Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-03-14

on the bluish-ivory sky, motionless -
. pasted wafer. hung hawk: from
time to time one Of these waversd and
slantsd swiftly down. to climb oace
more in Q huge spiral 70 It, high tower
Of sky.
Perhaps It wondered. - it, tele.
scopic eye looked down. That had
been its choicest covert, that dishev.
eled tangle whore the birds held per
petual carnival, the weasel lTked In
the underbrush and the rabbit lined
his windfall. Now the wildness was
gone. A pergola, glistening white. now
upheld the runaway vines. making
sickle-like path from the upper ter.
race to the lake. In the barn loft the
pigeons still quarrelled over their new
cotes Of fresh pine, and under clump
Of locust trees ct . little distance from
the house, . half-dozen dolls cabins
on stilts stood waiting the honey.stor.
age of tho black and gold bees.
There were new denizens, also.
These had arrived In dozen zinc
tanks and willow hampers. to the
amaze Of . sleepy express clerk at the
railroad station: two swans now sailed
majestically over the lily.ponds Of the
lake, along its gravel rim and a pair
Of bronze-colored ducks waddled and
preened, and Its placid surface rippled
and broke to the sluggish backs of
goldfish and the flirting ms Of red
japanese carp.
Tho house itself wore another air.
It, look Of unkemptness had largely
vanished. The soft gray tone Of age
remained, but the bleakness and for
,lornness were gone; there was about
all now q warmth and genial bearing
that limited at mellowed beauty, fire.
light and cheerful voices within.
Valiant heaved long sigh Of salts.
faction as he stood in the sunlight gaz.
ing at the results Of his labors. He
was not now the flippant boulevardier
to whom money was the sine qua non
Of existence. He had learned q sover.
eign lesson-one gained not through
the push and fight Of crowds. but in
the simple peace Of a countryside, un.
vexed by the clamor Of gold and the
complex problems OF competitive ex.
istence-that he had inherited need
of activity, of achievement that he had
been born to do.
"Chum." he said. to the dog rolling
on his back in the grass, what do
you think of it ell, anyway" He
reached down. seized a hind leg and
whirling him around like teetotum,
Ax,1~ W.T. h4 h,,,
whence Chum launched again upon
him. like catapult- He caught the
white shoulders and held him wise like.
Just about right, Ell? But wait till
We get those rs mblerS!"
And to think" he continued, whim.
sically releasing him, that I might
have gone On. enc Of the nttle-neck-
clam crowd I've always trained with.
at the same old pace, till the Yer.
mouth-cocktail-Pa lm.Beach career got
a double Nelson On mo and the umpire
counted me out. At this moment I
wouldn't swap this old house and land,
and the sunshine and that garden
and Une' JeRerson and Aunt Daph
and the chickens and the birds and
all the rest Of It, for Q mile Of NIL
uonaires' Row."
He went into the house and to the
library. The breeze through the wide
flung bow.window was huttering tho
papers on the desk and the map on
the wall was tapping sidewise. He
went to straighten it, and then saw
what he had not noticed before-that
1t covered something that had been let
into the plaster. He swung it aside
and made an exclamation.
He was looking at q square, uncom-
promising wall-safe. with q round fg-
ured disk Of white metal on its face.
He knelt before 1t and tried its knob.
After q moment 1t turned easily. But
the resolute steel door would not open,
though he tried every combination
that came into his mind. mo use."
he said dissustedly. "One must have
the right numbers"
Then he lifted his fretted frame and
smote his grimy hands together. Con
found it," he said with q short laugh.
Here am. . bankrupt, with Ill this
outft-clear to the very hnger-bowls-
handed to me on q silver tray, and I'm
mad as scat because can't open the
first locked thing f1nd!"