For instance, profitable deals were forever coming up, new acreage was constantly being acquired, and it would be easy to carry a third party for an interest which was bound to make that third party rich.
All this was expressed with admirable vagueness, but the man understood.
So much accomplished, Nelson went to Dallas and there undertook to learn something about the size of Calvin Gray's profits, who was behind him and the extent of their backing, and what his prospects were.

He followed every avenue of information; he even went so far as to hire an investigator and send him north to look up Gray's record and to follow his tracks as far back as possible.

Nelson was reconnoitering behind the enemy's lines and testing the strength of his position.
When he returned home Gray was gone, whither he could not learn.

As the days passed without further developments, Nelson began to believe that he had had a bad dream and that Gray had merely been talking to hear his own voice.

He devoutly hoped that such would prove to be the case.
A time came, however, when his apprehensions were roused afresh, and it was Barbara Parker who rekindled them.