Nogales international., 1934-02-10

but this trip I'm going to pull stakes
at Los Angeles and come home for
good. 1 expect to get back about a
month before the roundup and I'm not
going to say word to Dad but just
sneak out to that homestead and put
up a shack and live there. It'll be a
kick when he discovers somebody
squatting on that choice section OF
his"
The girl laughed. "Be careful he
discovers who it is"
Old Charley honked the horn as he
sighted the three by the mail box.
Ruth turned to VIII. 'It seems dread
fully inadequate to say thank you
l."
Good Lordl I've had the time of
my lifel"
Ruth looked at his feet. ST shall
remember that the Dead Lantern owes
you a pair of shoes, not to mention
! trousers-why didn't I think to lend
you some overalls?"
He laughed, as Old Charley turned
from the road. "All right, Ruth, but
I'll be needing boots instead of shoes
the next time you see me-
Within a week 'after the develop
nlent of the water the summer rains
had begun. Almost every afternoon
brought brief shower; great, cold,
pelting drops making the desert spar
kle, redolent with the perfume Of
greasewood. Usually, after these
showers, the sun shone for time be-
fore it slipped behind the mountains
as though to remind the desert that
it still was master. There had been
two severe storms which turned the
arroyos and gullies into angry little
rivers. All the deepened ponds were
full to overfowing and water lay in
small natural pools in many OF the
deeper cailonS.
The cattle were everywhcre-there
was so much water that they could go
where the feed was choicest and they
made good use of the opportunity. The
remains of the cottonseed meal was
stored in the barn and the band OF
bottle-fed calves was scattered. Al
ready, every animal on the place
seemed two-thirds fat.
The Mexicans worked on their
house-Ruth knew that they were
happy and would stay indefinitely.
Every evening for an hour after sup
per she and the girl Magda had les
sons in Spanish. and English. When
the hour was up Ruth went back to
the ranch house, for, as the end Of
the lesson approached, Alfredo always
| picked up his guitar and stood near the
door, his eye on the fresno outside.
Snavely seemed to have changed
subtly since the discovery Of the water.
Ruth sensed that he had begun to re-
gard her in a different way; it was as
if she had proved that she was not to
be frightened, she could no longer be
treated as a child. She had shown
him that she knew something about
ranching and, since the drouth was
safely past, that she stood chance OF
meeting her note. But the girl knew
that Snavely was far from becoming
reconciled to her presence on the
ranch; he hated her and he hated the
Mexicans.
Another thing about this strange
man had come to her notice; he
seemed to be looking at the old well
whenever he was near the ranch house.
Ruth had never seen him go there
since he had built the board fence
around it; but many times she had
watched him coming up the path from
the barn with his narrowed eyes on
the clump of bushes by the woodpile.
There was much riding to do, as
there always is after the summer rains.
Ruth was so busy that she still had
five books to read Of the half dozen
Will had sent her. Each morning she
rode out with Don Francisco and Al
fredo, often accompanied by David.
Every fifth day she carried a slip
Of paper with numbers from one to
twenty-five and rode until she had
checked all Of the bulls. The white