e of life, as
there exhibited, was founded on somewhat acute experience. He knew that
his daughter was young and remarkably pretty. He saw that Dick Darvall
was also young--a dashing and unusually handsome sailor--something like
what Tom Bowling may have been. Putting these things together, he came
to the very natural conclusion that a wedding would be desirable;
believing, as he did, that human nature in the Rockies is very much the
same as to its foundation elements as it is elsewhere. Moreover,
Roaring Bull was very much in want of a stout son-in-law at that time,
so he fanned the flame which he fondly hoped was beginning to arise.
This he did in a somewhat blundering and obvious manner, but Dick was
too much engrossed with Mary to notice it and Mary was too ignorant of
the civilised world's ways to care much for the proprieties of life.

Of course this state of things created an awful commotion in the breasts
of the cow-boys who were in the employment of Mary's father and herded
his cattle. Their mutual jealousies were sunk in the supreme danger
that threatened them all, and they were only restrained from picking a
quarrel with Dick and shooting him by the calmly resolute look in his
brown eyes, coupled with his great physical power and his irresistible
good-nature. Urbanity seemed to have been the mould in which the spirit
of this man-of-the-sea had been cast and gentleness was one of his chief
characteristics. Moreover, he could tell a good story, and sing a good
song in a fine bass voice. Still further, although these gallant
cow-boys felt intensely jealous of this newcomer, they could not but
admit that they had nothing tangible to go upon, for the sailor did not
apparently pay any pointed attention to Mary, and she certainly gave no
special encouragement to him.

There was one cow-boy, however, of Irish descent, who could not or would
not make up his mind to take things quietly, but resolved, as far as he
was concerned, to bring matters to a head. His name was Pat Reilly.

He entered the kitchen on the day after Dick's arrival and found Mary
alone and busily engaged with the dinner.

"Miss Jackson," said Pat, "there's a question I've bin wantin' to ax ye
for a long time past, an' with your lave I'll putt it now."

"What is it Mr Reilly?" asked the girl somewhat stiffly, for she had a
suspicion of what was coming. A little negro girl in the back kitchen
named Buttercup also had a suspicion of what