Tombstone epitaph., 1917-07-01

SOESc pdSl luS OSucE oAOS OA tic opdu- ish Mesa another higher trestle had al- ready been replaced by a splendid steel arch. A siding had been built near the ravine. a path made to the foot of the mesa. and arrangements were being made to run . local train up from the town when all was ccm- pleted to give the people an oppor- tunity to ride up the gorge and See the great pile of rock. on which enterprise was already planning the desecration of a summer hotel. the blasphemy of an amusement park!
 Up the valley of the Picket Wire one morning in early fall came a young man roughly dressed like the average cow-puncher from the ranches further north. He rode well. yet with a cer- tain attention to detail and a niceness that betrayed him to the real rough rider of the range. just as the clothes he wore, although they were the or dinary cattleman's outfit, were worn fin little different way that again be- trayed him. One look into the face of the man, albeit his mustache and beard hid the revealing outlines of mouth and chin. sufficed to show that here was no ordinary cow-puncher. He rode boldly enough among the rocks of the trail and along the rough road, which had been made by the wheels of the wagons and hoofs of the horses. There was about him some of the quiet con- fidence begot of achievement, some of the power which knowledge brings and which success emphasizes, yet there were uncertainty and hesitation. too, as If all had not been plain sailing on his course.
 To be the resident engineer charged with the construction of a great earth dam like that across the Picket Wire requires knowledge of a great many things beside the technicalities of the profession, chief among them being a knowledge of men. AS the newcomer threw his leg over the saddle-horn, stepped lightly to the ground, drop. ping the reins of his pony to the soil al the same time, Vandeventer. the en- gineer In question. looked at him with approval. Some subtle recognition of the mans quality came into his mind Here was one who seemed distinctly worth while, one who stood out above the ordinary applicant for jobs who came in contact with vandeventer, as the big mesa rose above the foothill However, the chief kept these things to himself as he stood looking and waiting for the other man to begin:
 "Are you the resident engineer7" asked the newcomer quietly, yet there was a certain nervous note in his voice which the alert and observant engineer found himself wondering at, such 6 strain as might come when a man Is about to enter upon a course of action to take . strange or perilous step. such . little shiver in his speech as a naked man might feel in his body before he plunged into the Icy waters of the wintry sea.
 q am."
 'Td like . job"
 "we have no use for cow.puncher, on this dam."
 "Tm not exactly a cow-puncher. sir.' .
 "What are youT"
 Look here," said the man, smiling a little, I've been out in this country long enough to learn that all that 1t is necessary to know about a man is 'Wlll he make good? Let us say that I am nothing and let 1t go at that"
 "Out of nothing. nothing comes. laughed the engineer, genuinely amused.
 Some men would have been angry but Vandeventer rather enjoyed this.
 'I didn't say I was good for noth ing" answered the other man, smiling in turn, though he was evidently seri ous enough in his application.
 "Well. what can you dol Are you an engineerT
 "Wen pass over the last question too, if you please. I think I could carry . rod if had a chance and there was . vacancy"
 "Umph." said vandeventef, ~you think you couldr
 "Yes, sir. Give me . trial"
 "AIl right, take that rod over thers and 60 out on the edge of the dam where that stake shows, and I'll take [ sight on it."
 Now there are two waysNa hundred perhaps-of holding . rod one rishi way and all the others wrong. A new. comer invariably grasps 1t tehtly iu his list and jams 1t down, conceivina that the only way to get 1t plumb and hold 1t steady. The experienced man strives to balance it erect on its own base and holds it with the tips of hia fingers on either side in an upright DO. sition. swaying 1t very slightly back. ward and forward He does 1t uncon- sciously. too.
 Vandeventef had been standing by ( level already set up when the new. conner arrived and the rod waA lying on the ground beside it. The latter picked 1t up without . word, walked rapidly to the stake, loosened the tar. get, and balanced the rod upon the stake. AS soon @ vandeventer Ob- served that his new seeker after work held the rod in the night way. he did not trouble te take the aghf. He threw his head backward and raised his hand. beekoaingiy.
 Tt ss happsnA" he began. ~that an give yoa . jeA Ths rodman nsxi