He finished the anecdote with a chuckle which died out as he saw her eyes widen with horror.  Five years ago? she was thinking, he must have been hardly more than a boy.  How many other chapters as violent as this were in his story?

“And—­he didn’t even offer to pay your doctor bill, I’ll wager?”

“Him?” Perris chuckled again.  “He’ll pay it, some day.  It’s just postponed—­slow collection—­that’s all!” He shrugged the thought of it away, and straightened a little, plainly waiting to hear her business.  But her mind was still only half on her own affairs as she began talking.

“I have to go into the affairs of our ranch a little,” she said, “so that you can understand why I’ve asked you to come here.  My father was hurt by a fall from a horse several years ago and the accident made him an invalid.  He can’t sit a saddle and because of that he has lost all touch with his business.  Worst of all, he doesn’t seem to care.  The result was that everything went into the hands of the foreman, but the foreman was not very successful.  As a matter of fact the ranch became a losing investment and I came out to try to run it.  I suppose that sounds foolish?”

She looked sharply at him, but to her delight for the first time his eyes had lighted with a real enthusiasm.

“It sounds pretty fine to me,” said Red Perris.

“The foreman doesn’t think so,” she answered.  “He wants his old authority.”

“So he makes your trail all uphill?”

“By simply refusing to advise me.  My father won’t talk business.  Lew Hervey won’t.  I’m trying to run a dollar business with a cent’s worth of knowledge and no experience.  I can’t discharge Hervey; his service has been too long and faithful.  But I want to have someone up there who will go into training to take Hervey’s place eventually.  Someone who knows cattle and can tell me what to do now and then.  Mr. Perris, do you know the cow business?”

Some of his interest faded.

“Most folks raised in these parts do,” he answered obliquely.  “I should think you could get a dozen anywhere.”

She explained eagerly:  “It’s not so simple.  You see, Lew Hervey is rather a rough character.  In the old days I think he was quite a fighter.  I guess he still is.  And he’s gathered a lot of fighting men for cowpunchers on the ranch.  When he sees me bring in an understudy for his part, so to speak, I’m afraid he might make trouble unless he was convinced it would be safer to keep his hands off the new man.”

The gloom of Perris returned.  He was still politely attentive, but his head turned, and the eager eyes found something of interest across the street.  She knew her grip on him was failing and she struggled to regain it.  Here was her man, she knew.  Here was one who would ride the fiercest outlaw horse on the ranch; wear out the toughest cowboy; play with them to weariness when they wanted to play, fight with them to exhaustion when they wanted to fight, and as her right-hand man, advise her for the best.