dusk; and away over on
Compton Ridge a hound bayed. The mountaineer spoke; "That's Sam
Wilson's dog, Ranger; must a' started a fox." The sound died away
in the distance. Old Matt began his story.

"Our folks all live back in Illinois. And if I do say so, they are
as good stock as you'll find anywhere. But there was a lot of us,
and I always had a notion to settle in a new country where there
was more room like and land wasn't so dear; so when wife and I was
married we come out here. I recollect we camped at the spring
below Jim Lane's cabin on yon side of Old Dewey, there. That was
before Jim was married, and a wild young buck he was too, as ever
you see. The next day wife and I rode along the Old Trail 'til we
struck this gap, and here we've been ever since.

"We've had our ups and downs like most folks, sir, and sometimes
it looked like they was mostly downs; but we got along, and last
fall I bought in the ranch down there in the Hollow. The boy was
just eighteen and we thought then that he'd be makin' his home
there some day. I don't know how that'll be now, but there was
another reason too why we wanted the place, as you'll see when I
get to it.

"There was five other boys, as I told you last night. The oldest
two would have been men now. The girl"--his voice broke--"the girl
she come third; she was twenty when we buried her over there. That
was fifteen year ago come the middle of next month.

"Everybody 'lowed she was a mighty pretty baby, and, bein' the
only girl, I reckon we made more of her than we did of the boys.
She growed up into a mighty fine young woman too; strong, and full
of fire and go, like Sammy Lane. Seems to wife and me when Sammy's
'round that it's our own girl come back and we've always hoped
that she and Grant would take the ranch down yonder; but I reckon
that's all over, now that Ollie Stewart has come into such a fine
thing in the city. Anyway, it ain't got nothing to do with this
that I'm a tellin' you.

"She didn't seem to care nothin' at all for none of the neighbor
boys like most girls do; she'd go with them and have a good time
alright, but that was all. 'Peared like she'd rather be with her
brothers or her mother or me.

"Well, one day, when we was out on the range a ridin' for stock--
she'd often go with me that way--we met a stranger over there at
the deer lick in the big low gap, coming along the Old Trail. He
was as fine a lookin' man as you ever see, sir; big and grand
l