the sternness his life had set into his soul and upon his face.

"It is kind of you to have pity upon me in my isolation," she answered
lightly and without hesitation. "And, to tell the truth, I never was
so terribly lonesome in all my life."

He made two trips back and forth to bring his plate and coffee cup and
auxiliary sauce dishes and plated silver, while she wondered idly that
he did not instruct the Indian girl to perform the service for him.
Even then she half formulated the thought that it was much more natural
for this man to do for himself what he wanted than for him to sit down
to be waited upon. A small matter, no doubt; but then mountains are
made up of small particles and character of just such small
characteristics as this.

During the half hour which they spent together over their meal they got
to know each other rather better than chance acquaintances are likely
to do in so brief a time. For from the moment of Norton's coming to
her table the bars were down between them. She was plainly eager to
supplement Ignacio Chavez's information of "_la gente_" of San Juan
and its surrounding country, evincing a curiosity which he readily
understood to be based upon the necessities of her profession. In
return for all that he told her she sketchily spoke of her own plans,
very vague plans, to be sure, she admitted with one of her quick, gay
smiles. She had come prepared to accept what she found, she was
playing no game of hide-and-seek with her destiny, but had wandered
thus far from the former limits of her existence to meet life half way,
hoping to do good for others, a little imperiously determined to
achieve her own measure of success and happiness.