And yet you
deserve it. You're such an idiot for not loving Moira. She's an
angel, and I gravely fear I'm just an interfering, mischievous,
resentful little devil seeking vengeance on--"
She paused suddenly. "No, I'll not do that, either," she
soliloquized. "I'll keep it myself--for an investment. I'll show
Uncle Seth I'm a business woman, after all. He has had his fair
chance at the Valley of the Giants, after waiting years for it, and
now he has deliberately sacrificed that chance to be mean and
vindictive. I'm afraid Uncle Seth isn't very sporty--after what Bryce
Cardigan did for us that day the log-train ran away. I'll have to
teach him not to hit an old man when he's down and begging for mercy.
_I_'LL buy the Valley but keep my identity secret from everybody;
then, when Uncle Seth finds a stranger in possession, he'll have a
fit, and perhaps, before he recovers, he'll sell me all his Squaw
Creek timber--only he'll never know I'm the buyer. And when I control
the outlet--well, I think that Squaw Creek timber will make an
excellent investment if it's held for a few years. Shirley, my dear,
I'm pleased with you. Really, I never knew until now why men could be
so devoted to business. Won't it be jolly to step in between Uncle
Seth and Bryce Cardigan, hold up my hand like a policeman, and say:
'Stop it, boys.
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