ter to work our way to his habitat. Our
prospector had just come from there.

"It's about four weeks south, the way you and me travels," said he.
"You don't want to try Harrison's Pass; it's chock full of tribulation.
Go around by way of the Giant Forest. She's pretty good there, too,
some sizable timber. Then over by Redwood Meadows, and Timber Gap, by
Mineral King, and over through Farewell Gap. You turn east there, on a
new trail. She's steeper than straight-up-an'-down, but shorter than
the other. When you get down in the canon of Kern River,--say, she's a
fine canon, too,--you want to go downstream about two mile to where
there's a sort of natural overflowed lake full of stubs stickin' up.
You'll get some awful big rainbows in there. Then your best way is to
go right up Whitney Creek Trail to a big high meadows mighty nigh to
timber-line. That's where I camped. They's lots of them little yaller
fish there. Oh, they bite well enough. You'll catch 'em. They's a
little shy."

So in that guise--as the desire for new and distant things--did our
angel with the flaming sword finally come to us.

We caught reluctant horses reluctantly. All the first day was to be a
climb. We knew it; and I suspect that they knew it too. Then we
packed and addressed ourselves to the task offered us by the Basin
Trail.

XIV

ON CAMP COOKERY

One morning I awoke a little before the others, and lay on my back
staring up through the trees. It was not my day to cook. We were
camped at the time only about sixty-five hundred feet high, and the
weather was warm. Every sort of green thing grew very lush all about
us, but our own little space was held dry and clear for us by the
needles of two enormous red cedars some four feet in diameter. A
variety of thoughts sifted through my mind as it followed lazily the
shimmering filaments of loose spider-web streaming through space. The
last thought stuck. It was that that day was a holiday. Therefore I
unlimbered my six-shooter, and turned her loose, each shot being
accompanied by a meritorious yell.

The outfit boiled out of its blankets. I explained the situation, and
after they had had some breakfast they agreed with me that a
celebration was in order. Unanimously we decided to make it gastronomic.

"We will ride till we get to good feed," we concluded, "and then we'll
cook all the afternoon. And nobody must eat anything until the whole
business is prepared and served