grass, and dwarf woods straggled across it in broken lines. In one
place was the gleam of a little lake. Over it all there hung a sky of
dazzling blue, across which great rounded cloud-masses rolled.

Edgar looked around as George came in with the water.

"That's great!" he exclaimed, indicating the prairie; and then, turning
toward the wooden town, he added: "What a frightful mess man can make
of pretty things! Still, I've no doubt the people who built the Butte
are proud of it."

"If you talk to them in that style, you'll soon discover their
opinion," George laughed; "but I don't think it would be wise."

Soon afterward a bell rang for supper, and going down to a big room,
they found seats at a table which had several other occupants. Two of
them, who appeared to be railroad-hands, were simply dressed in
trousers and slate-colored shirts, and when they rested their elbows on
the tablecloth, they left grimy smears. George thought the third man
of the party, who was neatly attired, must be the station-agent; the
fourth was unmistakably a newly-arrived Englishman. As soon as they
were seated, a very smart young woman came up and rattled off the names
of various unfamiliar dishes.

"I think I'll have a steak; I know what that is," Edgar told her.

She withdrew, and presently surrounded him with an array of little
plates, at which he glanced dubiously before he attacked the thin, hard
steak with a nickeled knife which failed to make a mark on it. When he
made a more determined effort, it slid away from him, sweeping some