"Wal, what do you want?" he asked, gruffly. He had sensed catastrophe in the first sight of the hunter.
"Belllounds, I reckon I want a hell of a lot," replied Wade. "An' I'm askin' you to see we're not disturbed."
"Bar the door."
Wade dropped the bar in place, and then, removing his sombrero, he wiped his moist brow.
"Do you see an enemy in me?" he asked, curiously.
"Speakin' out fair, Wade, there ain't any reason I can see that you're an enemy to me," replied Belllounds. "But I feel somethin'. It ain't because I'm takin' my son's side. It's more than that. A queer feelin', an' one I never had before. I got it first when you told the story of the Gunnison feud."
"Belllounds, we can't escape our fates. An' it was written long ago I was to tell you a worse an' harder story than that."
"Wal, mebbe I'll listen an' mebbe I won't. I ain't promisin', these days."
"Are you goin' to make Collie marry Jack?" demanded the hunter.
"She's willin'."