“I guess so,” he said with a little laugh. He would have scorned to acknowledge that his laugh was nervous and thin. “I come from the windy side of the earth.”
“Oh!”
“Yes, I am from out West—Alberta. We have got all the winds there is and the Chinook besides for a change.”
“Alberta? The Chinook?” The eyes became less searching.
“Yes, that's the wind that comes down from the mountains and licks up the snow at ten miles an hour.”
“Oh!”
“It was an Alberta man, you know, who invented a rig with runners in front and wheels behind.” The lady was bewildered. “To catch up with the Chinook, you see. One of my kid's jokes. Not much of a joke I guess, but he's always ringin' 'em in.”
“You have a son, Mr. Sleighter? He's in Alberta now?”
“No, the missis and the kids, three of them, are in Winnipeg. She got tired of it out there; she was always wantin' the city, so I gave in.”
“I hear it's a beautiful country out there.”