"By God! she come out here maybe to get married, on the level and honest, after a while!" said he. "She'll have to, now!"
"That's what I was thinking, Wid," said Sim Gage. "It's—it's chivalerous. We got to find her, now."
CHAPTER XV
THE SPECIES
"Well, pretty one, you got lonesome here all by yourself? So you holler for 'Sim! Sim!'" Big Aleck's voice was close to her as she sat in the tent.
Mary Warren felt about her, back of her on the blankets, stealthily seeking some weapon of defense. She paused. Under her fingers was something which felt like leather. She made no sudden movement, but temporized.
"How could I help it?" she asked.
Always her hand was feeling behind her on the blankets. Yes, there was a holster. It felt familiar—it might be Sim Gage's gun, taken from her at the house. She waited.
"Well, that's too bad you can't see," said Aleck. "You can't see what a fine feller I'd make for you! I'm chief. I'm a big man."