ties he don't know the heft of." Ketchel only grinned at
Bill Sheehan's doleful prophecy for he knew the root of it, as the
fireman's wife was something of a termagant and the sound of her
scoldings had reached other ears than Bill's.

Now came the whistle for the Junction, and the train slowed to a halt on
a long level platform on which lay a six-inch carpet of dazzling snow.

CHAPTER V

THE MENU

That morning always stood out in Jim's memory, not because of any
unusual adventure, nor because it marked any period in his young
existence, but simply that he felt full of the exuberance of life, after
the night's adventure; the very air was intoxicating. That, by the way,
was the only intoxicant James ever took. He was glad to be with his old
friend, Bob Ketchel, even for a short time.

Then, too, there was the certainty of immediate events of interest as
soon as he reached San Francisco, and he felt confident that he could
meet whatever might come. His past experiences had taught him
self-reliance and he thrilled to the sense of coming adventures. But the
fact that he was soon to enjoy a good breakfast had something to do with
his feeling of contentment. Besides, he and the engineer were objects of
interest in this little mountain settlement, for the story of the
attempted hold up was soon common property, and the two were the
observed of all observers. This is not unpleasant, as many a schoolboy
hero of the football field or track knows right well.

In about fifteen minutes' time Jim and the engineer were seated at a
pleasant looking table in a sunny corner of the dining-room, with the
whitest of cloths and everything about the table neat and attractive. It
was not at all like the Wild West, and it is at the eating stations that
whatever of luxury or comfort there is in this wild country is
concentrated.

There was a hearty menu of several kinds of meats and gravies, fried
potatoes in abundance, excellent coffee in large cups, and smoking
plates of griddle cakes with plenty of syrup. Jim ate with an appetite
derived from a long fast, and plenty of exercise. The reader can vouch
as to the amount of exercise that James had undergone in the past few
hours. The dining-room was full of tourists at the different tables, and
it was a lively and animated scene. The events of the previous night
were the general subject of discussion and Jim was fully aware that he
was being talked about. But he was a well balanced