The Holbrook news., 1922-11-24

are such tough customer to deal with and so suspicious-no offense meant, of course-that really was forced to 1t. I-feel sure she will forgive me"
 "Whom do you mean by 'she'T
 Mir. Barnham smiled in a knowing manner.
 You and I both know" came his cryptic answer. "She Is your one great, good friend. She thinks a great deal of you. and you have done several things to cause that admiration. Now. Mir. Fairchild, coming to the point, suppose she should point way out of your troubles? In the first place, you and your partner are in very great difficulties"
 Are we?" Fairchild said 1t sarcas- tically.
 Indeed you are, and there is no need of attempting to conceal the fact. Your friend. whose name must remain a secret. does not love you-don't ever think that-but-"
 Then he hesitated as though to watch the effect on Fairchild's face. There was none; Robert had masked 1t. In time the words went on: But she does think enough of you to want to make you happy. She has recently done a thing which gives her a great deal of power in one direction. In an- other, she has connections who pos sess vast money powers and who are looking for an opening here in the West. Now" he made a church steeple out of his fingers and leaned back in his chair, staring vacuOusly at the ceiling, If you will say the word and do a thing which will relieve her of a great deal of embarrassment, I am sure that she can so arrange things that life will be very easy for you henceforth."
 I'm becoming interested"
 Tn the first place, she is engaged to be married to very fine young man. You. of course, may say differently, and do not know-I am only taking her word for It. Buff understand 1t, your presence in Ohadi has caused a few disagreements between them and-well, you know how willful and headstrong girls will be. believe she has committed a few-er-indiscre- tions with you"
 That's a lie" Fairchild's temper got away from him and his fist banged on the table. That's a lie and you know itr"
 l Pardon me-ef-pardon mel l made use of a word that can have many meanings, and I nm sure that in using 1t. I didn't place the same con- struction that you did in hearing 1t. But let that pass. I apologize. What l should have said was that, If you will pardon me, she used you, as young women will do, as a foil against her fiance in time of petty quarrel fog between them. Is that plainer"
 It was too plain to Fairchild. It hurt. But he nodded his head and the other man went on.
 "NOw the thing has progressed to place where you may be-well-what one might call the thorn in the side of their happiness. You are the other man. as it were, to cause quar- rels and that sort of thing. And she feels that she has not done rightly by you. and through her friendship and a desire to see peace all around, be- lieves she can arrange marters to suit all concerned. To be plain and blunt, Mir. Fairchild, you are not in an enviable position. said that I had information for you, and I'm go-  ing to give it. You are trying to work a mine. That demands capital. You haven't got 1t and there Is no way for you to procure 1t. Your partner now Is accused of four crimes and will 20 to trial on them In the fall. It Is al- most certain that he will be convicted on at least one of the charges. That would mean that the deeds to the mine must remain in jurisdiction of the court in lieu of a cash bond while the case goes to the Supreme court. Otherwise, you must yield over your partner to go to jail. In either event. the result would not be satisfactory For yourself. dare say that person whose father Is supposed to have con- mitted murder-not that l say he did It, understand-hardly could es- tablish sufficient standing to borrow the money to proceed on an undertak- ing which requires capital. There fore, l should say that you were in somewhat of a Qredicament. Now" long wait and then, please take this as only coming from a spokes- man: My client Is in a position to use her good offices to change the viewpoint of the man who is the chief witness against your partner. She also is in a position to use those same good offices in another direction, so that there might never be a grand jury investigation of the finding of a certain body or skeleton, or something of the kind, in your mine-which, If you will remember, brought about a very dlsagreeable situation. And through her very good connections in another way, she is able to relieve you of all your financial embarrass- ment and procure for you from a cer- tain Eastern syndicate, the members of which I am not at liberty to name, an offer of S2OO,0OO for your mine. All that Is necessary for you to do is to say the word"
 Fairchild leaned forward.
 And of course" he said caustically, 'the name of this mysterious feminine friend must be a secret?"
 Certainly. No mention of this | transaction must he made tO her dt-