WILLIAM WARREN. 325 



"Betcher right! Let 'em soak awhile an* they'll get 

 tender, an' beets is a mighty good relish, too; they're 

 good for what ails you; for a man can't live on salt pork, 

 ham and all that stuff, salt codfish and mackerel and 

 sich like, without a little vegetable food, or he will go to 

 the bad; betcher life he wants a change. Just put them 

 beets away until they get tender; that's all they want." 



The beets were set aside in vinegar until such time as 

 they might be fit to eat. We sampled them daily, but 

 there was no perceptible improvement, and Sunday 

 came. After cleaning house, or kitchen and dining- 

 room for our 10x12 cabin was not only these, but also 

 our grand salon we brushed ourselves up, and walked 

 up to Serrine's ranch, where Mrs. S. and Mrs. Judge 

 Howell were discussing some abstruse question, of 

 which we were ignorant, when they both turned and in 

 the same breath asked how we were getting along with 

 our "batching." Warren went into details about the bis- 

 cuit, pancakes, roasts, fries and stews, and finally men- 

 tioned the difficulty with the beets. 



There was an instantaneous duet of soprano and con- 

 tralto: "Didn't you boil 'em first?" 



I sneaked outside at once, and have no idea of how 

 Warren stood off the two women ; but the logs of the 

 house were not chinked tightly enough to keep out a 

 whole mess of laughter, which came through in ripples 

 at first, then in waves, and finally in shrieks that toppled 

 the barrel from the chimney, and then the cabin filled 

 with smoke. 



On our way down the Cottonwood we said little until 

 we got to the door of our castle, when Warren turned 

 and said : "Did you know that beets should be boiled be- 

 fore they were sliced and cut up in vinegar?" 



"Well, no; not exactly boiled, but I knew that some- 



