Jim.

The old man he hesitates a while and looks at him right sad; and he
says, like he was talking to hisself:

"Well, well! I do wonder how I was such a hand-painted idiot all the
time! I believe we shore can make a cowman out of you yet," says he.

"It's in sixes and sevens," says James, or Jimmie, or Jim, "but there's
a chance there on that ranch. Maybe I can learn. And it's so fine out
there--with the mountains, and the skies, and the wind blowing in the
sage, and the----"

"Hush, man!" says Old Man Wright to him. "You're making me so homesick I
can't stand it. We'll all go out there to live. I'll tell you what we'll
do," says he in his rushing way, sort of taking the lead of things.
"We'll keep these two houses in here for both of us for our city homes,
and we'll all of us have the old ranch for our country homes," says he.
"And we'll all run the business plumb sensible on good business lines,"
says he, "with the peaches and cream out, and the ribs, chucks and
plates all in. Why, we'll----"

"Oh, dad!" says Bonnie Bell, and she goes up to the old man, crying
because she was happy. She'd seen him change right there before
her--he'd got forty years younger in the last ten minutes. "Dad," says
she--"dad, we will--when?"

"Daughter," says he, "we're going to begin right now to get them Better
Things we started out for. You're going to have the place in life that
your ma said you'd ought to have. You and Katherine," says he, "will
have to fix it up about that house I was going to leave in my last will
and testament. But, like I said, I'm going to give Katherine half a
million when she marries--if she marries as good a man as you did. You
see, Katherine kissed me--right here in a soft spot--on top of my old
bald head."

He rubs the place then. Bonnie Bell she kisses him there too--for maybe
sever'l million.

After a while I sort of moved over toward the door, it seeming like it
wasn't no place for me no more.

"Where you going?" says Old Man Wright to me; and Old Man Wisner he says
something, too, about my not being in a hurry.

"I don't know, but I reckon I'll be moving along now. Looks like I been
some foreman. I done all this. But what thanks do I get for it?"

I starts away to get outside this kissing zone, so to speak. I didn't
know but Old Lady Wisner'd try to kiss me. I didn't want that to happen.

"Ho, ho!" says Old Man Wright, laughing like he did years ago. "Hear
that fool boy talk, won't you,