The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1912-03-18
Copyright, 1911, by W. G.. Chapman
SHAPTER w.

Long after the others In the camp
had sunk into the profound slumber
Of weary bodies and good consciences,
solitary candle In the small tent oc-
cupied by Enid Maitland alone gave
evidence that she was busy over the
letters which Kirkby had handed to
her
1t was a very thoughtful girl in
deed who confronted the old frontiers
man the next morning. At the first
convenient opportunity when they
were alone together she handed him
the packet of letters.
Have you read 'em?" he asked.
YES"
wall, you keep EN-" said the old
man gravely. "Mebbe you'll want to
read 'em agin."
But l don't understand why you
want me to have them"
Wall, I'm not quite sure myself
why, but leastways l do an"
Il shall be very glad to keep them,"
said the girl still more graveiy, slip
ping them into one of the pockets OF
her hunting shirt as she spoke.
The packet was not bulky. the let
tiers were not many nor were they Of
any great length. She could easily
carry them on her person and in
some strange and unexplicable way
she was rather glad to have them.
She could not, as she had said, see
any personal application to herself in
them, and yet in some way she did
feel that the solution of the mystery
would be hers some day. Especially
did she think this on account of the
strange but quiet open emphasis OF
the old hunter.
There was much to do about the
camp in the morning. Horses and
burros to be looked after, fire wood to
be cut, plans for the day arranged,
excursions laid out, mountain climbs
projected. Later on unwonted hands
must be taught to cast the fly for the
mountain trout which filled the brook
and pool, and all the varied duties, de-
tails and fascinating possibilities of
camp life must be explained to the
newcomers.
The first few days were days of
learning and preparation, days Of mis-
hap and misadventure, of joyous
laughter over blunders in getting set
tied, or learning the mysteries of rod
and line, Or becoming hardened and
acclimated. The weather proved per-
feet; 1t was late October and the
nights were very cold but there was
no rain and the bright sunny days
were invigorating and exhilarating to
the last degree. They had huge fires
and plenty Of blankets and the colder
1t was In the night the better they
slept.
It was an intensely new experience
for the girl from Philadelphia, but she
showed marked interest and adapt
ability, and entered with the keenest
zest into all the opportunities of the
charming days. She was a good sports
woman and she soon learned to throw
a fly with the best of them. Old Kirk
by took her under his especial pro-
lection and as he was one Of the best
rods in the mountains, she had every
advantage
She had always lived in the midst
of life. Except in the privacy of her
own chamber she had rarely ever
been alone before-not twenty feet
from a man, she thought whimsically,
but here the charm of solitude at
tracted her, she liked to take her rod
and wander off alone. She actually
enjoyed it..
The main stream that flowed down
the canon was fed by many affiuents
from the mountain sides, and in each
of them voracious trout appeared. She
explored them as she had opportunity,
often by herself She discovered
charming and exquisite hooks, little
stretches of grass, the size perhaps OF
a small room, flower decked, ferny
bordered, overshadowed by tall giant
pine trees, the sunlight filtering
through their thin foliage, checkering
the verdant carpet beneath. Huge
moss covered boulders, wet with the
everlasting spray Of the roaring
brooks, lay in midstream and with
other natural stepping stones hardly
invited her to cross to either shore.
Waterfalls laughed musically in her
ears, deep still pools tempted her skill
and address.
Sometimes leaving rod and basket
by the waterside, she climbed some
particularly steep activity OF the
canon wall and stood poised, wind
blown, a nymph Of the woods, upon
some pinnacle of rock rising needle
like at the canon's edge above the
sea OF verdure which the wind waved
to and fro beneath her feet. There in
the bright light, with the breeze blow
ing her golden hair, she looked like
some Morse goddess, blue eyed, ex-
hilirated. triumphant.
She was a perfectly formed woman
on the ancient noble lines OF Milo
rather than the degenerate softness
Of Medici. She grew stronger of limb
and fuller OF breath, quicker and
steadier of eye and hand, cooler OF
nerve, in these demanding, compelling
adventures among the rocks In this
mountain air. She was not tall
woman, indeed slightly under rather
than over the medium size, but she
was so perfectly proportioned, she car
rted herself with the fearlessness or a
young channels, that she looked taller
than she was. There was not an
ounce of superfiuous flesh upon her,
yet she had the grace OF Hebe, the