of the man, imagined his daughter in her place. The thought made him furious. " I'm losing the chance to be a big man in the town here in order to play safe and be sure of money to leave to Clara, and all she cares about is to.galavant around with some young squirt," he thought bitterly. lie began to see himself as a wronged and unappreciated father. When he got out of the buggy, he stood for a moment by the wheel and looked hard at Steve. " I'm as good a sport as you are," he said finally. " Bring around your stock and I'll give you the note. That's all it will be, you under- stand : just my note. I don't promise to back it up with any collateral and I don't expect you to offer it for sale." Steve leaned out of the buggy and took him by the hand. " I won't sell your note, Tom," he said. " I'll put it away. I want a partner to help me. You and I are going to do things together." The young promoter drove off along the road, and Tom went into the house and to bed. Like his daugh- ter he did not sleep. For a time he thought of her and in imagination saw her again in the buggy with the school teacher who had her in his arms. The thought made him stir restlessly about beneath the sheets. " Damn women anyway," he muttered. To relieve his mind he thought of other things. "I'll make out a deed and turn three of my farms over to Clara," he de- cided shrewdly. "If things go wrong we won't be en- tirely broke. I know Charlie Jacobs in the court-house over at the county seat. I ought to be able to get a deed recorded without any one knowing it if I oil Charlie's hand a little." Clara's last two weeks in the Woodburn household [186]
