"That's a fine girl," he muttered, "a fine, proud girl."

Something inside me cringed. I felt a shame come over me. Yes, she was all of that. I remembered the set of her shoulders, the look of her back as she walked away from me. But I knew she had no use for me, and although she was a fine, proud girl, she also had a fine, devil of a temper.

I said as much. Butlin chuckled. "Would you have it otherwise? If you're going to have steam in the kettle, you've got to have fire in the stove."

— River's West by Louis L'Amour (Page 81)