ything in order. Tommy levelled a space and beat it down until it
was smooth. Judge Breckenridge had suggested that boards be laid for a
floor but at this the professor protested vehemently.

"I've come out here to live the simple life, the life of an explorer.
I want to rough it, even endure hardships. It will do me good," he
asserted, objecting to anything that might seem like luxury.

But after a day or two of trying to cook his meals over a small outdoor
fire, he accepted a tiny stove from Mrs. Patten. Primitive living was
all right, but it was a waste of time to cook over an open fire.

And one day he returned from a long hike over the hills and settled
into a rocking chair that the good neighbor had placed before his door,
in his absence, and did not protest but took it gratefully. After a
strenuous day, it would be good to drop into the restful depths of an
easy chair and enjoy the glories of the canyon.

But he refused her help very decidedly when she dropped in one morning
and found him at his weekly wash. His shirts and overalls were spread
out on a large flat stone in the creek and he was beating them
incessantly with a small paddle.

"I'm enjoying the washing," he declared with a laugh. "I don't mind it
at all."

"But your work, your discoveries?" inquired Ma Patten.

"They can wait while I get clean! Anyway I haven't had much luck. The
Indians will give me no help at all."

"Why are you so keen about these Indian relics? We can give you any
number of arrowheads and baskets and stuff. You're welcome to them if
it will help you any," offered Mrs. Patten sympathetically.

"That's not exactly what I want," the professor said. "I'm interested
in American Indians, and have always been considered an authority on
the subject. But I'm getting old and younger men are stepping into the
field. They think I'm just a musty old professor with nothing but a
book knowledge of Indian ruins. So I have to show them."

"What's the use?" answered Ma Patten contemptuously. "These young
fellows always can beat us in the end and we might as well give up
gracefully."

"But that isn't all. My job's at stake. If I don't do something to
get up-to-date I'll be shoved out. They want men who go out and do
spectacular things that get them into the newspapers. I was told that
my department would have to be snapped up a bit! Isn't that terrible
language for educators to use? And if my job goes, I don't know