Nogales international., 1936-03-07
Second Instalment

during this operation, and even Mad
ldox could find no fault with the way
Ihe did it. When, after what seemed an
(interminable time, the wire cable be-
gan to stream up out of the depths and
wind itself in smooth, black layers upon
the drum, the two women pressed in
upon the derrick floor.
t Out of the well-mouth finally slid
Ithe fishing tool; it stopped, hung mo-
|tionless with the lower end at the level
of their eyes The teeth had been bent
inward, jammed together by the blows
from above; inside the basket thus
formed and tightly bitten between two
OF those prongs was battered six-inch
piece of steel.
When Furlong had finished washing
up he found Betty Durham waiting for
Ihin.
Come over to the house." she said.
"FYou must be tired"
IT told you l was lucky" the young
man declared, with a grin.
Lucky, nothing. You've got sense. "
/ Simple, wasn't it? l wonder Mad
Edox never thought of it."
Betty stirred; impatiently she ex-
Ieiaimed: ooh, he's too busy thinking
lebout something Sayl We've got
an extra room, but Aunt Mary says it
Ewou1dn't look right for you to sleep
There. Don't that make you sick1"
"How about the barn?"
THAT'S what she proposed Come
on. Welt FIX L somehow"
1t was dark; the trail through the
cactus and the mesquite was dim, but
Betty knew it by heart, and where its
meanderings were indistinguishable she
took Furlong's hand and guided him.
81 suppose you think Aunt Msry's
crazy, risking all her money like this, j"
she said.
81 sure do" the man admitted. ''This
thing will show you the chances she's
taking. Suppose that bolt had been
something else, something we couldn't
get hold of? There's thousand things
can happen to we'll"
II know. But she's-greedy. She al
ways was. Tiller talked her into it
after Uncle Joe died, and she wouldn't
listen to me"
Its lot safer to let the big CON-
panies do the drilling, and be satisfied
with a royalty"
Some people can't be satisfied" the
girl said, quietly. Then after moment
"Uncle Joe never intended to leave
the whole farm to her. They didn't
hitch very we'll He said he was going
to leave part of it to me, butt guess
he never got around to it. I'll bet Aunt
Mary's sorry by this time that she lis
tened to Tiller; there's so many things
q driller can do to a we'll"
"PShaw! Is he that kind of mani"
What kind of man2 Men are all
alike. aren't they-when they've got
reason to be?"
"She better fire him."
Il guess she can't, or dassent. .
Funny my talking this way to you and
not knowing you only a few hours. I'd
better mind my own business. Here we
are. You wait while l get light
They had arrived at the house, and
Oh girl left her companion outside.
She reappeared in a few minutes with
a lantern dIlQ d COupIC VI PdL\ll"OA n
comforters. These latter she surren-
dered to Ben, then led the way to the
barn.
Like most farms in the oil country,
this one had been allowed to run down,
and with the exception Of some chick
ems and few dispirited cattle there
was no live stock left upon it. There
sill remained, however, some old fod-
der it was dusty and musty, but suit
able enough for bed, and Furlong an
nounced that he was delighted with
these sleeping arrangements. He set
the lantern down and walked to the
door with Betty. There he said:
Tou've been mighty nice to me.
wish that iislliug job had been harder" !"
"Whyo"
at would have taken longer"
The girls face was dimly Illuminated
as she smiled up at Furlong. She was
the prettiest girl he had ever known
and he felt a great liking, a great sym
D., for her. The clasp Of her warm
hand as sir, lad guided him along the
dark trail had affected him in an IN
accountable ma her, and now it af-
fected him again i'll the same way when
she laid it in his. A sudden recklesSness
overwhelmed him and before he knew