“You’d enjoy it. I’d like to show you the city, Wanna.”
“You like to show me?” eagerly.
Jack looked sidewise and a crooked smile twisted his lips.
“Yes, I would. You’re pretty enough to show to anybody.”
Lucy called sharply to Wanna and the girl went reluctantly back to her work. Big Medicine came slowly outside and stopped beside Jack’s chair.
“I heard what you said to her.”
Big Medicine’s voice was pitched low. Jack twisted nervously. He was afraid of this big man.
“Well, what of it?” he asked.
“I’ve watched you and her,” said Big Medicine softly. “Youth calls to youth, they say; but not in this case. I know your type, Jack Hill. The honor of a pretty girl means nothing to you. The cities are filled with young men like you, idlers, wine hounds—and worse.
“Wanna is a half-breed. Her Indian blood makes her believe what you tell her, while her white blood makes a romance of your mysterious shooting. You are something new to her. You do not talk the language of the hills and cattle ranges, and she puts you above the rest of the men.