The Washington herald., 1910-12-11

Wide veranda of which, with chairs and hammocks
advertised an out Of doors bed chamber. Daylighrs
keen eyes took In everything The clearing was ir-
regular following the patches or the best SOIL and
every fruit tree and berry BUSH and even each
vegetable plant had the water personally conducted
10 IL The tiny irrigation channels everywhere
and along some Of them the water was running
Ferguson looked eagerly into his visitors face for
signs OF appreciation.
What do you think Of It, eh7'
Hand reared and manicured, every blessed tree"
Dayhght laughed, but the Joy and satisfaction that
shone In bis eyes cOntented the little man.
why. dye know, know every OF those trees
as IL they were sons of mine. planted them. nursed
tnen' led them and brought them up. Come on and
peep at the spring"
It's sure hummer" was Daylight's verdict after
que inspection and sampling, they turned back for
the house
The interior was surprise ~he cooking being
gone IN the small. eanto kitchen. the whole cabin
- meu large living room. great table in the mid
uie was comfortably Uttered with books and maya
zines All the available wall space from floor TO cell
ing, was occupied by filed book shelves 1t seemed
to Daylight that he had never seen so many books
assembled in one place. Skins OF wildcat coon and
deer lay about on the pine board floor.
son proudly asserted
The GROWING feature of the room was hinge fire.
place OF rough stones and powders
Built 1t myself" Ferguson proclaimed "and by
God. she drewl Never a lisp ca smoke anywhere
save in the appointed channel and that during the big
southeasters, too"
Daylight found himself charmed and made curIous
by the little Why was he hiding away here in
the chaparral, he and his books? He was nobody's
fool anybody could see lat. Then why? The whole
affair had a tinge of adventure and Daylight ac-
eepted an invitation TO supper, half prepared to find
his host fruit and eater or some similar sort
Of health faddist At table, while eating rice and
ackrabbit curry (the latter shot by Ferguson) they
talked it over, and Daylight found the little had
no food views" He ate whatever he liked and all
he wanted. avoiding only -uch combinations as ex-
perence had taught him disagreed with his digestion
Next Daylight surmised that he might be touched
with religion, but quest about he would in a CONVEX
sation covering the most divergent topics be could
find no hint Of queerness or unusualness. So il
when between them they had washed and wiped the
dishes and put them away and had setted down to q
comfortable smoke that Daylight put his question
look here Ferguson Ever since we got together
I've been casting about TO find out what's wrong With
you. to locate screw loose somewhere. but I'll be
DANCED if I've succeeded What are you doing here
anyway What made you come here? What we're
you doing for a living before you came herel co
ahead and elucidate yourself"
Ferguson frankly showed his pleasure at the ques-
tons
First Of ALL" he began "the doctors wound up by
losing all hope for me, Gave me few months sc
best and that after course in sanitarums and trip
TO Europe and another TO Hawaii They tried cleo.
tricy and forced feeding and fasting. / was grad
uate OF about everything in the curriculum. They
kept me poor with their bills, while went from bad
TO worse. The trouble with me was twofold. First
/ was a born weakllng, and next was living unnat-
urally-too much work and responsibility and strain.
was managing editor of the Times Tribune
Daylight gasped mentally. for the Times Tribune
was the biggest and most influential paper in San
Francisco and always had been so.
And | wasn't strong enough for the strain OF
course, my body went back on me- and my mind, too.
for that matter IL had TO be bolsered up with whis
key which wasn't good for it any more than the
living in clubs and hotels good for my stomach and the
rest of me. THAI what allied mel was living all
wrong"
He shrugged his shoulders and drew at his pipe.
when the doctors gave me up l wound up my
affairs and gave the doctors up That was fifteen
years ago I'd been hunting through here when l
was boy on vacations from college. and when was
all down and out il seemed yearning came 10 me to
go back to the country. So quit quit everything,
absolutely, and came TO live IN the valley OF the
MoOn-thats the Indian name, you know, Tor Sonoma
Valley ! lived in the leantO the first year; then l
built the cabin aud sent for my books. l never knew
what happiness before nor health Look at me
now and dare 10 tell me that look forty-seVen"
al wouldn't give day over forty, Daylight con-
fessed.
yet the dag / came here locked nearer sixty,
and that was fifteen years ago"
They talked long, and Daylight looked at the world
from new angles. Here was u man, neither bitter
nor cynical, who laughed at the city dwellers and
called them lunatics; man who did not care FOR
money and in whom the lust for power had long
since died AS for the friendship OF the city dwell
ers his host spoke in no uncertain terms.
.'What did they do all the chaps knew, the chaps
in the clubs. with whom I'd been cheek by Jowl Tor
heaven knows how l0ngg l was not behoden TO them
for ANYTHING and when / slipped out there was not
one of them 10 drop me line and say How are
you old MANI Anything can do for you? For sew
era weeks il was:-'Whats become OF FergusonF
After that l became "Reminiscences and memory.
Yet every last one of them knew had nothing but
my salary and that I'd always lived lap ahead
OF it."
But what do you do nowE' was Daylights query.
You must need cash TO buy clothes and magazines"
a weeks work a months work now ana again.
ploughng in the winter or picking grapes IN the Ial,
and there's always odd jobs with the farmers through
the summer | don't need much, so don't have TO
work much Most of my time / spend fo0Hg around
the Mace | could do hack work for the magazines
and newspapers but l prefer the plouShing and the
Crane picking Just look M me and you can see why
I'm hard as rocks. And like the work But tell
Won chaps got to break in to it, It's great thing
when he's learned to pick grapes a whole long day
and come home at the end Of it with that tired happy
feeling instead OF being in state OF physical col
lanse That freplace-thOse big stones! 1 was SOFT
I'm a little anaeme, alcoholic degenerate. with the
-,nk Of n rabbit and about per cent as much
Stamina and some of those big stones nearly broke
NV hack and my heart. But | peSSYereS and USED
~ hodv in the way nature intended it should be
ned NOT bending over desk and swiliing whiskey
- and we'll here am, better man for II, and
.hros tbe fireplace nne and dandy, eh?
sAnd now tell me about the Klondike, and how
80, turned San Francisco upside down with that
ft raid Of yours. You're bonny tighter, you
, ms and YOU touch my imagination. though my
o,"r reason tells me that you lunatic like