own when she beat
you?"

Ambrose's eyes gleamed ominously. "Stop it!" he cried. "You don't
know what you're talking about." His look intimidated her. The fury of
jealousy subsided to a sullen muttering. "I hate her! She bad to the
people. She want starve the people. She think her yellow horse better
than an Indian!"

Ambrose, seeing her lip begin to tremble and her eyes fill, relented.
"Stop it," he said mildly. "No use for us to quarrel."

She suddenly broke into a storm of weeping and cast herself down,
hiding her face in her arms. Ambrose could think of nothing better to
do than let her weep herself out. He sat down on a boulder.

She came creeping to him at last, utterly humbled. "Angleysman, tak'
me wit' you," she murmured, clasping her hands before him. Her breath
was still caught with sobs. "I not expec' you marry me. I not bot'er
you wit' much talk lak' a wife. I jus' be your little servant. You
not want me, you say: Go 'way. I jus' wait till you want me again."

Ambrose turned his head away. He had never imagined a man having to go
through with anything like this.

"Always, always I work for you," she whispered. "Let Colina Gaviller
marry you. She not mind me. I guess she not mind that little dog you
love. I jus' poor, common red girl. She think not'ing of me!"

Ambrose laughed a bitter note at the picture she called up. "That
would hardly work," he said.

"But tak' me wit' you," she implored. She finally ventured to lay her
cheek on his knee.

He laid a hand on her hair. "Listen, you baby," he said, "and try to
understand me. You know that they are going to try to put off all this
trouble on me. They will say I made the Indians do bad. They will say
I tried to kill John Gaviller. The police will arrest me, and there
will be a trial. You know what that is."

"Everybody see you not a bad man," she said.

"It's not as simple as that," he said with a wry smile. "I have nobody
to speak for me but myself. Now, if you go away with me everybody will
say: 'Ambrose Doane stole Watusk's wife away from him. Ambrose Doane
is a bad man.' And then they will not believe me when I say I did not
lead the Indians into wrong; I did not try to kill John Gaviller."

"I speak for you," cried Nesis. "I tell Gordon Strange and Watusk fix
all trouble together."

"If you go with me, they will not believe you either," said Ambrose
patiently. "They will say: 'Nesis is crazy about Ambros