"Him?" Perris chuckled again. "He'll pay it, some day. It's just
postponed--slow collection--that's all!" He shrugged the thought of it
away, and straightened a little, plainly waiting to hear her business.
But her mind was still only half on her own affairs as she began
talking.

"I have to go into the affairs of our ranch a little," she said, "so
that you can understand why I've asked you to come here. My father was
hurt by a fall from a horse several years ago and the accident made him
an invalid. He can't sit a saddle and because of that he has lost all
touch with his business. Worst of all, he doesn't seem to care. The
result was that everything went into the hands of the foreman, but the
foreman was not very successful. As a matter of fact the ranch became a
losing investment and I came out to try to run it. I suppose that
sounds foolish?"

She looked sharply at him, but to her delight for the first time his
eyes had lighted with a real enthusiasm.

"It sounds pretty fine to me," said Red Perris.

"The foreman doesn't think so," she answered. "He wants his old
authority."

"So he makes your trail all uphill?"

"By simply refusing to advise me. My father won't talk business. Lew
Hervey won't. I'm trying to run a dollar business with a cent's worth
of knowledge and no experience. I can't discharge Hervey; his service
has been too long and faithful. But I want to have someone up there who