THE OREGON DAILY JOURNAL, PORTLAND, SATURDAY EVENING, OCTOBER It, 1M6.
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"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