A Day at Cliff. 



to our already over-flowing spirits, and we enjoyed our sur- 

 roundings and scenery so much that it was 10 o'clock when we 

 reached the falls. I took out my flybook and prepared a cast 

 for the pool below the falls. While I was whipping the 

 stream, Mrs. S. climbed out on the big rocks over the roaring 

 waters and enjoyed the cool breeze. We got back by 11 o'clock 

 and after dinner lolled around indolently in the cool shade of 

 the inviting pines back of the cottages, reading and shooting at 

 a target with the attorney's rifle. As we rested there on the 

 cool mountain side under the pines we could not help feeling 

 sorry for our friends who were sweltering in the sun-baked 

 streets of eastern cities. As the sun disappeared behind the 

 mountain peaks in the west we returned to the cabins and pre- 

 pared to enjoy the evening meal which our mountain appetites 

 demanded. 



After supper we gathered around a big fire of pine 

 branches and logs and listened to Judge J.'s story of the trial 

 of the first murder case in a Colorado mining camp in the 

 days when the west was "wild and woolly." A cool, odorous 

 breeze blew down the canon and gently dissipated the smoke 

 from the fire which burned with unusual brightness and steadi- 

 ness. We were so interested in the judge's story that it was 

 late bed-time before we realized it. W^hen we sought our beds, 

 the rippling music of the waters came floating up so distinctly 

 that it seemed as though the little mountain stream was flow- 

 ing directly under our window. The wind sang lullabies in 

 the pines, and, as the God of Slumber approached, his attend- 

 ants seemed to say: 



"A little murmur in mine ear, 

 A little ripple at my feet." 



Thus the lovely autumn days slipped rapidly by; trouting, 

 mountain climbing and picnicking, each one a golden bead on 

 life's string. Now, in the long evenings, when the wintry 

 blasts howl around the house and drive the drifting snow 

 against the windows of our cozy cottage, we sit by our com- 



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