"Persuade him to what?"
"To marry her," Smith brazenly said.
"I don't want him to marry her," the father was honest enough to say.
This had never occurred to Uncle Henry. "What's the matter with him?" he
asked, his eyes opening wide in amazement.
"It would take too long to tell you." Hardy considered the argument closed;
but Uncle Henry came right back again:
"But he's my nevyer!"
"That's one of my main reasons," Hardy cruelly announced; and the only
come-back poor Uncle Henry had was an exasperated, "Oh, is that so!"
drawled out peevishly, weakly.
"I want his ranch, not him," Hardy went on. He might have been discussing
someone not in the room.
"But he's a fine young feller, if I do say so!" Uncle Henry came to
Gilbert's rescue, after the manner of all relatives when an outsider steps
in with criticism.
"Only a minute ago I heard you call him a gol darn fool!" Hardy
triumphantly reminded him.
"There you are," said Gilbert, addressing his uncle. "That's what you
get--"
"Do you think I want my darter to marry a gol darn fool?" Hardy fired back
at the old man.
Uncle Henry was flabbergasted, completely done for, for the moment. "Well,
what the--" But he could get no farther.
Pages:
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105