, enclosing your check in payment
for the portrait of Mrs. Taine; I appreciate your generosity, but
cannot, now, accept it.
I find, upon further consideration, that the portrait does not fully
satisfy me. I shall, therefore, keep the canvas until I can, with the
consent of my own mind, put my signature upon it.
Herewith, I am returning your check; for, of course, I cannot accept
payment for an unfinished work.
In a day or two, Mr. Lagrange and I will start to the mountains, for an
outing. Trusting that you and your family will enjoy the season at Lake
Silence I am, with kind regards,
Yours sincerely, Aaron King.
* * * * *
That evening, the two men talked over their proposed trip, and laid their
plans to start without delay As Conrad Lagrange put it--they would lose
themselves in the hills; with no definite destination in view; and no set
date for their return. Also, he stipulated that they should travel
light--with only a pack burro to carry their supplies--and that they
should avoid the haunts of the summer resorters, and keep to the more
unfrequented trails. The novelist's acquaintance with the country into
which they would go, and his experience in woodcraft--gained upon many
like expeditions in the lonely wilds he loved--would make a guide
unnecessary.
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