JIM THE CONQUEROR

Waikato Independent, Volume XXXVII, Issue 3274, 4 March 1937, Page 2

JIM THE CONQUEROR

,By PETER B. KYNE

“What’s happened?” he cried. “That dead man’s my boss, ain’t he?”

“He used to h?. He rode out of his camp in a hurry shortly aftei I was there, you may remember. Well, his mission was to circle around Senor Higuenes, waylay and murder him. He tried very hard to succeed, as you may judge by a casual inspection of Senor Higuenes, but somehow his proposition back-fired and now he’s on his way to the undertaker. I suppose you’re bound for Les : Algodones for supplies?”

The man nodded, his eyes still on all that was mortal of the man who had paid him well for doing very indifferent cooking.

“Well, suppose we dispose Antrim’s body on your truck. Don Jaime will ride on the seat beside you and I’ll sit on back with the corpse and lead these two horses. You got a gun on you?” “Yes, sir.” “Give it to me. You might be tempted to use it on Don Jaime. Hop out now and pay the last sad tribute of love to your late boss.” “I don’t think I’ll go to Los Algodones after all, ranger. The boys ought to be notified of this killing ” “You’ll go. I desire it, my friend. I don’t feel like having your friends organise a reprisal raid on the Rancho Valle Verde until I’m there to receive them.” Hobart placed Antrim’s body in the box of the car and lifted Don Jaime down from his horse and deposited him beside the driver, after which he seated himself in the rear of the car and held the leading ropes of the three horses. At a speed of seven or eight miles an hour they proceeded to Los Algodones, where Hobart turned Antrim’s body over to the coroner and made his report to the sheriff, having first seen Don Jaime in bed at the hotel with a doctor in charge of him. About an hour later a coroner’s jury trooped into Don Jaime’s room and listened to his story of the killing. The ranger added his testimony, and the foreman of the jury looked at his fellow jurors. “Don’t seem to be anything mysterious about this case, boys,” he announced. “All those in favour of rendering a verdict of suicide hold up their right hands. All up? We, the jury, find that the deceased came to his death at the hands of Don Jaime Miguel Higuenes and that the said Higuenes acted in selfdefence and cannot be charged with any crime worse than justifiable homicide.”

The jury retired, and Ken Hobart returned to his employer. “Well, I’ve wired my resignation. It ought to reach the Governor before the office closes, and his wire of acceptance will come to me in your care. I’ve hired an automobile —at your expense, Don Jaime—and am on my way to the ranch. I’ll send the trailer in after our horses in the morning. They’re at ranger headquarters. That cook of Antrim’s is bound to have taken the news out to his people. • .'l’d better be at the ranch in the event of hostilities. The wildest sheep-herder will generally listen to reason from a ranger—and I’ll be a ranger until my resignation is accepted and I have turned ill my shield.” Don Jaime held out a telegram to him. “Please file that as you go out, Ken. The doctor has sent to El Paso for a trained nurse, and as soon as she arrives I’ll go out to the ranch and recuperate. All I require is an expert to dress these punctures and keep an eye out for possible infection. As for those sheeps—l mean sheep—tell Antrim’s foreman- to restrict them to the country south of the Arroyo San Diaguito. The feed there isn’t so attractive to my cattle anyhow, but sheep can make a living there. Adios, mi buen companero.”

Although she had promised Crooked Bill Latham that she would ?tart for Los-Algodones immediately, such was her curiosity to meet the. adorable Don Jaime Miguel Higuenes, Roberta Antrim awakened the following morning with a changed mind. During the night she had decided that the Border town, in June, would not be to her liking. She hadn’t the slightest idea of the size of her late uncle’s estate, but she believed it to be inconsiderable. Regardless of its size, however, she asked hei’self what beneficient purpose could she serve by going down there now. The Higuenes man had volunteered to look after her interests, the bank had recommended him highly, so why not permit him

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to be as neighbourly as he wished! Crooked Bill was quite prepared for this change of mind. So he said nothing beyond a mild inquiry as to what reply she had sent Don Jaime Miguel Higuenes to his charming telegram, “Oh, I told him I would be happy to have him look after my interests until I could find a man to relieve him, at which time he would be remunerated for his work. I also asked him to send me a detailed account of the manner in which Uncle Tom met his death and instructed him to have Uncle Tom buried in the local cemetery and send the bill to me.”

“Hum-m!” Crooked Bill’s grunt was very sceptical. “Did you ask him for any information regarding your Uncle Tom’s estate?” “No, Uncle Bill. I thought you’d look after those details for me.”

“I will, honey, but I have a few details of my own that require looking after. I’m up to my eyebrows in Motors and if the market goes against me (and I don’t like the locks of it) I’m liable to have to go down to Texas, take hold of your Uncle Tom’s sheep business and try to eke out an existence for us. I suppose you’ll give me a job as your manager, wouldn’t you, Bobby?” Roberta’s eyes widened. “Surely, Uncle Bill, you’re jesting.” “I’m not. Neither am I lugubrious, my dear. It will be time enough for that when I invite my creditors in to gather the pieces.” “You’re a strange mixture of optimism and pessimism, Uncle Bill. Are you really deep in the market?”

“I’m in Motors up to my eyebrows. I have a few other lines, but Motors is the stock that won’t let your Uncle Bill sleep well lately. You see, Bobby, when one plays on margin and sells short, he a dollar a share every time the price drops a point; if he buys short he loses a dollar a share every time the price mounts a point. And the brokers keep calling for more margin . . . Well, I bought five thousand shares at 110 ”

“Five hundred and fifty thousand dollars,” Roberta interrupted. “Well, the stock has gone up to a hundred and ninety ” “A loss of eighty points—four hundred thousand dollars! Oh, Uncle Bill!” Roberta came to the old man and put her fair arms around his leathery neck. “I’m Uncle Tom’s heir. At least he wrote me to that effect once when he was very ill ” “The time he was shot by his foreman in a quarrel over participating profits, you mean.” “ so if you go bust, Uncle Bill, you can have Uncle Tom’s sheep.” “A terrible heritage,” Crooked Bill replied, and shuddered. “Well, we’ll hope for the best, honey.” “Of course, you can sell now and pocket your loss, can you not?” “A true sport never knows a regret, Bobby. He always protects his bets. I think I’ll sell out my line of cotton and steel today and use my considerable profit to protect my other trades.” Crooked Bill Latham hung his head and wiped his eyes carefully. “Seeing what a sport you are, Bobby, I find courage to tell you something. I’ve sold .Hilcrest—that is, I’ve given my bankers a deed under an agreement to file it for record in case I fail to meet my obligations to the bank—and if that inside crowd keeps on shoving Motors up and up ” “Whatever happens we’ll be brave about it, old dear,” Roberta assured him tenderly. “There, there, Uncle Bill, buck up now.” “I tell you, Bobby, I’m so nervous about that stock I’m afraid to go into New York, for fear I’ll find myself a babbling idiot when I step off the train. Anything can happen in this market, and I don’t know what to do. I fell pretty badly when you and Glenn had your bust-up the other night,” he went on. “I had hoped to see you settled for life. What happens to me does’nt matter. A man can lie down in the cactus, but a woman must be protected-” “You darling! But I don’t want to be safe. I’m young; I want to see something of life! I want adventure and romance, and it isn’t found in Glenn Hackett’s set.” “Texas is the largest State in the Union —there’s plenty of room for romance there. How about this Jaime Miguel Higuenes?” “I’m afraid I might not care for him aftter all, Uncle Bill. I’ve made up my mind never to become interested in a Latin. They’re so explosive and emotional and tyrannical; they kiss each other—the men, I

mean—and weep at things an American would fipd humorous.” “However, you or your legal representative will have to go to Texas soon and do something about those sheep-” “But I do not know that I am heir to those sheep. Can’t you wait until a will is unearthed or the absence of one definitely established? Glenn brought up that point yesterday. If there is no will I shall, ol course, as Uncle Tom’s next of kin, petition for letters of administration, but until I have a letter from Senor Higuenes it seems to me I can do nothing but mark time.”

RHEUMATIC AGONY FOR YEARS

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THE DIESEL TRACTOR

ECONOMICAL FARM POWER

The Diesel engine was first brought to light by Dr Diesel of Germany. There was great international competition to obtain the marketing rights to his engine. Unfortunately, Dr Diesel mysteriously disappeared when crossing the Channel in 1913, .and consequently progress of the Diesel engine was temporarily held up.

j Since the War, however, the Diesel engine has advanced by leaps and bounds, in every phase of power supply. At first it came widely into use as a stationery plant, for pumping and electricity generation. Then as it was improved and proved reliable, shipping interests turned to Diesel installaJ tions. Today, many of the great vessels that journey to this Dominion are Diesel powered, j One of the latest fields for the [ Diesel engine, is in agricultural

tractors. The Diesel advantages are here manifest in two ways—the wonderful fuel economy and the low maintenance costs. The Diesel engine is a more simple type than the internal combustion engine running on gasoline or power kerosene. It is correspondingly cheap to maintain. '

i The fuel used is of the cheapest, .costing under 6d a gallon at main 'ports, New Zealand. On average farm work, that is pulling, say, a four-furrow plough, a well-known make of tractor' consumes but one gallon an hour. This ' tractor will run about 1000 hours, about one year’s normal farm working, jon fuel costing £2O IG/8,- •plus*freigfrtl Say £2—monthly, all filet - c<SS*j I is a lot cheaper than horse feed,'; oh I continuous heavy work. >

The writer has had ai wide.,experience hf both wheel and . caterpillar tractors, of the'lnternal combustion . type. As an agricultural contractor, great attention was paid to costs. I find that the advent of the Diesel has quite revolutionised operating Costs' of largo tractors^' It is pleasurable' to"‘find; ''sphere where /costs are lowering, in; '•fhesje times -of increasing -Costs of almost everything a farmer has to'purchase or provide.—A. H. Seifert', in “The Dominion.” •- ' ‘