urprised Buddy by
saying: "That's enough for now, thank goodness! Business is only one
side of life, my boy. You are going to make this city your home, so you
must begin by meeting the right people, the influential people. Nicest
people in the world right here, Buddy; nicest place in the world, too!"

Now to a youth who, for months, had been immured in the oil fields,
Wichita Falls did indeed resemble a city of marvelous portent.
Pavements, large buildings, bright lights, theaters--Buddy was
thrilled. He prepared himself for introduction to oil operators, to men
of finance sitting in marble and mahogany offices; he made ready to
step forth into the big world.

Great was his astonishment, therefore, when after a swift walk Gray
turned into a tiny frame insurance office on a side street. Funny place
to look for people of influence, Buddy cogitated.

A girl was seated at a desk; she rose at sight of Gray, and her face
broke into a smile. Her greeting was warm; her hand lingered in his;
for the moment neither of them seemed to remember Buddy's presence.
When she did hear his name, however, her face lightened and she gave
her hand to him as to an old friend. When she smiled at him, as she had
smiled at his companion, Buddy dropped his hat. He had never seen
anyone in the least like this creature and--she knew Allie! She knew
his mother! That was astonishing. He wondered why they had never said
anything about it. Before she had finished telling him about that
meeting in the store at Dallas, Buddy realized that here indeed was an
influential person, a citizen of supreme importance. He had missed her
name, but probably she owned that Dallas department store, or was the
Mayor of Wichita Falls. He had never before been so embarrassed.

Mr. Gray certainly was a wonderful man. His poise, his air of
respectful but easy familiarity with this--this angel raised him
immensely in Buddy's esteem. Think of joking, chatting, making pretty
speeches to an--an angel! That was going some. The gall of it!

They were talking about that big gasser of Gray's; the fire; the
overflow; and the melodramatic occurrences of the past fortnight. Gray
was telling her how Buddy had saved his life at the well, how he had
risked his own, later, in braving the flood, and she was listening with
eager smiles and nods and exclamations. When she turned admiring,
grateful eyes upon the hero of Gray's story--and the story had been
told in a manner to make Buddy