`What is happening?' she cried.
Nothin'--now, ma'am,' Yorky told her, as he shoved a cartridge into the empty chamber of his weapon. He was seething with anger. `This yeller-bellied son of a bitch called'--he hesitated--`me names, an' I don't take that from nobody. Then he threw a knife an' I winged him.'
He pointed to the weapon and Mary shivered. Violence seemed to pursue her.
`But why should he abuse you?'
`Heard 'em plannin' to sting you for a ten bucks a month raise all round. Lamond put 'em up to it.'
A tiny crease showed between her level brows at the mention of the cowboy. She looked at the sullen faces of her outfit, decided that the situation was beyond her, and turned to Sturm; `Are you prepared to start at once?'
`Shore. I fetched my warbags along--hopin',' he replied. `Want I should handle this?'
`Yes,' she said, and to the men, `This is my and your, foreman.'
The newcomer wasted no time. 'Yo're fired,' he said to the half-breed, who, nursing his damaged arm had slumped down on a form. `Git yore hurt fixed, an' travel.' To the other four, the pay is forty per; any o' you honin' to go with this fella?'
All were silent; it was months yet to the Fall roundups and work would not be easy to find.
`.Right, now listen to me,' Sturm went on. `Do yore job an' you'll find me not difficult to git on with, but I won't stand for quarrellin' an' gun-plays.' He swung on Yorky. `If yo're in this outfit, make a note o' that.'
Yorky looked him straight in the face, his eyes hot. `You can go plumb to hell,' he said, and walked out of the bunkhouse. He had gone but a few yards when Mary caught him up. Her distress was evident.
`I'm sorry, Yorky, he shouldn't have spoken like that,' she began.
`Yo're shoutin',' he replied roughly. `I ain't goin' to be bawled out afore the outfit by any cock-eyed cow-wrastler that ever wore shoe-leather. I'll get back to the Valley; I on'y make trouble. I reckon yo're no good at choosin'.'
`What do you mean?'
`Sturm ain't straight.'
`You say that because he comes from the Big C.'
`No, ma'am. I've met plenty crooks, an' I say th' same if he stepped right outa Paradise; there's mean blood in him. He's comin' now--to soap me over.'
Another moment and the man was with them, a smile on his lips. `I guess I gotta 'pologise,' he began. `I've bin diggin' the facts outa them dumb-heads an' it 'pears the Greaser was lettin' his tongue wag putty scand'lous 'bout you, ma'am, an' our friend here told him what he was--made it plain too. Tomini buzzed a knife, an' if this young fella hadn't bin almighty slick with a gun he'd be lyin' back there with his face split open; as it was, he come close to losin' an ear. Seein' he was just bein' loyal to his boss, I'm eatin' crow. No hard feelin's, son.'
Yorky shook the extended hand, but without enthusiasm, and the foreman beamed. `Good. I'll git back an' giv them loafers somethin' else to think about.'
`So that was it?' Mary said softly. `You risked your life for my good naine. Do you still think I'm a bad chooser?'
`Yeah, Sturm knowed he'd got off on the wrong foot,' the boy persisted.
Mary smiled. `Stubborn as Sam Pavitt, they used to say of my grandfather I've been told. Yorky, if Sturm is not honest, I'll need you all the more.'
Chapter XII
BOTH Sudden and Yorky ate at the ranch-house that evening. Despite a harassing day, the girl seemed in better spirits, and her husband too appeared less constrained than usual in her presence.
`So you got yore foreman,' he remarked.
`Yes,' she replied. `He seems--capable.'
`An' Jim was right about the Greaser?' He read her reproachful look at Yorky. `Oh, he didn't blab; I heard from Lindy, an' she got it from Milton. I guess. Ain't it true?'
`Yes, Mister Green--'
`That shore makes me feel like a stranger,' Sudden said.
`Well, Jim then,' she smiled, `sized the creature up correctly. Yorky was--fine.'
Drait's harsh features softened. `You two fellas are pilin' a debt I can never pay,' he said gruffly.
`Shucks!' Sudden protested, and the pair of them had the air of criminals caught in the act.
Nick, who knew exactly how they felt, switched to another subject. `Have yore range combed an' cattle gathered,' he advised. `Then brand the unmarked beasts an' count 'em. I guess Gilman was more than careless thataway.'
The talk drifted. Mary told them she was taking Lindy to town in the morning to buy things for the house, and her sparkling eyes showed that she was looking forward to the essentially feminine delight of shopping. Her companions, all of whom had seen big cities, knew that she was due for a disappointment.
`Don't expect too much,' the nester warned. `Midway is a one-hoss, an' mighty near a one-store town, 'cept for liquor.' `Which is not on my list,' she laughed, and then, `Which is the best store?'
`There ain't any best, but Pilch will give you a square deal,' Nick replied. `He's one o' my few friends in that dump.'
She thanked him with a smile, and after that he was content to leave the conversation to the others, though his gaze was never far from her. In truth, he was trying to convince himself that this really was the girl he had wed. The slimness was still there, but the curves of her figure were fuller, more alluring; the delicately-tanned cheeks had a bloom, and her voice was low, lacking the bitter note he had come to expect. She had a disturbing beauty, new to him.
As the visitors strolled back to the bunkhouse, Sudden heard the full story of the happenings at the S P. `Yu got off better'n yu'd a right to,' was his comment. `Didn't yu know a Greaser allus carries a sticker back of his neck or under an armpit?'
`I was watchin' his gun--shore oughta knowed when he folded his wings,' the boy said ruefully.
`Yo're a quarrelsome young devil,' Sudden admonished. `Keep a hold o' yourself tomorrow; the third time can be unlucky.'
Back in the ranch-house the nester was talking to himself as he undressed; `Pore kid. She's never had money to spend on the things women prize. Mebbe, someday--But hell, she hates me anyway.' Nevertheless, as he flung himself on the bed, his last
waking thought was that one word, `Someday,' and then, being a healthy animal, he dropped into a slumber which was dreamless.
**
Yorky swung his team with a flourish as he pulled up in front of the ranch-house, where Mary and the Negress waited. `You Yorky, drive'm kearful now,' Lindy urged. `Dere's no hurry--we sho' got time a-plenty. If I gotta meet ma Maker, I aim to be in one piece.'
`That goes for me too,' Mary smiled, as he helped her into the vehicle.
`Never had a complaint from a passenger yet,' Yorky said boastfully.
The black woman's face split into a wide grin. `Must allus 'a' druv a hearse,' she said.
A low laugh came from the veranda. `Best not argue with her, boy,' Drait said. `She's a woman, bound to have the last word.' He waved his hat as the buckboard shot away.
With Yorky exercising unusual restraint, the journey proved uneventful.
As they drew up outside the bank, Mary became aware of a horseman reigning in, and a voice said, `Well, if I'm lucky.' She looked up into the smiling face of the Big C rancher. `I was over to the S P, on'y to learn they weren't expectin' you. So yo're givin' Sturm a try-out?'
`Yes, and thank you for sending him,' she replied. `He seems capable.' It was the description she had given Drait, she recalled.
`If he's not, send him packin'--don't hesitate,' Cullin said heartily. `I've found the job, but it's up to him to keep it.' He made no reference to the affair with the half-breed, but she saw him studying Yorky interestedly. Then his glance went to the bank, and he laughed. `Easy to guess yore errand is to get rid of money.'
`Quite correct,' she told him. `I'm going to find out how much I can afford, and spend it; the list of things I must have is simply terrifying.'