ON THE TRAMP. 217 



one further on who wanted help, and so we traveled on to be 

 disappointed again. 



To make the situation worse towards night it began to rain, 

 and we had both forgotten our umbrellas. Between my leaky 

 moccasons and wet clothing I fared badly. At nightfall we 

 came to a farm-house on whose hospitality we encroached. The 

 owner was away on our arrival, but soon came home and gave 

 us permission to remain till morning, but did not press us to 

 stay to tea. We remained outside in the mist and coming 

 darkness until a look through the window showed the table 

 set and preparations made to partake of its edible trimmings, 

 when, " Scottie " leading the way, we entered the kitchen. Our 

 " cheek " was rewarded with an invitation to a " set-down " 

 supper. Our manners had not shown remarkable refinement, 

 but we were getting well broken in to our enforced life, and 

 did not suffer any loss of self-respect. We were beginning to 

 see how life looked from the tramp's side of the fence. 



Our host, now that we had forced ourselves upon him, 

 treated us kindly, and after supper allowed us to sleep in an 

 outbuilding along with the two hired men. It was California 

 style for the help to sleep in the barn, or any other place out- 

 side the house, which was often a mere shell of one story, with 

 barely room for the ranch owner and his family. While I 

 was in the State the hired farm-hand had few comforts in this 

 life, and, after he was done with it, was placed without osten- 

 tatious ceremony in a fence corner. One of the hands was an 

 Irishman who was extremely patronizing in his way, and, 

 when we told him how unsuccessful we had been in getting 

 work, said it was because we looked so green on account of 

 our dress. He said our caps were enough of themselves to bar 

 us from the pleasures of farm life ; we must get hats with wide 

 rims and assume a more free and easy air. As we had not 

 the money to buy hats, nor the wherewithal to raise our spirits, 

 his advice did not amount to much, but I afterwards bore a 

 14 



