Dud Stone looked at Helen curiously, as the big man strode out of the room.
“What an odd name!” he commented.
“My father called me that, when I was a tiny baby,” replied the girl. “And I love it. All my friends call me ‘Snuggy.’ At least, all my ranch friends.”
“Well, it’s too soon for me to begin, I suppose?” he said, laughing.
“Oh, quite too soon,” returned Helen, as composedly as a person twice her age. “You had better stick to ‘Miss Morrell,’ and remember that I am the mistress of Sunset Ranch.”
“But I notice that you take liberties with my name,” he said, quickly.
“That’s different. You’re a man. Men around here always shorten their names, or have nicknames. If they call you by your full name that means the boys don’t like you. And I liked you from the start,” said the Western girl, quite frankly.
“Thank you!” he responded, his eyes twinkling. “I expect it must have been my fine riding that attracted you.”
“No. Nor it wasn’t your city cowpuncher clothes,” she retorted. “I know those things weren’t bought farther West than Chicago.”
“A palpable hit!” admitted Dudley Stone.