he had been
+formerly to his father.
+
+Yet when, as sometimes happened, the Colonel tried to draw him out, he
+shook his head stubbornly and was dumb. The problem that he had could
+not be solved by talk; it called for years to recover and forget; and if
+the Colonel once knew that his own daughter was involved he might rise
+up and demand a retraction. In his first rush of bitterness Wiley had
+stated without reservation that Virginia had sold him out for money, and
+the pride of the Huffs would scarcely allow this to pass unnoticed--and
+yet he would not retract it if he died for it. He knew from her own lips
+that Virginia had betrayed him, and it could never be explained away.
+
+If she argued that she was misled by Blount and his associates, he had
+warned her before she left; and if she had thought that he was doing her
+an injustice, that was not the way to correct it. She had accepted a
+trust and she had broken that trust to gain a personal profit--and that
+was the unpardonable sin. He could have excused her if she had weakened
+or made some mistake, but she had betrayed him deliberately and
+willfully; and as he sat off by himself, mulling it over in his mind,
+his eyes became stern and hard. For the killing of Stiff Neck George he
+had no regrets, and the treachery of Blount did not surprise him; but he
+had given this woman his heart to keep and she had sold him for fifty
+thousand dollars. All the rest became as nothing but this wound refused
+to heal, for he had lost his faith in womankind. Had he loved her less,
+or trusted her less, it would not have rankled so deep; but she had been
+his one woman, whose goings and comings he watched for, and all the time
+she was playing him false.
+
+He sat silent one morning in the cool shade of a wild grapevine, jerking
+the meat of a mountain sheep that he had killed; and as he worked
+mechanically, shredding the flesh into long strips, he watched the lower
+trail. Ten days had gone by since he had fled across the Valley, but the
+danger of pursuit had not passed and, as he saw a great owl that was
+nesting down below rise up blindly and flop away he paused and reached
+for his gun.
+
+"Never mind," said the Colonel who had noticed the movement. "I expect
+an old Indian in with grub. But step into the cave and if it's who you
+think it is you can count on me till the hair slips."
+
+Wiley stepped in quietly, strapping on his belt and pistol, and then the
+Colonel burst into a roar.
+
+"It's Charley," he cried, leaping nimbly to his feet and putting up his
+gun. "Come on, boy--here's where we get that drink!"
+
+Wiley looked out doubtfully as Heine rushed up and sniffed at the pans
+of meat, and then he ducked back and hid. Around the shoulder of the
+cliff came Death Valley Charley; but behind him, on a burro, was
+Virginia. He looked out again as the Colonel swore an oath and then she
+leapt off and ran towards them.
+
+"Oh--_Father_!" she cried and hung about his neck while the
+astonished Colonel kissed her doubtfully.
+
+"Well, well!" he protested as she fell to weeping, "what's the cause of
+all this distress? Is your mother not well, or----"
+
+"We--we thought you were _dead_!" she burst out indignantly, "and
+Charley there knew--all the time!"
+
+She let go of her father and turned upon Death Valley Charley, who was
+solicitously attending to Heine, and the Colonel spoke up peremptorily.
+
+"Here, Charley!" he commanded, "let that gluttonous cur wait. What's
+this I hear from Virginia? Didn't you tell her I was perfectly well?"
+
+"Why--why yes, sir; I did, sir," replied Charley, apologetically,
+"but--she only thought I was crazy. I told her, all the time----"
+
+"Oh, Charley!" reproached Virginia, "didn't you know better than that?
+You only said it when you had those spells. Why didn't you tell me when
+you were feeling all right--and you denied it, I know, repeatedly!"
+
+"The Colonel would kill me," mumbled Charley sullenly. "He told me not
+to tell. But I brought you the whiskey, sir; a whole big----"
+
+"Never mind the whiskey," said the Colonel sharply. "Now, let's get to
+the bottom of this matter. Why should you think I was dead when I had
+merely absented myself----"
+
+"But the body!" clamored Virginia. "We got word you were lost when your
+burro came in at the Borax works. And when we hired trackers, the
+Indians said you were lost--and your body was out in the sand-hills!"
+
+"It was that cursed camp-robber!" declared the Colonel with conviction.
+"Well, I'm glad he's gone to his reward. It was only some rascal that
+came through here and stole my riding burro--did they care for old Jack
+at the Works? Well, I shall thank them for it kindly; and anything I can
+do--but what's the matter, Virginia?"
+
+She had drawn away from him and was gazing about anxiously and Charley
+had slunk guiltily away.
+
+"Why--where's Wiley?" she cried, clutching her father by the arm. "Oh,
+isn't he here, after all?"
+
+"Wiley?" repeated the Colonel. "Why, who are you talking about? I never
+even heard of such a man."
+
+"Oh, he's dead then; he's lost!" she sobbed, sinking down on the ground
+in despair. "Oh, I knew it, all the time! But that old Charley----" She
+cast a hateful glance at him and the Colonel beckoned sternly.
+
+"What now?" he demanded as Charley sidled near. "Who is this Mr. Wiley?"
+
+"Why--er--Wiley; Wiley Holman, you know. I followed his tracks to the
+Gateway. Ain't he around here somewhere? I found this bottle----" He
+held up the flask that he had given to Wiley, and the Colonel started
+back with a cry.
+
+"What, a tall young fellow with leather puttees?"
+
+"Oh, yes, yes!" answered Virginia, suddenly springing to her feet again.
+"We followed him--isn't he here?"
+
+The Colonel turned slowly and glanced at the cave, where Wiley was still
+hiding close, and then he cleared his throat.
+
+"Well, kindly explain first why you should be following this gentleman,
+and----"
+
+"Oh, he's here, then!" sighed Virginia and fell into her father's arms,
+at which Charley scuttled rapidly away.
+
+"Mr. Holman," spoke up the Colonel, as Wiley did not stir, "may I ask
+you to come out here and explain?"
+
+There was a rustle inside the cave and at last Wiley came out, stuffing
+a strip of dried meat into his hip pocket.
+
+"I'll come out, yes," he said, "but, as I'm about to go, I'll leave it
+to your daughter to explain."
+
+He picked up his canteen and started down to the water-hole, but the
+Colonel called him sternly back.
+
+"My friend," he said, "it is the custom among gentlemen to answer a
+courteous question. I must ask you then what there is between you and my
+daughter, and why she should follow you across Death Valley?"
+
+"There is nothing between us," answered Wiley categorically, "and I
+don't know why she followed me--that is, if she really did."
+
+"Well, I did!" sobbed Virginia, burying her face on her father's breast,
+"but I wish I hadn't now!"
+
+"Huh!" grunted Wiley and stumped off down the trail where he filled his
+canteen at the pool. He was mad, mad all over, and yet he experienced a
+strange thrill at the thought of Virginia following him. He had left her
+smiling and shaking hands with Blount, but a curse had been on the
+money, and her conscience had forced her to follow him. It had been
+easy, for her, with a burro to ride on and Death Valley Charley to guide
+her; but with him it had been different. He had fled from arrest and it
+was only by accident that he had won to the water-hole in time. But yet,
+she had followed him; and now she would apologize and explain, as she
+had explained it all once before. Well, since she had come--and since
+the Colonel was watching him--he shouldered his canteen and came back.
+
+"My daughter tells me," began the Colonel formally, "that you are the
+son of my old friend, John Holman; and I trust that you will take my
+hand."
+
+He held out his hand and Wiley blinked as he returned the warm clasp of
+his friend. Ten days of companionship in the midst of that solitude had
+knitted their souls together and he loved the old Colonel like a father.
+
+"That's all right," he muttered. "And--say, hunt up the Old Man! Because
+he thinks the world of you, still."
+
+"I will do so," replied the Colonel, "but will you do me a favor? By
+gad, sir; I can't let you go. No, you must stay with me, Wiley, if that
+is your name; I want to talk with you later, about your father. But now,
+as a favor, since Virginia has come so far, I will ask you to sit down
+and listen to her. And--er--Wiley; just a moment!" He beckoned him to
+one side and spoke low in his ear. "About that woman who betrayed your
+trust--perhaps I'd better not mention her to Virginia?"
+
+Wiley's eyes grew big and then they narrowed. The Colonel thought there
+was another woman. How could he, proud soul, even think for a moment
+that Virginia herself had betrayed him? No, to his high mind it was
+inconceivable that a daughter of his should violate a trust; and there
+was Virginia, watching them.
+
+"Very well," replied Wiley, and smiled to himself as he laid down his
+gun and canteen. He led the way up the creek to where a gnarled old
+cottonwood cast its shadow against the cliff and smoothed out a seat
+against the bank. "Now sit down," he said, "and let's have this over
+with before the Colonel gets wise. He's a fine old gentleman and if his
+daughter took after him I wouldn't be dodging the sheriff."
+
+"Well, I came to tell you," began Virginia bravely, "that I'm sorry for
+what I've done. And to show you that I mean it I gave Blount back his
+stock."
+
+Wiley gazed at her grimly for a moment and then he curled up his lip.
+"Why not come through," he asked at last, "and acknowledge that he held
+it out on you?"
+
+Virginia started and then she smiled wanly.
+
+"No," she said, "it wasn't quite that. And yet--well, he didn't really
+give it to me."
+
+"I knew it!" exploded Wiley, "the doggoned piker! But of course you made
+a clean-up on your other stock?"
+
+"No, I didn't! I gave that away, too! But Wiley, why won't you listen to
+me? I didn't intend to do it, but he explained it all so nicely----"
+
+"Didn't I tell you he would?" he raged.
+
+"Yes, but listen; you don't understand. When I went to him first I asked
+for Father's stock and--he must have known what was coming. I guess he
+saw the bills. Anyway, he told me then that he had always loved my
+father, and that he wanted to protect us from you; and so, he said, he
+was just holding my Father's stock to keep you from getting it away from
+us. And then he called in some friends of his; and oh, they all became
+so indignant that I thought I couldn't be wrong! Why, they showed me
+that you would make millions by the deal, and all at our expense; and
+then--I don't know, something came over me. We'd been poor so long, and
+it would make you so rich; and, like a fool, I went and did it."
+
+"Well, that's all right," said Wiley. "I forgive you, and all that; but
+don't let your father know. He's got old-fashioned ideas about keeping a
+trust and--say, do you know what he thinks? I happened to mention, the
+first night I got in, that a woman had thrown me down; and he just now
+took me aside and told me not to worry because he'd never mention the
+lady to you. He thinks it was somebody else."
+
+"Oh," breathed Virginia, and then she sat silent while he kicked a hole
+in the dirt and waited. He was willing to concede anything, agree to
+anything, look pleasant at anything, until the ordeal was over; and then
+he intended to depart. Where he would go was a detail to be considered
+later when he felt the need of something to occupy his mind; right now
+he was only thinking that she looked very pale--and there was a tired,
+hunted look in her eyes. She had nerves, of course, the same as he had,
+and the trip across Death Valley had been hard on her; but if she
+suffered now, he had suffered also, and he failed to be as sorry as he
+should.
+
+"You'll be all right now," he said at last, when it seemed she would
+never speak up, "and I'm glad you found your father. He'll go back with
+you now and take a fall out of Blount and--well, you won't feel so poor,
+any more."
+
+"Yes, I will," returned Virginia, suddenly rousing up and looking at him
+with haggard eyes. "I'll always feel poor, because if I gave you back
+all I had it wouldn't be a tenth of what you lost."
+
+"Oh, that's all right," grumbled Wiley. "I don't care about the money.
+Are they hunting me for murder, or what?"
+
+"Oh, no; not for anything!" she answered eagerly. "You'll come back,
+won't you, Wiley? Mother was watching you through her glasses, and she
+says George fired first. They aren't trying to arrest you; all they want
+you to do is to give up and stand a brief trial. And I'll help you,
+Wiley; oh, I've just got to do something or I'll be miserable all my
+life!"
+
+"You're tired now," said Wiley. "It'll look different, pretty soon;
+and--well, I don't think I'll go in, right now."
+
+"But where will you go?" she entreated piteously. "Oh, Wiley, can't you
+see I'm sorry? Why can't you forgive me and let me try to make amends,
+instead of making both our lives so miserable?"
+
+"I don't know," answered Wiley. "It's just the way I feel. I've got
+nothing _against_ you; I just want to get away and forget a few
+things that you've done."
+
+"And then?" she asked, and he smiled enigmatically.
+
+"Well, maybe you'll forget me, too."
+
+"But Father!" she objected as he rose up suddenly and started off down
+the creek. "He thinks we're lovers, you know." Wiley stopped and the
+cold anger in his eyes gave way to a look of doubt. "Why not pretend we
+are?" she suggested wistfully. "Not really, but just before him. I told
+him we'd quarreled--and he knows I followed after you. Just to-day,
+Wiley; and then you can go. But if my father should think----"
+
+"Well, all right," he broke in, and as they stepped out into the open
+she slipped her hand into his.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII
+
+A HUFF
+
+
+The Colonel was sitting in the shade of a wild grapevine rapping out a
+series of questions at Charley, but at sight of the young people coming
+back hand in hand, he paused and smiled understandingly.
+
+"What now?" he said. "Is there a new earth and a new heaven? Ah, well;
+then Virginia's trip was worth while. But Charley here is so full of
+signs and wonders that my brain is fairly in a whirl. The Germans, it
+seems, have made a forty-two centimeter gun that is blasting down cities
+in France; and the Allies, to beat them, are constructing still larger
+ones made out of tungsten that is mined from the Paymaster. Yes, yes,
+Charley, that's all right, I don't doubt your word, but we'll call on
+Wiley for the details."
+
+He laughed indulgently and poured Charley out a drink which made his
+eyes blink and snap and then he waved him graciously away.
+
+"Take your burros up the canyon," he suggested briefly, and when Charley
+was gone he smiled. "Now," he said, as Virginia sat down beside him,
+"what's all this about the Paymaster and Keno?"
+
+"Well," began Virginia as Wiley sat silent, "there really was tungsten
+in the mine. Wiley discovered it first--he was just going through the
+town when he saw that specimen in my collection--and since then,--oh,
+everything has happened!"
+
+"By the dog!" exclaimed the Colonel starting quickly to his feet. "Do
+you mean that Crazy Charley spoke the truth? Is the mine really open and
+the town full of people and----"
+
+"You wouldn't know it!" cried Virginia, triumphantly. "All that heavy,
+white quartz was tungsten!"
+
+"What? That waste on the dump? But how much is it worth? Old Charley
+says it's better than gold!"
+
+"It is!" she answered. "Why, some of that rock ran five thousand dollars
+to the ton!"
+
+"Five--thousand!" repeated the Colonel, and then he whirled on Wiley.
+"What's the reason, then," he demanded, "that you're hiding out here in
+the hills? Didn't you get possession of the mine?"
+
+"Under a bond and lease," explained Wiley shortly. "I failed to meet the
+final payment."
+
+"Why--how much was this payment?" inquired the Colonel cautiously, as he
+sensed the sudden constraint. "It seems to me the mine should have paid
+it at once."
+
+"Fifty thousand," answered Wiley, gazing glumly at the ground and the
+Colonel opened his eyes!
+
+"Fifty thousand!" he exclaimed. "Only fifty thousand dollars? Well! What
+were the circumstances, Wiley?"
+
+He stood expectant and as Wiley boggled and hesitated Virginia rose up
+and stood beside him.
+
+"He got the bond and lease from Blount," she began, talking rapidly,
+"and when Blount found that the white quartz was tungsten ore, he did
+all he could to block Wiley. When Wiley first came through the town and
+stopped at our house he knew that that white quartz was tungsten; but he
+couldn't do anything, then. And then, by-and-by, when he tried to bond
+the mine, Blount came up himself and tried to work it."
+
+"He did, eh?" cried the Colonel. "Well, by what right, I'd like to know,
+did he dare to take possession of the Paymaster?"
+
+"Oh, he'd bought up all the stock; and Mother, she took yours and----"
+
+"What?" yelled the Colonel, and then he closed down his jaw and his
+blue eyes sparkled ominously. "Proceed," he said. "The information,
+first--but, by the gods, he shall answer for this!"
+
+"But all the time," went on Virginia hastily, "the mine belonged to
+Wiley. It had been sold for taxes--and he bought it!"
+
+"Ah!" observed the Colonel, and glanced at him shrewdly for he saw now
+where the tale was going.
+
+"Well," continued Virginia, "when Blount saw Wiley wanted it he came up
+and took it himself. And he hired Stiff Neck George to herd the mine and
+keep Wiley and everybody away. But when he was working it, why Wiley
+came back and claimed it under the tax sale; and he went right up to the
+mine and took away George's gun--and kicked him down the dump!"
+
+"He did!" exclaimed the Colonel, but Wiley did not look up, for his mind
+was on the end of the tale.
+
+"And then--oh, it's all mixed up, but Blount couldn't find any gold and
+so he leased the mine to Wiley. And the minute he found that the white
+quartz was tungsten, and worth three dollars a pound, he was mad as
+anything and did everything he could to keep him from meeting the
+payment. But Wiley went ahead and shipped a lot of ore and made a lot of
+money in spite of him. He cleaned out the mine and fixed up the mill and
+oh, Father, you wouldn't know the place!"
+
+"Probably not!" returned the Colonel, "but proceed with your story. Who
+holds the Paymaster, now?"
+
+"Why Blount, of course, and he's moved back to town and is simply
+shoveling out the ore!"
+
+"The scoundrel!" burst out the Colonel. "Wiley, we will return to Keno
+immediately and bring this blackguard to book! I have a stake in this
+matter, myself!"
+
+"Nope, not for me!" answered Wiley wearily. "You haven't heard all the
+story. I fell down on the final payment--it makes no difference how--and
+when I came back Blount had jumped the mine and Stiff Neck George was in
+charge. But instead of warning me off he hid behind a car and--well, I
+don't care to go back there, now."
+
+"Why, certainly! You must!" declared the Colonel warmly. "You were
+acting in self defense and I consider that your conduct was justified.
+In fact, my boy, I wish to congratulate you--Charley tells me he had the
+drop on you."
+
+"Yes, sure," grumbled Wiley, "but you aren't the judge--and there's a
+whole lot more to the story. It happens that I took an option on
+Blount's Paymaster stock, but when I offered the payment he protested
+the contract and took the case to court. Now--he's got the town of Vegas
+in his inside vest pocket, the lawyers and judges and all; and do you
+think for a minute he's going to let me come back and take away those
+four hundred thousand shares?"
+
+"Four hundred thousand?" repeated the Colonel incredulously, "do you
+mean to tell me----"
+
+"Yes, you bet I do!" said Wiley, "and I'll tell you something else.
+According to the dates on the back of those certificates it was Blount
+that sold you out. He sold all his promotion stock before the panic; and
+then, when the price was down to nothing, he turned around and bought it
+back. I knew from the first that he'd lied about my father and I kept
+after him till I got my hands on that stock--and then, when I'd proved
+it, he tried to put the blame on you!"
+
+"The devil!" exclaimed the Colonel, and paced up and down, snapping his
+fingers and muttering to himself. "The cowardly dastard!" he burst out
+at last. "He has poisoned ten years of my life. I must hurry back at
+once and go to John Holman and apologize to him publicly for this
+affront. After all the years that we were pardners in everything, and
+then to have me doubt his integrity! He was the soul of honor, one man
+in ten thousand; and yet I took the word of this lying Blount against
+the man I called My Friend! I remember, by gad, as if it were yesterday,
+the first time I really knew your father; and Blount was squeezing me,
+then. I owed him fifteen thousand dollars on a certain piece of property
+that was worth fifty thousand at least; and at the very last moment,
+when he was about to foreclose, John Holman loaned me the money. He
+mortgaged his cattle at the other bank and put the money in my hand, and
+Blount cursed him for an interfering fool! That was Blount, the Shylock,
+and Honest John Holman; and I turned against my friend."
+
+"Yes, that's right," agreed Wiley, "but if you want to make up for it,
+make 'em quit calling him 'Honest John'!"
+
+"No, indeed," cried the Colonel, his voice tremulous with emotion. "He
+shall still be called Honest John; and if any man doubts it or speaks
+the name fleeringly he shall answer personally to me. And now, about
+this stock--what was that, Virginia, that you were saying about my
+holdings?"
+
+"Why, Mother put them up as collateral on a loan, and Blount claimed
+them at the end of the first month."
+
+"All my stock? Well, by the horn-spoon--how much did your mother borrow?
+Eight--hundred? Eight hundred dollars? Well, that is enough, on the face
+of it--but never mind, I will recover the stock. It is certainly a
+revelation of human nature. The moment I am reported dead, these
+vultures strip my family of their all."
+
+"Well, I was one of them," spoke up Wiley bluntly, "but you don't need
+to blame my father. When I was having trouble with Mrs. Huff he wrote up
+and practically disowned me."
+
+"So you were one of them," observed the Colonel mildly. "And you had
+trouble with Mrs. Huff? But no matter?" he went on. "We can discuss all
+that later--now to return to this lawsuit, with Blount. Do I understand
+that you had an option on his entire four hundred thousand shares?"
+
+"For twenty thousand dollars," answered Wiley, "and he was glad to get
+it--but, of course, when I opened up that big body of tungsten, the
+stock was worth into millions. That is, if he could keep me from making
+both payments. He fought me from the start, but I put up the twenty
+thousand; and the clerk of the court is holding it yet, unless the case
+is decided. But Blount knew he could beat it, if he could keep me from
+buying the mine under the terms of my bond and lease; and now that he's
+in possession, taking out thirty or forty thousand every day, I'm licked
+before I begin. In fact, the case is called already and lost by default
+if I know that blackleg lawyer of mine."
+
+"But hire a good lawyer!" protested the Colonel. "A man has a right to
+his day in court and you have never appeared."
+
+"No, and I never will," spoke up Wiley despondently. "There's a whole
+lot to this case that you don't know. And the minute I appear they'll
+arrest me for murder and railroad me off to the Pen. No, I'm not going
+back, that's all."
+
+"But Wiley," reasoned the Colonel, "you've got great interests at
+stake--and your father will help you, I'm sure."
+
+"No, he won't," declared Wiley. "There isn't anybody that can help me,
+because Blount is in control of the courts. And I might as well add that
+I was run out of Vegas by a Committee appointed for the purpose." He
+rose up abruptly, rolling his sullen eyes on Virginia and the Colonel
+alike. "In fact," he burst out, "I haven't got a friend on the east side
+of Death Valley Sink."
+
+"But on the west side," suggested the Colonel, drawing Virginia to his
+side, "you have two good friends that I know----"
+
+"Wait till you hear it all," broke in Wiley, bitterly, "and you're
+likely to change your mind. No, I'm busted, I tell you, and the best
+thing I can do is drift and never come back."
+
+"And Virginia?" inquired the Colonel. "Am I right in supposing----"
+
+"No," he flared up. "Friend Virginia has quit me, along with----"
+
+"Why, Wiley!" cried Virginia, and he started and fell silent as he met
+her reproachful gaze. For the sake of the Colonel they were supposed
+to be lovers, whose quarrel had been happily made up, but this was
+very unloverlike.
+
+"Well, I don't deserve it," he muttered at last, "but friend Virginia
+has promised to stay with me."
+
+"Yes, I'm going to stay with him," spoke up Virginia quickly, "because
+it was all my fault. I'm going to go with him, father, wherever he goes
+and----"
+
+"God bless you, my daughter!" said the Colonel, smiling proudly, "and
+never forget you're a Huff!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII
+
+THE FIERY FURNACE
+
+
+To be a Huff, of course, was to be brave and true and never go back on a
+friend; but as the Colonel that evening began to speak on the subject,
+Virginia crept off to bed. She was tired from her night trip across the
+Sink of Death Valley, with only Crazy Charley for a guide; but it was
+Wiley, the inexorable, who drove her off weeping, for he would not take
+her hand. His mind was still fixed on the Gethsemane of the soul that he
+had gone through in Blount's bank at Vegas, and strive as she would she
+could not bring him back to play his poor part as lover. Whether she
+loved him or not was not the question--not even if she was willing to
+throw away her life by following him in his wanderings. Three times he
+had trusted her and three times she had played him false--and was that
+the honor of the Huffs?
+
+She was penitent now and, in the presence of her father, more gentle and
+womanly than seemed possible; but next week or next month or in the long
+years to come, was she the woman he could trust? They passed before his
+eyes in a swift series of images, the days when he had trusted her
+before; and always, behind her smile, there was something else,
+something cold and calculating and unkind. Her eyes were soft now, and
+gentle and imploring, but they had looked at him before with scorn and
+hateful laughter, when he had staked his soul on her word. He had
+trusted her--too far--and before Blount and all his sycophants she had
+made him a mock and a reviling.
+
+The Colonel was talking, for his mood was expansive, but at last he fell
+silent and waited.
+
+"Wiley, my boy," he said when Wiley looked up, "you must not let the past
+overmaster you. We all make mistakes, but if our hearts are right there
+is nothing that should cause vain regrets. I judged from what you said
+once that your present disaster is due to a misplaced trust--in fact, if
+I remember, to a woman. But do not let this treachery, this betrayal of
+a trust, turn your mind against all womankind. I have known many noble
+and high-minded women whom I would trust with my very life; and since
+Virginia, as I gather, has offered to bind up your wounds, I hope you
+will not remain embittered. She is my daughter, of course, and my love
+may have blinded me; but in all the long years she has been at my side,
+I can think of no instance in which she has played me false. Her nature
+is passionate, and she is sometimes quick to anger, but behind it all
+she is devotion itself and you can trust her absolutely."
+
+He paused expectantly, but as Wiley made no response he rose up and
+knocked out his pipe.
+
+"Well, good night," he said. "It is time we were retiring if we are to
+cross the Valley to-morrow. Have a drink? Well, all right; it's just as
+well. You're a good boy, Wiley; I'm proud of you."
+
+He clapped him on the shoulder as he went off to bed, but Wiley sat
+brooding by the fire. Death Valley Charley took his blankets and rolled
+up in the creek bed, so that his burros could not sneak by him in the
+night, and Heine laid down beside him; but when all was quiet Wiley rose
+up silently and tiptoed about the camp. He strapped on his pistol and
+picked up his gun, but as he was groping in the darkness for his canteen
+Heine trotted up and flapped his ears. It was his sign of friendship,
+like wagging his tail, and Wiley patted him quietly; but when he was
+gone, he lifted the canteen and slung it over his shoulder. In the land
+where he was going there were more dangers than one, but lack of water
+was the greatest. He stepped out into the moonlight and then, from the
+cave, he heard a muffled sound. Virginia was there and he was running
+away from her. He listened again--she was crying! Not weeping aloud or
+in choking sobs but in stifled, heart-broken sighs. He lowered his gun
+and stood scowling and irresolute, then he turned back and went to bed.
+
+In the morning they started late, resting in the shade of the Gateway
+until the sun had swung to the west; and then, as the shadow of the
+Panamints stretched out across the Valley, they repacked and started
+down the slope. In the lead went old Jinny, the mother of the bunch, and
+Jack and Johnny and Baby; and following behind his burros, paced Death
+Valley Charley with a long, willow club in his hand. The Colonel strode
+ahead, his mind on weighty matters; and behind him came Virginia on her
+free-footed burro with Wiley plodding silently in the rear. At irregular
+intervals Heine would drop back from the lead and sniff at them each in
+turn, but nothing was said, for the air was furnace dry and they were
+saving their strength for the sand.
+
+At sundown they reached the edge of the first yielding sand-dune that
+presaged the long pull to come and Death Valley Charley stopped and
+opened up a water-can while the burros gathered eagerly around. Then he
+poured each of them a drink in his shapeless old hat and started them
+across the Sink.
+
+"Now, you see?" he said, "you see where Jinny goes? She heads straight
+for Stovepipe Hole. She knows she gits water there and that makes her
+hurry--and the others they tag along behind."
+
+He took another drink from the Colonel's private stock and smiled as he
+smacked his lips. "It's hot to-day," he observed, squinting down his
+eyes and gazing ahead through the haze; "yes, it's hot for this time of
+year. But Virginia, you ride; and when Tom won't go no further, git off
+and he'll lead you to camp."
+
+He went on ahead, swinging his club and laughing, and Heine trotted
+soberly at his side; and as he followed the trough of sand-wave after
+sand-wave, the rest plodded along behind. A dry, baking heat seemed to
+rise up from the ground and the air was heavy and still; the burros
+began to groan as they toiled up the slope and their flanks turned wet
+with sweat; and then, as they topped a wave, they felt the scorching
+breath of the Sink. It came in puffs like the waves of some great sea
+upon whose shores they had set their feet; a seething, heaving sea of
+heat, breathing death along its lonely beach. It struck through their
+clothes like a blast of wind or the shimmering glow of a furnace and at
+each drink of water the sweat damped their brows and trickled in streams
+down their faces. A wearied burro halted and, as Charley chased him with
+his club, the rest rushed ahead to escape; and then, as they came to the
+crest of the wave, Virginia's burro stopped dead.
+
+"I'll lead him," she said as Wiley came up, and started after the pack.
+Wiley walked along beside her, for he saw that she was spent; and as her
+slender feet sank deep in the yielding sand she lagged and slowed down,
+and stopped. Then as she turned to take her canteen from the saddle, she
+swayed and clutched at the horn.
+
+"You'd better ride," he said and, taking her in his arms, he lifted her
+to the saddle like a child. Then he walked along behind, flogging the
+burro into action, but still they lagged to the rear. The moon rose up
+gleaming and cast black shadows along the sand-dunes, and in the lee of
+the wind-wracked mesquite trees; and from the darkness ahead of them
+they could hear crazy shoutings as Charley belabored his fleeing
+animals. They showed dim and ghostly, as they topped a distant ridge;
+and then Wiley and Virginia were alone. The pack-train, the Colonel and
+Death Valley Charley had vanished behind the crest of a wave; and as
+Wiley stopped to listen Virginia drooped in the saddle and fell, very
+gently, into his arms.
+
+He held her a moment, overcome with sudden pity, and then in a rush of
+unexpected emotion, he crushed her to his breast and kissed her. She was
+his, after all, to cherish, and protect; a frail reed, broken by his
+hand; and as he gave her water and bathed her face he remembered her
+weeping in the night. Her tears had been for him, whom she had followed
+so far only to find him harsh and unforgiving; and now, weak from grief,
+she had fainted in his arms, which had never reached out to console her.
+He gathered her to his breast in a belated atonement and as he kissed
+her again she stirred. Then he put her down, but when she felt his hands
+slacken she reached up and caught him by the neck. So she held him a
+while, until something gave way within him and he pressed his lips to
+hers.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV
+
+A CLEAN-UP
+
+
+A cool breeze drew down through Emigrant Wash and soothed the fever heat
+of Death Valley, and as the morning star rose up like a blazing beacon,
+Wiley carried Virginia to Stovepipe. They had sat for hours on the
+crest of a sand-hill, looking out over the sea of waves that seemed to
+ride on and mingle in the moonlight, and with no one to listen they had
+talked out their hearts and pledged the future in a kiss. Then they had
+gazed long and rested, looking up at the countless stars that obscured
+the Milky Way with their pin-points; and when the Colonel had found them
+Wiley was carrying her in his arms as if her weight were nothing.
+
+They camped at Stovepipe that day while Virginia gained back her
+strength, and at last they came in sight of Keno. She was riding now and
+Wiley was walking, with his head bowed down in thought; but when he
+looked up she reached out, smiling wistfully, and touched him with her
+hand. But the Colonel strode ahead, his head held high, his eagle eyes
+searching the distance; and when people ran out to greet him he thrust
+them aside, for he had spied Samuel Blount in the crowd.
+
+Blount was standing just outside the Widow's gate and a voice,
+unmistakable, was demanding in frantic haste the return of certain
+shares of stock. It was hardly the time for a business transaction, for
+her husband was returning as from the dead, but a sudden sense of her
+misused stewardship had driven the Widow to distraction.
+
+"What now?" demanded the Colonel, as he appeared upon the scene and his
+wife made a rush to embrace him. "Is this the time for scolding? Why,
+certainly I was alive--why should anybody doubt it? You may await me in
+the house, Aurelia!"
+
+"But Henry!" she wailed. "Oh, I thought you were dead--and this devil
+has robbed me of everything!"
+
+She pointed a threatening finger at Blount, who stepped forward, his
+lower lip trembling.
+
+"Why, how are you, Colonel!" he exclaimed with affected heartiness.
+"Well, well; we thought you were dead."
+
+"So I hear!" observed the Colonel, and looked at him so coldly that
+Blount blushed and withdrew his outstretched hand. "So I hear, sir!" he
+repeated, "but you were misinformed--I have come back to protect my
+rights."
+
+"He took all your stock," cried the Widow, vindictively, "on a loan of
+eight hundred dollars. And now he won't give it back."
+
+"Never mind," returned the Colonel. "I will attend to all that if you
+will go in and cook me some dinner. And next time I leave home I would
+recommend, Madam, that you leave my business affairs alone."
+
+"But Henry," she began, but he gazed at her so sternly that she turned
+and slipped away.
+
+"And you, sir," continued the Colonel, his words ringing out like pistol
+shots as he unloosed his wrath upon Blount, "I would like to inquire
+what excuse you have to offer for imposing on my wife and child? Is it
+true, as I hear, that you have taken my stock on a loan of eight hundred
+dollars?"
+
+"Why--why, no! That is, Colonel Huff----"
+
+"Have you the stock in your possession?" demanded the Colonel
+peremptorily. "Yes or no, now; and no 'buts' about it!"
+
+"Why, yes; I have," admitted Blount in a scared voice, "but I came by it
+according to law!"
+
+"You did not, sir!" retorted the Colonel, "because it was all in my name
+and my wife had no authority to transfer it. Do you deny the fact? Well,
+then give me back my stock or I shall hold you, sir, personally
+responsible!"
+
+Blount started back, for he knew the import of those dread words, and
+then he heaved a great sigh.
+
+"Very well," he said, "but I loaned her eight hundred dollars----"
+
+"Wiley!" called the Colonel, beckoning him quickly from the crowd. "Give
+me the loan of eight hundred dollars."
+
+And at that Blount opened up his eyes.
+
+"Oho!" he said, "so Wiley is with you? Well, just a moment, Mr. Huff."
+He turned to a man who stood beside him. "Arrest that man!" he said. "He
+killed my watchman, George Norcross."
+
+"Not so fast!" rapped out the Colonel, fixing the officer with steely
+eyes. "Mr. Holman is under my protection. Ah, thank you, Wiley--here is
+your money, Mr. Blount, with fifty dollars more for interest. And now I
+will thank you for that stock."
+
+"Do you set yourself up," demanded Blount with sudden bluster, "as being
+above the law?"
+
+"No, sir, I do not," replied the Colonel tartly. "But before we go any
+further I must ask you to restore my stock. Your order is sufficient, if
+the certificates are elsewhere----"
+
+"Well--all right!" sighed Blount, and wrote out an order which Colonel
+Huff gravely accepted. "And now," went on Blount, "I demand that you
+step aside and allow Wiley Holman to be taken."
+
+The Colonel's eyes narrowed, and he motioned the officer aside as he
+laid his own hand on Wiley's shoulder.
+
+"Every citizen of the state," he said with dignity, "has the authority
+to arrest a fugitive--and Mr. Holman is my prisoner. Is that
+satisfactory to you, Mr. Officer?"
+
+"Why--why, yes," stammered the Constable and as the Colonel smiled
+Blount forgot his studied repose. He had been deprived in one minute of
+a block of stock that was worth a round million dollars and the sting of
+his great loss maddened him.
+
+"You may smile, sir," he burst out, "but as sure as there's a law I'll
+put Wiley Holman in the Pen. And if you knew the truth, if you knew what
+he has done; I wonder, now, if you would go to such lengths? You might
+ask your wife how she has fared in your absence--or ask Virginia there!
+Didn't he send her as his messenger, to make a fake payment that would
+have deprived her and her mother of their rights? If it hadn't been for
+me your two hundred thousand shares wouldn't be worth two hundred cents.
+I ask Virginia now--didn't he send you to my bank----"
+
+"What?" demanded the Colonel, suddenly whirling upon his daughter, but
+Virginia avoided his eyes.
+
+"Yes," she said, "he did send me down--and I betrayed my trust. But it's
+just because of that that we'll stand by him now----"
+
+"Virginia!" said the Colonel, speaking with painful distinctness. "Do I
+understand that you were--that woman? And did Mr. Blount here, by any
+means whatever, persuade you to violate your trust?"
+
+"Yes, he did!" cried out Virginia, "but it was all my fault and I don't
+want Mr. Blount blamed for it. I did it out of meanness, but I was sorry
+for it afterwards and--oh, I wonder if I've got any mail." She broke
+away and dashed into the house and the Colonel brushed back his hair.
+
+"A Huff!" he murmured. "My God, what a blow! And Wiley, how can we ever
+repay you?"
+
+"Never mind," answered Wiley as he took the old man's hand. "I don't
+care about the money."
+
+"No, but the wrong, the disgrace," protested the Colonel, brokenly, and
+then he flared up at Blount.
+
+"You scoundrel, sir!" he cried. "How dared you induce my daughter to
+violate her sacred trust? By the gods, Sam Blount, I am greatly
+tempted----"
+
+"It's come!" called Virginia, running gayly down the steps, but at sight
+of her father she stopped. "Well, there it is," she said, putting a
+paper in his hand. "It shows that I was sorry, anyway."
+
+"What is this?" inquired the Colonel, fumbling feebly for his glasses,
+and Virginia snatched the paper away.
+
+"It's a letter from my lawyers!" she said, smiling wickedly. "And we'll
+show it to Mr. Blount."
+
+She took it over and put it in Blount's hands, and as he read the first
+line he turned pale.
+
+"Why--Virginia!" he gasped and then he clutched at his heart and reached
+out quickly for the fence. "Why--why, I thought that was all settled! I
+certainly understood it was--and what authority had you to interfere?"
+
+"Wiley's power of attorney," she answered defiantly, "I fired that
+crooked lawyer, after you'd got him all fixed, and hired a good one with
+my stock."
+
+"My Lord!" moaned Blount, "and after all I'd done for you!" And then he
+collapsed and was borne into the house. But Wiley, who had been so calm,
+suddenly leapt for the letter and read it through to the end.
+
+"Holy--jumping--Judas!" he burst out, running over to the Colonel who
+was standing with lack luster eyes. "Look here what Virginia has done!
+She's bought all Blount's stock, under that option I had, and cleaned
+him--down to a cent. She's won back the mine, and we can all go in
+together----"
+
+"Virginia!" spoke up the Colonel, beckoning her sternly to him. "Come
+down here, I wish to speak to you."
+
+She came down slowly and as her father began to talk the tears rose
+quickly to her eyes, but when Wiley took her hand she smiled back
+wistfully and crept within the circle of his arm.
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Shadow Mountain, by Dane Coolidge
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