dst of things. We have little time, and none of the
civilized conveniences, for entertaining company."

"I think we all understand that," she made haste to say. "Aunt Hetty
tried to dissuade Uncle Sidney, but he was bent on showing us how modern
railroad building is rushed at the 'front'--is that the right word?--and
so here we are."

A small frown gathered between Ford's eyes. He was far enough from
suspecting that this was the outworking of Kenneth's "notion"; that Mr.
Colbrith's annual inspection tour over the Pacific Southwestern had been
extended to cover the new line at Kenneth's suggestion--a suggestion
arising out of purely reformatory motives. Nor would it have helped
matters much if he had known Kenneth's genuine distress when it
transpired that the suggestion bade fair to result in precipitating a
private car-load of pleasurers into the pandemonium of the
grading-camps.

But the pleasurers were as yet only upon the borders of the pandemonium,
and Ford was torturing his ingenuity to devise some argument strong
enough to turn back the threatened invasion. There were reasons enough
why a party with women among its members should not be projected into
the grading and track-laying field. It was no place for women, Ford was
telling himself wrathfully; especially for the women of the president's
own household.

In the little interval of silence Miss Adair was focusing her
field-glass and trying to trace the line of the descending grade into
the headwater valley of the Pannikin. Ford did not mean to be ungracious
to her--what lover ever means to be curt to the one woman in all the
world? But it is not easy to be angry in nine parts and loving-kind in
the tenth--anger being one of the inclusive emotions. Nevertheless, he
made the effort, for her sake. However inconsiderate Mr. Colbrith was,
she was blameless.

"Let me show you," he said, taking the field-glass and adjusting it for
her. "Now hold it steadily and pick up the line in the great loop....
Have you found it?... Now follow it slowly until you come to the point
where it turns into the valley, and you can trace it for miles by the
cuts and fills."

She followed his directions until the line of the extension became a
vanishing thread in the distance, and then was content to let the glass
sweep the vastnesses beyond. When she spoke it was of the topographic
immensities.

"I heard you telling brother at the dinner-table in Chicago that you
were able to s