Most of the way they covered in silence. Just before they reached the village, Reed came to what was in his mind.
“You an’ Betty had any trouble, Hollister?”
The younger man considered this a moment. “No trouble; that is, not exactly trouble.”
“She’s high-headed,” her father said, rather by way of explanation than apology. “But she’s the salt of the earth. Don’t you make any mistake about that.”
“I wouldn’t be likely to,” his guest said quietly. “She’s the finest girl I ever met.”
The cowman looked quickly at him. “Did she go to the Quarter Circle D E because of anything that took place between you an’ her?”
“I think so.” He added a moment later an explanation: “I let her see how much I thought of her. It slipped out. I hadn’t meant to.”
Reed was still puzzled. He knew his daughter liked the young fellow by his side. “Did that make her mad?” he asked.
“No. I found out she cared for me.”
“You mean—?”