Читать книгу The Adventures of a Woman Hobo онлайн

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“What utter nonsense. You’re the strongest woman I’ve ever seen. It’s ridiculous to talk of a strapping girl like you having consumption.”

“I know it sounds ridiculous, but I’m afraid it’s true just the same. I’ve had a good many symptoms... but I won’t die like an animal in a trap. I won’t die in this pest hole. I’ve a fighting chance and I’m going to take it. We’ll ride that tandem west or die in the attempt. When I think of the terrors of the journey, the miles and miles of desert that I know so well, when I picture those tremendous mountains, my heart almost fails me, but nothing, nothing can be so terrible, so horrible to our souls as well as destructive to our bodies as these loathsome slums.

“We’ve got to get away from here, Dan. That’s all. And I believe we can go to California on that wheel. I’ve heard of people making the journey on foot, and in the early days whole families went with all sorts of conveyances. What we need is a little nerve and grit like the pioneers.”

Well into the night we argued, until Dan was finally silenced, if not fully convinced.