Part 7 (1/2)
He had ridden close to her by this time, and offered his hand.
”You like to surprise people, don't you?” he accused. ”The answer to your question is, I do not mind if you travel with me to the county seat. But let me tell you--you'll have to travel. This is a horse that I'm riding.”
She turned up her nose at him. ”I like to have a man talk that way to me,” she said. ”Don't ever dare to hold my stirrup for me, or slow down when you think the pace is getting pretty brisk, or anything like that.”
”I wouldn't think of such discourtesy,” he told her seriously. ”You noticed that I let you mount unaided the other day. I might have walked ahead, though, and opened the gate for you if you hadn't loped off.”
”That's why I did it,” she demurely confessed. ”I'm rather proud of being able to take care of myself. And as for that wonderful horse of yours, he does look leggy and capable. But, then, White Ann has a point or two herself. Let's go!”
Their ponies took up the walking-trot of the cattle country side by side toward Halfmoon Flat.
”Well,” Oliver began, ”of course my meeting you means that you know I've had an encounter with Adam Selden, and that he has told you he doubts if I am the rightful owner of the Tabor Ivison Place.”
”Yes, I overheard his conversation with Hurlock last night,” she told him. ”So I thought I'd ride down with you, sensing that you would be worried and would hit the trail this morning.”
”I am worried,” he said. ”I can't imagine why your step-father made that statement.”
”Just call him Adam or Old Man Selden when you're speaking of him to me,” she prompted. ”Even the 'step' in front of 'father' does not take away the bad taste. And you might at least _think_ of me as Jessamy Lomax. I will lie in the bed I made when I espoused the name of Selden, for it would be stupid to go about now notifying people that I have gone back to Lomax again. My case is not altogether hopeless, however. You are witness that I have a fair chance of some day acquiring the name of Foss, at any rate. So you are worried about the land tangle?”
”What can it mean?” he puzzled.
”This probably is not the first instance in which a deed has not been recorded promptly,” she ventured. ”That won't affect your owners.h.i.+p.
Personally I know that Aunt Nancy Fleet's name appears in the records down at the county seat as the owner of the property. She sold it to your father, doubtless, and the transfer never was recorded. Where is your deed?”
He slapped his breast.
”See that you keep it there,” she said significantly.
”You say you know that your Aunt Nancy Fleet is named as owner of the property in the county records?”
She nodded.
”Then she has allowed Adam Selden to believe that she still owns it!” he cried. ”And this is proved by reason of her having allowed him to pay the taxes for the right to run stock on the land.”
She nodded again.
He wrinkled his brows. ”It would seem to be a sort of conspiracy against Adam Selden by your Aunt Nancy and--” He paused.
”And who?”
”Well, it's not like my father's business methods to allow a deed to go unrecorded for fifteen years,” he told her. ”Not at all like Dad. So I must name him as a party to this conspiracy against old Adam. But what is the meaning of it, Miss Selden?”
”I'm sure I am not in a position to say,” she replied lightly. ”Some day, when you've got things to running smoothly down there, I'll take you to see Aunt Nancy. She lives up in Calamity Gap--about ten miles to the north of Halfmoon Flat. Maybe she can and will explain.”
He regarded her steadily; but for once her eyes did not meet his, though he could not say that this was intentional on her part.
”By George, I believe _you_ can explain it!” he accused.
”I?”