THE LONG TRAIL 



Mongols or in the Hound of the Basker- 

 villes. 



Father's physical successes were due to 

 perseverance and endurance. He was not 

 a natural athlete and, when at school we 

 were surpassed by our schoolmates, he 

 would console us with accounts of his own 

 misadventures. Some men are born to 

 excel at athletics, and the conscientious 

 plodder can never rise to their heights, 

 but he can, by infinite patience, learn to 

 play a game sufficiently well to enjoy it 

 and successfull}^ compete with the ma- 

 jority of his comrades. 



We were early taught to ride and shoot, 

 for that was something he felt that every 

 boy should know. We were also taught 

 to row and chop down trees (when we 

 were first learning we used to do what 

 Father called "beaver them down" ) . We 

 none of us cared very greatly for either of 

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