human
Do you know him?
gpt
Yes--a little. He borrowed one of our horses--and I rode with him when he went back to get you and bring you to the ranch. And I rode to the edge of the bad lands with him when he took Purdy's trail. And then he sent me back.
human
Then, he _is_ safe! Oh, I'm glad--glad! Purdy told me he had drowned, but I didn't believe him. I knew he would come to my rescue. She paused and her face clouded,
gpt
Don't you go frettin' about that, deary, broke in Jennie.
human
If they's any killin' to be done between them two, Tex'll do it. Purdy's a gunman all right, but he'll never git Tex. Tex is the best man--an' Purdy knows it--an' his kind ain't never no good when they're buffaloed.
gpt
But, he might shoot him from ambush!
human
He better do it all to one shot, then. 'Cause, believe me, Tex, he'll hit the ground a-shootin'! An' now you two make yerselves to home while I run out an' tell Joe--I'm just a-bustin' to tell him an' he'll want to know.
gpt
He's splendid, she whispered,
human
Janet's eyes did not meet hers, and she continued, softly:
gpt
He's just a boy--impulsive, lovable. And yet, at times he's so very much a man. And there doesn't seem to be anything he can't do. Always, no matter what the emergency, he does the right thing at the right time. And he has another side--once when I ventured to say that Corot would have loved to paint a certain sunset we were watching, he quietly informed me that Corot could not have painted it--could not have got into the feel of it--and I knew that he was right.
human
He gets drunk, said the girl, without raising her eyes,
gpt
I could hate a man that gets drunk.
human
I didn't say he is a saint. But I happen to know that when he makes up his mind not to drink, no power on earth can make him take even a single drink.
gpt
He wouldn't drink at the ranch--I offered him a drink because I thought he needed one--and he did--but he refused it.
human
Do you know why?
gpt
Because he promised me he wouldn't take a drink until after he had talked with my husband. Win wants to see him on business. Wants to persuade him to keep the place he's held for a year, as foreman of the Y Bar. Win is going to buy the Y Bar.
human
The Y Bar!
gpt
Yes, do you know the Y Bar?
human
I was born there, and lived there the most of my life. Dad moved over here onto Red Sand while I was away at school. The Y Bar is--is like home to me.
gpt
Mr. Colston says he's the best foreman he ever had. You should hear him speak of him--of his taming a great wild stallion they call the Red King----
human
The Red King! cried Janet, her eyes wide with excitement,
gpt
I know the Red King--I've seen him often on the range. He's the most wonderful horse in the world. They said nobody could ride him. Once or twice men tried it--and the Red King killed them. And, did Tex ride him?
human
Yes, he rode him--tamed him so the great wild horse would come when he whistled. But he wouldn't brand him. And then, one night, he leaped onto his back without saddle or bridle and rode him straight out onto the open range--and turned him loose!
gpt
Oh, I'm glad--glad! Wait till you see the Red King, and you will be glad, too. He's the embodiment of everything that's wild, and free, and strong. I should hate to think of him--branded--labouring under the saddle like a common cow-horse.
human
That's just what the Texan thought--so he turned him out onto the range again. It was a great big thing to do--and it was done in a great big way--by a man with a great big poetic soul. There was a long silence during which the little clock ticked incessantly, Alice spoke again, more to herself than to the girl:
gpt
What Tex needs is some strong incentive, something worth while, something to work for, to direct his marvellous energy toward--he needs someone to love, and who will love him. What he needs is not a sister--it's a wife.
human
Why didn't you marry him, then?
gpt
He never asked me, she answered,
human
Maybe he won't ask--anyone else, either. If he asks me, I won't marry him. I won't marry anybody!
gpt
I certainly shouldn't either, if I felt that way. And if he should ask you, you stick to it, or you will spoil my plans----
human
Your--plans?
gpt
Yes, I've got the grandest scheme. I haven't told a soul. When we get settled on the Y Bar I'm going to send for a friend of mine--she's a perfectly beautiful girl, and she's just as adorable as she is beautiful. And I'm going to make her come and pay us a long visit. I'm a great believer in propinquity, and especially out here----
human
She'd probably get lost the first thing----
gpt
That's it, exactly! cried Alice enthusiastically.
human
That's just what I'm counting on--and who would find her? Why Tex, of course! There you have it--all the ingredients of a first-class romance. Beautiful maiden lost on the range--forlorn, homesick, wretched, scared. Enter hero--rescues maiden--if I could only work in a villain of some kind--but maybe one will turn up. Anyway, even without a villain it's almost sure to work--don't you think?
gpt
I--I think it's perfectly horrid! It's a--what do they call it? A regular frame-up! Suppose he don't love the girl? Suppose he don't want to marry her?
human
Well, then you may rest assured he won't marry her! He won't marry anyone he don't want to, and as the Irish say, 'by the same token,' when he finds the girl he wants to marry, he'll marry her. If I were a girl and he wanted to marry me, and I didn't want to marry him, I'd jump onto a horse and I'd ride and ride and ride till I got clear out of the cattle country.
gpt
Well, I must be going. It's nearly noon. Good-bye. Glad to have met you, I'm sure.
human
Good-bye, called Alice, as the girl stepped from the door,
gpt
Thank you, so much! I certainly shall--come to see you at the Y Bar.