She sank into that huddled posture on the step and cried in a way that made Robin ache. Then suddenly, while he wondered if it were wise or kind to say more, or if it would be better to ride away and leave her, she stopped weeping, looked up at him. “I didn’t mean what I said,” she whispered. “I don’t know why I said it. I know you haven’t any use for me an’ I don’t blame you. I am about crazy, Robin. You better ride along. Mark Steele’s ragin’ around this country somewhere.” “He was at the Block S yesterday an’ he didn’t seem particularly ragin’ when I was around,” Robin said quietly. “Has somethin’ happened?” “He’s got me in trouble an’ just laughs at me,” she said wearily. “I don’t know what I’m goin’ to do. Dad’ll just about kill me when he finds out. Or he’ll go after Mark an’ get killed himself.” “He can’t give you the worst of it that way,” Robin fairly sputtered. “He promised to marry you, didn’t he?” “Yes, but that’s nothin’ to him,” she sighed. “Promises don’t mean nothin’ to Mark Steele. I took care of him last winter when he was shot, like he was a baby. He fixed it up to buy a half interest with dad this spring when he fell into that money. He’s backed out of everything. He rode in last night fairly foamin’ about somethin’. He had some things there he wanted. He got ’em an’ rode away an’ as good as told us both to go to hell. He was wild. I never saw him so ugly.” Robin could easily guess the fury that raged in Steele once he had time to think, feeling himself checkmated, his liberty as well as the fruits of his crafty stealing endangered by Robin’s latest move. But that was no matter to be discussed with Ivy. He was sorry for her--but----She looked at him and her lips quivered. Then a curious gleam lit her dark eyes. “If you hadn’t met that tow-headed Sutherland girl, this wouldn’t ’a’ happened,” she blazed out at him. There was no dealing with that oblique reasoning. Robin knew Ivy’s wayward moods of old. He made a little impatient gesture. Ivy rose. “I’m goin’ to the Block S one of these days an’ tear her eyes out,” she said passionately. “Look,” Robin said sternly. “You had me. You could always have had me. I’d ’a’ stuck through anything. But he came along when I was hoein’ a hard row. You got to despisin’ me an’ admirin’ him. That’s all there is to it. When I came back after jumpin’ the country because I thought I’d killed him, you had dropped me like a hot potato. Don’t go blamin’ another woman for somethin’ you did yourself, because you wanted to.” “Both of ’em.” Ivy gritted her white teeth. “I got it in for both of ’em, her an’ Mark. He could ’a’ left me alone, an’ she could ’a’ left you alone an’ it would ’a’ been all right. I hate them both. I have a mind to ride to the Block S and shame ’em before everybody. That’s what I started out to do this mornin’.”