as right smart an' overbearin'. Too much so for his own good. Some
of the boys served notice on him he was liable to get dry-gulched if he
didn't take the trail back where he come from. But Jas was right
obstinate an' he had sand in his craw. I'll say that for him. Well, one
day he got word of a drive we was makin'. Him an' his deputies laid in
wait for us. There was shooting an' my horse got killed. The others
escaped, but they nailed me. In the rookus Stuart had got killed. They
laid it on me. Mebbe I did it. I was shooting like the rest. Anyhow, I
was convicted an' got twenty years in the pen."

"Twenty years," June echoed.

"Three--four years later there was a jail break. I got into the hills an'
made my getaway. Travelin' by night, I reached Rawlins. From there I came
down here with a freight outfit, an' I been here ever since."

He stopped. His story was ended. June looked at the slouchy little man
with the weak mouth and the skim-milk, lost-dog eyes. He was so palpably
wretched, so plainly the victim rather than the builder of his own
misfortunes, that her generous heart went out warmly to him.

With a little rush she had him in her arms. They wept together, his head
held tight against her immature bosom. It was the first time she had ever
known him to break down, and she mothered him as women have from the
beginning of time.

"You poor Daddy. Don't I know how it was? That Jake Houck was to blame.
He led you into it an' left you to bear the blame," she crooned.

"It ain't me. It's you I'm thinkin' of, honey. I done ruined yore life,
looks like. I shut you off from meeting decent folks like other girls do.
You ain't had no show."

"Don't you worry about me, Dad. I'll be all right. What we've got to
think about is not to let it get out who you are. If it wasn't for that
big bully up at the house--"

She stopped, hopelessly unable to cope with the situation. Whenever she
thought of Houck her mind came to an _impasse_. Every road of escape it
traveled was blocked by his jeering face, with the jutting jaw set in
implacable resolution.

"It don't look like Jake would throw me down thataway," he bewailed. "I
never done him a meanness. I kep' my mouth shut when they got me an'
wouldn't tell who was in with me. Tha's one reason they soaked me with so
long a sentence. They was after Jake. They kep' at me to turn state's
evidence an' get a short term. But o' course I couldn't do that."

"'Course not. An' now he t