"
"I expect I've looked my worst since I've been here. I ain't had a
chance to do any moonin' at you."
"I don't like men that 'moon,'" she declared.
"That's the reason I didn't do it," he said.
She laughed. "Now, tell me," she asked, "how you got your name,
'Deal.' It had something to do with cards, I suppose?"
"With weight," he said, looking soberly at her. "When I was born my
dad looked at me sort of nonplussed. I was that big. 'There's a deal
of him,' he told my mother. An' the name stuck. That ain't a lot
mysterious."
"It was a convenient name to attach the 'Square' to," she said.
"I've earned it," he said earnestly. "An' I've had a mighty hard time
provin' my right to wear it. There's men that will tempt you out of
pure deviltry, an' others that will try to shoot such a fancy out of
your system. But I didn't wear the 'Square' because I wanted to--folks
hung it onto me without me askin'. That's one reason I left Tombstone;
I'd got tired of posin' as an angel."
He saw her face grow thoughtful and a haunting expression come into her
eyes.
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