was studying.

During the time that Rhodes's party was in the mountains Squire Rawson
rode about with them examining lands, inspecting coal-beds, and adding
much to the success of the undertaking.

He appeared to be interested mainly in hunting up cattle, and after he
had introduced the engineers and secured the tardy consent of the
landowners for them to make a survey, he would spend hours haggling over
a few head of mountain cattle, or riding around through the mountains
looking for others.

Many a farmer who met the first advances of the stranger with stony
opposition yielded amicably enough after old Rawson had spent an hour or
two looking at his "cattle," or had conversed with him and his
weather-beaten wife about the "craps" and the "child'en."

"You are a miracle!" declared young Rhodes, with sincere admiration.
"How do you manage it?"

The old countryman accepted the compliment with becoming modesty.

"Oh, no; ain't no miracle about it. All I know I learned at the Ridge
College, and from an old uncle of mine, and in the war. He used to say,
'Adam, don't be a fool; learn the difference between cattle.' Now,
before you come, I didn't know nothin' about all them fureign
countries--they was sort of vague, like the New Jerusalem--or about
coal. You've told me all about that. I had an idea that it was all made
jest so,--jest as we find it,--as the Bible says 'twas; but you know a
lot--more than Moses knowed, and he was 'skilled in all the learnin' of