The Springfield herald., 1912-05-31

e06kero. he was 8IAo, a8 uo uSo
grown to love tho spot where he had
made his home. and he had no wish TO
be forced. like little Joe, to move on.
Once . man who loved the strife.
noble or ignoble. Of the madding
crowd, he had grown accustomed to
silence. habituated to solitude. Winter
and summer alike he roamed the
mountains, delvins into every forest,
exploring every hidden canyon. sur
mounting every inaccessible peak; NO
storm. no snow, no condition OF wind
or weather daunted him or stopped
him. He had no human companion
ship by which to try his mettle. but
nevertheless over the world Of the
material which lay about him he was
a master as he was man.
He found some occupation. too. In
the following OF old Adams Inherit
ance; during the pleasant months OF
summer he made such garden as he
could. His profession Of mining en-
gineer gave him other employment
Round about him lay treasures Ines
timable, precious metals abounded IN
the hills. He had located them. tested.
analyxed, estimated the wealth that
was his for the takins-it was as val
ueIess to him as the doubloons and
golden guineas were to Selkirk on his
island. Yet the knowledge that 1t was
there gave him an energizing sense OF
potential power, unconsciously enorm-
ously fiattering to his self-esteem.
Sometimes he wandered to the ex-
treme verge OF the range and on clear
days saw far beneath him the smoke
of great cities Of the plains. He
could be master among men as he was
master among mountains, II ne
chose. On such occasions he laughed
cynically. scornfully. yet rarely did
he ever give way to such emotions.
A great and terrible sorrow was
upon him: cherishing great passion
he had withdrawn himself from the
common lot to dwell upon It From
perverted sense Of e1piation. In a
madness of grief. horror and despair.
he had made himself prisoner to his
ideas in the desert of the mountains.
Back to his cabin he would hasten,
and there surrounded by his living
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. yet Of the dead!
he would recreate the past until de-
lection drove him abroad on the bills
to meet God II not manor woman.
NiRht-day, sunshine-shadow. heat-cold.
storm-calm: these were his life.
Having disburdened his faithful anil
mails OF their packs and having seen
them safely bestowed for the winter
in he corral he had built near the
base of the cliff upon which his rude
home was situated. he took his rifle
one morning for one of those lonely
walks across the mountains from
which he drew such comfort because
he -ancied the absence Of man con-
duced to the nearness Of God. 1t was
a delusion as old nearly as the Chris
tian religion. Many had made them
selves hermits in the past In remorse
for sin and for love toward God; this
man had buried himself in the wilder
ness in part for the first of these
causes, in other part for the love Of
woman. In the days Of swift and sud
den change he had been constant to
remembrance, and abiding in his de-
termination for five swift moving
wears. The world for him had stopped
its progress in one brief moment five
wears back-the rest was silence.
What had happened since then out
yonder where people were mated he
did not know and he did not greatly
care.
In his visits to the settlements he
asked no questions. he bought no pa
pers. he manifested no interest in
the world; some things In him had
died in one fell moment. and there
had been, as yet, no resurrection. Yet
life. hope, and ambition do not die.
they are indeed eternal Resurgam!
Life with its tremendous activities.
its awful anxieties. its wearing strains,
its rare triumphs. its opportunities
for achievement. for service; hope
with its illuminations. Its encourage
ments. Its expectations ambition
with its stimulus, its force. its power;
and greatest of all, love. itself alone
all three were latent in him. In touch
with a woman these had gone. Some
thing as powerful and as human must
bring them back
1t was against nature that man
lowered as he should SO live to him
self alone. Some voice should cry in
his soul In its cerements of futile re-
morse, vain e0pldliOue anu DchuihOiAS
recollection; some day he should
burst these grave clothes self-wound
about him and be once more a man
and master among men, rather than
the hermit and the recluse of the soil
tudes.
He did not allow these thoughts to
come into his life; indeed. 1t is quite
likely that he scarcely realized them
at all yet; such possibilities did not
present themselves to him. Perhaps
the man was little mad that morn
ing, maybe he trembled on the verge
of break-upward. downward.
know not so It be away-unconscious-
ly as he strobe along the range that
morning.
He had been walking for some
hours, and as he grew thirsty 1t oc-
Cured to him to descend to the level
of the brook which he heard below him
and Of which he sometimes caught
flashing glimpse through the trees.
He scrambled down the rocks and
found himself in a thick grove of
pine. Making his way slowly and with
5ta9 throvOh tho topgIa of