e peace,
and he'll marry us right away, soon as you eat. And--"

"Without a license? I know it's always done that way on the stage,
but--but this isn't going to be any stage marriage."

"Well, but the license will be all made out and on the way, and he'll
take my word for it and go ahead with the ceremony. If I tell him to,
he will. It will be all right; I'll _make_ it all right. And then I
can get a team from a ranch back here a ways, and take you right out
to Devil's Tooth. It's the best way. This ain't any place for a lady
to stay. You'll be comfortable out at the Devil's Tooth--it's clean,
anyway." He looked at her honest-eyed, and smiled again. "Yuh needn't
be afraid uh me. We're rough enough and tough enough, and we maybe
shoot up each other now and again, but we ain't like city folks; we
don't double-cross women. Not ever."

She said nothing, and when they had walked four steps farther he added
with a sincere wish to set her at ease: "I could take you to some
ranch and leave you till the license comes, if you think it wouldn't
be all right to get married now. But the womenfolks would talk your
arm off, and you wouldn't like it. And they'd talk about you when your
back was turned. But if Scotty goes ahead and married us, I don't see
why--"

"Oh, I'm not worrying about that. It's just cutting a corner instead
of walking around. I was thinking," said Belle Delavan, while she
dabbed at her lashes as though they were beaded with paint instead of
tears and she must be careful not to smear them, "I was just thinking
how--how _good_ you are. My God, I never knew they grew men like you,
outside of plays and poetry."

"Good!" echoed young Tom Lorrigan, feared of his kind for his badness.
His tone was hushed with amazement, all aglow with pleasure.
"_Good!_--my Lord!"

CHAPTER TWO

THE LORRIGAN TREE GROWS THRIFTILY

Young Tom Lorrigan had found his mate. Had he known more about life in
the big world beyond the Rim, he must have been amazed at his luck.
Once a man dropped dead in a poker game when he had staked his last
blue chip and drawn a royal flush. In the great game of hearts Tom had
drawn a royal flush, but he did not drop dead. Instead, he went right
on living, more determined than ever to own a million dollars' worth
of cattle and horses before he died, considerably before he died,
because he wanted to enjoy that million with Belle. And because of her
he wanted that million to be honest money.