look at everything by the way. At last
they got near enough so I could make them out; there were three men and a
woman. I recognized one of the men by this time,--our foreman, Sharp. He
was guiding the others and I knew then they were visitors, owners
probably, because no stranger had ever come before while I was there. The
woman, I saw that she was a girl now, called one of the men 'father'; and
from the way she spoke I guessed why she was along too. She'd come
anyway, whether they approved or not. The drift I was working in was a
new one, just opened; and when they got there the whole group stopped a
little way off, and Sharp began explaining, talking fast and giving
figures. If any of the men saw me they didn't pay any attention; they
just listened, and now and then one of them asked a question. But the
girl wasn't interested or listening. She was all eyes, looking about here
and there, taking in everything; and after a bit she noticed the light in
my cap and came peering over to see what it meant. I just stood there
watching her and she came quite close, all curiosity, until finally she
could see my face. She stopped.

"'Oh,' she said, 'I thought it was just a light. It's a man.'

"'Yes, it's a man,' I said.

"She was looking at me steadily by this time, wholly curious.

"'A--a white man?' she asked.

"I thought a moment, then I understood.

"'Yes, a white man,' I answered.

"She came up to the car at that and looked in. She glanced back at me.
Evidently she wasn't entirely satisfied.

"'How old are you?' she asked. 'You look awfully old.'

"I leaned over on the car too; I'd begun to think. I remembered that to
me she seemed so very, very young; and all at once it flashed over me
that probably I wasn't a day older.

"'Eighteen,' I said.

"'Eighteen!' She stared. 'Why, I'm eighteen. And you--have you been here
long?'

"I suppose I smiled. Anyway I know I scared her. She drew back.

"'I don't know,' I said. 'I've forgotten. If you'll tell me the date
maybe I can answer. I don't know.'

"'You don't know! You can't mean that.'

"'Yes, I've forgotten.'

"She didn't say a word after that, just looked at me--as a youngster
looks when it goes to the circus for the first time. I fancy we stood
there half a minute so; then at last, interrupting, the man she'd called
'father' looked over and saw us. He frowned, I could see that, and said
something to the foreman. He spoke her name."

Just for a moment Rob