The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1919-02-13


Oath.
ugly cath. The Mexican stood watch
ing his stumbling anger. "Poor Har-
dinp
In the office Rickard was speaking
to MacLean, whom he had drawn to
one side, out Of earshot Of the checker
players.
II want you to do something for
me, not at all agreeablew His tone
implied that the boy was not given
the chance to beg off. "What time
does the train pull out in the morn
ing?"
"Six-fifteeD."
"TIl have a letter for you at the
hotel at six. Be on time. l want to
catch Hardin before he leaves for Los
Angeles. If he's really going. I'll give
him today to think it over. But he
can't disregard an order as he did my
invitation. I didn't want to rub 1t in
before the men,"
MacLean stared. then said that he
thought he was not likely to!
Rickard left the Office in time to
see Hardin shutting the outer gate
behind him. His exit released q cho-
rus of indignant voices.
, aAn outraged
"a ID shame" This from
Wooster.
"Hardin's luck!"
On the other side Of the door Rick
ard deliberated. The hotel and Its curl
Gus loungers, or his new Office. where
Ogilvie was making great show Of
occupation. He had not seen Estrada.
He was making a sudden dive for his
hotel when the gentle voice Of the
Mexican hailed him.
"Will you come to my car? It's on
the sii'ps right here. We can have a
little lunch and then look over some
maps together. / have some pictures
of The river and the gate. They may
be new to YOU"
Rickard spent the afternoon In the
car. The twin towns did not seem so
hostile. He thought he might like the
Mexican.
Estrada was earning his fathers
mantle. He was the superintendent
of the road which the Overland IA
cific was building between the twin
towns and the Crossing; director OF
the Desert Reclamation company, and
the head of small subsidiary COM
pany which had been created to pro-
tect rights and keep harmonious rela-
ton with the sister country. Rickard
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 or
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 q string Of them. Once ne
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 mani"
"And the Scotched option" remind
ed Rickard, 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 q lead developed on the steam
er. He was never a man to neglect q
chance. Nothing came Of it, 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. 1t
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 bounding
down q quick scent, without meeting
strong influences. He had been thrown
with hard men, strong men. 1t was
an inevitable chiseling, not miracle.
81 want to hear more Of this some
do