The Winning of Barbara Worth

by Harold Bell Wright

  CHAPTER XX.

  WHAT THE STAKES REVEALED.

  James Greenfield, returning to Kingston from his tour of inspection,left at once for his own world--a world of offices with mahoganyfurniture, of men with white collars and pale faces, of banks and trustcompanies, and Good Business.

  The afternoon of the day he left, Willard Holmes rode into the camp atDry River Crossing. The engineer explained that he was looking over theroute of a new main canal that was being surveyed by his men and that,finding himself in the vicinity of Mr. Worth's headquarters, he hadtaken the opportunity to call.

  From Barbara as well as from Jefferson Worth and Abe Lee the Companyman received a hearty welcome with a cordial invitation to ride withthem the next day over the line of their work. Although Holmes watchedwith peculiar sensitiveness, there was no sign from either of the threethat they had yet discovered the real significance of the South Centraldeal or that they knew the part he had played in it. His desire to endthe whole unpleasant situation by going over the work with Mr. Worthand the surveyor, and by confessing to Barbara how he had permitted herfather to walk into the trap, led him to accept the invitation.

  The little party left camp early the next morning and following theline of Black's survey found a mile or more of the canal alreadycompleted, while a large force of men and teams was at work clearingthe ground and pushing the big ditch still farther in a generalsoutherly direction toward the Company canal fifteen miles away.

  Abe Lee explained to Barbara that other camps were located at pointsfarther on, thus dividing the whole district to be excavated intoseveral sections. "You see," he said turning to Holmes, "the waste fromDry River Heading coming down the old channel gives us water at severalpoints so that we can handle this work to a little better advantagethan we used to do with the first of the Company canals."

  "I see," said the Company man. "And how many head of stock are youworking?"

  "About fifteen hundred now, but we are increasing the force rightalong. We expect to handle about twice that."

  Instantly Willard Holmes saw that he could still save Jefferson Worthfrom heavy financial loss. But it was to the interest of The King'sBasin Land and Irrigation Company for Jefferson Worth to lose heavily.What should he do?

  They had left the first section of the work now and were following theline of the survey where the brush had been roughly cleared. Theengineer, preoccupied in his struggle with the question that confrontedhim, had dropped behind the others, when suddenly Barbara, lookingback, checked El Capitan. "What's the matter, Mr. Holmes?" she called.

  The others also looked back to see the engineer kneeling on the ground.Jefferson Worth glanced quickly at his superintendent who chuckledoutright.

  "What is it?" cried Barbara at Abe's unusual laugh. "What's the joke?"

  Before either of the men could answer, Holmes sprang to his saddle and,with a quick jab of his spurs in the horse's flanks, rejoined them onthe run. In his excitement the mental habits of his life assertedthemselves and he was again the typical corporation official dealingwith a mere private individual operating on a small scale. "Look here!"he burst forth sharply to Abe; "these are not our Company stakes. Youare not following Black's line."

  The surveyor grinned. "We followed it for a half mile this side of thecut, then we branched off. You evidently did not notice."

  "Where do you strike it again?"

  "We don't strike it again."

  "Then how do you get to the intake location?"

  "We don't get to the intake _you_ located at all. We strike your canalthree miles farther up."

  The Company's chief engineer retorted hotly: "But you can't do that.Our survey shows"--he stopped.

  "Your survey shows what?" came Abe Lee's sharp challenge. "You areundoubtedly familiar with the data turned in by your man Black, for youtold Mr. Worth the quality of the soil before he closed the deal. Whatelse does your survey show?"

  Before the engineer could answer, Jefferson Worth's cool voice brokein. "You understand, Mr. Holmes, that there is nothing in my contractwith your Company that binds me to follow the line of your survey oraccept your location of the intake. The Company contracts to deliverthe water into my canal, that is all."

  The engineer regained control of himself. "I beg your pardon, Mr.Worth; and yours, Lee. I forgot myself. I see that my man Black made amistake."

  Abe laughed dryly. "In checking over Black's work, Holmes, I found hiselevations correct at every point."

  Holmes himself smiled as he said: "Well, Lee, whether you believe me ornot, I am very glad you checked over Black's work, and, Mr. Worth, withall my heart I wish you success in your project."

  "Thank you," said Worth, "I am already indebted to you for a valuablepiece of information."

  "Indebted to me?"

  "You remember what I asked you when I was going over this propositionwith Greenfield and Burk in the Company office?"

  "I remember that you asked me about the soil in the district."

  "You answered that the _soil_ was all right."

  Holmes drew a long breath. "And you let Uncle Jim and Burk think--"

  "I let them think what they wanted to think," said Jefferson Worth.

  Barbara, who had listened with intense interest to the conversation, atHolmes's unfinished remark and her father's reply moved El Capitanslowly away from his place beside Worth's horse and went close to AbeLee. All the gladness was gone from the young woman's face now, andwhile she maintained a show of interest it was plainly forced.

  The banker, at his daughter's movement, retreated behind his gray maskand for the rest of the trip spoke only when it was necessary, leavingher entirely to the surveyor and Willard Holmes.

  Barbara had understood from the talk of the men that her father, byusing the unsuspecting engineer, had in some way shrewdly gained abusiness advantage over the Company. The incident forced her, as shethought, to see with a cruel clearness that to Jefferson Worth thissplendid work of reclaiming the desert was nothing but the opportunityto win larger financial gains; that he was still practicing the tacticsfor which he was famous. She shrank from him unconsciously but to theman as plainly as she had drawn back in fear that night years before.As the baby had turned from him to the Seer then, the young womanturned from him to Abe Lee now.

  During the rest of the day Barbara kept so close to the surveyor's sidethat Willard Holmes had no opportunity to talk with her alone, and whenthey arrived again at the headquarters camp the engineer, promising tocall upon her soon in Kingston, left for one of his own camps a fewmiles away.

  That evening Jefferson Worth and his daughter sat alone under the arrowweed ramada facing the river. Moving her camp chair closer in thedusk--so close that, reaching out she laid her warm young hand on thehand of her father--Barbara said in a low tone: "Daddy, I wish youwould tell me all about this South Central District business."

  She felt the slim nervous fingers move uneasily. Never before hadBarbara asked him to explain any of his transactions. The man's habitof retiring behind that gray mask whenever the subject of his businesswas mentioned, together with the girl's instinctive shrinking lest hisanswers to such a question should drive them farther apart, prevented.But to-night, perhaps because Willard Holmes was concerned, perhapsbecause of her peculiar interest in the work involved, Barbara forcedherself to ask.

  "What do you want to know?"

  At his expressionless tone it was to Barbara as though she felt thechill of his cold mask coming between them, but she persisted and inher voice was passionate earnestness. "I want to know all about it,father; I must."

  "Why?"

  "Because"--she hesitated. "Because I understood from the conversationto-day about the surveys that someone had made a mistake. I--I don'twant to make a mistake, daddy. Won't you please explain it all to me?What was it that you let Mr. Greenfield and Mr. Burk think?"

  Perhaps because of the memories of the place, or because it was thefirst time Barbara had ever sought an explanation, or again perhap
s itwas because Willard Holmes was interested, Jefferson Worth answered: "Ilet them think I was a fool."

  "But why was Mr. Holmes so excited to-day when he found out about thosestakes?"

  "He discovered that I was not such a fool as they thought."

  Then Jefferson Worth explained to the girl the whole situation. He madeclear Greenfield's reason for offering him the water rights; why hewould have taken the stock without investigation but for the hint hereceived from the Company engineer's manner and the way Holmes hadanswered that simple question about the soil; how he had made thesurvey secretly, because Greenfield would have refused to close thedeal if he had known that Worth wanted it after he had it investigated,and because if Greenfield believed the district stock to be valuelesshe would sell at a very low figure rather than not sell at all; and howit was that same low figure that enabled him to give the men who wereworking on the canal a chance to acquire farms of their own.

  When he had made it all plain, the young woman exclaimed: "And this manGreenfield and those with him in the Company are the men who are doingthe Seer's work; who are making the reclamation of the desert possible!I don't--I can't understand it."

  "It is a very simple business deal," said Worth. "There is nothingunusual about it. Greenfield and his men are good men; they are simplydefending their interests from a competitor. This Desert never could bereclaimed at all without them or others like them."

  "Tell me again, daddy; was Mr. Holmes _sure_ that this land wasworthless?"

  "Certainly he was sure of it. He had all of Black's data giving theelevations."

  "And he knew that they were trying to sell it to you?"

  "Yes."

  "But did he know _why?_ Did he know it was a trap to ruin your work?"

  "Certainly, he must have known."

  The girl's voice trembled. "Oh, why--why didn't he tell you? Why didn'the warn you?"

  "He did."

  "Yes, daddy, but he did not _intend_ to do it, for to-day he did notknow that he had until you explained. And I thought-I thought--" Hervoice ended in a sob.

  "But Barbara, Holmes did just what he should have done. He is in theemploy of the Company. He had no right to interfere with theirbusiness."

  "Every man has a right to be a man," she answered hotly. "Abe wouldn'thave kept still. The Seer would not have helped them in their schemes.I don't wonder that the Company discharged the Seer to give Mr. Holmeshis place!"

  Jefferson Worth was silent for a little, then he said: "If I hadthought that you would blame Holmes I never would have told you."

  "But you did right to tell me. I am glad, for I see now that I _was_making a mistake--that I was making two mistakes. I misjudged you,daddy--forgive me; and I--I have been mistaken about Mr. Holmes."

  For an hour or more the two sat silent, the mind of each occupied withthoughts that were much the same. Barbara for the first time felt thatshe could enter fully into her father's life. She had at last seenbehind his gray mask and found herself in full sympathy with him. Andthe lonely man knew that at last he had gained that for which his hearthungered--the fullest companionship of the girl he loved as his onlychild.

  At last Barbara said softly: "Daddy, I am not going back to Kingstonto-morrow. I am going to stay here with you. You can have another tenthouse built and Texas can go for Ynez who will bring what things Ineed. I am going to make a home for you. You need me, daddy. You are soalone in your work; no one understands you as I do now. Let me come andhelp you."

  Awkwardly Jefferson Worth put out his hand and drawing his daughtercloser said in a tone that Barbara had never heard before: "I waswishing that you would want to stay. You--you are not afraid of me now,Barbara?"

  "Why, no, of course not; what a strange thing to ask! I have never beenafraid of you; why should I be?"

  And Barbara thought that she spoke truly--that she had never fearedhim; though Jefferson Worth knew better.

  So another tent house was built and Texas went alone to Kingston, toreturn with Ynez as Barbara had planned, and the young woman set aboutmaking a home for her father in the rude desert camp.

  Every day nearly she rode El Capitan out to some part of the work, andthe men who were toiling for more than wages learned to know her and tohail her presence as a good omen. Many a rough fellow, dreaming of wifeor sweetheart and the home he would make for them in the desert as hedrove his team and held the bar of his Fresno, worked the harder for acheery word from the daughter of his employer.

  And every evening under the ramada Barbara sat with her father, oftenalone, sometimes with one or more of her little court; and always thetalk was of the work, save for the times when Pablo would come softlyto make music for his Senorita and then they would sit silently,listening to the sweet harmonies that floated away into the night.

  Often Barbara would go the short distance from the house to the oldwash; there to sit almost on the very spot where her mother hadperished beside the dry water hole; and watching the stream that nowflowed through the old channel, or looking away across the deep cut tothe sand hills that showed clearly in the distance, she would live overthe story as she had learned it that day with Texas--asking the old,old question, to which there was still no answer.

  One afternoon as she was sitting there, two wagons with a small partyof men appeared on the high bank of the stream opposite. As the menclimbed down from their seats, someone on horseback rode to the edge ofthe cut and sat for a moment looking across. Even at that distance sheknew him; it was Willard Holmes. Watching she saw him turn and by hismotions guessed that he was giving some instructions to the men. Thenhe rode away toward the Crossing.

  Quickly Barbara returned to the rude porch of the tent house and in afew minutes saw the engineer approach. Dismounting and throwing thereins over his horse's head he came to her smiling, sombrero in hand."Buenas dias, Senorita. Please may I have a drink?"

  "Certainly, Mr. Holmes; help yourself." She pointed to the olla hangingin the shade of the ramada.

  The engineer started at her cool reply, given as she would haveaddressed a stranger, and, more to regain his composure than because hewas thirsty, helped himself from the earthen water jar. When he coulddelay no longer he turned again to her, and forcing himself to speak asif he had not noticed the lack of warmth in her greeting said: "I wassorry to miss you in town. I called several times."

  "I am keeping house here for father," she answered.

  "Then we will be neighbors," he said with assumed lightness; "at leasthalf-way neighbors. A party of my surveyors will be camped over thereacross the river. I will be with them part of the time."

  When she made no reply to this, the man understood. Slowly he drew onhis gloves and, laying aside all pretense, said simply: "I have beentrying to see you, Miss Worth, because I wanted to tell you myself ofthe miserable part I took in the shameful trick my uncle attempted toplay on your father. I see that you know all about it and I realizethat it is quite useless for me to ask you to forgive me."

  He paused, but still the young woman was silent.

  More to regain his composure than because he was thirstyhelped himself from the earthen water jar]

  The man could not know how she was fighting to keep back the tears.

  "You told me plainly that you could never forgive one who was untrue tohis work," he went on hopelessly, "and you are right. There was a time,before I knew you, when I would have defended my action, when I wouldhave held that it was right; but I cannot now. Perhaps if I had knownyou longer--But what's the use. I am a sad bungler in this great work,Miss Worth. I am out of place in the big desert. I should have stayedat home. I wish--I wish you had never wakened me to the possibilitiesof life--real life. You would not need to feel ashamed for me now."

  When she looked up he was mounting his horse. Almost she cried out tohim, but he rode quickly out of her sight.