play a round
with LaHume and Miss Lawrence. She is a very pretty girl, though in my
opinion she is not to be compared with Miss Harding. LaHume is devoted
to her, as much as he can be devoted to any one or anything, and there
have been rumours now and then that they were engaged or about to be
engaged, but since it has always been possible to trace these reports
back to LaHume I have had my doubts of their accuracy. Miss Olive
Lawrence has inherited a large fortune, and is the master of it and of
herself.

LaHume has been a persistent fortune hunter, and if patience be a virtue
he deserves to win. He had a tiff yesterday with Miss Lawrence, and it
came about curiously enough.

The Bishop farm adjoins the club grounds on the east, and everyone for
miles about knows Bishop. He has little use for anything but work and
money, and he always has difficulty in keeping farm labourers, or "hired
men," as he terms them.

About a month ago he employed a fellow named Wallace, who admitted that
he did not know much about farming, but who said he was strong and
healthy and was willing to do the best he could. It was in the haying
season and Bishop was short of men, so he gave this chap a chance.

I met Bishop one day shortly after he put Wallace to work, and he told
me something about him.

"He's strong an' willin' enough," said Bishop, as we stood talking over
the fence, "but he surely is the blamedest, funniest hired man I ever
had, an' I've had some that'd make a man quit the church. What do you
think he wants?"

I assured him that I could not imagine.

"Soap in his room, and cake soap at that!" he exclaimed. "If I hadn't
given it to him he'd a quit, so I had to give it to him. He takes a bath
every morning, an' shaves. That's what he does! Gets up about four
o'clock and goes down to the old swimming hole in the crick, paddles
around a while, an' then comes back to the house an' shaves, an' then
goes out an' milks an' cleans out the stables. Never saw a man wash his
hands so much in my life, but accordin' to his lights he's a mighty good
worker. He eats a lot, but then all hired men eats a lot. An' he reads!
Brought a big trunk with him, an' in it was a lot of books in French,
Dutch or some other language that no white man can understand. And
fight! You know Big Dave Cole, that's been with me for years?"

I assured him that I should never forget "Big Dave" Cole. I have known
him ever since he went to work for Bishop, an