"I like it," said Bradley, smiling. He had a beautiful smile, she
noticed; and he looked so big and strong and thoughtful, she suddenly
grew a little timid before him.

The warning whistle of the engine announced they were nearing a
crossing, and she said, "I think this is our station."

The wind was strong and cold as they stepped out upon the platform. It
was nearly six o'clock, and quite dark. They stood for a few moments in
the lee of the one-room depot, looking about in the obscurity.

"Well, what are we to do now?" Bradley inquired.

She seemed at a loss. "Really, I don't know. Colonel Barker was to meet
me here, I believe."

Bradley took her arm. "There's a light up there in the cold," he said.
"Let's go for that; and if you'll tell me the name of the schoolhouse,
I'll see that we get a team, and get out there."

In the cold and darkness she lost something of her imperiousness, and
yielded herself to his guidance with a delicious return to woman's
weakness in the face of practical material details. To Bradley this
seemed vastly significant and his spirits rose. He grew quite facetious
and talkative for him.

"It seems to me that's a store up there; must be a town near by.
Perhaps _this_ is the town. Two houses on one side and three houses on
the other make a town in the West. We must get some supper, too; any
provision for that?"

"No, I left the whole matter in Colonel Barker's hands."

The road ran up the huge treeless swell of prairie toward the lighted
windows of a grocery store.

Together they climbed the hill, and opposite the store they came upon a
gate on which was a battered sign, "Hotel; meals twenty-five cents."
Bradley knocked on the door, but there was no reply.

After waiting a decent while, he said, "If it's a hotel, we might as
well go right in without knocking."

They entered a bare little room whose only resemblance to a hotel
bar-room was in its rusty cannon stove set in the midst of a box of
sawdust, and a map of Kansas hanging on the wall. Bradley knocked on
the inner door, and it was opened by a faded little woman with a sad
face.

"We'd like supper for two," Bradley said.

"All right!" she replied, moving forward to the stove, which she
rattled in order to give her time to scrutinize Ida, who sat on the
lounge by the window. "Lay off your things, won't ye?"

Bradley helped Ida to lay off her cloak. It was incredible what
pleasure it gave him to do these little things for