"I was thinking p'raps he was born in Ireland, and came to this
country when he was of tender age. I once knowed a Mr. Fox, whose
petaty patch was so close to ours, that the favorite amoosement of me
respected parents was flingin' the petaties over into our field by
moonlight. His name was Fox, I say, but I never knowed anybody by the
name of Wolf."

"He's a screamer," continued Sut Simpson, who seemed to enjoy talking
of such a formidable foe. "The Comanches and Apaches sling things
loose in these parts, an' the wonder to me is how you ever got this
fur without losing your top-knots, for you've had to come right
through their country."

"We have had encounters with the red men times without number," said
Caleb Barnwell, who was standing erect, with arms folded, looking
straight at the hunter. He spoke in a deep, rich, bass voice,
recalling the figures of the early Puritans, who were unappalled by
the dangers of the ocean and forest, when the question of liberty of
conscience was at stake. "We have encountered the red men time and
again," he continued, "so that I may conclude that we have become
acclimated, as they say, and understand the nature of the American
Indian very well."

Sut Simpson shook his head with a displeased expression.

"If you'd understood Injin nature, you'd never come here to settle.
You might have gone through the country on your way to some other
place, for, when you're on the way, you can keep a lookout for the
varmints; but you've undertook to settle down right in the heart of