and give me a square answer--what have you got up your sleeve
about those options?"

Barclay rose, limped to the window, and looked out as he answered:
"Well, I've always supposed we'd fix it up some way to buy back those
mortgages and then take the land we want for ourselves--for you and
me personally--and give the poor land back to the farmers if they pay
the money we lent them."

"Well," returned Hendricks, "just count me out on that. Whatever I
make in this deal, and you seem to think our share will be plenty,
goes to getting those farmers back their land. So far as I'm concerned
that money we paid them was rent, not a loan!"

Barclay dropped his hands in astonishment and gaped at Hendricks.

"Well, my dear Miss Nancy," he exclaimed, "when did you get religion?"

The two men glared at each other a moment, and Hendricks grappled his
devil and drew a long breath and replied: "Well, you heard what I
said." And then he added: "I'm pretty keen for money, John, but when
it comes to skinning a lot of neighbours out of land that you and
every one says is going to raise thirty dollars' worth of wheat to the
acre this year alone, and only paying them ten dollars an acre for the
title to the land itself--" He did not finish. After a pause he
added: "Why, they'll mob you, man. I've got to live with those
farmers." Barclay sneered at Hendricks without speaking and Hendricks
stepped over to him and drew back his open hand as he said angrily,
"Stop it--stop it, I say." Then he exclaimed: "I'm not what you'd
call nasty nice, John--but I'm no robber. I can't take the rent of
that land for nothing, raise a thirty-dollar crop on every acre of it,
and make them pay me ten dollars an acre to get back the poor land and
steal the good land, on a hocus-pocus option."

"'I do not use the nasty weed, said little Robert Reed,'" replied
Barclay, with a leer on his face. Then, he added: "I've held your
miserable little note-shaving shop up by main strength for a year, by
main strength and awkwardness, and now you come home with your mouth
all fixed for prisms and prunes, and want to get on a higher plane.
You try that," continued Barclay, and his eyes blazed at Hendricks,
"and you'll come down town some morning minus a bank."

Then the devil in Bob Hendricks was freed for an exultant moment, as
his hands came out of his pockets and clamped down on Barclay's
shoulders, and shook him till his teeth rattled.

"Not with me, John, not with