"And now," said Phil hopelessly, "it's all over. I've sure come to the
end of my string. Reid has put the outfit on the market. He's going to
sell out and quit. Uncle Will told me night before last when I went home
to see about the shipping."
"Reid is going to sell!" exclaimed Patches; and there was a curious note
of exultation in his voice which Phil did not hear. Neither did Phil see
that his companion was smiling to himself under cover of the darkness.
"It's that damned Professor Parkhill that's brought it about," continued
the cowboy bitterly. "Ever since Kitty came home from the East she has
been discontented and dissatisfied with ranch life. I was all right when
she went away, but when she came back she discovered that I was nothing
but a cow-puncher. She has been fair, though. She has tried to get back
where she was before she left and I thought I would win her again in
time. I was so sure of it that it never troubled me. You have seen how
it was. And you have seen how she was always wanting the life that she
had learned to want while she was away--the life that you came from,
Patches. I have been mighty glad for your friendship with her, too,
because I thought she would learn from you that a man could have all
that is worth having in _that_ life, and still be happy and contented
_here_.
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