"Then you're a long way from home. Travelin' for your health?"
"No," answered Luke, with a smile. "I have no trouble with my health."
"You do look pretty rugged, that's a fact. Goin' to settle down in our State?"
"I think not."
"I reckon you're not travelin' on business? You're too young for a drummer."
"The fact is, I am in search of a family that I have been told lives, or used to live, in Franklin."
"What's the name?"
"The lady is a Mrs. Ransom. I wish to see her brother-in-law, Mr. James Harding."
"Sho! You'll have to go farther to find them."
"Don't they live here now?" asked Luke, disappointed.