Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1916-05-11

iii'iH soI inc Sdnc OIL ulSclIlllle IMAM
anything else. He'll be anxious to re-
urn in Il few days. Now tell me-
Gordon liked his visitor with Il bland
stare which failed to mask his gnaw-
ing curiosity-"what brings YOU to
Hing Philip sound? Arc we TO be
rivals in the railroad 1icid::'
NO. There are enough projects of
that sort in the ncighborhood for the
present.
Five, all told, but only one destined
to succeed"
I'm bound for the INyak coal fields
to perfect and amcnd my surveys UNI
der the new ruling"
"Ah! I've heard about that ruling"
Heard about it, exclaimed O'Neil.
Good Lord. Haven't you compiled
with IL"
MOT yet"
You surely intend to do so"'
oh, yes; | suppose so"
III You don't you'll lose
I'm not sure We can ever win"
NONSENSE"
I'm not sure that it's wise to put
more good money into those coal
claims,'' said Gordon. 'This ruling
will doubtless be reversed as the 9th
crS ave been. One never knows what
the land Office policy will be two days
at IA time"
You know Your w business
ONcjl remarked after Il pause, but
unless you have inside information or
a bigger pull in Washington than the
rest of US I'd advise YOU to get busy.
III be on my way to INyak in the morn
ing with II gang of men" Gordon's at
tltnde puzzled him, for he could not
bring himself to believe that such in
difference was genuine.
1t was difficult to escape from the
hospitality of Hope. and O'Neil sue
cecdcd in doing so only after an argll-
mont with Natalie and her mother.
They let him SO Mt last only upon his
promise to return on his way back
from the coal fields, and they insisted
upon accompanying him down to the
dock, whittier Gordon had preceded
them in order to have his motorboat in
readiness.
An II o'clock twilight enveloped
Cortez when O'Ncil and Slater land
ed, but tic town was awake. The re-
cent railway ana mining activity III
the neigAborhood had brought a con-
siderable influx Of people TO King
Phillip sound, ana the strains of mu-
sic from dance hall doors, the click of
checks and roulette balls from the sd
looms, gave evidence of an unusual
prosperity.
O.Neil had no difficulty i'll securin.
men. Once he was recognized, the
scenes at Hope were re-enacted, and
there WIS a general scramble to enlist
upon his payroll. Within an hour,
therefore, his arrangements were
made, and he and Tom repaired to
Callahan's hotel for q few hours sleep.
a stud game was going on in the
barroom when they entered, and O'Neil
paused to watch it while Slater spoke
20 II Of the players. q clean cut,
blond youth of whimsical c~ountenancc.
When the two friends finally faced the
bar for their "nigltcap' Tom eX-
planned:
That's Appleton, the fellow Gordon
fired today. told him I'd left the old
man flat
rs he a friend of yours?"
Sure. Nice boy; good engineer too"
"Umph. That game is crooked
NO." Happy Tom displayed Il flash
of interest.
Yes; Cortcz is fast becoming a
metropolis, see. The man in the
derby hat is performing a little feat
that nee cost me 1000 to learn"
I'D better split Dan away said
Tom hastily.
Wait. EducAti"M is Il good thing.
even if it is expensive at times. |
fancy your friend is bright enough tc
take care of himself. Let's wait q
Bit"
Amt that just my blamed luck:'
lamented Slater. NOW, if they were
playing faro l could make Il killing.
I'd copper Appleton's bets and open
the ones he coppered."
ONcil smiled, for Happy Toms eau
ton in money matters was notorious.
iou hliOW YOU uOl L DcilcNe Ill gam
bling he said.
It's not # belief. it's IL disease" de-
clareQ the fat man. II was born to be
a gambler. but the business is too I'M
certain. Now that I'm getting so old
and feeble l can't work any more. I'd
take it up, only | broke three fingers,
and when l try to deal I drop the
cards. What are we going to do?"
Just wait" said O'Neil.
Unobserved the two friends watched
the poker game. which for a time pro-
ceeded quietly. But suddenly they
saw Appleton lean over the table and
address the man with the derby hat;
then, thrusting back his chair. he rose.
declaring in n louder tone:
II tell you 1 saw it. I thought l was
mistaken at first" His face was
white. and he disregarded the efforts
of his right hand neighbor to quiet
him.
"DOn't SOueal." smiled tho dealer.