emphatic on the point. A number of railroad hands
lounged about, attired as usual in their working clothes.

At length the tolling of a bell broke through the silence of the woods
and the train ran in. The rutted street became crowded with unkempt,
thirsty men, and in a few minutes the hotel was filled with their harsh
voices. Last of all appeared a girl, with a very untidy man carrying a
bag beside her. She walked with a limp, and looked jaded and rather
frightened. Her light cloak was thick with dust and locomotive cinders
which clung to the woolly material; her face was hot and anxious, but
attractive.

"Thank you," she said to her companion, opening her purse when they
reached the veranda.

"Shucks! You can put that back," returned the man with an awkward gesture
and then, lifting the bag, carefully replaced the end of a garment that
projected through the bottom. "I'll carry the grip in for you, but you
want to be careful with the thing. Seems to have got busted when the
rails fell on it."

The girl passed through a wire-net door that he opened, and Kermode,
following, waited for several minutes after her companion had rung a
bell. Then a man in a white shirt and smart clothes appeared.

"Can I send a telegram from here to Drummond?" she asked him.

"No; the wires won't run into that district until next year."

"How can I get there?"

"I guess you'll have to hire a team at the livery-stable; take you about
three days to get through."

The girl looked dismayed.

"Then can you give me a room to-night?" she asked.

"Sorry," said the man, "we're full up with the railroad boys; the
waitresses have to camp in the kitchen. Don't know if anybody can take
you in; the track bosses have got all the rooms in town."

He disappeared and the girl sat down, looking very forlorn and
disconsolate. Her voice was English and she had obviously traveled a long
distance in an open car on the supply train. Kermode felt sorry for her.
He took off his hat as he approached.

"If you don't mind waiting a few minutes, I'll see if I can find you
quarters," he said.

She glanced at him suspiciously, with a heightened color, which he
thought a favorable sign, but her eyes grew more confident and when she
agreed he withdrew. As a man of experience who had been a favorite with
women, he was, however, guilty of an error of judgment during his search.
A smart young woman with whom he was on friendly terms managed a cigar
store, and i