ut of course there's
nothing in it for me!" He avoided her gaze, and went on cleaning his
gun. "I'm fixed here, you know. This suits me."

"I hope you are not serious, my son." Austin knew that voice. He braced
himself for unpleasantness.

"Manzanita," he said simply. There was a throbbing silence.

"You disappoint one of my lifelong hopes for my only son, Austin," his
mother said very quietly.

"I know it, mother. I'm sorry."

"For the first time, Austin, I wish I had another son. I am going to
beg you--to beg you to believe that I can see your happiness clearer
than you can just now!" Mrs. Phelps's voice was calm, but she was
trembling with feeling.

"Don't put it that way, mater. Anyway, I never liked office work much,
you know."

"Austin, don't think your old mammy is trying to manage you," Mrs.
Phelps was suddenly mild and affectionate. "But THINK, dear. Taylor
says the salary is not less than fifteen thousand. You could have a
lovely home, near me. Think of the opera, of having a really formal
dinner again, of going to Cousin Robert Stokes's for Christmas, and
yachting with Taylor and Gerry."

Austin was still now, evidently he WAS thinking.

"My idea," his mother went on reasonably, "would be to have you come on
with me now, at once. See Uncle William,--we mustn't keep his kindness
waiting, must we?--get used to the new work, make sure of yourself.
Then come back for Manzanita, or have her come on--" She paused, her
eyes a question.

"I'd hate to leave Yerba Buena--" Austin visibly hesitated.

"But, Austin, you must sooner or later." Mrs. Phelps was framing a
triumphant letter to Cornelia in her mind.

But just then Manzanita came running around the corner of the house,
and seeing them, took the porch steps in two bounds, and came to lean
on Austin's shoulder.

"Austin!" she burst out excitedly. "I want you to ride straight down to
the stock pens,--they've got a thousand steers on the flats there going
through from Portland, and the men say they aren't to leave the cars
to-night! I told them they would HAVE to turn them out and water them,
and they just laughed! Will you go down?" She was breathing hard like
an impatient child, her cheeks two poppies, her eyes blazing. "Will
you? Will you?"

"Sure I will, if you'll do something for me." Austin pulled her toward
him.

"Well, there!" She gave him a child's impersonal kiss. "You'll make
them water them, won't you, Austin?"

"Oh, yes. I'll 'ten