Reddy--it's the missis."

Ross had not yet arrived at the cabin, but Redfield had warned Lee not to
expect him till after dark. "He probably slept late, and, besides, there
are always delays on the trail. But don't worry. Swenson will ride to the
top of the divide with him, and if it seems necessary will come all the
way."

This feeling of anxiety helped to steady Lize, and she got through the
meal very well. She was unwontedly silent, and a little sad as well as
constrained. She could see that Lee fitted in with these surroundings,
that she was at home with shining silver and dainty dishes, and she said
to herself: "I could have been something like her if I'd had any sort o'
raisin', but it's too late now. But oh, Lord! wouldn't Ed like to see her
now!"

It was not yet dark when they came out on the veranda to meet the doctor,
who had come to meet Ross, and Lee's anxiety led her to say: "Can't we go
up to the cabin and wait for him there?"

"I was about to propose that," replied Redfield. "Shall we walk?"

Lee was instant in her desire to be off, but Lize said: "I never was much
on foot and now I'm hoof-bound. You go along, and I'll sit on the porch
here and watch."

So Lee, the doctor, and Redfield went off together across the meadow
toward the little cabin which had been built for the workmen while putting
in the dam. It was hardly a mile away, and yet it stood at the mouth of a
mighty gorge, out of which the water sprang white with speed.

But Lee had no mind for the scenery, though her eyes were lifted to the
meadow's wall, down which the ranger was expected to ride. It looked
frightfully steep, and whenever she thought of him descending that trail,
worn and perhaps ill, her heart ached with anxiety. But Redfield rambled
on comfortably, explaining the situation to the doctor, who, being a most
unimaginative person, appeared to take it all as a matter of course.

At the cabin itself Lee transferred her interest to the supper which had
been prepared for the ranger, and she went about the room trying to make
it a little more comfortable for him. It was a bare little place, hardly
more than a camp (as was proper), and she devoutly prayed that he was not
to be sick therein, for it stood in a cold and gloomy place, close under
the shadow of a great wall of rock.

As it grew dark she lighted a lamp and placed it outside the window in
order that its light might catch the ranger's eye, and this indeed it did,
for