See? I'm sick to death. Right here an' now I tell you ther's goin' to
be a rotten piece of trouble around this lay-out, an' I'm goin' to be
in it--right up to my back teeth."
It was perhaps the first time Bud had displayed impatience with the man
who had always been the leading spirit of their enterprise. The truth
was, something seemed to have gone out of Jeff. He neglected nothing.
He spared himself no pains. His physical efforts seemed even to have
become greater as the days passed. Frequently, now, night as well as
day found him in the saddle watching over their interests. He had
become a sort of restless spirit urging forward the work, and watching,
watching with the lynx eyes dreaded so much by the men who served him.
But for all that something had certainly gone out of him, and Bud knew
and feared its going.
If Bud knew and feared the change, he also knew the cause of it.
Neither he nor Nan were blind to the drama silently working out in the
other household. It was bitterly plain and almost heart-breaking to
the onlookers.
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