You see," he confided, "I like you all so
well that I plan to delay action for six months or a year, unless, of
course, you are anxious for an excuse to leave the ranch sooner. If
you really want to go as soon as possible, of course I'll get busy and
cook Senor Parker's goose, but--"
"You're incorrigible!" the lady declared. "Procrastinate, by all
means. It would be very lonely for you without us, I'm sure."
"Indeed, it would be. That portion of me which is Irish would picture
my old hacienda alive at night with ghosts and banshees."
Mrs. Parker was looking at him thoughtfully; seemingly she was not
listening. What she really was doing was saying to herself: "What
marvelous teeth he has and what an altogether debonair, captivating
young rascal he is, to be sure! I cannot understand why he doesn't
melt John's business heart. Can it be that under that gay, smiling,
lovable surface John sees something he doesn't quite like? I wonder."
As they entered the waiting automobile and started for home, Farrel,
who occupied the front seat with the chauffeur, turned and faced the
Parkers. "From this day forward," he promised them, "we are all going
to devote ourselves to the serious task of enjoying life to the utmost.
For my part, I am not going to talk business or Japanese immigration
any more. Are you all grateful?"
"We are," they cried in unison.
He thanked them with his mirthful eyes, faced around in his seat and,
staring straight ahead, was soon lost in day dreams.
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