142 A Hunting Trip 



us warmly and invited us within the enclos- 

 ure, and in answer to the question " Where 's 

 your door? " remarked, " Over the top, or 

 squeeze between the rails." The old man was 

 brewing tea from herbs, and cordially invited 

 us to take of the beverage, " good " as he ex- 

 pressed it, " for the stomach," and of some dry 

 raw venison which he had chopped real fine. 

 After conversing a little while, we discovered 

 that he was an educated man and a graduate 

 of a Southern college; and in answer to the 

 question "Aren't you lonely here?" he re- 

 sponded cheerfully, " You are the only persons 

 I have seen for six months, but it 's simply a 

 glorious life; and I want to spend the balance 

 of my days right here." We then said, " Why 

 don't you get a little wife to share your en- 

 joyment? " At this his countenance dropped 

 and he looked steadily into the fire for several 

 minutes without saying a word, as though his 

 thoughts were wandering back to his younger 

 days. At length he drew a sigh as of relief, 

 and said, " No, never, never " ; shaking his 

 head, and continuing his gaze into the fire 

 that brewed his tea of herbs. We then realized 



