"Poor Old Blue--poor old fellow!" she finished with a little catch in her voice.
Old Heck's cheeks whitened as he listened.
"Good lord," he half-groaned, "you had a close call! It's lucky th' Ramblin' Kid saw you coming toward the upper ford--if he hadn't--you'd never got out! But go on into the house and get some dry clothes on. Boys, we'll have to hurry up and eat dinner and then go help get them steers back. I wish Parker was here--we'll need all the help we can get. You'd better catch up another horse," he continued, speaking to the Ramblin' Kid, "Captain Jack is probably worn out from chasing that Gold Dust maverick last night, and if you ain't too tired yourself, go with us--"
"I ain't too tired," the Ramblin' Kid replied quietly, "I'll go--an' ride Captain Jack--he ain't done up." He took the broncho to the corral, removed the saddle and turned him in with the outlaw mare. After giving the horses fresh hay--there was water in the corral, supplied by a small ditch that was fed from the larger irrigation canal and which ran under one side of the fence--he joined the others at dinner.
An hour later Old Heck, Bert, Charley and the Ramblin' Kid rode away from the ranch to help Chuck, Skinny and Pedro round up and return to the big pasture the cattle that had broken out and were rushing toward their old range on the Purgatory.
Carolyn June was left alone with Sing Pete, the Chinese cook at the Quarter Circle KT. She still felt somewhat shaken from her experience of the morning, although a bath, clean dry clothing and the meal had refreshed her considerably. She carried a chair to the front porch, thinking to spend the afternoon resting. The events of the day raced in review through her mind. It did not seem possible so much could have happened in so short a time. Only yesterday had Ophelia and she arrived at the ranch. Already she had the feeling that they both were fixtures, and had been indefinitely, at the Quarter Circle KT. The elemental atmosphere of the range country had completely enveloped her, seemed to have absorbed her, and made her a part of it. Some way she rather delighted in this sensation of permanency. Her rescue by the Ramblin' Kid and the close view she had been able to get of his impulses made her thrill with a queer mixture of admiration and pity for him even while his brutal answer when she had apologized for her harsh words still echoed in her mind.