Lewiston evening teller. [volume] (Lewiston, Idaho) 1903-1911, 1903-11-05

WEAKNESS, indeed WITH an access OF
strength for every step, and when at
last | strobe across the fields toward
Mrs. Witherspoon with the western
sun giving me a half mile of shadow,
viewed that part of the house which
held the kitchen with a certain uneasi-
ness. At that distance 1t did not look
big enough.
But no man will starve at Mrs. With
erspoon's, no matter what his appetite
may be. She fed us amply and well
that evening, and went forth after the
meal exceedingly content. The breeze
had gone down with the sun. and the
lake seemed to be smooth as n mirror
when l viewed it from the head of the
long path. 1t invited me. and not in
vain.
There We're half dozen boats on
the strip of beach. and chose the one
that pleased me best 1t was rule at
Mrs. WitherSpoon' to follow ones i'm
pulses in such matters. judged that
a person whose impulses proved to be
defective would be gently eliminated
from this idyllic spot and that the dis
coVcry of his untitnpSs would 10
prompt. Such was my confidence in
this notion that at the end OF the first
week | would have gone into the With
erspuon stable and saddlcd horse
been the sort of fellow to take the
wrong horse should not have re
manned so long Il guest of the house.
| padded out into the lake. There
was still trace of color in the sky and
ell the air seemed to be most deliCately
rose tinted. The mere eye could not
see this, could not watch it fade into
the faint gray of the ashes of roses, but
1t was none the less visible. There We're
whispers from all the shores. The rough
hill spoke in It's own way; the low
ground where the willows grow had a
very different story and the orchard
another. l was naturally most inter
ested in the orchard, and | propelled
the boat to a favorable position, keep
fng my distance, however, as | had
been taught.
suddenly | became aware of a light
upon the shore. The lake meanwhile
had clothed itself with indistinctness
that was not the dark, but scarcely
more penetrable. That light had a red
dish glow, and it Illuminated nothing
except the narrowest path upon the
water l made it out to be fire OF
little sticks kindled upon the rocks tina
were quite rugged at the eastern sid
Of the orchards sea edge near the hill.
1t was so placed as to be visible owe
small area only, and this knew from
having come so suddenly into the view
Of It. Now, what should light be kin
died for upon the shore except for tn
sailor who seeks a harborf beacon
is set upon a rock as a guide to SHOW
the way. But there are false lights, o
course, and the mariner must exercis
great caution; he must not set all sal
in hurry.
am good skipper Of small craft
can paddle over the rail Of boat, an
you shall neither hear nor see anythin
that bears a hint of propulsion. An
thus l fioated in toward the shor
through the gray night.
Presently there came sound as II
hand had been laid upon stringed IL
strument; then there were chords yer
lightly struck, and at last l heard
woman's voice singing softly an al
that was new to me. Considering. thi
matter in coldly rational fashion,
was evident that if the lady had wishe
me farther away she would have sun
more loudly. Her. voice was so VOL
derfully clear, even in this whisper G
singing, that I felt sure she could hav
made the music audible across the lax
Plainly, then, this was an invitation
and upon the strength of it | cut m
distance from the shore in half. Ye
the song neither ceased nor gre'
louder
My boat must have been visible.
might look white or black In the nigh
for that question Is not determined b
the normal color of the paint. If tn
freight reached 1t, the skiff woul
show white and declare itself NOR
plainly for what 1t was. l decided I
be frank about 1t and not try to pas
for the trunk of a tree. In matters {
romance l believe thoroughly in hoI
esty-if it wins. So l cut off anothe
rod or two of distance.
The fire was now quite distinct.
seemed to be on a fiat rock not niue
above the water level, and behind
was a curving wall, little cliff tie
feet high, but of this only the top we
| visible, for 1t was of course impossib
for me to see anything that was d
rectly behind the light.
AS for the singer, she was utterly il
visible. There was something mystici
, III this music. which seemed to procee
out of the red fire that, with the (
miliar habit of inanimate moving o
jects, assumed to the eye the rhythm
t the song. was SO deeply fascinate
! by all this that | forgot my seama
t I ship and let my oar strike the boat
rail with a sharp sound.
t Instantly the music ceased, and W;
4 tortured by perfect silence. TIL
r was an emergency, and knew it. tt