XXI
At the base of El Palomar, Farrel and his party were met by the Parkerchauffeur with the car. Pablo had guided him out and was loungingimportantly in the seat beside William.
"Don Nicolas Sandoval came to the hacienda an hour ago, Don Miguel," hereported. "He brought with him three others; all have gone forth totake possession of Loustalot's sheep."
Farrel nodded and dismounted to assist Mrs. Parker as the latter camedown from her horse, somewhat stiffly. When he turned to perform asimilar office for her daughter, however, the girl smilingly shook herhead.
"I shipped for the cruise, Don Mike," she assured him. "May I ridehome with you? Remember, you've got to pick up your rope and thatpanther's pelt." Her adorable face flushed faintly as her gaze soughther mother's. "I have never seen a panther undressed," she protested.
"Well," her amiable mother replied, with her customary hearty manner,"far be it from me to deprive you of that interesting sight. Take goodcare of her, Miguel. I hold you responsible for her."
"You are very kind to trust me so."
Both Parker and his wife noted that his words were not mere politepatter. Farrel's gravely courteous bearing, his respectful bow to Mrs.Parker and the solemnity with which he spoke impressed them with theconviction that this curious human study in light and shadow regardedtheir approval as an honor, not a privilege.
"I shall take very good care of Miss Kay," he supplemented. "We shallbe home for dinner."
He mounted the gray gelding, leaving Pablo to follow with the blackmare and the pinto, while he and Kay cantered down the wide white washof the Rio San Gregorio.
From their semi-concealment among the young willow growth, scrub cattlegazed at them or fled, with tails aloft, for more distant thickets;cottontail rabbits and an occasional jack-rabbit, venturing forth asthe shadows grew long in the valley, flashed through the low sage andweeds; from the purpling hillsides cock quails called cheerily to theirfamilies to come right home. The air was still and cool, heavy withthe perfume of sage, blackberry briars, _yerba santa_, an occasionalbay tree and the pungent odor of moist earth and decaying vegetation.There had fallen upon the land that atmosphere of serenity, of peace,that is the peculiar property of California's foothill valleys in thelate afternoon; the world seemed very distant and not at all desirable,and to Kay there came a sudden, keen realization of how this man besideher must love this darkling valley with the hills above presentingtheir flower-clad breasts to the long spears of light from the dyingday. . . .
Don Mike had caught the spirit of the little choristers of his hiddenvalley, she heard him singing softly in rather a pleasing baritonevoice:
Pienso en ti, Teresita mia, Cuando la luna alumbra la tierra He sentido el fuego de tus ojos, He sentido las penas del amor.
"What does it mean?" she demanded, imperiously.
"Oh, it's a very ordinary little sentiment, Miss Kay. The Spanishcavalier, having settled himself under his lady's window, thrums apreliminary chord or two, just to let her and the family know he's notworking on the sly; then he says in effect: 'I think of thee, my littleTessie, when the moonlight is shining on the world; your bright eyeshave me going for fair, kid, and due to a queer pain in my interior, Iknow I'm in love.'"
"You outrageous Celt!"
He chuckled. "A Spaniard takes his love very seriously. He's got tobe sad and despairing about it, even when he knows very well the girlis saying to herself: 'For heaven's sake, when will this windy bird getdown to brass tacks and pop the question?' He droops like a staleeschscholtzia, only, unlike that flower he hasn't sense enough to shutup for the night!"
Her beaming face turned toward him was ample reward for his casualdisplay of Celtic wit, his knowledge of botany. And suddenly she sawhis first real smile--a flash of beautiful white teeth and a wrinklingof the skin around the merry eyes. It came and went like a flicker oflightning; the somber man was an insouciant lad again.
A quarter of a mile across the valley they found the torn and mutilatedcarcass of a heifer, with a day-old calf grieving beside her.
"This is the work of our defunct friend, the panther," Farrelexplained. "He had made his kill on this little heifer and eatenheartily. It occurred to me while we were chasing him that he waslogey. Well--when Mike's away the cats will play."
He reached down, grasped the calf by the forelegs and drew the forlornlittle animal up before him on the saddle. As it stretched out quietlyacross his thighs, following a half-hearted struggle to escape, Kay sawDon Mike give the orphan his left index finger to suck.
"Not much sustenance in it, is there, old timer?" he addressed thecalf. "Coyotes would have had you tonight if I hadn't passed by."
"What a tiny calf," Kay observed, riding close to pat the sleek head.
"He's scrubby and interbred; his mother bore him before she had her owngrowth and a hundred generations of him got the same poor start inlife. You've seen people like this little runt. He really isn't worthcarrying home, but--"
It occurred to her that his silence was eloquent of the inherentgenerosity of the man, even as his poetic outburst of a few minutesbefore had been eloquent of the minstrel in him. She rode in silence,regarding him critically from time to time, and when they came to thetree where the panther hung he gave her the calf to hold while hedeftly skinned the dead marauder, tied the pelt behind his saddle,relieved her of the calf and jogged away toward home.
"Well," he demanded, presently, "you do not think any the less of mefor what I did to your father this afternoon, do you?"
"Of course not. Nobody likes a mollycoddle," she retorted.
"A battle of finances between your father and me will not be a verydesperate one. A gnat attacking a tiger. I shall scarcely interesthim. I am predestined to defeat."
"But with Mr. Conway's aid--"
"Bill's aid will not amount to very much. He was always a splendidengineer and an honest builder, but a poor business man. He might beable to maintain work on the dam for awhile, but in the end lack ofadequate finances would defeat us. And I have no right to ask Bill tosacrifice the profit on this job which your father is willing to payhim, in return for a cancellation of the contract; I have no right toask or expect Bill Conway to risk a penniless old age for me. You see,I attacked him at his weakest point--his heart. It was selfish of me."
She could not combat this argument, so she said nothing and for aquarter of a mile her companion rode with his chin on his breast, insilence. What a man of moods he was, she reflected.
"You despair of being able to pay my father the mortgage and regainyour ranch?" she asked, at length.
He nodded.
"But you'll fight to win--and fight to the finish, will you not?" shepersisted.
He glanced at her sharply. "That is my natural inclination, MissKay--when I permit sentiment to rule me. But when I apply theprinciples of sound horse sense--when I view the approach of theconflict as a military man would view it, I am forced to the convictionthat in this case discretion is the better part of valor. Battles arenever won by valorous fools who get themselves killed in a spectacularmanner."
"I see. You plan to attempt the sale of your equity in the ranchbefore my father can finally foreclose on you."
"No, that would be the least profitable course to pursue. Ahundred-thousand-acre ranch is not sold in a hurry unless offered at atremendous sacrifice. Even then it is of slow sale. For the followingreasons: Within a few years, what with the rapid growth of populationin this state and the attrition of alien farmers on our agriculturallands, this wonderful valley land of the Rancho Palomar will cease tobe assessed as grazing land. It is agricultural land and as a matterof equity it ought to pay taxes to the state on that basis. And itwill. I do not know--I have never heard of--a cattleman with a milliondollars cash on hand, and if I could find such a cattleman who waslooking for a hundred thousand acre ranch he would not want half of itto be agricultural land and be forced to bankrupt himself paying taxeson it as such
."
"I think I understand. The ranch must be sold to some person orcompany who will purchase it with the idea of selling half of the ranchas grazing land and the valley of the San Gregorio as agriculturalland."
"Quite so. I would have to interest a sub-division expert whosespecialty is the sale of small farms, on time payments. Well, nobusiness man ever contemplates the purchase, at a top price, ofproperty that is to be sold on mortgage foreclosure; and I think hewould be an optimist, indeed, who would bid against your father."
"Of course," he continued, patiently, "when the ranch is sold atauction to satisfy the mortgage your father will bid it in at theamount of the mortgage, It is improbable that he will have to pay more."
"Am I to understand then, Don Mike, that for approximately threehundred thousand dollars he will be enabled, under this atrocious codeof business morals, to acquire a property worth at least a milliondollars?"
"Such is the law--a law as old as the world itself."
"Why, then, the whole thing is absurdly simple, Don Mike. All you haveto do is to get a friend to bid against my father and run the price upon him to something like a half-way decent sum. In that way you shouldmanage to save a portion of your equity."
He bent upon her a benign and almost paternal glance. "You'retremendously sweet to put that flea in my ear, Kay. It's a wonderfulprescription, but it lacks one small ingredient--the wealthy,courageous and self-sacrificing friend who will consent to run thesandy on your astute parent, as a favor to me."
She gave him a tender, prescient little smile--the smile of one whosees beyond a veil objects not visible to the eyes of other mortals.
"Well, even if he is my dear father he ought to be nice about it andsee to it that you receive a fair price for your equity." She clenchedher little fist. "Why, Don Mike, that's just like killing the wounded."
"My dear girl, I do not blame your father at all. What claim have I onhis sympathy or his purse? I'm a stranger to him. One has to be asport in such matters and take the blow with a smile."
"I don't care. It's all wrong," she replied with spirit. "And I'mgoing to tell my father so."
"Oh, I've thought up a plan for escaping with a profit," he assuredher, lightly. "It will leave you folks in undisputed possession of thehouse and the ranch, leave Bill Conway free to proceed with hisvaluable contract and leave me free to mount Panchito and fare forth toother and more virgin fields--I trust. All of this within a period offorty-eight hours."
Was it fancy, or had her face really blanched a little?
"Why--why, Don Mike! How extraordinary!"
"On the contrary, quite ordinary. It's absurdly simple. I need somegetaway money. I ought to have it--and I'm going to get it by theoldest known method--extortion through intimidation. Your father is asmart man and he will see the force of my argument."
"He's a very stubborn man and doesn't bluff worth a cent," she warnedhim and added: "Particularly when he doesn't like one or when he isangry. And whatever you do, do not threaten him. If you threaten him,instantly he will be consumed with curiosity to see you make good."
"I shall not threaten him. I shall merely talk business to him.That's a language he understands."
"How much money do you expect to realize?"
"About half a million dollars."
"In return for what?"
"A quit claim deed to the Rancho Palomar. He can have a title in feesimple to the ranch by noon tomorrow and thus be spared the necessityfor a new suit to foreclose that accursed mortgage and the concomitantwait of one year before taking possession. He will then be free tocontinue his well-drilling and dam-building in Caliente Basin; he canimmediately resume his negotiations with Okada for the purchase of theentire valley and will be enabled, in all probability, to close thedeal at a splendid profit. Then he can proceed to erect hishydro-electric plant and sell it for another million dollars' profit toone of the parent power companies throughout the state; when that hasbeen disposed of he can lease or sell the range land to Andre Loustalotand finally he can retire with the prospect of unceasing dividends fromthe profits of his irrigation company. Within two years he will have aprofit of at least two million dollars, net, but this will not bepossible until he has first disposed of me at a total disposing priceof five hundred thousand dollars."
"Please explain that."
"As I think I have remarked in your presence once before, there isextreme probability that the State of California will have passedadditional anti-Jap legislation, designed to tighten the present lawand eliminate the legal loop-holes whereby alien Japanese continue toacquire land despite the existing law. If I stand pat no Jap can setfoot in the San Gregorio valley for at least one year from date and bythat time this legislation may be in force, in which event the Jap dealwill be killed forever. Also, there is always the off chance that Imay manage, mysteriously, to redeem the property in the interim. Itwould be worth a quarter of a million dollars to your father thisminute if he could insure himself against redemption of the mortgage;and it would be worth an additional quarter of a million dollars to himif he were free to do business with Okada to-morrow morning. Okada isa sure-fire prospect. He will pay cash for the entire valley if Ipermit the deal to go through now. If, however, through mystubbornness, your father loses out with Okada, it will be a year hencebefore he can even recommence work on his irrigation system and anotheryear before he will have it completed. Many things may occur duringthose two years--the principal danger to be apprehended being thesudden collapse of inflated war-time values, with resultant moneypanics, forced liquidation and the destruction of public confidence inland investments. The worry and exasperation I can hand your respectedparent must be as seriously considered as the impending tremendous lossof profit."
"I believe you are a very shrewd young man, Don Mike," the girlanswered, sadly. "I think your plan will be much more likely toproduce half a million dollars of what you call 'getaway money' than mysuggestion that a friend run up the price on father at the sale. Buthow do you know Okada will pay cash?"
"I do not know. But if your father's attorneys are Californians theywill warn him to play safe when dealing with a Jap."
"But is it not possible that Okada may not have sufficient money tooperate on the excessive scale you outline?"
"Not a chance. He is not buying for himself; he is the representativeof the Japanese Association of California."
"Well, Don Miguel Farrel," the girl declared, as he ceased speaking, "Ihave only known you twenty-four hours, but in that time I have heardyou do a deal of talking on the Japanese question in California. Andnow you have proved a terrible disappointment to me."
"In what way?" he demanded, and pulled his horse up abruptly. He wasvaguely distressed at her blunt statement, apprehensive as to thereason for her flushed face and flashing eye, the slightly stridentnote in her voice.
"I have regarded you as a true blue American--a super-patriot. And nowyou calmly plan to betray your state to the enemy for the paltry sum ofhalf a million dollars!"
He stared at her, a variety of emotions in his glance. "Well," hereplied, presently, "I suppose I shall deserve that, if I succeed withmy plan. However, as a traitor, I'm not even a runner-up with yourfather. He's going to get a couple of million dollars as the price ofhis shame! And he doesn't even need the money. On the other hand, Iam a desperate, mighty unhappy ex-soldier experiencing all of thedelights of a bankrupt, with the exception of an introduction to thereferee in bankruptcy. I'm whipped. Who cares what becomes of me?Not a soul on earth except Pablo and Carolina and they, poor creatures,are dependent upon me. Why should I sacrifice my last chance forhappiness in a vain effort to stem a yellow tide that cannot bestemmed? Why do you taunt me with my aversion to sacrifice for mycountry--I who have sacrificed two years of my life and some of myblood and much of my happiness?"
Suddenly she put her little gauntleted hand up to her face andcommenced to weep. "Oh, Don Mike, please forgive me! I'm sorry.I--I--
have no right to demand such a sacrifice, but oh, Ithought--perhaps--you were different from all the others--that you'd bea true--knight and die--sword in--hand--oh, dear, I'm such a--littleninny--"
He bit his lower lip but could not quite conceal a smile.
"You mean you didn't think I was a quitter!" His voice was grim andcrisp. "Well, in the dirty battle for bread and butter there are nodecorations for gallantry in action; in that conflict I do not have tolive up to the one that Congress gave me. And why shouldn't I quit? Icome from a long line of combination fighter-quitters. We were neverafraid of hardship or physical pain, danger or death, but--we couldn'tface conditions; we balked and quit in the face of circumstance; weretired always before the economic onslaught of the Anglo-Saxon."
"Ah, but you're Anglo-Saxon," she sobbed. "You belong to the race thatdoesn't quit--that somehow muddles through."
"If I but possessed blue eyes and flaxen hair--if I but possessed theguerdon of a noble lady's love--I might not have disappointed you, Kay.I might still have been a true knight and died sword in hand.Unfortunately, however, I possess sufficient Latin blood to make me alittle bit lazy--to counsel quitting while the quitting is good."
"I'm terribly disappointed," she protested. "Terribly."
"So am I. I'm ashamed of myself, but--a contrite heart is not hockableat the only pawnshop in El Toro. Buck up, Miss Parker!"
"You have called me Kay three times this afternoon, Miguel--"
He rode close to her, reached over and gently drew one little hand fromher crimson face. "You're a dear girl, Kay," he murmured, huskily."Please cease weeping. You haven't insulted me or even remotely hurtmy little feelings. God bless your sweet soul! If you'll only stopcrying, I'll give you Panchito. He's yours from this minute. Saddleand bridle, too. Take him. Do what you please with him, but forheaven's sake don't let your good mother think we've beenquarreling--and on the very second day of our acquaintance."
She dashed the tears away and beamed up at him. "You give Panchito tome! You don't mean it!"
"I do. I told you I might give him away to somebody worth while."
"You haven't known me long enough to give me valuable presents,Miguel," she demurred. "You're a dear to want to give him to me andI'm positively mad to own him, but Mother and Dad might think--well,that is, they might not understand. Of course we understand perfectly,but--well--you understand, don't you, Miguel?"
"I understand that I cannot afford to have your father suspect that Iam unmindful of--certain conditions," he answered her, and flushed withembarrassment. "If you do not want Panchito as a gift I shall notinsist--"
"I think it would be a good idea for you to permit Dad to buy him forme. He's worth every cent of five thousand dollars--"
"I'll never sell him. I told you this afternoon I love him. I neversell a horse or a dog that I love or that loves me. I shall have totake him back, Kay--for the present."
"I think that would be the better way, Miguel." She bent upon him aninscrutable smile but in the depths of her brown eyes he thought hedetected laughter.
"You'll buck up now?" he pleaded.
"I'm already bucked up."
As they rode up to the great barn, Kay dismounted. "Leave the oldtrifle at the door, Kay," Farrel told her. "Pablo will get him home.Excuse me, please, while I take this calf over to Carolina. She'llmake a man out of him. She's a wonder at inducing little maverickslike this fellow to drink milk from a bucket."
He jogged away, while Panchito, satisfied that he had performedthroughout the day like a perfect gentleman, bent his head and rubbedhis forehead against Kay's cheek, seeking some evidence of growingpopularity with the girl. To his profound satisfaction she scratchedhim under the jawbone and murmured audibly:
"Never mind, old dear. Some day you'll be my Panchito. He loves youand didn't he say he could only give you away for love?"