's
dormant possibilities.

Tweet told of his idea of eventually tapping the mountain lake near
which Jo was wont to camp and bringing the water down to irrigate such
portions of desert land as might require it; for there were places
where three hundred feet of boring had not developed a drop of the
precious fluid. The promoter had an engineer's estimate of the cost of
the entire water system, and said that his original figures had been
pretty close.

It all seemed feasible, and things looked generally prosperous. Jo
enjoyed her ride and the opportunity to see what had been accomplished.
Returning, however, the complete enjoyment of the trip was marred by
tire trouble, and, with one thing and another, it was nine o'clock at
night before the party, reached Ragtown.

They were ravenously hungry, and Tweet invited the three to dinner in
the town's closest approach to a satisfactory restaurant. It was after
ten o'clock when they left the table. Tweet gallantly asked to
accompany Jo to her cabin, and both were laughing at the absurdity of a
girl like Jerkline Jo needing an escort, when Hiram Hooker hurried up
to them.

"Well, I c'n see who's cut out," said Tweet, assuming a mournful
expression. "So, if you don't mind, Jo, I'll get over to the hotel and
keep after those two suckers. Take care of her, Wild Cat, and do
whatever she tells you to do, or answer to me with your life. There's
only one Jerkline Jo, you know, and the world needs her all the time.
So long, playmates!"

"Jo," said Hiram when Tweet had bustled away up the dimly lighted
street, "there's an awful mess. Heine and Jim and Tom and Blink are
all drunk as fiddlers!"

"What!" Jo stopped in her tracks and held him by the arm. "Oh, dear!"
she cried. "How could they do such a thing! I've watched them so
carefully, and they've been so good. But the moment I'm out of their
sight for a few hours---- Oh, dear! I didn't think that they'd treat
me that way!"

"I can't get it straight myself, Jo," Hiram told her. "They always
hoist a few when we get in, and sometimes I join them. I've never
before seen any of them when he wasn't at least able to ramble safely
back to camp. But to-night they're all four dead to the world. I
can't even shake a word out of them. Heine just sits there in the
Dugout, with his head on his breast, and is like a dead man."

"Where were you?"

"In camp--studying. About half past nine I thought I'd stroll into
town