furious with him, and dared not trust herself to speak. As soon as
they had passed through the defile she spurred forward, as if to turn
the leaders. France turned to his friend and laughed ruefully.

"She's full of pepper, Steve."

The ranger nodded. "She's all right, Dick. If you want to know, she's
got a right to make a doormat of me. I lied to her. I was up against
it, and I kinder had to. You ride along and join her. If you want to
get right solid, tell her how many kinds of a skunk I am. Worst of it
is, I ain't any too sure I'm not."

"I'm sure for you then, Steve," the lad called back, as he loped
forward after the girl.

He was so sure, that he began to praise his friend to Arlie, to tell
her of what a competent cowman he was, how none of them could make a
cut or rope a wild steer like him. She presently wanted to know
whether Dick could not find something more interesting to talk about.

He could not help smiling at her downright manner. "You've surely got
it in for him, Arlie. I thought you liked him."

She pulled up her horse, and looked at him. "What made you think that?
Did he tell you so?"

Dick fairly shouted. "You do rub it in, girl, when you've got a down
on a fellow. No, he didn't tell me. You did."

"Me?" she protested indignantly. "I never did."