there were a park and a public
library, and the clerk at the Commercial Hotel asked him if he wished
a private bath! But the development was helpful in one way. In the
old Norada a newcomer might have been subjected to a friendly but
inquisitive interest. In this grown-up and self-centered community a man
might come and go unnoticed.

And he had other advantages. The pack, as he cynically thought of them,
would have started at the Clark ranch and the cabin. He would get to
them, of course, but he meant to start on the outside of the circle and
work in.

"Been here long?" he asked the clerk at the desk, after a leisurely
meal.

The clerk grinned.

"I came here two years ago. I never saw Jud Clark. To get to the Clark
place take the road north out of the town and keep straight about eight
miles. The road's good now. You fellows have worn it smooth."

"Must have written that down and learned it off," Bassett said
admiringly. "What the devil's the Clark place? And why should I go
there? Unless," he added, "they serve a decent meal."

"Sorry." The clerk looked at him sharply, was satisfied, and picked up a
pen. "You'll hear the story if you stay around here any time. Anything I
can do for you?"

"Yes. Fire the cook," Bassett said, and moved away.

He spent the evening in going over his notes and outlining a campaign,
and the next day he stumbled on a bit of luck. His elderly chambermaid
had lived in and around the town for years.

"Ever hear of any Livingstones in these parts?" he asked.

"Why, yes. There used to be a Livingstone ranch at Dry River," she said,
pausing with her carpet sweeper, and looking at him. "It wasn't much of
a place. Although you can't tell these days. I sold sixty acres eight
years ago for two thousand dollars, and the folks that bought it are
getting a thousand a day out of it."

She sighed. She had touched the hem of fortune's garment and passed on;
for some opportunity knocked but faintly, and for others it burst open
the door and forced its way in.

"I'd be a millionaire now if I'd held on," she said somberly. That day
Bassett engaged a car by the day, he to drive it himself and return it
in good condition, the garage to furnish tires.

"I'd just like to say one thing," the owner said, as he tried the gears.
"I don't know where you're going, and it's not exactly my business. Here
in the oil country, where they're cutting each other's throats for new
leases, we let a man alone. Bu