“I’ve done nothing,” he said. “Nothing that any neighbour wouldn’t be glad to do. An’ where Miss Jo’s concerned—well, you can guess it’s a relief to me to try an’ work off a bit of my debt.”
“There is no debt, Mr. Conlan. Jo would be the first to tell you so.”
“Isn’t there?” he said. “Well, I see it pretty plain every time I look at them little kids of mine.” He swung his long form to the saddle, and she watched him ride carefully over the burnt ground to say good-bye to the others; she noticed that, though he shouted cheerily to the boys from his horse, he dismounted when he spoke to the twins. Then he jumped the broken fence and cantered off, leaving them to patrol the dying fires.
CHAPTER XVI
THE TWINS TAKE A HOLIDAY
‟REX, it’s a perfectly dreadful copy!”
Rex shuffled his feet uneasily.
“Well, I can’t make it any better.”
“That’s just nonsense,” Jean said. “It’s almost the last page in your copy-book, and it’s quite the worst copy you’ve done. You just haven’t tried.”
“Did try,” said Rex sullenly.
“I don’t see how you expect me to believe that.”