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About The Springfield news. (Springfield, Lane County, Or.) 1916-2006 | View Entire Issue (June 9, 1921)
77ie Homesteader Copyright All Rlfbta lUesrrsd CHAPTER X Continued. 1 ITarrls mot his eon on the platform. "What d'ye think, Dad? A letter from Riles." lie drew the crumpled missive from Its envelope. "Looks like a laun dry ticket," he said, "but I figured It out, and he wants you to sell the farm and buy a coal mine." Harris rend the letter through, not without some difficulty. At first he was Inclined to laugh, but the earnest ness of Riles Impressed him through the makeshift English. "What d'ye think of It. PadT said the younger man, at length. "Of course we don't know apythlng about coal, but then " "It must look good to Klles or he wouldn't want to put any money In It." commented Harris, after a few min utes' reflection. "Riles Is pretty cau tious. He's got money In the bank drawln' three per cent ; he's afraid to lend It out among the farmers. And he ain't easy talknl Into a new scheme, either." "D'ye suppose we could sell the farmr The Idea of a big, profitable speculation suddenly appealed to Al lan with much greater force Chan the prospect of three years on a - -roe-stead. lie knew that vajt sums of money had been made, and made quickly, In the Far West, but he had never before thought of himself or his father sharing In this sudden wealth. "D'ye suppose we could sell the farm?" he repeated. It began to seem that the short-cut to wenlth hinged on the possibility of selling the farm. "I guess we could sell It, all right." said Harris. "Maybe not for that much cash, but we can get cash on the agreement. If we net : It." He was not a man to act precipitately, or rltk all on a single throw unless he were very, very sure of the result "Of course, mayin It's all right" he continued. "But It's a good thing to buy your buggy before you throw away your cart If this thing's as good as Hues says. It will keep until we can fee It for ourselves. If It don't some tLIn' else'll turn up." "Yes." said Allan, "but If we find It's all right when we get there, and we've only a few measly hundred dol lars along, we'll want to kick our selves all the way home. Lots of fel lows are making big money Just be cause they had some capital to work with, and why shouldn't we do It too? Couldn't you fix It some way to get the money without coming back. If every thing looks all right? That'd save time and expense, too." "There's something In that There's time to see Brndshaw yet before the .train comes. We'll kind o' leave It Btandln' In his hands." They made a hurrhd call on Erad shaw, and asked him to be on the look out for a buyer for the farm. "Mind, I'm not actu'Hy puttin It up for Eale," Harris cautioned blm, "but I want you keep your eye open for a buyer. Forty thousand dollars takes the whole thing ns a goln concern, an' . the more cash the better. Get a line on Je buyer If ye can, and If I send you word to sell, you sell, and If I don't send you word, don't do anythln. You understand?" The lawyer wrote something on a sheet of paper. "This Is a power of at torney, which will enable me to com plete the documents wLhout the delay of sending them to you, If you should decide to sell," he explained. Harris signed the paper, and Allan witnessed It With this undtrstnndine the Jour ney westward wnj undertaken, id completed without e.ent of Impor tance. Riles met them on the station plat form. He had met every train for a week, as It had been agreed that It would be better that the Hansses should not visit Gardiner's ranch until plans were more fully developed. Jim was still there, atid Gardiner Insisted that Jim should not meet Harris at present. He allowed Riles to think that he feared trouble If former em ployer and employee should meet ; as a matter of fact, he feared thot If their coal mine proposition should reach the ears of Truvers the young mun would attempt to dissuade Harris from hav ing anything to do with It, or at least would urge a fuller Investigation than might be desirable. Besides, he mennt to make of Truvers an unwitting party to the affair. Riles, In overalls and shirt-sleeves, leaned against the Iron rail at the back t.t ttiA Ktntlon nlntform. his bis hand stuffed In the bulging band of his trousers, and his under-Jaw busy with an ample ration ot tobacco. He watched the pussengers alighting from the train with little Interest; be had no particular expectation of meetlnj Harris on this occasion, and. If the truth be told, he had little desire to meet him. Riles had no pang of con science over his part in the plot against his old neighbor, but he had an uneasy feeling of cowardice. When suddenly his eye fell on Harris and his big. strapping son, his first Impulse was to slip away In the crowd before they should notice him. But It was only for a moment; the next Harris was catling. "To. Hiram," and the two were shaking hands as old friends met in a far country. "Dldja get my letter?" asked Riles, Ignoring the commonplaces with which It was their custom to Introduce toy Important topic. "Dldja sell the farm?" "I got the letter. Hiram, "jut I didn't sell the farm. Thought we'd Just have a look Over this coal mine before goln' Into the business altogether." "H-s-h. Throttle your voice down. This place Is full of men on the look out for somethln' like that an you can't keep It too dark until It's all settled." "Well, ain't we going to rut up somewhere?" said Allan, breaking the silence that followed Riles warning. "There ought to be an Alberta hotel here, somewhere. I saw one In every town for the last two hundred miles." "I got that beat." said Riles, with a snicker. "Bonrdln" on a lord, or duke, or somethln'." "Don't snyr "Yeh. You mind Gardner? Him at lit out from Flalnvllle after that stenlln affair?" "The one yon got credit for beln' mixed np In?" said Allan, with dis concerting frankness. "A lame kind of a lord he'd make. What about hlmr Well. he struck a soft . thing out here, to' sure. This lord I'm tellln' 1 V' "Does Taste Kind o Harris. Snaky," Said you about's gone off home over some bloomln' estate or other, an' Gard'ner's running his ranch his 'bloody-well rnwnch' he calls It. Gets a good fat wad for rldln' round, an hires a man to do the work. Rut it was Gard'ner put me on t this conl mine deal." "Let's get settled first, and well talk about Gardiner and the mine aft erward," said Harris, and they Joined the throng that was now wending Its way to the hotels. "How's your thirst, Hiram?" In quired Harris, after he had registered. "Pretty sticky," confessed Riles. "But they souk you a quarter to wash It out here." "Well, I got a quarter." "A quarter apiece, I mean." "Well, I got a quarter uplcce," snld Harris. "Come on." Riles followed, astonishment over Harris' sudden liberality, and misgiv ing ns to how he himself could avoid a similar expenditure, struggling for uppermost place In his mind. "I'retty strong stuff they have here," ho suld, after Harris and Allan had "set 'cm up" In turn. "Keel you over If you don't watch It." "Does tnste kind o' snaky," suld Harris. "Guess that's enough for this time. Now come upstairs and tell us all about this deal you have on." When the travelers had thrown off their coats and vests, and all were seated In the little bedroom, Riles cleared his throat "Well, there ain't much t' tell yuh, fly ROBERT J. G K STEAD "T Cow CvI more'n I said In in' letter," he stnrtcd. "As I snld. It's Gard'ner you'll have f thnnk for this thing, good or bad. I ain't a conl miner, an' I told Mm that, an' I told hlra you wasn't neither, but he says that don't mnke no difference. He says there's all kinds o money In It, an I reckon that's what we came out here for, ain't It?" "Yea, provided the thing's sound." said Harris. "Anyone can see with half an eye that there's caster ways of maktng money than bustln' up this prnlrle sod for It. Rut you and me've worked hard for what we've got Hiram, and we want t' go mighty care ful about spendln' It." - "I wi p pose you've sent home word to sell your farm, have youl" put In Allan. "You'll be chipping In at the same time?" "Oh, yes, I'll be chlpplti In. Of course. But I didn't Just say to sell the farm yet I'll have t' get back an' straighten things up somo first. You see, I thought you'd get my letter be fore you left, an' you could kind o' make your deal then, an your pay ment would hold the bargain bound until I could sell mine, y' see, Har ris?" Riles was beginning to address himself mainly to the older man. "Don't take mo up wrong." snld Al lan. "I'm In on this along with Dad. If he's In ; an If he's out. I'm out Rut I was Just kind o' curious a boot It" "It's all right. It's all right" as sure! Riles, with great mognnnlmtty. Inwardly he was cursing Gardiner for having left this tnsk to Mm. He was suspicions of a trnp In the simplest qnestlon, and fenred that any minute he might find himself floundering In a mesh of contradictions. "Where Is this conl mine, and who's got It?" said Harris. "I ain't saw It myself," admitted Riles. "They're awful p'tlc'lar about lettln people see It," he continued, with a sudden flnsh of Inspiration. "It's so vnltt'blo. y' know." " 'Frnld somebody'!! bring It home In their pocket, I suppose," said Al lan. Riles pretended to lunch heartily. "But where Is It?" Insisted" Harris. "Is there a rnllrond near, or how do yon get at It?" "It's up In the mountains, an that's all I enn tell you; but It's all right an' there's a pile o' money In It. 1 guess I better bring Gard'ner down In the morning, on' he'll expluln all nbout it Y' see, lie knows tho fcllo-v 'at owns It, an' I don't, an he'll bo able to tell you. Thnt Is, If you're goln' In on It. Gnrd'ner won't sa much unless lie knows you're goln' In on It." "Well, he'll hove to sny a good den' before he knows," said Harris. "I ain't buyln a pig In a poke. He's got t' Ehow me, and then If It's nl! right, why. It's nil right." "Oh. It's nil right." snld Biles, al though Inwardly he felt llttlo enthu siasm over th. attitude of either fn ther or son. He was annoyed that Al lan should be present. On the whole, It would be better to leave the rest of the explaining to Gardiner. "What d'ye think of It. Dad?" said Allnn, when Riles was gone. "May be all right," fold Harris. "Wouldn't be surprised but It Is. At EASTERN CANADA UNDER ICE Professor Asserts It Was Covered a Mile Deep Forty Thousand Years Ago. Trof. A. F. Coleman of the faculty of applied science and engineering of the University of Toronto, whose hobby Is studying the Ice age. and who has toured mnny countries In his re search work, believes the ice age was present lit Cnnndn about 40,000 years ago. As a result of his Inspection of the rock and mountains of the ter ritory of Onspe, In eastern Canada, where there aro valuable fishing grounds, he had been convinced thnt the Ice which hns covered that part of Cunada to n depth of about a mile, never pnssed over that portion of east ern Canada. The fchlck-Shock mountains, which are reully a continuation of the Appa lachian range, are the backbone of Cnspe, and the highest land of eastern Cnnudn. Professor Colemnn did find, however, that a great glacial sheet had died the Gulf of the St. Law rence. He hns nlso found that the front range of the Rocky mountains hns been pushed seven miles Into the prairie. Professor Coleman was probably one of the first scientists to visit Gaspe, despite the fact thut the French land ed there centuries ago. the same time, 1 atn t goln' to put a cent In It till I'm dead sure. And any way, there's mi use lettlu' Riles think we're Vcn on It" "That's what I think. Ton think Gnrdlner's all square In It?" "1 don't know. Likely he's gctllnq a fat commission from somewhere, but that's fair enough, If he makes the deal. Bui ho won't sco any o' our money till I have the opinion of the best lawyer In town. That's all we can say till we see It." "What d'ye sny If we sell the old farm anyway, an' then If this mine business don't lonk good, we'll plunk It Into farm land?" "Might do worse." his father agreed. "Well have a look round for a day or two, anyway." In the afternoon Gardiner and Riles drove Into town and met the llnrrlses In the waiting room of the hotel. Gardiner's greeting wns .'rlendly, but not overfnmlllar, as became a man who had recently suffered somo reflec tion on his character. He shook Har ris and Allan by the hand, Inquired after the cattle and the crops, but dis creetly avoided family matters. hav Ing learned from Riles that all had not been going smoothly In their do mestic affair. Gardiner knew a little room at the back of the bnr, to which he escorted his guests. Having or- tlered a bottle and Elnsse on the table, he turned the key In the door. "You can't be too careful." he ex plained. "You know, the walls have cars, and If It gets out that this conl mine can be picked up at the price we have on It. It will be taken before nttrht. I nndoratnnd vour money Is not here yet. Mr. Harris?" "No. Not started 1 guess. The fact Is. I haven't sold the farm." "Well. 1 don't want to hurry you, but you've got to act quickly, or not at all. Of course, we don't figure on luklna nnv chances. Our Idea Is to m - turn tho property over at once, at a good profit That's the way you feel about It too, Isn't It?" "I'm not a conl miner." "Exactly. Neither are tho men who own most of the mines of this coun try. There comes a time, Mr. Harris, when e rcntlte that we don't have to uot ilovn with nl rk and shovel to make ourselves some money In fact the man with pick and shovel hasn't time to make any real money. I am glad you feel like I do about It for I have nlreadytaken the liberty or put tinir the proposition UP to a New York syndicate." Von mean If we don t come through, they will?" (TO UB CONTINUED) The Enallsh Vocabulary The number of English words not yet obsolete, but found In good authors. or In approve'! ucngo iy correal Feiikors, Including the nomenclature of science and the arts, noes not prui ably fall short of Kio.OOO. Few writers or sneakers use as mnny as 10.0UO words, ordinary persons of fair Intel licence not nbovo three or four thou snnd. If a scholar were to be required to name, without examination, the authors whose English vocnbulnry was the largest, ho would specify the all embracing Shakespeare, and the all knowing -Milton. And yet In all the works of Iho great dramatist there 4!m not morn tlinn l.YOtO words: In the poems of Milton not above 8.000 The whole number of Egyptian hiero glyphic symbols does not exceed ROO. and the entire Italian operatic vocab ulary Is said to bo scarcely more ex tensive. Georgo 1'erklns Marsh. A Sllnht Compensation, "A man In theso times can bo well roasted." 'But he can't be stewed." Don't forget thnt a shallow brain often operates a fluent tongue. Employed Two Parachutes. Though the design and operation of parachutes hnve been tho subject of prnctlcnl experiments since the eight eenth century, tho American air serv Ice Is the first. It Is believed, to test the action and Interaction of para chutes used In pairs, says Popular Mechanics Magazine. In experiment performed at Mllclul field, Long Is land, N. Y., a sergeant strapped one parachute on his buck, as usual, and a second on his chest Thus encum bered, he wns cnrrled, In n two-sen tor plane, to a height of approximately one mile. Here he walked out on a wing, pulled tho release of tho rear ward chute, and stepped Into space, The white bag opened nicely, and he drifted down to within less than 1,000 feet. Here ho pulled tho second re lease, and the second parachute open ed above til in without entangling or In terferlng with the first. Weather Influences Moods. Most city workers who have thought about It agree that they do their work best In windy weuther, The reason Is simple. Calm weather fills the at rnosphere with tho poisonous carbonic acid gas thnt Is produced by humnn breathing. A wind sweeps this away and replace It with stimulating oxy gen. Artlficnlly produced oxygen Is now used In Home offices with the ob ject of abolishing "that tired feeling' among the employees. PUEBLO IS SWEPT BY HEW THEIIT Skagway Reservoir Goes Out; River Again Rampant. RAINFALL IS HEAVY Loss of Life Is Estimated Variously at From 100 Minimum l'p to 600. City I'ndcr Martla! Law.. ruebto. Colo. Just when Pueblo Sunday was beginning to recover from tho terrible disaster of Friday night, a dam on tho Fountain river, near Colorado Springs, broke, the Skagway reservoir, between Florence and vic tor, suddenly gave way, and a down pour of rain, almost a cloudburst, caused what really amounted to threo new floods. At 2:30 o'clock In the afternoon the Skagway reservoir gave wuy and with in an hour tho swollen torrent of tho Arkansas river again had Inundated the low lying sections of tho city. A downpour of rain again began at 9 o'clock. Tho downpour amounted al most to a cloudburst. Whether or not the ruin followed the course of the Arkunsas river above Pueblo could not bo learned because of the dark ness. At 4 o'clock Sunday morning the waters again had reached Third street. By 8 o'clock they were receding and It was believed all danger was ended. Then Skagway reservoir broko and brought tho second new flood. The river went up to Third street on North Santa Fo avenuo again, fol lowing tho heavy rain and tho break of tho reservoir am! tho dam. Tho wuters went to Sixth street and Mnln street. Iter they receded. Tho Arkansas river reached Fifth and Court streets, the hlghent It has been since tho flood when tho'water renched Fifth and Main streets. At 10:25 tho river was reported at Its crest and beginning to subside. Thcro was not tho rush of water which accompanied Friday's flood. Fear was expressed for the safety of people living In towns on tho Arkansas river below Pueblo. Thero wns no way of confirming It from hero. It was Impossible to get Into other sections of the city or out of tho city from the south. The heavy ruins aguln made the roads almost lmpnssublo. J. I j. Mooreheud, secretary to the governor, said ho thought tho death list would not exceed 100, although reports to him ranged Irom 200 to COO. The local Red Cross set a minimum death list of 100, while old residents, familiar with conditions In tho Grove and Peppersuuco district, where the loss of life and property damage was greatest, Insisted that final Investiga tion would show a greater number of dead. Trees and musses of debris were coming down from tho country above Pueblo on the crest of tho new flood. Troops quickly cleared the business and wholesale districts. Citizens were prevented from coming within a block of tho waters, while every effort was made to prevent loss ot life from the new danger. Denver Is Inundated. Denver, Colo. At midnight Sunduy the Plutte river hero went out of Its bunks and began flooding several blocks of the west side residential district. Tho overflow wus greatest In the vicinity of West Eleventh avenuo and Umatilla street. Several squads ot pollco were sent to thut locullty to assist residents In moving out of their homes. Threo families were cured for at tho city hall. Syracuse, Kan. A telephono mes sago from Holly, Colo., stated thnt tho flro whlstlo wus blowing a warning to the people to floo to the hills. Water wus reported rushing Into tho city. The Amity dam, five miles west of tho city, was reported to havo given away. The telephono operator reports Amity washed away with a posslblo loss of life. Four persons who were detailed to keep driftwood from the piers ot a bridge wero reported to have gone down with tho bridge,