She looked at him and laughed. Then, coming close, she patted one of the weathered cheeks.
"He's awfully nice, daddy—and so mysterious!"
The giggle she forced somehow reassured him. He did not know it was forced.
They arrived at Jed's ranch as Kelly, the horse buyer, was preparing to depart after long weeks in the country. His bunch was in the lower pasture and two saddle horses waited at the gate.
Thorpe and his daughter found Jed, VB, and Kelly in the cabin. The horse buyer was just putting bills back into his money belt, and Jed still fingered the roll that he had taken for his horses.
"Aren't you afraid to pack all that around, Kelly?" Thorpe asked.
"No—nobody holds people up any more," he laughed. "There's only an even six hundred there, anyhow—and a fifty-dollar bill issued by the Confederate States of America, which I carry for luck. My father was a raider with Morgan," he explained, "and I was fifteen years old before I knew 'damn Yank' was two words!"
VB was preparing to go with the buyer, to ride the first two days at least to help him handle the bunch. They expected to make it well out of Ranger the second day, and after that Kelly would pick up another helper.
Gail followed VB when he went outside.
"I'm going away, too," she said.