The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1906-09-28
The Ca7vaSSc:'S Tale
s5e5S5E59SSSsSsSESSS1s
By MARK TWAIN.

darling go forth, never more to re-
turn; and his coal-black hair turned
white as now in single night.
Now he waited and thought. He
knew another disappointment might
kill him. He was resolved that he
would choose things next time that no
other man was collecting. He care
fully made up his mind, and once
more entered the field-this time to
make a collection Of echoes!"
"Of what?" said !.
Echoes, sir. His first purchase
was an echo in Georgia that repeated
four times; his next was a six-re-
peater in Maryland; his next was a
thirteen-repeater in Maine; his next
was nineteen-repeater in Kansas;
his next was a twelve-repeater in
Tennessee, which he got cheap, so to
speak, because it was out of repair. a
portion OF the crag which reflected il,
having tumbled down. He believed
he could repair it at cost of few
the elevation with masonry, treble
the repeating capacity; but the archi-
tect who undertook the job had never
built an echo before, and so he utter
ly spoiled this one. Before he med
died with it it used to talk back like
a motherin-law, but now it was only
fit for the deaf and dumb asylum.
Well, next he bought lot Of cheap
little double barreled echoes, scat
tered around over various States and
Territories; he got them at twenty
per cent. off by taking the lot. Next
he bought a perfect Gatling gun Of
ap echo in Oregon, and it cost for
tune, | can tell you. You may know,
sir, that in the echo market the scale
of prices is cumulative like the carat
scale in diamonds; in fact, the same
phraseology is used. A single-carat
echo is worth but ten dollars over and
above the value of the land it is on;
a two-carat or double -barreled echo
! is worth thirty dollars; a five-carat is
worth nine hundred and fifty; a ten
carat is worth thirteen thousand. Ny
uncles Oregon echo, was a twenty
two carat gem, and cost two hun
dred and sixteen thousand dollars
they threw the land in, for II was
four hundred miles from a settle
ment.
We'll, in the meantime my path
was a path of roses. | was the ac-
cepted sutor of the only and lovely
daughter OF an English earl, and was
! beloved to distraction. In that dear
presence | swan in seas of bliss. The
family were content, for it was known
! that | was sole heir to an uncle held
/ to be worth five millions OF dollars.
! However, none of us knew that my
uncle had become collector. at least
in anything more than a small way,
! fC. aesthetic amusement.
"Now gathered the clouds above
my unconscious head. That divine
echo, since known throughout the
world as the Great Koh-i-noor, or
Mountain of Repetitions, was discoy-
cred. it was a sixty-fve carat gem.
! You could utter word and it would
talk back at you for fifteen minutes.
when the day was otherwise quiet.
But behold, another discovery was
made at the same time; another echo
collector was in the field. The two
rushed to make the purchase. The
property consisted OF a couple of
small hills with a shallow swale be-
tween, out yonder among the back
settlements OF New York State. Both
men arrived on the ground at the
same time and neither knew the other
was there. The echo was not all
owned by one man; person by the
name OF William Bolivar Jarvis
owned the east hill, and a person by
the name OF HARRISON J. 's3ledso
owned the west hill; the swale be-
tween was the dividing line. So
while my uncle was buying Jarvis
hill for three million two hundred
aud eighty-fye thousand dollars, the
other party was buying Bledsos hill
for a shade over three million.
Now, do YOU perceive the natural
result? Why, the noblest collection
of echoes on earth was forever and
ever incomplete, since Il possessed
but the one-half OF the king echo OF
the universe. Neither man was con-
tent with his divided ownership, yet
neither would sell to the other.
There were javings, chickering's,
heart-burnings. And al last, that
other collector, with a mslignity
which only a collector can ever feel
toward a man and brother, proceed
ed TO cut down his hill
You see, as long as be could not