THE RECONNAISSANCE PARTY 5 
before, upon the practice of his profession. His 
continuation in that career was undoubtedly due 
to periodic lapses from sobriety whenever the out- 
fit with which he happened to be working landed in 
town. 
It was from one of these benders that Bert was 
just now emerging, with shattered nerves and an 
intense desire for the simple life. As is customary 
and appropriate in such circumstances, he earnestly 
proclaimed it his intention to turn over a new leaf 
and make our trip a turning point, to use the op- 
portunity afforded by a lengthy sojourn in the for- 
est, far from the insidious highball and the ruinous 
rattle of chips, to strengthen his purpose of forever- 
more eschewing liquor and its evil cortége of kindred 
vices. In his case, I’m glad to say, the threat of 
reformation was not altogether an empty one al- 
though, as will appear, there intervened between its 
inception and its fulfilment certain circumstances of 
a rather exciting nature which gave to Bert’s de- 
cision a virtue of permanence it might not otherwise 
have held. 
The one missing member of the party, Horace 
Wetherby, was due to arrive on the noon train. We 
all went down to meet him. All, that is, save Bert, 
who decided to woo solitude and a new outlook in 
his room at the Orient Hotel. 
We were curious to see what Horace was like. 
It is only natural to feel some anxiety about the 
personnel of a group in which one expects to live 
