HARRIET— LITTLE MOUNTAIN CLIMBER 231 



down when we might have galloped to the steeper 

 part of the trail. Why I tightened the saddle 

 cinches also called for an explanation. 



"A person who walks with a loose shoe receives 

 a blistered foot, and a horse ridden with a loose 

 saddle receives a blistered back," I told her. 



Most of the time Harriet was silent, observing, 

 and thoughtful, but occasionally she asked a defi- 

 nite question about the things near by. She was 

 interested in the new and unusual objects along 

 the way. The lodgepole pine, perhaps because 

 of its name, caused her to ask many questions. 

 She wanted to know if Arkansas pine, such trees as 

 she saw in her Arkansas home, also lived in the 

 Rocky Mountains. She asked the name of the 

 trees growing in groups near the lively brook along 

 which we were riding. These were young balsam 

 fir trees and the purple cones that stood upon the 

 topmost limbs not far above her head attracted 

 her attention. 



She had remembered hearing that up the moun- 

 tain-side there were species of trees that did not 

 live in the valley, and that at the timberline, where 

 the forest edge is farthest up the mountain, lived 

 still other kinds of trees. While travelling west- 

 ward in a canon I pointed out the scattered limber 

 pines growing on the north wall, in the sun, and 

 the dense, tall growth of Engelmann spruce on the 

 shady, opposite wall. She was interested that 

 these two kinds of trees were living so close to- 



