The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1916-05-26

NAIAN'A'&NAA&NANAAkAGNNHS
grew stouter and stronger every year
and became more and more the stu.
pidest blockhead that ever thumbed a
schoolbook. was fourteen IN q dav
when squeezed through the final
grammar grade; think Of it-fourteen
years old and still with the woman
teachers! / found out afterward that
got my obviously given passport to
the high school chiefly because nv
rather was one OF the best-known and
bestowed men in the old home town
Ferhaps 1t wasn't the magic seven that
QUILT me all over new that summer:
perhaps 1t was only the change in
schools and teachers. But from that
year on all the hard things were too
easy. 1t was as II somebody or some
thing had suddenly opened a closed
door In my brain and let the daylight
into all the dark corners at once"
Grislow sat up and finished for him.
Yes; and since that time you have
STAYED your way through the univer.
sity, and butted into the reclamation
service, and played skittles with every
other mans chances Of promotion I'M
til you have come out at the top of
the heap in the construction division,
all OF which you're much too modest
to brag about. But, say; we've
skipped one Of the seven-year flag sta
tions. What happened when you were
twenty-one-or were you too busy Just
then chasing the elusive engineering
degree to take notice?
Brouillard was staring out over the
loom Of the dozen campfres-out and
across the valley at the massive bulk
OF Mount Chigringo rising like a huge
barrier dark to the skyline save for Q
single pinprick Of yellow light fixing
the position OF a solitary miners
cabin half way between the valley
level and the summit. When he spoke
again the photographer had been giver
time to shave another pipe charge Of
tobacco from his pocket plug and Il
I'LL and light the brier.
when l was twenty-one my father
died, and"-he stopped short and thel
went on in tone which was more
than half apologetic-"I don't mine
telling, Grislow; you're not the kline
to pass 1t on where it would hurt. A
twenty-one was left with back Loaf
that / am carrying to this good day
that I will probably go on carrying
through life"
Grislow walked around the fire
kicked two or three Of the charred lol
ends into the blaze, and growled whel
the resulting smoke rose up to chok,
and blind him.
Forget 1t, Victor" he said. TN les
than a hundredth part Of that tim
you'll be at the top OF the reclamation
service pay roll--won't that help out |?
mo; not appreciably."
Grislow gave II up at that and wen
back to the original contention.
Were lodging the main ISSUE" b
said. What is the active principl
Of your. 'sevens'-or haven't you fig
ured it out7"
Change" was the prompt rejoir
der; always something different
radically different"
"And what started you OF into tn
memory woods, particularly tonight
Condolences. It began with tina
hopelessly unreliable little clock tina
Arson persists In carrying aroun
with him wherever he goes. While 20
were up on the hill cutting your spruc
tips Arson went over to his tent an
lighted up, and a few minutes afteI
ward I heard the clock strike-sever
Just as / was comfortably forgettin
the significant reminder the cloc
went off again, striking slowly, as
the mechanism were nearly III
down."
Another severn" querled Grislov
"No; It struck four"
"well?" was the bantering common
Il suppose Arson was tinkering wit
his little tin god Of 3 timepiece. It
habit of his"
II was curious enough to so an
look. When lifted the flap the ter
was empty. The clock was tickin
away on Anson's soap-box dressin