s moist.

"Let me do that," she said.

"Thanks. It took about all my strength to get into this new outfit," he
said, relinquishing, his place to Lucy.

When she looked up from her task, presently, he was sitting in the
shade of the cedar, watching her. He had the expression of a man who
hardly believed what he saw.

"Did you have any trouble gettin' away, without tellin'--about me?" he
asked.

"No. But I sure had a job with those packs," she replied.

"You must be a wonder with a horse."

As far as vanity was concerned Lucy had only one weakness--and he had
touched upon it.

"Well, Dad and Holley and Farlane argue much about me. Still, I guess
they all agree I can ride."

"Holley an' Farlane are riders?" he questioned.

"Yes, Dad's right-hand men."

"Your dad hires many riders, I supposed?"

"Sure I never heard of him turning any rider down, at least not without
a try."

"I wonder if he would give me a job?"

Lucy glanced up quickly. The idea surprised her--pleased her. "In a
minute," she replied. "And he'd be grand to you. You see, he'd have an
eye for Wildfire."

The rider nodded his head as if he understood how that would be.

"And of course you'd never sell nor trade Wildfire?" went on Lucy.

The rider's smile was sad, but it was conclusive.

"Then you'd better stay away from Bostil," returned Lucy, shortly.

He remained silent, and Lucy, busy about the campfire, did not speak
again till the simple fare was ready. Then she spread a tarpaulin in
the shade.

"I'm pretty hungry myself," she said. "But I don't suppose I know what
hunger is."

"After a while a fellow loses the feelin' of hunger," he replied. "I
reckon it'll come back quick.... This all looks good."

So they began to eat. Lucy's excitement, her sense of the unreality of
this adventure, in no wise impaired her appetite. She seemed acutely
sensitive to the perceptions of the moment. The shade of the cedars was
cool. And out on the desert she could see the dark smoky veils of heat
lifting. The breeze carried a dry odor of sand and grass. She heard
bees humming by. And all around the great isolated monuments stood up,
red tops against the blue sky. It was a silent, dreaming, impressive
place, where she felt unlike herself.

"I mustn't stay long," she said, suddenly remembering.

"Will you come back--again?" he asked.

The question startled Lucy. "Why--I--I don't know.... Won't you ride in
to the Ford just as soon as you're ab