t after a while, when he
had thought it out, he dated this further and more deplorable change in
Nell back to a day on which he had met Nell with Radford Chase. This
indefatigable wooer had not in the least abandoned his suit. Something
about the fellow made Belding grind his teeth. But Nell grew not only
solicitously, but now strangely, entreatingly earnest in her
importunities to Belding not to insult or lay a hand on Chase. This
had bound Belding so far; it had made him think and watch. He had
never been a man to interfere with his women folk. They could do as
they liked, and usually that pleased him. But a slow surprise gathered
and grew upon him when he saw that Nell, apparently, was accepting
young Chase's attentions. At least, she no longer hid from him.
Belding could not account for this, because he was sure Nell cordially
despised the fellow. And toward the end he divined, if he did not
actually know, that these Chases possessed some strange power over
Nell, and were using it. That stirred a hate in Belding--a hate he had
felt at the very first and had manfully striven against, and which now
gave him over to dark brooding thoughts.

Midsummer passed, and the storms came late. But when they arrived they
made up for tardiness. Belding did not remember so terrible a storm of
wind and rain as that which broke the summer's drought.

In a few days, it seemed, Altar Valley was a bright and green expanse,
where dust clouds did not rise. Forlorn River ran, a slow, heavy,
turgid torrent. Belding never saw the river in flood that it did not
give him joy; yet now, desert man as he was, he suffered a regret when
he thought of the great Chase reservoir full and overflowing. The dull
thunder of the spillway was not pleasant. It was the first time in his
life that the sound of falling water jarred upon him.

Belding noticed workmen once more engaged in the fields bounding his
land. The Chases had extended a main irrigation ditch down to
Belding's farm, skipped the width of his ground, then had gone on down
through Altar Valley. They had exerted every influence to obtain right
to connect these ditches by digging through his land, but Belding had
remained obdurate. He refused to have any dealings with them. It was
therefore with some curiosity and suspicion that he saw a gang of
Mexicans once more at work upon these ditches.

At daylight next morning a tremendous blast almost threw Belding out of
his bed.