In other days
social bonds had fallen very lightly on him; the men he knew were
acquaintances, not friends; the women had been merely border
decorations, variations of light and shadow which never shone really
deep into the stream of his existence; even his father had not been near
him; but by the irresistible force of circumstances which he could not
control, this girl was forced bodily upon his consciousness.
Now he heard a cheery, faint crackling from the house and a rosy glow
pervaded the gloom beyond the doorway. It brought home to Anthony the
fact that he was tired; weariness went through all his limbs like the
sound of music. Music in fact, for the girl was singing softly--to
herself.
He took his foot from the stirrup, unsaddled, and carried the saddle
into the room. He found Sally crouched at the fire and piling bits of
wood on the rising flame. Her face was squinted to avoid the smoke, and
she sheltered her eyes with one hand. At his coming she smiled briefly
up at him and turned immediately back to the fire. The silence of that
smile brought their comradeship sharply home to him.
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