speak to him after her housework was done, and he went outside, where
he lingered, watching Dade and Malcolm and Bob.

About an hour or so later Betty came out. Calumet was standing at the
corral fence near the stable when she stepped down from the porch, and
he gave a gasp of astonishment and then stood perfectly still, looking
at her.

For the Betty that he saw was not the Betty he had grown accustomed to
seeing. Not once during the time he had been at the Lazy Y had he seen
her except in a house dress and her appearance now was in the nature of
a transformation.

[Illustration: Her appearance now was in the nature of a
transformation.]

She was arrayed in a riding habit of brown corduroy which consisted of
a divided skirt--a "doubled-barreled" one in the sarcastic phraseology
of the male cowpuncher, who affects to despise such an article of
feminine apparel--a brown woolen blouse with a low collar, above which
she had sensibly tied a neckerchief to keep the sun and sand from
blistering her neck; and a black felt hat with a wide brim. On her
hands were a pair of silver-spangled leather gauntlets; encasing her
feet were a pair of high-topped, high-heeled riding boots, ornamented
with a pair of long-roweled Mexican spurs, mounted with silver. She
was carrying a saddle which was also bedecked and bespangled with
silver.

Illumination came instantly to Calumet. These things--the saddle, the
riding habit, the spurs--were material possessions that connected her
with the past. They were her personal belongings, kept and treasured
from the more prosperous days of her earlier life.

At the first look he had felt a mean impulse to ridicule her because of
them, but this impulse was succeeded instantly by a queer feeling of
pity for her, and he kept silent.

But even had he ridiculed her, his ridicule would have been merely a
mask behind which he could have hidden his surprise and admiration, for
though her riding habit suggested things effete and eastern, which are
always to be condemned on general principles, it certainly did fit her
well, was becoming, neat, and in it she made a figure whose attractions
were not to be denied.

She knew how to wear her clothes, too, he noted that instantly. She
was at home in them; she graced them, gave them a subtle hint of
quality that carried far and sank deep. As she came toward him he
observed that her cheeks were a trifle flushed, her eyes a little
brighter than usual