E-text prepared by Roger Frank, Nigel Blower, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (https://www.pgdp.net) Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the original illustrations. See 23606-h.htm or 23606-h.zip: (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/3/6/0/23606/23606-h/23606-h.htm) or (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/3/6/0/23606/23606-h.zip) THE MAN NEXT DOOR by EMERSON HOUGH Author of The Covered Wagon, North of 36, Etc. Illustrated by Will Grefe New York Grosset & Dunlap Publishers Made in the United States of America Copyright, 1917, by Emerson Hough Copyright, 1916, by The Curtis Publishing Company [Illustration: "'Well,' says she, 'we never played anything for pikers, did we, dad?'" (Page 35)] TO THE MEN WITH WHOM I RODE IN THE OLD DAYS CONTENTS Chapter Page I. How Come Us to Move 1 II. Where We Threw In 18 III. Us Living in Town 29 IV. Us and Christmas Eve 37 V. Us and the Home Ranch 49 VI. Us and Them Better Things 60 VII. What Their Hired Man Done 69 VIII. How Old Man Wright Done Business 91 IX. Us and Their Fence 99 X. Us Being Alderman 114 XI. Us and the Freeze-Out 123 XII. Us and a Accidental Friend 129 XIII. Them and the Range Law 144 XIV. How Their Hired Man Come Back 150 XV. The Commandment That Was Broke 162 XVI. How I Was Foreman 167 XVII. Him and the Front Door 174 XVIII. How Tom Stacked Up 185 XIX. Them and Bonnie Bell 194 XX. What Our William Done 201 XXI. Her Pa's Way of Thinking 212 XXII. Me and Their Line Fence 216 XXIII. Tom and Her 220 XXIV. How Bonnie Bell Left Us All 234 XXV. Me and Them 253 XXVI. How I Went Back 260 XXVII. How I Quit Old Man Wright 267 XXVIII. The Hole in the Wall 273 XXIX. How the Game Broke 277 XXX. How It Come Out After All 289 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Facing Page "'Well,' says she, 'we never played anything for pikers, did we, dad?'" _Frontispiece_ "'Well,' says he, 'our dog is more of a trench fighter.'" 74 "'I know now what it means to be a woman and in love.'" 230 "She knowed where he carried his gun." 290 THE MAN NEXT DOOR I HOW COME US TO MOVE