Meet the Wife
Into the ranch yard of the X Bar X rode ten men--ten tired, dusty,
but triumphant men. Their job had been done. Every Durham had been
driven all the way from Whirlpool River Ranch to their own range,
and once more safely enclosed within their own fences. The long
journey was completed. They were home again.
The whole ranch turned out to welcome them. Mrs. Manley, her eyes
shining with happiness, walked down the steps of the porch. A moment
later the front door opened again, and Belle Ada, Ethel and Nell
came rushing out.
“Hello, Dad!” Belle called shrilly. “Hello, Roy! Climb down off that
bronco and give your sister a kiss, Teddy!”
“I’ll think it over,” Teddy laughed, and slid off his pony. “Hello,
Mother! Back again as good as new!”
Ethel Carew and Nell Willis were frankly delighted to see the boys
again. They demanded the story of the trip “with complete details,”
as Ethel said, and sat with wide-eyed fascination as the story was
related.
Teddy insisted on telling of Roy’s fight with the eagle, though he
had not seen it, because he said “Roy was too modest.” It lost none
of its excitement by his recital.
Mrs. Manley was anxious to learn if any one was injured, but her
husband, with a wink at the boys, asked her if she ever heard of any
one getting hurt at a picnic.
“Of course, sometimes they fall into the brook an’ get wet,” he
added, with a grin, “so Teddy an’ Roy had to do that, too. But we’re
all home now, an’ hungry. Think we can stop this gab-fest long
enough to eat?”
It was then three o’clock in the afternoon, so Mrs. Manley decided
to have an early supper. She went to help Mrs. Moore, the
housekeeper, and her daughter Norine prepare the meal, while Teddy
and Roy continued the tale of their adventures at the urgent request
of Nell and of Curly.
By five o’clock all was in readiness for the adventurers’ first meal
since their arrival home. When they entered the long dining room,
they saw that the table had been enlarged by the addition of many
leaves and that there were places set for every one of the punchers.
“Celebration,” Mrs. Manley said, as she smiled. “Teddy, go and tell
the boys to come in. And don’t forget Sing Lung. We want everybody!
Tell every man on the place to come!”
“You bet I will, Mom!” Teddy shouted, and made for the door. In a
few minutes he was back, followed by a crowd of grinning, jostling
cowboys. Jules Kolto had recovered sufficiently to return with them,
and he, of course, was included in the invitation, although he
protested that “he wasn’t fit to eat with honest folks.”
Pop Burns was there, with his shoulder conspicuously bandaged. He
was accorded the place of honor--next to the boss. Sing Lung,
chatting like a parrot, was placed near Jules. Teddy and Roy sat on
either side of their mother, while Belle, Ethel, and Nell were
distributed about “to keep the boys from scrappin’ over the
chicken,” Mr. Manley laughingly insisted.
The punchers were a bit bashful at first to be eating in “the big
house,” but this soon wore off. There are few punchers who stay
bashful in the presence of roast chicken and cranberry sauce. There
was but one fly in the ointment. Gus Tripp was not there. Holding in
his hand a glass of water, Mr. Manley arose.
“Boys,” he said, “I want to propose a toast--that right, Mother?--I
want to propose a toast to an absent member. Fellers, here’s to Gus
Tripp--may he some day come back to us!”
Nick Looker, who was sitting next to Teddy, jumped to his feet.
“Wait, boss!” he exclaimed. “Don’t drink it yet! I been waitin’ fer
this! Hang on to yore seats a minute!” and he ran out of the door
toward the yard. Roy and Teddy looked at each other with surprised
faces. What was Nick up to, for Pete’s sake?
They saw in a moment. The door flew open, and on the threshold stood
Gus, not alone, but holding by the hand a blushing girl!
“Boss,” he said, “meet the wife!”
Jules Kolto started. He staggered to his feet, trembling.
“Sister!” he cried, and opened his arms to the girl.
“Jules!” She rushed to him, sobbing and laughing at the same time.
“Jules! You here? Oh, Jules, I thought I’d never see you again!”
Gus stood as though turned to stone.
“What--what--” he stammered.
“Oh, Gus, this is my brother!” the blushing young wife cried, and
running to him pulled him forward by the hand. “My brother, Gus!
Don’t you understand?”
“Well, not very good--” Gus muttered, then his face cleared and he
thrust out his hand. “Joe,” he said, “I don’t know what this is all
about, but if she’s yore sister, shake! We’re brother-in-laws.”
“Brothers-in-law,” Bug Eye corrected. “The plural here takes the
possessive case.”
“Gus,” Mr. Manley said haltingly, “so yore back? Son, I’m glad! Put
’er there! I’m sorry I--”
“Boss!” Gus interrupted, “you needn’t be sorry for nothin’. It was
all my fault--the whole blame thing. But, boss, see what it got
me--ain’t she a beauty?” And he looked at his wife proudly.
“She sure is, Gus! Now let’s get this thing straight. Nick
Looker--where is that bowlegged wild man? Where’d you find Gus,
Nick?”
“He wandered back two days after Teddy an’ Roy left,” Nick chuckled.
“He’d been all the way to Togas, Mexico, an’ got married--You tell
it, Gus!”
“Well, boss, it was this way,” Gus began, as he gripped an arm of
Teddy and Roy affectionately. “You know I was worried about not
gettin’ no letters from the lady here--I mean my wife,” and he
blushed. “You know, Teddy--I told you about it. Gee, ain’t it funny
to have a wife? Well, she didn’t write for a long time, so I got
worried, an’ started to--do some things I shouldn’t. I thought she’d
threw me down.”
“But, Gus, I did write, every day!” his wife interrupted.
“Sure she did!” Nick burst out. “Gus, that dumb postmaster down at
Eagles mislaid the letters! I got ’em now in my bunk--a whole raft
of ’em!”
“You have? Well, I’m a ring-tailed doodle bird!” Gus said slowly,
and sat down. “An’ I went an’ got sick, almost, with worry, an’ let
the cattle stray ’cause I went to town an’ got drunk, an’ all this
happened because the postmaster lost my letters!
Can--you--beat--that?”
“Golly, Teddy, he’s right!” Roy exclaimed. “Snakes, it’s just like a
story! We went up Whirlpool River--got tipped over--found The
Pup--had the fight with the rustlers--everything--all on account of
some missing letters! Golly, that’s funny! If Gus had gotten those
letters he never would have neglected the cattle, would you, Gus?”
“Nope, not me! I hardly knew what I was doin’, I was so worried. I
thought you was dead, or somethin’,” and he felt bashfully for his
wife’s hand. When he caught it, after not much trouble, he went on:
“An’ that’s the way it was. So I heads fer Togas, after the boss
lets me out, an’ goes straight fer the little girl here. So we gets
hitched an’ come home!”
“You did come _home_, Gus,” Mr. Manley murmured. “This is your home
from now on!”
“Oh, Dad, isn’t this too romantic for words!” Belle Ada burst out.
“And all this happened because the letters Mrs. Tripp sent were
mislaid! But, Gus, didn’t you know your wife was Joe Marino’s
sister?” she asked, her eyes wide.
“Nope! That’s one too many for me, even now. His name’s Marino, an’
hers is--I mean was--Kolto. I don’t see--”
“Gus, if you do any more thinkin’ you’ll get a headache!” Mr. Manley
exclaimed, laughing loudly. Then he clapped his re-engaged cowboy on
the back. “Pull up that chair an’ dive into this here roast chicken!
Now, boys, I’ll drink that toast I started--here’s to Mr. and Mrs.
Tripp. May they live long an’ happy an’ never have more than one
scrap a day!”
“Bardwell!” Mrs. Manley chided, and smiled. “I’m sure Gus and his
wife won’t have one single dispute as long as they’re married!”
“Well, I don’t reckon we will either; hey, honey?” Gus exclaimed,
and glanced at his wife lovingly. “Boss, you ought to see this
little girl ride. I want to match her with Teddy some day. Honestly,
boss, she--”
“Gus, sit down!” his wife, her face pink, pulled his arm. “They
don’t want to hear all that.”
“Sure we do!” Roy declared. “Jules, you sit over next to your
sister. I guess Sing Lung won’t mind if you leave him. Will you,
Sing?”
“Me no min’ anyt’ing! Me happy--Me likee loast chickee velly, velly
much! You glandflather--him do too,” and he proceeded to test the
capacity of his mouth.
“He means so does your old man--an’ he’s right, at that!” Mr. Manley
laughed. “Sing Lung, you’re not gettin’ ahead of the boss at chicken
eatin’!”
Jules Kolto, a happy smile on his face, took the place Roy had
indicated. He had forgotten entirely about his wound, and with good
reason. This was his sister--the girl he had stolen for--the girl he
had traveled many weary, long miles for, only to have the money, for
which he had sacrificed so much, taken from him and himself left to
wander three days without food, until he had found Mr. Manley. This
was the girl--here, sitting beside him! No wonder he held his head
high, no wonder his eyes sparkled!
Gus, pulling his chair close to his wife, obeyed the instruction of
the boss to “dive in.” But his eating ability was somewhat hampered
by the fact that he used only one hand. The other was elsewhere
engaged--as was his wife’s.
All these friends we shall meet again in the next volume, to be
called “The X Bar X Boys on Big Bison Trail.”
Of course Teddy and Roy will be there--in fact, very much in
evidence. But now watch them at the table, surrounded by the boys
who had been their companions in many adventures. Teddy is holding
up a drum-stick from which the meat has been cleanly picked and
waving it around his head.
“As our friend Shakespeare said,” he exclaimed, “the world is a
stage--an’ I’m glad I got a ring-side seat!”
“_I’ve_ got,” came from Bug Eye. “The plural takes the possessive
case.”
“Sink him! He’s got that Fishmobile of his on the brain, an’ he’s
seein’ double!” Pop Burns called out. “Roy, you get him to race his
Fishmobile against Star--an’ I’ll bet your bronc wins; hey?”
Roy looked around at him and grinned. Then he took a deep breath,
reached for a chicken wing, and said:
“I’ll tell a maverick!”
THE END
--------------------------------------------------------------------
This Isn’t All!
Would you like to know what became of the good friends you have
made in this book?
Would you like to read other stories continuing their adventures
and experiences, or other books quite as entertaining by the same
author?
On the _reverse side_ of the wrapper which comes with this book,
you will find a wonderful list of stories which you can buy at the
same store where you got this book.
Don’t throw away the Wrapper
Use it as a handy catalog of the books you want some day to have.
But in case you do mislay it, write to the Publishers for a
complete catalog.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
THE TOM SWIFT SERIES
By VICTOR APPLETON
Uniform Style of Binding. Individual Colored Wrappers.
Every Volume Complete in Itself.
Every boy possesses some form of inventive genius. Tom Swift is a
bright, ingenious boy and his inventions and adventures make the
most interesting kind of reading.
TOM SWIFT AND HIS MOTOR CYCLE
TOM SWIFT AND HIS MOTOR BOAT
TOM SWIFT AND HIS AIRSHIP
TOM SWIFT AND HIS SUBMARINE BOAT
TOM SWIFT AND HIS ELECTRIC RUNABOUT
TOM SWIFT AND HIS WIRELESS MESSAGE
TOM SWIFT AMONG THE DIAMOND MAKERS
TOM SWIFT IN THE CAVES OF ICE
TOM SWIFT AND HIS SKY RACER
TOM SWIFT AND HIS ELECTRIC RIFLE
TOM SWIFT IN THE CITY OF GOLD
TOM SWIFT AND HIS AIR GLIDER
TOM SWIFT IN CAPTIVITY
TOM SWIFT AND HIS WIZARD CAMERA
TOM SWIFT AND HIS GREAT SEARCHLIGHT
TOM SWIFT AND HIS GIANT CANNON
TOM SWIFT AND HIS PHOTO TELEPHONE
TOM SWIFT AND HIS AERIAL WARSHIP
TOM SWIFT AND HIS BIG TUNNEL
TOM SWIFT IN THE LAND OF WONDERS
TOM SWIFT AND HIS WAR TANK
TOM SWIFT AND HIS AIR SCOUT
TOM SWIFT AND HIS UNDERSEA SEARCH
TOM SWIFT AMONG THE FIRE FIGHTERS
TOM SWIFT AND HIS ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE
TOM SWIFT AND HIS FLYING BOAT
TOM SWIFT AND HIS GREAT OIL GUSHER
TOM SWIFT AND HIS CHEST OF SECRETS
TOM SWIFT AND HIS AIRLINE EXPRESS
Grosset & Dunlap, Publishers, New York
--------------------------------------------------------------------
THE DON STURDY SERIES
By VICTOR APPLETON
Individual Colored Wrappers and Text
Illustrations by WALTER S. ROGERS
Every Volume Complete in Itself
In company with his uncles, one a mighty hunter and the other a
noted scientist, Don Sturdy travels far and wide, gaining much
useful knowledge and meeting many thrilling adventures.
DON STURDY ON THE DESERT OF MYSTERY;
An engrossing tale of the Sahara Desert, of encounters with
wild animals and crafty Arabs.
DON STURDY WITH THE BIG SNAKE HUNTERS;
Don’s uncle, the hunter, took an order for some of the biggest
snakes to be found in South America--to be delivered alive!
DON STURDY IN THE TOMBS OF GOLD;
A fascinating tale of exploration and adventure in the Valley
of Kings in Egypt.
DON STURDY ACROSS THE NORTH POLE;
A great polar blizzard nearly wrecks the airship of the
explorers.
DON STURDY IN THE LAND OF VOLCANOES;
An absorbing tale of adventures among the volcanoes of Alaska.
DON STURDY IN THE PORT OF LOST SHIPS;
This story is just full of exciting and fearful experiences on
the sea.
DON STURDY AMONG THE GORILLAS;
A thrilling story of adventure in darkest Africa. Don is
carried over a mighty waterfall into the heart of gorilla land.
Grosset & Dunlap, Publishers, New York
--------------------------------------------------------------------
THE RADIO BOYS SERIES
(Trademark Registered)
By ALLEN CHAPMAN
Author of the “Railroad Series,” Etc.
Individual Colored Wrappers. Illustrated.
Every Volume Complete in Itself.
A new series for boys giving full details of radio work, both in
sending and receiving--telling how small and large amateur sets can
be made and operated, and how some boys got a lot of fun and
adventure out of what they did. Each volume from first to last is
so thoroughly fascinating, so strictly up-to-date and accurate, we
feel sure all lads will peruse them with great delight.
Each volume has a Foreword by Jack Binns, the well-known radio
expert.
THE RADIO BOYS’ FIRST WIRELESS
THE RADIO BOYS AT OCEAN POINT
THE RADIO BOYS AT THE SENDING STATION
THE RADIO BOYS AT MOUNTAIN PASS
THE RADIO BOYS TRAILING A VOICE
THE RADIO BOYS WITH THE FOREST RANGERS
THE RADIO BOYS WITH THE ICEBERG PATROL
THE RADIO BOYS WITH THE FLOOD FIGHTERS
THE RADIO BOYS ON SIGNAL ISLAND
THE RADIO BOYS IN GOLD VALLEY
GROSSET & DUNLAP, Publishers, New York