Page:Honore Willsie--Judith of the godless valley.djvu/248

 in her eyes, a sudden flare of a fire he had not seen in them before. He waited for her to speak but she only turned away toward the door.

"I'll look for you about six then, Inez," he said, and he followed Judith.

When the girls appeared at the cabin that evening, the table was set and the steak was frying. Inez and Judith winked at each other when Mr. Fowler said grace but otherwise the meal progressed decorously enough. It was Inez who brought up the tabooed subject. They had been sitting round the stove listening to a tale of old lynch law which the preacher told with real skill, when Inez interrupted him with entire irrelevance.

"Mr. Fowler, do you really believe there is such a thing as right and wrong?"

The preacher paused, studying Inez' face. Her dark eyes were steady and thoughtful. Her mouth, except for the slightly heavy lower lip, was sensitive. Her whole expression was one of pride and independence.

"Yes, I believe in right and wrong," replied Mr. Fowler, deliberately.

"What makes you believe that a man who lived nearly two thousand years ago can decide what is right or wrong for Lost Chief?" she asked.

"The Bible," answered the preacher.

"But the Bible is full of things that I would call crooked. Those prophets were always putting slick tricks over on each other and the people. There was a lot of dirty work done in the name of the Lord by those ancient Jews."

The preacher leaned toward the woman. "Do you believe in right and wrong, Inez Rodman?"

"No, I don't. I believe in kindness and in beauty. That's all."