The Son of his Father

insbee's generous offer was the work of just as many seconds as it took the rancher to make it in. Though, verbally,

d in the doubtful effort of cleansing himself, when the busy flies had gone to join the birds in their evening roost, he betook himself to his private bathroom,

tion was withou

d in this endeavor he stretched out his great muscular limbs along his bed, and propp

d the problem. He dwelt on it for some profoundly pl

the line-if things went right. Good. If things went wrong-but they couldn't go wrong with those

obscured. But after a few minutes he

ke would have melted into thin air. His whole future-- But he would have spent six months at Hazel's side, wo

idea of being Hazel Mallinsbee's companion all those weeks and months. Of course it would mean nothing to her. She was far too clever, and-and altogether brainy to give him a second thought. But he felt he could help her. He felt that to go back home with the knowle

. The beautifully rounded figure. The graceful move

his own luck. No, he would swim with it, let it take him whither it might. Meanwhile, Hazel had promised to meet him on the morrow, and show him the great coal seam, after which he was to interview her father, and have su

nce in his life he felt that the faithful Harding had been found wanting. Somehow, in arriving at this conclusion, he had forgotte

was making his way to the principal store, the pale-faced, sickly-looking creature who had accosted Hazel the day before. The sight

Swain. His swift temper left him utterly without shame, and he stood and stared at the o

es suggested his Hebrew origin. Gordon had no grudge against him on this latter score. It was not that. It was the narrow, shifty eyes, the hateful way in which he smoked his cigar, with its f

turned to the office to find McSwain by himself.

"Who was that rotten-looking 'sharp

ession underwent the

lkin' that way once," he said, smelli

omptly sn

han that. But it don't

d as he lit

ou could hand us a bunch of emperors, an' kings, an' princes, an' dust over 'em a sprinkling of presidents, but I don't reckon you'd stir a pulse among us like the com

yes were t

r, eh? He sur

ough," he added reflectively. "Yet he surely ought to be right. Railroads

acles if the time don't come when I knock seventeen sorts of stuffing out of that man. I feel it coming on like a disease. You know, creeping through my bones, and getting t

efulness of his young guest. He had not forg

till we see how he's buy

is head. "Well, perhaps you're rig

el Mallinsbee. All his ill-humor of the morning was forgotten, and he looked forward with unalloyed

ng ready saddled. Gordon noted the absence of Sunset, and understood, but he noted also that her

d, as he came up and leaped o

e was in the saddle almost befor

to thrust some shadow from her mind as they set off at a brisk canter. "You know, father's just dying to show you the ranch. He's quite quaint and boyish. He takes likes and dislikes in the twinkle of an eye, and before all things in his life comes his wonderful ranch. I'll tell you a secret, Mr. Van

n lau

I'm all sorts of a fool, but I can hit h

lyly watching him.

that, but there's a whole lot of other thoughts stumbling around in his

it all got ho

o a secret. This is a great secret. One of those secrets a feller generally h

and it was the girl's

to make that hundred thousand dollars in six months, and I'm going to do it by hook or crook, if there's half a smell of a chance. I've no scruples whatsoever. I just must make it, or-or I'll never face my father ever again. Do you get me? Whatever you have at stake in this land proposition, it's just nothing to what I have. And you'll know what I mean when I say it'

nt where signs of busy life had made themselves apparent. Something of the shadow that had been in

usly. "You're-worried. I

ed to pass his in

the business are on my poor daddy's shoulders,

y put off. He edged his

's-a man. And he's got a sort of whitewash face, and black, shoe-shined hair. He's got a nose you'd ha

turned

s you thin

iled triu

ishness-like beauty-is only skin deep. The former applies to m

ful you'll convince

the things I'm

David Slosson," s

on n

oad's-chie

ateful c

o-annoy you-from the time h

was looking back

can't know that," Haze

lf smiling-"a girl don't push her way past a man

stop me on Main

rdon went on, "Say, tell me. We

in him which doubtless her father had been quick to discover. She was thinking, too, of his direct, almost dogged manner of driving home to the purpose he had in view, and she told herself she liked it. Then, too, all unconsciously, she was thinking of the open, i

ome silly country girl, I s'pose. Anyway I got rid of him. Then he saw me yesterday." Suddenly her face flushed, and an angry sparkle shone in her eyes. "His sort ought to be raw-hided," she declared vehemently. Then, after a pause, in which she choked her anger back, "We got a note from him this morning to say he'd be along this aftern

But though he beheld a small village of buildings, and an astonishing activity o

together for six months. Well, any time you feel worried any by that feller, don't go to your daddy, just come right along to me. I guess it would puzzle more than your daddy to kill him after I've don

hook he

same. You see, out here a girl's got to take her own chances, and I'm not altogether helpless tha

kunk!" cried Gordon fiercely, unable

him. It!" the girl l

h from Gordon. Then he added with

perfect hive of industry. Great masses of machinery were lying about everywhere, waiting their turn for the attention of the engineers. Wooden buildings were in the course of construction eve

Here was an evidence that the boom would be a genuine one built on the solid basis of great and lasting commercial interest. Long before they started on their return journey he congratulated himself heartily u

ations of grass which denoted the first steps towards the foothills. There was a wonderful radiance of summer sheen upon the green world about them, and the brightness of it all, and the pleasantn

on he chose to gaze. While beside him, sitting her mare with that confident seat of a perfect horsewoman, was the most beautiful girl in all the world, a girl in whose comp

easant reflection wer

ne pointing arm, and a note

d. "Something's-

in the directi

a gait that left no doubt in his mind. It

?" demanded Gordon

d Slosson," said Ha

and the girl was the fi

she bega

ith, was thrust up absurdly upon his forehead. His heavy brows were drawn together in an angry frown. His tufty chin beard was

y-six years to come up with what I've been chasing all my life. Say, I've spent years an' year

ied Hazel, her eyes

her aside as she

I've got to let off ho

gain. Then he stood still, and suddenly brought one g

nor half as unsatisfact'ry. You can stamp your heel on it, and crush it into the ground. With David Slosson you just got to talk pretty and fence while you know he's got you beat all along the line, an' all the time you're just need

his hair wi

hat way, Mr. Mallinsbee

en a subtle smile crept into his eyes.

us then, Daddy. You see, Mr. Van Henslaer's one of o

ify her father, but at last she succeeded in persuading

delicious plates of cold meats, the glass dishes of preserves, and steaming hot sc

," Hazel demanded, when t

upon his forehead, had recovered his humor, and

ngs white folks do an' get off with a caution. The feller that steals ain't always to blame. As often as not we need to blame the general community. Lyin's mostly a disease, an' when it ain't I guess it's a sort of aggravated form of commercial enterprise, or the budding of a great newspaper faculty. You can find excuse, or other name, fer most every crime of human nature-'cept meanness. David Slosson is just the chief ancestor of all meanness, an' when I

't done a heap in chapel goin' recently, but I've sort of got hazy recollections of sitting around dozing, while the preacher doped a lot of elegant hot air about things which kind of upset your notions of life generally. Then I seem to recollect getting a s

ad." He shook his head regretfully. "That man hadn't the conscience of a louse. He was yearning for twenty town plots, in best positions, five of 'em being corner plots, in the commercial area for-nix! I was feeling as amiable as a she wild-cat, and I told him there was nothing doing that way. He said he'd hoped better from my public-spirited remarks. I assured him my public spirit hadn't changed a cent. He said he was sure it hadn't, and was astonished what a strong public spirit was shown around the

aft,'" sa

ell it that way myself. There's just one thing certain: if my side of the game has to go plumb to he

'll bea

got

u a

thrusting out a hand towa

d. Gordon had join