XVI.--BIRDS OF A FEATHER 171

XVII.--IN THE SCRUB 182

XVIII.--THE TEXAN TAKES THE TRAIL 188

XIX.--AT MCWHORTER'S RANCH 197

XX.--AT CINNABAR JOE'S 209

XXI.--THE PASSING OF LONG BILL KEARNEY 219

XXII.--CASS GRIMSHAW--HORSE-THIEF 229

XXIII.--CINNABAR JOE TELLS A STORY 239

XXIV.--"ALL FRIENDS TOGETHER" 253

XXV.--JANET PAYS A CALL 267

XXVI.--THE OTHER WOMAN 276

XXVII.--SOME SHOOTING 288

XXVIII.--BACK ON RED SAND 304

AN EPILOGUE 314

Prairie Flowers

A PROLOGUE

The grey roadster purred up the driveway, and Alice Endicott thrust the
"home edition" aside and hurried out onto the porch to greet her husband
as he stepped around from the garage.

"Did the deal go through?" she asked, as her eyes eagerly sought the
eyes of the man who ascended the steps.

"Yes, dear," laughed Endicott, "the deal went through. You see before
you a gentleman of elegant leisure--foot-loose, and unfettered--free to
roam where the gods will."

"Or will not," laughed his wife, giving him a playful hug. "But, oh,
Win, aren't you glad! Isn't it just grand to feel that you don't have to
go to the horrible, smoky old city every morning? And don't the soft
air, and the young leaves, and the green grass, and the nesting birds
make you _crazy_ to get out into the big open places? To get into a
saddle and just ride, and ride, and ride? Remember how the sun looked as
it rose like a great ball of fire beyond the miles and miles of open
bench?"

Endicott grinned: "And how it beat down on us along about noon until we
could fairly feel ourselves shrivel----"

"And how it sank to rest behind the mountains. And the long twilight
glow. And how the stars came out one by one. And the night came
deliciously cool--and how good the blankets felt."

The man's glance rested upon the close-cropped lawn where the grackles
and robins were industriously picking up their evening meal. "You love
the country out there--you must love it, to remember only the sunrises,
and the sunsets, and the stars; and forget the torture of long hours in
the saddle and that terrific downpour of rain that burst the reservoir
and so nearly