robbed my girlie.
'Tain't for the stuff he carries onto him. ... No, God, 'tain't them
things. But it's what that there skunk done to my Evie. ... O God, be
you listenin'? He _hurt_ her, Quintana did. That's it. He misused
her. ... God, if you had seen my girlie's little bleeding feet!----
_That's_ the reason. ... 'Tain't the stuff. I can work. I can save for
to make my Evie a lady same's them high-steppers on Fifth Avenoo. I can
moil and toil and slave an' run hootch -- hootch---- They wuz wine 'n'
fixin's into the Bible. It ain't you, God, it's them fanatics. ...
Nobody in my Dump wanted I should sell 'em more'n a bottle o' beer
before this here prohybishun set us all crazy. 'Tain't right. ... O
God, don't hold a little hootch agin me when all I want of you is to let
Quintana----"

The slightest noise behind him. He waited, turned slowly. Eve stood
there.

Hell died in his pale eyes as she came to him, rested silently in his
gentle embrace, returned his kiss, laid her flushed, sweet cheek against
his unshaven face.

"Dad, darling?"

"Yes, my baby---"

"You're watching to kill Quintana. But there's no use watching any
longer."

"Have the boys below got him?" he demanded.

"They got one of his gang. Byron Hastings is dead. Jim is badly hurt:
Sid Hone, too, -- not so badly----"

"Where's Quintana?"

"Dad, he's gone. ... But it don't matter. See here!----" She dug her
slender hand into her breeches pocket and pulled out a little fistful of
gems.

Clinch, his powerful arm closing her shoulders, looked dully at the
jewels.

"You see, dad, there's no use killing Quintana. These are the things he
robbed you of."

"'Tain't them that matter. ... I'm glad you got 'em. I allus wanted you
should be a great lady, girlie. Them's the ticket of admission. You
put them in your pants. I gotta stay here a spell---"

"Dad! Take them!"

He took them, smiled, shoved them into his pocket.

"What is it, girlie?" he asked absently, his pale eyes searching the
woods ahead.

"I've just told you," she said, "that the boys went in as far as
Quintana's shanty. There was a dead man there, too; but Quintana has
gone."

Clinch said, -- not removing his eyes from the forest: "If any o' them
boys has let Quintana crawl through I'll kill _him,_ too. ... G'wan
home, girlie. I gotta mosey -- I gotta kinda loaf around f'r a
spell----"

"Dad, I want you to come back with me---"

"You go home; you hear me