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SYNOPSIS. I TAPTER I?K. C. Rickard, an englof the Overland Pacific, is called to office of President Marshall in TucAriz. "Casey" is an enigma to the ? force; he wears "dude" clothes, he had resigned a chair of engineerin the East to go on the road as a nan and his promotion had been speclar. While waiting for Marshall Rlckreads a report on the ravages of the rado, despite the efforts of Thomas din of the Desert Reclamation comy. This Hardin had been a student er Rickard and had married Gerty mes, with whom Rickard had fancied *as in love. IAPTER II?Marshall tells Rickard Overland Pacific has got to step In ave the Imperial Valley and sends to the break. Rickard declines bee he does not want to supplant Harbut is won over. "Stop the riveiy .n the expense," saja. Marshall. CHAPTER Til?Rickard Journeys to Calexlco, sees the Irrigated desert an& learns much about Hardin and his work. CHAPTER IV?At the hotel he meets Mr. and Mrs. Hardin and Innes Hardin, Hardin's half sitter. Disappointed in her husband and an incorrigible coquette, Mrs. Hardin sets her cap for her former lover and invites him to dinner. CHAPTER V?Rickard visits the company's offices and takes control. He finds the engineers loyal to Hardin and hostile to him. Estrada, a Mexican, son of the "Father of the Imperial Valley," tells him of the general situation. CHAPTER V. (Continued From Last Friday "I want you to do something for me, not at all agreeable!" His tone implied that the boy was not given the chance to beg off. "What time does the train pull out in the morning?" "Six-fifteen." iTll have a letter for you at the hotel at six. Be on time. I want to catch Hardin before he leaves for Los Angeles. If he's really going. Til give him today to think It over. But he cant disregard an order as he did my Invitation. I didn't want to rub it In before the men." stared, then.said that he FARM FOR & 87 ACRES?12 mile McCormick Con of W. D. Morral 140 ACRES?About: ville, no improv< and timber. 79 3-4 ACRES?3 mi one settlement? on place. Plenty < running through 4 227 1-2 ACRES?l: villp This is a sn I' ? -'JC erty. A lot of sav 100 1-2 ACRES?IS ville. Good resid ings. Well atere and timber. Pi 189 1-4 ACRES?1 ville. A splend provements, abo torn lands. P 541 ACRES?1-2 m mile from Calhc Povm Vv/n'n m1 Annv Ij.axj.il juciiig upci Lies well, is well abundance of w< Pr Can Arrar ROBERT MXw- . ,,v. I TVERj r > EDNAH I AIKEN A j^t-nan t / nAmdA/v' l //IL tVfOU77W/?* <--? | thought he was not likely" to ! Rickard left the office in time to see Hardin shutting the outer gate behind him. His exit released a chorus of indignant voices. "An outrage!" "A d d shame!" This from Wooster. "Hardin's luck!" On the other side of the door Rickard deliberated. The hotel and its curious loungers, or his new office, where Ogilvie was making a great show of occupation. He had not seen Estrada. He was making a sudden dive for his hotel when the gentle voice of the Mexican hailed him. "Will you come to-my car? It's on the sidiD? right here.' We can have a little lunch and then look over some 1 maps togetner. x nave some pictures of the river and the gate. They may be new to you." t < Rickard spent the afternoon In the > car. The twin towns did not seem so 1 hostile. He thought he might like the Mexican. 1 Estrada was earning his father's ? mantle. He was the superintendent 1 of the road which the Overland Pa- ^ cific was building between the twin 2 towns and the Crossing; a director of the Desert Reclamation company, and the head of a small subsidiary com- ] pany which had been created to pro- 1 tect rights and keep harmonious rela- i tion with the sister country. Rickard i found him full of meat, and heard, for i the first time consecutively, the story i of the rakish river. Particularly Interesting to him was the relation of i Hardin to the comnanv. I J "He has the bad luck, that manT 1 exclaimed Estrada's soft, musical voice. "Everything is in his hands, capital is promised, and he goes to New York to have the papers drawn up. The day he gets there the Maine Is destroyed. Of course capital is shy. He's had- the de.vi.Va. owa. luck, with LANDS UJE..... , ] m^= i 1 t 1 is from Abbeville, in ! mty, adjoining lands J i. rice, $30.00 per acre. j six miles from Abbesments, all in wood j1 ! i Price, $25 per acre. les irom Abbeville? i, -two horse farm open j wood, and stream place. Price, $2,000.00. L miles from Abbe- ; lendid piece of prop- > 7 timber on this place < rice, $17.50 per Acre. j \ I miles from Abbeience and out build- \ d and plenty wood rice, $30.00 per acre. ] 0 miles from Abbe- \ id farm but no im- 5 ,,4- rr a /?a ut tiu ur uv inures uut- j rice, $18.00 per acre. ile from Hester, one nm Falls. 15 horse ated on the place. I watered and has an . i ji i / joci ana timoer. ice, $40.00 per acre. ige Terms ' S. LINK | Sen: Gifford, honest" but mulish; Sather, mulish and not honest?oh, there's a string of them. Once he vent to Hermosillo to get an option on ny father's lands. They were already covered by an option held by some nen in Scotland. Another man would lave waited for the three months to pass. Not Hardin. He went to Scotand, thought he'd Interest those men fvith his maps and papers. He owned ill the data then. He'd made the surrey." Estrada repeated the story Brandon ind Marshall had told, with little discrepancy. A friendly refrain followed :he narrative. "He has the bad luck, :hat man!" "And the Scotched option?" reminded Rickard, smiling at his own poor loke. "It was just that. A case of Hardin uck again. He stopped off in London to interest some capital there; followng up a lead developed on the steamer. ne was never a man to neglect a chance. Nothing came of it, though, ind when he reached Glasgow he found his man had died two days before?or been killed, I've forgotten ivhich. Three times Hardin's crossed the ocean trying to corner the opportunity he thought he h?d found. It isn't laziness, Is his trouble. It's just infernal luck." "Or over-astuteness, or procrastination," criticized his listener to himself. He knew now what it was that had ?o changed Hardin. A man cannot travel, even though he be hounding 3own a quick scent, without meeting strong influences. He had been thrown tvith hard men, strong men. It was in Inevitable chiseling, not a miracle. "I want to hear more of this some Jay. But this map. I don't understand what you told me of this byaass, Mr. Estrada. Their heads were still bending over Estrada's rough work bench when the Japanese cook announced that dinner ivas waiting In the adjoining car. MacLean and Bodefeldt and several poung engineers joined them. It had been outwardly a wasted day. Rickard had lounged, socially and physically. But before he turned in that night he had learned the names and dispositions of his force, and some of their prejudices. Nothing, he Bummed up, could be guessed ^from the gentleness of the Mexican's manner; Wooster's antagonism was open and snappish. Silent was to be watched, and Hardin had already shown his band. The river, as he thought of it, appeared the least formidable of his opponents. He was imaging it as a highspirited horse, maddened by the fumbling of its would-be captors. His task it was to lasso the proud stallion, lead it In bridled to the sterile land. No wonder Hardin was sore; his noose bad slipped olf one time too manyl Eardln's luck I CHAPTER VI. Red Tape. At ten o'clock the next morning Hariln, entering the office, again the gensral manager's, found there before him George MacLean, the new director, and P#?rr?v Rnhfock. the treasurer, who had been put in by the Overland Pacific when the old company was reorganized. They had jnst come in from Los A.ngeles, the trip made in MacLean's jrivate car, to attend a director's meetng. Rickard entered a few minutes later, Estrada behind him. Ogilvie followed Rickard to his desk. "Well?" inquired the new manager. Ogilvie explained lengthily that he had the minutes of the last meeting. "Leave them here." Rickard waved tiim toward Estrada, who held out his hand for the papers. Reluctantly the accountant relinquished the papers. His retreating roattails looked ludicrously whipped but no one laughed. Hardin's scowl deepened. "Showing his power," he thought "He's going to call for a new pack." Estrada pushed the minutes through with but a few unimportant interruptions. He was sitting at the same desk with Rickard. Hardin, sensitive and sullen, thought he saw the meeting managed between them. Several times he attempted to bring the tangled affairs of the water jompanies before the directors. Rickard tvould not discuss the water companies. "Because he's not posted! He's beginning to see what he's up against," :an Hardin's stormy thoughts. He was on his feet the next minike ivith a motion to complete the Hardin tieadgate. Violently he declaimed to Babcock and MacLean his wrongs, the injustice that had been done him. Marshi.li had let that fellow Maltland convince him that the gate was not pracicable; had it not been for him the fate would be in place now; all this ime and money saved. And the Maitnnd rinm hnflt Inctonrl ' Whprp was t? Where was the money, the time, )ut In that little toy? Sickening! His 'ace purpled over the memory. Why vas be allowed to begin again with he gate? "Answer me that. Why vas I allowed to begin again? It's all ;hild's play, that's what it is. And vhen I am in it again up to my neck le pulls me off!" This was the real Hardin, the un:outh, overaged Lawrence student 1 rhe new manner was just a veneer, ilickard had been expecting it to wear hin. "I think," Interjected Rickard, "that ve all agree with Mr. Marshall, Mr. lardln, that a wooden headgate on silt 'oundatlon could never be more than t makeshift I understood that the irst day he visited the river with you le had. theL idea to put the .ultimate gate, the gate which would control tl water supply of the valley, up at t Crossing on rock foundation. Mr. M? shall does not expect to finish that time to be of first use. He hopes tl wooden gate will solve the Immedia problem. It was a case of any port a storm. He has asked me to repo my opinion." "Why doesn't he give me a chan to go ahead then?" growled the d posed manager. "Instead of lettii the intake widen until it will be an ii possibility to confine the river the at all?" "So you do think that it will be ! impossiblity to complete the gate planned?" Hardin had run too fast "I didi mean that," he stammered. "I me! it will be difficult if we are delay much longer." (T0 be Continued Friday.) RAILROADS NOT LAYING OFF MEN GENERAL1 Washington, March 7.?Railros i generally are not laying off emploj ' as a result of the failure of congr< "o appropriate funds for the railro administration, it was stated at t office of Director General Hines. few cases of dismissal of a number men have been reported to hez i Wt ITheC is now departr Spring E c. I t There gramei to hav them c HADI I REAL I city property. Th House and Lot?In City of A beville, about one-half m from Court House, on Sou Main Street, near Cott mill. Lot about one acre house has store 21x72 fe and 12 rooms with all mode conveniences; also two-roc tenant house, warehous stables, feed and carria; house. $4,0i Also the stock of genex merchandise in the abo store. SUBURBAN LOTS?Am offt ing several lots in the sout ern section of the city of A beville at exceptional ba 156 ACRE TRACT?Located ? miles Southeast of Abbevil s. u. six room aweinng, room tenant house, bar About 2-horse farm rent* for this year. Good botto land, plenty ashe wood ai timber. Price $4,40 k? quarters here, but in each case, it ir. was stated, the reasons were local in and related to operating conditions he rather than to the financial predicate ment. in irt Railroad administration officials | explained that there is no intention i ce of issuing specific instructions for-, bidding the dismissal of employes i nor to make any general investigation r<? of cases in which men have been laid off. Reginal directors, however, mya id 1 make inquiries in any cases where it asi : i't! in I 1 FERT11 I -Y I represent the . j Works, of Charlesto ids 7 | hand a gocd stock, hard to gee a little lal he in supplying your ne< A of ROBT. ]harm of being exemplified r nent ot our store.., )resses^Sprii jring Coat St is distinctive style its and we will be e you come in a ? >ver * Miss Ellis has charge of our Millinery Department again this season. If you wish an early Spring hat, come in and have her fit you up. )ON-WILSC HHBBIHnBDHHi STATE $ ese are good investmentsb TWO GOOD RESIDENCES? ile on North Main Street, for ^ sale. Ask for prices. ACRE LOT?In Fort Pickens. Good location. Price __$600. oil 1 o ATDCC n milop Snnfll k A -S* UUiVd K/VV?V.? set of Abbeville, two tenant m houses, barn, well; 15 acres >m bottoms, 150,000 feet sawtimber. Two horse farm alse, ready rented for 1919. ge Price per acre $25.00 00 6-ROOM RESIDENCE?On S. "al Main St., containing 4 acres, ve more or less. Good barn, 1 tenant house, rat proof crib, jr_ with branch running through ^ property. Cheap at $2,100.00 ion ?fDC TDAPT WU1, Jj. 16V /1VIV1-I ? I-? ?! Ibii gwu ,r_ residence, tenant house, barn 4 11 miles from Abbeville, le South. 5 miles from Troy. 3. Price $3,000.00. 2 Jno. F. Su id 0. Abbeville, appears undesirable to decrease the working forces. Director Geneal Hines' statement that he plans to continue ailroad operations as usual to avoid disturbance of industrial and employment conditions have been circulate damong railroad executives and it is the belief at railroad administration headquarters that his policy will be pursued. Subscribe for The Press and Banner. JZERS ! Ashepoe Fertilizer n, S. C., and have on Fertilizers may be j j ter on, so don't delay ids. S. LINK. O _ i I spring i in every I ig Waists I JllS I in these 1 pleased t nd look i m uj. | :r for immediate sale blowing country and -Ask About Them We have several rtacts of land and city property for sale. -1 The owners asked not to advertise. We will be glad to g show you property we have p for sale any time you ask to H see it. ?! TWO STORY DWELLING?6- | room, hall, electric lights and sewerage, 5 minutes walk f, from square. Bargain at H - $1,250.00 * 120 ACRES?Four miles South $ East of Abbeville, dwelling, tenant house, well, 500 cords &j cAma earn f I w knr U WUVUj Oft?Y biitiUbi* ga Cheap at $17.50 per acre. 166 ACRES?6 miles from Abbeville. Good dwelling, barn tenant house, located in Lebanon section, close to school and church. Price per acre $30.00 - 1 1 1 therland I South Carolina |