ir horses, that the
professor was harmlessly insane. "Just think," he exploded, "of the
poor, little fool livin' in Chicago for three years, an' never once
goin' out to the stockyards even!"

It remained, therefore, for Kitty--the only worshiper of the professor's
gods in Williamson Valley--to supply that companionship which seems so
necessary even to those whose souls are so far removed from material
wants. In short, as Little Billy put it, with a boy's irreverence,
"Kitty rode herd on the professor." And, strangely enough to them all,
Kitty seemed to like the job.

Either because her friendship with Patches--which had some to mean a
great deal to Kitty--outweighed her respect and admiration for the
distinguished object of his fun, or because she waited for some
opportunity to make the revelation a punishment to the offender, the
young woman did not betray the real character of the cowboy to the
stranger. And the professor, thanks to Phil's warning, not only
refrained from investigating the name of Patches, but carefully avoided
Patches himself. In the meantime, the "typical specimen" was forced to
take a small part in the table talk lest he betray himself. So marked
was this that Mrs. Baldwin one day, not understanding, openly chided him
for being so "glum." Whereupon the Dean--to whom Phil had thoughtfully
explained--teased the deceiver unmercifully, with many laughingly
alleged reasons for his "grouch," while Curly and Bob, attributing their
comrade's manner to the embarrassing presence of the stranger, grinned
sympathetically; and the professor himself--unconsciously agreeing with
the cowboys--with kindly condescension tried to make the victim of his
august superiority as much at ease as possible; which naturally, for
the Dean and Phil, added not a little to the situation.

Then the spring rodeo took the men far from the home ranch, and for
several weeks the distinguished guest of the Cross-Triangle was left
almost wholly to the guardianship of the young woman who lived on the
other side of the big meadows.

It was the last day of the rodeo, when Phil rode to the home ranch, late
in the afternoon, to consult with the Dean about the shipping. Patches
and the cowboys who were to help in the long drive to the railroad were
at Toohey with the cattle. While the cowboys were finishing their early
breakfast the next morning, the foreman returned, and Patches knew,
almost before Phil spoke, that something had happened.