"Joe, old boy," cried Roosevelt exuberantly, "will you ever forget the first time we met?" Joe admitted that he would not. "You nearly murdered me. It seemed as if all the ill-luck in the world pursued us." Joe grinned. "Do you remember too, Joe," exclaimed Roosevelt, "how I swam the swollen stream and you stood on the bank and kept your eyes on me? The stream was very badly flooded when I came to it," said the Governor, turning to the group that had gathered about them. "I forced my horse into it and we swam for the other bank. Joe was very much distressed for fear we would not get across." "I wouldn't have taken that swim for all of Dakota," said Joe. At Dickinson, a gray-faced, lean man pushed his way through the crowd. It was Maunders, who had prospered, in spite of his evil ways. "Why," exclaimed Roosevelt, "it does me good to see you. You remember when I needed a hammer so badly and you loaned it to me? You loaned me a rifle also. I never shall forget how badly I needed that hammer just then." Maunders, who had always been affable, grinned with delight and joined the Governor's party. The train moved on to Medora. Roosevelt and Joe Ferris sat by the window, and it seemed that every twisted crag and butte reminded them of the days when they had ridden over that wild country together. As the train neared Medora, Roosevelt was palpably moved. "The romance of my life began here," he said. There were forty or fifty people at the station in Medora. They hung back bashfully, but he was among them in an instant. "Why, this is Mrs. Roberts!" he exclaimed. "You have not changed a bit, have you?" She drew his attention to George Myers, who was all smiles. "My, my, George Myers!" exclaimed Roosevelt, "I did not even hope to see you." Roosevelt turned to the crowd. "George used to cook for me," he said, with a wry expression. "Do you remember the time I made green biscuits for you?" asked George, with a grin. "I do," said Roosevelt emphatically, "I do, George. And I remember the time you fried the beans with rosin instead of lard. The best proof in the world, George, that I have a good constitution is that I ate your cooking and survived." "Well, now, Governor," exclaimed George, "I was thinking it would be a good idea to get that man Bryan up here and see what that kind of biscuit would do for him." Roosevelt looked about him, where the familiar buttes stretched gray and bleak in every direction. "It does not seem right," he exclaimed, "that I should come here and not stay."