hat stood by the door. Then he began to clothe himself, partly in
the cabin and partly in the open air, with a lapse between the putting
on of his trousers and coat which he employed in bringing in wood.
Raking together the few embers on the adobe hearth, not without a
prudent regard to the rattlesnake which had once been detected in
haunting the warm ashes, he began to prepare breakfast. By this time the
other sleepers, his partners Stacy and Demorest, young men of about his
own age, were awake, alert, and lazily critical of his progress.

"I don't care about my quail on toast being underdone for breakfast,"
said Stacy, with a yawn; "and you needn't serve with red wine. I'm not
feeling very peckish this morning."

"And I reckon you can knock off the fried oysters after the Spanish
mackerel for ME," said Demorest gravely. "The fact is, that last bottle
of Veuve Clicquot we had for supper wasn't as dry as I am this morning."

Accustomed to these regular Barmecide suggestions, Barker made no direct
reply. Presently, looking up from the fire, he said, "There's no more
saleratus, so you mustn't blame me if the biscuit is extra heavy. I told
you we had none when you went to the grocery yesterday."

"And I told you we hadn't a red cent to buy any with," said Stacy, who
was also treasurer. "Put these two negatives together and you make the
affirmative--saleratus. Mix freely and bake in a hot oven."

Nevertheless, after a toilet as primitive as Barker's they sat down to
what he had prepared with the keen appetite begotten of the mountain
air and the regretful fastidiousness born of the recollection of better
things. Jerked beef, frizzled with salt pork in a frying-pan, boiled
potatoes, biscuit, and coffee composed the repast. The biscuits,
however, proving remarkably heavy after the first mouthful, were used
as missiles, thrown through the open door at an empty bottle which had
previously served as a mark for revolver practice, and a few moments
later pipes were lit to counteract the effects of the meal and take
the taste out of their mouths. Suddenly they heard the sound of horses'
hoofs, saw the quick passage of a rider in the open space before the
cabin, and felt the smart impact upon the table of some small object
thrown by him. It was the regular morning delivery of the county
newspaper!

"He's getting to be a mighty sure shot," said Demorest approvingly,
looking at his upset can of coffee as he picked up the paper, r