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-^J^he seven football-players who engaged me 

 ^W' to guide them to the top of Long's Peak 

 did not reveal their identity until we were on 

 the way. Long's Peak, high, massive, and wildly 

 rugged, is the king of the Rocky Mountains, 

 and there were five thousand feet of altitude 

 and seven steeply inclined miles between our 

 starting-point and the granite-piled summit. 



We set out on foot. The climbers yelled, 

 threw stones, and wrestled. They were so oc- 

 cupied with themselves during the first mile 

 that I managed to keep them from running over 

 me. Presently they discovered me and gave a 

 cheer, and then proceeded energetically with 

 the evident intention of killing me off. 



It was fortunate for me that the experience 

 of more than a hundred guiding trips to the 

 summit was a part of my equipment. In ad- 

 dition to the valuable lessons that had been 

 dearly learned in guiding, I had made dozens of 



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