The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1916-06-02


power we shall utilize the river There
is another small canyon at the head of
the valley where temporary dam can
be built which will deliver power
enough to run anything-an entire
manufacturing city, IL we had one."
mo chance for man to get the
thin edge of q wedge in anywhere"
lamented the money-maker despair
ingly. Then his eye lighted upon the
graybeard dump of solitary mine
high up on the face of Mount Chi
gringo. whats that up there?" he
demanded.
1T is mine," said Brouillard, show
ing Miss Cartwright how to adjust the
fieldglass for the shorter distance
1.-TWO men named Massingale, father
and son, are working it, I'm told" And
then again to Miss Genevieve: THAT
is their cabin-on the trail little to
the right of the tunnel opening"
II see it quite plainly" she returned.
1.-TWO people are just leaving it to ride
down the path-a man and woman,
l think, though the woman-if it is a
woman-is riding on mans saddle"
Brouillard's eyebrows went up in a
little arch of surprise. Harding, the
typographical engineer who had made
all the preliminary surveys and had
spent the better part of the former
summer in the Niquoia, had reported
on the Massingales, father and son, and
his report had conveyed hint of pos
sible antagonism on the part of the
mine owners to the government prof.
ect. But there had been no mention
of a woman.
"The Massingale mine, eh?" broke
in the appraiser Of values crisply.
'They showed US some ore specimens
from that property while we were stop
ping over in Red Butte. It's rich
good and plenty rich-if they have the
quantity. And somebody told me they
had the quantity, too; only it was too
far from the railroad-couldn't jack
freight it proftably over the Timan-
yonis.'
"In which case it is one of many"
Brouillard said, taking refuge in the
generalities.
But Mr.. Cartwright was not to be so
easily diverted from the pointed par
ticu1ars-the particulars having to do
with the pursuit of the market trail.
I'm beginning to get my feet on
bottom, Brouillard," he said, dropping
the courtesy prefix and showing his fat
hands deep into the pockets of the
dust-coat. There's business propo-
sition here, and it looks mighty good
to me. I tell you, 1 can smell money
in this valley of yours-scads of it."
Brouillard laughed. at is only the
fragrance of future reclamation-serv-
ice appropriations" he suggested.
There will be a good bit of money
spent here before the Buckskin desert
gets it's maiden wetting."
'T don't mean that at ALL" was the
impatient rejoinder. "Let me show
you: you are going to have a popula-
ton of some sort. That's the basis.
Then you're going to need cement,
lumber and steel. 1t can be manufac-
tured right here on the spot"
1.-THE cement and the lumber can be
produced here, but not the STEEL"
Brouillard corrected.
That's where you're off," snapped
the millionaire. There are fine ore
beds in the Hophras and pretty good
quality of coking coal. Ten or twelve
miles of a narrow-gauge railroad would
dump the pig metal into the upper end
of your valley, and there you are.
With small reduction plant you could
tell the big steel people to go hang"
"Unquestionably. But this is case
of can't-help-it," Brouillard argued
'You couldn't begin to interest private
capital in any of those industries you
speak Of"
why not?" was the curt demand.
Because when the dam is complet-
ed and the spillway gates are closed,
the Niqoyastcadje and everything in it
will go down under two hundred feet
of water"
"The-what?" queried Miss Cort-
wright.
1.-THE Niqoyastcadje = 'PIace-where-
they-came-up' said Brouillard, eluci-
dating for her. THAT is the Navajo
name for this valley. Our map max
ers shortened it to 'Niquoia and the
cowmen of the Buckskin foothills have
cut that to .Nick-wire.'"
This bit Of explanatory place lore |
was entirely lost upon Mr.. j. Wesley |
Cartwright.
Say, Brouillard," he cut in, you get |
me the right to build that power dam,
and give me the contracts for what
you'd rather buy than make,
and I'll be switched if / don't take a
shot at this drowning proposition my
self. I tell you, it looks pretty good
to me. What do you say?"
II say" laughed the young chief of
that I'm only a hired
nan. You'll have to go good few
'ounds higher up on the authority lad
Ter to close deal like that. I'm not
sure it wouldn't require an act of
congress-"
We'll, by George, we might get even
hat If we had to- was the optimistic
assertion. You think about it,"
II guess 1t isn't my think" said