“I’m not giving you away,” he said. “Guess I’ll be back in an hour.”
Curly nodded and moved over to one of the two chairs.
“Thanks, Padre,” he said as the other passed quickly out of the room.
CHAPTER XVII
TWO POINTS OF VIEW
Beasley Melford was in a detestable mood. For one reason his miserable bar was empty of all customers, and, for another, he knew that he was responsible for the fact.
Had he any sense of humor, the absurdity of the thing must have forced itself upon him and possibly helped to improve his temper. But he had no humor, and so abandoned himself to the venomous temper that was practically the mainspring of his life.
He cursed his absent customers. He cursed the man, Curly Saunders. He cursed the girl whom the trouble had been about. But more than all he cursed himself for his own folly in permitting a desire to bait Joan Rest to interfere with his business.