"If they doubt him, why don't they remove him?"
"If he knew he was suspected—bang! up might go the dam. I hardly need say that you're to keep absolutely quiet about all this. I tell you because I can trust you. As for me, I'm a pretty busy little doctor right now—cook and the captain bold, and the mate of the Nancy brig. Within a week we'll have a telephone line strung up here. My men will be here to-morrow morning to begin work with the building. Suppose I had a chance to get you a woman companion out here. Would you be glad?"
"Please don't jest."
"Well, I've sent for your old friend, Annie Squires!" said she.
"Annie! Why—no! She wrote to me——"
"Yes, I know. And I wired her. She's coming on out. She has left Cleveland to-day. I'm going to meet her myself at the station, and bring her out. If she can cook she can get on the pay roll. Odd, how you two came to meet——"
—"Why, cook?—work?—of course Annie could! Of course—she'd be happy. She's alone, like myself—but not married."
"And she'll find you happily married, as she said in the letter. You are happily married? I beg your pardon, but he's—he's been considerate?"
"More. Chivalrous. He wrote me at first that I might expect to find a 'chivalrous ranchman, of ample means.' That's true, isn't it?"
For a long time he sat silent. "Yes," said he, "I believe I'll say that's true!