ON TOP AGAIN 143 
ready whenever people want ’em,’’ returned Brown. 
“‘Of course they ain’t no fortune in them right away, 
but making a livin’ isn’t hard here, if a man’ll work, 
an’ before long,.if the Forest Service keeps timber 
thieves an’ fakers out the way they’re doing, they’s 
goin’ to be a sight of people comin’ in here an’ 
tickled to death to get one hundred and sixty acres 
of good land just by livin’ on it an’ workin’ it.’’ 
This was all true but I was familiar with the facts 
that Brown offered. I was more interested just now 
in Reed and his history. I could not easily give 
up my romantic conception of the genial old moun- 
taineer, despite Brown’s matter of fact view of the 
situation. 
“Tt may have been his drinking, after all,’’ I mur- 
mured half to myself, for I had heard that. he had 
formerly been given to the habit in excess. ‘‘He. 
probably feels that this is the only safe place for 
him, the only way after his struggle with rum that 
he can avoid temptation!’’ 
‘*Who, him?’ burst out Brown, with a guffaw. 
‘‘He gits roarin’ drunk twice a month regular as 
clockwork. Most all his vegetable money goes for 
booze.’? 
I began to fear that my attitude toward old man 
Reed might have to be recast and modelled on fact, 
after all, instead of fancy. 
