ng into the state of Montana; a
proposition which they now from their maps could easily understand. They
traced out carefully the great southward swing of the Continental
Divide which comes through the Yellowstone Park, bends around over to
the south, thence swings north and west, making the great mountain
pocket which holds all the headwaters of the Missouri River.

Both cars halted at the summit of a hill before they swung down into the
valley of the South Fork. The view which lay before them was one of
extreme beauty. The sky was very clear and blue, with countless clean
white clouds. Over to the left rose great ragged mountain peaks, on some
of which snow still was to be seen. On ahead stretched the road leading
into Yellowstone Park. On the further side of the valley, where the
winding willow growth showed the course of the stream, rose a black
forest ridge stretching indefinitely eastward toward the waters of the
main Madison.

Not even Uncle Dick, experienced traveler that he was, could suppress an
exclamation of surprise at the beauty of the scene.

"I never get tired of it. Do you, Chet?" said young Bowers to his ranch
friend. The latter only smiled.

"It used to be a great beaver country, of course," went on the former.
"All through here the elk come down even yet, though not so many as
there used to be. The big fall migration that came down the Madison and
Grayling Creek used to come out the northwest corner of the Park more
than it does now. I have seen lots of grouse all through here, and if
you could wait until the season opened we would have some fun, for I
have a fine old dog. But since game is getting scarcer now, maybe we had
better just content ourselves with the fishing. I promise you good
sport--if you know how to cast a fly."

"And I'll promise you they do," said Uncle Dick, smiling.

The two young local anglers looked at them politely, but said nothing.

CHAPTER XXXI

AMONG THE GRAYLING

Turning at a point upon the further side of the valley, where the road
forked off for the Yellowstone Park, the two cars passed on to the
northward, through two or three gates of wire fences inclosing a ranch
that lay in the valley. They found the ranchman himself at home, and
most courteous and obliging. He insisted they should camp near his house
and stay as long as they liked, where they could get chickens, butter,
and eggs without any inconvenience.

"I post my land," said he, "to keep off