Judith of the Godless Valley | Page 6

'em! You ought to be thrashed, every one of you worthless young
slicks."
Curiously enough, none of the group which had shown so much
temerity in man-handling the preacher now attempted to reply to Peter.
A great shaggy gray dog, exactly like a coyote except that she was
much larger, now appeared in the door beside the postmaster. A chorus
of growls and whines immediately arose from the dogs congregated
among the horses.
"What happened at the schoolhouse?" asked Peter abruptly.
"You're always preaching, yourself; I suppose that's why you didn't
attend," grinned Scott Parsons.
"My Yankee horse is sick," said Peter, "and I couldn't leave him. How
did it go?"
"We ran him out," laughed Douglas. "We gave him a chance to give us
real talk but he couldn't come across, so we roped him and ran him."
"I thought that would happen. Poor Fowler!" Peter's voice was grave.
"Listen, Peter," cried Judith, "I want to ask you a favor."

She mounted the steps and stood before the man. She was as thin as he
and as straight. Peter looked down at her, still scowling.
"Now, Peter, listen! You know I love Swift and wouldn't hurt her for
anything."
"Wouldn't hurt her! Haven't I told you a hundred times that running a
horse through drifts like you do ruins 'em? No, don't try to soft-soap me,
Judith! When you kids want a favor from me, don't come up with your
horses dripping sweat in below zero weather."
He jerked Sister back into the building and slammed the door.
Judith turned. "Well, we can all go over to Inez' place. She asked us."
"Who's there?" demanded Doug.
"Nobody. She says we can dance if we want to."
There was a silence, broken after a moment by Jimmy Day. "You can't
go, Maud."
"I am going if you do!" exclaimed Maud. "Make him let me go, Doug."
"What's the use of being so fussy about poor old Inez?" asked Scott.
"What harm is there in a dance at her place?"
"I don't see why, if my mother don't stop me, yours should stop you,"
protested Judith.
"O, your mother couldn't boss a day-old calf!" said Jimmy impatiently.
"Don't you knock my mother!" shrilled Judith.
"Your mother--" began Maud.
"Dry up, Maud, or I'll smack your mouth!" ordered Douglas.
"No you won't!" cried Jimmy.

"I will, anybody that says anything against Jude's mother," returned
Douglas promptly.
"Aw, if you folks are going to start fighting, as usual I'm going home,"
growled Scott Parsons. "Every time the crowd gets together, Jude has
to start a scrap. It's getting god-awful cold, anyhow, and I've got chores
to do." He spurred Ginger and was off.
"Same here!" chimed half a dozen voices, and more horses were
spurred away.
Douglas glared at Judith. "Always making trouble! I should think you'd
get sick of it."
"Let 'em not knock my mother, or my horse, or my dog, then," replied
Judith, tossing her head.
"Your dog! Prince is my dog, miss, and don't you forget it for a
minute," cried Douglas.
He spurred Buster onto the main trail which lifted gradually toward
Dead Line Peak. Judith, after a pouting moment, followed him.
Except for this steady lift from seven thousand feet at Black Gorge to
eight thousand feet at the base of Dead Line and Falkner's Peaks, the
valley was as level as a floor. The sun was setting as the two left the
post-office. Lost Chief Range, on their right, was black against fire.
The snow of the valley was as blue as indigo. A gentle but bitterly cold
wind rose from the east. Prince, yelping, set off after a skulking coyote.
When he had disappeared beyond a distant herd grazing through the
snow, Judith pushed her horse up beside Buster.
"Doug, am I any scrappier than the rest of them?"
Douglas, his cigarette hanging negligently from a corner of his mouth,
nodded.
"Well, I have to be, Doug," insisted Judith.

"No, you don't. You just look for trouble, all the time. Why do you
have to be?"
"Who is there to look out for me?" demanded the girl, chin in the air.
"Pshaw! You don't need a guard, do you? Besides, what's the matter
with me?"
"Huh! You don't really care what happens to me. I'm not your real
sister and you never forget it. I'm lonely."
Douglas gave her a curious glance. Was she, he wondered,
experiencing that feeling of loneliness and longing which had been
haunting him for months? He wanted to ask her about it but he could
not. She laughed at him too easily.
They rode on in silence for a while, Judith's thin young body sagging
dejectedly in the saddle. The lavendar twilight was gathering. White
stars hung within hand touch. Prince returned to