"Can I help you in any way?" he asked eagerly.
"Well, ye MIGHT bring me an armful o' wood from the pile under the
alders, ef ye ain't afraid o' dirtyin' your coat," she said tentatively.
Mr. Hemmingway was not afraid; he declared himself delighted. He brought
a generous armful of small cut willow boughs, and deposited them before
a small stove, which seemed a temporary substitute for the usual large
adobe chimney that generally occupied the entire gable of a miner's
cabin. An elbow and short length of stovepipe carried the smoke through
the cabin side. But he also noticed that his fair companion had used
the interval to put on a pair of white cuffs and a collar. However, she
brushed the green moss from his sleeve with some toweling, and although
this operation brought her so near to him that her breath--as soft and
warm as the southwest trades--stirred his hair, it was evident that this
contiguity was only frontier familiarity, as far removed from conscious
coquetry as it was, perhaps, from educated delicacy.
Pages:
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177