CHAPTER XXI
Imogene Chandler had spoken most confidently to Bob of his success.But after he was gone she began to be pestered by uneasy doubts--whichis the way of a woman.
She and her father had been compelled to operate on small capital.They had figured, or rather Imogene had, dollar at a time. This newventure of Rogeen's rather appalled her. A hundred thousand ofborrowed money! It was almost unthinkable. Anywhere else but in thisland of surprises such a proposition would seem entirely fantastic.
With so much involved any disastrous turn would leave him hopelessly indebt. And besides--her thoughts took a more uneasy turn--she felt itwas going to put him in danger. Reedy Jenkins and his Mexicanassociates would be very bitter over Bob's getting the Red Butte--andthey might do anything.
The next evening, when Noah Ezekiel came over, Imogene had not gone toher shack.
"Sit down, Noah," she said, "I want to talk to you."
"That's what my maw used to say when I'd been swimmin' on Sunday,"observed the hill billy as he let his lank form down on the bench.
Imogene laughed. "Well, I'm not going to scold you for breaking theSabbath or getting your feet wet, or forgetting to shut the gate. WhatI want, Noah, is to get your opinion."
"It's funny about opinions," remarked Noah impersonally to the stars."Somebody is always gettin' your opinion just to see how big a fool youare, and how smart they are."
"Noah Ezekiel Foster," the girl spoke reprovingly. "You know betterthan that. You know I want your opinion because I think you know moreabout cotton than I do."
"All right," said Noah, meekly. "Lead on. I got more opinions in myhead than Ben Davis' sheep used to have cockle burs in their wool."
"What do you think of the Red Butte Ranch?"
"It's a blamed fine ranch."
"Do you think Mr. Rogeen will make money on it?" She tried to sounddisinterested.
"That reminds me," replied Noah, "of Sam Scott. Sam went to Dixion andstarted a pool hall under Ike Golberg's clothing store. After Sam gotit all fixed up with nice green-topped tables and white balls, andplaces to spit between shots, he got me down there to look it over.
"'How does she look?' says Sam.
"'She looks all right,' I said.
"'I'm going to get rich,' declares Sam.
"'That all depends' I says, 'on one thing.'
"'What's that?' says Sam.
"'On whuther there is more money comes down them stairs than goes up.'"
Noah twisted his shoulders and again looked up impersonally at thestars.
"You see makin' money is mighty simple. All you got to do is take inmore than you pay out. But the dickens of it is, losin' it is just assimple--and a durned sight easier."
Imogene was smiling into the dusk, but her thoughts were on seriousmatters.
"Well, which do you think Mr. Rogeen will do?"
Noah twisted his shoulders again, and shuffled his feet on the ground.
"I always hate to give a plumb out opinion--because it nearly alwaysruins your reputation as a prophet. But Bob ain't nobody's fool. Andhe's white from his heels to his eyeballs--everything except his liver."
Imogene laughed, but felt a swelling in the throat. That tribute fromthe hill bill meant more than the verdict of a court.
"The only trouble is," Noah was speaking a little uneasily himself,"Reedy Jenkins is a skunk and he's got some pizen rats gnawing for him.There ain't nothin' they won't do--except what they are afraid to.Bob's got 'em so they don't tie their goats around his shack any more.But they are going to do him dirt, sure as a tadpole makes a toad.
"Reedy Jenkins has got hold of a lot of money somewhere again; and he'sset out to bush Bob, and get away with the pile. I don't know just howhe's aimin' to do it; but Reedy don't never have any regrets over whathappens to the other fellow if it makes money for him."
The hill billy's words made Imogene more uneasy than before. And yetlooking at the lank, droll fellow sitting there in the starlight, sheagain smiled, and sighed.
"Well, I'm mighty glad Mr. Rogeen has you for a friend," she said aloud.
"A friend," observed Noah, "is sorter like a gun--expensive in town butcomfortin' in the country.
"But really I ain't no good, Miss Chandler. As I used to say to mydad, 'if the Lord made me, he must have done it sort of absentmindedly, for he ain't never found no place for me.'"
Imogene arose. She knew this big-hearted, rough hill billy must betired. She went over and laid her hand lightly on his shoulder andsaid with a solemn tightening of the throat--"Noah, you are the salt ofthe earth--and I'd rather have you for a friend than a diamond king."
Noah arose, emotion always made him uncomfortable, and shuffled off tohis tent without a word.
But he turned at the entrance to the tent, and looked back. The girlsat quite still, her face turned up toward the stars.
"Well," said Noah to himself, "she's got me all right."
On the fourteenth of June Bob Rogeen and Noah Ezekiel Foster rodethrough the Red Butte Ranch.
The fields lay before them checkered off into squares by the irrigationditches, level as a table. The long rows of cotton were five to teninches high, and of a dark green colour. The stand on most of thefields was almost perfect. One Chinaman with a span of mulescultivated fifty acres.
"Lou Wing is a great farmer," continued Bob, enthusiastically. "He isdoing the work for 45 per cent. of the crop. I pay the water and therent; and of course I have to advance him the money to feed and pay hishands. He has twenty partners with a separate camp for each; and eachpartner has four Chinamen working for him. That is system, Noah. Itcertainly looks like riches, doesn't it?"
"All flesh is grass," Noah sighed lugubriously, "except some that'sweeds."
"Cotton is going up every day," said Bob. "It was nine cents and afraction yesterday."
"That means," remarked Noah Ezekiel, "Reedy Jenkins could sell themeight thousand bales he's got stacked up on this side and pay all hisdebts and have twenty thousand over."
"But Reedy is not paying his debts."
"Not yet," said Noah; "he is borrowin' more money."
"Is that so?" Bob was sharply interested. He had not feared Reedymuch while he was out of funds. "When did you hear that?"
"Saturday night," replied Noah. "You can gather a whole lot moreinformation round the Red Owl than you can moss."
"I wonder what he is going to do with it?" Bob's mind was still onReedy Jenkins.
"He's done done with it," answered Noah. "He's bought the Dillenbeckirrigation system."
Instantly all exuberant desire to shout went from Bob's throat and achill ran along his veins. In a twinkling the heat of the friendly sunupon those wide green fields with their fingered network of a hundredwater ditches became a threat and a menace. After all, by what anarrow thread does security hang!
Bob walked as one on a precipice during the following weeks. Never wasa man more torn between hope and fear. On the one hand, the cottongrew amazingly. Fed by the nourishment stored in that soil which hadlain dormant for thousands of years, watered by the full sluices fromthe Colorado River and warmed like a hotbed by the floods of sunshineday after day, the stalks climbed and climbed and branched until theylooked more like green bushes than frail plants. Bob rode the fieldsall day long, even when the thermometer crept up to 127 in the shade,and a skillet left in the sun would fry bacon and eggs perfectly donein seven minutes. Often he continued to ride until far into the night,watching the chopping of the weeds, watching the men in the fields, andmost of all watching the watering. Yes, the crop was advancing with apromise almost staggering in its richness. It looked now as thoughsome of these fields would go to a bale and a half an acre. And slowlybut surely the price of cotton had climbed since March, a quarter of acent one day, a half the next, a jump of a whole cent one Friday; andnow on the second day of August it touched 10.37. With a bale to theacre at that price Bob could add $30,000 to his estimated expense
andstill clear a hundred thousand dollars on this crop. When he thoughtof it as he rode along the water ditches in the early evening, he grewfairly dizzy with hope. But then on the other side: the unformedmenace--Reedy Jenkins owned the water system!
The fear had taken tangible shape when he got his water bill for June.But there was no raise in price. Again yesterday, the bill for Julycame, and still no raise in price.
It was ten o'clock that night when he got into Calexico and went to thehotel.
As the clerk gave him the key to his room, he also handed him a letter,saying:
"A special delivery that came for you an hour ago; I signed for it."
Bob's fingers shook slightly as he took it. Glancing swiftly at thecorner of the envelope he read:
DILLENBECK WATER CO.