Mr. Dale shook his head.  “He won’t do it.”

“Shore he’ll do it.  You don’t think he’s gonna have somebody else come in here in yore place, do you?  Not much he ain’t.  He’ll lend you the money and glad to.”

“I done already asked him, an’ he wouldn’t.”

“‘You asked him, and he wouldn’t?’” repeated Racey, stupidly.  “When did you ask him?”

“About two months ago—­soon as ever I found out I wouldn’t be able to pay off the mortgage.”

“And he wouldn’t lend it to you?  I don’t understand it, damfi do.  It ain’t reasonable.  Lookit here, did you tell him what you wanted it for?  Did you tell him about the mortgage?”

“Non-no,” said Mr. Dale in a still, small voice.  “I didn’t.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Because I was afraid he’d take advantage of me.  I was afraid he’d fix it so as to take my ranch away from me if he knowed how bad and what for I needed it.”

“But ain’t that exactly what the Marysville bank could ‘a’ done if it wanted?” demanded Racey, aghast at the Dale obtuseness.

“Yeah, but I had hopes of standing off the bank, and—­”

“But you ain’t got any hope of standing off Lanpher and Tweezy.  Nary a hope.  Now lookit, Old Salt is yore only chance round here.  Of course, he’d fix it to take away yore ranch if he could.  That’s his business.  And it’s yore business to see he don’t.  An’ it’s my business to help you see he don’t.  Suppose now I go to Old Salt and get him to lend you the money on a mortgage, say a ten-year mortgage?”

“But I got one mortgage on the place now.  He’d never take a second mortgage.”

“Naw, naw, that ain’t gonna be the way of it a-tall.  It will be fixed so’s Old Salt’s mortgage won’t go into effect till the first one’s paid off.”

“But then till the first one is paid off—­maybe it will be three-four days—­Old Salt’s five thousand will be unsecured.”

“It won’t be unsecured.  It won’t go out of Saltoun’s hands.  He’ll pay off the mortgage himself.”

“Do you think you can get a easy rate from Old Salt?” asked Dale, the light of a new hope dawning in his faded old eyes.  “It’s a awful tax on a feller paying the full legal rate.”

“We’ll have to take what we can get, but I’ll do my best to tone it down.  Sometimes a man will take less if he has another object in view besides the interest.  And you bet Old Salt will have a plenty big object in view in keeping out Lanpher and Tweezy.  Money ain’t tight now, anyway.  I’ll do the best I can for you.  Don’t you fret.  You go on in now and square up with the women and I’ll slide out to the Bar S instanter.”

Mr. Dale, the poor old man, laid a hand on Racey’s strong young forearm.  “I’ll tell ’em,” he said.  “I’ll tell ’em.  You—­you fix it up with Old Salt.”

Abruptly he turned away and hobbled hurriedly around the corner of the barn.

CHAPTER XIX