The San Francisco call., 1906-10-14


without honor in his own coun-
try The distinction, or extinc-
tion. fell upon him like comfortable
blanket even in the plodding days Of
his babyhood, and became clinched dur
ing his brief, spasmodic hours OF SOM
nolency in the schoolroom and longer,
more lingering hours upon the noun
tsinside. And when he sauntered re-
luctantly into manhood it was sign
manual that separated and marked him
IS one apart
And yet energy was without premium
on Possum Hill. A man could sit upon
his own doorstep from daylight to dark.
from Monday to Saturday. from the
first to the thirty-lirst. and not lose
caste. He could even smoke his corn
cob pipe while his wife and daughters
gathered berries or calamus root or
chestnuts 70 sell and still be reput-
able HITLER" in good standing. No. il
was not that. Rather was it the un-
thrift OF non-accumulation. As baby
he had gurgled his content with the
world. even while his brothers and sis
ters were purloining and misusing his
rag dolls and rude toys; in boyhood he
had gone a step further and turned
over such belongings as unwittingly
came to him to whoever expressed a
desire for their possession. sccentu-
ating this in early manhood by even
going out Of his way to do things he
would never have dreamed Of doing for
himself
So his brothers and sisters. and the
youth in general Of the neighborhood,
grew up and branched out into little
shacEs OF their own. built in such nat
ural wrinkles OF the mountainside as
promised immunity from wind or sun
or SHADE, according to varying tenn
perament: and their housekeeping be-
ginnings Of three chairs and table
and stove and bedstead accumulated to
other bits Of furniture inside, and per-
hsps 10 a COW and mule, and. in rare
instances. two mules and .kerridge"
outside.
Hitler prosperity never aspired be-
yond two mules and blackboard "ker-
ridge" But Poke remained the same,
and by the time he was twenty-fiv his
name was commonly spoken with a
drswling prolongation that sought to
express a double and sarcastic mean
ing.
But for all that, Poke was not so
slow as their insinuations would con-
Vey, or his lack OF material accumu-
lstions declare. He had neither a rood
OF land for a holding nor a mule to
back, nor a shack TO share with some
fair Diana Of the mountain: but his old
Tnuzzle-loader brought in more game
than the modern Winchesters of his as
sociates. and there was no cabin raising
or shucking or bee or deer stalking to
which he was not the first invited, and
where HIS broad shoulders or deft fin
gers or good natured humor or keen
eyes were not in eager demand He
was indefatigable in the service OF an
other, and gave OF his strength and
knowledge with unstinted generosity;
but there his industry faltered; for he
had no need OF these things for him
self so did not seek them
One day he was engaged in his IA
vorite occupation Of watching white
clouds drift across the blue disk Of the
sky, and to do it to the best advantage
was lying upon his back on a bed of
moss, with his hands clasped beneath
his head. IT was mid-October, and
among the chestnut branches was a
'chickareeing" and scampering of
squirrels intent on their winter stores:
and Of l1inglets and sparrows and
rhrushes deplOying and forming for
their journey 10 the South; and. fur
ther away, the cav. cawing" of black
sentinels patrolling the sky An odor
Of autumn foliage was in the air, a
rustic Of falling leaves. a sense of com
plete isolation and content And then
she came.
Ee was hardly conscious Of her in
trusion at FIRST. she fitted so well into
4 all with her soft gray calico and
shestnut-gold hair; and she, on her
part was not aware Of his presence. The
clinging moss rose halfway up about
his form, and he was so motionless and
q part Of the surroundings that a bird
was chirping contentedly from the very
toe Of one Of his great boots, only fly
ing few feet away as she approached.
They were on the brow OF a slope
that dropped rapidly down into the val
ley, and she paused and threw her hand
above her eyes with a quick motion
which he recognized as expressing anx-
iety and hope He could see her face
plainly from where be lay, and could
read in the glances which flashed from
point TO point something OF the terror
OF their owner at not finding what she
sought
what is hit Miss Laurel?" he
drawled, as with a slow, muscular
movement of his body he threw him
self upon his feet and moved forward
10 her side Can I be any he'p?"
Oh, hits you. Poke? Thank God.
Hurry. hurry Pap's knocked down by
a tree an bein' crushed I couldn't lift
hit"
'Where?" asked Poke tersely.
ITO Coon Flat He was choppin q