Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1916-09-29

tory. almost brutal. For one and all
there was rarely anything beyond the
shotlike sentence: Drive 1t, men;
drive It; that's what you're here for
drive IT,"
The time he took to eat his hurried
meals at Bongras' could be measured
In minutes. and what hours he gave
to sleep no man knew, since he was
the last to leave the headquarters at
night and the first on the work in the
morning. Twice. after the renewed
activities on the great wall had be
, come well-ordered race against time,
and the concrete was pouring into the
high forms in steady streams from the
ranked batteries of mixers, Mr.. Cort-
wright had sent for Brouillard, and on
each occasion the messenger had gone
back with the brief word: TOO busy
during working hours" And when a
third messenger came to inquire what
Mr.. Brouillard's working hours were.
the equally blunt answer returned was:
"All the time"
In the face Of such discouragements
Mr.. Cartwright was constrained to
pocket his dignity as mayor. as the
potentate of the exchanges. and as
the unQuestionable master of the surly
young industry captain who refused
to come when he was called, and to go
in person. Choosing the evening hour
when he had been assured that he was
likely to find Brouillard alone and at
work, he crossed the boundaries of the
sacred reservation and made his way
to the door of the log-built mapping
room.
Il came around to see what Is eating
you these days." was the pudgy
tyrant's greeting for the young man
sitting under the shaded desk lamp.
why don't you drop in once In q
while and give me the run Of things?"
81 gave your clerk the reason" said
Brouillard laconically. I'm too busy.
THE devil you are!" snapped the
great man, finding the only armchair
in the room and dropping heavily into
it. "Since when?"
"Since the first time you sent for
me-and before"
Mr.. Cartwright recovered his work.
ing geniality only with a palpable ef-
fort.
See here. Brouillard. you know you
never make any money by being short
with me. Let's drop it and get down
to business. What l wanted to say is
that you are OVERRIDING 1t; you are put
ting on too much steam. You've
brought the boom. all right. but at
the pace you're setting 1t won't last
long enough. Are you catching on?"
I'm listening" was the noncommit-
tai reply.
We'll, enough's enough, and too
much Of a good thing scalds the hog
before you're ready to dress 1t and cut
1t up. It's all right for you to run men
in here by the trainload and scatter
'em out over your scaffolding-
more the merrier. and it's good for the
town-but you needn't sweat the last
shovelful of hurry out of them the way
you're doing. 1t won't do to get your
Job finished too soon."
Before congress convenes, you
mean?" suggested Brouillard.
That's Just what mean. String 1t
out Make 1t last"
Brouillard sat back in his pivot chair
and began to play with the paper.
knife.
And II I don't choose to string It
out'-if l even confess that l am strain
ing every nerve to do this thing that
you don't want me to do-what then.
Mr. Cortwright?"
The quiet retort jolted the stocky
man in the armchair as IL it had been
a blow. But he recovered quickly.
I've been looking for that" he said
with a nervous twinkling of the little
gray eyes. You've no business being
out of business. Brouillard. II you'd
quit pudding sand and cement and lit
tie rocks together and strike your gait
right in ten years you'd be the richest
man this side of the mountains. I'll
be open-handed with you: This time
you've got us where we can't wiggle.
We've got to have more time. How
much is it going to cost us?"
Brouillard shook his head slowly.
"Odd as 1t may seem to you, I'm out
OF your market this time, Mr.. Cort-
wright-quite out of It,"
"Oh. no, you're not. You've got
property to sell-a good bit of It. We
can turn it for you at a figure that
will"
mo; you are mistaken" was the
quick reply. Il have no property in
Mirapolis. I am merely a squatter on
government land, like everyone else
in the Niquoia valley"
For heavens sakei" the promoter
burst out. What's got into you?
Don't you go around trying to stand
that corpse on its feet; it's dead one.
tell you! The Coronida titles are all
right"
There are no Coronida titles. You
have known it all along, and know It
now. have 1t straight from the bu-
reau of land statistics. in q letter from
a man who knows. The nearest
boundary Of the old Spanish grant Is
Latigo peak. ten miles south of Chi
gringo. The department knows this
and is prepared to prove It. And in
the worry beginning you and your asso-
ciates were warned that you could not
acquire homestead or other rights In
the Niquoia."
Let II go!" snapped the gray-eyed
king Of the pack. We've got to get
out alive and we're going to get out
alive. What's your price?"
'T have answered that question once,