The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1916-04-07
CHAPTER ll-continued.

81 was Just telling Van Bruce that
his laundering fish cartridge would
raise the neighbors," the trail climber
went on with a stout mans chuckle.
And then: You're one of the reclama-
tion engineers? Great work the gov
ernment is undertaking here. You
are connected with it, aren't you?"
Brouillard's nod was for the man,
but his words were for the young
woman whose beauty refused 10 be
quenched by the touring handicaps.
Yes, am in charge of it," he said
Hal" said the stout man, and this
time the exclamation was purely ap-
probative. Chief engineer, Ell? That's
fine, fine! My name is Cortwright-
J. Wesley Cortwright of Chicago And
yours is--?"
Brouillard named himself in one
word Strangers usually found him
bluntly unresponsive to anything like
effusiveness. but he was finding it GU
riously difficult 10 resist the good
natured heartiness which seemed TO
exude from the talkative gentleman,
OVERLAPPING him like the honeydew on
the leaves in a droughty forest.
If Mr. j Wesley Cortwright's sur
prise on hearing the Brouillard sur
name was not genuine it was at least
an excellent imitation.
We'll, well, well-you don't say!
Not of the Brouillards Of Knox county,
Indiana but. of course, you must be"
Yes" said Brouillard. Our branch
of the family settled near Vincennes,
and my father was on the bench, when
he wasn't in politics"
What? Not Judge Antoine! Why,
my dear young man! Do you know
that / once had the pleasure OF intro
ducing your good father to my bank
ers in Chicago? 1t was years ago, at
a time when he was interested in float
ing bond issue for some growing in
dustry down on the Wabash. And 10
think that away out here in this howl
ing wilderness. a thousand miles from
nowhere, as you might say, | should
meet his SOM"
Brouillard laughed and fell headlong
into the pit of triteness.
The world isn't so very big when
you come to surround it properly, Mr.
Cartwright" he asserted.
You are wondering what fool no
ton chased us away out here in the
tel to stop at" he ratified on. III
tell you, Mr. Brouillard-in confidence.
IL was curiosity-raw, country curios-
ity. The papers and magazines have
been full Of this Buckskin reclamation
scheme, and we wanted to see the
place where all the wonderful miracles
were going to get themselves wrought
out Have you got time to put us
next?'"
Brouillard as the son Of the man
who had been introduced to the Chi
cago money gods in his hour of need.
could scarcely do less than to take the
time. The project. he explained. con-
templated the building of a high dam
across the upper end of the Niquoia
canyon and the converting of the in
land valley above into a great storage
reservoir. From this reservoir a series
of distributing canals would lead the
water out upon the arid lands of the
Buckskin and the miracle would be a
fact accomplished. =
"Sure, sure!" said the cheerful quer-
ist. feeling in tire pockets OF the au-
tomobile coat for a cigar AT the
matclrs8iHns instant he remembered
a thing neglected by Georgel you'll
have 70 pardon me- Mr.. Brouillard; I'm
always forgetting the little social dew
dabs. Let me present you to my
daughter Genevieye Gene. shake
hands with the son OF my good old
friend Judge Antoine Brouillard OF
Vincennes."
II was rather awkwardly done. and
somehow Brouillard could not help
fancying that Mr. Cortwright could
have done IL better But when the
unquenchable beauty stripped her
gauntlet and gave him her hand. with
a dazzling smile and a word OF ac-
knowledgment which was not Dor.
rowed from her fathers ELUSIVE vo-
cabuiaTy, he straightway fell into an.
other pit Of triteness and his saving
first impressions Of Mr.. J. Wesley Cort-
wrights character began TO fade.
I'm immensely interested" was
Miss COuwrights comment on the out
lining Of the reclamation project. DO
you mean TO say that real farms with
green things growing on them can be
made ont Of that frightful desert we
drove over yesterday afternoon?"
Brouillard smiled and plunged fatu.