She was Aggie McEttrick.  She is tall and raw-boned, she walks with her toes turned out, she has a most peculiar lurching gait like a camel’s.  She has skin the color of a new saddle, and the oddest straggly straw-colored hair.  She never wears corsets and never makes her waists long enough, so there is always a streak of gray undershirt visible about her waist.  Her skirts are never long enough either, and she knits her own stockings.  Those inclined can always get a good glimpse of blue-and-white striped hose.  She said, “I guess you are the Missus.”  And that was every word she said until I had supper on the table.  The men were busy with their teams, and she sat with her feet in my oven, eyeing my every movement.  I told her we had just had our supper, but she waited until I had theirs ready before she announced that neither she nor Archie ate hot biscuits or steak, that they didn’t take tea for supper, preferred coffee, and that neither of them could eat peaches or honey.  So all of my supper was ruled off except the butter and cream.  She went down to their wagons and brought up what she wanted, so Tam Campbell was the only one who ate my honey and biscuit.

Tam is just a Scot with an amazingly close fist, and he is very absent-minded.  I had met Annie, his wife, and their six children.  She told me of his absent-mindedness.  Her remedy for his trouble when it came to household needs was to repeat the article two or three times in the list.  People out like we are buy a year’s supply at a time.  So a list of needed things is made up and sent into town.  Tam always managed to forget a great many things.

Well, bedtime came.  I offered to show them to their room, but Aggie said, “We’ll nae sleep in your bed.  We’ll jest bide in the kitchen.”  I could not persuade her to change her mind.  Tam slept at the barn in order to see after the “beasties,” should they need attention during the night.  As I was preparing for bed, Aggie thrust her head into my room and announced that she would be up at three o’clock.  I am not an early bird, so I thought I would let Aggie get her own breakfast, and I told her she would find everything in the pantry.  As long as I was awake I could hear Archie and Aggie talking, but I could not imagine what about.  I didn’t know their habits so well as I came to later.  Next morning the rumbling of their wagons awakened me, but I turned over and slept until after six.

There are always so many things to do before leaving that it was nine o’clock before we got started.  We had only gotten about two miles, when Mr. Stewart remembered he had not locked the granary, so back we trotted.  We nooned only a few miles from home.  We knew we could not catch the wagons before camping-time unless we drove very hard, so Mr. Stewart said we would go by the Edmonsons’ and spend the night there.  I enjoy even the memory of that drive through the short spring afternoon,—­the warm red sand of the desert; the Wind River Mountains