The morning call., 1891-06-07
CHAPTER II.

As he emerged from his cabin in the morn
ing. with light and aching head and began
to make his toilet, lie was startled by an APP
partition OF the young man with a gun.
Jack rubbed his ewes and saw that it was
no apparition at all, but the man in his real
person with a very real gun. Jack had
gun of his own and knew how to use il, so
lie hurried into the cabin, slipped cartridge
into his rifle and then peered cautiously
through one of his little windows. The man
was still there, but he did not seem to haste
to proceed to bloody york, for he bad leaned
his gun against a tree and seated himself on
a stump. Jack placed his own gun within
the door, yet where he could reach II quickly
if necessary; then he ventured outside
again. The man with the gun raised his
head, saw Jack and shouted:
"Hello!
Hello yourself ~ Jack replied. Then he
thought it safe to say Wont you come
abOard?"
Don't care if | do"
Jack pushed out plank, and the visitor,
leaving his gun behind, sauntered aboard,
with his hands in his pockets, and looked
careessly about him. He seemed to APP
prove Of what he saw, for he soon re-
marked:
Mighty pooty bizness, this of yourn. Old
man MaZzitt was tellin' ne bout it when he
come home last night. an l flowed I'd
take look at it if you didn't mind"
Evidently, then, the man with the gun
was so close a friend Of the family that he
had spent the night with them. The idea Of
so unc0uth fellow being even under the
same roof with that girl and treated as
her equal! Jack wanted to toss him over
board, and drive him to the bottom with
push-pole. but he restrained himself and
explained the bee-boat business TO him. If
the fellow was to marry Lizzie, perhaps the
girls life would be more endurable If her
husband was to go into some business which
would enable his wife TO see what little of
the world lay along the banks of the big
river. Ii wasn't an Impossible scheme; the
business did not require much capital 10
start IT, and, 10 tell the truth, there vas not
much more work about it than in carrying
a gun and skulking about in the woods. SO
Jack enlarged a little upon what he had
already said about bee boating. and the fell
low seemed 10 understand it, for he asked
an intelligent question or two. Then he
leaned against the sunny side of the cabin,
looked jack full in the eye, and startled the
owner OF the boat by remarking:
You pear to be po0ty decent kind Of
Teller"
Thank YOU" said Jack, though | don't
see how you've made up your mind on so
slight an acquaintance.
'0h. WE'LL" said the hunter, with dry
laugh, I'VE have to learn in this country to
take mans measure pOGty quick. There's
ali sorts come along, some by land and some
by water, an there's no time to look up
some D00y JDaL KNOWS EN- ana ask questions
bout en. If l didn't think moren usual
well of you | wouldn't have come down here
this mornin' to say somethin' to you-sOme-
thin strictly tween man an man."
What the omethng-is the fellow up
top" Jack asked himself
tits about her" said the native, nodding
his head in the direction of Lizzie's resi-
dence.
Don't worry about me-" said Jack
promptly and quite lofty; 81 never at
tempted to take girl away from another
fellow"
There's lots that She'll be taken away
from by whoever gets her." was the reply.
Il How you amt married? Well, her
heads full of YOU"
Nonsense, said Jack with a frown
which he could scarcely keep from beconl-
ing smile. "She never saw me until last
night"
That don't make no difference" said
the visitor Il know the signs in gals. She
couldn't talk about nothin else all last
night, while me an the old man was a
smokn'."