190 JOE BROWN. 



by name, and, looking him in the face, addressed 

 him thus : ' Now, old man, you knew Joe Brown ? ' 



' I did so/ was the response. 



'Well, you may bet he was one of the right sort/ 

 continued Jem. 



' True for you, he was a bully boy/ pronounced 

 Tom. 



' That he was, a whole team of himself ; well, he 

 told me on Yellow-stone, just below the Crow-fork, 

 when he was on his way for St. Louis, to raise a 

 company to go back with him, not a week before the 

 Red-skins raised his hair, all about this place ; and 

 there ain't a bit of doubt that it's a tip-top digging 

 And if you'll only go along with me, this day twelve 

 months you'll all have more yellow boys in your 

 pockets than will buy a good farm down east. You 

 have all got the proper grit in you, and we would 

 make a big team together. If the venture turned 

 out a good spec, we'd share and share alike. I ain't 

 asking any odds of any man, only all that's fair and 

 square.' 



So the matter appeared settled. With no more 

 cogent reasons than those above stated this hardy 

 party of men were willing to start off hundreds of 

 miles on what might well be considered a wild goose 

 chase. 



The storm at length blew itself out, the fitful 

 gusts gradually becoming less frequent. The fire 

 was made up for the night, the size of the back-log 

 promising'endurance, the quantity of fuel abundant 



