THE RECONNAISSANCE PARTY 5 



before, upon the practice of his profession. His 

 continuation in that career was undoubtedly due 

 to periodic lapses from sobriety whenever the out- 

 fit with which he happened to be working landed in 

 town. 



It was from one of these benders that Bert was 

 just now emerging, with shattered nerves and an 

 intense desire for the simple life. As is customary 

 and appropriate in such circumstances, he earnestly 

 proclaimed it his intention to turn over a new leaf 

 and make our trip a turning point, to use the op- 

 portunity afforded by a lengthy sojourn in the for- 

 est, far from the insidious highball and the ruinous 

 rattle of chips, to strengthen his purpose of forever- 

 more eschewing liquor and its evil cortege of kindred 

 vices. In his case, I'm glad to say, the threat of 

 reformation was not altogether an empty one al- 

 though, as will appear, there intervened between its 

 inception and its fulfilment certain circumstances of 

 a rather exciting nature which gave to Bert's de- 

 cision a virtue of permanence it might not otherwise 

 have held. 



The one missing member of the party, Horace 

 Wetherby, was due to arrive on the noon train. We 

 all went down to meet him. All, that is, save Bert, 

 who decided to woo solitude and a new outlook in 

 his room at the Orient Hotel. 



We were curious to see what Horace was like. 

 It is only natural to feel some anxiety about the 

 personnel of a group in which one expects to live 



