The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1920-01-15

terms, W1llamS. BelleVe IL or not
i can do what I've promised, and peo-
pie who know me will tell you that /
always do as l promise. 1t so happens
that General Moreno will be quite will
ing to mitigate your sentence in any
way 1 might request; but you don't
have to believe that, either, unless 1t
suits you to do so. Well, I'm going.
This foul air is giving me a headache"
He turned nonchalantly away. Buck,
with a feeling of supreme despair,
tried to steady his voice for another
question.
How do you happen to have such
a pull with General Morenor'
I'm surprised that you ask, Will
Jams. Moreno was ambitious to be-
come governor and wanted to start a
revolution. That mean arms, men,
money. He had none. The United
States has forbidden their export to
rebels, so he talked things over with
us. In return for certain mining con-
cessions in Sinaloa We supplied what
he needed. It's very simple, but of
course I'll deny that / eve made this
admission if you should mention it to
anyone else. However, / guess there's
little danger-you're incommunicado.
No one will see you until the sentence
is carried out tomorrow morning"
Williams pondered. Hardinge's
statement impressed him as truthful.
But he played his last card with all
the GOODNESS of a poker player who
has been called for his final chip.
"This other fellow, Hardinge,"-he
jerked his thumb toward the interior
of the cell-"he'S a British subject
and a stranger here, who thinks he
owes me something because / pulled
him out of a train wreck near Ell Paso
on the way down. AS a British SUBJ
ject yourself you won't mind notifying
the British ambassador he's here-will
yOu-no snatter what happens to me?'
II certainly will not angrily snap
ped the syndicate agent. What the
devil do you take me fora fool?"
NO" drawled the American, with a
elaboration that brought a red flush
to the Englishman's face, mot a fool,
Hardinge, but a cold-blooded, calcu-
lating dog who will deliberately plan
to murder a rival to gain his ends.
Go on with your fake court-martial,
you white-livered beast! I'd rather
welter in my own blood a thousand
times than give you the satisfaction of
putting over a thing like this-to rob
me and the men who have backed me
with their confidence and money.
Shoot-and be damned to your ]
He turned to savagely resume pac- ]
ing his cell. |
His furious anger at first kept him (
from realizing the peril which Har-
dinge had depicted. He tried to be-
lieve that such an atrocity would never
be permitted, even under the official {
sanction of a provisional government, t
such as the Englishman had declared
to exist. :
Then he suddenly remembered the :
indignation in Ell Paso the night he :
had last started for Ell Tigre. :
Men in the hotel were discussing the :
latest dispatches from Washington :
ordering all Americans to leave Mex :
leo forthwith, after turning over to :
the American consul in their locality a :
list of the property they left behind. :
Everyone thought the story i'm :
probable at that time. 1t sounded al :
too ridiculous for belief. But :
now, in the fetid cell, with Hardinge's :
threats still ringing in his ears, the :
nine-owner realized that it must be E
rue. e
Because of this, the more he ana :
yzed the situation the more he felt =
Hardinge had voiced no idle e
threat. If a New York gunman will e
kill a man for a thousand dollars, why =
Hardinge get squeamish now, =
when his prize was five millions? =
The syndicate agent had never =
shown an oversupply of conscience, e
md he would run little danger in a =
where anarchy had replaced e
aw and no n knew from one day =
o another what might come next. =
Bucks thoughts leaped back to the e
property. He recalled the covetous e
ook on the face of Manuel Pacheco =
he day Williams had personally fol- e
owed a small "vug-hole'' of ore into e
chamber which had PANIED out a =
old fifty thousand-a sheer accidental e
iscovery made while drifting down e
n the main lead" e
No one could say how much Ell e
'igre would ultimately pan out. g
He believed SO thoroughly in the e
rOperty that he already regarded him e
elf as an embryonic millionaire. He e
'as almost in striking distance of the =
ye-hundred-fOot level. =
The great vein was constantly wild e
ming and growing richer. Once into e
main ore-body the values would be =
lbulous. -
AS he thought it all over he cursed e
for his fatuous blindness. e
had undoubtedly been draw e
lg double pay all the time he had =
cen foreman. A Mexican is always =
4 uncertain, %treacherous proposition. e
He will smile at Won and when Won -