uch a drop of liquor until I had done it. And here it is,
according to promise, for here I am sober, and here is the box."

"H'ist along, Bill, h'ist along!" exclaimed the Trapper, who suddenly
became alive with interest, for he surmised whence the box had come.
"H'ist along, Bill, I say, and have done with yer talkin', and let's
see what ye have got on yer sled. It's strange that a man of yer sense
will stand jibberin' here in the snow with a roarin' fire within a
dozen rods of ye."

Whatever retort Wild Bill may have contemplated, it was effectually
prevented by the energy with which the Trapper pushed the sled after
him. Indeed, it was all he could do to keep it off his heels, so
earnestly did the old man propel it from behind; and so, with many a
slip and scramble on the part of Wild Bill, and a continued muttering
on the part of the Trapper about the "nonsense of a man's jibberin' in
the snow arter a twenty mile drag, with a good fire within a dozen
rods of him," the sled was shot through the doorway into the cabin,
and stood fully revealed in the bright blaze of the firelight.

"Take off yer coat and yer moccasins, Wild Bill," exclaimed the
Trapper, as he closed the door, "and git in front of the fire; pull
out the coals, and set the tea pot a-steepin'. The yarb will take the
chill out of ye better than the pizen of the Dutchman. Ye'll find a
haunch of venison in the cupboard that I roasted to-day, and some
johnnycake; I doubt ef either be cold. Help yerself, help yerself,
Bill, while I take a peep at the box."

No one can appreciate the intensity of the old man's feelings in
reference to the mysterious box, unless he calls to mind the
strictness with which he was wont to interpret and fulfill the duties
of hospitality. To him the coming of a guest was a welcome event, and
the service which the latter might require of the host both a sacred
and a pleasant obligation. To serve a guest with his own hand, which
he did with a natural courtesy peculiar to himself, was his delight.
Nor did it matter with him what the quality of the guest might be. The
wandering trapper or the vagabond Indian was served with as sincere
attention as the richest visitor from the city. But now his feelings
were so stirred by the sight of the box thus strangely brought to
him, and by his surmise touching who the sender might be, that Wild
Bill was left to help himself without the old man's attendance.

It was evident that Bill was equal