Year: 1877

OF course the girl had her way. was
never able to understand how man
can resist this kind of persuasion. /
never could, and never expect to. So 1
kissed her and chirruped to Chevalier,
and he bounded away through the settle
ment like an arrow.


1t was in the dead of winter and an
unusually heavy snow had fallen, filling
in the roadway to the depth of ten feet
There had been travel enough to pack it
hard, so that / found the sleighing ex-
cellent. Chevalier's hoofs glanced nim-
bly, over the snow, and in two hours
had made more than twenty miles, and
had reached the substantial log cabin of
one of our best and most intelligent
customers. He received me with
hearty welcome, and when L told him
what my mission was, he invited me to
make his cabin my headquarters while
L remained in the neighborhood. /
thankfully accepted the invitation,
stayed all night, and the next morning,
under the guidance of Dick, my hosts
youngest son, a clever boy of about
thirteen, L started out to make my first
experience in collecting. 1t does not con-
cern my story to describe anything that
happened to me during my stay with
our friend, which lasted rather more
than week.


When 1 began to realize that had
collected about as much money as my
employer expected from this trip, sat
down to count it up. had been out all
day, and it was just at the edge of the
evening. Supper was almost ready, and
l made up my mind that if my port
manteau contained as much as L thought,
would only wait to appease my hunger
before starting for the settlements.
poured out the money on the floor and
counted it. 1t was all in gold and silver
for banknotes would have been despised
among us then, and there was the sum
of eleven hundred and seventy-three
dollars. They were all sorry to have
me go, and made me promise to come
again and bring my wife before the win
ter was gone. l put on my coat and
muflied up my ears, and started.


The sleighing was still excellent the
night was clear and cold, and the full
moon made it as bright as day. We
skinned along for mile or two, my
thoughts all the time on Belle and the
happy meeting we would have in little
time, when the extraordinary conduct
of Mack attracted my attention. He had
been lying quietly at my feet, with the
rug which enveloped them also covering
him. He suddenly shook it off, growl-
ing savagely, and began to smell around
the bottom of the sleigh.


Had it been summer time, really be-
lieve should have thought the animal
was going mad. Never before did 1 see
him behave thus; and his conduct so
troubled me that 1 shouted to Chevalier
and we skinned away faster. About
sixty rods ahead l saw tall, blasted
tree, which had been told was half
way from the settlement to Mr.. Selkirk's.
and, pulling my watch out to observe
the time, l saw to my surprise that
had been an hour and three-quarters
coming twelve miles. think was
never SO astonished in my life. The ca
pacities of Chevalier were so well known
to me, and i was so sure that his ordina-
ry gait, without the frequent urging
had given him, would carry Mack and
me a mile in six minutes, mileaf mile
that could not comprehend that he had
been so slow, while apparently travelling
fast. called to him again, and he
stepped off smartly; the dog growled,
and, 1 am ashamed to say it, kicked
him hard in my unreasonable anger. 1
had cause to repent those kicks before
another ten minutes had passed.


1 passed the blasted tree, and entered
upon the last half of the way. Before
me now lay a long level stretch of road,
without an obstruction or turn for sew
eral miles, and one dazzling white sur
face of snow upon it. looked out
ahead, and just as far as could distin-
gulsh anything from the snow, probably
not less than mile away, l saw black
speck. 1t did not hold my attention
when first saw it; but as Chevalier
sped on, rapidly devouring the distance
1t took form and size, until when with
in thirty rods of it, could plainly see
that 1t was man. There he stood, up
right in the middle of the road, without
speech or motion, apparently waiting.


Il e.. \