, for a pitch over a horse's head with a skirt to catch on the
pommel is a performance I am not seeking. And Bettie had been such a
dear horse all the time, her single foot and run both so swift and
easy. Kelly says, "Yer cawn't feel yerse'f on her, mum." Faye is
quartermaster, adjutant, commissary, signal officer, and has other
positions that I cannot remember just now, that compel him to be at his
own office for an hour every morning before breakfast, in addition to
the regular office hours during the day. The post commander is up and
out at half past six every workday, and Sundays I am sure he is a most
unhappy man. But Faye gets away for a hunt now and then, and the other
day he started off, much to my regret, all alone and with only a rifle.
I worry when he goes alone up in these dense forests, and when an
officer goes with him I am so afraid of an accident, that one may shoot
the other. It is impossible to take a wagon, or even ride a horse among
the rocks and big boulders. There are panthers and wild cats and wolves
and all sorts of fearful things up there. The coyotes often come down
to the post at night, and their terrible, unearthly howls drive the dogs
almost crazy--and some of the people, too.

I worried about Faye the other morning as usual, and thought of all the
dreadful things that could so easily happen. And then I tried to forget
my anxiety by taking a brisk ride on Bettie, but when I returned I found
that Faye had not come, so I worried all the more. The hours passed and
still he was away, and I was becoming really alarmed. At last there was
a shout at a side door, and running out I found Faye standing up very
tall and with a broad smile on his face, and on the ground at his feet
was an immense white-tail deer! He said that he had walked miles on the
mountain but had failed to find one living thing, and had finally come
down and was just starting to cross the valley on his way home, when
he saw the deer, which he fortunately killed with one shot at very long
range. He did not want to leave it to be devoured by wolves while he
came to the corral for a wagon, so he dragged the heavy thing all the
way in. And that was why he was gone so long, for of course he was
obliged to rest every now and then. I was immensely proud of the
splendid deer, but it did not convince me in the least that it was safe
for Faye to go up in that forest alone. Of course Faye has shot other
deer, and mountain sheep also, since we