Show ll 11 aj LAU i CH by bajackson e JACKSON BY ayrf w CHARLES SONS EONS in cheso days with women winning championships in outdoor games and athletic contests and successfully invading lines of endeavor that a past generation had set apart exclusively ely for or men Is it not logical to have a heroine of notion fiction who takes a mans part in the management ninna gomont of 0 a bis big enterprise ter prise and brings to bear tho the quail ties tie of courage coolness and daring especially called for in making tho the undertaking der taking a success it Is decidedly I 1 logical par particularly t in the west where girls on ranches ranche are ar taught to shoot straight tamo tame outlaw horses brand cattle and in general respects be qualified not only to tako take care of thom them but to moot moat any exigency aves calling for judgment and nerve nerva tho the boys of tho the blue lake outfit were pretty thoroughly disgusted when they learned they thay were to have a girl lor for a boss opinions lons ohan changed ged however aban a few of Judit judiths juditha hB quiet bulot exploits performed under the stress of necessity ity and without any bravado or sacrifice of womanliness proved her to be the best beat roan man on the big ranch judith cid not seek the job of management it was forced upon her through the death of her father and her realization that hor her foreman was a rascal bent upon wrecking the enterprise in the interests of a rival concern it was a job and the girl who bould handle it successfully deserved arved to be the heroine of an ethll eting ai romance judith Is IB decidedly welcome because she to t a new type of lor heroine olne she la 18 all the more welcome from the fact that she li in not an exah fr atoil type there are plenty of girls to in the wet went and nd elsewhere who given such a grand old father to train the them in sm judith had bad would be able to show the true steel which she exhibited and like judith would remain sweet nd nd womanly throughout judith will win readers just juet as she won the blue lake boys boy it la Is only fair to reveal that there was one of those boys who held out against surrender he had old fashioned notions of what a woman should bo be and what a woman can do with the exception of judith he lc Is the most interesting character in tho the tory story CHAPTER I 1 bud lee wants to know bud lee horse foreman of the blue lake ranch sat oat upon the gate of the home corral bullied a cigarette with slow alow brown fingers and stared across tho the broken fields of the upper valley to the rosy glow above the pine tim bared ridge where the sun was corning coming up his customary gravity was va unusually usually pronounced if a mans got the hunch an egg la is lad bad he mused is that a good and sufficient reason why he should go tolling poking his fingers inside the shell I 1 want to knowl tommy burkitt the youngest wage tamer earner of the outfit and a profound pio plo found admirer of all that taciturnity good bomor and quick capability which went into the makeup of bud lee approached pro ached from the ranch hou house e on the moll knoll HI bedl he called tremors wants you on the jump 1 burkitt stopped at the gate looking up at lee on the jump sold said he be repented repeated por for a moment lee sat still his cigarette unlighted his broad black hat bat far back upon ills close cropped lair ills eyes serenely contemplative upon the pink of the sky above the pines alnes then he slipped from his aacen and though each single movement gave an impression of great it was but a flash of time until he stood beside burkitt stick around a wee bit laddle laddie he said mid gently a lean brown hand resting tightly lightly on the boys square shoulder A man cant see what Is on the cards until tipped but ts its always alays a fair gamble that between dawn and dusk ril rii gather up my string or of colts and crowd on if I 1 do wont want to come along he smiled at oung burkitts Bur kitts eagerness and turned away toward the ranch house and bayno bayne thus putting patting an early end to an enthusiastic thusia acquiescence they alrh aint no more men ever foales foaled like him meditated tommy 1 to in an approval so profound its as to be attle tess less than out and out devotion and indeed one might ride up and down the world for many a day and mot find a man who was bud lees superior in the things that count JL As tall us as most with sufficient shoulders a slender body narrow hopped he be carried himself as perhaps his forebear walked in the days daya when apen forests or sheltered caverns screed them with a lithe gracefulness born of the perfect play of superb physical development his muscles even in the slight movement flowed liquidly he had slipped from his place on the corral gate less like a man than like some grent great splendid tat cat the skin of hands face throat was very dark whether by inheritance or because of long exposure to sun and wind it would have been difficult to say eay the eyes ayea were dark very keen and yet reminiscently grave prom under their black brows they had bad the habit of appearing to be reluctantly luct antly withdrawn from some great to corae coar to reet steady and to calm upon the roan man with whom he be chanced to be speaking the gaunt sure footed form was lost to tommas tommys eyes lee had passed beyond the clump of wild lilacs whose glistening heart ahamed leaves leavea screened the open court about which the ranch house was built A strangely elaborate ranch house this one set here so far apart from the world of rich residences there was a score re of rooms in the great one story rambling edifice of rudely squared timbers set in fieldstone field stone and cement rooms now closed and lock locked there cultivated were flower gardens still cultivated dally by jose the halfbreed half breed a pretty court with a fountain and many roses out upon which a dozen doorways looked wide verandas with glimpses beyond of fireplaces and long expanse of polished floors boors for until recently this had been not only the headquarters of blue lake ranch but the home as aa well of the chief of its several owners luke sanford banford whose own efforts alone had made him at forty five a man to be reckoned with had fol followed loNTO his fancy here extensively and expensively allowing himself this one luxury of hla his many lean hard years then six months ago just juet as aa his ambitions were stepping to fresh heights just as his hands were filling with newer greater endeavor there had come the mishap in the mountains and San Sanford sanfords fords 8 tragic death lee passed silently through the courtn courtyard rd and came to the door at the far end the door stood open within was the office of bayne general manager lee entered his hat still far back upon his head the sound of hla his boots boota upon the bare floor caused trevora to look up quickly hello lee he said quietly watt wait a zil minute nit fe will w ni youa fo ubi quite a different type from lee dayne bayne was heavy and square and hard his eyes were the glinting gray eyes of a man who Is forceful dynamic the sort of man who Is a better captain than lieutenant wh whose aee hands are strong to grasp life by the throat and demand that she ahe stand and deliver only because of his wide and successful experience of his initiative of hla his way of quick decisive action mated to a marked executive ability had luke sanford chosen bayne Tr evort as his right hand man in so colossal a venture as the blue lake ranch only because of the same pushing vigorous personality was lie he this morning general manager with the unlimited authority of a dictator over a petty principality in a moment lifted his frowning ees cies from the table turning g in ills his chair to confront lee who stood lounging in leisurely manner against the doorjamb door jamb that young idiot wants money again he growled his voice as what would you say to fiat Y dollars a head sharp and quick as his eyes As if I 1 have enough to contend with already hi meaning enning oung boung hampton I 1 take if 10 said lee quietly nodded savagely telegram caught it over the line the last thing last night well lieve to sell some horses this time lee lees eyes narrowed imperceptibly 1 I plan to do any selling for six months yet he said not in expostulation but merely in explanation not ready how many thred year olds have YOU yon got in your string down in the big 1319 rl asked crisply counting thoa eleven red duke duhe cottar counting Count lne everything how many three the general managers pencil brou upon the pad in front of him 78 then swiftly multiplied it by 50 let saw the result set down with the dollar sign in front of it H he said bald nothing what would you say to fifty dollars ahead a head for thern them asked Tre orti hir illig again agnin in his chair three thousand six fifty for or the bunch id say the same answered lee deliberately that id say to a man that offered me two bits for day daylight light or ladybird I 1 just naturally say nothing at all smiled cynically what are the he seventy three edits worth then right now when im just ready to break ern em in said bud lee thoughtfully the worst of that string Is worth fifty dollars dolln ra id say aay twenty of the herd ought to bring brine fifty dollars a head twenty more ought to bring sixty ten are worth seventy five ten are worth an even hundred seen of the red duke stock tire are good for a hundred and VL a quarter the other four red dukes and the three robert the devils tire are worth a hundred bundred and fifty a head the whole bunch an easy fifty seven hundred little iron men ile he stared hard at a moment and then partially voicing the thought with which he had bad grappled upon the corral gate he added meditatively tat ively theres something almighty peculiar about an outfit that will listen to a man offer t fifty bucks on a string like that his eyes cool and steady met trevora in a long look which was little short of a challenge just how far does that go 90 leo lee asked the manager curtly As far as you like replied the horse foreman coolly are you going to sell those three year olds olda for thirty six hundred yes res answered bluntly 1 I am what are you going to do about it r ask aak for my time I 1 guse guess and although his big voice was gentle and even pleasant his eyes were hard til rit take my own little string and move on curse idill cried heated heatedly ly what difference does it make to you what business Is it of yours youra how I 1 sell you draw down your monthly pay dont you I 1 raised you a n notch 0 tell last month without your asking for it I 1 17 so agreed the foreman equably its a cinch none of the boys have any kick coming at the wages for a moment sat frowning up at lees inscrutable face then he laughed shortly look here bud he said good on 1111 obvious seriousness of purpose und under erthe the light t tone 0 ne 1 I want to talk with you before you do anything rash sit down but lee remained at standing ding merely saying shoot 1 I wonder explained trevora it if the boys understand just the size sire of the job ive got in my hands you know that the ranch ix Is a million dollar outfit you know that you can ride fifteen miles without getting off the home range you know that we are doing a dozen different kinds of farming fanning and stock raising but you dont know just how short the money Is theres that young idiot now hampton he holds a third interest and ive got to consider what he says even if he is a weak minded inbred pup that cant do anything but spend an inheritance like the born fool he Is his share Is mortgaged ive tried to pay the mortgage off ive got to keep the interest up interest alone amounts to three thousand dollars a year think of that then theres luke sanford dead and his one third interest left to another young fool a girl every two weeks ashes writing for a report eternally butting in making suggestions hampering me until im sick of the job that would be lukes girl judith yes two of the three owners kids writing me at every turn and the third owner timothy gray the only sensible one of the lot has haa just up and sold out his share and I 1 suppose ill be hearing next that some superannuated female in an old ladys home has inherited a fortune and bought him out and now you the best man ive got throw me down I 1 1 I dont see said lee slowly after a brief pause just juat what good it does to sell a good string of horses like they were sheep halt half of that herd is 1 real horseflesh horse flesh I 1 tell you well snapped suppose oae you are right ive bot to raise thre throe e thousand dollars in a hurry where will I 1 got get it who Is offering fifty dollars a head for those horses asked lee le abruptly it might be the big western lumber company 1 yes uh huh well you can kill the rats in your own barn trovore Tro vcra vors ill go look for a job somewhere else bayne his lips tightly com presed his eyes steady a faint angry flush in ills cheeks checks checked what words were Io flowing NIng to his tongue and looked keenly at ills his foreman for emun L lee ee met his regard with cool unconcern then just ns its was about to speak thore there came tin an interruption the quiet of ohp morning was broken by the quick thud of a horses shod hoofs on the hard ground of the courtyard bud lee in the doorway turned to see a strange horse dhawn up so that upon its ills four bunched hoofs it slid to it a standstill saw a slender blonder figure which in the earl early light he mistook for a boy slip out oat of a saddle and then suddenly a zirl siri the spurs of her little riding boots making jingling music on the veranda her riding quirt swinging from her wrist had stepped by him and was looking with bright snapping eyes from him to tre theora Tr eora ors 1 I am judith sanford she announced briefly and there was a note in her young voice which went ringing bell like ilke through the still air la Is one of you men bayne Trev A quick shadowy smile came and went upon the lips of bud lee it struck him that she might have said in just that way 1 I am the queen of england and I 1 am running my own kingdom he looked tit at her with nith eyes felled with open interest and curiosity swift appraisal of the flush in the sun browned cheeks the confusion of durk dark curling hair disturbed by her furious riding the vivid red blooded beauty of her mouth and eyes and the very carriage of the dark hedd head upon her superb white throat announced boldly and triumphantly that here was no wax illy of a lady but rather a maid whose blood like the blood of the father before tier her was turbulent and hot and must boll like a wild mountain stream at opposition her eyes a little darker than were the eyes of fighting stock irritated already turned hard eyes up at her from under brows he did not move in ills his chair nor did lee stir except that now he removed his tint hat 1 I am said the general manager curtly and whether you are judith sanford or the queen of slam I 1 urn am busy right now you talk soft with me cried the girl passionately if you want to hold your job five minutest minutes I 1 IT tolerate none of your high and mighty alro airs trevora laughed at her a sneer in his laugh 1 I talk the way I 1 talk he answered anaw erod roughly it if people dont like the sound of it they dont have to listen I 1 lee you round up those seventy three horses and crowd them over the ridge to the lumber camp or if you want to quit quit now and ill send a sane man the hot color mounted higher in the girls face a new anger leaped up in her eyes take no orders this morning that I 1 dont give she said for a moment turning her eyes upon lee and to busy or not busy you take time right now to answer my questions ive got your reports and nil all they tell me Is that you are going in the hole as fast as you can what business hae you got selling oft off my young steers at a sacrifice |