The Delta independent. [volume] (Delta, Colo.) 1886-19??, 1916-04-21
had tried the law. AS soon as he had
that David Massingale had

had tried the law. As soon as he had
ascertained that David Massingale had
been given sixty days longer to live
solely because the buccaneers chose
to take his mine rather than his
money, Brouillard had submitted tho
facts in the case to a trusted lawyer
friend in the East.
This hope had pulled in two like a
frayed cord. MassingaIe must pay the
hank or lose all. Until he had OBJ
tanned possession of the promissory
notes there would be 10 crevice IN
which to drive any legal wedge. And
even then. unless some pressure could
be brought to bear upon the grafters
to make them disgorge. there was no
chance OF Massingale's recovering
more than his allotted twothirds of
the stock: in other words, he would
by which he had bound himself to
make the grafters a present. in fee
simple. of oi.e-third of his mine.
Brouillard had written one more let.
ter to the lawyer. In Il he had asked
how David Massingale could be unaR-
sailably reinstated in his rights as the
sole owner OF the Little Susan" The
answer had come promptly and 1t was
explicit. Only by the repayment OF
such sums as had been actually ex-
pended in the reorganization and en-
the betterments-for the undertaking
machinery and mprovements-and the
voluntary surrender by the other par,
ties to the agreement. CT the stock IN
dispute" the lawyer had written; and
BrouiIlard had smiled at the thought
OF Cartwright voluntarily surrendering
anything which was once well within
the grasp OF his pudgy hands.
Failing to start the legal wedge.
Brouillard had dipped-also without
consulting Massingaie-intot the mat
ter Of land titles. The Little Susan
was legally patented under the land
laws. and Massingale's title. II the
mine were located upon government
land. was without q flaw. But on =
former reclamation project Brouiilard
had been brought In contact with some
OF the curious title litigation growing
out Of the old Spanish grants: and in
at least one instance he had seen q
government patent invalidated there
by.
As man in reasonably close touch
with his Supporters in Washington. the
chief Of construction knew that there
was Spanish grant involvement
which Ind at one time threatened to
at least delay the Niquoia project. How
It had been settled finally he did not
know: but after the legal failure he
had written to a mana college class
mate OF his own-in the bureau OF land
statistics. asking for data which would
enable him to locate exactly the M
quoia-touching boundaries OF the great
Coronida grant. To this letter no re-
ply had as yet been received. Brouil-
lard had cause to know with what
slowness n simple matter of informa-
tion can coze out of a department bu-
reau- The ietter-which. after all.
might contain nothing hclpful-lin-
gered on the way. and the crisis. the
turning point beyond which there
could be no redemption In revival OF
the speculative craze. had arrived.
Brouillard took up the draft OF the
Washington telegram and read II over
He was cooler now. and he saw that II
was only as II came from the hand OF
a traitor. who could and would DELHI
erately wreck tho train OF events II
might set in motion. that II became a
betrayal. Writing as the commanding
officer in the field. he had restated the
facts-facts doubtless well known in
the department-the probability that
congress would Intervene and the hold
the opposition was gaining by the sus-
pension Of the work on the dam. n
the work could be pushed theoretically
and at once, there was a possibility
that the opposition would become dis