She drew a profound sigh, and Lightning promptly withdrew his fascinated gaze from the departing horse.
“Ther’ ain’t nothing better’n the whole darn world than them four legs, an’ a bar’l like that,” he said. “That plug’s worth fi’ thousand dollars.”
Molly’s smile searched the old man’s eyes.
“An’ the girl on its back’s worth—a million,” she said decidedly.
Lightning spat.
“She’s surely an upstander,” he admitted. “But she ain’t a circumstance beside her plug. I ain’t ever seen a human that could be. Ther’ ain’t nothin’ better. Not in the world.”
He spat again to emphasise his opinion.
“I know something better.”
The girl’s eyes were dancing with delight. She was dying to proclaim her good fortune and happiness to all the world. As nothing better was to hand, Lightning would serve.
“She’s going to hand me a present of a swell gown, an’ real silk stockings, an’ shoes, an’—an’ a fur-lined cloak. It’s for the dance. An’ she says I’ll be the belle of the whole ball.”