At times he felt that he had almost rather not be in love with her, for it brought him no peace. What was the use of it, if it was only going to be painful?
He had ridden his horse into the saloon on a dare from a whore – his practice was always to accept dares; it spiced life up a little.
The eastern sky was red as coals in a forge, lighting up the flats along the river. Dew had wet the million needles of the chaparral, and when the rim of the sun edged over the horizon the chaparral s...
It seemed to him harder, as he got older, to find a simple way of life.
The best to do with a death was to move on from it.
It's funny, leaving a place, ain't it? he said. You never do know when you'll get back.
It was a weakness, but he could not bear to disappoint women, even if it was ultimately for their own good.
If you want one thing too much it’s likely to be a disappointment. The healthy way is to learn to like the everyday things, like soft beds and buttermilk—and feisty gentlemen.
Of all the women he knew, she had meant the most; and was the one person in his life he felt he had missed, in some ways.
The thought cross his mind that he ought to have married her and not gone rambling. If he had, he wouldn't be in such a fix. But he felt little fear; just an overpowering fatigue. Life had slipped out...
It was wearying, trying to adjust to all the paces life required.
It seemed to him there was never much time with women. Before you could look at one twice, you were into an argument, and they were telling you what was going to happen.
It was something, what must go through men's mind where women were concerned, to cause them to behave so strangely.
He liked to get off by himself, a mile or so from camp, and listen to the country, not the men.
When he walked out into the lots to catch his horse, he felt grown and complete for the first time in his life.
Billy the Kid shooting all those people over in New Mexico has made gunfighting real popular with the public.
His purpose was to get done what needed to be done, and what needed to be done was simple, if not easy.
The first difference Newt noticed about being grown up was that time didn't pass as slow.
She had a beautiful face, a beautiful body, but also a distance in her such as he had never met a woman.
You should marry me, he said. I will be good to you. I am not like these men. I have manners. You would see how kind I would be. I would never leave you. You could have an easy life.