She pouted.
"Thought maybe you was.
"Well,—if you ain't, won't you kiss me before you go, George?"
I leaned forward. She held up her face innocently and I kissed her lightly on the lips.
And to me, the kiss was as sweet and fresh as a mountain dew-drop.
She sighed as if satisfied that our friendship had held good, then she ran out of the water, up the beach and into the house.
CHAPTER XIV
The Coming of Mary Grant
When first I arrived at Golden Crescent, I was not a little worried as to whether or not there would be sufficient work in the store and on the property to keep two men busy. It did not take me long to discover that there really was not; but then, few people in and around that easy-going little settlement cared about being very busy. Still, when Jake and I wished for work, there was always enough of it at hand; just as, when we felt inclined to be idle, there was no very special reason why we should not, for there seldom was anything calling for immediate accomplishment unless it were the transporting of goods from the up-going steamers to the store and the putting up of camp orders. I did not have to concern myself much over the fixing of leaky boats, the building and repairing of fences, the erection of any small sheds or buildings required, the felling of trees, the sawing and splitting up of our winter supply of fuel, the raising and feeding of our very small poultry family and the tending of the garden. These had been Jake's departments before my coming, and, as he looked after them as no other man I knew could have done, they remained his especial cares.