"Why you are pleased! That is odd. As a buyer, I should think you would
be more pleased if the corral were full--had cows in it. That is what
you are here for, isn't it?"

"Yes," grinned Warden; "to keep it empty until it is filled with steers
at my price."

"Oh, bother!" The woman yawned. "I am glad it is you and not I who is to
deal with these clod-hoppers. I should turn sour--or laugh myself to
death."

"Getting tired of it already, Della?"

"Dreadfully tired, Gary. If I could see one interesting person, or a
good-looking man with whom I could flirt----"

"Don't forget our engagement, Della," warned Warden.

She laughed, shooting a mischievous glance at him. "Oh, it would be
harmless, I assure you--mere moral exercise. Do you imagine I could lose
my heart to one of these sagebrush denizens?"

"Not you, Della," grinned Warden; "that isn't your style."

The girl yawned again, and got to her feet, smoothing her ruffled
skirts. Then she walked to a mirror on a wall near the door, and spent
some time placing the felt hat on her head at a precise angle, making
certain that the coils of hair under it were arranged in the most
effective manner. She tucked a stray wisp into the mass at the nape of
her neck, patted the glistening coils so that they bulged a little