He made you infamous. He kept that part of the contract,
but he learned to love you as a daughter an' never let any but
his own men know you was a girl. I heard him say that with my own
ears, an' I saw his big eyes grow dim. He told me how he had
guarded you always, kept you locked up in his absence, was always
at your side or near you on those rides that made you famous on
the sage. He said he an' an old rustler whom he trusted had
taught you how to read an' write. They selected the books for
you. Dyer had wanted you brought up the vilest of the vile! An'
Oldrin' brought you up the innocentest of the innocent. He said
you didn't know what vileness was. I can hear his big voice
tremble now as he said it. He told me how the men--rustlers an'
outlaws--who from time to time tried to approach you
familiarly--he told me how he shot them dead. I'm tellin' you
this 'specially because you've showed such shame--sayin' you was
nameless an' all that. Nothin' on earth can be wronger than that
idea of yours. An' the truth of it is here. Oldrin' swore to me
that if Dyer died, releasin' the contract, he intended to hunt up
your father an' give you back to him. It seems Oldrin' wasn't all
bad, en' he sure loved you."
Venters leaned forward in passionate remorse.
"Oh, Bess! I know Lassiter speaks the truth. For when I shot
Oldring he dropped to his knees and fought with unearthly power
to speak.
Pages:
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392