The San Francisco call., 1904-08-14

ulHerence there IS between the Light
which springs from the dawn and the
glow which falls from the sunseti
After that first day Colonel Hucks
did not restrain his Dragging about
Kansas And Mrs. Hucks gave rein to
her pride when she heard him Before
that day she had reserved a secret con-
tempt for a Kansas boaster and had
ever wished that he might see what
OHIO could do in the particular line
which he was Draising. But now Mrs.
HuckS caught herself saying to her
hostess, What small ears Of corn you
raise here!"
The day after this concession Mrs
Hucks began to grow homesick- At
first she worried about the stock; the
colonePs chief care was about the dog.
6 The fifth days visit was their last Az
they were driving to the town to take
the train for Kansas Mrs. Hucks over
heard her husband discOursing some
thing after this fashion:
Il tell you, Jim. before ia slave my
life out on an eighty the way you're
doins, I'd go out talkin' IN whitswashin'.
It's just like this-a man IN Kansas has
lower taxes, better schools and more
advantages In every way, than youAvS
got here. And as for grasshopparBl
Why. Jim West. sech talk makes mS
tiredI My boy BnI's been always born
and raised In Kansas. and now he's In
the Legislature. and IN all his life sincs
he can remember he never seen hop
per. Wouldn't know one from a sacrsd
ibex II he met 1t on the road"
While the women were sitting IN TIA
buggy at the depot waiting for the
train Mrs. Hucks found herself saytngi
And as for fruit-why. we fed ap-
pies to the hogs this fall sold the
cherries. all but what was on one tree
near the house. and / put Up sixteen
quarts from just two sides Of that tres.
and never stepped my foot off the
ground to pick en-"
When they were comfortably seated
on the homeward-bound train MrA
Hucks said to her husband:
How do you suppose they live hsrN
in this country. anyway. fatherT Dent
any one here seem to own any OF tha
land joinin' them, and they'd no mo-s
think OF putin IN water tanks and
windmills around their farms than
they'd think OF hyin'. just wish Mary
could come out and see my new kitchen
sink with the hot and cold water IN It
Why. she almost tainted when told
her how to fix a dreen for her dish
water and things" Then. after a sigh.
she added. But they are 50 unpro-
gressive here, nowadays"
That was the music which the colonel
loved, and he took uD the strain and
carried the tune for a few miles. Then
It became duet, and the two old souls
were very happy.
They were overjoyed at being bound
for Kansas. They hungered for kim
dred spirits. At Peoria in the early
morning they awakened from their
chair car maps to hear a strldent female
voice saying:
well, sir. when the rain did finally
come, Mr.. Morris he Just didn't think
there was a thing left worth cutting
on the place, but 10 and behold, we
got over forty bushel to the acre of
of that field. as it was"
The colonel was thoroughly awake
In an instant and he nudged his wife.
as the voice went on:
Mr.. Morris he was so afraid the
wheat was winter killed; all the pa
pers said it was; and then come the
late frost, which every one said had
ruined it-but law me-"
Mrs. Hucks could stand It no longer.
With her husbands cane she reached
the owner of the voice and sid:
Excuse me, ma'am. but what paA
of Kansas are you from?"
1t seemed like a meeting with q
dear relative. The rest OF the journey
to Kansas City was a hallelujah cho-
rus, wherein the colonel sang a pow
erful and telling bass.
AS the train pulled into the iittls
town on Willow Creek that afternoon
the colonel craned his neck at the
car window to catch the first glimpse
of the big red standpipe and OF the
big stone schoolhouse on the hill
When the whistle blew for the station
the colonel said:
What is it that fool Riley feIlsr
says about 'Grigsby's Station, where
we used to be so happy and 80
pore?'"
AS the colonel and his wife passed
out of the town into the quiet coun-
try, where the shadows were growing
long and black, and where the gentle
blue haze was hanging over the dis
tant hills that undulated the horizon.
a silence fell upon the two hearts
Each mind sped back over a lifetime
to the evening when they had turned
out OF the main road in which they
were travelling. A dos barking in the
meadow behind the hedge did not
startle them from their reveries. The
restless cattle wandering down the
hillside toward the bars made nat
ural complement to the picture which
they loved.
1T is almost sunset. father" said
the wife, as she put her hand upon
her husbands arm
Her touch and the voice in which
she had spoken tightened some chord
at his throat. The colonel could only
repeat. as he avoided her gaze:
Eyes. almost sunset, mother; almost
sunset"
1T has been a long day. William,
haara GOD "a LIaa