290 



RECREATION 



"Hello !" he said. "You look as if 

 you'd been murdering somebody." 



"I feel quite equal to doing it," said 

 Jack. "That is, if a man I know talks 

 too much." 



Tomson stared at him and deliber- 

 ately put down his axe. He was a big 

 man with a tolerable temper. Then his 

 face relaxed into a grin. 



"That's all right. If I don't know I 

 can't tell," he said. "Still, if I had 

 clothes like yours I'd bury them." 



It was not very lucid, but still I saw 

 that Charlie had pledged himself to si- 

 lence, and we went down to the river, 

 and into it with our clothes on, before 

 we had breakfast. When we sent 

 Heldar home his garments, which were 

 badly creased, appeared too small for 

 him. 



"What I'm going to tell Appleby, I 

 don't know," he said. "You see, it would 

 scarcely be advisable to tell him I was 

 shooting with you." 



"No," said Jack. 



We heard about a week later that 

 Heldar had left for the East, and about 

 the same time a notice was hung up at 

 the settlement, "One hundred dollars 

 will be paid to anyone giving informa- 

 tion respecting Major Appleby's bull." 



We were tramping home that day, 

 when Miss Appleby, who was mounted, 

 overtook us. She reined the big horse 

 in, and glanced down on us with a 

 twinkle in her eyes, while she patted the 

 beast's glossy neck. 



"You have seen the notice ?" she 

 said. 



"Of course," said Jack. "Have you 

 any reason for asking that?" 



Miss Appleby looked at him thought- 

 fully, and she was a very pretty girl. 

 "I have a fancy that you could earn a 

 hundred dollars if you wished," she 

 said. 



Jack met her gaze steadily. "I won- 

 der if it would please you to hear that 

 supposing I could — a thousand dollars 

 would be no inducement," he said. 



The girl's eyes twinkled again, but 

 she made a very gracious gesture of ac- 

 knowledgment. "It would, and I think 

 you are wise," she said. "I heard a lit- 

 tle about Captain Heldar's adventures 

 and guessed a good deal more." 



Jack shook his head reproachfully. 

 "I would have hoped Miss Appleby had 

 a higher opinion of me," he said. 



The girl laughed prettily as she shook 

 her bridle. "Then you know how to 

 earn it — and I can keep a secret, too," 

 said she. 



Jack glanced after her admiringly. 

 "That," he said, "is a very capable 

 young lady ; but, upon my word, I don't 

 know whether she's right or not. You 

 see the inspiration did not dawn on me, 

 but the fellow was so decent I couldn't 

 act upon it. Afterwards — well, per- 

 haps I knew a little before he did that 

 it wasn't a wapiti." 



No man in the settlement, or any of 

 the scattered ranchers, drew a word re- 

 specting the vanished bull from us, and 

 twelve months later we received a piece 

 of cake and an account of Miss Apple- 

 by's wedding. 



"Any fool can talk," said Charlie 

 Tomson, when we read it to him. "It 

 takes a sensible man to keep his mouth 

 shut." 



