is.  Man!  And I pushed up a hurricane.  It cut my eyes so I cried icicles a foot long. Roar-row-roor-s-s-wish! we went in the open, and me-a-arrr! we ripped through the timber.  I crossed a downed log unexpected and flew thirty foot in the air.  Whilst aloft I see a creek dead ahead of me.  There wasn’t nothin’ to do but jump when I come to it, so I jumped.  I don’t care a cuss whether you believe me or not, dear friends and brothers, but I want to tell you right now that I cleared the creek with something like one hundred and eighty feet to spare!  At which I took to throwin’ summersaults.  I threw one solid quarter-mile of summersaults before that suddent cravin’ was satisfied.

“‘Y-a-as,’ says I when I picked myself up.  ’Well, I reckon I’ve done enough of this here skeedaddlin’ for one mornin’.  So after that I went along quiet and dignified to William Pemberton’s.

“I hit his cabin on Christmas Eve, findin’ him very low-spirited.  It seems that he was expectin’ an attack from some people anxious to jump the claims, thereby gettin’ the mill standin’ on the property.  The feller that hired Billy as watchman promised him everything and forgot it.  Billy was almighty faithful but hot-tempered’

“‘Think of it!’ says he to me.  ’I gets word two days ago that the gang is comin’ to hop me, and old man Davis ain’t even sent me a rifle, like he agreed.  What does he expect?  Does he have illusions that when they come squirtin’ lead at me I’m goin’ to peg at ’em with snowballs?’

“Then he laid back, fightin’ for breath, and kickin’ out with his legs till I loosened his collar.  It was a terrible strain, bein’ watchman of a mill under them conditions, with a disposition like this.  I pitched in to make him feel better.  After I’d narrated some incidents that went to make up livin’ with Mrs. Scraggs he chirped up considerable.  ’Well, sir!  This is a gay world, ain’t it?’ says he.  ’I wisht I could offer you something to drown your sorrers in, Zeke, but unless you happen to have brought along the makings of a flowing bowl we can’t put an end to ’em at this ranch.’

“Well, now, that was sorrerful tidin’s.  I reckon William took notice of my face—­Christmas Eve, alone on top of a God-forsaken mountain and not a smell of anything to make the sun rise in our souls—­oh, murder!

“‘I feel awful bad about this, Zeke,’ says he.

“‘Don’t mention it,’ says I as soon’s I could tune my pipes to a cheerful lie.  ‘Your presence is sufficient.’

“‘But I have an idee,’ says he, pushing his finger agin my ribs.  ’Don’t git excited, Zeke, only to be cast down the harder, but there’s a chance.  All last summer we had stockholders’ investigation meetings, and the way old man Davis led ’em to make investigations through a glass darkly was a sin and a scandal.  The altytood was too altytoodinous for strangers, says old man Davis, and therefore they must take a