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Show I Cavanagh, Forest Ranger The Great Cdnserva- C-- By HAMLIN GARLAND H tion Novel -'---lpl0i Co'rih,' ,9I0 b H,unUn cund H INTRODUCTION. H -Wy Dear -Wr. Garland Fob FnL kave 6en ftncT enough to let me wkm 'A proof a "Cavanagh, Hf Forest Ranger." I have read it H nftA mingled feeling with keen H appreeiation of your sympathetic H understanding of the problem H which confronted the forest serv- B tea before the western jscople M understood it and with deep re- fl fre tAaf am no longer officially M associated with its work, aU m though I am as deeply interested m end almost as closely in touch M us ever. H Western frontier people faced B life with a manly dependence on their own courage and capacity which did them and still does them high honor. Some of them were' naturally slow- to see the advantages of the new order. But now that they have seen it there I ts nowhere more intelligent, con- J winced and effective support of H the conservation policies than I in the west. The establishment H vf the new order in some places J was not child's play. But there J is a strain of fairness emength J western people which you can J always count on in such a fight BJ a Ae forest service has made H and won. H 7"i service contains the best H body of young men I know and H many splendid veterans. It it H nine-tenths made up of western BJ pin. 7 Aas me Ac wes on 7 BJ own ground, and it has won the BJ contest an episode of which BJ you Aavo 40 wef described be- BJ cause the west believes in what BJ tt stands for. BJ ' Aave lived much among the BJ western mountain men, differed BJ n'tA some o Aem ant worfted BJ iWA many o them. Sometimes BJ T Aavo osf, and sometimes 1 have won, 6ur" every time the sL fight was worth while. I have jBk come out of it all with a respect W-Y and liking for the west which BJ will last as long as 'I do. Very BJ sincerely yours, GIFFORD PINCHOT. I CHAPTER I. Bj THE DEHEUT C11A1UOT. LEE VIRGINIA WETHERFORD begnu her return Journey Into tho mountain jvest with exultu-h exultu-h tlou. From tho inoment sho I opeued her car window that August I morulug lu Nebraska tho iiluln called I to her, xustalucd her Illusions. It wub I ull gulto us big, us tawny, us alio re- I uiembered It, tit tireua for tho epic M deeds lu which her father had been u leader bold uud free. I . Her memories of Roaring Fork uiM I 1U pcoplo were childish and romantic. I She recalled lvldly tho stagecoach I which used to umblo sedately, not to I .say wheczlly, from tho railway to tho I Fork and from tho Fork back to tho I railway lu tho days ten years before I when alio had ridden away lu It a I tearful, despairing, loug limbed girl I anil fully expected to llnd It waiting I for her at Sulphur City, with old Tout I Queutan still us Its. driver. I Tho llrst hint of "tho now wet" I cuuio to her by way of tho pretentious I Hotel Alum, which stood opposite tho station at Sulphur and to which alio was led by u colored porter of most elaborate uud klmlly manners. This houso, which furnishes uu excellent ex-cellent dinner uud au absorbing mlx-turo mlx-turo of types both American uud European, Eu-ropean, wus vaguely disturbing to her. It was plulnly not tho old tlmo west tho west her father had dominated lu the duyo "before tho Invasion." It !was Indeed distinctly built for tho tourist trudo uud vai tilled with all that might ludlcuto the comfortable neurness of big gaino ami good tlsh-lng. tlsh-lng. Upon Inquiry us to the stage she was amazed to hear that an automobile automo-bile now mado the Journey to tho Tork In five hours and that It left Immediately Imme-diately after the midday meal, a At - o'clock, us tho car cunio to the m door, sho entered It with a seuso of Bft tuning stepped from ono luvadlug 7 chariot of progress to another, so big nud shining and up to dato was Us glittering body, iigleam with brass nud glowing with bravo red paint. As thoy whirled madly down tho valley val-ley tho girl was astonished at tho transformation in tho hot, dry laud. iWiro fencos ran hero and thoro, inclosing in-closing fields of alfalfa and wheat whew onco only tho sagebrush and tho grensowood grow. Fainted farm houses stiouo on tho banks of tho creeks and Irrigating ditches flashed across tho road with an air of business and decision. For tho first half hour It seemed as If the dominion of the cattleman had BBBjV s r BBFB, i !'' g smuWJ ended, but a tho swift car drow away from tho ralley of tho Dear and climbed the divide toward tho north the free range was disclosed, with few changes save in tho cattle, which wero all of tho harmless or hornless variety, appearing tame and spiritless In comparison with tho old tlmo half wild broadhorn breeds. Leo began to wonder If she should And the Fork much cbangod-her mother wbb a bad correspondent. Her unspoken question, opportunely asked by another, wob answered by an old woman passenger. "Oh, Lord, yes I Bummer tourists are crawlln' all over us sence this otto line begun. 'Pears like all tho bare armed boobies and crosslegged little rips In Omaha and Denver had Jest got to ride In and look us over. Two of them new hotels to Sulphur don't do a thine but feed theee tenderfeet. I s'pose prohibition will be the next grand stand play on the part of our town lot boomers. We old cowpuncbers don't care whether the town grows or not, but these hyer bankers and truck farmers are nil for raisin' the price o' land and tnxln' us quiet fellers out of our boots." The girl was brought back to tho vital phases of her llfo by tho harsh voice of on6 of tho men. "Llzo Weth-erford Weth-erford Is goln to get Jumped ono o' these days for sellln' whisky without n license. I've told her bo too. Everybody Every-body knows sho's a-doln' It, and what beats mo is her goln' aloug In that way when u llttlo tlmo nud money would set her straight with the law." The shock of all this lay in the fact that Eliza Wethorford was tho mother to whom Leo Virginia was returning after ten years of llfo in tho east, and tho slgnltlcanco of the man's words froze her blood for au Instant. Tho young fellow on tho back seat slowly said, "I don't complain of Llzo sellln' bud whisky, but tho grub sho nets up is fierce." "Tho grub ain't so bad; it's tho way sho stacks It up," remarked another. "Hut, then, theso llttlo llyblt cow towns nrc all alike and all bad, so far as hotels are concerned." Leo Vlrglnlu, crimson and burning hot, was lu agony lost they should go further lu their criticism. She knew that her mother kept a boarding house, and, while sho was not proud of It, tlicio was nothing disgraceful dis-graceful In It. Happily, tho convorsu tldn turned aside and fell upon the government's forest policy, and Sum Oregg, a squat, wldo mouthed, linrsh voiced Individual, cursed the action of Hoss Cavanagh, thu ranger lu the dls trict nbovo tho Fork. "IIo thinks he's secretary of war, but I reckon no won't .after I Interview him. IIo can't shuttle my sheep arouud over tho hills at his own sweet will." Tho young fellow on the back seat quietly Interposed. "You want to bo Buro you'vo got tho clucu on Cavanagh Cava-nagh good and square, Sam, or he'll bo a-rldln' you." "Ho certainly Is an arbitrary cuss," said tho old wonlan. "They say ho was ono of Teddy's rough riders in tho war. Ho sure can ride and handlo a gun. Tears llko ho thinks he's run nln' the whole range," she continued, nf tor n pause. "Caln't nobody so much k Whale at Escort. Tho story of tho porpoise or whale for opinions dlffor as to the exact species which is In the habit ot regularly reg-ularly meeting vessels In Cook's Strait (between tho north and south Islands of Now Zealand) off Pelorus Bound and escorting the vessel on her way, Is somotlmes regarded by tho skeptical armchair traveler as a fable of tho Do Itougemont typo. A recent traveler, howovor, has sent to tho Fishing Gazette a photograph ot this remarkable fish, accompanied with full details. Tho correspondent took a trip from Wellington to Kelson on purpose to get a sight of Pelorus Jack, and he was not disappointed. As tho vessel approached Pelorus Sound, Jack came out and rubbed himself against tho Bldo of tho vessel llko a cat, cscortod the vessel for some four or five minutes, and then disappeared. A Bpeclal act of parliament parlia-ment was passod by the New Zealand legislature for tho protection of this historic fish, by which heavy penalties aro inflicted on any one molesting him. as shoot a 'grouse since ho come In, and the supervisor upholds him in It." Lee Virginia wondered about all this supervision, for It was new to her. Gregg, tho sheepman, went on: "As I tell Itcdfleld, I don't object to the forest policy It's a good thing for me; 1 get my sheep pastured cheaper than I could do any other wny, but It makes me hot to have gracing lines run on mo and my herders Jacked up every time they get over the line. Hobs run ono bunch off the reservation last Friday. Fri-day. I'm going to find out about that. He'll learn ho can't get 'arbitrary' with me." Tho old woman chuckled, " 'Pears llko you'vo changed your tuno since 08, Sam." IIo admitted his conversion shamelessly. shame-lessly. "I'm for whatever will pay best Just now, with a high tariff, sheep arc tho boys. So long as 1 can get on the reservo at 7 cents a head-lambs head-lambs free I'm going to put every dollar dol-lar I've got Into sheep." "l'ou'ro going to get thrown off altogether al-together ono of these days," said tho young man on the back seat. Thereupon u violent discussion arose over the question of the right of a sheepman to claim first grass for his flocks, and Gregg boasted that he cared nothing for "the dead line." "They've tried to run me out of Deer Creek, but I'm there to stay. I have 10,000 more on the way, and the man that tries to stop, me will And trouble." The car was descending Into the valley val-ley of the Roaring Fork now, and wire fences and alfalfa fields on cither side gave further evidence of tho change In tho land's dominion. Down past the courthouse, refurbished and deeper sunk lu trees, Lee Virginia rode, recalling re-calling tho wild night when 800 armed and vengeful cowboys surrounded It, holding three cattle barons and their hired invaders against all comers, res-oluto res-oluto to bo their own Judge, Jury and hangman. It was all as peaceful as a Sunday afternoon at this inoment, with no sign of tho fierce passions of tho past. Tho car crossed tho Itoarlng Fork and drew up before two small shacks, ono of which boro a faded sign, "Tho Wethorford House," and tho other lu fresher palut, "Tho Wotherford Cafe." On the sidewalk n group of Indiana wero sitting, and n half dozen slouching slouch-ing white men stood waiting at tho door. As Leo went past tho hotel porch her heart beat hard and her breath shortened. In a flash she divined tho truth. Sho understood why her mother moth-er had discouraged her coming home. It was not merely on account of tho money. It was because sho know that her business was wrong. What a squalid llttlo den it was! How cheap, bald and petty tho wholo town seemed of a sudden! Leo Virginia Vir-ginia halted and turned. Thcro was only ono thing to bo done, nud that was to mitko herself kuown. Sho retraced re-traced her stops, pulled open tho broken bro-ken screen door and entered tho cafe, it was a low, dingy dining room filled with tho odor of ham and bad coffee. At the tables ten or fifteen men, a mot ley throng, wero busily feeding their voracious Jaws, and on her left, behind a showcase filled with cigars, stood her mother, looking old, unkompt nnd worried. The changes in her wero so great that tho girl stood In shocked alarm. At lost sho raised her veil. "Mother," sho ald, "dou't you know me?" A look of surprise went over the older womau's Uubby face a glow which brought back something of her other self, us sho cried, "Why, Leo Virginity, where did you como from?" Tho boarders stopped chewing and stared In absorbed interest, while Vlr glnla kissed her blowsy mother. "Ily the Lord, It's llttlo Vlrginuy!" said ono oV follow. "It's her (laugh tcr." '. rv' MJli a mutter of astonishment .it v j, r :ix the waiter girls, giggling, '..vr, und onlous, paused, their ZZ a ?.iwl. to exchange comment v J?" 'outer's hat and gown. A tin? washing sink In tho i.-IK'iided his faco polishing ,jil-j1 oer his shoulder in silent jlusy. Some of tho men camo forward for-ward to greet her, and, though sho hud some difficulty lu recognizing ono or two of them (so hardly had tho years of hor absenco used them), sho eventually even-tually succeeded lu placing them all. At length her mother led her through tho archway which connected tho two shanties, thence along a narrow hall Into a small bedroom, Into which thn western sunset fell. It was a tabby placo, but as a rcfug from the crowd In the restaurant It was grateful. Llzo looked at her daughter critically. critical-ly. "I don't know what I'm going to do with a girl llko you. Why, you're purty purty as a picture. You wero skinny as n child. I'm fair dazed. Great snakes, how you have opened outl You're the living Imago of your dad. What started back? I told you to stay where joii m." "I had no placo to go after Aunt Celta ated. I had to como home." "You wrote thoy was willing to keep you." "Thoy were, but I couldn't ask It of them. I had no right to burden them, and, besides, Mrs. Hall wroto mo that you were sick." "1 ain, but I didn't want yoj to cone back. Lay off your things and come out to supper. Wo'll talk afterward." The eating house, the rooms and hallways were all of that desolate lhabblness which comes from shiftless-ness shiftless-ness Jolued with poverty. Everything on which the girl's eyes 1V1I contrasted strongly with her aunt's home on the Braudywine not because that houso woe largo or luxurious, but because It wns exquisitely In order and sweat with flowers and dainty arrangement of color. She regretted bitterly that ahe had ever left her eastern friends. Her mother, In truth, showed llttlo plcasuro at her coming and almost nothing of the Illness of which a neighbor bad written. It was, Indeed, this letter which had decided her to return to the west. She had cone, led by a sense of duty, not by affection, for she had never loved her mother as a daughter Bhould they wero In somo way antipathetic anti-pathetic and now she found herself an unwelcome guest. With aching head and shaking knees Virginia re-entered the dining room, which was now nearly empty of its "guests," but was still misty with tho steam of food and swarming with flies. These pests buzzed llko bees around the soiled places on tho tablecloths, and ono of her mother's first remarks was a fretful apology regarding her trials with thoso Insects. "Seems like you can't keep 'cm out," she said. With despcrato effort Leo conquered her disgust. "Never mind; I'm tired nnd n little upset. I dou't need any dinner." Hastily sipping a cup of coffee, cof-fee, she tried .Jmrd to keep back tho tears, but fulled, and no sooner did her mother turn nway than she fled to her "MOTHlOl, DON'T YOU KNOW ME?" room, thcro to sob unrestrainedly her despair and shame. "Oh, I can't stand it!" sho called. "I can't, I can'tl" Sho felt herself nlleu and solitary in tho land of her birth. Llzo camo In half an hour later, pathetic pa-thetic in her attempt at "slicking up." Shu was still handsome lu a largo featured fea-tured way, but her gray hair was thero and her faco laid with a network of fretful lines. Her color was bad. At tho moment her cheeks wero yellow and sunken. Sho complained of being short of breath nnd lame and tired. "I'm always al-ways tired," sho explained. " 'Pears llko sometimes I can't scarcely drag myself around, but I do." A pang of comprehending pain shot through Virginia's heart. If sho could not lovo sho could at least pity and help, and, reaching forth her hand, sho patted her mother on tho knee. "Poor old mammy!" sho said. "I'm going to help you." Llzo wns touched by this action of her proud daughter uud smiled sadly. "This is no placo for you. It's nothing but a measly llttlo cow town gone to seed and I'm gono to seed with It. 1 know it. But what is a feller to do? I'm stuck here, and I've got to uiako a living or quit. I can't quit, so I stagger stag-ger along." i "I'vo come back to help you, mother. You mu.it to mo relieve you of somo of tho burden." "What can you do, child?" Lize asked gently. "I can 'teach." "Not In this town you can't." "Why not?" "Well, there's a terrlblo prejudice against well, ngulnst me. And, besides, be-sides, tho places aro all tilled for noxt year. Tho Wetherfords ain't among tho first circles any moro." Leo Vlrglttla remembered Gregg's churgo against her mother. "What do jou mean by tho prejudice against you?" sho asked. Llzo was evasive. "Sluco I took to running this restaurant my old friends kind of fell off, but never mind thut tonight." Tho girl's thought was now turned into other half forgotten channels. "I wish you would tell mo moro about father. I dou't remember where he wus burled." "Neither do I, child. I mean I don't know exactly. You see, after that cat-tlo cat-tlo war ho went nway to Texas. He nover canto back and never wroto, nnd by nnd by word came that he had died and was burled, but I never could go down to seo whero his gravo was at." "Didn't you know tho nnino of the town?" "Yes, but It was a now placo away down lu tho Panhandle- and nobody I know llvrd there. And I nover knew anything moro. Well, I must go back Into tho restaurant. I hain't got a girl I can trust to couut tho cash." Loft alone, Leo Virginia wept no more, but her faco settled Into an expression ex-pression of stern sadness. It seemed as if her girlhood had died out of hor and that she was about to begin tho somo strugglo with work and worry which had marked tho lives of all the women she bad known In her childhood. child-hood. To Bo Continuod. |