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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 1906)
THE OREGON DAILY JOURNAL, PORTLAND, SATURDAY EVENING, OCTOBER It, 1M6. . i uwhh Hii iii it i i it i i r mmm HHiiiiini m ii nnMm wmm m 1 1 B BBsSaSsSS I IWIIUHW m Ma "Mr. KUU W THE PUISHf (Hoc0e6 ARTIN VOBSICKER bhdd Tmm Blander girlish figure and a M reii tie girlish face, with fair hair and the softest ejrea con ceivable. A pathetic air of helplessness seemed to envelop her. and thla waa the ma anet that ftrat attracted Martin, bains hlmaelf an athletic animal of something over 'six feat, and aa little like the popular notion of the popular Moralist aa poaalble. She waa Idlins away a Bummer month where her aunt. lira. Randall, at the Manor, where Martin, who lived In an Ivy-daS cottage at Saxton, waa a fre- auent and ever-welcome vleltor. Thua they -net. Whan he came to talk to her, he found her leaa helpless than at first she . bad conveyed the Impression of being which Is often the way with woman. Nor ware her eyes always aa soft and sen tie aa the A rat glance from them tad seemed to him which again. Is often the way with women. Thoae ayes ware of a deep brown, widely sat and thoughtful and they had a disconcert ing trick of riveting themaelvea upon you until their glance appeared to pene trate Into the privacy of your Inmost thoughts. Charmed at first. Martin waa dassled presently He found her bright and witty, with a subtle, scholary wit, which would have pleaantly surprised him In at man, but he found inexplicable In a woman, for he was one of those who frequently to their undoing haw a rather low estimate of the intellectu ality of the so-called weaker sex. Not only was ahe aclntlllant in the vivacity I of her cultured mind, but there was a magnetism about her which aeeraad to .enliven those with whom ahe came Into P contact, much aa the moon shines In l the light which It borrows from the sun v Of what they talked aa the eat under "the beaches that summer afternoon, Lwlth Mrs. Randall purring In her wicker stair beside them, Martin would have found It difficult to say; for it waa all so provoklngly Intangible. But ha went -Stoma Inspired by a profound admiration for Rosa Gerard, and promising himself that so long as aha remained at the -Manor, ha would find his wsy there f even more often than usual. t Ha kept that prom lee ao well that . from s frequent ha became a dally 3-Visitor. Me waa buay at the time upon one of thoae anaemic novela which had 4 brought him a fair meaaure of fame 5 with a decadent public, and each after it soon, when his four houra' work I Martin only worked four hours s day : was done, he would stroll over to the if Manor for tea. l Saxton began to talk, for In Saxton there waa a good deal of human nature p particularly that brand which la pet Hkttniaed by elderly ladles on the border sMne of girlhood and old -maidenhood. Saxten waited on tiptoe for the an ient of the engagement of Ita novelist to Mrs. Randall's aula I mini niece. But Baxton was dts- ggeS. Martin vossicker waa car- nly making love to Rose, but the love purely artistic, without yet bains that art which conceals art the first time In his career he had a upon an opportunity of making SM of a real, live peraon. He set f to make It, and ahe appeared to aalstlng him with a degree of nerve, pathy. and understanding which. 1st it am axed him ronalderably. sad him still more. He would drop S chair beside her, tea oup In hand, what time he handed her muffins crumpets be would behave and talk i an ordinary human be Ins of aver-self-respect But when they strolled f by themselves, aa had presently their custom, Martin would drop strange mental attitudes. favorite pose was that of a vlc- of unrequited love. This the exi les of his case demanded, for auch re the circumstances under which the Ha of bla anaemic novel was laboring hrver for a moment had be permitted txaself s hopeful ton'- From ths out fits altitude hsd been pathetically Seat: It Insinuated that he loved hopelessly, and that whilst he was d by his passion, ha was per- , and wished to continue ao, that unmoved by It pad fallen a victim to hla mental and ahe accepted the altua- For HI. tlon with oharaoteiiatlo If hardly fem inine readiness. She seemed to play tha part ha tad assigned to har Just aa ha half con sclously - only was playing the part ha had aaalgned to himself. She waa ca pricious, petulant, arch and mocking by turns, but rarely tender, and then it was a tenderness that faded almost aa soon aa It took shape. Martin, outwardly gloomy and saturn ine, made phrases and talked in epi grams and Invented proverbs. She, tak ing her cue from him. replied in kind, with a wit and brilliancy that delighted hla artlstlo sense whilst heightening tha artistic gloom upon his countenance. In short, these two young people be haved and talked aa young people be have and talk In booka or upon tha atage. and whilst each appeared to be fully conscious of the pose, each seemed content It should be so. . But It waa affording Martin some thing mora thap amusement, as I have hinted. It waa equipping him with much rich material. The mental notea he made while In her company ha trans ferred to paper each evening, to be anon molded Into his novel. And so his book grew apace, and the frothy brilliancy which his readers had coma to look for In his work waa reaching in "The Futile Quest" a height to which It had never soared before. At last as the end of July approached the time drew near for Roae'a departure from Saxon. The hero of "A Futile Quest," had oome to the stage of pro posing to the heroine, and for two or three daya Martin tad been unable to decide whether to rely purely upon hla Imagination for that which should be the culminating scene of hla book, or whether to avail himself onoa mora of Rose Gerard and to first live through the scene. He feared this might be driving his copy-hunting a little too far; but, on the other hand, the benefits his work might derive from It were, to Judge by tha past, likely to be consid erable. Ha was tempted vary sorely. Hitherto It had been odd touches, odd suggestions, emanating from her, tiiat had breathed into hla work that foreign element which made tha dialogue glow with feeling and sparkle with spontan eity. Could he. than, forego tha id vantages of thla in his culminating scene? At laat hs took his resolve He would propose to her. He was assured that ahe waa no more In love with him than he was with her. She would be amused by this consummation of all the poses they hsd hitherto assumed, and he never doubted but that she would rise to tha occasion and supply hint with the col oring he sought. He made up his mind on his way to the manor. Opportunity came to him after tea. Of the few vis itors that had dropped In. soma tad de parted, others had gone Indoors, while the remainder had strolled to the cro quet lawn, leaving Rose and Martin alone together a circumstance to which they were, by now, thoroughly Inured. Tet today a certain embarrassment seemed to hang over them. Martin realised It and appreciated It He felt sura this was the proper stmosphere, and he closely analysed hla feelings, that he might later OA describe them. "Rose," he said presently they had come te call each other by Christian names a week ago "do you know that I am glad you are going?" "There are certain Joys which It fa more polite to dissemble than to ex press." said she, sen tent lou sly "It is not a qusstlon Of politeness," he answered lugubriously. "What, after all, la politeness?" "A lost art?" she suggested "It la the veneer with which modern civilisation compels us to cover the true Inwsrdness of our natures. In grest moments It drops from us Ilka a garment, and we stand" ah (ha waa about to aay naked, but It occurred to him that the metaphor might be s shade Indelicate. "We stand revealed aa are really are." "If you cannot reveal yourself more graciously I would rather that you left youraelf unrevsaled. Why are yon glad that I am going? For my part, I am sorry" Illstand fastened Instantly upon her arm. "Do you really mean Itf" he aaked. with sudden fervency, "Why. of course." she 1ugaed. 1 am vary sorry to leave auntie; aha has bean ao very kind." Ha removed hla hand from har arm. "Oh. Mrs. Randall 1" ha com plained, "you can think of everybody but me" "Why ahould I think of you. since you confess youraelf glad that I am going? Why are yon glad? Ha hesitated. For a moment ha sat thinking. Than, looking up and en countering tha steady gase of har brown eyaa: "I am glad because" his voice tram bled "because "it la better ao; better that I ahould aee no mora of you."' Ha dropped his glance. "My lot doaa not 11a in tha smooth places of the world." he continued trag ically. "It la not such an existence aa I could ask any woman to share. That is why I rejoice that, In a couple of days, wa shall have paaaad oat of each other's wajr of Ufa." He pauaad. Somehow, ha was not doing at all wan. Ha was beginning to fell 'ashamed of hlmaelf. Thla was driving a pose too far, parhapa a fact which. In his absorption in the artistic side of the qusstlon, ha had not hith erto contemplated. On the whole, ha thought It best to drop the subject and effect as orderly s retreat aa possible. But It waa har band that now fell upon hla sleeve, and Str voice quivered slightly. "Dou you men that you care?" she asked. Inwardly ha groaned. Ha waa not to be allowed to retreat, after all. Aa ha waa a gentleman, he could not do ao now. Ho tad overreached hlmaelf in hla Infernal copy hunting, and he must go on, although a church and a nuptial service should be at tha and of tha road he waa following. "That," ha faltered. "Is what I mean." There waa a pause, during which tar soft eyes were lowered and hla fur tive glance could make nothing of her expression "But if that la ao," sbs murmured, '"why should you rejoice at my golds?" Ha shivered at thought of all the things her words Beamed to suggaat. "Have I not said that It la beoauae my road through life la one which I cannot ask a woman to tread?" But If, If she cared? The brown eyes flashed him a glance and wars piled again. He trembled. The artistic researches that had lured him Into thla situation were all forgotten. He did not avail stop to analyse what might be hla true feelings for Rosa. The posa had ao become a part of him that hla real na ture waa smothered by It. But at the moment he waa dominated by auddenly aroused Instincts of self-preservation. Ha felt like one who haa stumbled Into a trap, and hla only thought waa how he might extricate himself.- "If she cared." ha added, unataadily, "that would be all tha more reason why I ahould go." . "There apeaks no lover," aald aha quietly. "It la too cold and calculating. If you really eared, you would make a bid for har, and aak her, at least, whether she were not willing to risk the future with you, whatever It might be. Mo, Martin, my friend, you have de luded youraelf. Tou do not care you only fancy that yon do." "I fancy nothing of the aort," he broke out half angrily, feeling that ha wax called upon to make some protest. "What!", she retorted. 'Tou do not even fancy It? Tour pose is not suf ficiently Ingrained to delude you?" And a soft ripple of laughter, at once gaS and mocking', broke from her. "Let na go and Join tha croquet players." she cried, rising. "Ton are too dull for con versation this afternoon, Martin." He looked at her, and he could not aay whether anger or relief waa sway ing him. He seemed no longer capable of effective Introspection. "Tou have no feelings" be exclaimed, at last "I can aay' of you as Carlyle said of Ruakln you are like a beautiful bottle of soda water." - That was panrtlcally their laat Inter view before she left Saxton. Ha was filled by an unaccountable sense of In jury For some days It Jay more or less latent In him." His work absorbed him, and he pursued It feverishly until bis novel was finished. Than, Is tha ldlenees that followed Ita dispatch to tha publishers, his thoughts reverted to Rosa, and tha sense of Injury returned. Next tha explanation of it came homa to him little by little. Ha was in love with har. Ha tad become so absorbed in bis mental attitude that the natural in clination of his heart had gone unper oelved. Ha remembered tha trapped feeling which had coma to him when she tad almost allowed him to see that she was not Indifferent end ha cursed himself now for having" bo frantically struggled to escape from toils outside of which ha felt that Ufa could hold no happiness for hire. It occurred tc him to obtain har ad dress from Mrs! Randall, and to follow her. Bat whop he recalled their laat words that day at tha Manor, ho lacked tha courage. Hs had burnt hla boats, ha argued, and, after all, parhapa It might be better ao. Ha contended that ha waa a poor man. and there warn othara In the World who, no doubt, would make her happier. And bo, with one consideration and another, he turned down that page of his Ufa, and reso lutely combated the desire to reopen It "Tha Futile Quest." by Martin Vas sicker, was published In the autumn. A week after Ita appearance, Martin waa In town, and one afternoon at hla club an acquaintance thrust a paper under hla nose, and potnted to a review article headed. "A Literary Coincidence." "Have you Been that VaaslckerT Ton are In good company, anyhow. Martin, glancing at tha article, saw his name coupled with that of Sebastian Rule, an author who had leapt Into fame a year ago and whoaa work waa being everywhere dlacuased. In gathering sur prise he perused the article, which ran: "Wa have lighted upon what wa think our readers .will agree la tha most as tounding literary coincidence that has over been recorded. Laat week aaw the appearance of The Idealists,' by Sebas tian Rule, and The Futile Quest,' by Martin Vasslcker. Each of these novela la remarkable for vigor, power and In alght, but more remarkable still, for the amaxlng resemblance that exists be tween them. It Is true that In tha mat ter of plot and mls-en-scene these two works have perhaps, not much In com mon; but tha characters of ths hero and heroine are not only almost Identical In each case, but they utter Identical sen tences, frequently In Identical words. and a fitting climax to thla astounding coincidence of thought and expression Is afforded by Use parting aentence which the hero addresses to the heroine. In both novela we find him taking hla leave of har with these words: 'Ton have no feelings! I can say of you aa Carly Is said of Ruskln you are like a beautiful bottle of soda water. Thla was followed by tha reviewer's theories and speculations in explana tion of thla remarkable fact. But Vos sicker didn't troubla to read what tha reviewer thought. Hla own thoughts ware more than enough for him Just then. He lat the paper fall and, reclin ing in hla chair, ne gave himself up to the luxury of conjecture. But It proved for ones rather more of a torture than a lrixuryi Ha waa quick to evolve a theory of hla own. Rosa must be very Intimate with 3-bastlan Rule, and must have confided In htm touching that co piously conducted wooing at Saxton. If what tha reviewer aald was trus i-snd It hardly admitted of doubt there coma scarcely ue any omer explana tion. Having reached that conclusion Mar tin rosea He must sea Rule at once, and thay muet discuss what attitude they were to take toward the public, particularly If i'te seemingly Inevitable Imputation came to be cast upon their work of having been plagiarised from a common source. To this and he repaired there and thfn to Brett A Hackett. Sebastian Rule's publlshsrs, with a vlsw of as certaining Mr. Rule'a address. Ha was received by Mr. Brett, tha senior part ner, who wel mm 1 him cordially, for Mr. Brett was In n state of considerable excitement at ihe astounding coinci dence which would presently be the talk of the literary world. Martin de manded Mr, Rule's address, informing! Mr. Brett that it was his Intention to aee that gentleman at onoa. "Mr. Rule," said tha publisher, "chooses to malntan tha strictest In cognito, and I am under promise not to divulge hla add. rata to anybody. But If you care to write to htm I will Baa that your letter la forwarded." Martin, however, did not care to write. Ha insisted upon seeing tha au thor of "The Idealists," and ha con tended with expressions of much Justi fiable strength and even some profanttyX,)r()' inxi, wiunvvvr jar. nun imirvu Uons may have bean concerning hla ad dress, they had to deal with a vary ex ceptional case, which would demand very exceptional treatment In tha and he won his way wonderful to relate and ha left Brett A Hackotfa with Sebastian Rule'a address In his pocket Half an hour later aaw him on the dooratap of a pretty villa In St John's Wood, asking to aee Mr. Rule. Tha In quiry aaemad to cast the maid Into aoma agitation, and for soma momenta ha waa kept waiting In a roejn on the ground floor. At laat the door opened and Martin gasped to behold Rosa Gerard herself standing before him. "How do you do?" came har pleaaant greeting. "What are you doing here?" ha blurted out "I live hare with my mother. Thla la my homa." "But Mr. Rule." hs asked. T "I am Mr. Rule," ahe answered with a quiet half wistful smile. "You?" ha . cried. In unbelief. "Tour' and hla Una eyaa were opened very wide. "Tou are Sebastian Rule?" "Tea," aha reassured him. T am the Then, with a laugh. "Don't look so shocked, Martin," aha continued. "I know that you find it hard to credit you whose opinion of woman'a Intel lectuality Is so unflattering to ua. Bnt If you think for youraelf, you will see that It could not be otherwise. Tou have, of course, seen what tha Daily ,ys about this literary coinci dence? At leaat, I aasume that that la the explanation of your presence here.' Then Martin i understood averythlng. Ha understood the nerve and sympathy with which she had entered upon those makebelleve conversations at Saxton. While he was making copy for har aha was making copy for him. Bach tad been posing unconsciously for the other'a benefit When at last be put his feelings Into words, his diction lacked that artistic finish which had characterised hla .old time expreaatona. "Wa have," aald he, "made a very charming mesa of It" "Hardly so bad as that" aha laughed. "People swill wonder, and Ita wonder wljj advertise our books." " An expression of settled gloom over clouded Martln'a good-looking face. Rose knew It of old. It had been tha expression ha adopted when ha struck his mental attitudes. But her keen per ceptions told her also that for onoa It waa a sincere reflection of what waa passing In his mind. "I was an ass." ha acknowledged with melancholy conviction, and for tha mo ment as he met her brown eyes ha forgot the literary coincidence. "I waa an era," hs repeated. "No. no." she anawerad with soothing politeness. "Bnt I waa," ha Insisted. "Tou don't know tha worst," 'Tall me," she begged. She was standing close to him. The proximity seemed to affect htm. His hand fall upon har arm aa It had dona that day at Saxton. "By dint of posing as lovelorn X be came lovelorn." he bluntry avowed, "and without knowing it But I found It out after yon tad sons away. Rose, Bnd I so wanted to coma after you. But I didn't dare. I don't suppose you'll aver forgive me. I'm sura I don't deserve that yon should" "Silly boy, you forget that I was Just aa tad. If you talk of forgiving, you have quite aa much to forgive me. And, , oh. Martin. I have been punlahed!" aha cried. "Punished?" "Just as yon have bean punished. X acted a part, untU It ceased to be aet lng, and" "Rose!" ha exclaimed, and at that mo ment the literary coincidence was com pletely forgotten. Ha took her by tha shoulders and held her at arm" a length, solemnly regarding her. "Ifa true. Rose?" "It's true, dear," aald aha, "and I think that In future wa might collabo rate very satisfactorily, don't you?" "Rather. Sebastian Rule and Martin Voaalckar united ahould prove an over whelming combination. Wa ware born to collaborate. Rose." "And. at leaat. wa ahall be safe-" guarded against coincidences," aha con cluded, with a smile. CHILD'S CRIB AND CHAIR I REMOVABLE CHICKEN COOP These Two Needfuls Very Success fully Combined. The crib and the high chair are two of tha needfuls of every houaahold in which are young children. To combine tha two In one place of furniture la a recant Invention of two California cabi- CHAIR AND CRIB COMBINED. netmakara. Beaiden serving tne two purposes squally stall, the appearance haa not been slighted tn tha least, the combination being attractive rather than cumbersome. In the Illustration It is ahown In tha position of a high chair, rollers being attached to tha end frame. To oonvert tha high chair Into a crib It Is only necessary to change the position, the rockers at the back of tha high chair serving the same pur pose as rockets on an ordinary crib. Tha aaat In tha high ohalr la readily re moved, and tha necessary pillows snd coverings Inserted. Bvery mother will at once recognise tha advantage of hav ing crib tn the dining-room. In which to place tha babv for his regular naps without ths necessity of carrying him to ths upper floor. Raised and Lowered for Cleaning by SO Ingenious Method. One of the essentials In the raising of chickens and other fowls Is cleanli ness. To Insure good stock they must be cared for with as much diligence aa canaries and parrots Chicken coops are seldom mors than four or five feat In height, and when cleaning them even a man amaU In stature Is compelled to band himself at ail angles to reach perches and nests. To avoid this back breaking work a Texas farmer has de signed a chicken coop that la right up to data. The coop Is not unlike tha or dinary one, and can be built to suit the HOG CATCHER - More Effective Than Old-Fsshioned Way of Grabbing Hla Tail Chasing hops Is exceedingly tm using when the chaser Is bant on pleasure only. Whan It becomes an everyday duty the funny feature disappear a, and Inatesd the air s generally laden with IJFT8 COOP OFF THB GROUND, Individual's taste - In the rear and ex tending above the top of tha coop ts a post, at tha top of which la pivoted a hoisting arm. One and of tha arm connects with cables extending to fhe four corners of tha coop: the other and aee res as a handle for raising tha coop off tha ground when necessary to clean the Interior. This Innovation will ap peal to all thoae who are Interested in poultry and their care, STJBDtTBS THB HOG. expletives not suitable to polite society. The hog ts an elusive beast. Being round and fat and also slippery tha chaser la not afforded any point of vantage to obtain a firm hold. Thla la true with but one exception, and that la his tall. But hare again tha chaser is handicapped. Boars' talis are ao lit tle and at the same tlgae ao frail that not Infrequently tha hog emerges from tha ohase mlnua Ms tall. A more sen sible method Is the use of tha Imple ment Illustrated herewith The In ventor, ah Iowa man. clalma that no difficulty la experienced In getting tha nooaa In position. When once It la se curely clamped on tha hog's nose It Is an easy matter to lead the animal to any placs desired. 1 utuAiau
