The Iron Furrow

e out to join him. He was a man of thin, stooped body; his sandy hair streaked with gray formed a fringe about his bald crown; and on hi

be riding by this way again, I've stopped to say 'howdy.' Doesn't seem a month has pa

as the answer. "My wife was wondering only the other day wh

near by and tossed it over the fence to the horse, which began to eat eagerly. Lee glanced about, gave a sharp whistle; from the trail by the creek a bark answered him. Then

from an immersion in the creek and panting from his run. "Some day a rattler in a hole you're diggin

elf of the room's comfort. Crude as an adobe house is both in appearance and in construction, it is admirably adapted to the climate of the arid Southwest; its flat dirt roof and thick walls built of sun-baked mud bricks, plastered within and smoothly surfaced without, def

the young fellow remarked aftera

d, "except a little that always runs in the ca?on. I'll have to

they talked, and looked out of a window. On her face was the same

n alive," she said, "but it

one can't do anything without water. Still, your sheep are doing

his roughened hands, now and again rubbing one or the other, and enveloped in a gloom that Bryant

nty-five thousand-twenty thousand down and a mortgage for the remaining five thousand-when the place was just five thousand acres of sagebrush, with no more water than runs in this creek. I was a tenderfoot all right! The land agent at Kennard showed it to me in June when the Perro was booming, and I believed him when he said it ran that way all the year around. Look at it now! I didn't have

ugh at five dollars," Lee stated. "And there's another wa

m and a canal along the mountain side. No, sir; that appropriation was just some more of Menocal's tricky work! He jammed it through the land office thirty years ago and, they say, n

ns were put across in those e

s, why, nobody has ever disturbed him about that water right. And he's using that water, belonging to me, to irrigate a lot of bottom farms along the river, for which no water can be appropriated, the Pinas not carrying enough. I rode ove

ure, whose expression and resigned attitude revealed clearly Stev

the sheep?" he qu

water to raise alfalfa I had to buy winter feed, which was expensive; and a lot of them got the scab and died; and last year I lost nearly all my lambs at lambing time, the band being caught out in a storm and being in the wrong place. Just one thing after another, to break my back. Had trouble about the range

pened, St

rned, I found him crying. The Mexican had separated the sheep and we were a hundred short, gone with his, and he would pay no attention to Billy, swearing he had only his own band. And he drove them away. I went to Menocal, who was very polite, but he s

marked. "It's hard luck that your band ran down just when the price

it off and when I told him I shouldn't be able to do that, he said he'd have me deed it back to him to save foreclosure proceedings

. Stevenson said, plaintively. "I don't know what we'll do when we go back, for that matter. Just

ept on from year to year living in this 'dobe hole. Good thing I didn't have the money, however, for we'd lose the house along with the ranch if we had built. Well, we're going back East, anyhow, as soon as I sell the sh

ford watering my horse before coming here, an auto crossed the creek. In the rear seat were a fat Mex

been him. Which way

ou

e Graham ran

ow driving the car-some Mexi

n airs because his father's rich," Stevenson said, in a

young fellow was a girl, rat

Yes, it must have been her. She's Mr. Graham's daughter. A nice

rry him?" Lee inquired,

day, and she may overlook considerable on that account. Menocal's boy has been to college; besides, th

I've seen have more Indian in them than anything else, however, with a dash of other races perh

around this section sell him their stuff cheap and take what he pays, because they don't know any better and because he's their leader. He has the big store at Bartolo, which you've seen, and owns the bank there, and has any number of farms up and down the P

ed a cigarette and struck a light and

stated, abruptly. "You've made up your mind that you won't ke

ked at him wi

on? What is

is eighty of mine is worth a hundred dollars an acre-eight thousand; it's mortgaged for five thousand, which leaves an equity of three thousand; on it are good buildings and it's rented until next March. You could then take possession. It's a good farm, and with the money you

t Lee as if he could

ust told you there's no water here. A man can't make a

gage; I've enough mone

, without

g's a gamble with me, I admit, but you needn't do any worrying on that score. I'm going

n his chair and knit his brows, perplexed, hesitating, as was his manner when presented with any new affair, even with

us such a fine offer, but he is making it. We can start again; we'll be back in a farming country like what we're used to, even

is wife to Bryant and bac

understand th

ver did learn it well, John, and you ought never to have stopped farming. You were a good farmer; you will be again. We can go on this place in Nebraska and raise corn and wheat an

," her hus

dn't have had anything but the money from the sheep, but now you'll

anch is worth more than I th

r task, but her fingers trembled and her lashes were winking fast. Lee gazed

exchange, especially as you're about to lose your place. I wouldn't be beating you out of anything, certainly, and

owever, was running

ousand you plan to pay off the mortgage with, and get Menocal to renew the loan. Five thousand-why,

if I

fference when it

de, we'll drop the matter. Probably you yourself can arrange an ex

r. Menocal has already refused," M

n addition to your farm

. From the way you talked when I was here last I supposed you might consider m

rose and went into the inner room, closing the do

inute," Steven

el

let me figu

the table in disgust an

ow you're turning down my offer. You either jump without first looking, or you wait until it's too late. You don't pay attention strictly to what's immediately under your hand, but waste your energy wondering if you can't get rich from something out of your reach. That's what has been the trouble with you in the sheep business, I imagine. Here when I offer you a farm for a ranch that's slipping through your fingers, you at once get greedy. Most of the time you don't know your own mind; you hesitate and spe

ame angrily

e like that before, I'll

is place, with no c

ract a word. It's the truth straight from the shoulder. What are you going to do about

feet for a little, looked about the room with the worried aspec

tty rough--

king; go get your wife

ed door. He cleared his throat, stared at the

we're going to tra

es was a slight redness, but on he

he said, "I'm

to make," her husband assured her.

od, unconcealed pleasure show

a pocket. "Take a chair here by the window, Mrs. Stevenson, where you'll have the light. See, this one shows the ho

time she gazed from the pictures throug

he said, in an unsteady voice. "Th

the backs of his hand

ots of them,"

to stay," she said, looki

ineer l

ears, wouldn't live anywhere else. And I don't expect to be lonely; Menocal will probably atten

she said, l

ll be married," Stevenson

them," Bryant returned, clapp