Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1916-06-21

| perings with the smelter people and
the railroad. the Little Susan" had be-
come locked treasure vault, the en-
gineer, acting upon his own initiative,
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 zine rather than his
money, Broulllard had submitted the
facts in the case to a trusted lawyer
friend in the East.
This hope had pulled in two like a
| frayed cord. Massingale must pay the
bank or lose all. Until he had OBJ
tanned possession of the promissory
notes there would be no 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 NJ
chance of Massingale's recovering
more than his allotted two-thirds of
the stock; in other words, he would
still stand committed to the agreement
by which ne had bound himself to
make the grafters a present. In fee
simple. of one-third OF his mine.
Brouillard had written one more let
ter to the lawyer. In It he had asked
how David Massingale could be anas-
sailably reinstated In his rights As the
sole owner OF the Little Susan" The
answer had come promptly and it was
explicit. Only by the repayment of
such sums as had been actually ex-
pended in the reorganization and on
the INSTRUMENTATION the undertaking
machinery and mprovemeRts-and the
voluntary surrender. by the other par
ties to the agreement. Of 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 Massingale-into the mat
ter OF land titles. The Little Susan"
was legally patented under the land
laws, and Nassingales title, If the
land, was without a flaw. But on a
former reclamation project Brouillard
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 a
government patent invalidated there
by
AS man in reasonably close touch
with ais superiors in Washington. the
chief OF construction knew that there
was Spanish grant involvement
which had at one time threatened to
ut least delay the NIquoia project How
1t had been settled finally he did not
know; but after the legal failure he
had written to q mana college class
mate OF his own-in the bureau OF land
statistics, askiE; for data which would
enable him to locate exactly the Nj
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
sl0wHess a simple matter of informa-
tion can ooze out of a department bu-
reau. The letter-which. after all,
might contain nothing helpful-lia-
gered on the way, and the crisis. the
turning point beyond which there
could be no redemption in a revivaf OF
the speculative craze. had arrived.
Brouillard took up the draft OF the
Washington telegram and read it over.
Ia l. A.
was only as it came from the hand of
traitor. who could and would DELHI
erately wreck the train of events IL
might set in motion, that Il 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 sue
/ pension OF the work on the dan. II
4 the work could be pushed theoretically
/ and at once, there was possibility
/ that the opposition would become dis
/ couraged and voluntarily withdraw
Would the department place the men
and the means instantly az his dis
posaI"
If were the honest man I am
! supposed to be. that IL preciseIy the
message l ought to send" he unused
rehectively. 1T is only as the crooked
devil in possession Of me will drive me
to nullify the effort and make it of no
effect that it becomes a crime: that
and the fact that can never be sure
that the Cartwright gang hasn't the
inside track and will not W. out in
spite of all efforts That is the touch
stone of the whole degrading bust
ness ! am afraid Cartwright has the
inside track. If could only get a lit
tie clesr-sighted daylight on the damn
able tangled"