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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (May 18, 1920)
NORTH PLATTE SEMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE. THE VALLEY "CRAZY LIKE A FOX." Synopsis. Pioneer In the Califor nia redwood region, John Cardigan, at forty-seven, Is tho leading citizen of Sequoia, owner of mills, ships, and many acres of timber, a wid ower after three years of married llfo, and father of two-day old Dryce Cardigan. Tho redwood, with Us cousin tho sequoia, Is tho oldest and biggest thing on earth. It grows nowhero but In California. Most of the redwoods have gone; thoso remaining aro apparently doomed to the ax and saw. The sequoias are safe to future gener ations In Sequoia and Yosomlto Na tional parks. The "Save tho Rod woods League" has been organized with the purpose of establishing a Redwoods National park. CHAPTER II Continued. Of all tliolr adventures together, however, those which occurred on tliclr frequent excursions up to the Vnlley of the Glnnts Impressed themselves Imperlshnhly upon Bryce's memory. How well ho remembered their first trip, when, Rented astride his father's filioulders with his sturdy little legs nround Curdlgnn's neck and his chubby little hands clasping tho old man's ears, they bad gone up tho abandon ed skld-rond and Into tho semi-dark-dob's of tho forest, tennlnntlng sud denly In a shower of sunshine that fell In an open spaco where a boy could roll and play and never get dirty. Bryce looked forwnrd with eagerness to thoso frequent trips with hlo father "to tho place where Mother dear went to heaven." When Bryco was six years old, his father sent him to the public school In Sequoia with the children of his loggers and mlll-hnnds, thus laying tho foundation for a democratic edu cation ail too Infrequent with tho sons of men rated ns millionaires. Bryce's boyhood was much tho same ns thnt of other lads in Sequoia, save that In the matter of toys and Inter guns, fishing-rods, dogs and ponies bo wns n . source of envy to bis fellows. After ils tenth year his father placed him on tho mill pay-roll, and on pay-day ho was wont to lino up with tho inlll- crew to recclvo his modest stipend of ten dollars for carrying In kindling to tho cook In tho mill kitchen each day after school. This otherwise needless nrrangoment was old Cardigan's way of teaching his boy flnanclnl responsibility. When Bryco Cardigan wns about fourteen years old thero occurred an Important event In bis life. In a com mendable effort to Increase his Income ho had laid out a small vegetable garden In. tho rear of his father's house, and hero on a Saturday morn ing, while down on his knees weeding carrots, he chanced to look up and discovered a young lady gazing at him through tho picket fence. Sho was n "Hello, Little Boy." tow years his Junior, and a strungcr in Sequoia. Ensued tho followiug conversation: "Hello, little boy." "Hello yourself 1 I ain't a little boy." Sho Ignored tho correction. "What are you doing?" "Wccdln' carrots. Can't you seo?" "What for?" Bryce, highly Incensed nt having been designated a llttlo boy by this superior damsel, saw his opportunity to silence her, "Cat's fur for kitten ureccitcs, ho rotortca wltiiout nny evidence of 6rlglnnllty, wo must con fess, and for tho space of soveral mln utcH gave all his attention to his crop. And presently Jho visitor spoko again. "I -llko your hair, llttlo boy. It's n prolty red." That settled the Issue between them. To be hailed as little boy wns bad enough, but to bo reminded of his crowning mlsfortuno was adding Insult uk Injury. Ho rose and cautiously approached the fenco with tho lnten By PETER B. KYNE Author of "Cappy Ricks" tlon of pinching the Impudent strang er, suddenly nnd surreptitiously, and mending her away weeping. As his band crept between the palings on Its wicked mission, the little miss looked nt him In friendly fashion and queried : "What's your name?" Bryce's hand hesitated. "Bryce Cardigan," be nnswered gruffly. "I'm Shirley Sumner," she ventured. "Let's be friends." "When did you come to live in Sequoia?" ho demanded. "I don't live here. I'm Just visiting here with my aunt and uncle. We're staying at tho hotel, and there's no body to piny with. My uncle's name is I'ennlngon. So's my aunt's. He's out hero buying timber, and wo Uvo In Michigan." Her gaze wandered past Bryco to where his Indian pony stood with her bend out of the window of her box- stall contemplating her master. "Ob, wbnt a dear little horse 1" Shirley Sumner cxclnlmcd. "Whoso Is ho?" "'Taln't n he. It's n she. And she belongs to me." "Do you ride her?" "Not very often now. I'm getting too heavy for her, so Dad's bought me a horso that weighs nine hundred pounds. Midget only weighs (lvo hundred." Ho considered her a mo ment while sho gazed In awe upon this man with two horses. "Can you ride n pony?" he nsked, for no reason thnt he was aware of. Sho sighed, slinking her bend re signedly. "Wo haven't nny room to keep n pony nt our house In Detroit," sho cxplnlncd, nnd added hopefully: "But I'd love to ride Midget. I sup pose I could learn to ride if somebody taught me how." Ho looked at her ngnln. At thnt period of his llfo ho was Inclined to regard girls ns a necessary evil. For some Immutublo reason they existed, nnd perforce must be borne with, and It wns his hopo thnt ho would got through life nnd seo ns llttlo ns possi ble of tho cxnsperntlng sex. Never theless!, ns Bryce surveyed this win some miss through the pnllngs, ho wns sensible of n sneaking desire to find tnvor In her eyes nlso equally sensi ble of tho facftjhat tho path to that deslfnble end lay between" himself nnd Midget. ' "Well, I supposo If you want a ride I'll have to glvo It to you," ho grum bled, "although I'm pretty busy this morning." "Oh, I think you'ro so nice," sho de clared. A thrill shot through him that was nkln to pain; with difficulty did he restrain an Impulse to dash wildly Into tho stnble nnd snddle Midget In furious haste. Instead he walked to tho barn slowly and with extreme dignity. When ho reappeared, lie was leading Midget, a little silverpolnt runt of a Klamath Indian pony, nnd Moses, a sturdy pinto cnyuse from tho cattlo ranges over In Trinity county. "I'll havo to ride with you," bo an nounced. "Can't let a tenderfoot llko you go out alono on Midget." All aflutter with delightful antici pation, tho young lady climbed up on tho gate and scrambled Into tho saddle when Bryco swung tho pony broadside to tho gate. Two hours of his vnlua- ablo tlmo did ho give thnt morning before the cnll of duty brought him back to tho house nnd his neglected crop of carrots. When ho suggested tactfully, however, that It wns now necessary thnt his guest and Midget sepnrnte, a difficulty arose. Shirley Sumner refused point blank to leave tho premises. Sho liked Bryce for his hair and because ho had been so kind to her; sho was a stranger In Sequoia, and now that she had found nu agree ablo companion, It was far from her Intention to desert him. So Miss Sumner stayed and helped Bryco weed his carrots, und Rlnco as n voluntnry laborer sho was ut least worth her board, at noon Bryce brought her In to Mrs. Tully with a request for luncheon. When ho went to the mill to enrry In tho kindling for tho cook, tho young lady returned rather sorrowfully to tho Hotel Sequoia, with a fervent promise to seo him tho next day. She did, and Bryco took her for a long rldo up Into tho Valley of tho Giants and showed her his mother's grave. They put some llowers on tho grave, and when they returned to town and Bryce was tin saddling tho ponies, Shirley drew Midget's nose down to her nnd kissed It. Then she commenced to weep rathor violently. "What aro you crying about?" Bryco demnnded. Girls wcro so hard to understand. "I'm go-going h-h-h-hnmo tomorrow," she howled. Ho was stricken with dismay and bade hor desist from her vain repln lugs. But her heart was broken, and somehow Bryco appeared to act auto matically he had his arm around hor. "Don't cry, Shirley," ho plendcd. "It breaks my heart to seo you cry. Do you want Mldgot? I'll give hor to you." Bntwcon sobs Shirley confessed that tho prospect of pnrtlng with htm and not Midget was provocative of her of the GIANTS woe. Tills staggered Bryce and pleas ed him Immensely. And ut parting she kissed him good-bye, reiterating her opinion that he was the nicest, kindest boy she had ever met or hoped to meet. When Shirley and her uncle nnd aunt bonrded the stenmcr for Snn Francisco, Bryce stood disconsolate on tho dock nnd waved to Shirley until be could no longer discern her on tho deck. Ho thought of his elfin compnnlon very frequently for n week, and he lost his uppellte, very much to Mrs. Tully's concern. Then the stcelhcad trout began to run in Eel river, nnd the sweetest event that can occur In nny boy's existence the sud den awakening to the wonder nnd beauty of llfo so poignantly realized In his first Iovc-affnlr was lost sight of by Bryce. In n month he had for gotten the Incident; In six months he bad forgotten Shirley Sumner. CHAPTER III. Throughout tho happy years of Bryce's boyhood his father continued to enlarge and Improve his snwmlll, to build more schooners, riruK to ac quire more redwood timber. Lnnds, tho ptirchnse of which by Cardigan a decade before bad caused his neigh bors to Impugn his Judgment, now developed Strategical Importance. As a result thoso lands necessary to con solidate his own holdings came to him ut his own price, while his ad verse holdings that blocked tho log ging operations of his competitors went from him also at Ills own price. In fact, nil well-lnld plans matured satisfactorily with the exception of one. and since It has n very definite bearing on tho story, the necessity for explaining It Is paramount. Contiguous to Cardigan's logging operations to tho east and north of Sequoln, and comparatively close In, lay a block of two thousand ncres of splendid timber, the natural, feas ible, and Inexpensive outlet for which, when It should be logged, wns the Vnlley of tho Glnnts. For thirty years John cardigan unci piaycu a waiting game with the owner of that timber, for the latter was as fully obsessed with the belief that he was going to sell It to John Cardigan at a dollar and a half per thousand feet stumpngo as Cardigan was certain he was going to buy It for a dollar n thousand when he should be ready to do so and not one second sooner. Eventually the tlmo for acquiring mora timber nrrlved. John Cardigan, meeting his' neighbor on the street, accosted him thus: "Look here, Bill, Isn't It time wo got together on that timber of yours? You "know you've been holding It to liloclitno and force me to buy nt your figure. I'll give you a dollar a thous and stumpnge for your timber, Bill." "I want n dollar and a half." "A dollar Is my absolute limit." "Then I'll keep my timber." "And I'll keep my money. When I finish logging In my present hold ings, I'm going to pull out of thnt country and log twenty miles south of Sequoia. Remember, Bill, tho man who buys your timber will havo to log It througn my lnnd nnd I'm not go ing to log thnt quarter-section In tho vnlley. Ilcnco there will bo no outlet for your timber In back." "Not going to log It? Why, what aro you going to do with It?" "I'm Just going to let It stny thero until I die. When my will Is filed for probate, your curiosity will bo satis fied but not until then. Better take a dollar, Bill. It's a good, fair price, as the market on redwood timber Is now, and you'll be making nn oven hundred per cent, on your Investment Itemember, Bill', If I don't buy your timber, you'll never log It yourself nnd neither will anybody else. You'll bo stuck with It for tho next forty years nnd tnxes nren't getting any lower." "I'll hang on a little longer, I think." "I think so, too," John Cardigan re plied. And that night, as was his wont oven though ho realized that It was not posslblo for Bryco to gain a profound understanding of Uio business problems to which ho wns heir, John Cardigan discussed tho Squaw creek timber with his son, relating to him tho details of his conversation with tho owner. Bryco pondered. "But Isn't It cheaper to give him his prlco on Squaw creek timber than go logging In the Sap Hedrln and have to build twenty miles of logging railroad to got your logs to tho mill?" "It would be, son, If I had to build the railroad. Fortunately, I do not. I'll Just shoot tho logs down the hill side to tho San Hedrln river nnd drlvo them down tho strenm to a log boom on tidewater." Bryco looked at his fatlior admir ingly. "I guess Dan Koyes Is right, Dad," ho said. "Dan says you're crazy like a fox. Now I know why you've been picking up claims In tho San Hedrln watershed." "No, you don't. Bryce. I've never told you, but I'll tell you now tho real reason. Humboldt county box no Copright by FeUr D. Kyne rail connection with tho outside world, so we aro forced to ship our lumber by water. But some day a railroad will be built In from the south from San Francisco ; and when It comes, tho only route for It to travel Is through our timber In tho San Hcdrln vnlley. I've accumulated that ten thousand acres for you, my son, for the railroad will never be built In my day. It doesn't matter, son. You will still be logging there fifty years from now. And when the railroad people come to you for a right of way, my boy, give It to them. Don't charge them a cent. It has always been my policy to en courage the development of this county, nnd I want you to be a for wanMooking, public-spirited citizen. That's why I'm sending you East to college. You've been born nnd rnlscd in this town, nnd you must seo moro of the world. Listen to me, son. You'ro only n boy, and you can't un derstand everything I tell you, but "I Dlnna See How I'm to Keep the Mill Runnln'i" some day unnorstandlng will come to you. You mustn't fall tho people who work for you who are dependent upon your strength nnd brains and enter prise to furnish them with nn oppor tunity for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. When you nre the boss of Cardigan's mill, you must keep tho wheels turning; you must never shut down tho mill or the logging-camps In dull times Just to avoid a loss you enn stand better thnn your employees." Ills hnrd, trembling old hand closed over the boy's. "I want you to bo a brave and honorable man," he con cluded. True to his word, when John Cardi gan finished his logging In his old, original holdings ndjacent to Sequoln nnd Bill Henderson's Squaw creek timber, he quietly moved south with his Squaw creek woods-gang and Join ed the crew already getting out logs In tho Snn Hedrln wntershed. Not until then did Bill Henderson realize that John Cnrdlgan had called his bluff whereat ho cursed himself for a fool and a poor Judge of human na ture. Ho had tried a hold-up game nnd had fniled; n dollar a thousand feet stumpnge wns a fair price; for years he had needed the money; nnd now, when It wns too Into, ho realized his error. Luck was with Henderson, however, for shortly thereafter thero camo again to Sequoln one Colonel Pennington, n millionaire whlte-plne operator from Michigan. From a chair-wanner on the porch of the Hotel Sequoln, tho Colonel hnd hoard the tale of how stiff-necked old John Cnrdlgan had called the bluff of equal ly stiff-necked Bill Henderson; so for the next few weeks the Colonel, under pretense of going hunting or fishing on Squaw creek, managed to make a fairly accurate cursory crulso of tho Henderson timber following which ho purchased It from the delighted Bill for n dollar and n quarter per thousand feet stumpage. No mnn Is Infallible, and In plan ning his logging operations in the Snn Hedrln watershed John Cardigan presently made tho discovery thnt ho had erred In judgment. Thnt season, from May to November, his .woods crow put thirty million feet of logs Into tho San Hedrln river, while tho mill sawed on a reserve supply of logs token from tho Inst of tho old chop pings adjacent to Squaw creek. That year, however, the rainfall In the San Hedrln country wns fifty per cent less thnn normal, and by tho first of May of tho following year Cardigan's woods-crow had succeeded In driving slightly less than half of tho cut of tho preceding year to tho boom on tldewator at tho mouth of tho river. "Unless tho Lord'll gl' tfs a lot more vater In tho river," the woods-boss McTnvlsh complained, "I dlnna see how I'm to keep tho mill runnln'." Ho was taking John Cardigan up the river bauk uiul explaining the Kltua tlon. "Tho heavy bntMogs hae sunk to the bottom," he continued. "Wlo a normal bend o' water, the lads'U move them, but wl the drapple wo have the noo " He throw up his hamllko hands despnlrlngly. Three days Inter n cloud-burst filled tho river to the brim ; It enmc nt night nnd swept the river elenn of Cnrdl gan's clear logs. An nrmy of Jug gernauts, they swept down on tha boiling torrent to tldewnter, reaching tho bay shortly nfter the tide had commenced to ebb. Now, n cbnln is only ns strong aa its weakest link, nnd a log-boom Is a cbnplet of siiinll logs, linked end to end by means of short chains; henco when the vnn-gunrd of logs on tha Hp of thnt flood renched the log boom, the Impetus of tho chnrge wns too great to be resisted. Straight through the weakest link In this boom tho huge saw-logs crashed and out over Humboldt bnr to the broad Pa cific. With tho ebb tide some of them came back, while others, caught in cross-currents, bobbed about tho bay nil night and finally beached at widely scattered points. Out of the fifteen million feet of logs less than threw million were salvaged, and this tnsk In Itself was an expensive operation. John Cardigan received tho news calmly. He turned from the manager nnd wnlked away through his logged over lands, ncross the llttlo dlvldo nnd down Into tho qunrter-scctlon of green timber he had told McTnvlsh not to cut. Once In tho Valley of the Giants, he followed a well-worn foot path to the little amphitheater, and where tho sunlight Altered through llko a hnlo and fell on a plain llttlo white marble monument, he paused and sat down on the now almost d cayed sugar-pine windfall. "I've come for a llttlo comfort, sweetheart" he murmured to her' who slept beneath the stone. Then ho leaned back against a redwood tree, removed his hat, and closed his eyes, holding his great gray head tho while a little to one side in n listening atti tude. Long ho snt there, a great, time-bitten devotee at the shrine of his comfort;, and presently the har ried look left his strong, kind fnco and wns replaced by n little prescient smile the sort of smile worn by one who through bitter yenrs has sought something very, very precious nnd has nt length discovered it CHAPTER IV. It wns on the dny that John Cardi gan received the telegram from Bryco saying thnt, following four yenrs at Princeton and two yenrs of travel abroad, bo was returning to Sequoia to take over his redwood heritage that ho discovered that a stranger nnd not the flesh of his flesh and the blood of, his blood was to reap tho reward of hjs fifty years of endeavor. For a long tlmo he sat there lethar gle with misery. Eventually he roused himself, reached for the Oesk telephone, nnd pressed n button on the office exchange-station. His man ager, one Thomas Sinclair, answered. "Thomas," he snd calmly, "you know, of course, that Bryco Is coin ing home. Tell George to tnko the big car nnd go over to lied Bluff for him." George Sea Otter, son of Bryce Cardigan's old half-breed nurse, wns n person In whoso nnture struggled the white's predilection for advertise ment nnd civic pride nnd tho red man's Instinct for adornment For three years he had been old mnn Cardigan's chauffeur and mnn-of-all- work about tho latter's old-fashioned home, and In the former capacity he drove John Cardigan's single evidence of extravagance a Napier car, which was very Justly regarded by George Sea Otter as the. king of nutomoblles, since it wns tho only Imported car in the county. Upon receipt of orders, therefore, from Sinclair, to drive tho Napier over to Red Bluff and meet his future boss and one-time play fellow, George Sea Otter arrayed him self In a pnlr of new black corduroy trousers, yellow button shoes, a bluo woolen shirt with n Inrge scarlet silk handkerchief tied around the neck, n pnlr of beaded buckskin gloves with fringe dependent from tho gauntlet, nnd n broad white beaver bat with a rattlesnake-skin band. Across tho windshield of tho Nnplor he fastened nn ornnge-colorod pennnnt bearing In bright green letters the legend : MY CITY SEQUOIA. As a safety first precaution agnlnst mnn nnd benst en route, he buckled n gun scabbard to tho spare tires on tho ninnlng-bonrd and slipped n rifle Into the scabbard within quick nnd easy reach of his hand; and nrrayed thus, George descended upon Red Bluff at tho helm of the king of automobiles, When tho overland train consted Into Red Bluff nnd slid to a grinding linlt. Brvee Cardigan saw that tho Highest Living Authority bad de scended from the train nlso. He had elected to designate hor thus In the absence of any Information nnent her Christian and family names, and for the further renson that quite obvious ly she was a very superior person. Bryce Cardigan comes home to his blind father. (TO 13E CONTINUED.) Silk for Consistent Hindus. Muga silk is a product of Assan. Erl silk huhs from caterpillars which feed on the castor oil plant. 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