one would ever know we rode the horses if he would
_only_ loan them to us, that I agreed to anything.

"Then he said: 'Wall, now, Ah left one of the crew's tripods over at
Bear Forks line to-day when Ford took an observation. Ah've got'ta go
fer it to-morrer--er find some good-natured feller who will go fer me.
Ah've got'ta get a heap of work done, to-morrer, and it looks well-nigh
impossible fer me to get that tripod!'

"I caught on at once, and turned to Ken and said: 'Why, Jake, I will get
that tripod for you. But I'd hate to walk so far as Bear Forks line, all
alone, you know.'

"That made Jake laugh softly and he said: 'Ef you-all will find that
tripod fer me, Ah'll lend you-all the hosses fer the day.'

"So that is how we got away from camp, but we have been hunting
everywhere for that old tripod and haven't seen a shadow of it. While
looking for it along the line that Ford surveyed this week, we lost our
way and had to have that rancher show us the way back to Bear Forks
trail. That's why we are so late."

"Well, now that you are here, suppose you brush up and get ready for
dinner. I've had it waiting this hour and a half," said Mrs. Brewster,
leading the way over to the pump.

"And maybe we aren't ready to do justice to your cooking! We haven't had
a crumb since supper last night, because we dared not ask the cook for
sandwiches, and we left camp before breakfast-time. Jake said we might
not be permitted to hunt up his tripod for him if any one learned he was
giving us his horses for the trip," explained Kenneth.

"Oh, you poor boys! Do hurry, then, and join us at table over under the
oak, yonder!" exclaimed Mrs. Brewster, hasting to bring out towels and
brushes for her young visitors.

The dinner was a great success, both from a culinary and also from the
social points of view. While thoroughly enjoying the home-cooking, the
boys talked of their work and adventures in the mountains. Jim had been
with the survey crew all summer, but Kenneth had but just arrived. So
Jim had a store-house filled with recent thrilling experiences and
escapes.

Close-up encounters with bears, rattle-snakes, and land-slides, were
passed off as mere trifles by him. But the problems of getting enough
good things to eat, now and then a dance at some school-house, or
finding a pretty girl one could talk to--these were awful!

When dinner was out of the way, the four young people started to walk to
Rainbow Cliffs, as that was