“Well,” was my reply, “my hair isn’t like yours, that if you brushed it two minutes there would not be any left to brush.”
After that she kept still and quit annoying me. Then there are three or four young boys about seventeen that think they are just about right. One of them keeps looking at me all the time, and when I catch him at it, he turns as red as fire. Poor kid, but he ought to be thinking about something besides girls three or four years his elder.
Besides those I have mentioned, there are two young men who must be just out of college, or possibly are still students. They are dandy-looking fellows, and dress in perfect taste; stylish but not loud. Mr. Garrett has introduced us to several of our fellow travelers, but as yet we have not met these young men. Personally, I do not care to meet them, as it would probably make things uncomfortable for Kate, as she is not one of the kind of girl that attract men, and I am afraid she would feel sort of out of it. I want her to enjoy herself on this trip as much as possible, as she does not get much pleasure out of life, with all her joking ways, which I sometimes think she puts on to hide her inner feelings.
Mr. Garrett says we are almost at Omaha, so I will put this away for the time.
Monday, August 28: Well, diary, here we are nearly at the end of the second day of our journey, and I am enjoying it more every minute. In spite of not wishing to make the acquaintance of the two young men I mentioned yesterday on account of Kate, we met them at breakfast in the dining-car this morning, and it came about in a way so that I could not avoid it without being rude. Last night I was tired out and went to bed early, before Kate did, and, without thinking, I got in the lower bed again, and Kate slept up above, like the first night, and this morning she waited till I got through dressing, because she said she could dress easier in the lower bed, so she told me to go in the dining-car and order our breakfast and she would join me later.
So when I got in the dining-car there was one table for two people left; and then there was a table for four, with nobody sitting at it only the two college men; and at first I was going to sit down at the smaller table, but one of the chairs at it was facing backward, and it makes me sick to ride that way, even on the “L”; and I thought, perhaps, it might make Kate sick, too; and the men at the larger table were both riding backward, and the two vacant seats were both facing forward, so I hesitated a minute, and then one of the men got up and smiled, and said: “There is lots of room here.” I am afraid I blushed furiously, but there was nothing left to do only for me to sit down at their table; and I had hardly no more than got seated when Mr. Garrett came up to our table.
“I was looking for a chance to introduce you young folks,” he said, “but I see you are already acquainted.”
“No, I am afraid not, Mr. Garrett,” I replied, smiling slightly. “But it makes both my girlfriend and I sick to ride backward, and as one of these gentlemen was kind enough to invite me to sit here, I accepted, as I expect my girlfriend to join me in a few minutes.”
“Then I am not too late to do my duty,” said Mr. Garrett. “Mr. Coles, allow me to make you acquainted with Miss Emerson. And the other gentleman is Mr. Lester, Miss Emerson.”
Mr. Garrett remained chatting with us till Kate came in. Then he introduced her to Mr. Coles and Mr. Lester, and left us. I watched both of the men’s faces when they were introduced to Kate, and was glad to see that they were gentlemanly enough to receive her as politely as they had received me.
“Well, girlie,” said Kate after Mr. Garrett left, “I am half starved and the other half hungry. What have you ordered for us to eat?”
Then I realized that I had forgotten all about ordering our breakfast, and I am afraid I blushed furiously. I stammered something about not having seen a bill-of-fare and no waiter having been at our table since my arrival. Mr. Lester came to my rescue.
“It’s Coles’s fault, Miss Hayes,” he said, smiling at Kate. “He has a delicate appetite, like a truck horse; and the order he gave the dinge will keep the chef busy clear to Ogden.”
I could not help from laughing at the way he put it. He says perfectly screaming things, and I thought I would simply die before breakfast was over. We were going through Wyoming, and most of it is just nothing but desert; but once in a while there is a small town; and right after we had passed through one of these little towns, Mr. Coles asked what town it was.
“I could not see the town,” was Mr. Lester’s reply. “There was a boxcar in front of it.”
“How are you enjoying the trip?” Mr. Coles asked me.
“I think it is just wonderful,” was my reply.
“The scenery gets better farther west,” said Mr. Lester.
“I think the scenery is great already, especially inside the car,” said Mr. Coles; and the way he looked at me I could not help from blushing.
“I am afraid you are a great jollier, Mr. Coles,” I said, embarrassed; but another remark of Mr. Lester’s soon had us all laughing again.
“Did you see all that corn in Nebraska yesterday?” he inquired.
“Yes,”
