The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1877-09-29
Err III the New York Sun
WHO WAS MY QUIET FRIEND F.?
BY BRET HARTE.

stranger!
The voice was not loud, but clear and
penetrating ! looked vainly up and
down the narrow darkening trail. No
one in the fringe of alder ahead; no one
on the quilted slope behind.
80! stranger"
This time little impatiently. The
Californian vocatiye, 90" always
meant business.
looked up, and perceived for the first
time, on the ledge, thirty feet above me,
another trail parallel with my own, and
looking down upon me through the
buckeye bushes small man on black
horse.
Five things to be here noted by the
circumspect mountaineer First, the To-
cality-lonely and inaccessible and away
from the regular faring of teamsters and
miners Secondly the strangers supe-
rior knowledge of the road from the fact
that the other trail was unknown to the
ordinary traveller. Thirdly, that he was
well armed and equipped. FowthIy,
that he was better mounted Filthy,
that any distrusU or timinity arising
from the contemplation of these facts
had better be kept to ones self.
All this passed rapidly through my
mind as | returned his salutation.
Got any tobaccow he inquired.
had, and signitied the fact, holding
up the pouch.
All right, I'll come down. Ride on,
and I'll jine We on the slide"
"The slide?' Here was a new geo
graphical discovery as odd as the second
trail. / had ridden over the trail a
dozen times and seen no communication
between the ledge and trail. Neverthe-
less | went on a hundred yards or so,
when there was sharp cracking in the
underbrush, a shower of stones on the
trail, and my friend plunged through
the bushes to my side down grade that
| should scarcely have dared to lead my
horse. There was no doubt he was an
accomplished rider-another fact to be
noted.
AS he ranged beside me found was
not mistaken as to his size; he was quite
under the medium height, and, but for
Il pair of cold gray eyes, was rather COM
monplace in feature.
8 You've got horse there" ! sug-
gested.
He was filling his pipe from my pouch
but looked up a little surprised, and said
"Of course" He then pulled away
with the nervous eagerness of a man
long deprived of that sedative. Finally
between the puffs, he asked me whence ]
came
| replied from " Lagrange"
He looked at me a few moments curl
eusly, but on my adding that / had only
halted there few hours, he said: "
thought | knew every man between La
grange and Indian Spring, but somehow
| sorter disremember your face and your
name"
Not particularly caring that he should
remember either, | replied, half laugh
ingly, that as | lived the other side OF
Indian Spring, it was quite natural. He
took the rebuff such it was-sc
quietly, that as an act of mere perfume
tory politeness, | asked him where he
came from.
" Lagrange"
" And are you going To-
" Well that depends pretty much on
how things pan out, and whether | ear
make the rifle" He let his hand rest
quite unconsciously on the leather hols-
ter OF his dragon revolver, yet with
strong suggestion to me of his ability "to
make the rifle" if he wanted to, and
added But just now | was reck min
on taking little pdseor with YOU"
There was nothing offensive in his
speech, save its familiarity and the refec-
ton, perhaps, that whether | objected or
not, he was quite able to do as he said.
| only replied that if Gus peS~or was pro-
longed beyond Heavytree Hill, should
have 70 borrow his beast. To nv sur
prise, he replied quietly, That's So
adding that the horse was at my disposal
when he wasn't using it, and half of it
when he was. Dick has carried double
many time before this" he continued,
and can do it again; when your mus
tang gives out, I'll give you a lift, and
room TO spare"
could not help smiling at the idea of
appearing before the boys at Red Gulch
ca croape with the stranger; but neither
could | help being oddly affected bv the
suggestion that his horse had done double
duty before. On what occasion and
Why" was question kept to myself.
We were ascending the long rocky flank
of the Divide; the narrowness of the
trail obliged Us to proceed slowly and in
file, 20 that there was little chance fol
conversation, had he been disposed tc
satisfy my curiosity.
We toiled on in silence, the buckeye
giving way 10 chimisal, the westerine
sun, reflected again from the blank
walls beside us, binding our eyes with
its glare. The pines in the canyon be-
low were olive CULTS of heat over which
a hawk here and there drifted lazily, or
rising to our level, cast a wierd and
gigantic shadow of slowly moving wings
on the mountain side The superiority
of the strangers horse led him often far
IN advance and made him hope that he
might forget me entirely, or push on,
grown weary of waiting. But regularly