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Show yrf . THE BINGHAM NEWS , Rimrock Trail peered no doubt as to her willingness She admitted that ih had been eoms-time-s "lonesome" at the school. After that Molly's letters were prime events at the Three Star. She wrote every week telling of life at the Keiths'. Miranda made op the quartet to read them. Molly wrote: "It la full of excitement, thla life at the Keiths', and they are Just lovely to me. There is a let of com-pany always at the house and every-one seems te be enjoying himself, but somehow it strikes me as not quite real I want to be back where no-body pretends. Td give anything, sometimes, for a good gallop through the redtop and sage and rabbit-brus- h on my pony." There was mere talk of dinners and dances, of receptions and thea-ters, with mention of Donald Kelts here and there, chat ef new clothes, kind words for the elder Keiths. "Don't think I've changed," she said. Tm the same Molly underneath even If I have been revamped and deco-rated." The famous White Gold proi pec-tus? and advertisements duly fol-lowed the news stories. Casey Town boomed with some bona-fld- e strikes that sent Keith's stocks soaring high. The porphyry dyke at the Molly mine began to yield rich results almost from the first, snd dividends were paid In such quantities as to stagger hard time of It along with her old man, compared, to what them soft-skinn-snips must have had. Bow 'bout it SamT "Sounds good to me. " What do you think, Sandy? It's Us to you ss her guardeen." "It sure sounds good," said Sandy. "Seems like this Mrs. Keith must be a prltty fine woman to think of takln' Molly Into her own home. I'd be In-clined te put tt this way: If Molly cottons te the Idea, let her hop to It" "Mlrandy ain't brought over the butter yet" put In Mermen, with a glance at hts partners that was half shamefaced. "Why not git her opin-ion? Takes a woman to understand a woman. She'd sabe this letter a heap better'n we cud." Sam winked covertly at Sandy and shoved his tongue In bis cheek. "That s a good idea. Mormon," said Sandy. "Never did find out Jest what hap-pened to that last wife o' yourn, did ye, Mormon?" asked Sam. "Never did." "That's too bad." "Why?" "Gen'ral principles." "Speakln wide, the weddtn' cake of matrimony has been mostly mildewed for me," said Mormon reflectively, "but I've alius had an affinity fo' the sex. I sln't like Sandy. Nature give him an Instinct ag'in' 'em, aa part-ners. He was bo'n lucky." But Sandy had gone out Sam and Mormon trailed blm and saw him walking toward the Cottonwood grove with Grit at his heels. "He thinks a heap of Molly," opined Sam. "I reckon he sure hates to lose her, If he Is woman-shy- . 'Course Molly was jest a kid.; But I don't fancy she'll take the back-tra- il once she gits mixed up with the Keith outfit" "I ain't so plumb sure of tbst," re-turned Mormon. "Molly's bo'n an' bred with the West In her blood. She'll alius hear the call of the range, like a colt that's stepped wild. He'll drink at the tank, but he ain't for-gettl-n the water-hole.- " Sandy, under the cottonwoods where the spring bubbled, so near the old prospector's grave that perhaps the old miner lying there could, In his new affinities with Nature, hear its flow, was thinking much the same thing Mormon hsd expressed, hoping It might be true, chiding himself lest the thought be selfish. Memories of Molly flickered across the screen of his mind: Molly beside her father by the broken wagon, climbing to get the cactus blossom for his cairn; Molly at the grave; Molly giving him the gold piece; the wild ride across the pass and the race for the train and a recollection that was freshest of all, one he had not mentioned to his partners; the touch of Molly's lips on his as he hod bade her goodby. The kiss had not been that of a child, there had been a magic In It that bad thrilled some chord In Sandy that still responded to that re-membrance. Miranda, alone In the flivver, a new car of her own, bought with money paid by Keith for her claim, was at By J. ALLAN DUNN 0rUhml, St J. tllu Dua CHAPTER XV Continued. . 12 "My name's Keith, Wilson Keith," ssld the other. 'Tin a mining promo-ter. PUmsoll bad agreed to sell me his Interest in certain claims which showed well In assay reports. They alone were insufficient to Interest me. When he wired me the news of the general strike, the prospect of development opened and I came on. You seem to have blocked the deal. However, I suppose Pllmsoll can be located later. Have you any Idea where he might be found?" "It w'udn't do yen one mite ef good," said Sandy. "PUmsoll didn't owa those elatas. Didnt have an interest in 'em. Tried te Jump 'em, an did the Jumpln' hlmse'f. I heard some eastern folk had been samplln' ore an I saw some slgBS up en the Casey claims. Those are the claims Pllmsoll tried to sell you, I reckon, for cash, flggerln' on the deal goln' through quick. He lowed he'd grubstaked Casey, which was a plumb lie. Plimsoll's got nothln' to prove his end. From now on he won't try to. The claims belong to Molly Casey, the same beln' my legal ward." "Aht" Wilson Keith's eyes grew keen and cold. "Have you any interest In them yourself, Mr. Bourke?" "Me an' my two partners of the Three Star ranch own one-hal-f Inter-est equal with Molly," said Sandy eas-ily. His eyes matched those of the pro-moter and held them for a second or two. J The thought passed through Keith's mind that Sandy's Interest, and that of bis partners, might have been ob-tained from the girl under false pre-tenses, but he was very far from a fool and, among the things he saw in San-dy's eyes, It was clearly written that here was a man who was both abso-lutely fearless and absolutely honest He had not seen many such. "I'll be glad to talk with you later," he said. "Just now I'm ravenous. Any place to eat? And does the camp get tip early or Just go to bed late?" The remark raised a laugh In the crowd, now milling y about the machine. Sandy recommended Simpson's and pointed It out. Keith, the man with him, his secretary, and the cnauffeur, got out and walked stiff-legge- d to their coffee. Sandy Introduced Sam as his part-ner, Westluke as a mining engineer and assayer. Keith gave Westlake a shrewd appraising glance, and a nod. "I'm too sleepy myse'f to talk busi-ness," snld Snndy. "My two pardners are In the same boat So, if you-al- l want to look oveh the camp ag'ln, Mr. Keith, an' talk business with any one you find awake an' wlllin' I'll prob'bly see you befo' nightfall. You know where the claims are." Keith stood for a moment In the door of Simpson's, looking after Sandy. "A fairly slick article, the man with ( .. drawn and signed and the shares of stock Issued that gave 20 per cent of the Molly property te her and 25 te the three partners. Keith returned to New York with his 4 per cent te weave his plans for the full develop-ment ef the ctahns he hsd acquired. He bad the capital and was willing to put it Into developing the Molly mine If necessary, but It was a busi-ness principle of his never to use bis own money when he could get hold of someone else's. He bad turned his eyes toward oil ef late, scenting quick turns, snd thla took money. His wire took more; his son. Just out of college, took all he could get Mra Keiths he decided, should look Melly up at her school, take her into the Keith home on vacations, Intro-duce her Into the social whlrL The right newspaper men would see her, meet her, get the stery from Blake of her romantic childhood, with photo-graphs of the Western Heiress la the Park on Horseback. Moreover, she could be introduced to the right peo-ple, that was Mrs. Keith's end of tt. Then wonld come the prospectuses with these extracts of the best para-graphs, tied tip with views of Casey Town, with engineers' reports, with stuff about sylvsnlte, a masterpiece of romance and fiction, peppered with fact The whole to be titled White Gold. Blake submitted his clever cam-paign, worthy of better things, and Keith approved of It That the part-ner- s of the Three Star as fifty-on- e per cent owners, of Molly Casey herself with them, should be consulted or In-formed, never entered his head. Blake's campaign was carried out most successfully. Mrs. Keith de-scended overwhelmingly upon Molly at her school, chauffeur and footman on the driving seat of her luxurious sedan ; gasped a little when she saw that Molly was a beauty, could be made an unusual one with the right dressing, the right Setting. Her brain, which was keen enough In business matters, told her that she could Improve her husband's program of using Molly as an attraction to bring Investors to the Keith residence. It might be a good thing Mrs. Keith was quick at dealing with the future If her son, Donald, fell In love with Molly, the heiress. She wrote to the Three Star ranch, to Sandy Bourke, guardian of Molly Casey, without Molly's knowledge. Sandy read the letter aloud to his partners. "Dear Mr. Bourke: "I feel that I should write this letter to you although I have never met you, rather than my husband, since the question Is one that a woman curt handle better than a man that only a woman can understand and appreci-ate. "I have seen your Molly and she has entirely captivated me. She Is really wonderful, with wonderful possibili-ties. I want to take her Into my home, Mr. Bourke. I think she feels the need a.1 a t. i i . "The Oal W'udn't Promise Qe te School 'Less We Shared Even-Steven- ," Said Mormon. the Three Star outfit who saw them-selves In a fair way to become rich. All over the barren bills, where the first futile shafts had been driven and abandoned, buildings sprang up like mushrooms, housing machinery, send-ing up plumes of white smoke that tokened the underground energies. The three partners held consulta-tion as to their disposal of the checks that were sent them. "Molly, she's get tin' the same amount we're spllttln' both ways," said Sam, "but somehow It don't seem right to me the wsy we come In. It was her dad's mine. He found it All we did was to find her an' Grit done that" "The gal w'udn't promise to go to school 'less we shared even-Steven,- " said Mormon. "I see it this way," said Sandy. Tve done a heap of thlnkln' over the matter. I'm plumb sure that If we-sl-l didn't take the money Molly 'ud pull out her picket-pi- n an' aay we wasn't playtn' fair an' square with ber. I Agger we can do this. We can nse the money, keepln' account of tt put tin' It into stock an' Improvements that'll pay fo' themselves long befo' Molly comes of age an' my guardeen papers play out That way we'll have the benefit of the capital an' keep It ready to turn over to her if ahe ever needs It I don't believe she'll ever tske one red of It It was a gamble with ber an' she's a thoroughbred sport But In case anything ever turns up, or ahe gits married, we'll have It handy." oi me cumpanioDHiiip ana aavice or an older woman, rather than that of the girls at the school. "I wish I could talk with you per-sonally about this. Letters are such Inadequate things. But I know, from Mr. Keith, that you have her Interests st heart and so have I. I shall dear-ly love to have her with me, and I feel confident from what I have seen of her, that she will be happier. In a home, with some one, who, however poorly, may take the place of the mother she must have missed all these years. "Let me hear from you soon. If my health and other matters permit, I must try to come out with Molly be-fore very long. Mr. Keith has seen this letter and approves of my sug-gestion to have Molly with us. "Most sincerely yours, "ELIZABETH VEBNON KEITH." It was a clever letter. There were several touches about It that almost amounted to genius. The mother sug- - the ranch house when Sandy returned. Miranda and young Ed Bailey, accept-ing Westlake's advice, had sold for cash, getting fifteen thousand dollars to divide between them, refusing more glittering offers of stock. It was a windfall well worth their endeavor and they were amply satisfied. Young Ed had promptly gone to agricultural college. Miranda, Mormon and Sam were talking about this when Sandy came up. "It sure made a man of young Ed overnight" said the spinster. "He thought It out all by hlmse'f an' nigh surprised us off our feet We're plumb proud of him. "Mr. Westlake wss over day before yesterday," she went on. lie says things is boomln' up to Casey Town. There's been some good strikes, one In the claim nex' but one to ours. Keith's goln' to start things whlrlln', I reckon." "Mebbe he'll see Molly," suggested Ssm. 'Though of course she ain't to Keith's house yet" "How's thatr asked the spinster earerlv. the two guns. Bloke, be sold to bis secretary. "But he's straight." "And "'rhty hard to bend," added Blake wiui a yawn. "There were only a few s In the crowd, Blake," sold Keith. "A heop of people bear of a gold rush and think It's always a Tom Tiddler's ground, like washing out the rich sands of Nome. They'll be glad to sell and take shares for cash." "Ought to change the name of the camp," suggested Blske. "Dynamite Is known as an exploded prospect" "Thought of that," said Keith. "How about Casey Town, after the original discoverer, who always believed In the place, but lacked the money for devel-opment and wouldn't take In a part-ner? Picturesque and good stuff for the prospectuses. You might send off some stufT about that, Blake, work In this Sandy Bourke and Pllmsoll affair. Oood, lively publicity stufT, we can use again later on. Romance of Casey's daughter. Wonder where she Isr He Isrsed Into silence, swallowing his enfree In gulps. a. - a.l .Mn.tlnnfl trLnwsA "Ftgger shea goln' to marry that young Keith T I sure hate to think of Molly hltchln' up with a tenderfoot But I subscribe to Sandy's scheme on these here dividends of ours." "Count me In," said Mormon. And so the affair was settled. Of Pllmsoll little wss heard. The gambler had deserted that profession, and stayed close to his horse ranch. It lay alone, and few visited It save Plimsoll's own associates. Rumors drifted concerning Plimsoll's remark-able herd Increase of saleable horses, but, unless proof of actual operation was forthcoming, there was small chance of pinning anything down In the way of Illegal work. Wyatt once, staggering out of some blind pig In Hereford, babbled In maudlin drunk-enness of his determination to gel even with Pllmsoll for stealing his sweetheart. For Wyatt. for the sake of the girl, had gone back to Plim-soll's employ. (TO BE CONTUTUED.) sanay sna ins iruiinjnuivuo ivuuu Mormon asleep on the Bailey claims. Miranda brewed coffee, and they told her the news of Pllmsoll and the ar-rival of Keith. "It's ton bad you didn't run Pllmsoll out of the comity, or the state," re-marked the spinster. "If that man Keith wants to buy my claims I'm wlllin' to sell. Mllkln' Is more In my line than mlnln', I've decided." "Iet's hold a pow-wo- before we turn In," said Sandy. "Westlake, what do you know about Keltht Anything?" "I've heard of him. I Imagine he started out as a promoter rather than a developer. He has made some lucky strikes. There Is no doubt but that he can float this proposition on a large scale, Induce others to put money Into It. He'll put the camp on a working basis. If the gold's here that will be a sound one. There Is no doubt in my mind that Patrick Casey picked the best side of the gulch. The indications are In sight there. I would say sell these for cash. boMIn,; out on price unl'l Keith re-fuses to offer more. He'll come back for a final bid. But let him organize with your claims. Those claims are tne big bet of this camp, and be knows It." "F ifty-on- e per cent, an' the name's Molly Casey, then," satd Sandy. "What's more, you're to be consult-ing engineer or whatever they :all the fat Job, Westlake. I'm dawg rrvl. Kam, let's shack over to our claims" Sandy, Sam snd Mormon returned to the Three Star with the papers "We are waitln' fo' Sandy to show yon the letter," said Sam. Miranda read the letter through twice, folded It and held It In her lap for a few moments. Then: "I don't rightly git the motive back of this wrltln'. It ain't been sent without one. Mebbe she's Just taken a fancy to Molly, mebbe she's a wom-an that likes to do kind things and thinks Molly'll pay well for beln' taken up. I don't mean In money, but, If Molly didn't have a show of beln' rich, sn' wsrn't prltty, which she Is, I ain't certain Mrs. Keith 'ad be so eager. I guess It's all right, but, somehow. It don't hit me as plumb sincere." "You'd vote ag'in It?" asked Sandy. "No-o- . I w'udn't" "I flggered on ptittln' It up to Molly." "That's a good Idee. An', as her guardeen, I'd suggest that Mrs. Keith lives up to that half-promis- e of hers an' make It a condition she brings Molly out here Inside of six months. Thst'll give time for a fair trial an' you can see right then fo' yorenelf how It's workln'." "That's a plumb fine Idee," snld Mormon, looking triumphantly at his partners. It ran with Snndy's own wishes and he subscribed to It. Sam Indorsed It as well, and a Jptter was sent cast that night, containing the proviso of Molly's return snd another that Molly should hear all her own expenses of tuition and living. All this to hang upon Molly's own desire to make the chRnge. When Molly's letter came there ao- - She Wrote to tha Three Star Ranch, to Sandy Bourke, Guardian of Molly Casey. gestlon, the need of companionship and advice from an older woman, all went home; though It was some time before the trio entirely absorbed the meaning of the glosxy phraes and glib vocdbulary. The letter passed about in silence after Sandy had read It, Sum and Mormon plowing through the maze of the fashionable script "Iteckon she's right," said Mormon. "Molly's different She had a mighty KEELER, AT 80, GOES TO WORK - After fourteen y,ears of enforced Idleness because of 111 health, J. H. 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The Unynl Institute of British Architects has granted a bronze medal every year for the finest street frontage built within four miles of Charing Cross. It was won this year by W. Curtis Green, for Wolsely house, Piccadilly. More than a score of fine buildings were considered by the Jury: Earl Crawford, Sir Aston Webb, Paul Sir Reginald Blomfleld and F. Guy Dawber. The qunllty looked for was not commercial but aesthetic and architectural. Liverpool und Man-chester already have schemes for re-warding their beiuitlflcrs. London Mall. Map Set Floor In Contour. The first successful contour map of a deep sea sone has Just been com-pleted by hydrngro pliers of the United , States government. It shows the sub-merged hills, valleys and cliffs over 34,000 square miles of the bed of the Pacific oeeun. Some men get out of practice be-cause they spend nil their time preach-ing. WISDOM IN SHORT CHUNKS Author Has Said Much Worth Con. sideration In a Few Simple Sentences. 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They had astronomical observatories, an accurate calendar and a better sys-tem of numerals than the Romans. Thought for the Day. The fellow who never does any more than he la paid to do seldom has much to da. |
