l
contracting. The senior member of the firm knew how to shake the tree,
while the financial resources of the junior member and the political
influence of his uncle made him a valuable man in gathering the plums on
their large field of star route contracts. Had not exposure interrupted,
they were due to have made a large fortune out of the government.

On our return to the picnic grounds, the assembly was dispersing for
luncheon. Miss Jean had ably provided for the occasion, and on reaching
our ambulance on the outer edge of the grove, Tiburcio had coffee all
ready and the boys from the home ranch began to straggle in for dinner.
Miss Jean had prevailed on Tony Hunter and his wife, who had come down
on horseback from the San Miguel, to take luncheon with us, and from the
hearty greetings which Uncle Lance extended to the guests of his
sister, I could see that the owner and mistress of Las Palomas were
diplomatically dividing the house of McLeod. I followed suit, making
myself agreeable to Mrs. Hunter, who was but very few years the elder of
Esther. Having spent a couple of nights at their ranch, and feeling a
certain comradeship with her husband, I decided before dinner was
over that I had a friend and ally in Tony's wife. There was something
romantic about the young matron, as any one could see, and since the
sisters favored each other in many ways, I had hopes that Esther might
not overvalue Jack Oxenford's money.

After luncheon, as we were on our way to the dancing arbor, we met the
Oakville party with Esther in tow. I was introduced to Mrs. Martin, who,
in turn, made me acquainted with her friends, including her sister,
perfectly unconscious that we were already more than mere acquaintances.
From the demure manner of Esther, who accepted the introduction as a
matter of course, I surmised she was concealing our acquaintance from
her sister and my rival. We had hardly reached the arbor before Uncle
Lance created a diversion and interested the mail contractors with a
glowing yarn about a fine lot of young mules he had at the ranch, large
enough for stage purposes. There was some doubt expressed by the stage
men as to their size and weight, when my employer invited them to
the outskirts of the grove, where he would show them a sample in our
ambulance team. So he led them away, and I saw that the time had come to
play to my employer's lead. The music striking up, I claimed Esther for
the first dance, leaving Mrs. Marti