They had not gone five miles before the large woman and her younger sister were in love with Lahoma–but it hadn’t taken Wilfred five miles. The large woman gazed upon her admiringly. It came to me, then, that if she moved away from Headquarters Mountain–that’s my mountain–maybe no other woman would ever come there to live so I stored myself, because I was determined to learn the business of being a woman.” I stored myself with her experience about everything there is. “She told me this when I was a small girl,” Wilfred presently heard Lahoma saying. And when her baby was teething…” The very large lady listened with great attention. Featherby was a very wonderful woman,” Lahoma announced with conviction, “and the first woman I ever knew. She was talking to the sisters about the baby of the one and the chickens of the other, offering advice on both subjects from the experience of a certain Mrs. Very little of his attention was given to Kimball, and a great deal to Lahoma. The situation was such as could not very well continue during the days it would take the coach to reach Mangum but although Wilfred was conscious of the strain, he felt excitedly happy. He muttered to his companions hoarsely, careful that Wilfred, whom he regarded askance, should overhear nothing that he said.
Red Kimball was burning to find out if he were a stranger to her, but at the same time fearful of disclosing himself. Although Kimball knew Lahoma, he was not sure that she knew him and though he was convinced at once that she was on a mission of warning, that might be true without her knowing that he had left Kansas City. Wilfred watched Red Kimball as he glared in that direction, and guessed his thoughts. These were two sisters, going to the evening’s station where the coach would stop for supper, and Lahoma discussed with them their plans and hopes with bright cheerfulness and ready friendship. The stage, which was built after the manner of the old-fashioned omnibus, afforded no opportunity of moving to and fro in the selection of seats, hence, when Red Kimball discovered Lahoma’s identity–the exact moment of the discovery was marked by his violent start–she was safeguarded from his approach by her proximity to a very large woman flanked by a thin spinster. The last to come were four men: one, tall, slender, red-faced and red-haired, two others of dark and lowering faces, who looked upon the former as their leader, and the last, Wilfred Compton, who had unobtrusively joined himself to this remnant of Red Kimball’s gang. She was the first to enter she was seated quietly in a corner when the two long seats that faced each other began filling up. There were three stage-coaches drawn up at a short distance from the platform, and Lahoma went swiftly to the one bound for her part of the country.
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