t be stripped for examination except to
his shirt; with possible exceptions if he were under very strong
suspicion.

I was sorry to come away from Reno. I liked the little town, with the
sound of the rushing river coming in at my hotel window, and the feeling
of space and freedom that the high situation gave. Reno is 4500 feet
above sea level.

From Reno we drove on to Fallon, a little town where we spent the night.
I took my last look at the high Sierras as we drove across the grassy
plains in leaving Reno. There they were, still snowy, towering above the
town. We came along by the river, but left it later for a more or less
hilly road across rather barren country. We stopped at a little roadside
place where there was a small grocery next to a tiny dwelling, to ask
for some luncheon. The groceryman was very dubious and non-committal and
referred us to his wife. I had noticed that at our approach she fled to
some improvised chicken coops back of the little dwelling. So I tracked
her to her lair and found the poor little thing really standing at bay.
She was a small woman, overshadowed by an immense Mexican straw hat. She
said to me somewhat defiantly and almost tearfully that she couldn't
possibly do another drop of work. She explained that she had the
railroad men to care for when they came in from the road, and that she
had two hundred chickens to look after. "I carry all the water for them
myself," she said tearfully. I looked around at the hot, dusty little
settlement, with no spear of grass, and felt sorry for her. I told her
that we wouldn't for the world inconvenience her, whereat she softened
and told me that if we would drive on to the next settlement we could
get some luncheon. Which we did, and a very indifferent luncheon it was.
However, it was spiced by an ardent conversation between T. and a
railroad man on the foreign policy of the present Administration. A
woman looks on at these encounters, into which men plunge without a
moment's introduction or hesitation, and into which they throw
themselves so earnestly, with admiration tinged with awe.

[Illustration: 1. Smelter near Ely, Nevada. 2. Lahontan Dam, Nevada.]

As we drove along the dusty road a short, rather thick snake, its back
marked by shining black diamonds, wriggled hurriedly across the road in
front of us, escaping to the sage brush. I asked later what this snake
was, for I felt certain that it was poisonous. Sure enough, it was a
diamond-ba