Part 21 (1/2)
”That wouldn't do any good,” said she ”We'd better leave things as they are” Then she dreay and smiled at him bravely from the door
”I'm a very bad to act this way S'cuses?”
He nodded and she went out, but he gazed after her for a long irl!”
Necia was in a restless one berrying on the slopes behind the Indian village, she turned her way thither All at once a fear of seeing Meade Burrell came upon her She wanted to think this out, to find where she stood, before he had ith her She had been led to observe herself frole, and must verify her vision, as it were As yet she could not fully understand What if he had changed, now that he was alone, and had had time to think? It would kill her if she saw any difference in him, and she knew she would be able to read it in his eyes
As she went through the main street of the camp she saw Stark occupied near the water-front, where he had bought a building lot He spoke to her as she was about to pass
”Good-, Miss Are you rested from your trip?”
She answered that she was, and would have continued on her way, but he stopped her
”I don't want you to think thatagainst you Your oldwithout hiirls if I can help it”
The girl believed that hetrue, and he spoke seriously Moreover, Stark was known already in the cao out of his way toof his deeds, so it was natural that when he made her a show of kindness Necia should treat hiht have been expected The man had exercised an occult influence upon her from the tiue for definite feeling, and she had been too strongly swayed by Poleon and her father in their attitude towards hientle hu desire to talk with hi her own people The encounter fitted in with her rebellious s she must find out from some one who knew the world and would not be afraid to answer her questions candidly
”I' dance-hall and saloon here,” said Stark, showing her the stakes that he had driven ”As soon as the rush to the creek is over I'll hire a gang of s
I'll finish it in a week and be open for the sta town?” she asked
”nobody can tell, but I'll take a chance If it proves to be a false alarm I'll reat many camps, I suppose”
He said that he had, that for twenty years he had been on the frontier, and knew it from West Texas to the Circle
”And are they all alike?”
”Very much The land lies different but the people are the sa except this” She swept the points of the compass with her arm ”And there is so norant! There is so now that perhaps you could tell me, you have travelled soat her seriousness
She hesitated, at a loss for words, finally blurting out as in her mind
”My father is a squaw-s are customary”
”They are, in all new countries,” he assured her
”But how are they regarded when civilization coarded, as a rule Squaw-men are pretty shi+ftless, and people don't pay uess if they weren't they wouldn't be squaw-ed, at which he reo on record ”Isn't a half-breed just as good as a white?”
”Look here,” said he ”What are you driving at?”
”I'm a 'blood,'” she declared, recklessly, ”and I want to knohat people think of me The men around here have never made me feel conscious of it, but--”
”You're afraid of these new people who are co, eh? Well, don't worry about that, Miss It wouldn't make any difference to me or to any of your friends whether you were red, white, black, or yellow”