g some thoroughbred stock which he has bought
in the last year or two. The stock on the range--the regular range
grade-stock--all goes, as well as the saddle-horses."

"Must be the widow said yes and wants him to settle down and be a
gentle farmer," decided Billy after a moment.

"We will meet him in Hardup to-night or to-morrow," Dill observed,
as if he were anxious to decide the matter finally. "Do you think we
would better buy?" It was one of his little courteous ways to say "we"
in discussing a business transaction, just as though Billy were one of
the firm.

"Buy? You bet your life we'll buy! I wisht the papers was all signed
up and in your inside pocket right now, Dilly. I'm going to get heart
failure the worst kind if there's any hitch. Lord, what luck!"

"Then, we will consider the matter as definitely settled," said Dill,
with a sigh of satisfaction. "Brown cannot rescind now--there is my
deposit to bind the bargain. I will say I should have been sorely
disappointed if you had not shown that you favored the idea. It seems
to me to be just what we want."

"Oh--that part. But it seems to _me_ that old Brown is sure locoed
to give us a chance at the outfit. He's gone plumb silly. His friends
oughta appoint a guardian over him--only I hope they won't get action
till this deal is cinched tight." With that, Billy relapsed into
crooning his ditty. But there were odd breaks when he stopped short in
the middle of a line and forgot to finish, and there was more than one
cigarette wasted by being permitted to go cold and then being chewed
abstractedly until it nearly fell to pieces.

Beside him, Alexander P. Dill, folded loosely together in the seat,
caressed his knees and stared unseeingly at the trail ahead of them
and said never a word for more than an hour.

CHAPTER X.

_The Day We Celebrate._

The days that followed were to Billy much like a delicious dream.
Sometimes he stopped short and wondered uneasily if he would wake up
pretty soon to find that he was still an exile from the Double-Crank,
wandering with Dill over the country in search of a location.
Sometimes he laughed aloud unexpectedly, and said, "Hell!" in a
chuckling undertone when came fresh realization of the miracle. But
mostly he was an exceedingly busy young man, with hands and brain too
full of the stress of business to do much wondering.

They were in possession of the Double-Crank, now--he in full
charge, walking the path which