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Not
until
he
was
beyond
ear
-
shot
did
he
pause
,
looking
back
,
listening
.
The
night
had
shut
down
again
.
For
a
moment
the
silence
was
profound
,
unbroken
.
Then
,
faint
and
prolonged
,
across
the
levels
of
the
ranch
,
he
heard
the
engine
whistling
for
Bonneville
.
Again
and
again
,
at
rapid
intervals
in
its
flying
course
,
it
whistled
for
road
crossings
,
for
sharp
curves
,
for
trestles
;
ominous
notes
,
hoarse
,
bellowing
,
ringing
with
the
accents
of
menace
and
defiance
;
and
abruptly
Presley
saw
again
,
in
his
imagination
,
the
galloping
monster
,
the
terror
of
steel
and
steam
,
with
its
single
eye
,
cyclopean
,
red
,
shooting
from
horizon
to
horizon
;
but
saw
it
now
as
the
symbol
of
a
vast
power
,
huge
,
terrible
,
flinging
the
echo
of
its
thunder
over
all
the
reaches
of
the
valley
,
leaving
blood
and
destruction
in
its
path
;
the
leviathan
,
with
tentacles
of
steel
clutching
into
the
soil
,
the
soulless
Force
,
the
iron
-
hearted
Power
,
the
monster
,
the
Colossus
,
the
Octopus
.
On
the
following
morning
,
Harran
Derrick
was
up
and
about
by
a
little
after
six
o
’
clock
,
and
a
quarter
of
an
hour
later
had
breakfast
in
the
kitchen
of
the
ranch
house
,
preferring
not
to
wait
until
the
Chinese
cook
laid
the
table
in
the
regular
dining
-
room
.
He
scented
a
hard
day
’
s
work
ahead
of
him
,
and
was
anxious
to
be
at
it
betimes
.
He
was
practically
the
manager
of
Los
Muertos
,
and
,
with
the
aid
of
his
foreman
and
three
division
superintendents
,
carried
forward
nearly
the
entire
direction
of
the
ranch
,
occupying
himself
with
the
details
of
his
father
’
s
plans
,
executing
his
orders
,
signing
contracts
,
paying
bills
,
and
keeping
the
books
.
For
the
last
three
weeks
little
had
been
done
.
The
crop
—
such
as
it
was
—
had
been
harvested
and
sold
,
and
there
had
been
a
general
relaxation
of
activity
for
upwards
of
a
month
.
Now
,
however
,
the
fall
was
coming
on
,
the
dry
season
was
about
at
its
end
;
any
time
after
the
twentieth
of
the
month
the
first
rains
might
be
expected
,
softening
the
ground
,
putting
it
into
condition
for
the
plough
.
Two
days
before
this
,
Harran
had
notified
his
superintendents
on
Three
and
Four
to
send
in
such
grain
as
they
had
reserved
for
seed
.
On
Two
the
wheat
had
not
even
shown
itself
above
the
ground
,
while
on
One
,
the
Home
ranch
,
which
was
under
his
own
immediate
supervision
,
the
seed
had
already
been
graded
and
selected
.
It
was
Harran
’
s
intention
to
commence
blue
-
stoning
his
seed
that
day
,
a
delicate
and
important
process
which
prevented
rust
and
smut
appearing
in
the
crop
when
the
wheat
should
come
up
.
But
,
furthermore
,
he
wanted
to
find
time
to
go
to
Guadalajara
to
meet
the
Governor
on
the
morning
train
.
His
day
promised
to
be
busy
.
But
as
Harran
was
finishing
his
last
cup
of
coffee
,
Phelps
,
the
foreman
on
the
Home
ranch
,
who
also
looked
after
the
storage
barns
where
the
seed
was
kept
,
presented
himself
,
cap
in
hand
,
on
the
back
porch
by
the
kitchen
door
.
“
I
thought
I
’
d
speak
to
you
about
the
seed
from
Four
,
sir
,
”
he
said
.
“
That
hasn
’
t
been
brought
in
yet
.
”
Harran
nodded
.
“
I
’
ll
see
about
it
.
You
’
ve
got
all
the
blue
-
stone
you
want
,
have
you
,
Phelps
?
”
and
without
waiting
for
an
answer
he
added
,
“
Tell
the
stableman
I
shall
want
the
team
about
nine
o
’
clock
to
go
to
Guadalajara
.
Put
them
in
the
buggy
.
The
bays
,
you
understand
.
”
When
the
other
had
gone
,
Harran
drank
off
the
rest
of
his
coffee
,
and
,
rising
,
passed
through
the
dining
-
room
and
across
a
stone
-
paved
hallway
with
a
glass
roof
into
the
office
just
beyond
.
