r; and, at this final moment, he sounded those
hitherto unplumbed depths. "It will be all right," he said steadily; "wait
until you see what Lucky Banks does. You can trust him not to stand in
Tisdale's way. And don't think I underrate Hollis Tisdale. He is a man in
a thousand. No one knows that better than I. And that's why I am going to
hold him to his record."

CHAPTER XXII

"AS MAN TO MAN"

In January, when Mrs. Feversham returned to Washington, her brother
accompanied her as far as Wenatchee. He went prepared to offer Banks as
high as five thousand dollars for his option.

At that time the Weatherbee tract was blanketed in snow. It never drifted,
because Cerberus shut out the prevailing wind like a mighty door; even the
bench and the high ridge beyond lifted above the levels of the vale smooth
as upper floors. Previous to that rare precipitation, gangs of men, put to
work on both quarter sections, had removed the sage-brush and planted
trees, and the new orchard traced a delicate pattern on the white carpet
in rows and squares. Banks had hurried the concrete lining of the basin
walls, and when it became necessary to suspend construction on the flumes,
he saw with satisfaction that the reservoir would husband the melting
snows and so supply temporary irrigation in the early spring. All the
lumber estimates had been included in his orders for building material in
the autumn, and already the house on the bench showed a tiled roof above
its mission walls, while down the gap and midway up the side slope of
Cerberus rose the shingled gables of Annabel's home.

To facilitate the handling of freight, the railroad company had laid a
siding at the nearest point in Hesperides Vale; then, for the convenience
of the workmen, the daily local made regular stops, and the little station
bore the name of Weatherbee. Later, at the beginning of the year, it had
become a post-office, and the Federal building included a general store.
Also, at that time, the girders of a new brick block rose on the adjoining
lots, and a sign secured to the basement wall announced: "This strictly
modern building will be completed about June first. For office and floor
space see Henderson Bailey."

The financier, who had motored up the valley in a rented car, noted these
indications of an embryo town with interest.

"Who is Henderson Bailey?" he asked.

And the chauffeur answered with surprise: "Don't you know Bailey? Why,
he's the man th