"She's as much of the real stuff as you are, old boy! Do you think, Captain, that I can ever match up with you two?"
Before a month had gone by the girl could lead the Captain about, could play with him almost as familiarly as VB did; but always the horse submitted as if uninterested, went through this formality of making friends as though it were a duty that bored him.
Once Dick Worth, the deputy from Sand Creek, and his wife rode up the gulch to see the black stallion. While the Captain would not allow the man near him, he suffered the woman to tweak his nose and slap his cheeks and pull his ears; then it was that Jed and VB knew that the animal understood the difference between sexes and that the chivalry which so became him had been cultivated by his intimacy with Gail Thorpe.
After that, of course, there was no plausible excuse for Gail's repeated visits. However, she continued coming. VB was always reserved up to a certain point before her, never yielding beyond it in spite of the strength of the subtle tactics she employed to draw him out. A sense of uncertainty of himself held him aloof. Within him was a traditional respect for women. He idealized them, and then set for men a standard which they must attain before meeting women as equals. But this girl, while satisfying his ideal, would not remain aloof. She forced herself into VB's presence, forced herself, and yet with a delicacy that could not be misunderstood. She came regularly, her visits lengthened, and one sunny afternoon as they stood watching the Captain roll she looked up sharply at the man beside her.
"Why do you keep me at this?"
"This? What? I don't get your meaning."
"At coming over here? Why don't you come to see me? I— Of course, I haven't any fine horse to show you, but—"
Her voice trailed off, with a hint of wounded pride in the tone. The man faced her, stunning surprise in his face.
"You—you don't think I fail to value this friendship of ours?" he demanded, rallying. "You—Why, what can I say to you? It has meant so much to me—just seeing you; it's been one of the finest things of this fine country. But I thought—I thought it was because of this,"—with a gesture toward the Captain, who stood shaking the dust from his hair with mighty effort. "I thought all along you were interested in the horse; not that you cared about knowing me—"
"Did you really think that?" she broke in.