here than Ma does."

Meanwhile Ma Bailey busied herself preparing supper, and it was evident
to the boys in the bunkhouse that Ma had something on her mind from the
sounds which came from the kitchen. Ma scolded the potatoes as she fried
them, rebuked the biscuits because they had browned a little too soon,
censured the stove for its misbehavior in having scorched the biscuits,
accused the wood of being a factor in the conspiracy, reprimanded the
mammoth coffee-pot that threatened to deluge the steak, and finally
chased Andy from the premises when she discovered that he had laid the
table with her best set of dishes.

"Ma's steamin' about somethin'," remarked Andy as he entered the
bunk-house.

This information was received with characteristic silence as each and
every cowboy mentally straightened up, vowing silently that he wasn't
goin' to take any chances of Ma b'ilin' over on him.

The clatter of the pack-horse bell brought the men to their feet and they
filed across to the house, a preternaturally silent aggregation that
confirmed Ma Bailey's suspicion that there was something afoot.

Andy, loitering behind them, saw Pete coming from the stables, tried to
compose himself, but could not get rid of the boyish grin, which provoked
Ma Bailey to mutter something which sounded like "idiot," to which the
cowboys nodded in cheerful concurrence, without other comment.

Hank Barley, the silent, was gazing surreptitiously at Ma's face when he
saw her eyes widen, saw her rise, and stand staring at the doorway as
Andy clumped in, followed by Pete.

Ma Bailey sat down suddenly.

"It's all right, Ma," laughed Andy, alarmed at the expression on her
face. "It's just Pete."

"Just Pete!" echoed Ma Bailey faintly. And then, "Goodness alive, child,
where you been?"

Pete's reply was lost in the shuffle of feet as the men rose and shook
hands with him, asking him a dozen questions in as many seconds,
asserting that he was looking fine, and generally behaving like a crowd
of schoolboys, as they welcomed him to their midst again.

Pete sat in the absent Bill Haskins's place. And "You must 'a' knowed he
was coming" asserted Avery. "Bill is over to the line shack."

"I got a _letter_," asserted Ma Bailey mysteriously.

"And you jest said nothin' and sprung him on us! Well, Ma, you sure
fooled me," said Andy, grinning.

"You go 'long." Mrs. Bailey smiled at Andy, who had earned her
forgiveness by crediting her--rather