And he's never been beat yet." Through a breathing space he stared at her and she at him, and the eyes of Buck Daniels were the first to turn.

Everything that was womanly and gentle had died from her face, and in its stead was something which made Buck rise and wander from the room.
He found Lee Haines and told him briefly all that had passed.

The great battle, they decided, had begun between Kate and Barry for the sake of the child, and that battle would go on until one of them was dead or the prize for which they struggled lost.

Barry would come on the trail and find them at the ranch, and then he would strike for Joan.

And they had no help for the struggle against him.