human
Like to take a little ride? he smiled.
gpt
That buckskin's woman broke--I brought him a purpose when your husband wired that he was bringing you along. You've got an hour yet before dark, an' the trails out of Timber City are all main travelled ones--no danger of gettin' lost around here.
human
Go ahead if you want to, dear--only be sure and be back before dark.
gpt
Oh, I'll be back before dark! she assured him as she stepped into the yard,
human
I remember-- she laughed a trifle nervously,
gpt
I'm just dying to get into a saddle. No, you don't have to help me!
human
But I love Tex, too, she murmured, and blushed at the words,
gpt
I do! Nobody could help loving him. He's--he's--well, he's just Tex! Her glance strayed to the distant reaches beyond the great river and she shuddered slightly as she thought of the bad lands that lay between her and the fast dimming mountains, and of Long Bill Kearney and his flat-boat ferry. A mile beyond the town a dark patch of pines loomed distinctly. It was there she had said good-bye to the Texan, and--. Her lips moved:
human
The cherry blossoms are in bloom over there--and the dear little blue and white prairie flowers--
gpt
It isn't dark yet. And, it's only a little way, she thought, and dismounting, tied the buckskin to a low hanging limb, and plunged into the woods.
human
Here are the cherry blossoms, the same as a year ago, and yes, there is the big rock! She stepped around the boulder, and stood upon the edge of the tiny glade.
gpt
A year ago, she breathed, with a catch at her throat,
human
The words faltered, and she stamped her foot angrily:
gpt
Oh, why does he have to drink? And today, of all days! Her eyes rested upon the little prairie flowers that carpeted the glade and stooping, she picked a huge bouquet as the darkness gathered and when she stood erect with her hands full of blossoms the big rock at the edge of the glade was hardly distinguishable in the dusk. With a little cry, half surprise, half fright, she hastened toward it. The woods were darker than the glade and for a moment she stood peering into the thicket through which she must pass to reach her horse, while foolish terrors of the dark crowded her mind and caused little creepy chills to tickle the roots of her hair. She glanced at the flowers in her hand,
human
If I only hadn't stopped to pick them, she faltered,
gpt
And then she pulled herself together with a laugh--a forced, nervous laugh, but it fulfilled its purpose.
human
You're a little fool, Alice Endicott, to be afraid of the dark! And you, a prospective rancher's wife! What would people say if they knew that Mrs. Y Bar Endicott was afraid to go a quarter of a mile through a perfectly peaceful patch of woods just because it was after sundown?