olling country south of the
hills. They were a curious couple.

The Englishman was nearly sixty years old, more than six feet tall, very
gaunt and big-boned, with gray eyes overhung by bushy brows, sharp
features, and keen, aquiline nose. He had been a great beau in his
youthful days in London, and there was no mistaking the mark of
authority that sat upon him.

The boy who rode by his side was not yet sixteen years old, and yet he
scarcely seemed a boy, nor would his manner have led one to treat him as
such. He was unusually tall and strong for his years, and he had so
trained himself in a strict code of conduct that a singular gravity and
decision marked his bearing. This might have had much to do with the
bond of affection between the man and the youth. Lord Fairfax was not
ashamed to listen seriously to the opinions of young George Washington,
and he had learnt that those opinions were not apt to be trivial, but
the result of deep observation and thought.

[Illustration: MRS. WASHINGTON URGES GEORGE NOT TO ENTER THE NAVY]

As they rode home the man asked the boy what he was planning to do. He
knew that Mrs. Washington was poor and that her son would have to make
his own way in the world.

"What should you like to be, George?" he inquired. "I dare say you've
had enough schooling by this time."

"The sea was my first choice, sir," was the answer. "My brother Lawrence
got me a commission in the navy, but at the last minute mother asked me
not to leave her. She has had hard times bringing us all up, and I felt,
as the eldest, that I ought to stay at home; so I gave up my
commission."

"That was hard," said Lord Fairfax, "and yet I think you did well. There
should be openings for a young man in the colonies. It seems to me I
heard that you were very fond of the surveyor's work."

The boy looked up quickly, and his bright eyes flashed. "So I am, sir. I
have made surveys of all the fields near school, and have got the
figures in my books at home. I should like very much to be a real
surveyor."

"Well, George," said Lord Fairfax, "perhaps I can help you then. I've
bought lands out west, the other side the Appalachians. It's a big tract
I own, but I know little about it, and I'm told that men are settling
out there and taking it up themselves. I should like to have it
surveyed, and I think you're just the one to do it."

"I should like it above all things," said the boy, "if you think you can
trust me to do the