.
Kate noticed the huskiness in the strong, cold tone.

"Brought y' a passenger."

From the talk of the night she recognized her father's nickname. It
was a little shock to realize that this must, indeed, be he. And the
unmoved expression of his face as he surveyed her without a smite or
greeting, was not reassuring.

But she hastened forward: "Father?" there was a note of girlish appeal
in her greeting: "I'm Kate--your daughter. You don't remember me, of
course," she added with an effort to extort a welcome. "You got my
letter, did you?"

He looked at her uncertainly for a moment and nodded slowly. "Was it
all right," she asked, now almost panic-stricken, "to come to see you?"

Confused or preoccupied, he stumbled out some words of welcome, spoke
to Belle on the stage, took the suitcase out of Bradley's hand and led
Kate into the house. In the large room that she entered stood a long
table and a big fireplace opened at the back. On the left, two
bedrooms opened off the big room, and on the right, the kitchen.

The chill of the strange greeting embarrassed Kate the more because she
felt Belle could hardly fail to notice it, and her own resentment of it
did not easily wear off. But hoping for better things she freshened up
a little, in her father's bedroom, and by that time a man cook was
bringing breakfast into the big room, which served as living-room and
dining-room. Bradley, Belle, Kate and her father sat down--the men had
already breakfasted.

Kate, her head in a whirl with novelty and excitement, was overcome
with interest in everything, but especially in her father. Sitting at
the head of the table--at one end of which fresh places had been
set--he maintained her first impression of his stature. His spreading
frame was covered with loose corduroy clothes--which could hardly be
said to fit--and his whole appearance conveyed the impression of
unusual physical strength. It had been said of Barb Doubleday, as a
railroad builder, that he could handle an iron rail alone. His
powerful jaw and large mouth--now fitted, or rather, supplied--with
artificial teeth of proportionate size--all supported Kate's awe of his
bigness. His long nose, once smashed in a railroad fight, was not
seriously scarred; and originally well-shaped, it was still the best
feature of a terrifically weather-beaten face that had evidently seen
milder days. The good looks were gone, but not the strength. His
mouth was almost s