ot have to go back East in order to be
able to realize your ambition--you can own a newspaper here--your
father's newspaper--the Dry Bottom _Kicker_. It was quite a recent
venture; I believe it appeared about a dozen times--intermittently.
Ostensibly it was a weekly, but in reality it was printed at those times
when your father's affliction sat least heavily upon him. He used to
hire a compositor from Las Vegas to set the type,--a man named Potter--a
worthless sort of fellow, but a genius in his way--when sober. I suspect
that much of the matter that went into the _Kicker_ emanated from
the brain of Dave Potter."

Hollis's smile revealed just a trace of derision. "You don't happen to
know how father happened to think that a newspaper would pay--in this
place?" he asked.

The judge looked at him meditatively, a gleam of quiet amusement in his
eyes. "I don't remember to have said that the paper made any money for
your father," he returned slowly; "nor do I remember hearing your father
say that he expected it to make any money. As I understand the
situation, your father founded the paper on principle. He expected to
use it as a weapon."

"Please go on," urged Hollis. "That strikes me as a rather Quixotic
proceeding."

"It was, rather," admitted the judge; "that is, it would seem Quixotic
as viewed by an Eastern newspaper man. But out here people are apt to
ignore money and methods in considering results. After you have been
here a while you will be able to see the force and truth of that
statement. Your father was after results and he seized upon the idea of
founding a newspaper as a means by which to obtain them. And I feel
certain that had he lived he would have succeeded."

"I plead ignorance," said Hollis, watching the judge closely. "What
particular result did my father desire?"

Judge Graney's eyes gleamed with earnestness. He leaned forward,
speaking slowly and distinctly.

"I am going to illustrate my point by giving you a brief history of your
father's experiences out here--as I had it from him. He came out here
about fifteen years ago and took up a quarter-section of land over on
Rabbit-Ear Creek, the present site of the Circle Bar ranch. For quite a
few years he was a nester--as the small owner is called in this country,
but he was unmolested for the reason that there were few large owners in
the vicinity and each man was willing that his neighbor should succeed.
Your father prospered and after a few ye