Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1918-02-15
CHAPTER xVl--tcOntlnued.)

uetfnctOrB IN the business uelu. InOSo
whose affairs brought them In contact
with him found a man suddenly grown
years older and harder, bloody and
harshly dictatorial, not to say quar-
relsome; a man who seemed to have
parted, In the short space of q single
night, with all Of the %humanizlng ana
bilities which he had shown to such a
marked degree In the recognizing and
%rehnanclng Of the irrigation project.
"We've got our young Napoleon Of
finance on the %toboggan slide, at last"
was the way in which Mr.. Crawford
Stanton phrnsed It for the bejeweled
lady at their luncheon In the Hophra
cafe. "Kinzie is about to throw him
over, and all this talk about bOtch-
work on the dan is getting his goat.
They're telling 1t around town this
morning that you can't get nea him
without risking a fight. Old Man Back
us went up to his Office in behalf Of
a bunch Of the scared stockholders,
and Smith abused him first and then
threw him out bOdily-hurt him pretty
Savagely, they say"
The large lady's accurately penciled
eyebrows went up in mild surprise.
"Bad temperT she queried.
"Bad temper, or an acute attack Of
'rattleitis; : you can take your choice.
l suppose he hasn't, by any chance,
quarreled with Miss HIGHLANDER over
nlght7-Or has he7"
The fat lady shook her diamonds.
Il should say not. They were at lunch
con together In the ladies' ordinary as
I came down a few minutes ago."
Thus the partner Of Crawford Stan
toms joys and sorrows. But nm invis-
ible OnlOoker in the small dining room
hbOve-stairs might have drawn other
conclusions. Smith and the daughter
Of the L~awrenceville magnate had a
small table to themselves, and If the
talk were not precisely quarrelsome,
Il leaned that way at times.
II have seen you quite so bru-
tai and impossible as you r today,
Montague. You don't seem like the
same Are you going to reconsider
and take mt out to the Baldwin ranch
this afternoonT"
And let you parade me there as
your latest acQuisitlon2-never In this
world I"
"More brutality. Positively you are
getting me into a frame of mind in
which Tucker Jibbey will seem like a
blessed relief. Whatever do you sup
pose has become of TuckerT"
slow should l known"
"Tf he had come in Inst night, and
you had met hIm-as I asked you to
in any such heavenly temper as you
are lndulging now, I might think you
had murdered him."
It was doubtless by sheer accident
that Smith, reaching at the moment
for the salad oil, overturned his water
glass. But the small accident by no
means accounted for the sudden gray
Ing of his face under the Tlmanyoni
wind tan-for that or for the shaking
hands with which he seconded the wait
er's anxious efforts to repair the dam
age. When they we're alone again, the
momentary trepidatiOn had given mace
to a renewed hardness that lent a
biting rasp TO his voice.
"Kinzie, the suspicious old banker
that I've been telllng you about, is de-
termlned to run ne down." he said,
changing the subject abruptly. "Pve
got 1t pretty straight that he is plan
ming 10 send one Of his clerks to the
Topaz district to try and find your ia
then In the hope that he will tell what
he knows about me-"
'Does this Mr.. Klnzie know where
father Is to be foundf"
"He doesn't; that's the only hitch"
Miss Verdn's smile across the little
table was level-eyed.
~ could be lots OF help to you, Mon
tngue, In this fight you are making, II
you'd only let me-" she suggested.
"Tll fight for my W hand" was the
grating rejoinder. ~ can assure you
right now, that Kinzle's messenger will
never reach your father-nllve."
"OOh I" shuddered the beauty, with
little lift OF the rounded shoulders
"HCw utterly and hopelessly primitive
Let me show you a much simpler alter
nntive. l have a mup Of the mining
district, you know Father left It with
me-in case l should want to commu
nicate with him."
Smith looked up with a smile which
was a mere barring Of the teeth.
"You wouldn't get ia a mans way
with any %nne-spun theories OF the ultl
mate right and wrong, would your You
wouldn't say that the only great mar
is the man who loves his fellow men
and all thati"
Again the handsome shoulders were
lifted. this time in cool scorn.
"Are you quoting the little ranch per
sOnf" she inquired. Then she answered
his query: The only great men worth
speaking Of are the men who win. Fol
the lack Of something better TO do, I'm
willing to help you win. Montague
Nest naturally. / am the n whC
would know where my father Is 10 b.
found. And l have changed my mind