The San Francisco call., 1896-02-09

officers, and a boy who was on his way to
cadetship in the great National academy
where naval officers are made became an
object of more than ordinary interest.
The cruiser Monterey was then in port,
and Francis Lord was frequent and hon.
ored guest on the big battle-ship, being
carried off to days of target practice and
junketing of the jolliest kind. The fiesta
guests, including the Monterey, departed,
and week or so later Francis Lord, en-
We'd by every Santa Barbara boy, left for
the north in response to an official sum-
mons. which he displayed, calling him up
to Mare Island for his final examination,
which it was understood was to be little
more than formal ceremony. For nearly
year he has been supposed to be enjoy
ing the privileges of life at Annapolis.
This reads like disjointed tale. There
would seem 10 be little connection between
a lucky young cadet enjoying the privileges
of one of the first schools of the land and
lonely cabin on the mountain top along
the shores of the Pacific. But few days
ago CALL correspondent climbed the
rugged trail leading to this cabin, a trail
that makes an ascent of 1000 feet in the
course of mile and half, and on the
very summit of the mountain in the little
building whose timbers were dragged bv
lariat up the mountain side and which is
now anchored down by wire stays to keep
the winds from sweeping it away, clad in
the regimentals of a mountaineer ranch
man, was young Francis Lord.
He made a clean breast of the whole story
and was perhaps a little relieved to feel
that the scribe was no malevolent CORE
spondent of sensational journal WHO had
sought him out to "roast" him. after the
current phrase.
Il deserve all I've suffered and more"
he frankly said, 'and 1 don't want to
shirk any of the responsibility OF what l
did, when say that it had its beginning
in mistake-a mistake about telegram.
You see when l went down to Los Angeles
to take the examination my number was
Al, and the telegram announcing the re-
suit read that AZ was appointed, when
it should have been 49, For five days be-
ieved l had the appointment and told peo-
pie about it, and when found out the mis-
take L hated to own up. So tried to make
people think had it anyhow. Yes, that
paper that purported to come from Wash
ington was forged, and so were all
the other letters. There was a man in
town. wish had never met him-who
got up those letters for me, just for the
lark of the thing, and it seemed as if the
deeper went the harder it was to pull
out, so just kept on. I'm sorriest on
account of my family. It's been hard on
them"
And the boy hung his head IN honest
contrition. "Yes, I've been up here ever
hn -
question. "There are just two of us here
both boys-and sometimes it is little
lonely We thought our cabin would 90
over in the high windstorm the other
night, but we're pretty comfortable, on
the whole. We grub out chaparral, attend
TO few head of stock, milk couple of
cows night and morning, and get our own
meals. That's about the sum of it. We're
really very comfortable"
The cabin is comfortably fitted up, and
woman's taste has had something to do
with the furnishings of the lonely place to
which this young exile is condemned.
There are couple of charming bay-win-
dows with deep seats, pretty Japanese
rugs, couple of easy chairs, soft blue
draperies with white dragon pattern, cur
tanning off an aicove; little set of BOOK
shelves, pleasant reading table with a
Rochester lamp. Somebody wants to
make this boys lot as easy as it may be.
But oh, the barrenness and isolation!
Nothing but rocks and brush and bleak
mountain-tops around, not single neigh
Dor within sight or hail, and the only COM
munication with civilization that long,
steep, dangerous trail, washing away in
places with every rain, so that only
treacherous footrest in sliding shale or