you do n&apos;t say ? yes sir ! that &apos;s Gene all right . say , did he tell you what a rotten deal he &apos;s got , and is still gettin&apos; from that Hawley girl he married ? Mr Goddard , if that woman had treated him half way decent she would &apos;ve found out she &apos;d got herself one of them perfect husbands . but no ! she ai nt got sense enough to see that , even if she is Dan Hawley &apos;s daughter , which personally I think she ai nt . what do you mean by that , Constable ? well , she could be a sort of catch-colt , could n&apos;t she , or some poor baby Hawley and his wife adopted because they could n&apos;t have any kids of their own . I tell you , Mr Goddard , I would lay down my life for Gene Pelcher , I admire him that much . well , I never make it a practice to inquire into a man &apos;s personal or marital affairs , Constable , here is where I turn in . too dense to recognize this dismissal for what it was , Nick Newell would have continued the almost one-sided conversation if Murdock had not called from the platform in front of his store - how you feeling now , Brother Goddard ? you look like you were a little bunged up , from the way you walk . well , I will say , Brother Murdock , Goddard answered with a sigh , that the other day when I was out on that rabbit hunt I overdid myself a little . from now on I am going to walk a little among the hills every day , extending the length of my walks slightly each day till I can get myself back in condition among these wonderful mountains . now there &apos;s a man I &apos;d tie to , if he ever give me the chance , the constable told himself happily as Goddard went into the hotel . durned if I do n&apos;t like him most as much as I like and trust Gene Pelcher , by jingo , I do ! but havin&apos; an official position , I just got to be close-mouthed in expressin&apos; my opinion of other men . on Poverty flat , which was a comparatively level stretch of gravelly ground that had once been part of the lake bed , Orestus Hancock had had erected one of the finest houses in all the mountain county . it was large and comfortable and practical , though there were houses in Geneva that were adorned with more gingerbread . he had not disturbed nature , except close to the house where there were gravelled walks and a drive turning in to the painted stable and carriage house at the rear . the house itself had a shake hip-roof that covered a wide porch that extended on both sides and both ends of the building which contained seven large rooms , in addition to quarters for Willie Kim , the Chinaman the judge and Bill had brought from San Francisco eight years before , to serve as cook and housekeeper and sometimes family consultant and adviser . the wide veranda was not only screened all around , it had hinged windows that could be raised or lowered as weather conditions dictated . now as the judge sat in a large easy chair on the front portion of this veranda , he had before him the path that led to the pier which projected about a hundred feet out into the lake . the more than a mile of water was violently disturbed today , and across this expanse of uneasy water the ground rose to where it rounded off as a thickly brushed mountain . until a couple of hours before the judge had felt easier in mind than he had felt for a long time . since Bill had had his fight with Goddard in Pinenut he had seemed to have changed completely . the judge could not think of Bill &apos;s defeat by Goddard as a thing of much importance except that possibly defeat by a smaller , lighter man had brought Bill back to his senses and made him see the futility of the life he had been leading . he had almost entirely settled back into his old ways , even to reading law about two hours each day . though he did not refuse wine , which the judge always had on the table at dinner , he did not act as though he found it necessary except in moderate compliance with his father &apos;s habit . in one respect the judge was not at peace of mind , and probably never would be . though he never expected to attain the happiness he yearned for in a daughter-in-law and grandchildren , he knew the big house would never really be complete until Kate , as Bill &apos;s wife , brought children to it . she would be here now , and probably with a little one he might jounce on his knee , if it had not been for the narrow-minded priggishness of Dan Hawley and his wife . from what I have heard , he mused with a sigh that had considerable bitterness in it , they would have thought themselves socially besmirched because of poor Bill &apos;s deluded mother . may God have mercy on her soul ! and may Lombard burn in hell ! in his hands she was as putty , and I myself am by no means blameless for not having given more time and attention to her and less to the acquisition of wealth , yes , and the establishment of a high reputation as an attorney at law . now the judge was not thinking about what might have been but for Dan Hawley and his wife . he was thinking , even worrying about his son . soon after ten o&apos;clock , when the lake had been as smooth as blue water could be , Bill had set off in his sixteen-foot yawl with Bueno Buck , a strapping young Pomo Indian , to row for him . Bill had intended to do some trolling for lake trout beyond the rounded promontory around which the shore bent to make the mile-wide cove before it straightened out toward the Narrows above which the main body of the lake lay . now the judge was not worried about the permanence of the change in his son . he was alarmed for Bill &apos;s safety . rising two hours earlier than was its habit , the northwest wind , prevalent at this season , was marching high , white-capped waves down the lake , breaking them into spray against the point and against the opposite shore , and even sending spray so high it sometimes covered the pier . of course in such a gale Bill and Bueno Buck could tie up in the far end of the mile-wide cove and wait for the wind to blow itself out , which it would probably do along toward sunset . but would they do it ? Bill had said he would be back home not later than one o&apos;clock . the judge had decided that Bill and the young Indian had accepted the inevitable and sensibly decided to wait for the gale to blow itself out when he caught and held his breath , then rose hastily . around that rounded rocky promontory where the white spray could be seen flying across the distance of a mile and a half , came the yawl under her full triangular sail , and to the judge &apos;s frightened eyes , so close to the rocks that it would be dashed against them with the lift of the next wave . that boy ! that damned fool boy ! what does he mean by trying to come home now , even if he did promise ? what does time mean when weighed against the life of two human beings ? not until he was certain that the yawl had rounded the rocky point instead of being flung against the huge boulders did the judge empty his lungs of stifling air and refill them with part of that howling northwest gale . but his fright and alarm were not gone , they were merely lessened . he could see that a figure , undoubtedly that of his beloved fool son , was now sitting in the stern sheets as the yawl quartered out into the lake , and another figure close against the weather gunwale was apparently bailing fast , with as near frenzy as a young Indian who could swim like a fish could come to frenzy . not until he was certain the yawl had successfully got away from the rocks did the judge begin to stride to and fro on his wide veranda , and then not really realizing what he was doing . he was almost like the captain of a rudderless ship pacing his own bridge . what control had he over that tiny craft that was lifting to a wave crest , then dropping from sight in a trough ? when the wind was on a rampage , as it was now , it could kick up a sea-sized commotion where it had a straight blow of eight miles down the lake . big blow , Judge , remarked Willie Kim as the wind billowed out and sucked in his baggy black blouse and pantaloons . blow like hell . maybe by and by she blow some more . hello , Willie , where did you come from ? the judge said in mild surprise . I did n&apos;t hear you . do you see that fool boy of mine out there on the lake ? I see him . you do n&apos;t need worry , Judge . big wind like that can n&apos;t drown good man . Bill is good man , and Bueno Buck is raised on lake . he no drown , too . him , his mother throw him into water to make him swim when he is born . maybe so Bill , he can swim that good , too . chapter 19 . the yawl , riding the high waves with an air that might have made an ocean liner envious , seemed prepared to make a safe though violent landing when there came a sudden gust of wind from the west . my God ! the judge cried out . the boy is going to try to make a landing on the weather side of that pier ! he &apos;ll wreck ! Willie Kim was speechless , only his slant black eyes showing any emotion . with a quick shift of tiller , and at the same time jibbing the boom to which he had the stay rope fastened , Bill made the yawl recover . it seemed to the frightened judge as though his son would actually shoot the craft in under the outer end of the wharf . but by pressing the tiller hard over and at the same time dropping the small sheet of wet canvas , Bill cleared the corner of the pier by inches , and with the tiller still hard over , brought the yawl up against the waves with sufficient momentum to permit Bueno Buck , now on his feet with a coiled rope in left hand a cowboy loop in right , to toss the loop over one of the piles that projected upward for about three feet , from the lee side of the pier . Willie , the judge said huskily , that was as pretty a piece of seamanship as I ever saw . that boy of mine seems to know how to do everything , when he wants to . naw , disputed Willie . just play in damn fine luck this time . he plenty smart though . as they reached the pier , the judge on legs that were a little unsteady , they found Bueno Buck , now on the pier , leading the yawl toward the wave-battered shore . hello , Dad ! Bill called . I hope you were n&apos;t worried . we &apos;re going to drag the boat ashore and turn her over . she has a foot of water in her . I would n&apos;t be surprised if we broke all speed records on the way in . yes sir , I am slightly wet , and Buck would be wetter if he had more clothes on . with four doing the job and the waves pushing at the stern , the yawl was soon dragged out but before it was turned over Bueno Buck reached into the foot of water , tossed out a string of silvery lake trout and said - Bill , he &apos;s better man at catch &apos;em than Injun , Judge . you look . little one more as fifteen inches . maybe big one four feet , huh ? by George , that is a beautiful string of fish ! exclaimed the judge . toss them on the grass and then we &apos;ll all get hold and heave . a few moments later the yawl was upside down , exposing its shallow keel . 