, the company that built this road was considered mighty
mean, an' ground the men down to the last cent. One day a big blast
went off before its time, an' a feller was blown high into the air.
Everybody thought fer sure that thar wouldn't be a speck of him left.
But strange to say, in about fifteen minutes he came down pat on his
feet, an' but fer a few bruises an' a bad shakin' up he was as chipper
as ye please. He got another shock, though, at the end of the week
which nearly put him out of bizness."

The old man paused, and a smile overspread his face as he gazed
thoughtfully out of the window.

"Yes," he continued, "it sartinly was some shock, an' no mistake. When
he went to the office to be paid fer his week's work, he found that the
company had docked him two-bits fer the fifteen minutes he was absent
on that air-trip when the blast went off. Now, what d'ye think of
that?"

"Close shaving, I should say," was the reply. "It's a good yarn,
though, and worth remembering. But, my, isn't that a wonderful sight!"
And Reynolds motioned to the great mountains away in the distance. "We
seem to be surrounded by them."

"So we are, young man. Ye can't escape 'em in the north any more'n ye
kin git clear of the sky-scrapers in New York. But them over thar are
the work of the Almighty, an' a grand job He made of 'em. This hull
land reminds me of a big cathedral; the woods an' valleys are the
aisles, an' the mountains are the spires pointin' man to heaven. I
tell ye, it's a great place out alone on the hills to worship. Yer not
cramped thar, an' it doesn't matter what kind of clothes ye have on.
It's wonderful the sights ye see an' the things ye hear. Talk about
music! Why, ye have the finest in the world when nature's big organ
gits to work, 'specially at night. I've shivered from head to toe when
the wind was rippin' an' roarin' through the woods, down the valleys,
an' along the mountain passes. That's the music fer me!"

"You seem to love this country," Reynolds remarked, as he noted the
intense admiration upon his companion's face.

"I sartinly do, young man. It grips me jist as soon as I cross this
range. Thar's nuthin' like it to my way of thinkin', though it takes
ye years to find it out. Yet, it doesn't altogether satisfy the soul,
although it helps. Thar's something within a man that needs more'n the
mountains an' the wonderful things around him. But, thar, I must see
what Curly's doin'. He