Sioux County pioneer. (Fort Yates, Sioux County, N.D.) 1914-1929, 1915-01-08

when ne opens OUT door tOmOTFOW
morning"
"Harper's an ass; tell him I said
sol" Meade retorted, and turned back
into the architects Office.
He found Conrad. his hands clasped
behind him, inspecting the materials
upon the table with greedy eyes.
Nice pickle you've got me into"
fused Meade. Il suppose have to
stand around now till you earn your
breakfast; and my times worth
money. Where are my plans. won
der?"
With ruthless hand he began to
open and scatter about the Office sew
eral small rolls of tough manila-pa-
per drawings until he found the ones
for which he had been searching. They
were the first and second story plans
of moderate-sized house, arranged
side by side upon one sheet; and this
he spread upon the table in front of
Conrad.
There" he said; "see what you can
do toward designing an outside for
that house; just rough, free-hand
sketch"
In spite of the draftsman's apparent
deliberateness, they had not long to
wait; for presently he put pencil to
the block of paper and, with deft, sure
strokes, not one mark wasted,
sketohed, in perfect perspective. a
house fitting the plans that he had
seen; its roof simple to avoid snow
pockets, its caves and porches wide
to afford shade in summer, its lines
simple and squat for the fiat grounds
The ornamentation, massed against
broad, plain surfaces, was exquisite
In its suggested detail and placed
with consummate art. Meade, as the
last strokes we're put down, could
scarcely wait.
Look at that" he exclaimed in
triumph to his friends. Harper
couldn't make drawing like that in
two years!"
AS young Conrad added a chimney
and lined in the wide porch-steps,
Meade was for jerking the sketch
from under his fingers, but the artist
held up his right hand solemnly.
you shout wait" he calmly COM
manded; and. with few deft lines,
suggested sidewalk, lawn, some
trees and clouds; then, having drawn
a waving line about it to circumscribe
the plane of his picture, he detached
the sheet from the block and handed
1t over, with the pencil upon it.
The three bent over it in profound
respect.
THAT is certainly some house." pro-
nounced Hyde.
Il don't know how to say lovely, -
drawled Eastman, "but I'm willing to
pronounce that. a mighty decent de-
sign"
Decent" repeated Meade. Its
great"
II.
OF course they called him "the
Dutchman" after he had become an
intimate part of the life of Holden,
for there was almost no foreign ele-
ment in the town. Eight dollars a
week and his board Harper paid Con-
rad, and the boy was satisfied.
Il am more WORTH" he said, adding
philosophically, 'but it ISIS not here
the money. If you have not profit of
my work that l do, then am--what
you call it?-no goot."
Harper, with whom economy was a
stern necessity, brought a cot into the
office. and for week Conrad slept
upon this cot, taking his meals at a
nearby restaurant. During that week
Harper studied his craftsman closely,
and Mrs. Harper made two unobtru-
sive trips to the Office for the same
purpose. On Sunday Conrad was taken
to the Harper home and formally in
stalled.
He's simply revelation, SAM
Mrs. Harper pronounced in surprise
after the first week. after you get
used to the dialect you begin to dis
cover that he's well educated; he's
artistic to his finger-tips, a poet in
feeling, lover of severely good
music; he sings divinely, and little
Elsie fairly loves him. She makes
him rock her to sleep every noon be-
fore he goes back to work"
It was the good-fellowship of this
couple. together with their unwaver-
ing affection, which made Conrad turn
his admiration of them to the same
degree of worship that he had already
bestowed upon four-year-old Elsie. His
lines were cast in pleasant places in.
deed. and he thrust his roots deeply
into the soil.
At first he had 70 overcome the
same contemptuous prejudice that had
bestowed upon him the title of 1.-THE
Dutchman." Mrs. Harper introduced
him to some nice girls, but secretly
they laughed at his broken English;
and Blanche Reynolds, by whom he
was at once speechlessly smitten,
openly flouted him; whereat Mrs. Har.
per wanted to shake her. With the
Young men he WAS in aOmewhat 1oaa