XX. CLUB CONFIDENCES 230
XXI. LOVE IN CONFLICT 242
XXII. TWO FRIENDS HAVE IT OUT 258
XXIII. THE BACK-FIRE 270
XXIV. THE UPPER AND THE NETHER MILLSTONES 287
XXV. OF WHAT AVAIL? 304
XXVI. LOVE'S SURRENDER 318

* * * * *




BEN BLAIR

CHAPTER I

IN RUDE BORDER-LAND


Even in a community where unsavory reputations were the rule, Mick
Kennedy's saloon was of evil repute. In a land new and wild, his
establishment was the wildest, partook most of the unsubdued, unevolved
character of its surroundings. There, as irresistibly as gravitation
calls the falling apple, came from afar and near--mainly from afar--the
malcontent, the restless, the reckless, seeking--instinctively
gregarious--the crowd, the excitement of the green-covered table, the
temporary oblivion following the gulping of fiery red liquor.

Great splendid animals were the men who gathered there; hairy, powerful,