“It certainly is,” replied the girl, with a smile. “Why—Wayne!”
The young man came forward, his handsome face aglow with pleasure.
“I’m glad to see you,” he said, simply; but the words brought a blush to Marion’s face. “How glad you may imagine, when I tell you that I never expected to see you again. How in the world did you come here?”
“I will tell you presently,” she replied, shaking hands with the grinning Scip. And then she relayed to her earnest listeners all that had befallen her.
“It is fortunate I found you. I don’t think I could have reached Fort Laramie alive.”
“Know ye couldn’t,” said Wild Nat. “Ye’d starved tew death ’fore ye got half-way there.”
The little party felt very merry and laughed and talked till a late hour. Wild Nat was “moved” to relate some large stories.
“Golly,” said Scip. “Dese skeeters is mighty sassy. Der awful big, too! Yah, but dey bites sharp!”
“Pooh,” said Wild Nat, “these ain’t nothin’ tew what I’ve seen. When I war down in Texas I seen skeeters. They war big as woodpeckers.”
“Oh, g’way now!” remonstrated Scip. “’S if I didn’t kno’ dar neber war no skeeters big ’s dat ar’! ’Tain’t in de line o’ reason, dat ain’t.”