ush and become confused as easily as a Western woman. Assured of
this, he dropped the slight constraint which up till now had been plain
in his voice, and an inward humor seemed to draw the corners of his
mouth slightly downward.

"I reckon that folks where you come from don't wear guns at all,
ma'am," he said slowly.

She looked up quickly, surprised into meeting his gaze fairly. His
eyes did not waver. She rocked vigorously, showing some embarrassment
and giving undue attention to her sewing.

"How do you know that?" she questioned, raising her head and looking at
him with suddenly defiant eyes. "I am not aware that I told you that I
was a stranger here! Don't you think you are guessing now?"

His eyes narrowed cunningly. "I don't think I need to do any guessin',
ma'am," he returned. "When a man sees a different girl, he don't have
to guess none."

The "different" girl was regarding him with furtive glances, plainly
embarrassed under his direct words. But there was much defiance in her
eyes, as though she was aware of the trend of his words and was
determined to outwit him.

"I think you must be a remarkable man," she said, with the faintest
trace of mockery in her voice, "to be able to discover such a thing so
quickly. Or perhaps it is the atmosphere--it is marvelous."

"I expect it ain't exactly marvelous," he returned, laboring with the
last word. "When a girl acts different, a man is pretty apt to know
it." He leaned forward a little, speaking earnestly. "I know that I'm
talkin' pretty plain to you, ma'am," he went on. "But when a man has
been bit by a rattler an' has sort of give up hope an' has had his life
saved by a girl, he's to be excused if he feels that he's some
acquainted with the girl. An' then when he finds that she's some
different from the girls he's been used to seein', I don't see why he
hadn't ought to take a lot of interest in her."

"Oh!" she exclaimed, her eyes drooping. And then, her eyes dancing as
they shot a swift glance at him--"I should call that a pretty speech."

He reddened with embarrassment. "I expect you are laughin' at me now,
ma'am," he said. "But I wasn't thinkin' to make any pretty speeches.
I was tellin' you the truth."

She soberly plied her needle, and he sat back, watching her.

"I expect you are a stranger around here yourself," she said presently,
her eyes covered with drooping lashes. "How do you know that you have
any right to sit there and