“Well, no–or that is, he’s working on a trail to pack down the ore he had sacked. And after that’s shipped, if it pays him what it ought, we’re going to move inside.”
“Oh,” observed Wunpost and sat down on the porch, where he rumpled his hair reflectively. “Say,” he said at last, “I’ve got a little roll–what’s the matter if I build the road?”
“Shh!” she hissed, moving over and speaking low; “don’t you know that Mother wouldn’t hear to it? And poor Father, he feels awful bad.”
185“No, but look,” he protested, “you folks have been my friends, and I owe you for taking care of my mules. I’d be glad to advance the money to put in an aerial tramway and you could pay it back out of the ore. That’s the kind of road you want, one that will never wash out, and I know where you can get one cheap. There’s one down by Goler that you can buy for almost nothing–I stopped and looked it over, coming up. And all you have to do, after you once get it installed, is to feed your ore into the buckets and send them down the canyon and the empties will come up with your supplies. It’s automatic–works itself, and can’t get out of order–just a long, double cable, swinging down from point to point and supplying its own power by gravity. Some class to that, and I tell you what I’ll do–I’ll lend the money to you!”
“No!” she said as he reached down into his pocket, and she gazed at him reproachfully.
“What do you mean?” he asked after a minute of puzzled silence, and she shook her head and pointed towards the house. Then she rose up quietly and led off down the path where the hollyhocks were still in full bloom.
“You know what I mean,” she said at the gate; “have you forgotten about the cloudburst?”
“Why, no,” he returned; “you don’t mean to say─”
“Yes, I do,” she replied, “they think your money is accursed. Father says you didn’t come by it honestly.”
186“Oh, he does, eh?” sulked Wunpost; “and what do you think about it?”