"
"This is yours--the baggage that came by express is there. A wagon
goes with the place, and I brought the things up yesterday. There is a
shower-bath beyond the rear veranda. The mountain water is off the ice,
but--you will require hot water for shaving--is it not so?"
"You oppress me with luxuries, Oscar. Wind up the clock, and nothing will
be wanting."
Oscar unstrapped the trunks and then stood at attention in the door. He
had expected Armitage to condemn the place in bitter language, but the
proprietor of the abandoned hunting preserve was in excellent spirits,
and whistled blithely as he drew out his keys.
"The place was built by fools," declared Oscar gloomily.
"Undoubtedly! There is a saying that fools build houses and wise men live
in them--you see where that leaves us, Oscar. Let us be cheerful!"
He tried the shower and changed his raiment, while Oscar prepared coffee
and laid a cloth on the long table before the fire. When Armitage
appeared, coffee steamed in the tin pot in which it had been made. Bacon,
eggs and toast were further offered.
"You have done excellently well, Oscar.
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