th me! Tell me, did
you and her plot against me?"

"I didn't plot none," says I. "I was only hoping she'd forget all about
it and get married and settle down."

"Forget about what? Did she have any affairs that you knew about?"

I nods then. I was glad to get it off'n my mind.

"Yes," says I; "she did."

"Who was it, Curly?" says he, quiet.

"It was the man next door--the Wisners' hired man," says I.

I'd rather of shot Old Man Wright and killed him decent than say what I
did then.

"You're a damn liar!" says he to me at length, quiet like.

"Colonel," says I, "you can't call that to me, nor no other man, and you
know it."

"I do call it to you!" says he. "My girl couldn't of done that."

"I wish I was a liar, Colonel," says I; "but I ain't. I'll give you one
day to take that back, and you ain't going to study about no proofs
neither. I've worked for you a long time. I've loved the girl like you
did. It ain't no way for you to do to talk thataway to me. I'll say I've
knew this some time and tried to stop it--it was my business to stop it.
I tried a hundred times to tell you about it, but I couldn't without
pretty near killing her and you too. She ast me not to tell you
and--why, hell! I loved her, same as you did."

"How far has it gone, Curly?" says he. He come over now and patted his
hand up and down my shoulder, looking away, which was his way of saying
he was sorry. "Don't mind me, Curly," says he. "I'm crazy! You mustn't
mind me, but tell me all you know now. I know you couldn't lie to either
of us if you tried."

"Yes, I could too," says I; "but I haven't tried. But I just couldn't go
to you and tell you all this thing, for I knew what it would mean to
you.

"It's been going on quietlike for quite a while and I've been doing all
I could to stop it. It begun maybe when she hauled him out of the
lake--I don't know. They didn't meet often. I heard 'em talking once on
the dock, and I told him I'd run him off if he come across the fence or
said another word to her. She begged for him then; but I never promised
her nothing. I knew it was my job as your foreman to take care of that,
so I didn't go to you."

"Go on," says he. "Tell me!"

"She didn't say nothing to him for a long time--she didn't meet him, not
after she said she wouldn't. Then he sent letters over--tied to the
collar of our little dog--two or three letters; maybe four or five, for
all I know. He was crazy over her. All the time he owne