Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1917-08-03
CHAPTER IV-Continued.

I'm afraid he'd have to loosen up
on his record a little before we could
bring him in here. Badly as we're
needing a money man, we can hardly
afford to put a John Smith into the
saddle-at least not without knowing
what his other name used to be-"
"No; of course not. l guess, after
sill he'a only a lame duck like good
ma1y Of the rest of them. Day before
yesterday Burdell, the deputy sheriff,
was cut at the camp looking the gangs
over for the fellow who broke into
LaUnlgan's place last Saturday night.
When he came into the office Smith
was busy with an estimate, and Bur-
dell went up and touched him on the
shoulder, just to let him know that it
was time to wake up. Suffering cats
1t took three of Us to keep him from
breaking Burdell in two and throwing
him out of the Window
THAT looks rather bad" was the
presidents comment. Col. Dexter Bald
win had been the first regularly elect
ed sheriff of TimanyOni county in the
"Was Burdell wearing his star where
1t could be SEEM"
The engineer nodded.
"What explanation did Smith makeW
"Oh, he apologized like gentleman,
and said he was subject to little nerv
Gus attacks like that when anybody
touched him Unexpectedly. He took
Burdell over to Pete Simm's shack sa-
loon and bought him a drink. Perkins,
the timekeeper, gays he's going to get
megaphone so he can give due notice
in advance when he wants to call
Smiths attention.
The colonel pulled out a drawer in
the desk, found his box of diplomatic
cigars and passed it to the engineer,
saying: Light up a sure-enough good
one, and tell me what you think Smith
has been doing back yonder in the
other country"
Williams took the cigar but he SHE'D
at the conundrum.
ASK me something easy" he said,
tive stacked up q few guesses. He's
from the middle West-as the Bible
says, his speech betrayeth' him-and
hes had a good job Of some kind; the
Kind that required him to keep abreast
of things. If there's anything in looks,
you'd say he wasn't thief or an en-
beZzler, and yet it's pretty apparent
that he's been used to handling money
in chunks and making it work for its
living. I've put it up that there's a
woman in it. Perhaps the other fell
low got in his way, or came up behind
him and touched him unexpectedly, or
something of that sort. Anyway, I'm
not going to believe he's a crooked
crook until I have to-"
Colonel Baldwin helped himself to
one of his own cigars, and the talk
went back to business. In the irri-
cation project, Williams was a stock
holder as well as chief of construction,
and Baldwin had more than once
found him a safe adviser. There was
need for counsel The Timanyoni
Ditch company was in q rather hazard
Gus condition financially, and the presi-
Dent and Williams rerely met without
coming sooner or later to q threShing
cut of the situation.
The difficulties were those which are
apt to confront q small and local enter
prise when it is so unfortunate as to
get in the way Of larger undertakings.
Colonel Baldwin, and a group of his
neighbors on the north side Of the
nd
horse breeders. Instead of drifting
farther west in advance of the incom-
ing tide of population following the
coming of the railroad they had
availed themselves of their homestead
rights and had taken up much of the
Ngating it at first with water taken
cut of the river in private or neighbor-
hood bitches.
Later on came the sheep-feeding
period, and after that the utilization
Of larger crOp-raislng areas. The small
bitches proving inadequate for these
Colonel Baldwin had formed a stock
company among his neighbors in the
grass lands and his friends in Brewster
for the building of substantial dam
Ia the eastern hills. The project had
seemed simple enough in the beginning
The stock was sold for cash and each
Nockholder would be a participating
user Of the water. Williams, who haG
been a United States reclamation mar
before he came to the Tlmanyoni, had
made careful estimates, and the stock
subscription provided money enough
DO cover the cost az the dam and tht
b1asn ditoA. ..-