have letters from home. And my sister, with a party of friends, is
coming out to visit me. They are society folk, and one of them is an
English lord."

"Wal, Miss Majesty, I reckon we'll all be glad to see them," said
Stillwell. "Onless they pack you off back East."

"That isn't likely," replied Madeline, thoughtfully. "I must go back
some time, though. Well, let me read you a few extracts from my mail."

Madeline took up her sister's letter with a strange sensation of how
easily sight of a crested monogram and scent of delicately perfumed
paper could recall the brilliant life she had given up. She scanned
the pages of beautiful handwriting. Helen's letter was in turn gay and
brilliant and lazy, just as she was herself; but Madeline detected more
of curiosity in it than of real longing to see the sister and brother in
the Far West. Much of what Helen wrote was enthusiastic anticipation of
the fun she expected to have with bashful cowboys. Helen seldom wrote
letters, and she never read anything, not even popular novels of the
day. She was as absolutely ignorant of the West as the Englishman, who,
she said, expected to hunt buffalo and fight Indians. Moreover, there
was a satiric note in the letter that Madeline did not like, and which
roused her spirit. Manifestly, Helen was reveling in the prospect of new
sensation.

When she finished reading aloud a few paragraphs the old cattleman
snorted and his face grew redder.

"Did your sister write that?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Wal, I--I beg pawdin, Miss Majesty. But it doesn't seem like you. Does
she think we're a lot of wild men from Borneo?"

"Evidently she does. I rather think she is in for a surprise. Now,
Stillwell, you are clever and you can see the situation. I want my
guests to enjoy their stay here, but I do not want that to be at the
expense of the feelings of all of us, or even any one. Helen will bring
a lively crowd. They'll crave excitement--the unusual. Let us see that
they are not disappointed. You take the boys into your confidence. Tell
them what to expect, and tell them how to meet it. I shall help you in
that. I want the boys to be on dress-parade when they are off duty. I
want them to be on their most elegant behavior. I do not care what they
do, what measures they take to protect themselves, what tricks they
contrive, so long as they do not overstep the limit of kindness and
courtesy. I want them to play their parts seriously, naturally, as if
they