Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1919-04-18

to ride the twenty miles from down
the river to talk with him. The mans
| suavity, his narrow Sits of eyes, the
lips thin and facile, deep lines of cru.
| city falling from them, had repealed
| his visitor. The mystery of the place
followed him. Why the 'dobe wall
which completely surrounded the
small, low dwellings,? Why the eau
tiOus admittance, the atmosphere of
suspicion? Richard had seen the wife.
a frightened shadow of woman: had
seen her finch when the brute called
for her. He had questioned Cornell
about the half-breed. He was remem-
bering the wrinkles of contempt on the
old Indians face as he delivered him
self of an oracular grunt
"White man? No. Indian? No!
Coyote!"
Though he suspected Maldonado
would lie on principle, though it might
be that two-thirds of his glib tissue
were false, yet a thread of truth CO.
incident with the others, Brandon and
Hamlin and Cornell, might be pulled
out of his romantic fabric
'When the waters of the ella run
red look out for trouble!' He doubt
ed that they ever ran red. He would
ask Cornell. He had also spoken of
cycle, known to Indians of hun
dredth year, when the Dragon grows
restless; this he had declared was q
Lundredth year.
Following his talk with Maldonado
and the accidental happy chance meet
ing with CorOnel at the Crossing Rick
ard had written his first report to Tod
Marshall. Before he had come to the
Heading he had expected 20 advise
against the completion of the wooden
neadgate at the Crossing. Hanlin
had given him new viewpoint There
to be fair. Next to being successful
he wanted to be fair.
Its time to be hearing frO,l Mar
SHALL" Richard was thinking, as he
walked back to the hotel. II wonder
N'A"I iC w III oslJ. Lie ICll II littU
been fair to put it up to Marshall !;
personally, he would like to begin with
q clean slate-begin right. Clumsy
work had been done, it was true, yet
there were urgent reasons now for
haste; and the gate was nearly half
done! He had gone carefully over
the situation. The heavy snowfall, I'M
precedented for years, q hundred, ac-
cording to the Indians-On the Wind
Rover mCuntainS-the lakes swollen
With ice, the ella restless, the summer
floods yet to be met; perhaps, he now
thought, he had been Overfair in en-
phasizing the arguments for the head
gate. For the hundred feet were now
q thousand feet-yet he had spoken
of that to Marshall: Calculate for
yourself the difference in expense
since the flood widened the break. 1t
is a vastly different problem now.
Disaster island, which they figured on
for anchor, is mere pit of cOrrOding
sugar in the channel. An infant Col
Orado could wash it away. However,
ioL VI WOIk Has dlToduy Dccll uOllI,
and lot of money spent. There is a
fighting chance. Perhaps the bad year
| is all Indian talk
A guess, at best, whatever they did !!
| 1t was pure gamble what the tricky
| Colorado would do. Anyway, he had
given the whole situation to Marshall
In his box at the hotel was a tele-
gram which had been sent over from
the office-from Tod Marshall. "Take
the fighting chance. But remember to
speak more respectfully of Indians"
Marshall all over" laughed his sub
ordinate. snow it's a case of hustle!
But dollars to doughnuts, as Junior
says, we don't do it!''