Jim had seen them from the road, and having tied his horse to a tree,
he made his way swiftly along the little path leading to the cabin. He
was certainly in no pleasant frame of mind, and when he came near he
gave vent to his feelings in coarse, brutal language.

David, rose and advanced to meet the angry man, hoping in some way to
appease his rage, but in this he was mistaken.

"Ye old cuss," Jim shouted, "what do ye mean by runnin' away with that
girl? Ye look as meek as a lamb but I guess ye're about as near a
devil as they make 'em."

"He didn't run away with me," Betty sharply replied. "I ran away with
him, that's the way it was, and you needn't get on your high horse, Jim
Goban. You, yourself, would be the first one to run away with a girl
if you could find one crazy enough to run with you."

"Shet up, ye fool," Jim shouted. "I didn't ask you to speak."

"I know you didn't," the girl calmly returned, "but that doesn't make
any difference. This is a free country, isn't it? We didn't ask you
to come here and make such a fuss, so you can go if you are not
satisfied with our company. We're quite happy where we are."

"But I'm not goin' without that cuss," and Jim looked savagely at the
old man. "You kin stay if ye want to with the guy who owns this cabin.
There'll be a nice little story fer the gossips before long, ha, ha."

At these words Jasper started, while his face went white and his hands