The tears came to her eyes; in
her swift revulsion of feeling she caught the thin uplifted hand between
her own. It seemed to her that he was about to raise them to his lips,
but she withdrew them hastily, and moved away. She had a strange fear
that if he had kissed them, it might seem as if some dumb animal had
touched them--or--IT MIGHT NOT. The next day she felt a consciousness
of this in his presence, and a wish that he was well-cured and away. She
determined to consult Dr. Duchesne on the subject when he next called.
But the doctor, secure in the welfare of his patient, had not visited
him lately, and she found herself presently absorbed in the business of
the ranch, which at this season was particularly trying. There had also
been a quarrel between Dick Shipley, her mill foreman, and Miguel, her
ablest and most trusted vaquero, and in her strict sense of impartial
justice she was obliged to side on the merits of the case with Shipley
against her oldest retainer. This troubled her, as she knew that with
the Mexican nature, fidelity and loyalty were not unmixed with quick and
unreasoning jealousy.
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