ather den, of a notorious "ruffian" and
"desperado." One of my companions had disappeared hours before, the
remaining one was a town-bred youth. I longed to speak to some one who
loved the mountains. I called the hut a DEN--it looked like the den of
a wild beast. The big dog lay outside it in a threatening attitude and
growled. The mud roof was covered with lynx, beaver, and other furs
laid out to dry, beaver paws were pinned out on the logs, a part of the
carcass of a deer hung at one end of the cabin, a skinned beaver lay in
front of a heap of peltry just within the door, and antlers of deer,
old horseshoes, and offal of many animals, lay about the den.

Roused by the growling of the dog, his owner came out, a broad,
thickset man, about the middle height, with an old cap on his head, and
wearing a grey hunting suit much the worse for wear (almost falling to
pieces, in fact), a digger's scarf knotted round his waist, a knife in
his belt, and "a bosom friend," a revolver, sticking out of the breast
pocket of his coat; his feet, which were very small, were bare, except
for some dilapidated moccasins made of horse hide. The marvel was how
his clothes hung together, and on him. The scarf round his waist must
have had something to do with it. His face was remarkable. He is a
man about forty-five, and must have been strikingly handsome. He has
large grey-blue eyes, deeply set, with well-marked eyebrows, a handsome
aquiline nose, and a very handsome mouth. His face was smooth shaven
except for a dense mustache and imperial. Tawny hair, in thin
uncared-for curls, fell from under his hunter's cap and over his
collar. One eye was entirely gone, and the loss made one side of the
face repulsive, while the other might have been modeled in marble.
"Desperado" was written in large letters all over him. I almost
repented of having sought his acquaintance. His first impulse was to
swear at the dog, but on seeing a lady he contented himself with
kicking him, and coming to me he raised his cap, showing as he did so a
magnificently-formed brow and head, and in a cultured tone of voice
asked if there were anything he could do for me? I asked for some
water, and he brought some in a battered tin, gracefully apologizing
for not having anything more presentable. We entered into
conversation, and as he spoke I forgot both his reputation and
appearance, for his manner was that of a chivalrous gentleman, his
accent refined, and