Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 60: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

530 kitchen windows were immaculate; the glass shone. ~ Cameron turned and looked at the — buildings, mentally classifying them. A big- stable, a wagon shed, a storage shed, two jong bunk houses, a mess house, a black- smith shop and two other structures were Scattered over a level within three or four hundred feet of the ranch house. Spanning the river which he had followed out of Ransome on the day of his arrival was a big corral—empty. Farther down the river was another corral, smaller, also empty. No litter of any kind was visible, North of the ranch house was a garden. While Cameron stood looking at the garden he caught a glimpse of a blue cotton dress beyond a corner of a small building m the garden. Strangely the atmosphere of loneliness no longer afflicted Cameron. Senility no fonger mocked him. Youth—youth wearing a blue cotton dress—had magically trans- formed the place. .And now Cameron knew he had not come to talk with Ballantine. — - Cameron walked toward the garden. He avoided the small building behind which he had seen the dress, so that he would not -geem to steal upon its owner. Virginia was bending slightly forward, mounding soil around the roots of a rose Bush. A sunbonnet as blue as the dress she wore was upon her head, its broad tucked wings concealing her face from Cameron. Her hands—gloved—were wield- ing a hoe, and she was so intent upon her task that she did not know he had halted within a dozen feet of her and was watching her. -She turned when he gave her a low ® Good morning.” She started, gripped the hoe tightly, blushed. = “Qh!” she exclaimed. éron!” She dropped the hoe and stood erect. She removed one glove and tucked in some stray wisps of hair. Her blush deepened. Cameron had not failed to observe the Significance of her action in dropping the ~ hoe. He read a welcome in that sign. If she hadn’t been pleased to see him she “ Tt is Mr. Cam- “would have continued to hold the handle of - ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. the implement, to show him that she in- tended to resume her work as soon as she could get rid of him. Also, her action in tucking away the stray wisps of hair held some significance. It told him, wordlessly, that she wanted to look her best. Her blush told him still more; so much that a strange elation seized - him. ‘T didn’t mean to startle you,” he apolo- gized. “I knocked at the kitchen door, but as nobody came I took the liberty of looking around. Ther I saw you. When I saw the hoe in your hands I had a fear that it might be a rifle.” “Qh, that!” she said. She looked straight at him, and although her eyes were dancing there was a challenge in them. ~ “You had no business standing -there laughing at me afteh you'd been pretend- ing,” she declared. “ But I hadn’t been pretending!’’? Cam- eron defended. “Well, we won’t argue. I expaict I just had a fool notion. And I didn’t hurt. you.” The laughter died out of her eyes; she regarded him with a cool, disconcerting calmness which seemed, iistantixe to set a barrier against any further intimacy or friendliness. “You’ve come to see my uncle, L ex- paicte”’ <4 Yes. »? “He isn’t heah. He went away this mawning, early. But I expaict he’ll be com- ing along most any time now.” Cameron detecetd a change in her man- ner toward him. There on the ledge the other day she had appeared frank, straight- spoken, sure of herself. Now there was constraint in her attitude; a cold reserve, @ suggestion of awed deference. There also was an apologetic shyness in the way she removed her gloves as he stood looking at her. Embarrassment was in her manner of taking off the sunbonnet and letting it dangle by the strings from the hand in which she held the gloves. “1 think I shall wait for your uncle, if you don’t mind,” said Cameron. ‘“ But don’t let me interrupt your work.” “1m through right now,” she said. “This isn’t work, anyway. Uncle Jef. OO ~ o Eom EOO<S G (0)