Page:The trail of the golden horn.djvu/66

62 each other so much that we couldn’t bear to be kept apart. Nothing must stand in the way of love, so Tim said.”

Marion was tempted to smile at the simplicity and candor of the girl. To her, whatever Tim said was right. She longed to know more about the young man who had won the heart of this beautiful half-breed.

“Were you and Tim planning to get married soon?” she asked.

“Oh, yes. He said he was going to take me outside next summer, and we would then be married. But now this trouble has come, and Tim may die.”

“How did it happen, Zell? You don’t mind telling me, do you?”

“I don’t mind, Miss. But I am afraid all the time. Bill did that to Tim, and he might do worse to me. He is a bad, bad man.”

“Who is Bill?”

“The man who shot Tim. He hates him because he wants me. Oh, I am afraid of him! He follows me around. He is called ‘Bill, the Slugger’ because he hits so hard.”

“So he wants to marry you, does he?” Marion queried, for the first time beginning to understand a little of the situation.

“Yes, he does. But I hate him, and have told him so over and over again. I slapped him in the face once, and he swore awful, called me a ‘she-devil,’ and said that he would pay me back. And that is the way he has done it.” She motioned to the man on the bunk. “I am afraid to go home, for I know Bill will be waiting for me.”

“But how did he come to shoot Tim?” Marion asked. “Was it for revenge?”