Chapter 17 Summary

The old gringo and Harriet head back to the train. The old man is thinking back to the time of the Civil War. He feels the pangs of love and knows that he could take care of Harriet, but also knows it is bad timing. He chastises her for having sex with Arroyo. She tells him that she is the one who used Arroyo rather than the other way around. When questioned why, she tells him it was to save his life. He laughs bitterly, feeling the irony of her attempting to save the life he is determined to end.

Harriet fills in more reasons for justifying her actions. The old gringo is thinking of all of the deceit between people, especially among themselves. Arroyo spied on his rich father, who disavowed him. Harriet has known that her father abandoned her by not...