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Show The Water Bearer By J. ALLAN DUNN Author of "A MAN TO ' US MATF "RIMROCK TRAIL" By Dodd. Mead & Co. WNU Service fingers on the shining surface of Cox's desk and leaned forward a little. "You said that the Crystal Springs company is in the business of buying, conveying and selling water. It is the first consideration that holds my proposition. prop-osition. What will you give me for two million . daily gallons of pure water, wa-ter, with constant renewed supply, within a reasonable distance of Golden and capable of development at cots that will leave you ample profit?" Cox lit his cigar slowly and, under cover of the smoke, closely surveyed Caleb's face. "Two million gallons daily? You mean what will I give you for your information in-formation as to where I can secure this?" "And my plans for development. Conservation, storage, filtration, collection, col-lection, piping, pumping?" "Ah! Pumping? It isn't on this side of the bay, then?" The question came swiftly, backing a swifter glance. "You told me yourself that the water wa-ter development on the peninsula was practically developed to Its limit," checked Caleb. " "It is across the bay." "We have many prospects there our- , selves. Plans half developed. It is unlikely un-likely that you offer me anything new. Have you spoken to Mr. Hinckley about it?" "Hardly. I wished to talk with you direct. I believe you have not looked - deal in 'ifs.' Send np your model, bring in your papers tomorrow afternoon. after-noon. I'll have Hinckley here. We'll talk further. If it promises well I'll get the directors together and you shall present your proposition at the meeting. That agreeable?" They shook hands on it and Caleb left the office practically content. After dinner at the club, alone, he found a telegram awaiting him in his rooms. It was a notice from the local bank that the deal for his house had been completed and that the purchase, price, eight thousand dollars, less certain cer-tain fees, now lay to his order. "Which," said Caleb, as he stuffed the message back in its yellow envelope, enve-lope, "rounds out tb day very nicely." Next morning Caleb got tt'i late and leisurely, three hours after his usna! time.' He ordered breakfast sent up from the dining room and lingered over his hath and shaving before he settled down in the window, grapefruit grape-fruit before him, the daily paper to .one side. From the outer page a face looked at him that seemed familiar, though, for the moment, he could not place it. Even the flaring two-column head did not supply the link immediately. "ROMANCE IN HIGH LIFE "Popular Society Widow "Weds Eastern Man "and Millionaire." Then he read the caption under the halftone picture: "Mrs. Ernestine Le-roy Le-roy Baxter, whose quiet wedding is the talk of Nob Hill." It was the resemblance to Ted that Caleb had noticed. He read the ar- fnln rPV, l T" W, 1 AT.mfn nnrrncr nyy rt an t """'T'ft l I 1 i CHAPTER VIII Continued 12 He flung himself into th work with feverish ambition and belief. Baxter he saw little of these days nor did he tell him of his plans or state that he had secured an oliice. Baxter had told Caleb that he was busy trying to find the right tract of land for his "Little Colony." "They are inclined to be fussy," he said. "I've got one or two propositions, proposi-tions, but I'm afraid they won't exactly ex-actly suit. And I've got to swing this deal." By which Caleb inferred that he needed money badly for his affair with the stenographer. "Not going to get married, are you?" inquired Baxter jestingly. "I suppose you were browsing over at -El Nido when you acquired that tan. She must be some girl. I told you you'd fall hard. The mater's due at Del nonte tomorrow," he went on. "I thought I'd need her to help me out, but, If I pull off this stock deal, I'll be In clover. Good job I didn't write her. Something usually shows up if you're in luck. If you're not, why, that's all there is to it." He frowned. Caleb saw him looking look-ing at his picture gallery on the bureau bu-reau : "How are things going in that direction?" direc-tion?" he asked. "Meaning Mary Morgan? That's her name." Baxter picked up the silver sil-ver frame. His face was still clouded. "She's getting hard to handle. Still hanging on to her job. Wants me to marry her, but insists upon the child being born, anyway. Says she always wanted one. She's an enigma to me. ' I think I'll be able to transfer her to a gun-metal setting before long. Here's hoping! Tell me about your doings across the bay, for that's where you were, of course." But Caleb did Dot care to discuss Betty, and the telephone broke their chat. "It's the Morgan girl," said Baxter. "She's getting to be a pest, but she's got to be jollied. Be sorry for me, Caleb." Caleb cocked his eyebrow. The reference ref-erence to the stenographer as "the Morgan girl," after all that had happened hap-pened and still lay between them, struck him as particularly callous. Still, Baxter often spoke with affected bravado. Caleb kept silent. CHAPTER IX Progress The work went swiftly. His preliminary prelim-inary specifications ended and the drawings traced and blue-printed, Caleb Ca-leb started on his model. From the maps of the geodetic survey he panto-graphed panto-graphed a scale enlargement of the lower end of the Caliente plain and much of the surrounding district, including in-cluding Gahilan mountain. Baxter had run down to Del Monte to pay a duty call to his mother. Duty, in Baxter's case, Caleb surmised, as with his affection, was largely a matter mat-ter of keeping his mother in good humor hu-mor whereby the financial supplies might be more lavishly and easily forthcoming. Both were too selfish, after years of indulgence and (spoiling, to have much genuine love for each olher. In one of the gossiping weeklies week-lies at the club not Vedder's Pioneer Caleb noticed an item that caught his eye with the mention of the Baxter Bax-ter name. "It is rumored by Dame Gossip," ran the paragraph, "that Ted Baxter, who, by the way, has been hanging up some creditable scores in the golf tournament tourna-ment on the Del Monte links, Is not overjoyed at the Insinuating chatter that perslts In suggesting that he may shortly acquire a stepfather. Gossip has been rife In this direction before, but now Intentions seem to be serious. It Is hinted that young Baxter may emulate the example of his stepfather, to-be. A double wedding is not entirely en-tirely out of prospect, according to those who claim to have watched 'Ted' strolling on the fair-greens in the early mornings with a certain demoiselle who has inherited a fortune from interests in-terests closely connected with the lumber lum-ber industry." Caleb could not guess, -and did not care to, the name of the girl referred to. And Caleb whistled under his , breath. "If Mary Morgan sees this item," he told himself, "she Is likely to stir up things. I wonder how Ted's stock deal is prospering ?" Baxter had not told him the name of the shares with which he was speculating. spec-ulating. But he noticed the girl the next morning as he passed through an outer office to Cox's private room by appointment. She was not in tailored tai-lored clothes but in a lighter, fuller costume. Her face '-js startlingly pale save where she rouged her cheeks and reddened her full lips. The dark half-rings beneath her oyer, emphasized empha-sized their glance and. for a moment, Caleb felt it full upon r.. fie th.-.v.pM ttr.it H half besought, half challenged him not to speak of her to Cox. And then the mouth grow sullen sul-len and she turned away as Cox's secretary sec-retary held the door open for Caleb. "Come to accept the Heaver Lake proposition ?" asked Cox, rising to meet him. His brows contracted and his look hardened a trifle Alien Caleb shook his head. "I think not. I've come to make a proposit ion instead." "Yes?" said Cox shortly, his tone as noncommittal as the tick of a clock, while' lie s iioved tlfb cigar box across his div.fc. -.ah b put 'h tips of I'll ten of his LH.1C. -LUC UC1 111VJL1LC I C01',ll UU" V referred to it as a romance. It appeared ap-peared that the couple had been married mar-ried quietly at Monterey and had left for a protracted honeymoon in the private pri-vate car of the bridegroom. It was not Caleb's affair and he had his own business to attend to. Baxter would show up in his own good time. Caleb finished his breakfast and went down to his office to superintend the packing of the model and its dispatch to Cox. Later he visited his bank. It was noon before he got back to the apartment house. He found Baxter changing his clothes. His face was pasty, the whites of his eyes congested. To Caleb Ca-leb the signs were plain. Baxter had been making a night of it. "Seen the paper, I suppose?" Baxter greeted Caleb. "There's the devil to pay all around. The mater's gone and so's my income. Look at that." He picked up a slip of pink paper from his dressing table and handed it to Caleb. It was a check for one thousand thou-sand dollars. "Signed by papa-in-law," said Baxter Bax-ter sarcastically. "A present to a good boy. God bless you and good-by good-by ! "Do you know what she did?" he asked truculently. "Mortgaged every bean she had to catcb this millionaire. million-aire. Played her last cent on the red heart and won. She had the right to do what she liked with my father's money under the will, but it was understood un-derstood that she was to look out for me. "Soon as I got down to Del Monte I saw what her game was. And I wasn't welcome. The bridegroom-on-the-hook looked at me as if lie expected expect-ed to see a little boy in knickerbockers. knickerbock-ers. She's kidded him along properly. "No use looking at me in that Meth-odlstical Meth-odlstical way, Caleb. I'm bitter and I have a right to be. She was-twenty-four when she married my father and she never intended to be a mother. Thought it 'ud spoil her figure. I've heard her say so. I was only a kid when I overheard that, but it Illuminated Illu-minated tilings a lot. I knew then why I never had a mother like other kids. I was an unfortunate accident. A snake has more affection for its eggs than she ever had for me. "I tell you, Cal', the way she acted round that old fool would make you sick. With the airs and graces of a young girl. Faugh I She wanted me to go back to -Golden. 1 looked too much like an animated birth certificate certifi-cate to suit her play. Jo doubt she told him what a wayward youth I was. When I wouldn't stand up to the wedding we had a sweet row about that and I boiled over a bit she calmly calm-ly told me she was broke. Said hei trousseau bad exhausted her bank account ac-count and her capital. Yesterday aft-! aft-! ernoon this cheek came to me in a ' letter from her. I tore the letter up. Hoped I'd settle down to something serious and inclosed a check from her husband. Said she didn't expect to see me for some time. They were g-1 g-1 ing to travel extensively. (TO BE CONTINUED.) Found Baxter Changing His Clothes. into this particular method of exploitation exploi-tation or more than suspected the source of supply." Cox smiled and pushed aside some papers carelessly. "If that is so," he answered, "I will give you one-half a cent per gallon for your secret." "Ten thousand . dollars? You are not liberal, Mr. Cox. I am not visionary vis-ionary in this matter. I am prepared to show you and your engineers a complete com-plete project, without estimating exact ex-act costs. But, if my general plans are not approved by Mr. Hinckley and his associates, if my-source is not authentic, au-thentic, if it is not sufficient, I do not figure that I have anything to sell. But I want to know where I stand before be-fore I submit facts and figures." For a moment they remained silent, the elder seated, Caleb standing. Cox patently appraising him. The latter spoke first. "Plow much do you want?" "One hundred thousand dollars and recognition of myself as the originator origina-tor of the plan. I do not expect to in anj way displace Mr. Hinckley. I have not ibis experience. Quite probably I lack his ability. But I should want an appointment as consulting engineer on the work, and publicity as the projector." pro-jector." Cox beat a little tattoo with his fingers fin-gers on the desk top. He looked out of the window. "I'm not the Crystal Springs company," com-pany," he said finally. "I can't buy pigs in pokes. You'll have to show me more of your project. If it's all you say I have no doubt we can come to terms." "I have stated my terms." "You'll have to take a chance with us. Warner," Cox said with a smile. "We are not exactly highway robbers, we westerners. And we don't mind paying for in forma tioiv But I can't |