The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, March 25, 1919, Page THREE, Image 3
THE RF
*
By EDNA
SYNOPSIS.
CHAPTER I?K. C\ Rickard, / a
engineer of the Overland Pacific, i
called to the office of President Mar
shall in Tucson, Ariz. "Casey" is an
enigma to the office force; he wear
"dude" clothes, but he had resigned
a chair of engineering in the East t
go on the road as a fireman and hi
promotion had been spectacular.
While waiting for Marshall Richar
* reads a report on the ravages of the
Colorado, despite the efforts of Tho
mjrs Hardin of th e Desert Reclamation
company. This Hardin had been
a student under Rickard and had
married Gerty Holmes, with whom
Rickard had fancied he was in love.
CHAPTER II?Marshall tells Rickard
the Overland Pacific has got to
step in to save, the Imperial Valley
and sends him to the break. Rickard
declines because he does not want to
supplant Hardin, but is won over.
"Stop the River; damn the expense,"
says Marshall.
CHAPTER III?Rickard journeys
to Calexico, sees the irrigated desert
and learns much about Hardin and
his work.
CHAPTER IV?At the hotel he
meets Mr. and Mrs. Hardin and innes
Hardin, Hardin's half sister. 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 Har
din and hostile to him. Estrada, a
Mexican, son of the "Father of the
Imperial Valley," tells him' of the
general situation. - CHAPTER
VI?Rickard attends a
meeting of the directors and asserts
his authority. Hardin rages. Estrada
_ tells Rickard of his foreboding that
his work will fail. "I can't see it
finished."
CHAPTER VII?Innes is discovered
in her garden. She tries to cheer
up Hardin, who is furious against
Rickard.
, CHAPTER VIII?A family luncheon
of the Hardins which throws light
_ - on them.
CHAPTER IX?Hardin discovers
that Rickard is planning a levee to
protect Calexico and puts him down
as incompetent. Gerty thinks her lord
jealous.
CHAPTER X?The Hardin dinner
to Rickard discloses further the family
characteristics . Hardin is surly
and sulky. Innes is hardly polite. Ger'
ty plans a "progressive ride" in
. Rickard's honor.
CHAPTER X.
(Continued From Last Friday
N Gerty said carelessly- that she had
had it for a long time. For she had
had the material a long time! It
wasn't necessary to explain-to her
husband's sister that it had been
made up that week. She hoped that
she didn't look "fussed up." Would
Mr. Rickard think she was attaching
any Importance to the simple little
visit? For it was nothing to him, of
course. A man of his standing, whom
the great Tod Marshall ranked so
?'. high, probably dined out several times
each week, with white-capped maids
? ^and i candelabra! If Tom had only
'made the most of his opportunities.
^ ->vnat a gamuie, me to a woman! .
- ; She made a trip into her bedroom
and took a reassuring survey in her
mirror. The lingerie frock would look
simple to a man who would, never
suspect It of hand-made duplicity.
Her glass ^declared the hand-whipped
" medallions' casual and elegant. And
a long time ago, a lifetime ago, Ilickard
had told her that she always
should wear blue, because of her eyes,
Innes from the next room could hear
Gerty teasing Tom to wear his Tuxedo.
"Isn't one dude enoHgli for ycu?"
growled her surly lord. Innes recognized
the mood and shrank from the
ordeal ahead. It was the mood of
the Hardin in the rough, the son of
his frontier mother, the fruit, of old
Jasper Gingg, whose smithy had been
the rendezvous for the wildest roughs,
the fiercest cattlefhen in Missouri.
*Td let him see you knew what's
what, even if we do live like gipsies."
The answer to that was another
growl. Innes could hear him dragging
VUl Liic piVVC99t UlIIUIUl^ UVtT CilUI
' . detail. That confounded laundry had
torn his shirt. He hadn't a decent
collar to his name. Where was his
Mack string tie? If Gert would keep
"his things in the lowest drawer! Hang
that button! Gerty emerged from the
encounter, her face very red. Innes
could see her biting her lips to keep
the tears back as she Dut tho last
touches to the table.
"She's tired out," thought the sister
/ER
H AIKEN
* lardin.
"She's probabl
fiu .v? __ elf to death over this dii
ner."
I A few minutes later Richard 01
rived In a sack suit of tweeds. Gerty'
1 greeting was a little abstracted. Ho>
could slie make Innes understand t
j tell Tom to charge his coat? Tli
: duty of a host, she suddenly rcraen:
i bered, was to dress down rather tha
' up to the chances of his guest. Sh
!' regretted bitterly her insistence. Wa
1 ever anyone so obtuse as Innes? Mi
1 ; Rickard would see that they though
it a big event. She was watching tli
curtain where Tom would emerge
j And his coat was a style of Severn
l seasons ago and absurdly tight! Sh
'"made an unintelligible excuse am
darted behind the portiere. ?.
Tom's face was apoplectic. He wa
I wrestling with a mussed tie; the col
I. lar showed a desperate struggle.
I Gerty made wild signals for him t<
change his clothcs. She waved j
hand indicating Rickard; she pointe<
to Tom's sack suit lying on the floo
where he had walked out of it.
"What is it all about?"
"Ssh," whispered his wife. AgaiJ
the wild gestures.
"Well, aren't you satisfied? Don':
| I look like a guy?"
He could be heard distinctly in th*
| next room. Gerty gave it up in de
I spair. She dabbed some more powdei
! on her nose and went out looking like
t a martyr?a very pretty martyr!
Rickard praised the miracles of thfi
i teat Qtt&a zzss&bti Iz I
nc?3 Of ttn-ir utd maciun. Srit Innes,'" |
she was thinking, when Tom, red and;
perspiring, brought another element j
of discomfort into the room.
| Gerty ushered them immediately to'
, the table. She covered the first min-j
' ut<*s which might be awkward with]
' her small chatter. Somewhere she i
j had read that it was not well to make
v apologies for lack of maid or fare. j
Besides Mr. Ri?kard remembered
Lawrence! That dreadful dining
j room, the ever-set table! How she1
I had hated it| though she had not
' i?~ ?? ^ r..i itnfll <4>aI
| Miuun nun ii'tuiui it WHO uuui one
. had escaped.
"We are simple folk here, Mr. Riek1
ard," she announced, as they took
I their places around the pretty table, j
I That was her only allusion to deficien-;
I eies, but it covered her noiseless move- j
j ments around the board between
' courses, filled up the gaps when she
! made necessary dives into kitchen or
j primitive ice chest, and set the key
for the homeliness of the meal itself.
The dinner was a triumph of apparent
simplicity. Only Innes could guess
the time consumed in the' perfection
of detail, details dear to the hostess'
heart. The almonds sho had blanched,
of course, herself; had dipped and
salted them. The cheese straws were
her own. She did not make the mistake
of stringing out endless courses.
A.n improvised buffet near at hand
made the serving a triumph.
Rickard praised each dish; openly
he was admiring her achievement,
innes, remembering the story Gerty
bad told her in dots and dashes, tiie
story of the old rivalry, glanced covertly-at
Tom sulking at the head of
ais own table.
"Ponr Riilfcv Aphm<3c" chr* fVirmrrhf
| 'Dear, houest old bear!"
j "Innes!" cried Mrs. Hardiifc
She turned to find that fttwV j
j was staring at her. She had not heard
1 tiis effort to include her in the conI
irersation.
!. "Mr. liickard asked you if you like
| It here?"
J "Thank you?why, of course!" Her |
answer sounded pert to herself.
Her sister-in-law hastened to add
i that Miss Hardin was very lonely, was
! really all alone in the world ; that they
! Insisted on her making her home with
1 them.
Innes had with difficulty restrained
In denial. "After all, what other home
had she? Still the truth laid been de- !
j fleeted. She recalled the sacrifice it j
j had been to cut her college course in
! order to make a home in the desert!
f for the brother who had always so
j
gently fathered her, who had helped I
her invest lior small capital that it i
; might spell a small income. She re-1
| called his resistance when she had |
called in a mortgage; who could watch 1
; that mad scapegoat of a river playing ,
: pranks with desert homes and not ,
, yearn to help? Xot a Hardin. She
j still gloried in remembering that she
had at least driven one pile into that!
rebellious stream, even if when she
i loft the valley it would be as a bread!
winner. She was prepared. She was >
a good draftsman; she would go as
an apprentice in an architect's office,
i She had already settled on the archi tect!
i
"Are you going to Los Angeles
soon?" She heard the new manager
address his host "I'm
taking orders!"
There. was another . awkward, iyo
ment whon fl.vrdin pushed back his ^
plate declaring he had reached iiis j
limit; it was too big a spread /or him!
It was the stupid rudeness of the ,,
small bad boy; even Innes flushed for
her sister-in-law.
With resolution Gerty nssumed con-. s
trol of the conversation. Her role 1
sounded casual; no one could have
suspected it of frequent rehearsal, j
They must not talk of the river; that t
was taboo. Railroad matters were t
also excluded. Equally difficult t
would be reminiscences of Lawrence ^
days. So she began brightly with a $
current book. The theater proved a j
safe topic, and by that natural route ?
they reached New York. Innes, who t
had never been farther east than Chicago,
was grateful to play audience.
Hardin, who knew his New York per- ?
haps, bettor than either, refused to be ?
drawn !uto the gentle stream.
Things must be kept sprightly. Had
Mr. Klckard met many of the valley ^
people? And It was then that sin
threw her bomb toward the liatcnln?
silent Hardins. She would like'Mr
Rickard to meet some of their friends
He s:ald that he would be delighted
but that he was planning to leuvi
shortly for the Heading.
"Of course." She did not give he)
lffieba-nd time to speak. She mean'
afterward! She was planning to giv<
something a bit novel in his honor <
She refused to see the glare from th(
angry man in his outgrown dinnef
coat. She did not glance toward.tlit 1
sister. What did Mr. Rickard think 1
about a progressive ride? <
"It sounds very entertaining, bui <
what do you do?" 1
Til pro wfic n lrmrl rniflfnw from Tom '
With deepened color Gerty told her
idea. A drive, changing partners, so
he could meet all the guests.
"I think it will surprise you to find
so many nice peuple in here; it certainly
did me. One doesn't expect to
find congenial people in a new country
like this."
Rickard remembered that he had
to get back to his hotel. He had letters
to write. It had been a splendid
dinner! And what a wonderful home
she had made out of a sand-baked lot,
out of a tent! He spoke of the roses
and the morning glories. His eyes
felt on the open piano, the rending
table with the current magazines.
Now he couldn't understand why they
#ver went to that hotel!
Ckrty'a eyes we.'e shining as deep
pools of water, on which the sun plays.
sne looked almost infantile as sne
stood by the two tall men, her'head
perched birdlike. "Good-by! and I
hope you'll come again!" '
Of course he'd come again!
"And you will let me know when
you return, so that I may set the date
for my party?"
Iunes did not get his answer. She
had been observing that he was not
taller than her brother. He looked
taller. He was lean, and Tom was
growing stocky. She wished he would
not slouch so, his hands in his pockets
! In Tucson, before she knew that
she must dislike Iiickard, she had had
an impressing of virile distinction, of
grace, a suggestion of mastered raus- 1
cles. He had known that it was her (
brother he was supplanting?did he
get any satisfaction from the fact that
it was the husband of the woman who c
had jilted him? Anyway, she did not .
like him. She could never forgive a t
hurt that was done to her own. She
was a Hardin.
"Inues! Mr. RIckard said good
aight!"
She gave him the tips of her cool,
browned fingers. Her eyes did not
Her Eyes Did Not Meet His.
meet his; she would not meet that 3
laughing scrutiny.
"Good night, Mr. Riekard."
CHAPTER X!.
The Fighting Chance.
"Casey's back, spying!" announced !|
Wooster at mess one evening. By that >|
time the feeling against "Marshall's ?
man" was actively hostile. There had ?
l>eon a smudge of slumbering fires he- 0
fore Riekard had left the towns. I
Fanned by much talk during his ab- p
scnec, it had burst into active blaze, a
rhey were ready to show their resent- k
tnent against the man who had sup- n
planted Ilardin, their Napoleon, if it ?
cost them their places. By this time fej
the cause of the desert was as com- Pj
pelling to these hardy soldiers as were g
the lily banners of France to the fol- ^
lowers of the Little Corporal. . ||j
IUekard was not? expected. He had jB
been gone less thim a week. The ef- J?
feet of his return was that of a per
on a; returns suddenly into a room,
ushlng 6C *ctiv<? babel of tongues.
Iv knew what he would find, ample
c?iisons why! He was not given the
utisfnetion of locating any particular ^
ct of disobedience. The men preented
a blank wall of politeness, rea?
onable and Ineffectual. Silent exilalnod
briefly that ho had not been ?
ble to collect enough meu. Most of
he force wj\* ' * v In Ihe No. 6 disrlct,
trying ; *' "<vl Wlsarla
throuph ft,-"
hat year's crops vo;
l gang was at Grnr, '.
[oor needed bracing. An.
rish's, was In the Volcano rc i
;ion, wh'jre they were excavating for
he new headgate.
"X? hurry for that." Rickard was
;lad. to pick a flaw In such a perfect
mttern. "You might have withdrawn
hose men and put them to work-on
he lcvec."
"I was given no authority to do
hat."
The chief pretended to accept tiv
reason; else it were a case of cliaiig
ing horses in midstream. What h
had seen at the Heading, his peep a
the exposed valley, his gleaning o
the river's history had convinced hin i
that in haste and concentrate \ lnj I
the valley's only chance. He must re!
fuse to see the insubordination of thi j
engineers, the seasoned desert sol |
diers. He needed them, must wii j
cneir confidence if he could. If not j
they must save the valley anyway ; i
The imperturbable front of Silent, hi?;
bland, big stare, exasperated him.>
easier to control the snapping terriei * %
3f a Wooster. He had told Silent dis- i
tinctly to gather his men and rush th<
levee. A good soldier had made a better
guess than his, and had stopped
the casual work at Black Butte, 01 j
bad found Indians! Thoughtfully'
Rickard, followed that last suggestion
icross the ditch into Mexlcall.
He gathered all the recruits he
seeded th&t morning. The Indians,
azy Cocopahs, crept out of their huts
:o earn a few of the silver dollars held
jut to them by the new white boss.
1 few Mexican laborers were bribed
:o toss up earth to the west of the
own. Estrada, at his request, put a
jquaa or nis road force at the service!
)f the manager. He could not spare j
nany men.
The railroad had already started J
he line projected by Hardin to Mar-1
shall the year before, a spur across]
he desert, dipping Into Mexico be-,
:weon the lean, restless sandhills,)
!rora Calexico to Yuma. The Mexican (
government had agreed to pay five j
housnnd dollars a mile "were the road
lompleted at a certain period. Estrada !
vas keping his men on the jump to '
ill the contract, to make his nation j
)ay the price. The completion of the ;
oad meant help to the valley; supples,
men, could be rushed through to
he break.
(Tp be Continued Friday.)
NEW BOOKS AT LIBRARY. j
TU? -f/-n11 v-i r* noTir KnnLrc Vi Q VP
X lie lUiiU ?y JU5 lit TT ?m.v,
>een received at the Library. Friends
>f the institution are urged to keep
lp their subsciption and to make use'
>f the books:
m
$825.(
EC0N01V
The economical aut
we are conserving in <
curing the utmost serv
The valve-in-head 2
its fuel. It is a commc
Chevrolet to run twer
Economy in operatr
u.-j. .1-x _ J? _
uui weigiii ui car, me
Weight is an import
gardless of its load, a
own weight. Chevrol
enough so the machine
fuel, and heavy enoug
road conditions.
Economy also is a rr
Chevrolet valve-in-hea
making the interior ei
s. N.
Distributor Foi
. Abbeville,
r* . .
In Another Girl's Shoes. ~
A Diversity of Creatures.
The Derelict.
The Daredevil.
The Shadow Line.
FARM
FOR S/
87 ACRES?12 milei
McCormick Cou:
of W. D. Morrah
Pi
40 APRES?About s
ville, no improve
and t Aber.
79 3-4 ACRES?3 mi]
one settlement?
on place. Plenty
running through
227 1-2 ACRES?11
. ville. This is a sp
erty. A lot of sav
Pi
100 1-2 ACRES?IS
ville. Good resid
ings. Well atere<
and timber. Pi
189 1-4 ACRES?1(
ville. . A splendi
provements, aboi
torn lands. P
541 ACRES?1-2 mi
mile from Calhc
farm being oper
Lies well) is well
abundance of wc
Pri
Can Arran
ROBERT
_T="L.
IBVROLi
1 ?i~
)0 Del
IY
omobile is the much det
every possible way. We
rice with the minimum <
notor is economical, fo
>n occurrence for a m
lty-five miles on a gallo
on depends not only on
bearings used, and cart
;ant factor, it must not 1
,n automobile must, firs
efccars are ,of the pro
3 will be economical in '
to make the automo
latter of construction ar
,d motor is fitted with
asy to inspect.
GILM
Abbeville and Ander
*
The Definite Ouject.
The Dark Star.
Innocent.
On the Branch.
The Hundredth Chanca.
LANDS
kLE.....
3 from Abbeville, in
nty, adjoining lands
rice, $30.00 per acre.
>ix miles from Abbeiments,
all in wood
Price, $25 per acre.
les from Abbeville?
two horse farm open
wood, and stream place,,
Price, $2,000.00.
L miles from .Abbe- /
lendid piece of prop7
timber on this place rice,
$17.50 per acre.
I miles from Abbe
ence and out buildd
and plenty wood
ice, $30.00 per acre.
) miles from Abbeid
farm but no imut
50 or 60 acres botrice,
$18.00 per acre.
le from Hester, one !
?un Falls.. 15 horse
at.erl firi the nlace. *
watered and has an I .
)od and timber. $
ice, $40.00 per acre.
ige Terms
S. LINK
VP?
aj.
livered
sired one today, for 1
s are seeking and se- ?
expense. |
r it does not waste I
odel "Four-Ninety" p
n of gasoline.
the type of motor,
Duration.
3e forgottep that, re- '
>t of all, propel its
per weight. Light %
the use of tires and |
bile safe under all
Ld accessibility. The 3
a detachable head, H
[ER
sort Counties
So. Carolina