d, mildly.

"The biggest in these woods."

"One man, did you say?"

"One man."

"Some--grudge, perhaps?"

"Perhaps."

"A yacht is too expensive for most men, but they don't burn money as
fast as a grudge."

"This one will take his last dollar--or mine."

"We're a legitimate firm, you know--"

Gray's eyes twinkled as he exclaimed: "Exactly! If I have caused you to
infer that I shall employ anything except legitimate means to effect my
purpose, it is my error. At the same time, my proposition is not one
that I could well afford to take to the ordinary, conservative type of
broker. Now then, how about you, Mallow? Would you care to work for me?"

The latter's pale face broke into a grin. "I am working for you," he
declared. "I've been on your pay roll now for five minutes. What's
more, if it'll save money to croak this certain party and be done with
it, why, maybe that can be arranged, too. My new wiggle stick may not
find oil every crack, but I bet I can make it point to half a dozen men
who--"

Gray lifted an admonitory hand. "Patience! It may come to something
like that, but I intend to break him first. Can I arrive at terms with
you gentlemen?"

"Write your own ticket," McWade declared, and Mr. Stoner echoed this
statement with enthusiasm.

"Very well! Details later. Now, I shall give myself the pleasure of
calling upon my man and telling him exactly what I intend doing." The
speaker rose and shook hands with the three precious scoundrels. When
the door had closed behind him McWade inquired: "Now what do you make
of that? Going to serve notice on his bird!"

"Say! He's the hardest guy I ever saw," Stoner declared, admiringly.
Mallow spoke last, but he spoke with conviction. "You said it, Brick. I
had his number from the start. He's a master crook, and--it'll pay us
all to string with him."

Henry Nelson's activities in the oil fields did not leave him much time
in which to attend to his duties as vice-president of his father's
bank, for what success he and Old Bell Nelson had had since the boom
started was the direct result of the younger man's personal attention
to their joint operations. That attention was close; their success,
already considerable, promised to be enormous.

But of late things had not been going well. The turn had come with the
loss of the Evans lease, and that misfortune had been followed by
others. Contrary to custom, it was Henry, and not Bell, who had flown
into a rage at r