"Must have a brown taste in your mouth,' laughed Ned.
"What's the trouble——" began the Professor. "Good gracious, there is something the matter with the stuff. Ugh! Never tasted such bitter stuff. Did you purchase this meat in a reliable place, Mr. Parry!"
The guide smiled good-naturedly.
"The bacon is all right, sir. It's the sage brush taint that you get."
"The what?"
"Sage brush. The same taste will be in everything you eat out in this country—that and the alkali."
"Then I starve," announced Stacy, firmly, laying down his fork and folding his arms.
"Any time you starve it'll be because there is nothing to eat," retorted Ned.
"You'll all get used to the taste after you have been out a few days," comforted the guide.
"Never!" shouted Stacy.