t a sudden sense of
inferiority possessed him. He could not see that her throat was
fluttering, did not know that tears were coming from back of the heavy
glasses. He could not tell that Mary Warren had appraised him even
now, blind though she was; that she herself suffered by reason of that
wrong appraisal.

The throng thinned, the tumult and shouting of the hotel men died away.
Sim Gage did not know what to do. A woman seemed to mean a sudden and
strangely overwhelming accession of problems. What should he do?
Where would he put her? What ought he to say?

"If you'll excuse me," he ventured at last, "I'll go acrosst and git my
team. They're all tangled up, like you see."

She spoke, her voice agitated; reached out a hand. "I--I can't see at
_all_, sir!"

"That's too bad, ma'am," said Sim Gage, "but don't you worry none at
all. You set right down here on the aidge of the side walk, till I git
the horses fixed. They're scared of the cars. Is this your satchel,
ma'am?"

"Yes--that's mine."

"You got any trunk for me to git?" he asked, turning back, suddenly and
by miracle, recalling that people who traveled usually had trunks.

He could not see the flush of her cheek as she replied, "No, I didn't
bring one. I thought--what I had would do." He could not know that
nearly all her worldly store was here in this battered cheap valise.

"You ain't a-going to leave us so soon like that, are you?"

She turned to him wistfully, a swift light upon her face. He had said,
"leave us"--not "leave me." And his voice was gentle. Surely he was
the kind-hearted and chivalrous rancher of his own simple letters. She
began to feel a woman's sense of superiority. On the defensive, she
replied: "I don't know yet. Suppose we--suppose----"

"Suppose that we wait awhile, eh?" said Sim Gage, himself wistful.

"Why--yes."

"All right, ma'am. We'll do anything you like. You don't need no
trunk full of things out here--I hope you'll git along somehow."

Knowing that he ought to assist her, he put out a hand to touch her
arm, withdrew it as though he had been stung, and then hastily stood as
he felt her hand rest upon his arm. He led her slowly to the edge of
the platform. Then she heard his footsteps passing, heard the voices
of two men--for now a bystander had gone across to do something for the
plunging horses, one of which had thrown itself under the buckboard
tongue. She heard the two men as they worked on.