, 1923-01-21
CHAPTER XXI tcontlnued.)

deOoonooo = W1noinS gLAE with little
caScades n broad pools. In some OF
them water snakes could be sven
twisting shadowly.
But the wonder of the place was
the embassy OF stately palms that
had marched down the ravine to the
edge OF the desert and greeted the
visitor with tho majesty of lofty
chieftains in great war bonnets of
green plumes. eome were tall and
slender, with headdresses of frond-
sd glory. Others were short and fat
and 90 shaggy Of trunk that they
reSembl0d tho legs OF giant cowboys
in chaparajos.
There was 4 little cabin halfway
up the canon but It was locked and
deserted. On Ia bulletin board were
plecards begging for mercy TO ami
ma.kind and praisinE nakedness as
akin to goodness.
He ought to be on a censorship
board" said Hobby.
The hermit who kept this retreat
was making good his creed for when
Mem and Hobby got out of thsN car
and stared from the edge of the
barrier down into a stream meand.
erina through an Eden OF shade.
they saw him naked at his bath.
Both pretended not to have no
ticed him and turned away. Before
long he came W the steep path in
apostolic Earb with robe, rope cir
die. sandals. and staff, He wore a
beard and long chestnut curls as in
tho tradition Of the Messiah.
How easy It Is to look like the
pictures of Christi Tom Hobby said.
It anEered him a little to meet a
man whose ideals and practices we're
40 contrary TO his WI
The hermit lived OF Xxi TO moth
ing, took no part in the activities OF
mankind. hid himself In obscurity'
and led q life Of scantified indolence.
He ala not mortity his flesh. and
he did not follow h mediasval the
ory that baths are diabolio and oirt
etytne. He was neat and oven his
nails were manieured with care.
But he made no use Of his body
for the public good or gayety. He
abstained from beauty and suppress
"a his emotions. Tom Hobby, by
this very opposite ambition. treated
his nesh as an instrument of many
uses; he diverted millions OF people
and his prosperity was gagged by the
delixbt he gave in quality and guam
t,ty. He was so far from seeking
oblivion that his very pastures were
multiplied and sent about the world
The ambitions Of h W men
wore Of mutual criticism and re
proach.
Yet Hobby was polite to h po-
lite hermit who invited the wander
ers into his neat little cabin. sold
them postaicards with views OF the
canyon then with = most unhermt-
ike slill played them love tunes on
an Hawaiian guitar Of his own max
Ing. He held In his right hand a
har of steel with which he gave his
mo,od,es q quaint sliding tone. an
amorous whimper OF a a~quirre-nAe
pathos. -,
rrond this coy retreat Hobby leo
Nen down to the center of the palm
haunt. He was thinking aloud:
"F1unny business, being a PROBES
SIGNAL good man. That sort OF EEL
low hates the world and Is AFRAID Oh
a and retires to tho desert to ave
III. soul. Always seemed to me there
was something lacking in tnat ioea
of icing good. W. your OWE soul
and let the world 20 to the dev1H y
r,eanS nothing &c the hermit whetn'
~ ,hera IN war or peace famine or
n-rospertiy. He doesn't help any
lonely people to smile: he doesn't feeo
or give any money to any
A he doesn't build n railroads
or cathedrals or theaters, pant any
pIetures or writs any aongs o. Vo's
or make shoes on anything. Hs does
mo-, commit any sins. maybs-any OF
tho orovd sins-but he doesn'e com
init any good deeds. either.
.stiIl. II : mar Is 80 excited about
his soul, its better II he will 20 STAy
nv himself and save It than to speno
his life trying TO ave sverybodyelse's
soul by censorships and foolish laws
about tobacco and Sunday ana 1'
any everything"
In the depth Of the canyon the
Mains were densely congregateo,
fheir branches intsr:seed into a ROOF
of murmurous green. Mem was In a
mood Of beyond the world; she felt
bevyttched as she walked over the
dried a Of fallen leaves and hst'
ened to ths birds that made a lyric
of this haven. 1t was
a realm Of Arabian magic. with no
hint of the American magic that our
familiar Eyes ignore.
Mem dropped wearily DOWN upon a
stone by the brook in a matched tent
Of palms. Tom Hobby. though there
was a place at n distance. a down
at her side.
This threw her heart into a fiu'
ter. His own heart was evidently on
he scurry. toe. and there was a
fierce debate within him whether ne
should speak or not. Finally he said
You've got me at a terrible dis.
ad.an4s1a herA. I'm all alone with