rigan, but he ain't
one. Tom's damn right. He don't set in. Why, like as not he'd--"

"Aw, cut out the gabbling!" Ed's voice growled again. "It's yore play,
Bob."

Stepping softly, Lance went on to the house. "I just--_look_ like
one!" he repeated under his breath. "Fine! At any rate," he added
dryly, "I've proved that I _can_ go into the bunk house now and
then."

He went up and sang songs with Belle then, until after ten o'clock. He
would have sung longer, but it happened that in the middle of a
particularly pleasing "Ah-_ee_, oh-_ee_, hush-a-bye-_ba-by_"
yodel, Tom put his head out of the bedroom and implored Lance to
for-the-Lord-sake go up on the Ridge to howl. So Lance forbore to
finish the "ah-_ee_, oh-_ee_," much to Belle's disappointment.

"But you know Tom's been out riding hard and not getting much sleep,
so I guess maybe we better cut out the concert, honey," she told
Lance, getting up and laying her plump, brown arms across his
shoulders. "My heavens, Lance, you kinda make me think the clock's set
back thirty years, when I look at you. You're Tom, all over--and I did
think you were going to be like me."

Lance scowled just a little. "No, I'm not Tom all over--I'm Lance all
over."

"You're Lorrigan all over," Belle persisted. "And you're just like Tom
when he was your age. Good Lord, how time does slip away! Tom used to
be so full of fun and say such funny things--and now it's just ride
and ride and work, and eat and sleep. Honey, I want you to know that
I'm glad you learned something a little different. What's the use of
having a million, if you work yourself to death getting it? Look at
the boys--look at Al and Duke. They're like old men, the last year or
two. We used to have such good times on the ranch, but we don't any
more--nobody ever thinks of anything but work."

She lowered her voice to a whisper, her arms still lying on Lance's
shoulders, her clouded blue eyes looking up into his. "That trouble
with Scotty Douglas kind of--changed Tom and the boys. You went away.
You've changed too, but in a different way. It _soured_ them, just a
little. Tom wants to make his million quick and get outa here. I was
glad when you stirred things up a little, last spring, and gave that
dance. Or I was glad, till it ended up the way it did. It was the
first dance we'd been to since you left, Lance! And I thought it would
kind of patch up a little more friendliness with the folks around
here. But it didn't. I