T H E TORCH OF REASON, SILV ERTO N , OREGON, MARCH 16, 1899.
2
for a reference when 1 ask for the
in o fo r these ten years,’ responded
öo Bury Religion.
situ atio n .”
S an ,' and at that' in stan t his ayes
Then there was a halt, a supply
were’on a level with the lady’s on
BY JO H N PRESCO TT O V IL O .
of fresh horses and a prom pt, lively
_______
I llie box so th a t he could not help
start. But the afternoon was in ­
4 - 1 0 burr religion! go bury it Quick, 6eeing t’h e ,,,guifh glint of them ,
tensely hot and the team soon so­
G - N° m k i,r k‘ bOT'’ *
which so far disconcerted the usu-
Mrs. Page did not
Too long i t J J j i v e d and encumbered a lly 8elf. p , „ d
professor o f th e
,ancied>„ gajd bered down.
offer again to take the reins. She
A curse it has been ever since it had whip th a t he heard not the land-
-
was overwarm and w eary, perhaps;
b irth .
, la d v ’s laugh, but gathered up the MrP-
1
.
On the high and the low it has fastened
-
8
*
carel(.S8 m a n I sh o u ld ta k e to sta g e d riv in g quiet and a little sad, at any rate.
its fang,
.> i
' T,
.1 uu a. tirnfession
It seems to me a Mr. Rice was quiet, too, and
And poisoned th e people w ith terrib le I n a n n e r as to cause Demon, the
• 1
’
tang.
I . , , ,
a
offw itk a h n iin d free and m anly calling, one th a t thoughtful. The passengers inside
Religion h as finished its fallacious sway, I nigh leader, to go >
<
develops some of the best qualities were asleep. The coach rattled
Consign it to coffin and cart it away.
th a t neaH y lh rew th e o w n er of th e o o e i o p s son.
• . .
along at a steady pace, with the
Go bury re lig io n ! th a t clog on the m ind, L ye8 o u t of her place. The little “ a m an.
course K
‘
Concocted fby rogues and S i e v e d by th e
oppoI, u n ity for Mrs. draw backs
One can not alw ays dust so deep under the wheels as to
At interv als a
b lin d :
j
- ®
, i >g • choose one’s society on a stag e,an d still their rum ble.
freight wagon was passed, draw n
m _
r
. . . !........ .. ..» .» » » ......-
Crooned over by aged and stam m ered by j
Besides, there are storm s, and up­ to one side at a “ tu rn -o u t” , or a
face,
and
for
Sam
Rice
to
show
his
y o u th ;
'
rabbit skipped across the road, or
A com pound of ignorance, fancy and genteel handling of the ribbons, sets, and all that sort of thing. I ’ve
fraud,
.
,
often th o u g h t,” continued Mrs. a solitary horsem an suggested a l­
Defam ing m ankind in devotion to God. and conquer the unaccountable
Dolly, “ th a t we do not consider tern ately a “ road agent” or one of
Religion has finished its fallacious sw ay,
disturbance
of
his
pulses.
Consign it to coffin and c art it aw ay.
enough the hardships of drivers, Jam es’s heroes. G rand views pre­
Sam had looked a t the way-bill,
Go bury religion! th a t delusion dire
nor w hat we owe them .
You’ve sented themselves of wooded cliffs
not
ten
m
inutes
before,
to
ascertain
W hich th re a te n e d th e w isdom ed w ith
T all pines
read th a t poem — the Post-boy’s and wild ravines.
etern al fire,
tlie nam e of the pretty black-eyed
threw
lengthening
shadow s
B u t blest th e m ost stu p id w ith endless
Song:
woman
seated
at
his
left
hand;
and
d elight
across the open spaces on the
For sh u ttin g th e ir eyes and denying the consciousness of so great a cu­ ‘Like a sh u ttle th ro w n by th e h an d of
m ountain-sides. And so the after­
th e ir sig h t!
F ate,
riosity
gratified,
may
have
aug­
F o rw ard and back I g o .’
T he world has outgrow n its old, c h i l d i s h
noon wore aw ay; and, when the
ideas,
m ented his unaccustom ed em bar­
Well, it is ju st so. They do bring sun was setting, the passengers
And gim -cracks and god-stacks no long­
rassm
ent.
Certain
it
is,
Sam
had
er reveres.
us our letters, full of good and ill alighted for their supper a t the
Religion has finished its fallacious sw ay, driven six horses, on a ticklish
news, helping to weave the web of principal hotel of Lucky-dog— a
Consign it to coffin and cart it aw ay.
m ountain road, for four years, with-
F ate for us; yet not to blam e for m ining cam p pretty well up in the
S
S
n
u
t
m issing a trip, and had more
w hat tidings they bring,and always Sierras.
than once encountered the “ road
dig th eir lair,
“ We both stop here,” said Sam,
faithful to their duties, in storm or
In volcanic cavern, in A ntarctic ice, .
agents”
w
ithout
ever
yet
delivering
T here cover religion’s polluting d e v ic e ;
as he helped the lady down from
shine.”
T hen science shall light, all the world them an express box; had bad old
“ I shall like my profession bet­ lier high position; letting her know
w ith its beam ,
and
young
ladies,
plain
and
beau­
A nd m orals shall m ake all h u m an ity
ter after w hat you have said of it,” hv this rem ark th a t her destination
gleam .
tiful ones, to sit beside him, h u n ­ said Sam , giving his whip a curl to
was known to him.
Religion has finished its fallacious sw ay,
dreds
of
times,
yet
this
was
the
Consign it to coffin an d c a rt it aw ay.
“ I’m ra th e r glad of th a t,” she
m ake it touch the off leader’s right
first tim e he had consulted th e
ear. “ I ’ve done my du ty m ostly, answered, frankly, with a little
way-bill, on his own account, to
and not com plained of the h a rd ­ smile; and considering all th a t had
Sam Rice’s Romance.
find a lad y ’s name. T his one time,
ships, though once or twice I ’ve transpired on th a t long drive, Sam
too, it had a Mrs. before it, which
was certainly pardonable if he felt
A WESTERN STORY IN THREE CHAPTERS prefix gave him a pang he was very been too bent out to get off the box
a t the end of my drive; but th a t alm ost sure th a t her reason for be­
unw illing to own. On the other
was in a long spell of bad w eather, ing glad was identical with his
CHAPTER I.
hand, Mrs. Dolly Page was clad in
when the roads was ju st awful, and own.
H E coach of W ells, Fargo & extrem ely deep black. Could she
Lucky-dog was one of those
the rain as cold as snow.”
Co. stood before the door be in m ourning for Mr. Page? If
sham bling, new cam ps, where one
“ W ould • you
» m ind letting me hold
of Piney-woods Station,and Demon had an unusual num ber of
the lines aw hile?” asked the cooing street serves for a string on which
Sam Rice, the driver, was draw ing startin g fits th a t afternoon, his
“ I ’ve driven a six- two or three dozen ill-assorted ten­
on his lemon-colored gloves with driver was not altogether guiltless voice a t last.
em ents are- strung, every fifth one
an air, for Sam was the pink of in the m atter; for w hat horse so in-hand before.”
Though decidedly staTtled, and being a place intended for the re­
stage drivers, from his high white sensitive as he would not have felt
averse to tru stin g his team to such lief of the universal American
h at to his faultless French boots. the m agnetism of som ething wrong
a pair of hands, Sam was comp 1- th irst, though the liquids dispensed
Sad will it be when his profession behind him ?
at these beneficent institu tio n s were
But as the mocking eyes kept lcd, by the psychic force of the lit­
shall have been altogether super-
tle woman, to yield up the reins. It observed rather to provoke th a n to
ceded, and the coach-and-six, with hidden behind the veil, and the
abate the dryness of th eir patrons.
its gracious and graceful ‘‘whip” rich, m usical voice uttered not a was with fear and trem bling th a t
he watched her handling of them Eating-house# were even more fre­
shall have been supplanted, on all word through a whole half hour,
quent than those which dispensed
the principal lines of travel, by the which seemed an age to Sam, he for the first mile; but, as she really
m oisture to parched th ro ats; so
iron horse with its grim y “ d riv er” finally recovered himself so far as seemed to know' w hat she was
th a t taking a cursory view of the
and train of th u ndering carriages. to say he believed he would not about, his confidence increased, and
windows fro n tirg on the street, the
The passengers had taken their smoke, after all; and thereupon re­ he watched her with adm iration.
im pression was inevitably conveyed
seats — the one lady on the box— turned the cigar, still unlighted, to H er veil was now np, her eyes were
sparkling and cheeks glowing. She of the expected rush of fam ished
and Sam Rice stood, chronom eter his pocket.
arm ies, whose w ants this c h a rita ­
held d a in tily between thum b and
“ I hope you do not deprive your­ did not speak often, but when she
ble com m unity was only too will­
finger, w aiting for the second hand self of a lu x u ry on my account,” did it was som ething piquant and
graceful th a t she uttered. At last, ing to supply for a sufficient con­
to come round th e q u arter of a m urm ured the soft voice.
sideration. The houses th a t were
m inute, while the grooms slipped
‘•I guess th a t dust and sunshine ju st as the station was in sight, she
not eating and drinking-houses
the last strap of the harness into is enough for a lady to stand, w ith­ yielded up the lines, with a deep-
were hotels, if we except occasional
its buckle. At the expiration of a out my sm okin’ in her face,” re- draw n sigh of satisfaction, apolo-
grocery and general m erchandise
q u arte r of a m inute, as Sam stuck turned Sam, politely, and glancing g '« » « for '» by eay 'nS th at her
Into w hat out-of-
hands, not being used to it, were establishm ents.
an unlighted cigar between his lips at the veil.
the-w ay corners the in h ab itan ts
“Still, I beg you will smoke if tired.
and took hold of the box to pull
“ I ’m not sure,” she added, “ but I were stowed, it was impossible to
him self up to his seat, the good- you are accustom ed,” persisted the
shall tak e to the box, at last, as a conjecture, u n til it was discovered
natured landlady of Piney-woods cooing voice behind it.
th a t the men lived a t the places a l­
S tation called out, with some offic-
But Sam, to his praise lie it spo- steady th in g .’’
iousness:
ken, refused to add a n y th in g to
“ If you do,’ responded Sam , gal- ready inventoried, and th a t women
“ Mr. Rice, don’t you w ant a the discom fort of a sum m er d ay ’s lan tly , “ I hope you will d r h e on abode not at all in Lucky-dog—or
if there were any, not more than
m atch ?”
ride across the m ountains. H is m y line.”
“ T h a t’s just w hat I ’ve beeu look-, ch iv alry had its rew ard; for the
“ T hanks. I shall apply to you half a dozen of them , and they liv-
„
4
T
........... ... |
,
o
lady thus favored, feeling con-
j
,
strained to m ake some return or
constderation, began to talk,
"• » 'e i n th a t del.ghted her au d .t-
or, about horses - th e.r potnts an
th eir t r a i t s - a n d , lastly, about th eir