112 AN AFTERNOON BY THE EIVEE. 



would come this way, where it was high and 

 cool. (On that particular afternoon, to be 

 sure, it was neither very high nor very 

 cool, but of course the weather is n' t always 

 good anywhere.) " Lookout Mountain ain't 

 what it used to be," he said, in a burst of 

 confidence. " It 's done seen its best days. 

 Yes, sir, it 's done seen its best days." It 

 was not for a stranger, with no investment 

 in view, to take sides in such competitions 

 and rivalries. I believed in the river and 

 the mountain both, and hoped that both 

 would survive their present exploitation. 

 I liked his talk better when it turned upon 

 himself. Nothing is more exhilarating than 

 an honest bit of personal brag. He was 

 never sick, he told me. He knew nothing 

 of aches or pains. He could do anything 

 without getting tired. Save for his slavery 

 to the counter, he seemed almost as well off 

 as the birds. 



