Arizona republican., 1922-05-12
Y OutEl and
the w est
BY REMY THlENPoNT

nix nlBn ScnOOl night term, If1rOugn
the able instruction and guidance of
n. w. Stauffacher, completed q
12-weeks' course in short story
writing the first of the year.
This class comprised ambitious
young men and women from various
walks in life. who, interested in de-
Veloping their mental faculties and
increasing their personal efficiency.
realized that the cardinal principles
of short story writing are applicable
to business, wherein they are the
means of presenting arguments more
convincingly, of producing better and
more effective letters and advertise
ments
A jealous student will develop his
latent or dormant powers of origin
ality through the study Of that orig
inality which is ever present in the
best short stories.
The story here presented is rep
resentative work by a student of the
class.)
CHAPTER l
After two years or SO or much
dancing, cigarette smoking, staying
out late at night and mild carousing,
George Bernard. hardly out Of his
teens, had developed a pernicious and.
persistent cough. He consulted the
family doctor and was greatly dis
mayed by the kind old friends
words: he had contracted consump-
tion The two baleful spots on the
X-ray plate, which at first he had
not been able to discern without the
physicians aid, We're now too plainly
seen; and they were assuming, to his
mind, disquieting meaning. The
old doctor placed his hands on the
young mans shoulders and pointed
out that his was not a case of
heredity, but a case of unthoughtful
living in an inexorable climate. Civ
ing him short bracing jerks. he as
cured him that the leading of a rest
ful life in an invigorating atmosphere,
out West somewhere, would obliter-
ate the disease entirely, and should
make of him proud specimen of the
sturdy New England stock from
which he sprang.
He mentioned Arizona. A ray OF
hope shone in Georges eyes. He
had heard of some people who went
there at the point of deaths lived
few months and finally gave up the
fight; but he also knew some. who
had gone before the dreadful plague
had done too much ravage and who
had come back free of the disease
and free of such foolish notions about
the woolly West as were entertained
by the young folks of his set
so you think 1t. isn't too late,
doctor?" he asked, grasping the old
mans arms. as though entreating for
a candid opinion. The doctor looked
steadily into his eyes, saw in them
a strong desire to live and the growth
of a determination to win the fight;
you will get WELL" he said.
When he arrived in Phoenix he
found the place to be little city, an
oasis in the desert But he was
keenly disappointed to find that he
was being politely told his kind was
not wanted, by signs at boarding
houses and hotels reading: mo sick.
accommodated" Scanning the adj
vertisements in a local paper, he
found that the health resorts were on
the outskirts Of town. and even on the
desert He took a fancy to one of
these notices, found the advertised
corner drug store whence the private
auto stage started, and the same
evening he was costly installed in
one of many quaint little cottages, a
patient of the MAS Alto
The next morning was revelation
TO him. The cottages, about 80 Of
them, were scattered on the desert,
a hundred feet or so apart, around a
large, low, frame building An irri-
eating canal ran in front of the whole
group On this side of the canal
lay the duli-gray and olive green
desert, on the other side We're green
fields OF fragrant alfalfa, vineyards,
orchards and orange groves, the
golden fruit bathing in the morning
fsaxy Ill eli -
uated, he thought. 1t was the outer
most Of the group, not far from the
bridge across the canal, and near the
desert road which wound it's way
toward the mountains. From his bed,
through the four screened sides of his
cottage, he could see all this beauty.
1t was December morning, but it
was pleasantly warm. and the sun
was already bright in a clear blue
sky. He had never awakened so re-
freshed, so grateful for being alive,
so pleased with himself and with
everything. An optimistic smile
lightened his face and he felt that
here. with good care and common
sense, he would become a well man
again.
He Sees the Only Girl
He heard galloping hoofs in the
sandy road and beheld a girl astride
a handsome pony. She passed by
swiftly, Stacked up at the approach
of the bridge. waved hand toward
the main building, and disappeared
in the lane between the orange
groves. He stood up in ecstacy, re-
visualizing the apparition; a beauti-
full young girl in a filmy white waist,
riding skirts and boots. and with a
streaming crown of black, bobbed,
wavy hair: a combination Of the
Western girl of his fancy and! of the.