Page 192 (1/1)

"Me--stay heah with y'u--alone!"

The tone seemed a contradiction to the apparently accepted sense of her words Jean held his breath But he could not still the slowlyfaculties within that were involuntarily rising to ined it would be the catastrophe of Ellen Jorth's calm acceptance of Colter's proposition But down in Jean'sthat would not die No nant that moment of her silence! How terribly he realized that if his intelligence and his e words, his soul had not!

But Ellen Jorth did not speak Her brown head hung thoughtfully Her supple shoulders sagged a little

"Ellen, what's happened to y'u?" went on Colter

"All the misery possible to a woman," she replied, dejectedly

"Shore I don't ainsayin' the hard facts of your life It's been bad Your dad was no good But I e in y'u"

"No, I reckon y'u cain't," she said "Whoever was responsible for your "

Colter drawled a low laugh

"Wal, have that your oay But how oin' to be like this heah?"

"Like what?" she rejoined, sharply

"Wal, this stand-offishness of yours?"

"Colter, I told y'u to let me alone," she said, sullenly

"Shore An' y'u did that before But this tiettin' tired of it"

Here the cool, slow voice of the Texan sounded an inflexibility before absent, a tied her lithe shoulders and, slowly rising, she picked up the little rifle and turned to step into the cabin

"Colter," she said, "fetch my pack an' ood nature

Jean saw Ellen Jorth lay the rifle lengthwise in a chink between two logs and then slowly turn, back to the wall Jean knew her then, yet did not know her The brown flash of her face seeaze, like his waiting , he knew not what--a hardened face, a ghost of beauty, a recklessness, a distorted, bitter, lost expression in keeping with her fortunes But he had reckoned falsely She did not look like that There was incalculable change, but the beauty remained, so eyes, looking out straight from under the level, dark brows, seeht