e do, anyhow?"

Allie related her experience with Professor Delamater; she told it all
up to the burst of shouting that followed her through the lobby. "You
should of heard 'em yelling, clapping their hands--! I"--she choked,
her voice failed her, miserably she concluded--"I wish to God we'd
never struck oil!"

"You're just wore out, dearie," her mother said, comfortingly, and
Briskow agreed. He assured her that all would be well.

All was not well, however. The next morning when Gus Briskow was about
to leave the hotel as usual--Professor Delamater having departed
hurriedly the evening before with fully four minutes of his twenty to
spare--he was stopped by the manager, who requested him to give up his
rooms. The Texan was bewildered; he could not understand the reason for
such a request.

"'Ain't I paid my bills?" he queried.

The manager assured him that he had; he was profoundly regretful, as a
matter of fact; but it so happened that the Briskow suite had been
reserved early in the season, and the party who had made the
reservation had just wired that he was arriving that day. He was a
gentleman of importance--it was indeed unfortunate--the management
appreciated Mr. Briskow's patronage--they hoped he and his family would
return to the Notch sometime.

"Mebbe you got some other rooms that would do us," Gus ventured.

It was too bad, but the hotel was overcrowded. Later, perhaps--Now at
that very moment the lobby was filled with tournament golfers who were
leaving on the morning train, and Briskow knew it. He studied the
speaker with an expression that caused the latter extreme discomfort;
it was much the same expression he had worn the night before when he
had served warning upon Delamater.

"Lemme get this right," he said. "You can talk straight to me. Bein'
ignerunt, I 'ain't got the same feelin's as these other folks got. I
got a shell like a land turtle."

"It is quite customary, I assure you. No offense, my dear sir."

"That's how I figgered! Just bouncin' a low-down var mint ain't offense
enough to be throwed out about, when you pay your bills--"

"You quite misapprehend--"

"Fired, eh? It 'll go hard with Ma. She's gainin' here, and she likes
it. That's why I never told her you was chargin' us about double what
you charge these rich folks."

The manager stiffened. "I regret exceedingly, sir, that you take it
this way. But there is nothing more to be said, is there?"

It was with a heavy hear