and sky met were the
great hills white with snow except in the spots where the wind had swept
it away. But within the little, low dance-hall, everywhere were
evidences of festivity and good cheer, the walls being literally covered
with pine boughs and wreaths of berries, while here and there was an
eagle's wing or an owl's head, a hawk or a vulture, a quail or a
snow-bird, not to mention the big, stuffed game cock that was mounted on
a piece of weather-beaten board, until it would seem as if every variety
of bird native to the Sierra Mountains was represented there.

Grouped together on one side of the wall were twelve buck horns, and
these served as a sort of rack for the miners to hang their hats and
coats during the school session. Several mottoes, likewise upon the
wall, were intended to attract the students' attention, the most
conspicuous being: "Live and Learn" and "God Bless Our School." A great
bear's skin formed a curtain between the dance-hall and the saloon,
while upon the door-frame was a large hand rudely painted, the
index-finger outstretched and pointing to the next room. It said:
"To The Bar."

It was, however, upon the teacher's desk--a whittled-up, hand-made
affair which stood upon a slightly-raised platform--that the boys had
outdone themselves in the matter of decoration. Garlanded both on top
and around the sides with pine boughs and upon the centre of which stood
a tall glass filled with red and white berries, it looked not unlike a
sacrificial altar which, in a way, it certainly was. A box that was
intended for a seat for the teacher was also decorated with pine
branches; while several cheap, print flags adorned the primitive iron
holder of the large lamp suspended from the ceiling in the centre of the
room. Altogether it was a most festive-looking Academy that was destined
to meet the teacher's eye on this particular morning.

For some time Nick had been standing near the window gazing in the
direction of the Girl's cabin. Turning, suddenly, to Rance, the only
other occupant of the room, he remarked somewhat sadly:

"I'd be willin' to lose the profits of the bar if we could git back to a
week ago--before Johnson walked into this room."

At the mention of the road agent's name Rance's eyes dropped to the
floor. It required no flash of inspiration to tell him that things would
never be what they had been.

"Johnson," he muttered, his face ashen white and a sound in his throat
that was some