The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1915-06-03
CHAPTER !.

Close to che serried backbone Of the
Cumberland ridge through sky OF
lsaOnntain clarity, the sun seemed hesi'
Eating before its descent to the hori-
hon. The sugsr-loaf cone that tow
SGed above a creek called Misery was
pointed and edged with emerald trac-
cry where the Hottest timber thrust
HP its crest plumes into the sun. on
Che hillsides It would be light for
saore than an hour yet, but below.
where the waters tossed themselves
along in a chorus of tiny cascades, the
hight was already thickening into a
cathedral gloom. Down there the "fur'
Faner" would have seen only the rough
eaJuEse OF the creek between moss
v@sveted and shaded powders OF
f&Ganic proportions. The native would
l1ave recognized the country road In
these tcrtuous twistings. A great block
@S sandstone, to whose summit man
standing In his saddle could scarcely
ESach his Hngertips, lowered above
the stream. with q gnarled scrub oak
e8iDSins tenaciously to Its apex. Lott
Try on both sides climbed the noun
ta8ns cloaked in laurel and timber.
Suddenly the LEAKAGE was thrust
aside from above by cautious hand,
and q shy, half-wild girl appeared in
the opening. For an instant she halt
ssa, with her brown fingers holding
sack the brushwood, and raised her
face az though listening. As she
atocd with the toes Of one bare foot
Gwisting In the gratefully cool moss
Rhe laughed with the sheer exhilara-
zion Of life and youth, and started out
@a the table top of the huge rock.
EsHt there she halted suddenly with a
a1artled exclamation and drew instinc
sively back. What she saw might well
have asEonished her. for It was q thing
che had never seen before and OF
which she had never heard. Finally,
Fsassured by the silence. she slipped
@grcss the broad face of the fat rock
NnR a distance OF twenty-five feet and
Vaused again to listen.
At the far edge lay q pair OF saddle
@ags, such az form the only practical
equipment for mountain travellers
Near them lay tin box, Uttered with
small and misunderstanding tubes OF
aoft metal, all grotesduely twisted and
stained, and beside the box was
strangely shaped plaque of wood
&neared with dozen hues. That this
plague was painters sketching pal
cite was thing which she could not
know, since the ways OF artists had
Go do with a world as remote from
heS own as the life Of the moon or
staEs. It was one Of those vague mys-
Ssdss that made up the wonderful life
pf down below" Why had these
Ehings been left here in such confu-
aion7 II there was a man about who
eswned them he would doubtless return
co 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
Htght.
A halfTapturous and utterly aston
Sehed cry broke from her lips. She
seayed q moment. then dropped to the
Maoss-covered rock. leaning back on
her brown hands and gazing intently.
Hits purtyi" che approved, in q
low. musical murmur. Hits plumb.
dead beautiful"
OF course DC was not a finished pic
eure-merely study Of what lay be-
fore her-but the hand that had
placed these brush strokes CT the
academy board was the sure, deft
hand Of master of landscape, who
had caught the splendid spirit OF the
thing and Fixed it immutably in true
and glowing appreciation. Who he
vas: where he had gone: why his
work stood there unfinished and aban-
Goned. were details which for the mo.
Haent this haf-savage child-woman for
got TO question. She was conscious
only Of q sense Of revelation and awe
Then she saw other boards, like the
ane upon the easel, piled near the
paint box. These were dry, and rep.
resented the work Of other days: but
shsy were all pictures OF her own
roountaina, and In each Of them, as
I'm this one. was something that made
her heart leap.
To her own people these steep hill
aides and "coves" and valleys were a
matter Of course. In their stony soil
they laboFed by day. and In their shsd-
0wa slept when work was done. Yet
someone had discovered that they held
q picturesque and rugged beauty; that
Ghey were not merely steep fields
where the plcw was useless and the
hoe must be used. She must tell Sam
scn-Sanson, whom she held In an
aTtless exattation Of hero worship;
2aznson. who was so smart" that he
thought about things beyond her I'M
Gerstanding: Samson, who could not
ouly read and write. but speculate On
prohlematical matters.
6ad6en1y she came 10 her feet with
a ewift-darting impulse Of alarm. Her
ear had caught o sound. She cast
searching chances about her, but the
SRngle was empty OF humanity. The
water still murmured over the rocks
undisturbed. There was no sign OF
IanInan presence, other than herself,
chat her eyes could discover-and yet
to her ears came the sound again, and
eh1e time more distinctly. It was the
sUund Of mans voice. and it was
moaning as IL In pain. She rose and
searched vaiDiy through the bushes Of
the hillside where the rock ran out
from the woods. She lifted her skirts
and eniasheA her feet IN the shallow
eT4aAk water WadiuR Dergisteutly I'M