It was only when Frank again left him
at dusk that his face lengthened.
"Can't I be with you this evening, Frank?" he asked.
Frank shook his head. "I've got to be with my wife and little girl."
"But why can't I--" Nucky hesitated as he caught the look in Frank's
face. "You'll never forget what I said about women, I suppose!"
"Why should I forget it?" demanded Allen.
The sullen note returned to Nucky's voice. "I wouldn't harm 'em!"
"No, I'll bet you wouldn't!" returned Allen succinctly.
Nucky turned to stare into the Canyon. It seemed to the guide that it
was a full five minutes that the boy gazed into the drifting depths
before he turned with a smile that was as ingenuous as it was wistful.
"Frank, I guess I made an awful dirty fool of myself! I--I can't like
'em, but I'll take your word that lots of 'em are good. And nobody
will ever hear me sling mud at 'em again, so help me God--and the
Canyon!"
Frank silently held out his hand and Nucky grasped it. Then the guide
said, "You'd better go to bed again as soon as you've eaten your
supper. By to-morrow you'll be feeling like a short trip down Bright
Angel. Good-night, old top!"
When Nucky came out of the hotel door the next morning, Frank, with a
cavalcade of mules, was waiting for him.
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