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At the end of a dry, uphill ride over barren country Jean Isbel unpacked to careenand cottonwood, prorass

His animals were tired, especially the pack mule that had carried a heavy load; and with slow heave of relief they knelt and rolled in the dust Jean experienced so of relief himself as he threw off his chaps He had not been used to hot, dusty, glaring days on the barren lands Stretching his long length beside a tiny rill of clear water that tinkled over the red stones, he drank thirstily The water was cool, but it had an acrid taste--an alkali bite that he did not like Not since he had left Oregon had he tasted clear, sweet, cold water; and he ed for the stately shady forests he had loved This wild, endless Arizona land bade fair to earn his hatred

By the tiht had fallen and coyotes had begun their barking Jean listened to the yelps and to the moan of the cool wind in the cedars with a sense of satisfaction that these lonely sounds were familiar This cedar wood burned into a pretty fire and the smell of its smoke was newly pleasant

"Reckon maybe I'll learn to like Arizona," he mused, half aloud "But I've a hankerin' for waterfalls an' dark-green forests Must be the Indian in me Anyway, dad needs me bad, an' I reckon I'm here for keeps"

Jean threw soht of which he opened his father's letter, hoping by repeated reading to grasp e portent It had been two e and train, and then by boat, and finally by stage again Written in lead pencil on a leaf torn froer, it would have been hard to read even if the writing had been ible

"Dad's writin' was always bad, but I never saw it so shaky," said Jean, thinking aloud

GRASS VALLY, ARIZONA

Son Jean,--Come hoon we all reckoned you would not be long behind But its years now I a old, son, and you was always my steadiest boy Not that you ever was so dam steady Only your wildness seemed more for the woods You take after mother, and your brothers Bill and Guy take after me That is the red and white of it Your part Indian, Jean, and that Indian I reckon I a to need bad I ae here is the best I ever seen Lately we have been losing stock But that is not all nor so bad Sheep down on Grass Vally Cattlemen and sheepmen can never bide in this country We have bad times ahead Reckon I have more reasons to worry and need you, but you , chuck it and rustle for Grass Vally so toyou to take pains to pack in souns and a lot of shells And hide the down into the Tonto, listenkeep you in Oregon Reckon you have a sweetheart, and if so fetch her along With love from your dad, GASTON ISBEL