CHAPTER XXI.
PABLO BRINGS NEWS TO BARBARA.
All through the long hot months of that second summer Barbara stayed inthe desert with her father. Many times Mr. Worth insisted that sheshould go to the coast or the mountains for a few weeks, while Abe,Texas and Pat added their entreaties. But the young woman's answer wasalways--to her father: "If you must stay, daddy, then I must stay totake care of you;" to Abe it was: "Why don't you take a vacation? Thisis just as much my work as it is yours;" to Texas it was a laughingquestion whether he thought she was a "quitter," and to Pat she alwaysdeclared that the desert could not in the least hurt her complexion.
"And look at the other women," she would argue. There was Jack Hanson'slittle wife, with their children, in a twelve by fourteen tent outthere on their claim alone all day and many nights, while Jack was onthe work. And Mrs. White, who stoutly declared that she was "sure goingto stand by her Jim if it burned her to a crisp," and that they did nothave the money to spend even if they could leave the crops they hadmanaged to plant. And Mrs. Rollins and Mrs. Baird and Mrs. Cole and theothers, who were holding down their husbands' claims while the men wereearning money on the works to help them in getting their start. Surelyif these women could stay with their men-folk Barbara could. So Mr.Worth let her have her way. And the other three strove amongthemselves, with varied and picturesque figures of speech, and--it mustbe confessed--some rather strong language, to express their admirationfor her courage and endurance, while all four taxed their inventivepowers to the limit devising ways to add to her comfort.
The work in the South Central District continued steadily with no delaythrough lack of help, and when the canal was finished and the waterready, the men who had built it turned to making the ditches on theirown claims, leveling their land for irrigation, preparing for the firstcrops and making what other improvements they could. Meanwhile the newtownsite was laid out on the ground already occupied by theheadquarters camp and the camp itself became the town of "Barba."
But, perhaps because--as Pablo said--"there was no Senorita in theCompany," Greenfield's chief engineer again found it hard to hold hismen through the hot months and was obliged to discontinue work on theirCentral Main. Holmes himself spent the weeks of the flood season at theriver, refusing to leave even for a day. Three times, when conditionsat the intake and heading were most critical and the danger thatthreatened the unconscious settlers seemed imminent, the engineer sentfor Abe Lee, while Texas, Pat and Pablo were instructed by Mr. Worth tobe ready at an hour's notice to move the entire working force of thedistrict to the scene of the expected disaster.
And still, even through those trying times Jefferson Worth continuedhis operations in all parts of the Basin and started variousenterprises in his new town with the conviction of a born fatalist,though he almost constantly now, except when he was with Barbara, worethat expressionless gray mask. Abe Lee's thin face, burned dark byconstant exposure to the fierce desert sun, had a look of watchfulreadiness. And Barbara, seeing, thought that it was all because of thestrain of their own work, for even Barbara was not told of the terriblerisk that the Company was forcing the pioneers to take.
Meanwhile James Greenfield and the Company officials, from the outside,watched the situation with the calmness of professional gamblerswatching the turn of the cards. Though he did not come into the desertduring the summer, the Company president spent most of his time in theWest now, for the Reclamation project launched by him was assuming suchproportions that his personal attention was justified. Only one thingmore was needed to bring such a flood of land-seekers, speculators andinvestors that the Company's immense profits would be assured. The newcountry must have a railroad.
To this end, in the city by the sea, the eastern financier was bringingevery influence he could command to bear upon the officials of theSouthwestern and Continental that skirted the rim of the Basin. But thegreat man who shaped the destinies of the S. & C., secure in theknowledge that his road controlled the only pass through the range ofmountains that shut in the new country, for some reason refused tobuild a branch line into the territory in which Mr. Greenfield was sodeeply interested.
James Greenfield, himself a power of the first magnitude in thefinancial world, was always admitted to the presence of the railroadman without delay and was always received by the official with everycourtesy. His statements as to the extent and value of the lands thatwere being developed by his Company, with his estimates of the volumeof business that a branch line would bring to the Southwestern andContinental, were received without question. The railroad man evenbetrayed unusual interest in the reclamation of The King's BasinDesert, with a knowledge of conditions almost as complete as Mr.Greenfield's. Frequently he asked of Jefferson Worth's operations andof the development of the South Central District. But always he shookhis head when Greenfield urged immediate action. There were certainreasons; he was not at liberty to go into details. Some day no doubtthe branch line would be built, but he could make no promises.
This was the situation in the fall when, with the danger from the riverpast and his canals finished, Jefferson Worth sought an interview withthe president of The King's Basin Land and Irrigation Company at hisoffice in the Coast city.
Mr. Greenfield received the banker cordially, congratulated him uponthe success of his South Central District work and prophesied greatthings for everybody interested in The King's Basin project.
Jefferson Worth, behind his gray mask, at once made known the object ofhis visit. He wished to secure from the Company the right to take waterfrom their Central Main for a small power house to be located in theDry River wash. Mr. Worth explained frankly the advantage it would givethe new town of Barba, in which he was interested, and stated that hehad, some time before, laid his proposition before the Company'smanager in order that Mr. Greenfield might be informed of the matter.
Greenfield said that he had heard from Mr. Burk and that he thought itmight be arranged. Then, while Jefferson Worth listened with his usualcareful attention, the Company man set forth their great need of arailroad. And by the way; was Mr. Worth personally acquainted with theman who controlled the S. & C.?
"I know of him," came the cautious reply.
"Well, Mr. Worth," said the president; "I'll tell you what we'll do. Weneed that railroad and we need it now. So far I have failed to get anydefinite promise from the S. & C. that they will give us a branch line.If you can secure a railroad for the Basin this year, we will give youthe right of way for your power canal and a contract for the water."
"Is that your only proposition?"
"That is my only proposition."
The president of The King's Basin Land and Irrigation Company wouldhave been astonished if he could have witnessed the meeting ofJefferson Worth and the railroad man an hour later.
"Hello, Jeff!" came in hearty tones from the official as the door ofhis private office closed behind the banker. "How are you? I hear thatGreenfield sold you a gold brick."
Mr. Worth smiled while the other laughed heartily. "I tell you, Jeff,we little Westerners have got to watch out for these big easternoperators or they'll take the whole blamed country away from us."
"The gold brick is panning out pretty well so far," said the banker.
"So I understand. Crawford has been telling me all about it. In factthe whole King's Basin proposition looks mighty good to me, except forthat New York bunch. I'm afraid of them, Jeff. Greenfield has beencamping on my trail for three months, wanting us to build them a branchline. I told Crawford yesterday that it was about time for you to comearound."
"When are you going to build that road?" asked Mr. Worth.
The other shook his head. "Can't do it, Jeff. You know the situation aswell as I. If the river comes in the whole country will go to smash;and with the class of structures they have put in to control it andwith an eastern engineer in charge, it's too big a chance. The S. & C.is not spending money to help out wild-cat projects promoted by easterncapital."
"But if
you give us the branch line it will insure the success of theproject, for it will make the Company property so valuable that theywill spend more money to protect it."
"Or"--added the other--"_we_ would have to spend more money to protectit. I'm sorry Jeff, if that's what you have been figuring on, but weare not an insurance company--we are in the transportation business."
"Then you won't build into the Basin?"
"Not under existing conditions, Jeff."
With as little show of emotion as he would have exhibited had he merelyproposed to purchase a morning paper, Jefferson Worth said: "All right,then I'll build it myself."
The railroad man knew that the quietly spoken words meant that thebanker had determined to stake everything he had in the world upon achance that even the S. & C., with its unlimited capital, refused totake. With his already large investments in the new country, thebuilding of the railroad would tax Worth's resources to the very limitand the failure of the Company's project would mean for him financialruin.
During the flood season just past Jefferson Worth had seen the safetyof the Reclamation work hanging on a very slender thread. Every hour hehad looked for the disaster that would bring to nothing all that hadbeen accomplished by the desert pioneers, whose ruin he would share,yet he calmly proposed now to throw into the venture everything thatyears of unceasing toil had brought him--his capital, his credit, hisreputation.
"Don't do it, Jeff," said his friend. "You are in deep enough now.Better keep an anchor to windward."
"I figured on taking a chance when I went into that country," saidWorth simply. It was as if he had foreseen this situation from the verybeginning and had planned how he would meet it. The railroad man's faceexpressed his admiration for this display of nerve.
"If I can do anything for you let me know, Jeff."
"Thanks. If you would just not mention to anyone that I am connectedwith this for a little while."
"Oh, I see. Greenfield again, I suppose? What are you up to anyway,Jeff; buying another gold brick?"
Worth explained his plan for a power plant and Greenfield's proposition.
"Hell!" exclaimed the dignified official. "You can't tell me that youare going to build a railroad into Greenfield's town just to get adinky little power plant in your own district. I'm not from New York,Jeff."
To which Jefferson Worth answered from behind his mask: "The Basinneeds a railroad."
The next day Greenfield sought the railroad office in haste. "Iunderstand that you have decided to build that branch road."
The official, who had received his guest with the dignified courtesybefitting one of his position, smiled at the other's manner as agracious sovereign might smile on granting a subject's petition.
Greenfield accepted the smile as an assent. "May I ask when you willbegin the work?"
"I cannot say exactly, Mr. Greenfield. The survey will probably be madeat once and the work begun as soon as it is possible to assemble menand material."
When The King's Basin Messenger announced that the survey was beingmade for a railroad from the main line of the S. & C. at Deep Well toKingston, it did not mention the fact that Abe Lee was in charge of thework. And James Greenfield, who signed the promised contract followingthe announcement, did not learn until the next issue of the Messengerthat the road was not being built by the S. & C. but by Jefferson Worthhimself.
Quickly the news that the railroad was building into The King's Basinwas spread by the papers throughout the surrounding country and fromevery side the swelling flood of life poured in. Every section of thenew lands felt the influence of the rush. For miles around the towns,every vacant tract was seized by the incoming settlers. Townsitecompanies quickly laid out new towns, while in the towns alreadyestablished new business blocks and dwellings sprang up as if someAladdin had rubbed his lamp. Real estate values advanced to undreamedfigures and the property was sold, re-sold and sold again. AndKingston, the heart and center of it all--Kingston, Texas Joe said,"went plumb locoed."
The name of Jefferson Worth was on every tongue. Was he not the wizardwho commanded prosperity and wealth to wait upon The King's Basin? Washe not the Aladdin who rubbed the lamp?
Horace P. Blanton, who seemed to increase magically as if, indeed, hefed on the stuff of which booms are made, did not lack for audience nowas he talked in rolling phrases of his friend Worth and what "we" haddone, with suggestive hints of still greater things that "we" againwould do. To see the great Horace P. in all the glory of white vest andpicture-hat, as he escorted parties of awe-stricken newcomers about thetown and pointed out with majestic gestures "our" opera house, "our"bank, "our" power house, "our" ice plant, the site of "our" new depot,was an experience never to be forgotten. To watch him give orders, whenPat was not near, to some laborer in the grading gang at work on theroadbed and yards or to see him instructing a merchant in the finerpoints of his business, was a delight. To hear him speak with authorityupon every question relating to The King's Basin project, from thestage of the water in the river two years before the first survey, andthe future plans of Jefferson Worth, to the chemical properties of thesoil, the proper grade for irrigating alfalfa and the kinds andvarieties of fruits and vegetables best adapted to the climate, was asinstructive as it was interesting.
With the beginning of the work on the railroad, Barbara and her fatheragain made their home in Kingston, and Horace P. Blanton, whenever hecould escape from his arduous duties, endeavored earnestly to makehimself agreeable to Jefferson Worth's daughter. There was no mistakingeither his purpose or his perfect confidence in his ability to achievesuccess. Many and ingenious were the things that three members ofBarbara's court promised each other should happen to Horace P.
It was on one of those afternoons, when the man with the white vest wasmaking himself very much at home on the front porch of the Worthcottage, that Pablo riding in from the South Central District sought LaSenorita. Dismounting from his tired horse the Mexican, his spursclanking on the walk, approached Barbara, and with his sombrerobrushing the ground greeted her in his native tongue, turning aninquiring eye meanwhile upon the portly Horace P.
Barbara returned his greeting in Spanish, following her words inEnglish with: "This is Senor Blanton, Pablo. Mr. Blanton, this is myfriend Pablo Garcia."
The white man acknowledged the introduction with a lordly gesture.
The Mexican, with a gleam of his white teeth said: "I have the pleasureto see the Senor sometimes before. He is what they call 'the booster.'I have hear him talk many times on street." Then to Barbara: "I am comequick, Senorita, to find Senor Worth or Senor Lee. You know if it isfar to where they are? I ride fast. My horse is tired."
Before the young woman could answer, the big man, with a voice ofauthority, said: "You will find them out on the line of the railroadsomewhere between here and Deep Well. Just follow the grade. You can'tmiss it."
Pablo should have considered himself dismissed but, ignoring Blanton,he waited for Barbara's answer. "I don't know just where they are,Pablo. You had better wait until they come in. Is there anything wrong?"
The Mexican shrugged his shoulders with another glance toward hercompanion. "I cannot say, Senorita. There is no what you call accident,but I think better I come."
"What is it, my man?" said Horace P., again interrupting. "I will seeMr. Worth about it as soon as he comes in. You have no businesstroubling Miss Worth."
Barbara's slippered toe tapped the floor nervously although Barbara wasnot a nervous young woman.
Pablo, with another shrug, said coldly: "It is to tell Senor Worth orSenor Lee that I come. If La Senorita tells me I trouble her that isdifferent."
The young woman spoke. "Put your horse in the barn, Pablo, and thencome in. I know you have had nothing to eat since morning and you areall tired out. Ynez is away, but I will find something for you and youcan rest here until father comes."
Pablo retreated and Barbara rising, said: "You will excuse me, Mr.Blanton."
"Are you going to let that grea
ser spoil our afternoon?" he asked in atone of offended majesty.
The girl laughed outright. "You are so funny when you puff yourself upthat way and try to look so kingly. Pray how is this _our_ afternoon?What is left of it belongs to Pablo. I am going to find him somethingto eat and then I mean to talk to him every minute until father comes.You may stay if you like, but we shall talk in Spanish."
The face of Horace P. Blanton expressed fat anguish. Rising, he wentcloser and stood over her with a look which he imagined to be a look ofmelting tenderness and, in a voice that fairly dripped with honeyedsweetness, he began: "Miss Worth--Barbara, I--"
_"Sir!"_ If Barbara had shot the word at him from Texas Joe'sforty-five it could not have been more effective.
"I--I beg your pardon, Miss Worth," he stammered. "Certainly,certainly; by all means, Miss Worth. Good-by."
And that was as near as Horace P. Blanton ever came to achieving thesuccess of which he was so confident.
A few minutes later Pablo, without hesitation, told Barbara what hadbrought him to Kingston. A Mexican friend, who worked for The King'sBasin Land and Irrigation Company, had overheard a conversation betweenthe Company Manager and the chief engineer, who were togetherinspecting the work on the Central Main Canal. Dropping into his quaintEnglish, Pablo repeated what his friend had told him.
"Senor Holmes he say: 'The canal will go here where the stakes areset.' Senor Burk say: 'No, you shall go that other way.' 'But that willleave the power house away eight miles and the elevation it is not thesame,' say Senor Holmes. Senor Burk say: 'Power house is Mr. Worth'snot our. This way is good for us.' 'Senor Holmes no like it. He is verymad,' say my friend. He say: 'I will not do it.' Then Senor Burk say:'All right, you lose your job. Greenfield say it must go there; it isan order.' Then they go 'way and my friend he tell me 'cause he thinkmaybe it is no good for power house. I think maybe so Senor Worth liketo know."
The next morning Jefferson Worth called upon the Manager of The King'sBasin Land and Irrigation Company.
"Mr. Burk, I understand that you are changing the line of your CentralCanal."
"We are."
"But my contract with your Company must be considered."
"We have already considered it, Mr. Worth. It relates only to thedelivery of a certain amount of water into your canal. There is nothingin it that binds us to build _our_ canal on the line surveyed."
The Winning of Barbara Worth Page 23