The San Francisco call., 1906-11-11

hours himsslf), rumirated muchs e1e
said little beyond egging me on 70
suspiciously exact description OK rns
books people: after which. locked IN
his study against the entrance of the
inquisitive, he spent many half-hour
alone
What he was doing could not mako
out At such times the shipping or
scissors might have been heard, ana
the low, thoughtful whistle that accom-
panies some phases OF his artistic en-
deavor. At such times, too. found
.1ue on the towels and bits OF vart-
colored cloth on the carpet But be-
fore Christmas 1t Is "fair house not TO
"snoop," so I mastered an ovsrwhelrn-
ing curiosity. Then. Christmas morn
ing dawned-
rose early. eager for nrst peep
at the ample stocking that I had pro-
vIded and hung. invttfngly, above my
desk. There it was. rather lanky, Z
thought, and fanked by no red-oowed
packages. But beside It. round, In
verted and encouragingly big. was q
pasteboard box. lifted this. and there
stood the shack. Ben and Betty, ths
gray mules; Simon, the red calf. look
ing excessively meek: Shedracl<. n har-
ness, and. grouped peaceably, Dallas
and Lounsbury. Marylyn and Frasers
David Bond and SQuaw Charley, Mat
thews and Evanl
At drst they were all JUST dolls to
me, and to the housematd source OF
unfauing annoyance. for they were
forever tipping forward upon their
faces or somersaulting to the rug, and
on one occasion poor Betty broke leg.
The drst aid the models rendered was
along ths lines OF coaxing me 20 work.
When thu sun shone and the air was
.cg4Ep. and remembered that nay horse
Iwo1fd 30 Bptrttedly such morning.
one of the dolls would come pitching
I - a,<r a.
Iby the time I had set him or her IN
place again the bride path would be
temporarily forgotten Then. instead
% walking aimlessly about. or picking
up pins, or looking out OF the window,
ell dne ways OF keeping away from
work. would get 70 playing with thu
F1odels. arranging them IN different
ways, which led. at last. to their ar
rangement in scenes already written:
next, they formed scenes that were
sd1l 70 be worked out
used them first. I remember, when
old David Bond came to the shack-hs
and Charley seated together beneath
the cross. Previous to this the play
wright had invariably referred to David
facettously. But on this occasion the
aged man stood up 50 sturdtIy and
preserved such gravity OF countenancs
when the Squaw took a header into
the mucilage that he won his orig
inator's respect.
The models having now become an
inspiration for work, used them free
ly-when Matthews tried to force an
entrance into the Lancaster home. whsn
Evans turned upon Lounsbury, when
Simon played crack-the-whip with the
interpreter and when the Squaw, hav-
ing guided Dallas to Murphy's Throat,
turned with her to make his last de-
termined fight.
1t was strange how those quaint lit
tie figures came to embody all the
shortcomings and graces OF the mag
ined folk OF the story. And as the
book grew. they endeared themselves
to me more and more-the PIow
Woman in particular. for all that she
is so unsteady on her feeti That black
Jersey. cut from the top OF a stocking:
that gingham skirt and that double
braid. all these were eloquent OF thu
real Dallas. And IL Is she whom
have tried to make representative Of
those sturdy women OF the West ana
the women who. since the r-airies were
hrst broken by the plow, have braved
dangers and a rigorous cltunats 70 toll
early and late In the fields