He was aroused from his reverie by the approach of the guard who had been watching him furtively from a clump of bushes at the edge of the corral. Scott watched him shuffle up the slope in listless fashion, and did not like his walk any better than his eyes.
“Homesick?” Heth asked in an insinuating tone.
“Not so you could notice it,” Scott answered contemptuously, and from that moment they cordially hated each other. It was a fine beginning.
Scott picked out the bed which he thought Heth wanted and made it up for himself. He saw Heth set out the coffee for supper so he decided that he would have tea. He knew that it was a petty way to do things, but he felt that he had to do something to keep the guard from walking all over him.
He managed to avoid an open fight only by eating in comparative silence and putting in the evening writing a letter in which he vented his feelings by describing the guard in no complimentary terms. If he had known that the guard had arisen before he was awake and had read the letter he would not have wondered at the gentleman’s bad humor at the breakfast table.
Scott was feeling a little more cheerful himself, after a good night’s sleep and a long look at the view from the cabin door. He was inclined to be friendly, but his advances met with small success.
After breakfast he called up the ranger. Dawson was much more voluble over the ’phone than he had been in person the day before. If Scott had mourned the lack of instructions the evening before he was getting them now. It seemed to him as though Mr. Dawson was outlining his whole summer’s work. He was to inspect all the trails and telephone lines in his district, inventory all the fire tool caches and make a report on materials needed. Heth was to examine the range to see if it was ready for the sheep and make a trip to town for some material needed for the counting chute.
It was something to do and he was anxious to get at it. Moreover, he wanted to get out and study his district so that he would not be altogether dependent upon his guard. He relayed the ranger’s orders to the guard and started for the corral to look up Jed.
“Are you going with me?” Heth called.
“No,” Scott replied, “I’m going out to look over the trails and telephone lines.”