"No, I wasn't," she replied bitterly. "I told him he would have to make
good first, if you want to know, not because I didn't love him, poor as
I thought he was, but because I thought it would make him work in
earnest. Can you understand that, Angus Mackay? Do you think, after
telling him that, I'd marry him now that he has money? I'd rather _die_!
And--and I half believe I want to."

With which tragic ultimatum Miss Jean turned and fled. Angus gaped after
her and at his wife.

"Well, of all darn fool girls--" he exclaimed.

"You don't understand. You made it worse."

"Why, what did I--"

"Never mind now. I'll talk to her after a while, but in her place I'd
feel much the same. I only hope she will get over it."

"Of course she will. Rot! She fooled herself about Chetwood, same as I
did. Go and make her behave sensibly."

"You don't know a blessed thing about girls," his wife told him.

"Well, I'll bet if you let the two of them get together they'll make it
up. She'll go for him red-headed for five minutes, then it'll be over."

But Faith vetoed this simple plan. She saw that Jean's pride had been
deeply hurt. When Chetwood appeared, later, he met the surprise of his
young life. He did not see Jean. Faith took the matter into her own
hands.

"But--but, hang it," he exclaimed when the situation was made clear to
him, "it's all a beastly, rotten misunderstanding. I mean to say it's
all wrong. Jean--why, bless the girl, I never dreamed of offending her."

"But you've done it. Do you mind answering one or two questions?"

"I'll tell you anything," Chetwood replied with fervor.

"Well--they may be impertinent. Have you much money? And is it yours,
or--remittances?"

"'Much money' is rather a relative term. But I have enough to live on,
and it is mine."

"Then what on earth made you work as a ranch hand?"

"Jean did. She had a strong prejudice against remittance men, and she
classed me as one of them. I was an idler, and she rather despised me.
Of course she didn't tell me so, but I could see how the land lay. So I
made up my mind to remove that objection, anyway. The best place to do
it seemed to be where she could see me working, and I really wanted to
know something about ranching. Struck me as a good joke, being paid for
what I was perfectly willing to pay for myself. Then I thought I might
as well live up to the part and really throw myself on my own resources,
which I did. I've been living on my wage