about all. It was
seldom that he knew just how far his assets were above his liabilities
or below. But to-night he knew that he had strained his account. He
had counted on paying ten thousand and had paid twelve thousand five
hundred. He turned first to his cheque-book, which had not been
balanced for a couple of months. No adept at figures he spilled much
ink, scratched out many calculations and went through them again, grew
hot and exasperated and finally before he got anywhere was in a mood to
damn everything that came under his hand. It was midnight when he had
assembled upon one sheet of paper an approximately truthful statement
of his financial condition. And then he sat back limply and lifted his
eyebrows and whistled.

Within something less than thirty days he must take up a note which
Pony Lee held for a thousand dollars; Pony would want the money and had
said as much when he had advanced it. Then there were the calves, due
within the week, from French Valley; Tony Vaca was rushing them, was
selling at a very low figure and would want his money on the nail.
Well, he must have it. That was another seven hundred dollars. There
was another note held by Engle, down in San Juan. The banker might
extend it; he might not. It was for fifteen hundred dollars, and would
fall due within sixty days. On top of this were the running expenses:
the ranch was working full-handed, the men would want their wages a
week from Saturday: this was Tuesday. He turned to their accounts;
three or four of them had not drawn down last month. They would all
want their money when next pay-day came. He estimated the amount. In
the neighbourhood of seven hundred dollars. He totalled all of these
forthcoming payments. The aggregate was close to four thousand
dollars. And his cheque-book, balanced to date, indicated that he had
overdrawn to make the payment to Carr. He could have paid the ten
thousand and have had something over two thousand in cold cash to run
on; now he had not enough in the San Juan bank to make his own cheque
good.

'If Carr had only been satisfied with the ten thousand,' he muttered.
'Or if he had given me warning ahead that he wanted the extra
twenty-five hundred. Now what?'

None of these issues were clouded, and in due time he decided upon all
points. He gave up all thought of bed, made himself a pot of coffee
and sat up all night, devoting himself to details. The cheque he had
given Carr mus