THE VISION O 
 ELIJAH BERL 
 
 FRANK LEWIS NASON 
 
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The Vision of Elijah Berl 
 
The 
 
 Vision of Elijah Berl 
 
 By 
 Frank Lewis Nason 
 
 Author of " To the End of the Trail," and 
 " The Blue Goose" 
 
 Boston 
 
 Little, Brown, and Company 
 1905 
 
Copyright, 1905, 
 BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY. 
 
 All rights resen-cd. 
 
 Published April, 1905. 
 
 8. J. PARKHILL & Co., BOSTON, U. 8. A. 
 
PRELUDE 
 
 Eight hundred and fifty miles of winding coast 
 line bend in and out. So far as the eye can reach 
 over the wrinkling sheet of the Pacific, to where its 
 giant swells beat against bare, brown cliffs and 
 break in smothers of hissing foam, not a sail is 
 seen, not a sign of life, save flocks of white-winged 
 gulls and sea-mews, or herds of barking seals that 
 swarm on rocky islets. Mountains spring from the 
 sea and climb, mount on mount, three miles into 
 the air, or sloping sea-washed sands stretch dry and 
 barren and forbidding, to rise at length in verdure- 
 clad hills and snow-capped mountains. In the 
 mountains are savage beasts and more savage men. 
 On the plains a few straggling herds of cattle, with 
 uncouth vaqueros, cluster around a seeping spring 
 of bitter water. Here and there white-washed 
 adobe mission houses, all but hidden in a clamber 
 of vines and trees, mark a feeble stream that 
 trickles from the distant mountains. Olive-skinned 
 signors and olive-skinned sigiioritas round out the 
 circle of their lives and there lie down and die, un 
 knowing and unknown; tiny and their fellows, un 
 dreamed of, the land of their abode a hazy myth. 
 
 As by the wave of a magic wand, att is changed. 
 
 Root; 
 
PRELUDE 
 
 The ocean now is dotted with sails from the utter 
 most parts of the earth. They choke the Golden 
 Gate with their numbers. From their crowded 
 decks, swarms of men, ministers of God and min 
 isters of the devil learned, ignorant, murderers, 
 thieves women, traitors to their kind, pour forth 
 and swarm over the land. Mad with the lust of 
 Gold, they burroiv in the beds of streams, tear and 
 claw at mountain-gulch and slope. Tented towns 
 rise like night-grown fungi, and wither away, to 
 spring again into existence, lawless, in a land where 
 law is not, in a land that no man owns. Through 
 days that are full of sweating toil and nights that 
 cover vigils of lust and death, the ferment of hell 
 grows in the blood of human beings ivho have left 
 their God with their country. 
 
 Another wave of the wand and God reclaims his 
 own. The courthouse and the gibbet, ivithout 
 mercy but full of stern justice, have taken the 
 place of the murderer s greed that sharpened the 
 murderer s knife. 
 
 From a thousand hills, a thousand streams have 
 quickened the arid acres of drifting sand into fruit 
 ful life. League on league are fields of waving 
 grain. League on league are green vineyards with 
 their clustered fruit blushing and sweetening in the 
 sun. League on league happy homes are all but 
 hidden by dark-leaved trees, with fruit yellow as 
 the golden apples of the Hesperides. 
 
 vi 
 
PRELUDE 
 
 And this is California! For unknown ages more 
 desolate and terrible than Dante s wildest dream o/ 
 the Inferno, in fifty years surpassing his picture of 
 Paradise. Barred from the world on one side by 
 ten thousand miles of stormy seas, on the other by 
 tier on tier of mountains and miles on miles of 
 dreary desert, were the whole United States to 
 fade as did the cities of Nineveh and Babylon, 
 California icould still live in song and story, more 
 golden than the mines of Ophir, more beautiful 
 than the storied plains of the Tigris and the Eu 
 phrates. 
 
 vn 
 
The 
 Vision of Elijah Berl 
 
 CHAPTER ONE 
 
 "But I know what I need. I need you." 
 
 There was a dogged tone in Elijah Bed s voice 
 that was almost sullenly insistent. 
 
 "I have given you all that I have to give, Elijah. 
 You don t need me. What you need is money, and 
 that s what I haven t got." 
 
 "And I say again that I have thought of this 
 for five years. Ever since I left New England. I 
 have not been alone, I have been guided. Step by 
 step I have gone over my ground up to this point. 
 I have studied men as carefully as I have my work. 
 You are the man I have selected, and you are the 
 man I want." 
 
 Ralph AVinston looked thoughtfully into the 
 plowing eyes bent full upon him. The impulse was 
 strong within him to do as the man before him 
 wished almost compelled him to do; but because 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 of this subtle powe/ which moved him so strongly, 
 he hesitated. To what further lengths might it not 
 impel him when the first step had been taken? 
 Clear-eyed, clear-headed, never so cautious as when 
 his desires called most loudly to him, he hesitated 
 to take the first step in the path which Elijah Berl 
 had so insistently opened before him. Therefore 
 he spoke deliberately, almost coldly. 
 
 "Don t misunderstand me, Elijah. I have faith 
 in you and I have more faith in your idea. For 
 this very reason I hesitate to accept your offer. 
 You and I are so different. I " 
 
 Elijah interrupted impatiently. 
 
 * I have thought of all that, I have prayed over 
 it. Be ye not unequally yoked together with un 
 believers, and as the voice from heaven came to 
 Paul, even so it came to me What God hath 
 cleansed, that call not thou common. 
 
 A smile flickered for a moment on the lips of the 
 young engineer as he turned to a pretty little 
 woman who, with her light sewing in her hands, was 
 rocking gently on the wide verandah. 
 
 "What do you think about it, Amy?" 
 
 Amy Berl drew her needle the full length of the 
 thread and held it poised for a moment as she made 
 reply. 
 
 "Elijah knows what is best, Ralph." Then, 
 with a swift glance at her husband, she again bent 
 over her work. 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "Of course he knows some things " 
 
 "He knows every thing." Amy did not raise 
 her eyes from her work this time. 
 
 With a sigh of impatience, Elijah threw himself 
 into a chair near his wife. The needle dropped 
 from the hand which she timidly rested upon his, 
 while her eyes sought his face. Absorbed in him 
 self, not a quiver responded to the touch of Amy s 
 hand, not a glance answered the caress of her eyes. 
 
 It was a pretty picture in a grandly beautiful 
 setting. A wide verandah, covered with climbing 
 roses in full bloom, opened upon a scene almost 
 tropical in its beauty. Down the redwood steps the 
 eyes wandered across a luxuriant flower garden, 
 still lower they rested upon a great square of dark, 
 shining green; below this, in sharp contrast, and 
 surrounding the shining green, tawny sand pricked 
 in with tufts and clumps of dusty, green sage, roll 
 ing hills in descending cadence, till, in the far dis 
 tance, a grayer, wimpling gray, the great Pacific 
 marked the limits of the desert. 
 
 To the left, the eyes leaped the rock-strewn bed 
 of the Rio Sangre de Cristo, climbed rock-ribbed, 
 wooded slopes, up and up to the dizzy snow-clad 
 peaks of the San Bernardinos that rested purple 
 and white against the constant azure of a Cali 
 fornia sky. Within the limits of the cottage, the 
 flower Lranlrn, and the irrigated orange grove, the 
 sun seemed to hold its fierceness in awesome leash 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 only to let loose its fervid power upon the glowing 
 sands and their tortured growths. 
 
 The characters were in harmony with their set 
 ting. The blue-eyed little woman, delicate, with 
 tawny hair, a sweet-scented mountain gentian 
 ready to shrink and fold upon itself at a shadow 
 that could not harm, but could only feebly threaten ; 
 the young engineer, with close-cropped hair, a face 
 chiselled with strong, undoubting strokes, a mouth 
 half hidden by a mustache that gave a glimpse of 
 lips too thick to be merciless, too thin to be sen 
 suous. There was an air of alertness about the 
 man, a suggested tireless energy that renewed its 
 strength on the food of humor gathered even from 
 the most monotonous commonplaces. Ralph Win 
 ston was not a rare type of man, but he was a sav 
 ing one. With him was an air of inflexibility of 
 purpose, softened with mercy; a rugged honesty 
 that made no compromise with evil-doers, an hon 
 esty that, with laughing eyes, left the uncovered 
 sinner ashamed and repentant, instead of defiant 
 and revengeful in his defeat. 
 
 A tyro, looking at the smooth-shaven, boyish face 
 of Elijah Berl, would fail to note the hardly defined 
 lines that ran from mouth to eyes ; lines broad, un 
 dulating through the whole gamut of enthusiasm, 
 but lines that grew hard and merciless as they con 
 verged to eyes narrowed before opposition and 
 lightened with fanatical zeal. 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 Winston s footing with the Berls was intimate, 
 though upon short acquaintance. This was not 
 strange in California. Twenty miles from the Berl 
 ranch was a booming town that had attracted Win 
 ston. Here was a good opening for an engineer, 
 with large and sure pay. Winston made light of 
 the town and its promoters, and among these he 
 had no intimates. On a hunting trip he had dis 
 covered the Berl ranch and had found it worthy of 
 the more intimate acquaintance to which he was 
 cordially invited. Little by little he had drawn 
 from Elijah the story of his life in California. It 
 had been an isolated life, full of hardship, but de 
 voted to a single idea, that of reclaiming the vast 
 extent of country which now lay barren and un 
 fruitful. 
 
 The young engineer s eyes grew deep and 
 thoughtful. This offer of an equal partnership 
 meant even more to him than Elijah realized. Why 
 not accept it ? It was what he had hoped for, had 
 sought for a life work in which he could enlist 
 his strength and his sense of honor. It was worth 
 while, grandly worth while. His heart beat high at 
 the thought of it. The building of a great storage 
 dam in the mountains, the laying out of canals that 
 should lead the stored waters to the sun-parched 
 deserts; this was an engineer s work, and he was 
 an engineer. In imagination he could see, as Elijah 
 saw, the bare brown hillsides clothed in verdure 
 
 5 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 and teeming with prosperity. Why did he hesi 
 tate? Was it lack of money? That would come. 
 Yet he hesitated. Why ? Clearer than ever before 
 came the thought of Elijah, and Winston knew 
 that his question was answered. Elijah was his 
 answer. Elijah himself was the obstacle in the 
 way of his acceptance. There was no doubt of the 
 worth of Elijah s idea, no doubt of his enthusiasm, 
 no doubt of his patient, tireless energy. Of his 
 integrity? There was the doubtful point. 
 
 If he accepted Elijah s offer, he could foresee the 
 struggle that would follow. His own sense of 
 right pitted against Elijah s fanatical zeal that 
 recognized no right except its own desires. When 
 the fully expanded idea of redeeming the desert 
 hillsides should open before Elijah, before the eyes 
 of men, when wealth and power should beckon, 
 just a little at first, from the path of stern uncom 
 promising honor, Elijah would not restrain him 
 self. Would he be able to control him ? Winston s 
 lips set firmly. He knew that he would conquer 
 in the end. 
 
 Elijah was pacing restlessly up and down the 
 verandah, now and then casting an impatient look 
 upon the young engineer who sat motionless, his 
 eyes on the hillsides below them. At length he 
 paused abruptly before Winston. 
 
 "Well?" he exclaimed explosively, "you haven t 
 given me an answer yet. 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 Winston s words were, measured. 
 
 "No; I haven t. If you insist upon an answer 
 today, it will be no." 
 
 "You want time to think it overt" Elijah s voice 
 was sarcastic. 
 
 "That s just it. I do want time. I know that if 
 I accept your offer, you and I are going to come 
 into collision. You have one way of looking at 
 things, I have another. Not once, but many times, 
 you and I are going to look at the same thing at 
 the same time and in different ways. When these 
 times come, one of us will have to give way." Win 
 ston waved aside Elijah s attempt to interrupt. 
 "When these times come, I may be the one to give 
 up, but if I am, it will be because your way appeals 
 to my reason as being better than my own." 
 
 Winston s meaning was clear to Elijah. The 
 "word" that he reverenced, the voice to which he 
 listened and which he followed, meant not the 
 weight of a feather to the man before him. Elijah 
 moistened his nervous lips with his tongue. He had 
 been guided to seek Winston Winston he must 
 have. Impatiently he put Winston s words aside. 
 
 "All this is not to the point." 
 
 "What is?" Winston asked curtly. 
 
 "This. Will you accept my offer?" 
 
 "An equal partnership with yourself?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "I suppose you realize that if I accept, the raan- 
 
 7 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 agement is no longer yours alone, but yours and 
 mine?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 1 And that it is my right to put forth every effort 
 to compel you to my way of thinking?" Winston 
 deliberately used the word compel, instead of per 
 suade. 
 
 "Yes, yes!" 
 
 "Then I will think it over, Elijah, and will give 
 you my final ans- /er the next time you are in 
 Ysleta." 
 
 "Suppose I come tomorrow?" Elijah s voice 
 was assured. 
 
 "My answer will be ready." 
 
 8 
 
CHAPTER TWO 
 
 " I am so happy ! This had been the unbroken 
 song of Amy Berl for the five years of her married 
 life. Maternity had not altered a line of her girl 
 ish figure, neither had it crou ^ed her with the 
 rounded, satisfying glory of womanhood. The cease- 
 lOH, parching winds had not dimmed the lustre of 
 her clear blue eyes, nor deadened the gloss of her 
 soft flaxen hair. Even the hot, dry air, so trying to 
 most, only heightened the beauty of her complexion, 
 as the peach reveals the rich glow of its color by 
 diffusion through the meshes of its downy veil. Del 
 icate in face and figure, there was no suggestion of 
 frailty, neither was there a suggestion of strength. 
 There was the glow of perfect health. In the 
 eye* that looked fearlessly ami frankly into the 
 eyes of others, there was unmistakably a capacity 
 lor infinite happiness and infinite suffering. This 
 was all. The eyes were frank because they had 
 nothing to conceal; nor did they dream that other 
 eyes differed from them They were fear 
 
 less because they knew no sin in th. inst 1\. s or in 
 others. There was not strength of mind or of intel 
 lect to compel the fruition of her desire for love. 
 
 9 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 It must come to her without her volition or not at 
 all. As the flowers of the field unfold in beauty 
 under sun and shower, even so she grew and blos 
 somed and was fair to look upon. As the flowers 
 of the field wither away in parching drouth, even so 
 would the beauty of happiness fall from her shrink 
 ing soul. She was of a religious nature, not be 
 cause of a consciousness of its necessity to the 
 human soul, but because, to her, God was love 
 and his works beautiful to look upon. God to her 
 was impersonal, because in her was not strength 
 of intellect to construct an entity from its mani 
 festations. When Elijah Berl came to her, she 
 received him as a god. Her love was not selective ; 
 it was responsive. Henceforth her daily prayers 
 on her bended knees were to her husband, not to the 
 Divine Giver of every good and perfect gift. Even 
 when her first-born lay in her arms, the light that 
 shone in her eyes was not the giving of maternal 
 love, but the thrill of assurance that the helpless 
 mite was but another bond that bound her happi 
 ness to her soul and made it more her own. She 
 gave with the unconscious selfishness of a perfect 
 mirror that which she received, no more, no less. 
 
 Elijah Berl had not yet realized what his wife 
 was, because he was selfish in another way. He 
 saw himself in his wife. For the present, this 
 sufficed. Five years of struggle in the land of 
 golden promise had not lessened his faith in him- 
 
 10 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 self, had not wearied his restless energy, nor 
 dulled his faith in his God. From NVw England s 
 granite hills, he believed God s hand had led him to 
 this distant field. Since the day of his birth, the 
 firm, unwavering, fanatical belief that the Bible 
 was God s direct, unchangeable revelation to man, 
 made him, as it had made his father, impregnable 
 to the assaults of reason. The figurative, s. ini- 
 scriptural language of his father and of his 
 father s father had been as the breath of his nos 
 trils. It had become a part of him as it was of 
 his father. It was neither cant nor hypocrisy. 
 "As it was written," was an unanswerable dictum. 
 The very things that had shaken and are shaking 
 to its foundation the faith in the Bible as an infalli 
 ble guide, only rooted Elijah the more firmly in 
 his belief. In California as in New England, he 
 felt that in good time God s hand would point out 
 the \\ork which He had planned for him to do. II 
 was marking time with restless steps, ready to 
 swing into action when God should give tin* word. 
 Only one part of his work had he forecast in his 
 mind. A son of the soil, in the soil was his work 
 to be. This was his unshaken belief. From San 
 Benito, under the shadow of abrupt mountains, 
 over to San Quentin where ragged chaparral grew 
 as it might on the blood-red hills, and where cot- 
 tonwoods and willows throve rank on the moisture 
 of hidden streams, he had pitched his tent for the 
 
 11 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 night and had folded it in the morning. What 
 mattered it to him that the scattered ranchers 
 looked approvingly upon his fair-haired wife, and, 
 moved with pity for her, cursed him as a heartless 
 idiot; or that uncouth vaqueros shrugged their 
 shoulders and softly named him a locoed gringo? 
 
 The few dollars which he had brought with him 
 from the East, had long since been spent in his 
 wanderings. The goodly sum which had come to 
 him on the death of his father, was no longer what 
 it had been ; yet he had no thought of despair. The 
 limit of his wanderings was narrowing in concen 
 tric circles, and at length its centre was fixed. 
 With almost his last dollar, he had bought a wide 
 ranch from a dreamy Mexican who had then gone 
 his way. Already the land around his was heaving 
 and swelling in undulating rolls that warn the 
 mariner of a coming storm. Bearded ranchers 
 laughed in scorn, and mild-eyed Mexicans spoke 
 even more softly. What were a few seeping springs 
 on the hillsides? What were the hillsides them 
 selves beside the rolling plains at their feet, where 
 herds of cattle fed and drank and mired them 
 selves in green-fringed cienagas? Elijah was dis 
 turbed no more than was Noah when he closed the 
 doors of his ark against the gibes of the unbe 
 lievers. His mission was being disclosed, point by 
 point and line by line, to his waiting eye. 
 
 Elijah deepened his springs and hoarded the 
 
 12 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 water they gave. Between rows of dark-green 
 leaves, shrubs that faded not in summer s drouth 
 nor in winter s rains, he guided trickling streams, 
 apportioning to each its proper share. Through 
 the day he toiled with increasing energy. 
 Towards each night, with Amy by his side, he 
 rested by the door of his cottage and looked below, 
 over reddening hills, across the rolling plains, be 
 yond where the half-buried disc of the sun spread 
 wide the golden mantle of its light upon the 
 wrinkling waters of the Pacific. Behind the cot 
 tage, from the rock-strewn wash of the Rio Sangre 
 de Cristo, the lowest foot-hills rose to wooded 
 slopes, grew to timbered mountains, up and up 
 till the forests gave way to the snow-capped peaks 
 of the San Bernardinos. "I will lift up mine eyes 
 unto the hills whence cometh my help." In mid 
 day s toil when Elijah paused to rest his strained 
 back, or to wipe the perspiration from his stream 
 ing face, in the silence of the night, when the moon 
 lay white and still upon the slumbering landscape, 
 his eyes sought out the solemn mountains which 
 were shaping his dreams. He listened to the roar 
 of the torrents that came faint with distance, when 
 the mountains wrung dry the clouds that shrouded 
 their peaks, or when the fierce sun swept away 
 their winter s mantle of white. He watched the 
 surL r in<_r flood that rolled breast-hiph in receding 
 waves through the Sangre de Cristo, tossing boul- 
 
 13 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 ders like feathers in their boisterous strength; 
 watched it rush through torrid plains and finally 
 sink from sight beneath the sands. He watched 
 the parched lips held to the Tantalean cup, saw 
 the few drops of stolen moisture quicken into 
 verdant life, saw, when the flood had passed by 
 and the mountains had ceased to give forth their 
 murmurs, the mocking sun crackle the up-sprung 
 life to choking dust, and once more the shimmering 
 heat-waves rise in trembling agony from the tor 
 tured sands. Then the voice that was calling him 
 grew more distinct, the guiding hand more clearly 
 outlined. As the blood of Christ quickened into 
 life the soul dead in sin, so should the stream that 
 bore His name quicken into blooming fields the 
 dead, dry sands of the desert. His lips moved rev 
 erently with his unuttered words, a prayer for 
 guidance, a chant of faith, as his eyes swept from 
 crest to crest of the blood-red hills that held the 
 river of the blood of Christ against the mountains 
 of its birth. 
 
 In spite of his words to the -contrary, Elijah was 
 disturbed by Winston s attitude. What was the 
 flaw in his scheme that held Winston aloof? Elijah 
 was in an agony of doubt. Up and down the 
 flower-scented paths, through groves of orange, 
 yellow with golden fruit, he paced with restless 
 stops. With all his soul he strained to catch an 
 opening in the clouds that held the future from 
 
 14 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 his eyes. Little by little the sense of depression 
 yielded to his efforts, little by little the vision that 
 had kept him constant, returned to him in the 
 full glory of perfection. He had been watching 
 the hills as they glowed in the light of the setting 
 sun. As the gray night, settling over all, blotted 
 out the details of the landscape, leaving the moun 
 tains a purple blur against the faint blue of the 
 sky. Elijah felt a strong reaction. He feared, yet 
 longed for the coming light; feared, lest it should 
 prove that the plan which had been revealed to him 
 might be but the figment of a frenzied dream. 
 
 Amy was sitting beside him as usual, her hand 
 in his. Her eyes dreamily watched the shifting 
 shadows as the sinking sun moved them to and fro 
 in a stately march. As the shadows deepened to 
 darkness, her eyes closed and her head sank upon 
 Elijah s shoulder. Elijah could no longer endure 
 the strain of questioning doubt that the shadows 
 \\vre pouring over his soul. 
 
 "Amy! Amy!" he called. 
 
 What is it, Elijah?" 
 
 "I can t see, Amy. I saw it all, and now it s 
 gone." 
 
 What is gone, Elijah?" The voice was heavy 
 
 will) slrrp. 
 
 "I can t sit still any longer. Let s walk. The 
 moon will be up soon and then I can see if I was 
 wrong. Come." 
 
 15 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 Amy was again sleeping. He shook her gently as 
 he rose to his feet. 
 "Come," 
 
 "I am so tired, Elijah." She rose and turned 
 toward the open door. " Let s wait until tomor 
 row. 
 
 "I can t wait. It s now, now!" 
 
 Amy was conscious of nothing save her over 
 powering drowsiness. 
 
 "Come in with me, Elijah." 
 
 "No, no! I can t." Elijah was irritated; not 
 at Amy, but at the tingle of opposition that played 
 upon his strained nerves. 
 
 "Goodnight, Elijah." She put up her dreamy 
 lips for his goodnight kiss; but Elijah had left her 
 and was again striding up and down, his eyes fixed 
 on the purple blur. Without further word, she 
 entered the cottage and lay down to the rest for 
 which her eyes so longed. 
 
 One by one the stars pricked through the arching 
 sky, filling the space above the earth with a light 
 that only intensified the darkness below. Hour 
 after hour passed by. At length a silver halo 
 fringed the mountain summits, a band of light 
 softly parting the blue of the sky from the purple 
 of the mountains. A silver disc, barred with dense 
 black lines, moved grandly into the waiting sky, 
 and twinklinir stars veiled their faces before their 
 coming queen. Par out on the plain a banded line 
 
 16 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 of light moved against the retreating darkness. 
 Against the hills it swept, charging their steep 
 slopes, creeping up their darkened gulches, glowing 
 on their conquered crests ; on and on it swept, until 
 the retreating shadows sank from the earth before 
 the hosts of light. As the outlines of the hills came 
 sharply into sight, Elijah s dream took substance 
 that would never wane again. 
 
 Amy arose, bright and fresh for the day. Upon 
 Elijah the strained vigil of the night had left its 
 mark. There was no longer ecstasy. The settled 
 lines of his face were almost sullen in their inten 
 sity. The sparkle died from Amy s eyes and a 
 look of anxious questioning took its place. With 
 the strange unconscious conceit confined to narrow 
 minds, she never dreamed that her husband s pre 
 occupation was a thing entirely apart from 
 herself. Wholly self-centred, her husband s smil 
 ing attention meant approbation; preoccupation 
 meant disapproval or resentment. Her sun was 
 her husband s love. In its full warm rays she 
 basked with the happy abandon of a well-fed 
 animal. Preoccupation was the eclipsing shadow 
 that chilled her to the marrow, with no sustaining 
 faith that it was only obscuration, not destruction 
 for all time. When the shadow fell, there was no 
 <ith-r sii _ L r <^ti<>M than to beat her sounding soul 
 with a heathen s anlor. in order to frighten from 
 its prey the devouring dragon that would forever 
 
 17 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 destroy her source of life and light. Now her 
 anxiety grew to pain ; her lips were tremulous. 
 
 "What have I done to offend you, Elijah?" 
 
 "Nothing," he answered abruptly. "I m not 
 offended. Can t you see that I m absorbed in my 
 work? I can t spend all my time in telling you 
 that I love you just the same as ever. Why can t 
 you take something for granted?" 
 
 Elijah s words were sharp-cut, almost explosive. 
 It was not resentment at Amy ; it was the irritation 
 of a dog who is having a bone taken from his jaws. 
 
 Amy was cut to the depths of her sensitive soul. 
 Her words were not a reproach, but a hopeless 
 wail. 
 
 "It s these miserable orange trees! I wish 
 oranges had never grown in this country. I was 
 so happy before. Now you never think of me. You 
 look at the mountains and the springs and the 
 orange trees, but never at me." Her tears were 
 flowing freely, her lips were tremulous. 
 
 Elijah was moved, but without understanding. 
 
 "Why! Haven t I always enjoyed showing 
 them to you and talking to you about them ? You 
 know that I always tell you every thing that I am 
 doing." 
 
 "Yes, I know; but you get just as enthusiastic 
 over them to Ralph Winston and he looks cold 
 all the time and keeps criticising and contradicting 
 you. It s just the same with the other men who 
 
 18 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 come to look at your work. They don t care one 
 single thing about you, and I do, and I tell you so, 
 but you won t believe me." 
 
 Amy s tears had ceased, her voice was steadier; 
 but there was a suggestion of the eager heart hunger 
 that looked from her eyes. 
 
 "Winston isn t my wife, Amy " 
 
 "And he doesn t care for you. He says things 
 to you I would not think of saying." 
 
 Elijah made an impatient gesture, resuming his 
 interrupted words. 
 
 "I have a great idea, a great work. I have only 
 shown what can be done. To actually do it, I must 
 have money. I know these men don t care any 
 thing about me; I don t care anything about them, 
 only to get them interested and convinced. If I 
 can only do this, it means fame and fortune to me 
 and, just think of what it all means ! Just think ! 
 When these great, barren, red hillsides are all 
 covered with orchards; with beautiful houses and 
 thousands of happy, prosperous people; when the 
 snows and rains of the San Bernardinos, instead of 
 running to waste, will flow through tunnels and 
 canals and make the desert blossom as the rose; 
 then they will all say that this is the work of one 
 man, of me, Elijah Berl!" Elijah s -\vs kindled 
 anew with the thought which he had elaborated. 
 
 Amy saw and was terrified. HT soul shrank and 
 shiveivd before the vision which he had conjured 
 
 19 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 up. She could not have stated to herself the reason 
 of her fear. Only one thought was keenly present 
 to her, that henceforth she would be no longer the 
 sole centre of her husband s life. 
 
 "I don t want you to be great, Elijah. I want 
 you, just as you are." 
 
 Elijah saw the expression of his wife, not the 
 principle which gave it birth. He caught a fleeting 
 glimpse, a faint suggestion of the impelling prin 
 ciple that stimulates all men to the heights of 
 achievement; the pride and glory of laying at the 
 feet of love the laurels of their triumphs, the testi 
 monials of worth wrung from a grudging world; 
 the proud conviction that love is made secure by the 
 assurance that its object is not unworthy. He 
 failed to see that the principles which control a 
 narrow though amiable mind, may be in hopeless 
 antagonism with the broader views of higher mental 
 endowment. He failed to see that each life has its 
 limitations, that when it has given all, it can give no 
 more. The time had not yet come for this knowl 
 edge. Therefore it was hidden from his eyes, that 
 when it should come, a hopeless sorrow should 
 come with it. He turned again to Amy. 
 
 "I am not always going to be just what I am. 
 I am going to do great things and you will be proud 
 that I am your husband." 
 
 4 Don t, Elijah! Don t!" Amy clutched 
 Elijah as if already she felt him slipping from her 
 
 20 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 grasp. "I loved you as you were. I love you as 
 you are. You can never be more dear to me. I 
 don t know, Elijah; I am afraid." She buried hoi- 
 head on his shoulder. "I am afraid I shall not 
 always be everything to you. I am so happy with 
 you now. If I should ever be less happy, it would 
 kill D 
 
 "Nonsense. Don t make pictures to get scared 
 at." He drew his watch from his pocket. "I must 
 go now. You know I promised to see Ralph at 
 Ysleta this morning. Goodbye, and don t scare 
 yourself any more." 
 
 Elijah began to unclasp her arms. They were 
 reluctant rather than resisting. He kissed her with 
 a show of affection which was not absent, only 
 obscured by other things ; then he saddled his horse 
 and rode away. 
 
 Amy stood watching him with hard, dry eyes; 
 with the unconscious superstition of the maiden 
 who with trembling fingers plucks one by one the 
 petals from a prophetic flower. "He loves me, 
 he loves me not." She stood watching for a motion, 
 a gesture which should assure her that her hus 
 band s thoughts were of her, even as hers were of 
 him, making herself the wretched plaything of 
 senseless Fate, instead of resting tranquil in the 
 surety that she was its master. 
 
 Elijah was absorbed in himself. He grew but a 
 speck on the trail to Amy s watching eyes. There 
 
 21 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 was not a motion which she could distort into a 
 recognition of her existence. The last petal had 
 fallen. * * He loves me not. 
 
 22 
 
CHAPTER THREE 
 
 Ysleta was booming and was being boomed. 
 Avenues of graded sand, cleared of- their desert 
 growth, stretched in prim right angles far out into 
 the horizon. White posts with staring, black 
 numerals heralded city lots and bounded patches of 
 cactus and chaparral which were thus protected 
 from further molestation, and gave asylum to 
 gophers and prairie dogs who had not lost their 
 wits in the booming hubbub for the sole reason that 
 nature had given them none to lose. Straining 
 teams dragged great ploughs that tore through 
 matted roots and turned furrows which slid back 
 bfliind the parting share. Other sweating horses 
 pulled scrapers of sand from dusty hummocks and 
 plumped their loads in dustier hollows. Rows of 
 bedraggled palms trailed out behind gangs of bur 
 rowing men or gathered in quincunx clumps where 
 a glaring signboard proclaimed a city park. 
 Thumping hammers and clinking trowels were rais 
 ing uncouth buildings around the central plaza, 
 adding other grotesque monstrosities to those which 
 had already attained perfection in every detail 
 that rebelled against a sense of beauty. Throngs 
 
 23 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 of men and women trailed ankle deep through the 
 new-turned sand and broke up into knots of ani 
 mated discussion, or paused before a map of Ysleta 
 to listen to a perspiring real estate agent repeating 
 with tireless enthusiasm "the beauties of eternal 
 sunshine in a land where burning heat and blast 
 ing cold never entered; a land where perennial 
 spring went hand in hand with perennial autumn, 
 where seed time and harvest trailed side by side, 
 where dividing lines between summer and winter 
 solstice were but meaningless numerals in the cycles 
 of succeeding years; a land that for untold ages 
 had slumbered and waxed fat with accumulated 
 richness and where the sun had stored its genial 
 warmth against the day when suffering humanity 
 should wake to the knowledge of what California 
 was and hasten to enjoy her stored up treasures." 
 
 Blaring trumpets and booming drums accom 
 panied aligned men, gorgeous with purple and 
 gold; beribboned four-in-hands with varnished 
 carriages trailed along behind, and a brazen- 
 throated herald proclaimed a bounteous repast 
 free to all who would honor his master by partak 
 ing. 
 
 "Fall in! Fall in!" and knots of men balanced 
 to the swing of the band and wheeled into line, 
 choked with dust, blinded with dust, and covered 
 with dust which the tearing ploughshares had 
 
 24 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BKK L 
 
 softened up, and which eager feet were beating into 
 the air. 
 
 Into this bustle and blare, Elijah Berl rode as 
 he had ridden many times of late. Unmoved, save 
 for a contemptuous pity, he looked down upon the 
 hurrying crowd, crazed by the lust of wealth, who 
 bought today to sell tomorrow, each knowing that 
 some would be caught in the reaction that was sure 
 to come, but each steadfast in the confidence that 
 his own good sense would protect him from the 
 general ruin. He looked down to where the Sangre 
 de Cristo, no longer an impetuous torrent, seeped 
 lazily through its bed of shining sand ; at the mass 
 of tangled shrubs and clinging vines quickened by 
 its waters into a riotous growth that blossomed and 
 fruited in the sensuous sun. Over his shoulder, he 
 looked at the distant slopes from which he had 
 come. At the open door of a redwood cottage he 
 dismounted and entered. 
 
 "Hello, Ralph!" 
 
 At the salutation, Winston s compact athletic 
 figure strni _rhtened from his drawing-board. 
 
 "Oh, hello, Elijah! You re just the man I 
 wanted to see." 
 
 "Have you decided yet?" Elijah s voice was 
 eager. 
 
 "Do you still want me?" 
 
 "Yes. It s tomorrow now. If this is too soon, 
 tomorrow and tomorrow are yet to come." 
 
 25 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "Well, Elijah, if it s all right, my answer is 
 yes." 
 
 Elijah took Winston s hand in both of his own; 
 his eyes spoke the words his tongue could not utter. 
 
 "It s going to be uphill work, Elijah, but I guess 
 we ll manage it." 
 
 "Of course we will." Elijah was striding up 
 and down the little office. He paused and looked 
 thoughtfully out of the window. 
 
 "This hasn t got into your blood yet, eh?" he 
 jerked his thumb toward the hustling street. 
 
 "Not much! It would be fun to watch this 
 racket if a fellow hadn t a conscience. Do you 
 know, I m getting to believe that men and things 
 are built on the same lines. The sweeter the wine, 
 the sharper the vinegar, and you may pound my 
 head for a drum if the smartest man doesn t make 
 the biggest kind of a fool." 
 
 "I guess that s so, if he lets himself go. I m not 
 going to let go." 
 
 Winston looked at Elijah with an expression that 
 might be interpreted as jocular or serious. 
 
 "Hold tight. I ve seen men as sharp as you, 
 crowding another fellow out and blowing hot air 
 into his balloon." 
 
 "Are you getting scared on my account?" Elijah 
 smiled, looking at Winston with confident half- 
 closed eyes. 
 
 "No. If your bearings begin to smoke, I m go- 
 
 26 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 ing to cooi you off. It isn t going to be all lavender 
 and roses, Elijah. You ll find me a pretty trying 
 party at times, I give you fair warning." 
 
 Elijah turned from the window, looking straight 
 at Winston. 
 
 "I m going to begin right now. I ve been at 
 work all night. Now cool off and let s get to 
 work." 
 
 Winston sat down before the drawing-board. 
 
 "Here s the map of the canal line. It isn t 
 inked in yet, but you can see how it s going to come 
 out. There must be two long tunnels; but that s 
 no great matter. It s one of three things. Tunnels, 
 aqueducts, or inverted siphons. It s a toss-up be 
 tween tunnels and aqueducts, so far as cost is con 
 cerned. Siphons will cost about half, but you know 
 what a choke or a break means, so out go siphons." 
 
 "You favor tunnels?" 
 
 "By all means. The ditch line is shortened by 
 them, anyway. You ll save there." 
 
 Elijah gazed long and lovingly at the map, then 
 looked up with a ivli.-vod sigh. 
 
 "Just a little dam will turn the whole stream into 
 the canal." 
 
 "Yes. Just a little dam. That s easy." Wins 
 ton drew a dust cloth over the map and weighted 
 it down. "I wish I could get reliable data on the 
 si/o of the dam it will take to turn some of this 
 fool-money into a channel of common sense. What 
 
 27 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 I am afraid of is, that when this boom breaks, the 
 fools who have not been ruined, will be too badly 
 scared to put money into government bonds, let 
 alone an irrigation plant, and before they recover 
 their wits, they ll either forget that there is such 
 a place as California, or use it to slug themselves 
 with when they feel another fool attack coming 
 on." 
 
 You leave that to me. I ve got something more 
 to show than a sand-flat pegged full of white stakes. 
 Oranges will do better than that. Dry hillsides at 
 nothing a square mile are going to be a thousand 
 an acre when we get water on them." 
 
 "Let up, Elijah. Keep your chips off from that 
 spot. That s a safer proposition than Ysleta lots 
 with hot-air values, but it s the same kind of a 
 wheel after all. If you once get the hum of it in 
 your ears you ll go to pieces like all the rest." 
 
 "Are your estimates completed?" 
 
 "Yes; ready to be typed. You think they d bet 
 ter be typed first, don t you?" 
 
 "Yes. We can have them printed afterward. I 
 don t want anything gorgeous. Just plain, con 
 servative figures. I have my statement of what has 
 been done in the three years on my ranch. There 
 is just one thing I have left out. It would be a 
 telling thing to put in, but I think we can use it to 
 better advantage by keeping it to ourselves." 
 
 "What s that?" 
 
 28 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 Elijah drew a neatly folded sheet from his pocket. 
 It was filled with columns of figures. 
 
 "It s an idea of my own. What do you think 
 of it?" 
 
 Winston looked rapidly over the sheet, then 
 gave a low, meditative whistle. 
 
 "Are you sure of this?" 
 
 "Dead sure. I ve been making observations with 
 self-registering thermometers. That s the result." 
 Elijah pointed to the sheet. 
 
 A frostless belt!" Winston snatched the sheet 
 from his drawing-board and bent over the map, one 
 finger on the sheet, the other eagerly tracing lines 
 on the surface of the map. "That s the greatest 
 thing yet ! There is a big fortune for all of us in 
 that alone." 
 
 Elijah half closed his eyes, his teeth bared with 
 a smile siiLTi:estive of malice. 
 
 "May I offer you some of your advice to me?" 
 
 "Certainly, and I ll take it too, when I need it. 
 But say, Elijah, what in the name of the immortals 
 do you want to leave this out for? It s the most 
 telling thing we ve got." 
 
 Elijah s eyes narrowed closely. 
 
 "I haven t got control of the whole belt yet. 
 That s one thing. Another is, that when orange 
 lands get under way, there s going to be a demand 
 that the frostless belt isn t going to supply." 
 
 Winston s face set. 
 
 29 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "You don t mean that you are going to sell lands 
 for orange ranches that you know won t grow 
 oranges ? 
 
 "I don t know that they won t grow oranges," 
 Elijah answered doggedly. "I only know what 
 will." 
 
 "You are going to let people find that out at 
 their own expense?" 
 
 "Why not? That s the way I got my informa 
 tion." 
 
 There was a contemptuous look on Winston s 
 face. 
 
 "Well, I ll be hanged. God does move in a mys 
 terious way, if you are a fair sample of his stamp 
 ing ground." 
 
 Elijah s face set with resentment. He straight 
 ened his lips for an angry retort, but restrained 
 himself. He ans\vered sullenly. 
 
 "I tell you, I don t know that the land won t 
 grow oranges. I only know what will. I m going 
 to get control of this f rostless belt. I found it and 
 there s nothing wrong in taking advantage of it. 
 Why not tell the Mexicans who own it now and are 
 glad to sell for a dollar an acre, that their land 
 will grow oranges and that it s worth a thousand?" 
 There was a triumphant note in his last words. 
 
 Winston was ready to dismiss this phase of the 
 question. 
 
 "Don t ask me. You settle that between you. I 
 
 30 
 
 / ~ /} J 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 notice that the Almighty isn t a hard one to manage 
 when you take him in your lap and reason with 
 him. He usually comes around to your way of 
 thinking. * 
 
 Elijah s puritanism blinded his eyes to Winston s 
 sarcasm. He saw only the apparently sacrilegious 
 blasphemy of his words. He stood aghast as a 
 superstitious heathen before his smitten idol. His 
 five years of struggle in the West had changed him 
 in no essential point. It had only given room for 
 the full development of the motive that had lain 
 dormant in his former cramped surroundings. Side 
 by side, yet wholly independent the one of the 
 other, his faith in Divine guidance, his reverence 
 for God, his New England land-hunger, his greed 
 for wealth, his lust for power, had grown and were 
 growing with every new opportunity. He had 
 learned to keep in the background, to some extent, 
 the expression of his fanatical beliefs, not because* 
 his personal faith had waned, but in reality because 
 he saw that Divine guidance had less convincing 
 wt-ight with others than the logic of hard, common 
 sense. Ho learned only that which he wished to 
 learn, believed only that which he wished to believe, 
 did only that which he wished to do; not because 
 of conscious hypocrisy, but because his very faith 
 in God s guidance had blinded his eyes to its recog 
 nition and forbidden him to question his own de 
 sires. 
 
 31 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 Elijah thought quickly. Even Winston was 
 hardly aware of the pause that ensued after his 
 last words. 
 
 "We re drifting from our point. The water 
 question comes first. The other can come up later." 
 
 "A good deal later, I hope," Winston replied 
 drily., "Let s get over to Miss Lonsdale s office. 
 She s doing my clerical work now. 
 
 Winston was not slow in noting signs and he 
 had seen a good many in his relations with Elijah 
 which had disquieted him. He went steadily on 
 his way, however, confident in his own strength. 
 He gathered a few papers in his hand and with 
 Elijah went out into the street. They entered 
 another redwood cottage that bore a sign, announc 
 ing, "Helen Lonsdale, Stenographer, Typewriter 
 and Notary Public." 
 
 "Miss Lonsdale, my friend, Mr. Berl. We want 
 some work done right away. Can you attend to 
 it?" 
 
 Miss Lonsdale acknowledged the introduction, 
 swept aside a litter of papers, stripped a half-writ 
 ten page from her machine, drew forth a note-book, 
 and, after pushing her cuffs from her wrists, as 
 sumed a waiting attitude. 
 
 Winston addressed Elijah. 
 
 1 I guess you re fixed now. You go on with Helen 
 and I ll get back to my work. If you need me, 
 I ll come in." Then he left the office. 
 
 32 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 Elijah had all but forgotten his business in the 
 contemplation of the girl before him. It was with 
 an almost unconscious feeling of resentment that 
 he heard Winston call her familiarly "Helen." 
 
 "I am afraid, Miss Lonsdale," he began, when 
 he was interrupted. 
 
 "You can call me Helen. Every one does. It 
 saves time. Time is money, pretty fast too, just 
 now." The words were spoken with a light ripple. 
 
 It faintly occurred to Elijah that he had heard 
 something like her laughter before. There was a 
 suggestion of fresh, crisp air, the opening of 
 spring, of young green plants pushing through the 
 black soil beside New England brooks. There was 
 a further suggestion that very hard stones in the 
 brook caused the soft ripples. One look in the 
 great, liquid, black eyes that absorbed everything 
 and gave back nothing, took away the disagreeable 
 impression and replaced it with one more agreeable. 
 There was no perceptible pause, for while Elijah s 
 thoughts were busy with Helen Lonsdale, his hands 
 were assorting his papers. He turned to Helen. 
 
 "I was going to say, that I am afraid this work 
 will be rather dry." 
 
 Helen vouchsafed no reply, but, with eyes now 
 bent upon her note-book and pencil ready poised 
 for action, waited for Elijah. IU> bc^an rather 
 slowly and awkwardly. II was unaccustomed to 
 dictation, and besides he was conscious of Helen 
 
 33 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 Lonsd ale s beauty; but more and more rapidly he 
 went on, as he forgot all else in the absorbing in 
 terest of his subject. He sorted paper from paper, 
 went from point to point, clearly and logically, 
 down to the last figure that Winston had given 
 him. He hardly noted the flying fingers and mov 
 ing hand that drew lines, and hooks, and dots, and 
 dashes with the graceful ease and regularity of 
 an inanimate machine. At length he paused, fold 
 ing his papers. 
 
 Helen threw down her pencil and straightened 
 her cramped fingers. 
 
 "Well!" she exclaimed. "You have given me 
 the time of my life ! I was on the point of calling 
 you off once or twice; but I didn t. I ll read it 
 over to you now and see if I have made any mis 
 takes." 
 
 Elijah s face was eager, partly from Helen s in 
 direct praise, but more from the enthusiasm of his 
 subject. 
 
 "Aren t you tired?" he asked. 
 
 "Tired!" she repeated. "This doesn t make me 
 tired. It s more fun than a toboggan slide. It s 
 these everlasting drones who make me tired. Fel 
 lows who haven t anything to say and who don t 
 know how to get at it." She took her note-book 
 and began reading rapidly. Elijah listened, watch 
 ing her through his narrowed eyes. She laid her 
 note-book down. 
 
 34 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "How is it!" 
 
 "Perfect. You ve got everything." 
 
 That s a great piece of work you ve got blocked 
 out." Helen s voice was approving. 
 
 "The work is not mine." 
 
 "No?" Helen s eyes were opened wide. 
 
 "No." Elijah s face drooped in reverent lines. 
 * It has been given me to do. * 
 
 "A-a-h!" Helen dared to commit herself no 
 farther. She could not trust her eyes even. Her 
 lids veiled them and her face assumed a look of 
 non-committal interest. Elijah was a new species. 
 She had no pigeonhole, even in the wide experience 
 of her limited years, ready made into which she 
 could thrust him. 
 
 Elijah felt impelled to go farther. He wanted 
 to look again into the great, black eyes. He steered 
 boldly into a sea where many a time before no less 
 confident mariners had as boldly entered and had 
 come to grief. 
 
 He told of his coming to California, of his life 
 after reaching his goal, and how, little by little, the 
 great work he was engaged upon had been revealed 
 to him. lie did not speak freely at first, only wln-n 
 he saw recognition and appreciation in Helen s 
 face. If she was surprised at the freedom with 
 which Elijah spoke to her, she was too wise to show 
 it. Though not heralding the fact, she never tried 
 to conceal that she was not in business for her 
 
 35 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 health or from purely philanthropic motives. She 
 was no innocent fledgeling, nor was her knowledge 
 purchased with sacrifice. Individuality was the at 
 mosphere which surrounded her; an atmosphere 
 where everyone was somebody or nobody. She was 
 simply determined to be somebody. She was beau 
 tiful. She knew that. She had a clear, alert mind, 
 a quick grasp, a ready tact, a capacity for throwing 
 herself heart and soul into any work that came to 
 her hands to do. She valued these as effective tools 
 with which to shape her ambition, to individualize 
 herself, to get on in the world. She had a heart; 
 but of this she was not conscious. She had innate 
 honesty and she was a woman. It had never oc 
 curred to her that a woman s heart and a woman s 
 sense of honor were liable to become paradoxes with 
 the certain death of one. She looked frankly at 
 Elijah, not concealing her interest. 
 
 "Your work is the kind of thing that s going to 
 save this part of California." Helen spoke with 
 conviction. 
 
 "You don t approve of all this?" Elijah glanced 
 toward the bustling street. 
 
 "No. You ve been giving me figures, now I ll 
 give you some. This city, two miles wide, is laid out 
 in streets three miles long. Sixty blocks long and 
 forty wide ; two thousand four hundred blocks. At 
 one hundred dollars a front foot (that was the price. 
 a few minutes ago), Ysleta is selling at the rate of 
 
 36 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 two hundred and fifty-three million, four hundred 
 and forty thousand dollars, unimproved." 
 
 Elijah looked at her in surprise. She too had 
 been thinking in figures for herself. 
 
 "Who gave you these figures?" 
 
 Helen laughed. She had noted Elijah s surprise 
 and had divined its cause. 
 
 Wait. That isn t all. Before there can be any 
 solid returns in this investment, it will have to be 
 trebled at least, for sewers, pavements, sidewalks, 
 and buildings. We will leave out odd hundred 
 thousands, only millions count now." She smiled* 
 "Seven hundred and fifty million dollars at least. 
 Let s see about the population. At five hundred 
 and twenty to the block, Ysleta should have a popu 
 lation of one million, two hundred and forty thou 
 sand. Quite a neat little town for a new country!" 
 
 Elijah s surprise grew. Helen was not even con 
 sulting notes. 
 
 "The total population of California isn t a mil 
 lion today. Most of these are miners, the next 
 greater part live in towns. Hardly half are en 
 gaged in agriculture. How would Ysleta be fed, 
 where would it get money to pay?" 
 
 Elijah s face showed still greater surprise. 
 
 "What put these figures into your head?" 
 
 Helen laughed sarcastically. 
 
 "I was advised to invest in building lots, so I 
 looked the matter up. I am jrivinpr you these figures 
 
 37 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 so you can see that I know how to appreciate what 
 your work means. Her face sobered. She screwed 
 paper and carbons into her machine and opened 
 her note-book. She did not raise her eyes from her 
 work. 
 
 "Don t wait, Mr. Berl. I ll have the work done 
 in three hours." 
 
 Elijah left the office half dazed. Every word of 
 Helen Lonsdale smote hard and deep. Not alone 
 because of their surprising nature, but because his 
 own work had never before appeared so worth 
 while. Heretofore it had only appeared great in 
 itself. Now it stood out gigantic by contrast. He 
 was pleasantly conscious of another element that 
 was entering his life for the first time; the sym 
 pathetic interest of an intelligent woman. 
 
 Punctually at the appointed time, Elijah re 
 turned. Helen was still busily at work. 
 
 "Am I too soon?" he asked. 
 
 She handed him a neatly enclosed package. 
 
 "That s all right, I think. Do you want to open 
 an account, or will this be all?" 
 
 Elijah spoke very deliberately. 
 
 "I will open an account. I shall have more 
 work." 
 
 "Very well. I send out monthly statements to 
 my regular customers." Her eyes were again fol 
 lowing her note-book, her fingers working at the 
 rattling keys. 
 
 38 
 
CHAPTER FOUR 
 
 It was well that the work which Helen was doing 
 when Elijah left the office was mechanical, else it 
 might have lacked the finish which made her in 
 demand above all others. She could not keep her 
 thoughts from this man and his work. With a 
 frown, she glanced at her watch. Returning it to 
 her belt, she drew her finished work from her ma 
 chine and began to put the office in order. She 
 stood absently before a mirror as she pinned her 
 hat in place, turning with perfunctory pats here 
 and there, touching a stray lock into order and 
 smoothing down her gown. She passed out into the 
 street, locking the door behind her, and turned to 
 Winston s office. Her light footsteps as she entered, 
 did not arouse his attention. For a moment she 
 stood, looking at him as he bent over his work. 
 
 "You are cordial, I must confess." 
 
 Ralph looked up. 
 
 1 Ah ! What s the matter ? he concluded, noting 
 her sober face. 
 
 "What is the matter!" 
 
 "Why, you re as solemn as an owl." 
 
 "Do you object to my sitting down for a mo 
 ment!" 
 
 39 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "Not for two moments. I m glad to see you." 
 Winston rose hastily and swung a chair into posi 
 tion. 
 
 " That s better, 7 she approved. 
 
 "Good! Now if you ll get better, I shall know 
 where I m at." 
 
 "I ve come here to find out where I m at." 
 
 "If you are lost, it s the first time, I m thinking, 
 and I m not so sure that I can set you straight." 
 
 " I 11 take my chances. Who is Elijah Berl ? 
 
 Winston laughed. 
 
 "Oh, he s gotten hold of you, has he?" 
 
 "No, he hasn t ; but I want to get hold of him to 
 the extent of five thousand dollars. That is the 
 limit of my cash money." 
 
 Winston smiled tolerantly. 
 
 "Elijah has certainly missed his calling. If he 
 can work you up five thousand dollars worth in an 
 hour or so, I ll play him the limit against Wall 
 street." 
 
 "No you won t. You don t know Elijah Berl." 
 
 "Then what are you asking me about him for?" 
 
 "Oh! that was just a starter. I had to begin 
 somewhere." 
 
 "Isn t five thousand dollars a pretty heavy 
 starter for you, Helen?" Winston asked the ques 
 tion soberly, for he saw that Helen was in earnest. 
 
 "No. I ve kept out of Ysleta because it wasn t 
 
 40 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 worth while. I want to get into Las Cruces because 
 it is." 
 
 "It may be, Helen. It is full of promise, but it 
 may not mature. I know the proposition pretty 
 thoroughly and I know Elijah Berl. The elements 
 of this may not be so solid as they appear." 
 
 "The watershed is all right, isn t it?" 
 
 "Without a question." 
 
 * The water can be brought from the reservoir to 
 the lands?" 
 
 "No question about that, either." 
 
 "And the land is fertile and suited to oranges?" 
 
 "That s true too, but it needs money." 
 
 "You 11 get that all right." 
 
 "I expect to, without doubt." 
 
 Helen had spoken with growing animation. 
 
 "Then the whole doubt in your mind centres in 
 Elijah Berl?" 
 
 "You ve hit it exactly." 
 
 "And yet you are a friend of Elijah s?" There 
 was a touch of contempt in her voice. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Then I must say that I don t value your friend 
 ship quite so highly as I did." Helen made no at 
 tempt to conceal her disapproval. 
 
 Winston spoke deliberately, weighing every 
 word. 
 
 "I m sorry to hear you say that, Helen. Your 
 friendship means a great deal to me. Just remem- 
 
 41 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 her that in a way you have come to me for advice. 
 If not advice exactly, you really ask for the ap 
 proval of what I cannot approve without reserve. 
 I have counted you as my friend. If I have seemed 
 to be a traitor to Elijah, it is only that I might be 
 true to you. I would not say to any one else what 
 I have said to you." 
 
 Helen s resentment died away before Winston s 
 words. 
 
 "You haven t answered my first question yet. 
 You seem able, if you only will. 
 
 "In a way, yes. Elijah Berl and I are partners." 
 
 "Partners!" Helen did not try to conceal her 
 surprise. 
 
 "Yes. The agreement was signed today. Elijah 
 was more than generous in his terms." 
 
 "And yet you could say what you did of him !" 
 
 "Yes. I gave him fair warning. I didn t tell 
 him in so many words that I distrusted him; I 
 simply said that our different views of things might 
 in the future bring us into conflict. If he couldn t 
 understand that, it was useless to say more." 
 
 "And yet, distrusting him, you have tied your 
 self to him. It doesn t seem quite harmonious to 
 me and not a bit like you." 
 
 "It isn t harmonious. Nothing is, for that mat 
 ter, unless you make it so." 
 
 "Then the success of the whole business depends 
 upon your ability to manage Elijah Berl?" 
 
 42 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "That s about the gist of it." 
 "Yours must be a comfortable state of mind." 
 There was sarcasm in the voice. 
 
 "I am speaking as freely to you, Helen, as I do 
 to myself. I thought our standing would allow 
 that." 
 
 Helen made no reply. She sat gazing absently 
 into the street. She was in an uncomfortable frame 
 of mind. Twice that day she had been swept hither 
 and thither under influences outside herself. It 
 was unusual for her and it was discomposing. The 
 Las Cruces Irrigation Company had looked so 
 safe as a permanent and a big paying investment, 
 and Elijah Berl himself had stirred her as she had 
 never before been stirred. And now Ralph Win 
 ston had told her in so many words that she did not 
 know what she was about. She resented this hotly. 
 She resented it the more strongly, because she 
 recognized the injustice she was doing Ralph. It 
 was long before she had herself under control. At 
 length she turned from the street and looked at 
 Winston. 
 
 "I had a letter from home today." 
 
 Winston responded eagerly to her changed mood. 
 
 "How are they all?" 
 
 "Just as well as ever. Mother says that father 
 bobbed up from under that anti-debris decision 
 like a cork in salt water. He says he is going to 
 put up a dam that the debris commission can t look 
 
 43 
 
THE VISION OP ELIJAH BERL 
 
 over in a week s climbing. Jimmie is his ablest as 
 sistant." 
 
 "Little rascal! Say, Helen, you ought to take 
 him in hand and make him go to college. You re 
 the only one who can manage him. He has the 
 making of one of the biggest engineers in the 
 country." 
 
 1 Why don t you try your hand, Ralph ? Mother 
 says that you are his god yet. When he gets cor 
 nered, he insists that his way is just what Mr. Win 
 ston would do, and there he sticks. Father and 
 mother both ask when you are coming back." 
 
 Winston shook his head almost regretfully. 
 
 "I sometimes wish I had never left, but that s 
 too late now. When I get a little despondent, the 
 roar of the monitors eating into the gravel, the 
 swish of the water and the clatter of boulders in 
 the sluices get into my ears till I m nearly wild." 
 
 "That is all over now. When I came away there 
 were only a few discouraged miners digging in the 
 banks and listening for the officers to come around 
 and stop even that." 
 
 Winston went on even more regretfully. 
 
 "And I remember when you and I went barefoot, 
 wading around with gold pans and scrapping as to 
 which had the biggest pan 
 
 Helen rose to go. Her intuition told her that 
 they were on dangerous ground. 
 
 "Old things and times are gone. We have put 
 
 44 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 away childish things and gold pans, for something 
 new." 
 
 Winston took her hand. A momentary pressure 
 on her part and she withdrew it. She could not 
 look into his eyes. 
 
 "Be careful about the new, Helen. There s 
 fool s gold in these diggings too." 
 
 " Which reminds me, our last scrap as children 
 was over that very thing." 
 
 Then the door closed behind her and Winston 
 was alone. 
 
 45 
 
CHAPTER FIVE 
 
 A country that has yielded a billion and a half 
 of gold is, perforce, well and favorably known to 
 the uttermost parts of the earth. Though the 
 stream of yellow wealth diminishes, or even ceases 
 to flow, yet the channel is carved through which 
 the thoughts of men longingly roll. Upon such a 
 land no limit^of impossibility is placed. Upon what 
 has been, the faith of man lays the foundations of 
 nobler structures yet to be. The structures may 
 rise and fall, but the foundation yet remains. It 
 matters not to the builders of golden castles that, 
 between the gold fields of California and the line 
 that marked another nation, the whole of New 
 England could lie, like an island in a sea of desert 
 sand ; California was yet California, and the Pacto- 
 lean sands of the Cascades and the Sierras spread 
 their yellow sheen over the whole vast expanse of 
 mountain, and valley, and desert. 
 
 Winston was right. The gold that had flowed 
 to the Eastward was now returning in heavy waves. 
 From the pockets of idle tourists, it was scattered 
 with lavish hand. From the pockets of gamblers, 
 
 46 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 it came also ; gamblers who, with trembling fingers, 
 placed their gold on checkered town-lots, and 
 waited for the spinning wheel to return it with 
 usury, and went out white and haggard when the 
 croupier declared against them. It came in the 
 pockets of shrewd-eyed men who parted with it for 
 a proper consideration, or not at all. 
 
 Into this stream of wealth, Winston was plan 
 ning to build his dam. His efforts were rewarded 
 more abundantly and sooner than either he or the 
 more sanguine Elijah had expected. 
 
 Elijah had suggested a movement on the specula 
 tors in Ysleta lots, but against this Winston had 
 set his hand. 
 
 "We don t want floaters; we want stayers. I 
 met a man in the crowd yesterday who s a stayer 
 all right. I think he ll come in. If he does, it will 
 make me feel good in more ways than one. He s 
 got money and he s got a head that tells him where 
 there s more." 
 
 "What s his name?" 
 
 "Seymour. He ll be in, in a day or two, to look 
 the matter up. That young orange grove of yours 
 took his hard head by storm. He didn t do a thing 
 yesterday but roll those navels that Amy gave him, 
 in his list, all the way down. He would ha\v rubbed 
 them under his nose if he hadn t boon afraid to 
 trust his teeth. As it was, he kept smelling of his 
 
 47 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 fingers. Didn t say a word!" Winston laughed. 
 "It makes us feel good, doesn t it, Elijah?" 
 
 A few days later, they were again in Winston s 
 office, awaiting the coming of Seymour. 
 
 Winston turned to Elijah. 
 
 "You remember Helen Lonsdale?" 
 
 "Yes, what about her?" Elijah looked up ques- 
 tioningly. 
 
 "What did you make out of her?" 
 
 "She appeared to be a very able young woman." 
 
 "You don t think she would get stampeded very 
 easily, do you?" 
 
 I hardly think so. Elijah smiled. She gave 
 me some very telling reasons for keeping out of 
 Ysleta lots." 
 
 "And you gave her some pretty convincing rea 
 sons for thinking that orange trees on a hillside 
 would grow better crops than corner stakes on a 
 sand dune." 
 
 "What makes you think so?" 
 
 "Because you hadn t been gone an hour before 
 she was in here and wanted to know if she could 
 get into this building on the ground floor. She 
 said she had a few thousands that she wanted to put 
 in a good thing." 
 
 "You told her yes, didn t you?" Elijah s voice 
 was eager. 
 
 "I told her no. " 
 
 "You ought to have taken her up." 
 
 48 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "I don t know about that. This business is a 
 sure thing one way, but in another, it isn t. It s 
 a big thing. If we can swing it, it s all right. If 
 a n t, it s going to go hard with the small fry. 
 I may want to look into those big black eyes of hers 
 again sometime. * 
 
 "Why haven t you introduced me to Helen 
 Lonsdale before?" 
 
 Winston was surprised, more at the manner of 
 Elijah s question than at the question itself. He 
 shifted the onus of the surprise to Elijah s shoul 
 ders. 
 
 " Why should I?" he asked bluntly. 
 
 "That s a Yankee trick, not a Calif ornian s," re 
 torted Elijah. 
 
 I m not too old to learn." 
 
 Elijah laughed consciously. 
 
 "It doesn t matter. We re acquainted now." 
 
 "It s up to you to make it worth her while to 
 it up. She s rather particular about her 
 friends." 
 
 Elijah was irritated, and not for the first time 
 in his relations with Winston. Winston seemed to 
 him to be contradictory. At times he was defer 
 ential to the point of enthusiasm ; at times reserved, 
 if not cynical. Elijah was not a close reasoner 
 and he failed to understand that Winston s prin 
 ciples were a kind of moral straight-edge which he 
 
 49 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 applied impartially. Winston had no hesitancy in 
 calling attention to discrepancies. 
 
 " Helen Londsdale is a mighty bright girl. She 
 may be of use to us/ hazarded Elijah. 
 
 Winston s momentary glance was searching. 
 
 I expect she will be, he answered curtly. 
 
 After a short pause, Elijah resumed the broken 
 conversation. 
 
 "You re going for Seymour?" 
 
 "Oh, yes. That s all right. A few hundred 
 thousand wouldn t hurt Seymour. Five thousand 
 would break Helen Lonsdale. Beside, if Seymour 
 takes hold of it, it s going." 
 
 Elijah changed the point bluntly. 
 
 "Well, who s going to do the talking? You ve 
 done all the work and made out the estimates ; you d 
 better. We don t want to make any mistakes." 
 
 "That s all right Elijah, but it isn t always the 
 folks who make the cartridges that shoot the 
 straightest. I 11 stand by to furnish ammunition if 
 you run short, but you work the trigger." Win 
 ston laughed. "I loaded him with estimates and 
 facts. They re good so far as they go; but you 
 know that champagne is pretty flat without the fizz. 
 Here he comes now." 
 
 A man of medium height entered the office. There 
 was more than a suggestion of iron about him. 
 Iron-gray hair and mustache ; steely, quick moving 
 eyes, but not restless; hard lines that blocked out 
 
 50 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 close-set lips; a firm decided step. Withal, a not 
 unpleasant man; but one who suggested that the 
 pleasure of acquiring money and the pleasure of 
 spending it, had appropriate and distinct seasons. 
 He acknowledged Winston s introduction with a 
 quick look at Elijah. 
 
 "From what Mr. Winston said, I expected to 
 meet an older man, Mr. Berl." 
 
 "That s all right, Mr. Seymour, " Winston put 
 in. "We don t put new wine in old bottles out 
 here. This is a new country. Elijah is a new 
 man, and he s chuck full of new ideas." 
 
 "I m getting near enough to the age limit to 
 make your figure rather doubtful, so far as I am 
 concerned." Seymour s features relaxed in a grim 
 smile as he pointed to his gray hair. 
 
 " \Ve don t count a horse old, so long as he can 
 kick the top rail off a fence." 
 
 Seymour looked closely at Winston, but made 
 no reply. He began to talk with Elijah. At first, 
 Elijah was conscious of the momentous importance 
 of the interview : but this did not prevent him from 
 grasping the import of Seymour s questions and 
 answering clearly and to the point. Gradually he 
 lost himself in his subject and poured forth fact 
 after fact, estimate on estimate, with such rapidity 
 that Seymour felt compelled at times to interrupt 
 him. 
 
 "This is new business to me, Mr. Berl. I can t 
 
 51 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 keep up with you." He spoke sharply, almost im 
 patiently, but his manner showed that he was 
 deeply impressed, both with the proposition and 
 with Elijah himself. 
 
 "That is a strong presentation of your proposi 
 tion, Mr. Berl. Now I want a few definite answers 
 to definite questions. As I understand you, you 
 propose to do something entirely new. What war 
 rant have you for believing that oranges can be 
 successfully grown in this district ? Oranges are a 
 tropical fruit." 
 
 "People are used to thinking that oranges are a 
 tropical fruit. They aren t. Look at Spain, and 
 France, and Italy. They are famous for this very 
 fruit. Here," Elijah swept his hands around, 
 "those conditions are reproduced. Here are the 
 San Bernadinos, there the Pacific, between are des 
 ert hills. Bring water to this sunshine and soil, 
 and California will become the garden of the New 
 World." 
 
 Seymour smiled at Elijah s enthusiasm. His 
 words were fervid, but Seymour realized their 
 truth. 
 
 "That s all right for Spain, and Italy and the 
 rest; but those countries are only a few hours by 
 water from three hundred millions of people, while 
 California is six days by rail from sixty millions, 
 and high rate express at that." 
 
 Elijah s face lost none of its assurance; but his 
 
 52 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 ryes half closed as he grasped Seymour s import. 
 He answered with less fire but no less conviction. 
 
 "I ll take your estimate of sixty millions and six 
 days express. Suppose that each of those sixty 
 millions ate only two oranges a year, that calls for 
 one hundred and twenty millions. If these oranges 
 sold at five cents, there are six million dollars in a 
 year. That s worth while, isn t it?" 
 
 Seymour nodded assent and Elijah resumed. He 
 pointed out the cost of the land, of water, the care 
 of the orchards, express rates and other charges. 
 
 "Taking all this into account, your net yield on 
 your investment will be at least fifteen percent." 
 
 Seymour again smiled. 
 
 "That s all right too; but it hasn t been proved 
 that California will produce one hundred and 
 twenty million oranges." 
 
 Elijah was nettled. It irritated him to be ques 
 tioned too closely. He was too thoroughly con 
 vinced, too thoroughly in earnest. 
 
 "No one believed in the Western hemisphere till 
 Columbus found it." 
 
 Seymour paid no attention to Elijah s impa 
 tience. He had a concentrated look on his face. 
 II spoke again sharply and decidedly. 
 
 "You believe in this thing. So do I. If suitable 
 t.Tins can be arranged, I am prepared to back my 
 belief with cash." 
 
 "To what extent?" Elijah asked briefly. 
 
 53 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "A hundred thousand or so. Think over what 
 you will do and I will be in again, in an hour. 
 If your terms are all right, I ll get the money for 
 you at once." He left the office. 
 
 Elijah turned jubilantly to Winston. 
 
 "We re all right now." 
 
 "For a starter." Winston was sober. 
 
 "What do you mean?" Elijah spoke sharply. 
 
 "We ve got a hundred thousand dollars. That s 
 one thing. Now it s up to us to make it pay. 
 That s another." Winston did not lack confidence 
 or faith. He was realizing his responsibilities. 
 
 They began arranging terms for the transfer of 
 an interest. Elijah, full of the enthusiasm of suc 
 cess, could hardly pin himself down to details. His 
 years of dreams were being realized. He was look 
 ing upon a step as taken. With his foot as yet 
 hardly lifted, already he was looking toward other 
 paths. Winston held him down to the present. 
 
 At the appointed hour, Seymour reappeared. 
 The terms offered were satisfactory. 
 
 "I must get back East and attend to my other 
 business. I shall have to trust this to you." 
 
 Perhaps it was a mistake; but Winston had the 
 feeling that Seymour s eyes rested upon him with 
 his last words, that it was to him that the work was 
 entrusted, that upon him was the responsibility, 
 that he would be the one called to account. This 
 
 54 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 did not oppress him ; it sobered him. As Seymour 
 finally left the office, Winston turned to Elijah. 
 "It s up to us now to show what there is in us." 
 
 55 
 
CHAPTER SIX 
 
 It did not follow because Seymour had promised 
 to back the Las Cruces Water Company to the ex 
 tent of one hundred thousand dollars, that he in- 
 tended to put in that amount of his own money; 
 nor because he had promised a certain sum, that 
 that sum was the limit. He had become thoroughly 
 convinced that the enterprise was well conceived 
 and that with proper management it was bound 
 to succeed and to " succeed big." He wisely con 
 cluded that those who had conceived the project 
 and had figured out so minutely the cost and detail, 
 were the proper ones to trust with its execution. 
 He was too cold blooded to be figurative, but Win 
 ston s figure to Elijah exactly expressed his attitude 
 of mind. Elijah furnished the fizz of enthusiasm, 
 while Winston supplied the necessary body to the 
 wine, with his well-balanced, matter-of-fact mind. 
 There was nothing in his contract to prevent his 
 disposing at par of one half of the two hundred 
 thousand shares which he had acquired at fifty, 
 and this was the step which he proposed to take 
 and which he did take. He too regarded the la 
 borer as worthy of his hire. 
 
 56 
 
THE VISION OP ELIJAH BEKI, 
 
 Mr. Seymour was a business man. lie was 
 shivwd and he was very successful. It did not nee- j 
 
 irily follow that he was unscrupulous. In fact, 
 from a purely business standpoint, he was not ; but 
 he had no Quixotic limitations to the end that he 
 was his brother s keeper. The world was full of 
 disastrous mistakes; he took it as he found it. He 
 did not count as a sin of his own, the omission to do 
 good unto others when opportunity offered ; but he 
 regarded the opportunity as an indication of sin or 
 at least of poor judgment in his fellow. He was a 
 church communicant in good and regular standing; 
 but religion was one thing, business another. He 
 did not search the scriptures either for approbation 
 or for defense. He acted upon the principle that 
 offenses must be and that woe was the lot of the one 
 through whom they came. The woo that was visited 
 upon the offender was in reality no less a reward of 
 merit than the benefit which accrued to the one who 
 
 vise enough to take advantage of the offense. 
 He never pointed to the decaloirue with the SMIULT 
 
 ;<>n that this had been kept from his youth 
 up. If his business record did not show this, words 
 would be useless. lie wasted no love on his neigh- J 
 bor, for love was a dissipater of energy. Love 
 engendered pity, pity sacrifice, and sacrifice pre 
 cluded success. Every tub must stand on its own 
 bottom. If his neighbor s tub leaked, it was his 
 neighbor s fault for not keeping it calked. His 
 
 57 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 neighbor had no ground for complaint if the liquor 
 which he spilled, was gathered by a more fitting 
 
 Mr. Seymour s one hundred thousand shares of 
 Las Cruces had cost him nothing, save a little en 
 ergy. If he did no better, he would have so much 
 clear. That was worth while. If Winston and 
 Berl made a mess of the affair, that was no concern 
 of his. One man s extremity was to him another 
 man s opportunity. He intended to be the other 
 man. Elijah was an enthusiast, Winston a profes 
 sional man. Enthusiasm would inflate iridescent 
 bubbles, professional pride would be an absorbing 
 end in itself. Both were essential, neither would 
 necessarily supply the third element of success, 
 business acumen. At the proper time he would 
 supply this himself and at his own price. In any 
 event, he would be perfectly safe. 
 
 The orderly bustle which succeeded Seymour s 
 departure, argued well for the success of the new 
 company. Experienced Ysleta boomers saw in 
 "Las Cruces" a new kind of boom, and beyond of 
 fering to put their experience and methods at the 
 service of the new company, did nothing further. 
 The idea of taking up land on a venture near 
 Elijah s ranch, was discussed, but the conclusion 
 was reached that this land was too far from Ysleta 
 to be advantageous and that attention distracted 
 from their own kettle of fish would result in the 
 
 58 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 deadening of the fires that wore keeping their own 
 pot boilinpr. 
 
 The division of the entailed labor fell naturally. 
 The engineering work demanded Winston s pres 
 ence in the field. The office duties fell to 
 Elijah. It was Winston who suggested to Elijah 
 the necessity of a bookkeeper and that there was 
 no one better fitted in every way than Helen Lons- 
 dale. Winston had no doubts of Elijah s inten 
 tional integrity and he had great confidence in 
 Helen Lonsdale s ability both in business and in 
 looking out for herself. So she was installed as an 
 essential feature of the company. She felt herself 
 in a position of great and growing responsibility. 
 
 Days slipped into weeks and weeks into months 
 with the easy motion of well-organized work. 
 Helen hardly surpassed Winston s expectations, 
 but as he darted in and out of the office, full of his 
 work, he felt no more than a passing sense of satis 
 faction at the readiness with which everything that 
 he wanted came to his hands. Helen might have a 
 personal pride in never being caught unprepared, 
 but she never displayed the emotion. It was Win 
 ston himself who was first caught off his guard. 
 II o rushed into the office one afternoon with a look 
 of annoyance, almost of disgust on his face. 
 
 "I ve made a moss, Ilelon. I want you to help 
 me out." 
 
 59 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 Short of powder at No. 1 ? " Helen hardly looked 
 up from her work. 
 
 "Yes. How did you know?" 
 
 "I ordered two tons from the magazine. It s on 
 its way there now. 
 
 "Good! But how did you know that I was 
 short ?" 
 
 "From the reports. I thought you wouldn t be 
 in, so I ordered it." 
 
 "You are a jewel, Helen. I haven t had time to 
 tell you so before, but I ve known it all along." 
 
 "Jewels are ornamental, not useful." 
 
 "You are both." 
 
 Helen glanced at the clock. 
 
 "Office hours aren t over yet and the company 
 isn t paying me to trade sugar plums." 
 
 "All right. I ll see you off shift sometime." 
 
 Elijah s work kept him much in the office and he 
 was held to business quite as closely as was Winston. 
 Helen showed her appreciation of his work by say 
 ing nothing, but doing everything that came to 
 her hands. He longed to drink of the sparkling 
 waters of his dreams, and with all that was in her, 
 Helen was trying to convert these iridescent 
 dreams into material facts. Elijah longed also to 
 see Helen s eyes kindle, to hear her words of com 
 mendation; but she never spoke now of his idea. 
 Thus it happened that one phase of his nature was 
 hungered, the other fully satisfied. 
 
 60 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 Poor Amy was the only party to the new order of 
 things who was unhappy. She had accepted the 
 necessity of Elijah s absence at the Ysleta office, 
 not with resignation, but with unprotesting grief. 
 She regarded this as the dregs of her cup of bit 
 terness; but when she learned of Elijah s assistant, 
 she discovered her mistake. She mourned over his 
 absence, yet utterly refused to consider the idea of 
 moving to Ysleta. He must come to her at her 
 bidding; she could not bring herself to go to him 
 at his. This was her touchstone of love and devo 
 tion. It was failing her, and in sackcloth and ashes 
 she was mourning it. She made a brave attempt at 
 cheerfulness when Elijah broached the subject, but 
 she could neither keep the color in her cheeks nor 
 her lips steady when she made reply. 
 
 * Don t ask me, Elijah. I can t bear it. 
 
 "Why?" he asked in surprise. 
 
 "Because," she paused for a moment. "We 
 have been here almost four years, just you, and I 
 and th children. Every spot of it is a part of you. 
 It would be like death to leave it. While you are 
 away, I shall look forward to your coming back. 
 If I should go to Ysleta, you wouldn t be coming 
 back." 
 
 "Of course not. I d be there all the time. You d 
 have lots of company. I could run in to lunch and 
 bring my friends." Elijah lifted his head and 
 squared his shoulders. lie caught not the slightest 
 
 61 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 glimpse of Amy s real feeling. His words and 
 gestures showed that only too plainly even to her. 
 
 Amy smiled wanly. 
 
 "I wouldn t have you all to myself there. I 
 would rather have you all to myself part of the 
 time, than part of you all the time." It was a tre 
 mendous thought for Amy. She almost stood in 
 awe of herself over its utterance. 
 
 "You are a silly goose." Elijah caught her in 
 his arms and swung her to and fro as if she were 
 a child. "You have me all the time, wherever I 
 am." 
 
 Amy lay in his arms with closed eyes. The color 
 came back to her face. It was only a dream; a 
 dream of what had been. She knew it was only a 
 dream and she tried to close her mental eyes to this 
 knowledge. She was aroused when Elijah set her 
 on her feet. 
 
 "I have lots to do at the office now." 
 
 Amy s face showed a sudden gleam of inspiration. 
 
 * Couldn t I be in the office with you ? 
 
 * * Of course not, goose. You d be in the way. 
 
 "Is the bookkeeper in the way?" The words 
 were almost gasped. 
 
 "Of course not. She d be in the way if she 
 wasn t there." 
 
 "Why?" The word was spoken perforce and 
 with fear. 
 
 62 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "Because I couldn t get along without her. She s 
 no end of help to me in my work." 
 
 "Couldn t I help you? I would try hard." 
 
 Elijah laughed long and loud. Not brutally, at 
 least he had no intention of brutality; but the 
 thought of Amy s doing Helen Lonsdale s work in 
 cited his thoughtless mirth. It was inconsiderate 
 rather than thoughtless, for he had not personified 
 Amy s words. Her white face brought the truth 
 home. He grew sober. 
 
 Xot the way you mean, Amy. You will have 
 to help me in your way, and Miss Lonsdale in an 
 other. Goodbye, dear. Don t scare yourself with 
 pictures, as I said before." 
 
 Amy watched him as on a former occasion; then 
 she had thought her lot hard. She would now be 
 glad to exchange forever and to ask no more. Then, 
 she feared. Now she knew that there were others, 
 In-side herself, upon whom Elijah depended. 
 Farther, she could not go, for she could not see her 
 <;wn limitations. 
 
 At his office in Ysleta, Elijah found Helen Lons 
 dale bent over a map and oblivious to her surround 
 ings. A pad and pencil were at her elbow. She was 
 tracing the map with one finger which occasionally 
 recurred to one point, while with the other hand 
 she was apparently recording memoranda. Fin 
 ally the maps were pushed aside and pad and pen 
 cil absorbed her entire attention. There were pauses 
 
 63 
 
THE VISION OP ELIJAH BERL 
 
 during which she looked at the map, ran over her 
 figures and then her pencil flew over the pad more 
 rapidly than before. At length she sat up straight, 
 spread the slips of paper before her, and, rolling 
 her pencil meditatively between her fingers, ap 
 peared absorbed in thought. 
 
 "You seem to be deeply interested." Elijah was 
 standing at the door of the inner office. 
 
 Helen turned her head sharply. 
 
 "You re just in time to sign these letters before 
 the mail closes." 
 
 Elijah seated himself at his desk and signed the 
 letters, as one by one, she placed them before him. 
 
 "Do you want to look them over?" she asked. 
 
 "No, you never make mistakes." 
 
 She began reading and folding the letters. 
 
 "I think they are all right. You stamp them." 
 She glanced at the clock. "You ll have to hurry." 
 
 Elijah stamped the letters as she tossed them to 
 him. As the last stamp was affixed, she shuffled 
 them together, and, with a glance over her shoul 
 der at the clock, started through the door. 
 
 "Have the boy take them over." Elijah called 
 out. 
 
 "Boy and hurry aren t on intimate terms." She 
 was already on the threshold of the outer door. In 
 a few moments she returned. "If I had sent the 
 boy, the letters would have lain over until tomor 
 row, I was just in time." She drew a handkerchief 
 
 64 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 over her flushed face. The handkerchief was not 
 purely ornamental, neither did it suggest unre 
 fined utilitarianism. It lacked lace, but not deli- 
 caoy. The motion that swept it over her face was 
 decided, but not harsh. Her movements, as she 
 seated herself at her desk and turned her face full 
 toward Elijah, were quick, yet rhythmic and grace 
 ful. There was masculine alertness and concentra 
 tion ; yet both were softened by a femininity, unob 
 trusive but not to be ignored. For over six months, 
 she had been "Helen" to him as he was "Elijah" 
 to her. Yet the barrier between man and woman 
 that seemed so frail, had effectively obstructed the 
 path that led to intimacy. 
 
 Elijah was half -conscious of a longing which he 
 could not express, half-conscious that every attempt 
 to gratify it was repulsed by an intangible atmos 
 phere which seemed transparent and unresisting, 
 yet was dense and impenetrable. Had he been able 
 to state his position to himself at this time, he would 
 have shrunk from the picture. He was not analyt 
 ical, therefore he did not know that the greater 
 part of the sins of the world are the result not of 
 deliberate premeditation and decision, but of the 
 almost unconscious, initial yielding to apparently 
 innocent impulses which should be recognized for 
 what they are, for what they may be, and crushed 
 out of existence at once. 
 
 Elijah was strong in his vision of possibilities, 
 
 65 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 strong in his purpose to wrest success from the 
 teeth of defeat, strong in the enthusiasm that made 
 him tingle with restless impatience to be doing, 
 strong in his power to kindle others with the fire 
 of his own purpose ; yet he was weak. Weak because 
 of an unconscious, yet all-pervading selfishness. 
 Imperative as were his visions, even so were his de 
 sires, and unconsciously both centred in himself. 
 As in the rock-ribbed, narrow confines of his New 
 England home, so in the desolate, sun-burned des 
 erts of California, unchecked by contact with his 
 fellow men, his thoughts ran riot in the channels 
 of his glowing soul. He had longed for sympathetic 
 companionship ; but his solitary, isolated life for 
 bade it. This longing had found gratification in 
 what he grew to believe was fellowship with God. 
 His youth fostered the idea, his growing, solitary 
 years developed it into a fanatical belief. If he was 
 in doubt, he took refuge in prayer, not for guid 
 ance, firmly as he may have believed it, but for con 
 firmation. From his youth up, he had had a fanati 
 cal belief in the guidance of Divinity, and had 
 placed the Bible as a lamp to his feet. Elijah 
 prayed to God for guidance in paths which he 
 should have chosen for himself, blindly putting 
 aside the fact that in the very seeking for guid 
 ance, he was longing to be confirmed in a course 
 which in the depths of his soul he knew to be wrong. 
 Fortified by his belief, armed by God s sanction, he 
 
 66 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 followed liis desires mercilessly and without shame. 
 
 Helen Lonsdale was not analytical, she was not 
 fanatical, nor was she deeply religious. Her sur 
 roundings had precluded that. She had strong 
 common sense. When for lack of experience this 
 failed her, she had intuition. She moved among 
 men fearlessly, because in the field of their move 
 ments, sex was not thought of, only things to be 
 done. The two men with whom, in her present re 
 lations, her lot was so intimately cast, stood re 
 spectively on an entirely different footing. In 
 their childhood days, she and Ralph Winston had 
 been playmates. Later, they had been parted only 
 to be thrown into closer relations by a strange turn 
 of Fortune s wheel. She had welcomed Ralph with 
 the unreserve of the days of their childhood. She 
 was, perhaps, on this very account, unconscious that 
 his memories were the more faithful of the two. 
 
 Elijah had come into her life, full-fledged, with 
 no childish memories to blur the outlines of the 
 image. However strong Winston was in the eyes 
 of others, there were yet in her eyes the clinging 
 shreds of the memory of other days. She was at 
 tracted by Elijah s enthusiasm, the stnn-th of 
 his ideas, of his purpose to succeed. With a 
 woman s intuition she saw the barren stretch of 
 his unsympathetic surroundings, and, with no 
 idea of injustice tin- si-lit prompted her to give 
 in full that which had hitherto been denied him. 
 
 67 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 Her sympathy was aroused, her enthusiasm kin 
 dled by his work; but it was apparently im 
 personal. She was surrounded by an atmosphere 
 of womanliness as delicate as an electric field, 
 which warned off and repelled any disturbing 
 element. Yet her atmosphere was polar; it would 
 respond to the proper element. The element was 
 existent, but as yet unrecognized. 
 
 Elijah again turned to Helen. 
 
 "How are things going?" 
 
 "Ralph is short of powder and cement at the 
 dam. I sent up a pack-train this morning. It will 
 leave two tons of powder at No. 1 tunnel. The 
 magazine is getting low, but San Francisco is send 
 ing a carload. It will be here tomorrow. That 
 will keep Ralph supplied for a month. Seymour 
 writes from New York that Las Cruces is snapped 
 at one-twenty ; that he is going to run it up to one- 
 thirty. Everything is coming our way on the run. 
 
 "We ve got a pretty heavy balance to our 
 credit." Elijah spoke meditatively. "Pretty 
 heavy to carry in the local banks. 
 
 "That s just what I was going to speak of. I d 
 let San Francisco carry the bulk of our deposits. 
 It s solid. The local banks may be called any time. 
 You can leave just enough here to keep them good- 
 natured." 
 
 "All right. We ll deposit our next checks in 
 
 68 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 Frisco. What were you mulling over this morn 
 ing?" 
 
 Helen laughed. 
 
 "How to get even with you and Ralph." 
 
 1 Get even with us!" Elijah looked at her in sur 
 prise. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "What do you mean?" 
 
 "You wouldn t let me into Las Cruces on the 
 ground floor, so I am planning a building of my 
 own." 
 
 "That was Ralph s doing; he didn t want you to 
 run the risk of losing." 
 
 * My five thousand was as good, so far as it went, 
 as Seymour s hundred. He got in at fifty. He s 
 made good at one hundred and forty. If you had 
 let me in, I would have had twelve thousand five 
 hundred now. It will take me a long time to earn 
 that." She spoke with assumed levity. 
 
 Elijah was regarding her through half-closed 
 eyes. He spoke very deliberately. 
 
 "You are right. I wanted to do it, but Ralph 
 wouldn t consent. He meant all right," he added 
 hastily. "I ll tell you what I ll do. I ll let you 
 have five thousand dollars of my stock at fifty. 
 That will set you straight." 
 
 "No it won t." There was no levity in Helen s 
 voice. 
 
 "Why?" Elijah s eyes opened in surprise. 
 
 69 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 " Because that would be a present, and I don t 
 want presents. What I get, I want to get myself. * 
 
 "It wouldn t be a present. It would be a re 
 ward. You ve earned it." Elijah spoke ear 
 nestly and warmly. 
 
 "From you, not from the company," she replied 
 decidedly and with finality. "Besides, I ve discov 
 ered a way to help myself. That s better." 
 
 "That brings us back to the first point. What 
 were you mulling over?" 
 
 Helen drew the map toward them and weighted 
 down the corners. 
 
 "Oranges don t mind a breath of cold air now 
 and then; they re dead set against a freeze out." 
 She was looking quizzically at Elijah. An expres 
 sion of assured satisfaction came over her face at 
 Elijah s astonishment. 
 
 His head was thrown back as he raised his eyes 
 to Helen s face. 
 
 * What do you mean ? 
 
 "As if I needed to tell you." Her lips were 
 scornful at the limitations Elijah had put upon her. 
 A smile softened the scorn and left a doubt as to 
 which emotion was dominant. "You know that 
 oranges on a hillside with southwestern exposure 
 will do better than in an unprotected river bottom." 
 
 Elijah looked up fiercely. 
 
 "Has Ralph been talking?" 
 
 "No; but you have." 
 
 70 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "I never said anything of the kind to you.* 
 
 "I m not a phonograph." 
 
 "You ve no right to make use of information 
 that you get from a confidential position." Elijah s 
 voice was decided. There was a startled look on his 
 face that he could not keep from being anxious. 
 
 Xot even to make myself more useful?" 
 
 Elijah did not commit himself to words. His 
 eyes were expectant. Helen continued, pointing to 
 the map. 
 
 "This land is practically vacant. It s owned by 
 a Mexican. He would jump at a dollar an acre. It 
 is separated from this of yours by a hill. He would 
 never dream of a tunnel. Some one else may. 
 There are thousands of acres just as good as the 
 land you control. What s the matter w r ith forming 
 a land company independent of the Las Cruces? 
 My five thousand would cover five thousand acres. 
 When w r ater gets to it, say it s worth a hundred; 
 that will make me five hundred thousand to the 
 good. That s better than a present of Las Cruces 
 at fifty, and it will come from myself." 
 
 "I never told you about the tunnel. How did 
 you find it out?" 
 
 Helen could not restrain a satisfied smile. 
 
 "You didn t tell me about a belt of country 
 around here where the temperature never falls to 
 thirty-two?" 
 
 Elijah glanced hastily around the room. 
 
 71 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 " That s all right." Helen had noted the look. 
 "We re all alone." 
 
 "What do you want?" Elijah s look was not yet 
 wholly one of relief. 
 
 "To get a little closer." 
 
 "There s a big future in that idea. I have been 
 thinking of forming a land company. We can get 
 control of the whole section." He swept his hand 
 over the map. 
 
 "We don t want the earth, Elijah. It would be 
 too much work to handle it. There wouldn t be any 
 time for fun. We only want a goodly portion. We 
 want to do things, don t we?" 
 
 Elijah s eyes opened. An expression as of a 
 revelation swept over his face. The simple "we" 
 thrilled him through and through. Unconscious 
 ness was dropping its mask and standing out in 
 bold relief. 
 
 "We do, we do! and we will." 
 
 Helen was quite unconscious. She laughed at 
 Elijah s enthusiasm. 
 
 "What kind of women have you lived with, I 
 would like to know. This idea would not have sur 
 prised you if it had come from a man." 
 
 Helen spoke in ignorance. Unconsciously she 
 had opened Elijah s eyes still wider. In a blind 
 ing flash, he saw Amy and Helen Lonsdale side by 
 side. The vision brought him face to face with his 
 past life with Amy; with its barren stretch, un- 
 
 72 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 watered by sympathetic appreciation, only parched 
 and withered by the burning rays of selfish love. 
 He had given ; but he had not received. What he 
 ;:ccomplished, he had accomplished not only by 
 himself, but in spite of a hostile influence. So 
 long as his work had been limited to the little patch 
 of ground irrigated by the developed springs of 
 his horn. , Amy had offered no objections to his 
 enthusiasm. So far as it was possible for her, she 
 had been interested, almost encouraging. Even over 
 his visions of greater things, which he had laid be- 
 before her unseeing eyes, she had smiled with ac- 
 jiiiesccnce which he mistook for appreciation. Only 
 when the films bewail to grow into material form, 
 when the warp and woof must be gathered from 
 others, and the frame of the loom itself must be 
 Imilded witli another s aid, did the real meaning of 
 Elijah s dream sn-iirst it<. If to Amy. Not that 
 i\v dearly, only intuitively, that in the carry 
 ing out of his plans he would come in contact with 
 others, that this contact would develop a compari 
 son of herself with others, that this coinp;: 
 would he unfavorable to her, and would end for 
 ever her ability to fill Elijah s mental vision. Th.-re- 
 fore, at the very first signs of expansion, she had 
 opposed the feeble barrier of her will. Elijah had 
 no more recognized the barrier than he had Amy s 
 limitations which made the barrier imperative to 
 her. He had felt her opposition, and, without un- 
 
 73 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 derstanding it, he had chafed against it. He had 
 not compared her with others, because up to this 
 time he had not come in contact with those who 
 made a comparison imperative. 
 
 Now the comparison was coming to him, had in 
 deed already come. Appreciation, sympathy, en 
 ergy, assistance were manifest to him in every word 
 and action of Helen Lonsdale. Her first sugges 
 tion of independent action had startled, then 
 brought to him a sudden, overpowering realization 
 of what she was, of what she might be to him in 
 comparison with Amy. His first emotion was fear 
 lest she might leave him, and, equipped with the 
 knowledge which she had gained from her confi 
 dential relation with the company, start out on an 
 independent course of her own. There was almost 
 a feeling of resentment against Amy, as if she had 
 defrauded him, and this was a thing which Elijah 
 should have put aside; but he did not. 
 
 Helen was watching him. There was decided 
 humor in her eyes, in the motion of her lips. 
 
 "What are you mulling over? * 
 
 Elijah started as if waking from a dream. He 
 spoke hastily, but none the less decidedly. 
 
 "\Ve must drive over together and see that land 
 as soon as possible. 
 
 74 
 
CHAPTER SEVEN 
 
 In spite of Elijah s earnest conviction that the 
 land should be inspected and a course of action 
 mapped out as soon as possible, it was several \\vrks 
 before the trip could be arranged. To Elijah it 
 seemed as if one insistent detail after another was 
 crowding upon him in a most extraordinary man 
 ner. He grew fretful, and at the last decidedly 
 irritable 
 
 "Don t worry, Elijah," Helen said, after an 
 unusually impatient outburst. "The world wasn t 
 made in a day." 
 
 "Opportunities are, and are short-lived too." 
 
 "Not when they travel via Mexieanos. You can 
 always count on one day more with them. Mariana 
 has some redeeming features after all." 
 
 "Well," Elijah s lips straightened, "mafiana is 
 tomorrow, and tomorrow we start." 
 
 Il.-len glanced at her desk with its litter of cor 
 respondence. 
 
 "I guess we can manage it in some way." 
 
 "I don t guess, I know. It s tomorrow; so be 
 ready early. Don t come to the office ; I will call for 
 you 
 
 75 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 Elijah was as good as his word. At six o clock 
 he was waiting at Helen s door, and they were early 
 on their way. 
 
 In the days that had followed their conversation 
 relative to unpurchased lands, Helen had given 
 much thought to the possible results of the plan 
 suggested by Elijah. She had experienced no waver 
 of hesitation over their present confidential rela 
 tions. These presumed nothing more than their 
 face value and were in no sense different from her 
 relations with other employers. Had she been 
 possessed of a fortune, the proposed partnership 
 would have had a plausible excuse. She would then 
 merely have furnished the money necessary to 
 carry out their mutual plans and a partnership 
 would naturally have followed. She had no for 
 tune. Her relations with Elijah would of neces 
 sity become more confidential, more personal. 
 Elijah was a married man, and intuitively she hesi 
 tated. But then; here was the great business op 
 portunity of her life; the opportunity for which 
 she had been waiting and hoping until hope had 
 become all but expectation, and now hope and ex 
 pectation needed only her consent to become reality. 
 She had been really glad of the delays which put 
 from her the necessity of immediate decision. She 
 would decide when the time came. She thought of 
 going to Winston again for advice; but Winston 
 was occupied. This was her excuse to herself. In 
 
 76 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 her heart she knew what he would say and she did 
 not wish to listen to his words. She dwelt long 
 over the idea of buying land independently, for her 
 self. But this savored of using for her own benefit, 
 information gained indirectly from her present 
 position. Moreover, being a woman, she shrank 
 from wholly independent action. The appeal to her 
 ambition was a powerful one. A great transforma 
 tion was going on in California. It was so radical, 
 so unthought of, that those connected with it in any 
 of its phases were bound to become prominent, and 
 prominence was one great thing that she desired. 
 Elijah was the ori.Lrinator of orange growing on a 
 large scale. He had made his particular field a 
 variety of seedless orange which had been hitherto 
 unknown; he had conceived of fertile lands that 
 w. iv now worthless; had, by sheer will power, got 
 under way an irrigation scheme which would bring 
 fame and fortune. These possibilities were known 
 to only half a dozen individuals who could take 
 advantage of thriii, and Helm was one. It was 
 strange that, as sin- now faced the question finally, 
 she felt none of that senae of triumph and satisfac 
 tion which she had imagined such an outlook would 
 j^ive her. 
 
 As she took her scat beside Elijah and was 
 whirled through the sandy streets of Ysleta, out 
 over the rolling desert toward tho foot-hills of the 
 San Bernardinos, she felt, instead of elation, a 
 
 77 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 strange depression which she could not explain 
 away. Perhaps it was the chill which is always in 
 the California air before the rising sun has asserted 
 its power, or lost it when its daily course is run 
 and it is sinking towards the western horizon. The 
 scenes they passed only served to heighten this 
 feeling; the torpid Mexicans, crawling from their 
 cheerless adobe huts, squatted on what should be 
 the sunny side, their sombreros pulled low, their 
 ponchos wrapped closely around face, and neck, 
 and shoulders, one grimy hand with numbed fingers, 
 thrusting the inevitable cigarro between blue lips, 
 as they watched with dull eyes the team flash by. 
 Stiffened bunches of scrawny cattle rose regret 
 fully from the sand which their bodies had warmed 
 through the night. Shambling the least possible 
 distance from the wagon trail, they stood with 
 arched backs and low-hung heads, looking mild re 
 proach at the disturbers of their dismal peace. Even 
 the long, blue shadows stretched themselves stiffly 
 along the yellow sands or lost their form in the 
 soggy mists that hung damp and chill over the river 
 bottoms and deep-sunk hollows, where seeping 
 springs oozed out into the shivery air. Toward the 
 west, the great Pacific was hidden by a waveless 
 wall of milky white that flowed inland by imper 
 ceptible motions, overwhelming with its advancing 
 flood, town and plain, but leaving here and there a 
 
 78 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 tawny hill rising above the choking mist, like barren 
 islands in a sea of arctic white. 
 
 Elijah shivered. 
 
 "It doesn t look like a land of perpetual sunshine, 
 does it?" 
 
 "No, and it doesn t feel like one either. " Helen s 
 teeth fairly chattered as she drew her wraps more 
 closely about her. 
 
 "When we get ready to sell fruit ranches from 
 our block of ground, we will entertain our Eastern 
 purchasers with lateness. Late suppers, late retir 
 ing, late rising" 
 
 "And late sales." Helen shrugged her shoul 
 ders. "We ll have to keep prospective purchasers 
 under cover all of the time. If we take them out 
 early, we ll freeze them, if late, we ll roast them, 
 and almost any time they re liable to be blown 
 away. Just look at that!" She nodded toward a 
 grove of native orange trees. The outer row had 
 had every leaf twisted from it by the constant 
 winds. 
 
 Elijah glanced at his companion. 
 
 "I ll ti-11 you my first move. I m going to get 
 you into a cheerful mood and thru put you under 
 cover and ki-i-p you tln-iv. What is the matter, 
 anyway?" 
 
 Helm made no reply. Perhaps sh- could not. in 
 exact truth. Her youthful philosophy had hardly 
 gone far enough to emphasize the fact that nature 
 
 79 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 is only responsive to our moods, not creative of 
 them. 
 
 "Twenty miles is a long drive on an empty stom 
 ach. " Elijah spoke apologetically. I can go a 
 week without eating, or sleeping either, if neces 
 sary. It came pretty near being necessary one 
 time." He shrugged his shoulders. Poor Amy! 
 She never complained. Do you think you would 
 have put up with a husband who gave you only oat 
 meal week in and week out, and not over much at 
 that?" 
 
 "I might have put up with the husband, that 
 would depend; but the oatmeal, never! If I had 
 thought it worth while, I wouldn t have troubled 
 him about that, even. I would have found some 
 thing else for him and for myself too!" 
 
 Helen spoke with decision. Elijah s words were 
 uppermost in her mind, a realization of what his 
 work had cost him. Her enthusiasm kindled, she 
 forgot for the moment that the suggestion of the 
 more helpful course which she would have pursued, 
 was an unqualified condemnation of Amy. It was 
 partly owing to the singleness of the vision of youth, 
 partly to the fact that Elijah s wife was hardly a 
 tangible entity to her. 
 
 Elijah looked down at Helen. His face was 
 sober. A moment he looked, then turned his eyes 
 to the distant hills. 
 
 "I believe you would." 
 
 80 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH: BERL 
 
 His look and manner of speaking disturbed 
 Helen, though she could not tell why. All the 
 doubts and fears of the past weeks again assailed 
 her. She began to feel a vague distrust of her am 
 bition. Was it after all so very different from 
 the sordid motives she had despised in others T A 
 vision of Ysleta rose before her, with the glaring 
 rawness and gaudy pretensions which she had re 
 garded with such humorous contempt. She had 
 been keen enough to forecast the ruin in store for 
 the promoters ; but were her own plans so superior 
 to these as she had once imagined ? Did not they too 
 possess some elements of ruin? Suppose success 
 should crown her efforts, would success bring hap 
 piness? There was Elijah s wife; how would this 
 success affect this woman whom she had never seen, 
 (if whose existence she was barely conscious? Her 
 depression deepened. Why not tell Elijah, even 
 without a plausible reason, that she had decided 
 against it? Her lips half opened to speak, but a 
 host of conflicting impulses held her dumb. Suc- 
 wealth, these were the golden spurs that had 
 ur-T -d her on. Without this shining goal, what 
 would lift be but a dreary round of duties? 
 
 Tin- sun was beating with licrcc heat on her un 
 protected face. The clammy chill of the lowlands 
 was gone. The towering heights of the San Bernar- 
 dinos rose clear against the blur of the sky. 
 Elijah drew rein, and Helen turned to look behind. 
 
 81 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 To the west and south as far as the eye could reach, 
 stretched a great, softly moving sea of milky white. 
 Thus far and no farther, soft fingers of creamy 
 vapor reached out against the foothills, crept up 
 into the gulches, reached upward and were dis 
 solved by the sun into transparent air. Far up on 
 one of the foothills, was a huge square of dark green 
 set in a frame of tawny sand. Helen knew the 
 map ; she recognized the locality. She had no need 
 of Elijah s words as he pointed with his whip. 
 
 "There s the first grove of navel oranges ever 
 raised on this continent. I had just three trees to 
 start with, now you can see for yourself. There s 
 Pico s ranch. That s the one we are to buy." He 
 again pointed with his whip, tracing the boundaries 
 in the air. "There s the Sangre de Cristo; here s 
 where it s going to be." He indicated with his 
 whip the crest of the hills, the line of the main 
 canal ; showed where it would pierce a higher peak 
 with tunnels, and where, the main canal being 
 tapped, the life-giving waters would be distributed 
 to every field. 
 
 "It is great." Elijah was speaking with solemn 
 voice. "It was all revealed to me. The work is 
 too great for me alone, I must have help. I shall 
 have to give up to others, but not too much. They 
 must not push me too hard. I shall be guided. But 
 this shall be my work alone." He swept his whip 
 again over the barren hillsides. "Yours and mine. 
 
 82 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 I shall need your help. I have never had human 
 help before, nor human sympathy. What little 
 help I have had, was because I could promise money, 
 money! What is money beside this great work? 
 Just think! I shall make this, all this a living 
 green. The desert shall rejoice and blossom as the 
 rose. It shall bloom abundantly and rejoice even 
 with joy and singing/ Elijah s eyes swept over 
 the hills, his hands outstretched as if to gather to 
 them the fruits of his vision. 
 
 "This is my especial work; yours and mine. I 
 was going to do it all alone, but it was not to be. 
 Why else did I trust you and why else did you 
 see what I believed was for my eyes alone?" 
 He bent his eyes full upon Helen. She looked 
 shrinkingly into their solemn distance. The con 
 viction was forcing itself upon her that she could 
 of herself have nothing to say. There was more 
 than fame, more than glory and wealth in the 
 vision he was forcing her to see as he saw; some 
 thing great to be done, a life to be lived too great 
 to be measured by the petty standards of humanity, 
 and thus beyond her power to gauge; something 
 above her, beyond her, yet enveloping her like the 
 air she breathed. 
 
 He laid his hand on hers, not questioning^, but 
 masterfully, and without power to resist, sh felt 
 his clasp tighten. She heard his voice ; words that 
 
 83 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 hummed and throbbed, lulling her to a numb in 
 sensibility to all but the thoughts she felt, rather 
 than heard. She saw the visions he saw, heard the 
 voice that he heard, and she followed, not him, but 
 the vision and the voice. She shrank without mo 
 tion; but she knew that she must follow. Sorrow 
 was nothing, regret was nothing; only the vision 
 that beckoned, the voice that called, these were 
 everything. She would have given worlds to have 
 been beyond their spell; but the eyes that were 
 looking into hers she could not turn away from, the 
 clasp of the hand that held her, she could not shake 
 off. Her eyelids drooped, but they could not shut 
 from her sight the great, solemn eyes that balanced 
 and swung, grew large and small, but ever burned 
 and burrowed into her soul. 
 
 Elijah gathered up the reins and the horses 
 moved on. They followed the winding trail down 
 the hill, up the gulch, then a quick turn and the 
 dark green square cut off the burning rays of the 
 sun. 
 
 In front of a little cottage almost hidden by blos 
 soming roses the team came to a halt. Elijah 
 sprang from the wagon, and Helen caught a 
 glimpse of a delicately beautiful face among the 
 roses. The next instant it was hidden from sight 
 upon Elijah s shoulder. Helen could not believe 
 the voice to be the same that she had just heard. 
 
 84 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 Hollo, Amy ! I Ve brought you a visitor. Have 
 you got anything to eat? We re awfully hungry. 
 Driven from Ysleta since six o clock." 
 
 85 
 
CHAPTER EIGHT 
 
 In response to the brusque introduction that fol 
 lowed, Amy turned her eyes to Helen. The motion 
 was evidently without volition on her part, only 
 obedience to an unexpressed command. She ad 
 vanced timidly, with outstretched hand. 
 
 "lam glad to see you ; I have heard my husband 
 speak of you very often. 1 
 
 There was a touch of the pride of possession in 
 the words, "My husband," but it sounded plead 
 ing and doubtful, rather than confident. With 
 the words, the eyes again sought Elijah. 
 
 Helen was outwardly self possessed, inwardly, 
 her thoughts were confused. 
 
 "He speaks to me quite often; I didn t know that 
 he spoke of me." 
 
 Elijah was sizzling with impatience. 
 
 "This doesn t look much like breakfast." With 
 out even a glance at Amy, he turned toward the 
 cottage. His words seemed to crowd each other, 
 as he called back through the door, "You two stay 
 and talk women stuff. I ll rustle breakfast." 
 
 Helen turned to Amy. 
 
 "That s considerate, if not complimentary." 
 8G 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "Elijah has no time for compliments; he s -too 
 busy." Amy spoke rather stiffly. She longed with 
 all her heart to follow Elijah ; but at the same time, 
 she was glad of the opportunity to show Helen that 
 she had talents along other lines than "women 
 stuff. " 
 
 Helen laughed. 
 
 " Women stuff isn t so bad as it s painted." 
 
 "Why?" Amy inquired blankly. 
 
 "Oh, it fills in. One can t always be so terribly 
 in earnest." 
 
 "Elijah is." 
 
 Helen restrained herself with difficulty. She 
 felt an hysterical and unreasonable desire to laugh. 
 
 "That s why I m in his office, probably. I m a 
 relief." 
 
 Helen s reply was reassuring to Amy. It was a 
 new reason for the relations between Elijah and 
 Helen. She accepted it without question. 
 
 "I m afraid that I am too much interested in his 
 work. It isn t good for him, but I can t help it. I 
 think you are right about his being too much in 
 earnest." Amy spoke laboriously; she evidently 
 had some ulterior purpose in view, more evident to 
 Helen than she knew. With all the guile that she 
 could muster, Amy looked at Helen. "What is 
 your work?" 
 
 Helen did not feel the pathos of what was pass- 
 
 87 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 ing before her eyes, she only saw tHe absurdity of 
 it. 
 
 "Oh, nothing much. I just keep the books. 
 That s easy. Then I write letters, and see that 
 they are mailed, and for amusement, I have argu 
 ments with Ralph Winston; he s the engineer, you 
 know." 
 
 "Yes, I know Mr. Winston. I don t think much 
 of him. He s rather conceited, don t you think 
 so?" 
 
 "Very." 
 
 "I am sure he is. My husband knows more about 
 orange trees, and land, and irrigation than any 
 body, and yet I have heard Mr. Winston contradict 
 him time and time again. My husband is very 
 patient with him." 
 
 Again Helen felt an almost uncontrollable im 
 pulse to laughter. 
 
 "Ralph tries everyone s patience when he doesn t 
 agree with them." 
 
 Amy felt that she was wandering from her pur 
 pose. She had a vague idea of returning to it by 
 a graceful transition, but one did not suggest itself 
 to her, and she dared temporize no further. 
 
 * Is book-keeping so very hard ? she asked. 
 
 "Not at all; it s just a little puzzling once in a 
 while." 
 
 "Where did you learn?" 
 
 "At a business college. I took a regular course." 
 
 88 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "I can t that is I " Amy stumbled, her face 
 flushed with confusion. She had almost disclosed 
 her purpose in so many words. "Really," she 
 continued, regaining her mental foothold, "I know 
 nothing about such things. Do you really have to 
 go to college to learn book-keeping?" 
 
 "No, indeed." Helen was moved to pity. "Get 
 A and B s elements, any book store has them; a 
 little paper and pencil, a small journal, a cash book 
 and ledger. A little practice, and the thing is 
 done." 
 
 Helen s face was smiling and imperturbable. A 
 glance at it convinced Amy that her purpose was 
 undivined. 
 
 "Thank you. I have always been curious about 
 such things." Then she grew oblivious of Helen, 
 more completely absorbed than she had ever been 
 before in her life. Her face flushed a delicate pink 
 with the glow of the resolution which had at last 
 taken definite shape in her mind. It was all so 
 simple. Why hadn t she thought of it before? 
 Ilrl.-n was watching her with a pitying smile on her 
 lips, but the pity was for Elijah, not for Amy. She 
 recalled involuntarily her first meeting with Elijah, 
 the intangible something that had puzzled her about 
 him. Then the incidents of the morning came to 
 her with a rush that overpow n-d her. She saw 
 rv.-rythinpr now, and the smile died from her lips. 
 "What might he not have accomplished, had he mar- 
 
 89 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 ried a different sort of a woman? if," her face 
 was scarlet now. 
 
 Breakfast!" Elijah stood in the door, flourish 
 ing a dauby spoon. Oatmeal ! " he called, looking 
 at Helen. "Come!" 
 
 He darted forward, flung one arm with the spoon 
 attached around Amy s waist and swept her to 
 wards the open door. 
 
 Helen followed, laughing. The laugh was not 
 the hearty, spontaneous expression of innocent 
 mirth, of was it only hours, or was it ages ago? 
 Helen could not answer. She was not clearly con 
 scious of the question. She was not certain whether 
 the present was a reality, or whether it was a vague, 
 disagreeable dream, threatening hideous things that 
 were nameless and terrifying, as the demon-peopled 
 shadows surrounding a shrinking child. Her eager 
 anticipations, the sudden, indefinite repugnance to 
 the ride with Elijah, the chill morning, the huddled 
 numbness of the blanketed Mexicans, the hunched- 
 up cattle by the roadside, the clammy, milky fog, 
 the fierce blast of the smiting sun, the land of prom 
 ise in the blazing light, Elijah s "My work, mine 
 and yours," the consuming enthusiasm of Elijah, 
 the empty, inane beauty of Amy, these two people, 
 twain and one flesh, and she, apart or a part ; which 
 should it be? Weaving out and in, confusing, tan* 
 talizing, and she, drifting and floating like an errant 
 
 90 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 leaf on these currents of destiny, going hither and 
 thither, to find a resting place, where? 
 
 The sound of her own laughter mocked her. She 
 was conscious that her smile was labored, that her 
 spontaneous effort would be tears. This she was 
 resisting. Everything seemed strange to her. 
 Why? She could not answer. 
 
 The breakfast table was set on a verandah, 
 shaded with climbing roses and honeysuckle in full 
 bloom. Flecks of sunshine pierced the clustered 
 leaves, but the fierceness of the sun was tempered to 
 a soft glow by the matted vines. The fragrance of 
 flowers perfumed the air, and light and perfume 
 gave a heightened pleasure from consciousness of 
 the conditions without. A dish of steaming oatmeal 
 \\as before Elijah, a pitcher of thick cream and a 
 bowl of powdered sugar. In the centre of the table 
 was a plate of oranges, golden and fair. 
 
 Elijah motioned Helen to a seat on the opposite 
 side of the table, and swung Amy into a chair by his 
 side. His face was flushed, his motions quick and 
 H Tvous. llrlfii dumbly wondered if he too ITON 
 conscious of a struggle within himself, if his ac 
 tions were forced, or if they were natural, and 
 she were reading her own unrest into them. 
 
 Elijah selected from the dish the largest and 
 fairest orange, if choice were possible. He p 
 it in the air for the fraction of a second. "Catch," 
 he said, and tossed it into Helen s hands. Another 
 
 91 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 orange was dropped into Amy s lap. Selecting one 
 for himself, he began to tear the acrid rind from 
 the fruit and holding the stripped orange, looked 
 at Helen with eyes momentarily half-closed. 
 
 " Let s eat and drink to our success." His eyes 
 opened wide as he turned to Amy. " Here s food 
 and drink, typical of all objects worth the struggle. 
 
 1 The bud may have a bitter taste, 
 But sweet will be the flower. ! 
 
 Elijah rose as he spoke, holding in one hand the 
 stripped orange, in the other the rind. 
 
 "This fruit is typical of life. It is fair to look 
 upon. Its acrid rind burns the lips; the thought 
 less cast it aside. Only those who can see beneath 
 the bitter rind, the sweet, refreshing fruit, are 
 worthy to taste of it. We have tasted the bitterness, 
 little girl, let us refresh ourselves with the sweet 
 
 ness." 
 
 He raised the orange to his lips. Helen and Amy 
 did the same. Helen was still conscious of the 
 tense muscles shaping her lips in a smile. 
 
 "Oatmeal?" Elijah was filling a dish and look 
 ing at Helen. Her face flushed slightly. 
 
 "If you please." 
 
 Elijah laughed, and Amy gazed in mild wonder. 
 
 "It s our joke," he explained. "Miss Lonsdale 
 said that she would have fed me with something bet 
 ter than oatmeal if she had been my wife." 
 
 92 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 To this, Amy made no reply. She was absorbed 
 in her thoughts. Her fear of Helen was diminish 
 ing. In a way, she was enjoying her own clever 
 ness. It was clever in her to have drawn from 
 Helen the secret of her hold upon Elijah, without 
 arousing any suspicions. "It s not so very hard, 
 just a little puzzling once in a while." These 
 \vonls stood out so sharply and clearly. Amy s 
 face clouded. She must not forget, and her mem 
 ory was not good. "A little practice and the thing 
 is done." This was clear. "A paper and pencil, 
 a _" "\Yhat was it? Some kind of books." Her 
 face grew more perplexed and clouded. "Oh! 
 What if she should forget? It would never do to 
 ask Helen again, Helen would suspect. She must 
 remember." Her eyes grew dim with tears that 
 were ! -manding to be shed. "Any book-seller has 
 them." Her face cleared. She felt like shouting 
 her triumph. She could go to any book-seller and 
 he would tell her what she wanted to know. 
 
 "That sail." Elijah sprang from the table. He 
 lifted Amy from her feet, caught her in his arms, 
 (1 her and darted through the house and out 
 into the drive- way. 
 
 "Hook up the horses, Jos.-: Move lively! We ve 
 got a long drive." 
 
 Helen and Amy were standing under a rose-cov 
 ered trellis. Helen was sober, Amy was peaceful. 
 
 "Sorry to leave you so soon, little :irl. \\Vre 
 
 93 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 going out on business." The team pulled up beside 
 them. "We ll be home tonight." The words 
 floated back through the crush of wheels on the 
 gravel. 
 
 Amy watched them drive away. This time she 
 held no Fate-dealing daisy in her hands; a full 
 blown rose was there instead. The flush of it was 
 on her cheeks, its perfume in her nostrils as she 
 cleared the table, and washing the dishes, put them 
 away. She sang softly to herself, with her sewing 
 in her lap, as she rocked gently to and fro through 
 the long, hot day. In the shade of the rose and the 
 honeysuckle, the tempered sunbeams fell on her 
 hair, on her work, the sweet perfume of the air 
 mingling with the perfume of her dreams. 
 
 It was almost six o clock when Elijah and Helen 
 returned. Following them closely was a dusty 
 horseman. Without dismounting the horseman 
 handed a note to Elijah. Elijah tore open the en 
 velope, his face clouding as he read. He turned to 
 Helen. 
 
 "You re right, as usual. The Pacific will close 
 its doors tomorrow. We ve got to get back to 
 Ysleta tonight. The cashier tells me that we can 
 get our money out if we re on hand early when the 
 bank opens in the morning." Elijah turned to the 
 stable man. "Take out these horses and put in 
 Chica and Lota. Hurry!" He slipped his arm 
 through Amy s. "Too bad, little girl. Thought 
 
 94 
 
THE VISION OP ELIJAH BERL 
 
 we d have an evening together. Let s go in and 
 have a bite. Jose will be ready in fifteen minutes. 
 iSixty miles is a long drive for one day; are you 
 good for it?" He looked sharply at Helen. 
 
 "Of course I am." The answer was brusque. 
 The day, for very good reasons, had not eased 
 Helen s mind. 
 
 Amy stood bright-eyed and smiling, as Elijah 
 kissed her goodbye. A fleeting wonder swept over 
 Elijah s mind; but he had no time for riddles. 
 Amy was still smiling as Elijah and Helen drove 
 away. The setting sun rested a halo on her hair, 
 shone softly in her triumphant eyes. A long time 
 she stood looking towards the great ocean, then she 
 turned to the cottage. "A pencil and paper, and a 
 little practice and the thing is done." 
 
 95 
 
CHAPTER NINE 
 
 The Rio Vista was the famous hostelry of Ysleta. 
 With full appreciation of the truth of the old 
 adage that the path to a man s heart leads through 
 his stomach, the promoters of the Ysleta boom had 
 built a gorgeous edifice and equipped it with a 
 cuisine not equalled west of the Mississippi. It is 
 true that their artistic palates were not so finely 
 educated as were their gastronomic, but the glitter 
 of plate glass windows and the constant warfare of 
 hostile colors, affected not at all the delicate viands 
 which were placed before the guests. Since her 
 connection with the Las Cruces, Helen Lonsdale 
 had made this palace her home 
 
 As she ascended the steps of the Rio Vista, after 
 her return from the Berl ranch, Helen s attention 
 was attracted to an old man who was seated near 
 the head of the broad stone steps that led to the 
 broader verandah. He seemed utterly out of har 
 mony with his surroundings. His clothes were not 
 shabby, but they were evidently worn more with an 
 eye to the useful than to the ornamental. The 
 heavy boots were wrinkled and worn, yet solid, 
 and the blacking suggested a reluctant concession 
 
 96 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BKKL 
 
 to custom rather than to a sense of propriety. His 
 trousers were baggy and his coat hung in loose folds 
 from a pair of broad, square shoulders. A white 
 shirt was topped by a high old-fashioned collar, 
 held by a flowing ti<> of navy blue. These incon 
 gruities, in sharp contrast to the finished specimens 
 of weli-groomed humanity who circled around him, 
 first attracted Helen. It was the face that com 
 pelled from her more than a passing notice. 
 
 As she looked at the face, more especially the 
 eyes, a sense of relief from oppression, an almost 
 irresistible impulse to laughter came over her. It 
 was not ridicule, but a light-hearted response to the 
 contagious humor radiating from every line and 
 wrinkle. Yet the weathered face, with its closely- 
 cropped fringe of gray beard, resting like a sphere 
 on the sharp lips of the high collar, carried the 
 conviction that the mobile lines could set hard as 
 frozen metal, that the humorous eyes, deep beneath 
 overhanging brows, could pierce like sharpened 
 steel. Perhaps it was her imagination, but the eyes 
 seemed to answer her own and the face to turn as 
 as she passed, in order to prolong the interchange 
 "I wordless n 
 
 LatT in th.- <lay Helen was seated apart from the 
 f-n.wd in the rotunda. She wanted to get away 
 from herself but there was no desire to seek com 
 panionship. Consequently she was annoy.-d at the 
 sound of footsteps which evidently had her for an 
 
 97 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 object. She was more annoyed when a chair was 
 dragged from its position and thrust beside her 
 own. She did not even turn her head when she 
 heard a slump in the chair which testified that the 
 intruder intended to maintain his position. With 
 no preliminary cough, a rugged voice remarked : 
 
 "Pretty considerable goin on in these parts, if 
 tis three thousand miles from nowhere, an a hard 
 road at that." 
 
 Helen s annoyance vanished. She turned bright 
 ly to the old man. 
 
 "Please excuse me. I didn t know who it was till 
 you spoke." 
 
 "If you know now, you ve got the advantage o 
 me, in one sense. I m Uncle Sid Harwood, retired 
 sea captain, at present cruisin for pleasure." 
 
 Helen bowed with sedate humor. 
 
 "I m Helen Lonsdale and nothing in particu 
 lar." 
 
 Uncle Sid Harwood surveyed his companion 
 leisurely. 
 
 "First time I ever found nothin in particular 
 worth while. You come from around here?" 
 
 "Yes, I m Calif ornian, born and bred." 
 
 "Glad to know it. I ve been lyin at anchor here 
 some days lookin for a pilot. I reckoned you 
 knew the harbor. Met a young fellow by the name 
 o Berl?" 
 
 "Elijah Berl?" Helen asked in surprise. 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "That s him." 
 
 "Why yes. of course I have. He s president of 
 the Las Cruces Irrigation Company." 
 
 "Praisin the Lord an callyhootin around like 
 a sky rocket with its tail a-fire?" pursued Uncle 
 Sid. 
 
 Helen laughed at the apt though rather super 
 ficial analogy. 
 
 "Yes, but he s not all fire and fizz after all. He 
 is doing things worth while." 
 
 "Don t doubt it." Uncle Sid spoke with convic 
 tion. "He always carried high steam, an I guessed 
 he d do something, if he got hitched to an engine 
 that would stand the pressure." 
 
 "Wouldn t you like to see him? He s in the 
 hotel now, I think. I ll send for him." 
 
 Uncle Sid made no objections and Helen beck 
 oned a waiter. 
 
 "Please see if Mr. Berl is in his room and tell 
 him he s wanted." 
 
 "Eunice an I thought maybe we d see Lige. 
 That s one reason why we came here instead o* 
 somewhere s else. Eunice s my sister," Uncle Sid 
 added. 
 
 Before Helen had time to reply, she heard th 
 quick beat of Elijah s feet on the floor. 
 
 "That s him," Uncle Sid remarked, as he rose to 
 his feet. 
 
 The footsteps halted and Helen saw Elijah stand- 
 
 99 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 ing in mute surprise before the old man. The next 
 instant he had Uncle Sid s outstretched hand in 
 both his own with crushing grasp. 
 
 "Well! well! Uncle Sid! You re looking as 
 natural as life." 
 
 Uncle Sid winced. 
 
 "I m feelin as natural s life too, just this very 
 minute. Cast off, Lige ! I brought my rheurnatiz 
 with me." 
 
 Elijah turned to Helen. 
 
 "How under the sun did you come to know Un 
 cle Sid?" 
 
 "She don t know me. We re just gettin ac 
 quainted. 
 
 "Uncle Sid is worth knowing, Helen, I can vouch 
 for that." Elijah surveyed Uncle Sid with a beam 
 ing face. "Where s your sister, Mrs. MacGregor; 
 why didn t you bring her with you?" 
 
 "I did. She ll be down in a minute. Sit down. 
 How do you make it out here, Lige ? You used to 
 be great on temperance back East, but I haven t 
 seen any water worth drinkin out here." 
 
 "There s plenty of water, all right, and good 
 water too. We 11 show him, won t we, Helen ? 
 
 " I 11 believe that when I see it. Lucky thing the 
 Lord didn t start in makin man in this section," 
 growled Uncle Sid, "he wouldn t have had water 
 enough to have pasted him together with. He d a 
 had dust enough, goodness knows. I want a hand- 
 
 100 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH HKRL 
 
 bcllus, to blow off some o this dust. Just as sure 
 as I touch water I shan t be nothin but a mud 
 puddle. " 
 
 "You can afford to even up, Uncle Sid. You ve 
 had more than your share of water all your life. 
 A little soil won t hurt you now." 
 
 "Huh!" Uncle Sid grunted. "I was on top of 
 the water then, an I kept there. This dirt gets 
 on top o me an inside me an everywhere it ain t 
 no business to be. Here s Eunice now. Look here, 
 Eunice, here s an old friend o yours, and here s 
 Miss Lonsdale, a new friend o mine, and I won t 
 swap either." 
 
 A tall woman, deliberate in all her motions, ad 
 vanced upon the little party. Her eyes rested for 
 a moment upon Elijah as he rose with extended 
 hand, then, acknowledging the introduction to 
 Helen, they slipped from Elijah and glanced slowly 
 over Helen from her boots to the coils of dark hair 
 that crowned her head. Helen experienced a creep 
 ing sensation. The touch of the deliberate eyes re 
 minded her of the inquisitive fingers of a jockey 
 feeling for blemishes on the smooth limbs of a 
 horse. 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor seated herself with studied ele 
 gance. 
 
 "It occurs to me, Sidney, that Miss Lonsdale 
 may object to your rather broad claims to her 
 friendship upon so short an acquaintance." 
 
 101 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "I guess she s able to let me know her own mind. 
 We took to each other like ducks to a patch o wild 
 rice. I m too old to be dangerous an young enough 
 to know what s good for me." 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor ignored her brother s remark. 
 She turned to Elijah. 
 
 * How does the change from sedate New England 
 to this new life affect you, Elijah?" 
 
 "Not at all, personally, Mrs. MacGregor. I m 
 just the same Lige you used to know." 
 
 Uncle Sid broke in. 
 
 4 Perhaps not your innards, but your outards 
 ain t the same. You ain t goin around here bare 
 foot, with two kinds o cloth in your pants." 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor s eyes were wandering from 
 Helen to Elijah. She was comparing the evidences 
 of sight gathered from personal inspection, with 
 those of hearsay, the result of her indirect inquiries 
 among the hotel guests, as to Elijah s standing in 
 Ysleta. At length she arose, holding out her hand 
 to Elijah. 
 
 * * I shall hope to renew our old acquaintance. It 
 is a great pleasure to find one s estimates of an old 
 friend more than exceeded." 
 
 Elijah took Mrs. MacGregor s hand. In spite of 
 his bewilderment over their implied intimacy in 
 the past, he felt a glow of pride that she felt it 
 worth her while to expand the mustard seed of their 
 
 102 
 
THE VISION OP ELIJAH BERL 
 
 former acquaintance into a luxuriant growth. He 
 gave the limp hand a warm pressure. 
 
 "Let me do anything I can for your pleasure, 
 Mr*. MaH JIVLTOI-. I am always at your service/* 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor bowed formally to Helen. 
 
 "We shall meet again, I hope. You are stopping 
 here? * 
 
 "Yes." Helen could hardly bring herself to this 
 curt response. She felt more like slapping. 
 
 It did not escape Mrs. MacGregor, who was fol 
 lowing Uncle Sid from the room, that Helen had 
 begun to move as well, and that she was checked 
 by an almost imperceptible gesture from Elijah. 
 
 "What about tomorrow, Helen?" he asked. 
 
 "You mean the Pacific bank?" 
 
 "Yes. It s not our secret now. Every one knows 
 that the run will begin when the bank opens." 
 
 "There s only one thing to be done. You must 
 be the first in line." 
 
 Elijah took a few quick turns then came to a 
 sudden halt before Helen. 
 
 * That s impossible. The line s a mile lon^ now. 
 II-- laii jh.d uneasily over the exaggeration. 
 
 "Then we are out of it, after all." 
 
 Elijah hesitated. 
 
 "Not necessarily." 
 
 II. 1, n Irnp.Ml to the point of Elijah s meaning. 
 ; can t do that. You mustn t!" 
 
 * Why not ? It s our money. 
 
 103 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 You know why not." Helen spoke sharply. 
 
 "Mellin has fixed it all up." Elijah insisted. 
 
 "You know what that means, as well as I do." 
 Helen s voice was sharper and more decided. 
 
 Elijah was again striding up and down. He 
 looked at his watch, then snapped it shut and thrust 
 it into his pocket. 
 
 "Well, goodnight, Helen, I ll think it over." 
 
 "Don t do it. It s dangerous to think about some 
 things." 
 
 Helen was alone, walking thoughtfully to her 
 room. Her old mood had returned with even darker 
 shadows. Why couldn t she act on her own keen 
 suggestion and stop thinking about dangerous 
 things? This question occurred to her. Another 
 point suggested itself. Mellin was reading clearly 
 in Elijah that about which she had only vague pre 
 sentiments. 
 
 104 
 
CHAPTER TEN 
 
 The first brick in Ysleta s speculative row had 
 toppled against its fellow and the whole line was 
 threatened with collapse. Some worthless specu 
 lator had begun it by trying to "cash in." The 
 news had spread like wild-fire that the Pacific was 
 to be the first point of attack. There was no time 
 for aid to reach it from the San Francisco banks, 
 even had they been disposed to tender assistance. 
 As for the local banks, they were too busy furling 
 their own sails for the coming storm, to think of 
 going to the rescue of the storm s first victim. 
 
 Early as was the hour, the sharp-lined figures of 
 the depositors jammed against the closed doors of 
 the bank and faded to dim shadows at the far end 
 of the line. Men, who a few hours before had bowed 
 with deference to their fellow men, were now like 
 savage tigers, holding their places with tooth and 
 claw bared for immediate and merciless action. 
 Woe to the luckless one who in the jam, was 
 crowded from his position. There was no hope for 
 him but in the far distance where men were 
 shadows. No word was spoken. There was no 
 
 105 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 need of words where moonlight gleamed coldly on 
 shining steel. A hand to hand fight meant the end 
 of the line for the defender as well as the one who 
 attacked. 
 
 Only one thing could have broken the solid 
 ranks. Could any one in that fierce array of self- 
 seekers have seen a man slink from a half -opened 
 window in the rear of the bank, creep from shadow 
 to shadow in the direction of the Rio Vista, and 
 finally disappear within a secluded arbor, a timid 
 fox in a pack of ravening hounds would have had a 
 better chance of life than he. 
 
 Pale as the moonlight that lay soft and white 
 about him, Elijah stood, awaiting Mellin. 
 
 "I have decided that I cannot take the money." 
 "What the devil are you here for then?" 
 "To tell that I will take chances with the rest." 
 "The devil you will." Mellin s voice showed 
 the contemptuous scorn he felt; but Elijah s course 
 was not new to him. His experience in life had 
 taught him that in business the saint and the sin 
 ner stand on the same plane. He had noted that 
 the sinner did without a qualm that which the saint 
 did with moaning and tears. The result was the 
 same in either case. 
 
 "I suppose you know that we are carrying five 
 hundred thousand in deposits. We have one hun 
 dred thousand with which to meet the run." 
 "But the receivership that will follow?" 
 
 106 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 Mollin lau^hod. 
 
 "You are not so innocent as all that. You know 
 our line of business. Real estate loans!" Mellin 
 indulged in a sarcastic smile. "Two millions hard 
 cash and five millions of Ysleta lots that aren t 
 worth record." 
 
 "We took our chances with the other depositors 
 and we will stay with them." Elijah s words were 
 firm, but his voice gave them the lie. 
 
 Mellin was very patient. It never occurred to 
 Elijah to ask why. Mellin was worldly wise; Eli 
 jah was not. Therefore Elijah never asked the 
 question, "What does the other man want me to 
 do for him when he is so anxious to do something 
 for me?" 
 
 Mellin was worldly wise. He had read Elijah 
 aright. Elijah was open to conviction as to what 
 was right and what was wrong. His well-known 
 professions only strengthened Mellin in his belief 
 that Elijah relied upon others for guidance more 
 than upon himself. So he made answer: 
 
 You are not on the same footing as the other de 
 positors. I am cashier. Yesterday morning I got 
 a tip that there would be a run on the bank and I 
 passed it on to you. It s no one s business that 
 you had a friend on the inside. You were out of 
 town and I sent a messenger after you. After 
 sending him, things thickened. I saw that you 
 wouldn t get back in time, so I drew for you. 
 
 107 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 Here s the stuff." Mrllin held out a compact bun 
 dle carefully wrapped and tied. Elijah s hand 
 closed upon it. He moistened his dry lips as the 
 package rested in his hand and was transferred to 
 his pocket. Without a word he turned toward the 
 hotel. The parting of the ways was behind him 
 and he was on the wrong path. The return was 
 not irrevocably barred; but, would he return? 
 
 108 
 
CHAPTER ELEVEN 
 
 The shadows that had gathered around Elijah 
 during the night were not dispelled with the dawn 
 of the following day. On his way to the office, he 
 was anticipating Helen s criticism of his act in tak 
 ing the money from the bank in the face of her 
 strong opposition. He found on arrival, that the 
 devil had a way of his own in making smooth the 
 path of his disciples, for a time at least. 
 
 Helen greeted him as usual. 
 
 "My last night s advice was unnecessary, wasn t 
 HI" 
 
 "How so?" 
 
 "I went around by the bank this morning. It was 
 lit, I can tell you. I didn t see you in the 
 line." There was an indirect question in Helen s 
 eyes. 
 
 "I wasn t in line." Elijah could not restrain a 
 sigh of relief as he spoke the half-truth. 
 
 "They say the line was begun before ten o clock 
 night" 
 
 "I know it was, and it was kept too." Elijah 
 turned to his desk and became absorbed in his work. 
 
 Whether or not Helen grasped the fact that her 
 
 109 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 indirect question of Elijah remained unanswered, 
 she pursued it no farther. 
 
 Toward noon, Elijah went to the safe which stood 
 in the back of the office. He opened the door, took 
 from his pocket a bunch of keys and unlocked his 
 private box. Helen s back w r as towards him. 
 Without taking his eyes from her, he drew from his 
 pocket a small package and slipped it beneath a pile 
 of papers. Then he closed and locked the door and 
 returned the keys to his pocket. He reseated him 
 self, swinging his chair from his desk. 
 
 "Are you busy, Helen?" 
 
 "Not very." 
 
 "What do you think this business means?" 
 
 "What, the run on the Pacific?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "It s the beginning of the end, and I m glad it s 
 come. Helen spoke with decision. 
 
 "The end of everything?" 
 
 " No ; only a weeding out. It was bound to come, 
 only I didn t think it would be so soon. 
 
 "I don t feel so sure that anything will be left." 
 
 "Things that are worth while, will be." 
 
 Elijah made no immediate reply. He could not 
 get away from the thought of the thing that he had 
 done; the thing that Helen had almost command 
 ed him not to do. He knew what she would think 
 could she know of the packet which he had stealth 
 ily slipped into his private box. He raised his eyes, 
 
 110 
 
THE VISION OP ELIJAH BERL 
 
 to meet Helen s looking frankly into his own, or 
 was it his imagination? Was there an anxious 
 questioning, born of a half suspicion ? He put the 
 thought from him. 
 
 "Ysleta was worth while, " he ventured. 
 
 "In itself, it was. * Helen s face was firm with 
 conviction. "But these scheming rascals have made 
 it not worth while for a long time. There will be 
 room for Ysleta if Las Graces is managed right. 
 
 "It s going to be." Elijah spoke with no less 
 conviction. 
 
 "Yes, it s going to be just so long as you keep 
 clear of boomers methods. Not one of the boom 
 ers has cared a snap of his fingers for Ysleta s fu 
 ture. Every one has wanted all he could get, now." 
 
 "Now?" Elijah repeated. 
 
 "Yes, now; but we have to wait for things that 
 are worth while." 
 
 "Good Heavens, Helen! Haven t I waited?" 
 
 "Wait a little longer." Her voice was eager, al 
 most pleading. 
 
 "About the Pico ranch?" 
 
 "Just that, Elijah." Il -Ion made no attempt 
 to restrain the sigh of ivlicf that escaped her. 
 
 "I can t wait, Helen. Y<m saw wh>iv that <litdi 
 line was going. Others will see it. You saw that 
 only a hill lay between it and Pico s ranch. Others 
 will see it. A tunnel suggested itself to you. It will 
 suggest itself to others. \\V \\viv the first to see 
 
 111 
 
THE VISION OP ELIJAH BERL 
 
 these things, why should we not take advantage of 
 them?" 
 
 "But Seymour and Ralph, Elijah. It isn t fair 
 to them." 
 
 "I have given them enough." 
 
 "Yes, but" 
 
 Elijah interrupted her. 
 
 "I want to do things. You want to do things." 
 He was striding back and forth across the floor of 
 the office in growing excitement. I don t care for 
 money. You don t care for money. Look!" He 
 laid his hand on her arm and pointed to the dusty 
 street. " Except the Lord build the house, they 
 labor in vain that build it. Because of this, it is 
 falling ! falling ! But one can breathe the breath of 
 life into these dry bones. It shall rise from its 
 ashes. Deliver these lands from the hands of them 
 who have wrought this," he flung his hand to 
 ward the street, "from them and their kind, and 
 Ysleta shall yet live. It shall look forth upon waters 
 of plenty flowing from the mountains, upon green 
 hillsides, and upon valleys standing out with fat 
 ness." He paused, his voice dropped almost to a 
 whisper, but vibrating with intense emotion. * * The 
 vision of the future came to me. I was alone and 
 I waited. Then you came into my life. What I 
 lack, you have; patience, sympathy. You don t 
 know what it means to me." 
 
 Helen s eyes were not frank and fearless now. 
 
 112 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 They \VITO shrinking, questioning, doubting; but 
 they could not drop from Elijah s. She felt rather 
 than knew her feet were trembling on the brink, 
 but she could not turn back. The old fascination 
 was yet strong upon her, but she felt its strength 
 as a whole. Of its elemental compounds she was 
 ignorant; the religious fanaticism that with fren 
 zied kisses wears smooth a block of worthless stone ; 
 the merciless vanity that comes to one who is fixed 
 in the belief that he is God s elect; the human ele 
 ment that demands love, sympathy and unswerving 
 devotion to the idols he worships, whatever the cost 
 to others. These were strong elements and Helen 
 felt their power even as Ralph and others had felt 
 it. There was in Elijah an unshaken, unshakable 
 belief in himself. His work appealed to others as 
 it had appealed to Helen. Others selected with un 
 clouded judgment the grains of Elijah s enthusiasm 
 from the chaff of his fanaticism. Others had not 
 a woman s heart; Helen had. She was not con 
 scious of it, of how it was blinding her judgment, 
 of w lu-re it was leading her. This consciousness was 
 dimly suggesting itself to her, not from herself 
 but from Elijah. Let him arouse that conscious- 
 to active life, then she would know, then she 
 would act! 
 
 Helen divw a deep, inspiring breath, looking up 
 again. II- r -\vs were fiercely questioning. 
 
 No! This x.i ulous passion that strn<l<- sure-footed 
 
 113 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 on the brink of destruction, could not be assumed, 
 was not assumed. Helen was quick to judge and 
 quick to decide when she saw clearly. She was 
 clean of heart and pure of mind. She could not 
 know that a human soul, lashed to frenzy by the 
 stings of an outraged conscience, can yet clothe it 
 self in robes that might be worn by an angel of 
 light. 
 
 "Then I saw in my dream that there was a way 
 to hell, even from the gates of heaven, as well as 
 from the city of destruction." 
 
 114 
 
CHAPTER TWELVE 
 
 "Whether warned by intuition that one more step 
 would be fatal, or whether his blinded sense of right 
 was asserting itself, the fact remained that for 
 several days, Elijah was hardly ever in the office 
 and even then for only a brief time. He seemed to 
 Helen, absorbed if not sullen. At first she noticed 
 this with positive relief; later she had misgivings 
 which grew more insistent as time went on. She 
 saw and she could not see. She saw the dream of 
 Elijah s solitary years daily takinir shape and form. 
 She saw that his work had roots which struck deep 
 in solid, lasting worth; she saw Ysleta founded on 
 drifting sand. The one had solid business prin 
 ciples; the other had glittering promis. s as worth- 
 as fairy trold. Was this all? From hero on, 
 her vision was blurred. Was this principle which 
 one had and the other had not, after all. rooted d.-.-p 
 in the mysterious influence which guided Klijah s 
 life? 
 
 It was with positive gratitude on.- mornin<_r that 
 she heard Uncle Sid s pnndi-mus knock on her door 
 and his raucous voice calling to her. 
 
 115 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "Come, Helen. Let s you and me take a walk 
 before the sun has burned the dust all off o the 
 grass." 
 
 All right, Uncle Sid! I ll be there in a mo 
 ment." 
 
 She was up and dressed almost before the echo of 
 Uncle Sid s voice had died away. 
 
 Uncle Sid eyed her approvingly as she stepped 
 into the hall. 
 
 "Pretty trim lookin craft," he remarked. 
 1 Don t take you long to get under way, either. 
 
 "Where are you going, Uncle Sid?" 
 
 Anywhere, so I get out o the smell o varnish ! 
 Sand s better n that." Uncle Sid wrinkled his 
 nose in deep disgust. "You can blow sand off; but 
 this stuff ! It just soaks into you till you can taste 
 it." 
 
 Helen laughed. 
 
 "It is penetrating." 
 
 "Penetratin I" Uncle Sid snorted. "I should 
 say it was. If starvin cannibals just got one whilY 
 of us they d never think o cookin us unless they d 
 got used to lunchin off pitch pine." 
 
 They passed through the office, startling a dozing 
 clerk and porter to forced attention ; but these, dis 
 covering that their services were not needed, settled 
 themselves to their former positions. 
 
 The outside air was heavy with the indescribable 
 
 116 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 odor of newness and of hustling activity in drowsy 
 repose. 
 
 Uncle Sid had a bag in his hand which bumped 
 softly against the outer door as he opened it. 
 
 " Oranges/ he explained. "Hope to Gracious 
 they ain t infected. I gave em a good chance. I 
 kept em in my room last night." 
 
 Outside the door, he gained his first knowledge of 
 a California fog. The sticky, clammy chill pene 
 trated their garments like water. Uncle Sid but 
 toned his sailor jacket as he descended the broad 
 steps. 
 
 "This settles it!" 
 
 "Settles what?" Helen inquired, her teeth chat 
 tering. 
 
 "This ere fog has given me an idea. I m goin* 
 down to the river, the Christopher Sawyer, or some 
 such heathen name. I just bet it s one of those un 
 canny sort o streams that fit this country like a wet 
 sail to a spar." 
 
 "You ll have to explain, Uncle Sid; I m stupid 
 this mornin.L . 
 
 Uncle Sid looked sceptical, but resumed his point. 
 
 "Just look at this fog! I bet that the Chris 
 topher Sawyer gets out o bed nights and distrib- 
 Otei itst-lf through the air general, an waits for the 
 sun to herd it back. I m goin down to see." 
 
 Helen followed the old gi iitlnnan, absently 
 humoring him in his fancy. She was in a listening 
 
 117 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 mood rather than a talkative one, and Uncle Sid 
 distracted her thoughts from her own perplexities. 
 
 "Gosh a mighty!" Uncle Sid was out in the 
 street, peering through the mist. "Seem s like 
 wadin through skim milk." 
 
 "Which way?" Helen paused beside him. 
 
 "I snum to Gracious if I know! I didn t adjust 
 my compasses last night, an I guess I ll have to 
 sail by dead reckonin . Every country that ever 
 I was in before, an I ve been in most of em, the 
 water ran down hill. Now here, what there is of 
 it, don t seem to pay any attention to grades. 
 "When it comes to a hill, it just changes to gas, 
 coagulates on the other side, an goes on." 
 
 Uncle Sid was under way; Helen, absorbed in 
 thought, followed absently in his wake. The palms 
 which the industrious boomers had planted along 
 the streets, loomed hazily through the fog ahead, 
 gradually sharpened in outline, and again grew 
 hazy with distance, as they passed them by. From 
 each palm, a tuft of yellow-green spears stood up 
 defiantly above a cluster of gray spikes pointing 
 downward to their warty trunks ; a picture of hope 
 eternal in spite of inevitable death, as cheerfully 
 suggestive of mortality, as the upward pointing 
 hands, and the downward-drooping willows on the 
 tombstones of New England s puritan dead. 
 
 Helen was wondering what possible pleasure there 
 could be in this walk, but it was new and strange 
 
 118 
 
THE VISION OP ELIJAH BERL 
 
 to Uncle Sid and he ploughed steadily ahead. In 
 spite of the drapririn? sand that made her feet feel 
 like lead, the exercise did not stir her blood to a 
 plow of warmth. The physical chill of the fog, 
 the tawny sand that seemed to tinge the creeping 
 mist, the mental chill of her mood affected her so 
 that it suddenly seemed to her as if she could not 
 take another step. 
 
 " Aren t you hunting needless trouble, Uncle 
 Sid?" she suddenly cried, stopping short and look 
 ing at Uncle Sid. "Let s go back. We can be no 
 end more miserable in our awful hotel with only 
 half the trouble." 
 
 "I ain t seen no signs of the Christopher Saw 
 yer yet, exceptin this." Uncle Sid clove a semi 
 circle through the mist with his outstretched arm. 
 
 "Oh, well, if it s a scientific voyage, Uncle Sid, 
 let s go right on." 
 
 "Must be that. It s something an it ain t no 
 pleasure excursion, that s sure!" 
 
 They plodded on. It seemed to Helen as if it 
 were miles, she was certain it was hours. At last 
 it grew lighter, and tin- yellow tawn of the sand 
 appeared to have risen higher and higher, till the 
 whole of the shrouding mist was a yellow haze. 
 
 "I can t go another step, Uncle Sid." Helen 
 stopped short and sat down on a hummock of sand. 
 
 "What \ the matter little girl? You seem sort o 
 done up this mornin ," Uncle Sid dropped beside 
 
 119 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 her with a sounding slump. "There! here I be! 
 If I didn t ring, it ain t because I ain t hollow." 
 
 He unfolded a paper bag and drawing forth some 
 formidable sandwiches passed one to Helen and 
 began eating one himself. The sandwiches dis 
 posed of, he again investigated the bag. This time 
 he brought out two large oranges. 
 
 "They do one thing shipshape in this country." 
 He was eyeing Helen keenly while tearing the rind 
 from his orange. "They do up water in mighty 
 neat shape, but they do charge for it though. That s 
 what they do!" he rattled on. "These yellow 
 water-balls cost me five cents apiece, they did ! " He 
 parted the segments carefully, anxious lest a drop 
 of the juice should be wasted. Again his eyes 
 rested thoughtfully on Helen s somber face. 
 
 "What s the trouble, Helen?" 
 
 Helen s answer was accompanied by a blended 
 look of assent to Uncle Sid s assumption and a 
 humorous denial of it. 
 
 "One is often absent minded over troubles that 
 can t be explained even to one s best friends." 
 
 "Well," Uncle Sid was not wholly satisfied, 
 "perhaps by the time I m your best friend, you ll 
 be ready to tell me. 
 
 "I think that may be very soon," said Helen 
 soberly, as she finished her orange. 
 
 "Have another?" Uncle Sid held out the bag 
 cordially. 
 
 120 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 Helen was morally certain that Uncle Sid s New 
 England thrift was dwelling on foe five cents 
 apiece; but she took the proffered orange. Uncle 
 Sid rose clumsily to his feet. 
 
 "Now for the Christopher Sawyer." 
 
 The mist was rapidly clearing. Without visible 
 means of locomotion, wisps of fog rose from the 
 ground in the distance, trailed along like a sea- 
 bird rising from the water, then melted in the 
 air. They were standing on the edge of a mesa. 
 Below them, tall cottonwoods rose in a straggling, 
 sinuous line, their trunks matted with clinging 
 vines, their branches loaded almost to the breaking 
 point with clusters of parasitic plants. A line of 
 shrubs, filling in between the trees, were bowed in 
 a mat of tangled verdure that was dotted and 
 sprinkled with rainbow colors. White-rimmed 
 ditches appeared from behind projecting promon 
 tories of yellow sand, crawled under wire fences 
 whose crooked, ghostly sticks, like the legs of some 
 gigantic centipede, straggled around patches of 
 wheat and barley. Outside these patches of green, 
 adobe huts were surrounded by other scrairirly 
 sticks, driven into the ground and held upright 
 by wires which were stretched out to them from 
 occasional cottonwoods. 
 
 Back of them, Ysleta was lost to sight behind a 
 rising grade of yellow sand, dotted by clumps of 
 chaparral and cactus. Across the barranca, over 
 
 121 
 
THE VISION OP ELIJAH BERL 
 
 the tops of the highest cottonwoods, the rolling 
 mesa stretched as barren and forbidding as that on 
 which they were standing. 
 
 "I bet that s the Christopher Sawyer! * Uncle 
 Sid was pointing to the tangled mass of vegeta 
 tion. "These are the first things I ve seen that 
 look as if they d had enough to drink." 
 
 Helen was looking in another direction. 
 
 "How queer those cattle are acting." 
 
 She was watching a bunch of cattle about three 
 hundred yards away. They were clustered thickly, 
 their heads pointed towards herself and Unclfr-.-Sid. 
 In front of the herd, a huge bull was pawing the 
 sand. There was a muffled bellowing and from 
 beneath the nostrils of his low-hanging head, spurts 
 of dust rose in the air. 
 
 "Those critters do look hostile, an there ain t 
 no fence to get over an not a gosh-hanged tree to 
 climb." Uncle Sid spoke uneasily. 
 
 Across the barranca, they caught sight of an 
 other cloud of dust, from which swung wildly 
 gesticulating arms. At the same time, from one 
 of the adobes, they saw a vaquero emerge. His 
 arms too, were wildly waving. In response to his 
 cries which they heard only faintly, two bunches 
 of yapping gray fur swept across the white-rimmed 
 ditches and rolled up the bank. 
 
 There was evidently an unwonted excitement of 
 which Helen and Uncle Sid were an important 
 
 122 
 
THE VISION OP ELIJAH BERL 
 
 part. Then the cattle came to a conclusion and, 
 with lowered heads and tails sticking upright, they 
 charged straight for Uncle Sid and Helen. 
 
 The horsemen, meanwhile had crossed the bar 
 ranca, and the next instant, horses and riders with 
 the yapping fur, had turned the vigorously charg 
 ing cattle to an equally vigorous retreat. 
 
 Winston sprang from his horse in front of Uncle 
 Sid. His face was white with anger. 
 
 "Where did you come from? he began. 
 
 "From God s country, young man, and we got 
 lost." Uncle Sid was unabashed. Winston s face 
 broke into a smile ; then he caught sight of Helen. 
 
 "You ought to know better than this, Helen. " 
 
 "Better than what, young man?" 
 
 "Better than to go walking around here. You 
 see these cattle are more than half wild. They 
 don t often see a footman, and when they have 
 calves, they are dangerous. If you had been 
 mounted, you could have ridden through the bun eh 
 and they wouldn t have noticed you." 
 
 "Well; we shall have to walk back, apparently." 
 Helen s smile was not wholly spontaneous. 
 
 "To God s country? It s a long way." Ralph 
 was smiling at Helen s chagrin. 
 
 Hrlen laughed. 
 
 "Perhaps you could show us the way?" 
 
 "You would better go down to Pedro s ranch and 
 
 123 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 wait. Our supply wagons will be along shortly, 
 and they will take you to. town." 
 
 " Young man," Uncle Sid broke in, "you seem 
 to know this country. Is that strip o damp sand 
 down there, the Christopher Sawyer?" 
 
 "The what?" For a moment, Ralph s face was 
 blank astonishment, then he burst into a hearty 
 laugh. 
 
 "Oh, the Sangre de Christo! Yes." 
 
 "They both mean the same thing. Whew! 
 Helen, I ve got another idea about this country. 
 It s a great country for raisin ideas, if it ain t 
 good for anything else. It s prolific! It would 
 make a stone man think." He paused, fanning 
 himself vigorously. "There ain t any use talk- 
 in ; it s great! Soaks thinks full o fog- water 
 nights, an then the sun comes out mornin s and 
 boils em. If it wasn t for fogs twould roast em. 
 I don t wonder Lige Berl gets a broad view o 
 Providence, You can get all sorts o vittles in this 
 country, roasted, boiled and dried. I bet those 
 critters are carryin around dried beef on their 
 bones right now." 
 
 Ralph s look of amusement gave way to one of 
 inquiry. 
 
 "Are you a friend of Elijah Berl?" he asked. 
 "Helen, why don t you introduce us?" 
 
 But Uncle Sid again interrupted. 
 
 "Worse than that, young man, worse than that. 
 
 124 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 It s most as bad as blood relations. Me and Lige 
 Deri s folks have been brought up in the same 
 neighborhood back in New England for ages. 
 
 Ralph started to reply to Uncle Sid, but a glance 
 at Helen changed his mind. 
 
 "Let s get down to Pedro s ranch, in the shade. 
 The wagons won t be along for an hour yet." He 
 tried to walk by Helen s side, but she waited for 
 Uncle Sid. 
 
 The last remnant of the fog had departed; the 
 sun was blazing fiercely. Toward Ysleta, the air 
 was already shimmering over the sand. By the 
 ditches and among the vines, was the music of many 
 birds and the cheerful notes of Bob White. 
 
 Half stifled with the choking dust, they scuffled 
 and slid down the steep trail that led to Pedro s 
 adobe. 
 
 Pedro was following, his stolid face stifling his 
 emotions. At the gate, the vaquero and Winston, 
 drawing their reins over their ponies heads, 
 dropped them on the ground. Pedro stepped for 
 ward, swept his hat from his head and held the gate 
 open for his guests to pass through. Following 
 them, he pointed to an inviting hammock, swung 
 between two fruit trees. Again he s\\vpt his hat 
 from his head. 
 
 "Perhaps the sefiorita will honor my poor ham 
 mock by reposing in it." 
 125 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 Helen stepped to the hammock. Another grace 
 ful bow from Pedro. 
 
 "At your feet, sefiorita." 
 
 Uncle Sid, uninvited, explored the garden. Pedro 
 was marching to the adobe. To Helen it seemed 
 as if she had never before experienced such a 
 delicious sensation as the resting of her tired body 
 in the perfectly adjusted hammock. Ralph was 
 watching her. 
 
 Pedro has departed, may I take his place I" 
 Assuming an affirmative answer, he stretched him 
 self at her feet. 
 
 "Helen, what s wrong?" he asked anxiously. 
 
 "Nothing, that I know of." She replied eva 
 sively. 
 
 "Is it the office?" persisted Winston. 
 
 "Why can t you believe me?" There was a 
 trace of annoyance in her manner. 
 
 "Because when your eyes tell me one thing and 
 your lips another, I m going to take my choice." 
 
 "I really don t like to ask you to attend to your 
 own business, Ralph." There was a flash of the 
 old humor in her voice. 
 
 "You oughtn t to say that to me, Helen, for the 
 sake of old times if for nothing more," he added 
 deliberately. 
 
 Helen understood the conditional "if", as well 
 as tho expression of his eyes. A surest ion of red 
 tinged the clear olive of her cheeks. 
 
 126 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 This is no place for confidences, even if I had 
 any to exchai. 
 
 Later on then." Ralph s lips were decided. 
 "Who is your friend?" he added. 
 
 "Uncle Sid? He is an old friend of Elijah s. 
 He and his sister are stopping at the Vista." 
 
 There sounded the leisurely chut-chut of the 
 lumbering wagons. Ralph rose to his feet. 
 
 There come the wagons." 
 
 At tin- waiTon, Helen insisted upon riding in the 
 driver s scat. Uncle Sid was stowed in the rear. 
 Ralph flashed a look toward Helen. 
 
 My horse won t lead," he declared. "You ride 
 him in, Jim, and I ll drive." 
 
 If Ralph had counted upon a quiet talk with 
 ll.-len during the ride to Ysleta, he was certainly 
 disappointed. Uncle Sid s position in the back 
 ground was the only thing in the rear which he ac 
 cepted. In the matter of conversation, he was well 
 to the front. 
 
 "What s Lige Berl doin in this country any 
 way?" he questioned Ralph. 
 
 " Lige?" repeated Ralph. "Oh, he dreamed a 
 dream; was five years at it. He dreamed of 
 oranges, big fellows without seeds; of mountains 
 with too much water ami of deserts without enough. 
 Then be dn-amed of buiichiuir the ihive toother 
 I m- their mutual benefit. He convinced some KaM- 
 
 127 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 era capital that it was no dream after all. Now 
 we are trying to make good." 
 
 Uncle Sid grunted. 
 
 That s tolerably condensed." 
 
 Ralph laughed at Uncle Sid s disapproval. 
 
 "If you are really interested, you d better let us 
 show you around a* little. You can see a good deal 
 better than I can tell you." 
 
 Uncle Sid s face had lost its humorous wrinkles. 
 
 " Lige is really doin something worth while out 
 here, is he?" 
 
 "He s got me on the jump. That s a good deal 
 in itself." 
 
 "What are you doin ?" 
 
 " Oh, " Ralph laughed. " I m being bossed. 
 
 Uncle Sid looked sharply at Ralph. 
 
 "If I was on the quarter deck as I used to be, 
 an saw you afore the mast, I d think over my 
 orders before I handed em to you. If Lige has 
 any sense with his dreamin , he ll do the same." 
 
 "Helen s helping Lige to boss me. When he 
 isn t around, she does it alone." 
 
 Uncle Sid looked at Helen. The humorous 
 wrinkles returned to his face. 
 
 "What s the matter with you? You swallowed 
 your tongue?" 
 
 "No; I m holding it." She answered Uncle 
 Sid s look as well as his words. 
 
 The lumbering wagon drew up in front of the 
 
 128 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 Rio Vista. Before Ralph could dispose of the 
 reins, Helen was on the ground and ascending the 
 steps of the hotel. At the top she paused, speaking 
 to Ralph. 
 
 "I m going to take Uncle Sid out to the works 
 before long. Then she entered the door. 
 
 Uncle Sid turned to Ralph. 
 
 "I don t guess you re bein bossed quite so 
 much as you say." He slowly clambered from the 
 wagon and stood, looking at Ralph, his hand on 
 the wheel. "I ain t askin questions just for fun," 
 he began. 
 
 Ralph interrupted. 
 
 "I won t answer your questions in fun either. 
 But you do what Helen says. Come out to the 
 works. 
 
 Perhaps it was because she had expected too 
 much, but Helen was disappointed in the morning. 
 Certain things had been disquieting. Ralph s 
 words "For the sake of old times, if for nothing 
 else" had at first annoyed her. The annoyance 
 changed to a questioning disquietude. The very 
 annoyance suggested possibilities which had never 
 distinctly occurred to her before. She did not, she 
 could not resent it as she would like to do. She 
 could not avoid a comparison between the clear, 
 steady eyes of Ralph Winston and the glowing, 
 shifting ones of Elijah Berl which had moved her 
 so profoundly. 
 
 129 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BEKL 
 
 The contrast between the two men forced itself 
 upon her. The convincing alertness of Ralph Win 
 ston, clear and cool and bracing, the glowing mys 
 tical enthusiasm of Elijah Berl that breathed upon 
 her, laid hold upon her like languorous exhalations 
 from a tropic growth. She recalled her childhood 
 days with Ralph Winston. His masterful ways 
 which flashed out in open revolt against her im 
 petuous temper, that took her in his arms and in 
 spite of her panting protests, soothed her 
 into forgiving smiles. There was no yielding 
 to her wrongs, no tyranny in his right, but a subtle 
 stimulating air that suggested no personality, 
 rather an impersonal force which compelled him, 
 even as it did her. 
 
 There were tears in her eyes now. There was a 
 great longing to go to Ralph as she had gone years 
 ago, to hear again the words which had melted her 
 darkness into clear light. An almost irresistible 
 impulse came to her. "Why not go to him now?" 
 He had opened the way. A word, a motion, a 
 glance from her eyes and the way would open again. 
 She rose to her feet and laid her hand upon the 
 door. 
 
 Had Winston been in the hotel that night ! But 
 he was miles away and she returned to her seat. 
 Her brain went on and on, twisting and turning 
 the same old problem. Ralph knew Elijah Berl, yet 
 he had cast in his lot with him. Ralph trusted in 
 
 130 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 his own strength, why should not she trust in hers? 
 She drew a long, shuddering breath. Elijah had 
 asked her for bread. Could she give him a stone? 
 
 131 
 
CHAPTER THIRTEEN 
 
 Winston had been in earnest when he invited the 
 old sea captain to make him a visit. He had felt as 
 strongly attracted to the kindly old man as Uncle 
 Sid had been to him. To a certain extent he was 
 curious to know just why Eliah s affairs so deeply 
 interested him. The chance remark of the old cap 
 tain to the effect that he had known Elijah from 
 childhood up, was a partial explanation that opened 
 the door to the desire to know the cause in full. 
 Evidently the youthful Elijah had displayed the 
 same characteristics which maturer years had de 
 veloped in California. Winston guessed that the 
 weak spots in Elijah which had aroused his own 
 opposition, had not escaped the eyes of the captain. 
 As day after day passed by, he concluded that 
 Uncle Sid was waiting for Helen and that Helen 
 was too busy to accompany him. 
 
 Whether Uncle Sid had become tired of waiting 
 for Helen or whether he decided that a proper 
 time had elapsed since the invitation had been 
 given, matters not. Late one afternoon, one of the 
 supply wagons delivered him at Ralph s tent. 
 
 The flaps of the tent were open and Ralph was 
 
 132 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 there explaining some blue prints to one of his 
 assistants. lie looked up at the sound of the wagon. 
 "Oh, hello, Captain! I m mighty glad to see 
 you. I had about given you up." 
 
 1 Huh ! " the old man grunted. That ain t over 
 complimentary. From what I ve heard, you ain t 
 over quick at givin up what is worth while." 
 
 "Give me a chance, Captain. You don t want to 
 believe all that you hear." 
 
 "I don t. That s what I m up here for." 
 "Now we re even on compliments. Let s call it 
 quits." 
 
 Uncle Sid looked up shrewdly. 
 "Figures and doin things ain t all that you re 
 quick at." He paused, taking in the assistant. 
 "Don t mind me. You go on stuffin that young 
 man. He ain t full yet." 
 
 "Just a minute; then I m yours truly." Ralph 
 devoted a few moments to the "young man" who, 
 haviiiLr been "stuffed", departed. "How would 
 you like to take a little drive up the line?" 
 "Just how much is your little?" 
 "It s fifteen miles to the next camp. If you say 
 so, we will drive up there and stay all niirht and 
 the next day we can make the dam in the moun 
 tains. I think you ll like it, if it isn t too much. 
 Ralph purposely touched up Uncle Sid with his 
 last remark. 
 
 "I ain t too old to know when I ve got enough 
 
 133 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 an I ain t bashful at hollerin about it, either. 
 You just drive on till I holler, unless you get 
 enough before." 
 
 Uncle Sid had little to say on the way, but his 
 keen eyes were taking in everything along the 
 line. Ralph s explanations were listened to in 
 silence. Ralph was not slow to note the absorbed 
 interest of his companion, nor the fact that not a 
 word of his explanations was lost. At every gang 
 of men, Ralph was halted by alert foremen, and 
 often he left the team in charge of Uncle Sid while 
 he went forth to untangle some snarled bit of work 
 or to give farther directions in advancing it. 
 
 The sun was down when they drew up before 
 the camp and surrendered the team to a waiting 
 Mexican. 
 
 Uncle Sid glanced at Ralph with a look at once 
 appreciative and cynical. 
 
 "The next time you tell me about a place, you 
 just say how long it is, not how far." 
 
 "You ll have to excuse me there. You see I 
 know distances, but I can t always say about the 
 time." 
 
 Ralph was up the next morning even before the 
 captain who believed in early rising. 
 
 "Good morning, Captain. Ready for another 
 trip?" 
 
 "I guess so." 
 
 "I can tell distance and time all right today. 
 
 134 
 
THE VISION OP ELIJAH BERL 
 
 Do you see what you re up against?" Ralph 
 pointed to the towering San Bernardinos. It s 
 horseback from here and we ought to be there by 
 throe o clock anyway." 
 
 At the mouth of the canon, Ralph explained the 
 dam that was being built across the river and the 
 heavy gates that were being put in. 
 
 "You see we let the water come from the reser 
 voir as far as this, in its natural bed. If any 
 thing should happen along the canal we can shut 
 off the water at this point first. Later, we could 
 shut it off at the reservoir." 
 
 Uncle Sid asked a few questions, then they began 
 to climb the steep mountains. They passed loaded 
 pack-mules going up and empty trains coming down 
 the trail. In places the trail was a narrow shelf 
 along the face of a nearly perpendicular cliff. Be 
 low them ran the river in its narrow gorge, above 
 them gleamed a slender strip of sky cut into ragged 
 I by towering cliffs. Just as the trail climbed 
 to the edge of the canon it seemed to end against a 
 smooth wall of granite. A sharp turn to the left, 
 and Uncle Sid could not repress an exclamation of 
 a \vt-d delight at the scene before him. The trail 
 led out upon a broad terrace. Two hundred feet 
 below, a treeless valley wound out and in among 
 rounded tree-clad domes of granite. Here and 
 there, on either side, stately spires of naked rock 
 
 135 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 thrust up into the sky, the bare brown of their 
 sides striped with bands of dazzling white. 
 
 The dam was to be situated between two granite 
 bluffs at the head of the canon. The masonry gate 
 houses were already the height of the proposed 
 dam. The gates themselves were closed and the 
 valley was a great lake. The sight was great, awe- 
 inspiring yet peaceful. 
 
 "What do you think of it?" 
 
 "Who thought of this?" Uncle Sid glanced at 
 Ralph with shrewd eyes. 
 
 "It thought itself." Ralph answered evasively. 
 "We are really only doing here what nature her 
 self did and then undid. You can see that this 
 valley was once a great natural lake. The Sangre 
 de Cristo cut through the canon and drained the 
 lake. Now we are putting in a dam and restoring 
 it." 
 
 Uncle Sid did not take his eyes from Ralph s im 
 passive face. 
 
 "Young man, there s a lot o dust around here, 
 but you can t blow it into my eyes, not that way. 
 You can t do it by keep in still either, any more 
 than Lige Berl can by talkin about it." 
 
 Ralph laughed quietly. 
 
 "Oh, well, that doesn t matter. We re going 
 to get what we re after and that s the main thing. 
 Let s go down to camp." 
 
 They rode down the winding trail that led from 
 
 136 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 the upper terrace. The remainder of the after 
 noon was spent in an inspection of the work. 
 After supper, their pipes lighted, they sat looking 
 out over the valley. 
 
 "Engineering is a great business," Uncle Sid 
 observed meditatively. 
 
 "Yes," Ralph assented, "so is anything, if you 
 push it." 
 
 "I guess not." Uncle Sid chuckled. "I ran 
 away to sea when I was twelve years old. My edu 
 cation was got dancin at a rope s end when the 
 captain s mess didn t sit well on his stomach." 
 Uncle Sid paused, again chuckled. "A rope s end 
 makes a boy mighty observing 
 
 "You didn t learn navigation that way did 
 you?" 
 
 "No-o." Uncle Sid pulled meditatively at his 
 pipe. "A rope s end is also mighty stimulatin to 
 the imagination. It struck me that I had got all 
 I needed. At the same time, I saw old sailors with 
 bald heads an gray whiskers, still a dancin . The 
 only difference I could see between them an the 
 captain was that the captain could squint at the 
 sun through a spyglass with a half moon hitched 
 to it, an tell the man at the wheel to hold the ship s 
 head nor -nor east." 
 
 "Then what?" 
 
 "Then? Oh, I just got me a nautical almanac and 
 learned to squint too. The first thing I knew I was 
 
 137 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 mate, then first officer an by squintin long enough 
 I squinted myself on the quarter deck." 
 
 Ralph waited a moment, then spoke laughingly, 
 "I guess my rope s end wasn t so very different 
 from yours, only I had mine in college." 
 
 "You didn t run away to college, did you?" 
 1 No, I didn t; but I had a gad flying around 
 my heels, just the same. After I got out of col 
 lege, I was engaged as assistant to a famous hy 
 draulic engineer. He sent me into the mountains 
 to make a preliminary survey. There weren t many 
 men as big as I was when I strapped a level and a 
 transit to my mule s back and started off. I wad 
 going to show that old bomb-shell that he d got a 
 man worth having, and I wasn t going to stop with 
 him either." Ralph paused to give way to a 
 reminiscent chuckle. 
 
 "Well! I wish you could have seen those moun 
 tains as I saw them. Talk about taking the starch 
 out of a man! Why, Captain, you could have 
 wadded me up and drawn me through a finger ring 
 like one of those Arabian Nights shawls. There 
 were mountains and mountains, and gulches and 
 gulches, precipices and canons, and rushing, yelp 
 ing torrents that I was to lead over them, or 
 through them or around them, and the old man 
 hadn t given me a suggestion that I could hang a 
 guess on. The more I thought, the more scared I 
 got. I put up a stiff front, or tried to before my 
 
 138 
 
THE VISION OP ELIJAH BERL 
 
 men, but all the time I imagined them laughing at 
 me, or cursing me for making them wade that strip 
 of ice water, or break their shins dragging a chain 
 over the slippery rocks. I was thankful when the 
 sun went down, but that didn t last long. Even in 
 my sleep I saw those mountains jiggering and 
 grinning. They moved into places that I had 
 picked out for my line, and away from them when 
 I had abandoned it. I stood it for a week, then I 
 poured out my woes in a long letter to my chief and 
 sent it out by a special messenger." 
 
 Ralph again paused. The old man waited for a 
 moment. 
 
 "Well?" he asked. 
 
 "In a week my answer came. Just five sen 
 tences. You are going at your work the wrong 
 way. You are asking it questions. By and by 
 your work will ask you questions. Then you re 
 getting on. Keep at it. 
 
 "And the line?" persisted Uncle Sid. 
 
 "Oh, the line? I made the profile and sent it in. 
 My old man came up and looked it over. lie was 
 in a hurry as usual. Yon have laid out the line; 
 now go ahead and build it , then he was off." 
 
 "You built it?" 
 
 Y.-x after a fashion. It helped to wash the gold 
 out of the Yuba river sand till the anti-debris laws 
 headed it off. Then I came down here." 
 
 139 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "How did you happen to hit in with Elijah 
 Berl?" 
 
 "He was the only man in Southern California 
 who was doing anything that was worth while." 
 
 "Yes, it is worth while." Uncle Sid brought 
 down his open hand upon his knee with a resound 
 ing slap. Then he laid his hand on Ralph s with 
 emphasizing beats, looking earnestly into his face. 
 "Don t you let go, either, or it won t be worth 
 shucks. 
 
 Ralph returned the Captain s earnest look. 
 
 "I ll hang on," he answered briefly. 
 
 "That s right. You stick to it. You an Helen 
 Lonsdale are goin to make this thing go, if it s a 
 goin ." 
 
 "I think I appreciate what Helen is doing as 
 well as what Elijah has done; she s the life of the 
 whole business." 
 
 Uncle Sid appeared to take up Ralph s words. 
 Then he changed his mind, speaking reminiscently. 
 
 "I ve known Lige Berl ever since he was so 
 high an before." Uncle Sid measured Elijah s 
 former height with his hand. "He s a queer mix 
 ture. He was always a mixture of ideas an prayer 
 meetin s an the flesh pots of Egypt. You can t 
 no more help commendin his prayer-meetin moods 
 than you can help cussin his lickin the flesh pots. 
 He ain t changed a bit out here. He ll just look 
 at you with his eyes wide open an you ll feel like 
 
 140 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 a man that s just got religion an you won t sus 
 pect that he s picked your pocket till you put your 
 hand in to pay your grocer s bill." 
 
 Ralph smiled grimly. 
 
 "There s not much profit in talking about this. 
 But well, you know Lige all right." 
 
 "Wait a minute, I ain t through." Uncle Sid s 
 eyes were fixed on Ralph like a steel needle point 
 ing to a magnet. "Money s the root of evil, but 
 there s a power of good in the roots if they re used 
 right. I ve got quite a bunch of the roots handy. 
 You re goin to need them, an young man, they re 
 at your call when you say so, an if I ain t mis 
 taken, it won t be long either." 
 
 "Thank you." Ralph answered briefly. "I ll re 
 member." 
 
 The Captain did not drop his eyes, but they soft 
 ened. 
 
 "You ve known Helen Lonsdale for a long time, 
 haven t you?" 
 
 "Ever since she was a little girl." 
 
 "An you re a friend of hers?" 
 
 "Yes." Ralph did not say how much more than 
 a friend she was coming to be to him. 
 
 Uncle Sid felt the repellent air of Ralph s 
 changed mood more than his rather curt reply, but 
 he held doggedly to his point. 
 
 "Smallpox is a mighty mean disease an you 
 
 141 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 don t always know that you re a catchin it till it 
 breaks out." 
 
 Ralph rose to his feet. Uncle Sid was breaking 
 ground that he had thought about, but which he 
 had not yet brought himself to touch. 
 
 1 Helen has always been able to take care of her 
 self and I don t think she will allow any one to 
 suggest that she can t do it now." 
 
 Uncle Sid was on his feet too, his hand on 
 Ralph s shoulder. 
 
 "Helen s a woman, Ralph. I don t know much 
 about women, but I do know that a man like Lige 
 Berl and a woman like Helen Lonsdale is a mighty 
 dangerous mixture, an the woman s bound to get 
 the worst of it. Helen s goin to need friends 
 who ll stand by her, an I guess when you think it 
 over, you ll agree with me." 
 
 Ralph made no reply, but he did as the Captain 
 had said he would do. He thought it over and the 
 seed did not fall on stony or barren ground. 
 
 142 
 
CHAPTER FOURTEEN 
 
 The coming of Mrs. MacGregor was a turning 
 point in Elijah s life. In the New England com 
 munity where he had been born and reared, the 
 family of Eunice MacGregor had stood first, and 
 now in California, circumstances had already paved 
 the way for the hold which she was to have upon 
 him. Much as he had despised the boomers and 
 their methods, as exemplified in the handling of 
 Ysleta lots, when he came to dwell among the ma 
 nipulators, familiarity with the men had modified 
 and finally all but eliminated this feeling. In 
 Ysleta, Elijah s scheme, for so it was regarded, 
 was looked upon as a fairly shrewd move in the 
 speculative field. When the Las Cruces Company 
 was formed and work on the great Sangre de 
 Cristo dam and canal was actually begun, they saw 
 Elijah only as they saw themselves, a schemer after 
 unearned money. In the end, Elijah came to be 
 regarded as a smooth, shrewd man who possessed 
 qualities worthy of a better cause. 
 
 The duties which had compelled Elijah to make 
 his headquarters in Ysleta, had also compelled a 
 more intimate association with the men of the town. 
 
 143 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 He was consulted as to their plans and indirectly 
 encouraged in his own. He never for a moment 
 dreamed that his surroundings were insidiously 
 dangerous, or that his associates were infected with 
 a moral dry rot, more to be feared than a running 
 sore. These men were engaged in buying and sell 
 ing. They bought with the expectation of selling 
 for more than they gave. Ysleta was growing. 
 He who bought today could sell tomorrow at a big 
 advance, or the day after at a still greater. To be 
 sure there were chances of failure, but nothing was 
 certain. Were there not thousands and thousands 
 of persons who preferred to take chances with the 
 possibility of sudden and great profit ? To put it 
 at its worst, if fools had money which they were 
 bound to get rid of, might not Ysleta furnish the 
 opportunity as well as the next place? This was 
 the dry rot which was infecting Elijah. 
 
 Day by day, almost hour by hour the possibilities 
 of his scheme grew upon him. There were thou 
 sands upon thousands of acres of land, still barren 
 and worthless, that needed only water to make them 
 fertile as the gardens of the gods. There were 
 other streams fed by the melting snows of the San 
 Bernardinos, that rushed and roared among the 
 mountains; only to be swallowed up by the dry 
 sands of the desert in summer, or to tear a desolate 
 and desolating path in the early spring. The idea 
 of impounding the floods in the mountain recesses 
 
 144 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 was his own; if not strictly his own, then his own 
 by right of first demonstration. These lands were 
 valueless as they were. If he could only gain them, 
 bring water to them, plant them with fruit trees, 
 what might they not bring him ? Honor above the 
 highest, wealth beyond the greatest, would be his. 
 He had made a beginning. The great Sangre de 
 Cristo dam was almost a fact; only a few more 
 cubic yards of stone and mortar, then the gates 
 would be closed and the reservoir begin to fill. 
 Even now ditches were being cut to lead water to 
 his fields, thousands of trees were on his ranch 
 ready to be transplanted. 
 
 He had made a beginning, but what a paltry one 
 in the face of possibilities. There was the Pico 
 ranch. Even that was not paid for. When paid 
 for, how was it to be developed? The company 
 had the water; he had the land. The land was 
 worthless without the water. They could wait; he 
 couldn t. He was president of the company; but 
 he was powerless. lie raged at the idea. A thought 
 occurred to him and it grew in strength. The com 
 pany owed its existence to him; in some way it 
 should make acknowledgment. He needed money. 
 Hi- thought of the fifty thousand dollars in his 
 privnti- box in the company s vault. He had in 
 tended to deposit it in San Francisco, but one thing 
 after another had prevented. Was it providential T 
 The Pacific bank had failed. In their statements 
 
 145 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 fifty thousand dollars was unaccounted for. The 
 company s pass-book was again in the office ; but it 
 did not show a balance within fifty thousand dol 
 lars. Mellin and himself were the only ones who 
 knew why. The company owed more to him than 
 he would ever receive, beside, he himself was a 
 heavy stockholder, and he had a perfect right to 
 do what he would with his own. Still, his way was 
 not clear. Fifty thousand dollars was not enough. 
 Without more, what he had was useless. He would 
 wait. If he failed to raise the money, this would be 
 a sign to him that his course was not approved. 
 
 Since his first meeting with Mrs. MacGregor and 
 Uncle Sid, Elijah had sought out Mrs. MacGregor 
 and she had artfully made this easy for him. In 
 these interviews, she had skilfully drawn from him 
 the story of his life in California, his present con 
 dition and his future hopes. She was daily con 
 vinced of her wisdom in seeking out Elijah. There 
 yet remained the pleasing task of benefiting herself 
 by her wisdom. 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor was an intellectual woman. She 
 had not been born that way; she had deliberately 
 achieved it. Nature had denied her personal 
 charms. Her forehead was high and broad, and no 
 amount of coaxing was sufficient to induce her 
 straight, black hair to drape itself in a graceful 
 suggestion of a Psychic brow. Being denied Psyche, 
 
 146 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 she boldly assumed Minerva and bent her energies 
 toward living the part. 
 
 In her youth, women s colleges were not, and 
 even if they had been, the straitened circum 
 stances of the rural lawyer whose misfortune it 
 was to be her father, would have denied her the 
 privileges they offered. Having exhausted the 
 fount of wisdom whose waters were curbed by the 
 local female seminary, she turned on her father 
 with the filial affection of youthful arachnids, who 
 upon being hatched into life, suck their parent dry 
 and then leave the useless skeleton and strike out 
 into their individual careers. Under his tuition, 
 she learned to translate Virgil, to construe Homer 
 and to solve equations in a way that filled his har 
 rowed soul with pride. She mastered the seductive 
 syllogisms of Plato and Socrates, descended on 
 Kant and gaining confidence, began on her own 
 account to rattle the dry bones of scholastic phi 
 losophy till their rhythmic clatter suggested the 
 wisdom that close attention denied. 
 
 Eunice mated with another aspiring soul. This 
 other was a brilliant alumnus from one of the lead 
 ing New England universities. He was poetic and 
 soulful ; but at the same time erratic and uncer 
 tain. These latter attributes were even more pro 
 nounced after the marriage than before. Eunice 
 had deliberately cut him out from the bunch, to 
 use the vaquero s expression, and, to continue the 
 
 147 
 
THE VISION OP ELIJAH BERL 
 
 figure, had adroitly roped him. The roping in had 
 resulted very shortly in mutual disenthralment. 
 The result was frequent and prolonged separa 
 tions, on which occasion, each went his own way. 
 Eunice, on her part, enjoyed a satisfaction which 
 was ever present. She used the "Mrs." as a kind 
 of letter of marque which enabled her to make 
 piratical descents upon society in general in a man 
 ner which would not be tolerated in the more at 
 tractive but often compromising "Miss." 
 
 She sought the acquaintance of professors, judges 
 and governors in her own country, and gilded titles 
 in foreign lands. 
 
 It was in one of her earlier cruises in foreign 
 waters that Mrs. MacGregor had captured her most 
 valuable prize. In a secluded Swiss port, she had 
 run across a wealthy widow whose husband had 
 come thither in search of health and had unfor 
 tunately lost his life in a mountain climbing acci 
 dent. Mrs. Telford was overawed by the irre 
 sistible armament of the designing Eunice and 
 had surrendered unconditionally. Her health was 
 feeble and on her deathbed she had entrusted her 
 orphaned daughter as well as her daughter s for 
 tune to the guardianship of Eunice MacGregor. 
 This proved a most acceptable trust to Eunice. In 
 the first place, it made her financially independent 
 of her husband, and in the second place, it gave 
 her the opportunity to exercise the talent in the 
 
 148 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 proper rearing and training of a child, which the 
 Lord in his infinite wisdom has denied to mothers 
 and has bestowed in such unstinted measure upon 
 those to whom motherhood has been denied. 
 
 Her ward developed ideas with the years that 
 came to her. She saw clearly the more glaring de 
 fects of Mrs. MacGregor s character, but never 
 suspecting dishonesty, she left to her guardian the 
 stewardship of her large fortune. She regarded 
 it as an easy way of discharging a debt and en 
 abling Mrs. MacGregor to receive as a stipend what 
 she might hesitate to accept as a gift. 
 
 On her part, Mrs. MacGregor had taken full 
 measure of her maturing ward. She knew that 
 sooner or later, marriage was a certainty and that 
 with marriage her stewardship would cease. She 
 was, therefore, casting about her to make the most 
 of her tenure of office. She had heard of Elijah s 
 success in California and her heart was profoundly 
 moved. She quickly became convinced that Cali 
 fornia was the opportunity for which she had so 
 long and anxiously waited, and to California she 
 accordingly betook herself accompanied, somewhat 
 to her surprise, by Uncle Sid. Mrs. MacGregor was 
 not wholly pleased with the idea of being accom 
 panied by her nautical brother; but then who of 
 us is unhampered by undesirable relatives? 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor s veiled advances to Elijah were 
 rapidly having the effect which her designing mind 
 
 149 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 had forecast; more and more he was coming to 
 lean upon her; more and more ho was coming to be 
 guided by her. 
 
 Perhaps he was not conscious that an engage 
 ment to meet and talk over business matters with 
 Mrs. MacGregor, was shaping his meditations with 
 regard to the fifty thousand dollars concealed in his 
 private box. Perhaps he was not conscious that 
 he was proposing to do what he knew to be wrong 
 and then, if things went against him, to say, as 
 did our common ancestor, "The woman tempted 
 me." 
 
 As he drove up to the Rio Vista on the day of 
 his engagement with Mrs. MacGregor, Elijah was 
 placid under his old refuge. In the progress of his 
 day he would be guided. Unfortunately for Elijah, 
 in the progress of her day, Mrs. MacGregor would 
 guide. She was a human pirate, pure and simple. 
 In her piratical cruises, she flew any pennon which 
 policy dictated, while Elijah took refuge under let 
 ters of marque. 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor shrugged her shoulders gently 
 as she took her place beside Elijah and threw a 
 suggestive backward glance at the Rio Vista. 
 
 "I think it is wonderful that you have passed 
 through such fires with no smell of smoke on your 
 garments. * 
 
 "If you could see what I have seen, it would not 
 seem so wonderful. " 
 
 150 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BKKL 
 
 "But I have seen, and it only increases ray won 
 der. You might have accumulated safely in weeks 
 what will take you years in the line you have 
 chosen." 
 
 Elijah laughed. It was a gratified laugh. 
 
 "It isn t what I am after. These boomers are 
 trying to give nothing the appearance of some 
 thing. They began to build on nothing; I am 
 laying a foundation. I may build the super-struc 
 ture or I may not, that is for the Lord to say ; but 
 on my foundation the future of this part of Cali 
 fornia must be built. " 
 
 "And where no blade of grass grew, you have 
 made a paradise! Your modesty may call it acci 
 dent, but I call it a design which has been given 
 into hands willing and able to execute it." 
 
 Elijah looked thoughtful. Mrs. MacGregor s 
 words were grateful to him, but they were wide of 
 his purpose just now. He made up his mind to a 
 bold plunge. 
 
 "It may be a design, but others now see not 
 only the design, but its possibilities as well." 
 Elijah hesitated for a moment, then resumed slow 
 ly. "It may be that I have blazed the way; it 
 sei-ms to me that I have. But here is my problem. 
 Shall I n-st content with having bla/ed tin- way, or 
 shall I struggle with others for the rewards?" 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor did not hesitate. 
 
 "I have often thought of the parable of the 
 
 151 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 talents. I have thought of another bit of scripture 
 that is not a parable. To him that hath shall be 
 given, and from him that hath not shall be taken 
 even that which he hath. " 
 
 "You think then, that I have no right to rest 
 on what I have done, or rather, that I ought to 
 finish what I have undertaken?" 
 
 "Most assuredly. " 
 
 Elijah felt solid ground beneath his feet. There 
 was more than a touch of pride in his voice. 
 
 "Do you know that my every word is snapped 
 up ; my every action watched by those sharks ? " he 
 indicated Ysleta with his whip. "If I should point 
 my whip to those hills to which I am pointing 
 now, they would snap them up and organize an 
 orange growing company." Elijah paused and 
 turned his eyes to Mrs. MacGregor. She knew 
 what he would say, but she preferred to let him 
 speak. 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 "They would do by this as they have done by 
 Ysleta." 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor laughed. 
 
 "Why don t you take them then?" 
 
 "Is it my duty? That is the question that is 
 troubling me. I haven t the money to buy them 
 even at their present rates. If I had, my way 
 would be open." 
 
 152 
 
THE VISION OP ELIJAH BEIIL 
 
 "Why not have faith that the way will open in 
 tin* future as it has in the past?" 
 
 Elijah drew himself together. 
 
 "I am going to tell you the whole thing, then 
 you can judge me as you will." He told of the 
 fifty thousand dollars, his disposition of it, the fact 
 that the pass-book of the company showed a balance 
 unpaid of fifty thousand dollars, his provisional 
 deal with Pico. He hesitated as he closed the re 
 cital, then after a moment he concluded. "This 
 deal with Pico must be decided at once. Has the 
 way opened?" 
 
 .M is. MacGregor had grasped every point. When 
 Elijah ceased speaking her answer was ready. 
 
 "There are emergencies in life so fraught with 
 grave possibilities that every law of man, I might 
 almost say of God, must be thrust aside. Every 
 one who does great things, must at times do doubt 
 ful ones. That is, they are doubtful to eyes un 
 able to penetrate the future." 
 
 Elijah waited to make sure that Mrs. MacGregor 
 had finish. >d. She had purposely avoided a direct 
 answer. Thh d d not suit him. His eyes shone 
 hard as steel through his half-closed lids. 
 
 "Am I justified in using that fifty thousand? 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor s lips wt 
 
 "In my opinion you an-." 
 
 Elijah s (jurstinn had not surprised her; hut sh> 
 inwardly meuted it. II r plan had been to d.-al 
 
 153 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 out generalities, leaving her own skirts free. She 
 realized that he had gained all that he wanted 
 from her and had given her nothing. 
 
 4 There is another matter that has troubled me 
 for a long time, Mrs. MacGregor. I have tried to 
 shut my eyes to it, but I cannot. I can see great 
 things to be done and I can help others to see, but 
 there are times when I need help ; when I long for 
 human sympathy, intelligent sympathy that can 
 see what I see, that can have faith in my work, " 
 he paused. 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor was watching him narrowly, 
 every sense alert. 
 
 The intelligent sympathy which a wife may 
 give, but which Amy cannot ?" It was a daring 
 forecast. Mrs. MacGregor held her breath in spite 
 of herself. 
 
 Elijah s face grew drawn and white. This was 
 the first time that, eilher to himself or to another, 
 he had stated the case baldly. Hitherto, even to 
 himself, he had decently veiled his unholy thoughts. 
 The appealing eyes of his wife were upon him, now 
 that he was striving to turn his own away from 
 them. He had not imagined that it would be so 
 hard. Even the eyes of Helen Lonsdale could not 
 comfort him. The thought of what he was clearing 
 from the way, in order to look into them, appalled 
 him. 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor prepared to sell the last remnant 
 
 154 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 of her soul to the devil. Upon Helen Lonsdale 
 she had no hold. She had noted the girl s interest 
 in Elijah, an interest of which the girl herself was 
 unconscious. If now, she cleared Helen s path of 
 obstructions, would not she win her gratitude? 
 Slowly and deliberately, she spoke. 
 
 "You never loved Amy Eltharp. The woman 
 whom you could love, who could return a love as 
 deep and lasting as your own is separated from 
 you. You are paying the penalty of your mistake. 
 Amy is paying for it, even" she paused, then 
 went on without a quaver, "even as Helen Lons 
 dale is paying for it." 
 
 Elijah was as one stricken. For a long time he 
 remained silent. Mrs. MacGregor watched him 
 narrowly. He was striving to do justice to himself 
 and to his better nature, but the habit of years 
 Wtt strong upon him. He had strayed into a 
 tempting path without definite thought as to where 
 it would lead either himself or others. He had 
 compared Helen Lonsdale with his wife; his life 
 that might have been with Helen, with his life that 
 was with Amy. Mrs. MacGregor s words had de 
 nned his position clearly and sharply. In inno 
 cence, he could go no farther. From now on, he 
 must act decisively and with full knowledge of 
 what his actions meant. At last he spoke, as one 
 broken on a wh-< -1. 
 
 155 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "Don t torture me any longer. Tell me what 
 you mean." 
 
 "I want to save you from yourself. You have 
 made a mistake. You have had a loveless life. 
 You married weakness where you needed strength. 
 You married selfishness, where you needed unsel 
 fishness, devoted sympathy. You have fled to a 
 common refuge; you have sought in a mistress all 
 that you have lacked in a wife." 
 
 Elijah burst out furiously. 
 
 "Helen Lonsdale is not that! She is as pure as 
 sunlight." 
 
 "You cannot make her your wife; she knows 
 that as well as you do. You are walking in a path 
 the end of which is certain." 
 
 Elijah made no immediate reply. His reason told 
 him the end of Mrs. MacGregor s logic, but he 
 weakly demanded that she should point the way. 
 
 "There is then only one thing to do?" 
 
 "On the contrary," Mrs. MacGregor spoke 
 sharply, for she was losing patience, "there are 
 three courses open to you. You can go on as you 
 are going and the end is ruin. Ruin to Helen, ruin 
 to Amy, ruin to your work, ruin to yourself. You 
 can break off your relations with Helen Lonsdale 
 and go back to your old life; your life as it was 
 before Helen entered it. Or- She paused, as one 
 who could farther, but would not. 
 Iff 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 What ? Elijah breathed the word rather than 
 spoke it." 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor answered as one wearied with 
 a hopeless burden. 
 
 "The laws of the world recognize the fact that 
 the purest impulses of man are often mistaken. 
 They recognize this fact and have provided a way 
 of separation." 
 
 Elijah made no reply. They drove on in silence 
 toward his ranch where Mrs. MacGregor was to 
 spend a few days. His thought wandered from 
 his surroundings back to the clear sunlight, the 
 bracing air of his old New England home. There 
 was peace there; the peace of simple lives un 
 touched by the fierce passions of the throbbing 
 world. He saw Amy Eltharp, flaxen-haired, blue- 
 eyed, walking through the cool woods, her hand 
 in his own, her eyes down-cast, her cheeks delicately 
 flushed, as her trembling lips breathed "yes" in 
 answer to his passionate words. 
 
 Now it was all gone. He was in a desert land, 
 burned with conflicting emotions as fierce as the 
 sun that beat upon the sands around him. 
 
 When they reached the ranch, Amy was stand 
 ing in the rose-trellised drive-way to welcome tin-in. 
 Fair as the roses that surrounded her, she stood 
 with anxious eyes raised to Elijah. Her purpose 
 to niak herself useful to Elijah, was yd stmnir 
 within hrr. Perhaps this fact ti-niprn-d for hT tho 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 chill of Elijah s absent-minded response to her 
 greeting. She was feeding her heart on hope. "A 
 little study, a little practice and the thing is done. 
 
 158 
 
CHAPTER FIFTEEN 
 
 Amy Berl was demonstrating the world-old 
 truth, that love, however selfish, ennobles and sof 
 tens the life into which it enters. With feeble brain 
 but loving heart, she was working out for herself 
 the truth that love which feeds on sensuous beauty 
 or sensuous passion alone, dies the death of the 
 brute ; that the love which is born not to die, must 
 drink deeper and ever deeper with the passing 
 years at the fountain of eternal youth; that to a 
 love thus thirst-quenched, every gray hair that 
 marks a day forever gone, every wrinkle on flesh 
 shrivelling at the touch of time, eyes dimmed with 
 the shedding of many tears, every footstep trem 
 bling with the passing of the weary milestones of 
 life, are bonds which the fires of hell cannot melt, 
 nor the peace of heaven dissolve away. Amy did 
 not know it, she could not have grasped the fact 
 had it been told her, that she was laying hold of the 
 saving element of life, that animated as she had 
 been by a love that was still seeking itself alone, 
 she was yet nourishing a power that would raise her 
 from the ashes of despair. 
 
 Amy had not forgotten the task she had set her- 
 
 159 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 self. She had obtained "A & B s Elements," and 
 day after day, she was striving to master the sim 
 ple problems that would enable her to take Helen 
 Lonsdale s place in her husband s life. The com 
 ing of Mrs. MacGregor had not interfered with her 
 purpose, nor with her hours of study. Through the 
 day, Mrs. MacGregor and Elijah were absent, in 
 specting the desolate stretches of red hillsides, or 
 the struggling green of seeping springs in deep 
 arroyos. 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor s plans with Elijah were shap 
 ing to a desired end, but, there was an uncertain 
 element which she could not resolve. There was 
 no lack of keen, exact penetration in Elijah; but 
 there was now a reticence about his personal feel 
 ings which she did not dare openly to break. In 
 direct openings which she gave, he passed by with 
 out notice. She was unable to decide whether his 
 reticence was due to wounded pride, in that he had 
 been betrayed into an exhibition of the inner cham 
 bers of his heart, or whether it was due to a grow 
 ing resentment of her attack upon Helen Lons- 
 dale. Another surmise and nearer the truth, had 
 she known it, was that he had been brought face 
 to face with his position as regarded his wife. If 
 Mrs. MacGregor had been sure of Elijah s ultimate 
 decision, her course of action might have been dif 
 ferent. As it was, she was fairly confident that 
 she knew every element in Elijah, and that sh 
 
 160 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BEKL 
 
 could predicate its logical end. She was certain 
 that she knew Amy. and that sooner or later a sep 
 aration would come, and that the sooner it came, 
 the better it would be for her own personal de 
 signs. 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor soon reached another conclusion 
 which she regarded as final. She had carefully 
 studied Amy in every contact with Elijah. She 
 saw in her every attitude before him, in her every 
 word to him, an eager assurance of confidence and 
 love which in reality was an evident doubt of it, 
 or at least a fear for it. She was in effect, doing in 
 her pitiful way, what she had always done, mir 
 roring to her husband every phase of himself which 
 he presented to her. It was inert, impersonal, and, 
 in Elijah s present state of mind, not only pas 
 sively, but actively exasperating to him. It wholly 
 lacked the power to soothe, much less to inspire. 
 
 It was several days after Mrs. MacGregor had 
 reached her conclusion that Amy was impossible, 
 before she began an aggressive campaign against 
 her. 
 
 Elijah had been called to Ysleta and had gone 
 alone. Mrs. MacGregor had been invited to accom 
 pany him, but for personal reasons, had declined. 
 HIT ostensible n-ason was that he had kept her SO 
 busy that she had had no time in which to give 
 if up to tin- lu-autirs <>f his placf. 
 
 Poor innocent Amy 1 Sin- and Mrs. 
 
 161 
 
THE VISION OP ELIJAH BERL 
 
 were seated on the verandah. Through the trem 
 bling leaves, the tempered sunlight filtered and 
 waltzed to and fro, in dreamy, peaceful measures 
 across the floor. The songs of many birds, the 
 flutter of their wings, the rustle of leaves, these 
 soothed and lulled the senses to a restful peace. 
 There is nothing like it in the world; nowhere but 
 in California, newly awakened. The rank growth 
 of fruit and flower, a growth roused from its fiery 
 sleep, now striving in a day to make up for ages 
 of helpless bondage. 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor was sitting with her hands 
 folded in her lap, but her thoughts were busy. At 
 last she spoke. 
 
 "Are you happy in California?" 
 
 Amy looked up in unfeigned surprise. 
 
 "Why shouldn t I be?" 
 
 A trained diplomat could not have parried the 
 thrust more deftly. Mrs. MacGregor looked fixedly 
 but calmly at Amy. Was that answer accidental 
 or designed? 
 
 "Because," she spoke deliberately, "in Cali 
 fornia there is not a single thing to suggest your 
 New England home." 
 
 "Except Elijah." Amy did not look up this 
 time. She was taking her guest and her words as a 
 matter of course. 
 
 "Haven t you noticed any change in Elijah?" 
 ; No-o." Amy s voice faltered, for she was 
 
 162 
 
 1 t 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 truthful. She was wondering if it was wicked to 
 tell this lie. It did not occur to her to resent the 
 necessity for it. 
 
 "It would not be strange if he had changed. 
 California has changed, is changing. Those who 
 come here must change, for better or for worse." 
 
 "Elijah could not change for worse/ 
 
 Amy s meaning was plain, but Mrs. MacGregor 
 smiled at her words. 
 
 "I knew Elijah as a boy and as a young man. 
 Then our paths diverged for six years. They have 
 come together again and I am astonished at the 
 change. He was strong, but his strength had not 
 found a worthy purpose. It has found it here." 
 
 Amy was beginning to take an active interest in 
 the conversation. 
 
 "Yes, when we first came here, the people laughed 
 at us. Now, Elijah has got more than ten thousand 
 orange trees growing where no one thought of their 
 Crowing. People are after him all the time now. 
 He is r<)inu f to brinir water to thousands of acres of 
 desert land." 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor listened impatiently to a recital 
 of Elijah s labors, as dreary as Homer s catalogue 
 of ships. 
 
 "Yes, I know. Elijah has told me something of 
 this and I have seen more. His strength lias found 
 a purpose. He has done a pivat work; but it is 
 only a beginning, a preparation for a greater." 
 
 163 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor began to launch forth into gen 
 eralities. "At rare intervals in the progress of the 
 world, great opportunities arise and only one man 
 who is equal to the grasping and working out of 
 the opportunity. Such a man, we call a genius. 
 A genius transcends the limitations of his fellows 
 and he also transcends their laws. It is his right ; 
 he cannot work without it. He must not be hin 
 dered or obstructed. At whatever cost of pain to 
 those who are near and dear to him, his work must 
 go on. It is for the good of unknown and unnum 
 bered humanity; humanity is everything, indi 
 viduals do not count. You doubtless have thought 
 of all this ; possibly have decided upon your course 
 of action. The question is, are you ready to sacri 
 fice yourself even, for the sake of Elijah s work?" 
 
 Amy caught eagerly at the last sentence of Mrs. 
 MacGregor s words. The more eagerly, because 
 they were the only words that had to her the slight 
 est meaning. 
 
 "I have sacrificed myself and I have never com 
 plained once. Not even when we were traveling 
 around from place to place in a covered wagon, 
 and sleeping on the ground, and when we had only 
 oatmeal to eat day in and day out; not even wlini 
 our babies were sick and we had no money to pay 
 a doctor. I was afraid they were going to die, but 
 Elijah did not know; he was busy with his work. 
 That was after we came here, and I never told 
 
 164 
 
THE VISION OP ELIJAH BERL 
 
 him." Am did not look up, but Mrs. MacGregor 
 was watching her. From under the veiling lids, she 
 saw the tears gather, roll across the pink cheeks 
 and fall on the work in her lap. Mrs. MacGregor 
 did not know, perhaps Amy did not, whether the 
 tears were for the past she was reciting, or for the 
 future which she was fearing. Without looking up, 
 she drew her hand across her eyes. "I don t know 
 why I am telling you all this. I have never told 
 any one before ; not even my mother. 
 
 Unflinchingly Mrs. MacGregor turned to Amy. 
 
 "I have no doubt that you have done your duty 
 so far as you have seen it; but here is the point. 
 Are you willing to make further sacrifices, from 
 your standpoint, the supreme sacrifice?" 
 
 Amy s mind had been overstrained in an effort 
 to follow even the small part of Mrs. MacGregor s 
 words that was at all intelligible to her; there was 
 a suggestion of petulance in her reply. 
 
 There is no need of any more sacrifice. Just 
 see." She pointed through the roses to the dark 
 green orange trees full of golden fruit which cov 
 ered the hillside below them. "Elijah has no need 
 to do more. He has enough for us all now. Even 
 if h<> should leave the Water Company, he would 
 have enough. When that is done, he will come 
 home to me and I shall hn\v him all to myself; I 
 and the children." 
 
 "Elijah s work is only begun. What he has 
 
 165 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 done, is only a preparation for the work that is to 
 be done, that he alone can do. Nothing must stand 
 in his way, not even wife and children." 
 
 Amy answered passionately. 
 
 "He has done enough!" 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor s eyes were cold and merciless 
 as those of a snake watching its victim. She thought 
 long before speaking. She was conscious that there 
 was danger in handling for one s own purposes a 
 mind so feeble and hesitating as Amy s, but she 
 must make the attempt. Should she rest content 
 with having instilled the subtle poison in Amy s 
 mind, leaving it to work slowly to a doubtful end? 
 Could she be sure that it would do its work? On 
 the other hand, to one of Amy s mental caliber, 
 would the plain, brutal statement, stripped of am 
 biguity, be more than a suggestion? In this latter 
 course there lay the danger that Amy would grasp 
 the full import of her words and that in the mental 
 agony that would surely follow, she would go to 
 Elijah at once. Would she go to Elijah? Mrs. 
 MacGregor felt sure that she would not. Weak as 
 Amy was, she would intuitively feeL the hopeless 
 ness of an appeal to him. Already she was vaguely 
 conscious that her hold upon him was slight, how 
 slight she would not dare to put to the test. She 
 would not openly acknowledge this fear to herself, 
 much less to others, least of all to Elijah. She had 
 a fixed purpose in her mind, to fit herself to take 
 
 166 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 Helen s place and upon its success she had staked 
 all. To abandon her secret efforts would leave her 
 again wandering, wavering, to go over the whole 
 weary ground again. Mrs. MacGregor made her 
 decision. Her voice was modulated, almost sym 
 pathetic, but it was firm and decided. 
 
 "No, Amy, he has not done enough. You have 
 not done enough. He must go on. He must give 
 you up. You must give him up." 
 
 Amy sprang from her chair. Her work slipped 
 from her lap and lay huddled at her feet. Slowly, 
 painfully, the meaning of Mrs. MacGregor s words 
 was boring into her brain. Her eyes were wide 
 open, pitifully pleading, like the eyes of a shrink 
 ing victim in the clutch of a beast of prey. Then 
 they changed to a look as hard and resolute as her 
 eyes were capable of expressing. 
 
 "Give up Elijah? I ll never give up Elijah. 
 Never! Never! Never!" Then she fled through 
 the open door. 
 
 Mrs. MacG regor smiled complacently. * Never, 
 was a long time. She had steered close to the line, 
 but she felt that she had won. As it happened, 
 chance aided her. Had Elijah been at home, in 
 her first agony, Amy would doubtless have gone to 
 him and have risked all in a frantic appeal. But 
 Elijah was away and it was late before he returned. 
 In her room, Amy sat with the dumb misery of a 
 suffering animal. It did not occur to her to rise 
 
 167 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 up in righteous wrath against the brutal woman 
 who had inflicted this torture upon her, much less 
 against her husband. She was thinking of herself, 
 of her happiness that had been, of the awful fear 
 that was consuming her. Justice or injustice was 
 far from her thoughts. In bitter desperation she 
 clung to the feeble purpose that she had fashioned 
 for her salvation. Gradually this purpose regained 
 its hold upon her. She was wasting time and there 
 was none to lose. Trembling in every nerve she 
 hastened from her room, from their room, and with 
 trembling fingers turned the pages of "A & B s 
 Elements " and bent herself to her all but hope 
 less task. With quivering lips and hard, dry eyes she 
 wrote and rewrote the problems of the book and 
 strove to master them. She was unconscious of 
 time, only that it was long and bitter. The magni 
 tude of her task appalled her, the hopelessness of 
 it overwhelmed her, she tried to hold herself to it ; 
 but in vain. With a wailing cry she buried her 
 head in her arms and gave way to the tears that 
 at last came to her relief. 
 
 It was late that night when Elijah returned. 
 He gave his horses in charge of the sleepy Mexican 
 and entered the house. He went directly to their 
 room, but Amy was not there. The bed was un 
 disturbed. Elijah passed quietly to the m-xt 
 room. It was Amy s own. A light softly glowing 
 beneath the door-sill told him that the room was 
 
 168 
 
T1IK VISION OF ELIJAH 
 
 occupied. He opened the door gently and stood stiff 
 ened, immovable, at the sight before him. Amy was 
 s.at.d at her little work-table. A shaded lamp 
 thivw its full liurht upon her head, resting upon her 
 outstretched arms. Her face was turned toward 
 him; the liirht showed lids, red and tear-stained. 
 Near one outstretched hand was a pencil, fallen 
 from the sleep -loosened fingers. There was a worn 
 book lying open, surrounded by loose papers. 
 Elijah moved softly toward the table. He picked 
 up the book. It was "A & B s Elements." The 
 tear-blotched papers were covered with figures. 
 Elijah replaced the book and papers. Like a flash 
 the whole explanation of the open book, and the 
 figure-covered papers came to him. His eyes were 
 upon the bowed head, upon the baby lips moving 
 pathetically in their troubled sleep. His guardian 
 anLfl was pleading hard within him. With wide- 
 open, motionless eyes he bent forward, his hands 
 outstretched, his foot lifted to take the step that 
 would redeem him. Then his hands fell slowly to 
 his side; he straiulitened and turned away abruptly. 
 As softly as he had entered the room, so softly he 
 left it. 
 
 169 
 
CHAPTER SIXTEEN 
 
 Elijah had no difficulty in securing options on 
 the land which he and Mrs. MacGregor had selected. 
 They had, however, underestimated the apathy of 
 the Mexican owners, who, while perfectly willing to 
 give options with no preliminary payments, were 
 adamant as to the length of time to which the op 
 tions should be extended. 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor smiled reassuringly upon Elijah 
 when he had stated his difficulty. 
 
 "The time is ample. I have some means at my 
 command." 
 
 Elijah asked no questions and she tendered no ex 
 planations. When, however, the time passed by and 
 the deeds came to be actually transferred, his un 
 asked questions were answered. Not a cent of the 
 money, not a single negotiable paper which went 
 into the preliminary payments, was in Eunice Mac 
 Gregor s name, except that as by power of attorney, 
 she had acted for her absent ward. Elijah, remem 
 bering his transactions with the Pacific bank, could 
 say nothing. 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor had only one more obstacle to 
 overcome. At first, as guardian, later as trusted 
 
 170 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 financial agent, with full power of attorney, she 
 could manage her ward s fortune as she would ; but 
 at any time this power might be dissolved and she 
 be called to a full accounting. This done, and it 
 was a continual menace, Mrs. MacGregor would be 
 in no position either to take or to demand a share 
 in her ward s investments. She proposed to remain 
 in this doubtful position just as short a time as pos 
 sible. A deed to a property bought with her ward s 
 money, would leave no scattering crumbs which 
 she could gather for herself. With the deed made 
 over to a company, the case would be different. 
 Her ward s money would in this case, lose its iden 
 tity. A ten per cent interest in a capitalization of 
 two millions, could be balanced with two hundred 
 thousand of its stock at par, and leave Elijah and 
 Mrs. MacGregor to repay themselves for their ef 
 forts. This was earnestly talked over between the 
 two. Elijah was not at all easy in his mind; but 
 he could say nothing. He had tried ; but he was no 
 match for Mrs. MacGregor s polished logic. 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor not only made no objections to 
 including Helen Lonsdale in their arrangements, 
 but had on the contrary, kept her interests a promi 
 nent figure in their transactions. She had no ques 
 tion but that in this way she would bind Helen 
 closely to herself. 
 
 "Look at the facts squarely," said Mrs. Mac 
 Gregor to Elijah. "Your supply of water is almost 
 
 171 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BEKL 
 
 here. There is only a small hill between the main 
 canal of the Las Cruces and us. A few thousand 
 dollars will tunnel the mountain. A few thou 
 sand more will take the water within reach of every 
 hundred acres. AVe have given three hundred thou 
 sand dollars for this land. Even at fifty dollars 
 an acre, it is worth ten million dollars. My ward s 
 two hundred thousand dollars will grow to one 
 million dollars. Isn t that a justification for you 
 and me as well?" 
 
 Elijah shook his head. 
 
 "If it should fail?" 
 
 "If," Mrs. MacGregor emphasized the conjunc 
 tion, "is one of the first steps toward failure. You 
 could go to Ysleta tomorrow, and sell this whole 
 property, as it stands, for twice the amount we 
 have paid down for it, even including the mortgage 
 of one hundred thousand." 
 
 Elijah was thinking aloud. 
 
 "With your four hundred thousand, you could 
 repay your ward in full. You and I would then 
 have one hundred thousand each. I could, he 
 paused and then the words shot forth, "replace the 
 fifty thousand I borrowed, and be a free man." 
 
 Elijah and Mrs. MacGregor were being enlight 
 ened as to each other. Mrs. MacGregor had not 
 thought to have Elijah lean so heavily upon her ; he 
 had never supposed her to be so cold and heartlessly 
 unprincipled. 
 
 172 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 4 
 
 \\ are coming to no conclusion as to our next 
 move." Mrs. MacGregor spoke with polite impa 
 tience. 
 
 "What do you propose?" 
 
 "\Ve must organize a company." 
 
 "But we have no charter." 
 
 4 We can get one. 
 
 "It will take time." 
 
 "We can make it as short as possible." 
 
 The matter of the charter was dropped for a time, 
 to be discussed at intervals during the days that 
 followed; but no conclusion was reached. Mrs. 
 MacGregor was scheming; Elijah waiting for guid 
 ance. The guidance came, though not in the way 
 Elijah would have chosen ; but he was yet to learn 
 that when we make our conditions, guidance is cer 
 tain to come in the form of a dilemma with an im 
 perative choice. 
 
 As Mrs. MacGregor and Elijah were again seated 
 on the verandah and again discussing ways and 
 means, a wagon stopped at the door, and from it 
 alighted a brisk, self-sure man. He walked up the 
 path, with a jaunty air and stopped at the foot 
 of the verandah strpv 
 
 "Hello, Berl," he called out. "Fine place, this." 
 
 Klijah felt an involuntary tightening around his 
 In-art as he recoirni/ed Mellin, the ex-cashier of the 
 Pacific bank. lit ivtunn-d the invetiiiLr, at the 
 same time risinir. 
 
 178 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "Come up and have a chair." 
 
 Mellin tipped his hat back on his head, strode up 
 the steps, and seating himself, spread his legs wide 
 apart, and leaning forward with hands loosely 
 clasped, rested his elbows on his knees. 
 
 "Mrs. MacGregor, Mr. Mellin," Elijah waved his 
 hand from one to the other. 
 
 "Pleased to know you, Mrs. MacGregor. From 
 the East, I take it?" Mr. Mellin revolved his head 
 jerkily toward his newly made acquaintance, end 
 ing with a decided bob. 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor bowed slightly in return, but 
 vouchsafed no word. 
 
 Mellin revolved his head toward Elijah, at the 
 same time glancing at his watch which he clicked 
 together and returned to his pocket. 
 
 "I came to see you on a little business matter, 
 Berl; can I have a few minutes?" 
 
 Upon this blunt hint that she was not wanted, 
 Mrs. MacGregor rose calmly and swept through the 
 open door. 
 
 Mr. Mellin drew a huge, black cigar from his 
 pocket, and between initial puffs, outlined his busi 
 ness. 
 
 "Hear you ve been taking up a little land deal on 
 your own account ? The cigar was well under way 
 now and Mr. Mellin braced himself upright with 
 one hand on the arm of his chair. His face was full 
 on Elijah with a cunning look. 
 
 174 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "Yes," Elijah answered briefly. 
 
 You ain t going to swing it alone, I take it?" 
 
 "I haven t thought so far as that." 
 
 Mellin wasted no words. 
 
 "It takes time and money to get a charter just 
 now. The less money, the more time ; the less time, 
 the more money." He tipped Elijah a knowing 
 wink. 
 
 Elijah made no reply and Mellin resumed briskly. 
 
 "I ve got just what you want. An omnibus char 
 ter that ll allow you to do anything from a straight 
 deal to skinning suckers. I had a chance to get it 
 cheap and I ll let you off easy." 
 
 "I don t know that I want it." Elijah spoke 
 with deliberation ; but his mind was working rap 
 idly. 
 
 "Better take it; I can make it worth your while 
 fit her way," he added with a cunning leer. 
 
 Elijah felt a cold sinking of the heart. His 
 chickens were coming home to roost sooner than he 
 had expected. He recognized the fact that his note 
 to the Las Cruces, secured by his interest in the 
 company, was in the nature of a forced loan, after 
 all; that it would sooner or later compel him to 
 answer some ugly questions to some men in an uuly 
 mood. The iron-gray face of Seymour rose upper- 
 im^t in his mind. 
 
 "What do you want for your charter?" II- 
 steadied his voice with an effort. 
 
 175 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "I m not going to squeeze you, just because I ve 
 got you cinched. That isn t T. J. Mellin, Esq. 
 Live and let live ; that s my motto; only live well 
 while you re at it. We re a long time dead. 
 
 "What do you want for your charter?" Elijah 
 repeated. 
 
 "Well," Mellin looked meditatively at the burn 
 ing end of his cigar which he turned toward him 
 self, I m in need of a little cash just now. A 
 matter of five thousand. One hundred thousand on 
 time, in addition, will do." 
 
 "You won t get it. I m not obliged to take your 
 charter." Elijah s jaws snapped together, his eyes 
 were narrowed to a slit. 
 
 "Just as you say, Berl. There are worse places 
 than San Quentin. You and I would be taken care 
 of there, at no expense to ourselves." 
 
 The state penitentiary had never seemed a reality 
 to Elijah before. His face paled. Mellin noted the 
 look with evident satisfaction. 
 
 "It s nothing to get white over. There s a heap 
 more money near the doors of San Quentin than 
 anywhere else. The closer the doors, the larger 
 the heap. It takes a little more courage to grab it 
 and run, that s all. I ve tried it before." 
 
 "Will you take the one hundred thousand in 
 stock?" 
 
 That would be easy ; too easy for me. No stock, 
 thanks. Five thousand cash, one hundred thousand 
 
 176 
 
THE VISION OP ELIJAH BERL 
 
 in a six months, ten per cent note. First mortgage 
 not* 1 . I m prepared to deliver the goods." He 
 drew a large envelope from his pocket, pulled out 
 the charter and held it open before Elijah. "Omni 
 bus goods. A license to pick the gilt knobs off n the 
 doors/ 
 
 "Suppose I take your offer, what certainty have 
 I that this will end your demands?" 
 
 "My word, Berl. Honor among, etc.* You 
 know. Besides, the cinch isn t going to last always. 
 You re going to be able to square yourself with the 
 Las Cruces. That ll end me. I could make it un 
 pleasant, but what s the use? Every one goes in 
 sight of the doors sometimes; but it s only fools 
 who get inside. I know. 
 
 Elijah rose slowly and went into the house. A 
 little later, he returned and handed some papers to 
 Mellin. They were a note for one hundred thousand 
 dollars and a draft on a San Francisco bank for 
 five thousand. In the note was this condition. It 
 would be payable three months after the water 
 should be turned into the main canal of the Las 
 Cruces company. 
 
 Mellin read the note. 
 
 "I object to the conditional payment. The \\at-r 
 may never be turned on." 
 
 "Then you are welcome to the land." 
 
 M.-lliii thought a moim-nt. 
 
 "There s something in that." 
 
 177 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "Everything," returned Elijah abruptly. "The 
 company has nothing to do with this business. They 
 will get the water as soon as possible." 
 
 Mellin again looked the papers over. 
 
 "Keno. Here s your license. It s worth more; 
 but I told you I would be easy. So long." He 
 shoved the papers into his pocket and started for 
 the waiting wagon. 
 
 Elijah listened in a dazed dream to the crunch 
 of the retreating wheels. He was not thinking of 
 his crime nor of his temporary escape from its pen 
 alty. He was thinking of Helen Lonsdale, and of 
 the effect of the knowledge upon her, should this 
 ever come to her. 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor reappeared upon the verandah. 
 Elijah handed the charter to her. 
 
 "We have six months in which to redeem our 
 selves." He offered no explanation; she asked 
 none. There was no need. The walls of the house 
 were thin, and moreover the windows were open. 
 
 178 
 
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN 
 
 In the transaction with Mellin, there was one 
 thing that cut Elijah more deeply than all others. 
 Mellin had insisted that the mortgage be registered. 
 I If was too shrewd to let this pass by. He had a 
 hold upon Elijah and he had no intention of loosen 
 ing it without a consideration. The registration 
 was a public recognition of the fact that Elijah 
 had dealings with Mellin and on a large scale. 
 There was no use in requesting that the transaction 
 be kept in obscurity. The object of registration was 
 publicity, and publicity was not confined to those 
 concerned in knowing; the books were open to 
 inspection by the busiest gossip as well as by the 
 most earnest business man. 
 
 For the first time in his life, Elijah was learning 
 the bitter lesson, that even divine guidance does 
 not release the guided from responsibility for his 
 actions. There was bitterness in his heart, the feel 
 ing that he had been betrayed. 
 
 Vsleta lived on sensations, and it was a dainty 
 morsel, when the news of Elijah s connection with 
 Mellin lireaine known. Yet it had no malice toward 
 Elijah, it simply welcomed him as one of them- 
 
 179 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 selves and this was what cut. He could no longer 
 conceal from himself that he had fallen. 
 
 The news of course reached Uncle Sid and Win 
 ston. Winston was shocked, yet after the first ef 
 fects had passed away, he recognized the fact, that 
 after all, he was not surprised. Absorbed in his 
 field duties, he had put from him for the time his 
 feeling that Elijah was not wholly to be trusted, 
 that for all his vaunted beliefs, he yet lacked the 
 subtle sense of honor that would keep him true to 
 himself and to his fellows. Winston did not know, 
 nor did Uncle Sid, of the darker stain that was on 
 Elijah s soul. 
 
 "Perhaps it ain t as bad as it looks," the old 
 seaman remarked when he had broken the news 
 to Winston. 
 
 "Perhaps not," Winston replied, "but I have 
 been in pretty close touch with Elijah since he has 
 been in California, and I know he s sailed close to 
 the wind, mighty close, he added decisively. 
 
 Uncle Sid looked thoughtful. 
 
 " Where d he get money to start with?" 
 
 Winston waited a long time before replying. He 
 was turning over in his mind the best thing to be 
 done. He felt that he could trust the old man. 
 
 "You remember the Pacific failure?" 
 
 "I reckon I do, young man. I have cause to. I 
 lost fifteen dollars and sixty-five cents in that fail- 
 
 ISO 
 
T1IK VISION OF KL1.IAH BEKL 
 
 Winston smiled at Uncle Sid s earnestness. 
 
 "The Las Cruces lost more than that. An even 
 fifty thousand. At least our books show that." 
 
 Uncle Sid started. Ho looked at Winston with 
 wide-open eyes, every line of his wrinkled face 
 drawn tense. 
 
 "I declare, Ralph, if I ever thought the Lord 
 would lead Lige quite so far as that!" 
 
 * I guess, Uncle Sid, that you and I think alike 
 about the Almighty s share in this transaction. If 
 this isn t the devil s work, I don t know the gentle 
 man." 
 
 Uncle Sid made no immediate reply. A little 
 later they entered the Las Cruces office. Helen 
 looked up as the door opened. A frank cordial smile 
 illumined her face as she recognized her callers. 
 
 "Hello, Ralph! It s about time you came in. If 
 you d waited much longer, I d have asked for a 
 l tt-r of introduction." She turned to Uncil Sid 
 with the same cordial smile. "Well Captain, I see 
 ymi aren t dry-docked yet." 
 
 "No. My scams ain t started yet. What watrr 
 tin-re is in these parts is just as wet as any." 
 
 "Oh we ve got plenty of water here and we re 
 L <iinr to have more." 
 
 "Yes, I guess you have, such as tis. Good 
 enough for old-fashioned suiliii craft. But when 
 folks ain t satisfied with oin as fast as God s wind 
 blows em, an th.-v put in engines an boilers, the 
 
 181 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 dum water s liable to eat holes in their boilers an 
 blow em up." He looked around the room curi 
 ously. "There s a power o steam escapin around 
 here. Where s Lige? Look s as if Lige had got 
 a hole eat in his boilers, an me an Ralph s come 
 in to see if we can help patch em up." 
 
 Helen noted the keen, old eyes and the humorous 
 wrinkles that for all their humor were yet hard. 
 
 "He hasn t been in this morning; I expect him 
 every moment." 
 
 Uncle Sid turned to Winston. 
 
 "It s your watch, Ralph. You take the wheel." 
 
 Winston felt reassured to a certain extent, by 
 Helen s perfectly natural manner. There were the 
 same frank eyes, the same friendly smile that he 
 knew so well. Did she know all that they wished to 
 know or was she as ignorant as they of all but 
 public gossip? He was going to find out. 
 
 "I suppose you know, Helen," he began soberly, 
 "that there are some pretty ugly rumors about 
 Elijah flying around Ysleta?" 
 
 "Yes, I do know." Helen s face grew hard. 
 
 "How much truth is there in them?" 
 
 Helen met Winston s piercing look squarely. 
 
 I don t know any more than you know. There 
 was no apparent hesitation in her manner, but her 
 thoughts were busy anticipating what was to come. 
 
 Ralph made an impatient gesture. 
 
 "We can talk till doomsday, Helen, and you can 
 
 182 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 answer and tell us nothing, if you choose. You 
 know we are not gossips, and you know that we are 
 Elijah s friends. " 
 
 "Why didn t you say that to start with?" Helen 
 flashed back. You began asking me questions and 
 I answered your questions truthfully." 
 
 Uncle Sid noted the strained situation. 
 
 "She s laid you broadside on there, Ralph; that 
 gun is out o action. You ll have to limber up an 
 other battery." 
 
 Winston and Helen both turned to Uncle Sid; 
 then, smiling, their eyes met and the threatened 
 storm passed by. 
 
 "Just what is it, Ralph?" 
 
 "We want to know the whole business, Helen, so 
 far as you know." 
 
 Uncle Sid again broke in. 
 
 "When a bell rattles, we want to know whether 
 its cracked, or whether there s just something on it 
 that can be got off." 
 
 "I don t think Elijah s cracked, Uncle Sid." 
 She grew very sober as she turned once more to 
 Winston. 
 
 "The rumor that Mellin holds Elijah s note for 
 one hundred thousand dollars, that the note is se 
 cured by a mortgage on the Palm Wells tract, is 
 true. These facts are recorded. I have seen the 
 records. Further than that, I know nothing." 
 
 "Ur-r-rh!" grunted Uncle Sid, whose thoughts 
 
 183 
 
THE VISION OP ELIJAH BERL 
 
 suddenly reverted to Eunice MacGregor. "I guess 
 I know the tree to smoke that coon out of. 
 
 Helen shot an intelligent glance at Uncle Sid, 
 her lips parted, then she thought better of her im 
 pulse and remained silent. 
 
 Winston again turned to Helen. 
 
 "I shall have to ask you another direct question, 
 Helen. Did the company get their deposit from the 
 Pacific?" 
 
 Helen looked squarely at Winston. 
 
 1 l l don t know." 
 
 " Perhaps you don t know, Helen, but you are in 
 a better position to guess than we are. There s no 
 use playing with words. That Palm Wells business 
 called for ready money. I know as well as you do 
 that Elijah had no such amount. The question is, 
 where did he get it?" 
 
 "If I knew absolutely, I would tell you. I will 
 tell you what I do know, but I shall have to ask 
 you to keep it to yourselves for a little. Then 
 she told of Elijah s discovery of the frostless belt; 
 how, half in jest, half in earnast, she had told him 
 that she might avail herself of her knowledge; of 
 Elijah s alarm; of their agreement to acquire the 
 tract together. 
 
 "We have," she concluded, "got the Pico ranch 
 in our hands. My five thousand is in it. There 
 was fifty-five thousand paid down. Elijah did not 
 tell me where he got the money, but I supposed at 
 
 184 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 the time that he had pledged a part of his holdings 
 in the Las Cruces to raise it." 
 
 Uncle Sid looked up. There was sternness but 
 yet kindness in the keen eyes that held Helen s. 
 
 "Don t you think you ought to know, Helen?" 
 
 Helen s face grew suddenly drawn and white. 
 
 "I have told you all that I ought to tell you, 
 perhaps more than was right. I went into this 
 business of my own free will and there have come 
 complications that I did not foresee, but I am not 
 justified in trying to free myself at the expense 
 of another. I am telling you the truth so far as I 
 know it. It isn t for me to make inferences." 
 
 The interview, so far as its object was concerned, 
 was ended. Uncle Sid rose stiffly and took the 
 girl s hand in his own. 
 
 1 I m afraid that you ve made mistakes, lassie, 
 but so have the rest of us. You ve got stuff in you 
 worth savin , an we re goin to stand by you." 
 
 Winston also rose. As Helen placed her hand in 
 his, he said : 
 
 "Uncle Sid has spoken for me too, Helen." He 
 held her hand for a moment only, but there was, 
 in the clasp of it, that which went straight to her 
 heart. She did not dare to look in his eyes. She 
 had told him the truth as she knew it, but not as 
 she suspected it. How much more could she have 
 known if she would ; how much more ought she to 
 have known? She had not until now, seen clearly 
 
 185 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 where her course was bound to lead if followed to 
 the end. Had she wilfully declined to see? She 
 was going over her past, analyzing it clearly, logic 
 ally, unsparing of herself. Even yet she could 
 not understand the subtle influence with which 
 Elijah had surrounded her, but at last her eyes 
 were open to its danger. She had given admiration, 
 sympathy, her best to help him, her warm but dis 
 quieting friendship. Here she stopped abruptly, 
 her eyes wide open, her face scarlet, her heart 
 throbbing in an agony of pain and shame. The 
 parting pressure of Ralph s hand came to her, the 
 eager look of sympathy which she had felt but not 
 seen. She longed to hear his voice again, to feel 
 the touch of his hand in her own. Slowly she 
 raised her head. Her face was pale and set. Her 
 sins were upon her; the sins of innocence, but the 
 burden was none the lighter for that ; yet she would 
 bear it alone and in silence. 
 
 186 
 
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN 
 
 It was late in the afternoon of the same day when 
 Elijah came to the office. There was the old rush 
 and swing in his motions, but there was also a tense, 
 restless light in his eyes that told of a mind not at 
 peace with itself; of a mind still determined, but 
 lacking the old time confidence. He returned 
 Helen s greeting effusively, but his manner was 
 forced, not spontaneous. He went to his desk and 
 began nervously rummaging the accumulated 
 papers. Frequently he called Helen to him to help 
 straighten some simple matter. 
 
 She bore his nervous petulance with patience, 
 for she felt that she knew the cause of his agitation. 
 In sheer desperation, Elijah was bent upon mak 
 ing trouble, knowing that in every detail he was 
 wrong, knowing that even the cause of his agitation 
 was of his own creation. The gossips of Ysleta 
 told him this; told him in words that he could not 
 twist into a defense of himself, and this increased 
 his nervous petulance. He was wrong, terribly 
 wrong, and he knew it, knew that he was trying to 
 make wrong, right. Point after point he brought 
 up with Helen, only to have each explained in a 
 
 187 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 way that he was compelled to admit was without 
 fault. 
 
 Helen was patient. She thought that she knew. 
 Her own bitter suffering made her understand. 
 Her heart went out in great throbs of sympathy 
 toward the sorely tried man, who had done wrong 
 and was repenting, even as she had done wrong 
 and was now bent upon righting it, 
 
 At last, however, after an unusually severe and 
 wholly unwarranted outburst, she threw down the 
 paper which she held. Patience had ceased to be 
 a virtue. It was a menace, not only to herself, but 
 to the man toward whom it was exercised. 
 
 1 There s no use going on in this way any longer, 
 Elijah! There s no trouble where you are bent 
 on finding it. It s in the beginning. Let s go back 
 and straighten that out, then we can get some 
 where. * 
 
 1 Well, what is it?" There was an exasperating 
 twist in Elijah s words. 
 
 Helen passed it by. 
 
 1 I ve done wrong and I know it. I wanted to 
 get ahead, and getting ahead meant money. I 
 couldn t get into the Las Cruces " 
 
 "I gave you the chance," interrupted Elijah. 
 
 Helen paid no heed to the interruption. 
 
 "So I began to look around for myself. You 
 know the rest." 
 
 188 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 4 There s no use going back to that." Elijah 
 spoke impatiently. 
 
 "Yes there is use," Helen persisted. "You have 
 done wrong and you know it. You re trying to 
 square yourself by finding fault with me. It s no 
 use. The farther you go, the worse off you are. 
 The long and short of it is, you can t throw dust 
 in your own eyes. 
 
 "I m not trying to throw dust in my own eyes." 
 The very vehemence of his denial gave the lie to his 
 words. 
 
 "You are trying to, and you can t. Nothing can 
 blind your eyes to the fact that you are a criminal. 
 
 Elijah s eyes were blazing through their nar 
 rowed lids. 
 
 "I won t allow even you to say such things to 
 me." 
 
 "If you would only say them to yourself, it 
 wouldn t be necessary. I hate to say it, Elijah, 
 but, you took fifty thousand dollars of the com 
 pany s money. That s embezzlement. It s a 
 crime." Helen voiced her long suppressed sus 
 picion. "You smoothed it over by putting in its 
 place your note for the amount, secured by your 
 stock in the company." 
 
 "Have you been through my private papers?" 
 Elijah burst out. 
 
 "That s not to the point; but no, I haven t." 
 
 "Then how do you know this?" 
 
 189 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 In spite of herself, in spite of her growing hor 
 ror at the weakness of this man who had seemed 
 so strong, Helen could not repress a touch of wom 
 anly sympathy in her reply. 
 
 11 Because, Elijah, I know you." 
 
 Elijah was not to be turned easily from a real 
 wrong. It was good to feel a just cause of resent 
 ment. 
 
 "You have no right to pry into my private af 
 fairs. I have given you no warrant for it." 
 
 "Yes, you have given me a right. I am as 
 sociated with you in this business and I have a 
 right to know. I wish you would tell me if I am 
 right in my guess." 
 
 The impulse was strong in Elijah to attempt to 
 deceive Helen even as he had long deceived him 
 self, but there was a look in her eyes that weakened 
 the impulse. 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "Because that would square you with yourself. 
 You could hunt a way out then, and I m ready to 
 help you. But you haven t answered my question 
 yet. Am I right?" 
 
 * Why do you want to know ? 
 
 "Ralph and Uncle Sid were in to see you this 
 morning." 
 
 "What about?" 
 
 "Seymour will be here soon" 
 
 Elijah interrupted. 
 
 190 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "Who s told Seymour?" 
 
 "When he comes," Helen went on, "he ll ask 
 questions. He won t be particular about the ques 
 tions; but he ll be mighty particular about the an 
 swers. You know what he ll ask, and you know 
 what you ll be obliged to answer. Do you want to 
 get ready, or do you want him to fall on you in a 
 heap?" 
 
 Elijah could not conceal his agitation. He mois 
 tened his dry lips with his tongue. As he had ar 
 gued with himself, so he began to argue now; not 
 to Helen, but to the vision she had forced his eyes 
 to see. 
 
 "I saved the company from loss. If Mellin 
 had not been a friend of mine, he never would have 
 warned me that the Pacific was going to fail. I 
 saved the money for the company. I wanted the 
 money, I needed it to carry on my work. I didn t 
 embezzle it, I gave the company my note. It is 
 secured at twice its value, by my entire holdings 
 in the Las Cruces company." Elijah s face was 
 drawn; his eyes had an eager, hunted look. 
 
 Was this pitiful creature the man who had so 
 moved her? Helen would have given the world to 
 have taken that look from his eyes ; to have put in 
 its place the clear, inspired light that had at first 
 so drawn her to him ; but she hardened her heart. 
 
 "Elijah, you re a hypocrite! You ve got the in 
 stincts of a thief without his courage. This stuff 
 
 191 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 doesn t go with me. You took the company s 
 money. Make good or take the consequences." 
 
 Elijah sprang to his feet. 
 
 * My God, Helen ! I won t listen to such things. 
 You ve no right to say them." 
 
 Helen calmed herself with an effort. 
 
 * * I was quoting Mr. Seymour. Would you rather 
 wait and hear him directly?" 
 
 Elijah made a pathetic gesture as he sank back 
 in his chair. 
 
 "I didn t think you would turn on me like this, 
 Helen." 
 
 Helen rose and placed her hand on Elijah s 
 shoulder, He could not see her face, and she no 
 longer tried to keep her eyes from showing the 
 conflicting emotions that almost overpowered her. 
 
 "I haven t turned on you, Elijah. I m not going 
 to turn on you. I believe in you yet. We ve made 
 a mistake. We must find a way out." 
 
 "You made a mistake?" 
 
 "Yes. When you paid Pico the fifty thousand, 
 I felt quite sure that a part of it must have come 
 from the Las Cruces. I am as guilty as you are." 
 
 Before she could prevent, Elijah had snatched 
 her hand from his shoulder and was pressing it to 
 his lips. Helen wrenched her hand from his lips. 
 As if drawn by her resisting hand he rose to his 
 feet, his burning eyes resting on hers. In vain she 
 tried to withdraw her hand from his fierce clasp. 
 
 192 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "Don t leave me, Helen, don t leave me!" With 
 wide open arms he sprang toward her. 
 
 "With hardly a perceptible motion, she was be 
 yond the reach of his outstretched hands. She had 
 no palliating knowledge of his inner thoughts, no 
 knowledge of the malevolent suggestions of Mrs. 
 MacGregor, no knowledge of the scene in Elijah s 
 house, where the lamplight fell on a tear-stained, 
 baby face, on blistered sheets with hopeless figures, 
 upon renunciation, as Elijah closed the door and 
 deliberately put his wife from him. 
 
 Helen stood erect, composed, her eyes filled with 
 loathing, contempt, but not for Elijah alone. This 
 was the hardest to bear. What had she said, what 
 had she done to bring this horrible thing upon her 
 self? 
 
 Elijah slowly grasped the meaning of Helen s 
 eyes. She had not spoken. There was no need that 
 she should speak. 
 
 "No ! no ! no ! Helen, not that, not that ; you don t 
 understand." 
 
 * Stop ! I won t listen. Not to a word. 
 
 "You will! You must!" There was no passion 
 now either in words or looks, only a set determina 
 tion to be heard. 
 
 Try as she would, Helen could not stop the ex- 
 plantation he offered, the palliation of his sins past 
 and to come. Even as he had said, she was com- 
 
 193 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 pelled to listen, but there was no softening of her 
 eyes, no change in the set, hard face. 
 
 "You and I cannot stay any longer in this office. 
 You will go or I." Elijah made as if to speak. 
 Stop ! Her voice was imperative. I would be 
 justified in leaving everything, but I began this 
 wretched business and at whatever cost to myself, 
 I will see it through." 
 
 Elijah felt the hopelessness of further words. 
 Like one in a horrible dream, he turned to his desk 
 and began to straighten his papers. 
 
 "I will attend to that. Go!" 
 
 Without a word or look, Elijah closed the office 
 door behind him. 
 
 It required all Helen s fortitude to control her 
 self. She attempted no self-palliation, she put this 
 aside. She had been innocent of intentional wrong 
 doing, but this made no difference. The fact was 
 beyond recall. Only the future was hers in which 
 to make atonement at whatever cost to herself. 
 
 194 
 
CHAPTER NINETEEN 
 
 Uncle Sid and Winston, after leaving the office, 
 went toward the Rio Vista. Winston was the first 
 to break the silence. He spoke musingly. 
 
 "Helen doesn t absolutely know whether Elijah 
 got that money or not. If she had known certainly, 
 she would have told us. But she suspects that he 
 got it and used it, or at least a part of it. There 
 are only two who do know surely, Mellin and Eli 
 jah. Mellin has a strong hold on Elijah, or he 
 couldn t have got that note from him. Elijah drew 
 the money, converted it to his own use, and Mellin 
 knows it and is making Elijah pay him to keep 
 quiet." 
 
 "Well!" Uncle Sid stopped abruptly and 
 thrust his walking stick into the sand. "Welll" 
 he repeated, "what are you going to do about it?" 
 
 "I m going to hunt Mellin down and make him 
 give up." Winston s jaws set. 
 
 Uncle Sid smiled grimly. 
 
 "Well, young man, I m all-fired rejoiced that 
 you ain t a-huntin me. I m goin a-huntin too." 
 
 At the Rio Vista they parted. Uncle Sid stumped 
 up to the hotel office. 
 
 195 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "Say, senner," he was addressing the clerk, 
 "Mrs. MacGregor ain t been sighted yet, has she?" 
 
 The clerk smiled affably. 
 
 "Not yet, Captain. Expect her to make port 
 today. Any messages?" 
 
 "Yes, plenty, but I ll deliver em myself." 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor made port promptly and as 
 promptly Uncle Sid began to deliver his message. 
 
 "Well, Eunice, it seems you ve finally settled to 
 the conviction that there s more money in a servant 
 o the Lord than in folks that s got handles to their 
 names." 
 
 "What do you mean, Sidney?" 
 
 "What do you mean, Eunice, takin your ward s 
 money an puttin it into this wild-cat business?" 
 
 "I m not aware that I have told you or any one 
 else what I have done with Alice s money." 
 
 "I m perfectly aware o you, Eunice, an I have 
 been for a good many years. You ain t got a cent 
 o your own an you ve been spungin off from 
 Alice. She didn t seem to mind, so I didn t inter 
 fere ; but this is different. You just back right out 
 now or I ll make you." Uncle Sid s face was not 
 pleasant to contemplate. 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor smiled complacently. 
 
 It seems to me that you are very suddenly and 
 deeply interested in my doings." 
 
 "I am!" Uncle Sid snapped out. "An for two 
 reasons. In the first place you are swindling Alice 
 
 196 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 out o her money, an in the second, the good name 
 o the Harwoods is in danger. Either one is enough 
 to rile my fightin blood, an take em both together, 
 I m fifty years younger n my birthday calls for." 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor spoke coldly. 
 
 4 You are very much mistaken, Sidney, if you 
 think you are frightening me." 
 
 "I am mistaken. I never thought you a fool, I 
 declare if I did! Not this kind. Accordin to my 
 notion, you ve tried on a powerful lot o different 
 kinds o fool, but I never thought you d settle 
 down to this." 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor vouchsafed no reply. She went 
 to her closet, and began sorting various articles of 
 clothing and laying them out on the bed. 
 
 "What are you up to now?" 
 
 "I m going East on business." 
 
 Uncle Sid rose to his feet and walked to Mrs. 
 MacGregor. Laying his hands on her shoulders, he 
 turned her sharply till her eyes met his. The eyes 
 that looked coldly into his had a well-bred, unruffled 
 stare, exasperatingly insolent, exasperating, be 
 cause they gave no open ground for resentment. 
 
 "Eunice, I m going to make a fool of myself. 
 I ve got two hundred thousand laid up in the best 
 kind o securities. They bring me in ten thousand 
 a y.-ar. You just get back that girl s money, an* 
 I ll give you this so long as I live. If I go first, 
 197 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 an it s likely I will, I ll fix it so you ll get it so 
 long s you live." 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor spoke calmly. 
 
 "Why didn t you say this to me before?" 
 
 "Because there s been no especial reason for my 
 making a fool o myself before." 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor, still looking into her brother s 
 eyes, thought rapidly. Her regret that Uncle Sid 
 had not spoken before was sincere. She would ac 
 cept now if she could. She thought of accepting 
 Uncle Sid s offer and then trying to free herself; 
 but if she should fail, she knew that Uncle Sid 
 would not hesitate to cut her off instantly, and 
 without mercy. She was convinced that there was 
 no way out of it. Elijah would fight against it, 
 Mellin would oppose everything before he would 
 let go his hold. More sincerely than she had ever 
 regretted anything in her life, she regretted her 
 inability to accept her brother s offer. There was 
 only one way open to go on. Her calm, cynical 
 smile was more exasperating than her stare. 
 
 "Alice will be down from San Francisco in about 
 two weeks. I want you to take care of her while I 
 am East." 
 
 Uncle Sid was answered. He thrust his sister 
 from him so violently, that she staggered to regain 
 her balance, but the calm, insolent smile never left 
 her face. 
 
 198 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "I ll take care o her. I ll take care o her, an 
 you too, an that servant o the Lord." 
 
 Uncle Sid stamped from the room. Mrs. Mac- 
 Gregor summoned a messenger from the office. He 
 was instructed to secure a ticket that evening for 
 the overland express. Then she resumed her prep 
 arations for departure. She had arranged all de 
 tails with Elijah. The Palm Wells company had 
 been fully organized, its officers chosen. To Mrs. 
 MacGregor was entrusted the task of raising the 
 necessary funds for what? Both Mrs. MacGregor. 
 and Elijah had avoided these details. 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor was promptly on hand for the 
 overland express, and it was with a great and grow 
 ing sense of satisfaction and importance that she 
 settled herself in her sleeper. Her journey to the 
 East was not so pleasant as she had anticipated; 
 but her hand was turned to her voluntary task, 
 and she could not now go back if she would. She 
 put aside disagreeable impossibilities and gave her 
 thoughts to her future, the raising of money to 
 further her schemes and Elijah s. 
 
 Uncle Sid had at once divined that his sister s 
 first field of operations would be their native town 
 and Elijah s. He accordingly took prompt meas 
 ures to block her plans. He at once wrote to his 
 banker, an old and trusted friend, giving him an 
 outline of the situation and advising him against 
 co-operation with Mrs. MacGregor. The keen busi- 
 
 199 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 ness acumen which had enabled him to accumulate 
 two hundred thousand in first-class securities, 
 pointed his written utterances in keen-edged words 
 which never missed their mark, and invariably car 
 ried conviction with them. 
 
 Many a mickle makes a muckle, and the sea 
 faring mickles of Mrs. MacGregor s native town 
 which had been so painfully accumulated through 
 many years of toil, and towards which that astute 
 lady had turned expectant and longing eyes, were 
 now plunging her into the depths of despair. 
 
 The denizens of Fall Brook turned greedy eyes 
 to the golden promises she offered them, their ears 
 were always open, but the end was ever the same. 
 The knots in the stockings were only tied the 
 tighter because of their canny greed and because of 
 her words which threatened to despoil them. 
 Finally the promises of Mrs. MacGregor, made to 
 a scant but influential few, of stock in the Palm 
 Wells tract, as a bonus for persuading their fellows 
 to invest, added zealous recruits to her cause. 
 These, however, not only failed in positive results, 
 but defeated her every hope of success. In a land 
 where the equality of individuals was the breath of 
 life, the arbitrary choice of the few to be the leaders 
 of the many was an insult which no self-respecting 
 New Englander could fail to resent. 
 
 The gray-haired banker was Mrs. MacGregor s 
 last resort. Urged by messages from Elijah, at first 
 
 200 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 urgent, then importunate, Mrs. MacGregor turned 
 to the banker. He was tarred with the same stick 
 as wore his fellow citizens ; moreover, he was in re- 
 ooipt of an extra stick from Uncle Sid. The letter 
 that had traveled eastward with Mrs. MacGregor 
 had received due consideration, and its contents 
 had been judiciously distributed. With the same 
 measure, with which for years she had measured 
 her fellow townsmen, Mrs. MacGregor was being 
 measured. Wounded pride, bitter, burning resent 
 ment, accompanied her on her return trip to Cali 
 fornia. 
 
 201 
 
CHAPTER TWENTY 
 
 In any great and growing business, there is often 
 a readjusting and shifting of duties from shoulder 
 to shoulder, as one official after another discovers 
 aptitude for a special line of work. 
 
 Thus it happened that, contrary to Helen s fears, 
 no comment was excited either in the office itself or 
 in Ysleta over Elijah s prolonged absence. In both 
 places it was tacitly assumed that his new venture 
 was consuming the greater part of his time. For 
 some weeks most of the routine business transacted 
 in Elijah s name had in reality been performed by 
 Helen, so that it was easy for her to take upon her 
 self the entire direction of the office work. In their 
 intimate official relations, Helen had discovered 
 Elijah s weak points, but this discovery had drawn 
 her closer to him. In the multitudinous business 
 details of the office, often petty and annoying, Eli 
 jah had shown a restless impatience, and an ina 
 bility to straighten them out satisfactorily. He had 
 discovered a lack of the subtle distinctions of honor 
 and honesty, characteristic of a man of strong, 
 rugged integrity. With the development of the 
 
 202 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 Las Cruces to a point of assured success, there had 
 grown up in Elijah an increasing sense of the mag 
 nitude of his work and of himself. 
 
 Helen had taken the details of the office upon 
 herself and with infinite patience she had worked 
 them into harmony. She had been Elijah s con 
 science in a thousand different ways that were 
 buried from sight in the work as a whole. Some 
 times patiently, more often impatiently, Elijah had 
 rebelled against her insistent suggestions, but in 
 the end he had yielded. To a certain extent Helen 
 had been blinded as to the real Elijah by her pre 
 conceived notions of him. She had regarded him 
 as a great man with great ideas. With this central 
 thought she had looked leniently upon his faults, 
 as weaknesses inseparable from greatness. With a 
 loyal devotion, especially characteristic of women, 
 she had largely submerged herself in Elijah. She 
 had gradually come to believe in him almost as he 
 believed in himself. The disintegrating effects of 
 this belief upon her character were gradual and in 
 sinuating. She was deteriorating from the strong, 
 sturdy sense of honor that had been her chief char 
 acteristic. Upon Elijah, the effects of her loyalty 
 were bound to be equally disastrous. She was his 
 ideal of womanhood. She was his devoted ally. 
 The result was a growing belief that what he de 
 sired was right and that this right should not be 
 questioned. 
 
 203 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 Beyond a vague, ill-defined consciousness that she 
 was getting on dangerous ground, Helen had given 
 little thought to what might be the end of her inti 
 mate relations with Elijah. He was a married man. 
 She had met his wife. The meeting had had the 
 sinister effect of developing her sympathy for Eli 
 jah in a new line. 
 
 In the affairs of the Las Cruces, Helen had been 
 Elijah s conscience. He had repeatedly yielded to 
 her judgment. She had experienced a glow of sat 
 isfaction in this that had strengthened the bonds 
 between them. Of late, she had been conscious 
 that her influence was becoming less potent, but 
 she had not connected this fact with the advent of 
 Mrs. MacGregor. The first indication that Elijah s 
 actions were not as wholly in her keeping as she 
 had assumed was her suspicion of his transaction 
 with the Pacific Bank. This had startled her, but 
 to a certain extent she had glossed it over. 
 
 When she learned, not through Elijah, but 
 through the published fact, of Elijah s mortgage to 
 Mellin, the veil of his influence was thinned. It 
 had startled her, shocked her, but it had strength 
 ened her determination to make the venture a suc 
 cess, even at the price of an open rupture when her 
 strength would be pitted against Elijah s. She 
 had no fear for results ; Elijah had placed too many 
 weapons in her hands which she could use against 
 him. She would compel him, if her influence failed. 
 
 204 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 If Elijah should force her to go to Seymour or 
 Ralph, she was ready to take any consequences they 
 might thrust upon her. 
 
 When she had learned, not by Elijah s voluntary 
 confession, but by the confession which she had 
 forced from him, that he had converted the com 
 pany s money to his own use, and had in reality 
 made her a party to it, the shock impelled her to 
 open rupture and at once. Then came the reaction 
 to pity for the strained, agonized face that pleaded 
 more strongly for mercy than his words. Her 
 thoughts were not deliberately logical, but vibrat 
 ing from point to point. 
 
 Another swing of her mental pendulum and the 
 confession of his guilty love came back to her with 
 crushing, humiliating force. She could not forget 
 the shame of it. Even to this day the pain was not 
 lulled. But in the first withering humiliation, when 
 the last remnant of the veil of her illusion had been 
 torn away, the sense of self-preservation had been 
 strong within her. The open rupture had come. 
 From now on she must fight Elijah and alone, fight 
 for her honor and his redemption if possible. In 
 the days that followed she had forgiven Elijah, but 
 she could not forgive herself without atonement. 
 The forgiveness had not drawn her to Elijah, it 
 h;i<l put him farther away. She forgavo him in 
 justice, for she frit that in some way. she did not 
 see why, she could not reason why, but in some 
 
 205 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 way, she had opened the road that had led to his 
 declaration. Personalities were at an end between 
 them ; she had a right to this much ; but in the Pico 
 ranch transaction, the end was not yet. She re 
 volted against it in her heart, but in this matter 
 were involved more than herself and Elijah. She 
 would see it through; she must. 
 
 206 
 
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE 
 
 Neither the guests of the Rio Vista nor the in 
 habitants of Ysleta were as much disturbed over 
 Uncle Sid s illiterate speech as was his sister. None 
 of these knew what Mrs. MacGregor knew, that a 
 lifetime spent before the mast and on the quarter 
 deck is apt to counteract, in forms of speech at 
 least, even a careful early education. Not all Mrs. 
 MacGregor s polished manners and studied words 
 could move a human heart to a single throb, nor 
 could Uncle Sid s uncouth motions and clipped 
 speech chill the loyalty of his many friends. His 
 quaint humor that touched lightly, though unerr 
 ingly, upon the foibles of humanity, blinded no one 
 to the shrewd eyes that looked with no uncertain 
 light upon the line that divided right from wrong. 
 In short, Uncle Sid was sought after and welcomed 
 where his polished sister was shunned, avoided, 
 and heartily disliked. 
 
 Thus it happened that when Helen had named a 
 date for the long talked of trip to the dam a goodly 
 number of Uncle Sid s admirers were ready to go 
 \\ith them. Winston had been duly notified and 
 was ready for their entertainment. 
 
 207 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 Helen was nearly if not quite as popular as 
 Uncle Sid, though on different grounds. Her air 
 of reserve was wholly apart from the spirit of 
 camaraderie that welcomed Uncle Sid, but there 
 was yet a kindly and humane atmosphere surround 
 ing her that was good to breathe. Her reserve, in 
 stead of repelling, attracted and inspired a confi 
 dence and loyalty that needed but an occasion to 
 arouse it to open manifestation. Contrary to her 
 fears, had every secret which she was trying to bury 
 in the chambers of her heart been published, this 
 loyalty would have stood forth in fierce array be 
 tween her and condemnation. 
 
 Early on the morning of the appointed day a 
 jolly party formed in line at the doors of the Rio 
 Vista, and, reinforced by carriages from the town, 
 streamed out into the desert, along the banks of 
 the Sangre de Cristo t and paused where the last 
 aqueduct of the great canal was nearly completed. 
 Here all was bustle and hurry, but confusion was 
 absent. Unshaped timbers came to men with 
 squares and saws, ready hands took them, and when 
 squares and saws had done their work, passed them 
 to other hands that raised them on squeaking der 
 ricks ; the groaning ropes delivered their burdens to 
 trestles where they were swung and fastened 
 in position. There were no misfits. This had been 
 provided against by keen-eyed, eager-faced youths 
 with blue prints and transits, who directed the 
 
 208 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 squares and saws and plumbed the groaning trestles. 
 
 There were exclamations of surprise, of admira 
 tion, of approval from the visitors. Helen was pro 
 foundly moved. Winston s name was on every 
 tongue, while Elijah was hardly mentioned. Back 
 of the blue prints where the cut of every timber 
 had been clearly drawn, where the position of every 
 spike and bolt had been accurately defined, back of 
 every spider-line in transits that unerringly fixed 
 every placed timber, back of every motion of busy 
 hands that moved out and in with no collision, 
 Helen saw the engineer who had traced the draw 
 ings and had organized the work. Back of the 
 engineer, she saw the man who had made this 
 possible. 
 
 Helen was standing apart from the visitors. She 
 was dumbly conscious that among these, like was 
 gathering to like, even as she, though alone, was 
 gathered to herself and apart from them all. One 
 cluster, linked together by the common hope that 
 this great work would even yet redeem their fallen 
 fortunes; a second group, building other castles of 
 cards from their former ruin; still another, un 
 thinking, uncaring, unseeing, dancing, chattering, 
 alive to tin- sunlight, alive to the bustle, alive to the 
 enveloping spirit like particles of iron in the pres 
 ence of a magnet, and as little conscious of the 
 influences that were playing upon them. Every 
 clink of hammer, every rasp of saw, every voice, 
 
 209 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 exuberant or subdued, was speaking of the triumph 
 of one man, the possible disgrace of another. 
 
 The clusters broke and, led by Uncle Sid, re- 
 gathered about Helen. 
 
 Look here, Miss Lonsdale," said one, "if you 
 will allow a suggestion, just fold your arms and 
 hump your shoulders and the picture will be com 
 pleteNapoleon before the pyramids of Egypt." 
 
 * I didn t suppose that basking in reflected glory 
 made one a subject for cartooning; if it does, we ll 
 all pose together." 
 
 "Don t be too modest, young woman," Uncle Sid 
 broke in reprovingly, "a fog bank may hide the 
 sun but it gets its back blistered doin it." 
 
 "Shall we start on?" suggested Helen; "it s a 
 long way yet to the dam. 
 
 The road followed along the line of the canal, 
 affording a complete inspection of the work. Only; 
 the canal was level, cutting through rolls, bridging 
 arroyos, and boring through rocky hills too deeep 
 for cuts. The country grew too rough for wagons 
 as it neared the foot hills of the San Bernardinos, 
 and here the road turned into the bed of the canal. 
 There were occasional stretches where the bed was 
 sandy ; these were cemented to prevent loss of water 
 by seepage. On the sides of deep gulches, the canal 
 was cut in the steep banks, walled above and below 
 to hold the stream in place. The work was inspir 
 iting, exhilarating. It was the conquest of Nature, 
 
 210 
 
THE VISION OP ELIJAH BERL 
 
 or was it the higher Nature asserting itself, select 
 ing and assimilating that which had hitherto been 
 uncalled into active existence? Perhaps no one of 
 the party asked himself the question, yet each felt 
 that it was a great work, a great idea, a daring one. 
 
 At the mouth of the canon, the canal ended. 
 Across the canon was built a deflecting dam of solid 
 masonry. Where the canal led into the dam, 
 massive gates were placed by means of which the 
 water from the great reservoir in the mountains 
 could be turned into the canal or cut off from it at 
 will. Apparently there was not a contingency but 
 had been foreseen and provided for. 
 
 On a level spot of ground near the gates, a mes 
 senger from Winston awaited the party to say that 
 he was unavoidably detained, but that he would 
 expect them the following day. Tents and food 
 were waiting, and the night was pleasantly spent. 
 Only the master of it all was absent. 
 
 Early in the morning the camp was astir and 
 breakfast disposed of, horses were saddled and the 
 party under way. Winston was better than his 
 word, for he met them part way down the trail. 
 His welcome was an ovation. Men and women 
 crowded around, each eager to take his hand and 
 pour congratulations into his reluctant ears. 
 
 "I accept, by proxy, for the real man." was his 
 reply. 
 
 Uncle Sid awaited his turn. His loyal old heart 
 
 211 
 
THE VISION OP ELIJAH BERL 
 
 was bursting with pride over all he had seen. There 
 was a suspicious brightness in the old man s eyes 
 as, with Winston s hand clasped in both his own, 
 he looked into his eyes. 
 
 " Ralph, my boy," he said, "I have no child of 
 my own, but if I had, an he d done what you have, 
 I d want my heart steel-hooped to keep it from 
 burstin ." 
 
 Winston s grip tightened on the knotty fingers. 
 
 11 Thank you, Uncle Sid." Then withdrawing 
 his hand, he slipped it through the old man s arm. 
 
 Uncle Sid stopped abruptly and thrust the hand 
 aside, giving Winston an initial push. 
 
 "Now you go along where you re wanted. These 
 folks are just burstin full o worship. It will do 
 em good to let it out at a tin god, if they don t 
 know any better. It s good for folks to worship 
 somethin besides themselves." 
 
 Through the long day that followed it seemed 
 long to Winston Helen skilfully avoided him. 
 Without seeming effort, she managed to be sur 
 rounded with others, giving Winston no word alone. 
 Outwardly, she was her old buoyant self. Only to 
 the keen eyes of Winston was her manner forced. 
 
 Towards night, Winston saw Helen and Uncle 
 Sid standing together on one of the abutments of 
 the dam. Without undue haste he joined them. 
 
 "Well, Helen, are you satisfied with the handi 
 work of your servant ? 
 
 212 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "If you are my servant, why do you come into 
 my presence without being bidden?" 
 
 "I asked my question first, and you haven t an 
 swered it." 
 
 "It strikes me that, you are either presumptuous 
 or hypocritical. Don t you think so, Uncle Sid?" 
 She flashed her eyes toward Uncle Sid. There was 
 a shade of annoyance in the look that she turned to 
 Winston. "I believe you and Uncle Sid are fellow 
 conspirators." 
 
 Then I am not mistaken. You have avoided me 
 today?" 
 
 "Suppose I have," she replied evasively. 
 
 "It s too late for that, Helen. You have given 
 me rights and I claim them." Winston s voice was 
 decided. 
 
 "You are harking back to barefoot rights. You 
 perhaps remember that Uncle Sid said that these 
 were only letters of introduction to shoes and 
 stockings." 
 
 "Yes. And I humbly present them." Winston 
 replied in the forced humor of Helen s words. 
 
 "But," protested Helen, "I have put away 
 childish things, bare feet and all. See!" She 
 thrust out a booted foot from beneath her skirt. 
 
 "That s only a boot, and I m not in it." 
 
 "You re getting childish, Ralph, so you will have 
 to go with the rest." 
 
 "I am willing, so long as I go with the foot." 
 
 213 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 Helen was walking slowly up the steep bank and 
 through a thicket of scrubby pine. Uncle Sid had 
 disappeared from sight. Winston laid a detaining 
 hand on her arm. 
 
 "Wait, Helen, I have a great many things to say 
 to you.* 
 
 "This is a pleasure trip, Ralph. You can say 
 things at the office." She turned and took a step 
 forward, but only a step. Winston s hand was 
 gentle but firm. Helen seated herself on a mat of 
 pine needles. Her face was flushed with resent 
 ment. Was it resentment? 
 
 Winston noticed the heightened color. Its cause 
 was a question with a doubtful answer, but he did 
 not hesitate on that account. 
 
 "It s no use trying to deceive me, Helen. There 
 is something troubling you, and seriously, too 
 
 "Suppose there is, may I not keep my troubles 
 to myself if I choose?" She tried to speak firmly 
 and finally. 
 
 Winston continued with no resentment and with 
 no vacillation. 
 
 "If you are troubled about any affairs of the 
 company, I ought to know; you should not keep it 
 from me. If it is personal, I have no intention of 
 forcing your confidence. I only want to ask you 
 one thing. Don t you believe that I am your sin 
 cere friend?" 
 
 Helen strove to conceal her agitation. She 
 
 214 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 longed with all her heart to meet half way the open 
 loyalty that was offered her. She longed to show 
 him that she appreciated it, but how could she be 
 frank with him without disloyalty to Elijah? Eli 
 jah had forfeited her respect, but was he wholly to 
 blame? He had absolved her from the obligations 
 of friendship, but there were other obligations that 
 she could not put aside. Together they had as 
 sumed business responsibilities, together they must 
 meet them. She longed for Winston s advice, as 
 sistance, but how could she accept either without 
 baring the secret shame that was festering in her 
 heart? Strive as she would, she could not wholly 
 control her voice. 
 
 "You have always been my friend, Ralph. Please 
 try to believe that I appreciate it. You can t know 
 what it means to me and I can t tell you. Won t 
 you trust me a little longer?" She tried to steady 
 the deep black eyes that she raised to him. 
 
 Winston caught the hand that trembled on the 
 matted needles. 
 
 "Always, Helen, always." 
 
 She gently withdrew her hand, rising to go. 
 
 "Thank you. You may not know what you are 
 promising." There was a pathetic smile hovering 
 over the trembling lips. "Let s stop where we 
 are." 
 
 "No." Winston was standing beside her. "I 
 know more than you think I do, Helen. Elijah 
 
 215 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 Berl is a thief. You know it and I know it. He 
 has involved you, in appearance at least. You are 
 too honest, too loyal to leave him as he deserves to 
 be left" 
 
 Helen rose to Elijah s defense. 
 
 "Not intentionally a thief, Ralph." 
 
 Winston s eyes flamed with indignation. 
 
 "He isn t an open, manly thief who steals and 
 stands up to his act. He is a sneak who steals and 
 unloads his punishment on others." 
 
 Winston s words smote hard. In no essential did 
 they differ from those she had spoken to Elijah. 
 
 Winston waited for a moment, watching Helen s 
 face. 
 
 "I know what you mean. He took the money 
 from Mellin and appropriated it to his own use. 
 He got you involved in the Pico deal. That isn t 
 an open crime. It is a sneaking, cowardly crime, 
 in that he is forcing you to bear a part of the 
 odium." 
 
 Helen s voice faltered, but her eyes did not leave 
 Winston s. 
 
 "That Pico business was begun before the Pa 
 cific failed. You are wrong there." 
 
 "I am not wrong," Winston burst in hotly. His 
 indignation waxed against Elijah. "He is crooked 
 from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet. 
 So long as it was between himself and me I could 
 stand it, but when it comes to you, I will endure it 
 
 216 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 no longer. He will quit or I will break him. I can 
 and I will." 
 
 "You don t know all, Ralph, or you wouldn t 
 say that." Helen s voice was firmer. 
 
 * I do know all. Don t I know that he has given 
 the company his note, or pretended to, and secured 
 it by his stock?" 
 
 Helen s eyes were on Winston. 
 
 "Do you know this?" She was honestly in 
 doubt. Perhaps Elijah had confided in Winston 
 after all. 
 
 "I have not seen the papers, but I know Elijah 
 Berl. He has stilled his conscience without sur 
 rendering, one iota, his purpose. This note and 
 security are in his own hands. When it comes to 
 the point, he will find a new way to quiet what he 
 calls his conscience." 
 
 "You do not know all, Ralph. You are unjust. 
 This has gone far enough too far." Helen spoke 
 coldly. She felt compelled to, against the pleadings 
 of her heart. She turned and began to move away. 
 
 XVinston s hand was again on her arm, restrain 
 ing her. She tried to free herself, but try as she 
 would, she could not make the action final. 
 
 Winston s hand slipped down her arm till her 
 hand rested in his. 
 
 "Helen, I would say all of this for the sake of 
 friendship alone" 
 
 She strove tc draw her hand from his. 
 
 217 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "Stop, Ralph, stop right there." 
 
 "I will not." Winston s grasp tightened, he 
 was drawing her towards him in spite of herself. 
 "There is more than friendship, Helen. There is 
 love. I cannot tell you how much; you will have 
 to let me teach you." 
 
 His arm was around her now, his eyes striving to 
 look into her own. The pulse of his words, the 
 light of his eyes, the touch of his hand, there was 
 in all these the clear, strong definition between 
 mine and thine. Mine to desire, mine to ask, mine 
 to plead for my desires; thine to give or to with 
 hold that which is all and more than all to me. 
 My heart, my life, my love; thy acceptance of my 
 offering. No selfish pleading, no imperative de 
 mand, only a right to ask in undoubting confidence 
 that which it was hers to give or to withhold. She 
 felt his breath on her cheek, the warm glow of his 
 lips nearer and nearer. She could not put them 
 away; her heart cried out against it. Her will to 
 resist, to act as her conscience dictated, was weak 
 ening. Only to be at rest, as she was resting now, 
 at peace, no doubts, no fears ; she longed for what 
 in strength of mind and purity of heart he was 
 offering her. 
 
 His clasp grew closer. Why should she not ac 
 cept? Her senses were reeling in an ecstasy of 
 surrender that gives all and gains all in the giving. 
 As in a delicious yet terrifying dream, she shrank 
 
 218 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 closer to the protecting arms that would shield her 
 forever. 
 
 "Tell me, Helen, that you love me, not as I love 
 you, that is too much to ask, but tell me that you 
 love me." 
 
 Her lips trembled in voiceless reply. How she 
 longed to speak the words he desired her to utter. 
 Why could she not? Then her eyes opened wide. 
 Here was a clean heart and a pure life at her feet, 
 strong, throbbing words pleading with her to accept 
 the offering. What had she to give in return? 
 What was she about to give ? A stained heart ; how 
 deeply stained she did not, could not know, but 
 stained, in exchange for a pure white soul. 
 
 She tore herself from his arms and stood before 
 him, her hands outstretched against him. Her 
 great black eyes were wide, and deep, and unfath 
 omable. Only from their depths, a glow of longing 
 love shone forth; of longing, sorrowing love, of 
 sorrow for herself and of love for the man before 
 her; yet love controlled by a will as strong as the 
 strength of right could make it. 
 
 There was an answering light in the eyes that 
 met her own. In them was pain and pleading, but 
 no doubt. His hands reached out to hers that had 
 put him away, but they dropped before they 
 touched. 
 
 "Helen, your eyes have answered me." There 
 
 219 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 was a deep throb of exultation in his voice. But 
 let me hear you speak. " 
 
 She stood with pale face and laboring breath. 
 Her voice shook with the intensity of her emotion. 
 
 "I love you, Ralph. More than I can tell you 
 in a lifetime, I love you." She spoke in obedience 
 to a power beyond her will to control. 
 
 Winston sprang toward her, but her hand rested 
 on his breast. She could feel the strong, even throb 
 of his heart and this strengthened her will to resist. 
 
 "Listen, Ralph!" Her voice was intense but 
 low ; every word pierced like pencils of light in deep 
 waters. "I have been cruel, mercilessly, selfishly 
 cruel. I longed to hear you say what you have 
 said. All my life I shall remember it as a penance 
 for the wrong I have done you. 
 
 "I will not listen to such words." He clasped 
 the hand that rested on his breast, but she tore it 
 away. 
 
 "Don t tempt me further, Ralph." 
 
 He was again close beside her. 
 
 "Tell me all, Helen. You have given me the 
 right to know. 
 
 "I have not, I cannot. If I should tell you, you 
 would despise me. If I granted your wish, all my 
 life I should loathe myself." 
 
 Ralph stood with eyes undoubting, unconvinced, 
 but he could go no farther." 
 
 "Is it forever, Helen, hopelessly forever?" 
 
 220 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "Don t ask me, Ralph, but forgive me." Her 
 eyes were shining with unshed tears. "I am afraid 
 it is. Will you, can you forgive me?" 
 
 Winston s lips set. There was a determination 
 in his eyes that was yet softened by a great love. 
 
 "I have nothing to forgive. I love you and I 
 shall always love you. Nothing you have said or 
 can say will change it or weaken it. You do not 
 see clearly now. Some time you will. Then I shall 
 claim you and you will come to me." 
 
 Helen could trust herself no further, nor could 
 she still the throb of hope his words had kindled. 
 Was she mistaken after all? Was her sin as she 
 saw it, but a gigantic empty shadow resting on a 
 vanishing cloud which the clear light of reason 
 would melt away? There had been conviction in 
 his words, "Sometime you will see clearly, then 
 you will come to me." 
 
 She was to outward appearances her old self as 
 she mingled once more with the visitors on the way 
 back to Ysleta. The enthusiastic crowd declared 
 that they would see to it that the completion of the 
 great dam was duly celebrated, and with one accord 
 they voted that Helen was to swing the last stone 
 into place. Helen objected, but to no purpose. She 
 was told that it had all been arranged between them 
 and Winston. 
 
 221 
 
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO 
 
 Seymour did not arrive in Ysleta as soon as Win 
 ston and Uncle Sid had expected, yet there was no 
 doubt that he had heard of the Pacific failure 
 and the consequent loss of a considerable amount 
 of the company s funds. There was also no doubt 
 that the news of Elijah s transactions with 
 Mellin had been transmitted to him. His non- 
 appearance puzzled them somewhat, but the fact 
 that he had communicated with no one, officially at 
 least, partly explained the situation to them. It 
 must be that he felt perfectly secure and was tak 
 ing his own time in which to act. Uncle Sid had 
 not been ruffled and he went so far as to advise 
 Winston against worry. 
 
 "Seymour s fixin things to do when he gets out 
 here. What s time for him is time for us. Let s 
 you an me fix up things while he s thinkin about 
 it." And that is what they proceeded to do and 
 very effectively. 
 
 As a matter of fact, a prosaic wash-out on the 
 line had prevented Seymour s bodily presence in 
 Ysleta, but it had hampered in no way the presence 
 of his spirit, nor did it hamper his thoughts. The 
 
 222 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BEKL 
 
 rumor of Elijah s defalcation had not disturbed 
 Seymour seriously. He imagined he knew for what 
 purpose the money had been diverted. He shrewd 
 ly guessed that it had been spent in the acquisition 
 of new land. This was not displeasing, for the 
 land could not get away and he could frighten 
 Elijah into disgorging. 
 
 Seymour had been especially attracted by Win 
 ston. In the bottom of his heart, he had resolved 
 at a fitting time to gather that young man to him 
 self. His intentions were not born of purely phil 
 anthropic motives, for experience had taught him 
 that greater heights can be scaled by the aid of 
 others than by unassisted efforts. He felt sure that 
 no one in California knew better what land was 
 worth while and what was not, than Winston and 
 Elijah; therefore, he again concluded that his 
 money was really well invested. And so it hap 
 pened that, after the wash-out had been repaired, 
 he placidly resumed his journey. 
 
 Meanwhile Winston and Uncle Sid were at the 
 Rio Vista. 
 
 "I think," Winston was saying, "that that wash 
 out has saved the day." 
 
 "I bet Mr. Seymour s been studyin how to do 
 things, an* while he s been studyin , we ve been 
 an done em, that is, pretty near." Uncle Sid 
 wheeled around in his chair and faced Winston. 
 "Have you seen Lige lately?" 
 223 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "No. I m pretty sure that he s keeping out of 
 sight purposely. I can t make anything out of 
 him these days. He s taking an unusual amount 
 of interest in my work lately. He s been from one 
 end of the canal line to the other and I don t be 
 lieve that there s a single stone or a shovelful of 
 dirt in the whole dam that he doesn t know the 
 size of; and yet I never run across him. I hear 
 that he s giving the dam his especial attention just 
 now. 
 
 1 More than Helen?" Uncle Sid looked bluntly 
 at Winston. 
 
 Oh, that reminds me. Winston was trying to 
 speak indifferently. "The dam will be finished 
 next week. Helen is to swing the last stone into 
 position. She said that she thought you would 
 make up a party to go up with her." 
 
 "You ll start the first of the week? Yes, I guess 
 I ll go." Uncle Sid was certain of it. 
 
 1 Then I 11 go up in a day or two and get things 
 ready for you. The gates are closed, you know, 
 and the reservoir is nearly full. The rains in the 
 mountains have been unusually heavy this season. 
 
 "How are you makin out with Mellin?" 
 
 Winston s smile was not pleasant to contemplate. 
 
 "I ve got him all done but the finishing. He 
 talked fight when I left him, but I think this will 
 take it out of him. Winston held out a bundle of 
 
 224 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 papers to Uncle Sid. "Do you want to look them 
 over?" 
 
 Uncle Sid shook his head as he pushed the papers 
 aside. 
 
 "I ve got a parcel o papers too. Betwixt the 
 two of us, I guess we have got things pretty well 
 straightened out." 
 
 "How does Helen feel about it now?" 
 
 "She s stickin to Lige like a barnacle. She 
 says that Lige meant all right an* would have done 
 all right, if Eunice an Mellin had let him alone. 
 She didn t say so, but I guess she meant she d a 
 made him, herself." 
 
 Winston s expression was skeptical, but it sof 
 tened as he answered. 
 
 "She would have tried, all right." 
 
 "She would have succeeded too, if Eunice had 
 kept out." Uncle Sid spoke with unusual em 
 phasis. "If there s anything worth savin in a man, 
 a good woman s bound to save it. Things have looked 
 pretty black for Lige an for Helen too, but they ll 
 come out all right. I don t like Lige s cat-a- 
 waulin any more than you do, an you ain t seen 
 the worst o him yet, unless I miss my guess, an 
 you ain t seen the best o him, neither. I can t un- 
 derstan everything an so I take some things on 
 trust, an I want to tell you this, Helen Lonsdale 
 ain t the kind o fish to bite on a bare hook, an she 
 bit hard on Lige." 
 
 225 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 " So did I. That is, I bit." Winston was think 
 ing of the days when the Las Cruces was hair- 
 hung. He was straight in word and deed. Right 
 and wrong were too sharply defined in his mind 
 to allow room for sympathy towards those differ 
 ently constituted. 
 
 "I wish the whole thing was over," he burst out 
 impatiently. "It makes me boil to have these 
 Ysleta sharks looking cross-eyed at me." 
 
 Uncle Sid held up a warning hand. 
 
 "Don t think o that, young man, don t think o 
 that. Just think how much worse you d boil if 
 you had anything to boil over. You go along now, 
 an do a little trustin that counts. You needn t 
 talk about who you are trustin in, but twon t be 
 any less appreciated for that." 
 
 226 
 
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR 
 
 After leaving the Rio Vista, Winston went di 
 rectly to the office of the Las Cruces company. In 
 spite of the fact that he knew his hope was beyond 
 reason, he could not repress a thrill of excitement 
 as he opened the door and entered the inner office. 
 His first glance was toward Helen. Elijah s desk 
 was closed and his chair vacant as he felt sure it 
 would be. It was his first meeting with Helen 
 since she had left him on the mountain. He shrank 
 from the formal attitude which their official re 
 lations compelled him to assume and to which he 
 knew Helen would strictly hold him. Yet there 
 were no abstacles to the exchange of assurances 
 which might flash between their meeting eyes. This 
 was all he asked for, all he could hope for at 
 present. 
 
 "Has Elijah been in this morning? * He looked 
 at Helen as he spoke. 
 
 "No, Ralph. I hardly think that you expected 
 he would be." Helen s eyes softened for a mo 
 ment as they met Winston s, then they grew for 
 mal, but it was enough. 
 
 "No, I didn t I only hoped that he might be. 
 
 227 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 Have you any idea what he is up to?" Winston s 
 tone was cynical. 
 
 Helen s face flushed painfully. 
 
 "You" she began; then she paused. After 
 all, Elijah was to blame. Winston s course had 
 been as straight as the course of an arrow. 
 
 "I am a whited sepulcher. That is what you 
 wanted to say, isn t it, Helen?" 
 
 "What makes you think so?" 
 
 "Because it s just what I am. I have been too 
 hard on Elijah." 
 
 "I wish you had said something like this before 
 before it was too late." 
 
 * Too late ? " he repeated. What do you mean ? 
 Have you heard anything?" His face was anx 
 ious. 
 
 "No, I haven t. I only know that Elijah is 
 thoroughly convinced that you have turned against 
 him. That, and other troubles Ralph, no man can 
 stand the strain that he is under for long." 
 
 "You know Elijah as well as I do, perhaps bet 
 ter." Winston was profoundly agitated. "I 
 would hunt him out and drag him home at once, 
 if it were not for one thing." 
 
 "And that is?" Helen waited for Winston to 
 continue. She knew that his words were a spoken 
 thought, rather than addressed directly to her. 
 
 "So long as Seymour remains away, no one can 
 speak with assurance. Elijah knows that. He 
 
 228 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 needs to feel firm ground under his feet. No one 
 can put it there now." He paused a moment, then 
 continued. "I ll do my best to straighten it out 
 for him. * 
 
 A messenger entered the office and handed a yel 
 low envelope to Winston. He read the message 
 and dismissed the boy. 
 
 "Seymour will be here tomorrow. We will soon 
 be in a position to set Elijah on his feet I hope." 
 Winston hesitated a moment, then went on de 
 liberately. "I thought of having Elijah hunted 
 up at once ; but now I think it will be best to wait. 
 He looked questioningly at Helen. 
 
 "I think you are right, " she replied briefly. 
 
 Winston returned to the Rio Vista and went di 
 rectly to Uncle Sid s room. 
 
 "Things are coming to a climax. " He handed 
 the message to Uncle Sid. 
 
 The old man s face had lost its humorous look. 
 His sha.LTLry eyebrows were lowered, only two bright 
 sparks flashed from beneath them, steely hard. 
 
 "This mess is in a fair way o bein settled now, 
 an it ain t a minute too soon, either. Lige ain t 
 goin to stand this always." 
 
 "What had we better do first?" 
 
 "You know Seymour. Meet him at the train 
 and get him over to the office at once. I ll be there. 
 I think we can settle the whole business in an 
 
 229 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 hour/ Uncle Sid s face relaxed into a grim smile. 
 "He ll have to come to our terms." 
 
 "The main thing, after all, is to get there, and 
 it begins to look as if we had done it." 
 
 There was a surprise to both in their immediate 
 vicinity. The door opened without ceremony to 
 admit Mrs. MacGregor. She was still in traveling 
 costume. She nodded slightly to Winston, who 
 rose as if to leave the room. Uncle Sid checked 
 him. 
 
 "You stay right here, Ralph." 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor addressed Uncle Sid. 
 
 "I want a few minutes alone with you, Sidney, 
 on business." 
 
 "Me an Ralph are about as near one as they 
 make em, I guess. You just go right on an un 
 burden your mind." 
 
 * The business to which I refer concerns you and 
 me alone." 
 
 "Your ward and Helen Lonsdale are included, 
 I guess. If they ain t, you ll have to wait. If they 
 are, you go right on. You didn t raise enough 
 money in Fall Brook to push you out of the Palm 
 Wells mess. You take up the business right there." 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor looked at Winston with as much 
 of an appeal in her glance as she could compel her 
 self to make. 
 
 Winston settled himself even more firmly in his 
 chair in compliance with Uncle Sid s request. Mrs. 
 
 230 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 MacGregor did not attempt to conceal her annoy 
 ance, but she followed her brother s suggestion and 
 came to the point. 
 
 "Yes, I did fail to raise the money in Fall Brook 
 that I had expected to raise without difficulty, and 
 I fancy I know why." 
 
 Uncle Sid chuckled with evident satisfaction. 
 
 "Consequently," Mrs. MacGregor continued, ig 
 noring her brother s interruption," the Palm Wells 
 company is in precisely the same position now 
 that it was when I left for the East." 
 
 "7 should say that it was considerably steadier 
 on its legs than it was. What s your opinion, Mr. 
 Winston?" 
 
 "I should say so." Winston did not answer 
 aggressively, his reply was perfunctory. 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor ignored Winston. 
 
 "I don t know what you mean, Sidney." 
 
 "Me n Ralph knows. It ain t necessary you 
 should know." 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor s patience was sorely tried, as 
 Uncle Sid fully intended it should be, but she gave 
 no visible signs of annoyance for two excellent rea 
 sons. In the first place, a display of emotion 
 smacked of vulgarity; in the second place, she felt 
 that all of her deep-laid schemes depended upon 
 her perfect self-control. 
 
 We are getting nowhere, Sidney. Let us come 
 to the point at once. Our company is temporarily 
 
 231 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 embarrassed and I feel that you are partially re 
 sponsible for my not raising the money that I had 
 expected, so I am coming to ask you to help us out. 
 Not only is the success of the company at stake 
 but the honor of our family name as well." 
 
 She would have gone farther, but Uncle Sid 
 blazed in. He was quite unhampered by the fear 
 of the vulgarity of displayed emotions. 
 
 * The honor of our name ! " he exploded. * * What 
 Harwood in three hundred years was ever false to 
 a trust? What Harwood but stood still in his 
 tracks rather than even look at a crooked path? 
 What Harwood ever used the weakness of his neigh 
 bor for his own good?" 
 
 " Sidney!" Mrs. MacGregor s voice trembled. 
 
 "Keep still! I m on deck now!" Uncle Sid 
 bent before his sister and shook his knotted fingers 
 in her face. His eyes were blazing, his face rugose 
 with deep, hard lines. 
 
 "Do you know what you ve done, Eunice? You 
 saw Lige Berl stumblin betwixt right and wrong, 
 an for the sake of a few dirty dollars you pushed 
 him over! That s what you did. You knew what 
 our old New England name was worth to a man like 
 Lige, and instead o usin it to pull him out o 
 the mud, you used it to push him in deeper. You 
 congered a dyin woman into trustin her daugh 
 ter s fortune to your hands, an you ve betrayed 
 the woman an stole her daughter deaf, dumb an 
 
 232 
 
THE VISION OP ELIJAH BERL 
 
 blind. Now you re in trouble, you re a comin to 
 me to keep the honor o the Harwood name. I 
 wanted to keep the honor o the Harwood name, so 
 I called on this young man to help me an* he s done 
 it, because the same good, red blood is soakin his 
 bones an muscles as has soaked the bones an mus 
 cles o the Harwoods. Betwixt us, we ve got the 
 company out o trouble, an betwixt us, we will 
 keep it out. We ll get you out o trouble too, and 
 we ll keep you out o this! Now we re goin to 
 hunt up Lige an get him out o trouble too. We 
 hope he may be worth it." 
 
 Uncle Sid straightened and dashed a handker 
 chief over his swollen face. Mrs. MacGregor sat 
 pale and silent. When Winston began to speak, 
 she turned to him with lips that trembled on the 
 verge of speech. 
 
 44 1 deeply regret the necessity of all this, Mrs. 
 MacGregor, but there is no other way except before 
 an open court." Winston briefly but clearly set 
 forth the status of the Palm Wells company. He 
 assured Mrs. MacGregor that Mellin had been ef 
 fectually and forever silenced, and in confirmation 
 of his words, showed Mellin s note, from which 
 her name and Elijah s had been torn. "Now I 
 am going to ask you to sign these papers ; this done, 
 the last obstacle will be removed from your 
 brother s path." 
 
 "Suppose I refuse?" 
 
 233 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 Winston s face set. 
 
 * I advise you not to. 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor held out her hand for the pa 
 pers. She affixed her name where Winston in 
 dicated. 
 
 < What next? 
 
 Uncle Sid answered. 
 
 There s nothin more to keep you in California. 
 Just go, an when you want money within reason, 
 let me know." 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor rose and turned to the door 
 that led to her room. Winston was before her and 
 held the door ajar, closing it behind her; then he 
 faced Uncle Sid. The old man approached him 
 and laid a clumsy but affectionate hand on his 
 shoulder. 
 
 "I ain t worth a cuss at quotin scripture, but it 
 strikes me that it ain t every one who s yappin 
 Lord, Lord, as gets into heaven. Now you go 
 below an tomorrow we ll lay alongside o Sey 
 mour. 
 
 234 
 
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR 
 
 Winston was at his post when the great "Over 
 land Express" rolled into the station at Ysleta, 
 with clanging bell and coughing air-pump and daz 
 zled sunbeams dancing from its varnish. 
 
 Winston was an engineer and he was not imper 
 vious to a stimulating thrill at the exhibition of 
 power and progress of which the train was a type, 
 from the ponderous, six-wheeled locomotive, to the 
 last car of the shining train that it dragged. This 
 thrill did not interfere with business and he had 
 imperative, pressing business on hand. His quick 
 eye singled out the man for whom he was waiting 
 and almost as quickly he was by his side. 
 
 "Good morning, Mr. Seymour." 
 
 Without any haste, Seymour s grip was in his 
 hand, and with no conscious volition on his part, 
 Seymour was threading his way at Winston s side 
 through the throng of disembarking passengers, 
 those waiting for incoming friends, curious loaf 
 ers, and rattling express trucks. 
 
 "Have you had breakfast?" Winston hardly 
 paused, as they left the station and came out upon 
 the gravelly, palm-fringed walk. 
 
 235 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "Yes, and a good one too. The dining service 
 has improved. Couldn t do much better in New 
 York." 
 
 "That s a good deal for a New Yorker to say. 
 It s worth money to the road ; at least, it would be 
 if they got hold of it." 
 
 "What s the program for today?" Mr. Seymour 
 dropped pleasantries. 
 
 * If you re not tired, we 11 go to the office at once. 
 They are expecting us." 
 
 "Will Mr. Berl be there?" 
 
 "No. Not today." 
 
 "Hasn t he been notified." 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Why?" Seymour asked sternly. 
 
 "This, and much more, will come out at the 
 meeting." 
 
 As Seymour swung along beside Winston, there 
 was a meditative smile on his face. He was not 
 accustomed to receiving curt answers to his in 
 quiries. He had been watching Winston narrowly, 
 and his first favorable impressions were being; 
 strengthened. Besides, he had lost no confidence in 
 his own ability to take care of himself. They 
 reached the office and entered. 
 
 Winston handed Seymour s grip to a waiting 
 boy, and, without further ceremony, entered the 
 private room. Uncle Sid and Helen were already 
 there. 
 
 236 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "Mr. Seymour, I think you have met Miss Lons- 
 daleT" 
 
 Seymour greeted Helen with conventional affa 
 bility; she was conscious of a piercing, though mo 
 mentary, glance that seemed to read every nook 
 of her soul. 
 
 " Captain Harwood, shake hands with Mr. Sey 
 mour." Winston made use of the hearty Western 
 formula. 
 
 "Pleased to do so, Senner." 
 
 "Senner" was Uncle Sid s version of the stately 
 Spanish sefior, which had greatly taken his fancy. 
 Neither the cordial "senner," nor the beaming 
 smile, hid from Seymour the rectangular lines of 
 the wrinkled face. 
 
 The party seated themselves, and before there 
 was a suggestion of an embarrassing pause, Uncle 
 Sid broke in. His glance shot from face to face 
 then rested on Winston. 
 
 "We re cleared for action. Mr. Winston, it s 
 your watch." 
 
 Seymour glanced appreciatively at Uncle Sid. 
 
 "You re naval, I see." 
 
 "Aye, aye, sir; from main truck to orange 
 groves." 
 
 Winston began to speak. There was neither 
 haste nor deliberation. 
 
 "There is no use in preliminaries. I take it, Mr. 
 Seymour, that what brought you out here, was the 
 
 237 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 theft of the fifty thousand dollars of the company s 
 money ? 
 
 Seymour nodded curtly to Winston s question. 
 Winston resumed. 
 
 * There s no use calling it by a softer name ; but 
 I submit that there were modifying circumstances 
 which may appeal to you. Miss Lonsdale will sub 
 mit them; Mr. Berl will not be here. No one 
 knows exactly where he is. I am sure that he took 
 the money without, at the time, realizing fully what 
 his act would be called. I think I am right in say 
 ing that he is driven to desperation, now that he 
 is brought face to face with his own interpretation 
 of what he has done. If you insist, I am confident 
 that he can be found within twenty-four hours, 
 and that he will come here of his own accord, but 
 I hope that you will not insist upon this step. 
 When I find him, I want to be able to tell him ex 
 actly what he is to expect. 
 
 Without comment, Seymour turned to Helen. 
 
 "What are the modifying circumstances?" 
 
 Without a quaver, Helen met Seymour s pierc 
 ing glance. She was alive to the fact that a single 
 false step might mean ruin to Elijah, but she did 
 not fear. 
 
 "For years, Mr. Berl has studied the conditions 
 of orange growing, not only in this country, but in 
 others. Previous to the organization of the Las 
 Cruces company, he began a series of investigations 
 
 238 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 as to the ranges of temperature. These investiga 
 tions were not completed at the time this company 
 was formed, farther than this. He had found that 
 the greater part of the lands now held by the Las 
 Cruces were in a belt where the temperature never 
 went to freezing. He did not then know how much 
 more extensive the belt was. At that time he trans 
 ferred every foot of land which he controlled. " 
 Helen paused, looking at Seymour. He appeared 
 politely patient, questioning the bearing of her 
 words. She resumed. 
 
 "From this time he did not act alone, nor was he 
 alone responsible for what was done. In my ca 
 pacity of secretary, I discovered, what he did not 
 tell you of, that is, the frostless belt. From maps, 
 I found that the belt reached into territory not 
 owned by the company, and I brought these facts 
 to his notice. Whether rightly or not, this does 
 not matter, he feared that I or others would make 
 use of this knowledge. This fear led him to act at 
 once without consulting the wishes of the company. 
 There were movements on foot to secure this tract 
 without knowledge of its special value, simply for 
 its speculative value. Mr. Berl acted at once. At 
 this time the Pacific Bank failed, and the fifty 
 thousand dollars saved to the company through his 
 influence, I don t pretend to defend this, was 
 used by him for the purchase of the Pico ranch. 
 
 239 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "One moment/ Seymour interrupted. "Did 
 Mr. Berl intend to restore this money?" 
 
 "I can only give you facts, Mr. Seymour, not 
 opinions." 
 
 "Very well. But from your own showing, if 
 other parties had secured this property, we would 
 have had the revenue from the sale of the water and 
 our money beside." 
 
 "I don t think that follows. But the actual fact 
 is, that other parties did not get this tract and that 
 Mr. Berl did." 
 
 "Has Mr. Berl got it now?" 
 
 "He has not." 
 
 Uncle Sid interrupted. 
 
 "I expect I can contribute some facts, Senner. 
 The truth is, your company would have been fifty 
 thousand dollars out, if it hadn t been for Lige 
 Berl, I don t defend him, either. As it is, you ve 
 got a bank account fatter than it was, an I m 
 owner o the Pico ranch." 
 
 "And our money having been risked without 
 our consent, you are getting the sole benefit of it?" 
 Seymour s voice was biting. 
 
 "That s just as you say, Senner. I m goin to 
 let in a few others, Helen an Ralph, an we ve no 
 objections to you if you want to come in." 
 
 Seymour s face flushed angrily. He mistook the 
 kindly old man s offer for a bribe. 
 
 240 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "I ve made money, but I ve made it honestly, 
 not by taking bribes." 
 
 Uncle Sid s face grew purple. His eyes shone 
 from a maze of deep, hard lines. 
 
 "Look here, Mr. Seymour, I ve got a name 
 reachin back three hundred years. You just shin 
 up your jenny-logical tree an shake out your an 
 cestors, an I ll match em as they fall, hides, an 
 horns, an taller, an what s more, if they line up 
 better n mine, I ll go along where you re more 
 than half minded to send Lige." 
 
 Seymour was quick in thought and quick in ac 
 tion. He saw that he had been mistaken. A kindly, 
 if somewhat cynical, smile softened his face. 
 
 "I beg your pardon, Captain. I won t put you 
 to that trouble." 
 
 "No trouble at all, Senner, if twill ease you up 
 any." Uncle Sid s face relaxed. 
 
 "I think you have all of the essential facts, Mr. 
 Seymour," AVinston began. "Mr. Berl took fifty 
 thousand dollars of the company s money. It has 
 been returned. According to the strict interpreta 
 tion of the law, this restitution does not free Mr. 
 Berl from its penalties. If you fail to prosecute, 
 it will have the appearance of compounding a 
 felony ; that is, if Mr. Berl took the money with no 
 intention of restoring it. Whether hr had such in 
 tentions, no one, not even Elijah himself, can prove 
 before the law. The question is, whether we will 
 
 241 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 prosecute Mr. Berl, or whether we will forgive the 
 past, and try to restore him to himself." 
 
 Winston looked fixedly at Seymour. There was 
 an anxious hush as he ceased speaking. Seymour 
 rested motionless with his eyes on the floor. At 
 last he looked up. 
 
 "When I started out here, it was with the full 
 expectation of finding you all more or less in 
 volved in this business. From what I have seen 
 and heard since I have been in this office, I am pre 
 pared to say, without reservation, that my suspi 
 cions were groundless. So far as I am concerned, 
 Mr. Berl is a free man with no shadow of fear. This 
 affair can be kept strictly to ourselves with no in 
 justice to any one. We will consider this episode 
 in our history closed once and for all." 
 
 Uncle Sid s face was wreathed in smiles. 
 
 "I want to beg your pardon, Senner. You make 
 me think of these prickly pears out here. They re 
 mighty fine eatin when you get the spines off em." 
 
 242 
 
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE 
 
 The fact that the way of the transgressor is 
 hard, was being ground into the shrinking soul of 
 Elijah. As yet, the grinding was of no avail be 
 cause he refused to recognize that he was a trans 
 gressor. For years he had dreamed, and worked, 
 and planned, and in it all he had been alone. Men 
 would have called it alone, but not so Elijah. The 
 Lord was with him. At least this was his fanatical 
 belief. Alone, or with the still, small voice, not 
 always interpreted aright, he had with infinite 
 patience dreamed his dreams, wrought out his 
 tasks as they came to him, and still alone, he had 
 seen them shaping to a definite end. He had, like 
 a solitary player, shuffled his cards, had dealt them 
 and played in strict accordance with the game or 
 modified them at will, and there was no one to say 
 him nay. Even Amy had strengthened this grow 
 ing habit of looking upon himself, his will and his 
 desires as infallible. 
 
 Unconsciously he had carried this inflexible atti 
 tude of mind into the game, when necessity had 
 comprlii d him to admit partners. II- i-.-mtcd tho 
 insistence of others, that they should be considered 
 
 243 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 as having rights equal to his own. He demanded 
 unconditional surrender, implicit obedience to his 
 will. He reasoned with a sophistical show of right 
 that the great idea was his, that what he gave was 
 given in the fullness of his heart, and that it was 
 only base ingratitude that prompted the recipients 
 to oppose and thwart him. 
 
 Winston had opposed and thwarted him in a 
 thousand details, and though Elijah had outwardly 
 yielded, he had not essentially changed, though he 
 was learning many lessons. He had learned to dis 
 tinguish between what Winston would accept 
 and what he would reject, but involuntarily and 
 unconsciously there was growing up within him a 
 burning hatred of Ralph Winston. There was a 
 seeming lack of sympathy in the rugged integrity 
 of Winston that clove through the heart of things. 
 Winston knew only north and south. If a needle 
 swung to these points, it was right ; if it did not, it 
 was wrong, and he had no use for it. 
 
 Elijah was growing jealous of Winston. He 
 said nothing, but he noticed that, in the field 
 especially, and to a certain extent in the office, de 
 tails were more and more referred to Winston, even 
 by Helen. Winston s name was on every tongue. 
 It seemed to Elijah as if profit, and honor, and 
 prestige were slipping from him and falling upon 
 Winston. He was being defrauded. It never oc 
 curred to him that Winston s complete surrender 
 
 244 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 of heart, and soul and mind to the successful ful 
 filment of his dreams, all testified far more strongly 
 than honeyed words of praise to the worthiness 
 of the idea which he had conceived. 
 
 He had turned to Helen Lonsdale. With no less 
 ru.irged ideas of right and wrong, they had been 
 clouded in Helen with the dangerous sympathy of 
 a woman s heart. With sympathy, Helen had sof 
 tened the blows she had dealt him. To a certain ex 
 tent she had kept him right, but because the blows 
 had not pained, they lacked a compelling power. 
 Her intuition, stimulated by her belief in him, in 
 his essential greatness, had been quick to detect 
 every changing mood; in her womanly sympathy, 
 her efforts to soothe and comfort had been un 
 stinted. 
 
 In spite of all condemning appearances, these in 
 fluences were having an unconscious effect for 
 good upon Elijah, until the advent of Mrs. Mac- 
 Gregor. She nursed his sense of wrong, stimulated 
 his belief in himself, fed his morbidly craving soul 
 with honeyed food that fattened it for the hand 
 of the slayer. 
 
 Yet Mrs. MacGregor had missed her mark. She 
 had counted upon a possible sometime awakening 
 of Elijah, but before the awakening she had in 
 tended to have him fully in her power. She had 
 not reckoned at its full value the impatient greed 
 of Elijah ; she had not reckoned on the womanhood 
 
 245 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 of Helen Lonsdale which, though struggling in a 
 fog of sinister influences, never lost consciousness 
 of its own identity. 
 
 When, on the morning of his declaration to 
 Helen, Elijah left the office, it was as one stricken 
 with a numbing wound. He was not conscious of 
 its meaning, only of the sickening absence of pain 
 which, coupled with the knowledge of the wound, 
 filled him with an unknown terror. As the mean 
 ing of it all slowly dawned upon him, the sting 
 ing, biting pain played full upon every tingling 
 nerve. He became filled with blind, ungovernable, 
 impotent rage. He raged against himself, against 
 Helen, against Mrs. MacGregor. He would have 
 returned to the office at once; what darker crime 
 he might have committed, only imagination can sug 
 gest, but return was impossible. When the thought 
 came to him, he was far beyond Ysleta, surrounded 
 by desert sands that dragged at his feet till physical 
 exertion was no longer possible. Burning with 
 thirst, weakened by hunger, he threw himself upon 
 the hot sands and watched with unconscious eyes 
 the fierce sun sink into the Pacific. 
 
 It was here that a wandering vaquero chanced 
 upon him. The simple Mexican knew naught of 
 the delirium born of a frenzied mind, but he knew 
 the delirium of blood thirst that lack of water 
 brings upon the desert wanderer. With this knowl 
 edge and belief, he carried Elijah to his hut and 
 
 246 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 nursed him back to life. If the strange senor 
 chose to call upon the names of men and women 
 whom he knew not, that was the senor s privilege, 
 and it was his duty as a host to patter softly with 
 bare feet on the dirt floor, and to bind the hot 
 forehead with herbs which the desert gave. 
 It was his duty as a host to bind with thongs the 
 raving senor to his raw-hide couch, lest he should 
 once more go out into the desert before his strength 
 had returned. 
 
 As consciousness began to return to Elijah, his 
 sense of injury took another form. He had been 
 for several days in the Mexican s hut and no one 
 had called for him or inquired. After all he had 
 done for others, they had left him, turned from 
 him in heartless ingratitude, in this his hour of 
 need. He raged against Helen especially, but his 
 rage changed first to an intense longing, then to a 
 determination to see her again. 
 
 Toward the evening of the fifth day, he prevailed 
 upon the Mexican to drive him to Ysleta. At the 
 Rio Vista, having gone to his room, he called a 
 servant and sent him with a message to Helen. 
 She was not to be found. At the office he learned 
 that Helen had gone out to the works and would 
 be absent for several days. He would have fol 
 lowed, but he dared not. Her last words, the last 
 look that he remembered so clearly, these told him 
 only too plainly that she would not be forced, that 
 
 247 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 he dared think no further. He must work on 
 her sympathy through an appeal. He returned to 
 his room at the hotel and found what he had over 
 looked before, a package of papers on his table. 
 They had been sent over from the office. A slip of 
 paper in Helen s writing, Elijah Berl, Rio Vista." 
 He tore the string from the bundle in feverish 
 haste. His fingers trembled as he shuffled the letters 
 one by one. Not one was in Helen s hand. Again 
 and again he went over them, then he gave up in 
 despair. 
 
 With infinite patience, the Almightly has taught 
 us by precept and example, that our destinies are 
 in our own hands ; that the punishment for failure 
 that comes to us, is self-inflicted, and not from him, 
 when in blind despair, we thrust aside a redemp 
 tion that is waiting to make us whole. The smitten 
 rock that quenched the thirst of Israel, the parted 
 sea that gave them a way to safety, the column of 
 smoke that reached into the day, the pillar of fire 
 that made the darkness light, these may be fables; 
 but they speak with a voice that cannot be stilled, 
 telling us that in ages past, as in the present, an 
 eye that sleeps not, watches over us; that hope 
 is for us if we will. 
 
 Among the discarded letters, was one from Win 
 ston. It told of the plucked fangs of Mellin, of 
 Uncle Sid s restoration of the stolen money, of the 
 
 248 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 nuvting with Seymour. It ended, "Come back, 
 old man, we want you." 
 
 Late as was the hour when Elijah at last turned 
 from his unopened letters, he rang for a servant 
 and ordered a carriage to take him to his ranch. 
 He could not go to the dam; the thought of idly 
 waiting at the hotel was unendurable. He wanted 
 to see some one, he must see some one. He had de 
 liberately put Amy from him ; but she did not know 
 this. The black heartlessness of his proposed action 
 did not once occur to him. Before leaving the hotel 
 lu 1 wrote an appeal to Helen. He told her where 
 he was going and that he would wait her answer. 
 
 At the ranch, he found Amy as of old. Eager, 
 questioning hope leaped to her eyes as they rested 
 on his face; then the hope died out to the dumb, 
 patient waiting; the dumb, patient suffering of an 
 animal that endures without question, without re 
 sentment. Through the long days that followed, 
 she did her best to draw him from himself, from the 
 fires that were consuming him. It was in vain. 
 In vain, when she found him seated with his eyes 
 fastened on the dusty trail from Ysleta, she slipped 
 her hand in his and nestled close to him, inviting 
 confidences that were never given, tendering sym 
 pathy that was not accepted, assuring him of un 
 swerving confidence that nothing and no one could 
 destroy. 
 
 He let no opportunity pass to send other appeals 
 
 249 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 to Helen, but these too were unanswered. One day 
 a messenger came. Elijah did not wait, but rushed 
 to meet him. The message was not from Helen. 
 Instead, a telegram. Mechanically he signed the 
 receipt which the messenger held out; then he 
 opened the envelope. The message was in cipher, 
 but he knew each symbol. The messenger looked at 
 him inquiringly. Elijah shook his head, "No 
 answer," and the messenger rode away. 
 
 It did not matter to Elijah that the message was 
 over a week old; the message itself was sufficient. 
 "Have failed to raise the money. I start for Cali 
 fornia to-morrow." 
 
 Elijah felt that his return to Ysleta was hope 
 lessly barred. Mrs. MacGregor was there now, 
 Seymour was there, Helen was there. Like sneak 
 ing jackals, they were ready to fall upon him, 
 wounded to the death. They would not leave him 
 in peace. They would not leave him in peace even 
 with what was his own. Nothing was left him but 
 vengeance; how could he compass it? 
 
 Like the white flash of a thunderbolt, the trans 
 action with Mellin came to him. Its sinister condi 
 tion "within three months after the water shall 
 have been turned into the main canal of the Las 
 Cruces" danced before his eyes. The words were 
 clear and minatory, but there was a hidden mean 
 ing that he could not catch, that was pointing the 
 way of deliverance. He strained forward as if to 
 
 250 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 listen more clearly. The swollen veins on his fore 
 head throbbed and beat; then he sprang to his 
 feet 
 
 "As God lives, that water shall not be turned 
 on!" 
 
 The sun had set and darkness was falling, but 
 day and night were alike to Elijah now. He was 
 at the gates of the canal at the mouth of the canon. 
 The roar of the Sangre de Cristo was gone, only 
 a trickle of water slipped by blackened boulders 
 and gurgled as it fell into tiny pools, then wimpled 
 and slid out toward the desert. Up through the 
 trail that led to the dam, darkened by dense ever 
 greens to a deeper shadow, he rode wildly. In the 
 shadow of a great rock, he looked down upon the 
 still rising water, black with depth. He saw the 
 great tubes let in at the base, the wheels by which 
 the gates were controlled, the wide, rock-paved 
 waste weir that, leading from the reservoir, gave 
 into the canon below. He noted the broken earth, 
 the clinging trees that hung over the weir. 1 1 is 
 eyes, calculating, merciless, rested on the trees. A 
 gleam of triumph came to them. If the wheels 
 were broken, the gates could not be opened, and 
 the water was even now trickling over the weir. In 
 a day or two, the whole volume of the Sangre de 
 Cristo would pour through it. Just a little powder 
 behind the retaining wall, and the whole bank 
 would fall and choke the weir. Just a few hours 
 
 251 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 and, the weir choked, the gates unopened, the whole 
 volume of the river would creep over the coping of 
 the dam, pick out grain by grain the unprotected 
 earth, till the dam weakened, the mighty mass of. 
 stored water would rush in devastating waves down 
 through the canon, and the canal would be as if 
 it had never been. The dream of a life, the labor of 
 years, these lay in the hollow of his hand. 
 
 Why should he pity others who were pitiless to 
 him? What mattered it, if, like Samson of old, he 
 should drag down the very pillars of the structure 
 he had raised ? What mattered it, if he too should 
 perish in the ruins? 
 
 252 
 
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX 
 
 The party that had gathered to see the last 
 stone of the great Sangre de Cristo dam swung into 
 position was far larger than Winston had expected. 
 Elijah was not among them. Winston had spared 
 no effort to find Elijah and to deliver to him an 
 other message to the effect that he was once more 
 a free man. Messengers had been sent to his ranch ; 
 but he had left home and Amy had not seen him 
 for several days ; she supposed him to be in Ysleta. 
 Parties had scoured the mountain in the vicinity of 
 the dam, but in vain. It was clear that Elijah was 
 purposely in hiding and that the exercises at the 
 dam must be carried on without him. 
 
 Ysleta was largely represented. Winston was at 
 first surprised, then deeply grateful for the genuine 
 interest which even the wildest boomers displayed in 
 his work. As, one by one, in pairs or in groups, 
 they took him cordially by the hand, congratulated 
 him on the successful completion of a great piece 
 of work, compared the lasting utility of his work 
 with their own ephemeral and selfish efforts, a wave 
 of self-reproach swept over him. These were the 
 people whom, in season and out, he had condemned 
 
 253 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 as greedy, selfish, unprincipled sharks. For the 
 first time in his life, he began to realize the fact 
 that, even in the worst of humanity, there is a soul 
 of goodness, a soul that is only obscured, never ex 
 tinguished. In deep contrition, he reviewed his 
 attitude of mind toward Elijah. He saw him in a 
 new light, the light of kindliness that was radiating 
 from those whose hearts he had condemned as black 
 with unscrupulous greed. He pictured Elijah, 
 shunning his fellow men like a hunted animal, the 
 warmth of his good intentions changed to the bit 
 ing flame of bitter resentment against those who 
 were to profit by his success, and who had turned 
 from him at sight of the first shadow that had 
 fallen upon him. He reproached himself for not 
 having gone directly to Elijah on the first suspicion 
 of defalcation, for not having pointed out to him 
 his error, for not having pleaded with him to face 
 the consequences of his wrong doing, to endeavor 
 to set himself right. He contrasted his self-right 
 eous conduct with that of Helen Lonsdale, her 
 readiness to stand by Elijah, to assume her own 
 share of blame for Elijah s mistaken actions. He 
 had assumed that, because certain of Elijah s ac 
 tions had been criminal, Elijah was a criminal by 
 instinct, and he, a friend, an intimate business 
 associate, had treated him as one, but made no ef 
 fort at reclamation. 
 Winston s was not an emotional nature, but the 
 
 254 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 circumstances in which he was placed, played upon 
 his calmly balanced mind, until he saw his own self- 
 righteous errors and condemned himself as sharply 
 as he had condemned Elijah. He was recalled to 
 himself by the proffered hand of one of the most 
 successful and as he deemed him, one of the most 
 heartless of Ysleta s boomers. 
 
 "Say, Ralph, old man, I want to do myself the 
 honor of shaking hands with the real thing. This 
 work," he swept his hand with a comprehensive 
 gesture which included the dam, the canal, and the 
 waiting hillsides, "makes us feel like thirty cents 
 Mexican. It don t come with the real plunk from 
 us, you know, but it s real just the same. Ysleta 
 wasn t worth whooping for, but we whooped. We 
 whooped for cash. Some of us got it; but what 
 we got, others lost, and we knew it. But you fel 
 lows have helped us to make good. With this thing 
 in working order," he again pointed to the dam, 
 "Ysleta will make good in time." 
 
 "I know it," Winston s voice was regretful, 
 "but the beginning, end and middle of this whole 
 business, is a hunted man who dares not show his 
 face, even to those whom he had every reason to 
 believe w r ere his friends." 
 
 The man looked sharply at Winston. 
 
 "You mean Lige Berl?" 
 
 "Yes, the best man of us all." 
 
 "You re right there. And say, Ralph, you just 
 
 255 
 
THE VISION OP ELIJAH BERL 
 
 listen. We all know about this Pacific business. 
 It was a mistake on Lige s part, that s all. He ll 
 make good, if he gets a chance, and by God, we re 
 going to stand by and see that he gets it." 
 
 Winston s grasp tightened on the hand he held. 
 
 "It s all straightened out now, if we only knew 
 where he was. 
 
 The work at the dam called for Winston s atten 
 tion. As he passed through a bowing, smiling 
 group, he came face to face with Helen. She 
 was laughing and chatting with some Ysleta ac 
 quaintances. She darted an eager, inquiring look 
 at Winston as he came towards her. In obedience 
 to an unvoiced bidding, she joined Winston as he 
 passed by. Beyond the hearing of the group, her 
 look changed to one of anxiety. 
 
 "Have you seen anything of Elijah?" she asked. 
 
 "Not a thing. Helen, I m worried about Elijah. 
 He has been home, but has gone again and I can t 
 find him in the mountains. I have sent men every 
 where. 
 
 There were tears in Helen s eyes. They did not 
 fall; they only softened and intensified their 
 depths. 
 
 "I hoped to see him here. If we could only get 
 word to him about Seymour." After a moment s 
 hesitation, she added: "I have had several strange 
 letters from him, but no clue as to where they were 
 sent from." 
 
 256 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 Winston s glance wandered to the group of 
 Ysleta men. 
 
 "It just crushes me, Helen, to think that these 
 men are actually truer to Elijah than I have been." 
 
 "No, don t blame yourself too much. I know 
 more now than I did when you and Uncle Sid held 
 me up that day in the office, and Oh, I cannot 
 talk about it, Ralph ! It is all unspeakably awful." 
 
 Helen turned abruptly away and joined Uncle 
 Sid at the foot of the great derrick which was to 
 swing the last stone into place. 
 
 Winston glanced quickly at her, but she was talk 
 ing eagerly with Uncle Sid, her somber mood ap 
 parently quite gone. He turned inquiringly to the 
 foreman, who nodded his head in reply. 
 
 1 Come, Helen ; they are ready for us. He took 
 Helen by the arm to steady her, and together they 
 started out over the foot- way on the crest of the 
 dam, Helen a little in advance of Winston. 
 
 "Don t look down," he continued, "it may make 
 you dizzy." 
 
 "Dizzy!" she repeated derisively, "why I could 
 walk a slack rope. It s great ! I don t wonder that 
 you are an engineer." 
 
 "This is easy, doing things, when some one tells 
 you what to do and what for." 
 
 "Thanks! You are original and independent. 
 So am I." With reckless daring she freed her arm 
 from Winston s detaining hand, and before he 
 
 257 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 could prevent, she was skipping over the dizzy walk 
 far ahead. 
 
 "Stop, Helen, stop! It s dangerous! His 
 voice was commanding. 
 
 "I know it is. That s where the fun comes in." 
 Over her shoulder she flung him a mocking glance 
 from reckless eyes. 
 
 Winston dared make no quick move that would 
 increase her danger. He could not understand the 
 spirit of bravado that had come over her. A sigh 
 of intense relief escaped him as she grasped one 
 of the staying ropes and swung inside the enclosure, 
 which, hanging far out over the abyss, railed in 
 the space where the last stone was to be laid. 
 
 "It s no credit to you," he said sternly, "that 
 your childish prank hasn t ended in tragedy." 
 
 Helen was conscious of a creeping thrill as she 
 looked into Winston s eyes. They were like poles 
 of a dynamo, with thousands of volts of energy 
 waiting to leap out, if the safety line was crossed. 
 She felt as if she were dangerously near the line. 
 
 "Be thankful for your mercies," she said lightly. 
 "No tragedy has happened." 
 
 Winston wanted to say more, but an expectant 
 crowd was waiting. 
 
 "Well, go ahead," he said. "You re in com 
 mand now." 
 
 "I don t know where to begin, but I m not old 
 enough yet not to take a dare." 
 
 258 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 Out on one of the abutments, a great derrick 
 rose ; near its foot an engineer stood with his hand 
 on the throttle of an engine. Helen waved her 
 hand, looking defiantly at Winston. 
 
 There came the short, sharp bark of the engine, 
 the groaning of rope and timber as the locking 
 stone swung in the air, turned, poised high above 
 them; them slowly began to sink to its position. 
 Under Winston s directions, her small, firm hands 
 guided the great block, as it settled, then came to a 
 rest. The fall ropes slackened, and Helen un 
 clasped the tackle. Amidst the cheers of the watch 
 ers on the abutments, the boom of the derrick 
 swung free. The last stone had been laid in the 
 Sangre de Cristo dam. 
 
 Helen turned to Winston. Her great, black eyes 
 were solemn. 
 
 "It is finished now, isn t it Ralph?" 
 
 "It is." 
 
 Helen sighed deeply. It suggested relief from a 
 long, anxious strain. 
 
 "Thunder and Mars, Helen! Isn t there any 
 thing more in life for you? I can imagine Alex 
 ander heaving that sigh when he realized that he d 
 done the whole world." 
 
 "That s where Alexander and I separate. I m 
 relieved, not regretful." 
 
 Winston spoke with feeling. 
 
 259 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "It must be a relief, Helen. No one has done 
 more for this work than you." 
 
 Helen s reply was unguarded. 
 
 "I wasn t thinking of myself." 
 
 Winston looked up in unfeigned surprise. 
 
 "You weren t?" 
 
 1 Let s not talk of this now. It s finished. 
 
 "Tell me what you meant." 
 
 Helen looked at Winston. There was a sug 
 gestion of yielding in her eyes. Her lips trembled 
 on the verge of speech; then they set, voiceless. 
 Why should she tell Winston of her fears of 
 Elijah? That, driven to desperation, as she knew 
 he was, she feared that in some way he would 
 thwart the work that was now completed. 
 
 "Sometime, perhaps; not now." She was not 
 quite herself. "This will stay here forever?" She 
 evidently wished to be reassured. 
 
 "Unless something happens." 
 
 "But what can happen?" She questioned 
 anxiously. 
 
 "A very simple thing might destroy the whole 
 thing in an hour. 
 
 Helen s face grew white. 
 
 Winston noted the look, but failed to assign the 
 correct reason for it. Helen had given more to the 
 work than he had thought. 
 
 "There s no danger, really." Winston spoke 
 with conviction. "It s just this. We ve built a 
 
 260 
 
THE VISION OP ELIJAH BERL 
 
 rip-rap dam with a stone facing. No amount of 
 water behind it can ever move it. Yet if by chance 
 the water should flow over the crest, it would go 
 in an hour. 
 
 4 What s to prevent it?" Helen s voice was 
 sharp. 
 
 "The waste weir." Winston pointed to the stone 
 paved canal on the far side of the dam. "We know 
 the rainfall here. That spillway will handle twice 
 the amount." 
 
 "But if it should become choked?" 
 
 " We have the flood gates." Winston pointed to 
 the two great shafts that reached up from the base 
 of the dam, crowned with grooved wheels. 
 
 "But suppose they should get wedged so they 
 could not be opened?" 
 
 "Then I would advise you to get out of the way! 
 What s the matter, Helen?" W T inston grew sud 
 denly conscious that there was more in Helen s per 
 sistent questions that appeared on the surface. 
 
 Helen did not reply. 
 
 "Couldn t all this have been provided against?" 
 
 "Yes; but it would have cost more money than 
 we had to put in. It s safe enough, if we watch 
 out." 
 
 Helen laid her hand on Winston s arm. Her 
 , \, s \\vn- dt cp and anxious. 
 
 "Watch out day and night, Ralph. There is 
 danger, grave danger." 
 
 261 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 Winston was thoroughly aroused. 
 
 "You know something that you are concealing 
 from me. Tell me!" 
 
 "I have told you enough to put you on your 
 guard. I can t tell you any more. I don t know 
 any more." 
 
 Helen turned resolutely toward the footway. 
 Winston walked silently beside her. He wanted to 
 know more, but he felt the uselessness of words. 
 As soon as he could free himself from the friends 
 who thronged around him and Helen, he sought 
 out Uncle Sid and told him of Helen s warning. 
 
 "What do you make out of it?" he asked. 
 
 "No more than you do, I guess." 
 
 "You think Elijah is at the bottom of it all, 
 don t you?" 
 
 "Yes, I do. I m sure of it." 
 
 "Why didn t she tell me then?" Winston burst 
 out. 
 
 "Well, women are queer creatures." Uncle Sid 
 spoke meditatively. * They see more sides to a man 
 than we do, an when he s down, they stay by him 
 closer. I sometimes think that Helen knows more 
 about Lige than we do; anyway, she s mighty 
 suspicious of him, but she s goin to give him every 
 chance to get up, an at the same time she s lookin 
 out that no one gets hurt when he s flappin his 
 heels around, tryin to make his feet. What are 
 you doin to shut off any deviltry?" 
 
 262 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 "I ve put on extra watchmen, day and night, 
 and I ve got men out hunting Elijah." 
 "I guess that s all that you can do." 
 Winston meditated long over Helen s warning 
 and Uncle Sid s explanation of her conduct. The 
 idea of Elijah s trying to injure the dam finally 
 seemed too monstrous to be entertained. It oc 
 curred to him to remain at the dam and not trust 
 to watchmen; but this was impossible. He had 
 other pressing duties demanding him. Nothing 
 could happen this night; the next would be spent 
 at the mouth of the canon. The day following he 
 would send some of his young assistants in place 
 of the Mexicans. 
 
 263 
 
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN 
 
 The sun had long since sunk beneath the sheen 
 of the ocean and one by one the distant stars 
 pricked sharp and clear through the azure veil that 
 made the world a unit in the depths of space. From 
 their spanless heights, moonlight and starlight 
 plunged like hissing shafts of water and, like shafts 
 of water falling on the softly resisting air, broke in 
 diffused mantles that half concealed and half re 
 vealed the softened contours of the slumbering 
 world. The gently falling radiance disclosed no 
 detail of the swelling plains below, yet each tumid 
 roll, crowned with its aureole of lustrous light 
 voiced with tongueless words an everlasting peace. 
 
 Winston was busy until far into the night. There 
 was a strange sense of oppression as he passed from 
 point to point of the now completed dam. The 
 machinery that had for so long a time been pulsing 
 with life, was now stilled. There were no banked 
 fires under the boilers, to speak of rest for the labor 
 of the morrow, for the labor was completed. In 
 the laborer s camp, the men were packing their 
 few belongings for an early start in the morning. 
 Some were busy touching up the machines for their 
 
 264 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 long rest. These were not to be dismantled at once, 
 but were to wait a more convenient time. The lan 
 terns of the men twinkled through clumps of moun 
 tain pine where the shadows lay thick and deep; 
 then faded to a dim point in the white moonlight. 
 The occasional clink of a hammer, and the voices 
 of the men drifted across the water, softened by 
 distance. It was funereal, after all! And he had 
 looked forward to these very sounds with an im 
 patient thrill. Now it was all completed. The last 
 stone of the dam had been laid, from the dam to 
 the terminal canal every gate had been put in, 
 every trestle had been built, every tunnel had been 
 driven. Tomorrow, with the men, he would go 
 over every foot of the canal for a final inspection. 
 If this was satisfactory, and he knew it would be, 
 in two days the gates would be opened and the 
 water turned into the canal. 
 
 Winston was standing on the apron of the dam 
 looking out over the great reservoir that in the 
 moonlight lay like a plate of burnished steel be 
 tween the pine-clad granite hills that dipped steeply 
 into the water. The dam was already filled to the 
 brim, and the full volume of the Sangre de Cristo 
 was sweeping through the weir and plunging into 
 the canon below. The sights and sounds only deep 
 ened Winston s oppression. His work was done; 
 tin 1 work he loved so well. The future held nothing 
 so bright as the past had held. Only, in the future, 
 
 265 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 was there to be the dull routine of office work, the 
 laying off of orange groves, the running out of 
 ditches that would lead the water to them; simple 
 work this that any tyro who could set a level and 
 read an angle, could perform. No intricate prob 
 lems that absorbed every energy of an active mind, 
 that blotted out consciousness of time and self in 
 delicious oblivion of existence; no obstacles of na 
 ture that lifted a forbidding hand "thus far and 
 no farther;" no thrill of determined battle that 
 rushed against these obstacles and bore them down. 
 His field had been sown; the harvest was waiting 
 for him to thrust in and reap, what ? Money ; that 
 was all. Money that would only intensify his con 
 sciousness of an existence that like rank vegetation 
 throve aimlessly only to rot and thrive again. What 
 would love, even Helen s love, mean to him ? Would 
 that, assured, satisfy him, or would it, possessed, be 
 to him like his work that was done? What had 
 drawn them together but an intense, absorbing, 
 common interest? 
 
 This mood was strange to Winston. He could, 
 and did, reason himself out of it ; but its influencr 
 remained. In his cabin, which was his office as 
 well, he wrapped his blankets around him and lay 
 down to sleep. 
 
 Helen s night was sleepless. She had retired 
 early, not to sleep, as she knew, but that in solitude 
 she might try to think out more clearly her course 
 
 266 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 of action. Her admiration for "Winston had in 
 creased a thousand-fold, if that were possible; and 
 he had offered her his love to crown it all, and she 
 had seemed to weigh it in her hands, as a Jew might 
 bite a piece of gold to try its worth. She had done 
 this when every fiber of her heart cried out against 
 it, demanding that she should render to Ralph his 
 own. Why had she turned even seemingly against 
 Ralph, against herself? 
 
 Only that she might do penance for her sin. Was 
 not that it after all? But she was innocent of any 
 intentional wrong. Was it not selfishness, this 
 penance which she was imposing upon herself? 
 Was she not compelling Ralph to bear a part of her 
 punishment, demanding that he wait in doubt till 
 she could declare herself purified? Was it not 
 pride and selfish pride which demanded that 
 through Elijah s redemption she should be de 
 clared free? 
 
 Then a thought came to her which quickened 
 every nerve to painful throbs. Was it not worse 
 than selfishness, was it not a crime? Was not this 
 shielding of Elijah a crime iiiraiii^t others, inno 
 cent? What if she should fail? Her heart was 
 beating with great, painful throbs. She thought 
 of what Ralph had told her as he had showed her 
 the weak points of the dam. "If the waste weir 
 should be choked, in a few hours the dam would be 
 gone." He had pointed out to her just how simple 
 
 267 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 a thing it was to wedge the gates and to choke the 
 weir. And she had listened, and to protect her 
 selfthat was the pitiful part of it, to protect 
 herself, she had warned him to be on his guard. 
 She began dressing herself with trembling fingers. 
 She would go to him and tell him all. Let him 
 think what he might, she would tell him all, un 
 sparing of herself. She parted the flaps of the tent 
 and stepped out into the night. Outside, she 
 paused for a moment. The soft gray of the moon 
 light, lying white on the silent tents, the sighing of 
 the pines, the distant, bell-like notes of calling 
 wood-birds, spoke to her of peace that stilled her 
 acute fears. Then she became conscious of another 
 sound; a throbbing, muffled roar that made the 
 night air tremulous. 
 
 She changed the direction of her steps. On the 
 bridge that spanned the waste weir, she looked down 
 on the swirling waters that rushed over the floor of 
 the weir. For a moment she paused, then went out 
 over the foot-board of the dam. The gate house 
 rose black from the waters that lapped against the 
 dam. Inside the gate house, every wheel and gear 
 was in place. Once more in the open air, her tense 
 feelings relaxed. She laughed at her fears. Her 
 resolution hardened. In the morning she would 
 tell Ralph everything. The relaxation from the 
 strain of the night induced a sleep that kept her 
 late in bed. When she joined the others, Ralph 
 
 268 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 had gone. The party were to camp that night at 
 the mouth of the canon, where he would meet them 
 the following day for lunch. Helen was disap 
 pointed. At first she thought of riding ahead and 
 hunting out Ralph, but she knew him, and the idea 
 of overtaking him was absurd. She restrained her 
 self with as much patience as she could command, 
 but her senses were on the alert. 
 
 The ponies were saddled and bridled, waiting 
 for them when breakfast was over. Helen was sur 
 prised at this. She well knew the spirit of maiiana, 
 which, with the lesser virtues had come down to the 
 descendants of the Spanish cavaliers. She was 
 therefore surprised at the alert, beady eyes of the 
 swarthy Mexicans, in place of the dreamy lassitude 
 to which she was accustomed. The surprise was 
 ephemeral and soon passed away; but she was to 
 recall it later. 
 
 The following morning when the party was again 
 under way, Helen rode up to Uncle Sid. 
 
 * Uncle Sid, you ride down to the camp with the 
 crowd, and I ll meet you there at noon. I m going 
 this way." She pointed to a trail which branched 
 off from the main line. 
 
 "What for?" Uncle Sid asked bluntly. 
 
 Helen could hardly answer satisfactorily to her 
 self much less to Uncle Sid. 
 
 "Oh, she replied, "because I want to. Won t 
 that do?" 
 
 269 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 11 You d better come along with us," Uncle Sid 
 protested. "You might meet some more dried 
 beef." 
 
 "I m not afraid; besides I m mounted now." 
 Then they parted. 
 
 The trail which Helen had chosen, followed the 
 canal. For a distance it was squeezed tight between 
 the walls of the steep-sloped, cedar-tufted barranca. 
 The bed was dry now; but when the water should 
 be turned on, this trail would be impassable. 
 A little further, and the gorge opened into a deep 
 arroyo which the canal bridged, then turned and 
 followed the opposite bank. 
 
 Helen had followed this trail for two reasons. In 
 the first place, she wanted to be alone. Then, this 
 was the trail over which she had ridden with Ralph 
 when he had first shown her his work. The head 
 of the arroyo was clad with a thicket of cedars, so 
 dense as to be almost impenetrable. As the last 
 foot-fall sounded on the bridge, Helen s pony halted 
 abruptly, and with swelling nostrils and forward 
 pointing ears, whinnied a short, sharp challenge. 
 There was an answering whinny, and Helen s eyes 
 followed the direction of the sound. Almost hidden 
 by the dull leaves of the cedars, was a draggled 
 looking pony, saddled, with the reins trailing on 
 the ground. At first, Helen hardly noticed the fig 
 ure squatting limply beside the pony. His dis 
 hevelled clothing was stuck full of gray needles, 
 
 270 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 like those spattered on the ground, whence the figure 
 had evidently just risen to a sitting posture. The 
 man raised his eyes and Helen s heart stood still. 
 In the gray, drawn face, the dull, lusterless eyes, 
 she recognized Elijah Berl. As she looked wonder- 
 in <:ly at him, in spite of the knowledge of his mis 
 deeds, a great wave of womanly pity swept over her 
 heart. A single glance at the pitiful figure, with 
 the knowledge that had come to her from her asso 
 ciations with him, told her the struggle he had 
 lived through, a struggle that had unbalanced his 
 reason and left him lower than the beasts of the 
 field. 
 
 "Oh, Elijah! Why weren t you at the dam?" 
 Her voice was tremulous, in spite of her efforts to 
 control it. 
 
 The answer to her words was a vacant, uncom 
 prehending stare. 
 
 "Every one missed you," she continued. "Every 
 one was asking for you." Again she paused, 
 ea<jvrly searching her soul for words that would 
 brinir the liuht of reason to the listless eyes. 
 
 There was no response, save a dropping of the 
 dull eyes, an aimless picking of the fingers at the 
 needles that clung to his garments. 
 
 H -len reined her pony close to the abutment of 
 the bridge, and dismounting, trailed the bridle on 
 the stones. She trembled at what she was about to 
 do, but the spirit of atonement forced her on. An- 
 
 271 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 other moment, and she was beside the limp figure, 
 one hand resting on the bowed shoulders. 
 
 11 Elijah, listen! I have something to tell you. 
 Listen, for you must not miss a single word. Go 
 back to Ysleta, go back to Amy. You are free. Mr. 
 Seymour 
 
 At the name, Elijah sprang to his feet, his hands 
 clenched and knotted, his eyes shining with mani 
 acal rage. 
 
 "Curse him!" he shouted, "Curse him, curse 
 him ! Curse them all for a pack of ravening wolves ! 
 He has done it ; they have done it ! The Philistines 
 be upon them ! They be of them who would gather 
 where I have strewn, who would reap of the harvest 
 I have sown. The day of wrath is upon them, the 
 consuming anger of a terrible God. Listen ! " He 
 seized Helen s hand, crushing it in his fierce grasp, 
 as he bent forward toward the canon of the Sangre 
 de Cristo. His eyes were strained, his lips parted. 
 
 Helen was half conscious of a sudden silence. 
 The roaring waters were stilled. She was beginning 
 to comprehend the reason and the import of the 
 hushed waters. Elijah dropped the clasped hand; 
 he stood triumphant, his head thrown back, his 
 eyes raised to the cloudless sky. 
 
 "It is done! I will tell you what I have done 
 for my vineyard ; I will take away the hedge there 
 of, and it shall be eaten up ; and I will break down 
 the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down. 
 
 272 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BEKL 
 
 And I will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned nor 
 digged, but there shall come up briars and thorns. 
 Hell hath enlarged herself and opened her mouth 
 without measure; and their glory and their multi 
 tude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall 
 descend into it! 
 
 The words were chanted, rather than spoken; 
 chanted with the resonant triumph of him who has 
 fought and won. He yet stood, with clenched, out 
 spread hands; but the color was dying from the 
 drawn cheeks, the fierce light fading from the 
 gleaming eyes. Then he stood as before, dull, list 
 less, apathetic. The momentary fire had burned 
 itself to ashes. 
 
 Helen stood with every sense strained to catch 
 the full import of Elijah s changing moods. What 
 was he about to do? What had he done? She 
 must prevent his purpose if possible, nullify it if- 
 this was not to be thought of now. She must read, 
 and read quickly, the flickering light of reason that 
 burned fitfully through the chaos of his soul. She 
 was certain that reason had departed; was it be 
 yond recall? She must try. Precious as she felt 
 the moments to be, she must yet try. She took one 
 of Elijah s hands in her own firm grasp. 
 
 "You don t understand, Elijah. He is not your 
 enemy." She dared not use Seymour s name 
 r.L ain. "He is your friend. He and Ralph have 
 sent out men to find you; they are searching for 
 
 273 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 you now. They are looking for you to tell you that 
 the money has been restored. They say that" 
 Helen hesitated, but the pause was imperceptible, 
 4 you did the best thing, the best thing for the com 
 pany, in buying the Pico ranch; that you saw 
 farther than they did." 
 
 Helen was hesitating mentally, but her words 
 went on without pause. She was watching in 
 tently for a sign of comprehension in the stolid, 
 passionless face. With her last words, the light 
 came again to the eyes she was searching. Not the 
 fierce passion-blaze of unchained fury, only the 
 peaceful glow of returning reason. He spoke 
 slowly, stumblingly, as one waking from a dream. 
 
 "They know now, that I was right, that I did 
 right?" The eyes again wavered between intelli 
 gence and stupor. 
 
 "Yes, Elijah, they know now." 
 
 His voice was querulous. 
 
 "Why didn t they trust me? After all I had 
 done; why didn t they trust me?" 
 
 "They do trust you now. Come back, Elijah. 
 All is forgiven." 
 
 Elijah s reply was again querulous, almost pee 
 vish. 
 
 "Why didn t they trust me? Why didn t they 
 trust me before it was too late?" The bitterness 
 dropped from voice and manner. His voice was 
 loud and terrible. "Don t you hear me? It is too 
 
 274 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 late! Listen! It is too late! Don t you know what 
 this moans? Listen! The roar of the water has 
 stopped! Don t you know what this means? The 
 flood gates are closed. In a few minutes, in a few 
 hours, the reservoir will fill, and the water will go 
 over the dam. Don t you know what that means? 
 It is too late!" He paused! there was a strained 
 look in his eyes. Then he sprang into action. 
 
 1 Is it too late ? My God ! Is it too late ? 
 
 He was in the saddle, the pony s head pointing 
 up the canon, his flanks shrinking from the pound 
 ing stirrups, and from the lashings of the bridle 
 thongs. 
 
 Helen watched the flying horseman. For a 
 moment she was struck motionless with uncompre 
 hending terror. What did it all mean? What 
 could she do? Oh, if Ralph were only here! For a 
 moment she stood; then she was on her pony and 
 riding hard toward the camping place and Ralph. 
 Through scrubby sage and cedar, stumbling in bur 
 rows, shying at stininni: cactus, her horse was driv 
 ing madly on. Her thoughts were all on finding 
 Ralph; but mingling with these, were the b.-a.ly 
 eyes of the alert Mexicans, and the silenced waters 
 of the Sangre de Cristo. These had a meaning for 
 her now. 
 
 From tlif summit of a low ridLV. she saw below 
 her the camp of the party for which she \\ 
 eagerly watching. One tall figure she singled out 
 
 275 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 and kept her eyes upon him. He turned. She 
 could almost see his questioning eyes as he strode 
 out from his companins. He was near enough to 
 hear her cry 
 
 * Oh, Ralph ! The dam ! The dam ! Elijah is at 
 the dam!" 
 
 276 
 
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT 
 
 "Winston asked no questions. Whatever else there 
 ini<:ht be to learn, could be learned at the dam with 
 no waste of precious time. As to what time meant, 
 AVinston was fully alive. As to what effect the 
 constant, lonely ferment over real or fancied wrongs 
 would have upon a morbidly sensitive mind, he 
 took no moment to forecast. He knew the ruin that 
 could be wrought; for he knew the strength and 
 the weakness of the dam; and he knew Elijah. 
 The thought that Elijah could be driven to wreck 
 the crowning work of years of struggle, seemed to 
 him monstrous, but he knew that it was possible; 
 and he knew Elijah. He knew also, the sinister 
 conditions in the note to Mellin. He knew that 
 they were harmless now; but Elijah did not know. 
 
 Winston could count upon his men and they fol 
 lowed his lead. He was eager, anxious ; but neither 
 eagerness nor anxiety prevented the calm judg 
 ment which spared his horse while pushing it to the 
 limit; and his men followed his lead. 
 
 As he flew past the intake gates of the canal he 
 noted that they were closed. This fact pointed to 
 the worst. As he rode through the canon he noted 
 the silence, the oily threads of water sliding be- 
 
 277 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 tween the boulders ; these facts made suspicion cer 
 tainty. The worst had happened or was on the 
 way. 
 
 As he came near the dam, he did not need the 
 sight of the thin, wrinkling veil that was sliding 
 over the crest, and, in ever increasing volume, was 
 plunging into the depths below, to tell him what 
 had happened. As he sprang from his horse, he 
 did not need to see the tangled mass of earth and 
 timber that choked the waste weir to the brim, nor 
 did he need to see the closed gates and the broken 
 wheels that forbade the hope of opening them. 
 Long ago, so it seemed, he had forecast the design 
 and the method of its execution. 
 
 He saw another sight which he had not forecast. 
 He saw repentance repentance, he saw surely; 
 atonement, if within the reach of time, and life, and 
 sacrifice of life. He saw Repentance with bared 
 brow, with gray, drawn face, with glowing eyes 
 that directed crashing strokes of a shining axe, 
 eating deep into a locking tree-trunk which held 
 back with its mass of crushed timbers and close- 
 packed earth, the seething waters of the weir. He 
 saw it all, and his heart swelled and pulsed and 
 throbbed with the glory of it. He saw and felt the 
 glory of it, that lifts man above the beasts that 
 raven, the angels who adore, and places him at the 
 side of God, the crowning labor of his mighty 
 hands. 
 
 278 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 But through the swelling, flaming glory that 
 bat lied the world with the light of heaven, the 
 earthborn instinct thrust; to save a human life 
 though repentance and atonement were laid low, 
 and the light that they radiated was quenched. 
 Through the oily, sliding, deepening veil Ralph 
 dashed, shouting as he went 
 
 "Come back! Come back! Elijah! Come 
 
 back"! 
 
 But Repentance heeded not the call. Once again 
 the shining blade bit deep in the straining timber, 
 and Atonement had gained its perfect work. 
 
 A crash like riving thunder drowned the swirl 
 of falling water, and the huddled mass of rock and 
 earth and timber groaned and swelled and thrust, 
 and then, with a crash and roar, swept through the 
 stone-paved weir and plunged into the yawning 
 canon. 
 
 The blade had fallen from the bared hands ; the 
 gray, drawn face was lifted to the heavens; but 
 the grayness was gone. In its place was the light 
 that comes from but one source. Repentance was 
 crowned with atonement ; but life had departed. 
 
 Not quite. From a boiling eddy, struggling, im 
 patient to join the swirling rush of turbid waters, 
 pitying hands div\v a torn, bruised body. A rough, 
 kind hand brushed earth-stained locks from the 
 still face. 
 
 "My God! That sight would make a man of the 
 
 279 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 devil!" This was the tribute of a dormant soul 
 cased in a toil-calloused body. 
 
 Ralph was bending low. The eyelids fluttered, 
 then sprang open; but the vision was not of this 
 world. The lips trembled 
 
 * Amy ! Amy ! Then they closed forever. 
 
 280 
 
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE 
 
 Had a ball of fire, shot from the cloudless sky, 
 smitten one of their number to eternal silence, no 
 greater, no more awesome hus> could have fallen 
 upon the merry party below the lam. Men looked 
 at each other with stricken eyes, then turned to 
 watch the speeding horsemen led by Winston. As 
 Helen rode nearer to them, questioning eyes were 
 turned to her, but she gave no heed. Only in the 
 white, set face they read the outlines of some awful 
 tragedy. Uncle Sid was first at her side. 
 
 "Come with me," she commanded. Then she 
 turned and rode slowly toward the canon. Uncle 
 Sid rode close beside her. 
 
 "What is it, little girl?" There was a pitying, 
 restful caress in the softened voice. 
 
 Helen longed to throw herself in his arms, to 
 bury her head on his breast, to pour out her soul 
 in confession before him. She controlled herself, 
 li -r voice. 
 
 "I have found Elijah." Then she told him all. 
 It was good to unburden li-rself. She told of the 
 pitiful wreck from which reason had all but fled; 
 the burst of insane rage when Seymour s name was 
 
 281 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 mentioned; the dumb struggle to grasp the assur 
 ance that he was forgiven, was free; the hopeless 
 plaint, "Why didn t they trust me before it was 
 too late, " the silence of the river; the wild 
 cry, "Is it too late, my God, is it too late?" the 
 mad ride, fury driven, up the canon trail. She 
 told him of her fears for the dam, how easily it 
 could be wrecked, and her voice, steady until now, 
 broke pitifully. "I should have told Ralph all. 
 Only my wicked pride kept me from it." 
 
 Uncle Sid reined his pony closer and laid a 
 soothing hand on her arm. 
 
 "It isn t too late, little girl. Listen! You have 
 saved Elijah. You have saved the dam!" 
 
 They were near the canon now, and a heavy 
 murmur, growing in intensity, pulsed in the quiet 
 air. A great, hopeful light glowed in Helen s eyes ; 
 then it suddenly gave place to anxious fear. Was 
 it too late after all? Had the dam given way? 
 A moment and her questions would be answered. 
 She sat with parted lips, and straining eyes, wait 
 ing for the rending, crashing thunder that would 
 come if then a sigh of relief escaped her. At the 
 canon s mouth, the turbid, soil-stained waters of 
 the Sangre de Cristo were leaping and falling, but 
 the volume was decreasing. She turned to Uncle 
 Sid. 
 
 "Wait here. I am going up the canon." 
 
 She felt that she was losing control of herself; 
 
 282 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BBRL 
 
 she was striving against it, but in vain. Try as 
 she would, she could lay hold of nothing in the 
 past that could aid her. What had been her past ? 
 A sense of right and a determination to live in ac 
 cord with it, and with what results? In self-con 
 fident pride she had looked down with contempt 
 upon Ysleta boomers and their methods. At the 
 first beck of Elijah, yielding to the subtle, in 
 tangible influence which he had thrown around her, 
 she had abandoned her principles and had become 
 as one of them. Not openly, not strongly, not de 
 fiantly, here was the shame and the pain of it; she 
 had not been herself, but another. She had pro 
 tested, to herself, to Elijah, she had stood up 
 against him and had gone down before him. Day 
 after day, the meshes of this sinister influence had 
 held her more closely in its silken web; day after 
 day, her past stood out more clearly with all its 
 pitiful failures, and day after day the future, even 
 with the light of the past beating white upon it, 
 saw her yet more strongly bound. What deeper 
 (li-pths would have yawned to engulf her, had not 
 Elijah s declaration jarred her to a loathsome 
 re-cognition of what she was, of what she might be 
 come, she shuddered to forecast. A smile of bitter 
 self-contempt played over her lips for a moment ; 
 then was gone. 
 
 In her darknr.ss. there was yet a ray of light. 
 She had failed, failed miserably. She bore this in 
 
 283 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 upon her soul with no softening words. This was 
 her darkness. 
 
 Brave, strong, patient hands had laid hold upon 
 Elijah. If they had not saved him, they had saved 
 his work. They had laid hold upon her. If they 
 had not saved her, they had made her failures 
 harmless. This was her light. She could forget 
 herself, her pain, her shame, in the glory of Ralph s 
 triumph. From the dust of her humiliation, she 
 could yet raise a heart filled with unselfish love. 
 
 Yet was there not hope? Ralph had known all 
 that had lain on the surface and he had offered her 
 his love and had asked for hers in return. She 
 would be brave. She would tell him all. Even 
 though he cast her aside, she would yet have her 
 love for him which could not harm him, but save 
 her. She would tell him all. Then if the light of 
 love still shone in his eyes, the light of the love he 
 offered, the light of the love he asked, she would 
 know it; she could trust it without fear. She was 
 learning a lesson that might not avail her ; but she 
 was learning a lesson. On the somber background 
 of repentance the brightest pictures of life are 
 painted. 
 
 Through the pine boughs that hung low over the 
 trail, she caught a glimpse of hatless men who were 
 carrying a burden between them. For a moment 
 her heart stood still. It was death. Then her 
 heart once more beat high. She saw Ralph s face, 
 
 284 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 a face clouded with grief but yet lightened by a 
 supernal glow. She slipped from her pony and 
 with bowed h-ad waitrd for the covered burden 
 to pass by. Then her eyes worn raised to Ralph s; 
 her hand was in his. 
 
 "It is all over, Helen; but his death was glorious. 
 It was worth a thousand lives." 
 
 Her hand in Ralph s, sh.> heard the story of 
 Elijah s life redeemed in death. Tears welled from 
 her eyes and fell silently down her cheeks. 
 
 Ralph was drawing her nearer; his arm was 
 around her. 
 
 "I know all now, Helen." He would have said 
 more but she checked him gently. 
 
 "No; you do not know all. I must tell you. I 
 must." She was trying to free herself. 
 
 1 1 1 want you to tell me just one thing. 
 
 "I must. Then" her eyes met his bravely. 
 
 He laid his fingers gently on her lips. 
 
 "I know what you would tell me, but I do not 
 care to hear. I will not listen, Helen. Don t you 
 believe that I know myself, that I know you?" 
 
 She hid her face in her hands. 
 
 "Ralph." 
 
 "Stop!" Ralph s voice was strong and com 
 manding. "Every word you speak condemns me." 
 
 Slowly the hands dropped from the face that 
 was now raised to his. The great, dark eyes were 
 285 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 deep with questioning hope. The lips trembled 
 with a smile that a breath would fan into life. 
 
 "I must obey my master." 
 
 Ralph s face was close to hers. His voice was 
 low and strong. 
 
 "Then tell me that you love me." 
 
 "I love you. With all my heart and soul and 
 strength, I love you." 
 
 Gently she put him aside. 
 
 "Let me go now, Ralph. I must be with Amy." 
 
 286 
 
CHAPTER THIRTY 
 
 A woman was standing beside an iron gate all 
 but hidden in a riotous growth of blossoming vines 
 that opened upon a grass-grown mound. 
 
 "To the memory of Elijah Berl." 
 
 "He shall make the desert blossom as the rose" 
 was graven on the bronze plate. 
 
 Far below her, and on either side, instead of the 
 bare, brown hillsides of a few, short years ago, 
 grew rank on rank, leaves of glossy green, flecked 
 with tawny gold. Here and there, red-tiled houses, 
 their walls all but covered with climbing roses, 
 stood at the head of marshalled groves. Shining 
 lines moved out and in, where the waters of the 
 Sangre de Cristo sank into the red earth and sprang 
 upwards in fruit and flower. The air was resonant 
 with happy bird notes that trilled from tree to 
 tn<- as the tiny musicians with swelling throats 
 poured out the happiness that their little bodies 
 could not contain. 
 
 There was no longer the old-time harshness of 
 th- desert air, the sky was bluer, the sunlight softer. 
 There was nothing that whispered of death, save 
 the bronze tablet; even this spoke not so much of 
 death as of triumph over it. 
 
 287 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 By the side of the grave stood a woman clad 
 in somber black. Her robes were out of harmony 
 with the inscription, the blossoming landscape ; out 
 of harmony with the soft, patient eyes, the rounded, 
 tinted cheeks, the fluffy masses of tawny hair. Not 
 a line, not a wrinkle, not a gray thread told that 
 the heart of Amy Berl was lying with her husband 
 beneath the guarding bronze. 
 
 A tall, earnest faced boy was coming down the 
 path, trying to preserve a dignified walk that was 
 yet pulled into abrupt steps by a dancing, laugh 
 ing girl who tugged at his outstretched arm. 
 
 "Mama," she cried, "Uncle Sid is waiting for 
 you." 
 
 Amy slowly turned her eyes to the child, as if 
 with an effort, then moved up the path. The boy 
 was by his mother s side, walking evenly with her. 
 The girl was dancing and skipping, now before 
 them, now behind, dragging her mother to admire 
 a new-blown rose, then starting off in vain chase of a 
 rainbow-tinted lizard that skittered up a tree trunk, 
 and, having reached a safe height, turned calmly 
 and curiously towards its pursuer, and with pal 
 pitating throat and lazily blinking eyes, composed 
 itself to rest. 
 
 Where the path opened out to the palm-bordered 
 driveway, the child abandoned her companions and, 
 with a merry shout, clambered into the carriage 
 with Uncle Sid. Before he was aware of her pur- 
 
 288 
 
THE VISION OP ELIJAH BERL 
 
 she had clutched the lines from his fingers 
 mid had snapped the drowsy horses into action. 
 Uncle Sid regained his balance with difficulty. 
 
 4 You pesky little jack-rabbit, you!" he growled. 
 " Anybody d know who your father was, with his 
 I shut!" 
 
 Uncle Sid brought the horses to a halt and turned 
 to Amy. 
 
 "You don t know of no orphan asylum nor no 
 reform school, do you, where a respectable, steady- 
 minded old sea captain could end his days in peace f 
 Because if you do, I m goin to apply at once, if it 
 takes me out of California. I m gettin used up. 
 If Ralph jr. ain t got the colic an s a howlin over 
 it, he s cheerful, which is worse, an when he does 
 get to sleep, then Ralph an Helen tackles the job 
 right where he left off." 
 
 "You know you re always welcome here, Uncle 
 Sid." Amy smiled at the old face that seemed to 
 get no older in spite of his complaints. 
 
 "Yes," growled Uncle Sid, "to get yanked 
 around by this bundle of electricity. The only 
 thing that s restsome here, is that boy. Ain t you 
 crot no dance in your shanks?" Uncle Sid flicked 
 his whip threateningly at the boy, who skipped 
 a>iilc Miiilinjr. "That s right. You keep it up till 
 you ve skipped th- whole kit an kerboodle into this 
 wagon, an I ll take the lot o you to Palm Wells. 
 That s what I m here for." 
 
 180 
 
THE VISION OF ELIJAH BERL 
 
 They drove over a winding, palm-bordered road, 
 through spicy orange groves, through ragged- 
 barked, spindling groups of eucalyptus, and drew 
 up before the doors of the Palm Wells cottage. 
 
 Ralph and Helen came out to meet their guests. 
 Perhaps Ralph would have chosen to be more digni 
 fied in the welcoming of his friends, but a wrig 
 gling, crowing mass of pink and white prevented 
 him. 
 
 1 There he is!" groaned Uncle Sid. "There he 
 is! The most wonderful thing in the whole world, 
 exceptin sixty hundred millions more just like 
 him. He can t talk Latin nor Greek, nor any thin 
 but "googoo," when he s happy, an "yow" when 
 his f eelin s are troublin him, an he don t know any 
 better n to play horse with his daddy s transit when 
 he finds it lyin round loose, just like any other 
 good-f or-nuthin baby. 
 
 290 
 
A Spell-binding Creation 
 
 Mysterious Mr. Sabin 
 
 By E. PHILLIPS OPPENHEIM 
 
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 All this is disclosed in the opening chapter, and paves the way 
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 MY LADY CLANCARTY 
 
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 Justin Wingate, Ranchman 
 
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