assuredly

, they are

unlovable.

In the course of the afternoon the three horsemen

reached a small creek, the banks of which were lined

with a few stunted shrubs and trees. Having eaten

nothing since the night before, they dismounted here to

"feed," as Joe expressed it.

"Cur'ous thing," remarked Joe, as he struck a light

by means of flint, steel, and tinder-box--"cur'ous thing