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Perhaps she would never penetrate it further; Linder rather expected that would be the case. As for Drazk she was in no danger from him. Drazk's methods were so precipitous that they could be counted upon to defeat themselves. Below stretched the valley of the South Y.D., almost a duplicate of its northern neighbor.
Guess you don't believe that, neither?" "You guess right again." Linder was quite unperturbed. He knew something of Drazk's gift for romancing. Drazk leaned over in the saddle until he could reach Linder's ear with a loud whisper. "And she called me 'dear'; 'George dear, she said, when I came away." "The hell she did!" said Linder, at last prodded into interest.
"Whose hoss?" "Mine," proudly. "Where you catchee?" "Raised him." "Good hoss?" "You betcha." "Huh!" Pause. "You no catchee horse blanket, hey?" "No!" said the Chinaman, whose manner instantly changed. In this brief conversation he had classified Drazk, and classified him correctly. "You catchee him, though some hell, too you stickee lound here.
"You see, I got quite well acquainted with Mr. Drazk when he came back to hunt for a horse blanket which had mysteriously disappeared," she explained to Transley. They ascended the steps which led from the ground into the wagon. The table had been reset for four, and as the shadows were now heavy in the valley, candles had been lighted. Y.D. and his daughter sat on one side, Transley on the other.
She's going to be later than I figured, but I can't hurry the work horses. You know that, Drazk." "Sure I do, Boss," said Drazk, springing into his saddle. "Just watch me lose myself in the dust." Then, to himself, "Here's where I beat the boss to it."
She was inside the enclosure formed by the fence, and he outside. She turned on him eyes which set Drazk's pulses strangely a-tingle, and subjected him to a deliberate but not unfriendly inspection. "No, I don't believe he did," she said at length. Drazk cautiously approached, as though wondering how near he could come without frightening her away. He reached the fence and leaned his elbows on it.
"At your service, Y.D.," said George Drazk, who was in the crowd which had gathered about the rancher, his daughter, and Transley. "That Pete-horse an' me would jus' see her over the hills a-whoopin'." "I don't think it would be wise to take any extreme measures, at least, not just yet," said Transley.
All the great valley lay warm and pulsating in a flood of yellow sunshine; the very earth seemed amorous and content in the embrace of sun and sky. The majesty of the view seized even the unpoetic souls of Linder and Drazk, and because they had no other means of expression they swore vaguely and relapsed into silence. Hoof-beats again sounded by the wagon side. It was Transley.
He considered the "George dear" idea a daring flight, even for Drazk. "Better not let old Y.D. hear you spinning anything like that, George, or he'll be likely to spoil your youthful beauty." "Oh, Y.D.'s all right," said George, knowingly. "Y.D.'s all right. Well, I guess I'll let Pete feed a bit here, and then we'll go back for his blanket.
"Oh, here you are, Drazk. How long do you reckon it would take you to ride down to the Y.D. on that Pete-horse?" Transley was a leader of men. Drazk's eyes sparkled at the subtle compliment to his horse. "I tell you, Boss," he said, "if there's any jackrabbits in the road they'll get tramped on." "I bet they will," said Transley, genially. "Well, you just slide down and tell Y.D. we're coming in.
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