door of the bunk-house and looked out across the
valley. The Cimarron roared sullenly beyond the meadow. The lower field
was a lake of muddy water, backed up from the gorge below. He glanced
toward the circular corral.

"What th'--Who left horses up last night?" he asked of the cowboys
dressing sleepily inside the bunk-house.

"Nobody," Parker answered for the group.

Skinny Rawlins came to the door. "It's Captain Jack," he said, "and--and
darned if th' Ramblin' Kid ain't got the filly!"

"Aw, he couldn't have caught her last night," Bert Lilly said.

"Well, she's there," Skinny retorted, "somebody's corraled her--that's
certain!"

Hurriedly dressing, the cowboys crowded out of the bunk-house and down
to the circular corral. The Gold Dust maverick leaped to the center of
the enclosure as the group drew near and stood with head up, eyes
flashing and nostrils quivering, a perfect picture of defiance and fear.
The swim across the river had washed the mud from her mane and sides and
she was as clean as if she had been brushed.

"Lord, she's a beauty!" Chuck Slithers exclaimed.

"Sure is--be hell to ride, though!" Bert commented. "Wonder where the
Ramblin' Kid is--"

"S-h-hh! Yonder he is," Charley Saunders said, observing the figure
under the shed, "--asleep. Come on away and let him rest!"

"Breakfast's ready anyhow," Old Heck added.

"And Skinny ain't shaved or powdered his face yet--" Chuck laughed;
"these lovers ought to fix themselves up better!"

"Shut up, you blamed idiot, ain't you got no respect?" Parker said as
they turned toward the house.

"Listen at Parker, he's one of them, too," Chuck continued; "this is his
day to be a sweetheart to the widow!"

"I'd rather have Skinny's job," Bert said with a snicker, "I'd be afraid
of Ophelia--"

"Why?"

"She acts too gentle to start with"--"

"Give her time," Charley suggested, "she'll bu'st loose when she gets
better acquainted!"

"Her and Old Heck got pretty well introduced last night, holding hands
the way they did, and--"

"Dry up," Old Heck interposed with a foolish grin, "and come on to
breakfast!"

Carolyn June and Ophelia were charmingly fresh and interesting in dainty
blue and lavender morning gowns. A bowl of roses, plucked by Ophelia
from the crimson rambler by the south window, rested in the center of
the table. The cowboys saw the flowers and exchanged glances. Old Heck
and Skinny blushed.

Carolyn June noticed the vacant place a