The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1922-04-07

binary, garden-variety mining shark
what would l have done?
That answer came pat, also.
should have taken the old gentleman
money, trusting to The rising flood tc
make him sick of his bargain in due
+ course Of time and thus willing to sell
+ out for anything he could get.
Il believe l have it doped out"
/ told Daddy at the end of the cogitating
/ pause; and then 1 passed the infer
! ences along to him. The immediate
/ effect was TO evoke a couple of his
/ quaint substitutes for profanity.
Observation-Disclosures breakfast =" he ex-
| claimed; I'm be ding-swizzled if
don't believe you've struck the true
lead Stannie, my son If you have,
here's what fOllers: Charley Butler
toms here TO do the dickerin' for that
same old high-bindin' Cinnabar outfit
that did your gran'paw up. They sold
for half a million r so and now they're
willin' to buy back for thirty or forty
or fifty thousand. By JezebelI 1 just
knew that slick-tOngued rooster was
tryin' to work some skin camel"
yet he Is going to marry your
daughter" / put in grimly.
At this the old man turned gloomy
serious in the batting of an eye, draw
ing his mouth down at the corner and
sucking hard at the pipe which had
long since burned out
That's been a-pinchin' me like a
tight boot, Stannie," he admitted. "If
you'd asst me afore he come I'd "a
FOL Oh,
for that cOn-dummed blowhard. But
just you look at the way things are
stackin' up nowi He's snoopin' round
her mighty near all the whole time
and she hain't never once give me the
wink to send him a-kitin', like I'm
itchin' to-"
He told me to look. I had been look
ing until my eyes ached. The indi-
cations were all one way, tons of
them; with only one little impulsive
kiss TO put in the other pan of the
scale. l didn't tell Daddy about the
kiss; but / did tell him that Jeanne
had told me not to sell the Cinnabar.
1907" he commented, Iivening up a
little. THAT brings on more talk.
Reckon you can make out to hang onto
the old cows tail for a spell IOnger?'
I took time to consider my answer.
I've been wondering if, all things
given their due footing, it were worth
while to hang on, Daddy. AS matters
stand now, Fullerton is stuck unless
l sell out to him. If l should take my
foot in my hand and walk out, he'd
be left up in the air. But, on the 9th
er hand, there's Jeanne. If she's 60
ing to marry Fullerton, why, that's a
horse Of another color. I'm not enough
of dog-in-the-mange to bite her nose
off to spite BullertOn's face"
"Um," was the grunted response
Then, with a side swipe that l wasn't
looking for: Charley Bullertons been
hintin round that you're tied up with
a girl back East. Is that so?-or is it
on'y another one o. his frilly lies?"
L laughed.
Il wish 1 knew, Daddy; I'd sure tell
really engaged-the back-East girl and
1; but I don't think we are now, and
1 don't think she thinks so. Anyway,
she called it all off when we found out
or thought we found Out-that my
grandfather hadn't left me anything
in his will She's like Jeanne says she
is, you know: she's got to marry
money"
Jus So" he said, with a rather
grim CLINT in the mild blue eyes. "All
the same, if you had the old Cinnabar
in slap-up workin' order, I reckon you'd
have to go back yonder and marry
her, wouldn't ye?"
I'D be in honor bound to offer to,
anyway"
'That don't sound much like you was
carin' a whole lot for her." he OBJ
Jected gravely.
I despaired in advance of making
him understand the lack of sentiment
in the case. or the viewpoint from
which any such condition could be con-
sidered as a human possibility. He
was much too supplemented. So !
got rid of the Lisette obstacle, or got
around it, as best I could.
"She has been free for several weeks.
now; in all probability she is wearing
some other fellows ring by this time.
But about the Cinnabar: assuming
that my string of guesses is hitched
up TO the true state OF aHalrS, what
would you advise me to do? Shall
1 hang On-with no prospect, that 1
can see, of getting anywhere on my
own hook? Or shall / sell out to Bull
Ierton and thus let your daughter in
for a wife's share of a possible for
tuner"
"Gosh-all-hemlock y he sputtered,
when you line 1t up that-away, /
reckon / amt the man to tell you what
to dol" Then, as upon a second and
belated thought: Jeanne says for you
not TO sell; if she said that TO me, I'd
hang on till the COWS come home. /
would SOP
1 got up and knocked the ashes from
my pipe.
"And that, Daddy, is precisely what
I'm going to do / said; and the say
ing of it ended the conference in the
abandoned tunnel of the Little jean
ie."
CHAPTER x.