Produced by Charles Keller. HTML version by Al Haines. Jean of the Lazy A By B. M. BOWER CONTENTS CHAPTER I HOW TROUBLE CAME TO THE LAZY A II CONCERNING LITE AND A FEW FOOTPRINTS III WHAT A MAN'S GOOD NAME IS WORTH IV JEAN V JEAN RIDES INTO A SMALL ADVENTURE VI AND THE VILLAIN PURSUED LITE VII ROBERT GRANT BURNS GETS HELP VIII JEAN SPOILS SOMETHING IX A MAN-SIZED JOB FOR JEAN X JEAN LEARNS WHAT FEAR IS LIKE XI LITE'S PUPIL DEMONSTRATES XII TO "DOUBLE" FOR MURIEL GAY XIII PICTURES AND PLANS AND MYSTERIOUS FOOTSTEPS XIV PUNCH VERSUS PRESTIGE XV A LEADING LADY THEY WOULD MAKE OF JEAN XVI FOR ONCE AT LEAST LITE HAD HIS WAY XVII "WHY DON'T YOU GIVE THEM SOMETHING REAL?" XVIII A NEW KIND OF PICTURE XIX IN LOS ANGELES XX CHANCE TAKES A HAND XXI JEAN BELIEVES THAT SHE TAKES MATTERS INTO HER OWN HANDS XXII JEAN MEETS ONE CRISIS AND CONFRONTS ANOTHER XXIII A LITTLE ENLIGHTENMENT XXIV THE LETTER IN THE CHAPS XXV LITE COMES OUT OF THE BACKGROUND XXVI HOW HAPPINESS RETURNED TO THE LAZY A JEAN OF THE LAZY A CHAPTER I HOW TROUBLE CAME TO THE LAZY A Without going into a deep, psychological discussion of the elements in men's souls that breed events, we may say with truth that the Lazy A ranch was as other ranches in the smooth tenor of its life until one day in June, when the finger of fate wrote bold and black across the face of it the word that blotted out prosperity, content, warm family ties,--all those things that go to make life worth while. Jean, sixteen and a range girl to the last fiber of her being, had gotten up early that morning and had washed the dishes and swept, and had shaken the rugs of the little living-room most vigorously. On her knees, with stiff brush and much soapy water, she had scrubbed the kitchen floor until the boards dried white as kitchen floors may be. She had baked a loaf of gingerbread, that came from the oven with a most delectable odor, and had wrapped it in a clean cloth to cool on the kitchen table. Her dad and Lite Avery would show cause for the baking of it when they sat down, fresh washed and ravenous, to their supper that evening. I mention Jean and her scrubbed kitchen and the gingerbread by way of proving how the Lazy A went unwarned and unsuspecting to the very brink of its disaster.