Bret Harte

Frontier Stories Bret Harte

Book Excerpt: ...p> "What made you eat that grass, just now?""Grass!" echoed Lance."Yes, there," pointing to the yerba buena. Lance laughed. "I was hungry. Look!" he said, gayly tossing some silver into the air. "Do you think you could get me some breakfast for that, and have enough left to buy something for yourself?"The girl eyed the money and the man with half-bashful curiosity."I reckon Dad might give ye suthing if he had a mind ter, though ez a rule he's down on tramps ever since they run off his chickens. Ye might try.""But I want you to try. You can bring it to me here."The girl retreated a step, dropped her eyes, and, with a smile that was a charming hesitation between bashfulness and impudence, said: "So you are hidin', are ye?""That's just it. Your head's level. I am," laughed Lance unconcernedly."Yur ain't one o' the McCarthy gang--are ye?"Mr. Lance Harriott felt a momentary moral exaltation in declaring truthfully that he was not one of a notorious band of m...