ront of a store he observed a canvas-covered wagon which he
recognized (from sketches he had seen) as a "prairie schooner"; in front
of another store he saw a spring wagon of the "buckboard" variety. That
was all. The aroma of sage-brush filled his nostrils; the fine,
flint-like, powdered alkali dust lay thick everywhere. It was
unattractive and dismal.

The town, as it lay before him, began in desolation and ended in
desolation. Except that it was a trifle larger it differed in no
important particular from many others that littered the face of the
world through which he had passed during the last twenty-four hours. It
was a mere dot in the center of a flat grass country covering a vast
area. It sat, serene in its isolation, as far from civilization as
Genesis from Revelation. In the stifling heat of the lazy June afternoon
it drowsed, seemingly deserted except for the ponies and the two wagons,
and the few incurious cowboys who had rewarded the young man with their
glances. Apparently whatever citizens were here were busy in the
saloons. As this thought flashed upon the young man his lips
straightened grimly. But he continued slowly on his way, giving much
attention to objects that came within his range of vision. The more he
saw of the town, the less pleased he was with it.

The suit cases were heavy; he paused in front of a building and set them
down, while with his handkerchief he mopped the dust and perspiration
from his forehead. He saw a flaring sign on the roof of the building in
front of which he had stopped and he read the legend with a smile of
derision: "The Fashion Saloon." Several ponies were hitched to the rail
in front of the building; the bridle of one was gaily decorated with a
bow of ribbon. Only a woman would have decorated a pony thus, the young
man decided with a smile. Yet what sort of woman would hitch her pony in
front of a saloon? He looked about him for some explanation and saw a
vacant space beside him and beside the vacant space a store. There was
no hitching rail in front of the store, therefore here was the
explanation. He heard a sound behind him and turning he beheld the
figures of a man and a woman in the vacant space between the two
buildings.

The woman seemed to be little more than a girl, for as the young man
watched she turned slightly toward him--though not seeing him--and he
saw youth pictured on her face, and innocence, though withal she gave
the young man an impression of st