as a mule
train, bearing packs which would not be opened till, through the great
passes of the mountain, they were spilled upon the floors of fort and
post on the east side of the Rockies.

Not far from where the mule train crept along was a great hole in the
mountain-side, as though antique giants of the hills had tunnelled
through to make themselves a home or to find the eternal secret of the
mountains. Near to this vast dark cavity was a hut--a mere playhouse, it
seemed, so small was it, viewed from where we stood. From the edge of a
cliff just in front of this hut, there swung a long cable, which reached
almost to the base of the shore beneath us; and, even as we looked,
we saw what seemed a tiny bucket go swinging slowly down that strange
hypotenuse. We watched it till we saw it get to the end of its journey
in the valley beneath, not far from the great mill to which we were
bound.

"How mysterious!" said Mrs. Falchion. "What does it mean? I never saw
anything like that before. What a wonderful thing!"

Roscoe explained. "Up there in that hut," he said, "there lives a man
called Phil Boldrick. He is a unique fellow, with a strange history.
He has been miner, sailor, woodsman, river-driver, trapper,
salmon-fisher;--expert at the duties of each of these, persistent at
none. He has a taste for the ingenious and the unusual. For a time he
worked in Mr. Devlin's mill. It was too tame for him. He conceived the
idea of supplying the valley with certain necessaries, by intercepting
the mule trains as they passed across the hills, and getting them down
to Viking by means of that cable. The valley laughed at him; men said
it was impossible. He went to Mr. Devlin, and Mr. Devlin came to me.
I have, as you know, some knowledge of machinery and engineering.
I thought the thing feasible but expensive, and told Mr. Devlin so.
However, the ingenuity of the thing pleased Mr. Devlin, and, with that
singular enterprise which in other directions has made him a rich man,
he determined on its completion. Between us we managed it. Boldrick
carries on his aerial railway with considerable success, as you see."

"A singular man," said Mrs. Falchion. "I should like to see him. Come,
sit down here and tell me all you know about him, will you not?"

Roscoe assented. I arranged a seat for us, and we all sat.

Roscoe was about to begin, when Mrs. Falchion said, "Wait a minute. Let
us take in this scene first."

We were silent. After a mo