FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147  
148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   >>   >|  
the purpose; he'd be suspicious of it, and he'd come down to investigate, and someone would be sure to crimp our deal." "But what is your plan for the deal, Mr. Gardiner?" asked Harris. "We can't go into the mountains with a load of bills and buy a mine like a man might buy a steer. There'll have to be papers, titles, and such things, I suppose, to make it right with us and with the Government." "Of course," Gardiner agreed. "We will take the money with us, but we won't give it to him until we get the papers. We'll just let him see it--nibble it a little, if you like--and then we'll lead him into town with it, like you lead a horse with oats. The sight of so much money will keep him coming our way when nothing else would. And we'll slip him a hundred or two, and get a little receipt for it, just to prevent him changing his mind if he should be so disposed." "And suppose I don't like the look of the mine when I see it?" "Then you bring your money back down with you and put it into farm lands, or anything else that takes your fancy. After you look it over, if you don't want to go in on it, Mr. Harris, perhaps Riles and I can raise enough ourselves to swing the deal, but you see we thought of you from the first, and we will stay with our original plan until you have a chance to decide one way or another." "Well, that sounds fair," said Allan, and his father nodded. "But we haven't sold the farm, and until we do I guess there isn't much money in sight." "Bradshaw'll sell the farm quick enough if I send him word," his father assured him. "He may not get it all in money, but he'll get a good part of it, and he has ways o' raisin' the balance so long's the security is good. I've half a mind t' wire him t' close 'er out." At this moment there came a knock on the door, and a boy presented a telegram for Gardiner. He opened it, read it, and emitted a whoop like a wild Indian. "They're coming through," he shouted, "coming through! How does half of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars look to you, Mr. Harris?" Harris reached out eagerly for the telegram, while Allan, his arm thrown over his father's shoulder, read it in boyish excitement: "If investigation confirms Government reports we will pay two hundred fifty thousand. Our representative leaves at once for personal interview." The name at the end of the telegram was unknown to either Harris or his son, but Gardiner assured them it was one to conjure
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147  
148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Harris

 

Gardiner

 

coming

 

father

 

telegram

 

hundred

 

thousand

 

assured

 
suppose
 

papers


Government
 

moment

 

balance

 
raisin
 

security

 
dollars
 
representative
 

leaves

 

reports

 

investigation


confirms

 

personal

 
conjure
 

unknown

 
interview
 

excitement

 

boyish

 

shouted

 
Indian
 

opened


emitted

 

thrown

 

shoulder

 

eagerly

 

reached

 

presented

 

agreed

 

nibble

 
receipt
 
things

investigate

 

purpose

 

suspicious

 

mountains

 

titles

 

prevent

 

changing

 

sounds

 

decide

 

chance