The ice had been broken. Everybody laughed and joked. Some of the men removed their coats in order to be more comfortable. The young salesmen had laboured successfully to bring these strangers to a feeling of partnership in at least the aims of the Company, of partisanship against the claims of other less-favoured valleys than Lucky. During a pause in the fun, one of the "prospects," an elderly, white-whiskered farmer of the more prosperous type, nodded toward the brook.
"That sounds good," said he.
"It"s the supply for the Lucky Lands," replied Selwyn. "It ought to sound good."
"There"s mighty few flowing creeks in California this far out from the mountains," interposed another salesman. "You know out here, except in the rainy season, the rivers all flow bottom-up."
They all guffawed at this ancient and mild joke. The old farmer wagged his head.
"Water is King," said he solemnly, as though voicing an original and profound thought.
A look of satisfaction overspread the countenance of the particular salesman who had the old farmer in charge. When you can get your "prospect" to adopt your catchword and enunciate it with conviction, he is yours!
After the meal Bob, unnoticed, wandered off up the canon. He had ascertained that the excursionists would not leave the spot for two hours yet, and he welcomed the chance for exercise. Accordingly he set himself to follow the creek, the one stream of pure and limpid water that did not flow bottom-up. At first this was easy enough, but after a while the canon narrowed, and Bob found himself compelled to clamber over rocks and boulders, to push his way through thickets of brush and clinging vines, finally even to scale a precipitous and tangled side hill over which the stream fell in a series of waterfalls. Once past this obstruction, however, the country widened again. Bob stood in the bed of a broad, flat wash flanked by low hills. Before him, and still some miles distant, rose the mountains in which the stream found its source.
Bob stood still for a moment, his hat in his hand, enjoying the tepid odours, the warm sun and the calls of innumerable birds. Then he became aware of a faint and intermittent throb--_put-put_ (pause) _put_ (pause), _put-put-put!_
"Gasoline engine," said he to himself.
He tramped a few hundred yards up the dry wash, rounded a bend, and came to a small wooden shack from which emanated the sound of the gas explosions. A steady stream of water gushed from a pump operated by the gasoline engine. Above, the stream bed was dry. Here was the origin of the "beautiful mountain stream."
Chair-tilted in front of the shack sat a man smoking a pipe. He looked up as Bob approached.
"Hullo," said he; "show over?"
He disappeared inside and shut off the gasoline engine. Immediately the flow ceased; the stream dried up as though scorched. Presently the man emerged, thrusting his hands into the armholes of an old coat. Shrugging the garment into place, he snapped shut the padlock on the door.
"Come on," said he. "My rig"s over behind that grease-wood. You"re a new one, ain"t ye?"
Bob nodded.
"That horse is branded pretty thick," he said by way of diversion.
The man chuckled.
"Have to turn his skin other side out to get another one on," he agreed.
They drove down an old dim road that avoided the difficulties of the canon. At camp they found the surries just loading up. Bob took his place. Before the rigs started back, the gray man, catching sight of the pump man, drew him aside and said several things very vigorously. The pump man answered with some indignation, pointing finally to Bob.
Instantly the gray man whirled to inspect the young fellow. Then he shot a last remark, turned and climbed grumpily into his vehicle.
At the station Bob tried to draw Selwyn aside for a conversation.
"I"ll be with you when the train starts, old man," replied Selwyn, "but I"ve got to stick close to these prospects. There"s a gang of knockers hanging around here always, just waiting for a chance to lip in."
When the train started, however, Selwyn came back to drop into Bob"s seat with a wearied sigh.
"Gosh! I get sick of handing out dope to these yaps," said he. "I was afraid for a while it was going to blow. Looked like it."
"What of it?" asked Bob.
"When it blows up here, it"d lift the feathers off a chicken and the chicken off the earth," explained Selwyn. "I"ve seen more than one good prospect ruined by a bad day."
"How"d you come out?" inquired Bob.
"Got one. He handed over his first payment on the spot. Funny how these yahoos almost always bring their cash right with "em. Other"s no good. I get so I can spot that kind the first three words. They"re always too blame enthusiastic about the country and the Company. Seems like they try to pay for their entertainment by jollying us along. Don"t fool me any. When a man begins to object to things, you know he"s thinking of buying."
Bob listened to this wisdom with some amus.e.m.e.nt. "How"d you explain when the stream stopped?" he asked.
"Why," said Selwyn, looking straight ahead, "didn"t you hear Mr. Oldham?
They turned the water into the Upper Ditch to irrigate the Foothill Tracts."
Bob laughed. "You"re not much of a liar, Selwyn," he said pleasantly.
"Failure of gasoline would hit it nearer."
"Oh, that"s where you went," said Selwyn. "I ought to have kept my eye on you closer."
He fell silent, and Bob eyed him speculatively. He liked the young fellow"s clear, frank cast of countenance.
"Look here, Selwyn," he broke out, "do you like this bunco game?"
"I don"t like the methods," replied Selwyn promptly; "but you are mistaken when you think it"s a bunco game. The land is good; there"s plenty of artesian water to be had; and we don"t sell at a fancy price.
We"ve located over eight hundred families up there at Lucky Lands, and three out of four are making good. The fourth simply hadn"t the capital to hold out until returns came in. It"s as good a small-ranch proposition as they could find. If I didn"t think so, I wouldn"t be in it for a minute."
"How about that stream?"
"n.o.body said the stream was a natural one. And the water exists, no matter where it comes from. You can"t impress an Eastern farmer with a pump proposition: that"s a matter of education. They come to see its value after they"ve tried it."
"But your--".
"I told you I didn"t like the methods. I won"t have anything to do with the dirty work, and Oldham knows it."
"Why all the bluff, then?" asked Bob.
"There are thousands of real estate firms in Los Angeles trying to sell millions of acres," said Selwyn, "and this is about the only concern that succeeds in colonizing on a large scale. Oldham developed this system, and it seems to work."
"The law"ll get him some day."
"I think not," replied Selwyn. "You may find him close to the edge of the law, but he never steps over. He"s a mighty bright business man, and he"s made a heap of money."
When nearing the Arcade depot, Oldham himself stepped forward.
"Stopping in California long?" he asked, with some approach to geniality.
"Permanently, I think," replied Bob.
"You are going to manufacture your timber?"
Bob looked up astonished.