The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1922-10-07

I er rooms anu q garnet Ia he reached
with a ladder The ancestral home ~
tie ROSES. however. had fully , dozeu
rooms. and Il lO0msd 70 an incredible
size Ia the mystery Of the moonlight.
lie saw quaint eahled roofs and far
spreading wings And II seemed more
IKE q house 81 enehanfmeui. a sirac-
ture raised by the rgbhlng u a magic
lamp. than the work of carpenters aud
masons.
Probably is wild surroundings had
a great deal 70 DO with this effec'.
! There were no roads leading 10 Trails
End. Material could not b. oarIsed
over H. winding trails except on PACK
animals. lie had realization o. tne-
mendous dlaicullies that had been con
euered by fiseless effort. of loag
months OF 8nendiag toll. II exhaust
les liienoc. and AZ the end--a dream
/ cone true An Of lts lumber had 10
be hewea from fhe forests about Iis
stone bad been quariied from the rocS
c.0s and hauled with inAnlie labor
over the steep trails.
lie understood nov ahy the Turn-
ers had coveted Il. /, seemed the
acme OF luxury Go them. And more
clearly thon ever be understood Whg
tie RosSes had died. sooner than re-
liuqpish IL. and Why its usupalion by
the Turner'S had left such debt u
I hatred 10 Linda An men know that
the love OF home Is one % the few
great impulses that has made toward
! civilization. but by the same token q
has been the cause ~ many wars Per
haps the day is coming when this love
viii die IN the land hut with Il viii
die the strength 10 fepel the heaihen
from our walls. and the land will noi
be worth living IN, anyway But @
was not dead 20 the mountain people
No really primitive emotion ever Is.
The Rosses had known ihis instinct
very well. As all men who are strong.
ihewed and Of real natural virtue. they
had known pride OF race and name,
and II had been task worth while 20
huild this stately house on their far.
lying acres. They had given their
nber TO II freely, no man who heheld
the structure could doubt that fact
They had simply consecraiel their
lives 60 n; their one Work by which
they could show 20 all who came after
that by their own hands they had
earned their right TO live
Bruce saw the broad lands lying an.
der the moon. There We're hundreds
of acres Of alfalfa and clover 70 FUR
nish hay for the winter feeding. There
were wide, green pastures. ensilvercd
by the mOon and fields OF corn laid
out IN even rows. The old appeal Of
the soil, an instinct that no person of
Anglo-SaxOn descent can ever com.
pletely escape. swept through him.
They were worth Sighting for. those
fertile acres.
Not for nothing have a hundred gen.
erations Of Anglo-Saxon people been
ullers OF the soil. They had left
love Of II 20 Bruce, He knew what
II would be like 20 feel the earth's
pulse through the handles OF pillow. 20
behold the first start OF green things
IN the spring and the golden ripening
IN fall TO watch the flocks through the
hreathless nights and the herds feed.
ing on the distant hills
Bruce looked over the ground lie
knew enough not 20 continue the trail
farther The space In front was haihed
In moonlight. and lac would make the
best kind Of target TO any rideman
watching from the windows OF the
house lie turned through the coverts.
seeking the shadow OF the forests at
one side
BY going In quartering direction
he was able 10 approach within twa
hundred yards VI the house without
emerging into the moonlight At that
poln; the real difficulty OF the stalk
began He hovered in the shadows,
then slipped one hundred feet further
10 the trunk Of great oak tree
lie could see the house much mors
plainly now. True. Il had suffered rel.
lect In the past twenty years It need
ed painting and many Of its windows
were broken. Bruce rejoiced TO see
that there were no lights In the east
wing Of the house; the window that
Linda had indicated In the note was
just black square on the moonlit
wall.
There was a neglected garden close
to this wing of the house. II he could
reach this spot In safety he could ap-
preach within few feet of the house
and stlll remain in cover. He went
fiat, then slowly crawled toward It.
once light sprang up In a window
near the front, and he pressed close
10 the earth. But in moment II went
away He crept on. lie didn't know
when a watchman In one OF the dark
windows would discern his creeping
figure. But he did know perfectly just
what manner OF greeting he might ex.
pect In this event There would be a
single little spurt Of FIRE In the dark.
ness. So small that probably his eyes
would quite fall TO catch II. II they
did discern II. there would be no time
for a message to be recorded In his
brain. II would mean swift and GER
tain end OF all messages. The Turner'S
would lose no time in emptying their
L. ~. A