Yellowstone Nights
by Herbert Quick (1861–1925)
- Free to read
- 5 hours to read
- 13 chapters
- Reading level: 7th grade
"Yellowstone Nights" by Herbert Quick is a novel written in the early 20th century. The story unfolds in and around Yellowstone Park, featuring a diverse group of characters who embark on an adventure. Central to the narrative is a young couple in love, alongside an assortment of characters including an ornithologist, a minor poet, and a cowboy-like driver, as they navigate both the park’s natural wonders and interpersonal dynamics. The opening of "Yellowstone Nights" introduces us to a picturesque scene in Yellowstone Park, where a young couple, amidst playful affection, are observed by a naturalist engrossed in his studies. As the characters interact, humor and light-hearted banter fill the text, establishing a camaraderie among the eclectic party that forms around them. The presence of the ornithologist with his glasses and note-taking, and the introduction of townsfolk and artists, hint at a broader exploration of both the park’s magnificence and the complexities of human relationships, foreshadowing incidents of adventure and possibly misadventure in the great outdoors. The narrative sets the stage for charming encounters that blend romance with the awe of nature's wonders.
- Yellowstone National Park
Read the opening
Chapter I
It was August the third—and the rest of it. Being over Montana, and the Rockies, the skies were just as described by Truthful James. In the little park between the N. P. Station and the entrance to Yellowstone Park a stalwart young fellow and a fluffy, lacy, Paquined girl floated from place to place with their feet seven or eight inches from the earth—or so it seemed. They disappeared behind some shrubbery and sat down on a bench, where the young man hugged the girl ferociously, and she, with that patient endurance which is the wonder and glory of womanhood, suffered it uncomplainingly. In fact she reciprocated it.
Note that we said a moment ago that they disappeared. From whose gaze? Not from ours, for we saw them sit and—and what followed. Their disappearance was from the view of a slender man of medium height who was off toward the station, inspecting the salvias, the phloxes, the cannas, the colei, the materials with which the walks were paved, and the earth in the flower-beds. He looked the near things over with a magnifying-glass, and scrutinized the far landscape with field-glasses. When he removed his traveling cap, one saw that he was bald, though not so bald as he seemed—his weak and neutral hair blended so in color with the neutral shades of his face and garb.
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About this edition
This free edition of Yellowstone Nights by Herbert Quick comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #40587, released 2012-08-26. It is in the public domain in the United States, so you can read it here in full at no cost, on any phone, tablet or computer. Genre: Romance, Humour, Adventure, Novels, American Literature.
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