Part 26 (1/2)
”Now you can go on froht thousand a year till you're a voter Well, we'll call you aon me to the tune of forty or fifty thousand, besides what your ive you, with a valet and a yacht or a fancy-ranch where you can pretend to raise trotting stock and play cards with your own crowd”
”Like Lorry Tuck?” Harvey put in
”Yep; or the two De Vitre boys or old man McQuade's son California's full of 'e”
A shi+ny black steaany deck-house, nickel-plated binnacles, and pink-and-white-striped awnings, puffed up the harbour, flying the burgee of socards by the saloon skylight; and a couple of wohed noisily
”Shouldn't care to be caught out in her in any sort of a breeze No, beam,” said Harvey, critically, as the yacht slowed to pick up her ood tiive you that, and twice as much as that, Harve How'd you like it?”
”Caesar! That's no way to get a dinghy over-side,” said Harvey, still intent on the yacht ”If I couldn't slip a tackle better than that I'd stay ashoreWhat if I don't?”
”Stay ashore--or what?”
”Yacht and ranch and live on 'the old et behind mama when there's trouble,” said Harvey, with a twinkle in his eye
”Why, in that case, you coht in with me, my son”
”Ten dollars a month?” Another twinkle
”Not a cent in to touch that for a few years”
”I'd sooner begin sweeping out the office--isn't that how the big bugs start?--and touch so now than--”
”I know it; we all feel that way But I guess we can hire any sweeping we need Iin too soon”
”Thirty million dollars' worth o' mistake, wasn't it? I'd risk it for that”
”I lost soained some I'll tell you”
Cheyne pulled his beard and smiled as he looked over the still water, and spoke away froan to be aware that his father was telling the story of his life He talked in a low, even voice, without gesture and without expression; and it was a history for which a dozen leading journals would cheerfully have paid many dollars--the story of forty years that was at the same time the story of the New West, whose story is yet to be written
It began with a kinless boy turned loose in Texas, and went on fantastically through a hundred changes and chops of life, the scenes shi+fting fro up in a month and in a season utterly withered away, to wild ventures in wilder camps that are now laborious, pavedof three railroads and the deliberate wreck of a fourth
It told of steamers, townshi+ps, forests, and , creating, hewing, and digging these It touched on chances of gigantic wealth flung before eyes that could not see, or h the s, sometimes on horseback, more often afoot, now rich, now poor, in and out, and back and forth, deck-hand, train-hand, contractor, boardinghouse keeper, journalist, engineer, druent, politician, dead-beat, rumseller, mine-owner, speculator, cattle- his own ends, and, so he said, the glory and advancement of his country
He told of the faith that never deserted hie of despair the faith that coh he were talking to hie and resource at all ti was so evident in the ed his tone He described how he had bested his eneiven him in those careless days; how he had entreated, cajoled, and bullied towns, coood; crawled round, through, or underand hoop-iron railroad after him, and in the end, how he had sat still while proments of his character to shreds
The tale held Harvey almost breathless, his head a little cocked to one side, his eyes fixed on his father's face, as the twilight deepened and the red cigar-end lit up the furrowed cheeks and heavy eyebrows It see across country in the dark--a lare of the opened fire-door: but this locomotive could talk, and the words shook and stirred the boy to the core of his soul At last Cheyne pitched away the cigar-butt, and the two sat in the dark over the lapping water
”I've never told that to any one before,” said the father
Harvey gasped ”It's just the greatest thing that ever was!” said he