"He is!"
A strained silence, then he said:
"Nettie, could you be forgiving me if I told you the Lord's truth?"
"Don't you suppose dad's kept me
p-posted about his faults? Why, he would walk a mile to find out something b-bad about Carter Nelson."
"He wouldn't have to. Nelson's a bad lot, Nettie. It isn't all his fault; it's the price he pays for his blue blood. Your father's the wise man to try to keep you from being his wife."
"Everyb-body's down on him," she sobbed, "just because he has to d-drink sometimes on account of his lungs. I didn't know you were so mean."
"Will you pass the word not to see him again before he leaves in the morning?"
"Indeed, I won't!"
Sandy stopped the horse. "Then I'll wait till you do."