second pipe.

"Come in," he said heartily. "Come right in and make yourselves ter
home. My name's Jim Hill. I won't ask yourn as I wouldn't remember them
if I did. These long-winded Spanish names are beyond me. Set. Set. Boxes
ain't none too comfortable, but it's the best I've got."

"Oh, this box is most comfortable," Roldan hastened to assure him. "And
we are very thankful to have anything to sit on at all, senor. You could
not guess the many terrible adventures we have had in the last few
weeks."

"Indeed! Adventures? I want ter know! You look as if hammocks was more
to your taste. Oh, no offence," as Roldan's eyes flashed. "But you are
fine looking birds, and no mistake. Howsomever, we'll hear all about
them presently. It's polite to answer questions first. You was asking me
a while back how I come here. I come over those mountains, young man,
and I don't put in the adjectives I applied to them in the process outer
respect to your youth. But they'd make a man swear if he'd spent his
life psalm singin' before."

"We know," said Roldan, grimly. "We've been in them. What did you eat?
And did you get lost?"

"I ate red ants mor' 'n once, and I usually was lost. When I arrived at
that Mission down yonder the amount of flesh I had between my bones and
my skin wouldn't have filled a thimble. But that priest--he's a great
man if ever there was one--soon fixed me up. I lived like a prince for
a month, and I could be there yet if I liked, but I'd kinder got used to
livin' alone and I liked it, so I come here. Besides, I found so much