"Well, of all the silly fences!" he exclaimed, looking away to the mountain peaks toward which he had been so laboriously making his way. "Honestly, now, do you think that is any way for a respectable fence to act? And the Dean told me to be sure and get home before dark!" Then they laughed together--laughed until their horses must have wondered. As they rode on, she explained the purpose of the drift fence, and how it came to an end so many miles away and so far from water that the cattle do not usually find their way around it. "And now the magic!" he said. "You have made a most unreasonable, unconventional and altogether foolish fence appear reasonable, proper and perfectly sane. Please explain your coming with Snip to my relief." "Which was also unreasonable, unconventional and altogether foolish?" she questioned. "Which was altogether wonderful, unexpected and delightful," he retorted. "It is all perfectly simple," she explained. "Being rather--" She hesitated. "Well, rather sick of too much of nothing at all, you know, I went over to the Cross-Triangle right after dinner to visit a little with Stella--professionally." "Professionally?" he asked. She nodded brightly. "For the good of my soul. Stella's a famous soul doctor. The best ever except one, and she lives far away--away back east in Cleveland, Ohio." "Yes, I know her, too," he said gravely. And while they laughed at the absurdity of his assertion, they did not know until long afterward how literally true it was. "Of course, I knew about you," she continued. "Phil told me how you tried to ride that unbroken horse, the last time he was at our house. Phil thinks you are quite a wonderful man." "No doubt," said Patches mockingly. "I must have given a remarkable exhibition on that occasion." He was wondering just how much Phil had told her. "And so, you see," she continued, "I couldn't very well help being interested in the welfare of the stranger who had come among us. Besides, our traditional western hospitality demanded it; don't you think?" "Oh, certainly, certainly. You could really do nothing less than inquire about me," he agreed politely. "And so, you see, Stella quite restored my soul health; or at least afforded me temporary relief." He met the quizzing, teasing, laughing look in her eyes blankly. "You are making fun of me again," he said humbly. "I know I ought to laugh at myself, but--" "Why, don't you understand?" she cried. "Dr. Stella administered a generous dose of talk about the only new thing that has happened in this neighborhood for months and months and months." "Meaning me?" he asked. "Well, are you not?" she retorted. "I guess I am," he smiled. "Well, and then what?" "Why, then I came away, feeling much better, of course." "Yes?"