human
That's the littlest fuss I ever saw Blue kick up,
gpt
He's on his good behaviour this mornin'.
human
He saw it was no use, she replied, quickly.
gpt
Horses have got lots of common sense.
human
The coulee we're hittin' for is just beyond that little butte that sets out there alone, he explained.
gpt
We better circle away from the river a little. The coulees won't be so deep back aways, an' I've got to catch up that cayuse. He hit straight back, an' the way his tracks looked, he sure was foggin' it.
human
A wide alkali bed lay before them, and the pace slowed to a walk.
gpt
Your partner, began the girl, breaking the silence that had fallen upon them,
human
He. Her eyes did not meet his squarely, but seemed focussed upon the edge of the bandage. He shook his head:
gpt
I reckon not,
human
But, even if he did, we could easily pick up his trail,
gpt
Dead easy. The man was battling with an impulse to tell the girl that his companion upon the river was a woman. The whole thing was so absurdly simple--but was it? Somehow, he could not bring himself to tell this girl--she might not understand--she might think--with an effort he dismissed the matter from his mind. She'll find out soon enough when we get there. He knew without looking at her that the girl's eyes were upon him.
human
Heavy goin',
gpt
Yes.
human
I don't get you quite, he said,
gpt
How, different?
human
Why--altogether different. You don't dress like--like a nester's girl--nor talk like one, neither.
gpt
I've been East at school. I've only been home a month.
human
Learn how to rope a horse, back East? An' how to ride? It's a cinch you never learnt it in a month.
gpt
Oh, I've always known that. I learned it when I was a little bit of a girl--mostly from the boys at the Y Bar.
human
The Y Bar?
gpt
Yes, we used to live over on Big Box Elder, below the Y Bar home ranch. Father ran sheep there, and Mr. Colston bought him out. He could have squeezed him out, just as well--but he bought him out and he paid him a good price--that's his way.
human
Yes, that would be his way.
gpt
That was four years ago, and father sent me off to school. I didn't want to go a bit, but father promised mother when she died--I was just a little tike, then--and he promised her that he would give me the best education he could afford. Father's a Scotchman, she continued after a moment of silence,
human
Why do you hate it? he asked.
gpt
Looks to me like a likely location--plenty range--plenty water----
human
We're--we're too close to the bad lands.
gpt
Looks like there ought to be plenty room. Must be five or six miles of range between you an' the bad lands. Looks to me like they lay just right for you. Keeps other outfits from crowdin'.
human
Oh, it isn't the range! You talk just like father does. Any place is good enough to live in if there's plenty of range--range and water--water and range--those two things are all that make life worth living!
gpt
Well, he can build a bigger house,
human
It isn't the house, either. The little cabin's just as cozy as it can be, and I love it! It's the neighbours!
gpt
Neighbours?
human
Yes, neighbours! I don't mean the nesters--they're little outfits like ours. They're in the same fix we are in. But the horse-thieves and the criminals that are hiding out in the bad lands. There's a sort of understanding--they leave the money here, and father brings out their supplies and things from town. In return, they keep their hands off our stock.
gpt
Well, there's no harm in that. The poor devils have got to eat, an' they don't dare to show up in town.
human
Oh, I suppose so, answered the girl, wearily, as though the subject were an old one, covering the same old ground.
gpt
But, if I had my way, they'd all be in jail where they belong. I hate 'em!
human
An' you thought I was one of 'em?
gpt
Of course I did--for a minute. I thought you're wanting to borrow a horse was just the flimsiest kind of an excuse to steal one.
human
You don't know, yet--for sure.
gpt
Oh, yes I do. I didn't think you were, when I told you that this was McWhorter's ranch. The name didn't mean anything to you, and if you were a horse-thief, it would have meant 'hands off.' Then, to make sure, I asked you what Mr. Colston's chief worry was? You see if you were a horse-thief you might know Y Bar, but you'd hardly know him well enough to know about how he fusses over that little bald spot.
human
Little bald spot just about reaches his ears now. Top of his head looks like a sheep range.
gpt
There you go, flashed the girl,
human
First thing we know, we'll be startin' a brand new sheep an' cattle war, an' most likely we'd both get exterminated.
gpt
He's got a sense of humour, she thought,