The Elk Mountain pilot., 1921-04-28
A Matter of Ranges
By WILL T. AMEs

t@. 1921. by Mcclure Newspaper s, Indicate.

i
For eleven months of each year
Herbert Calhoun built bridges, dams.
piers and additions to his reputation as
an engineer. Each August he stead
lastly refused to do any work at all,
but reserved the month to the utter
relaxation of fishing for tautaug at a
very precise point ranged by the stee-
pie of Cave Harbor church and GER
tain blasted oak across the cove one
way and the direction line of the Hal
liday family's private pier the other
way. The ranges established to a foot,
| the location, away down at the bottom
Of the cove. of the cluster of rocks
where all the tautaug Of Sanderson
Day seemed to foregather for lunch.
For the same eleven months OF each
year Bernice Halliday, to the intense
disgust Of her mother, devoted herself
to incurring the wrath of recalcitrant
employers Of women and children and
to the leading Of a strenuous and mill
tant life generally In her official ciI,ac-
lty Of state inspector Of employment
conditions for women and children.
The whole Of the eighth month she
swan, canoed, danced and had, on the
whole. probably the best all around
good time Of any Of the girls Of the
rather exclusive Cave Harbor summer
colony.
OF course, of all things In the world
the most natural and befitting would
be that these two doers Of things, the
hirty-six-year-old engineer and the
twenty-eight-year-old sociologist, both
spending months vacation at the
harbor every year. should be at least
interested acquaintances. Herbert Cal
houn, on his reputation alone, was a
man not to be ignored anywhere.
Bernice Halliday, whose name was
Identified with half the factory well
fare legislation in her home state in
the last three years, was bit of
celebrity as well as a most uncommon
ly fine-looking young woman.
| Yet ns Rernice sat an the end Of
the Hallidays' pier in her bathing suit,
swinging her trim and besOcked legs
over the water, and as Calhoun
brought his stubby skiff to an anchor
age hundred feet off. the end of the
| pier, there was no sign of anything like
enthusiastic sympathy between them.
The least that might have been expect
ed Of the masculine neighbor would
be friendly wave of the hand. And
the least that might have been looked
for from the feminine one would be a
CHEEKY "Going to try them again?" or
some equally amiable inanity.
AS a matter of fact, Herbert Cal
houn merely acknowledged the exist
ence of Miss Halliday by stifly per-
functory bow. and Miss Hallidays re-
turn of that meager courtesy was SO
very casual that an onlooker would
have been hard put to 1t to make
affidavit that she had reciprocated at
all.
For thirty long minutes the man
in the boat fished assiduousiy. He
baited with whole rock crab. He
took the crab on the hook, cut 1t in
two with heavy jackknife and tried
one Of the halves. He took OF the
half and put on very much smaller
crab. He removed that and substi-
tuted fiddler He banished the I'D
dler and baited with the luscious In
ner mechanism Of a clam. He swore,
earnestly and expertly. But he did
not get bite.
For thirty long minutes Bernice Hal
liday continued to sit en- the end Of
the pier, swinging her legs. By no
sign did she give evidence that she
even remembered the existence of the
man in the boat. But she did.
"Conceited old prig =" Bernice was
saying to herself, the while she ap-
peared to be lost In lazy contempla-
ton of the distant catboat regatta
down the bay. IF he were Just an
ordinary smarty, I'd tell him. But
he isn't; he's a most extraordinary
one. The idea Of his trying to lecture
meme lon the proper sphere of a
woman! And sulking when l let him
tnow that considered my work just
AS important as his and didn't pro-
pose to give 1t up. ever, to be nothing
but just some mans wife! And say
Ing there were some things, like fac
tory management, and his old engineer
Ing, that were actually as far outside
the feminine understanding as fishing
If you please-and, of course. the
woman hadn't been born who could give
her mind to cause and effect in the
catching of fish And now look at
him-sitting out there by the hour ev-
cry day-and he hasn't hooked black
fish this seasonl"
IF that girl comes and sits on that
pier tomorrow" inwardly foamed Cal
houn, ''and silently revels in my rot
ten luck, by thunder, I'm going to pack
up and get out of here! Jeering Mt
me. she is, because said there were
masculine stunts and feminine stunts
and that bridges and factories and
fishing We're masculine and in my line.
and writing verse and being mentally
and spiritually as well as physically
beautiful-and being my wife-were
feminine and in her line !"