GUESTS OF THE FORESTS 41 



"We've got to have some meat for supper and I thought I'd send 

 Mama a card. It's Saturday already, we've been here almost a week and I 

 haven't written her once. How would you like some more of that ham- 

 burger for supper?" 



"Yea, sure. Anything you get's okeh." He squinted his eyes at Nancy 

 sitting in the bright sunlight. She looked up at him and dimpled. He went 

 over and picked her up. 



"You're a cute one," he said. "And you're gonna be 4 years old to- 

 morrow. Hurray!" He set her down inside the tent. 



"Someone needing a dress, mother, and maybe a clean face." 



Now it was late afternoon, towards dusk. A fisherman moved up- 

 stream until he stood opposite them. He was a tall man, strong, lithe. 

 His body leaned against the swiftly moving water. Walters and his chil- 

 dren sat carefully on the edge of the bank on the grass watching absorbedly. 



The fisherman worked easily. While they watched, he caught two fish. 

 Each time he looked over at them sitting on the bank and waved. The 

 children clapped their hands and hunched their shoulders. Then he lost 

 his fly, so he ran in his reel and came over. 



"Hello. My name's Carlson, Chris Carlson." He shook hands with 

 Walters. 



"How's that?" He showed the children the dozen trout in his basket. 



"Me, I'm not much good at this fish catching myself," Walters said, 

 and laughed apologetically. "You must be an expert." 



Chris replied in a soft drawling voice. "Well, soon as spring comes 

 along I git the itch so bad I can't set still. So I hit the road. I've fished 

 pret' near everything 'tween here and Vegas." 



"As a matter of fact," he went on, "my dad taught me to fish when 

 I was a kid of 4 an' I've jest been fishin' ever since. Been up and down this 

 stream 'bout 4 years now." 



"You're lucky to be able to take so much time doing it," Walters said. 



Chris scratched a match on the table and lit a cigarette. "Sellin'," he 

 replied, looking over the match at Walters, his blue eyes steady, narrowed 

 against the smoke. "Sellin' ladies' dresses and men's and ladies' suits. 



