“Where did you meet the automobile?” she asked in a voice which he interpreted as eager.
“Two hours an’ some minutes back––and up. Near a truck which had had some trouble in the road. Perhaps you heard about it? Turned over on its side in collapse after some free-thinking gents turned their smoke wagons toward it.”
It was plain she was interested.
“Did––is the automobile still there?” she inquired with a breathless catch in her voice.
“Oh, no. After some of the passengers had had a little disrespectful conversation with me, it went on up the road. Are they scarce around here, ma’am––automobiles?”
“Not exactly,” she replied with a frown. “They truck ore and men and supplies to and from the mine every day. The reason you’ve seen so few people to-day is because it’s Sunday.”
“Thank you,” he said gallantly. “That answers my first question. You remember, I was wondering two things?”
Her lips trembled with a smile, but her eyes flashed with suspicion.
“You will observe, ma’am, that I am not followed by any pack horses or heavily-laden burros,” he went on gravely, although his eyes sparkled with good humor. “Nor is there anything much to speak of in this slicker pack on my saddle. I need some new smoking tobacco, some new shaving soap, some new hair cut, a bath, a dinner, and a bed––after I’ve put up my hoss.”