But he retained some memory of the husband as having been
associated with a strenuous poker game at Placer, in which he also held
a prominent place, and it would seem scarcely possible that the wife
did not know whose bullet had turned her for some weeks into a
sick-nurse. For Herndon he had not even a second thought, but the
possible ordeal of a woman's tongue was another matter. A cordial
reception could hardly be anticipated, and Hampton mentally braced
himself for the worst.
There were some other things, also, but these he brushed aside for the
present. He was not the sort of man to wear his heart upon his sleeve,
and all his life long he had fought out his more serious battles in
loneliness and silence. Now he had work to accomplish in the open; he
was going to stay with the Kid--after that, _quien sabe_? So he smiled
somewhat soberly, swore softly to himself, and strode on. He had never
yet thrown down his cards merely because luck had taken a bad turn.
It was a cheerless-looking house, painted a garish yellow, having
staring windows, and devoid of a front porch, or slightest attempt at
shade to render its uncomely front less unattractive.
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