The Elk Mountain pilot., 1920-11-25

IN reaching a decision.
1t was rather characteristic of tn.
mountain men-that the grandson of
Dan Failing couldn't possibly pay
board. But Steele knew the ways of
cities and of men, and he only smiled
'.. w'.l raa, lt~A. he eSmuinrd
a'N S. fie Lhaffoui with him NJ
lie cad Of h's stay. He wants hsn-
ing. and you've got that in the North
fork Moreover. you're thousand
miles back"
"Only one hundred. If you must
know. But Steele-do you suppose
he's the man his grandfather was be-
fore him-that all the Failings have
been since the first days of the Ore
gon trail? If he is-well. my hats
Off to him before he steps off the
train"
The mountaineer's bronzed face was
earnest and intent in the bright lights
of the club. Steele thought he had
known his breed. Now he began to
have doubts of his own knowledge.
He won't be; don't count on it." he
said humbly. "The Failings have done
much for this region. and I'm glad
enough to do littles to pay 1t back
but don't count much on this eastern
boy. He's lived in cities; besides. he's
a sick man. He said so in his wire
You ought to know it before you take
him in."
The bronzed face changed; possibly
a shadow of disappointment came in
to his eyes. "A lunger, eh?" Lennox
repeated. "Yes-it's true that If he'd
been like the other Failings. he'd never
have been that. Why, Steele, you
couldn't have given that old man a
cold If you'd tied him in the Rogue
river overnight. OF course you couldn't
count on the line keeping up forever
But I'll take him. for the memory Of
his grandfather"
"You're not afraid tot" =
Afraid, h-II He can't infect those
two strapping children Of mine. Snow
bird weighs one hundred and twenty
pounds and is. hard as steel. Never
knew sick day IN her life. And you
know Bill, of course"
Yes. Steele knew Bin. Bfii weighed
two hundred pounds, and he would
choose the biggest Of the steers he
drove down to the lower levels in the
winter and, twisting its horns, would
make 1t lay over on its side. Besides.
both Of the men assumed that Dan
must he only in the first stages Of his
malady. Ff7H
And even as the men talked, the
train that bore Dan Failing to the
home Of his ancestors was entering
for the first time the dark forests Of
pine. and FIR that make the eternal
background Of the Northwest. he wap
wholly unable to understand the
strange feeling Of familiarity that he
had with them. sensation that in
hfs dreams he had Known them al
ways, and that he must never 90 ont
of the range Of them again.
.
Dan didn't see his host at first. For
the first instant he was entirely en-
crossed by a surging sense of disap-
pointment-a feeling that he had been
tricked and had only come to another
city after ALL He got down onto the
gravel of the station yard. and out on
the gray street pavement he heard
the clang of trolley car. Many au-
tomobiles were parked just beside the
station. some of them foreign cars Of
expensive makes. such as he supposed
would be wholly unknown on the
frontier. man In golf clothes
brushed his shoulder.
Dan looked up to the hills. and he
felt better He couldn't see them plain
ly. The faint smoke of n distant for
est fire half obscured them. Yet he
saw fold on fold Of ridges of a rather
peculiar hlue in color. and even his
untraiped eyes could see that they
were clothed in forests OF evergreen.
Over the heads of the green hills Dan
could see few great peaks: Nc
fnughln. even and regular as paint
ed mountain; Wagner. with queer
white gashes where rhe snow still lay
In IT'S ravnes and TO the southeast
The misty range Of snow-covered hills
that we're the Sickeyous. He felt de-
risledlv bctfer. And when he saw old
Sllas I.ennox waiting patiently beside
tbe sfrt'on he felt he had come TO
ti'c right nlace.
II would Re Interesting TO explain