Show 0 ama AWN aw affa affek 0 0 jim tai E balm N orb W C r 0 0 19 0 0 0 0 my peter ED hyime 0 0 0 9 0 0 ad by peter IX em J 40 CHAPTER VIII 10 mr william B latham smiled fatu bously and rubbed his old hands together in pleased anticipation as he noticed the telegram beside his plate at break breakfast faaL lie ile read the man who first called you crooked bill knew fenew his onions stop I 1 have your texas record stop you per me to walk into a situation that la Is perfectly and monstrously unusual and I 1 am horribly embarrassed stop atop jims father shot you in the foot with a forty five caliber revolver and ad the impulse to he be careless with deadly weapons still runs in the family only the present representative uses a bow and arrow and shoots for the heart beart stop atop nor Is the Con halt half blood bred out of the tribe stop believe it or not he has erected a headstone over uncle tom stop it Is an angel weeping and on the base of the monument he has worked in a bas relief of a shepherd and a sheep presumably the one that was lost stop spanish art and irish deviltry stop when I 1 compare him with glenn I 1 am torn between a desire to weep and to laugh stop glenn Is so respectable so BO proper so BO mindful of all the things we have been raised to admire and respect while this fellow stops at nothing and consults only his own desires top stop my plan Is to secure the courts permission to get rid of the sheep promptly and return to hillcrest Hlll nil crest lerest so I 1 can bite you on the ear BOBBY harms the butler in the act of dropping the customary two lumps of sugar bugar into crooked bills coffee cup froze to in the act and regarded his master with amazement and concern it appeared to harms that the old gentleman was about to have bare some sort of seizure for he had closed his eyes thrown back hlf head opened his mouth and gasped anything wrong sarr clr harms demanded im harl yelled crooked bill harl two bursts of maniac laughter good news sir harms suggested politely ErR said crooked bill did you ever hear bear of pandora oh yes sirl sir you are referring to the lady of mythology who unlocked the box of troubles exactly well miss roberta has unlocked a similar box harms barms get mr hackett on the telephone ile he read hackett robertas message and waited for a hearty laugh it did not inot come dog your cats glenn he protested wheres your sense ot of bu humor imora 1 I see no humor in the situation mr lift latham lathain I 1 can only sympathize with roberta there she Is the guest of 0 the man who killed her uncle and who has baa bad the hardihood to make a lest jest at the expense of his victim vot not satisfied with that exhibition of bad taste he be has apparently commenced to pay his court to roberta immediately chich Is most embarrassing and distressing to her she will be forced to leave his house bouse of course and decline to permit him to continue to serve her in the matter of 0 conserving those damnable sheep you monkey you that exactly what I 1 planned should happen roberta practically admits it already ashes anxious to clean up on those sheep and return and when the she does boy certainly look good to her 1 I wish I 1 could be as confident as you mr latham roberta has one weakness and that la Is her sense of humor uke like yours its a biter bit alt er diabolical I 1 wish I 1 had bad never joined in this conspiracy with you faint heart never won fair lady lly boy dont you realize you have a chance to be a hero 1 I do not youre singularly dull sly my stock li is still climbing and you need deed more money to protect me so youve decided that those sheep should be sold to get ready cash consequently youve had bad two important cases continued which will enable you to go to texas and arrange the sale of the who will I 1 sell them to to me fool to me ill give you snore more money for them than anybody else and the more money you realize on them the stronger be with roberta no bertal 1 also arrive on the job in time to put a crimp in the sentimental aspirations of don jaime miguel niguenes better jump to texas muy may pronto 11 o well owell in order to make good on your der derat deceit at youve rented hillcrest Hlll HIl lerest creal so why not go to texas with me shave your whiskers and dress like a rancher and play the part of the sheep buyer by golly ill do lt it glenn its a good idea when can you start V in one week fine meanwhile ill keep you advised if anything new turns up hey dont hang up yet harms III has is just handed me another telegram it may be from bobby no its from Higue higueres nes oh lord oh lord oh lord I 1 glenn will you listen to this and he read over the telephone when you see your ward again I 1 should be a proud man to hear bear you address her as mrs airs higueres HIgue nes or hig gins whichever suits you be best st stop to that end I 1 request your permission to pay my court stop I 1 know the going wilt will be hard bard but I 1 have never been accustomed to getting anywhere without a battle battie so I 1 will take a chance stop you know my people so I 1 do not have to furnish social references stop can furnish financial credentials denti als to please any save most exacting hes fies a direct factionist actionist glenn hackett growled lies iles his fathers son just imagine the nice courtesy that induced him to seek the permission of bobbyy bobbys responsible relative before commencing work what are you going to say in reply mr latham im going to encourage the boy of course why do that to make him film work remember glenn there Is one thing roberta will never forgive and bad taste you cant kill a girls uncle and then expect to rush her off her feet even though you killed in self defense and in so doing performed a public service I 1 tell you this man Higue higueres niguenes nes know any better than to walk into straight lefts and rights crooked bill hung up and immediately dispatched the following telegram to don jaime miguel higueres HIgue nes you have the nerve of a lion tamer stop thanks for the compliment implied in your telegram but I 1 have nothing to say about it stop however you have my best wishes and I 1 will even give you some good advice stop pile he on the high romance find and sound the old castillan castl llan note your good old father knew so well stop if there Is anything in law you should be dark haired and dark eyed like ilke mike and with these assets a fair singing voice and a guitar some moonlight and a hide bide I 1 should say that you stand slightly more chance than a celluloid dog chasing an asbestos cat through the infernal regions and now he murmured having done my full christian duty by all concerned I 1 think I 1 should return to my breakfast well had he been nicknamed crooked bill e 0 0 mignon awakened roberta at seven next morning its sunday she remind pil her discreetly what will you wear miss roberta had bad given considerable thought to that very subject the night previous that sports suit I 1 bought just before leaving new york slie she answered promptly breakfast was ready on the gallery when roberta came out looking for her host the table was set for two and don jaime was waiting for her ills his lazy dark eyes swept her in hiie one glance from her white kid pumps to her titian head you are us as beautiful as an army with banners miss antrim he announced in the matter of fact tone in which one proclaims that two and two make four or that a straight line Is the shortest distance between two points not BO 90 much a compliment or the natural desire of a man to latter flatter a woman as a definite statement of fact roberta flushed flu blied and hated herself for it because it was not her habit to exhibit such apparent pleasure at compliments ments from men had the words come from any other tuan man site she would have had a 4 careless retort in all probability she would have told another man that he looking so very verv beautiful himself but again that strange sense of battlement balT lement of stupidity almost held her speechless 1 I suppose hell ask me it I 1 si slept ep t well she decided the usual ba banal na query ne ile did not he tucked her into aher her seat meat sat gat down opposite apposite looked at her casually and said 1 I 1 see you had a good nights rest in the gigantic bed of my ancestors you toil appear much refreshed and I 1 am very glad of it and you arrive tor for breakfast break tast promptly at eight punctuality Is a paramount virtue particularly in women so BO just tor for that you win a rose and he leaned back and plucked one from the vine that clambered around a pillar of 0 the gallery youre too red for or red roses he rambled on handing it to her so this lovely mauve rose Is just the right shade im not red rin im auburn thanks for the rose however its lovely well whatever it Is it suits me fine you and I 1 are going to be the best of friends roberta well I 1 like them fast on their feet and youre a whiz bang jimmy ive been trying very hard to dislike you yon but I 1 must conf confide lile its an uphill up hill job of course its very unethical to like me he admitted demurely let us say it is unusual and let it go at that nis his eyes devoured her roberta youre mighty sweet I 1 think it if I 1 may ill call you bobby my friends all do shamus fire away old timer she saw him swallow something and it was not food the ore fire died out of his eyes and the sudden wistful littleboy little boy look faded and was replaced by gravity sternness masculinity iles hes nice the girl thought he take advantage of the fact that im his guest to appear to rush me oh yes roberta knew men she could read their faces and conversely their minds for had not don jaime miguel just assured her she was wag as beautiful as an army with banners I 1 youre a very happy man arent you jimmy it seems to me that with you life must be one glad sweet song oh it Is he assured her the singing started last night again his eyes burned into hers for a split second and again she felt her face flushing hotly to cover her confusion she said inanely 1 I do wish you knew my uncle not interested in the old cepro bate although it if he be should take a BEGINNING THE STORY FOR NEW READERS roberts robert antrim beautiful eastern society girl who lives with her uncle william B latham known as crooked Cro bill because of his amusing slyness receives a telegram from jaime miguel higueres Higue nes owner of the rancho valle verde in texas informing her bar her uncle tom antrim has died a violent death at the advice of 0 glenn hackett who to I 1 in love with her roberta plans to go to texas to protect her interests since the she Is her bar uncles sole heir to thousands of sheep which antrim had grazed on land controlled by don jaime don jaime unmarried halt half spanish and halt half irish la Is attracted to robertas roberta picture in a magazine antrim Is warned to talc take his sheep orr off don ja balmes imes ran ranch c h at once antrim ambushes don jaime the young ranch owner la is wounded and tom antrim killed on his body are ara found instructions to notify miss roberta antrim in the event of his death another higueres Higue nes telegram tells roberta her bar uncle was killed hilled by jim higgins don jaimes anglicised anglicized name latham tells her his fortune Is in danger and she decides to go to texas to get kantrims An trims estate to save it it crooked bill concocts a scheme he be hopes will forward hacketts hackette Hac ketts courtship don jaime actuated chiefly by his romantic interest in the pictured roberta allows the antrim sheep to continue to graze on his ranch at the station or of valle verde roberta meets dingle tom kantrims An trims foreman who points out don jaime as a her uncles slayer then flees bees roberta watching jim higgins sees him abbot she thinks at dingle she berates him soundly and jimmy hurries oft off ostensibly to toll don jaime of her arrival then the girl finds ands higgins and Higue nea to be one and the same at don jaimes invitation she stays at his ranch I 1 notion to show up at valle verde I 1 sick the dogs on him nave have some bacon and eggs I 1 cured that bacon myself and itin cm personally acquainted quain ted with the hens that laid the eggs had he noticed her confusion and was this gay frivolous banter merely his kind way of 0 helping her cover it roberta had an idea it was his two setters slouched apologetically to the table and he appeared to forget roberta to become absorbed in the dogs feeding them strips of bacon and little pieces of bread steeped in bacon grease talking affectionately to them the while as if they were human roberta reminded herself that don jaime was the first young man who had ever neglected her to curry favor with a pair of setters and was interested to discover that she did not resent his action what are you going to do about robbie bobble she inquired presently oh robbie Ro lible nothing very much wrong with him I 1 suspected the fix he was wag in and in order to verify my suspicions I 1 had mrs canby bring brine him here lies iles been kept in the house because his hia mother despite the fact that she Is a trained nurse considered him too delicate to bo be allowed out very much she had bad to make a hi hing ing for the two of them so necessarily she has been forced to neglect the boy ile he requires sunlight and lots of it every day he ile lies out in the sunlight mother naked I 1 give gave it to him in small doses so he sun bun burn now hes bes tanned one arm and one log leg are affected but rot not very badly with increased general health he will gain strength and the It isire to be more active nobody ever ox i without wasting energy ano ami those who have no energy to waste do not care to exercise 1 I lie ile adores you jimmy well it if children and dogs do not like a man a sign he had bad better begin to take stock of h himself I 1 like robbie I 1 like all children even terrible children im godfather to one hundred and eighty seven and a after I 1 nass mass this morning ill take on the one hundred and eighty 1 why I b are you so popular jimmy for two reasons if im godfather to the child of one of my people then while an higueres Higue nes lives at valle verde that child will always dwell under the mantle of the philanthropy he be cant be fired off the ranch if hes hea a male and hell get something in the way of a hope chest if hes a female you strange mant man of course as aa a godfather you have to promise that if the parents neglect to give their child a religious upbringing you will attend to the matter I 1 built a little church and hil vent I 1 a padre on my payroll imported him from mexico the arch jt 21 1 T A 4 ja T she marked the pride and pleasure in the young mother face bishop of this diocese know he be exists so the old boys boya as f free ree as air im strong for freedom myself Is that why you have never married or have you 1 I when an higueres HIgue nes marries it takes and I 1 married because youve been such a long time showing up at my ranch why jimmy 1 I thought for a while rd id surely have to go to hillcrest nill crest dobbs perry ferry westchester county new york and point out to you the error of your way but thanks to your uncle tom I 1 was spared that expensive journey j then too I 1 probably have showed to such good advantage in your country because of the competition I 1 loathe competition it makes me lust just a little bit jealous for the life of her roberta help laughing she had bad a habit of laughing at men when they were proposing to her or on the brink of it she was at ease now no longer inhibited by some quality in this man which she had never met in any other if he was in love with her she had him foul wherefore she laughed to her chagrin be laughed with her and instantly a horrible suspicion crossed her mind was this texas longhorn merely indulging in a mild flirtation with her A hot rage swelled in robertas heart and her laughter ceased |