"I'll just
kill him good and quick! I'll be fair to this girl, if it's the
last thing I do on earth!"
Another day went by, in which he worked less and pondered more
and all the time covertly watched Bess. Her wistfulness had
deepened into downright unhappiness, and that made his task to
tell her all the harder. He kept the secret another day, hoping
by some chance she might grow less moody, and to his exceeding
anxiety she fell into far deeper gloom. Out of his own secret and
the torment of it he divined that she, too, had a secret and the
keeping of it was torturing her. As yet he had no plan thought
out in regard to how or when to leave the valley, but he decided
to tell her the necessity of it and to persuade her to go.
Furthermore, he hoped his speaking out would induce her to
unburden her own mind.
"Bess, what's wrong with you?" he asked.
"Nothing," she answered, with averted face.
Venters took hold of her gently, though masterfully, forced her
to meet his eyes.
"You can't look at me and lie," he said. "Now--what's wrong with
you? You're keeping something from me. Well, I've got a secret,
too, and I intend to tell it presently."
"Oh--I have a secret. I was crazy to tell you when you came back.
That's why I was so silly about everything. I kept holding my
secret back--gloating over it. But when Lassiter came I got an
idea--that changed my mind.
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