lleys of the lower Mississippi with those of the Ganges, and
named tree after tree, most of them entirely unknown to Wilbur, which
would be of high value in the warm, swampy bottoms. And when Wilbur
ventured to express doubt, he was confronted with the example of the
eucalyptus, commonly called gum tree, once a native of Australia, now
becoming an important American tree.

All the way home and all through supper the Supervisor talked, until
when it finally became time to turn in, the boy dreamed of an ideal time
when every acre of land in the United States should be rightly occupied;
the arid land irrigated from streams fed by reservoirs in the forested
mountains; the rivers full of navigation and never suffering floods; the
farms possessing their wood-lots all duly tended; and every inch of the
hills and mountains clothed with forests--pure stands, or mixed stands,
as might best suit the conditions--each forest being the best possible
for its climate and its altitude.

But he had to get up at five o'clock next morning, just the same, and
dreams became grim realities when he found himself in the saddle again
and off for a day's work before six. A heavy thunderstorm in the night
had made everything fresh and shining, but at the same time the water on
the underbrush soaked Wilbur through and through when he went out to
wrangle the horses. Merritt's riding horse, a fine bay with a blazed
face, had a bad reputation in the country, which Wilbur had heard, and
he was in an ugly frame of mind when the boy found him. But Wilbur was
not afraid of horses, and he soon got him saddled.

"I think Baldy's a little restless this morning, sir," ventured Wilbur,
as they went to the corral to get their horses. But he received no
answer. The Supervisor's fluent streak had worn itself out the day
before and he was more silent than ever this morning.

Merritt swung himself into his saddle, and, as Wilbur expected, the bay
began to buck. It was then, more than ever, that the boy realized the
difference between the riding he had seen on the plains and ordinary
riding. Merritt was a good rider, and he stuck to his saddle well. But
Wilbur could see that it was with difficulty, and that the task was a
hard one. There was none of the easy grace with which Bob-Cat Bob had
ridden, and when Baldy did settle down Wilbur felt that his rider had
considered his keeping his seat quite a feat, not regarding it as a
trifling and unimportant incident in