Chapter 24
Peaceful ReturnsThat afternoon when the four-thirty-five rushed in from the
parched desert and slid to a panting halt beside the station
platform, Peaceful Hart emerged from the smoker, descended quietly
to the blistering planks, and nodded through the open window to
Miss Georgie at her instrument taking train orders.
Behind him perspired Baumberger, purple from the heat and the
beer with which he had sought to allay the discomfort of that
searing sunlight.
"Howdy, Miss Georgie?" he wheezed, as he passed the window.
"Ever see such hot weather in your life? I never did."
Miss Georgie glanced at him while her fingers rattled her key,
and it struck her that Baumberger had lost a good deal of his oily
amiability since she saw him last. He looked more flabby and
loose-l
