Nebraska Newspapers

    THE SEMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA.
When the Colorado
Burst Its Banks and
Flooded the Imperial
Valley of California
The RIVER
By
Ednati Aiken
Copyright. Boljbs-MerrlU Company
J
CHAPTER XXXII.
13
The White Night.
"Lord, I'm tired." gronncd Hlcknrd,
Btuinbllng into camp, wet to the Bkln.
"Don't you sny letters to mo, Muc.
I'm going to bed. Tell Ling I don't
want any dinner. He'll wnnt to fuss
up something. I don't wnnt to hco
food."
The day, confused nnd Jumbled,
burned ncross his cycbnlfs; u turmoil
of bustle nnd hurry of Insurrection. He
had mndo u swift stnnd ugulnst that.
He wns to be minded to the Inst man
jficlf of them, or anyone would go, his
threat Including the engineers, Silent,
Irlrii, Woostcr, Hnrdln himself. This
wns no time for fnctlons, for lender
feeling.
In bed, the dny with Its lrrltntlons
fell nwny. He could see now the step
ahead that had been taken; the Inst
trestle wns done; tho rock-pouring
well on; he cnlled thnt going some I
Ho felt plcnsnntly lnnguld, but not yet
loopy. Ills thought wandered over the
resting camp. And then Innes Hardin
came to him.
Not herself, but as a soft little
thought which came creeping nround
tho corner of his dreams. She had
been there, of course, all day, tucked
nway in his mind, ns though In his
home waiting for him to come bnck to
her, weary from tho pricks of the day.
Tho wny he would come homo to her,
please God, some day. Not hearing
his burdens to her, ho did not believe
In that, but asking her diversions. Con
tentment spread her soft wings over
him. He fell nslcep.
Hlcknrd wakened ns to a cnll. Wnnt
hud stnrtlcd him? He listened, rais
ing himself by his elbow. From a dis
tance, a sweet high voice, unreal in its
pitch and thrilling quality, camo to
hltn. It was Godfrey, somewhere on
tho levee, singing by tho river. It
brought him again to Innes Hardin.
Ho pulled aside Ills curtain which
hung over tho screening of his tent
nnd looked out Into a moon-flooded
world. Illcknrd'o eyes fell on a little
tent over yonder, a whlto shrine.
"Whlto ns that fino sweet soul of
hers I"
Wandering Into tho night, Godfrey
passed down tho river, singing. His
voice, tho footlights, tho listening
great audiences wero calling to him.
To him, tho moon-flooded lovee, tho
glistening water, rondo a star-sot
ftcono. no was treading tho boards,
tho rushing waters by tho bank gavo
tho orchestration for his melody "La
Donna o Mobile." Ho began It to Gcrty
ftnrdln ; she would hear It In her tent ;
ftho would tnko It ns tho tender ro
pronch ho had teased her with that
Afternoon In tho rnmnda.
Ho gavo for encoro n bnlind long
forgotten ; ho had pulled it back from
tho cobwebs of two decades; ho hnd
rondo it his own.
"But, my darling, you will be,
Ever young and fair to mo."
It came, tho soaring voice, to Tom
Hardin, outsldo Gerty's tent on his
lonely cot. Ho know that song. Dis
dained by his wife, n pretty ilguro n
Jnan cuts I If his wife enn't stnnd
felra, who enn? Ho wusn't good enough
for her. Ho was rough. His llfo had
fcept him from fitting himself to her
taste. She needed pcoplo who could
talk like Itlcknrd, sing llko Godfrey.
I'coplc, other pcoplo, might miscon
strue her preferences, Ho know they
were not fllrtntlons; sho needed her
tlmL Sho would always keep straight;
Alio wns straight ns u whip. Llfo was
.s hard for her ns it wns for him; ho
jould feel sorry for her; his pity wnB
divided between tho two of them, tho
'lusbund, tho wife, both lonely in their
.vn wny.
on tno other sido of tho ennvns
Walls, Gcrty Hnrdln Iny listening to
tho message meant for her. Tho llcklo
lex, he hnd cnlled hers; no constnncy
ui womnn, ho hnd declared, fondling
acr hair. Ho had tried to coax her
-'nto pledges, pledges which wero also
disavowals to tho man outsldo.
Silver threads 1 Age shuddered nt
?lor threshold. She hated thnt song.
Cruel, llfo hnd been to her; nono of its
v promises hnd been kept. To bo hnppy,
why, 'thnt was n human's birthright;
irnb It, thnt wob her creed I Thero
was a chance yet ; youth had not gono.
' Ho was singing it to her, her escape
f "Darling, you will bo,
, Ever young nnd fair to me."
' Godfrey, singing to Gcrty nardin,
hnd awakened tho enmn. Innes, In
ior tent, too, wns listening.
"Dnrllng, you will be,
Ever young and fair to mol"
So that is tho miracle, thnt wild
ftush of ccrtnln feeling I Yesterday,
doubting, tomorrow, moro doubts but
tonight, the song, tho night lsolntcd
them, herself nud Itlcknrd, Into a
H-orld of their own, Llfo with htm on
any terms sho wautcd.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
' Tho Battlo In the Night.
.Gathering on tho bank wero tho
camp groups to wntch tho InBt stand
of tho river against tho rock bombard
ment Molly Silent had crept down
from the Crossing, full of fears. Out
(hero, somewhere ou do trestles, on
one of those rock cars, wns her Jim.
She sat on the bank by Innes and Mrs.
Mnrshnll.
Mrs. Hardin, floated by In her crisp
muslins. A few feet behind stalked
Godfrey, his eyes on tho( pretty figure
by his side. Innes turned from his
look, nbuHhcd as though sho hnd been
peering through a locked door.
Guyly, with a fluttering of ruffles,
Gcrty established herself on tho bank,
n trlflo out of hearing distance. A
hard little smile plnycd on the Hps ac
cent oil with Parisian rouge. The child
ish expression wns gono; her look ac
cused llfo of having trilled with her.
Hut they would sec
"Don't look so unhappy, dearest,"
whispered tho man nt her side. "I'm
going to make you happy, dear!"
She flushed u brilliant, finished smile
nt him. Yes, sho wns proud of him.
He Hutlsfled her sense of romance, or
would, later, when she was nway from
here, a dull pain pricking at her delib
erate plunnlng. Godfrey found her
young, young and distracting, nis
life hnd been hungry, too; the wife,
up there In Canada somewhere, had
never understood him'. Godfrey wns
ambitious, nmblttous ns she wns. She
would bo his wlfo; she would sea the
cities of the world with him, the vel
coined wlfo of Godfrey; she would
shuro the plaudits his wonderful volco
won.
His eyes wero on her now, sho knew,
questioning, not quite sure of her. Sho
hnd worried him yesterdny because
sho would not pledge herself to murry
him If ho sued for his divorce.' Sho
had told him to nsk her thnt after tho
courts hnd set him free. Sho could
not have him sure of her.
An exclamation from ulm recalled
her. She found that ho t ns no longer
staring at her; his eyes orc fixed on
the trembling structure over which n
"battleship," luden with rock, was
creeping.
"I want, to stay with you, you know
that dearest. But It doesn't feel right
to see them nil working like niggers
nnd mo loallng hero. You don't mind?"
Oh, no, Gerty did not mind I She
wns tired, nnywuyl Sho was going
buck to her tent I
no thrust n yellow paper Into her
hands. "I sent that oft today. Per
haps you will bo glad?"
Sho flung another of her Inscrutable
smiles nt him, nnd went up tho bnnk,
tho pnper unrend In her hands.
Tho long afternoon wore away. They
wore now dynamiting tho largest rocka
on tho cars beforo unlondlng them.
Tho henvy londs could not bo emptied
quickly enough. Not drlllbled, tho rock,
but dumped simultaneously, else tho
gravel nnd rock might bo washed
down stream faster than they could bo
put together. Mnny enrs must bo un-
londed nt once; tho din on Sllent's
train wns terrific. His crow looked
llko devils, drenched from tho epruy
which roso from tho river ench time
tho rock-pour began ; blnckened by tho
emolco from tho belching engine. Tho
river was ugly In its wrath. It was
humping Itself for Its final stand
against tho nbsurdity of human inten
tion; its yellow tail swished through
tho bents of tho trestle.
Tho order camo for moro speed.
ilickard moved from bank to raft:
kneo deep In water, screaming orders
through, tho din; directing tho gangs;
speeding tho rock trains. Ilurdln oscll
luted between tho lovco nnd dnms, hik
ing orders, giving orders. His energy
was Buperb. It hnd grown dnrk, but
no one yet had thought of tho lights,
tho great Wells' burners stretched
ncross the chnnnel. Suddenly, tho
lights flared out brightly.
inoi ono oi inoso who innorcu or
f .1 m . . . .
watched would ever forget that night,
Tho spirit of recklessness entered
even Into tho atolld native. Tho men
of tho Itcclnmntlon forgot this was not
their "enterprise; tho Hnrdln faction
jumped to RIckard's orders. Tho
watchers . on tho bank sat tense,
thrilled out of recognition of aching
muscles, or tho midnight creeping chill.
No ono would go home.
To Innes, tho struggle was vested
In two men, Itlcknrd running down
yonder with that light foot of his, nnd
Hnrdln with tho lighting mouth tense,
And somewhere sho remembered
working with tho rest, wns Estrada,
Thoso thrco wero lighting for tho Just!
Mention of a vision an idea was at
stuke, a hope for tho future.
Hlcknrd passed nnd rcpnsscd her.
And had not Been her! Not during
thoso hours would ho think of her, not
until tho Idea fnlled, or was trlum
pliant, would ho turn to look for her.
VlBlbly, tho drama moved toward Its
climax. Beforo many hours passed tho
river would bo captured or tho Idcn
forever mocked. Each tlmo a belching
engine pulled across that hazardous
truck It flung a credit to tho mun-sldc,
Each tlmo tho waters, Blowly rising,
hurled their weight ngainst tho creak
lng trestles whero tho rock wns thin
a point wns gained by tho militant rlv
cr. Its ronr Bounded like tho last cry
of a wounded animal In Innes' cur
tho Dragon wns u reality that night as
it spent its rugo against tho shackles
of puny men.
Molly Silent had seen her husband $
truln pull In. Sho watched for It to
go out again. Tho whistle blew twice
Something wns wrong. Sho loft her
plnco In time to see Silent, his fnce
shining ghastly pale under tho Boot,
pull himself up from tho "battleship'
where he had been leaning. Estrada
sent by Ricknrd to And out why tin
trnln did not pull out, snw him tin
samS Instant us did Molly. Sllcm
swayed, waving them buck unscclngly
like a mnn who Is drunk.
"God, mnn, you enn't go llko thnt!"
cried Estrada.
"Who's going?" demanded Silent, hl
tongue thick with thirst und cxhnus
tlon. The whistle blew again.
"I Willi" The train moved out on
the trestle, ns the whistle blew nngrllv
twice. Only Molly nnd Silent saw Es-
God, Man, You Can't Go Like That!"
trnda go. Silent staggered unseelngly
up the bunk toward the camp, "Molly
following.
The river was hutaplng out yonder;
tho rolling muss camo roaring, flunk-
on, nguinst the dnm.
"Quick, for God's snke. quick!"
yollcd Itlcknrd. His slgnuls sounded
short and sharp. "Dump It on, throw
tile cars In!' Marshall was dancing,
his mouth full of oaths, on the bank
edge. Breathlessly all watched tho
rushing water fling Itself over the dam.
For several hushed seconds tho struc
ture could not bo seen. When tho
foam fell a cheer went up. The dam
was standing. Silent, It; wub supposed,
wus bringing In his train.
Above tho distant Jagged lino of
mountains roso n red bnll. A new day
began. And again tho Drngon rose ; a
mountain of water camo rolling dnm-
wurd.
Three trains ran steaming on the
rails.
"Don't stop now to blnst tho big
ones. Pour 'em on I" ordered Ilickard,
Thero was a long wait before any
rock fell. Mnrshnll nnd Itlcknrd wait
cd for tho pour. Tho whistles blew
again, alien tney saw what was
-wrong. Tho morning light showed ft
rock weighing several tons which was
resisting tho efforts of the pressing
crew. Out of tho gloom sprang other
figures with crowbars. Tho rock tot
tered, fell. Tho river tossed It as
though It wero a tennis ball, sent It
hurtling down tho lower face of tho
dum.
Tilings began to go wild. Tho men
wito growing recuiess. They wero
sagging townrd exhnustlon; mistakes
wero made. Another rock, ns henvy as
tho Inst, wnB worked toward the edge.
ilea wero thick about It with crow
burs. They hurried. One concerted
effort, drawing back as tho rock top
pled over tho edge. Ono man was too
slow, or too tired. Ho slipped. The
watchers on tho bank saw a flush of
waving arms, heard a cry ; they hnd a
glimpse of a blackened faco us the
fonm caught It. The waters closed
over him.
Thero was a hush of horror; a hnlt.
"God himself couldn't buvo that poor
devil," cried Marshall. "Havo tho
work go on!"
rour rocks on that wretch down
thero? Pin him down? Never had it
seemed moro like wnrl "A mnn
down? Rldo over hlml to victory 1"
Soberly Itlcknrd slgnuled for tho work
to go on.
Tho rock-pour stuttered ns If in hor
ror. Tho women turned sick with fenr,
No one knew who it was. Some poor
Mexican, probably.
"Who was it?" demanded Ilickard,
running down to the track.
"The young Mexican, Hestrada.
tried to 'elp. E wasn't fit."
"Who was It?" Mnrshnll hnd run
down to seo why tho work unused,
Ilickard turned shocked eyes on his
chief. "Estrada!" Tho beautiful
uiuuriuui eyes or. lJitunrtio wero on
nun, not Mnrshnll's, horrified. Now lio
knew why Estrada hud said, "I can'
see It finished."
-uicKurur Th8 engineer did not
recognize tho quenched vole). "TV
work has got to go on."
It camo to Hlcknrd as ho gave tho
orders that Equnrdo tvaa closer to Mar
shall than to him. "As near a son us
he'll ever have." Ho turned a minute
later to see his chief standing bare
headed. " His own cap came off.
"We're burying tho Ind," snld Mnr-
slinll.
Tho mlnuto of funeral hnd to be
pushed aside. The river would not
waft. Train after train was rushed on
to tho trestles; wave after wave hit
them. But perceptibly tho dam was
steadying. Tho rnpld flro of rock wns
telling.
Another rldgo of yellow wntcrs rose.
The roll of water came slowly, dwln-
Ming as It came; It broke .against the
trestle weakly. For the first time the
trestle never shuddered. Workers nnd
watchers breathed as a unit the first
deep breath that night. Thero wns u
chnnge. Every eye wns on the river
where it touched the rim of the dnm.
Suddenly a chorused cry rose. Tho
river had stopped rising. Tho whlstlea
screamed themselves hoarse.
And then a girl, sitting on tho bnnk,
snw two men grnb ench other by the
hnnd. Sho was too far nwnv to henr
their voices, but the sun, rising red
through tho hnnks of smoke, fell on
tho blnckened faces of her brother and
Itlcknrd. Sho did not enro who saw
her crying.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
A Desertion.
When the afternoon waned nnd God
frey did not call on her Gerty was
roused to uneasiness. Had sho angered
him by refusing to make tho definite
promise? Could it bo love, the sort of
love sho wanted, If he could stay away
llko this when they could havo tho
camp to themselves, every ono down nt
tho break, no Uardlns running In every
minute? Their first chance and God
frey slighting it I
He would surely como thnt evening,
knowing thnt sho would be ulone I The
little watch Tom hnd given her for nn
nlmost forgotten birthday set the puce
for her resentment. Nine, ten, eleven !
How dared' he treat her so? She blew
out the lamps when she found that she
was shaking with anger and undressed
in the dark. She could not seo him.
ho enmo now, her self-control all
gono! But she could not go to bed.
She stood In her darkened tent, shaken
by her angry passlous.
Suppose that ho were only trifling
with her? What wns that paper ho had
thrust m her hand? With a candle
she found the yellow paper. It was
n copy of n telegram to Godfrey'3 law
yer. "Start divorce proceedings nt
once. Any grounds possible. Back
soon. Godfrey."
Tho frightened blood resumed Its
normnl flow. If he had done this for
her then she had not lost him. An ap
parent elopement, why had she never
thought of that before? That would
cement their bond, ner scruples could
grow on tho road. Oh, she could man
age Godfrey I She would go with him.
Sho remembered that she must go tc
bed If sho wero to havo any looks In
tho morning.
When Godfrey camo to her next af
ternoon, penitent, refreshed after a
Long morning's sleep, he found a
charming hostess. Sho wns shy about
his telegram. Enchantlngly distant
when ho tried to reach her hand I
"I can't go without you," ho cried,
Ho had discovered her interpretation of
his telegram and it delighted him; ho
began to believe In his own Intention
I know. You shrink from It all. You
dread tho steps that will free you. You
need me besido you to help you. Let's
cut tho knot. Tonight I"
"Not tonight. Maybe tomorrow,'
whispered Gcrty, and then sho mnn
aged n few tears nnd ho was allowed
to kiss her. It was all arranged before
ho left the ramadn. They were to
lenvo together tho next dny. Her ob
Ject would bo accomplished by their
leaving together. Ho would feel that
ho owed her h(s name.
Of course Gerty must do it In tho
conventional way I She would have
used ropo ladders had they been
needed. The conventional noto wus
pinned to her bureau scarf.
Innes wns with Tom when ho found
It. They enmo In together from the
river. Neither hnd noticed the odd
looks from the men ns they passed
through the encampment. A dozen
men had Been Hardin's wlfo leavo for
the North with Godfrey.
Gerty's letter told Tom that It was
all over. She hnd tried to stnnd It, to
bo truo even through his cruelty, but
a feeling stronger than she was mado
her true to herself, und so truo at last
to hlml
Jnnes' revulsion lacked speech. Tho
common blatter sickened her. Sho
could offer no comfort, nis eyes told
her It was worse than death.
Ho struck off her hand when It
touched his shoulder. Gerty's hnnd
hnd coerced him thut way. IIo was
done with softness.
Ills silence oppressed her. This wns
a man she did not know ; Inarticulate,
Binlttcn. Sho told herself thnt oven n
sister wnB un intruder but Bho vyns
afraid to leave' him alone. She took
a station by her own tent door. She
would not go down to dinner. For hours
sho watched his tent. When It grew
dark she could no longer endure It.
Sho found him whero sho hnd left him.
Sho forced herself toward tho vol
cano s edgo; and tno swift eruption
Bcorchcd her. It wan tho pitiable wreck
of dignity, of pride. Ills words were
Incoherent; his wrath Involved his sis
ter, crouching In tears. Innes shrunk
from him, the man she did not know.
The coarse streak was uncovered In nil
Its repulslvenesa. IIo turned on Innes
suddenly. She wns crying, a huddled
heap on tho couch.
"I've had enough crying between
you nnd Gerty. Will you get out? I've
got to have some sleep."
Through her sobs ho could mnko out
that she was afraid to leavo hltn.
"Well, then, I'll go. I'm used to hav
ing to lenvo Jny own tent. A dog's life."
He flung out into the night.
CHAPTER XXXV.
A Corner of His Heart.
The second evening after tho closure
Illckurd was dining with the Mar-
shalls In their car. The Palmyra was
to pull out tho next day. Hnrdln's
nnmo wns brought up by Tod Mnr
shnll. "Sho waa light potntoes," he
dismissed the womnn. "But eho's
broken the mnn's spirit."
Ilickard, It"' was discovered, had
nothing to say on tho subject of the
elopement.
"I'm sorry his sister is not here to
night," began Marshall mischievously.
"I did ask her. Tod" Claudia has
tened to interrupt her lord. "But she
would not leave her brother her last
evening."
"Her last evening?" exclaimed Rlck-
ard. "Is she going away 7"
Marshall subdued his twinkle. "We
nro carrying her off. She Is to visit
Mrs. Marshall while I am on tho
road."
Ilickard gulped down his coffee,
boiling. "Mrs. Mnrshull, will you let
me run away .early?". Why should he
give any excuse? They knew what he
was running away fori
Ho made his wny to the little white
tent on tho fur side of the trapezium.
Innes, by the door, wns bidding good-
by to S'enora Maldonudo.
He forgot to greet tho Mexican. She
stood wnltlng; her eyes- full of him.
Surely, the kind senor hnd something
to sny to hor? He hnd tnken the white
girl's hnnd. He wns staring Into the
whlto girl's eyes. Something came to
her, n memory like forgotten music.
Silently, sho slipped nway Into the
night.
Bicknrd would not release Innes'
hand; Ker eyes could not meet the
look In his. .
"Come out nnd havo a walk with
me I You were not going to tell me
you wero going. You were running
away from me?"
"You know thnt I love you I I have
been waiting for this minute, this
woman, all these lonely years."
Her head she kept turned from him.
He could not seo tho little maternal
smile that ran around the curves of
her mouth. Those yenrs, filled to the
brim with stern work, hnd not been
lonely. Lonely moments ho hnd had,
that was all.
"Nothing for mo?" Ho stopped, and
mndo her fnce him, by taking both of
her hands In his.
She would not look nt him yet,
would not meet the look which alwnys
She Would Not Look at Him Yet
compelled her will, stultified her
speech. She had something to Buy
first
"We don't know ench other ; that Is
you don't know me !"
"is that all?" There wus relief In
his voice. "I don't know you? Hnvcn't
I aeon you day by dny? nnven't I
seen your self-control tried, proved
haven't I Been your Justice, when you
could not understand Look at mol'
Sho shook her head, her eyes on the
sand nt her feet. He could scarce
ly eaten ner words. They did not
know each other. Ho did not know
hor !
ueari i uon c unow whether you
love red or blue, tlint'a a fact; Ibsen
or Rostand; heat or cold. Docs that
matter? I know youl"
An upward glance hnd caught him
smiling. Her speech wus routed. "I'm
the only girl herd"
"D( you think that's why I lovo
you?"
"Ah, but you loved Gerty I" Thnt
slipped from her. She hnd not mennt
to Buy thnt!
"Docs thnt hurt?" Abnshcd by her
own daring, yet she wns glad she had
dared. She wanted him to deny 1L
For he would deny it? She wondered
1C ho were angry, but she could not
look at hltn.
The minutes, dragging liko weighted
hours, told her that he was not going
to answer her. It camo to her then
that she would never know whether
Gerty's Btory were wholly false, or
partly true. She know, then, that no
wheedling, wife's or sweethenrt's,
would tease that story from him. It
did not belong to him.
His silence frightened her Into ar-
tlculatcness. He must not think that
she was foolish! It was not that, In
itself, she meant. The words jostled
one nnother in their soft swift rush.
He he had made a mistake once be
fore. He had liked the sort of woman
he hnd thought Gerty was. She her
self was not llko the real Gerty any
more thun she was like the other, the
woman that did not exist. He would
find that they did not think alike, be
lieve alike, that there wero differ
ences
"Aren't you making something out
of 'nothing, Innes?"
That voice could always chide hor
Into silence I Her speech lay cluttered
In ruins, her words like useless broken
bricks falling from the wall sho was
building.
He took her hand nnd led her to a
pile of rock the river hud not eaten.
Ho pulled her down beside him.
"Isn't It true, with us?"
"It Is, with me," breathed Innes.
Their voices were low ns though they
i ...i-
"And you think Is Isn't, with me I"
Ilickard stood before her. "Is It be
cnuso I trust you, I wonder? Thnt I,
loving you, love to haye the others
love you, too? Don't vydu suppose I
unow now it is with the rest, Mac-
Lcnn; how It wns with Estrada?
Should I be jealous? Why, I'm not.
I'm proud ! Isn't that because I know
you, know tho fine steady heart of
you? You hated me at first and I am
proud of that I don't lovo you
enough?" He knelt at her feet, not
listening to her pleading. Ho bent
down and kissed one foot;. then tho
other. "I love them!" The fnce ho
raised to her Innes hnd never seen be
fore. He pressed n kiss against her
knee.. "That, too I It's mine. I've not
said ray prayers since I was a boy. I
shall sny them ngnln, here, you teach
ing me." His kisses ran up her arm,
from Uio tips of her limp fingers. His
mouth, close to hers, stopped thero.
He whispered :
"You kiss me, my girl I"
Slowly, unseelngly, ns though drawn
by an external will, her face raised to
his; slowly, their Hps met. His arms
wero around her; tho world was blob
ted out.
Innes, minutes later, put her moutt.
against his ear. It was the Innes ho
did not know, thut ho hud seen with
others, mischievous, whimsical, romp
ing ns n young boy.
"I love red," sho whispered. "And
heat and sunshine. But I lovo blue,
on you; nnd cold, If it wero with you
and the rest of the differences "
Ho caught her to him. "Thero aro
not going to be any differences 1"
(THE END.)
Biblical Town of Gaza.
Al-MIntnr, or tho watchtower, still
exists to tho east of tho town of Gaza.
It is whero Samson Is said to have car
ried tho gates of the city. On the road
from Gaza to Jaffa are ancient olivo
trees, ninny of them moro thun ono
thousand years old, with gnarled bark
and immense trunks. Thero Is nn old
legend which credits Gnzn with the In
vention of the ilrst mechnnlcal clocks.
Theso wero perhaps the sand clocks
which nro still "used In somo mosques.
Little Things Cause Sunshine.
Tho sunshine of llfo Is made up ot
very little beams that nre bright all
tho time. To give up something, when
giving up will prevent unhapplness;
to yield, when persisting will chafe and
fret others ; to go a little around rath
er thnn como nguinst nnother; to tnko
an ill look or a cross word quietly,
rather than resent" or return It theso
nro the wnys in which clouds nnd
storms nro. kept off, nnd n plensnnt
nnd steady sunshine secured. Alkln.
Beginning of Pittsburgh.
November 25 is tho anniversary of
tho raising of tho English flog over tho
rtilns of Fort Duquesno in 1754. Tho
plnco was then named Pittsburgh, In
honor of Britain's fnmous prime minis
ter. It owes its great growth to Its
proximity to cool nnd Iron fields of
vast magnitude.
Dally Thought
ne who begs timidly courts g ro
fusul. Seneca.
V