TH E TORCH OF REASON, SILVERTON. OREGON, THURSDAY, AVGUST I, 1898
and
re-entered
the
She b e n t d o w n q u i c k l y , ^
Nearly a mile fu rth e r on Jim “ There!” she said «Pm
S kinner came to a sm all frame of you, am I ?”
*
house. He felt th a t he could not go* The next
♦ i
" further.
m ust stop ,„ „ ie and hurrying up th e road" t
- - -
-
where .non, or fall h v t h e r t n o d .l » . t..i i
'
J ' O ad | 0 , Vt.r .
The Tramp.
H e quickened h i. pace, and «¡de. H e would m ake one' more
He e a t'th e r e T '0""'
The slouching; figure of a m a n . U ^ l j ' few ,ninu‘es later, he effort—one more tria l—and if he to ea i t m . - ¡ , 7 7 7
>ved .low
slowly
^
fai] ! d —
I ghe
.h e had
hU £ a ,” >
moved
ly along a dim prairie £ , ^ 7 ' " ' 7 ' 7 ' 7 i’»lar«e
* * » • build- faded------
’ £ ™ead
road. Hie g arm e n t, were thread- U U U U T 1 7
barb-
H is face p a l e d - a look of despair spair h ,d depr ed U T
***
g e n e ., appearance
appearanee, ~ f i ” 0
hare, and his general
. e 8tood f°r a mo- fam e into his eyes. He approachec
presented a picture of wretchedness f s» }f
® ,oa< , »rresofute. If he *he door of the house and knocked
He walked on slowly, hardly
U 7 ,
W° r,k ’ 8b° Uld 1,6 a8k
A man ca,ne *° ‘he door with a
and want.
knowing or caring what he did.
r a lodging and som ething to eat? hook in his hand.
A cold March wind was blowing
Ih e wind was increasing in jls
W n / k T u U.Shed
the ‘bou«h t “ * am «eak an d —a n d —h u n g ry ”
through the dry, dead grass, and
W ork? W h a t could he do in h i. he faltered. «1 m ust stop some- fury, and sweeping through the Ion«
patches of shadow and sunlight
grass with a weird, dism al sound
present weak condition? N othing, where. I have no m o n e y - ”
were chasing each other over an
H e turned tow ard the building.
‘ This is a school-hm .se,” an- Banks of taw ny, purple clouds lay
unbroken waste of prairie. The m an
along the rim of the horizon, out of
’
° " " ,er ° f the 6Were'1 t h e m a n a ‘ 'h e door, shortly,
drew his thin coat more closely cattlU r-i.U h
cattle-ranch, came out of the build- and then closed the door in Tim’s winch shone a m ass of flaming yej.
about him , and shivered as a keener
m g and saw the slouching figure face. He turned away, a lw k of low light from the sinking SUn
blast than usual swept around him.
. . , ,
.............. ..
7 ± ‘8
the road-
" - P a i r on his thin, whi’te face All beyond. P resently a veil of smoke
“ H it’s a pretty pass come to Jim
•
M • I the
l figure
e-»
S 1 kinner,’’said
in the road. |,Frp / X T
P ^ n g around the world seemed to grow dark swept over his head, and a shower of
black cinders commenced to fall
“ Ye have been tra m p in ' all day i.,.,k
e e,nanded, casting a about him. W here would he go
about him while the air, all of a
w ithout a bite ter eat, a n 'i f ye g i t |creatllr\ ,
.’ " f 1 ° n ihe forIoru next? He h ard ly knew. He stood
sudden, was laden with fumes of
an y th in g , yer goin’ ter hafter bag— ,
p " i 7 •
the road, the cold M arch wind burning vegetation.
He turned.
yas, bag!” And he threw out his niPrp(, i : J oi
" \ r work>” Mam- blowing about him , fluttering his
Aij awful sight met his gaze.
hand with a gesture of disdain, an d |inw , • ' ” ‘lier’ 141 d b ’ knowing tattered garm ents and sweeping
The prairie was on fire!
quickened his pace, a flush of sham e , <
. A (>"nsw^ 1 7
qUestion* through the long gass with a sharp,
G reat colum ns of black smoke
an d hum iliation m ounting his thin r ‘ ‘ * 7
W8S th ° answ er- hlssing sound.
| ale face. “ W ho’d a thought ye’d l o w s X / X 7 °
7 - th ° Re f d '
He tUFned a ” d walked sI°wly were rolling across the prairie, and
the red flames, leaping and roaring
ever come ter this?” heexclaim cd,al- time
1 7 .
' X
the d ar , down the road, ju s t as a score of
m the gale, were ru sh in g down to
m ost fiercely. “ W hat did y er ever „ u h ,
' c a “ le
children, released from school, is-
come W est fer? T er g it l a n d ! - L ,® ’. „ / T , " " . '' i ve had enough sued from the school-house door ward where he stood, not a quarter’
of a m ile awav!
cheap l a n d - l a n d fer aim ..si noth-
A hot Ho h '* " 7
»
,» n d scattered, going in different
Several school children came run
in ’! ‘Rich land’— th a t’s w hat they ner>H f ‘ , f b m antled Jim S k in - ■ directions to th eir homes, where
ning down the road, and passed,
aaid”- h e laughed a so rto f choking ! d i s a p ^ a m 7 " ,8t m '’
the,'!
g ,,t fire8 a “ d
crying with fright as they ran.
■
•
“ C h e a p l a n d — ric h H n d - i
'.ham
laugh.
“Cheap la n d -rle h la„d2 !
He t , T . " *
, “ P*'” 88 -
b a r behind them , her h a t off, her
buffalo wallers—alkali water a n ’ 1
J
tried to speak, but the
M hv should he struggle against
agerJ”
" ™ fp_
Wo’d88tuck
in his
H em as- fate? W hat did the world hold for long yellow hair flying in the wind>
> , •
. throat. xxvuiao-
There was alook of vexation and I X t
& g*'e at h i" J? N° thingI W
not die bv cam e the little girl who had left
him a few m om ents before,the roar
infinite disgust pictured on his face
up
,
the r<>adside, and be done with it?
ing flames rapid ly gaining upon
as he strode onward.
Six m onths L vps
speaker> ,ds
No one would miss h im —
her.
Jim S kinner had been “ hold- L snsi
IH'g’ HS ,realb coming >»
A sound of h u rry in g feet behind
a groan, and
and ran to
ir a a
a o
» an,,
___ l i battled
...
. with
. .
. ; B a 8 P S«
h i in in terru p ted his reverie.
ir.g
C l a ..I«
in .. ,,’’
all
Ihil"
wa? He
d ^ ultered
7
“.
the h ardships and privation t i n ,
’
' ' " are ter say th a t ter me
He turned, and saw a little v ir l t ward
o t , ■ her r as fast’as
, °
° his
" S " weak
e a k a and
n"
Our Secular Story.
, »
£
* ;
- m .
. « . » , .... ......
; , -x
“ m -
t
to make a home in the“ G reat A n,er-|
u '
‘"« e — not n o w —I ’ll bright, sweet face, ont of which laden win I
f " 1,1,1 was "«»
b a n Desert.”
_nialifc T0" rePen< ' b i s - ”
looked a pair of l a r c e b lu e
I
, n
“ C' OUd8 ° f 8n,oke
He had lived in a dug-out, work- ’ '
W° rd ’ d 'ed ° n his ’’’l’8-
fu n n in g after him.
’
’ ’ c i n d e r T '’! ? " '1 b\ Ck W' th f l) ' ng
" I bard and half starved him self
spent all the money he had, took
“ ' r' ,ve
«>n,manded the ca ;.
“ Please w ait, won’t yon?” S h e 's h e ra n ’- . h e n turn
' e’m an ’Kr " ffly; “ a "d m ind how you eried, alm ost out of breath. I heard and sink down in .
"
“
f
the ague, and lived in his hut help-
l' eatP" "le, or I m ay put a bullet J'ou 8a3’ y ° u were hungry, and a - - he reached her aid
less, till a t last Starvation had tb r° ,y0U n o w ”
a a < l - ”«he paused a n d ' looked at
He X
her h n r ‘ d,
driven him forth, weak, h alf sick
and afoot, to look for
kind of
work am ong 'h e cattle-m en to gain
bis daily bread.
8
Mile after mile he trudged along,
w.th no sign of habitation ,o break
he monotony, save now nnd thell
F
“ r° U"
JUSt “ “
•
, ,? m s k 'n n e r turned away, sick and
" lzzy —a 'u m u lt of anger and mor-
tlficat,on surging th rn u g h t his
1’feast.
8
8
“ An’ this is the wav I ’m treated
¡’ ¡C ” he m uttered. “ A t r a m p - a n
o u tc a s t-b ra n d e d as a ,|d e f— ,
" ,n "«'"U .v—“ If y o u ’ll take th is”
T 0/ * " 10« a tin Pa il which she car-
r 'e< ln her h a »d — some slices,
of bread and a piece of cake “ 1
" a n ',ed " ,,e ot the B'fls to come with
b u ‘ *•>« « 1 " you was an
° d ‘" " " P
8nd
woul"
l>«rt
arm s, desperation
i '' " ’ uh'"
strength and ran w i.i? u " 8
as he could s ta o o e r l.
88 fa ? '
‘ Oh ,f I 7
7 ' g a s h e w e n ‘;
lie gasped I L u s t <.,»’1 "m bfe’
A dense Coud of s Z k
,
,
h i. form- t h e r e a t ffr t V nVe. ° Ped
th?
Z
^
Z " e a ;. w.,"‘,ddb'. <d
a f' - i
oon. He was nearing th a t p art of and trudged on
h
- 1
S
i i J
H
r
—
’ ’S
7 - 7 - ? Bless you, c h ild .” he
‘ ’ exc,aim ed, “ who would h u rt y o u ?”
felt weak and sick, and knew he d o n ’t he i 7 ’,
* ' " u “ efed. “ if I
rnade
""M
ake in
could not continue his
bis journey th
u ” a n t 1 f
* 1 m
ade a rt m
istake
much
fu
rth
er
will,out
rest
and
som’
e
<>W
'
a
f“‘r
a
l
t
H
e
much fu rth er w ithout rest and sornL X
fell<,W’. afler a,L H e looli8
looks
« 7 7
^ b C ; 8 - 7 gb’ b - ,y ‘>"ng ;
d^
-7 w H
‘be »
S
^
r E
^ X h L g S
g
d*
She stood looking a t him wonder
1<)... ad JU8t r,dden UP'
and sym pathy pictured in her larce
H* ' 1 I n e 'e
e ve rode
rode all alJ d ay
d a ,” y ,” one of the
beautiful
eyes*
She
approach
I
7
’
1
C°
Wb°y8
WaS
say
ing.
beautiful eye;. She
J
*
J
;
«ay in g, «bt cun’t git
I’- i a h c r h a i d g m ^ S ,
X v “ ” 8^
l: d Pu,,a;,h 8 ,,i-
s i 'f b r - d —
-
be must have som ething i„ e a t —
w o u ld
he
v
Ca,,le B‘" le" "f late th a t I ’ve
“ I ’m sorry if I m a d e v „ „ e» >• i
® >',U,t an hollr a 8°>” answered Dave,
be compelled to b.-g? ; ; g “ n to 8U8P,'P‘ every stran g er I s a id , a tou ch o f te n d e r n e s s b! U r bTo„ei 7 , l ‘d “ ’!,be sure but he « W
V,’b e -
1 «r
lnelU-
I gess hit wou’t he very h ealthy