yes shone with a passionate determination. There
was no mistaking it. His was a fanatical loyalty that was almost
staggering.

The Padre drew a sharp breath. He had not studied this youngster for
all those years without understanding something of the recklessness he
was capable of. Buck's lips were tightly compressed, his thin nostrils
dilating with the intense feeling stirring him. His cheeks were pale,
and his dark eyes flashed their burning light in the dim glow of the
lantern. He stood with hands gripping, and the muscles of his bare
arms writhed beneath the skin with the force with which they clenched.
He was strung to an emotion such as the Padre had never before seen in
him, and it left the older man wavering.

He glanced away.

"Aren't we worrying this thing on the crossways?" he said, endeavoring
to disguise his real feelings.

But Buck would have none of it. He was in no mood for evasion. In no
mood for anything but the straightest of straight talk.

"Ther's no crosswise to me," he cried bluntly, with a heat that might
almost have been taken for anger. Then, in a moment, his manner
changed. His tone softened, and the drawn brows smoothed. "Say, you
bin better'n a father to me. You sure have. Can I stand around an' see
you passed over to a low-down sort o' law that condemns innocent
folks? No, Padre, not--not even for Joan's sake. I jest love that
little Joan, Padre. I love her so desprit bad I'd do most anything for
her sake. You reckon this thing needs doin' for her." He shook his
head. "It don't. An' if it did, an' she jest wanted it done--which she
don't--I'd butt in to stop it. Say, I love her that way I want to fix
her the happiest gal in this country--in the world. But if seein' you
go to the law without raisin' a hand to stop it was to make her
happy, guess her chances that way 'ud be so small you couldn't never
find 'em. If my life figures in her happiness, an' I'm savin' that
life while you take your chance of penitentiary an'--the 'chair,' wal,
I guess she'll go miserable fer jest as many years as she goes on
livin'."

The Padre turned away. It was impossible for him to longer face those
earnest young eyes pleading to be allowed to give their life for his
liberty. The reckless prodigality of the youngster's heart filled him
with an emotion that would not be denied. He moved over to where Caesar
stood, and smoothed the great creature's silky quarters with a shaking
hand. Buck's storming he cou