ketch her when she's through dancing," promised Tom. But Lance
had another thought.

"Let me tell Mary Hope, dad. I'm going to dance with her, and it will
be easy."

In the darkness Tom grinned and went on to find Jim Boyle standing in
a group of older men on the platform that served as a porch. Jim Boyle
was smoking a cheap cigar brought out from Jumpoff by the section
boss. He listened reflectively, looked at the glowing tip of the
evil-smelling cigar, threw the thing from him and reached for his
cigarette papers with an oath.

"Now, that's damn white of yuh, Tom," he said. "I leave it to the
boys if it ain't damn white. Not having no school district I'm puttin'
up the money outa my own pocket to pay the teacher. And havin' four
kids to feed and buy clothes for, I couldn't afford to build no
schoolhouse, I tell yuh those. And uh course, I didn't like to go
round askin' fer help; but it's damn white of yuh to step in an' do
yore share towards making the Rim look like it was civilized.
Sederson, he'll feel the same way about it. And I'm gitting a
foreman that's got a kid, school age; we sure'n hell do need a
schoolhouse. Rim's settlin' up fast. I always said, Tom, that you
was white. I leave it to the boys here."

Inside, Lance was not finding it so easy to make the announcement.
Last Tuesday, Mary Hope had not understood just why he had ridden
on ahead of her for two miles--she could see the small dust cloud
kicked up by his horse on the Jumpoff trail, so there could be no
mistake--when he knew perfectly well that she must ride that way, when
he could not have failed to see her horse saddled and waiting at
the door. It seemed to Mary Hope an obscure form of mockery to tell
her not to be lonely--to tell her in a caressing tone that left with
her all the effect of kisses--and then to ride away without one
backward glance, one word of excuse. Until she had mounted and had
seen him on the trail ahead, she had not realized how he had mocked
her.

For days--until Friday, to be explicit--she had been quite determined
not to go near Cottonwood Spring. Then she had suddenly changed her
mind, dismissed school half an hour early, put old Rab in a lather on
the way home, dressed herself and announced to her mother that she
must ride into Jumpoff for school supplies, and that she would stay
all night with the Kennedys. It had taken two years and the dignity of
school-teacher to give Mary Hope the courage to announce things