Homesteading 



are the fellows Bob told us of; jump down and 

 unhitch, and come in." 



They both helped us ; Jim, though, was evidently 

 a licensed joker, remarking : 



" Yes, get 'em in the stable before the sight 

 of 'em overpowers me and I faint." 



We made our way to the house, where we found 

 Bob, who introduced us to his cousins. 



As we were destined to see more of this trio, 

 I will add a few words of description to those 

 already written. Bob, the oldest, hailed from 

 a Lancashire town ; he had, however, seen a 

 good bit of Canada, and on one occasion worked 

 his passage down the lakes in a grain steamer, 

 and had crossed the Atlantic as a cattle man in 

 a cattle boat — this last experience being one he 

 did not wish to repeat. 



Harry, the dark-haired and silent young man, 

 was from Somerset, had been brought up on a 

 farm, and, if somewhat reserved, was soon found 

 to be exceedingly capable. He too had seen 

 a good deal of Canadian life in the West, and 

 was one of those to whom no sort of work seemed 

 to come amiss. 



Jim, as they called the jocular young fellow, 

 came from Somerset also. He had seen something 

 of farm-life in the Old Country, had only recently 

 joined them, and evidently kept them lively. 



56 



