“Yes—and my husband,” defiantly.
“Uh-huh—your husband,” agreed Roper thoughtfully. “A sheep-herder for a husband.”
Mrs. Kirk got up from the bunk and faced Roper Bates.
“What difference does that make?” she demanded. “We took this job together. If he’s a sheep-herder, so am I. No matter if he does herd sheep—he’s as good as you are.”
“Good as I am,” parroted Roper thoughtfully.
“He had to live in the hills, and there was nothing else for him to do. We had to live.”
“Had to,” agreed Roper slowly.
“And he’s my husband,” repeated Mrs. Kirk, very near to the verge of a breakdown, “and I love him more than anything in the world.”
Roper peered closely at her and looked at the man in the bunk.
“More ’n anythin’—in—the—world! Well, I’ll be eternally ——!” blurted Roper.