Good Indian [95]
"She's always giving them candy and fruit, whenever they show up at the station."
"Oh--h!" Evadna gave the word that peculiar, sliding inflection of hers which meant so much, and regarded him unwinkingly, with her hands clasped behind her.
Good Indian knew well the meaning of both her tone and her stare, but he only laughed and caught her by the arm.
"Come on over to the hammock," he commanded, with all the arrogance of a lover. "We're making that old hag altogether too important, it seems to me. Come on, Goldilocks--we haven't had a real satisfying sort of scrap for several thousand years."
She permitted him to lead her to the hammock, and pile three cushions behind her head and shoulders--with the dark-blue one on top because her hair looked well against it--and dispose himself comfortably where he could look his fill at her while he swung the hammock gently with his boot-heel, scraping a furrow in the sand. But she did not show any dimples, though his eyes and his lips smiled together when she looked at him, and when he took up her hand and kissed each finger-tip in turn, she was as passive as a doll under the caresses of a child.
"What's the matter?" he demanded, when he found that her manner did not soften. "Worrying still about what that old squaw said?"
"Not in the slightest." Evadna's tone was perfectly polite--which was a bad sign.
Good Indian thought he saw the makings of a quarrel in her general attitude, and he thought he might as well get at once to the real root of her resentment.
"What are you thinking about? Tell me, Goldilocks," he coaxed, pushing his own troubles to the back of his mind.
"Oh, nothing. I was just wondering--though it's a trivial matter which is hardly worth mentioning--but I just happened to wonder how you came to know that Georgie Howard is in the habit of giving candy to the squaws--or anything else. I'm sure I never--" She bit her lips as if she regretted having said so much.
Good Indian laughed. In truth, he was immensely relieved; he had been afraid she might want him to explain something else--something which he felt he must keep to himself even in the face of her anger. But this--he laughed again.
"That's easy enough," he said lightly. "I've seen her do it a couple of times. Maybe Hagar has been keeping an eye on me--I don't know; anyway, when I've had occasion to go to the store or to the station, I've nearly always seen her hanging around in the immediate vicinity. I went a couple of times to see Miss Georgie about this land business. She's wise to a lot of law--used to help her father before he died, it seems. And she has some of his books, I discovered. I wanted to see if there wasn't some means of kicking these fellows off the ranch without making a lot more trouble for old Peaceful. But after I'd read up and talked the thing over with her, we decided that there wasn't anything to be done till Peaceful comes back, and we know what he's been doing about it. That's what's keeping him, of course.
"I suppose," he added, looking at her frankly, "I should have mentioned my going there. But to tell you the truth, I didn't think anything much about it. It was just business, and when I'm with you, Miss Goldilocks, I like to forget my troubles. You," he declared, his eyes glowing upon her, "are the antidote. And you wouldn't have mo believe you could possibly be jealous!"
"No," said Evadna, in a more amiable tone. "Of course I'm not. But I do think you showed a--well, a lack of confidence in me. I don't see why _I_ can't help you share your troubles. You know I want to. I think you should have told me, and let me help. But you never do. Just for instance--why wouldn't you tell me yesterday where you were before breakfast? I know you were SOMEWHERE, because I looked all over the place for you," she argued naively. "I always want to know where you are, it's so lonesome when I don't know. And you see--"
She was interrupted at that point, which was not strange. The interruption lasted for several minutes, but Evadna
"Oh--h!" Evadna gave the word that peculiar, sliding inflection of hers which meant so much, and regarded him unwinkingly, with her hands clasped behind her.
Good Indian knew well the meaning of both her tone and her stare, but he only laughed and caught her by the arm.
"Come on over to the hammock," he commanded, with all the arrogance of a lover. "We're making that old hag altogether too important, it seems to me. Come on, Goldilocks--we haven't had a real satisfying sort of scrap for several thousand years."
She permitted him to lead her to the hammock, and pile three cushions behind her head and shoulders--with the dark-blue one on top because her hair looked well against it--and dispose himself comfortably where he could look his fill at her while he swung the hammock gently with his boot-heel, scraping a furrow in the sand. But she did not show any dimples, though his eyes and his lips smiled together when she looked at him, and when he took up her hand and kissed each finger-tip in turn, she was as passive as a doll under the caresses of a child.
"What's the matter?" he demanded, when he found that her manner did not soften. "Worrying still about what that old squaw said?"
"Not in the slightest." Evadna's tone was perfectly polite--which was a bad sign.
Good Indian thought he saw the makings of a quarrel in her general attitude, and he thought he might as well get at once to the real root of her resentment.
"What are you thinking about? Tell me, Goldilocks," he coaxed, pushing his own troubles to the back of his mind.
"Oh, nothing. I was just wondering--though it's a trivial matter which is hardly worth mentioning--but I just happened to wonder how you came to know that Georgie Howard is in the habit of giving candy to the squaws--or anything else. I'm sure I never--" She bit her lips as if she regretted having said so much.
Good Indian laughed. In truth, he was immensely relieved; he had been afraid she might want him to explain something else--something which he felt he must keep to himself even in the face of her anger. But this--he laughed again.
"That's easy enough," he said lightly. "I've seen her do it a couple of times. Maybe Hagar has been keeping an eye on me--I don't know; anyway, when I've had occasion to go to the store or to the station, I've nearly always seen her hanging around in the immediate vicinity. I went a couple of times to see Miss Georgie about this land business. She's wise to a lot of law--used to help her father before he died, it seems. And she has some of his books, I discovered. I wanted to see if there wasn't some means of kicking these fellows off the ranch without making a lot more trouble for old Peaceful. But after I'd read up and talked the thing over with her, we decided that there wasn't anything to be done till Peaceful comes back, and we know what he's been doing about it. That's what's keeping him, of course.
"I suppose," he added, looking at her frankly, "I should have mentioned my going there. But to tell you the truth, I didn't think anything much about it. It was just business, and when I'm with you, Miss Goldilocks, I like to forget my troubles. You," he declared, his eyes glowing upon her, "are the antidote. And you wouldn't have mo believe you could possibly be jealous!"
"No," said Evadna, in a more amiable tone. "Of course I'm not. But I do think you showed a--well, a lack of confidence in me. I don't see why _I_ can't help you share your troubles. You know I want to. I think you should have told me, and let me help. But you never do. Just for instance--why wouldn't you tell me yesterday where you were before breakfast? I know you were SOMEWHERE, because I looked all over the place for you," she argued naively. "I always want to know where you are, it's so lonesome when I don't know. And you see--"
She was interrupted at that point, which was not strange. The interruption lasted for several minutes, but Evadna