Finally John jumps up.
“There you are, father,” handing him a check. “We will arrange the minor details to-morrow.”
“It is all right, John—you have saved the old house of Samson Cereal—God bless you, my boy!”
But it is far from being all right as yet, and Aleck realizes this when he hears the library door suddenly pushed back.
CHAPTER XXI.
AN ACCOMMODATING SHERIFF.
Turning his head at hearing the door open Aleck sees one whom he knows, and a cold chill passes over him as he recognizes the face of the Colorado colonel.
Bob Rocket steps into the library and closes the door behind him. This action of course attracts the attention of all concerned, and the Western sheriff finds himself the cynosure of inquiring eyes.
John’s hand is stayed in the very act of handing the check to his father—the smile remains on Dorothy’s face, and as for the old speculator, he looks with displeasure upon the interloper.
“I beg your pardon, gentlemen, ladies,” says the other in his bass voice, speaking very slowly and methodically, “but a stern sense of duty compels me to break in upon your family party.”