Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1909-09-24
Under the Pines
patton.


Cedric Harte sat alone under the
pines that grew among the White
Rocks of the CumbeIIands. Thither
he had Comet look for gooseberries,
but finding none, he had sat down to
rest himself i'm the shade. The first
autumnal tints Were shNwi ing upon
the foliage OF the mountain; the air
was changing from balmy zephyrs TO
biting winds, giving feeling that
frost, crisp and singing. would soon
meet the first rays of the sun as he
peeped over the world from the east.
But yet the sunshine was warm
and the shade inviting. \ picus was
tapping ON nearby tree. and Cedric
Ielt sense of loneliness. Suddenly
a Whit OF cold air came through the
mitch in the mountain. .'Tha. air.
said Cedric As If talking TO the pines
must have come from the north
pole"
That mo ming Cedric had read in
the Evening Dryad Of the discovery
OF the North Pole by DR.. Frederick
Cook. and his thoughts were some.
what engrossed with the news.
Doctor Cook, " continued he. as if
still talking 10 the pines, "wiil he
a lion among men; his name will
live through the Oming ages rs the
discoVeTer of that land OF mystery ::
that land where there is no west. no
east, no nofth-nothing but the
south, rs the point OF the compass.
Look whichever way he might. his
optics wee Trained upon something
that described a southern direction.
In That strange far-away place for
six months during the year the sun
never sets, but travels around the
earth in circuit just above the ho-
rizcn, and may be seen at all times
when the atmosphere is clear. Then
Tor the next six mon. rs when the
sun drops below the horizon darkness
SETTLES upon that dIeary lana with
no signs OF life, no one To take cog
nizance of the dreariness, except the
great Creator. who APPARENTLY placed
an invisible sign at the Arctic Circle
which reads, Thus land no farth-
err Surprising that Doctor Cook had
gone ON from the pole i'm "A straight
line with his course up this side Of
The earth, extending that course
down the other side, would he have
noticed that he was going south
ward? Or would il have appeared TO
him that he was still going noith-
ward,m pursuance of his course prior
10 reaching the pole? At what point
might the illusion naturally have
disappeared"
Then Cedric Hnrte, the bow of y
rough exterior, but of a mental capac-
ity which would be represented by n
formula OF a greater power than
that of his exterior, rs If tiled of
talking 10 an apparently unrespon-
slNe audience, set himself To think
ing What real benefit would the
world derive from Cooks discovery?
Would ii be utilized in any way, or
would the land remain hidden i'm tho
sullen gloom of the frigid north. with
only the know ledge shat il had been
discovered? Would that invisii lie
sign AT the Arctic Circle be disregar-
ded' and some means of protection
from the rigors be devised to enable
The people 10 colombo the pole?
Might not the capital of the multi
millionaires build glass houses, Ike
unto great conservatories that would
afford protection from the cold. and
turn the frigid north into a tropical
region? Might not airships e1uipped
with glass berths carry thousands of
people who would 90 to the pole rs
a resort? Did not this land hold
great possibilities? but, Cedric
Harte, said he, half aud IDLY, "vou
must begin to save up your pennies.
If you would share in these gIories. -
Just then a red fox scampered past
and rousea him from his reveries.
the picus was still patiently apping
on the tree; the sun was nearing the
horizon, and Cedric began to trace
his steps homeward.
Frank Monroe Beverly.
freezing, Va.