The Coolidge examiner., 1937-04-29

to take over, a riding academy.
Well sell it at public auction, I
suppose, if anybody'S fool enough
to make bid. Another white ele-
phant."
The abandoned riding academy
appeared to be a white elephant of
the most hopeless variety. The
place, formerly farm, was over
grown with weeds ana brambles
and blackberry bushes.
Pretty bad, isn't it?" Vaughn
said to Jim as they walked through
the dim stable festooned with cob
webs and Uttered with mculdy odds
and ends of harness and rope and
moth-eaten blankets and corn-cobs
and fodder.
''The land should be worth some
thing" Jim said.
Real estate doesn't bring any
thing in the present Market" Mr..
Vaughn replied. mo, We'll take
licking on this"
They came out into sunlight.
Jim's eyes moved over the weed
grown oval in the meadow, the sag
ging rail jumps, the house huddling
forlornly under the low branched
trees.
Was it ever a paying PROPOSE
tion?" he asked.
Yes" Mr.. Vaughn replied.
-Four or five years ago it was tre-
mendously successful"
Il should think it might have
oeen," Jim said musingly. The To-
cation is excellent. It's only mile
from the Green Acres CLUB and
within a short distance of four
, towns, to say nothing of the country
places around. What happened?"
1.-The place changed hands. The
last fellow who ran it hadn't much
, initiative. l suppose it requires a
certain amount of personality to
, make success of riding acade-
my. It's like an inn or a road
house. You have to cater to peo-
, pies whims and crochets. The la
, dies especially must be pleased.
Now, you" Mr.. Vaughn looked at
Jim speculatively. "You have some
of the qualifications. Do you think
you could take over this place and
make it go?"
Jim's heart leapt. He steadied it
with a prompt application of COM
nonsense. Mr.. Vaughn wasn't in
; earnest. He was merely talking.
i've had no experience" he re-
piled as casually as he could.
"You know something about
horses" Mr.. Vaughn persisted, de-
Tending his former statement.
"Oh, something"
4 Mr.. Vaughn's eyes twinkled.
& Macpherson told me you
brought Lady through an attack
4 of the collie the other night"
, 1T wasn't bad. She was in fair
5 shape when the vet arrived. know
' :; few simple remedies. There were
horses on my uncle's place"
/ Where was that?"
"Whitehail-out beyond Chestnut
: hill"
/ The King place." Mr.. Vaughn
= asked quickly.
Yes, sir. l lived with my uncle.
I My parents died when l was a
! child
MACPHERSON came from the
! King place"
Yes, SIR" Jim smiled.
Y $50 that's the connection.
2 ''Hmm!" Mr.. Vaughn looked
! thoughtful. What college?"
! "Princeton-'29. I'm one of the
lost generation"
l Mr.. Vaughn made no reply. He
i. stood. for a time, on the steps of
= the house looking over the prop
erty with a minutely appraising
/ scrutiny. Presently he walked to
the car.
: 'All right" he said. Lets go"
The short driv4 back to Meadow
brook was accomplished in an al
most unbroken silence. Once Mr.
Vaughn reused from his absorption
! to ask, Know anything about fox
t hunting?" and. some time later, he
said in sn distracted voice, as
though he was thinking aloud,
Horse sense and personality.
That's the combina .ion."
/ Jim would not let himself believe
that Mr.. Vaughn was considering
7 the proposition he had mentioned so
casually. But he thought of 1t dur
ing the afternoon, to the exclusion
of IGNORES house-party.
He was silent at supper. He
: hadn't much appetite. Whats the
: matter, Jamie?" Mrs. Macpherson
asked, Disgusting her concern in a
simulated huff. That's short-cake,
and you haven't touched it."
IT'S swell" Jim assured her
I'm not hungry, that's all"
: Jim glanced at MACPHERSON. The
lean, sandy Scot was regarding him
with an expression which he did not
, understand. There was kindness in
t it, affection and pride.
The same expression puzzled him
: later, when Tommy came to the
cottage to summon Jim to the
= house.
t What does Mr.. Vaughn want
with Won Jar1oie ?" Mrs MacPher-