"None of that!" Doug's voice was quiet. "Finish what you have to say, Jude." John scowled, breathing heavily, his eyes never leaving Judith. "I'm sick of it," she repeated. "There must be places in the world where there's something beside family rows." "Are you through?" demanded John. "Yes, I am." "Then I've got one thing to say. You let Scott Parsons alone." John flung himself on the bed, and before Mary had taken off his spurred riding boots he was asleep. Douglas went out to the corral where, soon after, Judith appeared with her milking pail. The tender pink mists rolled slowly away from the yellow wall of Lost Chief range. Judith, with heavy eyes and burning cheeks, looked from the mists to Douglas, who leaned on the fence and watched her. "Jude," he said, "you are on the wrong foot. You ought to let whiskey and Inez Rodman alone." "Why don't you let 'em alone?" demanded Judith. "It's different with a man!" "O, don't give me that old stuff!" cried the girl. "We women do men's work in this valley. We'll have the men's kind of fun if we want it!" "That's not the point," returned Douglas. "Women have to pay a price the men don't and that's all there is to it." "It's not fair! It's not fair! I hate the world! I hate it! Looks like you'd either got to be like Mother or Inez Rodman." "Your mother's all right. Only Dad's broke her just like he broke old Molly horse." "Did I ever say my mother wasn't all right? Only I'll tell you one thing, Doug Spencer, Inez Rodman's given me more sensible warnings about men than my mother ever did." Douglas wore a worried expression. "Seems like there's something wrong about that. Mother knows all about those things." He cleared his throat. The half angry look on Judith's face gave way to a smile. "O Doug! Doug! You old owl! What's the matter with you? After all, it's good to be alive! I wish I had a horse as good as Buster and I wouldn't ask for much more in life." "I'll give you Buster," said Douglas suddenly. Judith's jaw dropped. "Give me Buster!" "I mean it." "But--but--why, Douglas, what's happened to you?" "Judith!" Douglas tossed back his yellow; hair and put a brown hand over Judith's. "Judith! I love you. Won't you be engaged to me?" "Love _me_?" Judith's beautiful gray eyes opened their widest. "Why, it doesn't seem more than yesterday that you were calling me a pug-nosed maverick. And besides, I'm only fifteen and you're only seventeen." "Is it Scott?" asked Douglas. "It isn't anybody! Why, Douglas, you must be crazy!" "Do I look crazy?" Judith stared deep into Douglas' blue eyes. "No," slowly, "you don't." "You can have Buster and Prince too," said Douglas. "No, sir, Doug! Why, they're all you've got in the world!" "I have that dapple gray Young Jeff gave me after the trial. He's old enough to break now." There were tears in Judith's eyes. "Douglas Spencer, you are a gentleman! If I do have a horse like Buster, I can be lots more help handling the cattle."