d, quickly. "Horses have got lots of
common sense."

The two headed up the little used trail that led upward to the bench by
way of a shallow coulee. When they gained the top the man pointed toward
the west: "The coulee we're hittin' for is just beyond that little butte
that sets out there alone," he explained. "We better circle away from
the river a little. The coulees won't be so deep back aways, an' I've
got to catch up that cayuse. He hit straight back, an' the way his
tracks looked, he sure was foggin' it."

They rode side by side at a sharp trot, the Texan now and then casting a
glance of approval at the girl who rode on a loose rein "glued to the
leather." A wide alkali bed lay before them, and the pace slowed to a
walk. "Your partner," began the girl, breaking the silence that had
fallen upon them, "maybe he will wake up and start out to find you."

The Texan glanced at her sharply: Was it his own imagination, or had the
girl laid a significant emphasis upon the "He." Her eyes did not meet
his squarely, but seemed focussed upon the edge of the bandage. He shook
his head: "I reckon not," he replied shortly.

"But, even if he did, we could easily pick up his trail," persisted the
girl.

"Dead easy." The man was battling with an impulse to tell the girl that
his companion upon the river was a woman. The whole thing was so
absurdly simple--but was it? Somehow, he could not bring himself to tell
this girl--she might not understand--she might think--with an effort he
dismissed the matter from his mind. She'll find out soon enough when we
get there. He knew without looking at her that the girl's eyes were upon
him. "Heavy goin'," he observed, abruptly.

"Yes."

Another long silence, this time broken by the Texan: "I don't get you
quite," he said, "you're different from--from most women."

"How, different?"

"Why--altogether different. You don't dress like--like a nester's
girl--nor talk like one, neither."

The girl's lips smiled, but the man could see that the blue-black eyes
remained sombre: "I've been East at school. I've only been home a
month."

"Learn how to rope a horse, back East? An' how to ride? It's a cinch you
never learnt it in a month."

"Oh, I've always known that. I learned it when I was a little bit of a
girl--mostly from the boys at the Y Bar."

"The Y Bar?"

"Yes, we used to live over on Big Box Elder, below the Y Bar home ranch.
Father ran sheep there, and Mr. Colston bought him o