ve a number of her
husband's friends to dinner, and her husband told her to get a big leg
of lamb for roasting. So she went to the butcher. 'Give me a leg of
lamb,' she said. 'I want a very large one. I think you had better give
it to me from a lamb four or five years old.'"

"And that puts me in mind of another," answered the senator's son. "A
country boy went to town and there saw a circus parade including two
camels. When he got back home he told his folks that the parade was all
right, but he thought it was a shame to drive around such long-necked,
hump-backed cows!"

The sheep raiser told them that all the members of the exploring party
were in excellent health. He said one of the men resembled Dave very
much, and smiled broadly when told the man was the lad's father. When
Granbury Lapham added that the two had not met since Dave was a little
fellow, the sheep raiser opened his eyes wide in astonishment.

"'Tis like a fairy tale," said he, and then told them several fairy
tales he had heard when a boy. He was an uneducated man and his life was
exceedingly simple, and the fairy tales were, consequently, very
wonderful to him.

"Imagine such a man set down in the heart of New York or Chicago,"
observed Roger. "How his eyes would open and how he would stare!"

"If you told him of all the wonders of the big cities he wouldn't
believe you," answered Dave. "I once started to tell one of those
natives of the South Sea Islands about the Brooklyn Bridge and when I
pointed out how long it was, and said it hung in mid-air, he shook his
head and walked away, and I know he thought I was either telling a lie
or was crazy."

The day passed slowly, especially to Dave, who could scarcely wait for
the hour to arrive when his father should come back. What a meeting that
would be! It made the tears stand in his eyes to think about it.

"Dear, dear father!" he murmured to himself. "I know we are going to
love each other very, very much!"

CHAPTER XXVI

DAYS OF WAITING

With the coming of night a strong wind sprang up, and by ten o'clock it
was blowing a gale. The wind caused the house to rock and groan, and for
the travelers sound sleep was out of the question. The man in charge,
however, had experienced such a condition of affairs before and did not
appear to mind it.

"Some great winds here at times," he said to Granbury Lapham. "Once the
top of the house was blown off and sailed away down into the valley."

"