vice, he made a clean breast of the whole matter,
throwing himself on the forgiveness of the wife whom he had so
shamefully neglected, and promising by the help of God to make all the
amends possible in time to come. The letter was duly directed, sealed,
and stamped; and Pete looked as if a great weight had been lifted from
his soul, He had made me a fire in the little stove, saying it was
better than the barroom; in which opinion I was fully agreed.

"There is no place for you to sleep tonight without corralling you with
the fellows; there is but one bedroom, and there are fourteen bunks in
it."

I shuddered at the prospect-fourteen bunks in one small room, and those
whisky-sodden, loud-cursing card-players to be my roommates for the
night!

"I prefer sitting here by the stove all night," I said; "I can employ
most of the time writing, if I can have a light."

Pete thought a moment, looked grave, and then said:

"That won't do, Elder; those fellows would take offense, and make
trouble. Several of them are out now goose-hunting; they will be coming
in at all hours from now till daybreak, and it won't do for them to find
you sitting up here alone. The best, thing for you to do is to go in and
take one of those bunks; you, needn't takeoff any thing but your coat
and boots, and"--here he lowered his voice, looking about him as he
spoke--"if you have any money about, keep it next to your body."

The last words were spoken with peculiar emphasis.

Taking the advice given me, I took up my baggage and followed Pete to
the room where I was to spend the night. Ugh! it was dreadful. The
single window in the room was nailed down, and the air was close and
foul. The bunks were damp and dirty beyond belief, grimed with foulness,
and reeking with ill odors. This was being corralled.

I turned to Pete, saying:

"I can't stand this--I will go back to the kitchen."

"You had better follow my advice, Elder," said he very gravely. "I know
things about here better than you do. It's rough, but you had better
stand it."

And I did; being corralled, I had to stand it. That fearful night! The
drunken fellows staggered in one by one, cursing and hiccoughing, until
every bunk was occupied. They muttered oaths in their sleep, and their
stertorous breathings made a concert fit for Tartarus. The sickening
odors of whisky, onions, and tobacco filled the room. I lay there and
longed for daylight, which seemed as if it never would come. I