"Well, I guess I weigh at least ten pounds more than I did when you left here. Whether it is good cooking or not, I don't know; but it is good, wholesome fare. I made coffee just as you taught me. I'm not good at making biscuit, but I can make a good hoe-cake."

They went into Jack's kitchen, and looking at his utensils, saw that he had a place for everything, and everything in its place.

"Jack; how did you learn to cook so well?" Terry asked.

"Why, I used to help mother a good deal, and I have the timber brought up and cut and piled away, so it is easy to build a fire. I had a well driven down in the yard out there, and a pump attached to it. It is not as good water as that down at the spring, but it is better than the average well around through this State, and I didn't have to drive down but thirty feet, either."

"Good! If you were wrecked on a lone island, you would get along all right, my boy. What is the bill of fare at your hotel now?

"Just anything you want that the market affords. When I want fish I go but to the lake and get it. When I want quail or prairie chicken they come right up to the house to be shot."

"All right, Jack. We'll help you cook, and if anything more is needed than the market here affords, we will get it from Crabtree."

On further inspection they found that he didn't have a carpet in the house, but that he had good sheets and blankets and pillows and first-cla.s.s mattresses.

"Fred," said Terry, "we'll have to live in this house until Jack gets his home finished. We'll measure the size of those two rooms back there, and one of us must go back to town to-morrow, buy carpets, have them made, and lay in all other necessaries for Evelyn's comfort, and let her invite some of the ladies up there to come down and rough it with us as long as they are willing to do so. Evelyn, of course, will go with us and a.s.sist us in making the purchases."

They went out into the stable lot, saw the horses kept there. Then they visited the cow lot and their barns, and saw that the milch-cows were looking well, and, of course, fat and yielding an abundant supply of milk, which Jack sent up to Crabtree every day, besides having plenty of b.u.t.ter and milk for all the cowboys in their employ.

Jack, too, had a good flock of chickens in his barn-yard, so he had plenty of eggs; but he stated that he had not killed a single chicken since Fred and Terry had gone North, as he preferred quail and prairie chicken. He also stated that he had been compelled to clip their wings very close, as his cowboys told him that if they got out they would find such abundant feed in gra.s.s seed and other products of the plain that they wouldn't come back home again.

"Don't you believe that, Jack. If a hen raises a flock of chickens and she and they are fed regularly, they will never leave the place; but chickens who are allowed to run everywhere, as most ranchmen let their chickens, will, of course, become wild like any other fowl."

There were about a score of little pigs on the lot that were as fat as b.u.t.ter and gentle as kittens.

"By George, Terry," said Fred, "won't Evelyn be delighted with these little fellows? But we will have to have ducks and turkeys."

"Yes, wye can keep the ducks in bounds all right; but it will be a little difficult to keep the turkeys in, unless we have a wire fence enclosure reaching up about fifteen feet high."

"Oh, we can do that. Turkeys are very fond of wandering over a wide range; but I think we can keep them in bounds."

That night, they had a good supper of broiled beefsteak, good hoe-cake, milk and b.u.t.ter, and coffee in abundance. The two boys praised Jack highly for his skill in managing things, and, of course, he felt very proud.

They told him that Broker Middleton had used some money belonging to his mother, and had made about twenty thousand dollars for her, which she had sent by them in a draft which she had purchased in the bank.

Jack fairly whooped with joy.

"It's just in time," said he, "for I haven't been able to sell any cattle at this season of the year."

"Jack," said Terry, "don't you worry about the future. You just take good care of that money and don't use it except for necessities. How are the cattle on your place?"

"Mr. Olcott, they are the finest cattle I ever saw in my life. You would he astounded to see how they have picked up flesh. The ranchman that we bought them from must have had very poor ranges for them to feed on."

"Oh, well, the gra.s.s out here has never been fed on before, except by stray cattle, so I don't wonder at their being fat. When cold weather comes we'll have many thousands of pounds more than the ranches above here."

After supper some of the cowboys from both ranches came in to have a talk with their employers. Every one of them was smoking a pipe, as they could always buy tobacco at the store. The stock in the little store had about doubled since Fred and Terry went north, showing that a good business had been done.

"Jack, does the storekeeper keep his accounts straight?"

"Oh, yes. I watch him very closely. I think he is an honest man too, and he doesn't sell anything on a credit except to the cowboys on your ranch and mine. Other cowboys come in and want credit, but I told him not to credit anybody off of our two ranches, as we can then always know how much they owe before paying them off. The storekeeper says that cowboys are generally careless about paying debts, except in bar-rooms."

Before going to bed, Fred and Terry measured the size of the two rooms that they wanted to fit up for Evelyn, and Fred boarded the first freight train engine that went up the next morning and so reached Crabtree before Evelyn had finished her breakfast. She was very much surprised at seeing him.

"Fred," said she, "where is brother?"

"He is down at the ranch, just the happiest boy you ever saw in your life. He had milked two of the cows by sunrise this morning."

"I never knew brother to do such a thing before in his life," she laughed. "How many cows are there?'

"Oh, about a dozen, and their milk is as rich as b.u.t.ter, and as yellow as gold. It would tickle you to death to see Jack feed the little pigs b.u.t.termilk. Each little pig tries to get more of it than his neighbor, and then just to think, too, we have a good flock of chickens, those we bought before we went up North; and Jack has never killed one. On the contrary, he has bought upwards of a dozen hens, and the barn lot is just overrun with little ones."

"Why, hasn't he killed any of them. Fred? Doesn't he like chicken?"

"Yes, he is very fond of them; but the quails and prairie chickens actually come up and beg to be shot, and he has never had a chance at an unlimited supply of game before in his life."

"Oh, Fred, when are you going back down there?"

"I'm going to-night."

"Well, can I go back with you?"

"Not just yet. I want you to go with me, though, and help me select two carpets, which will be on the floor of your home."

So she ran upstairs and got her hat and gloves, and went out with him.

She wanted to select coa.r.s.e ingrain carpets, saying that fine carpets were not needed on a ranch.

"Evelyn, you must select the very best velvet carpets that can be found in this city."

"Fred, that is reckless extravagance."

"No, it isn't. A good velvet carpet will last just twice as long as an ingrain one. I'm not going to buy anything cheap. The best is always the cheapest. I want sofas, chairs, rockers, and tables, and then such other dainties as your good taste may suggest. It is to be the home of my sweetheart and Terry's sister, and we expect you to have quite a number of young ladies from Crabtree to go down there and spend as long a time as they choose, to be company for you. Then I'll buy a bookcase and have plenty of books and magazines; for both Terry and you, as well as I, are fond of good reading. Then we must have some good strong oilcloth to put on the kitchen and dining room floors," and she followed Fred's instructions, and made her choice of the carpets, and Fred, in paying for them, offered them to the dealer to have them made up at once. Then they selected chairs, tables, bureaus, a bookcase, and everything else that was conductive to comfort.

Evelyn was a little bit surprised when she saw what the total amount came to, but Fred told her that she must not put in any objections, whatever. He said that if she wanted to rough it she could go out of doors into the barn lot, the cow lot, and the lot in which the pigs and chickens were kept and amuse herself to her heart's content.

The greater part of the day was taken up in making their purchases.

Then, about sunset, Fred returned to the ranch on the engine of a freight, leaving Evelyn in the hotel.

The lady guests of the house were quite disappointed, as they thought they would hear him sing and play during the evening, but she told them that he was preparing a house down on the ranch for her and a number of their friends there in Crabtree, whom they were calculating on being able to persuade to go down and spend some time with them.

Of course, quite a number of them were quite eager to go.

All that night Evelyn was dreaming of feeding a big flock of little chickens and little pigs, and looking after and petting the mild-eyed milch-cows, and awoke fully convinced that she was going to have the happiest time of her life with her brother and her sweetheart as her daily companions.

Many a time had she milked her mother's cows in Fredonia, and she enjoyed the exercise as well as making b.u.t.ter.

b.u.t.ter-making was a pa.s.sion with her, and she understood it to perfection.

The next day she talked quite a while with several married ladies, particularly those who understood housekeeping and milking and b.u.t.ter-making. The ladies seemed to be surprised at her enthusiasm, and asked her if she had ever milked a cow, or churned b.u.t.ter, and her replies actually staggered some of them.