American Fork citizen. [volume] (American Fork, Utah) 1912-1979, 1920-12-18
CHAPTER ~.
A Man Without 4 Name.

A Man Without q Name.
The Pearlhunter sat on the door.
step Of the cabin. his face bowed in
his hands. II was June upon the
slope under the trees; June In Wolf
Run chuckling and chirking along on
Its way from spring and WATERFALL to
the river: June in the heart Of q car
dinal rocking upon the top twig Of a
tall hickory; December In the heart
Of the Pearlhunter.
Halfway down the slope, beyond
the tangled underbrush and in the
edge Of the grass-covered open strip
that bordered the river shore. the
green was broken by mound Of fresh
earth. He had trimmed II round with
shells brought up from the river;
upon the head had planted a cluster
Of orchids, the lady'sslipper Of the
Flatwoods. They were like her. the
orchids lonely flower: one to .
wide stretch Of solitude. Nobody but
he could have found so many. because
nobody knew the woods % well.
As he looked back over the years,
he found himself bordering the con-
tradictions Of his mothers life. In the
light Of the story he had heard that
memorable afternoon--the refinement
in the midst Of mean surroundings
the stern pride that had held her %
long In exile because Of q word that
had. mayhap. been long repented. The
muck and Crime Of the river had
never smudged her. Through Il Ill
she had kept as pure. as white. a. q
fake Of snow-and as cold.
"What air y'u calc'latin' Z do with
them wild roses here In tn tumbler In
the winder-keep 'em r chuck 'em
outf cayn't nnd but one more
tumbler."
The voice Of the old Boss half
startled the man on the doorstep. The
gruff old fellow had never left him.
night or day.
The Pearlhunter had forgotten him,
the rumpled house. the dishes, every
thing. He lifted his face from his
hands. rose. and entered the cabin.
The Boss was pointing to three wild
roses-a red, a pink. a white-in q
tumbler Of water In the window.
The vision the Pearlhuntss had seen
on the rock ut the pool came again.
A vision-it had been just that, only
that; an exquisite picture flashed be-
fore his face and instantly snatched
away-a picture he would never see
again. II seemed unreal as he looked
back upon Il In the light Of another
day. But no. there were the roses. He
bent his face down and caught the
aroma Of their breath.
LET them be-" he said. "They will
last another day"
The Boss made no reply. To him
they were merely faded roses. lie was
sitting on the doorstep about to light
his pipe when the younger man called
him. With the freshly filled pipe In
one hand. the unlIghted match In the
other, he rose and stepped back into
the cabin. The Pearlhunter was
| standing before small hair-covered
trunk, scarcely bigger than nm ordi
nary suitcase Of the present day. II
stood open. with the I'D thrown back
exactly MS II had stood two nights be
fore when he came up from the river
and found his mother dying. Its con
tents seemed TO indicate that they hat
been rummaged through by some one
whose haste had been great--doubt
less by his mother. II hurt him 10 re
| call the cause of that haste. 1h'
bloodstained glove she had held In hel
hand lay uppermost, probably tossed
there by one of the river men.
ITS time 10 know what's In thii
trunk"
A certain tcnseness in his voice es
capped tho Boss.
Don't y'u?"
"Ive never seen inside Of II before.
The Toss was In the act Of scrapini
his match. He stopped; looked
around out OF the tail Of his eye bu
whatever his thoughts, he made NJ
comment.
"First OF all, here's this glove" tn
young man went on. lifting the GLOW
from the trunk. "You know wher
we-saw II first"
The Boss threw away the stun
his match and felt the time-staine
and widowed article.
"west Point" he muttered. hit
m kind them spriGs wears-ofiicer''
I'd say, offhnnd."
The other stood considering 1t; ial
II aside; and lifted the next articl
from the trunk. II proved to be
4 woman's dress of rich brocade L'it'
MS the two men knew OF such natter
n impressed even them ms being
the very finest material and Of ~
y tshed workmanship, Under II Ia
other articles of woman's wear, u
equally rich, though now yellow VII
. the stain Of time. Down benen'
everything else lay snail box WINE
the Boss, from an experience wl,'
befeli him as soldier In the u
& South, knew TO be satinwood.
b The Young man stood with u IN