second consideration, I knew he was not the lucky man, for it was
evident the Spears did not recognize him as their social equal, since
they placed him, at meal time, out in the kitchen at the table with
their two half-breed maid-servants.

That evening, while sitting around the big wood stove, we discussed
Shakespeare, Byron, Scott, and even the latest novel that was then in
vogue--"Trilby," if I remember right--for the Spears not only
subscribed to the _Illustrated London News_ and _Blackwood's_ but they
took _Harper's_ and _Scribner's_, too. And by the way, though
Athabasca had never been to school, her mother had personally attended
to her education. When bedtime arrived, they all peeled off their
moccasins and stockings and hung them round the stove to dry, and then
pitter-pattered up the cold, bare stairs in their bare feet. I was
shown into the spare room and given a candle, and when I bade them
good-night and turned to close the door, I discovered that there was no
door to close, nor was there even a curtain to screen me from view.
The bed, however, was an old-fashioned wooden affair with a big solid
footboard, so I concluded that in case of any one passing the doorway,
I could crouch behind the foot of the bed. Then, when I blew out my
candle, I got a great surprise, for lo and behold! I could see all over
the house! I could see "Paw and Maw" getting undressed, Athabasca
saying her prayers, and the half-breed maids getting into bed.

How did it happen? The cracks between the upright boards of my
partition were so wide that I could have shoved my fingers through. As
a matter of fact, Mr. Spear explained next day, the lumber being green,
rather than nail the boards tightly into place, he had merely stood
them up, and waited for them to season.