"
"Father will be pleased to know you got the treasure back," Alice
said presently, after they had ridden a bit in silence.
"And your father's daughter, Miss Alice--is she pleased?"
"What pleases father pleases me." Her voice, cool as the plash of
ice water, might have daunted a less resolute man. But this one
had long since determined the manner of his wooing and was not to
be driven from it.
"I'm glad of that. Your father's right friendly to me," he
announced, with composure.
"Indeed!"
"Sho! I ain't going to run away and hide because you look like
you don't know I'm in Arizona. What kind of a lover would I be if
I broke for cover every time you flashed those dark eyes at me?"
"Mr. Collins!"
"My friends call me Val," he suggested, smiling.
"I was going to ask, Mr. Collins, if you think you can bully me."
"It might be a first rate thing for you if I did, Miss Mackenzie.
All your life you haven't done anything but trample on sissy
boys. Now, I expect I'm not a sissy boy, but a fair imitation of
a man, and I shouldn't wonder but you'd find me some too restless
for a door-mat." His maimed hand happened to be resting on the
saddle horn as he spoke, and the story of the maiming emphasized
potently the truth of his claim.
Pages:
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374