A Man Of Means

First of a Series of Six Stories; When a seed-merchant of cautious disposition and an eye to the main chance receives from an eminent firm of jam-manufacturers an extremely large order for clover-seed; his emotions are mixed. Joy may be said to predominate; but with the joy comes also uncertainty. Are these people; he asks himself; proposing to set up as farmers of a large scale; or do they merely want the seed to give verisimilitude to their otherwise bald and unconvincing raspberry jam? On the solution of this problem depends the important matter of price; for; obviously; you can charge a fraudulent jam disseminator in a manner which an honest farmer would resent.

From the moment rancher Rey Hart first set eyes on Meredith Johns, he was mesmerized by the lovely young woman. For not only did Meredith stir his jaded soul with her tempting innocence, he discovered she was a top-notch biscuit maker! Making a place for the beleaguered Meredith on the Hart ranch as his coveted cook turned out to be a cinch compared to breaking the enchanted spell she had cast over this Long, Tall Texan's heart. Now, the hot-tempered cattleman's plan to preserve his bachelorhood was on the verge of backfiring—big-time—because the more he learned about his mysterious housemate, the more he didn't want to let her go.

Dana fell in love with Mark, who is a banker and eighteen years older than she, at first sight. Dana’s father says Mark is willing to marry her. Dana decides to accept Mark’s proposal and they have a wedding only two weeks later. However, on their wedding night, Mark tells Dana that they won’t share a bedroom. Baffled and hurt, Dana can’t understand Mark’s intentions until he tells her the devastating truth. Their marriage took place because of Dana’s father’s threat to Mark!

After finding a man who had been attacked by a robber on the street, Meredith carries him into the hospital. But the man's younger brother, Rey, runs in half-cocked after hearing the news and, seeing Meredith dressed for a party, assumes she's a prostitute and accuses her of having had some part in the assault. Though random assaults involving criminals and prostitutes have been happening in the area recently, is that any way to treat your brother's savior? Frustrated and resentful, Meredith leaves the hospital room, but Rey appears at her house the next day, completely changed from the day before. Now meek and polite, he brings her an astonishing offer!

First of a Series of Six Stories [First published in Pictorial Review, May 1916] When a seed-merchant of cautious disposition and an eye to the main chance receives from an eminent firm of jam-manufacturers an extremely large order for clover-seed, his emotions are mixed. Joy may be said to predominate, but with the joy comes also uncertainty. Are these people, he asks himself, proposing to set up as farmers of a large scale, or do they merely want the seed to give verisimilitude to their otherwise bald and unconvincing raspberry jam? On the solution of this problem depends the important matter of price, for, obviously, you can charge a fraudulent jam disseminator in a manner which an honest farmer would resent.