The San Francisco call., 1905-03-26

nit line, lOOklnS INTO the PROM
ised land" The mountain waz
shagged with oak and manzanits
and madrone. and frothed here
and there with bear-berry bloom. Be-
yond, dimpled the hills, and farther
still lay the prune orchards, like giant
patchwork. spread over the valley. To
the northwest silver rim marked the
bay.
Foster leaned on his gun, absently
whistling IN minor key; then, quite
as if the thought were a fresh one, he
went through his lunch box again;
there was not so much as a cracker.
A paper rustled as his arm brushed his
pocket: he drew out an envelope and
scowled at it. He had tramped since
dawn in a vain endeavor to forget that
this was the 2sth, and here was Bob's
letter. Opening it, he began to read as
though he did not know the contents
by heart.
Dear Tom,' it ran. "And so you're
20 be married on the 27thi'
Foster tore the paper into bits. 1t
had been three months since the quar-
rel and now he could scarcely remem-
ber whether he or Ruth had been to
member what night this was? He
wondered II she had been miserable,
too.
In the west, a sun, luridly yellow like
an over-ripe pumpkin, was leisurely
going TO bed Shadows limbed them
selves inro the canyon; the Guadalupe
hills turned pink; beyond lowered
Mount Hamilton, huge amethyst with
a pearl at its apex In them all, Fos-
ter saw the reproachful eyes Of girl
He was tired IN head and heart and
legs. With an instinct to be out of the
way of temptation, he put his last cart
ridge into the gun, took aim at a cluster
Of manzanita bloom some fifty feet
away, and shattered it
When the smoke cleared he saw
what he had not previously noticed
a small white house crowning "su-
gar loaf" A road, like a big scar.
stretched diagonally UP the mountain,
dipped 3nto the canyon and came out
again on the loaf. without further
thought, Foster swung the gun to his
shoulder and broke through the
brush
The sun went the way of suns and
a night breeze came up the canyon.
The corn patch on the sugar loaf
whispered like a woman's skirts. 1t
reminded Tom Of wedding gowns. And
Ruth was-where?
Within the confines of the little
ranch the road cut through a billow
Of chaparral bloom to the barn. The
barn doors were open through a pad
lock hung unclapsed in the staple. To
the overwrought man the breath of
the hay was soothing, enticing. Far
ther on the house stood in a bit of
garden. There were patches of petu-
MIA and lettuce, onions and mignon-
cite, growing In democracy.
Foster knocked at the front door.
Receiving no response, he tried the
back door. Then, putting his. hands
to the sides of his head like horses
blinders. he peered through the rear
windows. A fresh baking of bread
stood on the kitchen table and 1t
brought to him anew the fact that he
was hungry. With the instinct of the
animal and the savage that might
makes right" and in need, whatever
he could get was legally his, Foster
tried the knob. 1t gave to him and
he went in.
The light was growing dim, but he
found lamp and matches. To make
sure that he was alone, he reconnoi-
tered the two adjoining rooms. In
the first there was a couch and shelves
OF books, low sewing-chair and a
partially mended pink frock. The
frock reopened the wound In his
heart: Ruth had worn pink when they
quarreled. In the other room there
was a bed and dresser. Satisfied, he
closed the door behind him as he re-
turned to the kitchen.
A coffee Dot stood on the shelf with
a canister beside II. Foster helped