Bat’s regard was unwavering before the other’s angry eyes.

“Sense is a hell of a good thing to have an’ talk,” he said quietly.  “I most generally notice the feller yearnin’ for someone else to get it an’ talk that way, mostly has least use for the thing he’s preachin’.  Maybe Nancy feels the way you reckon.  But that don’t seem to me to worry a deal.  Still, maybe things have changed around since the days when I hadn’t sense to keep out of gunshot of a pair of dandy eyes.  And anyway I don’t seem to remember the boys bein’ worried with the sort of argument you’re handing out.  If my memory’s as good as I reckon, the boys most gener’ly married the gal first, an’ got busy wonderin’ about things after.  All of which seems like so much hoss sense, seem’ the natur’ of things is that most gals needs their minds made up for ’em.  You see, Bull, I kind o’ fancy womenfolk ain’t just ord’nary.  They got a bug that makes ’em think queer wher’ men are concerned.  Now Nancy’s all sorts of a gal, an’ that bein’ so I don’t reckon she sees the hell-fire crimes you’ve committed against her just the way you see ’em.  I allow they’re pretty darn tough.  Shootin’ up her outfit an’ dumpin’ her into a snowdrift up on Labrador’s mighty hard sort of courtin’.  Grabbin’ her up an’ settin’ her hospital nurse to her enemies, in a house full of a bunch of tough men don’t seem the surest way to make her smile on the feller that did it.  Then most generally beatin’ the game she set out to play looks like makin’ fer trouble plenty.  It sure seems that way.  But you never can tell with a woman, Bull.  You just can’t.”

Bat shook his grizzled head in solemn denial, but his eyes were laughing.  Bull smothered his resentment.  He, too, shook his head, and somehow caught the infection of the other’s smile.

“But she’s ambitious,” he said.  “And she isn’t the sort of girl to take that easily.  No.”

Bat nodded and rose from his chair.  Something of his purpose had been achieved and he was satisfied.  He felt he had said all that was needed for the moment.  So he prepared to take his departure.

“Maybe that’s so, boy,” he agreed readily.  “But ambition’s a thing that changes with most every wind.  That don’t worry me a thing.  Say, you’ve sort of opened out about this thing to me, an’ I ain’t sure why.  But I kind of feel good about it.  You’re younger than me by years I don’t fancy reckonin’.  I feel like I was an elder brother, an’ I’m glad.  Well, that bein’ so, I’d like to say right here ther’s just one ambition in a woman’s life that counts.  And she mostly gits it when she hits up against the feller that’s got the guts to make her think his way.  When that happens I guess you can roll up every other old schedule, an’ pass it into the beater to make new paper.  It’s the only use for it.  See?  But I ’low I don’t know women like I do groundwood, which was the stuff that fetched me here right now.  You see, I was feelin’ good about things, an’ I fancied handin’ you the news of them ‘fire-bugs’ myself.  Guess it hasn’t handed you any sort of delirium so far, Bull, but it will later.  I allow ther’ ain’t room for two fevers at the same time in a man’s body.  When you’ve set Nancy McDonald figgerin’ your way, your temperature’s liable to go up on the other.  So long, boy.”