After a while her color returned, and she assured him that she was able to go on.
"But are you sure?" he asked, showing the deepest concern.
"Quite sure," she said, positively. "Come, let us go. I have given you enough trouble already."
"No trouble, I assure you."
He did not add that the very fact that she had needed a service from him was sufficient recompense.
Then they walked their horses homeward, talking of many things of common interest to them.
Down in the valley, the soft gray of the dead gramma grass was relieved by the great beds of evergreen cacti, yucca, and the greenery of the sage and mesquite. The late afterglow in the sky mingled with the purple haze that hung like an ethereal veil over the landscape.
They stopped their horses at a turn of the road commanding a fine view of the mountains.
"How beautiful the world is everywhere!" Esther said, half to herself.
"Especially in Arizona," said Kenneth, as he drew a deep invigorating breath.