Page:Honore Willsie--Judith of the godless valley.djvu/337

 "Judith," he said, "you must believe that I'm not criticizing you. I'm just trying to help you do the wise thing."

"Why can't I go on across the Basin and get the A. B. railroad at Doty's ?" asked Judith.

Douglas looked down the terrible mountainside. "We aren't equipped for it, Jude."

She drew a deep breath. "I don't want to go back where I have to breathe the same air he does."

"Judith, what did he do?" Doug's lips were stiff and his eyes contracted as if with pain.

"I didn't give him a chance to do anything. I don't want even to talk about it."

Douglas sat silent for a moment; then he said huskily, "I'm ashamed of him."

Suddenly Judith put her hands before her eyes and began to sob. Douglas groaned. He put his arms about her and presently she leaned against him and wept with complete abandonment. Finally she began to talk.

"He's always worried me, a little—but I wasn't really afraid of him. I don't want to think about him—or talk about him—to anybody. Up till Saturday night he was just one of the hard things that heckled me—I didn't have anybody to go to. If I went to you, you'd want to—marry me. And—Inez—Inez has gone back on all the ideas she got me to believe. She's gone—and fallen in love—with Peter! She—she told me not long ago that she was going to do everything she could to make him marry her.—Just as soon as something touched her selfish interests she went to pieces.—I want to get away from Lost Chief!"

Douglas patted her shoulder in silence. It was inexpressibly sweet to have her there.

"A girl has a brain, as well as a man," she went on.