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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 11, 1904)
38 THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, SEPTEMBER 11, 1904., T" THE IRON HEART OF PETER STARK How NCE, In that part of Pennsylvania"! Uthat now Is bare and dusty, with sooty smoke rising out of tall chim neys from skyline to skyline, there was a rich farm of many acres owned by old Peter Stark. Old Peter was a shrewd business man and he accumulated a comfortable for tune. He always sold his crops to better advantage than did his neighbors, and his possession of ample cash enabled him to buy more and more land at favorable times. ,Yet with all his shrewdness and success Peter Stark never turned an unseeing eye or a deaf ear to any one in need. His purse and his" house were always open, so much so that throughout that part of Pennsylvania he was known as "Soft hearted Peter," and when people spoke of him he was called by that name much more often than by his real name. He lived to be a very old man. One day he called his only son and said to him: v "I shall die soon, and everything that 1 possess will be left to you. There will be no conditions, except one. I foresee great changes in the land. In years to come you may wish to sell all this which Is ours -now, Do so if you will. But promise that, whatever may come, you will never sell the ridge at the north, suffer the trees there to be harmed, or destroy the torrent that now feeds the brooks running into the valley. And if trouble comes to you at last, as it must come to all of us, promise me that you will climb to the ridge and spend a whole day among the trees alone." Young Peter promised, and soon after ward old Peter died. His son found that he had Inherited not only his lands and wealth, but als$ his title. As the people had called his father, so Ihey called him-"Solf-hearted Peter." For some years young Peter lived on the farm, happy a3 any king: his father's blessing seemed to lie on all his under takings, and men loved him as they had loved old Peter. At last young Peter decided to go trav eling to see the world. All the neighbors assembled to bid him farewell, and when he looked out of - the car window and saw men and women and children waving their hats and handkerchiefs the tears started to his eyes and he felt an Impulse to jump oft and remain among them. But just then he noticed that a passenger op "poslte was looking at him with a smile, so he settled back In his scat, ashamed lor having shown his feelings so plain. Before long the stranger looked at Peter and 'said: "I see that this Is your first journej, sir." .Now there was no reason at all why Peter should not be willing to admit that ho had never traveled before, but somehow he hated to admit it. Besides, although the stranger was a handsome, elegantly dressed man, there was some thing about him that Peter didn't like. So he answered sulkily. "Come, come!" said the stranger. "Let us be friends. We both have far to go and we won't be any the more uncom fortable if we furnish a V little company for each other." Peter, who had already repented of his sulkiness, could not well refuse. And soon he was intensely Interested in his compan ion's conversation, for the stranger had seen everything. He could tell of the Rocky Mountains and the Himalayas and the South Seas and the ice. So when he proposed to Peter that they should see the world together, Peter assented eager ly. They journeyed by railroad and ship for many, months. They saw great cities and placid Islands, wide plains and de fiant mountains. But most of all they saw cities for the stranger seemed to care for nothing else so much as to dive into crowded streets. Peter, on the contrary, preferred the is lands and the mountains. One night when they were In the hotel together, he. told his comDanlon so. "The great cities are beautiful and wonderful," said Peter, "but It grieves me to see the poorwho are crowded in them, behind all the splendor." "I will tell you yhat is the matter with you, Peter," said the stranger. "You are too soft-hearted. You waste money every day on beggars and others. You are too soft-hearted. Peter, and unless you cure yourself you "will never be able to buy any Jf the beautiful things that we have seen." "I wonder If I am really too soft hearted," thought Peter. "What &ould he think If he knew that they actually call me 'Soft-hearted, Peter at home?" Day after day the stranger showed Peter more beautiful things and made him long for them. And whenever he observed that Peter felt the least bit unhappy be cause he couldn't get them, he would tell him again that he was too soft-hearted. So at last Peter believed It. And one night he asked his companion how he could cure himself. "Nothing easier than that." said his companion. "Tomorrow I will take you to a place where it can be done." The next day they jumped Into a train and went far Into the hills, until Peter began to recognize, the country and saw that they were going toward home. His soft heart leaped in his breast and the tears of joy came to his eyes. "We will soon cure all that, Peter, said his companion, tapping him on the breast. And his eyes shone strangely like a cat's. Not far from Peter's home they alighted from the train, and Peter's companion led him up the mountain side till they reached the black mouth of a great shaft that seemed to bore straight down into the earth. "Step in," said his companion, pointing to the bucket. He leaped in himself and thte bucket descended slowly, till all that could be seen far above was a little circle of daylight. Down it went, down, faster and faster, so that the rocky sides of the shaft, with the water streaming from v them, seemed to be darting upwards pass them. Suddenly the darkness "gave way to daz zling light and the bucket stopped. Peter stepped out and found himself in a huge vaulted chamber, all hung with glittering white crystals. "Now," said the traveling companion, "we are at my home, and in a few mo- It Was Changed and He Found Content. " 111 r 1 THE MEMORIES CAME RUSHING ALX AROUND LIKE SWARMS OF WINGED THINGS. monls you shall be cured of your soft heart." He stepped to a niche in the rocks and returned with a finely polished, perfectly formed heart made of Iron. "This." said he, "is the kind of heart to wear. I have one myself, and I have given it to many of the people whose wealth you admired so much. They are all much better off since they made the exchange1." "But how could you put it into my breast?" asked Peter, half frightened and half interested. "Simple enough." was the reply. "This iron heart, as you can see, is hollow. I will simply press it Into your breast and lock. It around the absurd soft heart to prevent It from making a fool of you." - The next Instant, before Peter could utter a cry. his companion grew tremen dously in height, till his head 'reached the crystal-studded ceiling. With one im mense hand, as big as a steamship, he seized the trembling Peter, and with ttio other, presto! he pressed the iron heart to his breast. Immediately Peter felt strangely cold and indifferent. .Ho put his hand to his heart and round that there was none of the tumultuous beating that he used to feel. With a suspicion tha was quite new to him, he said: "And what do you expect from me In exchange?" "In exchange?" cried the giant, with a roar of laughter that seemed to make the mountain tremble, "my dear Peter, I want nothing in exchange. ' Don't you know me yet? I am Mammon, the Mas ter of the "Underworld. It is quite enough for me to send you forth with an iron heart, for now you will do my work." So saying, his great hand, on which Peter sat, holding tight to the little finger, which was big as a mast, lifted Peter rapidly up the shaft. He went so swiftly that his senses fled. When he recovered he found himself sitting in the waiting room of the station; and he would have dismissed the affair as a strange dream if he had not touched his breast and found no heart-beat, no warmth, no sensation of any kind. He felt none of the delight at being near home, such as he had felt the day before. But for all that, he wished to hasten there. For It had suddenly struck him that his affairs needed sharp atten tion. The neighbors all crowded around him when he appeared, and Peter returned their greetings politely; but their delight at his return evoked no pleasure In his breast. He was glad when he reached his house and could escape them. There he was met by the old steward, who still survived from his father's time. The old man tried to embrace Peter, whom he had carried in his arms when he was a baby. But Peter stepped aside and waited Impatiently while the old man welcomed him home. "Very well, very -welll'said he at last. as the old steward wiped his eyes. "But let us get at the accounts." They went at the accounts, and Peter demanded proofs of everything and criti clsed the expenditures, until the old man stole sadly from the room. I can see." said Peter to himself, "that a strong hand Is needed here. All .the land around him soon felt the strong hand. Tenants who were In ar rears were dispossessed, ah tvno were In debt to him were prosecuted. The country, which had been smiling and love ly as a garden In his father's time, be came a barren waste, filled with smoking engines and derricks and railroad tracks, for Peter had found coal and iron on his land and was- growing richer every day. He felt no regret for the destruction that he was causing in the scenes of his youth. The Iron heart in his breast took care of that. , Richer and richer grew Peter, till the papers printed pictures of him and told how many thousands of dollars went Into his pockets with every, breath that he drew. They told, too, about his steam yacht and his horses and his palaces. They told about his wonderful entertainments and his luxuries, his paintings and his books In a word, they told about every thing that he had. The only thing that they did not tell about were his friends. There was a very simple reason for that. He had none. Lng ago the Iron heart had made him weary of the sight of all those whom he had known and loved when he was foolish "Soft-hearted Peter." So Peter Stark walked among all hla ,wealth and splendor alone alone except for his Iron heart. This loneliness led him at last to seek a wife, and his choicb fell on a girl whom he had known when he was a boy. Peter had loved her then with all his young heart, but now he saw her beauty only as he saw the beauty of other things that he purchased. He asked her to marry him, and she looked at him with sad eyes and replied: "No, Peter, I cannot marry you. I loved you when you were the old "Soft-Hearted Peter,' but not now." That night Peter could not sleep. Since he had received his Iron heart there had been nothing that he Wanted that he did not obtain. So he felt angry and mis erable by turns at being refused by her. The next day he felt still more angry Are Hyenas Braver Than Lions? i TRAVELER-recently returned from Ik Africa has a good word to say for the generally despised hyena, whose cour age, he t declares, is much greater than Is supposed generally. "Hyenas," said the traveler, "do not hesitate, when hunting in packs, to at tack" Hons, even though the Hons are in considerable numbers, and In such en counters the hyenas often get the best of It. The Hon Is a good deal of a bluffer. He looks so fierce and roars so loudly that he gets a greater reputation for courage than Is rightfully his." Dr. Donaldson Smith, a well-known Af rican explorer, in his account of his jour ney to Lake Rudolph, tells stories of llon huntlng which corroborate the traveler's reports of the relative merits of- the hy ena and the Hon. On one occasion, when camped in the midst of a lion-Infested country, Dr. Smith and his followers built a zereba. which Is a little inclosure of brush of such material as comes to hand. They made ready to spend the night watchfully, for they knew that Hons were all about them. v Hearing a noise, Dr. Smith parted the bushes, with which the entrance to the zereba had been filled, and saw three Hons prowling about. When they saw the doctor they slunk off Into the brush. But when night came down the Hons returned, bringing a number of other Hons with them, and began to sniff about the zereba so close that Dr. Smith, lying fiat on the ground, with his rifle inside the Inclosure, and watching for an opportunity to get a shot, could feel the breath of the growling animals. Just when It seemed as If the pack of Hons was about to charge the zereba. their attention was diverted by an attack upon them by a number of hyenas which came growling and snarling out of the forest. The hyenas attacked the Hons with great fury and bravery. In' the excite ment of the fight the ordinary howl of the hyena changed to a deep, loud roar, which Dr. Smith declares to be nearly equal In strength to the roar of the Hon. In this fight the Hons were driven off. The natives told the explprer that it was no uncommon thing for the hyenas to at tack the Hons, and that as a rule the hy enas got the better of the encounter. ' Lions In the Lake Rudolph region of Somallland, according to the reports of explorers, are accustomed to hunt in packs probably for protection against the hyenas. and miserable. And at last, when all his 1 arguments failed to move her, he Tcnew that he would never ,be satisfied with life If he did not win her. Then he remembered what his father had said about the wooded ridge. He had kept his promise implicitly about preserving the place, and it still stood, beautiful and serene and undisturbed, al though It was surrounded by scores of mine shafts and derricks and fiery towns. So he went there one calm morning and sat down -by the side of the torrent, where he used to sit with his father when he was a boy. Bird's bopped and sang among the tree branches overhead and fish splashed in silvery bubbles in the pools formed by the shining cascade. Peter began to think of the old days something he had not thought of since he had received the iron heart. He remembered his father's calm, kindly face and recalled how the old man used to . sit by the torrent and speak of his plans. He thought" of the 'childhood friends whom he -used to knowand whom he had not looked at in years. He could remember clearly how his heart used to beat when he saw those whom he loved. "I wish that I could feel such a sen sation once more," thought he. "An Iron heart is a haivy kind of thing, after all, and pretty stupid." "If you give' up your wealth," said a voice, "you shall have your soft heart again." It was his father's voice, but when Peter looked around nobody was to be seen. "Give up my money?" said Peter. "Well, I should say not!" The birds began singing again and the torrent splashed and the fish jumped. Every sound reminded Peter anew of some hour In his youth. Memories cams rushing around like swarms of wingdb things. They fitted around his head on Iridescent wlgs. They hummed In his ears with the music of the Summer noons of long ago. "I certainly was happy then," said Peter to himself. "I do believe that a soft heart is not such a bad thing, In many ways." "Peter! Peter!" cried his father's voice again.- "Get your soft heart before it is too late." "Hum!" said Peter. "I could never af ford to pay the price. Whatever would I do without my wealth?" Again the memories of far-off years clustered thick and bright around him. He saw himself wading with bare, brown feet In the brook, with never a care in the world. He saw his companions and himself wanderlnsr hand In hand throueh the woods, singing.' All the faces of those whom he had known In childhood and In youth. In all the days before he got his Iron heart, gazed down on him. Suddenly they all vanished. The birds ceased their singing. The fishes ceased their leaping. A great silence brooded over the ridge, and Peter felt afraid. "I cannot bear this loneliness," he cried "Lonely you shall be now and forever,' ' said his father's voice again, and now it was solemn and deep. ".Lonely you shall be unless you regain your soft heart. Choose. Peter, for this is your last chance." "I choose!" cried Peter. "Take away my wealth If it will take away the Iron heart, too!" Scarcely had he spoken when a blast of lightning flashed into the ground at his feet and he fell on his face. Before his senses left him he seemed to see, half shrouded in black, clouds, the gi gantic form of his traveling companion racing "down the valley and beating the earth with an uprooted oak. Crash after crash boomed the thunder. The trees-on the ridge bent this way and that In the temnesL Ancient rocks, loos ened from their foundations on' the moun tain tops, went hurtling to the valleys. The torrent, beaten into a boiling pool, started over Its banks and rushed down headlong in flood. When Peter awoke he rubbed his eyes in amazement. The forest on the ridge stood unchanged. But as far as he could see down the valley In the light of the dawn everything was altered. Not a shafthouse chimney, not a derrick, not a slntde one of his structures was left standing. Everything had been laid pros trate by the great storm. But, wonderful to say, Peter never thought of the wealth that he had lost. His heart was beating fast and hot In his breast, and he cried: "I only hope that no one has been killed or hurt." He rushed down the hill and hurried to the people who stood In crowds survey ing the wreck. They toid him that every body had escaped, and then began to con- done with him on his losses. "Losses?" said Peter, with the first joy ful laugh that he had uttered In years. "I have gained more than a kingdom this night!" -The people thought that his brain wag turned: but Peter didn't care. He went abroad, smiling, and sat with his friends as of old and netted the children. And If he was not rich In money any longer. he was the richer In a better possession for the pretty girl married him. N He lived to be known again as "Soft- Hearted Peter'r and to hear his son called "Soft-Hearted Peter," too. . And he never regretted the loss of the Iron heart for a single moment. JULIUS MULLER, At one village in which Dr. Smith stopped he was told of a pack of six Hons which hunted around that locality and frequently rushed the village and dragged natives from the huts. The natives re garded the fact of a pack of hyenas be Ing in the neighborhood as an assurance of safety from' the Hons, because when the lions go manhuntlng the hyenas go lionhunting, and the man escapes. Some people say that the lion's roar is most thrllllnir when the animal Is -In menagerie, but most hunters of big game declare that this Is not so. They say that there Is nothing so magnificently awe-lnsplring as the roar of a maddened 1 ROM EVEKV STORY BOOK Of- rtlNE I HAD THc APPENDIX TOOK.. !PENDIC1TI3 13 AK F- ampul TfUNQ tfito EVEN POR A W Hon one for Instance that has been hit by the hunter, but not killed. In spite of this roar, however, there are those who venture to call In question the lion's courage, though the matter will probably always be one for discus sion. It Is probable that among Hons It Is the same as among people some are brave and some are not. 'But whatever may be thought of the Hon, the hyena gets a better teputatlon the more he is known and his habits, understood. i " - V STRANGE .STORY OF A MAGIC MILL i .1 .... , -f mD UPQTI THE 'TURNING 'OF 0 NCE upon a time there lived two Brothers, one of "whom was very poor and the other very rich. The rich brother had no children, but In the family of the poor brother there were many little mouths to feed. The rich brother could have helped his relatives, but he was mean and sordid and loath to part with any of his wealth. However, It was his wont to give his brother a ham for his dinner once a year. One night the poor brother had started home with his ham, but he took the wrong road and had gone some distance before ho realized that he was walking unaergrouna. vvnen ne pausea an oiu man with a long, shaggy beard ap proached him. "You have lost your way, I perceive. A SHORT HISTORY OF THE LIFE OF LITTLE JUMBO The Adventures of an Elephant as Told by Himself. vChapter V. HEN mjNmother was training me for life in the forest she warned me never to go to sleep during w th day when I was alone. Elephants sleep by day as well a3 by night, but whenever the natives, wno prowl In the forest only by day, find an elephant asleep they seek capture him by tying his legs fast, and many a one has thus been "made prisoner. The great animals do not always He down to sleep. They often stand and lean against a tree. Nearly all the big ones get their sleep In this wayt as It is much trouble for them to get down and up again. I told you in my last chapter that I was alone in the forest after having been badly bitten by a crocodile, and that I was trav eling slowly along In search of other ele phantswhen there came a very- hot day. After I had eaten breaKiast ana arunit my fill I lay down In the thick woods to rest for the day. In the early morning there were many animals moving about, but in the middle of the day everything became soiqulet that I got sleepy. It did not seem to me that tnere couia be the least danger In my going to sleep for a couDle of hours, and X nnaiiy ciosea my eyes and knew no more till mid-afternoon. Then I was awakened so suddenly, ana by such a great noise, that I was ter ribly frightened. I attempted to scram bleiup, but found my legs fast. All around mevwere natives, shouting and laughing. and as I struggled to break my bonds and cried out In my fright a white man came up and called out: "That will do, boys. He must have been very sound asleep to let you tie him so stoutly. It surely is the dwarf ele phant we have been looking for so long, and how I will give you the presents I promised." I think there must have been a hundred Pnatlves. All set off after the white man, and I saw no more men till next morning. Then three white men came with a big elephant. Of course, I did not know anything about the men then, but later on I came to understand that they belonged to a party which made It a business to cap ture wild beasts "and animals for zoolog ical gardens and circus shows. You may guess that I had had a. hard time of it lying there all the afternoon and all the long night. I blamed myself for going to sleep, but that did not help the case. I had- been made captive, and whether they were going to kill me or send me away across the seas I could not tell. When the big elephant stood beside me I asked him what was to be done, and he replied: "How foolish in you to go to sleep as you did. You will not be killed, but you will be sent away to a far-distant coun try, and never see these forests again." "But I will fight to the death!" I ex claimed. "You will do nothing of the kind. I am here to take you tojthe white men's camp, and if you do not go willingly I shall beat vou well. I have been with these men for vcars. and have helped them to cap ture at least 30 wild elephants. They treat me well, and I,do as they tell me." "But why not let me escape to the for est?" I asked. "They would punish me If I did, and then you are so heedless that you would soon come to some bad end anyway. As soon as your legs are free you must get up and come along. If you go to acting badly I shall knock you about." I wanted to rush off or to fight, but I saw that It was no use, and so I went I ouletly along. After a walk of three miles we arnvea at me camp, ana men I saw two other captive elephants, with two Hons, three panthers, four buffaloes, seven- wolves and many serpents. The beasts and serpents were In cages. while the elephants and .buffaloes were securely tied. Strangely enough, one of the capltve elephants was a baby at the same time I was, and we had played to gether. I had not seen' him for a year. and. though we bothvere In trouble, we were glad to rub our heads together again. He .told me that in cominjr out of the water It Explains "Why Sea "Water Is Always Salt. ZITHER CRANK IT he said, "but your best course Is to keep straight on. for you will come out pres ently to the road you forsook at the be ginning of your journey. You wlU have to pass through the village where the dwarfs, the, Hill People, live. They will be eager to buy your ham, but do not part with it for anything less than the little old hand-mill that stands around the corner of the main street." No sooner had the poor brother entered the village than he was surrounded by Imps clamoring for his ham, but he de clined to exchange it for anything ex cept the mill. As this mill had stood on the corner for years and had never done any good, they were willing enough to make the exchange. When he reached home he found his wife and children awaiting him, but great was their disappointment when he in after crossing a river he had got mired, and though other elephants did all they could to help him out it was not possible to get free. He had been there two days when the white mn and natives arrived and fas tened ropes to him and lifted him out. When taken to camp he had refused all drink and had tried to kill one of the white men, and In return he had been punished severely. "The best thing you can do is to be quiet," he said. "You will get all the food you can eat, and if we are sent away we must make the best of it. As for The Lighting Power of the Firefly The Smithsonian Instotutlon, while mak-i ing inquiries into the cheapest forms of producing light, experimented with Cu ban fireflies, among other things. The Insects were placed In the center of con cave mirrors and the most delicate In strument in the Government observatory was employed to measure the amount of heat radiated by them. A sperm candle was used for compari son, and a flame spot from it which was Just as big as the firefly was thrown into the mirror. The instrument recorded the heat from the candle at once; but no movement was caused by the insect, although the instru ment was so delicate that, had the fire fly produced even as little as one-eighty thousandth part of the heat produced by the tiny spot from the candle it would have shown on the records. It was different with light. Comparing the flame spot of tho candle and the light from the Insect, the Instrument showed (rWFfifABRr ELEPmNT Sli. r-L formed them that he had sold the hara. Afte the children had gone to bed, h produced the mlU, and placing it upon th table, said: "Grind away,' and let us have food for dinner.!" The mill began grinding, and turned out bread and tatts, a turkey stuffed with chestnuts, a large pudding and a barrel of cider. On the turning of another crank It ground out a number of toys. "Oh, husband," said the wife, "how wonderful to-have such a dinner and how happy the children will be!" "It will grind anything," said the hus band, "but be discreet, for I do not wish our neighbors to know how it Is man aged." Great was the joy in the poor broth er's family next morning, and the next, and . forever after, for the mill ground out everything needed for their comfort. Of course, its fame soon spread, and it was not long before the rich brother came to buy the mill to save labor In his house hold. After some bargaining the poor brother let him have It for a bushel of gold, and the rich man walked away with his pur chase. " When he- reached home he announced his intention of preparing dinner for the men in the harvest fields, and bade his wife go out and superintend the workers In his stead. "We shall have a fine dinner," he said. "such as you and the woman here are in capable of cooking. Do you start at once, tor i am anxious to get it ready. When he was ready to fill the dishes he placed .the mill on the table and said: "Grind away and let""us have some her rings and milk." Immediately the mill began to grind and the herrings and milk began to flow until two big bowls were filled, but when he tried to check the flow It continued grinding. He shouted lustily for more bowls, and presently for kegs; and finally as the floor was swimming he gave the mill a final wrench and. rushed madly out of the doc, pursued by a torrent of herrings and milk. When he reached his brother's humble door he cried: "For heaven's sake, take back that mill!" he screamed. But the poor brother would not consent to do so until he had received an addi tional bushel of gold. The poor brother built a beautiful house upon the shore of the sea and covered the roof with gold, so that It could be seen far away. One day the captain of a mer chant vessel on his way for a cargo of salt stopped to see the wonderful mill. "Will it grind salt?" he asked. "Certainly. It will grind salt as well as anything else." The mill was brought out and tested, whereupon the captain purchased it for an enormous price, glad to escape the perils of a long voyage. But he neglected to find out how to stop it. When the casks in the ship were filled he tried in every way to check the stream of salt, but it was of "no use. The mill kept on grinding, the crew were obliged to take to the lifeboats. From these boats they saw the ship, slowly sink under her weight of salt. Down, down she went, until she reached the bottom of the sea with the miU still on board. And there It Is grinding to this very day. and that 13 the reason sea water Is salt. me, I should like to see other people and strange lands. Here in the forest we see nothing but the same old sights over and over again." We were at the camp a full month be fore we moved, and during this time the men captured another elephant, two more buffaloes and several wolves. As everybody spoke kindly to me, and as I got the best of food, I began to like the people around me and the new life I was living. In my next chapture I shall have a thrilling adventure to tell you. -(To be Continued.) the firefly gave one-eighth as much Mght as the candle, size for size. Compared with tho full flame, itwas found that the Insect gave light amounting to one-slx-teen thousandth part of a candle. A Lahore Limerick. fA boy who lived In Lahore Used to slide, down Wa pa.' cellar-dooi But one day tho door broke Tou may think It & joke. But that youngster was awfully aora. Solution of Last Sunday's Numerical Puzzle. "The- elephant" Is tho animal described by the 11 letters In last Sunday's paper. Only, Sometimes Sparticus Ioes that foun tain pen of yours leak that way all the time Smartlcus No; only when I havo Ink In it. Baltimore American. J