re? She kind of makes you think of a yearling deer, or the picture
of one of those swell girls Diana always has chasing around her. And she
don't know a thing but what this country's taught her--which I guess
isn't a lot. But she can learn. Oh, yes. She can learn." Then with
deliberate, cold emphasis: "And one of the things she'll learn is that
she can't hold me up with a gun without paying for it."

The mother's eyes widened with fear, with loathing.

"What do you mean?" she cried, with a force which must have alarmed
anyone who understood or cared for her bodily condition. "Pay? How can
you make her pay? Oh, you don't know Keeko. You don't know what you're
up against. Keeko would shoot you like a dog if you dared----"

The man raised a protesting hand and smiled into the eyes which betrayed
so much.

"Easy, easy," he said. "You're jumping too far. It's taken you years,
and I guess you haven't learnt yet. Guess I'll have to do better. You're
one of those fool women who never learn. If you'd horse sense you
wouldn't have said what you handed me just now. You're glad Keeko took
my measure for a coward. You're pleased, mighty pleased she beat me. Oh,
yes, I know, you've done your best she should act that way. That's
because you're scared, and you don't love me like you used to. You
reckon she'd shoot me like a dog. Anyway you hope so."

Nicol shook his head, and prolonged the smile with which he regarded the
mother's emaciated features.

"Oh, no," he went on. "She won't shoot me like a dog. But I'll tell you
what will happen. I don't mind telling you now. She won't get back till
the fall. And when she comes back you won't see her. So you won't be
able to hand her the things I'm saying. You're more than half dead now.
You'll be all the way before she comes back, and I guess you'll be able
to lie around somewhere out of sight in the woods watching the game I
play. I'm going to show Keeko what a fool she was to listen to your
talk. She's just going to see the dandy fellow I really am. She's going
to be queen of this camp, set up on a throne I've made for her. And if I
know women she's going to fall for it. There's no need for scruple.
She's not my daughter. I'm not even her step-father. I've a hand full of
trumps waiting for her, and when you're dead, and she gets back, I'm
going to play 'em all. Then--after--when I'm tired of the game, she's
going to pay for that gun play till she hates to remember the fool
mother who