Evening star., 1924-11-23

years old and that all your life long you
had desired an automobile (any kind
that would go) and a fruit ranch. Sup
pose, then, that upon the morning of
your 21st birthday a man Of law came
to the house in which you resided with
your parents and informed you that
your mothers brother. crotchety
old fellow whom nobody had seen or
heard of for years, had died and made
YOU his heir and left you nearly
thousand dollars in lawful currency
and little fruit ranch in that loveliest
of valleys which suns itself the year
round betwene the City of Salinas and
the City of Monterey.
1t was to Ruddy Copeland that the
amazing thing happened. and his
twenty-second year was no more than
five days old before he had bought
very second hand special roadster
painted a delicate baby blue-and set
forth to view the more productive
part of his inheritance.
The way led through the old
mission city of San Juan. And here
he ran plump into his first miracles.
But I am afraid he scoffed at them
at that time and was very skeptical
as to the true miraculousness of
them.
Upon the top of hill just outside
the city a miracle man and his
miracle man wore a long white robe
and d long white beard and from
morning till late at night he talked
in a sing-song voice about hfs abil-
ity to cure sick people by the simple
act of laying his hands upon them
and wishing them well. His disciples,
a stout man and stout women with
gold-rimmed spectacles, went about
saying that everything the miracle
graphs at 25 cents apiece.
The hill upon which the miracle
tent had been pitched was covered
with people. They had f1ocked to see
the miracle man from points more
than 100 miles distant. Some of them
were very sick people who had to
be carried by their friends. Every
Kind of crutch, cripple and ear
trumpet was to be seen. There were
had shriveled to the size of broom
sticks and spines so twisted that they
reSembled pretzels. But most of the
people who had come to see the
miracle man, or. like Ruddy Copeland,
had stopped off on their way to see
something else, were only suffering
from curiosity.
Once a panic broke out halfway up
the hill and several people were
knocked down and trampled on 1t
all came about because of a Mexican
with big white scar on HIS face.
The scar CLEANED like silver and sud
denly somebody said to somebody
else that the man was leper. Then
everybody tried to get away from the
vicinity of the leper as quickly as
possible.
A ROUND the miracle tent itself and
the space in front Of it the crowd
was large for 10 days. Ruddy never
got near enough to the miracle man
TO see him, but he got near enough
to hear him. and word Of what the
miracle man was doing was passed
by the fortunate spectators in the
front row to those behind them
Except for the endless singing
boasting of the miracle man there
would be silences. At the end of
ping Of hands. This applause might
mean that the power of locomotion
had been returned to hopeless
cripple, or sight to a blind mae
Whenever the applause sounded the
sick people on their way up the hill
who had been waiting for hours and
hours to get a chance at the miracle
man would become half frenzied
with excitement.
The sick believed that they would
be cured. Their friends and relatives
hoped against reason and knowledge.
But people who had never been sick
themselves or taken a vital interest
in sick people had no faith at all.
They thought that the miracle man
was a fake.
That was what Ruddy Copeland
thought. The show sickened him. He
believed in doctors and surgeons.
He tried for a while to find some
one or other who had personally been
cured by the miracle man or some
thing or other but failed. Only the
front rows on the top of the hill saw
the cures made, and thereafter the
cured persons never seemed to come
out of the charmed circle where COM
mon persons could get at them and
talk with them.
Ruddy Copeland gave up in disgust.
Whatever doubts he had about cures,
he had none about disease. There
were Biblical diseases on view, run
ming sores and the things that
troubled Job. And there were un-
doubtedly diseases more serious and
less evident that one might breathe
in and develop inside one's-self. Also
there were little children, so lame
and sick and miserable that they
could never possibly grow up. And
Ruddy, whose heart was unsophisti-
Gated and tender, could not bear to
look at them.
So he climbed into his baby blue
f1ivver and proceeded over the noun
tain pass to Salinas. Here he made
inquiries as to the exact location of
the little ranch which he had in
herited, and how to find it.
NOV the word ranch is an elastic
word. 1t means anything from
a half-acre of cabbages to million
acres Of sage brush. The ranch to
which Ruddy's directions led him, and
of whose ranch house he had the keys
in his pocket, was easily FOUND. Il
The little white house stood on
the top of a very little hill. The
hill, perhaps 40 feet high, had been
neatly terraced for the accommoda-
tion OF black berry vines and their
orderly trellises, and was entirely
surrounded by 20 acres of well grown
pear trees. Gentle hills dotted with
live oaks in turn surrounded the
orchard and a half mile of winding
dirt road separated it from the
highway over which people travel
between Salinas and Monterey.
.. The dwelling house contained
living room, q bedroom, a bathroom
and a kitchen. Outside 1t looked
like an old house. the kind that a.
child draws on g. slate, but inside
it looked new.
: Ruddy's late uncle may have been
= crochety, but he had loved simplicity
and white paint. Ruddy's new home
may have been as simple and un-
pretentious as monks cell, but 1t
was as clean and sweet as rosebud.
At the moment, however. consider
ing the house together with Ruddy's
youth and good health. the house
had one grave drawback. 1t con-