The Arizona copper camp., 1919-05-10

that he telegraph a withdrawal of his
letter in the morning"
The suggestion was unanimously ap-
proved and within an hour, mounted
or one of the best horses in Maryland
so his groom informed mel was on
my way to Washington with the mes
sage of Judge Fine in my pocket. Yes,
had two days to spare on my sched-
ule Of travel and reckoned that, by re-
turning to Baltimore next day 1 should
reach Canton in good time.
1t was the kind of thing that only
1.-the, supple, strong-hearted lad such
as / was in the days of my youth,
could relish-speeding over a dark
road by the light of the stars and a
half-moon, with horse that loved to
kick up wind. My brain was in a
fever, for the notion had come to me
that I was making history.
The lure Of fame and high place hur-
ried me on. With the senator in the
presidential chair should be well
started in the highway of great sue
cess. Then Mr.. FL. Dunkelberg might
think me better than the legacy of
Benjamin Grimshaw. A relay awaited
me twenty-three miles down the road.
Well, I reached Washington very
sore but otherwise in good form, soon
after daybreak. I was trembling with
excitement when put my horse in the
stable and rang the bell at our door. It
seemed to me that I was crossing the
divide between big and little things. A
few steps more and should be look
ing down into the great valley of the
future. Yet, now that was there,
began to lose confidence.
The butler opened the door.
Yes, the senator was up and had
just returned from walk and was in
his study. found him there.
swell, Bart, how does this, happenY"
he asked.
"1t's important business" said, as
I n"1sented the letter.
Something in his look and manner
as he calmly adjusted his glasses and
read the letter of Judge Fine brought
the blood to my face. 1t seemed to
puncture my balloon, so to speak, and
I was falling toward the earth and so
swiftly my head swan. He laid the
letter on his desk and, without looking
up and as coolly as if he were asking
for the change of dollar, queried:
swell, Bart, what do you think we
had better do about it?"
0T--T hnninU-uoY1 x,o,,
take it," stammered.
"That's because the excitement Of
the convention is on you," he an.
swered. 'Let us look at the compass.
They have refused to nominate Mr..
Van Buren because he is opposed to
the annexation of Texas. On that sub
ject the will Of the convention is now
clear. 1t is possible that they would
nominate me. We don't know about
that. we never shall know. If they
nlC, and J. accepted, what would be ex-
pected of me is also clear. They
would expect me to abandon my prin-
ciples and that course of conduct
which I conceive to be best for the
country. Therefore / should have to
accept it under false pretenses and
take their yoke upon me. Would you
think the needle pointed that way?"
''No," 1 answered.
Immediately he turned to his desk
and wrote the telegram which fixed
bis place in history. 1t said no.
Into the lives of few men has such
q mn fol T of inn
feeling of awe. What sublime calm
ness and serenity was in his face! AS
If it were mere detail in the work Of
the day, and without a moments fall
tering, he had declined crown, for he
would surely have been nominated and
elected. He rose and stood looking
out of the open window. Always l
think Of him standing there with the
morning sunlight falling upon his face
and shoulders. He had observed my
emotion and T think it had touched
him little. There was a moment of
silence. A curious illusion came to me
then, for it seemed as if I heard the
sound of distant music. Looking
thoughtfully out Of the window he
asked:
'Bart, do you know when our first
fathers turned out Of the trail Of the
beast and found the long road of hu-
manity? 1 think it was when they dis
covered the compass in their hearts"
So now at last we have come to that
high and lonely place, where we may
look back upon the toilsome, adven-
turous way we have Travelled with the
aid of the candle and the compass.
Now let us stop moment to rest and
to think. How sweet the air is here!
The night is falling. I see the stars in
the sky.
Just below me is the valley Of Eter-
nal silence. You will understand my
haste now. I have sought only to do
justice to my friend and to give my
country a name, long neglected, but
equal in glory to those Of Washington
and Lincoln.
Come, let us take one last look to-
gether down the road we have trav-