puncher got to do with things like that? I wisht I was out on the
range, where I belonged.

I set there I don't know how long--maybe I went to sleep once or
twice--when I heard the front door close easylike and knew somebody had
went out--I didn't know who it was. I waited for a long time after that,
but no one come in and no one spoke.

By and by I heard her dress rustle, and she come into our room, where I
was setting.

She was white as a ghost--I never seen anyone as white as she was. She
didn't know I was there, and she threw her hands up to her face and
almost screamed when I moved. Then she went over to our rawhide lounge
and set down, and held her hands together so tight I could see her
knuckles was white. She knew I was there, but she didn't seem to see me.

I didn't say a word. When a woman's fighting out things in that way it
ain't no time to meddle. I wisht I was out of there, but I didn't dare
go. She set and looked at the fire and wrung her hands. Whenever you see
a horse wring his tail, he's done for. Whenever you see a woman wring
her hands that way, she's all in; and she's shore suffering. But I had
to stay there and see her suffer.

"Bonnie," says I, "what is it?"

She turns her eyes on me, and they was wide open and awful.

"Curly," says she, "I'm in trouble. It's awful! I don't know----"

"What's awful?" says I. "What's happened, Bonnie, girl? Tell old Curly,
and he won't say a word to a living soul. I'm in with you, any sort of
play--only don't look that way no more."

"Curly," says she, "it's come! I--I didn't know----"

"What's come?" says I. "Tell old Curly, can't you? I'll help all I can."

She set for a while, and when she spoke it was only in a whisper.

"I--I'm a woman!" says she. "I didn't know! I'm--I'm a woman. I'm not a
girl any more. I'm a woman...."

She got up now and stood there as straight as though she was cut out of
marble, and her silk dress hung round her legs, and she was still
wringing her hands, and her eyes was wide open. But she wasn't crying.

"I didn't know," says she. "I never knew it would be this way. I didn't
know."

"You didn't know what, Honey?" says I. "There's heaps of things we all
don't know. But is there anything your old friend Curly can do for you
now? Listen, sis, I've got you mighty much to heart," says I. "Tell old
Curly, can't you, what's gone wrong? Your pa he's just gone to bed.
Shall I go and get him?"

"No, no, no! For Gawd's sake, no