Judith of Blue Lake Ranch | Page 8

it to my mouth. For the
love of Heaven, hurry, man!"
Then no man there doubted longer the mad tale Bud Lee had brought
them. Down from Trevors's sleeves, staining each hand, there had come
a broadening trickle of blood. Trevors set his teeth and waited. Benny
at last cooled the coffee and held it to his lips. Trevors drank swiftly,
draining the cup.
"Get this coat off me," he commanded. "Curse you, don't tear my arms
off! Slit the sleeves."
Benny's big, razor-edged butcher-knife cut away coat and shirt sleeves.
And at last, to the eager gaze of the men in the bunk-house, there
appeared the two wounds, one upon the outer right shoulder, the other
upon the left forearm.
It was Lee who, pushing the clumsy cook aside, silently made the two
bandages from strips of Trevors's shirt. It was Lee who brought a flask
of brandy from which Trevors drank deep.

And then came Judith.
They stared at her as they might have done had the heavens opened and
an angel come down, or the earth split and a devil sprung up. She
looked in upon them with quick, keen eyes which sought to take every
man's measure. They returned her regard with a variety of amazed
expressions. Never since these men had come to work for Bayne
Trevors had a woman so much as ridden by the door. And to have her
stand there, composed, utterly at her ease, her air vaguely authoritative,
a vitally vivid being who might, suddenly, have taken tangible form
from the dawn, bewildered them. Bud Lee had told of the coming of
the Blue Lake owner; he had not mentioned that that owner had
brought his daughter with him.
"I am Judith Sanford," she said in her abrupt fashion, quite as she had
made the announcement to Lee and Trevors. "This outfit belongs to me.
I have fired Trevors. You take your orders straight from me from now
on. Cookie, give me some coffee."
She came in without ceremony and sat down at the head of the table.
Benny gasped, stood for a moment rooted to the floor, and then,
Judith's eyes hard upon him, hastily brought the coffee. From some
emotion certainly not clear to him he went a violent red. Perhaps the
emotion was just sheer embarrassment. He brought hot cakes with one
hand while with the other he buttoned his gaping shirt-collar over a
bulging, hairy chest.
Men who had finished their breakfasts rose hastily with a marked
awkwardness and ill-concealed haste and went outside, whence their
low voices came back in a confused consultation. Men who had not
finished followed them. In an amazingly short time there were but the
girl, Lee, Trevors and the cook in the room. Then Trevors went out,
Benny at his heels. Bud Lee, moving with his usual leisureliness, was
following when Judith's cool voice said quietly:
"You, Lee, wait a moment. I want to talk with you."
Lee hesitated. Then he came back and waited.

The men outside naturally grouped about the general manager. His
angry voice, lifted clearly, reached the two in the room.
"I'm fired," said Trevors harshly. "As soon as I can get going I am
leaving for the Western Lumber camp. Every one of you boys holds his
job here because I gave it to him. Do you want to hold it now, with a
fool girl telling you what to do? Do you want men up and down the
State to laugh at you and jeer at you for a pack of softies and imbeciles?
Or do you want to roll your blankets and quit? To every man that jumps
the job here and follows me to-day I promise a job with the Western.
You fellows know the sort of boss I've been to you. You can guess the
sort of boss that chicken in there would be. Now I'm going. It's up to
you. Stick to a white man or fuss around for a woman?"
He had said what he had to say and, cursing when his shoulder struck a
form near him, made his way down to the stables. Burkitt was ahead of
him, going for the team.
"Well, Lee," said Judith sharply, "where do you get off? Do you want
to stick? Or shall I count you out?"
"I guess," said Bud very gently, "you'd better count me out."
"You're going with that crook?"
"No. I'm going on my own."
"Why? You're getting good money here. If you're square I'll keep you
at the same figure."
But Bud shook his head.
"I'm game to play square," he said slowly. "I'll stick a week, giving you
the chance to get a man in my place. That's all."
"What's the matter with you?" she cried hotly. "Why