"If you and Mr. Ashe will stand for it. I want to stay till I outgrow
being a weakling and grow into a real man. Till I'm as broad as a
fellow my age should be and have a muscle bigger than a girl's. The
two months here have already shown what two years is likely to do for
me." Alec squared his shoulders and drew himself up as if already the
example of brawn he longed to be.

"And do you mean to tell me that when you said you might not go back
to Woodford, and that there was no college in store for Alec Trent you
only meant--"

"Till I had the strength to go through with it, yes. I've had enough
breakdowns. Why, what--"

"I wish you were a girl so that I could shake you!" Blue Bonnet's look
was a queer mixture of relief and indignation. "Why couldn't you say
so in the first place? When you kept making all those mysterious
hints, I was wasting good, honest pity on you because I thought you
were preparing for an early grave!"

Alec's peal of laughter showed how far from pitiable his state was.
"Oh, Blue Bonnet, I wish I could tell that to Knight!"

"But didn't you hint?" she demanded.

"Of course I did. I was fishing for an invitation to make a good long
visit to the Blue Bonnet ranch. Hardly likely, was it, that I was
going to demand it boldly as a right?"

"Well, it would have saved me a heap of worry if you had. Why, Alec!"
Blue Bonnet sank down on the bank to think it over. "What are you
going to do on the ranch all winter?"

He threw himself on the grass beside her.

"I'm going to live, as far as possible, like Pinto Pete and Shady. I'm
going to ride the range, go on the round-up this fall and next
spring,--spend about fifteen hours a day in the open. And if I'm not
as husky as a Texas cowboy by next summer, it won't be my fault. You
know it's been my one wish, Blue Bonnet, and this, I'm convinced is
the way to get it."

"And college?"

"College can wait. I'd rather have biceps like Knight's than be a
walking encyclopaedia!"

"Think of all the sympathy I've wasted!" Blue Bonnet laughed at
herself.

"Oh, I don't know that it's all been wasted. I've deserved a good
deal. I've been afraid Grandfather would be against the scheme--he's
never been willing to admit that I wasn't as strong as I ought to be.
I've only just begun myself to realize how good-for-nothing I used to
feel most of the time. There's nothing like feeling able to shake your
fist at all out-doors!"

Blue Bonnet smiled. "Then I needn