r
it--but you're missing the chance of your life."

"Very likely," he muttered and reached for his hat. "Much obliged for
cooking my dinner."

He started for the door, but she flew swiftly after him and snatched him
back into the room.

"Now here!" she cried, "I want you to listen to me--I've got tired of
this everlasting waiting. I waited around for ten years on the Colonel,
to settle this matter up, and now that he's gone I'm going to settle it
myself and get out of the cussed country. Maybe I don't own the mine,
but I own a good part of it--I've got two hundred thousand shares of
stock--and I could sell it to-morrow for twenty thousand dollars, so you
don't need to turn up your nose. There must be something there after all
these years, to bring an offer of ten cents a share; but I wouldn't take
that money if it was the last act of my life--I just hate that Honest
John Holman! He cheated my husband out of everything he had--and yet he
did it in such a deceitful way that the Colonel would never believe it.
I've called him a coward a thousand times for tolerating such an outrage
for an instant, and now that he's gone I'm going to show Honest John
that he can't put it over _me_!"

She shook her head until her heavy black hair flew out like Medusa's
locks and then Wiley laughed provokingly.

"All right," he said, "but you can't rope me in on your feuds. If you
want to give me an option on your stock in the company for five or ten
cents a share I may take a look at your mine. But I'll tell you one
thing--you'll sign an agreement first to leave the country and never
come back. I'm a business man, working for business people, and these
shotgun methods don't go."

"Well, I'll do it!" exclaimed the Widow, passing by his numerous insults
in a sudden mad grab at release. "Just draw up your paper and I'll sign
it in a minute--but I want ten cents a share!"

"Ten cents or ten dollars--it makes no difference to me. You can put it
as high as you like--but if it's too high, my principals won't take it.
I can't stop to inspect it now, because I'm due up north, but I'll tell
you what I'll do. You give me an option on all your stock, with a
written permission to take possession, and if the other two big owners
will do as much I'll come back and consider the mine. But get this
straight--the first time you butt in, this option and agreement is off!"

"What do you mean--butt in?" demanded the Widow truculently, and then
she bit h