eith sought
him with fever in their blood, he was not to be found. He filled their
minds; he dominated their conversation; he gave them sleepless nights
and unpleasant days.... Their attention was effectively focused on the
emergency he had presented to them. Scattergood had kicked up an
effective dust.

At the end of two weeks Scattergood appeared again in town, and went
directly to Johnnie Bones's office. Scattergood now called his lawyer
Johnnie.

"Got 'em?" he asked.

"Not all. There's a fifteen-thousand-acre strip cutting right across
your horseshoe, from East to West Branch, and I couldn't touch it. I got
all the rest. That one belongs to a woman, and a more unreasonable
woman to try to do business with I never saw."

"Um!" said Scattergood. "Know where I been, Johnnie?"

"No, sir."

"Gittin' married."

"What?"

"Yes. Me 'n' the lady, we met by arrangement in Boston and got us a
preacher and done the job. Marriage, Johnnie, is a doggone solemn
matter."

"I've heard so," said the young man.

"Some day," said Scattergood, "I'm a-goin' to marry you off. Calculate I
got the girl in my eye now."

"I hope," Johnnie said, "that you'll be--er--very happy."

"Guess we'll manage so-so.... Now about them options, Johnnie. You make
tracks for the city and sort of edge up to Crane and Keith. Might start
by showin' 'em a deed for a mill site down across from theirs at the
railroad. Then you might start askin' questions like you was lookin' for
information. Guess that'll git up their curiosity some. Then you kin
spring your options on 'em.... When you've done that, come off and leave
'em sweatin'. And don't mention me. I hain't in this deal a-tall."

But before Johnnie could get to Crane and Keith, Crane and Keith came to
Scattergood.

"You've got some kind of a proposition in mind," said Keith, who did the
talking because he could keep his temper better than Crane. "What do you
want?"

"Make me an offer," said Scattergood.

"We'll buy your provision company--and give you a decent profit."

"Don't sound enticin'," said Scattergood, reaching down and loosening
his shoe. It was too cold to omit the wearing of heavy woolen socks, so
he could not twiddle his toes with perfect freedom, but he could
twiddle them some, and that helped his mental processes.

"Well, what do you want?"

"I'll sell the provision company's stock of provisions--and nothin'
more.... At a profit. You got to buy, 'cause you can't make