But although Mrs. Thomas had to spell out the
contents of each missive with more or less difficulty, her giggles,
blushes and occasional exclamations showed how much pleasure they
afforded her.
Mrs. Nitschkan, however, after glancing carelessly at the large, yellow
envelope which was addressed to her in a clerkly hand, cast it
carelessly aside and went on assiduously cleaning and oiling her gun.
But the sight of it aroused Mrs. Thomas's curiosity, and after glancing
at it once or twice over the top of her own letters, she could not
forbear to ask:
"Ain't you going to read your letter, Sadie?"
"Mebbe. Sometime. By an' by. When I get good an' ready," returned the
gypsy indifferently and abstractedly, squinting with one eye down the
barrel of her gun. "What do I want with letters? I got two bear an' a
mountain lion before the snow flew."
Mrs. Thomas laid aside her letters for the moment, and, lifting a large
pot of coffee from the stove, poured out a cupful for her friend and
then one for herself. "Here, Sadie," she coaxed, "rest yourself with a
cup of coffee. I'll set down the sugar and cream an' whilst you're
drinking it, open your letter. Come now, do. Maybe it's from a
gentleman."
"It sure is," replied Mrs. Nitschkan, laying her gun carefully across
her knee, wiping her hands on the cloth with which she had been
polishing it, and then dropping several lumps of sugar into the cup, she
poured herself a liberal allowance of cream.
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