ii6 WITH THE U. S. NATURALISTS 



the old man answered. ''Yo' don't need to feel 

 yo're puttin' me out none; Shan '11 tell yo' I'm 

 away from home nights a right smart plenty. ' ' 



'^That's right," the lad agreed, ''quite often 

 Bull doesn't sleep here." 



"Well," the official answered, "in that case, I'll 

 be glad to stay over. It's a long way back to the 

 village and I don 't know the trail. ' ' 



To a certain extent, this was true, but the game 

 law official's main purpose in staying was the hope 

 of securing from Bull Adam an even more definite 

 assurance of his support than he had yet received. 

 The enthusiasm of the old moonshiner for the egg 

 collection was proof positive to Baker that, if he 

 could win Bull Adam definitely to his side, he 

 would have an invaluable assistant in the district. 



Soon after daylight Bull Adam appeared at the 

 cabin, as unchanged as though he had just turned 

 out of his bunk, and Shan, in the customary man- 

 ner, commenced the preparation of breakfast. It 

 was soon evident that the pot-hunter had been 

 thinking, during the night, of the new arguments 

 on the game laws which had been so drastically 

 put before him. 



The corn-bread mixed and in the oven. Bull 

 turned to his guest with a questioning air. 



