The Raymer enterprise., 1920-10-07

much iike SiIvefbow. guesS-1N nout
and no lode"
For q moment. Hilliard thought that
he hadn't heard Alright.
"What was that you said7' be man.
aged.
Harmon reiterated II.
TOO much SIlverbow. Only they
pumped the water out Of 1t sooner
than we will. That was Eve years
ago"
At first. Hilliard was untouched By
the shock: the force Of It seemed to
pass over him entirely: then all at
once. as he was caught by the drift Of
II. his hands began to tremble violent.
ly: and his palms were clammy with
sweat. His stomach seemed to drop
out Of him. and he was nauseated by
the tremendous purport Of his employ.
er's 'cynicism.
"Mr. Harmon. :" he painted, under
his breath. "Mr. Harmon
The New Yorker looked at him In
genuine surprise.
whats the matter. HIllIardf You
look sick! Or d-n Il, man,
II that's another one Of your bluffs
you're wasting your time. You haven't
worked up such holy disposition you
believe In this mine. have your He
moved uneasily. II wish you'd wipe
that pious expression OF your facs-or
IL It glued onr
billiards voice shook uncontrolla.
bly,. .sr.
This this mine ~ he STAN.
mered. "You told me"
"Tll stand by everything I've ever
told you. Hilllard. I'll prove II. It's
an area Of mineralized schist with dis
seminated copper values. And we've
got over a hundred acres Of II. And
part Of the shaft. too" He laughed
noisclessly. "Of course. altogether
there's about five hundred square
miles Of that same sort Of land In the
same state. but what's the odds as
longs you're happy1 Tell me you
aren't wIsel Rot! Why. you knew
all about Il when We were on the
boat"
Hllllard's muscles were working In
hysterical Jumps. and his face was dis
tOrted.
"Y.you y.you're saying
y-you're saying I've been selling
s-seIling to my friends piece
Of d--n worthless property Are
you"
"Shut up" The big man was doml.
nant. ugly. understand mel You
keep your mouth shut II you know
what's good for you! Didn't you come
up here to get square with your
'friends?' Your friends!" His accent
was superlatively contcmptuous. "You
knew 1t wasn't producing mine.
didn't you?"
"You told me II was a wonderful
prospect! knew It was a long shot,
but thought there was some value
there lot Of 1t and
you said the shat, you always
said the shaft WAS"
Harmon reached for another ciga-
rette; there was undisguised perplex.
ity on his face.
"Son. II you aren't mighty good
actor. you're are you going to
claim you didn't know what this mine
IA? After all that whining and squeal.
ing Of yours about your getting eyeni
Then what In thunder did you want to
come back here for?"
ITO make some money-to get some
fun out Of It. I wanted to make fools
Of people; I didn't want to swindle
anybody! I thought I was giving 'em
something for their money! i"
Harmon lighted his cigarette. none
too complacently.
"The funny part about IT," he said
slowly. rs that don't honestly be-
lieve you're bluffing. But you
knew II was only prospect"
But l thought 1t was a good pros
pect! Never mind" He made a.
though to rise. you've said enough.
I'm through with you!"
The big mans Jaw thrust out bel.
ligerently, and he caught Hilllard by
the arm.
Now, stop right there. Sit down!
SIT down! Maybe you thought II was
n good prospect and maybe you didn't.
but you're not through with me yet
not until | say so. Don't you make
any mistakes like that. my boy. Don't
you go on half-shot-not yet Re
member our contract? Ever heard Of
promoters liability? I'd certainly hate
to see you get into trouble. but II
you've made any wild statements
about material facts"
Hilllard was straining half across
the table
"You told me the ore was there!
And I thought the worst that could
happen would be to tie up this money
for few years-that's why a pros
poets 80 hard to sell knew darned
well 1t wasn't any whIrlwInd right
now, but I did think they'd
they'd at least make something good
out Of II eventually I.
even II II ;"
"Ahl" said Harmon. sneering, 'but
you had every opportunity to learn the
facts-ev-e-ry opportunity. It's not