264 MY COMPANION. 



my associate concurred in my opinion, in fact, I 

 believe, approved of it, he did it with so bad a 

 grace that an observer would have thought I was 

 making a victim of him. 



With all his eccentricities and his frequently dis- 

 agreeable ways, my companion I would say friend, 

 but for the fear that he might some day peruse 

 these lines, and deny that I had the right to use 

 the epithet was a sterling old fellow, though he 

 had a peculiar way of showing it. Although for 

 days little more than monosyllables in answer to my 

 inquiries could be obtained from him, and these more 

 resembling the grunts of an angry bear than civil 

 responses to necessary questions, I knew that at 

 any moment he would have risked his life for my 

 protection. 



Curious as it may seem, we never hunted together, 

 never communicated to each other how we intended 

 passing our spare time, seldom ever spoke of our 

 plans for the morrow. When the hour for starting 

 arrived, we mounted our packs together, the move- 

 ment of the one to do so being the cue for the other 

 to follow suit. In the early portion of the day the 

 old man invariably led the way, voluntarily dropping 

 in rear when half the distance we intended to tra- 

 verse was accomplished. 



To discover a hive of wild bees requires a good 

 deal of experience and keen sight. In America there 

 are persons in the unsettled districts who devote 

 their time almost entirely to this occupation, and are 



