_Perkins Again Outwitted._
For several minutes after Fraser the carpenter had finished telling
his story, Perkins was silent. From force of habit he ran his fingers
upward through the scant growth of reddish side whiskers upon his
face, and by the changes in expression passing continually over his
countenance, Fraser was aware that the information he brought had
greatly interested him.
“There can be no doubt, I suppose, Fraser,” began Perkins, very slowly
pronouncing his words, “about there being a large amount of gold
deposited in the foundations of the house?”
“There is no doubt of it, Mr. Perkins,” eagerly answered Fraser, again
tipping forward upon the front legs of the chair. “Cameron didn’t want
it known, you see, but it’s the gold pieces they lost in the cellar
that spoiled his plan, and now it seems he isn’t worth the half he
thought he was.”
“That’s it, Fraser, about as I thought it would be,” continued
Perkins, well satisfied with the turn Cameron’s affairs seemed to
have taken. “His gold that he brought back from the Cariboo Mountains
has not turned out at the government mint to be near what he thought,
so his creditors in the city are going to close in on him quick and
get what they can. That’s about the case as I see it, Fraser, and
I think our turn has come, just as you have said. Oh, by the way,
Fraser,” as if suddenly recollecting, “where is the young friend of
Cameron—LeClare—the city chap who came back with him?”
“Oh, he’s gone. Went away to see his people, they say over at The
Front, but I guess he’s a wise one, eh, Perkins? Saw what was coming
and got out in time.”
“It has been pretty rough sailing for us, Fraser, since Cameron
returned, and although I have gotten back through him from the farmers
around here over thirty thousand dollars, yet I am poorer by not being
able to let the loans rest. You understand?”
“Yes, I see, Mr. Perkins. Bill Blakely says you have lost fifty
thousand by being beat out on foreclosing, and they all seem to be
laughing about it.”
“Yes, and they think they had a big joke on you and me, eh, Fraser?
Well, now we will see who will laugh loudest and the last.”
With this last thrust Perkins bounded up, and hurrying to the door in
his waddling gait, he shaded his eyes with his hands and scanned the
cloudless sky. Turning again to Fraser, he said: “I will have that
Cameron house before the week is out. My reputation has been hurt by
Cameron. My business is gone, and he has made me a joke for the whole
county. Now I’ll turn the laugh on him. I will go up to the county
clerk at once, and if there have been arrangements made for a sale of
the property or a transfer to his creditors, I will soon know it. Now
you go back to The Front, Fraser, and find out what you can. I will
meet you at the four corners on my return.”
The twilight of the June evening had faded into the darkness of night
and Fraser still waited by the door to his shop. Presently a familiar
rattle of the wheels of an approaching wagon announced the coming of
Perkins. Fraser advanced from the door of his carpenter shop and met
the tardy Perkins in the road.
“Ah, good evening, Fraser,” began the money lender in his blandest
tones, and Fraser knew his trip to the county town had placed him
in possession of favorable facts concerning the supposed financial
embarrassment of Cameron. “Anything new, Fraser?”
“Nothing much, Mr. Perkins, but more strangers were hanging about The
Nole to-day. I couldn’t get near enough to hear what was up. They
looked over the new house and then went down the road to Laughing
Donald’s. They are staying there to-night.”
“Very good, very good, Fraser. Now about LeClare. Have you seen him, or
do you know where he is?”
“I don’t know exactly, Mr. Perkins, but I am told that Andy’s Dan is
away with him.”
“There is a doubt there, Fraser, the only weak spot in our scheme.
Up at the county seat I see where they have arranged for a quick
sale. They were to do it on the quiet. They have advertised according
to law, and with the consent of Cameron’s lawyer, Donald Ban, the
city creditors are to meet at The Nole, and by an arrangement among
themselves, will bid in the house, and just enough to cover current
bills on hand. Now Cameron is in a pinch. They have sprung this thing
on him suddenly. He can’t locate his friend LeClare, and these city
chaps are after his house at half the cost. Here is our plan, Fraser.
Say not a word of what we know. The sale is on Thursday at ten in
the morning. This is Tuesday. I want the house. These men from the
city want about thirty thousand between them as their share of their
slick game. I can afford to overbid that amount because it is in the
foundation and they don’t know it. I have found that a receipt is on
file in the government mint down in the city, that this amount was
drawn out by Cameron and we have evidence that it was placed there. It
is a sure thing, Fraser, that I get Cameron’s house Thursday morning.
His only hope is that his friend LeClare may turn up before the sale.
You must be careful and quiet, Fraser, and leave the rest to me. I will
meet you at The Nole Thursday morning a few minutes only before ten.”
They bade each other a half-whispered good night, but as their shadows
retreated in the darkness, another dark object jumped up out of the
ditch at the opposite side of the roadway. It was the figure of a man,
cloth cap in hand, who, waiting only long enough to take an enormous
chew out of a plug of tobacco, then sauntered at a safe distance from
the others down the roadway, past the store, the cheese factory, and on
toward home.