woman, but she went under finally. The only
one that escaped the pool was the kid brother, Jose, and him the old
chief carried off.

"According to the yarn, Dolores still breathes in the pool, the bubbles
rise to the surface and there's a murmuring from the other souls that
went down unshriven. What's more, the water is never ruffled but
smooth and glassy, with streaks that gleam in the moonlight. Of
course, that's oil, all right, or would be if the pool ever existed,
but nobody's found it yet."

"It's got the punch to it, as a story." Thode paused to relight his
cigar. "Did your hunchbacked friend give you any further description
of the pool itself or its location?"

"Nothing to work on, Son. This flat part of the country don't run much
to scenery. He did say something about a mahogany tree close by, that
grew up with two outstretched branches like a cross and then turned to
stone, but I'm not letting my peons loaf on the job while I go moseying
around looking for it."

"It's a great little ranch you have here." Thode turned in his chair
to survey the close-packed avenues of low-hanging trees. "Any oil on
your land, Mr. Hallock?"

"Not here. Got two gushers over near Tuxpam, next to some property
that I reckon you'll want to look into for the Mexamer people. Larkin
told me himself that he thought of taking it over."

The talk drifted into a discussion of relative values and prospects,
and when Thode cantered down the driveway an hour or so later he had
secured a good working knowledge of the surrounding country with which
to commence his labors. He had parted with some little difficulty from
his host, who insisted on sending in to Limasito for the young
engineer's baggage and wholeheartedly desired that he make the Hacienda
de Rosa his headquarters.

Kearn Thode, however, had other intentions. He must be free to go and
come as he pleased on his mission and he determined to make the town
itself the center of his activities. Moreover, Hallock's hacienda was
a bachelor establishment and in Limasito there were girls; girls with
blue eyes and black hair and incredibly white skin, who looked a man
straight in the eyes and made him feel as if maybe he'd found a friend.

That blue adobe house on the southern end of the square began to loom
large in the architecture of Limasito. Thode had caught a glimpse of
the patio as he swung past; it had looked cool and green and inviting,
with a fountain playing a