SHAMUS AT A PREMIUM. 289 



valley, and to anticipate the dinner whicli we felt was 

 waiting for us. The plains tired us, and so did con- 

 versation, and all instinctively felt that any attempt 

 at a joke, in our hungry, worn out condition, would 

 have caused an all but fiendish state of feeling. Mo- 

 mus himself could not have made that party smile. 

 Most of us had taken part in cutting up the car- 

 casses, and as we now rode home, sitting on the skin- 

 covered quarters, we looked like a party of butchers 

 returning from the slaughter-pens. 



As we drew close to camp, how goodly a sight did 

 Shamus seem, in his white lapron, bidding us " Hurry 

 to yer dinner ! " while backing up his invitation 

 were the brown turkeys, the stews and roasts, the 

 white bread and yellow butter, and a clean table- 

 cloth. On the spot, we could have pardoned Shamus 

 all his notions of witchcraft, and I think that Sa- 

 chem's charity just then would even have covered 

 our cook's late weakness in the line of "spooning." 

 The Professor's science, Colon's philanthropy, Sa- 

 chem's wealth of worldly wisdom, and Muggs' 

 British self-complacency, all combined, offered no 

 such consolation, in this hour of sober realities, as 

 the simple Irishman, with his basting-spoon. 



Water from the brook and towels from the chest 

 soon removed blood and dust, and dinner followed. 

 Shamus had many a mark scored against Sachem for 

 attacks on himself and his ancestry, and ventured 

 during dinner to rub out one, by asking Tammany, 

 in a very respectful manner, and as if it was a mat- 

 ter of our cuisine^ whether calves' heads agreed with 

 his stomach. 



