declared. "Buddy, go kill a rooster, an' you, Allie, get them eggs
out of the nest in the garden, an' a jar of them peach preserves,
while I make up a pan of biscuits."

Protest was unavailing.

When the others had hurried away, Pa Briskow said: "I been
studyin' you, Mister Gray, and I got you down as a first-class
man. When Ma and Allie come over to Dallas to get rigged out, I'd
like you to help 'em. They 'ain't never been fu'ther from home
than Cisco--that's thirty mile. I'll pay you for your time."

Gray's hearty acceptance of the first and his prompt refusal of
the second proposal pleased the speaker.

"Bein' rich is mighty fine, but--" Gus Briskow shook his head
doubtfully. "It takes a lot of thinkin', and I ain't used to
thinkin'. Some day, mebbe, I'll get you to give _me_ a hand in
figgerin' out some worries."

"Business worries?"

"No. I got enough of them, an' more comin', but it ain't that.
We're goin' to have a heap of money, and"--he looked up with
straightforward eyes--"we ain't goin' to lose it, if I have my
way. We've rubbed along, half starved, all our lives, an' done
without things till we're--Well, look at us! I reckon we've made
you laugh. Oh, I bet we have! Ma an' me can stand it, but, mister,
I don't want folks to laugh at my children, and there's other
things I don't want to happen to 'em. Buddy's a wild hoss and he's