Show AIM iba H 0 0 0 eby eseteb eyob a 0 Q service copyright by petar n alcyne CHAPTER VI continued 9 why should lie ile ho came off second ond best lie ho lie ile was drunk bt at tho the time and my fattier father was intoxicated cat ad otherwise there would could have been two funerals father was heart lb when lie sobered up tip tind and sent this hta law lawyer yer to 0 your undo uncle hill to apologize so BO your undo uncle bill accepted the neology and sent bent back ono one of ills own when han 1 ans n very small boy your you uncle sold out tits his ranch much to old man II 11 obart whose son kenneth Is now t ny y general manager does docs undo uncle treat cat you with civility and decency 1 of course ho he does doca hes aos adorable hes a lovo love very well then VII ill not kill him tou toil must agree though that I 1 did if you ft ft real service in ili bumping off old undo uncle toni tom 1 unco says you did roberta admitted nut but then lies hoa blame biased 11 sly fattier father always declared that undo was nil wool and il a yard wide dinners dinner 9 ready biank clod that stout saddle colored female who appeared app Parea in the door just juat pow says bays vold vod hotter better come coine and ret get it or abell throw it out what an extremely old fashioned joung man you tire are don jaime please do not call nio me don jaime the don Is really a title of respect and Is used by ones employees employee sor or social Infer inferiors lors rather like having a pullman porter address you ns its judge or colonel you may call me mr Il biggins lIggins mr james jimmy or jaime very well mr niguenes the girl murmured in a very small voice then mien hold everything mine host I 1 must run to my room for a 4 chief 1 I forgot to fetch one don jaime gazed after her there waa iras no 40 doubt but that he approved of her when tits his gaze shifted it net met mrs gaubys Gan Gant bys lys how does she impress you silo BUO queried aless antrim Is physically beautiful and mentally alert yes sites as aa a young woman as you ou and I 1 hlll ever meet well raised well spoiled epol led haughty aware of tier her power over ever men and just loves to uso use it sound at heart though I 1 think 1 I will sho she be hero long doti don jaime 1 I do not know in all probability cho will ivill not bo be hero long enough to please me in fact if I 1 run that thiet bill dingle scalawag down the road site be hero now sties a nei nev noto in life to me but im not going tolef to let her know silo sho Is CHAPTER VII robbie hobble his pill anlo face glowing from tits his recent ablutions arrived with ilo berta and tho the four went in to dinner the table had been set in the gallery don balme explaining that during tho the summer cummer they always nto ato outside roberta appraised tile the table with the eye of an expert it was covered with a white linen cloth short stemmed red roses peeped from a jado jade green bowl in the center the service was of sterling silver and very old and beautiful on closer inspection she saw that it carried a coat of arms 11 my great great great grandmothers silver don bjalme explained follow fellow in now new york once heard I 1 had it and s ent bent his secretary down to buy it ile he offered me an unbelievably high price for the service and seem to bellevo believe me when I 1 told him it was not for sale lie ile just kept tilting the ante aria seem to see he was annoying me sonio some people tire are like that they think money Is the beginning and the end of everything perhaps you would also mr air niguenes it you had ever been poor roberta suggested I 1 ivo ive paid 12 per cent for rented money ho he retorted ive had the ranch mortgaged in bad years and hanks banks carried my fattier father halt half his lifetime only those who tire are poor in spirit who lack courage can bo be really poor 01 do you not und find life a little lonely hero here A busy ninn man Is seldom lonely my fattier father spent tits a life in ili bondage to the II irrigation gation system you probably observed en roule roue here but after tits his death I 1 completed it t and transformed A a semiarid ld valley into alfalfa and cotton fields I 1 got rid of the scrubby long horned cattle that were built for speed and substituted Here herefords fords which are built for beof beef all this has been a considerable task find and fell to my hands bands when iwas I 1 was eighteen that was ten tea years ago after I 1 was de mobilized in the te spring of 1019 I 1 really started to put this ranch on a paying basis I 1 cleaned up on cotton in 1019 and 20 and cattle prices were unbelievably high I 1 had a feeling however that such buch a wartime prosperity last so GO I 1 mold all my cattle in the fall all of 1920 1020 and in 1921 1021 1 I plant any cotton well the market smashed on both and lucky jim dlan didak have many I 1 instead I 1 raised alfalfa and stacked it then I 1 bought cattle tor for a song ewhen the banks anti the governmental loan agencies foreclosed cheap cattle and cheap feed you know I 1 had py my moments of panics the ro roi ld wu was M r ft rough and rocky in spots although that of course mado made it all tile more interesting tile victory all the more delightful I 1 that when ono one lias has imil had to light for ills his land and ills hla people lie ho learns to lovo love both tie no matter how unlovely or uninteresting they may appear to those whose lives havo have been spent in shelter and without effort sly aly life has been spent that way I 1 must ll It oberta confessed and I 1 like it silo added 1 why not youve never tried any other life have you ll oberta noticed that tier host was waa much more at lin hla case now that their conversation had veered into now channels it occurred to the girl too that don jaime miguel had lived moro more in five minutes of tits his colorful life than lad had the in last it three generations of and the Ilac ketts a long ions lived race what gainful occupation if tiny any does docs mr air latham practice now don jaime asked It oberta ile ho plays the stock market with success I 1 hope lie ile has always been very successful until recently when lie ho lost practically everything lie he lind lindor hador or at least lio should have lost it without tile the aid of some people who love him wo we anticipate a reverse in tile the market which will pull him out if not with witha a profit at least without ter rifle loss my fattier father loved your undo uncle iolli even if lie ho did shoot him in the heel and disagree with him politically I 1 would bo be glad to give my fat fathers liers friend a log leg up tip you live with y your oil V uncle 1 I take it ive been hla ls ward nn and 1 a member of ills his household since my tenth birth day I 1 have never known a wish he hastened to gratify A at whitt whatever ever cost so you see now that hes old and liable to suffer stiffer reverses it Is my duty to take inke care of him and for that reason my uncle toms estate estat e comes to me somewhat in the nature of a godsend on ono e more reason why I 1 should be dealt with charitably in the matter of your deceased avuncular relative tho the young man suggested humorously well well pull you out all right on the sheep 1 I understand the state estate Is boarding on you mr don jaime shrugged Es em nada 11 ho he replied that Is tile the grass they con sumo slime amount to that and lie he sti tipped his fits fingers the knowledge that tant I 1 am serving a distressed lad lady y Is a rich reward two maids removed tho the empty soup platea and set tho the roast town down in front of don jaime A wild turkey he Informed 1 then lie sharpened his curving knife on tho the steel and attacked tile the bird dissecting it in a very neat dent and scientific manner can you cook miss antrim heavens not nol 1 I had heard it was a lost art with the rising generation im a rattling rood good cook myself if I 1 do say so BO most latin males are anre you know I 1 enjoy cooking fish anti game biow fillow about boxing great sport I 1 have three vaqueros ros who are paid five dollars a month extra tra to box with me that I 1 suppose said roberta dryly appeals to your irish blood are you of n religious turn of mind well I 1 built a church in my pu pueblo 1 eblo and I 1 support a padre for my people I 1 play the organ in my church and ive rehearsed the choir until its really rather good you must como to mass with mo me tomorrow and listen it 8 ten to it were you armed today do you always carry that arsenal no ho he replied soberly 1 I do not nut but of late into I 1 have felt that discretion might ie bo tho the bettor better part of valor you see I 1 have been unfortunate fortunato un enough to mako some now enemies recently tile the last time I 1 went abroad unarmed I 1 was carried homo hom 0 on a stretcher 1 I fear the girl suggested that tho antrim sheep are proving to be a source of embarrassment to you oh not at all I 1 my enemies never embarrass me I 1 assure you lie ile said it so simply so earnestly so absolutely without brag or bounce that roberta laughed aloud you are a new note in life she declared mrs ganby do you not find don jaime a source soiree of profound amusement don jaime I 1 must admit Is dif allf forent mrs airs ganby replied guardedly im sure of it mrs canby ile ho a bit religious but lie he la Is very charitable so charitable jn in fact ithac I 1 am certain ho he Is obliging me ln in the matter of those sheep jat at considerable loss 1 and nuisance ibid and inconvenience to not at all tier host protested 1 I expect to collect front from the antrim es ca into it reasonable fee fco for my services service to reimburse mo me for my outlay or inconvenience roberta had find a feeling of helplessness in this man mans s presence for lie ho was a now experience with tier her silo she had never met a nian man who remotely rosen resembled lalni so ruthless forceful ul and dominating not knowing what to say silo baj silent tind arid attacked tier her meal when presently tier her glance met don jaimes again lie ho was enill ing at tier her whereupon she itched ditched with a desire to pull ills his undoubtedly celtic nose ile iio hns has nil all tile the audacity and assurance of the irish and till all of tho ego of the latin she alio thought what alint an all indolent deml insolent glance lie he has I 1 and he rood good looking at all still lio lie bad look ing iles just masculine and knows it all of ills life lie ho lifts haa been accustomed to being high and low justice on oil this ranch because these peons geons of his fits kotow to him ho he thinks lie ho can get away with murder hes just a mexican feudal baron who has haa established his feudal sway sway just far enough north of the border to make good with it Is it possible for oneto ano to pend and a telegram from your ranch sir mr sho bile asked certainly after dinner you can telephone your message to the office at loa ios algodones Algo Alg donos and charge it to my account 1 I suppose I 1 should go to ties ios algo dones in a day or two to consult with my attorney 11 well tho the longer you delay your visit miss bliss antrim the more agreeable it will bo be to Pruden prudencio clo alviso krudys almost a full blooded spaniard par ilard about one thirty second aztec or but enough to make him want to take life easy do bo kind your vi visit sit on a business mission will cause him to bestir bim himself self roberta laughed again softly suddenly for again site she had find a 0 swift vision of olenn glenn hackett ackett II and andl compared the activities of his fits law oillie with tho the somnolent status of don Pruden cloa legal will mill 1 I feel like alice in wonderland she ded declared lared suddenly speaking of bees and birds and wax and cabbages and kings icings said don jaime 1 I aro am sincerely delighted to have sold prudy to you lies iles so slow blow so deliberate dellb crato I 1 know liell hell just lengthen atit out your visit to POP a aci III WU nt n T k just a mexican feudal baron the rancho vallo valle verde until you get to like tho the country just now you till my iny count rys bare and lonely anu desolate but it will grow on you to ono one unaccustomed to wide horizons horl zona there Is born in texas a feeling that one Is lost but presently one discovers that out ot of all this loneliness and vastness a surprising number of good natured and contented poo peo pel come friendly and they do not talk too much although they do talk to the point ill miss my guess a mile if you flad yourself without a serious interest in texas I 1 mean miss aliss antrim 11 hes secretly excited and disturbed roberta thought pronouncing T as le e 1 I 1 wish dinner were over providentially it was not a long course dinner such as roberta had expected would be served and which she had looked forward to with dread A soup a salad a roast two vegetables a light dessert desser band tand black coffee that was oil nil ile he runs his household like a sensible man at any rate the girl reflected ted silo she watched a humming bird flitting from flower to io flower saw a quail como come forth and bear away a crust tossed him by don jaime then as tile the shadows lengthened tho the mocking birds replete with food and happy perched in a time tree and paid for their meal in melody me loly roberta had never heard a spanish mocker before and w was as delighted with the beauty and variety of their extensive repertoire you are fond of music don jaime julme queried roberta nodded and ho he tossed a quick order in spanish to ono one of tits lita dusky balds from behind the climbing passion vines on the gallery across the patio a guitar was waa strummed strummer strum med roberta heard tile the mellow notes of a harp ns as unseen lingers fingers ran tho the scale then a girls voice without much volume but wondrously sweet and sympathetic commenced to sing ila la golon drina when I 1 am unhappy don jaime explained they sing that sad son song to mo me and make mo me unhappier why dont doit you have them sing something joyful 7 my dear miss antrim no higgins over ever wants to be made happy when hes unhappy its ita like enjoying poor health we must feed our racial melancholy ane anchovy an choly boly you incorrigible celal are theto professional entertainers brought out front from los loa algodones Alg no part of the ranch assets that harp has been in our family since the first higgins emigrated to madrid hello hub bub you getting sleepy tired after your long ride today eh robbie had left his chair and climbed up into don jaimes lap tits his thin little arm was around the brown powerful neck his head cuddled under tinder the big square chin don jaime held him close with his left arm ana roberta noticed that with ills his right hand lie gently massaged the atrophied muscles of the boys left leg the purple shadows crept over the patio the music sobbed and mourned behind the passion vines presently don jaime shook robbie gently come collie son he said bald softly say your prayers in spanish as I 1 have taught you nuestro padre spoke the ale sleepy voice spoke haltingly the unfamiliar words the man prom prompting pillig from from time to time when tile tho prayer was finished he rose and with the boy in his arms stooped over mrs ganby that sho she might kiss her son good night then lie ho passed around tho the table to robertas llo bertas chair Inn innocence otence and helplessness roberta heard him murmur who could not love it I 1 I 1 no he stooped over her and lowered the i boy until the childish lips brushed tier her cheek then he bore tho the lad off to bed the two women exchanged glances the mothers mother lil eyes were moist that Is the latin in him miss antrim iles hes not ashamed to demonstrate his affection roberta did not answer she was waa thinking of a remark that crooked bill had once made in her presence when children and dogs doga love a man a woman la Is usually safe with |