“A new foreman?” asked Mary in surprise. “I did not know you had a new foreman.”
“I shall have one in a month,” he said, smilingly. “By that time, George Williston will have sold the Lazy S for good money, invested the proceeds in cattle, turned the whole bunch in to range with the Three Bars herds, and on November first, he will take charge of the worldly affairs of one Paul Langford and his wife, of the Three Bars.”
“Really, Paul?” The brown eyes shone with pleasure.
“Really, Mary.”
“Has my father consented?”
“No, but he will when he finds I cannot do without him and when—I marry his daughter.”
Hoof-beats on the sod! The guests were coming at last. The beats rang nearer and nearer. From Kemah, from the Three Bars trail, from across country, they were coming. All the neighboring ranchmen and homesteaders with their families and all the available cowboys had been bidden to the frolic. The stableyard was filling. Hearty greetings, loud talking, and laughter floated out on the still air.
Laughing like children caught in a prank, the two at the spring clasped hands and ran swiftly to the house. Breathless but radiant, Mary came forward to greet her guests while Langford slipped away to put up Sade.
The revel was at its highest. Mary and Louise were distributing good things to eat and drink to the hungry cowmen. The rooms were so crowded, many stood without, looking in at the doors and windows. The fragrance of hot coffee drifted in from the kitchen.
Langford stood up. A sudden quiet fell upon the people.