The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-02-09
~ Forest # lldnQer
By HAMlIN GARLAND
Copyright. Ioio. by Hamlin Garland

reliance by one whose daily work was heroic. All things conspired to make conquest of her heart, for the ranger bore himself with grace and dealt with his silver deftly. His face. seen from the side, was older and sterner than she had thought it, but it was very at tractiye in line.
 Redfield appealed to the ranger. 'Ross. you're all sorts of reactionary. What do you say to this? Senator Bridges is opposed to all federal inter ference with state forests and state game"
 The forester's eyes lit up. But are they state forests and state game? What makes them so? They are lands which the whole people purchased and which the whole people defended"
 "Heah, heah" cheered Enderby. Bridges bristled with anger and went off into long harangue on state rights and the dangers of centralization. to which Enderby replied: "Bosh! The whole trouble with your baliy gov ernment is its lack Of cohesion. If had my way I'd wipe out the senate. You're such blooming asses over here. You don't know enough to keep real ly big man in your presidential chair. This fussing about every four years is plain rot Here's Roosevelt gets in the midst of lot of the finest kind of reforms, you know, and directly you go and turn him out Then if you get l a bad man you've to wait four years till you can fetch him a whack. Why not arrange it so you can pitch your president out the minute he goes wrong? say your old rag of con stitution is ball and chain on your national leg England is immeasura- bly better off so far as that goes" Ross turned to Virginia. leaving the l political discussion to go on over his head. "I was back in the old island ] couple of years ago, and you've no idea how small 1t seemed to me. It surely is right little, tight little island' couldn't help wondering whether the men in parliament were as important as they seemed to think they were and whether England is not really an empty shell of empire, a | memory of what 1t once was. 1 | couldn't settle down there some way. | I was homesick for the mountains in a month. But what scared me most was the pauper population of the old l place-one in every thirty-seven must be helped came back to the States
 gladly. I guess Pm an American l said to my sisters"
 | To Lee Virginia the talk of "the curse of democracy" and ''the decay
 of empire" was unexciting, but when | Cavanagh told of the sheepmen's ad-
 vance across the dead line on Deer creek and of the threats of the cat tie owners she was better able to fol 1 low the discussion. Bridges was heartily on the side of law and order, | for he wished to boom the state (being
 heavy owner in town site), but he l objected to Redfield's ideas of "bot-
 tlinR up the resources of the state"
 "But we're not" retorted Redfeld;
 "we're merely defending them against those who would monopolize them
 We believe in their fullest use, but we
 see no reason for giving away the re-
 sources when the country needs the
 revenue
 Mrs. Redfield rose as soon as the cof.
 fee came on. You gentlemen seem bent upon discussing matters Of no 1n-
 terest to us" she said, ''so we'll leave
 you to fight it out alone. I'm sure you'll all agree with Hugh in the end.
 Like General Grant, he's a very ob- stinate man."
 No sooner were they seated in the
 big living room than Mrs. Enderby be gan to relate comical stories of her
 household. Her cats had fits and ran up the wall Her dogs were forever
 getting quilled by reason of foolish attacks upon porcuptnes. or else they came home so reminiscent of skunks that they all but smothered the cook.
 Invariably they return from encoun- ters of this kind just as we are sitting at dinner" she explained. Further
 more, Enderby's ditches are habitually
 getting clogged and overhowing the
 lawn and filling the cellar, and he stands in terror of his cowboys. When
 think of all these irruptions and dis
 fractions England's order and routine
 seem heavenly. But Charley finds all
 this amuafup m0re's the nffv and