At this juncture Polly began to ply her arts as a coquette. Looking shyly at Slim, she murmured, "Are you sure you are not after ANYbody?" The emphasis on the last word was so plain that a shrewder love-maker than Slim would have been deceived.
"Eh? What's that?"
Polly turned her back to him with assumed bashfulness. Slim's courage arose at the sight. "Well, I reckon this is a pat hand for me, and that's the way I'm a-goin' to play it, if I've got the nerve."
Slim smoothed down his tangled hair, and brushed off some of the dust which whitened his shoulders. "Look yeah, Miss Polly—"
Then his courage failed him, and he stopped. Polly glanced at him, to help him over the hard places. Slim was greatly embarrassed. "My heart is right up in any throat. Well, I might as well spit it out," he thought aloud.
Again Slim started toward the girl to tell her of his love, and again his courage failed him, although Polly was doing her best to help him.
"Look yeah, Miss Polly, I've been after somebody for a long time now—"
"Horse-thief?" asked Polly coquettishly.
"No, heart-thief," blurted Slim.
"Stealing hearts ain't no harm."