Carley received some meed of gratification out of the sensation she

created, but she did not carry her craving for it to the point of

overshadowing Flo. On the contrary, she contrived to have Flo share the

attention she received. She taught Flo to dance the fox-trot and got

Glenn to dance with her. Then she taught it to Lee Stanton. And when Lee

danced with Flo, to the infinite wonder and delight of the onlookers,

Carley experienced her first sincere enjoyment of the evening.

Her moment came when she danced with Glenn. It reminded her of days

long past and which she wanted to return again. Despite war tramping and

Western labors Glenn retained something of his old grace and lightness.

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But just to dance with him was enough to swell her heart, and for once

she grew oblivious to the spectators.

"Glenn, would you like to go to the Plaza with me again, and dance

between dinner courses, as we used to?" she whispered up to him.

"Sure I would--unless Morrison knew you were to be there," he replied.

"Glenn!... I would not even see him."

"Any old time you wouldn't see Morrison!" he exclaimed, half mockingly.

His doubt, his tone grated upon her. Pressing closer to him, she said,

"Come back and I'll prove it."

But he laughed and had no answer for her. At her own daring words

Carley's heart had leaped to her lips. If he had responded, even

teasingly, she could have burst out with her longing to take him back.

But silence inhibited her, and the moment passed.

At the end of that dance Hutter claimed Glenn in the interest of

neighboring sheep men. And Carley, crossing the big living room alone,

passed close to one of the porch doors. Some one, indistinct in the

shadow, spoke to her in low voice: "Hello, pretty eyes!"

Carley felt a little cold shock go tingling through her. But she gave no

sign that she had heard. She recognized the voice and also the epithet.

Passing to the other side of the room and joining the company there,

Carley presently took a casual glance at the door. Several men were

lounging there. One of them was the sheep dipper, Haze Ruff. His bold

eyes were on her now, and his coarse face wore a slight, meaning smile,

as if he understood something about her that was a secret to others.

Carley dropped her eyes. But she could not shake off the feeling that

wherever she moved this man's gaze followed her. The unpleasantness

of this incident would have been nothing to Carley had she at once

forgotten it. Most unaccountably, however, she could not make herself

unaware of this ruffian's attention. It did no good for her to argue

that she was merely the cynosure of all eyes. This Ruff's tone and look

possessed something heretofore unknown to Carley. Once she was tempted

to tell Glenn. But that would only cause a fight, so she kept her

counsel. She danced again, and helped Flo entertain her guests, and

passed that door often; and once stood before it, deliberately, with all

the strange and contrary impulse so inscrutable in a woman, and never

for a moment wholly lost the sense of the man's boldness. It dawned

upon her, at length, that the singular thing about this boldness was

its difference from any, which had ever before affronted her. The fool's

smile meant that he thought she saw his attention, and, understanding

it perfectly, had secret delight in it. Many and various had been the

masculine egotisms which had come under her observation. But quite

beyond Carley was this brawny sheep dipper, Haze Ruff. Once the party

broke up and the guests had departed, she instantly forgot both man and

incident.




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