ld her that she must
cultivate her aesthetic sense, and in a short time she would be able to
admire these copper-colored creatures of Nature as much as I did.

But I fear that a life spent mostly in a large city had cast fetters
around her imagination, and that the life at Fort Whipple afterwards
savored too much of civilization to loosen the bonds of her soul. I
saw her many times again, but she never recovered from her amazement at
Charley's lack of apparel, and she never forgot the sulphur bath.

CHAPTER XX. MY DELIVERER

One day, in the early autumn, as the "Gila" touched at Ehrenberg, on her
way down river, Captain Mellon called Jack on to the boat, and, pointing
to a young woman, who was about to go ashore, said: "Now, there's a girl
I think will do for your wife. She imagines she has bronchial troubles,
and some doctor has ordered her to Tucson. She comes from up North
somewhere. Her money has given out, and she thinks I am going to leave
her here. Of course, you know I would not do that; I can take her on
down to Yuma, but I thought your wife might like to have her, so I've
told her she could not travel on this boat any farther without she could
pay her fare. Speak to her: she looks to me like a nice sort of a girl."

In the meantime, the young woman had gone ashore and was sitting upon
her trunk, gazing hopelessly about. Jack approached, offered her a home
and good wages, and brought her to me.

I could have hugged her for very joy, but I restrained myself and
advised her to stay with us for awhile, saying the Ehrenberg climate was
quite as good as that of Tucson.

She remarked quietly: "You do not look as if it agreed with you very
well, ma'am."

Then I told her of my young child, and my hard journeys, and she decided
to stay until she could earn enough to reach Tucson.

And so Ellen became a member of our Ehrenberg family. She was a fine,
strong girl, and a very good cook, and seemed to be in perfect health.
She said, however, that she had had an obstinate cough which nothing
would reach, and that was why she came to Arizona. From that time,
things went more smoothly. Some yeast was procured from the Mexican
bakeshop, and Ellen baked bread and other things, which seemed like the
greatest luxuries to us. We sent the soldier back to his company at Fort
Yuma, and began to live with a degree of comfort.

I looked at Ellen as my deliverer, and regarded her coming as a special
providence, the kind I