“I can’t see where I’ve got the right to give Long any more trouble.”
“But he isn’t letting you go, Roger. He’s putting it up to you, and he means what he says when he declares he’ll try to get you.”
“If he does, he’ll probably get me,” mused Rathburn.
“But maybe he won’t get us, Roger.”
“Us?”
“You and I, Roger. Listen! There’s a land ’way up north, Roger. I’ve read about it. It’s past the desert and the mountains and the plains––in another country! And there’s a river there, Roger––a river they call Peace River. I’ve always loved the name. We’ll go there, Roger, you and I––and father can come later.”
She looked up at him with shining eyes and put her arms about his neck, and she saw the unbelievable wonder in his face. The man trembled. Then he took her and held her and kissed her, time after time.
“Joe Price said I could never be satisfied away from the desert unless I took along something that was of it,” he muttered hoarsely; “I wonder–––”
“Yes, Roger, he meant me.”