In tbe Moot)s wttb tbe JBow 



He looked at me a moment before he 

 responded to my salute. A queer half- 

 smile faltered in the corners of his tobacco- 

 stained mouth. There was something dry 

 and jocular in his countenance ; indeed, the 

 whole man somehow suggested an old 

 leather poke full of desiccated conundrums. 

 His head was a ball of wrinkles ; even in 

 his hair the skin showed a corrugated net- 

 work ; and his constricted neck, his hands, 

 his wrists, and his chest, where the faded 

 blue cotton shirt lay open, were of like 

 structure. Out of his narrow, pale-gray 

 eyes came a friendly twinkle. 



" Howdy ! " he drawled, kicking absently 

 at a chunk of wood. " Wha' 'd ye come 

 f'om, anyhow? " He looked at me askew 

 and chuckled vaguely. 



This was a pretty free inquiry, I thought ; 

 but these mountaineers have their way ; 

 it is always best to be just as breezy to 

 them as they are to you, and long acquain- 

 tance with their peculiarities served my 

 turn. I gave Jarvis as good as he sent, 

 not dreaming that he knew me. 



" I came from where I was at," I re- 

 219 



