nce. He had forgotten
them, but unoffended they had been watching and waiting for him.

A little after noon Shock found the trail turn in toward a long, log,
low-roofed building, which seemed to have been erected in sections,
with an irregular group of sod-roofed out-houses clustering about.

An old man lounged against the jamb of the open door.

"Good day," said Shock politely.

The old man looked him over for a moment or two and then answered as if
making a concession of some importance, "Good day, good day! From town?
Want to eat?"

A glance through the door, showing the remains of dinner on a table,
determined Shock. "No, I guess I'll push on."

"All right," said the old man, his tone suggesting that while it was a
matter of supreme indifference to him, to Shock it might be a somewhat
serious concern to neglect to eat in his house.

"This is Spruce Creek?" enquired Shock.

"Yes, I believe that's what they call it," said the old man with slow
deliberation, adding after a few moments silence "because there ain't
no spruces here."

Shock gave the expected laugh with such heartiness that the old man
deigned to take some little interest in him.

"Cattle?" he enquired.

"No."

"Sport?"

"Well, a little, perhaps."

"Oh! Prospectin', eh? Well, land's pretty well taken up in this
vicinity, I guess."

To this old man there were no other interests in life beyond cattle,
sport, and prospecting that could account for the stranger's presence
in this region.

"Yes," laughed Shock, "prospecting in a ways too."

The old man was obviously puzzled.

"Well," he ventured, "come inside, anyway. Pretty chilly wind that for
April. Come right in!"

Shock stepped in. The old man drew nearer to him.

"Pain-killer or lime-juice?" he enquired in an insinuating voice.

"What?" said Shock.

"Pain-killer or lime-juice," winking and lowering his voice to a
confidential tone.

"Well, as I haven't got any pain I guess I'll take a little
lime-juice," replied Shock.

The old man gave him another wink, long and slow, went to the corner of
the room, pushed back a table, pulled up a board from the floor, and
extracted a bottle.

"You's got to be mighty careful," he said. "Them blank police fellers,
instead of attending to their business, nose round till a feller can't
take no rest at night."

He went to a shelf that stood behind the plank that did for a counter,
took down two glasses, and filled them up.

"There," he