Did the girl live here alone?
He was convinced that no woman could long survive the solitude of this great waste of country--some man--a brother or a husband--must share the cabin with her.

Several times he caught himself hoping that if there was a man here it might be a brother, or even a distant relative.
The thought that she might have a husband aroused in him a sensation of vague disquiet.
He heard her moving about in the cabin, heard the rattle of dishes, the swish of a broom on the rough floor.

And then presently she came out, dragging another rocker.

Then she re-entered the cabin, returning with a strip of striped cloth and a sewing basket.

She seated herself in the chair, placed the basket in her lap, and with a half smile on her face began to ply the needle.