Page:Caroline Lockhart--The full of the Moon.djvu/220



was in no gentle mood for days after his call upon Nan at Las Rubertas. The episode rankled like a thorn, and he still itched for satisfaction.

He had planted the seeds of unpleasantness and trouble for her before he left the village, but he wanted a swifter and surer revenge, and this would come through Ben Evans.

Urgent business took him to the farther end of the county, and the days which intervened before he could act seemed long indeed, but when he did return to the ranch he awaited the appearance of Ben with savage eagerness.

Ben, as was customary, gave a detailed report of the movements and work of the outfit during his absence, which included an account of his encounter with Kansas Ed in the arroyo.

Before his brief statement was done he 208