“Did he look well, Lance?” she cried.
“Well, as to that, I can’t hardly say,” returned the cowboy, with maddening deliberation. “Seein’ as I didn’t see him ’cept in passin’, as you might say.”
“Where was he going?” cried Dorothy, almost frantic with suspense. “At least you can tell me that, can’t you?”
“Don’t be so slow and palaverin’,” Susan Petterby adjured her husband. “You can be the most aggravatin’ person when you wants to, Lance Petterby. Takin’ so long to think and puttin’ a body off so. Can’t you see the young lady is worried nigh to death?”
“Guess that’s so, though you’re always the one for seein’ things, Sue,” said Lance penitently. “Your brother Joe was going to Garry Knapp’s ranch when I saw him, Miss Dale.”
“Oh, then everything is all right,” cried Dorothy, with a great sigh of relief. “Once he gets to Garry all my worries will be over.”
“Yes, if we was only sure he got where he was goin’,” said Lance gloomily, adding hastily in response to his wife’s sharp nudge in the ribs: “Though it’s more than likely he got there all right, anyway.”
In spite of his clumsy attempt to cover a slip of the tongue, the mischief had been done. Fear leaped into Dorothy’s heart again as she said quietly:
“Please tell me what you meant by that, Lance. Please don’t try to keep anything from me.”
“Well,” complied Lance reluctantly, always keeping an eye on his plump and pretty wife, “I sure don’t mean to scare you, Miss Dorothy, because, as I said before, everything is probably all right. But the lad was in company with a fellow that ain’t no friend of Garry’s, nor yet of any decent man’s in these parts. You may be sure I didn’t trust him, and when I heard who the lad was I did my best to get him to go with me.”