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Mollyremainedsilent。
Herauntlookedslowlyupather。“Hasamanlikethatpresumed——“
“He’snotabitlikethat。Yes，he’sexactlylikethat，“saidMolly。Andshewouldhavesnatchedthephotographaway，butherauntretainedit。“Well，“shesaid，“Isupposetherearedayswhenhedoesnotkillpeople。“
“Heneverkilledanybody！“AndMollylaughed。
“Areyouseriously——“saidtheoldlady。
“Ialmostmight——attimes。Heisperfectlysplendid。“
“Mydear，youhavefalleninlovewithhisclothes。“
“It’snothisclothes。AndI’mnotinlove。Heoftenwearsothers。Hewearsawhitecollarlikeanybody。“
“Thenthatwouldbeamoresuitablewaytobephotographed，I
think。Hecouldn’tgoroundlikethathere。Icouldnotreceivehimmyself。“
“He’dneverthinkofsuchathing。Why，youtalkasifhewereasavage。“
Theoldladystudiedthepicturecloselyforaminute。“Ithinkitisagoodface，“shefinallyremarked。“Isthefellowashandsomeasthat，mydear？“
Moreso，Mollythought。Andwhowashe，andwhatwerehisprospects？weretheaunt’snextinquiries。Sheshookherheadattheanswerswhichshereceived；andshealsoshookherheadoverherniece’semphaticdenialthatherheartwaslosttothisman。
Butwhentheirpartingcame，theoldladysaid:“Godblessyouandkeepyou，mydear。I’llnottrytomanageyou。Theymanagedme——“
Asighspoketherestofthissentence。“ButI’mnotworriedaboutyou——atleast，notverymuch。YouhaveneverdoneanythingthatwasnotworthyoftheStarks。Andifyou’regoingtotakehim，doitbeforeIdiesothatIcanbidhimwelcomeforyoursake。Godblessyou，mydear。“
AndafterthegirlhadgonebacktoBennington，thegreat-aunthadthisthought:“Sheislikeusall。Shewantsamanthatisaman。“Nordidtheoldladybreatheherknowledgetoanymemberofthefamily。Forshewasaloyalspirit，andhergirl’sconfidencewassacredtoher。
“Besides，“shereflected，“ifevenIcandonothingwithher，whatamessTHEY’Dmakeofit！Weshouldhearofherelopementnext。“
SoMolly’simmediatefamilyneversawthatphotograph，andneverheardawordfromheruponthissubject。ButonthedaythatsheleftforBearCreek，astheysatmissingheranddiscussinghervisitintheevening，Mrs。Bellobserved:“Mother，howdidyouthinkshewas？“——“Ineversawherbetter，Sarah。Thathorribleplaceseemstoagreewithher。“——“Oh，yes，agree。Itseemedtome——“——“Well？“——“Oh，justsomehowthatshewasthinking。“——“Thinking？“——“Well，Ibelieveshehassomethingonhermind。“——“Youmeanaman，“saidAndrewBell——“Aman，Andrew？“——“Yes，Mrs。Wood，that’swhatSarahalwaysmeans。“
ItmaybementionedthatSarah’ssurmisesdidnotgreatlycontributetohermother’shappiness。Andrumorissostrangeathingthatpresentlyfromthemaliciousoutsideaircameavagueanddreadfulword——oneofthosewordsthatcannotbetracedtoitssource。SomebodysaidtoAndrewBellthattheyheardMissMollyWoodwasengagedtomarryaRUSTLER。
“Heavens，Andrew！“saidhiswife；“whatisarustler？“
Itwasnotinanydictionary，andcurrenttranslationsofitwereinconsistent。AmanatHoosicFallssaidthathehadpassedthroughCheyenne，andheardthetermappliedinacomplimentarywaytopeoplewhowerealiveandpushing。Anothermanhadalwayssupposeditmeantsomekindofhorse。Butthemostalarmingversionofallwasthatarustlerwasacattlethief。
Nowthetruthisthatallthesemeaningswereright。Thewordranasortofprogressinthecattlecountry，gatheringmanymeaningsasitwent。Itgatheredmore，however，inBennington。Inaveryfewdays，gossiphaditthatMollywasengagedtoagambler，agoldminer，anescapedstagerobber，andaMexicanbandit；whileMrs。FlyntfearedshehadmarriedaMormon。
AlongBearCreek，however，Mollyandher“rustler“tookaridesoonafterherreturn。Theywereneithermarriednorengaged，andshewastellinghimaboutVermont。
“Ineverwasthere，“saidhe。“Neverhappenedtostrikeinthatdirection。“
“Whatdecidedyourdirection？“
“Oh，lookingforchances。IreckonImusthavebeenmoreambitiousthanmybrothers——ormorerestless。Theystayedaroundonfarms。ButIgotout。WhenIwent
