His eyes added: "This is a spoiled child, but even
so, there is no other like her in the world."
The young men sprang at the suggestion. The spring was internal, of
the spirit, for they were too overwhelmed by the imminent presence of
beauty to show a spark of spontaneity on the outside. They muttered
their agreement, kicked the ground, and avoided the eyes of Miss
Gillespie.
"The people at the hotel," the doctor went on, "advised us to join one
of the ox trains. But it seemed such a slow mode of progress. They
don't make much more than fifteen to twenty miles a day."
"And then," said the girl, "there might be people we didn't like in the
train and we'd be with them all the time."
It is not probable that she intended to suggest to her listeners that
she could stand them as traveling companions. Whether she did or not
they scented the compliment, looked stupid, and hung their heads,
silent in the intoxication of this first subtle whiff of incense. Even
Leff, uncouth and unlettered, extracted all that was possible from the
words, and felt a delicate elation at the thought that so fine a
creature could endure his society.
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