horse. The next thing I realised was
that the horse was unhitched, that fa-
ther had -- for the first time during our
journey -- laid the lash across Sheri-
dan's back, and that, with a leap of in-
dignation, the horse had reached the
firm ground of the roadside. Father
called out to him to stand still, and a
moment later I found myself being
swung from the buggy into father's
arms. He staggered along, plunging
and almost falling, and presently I, too,
stood beneath the giant pines.

"One journey more," said father,
"for our supper, and then we'll bivouac
right here."

Now that I was away from the buggy
that was so familiar to me, and that
seemed like a little movable piece of
home, I felt, as I had not felt before,
the vastness of the solitude. Above me
in the rising wind tossed the tops of the
singing trees; about me stretched the
soft blackness; and beneath the dense,
interlaced branches it was almost as
calm and still as in a room. I could see
that the clouds were breaking and the
stars beginning to come out, and that