"Whut air they a-sayin'?" she asked, defiantly. Raines watched her
narrowly.
"They air a-sayin' as how he air a-comin' up here mighty often; as
how Easter Hicks, who hev never keered fer no man, air in love
with this furriner from the settlemints."
The girl reddened, in spite of her assumed indifference.
"They- say, too, as how he air not in love with her, 'n' that
somebody oughter warn Easter that he air not a-meanin' good to
her. You hev been seed a-walkin' in the mountains together."
"Who seed me? " she asked, with quick suspicion. The
mountaineer hesitated.