human
Better Christmas dinner than antelope,
gpt
Oh! Thank you, Jim!
human
Welcome, ma'am! Plain welcome! I ain't had a Christmas like this sinst I was eight years old. Well, I'll be shaggin' along. Comin', Ellis?
gpt
Soon.
human
Would you mind walking me to the store, Ellis? I do need a bit of sugar.
gpt
I'll be happy to, Mrs. Tower.
human
Let me--
gpt
No, you stay here, Joe. I'll get it.
human
Brr! Isn't it cold?
gpt
It certainly is.
human
Come. Walk beside me.
gpt
You're a tall young man, Ellis. Your mother must be very proud of you.
human
I haven't any mother. She died when I was eight.
gpt
Oh. Emma's sympathy was immediate and sincere.
human
I'm sorry! Do you remember very much about her.
gpt
I'll never forget her. We lived in Baltimore.
human
Was it nice there?
gpt
While my mother was alive, we had a big house and there was always fun. But she went, and then my father died when I was twelve and--
human
Any more questions, Mrs. Tower?
gpt
You've expressed a desire to marry Barbara, she said frankly,
human
Very well! he said, angry now.
gpt
Here are some facts. He began speaking rapidly and distinctly, shooting out the facts as though he were making a legal report.
human
When my father died my Uncle George was the executor. There was always enough money, but Uncle George and I didn't get along. He wanted me to go into his bank. I didn't care for that. For a year I went to Columbian College--that's in Washington, Mrs. Tower, and then....
gpt
Forgive me, Mrs. Tower. You've a right to know everything about me that you want to know. You've already found out one bad thing about me--I have a quick temper and an unpleasant one. I want to apologize.
human
That's all right, Ellis, Emma said serenely.
gpt
Let's go on from here. You were at college in Washington, you say?
human
Yes, ma'am, he said humbly.
gpt
I met a girl in Washington, Mary Harkness. I was in love with her. When Mary's folks decided to come west, there seemed to be nothing left for me in the east. I came along. It seemed the right thing to do. I had enough money to buy a horse and everything else I needed.
human
What happened, Ellis?
gpt
When we got to Laramie, Mary married a man named Jeremy Blake. They went on together.
human
Did it hurt?
gpt
I wished I could die.
human
You must understand that not all women are good, Ellis, any more than all men are. After enticing you to come along, and then marrying someone else--
gpt
I haven't made myself clear, Mrs. Tower. She did not entice me to come along; I came of my own free will and entirely because I wanted to. Nor was Mary in any sense of the word bad or deceitful. She is fine, loyal, and good. She simply didn't want me.
human
What did you do then, Ellis?
gpt
I went to work for Jim. I knew there would be nothing for me at his post, but the way I felt then there seemed to be nothing for me anywhere. I just worked along, without much hope or any plan at all. Then you brought Barbara.
human
And she means much to you?
gpt
I'm grateful Mary made the choice she did.
human
Come along, I must get my sugar. She stopped at the entrance to the store.
gpt
Oh, Ellis. One more thing. About that New Year's dance at Fort Laramie. I want you to know that I think it's a splendid idea.
human
You do!
gpt
Certainly. Young people should enjoy themselves, and Barbara will be perfectly all right with Ynez Driscoll.