n whom she could entirely confide.

Under Miss Marjorie's direction, French unloaded his oats, the girl
pouring forth the while a stream of observations, exclamations,
and interrogations upon all subjects imaginable, and with such an
abandonment of good fellowship that French, for the first time in
twenty years, found himself offering hospitality to a party in which
ladies were to be found. Miss Menzies accepted the invitation with
eager alacrity.

"Oh! it will be lovely, won't it, Aunt Janet? We have not yet seen
a real ranch, and besides," she added, "we have no money to pay for
our oats."

"That matters not at all," said French; "but if your Aunt will
condescend to grace with her presence my poor bachelor's hall,
we shall be most grateful."

Aunt Janet was quite captivated, and before she knew it, she had
accepted the invitation for the party.

"Oh, good!" cried Miss Marjorie in ecstasy; "we shall come
to-morrow, Mr. French."

And with this news French drove back to the ranch, to the disgust
of old Mackenzie, who dreaded "women folks," and to Kalman's
alternating delight and dismay. That short visit had established
between the young girl and Jack French a warm and abiding
friendship that in a more conventional atmosphere it would have
taken years to develop. To her French realized at once all her
ideals of what a Western rancher should be, and to French the
frank, fresh innocence of her unspoiled heart appealed with
irresistible force. They had discovered each other in that
single hour.

CHAPTER XVI

HOW KALMAN FOUND HIS MINE

The girl's enthusiasm for her new-found friend was such that the
whole party decided to accept his invitation. And so they did,
spending a full day and night on the ranch, exploring, under
French's guidance, the beauty spots, and investigating with the
greatest interest, especially on Miss Marjorie's part, the
farming operations, over which Kalman was presiding.

That young man, in dumb and abashed confusion of face, strictly
avoided the party, appearing only at meals. There, while he made
a brave show, he was torn between the conflicting emotions of
admiration of the easy nonchalance and self-possession with
which Jack played the host, and of furious rage at the air of
proprietorship which Mr. Edgar Penny showed towards Miss Marjorie.
Gladly would he have crushed into a shapeless pulp the ruddy,
chubby face of that young man. Kalman found himself at times with
his ey