Corrigan’s eyes brightened as he examined the check. They filled with a hard, sinister light.
“No,” he said; “it isn’t regular.” He took the check from Braman and deliberately tore it into small pieces, scattering them on the floor at his feet. He smiled vindictively, settling back into his chair. “ ‘Brand’ Trevison, eh?” he said. “Well, Mr. Trevison, the railroad company isn’t ready to close with you.”
Trevison had watched the destruction of the check without the quiver of an eyelash. A faint, ironic smile curved the corners of his mouth as Corrigan concluded.
“I see,” he said quietly. “You were not man enough to beat me a little while ago—even with the help of Braman’s broom. You’re going to take it out on me through the railroad; you’re going to sneak and scheme. Well, you’re in good company—anything that you don’t know about skinning people Braman will tell you. But I’m letting you know this: The railroad company’s option on my land expired last night, and it won’t be renewed. If it’s fight you’re looking for, I’ll do my best to accommodate you.”
Corrigan grunted, and idly drummed with the fingers of one hand on the top of the desk, watching Trevison steadily. The latter opened his lips to speak, changed his mind, grinned and went out. Corrigan and Braman watched him as he stopped for a moment outside to talk with his friends, and their gaze followed him until he mounted Nigger and rode out of town. Then the banker looked at Corrigan, his brows wrinkling.
“You know your business, Jeff,” he said; “but you’ve picked a tough man in Trevison.”
Corrigan did not answer. He was glowering at the pieces of the check that lay on the floor at his feet.
CHAPTER IV
THE LONG ARM OF POWER
Presently Corrigan lit a cigar, biting the end off carefully, to keep it from coming in contact with his bruised lips. When the cigar was going well, he looked at Braman.
“What is Trevison?”
Pale, still dizzy from the effects of the blow on the head, Braman, who was leaning heavily on the counter, smiled wryly:
“He’s a holy terror—you ought to know that. He’s a reckless, don’t-give-a-damn fool who has forgotten there’s such a thing as consequences. ‘Firebrand’ Trevison, they call him. And he lives up to what that means. The folks in this section of the country swear by him.”
Corrigan made a gesture of impatience. “I mean—what does he do? Of course I know he owns some land here. But how much land does he own?”
“You saw the figure on the check, didn’t you? He owns five thousand acres.”
“How long has he been here?”
“You’ve got me. More than ten years, I guess, from what I can gather.”
“What was he before he came here?”
“I couldn’t even surmise that—he don’t talk about his past. From the way he waded into you, I should judge he was a prize fighter before becoming a cow-puncher.”
Corrigan glared at the banker. “Yes; it’s damned funny,” he said. “How did he get his land?”
“Proved on a quarter-section. Bought the rest of it—and bought it mighty cheap.” Braman’s eyes brightened. “Figure on attacking his title?”
Corrigan grunted. “I notice he asked you for cash. You’re not his banker, evidently.”
“He banks in Las Vegas, I guess.”
“What about his cattle?”
“He shipped three thousand head last season.”
“How big is his outfit?”
“He’s got about twenty men. They’re all hard cases—like him, and they’d shoot themselves for him.”
Corrigan got up and walked to the window, from where he looked out at Manti. The town looked like an army camp. Lumber, merchandise, supplies of every description, littered the street in mounds and scattered heaps, awaiting the erection of tent-house and building. But there was none of that activity that might have been expected from the quantity of material on hand; it seemed that the owners were waiting, delaying in anticipation of some force that would give them encouragement. They were reluctant to risk their money in erecting buildings on the strength of mere rumor. But they had come, hoping.
Corrigan grinned at Braman. “They’re afraid to take a chance,” he said, meaning Manti’s citizens.
“Don’t blame them. I’ve spread the stuff around—as you told me. That’s all they’ve heard. They’re here on a forlorn hope. The boom they are looking for, seems, from present conditions, to be lurking somewhere in the future, shadowed by an indefiniteness that to them is vaguely connected with somebody’s promise of a dam, agricultural activity to follow, and factories. They haven’t been able to trace the rumors, but they’re here, and they’ll make things hum if they get a chance.”
“Sure,” grinned Corrigan. “A boom town is always a graft for first arrivals. That is, boom towns have been. But Manti—” He paused.
“Yes, different,” chuckled the banker. “It must have cost a wad to shove that water grant through.”
“Benham kicked on the price—it was enough.”
“That maximum rate clause is a pippin. You can soak them the limit right from the jump.”
“And scare them out,” scoffed Corrigan. “That isn’t the game. Get them here, first. Then—”
The banker licked his lips. “How does old Benham take it?”
“Mr. Benham is enthusiastic because everything will be done in a perfectly legitimate way—he thinks.”
“And the courts?”
“Judge Lindman, of the District Court now in Dry Bottom, is going to establish himself here. Benham pulled that string.”
“Good!” said Braman. “When is Lindman coming?”
Corrigan’s smile was crooked; it told eloquently of conscious power over the man he had named.
“He’ll come whenever I give the word. Benham’s got something on him.”
“You always were a clever son-of-a-gun!” laughed the banker, admiringly.
Ignoring the compliment, Corrigan walked into the rear room, where he gazed frowningly at his reflection in a small glass affixed to the wall. Re-entering the banking room he said:
“I’m in no condition to face Miss Benham. Go down to the car and tell her that I shall be very busy here all day, and that I won’t be able to see her until late tonight.”
Miss Benham’s name was on the tip of the banker’s tongue, but, glancing at Corrigan’s face, he decided that it was no time for that particular brand of levity. He grabbed his hat and stepped out of the front door.
Left alone, Corrigan paced slowly back and forth in the room, his brows furrowed thoughtfully. Trevison had become an important figure in his mind. Corrigan had not hinted to Braman, to Trevison, or to Miss Benham, of the actual situation—nor would he. But during his first visit to town that morning