l Joe--I'm just a-bustin' to tell him an' he'll want to
know."

As the woman hurried toward the stable, Alice patted the girl's hands.
"He's splendid," she whispered, "splendid!" Janet's eyes did not meet
hers, and she continued, softly: "He's just a boy--impulsive, lovable.
And yet, at times he's so very much a man. And there doesn't seem to be
anything he can't do. Always, no matter what the emergency, he does the
right thing at the right time. And he has another side--once when I
ventured to say that Corot would have loved to paint a certain sunset we
were watching, he quietly informed me that Corot could not have painted
it--could not have got into the feel of it--and I knew that he was
right."

"He gets drunk," said the girl, without raising her eyes, "I could hate
a man that gets drunk."

"I didn't say he is a saint. But I happen to know that when he makes up
his mind not to drink, no power on earth can make him take even a
single drink."

"He wouldn't drink at the ranch--I offered him a drink because I thought
he needed one--and he did--but he refused it."

"Do you know why?"

The girl shook her head.

"Because he promised me he wouldn't take a drink until after he had
talked with my husband. Win wants to see him on business. Wants to
persuade him to keep the place he's held for a year, as foreman of the Y
Bar. Win is going to buy the Y Bar."

"The Y Bar!"

"Yes, do you know the Y Bar?"

The girl nodded slowly: "I was born there, and lived there the most of
my life. Dad moved over here onto Red Sand while I was away at school.
The Y Bar is--is like home to me."

"Mr. Colston says he's the best foreman he ever had. You should hear him
speak of him--of his taming a great wild stallion they call the Red
King----"

"The Red King!" cried Janet, her eyes wide with excitement, "I know the
Red King--I've seen him often on the range. He's the most wonderful
horse in the world. They said nobody could ride him. Once or twice men
tried it--and the Red King killed them. And, did Tex ride him?"

Alice nodded: "Yes, he rode him--tamed him so the great wild horse
would come when he whistled. But he wouldn't brand him. And then, one
night, he leaped onto his back without saddle or bridle and rode him
straight out onto the open range--and turned him loose!"

The girl's eyes were shining: "Oh, I'm glad--glad! Wait till you see the
Red King, and you will be glad, too. He's the embodiment of everything
that's wild