Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1924-09-11


better"
'Ts he going to quit, too? Just be-
cause I've come? Has he any love
for Bayne Trevors?''
maybe you'd better ask Carson"
In a flash she was on her feet and
had gone to the door. "CarsonI" she
called loudly. "Come here, will your
There was little silence, low
sound Of laughter, then Carson's
sharp voice answering: "Pm coming r.
Judith went back to her chair.
She did not speak until Carse MS
wiry form slipped through the door
way. Then with the old cattleman's
shrewd, hard eyes upon her she
turned from a clip full of papers she
had been looking through and spoke
to him quietly:
"You used to work for the Granite
Canyon crowd, didn't you, Carson?"
"Yes'm," he answered.
Cattle foreman there for several
years."
"Yes'm."
Helped clean out the Roaring
Creek gang, didn't you, Carson2"
Carson shifted C bit, colored under
her fixed eyes, and finally admitted:
"Yes'm."
Haven't had real frst-class fight
for quite bit, have you, Carson? Not
since that cash on your jaw healed.
Not since you and Scotty Webb mixed
with the Roaring Creekers?"
Carson rubbed his jaw, flashed a
quick look at Bud Lee as though for
moral support, looked still further
embarrassed, and finally choked over
his brief: Nom"
Judith sat smiling brightly up at
his hard features. 1--WE heard dad talk
about that" she said thoughtfully. II
guess I've got at least one real man
on the ranch, Carson. Oh, don't dodge
like that I'm not going to put my
arms around you and kiss you on the
top of your head. But I do love a
man that loves a fair fight. -. !. Lee,
here, has given me his promise to
stick on the job for ten days or so,
to give me time to get some one else
to look after my horses"
"Yes'm," said Carson, lingering his
pipe and looking down.
For a few mouents the girl sat still,
now and then flashing a quick, keen
look from one to the other of her two
foremen. Then, abruptly, her eyes on
Carson, she snapped: you've found
out, more or less recently, haven't you,
that Bayne Trevors Is crook? You've
perhaps even guessed that he's been
taking money from me with one hand
and from the Western Lumber with
the other?"
"Yes'm," said Carson, 81 doped it
up like that"
why cried the girl, "he's fired all
of the old men and heaven knows
how many Of his sort he's put in their
places! Help me clean 'em out, Car
son! Where will we begin? I've
chucked Trevors and Ward Harmon.
Who goes next, CarsonT'
Benny the cook" said Carson
gently. "An' I'd be obligeG ma'am, If
you'd let me go boot him off'n the
ranch"
"Thats talking" she said enthu-
siastically. you can attend to him.
Any one else?"
Carson shook his head. 81 got my
suspicious" he said. "But that's all
I'm dead sure on
1.-THE others can wait then. Now,
I'm taking gamble on you and Lee.
You have all kinds of chances to
double-cross me. But I've got TO tell
you something: Trevors Is trying to
Rsell me out to the Western Lumber
people. He is one of their crowd and
has been since they bought him up
six months ago. The ranch, outside
the stock we've got running on it, Is
worth clean million dollars If 1t is
worth nickel. Well, the Western
Lumber company has offered US ex-
actly two hundred and fifty thousand |!
One-quarter of what it's worth They
know we're mortgaged; they know the
interest we have to pay is heavy !;
they know that Pollock Hampton,
for one, is a spender who knows moth
ing about big business; they think
that /, because I'm girl, am a fool.
It looks to them like melon easy
to cut and ripe for the slicing."
She paused a moment, frowning
thoughtfully at the floor. Then sud-
denly she lifted her eyes to Carson's
saying crisply: "Trevors took time at
the end to tell me something. That
something was that he was going to
make me sell. He even threatened,
If 1 hadn't come to my senses before
the ranch was dry in the summer, to
burn me out ]"
"The burned polecatl" whispered the
cattle foreman.
''Now then,' cried Judith, you've
got your first job cut out for you. Let
Bayne Trevors or one of his gang set
foot on Blue Lake land, and I'll tell
you what think of you, Carson! Or
is the job going to be too big for
your
Carson smiled deprecatingly. I'D
like to see 'em try It," he said in that
soft, whispering voice which upon oc-
casions was characteristic of him. 81
sure would, Miss Judy!"
That's all this morning, Carson"