Page:Stewart Edward White--The Rose Dawn.djvu/246

234 "By Jove, Allie, he's right!" he cried. "But isn't he a dear!—and who in the wide world would have thought"

That evening's visit of the cook was the turning point in the Colonel's adjustment to the new state of things. His raw and sore spirit had needed just that touch of personal affection and trust. He began to take a constructive interest in the new economies; he allowed Allie to plan openly with him, and incidentally he acquired a great respect for that person's practical knowledge; his incipient distrust of people's attitude toward or opinion of himself vanished, and he met everybody with a return of his old confident friendliness; the growing sense of oppression under the burden of his debt lightened. So the end of our two years finds the Peytons and the Rancho de la Corona del Monte.

The experiment at the Bungalow had prospered. With vigour and sufficient money all the obstacles that had before proved fatal now dissipated like smoke. Proper fences well maintained kept out the rabbits; the ground squirrels had been diminished by use of poison at certain seasons of the year, and the attentions of a boy and a Flobert rifle at all others. The latter improvement was Kenneth's idea. He had been so recently a small boy himself that he was able to judge; and he canvassed gravely all the workingmen for hire; not in examination of their capacity, but as to their ownership of a small boy of appropriate age and disposition. This individual, when found, was installed, with his incidental wife and small daughter, as a permanency. Kenneth next purchased a Flobert and a quantity of .22 shorts. The youngster then took a course of training under personal supervision for some months on accurate shooting, safe handling, and identification of fauna; after which he was turned loose as official pest exterminator. Kenneth inaugurated a very business-like system to which he and Timmy adhered gravely. The cartridges Kenneth doled out a box at a time, charging Timmy for them at wholesale rates. The latter brought in his bag daily and was credited on the book he and Kenneth kept between them according to a fixed schedule. He was on honour to ask bounty only for creatures killed on the property. The schedule was rather complicated, and was the re-