"
"Don't, Betty," he broke in quickly, and added bitterly, "Are you, too,
against me?"
"I am for the best in you," she answered quietly, and turned away from him.
"The best!" he snapped his fingers impatiently. "Are you for the shot at
Maupin? the night I spent in gaol? or the beggar I am now? There's an equal
choice, I reckon."
She looked gravely up at him.
"I am for the boy I've always known," she replied, "and for the man who was
here two weeks ago--and--yes, I am for the man who stands here now. What
does it matter, Dan? What does it matter?"
"O, Betty!" he cried breathlessly, and hid his face in his hands.
"And most of all, I am for the man you are going to be," she went on
slowly, "for the great man who is growing up. Dan, come back!"
His hands fell from his eyes. "I'll not do that even for you, Betty," he
answered, "and, God knows, there's little else I wouldn't do for
you--there's nothing else."
"What will you do for yourself, Dan?"
"For myself?" his anger leaped out again, and he steadied himself against
the gate. "For myself I'll go as far as I can from this damned place. I
wish to God I'd fallen in the road before I came here. I wish I'd gone
after my father and followed in his steps. I'll live on no man's charity,
so help me God. Am I a dog to be kicked out and to go whining back when the
door opens? Go--I'll go to the devil, and be glad of it!" For a moment
Betty did not answer.
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