"Yaas, suh."
"Poor thing. Did she seem young and inexperienced?"
"Yaas, suh—'scusin she all has right smart o' red ha'r."
"What?" exclaimed White excitedly. "You say she is young, and that she seemed inexperienced, except for her red hair!"
"Yaas, suh. She all has a right smart hank of red ha'r on her haid. I ain't never knowed nobody with red ha'r what ain't had a heap mo' 'sperience than the mostest."
"D-d-did you say that you drove her over to the Spanish Causeway yesterday?" stammered the dismayed young man.
"Yaas, suh."
Horrified thoughts filled his mind. For there could be scarcely any doubt that this intruder was his red-haired neighbour across the aisle at the library sale.[276]
No doubt at all that he already crossed her trail at Munsell's agency. Also, she had bid in one of the only two copies of Valdez.
First he had seen her reading it with every symptom of profound interest. Then she had gone to the sale and bid in one of the copies. Then he had heard from Munsell about a woman who had bought land along the Causeway the day before he had made his own purchase.