"Wasn't it fine, Carley?" asked Glenn. "But nothing to what you will
experience. I hope you stay till the weather gets warm. I want you to
see a summer dawn on the Painted Desert, and a noon with the great white
clouds rolling up from the horizon, and a sunset of massed purple and
gold. If they do not get you then I'll give up."
Carley murmured something of her appreciation of what she had just seen.
Part of his remark hung on her ear, thought-provoking and disturbing. He
hoped she would stay until summer! That was kind of him. But her visit
must be short and she now intended it to end with his return East with
her. If she did not persuade him to go he might not want to go for a
while, as he had written--"just yet." Carley grew troubled in mind. Such
mental disturbance, however, lasted no longer than her return with Glenn
to camp, where the mustang Spillbeans stood ready for her to mount. He
appeared to put one ear up, the other down, and to look at her with mild
surprise, as if to say: "What--hello--tenderfoot! Are you going to ride
me again?"
Carley recalled that she had avowed she would ride him. There was no
alternative, and her misgivings only made matters worse. Nevertheless,
once in the saddle, she imagined she had the hallucination that to
ride off so, with the long open miles ahead, was really thrilling. This
remarkable state of mind lasted until Spillbeans began to trot, and
then another day of misery beckoned to Carley with gray stretches of
distance.
She was to learn that misery, as well as bliss, can swallow up the
hours. She saw the monotony of cedar trees, but with blurred eyes; she
saw the ground clearly enough, for she was always looking down, hoping
for sandy places or rocky places where her mustang could not trot.
At noon the cavalcade ahead halted near a cabin and corral, which turned
out to be a sheep ranch belonging to Hutter. Here Glenn was so busy that
he had no time to devote to Carley. And Flo, who was more at home on
a horse than on the ground, rode around everywhere with the men. Most
assuredly Carley could not pass by the chance to get off Spillbeans and
to walk a little. She found, however, that what she wanted most was to
rest. The cabin was deserted, a dark, damp place with a rank odor. She
did not stay long inside.
Rain and snow began to fall, adding to what Carley felt to be a
disagreeable prospect. The immediate present, however, was cheered by
a cup of hot soup and some bread and butter which the herder Charley
brought her. By and by Glenn and Hutter returned with Flo, and all
partook of some lunch.