ice in the blankets and
tarpaulin, they lowered him into the cold ground and hurriedly filled up
his grave.

It was a grim, gruesome task. Another nameless grave! Neale had already
seen nine graves. This one was up the slope not a hundred feet from the
line of survey.

"Slingerland," exclaimed Neale, "the railroad will run along there!
Trains will pass this spot. In years to come travelers will look out of
the train windows along here. Boys riding away to seek their fortunes!
Bride and groom on their honeymoon! Thousands of people--going, coming,
busy, happy at their own affairs, full of their own lives--will pass by
poor Service's grave and never know it's there!"

"Wal, son, if people must hev railroads, they must kill men to build
them," replied the trapper.

Neale conceived the idea that Slingerland did, not welcome the coming
of the steel rails. The thought shocked him. But then, he reflected, a
trapper would not profit by the advance of civilization.

With the wind in their backs Neale and Slingerland were practically
blown home. They made it up between them to keep knowledge of the
tragedy from Allie. So ended the coldest and hardest and grimmest day
Neale had ever known.

The winter passed, the snows melted, the winds quieted, and spring came.

Long since Neale had decided to leave Allie with Slingerland that
summer. She would be happy there, and she wished to stay until Neale
could take her with him. That seemed out of the question for the
present. A construction camp full of troopers and laborers was no place
for Allie. Neale dreaded the idea of taking her to Omaha. Always in
his mind were haunting fears of this Spaniard, Durade, who had ruined
Allie's mother, and of the father whom Allie had never seen. Neale
instinctively felt that these men were to crop up somewhere in his life,
and before they did appear he wanted to marry Allie. She was now little
more than sixteen years old.

Neale's plans for the summer could not be wholly known until he had
reported to the general staff, which might be at Fort Fetterman or North
Platte or all the way back in Omaha. But it was probable that he would
be set to work with the advancing troops and trains and laborers.
Engineers had to accompany both the grading gangs and the rail gangs.

Neale, in his talks with Larry and Slingerland, had dwelt long and
conjecturingly upon what life was going to be in the construction camps.

To Larry what might happen was of li