Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1918-06-20
gle
New Call
90
By r. RAY BAKER
Copyright, 1918, by the Mcclure Newspa-
per Syndicate.)


per Syndicate)
Earl WOrden was not gypsy. His
hair was too near the shade of hemp
and the color of his eyes too closely
resembled that of the ocean. Again, he
had three freckles, one on the left side
of his neck, one On his chin and the
other near the tip of his nose. They
were faint freckles, but they and the
hair and the eyes would belle any as
sumption that he belonged to the tribes
of swarthy nomads.
Nevertheless, Earl and gypsies had
one pronounced trait in common. 1t
was the wanderlust. He had Travelled
on five Of the seven seas; he had
killed crocodiles on the Amazon, kan
garoos In Australia and mosquitoes in
New Jersey. He had eaten salmon in
Portland, Ore, rice in Tokyo, and
prunes in France, as we'll as in Brook
Ign. He was a nomad.
After seeing all the sights offered
by IA countries some strange whim
of fate guided him to Gemport, a
town in the state of Washington
that the map makers forgot, and he
took a job in the First, Second, Third,
and only national or any other kind
of bank to be found there. A whole
year he spent at the desk, and he &C
tually had begun to have that settled
sensation, when along came letter
from Edward Stevens. The letter was
postmarked Wawason, Alaska, and it
had to do with nuggets and sure-pay
venture. If it had been from anyone
else, Earl would have been exceeding
~ skeptical, but Stevens had been
his companion in several adventurous
rambles into strange climes, and his
good intentions and veracity were not
to be questioned.
The letter revived the longing to
roam. 1t caused the old call of adyen-
ture to echo and re-echo through
Earl's mind. 1t was an Irresistible
call, which had only been lying dor
mant during the last year and was
not Silenced forever as he had come
to suppose. So he prepared to re-
spond.
There was only one drawback. The
drawback was Elsie Webb, a diminu-
tive, dark-eyed, attractive piece of
humanity employed in the bank. Until
the receipt Of the letter Earl had con-
Sidered her an inspiration; but now
she was in the way to his answering
the call of adventure. He was fond of
her to such an extent that he had
asked her to marry him only two
weeks previously-and she had con-
Scented; but that was before this letter
came offering him riches and red-blood-
ed life in Alaska. 1t suddenly dawned
On him that he had made a mistake.
he could see now that he was in no
financial condition to be married. The
money he had saved was scarcely
enough for the prOverbial rainy day;
while this letter from Stevens offered
an opportunity to obtain a fortune and
pave the way to luxury.
So he told her his Intentions the
night after he received the summons
from the north. He preached the sub
ject as carefully as possible and with
as much consideration for her feelings
ps he could muster-which wasn't say
ing much. She merely bit her lip and
fiickered her eyelashes and said:
<'All right, Earl. You know best. I
would not stand in the way of your
success for the world. We will con-
slider the engagement at an end"
: He left her home in q rather daZed
condition. She had taken the matter
very sensibly, he told himself, and yet
he felt sure that she cared more than
she showed. He could have felt pretty
downcast himself, only he dared not
permit it. The old call was sounding
and he must answer.
1t was early in the evening and some
late workers were just journeying
homeward. One of them, a sturdy
young man with healthy face and
Steadfast eye, carrying a dinner-pail,
stopped Earl and asked for match to
light his briar pipe.
Thanks" said the laborer, as he
puffed contentedly after Earl had fur
nished the article sought. "Nice eve
ming"
The laborer walked off briskly.
"Hurrying home to his family"
unused Earl. at must seem rather
nice"
But he must not let such thoughts
intrude. They might deter him from
his chosen course. So he thrust them
aside and the next day drew all his
savings from the bank and resigned
his job.
Two weeks later he stepped off a
boat at Sitka and clasped the hand of
his old pal, robust, weather-beaten
man of thirty, clad in fur-fringed
clothes. Earl was escorted to hotel,
where he was QUILTED in apparel APP
prOpriate to q journey inland.
tits a regular bonanza-a sure
thing" said Stevens, as they sat in
the lobby discussing the proposed ven
ture. Gail we gotta do is to get the