through
which ran swift, blue-gray rivers, clear and icy cold, while from the
hilltops we caught glimpses of little lakes covered with wild-fowl that
shrieked and squawked and splashed, careless of danger. Now and then we
saw what made a black spot against the green of the prairie, and Jack
told me it was a rancher's shack. How remote from the great world, and
how lonely it seemed!--this little black shack among these multitudinous
hills.

I shall never forget the summer evening when Jack and I rode into
Swan Creek. I say into--but the village was almost entirely one of
imagination, in that it consisted of the Stopping Place, a long log
building, a story and a half high, with stables behind, and the store in
which the post-office was kept and over which the owner dwelt. But the
situation was one of great beauty. On one side the prairie rambled down
from the hills and then stretched away in tawny levels into the misty
purple at the horizon; on the other it clambered over the round, sunny
tops to the dim blue of the mountains beyond.

In this world, where it is impossible to reach absolute values, we are
forced to hold things relatively, and in contrast with the long,
lonely miles of our ride during the day these two houses, with their
outbuildings, seemed a center of life. Some horses were tied to the rail
that ran along in front of the Stopping Place.

"Hello!" said Jack, "I guess the Noble Seven are in town."

"And who are they?" I asked.

"Oh," he replied, with a shrug, "they are the elite Of Swan Creek; and
by Jove," he added, "this must be a Permit Night."

"What does that mean?" I asked, as we rode up towards the tie rail.

"Well," said Jack, in a low tone, for some men were standing about the
door, "you see, this is a prohibition country, but when one of the boys
feels as if he were going to have a spell of sickness he gets a permit
to bring in a few gallons for medicinal purposes; and of course, the
other boys being similarly exposed, he invites them to assist him in
taking preventive measures. And," added Jack, with a solemn wink, "it is
remarkable, in a healthy country like this, how many epidemics come near
ketching us."

And with this mystifying explanation we joined the mysterious company of
the Noble Seven.

CHAPTER II

THE COMPANY OF THE NOBLE SEVEN

As we were dismounting, the cries, "Hello, Jack!" "How do, Dale?"
"Hello, old Smoke!" in the heartiest of tones, made me see that my
cou