Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1921-02-04

father had been a fronticrsman or the
first order, and ali his ancestors BE-
fore him-a rangy. hardy breed whose
wings would crumple in CIVILIZATION
but he himself had always lived IN
cities. Yet the falling SHOWS, soft anu
gentle but with a kind of remorseiess-
ness he could sense but could not un-
derstand had always stirred him.
He'd often imagined that he would
like to see the forests In winter.
In him you could see reflection OF
the boy that played beside the pond
of snow water. twenty years before.
His dark gray eyes were still rather
large and perhaps the wasted hesh
around them made them seem larger
than they were. But it was a little
hard to see them, as he wore large
glasses. His mother had been sure,
years before, that he needed glasses:
and she had easily found an oculist
that agreed with her.
Now that he was alone on the path'
| the utter absence of color in MS
| cheeks was startling. That meant the
absence of red-that warm glow OF
| the blood eager and alive in his
veins. Perhaps an observer would
have noticed lean hands, with Dig
knuckled fingers. rather firm mouth,
and closely cropped dark hair. he
was twenty-nine years of age, but ne
looked somewhat older. He know now
that he was never gOins to be any
older. A doctor as sure of himself as
the one he had just consulted couldn
possibly be mistaken.
He sat down on a park bench, just
beneath the spreading limb of great
tree. He would sit here, he thought,
until he finally decided what he wouio
do with his remaining six months.
He hadn't been able to go to war
The recruiting officer had been very
kind but most determined. The boys
had brought him great tales of France
II might he nice to go to France ano
live in some country inn until he died
But he didn't have very long to thlnR
upon this vein For at that instant
the squirrel came down to see il be hat
nut.
1t was the squirrel of Destiny. Blu
Dan didn't know 1t then.
Bushy-tan was not particular!
afraid of the human beings tina
passed up eud down the park, becaus'
he had learned by experience that the.
usually attempted no harm to MIN
But, nevertheless, he had his instincts
} He didn't entirely trust them. Ate
several generations, probably tn
: squirrels of this park would climb al
) over lis visitors and sniff in their ear
/ and investigate the back of thei
! necks. But this wasn't the way
t Bushy-tail He had come too recen'
, ly from the wild places. And he wor
] dered. most intensely. whether thi
tall, forke6 creature had pocket fu
|. of nuts. He swung down on tn
!, grass to see.
Z "Why, you little devil!" Dan sal
in a whisper. His eyes suddenl
\ sparkled with delight. And he forge
\ all about the doctors words and n
own prospects in his bitter regret
that he had not brought pOcketf'
\ of nuts.
And then Dan did a curious thin
/ Even later, he didn't know why he oil
ii. or what gave him the idea that I
could decoy the squirrel up to him
doing it. That was his only purpose
inst TO see how close the squirr
-waulA aeesto IccSk. INTO fhe bhffgs'hff ey'
IA at close range. All he did was SUI
VI denly tc freeze into one position
an instant rendered as mOtiOnless ,
the rather questionable-lOokin stor
stork that was perched on the fou
\ tain.