onico's to draw up to that feast with those truly honest brothers of
wild civilization, partake of their hospitality and listen to their
straightforward talk, rich in its omission of studied rhetoric or
ponderous grammatical phrases; no fear of using the wrong spoon or
creating a social riot by helping one's self to a little venison gravy,
even sopping the bread in the platter. Etiquette, frills and napkins had
to give way to blunt speech, solid, wholesome food and a red bandanna.
Back of it all, too, was his famous digestion and ravenous appetite,
essential elements that have no co-existence with spike-tailed coats,
trained gowns, "eye-openers" and "night caps." Jack had been busy, but
he slowed down long enough to let out his belt one hole. Bill had
entertained in the conversation direction.

"Say, yer know when yer shot the antelope and Irish Mike got sore at it
because he missed the whole bunch? Well, old man Snyder come in with his
team last October after a load of fish, and we got up the old raft and
dropped the net into the bend of the river right there and dragged out
over a thousand fine suckers at one haul. We threw back all under two
pounds and a half."

Jack broke in with the remark, "Those red-finned suckers are most as
good as trout."

"Yer bet yer life they are," chimed in Tracy.

"Well," continued Bill, "the old man and his boy was a watchin' us from
the other bank, so we hed to be sort o' careful as we picked them fish
over, but there was five as pretty red-throated trout clum up my coat
sleeve as ever yer laid eyes on; two of 'em tipped the scales at five
pounds apiece. We had trout to eat fer a week. Gosh all humlock, but it
was cold work gettin' them suckers ready. We worked 'til most midnight.
They cleaned up about six hundred dollars on the load. Sold 'em in
Georgetown, Central City, Idaho Springs--yes, sir, clean down to Golden.
The first of 'em brought forty cents a pound in the big camps, but the
last end of 'em went fer a nickel apiece. Down at McQueery's they got
another load for some other chaps a month after; pulled in over
seventeen hundred fish at one clip, but them fellers didn't know how to
peddle them out and lost money by shippin' 'em to Denver."

"How's the stock, Tracy?" inquired Jack.

"Doin' tiptop; we've got about one hundred and twenty head of horses
winterin' now. Mike brought in a lot of forty soon after you went down
trappin'. I keep a good watch on them haystacks this y