one morning, on his way from the
mines to the mills, he heard Haight calling him.

"Hello, there, Morgan, the Sunrise deal is off."

"Off? who says so? Got a wire from the boss?"

"Yes, she just came, about fifteen minutes ago."

"What's the matter? did the old man say?"

"Nothing very definite; 'party writes property not satisfactory,'
that's all he says."

"Hang it! I should think it looked good enough for 'em. Well," he
growled, "there's so much hard work gone for nothing," and thrusting
his hands deeper into his pockets in his disgust, Morgan started on
his way, but Haight detained him.

"Hold on a minute; say, Morgan, you don't suppose that they caught on
to our deal, do you? or that anybody put 'em onto it?"

"Who was there to put 'em onto anything?" asked Morgan.

"Oh, the confidential clerk, may be; he was on such good terms with
Johnny Bull and the dude."

Morgan shook his head. "He's too much of a sucker for the company, and
knows too well which side his bread is buttered, for business of that
kind."

"I don't know about that," said Haight, "he's a dude and a tenderfoot
himself, and likes to toady around with those eastern snobs; what else
were they hob-nobbing with him for, if they didn't think they could
get some information out of him? I've got my own ideas on that subject
and I'm going to make some investigations, and if I find I'm correct,
he'll find pretty quick where he will be; I've no use for him any
way." "I haven't any more use for him than you have," answered
Morgan, "but he ain't a very safe fellow to fool with now, I can tell
you, and I don't think you want to run up against him yourself."

"I don't know as I've said anything about running up against anybody,"
said Haight, "that isn't my style, but I'll run him out of this
country in one way or another, see if I don't."

"You think you're pretty smooth," Morgan called over his shoulder, as
he started for the mills, "and if you want to undertake the job, all
right; for my part, I don't care to have much to do with him."

Two or three evenings later, as Lyle sat in her favorite nook beside
the lake, book in hand, watching for the return of Miss Gladden who
had gone with Rutherford for a short row, she was much surprised to
see Haight approaching, wearing his most ingratiating smile. For a day
or two, he had, on several occasions, when unobserved by the others,
treated her with a marked politeness intended to be very flattering,
fo