The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-11-14
THE SAVING GRACE
STEW.ART EDWARD
II Il Thy lecture Phillips Co. Il g#
skulked majestically from the
BIZ STENvART EDWARD WHITE

! and skulked majestically from the
room.
! Severne took his trouble hencefor-
| ward In becomingly serious-minded
manner. For many years he was about
4 to lie shrouded in gloom-a gloom In
| whose twilight could be dimly dis
cerned the shattered wreck of his life.
After a long period, from the debris
/ Of said wreck, he would build a struct-
| ure of great literary work of art,
which all mankind would look upon
4 with awe, but which he, standing
apart, would eye with Indifference, all
JOY being stricken dead by his memoir
les of the past. But that was in the
future. just now he was in the gloom
! business. So, being a wealthy youth,
he decided to go far far away. This
was necessary in order that he might
bury his grief.
/ He rather fancied battlefelds and
carnage, but there were no wars. It
would add to the picture if he could
return bronzed and battle-scarred, but
as that was impossible, he resolved to
return bronZed, at any rate. So he
bought a ticket to small town in
/ Wyoming. There he and his steamer
trunk boarded Thompson's stage, and
journeyed to Placer Creek, where the
two Of them, he and the trunk, took
up their quarters in a little board
ceiled room in the Prairie Dog hotel.
| The place was admirably adapted
| tor glooming. It was a little ram
shackle affair Of four streets and six
teen saloons. Some Of the houses and
! all of the saloons had once been paint
ed. In front were hitching-rails. To
the hitching-rails, at all times of the
day, were tied ponies patiently turn
ing their tails to the Wyoming breezes.
| Wyoming breezes are always going
| somewhere at the rate of from thirty
to sixty miles an hour. Beyond the
town, in one direction, were some low
mountains, well supplied with dark
gorges, narrow canyons, murmuring
waterfalls, dashing brooks and precip-
itous descents. Beyond the town, in
the other direction, lay a broad, roll
ling country, on which cattle and cow
boys dwelt amid profanity and dust.
iSeverne arose in a cold room, washed
his face in hard water and descended
to breakfast. The breakfast could not
have been better adapted to beginning
a day of gloom. It started out with
sticky oatmeal and ended with clam
my cakes, between which was much
horror. After breakfast he wandered
in the dark gorges narrow canyons,
ct cetera, and contemplated with mel
ancholy but approving interest his no.
BILE sacrifice and the wreck of his life.
! Thence he returned to town.
After some days his literary in
| stincts perforce aWoke. In spite of his
! gloom, he caught himself sitting and
! asserting and placing things in their
/ relative values. In fine, he began to
conceive a western story. Shortly
/ after he cleaned his fountain pen by
inserting thin card between the gold
1 and the rubber feeder, and sat down
to write. AS he wrote he grew more
and more pleased with the result
The sentences became crisper and
crisper. The adjectives fairly sizzled.
Poetic connotation faded as a noun
| tain mist. And he remembered and
described just how AlkaH Ike spit
thru his mustache-which was dis
gushing, but real. It was his master
1 piece. He wrote on excitedly. Never
was such a short story!
But then there came pause. He
had successfully mounted his hero.
and started him in full fight down the
dark gorge or narrow canyon for
get which-pursued by the avenging
band. There interposed here fright
full difficulty. He did not know how a
man felt when pursued by an aveng-
ing band. He had never been pursued
/ by an avenging band himself. What
was he to do? To be sure, he could
imagine with tolerable distinctness the
sensations to be experienced in such
a, crisis. He could have put them on
paper with every appearance Of realism.
l,But he had no touchstone by which to
sciously false to his art, to which he
had vowed allegiance at such cost! It
would never do.
So naturally he did the obvious thing
that is to say, the obvious thing to
a serious minded writer with no sense
of hu1nor. He went forth and sought
an acquaintance named Colorado Jim,
| and made to him proposition. It
1 took Severne just two hours and six
drinks to persuade Colorado Jim. At
the end Of that time Colorado Jim
went forth, shaking his head doubt
fully, and emitting from time to time
cavernous chuckles which dubbed up
4 from his interior after the well known
manner Of the "Old Faithful" geyser.
| He hunted out six partners Of his own
I-"pards, he called then-to whom
Colorado Jim in silence for some
time. Then the seven went into a COM
mittee of the whole. The decision of
the committee was that the tenderfoot
was undoubtedly crazy. harmless, and
to be humored-at price. Beside,
the humoring would be fun. After a
number of drinks, Colorado Jim and
the pards concluded that it would be
lots Of fun!
/ Early the next morning they rode
out Of town in the direction Of the
hills At the entrance to the dark
gorge-or deep canyon-they met Sc
verne, also mounted. After greetings
the latter distributed certain small
articles.
Now said he most gravely. IT
will ride ahead about as far as that
brock there, and when get ready to
start will wave my hand. You're to
chase me just as you'd chase real
horse thief, and TIL try to keep ahead
Of you. You keep shooting with the
blank cartridges as fast as you can.
Understand ?"
They said they did. They did not.
But it was fun.
Severne rode to the bowlder In the
dark gorge-I am sure it was the dark
/ gorge-and turned. The pards were
lined up in eagerness for the start.
They had made side bets as to who
would get there first. He waved his
hand and struck spurs to his horse.
The pursuit began.
" The horse on which Severne was
mounted was a good one. The way he
, climbed up thru that dark gorge was
caution to thorobreds. Behind
whooped the joyous seven, and the
cracking pistols was a delight to the
ear. The outfit swept UP the gulch
like whirlwind.
: Severne became quite excited. The
, swift motion was exhilaraung. He
mentally noted at least q hundred and
ten most realistic minor details. He
4 felt that his money had not been
!, wasted. And then he noticed that he
WAS gradually drawing ahead Of his
pursuit. Better and better! He would
not only experience pursuit, but he
! would achieve in his own person a
t genuine escape, for he knew that,
: wha tever the mythical character Of the