above Graymont was the mountain chickadee, which was
found thereafter up to the timber-line.

It was sometime in the afternoon when we reached Graymont, which we
found to be no "mount" at all, as we had expected, but a hamlet, now
mostly deserted, in a narrow valley in sight of several gray mountains
looming in the distance. Straight up the valley were some snow-mantled
peaks, but none of them was Gray's; they did not beckon to us from the
right direction. From the upper part of the hamlet, looking to our left,
we saw a frowning, snow-clad ridge towering like an angry giant in the
air, and we cried simultaneously, "Gray's Peak!" The terrific aspect of
that mountain sent a momentary shiver through our veins as we thought of
scaling it without a guide. We were in error, as we afterwards found,
for the mountain was Torrey's Peak, not Gray's, which is not visible
from Graymont, being hidden by two intervening elevations, Mount Kelso
and Torrey's Peak. There are several points about a mile above Graymont
from which Gray's serene peak is visible, but of this we were not aware
until on our return trip, when we had learned to recognize him by his
calm and magisterial aspect.

As evening drew on, and the westering sun fell below the ridges, and the
shadows deepened in the gorges, making them doubly weird, we began to
feel very lonely, and, to add to our misgivings, we were uncertain of
our way. The prospect of having to spend a cold night out of doors in a
solitary place like this was not very refreshing, I am free to confess,
much as one might desire to proclaim himself a brave man. Presently our
eyes were gladdened by the sight of a miner's shack just across the
hollow, perhaps the one for which we were anxiously looking. A man at
Graymont had told us about a miner up this way, saying he was a "nice
man" and would no doubt give us accommodation for the night. I crossed
the narrow foot-bridge that spanned the booming torrent, and found the
miner at home. Would he give two way-worn travellers a place to sleep
beneath his roof? We had brought plenty of food and some blankets with
us, and all we required was four walls around us and a roof over our
heads. Yes, he replied, we were welcome to such accommodation as he had,
and he could even give us a bed, though it "wasn't very stylish." Those
were among the sweetest and most musical words that ever fell on my ear.

Having tethered our burros in a grassy cove on the mountain side, a