I meant last night when I said the system was evil?"

She held his gaze unflinchingly. "Mr. Lawler," she said; "those men had
no orders to kill you--they attempted that because you captured them, I
suppose. And I did not, last night, attempt to defend Gary Warden's
action in sending them here. In fact--if you remember--I came over here
purposely to defeat them."

"But if there was no scheme to control cattle there would have been no
incentive to cut my fence," he said, impatiently.

"Perhaps some other persons would have cut it," she answered; "criminals
are everywhere. Please don't preach to me, Mr. Lawler," she added,
pleadingly. "I--I think you ought to be glad that I came--aren't you?"

He smiled grimly. "Well, I am not going to turn you out into the storm."

Getting out some cooking utensils he began to prepare breakfast. She
watched him for an instant, and then went to the north window, rubbed a
hole through the frost and tried to look out. She could not see more
than a few inches into the white blur that roared against the glass, and
so she turned, sought a chair near the table, and resumed watching
Lawler. And her eyes filled with a warm light as they followed his
movements--noting that he seemed handsomer now than he had appeared when
she had met him that day at the foot of the stairs. And she smiled at
his back, exulting in the continued fury of the storm. For it meant that
she would be alone with him for days--many, perhaps. And she told
herself that she loved Lawler; that she had loved him since the day she
had encountered him at the foot of the stairs leading to Warden's
office. He was wealthy, handsome; and in her code of morals it was no
crime to take advantage of every opportunity that chance presented. And
chance----

Here Gary Warden's face flashed in her mental vision. And she smiled.
For Warden had never thrilled her as this man had thrilled her. Warden
was cold, coarse, gross. This man was vibrant with life, with
energy--there was fire in him. And it had been Warden's scheming that
had sent her to Lawler. She laughed and snuggled contentedly down in the
chair.

CHAPTER XXII

THE WHITE WASTE

Warden and Singleton had been in Willets on the day the storm broke.
They had ridden into town early, and when they saw the low-flying clouds
sweeping down from the north Singleton grinned maliciously, with a
significance that Warden could not mistake.

"Warden, it's goin' to storm," he said.