Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1920-09-03

II he had been poor as church mouse
to Alice Leigh, but Wade Porter did
not know that. Besides, he resented
the idea Of asking girl brought up
amid wealth and luxury to risk unit
ing herself to a man without means,
and one, too, who had not even demon
strated his business abilities.
"She likes you, Wade" his best
friend, Neil Wolfson, told him, "and
when a woman like Alice Leigh fixes
her affections they are likely to prove
lasting"
'Then will not take advantage of
her confidence" answered Wade reso-
lutely. Il believe there is something
in me worth bringing out, and when l
have proven that, am going to her
like man and tell her So"
In a careless moment Neil impaired
this information to his sister and she
in turn passed it along to Alice. The
latter was made very happy by the in
telligence. When Wade, all uncon-
scious Of this, made call upon her
his hope was increased and his am
bitions stimulated by the gracious way
in which Alice treated him. He made
his preparations to qualify for posi-
ton in another city, when he received
a letter from an aunt whose husband
had recently died and its contents
quite interested and excited him.
"Your uncle always liked you"
wrote the lady, "and it was his will
that you should be remembered before
he died, but the latter years Of his
life he had some serious business trou-
bleS and did not attend to it. Just be-
fore he died, however, he asked me to
see to it that you were given some
mining property he had traded for in
Arizona. 1t is my duty to tell you
that after looking up the property he
was very much disappointed. Still,
he said that you were young, active,
ambitious, and that you might make
something out of a proposition he had
grown too old to handle"
When Wade told his friend Neil
Wolfson of his acquisition the latter
was fired with enthusiasm. "Why,"
declared the latter, 'Td give all
have for a chance like that. Gold, sill
yer, adventure The very uncertainty
of the thing>i is fascinating" and he of
fered to supply the capital to finance
the Arizona exploitation.
1t was on the morning of gloomy,
threatening day that the two adven-
turers halted their tired steeds at a
struggling, dismal looking settlement
f1tly designated as Last Hope. They
had traversed a barren alkali stretch
of over a hundred miles without pass
ing a single habitation. Then had
come the mountains. Here at the apex
was Last Hope, which was a halfway
point between a number of isolated
mining camps. The tavern keeper
viewed the two young men with pity
ing expression of face as they divulged
the motive of their coming.
'T hope you're not expecting gold
or silver" he observed. II don't sup
pose there is a foot of Twin Craters
that has not been prospected and not
so much as true fissure vein Of gold
or a specimen Of horn silver discov-
cred. Some shrewd spectators salted
1t once and palmed 1t of on q tender
foot investor in the East"
"Well, we will look it over anyway"
suggested Neil, which they did and
camped on their possession that night,
gloomy, uncongenial duo.
They were discussing the feasibility
Of a return to civilization early the
next morning when an automobile
came numbering towards them. 1t
held half a dozen well-dressed, intel
ligent looking men, and was followed
by a motortruck loaded with survey
ing and other scientific instruments.
A brisk, pleasant-faced young man ap-
preached from the automobile first to
arrive. He spoke courteously in greet
ing and then with a keen, searching
glance observed:
Looking up the old craters, gentle
menT ,>--'-'--~~.-
"No," replied Wade bluntly, "dis-
cussing the surest means Of getting
away from them as far as possible. !
was lured out here thinking that there
might be some value to the four hun
dred acres of land which relative Of
mine left to me-"
"Hellol You're not the owner Of
the craters, are your propounded the
stranger eagerly.
'T am that unfortunate individual"
acknowledged Wade, trying to smile.
"Then you are the very person we
shall be looking for as soon as we
have made a little calculation as to
how much water those extinct craters
will hold. My associates yonder are
capitalists from the East. They own
over two hundred thousand acres Of
the most arid, but also most fertile
land in Arizona, seventy-two miles
away. If science and cement can
make those great natural reservoirs
IA