Page:Max Brand--The Seventh Man.djvu/319

Rh the room, rose on tip-toe to open the kitchen door, and disappeared through it. Kate dropped into a chair, shaking.

“Out!” whispered Buck to Lee Haines. “Beat it. I got to talk alone.” And as soon as Haines obeyed, Buck sat down close to the girl. She was twisting and untangling her fingers in a dumb agony.

“What has he done to her, Buck? What has he done?”

It was a maxim with Buck that talk is to woman what swearing is to man; it is a safety valve, and therefore he waited in silence until the first rush of her grief had passed.

“She only looked at me when I whipped her. My heart turned in me. She didn't cry; she wasn't even angry. She just stood there—my baby!—and looked at me!”

She threw herself back in the chair with her eyes closed, and he saw where the trouble had marked her face. He wanted to lean over and take her in his arms.

“I'm going mad, Buck. I can't stand it. How could he have changed her to this?”

“Listen to me, Kate. Joan ain't been changed. She's only showin' what she is.”

The mother stared wildly at him.

“Don't look like I was a murderer. God knows I'm sorry, Kate, but if they's Dan's blood in your little girl it ain't my fault. It ain't anything he's taught her.