Sure enough, the next afternoon Mr. Thoburn drove out from Finleyville with a suit case, and before he’d taken off his overcoat he came out to the spring-house.

“Hello, Minnie,” he exclaimed.  “Does the old man’s ghost come back to dope the spring, or do you do it?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about, Mr. Thoburn,” I retorted sharply.  “If you don’t know that this spring has its origin in—­”

“In Schmidt’s drug store down in Finleyville!” he finished for me.  “Oh, I know all about that spring, Minnie!  Don’t forget that my father’s cows used to drink that water and liked it.  I leave it to you,” he said, sniffing, “if a self-respecting cow wouldn’t die of thirst before she drank that stuff as it is now.”

I’d been filling him a glass—­it being a matter of habit with me—­and he took it to the window and held it to the light.

“You’re getting careless, Minnie,” he said, squinting at it.  “Some of those drugs ought to be dissolved first in hot water.  There’s a lump of lithia there that has Schmidt’s pharmacy label on it.”

“Where?” I demanded, and started for it.  He laughed at that, and putting the glass down, he came over and stood smiling at me.

“As ingenuous as a child,” he said in his mocking way, “a nice, little red-haired child!  Minnie, how old is this young Carter?”

“Twenty-three.”

“An—­er—­earnest youth?  Willing to buckle down to work and make the old place go?  Ready to pat the old ladies on the shoulder and squeeze the young ones’ hands?”

“He’s young,” I said, “but if you’re counting on his being a fool—­”

“Not at all,” he broke in hastily.  “If he hasn’t too much character he’ll probably succeed.  I hope he isn’t a fool.  If he isn’t, oh, friend Minnie, he’ll stand the atmosphere of this Garden of Souls for about a week, and then he’ll kill some of them and escape.  Where is he now?”

“He’s been sick,” I said.  “Mumps!”

“Mumps!  Oh, my aunt!” he exclaimed, and fell to laughing.  He was still laughing when he got to the door.

“Mumps!” he repeated, with his hand on the knob.  “Minnie, the old place will be under the hammer in three weeks, and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll sign in under the new management while there’s a vacancy.  You’ve been the whole show here for so long that it will be hard for you to line up in the back row of the chorus.”

“If I were you,” I said, looking him straight in the eye, “I wouldn’t pick out any new carpets yet, Mr. Thoburn.  I promised the old doctor I’d help Mr. Dick, and I will.”

“So you’re actually going to fight it out,” he said, grinning.  “Well, the odds are in your favor.  You are two to my one.”

“I think it’s pretty even,” I retorted.  “We will be hindered, so to speak, by having certain principles of honor and honesty.  You have no handicap.”

He tried to think of a retort, and not finding one he slammed out of the spring-house in a rage.