You are not going to scare me, either," she added confidently. "If you
don't care to abide by your father's wishes you are at liberty to
go--anywhere you please."
"Who'd get the money then?"
"You have a year in which to show that you forgive your father. If at
the end of that time you have not forgiven him, or if you leave the
ranch without agreeing to the provisions of the will, the entire
property comes to me."
"I reckon you'd like to have me leave?" he sneered.
"That," she returned, unruffled, "is my business. But I don't mind
telling you that I have no interest in the matter one way or another.
You may leave if you like, but if you stay you will yield to your
father's wishes if you are to receive the money and the property."
There was finality in her voice; he felt it and his face darkened with
passion. A sneer replaced the mirthless grin on his lips, and when he
got up and moved slowly toward Betty she sat motionless, for there was
a repressed savagery in his movements that chilled her blood. He came
and stood in front of her, towering over her; she saw that his hands
were clenched, the fingers working. Twice she tried to look up at him,
but each time her gaze stopped at his hands--they fascinated her. She
tried to scream when she finally saw them come out toward her, but
succeeded in emitting only a breathless gasp, for a broad, rough palm
suddenly enclosed each of her cheeks and her head was forced slowly and
resistlessly back until she found herself looking straight up at him.
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