over her hair. "You ain't so bad. And all that's bad in you comes out of
me. You forget and I'll forget."

He waved across the table.

"Terry'll be thinking we're a bunch of wild Indians the way we been
actin'."

"Oh!"

Plainly she was recalled to the presence of the stranger for the first
time in many minutes and, dropping her chin in her hand, she studied the
new arrival.

He found it difficult to meet her glance. The Lord had endowed Terry
Hollis with a remarkable share of good looks, and it was not the first
time that he had been investigated by the eyes of a woman. But in all his
life he had never been subjected to an examination as minute, as
insolently frank as this one. He felt himself taken part and parcel,
examined in detail as to forehead, chin, and eyes and heft of shoulders,
and then weighed altogether. In self-defense he looked boldly back at
her, making himself examine her in equal detail. Seeing her so close, he
was aware of a marvellously delicate olive-tanned skin with delightful
tints of rose just beneath the surface. He found himself saying inwardly:
"It's easy to look at her. It's very easy. By the Lord, she's beautiful!"

As for the girl, it seemed that she was not quite sure in her judgment.
For now she turned to her father with a faint frown of wonder. And again
it seemed to Terry that Joe Pollard made an imperceptible sign, such as
he had made to the four men when he introduced Terry.