The Challis messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1912-current, 1924-01-09


"Is 1t dreadfully-muddyr' he mum
bled.
Guest and preacher though he was,
he was still a tenderfoot. Counter
mans raucous laugh exposed the huge
wad Of tobacco between his Jaws.
Nick took the unlighted pipe from be
tween his lips, and his roar wheeled
a wisp Of sand snipe that happened at
the moment to be glancing up the bar.
mot as muddy as it-sounds," he
chuckled, grabbing q match out Of his
trousers pocket.
parently resigned to whatever further
hardships fate might have in store for
him, sat watching the shore line, with
its witchery Of tapping water. It's Dor
dering fringe Of pebbles and white
shells, draw slowly by.
The fishermen landed. The live box
was hitched to stake as before, the
half-reluctant preacher left to hold
the brazil stick, while the others rowed
out and around the fifty yards or
more Of murky water that lay between
the point and the shore.
Hardly had the circuit been COM
pleted when 1t began to be apparent
that Counterman's judgment would be
amply justified
The final haul proved to be much
the best Of the day. The good fish
were dropped into the live box, the
others tossed back into the river, and
the fishermen set about preparing to
return to the village. The brazil sticks
were united, the seine rolled up, and
the woodsman walked up the bar for
the boat
He stopped over the craft, possibly
recalling the circumstance Of the six
gun concealed In the frock coat; laid
his hand to the bow to push 1t OF
Strengthened after a moment, walked
some distance farther up the bar and
stood gazing intently toward the mar
row upper end of the arm Of water
where IL disappeared under the over
tapping branches of trees and tangled
vines. Snugged away under the tangle,
in a manner that must have made 1t
practically Invisible, except from that
one point. lay a small houseboat
A trifing circumstance enough
Households were common on the Wa
bash-but why there7 The place was
dark and dank, the bank boggy, and
there was no spring short of Alpine
island. The woodsrnan turned and
motioned to his companions.
They had been watching him and at
his sign came trooping up the bar
the preacher tagged and tagging be-
gathered around him. Fol-
lowing the direction of his finger. they
peered In under the overlapping trees
Counterman grinned around ut the
others after moment and jerked his
thumb back toward the skiff.
"S'posin' we row up an pay I'm a
visitf I'd like t see a man with Hch
an eye f'r campin' place"
Uncle Nick tossed up his chin, grunt-
ed, and led the way down the bar to
where he had beached the boat.
The preacher appeared to be consid-
erably veIed at the further prolonga-
ion Of 4 trip that was growing more
and more irksome to him. 1t might
almost have been imagined that a
'rown ruff1ed the studious primness of
lis brow. But as the skin glided up
he narrowing arm Of dead water, he
appeared to get himself In hand again.
The frown disappeared and his air be-
.ame that Of man only mildly inter- |
.sted In what went on about him.
There Is little formality among men |
II the river and the woods-a fine |
.nough delicacy, though. when big mo-
nents come. They brought the bow |
Il the skiff up under the stern Of the |
ecluded little craft and climbed |
board.
There was both a fore and an aft |
oor to the tiny cabin that occupied |
he whole mid-section Of the deck, but
10 windows on either side. Both doors
7ere heavily padlocked-a further
roof of the owners exclusiveness
IN the dusty boards there were a num-
er Of footprints, some of them-curi-
usly enough-made by a boot that
,ust have been stylish, even dainty.
Uncle Nick leaned upon the railing
( the forward deck and prodded his
ipe, while the one-eyed fisherman
nawed himself a fresh chew from a
weaty plug that he clawed up out Of
is overalls pocket, the two of them
on the circumstance of
.ylish boot tracks, no windows and
adlocked doors.
The preacher had Joined In the dis
lssion and was just telling them, In
is half-bored drawl, that 1t might be
,me naturalist taking unusual pains
} preserve his specimens, when Jack
Yarhope. still standing in the skifr
nd holding 1t to the stern of the house
oat, picked up one Of the shiny
bots from the preachers stack Of
othes in the bow, and, hidden from
10 others by the cabin, pressed the
eel of 1t down hard beside one of the
eel-prints on the dusty afterdeck.
The two prints coinclded perfectly.