A Voice in the Wilderness | Page 6

that made him
different from them all, for he was only twenty-four, and not one of the
rest was under forty. They were doing their best to help him get over
that innate fineness that was his natural inheritance, but although he
stopped at nothing, and played his part always with the ease of one old
in the ways of the world, yet he kept a quiet reserve about him, a kind

of charm beyond which they had not been able to go.
He was playing cards with three others at the table when the man came
in, and did not look up at the entrance.
The woman, white and hopeless, appeared at the door of the shed-room
when the man came, and obediently set about getting his supper; but
her lifeless face never changed expression.
"Brung a gal 'long of me part way," boasted the man, as he flung
himself into a seat by the table. "Thought you fellers might like t' see 'er,
but she got too high an' mighty fer me, wouldn't take a pull at th' bottle
'ith me, 'n' shrieked like a catamount when I kissed 'er. Found 'er
hangin' on th' water-tank. Got off 't th' wrong place. One o' yer
highbrows out o' th' parlor car! Good lesson fer 'er!"
The Boy looked up from his cards sternly, his keen eyes boring through
the man. "Where is she now?" he asked, quietly; and all the men in the
room looked up uneasily. There was that tone and accent again that
made the Boy alien from them. What was it?
The man felt it and snarled his answer angrily. "Dropped 'er on th' trail,
an' threw her fine-lady b'longin's after 'er. 'Ain't got no use fer thet kind.
Wonder what they was created fer? Ain't no good to nobody, not even
'emselves." And he laughed a harsh cackle that was not pleasant to
hear.
The Boy threw down his cards and went out, shutting the door. In a few
minutes the men heard two horses pass the end of the bunk-house
toward the trail, but no one looked up nor spoke. You could not have
told by the flicker of an eyelash that they knew where the Boy had
gone.
She was sitting in the deep shadow of a sage-bush that lay on the edge
of the trail like a great blot, her suit-case beside her, her breath coming
short with exertion and excitement, when she heard a cheery whistle in
the distance. Just an old love-song dating back some years and
discarded now as hackneyed even by the street pianos at home; but oh,

how good it sounded!
From the desert I come to thee!
The ground was cold, and struck a chill through her garments as she sat
there alone in the night. On came the clear, musical whistle, and she
peered out of the shadow with eager eyes and frightened heart. Dared
she risk it again? Should she call, or should she hold her breath and
keep still, hoping he would pass her by unnoticed? Before she could
decide two horses stopped almost in front of her and a rider swung
himself down. He stood before her as if it were day and he could see
her quite plainly.
"You needn't be afraid," he explained, calmly. "I thought I had better
look you up after the old man got home and gave his report. He was
pretty well tanked up and not exactly a fit escort for ladies. What's the
trouble?"
Like an angel of deliverance he looked to her as he stood in the
starlight, outlined in silhouette against the wide, wonderful sky: broad
shoulders, well-set head, close-cropped curls, handsome contour even
in the darkness. There was about him an air of quiet strength which
gave her confidence.
"Oh, thank you!" she gasped, with a quick little relieved sob in her
voice. "I am so glad you have come. I was--just a little--frightened, I
think." She attempted to rise, but her foot caught in her skirt and she
sank wearily back to the sand again.
The Boy stooped over and lifted her to her feet. "You certainly are
some plucky girl!" he commented, looking down at her slender height
as she stood beside him. "A 'little frightened,' were you? Well, I should
say you had a right to be."
"Well, not exactly frightened, you know," said Margaret, taking a deep
breath and trying to steady her voice. "I think perhaps I was more
mortified than frightened, to think I made such a blunder as to get off
the train before I reached my station. You see, I'd made up my mind not

to be frightened, but when I heard that awful howl of some beast--And
then that terrible man!" She shuddered and put