Page:Jackson Gregory--joyous trouble maker.djvu/261

Rh been built by Beatrice Corliss. Out of the world a bit? Not too far. They'll run a good road to Indian City, and in any case Gilchrist wanted to make this largely a summer sanatorium, didn't he? If Carruthers would just get the option, Steele would do the rest; he'd take Dr. Gilchrist to look the site over … and he'd close the deal before the day was out.

"I believe you could!" said Carruthers. "I believe you could. Bill. … Why don't you take it up with Miss Corliss yourself?" Steele grinned.

"She'd call the royal body guard to drop me off the ranch," he chuckled. "She's my mortal enemy, you know. Bob. Wouldn't sell me a pin if I offered her a double eagle for it. Now go ahead, will you? You get the option in your name, never letting her suspect that you even know me, if you can help it. Then you turn it over to me and I'll deal with Gilchrist!" But Carruthers was frowning.

"Look here, Bill," he said quietly. "Maybe you'll think me a fool and something of a sentimentalist; maybe I am since the Twins came," he admitted with the flicker of a smile. "But it sort of strikes me … Oh, well, I don't like the idea of holding Gilchrist up for so much as a penny. He's no money-maker; he doesn't try to make money out of his work. He'd lose a thousand dollars any day to make a cure. He is doing a big work for poor devils who need help and …" "Whew!" whistled Steele. "Twins do make a difference, don't they?"

"Just the same …"