Judith paused to take breath and Douglas asked, “Say, now listen, Jude, was Inez ever in love?”

“She says she’s in love right now but she won’t say who he is.”

“I don’t believe she knows what love is!  Her ideas aren’t worth anything.  I’ve lost faith in these folks that tell you they know life.  They’re exactly like the rest of us under their skins.  I’m getting to believe that we all get happiness in the same way and over mighty few things.  Loving and having children, that’s about all.”

“Inez says it’s nothing of the kind; that the only way to be happy is to know what is beautiful when you see it.”

“I suppose that’s smart,” said Douglas crossly, “but I haven’t any idea what it means.”

“I know what it means; but you never will until you can ride across Fire Mesa with your heart aching because it’s so beautiful.”

“I don’t see where in the world you get the idea that I don’t see the beauty in things!” protested Douglas.  “I can’t gush like a girl and quote poetry, but this sure is a lovely country to me.  And I want my children’s children to have this valley and hold it till the very bones of their bodies are made out of the dust of Lost Chief.  That’s how I feel about these old hills.  More than that, I can see how a marriage here in Lost Chief might be a life-long dream of beauty.”

Judith looked at Douglas with astonishment not unmixed with admiration.  But she returned sturdily to her own line of defense.

“Doug, do you see any beautiful marriage around here?”

Douglas stared at her tragically, then answered with a groan:  “No, I don’t!  But,” with new firmness, “that’s not saying I don’t firmly believe I couldn’t make marriage a lovely thing.”

“Why, do you think you are cleverer than anybody else?”

“Not clever, but—­but—­” Douglas paused, powerless to tell Judith of that something within him that suddenly told him that his fate was to bring to Lost Chief the thing of the soul it never had had.  How or what this was to be, he did not know.

After a time, he said softly, “Judith, were you ever in love?”

Judith returned his look with a curiously impersonal glance.  “I’m not sure,” she answered slowly.  “Not what Inez calls love, that’s sure.”

“Isn’t there any other woman in Lost Chief that could give you ideas except Inez?” asked Douglas impatiently.

“What woman would you suggest?” Judith waggled one foot airily and tossed her head.

“Charleton’s wife.  She has brain and she’s interesting.”

“She’s too old.  I mean she looks at everything from an old-fashioned viewpoint.  I wouldn’t care what her age was if she could just see things the way they look to a person sixteen or seventeen years old.  Now, Inez is awfully modern.”

“Modern!” snorted Douglas.  “Where’d you read that?  It sure is a new word for Inez’ kind!”

Judith flushed angrily but was denied a retort, for Peter suddenly appeared in the door.