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About Eagle Valley news. (Richland, Or.) 191?-1919 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 22, 1917)
In the East and the West By H. M. EGBERT (Copyright. 1915, by V. G. Chapman.) Will Thorpo had been sent West three years before Ho had been an Idler and extravagant; at last hts fa ther, who had always dealt with tho boy rather harshly, refused to assist him further unless ha entered his Iron foundry and settled down. Angry words had arisen, and In tho end Will had packed hts suitcaso and gono West with a hundred dollars In hts pockets. His sweetheart. Mnrlon Vanslttart had scolded htm for his decision. Sho had reminded htm, petulantly, that sho could neither marry a poor man nor wait for ever. He had kissed her and told her that he would return with his fortune made. And for a few months sho had written. Then her letters be came shorter and less frequent; finally they ceased altogether. It was more than two years since ho had heard from her. And gradual ly the new life had woven Itself about him. and ho had ceased to care. Then ho had received a mysterious. Rode Slowly Down the Valley. unsigned message asking him to be at the railway depot at a certain hour, to meet the train. And ho had gone, to find Jim Tremont waiting there. Jim was passing through on his way to California, he told blra, and he had heard he was in that part of the country. Did Will know that his fa ther was dead and he was the sole heir to five million dollars? Ho had better write home quickly, because ev eryone was searching for him, and he had only heard of his address by chance. "I suppose you'll be back East In a week, and holding out at the club," said Jimmy casually, as ho shook hands and said good-by. It was that that made Will think he had really changed. How could ho associate those elusive memories which be bad almost forgotten with this life that had taken possession of him? He thought of Norma Gale, the daughter of the old homesteader down tho valley. How was ho to tell her? The girl, educated and refined as were all the people of tho district, was utterly unpresentable In tho sort of society in which ho had moved. Sho had never worn a gown with a low neck in her life. Sho would bo helpless among a crowd of people such as Marlon Vanslttart! Yet it never occurred to Will that ho could do anything but go. It bad never entered his mind that ho was to stay permanently In tho West. A man on horseback was riding up to his cabin. Will watched him as ho approached. Visitors were something of an event In the settlement, and Will know the rider as the telegraphist in the cluster of bouses that had grown up around tho depot and was called a city. "Wire for you, Thorpe!" ho an nounced briefly. Will took tho message and opened It. Ho stared at it as If ho did not un derstand. It was from Marlon. Sho had learned his address, sho said probably everyone could discover tho address of a millionaire and she was passing through on her way East from tho San Francisco exposition. She would stay an hour while they changed engines. Would he meet her? "Thanks," Bald Will to tho telegraph ist, and watched him rldo down tho hill. Yes, he was going East, and going I back to Marlon. For a moment tr old llfo camo rushing over htm. wtt its memories. Its thousand nllun ments And tho now llfo meant notl lng. Ho mounted his horso nnd rodn slowly down tho valley. Ho had uo destination in tnlud, but suddenly ho realized that ho was approaching tho homesteader's houso. And at tho door stood Norma, In her sunbonnot. Sho greeted him. "Won't you coma In nnd tnko somo ten?" sho asked. "I hear you nro going East. Mr. Thorpe." Ho dismounted, nnd now ho saw that her lips were trembling. How had sho known ho was going East? Did nuws tly as fast In this settlement as In tho great world? A"d what did It matter to her? "Vc3, 1 am going East, Norma," ho answered, taking her hands In his. "I I congrntulato you," sho an swered quietly. Hut ho saw tho tears lu her eyes. "You have meant so much to mo," ho said Impulsively. "I hnto tho thought of going. And jot It Is my duty, I suppose." "Then you must go." said tho girl softly. Sho was smiling very bravely at him. "Won't you como In?" "No I can't now," ho said crudely. "Norma, I shall 1 shall see you ngaln before I go." Sho nodded, and he knew tho mean lng of her silence. The girl cared for him, and in her unsophisticated wny was Incapable of concealment. Ho saw her walk back quickly Into tho cabin. .Marlon's train was to nrrlvo tho fol lowing morning. Will rodo down to tho depot with a heavy heart. Tho old and tho new were tugging at It, and ho did not know which pulled him tho harder. Tho train was pulling In. Ho had stood on tho platform In a sort of da2e. Now ho awakened suddenly, and ho felt his heart beating hnrd In anticipation. The men about tho plat' form were watching him curiously. Ho looked Into tho carriages of tho train as It came to a halt. Ho walked its length. Marlon was not there. Had she missed her train? "Still dreaming, Will?" asked a hard volco over his shoulder. He started round, to sco Marlon, with a party of girl friends, dressed In the height of fashion, looking at him with a smile. "Dear me, I must bo very hard to find," sho said. "Well! When aro you coming home?" The hardness of her tones struck him like a blow. Surely ho had changed out of all recognition It he bad ever thought Marlon's volco beau tlful. The girl whom ho had loved to tho point of Infatuation stood re vealed to blm as nn artificial, hard young woman, without the slightest charm. "I think It was very wrong of you not to write to mo for so long," sho continued. "Cut I forglvo you, Will Wo can forglvo a man with millions anything, can't we, Dora?" The girl addressed as Dora mur- mured something. Tho wholo party was taken aback, not to say shocked. at the sight of this man In tho cowboy clothes. And ho was a millionaire! Ho was Will Thorpo of Harvard and Boston! Perhaps Marlon shrewdly divined the change that had occurred In him, for she drew him aside. "Will, I know I ought to have been moro serious," sho said, ."But you can't think how startling and ridicu lous you look, dressed Ilko ono of these natives. Listen, Will, and let mo explain. I have always cared for you just as much, but I couldn't bo engaged to a beggar. You seo that for youself, don't you? And every- body understood that your father was going to cut you out of his will, In stead of leaving you tho solo heir. I am Just as fond of you, Will." Will Thorpo looked at her with slow ly rising anger. Sho did not realize what sho was saying. Had ho ever been like that? Was that tho kind of man that he had been, that sho so con fidently imagined ho was still? "So when aro you coming homo, Will?" sho continued. "When aro you coming homo to mo?" sho added softly. Tho train conductor blow his whis tle. Will looked her full In tho faco. "Never!" ho answered roughly. Tho party was moving toward tho train. Will saw the look of amazed indignation upon Marlon's face. Ho broko from her. Ho mounted tho horso that was tethered to a post out- sldo tho depot. Tho train was start ing. Hut Will was riding for tho mountain slopes, and his "novor" rang In his cars llko tho sound of a chanted chorus. Ho flung himself from his horso at tho cabin door which hid at that mo ment all that lifo held most precious for him. "Norma!" ho shouted, hammering with bis knuckles. He heard her footsteps; ho saw her stand beforo him; ho caught bor In his arms. "Norma! I havo como home to you," ho cried. M)utPorteal i Lisbon's Beautiful Harbor. P OflTUOAL. tho most recent na tion to bo drawn Into tho mnol strom of tho European war. wns onco n part of tho ancient Komnn province of LuBltunln, Bays a bulletin Issued by tho National Geo graphic society. With a population scarcely exceed ing tho.comblnod population of Now York city, Jersey City, and Newark, and an area In Europe loss than tho statu of Indiana. I'ortugnl has not played a major rolu In tho politics of continental Europe In many years, not, In fact, since Wcllcsloy, after ward tho Duko of Wellington, land ed his English forces nnd, with tho aid of natlvo troops, defeated Soult and Massena, Nnpoleon's marshals, In tho two peninsular campaigns. Dut the colonial cmplro of portugnl Is out of nil proportion to tho Im portance of tho homo country. In fact there wero, nt tho beginning of tho war, only thrco other countries In Europe Great Hrltain, Franco, and Germany whoso flags floated over moro territory beyond tho boundnrlos of tho home country. Tho combined area of the New England and North Atlantic states would equal less than one-fourth of the torrltory undor thu dominion of the tiny ropuhllc occupy ing tho western edgo of tho Iberlnn peninsula, whoso navigators In tho fif teenth and sixteenth century wero tho wonders of tho world. Yet all this vast territory Is hold by 8,000 colo nial troops, supplemented by natlvo armies. Peasants Are Poets. A curious anomaly Is to bo found among the peasants of Portugal, who are classified r.s among tho most Il literate of Western Europe, yet among tho most Intelligent. Many of tho farmers three-fifths of tho population Is dovotcd to agricultural pursuits havo a romnrknhlo gift for versifica tion, and many of tho poomu of tho country are handed down from gen eration to generation without being recorded. Tho peasants also aro noted for their sobriety, and yet tho unnual production of wlno exceeds 25 gallons for each Inhabitant. So grcnt, In fact, is tho product of thu vineyards that In tho cities the various qualities of water aro discussed with keener In terest than the grades of wlno. While Portugal's marltlmo glory Is a thing of tho pant, a largo number of Portuguese still follow tho sea for a livelihood, and tho fishing Industry Is Important. Tho Portugueso Bar- dines, however, uro prcsorved In Ital ian ollvo oil, although ono-llftoonth of tho cultivated area of tho nation is given over to ollvo groves, for tho pro duction of oils of a cheap grado. Tho Portuguese peasant woman Is an Important bread winner, but sho receives for her day's labor of 10 hours lu tho Hold only a shilling or less, whlla tho men get two shillings. Ono of tho prolltnblo nnd oxtromely popular "Industries" of tho rural pop ulation is a placid laying In wait for tourists who attempt to motor through tho country on tho loss-frequented and often ImpasBublo public roads. With an ox-team tho peasant waits at a favorahlo Hpot until a motorist, traveling on an automobile on which an import tax of f 120 has boon col lected by tho Portugueso govornmont, ticks In tho mud. To haul out such an unfortunato is often moro prollt nblo than several days' work lu tho whuat, maize, or rtco fields. Lisbon's Deautlful Harbor. Tho harbor of Lisbon, whuro tho solzuro of the Gurmau murchnut Hhlps precipitated Portugal Into tho war. Is ono of tho most beautiful In all Eu rope, ranking scarcely second to Na pics and Constantinople. Thu city Is nbout tho slzo of Pittsburgh, nnd has been tho political coutor of tho nn Hon since It was wrestod from tho Moors In tho mlddlo of tho twelfth con tury by Affonso Henrlques, tho founder of tho kingdom. It was tho English who aided Alfonso In his war against tbo Moors, and thu following century tho two countries effected an nlllnnco which has existed unbrokon during tho succeeding 700 years, save for such sporadic Interruptions as when Nu poleon forced tho llttlo kingdom to do- claro wur against tho Island omplro. Tho Portugueso, espnclally thoso of Lisbon, aro a plcusuro-lovlug people. Thoy nro fond of sports of many sorts. Including tho bull fight, but tho tore ador Is not tho Idol lu this country that ho Is lu Spain, nor nro tho contests as fiorce. Horsus aro seldom If over sacrificed In Portugueso trocadoros Lisbon Is nn ovon greater "night city" than was Paris, tho streets ap pearlng at their buslout usually at 3 a. m. Tho principal thoroughfares nro admirably kept nowadays but as late as 1S35 a "clean-up" campaigner was In a woeful minority when he began to urgo tho authorities to put a stop to such practices as breaking horses lu tho streets and singeing pigs In tho main nvenuus of trade. Ho nlso pro tested against kooplng pigs ullvo In tho streets "or tied to tho doors,' while ho thought It advisable to put an end to tho ciiHtom of allowing dund animals to Ho for Indefinite periods In tho streets. Thero aro nbout 100 Journals pub llshed lu Portugal, thu majority of theso being of a political nature, and mnny of them nro owned by tho load ors of tho various political purtlcs. It has been said that "If Lisbon turnB Turk tomorrow all Portugal will wear tho turban," so when tho mon archy was overthrown In 1910, nftor 100 persons hud been killed and COO wounded In tho capital, King Manuel taxing rorugo in ungiuna, it was a matter of courso that tho rost of tho nation would quietly acquiesce In tho now order of things. Portugal today has much tho same outward form of government ns our own. Each par liament Is supposed to lust three years; senators aro elected for six years, and presidents for four years. Tho head of tho govornmont receives $20,000 a yenr. Money, however, Is reckoned chlolly lu rols, and, therefore, ovon a day laborer's wages is sweet to tho ear, for It takes 20 ruls to mako a penny. Portugal's transcondnnt contribu tion to world history wns tho coloniza tion of Ilrazll, tho largest nation In South Amorlcn and thu third lurgost lu tho Westom homlsphoro, Whllo Urnzll was discovered by Columbus' companion, Plnzon, and formal posses slou takou by him In tho namo of Spain, Cnbral landed In 1D00, a yoar Inter, and proclaimed It Portugueso territory. Portugal nettled tho coun try and ruled It until 1822 when, un dor tho loadorshlp of tho Portugueso princo, Dom Pedro, Indopondonco front tho mother county was doclorod, i DIDDY'S WENIAG 0MARY GRAHAM FAimca PLEA8E MR. DOOK-CA8C. "Tho falrlos nro tho bont llttlo penco innkerH lu tho world," began dnddy, as ho saw that thu children worn ready to hoar what tho fairies had boon doing all day. "Last night," ho wont on, "tho book case In n nursery becntno very, vory angry. Uo Just tulked nnd inuttorod to hliiiMulf nil night. Every llttlo whllo tho children would wnku up for thoy could hoar the book-cami scolding away. Of courso thoy didn't know that tho book-enso was nmlly talking and scolding Thoy thought It wiib only n creaking thoy heard hut It woku tliom up over no many times. "That wan Just what thu book-cnmi wanted Ho wns feeling so nngry, ho Just wniitod to wnko up tho llttlo hoys and girls who wore stooping In tho nursery, "'Welt,' ho crenkod, '1 am too mnd to stand hero any more. I think I will just fall down. That would ho n 'Now, Don't Do Angry, Mr. look Case." guod Joko. That would mnko all tho little boys mid girls nppruclnto whnt I nm. Whnt would hnppon to nil their favorite picture books If 1 fell down? Yes, whnt Indeed? " 'And how about (bono hooks of ships and pirates and ndvonturns that tho crenturen thoy call boyn llko? What would huppon to tlioui If l full down and dropped thorn all? Or tho books thoy palm In mid cut out paper dolls from? " 'Thoy would nil hnvo their covers broken mid no doubt thu pages of a groat many would fall out, Thoy would havo fallen out long ago, and tho covers would hnvo been broken It thoy had not had mo to hold thorn. ' 'Now whnt ninkus ma so mnd Is that thuso children wero talking today, and they said they could uso mo out In tho back yard for their snowballs, snow Ico cream mid such iiuusonnu In tho winter mid In tho spring, denr. dear mo,' mid at this tho hook-caso would hnvo cried If ho had only known how, 'thoy even said I could bo used for mud pies. Thoy said thoy didn't need mo any moro. Thoy could put tholr books In the closet. In tho cold, dnrk. dreary closet. Poor, dear hooks. And I hnvo treated them so woll nnd boon so fond of them. I will just hnvo to fall down nnd loso my temper nnd crash with rage for I am not appre ciated. Oh, It's very snd.' "All this tlma tho fairies had been listening. Thoy hnd foil very badly that tho hook-caso was behaving so disgracefully nnd whon thoy saw ho was really in earnest thoy Just began to tulk to lilm. "Thoy run nlong tho shelves and crawled In nnd out of the books and said to tho bnok-caso: "'Now, don't bo nngry Mr. Hook- case. It renlly won't do tho slightest bit of good. And ns for that croaking. It Is most unkind of you, Poor llt tlo boys and girls! Wouldn't you lot them hnvo a good night's sloop? Wo don't really think you moun to bo un kind but soo how thoy nro tosBlng ovory tlmo you cronk, and thoy nro so tired.' "'Hut,' Hold tho hook-cauo. 'I havo been so good to all tholr books. My broad shelves havo hold thorn up mid I havo taken such caro of them. I nm hurt becaiiBo thoy think that now I don't need to look nfter books hut can bo used for snowballs nnd mud plus to go on my siioivos.' ' 'Thoy really lovo you said tho llt tlo fairies, 'but how thoy havo grown thoughtless. Thoy will lovo you Just as much later on for holding tholr hooks mid lu tho meantime wo will keep you cheored up playing hldonnd go sook between your precloua books.' " Didn't Ask for Pie. Alton, ngod flvo. was naasine dm nftornoon with hts aunt lu tho suburbs, md after ho had yoon nt play for a .Imo ho sal": "Aunt Mnrv. mamma suld I wasn't to ask you for n ploco of pie, but sho didn't toll mo not to tnkn It It you offered It to mo." r