repay. Y'u saved my life," he finished gravely.

"Nonsense."

"Fact."

"It isn't a personal matter at all," she assured him, with a
touch of impatient hauteur.

"It s a heap personal to me."

In spite of her healthy young resentment she laughed at the way
in which he drawled this out, and with a swift sweep her boyish
eyes took in again his compelling devil-may-care charm. She was a
tenderfoot, but intuition as well as experience taught her that
he was unusual enough to be one of ten thousand. No young Greek
god's head could have risen more superbly above the brick-tanned
column of the neck than this close-cropped curly one. Gray eyes,
deep and unwavering and masterful, looked out of a face as brown
as Wyoming. He was got up with no thought of effect, but the
tigerish litheness, the picturesque competency of him, spake
louder than costuming.

"Aren't you really hurt worse than you pretend? I'm sure your
ankle ought to be attended to as soon as possible."

"Don't tell me you're a lady doctor, ma'am," he burlesqued his
alarm.

"Can you tell me where the nearest ranch house is?" she asked,