)
He drove up to the forks, and Blacky turned to the right.
Jack drew over to the left, and we went up that road. We
continued to go up it for fully three miles, though we soon
became convinced that it was wrong. It constantly grew narrower
and apparently less travelled. We were soon winding along a
mountain-side among the pines, and around and above and below
great rocks.
"We'll go till we find a decent place to camp, and then stop
for the night," said Jack. We finally came to a little level
bench covered with giant pines, and we could hear water beyond. I
went on with the lantern, and found a small stream leaping down a
gulch.
"This is the place to stop," I said, and we soon had our camp
established, and a good fire roaring up into the tree-tops. Ollie
found plenty of dry pine wood, and we blanketed the horses and
stood them under a protecting ledge. It was cold, and the wind
roared down the gulch and moaned in the pines, but we scarcely
felt it below. We finished drying our bedding and had a good
supper. Jack got out his banjo and tried to compete with the
brook and the pines.
Pages:
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145