"Exhibition flight--of your imagination!" fleered Mary V, curling her lip
at him. "And I won't need your ears to prove you're a donkey, so don't
worry about that."

Johnny Jewel stood up, lifted his arms high above his head to stretch
his healthy young muscles, pulled his face all askew in a yawn, rumpled
his hair again and reached for his papers and tobacco. He knew that Mary
V never noticed or cared if a fellow smoked; she was too thoroughly
range-bred for that affectation.

"Good golly! Things must sure be dull at the ranch, if you had to ride
twenty miles on a day like this to pick a fight with me," he observed,
leisurely singling one leaf out of his book of papers. "Left your horse
to bake in the sun, too, I suppose, while you practice the art of
persiflage on me."

He finished rolling his cigarette, languidly helped himself to a match
from a box on the wide window ledge near him, and sauntered to the
door--with a slanting, downward glance at Mary V as he passed her. A
little smile lurked at the corners of his lips now that his face was not
visible to her. Mary V was studying her wrist watch as though it was
vital that she knew the time down to the last second. He judged that she
had no retort ready for him, so he picked up his hat and went out into
the glaring sunlight.

Tango was sweating patiently under the scant shelter of the eaves,
switching at flies and trying to doze. Johnny led him down to the creek
and gave him about half as much water as he wanted, then took him to the
corral and unsaddled him under the brush shed that sheltered his own