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iT Cascude. on the Colorado river, in wtstern
Texan, a few days ago the elements combined
to produce one of the most appalling wmpi
ever witnessed by a crowd of aman d and
frightened people. A vast forest of cedar, cov
ering the mountain for miles, had taken fire
and a hurricane was approaching from the
uthwest.
A cedar bnk burns as If the trees were saturated with
"II Wh..n the fire spreads a little It ""on grows beyond
human control. The people of Cascade saw the skies cloud
ed with sm .ke. through which they could see atreaka ot red,
and. realizing what had happened, they collected on tha ahore
f the riv-r to look on In fear and amazement. It waa known
that a party of wood choppers with families and aeveral
hunters were encamped In the mountains, and when tha peo
ple saw mi-n. women, and children running along the trails
the excitement became Intense. Cedar Area mova faster than
a man can run. and It waa feared many people would be
caustht In the flames and burned alive.
Alice Myron, a young woman well known to every one In
the terror stricken crowd, dashed to the river bank mounted
on a fine horse. " Mas any ona news of tha fire?" sha asked.
There was no reply. Tha trembling girl looked towards tha
bridge, half a mile away, and then turning bar whits faca
towards tha fire struck her horse with her whip and plunged
Into the river.
To Rescue Crippled Sweetheart.
" That la dangerous," said an old fisherman. " What does)
It mean?"
" I car tell you," was the reply of one who seemed eager
to talk. " Her sweetheart, Keenan Bpldron, la lying In
hunter's camp over there, suffering with a sprained ankle.
Hut don't you fear; she is as brave us her old daddy and She
la riding Moonbeam, the fastest racehorse In all Texas."
The powerfully muscled horse swam high, and the vent
uresome girl, with her feet drawn up In the saddle, escaped
getting wet. A wild cheer echoed through the hills when
Moonbeam clambered up on the solid rocks on the opposite
shore.
Riding as the crow flies straight up the mountain aide, the
brave girl sought the main read over which she knew those
who were imperiled would seek to escape, before she reached
the vicinity of the tire hot winds burned her cheeks and she
heard cries of distress.
The crowd on the shore were witnessing a scene that made
strong men turn pale and women fall In a swoon from fright.
Tongue of flame were licking the skies and the wind had in
creased In violence until It looked as if the elements were
convulsed by a cyclone. There was a great whirlwind of
twisting, roaring flames, with which were mixed dust, logs,
and trees that had been torn up by the roots.
On the road Alice Myron met men, women, and children
running for their lives. They were senseless In their fright.
The wall of Are was not far behind. Meeting a hunter whose
per paused In his flight to warn her of the peril she was In
Vlting. " Tou may get there," he said. " but the flames will
cloee In behind you and thre will be m way to escape."
" I will ride through the flame if I can find poor Keenan
who has been abandoned b a pack of cowards!"
On sped the black horse, sparks cracking under his feet
and foam flying from his nostrils. A strong man who pos
sessed the (rail In his flight, thinking the girl mad. seized
the hore by the bridle. " Turn quick." he said. ' The camp
is on fl-e. Spldron Is lost; he can't run. Turn and let me on
behind you!" he shouted.
" You miserable coward, take that," shrieked the enraged
girl as she brought her quirt down over the man's head and
urgd Moonbeam over his b'ly. The hot wind scorched her
face and the horse was snorting from terror when Alice c-ame
In sight of the camp of the hunters. II- r heart ached. There
waa not a mortal In sight.
The big tent was on Are. and a pack of wolves were pass
ing, foam and blood dripping from their chops.
" Keenan. Keenan, dear boy, where are you?" shouted the
faithful girl.
" Here. I am here. O. Alice. I beg of you turn and fly for
jour life."
Finds Lover Surrounded by Flames.
The wounded man had crawled from the burning tent and
waa making an effort to reach a gorge. With heart throbbing
with jjy the feurleas' girl, urging Moonbeam forward, leaned
over, and. catching her lover's outstretched hands, drew him
up on the suddle behind her.
" Which way shall I ri.ie?" she cried as she obs-'ved a
wall of aeethlng flames closing around her. 8 lie felt the beat
ing of Spidion'a heart.
" We are loet," he said quietly.
' Then we will die together, dear boy," whispered his
courageous sweetheart.
The hurricane increased In violence. Whirlwinds of twist
ing flames loaded with trees that were being torn to splinters
face she recognised she Inquired for the one for whom she
waa risking her life. The terrorized man hardly looked up,
shouting aa he ran In a choking voice, " If you mean Spldron,
he is crippled; he can't run; be la loet."
Plunges In While Others Fly.
Put sho was familiar with the mountain trails, and, know
ing the hunters had camped at Panther springs, she de
termined to teach that place ahead of the fire. A oedar chop-
approached on every side. The roaring was of a hundred
trains creesslr.g bridges and crashing each other to fragments.
The bleating of wild unimals, mingled with the howls of
wolves, toitured to madness, thrilled the souls of the Im
periled lovers. Yet Alice Myron, possessed of the soul of ona
born to defy danger, did not despair.
The water from Panther springa followed a caflon to the
Colorado river, 600 yards away. Looking In that direction,
the girl's quick wits noticed that the smoke and flames ap
peared less dense. Both were choking, the skin on their hands
- )
TIeroirve of fKe Gedai? fire..
tnd faces waa being scorched, and sparks falling on Moon
beam had set blm plunging with rage and pain. Alice's long
tresses caught fire, but her lover extinguished the flame with
his lips. No seconds had been lust in the camp, and the brave
girl had no sooner grasp'l her lover and decided on the
only chance for an opening than she touched Moonbeam with
her wtolp and dashed forward.
a 1s
Courageous Dash Through Wall of Fire.
" Nerve; nerve!" she whispered, the words coming be
tween gasps for breath. He heard and clasped her closer to
his bosom.
OAeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeMeeeeeeeeeeen
The noble hore sprang forward Into smoke i.nd M.mie
so dense Alice had not seen e vt r thine, (or the flie had
Jumped across the narrow canon, and the cedars on both
sides were a roaring mass clear to the bluff that everlooked
the river.
lc was too late to 1 , k for another route.
There was a wall of fir- .n either sale n.l a cloud of flame
overhead settling down upon the li v. rs. from which sparks,
tliid ts. and hissing brands wire raining upon them.
Noble Moonbeam! Another horse would have become
mad. Alice U-nt forward and slapped the fly Ini: horse with
the palm of her hand. " Save us. Moonbeam, and you shU
eat sugar fori ver."
" Bpidron s clothing was on fire, and the girl seemed to be
shaking flames and a shower of srarks from hire long hair
when they gained the hUh bluff overlooking the river, und
the crowd on the opposite shore shouteel until the echo rose
above the roar ef wind and raging waters.
Plunges Madly Over Precipice.
"Again we are lost." said Spldron. looking at the river In
front and the flames em every side.
"Only thewe who hesitate are lost." exclaimed the heroic
girl.
Men threw lip their hands In warning and stopped breath
ing while women closed their eyes or turned away. The
bluff Is forty f . e t nlmvc water sixty feet dfp.
Mooi beam ne ve r halted.
From the edge eif the precipice he shot forward through
the air. striking the tloeul eif water with his mwc between hia
fore fee t.
" Tie y are gone farewell, brave girl; good-hy gentle Spld
ron. ' groaned the only man who could master his emotions,
IVopW' oei'sed to bre-athe.
Ages seomi-d to pass.
" l.oeik. look!" cried a boy, pointing his hand at an object
oo feet below the bluff
Then there was u shout of Joy; men and women threw
themselves Into each other's nrms weeping. Moonbeam waa
swimming straiEl" to the shore and the lovers were clinging
to his back
Men waded into the water to grasp the heroine and bear
her to the land in triumph.
" Brave Moembeam." said Alb-e when she had recovered.
" you shall have sugar and clover all the balance of your
life."
Careless Lover Gels Lite Sentence.
" Fool that I am." said Spldron. " I caused you to risk
your llfee, and the boys euight to throw me into the river."
' O, no,' said the Joyful spokesman eif the crowd. "We
will allow your rescuer to pass sentence on you for causing
her so much trouble. What shall we do with him?" he added,
turning to the happy girl.
The applause nearly drowned tae reply, but Hpldron's
heart, throbbing fast, throhhe-d faster when he heard the
words, " I will take him."
SSSSSJSSSSSS7SSSSSSSSS9S
What Will Be ike Huture of
Versatile Srandcidd
of a famous JicL
tJfiis
UOOD will tell," so runs the old adage.
B ' Early Influences mean much." Tula IS
I (he dictum of modxrn child science.
I E. D. Waters, an artist photographer ol
Hyde Park, phicago, has had recent reason to
believe both statements true.
Always on the lookout for picturesque sub
jects, Mr. Waters, who especially delights In
artistic studies of children, not long since invited to visit
the photographic studio maintained In his residence an at
tractive small boy whom he had noticed playing about the
neighborhood. No technical " posing " of the handsome little
fellow proved necessary for the artistic pictures desired and
presently attained by his dellgltted admirer; every movement
and attitude assumed and made by the diminutive sitter waa
grace Itself. The same diminutive sitter also offered prompt
evidence of a rarely philosophic, turn of mind and conver
sation, a wll quaint charm at manner. Aa " Charlie
Modjeskl " ha gave hia name.
When, a little later, Mr. Waters discovered the email
sitter to be Master Karolek Modjeskl, grandson of the great
Polish actress, Helena Modjeaka, and godson of Mme. Calve
and Jean de Resske, he could better understand the little
lads evident though unconscious gift of dramatic Intelli
gence and representation. Karolek Charlie only to his
schoolmates, never to members or Intimate friends of the
family undoubtedly possesses potential genius scarcely as
tonishing In view of hla lineage and early associations, but
not usually observed In a laughing, eager, normal boy of 8
years old. Merrily superstitious friends and relatives are
sometimes Inclined to attribute this potential genius to a'
pretty Incident occurring shortly after the boy's birth,
Well-Wished by Famous Singers.
Calve, his godmother, was missing from the social gath
ering In the Modjeska drawing room toward the cloee of the
festivities attendant upon the christening of the Infant
Karolek. The baby's mother, Mrs. Ralph Modjeska, slipped
away after the distinguished guest and godmother, away to
the upper room where the baby lay sleeping. Here Calve
was discovered bending tenderly above the unconscious
dreamer, softly singing to him a quaint fairy folk song of
her own far country a aort of fairy benediction. Invoking
for Its subject the gifts of poesy, sensibility, and music, and
the good fortune to be always happy and well. So charming
waa the picture thus presented to the surprised mother that
she hurried back to summon Jean de Resske, the child's
godfather, to share Its beauties with her.
" I must sing him something also," cried the great tenor,
catching the spirit of Calve's impulse on the Instant " What
have you been wishing the Infant, Calve? I will wish for
him that he shall be a true man and a patriot, through and
tnrough,"
In laughter and merriment was the pretty scene speedily
forgotten (or the time being. But again and again baa It
since recu'red to the memory of those who witnessed It, and
who are acquainted with the quaint and unuaual ways and
gifts of the small grandson of Mme. Modjeska.
" 1 should not at all wonder," smiled Jean de Keszke,
during his last visit to Chicago, " If Mme. Calve's fairy song
came true."
And Mote. Calve, who adores her small godson, and who
has several times sat for pictures with htm, la sure that a
great future lies "out In the years" awaiting the quaintly
graceful chill, whose truly boyish aim Just now embraces
a wish dear to the heart of all but universal childhood.
I want to be a policeman or a railway engineer when I
grow up," represents the boy's latest ambition. The gentle
.my J.
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recent suggestion of Mrs. Modjeska that the work of a rail
way engineer or police officer might be successfully per
formed with a less comprehensive education that would prob
ably be supplied him was met by the calmly thoughtful
reply thai prominent railway officials are great and influen
tial cltlsens. while an older brother had Informed him that
many of the most notable had begun as engineers. Always
the child has been distinguished for clever remarks, most
childishly delivered but decidedly unchildllke In character
and scope.
Plays Piano Duet with Paderewski
" If I do not run a railway engine by and by, I will
become an electrician," is the present determination of the
boy, who, at 8 years old, played a piano duet with Paderew
ski, and who composed music good music of Its kind at
an even earlier period. Just now, however, school life and
dutiea, with the necesaary play Intervals, absorb nearly all
the attention of the small Karolek, and the piano, at which
he waa once wont to spend whole days when the mood
seized him, ts badly neglected. The unquenchable dramatis
fervor expressed and satisfied by play duels and scenes with
hla sinter serves as sole satisfaction for his arllsUe lust us
and inclinations.
Karolek
Modjeska
The novels of Henry Bienklewlcs, read aloud by his
mother, represent the chosen literary pabulum of the third
grade student, who only entered public school last year, and
he himself is each of the famous characters In turn. Any
passage or chapter dealing with war or conflict must be
read and reread to him, and anything of a Slavonic interest
or nature he regards with absolute devotion. Whereby the
small Karolek, being yet a devoted, enthusiastic American,
bangs one of the most perplexing problems so far en
countered by his childish brain and heart.
Has Inherent Love for Poland.
America seems to the small lover of liberty the greatest,
the most wonderful, the only ' worth while " country In ex
istence, while his youthful comrades frequently remind him
that geographically Poland, the land of his hereditary affec
tion, has no place or existence. And yet there are times
when It seems as though Jean de Reszke's chanted christen
ing wish that his small godson might become a true patriot
may yet work out in astonishing manner, that the little
Karolek may by and by turn his American love of freedom
to channels and use-s not presently suspected. Even the lit
tle musical rhythms that occur to and haunt the child in
such seasons are characteristically Slavonic In character,
and. at all times, though knn'nj nothing of the dlfllcult
Polish grammar from the sehnlusilc iispeet. he sjieaks beau
tiful Polish, purely by ear. If Calve's baptismal benediction
should yet be fulfilled In Its entirety there Is small doubt
as te the character ot the music he will render or produce.
For the present small Karolek Modjeskl Is a natural,
normal 8 year old urchin during most of his waking mo
ments, normally intent upon school work and play diver
sions, his love for all things military and Polish, together
with his passion for " acting out " the most Interesting parts
of his favorite Slavonic stories and the power and ability
with which he represents each admired character or per
sonage In turn alone se tting him apart from other and less
favored children. Even the music he naturally adores la
usually furgotten now for lessons and the more natural
recreations of boyhood.
Gives Promise of a Great Future.
But let the little lad, simple, unconscious, and Innocent
of nature as he is gifted and clever, drop for a moment Into
one oX the unthinkingly artistic and graceful poses that
would alone proclaim him endowed with the much dis
cussed "artistic temperament," If not with real genius, and
the thoughtful mouth and dreamy eyes have gnat and mys-t-
lions things to predict for the unknown future.
To no balked or Impotent purposu were the fairy be
stowers of the gifts of music, poesy, and patriotism Invoked
for handsome, childish, quick tongued, quick witted Karolek
Modjeskl by the earthly sponsors themselves beloved oi
the high powers that rule the Song world and those who
Joyously devote tin ir lives to the serving of otiecra-wtio
rejoiced at his christening f cstlvkle-s. Nor were they empty,
unanswered petitions that Mmo. Calve and Jean de IleSike
sang softly Into the tiny ears of the sleeping child. p"
t
