"How did you come to advise my brother to go farther west?" she asked, but while her voice was casual, her look challenged him. "It was given upon certain conditions of the weather this winter, Miss--I do not believe I caught the name." "No fault of yours," she laughed. "Jerry always ignores it in his introductions. It is Jane Saunders. Then it was only in the nature of a physician’s advice?" she persisted, her eyes searching his soul for the truth. Tex nodded. "My knowledge of his complaint is very sketchy; but like all amateurs I paraded what little I had. I thought that perhaps the winters out here might not be as dry as they are farther west. No doubt it was entirely uncalled for. We will hope so, anyway." "Are you a physician, Mr. Jones?" "No, indeed; although I went part way through the course. What little time I had left from more interesting activities, I gave to study." "Ye was speakin’ about th’ aigs an’ milk, miss," said Murphy, his face alight with eager anticipation. He chuckled. "Ye needn’t be askin’ no more favors av Williams’ black heart. I’ve a little somethin’ to show ye all, if ye’ll step down th’ track a bit. An’ Costigan is goin’ to get him a cow. Th’ missus said th’ word, an’ divvil a bit Mike can wiggle out av it. Ye’ll have first call on th’ milk, so I hear. Mr. Jones, if ye’ll be kind enough to escort Jerry, I’ll lead th’ march with th’ lass." "Oh, well," sighed Tex, gravely offering his arm to the station agent, "I suppose it _is_ yore party; but I’m admittin’ yo’re not overlookin’ Number One. Lead on, MacDuff." He caught her quick glance at the abrupt change in his language, and smiled to himself. It never paid to be too well understood by a woman. "Th’ Irish are noted for bein’ judges av good whiskey, fine hosses, an’ fair wimmin," retorted Murphy. "I’ll take no chances of any pearls bein’ cast careless." "I notice you put th’ wimmin last," countered Tex. "Grunt, Jerry! Quick, man! Before Miss Saunders looks around!" "He said pearly, Mr. Jones," said Jane, laughingly. "I’m afraid he intended it all to be plural." "It was wrongly written in th’ first place," complained Tex. "Tim has an uncanny instinct; he only met me about ten minutes ago." "Ten is a-plenty, sometimes," chuckled Murphy. "But I’ll own to havin’ a previous sight av ye. Wait now: here we are." They stopped in front of the toolhouse and watched Murphy walk along one of the two ties spanning the drainage ditch at the edge of the roadbed. He unlocked the doors and flung them wide open as a clamorous cackling broke out in the building. On one end of a hand car was a crate of chickens and leaning against it were several bundles of long stakes. A pile of new lumber could be seen in the back of the shed, while a fat spool of wire rested near the stakes.