were bound.

"How mysterious!" said Mrs. Falchion. "What does it mean? I never saw
anything like that before. What a wonderful thing!"

Roscoe explained. "Up there in that hut," he said, "there lives a man
called Phil Boldrick. He is a unique fellow, with a strange history. He
has been miner, sailor, woodsman, river-driver, trapper, salmon-fisher;
--expert at the duties of each of these, persistent at none. He has a
taste for the ingenious and the unusual. For a time he worked in Mr.
Devlin's mill. It was too tame for him. He conceived the idea of
supplying the valley with certain necessaries, by intercepting the mule
trains as they passed across the hills, and getting them down to Viking
by means of that cable. The valley laughed at him; men said it was
impossible. He went to Mr. Devlin, and Mr. Devlin came to me. I have,
as you know, some knowledge of machinery and engineering. I thought the
thing feasible but expensive, and told Mr. Devlin so. However, the
ingenuity of the thing pleased Mr. Devlin, and, with that singular
enterprise which in other directions has made him a rich man, he
determined on its completion. Between us we managed it. Boldrick
carries on his aerial railway with considerable success, as you see."

"A singular man," said Mrs. Falchion. "I should like to see him. Come,
sit down here and tell me all you know about him, will you not?"

Roscoe assented. I arranged a seat for us, and we all sat.

Roscoe was about to begin, when Mrs. Falchion said, "Wait a minute. Let
us take in this scene first."