The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1909-03-26

sides; on the close thatch of the mrs;
on the ice-locked rivers; snow freshly
fallen, softly tinted, infinitely, awe
somely pure.
Presently they came out into
lumber country where the mills hud-
died in the hollows, over the streams.
Huge fires were blazing on the river
banks. Their tawny red glare dyed
the snow for a long distance, making
enhancing tints of rose and yellow;
and the dark green of the pines,
against this background, looked
strangely fresh. And then, without
warning, they plunged into the dim
ness of another long wooden tunnel
and emerged into lovely spring. The
trees were in leaf, and not alone the
trees; the undulating swells of pas
ture land and roadside by the noun
tains were covered with tender YER
dure; and there were innumerable
vines and low glossy shrubs with faint
ly colored flowers.
This is like the SOUTH" said Miss
Smith.
Archie was deyouring the scene.
doesn't it just somehow make you
feel as if you couldn't breathe, Miss
Janet?' said he.
Are you troubled with the high
altitude?" asked Millicent anxiously;
Il have prepared little vial of spirits
of ammonia; I'll fetch it for you"
The colonel had some ado to rescue
Archie; but he was aided by the por-
ter, who was now passing through the
car proclaiming: you all have seen
Dutch Flat Mr.. Bret Hattie wrote
bout; mex station is Shady Run; and
everybody look and see the creates
scenic traction of dis or any odder
railroad, Cape Hohn!"
Instantly, Mrs. Melville fished her
guide book and began to read:
"'There are few mountain passes
more famous than that known to the
world as Cape Horn. The approach
to 1t is picturesque. the north fork OF
the American river raging and foam
ing in its rocky bed. 1900 feet below
do you mind, Mildred If we look
instead. of lsten?" Aunt Rebecca in
terrupted, and Mrs. Melville lapsed
into an injured muteness.
Truly, Cape Horn has poignant
grandeur that strikes speech from the
lips One cannot look down that sheer
height to the luminous ghost of a
river below, without a thrill. If to
pass along the cliff Is shivering ex-
perience, what must the actual execu-
ton of that stupendous bit of engi-
neering have been to the workmen
who hewed the road out of the rock,
suspended over the abyss! Their
dangling black. figures seem to sway
still as one swings around the curve.
Our travellers sat In silence, until
the Cape" was passed and again they
could see their roadbed on the side.
Then Mrs. Melville made polite ex-
cuse for departure; she had promised
a Daughter" whom she had met at
various "biennials" that she would
have little talk with her. Thus she
escaped. They did not miss her.
Hardly speaking, the four sat In the
dimly lighted, tiny room, while noun
tains and fields and star-sown skies
drifted by. Unconsciously, Archie
drew closer to his uncle, and the older
man threw an arm about the young
shoulders. He looked up to meet
Janet's eyes shining and sweet, In the
flash of a passing station light. Mrs.
Winter smiled, her wise old smile.
With the next morning came an
other shift of scene; they were in the
fertile valleys of California. AT every
turn the landscape became more soft
ly tinted more gracious. Aunt Re'
becca was In the best of humor and
announced herself as having the jour
ney of her life. The golden green OF
the grain fields, the towering palms,
the pepper trees with their fascinating
grace, the round tops of the live-oaks.
the gloss of the orange groves, the
Gala lily hedges and the heliotrope
and geranium trees which climbed
to the second story of the stucco
houses, filled her with the enthusiasm
of child. She drank in the cries OF
the enterprising young liar who cried
Fresh figs" months out of season,
and she ate fruit, withered in cold
storage, with a trustful zest. No less
than three books about the flora OF
California came out Of her bag. A
certain vine called the Bougainyillea,
she was trying to find, II only the
cars would not go so fast; as for poin-
settias, she certainly should raise her
own for Christmas. She was learned
in gardens and she discoursed with
Miss Smith on the different kinds of
trumpetvine, and whether the white
jasmine trailing among the gaudy
clusters was of the same family as
that jasmine which they knew in the
pine forests. But she disparaged the
roses; they looked shop-worn. The
colonel watched her in amazement
BERTHE. make you think of that