Damn the frogs!
Martin Eckles appeared in the buggy the following evening and offered
to carry Lucy for a short drive to a near-by farm; with an air of
indifference she accepted. Wilmer didn't call, and Calvin sat in silent
perplexity with Ettie. The buggy returned later than they had allowed,
and Lucy went up to bed without stopping on the porch.
The next morning Ettie, with something in her hand, came out to Calvin
at the stable shed.
"I found this in Lucy's room," she said simply.
It was Martin Eckles' gold ring, set with the insignia in rubies,
suspended in a loop of ribbon.
A cold angry certitude formed in his being. What a criminal fool he had
been! What a blind booby! His only remark, however, brought a puzzled
expression to Ettie's troubled countenance. Calvin Stammark exclaimed,
"Phebe Braley." He was silent for a little, his frowning gaze fixed
beyond any visible object, then he added: "Put that back where you
found it and forget everything."
Ettie laid a hand on his sleeve. "Now, Calvin," she begged, her voice
low and strained, "promise me----"
"Forget everything!" he repeated harshly.
His face was dark, forbidding, the lines deeply bitten about a somber
mouth, his eyes were like blue ice. He walked into Greenstream, where
he saw the proprietor of the small single hotel; then, back in his
room, he unwrapped from oiled leather a heavy blued revolver; and soon
after he saddled his horse and was clattering in a sharp trot in the
opposite direction from the village.
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