A SURPRISED CLERK 5 



ring a second bell for you supper time, for the first table 

 will be full." 



The stranger looked into the sanded room, and stum- 

 bled; a part of the nest fell. He threw back his head. 



" Now you have done it ! " said the clerk. " Just look 

 at the floor, and all that dirt right before the room to 

 be occupied by the Honorable Judge Rush! " 



The stranger trembled. 



" I wouldn't have had that happen for a fortune." 



" But what do you think of me? There is your room 

 up the ladder at the top of the stairs. Go into it before 

 anything else happens, and stay there until I call you." 



The stranger's eyes overflowed with tears. He bore 

 up the broken nest carefully, and threw himself upon the 

 bed and wept like a child. 



The sun was going down over the immense forests in 

 a languid sky. The air was so still that distant sounds 

 could be heard, and the road rocks seemed to echo. 



There was a far-away noise of horses' feet. A horn 

 was blown, and the sound seemed to tremble in the still air. 

 Then fourteen men came riding up to the veranda of the 

 hotel, dropping the reins on the horses' necks, and dis- 

 mounting. The landlord was with them. 



The horses began to feed by the way, and the land- 

 lord, brusk and brisk, called out to the clerk: 



" You haven't let any of the rooms to-night, I hope." 



" Only the cockloft." 



