Year: 1873

a kUMANGE Uf uurnEhIUNi


In 1863 Gopherton was outgrowing its pc
riod of placer mining, roughs, vigilantes, gam
blers and adventures of every sort. 1t was
in fact, fast gaining reputation for solid bus
mess prosperity, good living, piety and hand
some women. It had so far progressed III
nineteenth century civilization, that it boasted
three churches with paid ministers ex'
tremely Fashionable" and dispensed entirely
with ill-compensated labors of home missiona'
ries. Instead of those unseemly revels which
tradition imputed to its earlier days, ladies
lunch parties, church festivals and Sunday
school pic-nics were among its most tashlona'
BILE recreations.


The 18th of May had been set apart for
one of these latter. The weather was as bright
and sparkling as only California May days can
be. Gopherton was all abloom with roses,
fuchsias, geraniums, helotropes, and the
thousand beautiful shrubs and plants that at.
tain their highest perfection in the quick and
fertile soil of the foot hills. The heights,
which enclosed the little town as in an am
phitheatre of green terraces, still wore the
freshness of Spring in lush verdure and gor-
geous with blooms. Overhead, the sky was
one cerulean arch, without cloud or speck.
As for temperature, never had more delight
full day dawned on the world since Paradise
was forfeited.


By eleven o'clock the gay procession of
omnibuses, carriages, wagons and vehicles OF
every sort, packed with all that was choice in
the way of youth, beauty and provisions, was
on its winding way out of town. Along the
tortuous road among the hills it ratified, wa
king the echoes in answer to many merry
shout and song halting, at last, about two
miles from its point of departure, in pine
grove, where the ground was as nearly level
as the ground anywhere about Gopherton
was inclined to be-perhaps we should say,
disinclined to be, since disposition to disn-
clination vas the predominating one in this
romantic region, and this particular spot was
nearly an exception.


AS the carriages were speedily emptied of
their inmates, Miss Marion HALEY stood for
a moment in the door of hers, taking in the
scene, and thinking that it was almost pity
that the holy stiffness and perfect beauty and
grandeur of the place should be profaned by
the riotous merriment of all that miscellaneous
crowd. For Miss HALEY was poet in senti-
ment, albeit she had never strung two rhymes
together in her life. 1t was this poetical SEN
timent which led her soon apart from the
crowd, to spot where the soft monotone OF
the pines was uninterrupted by its boisterous
merriment. Her light football on the grass
returned no sound her blue muslin dress
made no rustic. Only the note of a wild bird,
or the chirrup of a squirrel overhead broke in
upon the low, pleasant murmur, so like that
of the distant sea.


Presently new sound touched her con-
sciousness with sense of wonder-almost OF
alright. VAST the moan Of a human voice
The pine-cone she was examining dropped out
of her hand her fingers relaxed their hold OF
the young ferns and wild flowers Again
that moan Miss HALEY was genuinely ter
ri6ed at the thought of what that sound might
mean, and felt at first impelled to flight. But
the heroic in her nature asserted itself on Sec
ond thought, and she determined first to learn
what there was to flee from. Accordingly she
directed her steps slowly in the direction of
the mysterious sound, listening meanwhile for
its recurrence When she had reached a clump
of manzanita. bushes, growing on the edge of a
ravine, once more she heard the sound, this
time Enthusiastically human voice, and almost
at her feet. Pausing a moment to recover
courage she peered beyond the bushes, and
there, right upon the edge of frightful pre-
cipice, discovered, stretched at full length the
form of man.


An instant's observation showed her a we'll.
dressed man then further glance, young
man, and-when she was quite sure he did
not observe her-a handsome man and last
ly, that this handsome, well-dressed young
stranger was either i'll or intoxicated. Now,
ifthere was one vice which Miss HALEY hated
more than another, it was drunkenness; and
she certainly suspected the stranger of being
in this position, as the only ineligible expla-
nation of his being in the singular and dan.
gerous position he was unconsciously occupy
ing. What should she do? She was half
minded, since he was drunk, to let him take
his chances and roll over the cliff if he would
But upon further reflection, she concluded
that such Indifference was hardly humane
escaped the brown-bearded lips, finding its
way straight to the generous heart under the
cool-looking blue muslin, and the matter was
decided in favor of philanthropy.


Miss HALEY first spoke softly to the uncon
scious man, with the intention of gently arous
ing him. But finding that her voice had nc
other effect than to occasion more moaning
and increasing restessness, she next knelt by
his side, placing her hand on his brow, which
she discovered to be burning and finally, con
sulting his pulse, which convinced her that te
whatever cause the mans illness might be ow
ing, he was at that moment exceedingly il
and suffering. The situation was embarrass
ing. Alone she could not rescue him. If sht
left him, he might move so as to fall down the
cliff: The more she looked at and pitied this
helpless Adonis, the more the trouble grew
but unfortunately, when her indecision hac
grown unbearably painful, the voices of some
of the Sunday-school children were heard ap
preaching the spot. Miss HALEY called tt
them with all her strength of lung, and hap
PLY so as to arrest their attention. That onc'
gained, the youngsters came rushing pell-mell
each more desirous than the others to be frs
on the ground.


80, Miss HALEY" they all exclaimed in 1
breath, eve have been looking everywhere fo
you. Lunch is all ready, and the swings arr