The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1919-03-28

that's what it is. Oh, can see through
fence with Il knothOle as big as your
head. He doesn't want to finish the
headgate. He wants To put off going
until it's too late to go on with it; L
know him. He'd risk the whole thing,
and all the money the o. Z. has
chucked into It, just to start with
clean slate; to get the glory of stop
ping the river himself. 1t turns my
stomach; It's a plot" The lower lip
sb"t out.
'IacLean'S attention was deferential.
He had always liked Hardin; all the
fellows did. But he was jumping off
wrong this time. He'd brought it all
OF himself
He said something about a levee for
the t"yns. He's got to investigate that
before ir- goes To the front"
"a levee? Wet, 1Du:;;.s:,t that jar
your Hardin addressed the stenog-
rapher in the transparent shirtwaist.
Does he think we're going TO have
another flood this season? Thinks it's
going to reach the hotel and wet his
clothes? Take the starch out of his
shirts?" He flung out of his chair,
throwing the papers back into the
drawer.
He stamped out of the office, mad
clear through. To this crisis they had
sent down a dandy, a boOkman who
wanted to build a levee. Oh, hell!
They'll come crawling after me to
help them after this fellows buried
himself under river mud, come calling
to me as they did after Maitland failed.
Please. Mr.. Hardin. won't you come
back and finish your gater I'll see
them dead first. No, I'll be fool enough
to do it. l can't help myself I'm a
Hardin. / have to finish what I've be-
gun"
1t was not because this was pet
enterprise, the great work of his life,
that he must eagerly eat humble pie,
take the Bullets. the falls, and come
whining back when they whistled to
him. He told himself it was because of
his debt TO the valley, to the r;Achers.
The coloniSts were about desperate.
Who could blame them? The last years
floods had worked havoc with their
crops; this year had been horror.
The district they called No was q
screaming erony of ruin. rxle last de-
bauch of the river had made great
gashes through the ranches, had
secured deep gorges which had under
mined the canals on which the water
supply for No. 6 depended. The suits
were piling up against the d. r., dam
age suits, and they hold up his gate.
while he gets the curses of the val
Ia1 An
build leveel
He flung himself on the co,sch in the
tent. Gerty was laying a careful
cloth for supper. A brave, determined
smile was arranged on her lips. The
noon storm had passed. She hummed
gay little tune. If there was anything
Hardin hated it was hummng.
You'll have your dude TO dinner all
right" her husband announced Hes
in town.
yes, I know" rejoined his spouse
Il had letter from him yesterday.
From Imperial"
Tom sat up glazing. He wrote to
you from Imperial?''
His wife misplaced the eccent. She
misunderstood Toms scowI. 1t was
the old story over again. Whenever
thoAe two men came together the old
feeling of Jealousy must be revived
again, 1t was unpleasant, of course
very unpleasant, to have men care like
that, but * made life exciting. Life
had been getting a little stale lately
like book of obvious, even plot.
Richards entrance into the story gave
q new interest, new twist. She
hummed an air from a new opera that
had set the world Waiting.
Hardin's thoughts did not touch her
at the hem. He was at the headgate,
his gate. What the deuce mad Ricktu
gore to Imperial for7 Ii he wasn't th