Ain't got a dollar now, so I might as well hit for the prairies
an' get a job on a ranch. Next winter I guess me 'n the kid will trap up on
the Parsnip River."
"You're wrong--clean wrong," said Aldous quietly. "When I saw your outfit
going down among the rocks I had already made up my mind to help you. What
you've told me to-night hasn't made any difference. I would have helped you
anyway, Stevens. I've got more money than I know what to do with right now.
Roper has a thirty-horse outfit for sale. Buy it to-morrow. I'll pay for
it, and you needn't consider yourself a dollar in debt. Some day I'll have
you take me on a long trip, and that will make up for it. As for the girl
and myself--we're going on to Tete Jaune to-morrow."
Aldous could see the amazed packer staring at him in the gloom. "You don't
think I'm sellin' myself, do you, Aldous?" he asked huskily. "That ain't
why you're doin' this--for me 'n the kid--is it?"
"I had made up my mind to do it before I saw you to-night," repeated
Aldous. "I've got lots of money, and I don't use but a little of it. It
sometimes accumulates so fast that it bothers me.
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