calaboose and the mountain boy just then
turned his head and I could swear that his
eyes sought not the engineer, whom we
left at the corner, but, like the engineer,
he was looking at the Blight. Whereat I
did not wonder--particularly as to the
engineer. He had been in the mountains for
a long time and I knew what this vision
from home meant to him. He turned up
at the house quite early that night.

``I'm not on duty until eleven,'' he
said hesitantly, `` and I thought I'd----''

``Come right in.''

I asked him a few questions about
business and then I left him and the Blight
alone. When I came back she had a Gatling
gun of eager questions ranged on him
and--happy withal--he was squirming no
little. I followed him to the gate.

``Are you really going over into those
God-forsaken mountains?'' he asked.

``I thought I would.''

``And you are going to take HER?''