THE FINE PRINT
A week passed by, and Wilhelmina rode into Blackwater and mailed a
letter to the County Recorder; and a week later she came back, to
receive a letter in return and to buy at the store with gold. And then
the big news broke--the Sockdolager had been found--and there was a
stampede that went clear to the peaks. Blackwater was abandoned, and
swarming again the next day with the second wave of stampeders; and the
day after that John C. Calhoun piled out of the stage and demanded to
see Wilhelmina. He hardly knew her at first, for she had bought a new
dress; and she sat in an office up over the bank, talking business with
several important persons.
"What's this I hear?" he demanded truculently, when he had cleared the
room of all callers. "I hear you've located my mine."
"Yes, I have," she admitted. "But of course it wasn't yours--and
besides, you said I could have it."
"Where is it at?" he snapped, sweating and fighting back his hair, and
when she told him he groaned.
"How'd you find it?" he asked, and then he groaned again, for she had
followed his own fresh trail.
"Stung!" he moaned and sank down in a chair, at which she dimpled
prettily.
"Yes," she said, "but it was all for your own good. And anyway, you
dared me to do it."
"Yes, I did," he assented with a weary sigh. "Well, what do you want me
to do?"
"Why, nothing," she returned. "I'm going to sell out to Mr. Eells
and----"
"To Eells!" he yelled. "Well, by the holy, jumping Judas--how much is he
going to give you?"
"Forty thousand dollars and----"
"_Forty thousand!_ Say, she's worth forty _million_! For
cripes' sake--have you signed the papers?"
"No, I haven't, but----"
"Well, then, _don't_! Don't you do it--don't you dare to sign
anything, not even a receipt for your money! Oh, my Lord, I just got
here in time!"
"But I'm going to," ended Wilhelmina, and then for the first time he
noticed the look in her eye. It was as cold and steely as a
gun-fighter's.
"Why--what's the matter?" he clamored. "You ain't sore at me, are you?
But even if you are, don't sign any papers until I tell you about that
mine. How much ore have you got in sight?"
"Why, just that one vein, where it goes under the black rock----"
"They's two others!" he panted, "that I covered up on purpose. Oh, my
Lord, this is simply awful."
"Two others!" echoed Wilhelmina, and then she sat dumb while a scared
look crept into her eyes. "Well, I didn't know that," she went on at
last, "and of course we lost everything, that other time. So when Mr.
Eells offered me forty thousand cash and agreed to release you from that
grubstake contract----"
"You throwed the whole thing away, eh?"
He had turned sullen now and petulantly discontented and the fire
flashed back into her eyes.
"Well, is that all the thanks I get? I thought you _wanted_ that
contract!"
"I did!" he complained, "but if you'd left me alone I'd've got it away
from him for nothing. But forty thousand dollars! Say, what's your
doggoned hurry--have you got to sell out the first day?"
"No, but that time before, when he tried to buy us out I held on until I
didn't get anything. And father has been waiting for his road so
long----"
"Oh, that road again!" snarled Wunpost. "Is that all you think about?
You've thrown away millions of dollars!"
"Well, anyway, I've got the road!" she answered with spirit, "and that's
more than I did before. If I'd followed my own judgment instead of
taking your advice----"
"Your judgment!" he mocked; "say, shake yourself, kid--you've pulled the
biggest bonehead of a life-time."
"I don't care!" she answered, "I'll get forty thousand dollars. And if
Father builds his road our mine will be worth millions, so why shouldn't
I let this one go?"
"Oh, boys!" sighed Wunpost and slumped down in his chair, then roused up
with a wild look in his eyes. "You haven't signed up, have you?" he
demanded again. "Well, thank God, then, I got here in time!"
"No you didn't," she said, "because I told him I'd do it and we've
already drawn up the papers. At first he wouldn't hear to it, to release
you from your contract; but when I told him I wouldn't sell without it,
he and Lapham had a conference and they're downstairs now having it
copied. There are to be three copies, one for each of us and one for
you, because of course you're an interested party. And I thought, if you
were released, you could go out and find another mine and----"
"Another one!" raved Wunpost. "Say, you must think it's easy! I'll never
find another one in a life-time. Another Sockdolager? I could sell that
mine tomorrow for a million dollars, cash; it's got a hundred thousand
dollars in sight!"
"Well, that's what you told me when we had the Willie Meena, and now
already they say it's worked out--and I know Mr. Eells isn't rich. He
had to send to Los Angeles to get the money for this first payment----"
"What, have you accepted his _money_?" shouted Wunpost accusingly,
and Wilhelmina rose to her feet.
"Mr. Calhoun," she said, "I'll have you to understand that I own this
mine myself. And I'm not going to sit here and be yelled at like a
Mexican--not by you or anybody else."
"Oh, it's yours, is it?" he jeered. "Well, excuse me for living; but who
came across it in the first place?"
"Well, you did," she conceded, "and if you hadn't been always bragging
about it you might be owning it yet. But you were always showing off,
and making fun of my father, and saying we were all such
_fools_--so I thought I'd just _show_ you, and it's no use
talking now, because I've agreed to sell it to Eells."
"That's all right, kid," he nodded, after a long minute of silence. "I
reckon I had it coming to me. But, by grab, I never thought that little
Billy Campbell would throw the hooks into me like this."
"No, and I wouldn't," she returned, "only you just treated us like dirt.
I'm glad, and I'd do it again."
"Well, I've learned one thing," he muttered gloomily; "I'll never trust
a woman again."
"Now isn't that just like a man!" exclaimed Wilhelmina indignantly. "You
know you never trusted anybody. I asked you one time where you got all
that ore and you looked smart and said: 'That's a question. If I'd tell
you, you'd know the answer.' Those were the very words you said. And now
you'll never trust a woman again!"
She laughed, and Wunpost rose slowly to his feet, but he did not get out
of the door.
"What's the matter?" she taunted; "did 'them Los Angeles girls' fool
you, too? Or am I the only one?"
"You're the only one," he answered ambiguously, and stood looking at her
queerly.
"Well, cheer up!" she dimpled, for her mood was gay. "You'll find
another one, somewhere."
"No I won't," he said; "you're the only one, Billy. But I never looked
for nothing like this."
"Well, you told me to get onto myself and learn to play the game, and
finally I took you at your word."
"Yes," he agreed, "I can't say a word. But these Blackwater stiffs will
sure throw it into me when they find I've been trimmed by a girl. The
best thing I can do is to drift."
He put his hand on the door-knob, but she knew he would not go, and he
turned back with a sheepish grin.
"What do the folks think about this?" he inquired casually, and
Wilhelmina made a face.
"They think I'm just _awful_!" she confessed. "But I don't
care--I'm tired of being poor."
"Don't reckon there'll be another cloudburst, do you, about the time you
get your road built?"
She grew sober at that and then her eyes gleamed.
"I don't care!" she repeated, "and besides, I didn't steal this. You
told me I could have it, you know."
"Too fine a point for me," he decided. "We'll just see, after you build
your new road."
"Well, I'm going to build it," she stated, "because he'll worry himself
to death. And I don't care what happens to me, as long as he gets his
road."
"Well, I've seen 'em that wanted all kinds of things, but you're the
first one that wanted a road. And so you're going to sign this contract
if it loses you a million dollars?"
"Yes, I am," she said. "We've drawn it all up and I've given him my
word, so there's nothing else to do."
"Yes, there is," he replied. "Tell him you've changed your mind and want
a million dollars. Tell him that I've come back and don't want that
grubstake contract and that you'll take it all in cash."
"No," she frowned, "now there's no use arguing, because I've fully made
up my mind. And if----" She paused and listened as steps came down the
hall. "They're coming," she said and smiled.
There was a rapid patter of feet and Lapham rapped and came in, bearing
some papers and his notary's stamp; but when he saw Wunpost he stopped
and stood aghast, while his stamp fell to the floor with a bang.
"Why, why--oh, excuse me!" he broke out, turning to dart through the
door; but the mighty bulk of Eells had blocked his way and now it forced
him back.
"Why--what's this?" demanded Eells, and then he saw Wunpost and his lip
dropped down and came up. "Oh, excuse me, Miss Campbell," he burst out
hastily, "we'll come back--didn't know you were occupied." He started to
back out and Wunpost and Wilhelmina exchanged glances, for they had
never seen him flustered before. But now he was stampeded, though why
they could not guess, for he had never feared Wunpost before.
"Oh, don't go!" cried Wilhelmina; "we were just waiting for you to come.
_Please_ come back--I want to have it over with."
She flew to the door and held it open and Eells and his lawyer filed in.
"Don't let me disturb you," said Wunpost grimly and stood with his back
to the wall. There was something in the wind, he could guess that
already, and he waited to see what would happen. But if Eells had been
startled his nerve had returned, and he proceeded with ponderous
dignity.
"This won't take but a moment," he observed to Wilhelmina as he spread
the papers before her. "Here are the three copies of our agreement
and"--he shook out his fountain pen--"you put your name right there."
"No you don't!" spoke up Wunpost, breaking in on the spell, "don't sign
nothing that you haven't read."
He fixed her with his eyes and as Wilhelmina read his thoughts she laid
down the waiting pen. Eells drew up his lip, Lapham shuffled uneasily,
and Wilhelmina took up the contract. She glanced through it page by
page, dipping in here and there and then turning impatiently ahead; and
as she struggled with its verbiage the sweat burst from Eells' face and
ran unnoticed down his neck.
"All right," she smiled, and was picking up the pen when she paused and
turned hurriedly back.
"Anything the matter?" croaked Lapham, clearing his throat and hovering
over her, and Wilhelmina looked up helplessly.
"Yes; please show me the place where it tells about that contract--the
one for Mr. Calhoun."
"Oh--yes," stammered Lapham, and then he hesitated and glanced across at
Eells. "Why--er----" he began, running rapidly through the sheets, and
John C. Calhoun strode forward.
"What did I tell you?" he said, nodding significantly at Wilhelmina and
grabbing up the damning papers. "That'll do for you," he said to Lapham.
"We'll have you in the Pen for this." And when Lapham and Eells both
rushed at him at once he struck them aside with one hand. For they did
not come on fighting, but all in a tremble, clutching wildly to get back
the papers.
"I knowed it," announced Wunpost; "that clause isn't there. This is one
time when we read the fine print."