Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1914-07-10
CHAPTER I.
At the Stage Door.

At the Stage Door.
Courtlandt sat perfectly straight;
his ample shoulders did not touch the
back Of his chair; and his arms were
folded tightly across his chest. The
characteristic of his attitude was
tenseness. The nostrils were we'll de-
fined. as in one who sets the upper
Jaw hard upon the neither. His brown
eyes-their gaze directed toward the
stage whence came the voice of the
prima donna-epitomized the tension.
expressed the whole as in a word.
Just now the voice was pathetically
subdued, yet reached every part OF the
auditorium. kindling the ear with its
singularly mellowing sweetness. To
Courtlandt It resembled, as no other
sound, the note OF a mufIied Burmese
gong, struck in the dim incensed cav
ern OF temple. A Burmese gong:
briefly and magically the stage. the
audience. the amazing CLEAN and scin-
tillation Of the Opera, faded. He
heard only the voice and saw only
the purple shadows In the temple at
Rangoon. the oriental sunset splash.
Ing the golden dome, the wavering
lights Of the dripping candles. the dead
flowers. the kneeling devoteee, the
yellow-robed priests, the tatters OF
gold-leaf, fresh and old, upon the rows
OF placid grinning Buddhas. The
French horns blared and the timpani
crashed. The curtain sank slowly.
The audience rustled. stood up, sought
Its wraps. and passed toward the ex.
Its and the grand staircase. II was
all over.
Courtlandt took his leave In leisure.
Here and there he saw familiar faces,
but these. after the finding glance. he
studiously avoided. He wanted to be
alone. Outside he lighted a cigar. not
because at that moment he possessed
craving for nicotine, but because like
all inveterate smokers he believed that
tobacco conduced to clarity OF thought.
And mayhap It did. At least, there
presently followed a mental calm that
expelled all this confusion. The goal
waxed and waned as he gazed down
the great avenue with its precise rows
Of lamps. Far away he could discern
the outline OF the brooding Louvre.
There was not the least hope in the
world for him to proceed toward his
goal this night. He realized this clear
ly, now that he was face to face with
actualities. A wild desire seized him
to make q night OF it-Maxim's. the
cabarets; riot and wine. Who cared
But the desire burnt itself out between
two puffs OF his cigar Ten years
ago. perhaps, this brand OF amuse-
ment might have urged him success
fully. But not now; he was done with
tomfool nights. Indeed. his dissipa,
'tions had been whimsical rather than
brutal; and retrospection never
aroused furtive sense OF shame.
He was young. but not SO young as
an idle glance might conjecture in
passing. To such casual reckoning
he appeared to be In the early TWEEN
ties; but scrutiny. more or less infal
lble. noting line here or an angle
there; was disposed to add ten years
To the score. There was in the nose
and chin certain decisivenees which
In true youth is rarely developed. This
Characteristic arrives only with man
hood, manhood that has been tried
and perhaps buffeted and perchance
q little disillusioned.
What was one to do who had both
money and leisure linked to an IRE
sistible desire TO leave behind one
place or thing in pursuit OF another
indeterminately? The inherent ambi
ton was to make money; but recog
mixing the absurdity OF adding TO hii
income, which even In his extrava
gance he could not spend, he gave
himself over into the hands OF grasp
ing railroad and steamship companies
or their agencies, and became for {
time the slave OF guide and dragomar
and carrier. And then the wanderlust
descended to him from the blood o
his rowing Dutch ancestors, which hat
lain dormant in the several genera
tions following, eprang into active lif'
again. He became known In ever
port OF call. Ho became known alst
in the wildernesses.
Whatever had for the moment mp
pealed to his fancy. that he had done
He was alone, absolute master OF hi
millions. Mammas with marriageabl,
daughters declared that he was impos
sible; the marriageable daughter
never had chance to decide one wa!
or the other; and men called him {
fool. He had promoted elephant fight
which had stirred the Indian princes
out OF their melancholy indifference
and tiger hunts. which had. by thei
duration and magnlHcenco. threatene'
to disrupt the efficiency Of the British
military service-whimsical excesses
not understandable by his intimate &C