I'd sure help him to an
untimely end, and then I'd marry them pecan-groves, and blooded
herds, and drug-store orchards. She certainly is a heart-breakin'
device, with her red hair and red lips and--"
"FATHER!" Paloma was deeply shocked.
Complete isolation, of course, Alaire had found to be impossible,
even though her ranch lay far from the traveled roads and her
Mexican guards were not encouraging to visitors. Business
inevitably brought her into contact with a considerable number of
people, and of these the one she saw most frequently was Judge
Ellsworth of Brownsville, her attorney.
It was perhaps a week after Ed had left for San Antonio that
Alaire felt the need of Ellsworth's counsel, and sent for him. He
responded promptly, as always. Ellsworth was a kindly man of
fifty-five, with a forceful chin and a drooping, heavy-lidded eye
that could either blaze or twinkle. He was fond of Alaire, and his
sympathy, like his understanding, was of that wordless yet
comprehensive kind which is most satisfying. Judge Ellsworth knew
more than any four men in that part of Texas; information had a
way of seeking him out, and his head was stored to repletion with
facts of every variety.
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