. It is sweet and rich
and as yellow as gold. Generally one can't get a glass of milk or a
pound of butter on any ranch, because the ranchmen don't take the
trouble to make it. Everything pays that is raised on a ranch, and the
greater the variety the more pay."

"That's so," said the old man, shaking the ashes from his corncob pipe;
"but I reckon you'll have considerable trouble with coyotes and cattle
thieves."

"Yes, we expect to have a little trouble with them, but we have a way of
dealing with cattle thieves which we have found to be very corrective.
Every cowboy on our ranch has a Winchester rifle, and a lead pill from
one of them makes a cattle thief sick. Then, too, a rope is something
very distasteful to that breed of mankind, and as for coyotes, we will
enclose that part of the ranch where we are keeping the pigs and ducks
and chickens with a high wire-net fence, which no coyote can scale."

"Mister, wire fences cost a heap of money."

"Very true; but they will pay for themselves in one season."

By and by the old farmer's wife and daughters, having made their little
purchases in the store, came out to the wagon ready to start home.

Evelyn came out with them and was on the best of terms with all three.
She shook hands with Farmer Jones and told him that his wife and
daughters had promised to come over and spend the day with her in the
near future, and that if he put up any objection to that he would
probably get himself into trouble.

"All right, miss," said he. "I'll let 'em come and will drive 'em, too."

"Do so," she replied. "We'll set you down at the head of the table and
see that you get plenty to eat."

"Waal, miss, don't offer me any jerked beef, for I can't eat it."

"Neither can I," she laughed, "and we never have it on our table. We'll
give you fish, prairie chicken, quail, jack-rabbit and that genuine old
Southern dish, bacon and greens."

"That's it. You can bet on my coming, and right soon, too. Bacon and
greens is a dish fit for a king, but you haven't got any on this ranch,
I reckon."

"No, we'll buy that in town, as we do sugar and tea and coffee, and if
you are fond of coffee, brother and Mr. Fearnot can certainly make the
best that you ever tasted."

"Gosh! I do love it."

Fred and Terry assisted the mother and her two daughters into the wagon,
and the girls they literally lifted off their feet by catching them
around the waist and lifting them up as though they were little