Show A a R aam atm 1 haw N r em W esol MW VL aft MF N by mas mae poster foster jay by W A wild 00 oo service CHAPTER XI continued 20 1 I mean behind the new little lines around your eyes and the tiredness in them the lines under them that tell on you of insomnia 1 rocking your boat dents denis primarily the Mir european war with the upset to stability and the fear that we may become involved payments are not coming in added to that our expenses of maintenance are out of proportion tp to the size of our community we still have enormous development costs to meet our payroll la Is twenty thousand dollars a month there la Is the interest to be met mei on the borrowed money with which I 1 bought the ranch P borrowed mary help it she had to ask the outright question 1 I thought your million was given to you by by some conscienceless nut 11 ile he looked at her quickly 1 I say that did I 1 1 I 1 I 1 was thinking you did As a matter of fact he explained in a somewhat puzzled tone ton e 1 I might have had the money gratis though I 1 could swear L never mentioned it to a soul I 1 accept I 1 it of course except as a loan what fun would there have been in the garne game it if I 1 had had a million exactly what I 1 thought though till 1 it escaped involuntarily as a great wave of exuberance swept mary diary money dennys godl god 1 what do you mean he be was demanding 1 I mean site she tried to extricate herself with frank truthfulness that we have another slant on life ilfe in common denny but you see I 1 understand der stand what was waa making it so hard for you thinking you had such a generous stake but youve youre heard me worry about my payments ments 11 1 I figured things out I 1 never gave much thought to money matters denny you doubt me would you lady he teased she slipped a hand under his on the wheel she believed him film dear godl she believed she even need corroboration from her father A few moments later she asked cant you get more time on your payments 1 I have mr brown has been more than generous but there are still the payrolls to meet with ever dwindling income and so far as I 1 can judge no chance of a pickup pick up of economic conditions perhaps for years but with his never falling failing optimism come out all right eventually mary suggested mischievously im sure our hostess of tonight would be glad to help you denny 1 I 1 wish I 1 could flatter myself that there was jealousy in your heart young lady I 1 could I 1 put it there by telling you that im sure shed come to my rescue shall you let her lightly but if denny did if he didi did I 1 1 I shall not why 1 I dont want a million with a girl attached or vice versa asked mary cryptically ti vice versa goes too his eyes eye Is meeting hers ardently A cold little shiver swept mary na he would be like that she could take a million dollars worth of worry off dennys shoulders right now just by calling the project ours oural I 1 he need not worry about payments nor interest what if she should suggest it how flow denny would run I 1 there was nothing for tier her to do but wait until ho he had won out years perhaps she must pretend just to drift if she aldna want to lose him altogether I 1 he alighted and opened the door for her amary mary these are hard days for me but I 1 glory in them I 1 and do you know what gives me courage to go on his face a ce tn in the moonlight was exalted a ted transported what denoy denny your faith in me maryl oh I 1 you dont know you have it sweet but lva its there I 1 see it in your eyes in your smile in the lift of your shining head I 1 what gives zest to the battle fighting it for you I 1 his words his bis attitude making the golden wall between them more un an with a little cry mary reached up and drew his face down to her pressed her cheek against it tor for a moment and ran inside A week later the engineers of the paradise valley project arrived at their offices one morning to find end a pink slip upon each desk A pink slip the off official iclal notice of dismissal the project then had gone Il looey flo oey I 1 all work was waa suspended the beautiful dream had petered out according to prophecy CHAPTER XII goodby to paradise valley the bottom had dropped out of the world the engineers looked at each other some shrugged some protested test d some doubted their own eyes mary brown dug her nails into the palms of her clenched brown hands dents denis coul dikA fall like this fall and then dents was waa there among them not denis the dreamer dents denis tho the hardheaded hard headed business man he was very white very resolute very determined now he was telling them tersely in substance what he previously had told mary adding were down but never out I 1 will finish this thing it if it finishes me my only way out now is the bonding plan which merely means the borrowing of a large sum of money to carry us on the bonds to be paid off as delayed payments from purchasers come in im fighting to put over this issue leaving immediately for my third session with the corporations commission in the meantime andrue me these pink slips are dismissals only if you wish to consider them so call them suspensions if you like stay here if you can and if work opens up again he corrected himself when work opens up again the jobs are yours but there a cent at present for engineers salaries however there are a few jobs of maintenance that must go on OIL there must be night watchmen janitors et cetera if any of you feel it not beneath your dignity to do such things temporarily there will be laborers wages hilton dorsey spoke there are arc details of engineering which must be looked after mr air craig they cant be looked after hilt not for a while casually but with finality hilt said then im still seeing to them denny there wont be any salary available perhaps for months hilts nice boyish grin widened ills ells eyes war warmed with affection 1 I guess I 1 can worry along a while denny that touched spiritual look which mary before had find seen aroused by beauty suffused dents denis craigs face ile he made no reply guess there wont be any danger of the greeks going nor of buildings being carried off in the night craig said jim moore others spoke up similarly and denis craig the eloquent the spellbinder opened his lips closed them opened them again to utter something that had to do with thanking and loyalty and hurried from the room mary drown brown had stood among the others silent trying rather unsuccessfully to keep her heartsickness heart sickness from her eyes the bottom may have dropped out of the world for the rest of the engineers engl nee rs for her it had dropped out of heaven how long would it be now her buzzer sounded she was summoned to denis craigs office dents denis stood in the center of the room looking not at all beaten looking like a nordic god I 1 darling you cant go away from herel here I 1 cant you be mad with me now dow 7 overwhelmingly gloriously mad cant you shut your eyes to reason and orthodoxy and marry me today go up to the city with me and marry me Denn denny 1 to do that thing 1 to marry him today just as mury mary brown letting him discover the batty bally millions when she was his wife his wife why not why not mary shut her eyes against the sweet vision that would be madness denny 1 she said tightly it would it to give the world a chance to say that the promoter had got out of a hole by marrying a rich girl wonderful maan madness q wed move out to hope of heaven and honey there are berries on the hills and game in the canyon to live upon and the proverbial love lova denny dont I 1 how could she hold bold out against him 1 I 1 cant do lt it denny 1 mary cried doggedly he looked at her keenly why not 1 I 1 I cant tell you I 1 his eyes narrowed for gi a moment there was almost a cynical curve to his bis lips almost disillusionment in his eyes 1 I thought we had the same slant on life mary there might bo be a difference a little difference she faltered just the difference in slant on a mere million dollars if that million belonged to mary brown but marys lips curved wistfully as she spoke and her voice trembled and dents denis craig recovered his unfailing optimism all right dear 11 with his old teasing tenderness if it still has to be proved to you well prove it well drift along but mary it if you wont be wholly mad be mad enough for this stay on as telephone central until were able to go ahead with the engineering asas As as telephone cen central trall 1 ma mary ry giggled she help it it it was so eo deliciously funny now here was waa adventure Is it too severe a test of loyalty dents denis was smiling look for your answer when you come back bach from the city I 1 mary hashed flashed at him with that she ran from the office would she be dennys telephone central shed be his scrub lady if it would keep her near him I 1 she went back to her map shed the thing A few of the boys were at work but hy by noon desks were closed blueprints blue prints estimates and plana plan were filed away drafting tables were bare bam there would be no more ress resa reports the married engineers had gone home to tell their wives that moving day had come again mary could vision these thesa homecomings home comings TO nn CONTINUED |