White Pine news. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1920-1923, 1921-01-30

Heading in the machine. He had new
err been there. They had breakfasted
late. lie looked very much the colonel
to Richard. his full chest and stiff car
rage made more military by his trim
Uniform of khaki-colored cloth.
.May l speak to you about your boy.
Mr.. MacLean?'
Hardin caught n slight that was not
intended. He pushed past the group
at the door without civility or cere-
mony.
The steady grave eyes of the big
frame looked at Richard inqulringly.
"He wants to stay out another year.
| hope you will let him. It's not disin-
terested. I shall have to take n stenog-
rapher to the Heading this summer.
There is n girl here: l couldn't take
her. and then, too, I'm eld-fashioned; l
don't like women In offices. My posi-
ton promises to be a peculiar one. I'd
like to have your son to rely on for
emergencies a stenographer could not
cover"
MacLean's grave features relaxed as
he looked down on the engineer, who
was no small man himself. and sug-
gested that his son was not very well
up In s~tenography.
"That's the least Of it,"
"I hope that he will make a good
| stenographer! Good morning, gentle
men,"
At table, neither Estrada nor his
guest uncovered their active thought
which reyolyed around Hardin and his
hurt. Instead, Richard had questions
to ask his host on river history. As
they talked, it came to him that some
thing was amlss-Estrada was ac-
curate; he had all his facts. Was 1t
enthusiasm, sympathy, he lacked? Pres
emily he challenged him with 1t.
Estrada's eyes dreamed out of the
window, followed the gorge of the New
riYer, as though out there. somewhere.
the answer lowered.
"Do you mean, do you doubt it," ex
claimed Richard, watching the melan-
choly In the beautiful eyes.
Estrada shook his head. but without
decision. Nothing you'd not laugh at.
/ can laugh at it myself, sometimes"
Richard waited, not sure that any
thing more was coming. The Next
cans dark eyes were troubled a puzzle
brooded in them. Its n purely Mega
tive sense that I've had. since | was a
child. Something falls between me
and n plan. If | said il was n veil, IL
would be-something - His voice fell
to n ghost of t~unefulness. and its
nothing. A blank-I know then it's
not going to happen. II Is terribly
final! It's happened. often. Now. ]
walt for that-yeil. When II falls, I
know what it means"
And you have had that-sense
about this river business?"
Estrada turned bis pensiye gaze on
the American. Eyes, often. | thought,
after fathers death. that that was
what 1t meant. But 1t came again. II
kept coming. | had it while you were
all talking, just now. | don't speak of
this. 1t sounds chicken-hearted. And
Tn in this with all my soul-my IA
ther-I couldn't do it any other way,
but" =
You think we are going to failf
81 can't see 1t finished was Estra-
las mournful answer. He turned
again to stare out Of the window.
"Who are the river men In the val
IaNS' 1atflo p1aJ 4Ao sI
want to meet them. to talk to them"
"Cor'nel, he's an Indian. He's worth
talking TO. lie knows its history. its
legends. Perhaps some of 1t is his
tory"
where's he to be found?"
You'll run across him, Whenever
~anything's up, he Is on hand. He senses
1T. And then there's Matt Hamlln."
I'll See him. of course. Has he
been up the rlyer?"
mo, but I'll tell you two who have.
Maldonado, a h~alf-breed, who lives
some twenty miles down the river
from Hamlin's. He knows the ella ms
though he were pure Indian. The
elias tricky! Maldonado's GRANDPA
Their was a trapper. his great-grandfa.
ther, they say, a priest. The women
were all Indian. He's smart. Smart
and bad"
Estrada's Japanese servant came
back Into the car to offer tea, freshly
iced.
That's what I want. smart river
men, not tea laughed Richard. 81
want river history"
There's another man you ought to
meet. He was with the second Powell
expedition. He's written the best book
on the river. lie knows 1t, II any man
does. You wanted these maps" Els.
trada was gathering them together.
THANK you. And you can lust
strange that foreboding OF yours, Mr..
Estrada. For | tell you, we're going
to govern that river -
Estrada's pensive smile followed the
dancing step of the engineer until II
carried him out Of sight. Perhaps?
Because he was the son Of his father.
he must work as hard as If conviction
went with him, as IL success awaited
Mt the other end of the LONG road pv,