oom. It was a barren little place, but
there was a comfortable cot on either side of the room and a packing box
between that was half washstand, half bureau. Charley appeared in the
door:

"Supper'll be ready as soon as the kettle boils," she announced. "Little
Felicia is in bed and fast asleep. Dick, you'd better go milk that poor
cow."

Dick started off obediently and Ernest sat down on his cot.

"I'll wait till the kettle boils. Gee, I walked a thousand miles. Roger,
go out and help with the supper, you lazy brute."

Charley laughed. "There's nothing to do unless you want to start a fire
in the fireplace."

Roger followed her to the kitchen, where she pointed to a brimming
wood-box. He looked with interest at the immaculate kitchen. The walls
were whitewashed, the floor scoured to a silvery purity, the stove was
shining.

"What a bully camp you have!" he exclaimed, pausing with his arm full of
kindling to look at Charley. For the first time, as she stood watching
the teakettle with the lamplight full upon her, he got a clear view of
his hostess.

She was slender but not thin. Her shoulders were broad and square and
her chest was deep and she was slim-hipped like an athletic boy. She
gave Roger a curious impression of strength, very unusual to connect
with a girl. Yet for all her height and vigor, she was very lovely. Her
hair was darker than Felicia's, a wiry, burnished bronze, in a braided
mass about her head. Her face was long, with a well-cut short nose and
an oval chin. There were lovely curves in her scarlet, drooping lips.
Her eyes were large, a melting brown that was almost black. It was the
child Felicia's face, but with a depth of sweetness, a patience and
pride in lips and eyes, acquired by what difficulties of living, Roger
could not have told, even had he had sufficient understanding of women
to have noted the existence of those qualities. He did, however, see her
wonderful resemblance to Felicia.

"You are like Felicia, grown up, all of a sudden," he said. "It's hard
to rid myself of that illusion. Ernest and I have had a bully time with
that small girl."

"I'm so glad to have her here that--well, when you have been in the
desert longer, you'll realize what human beings can mean to each other,"
said Charley. "There! The kettle's boiling. Fly with your wood."

Roger flew. Dick came in with the milk and the four sat down to a supper
of baked beans, tea and canned apples. It was a pleasant meal