came
forward in the silent way she had, stepping lightly, straight and slim
and darkly beautiful. Applehead glanced at her sourly, and her lashes
drooped to hide the venom in her eyes as she passed him to stand before
Luck.

"I not hungry," she told Luck tranquilly, yet with a hardness in her
voice which did not escape him, who knew her so well. "I go put on
makeup."

"Wear that striped blanket you used last Saturday when we worked up
there in Tijeras Canon. Same young squaw makeup you wore then, Annie."
He eyed her sharply as she turned away to her own tent, and he observed
that when she passed Applehead she took two steps to one side, widening
the distance between them. He watched her until she lifted her tent
flap, stooped and disappeared within. Then he looked at Applehead.

"What's wrong between you two?" he asked the old man quizzically. "Her
dog been licking your cat again, or what?"

"You're danged right he ain't!" Applehead testified boastfully.
"Compadre's got that there dawg's goat, now I'm tellin' yuh! He don't
take nothin' off him ner her neither."

"What you been doing to her, then?" Luck set his empty plate on the
ground beside him and began feeling for the makings of a cigarette. "Way
she side-stepped you, I know there must be SOMETHING."

"Well, now, I ain't done a danged thing to that there squaw! She ain't
got any call to go around givin' me the bad eye." He looked at the
breakfasting company and then again at Luck, and gave an almost
imperceptible backward jerk of his head as he got awkwardly to his feet
and strolled away toward the milling horses in the remuda.

So when Luck had lighted his fresh-rolled cigarette he followed
Applehead unobtrusively. "Well, what's on your mind?" he wanted to know
when he came up with him.

"Well, now, I don't want you to think I'm buttin' in on your affairs,
Luck," Applehead began after a minute, "but seein' as you ast me what's
wrong, I'm goin' to tell yuh straight out. We got a couple of danged
fine women in this here bunch, and I shore do hate to see things goin'
on around here that'd shame 'em if they was to find it out. And fur's
I can see they will find it out, sooner or later. Murder ain't the only
kinda wickedness that's hard to cover up. I know you feel about as I do
on some subjects; you never did like dirt around you, no better'n--"

"Get to the point, man. What's wrong?"

So Applehead, turning a darker shade of red than was his usual hue,
cl