It  had  to  be  done.  An'  shore  I  was  afraid  of  Roy.  He'd
been  bad.  An'  so  would  any  of  the  other  boys.  I'm
sorta  lookin'  out  for  all  of  them,  you  know,  actin'  as  Miss
Helen's  foreman  now."

Helen  was  unutterably  tickled.  The  effect  of  his  speech
upon  Bo  was  stupendous.  He  had  disarmed  her.  He
had,  with  the  finesse  and  tact  and  suavity  of  a  diplomat,
removed  himself  from  obligation,  and  the  detachment  of
self,  the  casual  thing  he  apparently  made  out  of  his  mag-
nificent championship,  was  bewildering  and  humiliating
to  Bo.  She  sat  silent  for  a  moment  or  two  while  Helen
tried  to  fit  easily  into  the  conversation.  It  was  not  likely
that  Bo  would  long  be  at  a  loss  for  words,  and  also  it  was
immensely  probable  that  with  a  flash  of  her  wonderful
spirit  she  would  turn  the  tables  on  her  perverse  lover  in
a  twinkling.  Anyway,  plain  it  was  that  a  lesson  had  sunk
deep.  She  looked  startled,  hurt,  wistful,  and  finally
sweetly  defiant.
"But — you  told  Riggs  I  was  your  girl!"  Thus  Bo  un-
masked her  battery.  And  Helen  could  not  imagine  how
Carmichael  would  ever  resist  that  and  the  soft,  arch  glance
which  accompanied  it.
Helen  did  not  yet  know  the  cowboy,  any  more  than
did  Bo.
"Shore.  I  had  to  say  thet.  I  had  to  make  it  strong
before  thet  gang.  I  reckon  it  was  presumin'  of  me,  an*
I  shore  apologize."

Bo  stared  at  him,  and  then,  giving  a  little  gasp,  she
drooped.
"Wai,  I  just  run  in  to  say  howdy  an'  to  inquire  after
you-all,"  said  Carmichael.  "I'm  goin'  to  the  dance,  an'
as  Flo  lives  out  of  town  a  ways  I'd  shore  better  rustle.
