He was
beaten and acknowledged it, and I think you might have been a little
more generous to your fallen enemy, Uncle Seth."
"I dare say," he admitted lightly. "However, I wasn't, and now I'm
going to be punished for it, my dear: so don't roast me any more. By
the way, that speckled hot-air fellow Ogilvy, who is promoting the
Northern California Oregon Railroad, is back in town again. Somehow,
I haven't much confidence in that fellow. I think I'll wire the San
Francisco office to look him up in Dun's and Bradstreet's. Folks up
this way are taking too much for granted on that fellow's mere say--
so, but I for one intend to delve for facts--particularly with regard
to the N.C.O. bank-roll and Ogilvy's associates. I'd sleep a whole
lot more soundly to-night if I knew the answer to two very important
questions."
"What are they, Uncle Seth?"
"Well, I'd like to know whether the N.C.O. is genuine or a screen to
hide the operations of the Trinidad Redwood Timber Company."
"It might," said Shirley, with one of those sudden flashes of
intuition peculiar to women, "be a screen to hide the operations of
Bryce Cardigan. Now that he knows you aren't going to renew his
hauling contract, he may have decided to build his own logging
railroad."
After a pause the Colonel made answer: "No, I have no fear of that.
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