It was ludicrous to see the change that came over the man. He had
been prepared to bully her; and with a word she had pricked the
bubble of his arrogance. He swallowed his anger and got a
mechanical smile in working order.

"Glad to see you here, Miss Messiter," he said, his sinister gaze
attempting to meet hers frankly "I been looking for you every
day."

"But y'u managed to surprise him, after all ma'am," chuckled Mac.

"Where's yo' hawss, Reddy?" inquired a tall young man, who had
appeared silently in the doorway of the bunkhouse.

Reddy pinked violently. "I had an accident, Denver," he
explained. "This lady yere she--"

"Scooped y'u right off yore hawss. Y'u don't say," sympathized
Mac so breathlessly that even Reddy joined in the chorus of
laughter that went up at his expense.

The young woman thought to make it easy for him, and suggested an
explanation.

"His horse isn't used to automobiles, and so when it met this
one--"

"I got off," interposed Reddy hastily, displaying a complexion
like a boiled beet.