The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1909-01-11


cannot pin his informant down to any
definite data. Over the mountains al
ways lies the road. Hundreds of lives
have been sacrificed and cruelty un-
paralleled practiced upon innocent
men. women and children by gold
seekers in their lust for conquest.
Prosperous Indian villages have been
laid waste. and whole bands Of ad-
venturers have gone into the desert in
search Of these mines, never to return.
When the time for Lanes departure
came Echo wept at the thought Of los
ing for 80 long a time the close COM
panion Of her childhood and the SYM
pathetic confidant Of her youthful
thoughts and aspirations. Dick, In
whom friendship for Echo had long
before ripened into conscious love. took
her tears as evidence that she was
similarly affected toward him. and he
allowed all the suppressed passion Of
his nature full vent In a declaration Of
love. The girl was deeply moved by
this revelation Of the heart Of q strong
man made tender as woman's by q
power ycentering In her own humble
self. and. being utterly without expert.
ence OF the emotion even In Its protec.
tive form Of calf love. which IL the
varioloid Of the genuine affection, she
imagined through sheer sympathy that
she shared his passion. So she assent
ed with maidenly reserve to bis plea
that she promise to marry him when
he should return and provide q home
for her. Her more cautious mother sc.
cured q modification Of this pledge BY
limiting the time that Echo should
wait for him to one year. Ii at the ex-
piration Of that period Lane did not
return to claim her promise or did not
write making satisfactory arrange
ments for continuance Of the engage
ment Echo was to be considered free
to marry whom she chose.
Soon, after Lanes departure Mrs.
Allen persuaded the colonel to send
Echo east to a New England finishing
school for girls. where her mother
hoped that her budding love for Lane
might be nipped by the frigid atmos-
phere Of intellectual culture, II not, In
deed; snpplaHed by a, saving interest
IN young men In general and perhaps
In some particular scion of q blue
FLOODED Boston family. y to,C,
I lrhe plan succeeded in part only
The conpanionship OF her schOolfei-
lows, her music and art lessons. her
books during the limited periods al
iOtted to serious study and readingI
and. above all. her attrition at recep-
tons with another order of n,en than
that she had known in the rough. I'M
cultured west occupied her mind 80
fully, that poor Dick Lane. who was
putting thought Of Echo Allen in
every blow Of his pick. received only
the scraps of her attention
Dick had few opportunities to mail
letter and none Of them for receiv-
ing one. Impractical in writing. his
epistolary compositions were crude in
the extreme. being wholly confined
to bald statements of fact Had he
been as tender on paper as he was in
his words and accents when he kissed
AWAY her tears at parting her regard
for him would have had fuel to feed
on and might have kindled into genu-
inc love. AS Ii was. she was forced
TO admit that in comparison with the
brilliant university men with whom
she conversed Dick Lane intellectually
was as quartz TO diamond
On the other hand she contrasted
Dick In the essential point of manli-
ness most favorably with the mL.e
butterflies Of society that lowered
around her. What one OF them was
20 essentially chivalrous as the west.
ern man-so modest. so self sacrific-
Ing, so brave and resolute and re-
sourceful? Dick Lane. or Jack Pay
son, for that matter In all save the
adventitious points of education and
culture was the higher type of man
hood, and Jack, at least. If not poor
Dick, could hold his own In mental
and artistic perception with the
brightest, most cultured Of Harvard
graduates.
At the end Of the year she came
back home to await Dicks return from
the wilds Of Mexico. There was great
anxiety about his safety. for Geroni-
mo, attacked by Crook In the Apache
stronghold Of the Tonic basin. had es-
capped to the mountains of northwest
ern Mexico with his band Of fierce Chi
ricahuas.
Now, Dick Lane had not been heard
from in this region. When he neither
made appearance nor sent message
upon the day appointed for his return,
his brother. Bud. was for setting out
instantly to find him and rescue him
IL he were i0 difficulties.
Then 1t was that Echo Allen discov-
cred the true nature Of her affection
for her lover-that it was sisterly re-
gard. differing only In degree. but not
In kind. from that which she felt for
his brother. She Joined with Polly in
opposing Buds going. urging his reck-
lessness as reason. You are certain
to be killed. she said. land I cannot