“You could at least have one of the cowboys go with you,” he said, turning appealingly to Bud.
Before Bud could answer, Josephine cut in with a forced laugh.
She faced Mason again and he fancied he saw a reckless light in her eyes.
“There is no danger”; she spoke the words slowly; “you must remember that two of Bud’s cowboys are in charge of the Ricker ranch.”
At the rebuke the hot blood mounted into his cheeks. He felt the sting of her words and lapsed into silence as he watched them ride off.
“Josephine is a strange girl, and I cannot understand her,” he mused angrily. “Anyone would think she is sore at me for something. She never treats Bud that way; instead, she favors him all the time and that proves she loves him.”
Thus meditating, he passed a part of the morning away. Dinner time came and found him in a wretched state of mind.
Later, while idly chatting with the cowboys, a rider was observed coming from the direction of Trader’s Post.
The cowboys watched him keenly when they noticed he was riding furiously. Mason stood near Buck Miller and was amused at the eager way the cowboy was watching the rider’s approach.
He smiled grimly as he thought how such little things interested these cowboys. As for himself, his heart was heavy at the remembrance of Josephine’s attitude to him this day, and he was turning wearily away when he heard a sharp exclamation from Buck Miller which caused him to turn and look at him in surprise.