Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1911-05-19
By
FRANCIS LNNDE



.att }et, laughed The lazy one sit
ting rp. And you may make my
a;o.o -..S TO Mrs. Biount and tell her
J IT, doru 'pronto.' There. doesn't
that sound as II l We're getting back
= the good Old sagebrush idiom?
Great land. haven't heard anybody
say 'pronto' since / was knee high t.
ii hoptoad"
IL al MS forecastngs Evan Blount
Lad never pictured homecoming like
this. IN each succeeding hour Of the
day the edges OF the chasm Of the
years drew closer together, and when
linally his father put him On n horse
and rode with him to corner Of the
vast home farm. corner fenced OF
hy sentinel cottOnwoods and watered
by the small irrigation ditch of his
bOyhood recollections. rode with him
through the screening cottonwoods
and showed him, lying beyond them
the old ranch buildings Of the Circle
Bar, untouched and undisturbed. his
heart was full. and sudden mist
came before his eyes TO dim the pic
turc
"Ivc kept 1t just rs II used to be-
Evan" his father said gently. 81
thought maybe you'd come back some
day and be sure enough disappointed
II It were gone"
The younger man slipped from his
saddle and went to look In at the
open door OF the old ranch house
Everything was precisely as he re-
membered 1.-THE simple, old fashion
ell furniture. the crossed quirts over
the high wooden mantel. his mother
rocking chair-that was the final
touch. He sat down on the worn door
log and put his face in his hands. for
now the gaping chasm Of the years
was quite closed, and he was boy
again.
Later in tie day there were am
bling gallopS along the country roads.
and the father explained how the
transformation from cattle raising to
agriculture and fruit growing had
come about; how the great irrigation
dam in QuaretarO canyon had put a
mesa under cultivation; how with the
importing Of the new population had
come new blood, new methods. good
roads, the telephone the rural mail
route and other civilizing agencies.
Evan groaned. IL know" he said.
1--WE lost my birthland. It's as ex-
tinct as the megalosaurian lizards
whose bones we used to find sticking
In the gully banks on Table Mesa. BY
the way, that reminds me. Are there
any Of those giant fossils left? i was
! telling Professor Anners about them
the other day, and he was immensely
Interested"
Were all fossils, we older folks of
the cattle raising times" laughed the
man whom Richard Gantry had called
the super governor" But there are
some Of the bones left, too, l guess,
and II the professor is n friend of
yours We'll get him a state permit to
dig all he wants to-
Yes. Professor Anners is q friend
Of mine." was the younger mans half
absent admission. ''as much Of a
friend as his daughter would ever al
low him to be-"
The qualifying clause was not
thrown away upon the senator
what has the daughter got against
| you. SON." he asked mildly.
Nothing very serious" laughed Pa
tricia's lover. But l think she Is
| Jealous of any one who tries to share
her father with her. Next to her ca.
| reer"-
That's Boston. isn't It" interrupted
the ex-cattle king. Then he added
Pm right glad 1t hasn't come In your
way to tie yourself up to one Of those
careers Evan, my boy"
The young man felt better after he
had told his father his love story. II
was highly necessary that he should
tell some one. and whom better?
David Blount listened with the far
away look in his eyes that the son had
more than once marked as the great
est Of the changes chargeable to the
aging years.
Think a heap Of her. do you. sonY
he said when the ambling saddle AMI
mails had covered another half mile OF
| the homeward journey.
$50 much that 1t went near to spoil
ing me when she finally made me real.
lie that couldn't hold my own
against the career" he made an.
swer. Then he added: II want work
father. That is what l am out here
for: the hardest kind Of work and
plenty Of 1t: something that can put
my heart into. Can you find it for
| me?"
There vas the wisdom Of the cen.
turtles in the gentle smile provoked by
this unashamed lovers appeal.
Il wouldn't take 1t too hard II ]
were you. son." said the wise man
And as for the work, guess we can
satisfy you II your appetite isn't toe
big. How would state office doy
Politics." queried Blount, bringing
his horse down to the walk for which
his father had set the example eve
thought good bit about that, though
haven't had any special training that
way. The schools Of today are turn
Ing out business lawyers-men who
know the law and are trained particu-
Iar!y In its application to the great
business undertakings That used to
be my ambition-to be q business ad.
wiser and perhaps after awhile to
climb to the top Of the ladder and be
somebody's corporation counsel"
But now you have changed"
Il don't know that / have. But
there are other fields that are also Mt.
trac'iTe. No man can study the poll.
Tics OF America today without seeing
the need for good men-men who will
administer the affairs Of the state or
the nation without fear or favor; men
who will hew to the line under any
and all conditions"
A quaint smile was playing under
The dropping mustache of the Hon,