im watched him go with regretful eyes. Then, as the man disappeared
among the ranch buildings, he turned and slowly made his way to the
bunk house of the horse-breakers.

CHAPTER III

IN BARNRIFF

It has been said that the pretentiousness of a newly carpentered
Western American settlement can only be compared to the "side" of a
nigger wench, weighted down under the gaudy burden of her Emancipation
Day holiday gown. Although, in many cases, the analogy is not without
aptness, yet, in frequent instances, it would be a distinct libel. At
any rate, Barnriff boasted nothing of pretentiousness. Certainly
Barnriff was not newly carpentered. Probably it never had been.

It was one of those places that just grow from a tiny seedling; and,
to judge by the anemic result of its effort, that original seedling
could have been little better than a "scratching" post on an
ill-cared-for farm, or perhaps a storm shelter. Certainly it could not
have risen above an implement shed in the ranks of structural art. The
general impression was in favor of the "scratching" post, for one
expects to grow something better than weeds on a rich loam soil.

The architect of Barnriff--if he ever existed--was probably a
drunkard, not an uncommon complaint in that settlement, or a person
qualified for the state asylum. The inference is drawn from strong
circumstantial evidence, and not from prejudice. As witness, the
saloon seemed to have claimed his most serious effort as a piece of
finished construction. Here his weakness peeps through in no
uncertain manner. The bar occupies at least half of the building, and
the fittings of it are large enough to accommodate sufficient alcohol
for an average man to swim in. His imagination must have been fully
extended in this design, for the result suggested its having been
something in the nature of a labor of affection. The other half of the
building was divided up into three rooms: a tiny dining-room
(obviously the pleasures of the table had no great appeal for him), a
small bedroom for the proprietor (who seemed to have been considered
least of all), and one vast dormitory, to accommodate those whose
misfortunes of the evening made them physically incapable of
negotiating the intricacies of the village on their way home.

Of course, this evidence might easily have been nullified, or even
have been turned to the architect's favor, had the rest of the village
borne testimony for him. A clever counsel