The record-union., 1898-08-14
HIS SENSITIVE CONSCIENCE.
written for the "Record-Union" by
RaSelepa \

written for the "Record-Union" by
BeSelena)
During the summer of 1889 Eric Car
rington found himself in Northern
California mountain town instead of at
one of the fashionable beaches where
he had passed preceding years. 1t was
quiet, peaceful spot, just suited 20
his present mood. Moreover, he was
the only boarder in the house, while
the hunting was good and the fishing
excellent; and, being an ardent sports
man, he was more than satisfied.
One morning after breakfast he
whistled to his dog and started off IN
the direction of certain untried
stream he had come upon the day pre-
viously in one of his daily rambles.
Better not go too far away" eau
tioned Mrs Brown. his landlady, as
she handed him his lunch. 1T looks
mighty like rain, and a storm in these
parts amt none of your city showers" :"
But the young man laughed at ner
fears as he gave an upward glance at
the clear blue sky. Then, more to APP
pease her than anything else, he prom
ised to return early, and set out.
He found the stream all that he had
noon. Then he ate his lunch, threw
himself fiat on his back, pulled his hat
over his eyes, took out his pipe and
smoked laZily. When his pipe was ont
he fell asleep. He was suddenly
aroused to full consciousness by loud
clap of thunder overhead and the splash
Of rain on his face. He sprang to his
| feet and looked about him. The sky
| here and there by Zigzag streaks Of
| lightning. The thunder rolled and NUT
| tered ominously, sending forth now and
again terrific peal which seemed to
rend the very heavens asunder. The
wind, too, had increased in velocity un-
til it made the very treetops rock, while
the placid stream had dashed itself into
a perfect fury.
Here's a nice fix" muttered Car
rington as he hastily gathered his traps
together and prepared to depart. His
dog ran on a few steps in advance,
then came back and crouched at his
feet, shivering with fright.
| In the roar and confusion of the
storm Darlington made the pleasing
discovery that he was lost. He wan
dered helplessly, in the vain hope Of
X,
| finally gave it up in despair. He
recognized the fact that he was in an
| exceedingly precarious position HES
! gaze wandered from left to right. but
only unfamiliar objects greeted him
In sheer desperation he raised his eyes
to the low-lying hills by which he was
surrounded, and saw at the top of one
Of them what appeared to be a chin
i
made for the promised shelter. The hill
was much sleeper than it looked from a
distance, and the cabin was almost
hidden in the thick underbrush; but
necessity drove him to the effort and
he arrived at the cabin door only little
the worse for his climb.
He knocked at the door and waited
impatiently; he was wet through and
thoroughly chilled. No response COM
ing to his summons, he raped again
| hen, as no one answered, he pushed
the door gently open and entered un-
tremendously. He found himself in a
long, low room lit by two small win
doWs. A narrow cot bedstead, a deal
table, two chairs, and a cupboard be-
hind the door completed its furnishings.
The place was evidently deserted. Dust
lay thick upon everything, while pecu-
liar dampness, common to places long
unused, was in the air. Darlington
| started a fire in the stove and seated
| himself close beside it to thaw out.
After While the pangs of hunger be-
| gan to assail him. Pulling out his
watch he was astonished to find it was
almost o'clock. He arose, and be-
| gan to investigate his surroundings
more thoroughly. On the table he
| found a tallow candle in a tin candle
stick This he lighted and by it's fee
| BILE glow continued his researches 1t
was with anticipation held in check
that he betook himself to the cupboard,
| but unlike that of Old Mother Hub
bard's this was plentifully furnished
| Hello" said Darlington aloud, this
| is luck, Roger" addressing his dog, who
| had crept from under the stove at the
sound of his masters voice, and now
stood beside him wagging his tail ex-
! pectantly, well have a feast. The
man who lived here, my boy, evidently
| didn't give a rap for external appear
| ances, but there can be 20 doubt that
/ he was an epicure of the first water
| He was busily setting the table as
! he spoke, and having done so drew two
chairs beside it, took one himself and
/ invited Roger to the other. He fell
upon the meal with an appetite sharp
ened by his recent experience, and had
/ almost finished when a sudden thought
assailed him.
! 4 feel uncommonly thirsty" he told
| Roger, "let me see If / can't unearth
something more potent than water
! from that magical Cupboard But
this time the search did not prove quite
| so satisfactory: he was on the point of
/ turning away when his eye fell upon
an upper shelf, and there, in a faroff
/ corner, he saw the very article he was
! looking for. In removing it from the
/ shelf bundle of papers tied by fad
! ed yellow ribbon fell to the floor. Pick
| ing them up he discovered that they
were letters from which the envelopes
| had all been removed. In spite of the
| big bold writing Darlington knew in
stinctively that they had been penned
| by a woman's hand. He replaced them
on the shelf, and taking the bottle with
| him reseated himself at the table. He
removed the cork and smelled Of it gin
gerly. Port he muttered with an air
! of satisfaction and poured himself out
/ a liberal glassful. In one of his trips
| to the cupboard he had found q box of
matches These he lighted and placed
! about the room. so that it had quite a
| brilliant appearance by the time he had
! finished his meal and leaned back COM
! fortably in his chair to enjoy his pipe.
| Roger old boy, this is a sort of en-
| chanted palace" he said tC the dog be-