him to take the abandoned
trail, and it proved a most unfortunate thing that he did so.

Just here I must tell you that Melville and Dot Clarendon were dressed
very much as boys and girls of their age are dressed to-day in the more
settled parts of my native country. Remember that the incidents I have
set out to tell you took place only a very few years ago.

Instead of the coon-skin cap, buckskin suit, leggings and moccasins, of
the early frontier, Melville wore a straw hat, a thick flannel shirt,
and, since the weather was quite warm, he was without coat or vest. His
trousers, of the ordinary pattern, were clasped at the waist by his
cartridge belt, and his shapely feet were encased in strong well-made
shoes. His revolver was thrust in his hip-pocket, and the broad collar
of his shirt was clasped at the neck by a twisted silk handkerchief.

As for Dot, her clustering curls rippled from under a jaunty straw hat,
and fluttered about her pretty shoulders, while the rest of her visible
attire consisted of a simple dress, shoes, and stockings. The extra
clothing taken with her on her visit was tied in a neat small bundle,
fastened to the saddle behind Melville. Should they encounter any sudden
change in the weather, they were within easy reach, while the lad looked
upon himself as strong enough to make useless any such care for him.

Once or twice Melville stopped Saladin and let Dot down to the ground,
that she might gather some of the bright flowers growing by the wayside;
and at a spring of bubbling icy-cold water both halted and quaffed their
fill, after which Saladin was allowed to push his nose into the clear
fluid and do the same.

Once more they mounted, and without any occurrence worth the telling,
reached the bank of the stream at the Upper Crossing. He halted a minute
or two to look around before entering the water, for, as you will bear
in mind, he had now reached a spot which gave him a more extended view
than any yet passed.

Their own home was in plain sight, and naturally the eyes of the brother
and sister were first turned in that direction. It appeared just as they
expected. Moderate in size, built of logs somewhat after the fashion on
the frontier at an earlier date, with outbuildings and abundant signs of
thrift, it was an excellent type of the home of the sturdy American
settler of the present.

"Oh, Mel!" suddenly exclaimed Dot, calling her brother by the name she
always used, "who is that on