living.
"I furnish them meat and bread," he said, "and they do their owncooking, and I've been cooking my own meals, too."
"What sort of a cook are you, Jack."
"Well, I guess I weigh at least ten pounds more than I did when you lefthere. 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 atmaking biscuit, but I can make a good hoe-cake."
They went into Jack's kitchen, and looking at his utensils, saw that hehad 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 broughtup and cut and piled away, so it is easy to build a fire. I had a welldriven down in the yard out there, and a pump attached to it. It is notas good water as that down at the spring, but it is better than theaverage well around through this State, and I didn't have to drive downbut thirty feet, either."
"Good! If you were wrecked on a lone island, you would get along allright, 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 gobut to the lake and get it. When I want quail or prairie chicken theycome right up to the house to be shot."
"All right, Jack. We'll help you cook, and if anything more is neededthan the market here affords, we will get it from Crabtree."
On further inspection they found that he didn't have a carpet in thehouse, but that he had good sheets and blankets and pillows andfirst-class mattresses.
"Fred," said Terry, "we'll have to live in this house until Jack getshis 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 themmade, and lay in all other necessaries for Evelyn's comfort, and let herinvite some of the ladies up there to come down and rough it with us aslong as they are willing to do so. Evelyn, of course, will go with usand assist us in making the purchases."
They went out into the stable lot, saw the horses kept there. Then theyvisited the cow lot and their barns, and saw that the milch-cows werelooking well, and, of course, fat and yielding an abundant supply ofmilk, which Jack sent up to Crabtree every day, besides having plenty ofbutter and milk for all the cowboys in their employ.
Jack, too, had a good flock of chickens in his barn-yard, so he hadplenty of eggs; but he stated that he had not killed a single chickensince Fred and Terry had gone North, as he preferred quail and prairiechicken. He also stated that he had been compelled to clip their wingsvery close, as his cowboys told him that if they got out they would findsuch abundant feed in grass seed and other products of the plain thatthey wouldn't come back home again.
"Don't you believe that, Jack. If a hen raises a flock of chickens andshe and they are fed regularly, they will never leave the place; butchickens who are allowed to run everywhere, as most ranchmen let theirchickens, will, of course, become wild like any other fowl."
There were about a score of little pigs on the lot that were as fat asbutter and gentle as kittens.
"By George, Terry," said Fred, "won't Evelyn be delighted with theselittle fellows? But we will have to have ducks and turkeys."
"Yes, wye can keep the ducks in bounds all right; but it will be alittle difficult to keep the turkeys in, unless we have a wire fenceenclosure reaching up about fifteen feet high."
"Oh, we can do that. Turkeys are very fond of wandering over a widerange; but I think we can keep them in bounds."
That night, they had a good supper of broiled beefsteak, good hoe-cake,milk and butter, and coffee in abundance. The two boys praised Jackhighly for his skill in managing things, and, of course, he felt veryproud.
They told him that Broker Middleton had used some money belonging to hismother, and had made about twenty thousand dollars for her, which shehad 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 anycattle at this season of the year."
"Jack," said Terry, "don't you worry about the future. You just takegood care of that money and don't use it except for necessities. How arethe cattle on your place?"
"Mr. Olcott, they are the finest cattle I ever saw in my life. You wouldhe astounded to see how they have picked up flesh. The ranchman that webought them from must have had very poor ranges for them to feed on."
"Oh, well, the grass out here has never been fed on before, except bystray cattle, so I don't wonder at their being fat. When cold weathercomes we'll have many thousands of pounds more than the ranches abovehere."
After supper some of the cowboys from both ranches came in to have atalk with their employers. Every one of them was smoking a pipe, as theycould always buy tobacco at the store. The stock in the little store hadabout doubled since Fred and Terry went north, showing that a goodbusiness 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, andhe doesn't sell anything on a credit except to the cowboys on your ranchand mine. Other cowboys come in and want credit, but I told him not tocredit anybody off of our two ranches, as we can then always know howmuch they owe before paying them off. The storekeeper says that cowboysare generally careless about paying debts, except in bar-rooms."
Before going to bed, Fred and Terry measured the size of the two roomsthat they wanted to fit up for Evelyn, and Fred boarded the firstfreight train engine that went up the next morning and so reachedCrabtree before Evelyn had finished her breakfast. She was very muchsurprised at seeing him.
"Fred," said she, "where is brother?"
"He is down at the ranch, just the happiest boy you ever saw in yourlife. He had milked two of the cows by sunrise this morning."
"I never knew brother to do such a thing before in his life," shelaughed. "How many cows are there?'
"Oh, about a dozen, and their milk is as rich as butter, and as yellowas gold. It would tickle you to death to see Jack feed the little pigsbuttermilk. 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 webought before we went up North; and Jack has never killed one. On thecontrary, he has bought upwards of a dozen hens, and the barn lot isjust 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 chickensactually come up and beg to be shot, and he has never had a chance at anunlimited 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 twocarpets, 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 coarse ingrain carpets, saying that fine carpetswere not needed on a ranch.
"Evelyn, you must select the very best velvet carpets that can be foundin this city."
"Fred, that is reckless extravagance."
"No, it isn't. A good velvet carpet will last just twice as long as aningrain one. I'm not going to buy anything cheap. The best is always thecheapest. I want sofas, chairs, rockers, and tables, and then such otherdainties as your good taste may suggest. It is to be the home of mysweetheart and Terry's sister, and we expect you to have quite a numberof young ladies from Crabtree to go down there and spend as long a timeas they choose, to be company for you. Then I'll buy a bookcase and haveplenty of books and magazines; for both Terry and you, as well as I, arefond of good reading. Then we must have some good strong oilcloth to puton the kitchen and dining room floors," and she followed Fred'sinstructions, and made her choice of the carpets, and Fred, in payingfor them, offered them to the dealer to have them made up at once. Thenthey s
elected chairs, tables, bureaus, a bookcase, and everything elsethat was conductive to comfort.
Evelyn was a little bit surprised when she saw what the total amountcame 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 ofdoors into the barn lot, the cow lot, and the lot in which the pigs andchickens 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 afreight, leaving Evelyn in the hotel.
The lady guests of the house were quite disappointed, as they thoughtthey would hear him sing