Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1913-10-17


the front steps OF his
cottage on the Long Is
land shore that Friday
afternoon In mid-autumn,
with two days of leisure
in front of him before he
ehould resume his daily
labor with It's monoton-
GUS toll.
,ot that he hated work or
II S' life of ignoble ease and pleas
ia''T pbllosophicaIly inclined. even
pre- e.. no left college he had discerned
eIOt ,otIIItv of the search after hap
NC ~ Contentment, he knew. must
DV .So reward OF work. But this
~. 's eternal toll in New York ofnce,
Up ,s,as millions to millions for the
Ou A.oaIzement of the monopoly which
y other had built up-this was what
,.IIod him. In other lands a man
a.patod as he was might enter poll
~ devote his life and fortune to
~ country: here-well, his country
.a,S oct along very well without his
.s,stonce In the vast and varied
ahlic life of America his efforts would
list his ambitions crushed out
" daily disappointments and the sor-
IA strife of the political world. He
wv No future of contentment for him
tho land of his birth; he, with his
.,nons looked forward to fewer OPP
rortupitles than the poorest and most
Tterate immigrant passing beneath
HE Statue of Liberty.
MANY times a millionaire at the age
|, thirty he had succeeded to the con-
,roI OF his fathers enormous business.
po fulfilled his duties punctiliously,
eduously. but without heart. And his
veek ends he spent alone, in his cot
ase on the northern Long Island
,bore among his books, reading,
dreaming, or wandering by the barren,
esoate marshes and the surf-swept
bores of the Sound, while his mag.
bIAclent town house remained closed
and his automobile rusted unused IN
bis garage.
Half mile from his isolated house
he stopped, awaking out of his medi-
atoms to discover that he could no
Onger see his way. A death-white fog,
bue Of the sea-borne fogs of Novem-
Der, had shrouded the land, plotting out
III the familiar landmarks. Lane drew
IN great breaths of 1t greedily. 1t re-
minded him of London, with its mys-
ery and its charm, Of melancholy
France, when the leafless poplars glis-
EN- with white frost beside the Seine.
His years abroad had been too few
hOugh vivid in incident. Something
n bis detection fell from him as the
pictures stirred in his mind and paint
ID themselves upon his memory In
Fyid colors anew. Some day, when
Be decently could, he would shake on
he cares Of his life, resign the bus
mess into other hands, and withdraw
. that life Of leisure which he loved
D other lands.
Suddenly he heard the booming Of a
IuR over the waters. 1t sounded like
lie signal Of some ship in distress.
That was treacherous shore near the
aSt end Of the Island, and one on
Ehich ships often came to grief, for
ne long, oily pillows hid the menac-
nS rocks which threatened vessels.
Athough 1t was far less than a hum
ifed miles from the metropolis, this
eslon might have been a remote
Mt OF the New England shore; 1t
'ss out OF the track Of passing ships,
little, forgotten space devoted to
"a BIRDS and hunters.
Then over the waves came some
ahs strident and shrill, hooting like
steam siren and shrieking like an
pNoachlng cable car. And out Of
Nc void fell something not fifty yards
way mat plunged into the sand and
Jug up smoking hillock. Lane
'sKed quickly toward this object; as
approached he heard the booming
Ound once more.
Hhen he came up he saw that It
~ htty-pound shell from man-of-
~ gun that had burst asunder there
" oWled itself in the sand. The
Y" Had fallen before the booming be-
~ sound travelled slowly; he cal
S,s,eu that the warship must be
WV 'nree miles in the offing. She
- evidently some vessel that had
usf bearings in the fog, and was
|anding.
=. vat might be a rational explana-
H.. Ou'-suddenly the thought came
~ was ever target practice held
s,s VIC waters of Long Island Sound
!, we Though that especial region
,,a nVu' OF the track of ships, num-
- suiah craft traversed the wa
an, p" gather oysters or lay them
Eu,sIr VI the marine oyster farms.
rsS =" 10 man-of-war ever engaged in
OSEed sea- DopU'o0' '
clsna distant scream rose into
h s,, S',ous din, and, as the boom Of
d ' 80. followed, shell ploughed up
raw M this time falling further
ana ,s yut scattering more widely.
Dol n., .snt have fastened from the
Four,, ~Nnout imputation upon his
Nase; and GO \.