CHAPTER XXIV
DOUBLE TROUBLE
The next two weeks of Wiley Holman's life were packed so full of troublethat there were those who almost pitied him, though the word had beenpassed around to lay off. It was Samuel J. Blount who was making thetrouble, and who notified the rest to keep out, and so great was hisinfluence in all the desert country that no one dared to interfere. Whathe did was all legal and according to business ethics, but it gloved theiron hand. Blount was reaching for the mine and he intended to get it,if he had to crush his man. The attachments and suits were but theshadow boxing of the bout; the rough stuff was held in reserve. Andsomehow Wiley sensed this, for he sat tight at the mine and hired alawyer to meet the suits. His job was mining ore and he shoveled it outby the ton.
The distressing accidents had suddenly ceased since he began to boardhis own men at the mine and, while his lawyer stalled and haggled tofight off an injunction, he rushed his ore to the railroad. It was tooprecious to ship loose, for at eighty-four dollars a unit it was worthover four dollars a pound; he sent it out sacked, with an armed guard oneach truck to see that it was delivered and receipted for. As the checkscame back he paid off all his debts, thus depriving Blount of hisfavorite club; and then, while Blount was casting about for new weapons,he began to lay aside his profits.
They rolled up monstrously, for each five-ton truck load added severalthousand dollars to his bank account, but the time was getting short.Less than three weeks remained before the bond and lease expired, andstill Wiley was playing to win. He crammed his mine with men, snatchingthe ore from the stopes as the bonanza leasers had done at Tonopah, anddoubling the miner's pay with bonuses. Every truck driver received hisbonus, and night and day the great motors went thundering across thedesert. The ore came up from below and was dumped on a jig, where it wassorted and hastily sacked; and after that there was nothing to do butsent it under guard to the railroad. There was no milling, no smelting,no tedious process of reduction; but the raw picked ore was rushed tothe East and the checks came promptly back.
Blount was fully informed now of the terms of his contract and of thesource of his sudden wealth, but there was no way of reaching the buyer.A great war was on, every minute was precious--and every ounce of thetungsten was needed. The munitions makers could not pause for a singleday in their mad rush to fill their contracts. The only ray of hope thatBlount could see was that the price had broken to sixty dollars a unit.Wiley's contract called for eighty-four, throughout the full year--butsuppose he should lose his mine. And suppose Blount should win it. Hecould offer better terms, provided always that the buyer wouldaccommodate him now. Suppose, for instance, that the fat daily checksshould cease coming during the life of the lease. That could easily beexplained--it might be an error in book-keeping--but it would make quitea difference to Wiley. And in return for some such favor Blount couldafford to sell the tungsten for, say, fifty-five dollars a unit.
Blount was a careful man. He did not trust his message to the wires, nordid he put it on paper to convict him; he simply disappeared--but whenhe came back Wiley's lawyer was waiting with a check. It was for twentythousand dollars, and in return for this payment the lawyer demanded allof Blount's stock. Four hundred thousand shares, worth five dollarsapiece if the bond and lease should lapse, and called for under theoption at five cents! In those few short days, while Blount had beenspeeding East, Wiley had piled up this profit and more--and now he wasdemanding his stock!
"No!" said Blount, "that option is invalid because it was obtained bydeception and fraud, and therefore I refuse to recognize it."
"Very well," replied the lawyer, who made his living out ofcontroversies, and, summoning witnesses to his offer, he placed themoney in the hands of the court and plunged into furious litigation. Itwas furious, in a way, and yet not so furious as the next day and thenext passed by; for the lawyer was a business man and dependent upon thegood will of Blount. It was a civil suit and, since Wiley could notappear to state his case in Court, it was postponed by mutual consent.
It had come over Wiley that, as long as he stood guard, no accidentwould happen at the mine; but he was equally convinced that, the momenthe left it, the unexpected would happen. So, since Blount had elected tofight his suit, he let the fate of his option wait while he piled upmoney for his _coup_. As an individual, Blount might resist thesale of his stock; but as President of the Company he and his Board ofDirectors had given Wiley a valid bond and lease and, acting under itsterms, Wiley still had an opportunity to gain a clear title to the mine.What happened to the stock could be thrashed out later, but with thePaymaster in his possession he could laugh his enemies to scorn--and hedid not intend to be jumped! For who could tell, among these men whoswarmed about him, which ones might be hired emissaries of Blount; and,once he was out of sight, they might seize the mine and hold it againstall comers.
It was a thing which had been done before, and was likely to be doneagain; and as the days slipped by, bringing him closer to the end, helooked about for some agent. Had he a man that he could trust to holdthe mine, while he went into town to gain title to it? He looked themall over but, knowing Blount as he did, and the weakness of humannature, he hesitated and decided against it. No, it was better by farthat _he_ should hold the mine--for possession, in mining, iseverything--and send someone to pay over the money. That would beperfectly legal, and anyone could do it, but here again he hesitated.The zeal of his lawyer was failing of late--could he trust him to makethe payment, in a town that was owned by Blount? Would he offer itlegally and demand a legal surrender, and come out and put the deed inhis hand? He might, but Wiley doubted it.
There was something going on regarding the payments for his shipmentswhich he was unable to straighten out over the 'phone, and his lawyerwas neglecting even that. And yet, if those checks were held up muchlonger it might seriously interfere with his payment. He had wiredrepeatedly, but either the messages were not delivered or his buyer wastrying to welch on his contract. What he wanted was an agent, to godirectly to the buyer and get the matter adjusted. Wiley thought thematter over, then he 'phoned his lawyer to forget it and wrote direct toan express company, enclosing his bills of lading and authorizing themto collect the account. When it came to collecting bills you could trustthe express company--and you could trust Uncle Sam with your mail--butas to the people in Vegas, and especially the telephone girl, he had hiswell-established doubts. His telegraphic messages went out over the'phone and were not a matter of record and if she happened to be eatinga box of Blount's candy she might forget to relay them. It was borne inupon him, in fact, more strongly every day, that there are very fewpeople you can trust. With a suitcase, yes--but with a mine worthmillions? That calls for something more than common honesty.
The fight for the Paymaster, and Wiley's race against time, was now onevery tongue, and as the value of the property went up there was asudden flurry in the stock. Men who had hoarded it secretly for eightand ten years, men who had moved to the ends of the world, all heard ofthe fabulous wealth of the new Paymaster and wrote in to offer theirstock. Not to offer it, exactly, but to place it on record; and othersbegan as quietly to buy. It was known that the royalties had piled up anaccruing dividend of at least twenty cents a share; and with the sale ofit imminent--and a greater rise coming in case there was no sale--therewould be a further increase in value. It was good, in fact, for thirtycents cash, with a gambling chance up to five dollars; and the wise onesbegan to buy. Men he had not seen for years dropped in on Wiley to askhis advice about their stock; and one evening in his office, he lookedup from his work to see the familiar face of Death Valley Charley.
"Hello there, Charley," he said, still working. "Awful busy. What is ityou want?"
"Virginia wants her stock," answered Charley simply and blinked as hestood waiting the answer. There was a war on now between the Huffs andHolmans into which Wiley's father had been drawn; and since Honest Johnhad repudiated his son's acts and disclaimed all interest in his deal,Charley kn
ew that Wiley was bitter. He had cut off the Widow from herone source of revenue but, when she had accused him of doing it for hisfather, Wiley had forgotten the last of his chivalry. Not only did heboard all his men himself but he promised to fire any man he had who wasseen taking a meal at the Widow's. It was war to the knife, and Charleyknew it, but he blinked his eyes and stood firm.
"What stock?" demanded Wiley, and then he closed his lips and his eyesturned fighting gray. "You tell her," he said, "if she wants her stock,to come and get it herself."
"But she sent me to get it!" objected Charley obstinately.
"Yes, and I send you back," answered Wiley. "I gave her that stocktwice, and I made it what it is, and if she wants it she can come andask for it."
"And will you give it to her?" asked Charley, but Wiley only grunted andwent ahead with his writing.
It was apparent to him what was in the wind. The Widow had written todemand of his father some return for the damage to her business; andHonest John had replied, and sent Wiley a copy, that he was in no waysresponsible for his acts. This letter to Wiley had been followed byanother in which his father had rebuked him for persecuting Mrs. Huff,and Wiley had replied with five pages, closely written, reciting hisside of the case. At this John Holman had declared himself neutral and,beyond repeating his offer to buy the Widow's stock, had disclaimed allinterest in her affairs. But now, with her stock still in Blount's handsand this last source of revenue closed to her, the Widow was left noalternative but to appeal indirectly to Wiley. What other way then wasopen, if she was ever to win back her stock, but to get back Virginia'sshares and sell them to raise the eight hundred dollars? Wiley grumbledto himself as Death Valley Charley turned away and went on writing hisletter.
It had been a surprise, after his break with Virginia, to discover thatit left him almost glad. It had removed a burden that had weighed himdown for months, and it left him free to act. He could protect hisproperty now as it should be protected, without thought of her oranybody; and he could board his own men and keep the gospel of hate frombeing constantly dinned into their ears. They were honest, simpleminers, easily swayed by a woman's distress, but equally susceptible tothe lure of gold; and now with a bonus after the minimum of work theywere tearing out the ore like Titans. They were loyal and satisfied,greeting his coming with a friendly smile; but if Virginia got hold ofthem, or her venomous mother, where then would be his discipline?
He was deep in his work when a shadow fell upon his desk and he lookedup to see--Virginia.
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