They were as completely and coldly separate as though they
occupied opposite poles. And the girl who recognized these things, and
the man who watched them, only wondered how long it must be before the
final disaster came upon them.

Jeff's moods had become extraordinarily variable. There were moments
when his moroseness became threatening. The canker at his heart was
communicating itself to his whole outlook, and herein lay the failure
in his work.

It was the realization of all this which stirred Bud's impatience. He
knew that unless a radical change was quickly brought about, the
vaunted Obar had certainly reached and probably passed its zenith.

Finally, he opened his heart to the sure sympathy of Nan. He had
purposely taken her with him on a boundary inspection amongst the
foothills. They were riding through a silent hollow where quiet seemed
to lie on the top of everything. Even their horses' hoofs failed to
make an impression upon it. Peace was crowding the woodland slopes, a
peace profound and unbreakable.

"The Obar's struck a mighty bad patch, Nan," he said abruptly. "Ef
things kep hittin' their present gait, why, I don't jest see wher'
we're to strike bottom. The pinch ain't yet, but you can't never kick
out a prop without shakin' the whole darned buildin' mighty bad. An'
that's how the Obar's fixed. Ther's a mighty big punch gone plumb out
o' Jeff's fight, an', well, I guess we're needin' all our punch to fix
the things crowdin' around us."

"You mean the rustlers?" Nan drove to the heart things without
hesitation.

"Sure. Them an'--other things."

The girl nodded. She knew the other things without asking.

"Jeff's in a heap of--trouble," she said with a sigh.

"An' looks like carryin' us along with him--ef we ain't watchin'
around."

"We've always kind of leaned on Jeff."

"Most folks are ready to lean, Nan. It sort o' saves 'em a deal of
trouble."

"Yes. Till you kick the prop away."

"Sure. Our prop's been kicked away, an' we've jest got to git right up
on to our hind legs an'--git busy. The leanin' racket's played out fer
us. We got to hand Jeff a prop now, an' see it don't git kicked away.
See?"

For some moments the girl's gaze searched straight ahead of her down
the valley. And into her eyes there grew a gentle light of enthusiasm.
Suddenly she turned upon the great figure on its horse beside her.

"We've stood up on our own years, Daddy--before Jeff came along.