It's a good idea," Parker said. "From all accounts the young one
expects to be made love to and if she ain't she'll probably be weeping
around all the time--"

"Well, I can't stand sobbin'!" Old Heck declared. "Any female is hard
enough to endure and one that gets to mourning is plumb distasteful!

"That's probably the best thing to do," he continued, "just appoint
Skinny to be official love-maker to Carolyn June while she's at the
Quarter Circle KT. It will probably save confusion--"

"I brought the telegram telling about them coming and I've done my
share," Skinny protested; "somebody else can be delegated to do the
love-making!"

"That's just the reason it ought to be your job," Old Heck argued; "you
went and got the telegram in the first place and are sort of responsible
for them being here."

"Aw, let th' Ramblin' Kid do it," Skinny pleaded, "he's an easy talker
and everything--"

The Ramblin' Kid straightened up and started for the gate.

"Where you going?"

"To catch Capt'n Jack," he drawled; "after that for a little ride down
to th' Pecos or over in Chihuahua somewhere a couple hundred miles. I
decline with enthusiasm to fall in love on th' spur of th' moment for
any damned outfit!"

"You come on back," Parker called, "Skinny'll have to do it. He can have
all his time for it and just pretend he's in love and sort of entertain
her. He don't need to go and do it in earnest. Come on back, you darned
chump, I need you on the beef hunt!"

"What'll I have to do?" Skinny asked cautiously.

"Just set on the front porch with her at night and make your eyes roll
up like a calf's that's being branded and kind of sigh heart-broken once
in a while," Bert volunteered. "It'll be easy when you get used to it--"

"If you know so much about it why don't you enlist yourself?" Skinny
asked irritably. "Some of you fellows go on and volunteer," he pleaded
dolefully.

"I would in a minute," Chuck chipped in, "if I was good-looking like
Skinny and had a white shirt--"

"What's a white shirt got to do with it?"

"Listen to the innocent child," Chuck laughed, "as if any darned fool
didn't know that the first thing a professional love-maker has to have
is a white shirt!"

"That settles it," Skinny declared with emphasis, "I won't wear a white
shirt to make love to no blamed woman--"

"Chuck's locoed," the Ramblin' Kid interposed; "you don't need to have
no white shirt--of course it would be better but it ain't downri