contents of the saucepan into the
bottle, and her eyes were hot with the state of hysterical anger she had
worked herself into. "Oh," she cried with a helpless, despairing
gesture, as Steve returned the saucepan to the table. "I'm sick of it
all. I hate it all, when I think of what life could be. The thought of
it drives me mad. I hate everything. I hate myself. I hate----"

"Stop it!"

Steve thrust the stopper into the neck of the bottle. He had turned. His
steady eyes were sternly compelling. They were shining with a light Nita
had never witnessed in them before. She suddenly became afraid. And her
silence was instant and complete. She sat breathlessly waiting.

"I've done with this fool talk," Steve cried almost roughly. "I've
listened to too much already. I'm not figgering to let you break things
between us. There's more than you and me in it. There's that poor
little kiddie in the other room. Say, I've seen this coming. I've seen
it coming--weeks. I've seen a whole heap that hurts a man that loves his
wife, and guesses he wants to see her happy. I've seen what isn't good
for a father to see, either. You've told me the things you guess you
feel, and now I'm going to tell you the things I feel. You reckon the
things I say about your good time coming are hot air. They're not. But
you've got to get fool notions out of your head, and work for the things
you want, the same as I reckon to. I'm out to make good--for you.
Understand, for you, and for little Coqueline. I'm out to make good with
all that's in me. And it don't matter a curse to me if all hell freezes
over, I'm going to make good. Get that, and get it good. It's a sort of
life-line that ought to make things easy for you. There's just one thing
that can break my play, Nita. Only one. It's your weakening. It's up to
me to see you don't weaken. You need to take hold of the notion we're
partners in this thing. And don't forget I'm senior partner, and my word
goes. Just now my word is kind of simple. If you don't feel like
carrying on for me, you need to remember there's our little Coqueline.
She's part of you. She's part of me. And she's got a claim on you that
no human law can ever rob her of. Well, the proposition between us has
two sides. My side means the trail, and the job that's mine. I need to
face it with a clear head, and an easy mind. My side means I got to get
busy with every nerve in my body to get you an ultimate good time, and
see you get all you n