The diamond drill., 1921-12-17

Der e1d 20 ON 10 something else I'll
buy S'6ur mine. just as II stands. water
and ail-and that's what nobody else
would do. you'd better believe"
For how much2"
"For flfty thousand dollars--cnsh.r
"No.v grated. IL don't need lit
lie money that badly"
'Fifty thousand isn't little: at
good. safe. investment Interest II will
give you an income Of three thousand
year And that's more than you're
getting now out OF what your father
left YOU"
"You seem 10 know n good bit about
my private affairs" I growled.
"you said mouthful, then. I've
MADE IL my business 20 find out about
them. There's nothing much 10 you.
Broughton. when you come right down
to brass tacks. You had good educa-
ton, but you haven't had get-up-and-get
enough in vou to make any use of It."
"The less you dig In my private gar
den patch. the better we shall Get
along" ! told him.
He was silent for moment. He
had picked up bit Of iron rod ana
was tracing hieroglyphic figures with
II In the dust OF the shop floor. Pres
emily he looked up with sort Of mock
Ing leer.
"Been trying TO carry sentimental
water on both shoulders, haven't your
I'm telling you right now, Broughton.
It's no use. filed on the little Blue
eyes claim over yonder in Twombly's
cabin long, long time before you ever
saw or heard of IT,"
That remark OF his carried things
over the edge for me.
"See here. Bullerton," I said, and I
suppose stuck out my jaw at him as
people say I do when I'm beginning
TO feel ugly. "there are limits, and
I'll pay you the compliment of assum-
Ing that you are not quite born fool.
We are going to leave Miss Twombly
out of 1t; completely and absolutely
out Of IT,"
you may; but shan't," he grinned
back at me. "In point of fact. my
dear fellow, now that osme TO think
or II, you'll have to leave her out"
mot for anything you may say or
do, or leave unsaid or undone."
"Yes, you will; and for something
that l may say. And / guess this Is
as good time as any 20 mention IL.
Have you forgotten that you have adj
vertised yourself In this out-of-the-way
corner OF the world rather successful
ly as one OF two things: a pretty
dangerous sort Of lunatic, ora GRIM
inal? AS a matter OF fact. the rail-
road detectives have been looking high.
low and level for you ever since you
stole that inspection motor AT the An
gels platform and got II smashed"
'Twombly knows about that; and
so does Miss Twombly," l cut In.
"They wouldn't give you away. of
course: In certain sense you are
Twombly's guest, and in another you're
his employer. But you'll notice that
neither of these restrictions apply TO
me. Now. perhaps, you can understand
just why you are obliged. I'm ordinary
prudence, ~ leave the girl out of it.
and why am not so obliged"
Miss TwombIy. herself. has the
casting vote on that" is what / flung
at him.
"She has already voted" he said |
coolly. Then: you're not In the |
game, Broughton; you don't hold any
thing higher than seven-spot, and J
you are bucking a straight flush. DO !
you take fifty thousand and vanishi |
That is the one live question of the
moment"
mo"
"very well; I'll give you another
day TO think II over; but I'm warning
you here and now that the price will !
shrink. II is fifty thousand today. say
up TO sunset tomorrow IL will be for
ty thousand"
slid from the anvil and half un-
consciously picked up the blacksmlth's
hand-hammer.
"You go straight to H. said;
and at that he left me.
sat down to try once more to think
things out 10 some sort of an action
focus. Should take Bullerton's If
~ thousand and Quit7 Comron u
said Yes. spelling II with al
underscorlng II fo" Yhrs /
was the " 'isdD
we prov su.ar ss~ m,a-s
able, sa - ~ ~ srr
cost OF q . un<.rvu ...nel
from !, .vuntalni |
Then the. ..lne. Then, again,
there was ..sctte. Fifty thousand
dollars at six per cent would buy her
hats-but IL wouldn't buy much else.
could picture the calm and collected |
way in which she would say. "Ycs.
Stannie; you've succeeded nicely In
financing the hats. But you know as
well as do that we couldn't buy hats
and keep a car on three thousand n
year"
had just climbed down to this bot
fon round of the ladder of detection