“I did that,” he replied at length, half defiantly, but in great confusion.
“But why? There was nothing to be gained by that. There were no cattle in the pasture or near it.”
Huntington hesitated, shifting his weight uneasily from his left foot to his right, and back again to the left. Then he looked at Marion, saw the appeal in her eyes, and plunged.
“I wanted to make you angry.”
“To make me angry?”
“To make you do something reckless.”
Haig studied him, and saw that he was dealing with a man who was in some respects, and for all his physical strength, a boy––a child. He felt his anger rising, but put it down resolutely.
“That was very foolish, Huntington!” he said, with some sharpness. “It certainly made me furious, as you saw later at the post-office.”
“But you were wrong to call me a liar and a thief. And that’s something you’ve got to––”
“Got to what?” demanded Haig quickly.