enn made for the sheep
pen. You know where we watched Haze Ruff an' Lorenzo slinging the sheep
into the dip. Ruff was just about to climb out over the fence when Glenn
leaped up on it."

"'Say, Ruff,' he said, sort of hard, 'Charley an' Ben tell me they heard
you speak disrespectfully to Miss Burch last night.'"

"Dad an' I ran to the fence, but before we could catch hold of Glenn
he'd jumped down into the pen."

"'I'm not carin' much for what them herders say,' replied Ruff.

"'Do you deny it?' demanded Glenn.

"'I ain't denyin' nothin', Kilbourne,' growled Ruff. 'I might argue
against me bein' disrespectful. That's a matter of opinion.'

"'You'll apologize for speaking to Miss Burch or I'll beat you up an'
have Hutter fire you.'

"'Wal, Kilbourne, I never eat my words,' replied Ruff.

"Then Glenn knocked him flat. You ought to have heard that crack.
Sounded like Charley hitting a steer with a club. Dad yelled: 'Look out,
Glenn. He packs a gun!'--Ruff got up mad clear through I reckon. Then
they mixed it. Ruff got in some swings, but he couldn't reach Glenn's
face. An' Glenn batted him right an' left, every time in his ugly
mug. Ruff got all bloody an' he cussed something awful. Glenn beat him
against the fence an' then we all saw Ruff reach for a gun or knife. All
the men yelled. An' shore I screamed. But Glenn saw as much as we saw.
He got fiercer. He beat Ruff down to his knees an' swung on him hard.
Deliberately knocked Ruff into the dip ditch. What a splash! It wet all
of us. Ruff went out of sight. Then he rolled up like a huge hog. We
were all scared now. That dip's rank poison, you know. Reckon Ruff knew
that. He floundered along an' crawled up at the end. Anyone could
see that he had mouth an' eyes tight shut. He began to grope an' feel
around, trying to find the way to the pond. One of the men led him out.
It was great to see him wade in the water an' wallow an' souse his head
under. When he came out the men got in front of him any stopped him.
He shore looked bad.... An' Glenn called to him, 'Ruff, that sheep-dip
won't go through your tough hide, but a bullet will!"

Not long after this incident Carley started out on her usual afternoon
ride, having arranged with Glenn to meet her on his return from work.

Toward the end of June Carley had advanced in her horsemanship to a
point where Flo lent her one of her own mustangs. This change might not
have had all to do with a wonderful difference in ri