The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1899-01-21

and the autumn had found us all dis
gusted aud hOmeslck-aH but McGin-
MIS- the cook. Besides. we were fam
fishing for news. Our mail and the late
papers and magazines should have
been sent to us every two weeks. but
for nearly two months nothing had
been seen OF the old trapper who acted
as mail-carrier. and no messenger or
message of any kind had reached US
from the outside world.
Every day we eXacted from the cook
a promise that he would bring our let
tiers out to US in case the carrier should
arrive while we were at work on the
Nine. Then we would watch impatient
ly till evening and hurry back to camp.
more than interpreting that the post
had come in spite OF the non-appear-
ance of McGinnis Expectancy was tor
turing us Disappointments repeated
every evening for several weeks deeply
affected the spirits Of the party. We
became restless and unsociable. We
tried to imagine what had happened
out in the world since we had lost
touch with It. and each feared that
some one dear to him had been seized
by illness or had met with misfortune.
We worried and fretted and tormented
ourselves with Impotence.
One night after supper we lOunged on
our damp beds, ten of us in one tent
waiting for bed time. The work of the
day had been unusually hard and the
hours long. We were too weary
and heavy of spirit to do anything but
the little patching that was regularly
necessary and to lounge.
McGinnls came over from the cook
tent to tell us one of his tales of forty
years ago. His stories possessed one
rare quality. They were reminiscent of
the wild life of the mountains in the
earlier days, but McGinnis played no
prominent part in any of them. We
were all curious to learn something
about the old man. but our curiosity
was never satisfied. Frequently as Il
story In which he figured gave promise
of showing his younger self put to
test of strength or of courage, he would
trend of his story. But he enjoyed
spinning his yarns. and our silence of
late had afforded him the opportunity.
"Well, see yous are the same merry
crowd as ever" he said. cheerily, as he
took the only chair in the tent. But
which of you is it that's comm up the
slope yonder. I'd like to know
Several of us looked at him wonder
ingly. Those who were busy paid no
attention whatever.
The camp dog stretched. went lazily
to the opening, then grew suddenly
alert and began to bark. Almost in
stantly ten heads were crowded be
tween the tent flaps.
Sure enough, some one whom we
could not see clearly in the dim light
was coming up the valley. 1t was evil
IDENTIFY a man. following the line of our
survey higher up the mountain slope.
though only a short distance away.
We finally fell over one another in
our sudden excitement. Every one
seemed moved by the same impulse A
half-dozen pairs of wet and WORKOUT
boots disappeared from the passage be-
tween the two rows of hunks at the
same instant Some one ran out and
shouted to attract attention. Then
everybody else shouted, because there
was suddenly shouting in the soul of
each.
McGinnis went quietly and lighted
the fire he had laid for morning in the
cook stove. The head chairman made
a place near the tent opening for an
other bed.
The rodman and the "stake-artist'
fell to wrestling. and rolled about in
the tent and then out of 1t with most
unexpected agility and high spirits.
A voice said 1t was not the old mail
carrier, and we became still more curl
Gus. Not member of the party doubt
ed that it was some one bringing our
mail.
Two or three Of the boys went to
meet the newcomer, and the rest of us,
half-ashamed of the eagerness we had
shown, went back into the tent, threw
ourselves down on the beds and assum-
ed attitudes of Indifference.
We heard McGinnis calling: "Come
over to the cook-tent and eat before
the boys start you to talking; they'll
never let you stop after
1--WE ct" a strange voice answered.
We inside sat up again, our anticipa-
ton reawakened. A short, heavy-set,
square-jawed man, without grub-pack
or blankets, llmped painfully into the
tent and sat down on one of the beds.
He was evidently much travel-worn,
but his small, bead-like eyes were In