THE CITY OF *
NUMBERED DAYS
6/ FRANCIS LYNOE - • •
ILLUSTRATIONS by C.D.RHDQES • • •
, COPYRIGHT BY CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SDNS
t>Y INUHSIS.
CHuAPTRR ^~t?rouillard, chief engineer
cn the Nlquola irrigation dam. go< s cut
from camp to investigate a strange light
and finds an automobile party camned at
the canyon portal.
CHAPTER II -Broulllard meets J. Yi'es
ley Cortwright and his daughter Gene
vieve of the auto party and explains the
reclamation work to them.
HI Cortwright sees In the
project h t)ig chance to make money “and
no chance for a man to get in anywhere.”
Broulllard Is Impervious to hints from the
financier who tells Genevieve the entri
v iJ ceme down and hook himself
If the halt it well covered.”
CHAPTER IV -Cortwright organizes a
company and obtains government con
tracts to furnish power and material for
the dam construction. A busy ol’v
springs up about the site. Steve Massln
gaie threatens tt start a gold rush if
Broulllard does not it ttuence President
i- oid to build a railrvad branch to the
place, thus opening an easy market for
the ore from the "Little Susan” mine.
CHAPTER V— Bronillnrd and the rnm
pany s promoter clash, hut on orders from
Washington Broulllard turns over the
plans for the power Installation.
.CHAPTER VI—On a visit to Amv Mas
slngale at her father’s mine Brouillar«l
finds she understands him better than he
had thought.
He nodded and sat down again on
the porch step. "Yes, It is big enough
to go in a class by itself—in round
numbers, a hundred thousand dollars.”
"Horrors!” she gasped. "And you
are carrying that millstone? Must you
carry It?”
“If you knew the circumstances you
would be the first to say that I must
carry it, and go on carrying it to the
end of the chapter.”
"But—but you’ll never be free!”
“Not on a government salary," he
admitted. "As a matter of fact, it
takes more than half of the salary to
pay the premiums on—pshaw! Let's
drop It.”
She was looking beyond him and her
voice was quick with womanly sympa
thy when she said: “If you could drop
"But Tell Me, What Would You Do
With Your Pot of Rainbow Gold?"
It—but you can't. And it changes ev
erything for you, distorts everything,
colors your entire lifo. It's heart
breaking!"
This was dangerous ground for him
and he knew it. In the ardor of young
manhood he had taken up the vicari- :
oua burden dutifully, and at that time
his renunciation of the things that
other men strove for seemed the light
est of the many fetterings. But now
love for a woman was threatening to
make the renunciation too grievous to
be borne.
“How did you know?” he queried cu
riously. “It does change things. I'd
sell anything I've got, save one, for a
chance at the freedom that other men
have-^nd don’t value.”
“What is the one thing you wouldn't
sell?" she questioned, and Brouillard
chose to discover a gently quickened
interest in the clear-seeing eyes.
“My love for the—for some woman.
I’m saving that, you know. It is the
only capital I’ll have when the big
debt is paid."
“Do you want me to be frivolous
or serious?" she asked, looking down
at him with the grimacing little smile
that always reminded him of a caress.
“I have been wondering whether she :
is or isn’t worth the effort—and the
reservation you mako. Because it is
all in that, you know. You can do and
be what you want to do and be if
you only want to hard enough."
He was looking down, chiefly be
cause he dared not look up, when he
answered soberly: “She is worth
it many times over; her price is above
rubies. Money, much or little, wouldn't
be in it”
"That is better—much better. Now
we may go on to the ways and means;
they are all In the man. not in the
things, ‘not none whatsoever,’ as Tig
would say. Let me show you what I
mean. Three times within my recol
lection my father has been worth con
siderably more’ than you owe. and
three timeB he has—well, it’s gone.
And now he is going to make_ good
Again when the railroad comes."
Broulllard got up. thrust his hand?
Into the pockets of his working coat.
a«d faced about as if he had suddenly
remembered that he was wasting the
government's time.
T must be going back down the
hill,” he said. And then, wlthoul warn
, ing: "What if 1 should tell you that
the railroad Is not coming to the Ni
quoia, Amy?”
To his utter amazement the blue
eyes filled suddenly. But the owner
of the eyes was winking the tears
I sway and laughing before he could
couid put the amazement into words
“You shouldn't bit out like thai
w'hen one Isn’t looking; it’s wicked."
she protested. "Besides, the railroad
is coming; It's got to come."
"It is still undecided," he told her
mechanically. "Mr. Ford Is coming
over with the engineers to have a eon
ference on the ground with—with (he
Cortwright people. I am expecting
him any day."
"And the government?"
"The department is holding entirely
aloof, as it should. Everyone in the
reclamation service knows that no
good can possibly come of any effort
to force the region ahead of its nor
mal and natural devolopm"iit. And.
besides, none of us here in the valley
want to help blow the Cortwright
bubble any higher than it has to be.”
"Then you will advise against the
building of the extension?”
Instead of answering her question
he asked one of his own.
"What does it mean to you—to you.
personally, apart from the money your
father might make out of it, Amy?”
She hesitated a moment and then
met the shrewd scrutiny of his gazo
with open candor.
"The money is only a means to an
end—as yours will be. You know very
well what I meant when 1 told you
that three times we have been obliged
to come back to the mountains to—to
try again. I dreaded the coming of
your camp; I dread a thousand times
more the other changes that are com
ing—the temptations that a mush
room city will offer. This time father
has promised ma that when he can
| make his stake he will go back to Ken
tucky and settle down; and he will
keep his promise. More than that,
Stevie has promised me that he will
go. too, if he can have a stock-farm
and raise fine horses—his one healthy
ambition. Now you know It all.”
He reached up from the lower step
where he was standing and took her
hand.
"Yes; and I know more than that.
1 know that you are a mighty brave
little girl and that your load is heavier
than mine—worlds heavier. Put you’re
going to win out; if not today or to
morrow, why. then, the day after. It's
written in the book."
She returned his handgrip of en
couragement impulsively and smiled
down upon him through quick spring
ing tears.
‘'You'll win out. too. Victor, because
it's in you to do it. I'm sure of it—■
I know it. There is only one thing
that scares me."
“Name it." he said. ‘Tm taking ev
erything that comes today—from you.”
"You are a strong man; you have
a reserve of strength that is greater
than most men's full gift; you can cut
and slash your way to the thing you
really want, and nothing can stop you.
But—- you'll forgive me for being plain,
won’t you?—there is a little, just the
least little bit of desperation In the
present point of view, and—”
"Say It," he commanded when she
hesitated.
“1 hardly know how to say it. There
were ideals in the beginning; don't let
them fall down In the dust or in the—
in the mud. It's got to be clean money,
you know; the money that is going to
give you the chance to say, Tome, girl,
let’s go and get married.’ You won't
forget that, will you?”
He relinquished the hand of encour
agement because he dared not hold It
any longer, and turned away to stare
absently at the timbered tunnel mouth
whence a faint clinking of hammer
upon steel Issued with monotonous
regularity.
"I wish you hadn’t said that, Amy—
about the ideals.”
"I don't know what you mean,” she
said simply.
"Perhaps it is just as well that you
don’t. Let's talk about somethin?:
else—about the railroad. President
Ford hasn't decided; he won't decide
until ho has looked the ground over
and had a chance to confer with mo."
She bridged all the gaps with swift
intuition. "He means to give you th«
. casting vote? He will build the exten
sion if you advise it? Then it will lie
in your hand to make us rich or to
, keep us poor,” she laughed, “fie a
1 good god in-the-car. please, and your
petitioners will ever pray.” Then, with
an instant return to seriousness: "Put
you mustn’t think of that—of course,
you won’t—with so many other and
greater things to consider.”
"On the contrary, I shall think very
pointedly of that; pointedly and re
gretfully—because your brother has
made it practically Impossible for me
tohel£.” -
t_
__bsul^ju
"My brother?” with a little gasp.
"Yes. He offered to buy mv vo*
with a block of ‘Little Susan’ sto
That wouldn't have been so bad if he
hadn't talked about It—”
“When Mr. Ford comes you must
forget what Stevie said and what I
have said. Good-by.”
An hour later Brouillard was closet
ed in his log-built office quarters with
a big. fair-faced man. whose rough
tweeds and unbrushed soft hat pro
claimed him fresh from the dusty-dry
reaches of the Quesado trail.
“It if your own opinion that 1 want
Victor." the fair-faced man was saying,
“not the government engineer's. Can
we make the road pay if we bring it,
here? That is a question which you
can answer better than any other liv
ing man You are here on the ground
and you've been here from the first.”
“You’ve had it out with Cort
wripht?" Brouillard asked. And then:
“Where is he now—in Chicago?"
"No. He is on his way to the Ni
quola, coming over In his car from fjl
Gato. But never mind J. Wesley. Ypu
ore the man I came to see.”
"I can give you the facts,” was the
quiet rejoinder.
A smile wrinkled at the corners of
the big man's eyes.
“You are dodging the issue, Victor,
and you know it," he objected. “What
I want is your personal notion. If you
were tlie executive committee of the
Pacific Southwestern, would you, or
would you not, build the extension?
That's the point I’m trying to make.”
Brouillard got up and went to the
window. When he turned back to the
man at the desk he was frowning
thoughtfully, and his eyes were the
eyes of one who sees only the clearly
etched lines of a picture which ob
scures all outward and visual objects.
. the picture he saw was of a
sweet-faced young woman, laughing
| through her tears and saying: ‘'Be
sides, the railroad is coining; it's got
! to come.”
“if you put it that way,” he said to
the man who was waiting, "if you tn
' sist on pulling my private opinion out
j by the roots, you may have it. I'd build
: the extension."
CHAPTER VIII
Mirapolis
_5-*_
During the strenuous weeks when
Tamp Niquola's straggling street was
acquiring plank sidewalks and getting
itself transformed into Chigringo ave
nue, with a double row of false-fronted
"emporiums” to supplant the shack
shelters. Monsieur Poudrecauix Bon
gras. late of the San Francisco tender
loin. opened the camp’s first counter
grill.
Finding monsieur's name impossible
in both halves of it. the camp grinned
and rechristened him "Poodles.” Later,
discovering his dual gift of past mas
tership in potato frying and coffee
making, the camp gave, him vogue.
Out of the vogue sprang in swift suc
cession a cafe with side tables, a res
"If You Insist on Pulling My Private
Opinion Out by the Roots, You May
Have It. I'd Build the Extension."
taurant with private dining rooms, and
presently a commodious hotel, whore
the food was excellent, the appoint
ments luxurious, and where Jack—
^othed and in his right mind and with
loney in his haud—was as good as his
paster.
It was toi one of BongraB’ private
dining rooms that Mr. J. Wesley Cort
wrlght was entertaining Brouillard,
with Miss Genevieve to make a har
monizing third at the circular table.
TVs little dinner had been a gustatory
triu-n/.h. Nevertheless, when Miss
Oortwright had gone upstairs, and the
zai'er would have refilled his glass.
Irouillarri shook his head.
If the millionaire saw the refnsal lit)
wa? too wise to remark it. Ke was
still the frank, outspoken money
maker. hot upon the trail of the nimble
; dollar. Vet there was a change of
some kind. Brouillard had marked it
on the day. a fortnight earlier, when
(after assuring himself morosely that
ho would notl he had gone down to
the lower canyon portal to see the
Cortwright touring car finish its sec
ond race across the desert from El
Gato.
“Of course I was quite prepared to
have you stand off and throw stones
at our little cob house of a venture,
Brouillard,” the host, allowed at the
lighting of the gold-banded cigars.
“You're the government engineer and
the builder of the big dam; but you
can't build your dam in one day, or
in two, and the inter1 al is ours. 1 tell
you, we re going to make Mirapolis a
buzz hummer w hile the daylight lasts.
Don’t you forget that.”
“‘Mirapolis?’ queried Brouillard.
"Is that the new name?”
Cortwright laughed and nodded. "It’s
Gene's name—Miracle City.' Bits like
the glove on a pretty girls arm,
doesn’t it?”
"It does. But the miracle is that
there should be any money daring
enough to invest itself In the Niquoia.”
“Why, bless your workaday heart,
Brouillard,” chuckled the host, “noth
ing is permanent in this shuffling,
growing, progressive world of ours—
absolutely nothing. Some of the big
gest and costliest buildings in New'
York and Chicago are built on ground
leases. Our ground lease will merely
be a little shorter in the factor of
time."
"So much shorter that the parallel
won't hold,” argued Brouillard.
“The parallel does hold; long time,
small profits and a slow return; short
time, big profits and a quick return.
You've eaten here before; what do
you pay Bongras for a reasonably good
dinner?”
Brouillard laughed. “Oh, Poodles.
He cinches us. all right; four or five
times as much as it's worth—or would
cost anywhere else.”
“That's it. He knows he has tc
make good on all these little luxuries
he gives you—rash in every day. as
you might say, and come out whole be
fore you stop the creek and drown
him. When we get in motion we’re
going to have Alaska faded to a frazzle
on prices—and you’ll see everybody
paying them joyfully.”
Ann in the end somebody, or the
final series of somebodies, will be left
to hold the bag,” finished Brouillard.
"There needn’t be any bag holders,
nroutllard. Let me put it in a nut
shell- we're building a eement. plant,
and we shall sell you the output—at a
good, round price, I promise you, but
still at a lower figure than you’re pay
ing for the Imported article now, or
than you -will pay even after the rail
road gets In. When our government
orders are filled we can afford to
wreck the plant for what it will bring
as junk. We’ll be out of it whole, with
a nice little profit.”
"That is only one instance,” object
ed the guest.
"Well. Bongras, here, is one more,”
laughed the host. “And our power
plant is another. You made your little
kick on that to Washington—you
thought the government ought to con
trol its own power. That was all
right, from your point of view, hut we
beat you to it. Now the reclamation
service gets all the pr wer ft needs at a
nominal price, and we’re going to sell
enough more to make us all feel
happy.”
"Sell it? To whom?”
Mr. Cortwright leaned hack in his
chair and the sandy-gray eyes seemed
to be searching the inner recesses of
the querying soul.
“That's inside information, hut I
don’t mind taking you in on it,” he \
said between leisurely puffs at his ci- :
gar. “We’ve just concluded a few con- |
tracts: one with Massingale—he's go- j
ing to put in power drills, electric nre
cars, and a modern equipment gener
ally and shove the development of the
‘Little Susan;’ one with a new mining
syndicate which will begin operations
at once on half a dozen prospects on
Jack's mountain; and one with a lum
ber combination that has just taken i
over the sawmills, and will install oth
ers, with a planing mill and sash fac
tory.”
Brouillard nodded. The gray eyes
were slowly hypnotizing him.
"But that isn't all,” continued the
promoter. “We are about to reincor
porate the power plant as the Niquoia j
Electric Tower, Lighting and Traction
company. Within a fortnight we’ll bo
lighting Mirapolis, and within a month
after the railroad gets In we’ll be oper
ating trolley cars.”
The enthusiast paused to let the
information sink in, also to note the
effect upon the subject. The noting
was apparently satisfactory, since he
went on with the steady assurance of
one who sees his way clearly.
“That brings us down to business.
Brouillard. I don’t mind admitting
that I had an object in asking you to
dine with me this evening. It's this:
we feel that in the reorganization of
the power company the government, j
which will alw'ays he the largest con
sumer, should be represented in some
effective way; that its interests should
be carefully safeguarded. It is not so
easy as it might seem. We can’t ex
actly make the government a stock
holder."
“No,” said Brouillard mechanically.
The underdepths were stirring, heav
ing as if from a mighty ground
swell that threatened a tidal wave of
overturnings.
“We are going to make you the gov
ernment director, with full power to
investigate and to act. And we’re nrt
going to bo mean ab nit it, either. The
capital stock of thij company Is ten
millions, with shares of a par value
of one hundred dollars each. full paid
and nonassessable. Don't gasp; we’ll
cut a nice little melon on that capitali
zation every thirty days, or my name
isn’t Cartwright.”
“But 1 have no money to invest,”
was the only form the younger man’s
protest took.
‘‘We don’t need your money,” cut in
the financier with curt good nature.
“What we do need is a consulting en
gineer, a man who, while he is one of
us and identified with us, will see to
it that we’re not tempted to gouge our
good Uncle Samuel.”
Brouillard smoked in silence for a
full minute before he said; “You know
as well as 1 do, Mr. Cortwright, that
it is an unwritten law of the service
that a civilian employee of the govern
ment shall not engage in any other
business.”
“No, I don’t,” was the blunt reply.
"Supposing your father had left you a
! hundred thousand dollars to invest in
stead of a debt of that amount—you
see, I know what a load your keen
sense of honor is making you carry—
suppose you had this money to invest,
would your position in the reclamation
service compel you to lock it up in a
: safety vault?”
“Certainly not, hut if the department
I should learn that I am a stockholder
! in a company from which it buys its
| power—”
“There wouldn’t he a word said—not
one single word. They know you In
Washington, Brouillard, better, per
haps, than you think they do. Ttiey
knew you would exact a square deal
for the department even if it cost you
personal money. It’s your duty and
part of your job as chief of construc
tion. And we’ll leave the money con
sideration entirely out of it if you like.
You'll get a stock certificate which
you may keep or tear up or throw into
the wastebasket, just as you please. If
ycu keep it and want to realize on it
at any time before you begin to put
the finishing forms on the dam, I’ll do
this: I’ll agree to market it for you
at par. Now let’s quit and go qnd find
Gene. She'll think we’ve tippled our
selves under the table.”
“One moment,” said Brouillard. "I
couldn’t serve as your engineer, Mr.
Cortwright. not even in a consulting
capacity. Call it prejudice or anything
else you please, but 1 simply couldn’t
do business in an associate relation
with your man Hosford.”
Lortwright had risen, and he took
his guest confidentially by the button
hole.
•‘Do you know, Brouillard, Hosford
gets on my nerves, too? Don’t let that
influence you. We ll let Hosford go.
We needed him at first to sort of knock
things into shape; it takes a man of
his caliber in the early stages of a
project like ours, you know. But he
has outlived his usefulness and we’ll
drop him. Let's go upstairs."
Late In the evening Brouillard
passed out through the cafe of the
Metropole on his way to his quarters.
There were a few late diners at the
tables, and Bongras, smug and compla
cent in evening regalia, was waddling
about among them like a glorified
head waiter.
Holding the engineer for a moment
at the street door, “I'll been wanting
to h ask you," whispered tho French
man with a quick flung glance for the
diners at the nearest of the tables,
“doze flood—when sho is coming,
M’sleu’ Brouillard?”
“When we get the dam completed.”
‘‘You'll bet money h-on dnt?—h-all
(to money you got?”
“Why should you doubt, it;?”
“Mol, 1 don’t doubt nottings; 1 make
de grass to be cut w ile do irun is shine.
But I’ll been hearing somebody say
dat naybe-so dis town she grew so fas’
and so beeg dat de gover'inent is not
going to drown her.”
‘‘Who said that?”
“I don’t know; it is bruit—what you
call rumaire. You hear it h-on de
avenue, in de cafe, hanyw’ereB you
go.”
‘‘Don’t lower your prices on the
strength of any such rumor as that.
Boodles. The dam will be built, and
the Niquoia will be turned into a lake,
with the Hotel Metropole comfortably
anchored in the deepest part of it—
that is, if it doesn't get gay enough
to float.”
“Dat’s juz what I'll been thinking.”
smiled the little man, and he sped the
Parting guest with a bow that would
have graced the antechamber of a
Louis le Grand.
CHAPTER IX c
The Speedway
It was in the days after he had
found on his desk a long envelope in
closing a certificate for a thousand
shares of stock in the Niquoia Electric
1’ower, Lighting and Traction company
that Brouillard began to lose his nick
name of "HVU’s-Kire” among ,iis work
men, with the premise of attaining, in
due time, to the mere nffoctionato
title of 'the Little liig Boss.*
At the envelope openiug moment, i
however, he was threatened with an I
attack of heart failure, it ws.s scarce-1
ly believable. Hut a hastily sought in j
terview witli the company's president I
cleared the dir of all the iiicredibiii
Ues. j
' Why, my dear Rrouillftr-!.? what ir
Sam Hill do you take us for f” was the
genial retort when the vounj? enginear
had made his deprecatory protest. ^
“Did you think we wore going: to cut'
the melon and hand you out a niece of ,
the rind? Not so. my dear hoy; we 1
are not built on any such narmw-gauge
lines. That's what we are willing to
pay for a good, reliable go vu rumen t
going lo bo your business
to see to it that the reclamation serv
ice gets exactly what its contract calls
for, kilowatt for kilowatt.”
“I’d do that, anyhow, as chief of con
struction on the dam.”
"You mean you would try to do it.
As an officer of the power company,
you can do it; as an official kicker on
the outside, you couldn’t feare us a
particle. What? You'd put us out of
business? Not much, you wouldn’t;
we'd play politics with you and get a
man for your Job who wouldn’t kick.”
“Well." said the inheritor of sudden
wealth, still matching the promoter’s
mood, “you won’t get me fired nowi
that’s one comfort. When will you
want my expert opinion on your aux
iliary dam?"
“On our dam. you mean. Oh, any
time soon; say tomorrow or Friday—•
or Saturday, if that hurries you too
much. We sha’n’t want to go to work
on it before Monday.”
Being himself an exponent of the
modern theory that the way to do
things is to do them now. Broulllard
accepted the hurry order without com
ment. Celerity, swiftness of accom
plishment that was almost magical,
had become the Mirapolitan order of
the day. Plans conceived overnight
leaped to their expositions in things
done as if ihe determination to do
them had been all that was necessary
to their realization.
“You shall have the report tomor
row,” said the newly created consult
ing engineer, “but you can’t go to
work Monday. The labor market is
empty, and I'm taking It for granted
that you’re not going to stampede my
shovelers and concrete men.”
“Oh, no ” concluded the city builder,
“we sha’n't do that. You'll admit—in
your capacity of government watch
dog—that we have played fair in that
"Doze Flood—When She Is Coming,
M'sieu’ Brouillard?"
game. We have "Imported every work'-*
man we’ve needed, and we shall im
port more. That’s one thing none of
ns can afford to do—bull the labor
market. And it won’t he necessary:
we have a trainload of Italians and
Bulgarians on the way to Que-sndo to
day, and they ought to be hero hy
Monday."
"You are a wonder. Mr. Cortwright.”
was Brouillard’s tribute to the worker
of modern miracles, and he went his
way to ride to the upper end of the
valley Pm the exploring purpose.
On the Mo#lay, as President Cort
vrrijrht had so confidently predicted,
the train load of laborers had marched
in over the War Arrow trail and the
work on the auxiliary power dam was
begun. On the Tuesday a small army
of linemen arrived to set the poles
and to string the wires for the light
ing of the town. On the Wednesday
there were fresh accessions to the
army of builders, and the freighters an
tho Quesado trail reported a steady
stream of artisans pouring in to rush
the city-making.
On the Thursday the grading and
paving of Chlgringo aveuue was be
gun, and, true to his promise, Mr. Cort
wright was leaving a right of way in
the street for the future trolley
tracks. And it was during this Event
ful week that the distant thunder of
the dynamite brought the welcome
tidings of the pushing of the railroad
grade over the mountain barrier. Also
—but this was an item of minor im
portance—it was on the Saturday of
this week that the second tier of forms
was erected on the great dam and the
stripped iirst section of the massive
gray foot-wall of concrete raised itself
in mute but eloquent protest against
the feverish activities of the miracle
workers. If the protest were a threat,
it was far removed. Many things
might happen before the gray wall
should rise high enough to cast its
shadow, and the shadow of the coming
end, over the miraculous city of the
plain.
It was Fir milliard himself who put
tills thought into words on the Sunday
when he and Grislow were looking
over the work of form raising and tind
ing it good.
"Catching you, too. is tt, Victor?’*
queried the hydrographer. dropping
easily into his attitude of affable cyni
cism. "I thought it would. But tell
me, what are some of the things that
may happen?”
"It’s easy to predict two of them!
Some people will make a pot of money
ami some will lose out.”
Grislow nodded. “Of course vo»,^
don't take any stock in the rumor that
the government will rail a halt?”
(Continued iN'ext Weeu.j