"You're hard, Jim. I was just a girl. Any woman would have been glad to
marry you then. But when I got sense enough to see how you earned your
money--I just had to leave. I was afraid to tell you--"

"There, now, Annie; we'll let that go. I won't say that I don't care,
but I've been mighty busy since you left. I didn't know where you were
until I hit Nogales. I wanted to see you and the boy. And I'm as hungry
as a grizzly."

"Anita is getting supper. Some of the folks in town board here. They'll
be coming in soon."

"All right. I'm a stranger. I rode over. I'd like to wash up."

"You _rode_ over?"

"Yes. Why not? I know the country."

Mrs. Adams turned and gestured toward the stairway. She followed him and
showed him to a room. So he hadn't come in on the Overland, but had
ridden up from Sonora. Why had he undertaken such a long, weary ride?
Surely he could have taken the train! She had never known him to be
without money. But he had always been unaccountable, coming and going
when he pleased, saying little, always serene. And now he had not said
why he had ridden up from Sonora. "Why not?" was all that he had said in
explanation.

He swung out of his coat and washed vigorously, thrusting his fingers
through his short, curly hair and shaking his head in boyish enjoyment
that was refreshing to watch. She noticed that he had not aged much. He