“Well, now, maybe so,” observed the man as the girl laughingly turned inside.
“Grub’ll be ready by time you are,” she called back to him.
“I’ll show you where to put your horse,” said the boy as the man looked searchingly up and down the valley.
CHAPTER II
A BOY AND A GIRL
When Rathburn had put up his horse, after giving him a light feed of grain in the barn, he followed the boy to the rear of the house where he found water, soap, and a towel on a bench, above which hung a small mirror.
The boy left him there, and he soon washed and combed his hair. The girl opened the rear door for him and he walked through the little kitchen into a small front room where a table was set for him.
“Sure, ma’am, I didn’t figure on causing you so much trouble,” he said with a smile. “I didn’t expect anything but a snack, an’ here you’ve gone an’ fixed a regular dinner––this time of day, too.”