"I'm sick of worrying about it!" cried Douglas irritably.
"Do you mean you are sick of the fight? That you are going to let Inez have Judith?"
Douglas straightened up. "No, by God! Not if I have to shoot Inez! You go ahead and preach your own way. I'll see that you are not hurt."
And this was his last word on the subject that night.
CHAPTER XV
THE FLAME IN THE VALLEY
"The coyote is a coward, so his bite is the nastiest."
—Old Sister, the dog.
The next day when Douglas went down to the ranch to help out with a
day's work for which John had asked him, Judith obviously avoided him.
Douglas made no attempt to enforce a tête-à-tête until mid-afternoon.
Then he followed Jude into the empty cow stable.
"Jude, I can't bear to have you think I'm not fair about Inez. If that's what you are sore about."