e east of here, isn't it?" she
asked, puzzled. "You must have had a long ride."

A ghost of a frown played on his brows. Then he laughed. "Yes, miss,
I've been ridin' some," he confessed. "I didn't know how far it was to
anywhere or I mightn't have come in this direction."

She looked at him wonderingly, and again he thought he saw a troubled
look in her eyes.

"You're going to Dry Lake?" she asked.

"Yes," he said shortly, and a grim note crept into his voice. "It's
west of here, ain't it?"

"About fifteen or eighteen miles," she answered. "The trail leads
there from the lower end of this valley--the same trail you came on, I
guess. Are you a cow-puncher?"

"Don't I look like one, miss?"

"Yes, you do and--you don't." She was confused by the quality of his
smile. But his eyes seemed to glow at her kindly, with a cheerful,
amused light--altogether honest and friendly. She lowered her gaze and
flushed despite herself.

"My vocation, miss--you're too young an' pretty to be called ma'am, if
you'll excuse me for saying so--is a peculiar one. I've punched cows,
yes; I've prospected an' worked a bit in the mines. I've scared the
wolf from the 'Welcome' mat by standing off the boys at green-topped
tables, an' once I--I--worked on a sort of farm." He appeared
apologetic as he confessed this last. "I guess I wasn't cut out for a
farm hand, miss."

She laughed at this. "Are you going to work in Dry Lake?" she asked,
sobering.

"Well, now, that is a question," he returned, draining his cup of the
last of the coffee.

"I'll get you some more," she said quickly, taking his cup. "Dry Lake
isn't a very big place, you know."

"Just how big _is_ Dry Lake?" he asked when she returned from the
kitchen with more coffee for him.

"Only a hundred or two. But the men from miles and miles go there
because--because there are places there where they can stand the wolf
off at the green-topped tables and--drink." The troubled look was in
her eyes again. "Sometimes the wolf catches up with them before they
get home," she added, smiling faintly.

"It's not a safe system," he said thoughtfully.

"But you might get work in Dry Lake," she said hopefully. "You--you
look capable. The cattlemen from back in the hills go there and
they're nearly always looking for men, I've heard. You might meet some
of them and get a job."

He beamed upon her. "I've always heard that a woman gave a man
encouragement an' ambition, if she was a good o