ck shuddered. He was afraid of bears. He had never seen one, but
they had always been a terror to him.

'I'm terrible afraid o' bears,' he said truthfully; 'but p'raps I'd
meet someone going over as would let me go with them.'

'You might,' agreed Pedro; 'but winter's coming on fast, an' it'll be
bad getting over the range after November comes. You bide here for a
few weeks with me until my boss comes over again, an' I promise you as
he'll help you along a bit. He'll be right along shortly to bring me
flour an' grub, an' to look at the sheep.'

And so it was decided that Jack should stay on with the Mexican until
Mr. Stuart came again, when they would ask him his opinion as to the
wisest course for Jack to take to get safely over the mountains.

Pedro took a great fancy to his little visitor, and the quiet life in
the tent was very pleasant to Jack after his rough experiences. He was
astonished at the Mexican's cleverness: he seemed able to do anything
with his fingers, and had a wonderful store of knowledge about plants,
insects, and animals, which he had acquired by study and observation in
the long, monotonous hours he spent on the prairie.

Jack's clothes, which at his start from Longview were none of the best,
had suffered a good deal from the wear and tear of travelling, and by
the time he arrived at Pedro's tent they were nothing but rags, and his
boots were all to pieces. He was much distressed at his tattered
garments, whereupon Pedro said he would soon make it all right for him,
and proceeded to hunt out some buckskin leather, which he had tanned
himself. It was quite thin and soft, and out of it he cut a suit for
Jack, and sewed it together. When the clothes were finished, Jack was
delighted with them. They were so comfortable, and the leather shirt
and long-fringed trousers made him look like a little cowboy.

His worn-out boots hurt his feet, so his friend made him a pair of
mocassin shoes, cut out of a single piece of leather, which fitted him
nicely.

Pedro was pleased with the success of his tailoring, and said: 'There,
lad; them clothes 'll never wear out, but 'll last after you've
outgrown 'em.'

The herd of sheep that Pedro looked after numbered over a thousand, and
as winter approached he began driving them towards a place on the
prairie where there were corrals, or yards, to put them in at nights,
and where a hut had been erected for his own use.

As long, however, as the weather