"You oughtn't to say that to me, Helen, for the sake of old times—if for nothing more," he added deliberately.
Helen understood the conditional "if", as well as the expression of his eyes. A suggestion of red tinged the clear olive of her cheeks.
"This is no place for confidences, even if I had any to exchange!"
"Later on then." Ralph's lips were decided. "Who is your friend?" he added.
"Uncle Sid? He is an old friend of Elijah's. He and his sister are stopping at the Vista."
There sounded the leisurely chut-chut of the lumbering wagons. Ralph rose to his feet.
"There come the wagons."
At the wagon, Helen insisted upon riding in the driver's seat. Uncle Sid was stowed in the rear. Ralph flashed a look toward Helen.
"My horse won't lead," he declared. "You ride him in, Jim, and I'll drive."
If Ralph had counted upon a quiet talk with Helen during the ride to Ysleta, he was certainly disappointed. Uncle Sid's position in the background was the only thing in the rear which he accepted. In the matter of conversation, he was well to the front.