Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1934-03-15

slider then irrigated farms" Babson
almost noaned.
He made surrey Of the water stu
alton and discovered 10 bis horror that
the water levels we're indeed recedlng.
-creeplng paralyxisi That's what Il
iE.@ be sOliIOquized ~ADd the Bank Of
Valley Center IL the richest patient
and viii have 70 pay the heaviest bin
for medical attention"
But the old ability to scheme his
way out Of tight hole did not desert
him. He reduced bis situation. to its
lowest common diyisOr. II surface ir-
rigstion. from a never-failing and am
pie source Of water supply, could be
brought 10 the lands Of Forl0rn Val
leg, then ForIorn Valley lands would
be elasSed by the government as irri-
gated lands. whose value would imme-
distely return 10 the old wartime
figure. And the federal farm loan
banks would then have no heSitancy in
loaning up 10 90 per cent OF the ap-
praised value.
Therefore. the thing 10 do was to Sc
cure surface irrigation for Forlorn
Valley.
Eden Valley creek" Babson cried
aloud "A dam In that gorge in the
lower end Of Eden Valley. kept peren-
nially al a high leTel By the food wa
tiers Of Eden Valley creek and led
through a tunnel or a canal cut
through the low hills on the north
erD rim and down into Forlorn Valley,
will do the trick
The next problem was that Of ac-
quiring the water. but this Babson did
not regard as a difficult one. He had
but TO acquire the dam site from young
Nathan Tichenor. sole owner Of the
Bar II Land and Cattle company. The
land which would be inundated By the
lake which would be formed when the
dam should be built Was next tn WORTH
less; Babson decided the Par II Land
and Cattle company would be delight
ceeding ten dollars an acre. although
as grazing land it was not worth that
There were hydro electric possibilities
inherent In the enterprise that would
be worth millions alone. He must ap-
proach this delicate matter cautiously.
Tichenor had been an absentee land
lord ever since leasing the Bar Fl
ranch to Rance Kershaw. That ar
gued he would scarcely be Interested
in returning TO Eden Valley again and
engaging In the cattle business.
Rance Kershaw was a financial
wreck and could not possibly continue
his lease Of the Bar Fl, and 1t would
be several years, doubtless, before a
new tenant could be found for IL Yes,
Nate Tichenor would sell the Bar Fl at
a fair -exorbitant. considering
the present status Of the cattle in
dustry-rather than hang on to a
frozen asset and pay taxes on IL
Mr.. Babson decided instantly to
buy the Bar ii, II he had to pawn his
wife's piano to aid In raising the
money for the enterprise. With the
title to the ranch vested IN him-no.
a dummy, for Babson must not appear
in the dealt would be a simple mat
ter to sell the dam and lake sites to
the Forlorn Valley Irrigation district
for a cash consideration that would
leave him the remainder of the ranch
without cost
He considered the Kershaw ranch
and decided he would not bother TO ac-
quire that. even II he had the money
to buy It cheap. It was worth not a
penny less than a million dollars. but
the Savings Bank of San Francisco
held a two hundred and fifty thousand
dollar first mortgage on 1t. the mort
gage was due. Rance Kershaw (Bab-
son knew could not meet IT, Babson
doubted If he could refund II in these
trying times. and hence. II would be
foreclosed. Well. he might pick 1t MP
for the amount Of the mortgage at the
sherifrs sale. He did not require the
Rershaw ranch for the sake of its
water rights. but in order to control
for him to acquire the Bar II. Once
the water had flowed down through
the Kershaw ranch the Kershaws had
no further interest In IL: but II had
to be impounded on the Bar n before
II escaped of into the bad lands to
the east and was lost.
Having decided upon his course OF
action. Babson fell into a refreshing
slumber; the next morning he was
down at the bank at eight O'Clock.
looking quite his old self and wearing
a white rose in his lapel Emblematic
Of hope. doubtless.
Shortly after the bank had opened
crippled Rance Kershaw llmped In to
borrow a thousand dollars to meet his
monthly payroll Babson demurred to
loanlng It. but finally compromised
with a warning that such indlscrim.
mate borrowing would have to cease
very soon.
by the way" he said. as he In
itialed his approval on the note. "are
you going to retain your lease Of the
Bar II ranchT"
Ito be continued)