Page:Honore Willsie--Judith of the godless valley.djvu/319

 "Was she in bad trim?" asked Douglas abruptly.

"No. A little used up for lack of sleep, that was all," replied Elijah.

Mrs. Nelson suddenly chuckled. "My, she was mad! It did me good to see her."

Her husband looked at her curiously. "How was that, Ma?"

"It's the way I've wanted to feel, lots of times," said Mrs. Nelson. "Go on with your directions, Pa. You wouldn't understand in a hundred years."

Elijah snorted, then went on. "There's no trail. But if you reach the summit, get a line on a bare patch in the middle of the basin, that's the lake, and the highest peak across the basin. It's got the mark of a big cross on it. You can't miss it. If you keep on this line, it will bring you out at Bowdin's sheep ranch. I don't know whether the snows are as bad on the other side of Black Devil as they are on this. Johnson's Basin drops down to about three thousand feet elevation and there's not enough snow in the basin itself to stop sheep grazing. But the climb down is something awful, even in summer. Ma, you put up a bundle of grub."

"I've got grub for a week, thanks!" exclaimed Douglas. Then he asked Elijah, hesitatingly, "Will you tell me why you are so kind to me?"

"As I said, it's my religion."

Douglas stared at his host's kindly face. "I'm dog sorry," he said, "for what I called you. But, how was I to know? I've been brought up to hate Mormons."

Elijah nodded. "I guess we're square. What kind of a man is Fowler?"

"I like him. But I don't know whether he's the man for the job I set him, or not. But he's going to stay,"