He felt doubt in her shaken voice.  She did not know what to think now.  Rutherford set himself to clear away her suspicions.  He chose to do it by telling the exact truth.

“Now you may still believe me, honey.  The robbery was planned by Tighe.  I’ll not mention the names of those in it.  The day after it was pulled off, I heard of it for the first time.  Dave Dingwell knew too much.  To protect my friends I had to bring him up here.  Legally I’m guilty of abduction and of the train robbery, too, because I butted in after the hold-up and protected the guilty ones.  I even tried to save for them the gold they had taken.”

“Were—­any of the boys in it, dad?” she quavered.

“One of them.  I won’t tell you which.”

“And Brad?”

“We’re not giving names, Boots.”

“Oh, well!  I know he was one of them.”  She slipped her arm within her father’s and gave his hand a little pressure.  “I’m glad you told me, just the same, dad.  I’d been thinking—­worse things about you.”

“That’s all right, honey.  Now you won’t worry any more, will you?”

“I don’t know. . . .  That’s not all that troubles me.  I feel bad when the boys drink and brawl.  That attack on Mr. Beaudry at Battle Butte was disgraceful,” she flamed.  “I don’t care if he did come up here spying.  Why can’t they let him alone?”

He passed a hand in a troubled fashion through his grizzled hair.  “You can bet our boys won’t touch him again, Boots.  I’ve laid the law down.  But I can’t answer for Tighe.  He’ll do him a meanness if he can, and he’ll do it quicker since I’ve broken off with him because you helped Dingwell and Beaudry to escape.  I don’t know about Brad.”

“I told Brad if he touched him again, I would never speak to him.”

“Maybe that will hold him hitched, then.  Anyhow, I’m not going to make the young fellow trouble.  I’d rather let sleeping dogs lie.”

Beulah pressed her arm against his.  “I haven’t been fair to you, dad.  I might have known you would do right.”

“I aim to stay friends with my little girl no matter what happens.  Yore mother gave you into my hands when she was dying and I promised to be mother and father to you.  Yore own father was my brother Anse.  He died before you were born.  I’ve been the only dad you ever had, and I reckon you know you’ve been more to me than any of my own boys.”

“You shouldn’t say that,” she corrected quickly.  “I’m a girl, and, of course, you spoil me more.  That’s all.”

She gave him a ferocious little hug and went quickly into the house.  Happiness had swept through her veins like the exquisite flush of dawn.  Her lustrous eyes were wells of glad tears.

The owner of the horse ranch stood on the porch and watched a rider coming out of the gulch toward him.  The man descended heavily from his horse and moved down the path.  Rutherford eyed him grimly.