Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1905-06-02
CHAPTER XIV.

The rain bad entirely ceased and the
wind had blown itself away to a ftful
and occasional rustic high up in the top
of the trees. But Lizzy did not notice
these signs of the fact that the night
was not nearly so black as it had been
n the beginning of the period of twenty
minutes or ten, or half hour-she had
no notion wilhelm which they had
stood and talked in the cone of the light
from the dark lantern.
You are q very successful dissem-
bier, Mr.. Mason" she said, unconscious
ly assuming his own light and frivolous
manner. "You have succeeded admira-
bly, in imposing upon the simple, frank
and unsuspecting villagers and country
people in and about Sandtown. But
submit whether this were an object Who'll
ly commensurate with your distinguished
ability. The feat of deceiying ignorant
and uneducated people is one that is cas-
lily achieved every day, by very ordinary
tricksters. A man of genius, l think,
should have eIerted his powers upon a
community like that Of a great city:
wide awake and vigilant as to its inter
ests."
He laughed so very heartily at this
waspish attack that she felt very much
like joining him in it, although the laugh
would then bear the construction of be-
ing against herself.
''Tske care Of that brier, Miss Lizzy.
! had almost forgotten the locality of
that bunch. 1t dragged my hat off one
dark night when l was returning from
your house to my tent. And although
hunted and searched for it a full half
hour that night, had to abandon it at
last and go home hatless. Next morn
ing saw it from quite distance grace
fully dangling from n branch of little
ash sapling where the brier had thrown
it in the rebound. l thought l would
cut them out of the way; but didn't"
The tstal irrelevancy Of this some
what tiresome anecdote only confirmed
Lizzy Wickly in her determination to
make this man feel somewhat of the
weight and the sharpness of the edge
of the Sandtown aversion for him.
She could not see what he must have
seen at once-that this acerbity, so for
eign to her speech and manner, was the
natural outcry of her wounded self-lOve
and self-pride.
"But, after all, it is perhaps as simu-
latOr, or personator, that you have
made your most brilliant record in Sand
town, Mr.. Mason. The pious assistant
to an eminent geologist who in answer to
the hungry cry of a religion starved
people, won his way straight to their
simple hearts, Sunday after Sunday, by
discourses such as they had never heard
nor dreamt of! What possible ulterior
design could such course subserve, Mr..
Mason? What possible design could JUS
tify that particular phase of imposition
Was it for the sole purpose of affording
you some amusement, when all the few
sources of amusement in our simple and
serious community had been exhausted p
Oh, Lizzy, how very ingenious! How
very incautious in one who wanted to
conceal self-hurt Anybody could have
seen the real and only source and origin
of such philippe!
"I beg to assure you, Miss Wickly
that there was no deception nor dissimi.
lntion in that portion Of my relations
with the Sandtown people. beg that
you will believe this upon my own state.
ment made now; because the immediate
future can do less to exonerate me from
this charge than from any and all the
others. Remember that declare to you
IN all solemnity that l have not exceed
ed my powers and duties. 1 was once ar
ordained preacher of the gospel Year,
ago 1 left the pulpit for the business
world. But have remained, humbly
believe, a consistent member of my
church"
There was q noticeable quality Of com