The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-01-12
PHANTOM OR PHILANTRROPIST :?
BY r. m. STRONG.

and profane crew, i hau litcAtu my Ut
tie tent in a sheltered nook, preferring
my own real dullness 10 their so-called
life" 1 was glad TO be alone in the
high. pure air, there TO prospect after
a desultory and somewhat amateur fash
ion Of my own.
Through the long. hot day ! had search
ed the bed of the stream, both up and
down the narrow valley. but had found
little or 10 trace Of gold. Yet the signs
appeared to my limited experience ful
of promise
At last. as the shadows heightened, and
even the highest peaks grew dim, leav-
ing the low foothills 10 lose themselves
and become shapeless, through still.
delicious haze, / lit fire, and putting
my tin ''billy''-urn and kettle ia one
on to boil. sat lazily enjoying the rest.
and waiting patiently for the precise mo-
ment when / must throw in liberal
measure Of the rough and dubious Leaf
/ was just about TO stir it in the kissing
bowl when became aware-not of q tap
ming at my chamber door" for sound
there was none. any more than there was
door-but Of the advent of a stranger
presumably with a view to sharing my
evening meal.
Hospitality Whereabouts being much
practised virtue. his appearance caused
me no surprise, sull the manner thereof
struck me-or was that afterward, by the
way?-as something peculiar
In the first place he had not greeted me
or acknowledged my presence by so much
as the turning of an eye. And sitting on
a projecting rock, with his chin resting
on his hand, his whole attitude to my
fancy had a strangely well-accustomed
air. and gave me the odd sensation of be-
ing a stranger, almost an intruder at my
own freside, while he appeared entirely
easy and at home.
Evidently a cool hand, and making sure
of his welcome, thought l, while l put
the finishing touches to my simple prepa-
rations. Still il is not precisely cheek,
I reconsidered later. Rather l could al
most fancy he had not seen me-only at
such close quarters that would be TOO
absurd-and yet not so absurd, elther, L
concluded next, as following the dlrec-
ton of his eyes and found them hNed on
a piece of rising ground, little TO the
right where they rested not indeed with
out speculation but with an earnest
steadfast gaze which, as being difhcult
TO account for, / found after a time gave
me a certain crispening of the scalp, and
a general creepiness about the spine.
us il a snake or What2' / asked pres
emily for the continued silence was more
than / could bear, and, thought /, we
might at least exchange word. But
there was no exchange
'Oh, come, this IS beyond joke. MY
fearful guest must be made to speak.
Silence is evidently golden with you" 1
added in a louder key
This time l struck fire. Slowly the
grave eyes turned and fixed themselves
on mine, when
"Gold-who told you there was gold?"
came the answer, in curiously level, far
away voice that might have been itself
heard through a monograph, so strangely
remote was it having regard to our proX-
unity; but the spell was broken, ana as
the oracle had Vouchsafed a reply II
was hardly worth while to repeat my
Inisconstrued remark or explain that
speaking strictly, and in his sense no one
had said anything about gold.
Il suppose there is plenty hereaboutsY'
/ hazarded; Ito judge by the usual signs"
And l kicked piece of quartz over in
He let il lie. and sat as though still
lost in thought his eyes full of a slum-
brous fire, and firmly fixed on mine. The
darkness was thickening fast and l had
ample time to wax uncomfortable again
before he went on.
''Goldl The world-compeller. gold You
talk of love ruling the camp the court,
the feld"-some such striking and orig
inal reflection had indeed been on my
tongue, but his anticipation of 1t was
starthng-"but tell me, what rules love-
He finished gloomily and paused, either for
effect or a reply.
/ ventured to suggest proximity" as
9 leading and generally accepted factor.
pooh! another fallacy that needs eX-
posing. If / thought-but no, don't be-
iieve you'd do
Al which dark saying I sought consola-
ton in my flowing pannlkln OF tea. Wnat
he meant was obscure, but it sounded
uncomplimentary, and, as tending to-
ward sociability, discouraging.
Meantime he had lost himself again,
and If for no better reason than to wake
him up / offered him some tea. Still
harping on the same string, l might have
spared myself the trouble.
You are here in search of gold-but of
course YOU are" he interposed, why else
would any sane man have come Though
whether his sanity would nave been the
better proved-but there, we are all fools
together l was much the same myself
until I-say now. what would you do If
i showed you where there was gold in
beyond the dreams of avarice," I sug-
gested politely, for he appeared to have
stuck for a word. While 1 could think of
lions, all more or less musty at best.
"Avarice and jealousy, the two master
passions; destroying their victims. unless
by good-hap they meet in the same indi-
vidual and destroy each other
Leaving nothing but their talls be-
hind"
remark the association of ideas was ire
sistible. He found it so in another sense,
and it is odd how man with only one
idea cOntriVeS TO BRING II IN.
'"Tales-yes, mine is sad story, shall
+"
by all means" assented resignedly,
anything was better than his silence. So
1 repeated by all means, fire away"
For a moment l was afraid he was an
noyed. He eyed me Stonily and with a con-
centrated glare. But it turned out it was
only habit acquired most likely through
introspection and prolonged solitude. For
soon he began quite after the approved
manner, and with the customary sigh:
twenty-five years ago. All l was a
young man then; much about your age
/ should say."s
This would make him about 50 / counted
He looked older; Ills beard and hair were
thin and white, and badly in need of care
while his face was worn and lined with
but his story may elucidate
"About your age, only / was a stronger
and better looking man than ever-Ohl
it's all gone now, l know. That is why
I tell you, to make you understand"
Not being morbidly sensitive on the
score of my appearance / allowed this Ia
pass, cheered by the reflection that what
ever might have been the truth as to the
past, in the present our positions were
undoubtedly reversed.
"Ellen thought so once, l am sure, -
he unused. And again / was startled for
ELLEN" was the name of the dearest girl
in all the world to me; of THE Girl
had left behind me- in short And the
hackneyed phrase must be allowed in that
go N~ 4