Part 13 (2/2)

Again she told him of a contemplated visit to the ranches further down the creek.

”Why, ma'am?” he asked.

”There are many things to talk over, plans for the summer's work and the like. Besides, I want to become acquainted.”

He smiled and said:

”That last is fine, but I guess you'd better wait for the rest.”

”Wait? What for?”

”Until you know, ma'am. You see, you've only been here a little while; you've learned a lot, but you don't know enough to talk business with anybody yet. It won't be good for you to go talking about something you don't understand.”

”I think I am capable of judging that,” she said bruskly. ”I will go.”

But she did not. She had intended to go the next day but as she lay awake that morning she told herself that he had been right, she did not know enough about her affairs to discuss her relations.h.i.+ps with neighbors intelligently. She still smarted from his frankness, but the hurt was leavened by a feeling that behind his presumption had been thought of her own welfare.

She tired quickly in the first days that she rode and once, remarking on it, she drew this advice from Beck:

”You'd do a lot better without corsets.”

Simply, bluntly, impersonally and with so much a.s.surance that she could not even reply. His observation had smacked of no disagreeable intimacy. She had told him that she tired; he had given her his idea of the cause.

She took off her corsets.

A day of cold rain came on; at noon the downpour abated for a time and Jane asked Hepburn to ride down the creek with her to look over land that was to be cleared and irrigated.

”Have you got a slicker, ma'am?” Beck asked when she requested that a horse be saddled.

She had none.

”There ain't an extra one on the place,” he said, ”so I guess you'd better not go.”

”But the rain is over. Anyhow, what hurt will a wetting do?”

”I don't guess the rain's all over,” he said. ”And to get wet and cold ain't a good thing for anybody; it'd be a mighty bad thing for you.

You're a city woman; you can't do these things yet.”

An exasperating sense of inferiority came over her, bringing a helpless sort of rage. This man was not even her foreman and yet he brought her up short, time after time. She started to tell him so, but changed her mind. Also, she changed her plans for the day.

He was not rough, not obtrusive in any of this. Just frank and simple, and when she bridled under it all she saw that twinkle creep into his eye, as though she were a child and her spirit amused him!

But she did more than amuse. She could not see, she could not know; nights he roused from sleep and lay awake trying to fathom the sensations he experienced; days he rode without sufficient thought for the work that was before him. At times he was impelled to be irritable toward her and this because his stronger impulse was to be gentle!

He did not want to care for this woman and he found himself caring in spite of himself! He rode to town and spent an evening with a waitress from the hotel, taking her to a picture show, paying her broad compliments, seeing her pride rise because of his attentions, and he rode home before daylight, disgusted with himself. His life was being reshaped, his tastes, his desires. His caution against taking chances was being beaten down.

She commenced to ride with him regularly and these rides grew longer as she found her body becoming toughened and her endurance greater until they were together many hours each day, until, in fact, escorting her had become Beck's job. The ostensible purpose of this was to learn the country and the manner of range work but though she did learn rapidly their talk was largely personal. Beck was not responsive and the more reserved he became the greater Jane's efforts to force him to talk of himself.

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