White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1925-01-23
THE EXILE OF THE LARIAT
BY HoNoRE WlLLslE
Copyright 1928
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
New York
CONTINUED from Last Week.

novels. Hugh traced its scaly surface
with his fingers. Instantly his mag
nation closed the door on the wretch
ed present and the stone beneath his
fingers became the armor plate of a
giant lizard, striding on mighty hind
legs along sandy beach. He saw its
terrible pointed teeth, its sharp
curved claws, its little pestilent head,
towering 40 feet in the air. He saw
similar beasts moving among the
fern-like trees that bordered the
beach. He beheld the sun glowing
through the gentle mists and smelled
The odors of vast waters and vaster
vegetation.
He saw another dinosaur, fit made
in size to this, devouring the broken
carcass of huge turtle; saw the two
great brutes meet in mortal conflict
and heard the whir Of mighty wings
as lesser creatures fed the environs
OF the unthinkable battle.
And then, his imagination leaped
across countless ages, across the in
conceivably slow movement of geo.
logic time; past the imperceptibie
piling of sand on sand, the unnoted
lap of waters on waters, Of eneroach-
ing and receding seas, of lifting and
of sinking mountains and the itnerln-
lnable coursing of the ageless WINDS.
Across all these, in an instant his
vision leaped to the tiny figure OF a
nan, digging in the Old Sioux Tract
20 uncover the bones OF two giant din
Jsaurs, still locked in mortal combat,
.he broken carcass of the turtle still
beneath their feet, the tracks of the
lleeing lesser beasts still traced In
The imperishable sands Of that long
perished beach.
Hugh pushed the bit of fossil skin
back beside the last western novel
and turned to the book shelves. Row
IN row, the thoughts Of the few men
who had been able to express them
selves in the little time that had
elapsed since man replaced the dino
saur. God, though Hugh, what an ex-
change! To take from him the work
IF uncovering the priceless manu-
script of the ages and offer him in re-
urn the bartering of book for pair
il moccasins.
Every fiber of his nature said no!
Every fiber?
Slowly he made his way back to the
open window, and pulling chair he
lore it, he put his elbows on the win
lowsill and with his eyes on the dim,
black rolling of the river, he fell to
linking Of Rookie and Of all that
cookie had been to him after his
.ather and mother had died. How
1ecessary the rancher had been to
aim then, and how completely Bookie
lad shared with the boy all that he
lad accumulated Of wisdom and
,ealth He had been very, very
wise man, and because this was so
md because he had loved Bookie
leeply and truly, Hugh never had felt
July justified in refusing to follow
cookies plan for his career.
And heavens, how weary he was of
mis- constant sense of peoples disap-
prevail. Two years! Two whole years
II his tiny, tiny span Of life!
AS for Jessie-no. beyond decently
supporting her, he acknowledged no
ense Of obligation there. She was
ully competent to build up life of
ler own that she would find far more
satisfactory than her marriage with
aim had been.
Two years! Two whole years of
lis tiny, tiny life.
Over the serene top of the black
canyon wall surged the yellow moon.
ACROSS it's mellow face moved line
II diminutive silhouetted horses. Some
me was belated on the trail Johnny
parnell, perhaps, bringing down few
mounts for such enterprising dudes
Us would wish to use the saddle on
he ride to the ranch, instead Of the
Jitney.
There were lights on the canyon
door in the air-mail camp. The west
going mail must be late.
If you refuse to accede to loved
ones wishes while he lives, of what
avail is it to accede to them after
death?
All, but Bookie had wished it to be
so! Two years! Bookie, after giving
all that he had to Hugh for rs years,
asked in return two years, and he
meant, Hugh knew, that these two
years should be given to books and
to Bookie's thought on them and on
the people Of Wyoming who passed
the window of The Lariat. To exile
himself for two years from his work.
Exile! What tragic word! "Exiles.
So we are. From what-from what,
Hugh? Don't make my mistake,
for Gods sake, don't. Give all-all-"
What had the old man meant?
Hugh buried his face in his hands
and retreated into that inner sane
tuary whose walls are truth and
whose altar is sacrifice; the sanctuary
into which a man dares to retreat hut
once or twice in his life, left the clar-
ity of vision wrought within unbal-
ance his will. When Hugh emerged,
his hands were shaking and his eyes