ttractive about the set of his
well-modeled head upon the broad shoulders. He had just been shaved, and
the scent of the soap wafted to her a pleasant sense of intimacy with
his masculinity. She could see the line above which the tiny white hairs
grew thick on the bronzed cheeks. A strange delight stirred in her
maiden heart, a joy in his physical well-being that longed for closer
contact.

None of this reached the surface when she spoke at last.

"I can't let things go the way you have arranged them, Mr. Gordon. It
isn't fair. After the way I and my people have treated you I can't be
the object of such unlimited generosity at your hands."

"Justice," he suggested by way of substitution.

"No, generosity," she insisted. "Why should you be forced to give way to
me? What have I done any more than you to earn all this?"

"Now you know we've all agreed----"

"Agreed!" she interrupted sharply. "We've taken it for granted that I
had some sort of divine right. When I look into it I see that's silly.
We're living in America, not in Spain of the seventeenth century. I've
no right except what the law gives me."

"Well, the law's clear now. I'm tired of being shot at and starved and
imprisoned and burned to make a Mexican holiday. I'm fed up with the
excitement your friends have offered me. Honest, I'm glad to quit. I
don't want the grant, anyhow. I'm a miner. We've just made a good strike
in the Last Dollar. I'm going back to look after it."

"You can't make me believe anything of the kind, Mr. Gordon. I know
you've made a strike, but you had made it before you ever came to the
valley. Mr. Davis told me so. We simply couldn't drive you out. That's
all humbug. You want me to have it--and I'm not going to take it. That's
all there is to it, sir."

He smiled down upon her. "I never did see anyone so obstinate and so
changeable. As long as I wanted the land you were going to have it; now
I don't want it you won't take it. Isn't that just like a woman?"

"You know why I won't take it. From the very first you've played the
better part. We've mistreated you in every way we could. Now you want to
drown me in a lake of kindness. I just can't accept it. If you want to
compromise on a fair business basis I'll do that."

"You've got a first-rate chance to be generous, too, Miss Valdes. I'm
like a kid. I want to put this thing over my way so that I'll look big.
Be a nice girl and let me have my own way. You know I said my wedding