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It was two hours later, when she was waltzing with Jed again, that Arlie caught sight of a face that disturbed her greatly. It was a countenance disfigured by a ragged scar, running from the bridge of the nose. She had last seen it gazing into the window of Alec Howard's cabin on a certain never-to-be-forgotten night.
They were smiling into each other's eyes with a manner of perfect and friendly understanding. To see it gave Arlie a pang. Flushing at her mistake, she turned the card over and handed it to the owner. "Sorry. I looked without thinking," she said in a low voice. Fraser nodded his acceptance of her apology, but his words and his eyes were for his enemy.
"What good can you do staying here?" argued Fraser. "They want you, not me. With you gone, I'll slip away or come to terms with them. They haven't a thing against me." "That's right," agreed the older man, rubbing his stubbly beard with his hand. "That's sho'ly right." "But they might get you before they understood," Arlie urged.
Arlie, working her pony forward with voice and body and knees, so that from her seat in the saddle she seemed literally to lift him up, reached the summit and looked back. "All right back there?" she asked quietly. "All right," came the cheerful answer. "Teddy isn't used to climbing up a wall, but he'll make it or know why." A minute later, man and horse were beside her.
It always was her way to get mad first, and find out why afterward. But don't make any mistake about her, Steve. She's the salt of the earth, Arlie Dillon is. She figured it out you wasn't playing it quite on the square with her. Onct she's milled it around a spell, she'll see things different. I've knowed her since she was knee-high, and I tell you she's a game little thoroughbred."
He was so sure, that he began to praise his friend to Arlie, to tell her of what a competent cowman he was, how none of them could make a cut or rope a wild steer like him. She presently wanted to know whether Dick could not find something more interesting to talk about. He could not help smiling at her downright manner. "You've surely got it in for him, Arlie. I thought you liked him."
Dillon, very ill at ease, shook hands with the Texan, and was understood to say that he was glad to see him. "Then you don't look it, dad," Arlie told him, with a gleam of vexed laughter. Her father turned reproachfully upon her. "Now, honey, yo' done wrong to say that. Yo' know Mr. Fraser is welcome to stay in my house long as he wants. I'm proud to have him stay.
They rode out simply to drive the sheep off their range." The Texan nodded. "That's about how I figured it. I'm glad you told me, boys. I reckon I don't need to tell you I'm padlocked in regard to this." Arlie came to the door and looked in. "It's time you boys were going. Doc said a half hour" "All right, Arlie," responded Dick. "So-long, Steve. Be good, you old pie eater."
The young cattleman, furious, his teeth set in impotent rage, watched it all with the lust to kill in his heart. When they had gone, he flung himself into the saddle and rode away in a tumultuous fury. Before they had covered two hundred yards Arlie turned to her companion, all contrition. "There! I've done it again. My fits of passion are always getting me into trouble.
He flushed, and knew again that feeling of contempt for himself, or, to be more exact, for his position. "I'll be awful careful, Miss Arlie," was all he found to say. She could not urge him further, lest he misunderstand her. "Of course, you know best," she said, with a touch of coldness. He saddled Teddy and rode back.
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