The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, April 15, 1906, Page 7

THE- SAN--FRANCISCO - SUNDAY. CALL. T Hymn after hymn be sang, w y were near. Then before them and began to ' ‘he said earnestly, “you ering why 1 am here. The rea- My church has sent me to e glad tidings of life, liberty sess to every man, woman and My méssage has been How to preach! I have no one whi ‘Wharton is about ti James, e live- was taken sinners were in ch services. Even n. ‘While the lamp and all that sort of last night to and George Baker t a Methodist hymn at real cha the first & in its palm breakfast as a well evada and Mrs. , is a well in her book. 11-known corpor- e makes »n the public, in as he does as eman, we with sue- The har- laborers few and .the udable pride that Mr. Ji shows a fireman’s belt’ pre- sented tc him by the Hooks and Knicks for his services at fires. He also had a helmet which, however, has got lost in r ings of a preacher's life. he story of the Dam Phool Infirmary— the D. P. L—is in the main true, ang all Europeans will well remember John Ba- 004 down yonder st the ker, its founden the witty and erratlc deltver 1t, but none of brother of George W. Baker, the well- 80 I e come to know corporation lawyer. Many a } 3 o, 3 eSS ¢ hand the flor- I'm k.oping it for one of our regulars.” e full assurance. Nodding, satisfled, the old man bustled s ace, just around away to some fresh patrons. Lily, though a crowded thor- constantly busy, kept watch on each new- re ble oasis of comer. When at last a tall young man se 'q v. entered, the quick drooping of her long g obtainable lashes showed him to be the one ex- pected, = ng perfume of rich ex- buttonhole ready?”’ he asked sud- < e fe of color, the denly across the counter. For reply she e green background handed him a white carnation, which he bi_ssoms were mased, &t once fastened in his coat. g Celight to the own. “Pretty busy, I guess?” he continued, lingering & moment after she had made < t of be the girl the change. 45 of the flower after “Yes, Dent—any order for Easter? vent ms As called o - seemed al- she ap- fragrar for its support named. Her figure was as gold head and paler while about her radi- that is to t perfume is to the flow- her task she set the ck behind numbers of a ilke shaw paused to remonstrate. ¢ further out, Lily. It's the beauty We're selling so fast it will be safest to let me know now.” Her eyes questioned with an eagerness that she did not permit in her tome. “No.” An answering embarrassment clouded for a moment the young fellow's face. He seemed about to add more, but changing his mind turned abruptly on his heel. Lily watched his departure abstractedly. In schooldays he had been her playmate ang confidant. That he had pushed on to success, both in business and social re- lations, was to her a matter of sincere pride, openly expressed; If in secret she stranger appearing in Eureka for the first time has n the lighted candles in the middie of the street announcing a mesi- ing of the D. P. I, and has been mys- tified by the strange sight. he funeral of a gambler is vividly de- scribed in the book and while Mr. James must withhold the true name of n. there is no doubt that many people still living in Eureka, Nev., will recall the Incident. Charley Davenport (as he is called) was a Gead game sport a gambler, a most. profane man and gen- erally the toughest character in town. A committee called upon the sage brush parson to perform the last rites, ahd toid him to do the thing up in G. “We want a iittle business at the ch h and some more at the grave. That's where you want to do your hol- le Have plenty o' singin’, the reel techin’ kind, Two o’clock sharp.” After the services both at the church and the grave, the parson concluded as he thought, but the crowd still lingered. The funeral committee, Bill and Jim, made their way to where the parson stood. “Why don’t you shoot off yer mouth?'"” demanded Bill in a low whisper. *Th boys expect you to give 'em hell. They won't go home without it.” Give 'em hell, that's it!" echoed Jim. “Give 'em hell?” replied Vaughan, be wildered; hat do you mean?” “Mean? Why, give 'em some chin- music, hot on both sides and sulphur be- tween. Give ‘em hell!” The committee edged back to their places. So that was what they wanted— judgment, not eulogy, not temporizing, not evasion—something direct, perempt- ory, something that scarified and made clean. They wanted fire, they wanted uell. He let his eves wander over the crowd to the man on the farthest edge, who proved to be Martin Young, watching him with a cynical smile. Then he stretched out his hands as if he would clasp and hold them and began: “My friends, Charley Davenport is dead! He is, as you say, ‘out of .ie game.’ Touch his hand—there is no returning pressure. 'Speak to nim—he does not an- suffered at the knowledge of ine widening gulf between them, she dented it stoutly even to her own heart, following his ca- reer with loving interest from her humble vantage place. That he had never quite forgotten the old bond he proved by dropping in fre- quently on his way. to the office, accepting with equal friendliness her greeting and choice of boutonnieres. * With woman's intuition and power of putting this and that together, she knew from the first of his courtship of the beautiful Amy Strath. Had not Lily, often with tremulous -fingers, arranged Dent’s bouquets for the debutante's ac- ceptance? ¥ Until lately was it not she who had made the real selection of his offerings— violets for her birthday, white and gold chrysanthemums at Christmas and llies always for Easter? misunderstanding with complex feelings, but for Dent's sake hoped, believing her- self qualified to gage his suffering in the separation, that at Easter his floral re- membrance might heal the rupture. Toward this end she had selected a spe- clally beautiful lily, but if he did not in- tend to send a peace offering, to what end her care? On the other hand should Dent She had heard of a GFITN ST ZmA e T2 ey oEy << oS swer. When did that ever happen before? When did he ever until now meet you without a hearty handgrip? When daid he ever fail to reply? *A new thing has happeneu to him. He cannot stir hand nor foot. He cannot speak. He is dead. He isn't there any more; He has gone! ‘““*Gone where?’ you ask. I will tell you. He has gone to be judged! He has gone where the book of his life will be opened, where his account will be read, where he will see at last what he has been and done.from the beginning, when he will be pald his wages! ~‘Some time, perhaps very soon, this will happen to you. They will touch $our hand and will let it fall, a limp, cold thing! They will speak to you and get no an- swer, You will be dead. You will nave gone like him to get your wages.. You try not to belleve this, to run away from the fact, but it's there, born-with you. You can't escape it. “More than that. Some of you are very slight the spoiled beauty at such a season it would but cement the trouble: Men were so blind to their own interests, for watching him the girl fancled him grown wornof late, and her heart ached for him. On Easter eve, however, a ‘daring scheme entered her brain, to try if perchance she might help to set matters right. Without giving herself time to weaken in Her resolution she tied white stream- ers about the cherished lilies, catching the long loops With 2 dainty knot of blue forget-me-nots. Handing it to the ariyer she followed him to the door, re- .peating her instructions that it was for Miss Strath. “Card with it?’ inquired the man. “No, the forget-me-nots are instead; that is the idea.” With sudden blind- ing tears Lily retreated into the store. Would the other girl fail to recognize the implied domor, and the meaning in the gift—lilies at Easter, and forget-me- nots for happiness? The self-appointed peacemaker could not, however, repress a guilty start when Dent unexpectedly appeared ask- ing for some Iilies. - She would have sent a boy to show him, but the man . ob- Jected. “I can wait. I need your advice.” nearly dead already! “You don't belleve i{t? Deny it if you can, you who sink into the apathy of drunkenness and lle in a torpor and drag yourselves out as from a grave! Deny it it you can, you who whip a jaded pas- sion till it fails to respond! “You are dead. I tell you, nine-tenths dead. and death is creepiag over you like paraiysis to take the other tenth! * * * Why are you taking your wages before the time, the wages of sin which is death? Can you not wait for your hell? Must you have it now?” This was the way that George Whar- ton James dealt out the gospel to these miners in Nevada. And they liked it. A man who was not afrald of his duty and who did It bravely was sure to win their admiration. In this case they showed it, for when the parson finished speaking the committee whipped off their hats and presented them to each individual pres- ent. moving rapidly from group to group. “Here you be,". sald Bill, pressing sil- THE WINNING OF HIS FAIR EASTER LILY Perforce she attended him to the hot- house in the rear. There, while busying herself with drawing out plants for his consideration she surprised a look of tenderness in his eyes. «I—1 always think of you as here among the flowers,” he said hastily. Lily found him unusually difficult to please, and grew more and more nervous over her act and what he would say should he discover it. “T told you to choose earlier,” she re- minded him, but it was more to her- self, as if she needed to keep this fact in mind for her own exoneration. “Prue, but—well, to tell you the truth I wasn't sure she would accept ome from me—"" “You are now?’ Lily stared at the plant under discussion, at the palms to her left, at anything rather than her companion. She flinched from his afirm- ative, yet reminded herself she wanted only the assurance that all was well with him. “I'm hoping for the best, Lily. You understand women, being one yourself. Su; jo—r .?po‘!“" in her place?” ° Lily’s voice was very low. “Yes, in her place—the girl to whom I'm going to send this flower. Suppose we had drifted apart, and that I sud- denly had found out I'd been acting like a conceited fool—and only wanted yer and gold apd paper Into the parson’s hand. ‘*‘Seventy-three dollars and two- bits,” he said, shaking the hand and ifs contents. ‘‘You done it up brown, parson, that's what you did. If Charley ain't sittin’ on a cloud with a harp and a crown singin’ “Hallelujah,” 'taint our fault. Yer jaw_ panned out when you opened it. I hope you'll be on hand to plant me when my time comes. The story is also told of how Jack Perry and Mat Kyle (the Eureka County SHeriff) went'to the parson with the of- fer of $400 toward the church fund if he would let them give a social on his be- half. Though the money would have been welcome, Mr. James had to decline it, as ne knew that such a social could not be conducted according to the rules of the church. But though he declined the kind offer he did it in such a way that Perry and Kyle were not offended, and they offered to subscribe ten dol- lars a month to him as long as he stayed in Bureka. And Mr. James says they to be forgiven, would you accept the flower, with all it stood for?™ . Lily moved uneasily beneath his anx- ious gaze; surely it could not be jeal- ousy she felt; then she laughed—men were unaccountably clumsy in choesing their confidagts. “She can't resist you if you put the case so—so delightfully clear. Youwll take this one?” “Yes,” the man's voice lost its eager- ness, as he followed her silently back into the store. There the girl became all business, measuring off yards of rib- bon, handing him an envelope for his card and inquiring the address, “Miss Strath, of course?” “You need not bother with the ad- dress. T'm going to send a boy for it.” Then scribbling a few lines with evi- dent uncertainty of selection, he de- parted with an abrupt good-night. Lif¥ made her way home tired and sad. She was haunted with the fear that her Intrusion into Dent's affairs might complicate them further, until she remembered that she alone knew from whom the gift. was supposed to come. Dent sending one of his own ‘would never suspect her, should he ever learn of the other. Entering the dining-room early the ' rext morning, her eye at once lighted on a lly, tall and fragrant. While ad- miring it, her first thought naturally was of her grandfather, but there was something startlingly familiar in the ] >3 O R i — s BY ETHEL BARRINGTON. () ezomax= ( Vazzrezoy SITGE Beisre PrRSONT e, year of h Kyle, by the way, known in After he and started a saloc which he ran for some Other real chara book. though they of Nevada than Ew plan of one town purposes of her cates all the scenes preached k ze in Poole George the of leading the sther the pion Liar, Owyhee Lying C doubtless for pv . the club is called Club, after Harry Miguels’ a popular book. is _another re ttle girls might have been :he Elsie of the story, as little Maud Weils, Shed's daughter, and the thre ttle girls of McEwen, a well known gr reka, often fixed up the pa as is described in tae book son’s hair, He recalis with evident fun in the recollect time he went to sleep on the McEws sofa with the thr xing hair and bea T it and tied ache and or “spit it with ribbon, fixed up his muw made a long row of “Montagues curls” along his forehead. When ko awoke the second bell was ringing and he hastily threw on his hat and -dashed down to the church. As he entered and removed his bat, and took his place en the platform, a broad grin greeted him, when and when, 1s wont even toda Z d or embarrassed, he thrust his hands into his hair to stroke it back, he found the bralds and curls and la and exclaimed, “It is onl God bless them,” and at once regain equanimity and seriousness and proceed- ed with the serviee. These and many ether literally true in- cidents have been woven into the story. The romantic part of course is pure fle« tion, but it is of such a character as to demand the absorbed attention of the reader. Altogether it is one of the strong- est noveis of Western life yet writtan and has a Bret Harte flavor that one seldom finds. After he gave up the work of the min- ijstry Mr. James extended his researches into the geology, ethnology and arch- aeology of the Southwest. The elements of frankness, straightfor- wara hitting from the shoulder, generos- ity in dealing with his opponents and ene- mies, breeziness of manmer which won him a warm place in the hearts of the miners and cowboys of Nevada, have given him a unique place on the lecturs platform. He is absolutely fearless both as an explorer and a speaker. He says what he thinks, no matter who Is of- fended or pleased. Mr. James now resides at his artistic home in Pasadena, Cal, where he holds frequent receptions and gives o his friends .the benefit of his wide travels, researches and experiences, none of which, however, can exceed in interest those he passed through during his seven years as the Sage Bruysh Parson. arrangement of the ribbon, in the man- ner the tiny envelope was attached. Her fingers trembled as she freed the card to read: “Please be kind, and exchange Lilies ‘with me, Dent.™ The amazed light of hapiness was still upon her when the writer came. He seized her hands, crushing them in sudden hope. “Lily—1s it possible?” “Wait!" the girl spoke breathlessly, freeing one hand to hold him at a &is- tance. “You must be very sure; it will mean so much. There is Amy Strath. You care for her—well,” in deference to his sharp denial, “you have cared. What if she should repent her quarrel, should send for you?” “The quarrel was mine, dear. She de- manded the breaking of our friend- for your happiness—" began the girl, but Dent cut short the offer of -sacrifice. “Here.,” he cried, kissing her on tho lips. “Here is my happiness. What if I had learned the truth too late? Give ms the flower I want, my Easter Lily—" Tt is yours already,” she admitted. Then, after an appreciable Interlude. “How could I ever have planned to marry you to any one else?” . “To whom?®" demanded the astonished Dent. But to this he never obtalned a satisfactory answer. (Copyright, 1906, by D. M. Parker.) »