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Show I WebsterMan's Man i By PETER B. KYNE M Autbor of "Cappy Ricks," "The Valley of the Giants," Etc. Jjl Copyright by Peter B. Kjme If MS "PLEASE LET ME HEAR FROM YOU." I' I Jotm Stuart Webster, mtntnr engineer, man's man, 29 ytars young, board lU I a train In Death Valley, California, on his way back to civilisation after clean. L2j Inr up 109,000. He Is dreaming of cool baths, silk pajamas and ham and em. fm But he looks like a hobo to the porter and the conductor. Ilia way of Chans;. M tag their views elves a hint of the mettle of the man. Then ha meets a dls- R tretitd lady, who makes his heart nop over for the first time In all his days. Ml He eliminates the offending man after the style of the man's man the world J over. Being what lie la and also girl-shy, he does not take advantage of his j opportunity. But he Just had to find out who the no-lontrer-dlstressed lady Wa Is, being determined to hatch up a scheme to meet her again and marry her. She Is Dolores Jluey. CHAPTER II Continued. a 2 Q Webster struck the upholstery of nn i - adjacent chair n tcrrlflc blow with his jl stick the effect of which was to cause everybody In tbo room to start and Hj' to concent Mr. Webster momentarily B In s cloud of dust, the while In a belli, bel-li, lowing barltono he sang: Km H "III father was a hard-rock miner: K He comes from my home town-" W "Jnck Webster 1 The devil's own K kin I" shouted Neddy Jerome. lie Hi . swept the cards Into a heap and wad' m died across tho room to meet this Uv latest assailant of tho pence and dig. M ally of tbo Engineers' club. "You old, HE worthless, ornery, no-good son of a Mp lizard I I've never been so glad to see Kj a umn that didn't owe ine money. I'jro Hr bcc combing tho whole civilized Mjj world for you, for a month, at least, j Where the devil havo you been)" R John Stunrt Webster beamed hnp- Hk ptly upon his friend. "Well, Neddy, Hp you old stocking-knitter," ho replied Hr quizzically, "stneo thnt Is the case, I'm j not surprised at your fnlluro to find j ui. You've known mo long enough H to havo remembered to conflno your Hj. search to the uncivilized reaches." H "Well, you're here, at nny rate and I'm happy. Now you sottlo down." Hti "Hardly, Neddy. "I'm young yet, B you know only forty. Still n real live HE' mnn and not qulto ready to degencrata HH Into a cnrd-plnylng, cnt-drlnk-nnd-be-Wl merry, dlc-of-lnnnltlon, slnk-to-obllvlan J nnd go-to-h ilreplacc spirit I" And J ho prodded Jerome in tho short ribs H with a tcntntlvo thumb that caused HE the old mun to wince. Ho permitted J his friend to drng him downstairs to H the deserted lounge, whero Jerome HJh paused In tho mlddlo of tho room and Hi rraowed his query: HJU "Whero hnve you been, I ask?" M "Out In Dentn valley, California, try. Hb lug to pry looso n fortune." BBBsl "Dill vim nrv ItV HI John Stunrt Webster arched his eye HU brows in mock reproach. "And you Hflj can seo my now suit, Neddy, my six- HJP tccn-dollnr, nmde-to-order shoes and Hj)j- my horny hoofs encased In silken hoso Hjtt and ask that question? Freshly HH shaved and Ironed and almost afraid HH to stt down and get wrinkles In my HH trousers I Smell flint l" Ho blew n HH' cloud of cigar smoko Into Jerome's HB smiling face. Tho hitter sniffed. "It Ht smolls expensive," ho replied. A "Yes, and you can bet It tnstes ex HVilL. pensive, too," Webster answered, W handing Ms ciciir-ciiso to his friend. HK ' Jerome bit tho end of his cigar nnd H l spat derisively. "How much hnve you HH I Binder' he demanded bluntly. HH ; "It's nono of your business, but I'll B ' tell you becauso I lovo you, Neddy. I'vo HB t rondo ono hundred thousand dollars."- B ' "Chlckcn-fecd," Jerome retorted. HH' "Johnny, I'vo been combing tho mln- HB erAl belt of North nnd South America HHJ for you for n month." B "Why this sudden belated Interest HH 4a met B "I havo a flno Job for you, John" HV NCIng'a X," Webster Interrupted, HH and showed both hands with Uio fin- BH gcrs crossed. "No plotting against my HB peace and comfort, Neddy. Haven't I HB told you I'm all dressed up for tho H first time In thrco years, thut I havo 9H monoy In my pocket und mora In jin hank? Man, I'm going to tread the ID primrose path for a year beforo I get nil hack Into the harness again." HKl Jerome waved n deprecatory hand, HJI figuratively brushing aside such feeble HE 1 1 and Inconsequential argument. "Are PJ you foot-looser ho demanded. Id ' "I'm not. I'm bound in golden i chain-" "Married, eh) Great Scott, I might HH hare guessed it. So you're on your IHi ' honeymoon, eh?" BUI "No ucU ,uck you vichy-drlnktng UB Iconoclast If sou had over gotten far MWi nougt from .thlSjClub during the past H fifteen yearsio.'geU breath of real Bff i fresh nlrj your(t understand why I BB want to enjoy civilization for n week KB or two beforo I go back to a rolno su HB perlntendent'a cabin on some bleak hill. JLm No, Blr-ce. Old Jeremiah Q. Work and ,H 2 havo bad n falling out. Dad burn BBj ycnir picture, Neddy, I want some BB class I I'vo been listening to a dago HI eblft-boss playing tho accordeon for HJB threo years nnd he could only piny tejtttl thrco tunes. Now I want Sousu's WH . band. Ifvo been bathing In tepid, dirty Wnm water In n redwood sluice-box, nnd HH now I desire n steam, room nnd a nee. ft die fcliower and an osteopath. I've been HI bossing Clreasers and Itulan and was HIS forced to learn their language to get Hit results, nnd now I want to speak tny Bill mother tongue to my old friends. Hy HVJSV thunder I'm going to lmvo a new deal jBBi oil' nmutid." Hnjl "'frv well. Jnc,k. Don't excite your- SHHf if' " Rlv vou exactly thirty days to sicken of It nil and then I shall como and clnlm my property." "Neddy, I'll not work for you. I'm mad. I won't play." "You're It. I Just tagged you." "I require a rest but unfold your proposition, Neddy. I was born a poor, weak vessel consumed with n curiosity Uint was ever my undoing. I can only protest that this Is no way to treat n friend." "Nonsense I My own brother wants this Job, and I hnve refused to glvo It to him. Duslncss Is business and I'vo saved It for you." Jcromo leaned forward and laid his finger confidentially on Webster's kneo; whereat tho light-hearted wanderer wan-derer carefully lifted tho finger, brushed an Imaginary speck of dirt from It, and set It down again. "Ho serious, you lngrato," Jerome pro-tested. pro-tested. "Listen I I've been working for two years on n consolidation up near Telluride, and I'vo Just put It across. Jack, It's tho biggest thing in tbo country. Colorado Consolidated Mines Company, Limited. Kngltsh capital, Jnck. Pay 'cm 0 per cent, nnd they'll call you blessed. There's twenty-five thousnnd a year In It, with n houso and a good cook nnd an automobile au-tomobile and a chauffeur, and you can como to town whenever you please, provided you don't neglect the company's com-pany's Interests and I know you're not thnt kind of nn engineer." "Do I havo to put soino money Into It, Neddy?" "Not necessarily, although I should advlsa It. I can lot you In on the ground lloor for that hundred thousand thou-sand of yours, gunranteo you it handsome hand-some profit nnd In all probability a big cleanup." "I feel mysolf slipping, Neddy. Nevertheless, Nev-ertheless, tho tall goes with tho hide. I'm not in tho habit of asking my friends to gunrnnteo my Investments, nnd If you say It's right, I'll spread wbnt I havo left of tho hundred thousnnd thou-snnd when I report for duty." "Us been a tremendous Job getting get-ting this consolidation over, Jack. When" "In pity's nnmol Sparo me. I'vo heard all I want to hear about your confounded consolidation. News! News I Give mo news I I hnve to beg for n drink Mose, you bluck sinner, how dnro you appear before mo without bringing n drink?" Mose, the aged colored porter of tho Engineers' club, Hashed n row of Ivories aud respectfully returned tho democratic greeting. "Letter for you, auh. Tho secretary secre-tary told mo to glvo It to you, Mlstnh Webster." "Thank you, Mohp. Speak up, Neddy, Ned-dy, nnd toll mo something. Kvcr hear anything of Billy Geary?" Ho was tearing Uio edge of tho on-velopu on-velopu tho while ho gutted at Jerome, who was rubbing his fat hands together to-gether nfter tho fashion of elderly men who nro well pleased with themselves. "You have a chanco to become one of tho greatest und richest mining engineers en-gineers In tho world, Jack," ho answered, an-swered, "now that you've cut looso from that young crook Genry. I don't know what's become of him, nnd neither does anybody else. For thnt tunttor, nobody cares." "I do and you can jinko Uio brief end of thnt bet for jr last whlto chip. Don't lot mo henr you or anybody any-body else say anything against Hilly Geary. That boy goes for my money, every tum in tho box. Don't make nny mistakes about that, oldtlraer." Webster's face suddenly was serious; seri-ous; tho bantering Intonation In his volco was gone, and n new, slightly strident note hnd crept into it. Hut Jcromo waved his hand soothingly, "All right, old Johnny Pepper-box, nnvo u your own uy. iiuverinviess, I'm a little my Jed. The last 1 knew of you two, you had testified ugalnst him in tho high-grade trials nt Cripple Creek, nnd he had pulled out under a cloud, even after his nc-qulttal." nc-qulttal." "Glvo a dog a bad name, nnd It will stick to him." Webster retorted. "Of course I testified ngalnst him. As engineer en-gineer for the Mlno Owners' association, associa-tion, I had to. The hlgh-grado ore wbb found In his nssay olllce, nnd tbo circumstantial evidence was complete, nnd I admit Hilly was acquitted merely becauso I nnd others could not swear positively that tho ore came from nny certain mine, It was tbo same old story, Neddy. Ymi can bo morally certnln thnt hlgl.-grado ore has been stolen from your mlr, but unless you cntch the ore thief In tbo act, how can you prove ft? I supposo you rend Uio newspaper reports and believed them, Just as everybody else doen." "Well, forget It, Jack. It's alt over long ngo, and forgotten." "It wasn't all over so long ago as you seem to think. I suppose you knew tho Holman gang was afterward after-ward sent to tho penitentiary for those snmo high-grade operations? Billy Geary's acquittal didn't end my interest In tho caso not by a Jugful 1 I fought the caso against the friends of Uie Holman crow among Uio mlno owners themselves; and It cost mo my good Job, my prestige ns a mining engineer, en-gineer, and thirty thousand dollars of money thnt I'd slaved to got together. Of course you never knew this, Neddy, and for that matter, neither does Geary. I wish he did. Wo wcro good friends once. I certainly' was mighty fond of that boy." Ho drew tho letter from the envelope en-velope nnd slowly opened It. "And you never heard what became of Geary?" "Not n worth I was too busy wondering won-dering what was to become of me. I couldn't get n Job anywhere In Colorado, Colo-rado, nnd I moved to Nevada. Made a million In Goldfleld, dropped It In tho panic of 1007, and had to start again " "Wbnt havo you been doing Intcly?" "Borax. Staked n group of claims down In Death valley. Bully ground, Neddy, nnd I was busted when I located lo-cated them. Had to borrow money to pay tho filing fees nnd Incorporation, nnd did my own assessment work. Lookl" Webster held up his hands, still somewhat grimy and calloused. "The Borax trust knew I was busted, but Uiey never could qulto get over the fear thnt I'd dig up somo backing and give them n run so they bought mc out." "Somebody told mo Genry had gone to Itbodcsln," Jerome continued musingly, mus-ingly, "or mnybo It was Capetown. I know ho was seen somewhero In South Africa." "Ho left tho Creek Immediately nfter the conclusion of his trial. Poor hoy I That dirty business destroyed the lad and mado n tramp of him, I guess. I tell you, Neddy, no two men ever lived who came ncnrcr to loving each other Umn Billy Geary nnd his old Juck-pnrdncr. Wo bucked the marts of men and went to sleep together to-gether hungry mnny n time during our llve-yenr partnership. Why, Bill wns llko my own boy. Jerome, I curso the day I took that boy out from underground un-derground and put him In tho nssay ofllco to learn tbo business. How ilium i itnuw nun uiu illinium KU"K hod cached the stuff In his shack?" "Well, It's too bad," Jeromo nn-sworcd nn-sworcd dully. Ho was qulto wlHIng thnt the subject of conversation should bo changed. "I'm glnd to get tho right dopo on tho boy, anyhow. Havo nn-other nn-other drink?" "Not until I rend this letter. Now, who tho dickens knew I wus headed for Denver nnd the Knglneers' club? I didn't loll n soul, nnd I only arrived ar-rived this morning." Ho turned to the last page to .ascertain .ascer-tain the Identity of his correspondent, nnd his facial expression ran the gamut from surprise to a Joy thnt was good to see. John Stuart Webster rend tho letter deliberately, after which ho snt In silent si-lent contemplation of tho design of tho canet for fully a minute beforo reaching reach-ing for tho bell. A servant responded Immediately. "Bring mo. Uio time-tables of all roads leading to New Orleans," he ordered, "also n cable blnnk." Webster hnd reread the letter beforo be-foro tho servunt returned with Uie time-tables. "August, you go out to the desk, llko a good fellow, and ask tho secretary secre-tary to nrrungo for a compartment for mo to New Orleans on tho Gulf States limited, leaving at 10 o'clock tomorrow tomor-row night." Ho hnnded tho servant his curd. "Now wnlt a minute until I write something." Ho seized tho cable blank, helped himself, uninvited, unin-vited, to Neddy Jcromo's fountain pen, nnd wrote: "William .II. Geary, Calle dc Concordia No. 10, Buenaventuru, Sobranto, a a. "Salute, you young Jackass 1 Just received vour letter, f'nlillntr ilmii. sand for emergency roll first Uilng tomorrow. to-morrow. Will order machinery. Leaving Leav-ing for Now Orleans tomorrow night, to arrive Buenaventura first steamer. Your letter caught mo with a hundred thousand. We cut It two ways and take our chances. Keep a light lu the window for your old "JACK-PAUDNKlt." "That's a wlndv cnhht?rnin NoiMv Jerome remarked as the servant here It nwny. "Why all this garrulity? A cablegram anywhoro generally costs at least a dollar a word." "'That's my delight of a shiny night, In tho season of the yenr,"' quoted John Stuart Webster; "and why the devil economlzo when tho boy need cheering up?" "What boy?" "Billy Geary." "Whero Is ho?" "Central America." Noddy Jeromo wns happy. Ho wns In nn expansive mood, for ho had, with the us'lstanco of a kindly fata, rounded up tho ono engineer In all the world whom ho needed to tnko chnrgc of tho Colorado Consolidated. So he said: "Well, Jack, Just to celebrate tho discovery of your old pal, I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll O. K. your voucher for Uie expenso of bringing young Geary back to the U. S. A., and when we get him here, It will be up to you to find a snug berth for him with Colorado Col-orado Consolidated." "Neddy," said John Stunrt Webster, "by my halldom, I love thee. You're a Uioughtful, kindly old sUck-ln-thc-mud" "No lf8 nor but's. I'm your boss," Jerome Interrupted, nnd waddled away to telephone the head waiter at his favorite restaurant to rcservo a table for two. Mr. Webster sighed. Ho disliked exceedingly to disappoint old Neddy, but He shrank from seeming to think overwcll of himself by declining declin-ing a twcnty-flVe-thou6and-dollnra-year Job with the blggcqt. mining company com-pany In Colorado, but "Itottcn luck," ho soliloquized. "It runs thnt way for a while, and then It changes, nnd gets worse 1" When Jcromo returned to his sent, the serious look In Webster's hlUtcrto Inughlng eyes challenged his immediate immedi-ate attcnUon. "Neddy," said John Stunrt Webster gently, "do you remember my crossing cross-ing my fingers nnd snylng 'King's X' when you came nt mo with thnt proposition propo-sition of yours? It Just breaks my heart to have to decllno It, but the fact of Uio matter Is, I think you'd better give thnt Job to your brother, after all. At any rate, I'm not going to tnko It" "Why?" the amazed Jerome demanded. de-manded. "Johnny, you'rt crazy In Uio bend. Of course you'll take It." For nnswer Webster hnnded his friend the letter be hnd Just received. "Bead that, old horse, and seo If you can't work up n circulation," ho suggested. sug-gested. Jerome ndjusted his spcctncles nnd rend : "Cullo do Concordia 10, Bucnnventura, "Sobranto, C. A. "Denr John: I would nddrcss you ns 'dour friend John,' did I but possess pos-sess sulllclcnt courage. In my heart of hearts you nro still that, but aftei threo years of silence, duo to my stupidity stu-pidity nnd hardness of heart. It Is, per haps, better to make haste slowly. "Tn lui?ln. T hIiiihIiI III.-ii tn lu for given, on tho broad general grounds thnt I am most almighty sorry for whn.t I went nnd donel Am I forgiven? forgiv-en? I seem to seo your friendly old fnco and henr you nnswer 'Aye,' nnd with this load off my chest nt Inst I bellow I feel better already. "Jack, you poor, deluded old piece of whlto meat, do you think for a moment mo-ment thnt I held agnlust you your textlmony for tho operators In Cripple Creek? I thought you believed tho chnrges and thnt you testified In n firm belief that I was tho guilty mnn, ns nil of the circumstantial evidence seemed to tndlcntc. I thought this for thrco long, mengro years, old friend, nnd I'm sorry. After thnt, I suppose there Isn't nny need for mo to say more, except thnt you are an old fool for not snylng you were going to spend your money nnd your tlmo nnd reputntlon trying to put my halo back on straight I I doubt If I was worth It, and you knew thnt; but let It pass, for we havo othor fish to fry. 'The nubbin of the matter Is this: There Is only ono good gold mlno left In this wenry world aud I havo It, It's Uio sweetest wildcat I over struck, and we stand tho finest show In tho world of starving to death If wo tncklo it without sulllclcnt cupltal to go Uirough. It will tako at least thirty thousand dollars, and wo ought to hnve doublo that to play safe. I do not know whether you hnve, or can raise, sixty cents, but at any rato I am going to put tho buck up to you and you can tako a look. "This Is a pretty fair country, Jack If you survive lone euouch to cot used to It At first you think It's Paradise; Par-adise; then you grow to hnto It and know It for hell with the lid off; and finally all your early love for It returns re-turns nnd you become what I am now a tropical tramp I There Is only ono social stratum loner than mine, and that's Uio tropical beachcomber. I am not thnt yet; and will not be If my landlady will continue to listen to my blandishments. Sho Is a sweet baul, with a divine disposition, and I urn duly grateful, "I would tell you all about tho geog-raphy, geog-raphy, topography, flora and fauna of boiirnnte, but you wn nscertnln that In detail by consulting any standard stand-ard encyclopedia. Governmentnlly the country Is similar to Its sister republics. re-publics. It's a cold dny Indeed when two patriots, two vivas and n couple of old Long Tom Springfield rifles cnanot upset tho Sobranto npplo cart. We haven't had a revolution for nearly near-ly rtx months, hut wo havo hopes. "I nm nddresslng you nt tho Engl-neers' Engl-neers' club, In tho hopo thnt my letter mnv reach you there, or perhaps tho secretary will know your address and forward It to you. If you nro foot-looso foot-looso nnd still entertain a lingering rerard for your old Bl, got busy on I this mining eoncrssJwi P. D. Q. TImt Is the essence of the contract, because be-cause I am holding on to tho thin edge of noUilng. nnd If wo havo a change of government I may lose even that. I need you, John Stunrt Webster, Web-ster, worse than I need snlvatlon. I encloso you a list of equipment required. re-quired. "If you receive this letter nnd can do anything for me, please cable. If you cannot, please cnblo anyway. Do i let mc henr from yon, Jack, If only to I tell mo the old entente cordlale still ' exists. I know now thnt I was con- , sldcrablo of a heedless pup a few years , ago nnd overlooked my hnnd quite regularly, reg-ularly, but now Uiat I have a good thing I do not know of nnybody with whom I care to share It except your own genial self. Pleaso let mo hear from you. "Affectionately, "BILLY." Jerome finished rending this rcmnrk-nolo rcmnrk-nolo communication; then with Infinite In-finite nmuseraent ho regarded John Stunrt Webster over the tops of his glasses as one who examines a now nnd Interesting species of bug. "So Billy loves that dear Sobrante, eh?" he said with abysmal sarcasm. "Jack Webster, listen to a sane man and be guided accordingly. I was in this snmo little Buenaventura once. I wns there for thrco days, and I wouldn't hnvo been there three minutes min-utes If I could hnve caught a steamer out sooner. Of nil the miserable, squalid, worthless, ornery, stinking holes on tho face of God's green footstool, foot-stool, Sobrante is tho worst If ono may Judge It by its capital city. Are you going to chase off to this God-forsaken fever-hole nt the behest of n lad scarcely out of his swaddling clothes? Jack Webster, surely you aren't going to throw yourself nwny glvo up tho sure thing I offer you to Join Billy Genry In Sobranto and flnnnca a wildcat wild-cat prospect without a certificate of tttlo attached. Be reasonable. What did you wire that confounded boy?" "That I wns coming." "Cnblo him you've changed your mind. We'll send him some money to come home, nnd you can give him a i . "Cable Him You've Chanced Your Mind." good Job under you. I'll O. IC. tho voucher nnd charge It to your personal per-sonal expense account" "That's nice of you, old sport, nnd I thank you kindly. I'll talk to Billy when I nrrlvo In Buennventurn, und if the prospect doesn't look good to me, .I'll urgue him ouUof It und we'll como home. Let mo go. I might como back. But I must go. I want to.seo Billy." "You Just snld a minute ngo you'd turned tho forty-year post," Jeromo warned him. "And you're now going to Ioe n year or two moro In which you might better be engaged laying up n foundation of Independence for your old age. For Heaven's snke, man, don't be a fool." "Oh, but I will bo a fool," John Stuart Stu-art Webster answered; nnd possibly, by this time, tho render hns begun to understand tho potency of his mlddlo name tho Scotch nre notoriously pig. headed, and Mr. Webster hnd Just enough oatmeal In his blood to lmvo como by thnt center fire namo honestly. honest-ly. "And you, you poor old horse, you could not possibly understand why, If you lived to be n million years old." He got up from his chair to the full height of his slx-fect-one. and stretched 100 pounds of bone nnd muscle. mus-cle. "And so I sht.ll go to Sobrante nnd lose nil of this all-Important money, shall I?" he Jeered. "Then by all the gods of tbo Open Country, I hope I mny. Dnd burn you, Neddy, I'm not a Mothuselah. I wont somo fun In life. I want to fight nnd be broko nnd go hungry nnd then make money for tho lovo of making It nnd spending It, nnd I want to live u long time yet. I want to sen tho mirage ocross tho sagebrush nnd hear It whlipcr: 'Hither, John Stunrt Webster I Hither, you fool, find 111 tinmau'iranl. ... i . .....onuHiiiij J"U IIKIllll, IIS in an elder day I homswogglcd you before,' be-fore,' " Jeromo shook his whlto thntch hopelessly. hope-lessly. "I thought you were a great mining engineer, John," he snld sadly, "but you're not. You'ro n poet. You do not seem to caro for money." |