The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1894-05-10


SEX cts, his rifle, two pipes,
sA1s'Nz4n1N pack of cards, and his work
ing clothes, up there in the tumble-dowr
cabin which he claimed as his own, anG
there was, really, nothing to go down t.
1.-THE Creek" for. When man has hi;
blankets his rifle, two pipes, pack OF cards
and his working clothes with him-as Ezra
had-what else does he need, or care for, in
all the world,-except perhaps, something
to drink, now and then?
OF course, fellow can get drink, once
in while, even up in the redwoods. There
are some men, you see, who have no brothers
to keep watchful and suspicious eyes upon
them and their actions, and occasionally
one of these unfortunate fellows will take q
fancy to quit work and tramp, through all
kinds of roads and weathers, in quest OF
that which they consider one of the pleas
ant necessities of existence, and such a man
generally returns from his trip to town in an
amiable and generous frame of mind with
a well-filIed bottle in his pistol-pocket. Sc
it is that friendly and gratuitous drinks
often relieve the dry monotony of mill-life.
| Then, again, there are chances (when ones
| brother is not on the lookout) to slip over
the mountain, through the woods, and buy
| gallon or so of sour wine from some of the
ranchers Sour wine is not particularly
exhlarating beverage, certainly, but if one
| has good strong siomach-strong enough
| and large enough 10 hold sufficient guam
tity thereof-one can become sleepily Obliv-
| ious to all of his troubles, even on that
colicky aud uncompromising product of the
| vine, and Ezra Daniels had done so more
than once during the past months.
| To-day, however, he had taken a fancy to
| enjoy brief vacation. For the past week
| he had felt unlike himself-restless, uneasy,
| and dissatisfied. A woman would have
called the twitching and tormenting misery
which possessed him" nervousness" u; but
he was not woman, therefore he called it
| to himself fooiishness," but it was fool
| ishness" that he could not shake off, and
which had grown upon him daily.
1t was lonesome up at the mill-dread-
fully lonesome, i'm spite of whirring ma
chinery, screaming saws, and busy men.
Life was rather al lonesome thing to him
any way, but up there among the redwoods
there were timesiwheH the lonesomeness of
| it seemed almost uncomfortable.
The smell of the burning sawdust-pile
! fairly turned him sick and it was smell
that pervaded everything around the mill.
The noise of thes machinery the oaths and
yells of the bulspunchers as they prodded
their ponderous and esurly co-workers up
and down the steep weod-roads; the .jabber
of the Russian Finn laborers, as they went
about their work, and quarreled and dis
puted amongst themselves; the clatter of
Dishes and the chatter of the China boys,
in the cook-house all these things dis
turbed and fretted him, of late, and filled
him full of q wild desire to run away from
it all-where, he scarcely cared.
Every day the mountains around him
seemed to close in, nearer and nearer, until
he felt as though they-like the walls of
torture-chamber of olden time, Of which he
had once read-would crush and stIfle the
very life out of him before long, if he did
not get away from them.
He had stuck to his work manfully in
spite of all this, for he was always trust
worthy during business hours. His "sprees"
were always on "off days," when he felt at
liberty to enjoy himself in his own way;
but, as far as work went, his own and his
brothers interests were as safe In his hands
as if he were the strictest of total abstainers.
David had not been up to the mill for
whole week. He it was who attended to
the business and shipping of stock down in
the village, and his duties often took him
down the line, sometimes even as far as
"the Bay" so Ezra had not wondered at his
non-appearance. Besides, when he was last
up to the camp he had mentioned that Julia
was feeling poorly; and when Julia was
feeling poorly Ezra we'll knew the atten-
ton and service which she required and
received. David could be hard and stern
enough with others, but he fetched and
carried for his wife as uncomplainingly and
as willingly as he had dc1e when he married
her Is years before. She had been beauty
then, after tie pink-and-white doll-baby
fashion that appeals so strongly to big, burly,
unhands0me men; and although the delicate
beauty which had attracted him had long
since faded and sharpened into something
very different, and more than a suspicion of
genuine shrewishness had made itself evil
dent in Mrs. David's voice and ways her
husband-a cold and selfish man where any
one else was concerned-was still true to
the ideal of her which he had enshrined in
his heart in his young manhood, and never
failed or faltered in his devotion 10 her.
AS for Ezra, he had never cared particu-
larly for his brothers wife even when she
was young and pretty. Women folks"
had very little attraction for him any way,
but he had often felt in his heart that lie
could have picked out wife for David who
would have been, in "a general way more
satisfactory.
OF his brother, 19 years his Junior, he was
very fond, in his undemonstrative, silent
fashion. lie was proud of him. too, for
:" the folks" had given David-"the baby"-
much betterf chance in the world than
they had ever dreamed of giving him, and
he had been sensible enough to improve his
opportunities. He had turned out to be
a first-class mechanic, with q sufficient smat-
tering of scientific knowledge to give him
foothold on Il TuDg4Of the ladder of life
little above that attained by most working
men; and ever since he had been able TO
handle tools he had taken the lead of his
elder brother in alb ttthings, and Ezra had
been content to. follow humbly.
Ezra had never amounted to much, some
way. He had worked hard all his life
harder than most men-but he had never
seemed to get ahead. He 81 nad never had
time," he said, ft0 think about marrying,n
and, being bachelor all the rest of the
family had always considered their lawful
prey, and had called ON for help from him
whenever they fancied themselves in need
thereof, and Ezra was not one to refuse those
near to him anything that it was in his
power to give; consequently his funds were
always at low-water mark until he drifted
away from them all and went "out west -
to "seek his fortune"
Once away from his leech-like relatives he
did fairly well. He made good wages, and,
in spite of his occasional "blow outs,o laid up
money steadily. Then there came chance
70 s,,f hnx