The Ordway new era., 1919-04-18

powerful face.
"Estrada's business methods wert
then not different from Sather's ant
Hardin'sr' 1t was deep. rich organ
"Oh, you can't class Hardin with
Sather." protested Richards compan
ion. "Sather used Hardin. Hardin's
moneys he's after. His whole hear
is in this reclamation scheme"
"Hardin's a false ALARM" growled
the owner of the massive head. "He
makes promises. He never keeps
them"
The older mans smile was tolerant
Barton" he indicated. els the presi
dent of the water companies. And II
you want to hear about rogue and O
scoundrel ask the water companies
their opinion of Hardin.
"Well, what sort Of a hole has he
got US intoT demanded the other with
heat.
"Hardin's in a hole himself.
mo one seems to remember that he
crucified himself to save the valley,
I've a great respect for Thomas Har-
dfn."
"Yes? returned Rickard, whose lik-
ing had been captured by the speaker.
| The impression Of distinction sharp
ened. The stranger wore laundered
pongee silk shirt, open at the neck but
restricted by brown silk tie; and II
was trinity belted. There were but
two necst1es in the entire car. and
they occupied. Richard observed. the
same seat.
"The beginning Of the canal sys-
tenn"
Rickard looked out upon a fiat, one
toned country. marked Off in rec
tangles by plows and scrapers. Far
ther south these rectangles were edged
by young willows. He fancied he
could see, even at that distance, the
gleam of water.
1t was the passing of the desert. A
few miles back he had seen the desert
in Its primitive nakedness, which not
! even cactus relieved. he was passing
over the land which man and horses
| were preparing for water. And he
could see the land where water was.
THAT was the way Riverside looked
when 1 first saw it." commented the
other man who wore tie. "Come out
on the rear platform. We can see bet
ter"
Rickard followed to the back of the
dust-swept. sitting car. The glare on
the platform was intense. He stood
watching the newly made checkerboard
| of country slip past him. Receding
were the two lines Of cleaning steel
rails which connected and separated
him from the world outside. He was
going in." Not In Mexico even had
he such feeling of ultimate remote
ness. The mountains. converging per
| spectively toward the throat Of the
valley, looked elusive and unreal In
their gauze draperies Of rose and vio-
let. The tender hour Of day was cloth
ing them with mystery. softening their
sharp outlines. They curtained the
world beyond. Rickard felt the sus-
pense of the next act
1t was torpid Imagination, he
thought, which would not quicken over
this conquest Of the desert. East of
the tract men and teams were prepar-
ing the newly furrowed ground for the
seed. The curved land knives were
breaking up the rich mold into ridges
of soft soil as uncOhesive and feathery
rs pulverized chocolate. It was the
dark color of the chocolate of COM
merce, this silt which had been pill
fered from the states through which
the vagrant river wandered. The smell
of the upturned earth, sweetly damp,
struck against his nostrils. Rickard
INDUCED q minute of whimsical fancy
this was California territory over
which his train was passing. but the
soil, that dark earth those blades were
crumbling, was it not the tribute of
other states. of despoiling Wyoming.
of ravishing Colorado and Arizona?
To the west new squares were being
leveled and outlined. Shrubby rec
tangles were being cleared of their ere
osote bush and tough mesquite. Com
pared with other countries, the prepa.
ration for planting was the simplest
Horses were dragging over the ground
n railroad rail bent into a v angle
which pulled the bushes by the roots
and dragged them out of the way. Be
yond, farther west, could be seen the
untouched desert. The surface fol
many miles was cracked by water
lines, broken and baked into irregular
sand cakes; the mark of sand which
has been imprisoned by water and
branded by swift heat.
Close by men were putting in with
care the seed that was to quicken the
river silt They were passing square
where the green tips of the grain
were piercing the ground. Now they
were abreast of field of matured al
falfa over which the wind raced crate
fully. Desert and grain field; death
and life! The panorama embraced the
whole cycle.
They went back to their seats. After