The Ely miner., 1924-10-17

hard as nails and as free of senti-
ment as mule, should fancy little
cooling, innocent-like pigeons? You'll!
hear them in the morning"
But Judith was not to be distracted
! by Trips talk. She smiled at him,
however, to show him that she had
understood and appreciated the pur-
pose back of his light words.
/ We're all going to have our hands
full for spell, Doc" was what she
said. ''To Trevors, with free swing
( here, it must have appeared rather a
simple matter to make so complete a
failure as to force us, encumbered as
we are, into selling out TO the highest
bidder inside the year. But, Doc, he
must have known, too, that at any
time there might occur the very thing
which has happened-that he'd lose
his job. He strikes me as a rather
long-headed man, doesn't he you?
Now, man who saw ahead, figuring
on this very contingency, would have
more than one trick up his sleeve.
think the. obvious thing for you TO do
is to make certain that all the rest of
the stock are in shape. VIII you be-
gin tomorrow making a thorough in
vestigation?"
YES" he answered. you're right
there, Judith. There's nothing like
making sure"
| another thing I want you to do"
Judith went on, "is to try to locate
all of dads old men whom Trevors
let go. Johnny Hodge and Kelly and
Harper and Tod Bruce. Wen need
them. We've got to have men that
crooked money can't buy"
aren't you magnifying things, Jud-
ith?" asked Tripp quietly. There's
such thing as law in this country,
you know"
But she shook her head.
Maybe l am seeing the dangers too
big. But l don't think so. And it will
be lot better for Blue Lake ranch if
l see them that way at the beginning.
And as for the law, it costs money.
I'm not sure that Trevors or the lum-
Der people would be averse to getting
us involved in lot of legal intri-
cacies. Oh, he has been careful not
to leave any definite proof behind
him.
"You hit the bell that time !"
laughed Tripp, and Judith smiled with
him as there came to their ears the
faint tinkle of the telephone-bell in the
office.
Judith excused herself and FASTENED
to answer the summons. fastened be-
cause she wanted to be back with
Tripp as soon as might be. So know
ing her way so well about the big house
she went quickly through the dark
hallway without turning aside to
switch on the lights and came into the
office, dimly lighted by the stars shin
ing in through the windows.
She snatched up the telephone in
strument
Hello" said Judith. "Who is it?"
1t was the telegraph operator in
Rocky Bend. A message for Miss
Judith Sanford from Pollock Hamp-
ton, San Francisco. And the message
ran:
"What were you thinking of to
chuck Trevors? Thoroughly excellent
man. You should have consulted me.
Don't do anything more until / come.
Send conveyance to meet Saturday
train. Bringing five guests with me.
POLLOCK HAMPTON"
Judith turned frowning to Tripp.
"As if / didn't have enough ON my
hands already" she exclaimed bitterly,
without Hampton dragging his fool
guests into the miXup! could slap
his face"
"Do it," chuckled Tripp. "Good
idea'
Busy days followed for Judith San
ford and for every man remaining
upon Blue Lake ranch. A score of men,
| including the mixers, Johnson, the
| irrigation foreman and his crew of
Iaborers, had quit work, going over
openly to Bayne Trevors at the West
ern Lumber camp.
Almost her first answer to Trevors'
coup was TO telegraph San Francisco
for milking machine, together with
an expert sent out by the company to
install and superintend its working
for the first few days. AT the same
time she hired from one of the Sacra-
mento dairies man who was to be
| foreman of her own dairy industry, a
capable fellow with an intimate knowl-
edge of automatic mixers. He. with
a couple of strippers paid overtime
wages managed until the dairy crew
could be builded up again.
Mrs. Simpson, the matron from
Rocky Bend. arrived. true to her
promise and, motherly soul that she
was, took a keen interest in Judiths
comforts and in caring for the big
house, of which she Immediately waxed
proud with an air of semi-proprietor-
| Observation-Disclosures