Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1911-11-22
What do you think of it, eh?"

'Hand-reared and manicured, every
blessed tree" Daylight laughed, but
the joy and satisfaction that shone in
his eyes contented the little man.
'Why, dye know, I know every one
of those trees as if they were sons of
mine. / planted them, nursed them,
fed them, and brought them up. Come
on and peep at the spring
TITS sure1 hummer" was Daylight's
verdict, after due inspection and sam
ping, as they turned back for the
| house.
The interior was a surprise. The
cooking being done in the small, lean
! to kitchen, the whole cabin formed a
/ large living-room. A great table in
the middle was comfortably Uttered
! with books and magazines. All the
/ available wall space, from wall to cell
! ing, was occupied by filed book
| shelves. 1t seemed to Daylight that
he had never seen so many books as
sembled in one place. Skins of wild
cat, coon and deer lay about on the
! pine-board floor.
Daylight found himself charmed and
made curious by the little man. Why
was he hiding away here in the chap
arral, he and his books? So it was,
when between them they had washed
! and wiped the dishes and put them
away, and had settled down to COM
! Portable smoke, that Daylight put his
| question.
Look here, Ferguson. Every since
We got together, I've been casting
about to find out what's wrong with
| you, to locate a screw loose some
where but I'll be DANCED if I've sue
i ceeded. What are you doing here,
anyway"
Ferguson frankly showed his pleas
ure at the questions.
''First of all, he began, ''the doctors
wound up by losing all hope for me.
/ Gave me a few months at best, and
/ that, after a course in sanitariums
and trip to Europe and another to
| Hawaii. They tried electricity and
! forced feeding and fasting was a
graduate Of about everything in the
curriculum. They kept me poor with
| their bills, while [ went from bad to
worse The trouble with me was two
! fold first / was born weakling; and
! next, I was living unnaturally-tOo
much work, and responsibility and
| strain. I was managing editor Of
! the Times-Tribune in San Francisco,
and I wasn't strong enough for the
! strain. Of course my body went back
| on me. and my mind too, for that mat
! atr 1t had to be bolstered up with
| whisky, which wasn't good for it any
more than was the living in clubs
and hotels good for my stomach and
the rest of me- So I quit, quit every
thing. absolutely. and came to live in
the Valley of the Moon-that's the
Indian name. you know, for Sonoma
! Valley. lived in the lean-to the first
year; then I built the cabin and sent
/ for my books. l never knew what hap
piness was before. nor health. Look
a. me now and dare to tell me that
LOOK forty-seven."
II wouldn't give a day over forty
Daylight confessed.
yet the day / came here looked
nearer sixty, and that was fifteen
years ago.
They talked alongs and Daylight
looked at the world from new angles.
Here was a man, neither bitter nor
cynical, who laughed at the city-dwell-
ers and called them lunatics; man
who did not care for money, and in
whom the lust. for power had long
since died.
1t was not until ten o'clock that
Daylight parted from Ferguson. AS
he rode along through the starlight, the
idea came to him OF buying the ranch
on the other side of the valley. There
was no thought in his mind Of ever
intending to live on it. His game was
| in San Francisco. But he liked the
ranch, and as soon as he got back to
the Office he would open up negotia-
lions with Hillard.
The time passed, and he played on
at the game. San Francisco's atti-
tude toward Daylight had undergone
a change. While he, with his slashing
buccaneer methods, was distinct
menace to the more orthodox finan-
cial gamblers, he was nevertheless so
grave a menace that they were glad
enough TO let him alone. He had al
! ready taHgnC them the excellence OF
letting a sleeping dog lie.
Dede Mason was still in the office.
He had made no more overtures, dis
cussed no more books. He had no
active interest in her, and she was to
him a pleasant memory of what had
never happened, joy, which, by his
essential nature, he was barred from
ever knowing. Yet, while his interest
had gone to sleep and his energy was
consumed in the endless battles he
waged, he knew every trick of the
light on her hair, every quick definite
mannerism of movement, every line of
her figure as expounded by her tailor
made gowns. Several times, six
months or so apart, he had increased
her salary, until now she was receiv-