Kermode nodded.
“We have stores enough for another meal or two and had better get on. I believe I’ve kept pretty near the line I was told to take, but I’d be glad to see the first ranch in the Drummond district by supper time.”
They went down into the valley, struggling through belts of timber and clumps of brush, until they reached a broad expanse of grass broken by small bluffs. After camping for a meal, they pushed on steadily while the girl grappled with a growing fatigue, until the white peaks faded into dusky blue and the waste grew shadowy. Kermode had seen no sign of life and he was getting anxious when, as they approached a bluff, he pulled up the horse.
“Listen!” he exclaimed. “I think I heard something!”
There was silence for a moment or two, and then he caught a soft drumming and a rattle that might have been made by wheels.
“Yes,” he said. “It’s a team and wagon.”
The sound grew plainer, and when Kermode shouted, an answer came out of the gathering darkness. Then a moving shape appeared from behind the bluff, and a minute or two later the newcomer pulled up his team.
“Well,” he said, “what do you want?”
“Tom!” cried the girl excitedly.
The man sprang down, and Kermode needed no explanation. After his companion had dismounted and run forward, he stood quietly holding the horse, until she beckoned him.