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The road, like the trail, led down grade, but no longer at such steep angles, and was bordered by cedar and pinyon, jack-pine and juniper, e, the road led Jean's eye down to a sreen oasis in the wilderness of red and tie in the character of the Basin Beyond that the country began to spread out and roll gracefully, its dark-green forest interspersed with grassy parks, until Jean headed into a long, wide gray-green valley surrounded by black-fringed hills His pulses quickened here He saw cattle dotting the expanse, and here and there along the edge log cabins and corrals
As a village, Grass Valley could not boast of much, apparently, in the way of population Cabins and houses idely scattered, as if the inhabitants did not care to encroach upon one another But the one store, built of stone, and stamped also with the characteristic isolation, seemed to Jean to be a rather remarkable edifice Not exactly like a fort did it strike hiave that i, low side with its dark eye-like s about the height of a man's shoulder So rail Otherwise dust and dirt and age and long use stamped this Grass Valley store and its i down, mounted the low porch and stepped into the wide open door A face, gray against the background of glooht just as Jean entered He knew he had been seen In front of the long, rather low-ceiled store were four a on One of these, a gaunt-faced e, casually looked up as Jean entered But the h to meet eyes he instinctively distrusted They masked their penetration They seemed neither curious nor friendly They saw him as if he had been merely thin air
"Good evenin'," said Jean
After what appeared to Jean a lapse of time sufficient to iaunt-faced one said, "Howdy, Isbel!"
The tone was impersonal, dry, easy, cool, laconic, and yet it could not have beenJean's sharp sensibilities absorbed -mustached Texans--for so Jean at once classed them--had ever seen Jean, but they knew him and knew that he was expected in Grass Valley All but the one who had spoken happened to have their faces in shadow under the wide-briun-belted, dusty-booted, they gave Jean the same impression of latent force that he had encountered in Colter