The Blackfoot optimist. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1907-1918, 1911-12-07
AUTHOR OF ~ThE BRASS BOWL" ETC.
IN q llS1I[l A11lO[NC4 ny DHNY ZGXAQ1rl3[D&

nyme andy enough. but don't know
you, and"
But Mr. Rutton3"
lis a party I've never card Of. II
you'll excuse my sayin' 80. no more'n
l ave Of yourself, str"
WELL" began Amber: but paused.
his face hardening as he looked the
man up and down. nodding slowly.
"Per'aps." continued Mr.. Doggott.
unabashed. you mistyke mo for my
brother. Emery Doggott. Il was 'ome.
in England, larst card Of i'm. We
look deal alike. I've been told"
"You would be-" admitted Amber
drily: and, shutting his teeth upon his
inherent contempt for a liar. he
swung away, acknowledging with q
curt nod the civil Good AFTERNOON.
SIR" that followed him.
The man had disappeared by the
time Amber regained his kit-bag and
gun-case; standing over which he
surveyed his surroundings with some
annoyance. discovering that he now
shared the station with none but the
ticket agent. A shambling and dis
consulate youth, clad in three-days'
growth Of beard, a checked jumper
and khaki trousers, this person
lounged negligently In the doorway of
the waiting room and, caressing his
rusty chin with nicotine-dyed fingers,
regarded the stranger in Nokomis
with an air Of subtle yet vaguely mel
ancholy superiority.
IF ye're lookin' for tn hotel" he
volunteered Unexpectedly, there amt
none," and effected mastery retreat
into the ticket booth.
Amused. the despised outlander
picked up his luggage and followed
amiably. I'm not looking for the
hotel that amt" he said, planting
himself in front Of the grating; "but
expected to be met by some one
from Tanglewood-"
"Thet's the Quain place. daown by
tn ba-ay," interpolated the youth from
unplumbed depths Of mournful alb
, straction.
1T is. I wired yesterday"
"Yeour names Amber, amt it?''
| Eyes. L"
We'll, Quain didn't get yeour mes
sage till this mornin'. sent a kid
daown with 1t 'baout ten o'clock"
But why the-but l wired yester
day afternoon"
II knaow ye did," assented the
youth YEARLY. 1T come through
raound closin' time and they wa'n't
nobody baound that way, 30 I held II
| over"
This craze for being characters
tic" observed Mr.. Amber obscurely
us the only thing that really stands
in the way Of Nokomis becoming 8
thriving metropolis. Do you agree
with me? No matter" He smiled en-
gagingly; a seasoned traveller this
who could recognize the futility Of
pickering over the irreparable. More
over, he had to remind himself in al
fairness, the blame was, in part al
least, his own; for he had thought
lessly worded his telegram, "Will be
with you tomorrow afternoon" and Il
was wholly like Quain that he should
have accepted the statement at its
face value, regardless of the date line
II can leave my things here for &
little while. presume?" Amber sug
gested after pause. ~
The ticket agent stared stubK rnly
into the infinite. making no sign till .
coin rang on the window-ledge; wher
he started. eyed the offering with fugi
tive mistrust, and gloomily possessed
himself Of it. I'LL look after Them
he said. BE We thinkin' Of walkin' 2
Eyes" said Amber over his Shout
der. He was already moving TOWARD
the door.
"Knaow yeour wa-ay?"
1--WE been here before, thank you.
Crossing the tracks, he addresse,
himself to the southwark stretching
highway. Walking briskly at first, b,
soon left behind the railway static,
with it's few parasitic cottages. dill
in the land hid them. and he hat
hereafter for all company hi
thoughts. the desultory road. a vas
and looming sky. and bare Held
hedged with impoverished forest.
Amber had protested Acquaintance
with his way: 1t seemed rather to b.
intimacy. for when he chose to fol-
sake the main travelled road he did s,
boldly, striking of upon a Wagon
track which, leading across the fields
delved presently into the heart of tn
forest.
The hush of the forest world Dor
heavily upon his Senses the Sigh
and stealthy rustlings in the brush
} the clear dense ringing of some re
mote ak, an attenuated clamor O
cawing from some far crows cor
gress, but served to accentuate it's in
fuence-
} Then into the silence crept SCUM
; to rouse him from his formless re,
; erie. At first mere pulsing in tn
stiffness barely to be distinguish
j from the song Of the surf; but pres
entity a pounding. ever louder an
more insistent. He paused, attentive
, and while he waited the drummins
minute by minute gaining in volume
t.~opt ouiftIv tow ri him-tho rhvtt