e about this
backwoods giant, neither of face nor of form; yet, sleeping or waking,
working or at leisure, he would be noticed--and remembered. In his
every feature, every action, was the absolute unconsciousness of self,
which cannot be mistaken; whether active or passive, there was about
him an insinuation of reserve force, subtly felt, of a strong,
determined character, impossible to sway or bend. He lay, now,
motionless, staring with wide-open eyes into the fire and breathing
slowly, deeply, like one in sleep.

There was a hammering upon the door; another, louder; then a rattling
that made the walls vibrate.

"Come!" called the man, rousing and rolling away from the fire.

A heavy shoulder struck the door hard, and the screaming wooden hinges
covered the sound of the entering footfall.

He who came was also of the type: homespun and buckskin, hair long and
face unshaven. He straightened from a passage which was not low, then
turning pushed the unwieldy door shut. It closed reluctantly, with a
loud shrilling of its frost-bound hinges and frame. In a moment he
dropped his hands and impatiently kicked the stubborn offender home,
the suction drawing a puff of smoke from the fireplace into the room,
and sending the ashes spinning in miniature whirlwinds upon the
hearth.

The man on the floor contemplated the entry with indifference; but a
new light entered his eyes as he recognized his visitor, though his
face held like wood.

"Evenin', Clayton," he greeted, nodding toward a stool by the hearth.
"Come over 'n sit down to the entertainment." A whimsical smile
struggled through the heavy whiskers. "I've been seeing all sorts of
things in there"--a thoughtful nod toward the fire. "Guess, though, a
fellow generally does see what he's looking for in this world."

"See here, Bud," the visitor bluntly broke in, coming into the light
and slurring a dialect of no nationality pure, "y' can't stop me
thataway. There ain't no use talkin' about the weather, neither." A
motion of impatience; then swifter, with a shade of menace:

"You know what I came over fer. It's actin' the fool, I know, we few
families out here weeks away from ev'rybody, but this clearin' can't
hold us both."

The menace suddenly left the voice, unconsciously giving place to a
note of tenderness and of vague self-fear.

"I love that girl better 'n you er life er anything else, Bud; I tell
ye this square to yer face. I can't stand it. I followed ye las