Berrie went further. “I want him to ride back with me to-day.”
He looked at her with grave inquiry. “Do you think that a wise thing to do? Won’t that make more talk?”
“We’ll start early and ride straight through.”
“You’ll have to go by Lost Lake, and that means a long, hard hike. Can he stand it?”
“Oh yes. He rides well. It’s the walking at a high altitude that does him up. Furthermore, Cliff may turn up here, and I don’t want another mix-up.”
McFarlane was troubled. “I ought to go back with you; but Moore is over here to line out a cutting, and I must stay on for a couple of days. Suppose I send Tony along?”
“No, Tony would be a nuisance and would do no good. Another day on the trail won’t add to Mrs. Belden’s story. If she wants to be mean she’s got all the material for it already.”
In the end she had her way. McFarlane, perceiving that she had set her heart on this ride, and having perfect faith in her skill and judgment on the trail, finally said: “Well, if you do so, the quicker you start the better. With the best of luck you can’t pull in before eight o’clock, and you’ll have to ride hard to do that.”
“If I find we can’t make it I’ll pull into a ranch. But I’m sure we can.”
When Wayland came in the Supervisor inquired: “Do you feel able to ride back over the hill to-day?”