Chasing Rainbows

ONE
CORD SPENCER AGAIN! THE LAST THING SAMAN-
tha Evans needed to start her day was another one of that
aggravating man s attempts at provocative conversation. Oh，
why couldn t he stay at his own end of town， with his gam-
bling casino， and Lottie McGee s house of ill repute:--and
the jail where they all really belonged? Why did he have to
come to this part of town--with the school， and the Methodist
church， and the Taylors prosperous Mercantile?
As she regarded his lean frame， blocking the long board-
walk， Samantha l~new there was no escaping him this time.
She drew in a dee l~ breath of the fresh air of early May and
resolutely stepped up onto the walk.
\"Hey， Mr. Spencer!\" Billy Taylor， all long legs in too short
trousers， darted ahead of her.
Why in the world did Billy idolize that man so? Samantha
wondered. From her safe distance， she watched Mr. Spencer
critically. There he was， lounging on the bench in front of
Zeke Gallagher s bright green barbershop. His long legs were
stretched out in front of him， taking up more room than a
body had a right to.
Billy always had something to say to him， and Mr. Spencer
actually seemed to enjoy the adolescent s chatter. Still， she
thought the owner of the local saloon and gambling casino
was hardly a fitting example for an impressionable boy of
fourteen. But Billy only worked for her， and， oddly enough，
James and Lillian Taylor didn t seem to mind their son keep-
ing company with that man， so Samantha kept her thoughts
to herself.