e views with her, was forced to remain in the rear in order to
hurry the reluctant pack-animals forward. They had now reached a point
twelve thousand feet above the sea, and range beyond range, to the west
and south, rose into sight like stupendous waves of a purple-green sea.
To the east the park lay level as a floor and carpeted in tawny velvet.

It was nearly two o'clock when they began to drop down behind the rocky
ridges of the eastern slope, and soon, in the bottom of a warm and
sheltered hollow just at timber-line, Berrie drew her horse to a stand
and slipped from the saddle. "We'll rest here an hour," she said, "and
cook our grouse; or are you too hungry to wait?"

"I can wait," he answered, dramatically. "But it seems as if I had never
eaten."

"Well, then, we'll save the grouse till to-morrow; but I'll make some
coffee. You bring some water while I start a fire."

And so, while the tired horses cropped the russet grass, she boiled some
coffee and laid out some bread and meat, while he sat by watching her and
absorbing the beauty of the scene, the charm of the hour. "It is exactly
like a warm afternoon in April," he said, "and here are some of the
spring flowers."

"There now, sit by and eat," she said, with humor; and in perfectly
restored tranquillity they ate and drank, with no thought of critics or
of rivals. They were alone, and content to be so.

It was deliciously sweet and restful there in that sunny hollow on the
breast of the mountain. The wind swept through the worn branches of the
dwarfed spruce with immemorial wistfulness; but these young souls heard
it only as a far-off song. Side by side on the soft Alpine clover they
rested and talked, looking away at the shining peaks, and down over the
dark-green billows of fir beneath them. Half the forest was under their
eyes at the moment, and the man said: "Is it not magnificent! It makes me
proud of my country. Just think, all this glorious spread of hill and
valley is under your father's direction. I may say under _your_
direction, for I notice he does just about what you tell him to do."

"You've noticed that?" she laughed. "If I were a man I'd rather be
Supervisor of this forest than Congressman."

"So would I," he agreed. "Nash says you _are_ the Supervisor. I wonder if
your father realizes how efficient you are? Does he ever sorrow over your
not being a boy?"

Her eyes shone with mirth. "Not that I can notice. He 'pears contented."

"You'r