Obed sat there shading his eyes with his hand to keep the glow of the
fire from dazzling him. Occasionally he would interrupt to ask some
natural question, which made Max think he was taking a fair amount of
interest in the account.

"What I wanted to ask you," concluded Max, "was whether you'd ever
happened to run across this same Roland Chase in the mountains. We heard
about a fellow answering his description who was seen in company with a
dissipated guide named Shanks. I thought perhaps you might help us out,
Obed."

Obed looked him straight in the face.

"So far as I knows on, Max," he went on to say, seriously, "I ain't
never met any feller like yuh say face to face. About that man Shanks, I
know he's said to be a tough un. I saw him some months back down at
Sawyer's Forks, and by hokey! now that you mention it, thar _was_ a
sickly lookin' young feller along with him then; but say, his name was
Bob Jenks, or somethin' like that, and not Roland Chase."

"Oh! well, so far as that goes," said Max, "he may have changed his
name. Some people think nothing of sailing under false colors; and if it
turns out that Roland has taken up with such a disreputable character as
this drunken guide seems to be, I don't wonder at him wanting to hide
his identity. So you think you must be going home, do you, Obed?"

"Yep," the other observed, gaining his feet. "And I wanter to thank all
o' ye for givin' me sech a pleasant evenin'. I ain't had sech a good
time this long while back. But then the Grimeses all are 'customed to
roughin' it. Granddad used to be away all by hisself for as much as two