The City of Numbered Days

pto

hing his job of drill pointing, the two on the cabin porch made no attempt to resume the talk which had been broken by the blacksmithing. But when the rumblin

then in times past. Civilization, or what stands for it, does have a way of shrinking into littleness, not to say cheapness,

woman who was sitting in the fish-net hammo

ed, indicating the straggling new town spre

it is civilization in the making. Everyt

d in a little uptilt of h

to say that you are enjoying it,

ay that the more civilized the surroundings become, the less need there would be for me t

not-it would be a sheer, self-centred eye-shutting to all the greater thi

eal town with all the trimmings, I was righteously hot. Apart from the added trouble a wide-open town would be likely to give us in

-"now, I suppose, you

geons to be plucked, anyway; they'd moult if they weren't plucked. And it may

ng woman in the hammock, with open-eyed frankness. "Do

ep of the porch, leaned his head

h names one more of the charming collection of contradictions which your father or mothe

f at another tangent. "Please tell me why I am a 'collection

ames, I've often wondered how on earth our breezy fri

name wasn't very distinctive. So he named the poor boy Tiglath-Pileser. Just the same, it is not to laugh," she went on in friendly loyalty.

little figure in the string hammock to l

ting the musing thought slip into speech. "Wh

ictions' a moment ago and now it is 'surprises.' Which r

saw you-down at the Nick-wire ford with Tig, you remember-I tri

succeed in pl

're different-always different, and then-oh, well, comparisons ar

ery well with the 'contra

ecall, calm, reposeful, truthful, and all that, you know-so truthful that those childlike eyes of

t minute?" s

urately as if you could read his soul, holding them up to your ridicule and-what's much worse-to his own. At

girl's, light-hearted, ringi

d then: "I can draw a better one of

," he

urt your

ven't

know that it is only the very

o on and draw

e you another attack o

l chance

re-for yourself, if not for others. At that time you were busy whittling out heroic little ideals and making idols of them; and I am quite sure you were spelli

, neither affirm

d the work and everything about it had to be transparently honest and openly aboveboard. You would cheerfully have died for a principle in those days, and

with the black mustaches t

hat hap

pushed out into the life race with some sort of a ha

es

ctive to make them sit up and be nice to you. For some reason-perhaps it was the handicap-you thought you'd be safer in the unwomaned wilderness and so you came ou

haven't added anything more than a graceful little touch here

hands in delight

n't den

't be so

changed and the wide-open, fearles

n't den

he level-eyed, accusing gaze-

s been gossiping ab

ink you know best in all the world-who is also

ally such a transparen

eyed and strong; in others it is weak-in the same way that passion is weak; it w

raucous song like the high-pitched shrilling of distant locusts to tremble upon the still air of the afternoon. In the middle distance the camp-town city, growing now by leaps and bounds, spread its roughly indicated streets over the valley level, the yellow shingled roofs of the new structures figuring as patches of vivid paint under the slanting rays of the

on camp-"just a couple o' lookers," in Smith's phrase-and the unconventional altitudes had done the rest. From that day forward the young woman had hospitably opened her door to Brouillard and his assistants, and

mbed oftenest up the mountain-side trail from the camp-a trail which was becoming by this time quite well defined. He knew he went oftener than any of the others, and yet he felt that he knew Amy Massingale less intimately a

oman's life story; he had not cared to know. It had not occurred to him to wonder how the daughter of a man who drilled and shot the holes in his own mine should have the gifts and belongings-when she chose to display them-of a woman of a much wider world. It was enough for him that she was piquantly attr

al need," he said, after the divagating pause, defining th

if you please," she returned

oncisely. "Mon

laughed. "I need mon

ou

s,

h it? Buy corner lots

farm in the Blue-gras

irl! Have you ever been i

st the opposite porch post. "That was meant to humiliate me, and I sha'n't fo

ou never tell me any

ed and her smile was the cal

" she rejoined, evading the tentative invitation openly. "But tell me,

his arms over his head like an athlete testi

first of all, I think, I'd buy the privile

he said, with a lip curl that set his blood afire-"as if any woma

"I said: 'Buy the privilege.' If you knew the conditions you

t his watch and thought of going. But at the decid

handicap? You needn't tell

le fact. When my father died he left me a debt-a debt of honor; an

here was no trace of levity in the sweetly seri

"Yes, it is big enough to go in a class by itsel

d you are carrying that mi

the first to say that I must carry it, and g

ou'll neve

shaw! I'm boring you shamelessly for the sake of proving up on my definition of the eternal ego. You ought not to have encourag

en she said: "If you could drop it-but you can't. And it changes everything

ully, as a good general going into battle marches around a kennel of sleeping dogs. But now the under-depths were stirring to a new awakening. In the ardor of young manhood he had taken up the vicarious burden dutif

weeks. We smile at the old fable of a man selling his soul for a ready-money consideration, but there are tim

uestioned, and Brouillard chose to discover a ge

ing that, you know. It is the only capit

ou said 'some woman,' and now you say it again, making it cautiously impersonal. That is nice of you-not to particularize; but I have been wondering whether she is or

ed up q

that? What about a man'

count, not the man's. The only question is this: Is the one only and incomparable she worth the effort? Would you gi

n he answered soberly: "She is worth it many times over; her p

tsoever,' as Tig would say. Let me show you what I mean. Three times within my recollection my father has been worth considera

his working-coat, and faced about as if he had suddenl

then, without warning: "What if I should tell you t

ut the owner of the eyes was winking the tears away and

t looking; it's wicked," she protested. "Besid

coming over with the engineers to have a conference on the gro

le want the road, do

e turning heaven and

e gover

good can possibly come of any effort to force the region ahead of its normal and natural development. And, b

e against the buildi

g her question he a

rsonally, and apart from the money y

hen met the shrewd scrutiny

your camp; I dread a thousand times more the other changes that are coming-the temptations that a mushroom city will offer. This time father has promised me that when he can make his stake he will go back to Ke

ower step where he was s

nd that your load is heavier than mine-worlds heavier. But you're going to win ou

gement impulsively and smiled down up

in you to do it. I'm sure of it-I know it

m taking everything tha

nd slash your way to the thing you really want, and nothing can stop you. But-you'll forgive me for being plai

ommanded when

uld climb the rail. There were ideals in the beginning; you admitted it, didn't you? And they are not as distinct now as they used to be. You didn't say that, but I know.... Stand them up again, Victor; don't let

longer, and turned away to stare absently at the timbered tunnel mouth when

t said that, Amy-

I say it? I h

s. I have accepted the one great handicap. I may owe i

at you mean now,

coming over to have a wrestle with the Cortwright people, but I didn't tell you that he has already had his talk with Mr. Cortwrigh

n. "He means to give you the casting vote? H

ng like that,

think-y

e, officially. But in any event, Ford would a

he-car, please, and your petitioners will ever pray." Then, with an instant return to seriousness: "

hat; pointedly and regretfully-because your brother

?" with a l

ck. That wouldn't have been so bad if he hadn't talked about it-to

to face the porch post, that she was hiding her fa

y such a thing as that to you,"

t does hurt awfully; but it can't be brutal. An

ened and once more Brouillard dr

know how to break away." Then he went back to the closed topic. "I guess the other thing was bru

he stop

st forget what Stevie said a

angle of a huge gnomon to the Quadjenà? Hills, Brouillard was closeted in his log-built office quarters with a big, fair

engineer's. Can we make the road pay if we bring it here? That is a question which you can answer

ght?" Brouillard asked. And the

s he made it that way once before and is willing to bet that it is easier than

ou'll quit until the Buckskin fills up with settlers who can give you crops to move. That is the situation in a nutshell, all but one little item. There is a mine up on Chigringo-Massingale's-with a good few thousand tons of pay ore on th

t the corners of t

ur personal notion. If you were the executive committee of the Pacific Southwestern,

resting upon the Massingale cabin. When he turned back to the man at the desk he was frowning thoughtfully, and his eyes were the eyes of one who sees only the clearly etched lines of a picture

iting, "if you insist on pulling my private opinion out