"That's the last," the old gentleman snapped with finality. "And I want to begin to see some payments mighty quick." Reedy smiled as the old gentleman stamped back down the stairs, proud of his own ability as a "worker." And he was not without admiration for Mrs. Barnett's ability in that line. It would be interesting to know how she had done it so quickly. "If the old man knew," Reedy picked up the check and grinned at the crabbed signature, "what this is going for, he'd drop dead with apoplexy at the foot of the stairs." He reached for the telephone and called the freight agent: "Are those motor trucks in yet? Good! We'll have them unloaded at once." There are two ways to make a lot of money perfectly honestly: One is to produce much at a time when the product legitimately has such a high value that it shows a good profit. The other is to plan, invent, or organize so as to help a great many men save a little more, or earn a little more, and share the little with each of the many benefited. And there are two ways to get money wrongfully: One is by criminal dishonesty--taking under some of the multiple forms of theft what does not at all belong to one. The other is by moral dishonesty--forcing or aggravating acute needs, and taking an unfair advantage of them, blackmailing a man by his critical wants. Reedy Jenkins had merely intended to be the latter. He had not planned to produce anything, nor yet to help other men produce, but to farm other men's needs--get hold of something so necessary for their success that it would force tribute from them. He planned to hold a hammer over the weakest link in others' financial deals and threaten to break it unless they paid him double for the hammer. Reedy indorsed Jim Crill's check, and stuck it in his vest pocket. He liked to go into a bank and carelessly pull $25,000 checks out of his vest pocket. Then he took from a drawer twenty letters already typed, signed them, and put them into envelopes addressed to the ranchers who bought water of the Dillenbeck Water Co. "Now"--Reedy moistened his lips and nodded his head--"we are all set." CHAPTER XXIII Bob tore the letter open with one rip, and read it with his back to the desk: DEAR SIR: We regret to say that dredging and other immediate repairs on our canal make a rather heavy assessment imperative. The work must be done at once, and the company's funds are entirely exhausted. Your assessment is $10 an acre; and this must be paid before we can serve you with any more water. Very truly, DILLENBECK WATER Co., Per R. Jenkins, Pres. & Mgr. Ten dollars an acre! Fifty thousand dollars! Bob walked slowly out of the hotel. There was no use to go up to his room. No sleep to-night.