The Prescott daily news., 1911-04-18
TEDDYS
 TRAMP

Teddy disconsolately munched a soda cracker, wondering the while how she had ever come to insist that a camp stove was a useless luxury. It was her first season in camp, and her brothers had readily enough given in to her demand for an absolutely cor rect atmosphere. They had camped in tents on the little lake instead of in the comfortable wooden shack on Lower lake, and they had cooked in primitive fashion over an open fire.
 The boys had done the cooking since they had gone into camp three weeks before, but 1t had all seemed so easy that when they wanted to go down tho lake to the village she had insisted that it would be no trouble at all to get her meals.
 They had padded away just as the sun began to tinge the clouds in the east and would not be back before night. Twice Teddy had spilled the bacon into the fire, and as a crowning accident she had set the coffee pot wrong, and that, too, was sliding into the flames, putting out what little fire there was left.
 A crashing in the underbrush reused her and she sprang to her feet, nerv- ously handling the revolver the boys had left with her for protection. She raised the glistening weapon as a man burst through the tangle of brush and with voice that she tried to make stern commanded him to hold up his hands.
 They went above his head in an in- stant and stayed there while he par leyed. Teddy knew that the next thing was to bind her victim, but how to do that and retain the revolver was something that was not told fin books.
 He smiled at her look of helpless ness and came a few steps forward
 'I am not tramp or a robber," he said, with a flash of white teeth be- heath his mustache. q saw a fire while back and thought that perhaps might beg some breakfast I wan dered further from our eamp than I intended. I am on the ot side of the ridge on Blue lake"
 There isn't any break she said, forlornly '1 spilled le hacon into the fire and then the coffee pot fell in. 1 was eating these" She waved her revolver toward the box of crackers, and the tramp smiled.
 'lf you will take my parole" he suggested, "Ill earn my breakfast. believe that is the proper thing for a tramp to do."
 Teddy lowered her gun. He prob ably was a tramp, but he had nice eyes and a pleasant smile. and she felt that she could trust him.
 If you will set the table" he called, I'll have things ready fin a jiffy."
 For moment Teddy paused She did not quite like the idea of eating at the same table with tramp, and she felt that he must be tramp. None of the campers she knew wore such outrageous garments. But the smell of coffee and the frying fish decided her, so she set two plates.
 Skilfully he dished up the fish and took the coffee from the fire He was even more expert than the boys Probably that was because he had to camp out the year around
 The breakfast put her in an excel lent humor and when the tramp sug gested that if she would lend him a gun he would try and get something for dinner, she loaned him a shotgun without thought until he had left the camp. Then the realization of what Bob would say should he come home and find the rife gone led her to follow the trail the tramp had taken.
 She soon overlook him and be looked up with smile at her approach.
 Come to share the fun?" he asked pleasantly. Her blush told it's own story and he threw his head back and laughed. T was going to bring