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"Then you judge wrong. Those men did not know I was with dad that

night. They thought I was another man. You see, they had just

lost their suit for damages against dad and some more for the

loss of six hundred sheep in a raid last year. They couldn't

prove who did it." She flamed into a sudden passion of

resentment. "I don't defend them any. They are a lot of coyotes,

or they wouldn't have attacked two men, riding alone."

He ventured a rapier thrust. "How about the Squaw Creek raid?

Don't your friends sometimes forget to fight fair, too?"

He had stamped the fire out of her in an instant. She drooped

visibly. "Yes--yes, they do," she faltered. "I don't defend them,

either. Dad had nothing to do with that. He doesn't shoot in the

back."

"I'm glad to hear it," he retorted cheerfully. "And I'm glad to

hear that your friends the enemy didn't know it was a girl they

were attacking. Fact is, I thought you were a boy myself when

first I happened in and you fanned me with your welcome."