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Show XThe W Ik T F P PFARFn 1 By J. ALLAN DUNN jj I AutW f "A MAN TO UTS MATE" " "RIMROCK TRAIL" B'r D t Co. . ' WNJ Service CHAPTER XV Continued 22 The price was moderate ton mm-trate. mm-trate. Caleb tlioujiht, rich with unspent un-spent salary and the possession of a thousand shares of Crystal Springs stock, preferred Issue. Still, that was the artist's business, to price his own wares. While he waited for the group about the painter to dissolve, some one entered the gallery hack of him and came swiftly up behind him with light steps. He turned to greet Mrs. Carquinez, her face alight wilh welcome wel-come greeting, her Jade eyes survey-lng survey-lng him with their perpetual appraisal'. "This Is line!" she exclaimed. "I in yon know, we have been talking about you all the afternoon? Or nearly all. I have lots of news for you." she added, the Jade eyes full of promises. "Carky has sold three pictures and we are going to celebrate." she went on. "We exist between sales, yon know." Caleb had n vision of a noisy studio fathering. He was not in the humor for such a celebration, not even for the news that the artist's wife sug gested would be his reward. 'I'm afraid " he commenced slowly. - She broke In. "There Is nothing to be afraid of." she laughed. "It isn't that kind of a celebration. You and I and Carky will go back to the studio as soon as It Is too dark to sell any more pictures. Carky won't exhibit under artificial light, you know. We shall bear with us luxuries, lychis, alligator pears, mushrooms, preserved ginger and other more substantial things. Carky will cook. I thought I could, before I married him, but I discovered my mistake. Therefore, on special occasions, occa-sions, Carky plays chef. You can stay all night or leave for your old gravel beds. We live across the bay, you know or you should know. Coming? You'll be sorry If you don't. There will be Just us." She emphasized the last word a trifle and stood looking look-ing at Caleb with her hands and arms a little extended In an Invitation that was Irresistible In Its genuineness. Til come," said Caleb, "if " "No Ifs. You and I will go a-mar-keting. Come on." ' "Not until I've bought this picture. I am going to ta!;e It along with me. It grips me, aside from the painting of It. What does "La Tenaya" mean?" "The Sink. As applied to a desert cistern, natural or otherwise," she answered. an-swered. "It Is In your line, Isn't It? Eut I'm glad you chose It. It is my favorite and one of Carky's." Presently Caleb and Mrs. Carquinez did their marketing from the cab that Caleb chartered, through the markets and up Chinatown. Caleb bought some masses of Iris for his share in the feast and then, on their way back to the studio, he halted the machine ontskle the most famous of Golden's stores, Le Blanc's. "How old Is the kiddy, Mrs. Carquinez?" Carqui-nez?" he asked. "You told me there was one, at Vedder's. A girl. How old?" "She is not Included in these celebrations, cele-brations, Mr. Warner. Please don't " "Please let me. Mrs. Carquinez, I've been cooped up for months without with-out blowing myself for a penny. This Is my affair. You are not even to come In. I am going to choose It myself." my-self." She laughed while Caleb entered snd was whisked up to the floor consecrated con-secrated to children's toys. He simplified sim-plified matters and dodged his own ignorance by demanding the most elaborate doll on the floor. Mrs. Carquinez Car-quinez said .nothing much, affecting an air of disapproval, tempered by the look In her eyes, though she did exclaim ex-claim at the size of the box. "My child Is only of ordinary dimensions. dimen-sions. Mr. Warner. Have you tried to present her with a dancing partner ' her own size?" Caleb carried off his canvas triumphantly trium-phantly under his arm, despite. Carquinez' Car-quinez' plea that it should be framed at his expense, under his -direction, n exchange for the present to his child. The studio proper occupied all the level ground, a great room with the 'S north light at one end, a fireplace t the other. There was a fire In the "earth, glowing logs on andirons, wore for charm than necessary heat. A settle with cushions that picked up blacks and reds and white of a AavaJo rug was empty. A big chair contained a slender figure In black folding a child. Carquinez had descended to hl3 tchen with the celebration plunder. SIrs. Carquinez checked Caleb on the studio threshold while he took In the cene. The girl in black was crooning Softly. T'ie child looked up and slid from we cuddly lap with a cry of "Madr! Auntie Betty, it's madre!" "M came running to halt at the sight Clehn slender elf with brown e,tes Di? with astonishment and shy- "ess and her mother's ash-gold hair entangling fire and lamplight. Behind er Betty Clinton got up and stood looking at Caleb. The production of the marvelous n brke all awkwardness of the meeting an J, sa the child cried out her rapture, Belly and Caleb shook hands. "Me Is part of the celebration. Betty," Siiid Mrs f'iirquinez. '-Ve sold four canvases and he boeght one of them. The best. 'I.a Tenuya.' Klsie, you haven't thanked .Mr. Warner." "1 don't know how." s;iid Elsie precociously. pre-cociously. "You are a very nice gentleman gen-tleman to thin'; of me. Iiid you bring a (lolly for Aunt Bettys baiiy?" Betty Clinton sremed a little confused con-fused and Mrs. Carnitines laughed and -li;:ii-rnil the subject. "Has she bad her supper. Betty? Then It Is bedtime." The child disappeared dis-appeared with Betty. "She Is Klsie's second mother, you see. I told you there would be just 'us.'" said tlie artist's wife. "Now, I li'-n. you und 1 will transform our-I our-I selves into kitchen assistants." tt was a wonderful dinner, served on the studio table. Afterward Mrs. ('urouiiii-z sat down to n piano that lurked in a sh.-idowy corner and pl.-ived snatches nf Chopin, giving place to the husband, who produced a guitar and sang "La I'aloma." "His enthusiasm is greater than his musical quality." laughed his wife, "but this is our celebration chant." And then she went back into the house and, after a little, called Carquinez, Car-quinez, leaving the two alone. "I am glad you came," said Betty. "I have something to say to you. An apology. I tried to write it, but that seemed cowardly. Now I have got my opportunity. "Mary Alorgan came to me," she went on. "She is In Sacramento with an Irrigation concern and doing very "I'm Afraid," He Commenced Slowly. well. She could not well take the child with her at first and so she brought it with her when she visited me Maria is playing foster mother. It is too young for dolls, though. "You can guess why Mary Morgan came to El Nido. She told me all that you had done for her, and Mr. Cox, and she told me all of the miserable business between her and Baxter, together to-gether with how he had misrepresented misrepresent-ed you and deceived my father. I am sorry. I did doubt much of what he said, but it seemed quite convincing to my father. I am sorry you could not tell dad before he went. Will you forgive me?" "There is nothing to forgive." The gladness in Caleb's voice backed his assertion. "Yet I should like to make one condition no not a condition," he added, "a favor. If," he hesitated, thinking of her black gown, "if you are not averse to going out, I should like very much to have you come with Carquinez and his wife-to the opening of the Caliente works next month." "I shall be very glad to come. I shall be out of mourning. Dad does not want me to be a recluse. Will that seal our forgiveness?" She got up, slim in the twilight, and held out her hand. She had spoken in the present tense of her father. Caleb noticed, as if death had not severed the link between them. "I also am very glad," he said, as he released her fingers. , He set up the unframed canvas that night in his room in the little bungalow bunga-low set up for his use on the works, and it was the last thing his eyes rested rest-ed upon before he turned in. Somehow it seemed to epitomize his career water wa-ter and desert places. He fancied Betty and himself in such a solitude, preparing prepar-ing the way for the fertility and population pop-ulation that should follow their discovery dis-covery and development of water. And Betty did not appear entirely as co-worker. He had seen something of the softer side of her that came as a revelation that warmed and thrilled him to the core. Nor did he forget to acknowledge Mary Morgan's share in all this, giving giv-ing himself no credit for her straightening straight-ening out matters with Betty Clinton. It was a reflex feeling from Cox's magnanimity that had sent Mary Morgan Mor-gan to Betty Clinton more than any desire to show up Baxter. So Caleb fancied, and was grateful. Mrs. Carquinez Car-quinez was another one to come in for an unuttered blessing. The world began to go very well. CHAPTER XVI The Opening There was no doubt, from the Tery beginning, of the success of the formal for-mal opening of the works. The day was perfect and the guests arrived by special train or motor to accord with a program laid out by Cox's secretary, who was a wizard for schedules. Caleb had secured seats for Betty Clinton and Mr. and Mrs. Carquinez, with whom she arrived, at the side of the table opposite the speakers. He had personally conducted them on the Inspection tour and he saw them In their places before he went on to his own. A table had been set for the foremen fore-men and their wives. Maria and Ba-dllla Ba-dllla had been sent invitations and they sat with this group, subordinate yet a part of the celebration. Beside Padilla was Evans, the water-dlvlner, now In general charge of the diverting divert-ing ponds that extended above the lengths of the filter galleries. While Caleb had greeted these humbler hum-bler but necessary workers, one of the foremen rose as Betty, with the artist and his wife, was chatting with Evans, to whom she had been Introduced at her own request. "I had to fire that chap, Johnson, yesterday, Mr. Warner," said the man In a low tone. "He showed up drunk and he had a flask of some rotgut in his pocket. He was hanging around this morning and I warned him off. Acted dopey, to me." "Quite right. Hardy." It was curious, Caleb thought, that Baxter, If it was Baxter, shoutd have come in at the end of the project he had tried to ruin as an involuntary witness to Caleb's triumph. He had little sympathy left for Baxter, no regret re-gret at the end of so one-sided a friendship. The way of the transgressor transgres-sor had to be hard and Baxter had strayed too far and too often beyond the pale not to deserve punishment. The thought of him did not accord with the spirit of the day and he dismissed dis-missed it with the fact of his discharge. dis-charge. The guests consisted of the heads of works, visiting engineers, some of whom had come a long way in professional pro-fessional Interest, a selected list of stockholders, civic representatives from Oakville the all-Important press, including Vedder, and such wives and relatives of the fairer sex as considered the event worth their presence. Cox presided and introduced the speakers. When it came to Caleb's turn a storm of applause greeted his rising, somewhat to his embarrassment. embarrass-ment. He managed a few phrases, accrediting Cox and the company with much of the meed of praise, paying more easily a glowing tribute to Hinckley, who was to follow him, neatly transferring his own burden of diffidence to the engineer. As he bowed to the renewed plaudits that came with the close of his little speech he looked across to where Betty Bet-ty Clinton sat at the extreme end of the opposite benches. Her hands added add-ed to the tribute, her face was aglow with enthusiasm. (TO BB CONTINUED.) |