him I discharged him."

"Yes, cousin, I did," he replied, his voice rising a little. There was
a tinge of red in his cheek. "We--you don't need him out at the ranch.
We've any numbers of boys. I just told him that--let him down
easy--didn't want to bother you."

Certain it was that George Wright had made a poor reckoning. First she
showed utter amaze, then distinct disappointment, and then she lifted
her head with a kind of haughty grace. She would have addressed him
then, had not Colonel Sampson come up.

"Papa, did you instruct Cousin George to discharge Russ?" she asked.

"I sure didn't," declared the colonel, with a laugh. "George took that
upon his own hands."

"Indeed! I'd like my cousin to understand that I'm my own mistress. I've
been accustomed to attending to my own affairs and shall continue doing
so. Russ, I'm sorry you've been treated this way. Please, in future,
take your orders from me."

"Then I'm to go to Linrock with you?" I asked.

"Assuredly. Ride with Sally and me to-day, please."

She turned away with Sally, and they walked toward the first buckboard.

Colonel Sampson found a grim enjoyment in Wright's discomfiture.