Part 63 (1/2)

”Look at how she treated Cole. Why, anybody else 'd run him off! 'Stead of that she gets Bobby Cole to file on that claim an' helps 'em to build a good house an' wants 'em to stay. You can bet your life that H C cattle'll get water there now. That catamount ... h.e.l.l, she'd _carry_ it for 'em if there wasn't any other way to get it to 'em!”

”Yes, Bobby's changed.”

”Should say she is changed! She's got a different look to her, not so hard an' horstile as she used to be; she's plumb doe-cyle now!

”I expect she's glad she didn't kill Hilton. If she hadn't changed she'd been glad to do it. But, bein' like she is now, she wouldn't want to hurt n.o.body.... Unless that somebody wanted to hurt Miss Hunter.”

His eyes roved off down the road and settled on a swiftly moving horse, the great sorrel who was bringing Jane Hunter back to the ranch after a ride far down the creek.

”Speakin' of h.e.l.l, Tommy: there mebby ain't any like the Reverend claims there is, but there's a Heaven! I'll bet two bits there is! I'll gamble on it because I know an angel that stepped right down that there, now, solid gold ladder....

”She's comin' up th' road.... An' Mister Two-Bits Beal, _esquire_, is goin' to drift out of here!”

With a broad wink, which set a suggestion of a flush into Beck's cheeks, he took his hat and departed.

Jane entered, drawing the pin from her hat; then stopped on the threshold with a cry.

”Oh, the doctor's been here!”

”Yes, and he's rolled the old carca.s.s over,” Beck answered.

She stood looking down at him for a moment and then dropped quickly to her knees.

”It's so good to look into your eyes again,” she whispered, and though her own eyes were bright there were tears in her voice.

Beck's gaze wavered and he slowly withdrew the hand that she had taken.

”You mustn't look like that!” he said, turning his face from her. ”It's more than I've deserved, it's more than I have a right to!”

She put her hands on his shoulders, gently, bearing no weight upon them, and said soberly:

”Look at me, Tom Beck!”

He obeyed, rather reluctantly.

”I have waited, oh, so long, to talk to you! I promised the doctor that nothing should disturb you until you were well. That's one reason why I brought you into the house, instead of leaving you with the men: so you could be quiet.

”But there was another reason, a greater: I wanted you here, in this room, in my house, near me, where I could see and feel and help you, because seeing and touching and helping you helped me!

”I needed your help, Tom! I shall always need you near me!”

”n.o.body would agree with you,” he protested. ”You're the most capable man in the country. You sure can look out for yourself.”

”But looking out for myself isn't all. That's just a tiny part of life,”--indicating how small it was with a thumb and fore-finger. ”It belongs to the side of me which owns this ranch, which is a cattle woman, which wants to fatten steers and raise calves and prosper....

”There's the other part, the big part, the part that is really worth while: It's my heart, Tom. It's my heart that needs you!”

His brows puckered.