第26章

“Don’tyousee，Billy，thereissolittleworkatthisstationthatI’dbelookingoutofthewindowalldayjustthepitifulwayyoudo？“

“Oh!“Billypondered。“AndsoIsaidtoLin，“hecontinued，“whydidn’thesenddownhisownclothes，too，an’letyoufix’emall。AndHoneyWigginlaughedrightinhiscoffee-cupsoitallsploshedout。AndthecookheaskedmeifmotherusedtomendLin’sclothes。ButIguessshechucked’emlikeshealwaysdidfather’sandmine。Iwaswithfather，youknow，whenmotherwasmarriedtoLinthattime。“Hepausedagain，whilehisthoughtsandfearsstruggled。“ButLinsaysIneedn’tevergoback，“

hewenton，reasoningandconfidingtoher。“Lindon’tlikemotheranymore，Iguess。“Hisponderinggrewstilldeeper，andhelookedatJessamineforsomewhile。Thenhisfacewakenedwithanewtheory。“Don’tLinlikeyouanymore？“heinquired。

“Oh，“criedJessamine，crimsoning，“yes!Why，hesentyoutome!“

“Well，hegothotincampwhenIsaidthataboutsendinghisclothestoyou。Hequitsupperprettysoon，andwentawayoffawalking。Andthat’sanothertimetheysaidIwastooyoung。ButLindon’tcometoseeyouanymore。“

“Why，Ihopehelovesme，“murmuredJessamine。“Always。“

“Well，Ihopesotoo，“saidBilly，earnestly。“ForIlikeyou。WhenI

seenhimshowyouourcabinonBoxElder，andtheroomhehadfixedforyou，Iwasgladyouwerecomingtobemymother。Motherusedtobeawful。

Iwouldn’t’a’mindedherlickingmeifshe’ddoneotherthings。Ah，pshaw!Iwasn’tgoingtostandthat。“BillynowcameclosetoJessamine。

“IdowishyouwouldcomeandlivewithmeandLin，“saidhe。“Lin’sawfulnice。“

“Don’tIknowit？“saidJessamine，tenderly。

“CauseIheardyousayyouweregoingtomarryhim，“wentonBilly。“AndIseenhimkissyouandyoulethimthattimewewentawaywhenyoufoundoutaboutmother。Andyou’renotmad，andhe’snot，andnothinghappensatall，allthesame!Won’tyoutellme，please？“

Jessamine’seyeswereglistening，andshetookhiminherlap。Shewasnotgoingtotellhimthathewastooyoungthistime。Butwhateverthingsshehadshapedtosaytotheboywereneversaid。

Throughthenoiseofthegalecamethesteadiersoundofthetrain，andthegirlrosequicklytopresideoverherticket-officeanddutiesbehindtherailinginthefrontroomofthestation。TheboyrantothewindowtowatchthegreateventofSepar’sday。Thelocomotiveloomedoutfromtheyellowclotsofdrift，pausedatthewater-tank，andthenwithsteamandhummingcameslowlyonbytheplatform。Slowlyitslongdust-chokedtrainemergedtrundlingbehindit，andponderouslyhalted。Therewasnoonetogo。NoonecametobuyaticketofJessamine。Theconductorlookedinonbusiness，butshehadnotelegraphicordersforhim。Theexpressagentjumpedoffandlookedinforpleasure。Hereceivedhisdailysmileandnodoffriendlydiscouragement。Thenthelightbundleofmailwasflunginsidethedoor。Separhadnomailtogoout。AsshewaspickingupthelettersyoungBillypassedherlikeashadow，andfledout。Twopassengershaddescendedfromthetrain，amanandalargewoman。Hisclotheswerelooseandcarelessuponhim。Heheldvalises，andstooduncertainlylookingabouthiminthestorm。Herfirm，heavybodywascloselydressed。Inherhatwasalarge，handsomefeather。Alongbetweentheseveralcarsbrakemenleanedout，watchedher，andgrinnedtoeachother。Butherbig，hard-shiningblueeyeswerefixedcuriouslyuponthestationwhereJessaminewas。

“It’sallnightwemaybehere，isit？“shesaidtotheman，harshly。

“HowamItohelpthat？“heretorted。

“I’llhelpit。Ifthishotel’sthestyitusedtobe，I’llwalktoTommy’s。I’venotsawhimsinceIleftBearCreek。“

Shestalkedintothehotel，whilethemanwentslowlytothestation。Heentered，andfoundJessaminebehindherrailing，sortingtheslimmail。

“Good-evening，“hesaid。“Excuseme。Therewastobeawagonsenthere。“

“Forthetelegraph-mender？Yes，sir。ItcameTuesday。You’retofindthepole-wagonatDrybone。“

Thisnewswasgood，andallthathewishedtoknow。HecoulddriveoutandescapeanightattheHotelBrunswick。Buthelingered，becauseJessaminespokesopleasantlytohim。Hehadheardofheralso。

“GovernorBarkerhasnotbeenaroundhere？“hesaid。

“Notyet，sir。Weunderstandheisexpectedthroughonahunting-trip。“

“Isupposethereisroomfortwoandatrunkonthatwagon？“

“Ireckonso，sir。“Jessamineglancedattheman，andhetookhimselfout。MostmentookthemselvesoutifJessaminesowilled；anditwasmostlyachievedthus，inamity。

Ontheplatformthemanfoundhiswifeagain。

“ThenIneedn’ttowalktoTommy’s，“shesaid。“Andwe’lleataswetravel。Butyou’llwaittillI’mthroughwithher。“Shemadeagesturetowardthestation。

“Why——why——whatdoyouwantwithher。Don’tyouknowwhosheis？“

“Itwasmetoldyouwhoshewas，JamesLusk。You’llwaittillI’veb