Allegories; Christian fiction; Clergy -- Fiction; Ozark Mountains -- Fiction
Turning to his own horse, Ollie placed his foot in the stirrup to
mount, when Sammy spoke,—perhaps she felt that she had been a little
unkind—“You were going to stay to supper,” she said.
“Not to-night,” he answered, gaining his seat in the saddle, and
picking up the reins.
“But you are going to leave in the morning, are you not? You—you must
not go like this.”
He dropped the reins to the horse’s neck again, “Look here, Sammy, do
you blame me because I did not fight that big bully?”
Sammy did not reply.
“What could I do? You know there is not another man in the mountains
beside Young Matt who could have done it. Surely you cannot blame me.”
The young woman moved uneasily, “No, certainly not. I do not blame you
in the least. I—but it was very fortunate that Young Matt was there,
wasn’t it?” The last sentence slipped out before she knew.
Ollie retorted angrily, “It seems to be very fortunate for him. He will
be a greater hero than ever, now, I suppose. If he is wise, he will
stay in the backwoods to be worshipped for he’ll find that his size
won’t count for much in the world. He’s a great man here, where he can
fight like a beast, but his style wouldn’t go far where brains are of
value. It would be interesting to see him in town; a man who never saw
a railroad.”
Sammy lifted her head quickly at this, and fixed her eyes on the man’s
face with that wide, questioning gaze that reminded one so of her
father, “I never saw a railroad, either; not that I can remember;
though, I suppose we must have crossed one or two on our way to Texas
when I was a baby. Is it the railroads then that makes one so—so
superior?”
The man turned impatiently in the saddle, “You know what I mean.”
“Yes,” she answered slowly. “I think I do know what you mean.”
Ollie lifted the reins again from his horse’s neck, and angered them
nervously. “I’d better go now; there’s no use talking about this
to-night. I won’t leave in the morning, as I had planned. I—I can’t go
like this.” There was a little catch in his voice. “May I come again
to-morrow afternoon, Sammy?”
“Yes, you had better go now, and come back to-morrow.”
“And Sammy, won’t you try to think that I am not altogether worthless,
even if I am not big enough to fight Wash Gibbs? You are sure that you
do not blame me for what happened at the mill?”
“No,” she said; “of course not. You could not help it. Why should I
blame anyone for that which he cannot help?”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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