Presently he heard a voice behind him, and he turned to confront Betty.
"I heard what you said to Taggart, of course, about him trying to shoot
you. I didn't know that. He deserved punishment for it. But I am
sure that part of the punishment you dealt him was administered because
of the way he talked about me. If that is so, I wish to thank you."
"You might as well save your breath," he said gruffly; "I didn't do it
for you."
She laughed. "Then why didn't you choose another place to call him to
account?"
He did not answer, driving another wedge home with an extra vicious
blow.
She watched him in silence for an instant, and then, with a laugh which
might have meant amusement or something akin to it, she turned and
walked to the house.
CHAPTER XII
A PEACE OFFERING
If there was one trait in Betty's character that bothered Calumet more
than another, it was her frankness. More than once during the days
that followed Neal Taggart's visit Calumet was made to feel the absence
of guile in her treatment of him. The glances she gave him were as
straightforward and direct as her words, and it became plain to him
that with her there were no mental reservations. Her attitude toward
him had not changed; she still dealt with him as the school teacher
deals with the unruly scholar--with a personal aloofness that promised
an ever-widening gulf if he persisted in defying her authority.
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