Show y providing for patty I 1 by H LOUIS t copyright III GRANGER had more silver dol lars than he be knew what to do with a ranch that numbered hundreds of 0 acres and the finest lot of short hoins in selby county but he had only one daughter and lie he valued her mor more ethan than nil all the rest of his possessions he placed her woith so high in fact act that he could riot not imagine any man good enough to be her husband i yet paradoxically lie he had brought himself to believe she ought to marry unfortunately he could not live forever anti anil lie he was waa old fashioned enough enoi igli to think that a woman was better off in this vale of tears and fortune hunters with a decent man at her side ills his daughter would be oneff onea of i the wealthiest girls in the country i some day and a shining target for unscrupulous suitors A slight touch of indigestion threw min into a panic and brought him to a sudden weird determination calling patty one morning li lie drew her to him tenderly pat he said im oll off to chicago on one of my semiannual jaunts to talk matters over w with t the cattle men be a good girl while im gone and if I 1 N wire ire any in no matter what they are obey them to the letter I 1 patty flinging her arms about his neck in a farewell hag no DO attention to ills his somewhat unusual unusual admonition but she recalled it several days later when a telegram was telephoned to her from nine blue butte the town nearest the bunh rabih am sending down a guest see that lie he Is made comfortable but bui snub him at every opportunity dad kill a couple of fatted batted calves aunt judy she told the housekeeper who had been almost a mother to the gill since her own mothers death dad Is sending us a visitor he arrived in due time on the train and seemed to be a pleasant enough young man with leel eel giray gray eyes and a firm chin patty bound by promise to obey her father left roost most of the entertaining to aunt judy but she for the life of her see what there was about the young man that required snubbing covertly she watched for some gome sign of smugness 0 or r overdeveloped superiority complex that would make it seem reasonable for her father to ask her to run counter to the rules roles of ranch hospitality incidentally she was wildly curious as to the reason for the young mans visit she wondered if she had bild found a clew when he said quietly after dinner dinder your father sald said you would be good enough to show me over the entire ranch but I 1 hate to trouble you and wonder it if I 1 just go over it t by myself even as she assured him film that she would be quite willing to follow her fat liers tiers sugg suggestion she was smitten with a horrible suspicion was it it possible lie he was thinking of selling sc aling the dear oil old ranch r was this young man derek by y name a potential purchaser it took more than one ride alde to give the he young man a proper idea of bar cross al 11 and each mile that was covered made it harder for patty to be e anything but exceedingly amiable toward oward him lie ile was not she became beenke convinced tb thinking inking of buying II 11 11 fact I 1 he confided to her his great lon lion at being recently accepted BE as a I 1 junior partner in his fathers chicago I 1 book publishing firm then come came the morning when without any previous hint of such a thin thing she he found young will ills his suitcase uit case beside him ive found I 1 must leave he said rather abruptly ive telephoned tor for a car and Sudi suddenly lenly he crushed her to him then hen released her instantly forgive ml me he said contritely but at that moment I 1 the blue butte bus rattled allied noisily up the gravel drive and out ut from its mammoth depths crawled gattys allys fattier father the next minute she was hiding her lushing blushing face on his shoulder while he gazed at derek in you headed for with that thing with his free hand he indicated Dc dereke rekE bag derek looked tenderly at patty im sorry sir because you were a friend of dads I 1 agreed to do this favor for you to come down and without mentioning it to your daughter see if my may I 1 go on at the nod of the other man he continued to see if this would be a good place to start a writers colony although why on earth anybody should wa want ut to but in spite of your telling me your daughter was secretly engaged to a cowpuncher in cheyenne daddy you didul dl dul the explosion came from the keldermans elder mans shoulder 1 I proceeded to tall fall in love with her so there Is nothing tor for me to do but leave it seemed to jim granger as it if a soft voice whispered in ills his ear make him stay daddy at any rate still hugging ratty patty bs h threw ills other arm around dercks shoulder and drew thera them both towards the dining room lets talk it over hebald he said sald after a good meal I 1 am sure one hungry I 1 man inan and but this lie he added to himself a darn clever one |