oquet players and those who had been
strolling about the grounds were coming towards the house, just as Mr.
Bates was relating to Mr. and Mrs. Herne what to him had been a very
trying experience. Mr. Bates always called Mr. Herne Charles. He said:

"Charles, I don't know that I would have been here to-night if it had
not been for my wife."

"Why, how is that?" said Mr. Herne.

Mr. Bates replied: "Well, I will tell you. This morning, Weeks' boy was
playing with my boy in the barn. There were a number of sacks of barley
and wheat on the floor. The boys got to scuffling, one boy trying to
throw the other down. At last my boy got Weeks' boy down and gave him a
blow and ran out of the barn with Weeks' boy after him. They both ran
out into the orchard and then over the fence to Page's barn. Now, when
Weeks' boy ran after my lad he left the barn door open. There was no one
about the barn at the time the boys left. My man and I were at the
further end of the ranch fixing the line fence. When we came up at noon
we found the barn door open and that fine four-year-old colt of mine and
a lot of hogs were all in the barn eating grain. They had torn every
sack open and had eaten more than half of it. The colt had eaten so much
as to make him bloat. When I saw it all I felt so mad I had to use some
hot words. When I went to the house I told my wife about it. At first
she seemed put out, but when she saw how wrathy I was she tried to cool
me down. I asked where the boy was, and she said, 'Weeks' boy was here
and asked for our boy to go to his place to play and have dinner. They
said they were going to get Page's boy to play with them.' I felt so
worried about the colt and so mad at the boys I could not eat my dinner.
I told my wife I did not feel like coming here to-night, and when I said
that I saw I had made matters worse, so I went out to the barn and
worked over the colt some more. When the boy came home I had him tell me
all about it. I told him if he or any boy with him ever left the barn
door open again he would not want to sit down for a week."

Just here Mrs. Bates said to Mrs. Herne: "Henry does take such things so
hard. It seems as if he can never get over it."

Mr. Bates spoke up a little louder and said: "Such thoughtless, careless
doings as that are enough to make any one lose his temper. Why, I came
very near losing the colt, besides the damage the hogs did to the
grain."

Mrs. Herne said: "Mr. Bates, I must tell y