The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, July 9, 1899, Page 20

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL ried, and the sad old house learned to smile now and then, and to be, not gay, at least contented looking again. - Ola Mr. Keane—rather of a recluse \/\/e 5 Dar [ C even when a pretty daughter-in-law and merry grandchildren tried to make p the world happier for him—died sud- I denly one day, and his death brought i 6 H ¥ the young doctor face to face with a totally unexpected complication. . A woman, of whose very existence he ‘\/68 6 was unaware, appeared at the funeral | in the deepest of mourni and later put in a claim to half the large prop- = erty left by the elder Keane, claiming Or U eaé to have been for years supported by him, and to be by contract his legal courts was long and severe, and al- though it resulted in a complete vic- s tory for the son, the notoriety which n U In Oé U it gave the fap and the manner in which his private affairs became pub- lic property, made the triumph a dear [he emories He felt disgraced and humiliated by the whole affair, in which he was, of course, altogether blameless, and his a 5 : On ea natural shyness deepened into absolute [ misanthropy. By degrees he withdrew = not only from the companionship of his fellow men but en from that of his when he found voice to speak at all— own family, and found his pleasure, that he had “seen a ghnsl'l;;ngou:eup- few leisur. in sc y o ia n the desterte . during his few leisur urs, in = 1.:@_ (“1«‘;3];\1[}3:20; ity dosteriad honne. il camainion Wi X 8 MEM- on the neighbors began to look un- ories in the retirement of his own spe- certainly upon the place, and supersti- Gl SoleinGn tious and credulous strangers visited Later, on a pretext so slight as to be the vicinity to stare and wonder and trivial, he gave up the practice of his wait r(»r%h; hamfieningugfedf::‘_a::o‘},x;fi ofessic n¢ ife, fearing things. What really oc ?\rh:tS:ix;n;~2:r»lozt\¥]?zir2.lis f‘“.—r\hnr(hildg- 2 tiny seed from ‘which sprang and . & . flourished a green bay tree of narration. ren’s sake, to acknowledge even to her- ¢y o " iorieg of all kinds were dragged o House on GrErn STREET. .. self and 1 COGDODTLOOBODO o STATEMENT 2 = 2 self, persuaded him to the town forth and parts of them attached more A $ PP o houss, which had always seemed to or less deftly to the defenseless habi- RE > Ex ini harbor within it brooding shadows of tatlon. hin © Explaining Why He Has 2 ‘At last, however, the truth became unhappiness and unrest, and come with ~hild their un known and then the street settled back Bel S he chiideed So thelr Cinl into quiet again. The residents ¢ that plscshiBaugiaget part of San Franclsco are nelther med- Willing to please her who had brought Hlesome nor fll-natured. They are re- o his life all of brightness that he spectable, steady going, eminently for a brief Practical people, and since their wealthy ) & Become a Hermit fa R i) ne=t X had ever known, the dc 2, e o i Sed o content himself among REISEDOr does them mo harm by his ec gl - time tried to = s s see no'reason why any = centricities th y e pretty Ut- oo should even attempt to prevent him le day, how- from livirig his life in hi e old place 7 He had the roses and hine ¢ tle town across the bay. ever, the yearning for t grew too strong to be r d of selling is ma : S a grown to hate the en s that i :’};m his 3 4 X : o seemed to his beautiful country o Gty = ho the sunlight citeranalieRy % ors of the back alley s S ¢ about h s in this regarc ; et o ache with their insistent brightness; the better than that a = a volces of his Aren, thelr sie e is quite welcome to 3 for all they If he objects to th e =] d gay good comradeship yoq of proom and duster, and mop by disturbed an d him beyond en- gonn’and water, within the borders of & 2 o durance; his wif ic and 1ov- the domain over W st A i o ingly watchful care filled him with re- urban Selkirk—reigns s = sentful distrust, and he longed for the SWay, Y}:Ehasi]g;f;;ta:ih"z lpfll:t dust o st & solitude, the gloom, the quiet and the ™y % “yiches to promenade over his personal freedom which he knew would ot € 0 ENeS H0 Pg e night =3 be his in the “House of Shadows.” And with or without the accompa: = p=3 s0 he came away from that troubled a candle, according to tu o] him and sought the quiet refuge of the cence in the way of illumination, th; = n e TIAhE Sap Toved again, is }?:s own affair. If he prefer e o The heavy oaken doors swung back :?'_;figflif‘h; e e B on their creaking hing d the dark and silent house seemed to welc caslonally without malking u him as if he we at nt son retur borly fuss a t it to his own. doors closed behind He is “a good man” they sa; e e e e hut him away “little queer:” and so he lives alone and e 1 . unmolested in that desert of unpeopled forever from all that other men hold ,;oq " His feet wear threadbare paths dear. on the rich carpets; his fingers, grown ford to allow him to amuse h b=l been known t th st five ng f dried gra and all’ ma £ 305 From that day he has lived there tremulous of late, touch lovingly the alone with the shadows. Going and yellow keys of the once fine piano and coming only when necessity drove him draw from them sorrowful music of ave commerce™with the world out- Other days. @ baye The moths nest and hatch in the up- side, and then through the back Way ygpgtered furniture and flit about like only, his presence among them was for ynceot ghosts in the stagnant atmos- some time unknown to the good people phere of the unaired rooms. Spiders of the vicinity, and after a while it was spin their web from corner to corner, whispered about that there was some- from mantel to bookcase, from balus thing weird and uncanny about the trade to doorpost, and dust—-the X . - E bloom of time—settles down from day place. There were noises to be heard “s.¢ on web and curtain, carpet and there at unusual hours, and dim lights & “8% PR W08 300 € G . ‘thicker fiitted from room to room sometimes gn43 heavier, and rests thers undis- the whole night through. turbed. Now and again, on moonlight nights, _Some day or night the end will come. passers-by caught glimpses of a white- The spirit that has so chafed at the re. robed figure gazing mournfully through Strictions of mortality and circum- = ine, or pacing up and down Stance Will be set free. The human life, O & up & which for so many long years has baen with wild wavings of upraised arms— the one disturbing element in the silent a white shadow talking with the black solitude of the dreary house, will be shadows that ever dogged its footsteps. snuffed out like the candle which has Again the strains nrhmu,:ln flnm;d out lighted so many purposeless pilgrim- WITH THE BLACKS on the air between the hours of mid- ages of the restless feet. SnAboW TALKING ™ = night and gray dawn; and one man, The white shadow will no longer as- HADOWS THAT DOGGED ITS FOSTSTEPS~ v o more venturesome-than his brethren, sert its claim agalnst, and supremacy climbing to the drawing room windows over, its dark companfons, but will join and peering in as best he could, saw 1 footing, save a person similarly. constituted éan he went throtigh ln guffering but herolc /By sheer “arit” sheidragzed Rimselt o oo L el e e e :5;‘,,;&; ever realize. Certain it is, however, silence because of his love for, and loy- through th ecessary tortures and be- the gloom enshrouded distance, and never realize that any change has ered during that the horrorg of the dlssecting room alty to, his father—left behind mental came in due time a physiclan of good straightway grew sick with fear and come, but will shelter and brood over inary study no one —the entire “hardening” process which wounds which never healed. practice and standing. Later he mar- Wwent his way proclaiming awesomely— them all then as now. no real sunshine ever wife and mother was the doorway to her long rest distant h A Nervous, morbidly sensit fectionate and unque this son carried out and became a memb eason of prelim o a WHITE the ALWAYS THE BEST IN THE WORLD. {5550 REMOLDED ENEMY'S CANNON BALLS TO RETURN FIRE. m all the time; I only know that he escaped from our had t jammed it tudio In a very precipitate fashion; Pol- HROUGH the portals of a new- religlous argument gave out when no was his spirit, that he held out against ed for i n 1y overcoat side pocket ard and 1 fell all over the studio, laugh- more church bells were avallable, and them until rescue came through $ . natic ¥ >ieked at o dio, T ade grave on Lo Mountain I 3 g the fore you star i Picked out that cursed ing as we heard the clatter of those }"“ ’ “M“d i "‘ “‘;‘ o hiche the facile artlllerist was driven to his intervention of Commander Davis and at chec laced-up shoes of his on the two flights of 1as entered Into a uniq last resort, to send out partles to scour the men of the United States sloop of irs. in history one of those martial f the besleged tov 3 o ity A s - I 3 e the purlieus of the besleged town for war St. Mary's. The ingenulty used to to Smith 1¢ he Has not mede r‘,“"l‘:f:‘lm?vyx‘.'! figures that, living In one cen- the shot with which the enemy had such good effect at that memorable lard and I were persons of crimi- tury, appear to have been controlled by pelted him and to send them, red hot, siege was developed later in more why did he not introduce us the daring spirit of a former age. The back to him. peaceful walks, and the latter half of aythorne? = ient, Simple headstone informs the infre- _Such were the odds against which this adventurous life was spent in par- 35 {E frohed (‘v—u‘l"’\‘_v\_ “:‘;“_‘ h ”‘: %xlx:ifhé quent visitor to the city of the dead Swingle contended at Rivas, and such fecting mechanical devic faction, that Gaythorne was an that benea S e yolonel iStonyls et ity % Bas, 4% that beneath reposes the clay of Colo: 1 could hear, taction was as Alfred -Swingle. thing to Gaythorne's when Smith pre- The story of Colonel Swingle's life s0id Jemten O R s e ok Thd fne discounts the most thrilling romances ing of his overcoat, which had evidently ©f a Mayne Reld or an Aimard. ed with hasty surge Smith In any one chapter of his varled life orne ihe whole etofy Of DIS there is material sufficient to furnish ellow of middle age—slappe forth the )st realistic melodrama. In Smith on the back an don’t tal ared enou impertur doubt, mysel is perfectly Suppos see how I brought it here, thanks,” sald Po! £ rd. “Awfuily decent of you to come that rot, Pollard ited to be a “ € lled him a credit his short campaign in Nicaragua in 1857 \nside the thi Smtth gcalled h it his shor paign in Nicaragua 57 1'shall have you two for So.re flag, and insisted on making a blg with Walker the manner of the man is that the contents of that pocketbook m probably better to be determined than r anything you I have been valuable. in any other period of his life. It i couldn't find anvbody side pocke nped h active not c an intrepid , but as a man fertile 1 of which he s the circumstances might qul At the siege of Rlvas these qualitie > notably exempli- yw,” seaid Gaythorne, “I want yvou fied. Walker and his men were penned to'be good to me,” This was in the yp in the town surrounded by innumer- expensive humor that grew out of cham- aije foes pressing on every side. They gne. ‘‘You've be neommon good to e g r Y it alre Don’t know where 1'd h lacked provislons and were almost out been if for Smith here of munitions of war gle was the great fillbuster's his little clover leaf. I'm going to you meet my wife when she-gets of artillery, and, as such, was in Aot But there was more behind, which we could you: _ aid not infer, but got direct from L _lL;"'*'V"'H"‘," '*n"”‘}"’f.’-“' himself, when we ran into Sm e BN R : him having a glorious time at a had been picked. Now let's iir cafe a few days later. We sin it_together, eh?” nade § vd us to ool ACresd to ecamine it le Smith introduce o and in resources, any or brought into pla an, untwisted the frayed edge of the had idently been very snipped with a pair of sharp nside was a neat leather poc an elastic band a le n’t open : the old from Ger: But vou've all t i & He man's address thorna, iLom Germany. But vouve all got 19 girect charge of the guns. These were next m Pension Libre, Reshid s Whole bustness dead quict, sse’ six-pounders, which he managed with sond everybody be- “That's important to remer 28! She's the best woman in the world, but, damaging effect until his supply of can- mpadour!” The horses Pollard. ‘“We shall have to be careful to down the quarter stretch, give the Pension Libre a wide berth, or you know, women get the most una non balls gave out. Equal to the occas- countable prejudices. She hates horse sjon, he began immediately the manu- et I w ;_at- F Gay . But no A.r,:h,‘_r“;‘hn(. ettt Jo R o= e pen intel Byiliorne: EBukipow ol rioes and she hates Jiquor, Now if she by making in the 2 lown rses. Then dy jolted my pretended to be going to open Kne¥ I'd stayed back In Parls to g0 {0 gand holes of the proper size, filling : sald, youngsman, ok, But Bl wwho wks ""After that—months later—when the them with small scraps of iron and urs. T who it was. thoroughly taken in by his pretense, Givthornes and Mrs. Gaythorne’s sister, pouring in melted lead. When they shoved this thing hand grabbed him violently, and it looked for a 4 knew what he w ” minute or_two as if there was B took 1it, like a lamb?" I be a free fight in our studio. Ho er, got back to Pari th looked up Smith, and ever since then they succeeded In restoring order and qu S gémén‘r‘,’,‘{‘ Saythorne him- gave out. Then he had to turn to again “I took it before 1 had time to see “Pollard,” I sald, “since my countryman Smi ; d se his off-hand knowled, f 1 » “ 7 =3 - nts for Smith. Which is the real rea an use * Eoaan edge o what it all 1 Smith protested. “It insists on doing the honest act, I suppose o588 TR FMER, TOni 10 U0F TR0 137 physics. He had enough to enable him s only when (he oCPW..eS foti we must let hlm have his way, just this part'of the State to sell any old daub he to build a crude furnace with a hot air cooled he had servieeable shot until the supply of lead and small bits of iron af stuck Into his shoe lace, to gat into this push, you'll have to take “ants to ata high figure. blast which enabled him to melt large had.” up with our ways, and dlvvy up fair and T T S R T pieces of metal, with which he cast the honest whenever you make a haul.” “Are you sure you love her?” asked his first iron cannon balls ever made in ther put into my pocket of a L looked at this thing _T' frmiy “belleve even vet, " aithough close friend. Central America. When he ran out of nd. s a whole in- Smith st enles It, at we had suc- ‘“‘Absolutely,” answered the young man. iron he transformed into round shot all 1 overcoat, cut clean %"Sgfighlh?flfflifl?fl believe that the «Tve been her partner at whist when she the old church bells he could find, and i s e e Auita in the hubit of plok. forgot what trumps were apd didn't lose used them as & convincing argument +1 haven't looked Inside it yet,” eald ing up such unconsidered trifigs as pocket- my temper.” against the enemy. Even this sort of COLONEL. ALFRED SWINGLE. didn’t wear arn course,” he added, ‘‘one oy anything about the p iuzl thet mfl