The Yale expositor., 1914-11-19
CHAPTER I.

Close to the serried backbone OF the |
Cumberland ridge through a sky OF
mountain clarity, the sun seemed hesi-
tating before its descent to the hori'
zon. The sugarloaf cone that tow
cred above a creek called Misery was
pointed and edged with emerald trac-
cry where the Hottest timber thrust
up its crest plumes into the sun. On
the hillsides 1t would be light for
more than an hour yet, but below
where the waters tossed themselves
along in a chorus of tiny cascades, the
light was already thickening into
cathedral gloom Down there the fur
riner" would have seen only the rough
course of the creek between moss
Velveted and shaded powders OF
titanic proportions. The native would
have recognized the country road In
these tortuous twistings. A great olock
of sandstone, to whose summit man
standing in his saddle could scarcely
reach his fingertips, lowered above
the stream, with a gnarled scrub OAK
clinging tenaciously to Its apex. Lott
fly on both sides climbed the noun
tains cloaked In laurel and timber.
Suddenly the LEAKAGE was thrust
aside from above by cautious hanc,
and shy, half-wild girl appeared In
the opening. For an instant she halt
ed, with her brown fingers holding
back the brushwood, and raised her
face as though listening. AS she
stood with the toes Of one bare foot
twisting in the gratefully cool moss
she laughed with the sheer exhilara-
ton of life and youth, and started out
on the table top of the huge rock.
But there she halted suddenly with a
startled exclamation and drew instinc'
lively back. What she saw might we'll
have astonished her, for 1t was thing
she had never seen before and OF
which she had never heard. Finally
treasured by the silence, she slipped
across the broad face Of the fiat rock
for a distance of twenty-five feet and
paused again to listen.
At the far edge lay pair Of saddle
bags. such as form the only practical
equipment for mountain travellers.
Near them lay tin box, Uttered with
soft metal, all groteequely twisted and
stained and beside the box was a
strangely shaped plaque OF wood
smeared with dozen hues. That this
plaque was a painters sketching pal
cite was a thing which she could not
know. since the ways of artists had
to do with a world as remote from
hn Of nr
stars. It was one of those vague mys-
teries that made up the wonderful life
OF down below" Why had these
things been left here in such confu.
sion? II there was man about who
owned them he would doubtless return
to claim them. She crept over, eyes
and ears alert, and slipped around to
the front of the queer tripod. with all
her muscles poised in readiness for
flight
A half-rapturous and utterly aston
ished cry broke from her lips. She
stared moment, then dropped to the
moss-covered rock, leaning back or
her brown hands and gazing intently
Hits purity" she approved, in &
low, musical murmur. Hits plumb
dead beautiful"
OF course it was not a finished pic
ture-merely a study of what lay be
fore her-but the hand that haC
placed these brush strokes on thu
academy board was the sure, def
hand of a master of landscape, WIZ
had caught the splendid spirit of tn,
thing and fixed 1t immutably In tru
and glowing appreciation. Who h.
was; where he had gone; why hi
work stood there unfinished and aban
doned, were details which for the me
ment this half-savage child-woman fol
got to question. She was consciou
only OF a sense of revelation and awe
Then she saw other boards, like tn
one upon the easel. piled near tn
paint box. These we're dry, and rel
resented the work of other days; bu
they were all pictures OF her ow
mountains, and in each Of them, a
in this one, was something that mad
her heart leap.
To her own people these steep hill
sides and "coves" and valleys were
matter of course. In their stony so
they labored by day, and in their sha'
ows slept when work was done YC
someone had discovered that they hel
picturesque and rugged beauty; tht
they were not merely steep field
where the pillow was useless and q
hoe must be used. She must tell San
son-Samson, whom she held In a
artless exaltation of hero worship
Samson, who was so smart" that /
thought about things beyond her u
derstanding; Samson. who could NJ
only read and write, but speculate {
problematical matters.
Suddenly she came 70 her feet Wi
a ewift-darting impulse Of alarm. H
ear had caught a sound. She ca
searching chances about her, but Il
tangle was empty of humanity. IT
water still murmured over the roc
undisturbed. There was no sign
human presence, other than herse
that her eyes could discover-and y
to her ears came the sound again, al
this time more distinctly. II was {