Except for the flush in his cheeks he seemed to be unaffected by Blackburn's words.

His voice was a trifle cold when he spoke: "I'll attend to Hamlin.

I'll stop at the Two Bar on my way to Willets.
By the time you reach town with the cattle I'll have the deal with Warden clinched." Blackburn nodded, and Lawler wheeled the bay, heading him northward.
As he rode, Lawler's face changed expression.

He frowned, and his lips set stiffly.
What he had been almost on the point of telling his mother was that he knew why Ruth Hamlin had refused him.

It was pride, nothing less.