"Oh, I don't mind clean dirt," interrupted Jack. "It's only garden
soil on Lem's clothes. He does odd jobs, you know."

"Not very often," added Walter. "But go ahead, Jack. He's coming
nearer. I don't believe you can do better than ask him to ride back
to Chelton with you. Needn't be too specific about what's in the
pocketbook. But two pairs of eyes are better than one, you know."

"All right," assented Jack. "Here goes."

Lem Gildy was shuffling along the road. He was a particularly
unprepossessing man, with a reddish growth of whiskers which he
never seemed to take the trouble to shave off, and they stuck out
like so many bristles in a half-worn toothbrush.

His teeth were yellow, and his habit of chewing tobacco was not to
be commended. In short, he was a "shiftless" character, and nice
persons had very little to do with him.

"Hello, Lem!" called Jack pleasantly.

"Hello," was the rather surly answer, and Lem shot a suspicious
glance at Jack. It was not often that the young and wealthy Jack
Kimball condescended to speak to Lem Gildy, and Lem realized it.

"Want a ride?" went on Jack, trying to make his voice sound natural.

"Don't look as if you was goin' my way," replied Lem with a grin.
Then he turned his gaze on Cora, and the beautiful girl could not