tains."

Darrell rose and, having dressed hastily, stepped out into the gray
twilight of the early dawn. A faint flush tinged the eastern sky, which
deepened to a roseate hue, growing moment by moment brighter and more
vivid. Chain after chain of mountains, slumbering dark and grim against
the horizon, suddenly awoke, blushing and smiling in the rosy light.
Then, as rays of living flame shot upward, mingling with the crimson
waves and changing them to molten gold, the snowy caps of the higher
peaks were transformed to jewelled crowns. There was a moment of
transcendent beauty, then, in a burst of glory, the sun appeared.

"That is a sight I shall never forget, and one I shall try to see
often," Darrell said, as they retraced their steps to the cabin.

"You will never find it twice the same," Mr. Britton answered; "Nature
varies her gifts so that to her true lovers they will not pall."

After breakfast they again strolled out into the sunlight, Mr. Britton
seating himself upon a projecting ledge of granite, while Darrell threw
himself down upon the mountain grass, his head resting within his
clasped hands.

"What an ideal spot for my work!" he exclaimed.

Mr. Britton smiled. "I fear you would never accomplish much with me
here. I must return to the city soon, or you will degenerate into a
confirmed idler."

"I have often thought," said Darrell, reflectively, "that when I have
completed this work I would like to attempt a novel. It seems as though
there is plenty of material out here for a strong one. Think of the
lives one comes in contact with almost daily--stranger than fiction,
every one!"

"Your own, for instance," Mr. Britton suggested.

"Yours also," Darrell replied, in low tones; "the story of your life, if
rightly told, would do more to uplift men's souls than nine-tenths of
the sermons."

"The story of my life, my son, will never be told to any ear other than
your own, and I trust to your love for me that it will go no farther."

"Of that you can rest assured," Darrell replied.

As the sun climbed towards the zenith they returned to the cabin and
seated themselves on a broad settee of rustic work under an overhanging
vine near the cabin door.

"I have been wondering ever since I came here," said Darrell, "how you
ever discovered such a place as this. It is so unique and so appropriate
to the surroundings."

"I discovered," said Mr. Britton, with slight emphasis on the word,
"only the 'surroundi