got kind o' friendly with that snake--"

Little Vada jumped up.

"I know--I know," she cried, in the wildest excitement. "The snake
made him eat an apple, an' then the rain came down, an' poured an'
poured--"

"Poured an' poured," echoed Jamie, jumping to his feet and dancing
around his sister.

"That's so," admitted Scipio, in relief.

"Poured nothin'," murmured Sandy under his breath. "He's messin' up
the whole yarn."

But as his comment didn't reach the father's ears he went on
placidly.

"Wal, the rain poured down," he said, "so they was nigh drownded--"

"Why'd the rain tum?" suddenly inquired Jamie with interest.

"Ah!" murmured Scipio. Then he added brightly, "Because he picked the
fruit."

"Y'see," explained Vada, with sisterly patronage, "he didn't orter
picked the apple."

Jamie nodded without understanding.

"'Ess."

"Wal," went on Scipio, taking advantage of the pause, "he was nigh
drownded, an' he had to swim an' swim, an' then he built himself a
ranch."

"Barn," cried Sandy, unable to keep quiet any longer. "It was a barn
to kep his stock in."

"Ark," said Toby decidedly. "He built a Nore's Ark--same as toys
kiddies plays with."

"But Bill said Sunny's yarn goes," protested the troubled Scipio. And,
receiving an affirmatory nod from the preoccupied gambler, he went on.
"Wal, he set that ranch afloat, an' put out a boat an' rescued all the
other animals, an' bugs, an' spiders, an' things, an' then set out a
duck to see how things was going--"

"Not a duck, Zip," said Sunny, shaking his head sorrowfully.

"Course not," agreed Sandy scornfully.

"Pigeon," suggested Toby.

But little Vada saved the situation. She jumped to her feet, dragging
Jamie with her. Her dark eyes were shining, and her round little
cheeks were scarlet with excitement.

"It wasn't a duck, nor a pigeon, nor nothin' but a parrot," she
declared. "Momma told us. He sent out a parrot; an' it flew, an' flew,
an' flew. An' then it come back to the ark, carryin' a tree in its
beak. An' then Nore knew there wasn't no more rain, nor nothing, an'
they turned his wife into a pillow o' salt 'cos she'd made him eat the
apple. An', pop-pa, tell us another."

"'Ess, a nudder," cried Jamie, his chubby fat legs wabbling under him
as he danced about--"a nudder--a nudder--a nud--"

But his lisping request was never completed, for, without a word of
warning, Wild Bill suddenly leapt from his seat, and, with a wave of
his ar