He held her stirrup, and she obeyed without a word.

"Sit down."

She sat down on the flat-topped boulder which he designated, and,
looking up, observed the first sign of emotion in his face. He was
frowning, and his face was drawn a little.

"You are tired," he stated.

"A little."

"You are tired," said the wanderer in a tone that implied dislike of any
denial. Therefore she made no answer. "I'm going down into the town to
look things over. I don't want to parade you through the streets until I
know where Landis is to be found and how he'll receive you. The Corner
is a wild town; you understand?"

"Yes," she said blankly, and noted nervously that the reply did not
please him. He actually scowled at her.

"You'll be all right here. I'll leave the pack mule with you; if
anything should happen--but nothing is going to happen, I'll be back in
an hour or so. There's a pool of water. You can get a cold drink there
and wash up if you want to while I'm gone. But don't go to sleep!"

"Why not?"

"A place like this is sure to have a lot of stragglers hunting around