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