he
was twenty years younger than dad. He must feel at home on the Rancho
Palomar."

Mrs. Parker could not refrain from asking why.

"Well, ever since Bill Conway was big enough to throw a leg over a
horse and hold a gun to his shoulder, he's been shooting deer and quail
and coursing coyotes on this ranch. Whenever he felt the down-hill
drag, he invited himself up to visit us. Hello! Why, I believe the
old horse-thief is down there now; at least that's his automobile. I'd
know that ruin anywhere. He bought it in 1906, and swears he's going
to wear it out if it takes a lifetime. Let's go down and see what
they're up to there. Come on, folks!" And, without waiting to see
whether or not he was followed, he urged the pinto over the crest and
rode down the hillside at top speed, whooping like a wild Indian to
attract the attention of Bill Conway. In a shower of weeds and gravel
the pinto slid on his hind quarters down over the cut-bank where the
grading operations had bitten into the hillside, and landed with a
grunt among the teams and scrapers.

"Bill Conway! Front and center!" yelled the master of Palomar.

"Here! What's the row?" a man shouted, and, from a temporary shack
office a hundred yards away, a man stepped out.

"What do you mean by cutting into my dam-site without my permission?"
Farrel yelled and drove straight at the contractor. "Hey, there, old
settler! Mike Farrel, alive and kicking!" He left the saddle while
the pinto was still at a gallop, landed on his feet in front of Bill
Conway and took that astounded old disciple of dump-wagon and scraper
in a bearlike embrace.

"Miguel! You young scoundrel!" Conway yelled, and forthwith he beat
Farrel between the shoulder-blades with a horny old fist and cursed him
lovingly.

"Cut out the profanity, Mr. Conway," Don Mike warned him. "Some ladies
are about due on the job."

"When'd you light in the Palomar, boy? Gimme your hand. What
the--say, ain't it a pity the old man couldn't have lasted until you
got back? Ain't it, now, son?"

"A very great pity, Mr. Conway. I got home last night."

"Boy, I'm glad to see you. Say, you ran into surprises, didn't you?"
he added, lowering his voice confidentially.

"Rather. But, then, so did the other fellow. In fact, sir, a very
pleasant time was had by all. By the way, I hope you're not deluding
yourself with the belief that I'm going to pay you for building this
dam."

"By Judas priest,"