forefathers ever been
pioneers? Carley did not know, but the thought was disturbing. It was
thought-provoking. Many times at home, when she was dressing for dinner,
she had gazed into the mirror at the graceful lines of her throat and
arms, at the proud poise of her head, at the alabaster whiteness of her
skin, and wonderingly she had asked of her image: "Can it be possible
that I am a descendant of cavemen?" She had never been able to realize
it, yet she knew it was true. Perhaps somewhere not far back along her
line there had been a great-great-grandmother who had lived some kind of
a primitive life, using such implements and necessaries as hung on this
cabin wall, and thereby helped some man to conquer the wilderness, to
live in it, and reproduce his kind. Like flashes Glenn's words came back
to Carley--"Work and children!"

Some interpretation of his meaning and how it related to this hour held
aloof from Carley. If she would ever be big enough to understand it and
broad enough to accept it the time was far distant. Just now she was
sore and sick physically, and therefore certainly not in a receptive
state of mind. Yet how could she have keener impressions than these she
was receiving? It was all a problem. She grew tired of thinking. But
even then her mind pondered on, a stream of consciousness over which she
had no control. This dreary woods was deserted. No birds, no squirrels,
no creatures such as fancy anticipated! In another direction, across the
canyon, she saw cattle, gaunt, ragged, lumbering, and stolid. And on the
moment the scent of sheep came on the breeze. Time seemed to stand still
here, and what Carley wanted most was for the hours and days to fly, so
that she would be home again.

At last Flo returned with the men. One quick glance at Glenn convinced
Carley that Flo had not yet told him about the sheep dipper, Haze Ruff.

"Carley, you're a real sport," declared Glenn, with the rare smile she
loved. "It's a dreadful mess. And to think you stood it!... Why, old
Fifth Avenue, if you needed to make another hit with me you've done it!"

His warmth amazed and pleased Carley. She could not quite understand
why it would have made any difference to him whether she had stood the
ordeal or not. But then every day she seemed to drift a little farther
from a real understanding of her lover. His praise gladdened her, and
fortified her to face the rest of this ride back to Oak Creek.

Four hours later, in a twi