Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1919-02-28
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of the river and the gate. They may
be new Ia YOU"
Richard spent the afternoon In the
car The twin towns did not seem SO
hostile. He thought he might Ike the
Mexican
Estrada was earning his fathers
mantle He was the superintendent
of the road which the Overland Pa
cific was building between the twin
towns and The Crossing; director or
the Desert Reclamation company, ana
the head of small subsidiary com
pany Which had been created to pro-
tect rights and keep harmonious rela-
ton with the sister country. Richard
found him full of meat. and heard for
the first time cGnsccutively, the story
of the rakish river. Particularly in
tcreStng To him was the relation OF
Hardin to the company.
Gle has the bad luck, that MAJ"
exclaimed EStrada'S soft, musical
voice. "Eycrything is in his hands,
capital is promised, and he goes to
New York 10 have the papers drawn
up. The day he gets there the Maine
is destroyed. OF course capital Is shy
Hes had he devils own luck with
men: Clifford honest hut mul!Sh;
Sather, muli>h and not honeSt--oh,
there's string Of them. once he
went TO HormoSillo to get an option on
my fathers lands. They were already
covered by nm option held by some
men in Scotland. Another man would
have waited for the three months TO
pass Not Hardin. He went TO Scot
land thought he'd interest those men
with his sanS and papers. He owned
all the data then. He'd made the sur
vey."
Estrada repeated the story Brandon
ana Marshall had told. with little dis
crepancy. \ friendly refrain followed
the narrative. Gle has the bad luck,
that man"
"And the Sco,ehcd 0ptionY remind
ed Richard, smiling at his own poor
joke.
1t was just that, 4 ease of Hardin
luck again. He stopped off in London
to interest some capital there; follow
| ing up Il head developed on the steam
or. He was never man to neglect
chance. Nothing came of 1t, though,
ana when he reached Glasgow he
fuuHd his man had died two days be-
loI or been Killed, I've forgotten
which. Three times Hardins crossed
the ocean trying to corner the oppor-
tunity he thousH he had found. 1t
isn't laziness, is his trouble. It's just
Internal luck"
cor oyer-nStuteness, or procrastina-
ton" criticized his listener to himself
He knew now what 1t was that had
so changed Hardin. A man cannot
travel even though he be bounding
down Il quick scent, without meeting
strong influences. He had been thrown
with hard mc-, strong men. II was
an inevitable chiseIing, not a miracle.
Il want to hear more Of rilis some
day. But this map. | don't under
stand what you told me of this by
pas, Mr.. Estrada.
Their heads were still bending over
EStrada'S rough work bench when the
japanese cook announced that dinner
was waiting in the adjoining car.
MucLean and Bodefeldt and several
young engineers joined them.
II had been outWardly 4 wasted Gay.
Richard had lounged socially and
physically. But before he turned in
that night he had learned the names
and dispositions Of his force, and
some of their prejudices. Nothing, he
summed up, could be guessed from the
gentlcnesS of the MeXican's manner:
Wo0Sters antagoniSm was open and
Snappish. Silent was to be watched,
and Hardin had already shown his
hand.
The river, as he thought Of it, APP
pcared the least formidable of his OPP
ponentS. He was imaging it rs a high
spirited horse, maddened by the fun
bling of its Wouldbe captors. His task
it was to laSsO the proud stallion, lead
it in bridled to the sterile land. No
wonder Hardin was sore; his moose
had slipped off one time too manyI
Hardn'S luck