ropped into the town's small
grocery store to purchase a box of cigars of a certain Mexican brand,
unprocurable elsewhere. Harran remained in the buggy.

While he waited, Dyke appeared at the end of the street, and, seeing
Derrick's younger son, came over to shake hands with him. He explained
his affair with the P. and S. W., and asked the young man what he
thought of the expected rise in the price of hops.

"Hops ought to be a good thing," Harran told him. "The crop in Germany
and in New York has been a dead failure for the last three years, and
so many people have gone out of the business that there's likely to be a
shortage and a stiff advance in the price. They ought to go to a dollar
next year. Sure, hops ought to be a good thing. How's the old lady and
Sidney, Dyke?"

"Why, fairly well, thank you, Harran. They're up to Sacramento just now
to see my brother. I was thinking of going in with my brother into this
hop business. But I had a letter from him this morning. He may not be
able to meet me on this proposition. He's got other business on hand. If
he pulls out--and he probably will--I'll have to go it alone, but I'll
have to borrow. I had thought with his money and mine we would have
enough to pull off the affair without mortgaging anything. As it is, I
guess I'll have to see S. Behrman."

"I'll be cursed if I would!" exclaimed Harran.

"Well, S. Behrman is a screw," admitted the engineer, "and he is
'railroad' to his boots; but business is business, and he would have to
stand by a contract in black and white, and this chance in hops is too
good to let slide. I guess we'll try it on, Harran. I can get a good
foreman that knows all about hops just now, and if the deal pays--well,
I want to send Sid to a seminary up in San Francisco."

"Well, mortgage the crops, but don't mortgage the homestead, Dyke," said
Harran. "And, by the way, have you looked up the freight rates on hops?"

"No, I haven't yet," answered Dyke, "and I had better be sure of that,
hadn't I? I hear that the rate is reasonable, though."

"You be sure to have a clear understanding with the railroad first about
the rate," Harran warned him.

When Magnus came out of the grocery store and once more seated himself
in the buggy, he said to Harran, "Boy, drive over here to Annixter's
before we start home. I want to ask him to dine with us to-night.
Osterman and Broderson are to drop in, I believe, and I should like to
have Annixter as well."