Judith of the Godless Valley Part 50

Douglas answered with simple sincerity. "I don't care a hang whether you get converted or not."

"O you don't! Well, just to spite you, I'll come and let the old fellow try his hand!"

"Not really, Inez?" gasped Judith.

"I'd do more than that for Doug and for Lost Chief," said Inez soberly, "Doug isn't the only person who loves this old hole in the hills."

Judith turned to Douglas with a sudden wistfulness in her eyes, a sudden flare of a fire he had not seen in them before. He waited for her to speak but she only turned away toward the door.

"I'll look for you about six then, Inez," he said, and he followed Judith.

When the girls appeared at the cabin that evening, the table was set and the steak was frying. Inez and Judith winked at each other when Mr.

Fowler said grace but otherwise the meal progressed decorously enough.

It was Inez who brought up the tabooed subject. They had been sitting round the stove listening to a tale of old lynch law which the preacher told with real skill, when Inez interrupted him with entire irrelevance.

"Mr. Fowler, do you really believe there is such a thing as right and wrong?"

The preacher paused, studying Inez' face. Her dark eyes were steady and thoughtful. Her mouth, except for the slightly heavy lower lip, was sensitive. Her whole expression was one of pride and independence.

"Yes, I believe in right and wrong," replied Mr. Fowler, deliberately.

"What makes you believe that a man who lived nearly two thousand years ago can decide what is right or wrong for Lost Chief?" she asked.

"The Bible," answered the preacher.

"But the Bible is full of things that I would call crooked. Those prophets were always putting slick tricks over on each other and the people. There was a lot of dirty work done in the name of the Lord by those ancient Jews."

The preacher leaned toward the woman. "Do you believe in right and wrong, Inez Rodman?"

"No, I don't. I believe in kindness and in beauty. That's all."

"How does one believe in beauty?" asked Mr. Fowler.

"I mean," she replied, "that if you fill your mind with the beauty of this Lost Chief country and with poetry, there is no room for anything ugly."

"What would you call ugly?"

"Being mean to other people is one kind of ugliness."

"That's what I believe too," said Judith suddenly.

"Then, of course, neither of you two would have anything to do with the attempt to run the preacher out," suggested Douglas.

"No, I wouldn't," replied Inez; "and I told Scott so. That doesn't mean that I don't consider you plumb loco, Doug. Mr. Fowler isn't the kind to make the folks see the beauty of these hills. If he was I'd be helping instead of indifferent."

"If the folks would let G.o.d enter their hearts," cried the preacher, "they'd see beauty in these hills they never dreamed of."

"Well, as far as beauty goes, Inez," Douglas spoke thoughtfully, "you can't say there isn't considerable of that in the Bible. Take the Songs of Solomon. There never was finer love-making than that!"

"The Songs of Solomon don't deal with human pa.s.sion," said Mr. Fowler hastily. "They are a recital of man's love for the Almighty and His works."

"O, no, Mr. Fowler!" cried Doug. "'Behold thou art fair, my loved one, behold thou art fair. Thou hast doves eyes within thy locks.' No man ever said that about anything but a woman."

No one spoke for a moment. Old Prince, who was lying with his head baking under the stove, growled and barked, then made for the door. Wolf Cub barked without, and a dog answered.

"Sister!" exclaimed Inez. "Peter must be coming."

Douglas opened the door and Prince shot out. Shortly Peter, then Charleton, came in, stamping the snow from their spurs and pulling off their gauntlets.

"Where did you two come from?" asked Judith, as the newcomers established themselves on up-ended boxes close to the stove.

"Just met here," replied Peter. "I had supper at Spencer's and came up to argue with the sky pilot."

"I'm setting traps up on Lost Chief," said Charleton, lighting a cigarette.

"Look out you don't mistake any of Scott's traps for yours," suggested Inez.

Everybody chuckled, and Peter said, "Elijah Nelson was down at my place yesterday. He's a pleasant, easy spoken man. I guess he and Scott have been having a lot of quiet fighting up there we haven't heard about."

"Is that what he came to see you about?" asked Doug.

"No. It seems his trail out to the Mountain City road is snowed up. He wants to get his mail over here if Scott will let him use his trail. He wants me to speak to Scott about it."

"What Scott will claim," Charleton smiled, "is that he positively must have a retired location and complete privacy on his trail."

There was another chuckle, during which the preacher looked from one keen face to another, but he did not speak.

"What has the sc.r.a.pping been about, Peter?" asked Inez.

Douglas turned quietly to look at her. It suddenly occurred to him that Inez used Peter's name with a cadence that was new to him. He saw that she was watching Peter's thin sallow face with a shadow of strain about her eyes.

"O it's about a bull again," laughed Peter. "It seems that Scott has an old red bull that Nelson says is one of his, rebranded."

"But I thought," began Judith; then she caught Charleton's sardonic eye and subsided.

"What did you think, Judith?" asked Peter.

"Nothing. Go on with your story."

"There is no story to it. Scott's been keeping a six-shooter guard on the upper springs of Lost Chief, so's old Nelson hasn't had but half his usual allowance of water for his ditches. He is sorer about that than he is over the bull, though he certainly is determined to get the critter back. But he got small comfort out of me. I told him to keep his plural fingers off of Lost Chief Creek, or he would lose more than an old red bull."

"Right-o!" grunted Charleton.

"Are you going to ask Scott to let Nelson use his trail, Peter?" asked Inez.

"Sure! Why not?" laughed Peter.

"You will make Scott sore at you," replied Inez. "I haven't any quarrel with Scott myself, but I know he has a mean streak in him. If he thinks you are in cahoots with Nelson he will make you trouble."