Yet he did not feel disturbed or
alarmed. His wanderings had inspired self-reliance, and he did not
allow himself to be troubled with anxious cares about the future. If
by a wish he could have been conveyed back to his uncle's house in
the far East, he would have declined to avail himself of the
privilege. He had started out to make a living for himself, and he
was satisfied that if he persevered he would succeed in the end.
"What are you thinking about, Ben?" asked Bradley, after a long
pause.
"I was thinking how strange it seems to be out here among the
mountains," answered Ben, still gazing on the scenery around him.
"I don't see anything strange about it," said his less imaginative
comrade. "Seein' we came here on our horses, it would be strange to
be anywhere else."
"I mean it is strange to think we are so far away from everybody."
"I don't foller you, Ben. I suppose it's sorter lonelylike, but that
ain't new to me."
"I never realized how big the world was when I lived at home," said
Ben, in a slow, thoughtful way.
"Yes, it's a pretty largish place, that's a fact."
"What were you thinking of, Jake?" asked Ben, in his turn.
"I was thinkin' of two things: whereabouts Dewey has managed to hide
himself, and then it occurred to me how consolin' it would be to me
if I could light on a pound of smokin'-tobacco.
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