The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1922-11-23
CHAPTER VII. Under Way

whose slim brown fingers Wer~s adorrl- ed by large, white diamond. T am forcibly in favor of your proposition. I agree heartily with Senor Legarra. All of our resources are at your com mand."
 The nine other mill owners who | gathered about the cleared dining | table in thehome of Pedro Legarra nodded in quiet approval The affair had been conducted in a business like, straightforward way. There had been no fuss, no Ioug-drawn prelini- naries. The little group of planters went directly to the heart of the matt ter.
 Each admitted the unpleasant con- | ditions which had been brought on in the valley by Amador's methods. Each of the ten was eager that some means be devised to rid themselves of the AmadOr yoke. They listened in- tentiy to the plan outlined by Ware Armstrong, and they now expressed their Willingness to back them They waited fir his further demands
 T have estimated that a working capital of two hundred thousand dol- lars will be ample for the present" said Armstrong; who stood at the head of the table with his palms rest- ing on the cloth. Tn order that each of you will be satisfied with the dis bursements, l recommend that the money be banked by Senor Legarra. who will hire an accountant at the expense of the company. Every week the accountant will submit to you a. detailed account of the disburse- ments. The sugar season starts in about six weeks. Everything will be ready"
 "EVerything must be ready senor.R 1nterposed Agutnaldo Gomez, a pIans ter form the lower valley, in a level voice. We depend upon you.''
 Ward Armstrong nodded graveIy. He apeared older. His jaw seemed to protrude a trtfIe more than usual; his languid eyes were feevrishly bright. The look of determination on his face seemed to erassure the men about him. It had not taken them long to make up their minds.
 With more than one hundred thous- and dollars in bills of large denomi~ nations in his pockets, Ward Arm strong took the early morning train for Havana. His first purchase was a long, low, hfgh-powered gray road ster. This had been decided upon as a real necessity for the work be- fore him. His presence would be required from one end of the Guana- tara road to the other; from the pier undergoing repairs to the Vistedas
 
 road and would be the terminous of the power line.
 He deposited the currency in a reliable Havana bank, and spent the day ordering materials and such 1na- chinery and equipment as he needed. This was accomplished chiefly by the use of the cable to the United States.
 The gray roadster was waiting in the freight-ehed at La Pintura when he returned, together with g. box of light tools which he had shipped by express also. He loaded these into the seat beside him and drove to She pOwer-plant
 Jerry Corners already had assem- bled gang of fifty jungIe-cIearers for the work of pole-hunting and cut ting. Armstrong spent a half-hour at the telephone and tripled the force. Shortly before noon the gang armed with axes and cross cut saws disap- peared into the unclaimed sections of the forest at the head of the valley and high up on the Hanks of the hills.
 By night, cedar poles were accunu- iat1ng at dozen points along the Guanatara road. A new force of choppers received them, trimmed and dlped the ground ends in a creasote mixture, as a safeguard against in sect pests and wet and dry rot. The next day the gang was increased by another fifty peons culIed from the working forces of the ten planters. Within a week half the required num- Der of poles were on hand.
 Armstrong, satisfied with the pro- gress made, recalled half the timber force and made another levy upon the planters. These he divided into two sections, one of which. under command of Corners, he put at work erecting poles and mailing on cross arms; the other half he placed in charge of Legarra's mill foreman. Donaldson, who had formerly been a road-builder in Oregon.
 A stOne-crusher and a steam roller came few days later by fast freight from Havana, Donaldson, with in struct1ons to repair the road, started at the Vistedas plantation and be- gan working south toward Guanatara In order to expedite this work, Arm strong, after some consid eration, split Donaldson's gang into two parts half or which was retained to push the work already under way, while the other half was sent to begin regard ing at the Guanatara end.
 RonfngUez Anador apeared to take slight interest in the proceedings Oc- casionally he rode out on horseback to inspect the growing line of pow
 
 pouchllke eyes. the workman progress of the road gangs. Aside from these manifestations of interest, his curiosity evidently was not yet arous- ed, nor his suspicious. Once or twice as Armstrong thundered past him in the gray roadster, he seemed on the point of intercepting him; but appar- ently changed his mind. He took the attitude of one who prefers to await further developments.
 To Be Continued Tomorrow