Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III THE JOURNEY EAST As the great Puget Sound Limited was about to pull out of the little Wyoming way-station to which Virginia and her father had driven in the early morning, a white-haired, soldierly looking gentleman in gray overcoat and traveling cap watched with amused interest a gray-eyed girl in a blue suit, who, leaning over the railing of the observation car, gave hurried and excited requests to her father who stood alone on the station platform. " Father, dear," she begged, " don't work too hard or read too late at night; and don't forget to take the indigestion tablets. And, father, I think it would be fine if Jim could have my room when it gets cold. The bunk-house is bad for his rheumatism. And I do hope you can keep William away from town. You'll try hard, won't you?" The train slowly began to move, but she must say one thing more. " Daddy," she called, beckoning himnearer, and making a trumpet of her hands; " daddy, you trust me, don't you, to use my judgment about talking on the journey ? " The man on the platform smiled and nodded. Then, taking his handkerchief from his pocket, he waved to his little daughter, who, waving her own, watched him until the now rapidly moving train quite hid his lonely figure from sight. Then she sighed, tucked her handkerchief in her coat pocket, and sat down beside the old gentleman, who was apparently still amused and interested, perhaps also touched. " Well," he heard her say to herself with a little break in her voice, " it's all over and it's just begun." Then she settled herself back in her chair, while her neighbor wondered at this somewhat puzzling remark. " How can it be all over and at the same time just begun, my dear ? " he ventured to ask, his kind blue eyes studying her face. Virginia loo...