OCR Text |
Show FLOW I M G -G OLD ; BBGCr BXma TODAY. Calvin Orr hr me OMasr .f Celenel Yfearr Nelsos. a, SrfViker. Cue Briekew strikes Ml and meets Orar. wh proves a friend la imI ta las Brlskow fsmllr-Allle. fsmllr-Allle. tha deushter, falls In low with 'Onr. eu ha lo.es Barbara Parker. Bud Brtakeo. son of.Oua faila lata the beads ef an . edvealsreea from ,wpja Orar reecsee' klra, Bnekew bare a brsutlful horn ssd Oray visits him there. Oray hires Mallow and twa ae-erclateo ae-erclateo 10 ksep eleee weteh ef Nelson's 'settvlttes In, ths oil fielde. Oray lalla the preeldent af the tersest bank la Zrsllss of his ' ease rev Keieos. BOW OO WITM.THB; BTOBT. "W tot (lav that tends th door, but I ala't cot gentled up ta boila and thine yet Allies away an- ma's lsyln' down. Q " - "Mb Isn't 111. I hopef",. - : .. "N-no Just allln',i' "You war in luok to find a house . In such a smart neighborhood, Oua J Now ahow ma around quickly, (or 1 am dying to are it." ' "lord I rm dyln ta ehow It to ' somebody! You Bra tha first on that- dropped In. an' wa bean hr 'moat two weeks. Bay. you'U atay an' eat uppr, won't you?" "Of ooura t will and breakfast, use. If you ran tak car of ma." "Pshawl Didn't wa taka beer of 1 you whan you com to tha ranch? Wa (ot thra niggers now. Just doln' th h oua work. I'd of bought a ' bigger houa It th'd of lt ma, tut " ' "It la Uiaaoiitlu Anything mm rea " Next, ha draw down tha ahadee, shutting out th dreary afternoon, after which he tit th gee log. and soon tha room, whether by reason of his glowing personality or hi daft rearrangement of Its contents, or both, became a warm and cheerful cheer-ful place. 1 - -He bad brought other gift -than dresses and prepared tha supper while Buddy straddled a klichea oh sir and chattered upon ta thou sand toplce of mutual Interact On the morning of Oray" coming Allle rods with Buddy over ta thirty-five. It was a wretched, rainy day. and nothing ta more bleak than a rainy day la a drilling cam p. Work bad been halted and th men were loafing In their bunkhowee. Brother and slater a pent the Imp- I Uent hour In th mess tent. Oray' trip from the railroad waa more Ilk a voyage than a motor journey, for tha creek beds, ueual-ly ueual-ly dry, war angry torrents, and the 'dob flats were quagmlrs through which his vehicle plowed hub deep)' nevertheless, he wa fresh and alert when ha arrived. After a buoyant greeting to Allle, he and Buddy inspected v th wall, then ha lasued orders for work to he resumed. . Word had gone forth that there waa something' doing an thirty five, and from the chapsrrai merged muddy motor ear 'bringing 'bring-ing scouts, neighboring lease owners, own-ers, and even tha members ef a nesrby leasing crew. upper waa a Jumpy meal, and nobody had latch to aay, Alll Biis-kow Biis-kow least of all. She was silent. Intense; aha curtly refused Buddy's offer to send her home, and when the meal waa . over ah followed Oray back to (ha derrick. ' Buddy Brlskow was running' Ihe rig. and th dexterity with which he handled brake and control rod gave him pride. Ha had sealed his sister on a bench out of th way, where she waa protected from thr drissla, and ha felt her ayes upon him. It gave him a sense af Importance Im-portance to have' Alll watching him at such a crisis: h wished his parents were with her. J He eased the brake and th mas j slva bailer slid Into the casing as a I heavy shell slips Into th breach of B cannon. As ha further re leased his pressurs, th eacle began to pour serpentlike from the drum.-Buddy drum.-Buddy turned hla wet, grimy fare and flashed a grin at Alll. Hhe smiled back at him faintly. Soma .lightning-tike change In her expression, ex-pression, or perhapa soma occult sense of tha untoward warned him that all was not as It hould.be. Bad he Jerked his head back to attention. During that moment of Inattention Inatten-tion the bailer had stuck. Perhaps five hundred feet below, friction had checked It plunge, and meanwhile mean-while tha velvet-running drum, eplnnlng at Ita maximum velocity by reason of the whirling bull wheel, waa unreeling Ita cable down upon the derrick platform. Down It poured In giant loops, and with in these colls, either unconscious of his danger er paralysed by Ita suddenness, stood Calvin Oray. Instinct, rather than reason, warned Buddy not to check, the blinding revolutions of the bull wheel. 'Without thought he leaped forward Into the mldet of those swiftly forming loops, and as he landed upon the slippery floor he clenched his fist and struck with sll ths power he could put behind hla massive arm. Gray's back was to him, the blow was like that of a walking beam, and it aent the elder man flying as a tenpla la hurled ahead af a bowling balL Buddy fell, too. Ha want apraw ling. As ha slid across tha muddy floor he felt the steel cable writhing writh-ing under him Ilk a thing alive, and the touch of It as It streamed Into tba well burned hi flesh. He kicked and fought it as ha would have fought the closing folds of a python, for the bailer was falling again and th wire loops were vanishing van-ishing as tha ceils la a whiplash vanish during Its flight. Buddy's booted legs were thrown high, he was tossed aside like a thing of paper, but blind, half stunnsd. hs scrambled back to hla post. By this time the whole structure struc-ture of the derrick was recking to tha mad gyrations , of ths bull wheel; ths giant spool was spinning with a speed that threatened to and It flying, like the fragments ot B bursting bomb, but ths youth un- 1 dsrstood dimly th dsngsr of stopping stop-ping It too suddenly to fetch up the plunging weight at the cable end might snap tha Una, collapse the derrick. "Jim the well. Buddy wesvsd dlsally in his tracks; nevertheless, nev-ertheless, his hand waa ateady, and ba applied a gradually Increasing ' pressure ta th brake. Nor did he taka hla ayea from his task until tha drum had ceassd revolving and the runaway bailer hung motion -lee In tha well. They carried Oray to tha bank house, and his limbs hung loosely. his head tolled la a manner terrt- i fylng to Buddy and his sister. But Oray was not dead. Baddy blow had well-nigh broken his neck. and ha had suffered a further Injury to hi head in falling; nevertheless, nev-ertheless, ha responded to such medical aid as they could supply, and In time he opened hla area When for a second time he lapsed Into semiconsciousness, it waa AlUe Al-Ue Briskew whs put his orders into execution. "You ain't dotng. any good atandlng around ataring at him and whispering. Bring la that well, as faat aa aver you can. and bring it in big. Now, get aul and leave him to me." It waa lata that Bight whew the weU eama la. It came with a rush and b roar, drenching the derrick with B geyser of muddy water and driving both crew and spectators out into the gloom. Up. up the column rose, eprayln Itself Into mist, and from its Iron throat issued is-sued a sound unlike that of any thsr phsnomenon. Calvin Oray had recovered his ssnsea sufficiently te understand the meaning of that uproar, and he tried to get up, but Allle held him down upon his bed. She wa still truggllng with him when lier brother burst Into tha house, shouting: shout-ing: "It's B gasser, Mr, Orayl . Biggest Big-gest I ever seen." . "aa? th la ties mumbled. In. distinctly. "Isn't there any oil?" Hla words were almost-Ilka B whisper whis-per because of the nolss. "Not yet- My be later. Bay. she's a heller, aint she. HI bat sha's makln' twenty million feet " "Oaseer's no good. t "Can't tall yet. Wa gotta shut her down easy so shs don't blow ths casing out run wild on us, understand?" un-derstand?" Buddy" waa still breathless, breath-less, but h plunged out in door and back Into that sea of aound. With a traglo Intensity skin ta wlldness, Oray stared up Into Allle Brtskow's fscs. "Worthless, eht And they told me ten thousand barrels." bar-rels." Hs carried a shaking hand to hla bandaged head and tried vainly to collect his wits. "What's matter?" mat-ter?" he queried, thickly. "Everything "Every-thing whirling sick " "You had an accident but It's sit right; all right No. no! Pleas lie still " "Running wild. eh? That's what hurta my head so. Blown tha caa-Ing caa-Ing out Bad. Isn't it? Sometimes they run wild for weeks, years-ruin years-ruin everything." He tried again to rias, then Insisted, querulously: "Oot to get ell In this went J've got to! Laat chance, Allle. Oot ta ret ten thousand barrels!" Tleaa. You mustn't Allle had her strong hsnds upon his shoulu.rs; shs wss arguing firmly, but as gertly as possible under the circumstances, when something occurred oc-curred so extraordinary, .so unexpected, unex-pected, as to paralyse her. Of a audden the Interior of tb dim -lit, canvas ronfsd shaok was tllumtuat-ed tllumtuat-ed ss If by a searchlight, and alia turned her head to sea that the a hole out-of-doors waa vlstbls and that the night Itself had turnsd Into day. WUh a cry (hit died weekly amid the ehaoe of sound beating ovsr her. the girl ran to tha window and lookid out. What she beheld was a nightmare scans. The well was at ire. it had exploded Into flame. Allle tore her eyes away from the spectacle finally. Hhe turned back to tha bed. then she hailed for It wss empty. The door, still ajsr from Budd3's. hesdHing exit, informed in-formed her wherrr her patient bad gone, and ahe flew after him. Hhe found him not half a dosen paces en-ay. In fact, she stumbled over his prostrate body. With an amaxon'a . strength,, .aha, gsthaeed him Into hsr arms, then atsssered wirh him bark to hla couch, and aa she strained him to herself she loudly cslled his name. When ahe had laid her Inert burden bur-den upon the bed Allle knelt and took Gray' heart upon her bosotn. Then, for thef!rst time, those forces Imprisoned dsep within her being ran wild, and under ths red glaro of thst flaming geyser sh kissed hla hair, his sys, his lips. Over and over again she klsssd them with the hungry passion of a woman starred. In Dangareua Waters. A subdued but continuous whispering whis-pering irritated Calvin Oray. When it persisted, minute after minute, he opened his eyes, asking himself, dully, .why it was that people couldn't let a fellow sleep. Aileghsnv Brlskow appeared out of nowhere and laid a soothing hand ! ttivm tits brow. When h w th 'light of Mntty In hn y, hr tc brl)rhtnetl and h crt-d, mrtv; ! "Your comlntr around all rmM, i aren't you? You muutn't tiik. Ev?rythln im all rirht at) rirht, honestly. I'll t.l you evtryiMnsT-but evtryiMnsT-but Just you rest now until Huuly cornea." There waa mnnet! to r v f fe i Tha blow was Ilka that af a walk-iit walk-iit beam. " ths girl's touch and comfort In her voles. It waa soma tlms later that Gray otrnted his eyes and spoke In a more I natural vatca. say Ins;, "How do I h-ppn to ba hers In your house, AllieT "Ws brmifthl you over at d-sylirht. Buddy's (one for a doctor, but he'll ba bach." The slr, averted hr face qulrkly and moved toward tha wju- j dow. "Ha ought to ba at ths well put- 1 tlrg It out. tjod! What sighi! 1 see K yet! "Tha well Is out!H Allle returnd and seated herself bee in e the h1 "You probably won't understani it or believe It f eaa scarcely bAhve It myself, for It's a mtrecle. All th same it Is out, nut In, and not much damage done. You're not ruined, either, for Buddy says Oiry are short of fuel here, and a.gesx-r this stse la worth a good d.. moil aa much aa a felr oil well." "How ran It be shut In? It was blesinr, r os ring -a tower of flaute. The derrick: Itself was going" "t know, but the Strang, at thing' AlUe apoka breathlessly. "Let ma do the talking, please. Yoj remember tha drill mmi were standing; over In one corner? Wjll, tha firs drove averytKrty off, of course; there wss no faring it, and they thought sure they'd have s job-have to send for bo tier a in4 smother It down with steam, mayite. or tunnel under, or something work for days, maybe weaks, and spend a fortune. Anyhow, thy were In panic, but when tha dr-rk'k dr-rk'k went down what do you think? That stack of drill etems fell In such- way aa to close the gat value MX the top of tha oasing." "Itsounds Ineredibls." The speaker made an effort to rolled himself, he raised an unrrt,.r hand to It la bandaged head. "What alls me? 1 recall a lot of thin-., but they're pratty well confuad " Allle made known the nature of the accident resulting In Gray'a In-Jury, In-Jury, and ha nodded his understanding. under-standing. "So Buddy saved my Ills!" Hs am 1 14. "Ureal boy. Hul1yl 111 know better than to mix It with him again ha learns too quickly." "Oh, It was terrible) I've been r.o eo Mghtenad!" AMte Brlskow; suddenly lost control of herself, gu.d. bowira her head, shs hid her facs In ' (ha musty patchwork quilt. Her; shoulders shook hsr whole strong body twitched end trembled, j "You're b-been awful sick, did. the best I could, but " , j There, thara! Oray placed his hand upon the girl's head; he took her palm In his and stroked It. "I'm tiot worth your tears, child. And, anyhow, I'm all right again; I am. Indeed. I'm as well aa aver, so far as 1 ran tell. By tha way what sc. the well aftreT" "Buddy thinks somebody must have dropped a cljrarel when he Lam pad a came." Tha girl raised bar face and wiped the tears from It. "It baa been ramlng oats and dogs; tha erek haa overflowed and everything Is under wetsr." ."fader water t Heref Why. that can't oe." (-ray tnsiated upon rising, ris-ing, and Allle finally commented to his doing so; the a despite his pro tet that he waa eulte able to take cas of himself, she helped him to tho window. Krom thai position he beheld a aurprlalng scene. Tha Biiskow fstxm lay In flat, sauoertike valley, arid andduety at moat sessona of the yeer, but now a shallow take, the nurface of which waa broken by acca at octal fences, misty clumps of buahes or ths tups of dead weeds. The nearest Brlskow derrick was dimly visible. Its floor I awash. Ita shape euggeeiive of the battle mast of a sunken man of wva. ' il,tn"y Brlskow aang whlie ete nr-v. g -r f,,r t' . , f : " 1 ' i of lh i 11 1 i j r n it i an (t ' - x .rny ir no fur n-r h well exrpt f-r a i hr'rtil a nd Kiine hr 1 . ; was heie aluna witn her. f-rpper. when the two n w . i It. proved to be a pian' i th. Mf'H JTloW Of tfia ,. armth frmn the stve. rt -- -Hri mw kn.-r.Ti a miy i - v the rimmni ntr of tk,e r m ov i enhanced their feeilng of r t and security. j TMirin! tne night art e , craah foiiowM by a loud r I tlon aVfike C"ain GrHy trl h j htm Lp sitting. His room u , c . v-'hlte f li It era, arnnt hl. n : that the ruin suit suee'ei 1 (lorn; h f urribled for h a n r ( found that It was 2 onor. t wae a Storm, Indeed, Irnl i' h to fear that this dluit m it r the wafers to a danger putnr ; t. e-fi.re e-fi.re he rose, struck a l 'if, j -dreesed hlmaelf. bieep wo C 't f the question, anyhow. amM in n i uproar. s he stepped out ui"n i f. ont porrh. his attention wa instantly in-stantly drawn to a yellow a i i the weirt, a dutant torrh. tl.s t - of which Illuminated tha a night. He lured at It l.-r a i -ment before he rea'ued In m-n Hearing an iclm',"f1 h htm, ray ttirrd to t - 1 trj-kows dim fift-ure In t- e n.T- "Hello'" he cied, exi n- ' v. you sea that? Yonder are two aire." "1 know. I haven't ci-d mv . Tou cn 'e another f rorn t y -dow." An'e atmi-ped tha I t f a pocVet f fn ll"n ( -HV. m 1, 1 lng tjieit he waa on v j. y c ha UT'sT-'l hlrn tO Cc.rre I; I honee. h-r ha ljrnnre1 th r- ShS Jilne,l hut., sri t. - t 1 Stared st the mnunn- tr 1 . ".lovs! 1 nat s trrri ...e : " ii r tered. "1-ook hAre Al! e d r'- 1 t . benin of l.nht nnwn o-r ' -e'ista of tha porch, i"1 nw.- i liwly ftmn s'rle to i-ie. 'I - - of tha an-er wits tt on y t with dt.rin. hut it v ,h t with oil. "it a Juat Insist'' other a le. 1 t.at (uhit oh i mupt be lid." "I riiire aay ft w""'t $ F worae." (.ray sn"Ka . i a leaiineiiB 1 hat he w - f r ' i Inr. but his ton d i n t c g. rl. lt dfein't rtuve in r-t a - v " hs d'"'iired 1 n j - it r - v. Oil snn' s ri .ti to h ir i tns nun.; a of a lin -f t happen If It r'' a f' ' "At 1 t We II I x i- 1 ' ' ' slfla as out h -.' c snd his otnpan "n a-. I. e geilier they went li.i'i i -r r where, sine by a , t y I through hef rVinfl'-W. "I've rd s"ut t-' thlnr " Ame ti s? . i sr . hurailng and rtvers a e. i a sll over, the ftre a r, and l no putttne It out ' "(me t.nns; aura, this 1 won't lat I- - a' A biue a wa an1 S t - -' -ploelnn rva t1 lie tn e Ing wnrm, m 1 , j rT r fn-m tha window. "Wall ha burned s':" t gaiped. ''Mo""-d .--e r" a trap. I I'm fr,. ( bhe drew ri"Br to h."i -jSO need of t h. f , -f r Of tills S-TSPS inin'hfw-' - m ways do. A f r lt t r and hs saw thrtt ma f- to Ms whs wli.e ev..l. m brief gllmpee of i .- v- , Sean through the iiiui'-r v a era, remained Ions wiin t i for her hair was uni"und, -r were parted, and her dt vm peculiarly brilliant; uim- i i opening of her lacy n. - r round, white ne-k and -boaom were expoeed. it waa a h- i. a bust, to be rememoered. . You got to ho id me.' e -) said, huiklly, and h fett her h shrink cloae to hia. hhe ci'n . t ly to htm, tremhiing at f'f. i - i shaking in every limb. ri.-'-seamed, baa suddenly mastert a a ... -Brtakow. Uray endeavored fnr a moment to sooths her, then gently to lo.wn h- hold; he spoks to her as he wo I have spoken to a terrified cniM. lMf the wlldneas of her emotion ninu - l the wlldneas of tha nisnt. and hr Strang) h waa nearly ecjual to h . . Roughly- he tovje her arms fm-ri sbout his neck, and put h-r s j from him; by main strengin 'a I forced her into a chair, t i snatched a covering of enie . t ! from the bed snd folded It aimmi i her shouldera His voice was h- - : to him It sounded aim oat truidi ; as he said: -Get hod of yourself! We're In no great danger, reaily. Now t-n, a IIkM will help us both." Vert : slum pay hands he etruc: a maim 'and lit the lamp. "Lights a great ' thing drives away fooMahnea.fi : ntghimares and fancies of all lorrn Without looking at her he i'U'1"' the electric torch and muttered , "I'll take a look around, Just to as that things are snug. Back prea- sntly. - (Continued next Sunday ) -Allie and ma wicked out tho fur-taMwra. fur-taMwra. ftwell. ain't ItT "Beautiful! Oray iiiIiIbm. In- . ward I y ha groaned, for, although the contents of tba stoma appeared ta ba expenarve, almodt ostentatious, they sjewwrtheleaa betrayed a con-aplcaeue con-aplcaeue lack of taata both tn char-a char-a nr tn airansmant. Hera and - itHW- war color combination so atrtartous that they poeittvely Hurt tha cellar Oa tha whole, however, tha piece lookad better than ha had expected, and auch Indications of harmony end reetralnt aa he ds- ,s teded ha attributed ta Allla, It . was a nice enough homa,,and, with a. lit t Is change, a iittla roarranga-tnsnt. roarranga-tnsnt. It could ba made attractiva avea to one of elegant tastes. Those changes, of course, Oray determined to make. "Allie s gons out to tha old farm to get some stuff for ma," tha father fath-er explained In due time. "Soma pitchers of her an Buddy whan they waa little, an a rochta chair, an' ma s favorita bedspread, an gome other things she llkaa. Gray remembered tha portraits, executed by a Bt. Ioulo Hnlargo- . ment" concern. They had wide gilt frames and were protected from ravaging flle by mosquito netting. He hoped that ma would not hang flhem In tha hall or tha living room. And that rocker, for which aha , yearned, waa probably tha one with the creaking oiled aprlnga, tha one which hsd leaped after him and clashed its Jaws Uka an alHga- l"By tha way. how dooa Buddy like the ntw homer tha Utter Inquired, In-quired, . ' "He ain't aeon It yat eaya he's ' too busy to leave tha job. what you dona to that hoy. anyhowr "I'm making a real man out of Mm and an oil man. too. He knew how to drasa tools when I got him. but he a a pratty good driller now. Before long hail ba able to Uka ; charge of your property and run i. It on practical linea -Tall me. Oua, how mvoh maney have you got?" I dunno. nriore em a Owu-aand Owu-aand dollara don't mean much to '"oray searched tha speaker's faoe with a speculative gasa. "It's mostly most-ly liquid. I presume." Thara wa a pause. -I mean, if in cash or tha equivalent r "Oh, aura! These bonds an stocks an' things Brlskow shook hla head diaapprovlngly. "Land ain't any too safe, either. It i ta ralnin' now. an UH kaap on rainin till tha farmera ta aui drowned out Next yaar It U ba drouthy an' fry 'am to a "crisp, wo.1 I'm skeered of land; I'm aheered of averythingi- Thla Uat waa aald plaintively. . I "Tou'ra tha only man I aver k no wed that Td bank my Ufa on. An' you're smart. Tan lnt Uka Buddy, but mebbe you'd klnda lake ma taka aU of ua I tall 1 you I'm skeered I " "Just how much eon fids nee do I Inspire in your Grays sxpreeelon was peculiar, for amaaetnent. doubt, ' eagerness wera squally blended- ' This much I'd turn tha hull works over to you If you'd look Wprqulta a whlla tha caller eat with head bowed, with his gasa f fixed upon tha flamaa. When he r looked up hla face waa rod, hla oyee wera brighter than wauaL "You don't- know how much Ta Ilka to aay yea. but 1 fought Buddy to prevent him from making; a mistake, mis-take, and I shan't allow you to make this one.- "Hm-m! Will you keep ma from making other mistakes?" I will Iff I ran " . w "Mebbe that's enough. Anyhow. . Til aleep batter tonight fog seeuV think I hear ma ath-Hng." aald Gray aa ba aroee-. 1 brought her a few little preeente and I would Ilka - U take them to her." As ha left tha room, thara waa tha aama queer light tn hia wyea. 1 Nevertheless, ha moved alowly, like a man tired. Qrs .lays! butler with eerreetnesa and seiss. flowers; too': thoughtful, sxpsnslrs things that fairly took Ma'a bream. Na one had arer given her pres. enta; to be remembered, therefore, with aseleaa. delightful little luxuries lux-uries filled her gentle soul with B gulltv rapture. - ' But these war not gifts In ths ordlnsry sense; they were offerings from ths Duke of Dallas, and kla manasr of presenting them Invested every article with duoal dignity. Oray waa seated oa the aide of her oouca with her cold hand be tween hi warm palms, and ha was telling hsr about .the princess of Wichita rails whsn ths summons to dlnnsr Interrupted tsam. Ma waa not nui.gry, and she had expected to have, a blta In her own room; but her caller waa so vigorous vig-orous In his objections to this Plan that she finally agreed te come downstairs. i Ths Brlskow household was poorly poor-ly organised aa yet, and It was only natural that It should function Imperfectly: nevertheless, Oray was annoyed at th clumsy manner In which the dinner waa erved. "Be her, Ma!" Oray threw down hla napkin. "Toil have a beautiful home, and yon want It to be perfect, per-fect, don't you?" . ' "Why. of course. We bought everything we could buy" "Everything except skillful servants, ser-vants, and they are hard to find. Tou are capable of training your cook and teaching your upstairs lrl to eweep and mak beds; but the teat of B well-run house Is a well-served meat Now. then, you're not eating B bite, anyhow, and Ou won't mind waiting a while for Bis dinner. With your permission. I'd like to taka things In hand, and add a hundred per. cent to your future comfort." In soma bewilderment Ma agreed that ahe would do anything her guest suggestsd. whereupon he rose energetically and called the three domes tics Into tha dining room. "Wa are going to start fnls dinner din-ner all over again," ha anaounced. "and we are going to begin1 by wapplng place. I am going to serve H as a dinner should be served and you' are going, to eat It aa well. I dare aay nature will have to take its course. Mr. snd Mrs. Brlskow are going to look on. After we have finished you are going to serve na exactly aa I served you." Naturally, this proposition amaxed tha "help": m fact, Ita absurdity convulsed them. The man laughed loudly; the cook burled her ebony face In her apron; the second girl bent double with mirth. . But tlie gentleman was net joking. On ths contrary, is brought this levity to sn abrupt and, then, gravely, ceremoniously, cere-moniously, he seated the trio.- Oray playsd butlsr with a correct cor-rect neas sad B poiss deeply Impressive Im-pressive to hla round-eyed audi, a nee. It was an uncomfortable experl-eno experl-eno for all except Oray himself hs actually enjoyed It and when the laat dish had been removed, and he had given instructions to serve the meal over again sxactly aa he had served It. tit three negroes ne-groes were glad to obey. "Ton see what a meddlesome busybody I am," tha guest lauahed. "I don't know how to mind my own business, and ths one luxury I enjoy moat of all la regulating other people's affairs." He waa still talking, still lecturing his hearers hear-ers upon tha obligations prosperity hsd put upon them, when he was summoned ta the telephone by long distance call. He returned In some sgttatlea to announcer: - "Well, at last I hare buslnsas of my own te attend." "Waa that Buddy Utkln'T" "It waa, and he gave me some good news. He says that wall on thirty-five Is liable to come In any minute, and It looks like a big ens." The speaker's eyee were glowing, and he ran orf. breathlessly, "Hs say they're betting It will do better bet-ter than tan thousand barrels." "Ten thousand bar-Is T" Brlskow choed. "That's what ha ssld. Of course, they can't tall a thing about It. Buddy's only guessing, but I haven't had a big well yet." Oray took a nervous turn about the room. "I'm going eat o tonight's train and see It come In If tt does eom In. I told Buddy to atop workr not to drop another toot until I arrived. ar-rived. Tatted for destruction.' I Ilka the sound of that. Ten thousand thou-sand barrelal Hoi I'll write this day la brass Why. that tease will sell for a million. It It may mean the end." Oray brought himself to with' sa effort, hastily ha kissed Mrs. Brla-knew's Brla-knew's faded cheek and wrong her husband's hand. A moment later hs was gons. "Thirty-five," where Buddy was working, waa only a few miles from tha Brlskow reach, there for th boy waa able to meet his slstsr at Ranger and drive her directly to the old home. The ranch house sssmsd very mean, . Tory Insignificant ta Allie, but aha supped lota oa ot her eld mrroiif. , . A I l II 18111111 Oray was ahocked at tha change In Ma Biiskow. Bhe had failed sur-' sur-' Drtslngly- Pleasure lit up her TBea and h. fell Into a brl.f flutter of delight at seeing 'm; but as soon ss their first greeting w over he led hsr to ber loons snd Insisted upon making, hsr comfortable. com-fortable. He had tricks With cosh-tons cosh-tons snd pillows, so hs declared; they became hla obedient servants, and ther waa a knack In arranging; arrang-ing; them the same knack that a robin use In building Ita Beat Thla be demonstrated quite conclusively. It was nice to have a great ma- trful man Ilka thla take charge ofj nne. and Ma sighed gratefully as she lay back, ' "It doea klnda feel like a bird'e neat." shs declared. -And you klnda look Ilka a robin, too- yours alius dressed so net." -Exactly." ha chuckled. "Robins are the verv neatest dressers of sll the birds. But look! Like a real robin. I've brought spring wltn ms." He opened a hugw box -of long-stemmed roses and bald their coot deery buds against Mrs. Brls-koWs Brls-koWs withered face. then, laughing and chatting, he arranged them is vases where aha could tba so. |