The She Boss

him as he walked along hung Lucy's face. He wished to go on forever thus. He found no fault in her-he refused to. Some imp whispered to him that his fifteen dollars and fift

y's in the haze. Up there in the lounging room Tweet had been waiting for him

eet had disappeared. But he did not. Instead he sneaked up

his paper. Hiram sidled into a sea

er and looked at him at if he

d carelessly. "Back, eh? Here'

and carried it over to Hiram,

Digger Ma

had been half prepared for a rating; Tweet's com

e got to apolog

live up to it, but I do my darnedest-and angels can do no more. After the first half hour I knew you wouldn't show up,

t you wer

ake a dollar he had that wasn't workin'. Don't suppose I'll be with you for dinn

m ob

any previously invented. With only his model to prove his claims, the inventor had managed to sell all the stock; and from the very beginning the operations would be carried out

nsible, and after finishing it he l

r," Tweet carelessly informed him. "M

it worth any

and five hundred. It'll be wort

iram stared unbelievingly at Twe

be worth double that am

you're b

enter nose and impatiently correct its obstinate trend, but to no avail. "But le's forget i

eply, which was rathe

o-morrow, anyway,

ttle chat with

ongue. "The truth is, she's from Mendocino Co

oon. But to-morrow I go. My friend'll dig up the price, but I hate to hit him up any more. Think it over a little longer, Hooker-I'm goin' down for a little s

s paper, crammed it his

of Lucy and fretfully counting the hours till he might expect to feast his material eyes on her again. At nin

closure came the clicking of typewriter keys, a little more spirited than before. Hiram had strategically chosen the slack business hour of the morning.

last, as before, tapped on the show case with a coin. The clicking stop

who's here!

Good morn

know. It's considered the ne plus ultra of good breeding up there. You see I'm trying to steer y

ayin' it, if

g out his orders. He's just the least bit too fresh, and I intimated as much. But he told me

," said Hiram. "I'm goin' to begin loo

ifornia. It's on the desert. A new railroad's building. Things will be lively. A friend of mine was in here at the time. He's got a l

n him," admitted

sition down there. With his trucks, you know. There's a long haul over the desert and the mountains, it

ouldn'

Tweet said he'd heard that the place they freight to is a live one. Ragtown, he said they called it. That's the kind of a

ram, slowly drinkin

y life!" Lucy

door with a smile of welcome on her lips. In

d over the counter, glanced hurriedly about the

yfully. "You got a ner

. Orr Tweet, and the sooner they could get away the better he would like it. He realized now that Lucy Dalles was not the adventure girl who had beckoned

ing room he

ly, "le's go to the empl

look at Hiram's haggard face, but s

eau on Clay Street, where were gathered perhaps a hundred

n walked about among them, making announcemen

cents an hour-board one dollar a day. I want twenty skinners, same job, forty a month

y and board. Think of it, boys! Three-twenty-five a day and board! Like gettin

rs a day, eight hours-dollar an hour! Fee two dollars. Think of that, huskies! Can ye swing a

foreman at seven d

want lumberjacks for Washington-long job-good pay! I want h

"How about those jerkline skinners for souther

se-you and your pal. Let you know all about it in two minutes. Line up for a good

er to a sallow young man, who, being informed of what they wanted, consulted ce

cross the desert in southern California.

" dryly interr

& Tillou. Want fifty muckers and fifty skinners-two jerkline skinners-must be A-1. F

nodded, and Hiram tende

et in bad with big contractors like Demarest, Spruce & Tillou. They've specified A-1 jerkl

re," replie

marest himself wrote a personal letter about the two jerkline skinners. They're not for him, it seems-just to be shipped down with the other skinners and muckers and hard-rock men we're sendin' hi

're from Mendocino County-the big woods you know. B

get your railroad trip out o' Frisco you'd not thought to pick out the

his is gonta be good. Send us to Jerkline Jo, old hoss! She'll bless you with her last breath. Chances are you'll meet a regular woman, now,

cy clerk shrugged a