“Did I lay a hand on you?” 264
“If it had been necessary you would have.”
“You’re right, I would,” he nodded. “I’ve taken a fancy to you. You’re a good-looking and a plucky little devil. I’ve a notion to fall in love with you.”
“Don’t!”
“Why not? Say I’m a villain and a bad lot. Wouldn’t it be a good thing for me to tie up with a fine, straight-up young lady like you? Me, I like the way your eyes flash. You’ve got a devil of a temper, haven’t you?”
They had been walking toward a pile of rocks some little way from the cluster of cabins. Now he sat down and smiled impudently across at her.
“That’s my business,” she flung back stormily.
Genially he nodded. “So it is. Mine, too, when we trot in double harness.”
Her scornful eyes swept up and down him. “I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last man on earth.”
“No. Well, I’m not partial to that game myself. I didn’t mention matrimony, did I?”