第15章
Mrs。Westfallarguedlongthatpunishmentshouldbedealttheoffender。“Anyway，“shepersisted，“itwasrealdefiantofhimputtingthatuponthetree。Imightforgivehimbutforthat。“
“Yes，“spoketheVirginianintheirmidst，“thatwasn’tsorto’
right。EspeciallyasIamthemanyou’rehuntin’。“
Theysatdumbathisassurance。
“Comeandkillme，“hecontinued，roundupontheparty。“I’llnotresist。“
Buttheycouldnotresistthewayinwhichhehadlookedrounduponthem。Hehadchosentherightmomentforhisconfession，asacaptainofahorseawaitsthepropertimeforacharge。Somerebukeshedidreceive；theworstcamefromthemothers。Andallthathecouldsayforhimselfwas，“Iamgettingofftooeasy。“
“Butwhatwasyourpoint？“saidWestfall。
“BlamedifIknowanymore。Iexpectitmusthavebeenthewhiskey。“
“Iwouldminditless，“saidMrs。Westfall，“ifyoulookedabitsorryorashamed。“
TheVirginianshookhisheadatherpenitently。“I’mtryin’to，“
hesaid。
Andthushesatdisarminghisaccusersuntiltheybegantolunchuponthecopiousremnantsofthebarbecue。Hedidnotjointhematthismeal。IntellingyouthatMrs。Dowwastheonlyladyabsentuponthishistoricmorning，Iwasguiltyofaninadvertence。Therewasoneother。
TheVirginianrodeawaysedatelythroughtheautumnsunshine；andashewentheaskedhisMontehorseaquestion。“Doyu’reckonshe’llhaveforgottenyoutoo，youpie-biter？“saidhe。Insteadofthenewtrousers，thecow-puncher’sleathernchapswereonhislegs。Buthehadthenewscarfknottedathisneck。Mostmenwouldgladlyhaveequalledhiminappearance。“YouMonte，“saidhe，“willshebeathome？“
ItwasSunday，andnoschoolday，andhefoundherinhercabinthatstoodnexttheTaylors’house。Hereyeswereverybright。
“I’dthoughtI’djustcall，“saidhe。
“Why，that’ssuchapity！Mr。andMrs。Taylorareaway。“
“Yes；they’vebeenrightbusy。That’swhyIthoughtI’dcall。
Willyu’comeforaride，ma’am？“
“Dearme！I——“
“Youcanridemyhawss。He’sgentle。“
“What！Andyouwalk？“
“No，ma’am。NorthetwoofusridehimTHIStime，either。“Atthissheturnedentirelypink，andhe，noticing，wentonquietly:
“I’llcatchuponeofTaylor’shawsses。Taylorknowsme。“
“No。Idon’treallythinkIcoulddothat。Butthankyou。Thankyouverymuch。ImustgonowandseehowMrs。Taylor’sfireis。“
“I’lllookafterthat，ma’am。I’dlikeforyu’togoridin’
mightywell。Yu’havenobabiesthismawnin’tobeanxiousafter。“
Atthisshaft，GrandmotherStarkflashedawakedeepwithinthespiritofherdescendant，andshemadeahaughtydeclarationofwar。“Idon’tknowwhatyoumean，sir，“shesaid。
Nowwashisdanger；foritwaseasytofallintomerecrudeimpertinenceandaskherwhy，then，didshespeakthusabruptly？
Therewerevariouseasythingsofthiskindforhimtosay。Andanyrudenesswouldhavelosthimthebattle。ButtheVirginianwasnotthemantolosesuchabattleinsuchaway。Hisshafthadhit。Shethoughthereferredtothosebabiesaboutwhomlastnightshehadshownsuchsuperfluoussolicitude。Herconsciencewasguilty。Thiswasallthathehadwishedtomakesureofbeforehebeganoperations。
“Why，Imean，“saidhe，easily，sittingdownnearthedoor，“thatit’sSunday。Schooldon’thinderyu’fromenjoyin’arideto-day。
You’llteachthekidsallthebetterforitto-morro’，ma’am。
Maybeit’syourduty。“Andhesmiledather。
“Myduty！It’squitenoveltohavestrangers——“
“AmIastranger？“hecutin，firinghisfirstbroadside。“Iwasintroduced，ma’am，“hecontinued，notinghowshehadflushedagain。“AndIwouldnotbeoversteppin’fortheworld。I’llgoawayifyu’want。“Andhereuponhequietlyrose，andstood，hatinhand。
Mollywasflustered。Shedidnotatallwanthimtogo。Nooneofheradmirershadeverbeenlikethiscreature。Thefringedleathernchaparreros，thecartridgebelt，theflannelshirt，theknottedscarfattheneck，thesethingswerenowanoldstorytoher。Sinceherarrivalshehadseenyoungmenandoldinplentydressedthus。Butwornbythismannowstandingbyherdoor，theyseemedtoradiateromance。Shedidnotwanthimtogo——andshewishedtowinherbattle。Andnowinheragitationshebecamesuddenlysevere，asshehaddoneatHoosicJunction。Heshouldhaveapunishmenttoremember！
“Youcallyourselfaman，Isuppose，“shesaid。
Buthedidnottrembleintheleast。Herfiercenessfilledhimwithdelight，andthetenderdesireofownershipfloodedthroughhim。
“Agrown-up，responsibleman，“sherepeated。
“Yes，ma’am。Ithinkso。“Henowsatdozenagain。
“Andyouletthemthinkthat——thatMr。McLean——YoudarenotlookmeinthefaceandsaythatMr。McLeandidthatlastnight！“
“IreckonIdassent。“
“There！Iknewit！Isaidsofromthefirst！“
“Andmeastrangertoyou！“hemurmured。
Itwashissecondbroadside。Itleftherbadlycrippled。Shewassilent。
“Whodidyu’mentionitto，ma’am？“
Shehopedshehadhim。“Why，areyouafraid？“Andshelaughedlightly。
“Itold’emmyself。Andtheirastonishmentseemedsogenu-wineI’djusthatetothinktheyhadfooledmethatthoroughwhentheyknoweditallalongfromyouseeingme。“
“Ididnotseeyou。Iknewitmust——OfcourseIdidnottellanyone。WhenIsaidIsaidsofromthefirst，Imeant——youcanunderstandperfectlywhatImeant。“
“Yes，ma’am。“
PoorMollywasnearstampingherfoot。“Andwhatsortofatrick，“sherushedon，“wasthattoplay？Doyoucallitamanlythingtofrightenanddistresswomenbecauseyou——fornoreasonatall？Ishouldneverhaveimagineditcouldbetheactofapersonwhowearsabigpistolandridesabighorse。Ishouldbeafraidtogoridingwithsuchanimmatureprotector。“
“Yes；thatwasawfulchildish。Yourwordsdocutalittle；formaybethere’sbeentimeswhenIhaveactedprettynearlikeaman。ButIcert’nlyforgottobeintroducedbeforeIspoketoyu’
lastnight。Becausewhy？You’vefoundmeoutdeadinonething。
Won’tyoutakeaguessatthistoo？“
“Icannotsitguessingwhypeopledonotbehavethemselves——whoseemtoknowbetter。“
“Well，ma’am，I’veplayedsquareandowneduptoyu’。Andthat’snotwhatyou’redoin’byme。IaskyourpardonifIsaywhatI
havearighttosayinlanguagenotasgoodasI’dliketotalktoyu’with。ButatSouthForkCrossin’whodidanyintroducin’？
Didyu’complainIwasastrangerthen？“
“I——no！“sheflashedout；then，quitesweetly，“Thedrivertoldmeitwasn’tREALLYsodangerousthere，youknow。“
“That’snotthepointI’mmakin’。Youareagrown-upwoman，aresponsiblewoman。You’vecomeeversofar，andallalone，toaroughcountrytoinstructyoungchildrenthatplaygames，——tag，andhide-and-seek，andfooleriesthey’llhavetoquitwhentheygetold。Don’tyouthinkpretendin’yu’don’tknowaman，——hisname’snothin’，buthim，——amanwhomyouweregladenoughtoletassistyu’whensomebodywasneeded，——don’tyouthinkthat’smightyclosetohide-and-seekthemchildrenplays？Iain’tsosurebutwhatthere’sapairofuschildreninthishyehroom。“
MollyWoodwasregardinghimsaucily。“Idon’tthinkIlikeyou，“
saidshe。
“That’sallsquareenough。You’regoin’tolovemebeforewegetthrough。Iwishyu’dcomea-ridin，ma’am。“
“Dear，dear，dear！SoI’mgoingtoloveyou？Howwillyoudoit？
Iknowmenthinkthattheyonlyneedtositandlookstrongandmakechestsatagirl——“
“Goodnessgracious！Iain’tmakin’anychestsatyu’！“Laughterovercamehimforamoment，andMissWoodlikedhislaughverymuch。“Pleasecomea-ridin’，“heurged。“It’stheprettiestkindofaday。“
Shelookedathimfrankly，andtherewasapause。“IwilltakebacktwothingsthatIsaidtoyou，“shethenansweredhim。“I
believethatIdolikeyou。AndIknowthatifIwentridingwithyou，Ishouldnothaveanimmatureprotector。“Andthen，withafinalgestureofacknowledgment，sheheldoutherhandtohim。
“AndIhavealwayswanted，“shesaid，“tothankyouforwhatyoudidattheriver。“
Hetookherhand，andhisheartbounded。“You’reagentleman！“heexclaimed。
Itwasnowherturntobeovercomewithmerriment。“I’vealwayswantedtobeaman，“shesaid。
“Iammightygladyouain’t，“saidhe，lookingather。
ButMollyhadalreadyreceivedenoughbroadsidesforoneday。Shecouldallownomoreofthem，andshetookherselfcapablyinhand。“Wheredidyoulearntomakesuchprettyspeeches？“sheasked。“Well，nevermindthat。Oneseesthatyouhavehadplentyofpracticeforonesoyoung。“
“Iamtwenty-seven，“blurtedtheVirginian，andknewinstantlythathehadspokenlikeafool。
“Whowouldhavedreamedit！“saidMolly，withwell-measuredmockery。Sheknewthatshehadscoredatlast，andthatthisdaywashers。“Don’tbetoosureyouaregladI’mnotaman，“shenowtoldhim。Therewassomethinglikeachallengeinhervoice。
“Iriskit，“heremarked。
“ForIamalmosttwenty-threemyself，“sheconcluded。Andshegavehimalookonherownaccount。
“Andyou’llnotcomea-ridin’？“hepersisted。
“No，“sheansweredhim；“no。“Andheknewthathecouldnotmakeher。
“ThenIwilltellyu’good-by，“saidhe。“ButIamcomin’again。
AndnexttimeI’1lhavealongagentlehawssforyu’。“
“Nexttime！Nexttime！Well，perhapsIwillgowithyou。Doyoulivefar？“
“IliveonJudgeHenry’sranch，overyondeh。“Hepointedacrossthemountains。“It’sonSunkCreek。Aprettyroughtrail；butI
cancomehyehtoseeyouinaday，Ireckon。Well，Ihopeyou’llcert’nlyenjoygoodhealth，ma’am。“
“Oh，there’sonething！“saidMollyWood，callingafterhimratherquickly。“I——I’mnotatallafraidofhorses。Youneedn’tbringsuchagentleone。I——wasverytiredthatday，and——andI
don’tscreamasarule。“
Heturnedandlookedathersothatshecouldnotmeethisglance。“Blessyourheart！“saidhe。“Willyu’givemeoneo’
thoseflowers？“
“Oh，certainly！I’malwayssogladwhenpeoplelikethem。“
“They’reprettynearthecolorofyoureyes。“
“Nevermindmyeyes。“
“Can’thelpit，ma’am。NotsinceSouthFork。“
Heputtheflowerintheleatherbandofhishat，androdeawayonhisMontehorse。MissWoodlingeredamoment，thenmadesomestepstowardhergate，fromwhichhecouldstillbeseen；andthen，withsomethinglikeatossofthehead，shewentinandshutherdoor。
LaterinthedaytheVirginianmetMr。McLean，wholookedathishatandinnocentlyquoted。“’MyLooloopickedadaisy。’“
“Don’tyu’，Lin，“saidtheSoutherner。
“ThenIwon’t，“saidLin。
Thus，forthisoccasion，didtheVirginianpartfromhislady——andnothingsaidonewayoranotheraboutthehandkerchiefthathaddisappearedduringtheSouthForkincident。
Aswefallasleepatnight，ourthoughtswilloftenramblebackandforthbetweenthetwoworlds。
“Whatcolorwerehiseyes？“wonderedMollyonherpillow。“Hismustacheisnotbristlylikesomanyofthem。SamnevergavemesuchalookasHoosicJunction。No……Youcan’tcomewithme……
Getoffyourhorse……Thepassengersareallstaring……“
AndwhileMollywasthusdreamingthattheVirginianhadriddenhishorseintotherailroadcar，andsatdownbesideher，thefireinthegreatstonechimneyofhercabinflickeredquietly，itsgleamsnowandagaintouchingtheminiatureofGrandmotherStarkuponthewall。
CampedontheSunkCreektrail，theVirginianwastellinghimselfinhisblankets:“Iain’ttoooldforeducation。Maybeshewilllendmebooks。AndI’llwatchherwaysandlearn……standstill，Monte。Icanlearnalotmorethanthekidsonthat。There’sMonte……youpie-biter，stop……Hehasateupyourbook，ma’am，butI’llgetyu’……“
AndthentheVirginianwasfastasleep。