t,
harder than never to hev had it or to hev knowed what it wuz. I guess,
Henry, that Adam an' Eve came often to the hills here an' looked down at
their old home, till they wuz skeered away by the flamin' o' the Angel's
sword."

"But there's nothing now to keep us out of it. We'll go down there, Sol,
because it is a garden after all, a wilderness garden, and nothing but
Indians can drive us from it until we want to go."

"All right, Henry. You lead on now, but remember that since Adam an' Eve
hev gone away this is my Garden o' Eden. It's shore a purty sight, now
that it's beginnin' to whiten with the day."

Dawn in truth was silvering the valley, and in the clear pure light it
stood forth in all its beauty and peace. It was filled, too, with life.
Besides the buffaloes they saw deer, elk, swarming small game, and an
immense number of singing birds. The morning was alive with their song
and when they came to the deep creek, and saw a fish leap up now and
then, the shiftless one no longer had the slightest doubt.

"It's shorely the Garden," he said. "Listen to them birds, Henry. Did
you ever hear so many at one time afore, all singin' together ez ef
every one wuz tryin' to beat every other one?"

"No, Sol, I haven't. It is certainly a beautiful place. Look at the beds
of wild flowers in bloom."

"An' the game is so tame it ain't skeered at us a bit. I reckon, Henry,
that 'till we came no human foot hez ever trod this valley, since Adam
an' Eve had to go."

"Maybe not, Sol! Maybe not," said Henry, trying to smile at the
shiftless one's fancy, but failing.

"An' thar's one thing I want to ask o' you, Henry. Thar's millions an'
millions an' billions an' billions o' acres in this country that belong
to nobody, but I want to put in a sort o' claim o' my own on the Garden
o' Eden here. Thar are times when every man likes to be all by hisself,
fur a while. You know how it is yourself, Henry. Jest rec'lect then that
the Garden is mine. When I'm feelin' bad, which ain't often, I'll come
here an' set down 'mong the flowers, an' hear all them birds sing, same
ez Adam an' Eve heard 'em, an' d'rectly I'll feel glad an' strong
ag'in."

"Where there's so much unused country you ask but little, Sol. It's your
Garden of Eden. But you'll let the rest of us come into it sometimes,
won't you?"

"Shorely! Shorely! I didn't mean to be selfish about it. I've got some
venison in my knapsack, Henry, an' I reckon you hev some too. I'd