Bemidji Daily Pioneer Newspaper, February 5, 1921, Page 2

BEMIDJI DAILY PIONEER ‘ PUBLISHEDP EVERY AFTERNOON EXCEPT SUNDAY THE BEMIDJI PIONEER PUBLISHING CO. i E. H. DENU, Sec. and Mgr. | J. D. WINTER, City Editor i G. B. CARSON, President G, W. HARNWELL, Editor Telephone 922 l Hutered at the postoffice at Bemidji, Minnesota, as second-class matter, | under Act of Congress of March 8, 1879. “ No attention psid to anonymous contfibutions. Writer's name m_ulfl be known to the editor, but not necessarily for publication. Communica- | tions for the Weekly Pioneer must reach this office not later than Tuesday of each week to insure publication in the current issue. SUBSCRIPTION RATES _‘ggg One Year ... 182 Six Months e BT T s J— 1.25} THE WEEKLY PIONEER—Twelve pages, published every Thursday, and sent postage paid to any address fcr, in advance, $2.00. ! OFFICIAL COUNTY AND CITY PROCEEDINGS i W H BUSINESS MEN OPTIMISTIC . l‘ In the face of continued slumps in prices as industrial and trade deflation progresses, it is noticeable that there is an en-| couraging note of optimism by leading manufacturers and busi-! ness men.- The period the country is now passing thorugh was, discounted in advance by men familiar with the operations oif : aconomics. There is yet much to be done in the work of readjustment,| but a beginning has been made, and there is reason to believe; [3 that recovery is now getting under way. Predictions that work- ers would refuse to accept new conditions are now seen to have : been unfounded. Nothing is to be gained by enlarging on the condition of un- employment, but all should join in the spread of optimism, for a great deal will depend on the state of mind in which the na- tion approaches solution of the industrial problem. The prin- ciple of psychology functioned in bringing present conditions| about; it should operate to help in overcoming them. -0- . BASKETBALL ENTHUSIASM Bemidji is considered one of the best basketball cities in the Northwest, and the fans are largely responsible for this hon- ored reputation. There is danger, however, that over-enthusiasm| on the part of the fans may result in the loss of games. We have a high school basketball team of which every citizen has a right to be proud, but demonstrations such as were evident at t!’ne St. Cloud game are dangerous. The spirit of fairness is lost sight of in the excitement and it should be remembered that the! visitors are entitled to the same consideraton as the home boys The “Golden Rule” is one we expect other cities to remember, when our boys are visitors, and Bemidji should see to it that it is applied at all times on the home floor. -0 WHY FOREIGN TRADE 1S OFF Better trade conditions between the United States and South America and the Far East cannot be expected until low rates pf exchange and labor conditiohs in foreign countries have been‘xmproved, according to a summary of world business made public by the Department of Commerce. The statement was the fir'st of monthly summaries the department will issue dealing| with trade conditions, and was prepared by commercial at- tnche]s and'trade commissioners. In practically every country of South America and th East imports have fallen in the the last few months, and r:ogg;‘ ha'sdbecome very hard to obtain, cablegrams to the department said. : 0. STOCK-RAISING HOMESTEAD LAND: The Department of the Interior announces tha? during the month of December, 1920, nearly 350,000 acres of public lands were classified ns.stock-raising homesteads lands and were des- 1_gnated for entry in tracts of 640 acres or less. The areas classi-| fied during the month are in the following states: Michig}m | Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. ) | £t 4 A Farewell Sermon ]u his farewell sermon at the Temple of Mount Zion he has served for more than 20 years, Rabbi Rypins said, “‘A man had better | St. Paul, where| be a bootblack, and honest, than a rabbi w vrites his be thg etate ot ey hoest, than & i who writes his sermons accordin; t is a matter of regret that a preacher who tak i of his work should feel himself unable to continue in it."m R?x‘l‘zet:csit }.t‘y;\;:xcm‘::‘ words are a good platf \ % Daily Star. b platform for any clergyman to stand on.—Minnesota That there can be no misunderstanding of tho atti i Hemlq toward politics in general in the coming vil]aglzugleecolti.otnhen:;&;g:'c‘s: ment is here made thql this office will carry no political printing account | for any person or pqndndnt.e or group of persons or candidates in the future. | All orders for p?ll!lcfll.prlnllng must be paid for when the order is placed or such order will receive no consideration. We do not care who thg cun‘- didate is or what support he may claim, it will be impossible Tor this office to carry any more political accounts on its books which accounts are usuullvi ;:::l;c.ted in all good faith but are so easily »forgottenA—Chisholm Tribunc-; The Los Angeles Times complains there is so mu ine i | €s col ch moonsh | country that even the California sunshine is being neglected.nsvlvni:h";ntol::’ :;o;r{qs and tfog a's‘ an e;\':;et,v day occurence, Los Angeles citizens should come | Minnesota, where there is sunshine and delj; ves — eils Ty Whers elightful weather.—St. (‘loud' 1t's like puli ot 's like pulling teeth to get $11,000,000 out of the gov ‘ forest c‘onser\:at':v.n.' whilcdwe are scheduled to spend nearly 5355’3&23%‘% | a year for maintaining and increasing a bi, vy i var-si g P aning & a big navy in a war-sickened world.— A Going Concern The League of Nations, having just assessed Germany’s ind i it :t s;‘its,oqg,OAOO.lt)QO and agpm‘ved g plan for a 200'000,0(;}05 flranecm:c::{ml;g-l‘ ion to aid Austria, may be classed now as a “goi: " | fion fo id / W as a ‘“‘going concern.”—sSt. Cloud | Bids for Hog Island have been raised from $1,000,000 to $10,00 | Evidently the man who made the first bid had the e tnat ch viand ad been named after him.—Cincinnati Times-Star. i Sofmetimes it works this way: A cooking stove whi the war is reduced from $108 to $80, and if the buy *r ca in! he’s blind.—Louisville Courier-Journal. SR SEERk e he bateat v France, it is stated, “will retain all German ships wli r s an ships wlich she has been managing provisionally under the Versailles treaty.’ Anot L determination?"—Seattle Times. ) HeecsRe ol faslts Hank’s hired man says: “Them prophets who were tellin’ eigh 3 t nionths ago that all we needed wuz more production, ain’t makin’ ; oy dy] o plainin’ these days.”—Exchange. ain’L makin’ a lot of noize ex- | mining engineer, after cleaning up a for- | | Bence in liquor, that there Is o plot to to a duel is accepted under such stern i that a revolution is contemplated. | it over, decides fo put his ‘whole fortune it | Dolores In Buenaventura before ho leaves. THE BEMIDJI DAILY FIONEER SATURDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 8, 1921 7280 | Peter B.Kyne Author of “Cappy Ricks,” “The Valley | of the Giants,” Etc. Copynd by Peiee K Xyme' SYNOPSIS. ! ne tendered his youthful partner, ing nticipation ot CHAPTER 1—Jobn Stuart Webster,| Standing beside him in anticip: :lrm‘e xln :}ealllz \l'ull;:[y.b it boards :; portable assay outtit. ain for the Bast. 1le befriends a young| ) 4 lady annoyed by a - masher, thoroughly | For three days Webster worked. trouncing the *‘pest.”” | determining the values of cach sam- CHAPTER IL—At Denver Webster re-| ple, only to find that his assays con- cel\(;s a le“ nvé‘ from Billy Geary, his clos-| firmed Billy’s, “You were right, son,” est frien cary urges him 10 come Lo i 3 “This S o e Rar @ “iance| Die finally announced, “This mine Is and develop a mining claim. He decides| & humdinger and po mistake; if you to go. i and I live ten years we'll be worth CHAPTER III. —Dolores Ruey, the $10,000,000 between us—maybe more.” young woman Webster befriended, and| Billy’s jaundiced eyes glowed hun- wiho has made a decp impression on mm,“ eril “we'll < e as he has on her, 15 also on the way 3| & Well put ina Sobrante, | stamps—"" entura,eanie) o Well, we'll try ten for a starter)’ ill and pen-| Webster interrupted dryly, “and add £ Mother e as vs its ’ e o) dmmsho;} sn: ;'firi more as the mine pays its way. It's ceives a cablegram from Dolores, telling, 1€ Sweetest mining proposition on of her coming. 2 | earth—only, like all high-class goods, ieavdo| it has one flaw when you examine it closely.” You're craz Name the flaw!” “Sarros!” ‘Webster replied smiling- ushamed of her occupation and habits of Iy. “That scoundrel makes a gamble te, fears to meet Dolores, and sends. out of an otherwise sure thing. How- Gedry to the beat to say she has g " el B s Buiteg gond fo say she has E0ne | oyer e added, recalling the note re- ! ceived from Ricardo Ruey just before CHAPTER VI.—Web: s Sobrama Iy Salien fpSier, on his way o his departure from Buenaventura and w ()x(l uuhosnilul ull t;:‘-w ?rlleunsntwe retlecting that to be forewarned is to ecks. Geary pbungles his mission, Dolo- e ed, “we’ . gam- ves easlly sesing through his story. gl“’e be fol!e‘:'ll'lntd. we'll nccq_)t the gam- greets Mother Jenks as her friend and Dble. That rascal can’t live forever, ;:y;‘;cxll;"r-m eG“‘iH, falls desperately in, and he may be eliminated before he p [ | causes us any trouble.” HAPTER VIL—At New Orleans, while | *\V get th waiting for the steamer to Buenaventura, | ch w',", 1t cost g to °",E i Webster saves the life of a young man Mile on a paying basis, Johnny? “Well, back home, I'd figure on Wlo 1s attacked by two assassins, “The | spending at least $100,000; but I dare vouth leaves Webster without disclosing Is identity. | say, taking Into consideration the low | cost of la CHAPTER VIIL—On the steamer Web- Bter finds his stateroom occupled by a gu;:’ma;:r \\'hulx:u-lfilrl‘s his Intention of | natural resources of power and tim- elng his guest to Buenaventura. At first | hop pigl v angered, Webstcr and the stranger, after | VCT right on the ground, we ought to & somewhat forcible argument, reach an | put this deal over for $50,000 at the amicabl ement, Webster recognizes ' gutside. Praise be, I have cash him as the youth whose life he had saved " N the' day before. though the Cother” dess | enough to do the trick without calliug hot know ‘Webster. . in any help, and such being the case, CHAPTER TN Geary welcome: CIIAPT. Lot S Billy challenged. v cutive. Dolores, o child of smuggled cut of the country | nly and supported by her 1 States The old womun, ‘Webster and Is instru- | the job in a hurry and make the fur ental in helping lis friend's “zuest | g shore. ‘I'he latter i3 known to Webster :: K{Ar}v!n-\} l'{;rw A ‘Gl:nry houses “Right, Jack. What's the program other Jenks ‘ebster gets the i “\Wol y ) P 13 that Geary and Dolo 53 love, and | “Well, first offyigon, T'm not goln with the intention of siving G every | to stay In this country and lose my- chance he smilingly contracicts the girl's ' gol ging thi Chat' statement that they have met before. self manoging this mine; Thats oo CHAPTER X.— Webster recelves a ! portant in your profession and have warning conveyed by “Don J ‘afe- P o vi fero Toaily Soin 3 Cattorty, “ihenate- the ability to get away with the job. »f good qualities fallen through’ overindul- years liere, but T cannot. 1 can only afford to come down here ‘every cou- pie of years and rélieve you for a va- cation.” . “That’s the way I figured it, Jack.” {“All right then, Bill, let us start in assassinate him. Webster makes a firm riend of Cafferty. Later, the American s insulted by a ‘Sobrantean army officer and publicly” ridicules him, A challenge conditions that the Sobranteans with- draw It g(ll:r\ml:“\ —Wor:zl(clrh secretly visits by giving you your first vacation. If tearns that. “Bowers 13 Ricarge fngy, YOUTe g0ing to dig in here and make Kon of the assassinated president, brother the fur fly, you've got to be in tip-top af Dolores (whom he helieves déad), and piysical condition—and you are thin morning o teits Dolores that her brother. and gaunted and full of chills and fe- of whom she has no recollection, Is in ver. Just before I left Buenaventur: the country, projecting th v 2 S e President Savros, . Very lcxn‘\):r‘?lr"i‘rl\o“l,u?r{ I cashed a draft for §3,000 on my le ;\'Ifh the girl, but helieving that her af- ter of credit at the Banco Nacional, ection has “been hestowed on Geary, | o laced i ¥ ai Webster leaves to Invertizate the mine | a0d Dlaced it to the credit of your which he come to finance, | account there. CHAPTER XIIL—Webster, after looking | “Lomorrow morning you will take your horse, one pack mule, and one mozo aud ride for San Miguel de Pad- ui, where you will take the train for Buenaventura. In Buenaventura you may do what you blame please, but it I were you, boy, I'd try to get mar- into the mine. e s the United States to sary equipment, udv Billy Geary (o chase the nece: ng him to ma IKnowinz that unless Ruey can overthrow rros i mine will be conliscated, Web- ster agrees to finance the v turning to Buenaventura, | to fi his I Dolores still th 1y (0 the United Stat (Continned From Last Issue) my honeymoon. And when [ finally Lit a town that contained some reg- = ular doctors I'd let them paw me over They entered the tunncl, to the slg- yng rebabbitt me and overhaul my nal dismay of dozens of large bats. pearings and put me In such nice run- When they reached the veln, Webster yine order I'd be firlng on all 12 cyl- broke off samples of the ore every jnqers at once. = three or four feet, erawled after Billy “And when I was feeling tip-top up through the stope and back to the 0 v 1a wire old John Stuart true vein, from the face of which he \yoicior and tell him so, after which also took numerous samples; then he 1vq ctand by for a cable from the said crawled out into the sunshine agalu, “sourdough inviting me to return and hof, dirty, and perspiring. ” take \lp”my labors.” oo o T T T i sl faco st up b R 77 like a sunrise on the desert. “Iguess that plan's kind of poor,” he an- nounced feelingly. “You're Jack. I'm in rotten condition and I ought to be right before I start. Still, it I should arrange to get married be- fore I leave, I'd like mighty well to have a good man and true see me salely over the hurdles.” “That’s nice, son, but I haven't time to be your best man. | honeymoon lets we out, Bill. a hur so the pe TI'm in sooner we both start our pros: ive jobs the sooner we'll finish. e a quict little warriage, Bill, without any fuss or feathers or voices breathing o'er Eden. What are the odds, provided you get hitched prop- erly? Desides. I'm in mortal dread of that town of Buenaventura. Th eg system is bad; it's rotten wi ver; and you'd better get that girl sew- better. M, here in perate clin elf, I prefer to stay up \ese mountains in a tem- ate where there are no aw that Webster was serious aund would resent any interference in his pla All right, Jack,” he as- | sented. Fou're the boss.” “Fine. Now, Rill, you listen to fa- { ther and be guided accordingly. When yeu get to Buenaventura, wire the | Bingham Engineering company of | Denver, using my name, and tell them I to add to my order given them last a compliment, as Webster got out his hundred | or in Sobrante and the raw, | —Arriving at Sohrante,| WE'll NOU waste any time but hop to | job, because you're young and unim- You can afford to spend the next 15| a right, | Arranging the | v to finish here and get back, | out of it I, D. Q., and the quicker the ! @it is because you happen to be so handy for my purpose. You see my plan, do you not? I'm going to attack Buenaventura from within and without. I'm going .to come down on Sarros like a wolf on the fold, and month and Teld for “shipping direc- tiong, 12 dozen' picks, 12 dozen shov- els, 12 dozen mattocks, say six dozen | daxes, brush knives, a big road plow, and whatever other things you happen to think of and which would come in| handy when building our road. when you get to New Orleans buy a, day hight a week.” stanch three-ton motor truck. We'll| “Look here, Rick, my boy, I have necd it for getting in supplies from | no desive to mix in the politics of this San\Miguel de Padua. Pay for the| country.” ' truck' also, aud if you go broke and| . “You have some desire, however, to cannot reach me by cable, wire Ned-| mix in its wealth,” Ricardo reminded dy Jerome at the Engineers' club in| him. . Denver and kick his eye out in my “Well 2 | honored name.. Q “I'm the only man that can help “] guess that’s‘about all of your|you. By the way, do not order your job, Bill. As for me, I'll camp right! machinery shipped until after I am here. YNl have a deal of surveying| seated firmly on the throne of my fa- to do and I plan to sweat the booze| thers.” out of that Cafferty person. Illj “Why?” | make Don Juan my chain man and| “It's been framed with Sarros to run the tail off him. Then I'll be| let you spend your money on that con- busy with preliminary plans, arrang-| cession and get the mine in running ing for labor ana so on, and when| order; then a fake suit, alleging an Pm idle I'll go hunting.” error in the government survey, will In conformity- with this plan, there-| be filed. It will be claimed that the fore, Billy said good-by to his friend | concession g}\'eu your friend, Geary, | and packed out for San Miguel de| ig, by virtue of erroneous government | Padua_bright and early nest morn-| surveys, the property of a citizen of | ing. During the following ten days| Sobrante. The courts here do as Sar- | Webster managed to keep limself| ros tells them. You are to be kicked | fairly busy around the camp at the| ont, busted, and despairing, and your mine; then for a week he hunted and | nicely equipped little mine will be ‘; fished, and finally, when that began| taken over as a government monopoly | to pall on him, his agile mind re-! ang run for the benefit of the govern- | turned to business and the considera-| ment, to-wit, Sarros and his satellites. We had to cook up a dirty deal like that to save your life. Of course, now that I have warned you in time, you afe. We schemed a proposition, vever, that worked both ways. It | tlon of the possibility of a flaw in i Billy's title to the claim; whereupon he suddenly decided to return to Bue- naventura and investigate that title fully before proceeding to throw dol- Iars right and left. | enabled us to save you and to save At the head of his little cavalcade, | ys, by permitting the shipment, free | therefore, he rode out one mOrnidg | of suspicion, of arms for the rebels for the railroad, wheteat providence, | that are to attack:the city from with- in its inscrutable wisdom, ordained | jn. Naturally I had to cache their | that en route he should fall in With| qymg within the city—and that was a no less a personage than Don Ricardo | harq problem until you happened Luiz Ruey, ne Andrew Bowers. Ri-! qlong, Thank you, fairy godfather.” y thanks are due you, Ricardo. I'm for you, first, last, and all the time, and against this Sarros outfit. i By the way, how do you purpose mov- Also, | the job is scheduled for next S:\tur-i iid out why she”kickeéd yer schame to smithereens.” And with a solemn and knowing wink at the duffle bag, Dor Juan picked that article up and followed after his master. CHAPTER XIIL Jobn Stuart Webster's agile brain was the répository of many conflict- ing emotions as he bathed, shaved, and changed from his soiled khaki field clothes to a suit of ducks before presenting himself before Dolores. - Had Billy’s courage forsaken him at the last minute,” with the result that he had gone back to the United States without having settled the question of Dolores’ future? Had he proposed and been rejected, or had he proposed, been accepted, and had his plans for an immediate marriage vetped by Dolores? In either event, why had Billy failed to leave a note for him at the { Hotel Mateo, or mailed him a letter to the Globo de Oro at San Miguel de Padua, advising him of the change in the plan or action outlined for him by Webster? In the simplicity of his single-heart- ed devotion Webster was puzzled to understand how any woman in her right mind could fail to fall in love with Billy Geary. A man he was, from heels to hair, and a man with pros- pects far above ‘the average. To Web- ster's way of thinking,.the girl who married Billy might well count her- self fortunate. Dolores greeted him with unaffected pleasure. “Well, Caliph!” she said. Just that. It made Webster sensible of a feeling of having returned to her after an absence of several years, “I'm so glad to see you, Miss Ruey,” he replied, and added -boldly, “par- ticularly since I didn’t expect to.” She knew what her reply would lead to; nevertheless, with that dissimula- ‘tinn which can only be practiced in ‘ perfection by a clever and beautiful woman, she answered with equal bold- ness: “Indeed! Pray why?”’ “Well, for a pretty good reason, I ing your machine guns?”’ “Wwe'll have to carry them, I guess.” delivered in Buenaventura by that time. You might arrange to armor it with sheet steel; and with a con- ple of machine guns mounted in it, and a crew of resolute Americans be- hind the machine guns, you could ca- per from one end of the city to the other and clear a path for your in- “Thank you, my friend. TIl bor- row-the motor truck and arrange to armor it. That’s a bully idea. Are you bound for Buenaventura now?” Webster nodded. “Then,” Ricardo suggested, “I'll meet you in my room at L1 Buen Amigo next Wednesday night at 11 and explain the details of my plans to you if you care to hear them. I think they're air-tight my- self, but somehow I think I'd feel more certain of them if you approve them.” “Ill be there, Rick, and the- day you run that outlaw Sarros off the grass you'll know why I am for you.” “Good-by, old man. You will nev- me.” i . Ruey shook hands with Webster and rode off through the timber, leav- ing John Stuart Webster to pursue the even tenor of his way, nntil at length he arrived once more in Bue- naventura and sought accommodations at the Hotel Mateo. And there, as he entered the lobby and gazed through a glass door across the patio and into the veranda, he saw that which dis- turbed him greatly. In a big wicker rocker Dolores Ruey sat, rocking gent- 1y and busily stitching on a piece of fancy work! Billy Geary gone back to the Unit- ed States, and Dolores was still in Buenaventura! Amazing! Why, what the devil did Billy mean by letting her have her own way like that? Of course, they hadnt been married, or she would not now be out there on the veranda, and, of course, they hadn’t quarreled, because that was an impossibility, and, of course, Billy had departed alone for the U. 8. A, clse he would have returned to their camp -in the hills back of San Miguel de Padua. Mounted, Armed and Alone. cardo was mounted, armed, and alone, and at it of Webster he shouted with delight and spurred toward him. “What the devil! You, Rick, the government cut-up. What are you do- ing in these parts?" Webster rode up | and shook hauds, | “Oh, I'm Robin Hooding it around this part of the country. It is so se- cluded, you know, and Sarros hasn't any friends or any telegraph lines or any garrisons up this way. I heard in. San Miguel de Padua that you were camped yonder, and I was on my wiy over to confer with you on matters of state. Met your friend, Geary, at It Buen Amigo a couple of weeks | ago, just before he sailed for the Unit- ed States. He was telling me you had to have a lot of tools for road building, so I cabled in a secret ci- | bher to the Sobrantcan revolutionary junta in New Orleans to ship thes fools to you immediately. They ar- | rived on the last trip of the Atlanta L and now repose in Leber's warehouse | waiting for you to call and remove | them.” “You scoundrel! What have you ‘sent me?” 4 int the Hotel Mateo after all. I'll “A couple of hundred rifles aud ' Just sneak’around to EI Buen Ami- | three machine guns, branded axes, 8¢ and fix it with that old Mother | picks, shovels, plows | also ran in three cas Iabeled grindstone: l(lisgulscd as bolts, and quite several | thousand labeled nails in kegs, I laid plans.” | should feel rathier sorry for you if my ' He retreated out the front door and | friend, rros, should get suspicious | called a carriage, into which he was | and investigate, but I haven't any fear | abeut to step, bag and baggage, when | that he will. You see, e knows you're Ion Juan Cafetero came rushing up I here on legitimate business. He has | it great excitement. “Sure, where are cestigated and learned that you are \ ve goin’ now, sor. Is there no room fide mining engineer of con- | for ye in the Hotel Mateo?” » le reputhtion—and then, you| ‘“Thelr beds have jiggers in them, your friend, Geary, dickered ' and I just remembered that,” Web- with him for the concession. The min- | ster fibbed. “Hop in, John, and we'll ing property you are about to devel- | drive around to Mr. Geary’s lodgings op belongs to the people, not to Sar- | I El Buen Amigo.” ros; yet he has bartered it away ana | “But I come trough the patio just will divert the royalty to his own now,” Don Juan explained, “an’ who | pocket instead of the public treasury.” | should I meet but the young leddy.” | “Hum-m-m! What do you want me | ‘“You infernal scoundrel! Did you to do with all those munitions con- | tell her I was in town?” signed to me? “Sure I did, sor. An’ why not?” “Arrange with Leber to keep them | “None of your infernal business. until you get ready to build You've spoiled everything. You're a vour road into the mine. I want them muddle-headed monkey and Ive a ihere when my American mercenaries | &reat motion to let you get drunk arrive in Buenaventura. By the way, Again. Take the baggage back into e woing to import these mer- ' the Lotel.” jes for me. They are American D'on Juan Cafetero, greatly hum- miners and road builders in the em- biel and rebuffed. stepped aside and ploy of the Ilonda Mining & Develop- | wrtched Webster stride back into the went company, which is to be the hotel. “God love ye, sor,” he mum- naine of your enterprise. I hop u'll | bled. “Enowin’ what I know, is it like- tike the name, Webster. I picked it |1y I'd let ye make a monkey out av out myselt.” her or verself? Ye made yer plans “You cool scoundrel! wit® Misther Geary wit'out consultin’ ing cat’s paw out_of me | her. | | | do,” Webster decided. “I'm not going to be led into temptation while Bil- 1y's not on the job—so I'll not put up and so on. | of ammunition, | town to Dolores Ruey until I can get two more cases ! the lay of the land and see what the 1| devil has happened to all my well- You're mak- | i “Well, T'll have a small quto-truck er know how grateful you have made | “well, I know what I'm going to‘ 1| Jenks not to tip off my preserce in | w_g0. ve grmand big divil, an’| think. A few weeks ago, after exam- ining Bill's concession very thorough- 1y, I told him he was a potential mil- lionaire. Now, while I disclaim any appearance of braggadocio, when John Stuart Webster, E. M., makes any mine owner a report like that, he is * apt to be taken very seriously.: And having made Bill a potential million- aire and arranged to give him three or four months’ vacation back home, I I had a notion he’d present to you a very valid reason why you should ac- company him.” . “You are very frank, Caliph.”! “That’s because I'm curious. Hehad a certain dream, and told me about it, and I did my little best to make it come true.” 3 “I think I understand, Caliph. It would be very difficult, I think, for anybody to meet Billy without being attracted toward him. He's one of the dearest, most lovable boys in the' world—and he did do me the signal honor of asking me to marry him. So there!” “Well, and why didn’t you?” She smiled at his blunt insistence’ on forcing the issue. “For a number i R “Well, and Why Didn’t You?” of excellent reasons, Caliph. In the first place, he wanted me to marry him immediately—and I wasn't ready | to leave Sobrante, while Billy was. Indeed, it was highly necessary that he should leave immediately, for the sake of his health, and I had Billy's interest at heart sufficlently to insist upon it. You seem to forget that when a girl marries she must make \some preparation for the event, and l'if she has any close relatives, such as a brother, for instance, shé likes to have that relative present at the cere- mony. You will recall, Caliph, that I have a brother and that you have promised to introduce me to him very shortly.” “By Judas, I never thought of that, Miss Ruey,” the repentant Webster ‘:ms\rored. “In fact, I wasn’t think- | ing of anybody's interest in this mat- | ter but Bill's.” ! “Not even of mine, Caliph?” re- proachfully. “That goes without saying. Could 1 have done anything nicer for you than | fix it for Bill so he would be in posi- tion to marry you? Here you are, practically alone in the world—at least you were when Bill met you and fell in love with you—and I know that boy so well I was convinced, aft- er meeting you, that his foture happi- ness god yours would best be con- served if you_married_him. I realize (Continued on Page 5)