He heard a sound, the unmistakable sound of sobbing, as he was unsaddling. Listening, he knew it came from somewhere in the stable, so he left his horse and went inside.
It was Susie, as he had thought. She lifted her tear-stained face from the pony’s mane when he spoke, and he knew that she was glad to see him.
“Oh, pardner, I thought you’d never come!”
“The mail was late, and I stayed with the Major to wait for it. What has gone wrong?”
“Mother’s dead,” she said. “She was poisoned accidentally.”
“Susie! And there was no one here?” The news seemed incredible.
“Only Teacher and me—no one that knew what to do. We sent Meeteetse for a doctor, but he hasn’t come yet. He probably got drunk and forgot what he went for. It’s been a terrible night, pardner, and a terrible day!”
McArthur looked at her with troubled eyes, and once more he stroked her hair with his gentle, timid touch.
“Everything just looks awful to me, with Dad and mother both gone, and me here alone on this big ranch, with only Ling and grub-liners. And to think of it all the rest of my life like this—with nobody that I belong to, or that belongs to me!”
Something was recalled to McArthur with a start by Susie’s words. He had forgotten!