Gilpin observer., 1919-05-15
Copyright, Bobbs- Merrill Company

towns and the Crossing; a director Of
the Desert Reclamation company, and
the head of a small subsidiary COM
pany which had been created to pro-
tect rights and keep harmonious rela-
tion with the sister country. Richard
found him full of meat, and heard, for
the first time consecutively, the story
of the rakish river. Particularly In
teresting to him was the relation of
Hardin to the company.
He has the bad luck, that man !"
exclaimed Estrada's soft, musical
voice. "Everything is in his hands,
capital is promised, and he goes to
New York to have the papers drawn
up. The day he gets there the Maine
is destroyed. OF course capital Is shy.
He's had the devils own luck with
men: Clifford, honest but mulish =;
Sather, mulish and not honest-oh,
there's string of them. Once he
went to Hermosillo to get an option on
my fathers lands. They were already
| covered by an 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 maps and papers. He owned
all the data then. He'd made the sur
vey"
Estrada repeated the story Brandon
and Marshall had told, with little dis
crepancy. A friendly refrain followed
| the narrative. "He has the bad luck,
that man!"
"And the Scotched option?" remind
| ed Richard, smiling at his own poor
joke.
ut was just that. A case of Hardin
luck again. He stopped Off in London
to interest some capital there; follow
ing up lead developed on the steam
er. He was never a man to neglect q
chance. Nothing came of 1t, though,
and when he reached Glasgow he
found his man had died two days be-
fore-or been killed, I've forgotten
which. Three times Hardin's crossed
the ocean trying to corner the oppor.
tunity he thought he had found. II
isn't laziness. is his trouble. It's just
internal luck"
"Or over-astuteness, or procrastina'
tion," criticized his listener to himself
He knew now what it was that had
SO changed Hardin. A man cannot
travel, even though he be houndine
down a quick scent, without meeting
strong influences. He had been thrown
with hard men, strong men. 1t was
| vvnfrp o1r
II want to hear more Of this some
day. But this map. I don't under
stand what you told me Of this by
pass, Mr.. Estrada.
Their heads were still bending ovel
Estrada's rough work bench when thu
Japanese cook announced that dinner
was waiting in the adjoining car
MacLean and Bodefeldt and severa
young engineers Joined them.
1t had been outwardly a wasted day
Rickard had lOunged, socially ant
physically. But before he turned ir
that night he had learned the names
and dispositions of his force, ant
come Of their prejudices. Nothing, he
summed up. could be guessed from the
gentleness of the Mexican's manner
Wooster's antagonism was open ant
snappish. Silent was to be watched
and Hardin had already shown his
hand.
The river, as he thought of it, ap
peared the least formidable of his op
ponents. He was imaging it as a high
spirited horse maddened by the fun
bling of its would-be captors. His task
1t was to lasso the proud stallion, lead
it in bridled to the sterile land. Nc
wonder Hardin was sore; his moose
had slipped OH one time too many
Hardin's luckl