Page:Jackson Gregory--joyous trouble maker.djvu/345

Rh speak as gruffly as Bill Steele had spoken, "I love you with my whole heart!"

But her eyes faltered in spite of her, her cheeks were already flaming before he had her in his arms.

"Embry thought that I would care what people said," said Beatrice. … In the meantime Steele had gotten a rabbit with a lucky shot and both of them had cooked that very small animal. … "Just to show you that I don't we are going to have the whole day to ourselves, unchaperoned and happy. And to-morrow …"

"Tomorrow you promised to marry me!" he reminded her quickly. As though she had forgotten all about it. …

"Tomorrow," said Beatrice softly, "we're going to Summit City in the early, early dawn, you and I, Bill Steele. You may have a preacher there or a justice of the peace or … or a sea captain! And then you are going to take a big pack on those big shoulders of yours … and I am going to wear this little foolish buckskin dress … and we are going out into the forests. All by ourselves. Just the wide world and you and I, Bill Steele! And, Big Man …" "What, Beatrice?"

"Sylvia Carruthers wrote me a note the other day. And do you know what she told me? You great big bluff! … She told me that when you sold Summit City to Dr. Gilchrist, you let him have it ten thousand dollars cheaper than I let you have it. … You are a perfectly ridiculous business man!"