“I knew we were going to have trouble as soon as we looked at each other. I had no feeling toward him, but he had toward me.”
“And did you have trouble?”
“Some, before I landed him. The way it turned out he had most of it.”
She glanced quickly at him. “What do you mean by 'landed'?”
“I am an officer in the Texas Rangers.”
“What are they? Something like our forest rangers?”
“No. The duty of a Texas Ranger is to enforce the law against desperadoes. We prevent crime if we can. When we can't do that, we hunt down the criminals.”
Arlie looked at him in a startled silence.
“You are an officer of the law—a sort of sheriff?” she said, at last.
“Yes, in Texas. This is Wyoming.” He made his distinction, knowing it was a false one. Somehow he had the feeling of a whipped cur.