niece, took her arm, and followed
Captain and Mrs. Neville past the wagons and mules and groups of men
through a door that admitted them into a long, low-ceiled room, lighted
by tallow candles in tin sconces along the log walls, and warmed by a
large cooking stove in the middle of the floor. Rude, unpainted wooden
chairs, benches and tables were the only furniture, if we except the
rough shelves on which coarse crockery and tinware were arranged and
under which iron cooking utensils were piled.

Captain Neville and Mr. Clarence returned to the wagons to see for
themselves that their valuable personal effects were safely bestowed for
the night, and that the horses and mules were well cared for. The
proprietor of this place attended them.

While Mrs. Neville and Corona still walked up and down in the room, a
small dark-haired woman came in and nodded to them, and asked if they
would like to go upstairs and have some water to wash their faces.

Both ladies thankfully accepted this offer, and followed the landlady up
a rude flight of steps that led up from the corner of the room to an
open trap door, through which they entered the garret.

This was nothing better than a loft, whose rough plank floor formed the
ceiling of the room below, and whose sloping roof rose from the floor
front and back, and met overhead.

Here they rested through the night.

Let us hasten on. It was the thirteenth day out. The trail had crossed
nearly the whole of the Indian Territory, and were within one day's
march of Fort Farthermost, on the Texan frontier.

They had passed the previous night at Fort W., and at sunrise they had
crossed the Rio Negro, and before noon they had made nearly a score of
miles toward their destination. They halted beside a little stream that
took its rise in a spring among the rocks on the right hand of the
trail. Here the party meant to rest for two hours before resuming the
march to Fort Farthermost, which they hoped to reach that same night.

As usual at the noon rest, mules and horses were unharnessed and led
down to the stream to be watered and fed. Fires were built and rustic
cranes improvised to hang the pots and kettles gypsy style. Since the
first day out old Martha had been constituted cook and old John butler
to our party.

In a short time Martha had prepared such a hot dinner as was practicable
under the circumstances, and John had laid the cloth.

When all was ready the party of four sat down on