As he climbed into the front seat of the buckboard his eyes met Joanne's.

He was glad that in a large measure she had recovered her self-possession.

She smiled at him as they drove off, and there was something in the sweet tremble of her lips that made him almost fancy she was asking his forgiveness for having forgotten herself.

Her voice sounded more natural to him as she spoke to Mrs.Blackton.

The latter, a plump little blue-eyed woman with dimples and golden hair, was already making her feel at home.