The next day Mason was kept busy about the ranch until noon. Roy had just returned from a flight to Trader’s Post and brought back a message for Mason. It was from his father, saying he was coming to take his mother and sister home.
The news that his father was coming to Bar X ranch pleased him immensely, and he hastened to break the news to his mother and sister.
His mother seemed glad, but Ethel’s face clouded when she heard her father was coming.
“What’s the matter, sis?” he cried in wonder. “Don’t you want to go home?”
“Of course not,” she answered in a vexed tone. “Why, I have been here scarcely a month, and it is much more pleasant out here this time of the year than in a stuffy city.”
“Well, you can take the matter up with Dad when he comes,” he said briefly, starting for the door. “Roy is going to take me to Trader’s Post to see if they have got my car repaired.”
Josephine had just entered the room and he paused, with his hand on the door knob. She was dressed in a stunning creation of champagne silk and he gazed at her in silent admiration.
“How do you like my new dress, Sir Jack?” she asked, making him a curtsy. “My, but you are a busy man. I am going to play lady for a few days, and I intended to ask you to take me down to Rover’s kennel. Father tells me the poor dog has been acting sick lately, and I want to see if there is anything I can do for him.”
“Certainly I’ll go with you,” he answered readily; “I will tell Roy not to wait for me and will join you in a minute.”
Roy agreed to make the trip alone, and when Mason arrived at the kennel, Josephine was bending over Rover. The dog was frisking around her and joyously barking a welcome.