She started at the sound of Lawler's voice, amazed at the change that had come in it--wondering how--when it had been so gentle a few minutes before--it could now have in it a quality that made her shudder.
She saw the big man's eyes widen, noted that his shoulders sagged a little when he heard Lawler's voice; observed that there seemed to come an appreciable lessening of the tension of his taut muscles.

She marveled that the sound of one man's voice could have so calming an effect upon another--that it could, at a stroke, seemingly, cool the white-hot rage that had seized the man.
But there was no doubt that a change had come over the big man.

His shoulders sagged further.

A suggestion of a mirthless smile began to tug at the corners of his mouth; he unclenched the fingers of his hands.
"It's you, eh ?" he said, gruffly.

"My kid was sayin' someone in the schoolhouse had walloped him, an' I was aimin' to find out who it was.