Omaha daily bee., 1922-05-07
Them That Be So Mighty Fond
Of Explaining Everything on
Earth May Find Them
selves Explaining Out Of
Heaven One Of
These Days.

lheFes a lot more stories told OF Two men
and one woman than Yau'li find about Two
women and one mani but that's only because
women he eieyeFer 20 hide their secrets than
We are. though. II the truth were known, there's
Just ss many adventures In manshuntins as
woInan-huntins. only the females keep their
mouths shut closer and don't shout SO loud
when they bring down their prey. nor set make
such fuss when they fail,
hut in the case of Henry, Jacob and Jemma
called "Jem' for shorness-'tis just the
common situation Of two men after one sirl:
only. thanks TO the peyiia Hunting Horn and
certain other mighty queer features Of their at
fair, the story be worth the telling, The men
also made II a lot out of the common, for ono
WAS q churchnian aud shining light. Who
done power OF good IN his way. while the
other belonged 90 the ancient order Of anoiHied
seamps that cause us moderate people TO despair
OF human nature,
In another station OF life no doubt Jacob
C!ege might have passed Ia his grave a re-
spectacle figure. for all lie wanted Was TO be
let alone to shoot and fish and play. but. not
being born 10 that condition where shooting
and fishing and playing Is respectable. Jacob
was failure The difference between him and
Squire Butler amounted Just 10 that. Squire
inherited his land and fur aud feathers and hs
could devote his days to slaughter and games
without a disrcspectful word from anybody:
while Jacob. being a wood cutters child, who'd
lost his father at years old. had no sort OF
right to birds and beasts and fishes or. In fact.
to anything but work. Yet his nature crnyed
to he hunting before all else: and SO II came
about that lie wns n baggerins young poachcr.
with no friends hut his mother. though II was
well known he had good brain and could
stand TO work well as anybody when he
pleased to do so.
By trade he thatcher-a very skillfui
MAINLAND II was we'll in his power to be a
respectable character and n credit TO the parish
II he chose But he didn't choose. and he'd
been locked UP more'n once and done good
few things to make his mother weep and the
gody sigh. And I'm sure that nobody sighed
oftener than Henry Bird Indeed, he had tried
once twice TO win over Jacob to righteousness
and plain dealing but so far couldn't point to
success.
III ever I'm reformed" said Jacob. "'twi be
by a chap from the Establishment. because
haven't got no use for psalm shifting dssenters
and least OF all for you. Henry. You're
fiddle-faced fool In my opinion, and you're only
SO amazing good because you haven't got the
pluck and spirit to be anything else" So spoke
Jacob and the good man replied:
"The Lord forgive you for that speech as
readily as do, answered Henry because he
always offered the left cheek il anybody smote
him on the right. And yet there was secrets
hid in him Is nobody guessed at, and the first
thing that showed he only human, after
all, happened in the matter Of Jemima Mason
In a word, Henry fell in love with her. much
to the surprise Of a good few maidens OF his
own persuasion. who listened to him like lambs
and who thought. OF course, he'd take one OF
them when the time came. But Jemima
Church of England. and yet he fell in love with
her most furious and made the running In a
very manly way at first. She weren't beauty.
but she had lot Of sense for 25 and she was
independent having clear fifty pound year
left her by her grandfather, who knew her
worth. Her parents were dead and she lived
with a woman cousin-a widow a good bit
older than herself-n that nice double cottage
just outside Thorpe
She did needework and made useful bit
of money by it, and she kept herself to herself
and was well thought upon for sensible and
self-respecting creature. She had a mind, too,
and a good education. She must needs even
SO to town now and again, and she'd often
leave home and put in a week all on her own.
at Exeter or Plymouth, just to keep in touch
with things and rub off the rust of the country.
Out OF the common, you may say and Thorpe
was proud Of her and hoped she'd take Henry
Bird as being the young man among US most
worthy Of such sensible maiden.
And now I'll just name the Devils Hunting
Horn and then we'll get going. 1t weren't
public house, as you might think, but lone
tower built a hundred years before this tale,
by the Squire Butler OF them days, at the time
fighting the French He lifted 1t in
the midst of Thorpe Woods and why he done
his descendants may know. but nobody else
ever did. gamekeeper lived there for q bit,
but 1t had been empty for more than half a
century daresay, and 1t got its name from
curious fact, because, often and often there
came strange and wisht sound from the tower
"a noise between bittern booming and
hunters horn heard far away. Twas
natural and creepy note and not man, woman
child at Thorpe but had often heard it.
Some said there was a sort of natural
trumpet in the stonework-a rift through which
the wind blew when 1t was southwest, and made
the noise; but for my part don't like to hear
every strange affair explained away in the
/, modern fashion. and ! steadfastly believe that
all sorts Of dark and deep things happen round
about far beyond the power of human wits
to understand. Twas not accident that made
that fearsome and creepy sound; the reason
hid with Providence, and, as I tell the
young folk, them that be SO mighty fond of
explaining everything earth may find them
selves explained out of heaven one of these
days. Tis faithless generation; and so sure
Gods alive lot of us will be called to pay
an ugly price for unbeef when our turn
comes.
The Devils Hurting Horn stood in the very
thick OF the woods on top of Thorpe Knoll yet
rot much above mile from the highroad It
was four-square tower, stained and time
bitten. gray and yellow and moldering, with
ivy-tods hanging from the window holes and
ferns fastened in the rotting mortar--the home
of bat and owl-its plaster fallen in the little
chambers and even the flat roof up on top
scattered to shiyerS at angle, where the
lightning struck time before living mem
ory. And you can still the great rusty nail
where the Dark Hunter said to hang his
lorn Then of WRITER nights he'd blow it, and
the hounds Of the air would come out of the
storm, to do his wicked will and harry poor.
naked human souls.
A fearson,e place in narrow clearing, with
pines towering round about and straggle of
thorn and laurel and sapng rowans in the
underground. And of moony night, il any
had the pluck to so there. they'd see the tower
Using up like white ghost in the midst of
the black forest. And some had heard strange