wrong places trying to get into the right ones. Now I'd like to thank
that lady; but I can't. She's wonderfully beautiful, isn't she--your
mistress? I say now, Curly, you thank her for me, won't you?"

I felt rather savage towards anybody coming from the Wisner side of the
fence, but someway this fellow was so decent, and he evident meant to be
so square, that I couldn't hardly feel no way but friendly to him.

"You've been with your folks quite a while, ain't you?" says I after a
while.

"Oh, yes; I suppose I'm kind of useful in the scheme some ways or they'd
tie a can to me."

"In Millionaire Row, the way I figure it," says I to him, "the Wisners
is the king bees?"

He nods.

"I'm afraid that's about the truth. At least that's the way they think
it is--the old man and the old lady. Folks that don't swing in line with
their ways they get froze out."

"Is that so?" says I, getting hot under the collar right away. "Well,
let me tell you something: When it comes to playing any kind of
freeze-out, where Old Man Wright is concerned, believe me, there's two
sides to that game. Do you see?"

I looked straight at him, and I went on:

"Nobody ever seen Old Man Wright weaken in nothing he once begun. As for
money, he can't be making less than a million a month or so right here
in this town where he is now. He's one of them kind that does."

"I believe you," says he. "Was you saying that your folks used to own
the Circle Arrow Ranch out in Wyoming?"

"Uh-huh; and I wisht we did right now."

"That's funny," says he. "And you sold it to a syndicate?"

"Uh-huh--damn 'em!"

"And Old Man Wisner was one of the silent partners and one of the
biggest owners in that syndicate--colonization and irrigation. There
ain't anything that he won't go against that there's money in, and he
mostly wins," says he.

"Well, what do you know about that!" says I. "Us moving in here and
living right next door to him--that's the funniest thing I ever did
hear. They shore was on opposite sides of that game, wasn't they, them
two folks? Well, Old Man Wisner got the worst of it--that's all. You
can't raise nothing on that land except cows and he'll find it out. We
got some of our deferred payments coming in, like enough; but it
wouldn't surprise me if we got all that land back sometime, and I shore
hope we do."

He kind of puckers up his mouth and puts his fingers on it.

"By Jove!" says he. "By Jove! Would you give me a job cowpunching