"I s"pose you could," said Sinclair slowly. He lowered his glance for a moment to keep his scorn from standing up in his eyes. "But I"ve heard of men, Cartwright, that"d love a woman so hard that they"d forgive anything."
"The world"s full of fools," said the rich rancher. He stabbed a stern forefinger into the palm of his other hand. "She"s got to do a lot of explaining before I"ll look at her. She"s got to make me an accounting of every day she"s spent since I last seen her at--"
"At the wedding?" asked Sinclair cruelly.
Cartwright writhed in the chair till it groaned beneath his uneasy weight. "She told you that?"
"Look here," went on Sinclair, a.s.suming a new tone of frank inquiry.
"Let"s see if we can"t find out why she left you?"
"They ain"t any reason--just plain fool woman, that"s all."
"But maybe she didn"t love you, Cartwright. Did you ever think of that?"
The big man stared. "Not love me? Who _would_ she love, then? Was they anybody in them parts that could bring her as much as I could? Was they anybody that had as good a house as mine, or as much land, or as much cattle? Didn"t I take her over the ground and show her what it amounted to? Didn"t I offer her her pick of my own string of riding horses?"
"Did you do as much as that?"
"Sure I did. She wouldn"t have lacked for nothing."
"You sure must have loved her a lot," insinuated Sinclair. "Must have been plumb foolish about her."
"Oh, I dunno about that. Love is one thing that ain"t bothered me none.
I got important interests, Sinclair. I"m a business man. And this here marriage was a business proposition. Her dad was a business man, and he fixed it all up for us. It was to tie the two biggest bunches of land together that could be found in them parts. Anyway"--he grinned--"I got the land!"
"And why not let the girl go, then?"
"Why?" asked Cartwright eagerly. "Who wants her? You?"
"Maybe, if you"d let her go."
"Not in a thousand years! She"s mine. They ain"t no face but hers that I can see opposite to me at the table--not one! Besides, she"s mine, and I"m going to keep her--after I"ve taught her a lesson or two!"
Sinclair wiped his forehead hastily. Eagerness to jump at the throat of the man consumed him. He forced a smile on his thin lips and persistently looked down.
"But think how easy it"d be, Cartwright. Think how easy you could get a divorce on the grounds of desertion."
"And drag all this shame into the courts?"
"They"s ways of hushing these here things up. It"d be easy. She wouldn"t put up no defense, mostlike. You"d win your case. And if anybody asked questions, they"d simply say she was crazy, and that you was lucky to get rid of her. They wouldn"t blame you none. And it wouldn"t be no disgrace to be deserted by a crazy woman, would it?"
Cartwright drew back into a sh.e.l.l of opposition. "You talk pretty hot for this."
"Because I"m telling you the way out for both of you."
"I can"t see it. She"s coming back to me. n.o.body else is going to get her. I"ve set my mind on it!"
"Partner, don"t you see that neither of you could ever be happy?"
"Oh, we"d be happy enough. I"d forgive her--after a while."
"Yes, but what about her?"
"About her? Why, curse her, what right has she got to be considered?"
"Cartwright, she doesn"t love you."
The bulldog came into the face of Cartwright and contorted it. "Don"t she belong to me by law? Ain"t she sworn to--"
"Don"t" said Sinclair, as if the words strangled him. "Don"t say that, Cartwright, if you please!"
"Why not? You put up a good slick talk, Sinclair. But you don"t win. I ain"t going to give her up by no divorce. I"m going to keep her. I don"t love her enough to want her back, I hate her enough. They"s only one way that I"d stop caring about--stop fearing that she"d shame me.
And that"s by having her six feet underground. But you, Sinclair, you need coin. You"re footloose. Suppose you was to take her and bring her to--"
"Don"t!" cried Sinclair again. "Don"t say it, Cartwright. Think it over again. Have mercy on her, man. She could make some home happy. Are you going to destroy that chance?"
"Say, what kind of talk is this?" asked the big man.
"Now," said Sinclair, "look to your own rotten soul!"
The strength of Cartwright was cut away at the root. The color was struck out of his face as by a mortal blow. "What d"you mean?" he whispered.
"You don"t deserve a man"s chance, but I"m going to give it to you. Go get your gun, Cartwright!"
Cartwright slunk back in his chair. "Do you mean murder, Sinclair?"
"I mean a fair fight."
"You"re a gunman. You been raised and trained for gunfighting. I wouldn"t have no chance!"
Sinclair controlled his scorn. "Then I"ll fight left-handed. I"m a right-handed man, Cartwright, and I"ll take you with my gun in my left hand. That evens us up, I guess."
"No, it don"t!"
But with the cry on his lips, the glance of Cartwright flickered past Sinclair. He grew thoughtful, less flabby. He seemed to be calculating his chances as his glance rested on the window.
"All right," he whispered, a fearful eye on Sinclair, as if he feared the latter would change his mind. "Gimme a fair break."
"I"ll do it."
Sinclair shifted his gun to his left hand and turned to look at the window which Cartwright had been watching with such intense interest.
He had not half turned, however, when a gun barked at his very ear, it seemed, a tongue of flame spat in from the window, there was a crash of gla.s.s, and the lamp was snuffed. Some accurate shot had cut the burning wick out of the lamp with his bullet, so nicely placed that, though the lamp reeled, it did not fall.
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