Tales of the City Room
man assured her, simply. "You 'uns hes hed a right sma't trip 'f you come f'm Big Stone Gap t'-day. Reckon these cabins don't seem much like N' York t' yuh."
"Everything in this part of the country is new to me," said Miss Herrick. "I have never been in the Southern mountains before. I find them very interesting."
The younger son, who had not changed his restful position on the floor, now sat up with some determination. Miss Herrick saw a fair head turn toward her, an alert interest in its poise.
"Did you 'uns 'low ye come f'm N' York?" asked a startled voice from the darkness. The reporter smiled at the artless eagerness in the tone, and looked closely at the speaker. In the flickering light from the blazing logs his face had a beauty that startled her. She had not expected to find a mountain Apollo hidden in these hills, but here he was, a superbly built young giant with a face of almost Hellenic type. His fair hair waved softly around the finely shaped head, and the dark blue eyes that looked at her through long and curling lashes had the appealing
124
